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Contact: Amy Kurt, (614) 466-9539

OCC and others ask PUCO to reject Duke's request to charge customers $776 million

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Oct. 5, 2012 – A typical residential electric customer may pay an additional $150 to $200 per year if Duke Energy Ohio's latest rate request is approved. The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC) joined numerous parties, including businesses, associations, the City of Cincinnati, and others in asking the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to reject Duke's request.

In 2011, Duke, the PUCO Staff, OCC and other parties reached an agreement regarding electric rates that Duke's customers would pay for the next three years. This agreement allowed Duke to collect from customers about $330 million for a "stabilization charge" in exchange for Duke having to give customers the benefit of low market rates for electricity. Duke's new request would change the bargain that was struck. The utility is asking to collect an additional $776 million from its customers.

Duke is basing its additional request on a PUCO decision allowing a rate increase for AEP (See http://www.pickocc.org/news/2012/pressrelease.php?date=08082012).

"We have an agreement with Duke and we look forward to Duke living up to it," Assistant Consumers' Counsel Maureen Grady said. "Customers should not have a $776 million rate increase in their future."

In yesterday's joint filing (a motion to dismiss) at the PUCO, OCC explained that rejecting Duke's request will protect customers from unfair rate increases. The parties that joined together in the filing include:

• The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel
• City of Cincinnati
• Greater Cincinnati Health Council
• The Kroger Company
• Cincinnati Bell, Inc.
• Ohio Manufacturers' Association
• Ohio Energy Group
• Industrial Energy Users-Ohio
• Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy

OCC is the legal representative of about 611,000 residential electric customers of Duke Energy.

About the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC), the residential utility consumer advocate, represents the interests of 4.5 million households in proceedings before state and federal regulators and in the courts. The state agency also educates consumers about electric, natural gas, telephone and water issues. For more information, please visit the OCC website at www.pickocc.org.