Kinston City Council to consider 4% electric rate reduction
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Kinston electric customers could soon see relief in their electric bills, as City Council prepares to consider a proposed 4% rate reduction. The measure comes on the heels of the North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency’s (NCEMPA) final debt payoff in July, closing out more than four decades of obligations that once left member cities with some of the highest power rates in the state.
According to a City press release, the proposed reduction stems from the City’s Electric Cost of Service Study, which factored in the debt retirement along with projected operating costs and possible future wholesale rate increases. The rate change is dependent on action by City Council, which is scheduled to take up the proposal at its next meeting on September 16, 2025. If approved, customers may begin to see the decrease reflected in their October bills.
Mayor Don Hardy called the milestone a turning point for the city’s utility system.
“Today, we’re turning the page on a 40-plus-year chapter,” Hardy said. “With the North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency’s long-standing debt now fully paid off as of July 2025, we can finally pass meaningful savings back to Kinston families and businesses.”
City Councilwoman Felicia Solomon underscored the significance for residents who have long shouldered high electric bills.
“The city staff have been planning financially for quite some time how the paid NCEMPA debt could positively affect our customers,” Solomon said. “Now after years of anticipation, the City Council is excited to be in a position to provide a rate reduction for the citizens. The cost of utility bills has been a (justified) major complaint of customers for YEARS. I’m just glad that a measure of relief is possible; the citizens deserve it.”
City Manager Rhonda Barwick added that the reduction reflects more than a decade of consistent financial discipline.
“Through deliberate financial planning over the past 15 years, we avoided raising rates to our customers even though we incurred increasing costs,” Barwick said. “Now that the final debt payment has been made by NCEMPA, we are in a position to offer a 4% rate decrease.”
If approved by City Council on Sept. 16, the rate cut will extend Kinston’s 15-year record of holding steady against increases, while also allowing the City to prepare for future capital improvement needs.
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