Duke Energy review: Utility services

Requirement for a Security Deposit
Richard always paid as much as he could in advance, since he was undergoing in-hospital treatment for cancer. I also paid on his behalf and monitored the balance, topping up as needed. Richard passed away in late January 2025.

I called in February to have his account transferred to my name (wife). I also have an account with Duke Energy, so I assumed his account would be billed under my account.

I reported an issue at his address in June for "no power". I was told it had been disconnected for non-payment. That was when I learned Duke Energy had put the account in my name but did not change the "bill to" information. Therefore, I had not received any utility bills for his address (hard copy or email), nor was it being handled under my account. (The bills were being directed to his personal email address, not mine as requested.)

I remedied the situation by paying the amount due in full via my bankcard (confirmation #264215988). I asked the representative to please make sure my account was being billed, and to please send future statements by email to me at my personal email and home address.

I looked at my email in July but did not see a bill for his address. However, these accounts are on two different billing cycles. I kept an eye out for the account statement for my address to see if it would show on that billing. As of today, there is still no billing for his address and it is almost August, so I called Duke Energy to find out why I was not receiving statements. (I had assumed once, but am not about to do so twice.)

This time I learned that two accounts (i.e. physical addresses) cannot have the same email address. I do not have another email account for billings, so I requested for paper billings to my address, to avoid future billing issues and asked for auto payment to be set up.

Auto pay could be set up, but the current balance needed to be cleared. I asked how much that was since I have no bill. The amount indicated was bit high for one month of service. I was then told that it included a $165.00 security deposit.

I asked for an explanation and was told the "system" added the amount for non-payment. I explained the situation above and was given the "nothing I can do" spiel. I requested to talk to a supervisor, with much the same result saying that the "system" does not allow for waiving the fee.

I don't know what else I could have done to avoid this situation. I have paid (known) bills on time, and Richard did as well. We paid in advance to have a credit to draw from.

I was told that the security deposit "may be" required for non-payment. I understand this was a system generated fee, but humans were involved, and humans make mistakes. I am asked for a review and wavier of the fee. I paid the July amount (less security deposit) and requested auto pay be set up to remedy any future issues.

Why can’t the security deposit be waived? Duke Energy is wanting to hide behind the excuse of a “system generated” charge versus looking at the situation and accepting their role in the problem. I accept the fact that I assumed people were doing what they were being paid to do. That was my mistake.

I took action to ensure future billings would be paid on time, which should be a consideration, but if you are a computer. This computer works for Duke Energy, which is just like the computer and does not care about real people.