TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – A rate decrease was approved for Duke Energy, meaning customers could start seeing a cheaper bill in the coming months.

In January, Duke Energy applied for a 16% rate decrease for the months of April-June which was approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

For the months of January-March, there was a 5.5% decrease for its customers.

Before that, a 16% increase was approved during the summer of 2022, and a 7.2% increase followed for the months of October-December.

“This will be for an average use of 1,000 kilowatts per month, it is $26, around that range per month they’ll be saving on their bill,” Rick Burger, Duke Energy District Manager, said.

Burger said after the increase in rates last summer, he hopes this decrease will add some relief for customers.

Now that fuel costs have gone down, he said energy costs can follow suit.

“It’s a balancing act here. We’re just so proud that we’ve got a lot of good men and women working behind the scenes [and] buying fuel costs out there too. It’s kind of like stock market. We’re out there trying to find the best fuel price and we feel like our employees are doing a great job finding that out there too,” Burger said.

Duke Energy is still offering interest-free installment payment plans for qualifying customers.

Burger encourages any customer who is struggling to pay their bill, to give them a call.

“I just don’t want you to get into a bind and be shut off and then you have a deposit and your bill to pay. Just call us early, we’ll work with you,” Burger said.

You can find more information to see if you qualify by clicking here.