Since entering the race for US Senate in July 2025, Republican nominee Michael Whatley has accepted $10,000 from Duke Energy’s political action committee.
After spending more than a decade at a lobbying firm which counted Duke as a client, Whatley is running against former Gov. Roy Cooper (D) for North Carolina’s open Senate seat.
Whatley’s acceptance of these contributions from Duke comes at a time of rising utility bills in North Carolina, and the company is currently requesting a 9.3% rate increase over two years beginning in January 2027. This would increase the average home’s power bill by around $15 a month by the summer of 2028.
A recent survey from Advance America found that over 260,000 households in North Carolina are turning off their air conditioning at night to reduce costs.
Why is this relevant?
From 2008 to 2019, Whatley was the executive vice president of Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), a Houston-based lobbying group whose clients include companies in the oil and utilities industries.
The group supported increases in utility rates and counted Duke Energy among its clients.
Carolina Public Press reported that while working as a lobbyist for CEA, Whatley personally argued in favor of rate increases. He also pushed for Duke to pass on costs for coal ash cleanup in eastern North Carolina to its customers. This cost Duke customers $232 million.
According to a financial report released on Aug. 13, Whatley’s family owns at least $149,000 in Duke Energy stock and could have as much as $410,000 invested in the company.
At an event in Vance County on Aug. 14, Cooper, Whatley’s opponent in the upcoming Senate race, criticized him for his connections to oil and utility companies.
“He’s [Whatley] been fighting for their ability to charge people higher rates and higher prices. You think he’s gonna change when he gets into the Senate? And on top of that, he owns their stock. So he makes money when they raise rates,” Cooper told a crowd in Henderson at Shiloh Baptist Church.
