Duke Energy’s aid program for low-income households in North Carolina moves forward after industry challenge withdrawn.

A consortium of pulp and paper mills and large manufacturers has withdrawn its challenge to a Duke Energy aid program, ensuring that tens of thousands of poor households in Asheville and eastern North Carolina will receive bill assistance next year. The program, set to begin in January in Duke Energy Progress territory for a three-year trial period, provides a $42 discount for 12 months to customers struggling to pay their electric bills. Large industrial customers contribute to the program with a $1.70 monthly fee. The Carolina Industrial Group for Fair Utility Rates had argued that the program violated the principle that one class of customers shouldn’t subsidize another. The group agreed to track the program’s costs and benefits, and in exchange, agreed to explore existing strategies to help low-income customers.