Duke Energy Launches Battery Program for South Carolina Businesses as Grid Demand Grows

Duke Energy is turning customer-owned batteries into grid assets. That is the core move.

The company has announced a new South Carolina program called PowerShare Storage, built for nonresidential customers such as businesses, industrial sites, government facilities, and other organizations with qualifying energy storage systems. The program has been approved by the Public Service Commission of South Carolina and is expected to begin operating in August 2026.

The idea is simple: customers who own batteries can let Duke Energy use those batteries during certain high-demand periods. In exchange, they receive bill credits.

This is not charity. It is a grid deal.

Customers get paid.
Duke Energy gets flexible capacity.
The grid gets support during stress periods.

That matters because South Carolina and the broader Carolinas region are growing. More homes, more businesses, more industrial load, more electrification, and more pressure on the power system. Utilities need more tools. Big power plants still matter, but smaller distributed resources are becoming part of the plan too.

PowerShare Storage is one of those tools.

How the Program Works

Under the program, participating customers enroll a qualifying battery energy storage system. Duke Energy can then temporarily discharge that system during selected grid events, usually when demand is high or when extra grid flexibility is valuable.

According to the company, Duke Energy may discharge enrolled systems 30 to 36 times per year, and each event will last no more than four hours. Customers are not locked in with no control. They can opt out of up to four events per year, including two winter events, while still remaining eligible for bill credits.

That flexibility matters. A business may need its battery for backup power, operational resilience, or internal energy management. If the program took full control away from the customer, fewer businesses would join.

Instead, Duke is trying to make the pitch practical.

You keep the asset.
You keep some control.
You earn credits when the battery helps the grid.

The Credits Are the Hook

The financial structure is where the program becomes real for customers.

According to StockTitan’s summary of the Duke Energy release, PowerShare Storage includes several types of incentives:

• $120 per kilowatt connectivity credit
• An additional $30 per kilowatt when charged by renewables
• $3.50 per kilowatt monthly capacity credit
• $0.10 per kilowatt-hour curtailment credit

These credits are designed to give customers predictable value for making their batteries available as grid resources.

That is important because batteries are expensive. A business does not install storage just because it sounds modern. It needs a return.

For some customers, the battery may already make sense for backup power, peak demand management, or solar integration. PowerShare Storage adds another revenue stream. It turns a battery that may sit unused for long periods into something that can support the grid and generate bill value.

That is the economic point.

Idle assets are expensive.
Flexible assets can pay.

Why Duke Energy Wants Customer Batteries

The utility is not doing this because batteries are trendy. It is doing this because grid flexibility has value.

During high-demand periods, utilities must find enough power to meet customer needs. That can mean running more generation, buying power, activating demand response, or using stored electricity. Customer-sited batteries can help reduce pressure on the system by discharging power when the grid needs it most.

Duke Energy says nearly 500,000 customers in the Carolinas already participate in demand response programs. Those programs help reduce system costs and strengthen reliability, which can help keep rates lower for all customers, not only those enrolled.

PowerShare Storage expands that approach.

Traditional demand response often asks customers to reduce electricity use during peak events. Battery-based demand response can go further. Instead of just using less, customers can send stored energy back into useful service.

That gives the grid another lever.

A Growing Grid Needs More Flexible Resources

South Carolina’s energy needs are changing. Population growth, business expansion, new manufacturing, data centers, and electrification all add demand. Duke Energy has said it is investing in grid upgrades and efficient generation resources to strengthen the system and serve growing energy needs.

The company’s South Carolina president, Tim Pearson, framed PowerShare Storage as part of that modernization push. He said saving money for customers is a priority and described customers as partners in modernizing and maximizing the grid. He also connected the program to the South Carolina Energy Security Act of 2025, saying this type of innovation fits what the act calls for.

That quote points to the political context.

States want reliability.
Customers want lower bills.
Businesses want predictable energy costs.
Utilities want more tools to manage demand.

Battery programs sit at the intersection of all four.

Why This Matters for Businesses

For nonresidential customers, energy costs are not just a monthly bill. They are part of operating strategy.

Factories, warehouses, schools, hospitals, office campuses, and government buildings all face different energy needs. Some need backup power. Some need lower demand charges. Some want to support sustainability goals. Some may already have solar panels and want storage to use more of their own power.

PowerShare Storage can make batteries more attractive because it creates a formal route to earn credits.

The program may appeal most to customers that already have or are considering:

• Commercial battery storage
• Solar plus storage systems
• Backup power systems
• Facilities with high peak demand
• Energy resilience goals
• Sustainability targets
• Large electricity bills

For these customers, the question is not “Is battery storage interesting?”

The real question is: Can the numbers work?

Duke’s credits are meant to help make them work.

The Renewable Charging Credit Sends a Signal

One detail stands out: the added $30 per kilowatt credit for systems charged by renewables.

That creates a clear incentive. Duke is not only encouraging battery participation. It is also rewarding customers who pair storage with clean energy sources such as solar.

That matters because batteries can serve different roles depending on how they are charged. A battery charged from renewable energy can help shift clean power into higher-demand hours. That can support renewable integration and reduce reliance on dirtier or more expensive generation during peaks.

This is where energy storage gets powerful.

Solar produces when the sun is available.
Customers and the grid need power when demand peaks.
Storage helps bridge that gap.

PowerShare Storage is one small part of that larger shift.

Not a Full Solution, But a Useful Tool

The program will not solve every grid problem in South Carolina. It will not replace power plants. It will not erase the need for transmission upgrades. It will not make rising energy demand disappear.

But it can help.

A modern grid does not rely on one answer. It needs generation, transmission, storage, demand response, energy efficiency, and smarter customer participation. PowerShare Storage adds more flexibility at the edge of the grid, where businesses already use power every day.

That is useful because the cheapest megawatt is often the one the system does not have to build or dispatch at the worst possible time.

If customer batteries can reduce pressure during peak events, the whole system can benefit.

Duke Energy’s Bigger Footprint

Duke Energy is one of the largest energy holding companies in the United States. The company is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and its electric utilities serve 8.7 million customers across North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Collectively, its electric utilities own about 55,700 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve about 1.6 million customers across several states.

That scale matters because programs like PowerShare Storage can be tested in one state and, if successful, could influence wider demand response planning across the utility’s service territories.

South Carolina is the launch point here. But the broader lesson may travel.

The Bottom Line

Duke Energy’s new PowerShare Storage program is a practical move in a grid that needs more flexibility.

It gives South Carolina businesses and other nonresidential customers a way to earn bill credits from battery systems. It gives Duke Energy access to stored power during high-demand periods. It supports reliability without requiring every solution to come from a central power plant.

The key facts are clear:

• The Public Service Commission of South Carolina approved the program.
• PowerShare Storage is for nonresidential customers with qualifying battery systems.
• Duke Energy plans to begin operating it in August 2026.
• Enrolled batteries may be discharged 30 to 36 times per year.
• Each event will last no more than four hours.
• Customers may opt out of up to four events per year and still receive credits.
• The program includes connectivity, capacity, curtailment, and renewable-charging credits.
• Nearly 500,000 customers in the Carolinas already participate in Duke Energy demand response programs.

This is not a headline-grabbing mega project.

It is more useful than that.

It is a grid tool that turns customer batteries into shared infrastructure. And as electricity demand keeps growing, those tools are going to matter more.