Progress Energy, which had filed in October for about an 11 percent average rate increase across all customer classes, announced in late February that it has agreed to reduce the rate boost by about half.

The state Utilities Commission is holding a series of hearings on the proposed rate incresae, with the next hearing scheduled at 7 p.m. March 5 at the Buncombe County Courthouse in Asheville.

Progress reported that it has reached an agreement with the Utilities Commission Public Staff, calling for an average 4.7 percent increase across all customer classes for the first year and an additional 1 percent increase in the second year.

Under the previous 11 percent plan, residential customers would have seen their rates rise by about 14.2 percent, or just less than $15 per month for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month.

On Feb. 25, the UCPS filed a “notice of settlement in principle,” indicating it had reached a settlement with Progress to lower the rate boost and spread it over two years.

However, the state Utilities Commission still must approve any increase.The panel could decide on the amended increase in May.

Progress claims about 155,000 customers in 10 Western North Carolina counties.

The utility said it needs the rate boost to pay for investments in the system that already have been made. The majority of the increase will be used to recover costs to modernize and replace less efficient coal plants with natural gas units.