RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is continuing his legal push to force major technology companies to pay the full cost of powering new data centers, filing a fresh motion with the North Carolina Utilities Commission.
Jackson’s latest filing argues that data centers must be segregated into a distinct rate class and mandated to build or procure their own clean energy resources to prevent ordinary households from shouldering the financial burden of necessary grid upgrades.
“Trillion-dollar tech companies can afford to build the infrastructure they need to power their data centers,” Jackson said in a statement. “North Carolina families shouldn’t have to pay for that.”
The attorney general previously requested a dedicated proceeding within Duke Energy‘s ongoing rate cases to specifically address large commercial energy users. Duke estimates that data centers will account for more than 80% of its upcoming energy demand growth, prompting the utility to propose new power generation and transmission projects.
Jackson has taken a hardline stance against proposed utility rate increases, having refused to sign onto a settlement in the Duke Energy Carolinas case that would still raise residential bills by an average of about 9.5%. He also opposed a proposed 15% rate hike by Duke Energy Progress that could cost consumers nearly $960 million over two years.
Beyond separate rate classes, Jackson is urging the Utilities Commission to compel Duke Energy to make its standard data center contracts public, update its load forecasts every 90 days instead of semi-annually, and temporarily halt the development of new natural gas plants while demand projections are re-evaluated.
Jackson is also challenging Duke to legally bind itself to the federal Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which requires large power consumers to cover all infrastructure upgrades required for their operations.
