RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina’s top officials are challenging the state’s largest electric utility to legally cement its promise to protect everyday consumers from the soaring energy demands of tech data centers.
Gov. Josh Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jackson issued a joint call Friday for Duke Energy to turn its voluntary signature on the federal Ratepayer Protection Pledge into a legally enforceable state agreement. The federal initiative requires tech companies and large energy users to fund the new power plants and grid infrastructure required to run their facilities, rather than shifting those expenses to households.
“Duke just promised the federal government that it won’t shift the cost of data centers onto families,” Jackson said. “We agree, but a promise in Washington doesn’t lower a power bill in North Carolina. We’re calling on Duke to make that same promise to the Utilities Commission, in writing, where it can be enforced.”
The surge in data center development—fueled by artificial intelligence and cloud computing—has strained utility grids nationwide. Several major technology firms, including Amazon, Google, Meta, OpenAI, and xAI, have already signed the federal pledge.
The pledge specifies that large commercial energy users must “build, bring, or buy” the new electricity resources needed for their operations. It also dictates that these corporations pay for all necessary power delivery infrastructure and network upgrades.
State leaders want the North Carolina Utilities Commission and Duke Energy to establish a formal “large load tariff” to ensure data centers pay their full share. They are also demanding a transparent “bring your own power generation” program, which would allow large corporations to directly secure and pay for their own clean energy resources.
While Duke Energy claims it currently allows companies to generate their own power, officials noted that these contracts are confidential, making independent verification impossible.
“North Carolinians are struggling to make ends meet, and data centers must pay their own way to protect families from rising electricity costs,” Stein said.
The announcement follows a conditional settlement reached earlier this week between Duke Energy Carolinas and the Utilities Commission’s Public Staff to fast-track new rules for large energy users. Jackson declined to sign that settlement, arguing that the proposed 11.6% residential rate increase is still too high for consumers. Duke initially sought an 18% hike before Jackson and other consumer advocates filed formal objections.
In a separate ongoing case involving Duke Energy Progress, the attorney general’s office is fighting a proposed 15% rate hike, arguing it would unfairly cost ratepayers nearly $960 million over the next two years.
A bipartisan state energy task force, consisting of 30 policymakers and industry experts, is currently developing long-term policy solutions to balance the state’s rapid population and industrial growth with grid stability. The group is scheduled to deliver its next comprehensive report in February 2027.
