Jackson proposes separate utility rate class for data centers
The attorney general is asking state regulators to establish uniform requirements intended to prevent infrastructure costs and financial risks from shifting to residential customers.
RALEIGH — North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is asking the state Utilities Commission to create a separate rate class for data centers and other large electricity users as regulators consider how rapidly growing demand should affect utility rates and infrastructure planning.
Jackson filed the proposal in Duke Energy’s pending rate cases. A separate rate class could establish uniform rules for large-load customers and determine how the costs of serving those customers are divided among data centers, businesses and residential ratepayers.
The proposal has not been approved. The Utilities Commission will determine whether to create the new category and what requirements would apply.
Jackson’s office said the proposal is intended to prevent costs associated with new generation, transmission and other infrastructure from being shifted to existing customers. It would also make the requirements applied to data centers more consistent and publicly identifiable.
The filing follows a separate proceeding initiated after Jackson requested that regulators examine the effects of data centers and other large users on North Carolina’s electric system.
According to the Department of Justice, Duke has projected that data centers and other large users will account for approximately 80% of its anticipated new electricity demand. The utility has proposed new generation and transmission investments to meet that projected growth.
Jackson has argued that the projections create financial risks if anticipated data-center demand does not materialize after infrastructure is approved or constructed.
In the related Carbon Plan proceeding, the attorney general has asked regulators to require more frequent demand forecasts, public disclosure of Duke’s standard contracts with large-load customers and reports identifying agreements that depart from those templates.
He also recommended pausing approval of additional natural-gas plants while recent changes to the utility’s demand forecast are examined.
The proposals are requests from the attorney general’s office, not final commission decisions. The official release did not include Duke Energy’s response to the requested rate class or the related recommendations.
The proceeding could affect residential and commercial customers across Duke Energy’s North Carolina service territories as regulators decide which customers should bear the costs and risks created by anticipated electricity-demand growth.
Editor’s note:
This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.
