NC Democrats propose bill to limit data centers, protect consumers -

In late April, four Democratic members of the North Carolina House of Representatives introduced the Ratepayer and Resource Protection Act, a bill designed to regulate data centers across the state. Lead sponsors, including State Rep. Beth Helfrich (D-Mecklenburg County) and State Rep. Lindsey Prather (D-Buncombe County), highlighted concerns from local communities regarding the substantial demands data centers place on electricity, water, and local infrastructure. The proposed legislation seeks to prevent data center companies from receiving state tax incentives, shield consumers from the burden of increased energy costs attributed to these facilities, and establish a consistent regulatory standard for the approval of new data centers. Gov. Josh Stein has also publicly expressed reservations about tax breaks for data centers, questioning the subsidization of their energy consumption at the expense of rising power bills for residents. A key provision of the bill mandates that any company planning to build a data center with a peak power demand of 40 kilowatts or greater, or annual water consumption of one billion gallons or more, must provide comprehensive impact information to the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the Department of Environmental Quality, and local governments. This includes estimated annual energy and water usage, as well as the cooling technologies to be employed. The initiative comes as North Carolina grapples with rapid data center expansion, with 43 operational facilities, 40 announced projects, and 12 under construction. Additionally, at least 13 counties and towns in the state have already enacted temporary moratoriums on data center construction.