North Carolina leaders call on Duke Energy to protect customers from data center rate hikes
Duke Energy has joined a federal pledge promising households and small businesses will not have to pay growing electricity costs associated with data centers. North Carolina Governor Josh and Attorney General Jeff Jackson are urging Duke Energy to make this commitment legally binding with enforceable protections for state customers. A Duke spokesperson stated the company supports data centers covering their own service costs.
Duke Energy is under pressure from North Carolina's top political figures to legally bind its commitment regarding data center electricity costs. Governor Josh and Attorney General Jeff Jackson have called on the utility to implement enforceable protections, ensuring that households and small businesses in the state do not incur rising electricity expenses linked to the growing data center industry.
The appeal follows Duke Energy's recent participation in a new federal pledge. While a spokesperson for Duke Energy confirmed the company's support for the principle that data centers should be responsible for the costs of their own electricity service, state leaders are pushing for concrete, legally enforceable measures to safeguard consumers.