Stein, Jackson say NC regulators need to hold Duke Energy to federal data center pledge

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jackson said Thursday the state Utilities Commission should hold Duke Energy to its promise to comply with the Trump administration’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge by requiring the utility to agree to it in writing.

At an event Thursday at the headquarters of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, President Donald Trump said 23 governors, all Republican, and about 200 stakeholders, including Duke Energy, have signed the pledge to limit data centers from shifting costs to consumers. 

The pledge asks large energy users and utilities to negotiate agreements so large load users, like data centers, are in a separate rate class and agree to cover the costs of their own power and infrastructure. 

Tech companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Open AI also joined the agreement. 

NC AG Jackson rejects Duke Energy’s proposed rate increase

Stein said in a statement he’s pleased to see Duke Energy signing onto the pledge, but there’s still work to be done to ensure they abide by it.

“The North Carolina Utilities Commission and Duke Energy must create a legally binding large load tariff to charge data centers their full freight, and they must establish a program that allows data centers to directly select and pay for their generation,” he said. “North Carolinians are struggling to make ends meet, and data centers must pay their own way to protect families from rising electricity costs.”

“Duke just promised the federal government that it won’t shift the cost of data centers onto families,” Jackson said in a statement. “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.”

North Carolina’s state leaders have been working on stricter data center regulations for months. In April, Stein asked legislators to modify sales tax exemptions on data centers. In the state budget, lawmakers did repeal data centers’ sales tax exemption on electricity purchases, but left in place exemptions for purchases of equipment and other services. 

Earlier this week, Jackson pushed back on Duke Energy’s proposed residential rate increase.