RALEIGH, N.C. — Duke Energy has reached a settlement with the North Carolina Public Staff and major technology companies on a large-load tariff that would require new data centers and other high-use customers to pay upfront for grid costs built to serve them, pending Utilities Commission approval.
The agreement covers Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress and was joined by Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, the Carolina Industrial Group for Fair Utility Rates and the U.S. Department of Defense. North Carolina President Kendal Bowman said data centers will pay upfront for all costs to connect to the grid so other customers are shielded while growth continues.
If approved, the terms would apply to large-load customers of 50MW or more with an 80% load factor that sign an electric service agreement after June 1, 2026, cutting the prior protection threshold from 100 megawatts. New large-load customers would also be placed on a High Load Factor rate schedule kept separate from household and small-business rates.
Customers would make a nonrefundable upfront payment for dedicated facilities such as a substation serving only their site, and would post deposits and security for shared upgrades such as new transmission lines before that work proceeds. Duke Energy Carolinas serves about 2.3 million customers and Duke Energy Progress about 1.6 million customers. The Utilities Commission is expected to rule by mid-November, ahead of the utilities merging on Jan. 1, 2027.
Environmental Defense Fund N.C. policy director Will Scott, N.C. policy director for that group, called the settlement a clearer floor on risk for ratepayers but said it still leaves questions about a separate customer class, cost allocation in the next rate case and whether data centers will help pay for new power plants. Southern Environmental Law Center senior attorney Nick Jimenez warned shared transmission costs could still land on other customers if a project never fully materializes. Contracts signed on or before June 1 would not be covered.
