State attorneys general demand utilities commit to data center load not shifting costs to residential ratepayers; protective regulation.

Duke Energy has joined the federal Ratepayer Protection Pledge, committing to reduce the impact of data centers on electricity costs. However, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is pressing the utility to make a more concrete, legally binding commitment by agreeing to a new tariff through the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

The Trump administration first unveiled the federal pledge in March after seven major tech companies, including Microsoft and Google, signed on. By Thursday, when President Trump held a press conference celebrating the pledge's expansion, 200 governors, legislators, developers, and power providers—including Duke and the Tennessee Valley Authority—had also committed to it.

The Ratepayer Protection Pledge commits tech companies to provide new power or bring their own for data center operations. It also asks them to invest in the local workforce, establish voluntary energy agreements for new rate structures with local utilities, and contribute to grid reliability and new power infrastructure.

Duke recently introduced its own Customer Protection Plus framework, pledging to conduct engineering studies ensuring data center grid reliability and to sign long-term agreements with large energy customers ensuring responsible growth.

Yet Jackson remained skeptical about the pledge's enforceability without formal legal backing. "The question is, did Duke do that just to please the federal administration or are they serious about it?" Jackson asked. "Are they willing to join us and actually put it in writing to the Utilities Commission and say we hereby agree to do this and protect the costs, make sure they're not shifted onto families?"

Jackson is specifically advocating for a large load tariff that would require large energy customers, such as data centers, to cover the full costs of their electricity generation and infrastructure. Data centers can consume as much energy as a small town, and utilities nationwide have struggled to accommodate this demand.

Duke initially requested an 18% rate increase this year to account for projected electric load growth from both population expansion and data center demand. After state objections, Duke negotiated a settlement with the North Carolina Utilities Commission reducing the request to 9.5%.

Duke spokesperson Jeffrey Brooks noted that data centers currently represent about 1% of the company's total load but is expected to grow 13% over the next several years. Brooks said the utility is exploring tariff options but contended that the Consumer Protection Pledge demonstrates Duke's commitment to keeping rates low.

"Our analysis shows us that large load customers, like data centers, will not only pay for the costs required to serve them, but they will also contribute additional revenue to help keep costs lower for other customers as well, and that's going to remain the case regardless of whether a large load tariff is established or not," Brooks said.

Data center concerns have transcended partisan lines across North Carolina and the country. Communities remain fearful of the rapid expansion of hyperscaler construction, citing worries about visual impact, water usage, energy rates, and air pollution. Meanwhile, communities already hosting major data centers feel excluded from corporate decision-making.

Concerns have been particularly acute in western North Carolina, where counties, cities, and towns have enacted over a dozen moratoriums and bans since January 2026. This month, Hot Springs voted to approve a one-year moratorium, with Hendersonville expected to follow, adding to more than 30 moratoriums and bans now statewide.