Duke Energy and its stakeholders have reached an agreement that further protects existi...

Duke Energy and its stakeholders have reached an agreement that further protects existing customers from the costs of serving data centers and other large-load customers in North Carolina.

Duke Energy said in its Wednesday announcement that it proactively implemented substantial customer protections in 2024 to ensure large-load customers pay the costs to serve them, and the new agreement memorializes and enhances those protections. The settlement is between Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress and North Carolina Public Staff, the agency representing utility customers, with other parties including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, the Carolina Industrial Group for Fair Utility Rates and the U.S. Department of Defense.

"It's simple: data centers will pay upfront for all costs to connect to the grid," said Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy's North Carolina president. "We're shielding other customers from these costs in a way that protects reliability." If approved by state regulators, the agreement would apply to all large-load customers of 50 megawatts or more with an 80% load factor that sign an electric service agreement in North Carolina after June 1. The North Carolina Utilities Commission is expected to decide by mid-November.

Original Facebook source: Open post

Source note: Star News TV · Oct 8, 2026 9:10 PM.