CHARLOTTE – Duke Energy and major data-center operators have reached a proposed North Carolina agreement that would require the largest new electricity users to make upfront infrastructure payments and accept minimum-payment protections intended to keep their costs from shifting to other customers.
The settlement covers Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress and was reached with the North Carolina Public Staff, which represents utility customers. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Carolina Industrial Group for Fair Utility Rates and the U.S. Department of Defense also joined the agreement, according to Duke Energy’s Oct. 7 announcement.
The proposed terms would require a nonrefundable upfront payment for grid facilities dedicated to a single large-load customer, such as a substation. They also call for deposits or security guarantees for broader grid upgrades, including transmission projects that serve multiple customers.
New large-load customers would take service under a separate High Load Factor rate schedule. Duke said the agreement would apply to customers using at least 50 megawatts with an 80% load factor when their electric service agreements were signed after June 1, 2026. Similar protections remain in agreements signed before that date.
Axios Raleigh reported that the proposed rules also cover customers whose total demand exceeds 150 megawatts. The settlement includes a minimum monthly payment equal to at least 75% of projected demand and damages when a customer ends a contract or reduces contracted demand, according to the report.
The provisions address a financial risk created when utilities build costly grid infrastructure for a large project that later uses less power than expected or does not proceed. Requiring upfront payments, deposits and minimum bills is designed to place more of that risk on the high-demand customer rather than households and smaller businesses.
The agreement arrives as data-center projects face increasing public scrutiny in North Carolina and as Duke seeks approval for other rate changes. The tariff does not require high-demand customers to obtain clean energy. The N.C. Sustainable Energy Association told Axios that the settlement should have included stronger clean-energy requirements.
The proposal still requires approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission. Duke expects a decision by mid-November.
Duke Energy Carolinas serves about 2.3 million households and businesses across central and western North Carolina. Duke Energy Progress serves about 1.6 million customers in central and eastern North Carolina and the Asheville region. The two utilities are scheduled to combine on Jan. 1, 2027.