North Carolina’s electricity bills have increased about 22% since 2020 after years of relatively stable prices, according to a new state report that outlines the effects of a surging population and growing footprint of energy-intensive facilities such as data centers.
The report by the North Carolina Energy Policy Task Force, released on Sunday, offered recommendations to keep electricity reliable and affordable while looking at increasing electricity demands.
Electricity demand in North Carolina is projected to grow immensely in the coming years, according to the report. Duke Energy, the state’s biggest electric utility, forecasts that net load could rise between 16% and 60% over the next 15 years, compared with only 7% growth over the previous two decades. Large users, particularly data centers, make up about 30% of projects in the pipeline but account for roughly 80% of projected future energy demand, the report notes.
Fuel costs, especially natural gas, were responsible for nearly two-thirds of recent bill increases.
The task force identified several key challenges contributing to rising bills: increasing electricity demand, fuel cost volatility, aging grid infrastructure, and the concentration of large, energy-intensive customers in certain regions. The report notes that electricity supply is increasingly clean, but balancing affordability, reliability and emissions reductions remains a central challenge.
To address these issues, the task force outlined nine preliminary recommendations:
Large load tariffs for high-demand facilities.Alternative capacity procurement options, including “bring your own capacity.”Incentives for load flexibility to shift usage away from peak periods.Reforms to interconnection processes for large loads and new generation.Evaluation of tax exemptions for data centers.Investment in grid and transmission upgrades.Incentives for residential and small business energy efficiency.Third-party load forecasting.Energy and water usage reporting for large users.
Duke Energy is the largest electricity provider in the state, serving 3.9 million single homes, businesses, etc. Municipal and university-owned electric distribution systems serve around 660,000 meters. Dominion Energy serves around 128,000 meters in northeastern North Carolina. Both companies have representatives on the task force.
In November, Duke Energy proposed a 15% rate hike that would cost customers on average $20 to $30 more per month as it seeks to make its current power plants more efficient and generate more electricity. The North Carolina Utilities Commission will begin to consider Duke Energy’s proposed rate hikes in July and August of this year.
“Governor Stein’s priorities of maintaining a reliable electric system that is increasingly clean at the lowest possible cost,” Bill Norton, a spokesman for Duke Energy, said in a statement.
The company’s long-term resource plan for the Carolinas “includes extensive analysis of these issues and affirms the need for a diverse mix of new energy resources, including baseload generation like nuclear and natural gas, to support the state’s continued economic success,” Norton said.
Among those impacted by rising electricity bills is Anna Leigh Morgan, a recent college graduate who lives in Raleigh and doesn’t have a full-time job.
Morgan said opening the electricity bill envelope each month has become a moment of anxiety for her and her roommates. She braces herself as she reads the numbers.
“We don’t entirely know how we’re going to pay these bills going forward if they continue to be this high,” she said.
Morgan isn’t the only one.
“I’m getting ripped off,” Randy Dunbar, a Greensboro resident, told WRAL in an interview. “I feel like these rates are way beyond what they should be. And I don’t understand why.”
The task force was created in August by Gov. Josh Stein to recommend policies for maintaining an “adequate, reliable, affordable and clean” electricity supply. Its members include state agency officials, legislators, utility representatives, large electricity users and advocacy organizations. The group is expected to submit another detailed report a year from now with updated recommendations.