As artificial intelligence fuels unprecedented growth in electricity demand, North Carolina policymakers are exploring new rules that could determine who pays for the power plants, transmission lines and other infrastructure needed to support a new wave of data centers.
The state’s Energy Policy Council Load Growth Task Force met Thursday to discuss possible policy recommendations for serving large electricity users, including data centers. Members examined topics such as special electricity rates for large customers, allowing companies to provide some of their own power and encouraging large users to reduce electricity consumption during periods of peak demand.
The discussions come as Duke Energy seeks to raise electric rates in North Carolina, citing billions of dollars in grid upgrades and new generation needed to serve growing demand. Duke has said data centers account for more than 85% of the projected load growth from new economic development projects seeking electric service.
At the same time, consumer advocates, the North Carolina Utilities Commission’s Public Staff and Attorney General Jeff Jackson are urging regulators to create a separate rate class for data centers and other large electricity users to ensure existing customers are not left paying for infrastructure built to serve new demand.
One of the leading proposals is a mandatory “large load tariff,” a special rate structure for customers that require massive amounts of electricity.
Under proposals filed in Duke Energy’s pending rate case, large-load customers could be required to pay minimum monthly bills, commit to using a certain percentage of the power they request and pay exit fees if projects are canceled before utilities recover the cost of infrastructure built to serve them. Supporters say those protections could help prevent residential customers from absorbing the cost if anticipated data center growth fails to materialize.
Other ideas being explored include allowing large customers to build or contract for some of their own electricity through “bring your own capacity” programs and creating load flexibility programs that would encourage data centers to temporarily reduce electricity use during periods of high demand.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently ordered the nation’s six largest regional grid operators to justify or revise how they handle massive new electricity users such as AI data centers. Federal regulators identified many of the same issues now being discussed in North Carolina, including cost allocation, behind-the-meter generation, flexible large loads and ensuring existing customers are protected from paying for upgrades needed to serve new development.
National forecasts also underscore why the issue is becoming increasingly urgent. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects electricity demand to reach record highs in 2026 and 2027, driven in large part by AI data centers and electrification. Meanwhile, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation recently increased its 10-year peak demand forecast by 24%, saying new data centers account for much of the projected growth.
Utilities and regulators in several other states have already begun developing specialized tariffs and service agreements for hyperscale customers. Many include provisions requiring long-term customer commitments, minimum monthly payments, cost-sharing for new infrastructure and, in some cases, the ability for large customers to provide some of their own generation.