Local pushback over AI power bills

People in North Carolina are showing up at utility hearings with one blunt complaint: they already cut back on air conditioning, lights, and appliances, and now they’re being told the electric system may need even more money as artificial intelligence data centers move in. Duke Energy is asking regulators for residential rate increases of up to 18% over two years while the state argues over who should pay for giant new power loads. (wunc.org) (wral.com) The basic fight is simple: a data center is a warehouse full of computers that runs all day, and the newest artificial intelligence sites use so much electricity that one project can change how a utility plans power plants, transmission lines, and substations. WRAL reported that a 300 megawatt data center can use as much electricity as about 200,000 North Carolina homes running nonstop. (wral.com) North Carolina already has about 100 data centers, and they account for up to 3% of the state’s electricity demand. WFAE reported on April 10 that this demand is expected to more than double by 2030 as bigger “hyperscale” campuses are proposed for artificial intelligence and cloud computing. (wfae.org) That scale is colliding with a regulated monopoly system. Duke Energy serves most of North Carolina, and the North Carolina Utilities Commission decides what rates Duke can charge and what costs it can recover from customers. The commission’s public calendar shows witness hearings on Duke Energy Progress on April 13 and April 14, 2026, and on Duke Energy Carolinas on April 28, 2026. (ncuc.gov) The part making residents nervous is not just the size of the bills. It is the idea that utilities can cut special deals for giant customers outside the normal published tariff, which is the public rate book that tells everyone what power costs. North Carolina’s consumer watchdog has already pushed for more scrutiny and transparency around these large-load arrangements. (businessnc.com) (wunc.org) Duke has been moving in the opposite direction from a one-size-fits-all model. Reporting in 2024 showed the company creating new large-user rate structures with “minimum take” clauses, which means a data center agrees to pay for a block of power even if it does not use every unit, and possible upfront payments for new infrastructure. (datacenterdynamics.com) That sounds like protection for households, but the politics get messy fast. If a utility builds gas plants, transmission lines, or grid upgrades early to chase future data-center growth, residents worry they could still be left covering part of the bill if projects arrive late, use less power than promised, or win confidential terms the public cannot fully inspect. (wunc.org) (businessnc.com) The utility planning documents show why this is no longer a local zoning squabble. Duke’s 2025 Carolinas Resource Plan says it filed a new long-range power plan with the state on October 1, 2025, and North Carolina regulators are still evaluating it through 2026 as demand forecasts jump. (duke-energy.com) (ncuc.gov) The backlash is spreading beyond hearing rooms into state politics. Governor Josh Stein said this week that North Carolina’s data-center tax breaks could reach billions of dollars and questioned why taxpayers should subsidize companies that are also being blamed for higher power prices. (msn.com) So the new risk for artificial intelligence infrastructure is no longer just finding land and fiber. In North Carolina, the harder part may be proving to voters, regulators, and nearby towns that a server campus drawing hundreds of megawatts will pay its own way instead of landing on household bills a few dollars at a time. (wunc.org) (wral.com)