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Throughout this week, the North Carolina Utilities Commission is meeting under bright fluorescent lights to discuss Duke Energy Carolinas’ latest rate case. The hearing, which is being live-streamed on YouTube, went on for nearly seven hours on Monday, as Duke Energy’s representative defended the utility’s 11.6% residential rate hike proposal, among other things.
The hearing is also expected to address the large load tariff proposal Duke Energy submitted late last month — a special rate for big energy users, similar to those popping up all over the country, amidst concerns that data centers’ taxing power needs will have negative repercussions for everyone else. (Just yesterday, the Oregon Public Utility Commission approved a new Portland General Electric tariff that would hike rates for data center customers by approximately 29%.)
Starting in 2027, Duke’s tariff would apply to customers with loads of 50 megawatts or more with expected load factors of 80%, or any customer seeking 100 MW or more, regardless of load factor. The terms of the tariff would require customers to sign 10 or 15 year contracts, depending on load size, and pay for 75% of the demand they ask for, even if they don’t use it. Pulling out of the deal early would incur penalties equivalent to 25% of remaining bills, and customers would have to post some sort of security, such as cash or a letter of credit, as a guarantee upfront for those minimum bills.
