Data Center scandal grows as expert with the NC Utilities Commission’s Public Staff demands a statewide moratorium on new data centers

By NC WARN Executive Director Jim Warren

DURHAM, N.C. – Watchdog NC WARN today called on Gov. Josh Stein to lead efforts to ban a state-sanctioned monopoly from aggressively recruiting hotly contested data centers – and to publicly demand a statewide moratorium on new data centers as called for by an expert with the NC Utilities Commission’s Public Staff in last week’s regulatory hearing over long-term planning.

We also are urging the Governor to use this opportunity to immediately and publicly call for a halt to Duke Energy’s nation-leading expansion of fracked gas and failure-prone nuclear power plants, and a halt to Duke’s years-long suppression of cheaper solar power matched with battery storage.

It’s now clear that data center hype is the sole justification for the climate-wrecking scheme to expand gas and nuclear, which would cause continuous electric rate hikes for years to come. Also, it’s confirmed that Duke has aggressively recruited new data centers – using millions of public dollars annually – to justify building new power plants.     

We agree with an expert witness for the Utilities Commission’s Public Staff who stated that Duke is acting in the interest of shareholders over ratepayers by overzealously signing new large, power-hungry customers such as data centers.

In an open letter today, NC WARN told Stein that Duke Energy has violated its outdated privilege to operate as a monopoly, and its very permission to operate in North Carolina.

This corporate scandal has been completely exposed. The only question is: Who in authority will act upon Duke Energy’s anti-public behavior?

• Duke has claimed that forecasts of wildly growing electricity usage in the Carolinas require dozens of new power plants – far more than any other US corporation.
• Testimony and evidence now proves that growth would be from the power-hogging data centers Duke (and state) officials are luring to NC communities.
• Duke conceded that electricity usage has fallen for many years despite huge population growth, and that it has consistently exaggerated future projections for years.
• A Duke official conceded under oath that solar-plus-storage (SPS) has multiple benefits. The Public Staff said Duke underestimates the potential for battery storage.
• NC WARN’s expert witness proved that there is enough local SPS potential on roofs, parking areas and unused land to replace existing coal- and gas-fired power plants.
• SPS would be far cheaper and quicker to build than new gas-fired or nuclear power plants to handle any future growth in electricity demand.

NC WARN told Governor Stein today that most of the data center developers wouldn’t even be targeting North Carolina communities if not for recruiting by Duke Energy and lucrative financial giveaways by the state. Data centers create only a handful of local jobs after construction is complete.

We appreciate Stein’s recent call to end a sales tax exemption for electricity usage by data centers by year-end. But now he must go much further by challenging Duke’s years-long abuse of its long outdated monopoly privilege, which it exploits by constantly raising rates to build more and more unneeded power plants.

We’re calling for the Governor’s immediate personal action because the NC Utilities Commission won’t rule in the case for at least six months, and because the Commission has traditionally been heavily biased in favor of Duke Energy.

Written testimony by NC WARN’s expert witness, engineer Bill Powers – which Duke chose not to contest during the hearing – proves that the massive potential for local SPS in North Carolina could make it the fastest, cheapest, most equitable tool to move the state off its course toward climate and social chaos.

Duke Energy’s scandal is an abuse against the people of North Carolina who are already struggling with soaring power bills, repeated devastation by storms and assaults on their communities by data center developers. It is outrageous that a state-sanctioned monopoly should be allowed to drive even higher profits by gouging the public with constant rate hikes year after year.

State residents across the political spectrum resent monopolies, and Duke Energy exemplifies why that attitude exists. Politicians who act in the public interest will be hailed for doing so.

Related Articles:

Scandal at Duke Energy Hearing: Duke CEO admits ‘24/7’ Recruiting of Data Centers

NC WARN: Duke Energy Recruits Data Centers to N.C. Using Millions of Customer Dollars Each Year