Tech giants want clean energy in N.C. Is Duke finally ready to help?

In North Carolina, Duke Energy says it will start talks early next year on letting big companies pay extra to buy their own clean power through the utility, rather than relying on Duke's regular mix. This idea, called a "clean transition tariff," has been pushed for years by Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and other large electricity users who want 24/7 carbon-free power but currently have no way to get it directly in most of the state, since Duke holds a near-monopoly on electricity sales there.

This matters to homeowners because of how Duke plans to pay for the huge growth in data centers straining the grid. Duke wants to raise electric rates and build new fossil-fuel power plants partly to serve these facilities. Advocates argue that letting large customers fund and buy their own clean energy, instead of having Duke build infrastructure on everyone's behalf, protects regular households from getting stuck paying for expensive plants if data centers end up using less power than expected or leave the state.

Duke has promised similar action before without following through, so advocates say they won't consider this a real win until North Carolina's utility commission sets firm deadlines rather than just allowing more talks. The commission is expected to rule on Duke's rate increase and a related large-user power agreement by mid-November, and could address the clean energy tariff idea then or later this year. For now, there's no new program available to sign up for — just a step toward one that could eventually affect how the state's electricity, and its rates, take shape.