Duke Energy is trying to soothe customer fears as it spends up to $105B to prep the grid for an AI data center boom. (Charlotte Observer)
The promise: While experts warn the digital infrastructure rush could hike US residential bills by 8% on average, Duke insists its customers won’t pay for Big Tech’s power, promising new tariff structures will force large-load clients to cover their own costs.
The utility is adding 13 GW of capacity over 5 years to meet demand expected to 2X or 3X by 2027, driven by massive new hyperscale facilities in the Carolinas.