H 1002

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
  SESSION 2025
 H  1
  HOUSE BILL 1002
 Short Title:   Rate Payer Protection Act.  (Public)
 Sponsors:      Representatives Harrison, Loftis, and Cervania (Primary Sponsors).
  For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
 Referred to:   Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
  April 14, 2025
1A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT PROHIBITING PASSING ANY GRID OR ENERGY COSTS INCURRED SOLELY
3    FOR SERVING DATA CENTERS TO RATE PAYERS AND CREATING A SPECIAL
4    COMMISSION FOR DATA CENTER PLANNING.
5 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
6
7 PART I. DATA CENTER COST RECOVERY
8SECTION 1. Article 7 of Chapter 62 of the General Statutes is amended by adding
9 a new section to read:
10 "§ 62-159.3. Prohibit cost recovery for data centers.
11      (a)     For the purposes of this section, the term "commercial data center" means a facility,
12 campus of facilities, or array of interconnected facilities in this State that is used by an entity or
13 other business enterprise to operate, manage, or maintain a computer, group of computers, or
14 other organized assembly of hardware and software for the primary purpose of processing,
15 storing, retrieving, or transmitting data and has a peak demand of 100 megawatts or greater.
16      (b)     Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, no costs incurred by a public
17 utility, including, but not limited to, costs associated with increased fuel requirements, generation
18 costs, and grid upgrade costs shall be included in any rates or charges approved or allowed to go
19 into effect if the cost satisfies all of the following criteria:
20(1)     Is related to the provision of electric services for commercial data centers.
21(2)     May be reasonably attributed to, either in whole or in part, the electric demand
22of commercial data centers.
23      (c)     Public utilities may charge rates or charges designed to recover costs associated with
24 subsection (b) of this section if the rates or charges are incurred solely from commercial data
25 centers or are prorated based on electric demand."
26
27 PART II. CREATION OF SPECIAL COMMISSION
28SECTION 2.1. There is established a Special Commission for Data Center Planning
29 (Commission). The Commission shall be composed of 14 members. All members shall serve for
30 the duration of the Commission. Any vacancy shall be filled in the same manner in which the
31 original appointment was made. The Commission may elect officers, other than the chairperson,
32 as it deems necessary. The Commission shall be composed as follows:
33(1)     The Governor shall appoint three members, two of whom shall be
34representatives from an investor-owned public utility, and one of whom shall
35be a member of an electric membership corporation.
  *H1002-v-1*
 General Assembly Of North Carolina  Session 2025
1(2)     The President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall appoint one member.
2(3)     The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint two members.
3(4)     The minority leader of the House of Representatives shall appoint one
4member.
5(5)   The minority leader of the Senate shall appoint one member.
6(6)   Two members shall be from the North Carolina Utilities Commission or
7designees chosen by the chairperson of the North Carolina Utilities
8Commission.
9(7)   The Secretary of Commerce, or his or her designee, shall appoint two
10members.
11(8)   The Secretary of Health and Human Services, or his or her designee, shall
12appoint two members.
13SECTION 2.2. The Commission shall accomplish the following:
14(1)   Review existing electric grid and energy supply and make recommendations
15for data center locations, based on such review and consideration of fiber,
16water, labor, and latency related to data centers.
17(2)   Make recommendations to expand grid capacity in areas where energy for data
18applications is most needed.
19(3)   Make recommendations on any energy generation, transmission, and
20distribution expansion necessary to serve the industry.
21(4)   Consider creative approaches to manage usage, including variable load,
22on-site generation, efficiency, and backup generation.
23(5)   Examine future trends related to the data center industry, including artificial
24intelligence and project impact on the electric grid.
25(6)   Survey corporate employers to determine perceptions of adequacy of data
26center capacity in North Carolina.
27(7)   Propose related legislation and budget recommendations.
28SECTION 2.3. The Commission may request and receive information from
29 appropriate State agencies which the Commission deems useful in fulfilling its duties. Such
30 agencies shall cooperate with the Commission with respect to such information and shall furnish
31 all information requested by the Commission to the extent permitted by law. Additionally, the
32 Commission shall have the following powers:
33(1)   To authorize entering into contracts or agreements through the Commission's
34chairperson necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties.
35(2)   To establish rules and procedures for conducting the business of the
36Commission.
37(3)   To hold public hearings.
38(4)   To request the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production
39of such documents as the Commission deems necessary to fulfill its duties.
40SECTION 2.4. The Commission may conduct meetings at such places and times as
41 it deems necessary or convenient to enable it to fully and effectively exercise its powers, perform
42 its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this act. The Commission shall hold
43 meetings at the call of the chairperson. A quorum for transacting business shall be a majority of
44 the members of the Commission.
45SECTION 2.5. The Commission shall submit a written report of its findings and
46 recommendations to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the
47 House of Representatives, the minority leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives,
48 and the North Carolina Utilities Commission no later than three months after the date of the last
49 meeting of the Commission.
50SECTION 2.6. This Part expires June 30, 2027, and the Commission will be
51 abolished on this date.
 Page 2  House Bill 1002-First Edition
General Assembly Of North Carolina  Session 2025
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2 PART III. EFFECTIVE DATE
3SECTION 3. Unless otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.
House Bill 1002-First Edition  Page 3