North Carolina regulators deny Duke Energy gas turbine request over ‘staggering’ cost, uncertain need

North Carolina regulators have rejected Duke Energy's plan to build a new natural gas power plant at its Smith Energy Complex in Richmond County. The proposed unit would have cost $584 million, which state utility staff called "staggering," and would have added 255 megawatts of gas-fired generation. Regulators said Duke had not shown the project was actually needed, and questioned how much of the demand behind it was really coming from data centers rather than households and businesses.

This matters for homeowners because new power plants like this one get paid for through electric rates. When a utility builds an expensive plant, customers typically cover the cost over many years through their bills. Regulators specifically flagged concern that data center growth — not ordinary household demand — was driving the request, and pointed to Duke's pledge (part of a White House ratepayer protection commitment) not to shift data center costs onto other customers. The commission said Duke hadn't shown enough detail to prove it would honor that pledge for this project.

For now, the plant will not be built, and Duke says it is reviewing its options. A related decision on Duke's broader long-term power plan for the state, which will shape future generation and cost decisions, is expected later this year. Homeowners in Duke's North Carolina service area won't see costs from this specific project on their bills, but the bigger question of who pays for new power plants tied to data center growth remains unresolved.