North Carolina SB 844: Student Mental Health Well-Being/COVID-19.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 844

Short Title: Affordable Energy Omnibus. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Bradley (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
April 28, 2026
*S844-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REDUCE ENERGY COSTS, TO ENSURE FAIR COST ALLOCATION, TO 2
PROTECT CONSUMERS, AND TO MODERNIZE NORTH CAROLINA'S ELECTRIC 3
GRID. 4
Whereas, electricity costs for North Carolina households have increased substantially 5
in recent years, placing financial strain on families; and 6
Whereas, large-load customers, including data centers, can impose significant 7
infrastructure and generation costs on the electric system; and 8
Whereas, it is the policy of the State to ensure that costs are fairly allocated, 9
consumers are protected from unsafe disconnections, and the electric grid is modernized to 10
improve reliability and reduce long-term costs; Now, therefore, 11
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 12
13
PART I. LARGE-LOAD COST ALLOCATION (DATA CENTERS) 14
SECTION 1.(a) Chapter 62 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 15
Article to read: 16
"Article 6C. 17
"Large-Load Facilities. 18
"§ 62-127. Definitions. 19
For purposes of this Article, the following definitions apply: 20
(1) Data center. – A facility or group of co-located facilities under common 21
ownership or control used to house computer systems, servers, network 22
equipment, and associated infrastructure for the storage, processing, or 23
transmission of data. 24
(2) Large-load data center. – A data center that meets the definition of a large-load 25
facility. 26
(3) Large-load facility. – A nonresidential facility that has an actual or projected 27
peak electricity demand equal to or greater than 50 megawatts (MW). 28
Facilities under common ownership or control, or that are operationally or 29
contractually integrated, whether located on one or multiple parcels, shall 30
constitute one "large-load facility" for purposes of determining the 31
applicability of any threshold, requirement, limitation, or fee pursuant to this 32
Article. 33
(4) Political subdivision. – A county or municipality. 34
"§ 62-127.1. Certificate of operation; large-load facility. 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 844-First Edition
(a) Application. – No person shall begin the construction or operation of a large-load 1
facility without having applied for and obtained a certificate of operation from the Commission. 2
The application for a certificate to operate a large-load facility shall be made in a form prescribed 3
by the Commission. 4
(b) Issuance. – The Commission may, after notice and an opportunity for interested 5
parties to be heard, issue a certificate to operate a large-load facility upon finding that the 6
applicant is fit, capable, and financially able to operate the large-load facility in accordance with 7
this Article. As a condition for the issuance and continuation of a certificate to operate a 8
large-load facility, the applicant shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Commission all of 9
the following: 10
(1) That any electric services purchased from an electric public utility will be in 11
accordance with rates fixed under G.S. 62-127.2. 12
(2) That other members of the using and consuming public will be held harmless 13
and protected from bearing any increased costs as a result of the electric 14
services provided to large-load facilities. 15
(3) That an adequate environmental document studying the environmental 16
impacts of a proposed large-load facility has been completed in compliance 17
with G.S. 62-127.3. 18
(4) That the applicant will mitigate any adverse social, economic, and 19
environmental effects resulting from foreseeable noise pollution caused by the 20
large-load facility. 21
(5) In the case of large-load data centers, that the political subdivision with 22
jurisdiction over the proposed facility has consented by local referendum held 23
in accordance with G.S. 62-127.4 to the Commission issuing a certificate of 24
operation. 25
(6) That the applicant will operate the large-load facility in compliance with any 26
other requirement determined by the Commission to be necessary to protect 27
the public interest. 28
(c) Effective Date. – A certificate of operation shall be effective from the date issued by 29
the Commission unless otherwise specified and shall remain in effect until terminated either 30
under its own terms or until suspended or revoked by the Commission as provided in subsection 31
(d) of this section. 32
(d) Certificate Review; Suspension and Revocation. – Upon the request of an electric 33
public utility, the Public Staff, or a person having an interest in the large-load facility's operation, 34
the Commission may review the certificate to determine whether the owner or operator of the 35
large-load facility is conducting operations in compliance with this Article. After notice to the 36
large-lo