North Carolina is facing a growing energy affordability crisis. Utility bills have surged for months, and now rising gas prices are putting even more pressure on working families. Several factors are driving these higher costs: the rapid growth of data centers, utility monopoly profits, Donald Trump’s war in Iran disrupting global energy markets, and North Carolina Republicans cutting clean energy investments when we need more affordable energy supply—not less.

This crisis has been building for years. One report found that electric bills in North Carolina have increased 22% since 2020. Duke Energy is requesting a rate increase of 15% over two years, as well as an additional rate hike of approximately $800 million to recover the costs of the storm we endured this past winter. 

Residents packed the Durham County Courthouse on June 3 to push back. Speaker after speaker described the financial strain of rising utility bills and voiced outrage at Duke Energy’s proposed rate hike, urging regulators to reject yet another increase. 

These increases come as Duke Energy reports massive profits: nearly $5 billion in net income in 2025 and almost $1.5 billion in profit in the first quarter of 2026 alone. Meanwhile, the company’s CEO earned $13 million last year. At a time when families are already struggling with the rising costs of groceries, gas, healthcare, and housing, higher utility bills are becoming unsustainable.

That is why Sen. DeAndrea Salvador and I introduced the “My Bill Is Too High” bill in the North Carolina Senate. The legislation would require Duke Energy to justify rate increase requests annually before the North Carolina Utilities Commission instead of locking customers into automatic multi-year hikes. It would also make sure the current rate-setting system is working for customers, not just the utility company 

Since 2025, utilities in North Carolina have proposed or enacted more than $3.5 billion in rate hikes affecting over 5 million customers. Much of this pressure is tied to the explosion of data centers. Duke Energy projects electricity demand growth at eight times the pace of the last 15 years, with data centers expected to account for nearly half of future large-customer demand. To meet that demand, Duke has even delayed the retirement of coal plants.

At the same time, state lawmakers weakened North Carolina’s clean energy goals by passing SB 266, rolling back interim carbon reduction targets and allowing Duke Energy to delay the transition to cheaper, cleaner energy sources. Analysts estimate the legislation could cost taxpayers billions and reduce long-term energy-sector job growth.

Federal policy has made matters worse. Trump promised lower energy costs, but his war in Iran has driven gas prices sharply upward. Here in the area around my district, the average gas price has increased 48% since Trump’s war in Iran started. Since Trump took office, North Carolinians’ household electricity costs have increased by 17.4% while Duke Energy has benefited from major federal tax breaks under Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Federal attacks on clean energy have also hit North Carolina hard. Multiple clean energy projects have been canceled, delayed, or scaled back, costing the state billions in investment and thousands of jobs. The Department of Energy also canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in grants that would have strengthened North Carolina’s electric grid and energy resilience.

To lower costs, strengthen our grid, and reduce dependence on volatile foreign oil markets, North Carolina must invest in clean energy and ensure utility rate hikes are based on necessity, not corporate greed. 

The North Carolina Utilities Commission’s public hearing in Durham made one thing unmistakably clear: Families are already stretched thin, and the last thing North Carolina needs is another rate hike.

Natalie Murdock represents Chatham and Durham counties in the North Carolina Senate.