North Carolina's utility regulator just blocked the state's 2026 solar and battery storage procurement, without holding a single hearing, reviewing a single piece of evidence, or accepting one public comment. The result could be higher energy bills for millions of North Carolinians at the exact moment the state is facing its largest surge in electricity demand in years.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission issued an order halting Duke Energy's 2026 solar and storage procurement, effectively canceling it because the delay will make completing the process impossible within the required timeline. Duke Energy, the regulated monopoly that serves most of the state, has stated plainly that it needs all the resources in its proposed energy plan, including this solar and storage procurement, to reliably meet growing demand. The commission's order leaves a hole in that plan.

The timing makes this worse. Duke recently updated its load forecast to show it expects an additional 2 gigawatts of new demand from large-load customers, including data centers. North Carolina's energy needs are growing fast. And the commission just blocked the cheapest, fastest available option to meet that demand.

Solar and battery storage are not experimental technology. Duke's own 2023 resource plan established them as cost-effective, grid-stabilizing resources that reduce fuel costs and lower pollution. Without them, the most likely alternative is more expensive methane gas plants, which carry volatile fuel costs, lock in higher long-term expenses, and increase carbon emissions at a time when North Carolina has a legally established 2050 carbon reduction goal to meet.

The commission did not just make a questionable energy decision. It made it in a way that may violate North Carolina's constitution. It modified a prior final order without notice and without a public hearing, contrary to due process requirements. It provided no factual basis for the reversal. It contradicted evidence already in the public record. The Southern Environmental Law Center, representing clean energy and environmental justice organizations, has filed suit in Wake County Superior Court arguing the order is unconstitutional.

Ratepayers did not get to weigh in. Communities already dealing with rising energy bills did not get a seat at the table. The commission acted unilaterally, behind closed doors, to cancel a resource that would have helped hold costs down.

We are calling on the North Carolina Utilities Commission to rescind its order and allow the 2026 solar and battery storage procurement to go forward as planned. We are calling on Governor Stein and the General Assembly to demand the commission follow proper process, no major energy decision affecting millions of ratepayers should be made without hearings, evidence, and public input. North Carolinians deserve affordable, reliable, clean energy. Sign this petition to demand the commission stop blocking it.