Zachary Turner

The absence might bar Commissioner Donald van der Vaart from ruling in a potentially landmark decision that will shape the state’s grid over the coming years.

A new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association ranks North Carolina fifth in the country for installed solar capacity, with enough generation to power more than 1.2 million homes. However, state regulators this year halted Duke Energy’s procurement of new solar farms until the utility's new carbon plan is approved.

Duke Energy president Harry Sideris previously discussed the company’s collaboration with local governments to attract data centers to its service territories in both Carolinas.

Amid growing pushback over data centers and rising utility bills, consumer advocates are urging state regulators to create new rates for large electricity users.

This winter, many households were hit with high heating bills after consecutive winter storms. With more than 135,000 residents still over a month behind on payments, there may be some minor relief on their next gas bill.

N.C. House Republicans and a few Democrats advanced a bill Wednesday that would set some guardrails on data center development, while putting restrictions on Duke Energy’s coal plant retirement. Mecklenburg County’s newly unaffiliated representatives Nasif Majeed and Carla Cunningham also voted in favor of the bill.

State regulators are hosting the final public hearing on Duke Energy Carolinas’ proposed rate hikes Wednesday evening in Durham. The utility says it needs higher returns to attract future investment and reduce financial risk. Not everyone agrees.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently predicted a below-average season with 8-14 named storms. Of those, NOAA forecasts that only 3-6 will become hurricanes.

Dana Lewis received a plastic card, an artifact number and a promise: Come back in 50 years to reclaim what you sealed inside this time capsule.

Attendees packed the main chamber of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. Most spoke out against new data center development in the city.