Artificial intelligence (AI) is in fashion, and not only that, I am convinced it is here to stay. Today it is on our phones, in businesses, at universities, and even in conversations about the future of work. North Carolina, naturally, wants to get on that train. And rightly so. The problem begins when the bill arrives.
Behind AI companies such as ChatGPT or Gemini, cloud services and other technologies that seem to work almost by magic, there is enormous infrastructure of data centers that require extraordinary amounts of electricity to operate. Servers run 24 hours a day, along with cooling systems, substations, transmission lines, and new energy infrastructure. None of that is free.
Companies Are Coming, but Energy Demand Is Rising
North Carolina is becoming precisely one of the places where many of these companies want to establish themselves. So far, so good.
Let investments come in, projects be built, jobs be created, and economic activity increase. No one should expect North Carolina to close its doors to one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.
But who is going to pay for all the electricity these giants need?
Duke Energy has acknowledged that data centers represent a huge share of the growth in electricity demand associated with new economic projects.
This is where the technology conversation ends up becoming a conversation about the wallet of every North Carolina family. Because if a multibillion-dollar company needs a new substation to power thousands of servers, it is difficult to explain why a family in the state should end up paying part of the cost through its monthly bill.
Artificial Intelligence: Whoever Creates the Cost Should Bear It
I am not proposing that we go after technology companies or make it impossible for them to come to the state. That would be absurd.
I am proposing exactly the opposite: that North Carolina create clear rules now to receive that investment without turning ordinary citizens into involuntary partners.
There is an important difference between promoting economic development and subsidizing the risk of a large corporation.
Suppose a company announces a massive data center. The utility company, counting on that future demand, makes multimillion-dollar investments to serve it. But a few years later, the project changes, is scaled back, or simply does not consume all the energy it had promised.
Who pays for the infrastructure that was built? The answer cannot be: all of us
It makes sense for North Carolina to consider long-term contracts, minimum consumption requirements, financial guarantees, and different rates for these large users.
This is not about punishing growth. It is about preventing its costs from being socialized while its benefits remain private.
North Carolina has a tremendous opportunity. Our location, our universities, our infrastructure, and our economic growth can turn the state into one of the major beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence revolution. Rejecting it would be a mistake.
But it would be an even greater mistake to accept any investment without first asking who ultimately pays its costs. Families are already facing higher rents, expensive insurance, costly food and utility bills that are placing an increasing burden on monthly budgets. They do not need to become silent financiers of the servers belonging to some of the largest companies in the world as well.
Let artificial intelligence come, let data centers arrive, and let North Carolina compete for the investments of the future. But when the electric bill arrives, let everyone pay their own.
Find this article in Spanish here.