Baseload-for-baseload model bill

Whereas, electricity is a basic human need; and

Whereas, North Carolina’s families, schools, hospitals, farms, small businesses, and big industries all depend on reliable and affordable electricity for everything they do; and

Whereas, baseload electric generating capacity is needed to address baseload electricity demand, while additional electric generating capacity must be dispatchable to meet increases in electricity demand immediately or else interruptions of service will result; and

Whereas, integrated resource plans for Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress approved by the North Carolina Utilities Commission acting in accordance with G.S. 62-110.9 would see the retirement of North Carolina’s coal-fired baseload electric generating capacity, which is more than 9,000 megawatts (MW) of electric generating capacity representing about one-quarter of North Carolina’s installed electric generating capacity; and

Whereas, existing electric generating facilities are cheaper for electricity consumers than replacing them with new facilities and sources; and

Whereas, replacing retiring baseload electric generating facilities with intermittent, unreliable, and nondispatchable sources of electricity such as solar and wind would require significant overbuilding of those resources to approximate reliability, necessitate building backup electric generating facilities along with significant, costly arrays of short-term battery backup, and therefore would increase electricity prices while making the electric grid less reliable; and

Whereas, service interruptions are most likely to occur when electricity is needed most, during periods of extreme weather events when household access to heating, cooling, ability to cook, and even access to pumped water is most critical for people’s survival; and

Whereas, the 2025 Resource Adequacy Report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) warned of greatly increasing risks of blackouts and service interruptions from “the accelerated retirement of existing generation capacity and the insufficient pace of firm, dispatchable generation additions (partly due to a recent focus on intermittent rather than dispatchable sources of energy)” and specifically warned that the blackout risk in the Carolinas would be 27 times greater by 2030 under the policy status quo with the expected retirements of baseload electric generating facilities; and

Whereas, Duke Energy Carolinas obtained emergency emissions waivers from the DOE and was able to avoid dangerous blackouts by increasing utilitization of reliable baseload electric generating capacity, especially coal and natural gas, during the extreme heat wave of 2025 and the extreme cold snap of 2026; and

Whereas, accordance with G.S. 62-110.9 would compound the retirement of coal-fired baseload electric generating facilities with the retirement by 2050 of all natural gas–fired baseload electric generating facilities;

Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1. Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this article:

a) “Baseload” means the minimum level of the continuous and consistent demand for electricity which a utility or power grid can meet only by relying on baseload electric generation capacity.

b) “Baseload electric generating capacity” means the rated capacity of a baseload electric generating facility.

c) “Baseload electric generating facility” means a source of electricity that uses coal, natural gas, or nuclear fuel to generate reliable and dispatchable electricity for provision to customers and is capable of supporting baseload electricity demand.

d) “Commission” and “Utilities Commission” mean the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

e) “Dispatchable” means a source of electricity that is available for use on demand and that can be dispatched upon request of an electric grid operator or that can have its power output adjusted according to real-time customer demand, except for routine maintenance or repairs.

f) “Reliable” means a source of electricity that is not subject to intermittent availability, except for routine maintenance or repairs.

g) “Retirement” means the closure of or the complete and permanent cessation of operations at a baseload electric generation facility before the planned operational life of the facility has elapsed, unless mandated by federal law.

SECTION 2. Baseload electric generating capacity shall be replaced only by equal or greater baseload electric generating capacity.
G.S. 62-110 is amended to add the following section:

a) Notwithstanding any provision in G.S. 62-110.9, the Utilities Commission shall not authorize or approve the retirement of a baseload electric generating facility, whether proposed in an integrated resource plan, rate case, or other submission to the Commission, until the capacity of the baseload electric generating facility to be retired is matched or exceeded by new capacity from one or more baseload electric generating facilities and until that new capacity is presently available on the grid.

b) No provision in G.S. 62-110.9 shall be understood to supersede or take priority over the adequate, reliable, and economical utility service expressed as State policy in G.S. 62-2(3).

c) Nor shall supplanting or replacing baseload electric generating capacity with intermittent, nondispatchable sources of electric capacity be considered a reasonable step for the purposes of G.S. 62-110.9.

d) Should the Federal Government, through legislation or regulation, force costly upgrades or other requirements leading to the closure of existing baseload electric generating facilities, the State and Commission shall seek waivers until equivalent baseload electric generating capacity is available to the electric grid to replace the retirement. If waivers are not granted, the State and Commission shall seek a court injunction and bring litigation against the implementation of the legislation or regulation until equivalent replacement baseload electric generating capacity is brought online.