The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Oct. 9, 2026, accepted revisions by Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (DEC) to its pro forma Network Integration Transmission Service Agreement (NITSA). The revisions apply to wholesale network customers that bring new or transferred loads of 100 MW or more onto DEC's system, and require those customers to guarantee years of transmission revenue tied to the network upgrades built to serve them. The order, issued in Docket Nos. ER26-2691-000 and ER26-2691-001 (197 FERC ¶ 61,020), makes the revisions effective Aug. 1, 2026.

The vote was 4-1, Utility Dive reported. Commissioners David Rosner and Lindsay See filed concurring statements, and Commissioner Judy Chang dissented.

What the Commission Accepted

The central provision is a shortfall payment. A network customer adding or transferring 100 MW or more of load must make a "Committed Revenue Contribution" equal to 75% of the MW value in its load schedule for each applicable month and year during the 15-year period after the network upgrades required for that load enter service. If the customer's actual transmission service contribution falls short of that commitment, it pays the difference. In its response to a FERC staff deficiency letter, DEC said shortfall payments would be credited to FERC Account No. 456, a revenue account whose balances reduce the transmission revenue requirement used to set rates for all of its formula-rate transmission customers.

The revisions also add a monthly network upgrade charge: the customer pays actual project costs while the upgrades are under construction and receives a lump-sum reimbursement of those costs, plus interest, once the upgrades are in service. The revisions also write rolled-in rate treatment for network upgrades into the agreement, so upgrade costs go into DEC's transmission rates rather than being billed only to the customer whose request triggered them. The Commission found that making rolled-in treatment the default "comports with longstanding Commission policy."

The order covers DEC's wholesale transmission service. DEC provides network service to 20 network customers, including municipalities, cooperatives, universities and government agencies, in a balancing authority area that spans North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the order. Retail customers, which Utility Dive put at about 3 million across the Carolinas, are not parties to these agreements.

Why DEC Said It Needed the Changes

DEC told the Commission that load served by its network customers has grown by approximately 800 MW since 2012. That growth includes nine customer requests to serve new large network load, ranging from 102 MW to a multi-phase 945-MW project. DEC said it performed system impact and facilities studies on a 945-MW request for new load in York, South Carolina, which it called Project Cobra. Over the same period, DEC said, it received 224 requests to designate new resources and new network load, establish new delivery points, or modify or terminate existing ones.

The Protests

ElectriCities of North Carolina, Inc. and others filed a limited protest on June 22, 2026, the deadline for interventions and protests. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) also filed a timely protest. The North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation and Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. filed timely motions to intervene.

ElectriCities acknowledged that the proposal addresses rapid load growth and protects transmission customers against the costs of stranded network upgrades built for large loads that do not materialize. It argued, however, that DEC had not shown that terms such as the 100 MW threshold, the 15-year minimum term and the shortfall payments are comparable to those DEC applies to its own retail customers, and it asked the Commission to require DEC to submit its actual retail agreements or tariffs.

SACE objected to rolling the costs of all network upgrades into transmission rates, arguing that doing so could fail to insulate existing customers from the cost of large-load interconnections. The Commission rejected that argument.

Concurrences and Dissent

In his concurrence, Rosner wrote that "Duke's proposal offers meaningful, if imperfect, new protections," and that "consumer protections are inadequate across the country." See wrote that the safeguards are "not perfect" but better than "the status quo's alternative that leaves those customers wholly exposed."

Chang wrote in her dissent that DEC "has not demonstrated that its Committed Revenue Contribution proposal adequately protects existing customers." She also objected that agreements under the new terms will be reported to the Commission through Electric Quarterly Reports (EQRs) rather than filed for review, and wrote that the precedent the Commission set "takes a step backwards" from the Large Load Show Cause Orders. She said she would have rejected the filing with guidance for DEC to strengthen and re-file it.

The order itself encourages DEC to execute non-conforming agreements that provide greater protection against cost shifting to other transmission customers, or to propose additional consumer protections to the pro forma agreement.

Procedural Timeline

  • May 29, 2026: DEC files the proposed revisions.
  • June 22, 2026: Deadline for interventions and protests; ElectriCities files its limited protest.
  • July 6, 2026: DEC answers the protests.
  • July 29, 2026: FERC staff issues a deficiency letter.
  • Aug. 13, 2026: DEC responds to the deficiency letter, amending its filing.
  • Oct. 9, 2026: FERC issues the order accepting the revisions, effective Aug. 1, 2026.

What Happens Next

Because the Aug. 1, 2026, effective date precedes the order, the accepted terms already govern new pro forma agreements between DEC and its network customers. For a customer that triggers the shortfall provision, the 15-year commitment period starts when the network upgrades built for its load enter service. The order sets no further hearing or compliance filing in Docket ER26-2691.

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