{"id":3317,"date":"2026-06-26T19:04:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T19:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3317"},"modified":"2026-06-26T19:04:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T19:04:35","slug":"nc-democrats-demand-lower-utility-costs-budget-talks-drag-on-as-deadline-nears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3317","title":{"rendered":"NC Democrats demand lower utility costs + budget talks drag on as deadline nears"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Welcome to Under the Dome.<\/b> I\u2019m Ronni Butts,<\/b> here to give you the latest in North Carolina politics.<\/p>\n

Read more Durham ice cream shop manager tells breastfeeding mom to cover up. Owner apologizes<\/a><\/p>\n

As cost of living skyrockets across the state, utility costs are becoming an increasing burden on North Carolinians. Democratic senators in the state legislature say some of their constituents are making a choice they shouldn\u2019t have to make: deciding between prescriptions, food and utilities.<\/p>\n

At a press conference Thursday, Sen. DeAndrea Salvador<\/b>, from Mecklenburg County, said more than 350,000 North Carolinians are at risk of having their utilities disconnected by Duke Energy. The regulated monopoly has come under fire in recent weeks after proposing a utility rate hike. Though the company backpedaled Tuesday and reduced the rate increase<\/a>, lawmakers said the company is still asking too much from residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs the profit Duke Energy earns actually fair to the people of North Carolina?\u201d Sen. Michael Garrett<\/b> of Guilford County asked. \u201cBecause our system should answer to the family at the kitchen table, not the shareholder watching the dividend. Duke\u2019s investors are not the ones choosing between prescriptions and groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Natalie Murdock<\/b>, who represents Durham and Chatham counties, said the state already prevents utility companies<\/a> from shutting off utilities during cold months in many cases. So, she is pushing for legislation<\/a> that would prohibit Duke Energy from shutting off utilities if the National Weather Service declares a heat emergency.<\/p>\n

This, she said, would be especially beneficial for seniors who live on a fixed income.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really need to look at the human element, as opposed to inflation,\u201d Murdock told The News & Observer at the press conference. \u201cInstead of potentially subjecting someone to an actual heat stroke, we think that the same way that they look at the policy they have for frigid temperatures, they can look at that in the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Boy Meets World’s Will Friedle Wishes Eric Had a Different Love Interest<\/a><\/p>\n

Sen. Lisa Grafstein<\/b>, of Wake County, proposed another bill,<\/a> which would require large energy users to pay into a fund that goes toward grid improvements. This would limit the utility bills for residential customers. The bill also keeps data center development in mind, Grafstein said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSB 1026 says that if data centers shut down early, they\u2019re still responsible for paying back the cost of infrastructure built for them, so we\u2019re not stuck with the bill,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been hearing a lot about data centers coming and the costs that are going to be involved … now is the time for us to get ahead of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

House Speaker Destin Hall<\/b> said he and other Republican leadership are making \u201ctremendous progress\u201d on the state budget<\/a>, which is just days away from being a year overdue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still possible that we can vote on the budget next week,\u201d Hall told reporters. \u201cIf we don\u2019t get to vote on it next week, it probably will end up being just because of the drafting process and the time it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger<\/b> told reporters that final decisions haven\u2019t been made on appropriations for various capital projects like building a children\u2019s hospital in Apex.<\/a> Policies have not held up budget negotiations, Hall told The News & Observer.<\/p>\n

Berger said that the timeline for completing the budget isn\u2019t entirely clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext week\u2019s getting closer and closer, and we\u2019re still not there,\u201d Berger told reporters. \u201cSo I don\u2019t want to say anything, because I don\u2019t know anything specifically as to when we\u2019ll get things done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Calling wildlife lovers: New NC license plate could help this endangered animal<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s all for today! We\u2019ll see you tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NC senators press for heat emergency shutoff bans and fees from large energy users to fund grid upgrades while budget negotiations continue in the legislature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nNC Democrats demand lower utility costs + budget talks drag on as deadline nears - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3317\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NC Democrats demand lower utility costs + budget talks drag on as deadline nears - 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