HB 638 North Carolina House · 2025-2026 Session

Equitable Escalation of Electricity Demand Act.

HB 638 requires new data centers and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to pay fees covering the cost of additional reliable power needed to support their electricity demand. Specifically, it mandates fees on new EV/PHEV charging stations and EVs sold in North Carolina, with funds dedicated solely to building new dispatchable power sources (like natural gas or coal plants) instead of raising all customers' bills. Data centers must either contract directly with utilities for new power or face recoupment of state incentives if they fail to secure it. The law aims to prevent grid strain by ensuring those driving new demand - data centers and EV users - bear the cost of infrastructure upgrades.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Apr 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Apr 1, 2025 Last action Apr 2, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Filed → Edition 1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill underwent significant formatting and organizational changes between the filed version and Edition 1. The primary substantive change is the reordering of the 'Whereas' clauses, which now places the data center curtailment provision before the cost-sharing provision for EVs and data centers. This appears to be a structural reorganization rather than a policy change, though the reordering may affect how the bill's priorities are perceived.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains unchanged in terms of its substantive policy provisions. The bill continues to address cost allocation for new data centers and electric vehicles.

STRUCTURE

The order of the 'Whereas' clauses was reversed. The data center curtailment provision now appears before the EV/data center cost-sharing provision, changing the bill's narrative flow but not its substantive requirements.

TECHNICAL

The bill header was updated from 'H.B. 638' to 'HOUSE BILL 638' with updated session information and bill number formatting (DRH30285-NJ-8 changed to H638-v-1). The sponsor list was expanded to include Representatives Ward, Tyson, and Greene as primary sponsors.

The bill's reference date changed from April 1, 2025 to April 2, 2025, and the bill number format was updated to match standard legislative formatting conventions.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 2, 2025

Committee

Ref to the Com on Energy and Public Utilities, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

Apr 1, 2025

Introduced

Filed

lower

3 primary · 2 co-sponsors