House committee substitute to the 3rd edition makes the following changes.

Amends GS 160D-974 to also require that the applicant meet the listed requirements before a local government approves a building permit for the siting of a new data center. Amends the definition of data center as it is used in the statute to no longer require the operation, management, or maintenance of a computer or group of computers or other organized assembly of hardware and software for the stated purpose and amends that purpose to now be storing, retrieving, managing, and processing digital data that has a peak monthly electricity demand of 100 megawatts or greater. Makes conforming changes.

Amends GS 143-355.5A (closed-loop water system required for data centers) by amending the definition of data center as it is used in the statute to no longer require the operation, management, or maintenance of a computer or group of computers or other organized assembly of hardware and software for the stated purpose and amends that purpose to now be storing, retrieving, managing, and processing digital data that has a peak monthly electricity demand of 100 megawatts or greater. Makes other technical changes. Specifies that the section is effective when it becomes law and applies to data centers for which no local development approvals or State permits, certifications, or authorizations have been issued for siting of the data center on or before that date.

Amends the definition of data center in GS 64-64, as it applies to new Article 5, to no longer require the operation, management, or maintenance of a computer or group of computers or other organized assembly of hardware and software for the stated purpose and amends that purpose to now be storing, retrieving, managing, and processing digital data that has a peak monthly electricity demand of 100 megawatts or greater.

Changes the title of GS 64-65 and makes a technical correction to the reference to the Civil Fines and Forfeitures Fund in GS 64-65.

Amends GS 62-142.1 (contracts with data centers) as follows. Specifies that each data center located in North Carolina must enter into an electric service contract with the electric public utility providing service to the data center. Requires that those contracts include terms and conditions designed to (1) protect residential, other retail, and wholesale electricity customers from costs incurred or reasonably anticipated to be incurred by the electric public utility to provide electric service to the date center and (2) prevent, to the maximum extent reasonably feasible, other retail customers from subsidizing the cost of the data center’s electric service. Amends what must be included in the contracts to include a contract term that is sufficient to recover all of the electric public utility’s incremental costs and that may exceed the length of the applicable service tariff (was, minimum contract term of 15 years). Amends the definition of data center to no longer require the operation, management, or maintenance of a computer or group of computers or other organized assembly of hardware and software for the stated purpose and amends that purpose to now be storing, retrieving, managing, and processing digital data that has a peak monthly electricity demand of 100 megawatts or greater. Adds that the Utilities Commission may adopt rules to implement this statute and that this statute does not limit the Commission’s authority to adopt additional rules as are in the public interest to protect retail customers from costs incurred by electric public utilities to provide electric service to data centers. Makes a technical change.

Amends proposed GS 158-7.1(i) by amending the definition of data center to no longer require the operation, management, or maintenance of a computer or group of computers or other organized assembly of hardware and software for the stated purpose and amends that purpose to now be storing, retrieving, managing, and processing digital data that has a peak monthly electricity demand of 100 megawatts or greater. Specifies that Section 6 of the act is effective when it becomes law and applies to data centers for which no local development approvals or State permits, certifications, or authorizations have been issued for siting of the data center on or before that date.

Amends Section 8 of the act concerning the study of utility policies to include in appropriate terms for a large load tariff (was, advisability of development of a large load tariff) in the expert analysis that is to be done to determine the most effective approach to ensuring that costs of utility service to large load customers is not borne by other customers. Changes the NCGA recipient of the study.

Amends GS 143B-279.13 by no longer requiring that the new express review program be supported by the fees in the statute.

Amends GS 62-110.9 to prohibit the Commission from allowing retirement of a baseload facility with dispatchable electric generation above 100 MW until a certificate of public convenience and necessity has been issued to an electric public utility for construction of one nuclear facility with a generation capacity of at least 1,000 MW to ensure adequacy of baseload and dispatchable generation from a clean energy resource.

Removes proposed GS 62-24, which set out employment restrictions for members of the Utilities Commission or employees of the Commission or Public Staff. Instead, enacts new GS 62-327A making it a Class 3 misdemeanor for any former commissioner or employee of the Utilities Commission to make, with the intent to include on behalf of an employer or client, any communication to or appearance before the Commission within a period of six months following the termination of his or her service or employment with the Commission. Applies to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2026.

Makes organizational changes to new GS 62-327A.