Duke Energy raises five-year capital expenditure plan to $103 billion as more US data centers sign on

By Tanay Dhumal and Laila Kearney

Feb 10 (Reuters) - Duke Energy DUK.N raised its five-year spending plan on power infrastructure to $103 billion, an 18 percent jump from the last iteration of what has become the largest capital expenditure plan for any U.S. regulated electric utility, the company said on Tuesday.

U.S. power companies are beefing up spending plans to record levels as the country's power demand forecasts rise after decades of stagnation, with growth driven by the proliferation of the technology industry's energy-intensive data centers. U.S. power demand is expected to hit record highs in 2026, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

Duke, during a post-earnings conference call, said it has signed electric service agreements for 1.5 gigawatts of new data centers since the third-quarter results were announced, bringing its total contracts to provide power to the server warehouses to 4.5 gigawatts.

The company said it has 9 gigawatts of viable data center demand in its pipeline. One gigawatt is enough to power about 750,000 homes.

At the same time utilities increase planned spending on power plants, cables and other electrical infrastructure to meet rising demand, concerns are growing about rising customer power bills. Duke said it is leveraging tax credits and deploying special contract terms to try to quell costs to everyday customers.

"Affordability is definitely on everybody's mind," Duke CEO Harry Sideris said. "It's not just electricity prices that they have on their mind - it's really housing, healthcare, food prices. So it is definitely a topic of discussion."

Duke Energy's electric utilities serve 8.6 million customers, primarily in the Carolinas, as well as Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke, which reported its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings, now expects an adjusted profit of $6.55 to $6.80 per share for 2026 compared with $6.31 last year.

However, the midpoint of the forecast fell below Wall Street expectations of $6.70 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company also posted an adjusted profit of $1.50 per share for the three months ended December 31, beating estimates by 1 cent per share.