My landlord wants me to continue to pay utilities, even when i'm gone!?

My husband and I are moving into a house 2 months before our current lease is up. We already agreed to pay our monthly rent until the lease is up, but now they are requiring us to continue to pay electric until then. Now, obviously you cant have electric in 2 different places and we wont even be there to use it! Is it legal for them to do that? How do I retaliate? (BTW we live in NC)