Duke-Progress Merger

Raleigh, N.C. — Duke Energy Corp. and the staff of the North Carolina Utilities Commission have agreed to settle a state investigation into Duke’s ouster of its new chief executive immediately after its acquisition of Progress Energy Inc. The settlement agreement, which will be presented Monday to the commission for its approval, also calls for added savings for electric customers and job commitments in Raleigh, which had been Progress’ headquarters.

By Pam Sohn A nuclear watchdog group is touting a memorandum sent by Bill Johnson — TVA’s soon-to-be new leader –as the smoking gun that should reopen the Duke-Progress energy merger that formed what is now the nation’s largest utility company. Jim Warren, director of NC WARN in North Carolina, …

Durham advocacy group NC WARN is continuing to press state regulators to undo the merger between Duke Energy and Progress Energy, using some of its strongest language to date to denounce the $32 billion deal. On Tuesday NC WARN told the N.C. Utilities Commission it had discovered an internal document that suggests “criminal misconduct and perjury” on the part of Progress and Duke officials in the weeks leading up to their merger.

To win support for its $32 billion merger with Progress Energy, Duke Energy promised lump sum payments of least $1.67 million to municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives while promising large commercial and industrial customers programs to cut their electricity rates by up to 6 percent.