Duke-Progress Merger

North Carolina’s utility-customer advocate says conditions federal regulators have placed on Duke Energy’s planned $26 billion purchase of Progress Energy will increase monitoring costs to the merged company and could lead to additional losses on power sales to wholesale power marketers.

An advocacy group has challenged Duke Energy’s plan to give large commercial and industrial customers a break on most of the 7.2 percent North Carolina rate hike granted in January.

After two do-overs, federal regulators granted conditional approval for the merger of Progress Energy and Duke Energy, clearing the way for the two companies to form one of the largest utilities in the country.

The N.C. Utilities Commission said Tuesday that it wants all merger paperwork submitted within a week to give itself several weeks to decide on the proposed mega-merger between Progress Energy and Duke Energy.

Progress Energy and Duke Energy expect federal regulators to decide this week whether to approve their merger plan, which would create one of the nation’s largest utilities.

Duke Energy and Progress Energy, the two power companies that serve the Triangle, intend to merge late this year if their shareholders and regulators from state and federal governments approve.