The giant merger between the utilities Duke Energy Corp. and Progress Energy Inc. may have a telling impact on the congressional debate over U.S. energy policy during the new session.
Leading the unified utility will be Jim Rogers, current CEO of Duke Energy and slated to be executive chairman of the new company, also to be called Duke Energy. Rogers has been a vocal leader on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and promoting energy efficiency as the “fifth fuel.” Rogers has similar views as Rowe on the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions — both supported cap-and-trade legislation last year — and both support energy efficiency and nuclear.
Duke Energy has not supported a federal renewable electricity standard as introduced in prior forms, but the merger with Progress Energy changes its generation mix and may change the new company’s position.
Duke’s energy efficiency programs are held up as the high standard in utility programs by energy efficiency advocates, and Rogers has pushed for utilities to embrace it as part of its generation, arguing with regulators to pay utilities for the “negawatts” of energy.
Steven Nadel, executive director of American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy (ACEEE), said Duke is likely to push Progress Energy’s service territory to be more aggressive on energy efficiency as well.
Callahan says she sees a bigger platform for Rogers to influence energy efficiency issues across the nation.
Nuclear, CCS, transmission
Duke has also shown considerable interest in coal-fired plants with carbon capture and storage. The company is building a 630-megawatt integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant in Edwardsport, Ind. Duke is also working with China’s largest electric utility, China Huaneng Group, to develop CCS technology and renewable energy technology (ClimateWire, Sept. 20, 2010).
The merger may also ease Progress Energy’s objection about federal transmission policy. The project is currently under review at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
FERC’s proposed rule reflects transmission policies laid out by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last year as part of a comprehensive energy bill (E&ENews PM, May 13, 2009).
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