Duke Energy releases 2012 Sustainability Report

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Apr 22, 2013, 08:38 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) has released its 2012 Sustainability Report, a comprehensive overview of the company's social, environmental and financial performance.

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It is available at: http://sustainabilityreport.duke-energy.com

It marks the first report since the merger of Duke Energy and Progress Energy in July 2012. It also outlines a number of sustainability goals for the nation's largest electric utility.

"Greater transformation lies ahead for our company and our industry," said Jim Rogers, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, in his letter to stakeholders. "Current drivers of change include the shale gas revolution, emerging technologies and anemic growth in energy usage. Also, our nation must address global climate change in a more comprehensive way."

The report provides details on the company's performance in five focus areas – innovative products and services, environmental footprint, quality workforce, strong communities, and governance and transparency – and features a number of employees for their personal sustainability efforts.

Among the highlights:

As part of Duke Energy's $9 billion generation fleet modernization program, the company will retire more than 3,400 megawatts of older coal-fired units by the end of 2013. That number will grow to 6,300 megawatts of coal capacity retired over the next few years.
Investments in new power plants and upgrades at other units have reduced sulfur dioxide emissions by 83 percent and nitrogen oxides emissions by 64 percent since 2005.
The company has set a goal of owning or purchasing 6,000 megawatts of wind, solar and biomass energy by 2020.
Since 2010, Duke Energy and Progress Energy combined have distributed nearly 37 million CFLs to customers.
Economic development efforts helped attract more than $3.5 billion in capital investment and about 13,000 jobs to Duke Energy service territories in 2012.

With almost 28,000 employees, Duke Energy's regulated utilities operate in six states and serve 7.2 million customers. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: www.duke-energy.com.

Contact: Randy Wheeless
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SOURCE Duke Energy