Progress Energy Creating a Strong Future, CEO Tells Shareholders; Board of Directors Declares Quarterly Dividend

RALEIGH, N.C., May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN) is managing the complex realities of the business while creating a strong future for its customers and shareholders, Chairman, President and CEO Bill Johnson said today at the company's annual meeting of shareholders in Raleigh.

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Also today, the company's board of directors declared a dividend on the company's common stock. The quarterly dividend of 62 cents per share is payable Aug. 2, 2010, to shareholders of record as of July 12, 2010. This represents a total annual dividend of $2.48 per share.

Johnson updated shareholders on the company's strategy for navigating economic and regulatory challenges while laying the groundwork for continued long-term success.

"We're focused on excelling in operating our system and serving customers," Johnson said. "We are living within our means and engaging employees in making sustainable efficiency improvements. We're also preparing for the future with the right balance of smart investments, and fostering a constructive regulatory and public policy climate."

Despite a challenging economy in 2009, the company delivered on its financial commitments. For the fourth year in a row, Progress Energy met its annual target for ongoing earnings per share.

"We know that this performance consistency builds investor confidence," Johnson said. "It helps us attract the large amounts of capital required to meet our customers' future needs and comply with new regulations."

The company's two utilities – Progress Energy Carolinas and Progress Energy Florida – provide retail electric service to 3.1 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

Johnson emphasized that the company is pursuing strategic initiatives on three fronts: aggressive energy-efficiency programs, innovative alternative- and renewable-energy projects, and a state-of-the art power system. Investments include smart grid infrastructure, advanced power plant emission controls, plug-in hybrid vehicle technology, and natural gas generation in the Carolinas and Florida. The company has also launched more than a dozen new energy-efficiency and renewable-energy programs, giving customers greater control over their energy use and their bill.

"We are involved in the full spectrum of activities from generating the power to delivering it to our customers – as well as providing solutions to help customers manage their energy use wisely," Johnson said.  

Even with many changes occurring in the energy industry, Johnson noted that Progress Energy's strategy is clear.

"Our focus remains on the regulated electric utility business and our two utilities serving the Carolinas and Florida," said Johnson. "The economic recovery is slow, as you know, but there are encouraging signs of improvement. We remain optimistic about the future growth potential of the areas we serve."

Directors elected

Shareholders elected the following 14 directors to serve one-year terms: John D. Baker of Jacksonville, Fla.; James E. Bostic Jr. of Atlanta; Harris E. DeLoach Jr. of Hartsville, S.C.; James B. Hyler Jr. of Raleigh, N.C., William D. Johnson of Raleigh, N.C.; Robert W. Jones of Bedford, N.Y.; W. Steven Jones of Chapel Hill, N.C.; Melquiades R. "Mel" Martinez of Orlando, Fla.; E. Marie McKee of Corning, N.Y.; John H. Mullin III of Brookneal, Va.; Charles W. Pryor Jr. of Lynchburg, Va.; Carlos A. Saladrigas of Miami; Theresa M. Stone of Boston; and Alfred C. Tollison Jr. of Marietta, Ga.

An audio webcast of the meeting is available at http://www.progress-energy.com/webcast. The presentation consists of streaming audio and a downloadable slide presentation.

Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN), headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 500 energy company with more than 22,000 megawatts of generation capacity and approximately $10 billion in annual revenues. Progress Energy includes two major electric utilities that serve about 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and Florida. The company has earned the Edison Electric Institute's Edison Award, the industry's highest honor, in recognition of its operational excellence, and was the first utility to receive the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates Founder's Award for customer service. The company is pursuing a balanced strategy for a secure energy future, which includes aggressive energy-efficiency programs, investments in renewable energy technologies and a state-of-the-art electricity system. Progress Energy celebrated a century of service in 2008. Visit the company's website at www.progress-energy.com.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information:

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The matters discussed in this document involve estimates, projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.

Examples of factors that you should consider with respect to any forward-looking statements made throughout this document include, but are not limited to, the following: the impact of fluid and complex laws and regulations, including those relating to the environment and energy policy; our ability to recover eligible costs and earn an adequate return on investment through the regulatory process; the ability to successfully operate electric generating facilities and deliver electricity to customers; the impact on our facilities and businesses from a terrorist attack; the ability to meet the anticipated future need for additional baseload generation and associated transmission facilities in our regulated service territories and the accompanying regulatory and financial risks; our ability to meet current and future renewable energy requirements; the inherent risks associated with the operation and potential construction of nuclear facilities, including environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial risks; the financial resources and capital needed to comply with environmental laws and regulations; risks associated with climate change; weather and drought conditions that directly influence the production, delivery and demand for electricity; recurring seasonal fluctuations in demand for electricity; the ability to recover in a timely manner, if at all, costs associated with future significant weather events through the regulatory process; fluctuations in the price of energy commodities and purchased power and our ability to recover such costs through the regulatory process; our ability to control costs, including operations and maintenance expense (O&M) and large construction projects; the ability of our subsidiaries to pay upstream dividends or distributions to Progress Energy; current economic conditions; the ability to successfully access capital markets on favorable terms; the stability of commercial credit markets and our access to short- and long-term credit; the impact that increases in leverage or reductions in cash flow may have on us; our ability to maintain our current credit ratings and the impacts in the event our credit ratings are downgraded; the investment performance of our nuclear decommissioning trust (NDT) funds; the investment performance of the assets of our pension and benefit plans and resulting impact on future funding requirements; the impact of potential goodwill impairments; our ability to fully utilize tax credits generated from the previous production and sale of qualifying synthetic fuels under Internal Revenue Code Section 29/45K (Section 29/45K); and the outcome of any ongoing or future litigation or similar disputes and the impact of any such outcome or related settlements. Many of these risks similarly impact our non-reporting subsidiaries. These and other risk factors are detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. All such factors are difficult to predict, contain uncertainties that may materially affect actual results and may be beyond our control.

Any forward-looking statement is based on information current as of the date of this document and speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made.

SOURCE Progress Energy