http://www.wral.com/business/story/8907376/

I am amazed at how little I'd heard of this prior to the official announcement being made. The first rumblings I hear of this deal actually going through were the middle of last week, and I blew it off as a crazy rumor. This will make Duke Energy the largest utility in the nation, and it is probably just a sign of things to come as utility mergers become more commonplace.

1/10/2011 1:55:21 PM

M&A activity is always attempted to be kept secret

1/10/2011 1:56:59 PM

probably a good move for customers, but this is going to eliminate a lot of jobs.

1/10/2011 1:58:42 PM

when FirstEnergy was trying to purchase Allagheny, We were hearing rumblings of it a year in advance. Then again, a federally funded cooperative was also involved in that deal, so there wasn't much chance of keeping the purchase a complete secret.

1/10/2011 1:59:12 PM

Duke is going to be one bloated ass company. They Just bought/merged with Cinergy like 5 years ago!

1/10/2011 2:03:15 PM

duke'll cancel the nuke plants progress is building in florida.


also, this (at least partially) explains why duke's nuclear generation just reorganized its engineering department.

[Edited on January 10, 2011 at 2:05 PM. Reason : and]

1/10/2011 2:03:45 PM

Hoorah North Carolina companies! I think...

1/10/2011 2:03:51 PM

they'll go crazy firing people over the next few years. I could potentially see them laying off enough people to eliminate one of the progress buildings downtown and consolidating into one building in Raleigh.

Between the two of them, maybe they'll have enough capital to build another nuke plant.

1/10/2011 2:05:20 PM

Bad news for downtown Raleigh I would imagine

1/10/2011 2:05:29 PM

IM RICH BITCHES!

1/10/2011 2:06:27 PM

^^ They said on the news this morning they're moving everything down to Charlotte

1/10/2011 2:07:08 PM

Jeez Charlotte will now have the biggest bank and the biggest energy company in the US. Yay for uptown Charlotte! (now we just need a tad bit more culture).

-but apparently yall's energy bills are going to go down:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/01/10/1968696/duke-energy-makes-power-play.html

Quote :

"For electricity customers in North Carolina and in other states, the agreement would initially bring rate cuts as a condition of regulatory approval. A typical Progress household pays $102 a month for electricity; it's about $89 a month for a Duke customer. "

[Edited on January 10, 2011 at 2:16 PM. Reason : s]

1/10/2011 2:14:04 PM

this brings my stock in duke power wayyyyyyyyy up

1/10/2011 2:17:25 PM

Wake County has never prepared for growth like Charlotte has

too much big govt in wake county

and it's business friendly environment has gone to shit

1/10/2011 2:27:20 PM

Who is duke energy's current auditor?

1/10/2011 3:36:55 PM

i wish people would stop posting this on facebook

1/10/2011 3:38:09 PM

I'M A DOOKIE, BABY!

1/12/2011 5:23:58 PM

We will see where things go, at least a year until anything happens.

1/12/2011 7:52:28 PM

Maybe Red Hat can take up some of the office space Progress will be departing downtown.

Quote :

"duke'll cancel the nuke plants progress is building in florida."

Why is that?

1/12/2011 8:53:03 PM

^i just don't see duke building any new nuclear. dollars to doughnuts, lee nuclear (in gaffney, sc) won't get built. maaaaybe they'll build a plant up in ohio, but only if they get partners. to be fair, though, i've also heard that progress's plans for nukes in florida may have been ending anyway...so that project might get killed off before the merger is finalized.

my opinion is that duke may buy up part of santee cooper's share of the v.c. summer project...but that's the closest to new nuclear they'll get anytime soon.

1/12/2011 8:59:47 PM

Quote :

"dollars to doughnuts, lee nuclear (in gaffney, sc) won't get built."

i doubt that - we will find a partner and move to permits within 18 months.

1/14/2011 7:23:02 PM

i really want a T-shirt that says "Duke Power"

1/14/2011 8:32:15 PM

would "Duke Energy" suffice?

1/14/2011 9:15:14 PM

those are dime a dozen...i'd really like to find an older Duke Power shirt. Sounds a lot cooler.

1/14/2011 9:16:13 PM

oic

1/14/2011 9:16:23 PM

and one of progress energy's lobbyists was murdered last week. she also happens to be married to one of obama's legislative aids.

:-/

1/14/2011 10:05:04 PM

i don't think they've decided whether or not it's homicide

1/14/2011 10:07:00 PM

i thought i had heard on the news somewhere that it was ruled a homicide, but i could be mistaken

1/14/2011 10:12:29 PM

could be

1/14/2011 10:18:25 PM