Energy · Profile from Energy Research Companion
Duke Energy
The Charlotte, North Carolina utility that began in 1904 as a hydroelectric company on the Catawba River, financed by the tobacco fortune of James B. Duke, and grew by merger into one of the two or three largest US investor-owned utilities: ~8.6 million electric customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky plus ~1.6–1.7 million gas customers (company, verify current counts after the 2025 Tennessee gas sale), ~55 GW of owned generation including 11 nuclear units in the Carolinas (company). Duke's business is rate-base growth: it earns an allowed return (~9.7–10% ROE in most of its states, against an RRA US average of ~9.77% in 2025) on capital its regulators approve, and its history is a record of how that relationship is won and lost — the CEO switch hours after the Progress merger closed (2012), the Crystal River retirement (2013), the Dan River coal-ash spill and criminal plea (2014–15), the cancelled Atlantic Coast Pipeline (2020) — and of how it is funded, by selling minority stakes in its utilities to private capital (GIC in Indiana, 2021; Brookfield in Florida, 2025–28). In 2025–26 data centres turned it from a flat-demand utility into a builder: ~7.8 GW of signed data-centre agreements by mid-2026, ~15 GW of new generation planned by 2031 and a ~$103bn capital plan for 2026–30 (company, Feb 2026).
At a glance
- Founded
- 1904 (Catawba Power Company); Southern Power Company 1905; Duke Power from 1924; Duke Energy after the PanEnergy merger (1997)
- Headquarters
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Ownership / structure
- Public (NYSE: DUK), widely held; regulated subsidiaries Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress, Duke Energy Florida, Duke Energy Indiana, Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, Piedmont Natural Gas; minority investors GIC (~19.9% of Duke Energy Indiana, 2021–22) and Brookfield (rising to 19.7% of Florida Progress, the holding company for Duke Energy Florida, 2026–28)
- Leadership (2026)
- Harry Sideris (president and CEO from 1 Apr 2025, succeeding Lynn Good, CEO 2013–25; verify board chair)
- Assets
- ~55 GW owned generation (gas, nuclear, coal, hydro, solar; company, verify); 11 nuclear units in the Carolinas (~10.7 GW, verify); ~300,000+ miles of distribution and ~30,000+ miles of transmission line (company, verify)
- Scale
- Regulated rate base ~$100bn+ (company, verify); 2026 adjusted EPS guidance $6.55–6.80 (company, reaffirmed Aug 2026); 2026–30 capital plan ~$103bn (company, Q4 2025 results, Feb 2026; top of the ~$95–105bn range signalled in Nov 2025)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Spectra Energy spin-off (2007); Progress merger and CEO switch (2012); Crystal River retirement (2013); Dan River coal-ash spill and plea (2014–15); Piedmont Natural Gas (2016); Atlantic Coast Pipeline cancelled (2020); GIC stake in Duke Energy Indiana (2021); Brookfield stake in Duke Energy Florida (2025); data-centre load, new gas and new nuclear (2025–26)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2007
Spectra Energy Spin Off
Spin-off
2012
Progress Energy Merger and CEO Switch
Acquisition or merger / governance failure
2013
Crystal River Retirement
Nuclear failure / write-off and regulatory settlement
2014
Dan River Coal Ash Spill
Accident or disaster / regulatory and criminal action
2016
Piedmont Natural Gas Acquisition
Acquisition
2020
Atlantic Coast Pipeline Cancelled
Project failure / write-off
2021
GIC Stake in Duke Energy Indiana
Financing (minority-stake sale of a regulated subsidiary)
2025
Brookfield Stake in Duke Energy Florida
Financing (minority-stake sale of a regulated subsidiary)
2025
Data Centre Load and New Gas and Nuclear
Strategy pivot / build-out (generation and grid for large loads)