Progress Energy was a power generation and distribution company. Prior to its merger with

Duke Energy Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company ranked as the 141st largest company in the United States in 2024 – its highest-ever placement on the ...

, it was a Fortune 500 energy company with more than 21,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. Headquartered in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, Progress Energy includes two major electric utilities that serve approximately 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. As an independent company, the last chairman and CEO of Progress Energy was William D. Johnson; his predecessor was Robert McGehee, who died on October 9, 2007, at the age of 64 of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

while on a business trip to London. Progress Energy is the majority owner and operator of the Brunswick, Crystal River 3, Robinson, and Shearon Harris nuclear power plants. On October 16, 1999, third quarter earnings of Florida Progress Corp. fell 20.5 percent as damage from

Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful and large tropical cyclone which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth list of named tropical cyclones, named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1 ...

. On August 24, 1999, Carolina Power & Light Co. said that it would acquire Florida Progress Corp. for $5.3 billion, creating the nation's ninth-largest electric utility. The company's slogan prior to the Duke Energy merger was, "People, performance, excellence."

History

In 2000, Carolina Power & Light bought Florida Power Corporation and changed its name to Progress Energy. Progress Energy represents a family of companies, including CP&L, Florida Power, Progress Telecom, NCNG and SRS, and an important new organization, Energy Ventures. The company built a new

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

in downtown Raleigh in 2004. On January 10, 2011,

announced plans to take over Progress Energy in a $26 billion deal resulting in the country's largest electric utility with 7.1 million customers. Duke Energy plans to "maintain substantial operations in Raleigh." When the merger was completed on July 3, 2012, Duke Chairman James E. (Jim) Rogers became chairman and CEO of the new combined company, while Progress CEO Bill Johnson resigned.

Environmental record

In 2008, the Corporate Responsibility Officer named Progress Energy to its list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens. Progress Energy was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005. The company is investing $300,000 in a

UNC Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795 ...

study to map the offshore wind power potential of North Carolina. Progress Energy launched its SunSense-branded solar incentive programs in 2009. Progress Energy has installed flue-gas desulfurization technology, or scrubbers, to remove sulfur dioxide emissions from its nine largest coal-fired power plant units. Researchers at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

identified Progress Energy as the 29th-largest corporate producer of

Air pollution in the United States Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, Atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter, or biotic material, biological materials into the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms ...

in 2002, when it released roughly 39 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air. Major pollutants included

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

compounds,

chromium Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium ...

compounds,

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...

, and

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungency, pungent smell. It is classified as a acid strength, strong acid. It is ...

. Progress has also been named a potentially responsible party at the Carolina Transformer Co.

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

toxic waste site, according to the Center for Public Integrity.Center for Public Integrity

Naming rights

Progress Energy owned the naming rights to the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

's ''Progress Energy Welcome Center'', St. Petersburg's '' Progress Energy Park, home of Al Lang Field'', Progress Energy Center for the Arts-Mahaffey Theater, and the " Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts" in downtown Raleigh, NC.

References

External links

Progress Energy Inc website
{{Authority control Electric power companies of the United States Natural gas companies of the United States Nuclear power companies of the United States Energy in North Carolina Companies based in Raleigh, North Carolina Energy companies established in 2000 Non-renewable resource companies established in 2000 2000 establishments in North Carolina Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange 2012 mergers and acquisitions Energy companies disestablished in 2012

History

Environmental record

Naming rights

See also

References

External links