Catherine E. Heigel President – Duke Energy South Carolina
Catherine Heigel is president of Duke Energy South Carolina, serving more than 600,000 electric retail customers in the Upstate. She is responsible for advancing the company’s rate and regulatory initiatives and managing state and local regulatory and governmental relations, economic development and community affairs. Heigel was named to her current position in March 2010. Previously, she served as a special advisor to Duke Energy’s chairman, president and chief executive officer.
Heigel began her legal career in 1995 as a consumer advocate for the state of South Carolina in utility and insurance matters. She joined Duke Energy in 1997 as senior counsel providing legal support for Duke Engineering & Services (DE&S), a nonregulated engineering consulting services subsidiary of Duke Energy. From 2003 to 2006, she practiced law in the private sector. In 2006, Heigel joined the state regulatory group for Duke Energy's U.S. Franchised Electric and Gas organization, where she advised the company's senior management on regulatory and compliance matters. She also represented Duke Energy in a wide variety of issues before state utility commissions, including energy efficiency and general rate proceedings.
Heigel graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa and with honors from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies. She holds a Juris Doctor degree from The Ohio State University College of Law, where she was an associate editor of the Ohio State Law Journal. She also completed the Advanced Management Program at the Wharton School of Business, Duke Energy’s Strategic Leadership Program at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business, and Oxford University’s Summer Law Programme. In 2010, Heigel received the Distinguished Honors Alumni Award from the Honors College at the University of South Carolina.
Heigel is admitted to the state bar associations of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio and New York; and is a member of the American Bar Association. She is a member of the S.C. Centers of Economic Excellence Review Board, Palmetto Business Forum and the University of South Carolina Capital Campaign Committee. She serves on the boards of directors of the S.C. Manufacturers Alliance, Meals on Wheels of Greenville County, Palmetto Conservation Foundation and the Greenville Symphony Orchestra. She is also a member of the board of trustees for the S.C. Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and the ETV Endowment of South Carolina.
In 2011, Heigel was appointed to The Original Six Foundation board, a major statewide initiative founded by S.C. Governor Nikki Haley to help provide the tools and resources needed for distressed South Carolina communities to grow economically. Heigel is also a 2010 recipient of the James B. Duke Award, Duke Energy's highest employee award for service to the company and community. A native of Darlington, S.C., Heigel and her husband, Jonathan, have two daughters and a son.
Duke Energy, one of the largest power companies in the United States, supplies and delivers electricity to approximately 4 million customers in the Carolinas and the Midwest. The company also distributes natural gas in Ohio and Kentucky. Its commercial power and international businesses operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing renewable energy portfolio. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK.
March 22, 2012
