“The California Independent System Operator declared the first system emergency of 2002 this week, demonstrating the continued need for additional generation to meet the electricity needs of the state’s consumers,” said Jim Donnell, president and chief executive officer of Duke Energy North America (DENA), which develops merchant plants to provide power to the competitive wholesale market. “We are pleased that we were able to make these units available ahead of schedule to help provide relief as part of our continued effort to provide solutions to the California energy market.”

One of the new Moss Landing units began commercial operation a few weeks ago with the second unit providing power to help meet soaring demand earlier in the week, even as it was going through final testing.

Duke Energy has four power plants in California with a capacity of more than 4,400 megawatts -- enough energy to serve about 4.4 million households.

Duke Energy is a diversified multinational energy company with an integrated network of energy assets and expertise. The company manages a dynamic portfolio of natural gas and electric supply, delivery and trading businesses – meeting the energy needs of customers throughout North America and in key markets around the world. Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is a Fortune 100 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: www.duke-energy.com.