Honored were:

·         Vincent Davis, manager, financial analysis, Energy Services, Houston

·         Patrick Hester, senior vice president and general counsel, Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, Boston

·         Hugh McCutcheon, manager, customer business applications, information systems, Duke Power, Charlotte

·         Dennis O’Toole, division manager, application architecture, information systems, Duke Power, Charlotte

Vincent Davis’ initiative and creativity launched the Energy Services’ FOCUS project. The project led to an interactive Web-based financial reporting tool that provides a central repository for financial management, operations and risk reports. Davis led the project team from concept to implementation.

Patrick Hester led a team of legal, governmental affairs, environmental and engineering experts to help make the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline Phase III and Algonquin HubLine pipeline projects in New England a reality. Hester’s team received final regulatory permits for the projects in only 14 months time.

Hugh McCutcheon led the team that successfully replaced Duke Power’s aging customer information system – one of the largest software development projects the company has ever undertaken. The new system allows customers detailed access to billing and account information, can be readily expanded for new products and services, and allows customers to conduct more business with the company over the phone or over the Web.

Dennis O’Toole, chief software architect for the customer billing and information system project, took the initiative to use standard software tools in new ways to design the system and its phased implementation. The customer billing and information system includes more than 9 million lines of code, and stores more than half a trillion characters and can be easily extended for new technologies or business initiatives.

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 500 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.