Henry B. “Brew” Barron will serve as senior vice president, nuclear operations, while William R. McCollum Jr. will become senior vice president, nuclear support. They will transition into their new roles over the next few months.

Both men have had long careers in Duke Power’s nuclear program, most recently as site vice presidents. Barron has headed the McGuire Nuclear Station in Huntersville, N.C., for the past six years. McCollum has led Oconee Nuclear Station, Seneca, S.C., for the last five years.

Their positions at the sites will be filled by the current station managers – Ronald A. Jones at Oconee and Dhiaa M. Jamil at McGuire.

In making the announcement, Michael S. Tuckman, Duke Power’s executive vice president, nuclear generation, said, “Over the past decade, our nuclear program has made great strides in safety, performance and efficiency. Our success has come about through attention to detail – a single-minded focus on excellence.

“However, the demands of a more complex political and regulatory environment in the industry require managerial adjustments to meet those expectations while maintaining our concentration on the day-to-day operational excellence of our stations.”  

Barron will manage the overall operations of the three nuclear stations operated by Duke Power – McGuire, Oconee and Catawba in York, S.C. The site vice presidents will report to him.

McCollum will manage nuclear engineering, regulatory and industry affairs, special projects and business planning for the company’s overall nuclear program. The four headquarters' divisions reporting to him will include nuclear engineering, nuclear assessment and issues, nuclear services and supply chain. 

Barron and McCollum will report directly to Tuckman.

“These organizational changes will allow us to sharpen our focus on improving processes and integration, emphasizing consistency,” Tuckman said. “This means sharing and expanding best practices for the stations and optimizing the support provided by the headquarters. These changes also will allow a broader development of management talent within the organization.”

Barron joined Duke Power in 1972 as an engineer at Oconee Nuclear Station. Since then, he has held a variety of key positions within Duke Power’s organization, including manager of the nuclear assessment and issues division for the nuclear generation department. He was named McGuire site vice president in 1996.

A native of Fair Haven, N.J., Barron received his bachelor of science degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Virginia. He and his wife, Jacqueline, have two daughters and five grandchildren.

McCollum joined Duke Power in 1974 as a junior engineer at Oconee Nuclear Station and progressed through positions of increasing responsibility. He was named vice president of Catawba Nuclear Station in York, S.C., in 1994 before becoming Oconee site vice president in 1997.

A native of Rossville, Ga., McCollum graduated from Georgia Tech with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering and a master of science degree in nuclear engineering. He later earned a master of business administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He and his wife, Sylvia, have a son and a daughter.

Duke Power, a business unit of Duke Energy, is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities and provides safe, reliable, competitively priced electricity to approximately two million customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. Duke Power operates three nuclear generating stations, eight coal-fired stations, 31 hydroelectric stations and numerous combustion turbine units. Total system generating capability is approximately 19,300 megawatts. More information about Duke Power is available on the Internet at: www.dukepower.com.

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.