DUKE ENERGY INTERCONNECTS SOUTH-EAST AUSTRALIA

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Victorian Energy Minister Theo Theophanous today launched Australia’s first gas trading hub, a Duke Energy initiative to support growing gas demand and security of supply.

The project involved the interconnection of the Eastern Gas Pipeline, Tasmanian Gas Pipeline and the GasNet transmission system near Longford, Victoria .   VicHub allows, for the first time, free movement of gas across regions and more flexible pricing and delivery of the nation’s fastest growing energy source. The project has already proven its worth -   in the commissioning phase, it supplied gas to Sydney during the Moomba plant shutdown.

Duke Energy International Managing Director Julie Dill said VicHub provided a new and reliable channel for customers, primarily gas retailers, to source or sell additional gas.

“VicHub allows gas to be bought and sold across regions and enables gas users and retailers to optimise their physical and contractual positions, where previously it was not easy or efficient to facilitate the movement of tranches of gas due to infrastructure and market constraints,” she said.

“VicHub is changing the landscape of the Australian gas market by enhancing competition, choice and liquidity. It represents an innovative approach to mitigating physical and financial risks.”

Duke Energy International (DEI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Duke Energy, is one of the world’s leading international energy companies offering energy marketing, risk management, natural gas and power development expertise and operations services across Latin America, Europe and the Asia Pacific. In addition to energy marketing operations, DEI’s Asia Pacific energy portfolio includes 2300km of natural gas pipelines and 860 gross megawatts of thermal power generation in operation in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

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.

Contact:	Michelle Barry
Phone:	0414 790 480
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Email:	mlbarry@duke-energy.com
Contact:	Robert Hayes
Phone:	0419 744 746
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Email:	rahayes@duke-energy.com