DUKE ENERGY FOUNDATION DONATES $10,000 TO RELIEF EFFORTS IN LIBERTY COUNTY, TEXAS

HOUSTON – The Duke Energy Foundation today contributed $10,000 to the Greater Houston Chapter of the Red Cross for evacuation efforts related to the fire at the Moss Bluff salt cavern storage facility in Liberty County, Texas.

A fire ignited early Thursday morning at the facility outside Houston. It increased in size early Friday, but no injuries were reported. Duke Energy Gas Transmission recommended to emergency personnel in Liberty and nearby Chambers counties that a three-mile area around the facility be evacuated.

“Duke Energy has been extremely responsive to the needs of neighbors of the Moss Bluff facility by providing assistance with food and shelter,” said Davis Henderson, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Houston Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. “The company has a long history of responding to relief efforts, and is again coming to the aid of others.”

The Red Cross set up two shelters housing nearly 100 people on Thursday night. Duke Energy is putting displaced families in hotels until the crisis is over. The Red Cross will continue to provide three meals a day for the displaced families at the VFW Hall, 1502 North Main Street in Liberty County.

“We have been pleased with the cooperation we’ve received from local officials and the Red Cross throughout this incident,” said Tom O’Connor, president of Duke Energy Gas Transmission. “Hopefully, our donation will ease the inconvenience this incident has brought to our neighbors in Moss Bluff.”

Governed by volunteers and supported by community donations, the American Red Cross is a nationwide network of nearly 900 field units dedicated to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Led by 1 million volunteers and 36,000 employees, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to families affected by more than 70,000 disasters, trains almost 12 million people in lifesaving skills and keeps U.S. military families connected worldwide. The Red Cross is the largest supplier of blood and blood products to more than 3,000 hospitals across the nation and also assists victims of international disasters and conflicts at locations worldwide.

Duke Energy Gas Transmission is a North American leader in developing energy infrastructure and connecting major natural gas supply basins to growing markets. The company’s natural gas operations include more than 17,500 miles of transmission pipeline and about 250 billion cubic feet of storage capacity in Canada and the United States. More information on DEGT can be found at:  http://www.duke-energy.com/businesses/companies/degt.asp

Duke Energy is a diversified energy company with a portfolio of natural gas and electric businesses, both regulated and unregulated, and an affiliated real estate company. Duke Energy supplies, delivers and processes energy for customers in North America and selected international markets. In 2004, the company celebrates a century of service with the 100th anniversary of its electric utility Duke Power. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy 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:	Gretchen Krueger
Phone:	713-627-4072
24-Hour Phone:	704-382-8333
e-mail:	gdkrueger@duke-energy.com