Economic Indicators
| Management Approach | Our success as a company is linked to the success of the communities we serve and to our employees. | |
| INDICATOR | TOPIC | RESPONSE |
|---|---|---|
| EU6 | Approach to ensure short and long-term electricity availability and reliability |
We address availability and reliability in our Integrated Resource Plans that are submitted to state regulatory agencies. Please see this sample Integrated Resource Plan. There is also extensive discussion on various pages of our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
| EU7 | Demand-side management programs | Demand-side management programs are specific to each state and are contingent on approvals from state utility commissions. The programs available in each state are described on the Duke Energy Web site. They are also discussed in general in our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (enter energy efficiency in the search box). |
| EU8 | Research and development activity | Our technology development group focuses on emerging technologies which have the potential to impact Duke Energy's business. They also coordinate much of our research and development through programs administered by the Electric Power Research Institute, the U.S. Department of Energy and other organizations. |
| EU9 | Provisions to decommission nuclear power sites | See page 14 of our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
| Economic Performance | ||
| EC1 | Financial performance | See Financial Performance Strong in 2010 in our Sustainability Report, our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Summary Annual Report for detailed information. |
| EC2 | Financial implications of climate change | See Global Climate Change and our responses to the Carbon Disclosure Project. Also see our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, pages 27 and 80. |
| EC3 | Defined employee benefit plan obligations | See our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, page 197. |
| EC4 | Financial assistance from government | We do not track the annual accural of tax credits, subsidies and other incentives from our many governmental entities. |
| Market Presence | ||
| EC5 | Entry level wages | Duke Energy's lowest entry level wage is $12.25 per hour for U.S. employees. Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. |
| EC6 | Percent of local spending for supplies | We do not track the geographic extent of our supply chain. To achieve economies of scale in our purchasing, we have entered into contracts with consolidators that provide most of our miscellaneous office and administrative supplies. Due to the nature of our business, specialized materials needed for our generation, transmission and distribution services are obtained from a limited number of domestic and international manufacturers. |
| EC7 | Procedure for local hiring, & percent of local senior management | Hiring and promotion is based on merit, not whether the candidate is from a particular locality. |
| Indirect Economic Impacts | ||
| EC8 | Investments for local benefit | An important way we strengthen our communities is through our financial support. Charitable giving from The Duke Energy Foundation and the company, along with employee and retiree donations and the value of their volunteer time, totaled almost $29 million in 2010. This is in line with our annual giving in recent years and on par with industry benchmarks. See the Strong Communities section of our 2010/2011 Sustainability Report. |
| EC9 | Indirect economic impacts | Economic development partnerships in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina resulted in the creation of approximately 14,000 jobs and more than $5.8 billion in capital investments in 2010. EC8, above, also relates to indirect impacts. . |
| EU10 | Planned capacity and projected demand |
Please see pages 33, 35 and 36 of our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for generation capacity information. Electric and gas demand are also addressed in the 10-K. (A search on the word ""demand"" in this document leads to numerous references.) In addition, the 10-K, beginning on page 131, describes major capital expansion projects being pursued to meet projected load growth. We address planned capacity and projected demand in our Integrated Resource Plans that are submitted to state regulatory agencies. Please see this sample Integrated Resource Plan |
| EU11 | Average thermal plant efficiency | 2010 combined regulated and non-regulated fleet efficiencies are as follows: Coal Plants: 10,092 BTU/kwh; Open-Cycle Gas Plants: 13,447 BTU/kwh; Combined-Cycle Gas Plants: 7,313 BTU/kwh |
| EU12 | Transmission and distribution losses | Our transmission and distribution losses are consistent with averages reported by other utilities, but the methodology for calculating these losses is inconsistent across the industry. Because of this inconsistency, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has released a Distribution System Losses Calculation Tool. We will be using that tool, and others, to conduct another loss survey in the near future. As we and other utilities use this tool, reported losses will be more comparable. |
