Duke Energy Proposes Solar Power Generation Plan

Duke
Energy Carolinas is proposing a $100 million plan to install electricity
generating solar panels at up to 850 North Carolina sites including
homes, schools, stores and factories.

On 6 June 2008, the company filed an application with the North Carolina
Utilities Commission asking for approval to implement this solar
distributed generation program. Distributed generation is energy
created close to where it is used, rather than being produced
in large power plants and transported to customers over power
lines.

"We
believe an initiative of this scope and scale will help us meet
the requirement of North Carolina's new Renewable and Energy Efficiency
Portfolio Standard (REPS)," said Keith Trent, group executive
and chief strategy, policy and regulatory officer. "This program
also will enable us to evaluate the role of distributed generation
on our system, and gain experience in owning and operating renewable
energy resources."

If
the program is approved by regulators, Duke Energy Carolinas would
spend two years installing approximately 20 megawatts of distributed
solar generation on rooftops of customer businesses and homes
or on ground sites within the company's North Carolina service
area.

Solar
power has to be converted from direct to alternating current.
Once that's done, Duke Energy Carolinas customers will benefit
from more than 16 megawatts of power, enough energy to serve more
than 2,600 homes.

Duke
Energy Carolinas would own and operate the equipment and the power
produced by each installation would be used to serve the utility's
customers. Customers who agree to place solar panels at their
location would be rewarded based on the size of the installation
and the amount of energy it produces.

The
company plans to recover its $100 million investment through North
Carolina's new REPS cost recovery mechanism. The company estimates
that, over its life, the program will increase the average customer's
bill by no more than 25 cents a month. The average customer uses
about 1000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month.

For more information: Duke
Energy