Duke Energy 2008 Annual Report Download - page 8

6 Duke Energy
These systems are largely invisible. There is no sacrifice in
comfort or convenience. In fact, some customers in ongoing
pilot programs didn’t realize these systems were even operating
until they saw the associated cost savings on their electric
bills. Eventually, customers who want more control over
their energy consumption and savings potential will be able
to view their real-time energy usage through an energy portal
that can be displayed on a home computer, a television set
or a smart phone.
We expect to achieve similar efficiency improvements and
savings on our side of the meter. These investments will
allow us to automatically balance loads and isolate overloads
to prevent outages.
Visiting the Future
In 2008, we opened our Envision Center in Erlanger, Ky., just
a few miles from our Ohio offices. Here our stakeholders can
experience the 21st century utility firsthand. Visitors learn
about many energy management devices, including smart
meters, storage batteries, solar panels and other emerging
technologies.
The center includes our “smart garage,” where plug-in
hybrid electric vehicle manufacturers offer demonstrations
of their prototypes. As you will see on page 16 of this report,
I’ve visited the center and you should, too — it brings energy
efficiency and the smart grid to life.
We’ve since opened our second Envision Center in Raleigh,
N.C., and we are field-testing some of these new technologies
at a subdivision in Charlotte, N.C.
Along with our smart meter initiative, these demonstration sites
are providing us with real-time experience to make sure the
homes, businesses and communities we serve are significantly
more energy efficient.
MEETING FUTURE NEEDS
THROUGH SUPPLY:
Building a new fleet of efficient power plants
using diverse fuels to meet growing demand
and to increase our reliability, while retiring older
higher-emitting plants to significantly decrease
our environmental impact.
We take our responsibility for meeting our customers’ needs in
a sustainable way very seriously. As proof, consider that today
we are the third largest generator of electricity among the top
20 U.S.-based investor-owned utilities. Not surprisingly, we
also rank third in this group for total tons of carbon dioxide
(CO2) emitted. However, when you look at carbon intensity,
which is simply the amount of CO2 emitted per unit of energy
produced, based on the latest available 2007 data, eight other
companies within this group had higher carbon intensities
than we did.
As we transition to a low-carbon future and grow our system
to meet future demand, carbon intensity will be a good way
to judge our progress in decarbonizing our generation fleet.
Replacing Old Coal with New Cleaner-Burning
Coal Technologies
Why are we building coal and other fossil fuel plants if we want
to lead in energy efficiency as well as in reducing greenhouse
gas emissions? The answer is simple: Our obligation to meet
the needs of our customers for affordable, reliable and increas-
ingly clean energy cannot be fulfilled without coal in our fuel
mix. Building more efficient and cleaner coal units and retiring
older ones serves as a bridge to the future.
To put it another way, we don’t know what inventor working in
his or her garage might come up with a “silver bullet” invention
to control carbon emissions, or if anyone ever will. To hedge
this uncertainty, we have adopted a “silver buckshot” strategy.
We are continuing to expand our power supply options with a
diverse portfolio that includes cleaner coal, nuclear, natural gas,
renewables and energy efficiency. This balanced approach
protects our customers from the availability and pricing volatility
of any one fuel.
Our obligation to meet the needs of our
customers for affordable, reliable and
increasingly clean energy cannot be fulfilled
without coal in our fuel mix. Building more
efficient and cleaner coal units and retiring
older ones serves as a bridge to the future.