Duke Energy 2012 Annual Report Download - page 5

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What matters most is what
we do now – and how we do it.
A stakeholder approach
Duke Energy is focused on those who have a major
stake in how we perform today and how we prepare
for the future:
Our customers and communities, who
depend on us 24/7 for a vital service,
constructive partnership and responsible
stewardship
Our investors, who choose us for a reliable
dividend and earnings growth potential
backed by our primarily regulated-utility
business mix and a strong balance sheet
Our employees, who seek to make a
difference in a mission that matters,
while advancing in a performance culture
guided by the right values.
Our diverse stakeholders often have competing
priorities. We aim for the right long-term balance that
strengthens trust and confidence in our company.
For customers
Delivering cost savings and other benefits to
our customers was a driving force behind the
combination of Duke Energy and Progress Energy.
It’s particularly important given the need to mitigate
the rising costs in today’s electric utility industry.
Our core mission is to provide affordable, reliable,
increasingly clean energy – in safe and sustainable
ways – to our customers 24 / 7. Today’s Duke Energy
serves 7. 2 million retail electricity customers in six
states in the Southeast and the Midwest. We also
serve 500,000 natural gas customers in Ohio and
Kentucky. Our commercial businesses supply power
to communities across the United States and in
seven Latin American countries.
Thanks to the merger, our customers are benefiting
from the efficiency and flexibility of operating our
power plants in the Carolinas as one integrated fleet.
We also are unlocking coal-blending efficiencies and
leveraging our size in fuel procurement.
We achieved about $52 million in fuel and
joint-dispatch savings in the first six months
as a combined company, outpacing our initial
expectations. And we are on track to meet the
$687 million merger-related savings commitment
to our Carolinas customers as the savings
opportunities ramp up over the next five years.
Our storm-response capability is one example of our
new strengths. As a result of our size, we’re now
able to mobilize more crews and equipment more
effectively. This was evident when Superstorm
Chairman’s Letter to Stakeholders
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