Duke Energy 2013 Annual Report Download - page 8

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DUKE ENERGY
Our nuclear fleet of 11 units achieved a
combined capacity factor of 92.8 percent
in 2013, our 15th consecutive year above
90 percent. During the critical months of
June through August, when low-cost power
was needed most to meet summer load,
the fleet capacity factor was 99.7 percent.
Two nuclear units set continuous-operation
records exceeding 500 days.
Our fossil fleet of mostly coal and
combined-cycle natural gas plants also
performed well, achieving a forced outage
rate of 3.5 percent in 2013, building on
our improving trend since 2010. Thanks to
fleet modernization and joint dispatch, Duke
Energy is taking advantage of the lower
natural gas prices driven by the U.S. shale
gas revolution. Our integrated power system
in the Carolinas provides greater flexibility
to adapt to the new dynamics of coal and
natural gas prices.
Our power delivery team is achieving
high reliability levels, even in the face of
extreme weather events in 2013 and early
this year. In June 2013, high-speed winds
moved across the Carolinas, downing trees
and power lines, and causing outages for
about 700,000 customers. With advance
planning and our scale that enables rapid
mobilization of line crews,
including our Midwest
and Florida teams, we
restored power to more
than 90 percent of these
customers within the first 36 hours. Similar
heroic responses occurred in November
when tornadoes and wind shears struck
Indiana and Ohio.
In January 2014, waves of severe arctic
cold led to record peak energy demands
on Duke Energy’s system everywhere but
Florida. Team planning and the resilience
of our integrated generation and delivery
system paid off. With few exceptions, we
kept the power flowing to our customers
throughout this period.
Then in February, our utility crews from
throughout our regions worked together
to meet the challenge of the Carolinas’
worst winter storm in a decade. This
record-breaking storm affected more
than 900,000 customers.
REALIZING
MERGER
BENEFITS:
Achieving signicant benets for both our customers and investors was a
major driver of the 2012 merger between Duke Energy and Progress Energy.
We are on track to deliver $687 million in fuel and joint-dispatch savings
over ve years for our Carolinas customers.
We also expect to achieve about $550 million in nonfuel operating and
maintenance expense savings in 2014, which helps hold down future rate
increases for all our customers.
RAPID
mobilization
of line crews