Progress Energy Inc
Encyclopedia
Progress Energy headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 500 energy company with more than 21,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. Progress Energy includes two major electric utilities that serve approximately 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and Florida. Progress Energy celebrated a century of service in 2008. The company's chairman and CEO is William D. Johnson
William D. Johnson (CEO)
William "Bill" Dean Johnson is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Progress Energy.-Early life and career:Johnson graduated from Duke University summa cum laude with a bachelor degree in history. He also obtained a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982. After...

; his predecessor was Mr. Bob McGehee, who died on October 9, 2007 at the age of 64 of a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

 while on a business trip to London.

Progress Energy is the majority owner and operator of the Brunswick
Brunswick Nuclear Generating Station
The Brunswick nuclear power plant, named for the county in which it is located, covers 1,200 acres . The site is adjacent to the town of Southport, North Carolina, and to wetlands and woodlands, and was opened in 1975....

, Crystal River 3, Robinson
H. B. Robinson Nuclear Generating Station
The H. B. Robinson Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear plant located near Hartsville, South Carolina. The plant consists of one Westinghouse 735 MW pressurized water reactor. The site also includes a coal-fired unit that generates 174 MW and a combustion turbine unit that generates...

, and Shearon Harris
Shearon Harris nuclear power plant
The Shearon Harris Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant with a single Westinghouse designed pressurized-water nuclear reactor operated by Progress Energy. It was named in honor of W. Shearon Harris, former president of Carolina Power & Light...

 nuclear power plants.

The company's current slogan is, "People, performance, excellence."

History

In 2000, Carolina Power & Light
Carolina Power & Light
Carolina Power & Light was an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution utility based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company was founded on July 13, 1908 as the result of the merger and buyout of numerous small, private, and financial distressed utilities across the state...

 bought Florida Progress Corporation
Florida Progress Corporation
Florida Progress Corporation a.k.a. Florida Progress was a utility holding company based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The company was the parent company for Florida Power Corporation which distributed power over many parts of central and north Florida. The company merged with Carolina Power & Light...

 and changed its name to Progress Energy. The company built a new headquarters
Two Progress Plaza
Two Progress Plaza is a skyscraper in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was completed in 2004 at a cost of $100 million as a headquarters for Progress Energy Inc and has 19 floors and of space. It is owned by J.P. Morgan Trust Co....

 in downtown Raleigh in 2004.

Environmental record

In 2008, the Corporate Responsibility Officer named Progress Energy to its list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens. Progress Energy was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005.

The company is investing $300,000 in a UNC Chapel Hill study to map the offshore wind power potential of North Carolina. Progress Energy launched its SunSense-branded solar incentive programs in 2009.

Progress Energy has installed flue-gas desulfurization technology, or scrubbers, to remove sulfur dioxide emissions from its nine largest coal-fired power plant units.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...

 have identified Progress Energy as the 29th-largest corporate producer of air pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....

 in the United States in 2002, when it released roughly 39 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air. Major pollutants included nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...

 compounds, chromium
Chromium
Chromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...

 compounds, sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...

, and hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....

. Progress has also been named a potentially responsible party at the Carolina Transformer Co. Superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...

 toxic waste site, according to the Center for Public Integrity
Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern. The Center is non-partisan and non-advocacy and committed to transparent and comprehensive reporting both in the United States and around...

.

Naming rights

Progress Energy owns the naming rights to the University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...

's Progress Energy Welcome Center, St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...

's Progress Energy Park
Progress Energy Park
Progress Energy Park is a 7,227 seat baseball stadium located on the downtown waterfront of St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is named in honor of Al Lang, a former mayor of St. Petersburg who helped to bring professional baseball to the city...

, home of Al Lang Field
, Progress Energy Center for the Arts-Mahaffey Theater
Mahaffey Theater
Mahaffey Theater is a concert hall located in St. Petersburg, Florida. The facility first opened in May, 1965. It is one of the prime venues for the Florida Orchestra and hosts traveling Broadway shows. The theater lobby overlooks Tampa Bay through a three-story glass wall...

, and the "Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts
Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts
The Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts is the main venue for the performing arts in Raleigh, North Carolina.The naming rights to the center currently are held by Progress Energy, which purchased them from the city in 2005 for a 20-year term at the cost of $7.5 million...

" in downtown Raleigh, NC.

Proposed merger with Duke Energy

On January 10, 2011, Duke Energy
Duke Energy
Duke Energy , headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an energy company with assets in the United States, Canada and Latin America.-Overview:...

 announced plans to take over Progress Energy in a $26 billion deal resulting in the country's largest electric utility with 7.1 million customers. Although the headquarters will be in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

, Duke Energy plans to "maintain substantial operations in Raleigh." If the companies complete the deal, which is expected to take place by 2011, Progress CEO Bill Johnson will be the new CEO of Duke, and Duke CEO Jim Rogers will become chairman.

External links

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