Duke Energy Corp - DUK STOCK NEWS

The Duke Energy Foundation is investing $200,000 in grants to support 15 economic development organizations in Florida. These grants aim to attract businesses to the state and strengthen its economy. Notable recipients include:

- The Orlando Economic Partnership, receiving $20,000 to develop a tool comparing Orlando's business location factors with other major regions.

- The St. Petersburg Area Economic Development , awarded $12,500 to promote the city as a business location, focusing on the Historic Gas Plant District.

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), serves 1.9 million customers across a 13,000-square-mile area in Florida. The company is committed to a clean energy transition, aiming for net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050.

The Duke Energy Foundation has invested over $19.5 million in emergency preparedness and response efforts across six states over the past five years. This investment aims to boost community safety and resilience during severe weather and other emergencies. The Foundation works closely with local leaders and nonprofits to address specific needs.

Key highlights include:

• Duke Energy volunteers packed thousands of no-cost storm kits for seniors
• Employees contributed $3.3 million in money and volunteer time
• Funding has equipped first responders with advanced tools, training, and life-saving equipment
• A grant-funded drone recently helped locate a missing person in South Carolina

As the 2024 storm season continues, Duke Energy and its Foundation remain prepared to support communities. Customers are encouraged to download the enhanced American Red Cross Emergency app for additional preparedness resources.

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), has demonstrated its readiness for the peak hurricane season through advanced grid-strengthening efforts and technology implementation. During Hurricane Debby, a Category 1 storm that hit Florida's Big Bend on Aug. 5, 2024, the company's self-healing technology saved over 12.5 million minutes of customer outage time and automatically restored more than 62,000 customer outages. This technology, serving 76% of Duke Energy Florida customers, can reduce outages by up to 75% and often restore power in less than a minute.

The company's Storm Protection Plan enabled 93% of customers to have power restored within 24 hours after Hurricane Debby's landfall. Duke Energy Florida has been continuously upgrading its infrastructure, with 48% of primary power lines now underground, over 40,000 poles hardened in the past three years, and extensive vegetation management completed.

Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric have joined forces with state and local agencies to plant nearly 700 mangroves at two shorelines in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. This collaborative restoration project aims to protect Tampa Bay's ecosystems and increase environmental resilience. Over 40 volunteers, employees, and environmental experts participated in planting red and black mangroves at EG Simmons Regional Park and Keystone/Carlton Road in Northern Pinellas County.

The initiative highlights the importance of mangrove ecosystems in reducing coastal erosion, improving water quality, and providing habitat for wildlife. The mangroves were grown and donated by CCA Florida and the Duke Energy Crystal River Mariculture Center, which has released nearly 5 million fish and crustaceans along Florida's coasts and donated approximately $200,000 worth of aquatic vegetation for habitat restoration projects.

Duke Energy's Youth Energy Academy (YEA) is a career readiness program aimed at introducing students from diverse backgrounds to opportunities in the energy sector. The initiative, which started over a decade ago, educates 8th to 12th graders about viable, high-paying jobs in the industry through hands-on activities and demonstrations.

YEA has grown from eight students initially to now covering six regions in Florida, including partnerships with utilities, community colleges, and nonprofits. The Duke Energy Foundation has provided over $120,000 in funding since 2016. The program focuses on STEM careers and aims to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within the energy sector.

Participants learn about various roles beyond lineworkers, including engineers, arborists, chemists, and drone operators. The academy's success is attributed to its ability to show students that their goals are attainable by meeting professionals who look like them.

Duke Energy Florida (NYSE: DUK) has requested to lower rates and decrease customer bills in January 2025 as part of an annual fuel cost adjustment. The company plans to decrease Florida residential rates by approximately 6%, while making grid improvements. If approved, typical residential customers using 1,000 kWh will see a decrease of $9.77 on their January 2025 bill compared to December 2024. Commercial and industrial customers will see bill decreases ranging from 5.1% to 11.1%.

The 2025 rates reflect investments in fewer outages, shorter restoration times, and solar investments. Duke Energy Florida has already reduced rates twice in 2024, with residential customers paying approximately $17 per 1,000 kWh less compared to a year ago. The company aims to increase reliability and advance clean energy vision while focusing on customer savings.

Duke Energy's advanced technology and grid strengthening efforts enabled a swift response to Hurricane Debby, restoring power to most customers within 24 hours. Key investments include:

1. Grid strengthening measures: Vegetation trimming, underground placement of outage-prone lines, and upgrading poles and wires.

2. Smart, self-healing technology: Saved over 500,000 hours of outage time and automatically restored ~150,000 customer outages.

3. Flood walls: Protecting critical substations from flooding.

4. Year-round storm preparations: Staging crews and resources near affected areas.

These efforts resulted in power restoration for 93% of Florida customers and 95% of Carolinas customers within 24 hours of Debby's arrival in each area.

The Duke Energy Foundation is investing $200,000 in grants to support 15 economic development organizations in Florida. These grants aim to attract businesses to the state and strengthen its economy. Notable recipients include:

- The Orlando Economic Partnership, receiving $20,000 to develop a tool comparing Orlando's business location factors with other major regions.

- The St. Petersburg Area Economic Development , awarded $12,500 to promote the city as a business location, focusing on the Historic Gas Plant District.

This initiative is part of Duke Energy Foundation's annual philanthropic support of over $30 million to meet community needs. Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary, supplies electricity to 1.9 million customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

Duke Energy's Natural Resources Group is leading initiatives to protect land, water, and habitats while maintaining utility infrastructure. The company's efforts include:

• Planting milkweed to support pollinators
• Preserving habitats in transmission and distribution rights of way
• Safely relocating bird nests from utility infrastructure
• Sponsoring the Island Habitat Program
• Supporting the Catawba-Wateree Habitat Enhancement Program
• Participating in a voluntary conservation agreement to save monarch butterflies
• Working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect bat species

These initiatives demonstrate Duke Energy's commitment to environmental stewardship beyond regulatory compliance, aiming to create a better future for communities and ecosystems.