Duke Energy Corp - DUK STOCK NEWS

Duke Energy Foundation and the Indiana Economic Development Association Foundation are jointly committing $150,000 in grants to improve access to affordable child care in Indiana communities. This follows a previous $100,000 funding round last year. Organizations can apply for grants up to $40,000 by January 31, 2025, with awards announced in March 2025.

The initiative addresses significant economic impacts revealed in an Indiana Chamber of Commerce report, which found that child care shortfalls cost Indiana's economy an estimated $4.22 billion annually, including $1.17 billion in lost tax revenue. Currently, only 61% of children needing care can be served through existing capacity.

Duke Energy highlights the important role of its 7,500 power plant workers across six states who maintain and operate more than 115 power plants. The article focuses on Emily Jones, an electrical engineer at Gibson Steam Station, Duke Energy's largest power plant, who represents the workforce ensuring reliable power generation for 8.4 million customers.

The company operates diverse energy facilities including coal, solar, natural gas, hydro, and nuclear, generating over 54,000 megawatts of energy. Duke Energy celebrates Power Plant Worker Appreciation Day on November 1, recognizing these workers' contributions to maintaining reliable energy supply.

The article emphasizes Duke Energy's commitment to future energy transition, exploring new technologies such as advanced nuclear, carbon capture, long duration energy storage, and hydrogen.

Piedmont Natural Gas, a Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) subsidiary, has secured the top position in residential customer satisfaction among large gas utilities in the South region, according to the J.D. Power 2024 Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study. This marks the third consecutive year Piedmont has achieved this distinction, outperforming seven other utilities in the South Large segment.

The company excelled particularly in billing and payment, corporate citizenship, and customer care categories. The study's findings are based on 63,363 online interviews conducted from January through October 2024, encompassing 86 largest gas utility brands serving over 64.6 million households across the United States.

Piedmont Natural Gas serves more than 1.2 million customers across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, providing natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and power generation customers.

Duke Energy announced over $300,000 in surprise microgrants ('surcees') to support food security initiatives across South Carolina, part of a larger $500,000 monthlong campaign. The initiative benefits more than 70 feeding programs, including Mill Village Farms, Second Harvest Food Bank, and FoodShare South Carolina.

The unexpected funding supports smaller agencies managing senior mobile food programs, weekend backpack efforts, and food pantries. Duke Energy employees volunteered throughout the month, helping pack and distribute food boxes. The company also emphasizes helping customers manage energy bills while facing food insecurity, directing them to resources at duke-energy.com/SeasonalSavings.

Duke Energy Florida launches '12 Days of Savings' campaign, offering daily energy efficiency tips from December 3-14 to help customers reduce electricity bills during the holiday season. The initiative includes practical suggestions like replacing air filters, adjusting ceiling fan directions, optimizing thermostat settings, and installing LED bulbs. The company offers free Home Energy Checks for residential customers and Business Energy Checks for commercial clients to identify additional savings opportunities. Duke Energy Florida serves 2 million customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area with 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity.

Duke Energy Indiana is allocating nearly $300,000 in financial assistance through its Share the Light Fund to help customers with winter energy bills. The fund, supported by Duke Energy shareholders, customers, and employees, allows qualifying customers to receive up to a $300 annual account credit. Over the past year, the company has provided more than $650,000 in energy bill assistance to over 2,000 Indiana households. Eligibility is based on income, family size, and resource availability. The company partners with the Indiana Community Action Association to distribute funds and offers additional tools including Usage Alerts and free Home Energy House Calls to help customers manage energy consumption.

Duke Energy Progress has received approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission to reduce customer rates by 4.5% starting December 1, 2024. A typical residential customer using 1,000 kWh monthly will see bills decrease by $7.34, from $161.97 to $154.63, which is 11% below the national average of $174.21. Commercial customers will see an average 6.3% decrease, while industrial customers will experience a minimal 0.1% reduction. The rate adjustment reflects falling fuel costs and is part of an annual review process. Duke Energy Progress serves approximately 1.5 million customers in central and eastern North Carolina.

Duke Energy launches a monthlong campaign providing over $500,000 to support more than 50 feeding programs across South Carolina. The initiative begins with Yam Jam, a volunteer event in Greenville that packaged 50,000 pounds of sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving food boxes. The Duke Energy Foundation is contributing $100,000 to FoodShare South Carolina organizations, including $30,000 to Mill Village Farms. The campaign addresses critical food insecurity affecting nearly 700,000 South Carolinians, including 1 in 6 children, particularly as communities recover from Hurricane Helene's impact.

Duke Energy and its Foundation have committed over $2.2 million in aid for disaster relief, rebuilding, and readiness efforts in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. The funding includes over $1 million in Foundation grants for immediate relief in western North Carolina, $500,000 in flexible grants for community relief, $200,000 for economic development organizations, and $500,000 for disaster readiness in central and eastern North Carolina. The announcement follows the company's historic power restoration effort that addressed over 1.4 million outages across the state, particularly in the mountain region.