Duke Energy Earnings Call Insights: Senate Bill 10 and Capacity Filing in Ohio

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) recently reported its fourth quarter earnings and discussed the following topics in its earnings conference call.

Senate Bill 10

Daniel Eggers – Credit Suisse: I know you’re going to talk about a lot of these issues at your Analyst Day, so I’ll maybe ask a couple of policy questions. Can you, maybe Jim, share your thoughts on what’s going on, on the Senate Bill 10 in North Carolina kind of the trajectory of that legislation and what you think might happen to the Commission if there is momentum behind it?

James E. Rogers – Chairman, President and CEO: Sure. Dan, given that Duke and our customers are impacted by many of the State Boards and Commissions, and our Company is committed to working constructively with all of them, it is not appropriate for us to comment on this bill. We cannot speculate on the probability of the proposed legislation passing. Nonetheless, we are focused on achieving the benefits of the merger for our customers in the Carolinas.

Daniel Eggers – Credit Suisse: Jim, can we talk a little bit about the State of the Union last night and the President’s comments on global warming type of legislations or rulemaking. How do you – based on what you know, how do you guys see this playing through from an EPA perspective if they can’t get legislative support, and is that going to affect maybe investment decisions you guys are looking at making from a coal plant remediation perspective?