Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 10, 2026

Progress Energy

Progress Energy was a power generation and distribution company. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Progress Energy served approximately 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and Florida, with a total service area of 54,000 square miles (140,000 km2). It was a Fortune 500 company with more than 21,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. The company was acquired by Duke Energy in 2012.

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Progress Energy Inc.
TypePublic
NYSE: PGN
IndustryElectric utilities
Founded1908 (1908) (as Carolina Power & Light)
Defunct2012 (2012)
FateMerged into Duke Energy
HeadquartersOne Progress Plaza
411 Fayetteville Street,
Raleigh, North Carolina
,
United States
Area served
North Carolina: Cape Fear, Far West, Research Triangle, Sandhills
South Carolina: Pee Dee
Florida: Big Bend, Central Florida, North Central Florida, Tampa Bay1
Number of employees
11,000 (2007)

Progress Energy was a power generation and distribution company. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Progress Energy served approximately 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and Florida, with a total service area of 54,000 square miles (140,000 km2). It was a Fortune 500 company with more than 21,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. The company was acquired by Duke Energy in 2012.2

Progress Energy was the majority owner and operator of 32 power plants, including the Brunswick, Crystal River, Robinson, and Shearon Harris nuclear power plants.1

History

Predecessors

Raleigh-based Carolina Power & Light was founded in 1908 through the merger of Raleigh Electric, Central Carolina Power, and Consumer Light & Power. It acquired the Asheville Power and Light company the following year.3 By 1999, the company served as the primary power provider for eastern North Carolina, northeastern South Carolina, and the Asheville area, with 1.2 million customers.4 It was the second-largest power company in North Carolina.5

St. Petersburg-based Florida Power was founded in 1899 and began to expand starting in the 1920s.6 By 1999, the company served as the primary power provider for Central Florida and North Central Florida, with 1.3 million customers.4 In 1982, the company was reorganized into the Florida Progress Corporation to diversify beyond electricity,7 with its non-electric holdings including the broadband infrastructure provider Progress Telecom8 and a $5 million stake in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.9

Merger

On August 24, 1999, Carolina Power & Light announced that it would acquire Florida Progress Corporation for $5.3 billion in cash and stock, as well as $2.7 billion in assumed debt. The company would be the ninth-largest electric utility in the country, with a total generation capacity of 18,520 megawatts.5 The merger was completed in the fall of 2000, with the combined company retaining CP&L management.10

The combined company took on the name Progress Energy,11 though both the CP&L and Florida Power names were retained at the consumer service level until a rebranding effort in 2003. The rebrand was partially to prevent confusion between Florida Power and the unrelated Florida Power & Light.1213

In 2004, the company expanded its downtown Raleigh headquarters with the construction of Two Progress Plaza.14

Sale to Duke Energy

On January 10, 2011, Duke Energy 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. Duke Energy plans to "maintain substantial operations in Raleigh."2 When the merger was completed on July 3, 2012, Duke Chairman James E. (Jim) Rogers became chairman and CEO of the new combined company, while Progress CEO William D. Johnson resigned.1516

Environmental record

In 2008, the Corporate Responsibility Officer named Progress Energy to its list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens.17 Progress Energy was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005.18

The company is investing $300,000 in a UNC Chapel Hill study to map the offshore wind power potential of North Carolina.19 Progress Energy launched its SunSense-branded solar incentive programs in 2009.20

Progress Energy has installed flue-gas desulfurization technology, or scrubbers, to remove sulfur dioxide emissions from its nine largest coal-fired power plant units.21

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst identified Progress Energy as the 29th-largest corporate producer of Air pollution in the United States in 2002, when it released roughly 39 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air. Major pollutants included nickel compounds, chromium compounds, sulfuric acid, and hydrochloric acid.22 Progress has also been named a potentially responsible party at the Carolina Transformer Co. Superfund toxic waste site, according to the Center for Public Integrity.23

Naming rights

Progress Energy owned the naming rights to the University of Central Florida's Progress Energy Welcome Center, St. Petersburg's Progress Energy Park, home of Al Lang Field, Progress Energy Center for the Arts-Mahaffey Theater, and the "Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts" in downtown Raleigh, NC.

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "Operations". Progress Energy. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012.
  2. Wolf, Alan M. (January 10, 2011). "Duke Energy to buy Progress Energy in $26 billion deal". News & Observer.
  3. McCrea, William J. (2021). "Carolina Power & Light Company". NCpedia. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  4. Leggett, Page (July 15, 2024). "125 years strong: Celebrating our commitment to Florida". Illumination. Duke Energy. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  5. "By merging with Carolina Power & Light, Florida Power acquires the muscle to fight off powerful rivals". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Company. August 29, 1999. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  6. Kile, Monica (July 11, 2024). "125 Years of Power and Light in St. Petersburg: Part Two". I Love The Burg. WallMedia Partners. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  7. Patel, Sonal C. (May 2, 2022). "History of Power: Duke Energy's Century-Old Legacy". Power. Access Intelligence. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  8. Barancik, Scott (November 6, 2003). "Merger solidifies Progress Telecom's base". St. Petersburg Times. Times Publishing Company. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  9. "Murray may help stabilize the Rays". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Company. November 26, 1998. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  10. "Merger spells lights out for most Florida Power execs". The Tampa Tribune. Tampa Media Group. April 4, 2000 – via Gale OneFile.
  11. "CP&L changes name to Progress Energy". Charlotte Business Journal. Advance Publications. December 4, 2000. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  12. "Utility hopes name change cuts confusion". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Company. October 3, 2002. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  13. Gianatasio, David (February 21, 2003). "Mullen Rebrands Progress Energy". Adweek. Retrieved June 13, 2026.
  14. Murawski, John (January 10, 2011). "Merger means uncertainty for Raleigh utility's workers". News & Observer. Archived from the original on January 11, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  15. WRAL.com: Progress CEO is out as Duke, Progress complete merger
  16. Duke Energy press release
  17. 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2008 http://www.thecro.com/node/615 Archived 2011-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
  18. DJSI http://www.sustainability-indexes.com/ Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
  19. "Progress boosts UNC wind study". NewsObserver.com. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  20. Company news release: http://www.progress-energy.com/aboutus/news/article.asp?id=21723
  21. Hiers, Fred. "Progress Energy fires up scrubbers to curb emissions". Ocala.com. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  22. Toxic 100, Political Economy Research Institute Archived 2011-10-01 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 14 Aug 2007
  23. Center for Public Integrity Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
External links