Duke Energy on Friday named a new executive team for its electric business and outlined what it said was a more centralized organizational structure. Duke filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month to spin off its natural gas unit (see Daily GPI, Sept. 8).

CEO James E. Rogers said the pending separation creates an “opportunity” to consolidate and simplify the company’s organization. The transition to the new organization will begin immediately, he said.

“With the plan in place to spin the gas businesses into their own company, we have the opportunity to reinvent how we run Duke Energy,” Rogers said. “Our current infrastructure was built for a different time in the company’s history, when we operated many diverse businesses. After the separation, our major focus will be on our electric businesses, which include both regulated and nonregulated assets.”

Spinning off the gas businesses will enable Duke to consolidate several corporate and support functions, including finance, legal and human resources.

“Our new organization will reduce bureaucracy, shorten decision times and improve efficiency — all of which will help us keep customer prices as low as possible,” Rogers said. At the time of the separation, targeted for Jan. 1, 2007, Rogers is expected to become Duke’s chairman in addition to president and CEO.

For a complete list of the corporate officers and their duties, visit www.duke-energy.com.

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