Duke's Smarts
Duke Energy’s smart grid program continues to expand. The nation’s third-largest electric utility struck an agreement with Echelon to make the vendor's Networked Energy Services (NES) system a key part of the program. Duke CEO Jim Rogers, considered a visionary in the utility industry, tells Fortune about his career path.
August 11, 2009
Duke Energy provides power to four million customers in five U.S. states. The utility is forging ahead to deploy grid technologies considered too futuristic by more conservative operators. Duke has received regulatory approval to deploy smart grid infrastructure in Ohio, and is seeking approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to do the same. The deployments involve 1.5 million smart meters; meanwhile Duke is laying the groundwork to bring large-scale smart grid technology to the remaining three states it serves.
Duke announced a $15 million deal with Echelon, the company that powered the world’s first smart metering system in Italy. Echelon's energy networking and smart grid technologies include communications infrastructure and smart meters. The company also makes building automation technologies.
In the 2005 merger of Duke and Cinergy, Rogers became the CEO of Duke. He's been making waves in the industry ever since. This week he tells Fortune how, after stints in journalism and law, he found the chief executive role at Duke suited him.
"How Duke Energy's CEO got started" (Fortune)
(NASDAQ:ELON, NYSE: DUK)
