Duke Energy Corporation
Company Analysis Project

Table of Contents Introduction 3 Utility Structure 4 Microeconomic Environment 5 Macroeconomic Environment 7 Regulatory Impacts 9 Ethical Considerations 12 Conclusion 14 References 16

Introduction
Duke Energy Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina that operates in the United States as well as in Latin America and is subject to regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 2013 operating revenues totaled $24.6 billion and assets totaled $114.8 billion (Duke Energy, 2014). On December 31, 2013, Duke Energy had 27,948 employees with 5,548 operating and maintenance employees represented by unions (p. 13). The three main business segments are Regulated Utilities, International Energy, and Commercial Power.
Regulated Utilities serves 7.2 million retail electric customers and 500,000 retail natural gas customers in six states principally relying upon coal, natural gas, and nuclear fuel for its generation of electricity (Duke Energy, 2014). The electric and gas services are subject to the rules and regulations of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the Public Service Commission of South Carolina, the Florid Public Service Commission, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, and the Kentucky Public Service Commission (Duke Energy, 2014). With the exception of Ohio, regulated utilities operate as the sole supplier of electricity within their service territories that has a competitive electricity supply market. Consistent with regulatory policy for providing safe and reliable electricity at fair prices, the state commission approves rates designed to include the costs of providing these services and a reasonable rate of return on invested capital. Regulated