DUKE POWER'S MARSHALL STEAM STATION RANKED FIRST BY ELECTRIC, LIGHT & POWER; OTHER GENERATION UNITS ALSO RANK WELL

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Electric Light & Power (EL&P), a utility industry publication, recently ranked three of Duke Power's coal-fired stations as the most efficient in the United States for 2003.

Marshall Steam Station in Catawba County was ranked first, Belews Creek Steam Station in Stokes County was ranked fifth, and Allen Steam Station in Gaston County ranked 13^th in efficiency. Coal stations are measured by how well they convert the energy in coal into electricity. The more efficient the station, the less coal it needs to produce each kilowatt-hour of electricity.

"We are very proud of our power stations and our personnel,” said Bill Hall, Duke Power's group vice president of fossil-hydro generation. "Duke Power has operated some of the most efficient coal-fired stations in the United States for more than 30 years. We are focused on efficiency and this ranking demonstrates our commitment to deliver safe, reliable and economical electricity to our customers." 

"Duke Power believes efficiency is key to environmental stewardship," said Hall. "Being efficient in how we generate electricity is part of managing our impacts on the environment in a responsible manner."

Nuclear Plants Also Ranked High by EL&P

Duke Power’s McGuire and Oconee Nuclear Stations were also ranked well by EL&P. McGuire ranked second for its capacity factor of 98.3 percent and set a new station record for its highest capacity factor ever; surpassing its old record of 98.28 percent. Capacity factor is the measure of how much electricity is produced, compared with the amount of electricity a unit is capable of producing, within a given time period.

Oconee and McGuire also were among the top 20 plants in the nation for electricity generation; the stations ranked sixth and seventh, respectively. Oconee generated more than 19.1 million megawatt-hours of electricity; enough to supply electricity to 1.6 million households annually. McGuire generated more than 18.9 million megawatt-hours which is enough to supply electricity to 1.5 million households annually.

“These achievements reflect the hard work of our knowledgeable and skilled nuclear team to operate plants efficiently and meet our customers’ needs for electricity,” said Brew Barron, chief nuclear officer. “Our dedication to continuous improvement ensures we’ll continue to operate our plants safely. Operating our nuclear plants reliably helps Duke Power to maintain electric rates 21 percent below the national average which benefits our customers.”

Efficient Power Plants save Customers Money

Duke Power’s efficient power plant operations play a direct role in keeping customers’ electric bills as low as possible since fuel costs to operate the company’s power plants are passed on to customers annually in the fuel clause adjustment. The efficient operations of the company’s coal and nuclear plants are the key reason why Duke Power’s fuel costs are among the lowest in the Southeastern United States.

EL&P ranks electric utility companies and their generation facilities in the United States based on operating performance. Rankings are available at the end of each year for the previous year’s performance. 

Duke Power, a business unit of Duke Energy, is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities and provides safe, reliable, competitively priced electricity and value-added products and services to more than 2 million customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. The company operates three nuclear generating stations, eight coal-fired stations, 31 hydroelectric stations and numerous combustion turbine units. Total system generating capability is approximately 19,900 megawatts. More information about Duke Power is available on the Internet at: http://www.dukepower.com.

Duke Energy is a diversified energy company with a portfolio of natural gas and electric businesses, both regulated and unregulated, and an affiliated real estate company. Duke Energy supplies, delivers and processes energy for customers in the Americas. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: http://www.duke-energy.com.

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