Looking to expand further into natural gas fueled power generation, it bought Cinergy in a $9 billion all-stock deal in 2005.ĭuke Energy Corporation now supplies electricity to approximately 7.4 million customers and distributes natural gas to more than 1.5 million customers in the Carolinas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. Meanwhile, by 1997, Duke Power had wooed and won the natural gas giant, PanEnergy, for $7.7 billion and changed its name to Duke Energy. The new company served 1.5 million electric customers and about 500,000 gas customers in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. The solution came in 1994 when CG&E and ULH&P merged with Indiana-based PSI Energy to form Cinergy. But as demand continued increasing even further, so too did the need to build even more generation. By the 1990s, the company was leveraging its access to gas suppliers and pipelines to improve generation. Though the post war years were rocky, CG&E expanded operations in the region. Left on its own, CG&E expanded its service area into Indiana and Kentucky by purchasing other former Columbia Gas & Electric subsidiaries, including the Union Light, Heat & Power Company (ULH&P). This relationship only lasted until 1948 when SEC antitrust litigation forced Columbia to set CG&E free. Then in 1911, CG&E became a subsidiary of Columbia Gas & Electric. Residents soon saw their gas rates cut in half. Smelling a ripe opportunity, a confederation of entrepreneurs formed the Columbia Corporation with the intent to control "public service corporations, especially in Cleveland & Cincinnati, OH." Rebranded in 1909 as "Columbia Gas & Electric" the company inked a deal to supply CG&E with natural gas from West Virginia via its new 183 mile-long pipeline. But in 1903, the ailing old general finally left his post. For nearly 26 years, he prevented cheap natural gas from entering Cincinnati. Though he would eventually reorganize the firm in 1901 into the Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company (CG&E), he fought ceaselessly to protect the company's coal gas monopoly. Hickenlooper had very dim views on electricity and so-called "natural gas" from West Virginia. In 1877, former Union General Andrew Hickenlooper became the company president. They eventually secured exclusive gas franchise rights and thereafter residential demand for coal gas quickly blossomed. Through merger and acquisitions, it expanded quickly reorganizing in 1927 to form Duke Power, the precursor to Duke Energy.ĭuke Energy's involvement with Ohio natural gas goes back to 1837 when a group of Cincinnati investors founded the Cincinnati Gas, Light & Coke Company to produce coke for iron works and then sell the coal-gas by-product to the city residents for street lighting. In 1905, the company was reorganized as Southern Power Company. Wylie convinced the wealthy industrialist, James Buchanan Duke, to invest in the project as a way of powering his textile mills. Walker Gill Wylie, the goal was to install a series of hydroelectric power plants on the Catawba River. Lowering the demand is a critical step to avoiding the need for excess power plants while maintaining clean energy usage.Duke Energy's earliest incarnation in the electricity industry was as the Catawba Power Company. Considering this only happens a handful of days each year for a few hours at a time, these solutions are both costly and wasteful.Ĭommunity Energy Savings encourages individuals to band together to reduce energy consumption in their neighborhood. In order to handle this high amount of activity, utilities may need to bring additional power plants online or purchase energy from less environmentally friendly sources to ensure they have enough supply. For example, during a heatwave when everyone in a community is using their air conditioning at once, this puts a major strain on the capacity of the electrical grid. High energy demand happens when there’s an imbalance between energy supply and demand. By having Community Energy Savings work behind the scenes to shift energy consumption patterns during high-demand periods, we’re able to have a profound impact on delivering clean, affordable energy for all. At ecobee, we believe a sustainable future is for everyone, no matter where they call home.
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