CEO grilled on Duke's plans

As protesters lined the sidewalk outside company's uptown headquarters, Duke Energy shareholders grilled chief executive Jim Rogers for nearly 90 minutes about his decision to build a new coal-fired power plant in the Blue Ridge foothills.

The grilling came at the end of the Charlotte-based utility's annual shareholders' meeting, where a new board was elected and Rogers spoke about the company's plans.

But questions from shareholders were mostly about Rogers' decision to build the 800-megawatt coal-fired power unit at the company's Cliffside plant about 55 miles west of Charlotte. Duke produces about 70 percent of its electricity from coal in its five-state territory.

Holly Garrett, 25, told Rogers she was concerned with mountaintop removal in Appalachian mining, which can destroy habitats. She asked Rogers whether he could guarantee a stop to the practice. Duke buys coal from independent suppliers.

"I wish I had that kind of power," Rogers said.

"You do have that kind of power," she replied. "You're the CEO."

"I can't guarantee that," said Rogers, who said he would work on the issue.

Some shareholders said they were concerned about Duke's tepid stock performance over the past several years and didn't want the company to be distracted by issues of global warming. Rogers said the stock was performing better than that of other utilities, such as Raleigh-based Progress Energy.

Progress stock is down nearly 15 percent in the last year, compared with Duke's, which is down 6 percent. Neither fared better than than the larger sector: the S&P Utilities Index fell 2.5 percent in that period.

Two dozen sign-bearing protesters stood outside Duke's corporate headquarters in the morning as shareholders arrived for the meeting. Signs protested Cliffside, air pollution and mountaintop removal.

Despite delays or cancellations of about 50 new coal-fueled plants nationwide, "here we are fighting to be the last, or one of the last, to build one," said protester Sally Thomas, a retired CPA whose husband Zack is a Duke shareholder. "I think what we're doing is crazy businesswise."