Duke Energy holds annual shareholders meeting
Duke Energy Chair, President and CEO Lynn Good told investors last week that customers are the centerpiece of the company’s long-term strategy during the company’s annual shareholders meeting held online via live video webcast.
“We’re on a journey to deliver the experience our customers expect,” Good said. “As we continue to meet our customers’ changing needs, building a smarter, more resilient energy grid is essential. That’s why we’re making investments to improve reliability, integrate more renewable energy and provide customers with the information they need.”
At the meeting, shareholders elected the 14 board of director nominees. Each nominee received at least 92 percent of the shares voted.
Good also fielded 12 shareholder questions, which were submitted online before and during the meeting. The company plans to post responses to the questions on its website.
Shareholders rejected a non-binding shareholder proposal that stated, “Shareholder proposal regarding providing an annual report on Duke Energy’s lobbying expenses” and a binding company-sponsored proposal that stated, “Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Duke Energy Corporation to eliminate supermajority voting requirements.”
Good also discussed the company’s efforts to upgrade its electricity distribution grid with self-optimizing technologies to help anticipate outages and reroute power when an outage occurs.
Additionally, she told investors that the company has cut its carbon emissions by 31 percent from 2005 levels and plans to reach a 40 percent reduction by 2030. The company is investing $11 billion in clean energy, retiring less efficient coal plants, investing in natural gas generation and closing coal ash basins.
The economic development, job creation, and community support were top priorities for the company in 2017, Good said. The company attracted $5.9 billion in capital investment and helped create over 12,000 jobs, she said, while the Duke Energy Foundation and company employees donated more than $52 million.
“As we evolve for the future, our workforce is also evolving and becoming more agile,” Good said. “As a company, we’re supplementing this effort by recruiting employees with diverse viewpoints and skill sets – who can create solutions to meet our customers’ needs well into the future.”
