Duke, Progress Merger Gets Resistance At Public Hearing

Shareholders easily approved a proposed merger between Duke Energy and Progress Energy. Now, it's up to regulators. The merger would create the country's largest utility company. The North Carolina Utilities Commission is holding hearings this week. It was standing-room only Tuesday morning in the hearing room in Raleigh, the News & Observer reports, and most speakers were concerned about the merger. Many asked for conditions to be placed on the merger: "While the merger may save funds in redundancies and greater efficiency, we hope that you will effectively limit excessive compensation by ensuring that greater funds are directed to helping North Carolina's poor instead of giving executives high compensation packages," said Alfred Ripley, a lawyer with the N.C. Justice Center in Raleigh.