SC, NC regulators OK Duke-Progress merger accord

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina regulators have approved a merger agreement for Duke Energy Corp. and Progress Energy Inc. as they create the nation’s largest utility company.

The South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff said Tuesday that Charlotte, N.C., -based Duke and Raleigh, N.C.,-based Progress promised the deal will save retail customers in South Carolina and North Carolina at least $650 million in the first five years of the merger.

The deal also protects South Carolina customers from spending that both companies are undertaking at a Florida nuclear power plant and an Indiana coal-fired plant.

North Carolina regulators have approved a similar arrangement.

The settlements advance a merger that still requires approval by public utility regulators in both states.

The companies announced the merger in January and shareholders approved it last month.