CEOs from opposite sides of the country also spent much time discussing the increasing role of renewable energy and distributed generation.
California is known for having the nation’s most ambitious renewable energy mandate while North Carolina, where Duke is based, also has a growing solar energy presence.
Edison CEO Ted Craver said electric utilities would be mistaken to dismiss distributed generation as merely a “fringe” business in the future. The Edison chief said his company initially started in the field by supplying big solar arrays for “big box” stores.
“A lot of this is really experimental,” Craver said. Utility subsidiary Southern California Edison (SCE) used to rely on industrial customers for one-third of its load but that is now probably closer to 10 percent, Craver said.
While some argue that California policy has been inhospitable to heavy industry, it’s important to realize that manufacturers are looking to generate more of their own power, Craver said.
The utility, SCE, is also investing more in the transmission side of its business to accommodate the growing role of distributed generation in California.
Duke is developing a variety of resources in its service territories — including new combined-cycle and peaking units in Florida — to help compensate for retirement of the Crystal River nuclear plant and potential coal units retirements as well. California is known for having the nation’s most ambitious renewable energy mandate while North Carolina, where Duke is based, also has a growing solar energy presence.