Duke Energy Corp. is the latest company to end a long-standing practice of insuring its retirees, a cost-saving approach already embraced by IBM, Time Warner, Caterpillar, General Electric and DuPont.
About 14,500 retirees of were informed that the company will no longer provide insurance to supplement Medicare coverage. Instead, Duke will pay retirees an annual stipend toward the cost of insurance.
More: The News-Observer
Most U.S. Firms Ignore Climate Risk Disclosures
Almost 75% of the nation’s publicly traded companies are ignoring a three-year-old Securities and Exchange Commission requirement that they inform investors of the risks that climate change may pose to their bottom lines.
The data, culled from the annual reports of 3,895 U.S. public companies listed on major stock exchanges, found that only 27% mentioned “climate change” or “global warming” in their most recent filing. Nearly all of the 179 energy companies reviewed mentioned climate change.
More: Inside Climate News
Companies Unplug from Grid, Jolting Utilities
The number of electric generation units at commercial and industrial sites has more than quadrupled since 2006, leading utilities such as AEP to consider getting into the on-site power business.
On-site generation still accounts for less than 5% of U.S. electricity production. But it is gaining momentum because of falling prices for solar panels and natural gas, as well as a fear that power outages caused by major storms will become more common. Wal-Mart, which produces about 4% of the electricity it uses, plans to boost that to 20% by 2020 and expects to be paying as little for solar power as utility power in less than three years.
More: The Wall Street Journal
Lobbying Wins Boosts Exelon CEO’s Pay
Exelon Corp. boosted the stock awards for CEO Christopher Crane to $4.2 million in 2012, 25% above his target, thanks to his work lobbying state and federal officials. The company’s board of directors credited Crane for winning approval of the Constellation merger and for influencing new Environmental Protection Agency regulations and deregulation measures in Ohio.
More: Crain’s Chicago Business
FirstEnergy Elects Ex-NRC Official to Board
FirstEnergy Corp. announced the election Luis A. Reyes, former administrator of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atlanta-based Region II, to its board of directors. His term will run until the company’s 2014 annual meeting. Reyes will serve on the board’s Corporate Governance and Nuclear Committees.
More: FirstEnergy Corp.
