Environmentalists grill CEO Rogers at Duke shareholder meeting

Duke Energy Corp.'s shareholder meeting Thursday in Charlotte was the most contentious in memory as environmentalists, including some new stockholders, challenged Chief Executive Jim Rogers on the company's plans for new coal and nuclear plants.

Other shareholders tried to shout down Gayle Goldsmith Tuch, a lawyer with a master's degree in environmental affairs, who questioned Rogers at length about the environmental impact of several Duke projects.

Rogers quieted the crowd, insisting she be allowed to speak.

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At least a dozen speakers challenged him on global warming, air pollution and other environmental issues. Rogers responded to each question, though not always to the satisfaction of the environmental community.

He also responded to other shareholders who said Duke should not worry about environmental issues. "I'd just caution our company not to get caught up in all this global-warming business," said one.

Rogers held to the theme of his speech to the shareholders, which stressed the need for Duke to balance demands for energy that is reliable, affordable and clean.

"There is no silver bullet," he said. "I have to make sure we do all of those things."

Afterward, Rogers said it was the longest shareholder meeting he'd ever held. The meeting lasted from 10 a.m. to almost noon, including more than 90 minutes of questions.

The Carolinas Clean Air Coalition and other environmental groups protested outside the meeting at Duke's Energy Center in uptown Charlotte. They oppose the 800-megwatt coal unit under construction at Duke's Cliffside Steam Station in North Carolina as well as the 630-megawatt coal-gassification plant the company is building in Indiana and its proposed Lee Nuclear Station near Gaffney, S.C.

The coalition, the N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, among others, also had representatives in the meeting.

Some have bought Duke shares. Others came bearing the proxy of shareholders who are members of their organizations.

Rogers clearly knew the issues were coming. Instead of giving his normal recap of how Duke had performed in the past year, his speech to the shareholders was about Duke's plans for future power generation. He again promised Duke will take most of the carbon out of its energy production by 2050.

But he said Duke -- and the nation -- must find a way to reduce environmental problems and at the same time meet the growing demand for energy and keep it affordable.

Rogers defended the Cliffside project in Cleveland and Rutherford counties. He called the new unit a bridge plant to get Duke (NYSE:DUK) to the point where it can radically reduce its carbon footprint in the future. He cited the work on trapping carbon dioxide that will be accomplished at the new gassification plant. And he insisted that nuclear energy will be needed to provide energy without carbon.

He also called for greater energy efficiency and conservation. And he expressed some impatience that Duke's proposed Save-A-Watt energy program appears stalled with regulators in the Carolinas.

Tuch, who lives in Winston-Salem, is not associated with any of the environmental groups opposing Duke's plans. She introduced herself as a longtime investor in the company. But she was highly critical of Rogers' approach to coal and nuclear generation. With each answer from the CEO, she raised new objections, asking -- and getting -- Rogers' permission to ask additional questions at one point. Finally, other shareholders started grumbling, with some shouting out, "Sit down!"

Rogers raised his arms and told the others to let her finish.

Other speakers had more standard questions. Charlie Gilliardi pushed Rogers on getting more growth out of the company. He also suggested that Duke consider reducing the number of outstanding shares -- more than 1.6 billion -- and suggested a one-for-two reverse stock split.

But environmental issues dominated the day. Rogers conceded many of the points were valid and said he has a meeting set up later this month with James Hansen, a NASA climate scientist who's a leading critic of coal plants.

But Rogers held to his contention that Duke could not give greater weight to environmental concerns than to other demands it has to balance.

June Blotnick, executive director of the clean-air coalition, said she appreciated Rogers' patience and thought the conversation was constructive. But she said her group and others think public-health and environmental concerns should be given greater weight than other issues.

"He did a good job answering the questions, but not good enough for us," she said. "We're trying to find some common ground, but it's a hard place to get to."