DOE announces $50 million selection of Duke Energy to strengthen grid reliability and support growing communities in the Carolinas

• DOE cooperative agreement would support advanced transmission upgrades in North and South Carolina

• Funding would help offset project costs while allowing Duke Energy to move more quickly on critical infrastructure investments

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the selection of Duke Energy to receive $50 million to help deploy innovative technologies that expand and optimize grid capacity, strengthen reliability, lower costs for customers and accelerate critical infrastructure improvements in growing communities across North and South Carolina. The agreement would support transmission improvements in high-growth areas of:

• Greenville and Spartanburg counties in South Carolina
  
• Henderson and Polk counties in North Carolina

Following finalization of negotiations with DOE, award funding is intended to offset a portion of projected costs, reducing the amount that would otherwise be funded by customers while helping Duke Energy move more quickly on needed infrastructure investments.

What this means: Communities across the Carolinas continue to grow, increasing demand for reliable energy. This funding would help Duke Energy make targeted upgrades that allow the existing transmission system to deliver more power to homes and businesses across the region.

By using advanced transmission technologies and making greater use of existing infrastructure, Duke Energy can bring needed upgrades online sooner than traditional approaches. The result is a stronger grid that supports growth while lowering costs for customers.

Our view: "Strengthening the grid requires targeted investments that improve reliability and help ensure our system is ready to meet customers' evolving energy needs in a cost-effective manner," said Scott Batson, executive vice president and chief power grid officer for Duke Energy. "I thank the Trump administration and DOE for selecting Duke Energy. By making smarter use of existing infrastructure, we're able to bring customer benefits to our communities faster, including improved outage response, a more flexible electric grid and greater readiness to meet the region's growing energy needs."

Zoom in: The project was selected through DOE's SPARK program, which supports projects that strengthen grid reliability, expand capacity and accelerate infrastructure development.

Combined with approximately $151 million in Duke Energy investment, the project represents more than $200 million in infrastructure improvements across the Carolinas.

The project will use Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs) and Advanced Transmission Technologies (ATTs), such as advanced conductors and dynamic line ratings, to increase the capacity of the existing transmission system. These tools help unlock additional capacity using infrastructure that is already in place, allowing critical upgrades to move forward more quickly while helping keep costs as low as possible for customers.

Bigger picture: Duke Energy is pursuing every opportunity to strengthen reliability and reduce costs for customers. This selection is the latest example of the company's efforts to leverage federal programs and innovative financing opportunities to help offset infrastructure investments. Recent actions include:

• More than $5 billion in customer savings announced in May, including:
  
  • Approximately $2.3 billion in net customer savings from 2027 to 2040 through the planned combination of Duke Energy's two electric utilities in the Carolinas.
    
  • Up to $3.1 billion in net tax credit value through a multiyear agreement covering nuclear, solar and battery tax credits expected to be generated between 2025 and 2028, with savings used to reduce customer bills.
    
• Duke Energy also announced in May that it submitted an application for DOE loans that could represent billions of dollars in additional customer savings as the company strengthens the electric grid, adds capacity and serves growing communities.
  
• Earlier this year, Duke Energy was selected by DOE for grant funding totaling nearly $96 million to support reliability and refurbishment projects at coal-fired power plants in Kentucky and North Carolina.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric utilities serve 8.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 55,700 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy is executing an energy modernization strategy, keeping customer value at the forefront as it invests in electric grid upgrades and efficient generation resources to strengthen the system and serve growing energy needs.

More information is available at duke-energy.com. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook for stories about the people and innovations powering its communities.

Contact: Riley Cook
24-Hour: 800.559.3853