Duke Energy ups capex plan, raises customer growth forecasts
By Laila Kearney
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Power and natural gas firm Duke Energy on Thursday raised its five-year capital expenditure plan to $73 billion, an $8 billion increase over its previous guidance, and projected a jump in demand growth in 2024.
Growing power consumption in U.S. Southeast and Midwest states means more investments in clean energy, the North Carolina-based company said.
"(This is a) five-year capital plan that will support our energy transition and the unprecedented growth of our jurisdictions," Chief Executive Officer Lynn Good said.
The company narrowly missed fourth-quarter profit estimates on higher interest expenses and by 1.25 pm ET (1825 GMT) the shares had dipped by around 2.9%.
Duke Energy also raised its 2024 load growth projections to about 2% from about 1% in 2023, as new power-intensive projects, population surges in its service areas and a rebounding industrial activity drive up electricity demand.
"Those three factors give us confidence that 2% load growth in '24 is definitely in our sights," said Chief Financial Officer Brian Savoy.
Duke Energy's utilities provide electricity to over 8.2 million homes and businesses in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Its natural gas unit has 1.6 million customers.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's interest-rate hikes to tame inflation have made borrowing more expensive for businesses, impacting utility firms like Duke.
It reported an adjusted profit of $1.51 per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.54 per share, according to LSEG data.
The company's quarterly interest expense for its Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment was $486 million, compared with $421 million a year ago.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney, Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and David Ljunggren)
