Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Duke Didn't Want to Apologize

And clearly, they didn't mean it when they did:
 "Duke had agreed to submit a public statement of penance for the way it mishandled its merger with Progress and fired CEO-to-be Bill Johnson on the day the merger was completed. Lawyers at Duke and at the Utilities Commission had agreed on a draft of the letter....

Rogers submitted his letter Tuesday. Several hours later, however, the company was forced to submit a corrected version, this time adding two key words: “we apologize.”

“This was a draft mix-up at our end – we basically submitted the wrong draft,”"

You just can't make this stuff up folks.  The North Carolina Utility Commission has  officially been walked all over, again.  And they know, and don't seem to care much:
"Public Staff Director Robert Gruber had been publicly demanding Rogers’ ouster as a moral equalizer.
Gruber said Tuesday that Rogers’ letter signals that Duke and the commission have reconciled.
“They owed the commission an apology in plain English,” said Gruber, whose agency represents the public in utility rate cases. “I’m satisfied it brings closure to the matter.”"
I'm sure the Duke authorities have learned their lesson and will never try to fool the commission, their shareholders, the legislature, and the general public again after such harsh treatment:
"As part of the settlement finalized this month, Duke will pay $30 million to benefit North Carolina customers and Rogers will retire by the end of next year. The settlement also reassigns two top Duke executives to other roles."
 Oooooooooh, $30 Million for all of us?  That's like being Duke CEO for like, 3/4 of a day or something, and we all get to share it.  Mmmmmm hmmmm, feelin' that satisfaction!