Duke Energy to Close Two Charlotte-Area Coal Plants Early

By BEN FOX RUBIN

Duke Energy Corp. DUK +0.71% will close two of its Charlotte, N.C.-area coal-fired power plants two years earlier than scheduled, as the company continues to make the transition to newer, more-efficient plants.

The closures are part of Duke Energy's strategy to modernize its power plants, which includes retiring as much as 6,800 megawatts of older coal and large oil-fired units. By the end of 2013, Duke Energy said it will have retired more than 3,800 MW of this capacity.

Both stations had been slated to be closed in April 2015 in advance of upcoming federal environmental regulations. However, the company said it elected to close Buck Units 5 and 6 and Riverbend Units 4 through 7 on April 1, 2013.

The units have been operating infrequently in recent years and in the future would have operated even less with the completion of more-efficient plants amid low natural-gas prices, the company said in a news release Friday ...

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