WEBVTT - Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good Talks Climate Goals

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<v Speaker 1>A right.

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<v Speaker 2>Shares of Duke Energy are down by about two and

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<v Speaker 2>a half percent.

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<v Speaker 1>The company reporting earnings.

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<v Speaker 2>Where they raised their five year capex planned to about

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<v Speaker 2>eighty three billion dollars on increased data center and industrial demand.

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<v Speaker 2>The company also removed certain language concerning methane emissions and

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<v Speaker 2>net zero carbon emissions from their statement.

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<v Speaker 1>We spoke earlier to.

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<v Speaker 2>Lend Good, the chair and chief executive officer at Duke Energy,

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<v Speaker 2>about that data center demand. In the wake of deep

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<v Speaker 2>Seek's emergence and the company's commitment to clean energy.

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<v Speaker 1>The strategy hasn't changed.

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<v Speaker 3>Duke Energy is committed to a future of reliability and affordability,

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<v Speaker 3>increasingly clean energy as we retire older plants and bring

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<v Speaker 3>new things on. But to your point around load growth

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<v Speaker 3>and data centers, we.

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<v Speaker 1>Do see an uptick and.

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<v Speaker 3>Gas generation that wouldn't have been the case five years ago,

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<v Speaker 3>just as we put together plans on how we're going

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<v Speaker 3>to serve this load in this moment. So really committed

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<v Speaker 3>to a future and we see a bright opportunity for

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<v Speaker 3>the company as we pursue this growth.

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<v Speaker 4>I'm curious, Lynn, when we talk about those gas plants,

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<v Speaker 4>and more importantly, some of those coal plants and the

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<v Speaker 4>longer term trajectory. I mean, originally Duke had made plans

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<v Speaker 4>to shut some of those plants. I know you've reversed

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<v Speaker 4>on that, partly because of demand, and I don't know

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<v Speaker 4>how much the new administration is factoring into that. But

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<v Speaker 4>you take your big facility out in Indiana that's now

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<v Speaker 4>supposed to be online, what until twenty thirty eight? Should

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<v Speaker 4>we expect that to be even extended further than twenty

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<v Speaker 4>thirty eight?

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<v Speaker 3>Now, Remaine, we have been working toward a twenty thirty

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<v Speaker 3>five date for retirement of coal, and we really see

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<v Speaker 3>that as being important because these assets are aging. The

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<v Speaker 3>supply chain supporting coal has been challenged, and we expect

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<v Speaker 3>that to continue. But we have always looked at those

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<v Speaker 3>dates as something that has to be reviewed in the

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<v Speaker 3>context or what's going on in the business, and also

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<v Speaker 3>within the context of where our regulators are. And so

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<v Speaker 3>as I think about twenty five to twenty thirty eight,

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<v Speaker 3>I don't look.

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<v Speaker 1>At that as a huge shift.

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<v Speaker 3>Duke is not stepping away from a commitment of modernizing

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<v Speaker 3>our fleet. We're just reflecting the reality of the growth

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<v Speaker 3>that we see in the near term, and how do

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<v Speaker 3>we maintain reliability and keep bills as low as we

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<v Speaker 3>can for customers at the same time pursuing our goals

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<v Speaker 3>for cleaner energy over time.

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<v Speaker 4>I'm glad you used the word reliability, particularly in the

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<v Speaker 4>context of the data centers and AI.

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<v Speaker 1>There's been a lot of talk.

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<v Speaker 4>Amongst the companies, hyperscalers and some of the other end

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<v Speaker 4>users here about having reliable transmission here. Was there any

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<v Speaker 4>shift at all in some of those customers' needs, demands,

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<v Speaker 4>hopes based on what we learned out of Deep Seat

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<v Speaker 4>a couple of weeks ago.

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<v Speaker 3>It's a really good question because there's been so much

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<v Speaker 3>dialogue over the last week about what it means, and

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<v Speaker 3>I would say to you, remain the tone of the

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<v Speaker 3>customers we're dealing with. The hyperscalers that we are dealing

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<v Speaker 3>with has not changed. They have always expected and shared

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<v Speaker 3>with us that energy efficiency would be a part of

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<v Speaker 3>their business model because they know they're big consumers of electricity.

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<v Speaker 3>How can I reduce that demand on the system over time?

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<v Speaker 3>Because I also expect my volume to increase, and so

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<v Speaker 3>as we look at our plans over the next five years,

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<v Speaker 3>we do not see a big impact from this recent event,

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<v Speaker 3>but of course, are continuing to listen for changes in

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<v Speaker 3>the industry, and as I said, we'll expect energy efficiency

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<v Speaker 3>to continue to be an objective for the tech companies

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<v Speaker 3>and we welcome that because the demand for stake broadly

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<v Speaker 3>is just putting an impact on the system.

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<v Speaker 1>That'll demand more and more resources.

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<v Speaker 2>Linn, the other day, I was talking to the Energy

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<v Speaker 2>secretary newly confirmed, and he was talking about coal and

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<v Speaker 2>extending the life of coal plants. He doesn't think there'll

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<v Speaker 2>be a renaissance of coal, but nonetheless I'm curious Lynn

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<v Speaker 2>as to the direct like, what would it take for

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<v Speaker 2>a utility like you guys, the power company, like you guys,

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<v Speaker 2>to say, restart a coal plant.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't see us restarting coal.

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<v Speaker 3>Plants, Alex and I would get back to the business

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<v Speaker 3>case around coal in addition to clean energy. Over time,

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<v Speaker 3>these plants, many of them fifty sixty years old, where

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<v Speaker 3>the decisions around how to maintain and how to replace

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<v Speaker 3>equipment can be challenging when you're looking at a useful

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<v Speaker 3>life that is shortened, and so we believe the right

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<v Speaker 3>answer is to continue to modernize, continue to modernize our fleet, continue.

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<v Speaker 1>To take advantage of new technologies.

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<v Speaker 3>So that we are making the right decisions for our

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<v Speaker 3>customers over the long term, and that has been our

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<v Speaker 3>strategy at Duke. It continues to be our strategy and

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<v Speaker 3>with the growth that we're seeing, this is why natural

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<v Speaker 3>gas is showing up more strongly than it would have

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<v Speaker 3>five years ago, because it represents a base load resource

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<v Speaker 3>that we believe matches this load requirement in this moment,

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<v Speaker 3>and you can see that in some of our plans

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<v Speaker 3>that we think adding those resources is important in this decade,

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<v Speaker 3>but we will continue working toward cleaner energy over time,

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<v Speaker 3>and those plans have not changed.

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<v Speaker 2>You have a five year capital plan that actually increased

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<v Speaker 2>capex to eighty three billion dollars, and I'm assuming a

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<v Speaker 2>lot that is going to be that hyperscaler and that

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<v Speaker 2>data demand.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you think we're ever going to be in a.

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<v Speaker 2>Place where you're going to build like a mini power

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<v Speaker 2>plant right next to a hyperscaler, or is everyone is

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<v Speaker 2>going to be sharing the same power on a grid.

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<v Speaker 3>I'd look at this opportunity alex as being a combination

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<v Speaker 3>of both, and as you can imagine, for customers of

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<v Speaker 3>this scale that have this amount of demand for power,

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<v Speaker 3>we are having conversations with them about how we can

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<v Speaker 3>meet their needs, and it could, for example, include connecting

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<v Speaker 3>to the grid, but also having a backup power supply.

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<v Speaker 1>That we could take advantage of in a peak period.

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<v Speaker 3>There will be demand response opportunities, energy efficiency opportunities, and

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<v Speaker 3>I believe some of them may have an interest in

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<v Speaker 3>having their own on site generation. I think what's important

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<v Speaker 3>is we want to be a part of that part

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<v Speaker 3>of data centers, artificial intelligence, US leadership, and technology.

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<v Speaker 1>We want to be an enabler of that. And so those.

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<v Speaker 3>Conversations with customers are ongoing, and I would say largely

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<v Speaker 3>those conversations taking advantage of the grid for at least some,

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<v Speaker 3>if not all, of their load, and then some of

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<v Speaker 3>these other technologies more on the margin.

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<v Speaker 4>At this point, how cooperative len ARE regulator is going

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<v Speaker 4>to be not necessarily at the federal level, but at

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<v Speaker 4>the local and state level.

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<v Speaker 3>We were hand in glove with our states and local

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<v Speaker 3>communities on economic development, and in this moment we're talking

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<v Speaker 3>about data centers, but think about expansion of life sciences,

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<v Speaker 3>think about advanced manufacturing. We have had a long standing

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<v Speaker 3>partnership around economic development and the states see data centers

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<v Speaker 3>as an important part of economic development, particularly at the

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<v Speaker 3>local level property taxes for example, that could be important

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<v Speaker 3>to a community.

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<v Speaker 1>So we're an.

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<v Speaker 3>Ongoing dialogue, also ongoing dialogue with regulators. Their interest is

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<v Speaker 3>in making sure if we add this load that we're

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<v Speaker 3>not in some way subsidizing that load with other customers.

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<v Speaker 1>So those conversations.

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<v Speaker 3>Are ongoing, and we have a lot of experience in

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<v Speaker 3>how to execute those types of contracts and we see

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<v Speaker 3>them as being relevant to this moment as well.

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<v Speaker 4>N Good there, the chief executive officer over at Duke Energy,