Interview: Lew Middleton, Communications Manager of Duke Energy-Indiana, on bringing carbon offsets to Hoosiers

Duke Energy – Indiana is the largest electric supplier of Indiana providing 6,500 megawatts of electricity capacity to approximately 775,000 customers. Duke Energy supports cap-and-trade system and is actively engaged in carbon neutralization to combat global CO2 concerns. They recently launched a carbon offsets program for Indiana residents. We met the Communications Manager Lew Middleton to find out more about the program.

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COD: Congratulations! You have brought the opportunity of carbon offsets to Indiana residents through your innovative offer. Can you walk us through how this initiative works for a Duke Energy customer?

Lew: Duke Energy’s carbon offset program gives customers the opportunity to mitigate the impact of their energy-intensive lifestyles by purchasing carbon offsets to reduce or cancel out their monthly energy use. A carbon offset may be purchased for $4 per month, which will offset 500 pounds of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of 250 kilowatt-hours of energy use, based on Duke Energy’s generation mix in Indiana. Since the average residential customer uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, by purchasing four blocks for $16 per month, that customer can balance his/her monthly carbon output. Customers can sign up at our Web site, , or they can call toll-free 866-683-0705.

COD: How has the program been received by your customers? Can you give us an idea of adoption rates and general feedback?

Lew: This is a new program and we recognize it will take some time to get off the ground. At this point, our Indiana customers have purchased 40 500-pound blocks of carbon dioxide. We expect this to grow over time as we promote the program through online channels and bill messages.

COD: What is the science behind the calculations you use to determine the carbon footprint of customer homes?

Lew: We arrived at our figures through a combination of research from Duke Energy and the not-for-profit organization NC Green Power in North Carolina.

COD: Seems like Duke Energy is really committed to partnering with customers to reduce carbon emissions. Can you explain how the matching program works?

Lew: For the first $4 carbon offset each customer buys, Duke Energy will match that amount through 2009.

COD: We understand the commitment of Duke in climate change and pursuing quality carbon emission programs. What are your checkpoints to ensure customer money is invested in worthy carbon offset projects?

Lew: All carbon offset programs are being evaluated using the criteria established by the Environmental Defense Fund. For example, carbon offsets offered through the selected program must be verifiable, certified, permanent, and have net positive environmental and community impacts.

COD: Your launch targets the Hoosier customers. Is Duke Energy targeting customers state by state or is this more of a market experiment?

Lew: State utility regulators have granted permission for Duke Energy to offer a carbon offset program in North Carolina, South Carolina and Indiana. We are seeking regulatory approval to offer the program to our customers in Ohio and Kentucky.

COD: What else is Duke Energy doing to bring renewable energy to the market?

Lew: Duke Energy continues to diversify the mix of fuels it uses to generate electricity for its customers by making significant investments in renewable energy projects. Since 2007, Duke Energy has committed $1 billion to build its wind power business. The company has more than 630 megawatts of clean, renewable wind energy in commercial operation – a figure that will rise to more than 730 megawatts by the end of 2009. We also have an additional 5,000 megawatts in potential wind energy development projects.

In May 2009, the North Carolina Utilities Commission issued a revised order allowing Duke Energy to proceed with a proposal to install electricity-generating solar panels on the roofs and grounds at up to 225 sites in North Carolina, including homes, schools, office buildings, shopping malls, warehouses and industrial plants. This project will create a solar distributed generation network capable of supplying electricity to about 1,300 homes. Distributed generation is energy created close to customers rather than at large, centralized power plants.

COD: Carbon offsets continue to receive a good deal of criticism. What’s the bottom line, are carbon offsets a useful tool or not?

Lew: We believe that carbon offsets, energy efficiency and renewable energy generation are all part of the mix to help our company and our customers move toward a cleaner, greener and more environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

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Posted on October 2, 2009 · in Interviews

Tagged as: Carbon Offsets • CO2 • Duke Energy • Indiana • Lew Middleton