Bill Johnson had expected to be heading the nation's largest electric company next week when addressing his executive peers at the Economic Forecast Forum, the annual gathering of who's whos among the state's business elite.

Johnson, currently CEO of Progress Energy in Raleigh, is slated to become CEO of Duke Energy in Charlotte when the two power companies complete their corporate merger. The $26 billion deal is temporarily on ice, however, as the two utilities regroup to work out a merger proposal that's acceptable to federal regulators.

The feds have rejected the previous two merger proposals from Duke and Progress, expressing concern that the merger as proposed would create a company with an unhealthy concentration of market power that could manipulate the wholesale price of electricity. Duke and Progress had expected to complete their merger this year, but now Wall Street analysts say the merger could take three to six more months to get done.

Johnson is slated to discuss the role of energy in North Carolina's economy at the annual economic forum that's sponsored by two of the state's most influential business lobbying groups: N.C. Bankers Association and the N.C. Chamber. He is likely to extol the merger's benefits for customers and shareholders, but he may also face questions from the audience about the economic consequences to this state of eliminating 1,860 jobs over three years.
 

Progress Energy this morning reported a boost in second-quarter earnings as the Raleigh-based power company continues shaving costs in the face of an anemic economy.

Progress Energy is transforming itself from a power company that uses almost no natural gas in the Carolinas to a company increasingly dependent on the cleanest-burning fossil fuel to generate electricity.

Progress CEO Bill Johnson, who has quickly become the nation's most visible power industry executive, laid out the changes this morning at an industry conference in California.

Johnson is slated to become CEO of Duke Energy when the Charlotte-based company completes its planned acquisition of Raleigh-based Progress, creating the nation's largest electric utility with 7.1 million customers in six states.

As Progress company phases out 11 coal-burning power plants, it will go from deriving half its electricity from coal, down to a fourth of its power. At the same time, reliance on natural gas will increase from less than 4 percent to about 25 percent, matching coal within several years.

Progress Energy CEO Bill Johnson received $6.2 million in total compensation last year, a 3.5 percent decline from the previous year.

Citing the challenging economic environment, the Raleigh-based utility gave Johnson and most other Progress executives no salary increases and reduced their annual stock grants by 20 percent.

Johnson, 57, remains one of the highest paid executives in the Triangle.

His pay is likely to face increased scrutiny in light of the job cuts that are expected with the proposed merger between Progress and Duke Energy. Johnson is to become CEO of the combined company, which will be based in Charlotte.

Total compensation for Johnson and other Progress executives was outlined in a proxy statement filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Progress Energy CEO Bill Johnson has been striking a consistent theme this year: North Carolina needs to change its laws to make it easier to raise customer rates to pay for new nuclear plants.

Johnson made his comments most recently this morning as a speaker at the Platts Nuclear Energy Conference in Bethesda, Maryland.

He made similar comments last month to News & Observer editors and reporters when discussing plans for Raleigh-based Progress to merge with Charlotte-based Duke Energy. Johnson's profile in the corporate world has risen immensely since it was announced he will be the CEO of the combined electric company, which will be the nation's largest utility with 7.1 million customers.

Johnson says Wall Street investors won't front the billions of dollars needed to build a nuclear plant unless they have the assurance that power companies can recover the money through their customers.

Progress Energy CEO Bill Johnson, who will lead the nation's biggest utility company when the merger between Raleigh-based Progress and Charlotte's Duke Energy is completed later this year, is suddenly in demand by the national media.

Johnson has taken advantage of his increased national profile to act as the electric industry's ambassador to a broader audience, extending far beyond the borders of North Carolina. In his speeches, Johnson has warned of higher energy costs and the perils of misguided regulation.

Just in the past week, Johnson, 57, has granted interviews to Fox News, Associated Press, Bloomberg News and Forbes.com. More media interviews are expected this week as Johnson continues making national appearances at industry conferences and events.

In the filmed Forbes.com interview, Johnson laid out the rationale for the Duke-Progress merger as a matter of economic survival.

"We're a small company compared to the capital program we have ahead of us," Johnson told interviewer Josh Wolfe. "The capital outlay ahead of us is just so daunting that we weren't big enough to do it [alone]."

Progress Energy has been looking to buy a stake in two proposed nuclear reactors in South Carolina as the Raleigh-based power company considers options to finance nuclear expansion.

Progress CEO Bill Johnson told reporters at Bloomberg News yesterday that Progress has discussed buying a stake in two proposed reactors about 25 miles northwest of Columbia. The project is jointly owned by the Scana Corp. and Santee Cooper, the state-owned electric utility that has publicly said it's looking to sell off some of its share in the project.

Johnson made the comments in New York, where he spoke at a nuclear industry conference and made a series of media appearances.

Those discussions are consistent with Progress's approach to nuclear expansion based on joint financing or co-ownership. Progress spokesman Mike Hughes would not say if Progress is still interested in joint ownership of the $9.1 billion V.C. Summer nuclear project in South Carolina or if those talks have ended without resolution.

"We certainly have talked with all of our neighbors," Hughes said. "The concept of regional nuclear is a very important one."

The message from Progress Energy CEO Bill Johnson to his jittery employees can be boiled down to: focus on your job and safety, change happens, be patient, trust me and I don’t know.

Plus: Do not talk to employees at Duke Energy.

Johnson did his best to calm, cajole and motivate about 1,500 Progress employees on Wednesday, two days after Raleigh-based Progress announced it would merge with Charlotte-based Duke to form the nation’s largest utility company. Hundreds of positions will likely be eliminated in Raleigh and in Charlotte as the two electric utilities consolidate operations to trim operating costs.

“For the majority, the vast majority of employees, this is a better opportunity,” Johnson assured his utility troops, according to a transcript of the meeting Progress filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “You get to grow your career in a bigger, more robust company, right? … Those are facts.”

Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers ventured into enemy territory when he first met with his counterpart at Progress Energy to discuss a merger.

After Rogers called to suggest they talk about ways they might work together, Progress CEO Bill Johnson set up the July dinner at the Washington Duke Inn, on the campus of Duke University.

Rogers jokingly suggested during an interview with editors at The News & Observer Wednesday that Johnson had picked a site that would put him at a disadvantage.

Rogers is a University of Kentucky alumnus and a big basketball fan who still holds a grudge over the last-second shot the Blue Devils' Christian Laettner hit in a 1992 tournament game to beat UK.

"It's bad enough running a company called Duke," Rogers said, laughing.

Progress Energy CEO Bill Johnson, who will become CEO of the combined utility when Duke Energy buys Progress, will make a base annual salary of $1.1 million.

He also will be eligible for bonuses worth up to $6.7 million, and various other perks under Duke's compensation policy, including use of the corporate aircraft. The companies disclosed some details of Johnson's three-year employment agreement in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission today.

Johnson, 57, also will be reimbursed for expenses related to his relocation to Charlotte.