The nation's top utilities regulator, who oversaw the approval of the merger between Progress Energy and Duke Energy last month, staunchly defended the right of a corporate board to fire the CEO and replace him at will.

The comments by Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, suggest that even if such a CEO switch is unpopular with other board members, employees and state regulators, "everybody needs to move on."

Wellinghoff made his comments Tuesday at an industry conference in Washington. His remarks were reported by Bloomberg News.

Wellinghoff's remarks came in response to reporters' questions about Charlotte-based Duke's firing of CEO Bill Johnson, 58, just hours after the merger was completed July 2. Wellinghoff noted that he's not specifically discussing Duke or Johnson because the FERC docket on the matter remains open and he can't comment on it, Bloomberg reported.

"I believe that a board of directors of a utility has the right to decide whoever they want to run the utility," Wellinghoff said at a Platts Energy Podium. "Once the board of directors does that, regardless of their timing, I think everybody needs to move on."

Federal regulators have again rejected the proposed merger between Duke Energy and Progress Energy, assuring the $26 billion deal won't get done this year, and raising questions whether it can get done at all.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said this evening the merger raises serious concerns about giving the companies too much monopoly power in North Carolina. Announced in January, the merger would create the nation's largest electric utility to be based in Charlotte. It would also result in the elimination of 1,860 positions, mostly in North Carolina.

The federal commission issued its ruling the day before the agency was expected to consider the matter at a public hearing in Washington on Thursday morning. The ruling blindsided executives at both companies, who had hoped for an approval of the deal they have been working on for the past 11 months.

"It's certainly a surprise," said Progress spokesman Mike Hughes. "We are reviewing the ruling as to what our options are."

Progress Energy CEO Bill Johnson told Bloomberg News this morning that Progress and Duke Energy will be "well-positioned" after their merger to make additional acquisitions.

Both Johnson and Duke CEO Jim Rogers are attending an Edison Electric Institute meeting in Orlando.

Rogers told Bloomberg that he expects further consolidation among utilities due to the high cost of building and replacing power plants.

Rogers said the $26 billion merger would be completed by the end of the year or early next year.

Duke Energy and Progress Energy today asked federal regulators to conduct a fresh review of the companies' proposed merger, suggesting the regulators are applying standards so strict and unreasonable as to imperil utility mergers in general.

The two North Carolina power companies, which want to create the nation's largest electric utility, use such terms as "unrealistic" and "unprecedented" to characterize the Sept. 30 finding by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that the proposed Duke-Progress merger raises significant and severe monopoly concerns.

The FERC said last month the combined company could manipulate the market price of electricity, and in response Duke and Progress have proposed selling off wholesale power at a fixed price to appease the commission's concerns.

But today's filing by Charlotte-based Duke and Raleigh-based Progress suggests their proposed $26 billion merger is in deeper trouble than had been acknowledged. The tone of their filing suggests that Duke and Progress executives had expected a quick federal approval but instead were blindsided by the FERC's ruling.