Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2021
Villano family files lawsuit against Duke Energy
Lawsuit filed
The Villano family filed a lawsuit against Duke Energy following a fatal tubing accident at a Duke Energy low-head dam on the Dan River. According to the reported event, the family seeks to hold the company accountable and demands that it modify or eliminate the dams. The lawsuit concerns the low-head dam on the Dan River where the fatal tubing accident occurred, and the family's stated demands focus on changes to the dams.
Stated objective. The family says it seeks to hold Duke Energy accountable and demands that it modify the dams or eliminate them altogether.
Source excerpt
Five of them drowned, including 35-year-old Theresa Villano, who was six months pregnant at the time.
As a result, the Villano family has filed a lawsuit against Duke Energy, the second-largest utility in the U.S., to hold it accountable, and demand that they modify the dams or eliminate them altogether.
2021
Duke Energy reaches settlements with two insurers over coal ash cleanup costs
Settlement
Duke Energy reached settlements with two insurers it had sued over coverage of coal ash cleanup costs. The article says Generali paid an undisclosed settlement on May 7 and that Duke had also recently settled with L'Etoile. Duke said proceeds would be divided between its two North Carolina operating units.
Source excerpt
For decades, Duke dumped the ash into ponds and mounds around its coal-fired power plants. In recent years, the federal government, courts, state lawmakers and regulators have ordered the company to clean up coal ash sites.
Duke Energy has reached a confidential settlement with two of a group of insurance over coal ash cleanups.
In a , Duke says French insurer Generali, formerly known as Le Continent, paid the undisclosed settlement on May 7. Duke also recently settled with another French company, L'Etoile, according to Duke spokesman Bill Norton.
2015
U.S. Department of Justice fines Duke Energy about $102 million
Fine or penalty
The U.S. Department of Justice fined Duke Energy about $102 million for Clean Water Act violations related to coal ash spills and the management of coal ash basins in North Carolina. Duke also agreed to a five-year probation period and environmental compliance plans overseen by a court-appointed monitor.
Company response
Remediation — Duke Energy
Duke Energy will enter a five-year probation period, during which the company agreed to establish environmental compliance plans under the supervision of a court-appointed monitor
Source excerpt
Duke Energy Corp has agreed to pay a fine of about $102 million for environmental violations related to a power plant's coal ash spill into a North Carolina river last year and the company's management of coal ash basins in the state.
The U.S. Department of Justice fined the company for five Clean Water Act violations at its Dan River and Riverbend steam stations and four Clean Water Act violations at the company's H.F. Lee Steam, Cape Fear and Asheville electricity-generating plants, according to a company statement on Friday.
A pipe break at a retired Duke coal plant triggered the third-worst coal ash spill in U.S. history
1999
Coal-plant Clean Air Act enforcement dispute
The Environmental Protection Agency challenged Duke's modifications to older coal plants, arguing that the work increased operating hours and emissions without the required permits. The Supreme Court ruled against Duke's interpretation in 2007.
1973
Brookside coal-mine labor conflict
Workers at Duke-owned Brookside mine in Harlan County, Kentucky, conducted a thirteen-month dispute over medical benefits and recognition of the United Mine Workers of America. A foreman shot and killed miner Lawrence D. Jones during the conflict. Duke later reached an agreement recognizing the union local, rehiring dismissed workers and dropping related charges.