"We are projecting load growth at levels I've never seen in my 30-year career, which will drive more than a decade of record infrastructure build," Sideris said on the call, his first as CEO following Lynn Good's retirement earlier this year.

Duke anticipates 1.5% to 2% load growth in 2025 and 2026, Sideris said. First-quarter retail growth was 1.8%, mainly in the residential sector. Higher growth rates are expected in the Carolinas and Indiana. Duke Energy serves 8.2 million electric customers in six states and 1.6 million natural gas customers in five states.

The company expects load growth to accelerate "beginning in 2027 as economic development projects come online," Savoy said.

Nuclear

Duke received approval in March for a second license renewal for its 2,618-MW Oconee nuclear plant in South Carolina, part of the utility's effort to seek subsequent license renewals for its entire nuclear fleet.

The company has also joined a consortium of other utilities and others led by the Tennessee Valley Authority to apply for $800 million in federal grant funds to pursue construction of what could be the first utility-scale small modular nuclear reactor in the US using the GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Inc. BWRX-300 design. The TVA plans to submit a construction permit application by the end of June.

Duke has also been approached about a potential restart of the abandoned V.C. Summer nuclear project in South Carolina.

"It's not an opportunity we're going to pursue," Savoy said in an interview.

Duke is working on uprates for its nuclear fleet that could add more than 250 MW.

"That's the most cost-efficient megawatt we can find," Savoy said.

Sideris said Duke is advocating to keep in place existing federal nuclear tax credits. Duke's fleet generates more than $500 billion of tax credits, Sideris said.

Other additional generation

Duke is also looking to complete uprates for gas and hydro units, adding 750 MW and 70 MW, respectively, through 2031, executives said.

"Individually, these are small, ranging less than 10 MW up to 75 MW per unit, but in aggregate, they represent over 1 GW of cost-effective incremental capacity to support our growing regions," Sideris said.

The company recently announced a partnership with GE Vernova Inc. to secure up to 19 gas turbines.

Such agreements help Duke "shore up" its supply chain and provide flexibility as the company looks to meet growing customer demand quickly.

Duke began early site activities for its first combined-cycle unit in Person County, North Carolina, and filed a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) for a second combined-cycle unit at that site.

In Indiana, Duke filed CPCNs for two combined-cycle units in February, and in Florida, the company is working on solar and battery storage projects approved in its multiyear rate plan.

While the Trump administration has signaled support for coal-fired generation, Duke has no "knee-jerk reactions to change our plans" to shutter its coal fleet in coming years.

"The coal fleet that we operate is very, very aged," Savoy said in an interview. "They've served our customers well for 50 or 60 years, but they're reaching end of life and require additional cost to even operate at a modest capacity factor."

Merger

Duke expects to file applications later this year to merge its Duke Energy Carolinas LLC and Duke Energy Progress LLC subsidiaries with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, North Carolina Utilities Commission and Public Service Commission of South Carolina. Both utilities serve customers in portions of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Sideris said the company expects the application process to take about a year, targeting January 2027 for the effective date of the merger, which he said could save customers $1 billion.

Results

Duke reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $1.37 billion, or $1.76 per share, compared to $1.10 billion, or $1.44 per share, in the first quarter of 2024.

The S&P Capital IQ consensus normalized EPS estimate for Duke was $1.59 in the first quarter of 2025.

Duke also reaffirmed its 2025 adjusted EPS guidance range of $6.17 to $6.42 and long-term adjusted EPS growth rate of 5% to 7% through 2029 off the 2025 midpoint of $6.30, "with the potential to earn the top half of the range as load growth accelerates in the back end of our plan," Savoy said.

"We're optimistic about what 2025 holds, but we're also watching very closely on these macro considerations around tariffs and tax implications that would be defined over the next several months," Savoy added.