Duke Energy’s growth plan is unchanged by Tuesday’s election results, chief executive Harry Sideris told analysts on the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday. The company is executing a 103 billion dollar five-year capital plan, heavily weighted to natural gas generation and grid work, and sees a further 5 billion to 10 billion dollars of potential generation and transmission investment as large-load contracts are finalised, particularly in Indiana and Florida.
The large-load pipeline stands at 15.4 gigawatts, virtually unchanged since the first quarter of 2026, and now includes 7.8 gigawatts of signed electric service agreements, up 200 megawatts from the first quarter. Management said it remains confident of converting the full pipeline into service agreements by the first half of 2027, while acknowledging that negotiations are taking longer because of their complexity. A further 5.2 gigawatts of data centres are under construction and scheduled to begin taking power in the second half of 2027 and into 2028.
By 2031 Duke plans to add 16 gigawatts of capacity, including more than 10 gigawatts of new natural gas generation, about 5 gigawatts of it already under construction in North Carolina and Indiana, and 4.8 gigawatts of battery storage. Spending is running at about 1.5 billion dollars a month and steps up to about 2 billion dollars a month next year. The plan is supported by 10 billion dollars of planned equity issuance, about a third of which has been secured.
Third-quarter adjusted earnings were 1.99 dollars per share against 1.81 dollars a year earlier, and the company narrowed its 2026 guidance to 6.70 to 6.80 dollars per share. Retail electric sales rose 2 percent, the strongest quarterly load growth since 2022.
Friction remains local. North Carolina regulators denied a certificate for a 255 megawatt gas unit, citing its cost and uncertain need, a decision Sideris said the company still disputes, and large-load tariff proposals are pending across North Carolina, Florida, Indiana and Ohio, with a North Carolina settlement possible by the middle of this month.