Duke Energy to Refinance Tax Exempt Auction Rate Bonds
Published February 22nd, 2008
Duke Energy announced today that it has begun to implement a comprehensive plan to refund and refinance substantially all of the approximately $883 million portfolio of tax exempt auction rate bonds issued on behalf of its utility subsidiaries.
The subsidiaries, Duke Energy Carolinas LLC, Duke Energy Ohio Inc., Duke Energy Indiana Inc. and Duke Energy Kentucky Inc., will seek to refinance the obligations through the issuance of an equivalent amount of tax exempt bonds within the next several weeks. Duke Energy is pursuing the refunding plan in reaction to increased interest rates payable on the auction rate bonds as a result of recent difficulties in the auction rate securities market.
The refunding plan will be presented to Duke Energy’s board of directors at its meeting next week. Closing of the various refunding transactions is subject to such pending internal approvals, as well as the approval of applicable state or county financing authorities and utility regulators.
Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power companies in the United States, supplies and delivers energy to approximately 4 million U.S. customers. The company has approximately 36,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity in the Midwest and the Carolinas, and natural gas distribution services in Ohio and Kentucky. In addition, Duke Energy has more than 4,000 megawatts of electric generation in Latin America, and is a joint- venture partner in a U.S. real estate company.
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