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Duke Energy to Invest $76 Million in Electric Car Chargers

Duke Energy to Invest $76 Million in Electric Car Chargers

(Bloomberg) -- Duke Energy Corp. plans to spend $76 million to add 2,500 charging stations for electric vehicles in North Carolina at a time when drivers can have a hard time finding a place to recharge as the industry expands.

Key Insights

  • Along with charging stations, the money will fund adoption of electric school buses and public transportation, according to a company statement on Monday. North Carolina already has more than 10,000 plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles and about 600 public charging stations.
  • The proposal to state regulators comes as automakers worldwide prepare to spend $255 billion through 2023 to develop battery-powered models.
  • Even drivers in California, the largest U.S. electric vehicle market, have difficulties finding places to recharge. Drivers face similar frustrations in China and Europe.
  • "This initiative will help accelerate public and private EV use while also reducing carbon emissions," Lang Reynolds, Duke Energy’s director of electrification strategy, said in the company statement.

Market Reaction

  • Shares of Duke Energy fell by 0.82 percent to $89.26 at 9:34 a.m. in New York. The company’s stock has fallen by less than 1 percent in the past year.

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  • Automakers are ramping up investments in charging states across Europe, the U.S. and in China.
  • Drivers in the biggest EV markets still find it hard to find a place to plug in.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Efstathiou Jr. in New York at jefstathiou@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Doan at ldoan6@bloomberg.net, Reg Gale, Will Wade

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