Progress Energy wins a national award
By Staff
Progress Energy [NYSE: PGN] has been named one of the Top Utilities in Economic Development by Site Selection magazine for the seventh time in the last eight years.
The magazine’s September 2009 issue selected Progress Energy as one of 10 winning utilities based on its role in helping to generate 8,342 new jobs and more than $2.5 billion in capital investment in the Carolinas and Florida service areas in 2008.
“During these challenging economic times, we are extremely pleased to be recognized by Site Selection magazine for helping to bring thousands of quality jobs and capital investment to the communities in our service areas,” said Bill Johnson, chairman, president and CEO of Progress Energy. “Economic development is a team effort. This success was made possible by our economic development team’s close collaboration with business and economic development partners at the local, state and regional levels as well as the ongoing support of our company’s energy delivery professionals.”
The Top Utilities list is released annually by the editors of Site Selection magazine. Selection criteria include the number and type of new and expanded facilities that have located in a utility’s service area, the most new jobs and capital investment created (in total and per capita), and the new programs and services developed for attracting economic activity.
The magazine’s Top Utilities designation evaluates the utilities’ coordinated efforts with other agencies, takes into account responses from site selection consultants and corporate end users, and considers the utilities’ own investment in new generation, transmission and renewable energy projects.
“The best utility economic developers lead the way toward high-impact projects and the low-carbon economy all at once,” says Adam Bruns, managing editor of Site Selection. “Helping companies meet sustainability and efficiency targets is becoming just as important as incentives or special power rates in sustaining new or existing corporate operations and expansions.”
Site Selection magazine is published by Atlanta-based Conway Data Inc. The magazine delivers expansion planning information to 44,000 executives of fast-growing firms.
Progress Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Progress Energy, provides electricity and related services to more than 1.6 million customers in Florida. The company is headquartered in St. Petersburg, and covers a territory of more than 20,000 square miles.