Progress Energy is now the name for the company that controls two major electric utility subsidiaries, the regional electric companies CP&L and Florida Power, as well as other companies such as Progress Telecom, North Carolina Natural Gas and Energy Ventures.
Keith Poston, public relations manager for Progress Energy Service Company, said the name change, which became official Monday, responds to the company's growth.
"We have been looking at rebranding for a couple of years now," he said. "(The name) CP&L was limiting as far as a regional perspective and bringing new companies into the fold."
Following the recent acquisition of Florida Progress Corporation, there has been some controversy over CP&L growth in North Carolina. In 1998, CP&L applied for a modification of its original operating permit that would increase nuclear waste storage at Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant in Wake County.
This sparked heated discussion throughout the Orange County community because some scientists said expansion would raise the probability of radiation being released into the air as a result of insufficient water pool cooling systems.
Local officials have attempted to have their voices heard before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which must license any CP&L expansion.
Poston said the renaming was completely unrelated to the expansion controversy. "It's still the same plant and the same policies, including efforts to expand storage in the (nuclear power plant)," he said.
Orange County Commissioner Barry Jacobs, who has spoken out against Shearon Harris' plans, said the actual name of the company means little to nothing. "I think they're just playing the contemporary game of corporate consolidation," he said. "I don't think its name helps make its image, its actions."
Poston said all the original names of the companies will remain the same, and only the holding company's name will be different. "They'll all carry the new logo and look," he said. "It's a market and strategic positioning move."
