Duke Energy Rolls Out 'Hire North Carolina' Program For Major Construction Projects

• Innovative program to promote economic development and job growth
• North Carolina-based and minority-owned contractors, subcontractors encouraged to join list

Charlotte, NC /PRNewswire/ - In an effort to promote economic development and support North Carolina communities, Duke Energy is implementing the new program – "Hire North Carolina" – to maximize the use of locally owned and diverse contractors for utility projects in the state.

"We want to continue to support job creation and investment with suppliers, vendors and contractors who, like many of our team members, are proud to call North Carolina home," said Melody Birmingham, senior vice president of supply chain and chief procurement officer for Duke Energy. "Hire North Carolina will be a useful resource for Duke Energy to expand access to our local and diverse talent for construction projects."

"As a small business owner, I am passionate about supporting other local and women and minority-owned businesses," said Neeta Singh, owner of Tiger Controls, a Greensboro-based electrical and electronic distributor and engineering services provider. "At a time when many small businesses are facing financial challenges, I appreciate this new initiative to identify diverse suppliers. This program will not only drive in-state investments but open up additional opportunities for women and minority-owned businesses, and I look forward to adding our company name to the Hire North Carolina list."

Qualifying projects
Hire North Carolina, as directed and overseen by the North Carolinas Utilities Commission (NCUC), covers contracts for construction, extension and repair of facilities or other utility projects that are in North Carolina and exceed $700,000 in cost.

Duke Energy will continue to consider in-state and diversity when evaluating projects of this size and will provide the Hire North Carolina list to prime contractors to promote local suppliers for construction projects.

In 2019, Duke Energy spent more than $1.7 billion with suppliers operating in North Carolina and more than $316 million with diverse North Carolina businesses. Duke Energy utilities will provide the NCUC with annual reports detailing the progress of the program.

'Hire North Carolina' list
As part of this program, Duke Energy is developing a list of resident contractors, including women- and minority-owned businesses, in order to expand the local contracting source pool within the state. A resident contractor is a contractor or subcontractor who has their primary business in North Carolina. If a contractor meets these qualifications, they are encouraged to register for the list in order to be considered for Hire North Carolina projects and contracts. Registration instructions can be found on the Duke Energy Supplier webpage at duke-energy.com/partner-with-us/suppliers.

Higher education and technical schools outreach
As part of the program, Duke Energy will also be conducting outreach with North Carolina's institutions of higher education, community colleges, and other trade and technical schools to raise awareness of career opportunities in the energy, construction and other contractor fields that support our critical mission to reliably serve North Carolina's energy needs.

Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 29,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities and 2,300 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.

Duke Energy is transforming its customers' experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure unit's regulated utilities serve 7.8 million retail electric customers in six states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to 1.6 million customers in five states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as well as energy storage and microgrid projects.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2020 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.