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The story
Predecessors
Raleigh-based Carolina Power & Light was founded in 1908 through the merger of Raleigh Electric, Central Carolina Power, and Consumer Light & Power. It acquired the Asheville Power and Light company the following year. By 1999, the company served as the primary power provider for eastern North Carolina, northeastern South Carolina, and the Asheville area, with 1.2 million customers. It was the second-largest power company in North Carolina.
St. Petersburg-based Florida Power was founded in 1899 and began to expand starting in the 1920s. By 1999, the company served as the primary power provider for Central Florida and North Central Florida, with 1.3 million customers. In 1982, the company was reorganized into the Florida Progress Corporation to diversify beyond electricity, with its non-electric holdings including the broadband infrastructure provider Progress Telecom and a $5 million stake in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Merger
On August 24, 1999, Carolina Power & Light announced that it would acquire Florida Progress Corporation for $5.3 billion in cash and stock, as well as $2.7 billion in assumed debt. The company would be the ninth-largest electric utility in the country, with a total generation capacity of 18,520 megawatts. The merger was completed in the fall of 2000, with the combined company retaining CP&L management.
The combined company took on the name Progress Energy, though both the CP&L and Florida Power names were retained at the consumer service level until a rebranding effort in 2003. The rebrand was partially to prevent confusion between Florida Power and the unrelated Florida Power & Light.
In 2004, the company expanded its downtown Raleigh headquarters with the construction of Two Progress Plaza.
Sale to Duke Energy
On January 10, 2011, Duke Energy announced plans to take over Progress Energy in a $26 billion deal resulting in the country's largest electric utility with 7.1 million customers. Duke Energy plans to "maintain substantial operations in Raleigh." When the merger was completed on July 3, 2012, Duke Chairman James E. (Jim) Rogers became chairman and CEO of the new combined company, while Progress CEO William D. Johnson resigned.
From Wikipedia’s article on Progress Energy, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3