Duke Energy has already written off DNC loan guarantee

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Duke CEO Jim Rogers spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

For accounting purposes, Duke Energy has already written off the $10 million guaranteed line of credit the company signed to help Charlotte secure the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

For purposes of money actually out of the pocket, CEO Jim Rogers says he is content to wait until the end of the month ? when the line of credit comes due ? to find out if Duke shareholders will have to pony up the money.

?We?ve got a couple weeks to go,? he said Wednesday. ?But let's take a worst-case scenario that we can?t raise the money. I think the fact that a third party found it benefited the community by over $160 million and has a great positive benefit for the city ... I think it's a great investment for our community.?

Rogers was referring to a report by Tourism Economics, a Philadelphia company asked to assess the economic impact of the convention ? held Sept. 4-6 ?to Mecklenburg, Anson, Cabarrus, Gaston and Union and York counties.

Came up short

Duke signed the line of credit to make sure the city would have the money to put on the convention. The Charlotte in 2012 Host Committee needed to raise almost $37 million to pay the city?s share of the convention costs. Rogers himself was in charge of the fundraising.

The group came up about $8 million short, after all the bills were paid. The committee tapped the line of credit Duke had guaranteed. And the question ever since has been whether the additional money would be raised or if Duke shareholders would be on the hook for it.

It is clear that the money has not been raised. In the third quarter, Duke took an after-tax charge of $6 million against earnings to account for the line of credit. That amounts to a little less than a penny charge against Duke?s earnings.

Rogers is not prepared to say yet that the money is gone. But he is saying that if it is, it was money well spent.

John Downey covers the energy industry and public companies for the Charlotte Business Journal.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bizj_charlotte/~3/SO2xMyz4Psk/duke-energy-has-already-written-off.html

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