Duke CEO sees gas decision before December

By Michael Erman

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Duke Energy Corp.'s (DUK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) chief executive on Monday said the company would want to decide on a proposed spin-off of its gas transmission business with enough time to complete the transaction by January 1.

In a wide-ranging interview, CEO James Rogers also said that there was an "industrial logic" to a combination between his company and Ohio utility operator DPL Inc. (DPL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), but also noted that a larger deal would better position the company going forward.

Duke, which completed its acquisition of rival Cinergy Corp. in April, has long said that it would consider spinning-off the gas business after the deal was completed. It has hired Lazard as a strategic advisor on the proposed deal.

"To effectively do these things, it's always better to do them at the beginning of a calendar year," Rogers said, speaking at the Reuters Global Energy Summit in New York. "So when is the last date we could make the decision and execute by 1/1/07?

"We won't wait until December to make the decision," he said.

Duke is currently the largest utility in the United States based on market capitalization and Rogers said the company would be opportunistic if the right acquisition opportunity presented itself to the company.

Rogers noted that Duke runs about 60 percent of DPL's production and that a combination between the two companies intuitively made sense.

"I can't even remember when I didn't look at (DPL) ... because of the interlink between our operations. There is an industrial logic to a combination," said Rogers.  Continued...