Pollution woes prompt pension fund to dump Duke Energy stock

This decision is the result of an investigation by the Council on Ethics for the pension fund, which found that Duke Energy’s failure to adequately respond to its leaking coal ash impoundments in North Carolina constituted “an unacceptable risk of severe environmental damage”.

Following on from its intention to continue monitoring and adjusting those companies which it would invest in as part of the wealth fund, Norges Bank announced on Wednesday that it would exclude the companies Duke Energy Corp, and the wholly-owned subsidiaries Duke Energy Carolinas LLC, Duke Energy Progress LLC, and Progress Energy Inc. from the Government Pension Fund Global.

OSLO, Sept 7 Norway’s $900-billion wealth fund can no longer invest in Duke Energy, the biggest US power firm by generation capacity, due to alleged breaches of environmental law at its coal-fired plants, Norway’s central bank said on Wednesday.

The ethics council said it had been talking with Duke about the ash basins and ultimately saw the long-lasting and extensive breaches of USA environmental legislation as a considerable risk factor that could lead to more discharges and penalties. Almost 4.7 million Duke shares and bonds, valued at $545 million, have been sold by the Norwegian Pension Fund.

The fund, which is worth around 7.35 trillion kroner (€800 billion, $900 billion), has sold its stakes in the companies in line with a recommendation from its Ethics Council in April.

Norges Bank said it is excluding investments in Duke Energy and three operating subsidiaries. The fund also held bonds in Duke and the three subsidiaries valued at $245 million at the end of past year.

Several court rulings have ordered the companies to remove or seal the ash basins in North Carolina, but the council said that Duke Energy had told it that its plans to sufficiently secure the basins would not be fully implemented for another 10 to 15 years.