Charlotte.

• Position: REGIONAL REPORT

Duke Energy will pass gas to spinoff

Duke Energy will split its natural gas and electricity operations into two publicly traded companies in January, a dramatic turnaround nine years after the Charlotte-based electricity company merged with Houston-based gas giant PanEnergy. A spokesman says the collapse of energy deregulation after the implosion of Houston-based energy trader Enron and California's 2001 power crisis erased most of the benefits from melding the two. Also, new federal regulations that restrict companies from being one-stop energy providers for large users clouded the futures of combined companies. Duke Energy Chairman Paul Anderson will be chairman of the yet-unnamed Houston-based gas spinoff. James Rogers will be president and CEO of Duke Energy in Charlotte. Few job losses are expected in Duke's 27,000-person work force.

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