Dive Summary:
- Former Progress Energy Chief Bill Johnson has been named the head of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which is one the nation’s largest energy companies.
- Johnson was also briefly the CEO of Duke Energy in the immediate aftermath of the utilities merger with Progress; he was fired almost instantly after the merger was completed.
- In the aftermath of his dismissal, Duke criticized Johnson as being ill suited to run the newly combined company; the TVA is a federally owned corporation with nine million customers in parts of seven states.
From the article:
Bill Johnson, the former chief of Progress Energy who was ousted as CEO of Duke Energy in July, will head the Tennessee Valley Authority, one of the nation’s largest energy companies with a footprint in western North Carolina.
It’s a dramatic turnaround for Johnson, 58, who was disgraced this summer by being fired by Duke almost immediately after the merger of Duke and Progress closed. He also was characterized by Duke officials in subsequent public hearings as autocratic and ill-suited to run the combined Duke/Progress, now the nation’s largest electric utility. ...
