Rate Freeze Allowed Despite Audit
RALEIGH—Despite strong evidence that Duke Energy intentionally fudged its accounting in order to preserve its level of earnings, in 2002 the North Carolina Utilities Commission agreed to allow the utility to freeze its rates for five years through the Clean Smokestacks Act. Auditors from accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP, after wrangling with Duke for access to documents, determined that the company hid $124 million in excessive earnings by moving money from its regulated business to its unregulated business.