Progress Energy Carolinas to launch Appliance Recycling Program

RALEIGH (March 23, 2010) – Progress Energy Carolinas will soon launch a new program aimed at reducing electricity consumption by offering customers incentives to recycle their older, less efficient refrigerators and freezers. The new program, approved by the N.C. Utilities Commission on Monday and previously approved by the Public Service Commission of South Carolina, will be offered to customers in early April.
The program will pay customers $50 for each qualifying refrigerator or freezer that they take out of service and recycle. A qualified Progress Energy contractor will pick up the appliance from the customer’s location and transport it to a recycling facility for processing of the materials.

To qualify, a unit must have a capacity of 10 to 30 cubic feet and must be in working order. A customer may recycle up to two refrigerators and/or freezers per calendar year.

The program will also seek to educate customers on the long-term savings of removing older, less efficient refrigerators and freezers, as well as the environmental benefits of recycling appliances.

Customers can learn more about Progress Energy’s Appliance Recycling Program at www.progress-energy.com/arp.

Progress Energy has made a commitment to double the amount of customer energy efficiency to 2,000 megawatts (MW) through demand-side management and energy-efficiency programs. Increasing the amount of efficiency from customers helps to delay the need for new power plants.

In addition to programs, the company provides efficiency information and tips through the Save The Watts campaign. Save The Watts is an educational initiative that features a highly interactive Web site (www.savethewatts.com) with energy-efficiency program details and more than 100 useful tips for customers to save energy and money.

Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN), headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 500 energy company with more than 22,000 megawatts of generation capacity and approximately $10 billion in annual revenues. Progress Energy includes two major electric utilities that serve about 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and Florida. The company has earned the Edison Electric Institute’s Edison Award, the industry’s highest honor, in recognition of its operational excellence, and was the first utility to receive the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates Founder’s Award for customer service. The company is pursuing a balanced strategy for a secure energy future, which includes aggressive energy-efficiency programs, investments in renewable energy technologies and a state-of-the-art electricity system. Progress Energy celebrated a century of service in 2008. Visit the company’s Web site at www.progress-energy.com.

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