As hearings into Duke Energy's surprise ousting of CEO William D. "Bill" Johnson wrapped up July 20, a pending repair project at the troubled Crystal River nuclear powerplant remained a leading suspect for the boardroom shake-up. However, it remained unclear whether the North Carolina Utilities Commission would examine the matter further.
In his testimony on July 19, Johnson alleged that Duke had tried to scuttle the merger with Progress Energy, of which he had been chairman and CEO. As part of the deal, Johnson, 58, was named CEO but was ousted less than 24 hours after the merger closed on July 2.