By Tess Stynes
The California Public Employees' Retirement System and the New
York City Pension Funds are urging Duke Energy Corp. shareholders
to vote against the re-election of four board members.
The funds accuse the four directors of failing to fulfill their
duties on a committee charged with overseeing health, safety and
environmental compliance.
A Duke Energy spokesman said the company declined to
comment.
In a letter to shareholders dated Monday, Calpers and the New
York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer urged holders to vote
against the re-election of G. Alex Bernhardt Sr., James B. Hyler
Jr., James T. Rhodes and Carlos A. Saladrigas at the company's
annual meeting set for May 1.
The move follows a coal-ash spill on the Dan River in North
Carolina in February and a legal battle between the company,
environmental regulators and the state regarding plans for a
cleanup and the safeguarding of other coal-ash sites.
Calpers and the New York City Pension Funds said they are
"significant, long-term shareholders in the company."
In the letter, Calpers and the pension funds said the company
had prior warning of potential risks "through the work of
environmental groups, which reportedly took the company to court on
three occasions to clean up similar ash ponds at separate North
Carolina plants due to the risks of catastrophe."
The groups also said the four directors are long-standing
members of the company's regulatory policy and operations committee
and that none of them have "relevant experience in hazardous waste
disposal, environmental management and regulatory matters." The
groups also claim "no director nominee has coal industry expertise,
which is a major concern."
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires