Two area Utility companies among nation's best

The two major area utility companies, Progress Energy and Duke Energy Carolinas have been ranked among the best by Site Selection Magazine's Top Utilities.

Site Selection announced its findings in the September 2006 issue which listed 11 of the countries utilities based upon job creation and capital investment in their prespective areas.

As one of the largest utilities, Progress Energy operates in the Carolina and Florida and according to Site Selection, covers 54,000 square miles of service territory, maintaining 11,000 miles of transmission lines and 99,000 miles of distribution lines with about 8700 employees.

To earn its stripes, Progress Energy help attract 10,178 new jobs and $1.52 billion in facility investment, according to Site Selection. London-based GlaxoSmithKline, which has dual U.S headquaters in Research Triangle Park and Philidelphia are planning to expand its Wake County pharmaceutical plant, adding about 200 jobs and approximately $92 million in capital investment.

Duke Energy Carolinas saw more than 5,400 jobs created in its service territory last year and $1.15 billion in capital investments in the Carolinas. Among the largest announcements was Cree's 300-job, $300 million plant investment in Durham County and Dell's 1,700-job, $100 million investment in Forsyth County.

When asked, Steven W. Nelson, a local real estate agent with Keller Williams revealed that this is "simply another sign that the Triangle is the place to be for business and raising a family. The greatest problem facing Wake County at this time is the influx of students which makes it nearly impossible to build schools fast enough to keep up with the new students moving into the area. It is not a bad problem to have" He went on to say that the increased interest in this area for relocating or expanding business will mean that the housing market will continue to be strong and home prices continue to rise.

For more information about the area and relocating to the area, you can contact Steven W. Nelson through his website at www.StevenNelsonHomes.com.