Jim Rogers, CEO of the utility formed by the merger of Duke Energy Corp. with Progress Energy Inc., said the $32 billion deal was worth it, despite backlash over management changes and a state investigation into the deal.

The North Carolina probe into the merger ended with a settlement in which Rogers must step down by the end of the year. Rogers, 66, has been rumored to be a candidate to replace Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

But Rogers said the investigation was prompted by a misunderstanding: The state saw the deal as a merger between equals, but Duke Energy saw it as an acquisition of a smaller company.

"The birthing process of the creation of the largest utility in the country has been quite difficult," he said in an interview yesterday. "I think the baby is going to be beautiful."

The state Utilities Commission was prompted to action when Progress CEO Bill Johnson was promoted to lead the combined company and then fired.

Rogers is proud of the job he has done so far. According to Duke calculations, the total returns of the three companies he has led since 1988 rank No. 2 among U.S. utilities (Bruce Henderson Charlotte Observer, Jan. 17). -- MM