Duke Energy spent nearly $1 billion with North Carolina-based suppliers in 2025—and the company projects that figure could reach close to $5 billion over the next five years.
The Charlotte-based utility made the announcement as part of a broader look at its domestic sourcing strategy, which directs more than 97% of its $17.2 billion in annual spending to U.S.-based suppliers.
Duke Energy announces $1 billion in North Carolina supplier spending for 2025
The timing wasn’t accidental. Duke Energy dropped these numbers ahead of Independence Day, framing its domestic sourcing strategy as a direct investment in American workers and communities. For a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, that’s not just a talking point—nearly $1 billion spent with North Carolina-based suppliers in a single year is a real commitment to in-state business.
The five-year projection makes it even more concrete. If Duke Energy’s spending holds its current trajectory, North Carolina suppliers could collectively pull in close to $5 billion over that period. That’s not a rounding error—it’s a sustained pipeline of contracts that local manufacturers and service providers can actually plan around.
Why Duke Energy is directing spending to domestic and in-state suppliers
Duke Energy’s sourcing footprint is substantial. The company spends $17.2 billion annually on goods and services, with more than 97% of that flowing to U.S.-based suppliers. The in-state spending sits inside that larger domestic-first approach.
The company says it’s driven by more than economic preference. Keeping critical grid equipment closer to home cuts supply chain risk — a lesson the energy sector learned the hard way during pandemic-era disruptions, when long international supply chains turned out to be pretty fragile. Shorter lead times and fewer single points of failure follow naturally from sourcing domestically.
Rising energy demand is also pushing things along. North Carolina and Duke Energy’s other service territories are seeing real load growth, driven by population expansion, data centers, and electrification trends. That growth requires more grid investment, which means more equipment procurement and more supplier relationships to manage.
Specific supplier partnerships and equipment involved
Two supplier partnerships stand out in Duke Energy’s announcement. GE Vernova, based in Goldsboro, N.C., supplies transformers and electrification equipment to the utility. Troy Kabrich, the Goldsboro site director for GE Vernova, noted the company takes seriously its role in supporting the communities where its employees live and work.
Siemens Energy operates in Charlotte and supplies gas turbines to Duke Energy, maintaining a presence in North Carolina that stretches back decades. Matt Neal, Siemens Energy’s president of North America, pointed to the partnership as part of meeting what he called “unprecedented growth in energy” demand nationally.
Both companies represent the kind of large-scale industrial suppliers that grid modernization actually depends on. Transformers and gas turbines aren’t off-the-shelf items. They require specialized manufacturing, long lead times, and close coordination between buyer and supplier — none of which works well when sourced from the other side of the world.
Effects on local economies, jobs, and grid reliability
The ripple effects of this level of spending go well beyond the direct suppliers. When Duke Energy contracts with a North Carolina manufacturer, that company hires workers, buys materials from other local businesses, and pays taxes that fund public services. Gary Salamido, president and CEO of the N.C. Chamber of Commerce, put it plainly: investments like these strengthen communities and reinforce the supply chains that power North Carolina’s growth.
For Duke Energy’s 8.7 million electric customers, there’s a practical dimension too. Securing equipment domestically helps ensure grid upgrades happen on schedule and that replacement parts are available when outages hit. Reliability isn’t just an operational goal — it’s a customer promise.
Katie Aittola, Duke Energy’s senior vice president of supply chain and chief procurement officer, framed the spending as a reinvestment of customer dollars back into the communities the utility serves. That positions supplier spending not as a cost, but as a value-creation loop.
Background: Duke Energy’s broader energy transition and supply chain strategy
Duke Energy is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. Its electric utilities serve customers across six states — North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky — with a combined generation capacity of 55,700 megawatts and a workforce of roughly 26,400 people.
The company is also mid-stride in a long-term energy transition. Its stated goals include net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. Getting there means investing across natural gas, nuclear, renewables, and energy storage—not a single bet, but a broad buildout.
Domestic supplier investment fits directly into that work. Grid upgrades, new generation capacity, and storage infrastructure all require enormous volumes of equipment. Sourcing from U.S.-based suppliers — especially those already inside Duke Energy’s service territory — cuts logistical complexity and keeps more of the economic benefit local.
So here’s where things stand: Duke Energy spent nearly $1 billion with North Carolina suppliers in 2025, projects close to $5 billion over five years, and routes more than 97% of its $17.2 billion in annual sourcing to domestic companies. Key partners include GE Vernova in Goldsboro and Siemens Energy in Charlotte. The strategy is built to support grid reliability, reduce supply chain risk, and sustain American manufacturing jobs as the company works through a multi-decade energy transition.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
