Entering the nuclear age? A utilities CEO wants federal control on energy

Will the federal government ever take more control of the nation's energy policy? At the Carbon Economy conference in Washington in mid-November, Duke Energy (DUK) CEO Jim Rogers stole the show when he broached that idea.

Today, each state has tremendous power to manage its own energy needs; governors and state public utility commissioners decide how much electricity is generated, from which sources -- renewable or traditional fossil-fuel -- and how much the electricity will cost. And renewable portfolio standards, which mandate that more electricity come from renewable-energy sources, have been entirely state-run initiatives.