In 1988, Duke Energy purchased Nantahala Power & Light from Alcoa through its subsidiary, Duke Power. In 1997, Duke Power built a brand new state of the art office building just north of Franklin on U.S. 441. Today, the 35,000-square-foot office complex which sits on nearly five acres is for sale.

“As a part of a larger utility, we no longer need to duplicate locally such functions as accounting, training, safety, purchasing and personnel,” said Fred Alexander, district manager for Duke Power/Nantahala Area, in a statement released last week.

To date there have been no layoffs. Some employees have changed jobs or locations. Some offices have moved to a location near the Duke Power/Nantahala Area generating plant in western Macon County, and some current functions have moved to the Franklin operations center near the building for sale.

Duke serves approximately 60,000 customers in Western North Carolina. According to Alexander, no purchase price has been determined for the former NP&L headquarters.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News