Duke Energy names new Florida boss

ST. PETERSBURG — Duke Energy has named Harry Sideris, currently senior vice president of environmental health and safety, the utility's new state president in Florida effective Jan. 1.

Alex Glenn, 51, who has held the top Florida spot for the last four years, will move to the position of senior vice president of state and federal regulatory legal support at Duke national headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.

As state president, Sideris, 46, will be responsible for the financial performance of the utility in Florida and manage state and local regulatory and government relations and community affairs. He will be based in St. Petersburg.

Sideris joined what was then known as Progress Energy in 1996 and served in numerous operations, maintenance, technical and leadership roles in the Carolinas and Florida.

"I look forward to my new role in Florida working with the employees, customers and the community to continue building on our company's legacy and commitment to the Sunshine State," Sideris said in an announcement. "This is an exciting time for Duke Energy due to the transformational change taking place in the energy industry. We're driving innovation, bringing greater value and choices to our customers, modernizing the power grid and generating cleaner energy."

Sideris earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University and a master's in business administration from Campbell University.

Duke Energy Florida serves about 1.7 million customers in a 13,000-square-mile service area running from east-central Florida to the Panhandle.

The parent company supplies electricity to 7.4 million customers in the Southeast and Midwest.

Contact Jerome R. Stockfisch at jstockfisch@tampabay.com.