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Columbia Business Monthly

The Business Narrative: Brrr!

Jan 28, 2025 09:54AM ● By Donna Walker

Duke Energy Sets Preliminary Electric Use Record in Carolinas During Week of Sustained Cold

(123rf.com Image)

 

Duke Energy said crews and grid operators successfully managed record-breaking power usage while generating and delivering service to customers during an extended period of sustained cold temperatures.

 

Officials said the Carolinas service area experienced about 65 hours of freezing or below freezing temperatures beginning Jan. 20, which the area has not experienced since January 2018.

 

Preliminary numbers indicate that Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress achieved a new combined peak usage record on Jan. 23 of 37,387 MWh of electricity consumption, beating the previous record of 36,670 MWh set on Feb. 20, 2015.

 

Said Ben Harrison, Duke Energy vice president of grid operations - planning and operations: "I commend the efforts of the crews at our power plants, in grid control rooms and in the field across the region for their work around the clock. We had a strong plan in place and have worked to help ensure we can reliably serve our customers in all types of weather."

 

Duke Energy relies on a diverse energy mix to meet growing energy needs across the state. That mix includes nuclear, natural gas, hydro renewables and coal, all of which are needed when demand for electricity is high.

 

Ways to save energy and money as temperatures drop

* During the winter, reduce your thermostat to the lowest comfortable setting. The longer your house remains at the lower temperature, the more energy you save.

* Set your water heater to 120 degrees or less. Water heating is typically the second-biggest user of energy in your home.

* Leave drapes or blinds open on the sunny side of the home to allow the sun's rays to warm the house but close them at night to help insulate your home.

* Operate ceiling fans in a clockwise direction in the winter to push warm air back down into the room.

* Install tight-fitting, insulating drapes or shades on windows that feel drafty after weatherizing.

Middle Street Partners Completes $69 Million Company Recapitalization

Middle Street Partners, with headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina, has completed a recapitalization with Inceptiv Management that officials said will allow the multifamily investment and development firm to target $1 billion of early cycle developments and acquisitions over the next two-to-three years.

The recapitalization also includes a significant capital commitment from a partnership of high-net-worth individuals operating as Cannery Woods, LLC, the officials said.

 

The transaction strengthens MSP’s ability to acquire new assets, recapitalizes general partner investments across MSP’s existing portfolio of assets, buys out its previous minority GP owner, and increases the firm’s guarantee capacity for future growth of its development business throughout the Sunbelt, according to co-founders Adam Monroe and Ryan Knapp.
 
"This transaction facilitates our goal of continued early-cycle investment volume and marks the continued long-time partnership between MSP and the Principals of Inceptiv and Cannery Woods,” Monroe said in a statement.

 

“Their knowledge of our business and a track record of success between our respective firms create an ideal fit as we look towards the continued growth of MSP," Knapp added.

Inceptiv, a private equity firm based in Culver City, California, provides specialty GP capital solutions to both fund managers and independent sponsors.

 

Inceptiv’s investment highlights its focus on empowering growth-oriented platforms that exhibit strong leadership and a well-defined strategy through creative GP capital structures.


“We’ve known the Middle Street team for many years, have been impressed with their growth, extraordinary investment discipline, and deep bench of senior professionals,” said Inceptiv partners Hezy Shalev and Ulin Vijaya. “We are very excited to continue being a part of their growth story.”

Middle Street Partners (http://www.middlestreetpartners.com)  is a vertically-integrated real estate investment and development company focused on multifamily investments in the Sunbelt.   

 

Since its founding in 2009, Middle Street Partners has sponsored in excess of $2 billion in multifamily acquisitions and development located primarily in Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.

Inceptiv (http://www.inceptiv.com) specializes in providing specialty GP capital solutions to real estate and private equity sponsors.

Lowe's Invites Communities to Nominate Projects for Lowe's Hometowns

Lowe's announced the company is accepting project nominations for Lowe's Hometowns, its five-year, $100 million commitment to community revitalization.

 

Lowe's will award $10 million in grants to fund 100 renovations and complete an additional 1,700 improvement projects selected by its associates this year.

 

Now through Feb. 18, people across the country are encouraged to nominate a project to benefit their community or a local nonprofit by going to Lowes.com/Hometowns.

 

More than 500,000 people are anticipated to benefit within one year of completion of Lowe's Hometowns projects in 2024 and more than 3 million since the program launched in 2022.

 

"Helping our neighbors and communities is what Lowe's does best," said Marvin Ellison, Lowe's chairman and CEO.

 

Ellison added, "Over the last three years, Lowe's Hometowns has inspired thousands of community improvement projects across the country, which have been brought to life by our associates' ability to solve problems and get things done. I am excited to see the difference we will make in 2025."

 

The program is also supported by Lowe's community impact and implementation partner, Points of Light.

 

Eligible project types include rebuilding or renovating:

* Safe and affordable housing facilities such as shelters or transitional living facilities.

* Community resources such as senior citizen centers, first responder facilities, food pantries or youth clubs.

*Outdoor community spaces like parks, gardens and playgrounds.

* Cultural preservation such as theaters or memorials.

* Facilities dedicated to skilled trades education.

 

Go to Lowes.com/hometowns for complete program terms and to nominate a community project.

 

Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a FORTUNE 50 home improvement company serving approximately 16 million customer transactions a week in the United States.

 

With total fiscal year 2023 sales of more than $86 billion, Lowe's operates over 1,700 home improvement stores and employs approximately 300,000 associates. 

Phillips Named Manager of Clemson Experimental Forest

Clemson University has named Wayne Phillips, a forester with 28 years of experience across all aspects of the forestry supply chain, as the new manager of the Clemson Experimental Forest.

 

Phillips takes over management of the forest after eight years as area marketing manager with Weyerhaeuser, a timber, land and forest products company that owns or manages 28 million acres of forestland.

 

Phillips is the seventh manager of the 18,000-acre forest since Clemson College began supervising the land in 1939 under an agreement with the federal government.

 

Officials say that careful management has transformed the land from depleted row crop farmland to a resource for teaching, research and outreach, as well as a valued community asset.

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