Progress says could finalize merger with Duke by June

(Reuters) - The delayed merger of Duke Energy (DUK.N) and Progress Energy (PGN.N) could be completed in May or June if the companies' new plan can satisfy regulatory concern over the merged utility's market power in North Carolina, Progress Chief Executive Bill Johnson said on Monday.

Duke and Progress had hoped to wrap up the $13.7 billion merger in 2011, but in December, federal regulators rejected a proposal in which the companies offered to sell power for eight years under a "virtual divestiture" plan in the Carolinas.

Johnson said the companies plan to file a new mitigation plan at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the next couple of weeks, but offered no details on a call with analysts.

He said the mitigation plan represents a "balancing act" to "meet the FERC requirements on market power, preserve the benefits (of the merger) to retail customers and the benefits to investors," Johnson said.

"In the next couple of weeks we'll be ready to file the plan, but at this point, we're still working on it," Johnson said.

Johnson said Progress utility officials in Florida are about two months away from having the information they need to make a decision on the future of the troubled Crystal River nuclear plant which has been shut since 2009 due to a series of problems to repair the plant's concrete-reinforced containment walls.

On Friday, Progress filed a proposed settlement with consumer advocates at the Florida Public Service Commission outlining a plan on how to recover costs to repair the damaged reactor or to retire it.

"Our focus is to make sure we have enough engineering work done so we have a number we can rely on," Johnson said.

(Reporting by Eileen O'Grady in Houston; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)