Duke CEO says knew about possible shakeup in June

RALEIGH, N.C., July 10 (Reuters) - Duke Energy Corp Chief Executive Jim Rogers told North Carolina regulators on Tuesday that the company's lead director had approached him in late June with concerns about Progress Energy CEO Bill Johnson's abilities to lead a combined company.

The unusual hearing by the North Carolina Utilities Commission comes just days after Duke's July 2 closing of its $18 billion buyout of rival Progress Energy.

Duke directors replaced former Progress Energy CEO Johnson with Duke's Rogers as head of the merged company just hours after the deal closed, despite telling regulators while the deal was under review that Rogers would be executive chairman and Johnson would be CEO.