Duke Energy Florida gets a new president

Duke Energy has named Melissa Seixas as president of Duke Energy Florida, effective Feb. 16.

Seixas succeeds Catherine Stempien, who is leaving for a position outside of the company, a news release said.

Seixas currently is vice president of government relations and community relations for Duke Energy Florida, which is headquartered in St. Petersburg, and she is very active in the local community. She is immediate past chair of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership and was just named a member of the University of South Florida Board of Trustees. She also is a member of the USF St. Petersburg Campus Advisory Board, and was honored as the 2019 recipient of the USFSP Regional Chancellor Award for Civic Leadership.

As president of Duke Energy Florida, Seixas will lead the company’s work with customers, employees, policymakers and others to advance the clean energy vision for the state, expand electrification efforts, and focus on strategic philanthropic initiatives and community relations. She will have responsibility for managing state and local regulatory and government relations across the state.

The promotion comes 34 years after Seixas began her career at Florida Power in distribution engineering. She stayed with the company as it later became Progress Energy and then Duke Energy, taking on increasingly responsible leadership roles. 

“Melissa’s many years of experience with the company have prepared her well for this important role,” Doug Esamann, executive vice president energy solutions, president Midwest and Florida Regions and natural gas business unit, said in the news release. “She is well-known throughout our Florida communities and will build on the great progress the team has already accomplished. She will continue to advocate for policies and practices that meet the energy needs of our customers to ensure we deliver the safe and reliable service they expect and deserve.”

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. Duke Energy Florida owns a diverse generation mix of natural gas, coal and renewables and provides about 10,200 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 1.8 million customers in a 13,000-square-mile service area.