Month: February 2025

International Olympic Committee news

Over 6,000 athletes and members of their entourage have taken part in educational activities on the prevention of competition manipulation during 2024, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD). These activities took place during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Gangwon 2024.

Young athletes are usually more exposed to the threats of competition manipulation, including being asked to fix a game, share inside information or place bets. In 2024, the IOC therefore designed the most comprehensive educational programme to date in order to raise awareness of these risks.

This year’s IACD theme, “Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity”, gave the IOC the opportunity to look back at the wide range of activities provided to athletes in Paris and Gangwon.

“Believe in Sport” booth at Paris 2024

During the Olympic Games Paris 2024, 4,000 athletes joined the fun and engaging activities on offer at the “Believe in Sport” booth located in the Athlete365 House, in the Olympic Village in Paris.

Athletes enjoyed various real-life scenarios and were also encouraged to report any suspicions of competition manipulation through the IOC Integrity Hotline.

“We have been trained on competition manipulation by both our sports federation and our National Olympic Committee. It’s great to have a reminder here, it keeps us educated”, said Shane O’Donoghue (Field Hockey, Ireland), while visiting the booth during the Games.

Paris 2024 Olympians were supported on site by six athlete ambassadors, whose engagement formed part of the IOC’s more comprehensive “Believe in Sport” campaign, which kicked off before the Games and involved educational measures across all key stakeholder groups.

Nina Kanto (Handball, France), one of the Believe in Sport Ambassadors who met her peers in the Olympic Village in Paris, said: “The young athletes need us to speak about manipulation in sport, the risks and the consequences of their decisions. I think it is important for the athletes to be educated, because as athletes you don’t know about all the rules. Your priority is to practise your sport. It is important to keep control of your career, so you know what you need to do, what is good and what is not.”

YOG athletes engaged at Gangwon 2024

A few months earlier, as part of the Athlete Education Programme in place at Gangwon 2024 in January, over 2,000 athletes were engaged in the Youth Olympic Villages and empowered to make the right choices, thanks to the support of athlete ambassadors and IOC Young Leaders.

Freestyle skier Fin Melville Ives from New Zealand, who competed in Gangwon, said: “Learning about competition manipulation and anti-doping – those were the ones that resonated the most. We’ve all learned about it, but we’ve never actually seen how it works. It’s been really fun doing the activities and learning more about the programmes here.”

One of the ambassadors, Olympian Andrej Miklavc, a retired Alpine skier from Slovenia, who advised athletes competing at the YOG in Gangwon, explained: “The prevalence of online betting options in sport requires athletes to comprehend all aspects of potential threats. They need to understand how easily they can become unwitting victims or tools for individuals with malicious intentions towards athletes or the Games.”

Fighting corruption in sport all year round

In order to maintain these important efforts all year round and build capacity and skills across all levels of society, the IOC, as Chair and co-founding partner of the International Partnership Against Corruption in Sport (IPACS), works closely with international organisations, government representatives, and sports organisations to promote good governance in and around sport, through educational webinars and tools to mitigate the risks of corruption.

Additionally, the Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions (OM Unit PMC) engages with National Olympic Committees and International Federations through regular workshops and seminars. During these sessions, the organisations receive key information on topics such as how to prevent competition manipulation through awareness-raising initiatives, how to set up efficient cooperation models in their specific sport or at national level, and how to conduct investigations.

Duke Energy offers various assistance programs for low-income households, including bill credits, weatherization and free home energy assessmentsIn 2024, nearly $90 million was provided in energy bill assistance to North Carolina customers, aiding over 114,000 households through programs like Share the Light Fund®, Customer Assistance Program (CAP) and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

CHARLOTTE, N.C., February 21, 2025 /3BL/ – Duke Energy is committed to serving its customers and communities and offers programs and resources to help customers who may be experiencing trouble paying utility expenses due to financial hardships.

“We realize that many of our customers are facing challenging times, and we are committed to finding ways to support them,” said Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy North Carolina state president. “Our payment assistance and energy and money-saving programs are designed to offer relief and help manage energy costs.”

What’s New Now: Programs and services for Duke Energy qualifying customers have been updated for 2025 to offer more options for energy savings for those who need it most. These changes include:

Weatherization – Incentives have increased for this free program that helps income-qualified customers reduce expenses and save energy through the installation of energy conservation measures around their homes. 
 Among other incentives, the HVAC replacement incentive has increased from $6,000 to $8,000 and the refrigerator replacement has increased from $1,000 to $1,500. 
 The program has also expanded its service providers and broadened eligibility for participation. 
 Participating customers must have an income of less than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. 
 Income-qualified Power Manager®/EnergyWise Home® – A new income-qualified demand response program allows electric heat customers who have previously qualified for a Duke Energy income-qualified program to receive a free smart thermostat, installed at no cost. 
 The program is open to customers who have previously qualified for the Neighborhood Energy Saver, Weatherization or High Energy Use pilot programs. 
 Customers will receive incentives in the form of bill credits for shifting energy use during peak demand, up to $150 depending on how they choose to participate. 
 Neighborhood Energy $aver – Incentives have increased for this free program that offers walk-through energy assessments to help customers learn how their homes use energy and lower monthly electric bills as well as a variety of free energy-saving products. 
 Customers for the program qualify based on the neighborhood they reside in. Qualifying neighborhoods must meet 50% of residents or more with an income of less than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines.

Why It Matters: In 2024, more than 114,000 eligible North Carolina households received nearly $90 million in energy bill assistance through Duke Energy programs like Share the Light Fund and Customer Assistance Program (CAP) as well as federal funding like Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

There’s More: Duke Energy continues to offer resources for customers in need, including:

Customer Assistance Program (CAP) – a 12-month program that provides a monthly credit of up to $42 to qualifying customers. 
 Share the Light Fund – assistance for customers who need help paying their energy bill. 
 Installment Plans – customized payment plans to break down charges into more manageable installments, helping make larger amounts more manageable.

Other Ways to Save: Duke Energy’s usage alerts and low- to no-cost tips can help customers save energy and money by providing them the tools they need to make informed decisions for their household energy use.

Track your energy usage and making small adjustments within your home or business can help unlock energy savings. 
 Reduce your thermostat to the lowest comfortable setting – the lower the temperature, the more you can save. 
 Set your water heater to 120 degrees. Water heating is typically the second-biggest user of energy in your home. 
 Change your air filter and schedule regular maintenance for your heating systems. Maintaining your heating systems can help increase efficiency. 
 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. 
 Seal cracks in windows, doors and vents with caulking and weatherstripping to save 10% to 20% in heating costs. 
 Replace standard bulbs with LEDs. LEDs are more efficient than regular bulbs, while giving off the same amount of light.

The Bottom Line: Get more information on energy-saving solutions and low- to no-cost energy-saving tips and projects on the Duke Energy Winter Energy Savings webpage: duke-energy.com/WinterEnergySavings. Need help reading your bill? Use our interactive tool: Reading Your Utility Bill – Duke Energy.

Duke Energy Carolinas

Duke Energy Carolinas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 20,700 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 24,000-square-mile service area in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Duke Energy Progress

Duke Energy Progress, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 13,800 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 28,000-square-mile service area in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Duke Energy 

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. The company’s electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious energy transition, keeping customer reliability and value at the forefront as it builds a smarter energy future. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including natural gas, nuclear, renewables and energy storage.

More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition.

Contact: Caroline Fountain 
24-Hour: 800.559.3853 
Twitter: @DE_CarolineF

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