Duke Energy Corp., one of the largest electric power companies in the United States, said Tuesday its first-quarter profit dipped slightly.

The Charlotte-based utility said the loss was triggered by it's spin-off its natural gas business at the beginning of the year.

Investors sent shares of Duke Energy down 13 cents to $20.75 in midday trading.

Duke Energy earned $357 million, or 28 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2007, down from $358 million, or 37 cents per share, during the same period in 2006.

Excluding special items and discontinued operations, the company said it earned 30 cents per share in the period.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast a profit of 31 cents per share. The estimates usually exclude special items.

Even so, Duke Energy Chairman and Chief Executive James E. Rogers said he's looking forward to a great year with "new plants, new legislation, and new energy proposals."

And that includes possibly moving forward with the controversial construction of a single coal-fired power unit at its Cliffside power plant in western North Carolina.

On a call with analysts, Rogers said Duke Energy plans to "build or buy" new generation over the next 9 years in order to serve the company's growing consumer demand.

Under those premises, Duke Energy said it plans this year to move forward on building two natural gas-fired plants in North Carolina and a nuclear plant in South Carolina.

The company is still considering its plans to build a coal-fired plant at its Cliffside Steam Station, Rogers said.

"The regions that we serve are growing, especially the Carolinas," Chief Financial Officer David Hauser said in an interview. "We need capacity."

Duke Energy supplies and delivers energy to 3.9 million customers, of which 2.2 million are in North Carolina and South Carolina.

In February, the North Carolina Public Utilities Commission said it would allow Duke Energy to build only one of two 800-megawatt coal-fired generators it originally requested.

Opponents have argued _ and the company has acknowledged _ the proposed project would lead to more carbon dioxide emissions, and complained that Duke Energy didn't fully consider adding capacity through conservation or renewable fuels, such as solar or wind.

Duke Energy said it is still working on an air permitting request for Cliffside, and plans to file revised cost estimates for the plant with the commission on May 31. In a March, the company estimated it would cost $1.53 billion to build one plant.

"Assuming the positive outcomes of these issues, we plan to move forward on Cliffside," Rogers said.

Revenue rose 91 percent to $3.09 billion from a year earlier. Analysts expected revenue of $3.05 billion.

Duke Energy acquired the power company Cinergy Corp. for $9 billion in April 2006. Duke Energy spun off its natural gas unit, now trading as Spectra Energy Corp., to its shareholders in January. Separately Tuesday, Houston-based Spectra said profit rose 6 percent to $236 million, or 37 cents a share, in its first quarter as a separate public company.

Duke Energy's franchised electric and gas unit posted an increase in earnings in the first quarter, mainly driven by the addition of Cinergy's regulated utility operations in the Midwest, favorable weather and customer growth. But the company's commercial power segment posted lower results brought on by the Cinergy addition.

Duke Energy International posted an increase in earnings, due to favorable pricing and foreign exchange rate in Brazil. The company sold two Bolivian hydroelectric dams during the quarter.

Duke Energy supplies and delivers energy to 3.9 million customers. It has nearly 37,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity in the Midwest and the Carolinas, and natural gas distribution services in Ohio and Kentucky. In addition, Duke Energy has more than 4,000 megawatts of electric generation in Latin America.

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