INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Duke Energy Corporation
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Duke Energy Corporation and subsidiaries (Duke Energy) as of December 31, 2001 and 2000, and the related consolidated statements of income, common stockholders’ equity and comprehensive income, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2001. These financial statements are the responsibility of Duke Energy’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Duke Energy as of December 31, 2001 and 2000, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2001 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
CHARLOTTE, NC
February 19, 2002
