Energy industry: Give us something solid

Utility execs see carbon restrictions as inevitable, want regulations ’soon rather than later;’ seek stability in oil markets; questions linger over nuclear power.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Uncertainty over nuclear power, impending carbon regulation and the desire for predictability in the global oil market are some of the leading issues in the energy industry today, according to executives at some of the world’s big energy companies.

At a luncheon Thursday on Wall Street, closed to reporters but opened for a recap and questions later, executives from companies including Royal Dutch Shell (Charts), Entergy (Charts), Duke Energy (Charts) and Saudi Aramco outlined what they saw as some of the major trends unfolding in the near future.

On restricting carbon emissions, some of the major utilities thought federal government restrictions are inevitable, and said clear rules would help them plan future capital projects.

“Our belief is that carbon control is coming,” said Cathy Roche, a spokeswoman for Duke Energy, the North Carolina-based utility and one of the nation’s largest.”We want the rules written sooner rather than later, so we can budget our projects.”

CNN/Money