• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2022
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

For FPL Customers, Bills $20 Higher in 2013 for Nuke-Plant Construction That May Never Happen

November 27, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

The Crystal River nuclear power plant, offline since 2009 because of deficiencies. It’s not clear when it will power back up, but customers are paying for its repairs and upgrades all the same. (NRC)

State regulators Monday approved allowing Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy Florida to collect nearly $300 million from customers next year to help upgrade decades-old nuclear plants and to take steps toward building new reactors.

Click On:


  • For FPL Customers, Bills $20 Higher in 2013 for Nuke-Plant Construction That May Never Happen
  • Should You Keep Paying FPL and PEF For Nukes Plants that May Never Be Built?
  • Nuclear Socialism: FPL and Progress Energy Get $282 Million Rate Hike
  • FPL’s $18 Billion Nuclear-Reactor Plans Leak Unanswered Questions Before Florida PSC
  • Pass-Through Crock: How Progress Energy May Once Again Nuke Its Customers
  • Florida’s Nuclear Energy Scamming: It’s Not Rickover’s Atomic Power Program Anymore
  • FPL, Progress Energy, Florida’s Nuclear Fraud
  • Disaster Ready? 5 Nuclear Reactors in Florida, 3 Of Them Within 180 Miles of Palm Coast
  • Nuclear’s Glowing, False New Dawn

The state Public Service Commission unanimously approved the proposals, which will lead to FPL customers paying about $151 million and Progress customers paying about $143 million.

Spread out over millions of customers, the costs will have a relatively small impact on monthly electric bills: For example, an FPL residential customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a month will pay $1.69, while a similar Progress customer will pay $4.79, according to Public Service Commission numbers.

But nuclear-project costs have been a highly controversial issue in recent years, at least in part because FPL and Progress are collecting money for new reactors that likely will not start generating electricity for another decade — if ever. That controversy has particularly centered on Progress, which will use about $103 of the $143 million collected next year for licensing and other preliminary work on building reactors in Levy County.

Representatives of consumers and business groups reached a wide-ranging settlement agreement early this year with Progress that dealt with issues such as nuclear costs and base-electric rates. That settlement helped defuse debate Monday about Progress collecting money next year for the Levy project.

Nevertheless, two PSC members, Julie Brown and Eduardo Balbis, indicated they are closely watching issues such as the cost-effectiveness of the project.

Brown said she is sympathetic to arguments that current Progress customers might not still be around to benefit from the new nuclear reactors, which are slated to start generating power in 2024 and cost $24 billion. She questioned whether there is a “break-even point” when the project is no longer cost effective.

After the meeting, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy issued a statement describing the PSC’s decisions as “business as usual.” The alliance has gone to the Florida Supreme Court to challenge a 2006 law that allows utilities to collect the nuclear costs long before projects go online — a law aimed at helping encourage development of more nuclear energy. That case is pending.

“This is an extremely unfortunate situation for utility customers in Florida who are being forced to pay this ‘nuclear tax’ up front for electricity that will very likely never be produced from proposed new reactors,” Stephen Smith, executive director of the alliance, said in the statement.


While the future reactors draw large amounts of attention, one of the most-heavily debated issues about the 2013 nuclear costs centered on an FPL upgrade project at its Turkey Point nuclear complex in Miami-Dade County. Most of the nuclear-project money FPL will collect, about $131 million, is slated for upgrades at Turkey Point and at a nuclear facility in St. Lucie County.

The state Office of Public Counsel, which represents consumers in utility issues, argued that the Turkey Point upgrade had been plagued by cost overruns and that FPL should shoulder some of those costs. Public Counsel J.R. Kelly said he was disappointed the Public Service Commission did not agree and said the utility shouldn’t receive a “blank check.”

“At some point, you’ve got to hold the utility responsible,” Kelly said.

But Peter Robbins, senior advisor for nuclear communications at NextEra Energy, FPL’s parent company, said the utility’s customers are estimated to save $3.8 billion over the life of the upgrade projects. That is because the projects are expanding nuclear-generation capacity and will allow FPL to avoid having to buy as much natural gas to fuel other plants.

Balbis also pointed to the benefits of expanding the capacity of the reactors.

“I think this is something we need to applaud as being a good thing for customers,” Balbis said.

Regulators approve differing amounts of nuclear-project costs each year. For instance, a FPL residential customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours a month is paying $2.20 in nuclear-costs this year, compared to the $1.69 projected for 2013.

Similar Progress customers pay $2.86 a month in nuclear costs this year, a number that will rise to $4.79 in 2013, according to the PSC.

–Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
You and your neighbors collectively read our articles about 25,000 times each day (that's not a typo) with up to 65,000 daily reads during emergencies like hurricanes. Flagler County residents rely on FlaglerLive for essential, bold and analytical journalism that cannot be found anywhere else. But we depend on your support. Please join our December fund drive! If you donate the cost of a scoop of ice cream, you will be helping us continue to provide comprehensive local news and honest, serious journalism for our community. If you can donate more or become a monthly donor, even better. Donations are tax deductible since FlaglerLive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donate by clicking anywhere in this box. Think of it as buying a scoop, in every sense of the term!  
All donors' identities are kept confidential and anonymous.
   

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Angela Smith says

    November 28, 2012 at 8:40 am

    It is INDEED a “drug racket”, and the “drug of choice” is more lethal than ANYTHING else on the market.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Advertisers

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents
  • WNZF Creekside Festival

Recent Comments

  • Richard on No Plans Yet for Florida Health Departments to Offer New Covid Vaccine Even as It Rolls Out in Other States
  • Pat on No Plans Yet for Florida Health Departments to Offer New Covid Vaccine Even as It Rolls Out in Other States
  • PeachesMcGee on Taylor Manjarres, 20, Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Her Role in Shooting Death of Zaire Roberts
  • jeffery c. seib on ‘No Smoke and Mirrors’: New Baler Helps Flagler Beach Recycle 4 Tons of Cardboard a Week
  • What Else Is New on Moms for Liberty: Joyful Warriors or Anti-Government Conspiracists?
  • Steve on Taylor Manjarres, 20, Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Her Role in Shooting Death of Zaire Roberts
  • Joy Cook on Rezoning Enabling Up to 850 Homes in Seminole Woods Causes Sharp Debate Before Palm Coast Approval
  • Marion on Taylor Manjarres, 20, Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Her Role in Shooting Death of Zaire Roberts
  • Atbp on Time to Stop Using Individuality-Obliterating Acronyms Like BIPOC
  • Laurel on Michael Benkert, on the Run for 19 Days Since Flagler Beach Trailer Park Manhunt, Is Arrested
  • Laurel on At Root of Palm Coast’s Affordable Housing Crisis: We Got Our Own. Screw the Rest. 
  • Bill on At Root of Palm Coast’s Affordable Housing Crisis: We Got Our Own. Screw the Rest. 
  • Say no to Facists on How Biases Against Black-Sounding First Names Lead to Job Discrimination
  • Laurel on DeSantis Will Debate Gavin Newsom in Georgia in November
  • Foresee on Time to Stop Using Individuality-Obliterating Acronyms Like BIPOC
  • Gene on Montessori School Owner Kerri Huckabee, 54, Arrested on 3 Felonies in Dispute with Flagler Beach Neighbors

Log in