Florida Regulators Approve Rate Increase to Recover Costs for Adding Nuclear Power

The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved cost recovery amounts requested by the state's two largest utilities for construction of new nuclear power plants and upgrades to existing reactors.

"In an effort to help secure a diversified and stable energy future," the PCS has agreed to allow Progress Energy Florida and Florida Power and Light (FPL) pass on the cost of adding nuclear generation capacity to their customers.

Progress Energy has been approved to recover $85.9 million in costs associated with both the upgrade of its Crystal River nuclear power plant and the construction of its proposed nuclear power plant Levy Units 1 and 2.

The Levy facility will be the company's second nuclear plant in Florida.  According to the Commission, the projects will add 2,380 MW of new nuclear generation. For Progress Energy rate payers the PSC's decision will result in a rate hike of nearly $3.00 a month for the first 1,000 kilowatt hours.

Florida Power and Light, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc., has been approved to recover just over $196 million for the construction of two new reactors (Units 7 and 8) at its Turnkey Point facility as well as adding capacity to two existing reactors at Turnkey Point and its St. Lucie facility.

The projects will add an estimated 2,614 MW of nuclear power to FPL's generation portfolio. FPL says the projects will save its customers up to $1.5 billion in the long term. The company claims that as of the March 2011 its customers bills were "more than 20 percent lower than the latest national average."  However, beginning January 2012 ratepayers will see a rate increase of $2.20 per month for the first 1,000 kilowatt hours.

Image Credit: Paul J Everett via Flickr