News
Progress Energy agrees to PSC summit
By Carl Orth | Suncoast News
Published: July 21, 2012
NEW PORT RICHEY - Prodded in part by state Sen. Mike Fasano, Progress Energy Florida officials have agreed to an Aug. 13 summit with the state's Public Service Commission.Published: July 21, 2012
The North Carolina Utilities Commission met with company leaders after the merger of Duke Energy and Progress Energy, Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said Tuesday. Both companies are based in North Carolina.
The Tar Heel State regulators questioned why Progress Energy Florida customers are charged an advance recovery fee on monthly bills now for the proposed Levy County nuclear plant, he said.
The nuclear plant is now scheduled to go into operation by 2024, company officials report. Progress Energy initially hoped to have the Levy County plant online by 2016.
The Florida PSC should take up the advance nuclear fee as well, Fasano urged. The senator insists company shareholders should pay preliminary expenses, not customers.
The company accepted the PSC invitation to the Aug. 13 meeting, a Progress Energy Florida representative, Suzanne Grant, reported Tuesday. She did not know what topics might be discussed.
"The commission reached out this morning," Grant said during a phone interview. "We're looking forward to it."
Greg Giordano, Fasano's chief legislative assistant, said, "Obviously, the future of advance nuclear cost recovery is topic number one" at the Aug. 13 event.
The "bungled repair job" at the Crystal River nuclear facility is another topic of "great importance," Giordano added.
Grant did not respond directly to the comments Tuesday from Fasano, a longtime opponent of the nuclear fee.
The company continues working on getting permission from federal authorities to build and operate the Levy County plant, Grant said.
Florida lawmakers passed the nuclear charge to encourage the power industry to build nuclear generating plants as an alternative to plants that burn fossil fuels such as coal or oil.
The monthly fee helps reduce the overall cost of nuclear plant construction and protects consumer interests, Grant said Tuesday. The Florida Public Service Commission, which gave Progress Energy permission to add the fee to customers' electric bill in 2008, reviews the nuclear charge each year.