State Government PSC to Hold Public Hearing Today on FPL's Proposed Advanced Nuclear Fees

BRADENTON — The Florida Public Service Commission will hold a hearing this afternoon to consider Florida Power & Light’s request for over $34 million in advanced cost recovery, which consists of pre-billing their customers for future costs of nuclear plants they may build.

The funds have existed under a cloud of controversy since introduced in 2006, mostly because utility companies do not have to pay them back to customers if the projects are never completed. Since 2008, Florida's PSC, which consists of politically-appointed members, has granted FPL over $250 million in cost recovery.

FPL, Florida's largest utility company, has proposed two new reactors at the existing Turkey Point nuclear plant near Miami. Estimated cost for the projects are upward of $20 billion. The proposed new reactors aren't projected for completion until at least 2027 and have already experienced multiple cost increases and scheduling delays.

FPL officials say that the proposed reactors are a good deal for customers, as they project that fuel savings from the new reactors over the life of the plant would be of more than $78 billion. However, the state’s second largest electric utility company, Duke Energy, announced that it was indefinitely jettisoning plans to build a nuclear reactor in Levy County after collecting more than $1 billion from customers through advanced cost recovery fees giving opponents a fresh opportunity to point out the risk to consumers—and the benefit to shareholders.

The City of Miami, which opposes the project, has sponsored an expert witness for the hearing, who will call into question the feasibility of the project. The Office of Public Counsel also has an expert witness, who has cited significant cost increases experienced at the four similar reactors under construction at plants in Georgia and South Carolina.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) is also opposing approval of the request.

“Year after year the Commission has unfortunately voted to enrich the big power companies at the expense of Florida’s businesses and families for increasingly speculative nuclear reactors that will likely never be built,” said Dr. Stephen A. Smith, executive director of SACE. “However, we remain hopeful that the PSC will finally see the light and reject this latest request and instead put the financial interests of the public first. It is time we closed this failed chapter of excessive speculation favoring utility shareholders, and move on to diversifying Florida’s energy mix with clean, easy to build solar power and energy efficiency.”

The required public hearing is the first step in approving the fees. The PSC will vote on the request at a meeting scheduled for October 19. Today's hearing is scheduled for 1:30 pm. Click here to listen to the audiocast.