nuclear-news

FPL’s proposal faced a series of attacks from attorneys for consumers and business and environmental groups. In part, they questioned whether FPL will ever build two new nuclear reactors and whether the company increased costs by trying to do an upgrade project quickly.

Also, two of those attorneys told the Florida Public Service Commission that FPL used out-of-date information during a similar 2009 hearing about the upgrade project. Joe McGlothlin, an attorney for the Office of Public Counsel, accused the company of “willful withholding” of information that would have shown higher project costs….

The arguments came on the first of several days of hearings about more than $335 million in nuclear-project costs that FPL and Progress Energy Florida hope to collect from customers next year. The Progress case is expected to start next week, with the company seeking $141 million. All but about $5.6 million of that amount would go toward a plan to add two new reactors in Levy County.

Hoping to encourage more nuclear energy, Florida lawmakers in 2006 allowed utilities to incrementally collect costs from customers rather than waiting until after projects are finished. That has led to the possibility, however, that customers could spend hundreds of millions of dollars on initial costs for nuclear plants that never get built…..

James Whitlock, an attorney for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said utility customers should not have to pay initial costs for the proposed Turkey Point reactors. He said FPL would use the money to try to get a license for the project but that new nuclear plants are not currently feasible.

“If the plant’s never built and never comes online, there won’t be any benefit (to customers),” Whitlock said….http://flaglerlive.com/26580/fpl-nukes-psc