nuclear-news

Florida’s nuclear power project – long delay, skyrocketing costs

the online date, if the reactors ever even come online, has bumped back to 2021 and 2022 and the estimated cost has skyrocketed to upper estimates of $22.5 billion!…

        Round 3 – Florida Paying for Risky Nuclear Costs, Clean Energy Footprints, 22 Sept 11, Last month, SACE again participated in the nuclear cost recovery hearings for Progress Energy Florida (PEF) and Florida Power & Light (FPL) at the Florida Public ServiceCommission (PSC) in Tallahassee. This is the third consecutive year that these Florida utilities have asked the PSC to approve millions of dollars in ratepayer increases to pay in advance for proposed nuclear power projects that have an uncertain future, especially in a post-Fukushima world.

Utilities gained this ability in 2006 when the Florida Legislature passed anti-consumer legislation. SACE has intervened on behalf of Florida consumers every year to highlight the risks of these proposed nuclear power projects and the resulting unfairness in charging Florida ratepayers in advance. And every year the PSC has unfortunately granted the utilities’ wishes in full.

Could the third time be the charm? The PSC is set to vote in just over a month, on October 24, 2011.

Some state lawmakers in Florida have worked to repeal the legislation, including Senator Mike Fasano (District 11-R), who originally voted for it, and Representative Michelle Rehwinkle-Vasilinda (District 9-D). Senator Fasano has become an outspoken opponent of the legislation, sending letters to state governments in North Carolina and Iowa, encouraging them to vote down similar legislation in their states and expressing regret for supporting it in 2006. Despite these efforts, Fasano’s proposed amendment to repeal nuclear cost recovery failed in Florida’s last legislative session.

Fortunately, the state legislatures in North Carolina and Iowa didn’t fall for the anti-consumer scheme earlier this year. Perhaps Florida will follow suit. In 2012, Rep. Rehwinkle-Vasilinda hopes to repeal nuclear cost recovery with Florida House Bill 4301 and Senator Fasano is hoping to restrict the PSC’s overly cozy relations with the utilities through Senate Bill 172.

Since 2009, the Florida PSC has approved over $700 million for FPL and PEF’s proposed nuclear projects, including uprate projects at several existing nuclear plants, including Progress’ troubled Crystal River uprate, and two new reactors each at Turkey Point near Miami and in Levy County. If they gain PSC approval again this year, the two utilities will have been granted access to $1.2 billion of the hard-earned cash from Florida’s families and businesses. This year’s requests amount to an increase of about $5 per month per 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) for PEF customers and $2.10 for FPL customers.

Already, Progress’s Levy nuclear project has suffered serious delays and cost estimates that have risen exponentially since 2006. Initially, Progress expected the proposed Toshiba-Westinghouse AP1000 reactors to cost $4-6 billion each, coming online beginning in 2016. Just a few years later, the online date, if the reactors ever even come online, has bumped back to 2021 and 2022 and the estimated cost has skyrocketed to upper estimates of $22.5 billion!….

http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2011/09/22/florida-nuclear-costs/

September 23, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA