nuclear-news

High time to abort Progress Energy’s Florida new nuclear power plant

Put a stop to planned nuclear plant, Tampa Bay Times editorial , September 12, 2012 “…..There is no rational argument to force Progress Energy customers to keep paying in advance for a nuclear plant that is too expensive and too far down the road.

The cost has soared to $24 billion, the plant would not generate power until 2024 and the energy landscape is quickly changing. Yet the PSC has rolled over, the Legislature refuses to repeal a 2006 law that lets Progress bill customers in advance, and Gov. Rick Scott is
silent. Who is going to stand up for consumers?……

No unregulated private company would risk its own capital to pursue a project that was estimated to cost up to $6 billion when proposed and now will cost more than four times as much. No responsible business
executive still would promote a project that was proposed when market
conditions were so different. How many proposed condo towers that were
announced before the economy tanked are being built in Florida exactly
as they were originally envisioned?

Duke can pursue the Levy plant because it is immune from market forces
as a regulated monopoly with a guaranteed rate of return — and because
the regulators won’t stop it from squandering ratepayers’ money. A
one-sided deal approved by the PSC earlier this year limits how much
customers can be charged for Levy over the next five years, but after
that, the cost could soar to from an average of $3.45 a month to more
than $20 a month in 2018. That’s not stopping the gouging; that’s only
delaying it.

The PSC, the governor and the Legislature should not accept Lyash’s
confident predictions at face value. They should protect consumers and
stop Duke Energy from billing its ratepayers for a nuclear plant that
should not be built.
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/put-a-stop-to-planned-nuclear-plant/1251007

September 13, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general