nuclear-news

Florida Supreme Court considers the forced up front fees for planned nuclear reactors

The advance fee forced down customer throats by state law is “practical” only because Wall Street financiers of nuclear power plants won’t touch such projects. Too pricey. Too risky. Too – wait for it – uncompetitive.

State’s highest court should end forced fees to pay for nuclear power plants By Robert Trigaux, Tampa Bay Times Business Columnist   Oct 01, 2012 It’s a big week for many Floridians, their wallets and their energy bills.

On Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court takes a closer look at a 2006 state law that may go to the very top in my personal Guinness Book of Stupid Legislation.

That law forces Florida customers to pay for their utility’s proposed nuclear power plants long before they are built or begin operation. If the utility decides not to build the plant, it can keep much of the money it has already squeezed out of customers. We’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars already.

Both Progress Energy (now owned by Duke Energy) and Florida Power & Light are using this “advance fee” to charge their customers for planned nuclear plants that won’t start operating (if they do at all) until 2022 or later……
The advance fee forced down customer throats by state law is “practical” only because Wall Street financiers of nuclear power plants won’t touch such projects. Too pricey. Too risky. Too – wait for it – uncompetitive.

In other words, the free market’s already given a huge thumbs down to
financing nuke plants. So the industry’s “practical” solution is to
convince the dull-witted Florida legislature to let utilities suck the
fees directly from Florida customers years in advance…… The
projected demand for new electricity in Florida is far less now than
was anticipated back in the pre-2006 boom times. Two Levy County nukes
may be overkill given the state’s diminished growth expectations.

So what will the Florida Supreme Court do about advance fees? If it
honored the spirit of free markets and competition, it would don steel
tipped boots and kick such a bad idea into the trash bin….
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/states-highest-court-should-end-forced-fees-to-pay-for-nuclear-power-plants/1254327

October 3, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, Legal