State Approves Florida Power & Light Request to Boost Nuclear Power
By Kristi E. Swartz, The Palm Beach Post, Fla.
Dec. 11–Florida Power & Light Co. got approval from utility regulators Monday to add more nuclear power to the electricity grid.
FPL will do so by upgrading each of its four nuclear reactors: two at the St. Lucie plant on Hutchinson Island and two at the Turkey Point plant near Miami.
The move would add 414 megawatts of power between 2011 and 2012.
The Florida Public Service Commission unanimously signed off on FPL’s proposal without taking testimony Monday morning.
“We feel that it’s a good step forward,” FPL spokesman Mayco Villafana said after the hearing, which was held in Tallahassee. “This is one step in trying to meet the state’s growing energy needs.”
The expansion is part of FPL’s larger nuclear program, which includes adding two reactors at Turkey Point. Under the plan, customers will get 30 percent of their electricity from nuclear fission by 2020.
“We feel really strongly that the nuclear option needs to be looked at,” Villafana said.
FPL, owned by FPL Group Inc. (NYSE: FPL, $71.23) of Juno Beach, has notified the PSC that it wants to build two more reactors at Turkey Point. Regulators will hold a public hearing Jan. 10 in Miami. It’s one of the many local, state and federal reviews FPL will undergo before breaking ground on the project.
“We want to provide everybody ample opportunity so that all of the questions can be answered,” Villafana said.
The whole process may take between 10 to 12 years. On Monday, the decision to allow FPL to upgrade its existing reactors took less than an hour, with no debate.
Florida Public Service Commissioner Nathan Skop, however, took 30 minutes to opine on the importance of making and keeping sound utility policy, as well as attack the PSC staff for creating what he said was a “bumpy” road for nuclear power.
“We want a stable regulatory environment for nuclear construction in Florida,” he said.
Skop’s speech puzzled PSC Chairwoman Lisa Edgar.
“You have used the term ‘policy decision on the fly’ four times, and I am not sure what policy decision you are talking about,” she said.
Though FPL executives are bullish on nuclear power, the utility now gets only 20 percent of its energy from the clean-burning fuel source. The bulk of its power — 50 percent — comes from natural gas, which has been subject to wild price swings, causing customer bills to climb.
Nuclear power is cheaper and less subject to such price spikes. The increased use of nuclear fuel would give FPL’s 4.5 million residential and business customers a break on their monthly electric bills.
And if FPL can run its nuclear plants all of the time, it can save the natural gas and coal plants for times when the electric grid needs additional power, such as during the summer.
Florida lawmakers two years ago passed a law allowing state utilities to ask to recover some of the upfront costs before a plant gets built.
It is likely to cost between $1.4 billion and $1.5 billion to upgrade the reactors, Villafana said.
FPL will go before the PSC next year, asking to recoup that amount from consumers. If that’s approved, the utility would be able to start recovering the money from customers in 2009.
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