FPL Petitions to Build Additional West County Gas Unit

The Florida Power & Light Company has petitioned the Florida Public Service Commission for approval to build an additional clean-burning natural gas unit at the utility’s West County Energy Center in Palm Beach County, where two units are under construction.

Over the next 10 years, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) projects that it will add an average of 81,000 new customers per year, or 810,000 new customers overall. During the same period, energy use per residential customer is expected to increase by 16%.

FPL’s demand-side management programs, which have reportedly helped the company avoid the need to build 12 medium-sized power plants since 1980, will seek to satisfy a portion of this increased demand.

To help meet the remaining demand, the proposed West County Unit-3 will deliver 1,219MW of power, enough to supply the energy needs of 250,000 homes and businesses.

FPL noted that its customers will also benefit from substantial cost savings, including fuel costs, if the new unit is built by 2011. Due to its high efficiency, the West County Unit-3 will reportedly save customers more than $600 million in electricity costs over the life of the unit relative to purchasing power from other companies.