Home electricity cost rising

Home electricity cost rising

Florida Power & Light rates go up 16 percent

By PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/05/08

Drivers who weep when paying $80 to fill up the car will gnash their teeth when they pay 16 percent more for home electricity.

Miami-based Florida Power & Light on Wednesday released a statement saying that it will ask the state's Public Service Commission on July 1 to allow the company to pass "dramatic" fuel increases to its customers.

Electricity bills could rise 24 percent for commercial customers and 16 percent for residential customers.

If approved by the commission, the new charges would appear on August electric bills.

"As a result (of higher fuel prices), FPL predicted it needs $746 million to cover these additional costs through the end of 2008," FPL's release said. "The company is proposing to recover these costs through an increase of $16.28 in the pass-through fuel charge, which will increase a typical 1,000-kilowatt-hour monthly residential bill from $102 to $118, or approximately 16 percent."

But, acording to Rick McAllister, president and chief executive officer of the Tallahassee-based Florida Retail Federation, charging businesses an additional 24 percent on commercial electric bills "will have a major impact on businesses and people who are already struggling."

The Retail Federation plans to review the proposed increase today, McAllister said.

"We did not know it was coming," he said. "If it is just for fuel recovery, that's one thing. But if they're attempting to cover other costs that should be handled through a (Public Service Commission) rate filing, that's another."

FPL press representatives did not return phone calls requesting more information.

But in the release, FPL wanted to emphasize the efficiency of its power plants, claiming:

* They are the most fuel-efficient among large-scale utilities nationwide.

* Over the past 10 years, their plants improved efficiency 18 percent.

* The company plans to modernize plants in Riviera Beach and Cape Canaveral, saving customers $450 million in fuel savings over the life of those projects.

* It plans upgrades to its nuclear facilities to produce an additional 400 megawatts of power.

In a prepared statement, FPL President Armondo J. Olivera said, "We recognize that higher fuel bills will be a burden to our customers. We never like having to increase the price customers pay for electricity, and it's especially painful during difficult economic times."

Utilities all across the nation are experiencing the same issue, he said.

Holly Binns, field director for Environment Florida, an arm of the Public Interest Research Group, said FPL "has not even scratched the surface" of what it could be doing as far as (implementing) energy-efficient programs.

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