In what one member described as an “unprecedented” settlement, the state Public Service Commission approved a plan Wednesday that will resolve big-money questions about Progress Energy Florida’s base electric rates and two controversial nuclear projects.
Progress customers will see their monthly electric bills go up in 2013, though they also will receive $288 million in refunds related to a repair project at a Crystal River nuclear plant.
The agreement also will lock in the amount that customers will pay over five years for a proposed nuclear plant in Levy County. Supporters say those costs could have gone up far more if the settlement had not been reached.
“This may not be the best deal for all, but each party gets a little something,” Commissioner Eduardo Balbis said before the PSC voted unanimously to approve the agreement.
Progress and representatives of consumers, business groups and federal-government agencies announced the settlement last month after lengthy negotiations. The announcement came as the St. Petersburg-based utility and the other groups prepared for a year of major — and controversial — regulatory issues.
Bottom line, residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a month would see their bills go from the current $123.19 to an estimated $128.12 next year, according to information presented by the PSC staff.
The utility industry uses 1,000 kilowatt hours as a common measurement, though many residential customers use more electricity than that each month and business customers are billed differently.
