PSC Orders Refund for FPL customers, Sets 2010 Fuel Charges

Florida’s Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a refund of more than $364 million for Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) customers due to over recovery for fuel costs.  Customers will see the refund reflected as a one-time credit on their January bill.
Fuel adjustment rates and cost recovery clause charges for Progress Energy Florida (PEF) and Tampa Electric Company were also determined after an evidentiary hearing, where the Commission considered each utility’s 2010 projected costs for fuel and purchased power as well as actual costs for 2008 and 2009.
Utilities are allowed to recover the prudently incurred fuel and purchased power costs necessary to meet customer demand but may not earn a profit on fuel purchases.  The fuel charge appears as a separate line item on customer bills.  Capacity, conservation, and environmental recovery costs are included in the energy charge and not listed separately on customer bills.  FPL and PEF customers will also have nuclear cost recovery amounts, approved in October, included in the energy charge.
Final costs for residential customers starting in January 2010 are:

• Florida Power & Light Company: Based on the new charges, the total monthly electric bill for residential customers using 1,000 kwh will decrease from the current charge of $110.72 to $95.43.  The fuel portion of the bill will decrease by $13.66.  The bill also contains decreases in the following cost recovery clauses: $1.95 in Capacity and $0.15 in Energy Conservation.  Environmental cost recovery will increase by $0.85, and the gross receipts tax will decrease by $0.38.

The bill is subject to change pending the outcome of FPL’s current rate case.  A final decision is expected on January 29.
For January bills only, FPL residential customers using 1,000 kwh will receive a $44.46 credit.  The credit amount will increase or decrease according to energy usage.

• Progress Energy Florida: Based on the new charges, the total monthly electric bill for residential customers using 1,000 kwh will decrease from the current charge of $127.31 to $127.26.  The fuel portion of the bill will decrease by $9.89.  The bill also contains increases in the following cost recovery clauses: $2.25 in Environmental; $6.55 in Capacity; and $0.47 in Energy Conservation.  The gross receipts tax will not change.

The bill is subject to change pending the outcome of PEF’s current rate case.  A final decision is expected on January 28.

• Tampa Electric Company: Based on the new charges, the total monthly electric bill for residential customers using 1,000 kwh will decrease from the current charge of $114.67 to $113.21.  The fuel portion of the bill will decrease by $6.32.  The bill also contains these cost recovery clause changes: a $2.63 increase in Environmental; a $0.02 reduction in Capacity; and a $0.33 increase in Energy Conservation.  The gross receipts tax will decrease by $0.04.

• Gulf Power Company and Florida Public Utilities Company: Fuel and cost recovery charges for both utility companies will be decided at the December 1 Agenda Conference.

The PSC is committed to making sure that Florida’s consumers receive their electric, natural gas, telephone, water, and wastewater services in a safe, affordable, and reliable manner. The PSC exercises regulatory authority over utilities in the areas of rate base/economic regulation; competitive market oversight; and monitoring of safety, reliability, and service.
For additional information, visit www.floridapsc.com.

Related posts:

1. PSC Orders $13.8 Million Refund for FPL Customers
2. FPL Fuel Cost Refund Hearing to Begin Wednesday
3. PSC Approves FPL Fuel Cost Refund for 2008 Outage
4. FPL approved for $62 million cost recovery on nuclear plants; bills to go up (again…)
5. FPL customers to pay for proposed nuclear plants

Short URL: https://browardnetonline.com/?p=4007

Posted by Andrea Freygang on Nov 3 2009. Filed under Broward County, Environmental, FPL, Local news, Tallahassee. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry