Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Utility may owe refunds
PSC will decide how much, if anything, Progress Energy customers are due.
By Asjylyn Loder
Published July 31, 2007
Progress Energy may owe its customers a multimillion dollar refund, according to a case slated to come before the Public Service Commission today. Two state agencies offer widely different estimates of the utility's potential liability, ranging from $13.8-million to $134-million. Progress Energy says it owes nothing. At issue is whether Progress Energy bought the cheapest coal available for generators at its Crystal River plant. The Public Service Commission, the five-member body that regulates the state's utilities, will have to decide if Progress Energy should have bought cheaper coal. If so, how much would customers have saved? The higher estimate comes from the Office of Public Counsel, a state agency that acts as an independent advocate for utility customers. It alleges that Progress Energy purchased more expensive coal from Progress-related companies, even though cheaper coal was available. That meant customers paid more for power, said Joseph McGlothlin, associate public counsel. Progress Energy owes customers $134-million that they would have saved from 1996 on, if the company had purchased cheaper coal, he said. The staff of the Public Service Commission offered a different estimate, limiting the refund to coal purchased from 2003 to 2005, plus interest, for a total of $13.8-million. The commission also could find that Progress Energy acted properly, and owes nothing. The company claims that the cheaper coal had a lower BTU content, meaning it wouldn't have produced as much power. Progress Energy would have had to burn more, wiping out any savings. "Our fuel purchases at Crystal River have been reasonable and prudent," said C.J. Drake, a spokesman for Progress Energy. According to the utility's calculations, Progress Energy's coal-buying strategies have actually saved consumers more than $500-million from 1996 to 2005. Progress Energy Florida, based in St. Petersburg, supplies power to nearly 1.7-million customers in 35 counties. It has 14 power plants with a capacity of producing 9,000 megawatts of electricity. It is owned by Progress Energy, which is based in Raleigh, N.C. Asjylyn Loder can be reached at (813) 225-3117 or aloder@sptimes.com
[Last modified July 31, 2007, 12:04:10]
Share your thoughts on this story
Comments on this article
|
by Bill
|
08/01/07 08:11 AM
|
|
Seems something else is going on here. The coal plants consume MMBTu; should be a clear cut case, either they saved money or they didn't. The parties cannot be that far off in their analysis.
|
|
by ohcomeonnow!
|
08/01/07 07:36 AM
|
|
I have never rec'd over a $100 elect bill...now all of sudden i rec. a $164 and then the very next month a $212 one! How is that possible when I shut the AC off for thirty plus days! Didn't use anything more...how is it possible!
|
|
by James
|
07/31/07 11:34 PM
|
|
The PSC website says they went with the $13.8 million ruling. 1.7-million customers... we get $8! A free day of AC, but you can only use it in January.
|
|
by peggy
|
07/31/07 04:23 PM
|
|
Harold McLean is running out of air. He was General counesl of the PSC, and went out with FP&L lobbyists like Feaster. The refunds are during the time he worked at the PSC. The PSC, from what he created for 4 yrs with Jaber is why the PSC is bound
|
|
by Ron
|
07/31/07 03:44 PM
|
|
If the two state agencies come up with entirely different figures, one is not doing it's job and needs to be eliminated. If it ends up that Progress Energy pays us nothing, than the second agency is useless also. Since 1996 we have had no oversight.
|
|
by jack s
|
07/31/07 01:09 PM
|
|
with ya Rob, i live in a small 2 bed house, i use half as much elec as i did same house 10 years ago. my bill for June then was $75. my june bill this year for using half as much watts was $200. Go figure!
|
|
by Mike
|
07/31/07 01:05 PM
|
|
Well I can sure feel your pain. try a 515.00 power bill. I wonder what they will do to us next.
|
|
by Jim
|
07/31/07 12:18 PM
|
|
I agree with Rob. If anything, PSC members (who are probably in cahoots with these power comapnies) will decide Progress Energy saved us too much money, and they'll start charging us more. We'll never see any savings from this...
|
|
by Libby Ral
|
07/31/07 11:57 AM
|
|
For years the plant hasn't worked.They bought emergency coal to create energy the plant didn't.Cost was passed to us,not stockholders.If the plant always broke-the purchase should have been calculated into PE's xpenses.Why was that never investigated
|
|
by suzy
|
07/31/07 11:46 AM
|
|
progress energy has no one competing w them and therefore rips everyone off and offers lousy customer service
|
|
by Gloucesterman
|
07/31/07 10:58 AM
|
|
Q: What is C.J. Drake from Progress Energy & Verizons
C.E.O.'s on the bottom of the ocean? A:A good start!
|
|
by Lucy
|
07/31/07 10:34 AM
|
|
Ditto that, Rob. I'm anxious to see how this one turns out, but I'm not optimistic either.
|
|
by Paul
|
07/31/07 10:30 AM
|
|
I'm using alot less power than last year, thanks to major improvements I've done. Yet my power bill is still alot higher. Come on, this isn't new technology Progress, figure it out on the cheap, its just power.
|
|
by TJ
|
07/31/07 10:24 AM
|
|
Ditto here Rob. My power bill is outrageous and I am a doing all that I can to keep the bills down without any luck. Why are we still using coal anyway? There are much more efficient ways to generate electricity!
|
|
by Rob
|
07/31/07 08:03 AM
|
|
Why do I get the feeling the PSC will decide Progress Energy was ok in its coal buying and will owe nothing? Of course, this feeling comes a week after getting a $300 power bill so I'm still sore from that one.
|
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Letter to the editor
