Commission chairman to oppose rate increase for Progress Energy next week

Local County Commission chairman Smokey Parrish will be in Tallahassee next week to ask the Florida Public Service Commission to reject a rate increase request by Progress Energy. The PSC will consider the issue beginning next Tuesday. Progress Energy Florida is seeking a $500 million dollar annual rate increase which would raise an average customer’s bill by about 15 dollars a month. On top of that the company is seeking a $446 million rate increase to help pay for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Florida. So far the rate increases have been opposed by Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Attorney General Bill Mccollum both of whom said the proposed rate increase is unwarranted and will be difficult for customers to bear. Local officials and customers are also opposing the rate increases and spoke out against them at a recent workshop in Apalachicola. Commissioner Parrish will continue to speak out against the rate increases during the Public Service Commission hearings, and will also argue that any increase needed for new generating capacity like a nuclear power plant should be spread across all of Progress Energy’s customers and not just those in Florida.