PSC Holds Down Customer Costs; Approves PEF Rate Settlement Agreement

	State of Florida NEWS RELEASE
2/22/2012	Contact: 850-413-6482
PSC Holds Down Customer Costs; Approves PEF Rate Settlement Agreement
TALLAHASSEE — To help maintain more consistent rates for Progress Energy Florida (PEF) customers in the coming years, Florida’s Public Service Commission (PSC) today approved PEF’s multi-year Settlement Agreement (Agreement) with the Office of Public Counsel and other intervenors. The Agreement provides a customer refund of a portion of Crystal River 3 Nuclear Plant (CR3) replacement fuel costs and rate certainty related to PEF’s proposed Levy County nuclear project and base rates. “This Agreement offers customers continuous, reliable electric service and rate continuity during a still tough economy,” said PSC Chairman Ronald A. Brisé.  “PEF and the other parties to the Agreement also addressed the utility’s nuclear projects and strategies to keep rates down.” The PSC-approved agreement: Provides a $288 million customer refund of replacement power costs associated with the CR3 outage; Removes CR3 from base rates while PEF decides on options for the plant; Limits customer costs through 2017 for the proposed Levy County nuclear project; and Provides for a base rate increase of $150 million in January 2013.  The Agreement is effective with the January 2013 billing cycle.  When all Agreement provisions are calculated, a PEF residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month will see a $4.93 bill increase, from $123.19 to $128.12.  The total 2013 customer bill might fluctuate somewhat when additional billing components, such as annual fuel, energy efficiency, and environmental costs, are reviewed by the PSC in November. Parties to the Agreement include the Office of Public Counsel, the Florida Industrial Power Users Group, the Florida Retail Federation, White Springs Agriculture Chemicals, Inc., and the Federal Executive Agencies. PEF, the state’s second largest utility, serves more than 1.6 million homes and businesses in Florida. For additional information, visit www.floridapsc.com. Follow the PSC on Twitter, @floridapsc.

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