by Rebecca Walker — January 15, 2010—Florida Power & Light Company said it will immediately suspend activities on projects representing approximately $10 billion of investment over the next five years in Florida’s energy infrastructure. The utility said a negative decision on its rate proposal by the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) indicated a deteriorating regulatory and business environment.
The projects would have created an estimated 20,000 direct and indirect construction and related jobs over the next five years. FPL said it will immediately suspend activities on:
- Development of two new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point beyond what is required to receive a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission;
- Modernization of the Riviera Beach and Cape Canaveral plants;
- The proposed Florida EnergySecure natural gas pipeline; and,
- Numerous discretionary infrastructure projects targeting improvements in efficiency and reliability within FPL’s power generation, transmission and distribution units.
FPL will also assess the cost structure of its ongoing operations and review other capital investments for appropriate reductions. The company expects to make further decisions on all of these matters no later than the end of the second quarter.
Historically, FPL has been one of Florida’s largest sources of capital investment, generating tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues tied to its annual investments in the state’s electrical infrastructure, it says.
FPL Group Chairman and CEO Lew Hay issued a statement that noted, in part, “Our past investments have provided FPL customers with bills that are 10 percent lower than the national average and the lowest of the state’s 54 utilities, reliability that is 47 percent better than the national average, and a power generation fleet that is among the cleanest and most efficient in the country.”
For more information, see the FPL Web site.
