Clear78° WeatherClear78° Weather

Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

Ivan Penn

A native of Washington, D.C., Ivan Penn joined the Times in July 2006 after more than 12 years with the Baltimore Sun. Penn covers consumer issues as part of the Times' business team. Penn provides information to consumers to help them navigate the marketplace as members of the "Greedy Family" (businesses that take advantage of people) make it difficult for the average person to live. He is married and has three children.

Phone: (727) 892-2332

Email: ipenn@tampabay.com

Twitter: @Consumers_Edge

  1. St. Petersburg lawmaker calls for PSC study of Levy nuclear plant costs

    05/21/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    A St. Petersburg lawmaker wants the Florida Public Service Commission to study the cost of the proposed Levy County nuclear plant compared to a natural gas facility.

    Rep. Dwight Dudley, D-St. Petersburg, said in a news release and letter to the commission this week that a Tampa Bay Times analysis that showed the Levy plant would cost more than a natural gas facility over 60 years warrants a comprehensive review by the state....

  2. Putnam says no to study of proposed Levy nuclear plant cost

    05/16/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam declined a request for his office to study the cost of the proposed Levy County nuclear plant compared with an equivalent natural gas facility.

    In a letter to Rep. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, Putnam said he does not believe his office has the resources to perform the analysis. Putnam — the state's point person on energy matters — said he believes such a review would be more appropriate coming from the state Public Service Commission....

  3. Legislator asks Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam to study costs of nuclear vs. natural gas

    05/13/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    A Tampa Bay area lawmaker on Monday urged Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam to conduct a study of the proposed Levy County nuclear plant to ensure consumers were getting a good deal.

    In a two-page letter, Rep. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said a Tampa Bay Times report Sunday that compared the cost of the nuclear plant to a natural gas facility highlighted the need for the review....

    The Perry Nuclear Power Plant sits on the shore of Lake Erie in North Perry, Ohio. Duke Energy Florida is building a nuclear plant in Levy County, which it contends will give it a balanced energy portfolio as opposed to sticking strictly with natural gas-powered electricity plants.

  4. Levy nuclear plant more costly than a natural gas facility

    05/11/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    In the long run, nuclear power is cheap.

    This, for many of Florida's top decisionmakers, is the Truth. Lawmakers have cast aside their worship of the free market — which long ago lost trust in building nuclear plants — and skewed state law to favor construction of new reactors.

    Lisa Edgar is a believer. As a member of the Public Service Commission, she is one of five votes that green-light new nuclear plants, including Duke Energy’s Levy County project. The law that favors nuclear plants, Edgar said last month, could save Florida consumers "millions and millions, and maybe even billions" of dollars....

    Clockwise: Peter Bradford used to be on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He says profits drive nuclear plants. The PSC’s Eduardo Balbis says fluctuating natural gas prices make nuclear a necessary option. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam is a proponent of building nuclear plants, but in the past has ignored the up-front costs. The PSC’s Lisa Edgar has said nuclear plants save “maybe even billions.” R. Alexander “Alex” Glenn says Duke Energy’s plan is an “all of the above” approach to the future.

  5. Tampa Electric rate notice confuses some customers

    05/06/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    Exactly how would the proposed Tampa Electric rate increase affect bills?

    Don't depend on the utility's recent customer notice about the rate hike to help figure it out.

    Tampa Electric, a subsidiary of TECO Energy, sought to inform its customers over the last few weeks about its request for a 10 percent rate increase. It turns out that some of the rates listed in the notice did not match customer bills, and the confusion began....

  6. Duke is cutting 585 jobs at Crystal River nuclear plant

    05/02/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    Duke Energy issued a notice to the state this week that it intends to transfer or lay off 585 employees at the shuttered Crystal River nuclear plant over the next year or so.

    The utility expects to begin layoffs May 31. As many as 58 workers face termination by June 30.

    Duke announced in February that it would close the Crystal River plant. The reactor had sat idle for almost two and a half years after a botched maintenance and upgrade project....

  7. Florida lawmakers toughen guidelines for using nuclear advance fee

    05/02/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn and Mary Ellen Klas, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau

    In the short term, Duke Energy can keep collecting the "advance fee" money already approved for the Levy County nuclear plant.

    But, in the future, it will get a little harder for the utility to charge customers more.

    The Florida Senate with a 40-0 vote Thursday gave final approval to a bill that adds tougher guidelines for use of the advance fee. The bill, SB 1472, now goes to the governor....

    Duke Energy, which will shut down its Crystal River nuclear plant, has collected $1.5 billion from customers to build its Levy project. The utility gets to pocket about $150 million, whether the plant gets built or not.

  8. PSC staff to review Tampa Electric's request for an 10 percent rate increase

    04/30/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    TALLAHASSEE — Tampa Electric made its first pitch for a proposed 10 percent rate hike to the state's Public Service Commission staff Wednesday, detailing how increased costs from improvements to plants and operations to support customer growth are driving the increase.

    The utility's presentation to the PSC staff closely followed a discussion by senior officials at the TECO Energy parent company with analysts about a drop in first-quarter earnings and the outlook on rates....

  9. Hearings begin over who'll foot Duke Energy's bill for failed Crystal River nuclear plant

    04/30/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    TALLAHASSEE — Duke Energy broke the Crystal River nuclear plant, spent a lot of money trying to fix it and now wants its customers to pay more than $1.6 billion in related expenses. And how much of the bill does Duke think its shareholders should pay?

    Not a dime.

    Those representing Duke's customers disagree and, on Tuesday, the state Public Service Commission took up the matter....

  10. Consumer Energy Solutions employees enjoy family-like atmosphere

    04/19/13NewsBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    Not a day goes by that Lynn Posyton doesn't look forward to getting to work.

    The incentives the company offers employees are enticing — awards of dinner for two or big screen TVs for reaching targets — but it's the compassion Consumer Energy Solutions shows for the community that attracts Posyton.

    Clearwater-based Consumer Energy helps largely business consumers and some residential customers find the best rate for their electricity and gas in 22 deregulated states. Though the company does not make sales in Florida (since it remains regulated), Consumer Energy still devotes two full-time positions of its more than 120 jobs to giving to the community....

    Personnel manager Vikki Lorentzen discusses recruiting with senior sales manager Clayton W. Francis at Consumer Energy Solutions in Clearwater. “We have a CEO who cares,” Lorentzen says.

  11. Senate wants 'comprehensive review' of Levy County nuclear project

    04/10/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    State senators passed a measure Wednesday that calls for a "comprehensive review" of whether the proposed Levy County nuclear plant is cost effective, prudent or even needed.

    If approved by the House and the governor signs it into law, the state Public Service Commission will be required to begin the review of the Levy project by July 1 and complete the study by Feb. 1.

    The action is in response to growing frustration with a proposed $24.7 billion nuclear plant that Duke Energy and its subsidiary Progress Energy Florida want to build on a 5,000-acre tract 80 miles north of Tampa....

  12. Tampa Electric seeks rate hike topping an average $10 a month

    04/05/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    Tampa Electric wants its average residential customer to pay an extra $10.41 a month.

    The utility, which filed its rate request with the state on Friday, also wants to bump up what its commercial and industrial customers pay by 6 percent.

    The rate hike is needed to offset rising costs and sluggish growth, the utility said.

    "It is important to remember that while the cost of nearly everything has gone up in recent years, Tampa Electric bills have gone down," said Gordon Gillette, president of Tampa Electric, part of TECO Energy. "We empathize with our customers who also are feeling the effects of a difficult economy....

    Smoke and steam rise out of the stacks at Tampa Electric Company’s Big Bend Station. The company wants to lift average residential rates by $10.41.

  13. Levy County nuclear plant project clears environmental hurdle

    03/26/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    The Levy County nuclear plant project moved a step closer to securing its operating license on Tuesday after a three-judge panel ruled against an environmental challenge.

    Opponents of the proposed nuclear project had argued that the environmental impact statement for the proposed reactor did not fully account for the potential harm the power plant's water use would have on the aquifer.

    The panel disagreed....

  14. Senate committee hears arguments over advance fee for building nuclear plants

    03/18/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    TALLAHASSEE — State Sen. Anitere Flores had a bottom line question for the president of Progress Energy Florida: "The 800 lb. gorilla in the room . . . is Progress going to build another nuclear power plant or not?"

    The response: Progress still didn't know for sure.

    That question, and the noncommittal answer, went to the heart of the Legislature's first meeting Monday on the controversial law that allows utilities to charge customers in advance for new nuclear plants, whether they actually build them or not. ...

  15. Progress Energy Florida name will start to disappear soon

    03/15/13EnergyBy Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writer

    Beginning in April, Duke Energy's name will replace Progress Energy Florida on monthly bills and signs around Central Florida.

    The utility has been publicizing the name change in recent days in mailings to customers. The company plans to phase in the name change through the spring and summer and expects to complete the switch in July.

    "We are notifying customers now of the upcoming name change so there is no confusion around the company name on future bills," said Sterling Ivey, a company spokesman....