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Consumer advocates say Duke Energy trying to collect more money

 
Published March 7, 2015

In a filing late Thursday, consumer advocates state that Duke Energy Florida is positioning itself to collect more money from customers by seeking to change past orders regarding the canceled Levy County nuclear plant.

Led by the state Office of Public Counsel, the advocates state in a 10-page filing with the Public Service Commission that Duke's proposal to regulators on Monday turned a simple, expected ending of charges for Levy into an attempt to "improperly" reverse millions in customer credits.

At issue are costs related to the $1.5 billion in spending related to the Levy project.

Part of that money includes $54 million Duke collected from its Florida customers for equipment that was never purchased. Duke is suing the contractor for the Levy project, Westinghouse Electric Co., for the $54 million paid for equipment the contractor never delivered.

Under pressure from state lawmakers, the PSC last fall ordered Duke to credit the money back to customers, despite the lawsuit. Duke never challenged or appealed the order.

Meanwhile, Westinghouse is countersuing Duke for $512 million for canceling the contract for the Levy project. If Duke loses the case, customers face having to foot that bill, too.

Duke acknowledges that it might seek to pass those costs on to customers if the utility loses the case.

"Depending on the results of the litigation, customers may see an impact on their bill in the future. However, until the courts have an opportunity to hear the case, it is too early to determine," Sterling Ivey, a Duke spokesman, said Monday at the time of the company's filing.

In its proposal, Duke not only announced the end of a $3.45 monthly charge, but also raised the issue of the $512 million Westinghouse is seeking. And the utility asked the commission for a "deferral" of $54 million in equipment spending — with interest or financing charges, referred to as "carrying costs."

"The commission has already ruled on that," said J.R. Kelly, state public counsel who represents consumers before the PSC. "They said, 'Duke, credit the money.' The order stands for itself."

Kelly said the consumer advocates support, as Duke requests in its petition, ending the average $3.45 charge on customers' bills in the May/June time frame, but they oppose all other parts of Duke's request.

The consumer advocates are requesting that the PSC review the matter during a meeting April 16.

Contact Ivan Penn at ipenn@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2332. Follow @Consumers_Edge.