The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) voted to reduce bills for Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) customers today, approving reductions to the fuel, capacity, and environmental cost recovery components of rates. The annual adjustment of those bill elements wasn’t due until next January, but the PSC can adopt “mid-course corrections” when deviation from expected costs warrants it.
FPL filed for the reductions to reflect savings expected from the early retirement of the St. Johns River Power Park generating facility, a decision approved by the PSC in October 2017.
The coal-fired St. Johns plant was retired on January 5, 2018, decreasing fuel and capacity costs. FPL’s environmental costs are reduced by $1.2 million as a result of the plant’s retirement.
FPL’s fuel cost recovery component will be reduced by $0.24 per month, and a similar reduction will be applicable to capacity cost recovery factors. The 2018 environmental cost recovery factor for the residential rate will decrease from 0.159 cents per kWh to 0.158 cents per kWh.
Effective March 1, 2018, the reduced cost recovery factors will decrease FPL’s monthly bills by $.38 (from $99.75 to $99.37) for a typical 1,000 kWh residential customer bill.
