Phil Ammann
With falling natural gas prices, Duke Energy Florida announced it will cut monthly residential electricity rates $5.83 for a typical 1,000 kilowatt-hour customer beginning with its April billing cycle.
The utility submitted its plan to the Florida Public Service Commission and is expected to be approved, reports LobbyTools.
Duke uses natural gas to generate a majority of the electricity to its Florida customers. With the reduction, an average customer will pay $108.32 a month for 1,000-kwhs of power.
In a news release, Duke said customers in April will be paying 21 percent less for electricity than what they did January 2009. The savings equals about $30 a month, Duke officials said.
LobbyTools also noted that Duke had won approval from regulators in November to issue $1.3 billion in bonds for 2016 to cover costs of mothballing the Crystal River nuclear power plant in Citrus County.
If Duke financed the closure of the Crystal River plant itself, it would have led to higher finance charges than with a bond issue, which could save customers as much as $600 million, according to the company.
Duke says it does not profit from fuel cost charges. The utility serves about 1.7 million Florida consumers, including most of Pinellas County.
