WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Florida Supreme Court today unanimously denied a challenge to a 2006 cost recovery law that permits electric utilities to recoup in rates some of the money they have expended on major capital projects like power uprates and new nuclear energy facilities. Following is a statement from Ellen Ginsberg, the Nuclear Energy Institute’s vice president and general counsel. NEI filed an amicus curiae brief in Southern Alliance for Clean Energy v. Florida Public Service Commission et al. in June 2012.
“The nuclear energy industry welcomes the Florida Supreme Court’s rejection of Southern Alliance’s effort to scuttle a constitutional statute. The 2006 law that allows recovery of certain costs during the process of building a new power plant is nothing short of visionary, in that the legislation will serve the state’s consumers and allow generators to meet Florida’s electricity needs. It was good public policy in 2006 and remains so today. “Pay-as-you-go cost recovery is allowed by public utility commissions and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to support the construction of baseload electricity plants and transmission lines for a simple reason: it reduces financing costs for the projects and saves money for consumers. This approach advances the interest of generations of Floridians to come.”