TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Sen. Mike Fasano wants to repeal Florida's nuclear cost recovery law, but he's not getting much support from his Senate colleagues.
The law allows utilities to charge customers for costs incurred before any construction begins on a nuclear power plant. So far, Florida Power and Light and Progress Energy have charged customers $1 billion for nuclear plants that may or may not be built.
On Monday, Sen. Fasano offered an amendment in a committee to repeal the nuclear cost recovery law but it was voted down.
Fasano calls it a tax on customers. He thinks the stockholders of such companies as Progress Energy should foot the bill for proposed nuclear power projects.
"It's unfair because you're asking the customers to pay for nuclear power plants that probably will never get built. The customers of Progress Energy have already paid out over a half billion dollars with no date as to when they'll even begin building these nuclear power plants."
The Nuclear Cost Recovery law was enacted in 2006 to help utilities pay the large upfront costs for developing nuclear power plants. The idea is to create a pay-as-you-go system so customers are not hit with huge rate increases when plants are completed.
Sen. Fasano says he may try to offer the amendment again on the Senate floor.