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Customer Hearings Planned In Gulf Power Rate Increase Case
December 26, 2016
With state regulators weighing a Gulf Power proposal to raise base electric rates by $106.8 million, the Northwest Florida utility’s customers will be able to weigh in next month.
The state Public Service Commission has scheduled customer hearings January 26 at Pensacola State College and January 27 at Florida State University’s Panama City Campus, according to a notice posted on the commission’s website.
The hearings are part of a months-long process that will lead to a decision by the commission on the proposed rate hike. The commission is scheduled March 20 to start a multi-day hearing that will include detailed financial and technical information related to the request.
Also this week, the retailer Walmart filed a petition to formally intervene in the case. “Walmart is … a major retail customer of Gulf Power, purchasing electricity from Gulf to operate its stores and distribution facilities in Northwest Florida,” the petition said. “As one of Gulf’s largest retail customers, Walmart’s substantial interests will be determined by the commission’s actions in these dockets, and accordingly, Walmart is entitled to intervene in these … proceedings.”
The January 26 meeting at Pensacola State College will begin at 6 p.m. in the Hagler Auditorium (located at the corner of Underwood Avenue and North 9th Avenue).
The purpose of these service hearings is to take testimony from the public on the quality and adequacy of Gulf Power’s service and other matters related to Gulf Power’s petition for a rate increase. The procedure at these hearings shall be as follows: The coompany will present a brief summary of its case and then members of the public may present testimony. Members of the public who wish to present testimony are urged to appear promptly at each scheduled hearing time since the hearing may be adjourned early if no witnesses are present to testify. All witnesses shall be subject to cross examination at the conclusion of their testimony.
by The News Service of Florida
Comments
14 Responses to “Customer Hearings Planned In Gulf Power Rate Increase Case”
1) If you see that white plume coming out of the new stack at the Crist plant, they are burning coal, not natural gas. They probably burn coal about 98% of the time when the plant is running.
2) The Crist plant complies with all current EPA rules. I would guess it will run, >50% on coal, for at least another 10 years.
3) The amount of time from starting the permitting process to generating electricity for a nuclear power plant is probably 10-15 years. I am highly doubtful GPC is going to build a Nuclear Power Plant.
@David Huie Green
“Do you think Gulf Power is raising the rate because they thought they were having to shut the coal plant down in three years? Now they do not?”
No, they say they want it to improve reliability and safety for linemen.
AND
“Do you know the practicality of getting a nuclear power plant going to serve our needs in this area right away?”
Low, too much opposition.
Other than than that, about 5 years actual construction time is common.
David for safe, reliable power
Lear jets are expensive.
The local GP power generation plant, (Crist) has been running on natural gas since the price of it went down with the advent of fracking.
I have heard that because of regulations on use of coal to produce electricity that the local electric plant for Gulf Power is now run mostly by Natural Gas.
Also heard that there is great interest among the electrical generating crowd to buy up and have control over the Natural Gas companies and fields to assure they have access and can set prices to charge the consumers.
There’s nothing much better in business than being able to produce your own major consumable item (Natural Gas) to convert it to a needed product (Electricity) and pass the cost plus profit along to the consumers (Us and Walmart)..
@David Huie Green
Love what you had to say
in a way..if we want to argue..too much oxygen can be harmful.. or too much water
I agree
but back to the original article.
Do you think Gulf Power is raising the rate because they thought they were having to shut the coal plant down in three years? Now they do not?
Do you know the practicality of getting a nuclear power plant going to serve our needs in this area right away?
CONSIDERING:
*”I wonder if a reduction in CO2, which by the way is not a pollutant, was impossible in the process of burning coal or natural gas and was causing them to scramble to meet our energy demand.”*
If you didn’t rid yourself of the carbon dioxide you produce, you would die.
If the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere reached high enough levels, you would die.
Therefor, carbon dioxide is a pollutant.
The question is just one of: How much is too much?
A way to not worry about the answer to that question is to produce vitally needed energy without producing carbon dioxide.
We can replace our fossil fuel burning power plants with nuclear power.
We can replace our fossil fuel burning power plants with geothermal power.
We can replace our fossil fuel burning power plants with wind power.
We can replace our fossil fuel burning power plants with solar power.
Nuclear is the most compact and reliable source, day and night. There are liquid metal pyrometallurgical designs which will “burn” existing fissionable and fissile supplies to meet our current demand more than a thousand years, even without mining another ton of ore. It would leave no long-term nuclear waste and would use up what is currently called waste.
They just need competent people at the controls, in the construction and in the designing. Even failing that, so far the harm has been less than that caused by the use of coal. (And it stands to reason we can improve on 1950s designs using improved knowledge.)
David for safe nuclear
I can’t wait to see how walmart plays into this.
Gulf power will use this increase for the good of the community
Bob C, you read that Nov 3rd in this very newspaper. Now they want millions more. They will do you a huge favor by coming into your home and telling you to insulate the dog food bowl too! Gulf Power needs to be broken up into smaller sections so they can handle their money in smaller portions by different accountants. Maybe we can keep moving to where the rates are lowest. This means renting instead of owning,lol.
Since president Trump is putting someone in charge of EPA that realizes the absurdity of reducing carbon dioxide by 30 % by 2020, which was causing Southern Company and Gulf Power and Crist Plant to practically have to shut down their coal burning plants should make a difference in their emergency plan to have to go to alternative energy and affect this need for rate hike.
Alternative Energy is good, moving away from fossil fuel is great but CO2 by 30 % ??
They already monitor NOX and SOX and opacity and such. I wonder if a reduction in CO2, which by the way is not a pollutant, was impossible in the process of burning coal or natural gas and was causing them to scramble to meet our energy demand. The need may now be eliminated due to this new administration with common sense and pragmatism at the helm.
Why doesn’t Gulf Power present its case online so people can be familiar with it. They can certainly present their case at the meeting, but if their reasoning is justified, make the presentation available online, today, so people will be familiar with the subject matter.
If GP is intending to be good stewards of the community, they should have no problem with doing this for their neighbors/victims.
Gulf Power wants their customers to PAY for the millions they gambled away while trying to bamboozle their customers to vote yes on Amendment 1.
It failed to constitutionalize their monopoly.
But the PSC caters to the power companies, not the customers.
William and all y’all
I know that I’m getting older and the old noggin isn’t what it once may have been but I am sure that Gulf Power was thumping its chest and announcing Rate REDUCTIONS only a couple of months ago.
Now, they’re wanting Rate INCREASE???
Seems they cannot figure out what the heck they are trying to do.
Not a huge fan of Big-Box stores over the Mom & Pop places but I do support Walmart in their efforts here even though they’re purely a business interest.
Gulf Power workers, we know it’s not y’all this is a move on the corporate world greed.