Duke outlines possible deal for power plant

By News Service of Florida

As state regulators began a hearing about future power-plant projects, Duke Energy Florida said Tuesday it reached a potential deal for a Calpine Corp. plant in Central Florida. The announcement came as the state Public Service Commission began considering Duke proposals to build a new power plant in Citrus County, to add two new generators at the utility's Suwannee Plant in North Florida and to upgrade the Hines Energy Complex near Bartow. John Burnett, a Duke attorney, told the Public Service Commission that the utility has a "deal in principle" for Calpine's Osprey Energy Center in Auburndale. As a result, Duke asked the commission to withdraw consideration of the Suwannee project. Burnett said the utility would still need the new gas-fired Citrus County plant, which would start producing electricity in 2018, and the Hines Energy Complex upgrade. The Osprey Energy Center currently sells wholesale power to Duke, Seminole Electric Cooperative, Tampa Electric Co. and other utilities, according to commission documents. Robert Scheffel Wright, an attorney for Calpine, told the commission the potential deal would be "significantly beneficial to Duke and its customers." But the timing of the announcement, which came as the commission started a hearing to determine the need for the power-plant projects, caused other parties to ask for time to look at possible ramifications. "A lot's happening quickly,'' said Jon Moyle, an attorney for the Florida Industrial Power Users Group, which often intervenes in utility cases. "We want the best deal for ratepayers." The commission took a mid-day break and was expected to resume the hearing Tuesday afternoon and continue Wednesday.