New Duke Power Plant Gets Boost

By News Service of Florida

Describing the project as the "optimal" option to meet future electricity needs, staff members of the state Public Service Commission this week backed a proposal by Duke Energy Florida to build a power plant in Citrus County. Staff members on Monday recommended that the commission approve what is known as a "determination of need," a critical step in the approval of new power plants. The commission is slated to take up the issue during an Oct. 2 meeting. Duke is seeking to build a 1,640-megawatt plant, which would start generating electricity in 2018, adjacent to its Crystal River complex. The $1.5 billion natural-gas plant is part of a plan that also involves shutting down two old coal-fired generating units.