Surcharges ahead in Gulf Power bill OK'd by Legislature

FLORIDA
Surcharges ahead
in Gulf Power bill
OK'd by Legislature
Fee change would
pay for equipment
to fight pollution

Alisa LaPolt
News Journal capital bureau

TALLAHASSEE — A bill to
allow Gulf Power Co. to pay for
pollution-reducing equipment
through customer surcharges is
on its way to the governor's desk.
House members unanimously
approved the bill Friday, a day
after the Senate overwhelmingly
approved the measure.
The bill makes it possible for
Gulf Power to in-
stall emission-re-
ducing equipment
at its Crist plant,
then ask state reg-
ulators for a cus-
tomer surcharge to
finance it.
Typically, the
utility company
could do so only if
ozone emissions in
Northwest Florida
are so high that
they do not meet
federal standards.
"Because we al-
ready meet all envi-
ronmental stan-
dards, there was a legal question
as to whether we could further re-
duce emissions and recover the
cost," Gulf Power spokesman
John Hutchinson said, explaining
the need for the legislation.
The bill requires the utility com-
pany and the Department of En-
vironmental Protection to agree,
within the next 10 months, about
the exact type of equipment it will
install. The price will largely de-
termine the surcharge the compa-
ny will seek.
But the Public Service Commis-
sion would have to sign off on that
surcharge.
"We still have some hills to
climb," Hutchinson said.
Nitrous oxide emissions come
from automobiles, power plants
and other industries and play a
part in the formation of ozone.
The legislation, however, does
nothing to encourage Gulf Power
to finance equipment for the Crist
plant's sulfur dioxide emissions,
said Jim Presswood, an attorney
with the environmental group,
Southern Alliance for Clean
Energy.
Presswood said new equipment
is available that would allow the
plant to further cut its sulphur
dioxide. "It seems
to me they're not
serious about re-
ducing it," he said.
Gulf Power has
reduced overall
emissions from its
Crist Plant by 71
percent, and sul-
fur dioxide does
not contribute to
the ozone problems
that Northwest
Florida possibly
faces without the
new equipment,
according
to Hutchinson.
The legislation,
sponsored by House Majority
Leader Jerry Maygarden, R-Pen-
sacola, and Sen. Charlie Clary,
R-Destin, asks for the Public Ser-
vice Commission to study how
utility companies can use renew-
able energy sources such as solar
panels and wind turbines.