Fla. senators eye changes in nuclear utility rates

Some state senators from the Tampa Bay area want to change a law that lets utilities charge customers for future nuclear power plants even if they never get built.

The senators announced their plans Thursday, but a House member sponsoring legislation to repeal the 2006 law said their proposal doesn't go far enough.

The legislation that will be filed by Sen. Legg, a Lutz Republican, would set a deadline for construction to begin, eliminate the profit companies now make on customers' prepayments if they fail to build a plant and reduce the interest they earn on carry costs.

Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasalinda, a Tallahassee Democrat, said the senators' proposal would simply be a "Band-Aid."

The senators say they still support nuclear power but that consumers need protection.