TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The state Public Service Commission is cutting the monthly bill for a typical Progress Energy Florida customer by $7.13 next year.
But the commission on Tuesday rejected an additional reduction sought by commercial customers for power purchased to replace output from a crippled nuclear reactor.
Most of the overall rate reduction is due to the declining price of natural gas burned in conventional power plants.
The utility anticipates getting the remaining $327.6 million not yet received on a $490 million replacement power insurance policy on the broken reactor.
The commercial customers argued Progress should expect a second $490 million because the reactor's containment building sustained two separate cracks in two different years.
That would have reduced the replacement power costs passed on to customers by an equal amount.