Progress: Expects Slower Schedule For Florida Nuclear Project
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100119-709428.html?mod=WSJ_latesth...
JANUARY 19, 2010,
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Progress Energy Inc. (PGN) said it expects to slow down the schedule of a nuclear power plant it is planning in Florida, following a recent decision by state regulators not to increase electricity rates.
Executives from the company said they are looking to slow down and spread out spending on a dual-reactor nuclear power plant in northern Florida's Levy County. The company expects to file an update analysis of the plant later this year, they said during a conference call Tuesday.
"It will have to slow down, and money will have to be spent slower," said Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Johnson, who during the call hinted at additional cuts in capital spending the company will detail next month.
Progress is the second Florida utility to signal a pullback in new nuclear build as regulators take a hard line on rate increases in the face of tough economic conditions in the state. FPL Group Inc. (FPL) suspended $10 billion in capital projects last week, including new reactors at the Turkey Point nuclear plant.
Progress said it is reevaluating both its operating and maintenance and capital spending, but plans to maintain its current dividend rate. An increase in the dividend is unlikely, however.
Progress, which started in the Carolinas and expanded to Florida, said Tuesday it expects earnings in a range of $2.85 to $3.05 a share this year, compared with a $3.10 average estimate from a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters. It also narrowed its 2009 forecast to a range of $2.95 to $3.05.
Progress shares recently traded 1%, or 38 cents, higher to $39.31.
-By Mark Peters, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2457 [email protected]
JANUARY 19, 2010,
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Progress Energy Inc. (PGN) said it expects to slow down the schedule of a nuclear power plant it is planning in Florida, following a recent decision by state regulators not to increase electricity rates.
Executives from the company said they are looking to slow down and spread out spending on a dual-reactor nuclear power plant in northern Florida's Levy County. The company expects to file an update analysis of the plant later this year, they said during a conference call Tuesday.
"It will have to slow down, and money will have to be spent slower," said Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Johnson, who during the call hinted at additional cuts in capital spending the company will detail next month.
Progress is the second Florida utility to signal a pullback in new nuclear build as regulators take a hard line on rate increases in the face of tough economic conditions in the state. FPL Group Inc. (FPL) suspended $10 billion in capital projects last week, including new reactors at the Turkey Point nuclear plant.
Progress said it is reevaluating both its operating and maintenance and capital spending, but plans to maintain its current dividend rate. An increase in the dividend is unlikely, however.
Progress, which started in the Carolinas and expanded to Florida, said Tuesday it expects earnings in a range of $2.85 to $3.05 a share this year, compared with a $3.10 average estimate from a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters. It also narrowed its 2009 forecast to a range of $2.95 to $3.05.
Progress shares recently traded 1%, or 38 cents, higher to $39.31.
-By Mark Peters, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2457 [email protected]