Duke Energy Accused Of Grand Theft; Florida Regulators Co-Conspirators ...

... at least that's how some might see it....

Bloomberg is reporting:

Duke Energy will halt plans to build a new nuclear plant in Florida and seek to recover as much as $1.47 billion in costs associated with a shuttered reactor in the state under a settlement with regulatory staff.

Duke will record a $360 million pretax cost from the settlement in the second quarter, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company said in a statement today. The agreement is subject to review by and approval from the Florida Public Service Commission.

The settlement resolves two issues associated with Progress Energy Inc.’s nuclear program. Duke acquired the company last year for $17.8 billion in a deal that made it the largest U.S. utility owner. Progress Energy’s Florida utility has been billing customers since 2009 to pay for a new nuclear plant and work on the Crystal River reactor near Tampa.

Some lawmakers aren’t happy with the deal.

“It’s grand theft,” Mike Fasano, a Republican state representative.