As a result, some utilities are paying five times as much for the power they buy wholesale than they can charge retail customers. Now, because of a shortage of power generation in the state and the fact that power can be sold outside the state for more than it is worth in California, there is not enough power to go around. An aluminum plant is laying off workers, because the electricity it generates is more valuable sold at wholesale than it is being used to make its product. Recently, the price caps on retail rates were raised slightly in hope of avoiding blackouts and bankruptcy. Florida will need an estimated 10,000 megawatts of additional power capacity in the next 10 years.
Private companies propose to build plants and sell electricity to utilities that want to buy.
The state's largest utility, which operates similar plants in other states, is opposing the effort to build them in Florida. Florida should be wary of California-style deregulation and receptive to merchant power plants that will help provide the power the state needs. Enter words describing a concept or keywords.