Duke Energy Florida's coal generation increases to 14.5% on month: filing

Houston — Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, saw a coal generation mix of 14.5% in April, down from 18.6% expected for the month and up from 13.6% reported in March, the utility said in a state regulatory filing.

The regulated utility told the Florida Public Service Commission it burned 287,457 st of coal in April, up from 178,397 st in March. The utility projected 137,253 st of coal burn in April.

Natural gas burn was at 16.2 Bcf in April, or 82.7% of generation, compared with 17 Bcf in March and 83.3% of generation.

In April, Florida city-gate gas prices averaged $2.735/MMBtu, down from $2.755/MMBtu in the previous month, according to S&P Global Platts.

Duke Energy Florida's Crystal River coal-fired plant generated 604,649 MWh in April, up from 383,681 MWh in March.

Average fuel cost for coal was at $3.24/MMBtu in April, up from $3.18/MMBtu in March, while gas dropped to $4.27/MMBtu in April, compared with $4.48/MMBtu in the previous month.

Total coal burn in 2020 was at 1.56 million st, up from 1.46 million st expected for the year, but down from 1.98 million st burned in 2019. Generation mix for coal was 8.1% in 2020, down from 10.8% a year ago, while gas rose to 90% in 2020, up from 88.5% in 2019.

Coal purchases for the month totaled 244,250 st in April at an average delivered cost of $65.47/st, up from 189,268 st at $61.15/st in March.

At the end of April, Duke Energy Florida's coal inventory was at 513,756 st, or 54 days of supply, down from 556,964 st, or 97 days of supply, in March.