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Progress Energy Cuts 300 Jobs

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By RUSSELL RAY

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 29, 2008

TAMPA - Nearly 300 jobs at Progress Energy Florida will be eliminated by the end of the year, the St. Petersburg-based electric utility said Thursday.

About half of those positions, though, are vacant. About 151 people who work and live throughout Progress Energy's 35-county service area will lose their jobs.

Executives attributed the layoffs to Florida's distressed housing market, lower-than-expected electricity sales and a restructuring of the company.

The job cuts are confined to the company's Energy Delivery Unit, which employs 1,600 people who oversee the transmission and distribution of electricity for the utility's 1.7 million customers. The layoffs will affect managers, supervisors, engineers, technicians and some linemen, the company said.

"The jobs being cut will have no impact on electric service or electric restoration," company spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs said.

Altogether, Progress Energy Florida employs 4,250 people in Florida

"Laying off employees is never our first choice," Jeff Lyash, president and CEO of Progress Energy Florida, said in a statement. "But we have a responsibility to ensure that our staffing and resources match our changing business needs."

Some employees will take jobs in other places within the company, Progress Energy said.

"If they're not placed elsewhere in the company, they will have severance benefits," Jacobs said.

Further job cuts are not anticipated, she said.

The downturn in the economy has slowed customer growth at Progress Energy and other electric utilities.

"Keeping our staffing levels aligned with our workload allows us to effectively manage our costs," said Michael Lewis, senior vice president for energy delivery.

The utility added just 2,000 customers from June 2007 to June. During the same 12-month period last year, it added more than 29,000 customers. Slower customer growth stems from a glut of empty, unsold homes, executives said.
Progress Energy provides power to customers in central and north Florida, including Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties.

Tampa Electric Co. also has seen slower customer growth, but a spokesman said it has no plans to cut jobs. TECO is the chief power provider in Hillsborough County.

Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870 or rray@tampatrib.com.

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