EXHIBIT 99
Florida Power Corporation
NEWS RELEASE

Corporate Relations Department, St. Petersburg, Florida

                                                            Media Contact:
                                                            Melodye Hendrix
                                                            (813) 866-4282

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

          Florida Power Corporation Crystal River 3 Nuclear Power Plant
                         To Remain In Maintenance Outage

         (October 22, 1996- Crystal River, FL)- Florida Power Corporation
officials have initiated an extended maintenance outage for the Crystal River 3
(CR3) nuclear power plant to review and analyze technical issues regarding plant
design and equipment operating margins. While the unit was off line for
unrelated maintenance, FPC found several design basis issues that require
further study. The key issues involve the potential capacity of an emergency
diesel generator and piping concerns in the emergency feedwater system.

         Company-appointed evaluation teams, which include external nuclear
experts, will conduct the review and develop interim and longer-term solutions
to assure that all plant systems meet performance requirements. The duration of
the outage will be determined after the review is completed. Due to the extent
of the evaluation and the anticipated regulatory consultations, FPC officials do
not expect to restart the plant before the end of the year.

         "We believe that the most prudent management action is to take the time
needed to completely review these issues and develop a corrective action plan
before restarting the plant," said Pat Beard, senior vice president for nuclear
operations.
                                            (continued)



Florida Power Corporation 
CR3 extended maintenance outage 
page 2.


         CR3 was taken off line on September 2 to make repairs to a
lubricating-oil pipe leading to the main turbine generator. The extended outage
is unrelated to both the "lube-oil" pipe repairs and to a recent investigation
involving a coin found in an oil strainer.

         FPC anticipates no problem serving customer load requirements over this
autumn period as demand for electricity typically falls off between the summer
cooling and winter heating seasons. The company will conduct scheduled
maintenance outages at its other power plants as planned. In addition to its own
generating units, the company also is able to buy from other suppliers and use
its energy management system to reduce peak demand.

         CR3 is an 860-megawatt nuclear power plant located at Florida Power
Corporation's Crystal River Energy Complex near the Gulf of Mexico in Citrus
County. CR3 has been in operation since 1977. Because of the current maintenance
outage and an extended refueling outage this past spring, 1996 operating results
will drop below the plant's strong record of the past three years which averaged
89.4% in capacity with an availability factor of 89.2%.

         Florida Power Corporation is the principal subsidiary of St.
Petersburg-based Florida Progress Corporation (NYSE: FPC) and serves 1.3 million
customers in central and northern Florida.