Will Florida Public Service Commission cave to FPL’s wishes

COMMENTARY

MARK SCHUMANN

FPL president Eric Silagy, came up through the company's lobbying arm, serving as senior vice president of regulatory and state governmental affairs. Prior to joining FPL, Silagy served as chief of staff for U.S. Senator from Louisiana, J. Bennett Johnson. — FPL president Eric Silagy came up through the company’s lobbying arm, serving as senior vice president of regulatory and state governmental affairs. Prior to joining FPL, Silagy served as chief of staff for U.S. Senator from Louisiana, J. Bennett Johnson.

Unlike the Indian River Shores Town Council’s lawsuit against the City of Vero Beach, the County Commission’s complaint filed this week with the Florida Public Service Commission may actually succeed in carving up Vero Beach’s electric service territory.

If the County is able to seize a portion of Vero Beach’s customers base and utility infrastructure, it will not be on any grounds having to do with service reliability or rates. No one credible is arguing Vero Electric’s service is unreliable. On the question of rates, how will the PSC rule Vero Electric’s rates are unreasonably high, given that the Commission has already approved higher rates for a number of the state’s investor owned utilities?

No, if the PSC decides to help the County assist FPL in pulling off a partial “steal” of Vero Electric, they will be doing so for purely political reasons.

The following is the current Florida Statute governing the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission to consider and resolve questions of service territories.

2013 Florida Statutes 366.04 Jurisdiction of commission.—

(d) To approve territorial agreements between and among rural electric cooperatives, municipal electric utilities, and other electric utilities under its jurisdiction. However, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to alter existing territorial agreements as between the parties to such agreements.

(e) To resolve, upon petition of a utility or on its own motion, any territorial dispute involving service areas between and among rural electric cooperatives, municipal electric utilities, and other electric utilities under its jurisdiction. In resolving territorial disputes, the commission may consider, but not be limited to consideration of, the ability of the utilities to expand services within their own capabilities and the nature of the area involved, including population, the degree of urbanization of the area, its proximity to other urban areas, and the present and reasonably foreseeable future requirements of the area for other utility services.

(f) To prescribe and require the filing of periodic reports and other data as may be reasonably available and as necessary to exercise its jurisdiction hereunder.

No provision of this chapter shall be construed or applied to impede, prevent, or prohibit any municipally owned electric utility system from distributing at retail electrical energy within its corporate limits, as such corporate limits exist on July 1, 1974; however, existing territorial agreements shall not be altered or abridged hereby.

The following two Tampa Bay Times stories help explain the extent to which FPL, the state’s largest investor owned utility, has been able to use its considerable financial and political muscle to influence if not dominate the PSC.

Two Christ PSC appointees who said no to electric companies get legislative boot MORE…

At the PSC, a confederacy of yes men – and women MORE…