Is FPL the “clean energy” company it claims to be? Maybe not.

COMMENTARY

“Reliable, reasonably priced electric service is apparently not good enough for the members of the Indian River County Commission and the Shores Town Council.  They want to be customers of FPL. Well, they may find it true that there are two ways of becoming discontent.  Not getting what you want is one. Getting what you want is the other.”

MARK SCHUMANN

Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest electric utility, went before the Florida Public Service Commission earlier this month seeking permission to pass on to its customers up to $750 million a year to fund the company’s planned partnership with an Oklahoma oil and gas company.  (See: FPL asks permission to drill for natural gas)

Given FPL’s influence with Gov. Rick Scott and leaders in the Florida Legislature, the PSC may have little choice but to approve FPL’s request. After all, the last time the PSC stood up to FPL the Legislature sacked dissenting Commission members and then stacked the regulatory body with a commissioner more sympathetic to FPL and the state’s other large investor-owned utilities. (See: At the PSC, a confederacy of yes men – and women)

A New York Times report today reveals the extent to which regulators and other government officials are influenced by and are collaborating with big energy. According to the Times, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruett sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency accusing Federal regulators of grossly overestimating air pollution concerns connected with fracking operations. The problem is Pruett did not write the letter.  It was written by lawyers for Devon Energy, one of Oklahoma’s biggest oil and gas companies. (See: Energy Companies in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General)

Food & Water Watch, an environmental group, recently sent an appeal to its supporters urging them to call on the PSC to deny FPL’s request to expand into the production of fracked natural gas. (See: Food & Water Watch) “Florida Power & Light describes itself as a ‘clean energy’ company that invests responsibly and grows sustainably. But there is nothing responsible or sustainable about fracking or the air and water pollution that it brings,” wrote Vickie Machado, Florida Organizer for Food & Water Watch.

The five members of the Indian River County Commission are seemingly in love with FPL, and want to force Vero Beach out of the power business. Lobbyists for the County, along with FPL, were successful last year in persuading the Florida Legislature to spend $200,000 to audit the Florida Municipal Power Agency. Because the FMPA already has clean annual audits, the State Auditor General’s audit, almost surely the bright idea of someone at FPL, will come to nothing but the wasting of $200,000 in taxpayer money.

In service to FPL, the Indian River County Commission is busy in other ways wasting taxpayer money. The latest example of the County’s wasteful spending on its addlebrained petition submitted to the PSC and then deferred. Every electric utility in the state lined up in opposition to the County’s efforts to seek PSC permission to force Vero Beach to abandon its out-of-city customers.

The five “gentlemen” on the Indian River Shores Town Council are also busy carrying water for FPL.  In what appears to be a clearly orchestrated, two front attack on Vero Beach, the Shores filed a lawsuit seeking court approval to force Vero Beach to abandon its customers on the north barrier island. (See: Are shores and County collaborating on leal action against the City?)

At least one Shores resident, Bill Grealis, was in communication with FPL. Insisting Grealis was acting as a private citizen, the Shores has refused to provide copies of any written communication he may have had with representatives of FPL. (See: Indian River Shores “workaround” may avoid Sunshine Law…)

Earlier this week, I spoke with Assistant State Attorney Chris Taylor and shared with him my concerns that the Shores may not be complying with the Sunshine Law. Not only is the Shores refusing to provide copies of communications Grealis may have had with FPL representatives, there appears to be direct email communications taking place between members of the Shores Town Council. (See: Sunshine Law questions raised with State Attorney’s Office) The local daily newspaper, whose publisher is married to a key FPL vice president, remains silent on this story.

Though they live in the wealthiest enclave in one of the ten wealthiest zip codes in the country, it would seem all the members of the Shores Town Council have to talk about over cocktails at the John’s Island Club is their electric rates, which just happens to be within the statewide average.

Reliable, reasonably priced electric service is apparently not good enough the members of the Indian River County Commission and the Shores Town Council.  They want to be customers of FPL. Well, they may find it true that there are two ways of becoming discontent.  Not getting what you want is one. Getting what you want is the other.