COMMENTARY

“Reisman can call for transparency all he wants, but the fact is he is employing a double standard. In the interest of transparency, perhaps Reisman and his Press Journal colleagues would be willing to release records of all communications between themselves and representatives of FPL.  Better yet, perhaps FPL vice president Amy Brunjes and Press Journal publisher Bob Brunjes would agree to record, transcribe and release any and all communication they have about FPL’s efforts to acquire Vero Electric.”

MARK SCHUMANN

No one would reasonably argue against transparency in Vero Beach’s current negotiations with the Orlando Utilities Commission.  But, let’s be clear about what is being negotiated, or, more accurately, re-negotiated.

In his latest front page column, Press Journal community news editor Larry Reisman reported that the city is about to enter a $1 billion contract with the OUC.  Nothing could be father from the truth.

The city already has a 20-year contract with the OUC, the current terms of which are exceedingly unfavorable to the city and its electric customers.  For more than a year, city officials have been seeking concessions from the OUC. A proposal presented by the OUC in Nov. 2014 has now been amended with terms still more favorable to the city.

These additional concessions from the OUC came after the city demonstrated a willingness to seek bids from other possible wholesale power providers. In addition to shortening the length of the contract by seven years, the OUC has agreed to price concessions that should save Vero Electric’s customers $750,000 a month. Should it be approved, the revised agreement will also enable the city to decommission the power plant, a move which will further reduce rates.

At this point, the city’s options are to accept the OUC’s proposal for significantly relaxed terms to the 2008 contract, continue to press for still more concessions, or challenge the OUC in court in hopes of terminating the original contract. Even if the city prevailed in court, it would have to pay damages of as much as $50 million.

Reisman wrote, “…city leaders seem hellbent on approving a new contract on Sept. 1 so rates can be lowered by Oct. 1.”

By reporting that the city is about to enter a new contract, Reisman is twisting the truth. There will be no “new” contract with the OUC, only amendments to an existing, legally-binding agreement.

Interestingly, Reisman did not raise similar objections when in 2013 the council majority of Tracy Carroll, Criag Fletcher and Pilar Turner, all heavily supported by Florida Power & Light, hastily approved a purchase and sale agreement with FPL. At the time, some cautioned that Carroll, Fletcher and Turner were acting imprudently. After all, the final draft of the agreement was delivered to City Hall just 30 minutes before the meeting in which Carroll, Fletcher and Turner cast their faithful votes. That contract, negotiated at a cost of $2 million, is so fatally flawed it will never be executed. Never!

In the spring of 2013, arguing for more deliberation would surely not have pleased Amy Brunjes and her colleagues at FPL. Mrs. Brunjes, of course, is married to Press Journal publisher Bob Brunjes. Does anyone really wonder why Reisman and his colleagues on the Press Journal editorial board urged voters to approve the 2013 purchase and sale agreement, gaping holes and all?

Yesterday, Reisman also wrote, “Transparency means giving the public, finance and utility commissioners ample time to review potential concerns and get questions answered.”

What a curious statement for Reisman to make, given that Press Journal columnists were so quick to endorse FPL’s proposal to amend the 2013 purchase and sale agreement by tacking on a $26 million surcharge. That surcharge was to be paid by the customers of Vero Electric.

Long before the finance and utilities commissions could vet FPL’s $26 million proposal, Press Journal columnists began what appeared to be a coordinated campaign to pressure the council to approve the surcharge. After all, what’s $26 million among family?  It seemed like more than coincidence that the Press Journal begin its full court press soon after members of the editorial board met with FPL President Eric Silagy in the newspaper’s offices in Stuart.

Reisman can call for transparency all he wants, but the fact is he is employing a double standard. In the interest of transparency, perhaps Reisman and his Press Journal colleagues would be willing to release records of all communications between themselves and representatives of FPL.  Better yet, perhaps FPL vice president Amy Brunjes and Press Journal publisher Bob Brunjes would agree to record, transcribe and release any and all communication they have about FPL’s efforts to acquire Vero Electric.

Lost in the discussion about the city’s options is the fact that the OUC is under no legal obligation to help Vero Beach lower electric rates. What pro-sale advocates, including Reisman, refuse to accept is that our nation’s economy is built upon a foundation of contract law. The OUC agreement and the city’s contracts with the Florida Municipal Power Agency are legally binding contracts. The courts are not going to set these contracts aside just because FPL has managed to incite some in Vero Beach to throw a temper tantrum that has now lasted seven years.