COMMENTARY

“What the public needs to know is how much they would save, if FPL were to take over Vero Electric. A number that shows how much more FPL customers would pay if the utility giant were bought by Vero Electric is exceedingly meaningless, and Turner knows it.”

MARK SCHUMANN

As Jon Stewart said in signing off his final broadcast of The Daily Show, there is a lot of “B.S.” in politics, and if you smell something, you should say something.  I was thinking of Stewart’s admonition today, when reviewing notes Vero Beach City Councilwoman Pilar Turner brought with her to the August 18 council meeting.

Turner, who was heavily supported by Florida Power & Light and Indian River Shores interests in the last election, was armed with a graph and a hand written note that greatly overstated the rate differential between Vero Electric and FPL.

A persistant apologist for the proposed sale of Vero Electric, Turner cannot seem to keep from exaggerating the supposed benefits of the sale. Taking her cue from local utility activists, including Glenn Heran, Steven Faherty and Mark Mucher, Turner consistently offers a misleading comparison of electric rates. While she would like Vero Beach’s voting public to believe they would save 31 percent as customers of FPL, the real number is closer to 19 percent.

The more Turner and her fellow pro-sale advocates overstate the likely savings from a sale, the less confident they seem to be in the merits of their case.

Here is the math: According the the latest statewide bill comparison provided by the Florida Municipal Electric Association, Vero Beach’s rate for 1000 kilowatt hours of residential use is $123.93.  FPL’s rate for 1000 kWh is $94.14, for a difference of 23 percent. However, allowing for the 6 percent franchise fee that would be assessed to Vero Beach customers after a sale, the resulting rate differential would be 19 percent. The number is not insignificant, but it is not the 31 percent Turner claims.

What the public needs to know is how much they would save, if FPL were to take over Vero Electric. A number that shows how much more FPL customers would pay if the utility giant were bought by Vero Electric is exceedingly meaningless, and Turner knows it.