MARK SCHUMANN

In an order issued May 9, the PSC commissioners unanimously agreed to delay approval of FPL’s proposed $1.337 rate hike. The delay, the Commission explained, will allow time for the Office of Public Counsel and others objecting to the increase to make their case. “We find it appropriate to suspend the requested permanent rate schedules to allow Commission staff and intervenors sufficient time to adequately investigate whether the request for permanent rate relief is justified,” read the Commission’s orders.

In mid-March, Florida Power & Light filed with the Florida Public Service Commission plans to permanently increase rates $1.337 billion over the next three years, with a $866 million hike in 2017.

In addition to the Office of Public Counsel, the Florida Industrial Power Users Group, Wal-Mart Stores, the Federal Executive Agencies, and the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association have all moved to oppose FPL’s plans to raise rates.

Editor’s note: Though widely reported across the state, Treasure Coast Newspapers, whose publisher is married to an FPL vice president, has yet to report on the utility giant’s proposed rate increase. Responding to an email from a disgruntled reader, Treasure Coast Newspapers editor, Mark Tomasik, wrote, “I stand behind our body of work on this issue. We have covered the topic independently longer and more comprehensively than anyone else. We have done so without any agenda.”