South Miami commission passes resolution in favor of economist to challenge FPL
The South Miami commission met at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 15.
The main item
South Miami joined the village of Pinecrest and city of Miami in a move to hire an economist to challenge assumptions made by Florida Power & Light associated with its proposed construction of nuclear reactors and transmission lines.
The commission voted unanimously to pledge $13,000 to engage an economist relating to early cost recovery matters before the public service commission. In order to charge early nuclear cost recovery dollars for planning, licensing and its proposed construction, FPL must demonstrate the proposed power plant is cost effective for its customers and it intends to continue with licensing. The economist will challenge FPL’s assumptions and present alternatives during its feasibility analysis to the public service commission. Testimony will be pre-filed in late June and the hearing is in August.
“This is a particularly interesting opportunity because the utility is planning to build these transmission lines using the advanced cost recovery statute to finance them,” Mayor Philip Stoddard said from the dais. “So going after this particular statute, which a lot of us think is a pretty unfair statute, because the utility essentially takes the customers money and then winds up owning the thing the customer built for them and then turns around and charges the customer for it. That’s the basis, which we want to challenge this and also argue the determination of need for this infrastructure … is actually out of date and doesn’t actually fit anymore. There is a lot of basis for this but it is going to take some expert testimony.”
Other business
▪ Going solar: The commission unanimously approved a resolution authorizing City Manager Steven Alexander to initiate a solar purchase and installation program with Goldin Solar for residential and business properties.
▪ Selling surplus: Alexander was also unanimously authorized to sell surplus items, including interior and exterior police car parts, several computers and electronics, to the highest bidder at a city auction.
▪ Police repairs: The commission approved a resolution to increase the budget $5,371 in the police maintenance and repairs of equipment account due to insurance proceeds following a Harley Davidson police motorcycle crash.
They said it
“Our crime rate dipped. It dropped like a rock by 26.3 percent. Our clearance rate was 17 percent, which is a huge improvement. These figures are quite favorable in comparison with other cities and counties. Our drop in crime is due in large part to the hard work of our officers and the new initiatives in place by the department.” — South Miami City Manager Steven Alexander.
The next meeting
When: 7 p.m. July 7
Where: City Hall, 6130 Sunset Dr., South Miami
This story was originally published June 18, 2015 at 5:26 PM with the headline "South Miami commission passes resolution in favor of economist to challenge FPL."