‘FP&L was very active’: Bill to curb growing cost of electricity in Florida dies

For the second year in a row, a bill in the Florida Legislature designed to lower the burgeoning cost of electricity for residents has died at the hands of the utility industry, according to its sponsor.

State Sen. Don Gaetz is a powerful Republican, who was formerly president of the state Senate and whose Panhandle district is one of the reddest parts of the state.

But his sway is no match for the utility industry’s influence in the Legislature, Gaetz said, particularly when it comes to the largest utility in the state: Florida Power & Light.

“FP&L was very active,” he told the Tampa Bay Times. “The bill was smothered in its legislative cradle.”

Senate Bill 126 would have required utility regulators on the Florida Public Service Commission to consider affordability when they take up a rate hike proposal. When utilities seek to increase their margin of shareholder profit, regulators would have to evaluate those requests using “financially logical” modeling that’s accepted outside the utility industry. And the bill would have required regulators to compile an annual report disclosing detailed information on how much corporate executives are paid, plus an analysis on whether “excess” profits have impacted Floridians.

The bill passed just one of its three assigned legislative committees. During that December hearing, no one from any of the state’s utility companies spoke publicly against the bill. But Gaetz said Florida Power & Light flexed its political muscle behind the scenes.

The company registered six people to lobby on the House version of the bill, state records show.

“All they had to do was simply indicate that FP&L was opposed to the bill and given FP&L’s power in the Florida Legislature, I think that was enough,” Gaetz said. “The lobbyist did not have to appear in front of any committee and debate against the bill. No one had to visit senators and hand out fact sheets.”

A spokesperson for Florida Power & Light declined to comment.

Florida Power & Light and its parent company, NextEra, are prolific donors to Florida political campaigns. Since January 2017, the utility has contributed more than $33 million to state-level politicians, according to a report released earlier this month by The CLEO Institute, an environmental group that advocates for clean energy.

The company’s influence outlasts individual politicians — records show that NextEra wrote a $500,000 check to the man polling highest to be Florida’s next governor, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds. His campaign did not respond to emails requesting comment on that donation.

Late last year, state utility regulators, all of whom are appointed by the governor, approved a rate hike for Florida Power & Light customers amounting to nearly $7 billion over four years. The deal was crafted behind closed doors between the utility company and several groups representing business interests, including a federation of retail companies, industrial corporations and Walmart.

It granted Florida Power & Light the highest rate of shareholder profit in the lower 48 states, according to Walt Trierweiler, the public counsel who was legislatively appointed to represent utility customers. Trierweiler fought vehemently against the rate hike deal, calling the shareholder profit margin “unconscionable” and accusing Florida Power & Light of double-charging customers to boost earnings.

Trierweiler and other opponents have challenged the approval of the deal in a fight that’s likely to end up in the Florida Supreme Court.

Part of Senate Bill 126 was inspired by this case to try to prevent anything similar from happening again, Gaetz said. For instance, the bill would have required that settlements for a rate hike be negotiated “in good faith” with the public counsel before regulators can vote to approve them.

In addition to the six Florida Power & Light lobbyists registered on this bill were 15 lobbyists for Tampa Electric Co., though both Gaetz and the House sponsor, Rep. Alex Andrade, said they hadn’t heard much from the company.

Cherie Jacobs, a spokesperson for Tampa Electric, said the company’s lobbyists regularly register on bills affecting the utility industry, and that it “does not necessarily indicate support or opposition.”

“When legislation could affect the communities we serve, we work to provide elected officials with information about potential benefits, risks and vulnerabilities, so they have a full understanding of the possible implications for customers and the energy system,” Jacobs said.