The Florida Supreme Court ruled on Sept. 28 that the state’s Public Service Commission failed to justify why the largest utility rate increase in state history for Florida Power & Light was in the public interest and how it was allowed by law. The court sent the case back to the commission in a a 4-2 decision in the case of Floridians Against Increased Rates, Inc. v. Gary F. Clark, etc., et al.
Floridians Against Increased Rates, Florida Rising and others, previously challenged a decision made by the Public Service Commission to approve a settlement agreement between Florida Power and Light and other interested parties providing for a rate increase. Floridians Against Increased Rates and Florida Rising had argued the Public Service Commission’s decision did not comply with Florida law resulting in “unfair and discriminatory customer rates.”
In its Sept. 28 decision, the Florida Supreme Court ordered the commission to justify its approval of Florida Power and Light's $4.868 billion rate increase settlement, instructing the commission to “do the job with which the Legislature has tasked it” and explain why the increase in customer bills paired with charging customers for a higher rate of profit as agreed to in the settlement was “fair, just, and reasonable” for Floridians.
The court wrote, “The Commission must therefore give us something to work with: a decision that is reasoned and articulated enough to allow us to assess on what basis it has concluded that the settlement agreement is in the public interest and results in rates that are fair, just, and reasonable”
The Supreme Court order does not halt the rate increase, which went into effect in 2022 and resulted in increases to customer bills. However, the order marks a challenge to the “constructive regulatory environment” that Florida Power and Light (FPL) has cultivated and enjoyed over the last several years in Florida.
The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) – which advocates, academics, and reporters have referred to as a “rubber stamp” and “lapdog” of the investor-owned utilities – has a history of approving whatever the corporations are asking for with little to no debate.
During FPL’s recent rate case, one expert witness tweeted his experience of traveling to Tallahassee to present evidence and testimony against the rate case settlement. The PSC did not ask him a single question. Thousands of FPL customers spoke out against the rate increase, before and after the settlement was approved, at virtual public hearings and by submitting written comments to the PSC.
Despite that, FPL secured the support of some stakeholders to its rate increase settlement, most significantly the state’s Office of People’s Counsel (OPC,) the state’s consumer advocate. At the time of the settlement, the OPC was under the charge of Richard Gentry, a former utility lobbyist that the Florida Legislature appointed to the role just months prior to the settlement, replacing longtime utility critic J.R. Kelly. Gentry abruptly resigned from the OPC at the end of 2022.
Four organizations opposed FPL’s rate increase and the settlement agreement that FPL struck with other intervenors: Floridians Against Increased Rates, Florida Rising, League of United Latin American Citizens, and Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida. All four organizations joined the lawsuit challenging the PSC’s approval of higher FPL rates at the Florida Supreme Court.
Check out the full post “Florida Supreme Court orders Florida Public Service Commission to do its job” on Energy and Policy Institute.