The FL Public Service Commission regulates investor-owned electric, natural gas, and water and wastewater utilities.
(Via PSC)
A Florida Senate committee on Tuesday voted to confirm the appointment of two new members to the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC), the state agency charged with regulating Florida’s investor-owned utilities.
The addition of former Republican state Rep. Bobby Payne and former PSC advisor Ana Ortega to the agency comes as high energy prices have become a top political issue, as lawmakers from both parties say they need to provide affordability to constituents. Their confirmations will go before the full Senate later in the legislative session.
According to research conducted by the group Food & Water Watch, the PSC since 2020 has approved increasing Florida utility bills by 85% for Tampa Electric customers, 44% for Duke Energy consumers, and 38% for Florida Power & Light (FPL) customers, of which there are approximately 12 million in the state.
Payne and Ortega join the PSC just two months after the previous members of the agency approved a four-year settlement with FPL for about $6.9 billion, which opponents claim is the largest rate hike in U.S. history.
That approval came despite the opposition by the Office of Public Counsel, designated by law to represent Florida consumers. Attorneys representing consumer groups that opposed the rate hike have appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.
When asked about how she valued the role of the Office of Public Counsel, Ortega told the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries that she liked to use the analogy of a “three legged stool,” in which the PSC, the Office of Public Counsel, and the utilities are all partners that “work best together to serve Floridians.”
Committee Chair Jennifer Bradley asked Ortega what did she then make of the fact that one of those three “legs,” the Office of Public Counsel, was shut out of the settlement agreed to by the PSC with FPL late last year?
“I think when they are not a party to a settlement agreement it’s incumbent on the commission to specifically identify and articulate the value to the customers, and specifically the rate payers,” said Ortega, who was not part of the PSC when it approved the FPL rate hike.
Ortega agreed with Bradley that when the Office of Public Counsel is not a party to an agreement, “there should be probably additional scrutiny” on a proposed ratepayer hike, but added, “I think that falls on the commission and the commissioners to articulate well how the settlement ultimately benefits that customer base, as well.”
The PSC’s agreement with FPL is expected to lead to base-rate increases of $945 million in 2026 and $705 million in 2027. FPL would collect additional amounts in 2028 and 2029 for solar-energy and battery-storage projects.
Consumer groups said following the committee meeting that they didn’t have high expectations about the change in personnel at the PSC.
“We’ve seen little evidence that Desantis’s new PSC commissioners will be any different than his past appointees that have routinely favored corporate utility profits off the back of Florida’s residents,” said Jorge Aguilar, southern regional director with Food & Water Watch, in a written statement.
“At this pivotal moment, our legislators must champion transparency and accountability for all by passing the Affordable Energy Reform Act to rein in corporate profiteering and deliver Floridians the energy they need at prices they can afford.”
The Affordable Energy Reform Act (SB 1532) is legislation sponsored by Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, that would reign in the profits of investor-owned utilities in part by capping the return on equity (ROE) to national averages and tying it to utility performance benchmarks around consumer energy use and cost efficiency.
Neither the bill nor its House companion have been heard by any committee so far this legislative session.
Pending their confirmation, Payne and Ortega are serving alongside PSC Chair Gabriella Passidomo Smith and Commissioners Gary F. Clark and Mike La Rosa on the five-member Commission.