HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – There’s a major fight underway to keep FPL from going through with the nation’s largest utility rate hike.
If approved, the nearly $9 billion rate hike over three years would cost the average homeowner about $200 more per year.
The Public Service Commission, which approves rate hikes, is going on a listening tour and got an earful from residents in Hollywood Thursday.
“I literally have zero faith that FPL will do the right thing with our money,” one resident said.
Another resident said, “I ask their shareholders to take a little less money in order to pay for any of the upgrades that they’re trying to do.”
The PSC declined Local 10’s public interview requests. Historically, politically appointed members have mostly said yes to FPL.
The utility did have supporters here for its service and reliability.
“FPL has earned my trust,” one resident said.
It’s other spending that has customers electrified. The power monopoly spent hundreds of millions on political contributions, even funding a phony candidate against an environmentalist state senator.
“Any contributions we make to political candidates, any advertising we do, anything we do to enhance our brand or awareness of our brand is all paid for by shareholders of the company, not by customers,” FPL spokesperson Bryan Garner said.
This time, FPL cites a growing customer base and inflation in labor and materials.
Walt Trierweiler, the public counsel ― an attorney who looks out for the public’s interest ― said the request is neither fair, nor just, nor reasonable.
“We depose their experts, we present our expert testimony, depose every issue in their case, with other facts, with other outcomes,” he said.
Thursday’s meeting in Broward and another in Miami-Dade were two of nine that the PSC is holding throughout the state.
There’s no definite timeline on the rate hike decision just yet.
