PSC Formally Responds to Escambia BCC's Letter on FPL Rate Increases

I received the below response late yesterday morning to our letter sent to the PSC earlier this month on the topic of FPL's recent rate hikes......

Draft BCC Letter to the Public Service Commission Regarding FPL's Rate Increases

Below is the draft of a letter I have written to the Florida Public Service Commission. I will bring this item to this Thursday's BCC meeting.  This is the draft of a letter I discussed with the board at our March 24th meeting and at which time I received the approval from my peers to draft for their consideration at this meeting.

This is all about the FPL rate increases and the hardship this issue is bringing to many of the citizens and businesses we serve.

This is just a draft.  My counterparts may suggest edits, revisions, or even that we not send a letter.  We will see what the discussion on this topic leads to this Thursday--at which point we will do what the majority of commissioners feel is most appropriate.  

For my part I am open to any suggestions from the board--no pride of authorship issues here at all.

Here is the draft letter and one attachement, below:

No WAY We Will Let Them Cut Down 70 Palm Trees on Perdido Key!!

Florida Power and Light has hatched a plan to cut down 70 palm trees at 13 locations on Perdido Key in District 1.  They'll only do this if we cannot legally stop them from doing it.  Oh, and I just found out about this yesterday afternoon at 5:00PM.  And I bet the residents don't know about this plan, either.  Yet.

NO WAY!!!!

That was my visceral reaction yesterday evening (actually that AND some choice words I've not included) ------upon hearing of Florida Power and Light's  FPL's iminent "plan" to cut down 70 trees on the right of way on perdido Key.  SEVENTY palm trees.

Not trimmed.

Not re-located.

Not re-planted with smaller palm trees.

Just cut down, unceremoniously, and hauled off.

I'm now being told they want to take even more, and are actively approaching private property owners requesting the ability to cut down many palm trees located on private property, as well.

Look, I get it that sometimes trees must be trimmed back to not interfere with transmission lines---we all understand that.  But to just say you're going to send out a group of lumberjacks on ONE day, and in this ONE day remove 70 trees without any kind of discussion over it first--yeah, that's not going to happen if the county has any legal means at its disposal to stop this.

I'm awaiting additional information--including any such legal means the county may have at it's disposal to prevent this action from occurring.  below is a part of some of a very nonchalant, matter of fact email chain I received from staff describing what apparently was just about to happen------late yesterday afternoon....

"Below is a list of addresses and tree count proposed for removal.  This work has to be complete by 3.26.22 (funding constraints).  They intend to start and complete the work in 1 (one) day."

Commissioner,

 FPL will be doing maintenance on Perdido Key Drive which involves taking down palm trees.... see specific addresses below.  These trees are in the public ROW.  FPL was also going to approach folks at the addresses to see if they could address any other trees which are hindering the lines...but they do have a deadline of 3/26/22.

Florida Power and Light Representatives Speak at Last Night's D1 Townhall in Beulah

Although it is an issue that the Board of County Commissioners does not control--I know citizens are frustrated and concerned about the rate hikes from Florida Power and Light.  I've received irate (and that is the censored version) phone calls and emails from constituents I serve wanting answers and information.  

So I invited representatives from Florida Power and Light to attend last night's District 1 townhall in Beulah.  And Rick Byars, Becca Boles, and Sandy Sims from Florida Power and Light came and discussed this very issue at length with the citizens and staff who attended the town hall.

For those who missed the event or who are interested in seeing the questions and answers, the video of the town hall is linked, below.  (FPL rate discussion begins at minute 35:00)

Facts about the County's Franchise Fees.....they're Capped and Have NOT been Increased in Nearly 30 Years

The county charges utility providers franchise fees.  The rates have been static for nearly 30 years.  The fees are charged to utility providers in exchange for such providers' use of the various public rights of way needed by these companies to service their customers.  This practice is ubiquitous throughout the state and in counties throughout the country.  Moreover, it is an important revenue source for the county.

Unlike the city of Pensacola--our County's rates are derived as a percentage of the utility commodity utilized by the consumer--currently 5% of the bill, capped at $10.00.

The rate paid by utility consumers within the city limits of Pensacola are 6% of the utility commodity utilized--without any cap on the total amount.

This distinction is important.

It means, in a nutshell, that the recent utility bill spike in FPL bills that is hurting individuals is much more acute in the city of Pensacola---as their franchise fee increases proportionately as the bills increase (according to staff familiar with this matter)---whereas in the county this fee is capped at $10--regardless of how high a bill gets we are capped for a residential customer at $10.

In 2012, the county commission attempted to raise the, at that time nearly 20 year old,  franchise fee cap by 50%--from $10 to $15 dollars--which would have raised a considerable, additional amount of revenue for the county as it continued to struggle to pull out of the Great Recession.

That 2012 initiative failed by a 2-3 vote, with Grover Robinson and Marie Young voting for the increase, and Commissioners White, Valentino, and Robertson voting no.

Read the 1994 Escambia County Franchise Fee agreement here.

Read the 2012 agenda item, suggested revision, and vote tally here

What has Escambia County Collected in Franchise Fees from the County's Electric Utility Provider over the Last 5 Years?

 

	Actuals	Actuals	Actuals	Actuals	Actuals
General Fund:	FY21	FY20	FY19	FY18	FY17
Electric Franchise Fee	12,303,490.47	11,998,982.63	11,813,944.03	11,877,215.44	11,353,718.47

In light of everyone's Florida Power and Light (FPL) bill increasing--some have asked what  Escambia County collects in the way of franchise fees from this, the county's energy provider.  Over the last five years, as illustrated in the chart above, it is about $12 million per year.  This money goes into our general fund which pays for a LOT of the county's operations.

With a barrage of emails complaining about the FPL power increases and the stories of bills doubling and tripling in some cases, it is important to know this information.   Because I am getting emails like this:

"My power bill jumped from 160 to 292 in 1 month I went back and checked my power bill in January has been a little over 200 till this year upon going back and looking at my old bills I had never been charged something called a Fuel Charge and it was 67.45 what are the people of this county supposed to do allow Florida Power to do what they want when they want I'm confined to a hospital bed living on limited income has escambia county become a prisoner to a utility service that our county commissioners should have a say in thank you for listening..after spending over a hour with Florida Power today I learned you are charged one rate for 1000 kilowatt hours or less but when you go over the 1000kw hrs your charged 22% more for your power but nobody seems to answer why this is what difference does it make if I use 1000kw hrs or 3000kw hrs shouldn't everyone pay the same amount for power some things just aren't fair"

And I am sure my peers on the board are getting these sorts of emails as well.

According to the county attorney, our portion of the bill is based upon the size of the user's bill--and capped at a maximum of $10.00 per billing cycle.  In other words--our franchise fee is not the culprit responsible for these bills going through the roof.  According to Alison Rogers, the attorney for the board, the current agreement in force is some 30 years old.  A previous iteration of the Escambia  Board of County Commissioners attempted to update the agreement in 2012, but the vote to approve a new agreement failed by a 2-3 vote at that time.

I am certain this topic will be discussed at some point in our meeting tomorrow morning.  I also plan on having a representative from Florida Power and Light come to my town hall on Tuesday--I have made the invitation and am waiting a confirmation of his attendance.

What Can Be Done about the Higher Power Bills?

There has been much consternation about higher power bills over the last several weeks.  I've spoken to members of our legislative delegation about it, and I have reached out to the folks I know at Florida Power and Light as well.   Althought this has nothing whatsoever to do with the County---and we have ZERO control over these rates---I have received a number of contacts from constituents asking for help.  The response from Mr. Rick Byars at FPL was comprehensive and included some attachements with resources and information that can assist customers, so I am attaching that here, below, in case it can be helpful for folks that see it on my blog.

from the email:

"Good morning Commissioner Bergosh,

 Thank you for speaking to me this week.  Again, we know you may be getting questions from your residents / constituents about higher than expected power bills, and I wanted to provide some information and resources that may be helpful.

 There are several things impacting our customers’ bills right now, all at once:

•             Higher costs for the fuel used to generate electricity, just as we’ve seen in gas prices and other products;

•             Colder winter temperatures, which causes customers to use more energy and therefore leads to higher bills;

•             The tiered pricing structure, which charges a lower rate for energy consumption up to 1,000-kWh and a higher rate for energy use over that amount; and

•             The state-approved rate increase, which also took effect in January.

 We understand that higher bills can be a difficult situation for our customers. We want our customers to know we’re here to help and are doing everything we can.

•             First and foremost, if you’ve received a higher than expected bill and are facing financial hardship or need additional time to pay, please reach out to us. We can see if you qualify for a payment extension, an installment plan and connect you with programs that provide assistance.

•             We are also encouraging our customers to use the FPL app to track your daily energy use so you can make energy use changes throughout the month to minimize the impact of the new rates.

•             There are also other tools and tips available on our website to provide additional energy savings information, including the option for a free online analysis of your energy use and even an audit with an energy expert.

•             All of these tips and tools to monitor and manage your energy usage is especially important when we are facing severe cold temperatures, as we’ve seen lately – your heater is often the largest user of energy by far in your home when it’s cold outside, so anything that you can do to lower your usage can help.

 FPL acquired Gulf Power because the company saw the potential to bring lower rates to the area, which has historically seen significantly higher rates than other FPL customers. We are focused on bringing our Northwest Florida customers into alignment with those lower bills, but it can’t happen overnight. This is a journey to lower rates that will take some time, but if fuel prices remain the same, bills for our customers in Northwest Florida will continue to decline each year moving forward until they are fully aligned with FPL customers across the state – which we expect to be Jan. 1, 2027.

 Please find attached some additional resources that you can use to answer questions or provide additional information to anyone reaching out to you. As always, please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

 Rick Byars

Senior External Affairs Manager"

See resource information provided in the email, below:

What's the Deal with the Power Bills Going Through the Roof?

Folks are calling, folks are emailing.

Everyone is pissed off about their power bills going up.  Come to think of it---I am, too!

But some people think I am responsible for this, which I am not.  I got this email recently:

"If I'm not mistaken, you voted for the rate hikes. My bill just doubled. It was reported on Wear that it would mean about a seventeen dollar hike. Seems the board has some explaining and over charges to pay for. District 1 needs to change the butt seating in the seat.

Sent from my LG Mobile"

Here was another:

"Sir,

I hope you are aware of the suffering Many residents are experiencing related to FPL increases.  My own bill doubled ove $200  and according to  there app I am using $12+ electric daily times days in month unsustainable.  There are many right now sitting in cold homes heat switchrd off some even in dark fearing next FPL bill. Nothing has changed in my home I have lived In over 30 years yet my last bill doubled  Please sir help the citizen's and seriously look into FPL billing and practices.   I am reading of folks now recieving notice cut off electric." 

Folks are mad and they want relief.

I've called both area state representatives and our state senator on this issue specifically.  They are in session, they are busy.  I heard back from one of the three who told me:

"Jeff, there is nothing we can do.  Under statutes the power company must be permitted to make a profit.  The costs for natural gas have doubled over the last two years, and this is the reason the bills are going up.  Green energy initiatives at the federal level cost us locally---we're not set up for green energy--we are set up for fossil fuels.  This is why the bills are going up"