Florida’s Public Service Commission does everything but serve the public ARTICLE By Brett Wilkins Aug 18, 2014 In Florida, as in most states, utility companies wield enormous power over both consumers and the elected officials who are meant to regulate them. This influence inevitably leads to conflicts of interest and abuses of power that favor monied interests over the public at large. The Sunshine State’s energy sector is dominated by four large corporations. These four firms have registered, on average, one lobbyist for every two state lawmakers for each legislative session dating back to 2007. Utilities have also ranked among the largest donors to state-level political campaigns in Florida in recent years. It’s no accident that during this period, utility companies have been able to increase customer rates, defeat proposed transparency legislation and remove regulators who opposed rate hikes. According to the watchdog group Integrity Florida [PDF], electric utilities have contributed more than $18 million to the campaign coffers of state-level candidates and political parties in Florida between 2004 and 2012. The aforementioned Big Four utilities also spent more than $12 million lobbying state lawmakers between 2007 and 2013. Making matters worse is the “revolving door” between public and private sectors. Utility companies hire former lawmakers and regulators to lobby sitting legislators for favorable action, a form of cronyism that’s not only perfectly legal but pervasive to the highest levels of power. Americans have not only seen this tactic in Tallahassee but also in Washington. The “revolving door” was on full display in Florida when Republican Governor Rick Scott included a utility executive who pushed for natural gas pipeline construction projects as part of his transition team. Gov. Scott would later approve legislation to speed up permitting the highly controversial Sabal Trail pipeline. It gets worse. The Miami Herald has reported that Scott has invested “several million dollars” in natural gas companies, including some who do significant business in Florida. Ethics laws prohibit such blatant conflicts of interest, but Scott acquired his shares through a blind trust, a mechanism meant to conceal the contents of his portfolio from even the Governor himself. Yet it is noted that Scott’s blind trust is managed by Alan Bazaar, a former employee of Scott’s own private investment firm. At the center of the controversy is the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC), a five-member body appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature. The PSC is tasked with regulating utility companies. The PSC is meant to serve the people of Florida and their interests but many Floridians claim that it promotes the interests of the utilities it regulates for the people. Florida’s PSC has approved three major natural gas pipeline projects, the most recent of which, Sabal Trail, will cost more than $3 billion. PSC Commissioner Julie Brown called the need for the latest pipeline project “indisputable.” Despite the fact that same Florida PSC rejected the pipeline two years prior. Environmental groups, including Sierra Club of Florida, warn that the pipeline could potentially harm the fragile wetlands and aquifers that make Florida so unique. Critics have blasted Gov. Scott and PSC for caving to special interests in approving a highly controversial power line network connecting new nuclear reactors at the Turkey Point power plant in southern Miami-Dade County with communities throughout the Miami metropolitan area. “Rick Scott has turned his back on South Florida, myself and my constituents in South Miami and Pinecrest and Coral Gables and the city of Miami... who have fought this issue for five years,” according to South Miami Mayor Phillip Stoddard, whose suburban city would be dissected by the 150-foot tall — the equivalent of a 10-story building — power lines,. Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner concurred. “What we heard from the governor and cabinet was a summary dismissal [of our concerns], with absolutely no discussion whatsoever,” she said. Anette Taddeo of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party points the finger directly at Gov. Scott. “He’s siding with a huge corporation against the people,” Taddeo told CBS Miami, noting that FPL donated $550,000 to Scott’s campaign last year. The Miami Herald recently reported that FPL has contributed nearly $3 million to the campaigns of Scott, members of the state cabinet and the Republican Party of Florida over the past four years. It’s not just FPL. Duke Energy is also keen to increase its share of Florida’s natural gas market. The company is seeking to construct a 1,600-megawatt natural gas plant by 2018 to replace the defunct Crystal River nuclear power plant, as well as another natural gas plant by 2020, and Gov. Scott — whose camp has received $500,000 in campaign contributions from Duke — is eager to help. So is “pay to play’” alive and well in America’s fourth-most populous state? “If you look at the contributions given to Governor Scott by FPL and other companies, it makes you think there is some kind of back room dealing going on,” said former PSC commissioner Nathan Skop. “It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” added Skop. “There is no question Florida needs the natural gas, but the way the deal was forced through the PSC with the former members of the commission, myself being one of them, being purged from the PSC. That is where I take issue, and a lot of Floridians rightfully take issue with the entire process.” It remains to be seen how these issues will affect Gov. Scott as he faces off against Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor who is now running as a Democrat, in November’s gubernatorial race. Real Clear Politics polls show Scott closing what was once a five-point gap and leading Crist by less than one percent.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 19:20:04 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015