PSC staffers are lambasted for not taking a stand on a Progress Energy refund that critics say was too skimpy.
By LOUIS HAU
Published May 10, 2003
The state Office of Public Counsel and consumer groups expressed frustration Friday with the staff of the Florida Public Service Commission for refusing to take a stand on the size of a refund that Progress Energy Florida Inc. paid its customers.
Progress distributed $5-million to its customers in March as part of a rate-reduction settlement reached last year with public counsel Jack Shreve. That broke down to 0.187 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity, or a refund of $2.24 for a Progress household with the median monthly bill for 1,200 kilowatt hours.
But Shreve and consumer advocates say the St. Petersburg utility shortchanged ratepayers, arguing that a formula included in last year's settlement called for a refund of $23.2-million.
When the two sides couldn't narrow their differences, they turned to the PSC to resolve the dispute. But the PSC staff, which provides background research on items before the commission, took the rare step Thursday of not making any recommendation. The commission is scheduled to vote on the matter May 20.
Instead, the staff suggested that the PSC consider both sides' calculations, as well as a "compromise" alternative refund of $11.3-million, plus interest.
The staff's noncommittal stance left Shreve and consumer advocates seeing red. They emphasized that the PSC had voted unanimously to approve the rate settlement in April 2002, following the advice of a PSC staff recommendation.
"I'm very disappointed that they didn't recommend the calculations as laid out to them in the agreement," Shreve said. "I just think it's unusual that the staff didn't issue a specific recommendation. They've never hesitated in the past."
Mike Twomey, president of Florida Utility Watch, was more vocal.
"This smorgasbord Chinese menu of three alternatives is wishy-washy and gives commissioners the luxury of (not) overruling their professional staff," he said. "We have to go by the black-and-white letter of the agreement. . . . When you do that, it's clear that they owe money, that public counsel is right and that any staff recommendations that are inconsistent with that are flat wrong."
PSC spokesman Tarik Noriega said the staff decided not to recommend a specific course of action on the Progress refund because it wasn't privy to what the parties had in mind when they drafted the relevant portion of the rate settlement.
Progress spokesman Garrick Francis said,"The PSC staff put some hard work in, and we'll just wait for the commission's final decision."
The 2002 settlement was aimed at ensuring that consumers benefited from Progress Energy's formation in late 2000 through Carolina Power & Light's acquisition of Florida Progress Corp., the parent of Florida Power, now known as Progress Energy Florida.
- Louis Hau can be reached at hau@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3404
