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The governor says he will step in if a bill to review Florida's energy needs withers in the Senate.
By LUCY MORGAN
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2000
TALLAHASSEE -- It appears more and more likely that Gov. Jeb Bush will appoint a study commission to take a look at the state's future electric power needs and the possibility of deregulating utilities.
Bush will probably act, even if the Legislature doesn't. A Senate bill that would create a study commission is not likely to be heard on the Senate floor. And House Speaker John Thrasher said Tuesday that he does not plan to take up the Senate bill even if it passes.
The state's two largest power companies -- Florida Power Corp. of St. Petersburg and Florida Power & Light of Miami -- have been pushing for legislative action in hopes of getting lawmakers to include a clause that would block so-called merchant power plants from building new generating facilities while the study is under way.
Several big power companies want to build new plants in various Florida cities and compete with existing companies. The Florida Public Service Commission has already issued a permit for Duke Energy Corp. to build a new plant near New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County, but FP&L and Florida Power have challenged the permit in an appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. The court has yet to rule on the issue.
Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, sponsor of the Senate bill, said he is seriously considering leaving the entire matter in the governor's hands. Lee says the big power companies have too much influence with legislators and are likely to adversely influence the contents of a bill.
Bush said he will appoint a commission because he believes it is an important issue that needs to be handled soon.
"We have growing consumption of electricity," Bush said Tuesday. "It's like water. Energy is the lifeblood of our economy. I like the idea."
Bush said he'll appoint a commission to make recommendations for the 2001 Legislature. Tampa Electric Co., another of the state's big power companies, usually sides with Florida Power and FP&L but has taken sides with the merchant plants. TECO lobbyist Chuck Hinson said his company has watched deregulation occur in about half of the states and expects it to occur in Florida.
At a time when there's speculation about FP&L's possible sale to an international company in Spain and Florida Power has agreed to be purchased by Carolina Power & Light Co., TECO wants a study commission that would take a "neutral" look at the state's needs and make recommendations.
Hinson said TECO supported Lee's bill without the construction moratorium that the two big power companies wanted. "We think the study should include everything we need to look at," Hinson said. "We should look at projecting energy needs for the future, look at the technology and fuels available and examine the environmental challenges we face as well as tax issues."
FP&L lobbyist Paul Hamilton said his company has no objection to the study commission but strongly believes it would be unfair to let out-of-state companies build new plants during the study.
A study could determine that it would be in the best interest of the state to replace some of the state's existing coal-fired plants with cleaner fuels, Hamilton argued. That would no longer be feasible if a number of new plants had already been built.
New power plants could build in Florida at great cost to the state's environment and sell most of the power to out-of-state networks where they can command a higher price, Hamilton said.
He said some out-of-state networks would pay millions of dollars for energy that is routinely sold for a fraction of the cost in Florida.
"Look at how much water these plants use," Hamilton said. "We could be giving up a lot."
Florida Power lobbyist Gary Roberts did not return a telephone call.