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Obama In Florida: Power & Light
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President Obama's appearance yesterday at America's largest solar power plant, a Florida Power & Light (FPL) facility in DeSoto County, was of course planned to rally support for the administration's renewable energy efforts and green economy stimulus initiatives.
The President praised FPL and announced hundreds of millions of dollars in new federal matching funds for further such job-creating, high-efficiency, eco-friendly energy projects. A good news story on the surface, but...as is so often the case in politics, if you peel back the shiny top layer, you're likely to find those pesky gray areas.
As they - whoever they are - say, the Devil is indeed usually in the details. And when it comes to Florida's political landscape and energy policies, bedeviling details abound.
Yes, FPL's Arcadia plant is a step in the right direction. But the reality is that it will be able to power up only about 3,000 homes. A nice start, but given the energy independence and climate change challenges we face, that's a spark, when a firestorm of action is what's needed.
Perhaps most disturbing is that FPL is reaping public relations benefits galore from the President's visit at a time when they need it most - to distract the public, legislators and regulators from the greed-soaked, corruption-stained trail of bad news stories that has plagued the company for months.
Where to begin?
Seems that FPL had such cozy relationships with members of the very Public Service Commission (PSC) charged with regulating it, that Florida's ineffectual "smile and look the other way" governor, Charlie Crist, was finally forced into "action".
Two Commission members have been replaced. A criminal investigation is underway.
Corruption aside for a moment, or not, do make note of a fact which the President did not make note of today - that FPL - a publicly traded, private, for-profit company - was allowed to pass along development costs for this new solar plant to millions of customers.
Then, on October 16th, 2009, the PSC approved another such FPL request, this time for "recovery" of over 63 million dollars, this sum to pay for expansion plans for two nuclear power plants, one called Turkey Point, that is located quite near Miami.
How does this happen?
Well, you see, Republicans in the Florida State legislature managed to "sneak" through a little law back in 2006 that allows private, for-profit utilities like FPL to pass along profit-driven developmental costs to their customers - even before being granted Federal approval for implementation of the related projects.
So, think that Florida's Republican "public servants" added an amendment to their 2006 bill, mandating that private utilities, once the profits derived in large part from customers' development dollars started rolling in, would have to provide some sort of return on those "investments" in the form of, say, billing credits?
Nahhhhh.
But back to the battle over FPL's latest billion-dollar-plus "regular" rate hike request, during which revelations came out about exorbitant FPL executive salaries and perks - salaries and perks paid for primarily by rates charged to financially strapped Floridians already sweating out too many days with the thermostat set too high, in hopes of lowering their bills.
As part of public hearings into their requested rate increase, reports indicate that FPL has been stacking the deck, packing the hearings with "supporters" who have been solicited to participate by FPL employees, on company time. Conflict of interest questions have also been raised about FPL board members who are also board members of influential organizations that somehow end up sending pro-FPL representatives to testify at hearings.
There's still more bad news about FPL, from their maneuvering for further encroachment into the already endangered Everglades, to efforts to run new high voltage power lines right through high density residential neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County.
But point made, no? If Florida is ever to turn the corner on Energy Independence and Environmental Protection, far, far more effective oversight, regulation and public/governmental influence over FPL will be required.
Now here's the kicker. FPL probably isn't the biggest obstacle when it comes to jump-starting a Green economic/ecological recovery in Florida. As evidenced by the Obama visit, FPL knows which way the wind is blowing (or sun is shining) and has pretty much figured out how to make their billions later, as well as sooner.
A bigger obstacle to progress than FPL?
Yes, Big Oil is another huge impediment to enactment of energy policies - public and private - designed to serve only the Public Interest. Out of state and multi-national Big Oil interests are driving the current train wreck of a new push to allow offshore drilling off Florida's coastlines. As usual, they're using a front group, Florida Energy Associates, to do their dirty work, and are enlisting the strong-arming aid of Associated Industries of Florida, a big business protectionist organization that has already tried to discredit the one real voice of reason on the PSC, Nancy Argenziano.
And yet, our biggest problem is not Big Oil and its allies.
With all due respect and admiration for those honest, ethical, impassioned reformers that do indeed toil away as state senators and representatives, here's the real bottom line - the one that our President would not cross as part of his Feel Good visit with FPL today. Too many in the Florida state legislature are as unethical and corrupt as the day is long (in July).
It is the bulky dead weight of the Sunshine state's GOP-controlled, bought-and-sold, dysfunctional legislature, the mostly Republican tools of industry masquerading as defenders of free enterprise, who along with the empty suit and smile combo that constitutes Charlie Crist, must take responsibility for the following "inconvenient truths" about where Florida stands - or rather, does not measure up - on renewable energy and sustainable environment achievements.
Less than 4% of Florida's energy needs are met with renewable sources.
Less than 1% of Florida's energy needs are met using solar power.
A bill that would have set very conservative targets, starting in 2020, for how much of Florida's energy had to come from clean, renewable sources could not gain passage in last year's legislative session. Twenty-eight other states across America have already passed such legislation.
Nearly twenty states are achieving energy efficiency levels from 5-10 times higher than FPL, which is currently proposing efficiency standards to the PSC that are more than 10 times lower than leading states.
Florida's solar energy incentive program is an under-funded, mismanaged joke. The most recent, paltry 5-million dollar incentive fund was gone in the first day of eligibility. All homeowners and businesses looking for help from Day Two forward were put on a waiting list. The program is set to expire altogether next year.
The "smile and look the other way" governor has taken his once ballyhooed plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions - the heat-trapping, climate warming gases that could ultimately put much of Florida under water, literally - and he has postponed those plans, indefinitely.
I could go on, sadly, but you get the point. Besides, I want you to be able to get some sleep tonight (Or is it too late for that?).
Our President, whom I worked so very hard along with so many others to help get elected, had a golden opportunity today, in the Sunshine state no less, to use his bully pulpit power not only to praise business innovation and private-public partnerships that advance the Clean Energy cause - but also to make it clear that he sees the light about the kind of unethical private-public collusion that continues to keep Florida and other states far behind the Energy innovation-evolution curve - a laggard where it could and should be a leader.
It remains up to us, the people of Florida, the voters of Florida, to feel and exert our power - and to force our state senators, representatives, our governor and cabinet, to see the light, or find another line of work.
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