Legislature could make FPL’s control of Tallahassee complete

The man who represents customers against Florida’s utilities did his job. That was too much, particularly for the power companies and their servants in the Legislature.

That man was J.R. Kelly. He served as Public Counsel for 13 years until he resigned Jan. 14. Kelly wanted to stay. But he knew his days were numbered.

Last year, the Legislature passed — and Gov. DeSantis signed — legislation that sets a 12-year limit on how long the Public Counsel can serve. To make the proposal appear less anti-consumer, legislators said it would not cover Kelly. He could stay on and apply for the job under the new system.

But Kelly took the hint. “It was clear,” he told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, “that the Legislature’s preference was that someone not serve more than 12 years.”

In fact, the Legislature’s preference was that someone other than J.R. Kelly get the job.

Nearly 50 years ago, when special interests didn’t control Tallahassee as they do now, the Legislature created the Office of Public Counsel to represent consumers in rate cases before the Florida Public Service Commission, which regulates the investor-owned companies that have been given exclusive rights to provide electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater services in large swaths of Florida.

Kelly was a strong consumer advocate. When Florida Power & Light and other monopolies wanted to charge higher rates, he often argued that they deserved less — or nothing. Occasionally, Kelly argued that customers actually deserved a refund.

Because former Gov. Rick Scott and DeSantis have stacked the five-member Public Service Commission with members who believe that less regulation is more, Kelly didn’t win often. One notable triumph came when he appealed a commission ruling to a pre-DeSantis Florida Supreme Court and prevented FPL from billing customers for its fracking venture in Oklahoma.

Consider the timing of the legislation that forced Kelly out.

This year, FPL will ask regulators for another $1.8 billion from customers over the next two years. Tampa’s main utility also is up for a rate hearing. So is the state’s largest wastewater utility. All this will happen with a rookie Public Counsel.

The Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight will choose Kelly’s successor. Six House members and five senators serve on the committee. Their goal is to have a new Public Counsel in place by March 1, in time for that wave of hearings. Let’s see who has applied.

— Michael Barry is a lawyer who works as a staff member for the Florida House. He appears to have no relevant experience for the Public Counsel job. However, he has a relevant reference — Mike La Rosa, a former state representative who is the newest member of the Public Service Commission.

— Richard Gentry spent 24 years as the principal lobbyist for the Florida Homebuilders Association. He appears to have no relevant experience.

— Lee Killinger was one of the state’s top environmental lobbyists for decades. He now works for Mosaic, one of the state’s largest phosphate companies. He appears to have no relevant experience.

— Michael Selvester does have relevant experience. He is corporate counsel for Florida-based Infinite Energy, the company that opposed the investor-owned utilities on two recent constitutional amendments. With the Florida Legislature, that’s the wrong kind of relevant experience.

Ironically, Kelly left after negotiating what he called “a historic settlement” with Duke Energy. The deal would last three years and set the company’s profit margin lower than what Duke had sought. The commission still must approve it.

Senate President Wilton Simpson drove the legislation that drove Kelly out. FPL, which after buying Gulf Power has 5.6 million customers in Florida, donated nearly $400,000 to the leadership committees that helped Simpson secure the presidency.

FPL is part of Juno Beach-based

NextEra Energy, which has grown so rapidly that last fall it briefly overtook ExxonMobil as the nation’s largest energy company. Even though it didn’t last, analysts believe the shift soon will be permanent.

If NextEra and FPL have benefited from Florida, the state also has benefited. FPL has built a network of new, cleaner generating plants. As the company notes regularly, its bills are low compared with other utilities. But as Kelly regularly contended, they could be lower still.

In a statement, FPL said, “While we have had spirited disagreements with J.R. Kelly in the past, we have also found common ground, which has benefited our customers and all Floridians. We wish Mr. Kelly the very best in whatever he chooses to do next and look forward to continuing to work with the Office of Public Counsel in the future.”

Our worry is that the next Public Counsel will be someone who seems to be working for FPL. The office was the one holdout in Tallahassee against the company’s control. If that changes, customers won’t have a voice at all.

Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O’Hara, Dan Sweeney, Steve Bousquet and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson.