Regulators back Florida Power & Light Co.

Will work to better track storm expenses to protect customers

The state’s utility regulators signed off Tuesday on a settlement with Florida Power & Light Co. that consumer advocates say could better protect customers from being overcharged for storm preparation or recovery.

FPL demonstrated its new smartphone app for commissioners that it says is more efficient in recording contractors’ work hours and payments made for trimming trees before a storm and restoring power after a storm. The Florida Public Service Commission seemed enamored with FPL’s smartphone app, which could be used for any storms this hurricane season, with plans to update by 2020.

The state’s largest electric utility, based in Juno Beach, had been relying on paper to record contractors’ time worked and expenses paid.

As a result, commissioners also agreed to $1.3 billion the utility says it spent to recover from 2017’s Hurricane Irma. Tuesday’s decision to approve the agreement avoids further review of FPL’s Irma expenses, the commission staff said.

Commissioners didn’t go through a detailed review of the expenses, relying on the Office of Public Counsel’s settlement with FPL struck in June.

Public Counsel J.R. Kelly said new processes will help save money for electric utility customers. “The most important to us is what we believe are tremendous improvements in the process for future cost recovery,” he said at the time of the settlement.

The consumer advocate’s office came to the settlement with FPL after losing its fight in May to get FPL to return $772 million in annual federal tax savings to customers.

Irma was a statewide storm that knocked out power to 90 percent of FPL’s customers. FPL later said that most of its line and equipment damage came from overgrown trees and debris.

Electric utilities typically are allowed to recoup storm-restoration costs by adding a surcharge to customers’ monthly bills. But utilities must go before the Public Service Commission to support their expenses to recover from the storm.

But there was an unusual situation after Irma where FPL decided to use its federal tax overhaul savings in 2017 to cover Irma’s costs, instead of charging customers a storm surcharge.

The Public Counsel and state business groups claimed FPL didn’t act properly, and should return its tax windfall to customers.

The Public Service Commission went against the recommendation of its own staff in deciding the tax issue in favor of FPL, saying FPL’s actions were within its 2016 rate settlement agreement.