The body that serves as a check on utilities, including price increases, may soon be expanded.
A proposal to increase the number of Public Service Commissioners from five to seven is advancing in the Florida Legislature. The PSC holds public hearings whenever a utility wants to increase rates in Florida to, in theory, ensure that they follow the law and the increases are not excessive. It exists because in many areas, only one utility provider is available, creating natural monopolies that could hike up rates without government checks.
But in several recent instances, like one against Florida Power and Light in 2023, the state Supreme Court found the PSC didn’t adequately justify the rate increases.
Pensacola Republican Senator Don Gaetz has sponsored a bill expanding the number of PSC commissioners to include a certified public accountant and a financial analyst. He said in committee discussion about the bill Wednesday it will bring expertise that wasn’t previously on the board.
“Nearly all of the work that the Public Service Commission does requires detailed financial analysis, very detailed and very sophisticated. It doesn't always happen that the gubernatorial appointments have that background,” Gaetz said. “I want to make sure that that background is reposed in the commission itself, just as it's reposed in the executives who hire experts from out-of-state to come in and plead their case.”
Bill Herman, a retired St. Petersburg resident with experience in the utility industry, said during public comment in the committee that adding those roles would help the commission cut through accounting games utilities play to justify rate increases.
“Adding a certified public accountant and an individual with expertise in finance to the Public Service Commission will give them the tools they need to cut through the, shall we say, the fog of an income statement or the spreadsheets or the supporting documentations of a rate increase,” he said.
The bill also implements a host of new requirements for public utilities, which includes investor-owned ones like Florida Power and Light, and municipal owned ones like the ones in Jacksonville and Tallahassee.
“The bill requires the Public Service Commission to establish a schedule for when public utilities may request changes to their rates. It requires the commission to submit an annual report on public utility rates, which includes benchmarking and analysis on economics, cost impacts, return on equity and executive compensation if it's excessive,” Gaetz said.
The legislation will not stop rates from ever going up again in Florida, but Gaetz hopes it will increase accountability to better serve ratepayers.
“When a public utility, which is a government monopoly, asks for the ratepayers of Florida to pay more, they should justify why and be able to explain it, and be able to ensure that if there's a return on investment, that the return on investment is clearly articulated,” he said.
Florida Power & Light, the largest utility in the state, is currently pursuing rate increases that will up their revenue by $1.5 billion in 2026 and $900 million in 2027. That’s about $10 more per month per customer each year.