Public Service Commission calls on FPL chief to appear

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Power & Light's chief executive, Armando Olivera, should be required to appear before the Public Service Commission to explain why the company provided inaccurate information last year regarding the cost of its nuclear power projects, Commissioner Nathan Skop said Tuesday.

Skop's remarks came at the end of a day-long hearing into how much Progress Energy and FPL can charge customers for nuclear projects. He was referring to an internal investigation released last week that found that FPL knowingly provided faulty information to the PSC last year when it was seeking approval to charge customers $63 million for nuclear-plant development.

The report, by Concentric Energy Advisors of Marlborough, Mass., was ordered by FPL in the wake of a whistleblower letter to the head of FPL's parent company. The report was made public Friday.

FPL spokesman Mark Brubriski said that FPL does not agree with parts of the investigation and withheld some of the information because they thought it would change.

The investigation found that most of the allegations from the whistleblower, about out-dated information sent to the commission, were accurate.

This year, FPL is seeking approval to charge $31 million to pay for plans to expand two reactors at the Turkey Point plant near Miami and two in St. Lucie County and to build two new reactors at Turkey Point. The projected long-term cost of the projects is $21 billion.

Last week, FPL reached an agreement with the Office of Public Counsel, which represents consumers on utility issues, to ask the PSC to approve the utility's request to charge customers $31 million this year but wait until next year to determine if the charges are prudent and reasonable.

The timing is significant because in January, Gov. Charlie Crist's appointees to the PSC -- Skop and Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano -- will have left the board. If the PSC decides the costs are not justified, it can approve a refund.

Public Counsel JR Kelly said he supported the delay in the decision because the Florida Legislature has already authorized Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light to take hundreds of millions from electricity customers so they would start the lengthy process of planning for the nuclear plants.

Under the arrangement, the firms could collect the money years ahead of the construction process and keep it even if the projects never generate power. The companies must go to the PSC each year to get their nuclear development costs approved.

Kelly acknowledged that the timing of the delay may have political implications. He was targeted by utilities earlier this year when they urged legislators to force him to reapply for his job after his office successfully argued that the PSC should reject rate increase requests sought by both FPL and Progress Energy.

After Crist and other legislators objected, the effort died and Kelly kept his job.

Since then, the Senate rejected two of Crist's appointees to the PSC and the PSC nominating council also rejected the reappointment of Skop and Argenzino. All were heavily opposed by FPL.

Skop said Tuesday that he wants Olivera to testify to explain the company's actions.

``I've asked for Mr. Olivera for a very specific reason,'' he said. ``He is president and chief executive. There are some things the company has done. There's also some things they have to answer for the accuracy and timeliness of the information that his company provides to the commission.''

How Did Kenneth Branagh Get ‘Thor’ Job? Marvel Chief ExplainsBud Chiles: Florida should pay energy rebates