Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utility Rates topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pembroke Pines commissioners seek answers as FPL asks for multibillion-dollar rate hike
Summary
City commission asked staff to send formal comments to the Florida Public Service Commission and invited Florida Power & Light to hold a public forum in Pembroke Pines after residents and local advocates warned a proposed multi‑year rate increase would hit seniors and fixed‑income households hardest.
Pembroke Pines commissioners voted unanimously to ask the city attorney to draft a written objection to the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) and to invite Florida Power & Light (FPL) to hold a public forum in Pembroke Pines explaining its proposal before PSC hearings begin this summer.
The move followed extended public comment and presentations from local advocates and residents who said a proposed $9 billion, four‑year package filed by FPL would raise the utility’s minimum monthly residential charge from $25 to $30 and impose steep, regressive costs on seniors and other people on fixed incomes.
Why it matters: The PSC has final authority over utility rates in Florida. Commissioners said they had no regulatory power over the PSC decision but felt obliged to represent local concerns so Pembroke Pines residents — especially those on fixed incomes in places such as Century Village — understood how the proposal might affect household budgets.
Vice Mayor Hernandez opened the commission discussion by emphasizing he was not “overly critical” of FPL but wanted the public’s concerns aired. After hearing from AARP and several residents, the commission directed staff to prepare two formal communications: a City Commission letter to the PSC expressing opposition to the proposed rate increase and a letter from the mayor inviting FPL to host a town‑hall style presentation in Pembroke Pines prior to PSC hearings.
AARP Florida’s senior associate director for advocacy, Yvonne Fernandez, told commissioners the association was urging elected officials to “advocate on behalf of your community by signing a resolution that encouraged the public service commission to consciously study FPL rate proposal and demand that the public service commission reign in the excessive return on equity.” She said the requested return on equity in the FPL filing was “far beyond the national average.”
Residents described the proposal’s real‑world impact. “What this is gonna do to me is I’m gonna have to make choice. Either I survive on that or I pay my electric bill,” said resident Alberto Salvi, who told the commission he relies on medicine samples because of high costs. Another resident, Deborah Wilson, a cancer survivor, said in public comment: “We’re not trying to bash Florida Power Light. We’re just asking them to be fair and to be just and that they look again at their increase.”
The commission’s action: Vice Mayor Hernandez moved that the city commission sign and send a letter to the PSC opposing the proposed rate request and that the mayor invite FPL’s leadership to hold a public forum in Pembroke Pines; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. The commission asked city staff and the city attorney to draft the language and circulate it to commissioners for final approval.
What’s next: Commissioners asked staff to target late July for a completed letter and to coordinate with the city manager’s office and communications staff to publicize any state PSC hearings and the city‑level forum if FPL accepts the invitation. The PSC schedules and conducts its own evidentiary process; any formal effect on rates will depend on that proceeding.
Ending: Commissioners said they would weigh FPL’s presentation and any PSC filings before deciding whether to escalate their response (for example, by adopting a formal resolution) but made clear they intended to use the city’s voice to amplify residents’ concerns before the PSC acted.
