Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
FPL says it’s applying ‘lessons learned’
Utility has hurricane drill to prepare for season
Florida Power & Light Co. is using lessons learned from 2017’s Hurricane Irma in its 2018 storm season preparations, CEO Eric Silagy announced Thursday at FPL’s annual hurricane drill.
FPL had issues delivering customer service after Irma; failed to provide accurate information about power restoration to homeowners and businesses; and faced public criticism for not restoring power earlier to a Hollywood nursing home that wasn’t on Broward County’s priority restoration list.
“We’re going to incorporate those learnings to make ourselves even better,” Silagy said during an afternoon news conference with Gov. Rick Scott.
The Juno Beach-electric utility simulated a Category 2 storm at its command center in Riviera Beach to be ready for the hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.
Silagy said FPL’s nearly $3 billion investment to upgrade the grid over the past decade was worth it, as evidenced by less equipment damage in Irma. “The investments we’ve been making over the years have really paid off,” he said.
Not everyone thinks so: FPL is being sued by Coral Gables, which maintains the investment didn’t help that city in Irma. A Miami-Dade County judge recently ruled the city could seek monetary damages for the utility’s response to power outages after Hurricane Irma, according to news reports.
Separately, consumer representatives at a hurricane workshop Thursday in Tallahassee told the Florida Public Service Commission it should focus on analyzing the costs versus benefits of further upgrading the grid.
J.R. Kelly, Florida’s public counsel representing electric utility consumers, said ratepayers have been paying to upgrade the state’s grid since after hurricanes in 2004 and 2005. FPL has said it has spent nearly $3 billion on upgrades over the past decade.
“We need to make sure how that money has been spent. Was it spent prudently? Was it spent for storm events or nonstorm events?” Kelly told regulators.
Jon Moyle, who represents Florida Industrial Power Users Group, or large business users of electricity, said the commission should look closely at whether ratepayers got their money’s worth from upgrades — a question posed by Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, during the legislative session after Irma.
Moyle also asked the commission to consider whether utilities’ storm reserves should be lowered, given FPL and other utilities have said hardening of the grid is resulting in less storm damage.
“I think there’s a good case with the increased expenditures on storm hardening, the increased dollars should be diminished,” he said.
However, when Silagy was asked about the storm reserve on Thursday, he said it is not big enough. The reserve is primarily used to bring in and provide hotels for crews that help restore power after a storm, he said.
“It’s less than $120 million. It should be $1 billion,” FPL’s CEO said. “A storm reserve is insurance.”
During the weeklong hurricane drill, Silagy said