Today, in Sarasota, FL a coalition of elected officials will appear in city hall to address their power company, Florida Power and Light (FP&L). FP&L is holding public hearings to address their request of a base rate hike…a rate hike that they haven’t asked for since 1985.
I wrote an article yesterday for Creative Loafing on what FP&L is asking for. I went on to explain that even though they haven’t had a base rate hike since 1985…we are still paying more for our electric. Within minutes I got a call from a representative of FP&L wanting to talk to me about my information.
This very nice gentleman and I talked about the merits of the requests and the intentions of FP&L. He assured me that the rate hike request was to help FP&L become more efficient in the future…which in turn would save us all money. Then we went on and talked about FP&L’s commitment to our future and the future of renewable energy.
The Desoto Solar Field is a very nice start. Babcock Ranch is a very nice idea. He even pointed out that FP&L renewable energy efforts have created 1000 more jobs for Florida. All which have my support. But the truth is…it’s not enough. As we talked about this past legislative session, I brought up the energy bill that only existed in the Senate. He pointed out that FP&L only asked for nuclear energy to be 2% of the bill. I reminded him that the citizens of Florida have supported nuclear energy for many years – whether they like it or not, thanks to the legislation. Why is it so hard to conceive that we could do the same for renewables??
Well, today, Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, Rep. Doug Holder, Rep. Buchanan, Commissioner Kelly Kirschner, Commissioner Jon Thaxton, Commissioner Joe Barbetta, and a bevy of others will be in City Hall in Sarasota to discuss with FP&L along with the Public Service Commission (PSC) the possibility of setting up a pilot program for Sarasota that will work like a similar program in Gainesville – Renewable Energy Dividends. Unlike Gainesville, where they own their own municipal utility, Sarasota has a partner ship with FP&L…therefore the program has to work in coalition with FP&L.
This group understands that the citizens of Sarsota do not want to be left out in the cold. Stying ahead of the curve is what they are all about when it comes to protecting the environment and becomming a more sustainable city.
I am anxious to see what they can do today. If they understand how serious Sarasota is about it’s expectations, I am sure today will be the first of many talks with FP&L that will put Sarasota on the map once again!
