On November 29th, the Public Service Commission approved a request by Florida Power and Light to charge customers for the company’s multi-billion dollar expenditures on new and expanded power plants.
The power plants will further increase Florida’s reliance on gas imports, even though nearly 70 percent of FPL’s electric generation already relies on gas.
Meanwhile less than one-tenth of 1 percent comes from cheap, clean solar power.
FPL’s exceptionally heavy reliance on out-of-state gas from as far away as Pennsylvania and Texas exposes Floridians to price shocks in a volatile market, and produces heat-trapping, climate disrupting carbon dioxide.
In response to the Commission’s decision, Frank Jackalone, staff director for the Sierra Club’s Florida chapter, released the following statement:
“We’re very disappointed that the Commission approved this huge rate hike for unnecessary, climate disrupting, gas-burning power plants.
“This decision also contradicts the will of Florida’s voters, who just rejected FPL’s attempts to thwart the growth of cheap, clean, safe and renewable solar energy.
“Florida has the third highest solar capacity in the country. Our communities and our natural resources would be best protected by a diverse energy supply that includes more solar, energy storage, and energy efficiency—not by doubling down on dangerous, dirty fossil fuels.”
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