04/04/2023 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

i ORDER NO. PSC -2023 -0110 -PCO -EI DOCKET NO. 20230017 -El PAGE 3 i Northwest Florida customers. FPL indicated in its calculations in Appendix A of the petition that the storm costs associated with the Hurricane Michael surcharge are expected to be fully recovered by March 31, 2023. In its petition, FPL asserted that it incurred total retail recoverable costs of approximately $1.5 billion as a result of Hurricanes Michael, Sally, Zeta, Ian, and Nicole. The Company further asserted that this amount was calculated in accordance with the Incremental Cost and Capitalization Approach methodology prescribed in Rule 25-6.0143, Florida Administrative Code. The current storm surcharges for Sally and Zeta applicable to FPL's Northwest Florida customers were established in 2022 by Final Order following a disputed fact hearing.4 Testimony filed by FPL in 2021 in its rate case indicated that FPL's Northwest Florida legacys storm restoration costs and surcharges associated with Hurricanes Michael and Sally were to remain applicable to only those customers.' Our final orders are generally afforded administrative finality and are not subject to subsequent modification.' The issue of maintaining the current surcharge in place for FPL's Northwest Florida customers only until full recovery was not specifically litigated or a material issue in either the prior storm recovery or FPL rate case docket. We are not persuaded that finality is attached to this issue. Moreover, administrative finality does not apply where there has been a substantial change in circumstances or a demonstrated public interest.8 Both are present in this docket and, accordingly, we, have the legal authority to unify the charges.9 Hurricanes Ian and Nicole affected only FPL Peninsular customers, i.e., customers served by FPL prior to the merger with GPC. The proposal to apply the surcharge for this storm recovery to all current FPL customers, including FPL's Northwest Florida customers who were not impacted, is a substantial change in circumstances from the prior approach of segregating costs based on impacts. Spreading costs evenly across customers for all storms no. matter the location of impacts is the appropriate reaction to these changed circumstgnces.i0 The alternate storm charge calculations project a 12 -month recovery period (April 2023 through March 2024), subject to a final true -up. Under the currently -approved recovery schedule, recovery of Hurricanes Sally and Zeta costs are projected to be complete in December 2024. In 'Order No. PSC-2022-0406-FOF-EI, issued on November 21, 2022, in Docket Nos. 20200241-E1, 20210178 -EI, and 20210179 -EI, in In re: Petition for limited proceeding for recovery of incremental storm restoration costs related to Hurricane Sally, In re: Petition for evaluation of Hurricane. Isaias and Tropical Storm Eta storm costs, by Florida Power & Light Company, and In re: Petition for limited proceeding for recovery of incremental storm restoration costs and associated true -up process related to Hurricane Zeta, by Gulf Power Company. SFPL and GPC were separate ratemaking entities until the end of 2021. 6Document No. 02776-2021 in Docket No. 2021001 J -EI, Direct Testimony of Tiffany Cohen, p, 30 Ins. 9-15. 'Peoples Gas System, Inc. v. Mason, 187 So. 2d 335, 339 (Fla. 1966) ("orders of administrative agencies must eventually pass out of the agency's control and become final and no longer subject to modification"). $Delray Medical Center, Inc. v Agency for Health Care Admin., 5 So. 3d 26, 29 (Fla. 40' DCA 2009). 9In response to a data request from staff, FPL concurred that there is no legal prohibition on our imposing a uniform storm surcharge on all current FPL customers. Document No. 01037-2023. 10See Mason, 187 So. 2d at 339 ("actions of administrative agencies are usually concerned with deciding issues according to a public interest that often changes with shifting circumstances and passage of time").