Discussion
of Issues
Issue 1:
Should the Commission approve FPUC’s Request to
Modify Filing Dates Set Forth in Order No. PSC-2020-0097-PCO-EI for the
Company’s Storm Protection Plan and Plan Update?
Recommendation:
Yes. FPUC should be permitted to defer the filing of
its initial Storm Protection Plan from April 12, 2021, as set forth in Order
No. PSC-2020-0072-PCO-EI, to April 2022, and the effective period for FPUC’s
Storm Hardening Plan should be extended from 2021 to 2022. (Buys, Ramos, Dziechciarz,
Murphy)
Staff Analysis:
FPUC's Request
On October 16, 2020, FPUC submitted a Request to Modify
Filing Dates Set Forth in Order No. PSC-2020-0097-PCO-EI for the Company’s
Storm Protection Plan and Plan Update (Request). In its Request, FPUC asks that
it be allowed to defer the filing of its initial SPP for a period of one year,
until 2022, and that it be allowed to follow the applicable provisions of Rule
25-6.030, F.A.C., for subsequent updates to its SPP.
FPUC states that on March 3, 2020, the following dockets
were opened to facilitate the Commission’s review of the SPPs for each of the
investor-owned electric utilities that are subject to the requirements of
Section 366.96, F.S.:
·
Docket No. 20200067-EI – Tampa Electric Company
(TECO) SPP docket
·
Docket No. 20200068-EI – Florida Public
Utilities Company (FPUC) SPP docket
·
Docket No. 20200069-EI – Duke Energy Florida,
LLC (DEF) SPP docket
·
Docket No. 20200070-EI – Gulf Power Company
(Gulf) SPP docket
·
Docket No. 20200071-EI – Florida Power &
Light Company (FPL) SPP docket
FPUC further states that on March 17, 2020, FPUC requested
that it be allowed to defer the filing of its first SPP for a period of one
year, from April 10, 2020, to April 10, 2021. FPUC requested the deferral because
the full capacity of its limited resources were already being used for the extraordinary
and significant rebuilding process following Hurricane Michael, and the
regulatory proceedings that were already underway. In
addition, FPUC agreed to submit its updated SPP in 2 years (in 2023), instead
of within 3 years, as required by Rule 25-6.030, F.A.C., in order to re-align
itself with the review period for the updated SPPs of the other investor-owned
utilities (TECO, DEF, Gulf, and FPL).
By Order No. PSC-2020-0097-PCO-EI (Extension Order), issued
on April 6, 2020, the Prehearing Officer granted FPUC’s request to defer the
filing of its first SPP, and instructed FPUC to submit its initial SPP on or
before April 12, 2021. The Prehearing Officer also instructed FPUC to submit
its updated SPP in 2023 (instead of 2024, as contemplated by Rule 25-6.030,
F.A.C.), in order to re-align the review of FPUC’s SPP update with the review
of the other investor-owned utilities.
FPUC notes that following the issuance of the Extension
Order, the other investor-owned utilities filed their SPPs, and subsequently
entered into a series of settlement agreements. By
Order No. PSC-2020-0293-AS-EI, issued on August 28, 2020, the Commission
approved the settlement agreements. A common term in each of the approved
settlement agreements was that the investor-owned utilities would file their
updated SPPs in 2022, rather than 2023. Accordingly, FPUC asserts that the SPP
filing timeline contemplated in the Extension Order will no longer re-align
FPUC’s SPP review period with the other investor-owned utilities, since it was
instructed to file its updated SPP in 2023.
As a result, FPUC argues that it could either: (1) file its
initial plan in April 2021, as contemplated by the Extension Order, and then
file its update in the next year (in 2022), or (2) delay its initial filing one
additional year such that it files in 2022 for the first time. FPUC notes that neither
Section 366.96, F.S., nor Rule 25-6.030, F.A.C., provides a specific timeframe by
which an investor-owned utility must file its first SPP. In addition, FPUC
asserts that given the overall complexity of the SPP filing, it would be unduly
burdensome and administratively inefficient to submit its initial SPP in 2021,
and then submit an update in 2022, since there would likely be only minimal
changes in a 12-month period. Therefore, FPUC requests that the Commission
allow it to further defer the filing of its first SPP for an additional year,
in April 2022. FPUC also asserts that if the Request is granted, it would not
seek to participate in the Commission’s SPP Cost Recovery Clause proceeding,
conducted pursuant to Rule 25-6.031, F.A.C., in 2021.
In addition, FPUC also requests that the Commission extend
the effective period from 2021 to 2022 for its current Storm Hardening Plan,
approved by Order No. PSC-2019-0313-PAA-EI, issued on July 29, 2019, in Docket
No. 20180148-EI. FPUC emphasizes that if its Request is approved, it will
continue to ensure the safety, reliability, and storm resiliency of its
transmission and distribution facilities pending the deferred filing of its
SPP. FPUC also notes that it is authorized to represent that the Office of
Public Counsel (OPC) is not opposed to its Request.
Analysis
Staff recommends that FPUC has demonstrated good cause to
defer the filing of its initial SPP for an additional year (from April 2021 to April
2022), and to extend the effective period of its current Storm Hardening Plan
for an additional year. Staff concurs with FPUC that neither Section 366.96,
F.S., nor Rule 25-6.030, F.A.C., mandates a time by which an investor-owned
utility must file its initial SPP. Furthermore, staff recommends that it would
be administratively efficient to review all of the SPPs for the investor-owned
utilities at the same time. By deferring its initial SPP filing to April 2022,
the review of FPUC’s initial SPP would take place at the same time as the
Commission’s review of the updated SPPs for the other investor-owned utilities
(TECO, DEF, Gulf, and FPL). In addition, staff recommends that it would be
inefficient for FPUC to be required to submit its initial SPP in 2021, and then
to subsequently be required to file an update one year later in order to
re-align the review of its SPP with the review for the other investor-owned
utilities.
Staff further recommends that FPUC’s request to extend the
effective period of its current Storm Hardening Plan from 2021 to 2022 should be
granted. Staff recommends that FPUC should be allowed to continue its existing
programs and initiatives, without any changes, through 2022, so that FPUC can
continue to harden its infrastructure in anticipation of future storms and
pending the filing of its initial SPP. Staff notes that FPUC has committed to
ensuring the safety, reliability, and storm resiliency of its transmission and
distribution facilities pending the deferred filing of its SPP. In addition,
FPUC agreed it would not seek to participate in the Commission’s SPP Cost
Recovery Clause proceeding, conducted pursuant to Rule 25-6.031, F.A.C., in
2021.
Therefore, staff recommends that FPUC’s Request should be
approved. Staff recommends that FPUC should be permitted to defer the filing of
its initial SPP from April 12, 2021, to April 2022, and that the effective
period for FPUC’s Storm Hardening Plan should be extended from 2021 to 2022.
Issue 2:
Should the docket be closed?
Recommendation:
Yes. Upon expiration of the protest period, if a
timely protest is not received from a substantially affected person, the
decision should become final and effective upon issuance of a Consummating
Order, and this docket should be closed. (Dziechciarz, Murphy)
Staff Analysis:
Upon expiration of the protest period, if a timely protest
is not received from a substantially affected person, the decision should
become final and effective upon issuance of a Consummating Order, and this docket should be
closed.
