FLORIDA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
COMMISSION CONFERENCE AGENDA
CONFERENCE DATE AND
TIME: Tuesday, September
12, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
LOCATION: Betty Easley Conference Center, Joseph P.
Cresse Hearing Room 148
DATE ISSUED: September 1, 2023
NOTICE
Persons affected by Commission action on certain items on this agenda
may be allowed to address the Commission, either informally or by oral argument,
when those items are taken up for discussion at this conference. These items
are designated by double asterisks (**) next to the item number.
To participate informally, affected persons need only appear at the
conference and request the opportunity to address the Commission on an item
listed on the agenda. Informal participation is not permitted: (1) on
dispositive motions and motions for reconsideration; (2) when a recommended
order is taken up by the Commission; (3) in a rulemaking proceeding after the
record has been closed; or (4) when the Commission considers a post-hearing
recommendation on the merits of a case after the close of the record. The
Commission allows informal participation at its discretion in certain types of
cases (such as declaratory statements and interim rate orders) in which an
order is issued based on a given set of facts without hearing. See Florida
Administrative Code Rules 25-22.0021 (agenda conference participation) and
25-22.0022 (oral argument).
Conference agendas, staff recommendations, vote sheets, and
transcripts are available online at http://www.floridapsc.com,
by selecting Conferences
& Meeting Agendas and
Commission Conferences of the FPSC.
An official vote of "move staff" denotes that the Item's
recommendations were approved.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, persons needing
a special accommodation to participate at this proceeding should contact the
Office of Commission Clerk no later than five days prior to the conference at
2540 Shumard Oak Boulevard, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0850 or 850-413-6770
(Florida Relay Service, 1-800-955-8770 Voice or 1-800-955-8771 TDD). Assistive
Listening Devices are available upon request from the Office of Commission
Clerk, Gerald L. Gunter Building, Room 152.
The Commission Conference has a live video broadcast the day of the
conference, which is available from the FPSC website. Upon completion of the conference, the
archived video will be available from the website by selecting Conferences & Meeting Agendas, then Audio and Video Event Coverage.
EMERGENCY CANCELLATION OF CONFERENCE: If a named storm or other
disaster requires cancellation of the Conference, Commission staff will attempt
to give timely notice. Notice of cancellation will be provided on the
Commission’s website (http://www.floridapsc.com) under
the Hot Topics link on the home page. Cancellation can also be confirmed by
calling the Office of Commission Clerk at 850-413-6770.
If you have any questions, contact the Office of Commission Clerk at
850-413-6770 or Clerk@psc.state.fl.us.
2**PAA Docket No. 20230017-EI – Petition for
limited proceeding for recovery of incremental storm restoration costs related
to Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, by Florida Power & Light Company.
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Critical Date(s):
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11/01/23
(date by which Petition must be ruled on pursuant to Section 120.542, F.S.)
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Commissioners Assigned:
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All
Commissioners
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Prehearing Officer:
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Graham
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Staff:
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GCL: Stiller,
Dose
AFD: Andrews,
Norris
ECO: Draper
ENG: King
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Issue 1:
Should the Commission grant
Florida Power & Light Company's Petition for a temporary waiver or variance
from Rule 25-6.0143(1)(g), F.A.C.?
Recommendation:
Yes. The Commission should grant Florida Power & Light
Company’s Petition for a temporary variance or waiver of Rule 25-6.0143(1)(g),
F.A.C., to allow FPL to file its petition and documentation supporting the review and true-up of the total actual incremental storm restoration costs related to Hurricanes Ian and Nicole no later than December 31, 2023.
Issue 2:
Should this docket be
closed?
Recommendation:
No. Disposition of this
petition for a waiver or variance serves only to extend the deadline for the
Florida Power & Light Company to submit its petition and
documentation supporting the review and true-up of the total actual incremental
storm restoration costs related to Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. This docket
should remain open until that review is complete and the Commission has
approved the final disposition. If no person whose substantial interests
are affected by the proposed agency action files a protest within 21 days of
the issuance of the order, a consummating order should be issued granting the
petition and this docket should remain open.
3** Docket No. 20230076-TP – 2024 State
certification under 47 C.F.R. §54.313 and §54.314, annual reporting
requirements for high-cost recipients and certification of support for eligible
telecommunications carriers.
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Critical Date(s):
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10/02/23
(Filing deadline with the Federal Communications Commission and the Universal
Service Administrative Company)
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Commissioners Assigned:
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All
Commissioners
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Prehearing Officer:
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La
Rosa
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Staff:
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IDM: Nave,
Wooten
GCL: Sparks
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Issue 1:
Should
the Commission certify to USAC and the FCC that Bright House Networks
Information Services (Florida), LLC; CenturyLink of Florida, Inc.; Consolidated
Communications of Florida Company; Frontier Florida LLC; ITS Telecommunications
Systems, LLC d/b/a Blue Stream Fiber; Northeast Florida Telephone Company d/b/a
NEFCOM; Quincy Telephone Company d/b/a TDS Telecom; and Smart City
Telecommunications LLC d/b/a Smart City Telecom are eligible to receive federal
high-cost support?
Recommendation:
Yes. The Commission should certify to USAC and the FCC that
Bright House Networks Information Services (Florida), LLC; CenturyLink of
Florida, Inc.; Consolidated Communications of Florida Company; Frontier Florida
LLC; ITS Telecommunications Systems, LLC d/b/a Blue Stream Fiber; Northeast
Florida Telephone Company d/b/a NEFCOM; Quincy Telephone Company d/b/a TDS
Telecom; and Smart City Telecommunications LLC d/b/a Smart City Telecom are
eligible to receive federal high-cost support.
Issue 2:
Should this docket be
closed?
Recommendation:
Yes. This docket should be
closed upon issuance of a Final Order.
4**PAA Docket No. 20220201-WS – Request by
Florida Community Water Systems, Inc. for a revenue-neutral rate restructuring
in Brevard, Lake, and Sumter Counties.
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Critical Date(s):
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None
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Commissioners Assigned:
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All
Commissioners
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Prehearing Officer:
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La
Rosa
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Staff:
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ECO: Bethea,
Bruce, Hudson
AFD: Norris,
Sewards
ENG: Lewis,
Ramos
GCL: Thompson,
Sandy
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Issue 1:
Should the Commission
approve the refunds proposed by Florida Community Water Systems, Inc. to address
overearnings?
Recommendation:
Yes. FCWS should make the
refunds outlined below. Pursuant to Rule 25-30.360, F.A.C., the refund should
be made within 90 days of the Commission’s order. During the processing of the
refund, monthly reports on the status of the refund should be made by the 20th
of the following month. In addition, a preliminary report should be made within
30 days after the date the refund is completed and again 90 days thereafter. A
final report should be made after all administrative aspects of the refund are
completed.
Issue 2:
Should Florida Community
Water System's request for a revenue-neutral rate restructuring limited
proceeding for uniform rates be approved?
Recommendation:
Yes. The Commission should approve FCWS’s request for a
revenue-neutral rate restructuring limited proceeding for uniform rates.
Issue 3:
What is the appropriate
revenue requirement for restructuring the rates?
Recommendation:
The appropriate revenue requirement for restructuring the
rates is $1,216,076 for water and $248,255 for wastewater.
Issue 4:
What are the appropriate
rate structures and rates for the water and wastewater systems?
Recommendation:
The staff recommended rate structures and rates for the
water and wastewater systems are shown on Schedule Nos. 1-A and 1-B of staff’s
memorandum dated August 29, 2023. The utility should file revised tariff sheets
and a proposed customer notice to reflect the Commission-approved rates. The
approved rates should be effective for service rendered on or after the stamped
approval date on the tariff sheets pursuant to Rule 25-30.475(1), F.A.C. In
addition, the approved rates should not be implemented until staff has approved
the proposed customer notices and the notices have been received by the
customers. The utility should provide proof of the date notices were given
within 10 days of the date of the notice.
Issue 5:
What is the appropriate
amount of rate case expense and what is the appropriate amount by which rates
should be reduced four years after the published effective date to reflect the
removal of the amortized rate case expense?
Recommendation:
The appropriate amount of rate case expense is $19,868. The
total rate case expense should be amortized over four years, resulting in an
annual expense of $4,967. The rates should be reduced as shown on Schedule Nos.
1-A and 1-B of staff’s memorandum dated August 29, 2023, to remove rate case
expense grossed-up for RAFs and amortized over a four-year period. In addition,
for prior unamortized rate case expense, the rates should be reduced as shown
on Schedule No. 2 of staff’s memorandum dated August 29, 2023. Pursuant to
Section 367.081(8), F.S., the decrease in rates should become effective immediately
following the expiration of the rate case expense recovery period. FCWS should
be required to file revised tariffs and a proposed customer notice setting
forth the lower rates and the reason for the reduction no later than one month
prior to the actual date of the required rate reduction. If the utility files this reduction in
conjunction with a price index or pass-through rate adjustment, the utility
should file separate data for the price index and/or pass-through increase or
decrease and the reduction in the rates due to the amortized rate case expense.
Issue 6:
Should this docket be
closed?
Recommendation:
No. If no person whose
substantial interests are affected by the proposed agency action files a
protest within 21 days of the issuance of the Proposed Agency Action Order, a
consummating order should be issued. This docket should remain open to allow
staff to verify completion of the refund discussed in Issue 1. Furthermore, the
docket should remain open for staff’s verification that the revised tariff
sheets and customer notices have been filed by the utility and approved by
staff. Upon staff’s approval of the tariff sheets and customer notices, along
with staff’s completion of the refund discussed in Issue 1, this docket should
be closed administratively if no adjustments are necessary.
5 Docket No. 20220069-GU – Petition for
rate increase by Florida City Gas.
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Critical Date(s):
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None
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Commissioners Assigned:
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Fay,
Passidomo, La Rosa
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Prehearing Officer:
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Fay
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Staff:
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GCL: Cibula,
Harper, Sparks
AFD: Cicchetti,
Norris
ECO: Galloway,
McNulty, Smith II, Wu
ENG: Ellis,
King, Knoblauch, Ramos, Thompson
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(Oral Argument Requested)
Issue 1:
Should OPC’s Request for
Oral Argument on its Motion for Reconsideration be granted?
Recommendation:
No. Staff believes that the pleadings are sufficient on
their face for the Commission to evaluate and decide OPC’s Motion for Reconsideration.
However, if the Commission wants to exercise its discretion to hear oral
argument, staff recommends 5 minutes per party as sufficient.
Issue 2:
Should OPC’s Motion for
Reconsideration be granted?
Recommendation:
No. OPC’s Motion for Reconsideration should be denied as to
both points raised within. However, staff recommends clarifying the Final Order
so that it is clear that the Commission has the authority to approve the
RSAM-adjusted depreciation parameters under section 366.06(1), F.S. The Order
should be clarified to state that the Commission has the authority under
366.06(1), F.S., to set depreciation rates using another utility’s depreciation
parameters as long as the parameters are applied to the utility’s own used and
useful assets, such as in this case.
Issue 3:
Should this docket be
closed?
Recommendation:
No. This docket shall remain
open while OPC’s appeal is processed at the Florida Supreme Court.