Traditional power saw gains during Scott's tenure

As part of Rick Scott's 2010 campaign promise to reduce "unnecessary costs" on Florida businesses, he called for reform of the state utilities regulator "to allow reasonable energy production and expansion."

The five-member Public Service Commission oversees investor-owned utilities based on state law set by the Legislature and governor.

Separately, Scott promised to address Florida's relatively expensive electricity costs, and to expand the use of nuclear and alternative fuels, both of which we rated as a Promise Compromise during his first term.

But this particular promise is more difficult to evaluate, because it was unclear what type of reform he had in mind. We previously rated his efforts Stalled in 2012 when we found no such progress.

Now that Scott has nearly completed his term, we can look back at what changed on the energy front during his tenure.

Early on, Scott named an energy adviser, Mary Bane, to produce a state energy plan. But that plan never came to fruition.

When asked about progress toward this promise, commission spokeswoman Cindy Muir said renewable energy generation has doubled over the past decade, and investor-owned utility accounts also grew — all while the state population stretched by about two million.

But Florida still lags behind the southeast in the use of solar energy.

While solar has grown during Scott's tenure, it still represents a "miniscule amount" of power generation in Florida, said Susan Glickman, Florida's director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

During Scott's tenure, it was traditional power that saw gains, as the state approved natural gas plants.

After Scott's re-election in 2014, the Public Service Commission voted in support of gutting energy efficiency goals, backing the proposals of Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric and Florida Power & Light.

Florida Power & Light got the go-ahead to construct an $888 million Dania Beach plant.

Construction of the Sabal Trail pipeline, a joint venture of Spectra Energy Partners, NextEra Energy, Inc. and Duke Energy, has drawn criticism from environmentalists, but the state fast-tracked it. Scott and his wife have a blind trust that has shares in NextEra Energy Partners and Spectra Energy Partners, which are affiliated with the pipeline, the New York Times reported.

Critics of the Public Service Commission had hoped for a different type of reform: reducing its ties to the industry it is supposed to regulate.

Florida's four largest energy companies contributed more than $43 million to state level candidates, political parties and political committees in the 2014 and 2016 election cycles, Integrity Florida found.

Scott promised to reform the Public Services Commission processes to allow reasonable energy production and expansion. "Reform" and "reasonable" are in the eye of the beholder. During Scott's tenure, the state took actions friendly to utilities and saw some growth in energy production. We rate this promise Compromise.