Gov. Rick Scott advocates lower energy costs for businesses

Gov. Rick Scott's campaign plan to create 700,000 jobs in seven years included a focus on reducing "unnecessary costs" on businesses.

One target was Florida's "relatively expensive electricity costs." Addressing those costs, his plan said, could save businesses approximately $3.25 billion.

That's no simple task when prices are determined largely by how utilities produce energy -- and how utilities produce energy is based on decisions made years before that electricity's ever produced. In Florida, a recent study out of the University of Florida highlighted the state's higher reliance on natural gas than neighboring states, which has seen price fluctuations, pushing costs up. Paying ahead for new nuclear plants pushes them higher still. (Heck, simply living on a peninsula boosts costs.)

"The sources of high rates and high bills are deep and pervasive," said Scott Hempling, a national expert in utility regulation who teaches at Georgetown Law. "They can't get fixed in one generation."

What has the governor accomplished so far?

• Opposed a bill that would have let investor-owned utilities charge ratepayers up to an additional 2 percent of their annual revenue for renewable energy. It would have allowed utilities to raise customer bills to cover investments in renewable energy. It failed for a third straight legislative session in April 2011.

• Supported a Public Service Commission decision to roll back rules that encourage energy conservation. The rules required customers to pay for conservation programs. (A policy adviser for the governor said the programs were too expensive; clean energy advocates said the programs could have been cheaper, and that rolling them back ignored long-term savings.)

• Supported a plan by Florida Power & Light, the state's largest electric utility, to offer discounts to new commercial and industrial customers — boosting other customers' bills to pay for it. 

• Named an energy adviser, Mary Bane, to produce a state energy plan. It was projected to be done by late summer 2011, but such a policy is still in the works, according to the Governor's Office. "Gov. Scott feels a comprehensive energy policy for Florida is something that is needed for the state," spokeswoman Jackie Schutz said. "Gov. Scott looks forward to working with the Legislature and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to develop such a plan."

(The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is involved because Scott and the Legislature this summer eliminated the Florida Energy and Climate Commission from the Governor's Office, creating instead an Office of Energy in the Agriculture Department. That introduces a new layer of collaboration with agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam.)

Just how large a role might a governor play in addressing energy costs?

In Florida, the five-member Public Service Commission regulates investor-owned utilities based on state law set by the Legislature and governor. The governor appoints commissioners, who are confirmed by the Senate. (Scott chose to reappoint four commissioners in his first year: Art Graham, Ronald Brise, Eduardo Balbis and Julie Brown.)

So, according to Hempling, a governor might lead through legislative proposals that make consumers less dependent on utilities, by opposing legislation that commits to major power plants that could be avoided through conservation, by welcoming federal regulatory efforts to make wholesale competitive markets work, by proposing ways for the PSC and Legislature to welcome diverse energy suppliers, by establishing professional standards for the PSC and its staff and by persuading the public that some investments now will help their bills in the future.

Recent governors used their stature to wage high-profile energy initiatives, according to long-time Tallahassee clean energy lobbyist Susan Glickman. Gov. Jeb Bush moved toward deregulation. Gov. Charlie Crist focused on reducing greenhouse gases.

"The role of the governor is really whatever the governor wants to make of it," Glickman said. "The governor can be a game-changing leader if they want to."

So far, Scott has focused on narrow policy initiatives, most of which focused on short-term savings to businesses' energy bills. We'll be watching to see how the governor's state energy plan shapes up. Bane, the governor's energy adviser, has been "meeting broadly with stakeholders," Glickman said.

As we wait for a broader blueprint — and steps toward implementing it — we'll rate this promise In the Works.