EcoZone/Green Florida

Battle Over Alternative Fuel For Utilities In Fla.

TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) ― Staffers at the Florida Public Service Commission have issued a new recommendation that would force utilities to produce 20 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2041. The plan is much less aggressive than Governor Charlie Crist's proposal, which calls for the same amount by 2020.

Utility bills across Florida have already increased this year as a result of high fuel costs. Now, residents may be forced to pay an extra $2.40 on their electric bill to promote renewable energy.

The fee is part of a recommendation from staffers at the Florida Public Service Commission. The plan would also force utilities to spend up to two percent of their annual revenues on renewable energy, such as solar, wind or bioproducts. That could translate into a rate hike of $370 million each year.

Environmentalists say the plan is much too slow. "I think that is crawling toward progress in terms of energy independence for Florida," said Eric Draper, a member of the Florida Audobon. "We are a solar-rich state, we're a biofuels-rich state and we could do much better, much more quickly."

Draper says if utilities begin investing in renewable energy now, the additional cost will be worth it as the prices fall over the next ten years. "The only way to get solar in Florida though is for the Florida Public Service Commission to set a standard of 20 percent by 2020, so it actually stimulates the market and gets the market going," Draper insists.

However, AARP Attorney Mike Twomey says investing too heavily in renewables could cost utility customers too much at a time when utility disconnections are at an all-time high. "Many of them, as I said, are getting disconnected, aren't paying their bills currently so it doesn't make it easier."

Twomey wants the plan to be limited to one percent, which would cost residents only $1.20 extra.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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