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By a unanimous vote, the Public Service Commission ended FPL's Sunshine Energy Program in which 39,000 customers have voluntarily added $9.75 to their monthly electric bill so that FPL could purchase renewable energy.
FPL in turn contracted with a Texas company, Green Mountain Energy, to carry out the program. PSC staff have been trying for months to find out where the money went, but all it could learn was that 24 percent was going to purchase renewable energy.
Commissioner Nathan Skop, who had once worked for an FPL sister company promoting renewables, said about $9 million in customers' money had gone "into a black hole where there is no transparency. . . . Clearly this is not right.''
Skop said the program was "a lot of marketing hype but very little of substance.''
FPL Vice President Wade Litchfield said the utility and Green Mountain were eager to work with the commission to explain where the money went. He said the Texas company had met the obligations of its contract with FPL.
Robert Thomas, chief legal officer of Green Mountain, said the company would continue to provide information about its expenses to regulators. "We have provided that cooperation in the past, and we will continue to work with the staff. . . . The money was spent for legitimate marketing expenses and other legitimate expenses.''
Commissioner Skop said that ''no reasonable person would have contributed to this program knowing that 80 percent'' of their money "was not going to renewables.''
FPL's Litchfield said that even after news stories publicized problems with the program, very few dropped out. In the past month, that number was only ''60 customers over and above the normal attrition rate,'' showing that the program had a strong following regardless of how the money was spent, he said.
After a lengthy study, the PSC staff concluded the Sunshine Energy Program "does not currently serve the interest of the program's participants, and it does not align with current state renewable energy policies.''
Following the PSC action, FPL spokesman Mayco Villafaña said, "The Public Service Commission just determined that the Sunshine Energy Program has met its objectives and is no longer needed in light of recent legislation that promotes renewable energy in the state.''
''The PSC said we met our tariff'' obligation and operated the program in compliance with its contract, Villafaña said. The utility will continue to work with the PSC staff about providing information about the program and will be notifying customers that the program is ending.
Early Tuesday afternoon, Green Mountain Energy released a statement from Senior Vice President Paul Markovich: "We are disappointed the commission voted today to end FPL's very successful Sunshine Energy renewable energy program. Green Mountain Energy Co. helped FPL grow Sunshine Energy to one of the Top 10 utility green power programs in the U.S., out of more than 800 such programs.
"Sunshine Energy provided tens of thousands of FPL customers an affordable, easy way to voluntarily reduce their carbon footprint. The Sunshine Energy program has helped avoid more than one billion pounds of [carbon dioxide] emissions since 2004.''
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