Drew Wilson, who covers legislative campaigns and fundraising for Florida Politics, writes that electric choice in Florida would make people sick

Wilson cites the recent $9,000 price spike in Texas, stating that, "If those prices were commonplace in Florida, air conditioners would be clicked off, mold would invade and people would start getting sick."

Wilson also writes that prices have increased while reliability has decreased in multiple electric choice states

See the Florida Politics story here

Elsewhere, dueling op-eds were published by the Florida Sun-Sentinel concerning the recent Texas experience as it relates to electric choice in Florida

Eric Silagy, President & CEO of the Florida Power & Light Co., responded to a recent op-ed supporting electric choice from former PSC Chair Nancy Argenziano by citing the recent Texas conditions, writing, "Just last week the Texas grid operator issued emergency warnings and called on all Texans to conserve energy so they could avoid blackouts. So what happened? In a surprise to no one, it got hot in Texas and wholesale electric prices soared 36,000 percent (that’s not a typo) to more than $9,000."

See Silagy's op-ed here

That drew a further response from Argenziano, who wrote that Silagy is, "cherry-picking data," and that the recent ERCOT spike, "had less than a penny per kilowatt-hour impact over the last year and little effect on the consumer."

"This is why Gexa Energy, sister company to FP&L proves it by offering right now 7.5 cents per kilowatt-hour in Texas while FPL’s rate is 33 percent higher in Florida," Argenziano wrote

"Gexa Energy, one of FPL’s parent company NextEra’s competitive retail provider, provides Texas customers with 100 percent renewable fixed rate plans at rates around 7.5 cents a kWh. FPL’s most recent price is 9.9 cents per kWh, with a renewable percentage of not more than five or six percent. Thus, Florida ratepayers pay 33 percent more at the same rate stratum, a savings which would eclipse FPL President and CEO Eric Silagy’s vaunted, alleged $2 billion advantage to FPL consumers," Argenziano wrote

See Argenziano's op-ed here

Tags:
Florida   Electric Choice   Deregulation  

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