Letter to the Editor
Perhaps you’ve noticed that Florida Power & Light (FPL) took many years – and had to be forced – to clean up the canals at Turkey Point that it has polluted and that threaten our water supply.
And maybe you’ve noticed that FPL is billing its customers – in advance – to pay for an unneeded nuclear power plant that may never be constructed.
Or that FPL is planning a 24 percent increase in electric rates.
Well now FPL has joined Duke Energy and Tampa Electric in dropping nearly $20 million to convince you to vote for Amendment 1 in November. FPL and other utility companies have worded the amendment so deceptively that people think it’s pro-solar. It’s anything but.
Amendment 1 is a dishonest ploy by utility companies to restrict the growth of solar and to require customers with solar panels to pay higher utility costs. Solar customers could pay double for the same power that non-solar customers receive.
Reputable studies show that solar customers provide a net-benefit for any utility and its rate payers because solar produces power that utilities don’t have to generate. The large monopoly utilities want to limit customer-owned solar and use false claims to charge unfair fees and penalties for solar customers. This will make solar more expensive, limit its expansion and hurt consumers by depriving them of ways to lower their electric bill.
Solar is one of the best ways to save money and people all over the country are doing just that. Florida is well positioned to add thousands of rooftop solar panels throughout the Sunshine State, which ranks 4th in the country in the amount of useable sunlight for solar. But, because the utilities have already restricted the growth of solar installations, Florida ranks only 14th in the amount of installed solar. That puts us behind sunny New Jersey.
Don’t vote to let the utilities permanently restrict solar. Vote No on Amendment 1 in November so that Florida can become a solar industry leader with thousands of good jobs and money-saving solar panels.
Michael Welber
Executive Director
Solar Education Association of the Florida Keys
[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]
Thank You Michael Welber for educating the voters on the deceiving language in Amendment No.1 on the General Election Ballot for Nov.8th.
Utilities use devious tactics to prevent solar choice initiative:
“Rather than openly opposing the solar effort, opponents created a rival group, Consumers for Smart Solar, that has confused and obfuscated the legitimate solar effort.”
The ballot summary is brilliant in its deception.
It starts with: “This amendment establishes a right under Florida’s constitution for consumers to own or lease solar equipment installed on their property to generate electricity for their own use.”
This grants no new right — it is already afforded through state law. The purpose of leading with this language was to fool voters into thinking this was pro-solar.
It goes on to say: “State and local governments shall retain their abilities to protect consumer rights and public health, safety and welfare, and to ensure that consumers who do not choose to install solar are not required to subsidize the costs of backup power and electric grid access to those who do.”
This is the crux of the amendment that would require more regulation of small businesses that dare to compete with the monopolistic utility companies. Under the guise of consumer protection, it would actually protect their profits and limit competition.
And it proposes doing this in the Florida Constitution — not through general law, thus making it much more difficult to change.
The four major utilities — Duke Energy, Gulf Power, Tampa Electric and Florida Power & Light — have given the lion’s share of the $21 million reported for the initiative. That’s a lot of our electric bill payments going to deny us choice and competition.
It takes 60 percent of the vote to pass. Don’t be fooled by their clever ploy. Vote NO on Amendment 1 in NOvember and let them know you’re smarter than they think.
* quoted Paula Dockery a Republican from Lakeland/FL