# Florida Power & Light: Its desires trump its customers' needs. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 2, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093 "2005-11-02T16:18:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093/21 "2005-11-03T17:36:56Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I can understand not wanting to do it if the result would literally be not having enough operating capital on hand. But if the result was merely a temporary shift in the balacne books, and normality were restored with the following month’s bills, then i don’t see where the problem would be.I don’t quite get the problem. It isn’t a matter of shifting balances. A month’s worth of billing is a significant amount of money and can result in million sof dollars of lost interest revenue (or interest costs if they need to borrow the money. That cost would be borne by the utilite’s customers, not the utility. I am pretty certain that the method they are using is probably, ex ante, the least costly way to handle the situation. Least cost for them means least cost for their customer. The utility is not going to eat the additional costs of dealing with the hurricane, nor should they. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093/22 "2005-11-03T17:56:19Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > The utility is not going to eat the additional costs of dealing with the hurricane, nor should they. Of course not. Why should corporations suffer the same levels of inconvenience and cost that plague the average citizen during a natural disaster? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093/23 "2005-11-03T18:37:48Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Presumably, customers would have an idea of how much money needed to be put aside for this month’s bill, and could then add it to the money required for next month’s electrivity usage, and pay a two month bill. You’d think. But then you’d think people wouldn’t put more on a credit card than they could reasonably pay off in a month, too. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093/24 "2005-11-03T18:52:50Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > How would anyone be “hit hard”? They would be paying out exactly the same amount of moeny over that two motn period, only in one single check instead of two sepearate checks. My friend, you must have never worked customer service. People will says all sorts of unbelievable things to get out of paying that bill. “You didn’t send me a bill last month. According to the Constitituion, I don’t have to pay for that month.” ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093/25 "2005-11-03T19:00:06Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Of course not. Why should corporations suffer the same levels of inconvenience and cost that plague the average citizen during a natural disaster? A utility is a far different animal than your average corporation in how they make their money. Their “profit” is highly regulated and they are basically acting as an agent for the customer, providing power and incurring costs. All costs that are deemed reasonable to make sure you get your power reliably is considered costs that they should be able to recover through rates. Costs incurred to restore power through a hurricane are subject to the same review, but generally they are recoverable through rates. That is the deal that has been made, they are heavily regulated. They incur costs on your behalf to provide you with power and you pay them back. Of course, they can’t just get away with saying that costs are whatever they want, many lawyers and analysts hours are spent by the utility, by te commissions ad by the consumer advocate groups to determine which costs are reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093/26 "2005-11-03T19:07:55Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Of course not. Why should corporations suffer the same levels of inconvenience and cost that plague the average citizen during a natural disaster? This is stupid. I work for an electric utility, you don’t think that FPL is going through a little inconvenience at due to the hurricane? The repars that are being made are not billed to the customers, the utility is responsible for the cost… or its insurance is. The out of town crews coming in to assist in the restoration effort are also paid by FPL, if it’s like here the hotel rooms and meals are paid by the local utility. Now, after all this cash outlay, you want the utility not to bill its customers for a month? It looks like a good way to have a serious cashflow problem. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093/27 "2005-11-03T19:26:57Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > A utility is a far different animal than your average corporation in how they make their money. Their “profit” is highly regulated and they are basically acting as an agent for the customer, providing power and incurring costs. All costs that are deemed reasonable to make sure you get your power reliably is considered costs that they should be able to recover through rates. Sure they’re regulated, but in many cases throughout the country they also have a virtual (or an actual) monopoly on a commodity that everyone needs. The regulation is the price they pay for a virtually guaranteed profit. According to the quarterly reports from [this site](http://www.investor.fplgroup.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=88486&p=irol-quarterly), FPL had a net income, after all operating expenses _and_ income taxes, of $313 million for the six months to June 30, 2005. Does this put it among the highest profit companies in the US? Probably not. But it’s not doing too badly either. > [@Who\_me?](#): > > Now, after all this cash outlay, you want the utility not to bill its customers for a month? It looks like a good way to have a serious cashflow problem. Well, as i said earlier, if not billing for a month _would_ indeed present the company with a serious cash-flow problem, that would be sufficient justification for the estimated billing. Maybe someone who’s more familiar with accounting procedures and financial statements than i am can look at the spreadsheets at the link i provded above and tell me whether this would, in fact, be the case. ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093/28 "2005-11-03T20:40:55Z")
> [@Bambi Hassenpfeffer](#): > > No. Progress Energy purchased Florida Power, not Florida Power & Light. Florida Power was my utility here in west central Florida and is now Progress Energy; FPL provides service in southeastern Florida and is still FPL. Florida Plunder & Loot also services east central Florida. My poor retired parents are crying about their current bill - it is **higher** than last month’s. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093/29 "2005-11-03T21:37:21Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > And they will take account of your outage Someone should tell the CEO of FPL that. In a live news conferences on 10/27, he said they would not. Sua ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093/30 "2005-11-03T21:44:03Z")
FPL has now posted a link on their website providing the status of your power and when it is estimated it will be turned on. 'Course, they managed this innovation only after 80% of power was restored. I take full credit for this. My bitching has been heard. 😃 Sua ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093/31 "2005-11-03T21:46:30Z")
> [@SuaSponte](#): > > Someone should tell the CEO of FPL that. In a live news conferences on 10/27, he said they would not. > > Sua This is probably resulting in one or two things: 1 - FPL’s customers are currently marching on the CEO’s mansion with torches and pitchforks, or 2 - FPL’s call center employees are currently marching on the CEO’s mansion with torches and pitchforks. Because either: 1 - FPL is bilking their customers and, if true, I would be calling the utility commission post-haste. Or 2 - The CEO is talking out of his ass, and the call center employees are all having to say, “Yes, we will not bill you for the days you are without power. No, the CEO misspoke,” two thousand times a day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-power-light-its-desires-trump-its-customers-needs/329093.md?page=1)