Village Looks To Double Franchise Income From FPL

Power pole and power lines stock image (Adobe)

The Village Council is being asked to OK a 30-year-deal with Florida Power & Light on  Tuesday that could increase revenues, but at least one member of the Village Council is urging a pause.

Village Manager Andrea Agha is recommending Key Biscayne sign a contract that would provide fees of up to 6 percent of the utility’s monthly billings, starting next year. She estimated the Village would get $1.2 million annually, an increase of 100 percent over the current deal.

At a prior Council meeting, Council Member Ed London urged longer study of the agreement, saying that while the Village is negotiating underground utilities with FPL, it made no sense to sign the agreement now.

Agha wrote in her memo, however, that “FPL declined the opportunity to add the requested language citing the concern that FP&L was still working to fully understand how recent legislation will affect its operations.”

The Florida Legislature recently passed a bill that could expand the amount of utility undergrounding done by power companies, and Key Biscayne officials are investigating how it might change a proposed $46 million utility undergrounding project.

The franchise agreement represents something new for island ratepayers, who currently pay the franchise fee to Miami-Dade County. With expiration of the County agreement, the Village is now able to write its own pact as an incorporated municipality.

Agha wrote that some areas of the FPL agreement are not settled, including a firm calculation of revenue. The deal is non-exclusive, which means the Village could generate its own power at Village-owned facilities, but it’s not clear if it could resell power to residents.