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Eric Silagy, CEO of FPL, shares thoughts on solar power, emissions complianceRenewable energy
Posted: October 11, 2015 - 12:03am | Updated: October 11, 2015 - 12:12am
By STUART KORFHAGE
stuart.korfhage@staugustine.com
Affected by changing technology, regulations, demographics and even weather, the energy business is never static.
At Florida Power & Light Co., Eric Silagy is the one charged with staying ahead of those changes.
Silagy, who has been CEO since May 2014, visited The Record’s offices Thursday to talk about a variety of issues that he’s dealing with.
He was eager to point out FPL’s leadership (sic) in providing low rates for customers. Since 2006, FPL’s residential rate for 1,000 kilowatt hours has decreased by 13 percent to $94.33 (projected for 2016), he said.
September’s rate of $96.72 for 1,000 kilowatt hours was 20 percent below the state’s average, according to data from Edison Electric Institute.
Silagy also talked about the push to increased reliance on renewable energy sources and to meet the demands of stricter EPA emissions standards.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
Renewable energy
Florida ranks 10th among states in production of solar power. Silagy said it is behind states like New Jersey and Massachusetts because of state subsidies.
“The customers pay more for their electricity because they have to pay for that,” he said.
He said large-scale utility solar projects are more efficient (sic -- for whom?) than rooftop solar projects because each home requires a custom build and setup. Also, FPL is required to buy all unused solar power at retail price, which is three times the cost of what it takes to produce power at its plants.
FPL is working on three projects that will each use about 1 million solar panels, Silagy said.
“I have no problem with anybody putting solar on their roof. What I have a problem with is the rest of our customers who can’t either afford it or don’t want it ... I just don’t think it’s fair. It should be whatever the cost is. I don’t think it should be subsidized by the rest of the customers who choose not to do it.
“If we’re going to be for solar power, why wouldn’t we be for the most we could do for the least amount of money?”
Population growth
Silagy said FPL is constantly looking at state population data to determine future needs. The needs, however, aren’t only measured by simple population growth, but also by the expected power needs, which can vary.
“We do the best we can by gathering data from everywhere we can. You’re looking at trend analysis. And then what we do is build infrastructure, the backbone of it, in order to meet those demands the best that we can. And you build some margin in, and that’s the reserve margin.”
Clean power
Meeting the EPA’s new emissions standards will cost the power industry a lot of money, Silagy said. But FPL isn’t forced to make a lot of changes because it uses coal for just 3.9 percent of its energy needs. Natural gas provides about 68 percent of the power, and nuclear plants contribute about 23 percent.
FPL recently acquired Cedar Bay Power Plant, a coal plant in Jacksonville. The facility, however, is being phased out.
The company has been among the leaders in using natural gas plants. Natural gas is cleaner to burn and cheaper and more reliable to acquire than many other fuels.
“It makes smart business sense for us to be clean. We’re in compliance with (EPA standards for) 2030 today.”
Weather issues
It’s been a relatively mild hurricane season for Florida so far, but FPL tries to be as prepared as possible for the problems it causes. The company has invested in “smart grid” technology that helps pinpoint locations of equipment damage and service interruptions for quicker and more efficient responses. Workers can use hand-held devices in the field to check addresses to see that power has been restored.
Silagy said large-scale outages caused by storms are best handled through proper advance planning. For Florida, it’s simply a matter of when the next storm will hit.
When a big storm threatens the state, Silagy said FPL will begin to amass extra trucks and workers days before anything is forecast to make landfall. He said there are 81 staging sites available to FPL for quick mobilization of resources, with individual plans for each one.
“Storm response — 90 percent of it is logistics and preparation. You have to have both equipment and people in the right place at the right time,” he said. “And if you’re waiting until a storm has hit and responding after a storm has hit, then you’re already three or four days behind. You just can’t move that kind of equipment quickly. It just doesn’t happen.
You have to be proactive. If you don’t get ahead of it, then you have to wait until the storm passes,” Silagy said.
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