Florida PSC plans hurricane preparedness and restoration review, swears in new commissioner

The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) established on Tuesday its plan to review electric utility hurricane preparedness and restoration actions during the 2017 hurricane season in an effort to potentially further minimize infrastructure damage and outages.

The PSC will create a generic docket to collect and analyze data on the utilities’ transmission and distribution facilities to determine the type and cause of damage. The commission will also review tree trimming practices, pole inspection cycles, the effectiveness of communication with customers and restoration practices.

The PSC will also conduct a workshop with input from all electric utilities and stakeholders, including customers. Once the data collection, analysis, and public comment collection is complete, the Commission will consider options for immediate action.

Judge Colby Peel of the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida swore Gary F. Clark in as a commissioner on the Florida PSC. Gov. Rick Scott appointed Clark in September to serve the remainder of a four-year term.

Clark most recently served as the deputy secretary of land and recreation at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). He was also vice president of member services at Florida Electric and has owned and managed several small business operations in Northwest Florida.

“I look forward to serving as Public Service Commissioner,” Clark said. “I gained valuable experience at DEP and West Florida Electric, and my appreciation of customers and utility operations will be a good foundation as I prepare to make decisions on the many challenging issues we face.”

Clark joins Chairman Julie Brown and Commissioners Art Graham, Ronald Brisé, and Donald Polmann on the five-member commission.