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As hundreds of thousands of Brevard County residents sat in the dark following Hurricane Milton, State Representative Randy Fine flooded his social media with hourly updates on power restoration. While these posts appeared to showcase Fine’s concern and involvement, they distract from the real issue: Fine’s own legislative failures are largely to blame for the prolonged outages.
In 2019, Fine sponsored a bill that shifted the cost of grid hardening — measures meant to make the electrical grid more resilient — a cost of $30 billion onto everyday Floridians instead of the multi-billion dollar utility companies like Florida Power & Light (FPL). The bill allowed utilities to impose annual rate hikes on consumers to fund infrastructure upgrades, including burying power lines. Fine’s legislation was sold as a solution to prevent mass outages after storms, but Hurricane Milton, barely a category 1 hurricane once it reached Brevard, exposed just how ineffective those measures were. Despite the rate increases and supposed grid hardening, nearly 40% of Brevard County lost power, and tens of thousands remained in the dark for over a week When pushing the bill, Fine argued that the costs of Floridians losing power for weeks at a time following major hurricanes will be far greater than any rate hikes.
“Could they make money doing it? Sure; that’s what businesses do,” Fine continued. “And I will tell you frankly I’m OK if they make a little bit more money, because my power doesn’t go out, and the power of my constituents doesn’t go out. And people don’t get hurt because they can’t go to work and frankly sometimes die because they don’t have access to the equipment they need.”
The AARP warned us about the bill in 2019. “Everyone agrees we want a stronger, more resilient grid so when the next storm happens we have fewer outages or shorter outage time and get back to life quicker,” said Zayne Smith of the AARP. “But that is not what this bill is about. Our opposition is how it’s being paid for. It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Without Fine’s bill, FPL would not have had the automatic authority to pass these grid hardening costs directly onto customers. Prior to the bill, utility companies like FPL would have been required to request general rate increases through the Public Service Commission (PSC), a process that demands more transparency, regulatory oversight, and public accountability. Under this older framework, FPL would have needed to justify these expenses, giving the PSC and consumer advocacy groups the opportunity to scrutinize whether the proposed improvements were truly necessary and effective. Fine’s bill eliminated that oversight and transparency.
This additional oversight promotes a more dependable grid hardening process, ensuring that the investments made were robust enough to prevent outages like those caused by Hurricane Milton. Instead, Fine’s bill made it easier for FPL to shift costs to customers without the same level of scrutiny, allowing the utility to implement grid hardening measures that ultimately failed to withstand even a relatively minor storm.
Since Fine’s 2019 bill, Florida Power & Light (FPL) has seen substantial profits, bolstered by both rate hikes and growing customer demand. In 2022, FPL’s profits reached around $4.25 billion, up from $3.7 billion in 2021, all while citizens electric bills skyrocketed. This profit growth reflects the company’s ability to pass along costs to customers through approved rate hikes, while continuing to expand its infrastructure investments.
These profits, paired with Randy Fine’s 2019 legislation that shifted the burden of grid hardening costs to consumers, intensify criticism from those affected by lengthy power outages after Hurricane Milton. Despite the billions FPL has made, the grid improvements that residents have paid for through increased utility bills have not delivered on their promise to prevent outages. This raises questions about why consumers, rather than a company with such robust profits, have been left to bear the financial burden for grid improvements that failed to perform as expected during a minor storm.
Fine’s Ties to FPL
Criticism of Fine’s support for FPL is further complicated by his political ties to the company. Fine’s Political Action Committee (PAC), Friends of Randy Fine, has received significant financial contributions from FPL over the years, leading some to question whether his legislative actions and praise of the company are truly in the best interest of his constituents. According to a 2022 Politico article, Fine also frequents FPL’s secret “lounge,” an exclusive venue in Tallahassee where legislators and lobbyists meet after hours, raising concerns about the influence of corporate lobbying on public policy.
From the article: State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay) said he has been to FPL’s bar but disagrees that it’s swankier than other bars. He said it’s just a place for people to talk mostly about politics in private.
“I have been there, yes, but there are lots of groups that have stuff like this,” Fine said. “When you are in Tallahassee and want to meet with folks, your options are limited and extremely limited to talk about politics. If I want to talk about legislation, I can invite people to my office, but it’s different with politics. You have to go to their offices.”
He said there is usually a container at the location for guests to slip in money, and he “always pays.” It should be noted that the bar does not have an actual liquor license.
This financial relationship between Fine and FPL adds to the frustration felt by many Brevard residents. While they continue to deal with long power outages and increased utility bills, Fine’s connection to FPL and his role in passing the 2019 bill that shifted grid hardening costs onto them has drawn increasing scrutiny.
A Question of Priorities
As Brevard County residents grapple with the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, many are left questioning whether Fine’s legislative priorities align with their best interests. While grid hardening was intended to prevent exactly this kind of widespread power outage, the real-world results have been far from satisfactory. Residents are paying more for power, yet still experiencing significant outages after a relatively mild storm, leading many to ask whether Fine’s support for FPL and his involvement in the 2019 bill served the public or utility profits.
Had the 2019 law not passed, FPL would have had to justify its grid hardening measures through a more rigorous approval process, ensuring that investments were targeted and effective. Instead, Fine’s legislation allowed FPL to prioritize its own financial interests, leaving Floridians to shoulder the cost for infrastructure improvements that failed when they were needed most.