Has anyone noticed FPL quietly changed their power factor penalty threshold on the GSD-1 rate schedule? Used to be 0.85 lagging, now seeing penalties kicked in at 0.87 on recent bills. Client in Miami Beach is getting hit for $340/month that wouldn't have been penalized last year. Can't find any formal tariff revision notice. Their customer rep claims it's always been 0.90 threshold but that's definitely not right.
FPL Rate Schedule GSD-1 power factor threshold changed?
Manny, I haven't worked Florida recently but that sounds like typical utility behavior. PG&E pulled similar tricks here in California - buried tariff changes in routine filings. Check the PSC docket for any recent GSD-1 modifications. The formal tariff language should specify the exact threshold, not what the customer rep thinks.
Pete's right about checking PSC filings. Georgia Power tried raising PF thresholds without proper notice a few years back. We caught it during a rate case review and got them to grandfather existing customers. Florida PSC should have all GSD-1 revisions posted online. Look for anything filed in the last 18 months.
Found it! FPL filed revised GSD-1 tariff in March 2018, effective July 1st. Changed PF threshold from 0.85 to 0.90 lagging. Penalty calculation also increased from $1.50/kvar to $2.25/kvar. No customer notification that I can find. This is going to cost our clients serious money. Anyone know if there's grounds for challenging retroactive penalties?
Manny, that's a significant change that should have triggered customer notices. Georgia Power is required to send written notification for any rate schedule modifications affecting existing customers. Check if FPL has similar requirements under Florida PSC rules. Might be worth filing a formal complaint if they didn't provide proper notice.