Opinion ID: 1789106
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Consistency with Other Provisions of Chapter 366

Text: Second, Seminole argues that Commission jurisdiction over Seminole's rate structure is inconsistent with Section 366.11, Florida Statutes, and other provisions of Chapter 366, Florida Statutes. Seminole notes that Section 366.11(1), Florida Statutes, specifically exempts from Commission jurisdiction wholesale power sales by investor-owned utilities to municipal and cooperative electric utilities. Seminole asserts that this exemption is required because those provisions of Chapter 366 which give this Commission ratemaking authority over investor-owned utilities do not explicitly distinguish retail sales from wholesale sales. Seminole also notes that Section 366.11(1), Florida Statutes, does not specifically exempt wholesale sales by municipal and cooperative electric utilities from Commission jurisdiction. Seminole asserts that the lack of an exemption can be interpreted two ways: (1) all such transactions are subject to this Commission's rate structure jurisdiction; or (2) the Legislature never intended or expected Section 366.04(2)(b), Florida Statutes, to confer jurisdiction over wholesale transactions, so no exemption was required. Seminole concludes that the latter is the only reasonable interpretation when Chapter 366, Florida Statutes, is considered as a whole, because any other interpretation would result in this Commission exercising more jurisdiction over wholesale sales by municipal and cooperative electric utilities than over wholesale sales by investor-owned utilities. Seminole contends that this would be an illogical result. I am not persuaded by Seminole's argument. First, Seminole's premise that Section 366.11(1), Florida Statutes, exempts from our jurisdiction wholesale power sales by investor-owned utilities to municipal and cooperative electric utilities is incorrect. Section 366.11(1), Florida Statutes, provides in pertinent part: No other provision of this chapter shall apply in any manner, other than as specified in ss. 366.04, 366.05(7) and (8), 366.051, 366.055, 366.093, 366.095, 366.14, and 366.80 366.85, ... to the sale of electricity, manufactured gas, or natural gas at wholesale by any public utility to, and the purchase by, any municipality or cooperative under or pursuant to any contracts ... when such municipality or cooperative is engaged in the sale and distribution of electricity or manufactured or natural gas, or to the rates provided for in such contracts. (Emphasis supplied.) Clearly, the limited exemption in Section 366.11(1), Florida Statutes, is not intended to diminish our jurisdiction over electric utilities pursuant to the Grid Bill, which includes the jurisdiction granted in Sections 366.04 and 366.05(7) and (8), Florida Statutes, although that jurisdiction may be preempted by FERC. Second, as LCEC noted, it is a commonly accepted principle of statutory construction that the express exemption of one thing in a statute, and silence regarding another, implies an intent not to exempt the latter. PW Ventures, Inc. v. Nichols, 533 So.2d 281, 283 (Fla.1988). Applying the principle to this case, the most reasonable interpretation of Section 366.11(1), Florida Statutes, read together with the statutes listed therein, including Section 366.04, Florida Statutes, is that the Legislature knew how to exempt wholesale matters from certain aspects of this Commission's jurisdiction but chose not to exempt wholesale sales in their entirety. This interpretation is consistent with the plain language used by the Legislature in Sections 366.02(2) and 366.04(2)(b), Florida Statutes, as discussed above. Further, the lack of an exemption for wholesale sales by municipal and cooperative electric utilities is consistent with FERC's lack of jurisdiction over such sales, as discussed below. There is nothing unreasonable or ridiculous about this interpretation. In summary, Seminole has not demonstrated that the plain language of the statute inaccurately reflects the Legislature's intent or that application of the plain language leads to an unreasonable or ridiculous result. Instead, it appears that our jurisdiction over wholesale rate structures of rural electric cooperatives and municipal electric utilities is consistent with the purposes of the Grid Bill and with the provisions of Chapter 366, Florida Statutes.