New Utility Proposed for Massive Development

By News Service of Florida

April 2, 2014:  Acknowledging that such a request is a "rare occurrence," backers of the planned Babcock Ranch development in Southwest Florida have asked state regulators to sign off on a new electric utility to serve the area. The Babcock Ranch Community Independent Special District filed a document last week with the Florida Public Service Commission outlining plans for the municipal utility in Charlotte County. The PSC in the past approved an agreement that said Florida Power & Light and Lee County Electric Cooperative would serve areas that overlap with the Babcock district. But the document filed last week said the Legislature gave authority to the district to provide electric service. "By giving the district this authority, the Legislature intended to insure that the district and its inhabitants would be able to secure electric services in the most cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner possible,'' the document said. "The Legislature's repeated emphasis in the Babcock Ranch law upon the unique and innovative nature of the district is consistent with the Legislature's rare bestowal upon the district of the power to provide electric service." The Babcock Ranch development is eventually expected to include up to 17,870 single-family and multi-family residential units and 6 million square feet of commercial space, according to the document filed with the PSC. It remains unclear whether the special district would provide the electric service directly or contract with another utility to provide the service. But the document said the PSC's acknowledgment of the district's right to provide service is "one of the last remaining steps prior to initiation of development activities."