Youve probably never met J. R. Kelly. But in the past two years, hes fought to keep your electricity bills low.
As the public counsel to the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC), Kelly represents state consumers in every case involving a request for a utility rate increase.
Kelly comes fresh off two rate cases that consumer advocates have hailed as victories for the public. In January, Florida Power & Light Co. was denied an annual $1.3 billion rate increase. It was granted a $75.4 million increase instead. The same month, the PSC denied Progress Energys Florida branch a $500 million base rate hike and held the rates flat.
Last month, the state Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight started seeking nominations for the public counsel job. Shortly afterward, Gov. Charlie Crist wrote to the committee recommending that Kelly be reappointed. Sen. Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs, chairman of the committee, said that the decision was not a reflection of Kellys performance, nor have there been complaints from the commission or utilities. The committee was just trying to be diligent. The public counsel job is up for review every two years. The incumbent is often reappointed with little fanfare.
Kelly sat down recently with the Sunshine State News to talk about the controversial rate cases, his career and the future of his job. He also briefly discussed the controversy over ex parte communications between commission staff and utility employees. The incident undermined public trust in the PSC, he said, but he expressed confidence that an ethics reform bill making its way through the Legislature could restore public trust in the commission.
SSN: Lets start with some of the most recent cases of your career. The rate hike cases. They are widely regarded as a victory for the public. Are you satisfied with whats come out of the rate-hike cases with Progress Energy and FPL?
Kelly: Yes. Were very happy with the results. We put on what we consider to be very, very strong cases on behalf of the Florida ratepayers. And, we actually recommended, in both those cases, rate decreases. We thought, based on the evidence and the information that we reviewed from the utilities, that not only were they not due any rate increases, but we felt that their current rate should actually be decreased. Although the PSC did not grant us everything we asked for, were certainly happy they took a majority of the information and the evidence that was presented and made favorable decisions based on that evidence.
SSN: You started off as an accountant. You got a degree at Florida State University (in 1981). You worked as an accountant for a few years, correct?
Kelly: I was a tax auditor at the Florida Department of Revenue for about four years. I worked in Dallas, Texas, but I worked for the Florida Department of Revenue. And, I audited various taxes -- corporate income tax, sales and use tax, motor fuel tax and intangible taxes.
SSN: Why go to law school after those few years? (Kelly started law school in San Antonio, Texas, and graduated from Florida State University with a law degree two years later in 1988. He then worked at a Tallahassee law firm for several years before starting at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services as a senior attorney.)
Kelly: Personally, my mother and I got involved in a lawsuit dealing with commercial property. We won some issues and lost some issues, and I was not real happy with the way our law firm handled the job. And, it made me feel that I could do as good a job, or better, than these folks.
So, I gave it a lot of thought and prayed about it a lot and decided to go to law school. And, actually, it was about two years later, I applied to law school.
SSN: Did you enjoy being an auditor?
Kelly: I did for a while, because I traveled quite a bit. But, once I met my wife and we started dating, it was not very much fun anymore, because I traveled about eight months out of the year.
SSN: Tell me about your time at the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Kelly: I was in the legal office at Agriculture for about a year and a half [starting in 1991]. Then, Commissioner Bob Crawford asked me [in 1992] to consider becoming assistant director of his Division of Consumer Services.
I was assistant director for about two and a half years, then I was fortunate [in 1995] to become director.
It was during that time in Consumer Services that I sort of found my niche for consumer advocacy, where my passion for being a consumer advocate was born and I was very, very fortunate to be the director of what I consider just a wonderful, wonderful division. [Kelly later worked as Assistant General Counsel and was appointed Public Counsel to the PSC in 2007.]
SSN: In all the cases in your career, have the most recent ones been some of the biggest wins for you?
Kelly: Absolutely. What I do now is really an extension of what I did at Consumer Services. That is, Im still a consumer advocate. Its just in a different area.
If you just look at the value of money that I deal with in the Office of Public Counsel, theres no comparison as to the impact, because youre dealing with utilities that bring in billions of dollars in revenues.
SSN: When the Office of Public Council decided to take applications for your job, had you heard this was coming? Was this a result, you feel, of utilities or complaints from the commission?
Kelly: No. I have no evidence and am not aware of any utility complaining about me doing my job too well. No one has ever told me that. I was told back in December that the committee was considering opening up the process. They encouraged me and also welcomed me to reapply. They told me that this was no reflection on me and the job I was doing, but that they, the Legislature, certainly wanted to be diligent in doing their job in selecting the best candidate for public counsel.
I believe that to be me.
I still believe that today. I dont want to sound egotistical. Thats not my personality, but I still believe that Im the best person for this job. And I am very committed to remaining public counsel.
SSN: What do you think of the PSC ethics reform bill proposed by Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey?
[Kelly said he supported the ethics reform bill that would ban and punish ex parte communications between utilities and commission staff. The commission has been plagued by allegations of favoring the utilities it regulates. Late last year, media reports revealed commission staffers had given FPL employees the private PIN messaging codes of commissioners BlackBerry telephones, making secret communications possible.]
The events that occurred last year have created a black cloud, Kelly said.
