How a Florida Power Project Flew Under the Regulatory Radar

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As Florida Power & Light described it, the plan seemed sound: a 176-mile transmission line allowing the utility to better handle peak electricity demand.

Such projects can take a decade to get from proposal to completion. This one was different. The company cut the time to about two years, seemingly a promising sign in the push to strengthen America’s energy infrastructure to distribute more solar and wind power and help wean the nation from fossil fuels.

What’s more, according to expert testimony presented by the utility, the line would reduce the need for new power plants — and ultimately provide $1.5 billion in savings — by connecting two parts of a recently merged operation.

But to others, the effort was a sly end run that avoided consideration of whether the project was needed at all. Ratepayers will be billed hundreds of millions of dollars for a project that state utility regulators never reviewed. Without the review, homeowners whose land was needed could not mount much of a fight.