State Commissions
Gabriella Passidomo is a Commissioner for the Florida Public Service Commission.
The Florida Commissioners these days are busy, grappling with the tough subjects of utility ratemaking in the public interest, but also population growth and ensuring all those residents, old and new, have reliable utility services. Enjoy these conversations with Florida Chair Andrew Fay, and Commissioners Art Graham, Gary Clark, Mike LaRosa, and Gabriella Passidomo.
PUF's Lori Burkhart: How did your background prepare you for working at the Commission?
Commissioner Gabriella Passidomo: Prior to my appointment, I was a Staff attorney with the Commission for about two years. I had a lot of exposure to a variety of the Commission's dockets.
I started my public utility journey in law school. When I was in law school, I came here as an intern. So, I've come back to the Commission in three different roles.
I was initially exposed at that time and was fascinated by the whole process, in dealing with vital resources and industries that naturally defy market control. We are substituting traditional competition with thoughtful regulation. Previously, I never thought about what happens when you turn on a light, and the process behind it.
Commissioner Gabriella Passidomo in her office.
That got me into the process where I wanted to be in the energy space in some way. I explored the whole supply chain of the energy space. I worked in Dallas for an oil and gas exploration and production company.
I learned that was predominantly land contracts, and while I wasn't as interested in the upstream side of the market, it made me appreciate the process, from resource extraction all the way down to the end consumer.
In my third year of law school, I went to work at the Department of Energy in the Office of the General Counsel for electricity and fossil energy. I did a lot of export authorizations for LNG. To a certain extent we worked with sending and receiving electricity from Canada and Mexico, which was fascinating to learn about, but LNG exports were a big part of the job.
Becoming a Commissioner was a result of an opportunity presented. It was always a long-term goal, but to achieve it, I knew I needed to have as diverse and experienced background as I could, so I would be prepared for whatever I was presented.
The value we have as a collegiate body in Florida, is all five of us are coming in with diverse perspectives from our professional and personal lives.
Of course, we're restricted in the ways we can discuss certain topics, but broadly speaking, we can all come in and bounce ideas off each other in the hearing room and ultimately come out with the best outcome, because we have that diverse perspective.
PUF: What it was like coming in as a Commissioner during the pandemic?
Commissioner Gabriella Passidomo: While there were some challenges, overall, I was grateful because I was coming from Staff, filling former Commissioner Julie Brown's seat.
She was such a leader and a role model for me. But it's a sensitive process, the applying and coming from Staff at the Commission. Being able to come in quietly and quickly get to work on the many pending issues already before the Commission.
Of course, the pandemic posed many new issues for Commissions across the country. We were all dealing with the fallout of the economic recession caused by the pandemic.
We were dealing with how that affected consumers, temporary shutoffs, and all of that.
We were figuring out how we are going to adapt our regulatory regime. It was a challenge.
PUF: What's your take on the current state of the energy and utilities industry in Florida right now?
Commissioner Gabriella Passidomo: We have always been leaders in the utilities space when it comes to a focus on resilience. That comes from our experiences with severe weather events, which everyone across the country is now facing, and cybersecurity threats.
We're a peninsula state. Our utilities have taken a leadership role in resilience. That's the major trend we're seeing in Florida, is how do we maintain that leadership position and expand upon it?
For example, what is a good investment to underground and where is it appropriate to do so? Or are we investing enough in cybersecurity protocols? I'm proud of our state and where we stand.
PUF: How do you see the relationship between the Commission and keeping the Florida State economy going in the right direction?
Commissioner Gabriella Passidomo: Those two are incredibly integrated because utility service is vital for our businesses and ensuring that their electric, gas, and water and wastewater services are available, while disruptions are minimal.
It's critical that we have a strong grid. I've traditionally focused on the electric space, but of course, that transcends all of the industries we regulate. All of those are critical for our businesses.
We want to encourage investment in our state and for utilities to be able to provide those resources in an effective and cost-efficient manner. We're one of the fastest growing states in the union. What does that mean for load growth in certain pockets of the state? Those are the questions we ask during planning processes.
We look ahead to, where is the population going to be? Also, what type of weather can we expect and how that will affect our coastal communities.
PUF: What are some of the big issues the Florida Commission is dealing with right now?
Commissioner Gabriella Passidomo: Increased load growth, that's something we're having to deal with. We're seeing a lot of population growth, especially along our coastline. That's a vulnerable area. So, how do we ensure that the power comes back on for them just as quickly?
I'll probably reiterate that several times, but a resilient grid is absolutely critical for all Floridians, including our residents, businesses, and the overall economic future of our state.
PUF: Are you optimistic about Florida's energy future and do you have any concerns?
Commissioner Gabriella Passidomo: I'm incredibly optimistic. One of our utilities is in the process of installing one of the largest solar complexes in the world.
We're just like other states in the process of a changing resource mix. Traditionally, Florida's been reliant on natural gas imports to supply our generation fuel.
We're trying to promote more renewables in our resource mix but doing that in a methodical way, so we can ensure there's not any disruptions, for reliability considerations. We're moving in that direction toward energy independence.
PUF: What do you see as the greatest challenges and rewards of being a Commissioner?
Commissioner Gabriella Passidomo: We'll receive our Staff recommendation for a docket. Some of them are straightforward and cover things I've seen before. I do a couple read throughs for my own sake, but that's all I need to understand it.
However, regularly something comes up that poses a question of first impression. Being a utility Commissioner involves a myriad of disciplines, and I know I'll never be an expert in all of them.
However, the rewarding part is that I am surrounded by the most intelligent and knowledgeable people in this space. All I need to do is pick up the phone, and call somebody who's somewhere in this building and they will break it down to me in two sentences, in layman terms I can understand.
That's been wonderful. The institutional knowledge of the Commission Staff is unbelievable. It's gratifying that I've learned something new today. In this job, I say that almost every day. I'm grateful for that. I wouldn't have it any other way.
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