Important bipartisan legislation to protect seniors and better prepare Florida for the next major weather event is currently advancing in Tallahassee.

Sponsored by State Sen. Joe Gruters and State Rep. Randy Fine, HB 797 and SB 796 promotes the transparent, affordable, and long-term planning of reliable power delivery.

Since 1992, 60 Plus has advocated for seniors across America with over 5 million nationally and 800,000 in Florida. We believe a stronger and more resilient electric grid is of critical importance to Florida seniors.

Floridians are all too aware of the dangers associated with extreme weather events, having endured three major hurricanes over the past three years.

Efforts to harden and increase the resiliency of Florida’s grid against severe weather are critical to improving power restoration efforts and saving lives.

Florida seniors are among our state’s most vulnerable to the impacts of hurricanes and other major storms.

Seniors depend on speedy power restoration after outages occur, particularly in the hot summer and fall months.

While great strides have been made to protect nursing homes’ power supplies following storms, this legislation broadens systematic hardening to encompass to neighborhoods across the state.

It is not a question of if, but when the next major storm will come. However, the threat it represents and the outages it will cause can be significantly mitigated with the implementation of this proactive plan.

Hardening efforts make a difference. Consider outages and restoration times between 2005 and 2017. Hurricane Wilma knocked out power to roughly one-third of the state, while Hurricane Irma caused nearly two-thirds of the state to lose power. However, power was restored twice as quickly following Irma compared to Wilma.

Additionally, the long-term savings will be significant. As with everything in life, planning and investment up front saves money in the long-run. In this instance, that means fewer outages and faster restoration times thanks to a hardened and more resilient electric grid. These benefits protect seniors’ health and allow working seniors, who are more likely to have hourly employment, to get back to work and collect the paychecks they need to live.

Storm hardening and resiliency measures come in many forms, like the undergrounding of certain power lines. However, undergrounding currently only occurs in the affluent communities that can afford it.

This legislation allows seniors in every community to benefit from undergrounding or any other storm hardening measure deemed appropriate for their area.

Lastly, this legislation improves transparency for seniors and consumers. By having the storm recovery cost separate from base rates, customers can clearly see what they are paying for. The storm recovery clause is subject to a more focused analysis than the base rates on our utility bills.

While base rates are evaluated by the Public Service Commission every four years, these storm protection recovery costs would be subject to an annual review. If the rates are unacceptable, they can be challenged and rejected.

Rates for Florida seniors are already among the lowest in the country, thanks to the PSC’s efforts to hold utilities accountable. Under this bill, rates will remain affordable and strong consumer protections will stay in place.

Florida’s vulnerability to severe weather necessitates action to harden the grid and improve its resilience. Acting now to reduce outage times after storms or even prevent them outright is something all seniors can support.