Reynolds v. Florida Public Service Commission

On December 12, 2024, six young residents of Miami-Dade County filed an amended complaint asking a Florida state court for a declaratory judgment that the Florida Public Service Commission had violated their fundamental and inalienable rights to life under the Florida Constitution “by and through its pattern and practice of determining fossil fuel-dependent 10-Year Site Plans of Florida’s electric utilities are suitable, even though such conduct results and locks in a fossil fuel-dependent electricity sector in Florida.” The plaintiffs alleged that the Commission’s conduct caused and worsened climate change impacts in Miami-Dade County, including sea level rise; heat waves and extreme heat; increasing frequency and severity of tropical storms and hurricanes; ocean heatwaves, ocean acidification, and harm to coral reefs; and increased vector-borne disease. The plaintiffs contended that renewable, non-fossil fuel-based electricity generation methods were technically available and economically feasible to deploy in Florida, but that the Commission had not considered in its long-term energy planning and suitability determinations either utilities’ own decarbonization commitments or research and white paper reports demonstrating the feasibility of renewable energy in Florida.