2010: Carter ousted as chairman of scandal-plagued Florida Public Service Commission

Back in 2009, Matthew Carter, II was denied reappointment to the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) amid reported suspicions that the agency was inappropriately close to the private utility companies that it had a duty to regulate.

Carter, who was the sitting PSC chairman at the time and was seeking another term, had issued a press release weeks earlier saying he took “great offense” at the suggestion that he and the other commissioners were “too cozy with regulated industries, [Florida Power & Light Co.] in particular.”

Gov. Charlie Crist announced his candidate to replace Carter in the $130,000 salary PSC seat on October 1, 2009. The decision went into effect at the end of Carter's term in January 2010. The Tampa Tribune reported that:

According to an investigation by The Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times, Carter's chief adviser called three Florida Power & Light Co. executives 107 times between February and August. Carter has said he knew nothing about the calls and surmised they were either personal or procedural.

The commission is considering FPL's request for a $1.3 billion rate increase, but a decision isn't expected until early January, shortly after the new members are due to take office. The panel is expected to decide a $500 million rate increase sought by Progress Energy Florida in December.

Carter's chief adviser, William Garner and Roberta Bass, an aide to Commissioner Lisa Edgar, were placed on administrative leave more than three weeks ago pending an investigation of reports Garner had given FPL the private code for instant messaging from his smartphone and Bass had done so for Edgar's smartphone.

The instant messaging codes potentially allowed utility officials to communicate directly with commissioners outside public view.

Brad Ashwell, a consumer advocate who worked for the Florida Public Interest Research Group, said he welcomed the replacement of Carter and Commissioner Katrina McMurrian.

“We commend Gov. Crist for taking steps to restore the public's confidence in the PSC,” he said. “Due to recent events, many feel that commissioners are in bed with the utilities they regulate and that the lure of post commission employment guides their decisions.”

When a reporter asked Carter for a comment on his ouster, he said: “You know these things happen. It’s a political season, political things happen during the political season.”

The Leon County State Attorney and Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted a joint investigation into the PSC that didn’t result in any criminal charges. The two aides who had been placed on administrative leave were permitted to come back to work.