5. Most Important Issues that Confronted the FPL Group, Inc. in 1994.
The most important issues facing the FPL Group in May 1994 are the interrelated concerns
of potential competition resulting from industry deregulation and reexamining a high
dividend payout ratio. The advent of retail wheeling threatens to reshape the entire electric
utilities industry. The Florida Public Service Commission is not considering a retail wheeling
proposal currently, but the general trend in the industry is towards increased competition,
and the implementation of such a proposal would expose FPL to numerous competitors and
potential losses. The implementation of retail wheeling in California had a severe adverse
effect on the three major utilities in that state. The necessity of competing with rival utilities
must be a primary concern of FPL given the changing landscape of the industry. FPL needs
to ensure that it has the ability to meet the challenge of competition from both in state and
out of state providers.