As if we’re not being squeezed enough, Florida Power and Light wants to increase its base power rate by $1 billion next year and an additional billion dollars the following year.

And they want to do so without having to reveal how much money its top executives are raking in.

And this is a violation of state law, according to Nancy Argenziano, who sits on the Public Service Commission, the regulatory agency that needs to approve the rate hike.

But she is the lone voice of reason on the commission.

"The statute says compensation shall not be exempt from public record," she told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

"To me, it's cut and dry. I know how to read statutes; I used to write them...This is something that should take 10 minutes to figure out."

The statute allows FPL to keep certain information private but not salaries, Argenziano said.

First Amendment Foundation President Barbara Petersen also has written a letter to the commission asking them to abide by state law.

Argenziano wants to disclose the salaries of any executive who makes more than $165,000 a year.

Some FPL salaries have been publicly disclosed through the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the $11.5 million FPL Group Chairman Lew Hay makes and the $3.6 million FPL President Armando Olivera makes in a year.

Last month, FPL reported that its net profit shot up 77 percent in the second quarter to $370 million from $209 million the year before.

But it insists that it still needs to increase rates by 30 percent to every household in order to make a “fair profit.”

FPL refuses to reveal the salaries because it believes that would drive up compensation costs and, in turn, drive up consumer rates.

But that is exactly why we want them to release these figures.

