Oct. 10--Gov. Charlie Crist makes a good argument for delaying a critical Public Service Commission vote on Florida Power & Light Co.'s requested rate increase.

Two new members are slated to join the regulatory body in January, so it's best that FPL's rate increase be decided by five members who would then be accountable for their decision. It would be a mistake to take up ballots on this issue at a moment in which two of the five seats on the dais would include a lame duck plus a vacancy or a temp, depending on whether a replacement for Commissioner Katrina McMurrian, who resigned Monday, is put in that seat.

It's best the FPL decision, now scheduled for December, is put off until a slate of five permanent commissioners are in place, and up to speed. The vote on the rate hike is simply too important to rush, or even to leave to be carried out in an atmosphere where the PSC's credibility has been called into question.

That said, it's unacceptable that there is once again a cloud of distrust hovering over the PSC.

The Tallahassee-based group is charged with regulating some of the most widespread and critical consumer services, electricity, telecommunications and water utilities. These are the basic building blocks for progress in any modern, competitive society, and it's crucial that Floridians trust that the PSC is supervising the companies producing our power and managing our networks in a fair and impartial way.

Allegations or suspicion of improper contacts and communications between utility officials and PSC members and staffers once again damage the regulatory agency's claim to neutrality. That's bad enough, but it's even worse that these types of disclosures and ensuing scrutiny surface every few years.

And they will continue to do so until the PSC as an institution is upgraded to more of an administrative law panel with a much higher ethics and performance threshold. It's not enough just to keep rotating faces on the dais.

Delaying the FPL vote might win short-term public confidence, but doing so alone won't ensure Floridians' long-term trust in the PSC.

BOTTOM LINE: PSC needs change, not just new faces.

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