How to Fill Out Florida PSC Annual Report Form (w/Examples) + FAQs

The Florida PSC Annual Report is the yearly financial, operational, and customer-data filing that every utility under the Florida Public Service Commission’s jurisdiction must submit to the Commission’s Office of Auditing and Performance Analysis by March 31 for the prior calendar year. It is required by Rule 25-30.110, F.A.C. for water and wastewater utilities, and by parallel rules in Chapters 25-6 (electric), 25-7 (gas), and 25-4 (telecom) for other regulated industries.

If you miss the deadline, file an incomplete report, or use the wrong class form, the Commission can fine you under the minor violation rule list, hold up your next rate case, and report your utility as delinquent. According to the FPSC’s own enforcement orders, the daily penalty for a Class C water or wastewater utility starts at $3 per day and climbs from there for Class A and B systems, with hundreds of late-filing show-cause cases opened each decade.

Here is what this guide gives you:

📑 A line-by-line walkthrough of every schedule on the Florida PSC Annual Report Form, in plain English.
🧾 Three full named-filer scenarios covering Class A, Class B, and Class C utilities.
⏰ Exact deadlines, extensions, and the penalty math under Rule 25-30.110(7).
🛠️ A pre-filing checklist of documents, account mappings, and certifications you must gather first.
⚠️ The 10 most common field-level mistakes filers make and the direct consequences of each.

What the Florida PSC Annual Report Is and Who Must File It

The Florida PSC Annual Report is a standardized financial and operational disclosure that every utility regulated by the Florida Public Service Commission must file each year. It captures rate base, operating income, plant in service, customer counts, water-loss percentages, gallons sold, kilowatt-hours delivered, affiliated transactions, and dozens of other line items the Commission uses to monitor financial health, set rates, and audit compliance. The report mirrors the NARUC Uniform System of Accounts, which Florida adopts by reference for water, wastewater, electric, and gas utilities.

You must file if your utility was subject to FPSC jurisdiction on December 31 of the report year. That includes investor-owned water and wastewater utilities under Chapter 367, F.S., investor-owned electric utilities under Chapter 366, F.S., natural gas utilities, and certain telecommunications carriers. Municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives file a different, abbreviated version focused on territorial and reliability data, but they are not exempt.

The class of your utility determines which form you use. Water and wastewater systems are split into Class A (annual gross revenues of $1,000,000 or more), Class B ($200,000 to $999,999), and Class C (under $200,000) under the FPSC’s Water and Wastewater Annual Report page. Electric and gas utilities use the FERC Form 1 / Form 2 crosswalk supplemented by Florida-specific schedules. Telecommunications carriers file the IXC or LEC annual data request form depending on their certification.

Before You Start: Documents and Information You Need

Gather everything below before you open the Excel template. The annual report cross-references your general ledger, your tariff, and your prior-year report, so missing any one item forces you to stop and restart.

Prior-year annual report. You will tie ending balances from last year to opening balances this year. If they do not match, the Commission’s auditors will bounce the report back.
Trial balance as of December 31. Every dollar reported on Schedules F-1 through F-10 must trace to a NARUC USOA account in your trial balance.
Depreciation schedule by NARUC account. Plant additions and retirements are reported by account number, not by asset description.
Customer count by class and meter size. Schedule F-11 (water) and F-12 (wastewater) require gallons sold and customers served, broken out by residential, commercial, multi-residential, and general service.
Pumpage and treatment records. Water-loss percentage is calculated from raw pumpage versus gallons sold and must reconcile to your DEP Monthly Operating Reports.
Affiliated transaction logs. Any payment to a parent, sister, or owner-controlled company must be disclosed on the Affiliated Transactions schedule with the contract on file.
Regulatory Assessment Fee (RAF) return. The RAF is filed with the report and equals 4.5% of gross operating revenues for water and wastewater utilities under Section 367.145, F.S..
Officer and director list with compensation. You will report names, titles, and total compensation paid during the year.
Engineer’s or operator’s certification. Wastewater treatment capacity and water permitted capacity must be certified by your licensed operator.
Federal income tax return or pro forma. Schedule F-3 income tax expense ties to your federal return or to a stand-alone calculation if you are part of a consolidated group.

If you are missing even one of these, you risk filing an incomplete report, which under Rule 25-30.110(6) is treated the same as a late report after a 30-day grace period.

Where to Get the Form and How to Access It

The official forms live on the Florida PSC Annual Reports Forms page. Water and wastewater utilities download the Class A & B Annual Report Form (a single combined workbook) or the Class C Annual Report Form (a shorter workbook). Both come in Microsoft Excel and Adobe PDF formats. The Excel file is the working version; the PDF is for reference and signature pages only.

Electric and gas utilities use the FPSC-customized FERC Form 1 and Form 2 templates available through the same page, supplemented by Florida-specific reliability and conservation schedules. Telecommunications IXCs file the TC Annual Data Request issued each January by the Office of Telecommunications, generally as a Word or PDF response form.

Always confirm you are using the current revision. The FPSC posts the revision date in the lower-right corner of each schedule. For the 2025 reporting year (filed in 2026), use the form revised after January 1, 2026, because account numbers and reporting categories are updated as the NARUC USOA evolves and as Florida rules change. Filing on a stale template is one of the most common reasons reports are rejected. The form is free; there is no fee to download or to file the report itself, although the RAF and any late penalty must be paid with the filing.

If your utility has historically filed paper, you may continue to do so, but the Commission strongly prefers electronic filing through its Document Management System (DMS). DMS accepts the Excel workbook directly, which preserves formulas and lets auditors verify calculations.

Step-by-Step: How to Fill Out the Florida PSC Annual Report Line by Line

The walkthrough below follows the Class A & B Water and Wastewater Annual Report, the most comprehensive version. Class C filers can skip schedules marked (A&B only). Electric, gas, and telecom filers should map each section to the analogous FERC or TC schedule.

Cover Page – Utility Identification

The cover page asks for the utility’s exact legal name, the certificate number(s) issued by the FPSC, the report year, the class designation, the county or counties served, and the name and contact information of the person preparing the report.

Type the utility’s full legal name exactly as it appears on the water or wastewater certificate issued by the Commission. Do not abbreviate “Incorporated” to “Inc.” if the certificate spells it out.

For example, Sunshine Shores Utilities, Inc. writes its name on the cover page as it appears on Certificate No. 123-W and Certificate No. 456-S. The report year is entered as 2025 for a report due March 31, 2026.

A nuance arises if your utility changed names mid-year. You file under the current legal name, but you must add a footnote disclosing the prior name and the order approving the name change.

A common mistake is using the d/b/a (doing-business-as) name instead of the legal name. The Commission cross-references the cover page against its certificate database, and a mismatch forces a clerical correction order before the report is even reviewed.

A misconception is that the cover page is “just formatting.” In fact, it is the legal certification page once signed, and an unsigned or incorrectly identified cover page makes the entire filing invalid.

Schedule F-1 – Comparative Balance Sheet

Schedule F-1 reports total assets, total liabilities, and total equity as of December 31 of both the report year and the prior year, in side-by-side columns.

Pull the ending balances from your general ledger, mapped to NARUC USOA account numbers. Each line — Utility Plant in Service, Accumulated Depreciation, Cash, Accounts Receivable, Long-Term Debt, Common Stock, Retained Earnings — has a fixed line number on the form.

For example, Sunshine Shores Utilities enters $4,250,000 on the Utility Plant in Service line and ($1,180,000) on the Accumulated Depreciation line, producing Net Plant of $3,070,000.

If your prior-year column does not match the prior year’s filed report, you must attach a reconciliation note explaining the restatement. Auditors look first at this column comparison.

The most common mistake is plugging current-year retained earnings instead of carrying forward prior-year retained earnings plus current-year net income minus dividends; the consequence is an out-of-balance balance sheet and an automatic deficiency letter.

A misconception is that small rounding differences are acceptable. The Excel template enforces penny-level balancing, and any imbalance flags the report as incomplete.

Schedule F-2 – Comparative Operating Statement

Schedule F-2 captures revenues, operating expenses, depreciation, taxes, and net operating income for the report year and the prior year.

Enter operating revenues by service category (water sales, wastewater service, miscellaneous service revenues) and operating expenses by NARUC account group (sources of supply, pumping, treatment, transmission, customer accounts, administrative).

For example, Sunshine Shores reports $1,420,000 in water service revenues, $910,000 in wastewater service revenues, and $2,330,000 total operating revenues.

If you operate both water and wastewater, you complete two parallel columns; if you operate only one service, the unused column is left blank, not zero-filled, because zero implies you provided the service for no revenue.

A common mistake is including non-utility revenues (like sales of scrap pipe or interest income) in operating revenues. The consequence is an inflated rate base and a Commission adjustment in your next rate case.

A misconception is that purchased power for pumping belongs in administrative expenses; it does not. It goes in account 615 (Purchased Power – Water) or 715 (Purchased Power – Wastewater).

Schedule F-3 – Rate Base

Schedule F-3 calculates your utility’s rate base, the investment on which you are allowed to earn a return.

Add Utility Plant in Service, subtract Accumulated Depreciation, subtract Contributions in Aid of Construction (CIAC) net of amortization, subtract Customer Deposits, add Working Capital Allowance (typically 1/8 of O&M expenses), and add or subtract any Commission-ordered adjustments.

For example, Coastal Bay Water Co. reports $8,400,000 Plant in Service, ($2,300,000) Accumulated Depreciation, ($1,650,000) CIAC net, ($120,000) Customer Deposits, and $185,000 Working Capital, producing rate base of $4,515,000.

A nuance: CIAC must be reported net of accumulated amortization, not gross. Filers who report gross CIAC understate rate base and over-amortize the contribution.

The most common mistake is omitting Customer Advances for Construction (CAC), which must be deducted from rate base just like CIAC. The consequence is an inflated rate base that the auditor will adjust downward, sometimes triggering a refund order.

A misconception is that rate base on the annual report locks in your rate-case rate base. It does not; the rate-case proceeding uses a 13-month average and several pro forma adjustments, but the annual report number is the auditor’s starting point.

Schedule F-4 – Capital Structure

Schedule F-4 shows the components of your capital — long-term debt, short-term debt, preferred stock, common equity, customer deposits, deferred taxes, and tax credits — at year-end.

Report the principal balance and the embedded cost rate of each component. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) at the bottom drives your allowed return in the next rate case.

For example, Sunshine Shores shows $2,100,000 long-term debt at 6.25%, $1,800,000 common equity at 9.50% (the last authorized return on equity), and a WACC of 7.75%.

A nuance: if you have parent-company debt, you must disclose whether the cost rate is the parent’s actual cost or an imputed rate, because the Commission imputes parent-debt cost in rate cases.

A common mistake is reporting market value of equity instead of book value. The consequence is an artificially inflated WACC that the staff will reject.

A misconception is that customer deposits are “free money” and excluded from capital structure. They are included as zero-cost capital, which actually reduces your weighted cost.

Schedule F-5 – Plant in Service by NARUC Account

Schedule F-5 lists every plant account from the NARUC Uniform System of Accounts with beginning balance, additions, retirements, transfers, and ending balance.

Use the four-digit account numbers (e.g., 304 Structures and Improvements – Source of Supply, 311 Pumping Equipment, 320 Water Treatment Plant, 331 Transmission and Distribution Mains, 333 Services, 334 Meters).

For example, Coastal Bay enters Account 331 with a beginning balance of $3,200,000, additions of $185,000 for new mains in the Pelican Cove subdivision, retirements of ($22,000) for the abandoned 4-inch main on Heron Lane, and an ending balance of $3,363,000.

A nuance: contributed plant must be tracked in the same accounts but offset by an entry in CIAC (Account 271). Do not net contributed plant out of the gross plant accounts.

A common mistake is recording a major main replacement as 100% addition without recording the corresponding retirement. The consequence is a permanently overstated plant balance that compounds depreciation expense and inflates rate base.

A misconception is that small tools and spare parts under $1,000 belong in plant. They generally belong in inventory or expense unless the utility has a Commission-approved capitalization policy that says otherwise.

Schedule F-6 – Operating Income by Account

Schedule F-6 breaks operating expenses down to the four-digit NARUC account, by water and wastewater separately.

Enter every account that had activity. The form has built-in subtotals at the functional level (Source of Supply, Pumping, Treatment, Transmission & Distribution, Customer Accounts, Administrative & General).

For example, Account 615 Purchased Power shows $182,400, Account 618 Chemicals shows $31,200, and Account 920 Salaries – Administrative shows $96,000.

A nuance: salaries paid to an owner-operator must be reported in the appropriate functional account based on the work performed, not lumped in 920. If the owner spends 60% of time on operations, 60% of compensation goes in 618 or similar.

The most common mistake is misclassifying contract labor as outside services (account 923) when it is actually maintenance labor (account 633 or 733). The consequence is a functional-cost distortion that hurts you in benchmarking and in cost-of-service studies.

A misconception is that depreciation expense belongs in F-6. It does not — depreciation has its own line on F-2 and its own schedule (F-7).

Schedule F-7 – Depreciation and Amortization

Schedule F-7 lists each plant account, the depreciation rate, the depreciable balance, and the current-year depreciation expense.

Use the depreciation rates approved by the Commission in your last rate case or the default rates in Rule 25-30.140, F.A.C. if you have never had a rate case.

For example, Sunshine Shores applies a 2.5% rate to Account 331 Transmission Mains on a depreciable balance of $1,840,000, producing $46,000 of current-year depreciation.

A nuance: fully depreciated assets stay on the books at their original cost with offsetting accumulated depreciation; do not write them off the schedule until they are physically retired.

A common mistake is depreciating CIAC-funded plant. The consequence is double recovery — the contribution is amortized as a credit and the plant generates depreciation expense, which the auditor will catch and reverse.

A misconception is that you can “true up” depreciation by changing the rate mid-year without Commission approval. You cannot; rate changes require a depreciation study filing.

Schedule F-8 – Taxes Other Than Income

Schedule F-8 captures property taxes, gross receipts taxes, payroll taxes, the Regulatory Assessment Fee, and any other non-income taxes.

Enter each tax type on its own line with the taxing authority, the basis, and the dollar amount.

For example, Coastal Bay reports $28,500 in county property tax, $104,850 in RAF (4.5% of $2,330,000 in gross revenues), and $14,200 in payroll taxes.

A nuance: the RAF is calculated on gross operating revenues, not net, and not on miscellaneous revenues. Read Rule 25-30.120, F.A.C. for the exact base.

A common mistake is reporting RAF on a cash basis when the form requires accrual. The consequence is a mismatch between Schedule F-8 and your separately filed RAF return, which triggers an automatic audit.

A misconception is that sales tax collected from customers is “your” tax. It is a pass-through and is not reported on F-8.

Schedule F-9 – Income Taxes

Schedule F-9 reconciles book income to taxable income and reports current and deferred federal and state income taxes.

For C corporations, complete every line. For S corporations, LLCs, and sole proprietors, mark the box “Tax pass-through entity – no entity-level federal income tax” and enter zero, but still complete the deferred-tax section if you have temporary differences.

For example, Sunshine Shores Utilities, Inc. (a C corp) reports $315,000 in book pre-tax income, $48,000 in timing differences (accelerated tax depreciation), and $56,070 in current federal income tax at 21%.

A nuance: a flow-through utility still must report a hypothetical “stand-alone” tax for rate-setting purposes if the Commission has so ordered.

A common mistake is forgetting to flow the deferred tax liability through to Schedule F-1 (balance sheet) and Schedule F-3 (rate base reduction). The consequence is an inflated rate base.

A misconception is that bonus depreciation does not affect rate base. It does, through the deferred tax reserve.

Schedule F-10 – Statement of Cash Flows

Schedule F-10 shows operating, investing, and financing cash flows for the year, reconciling beginning to ending cash.

Use the indirect method: start with net income, add back depreciation and amortization, adjust for working capital changes, deduct capital expenditures, and add or subtract financing activities.

For example, Coastal Bay shows $485,000 net cash from operations, ($612,000) invested in plant additions, and $200,000 drawn on its line of credit, producing a $73,000 net increase in cash.

A nuance: CIAC received in cash is a financing activity, not an operating activity, even though the offset hits revenues over time.

A common mistake is reporting plant additions on F-10 that do not match additions on F-5. The consequence is a tie-out failure that the Excel template will flag in red.

A misconception is that this schedule is optional for small Class C utilities. Class C utilities use a simplified cash flow statement, but it is still required.

Schedule F-11 – Water Operations Statistics

Schedule F-11 reports water pumped, water sold, water lost, customer counts by class, and gallons sold by class.

Pull pumpage from your DEP-required meter records. Pull gallons sold from your billing system. Report customers by class as 12-month average, not year-end.

For example, Sunshine Shores reports 412,000,000 gallons pumped, 378,640,000 gallons sold, and water loss of 8.1%.

A nuance: the Commission flags any utility with water loss over 10% for follow-up under Rule 25-30.4325, F.A.C. and may require a leak-detection study.

A common mistake is reporting gallons sold from the customer meter total without accounting for unmetered uses (flushing, fire flow). The consequence is overstated water loss.

A misconception is that water loss includes all unbilled water. The form distinguishes apparent losses (meter inaccuracy, theft) from real losses (leaks).

Schedule F-12 – Wastewater Operations Statistics

Schedule F-12 reports treated wastewater flow, permitted capacity, customer counts, and reuse data.

Enter the average daily flow, the peak month flow, the permitted capacity from your DEP operating permit, and the percent of capacity used.

For example, Coastal Bay Wastewater reports 0.485 MGD average daily flow against a 0.750 MGD permitted capacity, or 64.7% utilization.

A nuance: utilities at or above 80% of permitted capacity must address expansion in the report’s narrative. This is a flag under DEP capacity analysis rules.

A common mistake is reporting the design capacity instead of the permitted capacity. They are not always the same; the permit number controls.

A misconception is that reuse water is not reported on the annual report because it is “not waste.” It is reported and counts toward conservation credits.

Affiliated Transactions Schedule

This schedule discloses every transaction between the utility and any affiliate, parent, subsidiary, or owner-controlled entity.

List the affiliate name, the relationship, the type of transaction (services, lease, loan, allocation), the amount, and the basis for pricing (cost, market, allocation formula).

For example, Sunshine Shores discloses $72,000 paid to Sunshine Holdings, LLC (parent) for shared accounting services, billed at fully loaded cost per a written shared-services agreement dated 01/01/2023.

A nuance: even reimbursements at cost must be disclosed. Silence is not acceptable, and “none” must be affirmatively stated if there were no transactions.

A common mistake is omitting owner-paid expenses run through the utility’s checkbook (e.g., the owner’s personal cell phone). The consequence is a disallowance and possible imputation in the next rate case.

A misconception is that cost-based allocations are automatically reasonable. The Commission can still find the underlying cost itself unreasonable.

Officers, Directors, and Compensation Schedule

This schedule lists each officer and director with title, hours worked, and total compensation (salary, bonus, benefits, deferred comp).

For example, Coastal Bay lists Maria Lopez, President, working 2,080 hours, with total compensation of $118,500.

A nuance: if an officer also serves as a paid employee in an operational role, split the compensation between this schedule and the operating expense accounts.

A common mistake is reporting only base salary. The consequence is an understatement that, when discovered, becomes evidence of inadequate disclosure.

A misconception is that director-only compensation (no officer role) does not need to be reported. It does.

Certification and Signature Page

The final page is the sworn certification, signed by an officer of the utility under penalty of perjury, and notarized.

Sign in blue ink (for paper filings) or e-sign through DocuSign or Adobe Sign for electronic filings. The notary block must be completed in full.

For example, Maria Lopez, President of Coastal Bay Water Co., signs and dates the certification 03/15/2026 and the notary affixes seal and commission expiration.

A nuance: a CFO or controller can sign only if specifically authorized in the corporate resolutions on file with the Commission.

A common mistake is filing without notarization. The consequence is rejection of the entire report.

A misconception is that the auditor or CPA can sign. They cannot; only an officer of the utility can certify.

Three Filled-Out Examples Using Real Scenarios

Scenario 1: Maria Lopez, Class A Utility (Coastal Bay Water Co.)

Form Section	What Maria Enters
Cover Page – Utility Name	Coastal Bay Water Company, Inc., Certificate No. 289-W
Class Designation	Class A (gross revenues $2.33M)
Schedule F-1 – Net Plant	$6,100,000
Schedule F-2 – Operating Revenues	$2,330,000
Schedule F-3 – Rate Base	$4,515,000
Schedule F-5 – Plant Additions	$612,000 (new mains, replacement meters)
Schedule F-8 – RAF	$104,850
Schedule F-11 – Water Loss	7.4%
Affiliated Transactions	$72,000 paid to Coastal Holdings, LLC
Certification	Signed 03/15/2026, notarized

Scenario 2: James Carter, Class B Utility (Pinewood Wastewater Services)

Form Section	What James Enters
Cover Page – Utility Name	Pinewood Wastewater Services, LLC, Certificate No. 412-S
Class Designation	Class B (gross revenues $640,000)
Schedule F-1 – Net Plant	$2,250,000
Schedule F-2 – Operating Revenues	$640,000
Schedule F-3 – Rate Base	$1,180,000
Schedule F-6 – Largest Expense (Purchased Power 715)	$84,000
Schedule F-8 – RAF	$28,800
Schedule F-12 – Capacity Utilization	68% of permitted 0.300 MGD
Officers and Compensation	James Carter, Manager, $92,000
Certification	Signed 03/29/2026, notarized

Scenario 3: Aisha Bennett, Class C Utility (Magnolia Springs Water)

Form Section	What Aisha Enters
Cover Page – Utility Name	Magnolia Springs Water, Inc., Certificate No. 635-W
Class Designation	Class C (gross revenues $148,000)
Schedule F-1 – Net Plant	$410,000
Schedule F-2 – Operating Revenues	$148,000
Schedule F-3 – Rate Base	$285,000
Schedule F-5 – Plant Additions	$8,400 (replacement pump)
Schedule F-8 – RAF	$6,660
Schedule F-11 – Customers Served (12-mo avg)	312 residential, 6 commercial
Affiliated Transactions	None
Certification	Signed 03/22/2026, notarized

How to File the Completed Form

The FPSC accepts the annual report through three channels. Pick the one that fits your operation, but keep proof of filing in every case.

Electronic filing through DMS. Upload the completed Excel workbook and a signed PDF of the certification page to the Florida PSC Document Management System. There is no filing fee, and you receive an automated acknowledgment with a docket number within minutes. Processing review begins within 30 days. Save the acknowledgment email as your proof of filing.

Mail. Send two paper copies plus a CD or USB drive with the Excel file to: Office of Commission Clerk, Florida Public Service Commission, 2540 Shumard Oak Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0850. There is no fee for the report itself. Use certified mail with return receipt — the postmark is the official filing date. Allow 30 to 45 days for processing.

Hand delivery. Bring the same package to the Office of Commission Clerk at the Tallahassee address above during business hours. Get a date-stamped receipt at the counter. This is rarely used outside of last-minute deadline filings.

The Regulatory Assessment Fee return and payment are filed simultaneously. RAF can be paid by check (made out to Florida Public Service Commission) or by ACH through the Commission’s online payment portal. Late RAF payments accrue interest under Section 367.145, F.S..

If you need an extension, file a written request before March 31 explaining the reason. One automatic 30-day extension is granted on request. Longer extensions require a showing of good cause and typically a Commission order.

What Happens After You File

Within 30 days, an analyst in the Office of Auditing and Performance Analysis screens the report for completeness and arithmetic accuracy. If anything is missing or out of balance, you receive a deficiency letter with a 30-day cure window. Failure to cure converts the report to delinquent status under Rule 25-30.110(6).

Cleared reports go into the Commission’s public document library and become discoverable evidence in any future rate case, complaint proceeding, or transfer of certificate. Class A utilities are subject to periodic on-site audits, sometimes triggered by trends spotted in successive annual reports, such as rising water loss or shrinking margins.

If your report shows financial distress (negative equity, going-concern issues, or operating losses for two consecutive years), Commission staff may open an informal investigation under Section 367.121, F.S., which can lead to overearnings reviews, mandated rate cases, or in extreme cases, receivership.

Your report data also feeds the Commission’s annual Comparative Rate Statistics publication, which benchmarks every regulated water and wastewater utility on rates, costs, and service quality. Your numbers are public; protective treatment is granted only for narrowly defined trade secret items.

Mistakes to Avoid When Filling Out the Form

Filing the wrong class form. A Class B utility that crosses $1M in revenues must switch to Class A; using the old form forces a refile and can delay processing 60+ days.
Stale form revision. Using last year’s template misses updated NARUC accounts and produces tie-out errors.
Mismatched prior-year balances. Ending balances from last year’s filed report must equal opening balances on this year’s; otherwise the auditor opens a reconciliation file.
Misclassified contributed plant. Recording CIAC-funded mains as utility-funded inflates rate base and triggers an automatic adjustment.
Omitted affiliated transactions. Even at-cost allocations to a parent must be disclosed; omission has been a basis for show-cause orders.
Wrong RAF base. Calculating RAF on net instead of gross revenues understates the fee and produces an interest assessment.
Unsigned or unnotarized certification. The Commission rejects the entire report; the late clock runs while you scramble for a notary.
Water loss over 10% with no narrative. The form requires explanation; silence triggers a Rule 25-30.4325 follow-up letter.
Owner compensation buried in administrative. If the owner does operations, the salary must be allocated functionally, or the auditor will reallocate it adversely.
Failing to retire replaced plant. Adding new mains without removing the old produces double-counting that compounds for years.
Reporting design capacity instead of permitted capacity. The DEP permit number controls; design figures are auditor red flags.
Late filing with no extension request. The $3-per-day Class C penalty (and higher for A and B) starts April 1 automatically.

Do’s and Don’ts

Do’s

Do download a fresh copy of the form every January; the FPSC Annual Reports Forms page updates the template each year.
Do reconcile your trial balance to NARUC accounts before opening the workbook; this saves days of rework.
Do file electronically through DMS; the acknowledgment is your best proof of timely filing.
Do request the automatic 30-day extension in writing if you need more time; it is granted on request and protects you from the daily penalty.
Do keep a PDF snapshot of the filed Excel file; the Commission’s copy is authoritative, but yours is your audit trail.
Do disclose every affiliated transaction, even if it nets to zero; the Commission rewards transparency and punishes silence.

Don’ts

Don’t co-mingle non-utility activities (rental real estate, equipment sales) with utility operations on F-2.
Don’t depreciate CIAC-funded plant; it leads to double recovery and inevitable adjustment.
Don’t sign the certification without re-running the Excel template’s tie-out checks; a single broken formula invalidates the certification.
Don’t ignore the deficiency letter; the 30-day cure window is your only buffer before delinquency.
Don’t use the d/b/a name on the cover page; the certificate name is what the Commission’s database expects.
Don’t pay RAF separately late; coordinate the report and RAF together to avoid two penalty streams.

Pros and Cons of Filing on Your Own vs. With Help

Pros of Filing on Your Own

No CPA fee — small Class C utilities save $2,000 to $5,000 a year.
Full control over disclosures and footnotes.
Direct knowledge of the operation makes some narrative sections faster to draft.
Faster turnaround during deficiency cures because you know your books.
Builds internal expertise that helps in rate cases.

Cons of Filing on Your Own

Higher error rate, especially on rate-base mechanics and deferred taxes.
Time cost — a Class A report can take 80 to 120 hours.
No second set of eyes on affiliated-transaction disclosures, which is a high-risk area.
Risk of stale-form errors if you do not closely track FPSC updates.
No professional liability insurance behind the certification if errors are later challenged.

FAQs

Is the Florida PSC Annual Report due March 31 every year?

Yes. Under Rule 25-30.110, F.A.C., reports for the prior calendar year are due March 31 of the following year, with one automatic 30-day extension on written request.

Are municipal water utilities required to file?

No. Municipal water and wastewater utilities are not under FPSC economic jurisdiction, but municipal electric and gas utilities file an abbreviated reliability and territorial report.

Is there a filing fee for the annual report itself?

No. The report has no filing fee, but the simultaneously due Regulatory Assessment Fee (4.5% of gross revenues for water/wastewater) must be paid with the filing.

Do I write my Class designation based on this year’s revenues or last year’s?

Yes — use revenues for the report year being filed, not the prior year, because class is determined by the year you are reporting on.

Should I enter zero or leave blank for services I do not provide?

No to zero. Leave blank, because zero implies you provided the service without revenue.

Do I report contract operator fees in account 920?

No. Contract operator fees go in functional accounts (618 or 718 for treatment, 633 or 733 for maintenance) based on the work performed.

Is CIAC reported gross or net of amortization on Schedule F-3?

No to gross. Report CIAC net of accumulated amortization; gross reporting overstates the rate-base reduction temporarily and creates a permanent timing error.

Are owner-operator salaries reported as officer compensation only?

No. Allocate the operational portion to functional expense accounts and only the executive portion to officer compensation.

Can I e-file through DMS without a paper backup?

Yes. Electronic filing through the Document Management System is the preferred channel and no paper backup is required.

Is bonus depreciation reported the same as book depreciation?

No. Book depreciation goes on F-7; bonus depreciation creates a deferred tax timing difference reported on F-9 and reduces rate base on F-3.

Are S corporations exempt from Schedule F-9?

No. Pass-through entities still complete the deferred-tax portion of F-9 and may need a stand-alone tax computation if ordered.

Does water loss above 10% automatically trigger a penalty?

No. It triggers a follow-up under Rule 25-30.4325, F.A.C., which can require a leak-detection study but is not itself a penalty.

Can my CPA sign the certification?

No. Only an officer of the utility, authorized by corporate resolution on file with the Commission, can sign the sworn certification.

Is the report public once filed?

Yes. Filed annual reports are public records and are posted to the FPSC document library, except for narrowly granted trade-secret protections.

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