Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest utility, is seeking a four-year increase in customer base rates by around $9 billion.
Base rates are a key component of your electricity bill, including other charges such as hurricane repairs and fuel. Over that $9 billion, the company could also add hiking of solar and battery facilities to build over the period.
As part of a request filed with state regulators on Friday, the company is seeking shareholder return ratios at a midpoint of 11.9%, well above the national average. And public advocates appointed to Congress last year, higher than the profit margins Tampa Electric wanted, have been called “bad” and “shattered” by their clients.
“As opposed to find a fair balance between customer needs and their own operations, FPL chose to prioritize profit margins,” said Zayne Smith, senior director of advocacy at AARP Florida, who represents residents over 50.
Florida Power & Light serves approximately 12 million people in the state, including Manatee County. As the largest utility in Florida, as well as in the nation, it is an influential player in pursuing policies that often follow, by other companies such as Duke Energy and Tampa Electric.
Armando Pimentel, president and CEO of Florida Power & Light, said in a statement Friday that the request for a rate hike is necessary and responsible.
“The balanced plan we submitted to (Florida Public Services Commission) will allow FPL to continue to wisely invest in the grid and new generation of resources to benefit its clients and promote it to a rapidly growing state,” he said. “No other Utilities in the US offer a better combination of reliability, resilience and low invoices than FPL.”
Under the company’s proposal, typical residential customers will pay around $12 per month for the base fee next year. The fees will then continue to increase every year for four years. So, in 2027, monthly hikes rose to around $19, bringing hundreds more each year.
The filing on Friday did not include monthly estimates for the 2028 and 2029 bills.
These increases do not include other power invoices that may fluctuate, such as how Florida Power & Light customers will pay a monthly fee of around $12 per month on this year’s bill for costs associated with the 2024 hurricane.
“Families don’t need to decide whether to turn on A/C and whether to provide groceries for the month,” said Brooke Ward, senior organizer at Food & Water Watch, Environmental Group, in a statement. “The Government of Desantis Public Service Commission must oppose this terrible question.”
The application on Friday is one step of what is likely to be a one-year process for the case to be evaluated by the Public Service Commission’s regulator. These regulators were all appointed by the governor and just approved hiking at base rates of Tampa Electric and Duke Energy last year.
The Florida Power & Light rate case comes when the Public Service Commission is under the microscope of other prominent conservatives. Last year, Carlos Muniz, the Supreme Court judge of the Florida Supreme Court, called the committee a “black box.”
Additionally, Sen. Don Gates, a well-known state Republican lawmaker, has introduced a bill that dramatically curtails the utility’s ability to demand profit margins like Florida’s Power & Wright pitches. Gaetz said company executives already met with him and opposed the bill.
