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Gulf Power’s Surcharge Goes In Effect Today To Pay For Hurricane Michael Restoration
July 1, 2019
Gulf Power’s storm charge to pay for Hurricane Michael restoration goes into effect today, July 1.
The surcharge is $8 a month for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month of electricity, which the company said would still make the average customer’s bill lower than January 2018. Commercial and industrial customers will see bills increase by 3 to 8 percent depending on their rate plan.
The increase will continue for five years.
“Hurricane Michael was the most destructive hurricane this region has ever seen, causing devastation that many in northwest Florida continue to recover from. We understand that restoring power following a major storm is a critical first step for the communities and customers that we serve,” said Marlene Santos, Gulf Power president, said in May when the Florida Public Service Commission improved the charge.
Gulf Power maintains a storm-recovery reserve to help offset expenses incurred after damages from storms like Hurricane Michael. For any expenses not covered by the storm-recovery reserve, Gulf Power must make a request before the FPSC.
When restoring power and hope to storm-devastated communities like those seen in the wake of Hurricane Michael, the energy provider incurs all of the upfront costs of power restoration and rebuilding, including out-of-town crews, plus their housing, meals and transportation, security and more. Costs also include fuel for trucks, tree trimming, poles, transformers and power lines and many other materials.
Gulf Power crews continue to reconnect customers as they have their homes and businesses repaired and work to return the company’s smart grid back to pre-storm reliability.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
29 Responses to “Gulf Power’s Surcharge Goes In Effect Today To Pay For Hurricane Michael Restoration”
You just think your made now. Wait until they trick you into paying for a scrubber that will never run lol
If we PAY for the equipment, THEN WE OWN IT! BOTTOM LINE!!!! Ask the US COURTS!!!!
So tell me when the surchage for Ivan was placed on the bills and when it went away…..WE DINT GET CHARGED ONE FOLKS!!!!!
After Ivan, there was a storm surcharge that ended. After the recovery of storm costs (for Hurr Michael), this storm surcharge will end. Some commenters are confusing surcharges with “base rate” increases which occurred in 2003, 2012, 2014, 2017. Next, customers don’t own any of the assets of Gulf Power. Gulf Power owns the assets of Gulf Power – period.
Lol. A “rate increase” that was removed after a predetermined reimbursement sounds like a “surcharge” to me.
>>Gulf Power is now owned by Florida power & light
Sort of. NextEra Energy owns Florida Power & Light, and NextEra now owns Gulf Power.
alwasys a chhuckle..>WRONG…A rate INCREASE after ivan was just that A RATE INCREASE. this is no rate increase but a surcharge added on. How did Ivan wreck so much and it cost 50 mill but walton co damage needed 400 mill? One was a RATE INCREASE ONE IS A SURCHARGE. one ends, the other didnt. One we OWN THE EQUIPMENT, with a rate increase it was gulf powers equipment…Thsi aint no rate increase.
Isn’t it $8 per Month for each 1000 kwh ? what makes
a kwh ? How much are we currently paying ( all charges )
per kwh ? How many kwh’s do each of us use per month?
Unfortunately , many pay little attention to reducing usage
and not being wasteful of electricity. Leaving lights and fans
on when not ITR ( in the room). Turn down the thermostat on
the water heater. Use led lighting if can. Adjust the a/c temperature
up a bit. We can at least educate ourselves and be mindful
and grateful for wonderous electricity to our home and lives.
Without Electricity I’d be looking @ maybe Montana instead
of mid-Escambia county and there’d probably be 19 million other
Floridians doing likewise !
MR. REALITY: You are incorrect–on March 1, 2005 PSC approved a residential rate increase for Gulf Power to recoup $50 million after Hurricane Ivan. This charge was assessed to residential customers.
Gulf Power is now owned by Florida power & light and some crap not Southern Company like it used to be. They are from south fla so you would think they would have this down pat… but no they just want to screwover the customers.
Rufus, NO SIR. There was NO SURCHARGE added after Ivan as gulf power aws worried if we pay them for the lines then the customers own the lines….
Just wait until they build the CT’s and 99% of the employees are out of a job. On the low end, that’s 130 employees at the plant making 100,000 a year that will never be spent in the local economy ever again. Not to mention those employees do a lot of volunteer work with the youth of the community on their own dime that they’ll never be able to afford to do again. But we are much better with nextera leading us smh.
Yeah, I saw Trump stir up the hurricane with his powers and his own two hands.
Trump is giving china money? Where did that come from?
President Trump has done more for America than the last 5 presidents combined.
Thank you gulf power for your very poor planning. You should have money set aside for these things that happen on a regular basis.
Who do you think paid for rebuilding all of our power infrastructure after Ivan and Dennis came through? Hint: it was those people over in Panama City and points east who Michael whacked. So stingy and mean spirited. Do you not remember that far back? What’s the matter with some of you people?
I always enjoy reading the comment sections on NorthEscambia. LOL
FEMA should pay?!? WHO DO YOU THINK FEMA IS FUNDED BY?!
None of us out here in the Styx would have power, telephone, TV, etc. if the gubbamint didn’t force the utilities to put that infrastructure in at great expense. Maybe the city dwellers are mad about having to subsidize the services we receive.
And re-elect trump if you’re happy with him giving everything away to the Chinese and North Korea at OUR expense.
Never thought I’d see the day when good country people fell in love with a con-man grifter from New York City…
Why are we having power intermittently off today in BARRINEAU PARK..at least 3 times on Monday July 1st..thank goodness we have a built in generation..before they raise our rates,GULF POWER needs to provide services to those they are already paying customers.
Screw gulf power and this Monopoly they’ve got. Why can’t we have competition for better prices? We pay waaaaay more than so many other states for the same services
So what happens from the next storm? Another fee? UNrEAL. So if walmart loses money at one store they raise the rates at all the other stores. THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL. The PSC is a joke and should be abolished. They serve no other purpose than to be the “people” we got to blame this on. You’re welcome Walton Co………BUT THIS MEAN WE OWN THE EQUIPMENT!!!!! So we want some competition in here to use OUR LINES!!!!!
northend resident on July 1st, 2019 12:13 pm
This is so just wrong….making Escambia County residents pay for services they didn’t actually receive. For me, that means $8 x 12 months x 5 years, I’ll be paying for just that one particular hurricane, out of my pocket, $480, not counting any future hurricane’s that might impact Florida.
I don’t understand why this expense isn’t being reimbursed by FEMA or billed to the counties that received the services for this particular hurricane?
May be wrong…don’t think this surcharge is for Escambia County residents only…I think the charge is for all county’s that are under the new umbrella of service.
I’ll probably be dead by the time this goes out, baring no more hurricanes hit. I feel for the people but don’t think we should be the ones to pay. Take some of that money you’re sending to the border to take care of illegals that are coming her illegally. Time for us to open our eyes. Build the wall, elec Trump again.
Thankful when they do come for us all, under the same circumstances, however, what I do not understand is why this is being imposed on us, locally. FEMA has awarded such things as https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2019/05/02/fema-awards-gulf-coast-electric-316-million-hurricane-michael-expenses, and I’m curious as to what has already been awarded Gulf Power, or if the request has been submitted.
Welcome to socialism.
This is so just wrong….making Escambia County residents pay for services they didn’t actually receive. For me, that means $8 x 12 months x 5 years, I’ll be paying for just that one particular hurricane, out of my pocket, $480, not counting any future hurricane’s that might impact Florida.
I don’t understand why this expense isn’t being reimbursed by FEMA or billed to the counties that received the services for this particular hurricane?
I Understand Gulf Power Needing Sure Charge But A Couple Week’s Ago They Gave Away A Million Dollar’s In Grant’s
This surcharge will only last for 5 years? What about all of the hurricanes that will come in during the next 5 years?
Three guesses….
The first two are bonus. They don’t count.
I love to see all of those trucks,after a disaster. Hurricane Ivan hit here in Pensacola,we were without power for weeks,we cheered and yelled,hollered,put our spatulas to our pots and pans to welcome them when they came,we were like Thanks the Cavalry has arrived, Thanks Gulf Power.
Will it last forever?