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FPL Rates: We Took Our Questions All The Way To CEO
March 28, 2022
[NorthEscambia.com EXCLUSIVE] – With rising local concern over electric bills, we took our questions all the way to the top.
In an exclusive interview, Florida Power & Light Chairman and CEO Eric Silagy told NorthEscambia.com where the company stands amid mounting backlash.
“We’re working really hard to have bills that are below the national average, which they are today,” Silagy said. “But even getting them even lower as well as obviously reliable and clean energy. The way you do that is you invest in technology that pays off day in and day out.”
The CEO said rising costs across the board have impacted FPL and, in turn, local customers.
“Unfortunately, as we’ve seen, gas prices are up whether it’s natural gas, or gasoline at the pump for a variety of reasons, including, of course unfortunately, what’s happening in the Ukraine. And while we can’t control that, we’re trying to figure out ways to burn less of it so we don’t have to buy as much of it and that helps with customers’ bills,” he said. “We understand it’s a tough time right now. Gasoline’s up, food prices are up, medical is up, housing is up. You know, inflation across the country and the world is up. So we’re committed to doing everything we can to make sure customers have affordable, reliable and clean energy as well.
“Future generations deserve that. I’m very very proud of what we’ve already done in the three years we’ve been here. We’ve invested two and a half billion dollars in Northwest Florida. Some of the things we’ve done as an example, as at the old Plant Crist, we tore down the coal. We built very fuel efficient natural gas. The air quality is now 30% better than it was just last year. We’re reducing the amount of water we use and at the same time, we’re actually improving reliability. So reliability has actually improved 58%.
“My goal is to continue on that march. It’s not a sprint; none of this happens overnight. We all know investing in infrastructure can take some time,” Silagy continued. “But if you do it, you do it wisely, then generations will benefit and that to me, is what the duty and the responsibility is for all of us is to do the right thing not just for today.”
Last week, FPL dedicated the Cotton Creek Solar Energy Center in North Escambia. For more information and photos, click here.
Pictured: Florida Power & Light Chairman and CEO Eric Silagy during the opening of the Cotton Creek Solar Energy Center in North Escambia. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
42 Responses to “FPL Rates: We Took Our Questions All The Way To CEO”
Hmmmm. This is all very interesting. My bill has gone up also. In the past month, my spouse had a several weeks stay in the hospital and a rehab facility. Since no one would be home, I turned both thermostats to the OFF setting. I came home one day to find my heat pump compressor running. I checked both thermostats to see if they were on the OFF setting. They were. I wondered how my compressor was running when it was supposed to be OFF……and who turned it on. Maybe I’m missing something here, but it was strange to me.
change of a name : GP to FPL : and the thievery begins – not rocket science . Who let them get here ?
He’s lying through his teeth. NWFL rates are 30% higher than south Florida’s. His executives are raking in tens of millions of dollars a year. FPL’s ROE is at the maximum legal limit, nearly double the S&P 500 and major energy indexes. He’s running a legal racket and profiteering off the backs of the working class.
With $500,000 homes and $4 gas…. the days of ’single family homes’ is over. The government forces us to adapt and live more efficiently with 3 families per household and 1 car.
Amazing how the one industry that creates the highest paying jobs and provides a future for its employees is always the industry that is attacked by the mainstream press which happens to be oil and power companies. How long did it take FPL and other “evil power companies” to get us back up and running after Sally? Within a week. Think of how many damaged poles and lines tangled up in down tree limbs and yet they got us back up to normal within a week.
Its funny none of this mess was going on with Gulf Power…
Called to ask why my meter readings are not matching with what they show.
In short, the most nasty condescending remarks from the lady tells the story.
Turned my last spreadsheet with matching pictures over to Levins firm.
Nasty company
if you are mad about your power bill now, just wait til they close the 2 nuclear units at turkey point (miami) and the 2 nuclear units at port st. lucie. the rate payers will pay a “gogillion dollars” (forrest gump). you aint seen nothin yet.
Many of us use the cheap little room heaters that typically use 1500 watts . Memory tells me that’s a kilowatt and a half per hour…if that equals 25 cents per hour time 24 hours per day equals about $6 per day and $180 per month for each cheap little heater. It’s easy to see 2 or 3 of those will add up quickly. Can always dress more warmly and not over-do consumption. Investigate how can use less and still be comfortable. Knowledge is our friend And can save money ! And cut way down on
the blame game!
don’t blame FP&L !!!!!!!!!!
its southern company fault. They
sold GP to make up for the huge loss
they occurred in there own planning…..
and got the shaft……….
Take one day an shut everything off.All it takes is a majority to set this crap straight.
When it comes to dealing with the public, FP&L has created a culture of deception. Nothing coming out of their head office is going to pan out the way they say. Their so-called customer service system is so difficult to deal with that it is obviously designed to make you quit rather than resolve any issue. The Florida Public Service Commission, which is supposed to regulate this public utility, appears to have given it a free hand to do what it wishes. The Public is not going to win this one.
High School economics taught the Law of Supply and Demand.
While the US had increased production through 2019, production was down in 2020 and again in 2021. Supply has decreased.
Shutting down coal fired generation nationwide via federal regulation and kickbacks and replacing it Gas Fired Generation, increases demand. This has been going going on for a decade.
Converting coal and fuel oil residential heat to Natural Gas, increases demand. This has also been going up for many years.
Exporting natural gas to Europe so they don’t have to burn Russian Natural Gas, will increase demand of US generated NG even more.
Decreases in Supply and Increases in Demand will only result in higher electric bills. Solar and Wind will not come even close to making a difference.
My question is “When FP&L sells power to other utilities what is the price per kilowatt hour is it higher or lower then what I pay?”
TB… I have replaced my hvac, light bulbs, all windows in house, replaced garage door, all appliances, etc.. even FP&L has no idea why my bill is high since I have done all this.. I can understand some rates going up and all but not by over $300 for a month.. especially when kilowatts have not changed.. there CEO’s are raking in the bucks, along with all their other top people.. we shouldn’t be the ones paying for the changes like we are.. they got money from fema for the storms.. but yet we are giving extra for that.. im tired of filling people’s pockets that don’t deserve it
Come on people, take charge of your situation…
High TV media bill no problem, high cellphone bill no problem, beer, cigarettes, lottery tickets Casinos no problem, Golf course fees no problem, Hunting club fees no problem, high end toy payments no problem, recreational stimulants no problem, but darn that power bill.
Take the time to look into where your power goes, get a free energy audit, check your appliances, how old is your home? What are the insulation values? Learn how to read your meter and keep an eye on it.
My 1900 sqft home is almost 50yrs old, when I bought it 30yrs ago it needed energy upgrades, I got a “Free” energy audit from the power company then borrowed the $$ to do an upgrade, more insulation in the attic, high efficiency heat pump, exterior doors changed to high efficiency, rather than spend a fortune on replacing the windows I added “Double pane” storm windows over the existing ones tripling the R value then solar screens over that. Immediately my energy bill was cut by 60%. My power bill has been running around $150 the last couple of months and still keeping it 73 degrees, recently I replaced my electric water heater with a tankless gas unit saving even more money on my electric bill, the gas company ran the line for free and gave me a nice rebate towards the installation cost.
Some friends of mine recently complained to me that their power bill went way up, after a lengthy discussion they finally admitted to the fact that their 30yr old “Adult” child, his girlfriend and her two kids just moved in with them and are now “Freeloading” off of them, no surprise that their power bill went up.
MM model makes certain restrictive assumptions (such as no tax differences) and ignores many external factors. Many factors influence the dividend policy of a company. Two factors that are relevant to the case of FPL are clientele effect and signaling. There are certain investors who might prefer a high dividend payout ratio. Such investors might have invested in FPL since it has historically paid high dividends. This assertion is also supported by the case study where the shares of FPL are described as a substitute for treasury bonds. Therefore, a drop is dividend policy might not be welcomed by the clientele that prefer high payout stocks. Such investors might want to sell their shares because of low payout ratio, leading to a fall in stock prices. Similarly, dividend increases are meant to signal the competitive strength on the company. This is especially true for a company like FPL that has a 47-year streak of increasing dividend. If the company suddenly decides to make a dividend cut, investors might take it as a negative signal about the future performance of the company. The signaling argument hold some traction because it is reasonable for investors to believe that the company would not want to break its 47-year streak unless the dividend cut is a last resort measure that is absolutely necessary to maintain the profitability of the company.
I do not know if the above is accurate. If it is, it appears that Florida Power and Light, like any for profit business makes sure their stockholders are rewarded with a very good return on their investment on the backs of customers.
My bill increased with the new meter and their customer service is bad. I had several accounts that I paid at one time with Gulf Power when we switched to FP&L I had to create a separate account for each meter and when I asked you for help both on line as over the phone all they could do was read me instructions on how to pay my bill online. So it goes my bill is 30 per cent higher and I can’t access my history with Gulf Power to compare month to month any longer. Wonder why?
Electricity cost has not gone up. Gas cost has not gone up. The value of the dollar has gone down. M1 money supply went from around $2T in 20010 to about $20T now. In other words, while you work for dollars, the Fed prints them like running water. Ron Paul warned to audit the Fed years ago.
Rmembering the Prichard water board in Mobile , all the overly priced waterbills.Take a look at FPL the trend on powerbills sense they have takenover. Levins law firm hit the nail on the head about this company. THEY ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE of hardworking people. The state needs to take action,the evidense speeks for itself.
Sounds like we need to go back to using coal.
We pay more now because you are making an investment? Capital projects are not expenses, they are investments that pay off over time.
Customers should not have to give you a profit up front for you to make a long-term investment.
*** These are nothing but LIES! ***
They came in – made a presentation about only a 20% max increase – and our bills have over doubled or tripled and they want to defend it! But they think we have to pay for it all – so that they can keep their profit margins up and maintain their lifestyles AT everyone’s expense.
FACE IT – FPL…..You sold us a “Bill of Goods” You are all scam artistS and if we can find a way – we will either walk away – or hopefully put politicians in to mandate that you change or file for imminent domain and just take the power companies back.
There is nothing you can say or do – to justify these costs and these smoke and mirrors about caring about the environment …Its a load of hogwash!
So – why did you also push a bill that states you didn’t have to pay solar owners for their excess power that went back into your grid? (CORPORATE GREED IS WHY!)
The main thing to remember is that FPL promised to take care of their shareholders when the news came out they were taking over Gulf Power. Ukraine has nothing to do with the rates, but Biden’s inflation has everything to do with it. Biden wants to do away with fossil fuels and this is another factor also.
Obviously, If you believe this LINE OF “GARBAGE”, you should have no problem with FPL new rates and their republican coziness.
Stop blaming the Left for something the greedy Right is responsible for. FPL has been doing this for years. Everywhere else in Florida, they know FPL is deep into the Republican Party.
“In the midst of Florida Power & Light’s push to dismantle a key rooftop solar policy in the state, new documents reveal that senior executives at the utility are closely connected to an ongoing REPUBLICAN election scandal and subsequent investigations, having personally coordinated with the consultants who moved millions of dollars to promote three REPUBLICAN “spoiler” candidates in 2020 state senate races.”
They will continue to get away with high rates. They are the biggest Political Donor for the Florida Republican Party. They were under investigation for “ghost candidate” schemes in Miami. Once again, Floridians have been thrown to the wolves by greedy Politicians.
Forgot to tell you… salaries went up. Forgot to get your “buy-in” in advance of these projects so you would know and vote on them. The next project is already in play without any regard for the costs to customers. Are we stuck with what ever they choose to do? I don’t think so.
Look at all the fees they tack on to the bill. Straight up nonsense and double talk from a CEO that doesn’t care about its customers.
When people start dying from heat this summer because they are afraid to run their air conditioners, maybe then they’ll sit up and take notice.
BUT… Just like Bidenomic’s say it long enough you with believe it the Russian war has caused all the problems. The problem with that is all this happened before the war!
Ukraine causing FPL’s high rates? Horse Apples. It takes a year of petitioning the public service commission to get rate hike approval. Talk about deflection. By the way, Russia/Ukraine is just into day 34 today.
This is what you call PEEING on your head and trying to convence you its raining.
What questions were asked in the exclusive interview? This response seems like a well rehearsed talking point or just lip service.
Another CEO that wants to play the Emperor has clothes! Bet he hasn’t taken a cut in pay, Reliable….never an issue with Gulf Power, at least you could call Customer Service and actually speak to a person. Price has increased, customer service has decreased, sounds about right. I’m not buying what he’s spouting out.
Please explain how the war in Ukraine in 2022 is responsible for your proposal you submitted to raise rates last year in 2021????????? More BS!!! This is just greedy corporations making money while we starve!!!!
Why is it we keep seeing ads on TV telling us about the name change and other info we don’t need, by the way WE are paying for those ads in the long run.
I received an email BEFORE GAS PRICES WENT UP-telling me that since I used the thermostat and had a bill that was reasonable -that I was on budget and it would stay the same -LIES- It went up IMMEDIATELY and when THEY
showed what it would have been – NO WAY! ! Where is the ability to use the thermostat online and set it for HIGH AND LOW PERIODS??? We don’t even have a low period–can’t turn off the water heater when not in use WHICH SAVED ME MONEY!!! THIS is the WORSE COMPANY that we are STUCK WITH?? Whatever happened to the federal law that “broke up monopolies?? This company is WHY laws to protect the public was written. AND PAY THEM FOR THE BOX ATTACHED TO MY HOUSE TO PROVIDE THEIR POWER – in the event it had to be replaced??????? I have to manually change the thermostat and if I have to leave home for an unexpected reason – I CAN’T CONTROL WHAT IT WAS SET AT LIKE I USED TO!! GREED IS THIS COMPANIES NAME
I CALL CORPORATEBS!!!! I was told in an email before my first bill AND AS PRICES WERE NOT UP-that my bill would stay the same -WRONG- where is the ability that we had before this greedy unpleasant company took over?? Breaks on the weekend, high and low periods and the ability to turn off our water heaters when not in use???? How about the thermostat that I got from gulf power – so I could set the times automatically for the high and low and weekend and holiday periods- I can’t even access it!!! GREED AND LIES
Yadda yadda yadda. The exact same storyline they fed us in Central Florida 19 years ago. In the meantime, bills went up and up. Service went out the window. Welcome to Florida Plunder & Loot. Where the fat bottom line trumps customer service.
I have been hearing bad things about this company for many years, He’s right inflation has been getting terrible. But their bills are ridiculous. They keep saying, Well Our reliability has gone way up. Maybe, but I found that Gulf Powers reliability was very good. After hurricane Sally My power wires were broken and laying on the ground for a month, My bill showed absolutely no drop in usage. Lol , not funny. I understand fuel has gone up, but double bills, come on man. Hold on to your hats, personally I think the company is just a greedy outfit. They have put many more solar panels on line, has that lowered your bills ?. We need to have a really good audit on this company to get some answers. Of course the commission isn’t going to side with the customers. Let’s keep hammering them, perhaps it may bear some fruit, mostly likely it won’t. When I found out this company was going to buy Gulf Power years ago , I told My friends, look out.
There you have it; anti-coal, radical left politics hitting us all in the pocket.
Sounds like a bunch of lip service to me. i don’t believe any CEO of a major utility protecting their interests. Facts are our power bills were creeping up WAY before “the war in Ukraine” and “inflation” its just even higher now because of it. As I stated before when they where putting in this “clean natural gas” them saying it was going to save us the customer money. It has NOT, because if a layman like me knew LNG was position to more than triple in price 3 years ago then I’m sure the CEO of a large power company would have known that. I didn’t read one thing in the article explaining how they are going to lower our bill only “we are working on it” which is side speak for “sorry deal with it.”
All this is,is what you might call “Lip Service”… while trying to pull the wool over our eyes…