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FPL Seeks Rate Hike For Hurricane, Natural Gas Costs
January 24, 2023
Florida Power & Light is asking the Public Service Commission for permission to raise electric bills to recover hurricane costs and the increased price of natural gas.
FPL residential customers using 1,000 kWh in Northwest Florida saw a decrease on their January bill of one penny to $155.60. That same bill is set to go $159.79 in February. If the proposal filed Monday is approved, that same 1,000 kWh bill will increase to $173.09.
Customers in the rest of the state pay less for 1,000 kWh — $129.59 in February and, with the increase, $142.88 in April.
FPL is seeking $1.3 billion due to Hurricanes Ian and Nicole over 12 months, beginning in April. They also want to recover $2.1 million in increased natural gas costs over 21 months.
FPL is also seeking permission to recover about $2.1 billion to make up for the difference between projections and actual costs for natural gas in 2022. FPL’s proposal would spread these unrecovered 2022 fuel costs over a 21-month period beginning in April 2023 to reduce the impact on customer bills.
Partially offsetting these higher fuel costs, FPL plans to decrease its projected 2023 fuel factor by about $1 billion during the final nine months of this year due to a sharp drop in projected natural gas prices after 2023 projections were filed with the PSC in the third quarter of 2022.
FPL customers in the former Gulf Power territory may get some relief in the coming months.
As part of Monday’s filing, FPL also responded to the PSC’s request to calculate the impact of spreading the remaining costs from past hurricanes that affected customers of the former Gulf Power across all FPL customer bills. Doing so would reduce the monthly storm charge on a typical 1,000-kWh bill in Northwest Florida by nearly $10.
“FPL has a proven track record of keeping bills below the national average. When events beyond our control – like hurricanes and significant changes in fuel prices – force a change to customer bills, we try to do so in a thoughtful way that minimizes the impact on our customers while balancing the risk of invoices piling up,” said FPL Chairman and CEO Eric Silagy. “Still, we recognize that every dollar matters, which is why we encourage customers to use FPL’s free tools and simple tips to save energy and money on their electric bills.”
Comments
44 Responses to “FPL Seeks Rate Hike For Hurricane, Natural Gas Costs”
EXCRUCIATING.
. . . It’s the calmest word I can fathom after reading this. I want to ask which brand of Crack you’re Smoking, but out of respect… I need FPL to know how excruciating this is TO THINK it’s one districts responsibility to absorb all the accrued cost for this entire freak’n County. People ARE NOT SURVIVING EVERYWHERE. What are people supposed to do. There’s only one Co. for power.
@(the other) Bob
“Your function is to provide electrical services at the lowest possible price”
That’s where you’re mistaken. FPL’s function is to make as much money for stockholders as possible.
Solar farms, investing in green energy, and net metering help reduce the cost of producing energy. They’re just choosing to pocket those savings instead of passing them on to their customers.
James B – thank you so much for putting out the information that everyone needs. It’s the only way we can fight this battle. I also hope that everyone will take just a minute to email our governor. No matter who you think is to blame – it’s only important that the governor knows we are drowning here and are willing to do anything we can to stop the approval of another ridiculous Fpl rate hike.
Get your $600 stimulus check. Then, the cost of living doubles. You’re welcome.
Stories stories everywhere but this really needs to get on the govners radar so plz plz plz take 60 seconds to send a short note to him at https://www.flgov.com/email-the-governor/ which also means its part of a permnt record that what they are doing to the panhandle with these off the charts rate increases
FLP is already way higher than GP ever was.. My 1st 3 bills were over $300 when my GP bills were between $75-$100(max) a month and I’ve had to argue with them over and over about being scammed by FPL!!!! my house has had all the “improvements” they said to make and I’m still having to argue almost every other month about them constantly overcharging me. FPL is the Devil’s handywork!!!!!!!!! We shouldn’t be penalized for the crap that goes on in South Florida that FPL runs!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, we “muzzant” forget the stockholders…we need to keep them happy.. I just would like to see a list of the happy group.
Shameful the same electricity I was paying $200.00 a month for I now pay 350-450. Question is , when is enough FPL? It’s almost like these robbers are forcing you to go solar. This whole situation is disgusting. From Desantis allowing it to happen and County’s turning a blind eye.
I’m here for the comments. Last bill was $76.
FPL,
Your function is to provide electrical services at the lowest possible price. Stop spending our money on:
1) solar farms
2) converting power plants
3) donations to community services
4) investing in green energy
5) political causes
FPL are nothing more than hypocrites and political opportunist !!!
This is interesting since my January bill with Clay Electric was less due to, they said, the price of natural gas (which they buy from Seminole) went down. Ummm
Going off grid is getting better and better everyday.
Every time there is a hurricane in Florida we have to pay for the damage this is a never ending cycle. We are probably still paying for Ivan. I don’t know what would happen if the PSC were abolished. We need the power and they know it so they can do what they please .I agree customer stop advertising on TV and giving money away. Someone is in the pockets of the PSC and this always approving what they want has to stop.
Love Florida Plunder & Loot!! So true!! FPL increased our rate when they bought Gulf Power & didn’t increase the rest of the state, however increasing our rates due the hurricanes that weren’t in our area is not right. Check out what their CEO’s & other officers made, their pay went up & we’re paying for it. Obviously, they don’t have a fund/budget to allow for hurricane disasters. FPL dropped their Time Of Usage (TOU) plan & Gulf Power Residential Energy Plan. The PSC has failed us as I’m sure FPL has them in their pocket. Write them & also Gov DeSantis. With enough letters/emails to him maybe he would look at it but good luck with that too.
All one has to do is invest in the company to offset any increase in rates. If you worked hard and lived right you surely have the means to do so!
When FPL announced it had purchased Southern Company, I knew what we were in for. I dealt with FPL slack service and bankrupting rates for over a decade in Central Florida. I tried to tell folks on this forum that this was NOT a good thing. As I recall, a good number of citizens believed the propaganda FPL was putting out. The sale was approved and the first thing FPL did was ax the customer service and cost averaging programs Gulf Power used for decades. Gulf Power switched to natural gas as a cost cutting measure. FPL said they needed rate hikes because of natural gas. We got to pay for the conversion, then pay for the alleged high fuel. This is logic? A large cross section of NW FL residents live on minimum wage or retirement income. Higher power bills mean less to eat. No wonder we referred to them as “Florida Plunder & Loot”.
I barely run house heat, I sit and sleep by a little heater even on nights it’s 32F. I can not afford to stay warm. I literally run a fridge, a PC, and my hot water heater (which I only use hot water to take a quick bath) and my power bill is $300 a month. So I don’t know how much more I can stand… I’m about to have my power disconnected for my house and switch to solar without permitting any of it and just tie it up in court for 5 years. It would be cheaper than paying FPL at this point. Come get some FPL
sir prise…sir prise…sir prise.
…of course they do.
My bill this month is 700.00 for me an my wife an we have done everything to bring the bill down .I cannot pay this on my social security. Last month was 450.00 these people are robbing us
Time to dissolve psc!!! Everyone write to our governor and demand he investigate! Time to get rid of fpl’s special lobbyists the PSC!!!!
Just wondering about the guy who decided to convert the power plant from coal to natural gas just in time for record gas price increases. Does he still have a job? Somebody should check that out.
Also wondering, who is on the PSC anyway? This commission has as much impact on my life as any politician and I don’t have the slightest clue who they are. Time to google the innerwebs!
Power companies are a monopoly guaranteed a profit by the State of Florida so what motivation do they have to provide power at the lowest possible cost? None. And they don’t. They just ask for more and the PSC just roll over and say yes every time.
My bill for December of 2021 was 186.30 with 1228kwh.
My bill for December of 2022 is 288.83 with 1114kwh.
How is it that I am paying more but using less?
We’re not talking about a five- or ten-dollar rate hike that is a whole $102.53 difference. Either that’s one helluva rate hike or it’s multiple rate hikes for previous hurricanes and out of state disasters that FPL assisted in all rolled into one so how about they finish collection on those before they are allowed another one.
Also the only thing FPL stands for is FloridaPeopleLose. I am submitting this as their new logo.
More rate hikes than ECUA…. Who thought that was even possible….
They had already increased our rates due to Hurricane Michael in 2018 and said was for replacing costs in related to their expenses and would only be for 12 months.. I did not see my rates decreased after the 12 months.. where is that money?
How long will this continue?
https://www.wlrn.org/2017-01-04/fpl-asks-for-rate-hike-to-cover-costs-from-hurricane-matthew
That doesn’t even include the rising cost of buying politicians!
We were told that by converting the power plant from coal to natural gas would be cheaper to produce power. We were told solar farms would make it cheaper to produce power………….. so I guess they meant cheaper for them and more profit for FPL.
That’s just part of doing business. There is no reason they should keep passing on poor management mistakes to the customers. This is ridiculous!
The rich get richer and the common folk just suffer.
“FPL has a proven track record of keeping bills below the national average.”
We don’t care about the NATIONAL average. This is Florida, this is Pensacola, we care about our rates here and how much they have gone up; not how much less we pay compared to people in California or other states with higher costs of living. I can barely afford my electric bill some months and you’re talking about increasing it again.
They are trying to figure out a way to charge us to breathe.
There’s very few companies that I can genuinely say I hate. This is one of them. Sure, there’s some good folks there. I know a few. But their senior management are scumbags.
Why is it impossible to build a home 100% off the grid? You must have power, supplied by FPL, as part of the permits and building process. Government benefits from the rates charged and the higher the charged are the more they benefit. “A government of the people, for the people, and by the people” had a good run but it is obvious we have no such government anymore.
Why is the price of Natural gas going up? Oh wait.. never mind.
Another broken promise. Was told the last large increase that is set over multiple years was it. Now we have to pay for lack of planning and further expansion into solar (which is already out there and making them more money). We need FPL replaced with something else.
These people are just about to break the people here in the area!!rate hike they already get too much as it is !!! This is the worst company I’ve ever seen and they get what they want regardless of what we the people say !!!! A investigation must be done now at the state level
STOP ADVERTIZING ON TV AND GIVING CONTRIBUTIONS TO EVERY CHARITY.
COULD SAVE MILLIONS. LET THE STOCK HOLDERS TAKE A LITTLE LESS.
And again we get robbed for things that never happened here…Since FPL took over I now pay 70$ more already than with gulf power….It’s just a never ending head ache …meanwhile they keep giving away money to so called charities.
CRIMNALS
Former Gulf Power customers have it socked to them yet again. Paying more than the rest of the state, weren’t in the hurricane area, yet increase our bills as well. Not surprised. Unhappy customer here!
Unbelievable
Why fight it,,,,,,
the PSC is going to give it to them anyway.
Another rate hike. Good job FPL!