FPL proposes rate increases: Customers could pay 14% more in January than in 2024

Yahoo

03-03-2025

If state regulators approve, most of Florida Power & Light Co.'s typical residential customers could be paying 14% more in January 2026 than they were as 2024 ended, because customers will get another rate increase on top of a storm surcharge that was added to bills this year.
FPL's rate increase request for the next four years went to the state Public Utility Service Commission Friday. If approved, the state's largest utility would collect $1.54 billion more in 2026 than the company did this year and $927 million more in 2027. What a collection of advocacy groups called 'the biggest rate hike in U.S. history' is needed for growth and investing in solar-energy facilities, according to company officials. The current schedule of rates regulators have approved expires at the end of this year.
'At FPL, we're focused on our customers every single day,' FPL President and CEO Armando Pimentel said in a prepared statement. 'The balanced plan we submitted to the PSC would enable FPL to continue to make smart investments in the grid and in new generation resources to benefit our customers and to power our fast-growing state.'
But leaders from environmental and consumer advocacy groups quickly issued a release slamming this latest request as 'an egregious ask.' The state Office of Public Counsel, which represents consumers and business and consumer groups, has already given notice they will intervene when hearings start in the coming months.
'Floridians across the state want affordable, clean energy and deserve leadership that will prioritize that, said Brooke Ward, senior Florida organizer with Food & Water Watch, based in Washington, D.C. 'Instead, Gov. (Ron) DeSantis and greedy utilities expect Floridians to bankroll an unsustainable fossil fuel reliance and pad corporate profits.'
FPL customers in January started paying off what FPL said it cost to respond to the outages and damage from the latest batch of hurricanes, Idalia in 2023 and then Debby, Helene and Milton in 2024. In December, regulators approved what was called a 'temporary' storm surcharge that would net FPL $1.2 million more in revenues to repair hurricane damage to its lines and restore power as quickly as possible
More: FPL asks regulators to OK surcharge on bills to recover $1.2B for hurricane-related costs
That storm surcharge added $12.02 a month to a typical 1,000-kilowatt residential bill starting in January and continuing through the end of the year; for Panhandle residents, it was an $8.07 increase for each monthly bill.
Next year, if the PSC agrees, the typical FPL household's monthly electric bill for its customers on the peninsula will rise $8.23 from the current year and its customers on the Panhandle will see their typical monthly bill rise $3.50, but those increases are calculated on top of the surge in rates that customers saw in January's bill.
Compared to what most FPL customers were paying in December 2024, they will be paying $20.25 more per month in 2026, a 14% increase. For customers in the northwest part of the state, it's going to be an increase of $11.57 per month from 2024, or about 8.5% more.
Residential customers can calculate how the proposal would affect their individual bills by using the calculator feature at FPL.com/answers, according to a news release.
For its part, FPL officials say that even with the proposed rate adjustment, residential customer bills would remain well below the national average and below many other Florida utilities. The company has kept its rates from rising at the same rate as inflation, according to Friday's release.
FPL has added about 275,000 customers since 2021 and expects to add about 335,000 more through the end of 2029, which will require significant new generating capacity and distribution infrastructure to meet demand in one of America's fastest growing states, according to a news release outlining the rate increase request. Also, the FPL, the nation's largest utility, has experience increased costs for labor, utility poles and cables, to name a few.
If state regulators agree, the typical residential customer bill in January 2026, when adjusted for inflation, would be about 20% less than it was in 2006, the FPL release says.
If rates increase as requested, the utility's return on equity will also increase and is sure to be a point of discussion at the upcoming hearings. Return on equity is a key measure of profitability. The commission typically approves a range of allowable return on equity and a 'midpoint' in the range.
FPL proposed a midpoint of 11.9%, up from its current 10.6% midpoint that was approved at at 2021's rate hike hearings. The idea is to attract more investor money. As a comparison, the commission in December approved a 10.5% midpoint in a Tampa Electric Co. rate case.
The average return on equity for electric utilities that regulators authorized in 2023 was at 9.6%, according to S&P Global, a financial information company.
Reporting from the News Service of Florida was used in this report.
Anne Geggis is the insurance reporter at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at [e-mail] support our journalism. Subscribe today
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FPL is proposing increases in rates — what it means to you