- January 6, 2025
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The past week marked the start of a process to increase utility rates for a large portion of Floridians.
Pointing to issues such as growth and a need to continue expanding its system, Florida Power & Light on Monday said it will propose a four-year plan to raise base electric rates, which make up a major part of customers’ monthly bills.
FPL, the largest utility provider in the state, will seek increases of about $1.55 billion that would take effect in 2026 and $930 million that would take effect in 2027, according to a letter filed with the Florida Public Service Commission. It also will seek additional money in 2028 and 2029 to pay for solar-energy and battery projects, though the filing did not detail specific amounts.
In the letter, FPL said, for example, that it has “experienced significant growth in our customer base” during the past four years and expects such growth to continue.
“While this growth will ultimately have a positive impact by spreading existing fixed costs over a larger customer base, it also means that FPL must invest significant capital to meet the needs of these additional customers by building transmission and distribution infrastructure, including poles, wires, transformers, substations and other components,” the letter, addressed to Public Service Commission Chairman Mike La Rosa, said. “The costs of meeting these obligations have substantially increased due to the impact of inflation.”
The letter is the first formal step in a months-long process at the Public Service Commission. FPL said it will file a detailed proposal on Feb. 28; its current base-rate plan, which took effect in 2022, will expire at the end of 2025.
The commission on Dec. 19 gave final approval to a $184.9 million base-rate increase in 2025 for Tampa Electric Co., followed by increases of $86.6 million in 2026 and $9.1 million in 2027.
In August, the commission approved a settlement that will increase Duke Energy Florida’s base rates by $203 million in 2025 and $59 million in 2026.
Meanwhile, Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric Co. filed proposals last Friday to collect about $1.55 billion from customers to cover costs of restoring power and replenishing storm reserves.
In all, Duke wants to recoup about $1.09 billion, while Tampa Electric is seeking nearly $464 million, according to the utilities and filings at the commission.
The commission has regularly approved utilities recouping such costs, including giving approval Dec. 3 to a proposal by Florida Power & Light to recover about $1.2 billion from customers for costs related to hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton and to replenish a reserve fund.
