Testimony: Average increase in home utilities $2.50 per month

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(The Center Square) – Florida Power & Light Co., which serves 12 million customers in the state, made its case Monday for a rate increase before a state utility regulatory panel.

Under an agreement reached with key stakeholders reached in August, the utility has proposed a rate increase from 2026-29 that would increase the average residential customer’s bill by $2.50 a month, the utility said. That is lower than the $3.79 a month the utility projected in August when the settlement with stakeholders was announced.

A drop in fuel prices since August led to lower project impact of the proposed rate hike, the utility said.

During Monday’s hearing before the Florida Public Service Commission, the utility's CEO Armando Pimentel explained the reasons behind the proposed rate hike. He cited inflation, rising interest rates, severe storms, the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain shortages and volatile fuel markets.

“Since 2021, we have added 275,000 new customers to our service area,” Pimentel told the commission Monday. “We have continued to make prudent investments for their benefit.”

The company expects to add another 335,000 customers by the end of this decade.

The company has outperformed similar-sized utilities on efficiency, service quality and system reliability, Pimentel said.

“Our proposed four-year plan will ensure that we can continue to power Florida’s growth, meet the energy needs of our customers and maintain high reliability, low bills and overall outstanding service,” the CEO said.

The utility managed the economic challenges of the last four years through efficiency and keeping costs low, Pimentel said.

“It was a very difficult period for the company,” he testified. “We had to make sure we could wrangle all these things down and do the right things for our customers while doing the right thing for our investors. We were not able to just sit on our hands during that period and get those results.”

Florida Power & Light has promised not to seek another rate hike. The commission hearings could take two weeks.

If rates are approved, the date of effect would be Jan. 1.