FPL plan reduces customer fuel charges to offset proposed hurricane-related bill increases
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) announced Wednesday it had filed a plan with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) to reduce customer fuel charges by $379 million beginning in May.
The plan would partially offset proposed bill increases to pay for high fuel costs and restorations resulting from two hurricanes in 2022. The plan would reduce the fuel charge on a typical residential customer bill for 1,000kWh by $4.43 per month, including taxes and fees from May through December. The reduction is the second based on lower natural gas costs in 2023 compared to last year’s higher prices.
“This is good news for customers,” said Armando Pimentel, president and CEO of FPL. “We recognize that sharp inflation is impacting our customers and that every dollar counts, which is why we are pleased to provide relief to customers as fuel prices have moderated.”
The PSC is already considering proposals from FPL to increase customer bills in April to recover $1.3 billion in costs for restoring service after Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, as well as a proposal for $2.1 billion in increases to make up for higher-than-projected natural gas costs in 2022. Those proposals were filed in January. The January proposal included offsetting the increases by $1 billion due to an expected drop in natural gas prices. The latest proposal would reduce fuel charges by an additional $379 million.
