Duke Energy Florida to submit rate case for 2025-2027 to Florida PSC
Duke Energy Florida is filing a rate case in April with the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) that proposes investments to increase generation unit efficiency, reduce outages and expand solar generation.
The rates, which would take effect in January 2025, would result in an average annual increase of approximately 4 percent of the total bill from 2025 through 2027.
However, even with the requested base rate increase, the company expects overall customer bills to decrease in 2025. That is because of the 2022 fuel under-recovery, storm restoration cost recovery and legacy purchased power contracts will expire at the end of 2024,. This will lower overall bills in 2025.
“This proposal offers what our customers want – a more reliable energy system using cleaner energy,” Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president, said. “We are focused on making smart energy investments that leverage innovative technology to increase power plant efficiency and reduce outages.”
The proposed investments include continued grid modernization to serve increased population growth through improved reliability, resulting in fewer outages and shorter restoration times. From 2018 to 2023, the company reduced the average length of a customer outage by 27 percent. In 2023, the company had its best reliability performance in more than a decade.
Investments also include continued enhancements to power plants to reduce fuel consumption, generating future customer savings. Duke Energy Florida estimates that customers will save $150 million to $200 million per year in reduced fuel costs from investments under the proposed 2025-2027 rate case filing.
Further, the company is looking to build 14 new solar plants between 2025 and 2027, adding another 1,050 megawatts (MW) of clean energy to Florida’s grid. These solar investments will reduce Florida’s dependence on fossil fuels, increase fuel generation diversity and reduce emissions. The firm also plans to
explore innovative clean energy technologies, such as long-duration energy storage and the DeBary Hydrogen project, a clean energy hydrogen production and storage system.
The proposed 2025-2027 rate case filing is subject to the FPSC approval, following public hearings. The schedule of public hearings will be announced through the FPSC’s website and customer bill inserts, but they will likely start mid-year.
