Duke Energy and Florida Power & Light ranked among nation's worst for energy efficiency

As the planet and Florida broil through some of the hottest weather recorded, a research group has released a report that finds Duke Energy and Florida Power & Light to be among the nation's worst for helping customers hold down power bills by not wasting electricity.

The nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in Washington, D.C., evaluated the nation's 53 largest electric utilities, which provide more than half of electricity used in the U.S., on efforts to promote energy savings.

FPL was ranked next to last, Duke Energy was 47th and TECO was in 40th place.

"Energy efficiency plays a crucial role in meeting our nation's energy needs," says the report, which is titled Utility Energy Efficiency Scorecard. "It lowers customer energy bills, reduces energy burden, improves in-home comfort, enhances resilience, and improves indoor air quality."

The group, known as ACEEE, seeks bipartisan solutions for energy efficiency. It relies on foundations for most of its funding, with corporations, nonprofit organizations and government agencies providing the rest.

Utilities were judged on a wide range of metrics related to how they promote energy savings among businesses, homes and especially low-income households.

Approaches include incentives for more efficient appliances, heating and air conditioning and home construction. Another key tactic is providing data and awareness to help customers be better informed on power usage.

The five highest-ranking utilities are led by Eversource of Massachusetts, followed in order by Pacific Gas & Electric of California, National Grid of Massachusetts, Commonwealth Edison of Illinois and DTE Energy of Michigan.

The five lowest in the ACEEE report are AEP of Texas in 47th place, followed in order by a tie between Duke and AEP in Ohio, Alabama Power, FPL and Ohio Edison in last place.

"The scores and rankings that utilities earn on this Utility Scorecard reflect not only the utilities themselves, but also the legislative and regulatory environments within which they operate," the report states.

"Duke Energy Florida does not use a 'one size fits all' approach when it comes to the programs we provide," the company said in a statement. "We will continue to offer different options, like usage alerts, payment plans and energy efficiency programs, to help keep energy bills more manageable for our customers."

Utilities in the Southeast were given the lowest average score, while those of the Northeast received the highest average score, followed by utilities in the West.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a group with goals like those of ACEEE, has previously come to similar conclusions.

"Florida's largest electric utilities are among the worst of the worst nationally when it comes to helping customers save energy and lower their monthly bills," said Forest Bradley-Wright, director of energy efficiency for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, or SACE.

"The lack of meaningful investment in energy efficiency by Florida's electric utilities creates yet another obstacle for customers who struggle with affordable monthly energy bills," Bradley-Wright said.

SACE has reported that the national average for utility efficiency savings is eight times better than that of Florida.

Of Florida's city-owned utilities, Orlando Utilities Commission performs better than most of the state's utilities but delivers less than half as much energy savings as the national average, according to SACE.

Sierra Club also advocates for greater energy savings for utility customers and has released reports on Florida utilities within the past year.

"The data showed a severe lack of actual commitment to energy efficiency at any meaningful, equitable level," said Susannah Randolph, a Sierra senior campaign representative in Florida.

"Economically vulnerable families continue to pay a higher percentage of their income just to keep the lights on," Randolph said. "Often, these families have to choose between paying their utility bills and paying for groceries or medication."

FPL spokesperson George Bennett said his utility has one of the nation's largest programs for helping customers reduce or shift their electricity consumption to more affordable patterns.

"We have long believed in empowering our customers to make energy-efficient choices that are right for them," Bennett said.

But the ACEEE writers of the Utility Energy Efficiency Scorecard said FPL comes up short in effectiveness.

"Reasons for poor performance include low levels of investment in energy efficiency, achieving very little energy savings, offering few efficiency measures to customers, and an unsupportive policy and regulatory environment," said Mike Specian, the report's lead writer.

"FPL was tied for the worst-performing utility in delivering energy efficiency equitably, underperforming in areas like low-income spending and energy savings, community engagement, language access, reducing energy burden, and directing customers at risk of utility disconnection toward energy efficiency programs," Specian said.