Electric bills going up for FPL customers due to rising fuel costs

Electric bills going up for FPL customers due to rising fuel costs

Updated: 6:22 PM EST Dec 8, 2021

Amanda Dukes

Florida Power & Light has been given approval by state regulators to collect an additional $810 million dollars from customers next year.This means customers of Florida Power & Light will soon see a hike in their utility bills.That'll add about $7 a month to the bills of residential customers who use 1,000-kilowatt-hours of electricity. The increases start in January.The money will cover higher-than-expected costs for the natural gas that helps fuel power plants.The latest FPL rate hike will be applied on top of a hefty increase approved back in October as part of FPL's four-year rate plan.A spokesman for FPL says the utility makes no profit off the rate hike."It is important to know that FPL does not make a profit on the fuel it uses to provide energy to customers and even with this adjustment to the fuel charge, FPL bills will continue to be well below the national average next year," said Jack Eble, a spokesman with FPL.But representatives of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy argue FPL has not done enough to shield customers from big price hikes."We believe this is just really a punch in the gut to hard-working families, especially those that are still struggling to pay power bills," George Cavros with Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said.They point to a need for ramped-up programs to help consumers use less electricity."You can't use customers as an ATM," Cavros said. "What you have to do is help them manage their bills. In fact, you are required by law and there are utilities throughout the country that have meaningful energy efficiency programs that are helping customers cut their energy waste and reduce their power bills."FPL claims it is helping reduce customer bills by heavily investing in solar energy and more efficient power plants."Those help offset the rising natural gas prices, and so over the last two decades our modernization journey has saved customers $11 billion and added fuel costs," Cavros said.