Most FPL customers will be paying more but at a slower rate under plan

State regulators will be considering a new four-year rate schedule that Florida Power & Light filed on Aug. 20 that cuts down rate increases from a proposal that sparked outcry earlier this year.

Most electric bills are still going up but more slowly.

The typical residential customer in Florida will see their monthly electric bill go up by nearly $4 for 2026 if the Florida Public Service Commission agrees this fall.

Most of FPL's customers in Florida will be paying $168 more annually for electricity in 2029 than they are in 2025, a 10% increase.

Critics of the state's — and the country's — largest utility are still calling it "a golden" deal. Still, big business interests in the state, such as Walmart, Circle K Stores and Wawa, and seven others are signing on. The new agreement is the result of a plan hammered out with 10 key stakeholders, according to FPL.

The new plan "significantly reduces FPL's original revenue request while keeping residential customer bills well below the projected national average through the end of the decade," the company said in a news release.

FPL has reduced its 2026 request for core electricity revenue by 39 percent to $945 million from the $1.5 billion it had presented in February, the company said. The request for 2027 was reduced by 17%, from $927 million to $766 million.

What FPL is collecting through its base rate — what it charges per kilowatt hour — is estimated to be $2.9 billion less than the $8.9 billion originally requested over the four-year period, FPL said.

Rate increases would be incremental so the typical FPL residential customer would be paying an estimated monthly bill of $148.15 in 2029.

Initial estimates in February had monthly bills rising to $151.99 by 2029. For the last year of the agreement, most Florida residential customers will be paying $46 less annually than they would have been under the initial plan that drew protest from both consumer advocates and business interests.

Under the deal, FPL's four-year revenue request would be cut by approximately 30% and shave hundreds of millions of dollars from its initial proposal while, the company said, still supporting continued investments in grid infrastructure and new generation to reliably serve Florida's growth.

"This settlement agreement is a win for all FPL customers and a win for Florida. It supports our ongoing commitment to meet the resiliency and reliability needs of our fast-growing state, while keeping customer bills well below the national average," FPL President and CEO Armando Pimentel was quoted as saying in the release.

Florida Power & Light had petitioned in February to be granted an $8.9 billion rate hike spread out from 2026 to 2029.

The petition included rate increases of $1.5 billion in 2026 and $927 million in 2027. FPL would also have passed costs to customers in 2028 and 2029 for solar-energy and battery-storage projects.

The proposed rate increase drew almost universal opposition from groups that included business-friendly entities such as the Florida Retail Federation and consumer advocate groups such as the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

The Office of Public Counsel, representing an estimated 12 million FPL rate payers, also announced its opposition to the proposed rate hike, which many called the largest in U.S. history.

Walt Trierweiler, the president of the OPC, stated in a memo that the office recommends, based on "appropriate adjustments," an allowable increase of "no more than" about $35 million $35,196,000 for FPL in 2027.

"Our part is not only trying to bring the bill down from $8.9 billion but also protecting customers from future changes, risks and unintentional consequences," Trierweiler told the Pensacola News Journal in early August.

Analysis conducted by Floridians Against Increased Rates found the additional revenue of $8.9 billion would likely rise if the company received, as also requested, authority to further increase customer costs when it brings new solar and battery projects online in 2028-29. Estimates with that addition would have brought the total cost of the rate increase to $10 billion.

A televised hearing was scheduled for Aug. 11 before the Public Service Commission board, but late in the day on Aug. 8 it was announced that FPL had reached agreement in principle with key stakeholders.

The scheduled Aug. 11 PSC hearing was postponed until details of the settlement arrangement could be ironed out, which FPL had said it could do by Aug. 20.

The Office of Public Counsel has remained steadfast in its opposition and is joined in disputing the hike by Florida Rising, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, the League of United Latin American Citizens and Floridians Against Increased Rates.

Florida Rising, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, the League of United Latin American Citizens and Floridians Against Increased Rates issued a joint comment following the release of the settlement agreement.

"Once again, Florida Power & Light Company has made a golden deal for itself and used levers of settlement to grant unjustified concessions to its largest customers, like Walmart, in the form of gratuitous bill credits and unjustified cost shifting, paid for by the residential and small business customers of the state of Florida," it said.

It said FPL had entered a supposedly give-and-take negotiation but provided "no give, just take."

"FPL takes all that they want, almost $7 billion in this case over the four-year term, and the other intervenors joining the 'settlement' take approximately $1 billion in subsidies paid for by the residents and small businesses of Florida," the statement said.

Others joining in the settlement announced Aug. 20 were the Florida Industrial Power Users Group; the Florida Energy for Innovation Association; EVgo Services; Americans for Affordable Clean Energy; RaceTrac; Electrify America; federal government agencies; and Armstrong World Industries.

The FPL settlement recommendation will kick off an extensive public review process. The PSC will set hearings and receive input from stakeholders and rate payers.