By Emily Mahoney Tampa Bay Times

Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest utility, is seeking a nearly $9 billion hike to customers’ base rates over four years, a sum that affordability advocates said represents the largest rate hike request in U.S. history.

Base rates are a major component of electricity bills that also include other charges for things like hurricane repairs and fuel. Above that $9 billion, the company would also be able to add more hikes for solar and battery facilities it constructs during the period. As part of the request, which was filed to state regulators Friday, the company is seeking a rate of shareholder profit with a midpoint of 11.9% — well above the national average. It’s also higher than the profit rate sought by Tampa Electric last year, which the Legislature-appointed public advocate called “egregious” and “crushing” to customers.

“Rather than finding a fair balance between the needs of customers and their own operations, FPL has chosen to prioritize profit margins,” said Zayne Smith, senior director of advocacy at AARP Florida, which represents residents over 50. “This decision threatens to place undue financial strain on households already grappling with rising living costs.” Florida Power & Light serves about 12 million people in the state. As the largest utility not just in Florida but in the entire country, it’s an influential player in pursing policies that other companies, like Duke Energy and Tampa Electric, often follow. Florida Power & Light President and CEO Armando Pimentel said in a statement Friday that the rate hike request was necessary and responsible.

“The balanced plan we submitted to the (Florida Public Service Commission) would enable FPL to continue to make smart investments in the grid and in new generation resources to benefit our customers and to power our fast-growing state,” he said. “No other utility in the U.S. provides a better combination of reliability, resiliency and low bills than FPL.” Under the company’s proposal, typical residential customers would pay roughly $12 more monthly next year for their base rates. The rates would then keep hiking each year for four years. That means in 2027, the monthly hike would rise to about $19, adding up to hundreds more annually. Friday’s filings did not include monthly estimates for bills in 2028 and 2029.

These increases do not include other parts of power bills that could also fluctuate, such as the way Florida Power & Light customers are paying a fee of about $12 per month on this year’s bills for costs associated with 2024 hurricanes. “Families shouldn’t have to decide between turning on the A/C and affording their groceries for the month,” said Brooke Ward, senior Florida organizer with the environmental group Food & Water Watch, in a statement. “Gov. DeSantis’ Public Service Commission must oppose this egregious ask.” Friday’s filing is one step in what will likely be a yearlong process for this case to be evaluated by regulators in the Public Service Commission.

Those regulators, all appointed by the governor, just finished approving base rate hikes for Tampa Electric and Duke Energy last year. Florida Power & Light’s rate case comes at a time when the Public Service Commission is under the microscope of other prominent conservatives, which could impact how the regulators approach this request. The chief justice of the state supreme court, Carlos Muñiz, last year called the commission “a black box” because of what he said is insufficient transparency about how they make decisions. Additionally, a prominent state Republican lawmaker, Sen. Don Gaetz, has filed a bill that would dramatically curb utilities’ ability to request profit margins like the one Florida Power & Light is pitching. Gaetz said executives from the company have already met with him to lobby against the bill. This story was originally published March 1, 2025 at 10:19 AM.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article301232014.html#storylink=cpy