TALLAHASSEE – State regulators Tuesday signed off on plans that will direct to tens of millions of utility customers looking at bigger electric charges in April for the reason that of hurricane expenses and larger-than-predicted all-natural gas rates very last year.
The Florida Public Company Fee authorized a sequence of proposals that will maximize the quantities of money that Florida Power & Mild, Duke Strength Florida and Tampa Electric Co. will accumulate from people.
Utilities are commonly authorized to get well prices connected to hurricane preparation and recovery and electrical power-plant fuel. Utilities got hammered in 2022 by Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole and spiraling purely natural-fuel selling prices.
Even though projected purely natural-gas charges have arrive down in 2023, the monthly bill improves will mirror last year’s troubles.
The commission took a move Tuesday to soften the blow to Duke customers by spreading out recovery of gas expenditures about 21 months, relatively than a previously proposed 12 months. That will considerably lessen the extra expenditures on month to month bills, nevertheless consumers will have to pay for a extended interval of time.
FPL and Tampa Electrical had earlier proposed recouping the gas prices about 21 months.
In addressing prices, utilities rely on a benchmark of residential clients who use 1,000 kilowatt several hours of electrical power a thirty day period. Right here are how the improvements authorised Tuesday would impact these household buyers, according to the Community Provider Fee and the utilities:
– Since of a merger with the previous Gulf Power, FPL has two sets of fees. FPL household buyers who use 1,000 kilowatt hrs of electrical power a thirty day period now fork out $129.59. That amount of money will go to $144.38 in April. But FPL tasks such expenditures will go down to $139.95 in May possibly since of decrease-than-anticipated fuel rates in 2023.
Previous Gulf Power prospects in Northwest Florida who use 1,000 kilowatt hours of energy will see their payments go from the present-day $159.79 to $163.29 in April. FPL jobs they will pay back $158.86 in Could.
– Duke residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours at the moment shell out $165.55, which will go to $171.83 in April.
– Tampa Electric clients who use 1,000 kilowatt hours now pay out $146.72, which will go to $161.13 in April.
In a information release, Tampa Electrical said all-natural-gas costs tripled amongst 2020 and 2022. Pure gas is the dominant supply of fuel for the state’s electric power crops.
All three of the utilities also mobilized massive figures of staff to prepare for Hurricane Ian and to restore electrical energy after the Group 4 storm hit the condition.
“We are very pleased to provide terrific price to our clients just about every working day, and we labored hard to cut down the affect of these unexpected activities,” Archie Collins, president and main executive officer of Tampa Electric powered, claimed in a prepared statement Tuesday. “We inspire clients to use our many free of charge systems to better manage energy use, which can direct to lessen bills. If a lot more aid is essential, we can supply details on more possibilities.”
