PSC unanimously approves FPL’s 4-year rate settlement agreement

The Florida Public Service Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved Florida Power & Light Company’s comprehensive, four-year rate settlement agreement.

The settlement was developed jointly with the Florida Office of Public Counsel — the state’s consumer advocate — as well as the Florida Retail Federation, the Florida Industrial Power Users Group and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Under the agreement, a typical 1,000-kWh per month residential customer bill is expected to grow from 2021-2025 at an average annual rate of 2.8% and remain below the national average. Typical FPL business customer bills are also expected to remain below the national average and grow from 2021-2025 at an average annual rate of 1.6% to 3.4%, depending on rate class.

In 2021, a 1000-kWh monthly bill is $101.70. FPL projects the typical 1000-kWh bill will grow to $113.85 next year and to $117.02 by 2025.

Bills will be higher in Northwest Florida, but the approved agreement will unify the rates and tariffs of FPL and Gulf Power. The cost difference between serving the Northwest Florida region and FPL’s other customers will be softened by a rider/credit mechanism. Under the plan, an FPL customer who uses 1,000 kWh of power in Northwest Florida would pay $129.24 a month. That would grow to $137.49 next year but taper down to $126.47 by 2025.

The approved agreement, which was also signed by Vote Solar, The CLEO Institute and Federal Executive Agencies, will phase in new rates starting in 2022 and supports continued long-term investments in infrastructure, clean energy and innovative technology — including the largest solar buildout in the United States.

“Backed by multiple consumer and environmental groups, this comprehensive agreement benefits all 5.6 million FPL customers and our state by keeping bills low and accelerating investments in clean energy,” said FPL President and CEO Eric Silagy.

“Florida is a rapidly growing state on the front lines of climate change and our customers deserve bold, decisive, long-term actions as we continue building a more resilient and sustainable energy future all of us can depend on, including future generations. This agreement paves the way for FPL to continue delivering America’s best energy value — electricity that’s not just clean and reliable, but also affordable.”

The new rate plan directly supports FPL’s “30-by-30” plan to install 30 million solar panels in Florida by 2030. The company is currently ahead of schedule and under budget in implementing the plan.

The agreement will also expand FPL’s SolarTogether program — more than doubling what’s already the largest community solar program in the country across an FPL service area that spans from Miami to Pensacola. In all, the approved settlement agreement supports the development of 16 million solar panels across more than 50 new sites — enough to power approximately 1 million homes with clean, emissions-free energy from the sun.

In addition to solar energy, the approved agreement supports FPL’s green hydrogen pilot project in Okeechobee County, an innovative technology that could one day unlock 100% carbon-free electricity that’s available 24 hours a day, as well as the FPL Manatee Energy Storage Center, the world’s largest integrated solar-powered battery system that’s projected to begin serving customers later this year.

The agreement also supports investments in resilient infrastructure projects as FPL continues building a stronger and smarter energy grid to deliver reliable service in good weather and bad.