OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) – A major power company in Florida is planning to raise rates in 2025 to offset the cost of hurricane damage repairs.
On Friday, Duke Energy filed a plan with the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) to recover an estimated $1.1 billion in costs associated with repairs.
Beginning in March 2025, company officials say residential customers will pay an average of $31 per 1,000 kWh in storm charges on their monthly electricity bills.
Officials note customers are paying an average of $21 more compared to last February because prices went down by $10 in 2024.
“Quickly and safely getting the lights back on for our customers was our highest priority after each of these brutal storms,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. “While today’s filing reflects the costs of those efforts, we want to assure our customers that, as part of our overall commitment to affordability, we strived to minimize the impact on their bills as much as possible”
During the 2024 hurricane season, Duke Energy customers were impacted by three hurricanes, Debby (Category 1), Helene (Category 4), and Milton (Category 3).
Altogether, Duke restored more than 2 million outages in Florida caused by the hurricanes and deployed thousands of workers.
Duke Energy Florida offers several financial assistance tools, including flexible billing programs and the Share the Light Fund®, for customers in need. To learn more, customers can call the Customer Care phone number listed on their bills or visit duke-energy.com/HereToHelp.
Florida Power and Light (FPL) announced a plan in October to raise rates to reimburse the company $1.2 billion. Officials say the plan would add $12.02 a month to a typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill from January through December next year.
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