TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Millions of electricity customers in President Donald Trump’s adopted home state of Florida will see their bills rise, after a regulatory board approved what environmental advocates say is one of the largest utility rate increases in the state’s history.
The price hike will affect an estimated 12 million Floridians — roughly half the state’s population — at a time when voters are citing economic concerns as a top issue, and as Democrats and Republicans brace for a debate over affordability in the intensifying midterm battle to control Congress.
The Florida Public Service Commission approved the rate increase Thursday for Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest power company, over the strong objections of advocates for the elderly, conservation groups, and the state-appointed advocate for Florida ratepayers, who called the proposal “disproportionately favorable” to corporate interests.
In a statement, FPL said the rate increase is needed to make “smart, necessary investments in the grid to power Florida’s growth,” while keeping customers’ bills “well below the national average.”
Here’s what to know.
How much will Floridians’ rates rise?
The new rates will kick in Jan. 1 and run through 2029. According to FPL, the monthly bill for a typical residential customer in most of Florida will go up by $2.50 a month, from about $134.14 to $136.64. Following other rate hikes in recent years, the average FPL customer will pay hundreds of dollars more each year than they did in 2021, when the typical monthly bill was $101.70, according to legal filings in the case.
Across the south Atlantic region, which includes Florida, the average monthly electric bill cost residential customers $152.04 in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Nationally, household electric bills are rising more rapidly than wages and inflation, according to a recent analysis by the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, with prices increasing by more than 10.5% between January and August of this year.
Combined with higher consumer prices and higher energy costs caused by extreme weather events, lower income families are hit hardest by the increases, which advocates say are forcing some to choose whether to “eat or heat.”
“Even modest rate increases can force painful trade-offs between paying energy bills and covering essentials such as food, rent, or medicine,” reads the NEADA analysis.
What has the reaction been?
FPL maintains that the rate increases are necessary to power the growing and hurricane-prone state. The Florida Public Service Commission, a state board appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, approved the rate hike, instead of a counterproposal from the Florida Office of Public Counsel.
A coalition of environmental conservation groups and consumer advocates opposed the rate hikes for months.
“FPL should not be allowed to pad their profits on the backs of residential customers like me,” reads a petition circulated by AARP Florida. “Please consider the impact to residential customers and put our needs above corporate profits.”
A bipartisan group of more than two dozen state and local elected officials also signed a joint letter to oppose the increase. Meanwhile, an influential Republican state senator has been calling for broader changes to the state agency responsible for regulating the utilities.
The politics of power bills
Already, Trump is signaling that he’ll focus on affordability next year as he and Republicans try to maintain their slim congressional majorities, while Democrats are blaming Trump for rising household costs.
Electricity costs were a key issue in this month’s elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, a data center hot spot, and in Georgia, where Democrats ousted two Republican incumbents for seats on the state’s utility regulatory commission.
Voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City all cited economic concerns as the top issue. Rising electricity costs aren’t expected to ease and many Americans could see an increase on their monthly bills in the middle of next year’s campaigns.
A recent analysis of consumer data found that more people are falling behind on paying their bills to keep on the lights and heat their homes — a warning sign for the U.S. economy that could drive voters’ decision making next year.
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Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
By KATE PAYNE
Associated Press/Report for America
