12 million Floridians are about to see their electricity prices rise in one of the largest utility rate increases in state history.
Millions of electricity customers in President Donald Trump’s adopted 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 about 12 million Floridians, or about half the state’s population, at a time when voters cite economic concerns as a top issue and Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for a debate over affordability in the intensifying midterm battle to control Congress.
The Florida Public Service Commission on Thursday approved rate increases for Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest electric company, over strong objections from senior advocates, 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 necessary to make “smart and necessary investments in the grid to fuel Florida’s growth” while keeping customer bills “well below the national average.”
Here’s what you need to know.
How much will Floridians’ rates increase?
The new rates will take effect Jan. 1 and last through 2029. According to FPL, the monthly bill for a typical residential customer in most of Florida will increase by $2.50 per month, from about $134.14 to $136.64. As a result of other rate hikes in recent years, the average FPL customer will pay hundreds of dollars more each year than in 2021, when the typical monthly bill was $101.70, according to legal documents filed in the case.
In the South Atlantic region, which includes Florida, the average monthly electricity bill cost residential customers $152.04 in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Nationally, household electricity bills are rising faster than wages and inflation, according to a recent analysis by the National Association of Energy Managers, with prices rising 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, low-income families are hit hardest by the increases, which advocates say force some to choose between “eating or heating.”
“Even modest rate increases can force painful tradeoffs between paying energy bills and covering basic needs such as food, rent or medicine,” NEADA’s analysis reads.
What was the reaction?
FPL maintains the rate increases are necessary to power this growing, hurricane-prone state. The Florida Public Service Commission, a state board appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, approved the rate hike, in lieu of a counterproposal from the Florida Office of Public Counsel.
A coalition of environmental groups and consumer advocates has opposed the rate hikes for months.
“FPL should not be allowed to increase its profits on the backs of residential customers like me,” reads a petition circulated by AARP Florida. “Please consider the impact on residential customers and put our needs ahead of business profits. »
A bipartisan group of more than two dozen state and local elected officials also signed a joint letter opposing the increase. Meanwhile, an influential Republican senator has called for broader changes at the state agency charged with regulating utilities.
Electricity bill policy
Trump is already signaling he will focus on affordability next year as he and Republicans try to maintain their slim majority in Congress, while Democrats blame Trump for rising household costs.
Electricity costs were a key issue in this month’s gubernatorial elections 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 all cited economic concerns as their top concern. Rising electricity costs are not expected to abate, and many Americans could see their monthly bills rise 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 light and heat their homes — a warning sign for the U.S. economy that could influence 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 under-reported issues.
