If you’re like me, going to Publix has become a stressful outing. As I walk down the aisle, I get sticker shock looking at the price of eggs, bread and other staples. I often feel an even worse level of shock when I open my Florida Power & Light (FPL) bill and see how much I owe. However, unlike groceries, we can’t simply choose another brand because Florida’s century-old laws governing utility companies give those companies exclusive geographic territories. So, like most of you, I just pay my bill and reminisce on the days when electricity felt affordable.
While Gov. DeSantis and other state leaders say they’re focused on bringing down costs, the days of cheaper electricity are quickly escaping us, largely due to the DeSantis-appointed Florida Public Service Commission (PSC), the state body that is supposed to regulate these utilities. The PSC just approved FPL’s plans to raise our bills yet again, despite commissioners saying some aspects of the deal gave them “pause” or “heartburn.” Commissioner Art Graham said, “It is not the dream settlement, but it is the one before us.”
Our state leaders are entrusted with preserving our interests when setting the rates and profits of monopoly utilities, but this deal isn’t in our favor. Customers will give an additional approximately $7 billion over the next four years to FPL, and FPL will get to offer investors the highest return on equity among all utility companies in the lower 48 states.
Significantly, the PSC did not consider staff’s recommendations during this process because typically it is the staff that digs into complex filings and issues recommendations, which often challenge arguments made by monopoly utilities for higher rates and identify ways to save customers money. This time, however, staff remained silent; its recommendations were missing from the proceedings about FPL’s request. That’s not just unusual, it’s not right.
Last year, staff submitted recommendations advising the PSC to slash Tampa Electric’s $400 million rate hike request in half. Ultimately, though, the PSC caved and sided with the monopoly utility. Now, average TECO customers are paying up to $13 more per month for essential electricity, and, after the holiday season, will be paying almost $1,000 more annually than they were just five years ago.
Now, the PSC caved again to utility interests. FPL customers deserved to hear what staff think about FPL’s request, especially given that Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz blasted the PSC for operating as a “black box.” Muñiz made those comments after the Supreme Court ruled in September 2023 that the PSC had not adequately justified the approval of a settlement that increased rates for FPL, ordering a new explanation.
Monopoly utilities, like FPL, are guaranteed customers in exchange for having their profits and rates set by a public state commission. Any time FPL wants to raise its rates, it must submit a request to the PSC and demonstrate that its request is in the public interest, typically through a legal proceeding known as a rate case. In this year’s rate case, FPL argued it’s in the best interest of everyday people to have their bills increased by nearly $20 per month by 2029. The settlement that was approved lowered the monthly increase to about $15 per month, but that is still highly favorable to corporations like Publix and will put additional financial burden on residential customers.
Bottom line: The PSC has accepted FPL’s settlement, which includes nearly $1 billion in subsidies to corporations and data centers, without meaningful scrutiny or justification.
When so many of us are severely cutting back to afford basic necessities, this decision to increase our power bills, especially with the PSC’s silence on missing staff recommendations, overlooks how grave the energy affordability crisis really is. Last year alone, FPL shut off power to nearly 3 million Floridians — beating its own record set in 2022, when the monopoly utility disconnected almost 2.8 million people.
Floridians deserve transparency and accountability, not another power play that will lead to more shutoffs and skyrocketing FPL bills.
Raymer Maguire, of Pompano Beach, is director of policy and campaigns for the CLEO Institute.
