There has been much consternation about higher power bills over the last several weeks. I've spoken to members of our legislative delegation about it, and I have reached out to the folks I know at Florida Power and Light as well. Althought this has nothing whatsoever to do with the County---and we have ZERO control over these rates---
I have received a number of contacts from constituents asking for help. The response from Mr. Rick Byars at FPL was comprehensive and included some attachements with resources and information that can assist customers, so I am attaching that here, below, in case it can be helpful for folks that see it on my blog.
from the email:
"Good morning Commissioner Bergosh,
Thank you for speaking to me this week. Again, we know
you may be getting questions from your residents / constituents about higher
than expected power bills, and I wanted to provide some information and
resources that may be helpful.
There are several things impacting our customers’ bills
right now, all at once:
•
Higher costs for the fuel used to generate electricity, just as we’ve seen in
gas prices and other products;
•
Colder winter temperatures, which causes customers to use more energy and
therefore leads to higher bills;
•
The tiered pricing structure, which charges a lower rate for energy consumption
up to 1,000-kWh and a higher rate for energy use over that amount; and
•
The state-approved rate increase, which also took effect in January.
We understand that higher bills can be a difficult situation
for our customers. We want our customers to know we’re here to help and are
doing everything we can.
•
First and foremost, if you’ve received a higher than expected bill and are
facing financial hardship or need additional time to pay, please reach out to
us. We can see if you qualify for a payment extension, an installment plan and
connect you with programs that provide assistance.
•
We are also encouraging our customers to use the FPL app to track your daily
energy use so you can make energy use changes throughout the month to minimize
the impact of the new rates.
•
There are also other tools and tips available on our website to provide
additional energy savings information, including the option for a free online
analysis of your energy use and even an audit with an energy expert.
•
All of these tips and tools to monitor and manage your energy usage is especially
important when we are facing severe cold temperatures, as we’ve seen lately –
your heater is often the largest user of energy by far in your home when it’s
cold outside, so anything that you can do to lower your usage can help.
FPL acquired Gulf Power because the company saw the
potential to bring lower rates to the area, which has historically seen
significantly higher rates than other FPL customers. We are focused on bringing
our Northwest Florida customers into alignment with those lower bills, but it
can’t happen overnight. This is a journey to lower rates that will take some
time, but if fuel prices remain the same, bills for our customers in Northwest
Florida will continue to decline each year moving forward until they are fully
aligned with FPL customers across the state – which we expect to be Jan. 1,
2027.
Please find attached some additional resources that you can
use to answer questions or provide additional information to anyone reaching
out to you. As always, please let me know if I can be of any further
assistance.
Rick Byars
Senior External Affairs Manager"
See resource information provided in the email, below:
