Duke Energy Florida to file for a rate increase in April
Duke Energy photo.
St. Petersburg, Florida – On January 31, 2024, Duke Energy Florida notified the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) of its intent to file a rate case in April, 2024 that proposes investments to increase generation unit efficiency, reduce outages, and expand solar generation as part of increased base rates, taking effect in January 2025. The expected impact of these requested base rate changes will be an average annual increase of approximately 4% of the total bill during 2025 through 2027.
The company says, that even with the requested base rate increase, they expect customer bills to decrease in 2025, because the 2022 fuel under-recovery, storm restoration cost recovery and legacy purchased power contracts will expire at the end of 2024, which will lower overall bills in 2025.
The company claims that the rate request will deliver the smarter energy future customers deserve while providing price stability and certainty, and the proposed investments will decrease outages and shorten restoration times for customers and communities, while reducing emissions at a reasonable cost.
As the energy industry continues to evolve, Duke Energy Florida must anticipate changes driven by population growth, technological advancements and customer expectations.
“This proposal offers what our customers want – a more reliable energy system using cleaner energy,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. “We are focused on making smart energy investments that leverage innovative technology to increase power plant efficiency and reduce outages.”
Investments
Investments under the proposed 2025-2027 rate case filing include:
• Continued grid modernization to serve increased population growth through improved reliability, resulting in fewer outages and shorter restoration times.
• Between 2018 and 2023, the company reduced the average length of a customer outage by 27%. In 2023, the company had its best reliability performance in more than a decade.
• Customers are already benefiting from our self-healing technology through our Storm Protection Program. This technology reroutes power and reduces the number of customers who experience outages. For example, during hurricanes Ian, Nicole and Idalia, self-healing grid technologies helped to automatically restore service to more than 230,000 customers who experienced outages and saved more than 200 million minutes of total lost outage time.
• Continued enhancements to power plants to reduce fuel consumption, generating future customer savings.
• Duke Energy Florida estimates customers will save $150 million to $200 million per year in reduced fuel costs from investments under the proposed 2025-2027 rate case filing.
• Building 14 new solar plants between 2025 and 2027, adding another 1,050 megawatts (MW) of clean energy to Florida’s grid. These cost-effective solar investments will reduce Florida’s dependence on fossil fuels, increase fuel generation diversity and reduce emissions.
• Additionally, the continued exploration of innovative clean energy technologies, such as long-duration energy storage and the DeBary Hydrogen project, a clean energy hydrogen production and storage system. These projects maximize customer benefits through state-of-the-art technology solutions that offset traditional utility investments, improve the resilience of utility facilities and enable Florida’s transition to cleaner energy.
Next Steps
The proposed 2025-2027 rate case filing is subject to the FPSC approval. The approval process includes public hearings to allow customers feedback on the rate requests and the utility service quality. The FPSC considers customer input when reviewing rate increase requests.
Through a public and transparent process, the schedule of public hearings will be announced through the FPSC’s website and customer bill inserts. Timing is expected for midyear.
Connecting Customers with Billing Assistance
Duke Energy Florida will also continue to offer programs and assistance options to low-income customers. This includes connecting customers with assistance agencies that administer the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and Elderly Home Energy Assistance Program.
Through the Duke Energy Foundation, the company also manages and contributes to its Share the Light Fund®, which assists customers with paying their energy bills. In 2023, we distributed more than $1 million in energy bill assistance to qualifying Florida customers.