In an unusual move, multiple groups advocating for utility customers filed an alternative proposal that they said should resolve Florida Power & Light’s rate case.
Signing onto this unconventional settlement is the Office of Public Counsel, the Legislature-appointed advocate for all utility customers statewide. But it stands without the support of the utility company.
The groups’ proposal would roughly halve Florida Power & Light’s original request to hike customer rates by nearly $10 billion over four years, which is believed to be the highest rate hike request in American history. Instead, this new version would result in a $5.2 billion increase.
Florida Power & Light opposes the new motion, according to the filing.
The company filed its own proposed settlement last week, largely with the support of big-business groups involved in the case, such as Walmart and a group representing industrial corporations. That settlement lowered the total hikes to about $7 billion, but granted large corporations a higher percentage discount than residents next year, while the 2026 hike for small businesses tripled.
“This settlement puts fairness back on the table for Florida families,” said MacKenzie Marcelin, deputy director of campaigns at Florida Rising in a statement. Florida Rising is one of the groups, alongside the public counsel, proposing the alternative settlement. “FPL, in opposing it, have turned their back on the people who keep this state running.”
Bradley Marshall, an attorney representing Florida Rising, said it was likely the first time groups had filed such an alternative settlement — without the support of the utility — in Florida history.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
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