Over 2.6 million people were out of power from FPL in Florida on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, due to Hurricane Ian
On Sept. 29, 2022, Thursday, Florida’s largest electric utility Florida Power & Light FPL worked day and night to restore power to over half a million customers after Hurricane Ian hit the state.
A month later, FPL is hoping to recover costs of about $1 billion from its customers, which will add to the already rising electric costs.
FPL to ask for a recoup for restoring power after Hurricane Ian
Hurricane Ian knocked out power for over 2.6 million customers across the state. To get the power back up as soon as possible, FPL increased its restoration workforce and equipment immediately.
Now, after the threat has passed and rebuilding has started, Florida Power & Light seeks approval to recover about $1 billion from its customers.
It’s not completely clear when a proposal for a recoup will be filed to the Florida Public Service Commission, or how it would affect monthly electric bills. However, utilities have been given the permission and power to recover costs from their customers after hurricanes.
On Friday, October 28, 2022, Kirk Crews, executive vice president, and chief financial officer of FPL’s parent company, NextEra Energy, said on a call that $220 million out of the $1 billion would be used to fill up the storm reserve.
The role of FPL during Hurricane Ian
Florida Power & Light provides electricity to areas hit hardest by Hurricane Ian, including parts of Sarasota, Lee, Charlotte, and DeSoto.
To recover the damage Ian had done and to rebuild the damaged infrastructure, FPL and other utilities assembled about 20,000 restoration workers from other states. With this joint effort, they reported that they could recover power to all customers within eight days.
However, the restoration costs now are expected to increase the electric bills that are already likely to sky-rocket next year for customers. This is due to the increase in electric base rates and the volatile natural-gas costs.
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