Florida Power & Light customers will not pay a surcharge for
Hurricane Irma restoration as previously expected because of savings the company will realize under President Donald Trump’s tax plan.
FPL said that it plans to apply federal tax savings toward the $1.3 billion cost of Hurricane Irma restoration, which will save each of FPL’s 4.9 million customers an average of approximately $250.
FPL also stated that it may be able to use future federal tax savings to continue operating under the current base rate agreement beyond the initial term, which covers through 2020, for up to two additional years.
“The timing of federal tax reform, coming on the heels of the most expensive hurricane in
Florida history, created an unusual and unprecedented opportunity,” said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL.
“We believe the plan we’ve outlined is the fastest way to begin passing tax savings along to our customers and the most appropriate approach to keeping rates low and stable for years to come.”
Hurricane Irma was one of the largest, most powerful storms to ever hit
Florida, and FPL’s response was unprecedented both in scale and the speed of power restoration. The company had previously announced its intention to begin recovering the $1.3 billion restoration cost by implementing a surcharge on customer bills through 2020.
The ability to leverage the federal tax savings in this way is afforded by FPL’s current base rate agreement, which was negotiated with the Office of Public Counsel and other customer groups and approved unanimously by the Florida Public Service Commission in 2016. The agreement set parameters for base rates and storm surcharges from 2017 through at least 2020.
“Our current rate agreement provides the ability to use federal tax savings to entirely offset
Hurricane Irma restoration costs, which delivers an immediate benefit to customers, and also the potential opportunity to avoid a general base rate increase for up to an additional two years,” Silagy said.
Photo credit: Trump campaign
