FPL says 2027 bills will drop by $1.18 even with new storm fee

Florida Power & Light has proposed a slight reduction in average monthly electricity bills for 2027, even as it requests a temporary surcharge to cover repairs from Hurricane Isaias. The utility announced on Friday that it wants state regulators to set the typical residential bill at $141.87 per month starting in January 2027. This amount is $1.18 lower than the rate approved in a settlement reached in 2025.

The proposed rate assumes a typical customer uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month. FPL attributes the decrease to efficient operations and lower projected natural gas prices. Scott Bores, the company’s president and CEO, stated that modern generation assets and a focus on efficiency are keeping costs down despite the need to recover hurricane response expenses.

FPL serves nearly 6.13 million homes and businesses across 41 Florida counties, covering a population of about 12 million people. The company cites smart long-term investments and a fuel-efficient fleet as key factors in the rate drop. When the four-year settlement was finalized in October 2025, the Office of Public Counsel warned that cumulative increases could reach $6.9 billion over previous rates. That agreement had projected base-rate increases of $945 million for 2026 and $705 million for 2027.

Separate from the base rate, FPL is asking to add a temporary surcharge of $3.48 per month for every 1,000 kilowatt-hours used. This fee would recover costs associated with restoring power after Hurricane Isaias and replenishing the company’s storm reserve. If the Public Service Commission approves the request, the surcharge would appear on bills from January through December 2027.

The storm made landfall near Destin on October 9 as a Category 2 hurricane. FPL reports that the event knocked out power to approximately 84 percent of its customers in northwest Florida. The company mobilized about 17,000 workers who restored service where possible within four days of the landfall.

FPL also highlighted the performance of its infrastructure during the storm. The company stated that investments in smart-grid technology helped avoid approximately 138,000 outages. Underground neighborhood power lines performed about 14 times better than overhead lines, and a forensic investigation found no failures among the company’s hardened poles during the hurricane.