Duke Energy trucks were staged in the Tropicana Field parking lot in St. Petersburg on September 28 in preparation for Hurricane Ian.
Duke Energy Florida on Monday filed a proposal to pass $56 million in savings to customers after federal legislation passed providing tax breaks for renewable energy. Duke customers are expected to face rising utility bills in 2023. But the proposal, which was filed with the Florida Public Service Commission, would reduce those increases.
“We understand that our customers need some relief, and this is an opportunity for Duke Energy to pass tax savings on to our customers,” Melissa Seixas, president of Duke Energy Florida State, said in a statement. prepare. “We will continue to seek creative solutions to provide relief and focus our efforts on providing the best possible service.”
Duke’s proposal came after Florida Power & Light filed a similar filing last month to pass on $384.1 million in three-year savings to customers. The FPL proposal is pending approval by the Public Service Commission.
The commission approved settlements in 2021 that included base rate increases for Duke and FPL. But the regulations also included requirements that rates had to be adjusted if federal tax laws changed.
Duke and FPL’s proposals stem from tax savings in new federal legislation known as the Cut Inflation Act, which President Joe Biden signed in August. The law provided tax credits for solar energy projects.
Both utilities would begin passing through the savings in January. But customers are still expected to see their bills rise due to other factors, including soaring costs for natural gas to fuel power plants.
Duke residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month were expected to see their monthly bills drop from an average of $148.23 this year to $170.68 in 2023. With tax savings taken into account, the bills would rise to $168.90, according to the filing. Utilities use 1,000 kilowatt-hour residential bills as a benchmark, but customers use widely varying amounts of electricity.
