News

By Jim Saunders In a move that would create a utility with customers from Miami to Pensacola, Florida Power & Light and Gulf Power plan to merge in 2022, their parent company, NextEra Energy, said Wednesday. NextEra, which has long included FPL, closed a deal in January 2019 to purchase Gulf... Continue Reading

Commission Approves Electric Rate Reduction for May, Moves to Delay New Fire Services Fee With economic constraints tightening in many Tallahassee homes, the Mayor and City Commissioners approved a one-time rate reduction to provide immediate financial relief for City Utility customers. In total,... Continue Reading

By Paul Ciampoli The list of public power utilities in Florida that are reducing customers’ electric bills in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is growing. Eight more utilities and cities detailed plans that they are taking to ease the financial burden on customers. The City of... Continue Reading

By Paul Ciampoli Several public power utilities are sequestering mission-essential workers at key facilities like control rooms and power plants in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. SMUD California public power utility SMUD on April 16 began sequestering critical 24/7 employees that are... Continue Reading

FMEA is assisting Florida’s public power communities during these difficult times by providing our member utilities with opportunities to stay informed and connected while many of us work from home and practice social distancing. During this unprecedented time, FMEA continues to offer our... Continue Reading

By Paul Ciampoli, News Director, APPA The City of Lakeland Utility Committee on April 7 unanimously approved an advisory vote on public power utility Lakeland Electric’s plan for replacement power generation. Lakeland Electric’s coal-fired generator will be mothballed by Fall 2024... Continue Reading

May Bills to Drop, Assistance Programs Offered for Those Most in Need OUC’s Board of Commissioners approved far-reaching recommendations to help OUC customers and the Central Florida community impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. OUC will offer immediate relief by lowering utility bills next... Continue Reading

In a focused effort to assist the physical and financial needs of our community, the Winter Park City Commission and Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board approved $1.9 million of funds to help during this unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. Below are the areas identified as community hardships... Continue Reading

At a first of its kind virtual Utility Board meeting the Board recently approved implementing temporary rate relief for all Keys Energy Services (KEYS) customers. The approved rate relief will result in a 10-percent decrease to all energy bills in May and June, with Board direction to reevaluate... Continue Reading

Along with suspending utility disconnections until April 30, 2020, City of Green Cove Springs recently added two new measures to support its utility customers impacted by COVID-19. The first measure is removing the Bulk Power Cost Adjustment (BPCA) amounts from the electric utility portion of... Continue Reading

By Jim Saunders Moving forward with a 2019 law that is expected to lead to more underground power lines, four major utilities have filed plans that call for billions of dollars in projects over the next decade to strengthen electric systems against hurricanes. Florida Power & Light, Duke... Continue Reading

In an effort to provide financial relief during the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Kissimmee Utility Authority today announced it will utilize up to $8 million to offset fuel expenses for its residential and commercial customers, beginning May 1. As an example, the utility said... Continue Reading