On January 29 of this year, Spoonbill Courier posted a beef and warning about a sharp jump in the editor’s electric bill, and noted a recently-approved rate hike. Several subsequent comments pointed to the difficulty in pinning all the blame on FP&L. Even the editor owned up to some user responsibility. To perhaps settle it all, the daring and ever-thorough Gerry Kurth now takes a short deep dive into The Electric Bill to perhaps settle matters once and for all.

By Gerry Kurth

The Breakdown of Your FP&L Electricity Bill

1. Bill Components

Your FPL bill starts with a fixed $11 base charge covering metering, billing, and customer service — regardless of how much electricity you use. The two largest components are the energy charge (infrastructure, transmission, and distribution), roughly ~55% of your bill and the fuel charge (the pass-through cost of natural gas and other fuels to generate power, another ~25%. The remaining ~20% covers smaller riders like storm protection (~7%), environmental fees (~3%), conservation/capacity charges (~2%), and local taxes (~3–5%).

2. Usage Costs: Not Strictly Linear, But Close

FP&L uses a two-tier rate structure: lower per-kWh rates apply to the first 1,000 kWh, with slightly higher rates above that threshold. Since most average homes use 2,000+ kWh per month, the majority of customers encounter both tiers. The break is intended to conserve energy, but in practice, the difference is negligible. As a reference, the rough cost for us is about 14c/kWh. An average 2,500 sq.ft. house may consume 1,500 kwh, for a monthly bill of $210. Of course, big energy users like pool pumps, electric car charging, etc. will make that math meaningless.  

3. Rate Increases – The Buzz

In November 2025, the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a four-year settlement allowing FP&L to collect ~$6.9 billion in additional revenue from 2026–2029, funding grid upgrades, storm hardening, and solar investments. The widely cited “10% increase” refers specifically to the non-fuel base energy charge, not the total bill. For most residential customers, the real-world impact is less than $5. We’ll see similar increases through 2029.

4. Summer Heat and Bill Spikes

High summer temperatures push a typical home of 2,500 sq ft to 2,000–3,000+ kWh per month as air conditioning runs heavily. This can increase bills 25–50% or more over milder months. That increase far outweighs any rate adjustment.

5. Cold Fronts – The Hidden Bill Killer

In mild Florida winters, usage drops to 1,000–1,800 kWh as cooling needs ease. But during our cold snaps (lows in the 20s–40s°F), heat pumps lose efficiency and auxiliary electric strips will kick in, spiking usage. The AC unit turns into a giant toaster. Since our AC systems are optimized for cooling, heating costs are 2–3x more energy-intensive than cooling per degree, so a single cold front can hit harder than an entire hot summer month.

6. Takeaways

Thermostat management, whether manual or automatic is, as always , the big driver. But in addition, keep in mind that ….  

If your bill seems higher than expected, usage — not the rate adjustment — is the main driver.

Winter cold snaps can cause a much bigger billing surprise than a summer heat wave.

Pay attention to the dates of extreme weather versus your meter read date. A “surprise” bill is often the result of a cold snap that occurred weeks before the bill arrived.

7. PS

FPL offers the OnCall® program which uses a small energy-management device (the “cutoff device”) installed on your appliances to cycle them off during peak demand.

FP&L installs a small box on your AC, water heater, or pool pump. They can remotely cycle these off for short periods (usually 3–4 hours max) during high-demand events. Many long-term participants report going years without ever noticing a single activation. It is a “break glass in case of emergency” tool for the utility rather than a daily occurrence.

If you choose to join the program, you will receive fixed monthly credits on your bill regardless of whether FP&L actually activates the device. Savings are typically $100 per year.