State Regulators Approve Substantial FPL Rate Hike

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) — Your power bill is going up next year.

On Tuesday the Florida Public Service Commission approved a substantial rate hike of $811 million which had been sought by Florida Power & Light. FPL has about 4.8 million customers in the state.

FPL initially wanted a $1.3 billion hike, but scaled it back during settlement negotiations.

The rate hike will be phased in over a four-year period, but the first jolt will come in January when the average residential bill is expected to go up by about $7 a month.

PSC members, who are appointed by Gov. Rick Scott, defended the proposal before voting. They said that FPL has gotten good marks for its service and noted that its rates are among the lowest in the state.