Duke Energy Florida customers will get a temporary $90.5 million refund this summer because the utility collected too much in hurricane restoration costs.
The state Public Service Commission approved the refund Tuesday, May 5 after Duke found it had collected more than $1 billion in storm-related costs. The actual costs were about $915.3 million, the PSC said in a news release.
How much was the storm charge?
The collections were previously approved to pay for restoration costs following hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton in 2024. Duke was approved for a restoration charge of about $33 per 1,000 kilowatt hours for residential customers.
That charge ended a month early, in January of this year rather than February has had been projected. The PSC approved a fuel charge reduction of 0.562 cents per kilowatt hour from June through September billing cycles, after which the cost will revert to previously approved rates.
How many customers does Duke Energy have?
Duke Energy Florida serves about 2 million customers in 35 counties The Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy holding company has a total of 8.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, according to the utility’s website.
Despite refunds, many customers have faced higher winter bills, leading to petitions and discussions about more audits of Duke Energy.
Curt Anderson is the Policy and Politics Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY at https://tallahassee.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Duke Energy Florida customers will get break on summer electric bills
Reporting by Curt Anderson, USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
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