Florida Power & Light Company plans to refund nearly $400 million to its 5.8 million customers, money to be given back as a result of savings from the new federal tax law.
FPL’s announcement Friday said the savings are the result of a federal production tax credit for the development of solar energy centers the power company continues to build across Florida. FPL now has 50 operational solar sites that began serving customers in 2022.
"We recognize that all Floridians are continuing to deal with the challenges of record-high inflation and increased costs of everyday goods and services," FPL Chairman and CEO Eric Silagy said. "As we continue working to operate even more efficiently to drive costs out of our business, federal tax savings will begin to provide some relief to customers next year as high natural gas prices continue to put upward pressure on bills."
The FPL solar energy centers are retroactively eligible for the production tax credits.
The company is planning a one-time, $25 million refund in January 2023 and, starting next year and through 2025, FPL plans to phase in nearly $360 million in additional federal tax savings for future planned solar projects.
FPL's 2022-2025 rate agreement, which was unanimously approved last year by state regulators and signed by the state's consumer advocate and other organizations, includes a provision that accounts for changes to federal tax law. That provision will facilitate the quick implementation of bill adjustments over the remainder of FPL's rate agreement.
As a result of federal tax savings, FPL projects its typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill to be $126.65 in January 2023. The original January 2023 estimated bill was $130.23.
All bills would increase slightly in February in the absence of the one-time refund due to an approved base rate adjustment and higher expected fuel costs in 2023, but still reflect lower base rates as a result of federal tax savings. FPL estimated the February 2023 bill to be $129.59.
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