Florida Power and Light is asking the state for a temporary rate hike to recover costs from Hurricane Matthew. FPL says in the wake of the storm it deployed thousands of employees and contract workers, and replaced more than 250 miles of wire, 900 transformers and 400 poles. To cover those costs, it’s asking the state Public Service Commission to allow a temporary charge that adds up to $3.36 a month for the average residential customer. “We understand that there’s no good time for customers to pay an additional charge on the electric bill,” said FPL spokesman Dave McDermitt. “But Hurricane Matthew was a large and very powerful storm that caused power outages to 1.2 million of our customers.”
FPL says it will divide the $318 million collected between covering costs and replenishing its storm reserve.
If approved the charge will start March 1st and appear on electric bills for twelve months.
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