utilities

State regulators Tuesday approved utility costs that will translate to higher electric bills in January for homeowners and businesses — and the pain won’t end there.

It turns out that while solar systems can generate as much power as most homes consume on bright, sunny days, they cannot be relied upon to consistently produce the amounts that we need.

When Florida Power & Light faced a spate of bad publicity and political blowback, a small but ambitious news website called the Capitolist sprang to the public utility’s defense. Unbeknownst to readers, FPL president and CEO Eric Silagy was secretly running things at the Capitolist.

Earlier this year, there had been warnings that supply during peak summer hours might not meet demand. But there have been no reports yet of widespread outages.

Health experts warn problems with these "underground poisonous straws" can strike suddenly, and states are getting cash to replace them. But no one knows how many lines exist or where they are.

Florida Power & Light backed away from a controversial proposal that would have used a severe winter storm in 1989 as a basis for future power plant projects. It had drawn opposition from the state Office of Public Counsel and other groups, as it could have helped lead to potentially costly projects.

The Florida Department of Children and Families is poised to stop taking applications for a federally funded program that provides rental and utility assistance for low-income and unemployed residents.

Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric Co. filed the proposals in order to add underground power lines and reduce outage threats from trees and other vegetation.

In a win for the rooftop-solar industry and environmental groups, Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed a bill that would have made major changes in rules for rooftop-solar energy.

Florida Power & Light became the second utility to notify state regulators that it continues to face higher-than-expected costs for natural gas.

Pacific Gas & Electric also agreed to submit to five years of oversight. The company didn't acknowledge any wrongdoing in the settlement.

A recent analysis indicated it’s no coincidence the Southeast has among the highest electricity bills in the country, and the lowest investment in energy efficiency.