Florida Power & Light (FPL) presented a proposal on Friday to the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) that includes a temporary surcharge of $3.48 per month to recover costs associated with service restoration following Hurricane Isaias, according to the official company statement.
The surcharge, which would be in effect from January to December 2027, would apply to the typical residential customer consuming 1,000 kWh monthly and is also intended to partially replenish the storm reserve that the cyclone depleted.
With that charge included, the proposed monthly bill for that consumption profile would be 141.87 dollars, an amount that is 1.18 dollars lower than the 143.05 dollars that the company itself had projected for 2027 in previous presentations to the PSC.
The difference is explained by a reduction in the fuel charge—reflecting lower projected costs of natural gas—and various operational efficiencies that more than offset the new surcharge for Isaías, according to the company.
It is important to emphasize that both the surcharge and the other proposed adjustments are subject to review and approval by the PSC; this is not a measure that has already been approved. The actual cost for each household will vary depending on consumption, the contracted rate, and the service area.
Scott Bores, president and CEO of FPL, justified the request with the following words: "Our responsibility is to supply reliable energy while keeping customer bills as low as possible. During Hurricane Isaias, our investments helped prevent outages and restore service more quickly. Now, our modern generation fleet and our ongoing focus on efficiency are contributing to lower bills in 2027 than we projected last year, even as we recover costs related to hurricane response."
The hurricane Isaías made landfall on October 9 in Okaloosa County, in the northwestern part of Florida, as a Category 2 with winds of approximately 105 mph. About 435,000 FPL customers lost power, which is equivalent to 84% of those served by the company in that area.
For the restoration, FPL mobilized nearly 17,000 workers and managed to restore service to almost all those affected within four days. The company's smart grid technology prevented approximately 138,000 additional outages during the cyclone, and the subsequent forensic investigation found no reinforced poles that had failed.
By October 13, the company had resolved more than 380,000 outages and completed the recovery in six of the eight affected counties; the most complex work was concentrated in Escambia and Santa Rosa.
This surcharge for Isaías is a concept independent of the multi-year rate increase that the PSC approved in November 2025, the largest in FPL's history, which includes increases of 945 million dollars in 2026 and 705 million in 2027, with additional adjustments until 2029.
FPL serves over six million customer accounts and provides electricity to approximately 12 million people across the state, making it the largest electric company in the United States. The PSC will need to review and rule on the proposal before any changes to the 2027 bills take effect.
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