Today wraps up the last of the limited in-district hearings held by the Public Service Commission (PSC) regarding Florida Power & Light’s (FPL) controversial near-$10 billion rate hike request. If approved, FPL customers would pay at least $200 more annually for basic electricity, and FPL would gain a return on equity of 11.9% — well over the national industry average of 9.6%. The PSC is expected to announce their decision to approve or deny FPL’s request later this year.

At the first hearing in Fort Myers, the only one held on the Gulf Coast, groups announced a letter from 30 groups representing hundreds of thousands of FPL customers unable to attend the mid-week, mid-day hearings, opposing the rate hike. Inside the hearing, speakers connected to FPL offered support for increased bills. Over the last two weeks, groups and impacted residents rallied against FPL’s rate hike outside further hearings in Miami Gardens, Hollywood, West Palm, and Daytona Beach, and Pensacola.

“Having meetings at 9 am on a workday does not allow for people to turn out and provide their vital testimony. While everyday Floridians were at their jobs trying to make ends meet, FPL enlisted their friends to advocate for grotesque rate hikes,” said Senior Food & Water Watch Florida Organizer Brooke Ward, an organizer of the Fort Myers rally. “The fact remains that Floridians do not want higher energy bills — FPL’s request must be denied. The PSC must side with community need over corporate greed, starting by holding more hearings and ensuring they’re accessible to the Floridians they serve.”

“Florida families shouldn’t have to choose between paying their power bill and putting food on the table,” said Yoca Arditi-Rocha, CEO of The CLEO Institute. “We’re calling on the PSC to protect the public interest, not corporate profits. If the PSC approves FPL’s request, everyday Floridians could pay at least $200 more annually for electricity by 2027 — and potentially more. FPL’s executives are making record salaries while Floridians have to cut back on A/C in record heat.”

Ratepayers across the state drove in thousands of comments demanding that the PSC reject FPL’s request and hold more in-district meetings.

“The Public Service Commission hearing in Pensacola showed that there is deep and diverse opposition to the requested rate increase,” said Christian Wagley, Coastal Organizer for Healthy Gulf. “Speakers in opposition ranged from the manager of a large manufacturing plant, organizations representing low income residents and seniors, and residents who cannot afford to pay FPL’s high rates that are already the 6th highest in Florida out of 37 investor-owned and public electric utilities.”

Though Florida Power & Light services 43 counties, hearings were held in only seven counties, and all during weekday working hours — approximately one meeting for every 1.7 million people served by FPL. Speaker comments at most hearings were limited to three minutes, while residents in Miami were only allotted 90 seconds for their comments.

“From Homestead to North Miami, folks moved through traffic, skipped dinner, made child and elder care arrangements, all to attend the PSC hearing in Miami Gardens — their only opportunity to speak directly to the PSC in four years,” said Maria Claudia Schubert-Fontes, of Catalyst Miami, an organizer of the Miami Gardens rally. “Ultimately, due to the scarce number of meetings provided, the PSC only heard from 91 of the over 1,252,000 Miami Dade households FPL serves. These meetings cannot begin to capture the experience of FPL customers in Miami without first ensuring there is adequate opportunity for customers to participate.”

“I participated in the “virtual” PSC meeting which was supposed to address the FPL rate increase,” states Mary Gutierrez, Environmental Scientist and Director for Earth Ethics, “It was clearly padded for a pro FPL rate increase. I knew it was going to be biased when the PSC commissioner prefaced the meeting by asking speakers/customers to discuss FPL reliability and service, which has nothing to do with the proposed rate hike increase. It was obvious to me that the PSC doesn’t care about the residents of Florida and is prepared to rubber stamp yet another rate increase.”

On behalf of residents, Manatee County officials also sent a letter to the PSC urging more in-district hearings.