Florida – Tuesday afternoon, consumer advocates, legal experts, and Congressional Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL) held a press conference that highlighted the national and statewide implications of Florida Power & Light’s near-$10 billion rate hike proposal. If approved, this would be the largest utility rate hike in U.S. history. 

Advocates and experts are calling on the Public Service Commission to ensure fair, just, and reasonable rates for customers. Earlier this summer, the Florida Office of Public Counsel provided expert testimony that FPL should decrease rates by $620.5 million in 2026 instead of increasing  rates by $1.545 billion during the same period. 

Four years ago, the PSC approved FPL’s nearly $5 billion rate hike. Since then, customer bills have skyrocketed by an average of $400 in annual costs over the last four years. Advocates speaking on behalf of customers in the Panhandle and South Florida highlighted the financial burden this rate increase would have on families. 47% of Floridians already can’t afford the cost of living and are struggling to pay for utilities. During the press conference, Attorney Bradley Marshall shared that from March 2024 to February 2025, FPL shut off 1.216 M residential customers for non-payment — about a fifth of all their residential customers. 

“Florida’s energy affordability crisis should be a wake up call to those around the country. Corporate utilities in multiple states have been asking for record-setting rate hikes and won’t stop unless our legislators take action,” said Brooke Ward, Senior Florida Organizer with Food & Water Watch. “Families are suffering under the crushing weight of continually rising utility bills. Floridians need our elected officials and regulators to stand up and put people over profit. We need action toward an affordable and clean energy future now.”

“Floridians need relief from skyrocketing electric bills, but too often utility companies and politicians secretly act to make energy more expensive and boost shareholder profits rather than serve the public,” said U.S. Representative Kathy Castor (FL-14). “Ratepayers should not fund utility lobbying and political campaigns that disadvantage working families and small businesses. My Ethics in Energy Act will help protect consumers and ensure utilities like Florida Power and Light are using ratepayer dollars responsibly – not for lobbying for their own profit. I am grateful to my many partners across the country who are leading the way to expand cleaner, cheaper energy and protect our people, planet, and pocketbooks.”

“Floridians are already stretched thin with spiraling housing, insurance costs, and now FPL – the largest utility in Florida – wants the biggest rate increase in American history. Families shouldn’t have to choose between paying their power bill and putting food on the table,” said Susan Glickman, VP of Policy & Partnerships for The CLEO Institute. “We call on the PSC to protect the public interest, not corporate profits. FPL executives are making record salaries while Floridians have to cut back on A/C during record heat.”

“The proposed rate hike places an unnecessary economic burden on already struggling families, forcing many to choose between keeping the lights on and meeting basic needs like food, medicine, and housing,: states Mary Gutierrez, Director and Environmental Scientist at Earth Ethics, while Florida Power & Light rakes in record profits, our communities are left to shoulder the cost—this is not energy justice, it’s corporate greed.”

“Florida communities deserve a utility company that works for the people, not one that exploits them,” said Alyssa White, Climate Justice Organizer with Florida Student Power Network. “This proposed rate hike from FPL is not about necessity; it’s about greed. While everyday Floridians struggle with housing, food, and education costs, FPL is racking up profits and sidelining its responsibility to the public. We need energy justice now, not higher bills.”

“We need housing—they raise the rent. We need electricity—and monopoly companies like FPL raise rates again and again. It’s happening right in front of us—we see it, but we don’t always recognize it as the privatization of public goods. This isn’t just unfair—it’s a system that thrives by putting profit over people,” states Christopher Arriaza, Co-Chair of the Power U Environmental Justice Committee. “But Florida can lead. We can set the standard for utility justice. We can push back against corporate greed—but only if we come together and demand that those elected, and those appointed—like the Public Service Commission—serve us and act in the interest of the people.”

“Florida is in dire need of a Public Service Commission that will look after them, and not corporations that are only looking out for their profits,” said Katina Rentas Negrón, Climate Justice Campaigner at Florida Rising. “If approved, the proposed rate hike would further increase the cost of living for our low-income, Black, and Brown communities that are already struggling to make ends meet due to climate change, housing affordability, health, and insurance costs. Floridians deserve energy justice, and not more corporate greed.” 

“Florida Power & Light’s proposed rate hike would hit older Floridians hardest, especially those on fixed incomes who are already stretched thin,” said Zayne Smith, Senior Advisor of Advocacy at AARP Florida. “Rising electric bills mean difficult choices like skipping meals or medication just to stay cool. These costs strain household budgets and ripple through the economy as older residents cut back on essentials and small businesses feel the squeeze. Regulators must protect Florida’s most vulnerable and prioritize customer interests over corporate profits.”

“Hardworking Floridians have not seen changes in their wages, yet the cost of living has steadily increased. While our communities struggle to make ends meet on the same income, they also face more frequent heat waves and cold fronts, leading to skyrocketing electric utility bills,” said Maria Claudia Schubert Fontes, Climate Justice Manager for Catalyst Miami. “FPL’s latest rate request would generate 50 cents of profit for every dollar at a time when the company has already shut off more than a million residential customers due to nonpayment. This increase will undoubtedly leave more residential customers in the dark.”