• Residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) will see a decrease in their January 2024 bill by $11.29
• Company continues to explore ways to reduce costs while providing reliable, cleaner energy to meet customers' growing needs

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Florida is taking steps to reduce customer rates in 2024, while continuing to add more solar power and make grid improvements to enhance reliability, security and resilience.

The company today filed its projected Hurricane Idalia storm recovery costs with the Florida Public Service Commission and asked the commission to reduce the 2024 rate charged for previous storms, including hurricanes Eta, Isaias, Elsa, Ian and Nicole and Tropical Storm Fred.

When combined with previous bill reduction requests, such as lower fuel and capacity costs for 2024, a typical residential customer using 1,000 kWh will see a decrease in their January 2024 bill by $11.29, when compared to December 2023.

Commercial and industrial customers will see a decrease between 6.8% and 7.2%, but the specific bill impact will vary depending on several factors.

If approved by the Florida Public Service Commission, the reduction would begin in January 2024.

"We will continue to explore ways to provide the best possible price for our customers while delivering the safe, reliable energy our customers rely on – no matter the circumstance," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president.

On Aug. 30, Hurricane Idalia made landfall on the northwest coast of Florida, causing severe flooding, damage and widespread power outages that impacted more than 200,000 customers in Duke Energy Florida's service territory. More than 5,000 lineworkers, tree professionals, damage assessors and support personnel were staged strategically throughout the state. Crews restored power to 95% of Florida customers within 36 hours – outside of those in the hardest-hit areas.

"While we hope this reduction will provide some relief to our customers, there will be many who continue to face financial hardship – whether from the destruction left by Idalia, the record-breaking heat or other external pressures," said Seixas. "Regardless of the reasons, we encourage customers to reach out to us. We have numerous flexible billing and payment options, energy efficiency programs and assistance to help."

Information is available at duke-energy.com/SeasonalBills or customers can call the Customer Care number listed on their energy bill.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 10,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear. 

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2023 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "World's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Contact: Audrey Stasko
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_AudreyS

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SOURCE Duke Energy