Florida Power & Light plans to cut power bills as natgas prices slide
March 13 (Reuters) - Florida Power & Light (FPL), one of the U.S.'s biggest power providers, said on Wednesday that its customers could see a decrease in their electricity bills from May onwards, in part due to lower natgas prices.
The NextEra Energy-owned company has sought two rate decreases - one in April and one in May - from the Florida Public Service Commission, and if approved, a typical 1,000 kilowatt-hour (kWh) residential bill would be nearly $14 lower in May than today.
Natgas prices have fallen nearly 35% this year to their lowest since June 2020 on Feb. 27, as near-record output, mostly mild weather and low heating demand this winter allowed utilities to leave significantly more gas in storage than usual for this time of year.
However, low prices could boost U.S. gas use to a record high in 2024 despite gas production dropping, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) latest outlook.
Apart from lower projected prices for natural gas, the rate decreases are also in lieu of the temporary surcharge of restoration costs ending on March 31.
The utility serves nearly 12 million people. (Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
