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Florida Commercial Electricity Rates Are Rising. Here's What Businesses Need to Know.
8 min read
If your commercial electricity bills have felt heavier over the past few years, you're not imagining it — and the trend isn't over.
Florida's three largest investor-owned utilities — Florida Power & Light (FPL), Tampa Electric (TECO), and Duke Energy Florida — have all implemented rate increases in recent years, and each has approved plans for continued adjustments through at least 2029. For businesses managing tight operating margins, understanding what's driving these increases — and what options exist — is increasingly relevant to the bottom line.
This post breaks down the current rate environment, what's behind the increases, and what Florida businesses are doing about it.
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Where Florida Commercial Rates Stand Today
Florida is a fully regulated electricity market — businesses can't shop for a different supplier the way they can in deregulated states. Whatever the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) approves, commercial customers pay.
Current average commercial electricity rates in Florida run roughly 10–12.5 cents per kWh depending on utility territory, tariff class, and demand profile. That figure doesn't tell the whole story, though. Commercial bills are typically composed of several line items:
- Base rate — the core charge that funds utility infrastructure and operations
- Fuel adjustment charge — passed through monthly, fluctuates with natural gas markets
- Storm cost recovery charge — a temporary surcharge to recover hurricane restoration costs
- Other clauses — environmental compliance, capacity, conservation programs
It's the combination of these charges — not just the base rate — that determines what a business actually pays. And several of them have moved significantly in recent years.
What Each Major Utility Has Done
Florida Power & Light (FPL)
FPL is the largest electric utility in the United States, serving approximately 6 million customer accounts across Florida. In November 2025, the Florida PSC approved a four-year rate settlement covering 2026 through 2029 — one of the most significant rate actions in the utility's history.
Under the approved settlement, FPL will collect an additional $945 million in base rate revenue in 2026 and $705 million in 2027, with further increases in 2028 and 2029 tied to new solar and battery storage projects. Commercial and industrial customers face larger percentage increases than residential customers under the settlement's revenue allocation.
The approved settlement was notably reduced from FPL's original request — the utility had initially sought $1.545 billion in additional 2026 base rate revenue — but it still represents a substantial multi-year commitment to higher rates. Consumer advocacy groups including the Office of Public Counsel opposed the settlement and estimated the total customer impact at approximately $6.9 billion over four years.
For commercial customers, this means FPL rates are locked into an upward trajectory through at least the end of 2029.
Tampa Electric (TECO)
TECO customers saw a base rate increase take effect in January 2026, adding approximately $5.51 per 1,000 kWh to the base rate portion of bills. The 2026 increase funds grid reliability projects, infrastructure hardening, and fuel-saving strategies.
TECO customers have also been carrying a storm surcharge tied to 2024 hurricane restoration costs, which is scheduled to expire in September 2026 — providing some temporary relief when it rolls off. However, the underlying base rate increase remains.
Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida implemented a rate adjustment in January 2026 that initially increased commercial and industrial bills by 4.3–8.2% compared to December 2025. A storm cost recovery charge — tied to the 2024 hurricane season — that drove bills higher in early 2026 came off in March, reducing bills meaningfully. Duke's broader rate structure is governed by a three-year agreement running 2025–2027.
What's Driving the Increases
Florida utilities point to several consistent factors when explaining rate increases to the PSC:
Natural gas dependence. Roughly 80% of electricity on Florida's grid comes from fossil fuels, primarily natural gas. Because Florida's utilities pass fuel costs directly to customers through monthly adjustment charges, volatile natural gas markets translate directly into bill volatility. When gas prices spike — as they did significantly in 2022 — commercial bills follow.
Hurricane recovery costs. Florida's geography makes storm recovery a recurring cost driver. The 2024 hurricane season was particularly destructive, and utilities were authorized by the PSC to recover restoration costs through temporary surcharges. Customers are still paying some of those charges in 2026.
Grid infrastructure investment. Florida's population has grown substantially, requiring new generation, transmission, and distribution capacity. Utilities are also investing in grid hardening — measures designed to make the system more resilient to future storms — and smart grid technology. These investments are recovered through base rate increases.
Regulatory structure. Florida's fully regulated market means that when utilities file for rate increases, the PSC weighs the request and sets the outcome. There is no competitive market alternative for most commercial customers. The PSC's decisions — including the approved FPL settlement — bind customers for multi-year periods.
The Commercial Impact Is Different from Residential
It's worth noting that rate increase impacts are not evenly distributed. Residential customers typically receive more favorable treatment in rate case settlements, in part because they have more organized advocacy representation before the PSC.
Commercial and industrial customers, by contrast, often bear a larger share of base rate increases on a percentage basis. FPL's own settlement documentation indicated that commercial and industrial customers would see larger bill impacts than residential customers under the approved plan.
For a business running a warehouse, manufacturing facility, retail location, or office building with substantial electricity demand, even a modest per-kWh increase compounds quickly. A business using 50,000 kWh per month sees a different dollar impact from a 1-cent rate increase than a household using 1,000 kWh.
What Businesses Are Doing About It
The rate environment has sharpened interest in on-site generation among Florida commercial operators. The core appeal is straightforward: solar energy produced on-site displaces utility-priced electricity, effectively locking in a portion of a business's energy cost at a fixed rate rather than whatever the utility charges next year.
A few approaches businesses are taking:
On-site solar. A rooftop, ground-mount, or carport solar system offsets a portion of grid consumption directly. The energy produced on-site costs nothing per kWh once the system is paid for. The larger the system relative to consumption, the larger the hedge against future rate increases.
Solar plus battery storage. Adding battery storage allows businesses to shift consumption away from peak demand periods, which can reduce demand charges — a separate component of commercial utility bills that is often as significant as the energy charge itself.
Net metering. Florida's net metering policy allows commercial customers to receive bill credits for excess solar energy sent to the grid, credited at the retail rate. This makes the economics of right-sizing a solar system more favorable than in states with less generous net metering policies.
Financing structures that require no upfront capital. Commercial solar doesn't require a large capital outlay to make sense. Loans, leases, PPAs, and C-PACE financing all provide paths to on-site generation with minimal or no upfront cost. In many cases, the monthly payment or per-kWh rate under a solar arrangement is lower than the projected utility rate — meaning positive cash flow from day one.
The Longer-Term Picture
FPL's approved settlement runs through 2029. TECO and Duke Energy's current rate agreements extend through 2026 and 2027 respectively — meaning new rate cases are already on the horizon for both utilities.
Nothing in the structure of Florida's electricity market suggests a return to flat rates. Infrastructure investment needs are ongoing, storm recovery is a recurring cost, and the state's population continues to grow. The PSC will continue to weigh utility requests against customer impact — but approved settlements in recent years have consistently resulted in higher commercial bills.
For businesses evaluating solar, that trajectory is part of the financial model. The question isn't just what solar costs — it's what the alternative costs over the next 10, 15, or 20 years.
Next Step: See What the Numbers Look Like for Your Facility
Every commercial property is different — size, usage profile, utility territory, roof or land availability, and financing approach all affect the outcome. A site evaluation gives you a real basis for comparison rather than a generic estimate.
Lunex provides free commercial site evaluations across Florida. If you want to understand what on-site solar would actually offset relative to your current and projected utility costs, that's where to start.