INVERNESS, Fla. — Florida's Public Service Commission is hearing from customers this week about proposed rate hikes from Duke Energy and Tampa Electric, or TECO.
Inside Wednesday’s PSC meeting in Inverness, it was mostly environmentalists speaking out against a proposed rate increase from Duke Energy that would not include a push toward renewable energy sources.
Outside the meeting, plenty of customers were also against an increase for another “green” reason — money.
“You know, the way things are right now with inflation and things like that, you know it's not a great thing right now,” customer Junior Strothe said.
State regulators are holding a series of public meetings. Both Duke Energy and TECO are asking for a base rate increase that could cost the average customer hundreds of dollars a year.
“The economy is so horrible,” customer Jo Brown said. “The prices of gas, the prices of food, the utilities. The rent. The mortgage. The insurance, everything is outrageous. So, this just adds to the fire.”
The timing is tough. Two consumer groups recently found power bills are already up about 8% this year due to the heat in parts of the country.
Utility consumer debt, the money customers owe to their power providers, also surged by nearly 20% last year to $20.3 billion as consumers try to balance record heat with inflation. Nearly one in six U.S. households, about 16% according to the research, is behind on their power bills.
“When you cut the lights off, you do less laundry, you even turn the air off when it's a hundred and something degrees outside, it's just ridiculous,” customer Vicky Eady said.
“We understand that there are customers who may be facing financial hardships,” said Ana Gibbs, a spokesperson with Duke Energy.
Gibbs, who attended the hearings, says the utility has programs to help which include free energy audits and payment plans.
“And there are programs that help with that financial assistance that can literally help pay that bill for customers who just don't have the financial means at this time to be able to make that bill payment,” Gibbs said.
“Absolutely I would tell them to wait or try to live on their income and see how well they do with their prices,” Eady said.
Another even more packed hearing was held at the Parks & Conservation Resources Administration building in Largo.
Those like Ted Andresen call the proposed base rate hikes "absurd," and say they fear the impact they could have on impoverished communities. Just about all customers who spoke at the hearing criticized Duke Energy.
"Air conditioning is a life-saving utility, especially for seniors," one customer said.
Gibbs added that Duke Energy is expecting overall bills to decrease, despite the base rate hikes, after certain things are set to expire including the 2022 fuel-under recovery, storm restoration cost recovery and legacy purchased power contracts.
However, those like Andresen said he's not buying the justifications for the requests.
"Nonsense," Andresen said. "They're representing corporations and utilities, not the people."
A second hearing was scheduled later in the day in Largo for Duke Energy customers. On Thursday, TECO customers can speak at 10 a.m. at the HCC Brandon Campus on Nancy Watkins Drive.
10 Tampa Bay's Miguel Octavio contributed to this report.