Rates Going Down For Gulf Power Customers
By: Ken Curtis
Updated: June 19, 2012
The Florida Public Service Commission approved Gulf Power Company's $58.5-million rate decrease request Tuesday, the largest reduction in Gulf Power's history.
Beginning in July, the residential bill for 1,000-kilowatt hours of electricity will drop $9.92 to $116.61. This 7.8 percent decrease is due mostly to continued lower prices in natural gas used to generate electricity.
"We are very pleased that the PSC approved this substantial rate decrease for our customers," said Bentina Terry, Gulf Power's vice president of Corporate Services and External Affairs. "This decrease rolls back customers electricity prices to pre-2009 levels."
This will be the third decrease Gulf Power customers have seen this year and will more than offset a base rate increase that went into effect in April.
Each January the Florida Public Service Commission adjusts Gulf Power's prices to reflect cost changes in fuel, environmental compliance and energy conservation programs. But rather than waiting until January, Gulf Power asked the PSC to approve the mid-year reduction.
"Because we have taken steps to diversify our fuel sources, we are now approximately 30 percent coal and 69 percent natural gas," said Terry. "This flexibility allows us to take advantage of lower fuel prices for our customers now and into the future."
