Fueling FPL

It was a few weeks ago. I was aimlessly opening up my mailbox when I realized that my Florida Power & Light bill was sitting inside. I never have too much fun opening this envelope up because it usually means a big chunk of change is going to drop out of my bank account.


I was expecting my bill to be around $90 like it always is. However, when I looked at the "Amount Due" box I nearly had a heart attack. This month I owed FPL $148.25. Why was this so? I hastened to open the colorful pamphlet enclosed in my bill and noticed the cover story read "FPL Prepares Customers For Summer's High Bill Season, Offers Tips to Keep Costs Down." I felt like this story was written so conveniently just for me.


FPL says, "Customers will notice even higher bills---19-28 percent higher---even if you use the same amount of electricity as you did last year." Disheartened, I read on and got to the part where FPL says the reason our bills are so high is because of the rise in fuel costs. Even if I used my air conditioning less than last year and turned my lights off when I left the house, my bill would be substantially higher this year. It is something we cannot really control. FPL says that 54% of its customers energy bills is directly because of fuel costs. They claim that they make no profit on the fuel costs because it is "a direct pass through." It is pretty frightening when I actually believe them. I worked in catering at a local store and my boss raised all of the prices in the store by about 8 cents because everything was costing him more. The vendors that brought him his supplies and products were adding fuel costs to their deliveries and bills since they drive from Miami, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale to Boca Raton. There does not seem to be a choice in the matter. Fuel costs are a domino effect and affect everything.

FPL offered some hints on how to keep your energy bills lower:

• Switch your thermostat to "auto" and try to keep it on 78 degrees or higher.
• Turn off ceiling fans when you don't need them. These generate alot of electricity.
• Unplug cords from electrical outlets when they are not in use.
• Change your lightbulbs to fluorescent bulbs.
• Change your air conditioning filter monthly to make it run efficiently while costing you less.

Until next time, stay cool and remember that summer in South Florida will be over approximately in November.