Duke Energy customers will see no impact to rates from Hurricane Michael storm response

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Florida (DEF) filed a plan with the Florida Public Service Commission today to avoid a rate increase for power restoration costs associated with the company's response to Hurricane Michael.

If the Florida Public Service Commission approves DEF's proposal, the company will apply federal tax reform savings to pay for storm costs instead of increasing customer rates to cover those costs.

The storm cost recovery associated with Hurricane Michael is estimated at $221 million.

This approach saves residential customers $6.95 per 1,000 kWh of electricity on a typical monthly bill.

"The Florida Panhandle is still recovering from the damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and tourism as a result of Hurricane Michael," said Catherine Stempien, Duke Energy Florida state president. "We appreciate the Office of Public Counsel, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and other consumer advocates who helped find a creative solution to avoid the cost impact of the significant restoration and rebuild work that was unprecedented on our system."

The Florida Public Service Commission will review the Hurricane Michael costs and determine the final amount to be recovered in a subsequent proceeding later this year.

Hurricane Michael was the most powerful Florida Panhandle storm in recorded history and the fourth-most powerful hurricane to strike the United States.

More than 5,500 line and field workers restored power to approximately 72,000 customers. Additionally, Michael was the first hurricane to require the complete rebuild of three distribution feeders and 34 miles of transmission lines served by Duke Energy Florida.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns a diverse generation mix of natural gas, coal and renewables, providing about 10,200 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 1.8 million customers in a 13,000-square-mile service area.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 125 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities and 3,000 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.

Duke Energy is transforming its customers' experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure unit's regulated utilities serve approximately 7.7 million retail electric customers in six states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to more than 1.6 million customers in five states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as well as energy storage and microgrid projects.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2019 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' 2019 "America's Best Employers" list. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.    

Contact: Ana Gibbs
Office: 727.820.4722 | 24-Hour: 800.559.3853

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SOURCE Duke Energy