Florida Elected Officials: No More Rate Hikes!

No More Florida Rate Hikes!

Florida electricity bills keep going up. That's because Florida utilities continue to use fossil fuels to power our cities and homes. And in Florida, those costs are passed directly on to ratepayers. As the cost of fuel goes up, so do our rates.

Ratepayers are also paying the costs of new fossil fuel infrastructure. It’s a vicious cycle, and because utilities don’t need to assume the costs of continuing to use these expensive dirty fuels, they continue to double down on gas.

People see their rates going up, but often don’t know that it's a direct result of fossil fuels and utilities prioritizing massive executive compensation packages and shareholder returns.

Urge your elected officials to stop Florida rate hikes!

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No More Florida Rate Hikes!

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Dear Florida Elected Officials,

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We need your help to stop the endless electricity rate hikes in Florida.

Ratepayers also pay the costs of new fossil fuel infrastructure. It’s a vicious cycle, and because utilities don’t need to assume any of the costs of continuing to use these expensive dirty fuels, they continue to double down on gas. Unfortunately, most folks don’t know that this is what's happening. They see their rates going up, but don’t know that it's a direct result of fossil fuels. Florida utilities, like Tampa Electric, are guaranteeing their massive executive compensation packages and shareholder returns by passing on the costs of these dirty energy projects to ratepayers as well.

Last year, every investor-owned electric utility was given at least one new rate hike. As an example, Hillsborough County’s energy utility, Tampa Electric (TECO), was approved for two separate rate hikes of 31% each. TECO — and the other utilities — continues to ask for rate hikes to help pay for their dirty energy projects, including converting the state’s largest coal plant to gas and a carbon capture scam project in Polk. In TECO's service area rates have risen from $99/mo to nearly $162/mo for the average ratepayer in just the past 4 years. The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) has become a rubber stamp for these rate requests, so we will continue to see rates soar unless something is done!

Many folks have to decide between paying their electricity bill or paying for other essentials like rent, food, and medicine. That's not right, and we need your help to change things. You can pass the policies to protect our families.

Please help to stop Florida rate hikes.

We urge you to call for in-district rate hearings and do everything in your power to ensure the energy utilities are making rate lowering decisions like phasing out costly fossil fuels, better efficiency standards, and investments in resiliency projects.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]