Delinquent utility bill payments have ballooned by at least 50 percent since the coronavirus pandemic began, Florida’s two largest power companies told state regulators Wednesday.
What You Need To Know
- As of June, 258,000 residential and 22,000 FPL commercial customers were behind on payments
- Duke Energy reports that 150,000 of its accounts are delinquent
- The companies are preventing the accounts from being disconnected, for now
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- The policy is designed to help customers hurt by the coronavirus pandemic
The revelation came during a “pandemic workshop” hosted by the Florida Public Service Commission, which regulates the companies, Duke Energy and Florida Power and Light.
FPL Vice President for Customer Service Chris Chapel told commissioners the company’s accounts in arrears were up 65 percent in April compared with prior-year numbers. The percentage had fallen to 35 percent in June, with 258,000 residential and 22,000 commercial customers delinquent on their payments.
“I’m fearful that their balances can get out of hand [and] by the time that they do call us, none of that conversation will matter anyway because what’ll be presented to them is going to be unaffordable, and we need to figure that out,” Chapel said.
Duke, meanwhile, is reporting 150,000 accounts in arrears, compared with 100,000 this time last year. The delinquencies total $18 million.
Both utilities have implemented policies to prevent accounts with delinquent payments from being disconnected during the pandemic. While there may be a day of reckoning for rate-payers, the companies are working to stem the fiscal impact of the unpaid bills. FPL, for instance, is fast-tracking a pre-pandemic plan to use fuel savings to keep rates steady.
