By 2030, 26 million residents will call Florida home. This growth of another 2.7 million Floridians can be an opportunity or a challenge. We have so much work to do to prepare.
We need 1.3 million new jobs, a diversified economy to create them and a robust talent pipeline to fill them. We also need to secure the energy and infrastructure to power Florida’s growing population, economy, and business community. Each of the 26 million residents and the projected 170 million annual visitors will flick a light switch, flush a toilet, and/or consume cellular data every single day, and all of this requires reliable and cost-competitive power.
Florida Power & Light[1] has recently reached a proposed settlement agreement that will enable it to continue investing in delivering reliable service in our fast-growing state while keeping bills comparatively low through the end of the decade. This will be a great deal for the Sunshine State.
Whether you’re paying to power your business or paying to power a one-bedroom apartment, all energy consumers want the same thing: reliable electricity at a low price. That’s harder to accomplish than you might think. Businesses from out of state move to or expand in Florida for many reasons. Among them is our reputation for providing reliable and affordable power. Florida power providers’ track record is a significant reason why Florida has that positive reputation in the first place.
For example, FPL’s reliability is 59% better than the national average while residential customers pay 24% less than the average American pays for electricity, according to the nationally respected Edison Electric Institute[2]. That’s no easy feat considering this is a hurricane-prone state susceptible to severe weather pretty much year-round. Through years of grid hardening and modernization, FPL has built a system that delivers some of the most reliable electricity in America, while running a tight ship to save its customers money.
As with any system – especially a system as complex as the grid – power providers must continually invest to ensure they maintain this balance between affordability and reliability. FPL’s settlement agreement would enable it to keep up with Florida’s growth with a minimal bill impact to businesses and residents alike. Limiting the residential bill impact to only a 2% average annual increase is actually remarkable when you consider how dramatically prices have risen for almost everything else.
The world is changing rapidly, and technology and innovation are disrupting every industry and community. We must capitalize on these trends to continue our progress toward the Florida Chamber Foundation’s 2030 Blueprint[3] goal of making Florida the 10th largest economy in the world (currently, Florida ranks #16, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, but slightly behind Spain and Mexico). To get there, we’ll need reliable, affordable power.
FPL has been powering Florida’s growth for 100 years. They have collaborated on a plan that would keep Florida’s electric bills low and reliability high. This is exactly the forward thinking our state needs to remain not only competitive, but a leader in providing economic growth for the next generation.
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Mark Wilson is president and CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
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References
- ^ Florida Power & Light (www.fpl.com)
- ^ Edison Electric Institute (www.eei.org)
- ^ Florida Chamber Foundation’s 2030 Blueprint (www.flchamber.com)