Duke Energy Florida files for costs associated with emergency activation and response following devastating 2024 hurricane season

• Duke Energy Florida mobilized more than 27,000 workers and additional resources to restore power for approximately 2 million customers impacted by hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Dec. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, following a devastating 2024 hurricane season, Duke Energy Florida filed a plan with the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) to recover an estimated $1.1 billion in direct costs associated with the company's emergency activation and response to hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton, which included mobilizing more than 27,000 workers and additional resources to restore power for approximately 2 million impacted customers.

Given the severity of these three storms, the filing covers a range of costs, such as deploying hundreds of Duke Energy crews from the entire span of the company's service territories and acquiring significant mutual assistance from across the country and even Canada; standing up staging sites, basecamps and temporary lodging, while also providing meals for thousands of lineworkers and field personnel; and repairing, rebuilding and replacing critical infrastructure, including poles, wires and transformers, that were damaged and/or destroyed by catastrophic storm surge and wind.

"Quickly and safely getting the lights back on for our customers was our highest priority after each of these brutal storms. While today's filing reflects the costs of those efforts, we want to assure our customers that, as part of our overall commitment to affordability, we strived to minimize the impact on their bills as much as possible, and moving forward, we will keep making strategic investments to strengthen the electric grid and help ensure they have the reliable power they need," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. "This kind of continuous improvement is a cornerstone of the work we do at Duke Energy Florida, especially considering the increasing risk of more extreme weather in the future."

The 2024 hurricane season resulted in an unprecedented level of activation as Duke Energy Florida responded to three major hurricanes, including a Category 4 and a Category 3, all within three months:

Hurricane Debby (Category 1)

• 350,000 outages reported
• 3,000 workers and additional resources mobilized
• 320 damaged poles replaced
• 90% of outages restored within 24 hours
• 62,000 outages automatically restored by self-healing technology
• 12.5 million minutes of outage time saved by self-healing technology

Hurricane Helene (Category 4)

• 800,000 outages reported
• 8,600 workers and additional resources mobilized
• 925 damaged poles replaced
• Nearly all outages (outside of hardest-hit areas) restored within 72 hours
• 127,000 outages automatically restored by self-healing technology
• 113 million minutes of outage time saved by self-healing technology

Hurricane Milton (Category 3)

• 1 million outages reported
• 16,000 workers and additional resources mobilized
• 1,560 damaged poles replaced
• 95% of outages (outside of hardest-hit areas) restored within four days
• 190,740 outages automatically restored by self-healing technology
• 200 million minutes of outage time saved by self-healing technology

Click here for photos and videos of storm damage and restoration efforts.

As outlined in Duke Energy Florida's filing with the FPSC, the temporary impact to customer bills beginning in March 2025 is associated with the costs of the company's emergency activation and response to hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton.

Residential customers will see an increase of approximately $21 per 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity on their monthly bills in March 2025 when compared to February 2025. While the storm charge actually totals an approximately $31 increase, the impact on customers has been reduced because of the annual, seasonal (March-November) decrease of $10 per 1,000 kWh through November 2025. However, it should be noted that storm costs will remain on bills through the end of February 2026. 

Duke Energy Florida offers several financial assistance tools, including flexible billing programs and the Share the Light Fund^®, for customers in need. To learn more, customers can call the Customer Care phone number listed on their bills or visit duke-energy.com/HereToHelp.

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 12,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.  

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. 

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition, keeping reliability, affordability and accessibility at the forefront as the company works toward net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including expanded energy storage, renewables, natural gas and nuclear.  

More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition. 

Contact: Aly Raschid
24-Hour: 800.559.3853 

SOURCE Duke Energy