(Reuters) – US-based utility company Duke Energy (NYSE: ) said Friday it has filed a plan with the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) to recover about $1.1 billion in direct costs associated with the company’s emergency activation and response to Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton.
Severe storms this year have forced major U.S. utilities to shut down or slow power plants.
Duke, the largest utility that covers North and South Carolina, said the hurricanes hit its service areas and snapped miles of power lines and power poles, leaving tens of thousands of customers without power.
The company said residential customers’ monthly bills would increase by about $21 per 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity in March 2025 compared to February 2025, and that storm charges would remain on bills until the end of February 2026.
Operation and maintenance (O&M) costs for utilities increase during adverse weather conditions due to damage to infrastructure such as power lines, which causes service interruptions in the form of outages.
Duke said that given the severity of the three storms, the filing covers a number of costs, such as deploying hundreds of crews to the company’s service areas and getting significant assistance from the country and Canada.
In October, NextEra Energy’s (NYSE: ) utility subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), also filed a claim to recover nearly $1.2 billion in post-hurricane restoration costs with FPSC due to extensive damage caused by Hurricane Milton .
