Duke Energy Florida delivers $50 million in customer savings, avoids 2027 base rate increase through innovative tax strategy

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., July 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Florida is delivering $50 million in customer savings in 2027. The company is implementing an innovative strategy to accelerate the return of tax credits over one year rather than the standard 15-year lifespan of its Powerline Battery Energy Storage System. This will avoid the 2% base rate increase outlined in its multiyear (2025-2027) rate agreement and help keep costs as low as possible for customers.

Our view

"Our customers count on us to continually look for ways to keep our costs in check and help ease their overall financial burden – especially as prices continue to rise in seemingly every aspect of our daily lives," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. "By finding a way to return these tax credits faster, we're able to put millions of dollars to work for our customers sooner, while also building the modern energy infrastructure Florida's rapidly growing communities need."

Better reliability, more savings

• Over the next 10 years, Duke Energy Florida plans to build 1.4 gigawatts of battery storage, which will result in more than $500 million in investment tax credits that the company will pass on directly to customers.
• Batteries play an important role in Duke Energy Florida's "all-of-the-above" approach to power generation, storing electricity when demand is low and making it available when customers need it most.
  • The company currently has six sites located throughout the state; the Powerline Battery Energy Storage System in Citrus County will be the seventh site when it is completed next year.
• The more batteries Duke Energy Florida adds to its portfolio, the more useful solar energy sites become, as customers can benefit from the stored energy even when it is cloudy or the sun has gone down.
  • The company is working to establish 12 new solar energy sites by the end of 2028, saving customers a total of approximately $3 billion in displaced fuel costs throughout their service lifetimes.
  • In 2025, the company passed on approximately $65 million in production tax credits from solar energy sites to customers – an amount that will grow as more sites are completed – reducing residential rates by at least $2.50 per 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity used.

Need help now?

While Duke Energy Florida lowered residential customers' rates three times in 2026 and continues to look for new, creative ways to provide relief, the company understands energy use – and bills – may be surging as temperatures rise this summer. Customers are encouraged to take advantage of the many energy efficiency and financial assistance programs available to them, from free assessments of their home's energy use to flexible payment plans. For more information, please visit duke-energy.com/SummerSolutions.

Duke Energy Florida
Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 12,500 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
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 8.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 55,700 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy is executing an energy modernization strategy, keeping customer value at the forefront as it invests in electric grid upgrades and efficient generation resources to strengthen the system and serve growing energy needs.

More information is available at duke-energy.com. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook for stories about the people and innovations powering its communities.

Contact: Aly Raschid
24-Hour: 800.559.3853
X: @DE_AlyRaschid

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SOURCE Duke Energy