Florida utility regulators will determine if Duke Energy Florida's proposal to make data centers pay for their own high usage and necessary upgrades goes far enough.
Duke tried to keep consumer advocates out of the Tuesday hearing, but the group Florida Rising was officially deemed eligible to participate.
What's being debated at a Florida Public Service Commission hearing Tuesday is whether Duke Energy's plan protects residents from footing the energy bill for hyperscale data centers.
Earthjustice attorney Bradley Marshall, who represents Florida Rising, said it doesn't.
"Duke has made clear that there's no analysis or anything that they have to show that on this existing commercial rate that data centers will be paying their full share of the costs," Marshall said.
"There's a lot of risk there for residential ratepayers that can see their bills go up substantially."
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He said just one data center needing a gigawatt of energy to function would cost billions of dollars to serve.
"And Duke has no proposal to ensure that that customer is going to pay those costs and that those costs aren't being borne by the general body of customers," Marshall said.
Duke Energy argues their proposal does comply with a new state law, SB 44 signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis recently, which requires utilities to shield their customers from any increases associated with bringing data centers onto the grid.
A spokesperson for the utility said in an email that customers are safe under a current rate case settlement through 2027.
"If a large load customer came to Duke Energy Florida's system during this timeframe, and their revenue did not cover the costs to serve, that gap will fall to shareholders, not existing customers," said Ana Gibbs with Duke Energy.
"Our company is committed to filing a new (large load) rate to be effective by January 1, 2028, supported by the necessary analysis and documentation. This filing will provide an additional opportunity to ensure rates remain fair, transparent, and aligned with the evolving needs of the system."
Because Duke has tried to keep Florida Rising of the hearing, Marshall said time and energy has been spent defending the Tampa nonprofit's standing.
"Rather than on the merits of does Duke's proposal make sure that data centers are going to be paying the full cost to serve them," Marshall said. "So it's been a huge distraction."
In response, Gibbs said, "Duke Energy Florida is working to prevent organizations with limited connections to Duke Energy Florida customers from becoming involved with the proceedings."
But the Public Service Commission granted the consumer advocates participation.
"(Florida Rising) has presented sufficient record evidence through prefiled testimony that a substantial number of its members are customers of (Duke Energy Florida), and such members must be allowed to protect their future interests through participation in this docket," commissioner and prehearing officer Gary F. Clark wrote in a document filed Monday.
"On the basis of the record evidence and the reasonable inferences from that evidence, I find that (Florida Rising) has provided sufficient facts to demonstrate standing in this proceeding."
Commissioners will hear from witnesses on both sides Tuesday, but they aren't expected to vote until sometime after mid-September.
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