If you've gotten used to electricity ads promising a cheaper provider, Florida will disappoint you — there isn't one to switch to. Florida is a regulated state: a single utility serves your territory and the Public Service Commission sets its rates, full stop. That's not a gap in the market; it's the market. Here's why it works that way, what the going rate actually is, and — since shopping isn't on the table — what a Florida homeowner can genuinely do to control the bill.
The straight answer: no, you can't choose
Florida does not have retail electricity choice. Every address sits in exactly one utility's service territory — Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric, or one of the state's municipal and cooperative utilities — and that's your electricity company, permanently, unless you physically move. There is no shopping site, no list of competing suppliers, and no marketplace to compare plans. If you ever see marketing that implies otherwise for a Florida address, treat it as a scam; the product it's selling does not exist here.
Instead, your utility's rates are approved by the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) through formal rate cases. The utility petitions for a rate change, the PSC reviews costs, and the approved rate applies to every residential customer in that territory identically. There's no negotiating and no better deal available from a competitor down the street — the entire concept of "switching providers" simply doesn't apply to Florida electricity the way it might for auto insurance or a cell phone plan.
What power costs in Florida
Florida's average residential electricity rate was 15.2 cents per kWh in 2025 (EIA preliminary data). The chart below plots the historical trend for the state.
Full Florida electricity price data (1990–2025)
| Year | Florida (¢/kWh) | US avg (¢/kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| 1991 | 7.9 | 8.0 |
| 1992 | 7.8 | 8.2 |
| 1993 | 8.0 | 8.3 |
| 1994 | 7.8 | 8.4 |
| 1995 | 7.8 | 8.4 |
| 1996 | 8.0 | 8.4 |
| 1997 | 8.1 | 8.4 |
| 1998 | 7.9 | 8.3 |
| 1999 | 7.7 | 8.2 |
| 2000 | 7.8 | 8.2 |
| 2001 | 8.6 | 8.6 |
| 2002 | 8.2 | 8.4 |
| 2003 | 8.6 | 8.7 |
| 2004 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| 2005 | 9.6 | 9.5 |
| 2006 | 11.3 | 10.4 |
| 2007 | 11.2 | 10.7 |
| 2008 | 11.7 | 11.3 |
| 2009 | 12.4 | 11.5 |
| 2010 | 11.4 | 11.5 |
| 2011 | 11.5 | 11.7 |
| 2012 | 11.4 | 11.9 |
| 2013 | 11.3 | 12.1 |
| 2014 | 11.9 | 12.5 |
| 2015 | 11.6 | 12.7 |
| 2016 | 11.0 | 12.6 |
| 2017 | 11.6 | 12.9 |
| 2018 | 11.5 | 12.9 |
| 2019 | 11.7 | 13.0 |
| 2020 | 11.3 | 13.2 |
| 2021 | 11.9 | 13.7 |
| 2022 | 13.9 | 15.0 |
| 2023 | 15.2 | 16.0 |
| 2024 | 14.1 | 16.5 |
| 2025 * | 15.2 | 17.3 |
Source: US EIA, average residential retail electricity price. Values in cents per kWh. * 2025 is preliminary.
That rate is up 58% since 2005, and the pace hasn't been slowing — over just the last decade it has climbed at roughly 2.8% a year. Read that as a compounding trend, not a one-off jump: a string of ordinary annual increases adds up to a much bigger number two decades out. Because there's no competitive pressure pushing back on the rate from outside, the increases are driven entirely by what utilities can justify to the PSC — fuel costs, grid maintenance, and (in Florida specifically) a lot of storm-hardening infrastructure spending after repeated hurricane seasons. None of that is disappearing, so the sane planning assumption is that the rate keeps drifting upward rather than leveling off.
Why your rate is set this way
Florida chose the regulated-monopoly model deliberately, and it's worth understanding the trade-off rather than just resenting it. A single utility building and maintaining the wires in a territory avoids duplicating poles, transformers, and substations block by block — which is genuinely cheaper at the infrastructure level than a competitive free-for-all. In exchange for that monopoly, the utility doesn't get to charge whatever it wants: every rate change goes through a public PSC rate case, with testimony, cost justification, and an opportunity for public comment before anything is approved.
What actually moves your rate inside that process is mostly outside your control as an individual: the fuel mix the utility burns (natural gas dominates Florida generation, so gas price swings pass through to your bill), the scale of grid investment the PSC approves, and storm-hardening costs that get recovered from ratepayers over time. This is also why the "no choice" answer above isn't the end of the story — the PSC process is genuinely the mechanism that keeps a monopoly rate from running away unchecked, even though it can't stop it from rising.
How to actually lower the bill
Since the rate itself isn't negotiable, the entire game is usage and timing. Three levers matter, in order of impact:
Efficiency first. Air conditioning is the dominant load in nearly every Florida home for most of the year, so anything that reduces cooling demand outperforms anything else on this list: attic insulation, duct sealing, a programmable or smart thermostat, and keeping the AC system serviced (dirty coils and low refrigerant make a unit run longer for the same cooling). This is the highest-leverage move available and it's entirely within your control regardless of who your utility is.
Rate schedule and budget billing. Ask your utility directly whether it offers a time-of-use rate — some do, and they charge less for power used outside peak afternoon and early-evening hours, which rewards shifting laundry, dishwashing, and pool pump schedules to off-peak windows. Separately, budget billing (sometimes called levelized billing) doesn't cut your total cost, but it spreads it into equal monthly payments so a brutal August bill doesn't blindside you the way a straight metered bill can.
Rooftop solar, on the actual math. A regulated rate that's climbed 58% since 2005 changes the payback calculation on solar, because every kilowatt-hour your panels generate is one you don't buy at whatever the current rate is — and that rate has a strong track record of only going up. Whether it pencils out depends on your roof's sun exposure, your utility's net metering terms, your upfront cost, and your actual usage pattern, not just the average rate. Our solar panels guide walks through that payback math in full.
The practical checklist
- Confirm your utility and territory. Know which company actually serves your address — FPL, Duke Energy Florida, TECO, or a municipal/co-op utility — since that's who sets your rate and who you contact for programs.
- Ask about time-of-use and budget billing. Call or check your utility's website for both options; not every utility offers time-of-use, but it costs nothing to ask.
- Get an energy audit or DIY check. Attic insulation depth, duct leaks, and window sealing are usually the biggest fixable losses in a Florida home.
- Service the AC system annually. A neglected system can use meaningfully more power for the same cooling result.
- Run the solar numbers against your real usage, not the state average — see the solar panels guide for the framework.
- Check your panel and wiring capacity before adding a heat pump, EV charger, or solar inverter — start with our electrical guide.
- Watch PSC rate case filings for your utility so a bill increase is never a surprise.
Sources
- U.S. Energy Information Administration — Florida average residential electricity rate (15.2¢/kWh, 2025 preliminary) and the 2005–2025 historical price trend used in the chart.