FPL CEO: Settlement on rate increases is a win for customers | Opinion

Power agreement

Florida families and businesses count on reliable, low-cost electricity every hour of every day. That’s why FPL has asked the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) to approve a settlement agreement developed jointly with a broad coalition of customer groups.

The agreement enables necessary investments for reliable service to replace aging infrastructure, build more power plants and battery storage to serve Florida’s fast-growing power needs and add more innovative technology, like smart grid, which helped avoid 2.7 million customer outages last year.

The agreement supports all of this while keeping bills low, stable and predictable through the end of the decade. FPL’s typical 1,000-kWh residential customer would pay about $2.50 more a month next year, or less than 9 cents a day. The typical bill in 2026 would be about 20% lower than it was 20 years ago, when adjusted for inflation.

We reached this settlement after several months of listening to customers. We compromised on some issues without compromising on our core principles of delivering reliable service while keeping bills as low as possible.

We’re sure the PSC and the public will agree this settlement is a win for FPL customers and a win for Florida.

Armando Pimentel,

president, CEO,

Florida Power & Light Company,

Juno Beach

Woke workers

Miami Herald reporter Max Klaver’s Sept. 25 story, “More than half of Miamians can barely make ends meet” is one rarely reported because it comes too close to questioning our economic system.

Karl Marx described the conditions of the working class in his 19th century indictment of capitalism. He detailed their struggles and the cold hand of greed crushing their efforts to pull themselves up. Klaver’s work, in the same vein, raises two questions.

Is this reporting allowed in a city that goes into shock when confronted with any notions of class warfare?

Klaver did. In searing words, he gave an account of real people living lives of desperation in the land of plenty.

What has been our state and federal governments’ response to the working poor?

Both have sought to cut taxes on the top earners and cut food and medical care for those on the bottom. A financial analysis in 2024 revealed that the wealthiest 19 richest U.S. households collectively gained $1 trillion over the course of the year. Meanwhile, the federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour. Poverty is caused by low wages and lack of assets.

What working family can gather steam when they cannot afford a home or fund investments, pensions, healthcare and child care?

Warren Buffett said, “The class war is over, the rich won.” Reporting like Klaver’s goes against the American grain because awakening workers to the fact they lost a war, when they were not even aware they were in one, only causes trouble, as it awakens workers to “woke.”

Philip Beasley,

Plantation

Doesn’t stack up

In her Sept. 28 op-ed, “Trump’s presidential library in Miami should tell the full story,” Mary Anna Mancuso wrote that presidential libraries are, in part, about the “preservation of the past.” While she acknowledges the irony — that the tribute will be for an egregious revisionist president who is doing everything possible to whitewash history — she tosses it aside and argues that it is still worth pursuing.

Putting aside her basis for this library, the real questions should be: why in Miami and why would Miami Dade College — once a crown jewel of South Florida — do something as myopic as giving up a prime parcel of land that could serve its mission much more than a presidential library?

These questions warrant answers.

Mark Diaz,

South Miami

Study space

Kudos to the Herald’s Mary Anna Mancuso for writing about an extremely controversial subject in an adroit and deft manner. Initially, I disagreed with locating Trump’s presidential library adjacent to American symbols of freedom for immigration and the press. The project would seemingly honor a president guilty of gross violations of the U.S. Constitution and America’s rule of law.

However, due to Mancuso’s well-written balance of the pros and cons of such a delicate subject, I reluctantly agree with the library’s ironic location by the Freedom Tower. We should remember not only Trump’s accomplishments but also his gross actions endangering America’s democracy.

Mancuso’s quote of well-known Spanish philosopher, George Santanaya, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” coupled with the Jewish credo, “Never forget,” are most appropriate. Let this presidential library remain as a learning chronicle of our past.

H. Allen Benowìtz,

Miami

Miami’s future

Last week, I attended the City of Miami Mayoral debate, hosted by the Downtown Neighbors Alliance. What unfolded was less a thoughtful exchange of ideas and more a spectacle suited to WWE than to the serious business of charting Miami’s future. The mudslinging may have entertained some, but for those of us who value good governance, it was disappointing and troubling.

What this debate made crystal clear is that Miami needs a new direction. Our city deserves leadership grounded in integrity, competence and vision. For this reason, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins should be the next mayor of the City of Miami.

Although this race is technically non-partisan, the reality is that party values often shine through in leadership. Miami is ready for Democratic leadership at City Hall. The numbers prove it: while Donald Trump carried Miami-Dade last November, he did not win the City of Miami. Just months ago, Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, carried the city. The people of Miami are signaling they are ready for a leader who shares their priorities.

Beyond policy, history is calling. On Nov. 4, 2025, Miami has the opportunity to elect its first woman mayor. It would be especially meaningful in that it is the only major American city founded by a woman, Julia Tuttle. For too long, that legacy has gone unfulfilled. Higgins is the leader who can bring it to life — combining historic firsts with proven experience.

The debate reminded us of what we don’t want. The election gives us a chance to choose what we do want: responsible leadership, a stronger city and a mayor who can unite Miami instead of divide it. That leader is Eileen Higgins.

Christopher Norwood, J.D.,

member,

Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee,

Miami

Sense of place

In the Sept. 28 Miami Herald story, “Why Miami ranks low for homeownership,” Ellen Buckley, founder and CEO of Prospera Real Estate Collective, said that owning a home can foster a sense of stake in the community than neighborhoods dominated by more transient neighbors. It also builds generational equity for families.

There is a housing crisis and everyone needs a roof over their head. However, almost all new “affordable housing” is high-rise rental apartments because, in the short-term, it is the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to build the most roofs. And it’s all being built by big developers.

While the best place for high-rise rental apartments is next to major public transportation, there are also plenty of vacant lots where new three-story apartment buildings can be built and many single-family homes and duplexes can be refurbished by small developers.

In the long-term, some meaningful percentage of ground-level homeownership must be built and sustained for neighborhoods — and Miami — to remain truly livable. It’s doable with the political leadership and the will.

Anthony Parrish,

former vice chair,

Miami PZAB,

Coconut Grove

Call of duty

I applaud U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s mandate that top military officials should be prepared to resign if they are fat.

I am more than confident our commander in chief will be the first to set a high example and follow that patriotic call to duty.

David Kwiat,

Dania