Residents have an opportunity to voice their support or opposition to Gulf Power’s proposed rate hike, but locals will have to drive to do so.
The Florida Public Service Commission has scheduled two public hearings for customers to discuss the nearly 10 percent increase, designed to fund the largest power grid construction project in Gulf Power’s history.
One public hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. today at Pensacola State College’s Hagler Auditorium at the corner of Underwood Avenue and North Ninth Avenue.
The other is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Edgewater Beach Conference Center at 11212 Front Beach Road in Panama City Beach.
Representatives from Gulf Power will attend the meetings to help customers with any service issues that may come up, spokesman Jeff Rogers wrote in an email.
“We’ll actually have customer service reps with computers so we can pull up a customer’s account to help solve issues,” Rogers wrote.
AARP sent out an email alert to its members last week informing them of the upcoming public hearings and urging them to speak out against the rate increase.
“AARP Florida believes that it is unfair to hike rates for residents, many of whom live on fixed incomes and are struggling to get by, while a company already posting huge profits continues to earn an 11 percent return on equity,” Jeff Johnson, AARP’s Florida director, wrote in a message posted online.
The Public Service Commission is expected to discuss the proposed rate increase at a public meeting in December. A decision is expected in April.
Gulf Power customers now pay $118.88 per 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity used. If the rate increase is approved, that will jump to $129.81 per 1,000 kilowatt hours in April.
Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.