Electric bills are increasing and Florida’s large privately owned utility companies are growing more profitable. It’s not a coincidence that these companies also spend millions of dollars on lobbying and campaign contributions, according to a recent report by the nonprofit, nonpartisan CLEO Institute.

Four of Florida’s investor-owned utilities – Florida Power & Light Co., Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric Co. Energy and Florida Public Utilities – spent more than $80 million on lobbying and campaign contributions over the past four election cycles, the CLEO report said.

In 2025, four of Florida’s investor owned utilities reported revenue of more than $26 billion from approximately 9 million homes and businesses across the state, according to the report, and they kept more than $6 billion of that as profit.

“The power companies made big profits, the politicians received substantial campaign contributions and Florida’s average utility bills continued to rise,” the report said.

“Florida’s utilities get to earn among the highest rates of return in the country,” said CLEO spokesperson Raymer Maguire, one of the report’s authors.

“One thing that maybe shouldn’t have surprised me but did surprise me in this research, was the nearly 100 lobbyists that these utility companies have in Tallahassee,” Maguire said. “There’s roughly one lobbyist for every one-and a-half legislators. That stood out to me.”

FPL, Florida’s largest electric utility company, criticized CLEO’s analysis.

“The CLEO Institute’s report fails to tell the whole story about the value our company provides, and seems to misrepresent the regulatory process,” said FPL spokesperson Andrew Sutton. “FPL’s typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is nearly 30% below the national average.”

The CLEO report draws a correlation between profitability and lobbying efforts among utility companies. Lobbying is directed at the governor and legislators, who are responsible for appointing regulators to the state Public Service Commission, which approves utility rates.

The commission, comprised of five appointees picked by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, “has allowed Florida’s utilities to earn some of the highest profit margins in the nation,” the CLEO report said.

In November, the commission unanimously approved the highest FPL rate increase in history, and the rising costs are estimated to affect about 12 million customers.

The Public Service Commission approved an increase to FPL’s return on equity, the rate of return that shareholders are permitted to earn, the CLEO report said. FPL’s maximum return on equity has increased to 11.95%, up from 11% in 2010, the report said.

FPL’s rising return on equity helps support investments in it grid and power generation, Sutton said.

“They requested and were approved for the largest rate hike in U.S. history,” Maguire said. “There’s this consistent drumbeat in the favor of utility companies. We the people, Floridians, are literally and figuratively paying that price.”