FPL, Tampa Electric and Duke File Data Center Plans as Florida's New Ratepayer Protection Law Hits First Deadline

Florida's largest electric utilities faced their first major test this week under a new state law meant to keep residential customers from paying for the power demands of giant data centers. Florida Power & Light told state regulators on Thursday, Oct. 1, that the large load rate structure it already has in place satisfies the law, while Tampa Electric filed a new plan that would require the biggest data center customers to sign 20-year contracts for the grid infrastructure built to serve them.

The filings were due by Oct. 1 under CS/CS/SB 484, the data center law Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in May. The law requires each investor-owned utility to file a tariff with the Florida Public Service Commission that reasonably ensures that large load customers, defined as those with an anticipated monthly peak demand of 50 megawatts or more at a single location, pay their own cost of service rather than shifting it to households and small businesses.

FPL's position, that rules it crafted before the law existed already meet the new standard, quickly drew skepticism from some consumer advocates, who argued the utility's approach is not protective enough of ordinary ratepayers, according to reporting by the Tampa Bay Times. The Public Service Commission will now review the filings and decide whether they comply.

What FPL told regulators

FPL, the state's largest utility and a subsidiary of Juno Beach-based NextEra Energy, said in a statement that its approved rate structure for large load customers already meets the consumer protection requirements of SB 484. The company said its rules require data center customers to fund 100% of the cost of new power generation needed to serve their projects.

The utility's large load rules are contained in two tariffs, known as Large Load Contract Service LLCS-1 and LLCS-2, which apply to new or incremental load of 50 megawatts or more. Those tariffs were developed during FPL's most recent base rate proceeding in 2025 and took effect at the start of 2026, before the Legislature passed SB 484.

Rather than proposing a new tariff, FPL submitted what it described as a compliance filing, asking the commission to confirm that the existing structure satisfies the law. The company has argued that its approach already isolates the costs of serving very large customers from its roughly 6 million residential and business accounts.

To put the 50-megawatt threshold in perspective, a single customer drawing that much power at peak would use roughly as much electricity as many thousands of homes running air conditioning on a summer afternoon. Large artificial intelligence campuses being planned around the country can require several times that amount, which is why utilities often must build new generation or major transmission upgrades to serve them.

Advocates question whether old rules are enough

Consumer advocates who have followed FPL's rate cases argued that the existing tariffs do not go far enough, according to the Tampa Bay Times, which first reported on the filing. Their concern centers on whether rules written before the law, and negotiated in a rate case rather than under the new statutory standard, provide the protections lawmakers intended.

The debate reflects a broader national question: as technology companies race to build data centers to power artificial intelligence, utilities in many states are being asked to add large amounts of generation and transmission capacity. If those customers later scale back, relocate or go out of business, the cost of the new infrastructure can end up spread across everyone else's bills unless contracts lock in long-term payment obligations.

SB 484 was designed to address that risk in Florida. Supporters of the law argued during the 2026 legislative session that residential customers, who have already absorbed storm recovery charges and fuel cost swings in recent years, should not subsidize the power needs of large technology companies.

The Office of Public Counsel, the state agency that represents utility customers before the Public Service Commission, has historically been the main consumer voice in FPL's rate proceedings. Other intervenors in recent FPL cases have included environmental and community organizations, large commercial customers and business groups, several of which are likely to follow the data center compliance review closely.

Tampa Electric proposes 20-year contracts

Tampa Electric, which serves about 850,000 customers in Hillsborough County and parts of Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties, filed its own plan with the Public Service Commission ahead of the deadline. The proposal targets users with monthly peak demand of at least 50 megawatts and would require them to sign 20-year service agreements covering grid infrastructure costs, according to local reporting on the filing.

Long contract terms are one of the main tools utilities use to protect other customers. If a data center commits to paying for service over two decades, the utility can be more confident it will recover the cost of new power plants, substations and transmission lines built for that customer, instead of leaving the balance to be recovered from the general rate base.

The Tampa Bay area has drawn growing interest from data center developers in recent years, attracted by available land, fiber connections and access to major transmission lines, making the details of Tampa Electric's tariff especially consequential for the region.

Duke Energy Florida's approach

Duke Energy Florida, which serves about 2 million customers across Central Florida, the Nature Coast and parts of the Panhandle, began its own process earlier in the year. The utility filed a petition with the Public Service Commission in April seeking approval of a large load tariff aimed at data centers, proposing a 20-year minimum contract term, minimum monthly bills and mandatory early termination fees for any customer drawing 50 megawatts or more.

Minimum bills require a customer to pay a set amount each month regardless of how much power it actually uses, ensuring that the utility recovers fixed costs even if a facility runs below expected levels. Early termination fees serve a similar purpose if a customer walks away from a contract before it ends.

Duke's plans have also drawn scrutiny. A recent filing before regulators questioned whether billions of dollars in data center related costs could ultimately fall on Duke Energy Florida's existing customers, according to news reports, a question the commission is expected to weigh as it reviews the utility's tariff.

What SB 484 requires

DeSantis signed SB 484 on May 7 at an event in Lakeland, and the law took effect July 1. Beyond the tariff requirement, the measure includes several provisions aimed at so-called hyperscale data centers:

• Large load customers of 50 megawatts or more must pay their full cost of service, so that utility and infrastructure costs are not shifted onto other Florida electric customers.
• Local governments keep their authority over zoning, permitting and land use, including the ability to set stricter standards or deny data center projects.
• Water permit standards are tightened, and the law calls for the use of reclaimed water where feasible.
• The Legislature's research office, OPPAGA, must study data center construction and operations, with a report due July 1, 2027.
• Data center development agreements must eventually be publicly disclosed after a confidentiality period.

The governor's office described the law as protecting Floridians from subsidizing data centers. The bill advanced unanimously through at least one legislative committee during the session, according to reports at the time, after debate over how to balance economic development with ratepayer and water protections.

Background: why data centers are a Florida issue

Data centers that train and run artificial intelligence models consume enormous amounts of electricity, with some single campuses drawing hundreds of megawatts, comparable to the demand of a mid-sized city. Developers have been scouting sites around the country, and Florida's large utilities, growing population and existing power plant fleet have made it a candidate for new projects.

At the same time, Floridians have grown increasingly sensitive to electric bills. FPL's most recent base rate case, decided in 2025, was the largest in the utility's history and drew intense public opposition before a settlement was approved. Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric customers have also absorbed rate increases in recent years tied to grid investments, storm restoration and fuel costs.

Water is another concern. Many data centers use water for cooling, and the state's aquifers and water management districts are already balancing the demands of rapid population growth, agriculture and environmental restoration. SB 484's water provisions were added in response to those concerns, and environmental groups have continued to push for strong implementation.

The Public Service Commission is made up of five commissioners who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate. The commission sets rates for the state's investor-owned electric utilities, including FPL, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric and Florida Public Utilities, but does not set rates for municipal utilities or electric cooperatives, which serve many Floridians in smaller cities and rural areas.

What's next

The Florida Public Service Commission will review each utility's filing to determine whether it meets SB 484's standard that large load customers pay their own cost of service. The commission's staff typically analyzes such filings, may request additional information from the utilities, and then makes a recommendation to the five commissioners, who vote at a scheduled agenda conference.

Consumer advocates, including those who intervene in utility rate cases, are expected to weigh in, particularly on FPL's position that its pre-existing tariffs are sufficient. The commission could approve the filings as submitted, require changes or open a formal proceeding.

For Florida households, the outcome will help determine whether the coming wave of data center construction shows up on their monthly power bills. The decisions are likely to unfold over the coming months, and the OPPAGA study due in 2027 could shape whether lawmakers revisit the law in a future session.