MIAMI – Despite leaving thousands in Florida without power for weeks following Hurricane Irma, Florida Power & Light will ask residents to pay surcharges each month through 2020 to help cover costs.
The SunSentinel reports FPL's parent company, NextEra Energy, announced the proposed $4 montly surcharge to Wall Street analysts on Thursday.
The surcharge would rise to $5.50 a month from 2019-20.
The Irma surcharge would start in March 2018, following the expiration of surcharges for Hurricane Matthew which hit Florida in 2016.
FPL claims the added fees are necessary to help recover costs spent in the recovery efforts from Hurricane Irma.
More than 90 percent of FPL customers lost power following Irma, with many waiting weeks for electricity to be restored.
The Florida Public Service Commission will make the final decision within 60 days of the surcharge proposal being filed.
According to the Sun-Sentinel, FPL customers are already paying monthly surcharges for two prior storm periods: $3.36 for Matthew and $1.32 for the hurricanes that hit South Florida in 2004-05.