SUN SENTINEL

If the Public Service Commission approves the negotiated rate at a conference scheduled on Nov. 29, a user of about 1,000-kWh a month would see their bill increase about $7 — from about $91.56 currently to $98.77 in January.

Two more increases would follow, to an estimated $102.50 in January 2018 and $103.70 in June 2019 before declining to $102.97 in January 2020.

If the commission fails to approve the negotiated rate, the 1,000-kWh monthly users would pay nearly $10 a month more right away, as outlined in the originally proposed rate-hike schedule — from $91.56 now to $101.18 in January. Continue reading…

Editor’s note: To FPL’s rate Jan. 1, 2017 rate of $98.77 would be added a 6% franchise fee, making the bill for 1000 kWh for Vero Beach residents $104.70. Vero Electric’s rate as of Jan. 1 will be $116.08, a difference of $11.38 per month, or $136.50 per year. Put in context, the loss of the annual transfer from the electric fund to the General Fund resulting from a sale of Vero Electric would require a doubling in the City’s real estate taxes, a drastic cut in municipal services, or a combination of the two.