Lower Bills for FPL Customers

Florida Power & Light, a FPL Group (FPL - Analyst Report) company, recently submitted its mid-year fuel report to the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC), which contains the detail of the fuel expenses incurred during the first half of 2009. It has also presented the fuel cost estimates for 2010 to the commission.
 
Florida Power & Light’s current fuel bill is running nearly 6% lower than initial estimates and it expects to pass on the benefit to customers on their 2010 bills, if the trend continues. The company estimates the bills for residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month to decline to around $100 in January 2010 from roughly $109 in December 2009. This, however, is subject to necessary approvals by the FPSC.
 
Florida Power & Light’s latest estimates include the impact of its pending request for a base rate adjustment (filed to the FPSC earlier in March this year), better fuel efficiency at its generating units and lower anticipated fuel prices for 2009-2010. Starting August 24, the company will negotiate with FPSC regarding its application for the base rate adjustment.
 
Florida Power & Light is the largest electric utility in Florida having over 4.5 million customer accounts. The company remained focused on upgrading its utility infrastructure and improving fuel efficiency, which resulted in fuel costs reduction by approximately $3 billion since 2002. It further expects to save $1 billion on fuel bill each year starting from 2014 as compared to 2002. Florida Power & Light has consistently kept the customer bills well below the national average while maintaining above-average service reliability.
 
Shares of FPL Group closed at $57.34 on Thursday, trading at 14.15X trailing 12-month EPS. We maintain our Neutral recommendation for the company.

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