Sunprint
The short answer
A high electric bill in Florida almost always means one of two things: you used more electricity, or you paid more for it, either through a higher rate or more days in the billing period. You can tell which in a couple of minutes, because your bill shows your usage in kWh, not just dollars.
- Hotter or colder weather
- Backup heat strips in a cold snap
- A change at home: guests, a pool, an EV
- An AC or appliance that runs too long
- More days in the billing period
- A rate or fuel-charge change
- A budget billing adjustment
- A catch-up after an estimated reading
The 8 usual causes, and the clue for each
These apply at every Florida utility, from FPL to the smallest city system. The clue line tells you what to look for on your own bill.
Hot weather and your AC
Cooling is the biggest single use of electricity in a Florida home, and it is packed into the hottest months. A hotter month, or a thermostat set a few degrees lower, shows up quickly.
Clue: kWh up, in a month that was hotter than the same month last year.
A cold snap and backup heat
When a heat pump can't keep up on a cold morning, electric heat strips switch on, and they use far more power than the heat pump does.
Clue: a January or February jump after a cold week.
More days in the billing period
Billing periods are not all the same length. A bill that covers a few extra days charges for a few extra days of air conditioning.
Clue: more days in the service period, with a steady daily average.
A rate or fuel-charge change
At the investor-owned utilities, base rates change after rate cases approved by the Public Service Commission, and the fuel charge is reset every year. City utilities and co-ops change their rates on their own schedules.
Clue: kWh steady, but a higher charge per kWh.
Budget billing caught up
Budget billing plans such as FPL's and Tampa Electric's charge a 12-month average and track the gap as a deferred balance. A hot year raises the average, and leaving the plan brings the balance due.
Clue: a new, higher budget amount, or a deferred balance that came due.
An estimated reading caught up
If a past bill was estimated low, the next actual reading picks up the usage the estimate missed.
Clue: the word “estimated” on last month's bill.
Something changed at home
House guests, a new pool pump schedule, an electric vehicle, a second fridge in the garage, or working from home all add kWh that the weather doesn't explain.
Clue: kWh up in a month when the weather was normal.
An AC or appliance problem
A clogged filter, low refrigerant or a failing part can keep an air conditioner running far longer than it should. A stuck water heater element or well pump does the same.
Clue: kWh climbing month after month, or an AC that rarely shuts off.
Summer: why air conditioning dominates a Florida bill
The federal government's most recent household energy survey, for 2020, puts the average Florida home at about 13,990 kWh a year. That's roughly a third more than the U.S. average of 10,566 kWh, and it works out to about 1,170 kWh a month. Air conditioning accounted for about 4,379 kWh of the Florida total, around 31 percent and the largest single named use.
A year of electricity: Florida homes vs. the U.S. average
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, table CE4.6.EL.ST. The cooling, water heating and space heating figures are averages for homes that use electricity for that purpose.
A Florida home that cools with electricity uses nearly twice as much for cooling as the average U.S. home that does. Because that use is squeezed into the hot months, the same house can have a modest bill in spring and a painful one in August without anything being wrong. Our guide to the average electric bill in Florida shows what's normal month by month.
If your summer bill is high, the useful comparison is with last summer, not last month. Our guide to solar for pool homes covers the other big summer load many Florida homes carry, the pool pump.
Winter: the heat strip problem
Florida winters are short, but they produce some of the year's most surprising bills. Many Florida homes heat with a heat pump, which moves heat into the house rather than making it. When the heat pump can't keep up, backup heating strips switch on. Those strips are electric resistance heat, which the U.S. Department of Energy says needs at least twice as much energy as a heat pump to keep a house warm.
A Florida Solar Energy Center study of about 200 Central Florida homes found most winter heating ran between about 5 and 8 a.m., and homes that turned the heat down at night and back up in the morning drew heavy strip heat.
The same study, published in 2000, also found homes where a failed compressor or the wrong thermostat left the system running on strip heat alone. So if one cold week sent your bill up, two things are worth checking: whether big morning jumps on the thermostat are calling for backup heat, and whether the outdoor unit actually runs while the house is heating. If it sits still, the system may be heating on strips alone, and that's worth a service call.
Read your bill in five minutes
Florida's billing rule for FPL, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric and FPU lists what every bill must show. A city utility or co-op bill may be laid out differently, but the same checks work. The table below explains each line.
If you'd rather see the whole year at once, the same rules let you ask an investor-owned utility, once a year, for a statement of your usage in each billing period over the past 12 months, and for an explanation of how it reads your meter and works out your bill.
Florida rules that protect you
These come from Florida Statutes and the Public Service Commission's rules. The Commission regulates the four investor-owned utilities: FPL, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric and Florida Public Utilities. City-owned utilities and co-ops aren't covered by these rules, so if you're with one, ask it how it handles each situation.
A longer bill can't push you into a higher tier
A utility with tiered rates can't charge you a higher rate because extra days in the billing period pushed your usage up. It also can't move your regular meter-reading date by more than 5 days for routine reasons without prorating the bill.
Covers: FPL, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric, FPUEstimated bills have limits
A utility may estimate a bill only with sufficient cause. After the third estimated bill in a row it must contact you, and it must take an actual reading at least once every six months. If an estimate turns out to be off, the whole period is recalculated as if the usage was spread across it.
Covers: FPL, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric, FPUA free meter test once a year
Ask, and the utility must test your meter for free if it hasn't been tested in the last 12 months. You or someone you choose can watch. For extra tests it can ask a deposit of up to $100, refunded if the meter runs fast.
Covers: FPL, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric, FPUSomeone to call if the utility won't fix it
If you can't resolve a billing problem with an investor-owned utility, the Commission's Office of Consumer Assistance & Outreach takes complaints at 1-800-342-3552 or through the online form on its website.
Covers: FPL, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric, FPUA meter test settles the question either way. If the meter checks out, the cause is usage or price, and the clues above will point to which. It is worth asking for when your usage jumped and nothing in your home explains it.
Taxes and fees that grow with the bill
The taxes that sit on top of your utility's own charges are set as percentages, so a bigger bill carries bigger taxes. This is how the layers stack up in Florida:
The rates set by statute are the 2.5 percent gross receipts tax and the 10 percent ceiling on a city's public service tax. Franchise fees vary by city and county, which is one reason two neighbors a few miles apart can pay different totals for the same kWh.
Find your utility
How much each cause matters depends on your utility's rates. Start with its bill guide if it has one, or its utility guide, which covers its current rates and how it credits solar.
Investor-owned utilities
City-owned utilities
Not listed? Our guide to smaller Florida utilities covers the rest, and our rate table for 52 Florida utilities shows where yours sits.
When the bill is high every month
A one-off spike has a one-off cause. A bill that's high month after month, because your home simply uses a lot of power, is the situation solar is built for. The first question is what size system your usage needs, and our guide to sizing solar by bill amount works through bills from $300 to $700 a month. What you save also depends on how your utility credits the power you send back to the grid, which varies a lot across Florida.
Already have solar and the bill is still high? That's a different set of causes, covered in our guide for solar owners with high bills.
Your estimate in three steps
- Enter your billYour ZIP code, your utility and last month's bill.
- See your estimateA yearly savings range based on your utility's rates and Florida sun.
- Choose what's nextAsk for a quote call if you want real pricing, or just keep the number.
See what solar could save you
It takes about a minute. You don't need a site visit, a commitment or a sales call to see your number.
Common questions
Why is my electric bill so high this month?
Most often you used more kWh, usually because of hotter or colder weather, or the billing period ran longer than usual. Less often the cause is a rate or fuel-charge change, a budget billing adjustment, or a catch-up after an estimated reading. Compare this bill's average daily kWh with the same month last year: if it rose, you used more; if it didn't, the price or the number of days changed.
Why did my electric bill double?
A bill that doubles almost always means your usage roughly doubled: a heat wave, a cold snap that brought on backup heat strips, a new large load such as a pool heater or an electric vehicle, or an air conditioner that runs without stopping. A long billing period or leaving budget billing can add to it. If your kWh barely changed and the bill still doubled, ask the utility to explain the charges.
Why is my electric bill so high in winter in Florida?
Usually backup heat. When a heat pump can't keep up, electric heat strips switch on, and the U.S. Department of Energy says that kind of heat needs at least twice as much energy as a heat pump. Big morning jumps on the thermostat after a cold night are a common trigger. If the outdoor unit isn't running while the house heats, the system may be running on strips alone and needs a service call.
Can my electric company estimate my bill?
Yes. Under Florida's rules for investor-owned utilities, a utility may estimate a bill when there is sufficient cause, and the bill must say "estimated" prominently. After the third estimated bill in a row it must contact you, and it must take an actual reading at least once every six months. If an estimate turns out to be off once the meter is read, the whole period is billed as if the usage was spread across it, and the estimated bill is subtracted.
How do I get my electric meter tested in Florida?
Ask your utility. At FPL, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric and FPU, state rules require a free test if your meter hasn't been tested in the past 12 months, and you or someone you choose can watch it. For tests more often than that, the utility can ask for a deposit of up to $100, which is refunded if the meter turns out to be running fast. The state rule doesn't cover city utilities and co-ops, so ask yours how it handles meter tests.
Does budget billing save money?
No. Budget billing spreads your yearly cost into even monthly payments, and Tampa Electric's own description says it is not a discount program. The gap between your actual charges and your payment is tracked as a deferred balance. After a hot summer the average goes up, and if you leave the plan, the remaining balance comes due.
Who sets electric rates in Florida?
The Florida Public Service Commission sets rates for the four investor-owned utilities: FPL, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric and Florida Public Utilities. City-owned utilities such as JEA or GRU, and member-owned co-ops, set their own rates. For those, the Commission's authority covers how rates are structured, not their overall level.
Where can I complain about my electric bill in Florida?
Start with your utility and ask it to explain the bill. If you're with FPL, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric or FPU and you can't resolve it, the Public Service Commission's consumer office takes complaints at 1-800-342-3552 or through the complaint form on its website. City utilities and co-ops aren't regulated by the Commission on billing, so raise it with the utility directly.
Why is my electric bill high even though I have solar?
That has its own set of causes, such as a system too small for your usage, shading, a failed inverter, or a low credit rate for the power you export. Our guide for solar owners with high bills walks through each one.
Related guides
- Why is my FPL bill so high?
- How much solar for a $300 to $700 Florida electric bill?
- Electric rates for 52 Florida utilities
- Already have solar? Why your bill is still high
- Solar for pool homes in Florida
- Is solar worth it in Florida in 2026?
This page is general information. Rates, taxes and fees differ by utility and location, and the state rules marked above cover only investor-owned utilities. Sources: EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, table CE4.6.EL.ST (PDF) · Florida Administrative Code Rule 25-6.100, customer billings · Rule 25-6.059, meter test by request · Rule 25-6.093, information to customers · Florida Statutes 366.05 · 366.02 · 366.04 · 203.01 (gross receipts tax) · 166.231 (public service tax) · 212.08(7)(j) (household fuels) · Florida PSC staff recommendation on fuel-factor mid-course corrections (2023) · Florida PSC complaint brochure (PDF) · U.S. Department of Energy on heat pumps and resistance heat · Florida Solar Energy Center, space heat and heat pump efficiency study (PDF) · Tampa Electric Budget Billing · FPL Budget Billing. Reviewed September 2026.
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