Electric Service in St. Petersburg: Duke Energy Bills and Outages

Duke Energy Florida supplies electricity in St. Petersburg; it describes itself as owning 12,500 megawatts of capacity and serving 2 million customers across a 13,000-square-mile Florida service area, and its releases carry a St. Petersburg dateline (Duke Energy Florida).

The City of St. Petersburg utility services menu lists residential trash and recycling, stormwater and water services, and no electric service (City utilities account setup). The city titled its 2024 relief release for City of St. Petersburg and Duke Energy customers, and when it set up that Renter Utility Relief Program it described the bills it would pay as past due electric, sanitation and water bills from the City of St. Petersburg and Duke Energy (City of St. Petersburg).

Duke Energy Florida is an investor-owned utility, listed in the Florida Public Service Commission table of investor-owned electric utilities, and Duke says its annual rate adjustments are pending approval from the FPSC (Florida PSC; Duke Energy Florida). Duke's own capacity figure has moved: its October 15, 2024 Pinellas County storm release gave 12,300 megawatts, while its May 2026 release gives 12,500 megawatts (Duke, October 2024; Duke, May 2026). St. Petersburg readers comparing documents should expect either figure.

A St. Petersburg household on Duke Energy Florida residential service using 1,000 kilowatt hours pays $157.09 for October through December 2026, according to the Florida Public Service Commission table dated October 1, 2026 (Florida PSC).

The base rate in that St. Petersburg table is an average. The FPSC notes that Duke's 2026 base rates are $91.74 on June through November bills and $102.48 on December 2026 through February 2027 bills, weighted to $94.43 for the year, so a winter bill runs higher than the table's base line (Florida PSC).

Other investor-owned utilities differ. The same FPSC table lists $156.43 for Tampa Electric, $136.64 for Florida Power & Light and $165.17 for Florida Public Utilities at 1,000 kWh for October to December 2026, which puts the Duke bill paid in St. Petersburg about level with Tampa Electric and roughly $20 above FPL (Florida PSC). The storm restoration line is $0.00 for every utility in that quarter; for Duke, the company says its storm cost recovery charge for hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton came off early in February 2026 (Duke Energy Florida).

Duke says its St. Petersburg area bills fell in three steps in 2026, about $50 or 25% for 1,000 kWh by June compared with January, mainly because the storm charge for hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton came off early (Duke Energy Florida).

Duke lists the steps as an approximately $33 decrease in February 2026 from removing the storm cost recovery charge, an approximately $11 decrease in March that the company applies every March through November, and an approximately $6 decrease in June reflecting a storm cost true up, effective through September 2026 (Duke Energy Florida). The true up returned the gap between roughly $1 billion collected and roughly $915 million actually incurred following the 2024 hurricane season (Duke).

That June step was temporary: Duke says the true up flows back as a decrease in fuel rates from June through September 2026, and the FPSC table for the months after it, October to December 2026, lists the $157.09 total for St. Petersburg customers (Duke; Florida PSC).

Base rates paid in St. Petersburg rose in 2026. A Duke filing at the FPSC says its January 2026 rate adjustment includes the $59 million base rate increase for 2026 authorized in the 2024 Settlement Agreement, along with the Rattler and Half Moon solar centers (FPSC document 14875-2025).

For 2027, Duke asked the FPSC on September 3, 2026 for rates that would lower a typical 1,000 kWh residential bill by $0.71 from December 2026 to January 2027, pending approval (Duke Energy Florida). Duke says a 2% base rate increase set by the FPSC in 2024 is being avoided through a tax strategy worth $50 million in customer savings, while grid investment costs rise slightly. Duke describes the adjustment as pending approval from the FPSC, so the St. Petersburg figure is a request, not a decision.

A St. Petersburg outage is reported to Duke Energy Florida by texting OUT to 57801, online, through the Duke mobile app, or by calling 800.228.8485, the same number used to report downed or sagging power lines (Duke Energy Florida, October 8, 2026).

St. Petersburg restoration updates come by phone and email alerts, by texting REG to 57801, or from the Duke outage map (Duke). Duke treats every fallen line as energized and asks that hazards be reported at 800.228.8485 or to local emergency services (Duke).

Hurricane Milton showed how long the last outages in Pinellas County, which includes St. Petersburg, can take; Duke called it a multiday restoration. On October 15, 2024 Duke said outages across its territory had fallen from over 1 million to approximately 30,000, by then largely concentrated in Pinellas County, and that the remaining cases were often damage to equipment that serves less than 25 customers, located behind homes where crews had to climb poles (Duke Energy Florida).

One step is the owner's job. Duke said customers who cannot take power because of damage to the meter base, breaker panel or customer-owned wiring should contact their local municipality, and inspections may be required after repairs (Duke). Duke's October 8, 2026 storm release adds that a flooded home or business cannot be reconnected until a licensed electrician has inspected the electrical system, and that where there is damage the electrician must make repairs and obtain verification from the local building inspection authority (Duke Energy Florida).

The City of St. Petersburg promotes rooftop solar through Solar United Neighbors co-ops and the Switch Together group buying program, which the city says 16,604 households have accepted an offer from (City of St. Petersburg).

In a St. Petersburg co-op, members pick one installer for the whole group through an open and competitive bid, and each member then gets a personalized proposal; the city says signing up carries no cost or obligation (City of St. Petersburg). The same page lists the Solar and Energy Loan Fund at 727-315-3223 as a contact and cites 361 days of sunshine a year in St. Pete (City of St. Petersburg).

The city's climate plan page is out of date. The St. Pete Commitment page still frames its action items as ways to reduce St. Pete greenhouse gas emissions 20% by 2020, and lists Implement first Duke Energy community solar for energy equity benefiting low income area as a Moonshot item (City of St. Petersburg). The 2020 target date in that list has passed.

Bill help has come from the city in specific programs. In March 2024 St. Petersburg announced a $3 million allocation of federal dollars for a Renter Utility Relief Program to pay past due City and Duke Energy bills, covering up to 18 months, with the announcement held at the Enoch D. Davis Center, 1111 18th Ave. S. (City of St. Petersburg). The release does not say whether the St. Petersburg program still takes applications.

A St. Petersburg customer who cannot settle a billing or service problem with Duke Energy Florida can file a utility complaint with the Florida Public Service Commission, which lists complaint filing and consumer assistance on its home page (Florida PSC).

The FPSC is also where St. Petersburg rate changes are decided, in dockets such as the solar base rate filing that carried the $59 million 2026 increase (FPSC docket 20250034 filing). Duke points customers seeking payment plans to duke-energy.com/HereToHelp, a company program rather than a state one (Duke Energy Florida).

Last verified: October 18, 2026, against the Florida PSC 1,000 kWh table and docket filing, Duke Energy Florida news releases of 2024 and 2026, and the City of St. Petersburg solar, climate and renter relief pages.