FPL recognized for customer service

JUNO BEACH, FLORIDA - Leading national business customers have selected Florida Power & Light Company as one of three utilities in the country to receive the Edison Electric Institute EEI's 2011 National Key Account Award for Outstanding Customer Service.

More than 700 of the nation's leading chain and multi-site businesses, including well-known brands such as Best Buy, HealthSouth, Staples, Southwood Hotels, The Limited and Wal-Mart, voted in the prestigious awards program, which recognizes utilities that provide exceptional service to business customers.

"At FPL, we take pride in our long-standing commitment to delivering outstanding service day in and day out, and it is truly an honor to have our efforts recognized by our business customers," said Marlene Santos, FPL's vice president of customer service.

Thomas R. Kuhn, President of EEI, said, "Those electric companies and individuals honored with this award understand that at the heart of every successful business relationship is customer service. They know that the health of their business depends upon the health of their customer's business. And as a result, they never stop working to improve their service and make their customers more energy-efficient, more productive, and ultimately, more profitable."

FPL's business customers also benefit from typical electric bills that are significantly lower than the national average and the lowest among Florida utilities. Based on data reported in EEI's Typical Bills and Average Rates Report for summer 2010, a typical FPL small business customer, using 10,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month, pays 19 percent less than the national average. This translates into typical savings of more than $2,700 annually.

Similarly, FPL bills for medium-sized businesses that use 180,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month are 16 percent lower than the national average – resulting in typical annual savings of nearly $34,000. And FPL saves a large commercial customer using 32.5 million kilowatt-hours a month about 28 percent compared to the national average, which totals annually to more than $8 million in savings.

To save even more, business customers can schedule a Business Energy Evaluation at no cost. At a customer's request, an FPL Energy Efficiency Expert will examine a business's premise and energy usage to develop detailed cost-saving recommendations that the customer can implement.

FPL has long been a national leader in implementing cost-effective conservation programs that help customers to use energy more efficiently. Over the past three decades, FPL's successful demand-side management partnership with its customers has avoided the need to build the equivalent of 13 medium-sized power plants.