441 and 27 separate right in the middle of town. Its claim to fame is bass fishing. They have a bike fest in April. If there is anything else you need to know about Leesburg, we can’t think of it. We bring it up because the City of Leesburg Florida recently put out a notice to its utility customers.
Leesburg Electric Bulk Power Cost Adjustment –
Minor Two-Step Adjustment for 2nd and 3rd Quarter FY 26
Leesburg, Florida – Leesburg Electric continues to experience fluctuations in the cost of natural gas. As a result, a modest two-step increase to the Bulk Power Cost Adjustment (BPCA) of $0.0025/kWh is required to prevent unsustainable financial loss for the Utility.
The first step will be effective January 1, 2026. The increase will cause the BPCA to total $22.50 per 1,000 kWh. With all other rates remaining the same, Leesburg Electric customers will see the 1,000 kWh price increase from $127.92 to $130.47 during second quarter FY 26.
Should natural gas prices increase pursuant to the most recent wholesale projections, a second increase of $0.0025 kWh will be implemented for third quarter FY 26 (April 1, 2026). This action will cause the total BPCA to be $25.00 per 1,000 kWh, or $132.97 for the first 1,000 kWh. After the implementation of the second BPCA adjustment, energy rates for summer 2026 will be the same as they were in summer 2025.
Consistent management of the BPCA immediately addresses changing conditions in the fuel market, while keeping the price as low as possible for Leesburg Electric customers. Although the natural gas market has stabilized to a degree, the need for the adjustment is due to winter demand, increased system-wide load and overseas natural gas sales.
Even with this modest two-step increase, the Utility will continue to be one of the region’s most economical energy suppliers. As an example, over the past 12-month period, Leesburg has maintained an average 1,000 kWh rate of $130.05, while the major investor-owned utilities of FPL and Duke have remained higher at approximately $137 and $175 respectively, for the same period.
Leesburg Electric will continue to monitor the trends and seeks to provide the lowest cost energy to our customers.
Even the little power companies are raising their rates. They are justifying it, in part, by comparing their rates to the big guys. The reason we brought this up to you here, in this post, is because it is evidence of what we have been warning about for some time now in previous posts.
Power company modus operandi (We think that’s Swahili for SOP.) has always been to raise rates as slowly and imperceptibly as possible. A little bit here on the rate one year, a small bump to the connection fee another year, and if your bill fluctuated a little bit higher every year you assumed it was because Junior was not turning out the light every time he left a room, or that crack between the door and the frame seemed to get a little wider, or you drove your EV a bit more that month. The small amount it went up was negligible.
The average power bill in Florida in 1995 was $86. Today it has doubled, and it did that a tiny increase at a time, about 5% per year. Prognosticators of energy prices are prognosticating that over the next decade the increases will be heavier handed. In Leesburg they put out a memo to let everyone know their plans. How many read it? We found it on the Mayor’s Facebook post, and the comments from his constituents are almost all negative.
Part of the frustration is that already strained budgets feel every little increase. Another part is that the utility is not asking. They are telling their customers what is going to happen. The customers have no say. What are they going to do, switch to another power company? Quit using electricity? Neither are realistic options.
Solar is. Leesburg is charging about 13 cents a Watt even after the increase. That is among the lowest in Florida. Any readers on Duke, FP&L, or TECo are probably jealous of that rate. Just FYI, solar can produce the same amount of electricity for about half the price of what Leesburg charges their customers. We are pretty sure the customer can add batteries and still be less than that rate.
The math is clear. It is so clear that we should be booked out until 2028 for new solar electric installs. The problem is that most people don’t know. Less people than what read that memo from the City of Leesburg take the time to read posts like this one or do their own research into solar. It is to their own detriment.
The energy future of those without solar is full of bad math. Take yourselves out of the equation. Maybe solar is the solution for you, maybe it isn’t. Finding out will cost you nothing. With minimal information from you, we will take your power consumption and design a solar electric system that will provide that much electricity. We will show you mockup images of where the panels will be placed on your property. We will even compare solar math to power company math so you can see why it makes sense. Call us.
