What’s the Cost When Two Big Hurricanes Hit the Power Grid? $2.5 Billion
- Utility cost estimates started rolling in during earnings
- NextEra estimated $1.3 billion in damages from Hurricane Irma
A lineman works on a utility pole as electricity is restored after Hurricane Irma in Fort Myers, Florida, on Sept. 13.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
How much havoc did back-to-back hurricanes that crashed ashore in the U.S. this year wreak on the nation’s power utilities? Based on this quarter’s earnings season, a much as $2.5 billion worth.
NextEra Energy Inc., which owns Florida’s largest electric utility, was hardest-hit by Hurricane Irma, which ripped across the Sunshine State in early September. The company estimated $1.3 billion in damages in a filing this week. The company’s proposing to add a $4 surcharge to the average customer bill beginning next year to recoup the costs.