As St. Lucie County continues to wrestle with the future of a proposed mega data center, Florida Power & Light says it has put safeguards in place to ensure everyday customers are not left paying for the energy demands of these massive facilities.
The debate has intensified in recent months as developers look to Florida for large-scale data center projects, including a proposal in Fort Pierce that remains in limbo after the St. Lucie County Planning and Zoning Board voted last October against recommending it.
The project, which could span millions of square feet and reshape rural land, has drawn both support for its economic potential, and criticism over land use, infrastructure strain and long-term community impact.
Against that backdrop, FPL says it is moving ahead with policies designed to protect ratepayers if data centers ultimately come online in the region.
Andrew Sutton, a spokesperson for the utility, said the company has created special rate structures to keep the financial responsibility out of resident's hands.
“We’ve established special rates to ensure that data centers must pay their own way and our existing customers are protected. We have a legal obligation to reliably serve everyone, and that includes any data centers that do move into our service area, but we want to make sure that our residential customers are not footing the bill for these data centers,” Sutton said.
Sutton said FPL has looked to states who have already had these centers built for guidance as it prepares to potentially house them.
“We are learners and not leaders when it comes to data centers. So at FPL, we were able to look at the experiences of utilities in other states where there has been heavy data center development, and we came to the conclusion that there is a straightforward solution to this, and that is that the cost causer should remain the cost payer. And so one of the protections that we have in place is that data centers are responsible for funding 100 percent of the cost of new power generation required to serve their project,” he said.
Another concern frequently raised by residents is whether Florida’s electric grid can handle the added strain, especially during hurricane season and extreme heat. Data centers are among the most energy-intensive developments in modern industry, often requiring as much power as entire communities to operate around the clock.
Sutton said the state’s climate has already forced utilities to build systems designed for reliability under pressure.
“In Florida, we’re working with one of the strongest, smartest grids in America. It’s no secret that we live in a rough environment. We have severe weather almost daily. So from a reliability perspective, I wouldn’t say that there’s anything to worry about,” he said.
Beyond rates and grid capacity, Sutton emphasized that developers cannot simply build a data center and plug it in. He said there are several hurdles they must clear before receiving service.
“One of those things, they would have to commission an engineering study to look at the project scope and feasibility and the cost to connect to the grid. They would have to be willing to fund that,” Sutton said. “They have to agree to a 20-year minimum contract, and they have to be willing to pay 100 percent of the cost of new power generation required to serve their project.”
In St. Lucie County, the proposed Fort Pierce development has become a flashpoint in a broader statewide conversation about the data centers. Sutton said FPL’s approach is intended to draw a clear line between serving new development and protecting existing customers.