FORT MYERS, Fla. — According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s latest data, the state's unemployment rate currently stands at 11.3%. As the sunshine state continues to fully reopen, many people are still struggling to make ends meet, now Florida Power and Light is hoping to give people a financial boost.
“Now we are offering direct relief including to those who are significantly behind on their bills,” said Chris McGrath, a spokesperson for FPL.
At the start of the pandemic, Florida Power and Light enacted special policies to assist over 5.1 million customers. Chris McGrath a spokesperson with FPL tells me, this direct relief fund is a bit different.
“It is a onetime relief program that we are initiating for customers who are significantly past due on their electric bill,” said Chris McGrath.
However, McGrath says, there are a few requirements to meet before receiving financial relief.
“There’s a maximum one-time bill credit of $200, those are for customers who have at least 3 past due FPL bills, but for customers, with 2 past bills there's also a credit amount that's less than $200,” said McGrath.
FPL says even if you aren’t eligible for this particular program, there are other plans in place to assist customers in need.
“We’re also continuing to offer payment extensions, waving late fees, and we are helping to connect customers with financial assistance. There's millions of dollars that continue to be available,” said McGrath.
McGrath says FPL will be reaching out to those customers who qualify directly as early as tomorrow, but for more information on this relief fund and others head to their website.
