Guest Commentary: Central Florida shouldn’t foot the bill for aging coal plant

By Dawn Shirreffs | Published by Orlando Sentinel

As Central Florida faces another brutal summer of record temperatures, families across the region are watching their electricity bills climb. A new statewide poll makes clear how they feel about it: three in four Florida voters (75%) say the cost of electricity today is too high.

Unfortunately, a recent unjustified emergency order by the Department of Energy requiring the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) to keep operating a 39-year-old coal-fired power plant past its planned retirement will only further raise residents’ electric bills. OUC has already built capacity to replace the Stanton plant with solar and natural gas resources and showed adequate capacity plus reserves through 2035 in its April 2026 filings.

Recent polling shows that energy affordability is Floridians’ top priority. When voters were asked what matters most as their utility and the state plan for Florida’s energy future, keeping costs low topped the list by a wide margin, with 76% of voters naming it their top concern. Stanton’s continued operation runs directly against that priority. OUC’s own financial reports show coal has been its highest-cost fuel in recent years, running well above natural gas and solar. Keeping Stanton online for even 90 extra days is expected to cost ratepayers close to $18 million. Central Florida families and businesses could see their already elevated monthly bills rise by an additional $20, arriving during the hottest, highest-usage months of the year.

Coal is the highest-cost fuel per megawatt hour, not just for OUC. Independent energy analysts, including Lazard’s widely cited annual cost-of-energy analysis, have found that new solar is now often cheaper for utilities to build than new gas or coal plants, and can lower electricity costs over time. States that have leaned into renewable energy, including Oklahoma, Iowa and Texas, already rank among the most affordable in the country for electricity. Florida gets far more sunshine than any of those states, yet Central Florida ratepayers are being asked to keep paying a premium for one of the most expensive fuels on the market. In addition to ratepayer impacts, the plant has serious health impacts, causing an estimated 45 premature deaths annually from toxic air pollution.

Floridians want a different path. In the same statewide survey of 1,000 registered voters, fielded in July, more than three in four respondents (77%) said Stanton should be retired and replaced with newer, lower-cost energy. Only 5% said it should stay open even if it raises electricity costs. Support for retirement holds remarkably steady across party lines: 82% of Democrats, 76% of independents and 72% of Republicans.

Expanding Florida’s abundant solar resources, improving energy efficiency, and modernizing the grid can help reduce fuel costs, diversify our energy mix, and keep more money in Floridians’ pockets. Unlike coal and natural gas plants, renewable energy resources are not subject to fuel price volatility, providing greater long-term cost certainty for Florida families already struggling with rising electric bills.

As Florida continues to grow, the state’s energy future should be guided by solutions that deliver homegrown, reliable energy while lowering costs for consumers. Achieving both goals will require looking beyond yesterday’s energy sources and investing in the technologies that offer the greatest value for Florida households and businesses.

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