Utilities

Electrical Power

Florida Power & Light Company is the largest electric utility in Florida and one of the largest rate-regulated utilities in the United States. FPL serves 4.6 million customer accounts in Florida and is a leading employer in the state with approximately 10,000 employees. The company consistently outperforms national averages for service reliability while its typical customer bills are 25 percent below the national average.

In addition, FPL offers an economic development rider for commercial and industrial businesses that provides significant savings above and beyond the company’s very competitive electric rates. Businesses wishing to take advantage of the rider will be required to add a minimum of 350 kilowatt demand of new electric load and create at least 25 new jobs per 350 kilowatt demand of added load. Companies receive declining discounts on their standard base energy and demand charges over four years; the discount increases to five years if the company moves into a vacant, existing building. These savings help offset the costs of starting up, expanding or moving their operations to Sarasota County.

A clean energy leader, FPL has one of the lowest emissions profiles and one of the leading energy efficiency programs among utilities nationwide. FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE). For more information, visit www.FPL.com.

Natural Gas

Peoples Gas is Florida’s leading provider of natural gas with more than 350,000 customers statewide. A subsidiary of TECO Energy, an energy holding company headquartered in Tampa, Peoples Gas has served residential, commercial and industrial customers in Sarasota County for more than 30 years. The Gulfstream Natural Gas Pipeline opened in 2002, boosting the reliability of the supply chain and increasing natural gas transmission capacity into Florida. The pipeline runs along the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico from Alabama to just south of Tampa. Peoples Gas promotes incentive-based conservation and operational efficiency programs.

Water

Sarasota County draws water from several sources, including its own well fields and supplies purchased from Manatee County and the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority. Sarasota County Utilities’ monthly utility rates are among some of the lowest in the region.