Telling people to "do research" while confusing operational energy use with capital infrastructure costs falls apart under basic utility accounting:
1. Volumetric Energy (kWh) vs. Peak Capacity (kW)
Prorating by energy usage only covers variable operational costs, like the fuel burned to generate electricity. But power plants, substations, and high-voltage transmission lines are engineered and built to meet peak capacity demands, not just total kilowatt-hours consumed. A multi-hundred-megawatt facility forces massive physical grid expansions that are not paid off through a standard volumetric energy charge.
2. Rate Base Socialization
Under traditional cost-of-service ratemaking, capital investments for general network transmission upgrades are folded into a utility's overall "rate base." Under historic rate designs, those multi-billion-dollar infrastructure construction costs are spread across all customer classes. That means local homeowners end up paying higher baseline delivery charges on their monthly bills for grid expansion triggered by massive commercial connections.
3. Regulatory Actions Prove the Cost Shift
If costs were automatically and fairly prorated with zero impact on residential ratepayers, utility commissions would not be stepping in. Federal regulators at FERC and state utility commissions across the country have recently been forced to mandate brand new "large-load rate classes" and reform cost-allocation rules specifically because existing utility structures were shifting billions in grid upgrade costs onto general consumers.
Claiming everything is neatly prorated on a monthly electric bill ignores how utility capital accounting operates. The regulatory filings and public rate cases across the country prove otherwise.
Now how does specifically Florida handle these costs?