A power company wants to take $1 billion from Florida customers. It just gave $3 million to Florida politicians.

Plus: 10 more corporate giants that have spent more than $40 million combined on this year's elections in Florida.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore

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Soon after next week’s elections in Florida, the state’s big power companies are going to ask a group Ron DeSantis appointees to let them raise rates yet again — this time to cover higher-than-expected costs, particularly for natural gas, the fossil fuel they all depend upon.

Filings suggest that Duke Energy wants to make its customers pay an extra $1.1 billion just for this year — and even more for 2023. That would be a much bigger rate increase, proportionally speaking, than either Florida Power & Light or Tampa Electric Co. are expected to seek.

Duke, which just posted a $1.4 billion quarterly profit, isn’t leaving anything to chance.

New records show that the giant power company plowed $2.9 million into Florida elections in the closing weeks of this year’s campaigns. Duke appears be the largest corporate contributor this fall to state races for governor, Cabinet and Legislature.

The company’s last-minute largesse included $1 million to the Republican Party of Florida, which is helping to pay for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ re-election campaign. It also included $500,000 each to funds controlled by Republican leaders in the state House and Senate, which are paying for advertisements in close legislative races across Florida.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based power company also trickled another $250,000 onto the Florida Democratic Party and a fund controlled by Democratic leaders in the Florida Senate.

In addition, Duke has given $50,000 or more since September to seven prominent Republican politicians: Attorney General Ashley Moody; Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis; candidate for Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson; incoming Senate President Kathleen Passidomo; future Senate President Ben Albritton; incoming Speaker of the House Paul Renner; and future Speaker of the House Danny Perez.

Altogether, an analysis of campaign-finance filings through the end of this week shows that Duke Energy has spent at least $6.5 million on Florida elections during the 2022 cycle.

Here are 10 more companies that have collectively spent at least $40 million on Florida’s elections this cycle:

• NextEra Energy/ Florida Power & Light (electric utility): $6.2 million        

• U.S. Sugar Corp. (sugar production): $5.9 million

• Florida Crystals (sugar production): $5.3 million

• HCA Healthcare (for-profit hospitals): $4.7 million

• Tampa Electric (electric utility): $4 million

• Publix Super Markets (grocery stores): $3.5 million

• GuideWell/Florida Blue (health insurance): $3.2 million

• Comcast/Universal Orlando (telecom & theme parks): $2.6 million

• Centene (Medicaid contractor): $2.3 million

• JM Family Enterprises/Southeast Toyota (vehicle distribution): $2 million

Note: These figures only include state-level campaign contributions. The totals do not include donations to national groups like the Republican Governors Association, which has been a major donor to DeSantis’ campaign.

Nor do they include donations to dark-money entities that do not disclose their own donors. Dark-money donations can be substantial: In 2018, for instance, Florida Power & Light put more than $14 million into a single dark-money nonprofit called “Mothers for Moderation,” according to reporting by the Orlando Sentinel.