Things To Do In SW Florida

A significant rate decrease has been approved for Florida Power & Light residential customers heading into the year’s peak season for electricity use.

Florida’s Public Service Commission on Tuesday approved the “mid-course correction” sought by FPL to adjust for plummeting costs of natural gas, which fuels the utility’s electricity plants.

The correction will save consumers $662 million through the end of 2024, the PSC reported.

Households in Florida that consume a “typical” 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month will pay $7.69 less — or 6% — beginning in May. FPL serves all of Brevard County and portions of Volusia and Seminole counties.

That savings follows a decline of nearly $7 a month that took effect in April with the expiration of a temporary surcharge imposed to recover restoration costs from past hurricanes.

That means the total reduction from March to May for “typical” FPL customers will be $14.50 — lowering bills from $135.69 in March to $121.19 in May. read more

By HALELUYA HADERO (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is removing Just Walk Out technology from its Amazon Fresh stores as part of an effort to revamp the grocery chain.

The company’s well-known technology lets customers pay for items without standing in line and sends them receipts afterwards. Amazon says it will now be replaced by smart carts that allow customers to skip the checkout line but also see their spending in real time.

While redesigning Fresh stores in the past year, Amazon spokesperson Carly Golden said the company heard from customers who enjoy skipping the checkout line but also wanted to view their receipts and savings as they shopped. Golden said the smart carts will give customers these benefits as well as the convenience of skipping the checkout line.

Amazon’s decision was first reported by The Information.

Seattle-based Amazon operates dozens of Fresh grocery stores across the country, most of which are in California, Illinois, Virginia and Washington state. The company also operates cashier-free convenience stores under the Amazon Go brand and owns Whole Foods, which it purchased in 2017 for $13.7 billion. read more

By Bhargavi Sakthivel, Maeva Cousin and David Wilcox, Bloomberg News

The Congressional Budget Office warned in its latest projections that U.S. federal government debt is on a path from 97% of GDP last year to 116% by 2034 — higher even than in World War II. The actual outlook is likely worse.

From tax revenue to defense spending and interest rates, the CBO forecasts released earlier this year are underpinned by rosy assumptions. Plug in the market’s current view on interest rates, and the debt-to-GDP ratio rises to 123% in 2034. Then assume — as most in Washington do — that ex-President Donald Trump’s tax cuts mainly stay in place, and the burden gets even higher.

With uncertainty about so many of the variables, Bloomberg Economics has run a million simulations to assess the fragility of the debt outlook. In 88% of the simulations, the results show the debt-to-GDP ratio is on an unsustainable path — defined as an increase over the next decade.

The Biden administration says its budget, featuring a slew of tax hikes on corporations and wealthy Americans, will ensure fiscal sustainability and manageable debt-servicing costs. read more