JUNO BEACH, Fla., June 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has received the Florida Commissioner of Education's Corporate Business Recognition Award (CBRA) for its outstanding partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). The Florida Education Foundation and the Department of Education host the annual awards for statewide school districts and business partners that exemplify private sector engagement in public education.
It is the first year FPL has been chosen by M-DCPS as one of its business partners for the commissioner's award. FPL is being recognized by the school district for its support of STEM activities, which highlight science, technology, engineering and math skills, along with funding classroom mini-grants and student robotics teams.
"Miami-Dade County Public Schools and its students have benefitted tremendously from FPL's support of STEM initiatives," said M-DCPS Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. "Their commitment has enriched the learning environment by providing additional resources in our classrooms and giving students invaluable real-life learning experiences."
This year, FPL collaborated with three Miami-Dade high schools in building electric cars for a student competition during the first fully-electric Formula E Miami ePrix race.
"We are proud of our long-time partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools and of the difference we are making in our classrooms," said Eric Silagy, President and CEO of FPL. "FPL is honored to be recognized for our involvement inside and outside the classroom. Together with the school district, we are making Miami an even better place to work and raise a family."
Another aspect of FPL's partnership is helping the district use energy more efficiently. The combination of FPL rate reductions and district-wide energy improvements have saved Miami-Dade schools an estimated $39.4 million from 2010 through 2013. The district's electric bills are projected to decrease from 2014 to 2015 by an additional $774,041.*
"These are savings that we can reinvest back into our classrooms, providing teachers job protection and students additional educational resources to enhance their learning experiences," said Carvalho.
FPL has reduced rates for customers in large part because of investments such as converting older, oil-fired power plants to clean, modern energy centers that run on affordable U.S.-produced natural gas. Since 2001, FPL's fuel-efficiency investments have reduced its use of foreign oil by 99 percent and saved customers billions of dollars in fuel costs.
FPL has a long history with M-DCPS including being recognized as its Districtwide Partner of the Year for the past two consecutive years.
*Cost figures for 2014 and 2015 are projections based on the rates for each year (Jan.-Dec.) applied to prior actual (2013) electricity usage. Although FPL rates are decreasing in 2015, the district's electric bills may be higher or lower depending on actual electricity usage during 2014 and 2015.
Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the third-largest electric utility in the United States, serving approximately 4.8 million customer accounts across nearly half of the state of Florida. FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 30 percent lower than the latest national average and, in 2014, was the lowest in Florida among reporting utilities for the fifth year in a row. FPL's service reliability is better than 99.98 percent, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among all utilities nationwide. The company was recognized in 2014 as the most trusted U.S. electric utility by Market Strategies International, and has earned the national ServiceOne Award for outstanding customer service for an unprecedented 10 consecutive years. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,700 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, including being ranked in the top 10 worldwide for innovativeness and community responsibility as part of Fortune's 2015 list of "World's Most Admired Companies." NextEra Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. For more information, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.
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SOURCE Florida Power & Light Company