Florida produces electricity from natural gas turbines, waste-to-energy furnaces, solar fields, a small hydroelectric dam near Tallahassee and industrial boilers at phosphate, citrus and paper operations. All of these appear in our Florida power plant listings. Some are utility stations with a staffed front office. Others are secured industrial sites where the contact is a plant manager or an environmental compliance officer. Knowing which type you are dealing with saves a lot of phone calls.

This page explains who regulates these facilities, how the state's regions differ, and how to reach the right office. It covers permit questions, public records requests, job inquiries and neighborhood concerns.

Who Regulates Power Plants in Florida

No single office runs power plants in Florida. Responsibility is split among several bodies, and the right one depends on your question.

The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) regulates the investor-owned electric utilities, including Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric. It sets their rates, reviews their fuel costs and decides whether a new large plant is needed. The PSC also oversees reliability and safety standards for municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives. Those utilities still set their own rates through a city commission, utility board or co-op board.

Building a large plant falls under the Florida Electrical Power Plant Siting Act, part of Chapter 403 of the Florida Statutes. Steam and solar thermal plants of 75 megawatts or more need state certification. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) coordinates the review, and the PSC rules on need. An administrative law judge hears the case, and the Governor and Cabinet, sitting as the Siting Board, issue the final decision. Smaller projects usually go through county or city zoning plus DEP permits.

Day-to-day environmental rules also come from DEP. It issues air permits, including Title V permits for the largest sources, and handles wastewater discharge and solid waste rules. Cooling and process water use is permitted by one of the state's five water management districts. Federal agencies sit on top of this: the Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversees nuclear units such as Turkey Point and St. Lucie, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licenses hydroelectric projects.

Public utilities versus private operators

The distinction matters when you want information. Municipal utilities such as Gainesville Regional Utilities, Lakeland Electric, the Utilities Commission of New Smyrna Beach, Fort Pierce Utilities Authority and the City of Homestead are government bodies. Their meetings are open under Florida's Sunshine Law, and their records are public under Chapter 119. A private owner, such as a phosphate producer or paper mill, has no such duty. You can still read its air and wastewater filings through DEP.

Florida Power Plant Locations by Region: Metro Utilities, Phosphate Country and Rural Sites

The map of Florida plants follows the state's economy. Population centers host utility stations and waste-to-energy facilities. The agricultural and mining interior hosts industrial plants that make their own steam and power. Understanding this pattern tells you what kind of office to expect.

Polk County and the phosphate and citrus belt

Polk County has more listings than any other county in our database. Phosphate processing and citrus drive much of that. Mosaic's Bartow Facility on Florida 60 and Mosaic New Wales Operations in Mulberry are large chemical complexes that use heavy steam loads. Cutrale Citrus Juices in Auburndale does the same on a smaller scale. Alongside them, Lakeland Electric operates the city-owned system, with a listing on Hamilton Place Drive, and Cane Island sits on Old Tampa Highway in Davenport. For industrial sites, expect to reach a security gate or an environmental department, not a customer counter.

Tampa Bay and the I-4 corridor

Hillsborough County lists the Hillsborough RRF Power Plant on North Falkenburg Road in Tampa. RRF stands for resource recovery facility, which burns municipal solid waste to make electricity. Across the bay, Pinellas County Resource Recovery in St. Petersburg does similar work and lists 727-572-9163. These waste-to-energy plants are run through county solid waste departments, so questions about tipping, schedules or odors go to the county, not an electric utility. Further inland, Orlando's Stanton Energy Center on North Alafaya Trail is tied to the Orlando Utilities Commission. Its listed number is 407-658-6444.

Jacksonville, Gainesville and North Florida

In Duval County, many Jacksonville listings are not conventional utility stations. Baptist Medical Center on Prudential Drive, listed at 904-202-2000, is a hospital with its own on-site plant. A hospital's central energy plant is run by facilities staff, so call the main number and ask for facilities or engineering. In Alachua County, the J.R. Kelly Generating Station on Southeast 3rd Street is part of Gainesville Regional Utilities, a city-owned system. In the Panhandle, International Paper's Pensacola mill power plant in Cantonment represents the paper industry in Escambia County. The C.H. Corn Hydroelectric Facility on Blountstown Highway in the Tallahassee area is one of the few hydroelectric stations in a very flat state.

South Florida and rural sites

In Miami-Dade, the Homestead municipal power plant on North Flagler Avenue is a city-owned station. The Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant on Rickenbacker Causeway is on the list because large treatment plants often generate or manage power on site. Rural examples include the Hardee Power Station in Bowling Green (863-375-3266), the Clewiston Sugar House Power Plant in Hendry County, and the Citrus Solar Energy Center in Arcadia. Sugar mills in this region often burn crop residue to power their operations. Rural sites are usually reached by county road, so confirm the route before you drive.

How to Find and Contact a Florida Power Plant Office

Start by working out what the facility is. The name in a listing can mislead you, because owners change and plants retire. The City of Vero Beach sold its electric system to Florida Power & Light in 2018, so a municipal power plant listing there may describe a site with a very different role today. A short phone call settles it.

Use this checklist before you contact anyone:

Most Florida plants do not offer drop-in tours. Utilities with public education programs, and the occasional open house, usually require advance booking. If you need an answer on a specific date, ask early, since staff handle storm and outage work first during hurricane season, which runs June 1 through November 30.

Power plant facilities in Florida include a mix of federal, state, and municipally owned generation assets that contribute to the region's overall electricity supply. Florida's energy mix and the number of publicly owned facilities reflect the state's natural resources, regulatory environment, and historical development of its utility infrastructure.

Power Plant locations are available in 115 cities across Florida. They are spread across 50 counties.

Areas with the highest concentration of power plant locations include Tampa, Jacksonville, Gainesville, often reflecting proximity to water resources, fuel supply infrastructure, or industrial demand centers.

Residents of Florida who are customers of a municipal or public power utility can contact their local power authority for billing assistance, energy efficiency programs, and information about planned outages or infrastructure upgrades in their service area.

Power Plant by Counties

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Residents of Florida who receive electricity service from a publicly owned utility can visit or contact that utility's customer service office to learn about outage reporting, billing options, and energy assistance programs. For information about a specific power generation facility in Florida, contacting the state's public utility commission is often the best starting point.

Browse Power Plant by county across Florida to find the nearest location.

Getting Practical Results From Florida Power Plant Listings

Treat a listing as a starting point. A plant's street address is often a gate or a service entrance, not a public counter. Utility business offices are usually elsewhere in town, and the plant itself may have only a control room and a guard shack. If you need to pay a bill, start service or report a problem, contact the utility's customer service line instead of the plant.

Coastal and central Florida differ in how they handle this. In Volusia County, the Utilities Commission of New Smyrna Beach runs its own system from North Dixie Freeway, while the Debary listing on West Highbanks Road represents a plant serving a wider regional grid. In Miami-Dade County, the city-owned Homestead plant and county wastewater facilities sit alongside very large investor-owned systems. Each has a different board, a different complaint path and a different set of public records. Match the facility to its owner first, and the rest becomes much easier.

Florida Power Plant Questions Answered

Large steam or solar thermal plants of 75 megawatts or more go through the Florida Electrical Power Plant Siting Act in Chapter 403 of the Florida Statutes. The Department of Environmental Protection coordinates the review. The Public Service Commission decides whether the plant is needed, and an administrative law judge holds a hearing. The Governor and Cabinet, acting as the Siting Board, make the final decision. Smaller plants usually need local zoning approval plus DEP air and water permits. Ask the county planning office whether a given project has been filed.

Most Florida plants do not accept walk-in visitors because of security rules and safety hazards. Utilities sometimes arrange group tours for schools, engineering classes or civic groups, but you will need to book ahead. Call the listed number, such as 407-658-6444 for Stanton in Orlando, and ask for community relations. For the J.R. Kelly Station, contact Gainesville Regional Utilities. Expect to provide a group size, preferred dates and a purpose. Closed-toe shoes, photo ID and sometimes hearing protection are standard. Tours may be cancelled during outages or storm response.

Many facilities generate steam or electricity on site, and public datasets classify them as power plants even though they sell no power to the public. Examples in our Florida data include Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, Tropicana's plant in Bradenton, Cutrale Citrus Juices in Auburndale and the Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant in Miami. These sites are run by facilities or environmental staff. Call the main switchboard and ask for that department. Do not expect a public counter, rate information or customer service.

Report outages and downed lines to your own utility first. If an investor-owned utility such as Florida Power & Light or Duke Energy Florida does not resolve a billing or service dispute, the Public Service Commission's consumer assistance office can step in. Customers of municipal utilities should go to the city commission or utility board. Smoke, odor or discharge concerns go to the DEP district office covering your county. Call 911 for fires, explosions or a downed line that is sparking or touching a vehicle.

Municipal utilities in Florida, including Lakeland Electric, Gainesville Regional Utilities and the Utilities Commission of New Smyrna Beach, are covered by the Public Records Act in Chapter 119. You do not have to give a reason for a request. Send your request to the utility's records custodian or the city clerk and describe the documents clearly. The agency may charge for copying, and large requests may carry a labor charge. Board meetings are open under the Sunshine Law. Private industrial owners are not covered, but their DEP filings are public.

Not always. The City of Vero Beach sold its electric system to Florida Power & Light in 2018, so the municipal power plant listing at 100 17th Street may no longer describe a city-run operation. Ownership changes, retirements and fuel conversions are common in Florida. Before you travel or send paperwork, call the city or utility and confirm who operates the site and whether it still has staff. If the number fails, check the county property appraiser's records for the current owner.