Florida Power & Light Company Partners with Food Distributor Cheney Brothers to support 300 Jobs in Southwest Florida

Juno Beach, FL (June 28, 2012) -- Florida Power & Light Company's special discounted economic development rate will help Cheney Brothers Inc., one of the largest food service distributors in the Southeastern United States, launch a $100 million distribution center in Charlotte County that will eventually employ about 300 people when it's fully operational.

Cheney Brothers is in the process of purchasing 35 acres right off Interstate 75 in Punta Gorda, for the new facility, which will serve customers from Marco Island through the Tampa Bay area.

“We need all the help from all the partners we can get, whether it’s our customer partners or our vendor partners, like Florida Power & Light,” said Bill Foley, President of Cheney Brothers, which is headquartered in Riviera Beach, Fla.

Businesses in FPL’s service territory already benefit from electric bills that are among the very lowest in the state and well below the national average. FPL’s economic development rates provide an additional benefit to new or expanding businesses that expand their electric demand by at least 350 kilowatts and create at least 10 new jobs.

“We're pleased to play a role in Cheney Brothers’ expansion,” said Lynn Pitts, FPL Director of Economic Development. “FPL's economic development rate provides an incentive to companies that agree to move to Florida or expand their operations here and create new jobs for Floridians.”

“The discount we get from Florida Power & Light is essential,” Foley said. “Along with fuel, our electric bill is probably our next biggest expense that we have at Cheney Brothers. So that discount helps us out initially and in the long-run also.”

The economic development rate is designed to be an incentive that will encourage new investment and job creation in Florida. Eligible business customers receive a declining discount on their standard base energy and demand charges over four to five years. Visit http://www.PoweringFlorida.com or contact FPL’s Office of Economic Development at PoweringFlorida@FPL.com for details.

About Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the largest electric utility in Florida and one of the largest rate-regulated utilities in the United States. FPL serves 4.5 million customer accounts in Florida and is a leading employer in the state with approximately 10,000 employees. The company consistently outperforms national averages for service reliability while customer bills are below the national average. A clean energy leader, FPL has one of the lowest emissions profiles and one of the leading energy efficiency programs among utilities nationwide. FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla. - based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE). For more information, visit www.FPL.com.

Media Contact:
FPL Media Line
Florida Power & Light Company
700 Universe Blvd.
Juno Beach, FL 33408
305-552-3888
amelia.gomez@rbbpr.com
For more on this story, including video and photos, visit: http://www.fpl.com/newsroom

This release was published on openPR.