FPL Energy Services today announced the availability of a payment protection plan called Payment Power that will pay residential electric bills up to $400 a month for a maximum of six months. The plan will help residential customers should they become involuntarily unemployed, disabled, take a federally defined leave of absence or experience other catastrophic events that would cause them to have difficulty paying their electric bills.

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"Purchasing Payment Power before a possible job loss or injury can provide peace of mind and convenience for our residential customers," said Bill Hamilton, vice president of customer service for Florida Power & Light Company.

FPL Energy Services is working with Assurant Group to offer this optional program to help customers pay their electric bills in the event of a crisis. "Unexpected employment disruptions, such as job loss, an injury or illness can quickly devastate a family's finances. Not having to pay a monthly electric bill frees scarce funds for other necessities," said Joe Erdeman, senior vice president, retail/utility channels, for Assurant Group.

  To be eligible for Payment Power protection customers:
   * Must be 18-64 years old
   * Must be employed by the same employer for the last nine months in a
     non-seasonal job
   * Must be working at least 30 hours a week

Residential customers may enroll in Payment Power by phoning 1-800-407-8425 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Monthly premiums of $7.45 per $100 for single coverage and $12.95 for joint coverage are conveniently included with the monthly electric bill, so there's no extra bill to pay or check to write.

About FPL Group, Inc.

FPL Energy Services, a subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc., the parent company of Florida Power & Light Company, is an integrated energy services company which develops, designs, installs and invests in cost-effective energy conservation projects for institutional, commercial, and industrial organizations. The company offers energy-related products and services for residential customers such as Payment Power, UtilityGard and Power Surge protection. FPL Energy Services is also one of the largest retail marketers of natural gas in Florida.

Florida Power & Light Company is the principal subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. , one of the nation's largest providers of electricity-related services with annual revenues of more than $8 billion. The company serves approximately 3.9 million customer accounts in Florida. FPL Energy, LLC, FPL Group's energy-generating subsidiary, is a leader in producing electricity from clean and renewable fuels. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.fpl.com .

About Assurant

Headquartered in Atlanta and Miami, Assurant is an affinity marketing company that partners with financial institutions, auto dealers, retailers, utilities and others to leverage their relationships with consumers to distribute products and services using its technology, processing and marketing capabilities. Member companies are leading providers of specialty insurance, extended service contracts and membership programs. Assurant has more than 4,800 employees and operations in 12 states, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.assurant.com/ .

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SOURCE: FPL Energy Services