Cape Coral ice cream shop sees massive electric bill hike

A Cape Coral ice cream shop says the cost to keep the treats frozen has gone up.

WINK News spoke with an ice cream shop owner to see what they are doing about their giant electric bill.

Zeek Rayes is known for scooping up the tastiest treats in Cape Coral.

One key to his success over the last six years is keeping his product cool, which is proving very expensive.

“When I received the bill. I opened it LCEC, and I saw the paper. I said wow,” Rayes said.

Zeek’s bill used to be about $900 a month, but at the start of the year, it started to go up, and now he’s paying $2,425.

“I cannot sell a scoop of ice cream for $10. There is no way I can do that. This ice cream shop is part of the city. So I will do my best to keep it going.

LCEC hears from business and residential customers all the time.

In this case, they said it’s difficult because AC can account for more than 50% of your bill.

Karen Ryan, LCEC Public Relations Director said, “We’re looking at some different programs that we can offer and maybe loosening up some of our processes, if we can do that, too, just to help during this time.”

One way to get immediate help is LCEC’s partnership with United Way.

It’s called Power to Share and is funded by donations from LCEC employees and customers.

Users have to call 211 with their bill, even if it’s past due.

“They have many, many agencies that can offer additional help. So even a customer that doesn’t qualify for energy assistance, they may qualify for another program that frees up some funds to pay for their electric bill,” Ryan said.

LCEC said the power to share program has seen around 6,000 calls requesting utility assistance this year.

For more information on LCEC’s Power to Share program, visit Power to Share.