Dec 27 (Reuters) - U.S.-based utility Duke Energy ( DUK )

said on Friday it had filed a plan with the Florida

Public Service Commission to recover about $1.1 billion in

direct costs associated with the company's emergency activation

and response to hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton.

Duke, the largest utility covering North and South Carolina,

said the hurricanes hit its service territories in the past few

months and rip away miles of transmission lines and power poles,

leaving tens of thousands of its customers without electricity.

The company said on Friday residential customers will face

an increase of about $21 per 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of

electricity in their monthly bills in March 2025 compared to

February 2025.

(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini

Ganguli)