Alternate headline: "Public utilities subsidize 19% of electricity charges."
The study even points this out as a foot-note but then focuses on rate of price increase versus nominal price. It should not come as a surprise that in areas where utilities are less abundant the price will increase faster than in areas where that same utility is plentiful.
I think a big part of that number is risk, dividends are tied to risk too.
The very idea of investing is that you take risks in exchange for profits. That is, if it fails, you lose your capital, if it succeeds, you become richer. A public provider doesn't work the same way, risk is covered by taxpayer money. If it fails, taxpayers foot the bill, if it succeeds, cheaper service.
From that, NEE pays 43.72% in dividends.
If we multiply these two numbers, we end up at 17.64% in dividends ALONE.
23% is not a really big number by a long shot.
Their other subsidiary is NextEra Energy Resources, which is not a regulated utility, and has 60% net margins. This business is basically an unregulated competitive wind and solar developer. They take full risk if they can't sell their power, but can build wherever they think there are customers willing to pay. 35% of their power is sold straight to industrial customers at private contracted prices, the rest into the grid.
Governments don't have profits. In the last 30 years, they've all racked up massive amounts of debt. What do we call what the guys who run our government make since they only have debt (and not profits to speak of ...).