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Utilities & City Services in West Palm Beach: The Complete Setup Guide

Unlike many Florida cities, West Palm Beach runs its own drinking-water system, so a few of your accounts go straight to City Hall rather than a private company. Here is who handles electricity, water, trash, gas, and internet — and how to reach the city for permits, a business tax receipt, or a simple service request.

Moving to West Palm Beach or just trying to get your services sorted? Your electricity comes from Florida Power & Light (FPL), your water and sewer come from the City of West Palm Beach Public Utilities, and your trash is collected by the city's own Sanitation crews. Natural gas, internet, and cable each have their own providers.

This page walks you through who handles what, how to start and pay for each service, how garbage and recycling work here, and how to reach the city for permits, a business tax receipt, or a simple service request. A quick note on geography: the City of West Palm Beach is the mainland city. It is not the same as the Town of Palm Beach (the island across the Intracoastal), Palm Beach County government, or neighboring cities like Lake Worth Beach or Palm Beach Gardens. Account setup and rules differ across those lines, so make sure you are using City of West Palm Beach resources for a City of West Palm Beach address.

Which government is yours?

A "West Palm Beach" mailing address does not always mean you are inside the city limits. If you are in unincorporated Palm Beach County, your water, trash, and permitting may run through the County instead. Confirm your jurisdiction before setting up city accounts.

Electricity: Florida Power & Light (FPL)

Electric service throughout West Palm Beach is provided by Florida Power & Light (FPL), the largest electric utility in Florida, headquartered just up the road in Juno Beach. There is only one electric provider here, so there is no shopping around. When you move in, you simply open or transfer an FPL account in your name. The fastest way is to start service online at fpl.com or through the FPL mobile app, where you enter your new address and move-in date. New customers may be asked to verify identity and, depending on your credit profile, may owe a deposit; FPL will tell you what applies during sign-up.

Local tip

Hurricane season runs June through November in South Florida. Add your FPL account to the app now so you can report and track outages quickly during storms.

If you see a downed power line, treat it as live and dangerous. Stay far away and call 911, then report it to FPL.

Water & Sewer: City of West Palm Beach Public Utilities

Here is something that surprises a lot of newcomers: West Palm Beach operates its own water system. Your drinking water is treated by the City's Public Utilities Department and billed by the City, not by Palm Beach County Water Utilities (which serves other parts of the county). Water, sewer, and stormwater typically appear together on one City utility bill. To open an account, contact Public Utilities Customer Service before or right when you move in; allow a couple of business days, since same-day service is not guaranteed. The same office handles stopping service when you move out and transferring service to a new address.

Local tip

Have your service address and move-in date ready when you call to open an account, and ask whether a deposit applies.

Register for the online portal to view usage 24/7 and catch a hidden leak early (a sudden jump in your bill is often a running toilet or irrigation problem).

Where your water comes from

West Palm Beach is unusual in that its water supply is surface water from a protected wetland rather than wells. The primary source is the Grassy Waters Preserve, a roughly 23-square-mile rainfall-fed wetland that the City owns and that the Public Utilities Department manages. Water flows from the preserve through canals into Lake Mangonia and Clear Lake, which sit next to the City's water treatment plant, where it is treated and disinfected before reaching your tap. Lake Okeechobee can serve as a backup source during drought. The City publishes an annual Water Quality Report (Consumer Confidence Report) that explains where your water comes from and what testing showed.

Local tip

If water taste or odor matters to you, look up the current year's Water Quality Report rather than relying on third-party blogs.

Questions about a specific contaminant are best directed to the City's Public Utilities laboratory or customer service line.

Trash, recycling, yard waste & bulk pickup

An important distinction: inside the City of West Palm Beach, the City's own Sanitation (Solid Waste) division handles your curbside collection, not the Solid Waste Authority. The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County (SWA) collects directly only in unincorporated county areas; for City residents, the SWA runs the county's disposal sites, recycling processing, and household hazardous-waste program, while the City picks up at your curb. Your collection days depend on your address, so use the City's online Sanitation Service Day Lookup to find your garbage, recycling, and yard-waste days. The City also provides bulk pickup for larger items from single-family homes, and runs a pre-hurricane-season yard-waste "Amnesty" cleanup.

Yellow cart — paper

Recycling in Palm Beach County uses two carts. The YELLOW cart takes paper and cardboard (flattened boxes, newspaper, mail, magazines).

Blue cart — containers

The BLUE cart takes containers: plastic bottles and jugs, metal cans, and glass bottles and jars. Empty and rinse them first.

Yard waste & bulk

Vegetation and larger items are collected separately. Schedule a bulk pickup for furniture and appliances, and watch for the pre-season Amnesty cleanup.

Local tip

Set carts and yard waste out the night before or by early morning on your collection day, and keep cart lids facing the street with space around each cart.

Use the SWA website's drop-off and hazardous-waste locator for items the curbside program won't take (electronics, chemicals, tires, large amounts of debris).

Natural gas & internet/cable

Natural gas in the West Palm Beach area is provided by Florida Public Utilities (FPU), a Chesapeake Utilities company with a local office in West Palm Beach. Not every home is on gas, so check whether your property has a gas connection before signing up; you can start, stop, or transfer gas service online or by phone. For internet, cable, and home phone, you have choices that vary by exact address. The most widely available providers are Xfinity (Comcast) for cable internet and AT&T (including AT&T Fiber in many areas). Some apartment buildings and condo communities have a building-specific provider such as Hotwire Communications (Fision) wired into the property, sometimes bundled into HOA fees.

Local tip

Schedule internet installation as early as possible around a move; appointment windows fill up fast.

Compare the building-provided internet against an outside provider before assuming the bundled option is your only or best choice.

Building permits & inspections

Renovating, adding on, replacing a roof, or installing impact windows? Most construction and many home improvements within the City require a permit from the City of West Palm Beach Development Services Department, which houses the Building Division along with Planning, Zoning, and Historic Preservation. The Building Division reviews plans, issues permits, and performs inspections; you generally apply, pay, and schedule inspections through the City's online permitting and licensing system. Building and Code Compliance is on the 1st floor of City Hall, with Planning and Zoning on the 2nd floor. Always confirm whether your project needs a permit before work starts, since unpermitted work can create problems when you sell.

Local tip

When in doubt about whether a project needs a permit, call or email Development Services before you start, not after.

Hire contractors who are properly licensed and registered with the City. Pulling your own owner-builder permit shifts liability to you.

Local business tax receipt (for businesses)

If you operate a business, work from home as a sole proprietor, or rent out property within the City, you generally need a City of West Palm Beach Local Business Tax Receipt (formerly called an occupational license), administered by Development Services. New applications are reviewed and signed off by the Zoning Division, and initial applications usually involve a one-time inspection that must pass before the receipt is issued. The receipt runs on the City's fiscal year and expires September 30, so it must be renewed annually. Many businesses in Florida also need a separate county Business Tax Receipt from the Palm Beach County Constitutional Tax Collector, so check both.

Local tip

Confirm your business activity is allowed at your address under the City's Zoning code before signing a lease.

Home-based businesses still typically need a receipt, even with no storefront.

Reaching the city & reporting issues

For everyday questions, service requests, and problem reports (a streetlight out, a missed trash pickup, a pothole, code concerns), the City of West Palm Beach offers several channels. City Hall is at 401 Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach. The City's free WPBKey app and the City website let you pay your utility bill, file a service request, and report issues from your phone. For non-utility emergencies that threaten life or property, always use 911; for non-emergency police matters, use the police department's published non-emergency line on the City website. Dial 211 (the Palm Beach/Treasure Coast 211 helpline) for community and social-services referrals.

Smell gas? Act first, call second

If you smell natural gas, do not flip switches or light anything — leave the area immediately, then call Florida Public Utilities and/or 911 from a safe distance.

Local tip

Start a folder (digital or paper) of your account numbers for FPL, City water, gas, and internet. You'll need them for autopay, moves, and troubleshooting.

Set up paperless billing and autopay on each account to avoid late fees during travel or a busy move.

Key contacts

The offices and providers you'll reach most often when setting up, paying for, or troubleshooting your West Palm Beach services.

Official resources & links

Sources: City of West Palm Beach (Public Utilities Billing & Payments, Billing FAQs, Protecting Water Quality Source to Tap, Grassy Waters Preserve, Water Quality Reports, Sanitation/Solid Waste, Service Day Lookup, Yard Waste & Bulk, Development Services, Building Division, Business Tax, and Contacts), Florida Power & Light (homepage, Start Service, Contact Us), Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County (Pickup Schedule, Pickup Guidelines, Recycling), Florida Public Utilities (homepage, Start/Stop/Transfer Service, Contact Information), Xfinity West Palm Beach, BroadbandNow, the Palm Beach County Tax Collector (Business Tax), WPTV, and Wikipedia (Florida Power & Light). Providers, phone numbers, hours, and rules change over time — always confirm current details with the official sources linked above before acting.