A proposed class action lawsuit against Florida Power & Light Co. over hurricane-related power outages has cleared its first hurdle: a motion by FPL to dismiss the case that plaintiffs counsel have said could be worth $1 billion.

FPL is the third-largest electric utility in the U.S. with about 4.9 million customer accounts that serve roughly 10 million people across Florida. Its website touts billing rates among the lowest in the nation.

But a group of plaintiffs has homed in on one fee — a monthly “storm surcharge” of $4 per 1,000 kilowatt hour — and is asking the court to find gross negligence and breach of contract over it.

The group claims the utility company billed customers for years, promising the money went to create infrastructure to prevent or control the number of power outages during major hurricanes. It claims FPL promised consumers its systems could resist winds traveling up to 130 mph, but fell far short of that in September, when Hurricane Irma hit the state with maximum sustained winds of about 105 mph.

Millions of homes lost electricity, and plaintiff counsel say the class could exceed 4 million members.

“Florida Power & Light charged a fee for this,” said plaintiffs counsel John H. Ruiz of the MSP Recovery Law Firm in Miami. “That quid pro quo wasn't met.”

FPL's attorney, Alvin Davis of Squire Patton Boggs, declined comment, and the company's media relations department did not respond by deadline. But court pleadings suggest FPL will maintain it spends billions on storm infrastructure. It also seems gearing to argue the plaintiffs failed to plead gross negligence by FPL that resulted in injury or loss.

Plaintiffs lawyers, though, point to prolonged blackouts ”in the sweltering summer heat” that FPL customers “exposed to dangerous conditions and … consequential damages.”

FPL moved to dismiss the complaint on several grounds including an alleged failure to identify an existing contract between the utility company and its customers, and a lack of jurisdiction. It argued the case belonged before the state's utilities regulator, Florida Public Service Commission, not the circuit court.

Miami-Dade Judge David C. Miller Monday disagreed, and refused to dismiss the suit. He also issued a sua sponte discovery order, requiring FPL to hand over its contract with customers within 60 days.

Now attorneys are gearing to file a motion by May 10, seeking class certification on behalf of named plaintiffs Heydi Velez, Miriam Perez, Guillermo Patino-Hidalgo, Mercedes Sastre, Carlos M. Colina, Shalom Navarro, Enrique Arguelles, Rubens N. Mendiola and Jose A. Zarruk.

Next, they plan to begin conducting discovery.

“We feel very confident we're going to certify a class against Florida Power & Light,” Ruiz said. “As consumers, we can expect more from a monopoly that charges us money in exchange for a promise that wasn't delivered.”

Ruiz teamed with plaintiffs lawyers Alfredo J. Armas, Gonzalo Dorta and Julio Acosta.