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2025 Storm Surcharge Approval

The 2024 hurricane season was the deadliest and most destructive in more than a century. Our customers were affected by three storms – Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Hurricane Helene brought unprecedented flooding to West Central Florida, and shortly after, Hurricane Milton caused widespread outages and significant devastation from heavy winds and downed trees. Restoring power after those storms exhausted the company’s storm reserve, which was established to pay for damage from named storms. 

Over the course of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the company brought in 9,500 workers from out-of-state utilities, which allowed speedy recovery. With the help of those crews, Tampa Electric worked around the clock and restored essentially all power after Hurricanes Helene and Milton in one and seven days, respectively.

In Florida, cost-effective insurance is not available to cover the poles and wires that are most vulnerable to severe weather. Instead, utilities can request a temporary charge after the storms to reflect the actual cost of restoration. 

Storm recovery costs are passed directly onto customers without any markup from Tampa Electric. 

 

Request Approval

On February 4, the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) approved Tampa Electric’s request to recover the costs of restoring power after Hurricanes Helene and Milton and Tropical Storm Debby in 2024, Tropical Storm Idalia from 2023 and replenish the storm reserve. 

Storm surcharge expenses include the cost of fixing, rebuilding and replacing key equipment, like poles, cables and transformers, that were damaged or destroyed by strong winds and storm surge. The storm surcharge also includes the cost of getting help from thousands of workers across the U.S. and Canada to support a speedy restoration, as well as providing them meals and setting up temporary locations for staging, base camps and housing. 

Beginning March 1, 2025, the average residential customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity a month will see an increase of about $20 on their monthly bill. Commercial and industrial customers’ bills will increase between 1 and 12%, depending on usage.  

Storm restoration costs will be recovered over 18 months to reduce the impact to customers' monthly bills. 

We know you may have questions about our storm surcharge. If you don't find an answer here, please contact us.

A. Beginning March 1, 2025, the average residential customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity a month will see an increase of about $20 to $166.04 from the $145.58 customers pay today.

Commercial and industrial customers’ bills will increase between 1 and 12%, depending on usage.

It's important to note that storm recovery costs are passed directly on to customers without any markup from Tampa Electric.

A. Storm restoration costs will be recovered over 18 months to reduce the impact to customers’ monthly bills.  

A. The new “Storm Surcharge” line item will appear on your bill for an 18-month period, beginning in March 2025.

A. We invested $464 million to restore power. While we prepare year-round for extreme weather, Hurricane Milton presented challenges unlike any we've faced before – requiring the largest restoration deployment in Tampa Electric’s history. Over the course of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the company brought in 9,500 workers from out-of-state utilities, which allowed a speedy recovery.

A. Storm surcharge expenses include the cost of fixing, rebuilding and replacing key equipment, like poles, cables and transformers, that were damaged or destroyed by strong winds and storm surge. The storm surcharge also includes the cost of getting help from thousands of workers across the U.S. and Canada to support a speedy restoration, as well as providing them meals and setting up temporary locations for staging, base camps and housing. 

A. In 2022, Tampa Electric promptly restored service after Hurricanes Ian and Nicole impacted our service territory. Tampa Electric paid these storm expenses upfront, and the costs were passed directly to customers without any markup. The storm surcharge to recover those expenses expired on December 31, 2024. The new storm surcharge will begin in March 2025.

A. We work hard to help mitigate the effects of bill increases. On Jan 1. Tampa Electric increased base rates to allow us to enhance our reliability by strengthening our system, upgrading critical facilities, improving power outage response and improving power plant efficiency and generating more solar energy - actions that reduce fuel and operating costs to help keep customer bills as low as possible in the long term. The temporary storm surcharge allows us to recover the storm restoration expenses we’ve incurred.

A. In Florida, utility rates do not include the cost of restoring power after hurricanes and tropical storms. Instead,
utilities can request a temporary charge after the storms to reflect the actual cost of restoration.

A. In Florida, cost-effective insurance is not available to cover the poles and wires that are most vulnerable to severe weather. Instead, utilities can request a temporary charge after the storms to reflect the actual cost of restoration. There is no markup from Tampa Electric.

A. Our customers are at the forefront of every decision we make. To help control costs in the long term, Tampa Electric is focusing on making smart and meaningful investments. We continuously invest in equipment upgrades and technological advancements at our power plants to convert fuel into electricity with the greatest efficiency possible. We’re also investing in solar energy and energy storage capacity, increasing reliability through a second power generation form and offering customers cost savings.

A. To help those who need it most, Tampa Electric contributed $1 million to our Share program to assist customers who are still struggling with Hurricanes Helene and Milton. This donation provides direct relief to help people pay their utility bills. It comes from shareholder funds and will not affect customer bills. 

We have various programs and partnerships that offer support for those who need help with utility bill payments and household expenses. If you need help, call us at 888-223-0800 or visit TampaElectric.com/PayAssist for additional resources. 

Tampa Electric also offers nearly 30 energy-efficiency programs and money-back rebates to help customers save money and energy. For a comprehensive list of available programs, please visit TampaElectric.com/Save (Residential) or TampaElectric.com/BizSave (Business). For additional everyday energy-saving tips, visit TampaElectric.com/SavingsTips (Residential) and TampaElectric.com/BizSavingsTips (Business). 

 

A. To learn about the charges on your bill and what they mean, visit TampaElectric.com/AboutMyBill. For more information about the factors, like fuel costs, that affect your bill and how they are calculated, visit TampaElectric.com/UnderstandingPowerCosts. For more information on our rates, visit TampaElectric.com/Rates.

A. To ensure fair and reasonable customer rates, investor-owned utilities, like Tampa Electric, are regulated by the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC). Whenever a rate or charge adjustment is requested, the PSC reviews and discusses the prudency of the request. They also hold public hearings on proposed rate changes, allowing customers to voice their concerns and objections to the proposed rates. Ultimately, the PSC has the final say on the amount Tampa Electric can charge customers, and the decision is based on the PSC's examination of the company’s carefully considered costs to provide reliable and safe electric service. Additional information about how the PSC regulates utilities is available at FloridaPSC.com.

A. Customers may contact the PSC by calling 1-800-342-3552, emailingcontact@psc.state.fl.us or throughthe PSC Contact Form.

Our commitment to you

Tampa Electric understands that some customers are experiencing financial hardship, and we want to help.

Residential Customers

Tampa Electric partners with community agencies that can connect you to resources. We also offer several programs like Share, free energy audits and billing and payment options that can help you manage and reduce your bill.

Learn More

Business Customers

If you need help paying your electric bill, Tampa Electric has resources to help. We offer flexible payment arrangements, billing and payment options and more energy- and money-saving programs than any other electric utility in the state.

Learn More

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