Tax reform, lower fuel costs push bills under $100, to remain significantly below national average
Beginning in January, Tampa Electric residential customers will see the lowest monthly bills in 13 years – below $100 for the average household. The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) today approved Tampa Electric's projected costs for fuel and other clauses.
Tampa Electric's average residential bill will drop by about 8 percent, or more than $8, to $99.53 for 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of usage. Commercial and industrial customers will also see bills drop by about 8 percent to 10 percent, depending on usage.
"Tampa Electric is proud that our bills will drop to about the same level as they were in 2005," said Nancy Tower, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. "And we will continue to have some of the lowest rates in Florida."
The decrease is the result of lower costs of fuel and environmental compliance costs, among other factors, and also includes the addition of seven utility-scale solar projects – two that began operating in September and five that are coming online in the next several months. This reduction is on top of a previous decrease approved by the PSC on Aug. 20, which in January will reduce bills by $6.50 as a result of tax reform.
Tampa Electric residential customers' bills will continue to be among the lowest in Florida and will drop to about 23 percent below the national average – according to April 2018 data from the Energy Information Administration the national average of residential electric bills is $128.90 per month.
Tampa Electric's fuel mix includes natural gas, coal and solar. The cost of fuel is currently about one-fourth of a residential customer's bill. Fuel costs are passed through from fuel suppliers to our customers with no markup or profit to Tampa Electric. Tampa Electric maximizes the use of existing low-cost, well-performing plants and power purchased from other companies to mitigate costs and passes the savings to customers.
Tampa Electric, one of Florida's largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 750,000 customers in West Central Florida. Tampa Electric is a subsidiary of Emera Inc., a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
