The reduction keeps bills among the lowest in Florida and significantly below national average
Tampa Electric customers could see a reduction in their monthly energy bills next year.
The company today filed projected costs for fuel and other clauses with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC). If the PSC approves the requests as filed, the average residential customer’s 2020 monthly energy bill would drop by about 1 percent, or $1.06, to $102.52 for 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of usage. Commercial and industrial customers also would see bills decrease by about 1 percent, depending on usage.
In January, customer bills also will reflect a one-time credit as a result of federal tax reform, which for a typical residential bill is a reduction of about $9. It will appear as a separate line item on bills.
“We work hard to operate efficiently and use a diverse fuel mix to help us maintain some of the lowest rates in Florida,” said Nancy Tower, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. “We are happy we can pass these savings on to our customers.”
The PSC is expected to vote on the proposed decrease after a hearing scheduled to begin Nov. 5. The proposed decrease is the result of expected low natural gas prices, more solar energy on our system and other factors. It also includes the addition of two new utility-scale solar projects that will come online in January.
If approved as filed, Tampa Electric residential customers’ bills would continue to be among the lowest in Florida – about the same as customers paid in 2013 – and would drop to about 21 percent below the national average. According to June 2019 data from the Energy Information Administration, the national average of residential electric bills is $129.60 per month.
The company estimates that by the end of 2019, it will spend about $18 million less on fuel than projected. The fuel portion of the bill is based on costs for natural gas and coal during the first six months of 2019, projections for the remainder of 2019 and expected fuel prices in 2020.
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 pass the savings to customers.
Tampa Electric’s fuel mix includes natural gas, solar and coal. In 2020, we expect the generation fuel mix to be 89 percent natural gas, 7 percent solar and 4 percent coal.
Tampa Electric, one of Florida’s largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 765,000 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.
