Residential customers will save nearly $90 on their electric bills for the rest of the year
Tampa Electric customers will see significantly reduced bills this summer, plus lower prices for the rest of the year. Bills in June through August will be reduced by more than 20 percent, and residential customers will save an estimated $90 on energy costs for the rest of 2020.
Prices for natural gas are lower than originally forecasted. Because of customers’ widespread financial hardships from the coronavirus pandemic, Tampa Electric asked that customers benefit from accelerated savings, with most of the refund coming this summer, from June through August, when bills are typically higher.
Residential customers will save about $23 in each of the summer months, a reduction of more than 20 percent. From September through the end of the year, customers also will pay about $4.50 less per month than they do today, a 4 percent reduction. Commercial and industrial customers will see a reduction of 14 percent to 20 percent, depending on usage.
The Florida Public Service Commission unanimously approved the utility’s request today.
“This pandemic has brought economic hardship to so many people; it is heartbreaking,” said Nancy Tower, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. “This will allow Tampa Electric to provide immediate economic relief to our customers in the fastest way possible – at a time when they need it most.”
Utilities adjust their fuel costs annually, typically in January. However, when costs are expected to change significantly, such as this year, utilities can request an additional adjustment:
- Residential customers will see a temporary bill reduction of $23.37, in each month from June through August, for a total average bill of $78.82 for 1,000 kilowatt-hours.
- The reduction will be a combination of a credit of about $18, plus a $4.50 drop in fuel charges.
- Subsequent bills through the end of the year would be $97.69, or 4 percent less than their current bill of $102.19.
- In total, a residential customer could save nearly $90 on their power costs for the year. Actual credits will vary, depending on usage.
In total, Tampa Electric is passing $130 million of reductions along to customers.
Tampa Electric residential customers’ bills would remain among the lowest in Florida and would be about 24 percent below the national average. During the summer months, the bills would be 38 percent below the national average. According to January 2020 data from the Energy Information Administration, the national average of residential electric bills is $127.90 per month.
Tampa Electric’s fuel mix in 2019 was 84 percent natural gas, about 4 percent solar, 6 percent coal and the remainder in purchased power. The cost of fuel is currently about one-fifth 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, one of Florida’s largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 780,000 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.
