Revised Rates Would Reduce Fuel Costs, Improve Resilience, Sustainability and the Customer Experience
In February, Tampa Electric announced its intention to file a rate case request with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC); today it was filed. If approved, the new rates would take effect in January 2022 and would remain among the lowest in Florida.
As the company prepares for the future, this adjustment would allow Tampa Electric to continue to make meaningful investments for its customers and the communities where they live and work, while keeping rates below the national average.
“To continue delivering the value our customers deserve, we must plan for the long term, making investments now that create a better energy future,” said Nancy Tower, chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. “By modernizing our power plants and making them more efficient, as well as expanding solar generation, we are reducing fuel costs, we are improving air quality in the region, we are reducing carbon emissions and we are keeping customer bills more predictable over time.”
The request covers investments in:
• Increased generation of clean, green energy that reduces carbon emissions and fuel costs, through the modernization of Big Bend Power Station and additional solar projects
• Building smarter energy infrastructure and upgrading equipment to improve reliability and convenience, keeping pace with the demands of customers in one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation
• Empowering customers through faster outage detection and restoration capabilities, as well as other digital enhancements that give customers more convenience and choice
The company has operated under rate agreements since 2013, and our current agreement expires at the end of 2021. Since the company’s last rate case in 2013, Tampa Electric has improved reliability, improved the efficiency of our generating fleet to reduce fuel costs and reduced coal consumption by more than 90 percent. The company has added a significant amount of solar generation, cut carbon emissions in half and improved overall customer satisfaction. These efforts have helped to reduce customer bills by more than 3 percent over the past eight years.
Filing the request for a rate adjustment is an early step in a lengthy regulatory process. Customers will have the opportunity to share their opinions at hearings this summer. The PSC is expected to make a decision late this year; new rates would take effect in January.
If the request is approved as filed, residential, commercial and industrial customer bills would remain among the lowest in Florida and below the national average. In 2022, residential customers would see an increase of about 19 percent – or 67 cents a day – to $125.48 for the average use of 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month. If approved as filed, the 2022 residential rates would be only 5 percent higher than they were more than a decade ago – about 17 percent lower when adjusted for inflation. Typical commercial and industrial customers would see increases between 13 percent and 17 percent.
Tampa Electric is seeking an initial increase of $295 million in 2022, with smaller, incremental additions in subsequent years, which would be partially offset by related fuel savings from ongoing and planned projects. Long-term, less fuel will be consumed due to increased efficiency and shifting more power generation to solar.
Phased-in rate adjustments are critical for Tampa Electric to continue to provide safe, reliable and efficient electric service for the growing region as well as to meet customer expectations. The proposal would also include:
• In 2023, an additional adjustment of about $102 million as the company expands utility-scale solar power and completes the Big Bend modernization project.
• In 2024, a subsequent adjustment of $25.6 million as the company builds new utility-scale solar power.
Customers can visit www.tampaelectric.com/rates to learn more about the request.
Tampa Electric, one of Florida’s largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 800,000 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.
