Company continues to offer customer assistance, payment assistance and cost-saving tools
Tampa Electric is committed to providing safe, reliable energy to the Tampa Bay area, where customers depend on the company to power their homes and businesses every day. And the company shares customers’ concerns about rising prices and wants to help.
The company today filed requests with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) to seek uncollected fuel costs from 2022 and expenses for the prompt restoration efforts after Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. The extreme volatility of natural gas prices in 2022, which increased by more than 70 percent over the previous year, resulted in home energy costs reaching near 10-year highs in the United States. Although TECO paid fuel and storm expenses upfront, Tampa Electric waited until early this year to make this request, to help mitigate the costs, as natural gas prices dropped and began to stabilize.
"We work 365 days a year to lessen the impact of severe weather and other unknowns – such as rising global fuel prices – on our customers, " said Archie Collins, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. "In this case, one of the best ways to ease the impact is to spread these costs over a longer time frame. We also encourage customers to use our many free programs to better manage electricity use, which translates into lower bills. If more help is needed, we can provide information on additional options.”
This adjustment would be the second of two steps, as initially mentioned in the autumn. The company phased in the increases in two steps, to ease the transition. To further reduce the impact on customers, the company requested fuel costs be spread over 21 months, through the end of 2024. Storm costs would be spread over 12 months. Fuel and storm costs are passed directly to customers without any markup by the utility.
If the PSC approves the requests as filed, the typical residential customer’s monthly energy bill would increase by about 10 percent, or $14.66, to $161.38 for 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of use, from the $146.72 customers pay today. Commercial and industrial customers’ increases would be between 5 percent and 10 percent, depending on usage.
The PSC is expected to vote on the requests March 7, and bills would adjust in April. Even with the change, the typical residential bill would remain among the lowest in Florida.
Increasing efficiency and reducing fuel costs
Tampa Electric is continuously focused on safe, innovative ways to generate power in an affordable way, with less fuel whenever possible. The company recently completed the modernization of Unit 1 at the Big Bend Power Plant, which increases efficiency, reduces carbon emissions and will save customers more than $700 million over its lifetime. In addition, investments in solar energy helped customers avoid approximately $80 million in additional fuel costs in 2022. The savings will continue as the solar expansion continues over the next few years.
Hardening the grid to increase reliability and restoration times
Tampa Electric’s Storm Protection Plan, a multi-year investment to strengthen the grid and increase reliability, helps to reduce restoration times. These efforts include making our substations more resilient by raising equipment and building floodwalls, strengthening power lines, converting overhead power lines to underground lines, and increasing routine inspections of overhead lines and trimming the trees near them. The company saw a 40 percent decline in tree-related outages in 2021 as a result of these efforts.
Working with customers to save energy and offer assistance
To ease the strain of higher energy bills, Tampa Electric is working directly with customers. To help customers during this time, the company has:
- Created a dedicated Customer Assistance team to connect eligible customers with financial assistance and to ensure they get the help they need.
- Contributed $2 million to help qualified customers pay past-due bills.
- Streamlined the application for certain financial assistance programs and reduced paperwork.
- Worked with thousands of customers to provide payment arrangements and waive certain fees.
- Reduced customer fuel costs by about $80 million in 2022 because of our investment in clean, renewable solar power.
- For commercial customers, the company provides energy conservation programs and energy audits to help use energy more efficiently.
Tampa Electric provides more energy-saving programs than any other utility in the state to help customers manage energy costs. Customers can learn more and sign up at tampaelectric.com/save (residential) and tampaelectric.com/bizsave (business). A variety of appliance calculators also are available online to help customers pinpoint opportunities for savings.
Tampa Electric understands some customers are experiencing financial hardship and wants to help. The company partners with many community agencies to offer programs that support customers in need and offers flexible payment arrangements. More information on resources and programs can be found online at tampaelectric.com/updates.
If you need help paying your electric bill:
- Call us, we can help set up a payment plan and connect you to the Customer Assistance team for additional support, if eligible.
- Call 211, you can connect with other financial assistance programs available through our community partners, including the Share program.
Tampa Electric, one of Florida’s largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 830,000 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.
