Tampa Electric and TECO Peoples Gas are working with customers who are federal employees working without pay or who are furloughed as a result of the government shutdown.
Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas are:
- Providing payment extensions
- Waiving late fees
- Referring customers for utility-payment assistance through our Share program and other local non-profits
- Referring customers to appropriate social services and non-profits for assistance with other needs, such as housing or food
- Staffing on-site assistance fairs (for example, at Tampa International Airport this week)
- Customers will need to provide a copy of their federal employee identification badge as verification.
"We understand the hardship that can be caused by these circumstances, and we are happy to help our customers," said Monica Whiting, vice president of Customer Experience for Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas.
The partial shutdown of the U.S. government began Dec. 22 and is now the longest shutdown in history. About 420,000 federal employees are working without pay and another 380,000 have been furloughed.
Tampa Electric, one of Florida's largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 750,000 customers in West Central Florida. Peoples Gas System, Florida's largest natural gas distribution utility, serves about 375,000 customers across Florida. They are subsidiaries of Emera Inc., a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
