Bills would remain among the lowest in Florida and below the national average
In response to volatile natural gas prices, Tampa Electric has revised its proposed adjustment to customer bills – to be lower than originally requested. Even with the change, which would start in April, the typical residential bill would remain among the lowest in Florida and below the national average.
The company today filed revised projected costs for fuel and capacity charges with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) that are about $100 million lower than originally requested in November. If the PSC approves the requests as filed, the typical residential customer’s monthly energy bill would increase by about 9 percent, or $10.96, to $131.87 for 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of use, from the $120.91 customers pay today.
“We are relieved that natural gas prices have declined since the last quarter of 2021, and we have reduced our request to reflect that – effectively passing these savings along to our customers,” said Archie Collins, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. “In addition, we remain focused on managing our resources to reduce fuel impacts as much as we can, and we offer customers opportunities to better manage their electricity use to keep bills low. We also continue to offer several forms of customer assistance to help those who need it most.”
The PSC is expected to vote on the proposal on March 1, and the adjustment to bills would begin in April. If approved as filed, Tampa Electric residential customers’ bills would continue to be among the lowest in Florida and would remain below the national average.
Fuel costs are passed directly to customers without any markup by the utility. In Florida, utilities adjust their fuel and capacity costs annually, typically in January. However, when costs are expected to change by more than 10 percent, they can request an additional adjustment.
Natural gas prices have been volatile for several months and are expected to remain so. High prices this fall spurred Tampa Electric to seek an adjustment to bills. Since then, mild winter weather has reduced prices, and the company has lowered its requested adjustment.
Tampa Electric’s fuel mix for 2022 is expected to be about 82 percent natural gas, about 10 percent solar and about 8 percent coal. With the proposed increase, the cost of fuel will be about one-third of a residential customer’s bill. Tampa Electric deploys a variety of strategies to manage fuel costs, including optimizing the use of its generating fleet to consume fuel as efficiently as possible and purchasing power from other companies if it results in a lower cost for customers.
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.
To help those who need it most, Tampa Electric has donated an additional $1 million to the Share program, which is administered by the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities Diocese of St. Petersburg. Share helps people pay their utility bills. Tampa Electric and TECO Peoples Gas have helped nearly 5,700 customers pay electric and natural gas bills through the Share program in 2020 and 2021. The latest donation will result in $2.7 million to help customers since the pandemic started.
Tampa Electric’s Budget Billing program can take the highs and lows out of utility bills for residential and small commercial customers. The free program provides a more consistent bill each month that can help customers better manage monthly expenses. Learn more about this program and other billing options at tampaelectric.com/residential/billing-options.
Tampa Electric also 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, 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.
