Tampa Electric seeks to lower prices for customers in 2020

Tampa Electric filed plans with the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) to lower its rates for customers.

Under the plan, the average residential customer’s 2020 monthly energy bill would drop by about 1 percent, or $1.06, to $102.52 for 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of usage. Further, commercial and industrial customers would see bills decrease by about 1 percent, depending on usage. Customer bills will also reflect a one-time credit in January as a result of federal tax reform. This will appear as a separate line item on bills.

“We work hard to operate efficiently and use a diverse fuel mix to help us maintain some of the lowest rates in Florida,” Nancy Tower, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric, said. “We are happy we can pass these savings on to our customers.”

The proposed decrease is due in part to lower than expected natural gas prices. By the end of 2019, Tampa Electric will spend about $18 million less on fuel than projected. The cost of fuel is currently about one-fourth of a residential customer’s bill. It is also due to an increase in the amount of solar energy in the system. Two new utility-scale solar projects will come online in January.

The PSC is expected to vote on the proposed decrease in November. If approved as filed, Tampa Electric residential customers’ bills would be among the lowest in Florida – about the same as customers paid in 2013. They would be about 21 percent below the national average, which is 129.60 per month, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Tampa Electric serves about 765,000 customers in West Central Florida. Its fuel mix includes natural gas, solar and coal. In 2020, the company expects the generation fuel mix to be 89 percent natural gas, 7 percent solar and 4 percent coal.