Florida PSC approves TECOʻs microgrid pilot program

The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a four-year microgrid pilot program for Tampa Electric Company (TECO) this week.

The pilot program includes battery storage and solar photovoltaic equipment at customer residences.

The system will be designed to operate independently while connecting to the utility grid as a backup. The microgrid technology and associated generating equipment, known as the Block Energy System (BES), will provide up to 37 homes with power in Hillsborough County’s new Medley at Southshore Bay development.

The TECO-owned BES will interconnect customer homes with community-sited battery storage and traditional generation using an underground direct current distribution system.

Participants in the microgrid pilot program will pay the same rates for electricity as TECO’s other customers. Further, the pilot will provide valuable data on a new residential solar and battery storage grid system.

The PSCʻs approval comes with several provisions. First, initial capital costs must be capped at $1.99 million. Also, TECO must provide annual reports to the PSC on the pilot’s successes and failures. Further, they must survey participants in the pilot’s third year on their willingness to pay a monthly surcharge for increased reliability. In addition, a final report must be drafted to assess the pilot.

TECO serves more than 750,000 customers in Hillsborough, Polk, Pinellas, and Pasco counties.