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Tampa Electric Makes It Official, Files For Rate Hike

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 11, 2008

TAMPA - Tampa Electric Co. residential customers can expect to see their electric bills increase by 31 percent in May 2009, the utility said today in formalizing a previously announced rate increase request.

TECO formally announced its request with the Florida Public Service Commission for an increase in base rates that would be in addition to a previously announced increase intended to cover escalating fuel costs.

Residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month pays $114.38 now. They will pay $140 a month in January, when TECO wants to implement a fuel-cost increase, and $150 a month for 1,000 kilowatt hours in May, when TECO includes its base rate increase.

TECO is seeking a 7.5 percent base rate increase for residential customers and a 7.5 percent to 11 percent base rate increase for commercial and industrial customers. The base rate increase would total $228.2 million.

TECO notified the commission in July that it would seek a 22.3 percent increase to cover fuel price increases. TECO's fuel costs are adjusted each year.

However, the utility's base rates have not changed since 1992.

"It's truly unfortunate that such an action is needed during a challenging economy, but despite our team's continual efforts – which have delayed increasing our base rates for 16 years – we can't put a rate request off any longer," TECO president Chuck Black said in a news release.

State regulators are expected to rule on the fuel cost request by late October or November and on the base rate request by January.

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