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TECO Seeks To Double Connection Fee And Others

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The utility also has asked state regulators for permission to increase base electric rates and pass on higher fuel costs to customers.

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By RUSSELL RAY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 9, 2008

Updated: 10/09/2008 11:53 am

You may already know about Tampa Electric Co.'s request to raise rates next year. But you might not know that the same plan calls for a substantial increase in service connection charges.

Under the proposal filed with state regulators, connection fees and other charges for TECO customers would more than double.

The charge for initial service connections to new homes, for example, would jump from $38 to $75 beginning in May. The cost of same-day connections for existing homes would increase to $65 from $16. A connection during the weekend would cost you $300, up from $16.

The utility has not increased rates or service charges since 1992. The increases are needed to cover higher operating costs, investments in capital projects and the cost of serving more customers, said TECO spokesman Rick Morera.

"Sixteen years later, we've had increases in labor costs, material costs, vehicle costs and fuel for the vehicles," Morera said.

The utility also has asked state regulators for permission to increase base electric rates and pass on higher fuel costs to customers. If both plans are approved, residential customers will be paying 31 percent more for electricity by May.

The Florida Public Service Commission will hold public hearings this month in Tampa and Winter haven on TECO's rate and service-charge proposal.

Under TECO's rate plan, the bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month would increase 9 percent to $125 a month. The utility's fuel recovery plan, if approved, would add an additional $25.62 to the same bill.

Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870.

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