Company donated $1 million to Share Program to help customers in need
The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) today approved Tampa Electric’s request to recover the costs of restoring power after last year’s destructive hurricane season, spreading the costs over 18 months to reduce the impact on customers’ bills.
The 2024 hurricane season was one of the most destructive in more than a century. Hurricane Helene brought unprecedented flooding to West Central Florida, and several days later, Hurricane Milton caused significant devastation from downed trees. Over the course of the two hurricanes, the company brought in 9,500 workers from out-of-state utilities, which allowed speedy restoration. With the help of those crews, Tampa Electric restored essentially all power after Hurricanes Helene and Milton in one and seven days, respectively.
Restoring power after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, along with Tropical Storm Debby, more than exhausted the company’s storm reserve, which was established to pay for damage from named storms. The request also included costs of Tropical Storm Idalia from 2023 and to replenish the storm reserve.
In Florida, cost-effective insurance is not available to cover the poles and wires that are most vulnerable to severe weather. And utility rates do not include the cost of restoring power after hurricanes and tropical storms. Instead, utilities can request a temporary charge after the storms to reflect the actual cost of restoration.
The company requested $464 million, which it paid upfront to restore power. For the average residential customer, who uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a month, that will add $19.95 to their monthly bill. The temporary “storm restoration charge” will begin in March and continue for 18 months.
“After each of these challenging storms, our top priority was to restore power quickly and safely. We are deeply grateful for the hard work of our crews and the resilience of our customers as we navigated through one of the most difficult storm seasons in our lifetimes,” said Archie Collins, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. “We recognize that this cost increase will be difficult for some customers, and we are ready to help where we can.”
Tampa Electric donated $1 million to the Share program, to help the customers who need it most. Tampa Electric’s donation provides direct relief to help qualifying customers pay their utility bills. It comes from shareholder funds and will not affect customer bills. Share is funded by the generosity of TECO employees, customers and community partners. TECO matches donations to the Share program dollar for dollar.
Tampa Electric is committed to helping the community. The company offers nearly 30 energy-and money-saving programs, the most of any electric utility in Florida. The company also has a variety of programs and partners to assist customers who need help paying their bills. If you or someone you know needs financial help, please visit TampaElectric.com/PayAssist.
Tampa Electric, one of Florida’s largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 860,000 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.
