Rate hike to hit residential customers harder
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Tampa Electric wants to shift the burden of its upcoming rate hike from large businesses to residential customers.
Why it matters: If state regulators greenlight Tampa Electric's 2025 rate structure, a typical household could see an upcharge of at least $200 annually, the Tampa Bay Times' Emily L. Mahoney writes.
- The utility's largest customers, including the Florida Retail Federation and Walmart, would feel less of a pinch.
Zoom in: Tampa Electric's proposed rate structure assigns costs based on energy usage peaks, according to the Times.
- Residents often use more energy in the hottest and coldest months, while commercial customers are more consistent.
- For this reason, Jordan Williams, Tampa Electric's pricing and financial analysis director, says imposing more costs on residents and smaller businesses aligns better with demand peaks.
Between the lines: This proposed rate structure results from the utility's 2021 settlement with Walmart and the Florida Industrial Power Users Group, among others.
- The agreement, in part, required Tampa Electric to redistribute costs in its next rate increase, per the Times.
What they're saying: "Pure and simple, TECO is requesting a rate hike and most of that hike is going to residential customers," Brooke Ward, the senior Florida organizer with Food & Water Watch, told the Times.
- "Industrial customers are getting a break while residential customers are carrying a heavier energy burden."