Tampa Bay’s two largest power providers requested to raise base rates for customers again in 2025.
On April 2, Duke Energy and Tampa Electric Co. filed thousands of pages of paperwork with the Florida Public Service Commission, providing details into their requests to increase customers’ base rates next year. Base rates are one of several components that add up to the ultimate cost of customers’ monthly electricity bills.
The Public Service Commission regulates utilities and must approve the companies’ plans for them to take effect. Duke and Tampa Electric provide electricity to at least some of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties and other parts of the state.
Duke’s filing asks for $820 million over three years from its customers to cover grid improvements, such as strengthening poles and wires, and to build 14 new solar farms, including one in Hernando County, said company spokesperson Ana Gibbs.
The increase would equate to customers paying about $16.48 more per month in 2025, $2.73 more in 2026 and $2.93 more in 2027 for a residential customer, according to a company news release. Utility companies generally use 1,000 kilowatt hours as the benchmark for an average bill.
However, Duke customers are expected to see their bills go down overall in January 2025 compared to January of this year, the company said. That’s because prior costs added in 2022 for things like storm resilience will be expiring. Gibbs said residential customers could see their bills go down by about $3.04 based on current estimates.
Tampa Electric Co. is seeking about $468 million over three years as part of its base rate increase, citing growing population, infrastructure improvements and increased solar capacity, among other reasons.
When including dips in other parts of their bills, Tampa Electric said it expects its customers to pay $5 more overall in January 2025 compared to this year. Cherie Jacobs, a spokesperson for the company, said it had not yet calculated how much typical customers’ bills would change in 2026 and 2027.
The requests come after several years of Tampa Bay residents feeling the pinch of hefty electric bills, which utility companies have attributed to the soaring price of natural gas nationwide in 2022 and 2023. The vast majority of electricity in Florida is generated by burning natural gas to create power, and the utility companies pass the costs of fuel onto their customers.
For example, in the decade before the pandemic, average December electricity bills for Tampa Electric customers rarely exceeded $110, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Then in December 2021, the cost per kilowatt hour jumped more than 20% from the previous year and has continued to climb. In December, the average TECO bill was more than $150.
Duke Energy customers have also been paying more. Since 2020, the amount customers paid per kilowatt hour in December increased nearly 40%. The average customer’s bill was around $149 in December 2023.
But as natural gas prices have started to come down, Duke and Tampa Electric also announced Tuesday that they would both separately seek reductions in how much customers pay for fuel.
Tampa Electric said it filed paperwork Tuesday to bring down fuel costs for a second time since January, which combined could save customers nearly $25 per month for the rest of the year. Duke said it would make its fuel request later this month, which combined with an earlier request could lower bills by about $16. Both requests are subject to Public Service Commission approval and could take effect this summer.
As part of the filings, the companies disclose how much they are seeking to pay out to shareholders, called a return on equity. Duke’s filings show it’s seeking a range for return on equity with a “midpoint” of 11.15%, telling the commission that without an increase in base rates, its rate of return will drop. Tampa Electric is asking for a range with the midpoint of about 11.5%.
After Tuesday’s filings are complete, the Public Service Commission is expected to schedule hearings for the coming months at different locations around the state to get feedback from Floridians on the rate hike proposals. Tampa Electric, for example, said in a news release it expects a June hearing in Hillsborough County.
The commission will then decide to approve the plans by the end of the year.
Times staff writer Teghan Simonton contributed to this report.
