Tampa Electric expects lower bills

co2 — TECO Plant Big Bend Apollo Beach. By Seán Kinane/WMNF (9 Jan. 2010).

Pointing to lower costs for power-plant fuel, Tampa Electric Co. said Wednesday it expects to reduce customer bills in 2024.

Tampa Electric and other utilities increased bills this year because of issues such as higher-than-expected prices of natural gas.

But in a news release Wednesday, Tampa Electric said it has filed proposals at the Florida Public Service Commission that, if approved, will lead to decreases.

“After record-high temperatures have driven up bills this summer, we are pleased that Tampa Electric customers will soon get some welcome relief,” Archie Collins, president and CEO of Tampa Electric, said in a prepared statement. “Fuel costs have declined since the high prices of 2022, and, as a result, we are expecting lower electricity bills in 2024.”

The utility industry uses a benchmark of residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours a month.

In April, such Tampa Electric customers saw their bills go from $146.72 to $161.13.

But under the new proposals, those customers would pay $143.48 in 2024, the news release said.