Name: State approves TECO rate hike
Uploaded: 2025-11-07T08:24:38.650Z
Duration: 2 min 35 s
Description: Tampa Electric customers will see yet another rate increase in January, following a unanimous vote this week by the Florida Public Service Commission to approve the utility’s latest request. Aaron Mesmer reports.

Tampa Electric customers will see yet another rate increase in January, following a unanimous vote this week by the Florida Public Service Commission to approve the utility’s latest request. Aaron Mesmer reports.

Florida

The Florida Public Service Commission has unanimously approved a new rate hike for Tampa Electric (TECO) customers, which will take effect in January. According to consumer watchdog groups, TECO customers are now paying significantly more for electricity, with bills up 80% compared to five years ago and 82% since last year.

TECO representatives state the increases are necessary to fund infrastructure improvements and recover costs from severe storms in 2024. While a temporary hurricane recovery charge will be removed from bills next September, consumer advocates warn that further rate increases may continue due to recent legislative changes allowing larger hikes.

State approves TECO rate hike

to go up in January after state regulators finalized a rate finally increase that has been in the works for quite some time since 2024. FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer reports for us tonight. A consumer watchdog group says that Tico customers are now paying 80% more than they were. Just five years ago. Show that item number five passes. Florida's Public Service Commission unanimously finalized another rate hike for Tampa Electric customers. This one takes effect in January. Utility rates are going to be higher than last year. Tico customers are now paying 80% more than they were last year. This one takes effect in January. Utility regulators have been rubber stamping these rate increases. So if they ask for it, they get it. Brooke Ward works with food and water watch in Florida and advocates for utility consumers, she says Tico customers have seen consistent rate increases in recent years. The latest will be the fourth in a 12 month period, Ward says. All told Tico bills are up 82% since last year, and that's a lot of money. It's a lot of money that's going to go into supporting Florida families who are struggling to pay for food, medicine, electricity rent. Padding the pockets of shareholders at that expense, a Tico spokesperson says the increases are necessary. The latest one was part of a two phase plan approved by regulators last year. On average, Tico bills will go up about $20. What they're seeing is us as their prudent infrastructure, so that we can increase. Reliability so that we can improve resilience. This comes after the company raised rates two more times this year, once for fuel costs, the other to recover costs associated with the 2024 hurricane season. Those storms are catastrophic and the worst that we've seen in our history. And so what customers are seeing today is the impact of the storm recovery charge that has hit their bill. We're told that's going to be the end of the hurricane season, and that's going to be the end of the hurricane season, and there's going to be some relief next September. Temporary hurricane recovery charge will be eliminated from bills, but consumer advocates believe this may not be the end and power companies across the state will continue raising prices for the foreseeable future. We have a legislature that has been passing laws that allow those rate increases to be larger than they had been historically in Tampa. Aaron Mesmer, Fox 13 news. So we're told that's going to be the end of the hurricane season, and that's going to be the end of the hurricane recovery charge is starting. They started using it 2020 really is a starting point, and we're told that's when the rates were unusually low to the due to the pandemic related adjustments. And we're told that's going to be the end of the hurricane season, and that's going to be the end of the

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