Duke, Tampa Electric Seek Storm Costs

Article reposted with permission from The News Service of Florida.

After facing a barrage of hurricanes, Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric Co. on Friday filed proposals to collect about $1.55 billion from customers to cover costs of restoring power and replenishing storm reserves.

The proposals, if approved by the Florida Public Service Commission, would lead to customers seeing increases in their monthly bills starting in March and continuing for a year.

Most of the money would pay for the costs of restoring power after hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton this year, though Tampa Electric is also seeking to recover costs related to 2023’s Hurricane Idalia.

In all, Duke wants to recoup about $1.09 billion, while Tampa Electric is seeking nearly $464 million, according to the utilities and filings at the Public Service Commission.

"These storms have left an undeniable mark on our region,” Archie Collins, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric, said in a prepared statement. “We understand the hardship these storms have caused in our community and recognize that this cost increase will be challenging for some customers. We are ready to help where we can.”

The Public Service Commission has regularly approved utilities recouping such costs, including giving approval Dec. 3 to a proposal by Florida Power & Light to recover about $1.2 billion from customers for costs related to Debby, Helene and Milton and to replenish a reserve fund.

In addressing rates, utilities typically point to a benchmark of residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a month. Such Tampa Electric customers would see their monthly bills increase $30.81 because of the proposed storm costs, while such Duke customers would see about a $21 monthly increase, according to the utilities.

“Quickly and safely getting the lights back on for our customers was our highest priority after each of these brutal storms,” Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president, said in a prepared statement. “While today’s filing reflects the costs of those efforts, we want to assure our customers that, as part of our overall commitment to affordability, we strived to minimize the impact on their bills as much as possible, and moving forward, we will keep making strategic investments to strengthen the electric grid and help ensure they have the reliable power they need.”

Large chunks of the costs stem from assembling thousands of workers, including crews from other states, to restore power after the storms passed.

For example, Milton, which made landfall Oct. 9 in Sarasota County and caused damage across the state, affected about 1 million Duke customers, the utility said in its filing Friday. Duke said it has recoverable costs from Milton of $732.1 million.

Similarly, Tampa Electric said Milton affected about 600,000 of its customers, with the utility seeking to recover about $358.9 million from the storm.

Helene hit the state in September, while Debby hit in August. Both made landfall in rural Taylor County, but they also caused damage as they moved up the Gulf of Mexico, including in the Tampa Bay area.

Duke said it has more than 2 customers, including in Pinellas and Pasco counties and the Orlando area. Tampa Electric has more than 850,000 customers in Hillsborough, Polk, Pasco and Pinellas counties.