Bills for Tampa Electric customers will be reduced significantly in the new year, a press release said on Wednesday.
TECO said rates will lower by 11% starting January 1. For a residential customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, TECO said the monthly bill will drop by $17.65.
Commercial and industrial rates will drop by 10-18%.
"Fuel costs have declined since the high prices of 2022, and, as a result, we are in a position to reduce electricity bills in 2024,” said Archie Collins, president and CEO of Tampa Electric. "We are pleased that Tampa Electric customers will get some welcome relief after a record-breaking summer.”
The change comes after TECO raised rates last January and in April, which left some customers feeling shocked.
TECO customer Anthony Marinelli said that his bill increased from $253 in April to $470 in July.
"I was definitely expecting a little bit of a hike. Come Florida summer, you know, living in Florida, we always have a little bit, but this just went up and up and up, and it stayed there," he said in August, "And I'm like, 'Okay, is this, is this what to expect for the coming months? Now I don't know what to gauge, to kind of plan for to pay my bills."
