Those of us who weathered Hurricane Irma as she made her presence known in the Tampa Bay area in 2017 – and who witnessed the devastating effects that Hurricane Michael, a Category 5, had on parts of the Florida panhandle in 2018 – know why we can never let down our guard.It’s the devastating effects of hurricanes like these that prompted the Florida State Legislature and the governor to pass the Storm Protection Plan. The bill will require Tampa Electric and other utilities to file a Storm Protection Plan to be approved by the Florida Public Service Commission. The plan will provide an enhanced list of investments the company will make to strengthen its systems over the next 10 years. This includes installing more infrastructure underground, adding to the nearly 50% of the company’s infrastructure that’s already underground. Upon approval, and every three years thereafter, the company will file any needed updates to the plan. In addition, the bill establishes a Storm Protection Plan Cost Recovery Clause that will streamline the current process that utilities follow to be reimbursed for costs associated with hardening our system. It will eliminate the complexities associated with recovering costs through existing base rates for electricity, and instead, allow actual costs to be recovered as they occur.
How does this new legislation benefit customers?
Under the new bill, Tampa Electric and other utilities will increase their investments in strengthening their systems. Tampa Electric customers should see a decrease in the amount of post-storm damage to electrical equipment, quicker restoration times and fewer outages. Investments in strengthening helps us avoid the added expense of repairs after a storm.
Although customers may see a slight increase in storm strengthening costs in the short term, the cost savings from reduced storm restoration will likely lead to lower long-term costs. All customers benefit from reduced costs of storm restoration – it results in savings for everyone.
Our priority is to provide safe affordable and reliable power. That’s why, since 2004, Tampa Electric has invested more than $570 million to strengthen our electrical system with new transformers, tree trimming and pole inspections. Every year we trim trees across one-fourth of our system as part of our vegetation management plan because most outages during a storm are a result of tree limbs falling on power lines. More underground utility lines will help, and the Storm Protection Plan is another weapon against longer storm-related outages.
As a friendly reminder, storm season began June 1. It’s never too late to prepare. Visit our storms safety page at tampaelectric.com/stormsafety to learn more about how we prepare and what you can do to prepare yourself. Thank you for providing us the opportunity to serve your energy needs.
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