The Brief
- Tampa Electric (TECO) residential customers paid the highest average electric bills in Florida in June and the second-highest nationwide.
- Rising bills are fueled by record heat, last year’s hurricane recovery and a new base rate increase.
- Advocates argue the base rate hike is unfair and are challenging it in the Florida Supreme Court.
TAMPA, Fla. – Tampa Electric Company (TECO) residential customers saw average bills of $242 in June, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, topping all other utilities in Florida that have reported data that month.
Local perspective:
Some customers, like Plant City single mother Brittany Panton, said the jump has been overwhelming. Her bill for a 1,300-square-foot home spiked from $295 last June to $517 this year.…