City Commission approves electric rate reduction for May, moves to delay new fire services fee
Special to the Outlook
With economic constraints tightening in many Tallahassee homes, the Mayor and City Commissioners approved a one-time rate reduction to provide immediate financial relief for City Utility customers.
In total, this will keep $6.3 million in the hands of Tallahassee residents and businesses at a time when it may be greatly needed.
Meanwhile, staff members of the state Public Service Commission recommended approval of plans by four major utilities to cut customer bills in May or during the summer. The recommendation came a day after the decision in Tallahassee.
Locally City Electric Utility customers will see a 27 percent discount on their May bill, meaning the savings for each customer will vary based on their usage. On average, a typical household may see a reduction of $30, while a medium-sized business may see a reduction of $1,800.
While the savings for each customer will vary based on their usage, City Electric Utility customers can expect a 27 percent discount on their May bill.
Photo by St. Clair Murraine
To provide customers with the discount now, the City is passing along projected fuel cost savings that the Electric Utility anticipates receiving in the coming months. Recognizing the financial impacts of COVID-19 early on, the City proactively implemented the Utility Relief Program, which allows customers facing financial hardships now to defer the payment of a bill until this fall.
Additionally at its April 22 meeting, the Commission also moved to delay the scheduled implementation of new fire services fees. No rate change for this fee is anticipated in Fiscal Year 2021, which runs from Oct. 1, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2021.
The true impact of this public health crisis will not be fully realized in the immediate future, and the City will continue to review services to ensure optimal efficiency while financially preparing for a significant reduction in revenues, currently projected to be more than $30 million this year.
The PSC was scheduled last Tuesday to take up the requests by Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric Co. and Gulf Power. The plans involve passing along savings from lower-than-expected fuel costs to customers. Pointing to economic problems facing customers because of the coronavirus pandemic, FPL, Duke and Gulf have proposed providing large one-time savings on May utility bills. Tampa Electric’s proposal is somewhat different. It would pass along chunks of the fuel-cost savings to customers from June through August and then smaller savings through the rest of the year. Utilities are required to pass along savings to customers when power-plant fuel costs drop, but the money typically goes to customers gradually. The current savings primarily stem from low costs for natural gas, which all of the utilities use to fuel power plants.
