Hillsborough's Board of County Commissioners voted Wednesday in favor of sending a letter to the Florida Public Service Commission, which regulates private utilities, asking it to bring customer service meetings back to the area.
This comes as new rate increases take effect for Tampa Electric customers this month, due to fossil fuel and storm costs. Consumers can expect their energy bills to increase by 9.8%. Since 2019, the average bill has risen 62% — from $99.53 to $161.13.
During the board’s public comment period, about 10 people spoke against the rate hikes and requested in-district customer service meetings to be held so residents can have a say. It’s been about a decade since the state’s Public Service Commission held local meetings outside of Tallahassee.
Steve Kauffman, pastor at the Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Tampa, said that like most people in Hillsborough County, he and his wife are “totally dependent on TECO” for their electricity.
“And unlike many, my wife Deborah and I have enough income to pay the unrelenting increased cost of electricity to date. But honestly, I do wonder about the future. And what about the thousands of folks who already are forced to decide whether they're going to pay their electric bill or buy their groceries or get their pharmacy?” he asked.
Kauffman pointed out that a portion of the rate hikes are the direct result of TECO’s reliance on the volatile cost of fossil fuels.
And Todd Randolph agreed in his comments that the least fortunate of his Hillsborough neighbors will be burdened the most by the rate increases that are occurring “due to our reliance on fossil fuels.”
“And the ability for them to express this burden is suppressed by not having in-district discussions on TECO policy,” Randolph said. “The deliberation of TECO's policies to be held in Tallahassee and not in this community, which pays for and lives in the decisions made far away, stifles the ability for this community to voice concerns.”
Before the public comment period even opened up on this subject, Commissioner Ken Hagan said the board does not have any direct authority on this.
“I would just like to remind those that are going to speak that this is a Public Service Commission item that is not under the board’s purview,” Hagan said.
Commenter Dave Coleman told the board that it was “really sad” that the speakers were prefaced by “we can't do anything for you.”
“When Hillsborough County Board sits and says, ‘we wash our hands, it's nothing to do with us and the state is allowing TECO to do these rate increases and we have nothing to do with it,’ please. We're human beings. We're citizens,” Coleman said.
But Commissioner Pat Kemp backed-up the public commenters, saying that residents are "suffering greatly" due to the compounding of rent, housing and insurance increases, along with the electricity hikes.
"I know this has hit me,” Kemp said. “I just have noticed that it's gone up tremendously. I even looked at my usage to see in past if it's remained the same type of usage, and it has."
Kemp motioned to draft a letter to the Public Service Commission asking for a meeting in Hillsborough. Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of it.
They will review the letter at Tuesday's land use meeting, where a public comment period will not be available. Kemp also requested that the county attorney look into other ways the commission can address rate hikes.
Brooke Ward, with Food and Water Watch, was one of the commenters.
Speaking Thursday after the meeting, Ward said she's excited that the commissioners “heard the cries of people” because she said “for too long, Florida has rubber-stamped fossil fuel rate increases.”
"It is a first step. There are many more things that we're going to need Hillsborough County to do in order to truly help to shift the policy and impact the rate hikes that are widely and deeply felt not only in Hillsborough County, but statewide," Ward said.
Food and Water Watch, along with at least nine other groups, launched a campaign in February to mobilize the board of commissioners to push back against fossil-fuel driven electricity bill increases.
“The ultimate goal is to have a fossil-free future in Florida. We understand that that's going to be a years-long campaign. That's not something that's happening tomorrow,” Ward said. “But right now, we are urging the Hillsborough County Commission to do their part in protecting county households from the increasing electricity bills by passing anti-fossil fuel legislation that will move the county to inexpensive renewable energy.”
