2019 utility rates: Tampa Electric to go down, Duke Energy Florida up

State regulators gave the final approval Tuesday morning for next year's utility rates. Beginning in January, Tampa Electric customers' bills will drop by $8 a month on average to $99.53 per 1,000 kilowatt hours — the average monthly household energy use — according to spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs. Its rates haven't been that low, Jacobs said, since 2005.

Duke Energy Florida customers, meanwhile, will pay 88 cents more for an average of $128.78 per month, according to spokeswoman Ana Gibbs.

The decision capped a hearing that began Monday to determine what customers of Florida's investor-owned utilities would pay for fuel costs, energy conservation, purchased gas agreements, environmental costs and natural gas conservation.

Impacting Tampa Electric's rates were its ongoing solar project and savings from last year's tax reform passed on to customers. Duke's bills were affected by its newly-online portion of the natural gas facility in Citrus County, as well as its solar efforts.

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Contact Malena Carollo at mcarollo@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2249. Follow @malenacarollo.