Tampa Electric just announced their fuel adjustment clause is jumping from 2.8¢/kWh to 4.1¢/kWh starting in February. That's a 45% increase! My clients are going to see their bills spike significantly. Anyone know what's driving this massive increase? Natural gas prices haven't moved that much in recent months.
TECO fuel rider jumping 45% - what gives?
Kevin - I'm seeing similar increases with NYSEG here in Rochester. Their fuel rider went up about 35% this quarter. From what I've read, it's partly natural gas but also coal contract renewals and some grid reliability purchases during the December cold snap. The utilities are passing through all their increased fuel costs.
Tom - that makes sense about the December weather impacts. TECO's filing mentioned "extraordinary fuel costs during extreme weather events" but 45% still seems excessive. I'm going to dig into their PSC filings to see if they're being overly conservative with their projections. Sometimes these adjustments overcorrect.
Kevin and Tom - we're seeing the same pattern across multiple utilities. MLGW here in Memphis had their fuel adjustment increase 38% in January. The December freeze really hit the natural gas markets hard, and most utilities are being conservative with their fuel cost projections for 2023. These riders should moderate by mid-year if gas prices stabilize.