Duke, TECO customers will see higher bills starting this month to offset costs from hurricanes
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Starting this month, TECO and Duke customers will be paying more on their monthly bills. Both companies are trying to offset costs from the recent hurricanes.
After hurricanes Helene and Milton, lineman deployed all over the Tampa Bay area to restore power. Now it's time for customers to help cover that cost.
Duke and TECO customers will see around $20 added to their monthly bill for storm recovery.
TECO customers will notice a 'Storm Restoration Charge' on their bills for the next 18 months. Duke customers will see a line item on their bills labeled 'SCRS' for the next 12 months.
Customers like Jeff Wells aren't thrilled about an additional fee. 'I'd also like to know transparently where the money is going,' said Wells.
In January, Florida Power and Light Power customers started seeing a $12 a month storm surcharge on their bills, which will last for a year.
The company also just filed for approval of a rate increase starting in 2026.
'We've been able to keep customers bills will below the national average for more than a decade, but the grid is not something that we can just sit and forget. It takes continued to investment to reliably serve the growing state and that's what this plan is all about,' said FPL spokesperson Andrew Sutton.
But is it too much?
A new bill recently filed in Florida aims to cut down on the profits utility companies can make.
'As Floridians currently grapple with the rising inflation, and already the high cost of living, the extra burden of an increased electricity bill is only compounding that stress on households,' said Chante Jones, Associate State Director of Advocacy with AARP Florida.
Jones said the extra fees and increases are having a negative effect on seniors.
'For older residents, they're already living on a fixed income, they're already you know, juggling prescription drug cost, and higher housing costs and so this just kind of compounds that right,' said Jones.
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Arkansas QB Taylen Green ($2.1 million) Green earned a few endorsement deals with local companies during his time at Boise State before he transferred to Arkansas ahead of the 2024 season. After transferring, he reportedly signed a deal with the school's NIL collective, Arkansas Edge. It's unclear how much that deal is worth, but the collective helped Green land an endorsement deal with a local car dealership in 2024, which landed him a Ram 1500 truck. 22. Florida G Boogie Fland ($2.1 million) Similar to Lendeborg, Fland was one of the top players in the transfer portal this offseason but also declared for the 2025 NBA Draft. He removed his name from the draft in May, while simultaneously announcing his transfer from Arkansas to Florida. The defending champion's NIL collective reportedly gave Fland a package worth over $2 million, according to CBS Sports. 23. UCLA G Donovan Dent ($2 million) Dent, who won Mountain West Player of the Year at New Mexico this past season, reportedly received a $3 million NIL deal to transfer to UCLA in March, according to The Santa Fe New Mexican. He received $2 million of that deal up front, while he'll earn the other $1 million during the 2025-26 season. 24. UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava ($2 million) Iameleava arguably became the face of the NIL debate this offseason. He transferred out of Tennessee after the program reportedly denied his request for a pay raise from its NIL collective, seeking $4 million annually. He wound up at UCLA, agreeing to an NIL deal rumored to be in the $1.5 million range, according to Front Office Sports. That's actually a pay decrease from what he was getting at Tennessee, as he was set to earn $2.4 million from the Vols' collective in 2025, per ESPN. Iamaleava was also one of 11 college football players to sign a deal with Beats by Dre ahead of the 2024 season. 25. Auburn QB Jackson Arnold ($2 million) Arnold was among the handful of quarterback transfers who reportedly earned a multi-million-dollar payday this offseason. It has been rumored that Arnold received a deal worth at least $2 million to transfer from Oklahoma, which got a laugh out of former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. Arnold finished the year with 1,421 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, three interceptions, 444 rushing yards and three rushing scores. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily. recommended Get more from College Football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
