Tampa Electric Plans Large Solar Power Expansion

TAMPA, FL — Regulators have approved a plan to allow Tampa Electric to expand its solar power generation to carry nearly seven percent of the utility's capacity while also granting a rate freeze for electricity customers for the next four years.

“This is a win for customers and a win for the environment,” Gordon Gillette, president and chief executive officer of the Tampa-based utility, said in a press release. “We have long believed in the promise of clean and renewable energy, and we are so pleased to have the support of the commissioners as we make these significant strides in solar energy."

The electricity generated by the utility's anticipated solar capacity could power 100,000 homes, according to a press release. With the new additions, Tampa Electric will have highest percentage of solar energy of any Florida utility, it said.

Tampa Electric plans to complete construction on the first phase of the the new solar panels by September 2018. The entire project, which will add six million solar panels to the utility's capacity, is scheduled to be completed in January 2021.

Customers are expected to pay an additional $1 per month on their electricity bill to cover the cost of the $850 million investment, the company said, but the savings provided by the reduced fuel costs should lead to savings in the long run.

Tampa Electric has 750,000 customers in West Central Florida.

AP Photo/Chris O'Meara