Tampa, FL — Today, the Hillsborough Affordable Energy Coalition held a visual demonstration outside of the new Tampa Electric (TECO) headquarters, highlighting the burden of unaffordable energy bills. 

The event marks one year since Tampa residents experienced the hottest weather ever, with temperatures breaking 100 degrees on July 27, 2025. During that same month, TECO ratepayers paid the second highest bills in the nation. Energy affordability has become an urgent issue in Florida, particularly during dangerously high summer heat.

The demonstration prominently featured a chart of 2025’s 10 most expensive electricity bills in the country — where TECO ranked third, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data; a poster calling out the CEO of TECO’s multi-million dollar 2024 salary; and a thermometer depicting every TECO rate hike and bill increase in the past five years. These include:  

Updated Food & Water Watch analysis finds that between January 2021 and January 2026, TECO bills for residential ratepayers using 1,000 kWh/month have seen an increase of $77.22 per month or $926.64 per year — an 81% increase. 

“TECO is bleeding ratepayers dry to pad corporate profits— rubber stamped by the governor-appointed utility regulators. While the utility corporation raises bills year after year, Tampa residents are experiencing historic and dangerous heat from worsening climate change,” said Isabella Moeller, Florida Organizer with Food & Water Watch. “It’s getting hot in here, making running the air conditioning vital, but it’s something many of our neighbors increasingly can’t afford. Our decision makers at all levels of government, including Tampa City Council, need to be speaking out against TECO’s excessive rate hikes and demanding for affordable energy reforms that ensure our communities are protected from corporate greed and the fossil fuels making our bills unaffordable.” 

“In 2023 TECO stated that they had to move their headquarters from downtown to midtown due to flooding risks. I just find it ironic that a company that continues to fuel the climate crisis with their reliance on fossil fuels is moving due to that very reason”, said Alyssa White, Climate Justice Organizer with Florida Student Power. “However, they aren’t the ones paying the costs — ratepayers are.”

“We elders at Third Act-Florida support the efforts of the HAEC to make TECO more responsible to its customers in managing the burdensome cost of our electric bills. We call on our state lawmakers to reform the Public Service Commission to hold TECO accountable and keep rate increases reasonable, in line with other major utilities in the Southeast. Serving its public customers should always be the primary consideration in TECO’s operation,” said Thomas Caffery with Third Act-Florida.

“Central Florida Jobs with Justice and the Hillsborough Affordable Energy Coalition demand that customers deserve affordable and reliable electricity,” said Brittany Panton with Central Florida Jobs with Justice. “TECO MUST be held accountable for rising electric bills by being transparent about the rate increases and taking meaningful steps to reduce cost rather than placing the burden on consumers.”

This Hillsborough Affordable Energy Coalition event is in partnership with Food & Water Watch, Florida Student Power, Sierra Club, Florida Rising, Tampa DSA, Central Florida Jobs with Justice, & League of United Latin American Citizens.