Tampa Electric Donates $2 Million to Support Customers in Need

Company Provides Tips for Customers to Save Energy; Expands Partnership with Feeding Tampa Bay

This summer has brought extreme heat, record-breaking temperatures and dangerous heat advisories. As temperatures soar, air conditioners must work extra hard to keep your home comfortable. This can lead to electric bills that are higher than in other seasons.

To help those who need it most, Tampa Electric is contributing an unprecedented $2 million to the Share program to assist customers who are struggling. This donation will provide direct relief to help people pay their utility bills. It comes from shareholder funds and will not affect customer bills. This brings the company's total donation to Share to $4.4 million over the past four years.

"We recognize that many of our most vulnerable customers are feeling especially stretched right now," said Archie Collins, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. "As a company deeply rooted in this community, we believe it's our responsibility to support our neighbors in times of need."

The Share program is administered by Metropolitan Ministries, the Salvation Army and the Catholic Charities Diocese of St. Petersburg, and it is specifically designed to provide utility-bill assistance. Share is funded by the generosity of employees, customers, community partners and Tampa Electric shareholders.

"At Feeding Tampa Bay, we see firsthand the difficult choices families are forced to make every day - choosing between paying the electric bill or putting food on the table," said Thomas Mantz, president and chief executive officer of Feeding Tampa Bay. "Tampa Electric's generous $2 million contribution to the Share program, along with their weekly, onsite support, demonstrates a deep and ongoing commitment to the well-being of our neighbors. This collaboration is a powerful example of how organizations can come together with purpose and compassion to build a stronger, more resilient community."

All customers can benefit from reducing energy use during extreme temperatures. One of the most significant contributors to a summer electric bill is air conditioning (A/C). The hotter it is outside, the harder the A/C is working, and the more it costs.

The typical air conditioner can only reduce the temperature by 20 degrees: When it's 97 degrees outside, it can only cool your home to 77 degrees. Setting it to anything lower will make your air conditioner work overtime - and will drive up energy use - and power bills.

To better understand your current rates, visit our page on 2025 bills. To get more information on seasonal energy use, see Tampa Electric's page on summer bills. Here are a few ways to use less energy (and help reduce your power bill):

• Every degree you raise your thermostat from its current setting could save about 7 percent on your cooling costs.
• Use ceiling fans - but only in occupied rooms. Fans cool people, not rooms. For summer, rotate the blades counter-clockwise.
• Limit your pool pump to run eight hours a day, or as your pool service recommends.
• Use the microwave or grill to cook food to keep the kitchen from heating up.
• Set your refrigerator temperature at 37 degrees and your freezer at 5 degrees. Keep the doors closed and properly sealed. Clean the refrigerator coils quarterly and turn on the power-saver mode, if available.
• Lower the temperature setting on your water heater to 120 degrees. Keep showers to under seven minutes.
• Run washing machines and dishwashers only when they are full; wash laundry with cold water.
• Close the curtains or blinds in sunny rooms to keep the heat out.
• Turn off computers and monitors when not in use or put them in "sleep" mode. Unplug electronics, gadgets and chargers.
• Clean or replace air conditioning filters each month. This helps the unit run more efficiently.
• Check for leaky windows and doors, and don't forget the fireplace damper, if you have one.
• Make sure your attic is sufficiently insulated. You can save about 15 percent a year on the air conditioning portion of your energy bill with appropriate ceiling insulation, plus you may qualify for a Tampa Electric rebate.

Tampa Electric also has several programs that can help you save money on your bill.

Prime Time Plus^TM is a free and easy way to earn credits on your electric bill, saving you money each month. Customers can earn more than $250 per year by letting Tampa Electric reduce their electricity use during periods of extremely high demand. By reducing demand, we can avoid the need to invest in additional power plants.

Here's how Tampa Electric's Prime Time Plus program works.

• You allow Tampa Electric to temporarily manage your heating and cooling system (HVAC), water heater and pool pump (if applicable) during periods of extremely high demand for electricity. We will notify you when this occurs.
• In exchange, you'll earn monthly bill credits, which vary based on the equipment you choose to enroll in Prime Time Plus. If you enroll all three, you can save $21 a month, or $252 a year.

• We'll install a free smart thermostat that includes access to a mobile app, letting you adjust temperature settings, set flexible scheduling and receive usage reports and reminder alerts whether you're home or away.

Our free Energy Planner program is a powerful tool to save money. It allows you to plan your highest energy use during the time of day when demand for electricity is lowest. You can save about a month's worth of electricity each year - like tossing out one electric bill - by making simple adjustments to the time of day you use electricity.

To continue to help manage your energy costs, you can get a free online or in-person Energy Audit from Tampa Electric to identify areas where you may be wasting energy and money. Call 813-275-3909 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tampa Electric has been encouraging energy conservation for nearly 50 years, performing more than 950,000 energy audits to help customers use electricity more efficiently. The company aims to help residential and business customers reduce overall energy use and, ultimately. their energy costs.

Tampa Electric understands that higher electric bills can be a hardship for some customers. To help, the company offers a variety of options to assist with bill payments:

• Budget Billing is designed to help manage energy costs, reduce seasonal bill shocks and maintain a budget with predictable monthly payments.

• Due Date Plus assists residential customers on a fixed income or whose Social Security, retirement, disability or other support payment is received on a date that doesn't coincide with their utility bill due date.
• If you or someone you know needs financial help, please visitTampaElectric.com/PayAssist for more information about these and other assistance programs.

Tampa Electric, one of Florida's largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves more than 860,000 customers in West Central Florida. Tampa Electric is a subsidiary of Emera Inc., a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.