Tucson Electric Power is providing a credit to some customers to reflect lower summer Purchased Power and Fuel Adjustment Charge (PPFAC) rates on their usage after May 1.

Only customers who were billed May 1 through May 8 will receive a credit, which on average will be about $8 for residential customers and will vary for commercial customers. The winter PPFAC rate of $0.017951 ended April 30. The summer rate of $0.004646 per kilowatt hour (kWh) began in May. Some customers were billed at the winter rate for the first week in May.

Qualifying customers will see a credit on their next bill. This credit is not related to surcharge changes that will reduce energy costs for customers beginning June 1. TEP customers can expect savings as a result of surcharge updates that take effect June 1, including one that will provide additional savings for residential customers in June and July.

Most of the savings stem from reductions to PPFAC, which is adjusted annually to recover changing energy costs without any markup. The PPFAC also was changed to a single year-round rate instead of one that varies by season.  The average monthly bill impact of these changes – about $12 – will be partly offset by the $2 average impact of an increase to the Renewable Energy Standard Tariff (REST), which recovers clean energy costs.

The Arizona Corporation Commission approved these changes as well as a temporary reduction to the Demand Side Management (DSM) surcharge to return unspent and uncommitted energy efficiency funds.  This change will reduce residential bills by an additional $6 per month in June and July.

Although these changes will reduce energy costs, increased energy usage will still result in higher overall bills. Visit tep.com or call a member of our Customer Care team for ways to manage energy expenses, including energy efficiency options and billing programs.