TEP's rates reflect the cost of providing safe, reliable electric service to our customers. They also reflect the complexity of that task, with fixed charges, usage-based charges and surcharges that can be difficult to understand. The following summary offers explanations for the terms and graphs you'll find on your monthly bill, including links to details posted elsewhere on this website.
This section provides your account number and an overview of your previous and current charges, including recent payments received and any bill adjustments such as corrections, refunds and fees.
If you participate in our HEERO (Help with Emergency Energy Relief Operation) program to help limited-income customers pay their energy bills, your contribution will display here.
The total amount due is in white against a blue bar so that it stands out prominently.
Service Information
Bill messages will appear in this section in italics. Immediately underneath this message in a light blue box, you will see your service address, the name of your pricing plan, your service number (Service No.), the billing dates and the current charges.
Billed kWh Usage
View up to 24 months of history in a graph that compares your most recent 12 months of usage (in dark blue) to the previous 12 months (in light blue). All usage is in kilowatt-hours (kWh). A kilowatt-hour is the use of one kilowatt of electric power for one hour. The dates your meter was read appear beneath the graph, with the date used for your current bill displayed in orange.
Billing Period Comparison
This chart compares information from this billing period to the previous billing period as well as to the corresponding billing period from the previous year.
Your demand, or highest hourly usage during on-peak hours, in kilowatts. Customers who are not using a demand-based pricing plan will begin seeing this line on their bills in fall 2018. TEP is providing the readings for information only to make customers aware of their monthly peak demand.
Average Daily Cost
Your average daily energy cost is highlighted in this orange circle. This figure is based on the current charges divided by the number of days in the billing cycle. Use this feature to compare your energy costs to other daily expenses.
2 Ways to Save
A colorful graphic provides information about time-of-use and demand-based pricing plans, including the current time-of-use hours, for customers not currently on those plans. Customers on those plans will see a summary of their usage information here.
Payment Stub
Your payment stub contains your account number, the payment due date and the total amount due. Space is available to write in your payment amount and an optional contribution for HEERO (Help with Emergency Energy Relief Operation), a program that provides energy bill payment assistance to limited-income customers.
The stub also contains the address where you should send your payment.
Charges
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) sets rates that divide responsibility for these costs among different types of customers — residential, small business, large business and industrial — based on their typical energy usage patterns. TEP's rates are designed to recover the appropriate portion of these costs from each customer group through a combination of fixed fees and usage-based charges.
Delivery Services
The charges listed in this section of your bill reflect the cost of delivering power to customers. These charges cover the cost of poles, wires, transformers and other infrastructure; employees and contractors who install, operate and maintain that equipment; and other necessary business expenses.
This fixed monthly fee helps cover the cost of maintaining electric service to your address. This fee does not vary with usage. The charge covers only a small fraction of the costs TEP incurs to serve every customer, regardless of how much energy they use.
From October 2018 through March 2019, customers will receive a $1.07 credit toward the monthly Basic Service Charge. This will be the last in a series of periodic bill credits approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission in association with the 2014 acquisition of TEP and its parent company, UNS Energy, by Fortis, Inc.
TEP customers will receive bill credits and other benefits through 2020 as a result of changes in federal corporate income tax rates. TEP customers will receive bill credits totaling over $82 million over three years under a plan approved in April 2018 by the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Electric usage is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) — the use of one kilowatt of electric power for one hour. TEP's rates include separate kWh charges for energy delivery and power supply costs.
The kWh charges for delivery services vary based on several factors.
The rate is higher in the "summer" — defined as May through September — than during the rest of the year — which, for simplicity's sake, is called "winter." The difference is due to the higher cost of serving customers during peak usage periods. Because your bill reflects usage from periods that often include parts of two months, some bills include kWh charges calculated at both summer and winter rates.
Also, on the Time-of-Use and Basic pricing plans, this kWh rate increases as energy use rises. These plans include three tiers: 0-500 kWh, 501-1000 kWh and 1,001 kWh and above. The kWh charge is lowest for usage in the first tier and increases with each successive tier.
Finally, customers on the Time-of-Use and Demand Time-of-Use pricing plans pay different kWh charges at different times of the day. Charges are higher "on-peak" — during periods of high electric usage — and lower "off-peak."
This unit — equivalent to a kilowatt-hour (kWh) — is used to measure the amount of excess energy generated by a customer's solar array or other distributed generation system. The unused output from such systems flows into TEP's local system through a net meter, generating KBH credits that offset equivalent kWh charges for the energy TEP provides.
A charge based on a customer's peak energy use during the current billing period, as measured in kilowatts (kW). Demand charges reflect the costs of generation, transmission and distribution. For residential customers, demand charges are based on the highest hourly energy use during on-peak periods.
Power Supply Charges
This section of your bill includes usage-based charges to cover the cost of generating or buying energy for customers.
All power supply costs are recovered through usage-based fees measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) — the use of one kilowatt (kW) of electric power for one hour.
Power supply kWh charges are higher during the "summer" — from May through September — than during the rest of the year, which is referred to as "winter." The higher summer rate reflects increased energy costs during that period. Because bills often reflect usage from parts of two months, some bills include kWh charges calculated at both summer and winter rates.
Customers who have signed up for a time-of-use pricing plan pay different power supply kWh charges at different times of the day. Charges are higher "on-peak" — during periods of high electric usage — and lower "off-peak."
The Purchased Power and Fuel Adjustment Charge (PPFAC) is a usage-based charge or credit that reflects changes in energy costs that aren't covered by the kWh charges for power supply. TEP earns no profit from this charge, which is adjusted regularly to reflect recent and projected power costs.
Customers who participate in the GoSolar Shares program will see a charge in this section of their bill for the “shares” of solar energy they’ve agreed to purchase. These shares are billed at a fixed rate that replaces the PPFAC and power supply kWh charges for that usage. Any usage that exceeds the amount covered by the customer’s solar share will be subject to standard power supply charges. Any unused shares will be carried over and applied to future bills.
Surcharges
TEP is using more renewable power, helping customers save energy and improving the environmental profile of its generating resources. Some of the costs associated with these efforts are recovered through usage-based surcharges approved by the ACC and listed in this section of your bill.
The REST surcharge helps TEP build solar arrays, purchase power from wind and solar power systems and take other steps to comply with Arizona's Renewable Energy Standard. This rule requires utilities to increase their use of renewable energy each year until it represents 15 percent of their energy in 2025.
The Demand Side Management (DSM) surcharge funds energy efficiency programs that are designed to help TEP comply with Arizona’s Energy Efficiency Standard. This rule calls on electric utilities to increase the kWh savings realized through customer-funded energy efficiency programs each year until the cumulative reduction in usage reaches 22 percent by 2020.
The Environmental Compliance Adjustor (ECA) covers some of the costs incurred at TEP's power plants to comply with government-mandated environmental regulations. The charge is designed to introduce such costs more gradually, reducing the scope of future rate increases.
These Lost Fixed Cost Recovery (LFCR) charges partly offset the revenue TEP loses when customers reduce their bills through energy efficiency (EE) programs and the use of distributed generation (DG) systems, including rooftop solar arrays.
Taxes and Assessments
The charges on your bill are subject to government taxes and fees. TEP forwards all of the money collected from these charges to the appropriate authorities.
This usage-based charge helps fund the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), a state government agency led by a five-member panel of elected commissioners who set TEP's rates and oversee many aspects of utility operations.
This usage-based charge is applied to the bills of residential customers to help fund the Residential Utility Consumer Office (RUCO), a state agency that represents the interests of residential customers in rate requests and other utility issues addressed by the ACC.
This usage-based charge helps fund the Arizona Independent Scheduling Administrator (AZISA), which oversees the application of operating protocols to ensure statewide consistency for transmission access. The charge is so small – two ten-thousandths of a cent per kWh – that it does not appear on most customers’ bills.
TEP has reached formal franchise agreements with the cities of Tucson and South Tucson that authorize its use of public rights-of-way and address other aspects of operations. These agreements, which were approved by voters in both cities, also mandate that franchise fees of 2.25 percent in the City of Tucson and 2 percent in South Tucson be added to the bills of customers in those municipalities. All proceeds of those fees are forwarded to the respective city governments.
TEP's charges are subject to Arizona state sales tax of 5.6 percent as well as any municipal sales tax levied by the city where the customer's address is located, as shown in the following table:
Tucson
2.6 percent
Sahuarita
2 percent
South Tucson
5 percent
Marana
4 percent
Oro Valley
4 percent
All sales tax proceeds are forwarded to the respective taxing jurisdiction.
This 0.5 percent sales tax was approved by Pima County voters and is added to the bills of all customers in the county to fund road construction projects.
The City of Tucson charges a Public Utility Tax of 4.5 percent for customers within the city's boundaries. Because this tax is offset by the city's 2.25 percent franchise fee, it only increases the bills of affected customers by 2.25 percent. Together, the Public Utility Tax and franchise fee combine to add 4.5 percent to the bills of TEP customers in the City of Tucson. All proceeds from this tax (and the fee) are forwarded to the City of Tucson.
Usage Information
Beginning in summer 2018, all customers will begin seeing their on- and off-peak usage in kilowatt-hours (KWH) and their on- and off-peak demand in kilowatts (KW). For customers who aren’t using a time-of-use or demand-based pricing plan, this data is for informational purposes only.
Time-of-use plans offer lower energy charges during most of the day and higher charges during on-peak hours. Demand plans combine lower usage-based rates with a “demand” charge based on your highest hour of usage during on-peak time periods.
The usage, or your measured consumption during the billing period in kilowatt-hours and/or kilowatts.
Program Promotions
This section promotes the awareness of programs and services that may interest you.
Account Details
In a blue box in the upper right corner, Account Details provides information about program enrollment. The word “Available” will appear if you are not participating in a program but could enroll.
With Auto Pay, have your monthly bill automatically deducted from your U.S. checking or savings account. No check to write and mail. No late fees or notices.
The GoSolar Shares program offers an easy and affordable way to meet your electric needs with locally generated solar power. With this program, you can purchase solar power in “shares” of 150 kilowatt-hours per month. You can buy some or all of your power through the program, offsetting the need for energy from conventional resources. Solar power “shares” are exempt from two surcharges applied to other electric usages: the Renewable Energy Standard Tariff and the PPFAC (Purchased Power and Fuel Adjustment Clause).
Contact Us and Ways to Pay
This section of your bill includes contact information for TEP and the ACC, ways you can report a power outage and the multiple ways that you can pay your bill.
The DSM Surcharge is a monthly, usage-based charge established by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to pay for cost-effective energy efficiency programs.
These ACC-approved programs can help residential and commercial customers use less energy and save on their monthly electric bills. Energy efficiency benefits all TEP customers by postponing or avoiding the need to build new generating resources and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, resulting in reduced air emissions and water usage.
The energy savings achieved through these programs help TEP work toward the goals in Arizona’s Energy Efficiency Standard, which calls on utilities to achieve cumulative energy savings of 22 percent by 2020.
For residential customers, the current DSM rate is set at $0.001916 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). For a residential customer with an average monthly usage of 860 kWh, this will result in a monthly charge of about $1.65.
For commercial customers, the current DSM rate is 1.97 percent of the total monthly bill before other charges, assessments and taxes.
Yes. Similar components are included in the electric rates of TEP's sister company, UniSource Energy Services, as well as in rates charged by Arizona Public Service and many other utilities.
The LFCR surcharge, approved in 2013 by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), will partly offset the revenue TEP loses when customers reduce their bills through our conservation and renewable energy programs. Without the charge, TEP would be unable to recover the full cost of system improvements that serve all customers, regardless of usage.
This surcharge adds an estimated $2.42 to the average monthly bill of a typical residential customer. That estimate reflects average monthly usage of 800 kilowatt-hours (kWh), so businesses and other customers who use more power will pay a higher LFCR fee.
Rooftop solar arrays, compact fluorescent light bulbs and efficient air conditioning systems have helped customers save money on their monthly electric bills. These savings limit TEP's ability to recover our service costs, including many “fixed” costs that aren't reduced when customers use less power.
Examples of fixed costs include power line repairs, metering expenses and the cost of installing and maintaining the electric grid. Our system covers more than 1,100 square miles and includes more than 2,000 megawatts of generating resources, more than 9,000 miles of underground and overhead power lines and more than 100 substations.
The LFCR will help ensure that the success of our energy efficiency and renewable power programs does not compromise our ability to cover our fixed service costs.
All residential, small general service and large general service customers are subject to the LFCR. Customers on traffic signal, street lighting, lighting service, water pumping and large light and power rate plans do not pay an LFCR charge because their rates already incorporate the recovery of fixed costs.
Under current rates, a residential customer with monthly usage of 800 kilowatt hours (kWh) would pay $95 in Delivery Service and Power Supply charges.
Estimated Percentage Adjustments
X
Applicable billing amount
=
Monthly LFCR surcharge amount
0.018071 (Energy Efficiency)
X
$95.36
$1.72
0.007363 (Renewable Energy)
X
$95.36
$0.70
Total LFCR charge
$2.42
By default, customer bills will be calculated using this method.
With this method, the LFCR is listed under “Surcharges” on your monthly bill and separated to show the amount recovered for energy efficiency and renewable energy requirements.
Yes. The LFCR will vary each month with individual usage, except for customers who select the fixed option. Additionally, the usage-based rate used to calculate the LFCR will be updated annually to reflect revised estimates of the revenue lost to energy efficiency and renewable power programs.
The ECA surcharge allows TEP to recover a portion of the expenses for improvements made at TEP’s power plants. These improvements are necessary to comply with environmental standards required by federal or other governmental agencies.
Typically, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) conducts an annual review of the ECA, approving a rate adjustment that takes effect in May and is used to calculate customer bills for 12 months.
The surcharge allows for timely and more gradual recovery of certain environmental compliance costs, mitigating the larger impact that would result from leaving those costs unrecovered until the next base rate increase approved by the ACC.
Learn About Your New Energy Bill
Use this interactive PDF to learn about your residential energy bill.
The DSM charge is a monthly, usage-based charge established by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to pay for cost-effective energy efficiency programs.
The Lost Fixed Cost Recovery (LFCR) charge, approved in 2013 by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), will partly offset the revenue TEP loses when customers reduce their bills through our conservation and renewable energy programs.
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