Bianca Sanchez, bianca.sanchez@sierraclub.org
TAMPA, FL. -- Tampa Electric Company (TECO) has received its second consecutive failing grade, according to the Sierra Club’s 2024 Dirty Truth Report. Despite promising Tampa residents a “clean energy future that will better protect your health and our planet,” TECO’s score has worsened since last year’s report, dropping seven points from a 14 out of 100 to a measly seven.
The Sierra Club’s annual Dirty Truth Report, now in its fourth iteration, analyzes the plans of 75 utilities in the U.S. and assigns scores and grades based on three criteria: plans to retire polluting coal plants by 2030, whether they plan to build new gas power plants through 2035, and the scale of their plans to develop clean energy through 2035.
TECO’s failing grade is due to its continued reliance on fossil fuels for power. This includes its transition from coal to methane gas at the Big Bend Generating Station, plus plans to add 535 MW of new gas power by 2035. Currently, TECO is also operating two uneconomical coal plants — Big Bend Unit 4 and Polk Unit 1 — that burn coal that endangers public health.
“TECO has again failed Tampa Bay with its reckless dependence on fossil fuel energy sources,” said Walter Smith, Tampa Bay Organizing Representative. “Coal and gas endanger the health and safety of our community. Continuing to build more gas infrastructure and delaying real movement toward clean energy development and coal retirements only worsens the climate crisis.”
Although clean energy is less expensive than 99 percent of existing coal and new gas generation, only 20 of the 75 utilities have plans to be entirely coal-free by 2030. The utilities in the report are also planning to build 93 GW of new gas capacity through 2035. The amount of planned gas per year is higher than in any previous version of our report, indicating a troubling trend among these utilities.
Still, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 continues to reduce the cost of clean energy while creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. Wind and solar energy overtook coal in power generation through the first half of 2024 and are expected to continue their progress for the rest of the year, a major milestone for the power sector. But many utilities are lagging behind, deploying wind and solar too slowly while hanging on to dirty, expensive coal plants.
Utilities scored an overall grade of 'D,' or 29 out of 100, in the report, only improving their overall score by 12 points since 2021, the first year Sierra Club conducted the analysis. In an interactive webpage, users can see their utility’s score and what progress–if any–the utility has made toward transitioning to cleaner, more affordable energy since the first version of the report in 2021.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.