February 20, 2019 - Tampa Electric burned 1.6 million st of coal in 2018, down 30% from 2.3 million st burned in 2017, the company said Tuesday.

In a quarterly earnings statement, the Florida-based utility said its coal generation mix fell to 15% in 2018, down from 24% in 2017 and 38% in 2016. Natural gas rose to 82% in 2018, up from 69% in 2017.

"Generation sources were impacted by running Big Bend Power Station units 1 and 2 on natural gas for all of 2018, rather than on coal as in prior years," the statement said.

Tampa Electric expects to burn 800,000 st of coal in 2019.

The utility bought roughly 80% of its coal under contracts with six suppliers, with the remaining 20% of purchases in the spot market.

In 2019, Tampa Electric expects to buy 100% of its coal requirements under contracts with two suppliers. According to data from the US Energy Information Administration, purchases between June and November 2018 came from Knight Hawk Coal and Western Kentucky Consolidated Resources, a subsidiary of Murray Energy.

Average delivered fuel cost for coal was $3.37/MMBtu in 2018, up from $3.30/MMBtu in 2017, while gas was at $4.07/MMBtu, also up from $4.01/MMBtu a year earlier, according to the company.

"Despite the request for a fuel rate adjustment, total 2019 fuel and purchased power costs are still expected to be less than incurred during 2018, which will be achieved through the increased use of gas-fired generation and cost-effective energy purchases," the statement said.

By 2023, Tampa Electric's fuel mix is expected to be 75% natural gas, 12% coal, 7% solar and 6% other sources.