Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

8. Commitments and Contingencies

Legal Contingencies

From time to time, TEC and its subsidiaries are involved in various legal, tax and regulatory proceedings before various courts, regulatory commissions and governmental agencies in the ordinary course of business. Where appropriate, accruals are made in accordance with accounting standards for contingencies to provide for matters that are probable of resulting in an estimable loss.

Superfund and Former Manufactured Gas Plant Sites

As of December 31, 2023, TEC, through its Tampa Electric division and former PGS division, was a PRP for certain superfund sites and, through its former PGS division, for certain former MGP sites. As a result of the separation of the PGS division, PGS is now the responsible party for those sites (in addition to third party PRPs for certain sites). See Note 1 to the 2023 Annual TEC Consolidated Financial Statements for information regarding the separation of PGS from TEC.

Long-Term Commitments

TEC has commitments for various purchases as disclosed below, including payment obligations for capital projects, such as Tampa Electric’s solar projects (see Note 3), and contractual agreements for fuel, fuel transportation and power purchases that are recovered from customers under regulatory clauses. The following is a schedule of future payments under minimum lease payments with non-cancelable lease terms in excess of one year and other net purchase obligations/commitments at December 31, 2023:


	Purchased				Capital		Fuel and Gas		Long-term Service		Operating		Demand Side
(millions)	Power		Transportation		Projects		Supply		Agreements		Leases		Management		Total
Year ended December 31:
2024	$	4	$	135	$	533	$	194	$	34	$	3	$	5	$	908
2025		0		128		81		60		22		3		5		299
2026		0		125		53		17		23		1		1		220
2027		0		125		1		4		22		1		1		154
2028		0		97		0		1		17		1		0		116
Thereafter		0		833		0		0		33		75		0		941
Total future minimum payments	$	4	$	1,443	$	668	$	276	$	151	$	84	$	12	$	2,638

Financial Covenants

TEC must meet certain financial tests, including a debt to capital ratio, as defined in the applicable debt agreements. TEC has certain restrictive covenants in specific agreements and debt instruments. At December 31, 2023 and 2022, TEC was in compliance with all required financial covenants.