Top Tier — Florida Battery Sales Reference

TECO (Tampa Electric) · Tampa Bay & West-Central Florida

Sales reference for reps working Tampa Electric territory. This is the deep reference — how to sell it up top, full utility detail below. TECO serves roughly 840,000 customers across Hillsborough County and parts of Polk, Pasco, and Pinellas — Tampa proper, the biggest volume market in west-central Florida. The TECO story is a documented bill progression (roughly $148 to $162 to $167 at 1,000 kWh across 2025–2027), a storm surcharge that visibly rolls OFF bills around August 2026 (a ~$20 drop we volunteer — it proves the storm-cost mechanism better than any threat could), the Milton anchor (about 600,000 TECO customers out — 70% of the system), and net metering that is intact and PSC-protected. One precision point that separates TECO from FPL and Duke: there is NO $30 minimum bill here — TECO has a fixed $32.10 monthly Basic Service Charge that every customer pays regardless. Different mechanics, and getting it right matters. The battery here is a rate hedge, a hurricane backup, and a takeover.

What kind of market this is

TECO is a protected 1:1 net-metering market with a documented bill progression, an honest storm-surcharge story, and the Milton anchor — the battery is a hedge, a hurricane backup, and a takeover. Five defining facts:

1. Net metering is intact, protected, and PSC-guaranteed. Florida's Rule 25-6.065 gives TECO residential solar customers full retail 1:1 monthly netting (Schedule NM-1), excess rolling forward, with the annual true-up read in December (leftover kWh cashed at the COG-1 avoided-cost rate — not retail). Residential ≤10 kW is Tier 1: no interconnection fee or insurance requirement. TECO's 2024 base-rate case (Docket 20240026-EI, settled February 2025) changed no net-metering terms, and SB 1024 — the sunset bill — was vetoed: no sunset exists.
2. NO $30 minimum bill — and precision here is a credibility test. Unlike FPL and Duke, TECO has no minimum-bill floor. What it has is a fixed $32.10/month Basic Service Charge that every customer pays regardless of usage — solar, battery, or neither. Different mechanics: a floor clamps a low bill up; a fixed charge simply never goes away. Say it right, volunteer it, and never imply anything reduces it.
3. The bill progression is documented — and so is the drop. A typical 1,000-kWh bill runs roughly $148 (2025) → $162 (2026) → $167 (2027). And here's the part we volunteer: a temporary storm-restoration surcharge rolls off around August 2026, dropping the typical bill about $20 — a rider ending, not a base-rate cut. Telling the customer their bill is about to drop is the honest move, and it proves the mechanism: storms land on TECO bills as riders, in real dollars, and the next season loads the next one.
4. Milton is the anchor. October 2024: about 600,000 TECO customers out — roughly 70% of the system — the event driving that very surcharge. Ian (2022): ~291,000. Irma (2017): ~425,000. Grid-tied solar shut off in every one of them.
5. No battery program. TECO has no battery rebate or VPP. Prime Time Plus is enrollable demand response (~$21/mo in credits) — but it's HVAC/water-heater/pool load control and explicitly excludes batteries. No program income to promise.

Your lead is Milton + the progression, with the surcharge rolloff as the credibility play. Every TECO customer lived Milton — 70% of the system went dark. The bill progression is documented through 2027, and volunteering the ~$20 August 2026 drop makes you the rep who tells the truth about bills going down, which earns the right to be believed about everything else. Net metering is reassurance; the $32.10 fixed charge is the honest mechanics point.

Default configuration: backup-capable is the strong default — this is hurricane country.

• Backup-capable: $18,500 cash / $23,942 financed / ~$228/mo
• Self-consumption-only: $17,000 cash / $22,068 financed / ~$210/mo

Confirm pricing and configuration in the tool before quoting.

PART A — The Pitch (Problem → Solution → Urgency → Close)

The spine is multiple beats per section: customer headline + statement + rep layer (+ objection where noted). Beats marked (BACKUP ONLY) render only for backup config; beats with Self-consumption:/Backup: branches swap the customer line by config.

The Problem

Your bill is on a documented path — up through 2027, with one honest drop along the way. A typical Tampa Electric bill at 1,000 kilowatt-hours runs about $148 this cycle, heading to roughly $162 next year and $167 the year after. And here's the part most salespeople wouldn't tell you: around August 2026 your bill actually drops about $20, as the storm surcharge from the 2024 season rolls off. That drop is the proof of the pattern — storms land on your bill as riders, and the next big season loads the next one. Your solar offsets your usage, but every kilowatt-hour you still buy rides that path.

Rep layer: The TECO opener — progression + volatility, told straight: ~$148 (2025) → ~$162 (2026) → ~$167 (2027) at 1,000 kWh; all-in ~15.9¢ components; the temporary storm surcharge ends ~Aug 2026 (typical bill drops ~$20 — a rider rolling off, NOT a base cut; VOLUNTEER it, the honesty is the pitch). Rate case Docket 20240026-EI settled Feb 2025 — no NEM change. Fixed Basic Service Charge $32.10/mo. Objection — "My solar covers my bill." It offsets usage — the $32.10 charge stays regardless — and it doesn't shield the price of what you still buy, and it's worth nothing in a hurricane outage.

Your system is orphaned. Whoever installed your solar is likely gone, merged, or unreachable — especially after so many installers folded when the federal tax credit expired at the end of 2025. If something goes wrong, there's no one accountable. You own the system and the risk.

Rep layer: Standard orphaned-system beat. Ask who installed it and whether they'd answer a service call. Objection — "My installer's still around." Would they answer within a week, and cover it?

Your inverter is on the clock. Your inverter is several years old. When it fails out of warranty, that's about $3,500 to $5,000 out of pocket — and your system produces nothing until it's replaced, typically 4 to 8 weeks.

Rep layer: Standard inverter beat. SolarEdge ~12-yr warranty, real failure 8–15 yrs; Enphase 25-yr, real issues 10–20. Objection — "Still under warranty." Good — until it isn't, and then it's $3,500–5,000.

(BACKUP ONLY) When the hurricane comes, your solar shuts off with the grid — and Milton proved it here. Anti-islanding is a safety cutoff: in an outage, your panels produce nothing — even under a clear post-storm sky. Milton put six hundred thousand Tampa Electric customers in the dark — seventy percent of the system. A battery keeps your critical systems running, and with sun, it recharges through a multi-day restoration.

Rep layer: Renders ONLY for backup config. TECO anchors (all documented): Milton 2024 — ~600K out at peak, ~70% of the system (the marquee — and the event behind the storm surcharge on their bill: connect the two, it's the same story on two surfaces); Ian 2022 — ~291K; Irma 2017 — ~425K. Idalia/Helene TECO counts unpublished — no numbers. Objection — "TECO restores fast." Restoration after Milton still ran days for much of the system — fast restoration isn't no restoration, and someone's street is last.

The Solution

A battery hedges the progression and keeps the lights on when the grid can't. Stores your daytime solar and uses it at night instead of buying at TECO's rate — so as the progression steps land, more of your power comes from your panels at a locked cost.

• Self-consumption: "As the progression steps land, your battery leans on your own stored solar instead of buying at the new rate."
• Backup: "Hedges the climb the same way — and it's the difference between a hurricane outage and a hurricane inconvenience."

Monthly Cost Chart and Net Bill Breakdown render here.

Rep layer: First cure beat. TECO residential is full 1:1, so the mechanism is "maximize self-supply against a rising rate," NOT a spread play (exports already earn retail within the year; only December excess cashes at COG-1 avoided cost — oversizing for export is low-value). The documented engine: the $148→$162→$167 progression. MODELING PRECISION: there is NO bill floor at TECO — do not clamp; the $32.10 Basic Service Charge is simply a fixed line every bill carries (the tool models it as the fixed charge). No TECO battery program — the value is the hedge + hurricane backup, not income.

(BACKUP ONLY) It keeps your home running when the grid goes down. Powers your essentials — refrigerator, A/C circulation, well pump, medical devices, connectivity — through an outage, and with Florida sun, recharges to carry you through a multi-day restoration.

Rep layer: The resilience cure beat. Size expectations honestly (essentials, not necessarily whole-home indefinite; A/C load management matters in Florida heat — set expectations on cooling honestly).

We take it over. Top Tier becomes the single point of contact for your entire system — a new 10-year workmanship warranty, the 5-year Align Solar Protection contract ($0 deductible, non-transferable), and manufacturer warranty coordination.

Rep layer: Answers the orphaned-system problem. Transfers: workmanship with written consent; Align non-transferable; manufacturer per OEM terms.

Thousands you don't pay. The $11K+ Hidden Costs Avoided bundle — built into the takeover, not sold as extras.

Rep layer: Reframes total cost. "Your payment buys the battery plus warranty plus service plus inverter-replacement coverage — over $11K of value."

And your net metering stays exactly what it is — protected, with the honest mechanics. Your 1:1 net metering is PSC rule, nothing is filed to change it, and the fixed part of your bill — the $32.10 monthly service charge — is something no solar or battery reduces, so we build it into your numbers instead of hiding it. A battery maximizes the value of the net metering you have and keeps you independent no matter what.

Rate Justification + Own vs Rent render here.

Rep layer: Ties to the grandfathering section. TECO residential = full retail 1:1 (Schedule NM-1, Rule 25-6.065), PROTECTED — the Feb 2025 rate-case settlement changed no NEM terms, and SB 1024 (the sunset bill) was VETOED — no sunset exists; both are history/reassurance items, never live threats (same discipline as HB 741). Volunteer the $32.10 fixed-charge mechanics before the customer finds it. 25-yr scenarios: conservative 4%, moderate 6%, aggressive 8% — anchor near-term to the documented progression AND the honest Aug-2026 drop. Objection — "Rates might not climb." The progression through 2027 is documented — and even the drop proves the storm-rider mechanism.

What you actually own. The savings hero — combined value: the rate hedge + hurricane resilience + protected net metering + the takeover bundle.

• Self-consumption: "Hedges TECO's progression and maximizes your net metering. Does not provide backup — ask about the upgrade."
• Backup: "Does all of that, plus keeps your critical loads running through a hurricane restoration."

Rep layer: TECO combined value = Milton resilience (the lead) + progression hedge + protected net metering + takeover. No VPP income to promise (Prime Time Plus explicitly excludes batteries). No-backup disclosure fires ONLY for self-consumption config.

Urgency

The honest clocks — settled increases and hurricane season, not manufactured deadlines.

The rate clock. The progression lands on a schedule — roughly $162 next year, $167 the year after — and the next hurricane season's rider starts loading the moment the season starts. Every month you wait is a month riding the path with no hedge.

Rep layer: The honest TECO urgency — the progression is documented and the surcharge cycle is proven (by its own rolloff). Don't manufacture a net-metering deadline (none exists — no filing, and both vetoed bills are history).

The hurricane clock. Season runs June through November, every year. A battery installed before the next storm is protection; one ordered after landfall is a backorder. Installation isn't instant — the right time is before the season, not during the cone of uncertainty.

Rep layer: The strongest FL urgency and it's fully honest — Irma/Ian/Milton are lived memory in this territory. Factual, not fear-mongering: the pitch is preparedness.

System aging. Your inverter is aging toward its failure window. The longer you wait, the closer you get to an out-of-warranty replacement at $3,500–5,000 with no service relationship to handle it.

Rep layer: Universal urgency beat.

The Close

1. Verify credit + confirm configuration. Run the credit check and confirm the backup/self-consumption configuration.
2. Customer reads and signs the service agreement. Walk through the disclosures honestly — including the $32.10 fixed service charge (not a minimum bill — nothing reduces it), that their net metering is protected (no cliff, nothing filed, both rollback bills vetoed), and that there's no federal tax credit anymore.
3. Complete the Welcome Call. Finalizes the sale and sets expectations for installation.

Standing Rules (Do NOT Violate)

• ❌ NEVER coach reps to disqualify based on home tenure. Resale story is real — not "walk away."
• ❌ NEVER claim "all warranties transfer." Workmanship: with written consent. Align: non-transferable. Manufacturer: per OEM terms.
• ❌ NEVER fabricate inspection findings.
• ❌ NEVER quote a bill-reduction factor as a guarantee.
• ❌ NEVER quote a REP buyback rate as fixed/guaranteed — plan-dependent, confirm the customer's actual plan.
• ❌ 85+ confirmation call required. Customer confirms own finances, no POA, sound mind.
• ❌ Financing ends before age 91. 75 → 15-year max. 80 → 10-year max.
• ❌ Honest cancellation window. Overselling = free customer exit + $1K–$1.5K clawback.
• ❌ Certified before selling.

Go get the sale. A battery is a strong product — clean energy, independence, backup, long-term savings, and in Texas real VPP income. A customer who wants one for any honest reason is a good sale. We never walk away over price or low savings — that's the customer's call. Do right by the customer, protect the company, be honest.

PART B — The Deep Reference

1. Orientation

• Utility: Tampa Electric (TECO) — Emera. Regulated by the Florida PSC.
• Territory: Hillsborough County plus parts of Polk, Pasco, and Pinellas — roughly 840,000 customers. Territory interleaves with Duke, Lakeland Electric, and PRECO — verify by the bill header.
• Market type: Protected 1:1 net metering (Schedule NM-1 / Rule 25-6.065) + documented $148→$162→$167 progression + the honest Aug-2026 surcharge rolloff + the Milton anchor. Fixed $32.10 Basic Service Charge (NOT a minimum bill). No battery program.
• Default config: backup-capable ($18,500 / $23,942 / ~$228); self-consumption ($17,000 / $22,068 / ~$210).

2. How the TECO Bill Works

1. Energy: ~15.9¢/kWh in combined components, plus the temporary storm surcharge (ends ~August 2026 — the ~$20 drop). Fixed Basic Service Charge $32.10/mo. A typical 1,000-kWh bill runs ~$148–152 this cycle, on a documented path to ~$162 (2026) and ~$167 (2027).
2. Net metering: full retail 1:1 monthly netting (Schedule NM-1 / Rule 25-6.065) — exports offset usage at retail, excess rolls forward, annual true-up read in December with leftover kWh cashed at the COG-1 avoided-cost rate, not retail. Tier 1 (≤10 kW): no fee, no insurance.
3. The fixed charge — not a floor: the $32.10 Basic Service Charge appears on every bill regardless of usage or solar. There is no minimum-bill clamp at TECO; projections model the fixed charge as-is and never imply anything reduces it.

Why this matters for the pitch: the December true-up at COG-1 means banked excess beyond the year is nearly worthless — the battery's job is self-supply against the progression, not export banking. And the $32.10 fixed charge is the honest mechanics point: it survives every configuration, and saying so first is a credibility play.

3. Net Energy Metering — Protected, With the Honest Mechanics

TECO residential net metering is intact, PSC-guaranteed, and nothing is filed to change it. The $32.10 fixed charge is the honest mechanics point — volunteer it, and say it precisely.

• What customers have: full retail 1:1 (Schedule NM-1 / Rule 25-6.065), monthly rollover, December true-up at COG-1 avoided cost. Tier 1 (≤10 kW): no fee, no insurance requirement.
• The fixed charge (not a floor): $32.10/month Basic Service Charge, paid by every customer regardless of usage. This is NOT a minimum bill — FPL and Duke have $30 floors that clamp low bills upward; TECO simply has a fixed line item that never goes away. A rep who calls it a "minimum bill" is wrong in a checkable way; a rep who explains the difference sounds like they've read the tariff — because they have.
• The vetoed-bill history (if raised): HB 741 (2022, vetoed) and SB 1024 (the sunset bill — also vetoed) are both dead. Nothing filed since; TECO's own Feb 2025 rate-case settlement changed no NEM terms. The rep move: "Florida's tried twice and both bills were vetoed — nothing is pending, and TECO's own latest rate case left net metering untouched. The fixed part of your bill is the $32.10 service charge, which nothing reduces — and I build that in instead of hoping you don't notice."
• See the "Net Metering & Grandfathering Status" section for the cited detail; the flag for TECO is PROTECTED.

4. Rate Reality + Why Rates Climb

What's driving TECO rates (named forward drivers):

1. The documented progression. ~$148 → ~$162 → ~$167 (2025→2027) — settled rate case (20240026-EI, Feb 2025).
2. The storm-rider cycle — proven by its own rolloff. Milton's restoration became the surcharge that rolls off in August 2026 (~$20). The mechanism is the story: every bad season becomes a rider, and Tampa Bay sits in the crosshairs.
3. Growth + hardening capital flowing into base rates each cycle.

Documented vs. speculation (say this right):

• ✅ "Your bill path is documented — about $162 next year, $167 the year after — and it drops about $20 in August when the storm rider rolls off" (documented; volunteer the drop)
• ✅ "The $32.10 service charge is fixed — every customer pays it, and nothing reduces it, including us" (mechanics, said precisely)
• ✅ "Florida's tried twice — HB 741 and the sunset bill — and both were vetoed; TECO's own rate case left net metering untouched" (history, framed as history)
• ❌ "Your bill will be $X by 2035" (speculation)
• ❌ Calling the $32.10 charge a "minimum bill" (checkably wrong — it's a fixed charge; there is no floor at TECO)
• ❌ "They're coming for your net metering" (false — nothing is filed)

5. Incentives & Programs

• Battery program: none. TECO has no residential battery rebate, VPP, or pilot. Prime Time Plus is enrollable demand response (~$21/mo in credits) — HVAC, water-heater, and pool load control that explicitly excludes batteries; mention only if asked, and never as battery income.
• Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025. Never quote 30%.
• Florida tax treatment: solar property-tax exclusion and sales-tax exemption are long-standing Florida law for residential solar; the battery rides in as part of the system where installed with solar — confirm current treatment at close rather than promising battery-specific exemptions.
• No state credit, no state rebate in TECO territory. The value is the hedge + resilience + takeover — not program income.

6. System Rescue Value — The System Takeover

This applies to any customer with existing solar — and it's identical across every Top Tier market. These are takeover facts, not TX-specific.

The Orphaned Solar Customer Problem. Many Texas solar customers installed during the 2019–2024 growth years and now face:

• An original installer that's gone out of business, been acquired, or stopped servicing residential (especially common after the federal tax credit expired Dec 2025)
• A 10-year workmanship warranty that's unenforceable (installer is gone)
• An inverter approaching or past typical failure windows
• No service relationship, and most companies refuse to service systems they didn't install

The Inverter Failure Reality. Inverters are the weakest link. Panels last 25–30 years; the inverter fails much sooner.

• SolarEdge string inverters: 8–15 years (12-yr standard warranty)
• Enphase microinverters: 10–20 years (25-yr warranty)
• Industry-wide: 70–90% of systems experience inverter failure within the panel lifespan
• When it fails on an orphaned system: production stops, bills jump to full retail, most providers won't quote it, out-of-pocket replacement is $3,500–5,000, and the customer is down 4–8 weeks.

What Top Tier's takeover provides (formalized through a Service Warranty Agreement with a brand-new 10-year Limited Workmanship and Roof Penetration Warranty):

• A new 10-year Top Tier workmanship warranty (regardless of system age)
• Manufacturer warranty claim handling (Top Tier chases the claim + labor, not the customer)
• Inverter replacement coverage when it fails within manufacturer warranty (customer pays nothing for the work)
• Single point of contact; monitoring setup help; performance verification at inspection

The $11K System Takeover Bundle (the exact 5-tile bundle on the proposal):

How to use it: "On top of the bill math, you're picking up over $11K of bundled services that aren't sold separately. If your inverter fails in year 12, the warranty handling alone is worth a few hundred; the replacement coordination saves $3–5K; the Align contract is $1,500 you'd otherwise pay. It adds up."

Align Solar Protection — the terms (get these right):

• 5-year term, $0 deductible, insurance-backed by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, non-transferable to subsequent owners.
• Covers: mechanical breakdown of existing PV (panels, inverters/optimizers, racking) — parts, labor, service calls.
• Does NOT cover: the new battery (own warranty), wear-and-tear, weather/hail, pre-existing conditions, roof issues.
• Age limits: panels/microinverters under 15 years; string/central inverters under 7 years. Not every system fully qualifies — disclose at inspection.
• It's ONE of three layers: (1) equipment manufacturer warranties, (2) Top Tier's 10-yr workmanship, (3) the 5-yr Align contract. Never call it "full coverage."
• NEVER say: "Everything's covered" / "never worry again" / "Align is your full coverage" / "you can extend beyond 5 years" / "Align transfers when you sell."

Quantifying the rescue value:

This is independent of bill savings — the rescue alone can be worth $4,000–7,500.

7. Outage Reality — Hurricane Resilience in TECO Territory

Why outages happen here. Tampa Bay sits in the crosshairs, and Milton proved it:

• Milton (October 2024): about 600,000 TECO customers out at peak — roughly 70% of the system. The marquee anchor — and the event behind the storm surcharge on every bill (same story, two surfaces: connect them).
• Irma (September 2017): ~425,000 out. Ian (2022): ~291,000.
• Three major events across the record; Idalia and Helene TECO-specific counts weren't published — no numbers.
• Restoration is genuinely competent — and 70% of a system dark is still days for much of it, and someone's street is last.

What a battery does — and the honest mechanism. Grid-tied solar shuts off automatically in an outage (anti-islanding), so a solar-only customer has no power even under a clear post-storm sky. A battery with backup keeps essential loads running — refrigerator, medical devices, connectivity, fans and circulation in the heat — and recharges from solar through a multi-day restoration.

How to pitch it honestly: don't promise whole-home A/C for a week. "A battery keeps your essentials running through the restoration — and in this territory, everyone lived Milton. Seventy percent of the system went dark, and it's the same storm you're still paying for on the rider."

8. Hidden Costs Avoided / What You Own vs What You Rent

• What you rent: grid power on a documented path to ~$167, with a $32.10 fixed charge on every bill — and nothing when the hurricane takes the grid down.
• What you own (with the battery): your production, stored and used against the settled climb; backup for the storm; and full-retail value on everything you net under protected 1:1 rules.
• Hidden costs avoided: the $11K takeover bundle + exposure to the settled climb + the cost of every hurricane restoration (spoiled food, hotel nights, generator fuel).

9. Battery Products

• Backup config (default — hurricane country): Tesla Powerwall 3 (13.5 kWh; Redline: $20,500), FranklinWH aPower 2 (15 kWh; Redline: $20,500). Not compatible with HDM.

• Self-consumption config: Enphase IQ 5P (10 kWh; Redline: $15,500 SC / $17,600 BU), SolarEdge Home Battery (9.7 kWh usable; Redline: $14,500 SC / $16,000 BU), SolarEdge Nexis (self-consumption only pending crew backup training; Redline: $15,500 SC).

• TECO takeaway: backup is the natural default — Milton makes the case. Confirm config in the tool.

• Financing terms vary by lender — price deals through the proposal tool.

10. Objection Handling

Universal objections (swap in TECO figures) + Florida-specific objections.

"Didn't Florida already try to kill net metering?" (FL-specific — the history answer)

"Twice, actually — the 2022 rollback bill and the sunset bill — and both were vetoed. Nothing has been filed since, and Tampa Electric's own rate case last year left net metering completely untouched. Your 1:1 netting is a Public Service Commission rule and it's unchanged. Here's the honest mechanics of your bill instead: thirty-two dollars and ten cents a month is a fixed service charge every customer pays — solar, battery, or neither — and I build that in instead of hoping you don't notice it."

"My solar covers my bill — why add a battery?" (FL-specific — the fixed-charge-and-storm reframe)

"It offsets your usage — the $32.10 service charge stays no matter what, and I'll never pretend otherwise. What it can't do is shield the price of what you still buy — your bill path is documented to about $167 by next year — and it produces exactly nothing during a hurricane outage. Ask anyone who was here for Milton: seventy percent of this system went dark. A battery does both."

"Why is my bill going DOWN in August? Should I just wait?" (TECO-specific — the honest-drop answer)

"Great catch, and I'm glad you asked me instead of a billboard. That drop is the 2024 storm surcharge rolling off — Milton's restoration, paid off. It's a rider ending, not a rate cut: your base path still runs to about $167 next year, and the next big season loads the next rider. The drop doesn't change the math on a battery — it proves the mechanism the battery hedges against."

"Does the battery earn me money through a program?" (TECO-specific — honest no-program)

"Not at Tampa Electric — their demand-response program pays about $21 a month, but it's for HVAC, water heaters, and pools, and it explicitly excludes batteries. I won't quote you a check that doesn't exist. Your value is the rate hedge, hurricane backup, and getting the most from net metering that's already protected."

"Why is the loan more than the system price?"

"The cash price is $17,000–18,500 depending on config. Service Finance adds dealer fees bringing the financed amount to about $22,068–23,942. Cash or a HELOC is cheaper if that's an option. Florida has no state credit and the federal credit expired — the value is the hedge, the hurricane backup, and the takeover, not a discount."

"What if I sell the house?"

"Resale asset — your closing equity pays off the loan, and the new owner inherits a fully-owned system with hurricane backup, which in this state is a listing feature. Top Tier's 10-year workmanship warranty transfers with written consent; the Align contract is non-transferable."

11. DO SAY / NEVER SAY

12. Required Disclosures

1. ☐ Savings are estimates; TECO rates change through PSC proceedings (documented progression through 2027; temporary storm surcharge ends ~August 2026, reducing the typical bill ~$20) — verify against current rates.
2. ☐ Residential net metering is full retail 1:1 under Schedule NM-1 / Rule 25-6.065 and unchanged; no proceeding to change it is pending. Annual true-up is read in December with excess credited at the COG-1 avoided-cost rate, not retail.
3. ☐ TECO has no minimum bill; the $32.10 monthly Basic Service Charge is a fixed charge paid by all customers regardless of usage, and no product reduces it.
4. ☐ TECO has no residential battery program, VPP, or rebate (Prime Time Plus excludes batteries); no program income is quoted or included in projections.
5. ☐ No federal ITC after 12/31/2025; no Florida state credit or rebate.
6. ☐ Align Solar Protection is non-transferable; workmanship warranty transfer requires written consent; manufacturer warranties transfer per OEM terms. Align coverage is contingent on inspection + age limits (panels <15 yr, inverters <7 yr).
7. ☐ Backup duration depends on system sizing and load; whole-home air conditioning through a multi-day outage is not implied.
8. ☐ Pricing confirmed in the tool before commitment.

13. Quick-Reference Numbers (dated — confirm before quoting)

• Net metering: full retail 1:1, protected (Schedule NM-1 / Rule 25-6.065); true-up December, excess at COG-1 avoided cost
• Fixed charge: $32.10/mo Basic Service Charge — NOT a minimum bill; no floor exists (precision is a credibility test)
• Bill path: ~$148 (2025) → ~$162 (2026) → ~$167 (2027) @1,000 kWh (~15.9¢ components); storm surcharge ends ~Aug 2026 → bill drops ~$20 — VOLUNTEER IT
• Rate case: 20240026-EI settled Feb 2025 — no NEM change | Vetoed bills: HB 741 + SB 1024 — both dead, history only
• Battery program: none (Prime Time Plus ~$21/mo DR — batteries excluded) | Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025
• Inverter replacement out-of-pocket: $3,500–5,000 | Takeover bundle: ~$11,800
• Default config: backup $18,500 / self-consumption $17,000
• Customers: ~840,000 (interleaves Duke/Lakeland/PRECO — verify by bill header) | Storm anchors: Milton 2024 — ~600K (~70% of system, the marquee); Irma 2017 — ~425K; Ian 2022 — ~291K (Idalia/Helene: no published TECO counts)

14. Sell Hard, Sell Honest — the standing rules

• Volunteer the August drop AND the fixed-charge mechanics — telling a customer their bill goes down, and that nothing reduces the $32.10, is the credibility that earns the rest of the pitch.
• Never call the $32.10 a "minimum bill" — it's a fixed charge; there is no floor at TECO. FPL and Duke have floors; precision here is a checkable competency.
• Both vetoed bills are history — HB 741 and the sunset bill; never live threats.
• Milton is the anchor and the surcharge is its receipt — same story, two surfaces; connect them.
• Never imply TECO pays battery income — Prime Time Plus excludes batteries.
• Never quote the federal ITC (expired).