The city of St. Pete is moving forward with plans to study the feasibility of a municipal electric utility program that would replace Duke Energy.
Council members Gina Driscoll, Lisset Hanewicz and Mike Harting voted “no.”
The city’s contract with Duke Energy expires next year, leading to city officials considering their options, including whether to renew the Duke contract, or start fresh.
There had been some reluctance to conduct its own study, with some Council members instead favoring waiting on results from another study in Clearwater evaluating a similar scenario. Hanewicz said during Thursday’s meeting that a St. Pete feasibility study would be “putting the cart before the horse.” She argued the results from Clearwater’s study, ordered last Summer, would provide plenty of fodder for robust conversation about the city’s options.
But a majority of the board believed a feasibility study would do no harm, with several saying it was about education.
“The step we’re taking right now costs us nothing,” City Council member Brandi Gabbard said, noting that it would still be up to Mayor Ken Welch’s administration to put out a Request for Proposals (RFP). Even then, the City Council would still have the authority to approve or deny responses. She also said waiting on Clearwater’s study would take too long.
Despite the vote approving a resolution asking the Welch administration for a feasibility study, Council members were not necessarily sold on creating a municipal utility.
“Dump Duke is not my perspective,” said Council member Deborah Figgs-Sanders, echoing a resident who spoke during public comment.
And Council member Corey Givens Jr., even though he voted for the feasibility study and had some less than flattering remarks for Duke, reminded that getting rid of the energy giant might not necessarily provide the relief residents are looking for, at least not in any reasonable time frame.
“Our consumers are hurting at the pockets, and I’m one of them — $450 was my bill yesterday, the highest bill I have ever received, and I was disgusted,” he said. “They want help now.”
The city of Clearwater’s contract with Duke ends this year, prompting its City Council last year to order its own feasibility study. Duke Energy, in May, offered its own study, warning Clearwater and its residents that acquiring its infrastructure would cost between $1.13 billion and $1.52 billion. It also made clear its property was not for sale.
St. Pete’s legal team told Council members that since Duke would not be a willing seller, the city would have to pursue eminent domain, which would likely set up a protracted legal battle.
The conversation is heating up because Duke Energy’s agreement with the city is expiring soon. But there has been an ongoing debate for years about whether the city should create its own public utility rather than using the for-profit electric utility giant Duke. Members of the public have been showing up in recent months to City Council meetings urging members to move forward with a public utility, citing soaring electric bills, poor service and a lack of transparency.
One speaker Thursday claimed Duke’s negligence caused a fire at her home, and claimed it led to her family being homeless and her being disfigured. But she said Duke never took accountability and regulatory agencies have done nothing.
She was among several residents who spoke during public comment in favor of establishing — or at least considering — a public utility. Kasi Gonzalez, a resident who is also reigning Ms. Black United States, shared how she once had to request a payment extension from Duke Energy because, without it, she would be forced to determine whether to feed herself and her family, or have her electric turned off.
“Yes this is difficult, but nothing worth having is easy,” she said about the decision, adding that the city should “dump Duke and stand with the people you represent.”
Resident Mellina Fortunato was even more direct in her criticism of Duke, arguing the company lacks reliability and isn’t focused on long-term sustainability.
“The city can do better,” she said, lamenting her belief that Duke is shelving the needs of the community in favor of lining shareholder’s pockets. “We have the power to take things in our own hands.”
One speaker pointed out that the item was not a decision on Duke’s contract, but rather a request for more information so a decision could be made considering all the facts.
The resolution approved Thursday is based on conversations from a Health, Energy, Resilience and Sustainability Committee meeting last month. It asks Welch’s administration to “issue a request for proposal for a municipal electric utility feasibility study.” Such an RFP would require City Council approval before a contract is awarded to a bidder.
The study would evaluate the city’s existing electrical grid, including options for renewable energy sources.
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