‘With this decision the city of Clearwater has put the taxpayers first. It is our hope that the City of St. Petersburg will similarly reach the same conclusion.’
A plan by the city of Clearwater to buy Duke Energy’s Florida electric distribution assets to establish a local utility which was abandoned last week is drawing support from one of the foremost government watchdog groups in the state.
Florida TaxWatch is now advising nearby St. Petersburg to forget any similar proposal in that Gulf Coast city.
TaxWatch officials issued a critique of the Clearwater proposal and warned the city’s feasibility study on the Duke acquisition “relies on optimistic assumptions that significantly understate legal, financial and operational risks.” Clearwater officials agreed to stick with Duke’s energy supplies Thursday and abandoned any consideration for an acquisition.
It’s a 30-year agreement with Duke replaces an original deal that expired in December.
As TaxWatch was critical of the proposal earlier this year, officials with the organization said they were relieved Clearwater officials got rid of any acquisition plan.
“Florida TaxWatch thanks the Clearwater City Council for their wise decision to extend their electric utility agreement rather than establish its own municipal electric utility. This is a win-win for the city, Duke Energy Florida, and most importantly, the hardworking taxpayers,” said TaxWatch President and CEO Jeff Kottkamp in a news release.
While TaxWatch is encouraged by the Clearwater City Council’s decision to stick with Duke and not start their own utility authority, St. Petersburg is considering a move that would negate the company’s energy operations in that city and establish a local utility. The Clearwater decision gives critics of St. Petersburg’s study new reasons to question whether the cost of exploring municipal power is justified.
Kottkamp said he hopes St. Petersburg officials follow the example of Clearwater.
“With this decision the city of Clearwater has put the taxpayers first. It is our hope that the City of St. Petersburg will similarly reach the same conclusion,” Kottkamp said.
The energy agreement with St. Petersburg and Duke ended July 31.
In an effort to address rising electrical costs, St. Petersburg is currently spending as much as $590,000 to study whether the city could buy Duke’s local electric distribution system and establish a public municipal utility. No talks are currently scheduled and the lapse has left basic parts of the city’s agreements with Duke unsettled.