Clearwater council votes to enter appraisal phase of study, possibly drop Duke Energy

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — The City of Clearwater could be getting closer to starting its own power company, ending a decades long relationship with Duke Energy. The council voted unanimously on Monday night to move on to the appraisal process and come up with a timeline for potential legal proceedings.

Duke Energy has said they won’t be negotiating, and the recommendations made in the study are already in the works by their company.

“This company has been a bully,” said one person during public comment.

“A lot of the people who are here are Duke employees who live and work in Clearwater community,” said a Duke employee during the meeting. “We think we are in best position to serve customers of Clearwater.”

Dozens of people dove into the conversation of possibly dumping Duke Energy. Residents did not hold back on their frustrations with the company. Current and former employees reminded the council of how having Duke Energy is a benefit.

“You got to have safe individuals who know the system, who can do the work safely,” said another person during public comment.

“I’m paying $500 and $600 a month. That’s a month. The question is why?” said another woman.

The feasibility study highlighted savings for customers and costs less than Duke’s Annual Effective Rates. It said the city would have to outsource private entities for work, and the study recommended they acquire Duke Energy System. During a council meeting in August, Duke Energy leaders said the system was not for sale.

“We will not be negotiating a purchase price. If the city is actually interested in municipalization, taking over the system, you will have to go through a process of condemnation, which is lengthy, expensive, and very complicated,” said Duke Energy Florida President Melissa Sixas.

Duke Energy sent out a statement Monday in response to the study, saying higher acquisition and startup costs could eliminate any savings and increase the burden on taxpayers.

They also said some of the rates in the study were not accurate. City leaders chose to move on to the appraisal part of the study to get some consistent information on costs.

“We feel like with (the) report we just gotten that shows there could be immediate savings, and may allow us to invest in underground utilities more. We have to take a hard look at it,” said Mayor Bruce Rector.

If the city chooses not to move forward, it could enter a franchise agreement negotiation with Duke Energy. The current contract ends December 31.