The key stat in the city council's unanimous decision Monday night was an independent study by NewGen Strategies and Solutions that shows electric bills would be 7% to 18% lower than Duke Energy's rates.
They agreed to go forward with a more detailed feasibility study of the costs involved in starting a municipal utility. The city's 30-year agreement with Duke ends in December.
City resident Shane Marr said the Charlotte, North Carolina-based utility charges higher rates to pay their investors.
"Duke has fleeced the Clearwater community for many decades," he told the council members. "People across the community have struggled to pay the bonuses of shareholders who have no regard for their well-being."
Mayor Bruce Rector said investor-owned utilities charge more than most muncipally-owned services.
"We feel like with the report we've just gotten that shows there could be an immediate savings and a significant savings over the long term," Rector said, "and where it may allow us to invest in underground and utilities more which we get a lot of demand for from our community, we have to take a hard look at it."
A preliminary study commissioned by the city shows electric rates would be about 7% lower on average than the Duke rate on an annual basis. After the initial handover, rates would be about 18% lower on average than rates charged by Duke Energy through 2055.
Duke officials said during the meeting that they are the most reliable source of electricity for the region. They have vowed to fight any moves by the city to disconnect from their service, and said their own study showed a transition could cost the city around $1 billion.
"We think we are in the best position to serve the customers of Clearwater," said Kathryn Christian, Duke's director of Government Relations. "We are proud to do so every day and we truly value and and appreciate that opportunity."
Councilman David Allbritton said the city should be prepared to fight back.
"We know that Duke's going to push back on this because they don't want to lose us, and it's going to be - if we decide to move forward - it will be a fight," he said, "but I just hope it'll be a successful one and we can lower some rates, hopefully."
St. Petersburg is also looking into a similar study to possibly detach from Duke Energy's service.
