Responding to advocacy by the City Council and community groups, the City of St. Petersburg released a request for proposal (RFP) Friday for a feasibility study on the creation of a municipal utility to replace Duke Energy.
“The City of St. Petersburg, Florida (“City”) is seeking the services of qualified experienced consulting firms (“Consultant”) to determine if it is in the City’s best interests to establish a City-owned Municipal Electric Utility (“MEU”) to replace Duke Energy Florida (“Duke Energy”),” according to the RFP.
“Duke Energy is headquartered in St. Petersburg and is the only provider of electricity within City limits. In recent years, electric utility customers in St. Petersburg have expressed concerns about the utility’s affordability, reliability, and transparency and have petitioned the City to perform a feasibility study to examine the viability of forming an MEU.”
The City anticipates awarding a feasibility study on the creation of a municipal utility, with the option of additional grants to study a municipal utility powered by 100% renewable power and on “alternative municipalization options.” This comes just a day after the State’s DOGE committee challenged communities, including St. Pete, for spending tax dollars to promote a “so-called climate change emergency.”
In a statement to Poliverse, Duke Energy spokeswoman Ana Gibbs said, “Duke Energy believes renewing the franchise agreement offers immediate benefits to our customers and communities we serve. We remain committed to providing safe, reliable power and look forward to working with the city of St. Petersburg to renew its franchise agreements.”
“While I am very happy the administration followed through on the request of City Council to release this RFP,” Councilmember Brandi Gabbard said, “I am very dismayed that it took almost six months to do so. Especially knowing that the negotiations with Duke continued throughout the delay.”
Gabbard, has been a proponent of exploring a municipal utility alongside Council Vice Chair Ritchie Floyd.
“Urgency is important when responding to the requests of our residents and collaboration and cooperation between Administration and City Council is important to how we move forward as a City,” she added. “I look forward to seeing what responses come in and what the path forward looks like for our residents.”
“We’re thrilled to see [the RFP] go out for bids and hope to see City Council follow through so we can truly evaluate all of our options,” said Marley Price, Co-Chair of Dump Duke Florida, which is advocating for a municipal utility.
Price and other activists held a rally in Williams Park Wednesday demanding action from the City on the heels of reporting by Poliverse of intense local campaigning by the St. Pete Energy Alliance, a newly-founded 501(c)6 group created by a former Duke manager. SPEA and an associated group in Clearwater have spent tens of thousands in just a few months advocating against a municipal utility in those cities.
The City anticipates recommending an award for the study to City Council by July 9. It notes, however, that the City’s agreement with Duke expires the following month and “does not include a purchase option granting the City the right to acquire and operate Duke Energy’s local distribution system.” It is unclear how or whether an option exists to maintain municipal utilities while a study is reviewed or negotiations proceed with Duke.
The feasibility of a municipal utility is rapidly becoming a major issue heading into an election year when St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch faces challenges from Gabbard, former St. Pete NAACP President Maria Scruggs, and potentially former Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who heads into 2026 with a massive warchest.
This content provided in partnership with Poliverse.press.
