City Council member considers a public utility for St. Petersburg's next power contract

City Council member considers a public utility for St. Petersburg's next power contract

Last month state regulators approved a proposal by Duke Energy to recover from customers more than a billion dollars for the cost to restore power when three hurricanes hit Florida in 2024. Now, some city officials in Pinellas County are considering whether to replace Duke with a municipal-owned utility.  As Clearwater’s 30-year agreement with Duke Energy is set to expire, the city is spending half a million dollars to explore the benefits of pu…