Clearwater City Council members are preparing to discuss the future of the city’s electric service during a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 16, as leaders weigh whether to renew a long-standing agreement with Duke Energy or move toward creating a city-owned utility.
The 30-year franchise agreement between Clearwater and Duke Energy expired in December 2025. A city-commissioned appraisal recently valued Duke Energy’s local power assets at approximately $265 million.
Mayor Bruce Rector has said city leaders want to cut costs for residents, stating, “We’re just trying to do the best we can for our customers in Clearwater. We want the best value for them, the lowest cost possible.”
Duke Energy disputes the city’s $265 million valuation. Company spokeswoman Ana Gibbs pointed to a report from Concentric Energy Advisors that estimated the cost of a takeover at around $1 billion. Gibbs has said that “separating Clearwater from the electric grid is complex, risky and would take years,” and the company maintains that renewing the franchise agreement would best serve the area and its residents.
The dispute stems from a feasibility study the city commissioned from consulting firm NewGen Strategies and Solutions, which put a preliminary “all-in” valuation for taking over Clearwater’s electric grid at $572 million — a figure Duke has strongly contested with its own higher estimate.
Reaction among residents and business owners has been mixed. Mike Mastruserio, founder of a Clearwater printing company called Proforma, said he’s satisfied with Duke Energy’s service, saying, “They do a great job and whenever there’s an outage, they tell me about it. They tell me how long it’s going to be out. That’s good communication.” He added that he is skeptical of the city taking over electric service, saying he doesn’t think Clearwater should be handling something it doesn’t manage regularly.
On the other side, city officials have pointed to Clearwater’s century-old, city-owned gas utility as evidence the city can successfully run its own energy service. Rector has pushed back on suggestions that the city lacks the expertise, noting that Clearwater Gas has operated for more than 100 years under municipal ownership.
The Clearwater City Council is expected to discuss the appraisal and possible next steps during its July 16 meeting. No final decision on the city’s electric provider is expected at that time, though the session will shape the direction of a process that could ultimately take years to complete, whether through franchise renewal or the lengthy eminent domain proceedings a municipal takeover would likely require.
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