The City of St. Petersburg’s long-running franchise agreement with Duke Energy is set to expire at midnight Friday, and the city currently has no active negotiations underway to renew it, according to Duke spokesperson Ana Gibbs.
Gibbs said Duke is reviewing what the expiration will mean for both the city and the company, and that Duke will continue to provide reliable service to its customers regardless of the outcome. There will be no interruption to power service for residents even if the agreement lapses.
The city has been exploring the idea of forming its own municipal energy utility. A council committee first requested a nonbinding feasibility study in July 2025, and Mayor Ken Welch agreed to move forward after a full council vote that August. A formal request for proposals wasn’t issued until this past February. Last month, the council awarded a contract worth up to $590,000 to NewGen Strategies and Solutions to conduct the study. The status of that study has not been made public.
The city did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the study’s timeline or the status of negotiations with Duke. Duke also declined to elaborate on when it last communicated with the city.
St. Petersburg’s approach contrasts with nearby Clearwater, which began its own municipalization study roughly 18 months before its franchise agreement with Duke expired. That study, also conducted by NewGen, projected potential long-term savings from municipal ownership but flagged hundreds of millions of dollars in upfront costs and the likelihood of a lengthy eminent domain fight.
Clearwater’s council ultimately voted unanimously to renew its agreement with Duke rather than pursue municipalization, citing those costs alongside a separate concern: a statewide property tax cut referendum on the November ballot that could significantly reduce municipal budgets. As part of its renewed agreement, Duke committed to hundreds of thousands of dollars in near-term infrastructure and green space investments, with longer-term commitments exceeding $1.75 million, along with continued annual franchise fee payments. Clearwater’s franchise agreement had expired in December 2025, with Duke continuing service in the interim.
Franchise agreements give a utility control over power transmission infrastructure within a city’s rights-of-way. In exchange, Duke currently pays St. Petersburg about 6% of its area revenue annually, roughly $23 million.
The franchise question comes as St. Petersburg heads into its Aug. 18 mayoral primary. Welch faces several challengers, including former Gov. Charlie Crist, former city Fire Chief Jim Large and City Council member Brandi Gabbard, who supports municipalization and has been endorsed by a pro-municipalization advocacy group. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a fall runoff.
Follow the St. Pete-Clearwater Sun on Facebook, Google, & X
St. Pete-Clearwater Sun: local St. Pete-Clearwater & Tampa Bay, FL news at PIE-Sun.com
Leave a Reply