CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Clearwater City Council is set to vote Thursday to fund a study about the future of its utilities.

Clearwater has been in a 30-year agreement with Duke Energy, but it expires in December. Some city officials want to look at other options.

“We had staff look at it, and it’s a good time for us to just consider the possibility that we might own our own electric company,” Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector said.

The City Council will vote Thursday on a proposed $504,000 study to see if it is possible to drop Duke Energy and create its own utility service.

“This is entirely citizen focused. We aren’t out to attack Duke Energy. We aren’t out to go after anybody. We’re just looking at what makes sense for our citizens,” Mayor Rector said.

Winter Park broke from Duke Energy in 2005, and city officials say bills are lower for customers and that the city-run utility is making a profit.

Spectrum Bay News 9 reached out to Duke Energy about the Clearwater proposal for a study, and the utility said:

“Duke Energy is building the smarter, cleaner energy future our communities deserve. We are there for customers when they need us most; with an army of resources from across the country to combat the most powerful storms. We have the latest technology to reduce outages. During hurricanes Ian, Nicole and Idalia, recently installed self-healing grid technologies helped to automatically restore service to customers who experienced outages and saved more than 200 million minutes of total lost outage time.”

“When it comes to rates, Duke Energy Florida has already reduced rates twice this year with reductions in January and June. Residential customers are paying approximately $17 per 1,000 kWh less today, compared to one year ago. Additionally, Duke Energy Florida, consumer representatives and business groups reached a comprehensive agreement that increases reliability and advances the clean energy vision for the state, while focusing on ways to assist and pass on savings to customers. Based on current projections, Duke Energy Florida expects a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours to see a decrease in their January 2025 bill of $8.26, a 5% decrease when compared to December 2024. The agreement still needs to be approved by the Florida Public Service Commission.”

“It’s important to understand, franchise agreements are related to how Duke Energy Florida builds, operates and maintains electric infrastructure within municipal easements, rights-of-ways and associated permitting processes. Duke Energy Florida has a right to serve in Clearwater through the Florida Public Service Commission. It’s not granted through franchise agreements. The current agreement does not have a purchase clause and none of Duke Energy Florida’s service area is for sale, including the system that serves Clearwater and the surrounding areas.”

“Duke Energy prides itself in supporting the vitality of the communities we serve. We look forward to answering any questions the city has regarding the value of our service and continuing our longstanding relationship with the city of Clearwater.”

City officials say there is no guarantee that one day the city will part ways with Duke Energy, and that it is too early to say what the future might hold.