The discussion over the $8 million electric utility surplus over the last few months has seen city commissioners and staff defending the need to deposit the “found” money in the electric reserve which already had approximately $95 million. Rationale for keeping the money has ranged from “its policy” to “its only $34 per residential customer”. […]
The debate about the COT electric utilities reserves is beginning to provide answers, though questions remain. Last Wednesday the COT brought in consultants to provide more information about the appropriate level of the electric reserve. City staff is seeking a reserve level between $119 million and $185 million. The reserve is currently at $105 million. […]
Our recent report on the wealth of the City of Tallahassee electric utility published on January 19, 2011 generated a response from the City of Tallahassee. On Friday, Tallahassee Reports received an email from the City that indicated the report was one sided and should have included a different calculation. The initial report compared the […]
The recent debate on the fate of the $8 million electric utility surplus for 2010 has morphed into a discussion about the proper level of the electric utility reserves. City staff has reported that the current level of the reserve is approximately $100 million, with a staff proposed range of between $119 million and $185 […]
A public records request by Tallahassee Reports indicates that Tallahassee City Commissioners did not have much time to consider options with respect to the $8 million electric utility surplus before their vote on December 8, 2010.
Tallahassee Reports has reached out to a number of elected leaders over the last couple of days to get their reaction to the City Commission’s vote to keep the $8 million year end surplus generated by the electric utility.
As we enter the smart meter and time-of-use rates (TOU) era here in Tallahassee, and in fact, throughout the United States, the debate over who benefits more, consumers or the utilities, will be front and center for years to come.
The recent revelation that the City of Tallahassee has a budget shortfall of approximately $7 million for the upcoming fiscal year has started a debate on how to best deal with this issue. Should the city commission raise taxes, cut services, or implement some combination of both? In this article, Tallahassee Reports looks into one side […]
The pursuit of alternative energy as a source for our power needs has clearly become an important public policy issue. Despite the contentious global warming debate, most people would agree that – all other things being equal – it would be beneficial to get all of our energy from environmentally clean sources. But here lies the problem, all things are not equal. Alternative energy has not […]
With all the talk about carbon footprint, and with the City of Tallahassee moving aggressively toward reducing our already low carbon footprint through energy conservation, it is time to define carbon footprint in terms everyone can understand. First, we have reported here that due to the use of natural gas we have one of the lowest […]