Smart Meter, Dumb Idea?

From the Wall Street Journal: Not everyone thinks smart meters are such a smart use of money. Utilities are spending billions of dollars outfitting homes and businesses with the devices, which wirelessly send information about electricity use to utility billing departments and could help consumers control energy use. Proponents of smart meters say that when […]

City Officials Knew Conservation Programs Would Increase Electric Rates

The City of Tallahassee recently ignored a cost effectiveness analysis which indicated that all 191 proposed measures to save electricity through conservation would increase electric rates. Instead of relying on the analysis as a guide, the City Commission voted to ignore the results and approve an alternative methodology that would allow the City to move forward with conservation […]

What is the Financial Impact of Smart Meters?

In government, and in business, often times the decision to move forward with spending and investing large sums of money is based on a cost effectiveness or return on investment analysis. If the analysis shows that an investment of $1.00 will yield $1.5 in return, the policy or action is deemed to be cost effective and therefore, a […]

Commissioner Katz Addresses Tallahassee Charter Review Committee

The Tallahassee Charter Review Committee (CRC) held its sixth meeting today at City Hall with presentations made by City Commissioner Allan Katz and Bill Roberts of the Florida Airports Council. Mr. Katz’s presentation centered around preparing Tallahassee for the next 5-10 years. It was clear in his comments that he does not believe that the current […]

Is It Time For A Tallahassee Utility Board?

The Tallahassee Charter Review Committee has been meeting over the last two months with the charge of reviewing possible changes to the Tallahassee City Charter. Among the issues that have been discussed is a separate regulatory board for the utility functions of the city. After five months of research, including dozens of interviews with city employees and Tallahassee […]

Tallahassee Charter Review Committee Begins Staking Out Positions

Like a bear cub trying to determine what to do with the porcupine he has cornered, the Tallahassee Charter Review Committee continued to tiptoe around the major issues until the final 45 minutes of their 5th meeting today when the positions of the committee members were revealed. The issue that garnished the most attention was the role of the […]

Will Smart Meters Be Cost-Effective?…You Will Decide!

Smart meters are the latest rage and Tallahassee is on the cutting edge. Our electric utility began investigating smart meters before 2005 and received the go ahead to spend approximately $40 million from the City Commission in late 2007. This puts us ahead of the Texas utility Oncor and Southern California Edision  who are spending $690 million and $1.3 […]

City Commission and City Manager Silent on Tallahassee Transmission Line Problems

Over the last five years the Florida Public Service Commission(FPSC) and the staff of the Tallahassee Electric Utility have documented problems associated with the transmission lines that connect Tallahassee to the Florida electric grid. Fact 1: At a City Commission Target Issue Workshop in May 2004, electric utility staff pointed out that “regional load growth is outpacing transmission […]