Archive for January, 2009
Cost of Going Green Verified by City Officials
In a recent article published by Tallahassee Reports, research indicated that Tallahassee’s reliance on natural gas has cost the people of Tallahassee approximately $40-50 million a year over the last three years when compared to the rates of other utilities in the area.
In a meeting on Tuesday, high ranking officials with the Tallahassee Electric Utility confirmed that the methodology used by Tallahassee Reports was appropriate and that the $40 -$50 million annual number was a reasonable estimate. It was also confirmed that the premium paid by consumers was in fact leaving the community for Lousiana and Texas – the home of the natural gas suppliers.
No Comments Tags: costs, going green, Tallahassee, taxpayer
Tallahassee’s Capital Bond Rating Downgraded
The City of Tallahassee’s capital bond rating has been downgraded. Bonds are used by states and municipalities to raise money to pay for things such as infrastructure projects.
On January 16, 2009 Business Wire reported that “in the course of routine surveillance, Fitch Ratings downgraded Tallahassee, Florida’s approximately $5.2 million in outstanding capital bonds series 2001 and $78.0 million in capital bonds series 2004 to ‘AA-’ from ‘AA’. The Rating Outlook has been revised to Negative from Stable”.
A City of Tallahassee Budget Summary
In an effort to provide important information to our readers, listed below is a summary of city expenditures approved in the fiscal year 2009 budget. The items listed below represent over 95% of the $841 million 2009 city budget.
The Cost of Going Green – Calculation Update
A recent article posted by Tallahassee Reports -”The Cost of Green May Cost More ThanYou Think”- reported that the citizens of Tallahassee had paid approximately $45-$50 million a year above what they would have paid over the last three years if Tallahassee would have had the average electric rates of three utilities with a more diverse fuel source. Tallahassee Reports used Progress Energy, Gainesville Regional Utility and Talquin CO-OP for the comparison.
Since publishing that article, a number of interested parties have questioned how this number was calculated. Detailed below is the calculation using Progress Energy data.
No Comments Tags: costs, going green, Tallahassee, taxpayer, update
The Cost of Going Green May Cost More Than You Think
Questions to Ponder While Reading
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Should the City of Tallahassee Provide Costs & Benefits for Going Green Initiatives?
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Is $50 Million a Year Too Much to Spend to Exclusively Use Natural Gas to Generate Electricity?
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What is the Tangible Benefit of Exclusively Using Natural Gas for Electricity Generation?
The City of Tallahassee’s electric rates rank as some of the highest in the state of Florida. One of the major reasons for this is the almost exclusive use of natural gas as the source for electricity. Natural gas is considered one of the more clean burning fuels when compared to other options.
1 Comment Tags: costs, going green, Tallahassee, taxpayer
