Archive for the ‘utilities’ Tag
The Budget Shortfall – Revenue Options
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 of this debate by providing information about the various sources of general fund revenues. If the city decides to raise revenue to cover the short fall, the revenue will come from one of these areas.
3 Comments Tags: budget, city commission, cuts, general fund, Tallahassee, taxes, utilities
The Delivery of Alternative Energy – The Next Great Debate
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 flourished because it is much more expensive than traditional sources of power. Therefore, the free market model and the traditional electrical utility mission of providing reliable and cost-effective electricity have not provided an opportunity for alternative energy.
2 Comments Tags: costs, Florida Legislature, FP&L, FPSC, going green, Governor Crist, utilities
The Carbon Footprint Numbers
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 carbon footprints in the country. But what does that mean in terms that we can understand?
For each kilowatt hour of electricity generated, approximately 1.2 pounds of CO2 emission is created. A home that uses 1,000 kwh per month would generate approximately 1200 pounds of CO2 emissions per month.
1 Comment Tags: carbon footprint, CO2, going green, KWH, Tallahassee, utilities
Smart Meter, Dumb Idea?
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 these meters are teamed up with an in-home display that shows current energy usage, as well as a communicating thermostat and software that harvest and analyze that information, consumers can see how much consumption drives cost — and will consume less as a result.
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 programs.
5 Comments Tags: city commission, costs, FPSC, going green, Tallahassee, utilities
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 good investment.
6 Comments Tags: Honeywell, smart meters, Tallahassee, utilities
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 structure of government provides the best opportunities for Tallahassee moving forward.
No Comments Tags: Airports Council, Allan Katz, Bill Roberts, Charter Review Committee, city commission, Tallahassee, utilities
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 citizens, the facts seem to indicate that it is time to consider a separate utility authority.
20 Comments Tags: Charter Review Committee, city charter, costs, EPER, FPSC, Progress Energy, Tallahassee, transmission lines, utilities
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 Mayor – should it be strong or weak. Most members favored the current leadership Mayor to one with more political power.
On the issue of consolidation, most members argued for “functional” consolidation, but no one seemed ready to make a strong argument for full consolidation.
2 Comments Tags: Charter Review Committee, city commission, Tallahassee, utilities
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 billion respectively to roll out smart meters by 2012.
5 Comments Tags: city commission, smart meters, Tallahassee, utilities
