Gives municipal power a glowing review
BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Starke electric customers receive “great value” for their money according to the man managing the Florida Municipal Power Agency.
FMPA General Manager and CEO Jacob Williams told city commissioners in April that things have evolved a lot, and the city is currently in a great position.
“The electric utility is serving the community very well,” he said, and the goal of his presentation was the reveal the value of the utility to citizens.
Starke does not generate its own electricity but is part-owner of FMPA, which has 33 total municipal members. Most purchase some or all their power from FMPA. The cities purchase that power wholesale, and they turn around and sell that power to their customers at rates that allow the cities to recover their cost and operate their system. More than 4 million residents and businesses receive power from FMPA.
“Fourteen percent of the population gets electricity from one of these municipal utilities,” Williams said.
As a member of the All-Requirements Project, Starke derives all its electricity through FMPA. FMPA has ownership 22 generating units. Some it owns and operates; some it has minority ownership. The fuel mix is currently 81% natural gas, 8% coal, 4% nuclear and around 1% each for solar or other sources.
“Natural gas has been, in general, one of the reasons why costs have been low,” Williams said. “Our mission, real simply, is to provide you with low cost and reliable power, and also along the way, reduce emissions.”
The state’s humid climate means Floridians use twice as much electricity as others in the country, Williams said, so what they pay really matters. Compare more than 13,000 kilowatt-hours used by the average Floridian in 2024 to around 6,000 for the average Californian.
“Florida has such a large fixed-income population, retirees, plus the low-income population, that they’re very dependent on low-cost electricity,” he said.
Prices are based on generation costs, which are driven by the cost of fuel. Spikes in FMPA’s costs have mostly reflected high natural gas prices given the amount of natural gas generation in the mix. Williams also mentioned the impact of inflation, which when taken into consideration places FMPA’s wholesale price at the same levels as the late 1990s and early 2000s.
He also compared the average of municipal power customers’ costs per 1,000 kWh to those served by investor-owned utilities. Between 2015 and 2024, municipal customers’ bills were up an average of 8% while IOU customers’ bills were up an average of 26%. Plus, he said 2024 comparisons showed Starke’s average bills were also low when compared to other municipal utilities. This rate spread will only increase as Florida Power & Light seeks rate hikes, he said.
“FPL right now is in front of the Public Service Commission of Florida, and they’re asking for a 17% rate increase over the next four years. So, their rates are going to keep going up,” he said.
According to Williams, Starke’s municipal utility provides around $2 million in economic value to the city, including saving customers more than $1 million annually than if they were served by Clay Electric or Florida Power & Light. There is also about $500,000 in impact by those employed by the city who live here and spend their money here.
FMPA has advantages. Williams said IOUs are more sensitive to high interest rates during this time of expansion. FMPA is paying off its debt and is not building. Smart decision-making by board members, including Starke, also meant that debt will be paid off in 20 to 25 years instead of 40, he said.
He also talked about smart decisions at home, including the city shifting its financial focus to maintaining and improving its utility infrastructure, and how that has improved system reliability. Outages are shorter and less frequent. Investments in long-term reliability and fast power restoration also saves money.
The people who govern the utility, operate it and use it all live right here, not 50 miles away, Williams said. Decisions over operations, standards and customer service are all made at home.
