Mayor Welch praises Duke Energy with proclamation. It’s drawing criticism

In a proclamation, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch celebrated Duke Energy Florida and the 125th anniversary of its founding — sparking anger from some members of city council at a time when local officials are negotiating with the utility.

Welch’s proclamation, slated to be formally issued at Thursday’s city council meeting, commemorates the utility’s “long-standing history of service, dedication, and investment” in the community and declares July 18, 2024 as Duke Energy Day. It states the company “is helping St. Petersburg thrive now and well into the future.”

But that future has come into question. Two council members, Brandi Gabbard and Richie Floyd, who are both Democrats like Welch, have said they want to explore dropping Duke and instead forming a municipal utility to serve residents. The city’s longtime legal agreement with Duke comes up for renewal in two years.

That, plus Duke seeking to raise the base rates for Florida customers, made the timing of the proclamation a problem, council members told the Tampa Bay Times. The declaration is largely symbolic, resulting only in a photo-op at a council meeting. But this clash could signal a developing rift between council members and Welch over the utility, which provides power to all of St. Petersburg and is also Welch’s former employer. Welch previously worked as an accountant for Florida Power Corp., which later became Duke Energy Florida.

Floyd said he could not remember Welch issuing a similar proclamation for a company, “and I certainly can’t remember him doing one for a corporation that has treated our residents the way Duke has — treated the planet the way Duke has,” Floyd said. “125 years of a public monopoly siphoning money off of taxpayers? Sure, let’s celebrate that.”

Council member John Muhammad also said he was “surprised” by the move given the upcoming negotiations. He cited that in its rate hike request, Duke is seeking a rate of shareholder profit that’s higher than the national average.

“Residents are struggling with rising utility costs, and honoring Duke Energy during this period appears tone-deaf to their challenges and concerns,” Muhammad said in a text message. “By formally recognizing them before we have secured a fair agreement and assessed the impact of the proposed rate increases, as well as other concerns we have with this company, we are failing to demonstrate our commitment to transparency, accountability, and the well-being of our citizens.”

This was the first time Welch has declared a Duke Energy Day, which he did in response to a request from the company, according to city spokesperson Alizza Punzalan-Randle.

“The Mayor’s Office receives multiple proclamation requests from individuals and organizations on a regular basis,” she said.

Audrey Stasko, a spokesperson for Duke Energy, said Duke Energy Day is designed to celebrate the company’s commitment to its customers, plus “our employees who live and work in this community and our shared history with the city of St. Petersburg.”

Welch has maintained ties to his former industry. Duke Energy Florida President Melissa Seixas served on his transition team as he prepared to take office as mayor. Duke, a prolific donor to Florida politicians of both parties, contributed $10,000 to Welch’s political committee in early 2022, records show.

“Mayor Welch’s connection to Duke Energy is no secret,” Punzalan-Rundle said. “Regarding contributions, Mayor Welch received well over 1,000 campaign contributions from individuals and organizations, exceeding $1 million dollars, reflecting his broad support.”

Duke has also come under scrutiny by the council’s sustainability committee, led by Floyd, for not providing data to show whether the city is on track to meet an ambitious goal it set five years ago: for all of St. Petersburg be powered by clean energy by 2035.

Duke has said it’s not able to provide a breakdown of how much renewable energy is used within city limits. The most recent statewide figures show about 5% of Duke Energy Florida’s electricity came from solar energy, while about 79% was generated by burning natural gas. On one major intermediary goal — that the city reduce its energy use — officials recently learned from Duke that they’re headed in the wrong direction.

James Scott, chairperson of the Sierra Club Florida’s executive committee, said the proclamation struck the wrong tone.

“The city is doing the bidding of Duke’s PR department right now, at a moment when the city should be holding Duke accountable and asking hard questions,” he said.