On WCOA, Pensacola Councilwoman Sherri Myers expressed her concerns over the city taking over the electric utility inside its city limits.
“I’m very concerned over the push to municipalize the electric energy in Pensacola,” said the District 2 councilwoman. “I think that would be a horrible mistake.”
She doesn’t support the feasibility study because she believes “this scheme to look at municipalizing electricity in the city, came from the seventh floor.”
Myers continued, “We were blindsided with this issue when Jennifer Brahier first brought it up. But what gave me a clue that it came from the seventh floor is the fact that Keith Wilkins made the statement in a agenda conference, when this issue first came up, is that the city did not have the expertise to negotiate a franchise agreement. That’s an absolute untruth.”
The councilwoman said the city had tried to get Gulf Power, the predecessor to FPL, to pay a 10% franchise fee.
“I would never support that, never,” said Myers. “The highest franchise fee in the state of Florida is 6%. That would’ve put Pensacola, again, being somewhat of an anomaly with this form of government we have, it would put us at an extremely high franchise agreement.”
I’m 200% all-in with Brahier on this feasibility study idea. She’s a genius. In my 14 years birddogging city hall, I cannot think of a similar issue of such transformational importance where a council member spent so much time researching the big and small points of such an complex issue, went so far out of their way to meet with and listen to not just those like me who like her idea but also those who oppose it, and then so skillfully ran it through the city hall meat-grinder to vet it and make it a better idea. I can say with absolute certainty that I know that I have discussed the idea of expanding Pensacola Energy into both the electric power and solar power areas for years. I don’t recall ever discussing it with Brahier. So when Brahier told me about her initial idea last summer, I felt really proud to have cast one of the three votes that won her election. (In Scenic Heights, we all say that our vote was one of the three that won her the election.) At just $30,000 this feasibility study is dirt cheap and way cheaper than some of the recent studies brought before the council. If the council does reject the study, perhaps a group of citizens led by Brahier can fund it independently. I’d readily write a check for $5,000.