LARGO — The City Commission has approved a new 30-year franchise agreement with Duke Energy, extending a partnership that dates to 1996 and pays the city roughly $7.6 million a year.
The unanimous vote came over the objection of the city’s planning board chairman, who is running for commission in November and argued that Largo’s residents — not Duke — ultimately cover the fee through their electric bills.
Ordinance 2026-19 cleared its final reading June 16 on a 6-0 vote, with Vice Mayor Chris Johnson absent. The agreement lets the utility place and maintain its electric transmission equipment in the city’s rights of way in exchange for a franchise fee.
City Attorney Sarah Johnston said the new deal keeps that 6% fee but drops the automatic-renewal provision from the original 1996 contract. It also adds language on notifying the city about work in the rights of way, sets standards for tree trimming and spells out how Duke will help remove debris.
When the ordinance came up for its first reading May 19, Commissioner Mike DiBrizzi asked what the fee amounts to in dollars. Staff estimated about $6 million a year. Two Duke representatives then stepped to the podium with a more current figure: The company paid the city $7.6 million in 2025.
“Okay,” DiBrizzi said. “That’s all I needed to know. I don’t need any more information.”
The size of the payment drew a warm response from Commissioner Curtis Holmes, who said Duke had recently cut his monthly bill in half.
“Did we send you a letter with 20 words or less why we like you?” Holmes asked. “So, I like you!”
Commissioner Michael Smith said he hoped the city and the utility could “work as a partner” and asked whether the agreement left room for alternative energy. Johnston said it does, but that the city remains bound by state law.
At the June 16 second reading, resident Matthew Faustini — who chairs the city’s planning board and is running for the commission in November — told the board that Holmes’ comment captured “a growing, undeniable disconnect between the people sitting on the dais and working families living in Largo.”
The fee, Faustini argued, is not really Duke’s expense.
“Duke Energy does not pay the franchise fee. It is the citizens of Largo,” he said, adding that the cost is “passed down directly” to single mothers, seniors and working-class families. “Every single dollar of that $7.6 million came directly out of the pockets of your residents. Not Duke Energy.”
Faustini said Largo should follow Hillsborough County, where officials have pushed for adjustable franchise fees in negotiations with TECO to lower costs for residents.
“What did we do? We took the easy way out and rubber-stamped a 30-year agreement with 6% every year,” he said. “And the ultimate insult to the working people of Largo is you’re not even thanking the residents who are footing the bill. You sat up there and thanked the middleman.”
Holmes countered that Clearwater and St. Petersburg have explored buying their own energy infrastructure, and said such an expensive move would likely require community and possibly county partnerships.
“I’m just wondering if anyone has ever looked into that?” he asked.
Jerald Woloszynski, the city’s director of engineering services, said he wasn’t aware of such arrangements succeeding and that running its own utility would be “prohibitively expensive” for Largo. Holmes noted that TECO “was a whole different company,” then returned to his earlier praise.
“The reason I was so nice to Duke Energy last time was because I negotiated with them and got my own power bill cut by 40%,” he said. “It worked great. Thank you.”
Mayor Woody Brown, who missed the first reading, urged Duke to bury power lines in downtown Largo, pointing to saltwater damage to beachside systems during the 2024 hurricanes.
“I would just suggest, since there’s some Duke people in the room, that maybe the best place to underground is where there’s a bunch of trees, high up above the water — like downtown Largo,” Brown said. “I think that would be a great place to invest in underground utilities, because the trees are what takes down the power lines.”
Brown also noted that Largo offers free programs to help residents lower their energy bills, including income-based grants for new air-conditioning systems available to both homeowners and renters.
“Those are some things that can really help save money,” he said.