Florida town sees steep drop in electricity rates

Leesburg, Florida, has managed to dramatically lower electricity rates for the city over the past two years, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The Sun Sentinel notes that a new report from the University of Florida’s Public Utility Research Center found the state suffers from the highest gas and electricity prices in the region, largely on the back of rising natural gas prices.

Leesburg, however, has seen rates decline substantially, dropping 17 percent in just two years. Part of this was explained by a decline in wholesale electricity prices, but much of the shift has come from a steady decline in residential electricity consumption. Through the effective use of a stabilization fund that lowers prices when they rise and stores excess funds when they are low, the city has managed to move from the fifth-highest electricity rates to the 17th-highest.

“My vision for the city of Leesburg is to have the lowest residential rates in the state,” Paul Kalv, director of the city utility, told the Sentinel. “Is that possible? Probably not, but will we become better by trying? The answer is absolutely.”