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Consultants: Winter Park can increase renewable supply but firming and contract timing will affect costs
Summary
Consultants updated the board on a draft cost‑of‑service study and an integrated resource plan roadmap that shows aggressive renewable targets (for example, 80% renewables by 2035 in the 2022 roadmap). They said market bids, firming resources and existing contracts with OUC and FMPA will determine feasibility and cost.
Consultants told the Winter Park Utility Advisory Board on June 23 that the city can pursue a substantially higher share of renewable energy but that the cost and practicability depend on firming resources, contract timing and market bids.
Craig, presenting the cost‑of‑service study phase‑1 draft, summarized five‑year revenue requirements and preliminary allocations by customer class. He emphasized that a key calculation in rate design is the fixed residential cost per customer; on a distribution and customer‑fixed basis, the preliminary number presented equated to roughly $83 per month per residential customer on the distribution side (a planning metric used to consider rate design and net‑metering options).
Quanta consultant Lisa presented the integrated resource plan and feasibility analysis. She said the 2022 roadmap modeled a pathway that reached roughly 80% renewables by 2035 and 100% by 2050 in an economically feasible scenario, but warned that “you need a firm resource at some point,” such as batteries, hydrogen or other dispatchable capacity. The study’s 2042 scenarios relied on hydrogen as a firming resource in the earlier modeling, which consultants noted is not yet broadly commercially proven and therefore increases uncertainty and projected costs.
Consultants also described limits imposed by Winter Park’s interconnection and supply arrangements: the city currently receives power partly from OUC and from the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), and existing contracts with those suppliers expire at different times (OUC at the end of this year, FMPA in 2027). Consultants said the city plans to solicit bids for new portfolios — including mixes that emphasize lower cost, higher renewables, or full roadmap implementation — with typical procurement terms of five to seven years.
Board members asked practical and policy questions about whether to count nuclear as “renewable” or as a carbon‑free resource; consultants said Winter Park’s 2022 study did not count nuclear as renewable for the roadmap and that the city should consider objectives and terminology carefully given state legislation (HB 1217) that affects municipal net‑zero language.
Next steps: staff will update the cost‑of‑service model with finalized 2027 budget numbers, proceed with net‑metering public education and customer surveys, and retain procurement consultants to solicit market bids timed to FMPA contract expirations. Consultants will bring options for renewable portfolios and the likely cost implications to future board sessions.
Meeting context: The board was clear it seeks not only technical feasibility but an assessment of whether renewable options are economically reasonable before recommending binding targets to the commission.
