SOUTH DAYTONA, Fla. — The city of South Daytona is trying to buy out a major utilities provider so that the city could charge its own residents for power.
Florida Power and Light (FP&L) is willing to sell, but not for what the city has to offer.
The city said it can do a better job taking care of everything from the power poles to the power lines, while keeping revenue in the city.
However, it could cost the city much more than the $4.5 million it is offering FP&L.
The battle continued in court on Tuesday before a judge to ultimately decide how much South Daytona will have to pay FP&L for the electric utilities within the city limits.
By owning its utilities, the city would profit from its residents instead of FP&L, and the city said it would provide more reliability and faster response times with local crews restoring service during an emergency.
"During Hurricane Charley, we were without power for just about three weeks honestly," said resident Troy Catelli.
The city would also set its own rates and take on the expense of maintenance and repairs.
"With the repairs, the telephone poles, the maintenance, I really don't think they can handle it," Catelli said.
WFTV found that almost every city that owns its electric utility charges more than both FP&L or Progress Energy.
In March, Winter Park Utilities customers paid $123 for electricity. Its utilities used to be owned by Progress Energy, which charged its customers $116 for power in March.
But South Daytona officials said they don't want to raise rates. The city wants to match or even reduce the rates people are paying now.
City officials told WFTV they expected the case with FP&L to wrap up in court sometime Tuesday. When it does, the city will discuss whether it will go through with the buyout in the coming weeks.