Joint EUAB and City Commission meeting tomorrow night (10/14) 6 p.m.

Tomorrow night will be an important meeting at City Hall and I advise everyone who is interested in the future of Lake Worth's electric utility to attend. For many years, Lake Worth has struggled with the questions of whether we stay in the electricity business or find another alternative? The Lake Worth Electric Utility Advisory Board [EUAB] (Lisa Maxwell is the Chair) is tasked with advising the City Commission on "public policy, operational requirements and the long-term financial stability and viability of the electric utilities."

The background for this meeting can be found here. 

As you scroll down the document, you will see the PowerPoint presentation to be given by the EUAB tomorrow night. The three options are:
"1) To Rebuild and Upgrade the Tom Smith Power Plant
2) To Sell the Electric Utility
3) To Extend the current Orlando Utility Commission’s contract."

For each of these options the EUAB chose the top five pros and cons. How they arrived at these was the EUAB had a meeting with community leaders on July 9 and later, on August 6, "[A]fter much discussion" the EUAB prioritized the list to come up with their top 5 pros and cons for each option for the City Commission to consider. For many of us, this dilemma has been going on years. The difference now is Lake Worth has come finally to the fork in the road. Whatever decision is made will affect the city for decades to come.

For some historical context note the following images from a presentation by Lake Worth Utilities in 2011. Pay particular attention to the age of the electricity generating units (one was installed in 1965) and the types of fuels used: black oil, diesel, and natural gas.

Check out the ages of some of the equipment.