Fine print takes back power bill windfall

GULFPORT -- After auditing the city's accounts from the past two years, Florida Power told administrative services director Bill Kucera that Gulfport could expect a credit on the May bill.

Sure enough, a $24,816 credit arrived in the mail. In his July 2 report to council, City Manager Bob Lee highlighted the windfall, equivalent to the cost of about three weeks of city electricity use.

Lee said he wanted to acknowledge the efforts of Kucera's department to save the city money by periodically reviewing general expenditures.

But when Kucera examined the bill more closely Wednesday, he realized the credit was countered by a $22,890 charge in a different section of the bill.

"Florida Power indicated they were giving us a credit," Kucera said. "They didn't tell us the other component part."

Apparently, Kucera said, Florida Power initially gave the city credit for all power usage billed under an incorrect rate for two years. In another section of the bill, the city was charged at the correct rate. In reality, the savings amounted to $1,926, or a couple days worth of electrical use.

Kucera said Florida Power uses at least 100 different rate codes for billing customers. The rates are based on usage, time of usage, type of facility and other factors.

Kucera said Gulfport asked for the audit, and Florida Power analyzed all the accounts dating to May 2000. The utility concluded that incorrect codes were used on a few accounts, the Casino and tennis courts in particular, and the city could expect a credit.

"We were sitting here thinking this is great, but we never thought to ask about the credit," said Kucera.

As a result of the experience, Kucera said city staffers will maintain their own spreadsheet to track electrical usage and make sure they understand what they are being charged and why. Gulfport previously had asked for an inventory on equipment such as the light poles that the city leases from Florida Power. Kucera said the city spends $6,000 a month on leasing the equipment, but Florida Power was unable to tell him where the poles are located. It's possible, he said, the poles could be in areas for which the city is not responsible.

"At least by the end of this whole process we're going to understand what we're being charged for," Kucera said.

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