Power play at Tampa City Hall

Tampa, Florida - Tampa Electric provides power to the city and on Thursday there was a play for power at city hall.

City council members approved a 25-year-franchise agreement with Tampa Electric, but not before some environmental activists tried to gain some power.

Even though the city attorney said the franchise agreement was supposed to deal with the utility using city rights of way, Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena hoped to use the franchise to force some change.

"Our community needs TECO to come to the table, listen to the citizens and come up with a franchise agreement that's a better deal for our community," said Saul-Sena prior to the meeting.

And during the public comment section, a long-line of residents and representatives of environmental groups urged the council to delay signing the agreement, in order to push TECO into using cleaner fuels and renewable energy.

"Month to month technology changes and this city should be progressive...to promote greener sources of energy," said Scott Levell, a Tampa General employee who helps treat people with asthma.

TECO says it's already spent more than a billion dollars making its plants burn cleaner and argues that energy policy should not be regulated at the local level.

Mayor Pam Iorio has also suggested creating a citizens energy taskforce to examine green energy sources for the city.

But environmental activists like Warren Clark fear once the franchise agreement is signed, their power will go away. "The key to make taskforces work is leverage."

City council members approved the franchise agreement on a 6-2 vote. A TECO spokesman says the company is pleased and is still willing to take part in an energy taskforce.