Residents of several St. Petersburg neighborhoods are being canvassed by door-knockers identifying themselves members of the St. Pete Energy Alliance (SPEA), a nonprofit organization that is opposed to “a multi-billion dollar plan to take over the electric grid [that] would put St. Pete taxpayers on the hook.”

Research conducted by Poliverse, however, suggests that the St. Pete Energy Alliance (and its associated Clearwater Energy Alliance, or CEA) are organizations with Duke Energy connections created to oppose efforts to change municipal energy production in Pinellas County.

Their parent organization, the Pinellas Energy Alliance, was founded by a former Duke Energy employee. Since November, the CEA has spent more than $54,000 on online ads opposing a municipal power takeover.

The SPEA also had the funds to commission a survey by national pollster Morning Consult, which is best known for its presidential approval tracking polls.

Duke Energy spokesperson Ana Gibbs said the organizations were “not controlled by Duke Energy. I would refer you to them for questions on their activities.” She declined to comment on whether Duke financed or otherwise aided the groups.

Sean Schrader, who identified himself as a spokesperson for both the St. Pete and Clearwater Energy Alliances, responded to an email sent to the SPEA website. He did not reply to direct questions about their relationship to Duke, if any. “These alliances exist for one reason: residents are concerned about proposals for city takeovers of the electric grid.”

Schrader identified both the SPEA and CEA as “projects” of the Pinellas Energy Alliance. Unlike the SPEA or CEA websites, however, the Pinellas site has almost no content: Both visible tabs, “Join” nor “Get involved,” are not connected to any links, and the only other text on the site identifies it as “a 501(c)6 organization.”

501(c)6 is the section of the IRS code covering tax exempt “business groups.” Unlike political action committees or campaigns, these organizations can typically conceal the source of their donations.

The Pinellas Energy Alliance is listed on the state Division of Corporations with a registered agent of CT Corporation System of Plantation, Florida; CT Corporation System is a subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer, a Dutch multinational that provides legal, audit and compliance services for businesses.

PEA’s incorporator, Lisa Lohss, was a Progress Energy supervisor in 2007 and a current Linkedin profile identifies her as a retired Duke Energy employee based in Clearwater.

“Lisa Lohss is retired and serves in a governance role for the alliances,” Schrader said. He did not elaborate upon what that role is.

Lohss could not be reached for comment.

“The Corporation [Pinellas Energy Alliance] is organized for the purpose of promoting the business interests of the owners and operators of energy holding companies, electric utilities providers, and individuals and organizations that have a stake in who and how electricity is delivered (the “businesses”) within and outside the State of Florida in order to improve the business of such entities,” according to the PEA filing with the State of Florida.

Within weeks of incorporation, organizers began going door-to-door, and ads on Facebook and Instagram began to appear.

The ads started shortly before Thanksgiving and have continued since, according to Meta’s Ad Library. One recent ad seen by Poliverse began Jan. 22 and had up to 15,000 Instagram impressions.

Screenshots provided to Poliverse by Marley Price, co-Chair of the Dump Duke Florida campaign, which advocates for a municipal utility, show that a since-deleted Reddit user named CommunityOutreachCW posted a thread advertising for canvassers to go door to door in Clearwater on behalf of a local organization.

The original poster indicated in multiple comments that the organization was Duke Energy. While the original post was deleted, as was the account, the comments thread remains and reflects the contemporaneous screenshots provided to Poliverse. 

“I don’t know who is behind that Reddit account,” said Schrader of the SPEA and CEA. “Not me or us, and what they said is not true.”

The ads contain information associating them to a phone number for Micaela Chavez, the digital director of Left Hook, a California-based Democratic political firm. According to The Guardian, Left Hook was paid $5 million by Maine Affordable Energy, a group created to oppose a referendum to create a state-run utility in Maine in 2023. The referendum failed.

The involvement of outside political consultants reflects a familiar strategy in utility fights nationwide, where professional firms are often retained to manage messaging around public power proposals.

Chavez did not reply to messages or emails listed within the ads, and Schrader did not reply to questions about their relationship with Left Hook.

Members of the St. Petersburg City Council have raised proposals to replace Duke Energy with a municipal utility. Advanced by Councilmembers Richie Floyd and Brandi Gabbard (the latter is challenging incumbent Mayor Ken Welch), St. Pete administrators have been examining whether to renew the current agreement with Duke, or replace it with a municipal utility.

Councilmember Gabbard called the information being spread by St. Pete Energy Alliance “propaganda,” noting that she’d been approached by a number of residents concerned about the numbers they were reading.

“Let’s be honest – it doesn’t matter who’s behind this, it’s 95% lies,” Gabbard said. “Everything that’s stated is just fabrication and fearmongering against something we don’t even know is feasible.”

Gabbard noted that she had requested a feasibility study into prospectively switching to a municipal utility the previous September; she said that request had not yet been fulfilled.

“To create all of these claims is just misleading the public. And quite frankly, it is wrong.”

In a statement to Poliverse, Duke Energy spokesperson Gibbs said: “Duke Energy believes renewing the franchise agreement offers immediate benefits to our customers and communities we serve. We remain committed to providing safe, reliable power and look forward to working with both cities to renew their franchise agreements.”

“I chose to get involved with the Clearwater Energy Alliance and St. Pete Energy Alliance because this is a significant issue facing our community that could have repercussions for decades to come,” said SPEA’s Schrader.

“Independent polling shows only about one in four people support a city takeover, and among St. Pete residents it ranks last as a city priority. The alliances exist to make sure people understand those risks before decisions are locked in,” he added.

Schrader shared a memo containing the highlights of a January 2026 poll conducted by national firm Morning Consult for SPEA; while the poll did not specify approval or disapproval of the idea of a municipal takeover on its own, it did reveal disapproval when residents were prompted with a potential $2 billion price tag.

Schrader did not answer multiple questions about how the poll, or any other SPEA or CEA activities, are funded.