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Heath council votes to deny Encore Electric proposed rate increase, joins Alliance in PUC fight
Summary
The Heath City Council voted unanimously to deny Encore Electric Delivery Company LLC's proposed revenue and rate increases and authorized continued participation in proceedings before the Public Utility Commission of Texas through the Alliance of Encore Cities.
The Heath City Council voted unanimously Oct. 28 to deny Encore Electric Delivery Company LLC's proposed increase in revenue and related changes to customer rates and authorized the city to continue participating in proceedings before the Public Utility Commission of Texas through the Alliance of Encore Cities.
City Finance Director Jay Ayers told the council that Encore filed a statement of intent June 26 seeking what he described in the meeting as an overall 13% revenue increase and that the company said the change would raise the average residential bill by about $7 a month. Ayers said the city and its retained experts with Harold Law and Associates reviewed Encore's filing and found the proposed return-on-equity and overall rate of return to be excessive and that Encore had not demonstrated that the requested revenue increase was just and reasonable.
The resolution the council approved directs city staff to deny Encore's requested rate increase, continue the city's participation in PUC proceedings through the Alliance of Encore Cities, and authorize the city to seek reimbursement of its rate-case expenses from Encore if appropriate.
Council members asked about the appeals process and the range of possible outcomes. Ayers said the city would wait for the PUC review after completion of the Alliance's participation and that Encore could appeal the city's denial. He noted the Alliance provides shared legal and technical resources and that handling the case alone would be costly for a single city.
Councilman Dodson asked whether the finance committee had reviewed the resolution; Ayers said the committee had been forwarded the investment policy earlier and will be involved in future FY2026 reviews. Councilman Holmes urged the council to continue supporting the Alliance to show cities will resist recurring rate increases.
The council's motion to deny Encore's proposed revenue increase was made by Councilman Olmby and seconded by Councilwoman Horne. The motion passed unanimously.
