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Austin Water Commission urges council to deny Aqua Texas statewide rate filing affecting ~197 customers
Summary
At a public meeting, the Austin Water Commission voted unanimously to support staff’s recommendation that City Council deny Aqua Texas Inc.’s statewide rate request for customers inside the city’s full-purpose limits and scheduled a public meeting Sept. 29 for community input.
The Austin Water Commission voted unanimously at its meeting to support staff’s recommendation that City Council deny a proposed statewide rate increase filed by Aqua Texas Inc. for customers located within Austin’s full-purpose city limits.
The recommendation follows a briefing from Joseph Gonzales, assistant director for financial services at Austin Water, who said Aqua Texas serves about 197 Austin customers and has filed concurrently with the Public Utility Commission seeking a blended, systemwide rate. Gonzales told commissioners the filing seeks recovery for two earlier PUC filings through a surcharge and that, because the company is pursuing a statewide rate, some customers would see very large increases while others would see smaller changes.
Why it matters: If adopted, the company’s requested increases would apply to customers inside Austin city limits even though most Austin customers are served by Austin Water. Gonzales flagged the magnitude of the company’s requested increases for the Southwest region (which includes Rivercrest and Moreland): he said volumetric increases being sought range from roughly 92% at Tier 1 up to about 149% at Tier 3 in that filing. Austin Water recommended denial on three grounds: recovery of prior PUC costs via surcharge, the equity of a systemwide blended rate applied to disparate local systems, and the overall magnitude of proposed increases. Austin Water staff recommended that, if any increases were allowed, they should be phased in rather than implemented all at once.
Process and next steps: Gonzales said City Council has final authority over rate approvals for outside utilities serving customers inside the city’s full-purpose limits. Austin Water will hold a public meeting on the department’s review and recommendations on Sept. 29 at 4 p.m. in the same meeting room; Council will hold the formal public hearing when it takes the matter up. The Austin Water Commission’s affirmative vote signals support for staff’s recommendation that Council deny Aqua Texas’s request.
Commission action: A motion to approve the department’s recommendation was made and seconded and carried unanimously.
Documents and sources: The commission briefing noted Aqua Texas filed at the PUC and that the company is an investor-owned utility subject to statewide PUC oversight. Austin Water staff referenced prior PUC filings included in the company’s recovery request and the department’s analysis showing the filing affects 197 customers within Austin’s full-purpose jurisdiction.
The commission did not adopt a specific alternative rate as part of its action; staff said any phasing or alternative would be part of subsequent Council-level proceedings and hearings.
Ending: Austin Water staff will host the Sept. 29 public meeting for residents and Aqua Texas representatives and will forward the commission’s recommendation and its technical review to City Council for the formal hearing and decision.
