Georgetown outlines multi-year plan to sell parts of its 400-sq.-mile water service territory

Caroline Stewart, Strategic Projects Manager for the City of Georgetown, told the City Council the city will issue a two‑stage request for proposals to transfer portions of its water Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN).

The RFP, Stewart said, will open on Oct. 6 and run a two‑stage process: an initial submission round that closes Nov. 14 and a shortlist of top proposers to advance to a second stage. Stewart said the city expects a shortlist to be released by Dec. 1 and aims to reach an award determination by Jan. 31 (year not specified in the presentation). She warned the overall transfer process could take years and the PUC review after any joint filings could add a year or more.

The transfer program covers a water service territory of about 400 square miles, Stewart said, and roughly 40% of the city’s customers live outside Georgetown city limits. The base bid area for the RFP will include “areas 6, 9, and 10 plus a majority of area 1,” and Stewart said the base bid would encompass about 9,000 current customers; a broader total of about 11,500 customers has been cited previously but that number may include customers in adjoining cities depending on whether neighboring cities take their portions.

Stewart said the city will evaluate proposals on five factors, not price alone: (1) utilities experience and qualifications (including PUC experience), (2) ability to provide continuous and adequate service, (3) the bidder’s long‑term water delivery plan, (4) the bidder’s water system modification plan (ability to provide service without relying on Georgetown’s delivery system), and (5) price. She said the city will provide detailed due diligence materials (pipe inventories, depreciated asset values, customer and growth projections and bond defeasance information) but will require nondisclosure agreements before releasing confidential data.

On pricing and rate impacts, Stewart said Georgetown will not set a minimum sale price in the RFP and will allow bidders to propose prices based on the city’s financial and customer data. She said the city will reject proposals that immediately impose a bidder’s existing rates for other systems on acquired Georgetown customers by relying on the Texas Water Code provision that allows some utilities to adopt existing tariffs. “We’re gonna first reject any price proposals that seek to charge the offeror’s existing rates for other water systems upon closing the transaction,” Stewart said. She also said the city will neither require nor preclude use of the PUC “fair market value” rate‑making process but will consider it among other factors.

Stewart described discussions with neighboring jurisdictions about taking portions of the CCN: Killeen has requested a northern pink area near the river (Stewart said Killeen asked to exclude any area that has Georgetown infrastructure), Salado has expressed interest though it currently has no utility or infrastructure, Florence was still evaluating whether to keep its territory, and Liberty Hill was also still considering and noted to have substantial customers and infrastructure. Areas outside any city extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) — identified by engineering pressure planes such as the Hoover and West service areas — would be included in the RFP base bid.

Stewart provided growth projections for the transfer area: about “a little less than 350,000 people going out to 2070” and projected water demand of roughly 50,000,000 gallons per day by 2070. She described the due diligence package available to bidders, including spreadsheets listing pipe diameters, materials, ages and depreciated values.

Councilmembers asked about timing and practical effects for customers. Stewart and other staff emphasized that any transfer is not immediate: final transfers would require agreements with neighboring cities, a joint PUC filing and PUC processes that could extend the timeline by about a year. Stewart said the city will invite council members to participate in the evaluation team, and that selected shortlisted bidders will be given access to additional data and invited to site tours.