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Richardson staff recommends suspending Encore rate changes while steering committee reviews request
Summary
City staff briefed the Richardson City Council on EncoreEnergy's systemwide rate filing seeking roughly $834 million (about a 13% revenue increase). Staff recommended adopting a 90-day suspension of the proposed effective date to allow the cityand a 170-city steering committee to review and negotiate the request.
Richardson staff told the City Council that Encore filed a systemwide rate request in June seeking roughly $834,000,000 in increased revenue—about a 13% rise citywide—and that the filing would, if approved as filed, raise the average residential bill by about $8 per month and increase the city's street-lighting charge by an estimated $250,000 annually.
The briefing, led by Todd Gasfoeff, identified a 35-day window for local action after Encore's June filing and explained that state law lets cities suspend the proposed effective date for 90 days. Gasfoeff said staff's recommendation is for council to adopt a resolution (scheduled for the council agenda the following Monday) to suspend the effective date and allow the city's steering committee of roughly 170 municipalities, plus hired attorneys and rate consultants, to review the filing and negotiate a settlement.
The proposed suspension would push the effective date from the late July deadline toward October and give the steering committee time to seek a negotiated settlement that could then be considered by the Public Utility Commission. Gasfoeff noted that contesting a PUC decision later would require the city to bear its own legal costs.
Mayor Amir Omar asked for the suspension deadline, and Gasfoeff said the city's 35-day deadline after the June 26 filing would fall on July 31, with the practical last date to act being Monday, July 28.
No formal council vote on the suspension was taken at the meeting; staff said the item would appear on the next council agenda for formal action.
Ending
Staff will present a resolution on the next council agenda to suspend Encore's proposed effective date for 90 days to allow consultant review and potential negotiation through the steering committee. If council does not act, the proposed rates could go into effect under state timelines. The council did not take final action at the meeting.
