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Temple staff recommend suspending Encore rate request; city faces potential $483,000 annual increase
Summary
City staff told the council at a July 17 workshop that Encore Energy filed a rate request that would raise transmission and distribution charges and a separate charge tied to streetlighting; staff recommended suspending the request and asking the cities’ steering committee to review it.
City staff recommended the City Council suspend an Encore Energy rate request and let a multi‑city steering committee review the filing, city staff said during a July 17 budget workshop.
The recommendation follows Encore’s June 26 filing. City staff presented the company’s request as a systemwide transmission and distribution increase (13%) and a 51% increase in the item described to the council as the "streetlighting" or related pass‑through charge. Staff said the combined request would raise the city’s annual electric expense for municipal accounts from about $947,000 to roughly $1.43 million — an additional $483,000 per year if Encore’s filing were implemented as requested. Staff said an average residential bill would rise about $7.90 per month from the proposed residential rate change.
Why it matters: staff told the council that, under state utility law, the city holds original jurisdiction over electric rates within city limits and must act within 35 days after a filing. "The law says that we have 35 days to act on the proposed rate change," a staff presenter told the council, describing four options: deny, approve, suspend for up to 90 days while the city investigates, or do nothing (in which case the change would take effect administratively on the 35th day).
The staff recommendation is to suspend and participate in the regional review process conducted by the steering committee of cities served by Encore. Staff said the committee represents roughly 170 member cities, is funded by per‑capita assessments (Temple paid about $8,000–$10,000 last year), and hires experts to analyze utility filings before the state regulator. Staff told the council the steering committee typically negotiates with utilities and spreads expert review costs across member cities.
Staff stressed the suspension is intended to buy time for technical review, not to preclude any negotiated settlement. The presenter told the council the steering committee has historically questioned and removed some items in past filings that members judged unrelated to the delivery system.
The council’s consent agenda included a resolution to suspend Encore’s rate request and proceed with the steering committee review. The transcript did not record a formal vote in the workshop; the suspension resolution was noted as placed on the upcoming regular meeting’s consent calendar for council action.
Ending: City staff said the effective date for Encore’s requested changes would be July 31 if the city took no action. Staff asked council to confirm whether to move the suspension resolution forward on the consent agenda and to rely on the steering committee to coordinate technical review.
