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Nueces County seeks answers after months of unusually high city gas bills; parallel meter installed
Summary
County staff told commissioners that gas bills jumped sharply beginning in February; the county installed a parallel meter and hired an engineer who estimated the county should be paying about $48,000/month versus bills exceeding $100,000, and staff recommended a contingency until the dispute with the city is resolved.
County leaders said Tuesday they have begun testing and challenging a series of unusually high gas bills that began this year.
Judge and staff described hiring an outside engineer and installing a parallel gas meter next to the city's meter to verify readings. The county's preliminary engineering estimate is that the county's normal gas bill should be roughly $48,000 per month, not the $100,000-plus bills that began appearing in February.
"We think it's a faulty meter," the judge said, summarizing the engineer's preliminary findings. "The estimate for the outside third-party engineer is we ought to be paying no more than about $48,000 a month for gas here, and we've been paying over a 100." The judge said the county sent a formal letter to the city manager and will continue monitoring the parallel meter data before seeking remediation.
Budget ramifications: budget staff proposed a $750,000 contingency line to cover potential higher utility charges while the dispute is resolved. Commissioners said they expect the county attorney and staff to pursue recovery if the city reading proves incorrect, and asked for continued monitoring and quicker notice when unusually large bills arrive.
Provenance: discussion centered in the building/facilities section of the budget presentation and the facilities'utility subtopic (topicintro: SEG 1196; topfinish: SEG 1266).
