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Staff reports: Weatherford utilities show lower-than-average rates, strong reliability and reclaimed-water milestones
Summary
Utility staff presented quarterly dashboard figures showing Weatherford electric and combined water/wastewater rates below regional and national averages, strong reliability metrics, 1 billion gallons returned to Lake Weatherford through reclaimed-water programs, and significant in-house savings on a Lift Station No. 8 project.
City staff presented the municipal utilities’ quarterly dashboard, highlighting lower-than-average rates, favorable reliability metrics and reclaimed-water milestones.
Joe Farley presented electric metrics and said Weatherford’s residential rate for 1,000 kilowatt-hours has been 13¢ for more than three years, comparing favorably with local and national averages. Farley described system reliability using interruption-duration indices: the city’s all-in average outage duration was about 65 minutes through September and Weatherford’s outage performance compared favorably to regional and national benchmarks. "So we're 10 times better than the national average. We're proud of that," Farley said.
Farley also noted customer growth of 2.2% (from 16,967 to 17,343 customers) and reiterated that weather-driven demand, not growth, remains the primary driver of megawatt-hour purchases. When asked about monthly purchase volumes, Farley estimated roughly 330,000–340,000 megawatt-hours for the period discussed and said the city’s contract structure covers incremental growth at fixed cost.
Rick Schaeffer presented water and wastewater performance: the city produced roughly 1.7 billion gallons of treated water for customers and treated nearly 981 million gallons of wastewater plus 35 million gallons from wholesale customer Hudson Oaks. Schaeffer said reclaimed-water operations delivered 206 million gallons this quarter and about 1 billion gallons were returned to Lake Weatherford annually via multiple permits and lagoon reuse. He also reported five water-quality complaints for the year and said treatment has been effective at removing taste-and-odor compounds.
Schaeffer highlighted in-house rehab and construction savings: the utility’s crew averaged roughly $104 per linear foot on completed rehab projects and is constructing Lift Station No. 8 largely in-house with an estimated cost near $2 million compared with an engineer estimate of $6.5 million; Schaeffer said the station is sized for about 5.5 million gallons per day to accommodate growth.
Board members thanked staff for performance and asked follow-up questions about workforce turnover and purchase-power volumes. Staff noted upcoming items, including a Tarrant Regional Water report in December.
