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Council hears utility report as water loss tops 30% and gas purchasing drives rate spike
Summary
Staff reported water-loss levels above 30% since October and proposed replacing about 50 water meters per year; council also discussed a December gas bill spike caused by selling back unused contracted gas volumes and whether to absorb or pass the loss to customers.
Tobias reported a water-loss problem that rose to over 30% starting in October and outlined a plan to replace roughly 50 water meters per year to address meter under-registration and reduce loss. Tobias said many meters and some gas meters are roughly 30 years old and should be replaced when reading efficiency drops below roughly 95%.
On gas procurement, staff explained that the city buys fixed volumes and resells any unused contracted gas; an unusually warm December left Crooks selling back about 20,000 units and drove a roughly 20¢ per-unit rate increase from November to December. Staff said the city uses a broker (Clayton Energy) to layer purchases across time and that alternatives—buying no locked volume or long-term storage—have trade-offs and additional costs.
Council members debated whether the city should consider absorbing a one-month loss rather than passing it onto customers, noting some customers served by the municipal gas utility are located outside city limits and that absorbing costs could subsidize non-residents. No final policy change was adopted; members asked staff to place a discussion about absorbing losses on a future agenda.
