Quarterly utilities dashboard: Weatherford rates competitive, reliability trending below targets

City staff presented the quarterly utilities performance dashboard showing Weatherford’s retail electric rate averaged 13¢ per kilowatt-hour for a 1,000 kWh benchmark and that the city compares favorably to local and national averages. Joe Farley said the city’s residential electric rate has averaged about 3% below the average retail electric provider over the last quarter and roughly 30% below the national average. Farley also explained reliability metrics: the customer average interruption duration index (CAIDI) target is 90 minutes and the city’s current CAIDI is 81 minutes; the system average interruption duration index is currently 25 minutes.

Staff also reviewed water and wastewater financials. Schaefer explained that operational costs appeared in the red for the quarter primarily because transfers back to the general fund were 25% above the four-year average after a city council resolution adjusted transfer calculations to reflect CPI; he added that a $196,000 dump truck delivered in October 2024 also affected the wastewater cost comparison. On reclaimed water, staff reported the combined return into Lake Weatherford was nearly 250,000,000 gallons for the quarter; staff noted short-term operational disruptions (pump outages and a bearing failure) caused minor shortfalls against targets. Board members praised staff response to outages and asked follow-up questions about reliability and comparative rates.