El Paso Times on the El Paso Electric rate case

El Paso Electric rate vote postponed

By Gustavo Reveles Acosta \ El Paso Times

Posted: 05/26/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT

EL PASO -- Three hours of deliberations were not enough for the City Council to vote on a proposed electric rate increase, and now that decision must wait a month.

The council on Tuesday was scheduled to vote on a $17 million rate increase requested by El Paso Electric late last year.

But a dispute over whether enough money is being allocated for alternative energy programs kept city representatives from making a decision.

Ultimately, the council agreed to postpone the vote for four weeks to give city staff and the electric company more time to reach an agreement on just how much money should be set aside to help El Paso homeowners install solar panels on their roofs.

"I'm frustrated. I was ready to vote. I thought we had a good agreement. I don't know what else we could get," said city Rep. Susie Byrd, who unsuccessfully moved to approve the rate increase with the provision that at least $1.5 million of city and El Paso Electric money be used to reimburse people who want solar panels.

That proposed rate increase would mean residential bills would go up about $2.86 for most homes.
Electric company officials also agreed to increase the solar-panel reimbursement budget of $157,000 by $100,000 this year and $500,000 in 2011.

"This is the agreement that we came up with, and I don't think anyone was very happy with it," said El Paso Electric CEO David Stevens. "I was screaming bloody murder because I know I don't think we are getting enough, although I know (city officials) think they're paying too much, too." 

When the company first applied for a rate increase in December, company officials said they wanted a $52-million-a-year increase, which would have raised monthly bills by close to $6 a month.

The original application didn't mention any beefing up of the solar panel program, but El Paso Electric later added it at the request of the council.

City Rep. Steve Ortega was one of four council members who voted against Byrd's motion to approve the rate increase. He said the the proposal didn't do enough to promote solar energy in El Paso.

"I guarantee you that at the end of this month they are going to come back with a better package than what was presented today," Ortega said after the meeting. "How could we be the solar capital of anything with an investment of just $500,000? That's not enough."

Under Byrd's plan, the city would use money the electric company pays in franchise fees plus money from a legal settlement to increase the funding for solar panel installation.

The current reimbursement plan is budgeted at only $157,000, and officials with the city said the money ran out two minutes after it became available. Only about eight homes received funding.

Ortega said he is seeking funding to match that of Texas' larger cities, which spend millions of dollars on solar-panel reimbursement each year.

Environmentalist groups in El Paso lauded the decision by the council as a sign that alternative energy demands are becoming a key factor in rate increase cases.

The rate case will now be decided in late June. The Public Utility Commission of Texas must also OK the rate increase.

Gustavo Reveles Acosta may be reached at greveles@elpasotimes.com; 546-6133.