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OPUC is actively assisting residential consumers who have received high electricity bills.

 

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OPUC Annual Meeting

The Office of Public Utility Counsel will conduct our 2023 Annual Meeting with Texas House Chairman Todd Hunter in Corpus Christi, Texas on October 23rd, 2023. For more information on how to participate and attend click here.

OPUC Spotlight

 

The Office of Public Utility Counsel submitted its 2021 Annual Report as required by Section 13.063 of the Public Utility Regulatory Act. The report highlights our success in attaining over $173.5 million  in current year bill savings for residential and small commercial consumers through representation in 51 contested case proceedings before the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

OPUC has intervened in the case before the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) in which the City of Lubbock, acting by and through Lubbock Power & Light (LP&L) is requesting an annual Transmission Cost of Service (TCOS) of $45,005,314 and an annual wholesale transmission rate of $630.54 per megawatt (MW). LP&L is a municipally owned electric utility that serves over 107,000 retail electric customers, including Texas Tech University. OPUC will represent the residential and small commercial customers that will pay the wholesale transmission rates.

The Office of Public Utility Counsel recently submitted its Self-Evaluation Report as part of its ongoing Sunset evaluation. The Sunset process is a periodic review of state agencies to assess their effectiveness and ability to fulfill their statutory duties. OPUC looks forward to working with the Sunset Staff, the Sunset Commission, and other members of the Legislature to identify areas where OPUC has excelled and areas where OPUC can improve going forward.

OPUC intervened in Undine Development LLC’s request for system improvement charges. Undine is a Class A water utility that, together with its affiliates, serves over 10,000 water connections and nearly 3,000 sewer connections. The system improvement charge is a new mechanism created by the Commission to allow water utilities, such as Undine, to levy charges to cover system improvements without the need to come in for a full rate proceeding before the Commission.  Undine’s application is the first of its kind for a system improvement charge.  OPUC will represent the interests of residential and small commercial consumers to ensure that the newly adopted rule is properly enforced and interpreted and that costs passed along to consumers are reasonable and justifiable.

OPUC intervened in a certificate of convenience and necessity case filed by Entergy Texas, Inc. to build and operate the Orange County Advanced Power Station. Entergy’s service territory is located in southeast Texas.  The proposed power plant is a combination gas and hydrogen powered plant to be located in Orange County. OPUC will represent the interests of residential and small commercial consumers to ensure costs borne by ratepayers are reasonable and justified.

OPUC intervened in a certificate of convenience and necessity case filed by Southwestern Public Service Company to convert its existing Harrington Power Station from coal burning to natural gas burning facility. SPS’s service territory is located in west Texas and throughout the Texas panhandle.  The Harrington Power Station is located in Potter County and currently burns coal to produce electricity.  SPS proposes to convert the Harrington Station to a natural gas fueled power plant.  OPUC will represent the interests of residential and small commercial consumers to ensure costs borne by ratepayers are reasonable and justified.

OPUC has been an active party in El Paso Electric Company’s most recent application to change its base rates.  El Paso Electric is located in far west Texas, serving customers in both Texas and New Mexico. In the current application, EPE is seeking to raise their base rates charged to Texas consumers. OPUC will represent the interests of residential and small commercial consumers ensuring that EPE’s proposed rates are reasonable and justified and that costs are properly allocated among EPE’s consumer rate classes.


 

Slide High Electricity Bill? Click Here FOR ASSISTANCE OPUC.texas.gov