Officials from the Brownsville Public Utilities Board and City Manager’s Office presented an update regarding electric rates during last Tuesday’s city commission meeting.
The presentation took place as a work session item, meaning commissioners would not vote or take any action, only hear the presentation and pose questions.
John Bruciak, general manager of BPUB, said the utility staff and board are concerned about the large bills and that their goal for the evening was to educate the community about why bills are increasing and how they plan to assist customers.
“As employees, we’re dedicated to our utility and our community,” Bruciak said. “As customers, we’ve seen some of the same high bills as we’ve all seen this summer and we know no customer likes surprises when they open their bill.
“We acknowledge this is a tough time for our customers and we’re doing our best to help in any way, shape or form that we can. … This is not a Brownsville problem. This is a nationwide problem that we’re trying to get our hands on.”
Mike Perez, BPUB assistant general manager and chief financial officer, said there are three main reasons that utility bills have gone up in price.
“We’ve had a scorching summer with record-breaking heat, which has led to higher customer energy usage,” Perez said.
Another factor is “record-high inflation” that contributes to higher natural gas prices, he said. Natural gas prices have gone up 70% since June 2022 and 525% since June 2020.
Higher bills are also attributed to a rate adjustment, a new resaca fee and an increase in water and wastewater rates that took effect in June.
“Although BPUB lowered the base electric rate by 11% in June, higher natural gas prices outweigh that 11% which is why electric bills went up,” Perez said. “BPUB has kept the Fuel-Purchase and Energy Charge [rate] static for five years as part of a bill reduction program, but as base-electric rates went down and natural gas prices went up, it became necessary to adjust the FPEC rate to reflect market prices.
“Additionally, to keep up with the growth of ongoing maintenance and increased demand on our water and wastewater systems, there were some water, wastewater rate increases for the first time in years in June, along with the new resaca fee for all BPUB customers.”
The resaca fee covers BPUB’s share of grant funding, which provides money for staff and equipment.
Marilyn Gilbert, BPUB assistant general manager and chief operating officer, said “some of the immediate relief programs that help customers are further defined on the PUB website.”
As for medium-term measures, BPUB has to conduct research before rolling out assistance programs, according to Gilbert.
BPUB’s Risk Oversight Committee and Qualified Scheduling Entity have been researching options for hedging natural gas prices to reduce future financial risk, according to the presentation. Hedging is when a utility company locks in to future gas prices to keep bills consistent.
Also discussed as a long-term measure was advanced metering, which would allow customers to access data about their energy usage.
“Everyone right now has a phone on their hands and they wanna see, ‘What is my data consumption?’” Gilbert said. “I call my bank, I’m able to see what my balance is. … That’s exactly what it is. It’s data at your fingertips. But that’s not something that can be implemented right away. It’s going to take some time for us to bring and change out some of the various, different meters.”
She said short-term measures include the Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program, which funds the majority of customer claims and most individuals will qualify.
There are also two additional programs: the Elderly Low-Income Assistance Program and the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program.
Gilbert also said BPUB has two partners that can further assist customers who are struggling.
For further assistance, call Community Action Corp. of Texas at 435-0379 or Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley at 541-0220.
