City Manager updates council on PUC grievance

This story has been updated with a clarification from Graham City Manager Brandon Anderson.

Graham City Manager Brandon Anderson updated the council Thursday on the status of a Texas Public Utility Commission appeal filed by the city’s wholesale customers October 2017 and on the future of water improvements in Graham.

The city of Graham started installing new water meters throughout the city in April 2016, with the company Ferguson Mueller, after they encountered high incidents regarding incorrectly read water meters in 2015. After complaints in the community regarding the rates under the new meters, it was not until September 2017, the city was able to set a rate from which they could collect accurate data from a year later. The appeal from the city’s wholesale customers was filed October 2017 with the PUC and claimed the city was not following the contractual agreements made between the city and the four wholesale entities when they set their new rates.

The wholesale customers for the city are Fort Belknap Water Supply Corporation, Graham East Water Supply Corporation, the City of Bryson and the City of Newcastle, with Graham serving as their home rule city which owns and operates wholesale and retail public water utilities. In April 2019, the city of Graham voted to lower the wholesale water rate to $5.52 per 1,000 gallons used. The city’s past water rate ordinance for wholesale customers was a flat rate of $6.35 per 1,000 gallons used.

Anderson said in August 2019 that if the city lost the PUC appeal with the wholesale customers the city would potentially have to pay back $250,000- 500,000. The wholesale customers sent a letter of disagreeemnt to the PUC's decision in which it was stated the entities did not prove their burden which Anderson said will be ruled on Feb. 14 in Austin.

“We believe at that time it will be resolved and we will be able to move forward,” Anderson said. “We are also waiting on end of the year numbers in terms of how we did in the water fund to see what kind of money we have to work with, because right now we are pretty highly leveraged with the amount of bonds that we put out on the new water plant.”

Anderson said in the May 30 public statement that the conclusion of this grievance with the PUC will allow the city to move forward on plans for water improvements and reiterated those feelings during the meeting Thursday.

“So, what we want to do is, and this was our proposal and the reason why we took the bite that we did in terms of water rates, to try to find some money to start working on water projects,” Anderson said. “The water projects that we have in mind, we need an alternate liner to town which we have talked about. We need to consider a standpipe on Spivey Hill, which is probably not as high priority, but would help with water quality and water pressure up on Spivey Hill. But also to addressing the large (water) lines that are of age that need to be replaced.”

For the full story, see the Wednesday, Jan. 29 edition of The Graham Leader.