El Paso Electric Franchise Agreement

“We would like to thank the City of El Paso for approving the franchise application. We look forward to continuing to engage and invest in ECE communities over the long term to help CUSTOMERS, employees and ECE communities and foster the development of a sustainable way to protect the environment and a clean energy future. On Tuesday, the El Paso City Council approved first reading of an ordinance to transfer the utility franchise to the new owner with some changes in the franchise agreement. Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and hold a final vote at its next regular meeting on February 4. Every four years, Texas law requires utilities to evaluate the rates they charge households, businesses, and governments for electricity. El Paso Electric is currently in the middle of this process, holding public meetings in each city council district to explain the reasons for the expected rate increases. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The El Paso City Council has approved a new franchise agreement with the new potential owners of El Paso Electric. Norman Gordon, an El Paso attorney and consultant hired by the city who helped negotiate with the IIF, told council that FERC is looking at issues other than the city and that the federal agency has until July to decide whether it will approve the sale. He said he, other consultants hired by the city and city officials went out of their way to get the best deal for the city and El Paso Electric`s fee payers in the franchise transfer and sale agreement approved by the Texas Public Utilities Commission in January.

The City of El Paso`s franchise agreement was last amended in 2010. The agreement stipulated that EPE would pay the City of El Paso a quarterly fee of 4% of the gross revenue THAT EPE receives from its customers within the city limits. El Paso Electric Company (EPE), in collaboration with the Infrastructure Investment Fund (IIF), in collaboration with the City of El Paso, held community meetings on the pending settlement agreement and the ongoing regulatory process regarding the sale of EPE to IIF. “We pushed them very hard in many ways and a lot of provisions of these agreements and a lot of these legal documents are a lot of things that we pushed. We didn`t get everything we wanted, but we got a lot,” Pearlmutter said. Danielle Prokop is a climate change and environment reporter at El Paso Matters. She has covered climate, local government and community at the Scottsbluff Star-Herald in Nebraska and Santa Fe New Mexican. She can be reached at dprokop@elpasomatters.org.

“It`s possible, even if IIF is a subsidiary of JPMorgan (federal agencies), it could ultimately be a good steward for the power company,” Rodriguez said. “But again, it is reluctant to give definitive answers to its ownership structure” is troubling. Currently, the utility is demanding a more than 13 percent increase in retail customers, meaning an average household consuming 686 kilowatt hours per month would increase their bill by nearly $12, according to the tariff case filed with state regulators. A specific fee called a “retail customer fee” is an additional $2.29 per month. This charge is separate from electricity tariffs. The El Paso City Council has the power to set rates for individuals within the city limits, a power conferred on the council under state law, the city code, and the franchise agreement with El Paso Electric. The city council voted unanimously at the end of June to suspend the proposed rates. City employees, lawyers and external contractors are reviewing the 6,000-page submission and the city is expected to release its own best offer in October. This page provides resources detailing the EPE agreements, below are the EP Electric franchise agreements that the former city council voted on, and the proposed franchise agreements El Paso Electric is asking to transfer its municipal franchise as part of the sale process the company has taken its first step towards approval by the city council. Representatives of El Paso District Judge Ricardo Samaniego, the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, the El Paso Chamber of Hispanic Commerce, the Economic Development Organization Borderplex Alliance and the El Paso County United Way ruled in favor of the sale of utilities and the transfer of municipal franchises.

In May 2019, El Paso Electric (EPE) announced that the utility would be sold to the Infrastructure Investment Fund (IIF). The complex deal requires review and approval by the El Paso City Council and state regulators, to name a few. EPE operates under franchise agreements with several cities in its service area, allowing the utility to use the public rights of way necessary to serve its customers. These agreements allow EPE to access electrical infrastructure in urban alleys and road corridors that provide and maintain service to customers. This article article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. Today`s vote was 4-2 in favor of the franchise deal, with MPs Svarzbein and Annello voting no, REP Salcido abstaining and Dr. . . .