High Noon Utility Board Meeting Set
By Phil Riddle, Weatherford Democrat, Texas
Jul. 17–High noon is historically the time for showdowns, and there may be one Friday at midday when concerned customers of Weatherford Electric gather to address the city’s utility board about skyrocketing power rates.
“They’ve got to do something about the electric bills,” said one man, who declined to be identified. “My bill went from about $120 to more than $250 in a month. I can’t afford that. Right now I have to decide whether to pay my electric bill or get groceries. It’s bad.”
A flyer begin circulating in the city the last few days urging citizens to be at the meeting, slated for City Council Chambers at City Hall.
City officials say the boost in customers’ bills is a result of a volatile natural gas market. Weatherford’s main power supplier is a gas-fired plant. Natural gas has been setting price records along for most of 2008.
Prior to January of this year, the city got its electricity from a coal-powered plant near Vernon in West Texas.
Congestion charges to the city, reportedly due to increasing wind energy production in the region, was the catalyst for a contract with the current energy provider.
On Friday’s agenda is a planned presentation of electric utility rates, outlining the reasons for the price surge.
“The cost of natural gas tends to follow crude oil and has increased considerably over the past year,” the agenda information reads. “The price has gone from approximately $6 (per million BTUs) in July 2007 to $13.6 today. This volatility has resulted in higher costs for all consumers.”
The explanation goes on to say the municipal utility passes on fuel costs to customers, which has resulted in the higher bills.
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Copyright (c) 2008, Weatherford Democrat, Texas
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