KERENS–Kerens City Council adopted an Oct. 11 resolution denying Oncor Electric Delivery Company’s application to increase rates. The resolution also seeks to reimburse the alliance of cities to which Kerens belongs for rate case expenses.
Kerens is a municipality in Oncor’s service area that has not ceded jurisdiction to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and has exclusive original jurisdiction over the rates, operations and services of Oncor, pursuant to the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act.
Kerens also belongs to the Steering Committee of Cities Served by Oncor, an organization of more than 140 cities in north and central Texas with residents served by the Oncor transmission and distribution utility.
Council adopted a resolution June 7 to push back by three months Oncor’s base rate increase request for customers under Kerens’ jurisdiction. Oncor, the largest electric delivery company in Texas, states in a news release that the company is seeking a $251 million annual revenue increase over current adjusted rates.
According to the release, the new rates could result in a 4.2% overall increase on bills for the average residential customer using 1,300 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month with a retail electric plan charging 11 cents per kWh. This would mean a cost increase of 20 cents per day or $6.02 per month, the release states.
Kemp and Malakoff also are members of the Steering Committee of Cities Served by Oncor, according to the steering committee’s website.
In other business, council:
• Approved a specific-use permit to allow a mobile home on North Wright Avenue.
• Heard a variance request to the city’s camper ordinance but tabled the item until November’s meeting.
• Accepted the Kerens Police Department’s Chapter 59 Asset Forfeiture Report, which stated the department has spent money buying Narcan, an anti-opioid overdose medication.
• Approved continuing membership in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) for 2023.