The Brownsville Public Utilities Board and the City of Brownsville discussed in executive session — in a special city commission meeting — the impact the winter storm had on Electric Reliability Council of Texas participants, including BPUB, and if possible action needed to be taken.
The item discussed in executive session stated: “Executive Session for report, discussion, and possible action on impact of Winter Storm URI on Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) participants, including the Brownsville Public Utilities Board, impact of costs, payment options, remedial options for recovery of any losses including legal, regulatory, and legislative actions, possible Brownsville Public Utilities Board plan of action, and Board action thereon.”
The special city commission was held Tuesday.
Commissioner Ben Neece abstained from participating in the executive session because he said the meeting should be public so that the community can be fully informed about these important matters.
“Mayor, I would like for the Madam Secretary to know that I won’t be participating in this executive session, the reason is that I don’t think it’s proper … the public should be fully informed about these things,” Neece said.
The city commission and the BPUB Board went into executive session for a little less than two hours. After the meeting the city commission passed a motion to continue with Project Delta, which includes the provision of, negotiations surrounding, and the acquisition of property interests for public utilities, public services and related matters.
The commission did not mention what was discussed during executive session about BPUB.
Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez posted on his Facebook page this week that BPUB customers will not see an impact for increased fuel charges due to the severe winter storm on their March bill.
“The statewide impact from the freeze will be huge, however. Some entities are in bad shape financially, and the gas industry figures to profit in a big way unless the legislature steps in to curtail the costs and find a permanent solution to the problem,” Mendez posted on his Facebook account.
“Thankfully, all indications are that PUB will not see a large shortfall. The board continues to look for ways to ensure that customers are not impacted in the future. There’s still some major issues to address going forward such as the reasons for prolonged outages and no explanation or schedule for rolling blackouts for residents. Stay tuned.”
