PUB HISTORY
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| For nearly a century, the Brownsville Public Utilities Board has been part of Brownsville, helping it grow and lighting its future. In 1907, Brownsville got its first ever electric and water plants after local residents unanimously voted for the issuance of bonds to construct a utility system. |
Before then, home lighting came from kerosene lamps, wood-burning stoves were used for cooking and untreated water was taken from the Rio Grande for all purposes. The electric-producing plant used mesquite wood to fire up 500 kilowatts. Electricity was conserved by turning off the street lights whenever the moon was shining.
In the 1920s, the utility system began turning over about $10,000 monthly to the City of Brownsville. A decade later, the utility began powering more than just residential homes, but huge industrial hubs such as the Port of Brownsville, the U.S. Fort Brown Military Reservation and Pan American Airways at the Brownsville Municipal Airport.
Emphasis then began shifting toward the drought and critical water shortage of the 1950s. Engineering officials, said, "Brownsville should not consider the Rio Grande a satisfactory long term water supply." Several years later, rainfall filled up the watersheds and the Rio Grande, boosting Brownsville's water supply again.
The 1960s changed the course of history for the city utility department. The electrical provider Central Power & Light Co. wanted to buy the Brownsville utility. The issue was up for a vote by the citizens who would decide whether to sell the utility. The citizens voted against the sale and by a narrow margin, the creation of the Brownsville Public Utilities Board (BPUB) occurred. BPUB became a municipally owned utility (MOU), which gives customers control over the management of their utility because the decisions are made by a local board and/or city commission.
in 1967 at the entrance of the
Silas Ray Power Plant grounds.
Public Utilities Board - 1960 (left to right)
Barry Putegnat, Carlos Watson, Dr. J.C. George,
Gus Peña, Ruben Edelstein, General Manager George Weir.
(left to right) PUB Board members David Gelfer,
Michele Deaton, Mayor Nacho Garza, Vincent Crixell, General Manager William Towers, Ray Lopez, and
Lee Kirkpatrick.Talks shifted again toward water issues in the 1980s as the company began to plan for the future due to the receding water levels. The Brownsville Weir & Reservoir Project was one of the projects initiated as well as the construction of a second water treatment plant. The 1990s spurred an explosion of growth and to date, BPUB is continuing to accommodate for the growing population.
Today, Brownsville PUB is ranked as one of the largest MOU's in the state and country. In 2005, BPUB received upgrades in ratings from “Baa1” to “A2” from Moody’s Investors, from “A-“ to an "A" rating from the Standard & Poor's, and an "A" rating from Fitch IBCA, an international bond rating agency, for its utility system senior revenue bonds. The “A2” rating from Moody’s reflects the 2005 debt restructuring which strengthens the Brownsville PUB’s financial and debt position. The rating also incorporates the continuing expansion of the system’s solid service area, which will provide for increases in the customer base, and measures taken by the BPUB to make the system competitive and fiscally solid. In addition, Standard and Poor’s also cited the Board’s competitive user rates and the city’s role as a growing economic center for the region as its rationale for the upgrade. Brownsville PUB is aggressively competing in the water and electric markets and continues to strive for excellence in customer service, community outreach, energy production, and delivering of water, wastewater and electric services.
