Press Releases

BROWNSVILLE, TX – The Brownsville Public Utilities Board (BPUB) will update all of its rates – electric, water and wastewater – after the Brownsville City Commission approved new rates at its May 3 meeting.

On electric bills, customers will see an adjustment lowering the base rate approximately 22 percent. This adjustment will be phased over the course of two years. When the Brownsville City Commission last approved changes to electric rates, an average of 22 percent of the scheduled increases were designated to fund an electric generation project, which didn’t move forward.

Since 2016, BPUB had been using those revenues for its bill reduction program, which kept the fuel, purchased energy and marketing charges (FPEM) on BPUB bills lower than actual costs. The FPEM, seen on a BPUB electric bill as the fuel and energy charge, covers the cost of fuel used for electric generation, purchased power and associated costs. All electric customers pay an FPEM as part of their bill. As the base electric rate is adjusted, BPUB will begin to phase out supplementing the bill reduction program. That means the FPEM will be variable from month to month depending on market conditions during that billing period. Based on current fuel prices, customers will see an increase in their total bill despite the lower base electric rate.

Base electric rates will be adjusted beginning June 1, 2022, and will be reflected on the first bill customers receive after that date. The remainder of the adjustment will be effective June 1, 2023.

Brownsville city commissioners also approved a series of increases to water customer service charges and rates, the first change in water rates in six years, along with a new resaca maintenance fee for all BPUB water customers. This fee will fund BPUB’s ongoing Resaca Restoration Project by matching funds for federal dollars already earmarked for resaca improvements. BPUB recently received $4.6 million in grant funding for Phase 1 of the restoration and dredging of the Town Resaca system. BPUB does not need to provide matching funds during Phase 1 but may need to match funding for subsequent phases. BPUB is also working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on another resaca project in the Jagou area that will require matching funds. The resaca maintenance fee allows for future resaca funding opportunities as well.

The Resaca Restoration Project is linked closely to maintenance and operation of the BPUB water system since clean resacas add to the capacity of raw water storage and storm waters add to the water supply in them. There are additional benefits in that the project improves aesthetics and park areas, and enhances habitats for birds and wildlife.

The water updates and resaca maintenance fee go into effect June 1, 2022.

“These updated rates allow BPUB to continue providing quality utility services to all of its customers now and into the future,” said John S. Bruciak, General Manager and CEO of BPUB. “We rely on these funds to support ongoing growth and improvement projects that benefit our customers and the community.”

The residential water rate increases are as follows:

Effective June 1, 2022	Effective Jan. 1, 2023	Effective Jan. 1, 2024	Effective Jan. 1, 2025	Effective Jan. 1, 2026
8.0%	8.0%	6.0%	4.0%	5.0%

The resaca fee is as follows:

Effective June 1, 2022	Effective Jan. 1, 2023	Effective Jan. 1, 2024	Effective Jan. 1, 2025	Effective Jan. 1, 2026
$4.50	$6.25	$10.00	$10.00	$12.50

The wastewater rates and customer service charges will also see a series of increases effective June 1, 2022. It will be the first change to wastewater rates in eight years. These changes, along with the updates to the water rates, are necessary to keep up with growth, ongoing maintenance and increased demand.

The residential wastewater rate increases are as follows:

Effective June 1, 2022	Effective Jan. 1, 2023	Effective Jan. 1, 2024	Effective Jan. 1, 2025	Effective Jan. 1, 2026
9.0%	9.0%	9.0%	4.0%	5.0%

 

For ongoing updates, visit http://www.brownsville-pub.com, or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/brownsvillepub or Twitter at https://twitter.com/BPUB_Tweets.