More and more news outlets are picking up the story of how Georgetown's foray into renewable energy has turned sour. The Texas Monitor is the latest publication to chronicle Georgetown's solar electric debacle and the ongoing costs to the rate payers.
In addition to the lawsuit that Georgetown has filed against Buckthorn Westex, LLC, there is another lawsuit against the City for failing to justify keeping secret the break-even or payback period of the solar panels installed on the roof of the Westside Service Center.
As part of its renewable program, the Georgetown utility announced it was installing solar panels atop its service center at a cost of $271,452. Terrill Putnam, a resident and customer, filed a Texas Public Information Act request to find out if, or when, the panels would pay for themselves.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office agreed that the city could withhold the information, claiming state public disclosure law allows a municipality to withhold information in a competitive market like energy.
Putnam’s recently amended lawsuit, filed in August 2018, claims Georgetown has produced nothing to support its competitive market claims.
The lawsuit touched off public demand for more transparency regarding Georgetown’s entire renewable energy program. The city has provided some information on costs of the program and losses due to changes in the energy market, but little else.This article highlights and reemphasizes the need to change Texas law that allows municipally owned utilities to keep all their financial information secret.
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