ROCKPORT, Tx — The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) has ordered the City of Rockport to once again provide “sufficient” proof of refunds issued to ratepayers outside city limits.
This ongoing process stems from water rate adjustments and refunds for out-of-city ratepayers in 2023. These customers were charged 10% more for water and 27% more for wastewater, affecting roughly 4,500 ratepayers.
The issue began after a petition filed by Rockport residents prompted a review by the PUC. The commission determined the premium rates were not supported by cost-of-service data and directed the city to provide refunds to overcharged customers.
The city repealed the higher rates and issued three months’ worth of refunds to ratepayers, totaling $127,450.39. In January of this year, the city filed a motion to dismiss the petition.
In July, the city submitted refund data to the PUC. However, analyses of the data revealed there was “not enough information to make a recommendation on the sufficiency of the refunds.”
An administrative law judge (ALJ) extended the city’s deadline to October 16, cautioning the city to “refrain from complaining because it only wastes time.” On October 18, the city filed the proof of refunds. Once again, the PUC found the submission insufficient.
“The ALJ does not understand how Rockport could have issued refunds and filed an affidavit attesting that the refunds were correct and complete but not have any data to support that action,” the filing stated.
The ALJ added that the 1,251 pages submitted by Rockport on October 15, 2024, appeared to be a “data dump” and did not sufficiently address the PUC’s concerns.
City Manager Vanessa Shrauner told KRIS 6 that the delays are due to complications with the third-party software provider.
“We have made some good faith attempts to give them data, proving that we have given the refunds, and they want it in a very specific format that our third-party billing company has yet to be able to provide,” Shrauner said.
“We’ve spent hundreds of hours working with them to get the data in the format that the PUC would like to see it, and we’ll continue to do so until the PUC is satisfied,” she added.
When asked what steps the city might take if Tyler Technologies cannot provide the requested data, Shrauner said they may resort to providing printed copies of every bill but will first seek guidance from the judge.
She also mentioned ongoing discussions with Tyler Technologies to improve their systems, making them more “robust” in the future.
“The city, to me, has lost a little bit of public trust,” Rockport resident Andrew Kane told KRIS 6. “I think their inability to properly run this utility and account for the billings that they’re charging customers [is frustrating].”
Kane and his brother Patrick have been actively involved in the issue. Patrick launched RockportWater.com, a website posting updates, documents, and the original petition submitted to the PUC.
“It’s frustrating that this is still dragging on,” Kane said. “It’s a waste of the city’s resources, a waste of taxpayers’ money with the legal systems and the lawyers. We just need to get our work turned in and get this behind us.”
As of the latest filing, the PUC has outlined specific requirements for Rockport to meet by January 25, 2025:
• File a timely and professional response.
• Submit required data in its native format, not as PDFs.
• Ensure all information is readable. (The submission on October 15, 2024, was deemed unacceptable.)
• Provide data only for outside-the-city ratepayers.
• Include an affidavit attesting that the information is correct and complete.
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