Posted on March 29, 2018

All TX Customers to Receive a Credit in Bills Beginning April 2018

All Texas Customers to Receive a Credit in Bills Beginning April 2018
Public Utility Commission of Texas Approves Federal Tax Credit for Texas Customers

 On March 27, 2018, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) approved the federal income tax credit, on an interim basis, as proposed by El Paso Electric (EPE) for its Texas customers. Customers can expect to see the credit in bills as early as April 3, 2018.

The typical Texas residential customer using an average of 635 kilowatt hours of energy per month will see an average monthly bill decrease of $3.83, or 4.5%. A small commercial customer will see an average monthly bill decrease of approximately 4.6%.

EPE expects the PUCT to issue the final order in May 2018.

 

Background:

On March 1, 2018, El Paso Electric (EPE) filed a proposal with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), the City of El Paso and the other incorporated cities and towns within its Texas service territory to provide a credit to customers in Texas for the decrease in the federal income tax rate, effective with bills issued on or after April 1, 2018.

EPE proposed to provide a rate decrease to pass through the effect of the tax reduction by applying a credit to base rates beginning April 1, 2018, on an interim basis, for the electric service EPE provides to all its approximately 320,000 Texas retail customers until final rates are approved.

About the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

The tax rate decrease, from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018, is included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which was signed into law on December 22, 2017. 

About El Paso Electric

El Paso Electric is a regional electric utility providing generation, transmission and distribution service to approximately 418,700 retail and wholesale customers in a 10,000 square mile area of the Rio Grande valley in west Texas and southern New Mexico.

The table below shows the reduction by rate classes:

Rate Class

Bill Impact of Tax Credit

R01-Residential Service

-4.4%

R02-Small General Service

-4.6%

R07-Recreational Lighting Service

-4.7%

R08-Governmental Street Lighting Service

-4.6%

R09-Traffic Signal Service

-3.8%

R11TOU-Municipal Pumping Service

-3.8%

R15-Electrolytic Refining Service

-3.3%

RWH-Water Heating Service

-4.3%

R22-Irrigation Service

-4.0%

R24-General Service

-4.0%

R25-Large Power Service

-3.6%

R26-Petroleum Refining Service

-3.3%

R28-Private Area Lighting Service

-4.5%

R30-Electric Furnace Service

-4.0%

R31-Military Reservation Service

-3.6%

R34-Cotton Gin Service

-4.9%

R41-City/County Service

-4.3%

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