This Council meeting was, in a word, electric. Council suspended the effective date of Oncor Electric’s rate increase that was to occur on August 8, 2008. Because of the suspension, city officials will have more time to review the application and decide on the final action, including settlement or denial of the increase.

Not only were electricity rates discussed at the meeting, but Oncor’s service was also a concern for many in attendance. Wayne Fox from the Timbers represented people from 50 homes in his subdivision. Power was out from noon on June 17 to 8 p.m. on June 18. When the power technicians inspected the area surrounding the above-ground lines during the outage, they identified the problem of overgrown trees that allegedly caused two fires after fuses were reset and power was restored. Gerald Perrin, an Oncor representative, addressed Council and the concerned citizens and said that he would send out a team the following day to do a “comprehensive tree trimming.” However, some residents are skeptical that the trees are the real problem.

Citizens in Murphy Farms have also endured many power outages. City Manager James Fisher said that the trees in Murphy Farms were trimmed last spring, and outages are still happening. Some residents believe the problem lies in the lines or in the grid. Council and citizens are also concerned that the arborists will butcher the trees to accommodate these above-ground lines. Council encouraged Mr. Perrin to work more closely with the city and its citizens.

Staying on the topic of electricity, Mark Stubbs, CEO of Farmers Electric Cooperative, explained that electric bills are up because the price of natural gas has risen. To keep costs down, the cooperative will develop a portfolio approach, and it hopes to hedge 50 percent over an 18-month period. Councilmember Eric Barna told the representative that citizens should have had advance notice regarding the recent rate increase. Mr. Stubbs said that he attempted to have notices out by June 1, but it didn’t happen. Councilmember Colleen Halbert asked Mr. Stubbs about the possibility of nuclear energy, but he said, “Although I’m a huge fan of nuclear energy, it probably won’t be a reality for another 10 years.”

Flipping the switch off of the electricity topic, Council approved the Collin County Inter-Jurisdictional Mutual Aid Agreement that will allow Murphy to receive mutual aid from neighboring cities and vice versa. This agreement will be in effect for one year.