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Nov

10

Judges set interim rates in Monarch case

Posted by : Erik Walsh | On : November 10, 2011

Category: County, Government

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UPDATE: Story is updated with comments from a Monarch representative.

UPDATE 2: Updates Monarch ownership information.

By Michael V. Hannigan

This is a good week for Monarch Utilities customers; their rates are going down, at least for now.

Starting with the first meter reading after Nov. 15 – which will probably be the December bill – rates will revert back to what they were before an increase went into effect on Aug. 1 of this year. At that time Monarch customers started paying an average 55-percent more for water and sewer service.

The increase came in connection with at the same time as Monarch’s application to merge its eight Certificates of Convenience

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Oct

26

Politicians speak out on Monarch rates

Posted by : Erik Walsh | On : October 26, 2011

Category: County, Government

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By Michael V. Hannigan

Henderson County’s representatives in Austin — Rep. Lance Gooden, and Sen. Robert Nichols — have taken their stances in the Monarch Utilities rate case, and both have come down on the side of the customers.

Monarch filed a request with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to raise water and sewer rates this year, its second request in four years. The combined increase of about 55 percent utility-wide went into effect Aug. 1.

According to Monarch’s Notice of Proposed Rate Change, most customers

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Oct

21

Rep. Gooden talks about Monarch Water

Posted by : Erik Walsh | On : October 21, 2011

Category: Government, Guest Columnists, Opinion

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State Rep. Lance Gooden

Dear Friends,

This update will be of particular interest to the almost 3,000 ratepayers in Henderson County that are customers of Monarch Water. For the majority of the citizens of Henderson and Kaufman Counties, water service is provided by city governments or water supply corporations with a city council or governing board made up of local residents that are held accountable to the people they represent.

As an example, I live in the city of Terrell and the city provides water service to my house. If there was a problem with my water service or a discrepancy with my water bill, I would call the city of Terrell water department and the matter (in most cases) would be resolved quickly. If my problem wasn’t resolved, I might escalate the matter to my city councilman and expect him to get involved. I would also expect to be charged a fair price for water service and not to be billed for water I did not use. That seems reasonable, right?

For about 3,000 citizens in Henderson County that live near or on Cedar Creek Lake or Lake Palestine, the simple scenario I describe above is a dream that never comes true. When many of the housing developments were built along

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