Just who will provide electricity to the new Early Childhood Center and Agriculture buildings at the Whitesboro High School campus when they open in August could still be up in the air depending upon who one asks.
The city of Whitesboro says it has permanent power ready to go at the ECC already and plans to have it there for the Ag facility by the end of the week. Pentex Energy, which supplies power tp the rest of the buildings on the WHS campus, says it has power ready to go to those facilities and the city of Whitesboro has until the middle of July to respond to Pentex’s response to the Public Utility Commission of Texas refusal to grant Pentex injunctive relief to stop the city from providing the power to the new facilities.
City Administrator Phil Harris said the PUC recently refused to rule on a request for an injunction filed by Pentex Energy to stop the city from providing the service to those buildings. Pentex General Manager Neil Hesse agreed that did happen, but said Pentex responded to that denial and it is now up to the city to answer that response.
The filing Pentex provided to the PUC contends that it has maps which show it has the right to provide electricity to the ECC and the Ag. structures as well any future buildings that might be added to the site. Pentex had asked the PUC to stop the city from providing the power to the two buildings.
“It is primarily about regulatory authority and not conflict for us,” Hesse said.
The city contends that it has the right to provide power to those structures and that the Whitesboro Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to have the city provide that power.
Harris said Pentex has until July 20 to decide if they want to continue to pursue the matter. If Pentex does pursue it, they have the choice between a form of mediation or hearing before a judge on the matter.
“It is in Pentex’s court to respond to that,” Harris said.
Harris said that the city doesn’t plan to charge the district for extending the power to the facilities because they are both entities paid from the same taxpayers so it would just be taxpayers giving their money from one entity to another. He said Pentex planned to charge the district around $100,000 to extend the power to the new structures.
“To my knowledge Pentex has made no effort to make that power available in the event that they were the ones providng the power. They have done nothing in that regard,” Harris said.
Hesse said because Pentex already provides power to other structures near that site, it will have no problem providing power to the ECC and Ag facility by the school’s August deadline should the PUC rule in its favor.