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Electric officials drillecSomewhere, somebody's got to have faith The words of Charles Herring, general manager of the Lower Colorado River Authority. were spoken Thursday to renew confidence in the management of the system that provides electricity in west Williamson County.Herring s plea, however, did not dispel the skepticism of the 250 militant electricity con sumers who gathered in the Leander High School cafeteria In fact, as the 3-hour meeting disintegrated, homeowners accused the LCRA and the Peder-nales Electric Cooperative of conspiracy in jacking up the price of electric power in Central TexasThe presentation by the LCRA and PEC officials was well-rehearsed As Tom Hutchison. PEC general manager, pointed out. the public meeting in Leander was the 32nd in the area to explain why electric bills have skyrocketed in the past two years For most, it was a familiar story The co-op purchases the electricity generated by the LCRA and distributes it to PEC members If theelectricity costs more, then the consumers must pay moreHutchison said the retail price of electricity in west Williamson County has more than doubled in the last 14 months because LCRA must pay more for natural gas And Herring. LCRA general manager, said that the gas supplier, the Coastal .States Gas Corporation, has broken its 23-year contract with LCRA and jumped its prices 7(X) percent since June 1973 Rut the homeowners, particularly the members of COST (Consumers Opposing Surcharge Tariff), added a new wrinkle to the Thursday night meeting They asked questions some of them very difficult, some of them very personal One of the most poignant was What is therelationship between the PEC and the LCRA7 George Dutton, COST chairman from Liberty Hill, asked Hutchison to defend his position that there is no conspiracy between the cooperative and the river authority.As for overlapping employment Hutchison said, the relationship is difficult to define. PEC, the largest rural cooperative in Texas, has only 11 employees of its own However, the co-op contracts with LCRA for manhours of work from specialized LC RA employees Hutchison said Making the explanation more contusing, the PEC general manager admitted that his assistant. Bennie Fuelberg. is the son of Ben Fuelberg, a top LCRA official Jim Burnett, COST member, charged that itPlease turn to page 10Week's news in nutshellWILLIAMSON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS tabled Monday a request from Sheriff August Bosshard for a padded cell at the county jail The sheriff said the cell is required by state statute for detaining prisoners suspected
Newspaper Details
Georgetown Sunday Sun
Georgetown, Texas, US
Sun, Mar 16, 1975
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Theodore C.
USA 02 Jun 2025
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