A not-for-profit public trust that wants to buy Indianapolis' water and sewer utilities has agreed to document all of the savings it says the $1.9 billion deal would create. State regulators still must approve the transaction.
Plenty of opportunities await city officials bent on making downtown shine for the massive event.
The city should refuse to pay the contract-termination fee given alleged defaults by Veolia, the consumer group says. Veolia is out after city sells the water company to Citizens Energy Group.
Citizens Energy previously said not using the bonds would add about $100 million to the cost of the deal over 30 years.
Playing a limited role under Indianapolis Water's new owner, Citizens Energy, wouldn't be profitable, Veolia says. Citizens plans to make job offers to "substantially all" Veolia employees.
Citizens Energy Group projects that the gas bill of its average residential customer will decline about 7 percent over the winter heating season. The utility said a customer who uses the typical amount of natural gas will spend $580, down from $620 last season.
If Citizens Energy can successfully manage and mitigate over the next two years the city’s lingering legal and contractual
obligations involving the water and sewer utilities Citizens is negotiating to buy, the city can hang onto an extra $25 million
in the deal.
City-County Council members voted 19-10 Monday night to approve Republican Mayor Greg Ballard’s $1.9 billion plan to
transfer Indianapolis’ water and sewer utilities to Citizens Energy Group.
A plan to transfer the city's water and sewer utilities to Citizens Energy Group faces a key vote Monday night at a meeting
of the City-County Council.
Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis support sale of water, sewer utilities.
City would use $425 million expected from selling the city’s water and sewer utilities to Citizens Energy Group to upgrade
city streets, sidewalks and bridges.
Citizens Energy should have completed the majority of its due diligence of the city’s water and sewer utilities, which
it plans to acquire, by the end of this month.
So far, in discussing his plan to sell the city’s water and sewer utilities, Mayor Greg Ballard has
emphasized the impact on utility rates, the $1.5 billion in city debt Citizens would assume, and the chance
to improve streets and sidewalks. But Ballard also has another key objective: business attraction and
expansion.
A $1.9 billion proposal to sell the city’s water and sewer utilities splashed into public view last month, but some
financial details settling at the bottom line could make the deal harder to swallow.
Citizens Energy Group’s plan to buy the city’s water and sewer systems will require the utility to raise $262 million in new
bond debt and inherit $1.5 billion in debt. Yet Citizens executives maintain the financial load should not impair the bond
ratings of its principal utilities, Citizens Gas and Citizens Thermal.
Cost savings from combining three utilities helped give Citizens Energy Group an advantage in the deal to take over Indianapolis’
water and sewer operations, said Michael Huber, the city’s director of enterprise development.
The agreement is expected to generate more than $425 million in funding for local infrastructure improvements, and Citizens
has agreed to assume $1.5 billion in debt associated with the utilities.
A unit of Citizens Gas proposes building a natural-gas-fueled steam plant in Speedway to serve large employers in the town
of 12,800.
Citizens Gas & Coke Utility shuttered its coke manufacturing plant earlier this summer, much to the relief of neighbors and
health officials who warned that its benzene emissions were a cancer threat. But regulatory filings show closing the plant
at Keystone Avenue and Prospect Street could result in more pollution downtown.
Citizens Gas & Coke Utility has revived its pitch for a regulatory plan that would fundamentally change the way it bills customers,
helping it cover rising expenses as gas sales fall. The plan would create an expanded energy conservation program that could
include rebates for customers who buy gas-efficient furnaces and appliances.
