Indy’s City-County Council approved $50 million in new bonds this month to tackle a backlog of drainage projects across the city.
Read MoreCost-savings tied to the purchase of the city’s water and sewer utilities are also expected to be realized sooner than predicted.
Read MoreStock-market swoon contributes to favorable terms on purchase of city’s water, sewer systems.
State regulators on Wednesday approved a proposal to transfer control of Indianapolis’ water and sewer utilities to a local not-for-profit trust. The $1.9 billion sale will put management of the utilities into the hands of Citizens Energy Group.
The price to get big industrial firms like Eli Lilly and Co., National Starch and Rolls-Royce Corp. to support the sale of the city’s water and sewer utilities to Citizens Energy Group is at least $1.5 million.
Ratepayers would pay no more than $14 million to cover charges associated with Citizens’ purchase of Indianapolis water and sewer utilities. Some say the capped amount is too much.
Regulators have approved a 26-percent rate increase for Indianapolis water customers, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission announced Wednesday, less than the 33.4-percent increase requested.
Testimony is part of effort to deny Veolia Water $29 million contract termination fee as part of utility sale. Group claims salaried employees owed millions of dollars.
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.
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.
Sale of city's water and sewer utilities faces showdown on Monday with full council vote.
The $1.9 billion deal still needs the OK of the City-County Council and state regulators.
Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis support sale of water, sewer utilities.
Testimony filed in Indianapolis Water Co.’s rate case shows the city in 2007 agreed to take on millions of dollars in costs
from the private firm it hired to operate the utility, including $48 million in retiree medical plan obligations.
The waterworks board’s plan to hire outside consultants to study the proposed sale of Indianapolis Water could delay the deal.
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.
Matthew Klein has agreed to serve on a panel discussion concerning the canal: “Indy’s Central Canal—public
resource
or private pipeline?” during the Indiana University Law Environmental Symposium, April 1 at IUPUI’s Inlow Hall.
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.
Mike’s Express Carwash uses a lot of water. There’s just no getting around it. So when automated systems engineer
Ryan Binkley looked for ways to conserve resources, he focused on the company’s irrigation systems.
The city too often relied on the Department of Waterworks’ board, on consultants and on the private
operator, Veolia Water, rather than on the department’s own staff “to ensure safe and efficient
operation, maintenance and management” of Indianapolis Water. That’s one of several critical
findings of a consultant hired by the department and filed as part of a 35-percent rate-hike request
pending before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
