By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.—Meeting by electronic means, the Paris Board of Public Utilities today set the wheels in motion for establishing the Paris Utility Authority. Board members also discussed the financial impact the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is having on BPU.
The meeting was a Zoom video conferencing session, with Board Chairman David Flowers, Attorney Steve Greer and Board Member Ralph Anderson at the Commercial Bank conference room and other Board Members and BPU officials at their own offices or homes. Media personnel also were included in the session.
The board approved a resolution recommending that the city of Paris form the Paris Utility Authority and approved the formal assumption agreement between the city of Paris, BPU board and Paris Utility Authority board (which will be the same as the BPU board).
The creation of the Paris Utility Authority was first introduced by BPU General Manager Terry Wimberley, who said it would be a ‘win-win’ for the BPU and city. Creation of the new Authority will be a ‘positive move’ for both BPU and the city, he said, while allowing BPU to have more flexibility to expand to potential markets such as Telecom and Broadband for the community.
Several steps need to be taken by both the BPU and Paris city commission at meetings and special sessions over the next weeks.
Wimberley said, “Much of what we do will not change at all. Customers will not see a change; most of the changes will be administrative.”
In other business:
–BPU in March temporarily suspended its disconnect for non-payment policy, as many customers faced lay offs and firings due to COVID-19 business closures. During this time period, Wimberley said 650 were delinquent with a total past due of $100,000. He said BPU made a lot of phone calls to customers last week “and we received a good number of payments. We still have a large debt outstanding but we do have some of these folks off of this list.”
Wimberley said BPU earlier cancelled is ‘inching closer’ to making an announcement in the next two to three weeks informing the public that disconnects will resume for non-payment. He said the plan is to make the announcement two or three weeks before the disconnects resume to give customers time to work it out.
He said BPU will have a payment plan to offer customers so that they can be current and avoid disconnects.
Wimberley said BPU is looking closely at the financial impact the pandemic is having on the utility. “We are looking at what this could be doing to us this fiscal year and on into the next fiscal year,” Wimberley said. “It has affecting our sales and our utility load and our revenue.” Wimberley estimated the financial impact could be between $150,000 and $250,000. He said BPU has been fortunate that a large part of its utility makeup is residential rather than industrial “and that has helped us smooth over this, plus the mild weather has helped.”
Photo: Board Chairman David Flowers, right, conducts the meeting by video conference with Board Member Ralph Anderson and Attorney Steve Greer and other members and BPU officials in their offices and homes. (Shannon McFarlin photo).