Late last month, the West Travis County Public Utility Agency (PUA) completed the refinancing of $151.7 million of its Series 2013 Bonds. The new Series 2017 bonds will have an effective interest rate of 3.51 percent.
The new rate is lower than the 2013 Series bonds interest rate of 4.95 percent, resulting in $17.4 million in principal and interest savings over 28 years, or $621,000 per year.
“We are pleased that our Board of Directors approved this bond refinancing, which will result in significant operating savings to the PUA going forward” said Robert Pugh, General Manager of the WTCPUA, in a statement.
Pugh added the WTCPUA’s bond advisors and staff worked proactively to complete execution of this transaction in “a timely manner.”
Additionally, Pugh said Standard and Poor’s (S&P) improved the PUA’s bond rating from A- to A-positive, which recognizes the operating and financial improvements that have been achieved over the past year.
Saving $600,000 a year by bringing operations and customer service in house, settling three lawsuits and reduction of litigation costs, and increased revenue from the PUA revised investment policy were measures taken by the PUA. Cost savings from this bond refinancing will improve the PUA’s ability “to provide rate stability to our customers,” Pugh said.
The WTCPUA is a public water and wastewater utility that serves western Travis and northern Hays counties. The Agency provides water and sewer services to an estimated population of 35,000.
