SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Tuesday, Liberty Utilities’ local president Eric Schwarzrock presented to city council, following a request for Liberty Utilities to address the closure of the walk-in center. Schwarzrock also addressed rates, the SMART meters, and the search for a new energy supplier.
Schwarzrock became president last year and expressed his excitement for getting to work locally, as he has been in the Reno-Tahoe area for the last 30 years. He described Liberty Utilities as a “small utility.” In the Tahoe Electric Region, they serve roughly 50,000 customers in wildfire-prone areas, and Schwarzrock went on to describe the kind of wildfire mitigation they do. Liberty Utilities has requested revenue increases directly related to wildfire insurance cost increases, and filed a novel rate increase related to recovering costs related to the 2020 Mountain View Fire.
Liberty Utilities announced that they were closing the walk-in center in December of last year, and Mayor Cody Bass asked the council to write a letter addressing the issues that arose for constituents—difficulty in reaching out to customer service and an inability to pay with cash through online or phone means.
Schwarzrock said they were going to be adding payment options to CVS and 7-Eleven locations in town, where customers could do cash or card payments for no fee. Currently, you can also pay at Plaza Tapatia. He also suggested having options for personalized customer care if the phone line wasn’t as effective. Schwarzrock acknowledged that those options should have been in place prior to the center’s closure.
The walk-in center will become a design center for developers and contractors, responding to requests by developers who felt in-person meetings would cut down on back and forth emails.
Since Liberty Utilities will be seeking new energy suppliers after NV Energy completes the Greenlink project, Schwarzrock said that Liberty has been preparing for this change since 2019. He assured that the transition would not cause an interruption of service and that existing powerlines and their solar facilities in Nevada would continue to serve the region. Schwarzrock also said it’s possible that Greenlink may take longer than the May 2027 deadline that was initially stated.
The CPUC granted an 11% increase for Liberty’s general rate case, which Schwarzrock said was largely due to wildfire mitigation. Schwarzrock said Liberty is proud of their vegetation management, which is better than other utilities, even of larger size.
Lastly, Schwarzrock touched on the SMART meters, which have been installed through other utilities in California. “We’re one of the last to do it,” he said. The cost for installing them was covered by a $13 million grant from the Department of Energy, which means no costs were passed to customers. He also specified that there is an opt-out option for the meters. Councilmember Heather Horgan asked about the fee for opting out and Schwarzrock clarified that there is a fee (approximately $53 a month), which is halved for CARE customers.
“It is my goal to be transparent with our community and our customers about these items and any other items around the basin,” said Schwarzrock.
Horgan also asked about entering California and CAISO (California Independent System Operator), but Schwarzrock said, “Simply put, physically, the lines are just connected to Nevada.” He said they considered lines from El Dorado to South Lake Tahoe, but installing those would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and cause an impact to the land.
Councilmember David Jinkens praised the wildfire mitigation and undergrounding lines and said that he was interested in collaborating with Liberty. He asked about the safety of the SMART meters, and Schwarzrock responded, “We would not have proceeded with a project if we didn’t think it was safe.” He invited people to express their concerns about the meters to Liberty, and added that the meters would also lead to an improved outage map.
Jinkens also asked about extending the franchise agreement guaranteeing a sufficient and affordable supply of electricity, which Schwarzrock said they were looking forward to updating.
Mayor Pro Tem Keith Roberts said that he has seen costs rise and inquired about the actual cost savings, which he hasn’t seen. Schwarzrock responded that Liberty has the second lowest rates of investor owned utility areas and would have the third lowest after their general rate case.
“Yes, it costs more, yes, you see that each month in the bill, but it’s going to very important things,” said Schwarzrock. He referenced pole replacements and undergrounding projects, as well as fuel sampling and wildfire cameras at their weather stations to guide what they do. Schwarzrock said, “We are often referred to as the entity with the best management program in the nation.”
Councilmember Scott Robbins expressed concerns about energy reliability, which costs businesses extra. Schwarzrock said they considered mitigation projects through risk modeling, with traditional hardening, cover conducting or undergrounding. Robbins asked staff to follow up and request what undergrounding projects were planned in the city limits.
Schwarzrock also said that the granite in the Tahoe Basin was a reason why they didn’t always choose undergrounding projects, as the costs can be 10 to 12 times the cost. However, Robbins said that most of south shore didn’t have granite, and again insisted to see undergrounding projects.
During public comment, people requested further information, suggested looking at Lodi’s natural gas plant and complained about not being informed about SMART meters before they were installed. Others expressed that they were unhappy with the fire suppression efforts in the forest versus managing them in town, as well as potential fire hazards for old homes or privacy concerns through the new meters.
Nick Exline, who serves as a board director for the South Tahoe Public Utilities District (STPUD), expressed issues with Liberty’s rates. “A utility company, barring an act of god, should never increase their rates 30 to 40% without rampant mismanagement… We want to reevaluate the tariff at Liberty Utilities. We don’t think it’s fair for the community, for the ratepayers and it’s definitely not fair to STPUD.” Exline expressed that he wanted the community to own their assets.
Molly Armanino of the Tahoe Climate Change Network believed it was a time to explore public utility options, such as partnering with Pioneer, exploring community choice aggregates or diverting budget to other public utility options. “Liberty Utilities hides as a small utility so [they] can hide behind a regulatory wall.”
Other public comments expressed a desire to divest from Liberty or prioritize clean and renewable energy in the letter to the CPUC.
The council motion to receive the presentation and to work further on a letter to the CPUC passed unanimously.
