Bastrop, Tx–The quaisi-government agency which controls the flow of electric power to roughly 85 percent of the state’s power production is considering a new executive and administrative headquarters near Texas 71 west of Bastrop, but officials want tax breaks from Bastrop County.
Bastrop County commissioners will consider the issue Monday when they meet at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the Bastrop County Courthouse Annex at 804 Pecan St.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) currently has its executive headquarters in east Austin near Ben White Blvd. The agency has its operations center in Taylor. ERCOT ultimately answers to the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature, though it is organized as a 501 (C) (4) corporation under the US Internal Revenue Code. As such it is not automatically exempt from local property taxes.
According to County Judge Ronnie McDonald, the new headquarters site under consideration is near the Lower Colorado River Authority’s McKinney Roughs nature preserve west of Bastrop.
Details about the proposed tax abatement agreement and the possible jobs and related economic benefit to Bastrop County were not available Friday.
Commissioners will take up two related items Monday. One is to review a proposed tax abatement agreement. Another is possible action to notify other affected taxing bodies of the county’s “intent to enter into” such an agreement.
ERCOT manages the electric grid for some 75 percent of the geographical area of Texas. The task is to facilitate and manage the flow of power between and among power generators and retailers in that area, especially in times of high demand and when some producers may face difficulty from unusual weather conditions or other unexpected circumstances. Some parts of deep East Texas and the Texas Panhandle are not part of the ERCOT system.
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