The Minden City Council met Wednesday afternoon to discuss ongoing litigation in their complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission against the Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO.)
After spending more than ninety minutes behind closed doors in executive session, the council emerged and in less than one minute voted to authorize Mayor Tommy Davis to negotiate a settlement with SWEPCO. The vote was 4 to 1, with Councilman Wayne Edwards voting against.
The City of Minden is in its tenth year of a 20-year energy deal with SWEPCO, and citizens have reported unprecedented utility bill totals over the past year. The original complaint filed in late February by the city asks SWEPCO to, among other things, lower its return on equity from 11.1 percent to 8.2 percent, or else let them out of the deal.
SWEPCO filed a vehement answer in April, refuting all claims of unfairness and requesting the case be dismissed.
When asked for more information, Mayor Tommy Davis said he could not make any comment on ongoing litigation. Only time will tell which side will benefit from this potential settlement.