Pebble Creek residents are one step closer to becoming Hillsborough County Utilities customers, as the county is in the process of closing a deal with Pluris to purchase the utility service in the New Tampa community.
The county originally was planning to close on the $14.1-million deal with the Dallas-based private water and utility service on March 17, but the closing was postponed.
“Anytime you’re negotiating big deals like this, something can come up and slightly delay the process,” says Hillsborough County spokesperson Tom Iovino, who didn’t disclose the exact problem during the closing. “There was a hiccup in the closing, but we’re working through it.”
Iovino says that the final details about how Pebble Creek’s more than 1,500 customers will be switched over to the Hillsborough County utility system are still being worked out, but that the process will take place over the next few months.
Iovino says that the initial plan is to change customers’ meters on an as-needed basis. Some meters are suspected of not working properly and Iovino says that the priority during the first 90 days of the changeover will focus on identifying those meters and replacing them.
“We’re going to be taking a look at the entire system,” Iovino says.
Pebble Creek customers can expect at least one more bill from Pluris, as the company’s final meter reading was conducted on March 16.
“Customers will still have to pay their final Pluris bill,” Iovino says, adding that they could see some credit on future bills from the county to make up for some of the inflated bills customers have been paying since the company initiated increased rates in 2013.
“(The county) is determining the best way to credit customers (in Pebble Creek),” Iovino says. “It most likely will be a single credit on a future bill.”
The rate-increase drama began back in January 2013, when the residents of Pebble Creek were notified that they would be experiencing a significant water rate increase, the first of its kind since Pluris bought out Pebble Creek Utilities in 2009. The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted unanimously (7-0) to approve the Pluris purchase in November of last year.
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