About

LCRA continues working to help meet state’s growing need for power and water

AUSTIN, Texas – The LCRA Board of Directors on Wednesday approved a business plan of about $577 million and authorized capital investments of about $1.32 billion for energy, water and public service projects to support Texas in fiscal year 2025.

The Lower Colorado River Authority is the primary wholesale provider of electricity in Central Texas and manages the lower Colorado River and six Highland Lakes. LCRA Transmission Services Corporation is one of the largest electric transmission service providers in Texas.

“Our business and capital plans uphold LCRA’s commitment to invest in Texas’ future by helping to build the power, water and communications infrastructure critical for our state’s continued success,” said Timothy Timmerman, chair of the LCRA Board of Directors. “LCRA’s investments support a growing region in Texas and supply the services essential for maintaining healthy economies and businesses within our communities and our state.”

As one of the largest public power providers in the state, LCRA provides power for electric cooperatives and small towns in Central Texas by selling wholesale electricity through long-term contracts with retail utilities.

One of LCRA’s largest capital projects is a new two-unit peaker power plant under construction in Caldwell County. The new natural gas-fired Timmerman Power Plant, named after the chair of the LCRA Board of Directors, will help meet the state’s increasing need for reliable power and support the Texas energy grid by providing dispatchable power when demand approaches or surpasses the amount of power available from other sources.

Each of the plant’s two units will be able to supply up to 190 megawatts of dispatchable power. When operating at full capacity, the Timmerman plant will be able to supply enough electricity to power more than 100,000 homes during periods of peak demand. The first unit is expected to be operational in 2025, and the second unit is scheduled to come online in 2026.

This year marks LCRA’s 90th anniversary. In 1934, Gov. Miriam A. “Ma” Ferguson signed legislation creating LCRA to improve the quality of life of people living in a region challenged by floods, droughts and limited access to electricity.

“We electrified the Hill Country in the 1930s and ’40s, and now we are taking a lead role in investing in dispatchable generation that can be called upon quickly when needed,” LCRA General Manager Phil Wilson said. “We are well positioned to serve Texans and our customers for many years to come because while LCRA’s services have evolved over the past 90 years, we continue to help Texans respond to significant population growth by staying true to our mission to enhance the quality of life of the people we serve through water stewardship, energy and community service.”

LCRA TSC plans to invest more than $3.9 billion over the next five years to build new transmission facilities and improve existing ones. LCRA TSC will undertake numerous projects to increase reliability, meet existing and projected needs for electricity, and connect new electric generators to the grid.

LCRA is working to enhance the information age in its Texas service area, investing about $146 million over the next five years to greatly increase the amount of data that can be sent over LCRA’s radio system to facilitate smart technologies. LCRA also is using its fiber capacity as the middle mile – the highway to which last-mile providers can connect – to help provide broadband services that are essential to the continued success of communities in the region.

Additionally, LCRA continues to make investments to increase regional water supplies. LCRA is completing the new Arbuckle Reservoir and plans to invest about $174 million over the next five years for other new water supply projects. LCRA also will continue to maintain and invest in its system of dams, which are critical to protect water supplies and provide flood management, and will invest more than $38 million in rehabilitation projects over the next five years to help ensure the dams continue to operate safely.

LCRA does not receive state appropriations or have the ability to levy taxes. LCRA is funded by the revenues its businesses generate.

The LCRA 2025 fiscal year begins July 1. The FY 2025 LCRA business and capital plans are available at www.lcra.org/about/financial-highlights/business-plan/.

On May 24, 2023, the Board of Directors of the Lower Colorado River Authority ("LCRA") adopted a resolution delegating the authority to an authorized representative of LCRA to approve the issuance of one or more series of bonds in a maximum aggregate principal amount not to exceed $300 million for the purposes of (i) refunding certain outstanding debt of LCRA, (ii) funding a debt service reserve fund for such any such bonds and/or (iii) paying costs of issuance for any such bonds.

LCRA currently contemplates utilizing such authority to price one series of fixed rate bonds (the "Series 2023A Bonds") and one series of multi-mode variable rate bonds (the "Series 2023B (Put) Bonds," and together with the Series 2023A Bonds, the “Proposed Bonds”) collectively up to the maximum authorized principal amount of $300 million on June 22, 2023 through a negotiated sale to Barclays Capital Inc. as sole underwriter.

The size, timing, and structure of the potential transaction for the Proposed Bonds is subject to market conditions. LCRA reserves the right to change the timing and size of the sale or not to issue the Proposed Bonds.

____________________

*Preliminary, subject to change.

This notice does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any bonds nor will there be any sale of the Proposed Bonds by any person in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful for such person to make an offer, solicitation, or sale. Any such offer or solicitation will only be made pursuant to an official statement that prospective investors should review in its entirety before making any investment decision.

The publication of this notice does not constitute or imply any representation (i) that the foregoing is material to investors, (ii) that no other circumstances or events have occurred or that no other information exists concerning LCRA or any of its outstanding debt obligations and the Proposed Bonds which may have a bearing on the financial condition of LCRA, the security for such debt obligations or the Proposed Bonds, or an investor’s decision to buy, sell or hold any such debt obligations or the Proposed Bonds, or (iii) regarding any other financial, operating or other information about LCRA or any of its outstanding debt obligations.

By providing this notice as a voluntary filing, LCRA does not undertake to make any additional filings not otherwise required by their respective undertakings made pursuant to the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 15c2-12. LCRA specifically disclaims any obligation to update the information contained in this notice or to provide any such similar notices in the future.

New facility planned in Central Texas will ramp up in minutes when extra power is needed

AUSTIN, Texas – The Lower Colorado River Authority on Tuesday announced it will build a new peaker power plant in Central Texas to provide an additional 190 megawatts of dispatchable power to the Texas power grid.

The plant is expected to be operational in 2025. A peaker plant is one that typically is used for brief periods during times when the demand for power approaches or surpasses the amount of power available.

As dispatchable power, the plant will be available to grid operators to call upon when renewable and other thermal generation are not sufficient to meet the state’s demand for electricity. The new LCRA plant will be able to ramp up and shut down in minutes.

“With this new plant, LCRA continues its commitment to provide reliable, cost-effective power to its customers and the Texas power grid,” said Timothy Timmerman, chair of the LCRA Board of Directors. “The new plant will provide power during peak use times to support the Texas electric grid and provide homes, businesses and industries with power.”

As a statewide leader in public power generation, LCRA applauds the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature in their efforts to increase the supply of electricity available to Texans and to promote the wholesale market signals necessary to make an investment like this possible. Regulatory certainty is important for LCRA and others to commit to invest in new dispatchable power generation.

“Texas needs more dispatchable thermal power generation that can be available quickly, depending on market conditions and demand,” said Phil Wilson, LCRA general manager. “As our state faces the challenge of bringing more power to a growing population, I am proud that LCRA is continuing its legacy of providing vital services to Texans.”

The new plant will include 10 high-efficiency Wärtsilä reciprocating engines. Each engine can provide about 19 megawatts of power. (One megawatt can power about 200 homes during periods of peak demand, according to ERCOT.)

“The demand for power in Texas is increasing as more people and businesses call Texas home, and we’re pleased to be able to help support the Texas power grid and help meet the growing demand for electricity with this new plant,” Wilson said.

The new plant will be LCRA’s second peaker plant. The first is a 184-megawatt natural-gas fired facility in Fayette County that was built in 2010. 

About LCRA
The Lower Colorado River Authority serves customers and communities throughout Texas by managing the lower Colorado River; generating and transmitting electric power; providing a clean, reliable water supply; and offering outdoor adventures at more than 40 parks along the Colorado River from the Texas Hill Country to the
Gulf Coast. LCRA and its employees are committed to fulfilling our mission to enhance the quality of life of the Texans we serve through water stewardship, energy and community service. LCRA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1934 and receives no state appropriations. For more information, visit lcra.org.