Story by Citizen for a Better Seguin
Editor’s note: This article is a little longer than our typical Better Seguin post. We believe the subject deserves the additional explanation because decisions being made today could affect Seguin’s electric rates, infrastructure and reliability for years to come.
Seguin City Council is considering $191,000 in professional services with SEnergy for a wide range of electric utility planning and analysis.
At first glance, Agenda Item 26-437 may look like another consulting contract.
But what SEnergy is being asked to study is much more important than the contract itself.
The work includes electric-rate analysis, financial planning, power-supply planning, a 10-year demand forecast, distribution and substation planning, battery-storage and solar studies, regulatory compliance and other electric-system work.
Could Seguin electric rates go up?
Possibly—but the documents do not say that a rate increase has already been decided.
SEnergy will receive $12,000 to evaluate projected electric revenues and expenses, update the City’s financial forecast and identify “any necessary rate adjustments” needed to meet the electric utility’s financial requirements.
A separate $38,000 financial-services proposal calls for SEnergy to examine wholesale power bills, the Power Cost Recovery Factor, the utility’s financial plan and annual rates. It specifically says rates will be reviewed to make sure enough revenue exists to meet financial-plan and debt-issuance requirements.
That doesn’t mean rates will increase.
It means the question is being studied.
How do Seguin’s rates compare?
At Seguin’s currently published residential rate, a customer using 1,200 kilowatt-hours would pay approximately $136.45 for electricity. That calculation uses Seguin’s $16.43 monthly customer charge, 3.982-cent energy charge and 6.02-cent Power Cost Recovery Factor. The City’s currently posted rate sheet became effective October 1, 2025.
For comparison, New Braunfels Utilities currently estimates a $156.65 monthly electric bill at 1,200 kWh under its September 2026 rates.
That puts Seguin roughly $20 per month lower in this particular comparison.
That’s encouraging—but today’s rate is only part of the story.
The bigger question is whether Seguin can remain competitive as the community grows and the electric system requires additional investment.
Planning for the next 10 years
SEnergy will prepare a 10-year electric-demand forecast, including projected demand at every substation transformer.
The company will also help the City plan distribution-system expansion and upgrades and coordinate potential substation improvements with LCRA.
Seguin currently operates three substations, and the City says a fourth—Seguin North—is under construction to help serve the growing community.
Growth means more customers and more utility revenue.
But it also means additional electrical demand, feeders, transformers, substations and other infrastructure.
The City’s resolution says these planning services are needed because of the “exponential growth of Seguin.”
Where will the electricity come from?
Seguin does not generate its own electricity. It owns and operates the local distribution system and purchases wholesale power.
SEnergy’s $42,000 power-supply assignment includes short- and long-term energy procurement, management of existing power contracts, review of wholesale power invoices and planning involving congestion costs within the ERCOT market.
That makes power-supply planning another important part of the rate equation.
What about Seguin’s large utility debt?
This requires an important distinction.
Seguin’s combined Utility Fund includes electric, water, wastewater and stormwater operations. The City does carry substantial utility-related debt.
However, our earlier review of recent borrowing showed that much of Seguin’s major utility capital spending has been associated with water and wastewater projects—not the electric system.
It would therefore be misleading to take Seguin’s total Utility Fund debt and call it “electric debt.”
What matters going forward is how much new investment the electric system itself will require—and whether future substations, distribution improvements or other electric infrastructure will require additional borrowing.
That’s one reason SEnergy’s review of rates, financial requirements and future electric-system expansion deserves attention.
Batteries, solar and large electric loads
The package also includes a study of a proposed 9.9-megawatt battery energy storage system connected through the LCRA-owned Seguin West Substation. Engineers will examine transformer loading, voltage, reverse power flow and upgrades that could be required for the project.
Another study will evaluate solar installations connected to Seguin’s distribution system.
SEnergy will also monitor new Texas regulations involving large-load interconnections, an increasingly important issue as large industrial projects and data centers seek access to the Texas electric grid.
The question Better Seguin will be watching
Seguin’s current electric rates appear competitive with at least some neighboring municipal utilities.
That’s good news.
But the more important question may be what happens next:
Can Seguin maintain competitive electric rates while buying enough power, expanding the grid, keeping the system reliable and paying for the infrastructure required by continued growth?
And as major new residential, commercial and industrial users come online:
How much of the infrastructure they require will they pay for—and how much will ultimately be spread across existing Seguin electric customers?
Those are the numbers Better Seguin will continue watching.