EPWater plans to acquire debt of up to US$441 million

EL PASO, TX – The Public Service Board (PSB), which oversees El Paso Water, unanimously authorized a request submitted by the company to ask the City Council to grant additional bonds to cover future construction projects.

During the PSB meeting, a motion was presented to consider and adopt a resolution to request the City Council to authorize the City of El Paso Water to authorize the City Council to grant

the City Council, authorization for the issuance of up to $441 million of City of El Paso, Texas Water and Sewer System Improvement and/or Refinancing Bonds to pay up to $240 million in commercial paper notes, finance approximately $193, 154, 000 of approved Capital Improvement Program Projects for Fiscal Year 2022-23, and approximately $7 million $846 thousand to finance interest and related transaction costs, subject to meeting certain parameters approved by the Board.

The proposal indicates that for the approved Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget, EPWater requested approval of future bond issuances through March 2023 for the following purposes: a Revolving Credit Agreement with Bank of America N.A. for the Water and Sewer Commercial Note Program in the amount of $80 million. The program is a short-term variable rate financing tool used by the utility to fund a portion of its Capital Improvement Program (CIP).

The PSB, found and determined that it is in the best interest of the City and the System to refund up to $240 million of the City’s System revenue notes (the “Refunded Commercial Notes”), which are currently outstanding and are authorized to be issued from time to time in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $80 million, in order to make such debt long-term with a fixed rate.

In addition, in combination with the revenue bonds issued to refund the commercial notes, the Board indicated that it is in the best interest of the System to fund approximately $193, 154, 000 of the approved El Paso Water Water and Wastewater Capital Improvement Program for Fiscal Year 2022-2023.