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July 11, 2006, 5:24PM

Bell balks at $5,522 utility bill for Governor's Mansion

Associated Press

AUSTIN — Democratic candidate for governor Chris Bell has a hot issue to debate with Republican Gov. Rick Perry: the $5,522 utility bill for the Governor's Mansion.
Bell today urged an emergency moratorium on utility disconnections during the summer months. He also accused Perry and Republican legislative leaders of raiding a state fund intended to subsidize utility bills for elderly and poor Texans.
At the same time, Bell released a copy of the May utility bill for the Governor's Mansion, totaling $5,522. Another bill from July 2005 totaled $4,843.
Bell also said Perry should have the state stop collecting the System Benefit Fund fee from electricity customers or start using it for the intended purpose of helping poor and elderly people pay their utility bills. In 2005, $427 million from the fund was transferred into the general revenue fund.
"It's morally offensive that we're subsidizing a $5,500-a-month electric bill for the same politician that raided utility subsidies for senior citizens and poor folks," Bell said in a prepared statement.
Perry's campaign spokesman, Robert Black, said Bell leaves out some important details.
For one thing, he said, the historic Governor's Mansion hosts 500 tourists per month each summer, traffic in and out of the building that contributes to the size of the electricity bill.
"It is not only the residence of the first family. It is also a public building," Black said. "What does Chris Bell propose to do to cool a 150-year-old building during the Texas summer? Does he propose to use really big blocks of ice?"
And, Black said, Perry's proposed budget included full funding for the System Benefit Fund, but he said legislators decided to move the money. Black also said several major utilities are voluntarily funding rate discounts for low-income Texans.
The Office of Public Utility Counsel has asked the Public Utility Commission to ban electric companies from disconnecting services for the elderly and other vulnerable customers who didn't pay their electric bills during the hot summer months. The commission hasn't made a decision on the request.
Bell filed comments with the PUC supporting the request.
Black said utility commission rules already stipulate that electricity can't be turned off when there's a heat advisory or someone's life could be in danger.
Bell said commission rules protecting consumers from electric disconnections in heat emergencies is limited.

HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: Politics
This article is: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/4040281.html