What is securitization?
During Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, HILCO incurred significant power costs resulting from the effects of that abnormal and extreme weather event. In May 2021, the Texas legislature adopted Senate Bill 1580, which enables electric cooperatives to use securitization financing to recover the extraordinary costs incurred due to Winter Storm Uri. A separate bill was passed to allow other types of electric providers to use securitization as well. It allows the utilities to issue bonds to obtain the necessary capital to pay for the costs of Winter Storm Uri. This type of financing will allow HILCO to spread these extraordinary costs over an extended period of time and keep the monthly bills lower than they would be if securitized financing were not used. We estimate that this type of financing will result in savings of over $44 million compared to costs that would have been incurred using conventional financing. Securitization financing is a common method used by utilities to pay costs associated with extreme weather events, damage from natural disasters, etc. HILCO doesn't use long-term financing to pay power bills in the normal course of business, but this bill was so significant it was impossible to pay with operating funds.