A couple of moves by the Hermiston City Council is expected to save the city nearly $3.8 million dollars.
The council, on Monday, voted to approve a request by Hermiston Energy Services (HES) to refinance the bond that formed the utility more than a decade ago.
According to HES Superintendent, refinancing the original bond will save the city $2.66 million in interest payments, as well as another $1.136 million by changing the bond from an insurance model to the “full faith and credit of the city.”
The savings will help HES pay for system upgrades. Those upgrades include a new substation as well as smart meters that will let HES learn about outages as they happen rather than wait for residents to call.
