CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — After receiving questions from viewers following earlier reporting on a proposed privately financed seawater desalination plant, KRIS 6 News reviewed what is publicly known about the project and found the central point of confusion is a disagreement between Corpus Christi officials and the company behind the proposal over how the project could move forward.
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The proposal comes from Axe H2O, which submitted a business proposal to the City of Corpus Christi for a privately financed seawater desalination plant. The company says the facility could produce up to 150 million gallons of water per day and sell water for about $6.50 per 1,000 gallons, which it says would be less expensive than the city's planned Inner Harbor desalination project.
Axe H2O also says the project would be privately financed, meaning it would not require the city to incur additional debt.
The disagreement centers on the proposed location, the Barney Davis Power Plant, which is owned by CPS Energy.
Axe H2O says it has met with CPS Energy officials and believes it can lease a portion of the property directly.
"CPS Energy said they're willing to lease that plant or a fraction of that land," Dr. John Olsson of Axe H2O said. "That's all we need is a fraction of the land."
City officials, however, say CPS Energy has communicated a different position.
"CPS has indicated to us, their CEO Rudy Garza, that CPS Energy wants to deal only with the city, not with anyone else," Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni said.
According to the city, officials are working to finalize an agreement with CPS Energy for the Barney Davis site. Once that agreement is in place, the city says it plans to issue a request for proposals seeking a company to design, build and operate a desalination plant at the location. City officials also say Axe H2O has been assured it will receive updates as that process moves forward.
Despite the city's position, Axe H2O maintains it believes it has already met the conditions outlined by CPS Energy to pursue a lease independently.
"After a meeting with CPS Energy's CEO, we understood what the terms and conditions were," Olsson said. "We felt we were compliant with all four criteria that they laid out, and that was indeed part of the baselining of our proposal to the city that we submitted."
Both the city and Axe H2O have cited conversations with CPS Energy President and CEO Rudy Garza to support their respective positions. However, Garza has not publicly addressed the differing accounts.
The disagreement also comes as CPS Energy prepares for a leadership transition. Garza announced his intent to retire last month, and local reporting shows the San Antonio-based company named an interim CEO and started its official search for a new leader.
CPS Energy has not publicly clarified whether it intends to negotiate exclusively with the City of Corpus Christi regarding the Barney Davis site or whether it would consider a direct lease agreement with Axe H2O. Requests for comment from CPS Energy by KRIS 6 News were not returned.
