Bastrop Power & Light customers with solar panels could soon start getting credits for excess electricity while also paying a new monthly fee under proposed city rules advanced by Bastrop City Council on Aug. 11.

What’s changing: BP&L would credit customers based on what the city saves by not buying that electricity from the LCRA.

Customers would also be charged a per-kilowatt fee based on the size of their solar system, regardless of how much electricity gets sent back to the grid.

Something to note: Depending on the rate, some customers may not benefit from the new rules—a concern Mayor Pro Tem John Kirkland raised during the meeting.

He questioned what the monthly charge for customers would be; however, Rosales said it was still being calculated.

“We thought we had the number rate locked in, and then it changed,” Rosales said, noting the city is working with LCRA on a few scenarios to keep rates more consistent.

What’s next? Council will consider the ordinance again Aug. 25.

If approved, the new rules would take effect Oct. 1 and be reflected on November bills.

Stay in the know with five of the most-read Bastrop restaurant updates so far this summer, including boba, burgers and steaks.

Ahead of the 2026-27 school year, public school leaders in Community Impact’s coverage areas shuttered at least nine individual schools to respond to repeated state accountability issues and stave off state intervention. 

A new Texas Education Agency rule may make it harder for districts to do so in the future.

The details: Beginning Aug. 16, if a district closes a D- or F-rated campus and transfers the largest share of students from the closed campus to a school with a C, D or F rating, the closed campus’ rating will be assigned to the new campus. 

Districts will only avoid transferring a shuttered school’s rating history if they relocate a plurality of students to an A- or B-rated campus.

Stay tuned: The TEA is scheduled to release A-F ratings for the 2025-26 school year on Aug. 14. 

If a school receives five failing ratings in a row, the TEA is required under state law to close that campus or replace the district’s board of trustees with a state-appointed board of managers.