courtesy of Erin McCarty and KEEL Radio
The power in a premium office building in downtown Shreveport is set to be shut off Monday afternoon because the owners haven’t paid the electric bill for months. Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell says an investment group from California owns Regions Tower.
“The people have been paying the rent — that includes the money for the electricity bill — and they’ve [Hertz Investment Group] been keeping the money and haven’t been paying the electricity bill,” he explains. “So SWEPCO’s out $500,000.”
Regions Tower is over 90 days overdue on the bill. SWEPCO says they’ve been in contact with the California-based company that owns the building to keep the lights on, and Campbell says the tenants are also trying to make a deal.
“They’re making a deal with SWEPCO to keep the electricity on Monday, where they won’t shut it off,” he says. “And then I’m sure they want to try and collect their money with the people who own the building out in California.”
SWEPCO began posting disconnection notices around Regions Tower yesterday to give tenants time to make plans in case the power does go out. SWEPCO External Affairs Manager Michael Corbin says turning off the power is the last thing they want to do.
“We would not have gone to this point if we didn’t feel like we had extinguished most of our possibilities,” he says. “It really is the push come to shove moment.”
Building owner Hertz Investment Group of Sherman, California haven’t commented on the situation yet.
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