Cameron Herald

Luminant informed the ARB that they were protesting the appraisal of their electric generating plants, Sandow 4 and Sandow 5. They believe that instead of the $464 million of taxable value determined by the Milam Appraisal District, the two plants should be appraised at $125 million. In other words, Luminant is requesting the appraisal to be cut by 78 percent. Last year, the appraised value for the two plants was set at $432 million following a Luminant protest.

According to the appraiser hired by the Milam Appraisal District, it would cost over $2 billion to replace the two generating plants. Sandow 4 is 34 years old while Sandow 5 is five years old.

If Luminant is successful in their protest, the property tax base for Rockdale ISD and the county government could decrease by $307 million from last year which translates into a loss of $3.9 million in property-tax income for Rockdale ISD, and a loss of $2 million for the county government next year.