ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation is now the sole owner of the bonds for the Independence County Hydroelectric Project.
Independence County Judge Kevin Jeffery told White River Now’s Gary Bridgman Tuesday that, as such, Citizens Bank in Batesville will no longer be the trustee for the bonds, and ACA will now either appoint a new trustee or take the bonds “in-house.”
“As far as the county is concerned, I see no change going forward in the way the hydroelectric project is operated,” Jeffery said. (Scroll down to listen to his comments to Bridgman.)
Former Independence County Judge Robert Griffin told White River Now in September 2022 that the county had received official notice that ACA would be calling the bonds for their sole ownership.
At that time, Griffin said the hydro project never produced the necessary power to service the bonds in a single year. As the insurer, ACA paid the difference between what the project produced and the cost to operate the hydroelectric facilities at Locks 1 and 2 on the White River and service the bonds.
ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation is a monoline bond insurance company licensed in 50 states and four territories.
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