Eight months, more than 260 document filings and countless hours of grueling negotiations later, Austin Energy has new electricity rates. If you’re a customer of the public utility, your bill is going up. The plan, which Austin City Council passed on a 7-4 vote Thursday, raises electricity rates overall and increases a flat-rate monthly charge from $10 […]
Austin Energy 2022 rate case
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy rate case moving slowly at Council
During Tuesday’s work session, most members of City Council seemed poised to agree that Austin Energy should have an additional $31.3 million in revenue and that the customer service charge should be around $12 or $13 a month instead of the originally proposed $25 per month. They also seemed to agree that there should be […]
Posted inEnergy
Still more questions than answers approaching Austin Energy rate case vote
City Council appears far from resolved heading into today’s vote on Austin Energy base rates, leaving last Tuesday’s work session with the case’s biggest questions still unanswered. On the top of the list is the issue of revenue requirement, with many hesitant to approve the full $35.7 million Austin Energy claims it needs to recover […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy rate case participants band together behind alternative proposal
The race for City Council’s blessing on 2023 electric rates is heating up, as parties in the Austin Energy base rate review case announced their own counter-settlement to the utility’s proposed rate design. The independent consumer advocate, John Coffman, along with Texas Industrial Energy Consumers, NXP Semiconductors, Sierra Club, Public Citizen, Solar United Neighbors, Solar & […]
Posted inEnergy
Council to curtail increases to energy bills, but by how much?
City Council members have their work cut out for them this month, with the first of six work sessions leaving a lot of ground to cover before their vote on Austin Energy base rates for 2023. With the independent hearing examiner ruling largely in its favor, Austin Energy is continuing to propose a shift to […]
Posted inEnergy
Draft recommendation suggests EUC will push back on Austin Energy rate case
With the end of the year steadily approaching, schedules are packed and the city is at full throttle preparing for a ruling on Austin Energy’s controversial rate review case. Last week, the Electric Utility Commission spent its meeting deliberating a draft resolution that would ask City Council to substantially deviate from Austin Energy’s proposed revenue […]
Posted inEnergy
Workers demand labor protections at Austin Energy base rate rally
It was an unusually lively morning outside Austin Energy Headquarters last Saturday, as a coalition of workers, environmentalists and community leaders gathered to air their grievances with the publicly owned utility. With a potential increase to residential rates on the horizon, the Texas Climate Jobs Action Fund led the diverse group of unions and civic […]
Posted inEnergy
Impartial examiner report backs up Austin Energy base rate proposal, but critics aren’t giving up
As the November deadline to update utility rates approaches, the pressure is on for Austin Energy and its stakeholders to make their final arguments before city policymakers. Following the release of the impartial hearing examiner’s report earlier this month, participants in the base rate review process stopped by the Electric Utility Commission to break down […]
Posted inEnergy
Council to debate controversial rate increase for Austin Energy customers this fall
With stakeholders awaiting the conclusion of the hearing review process, City Council’s Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee heard updates Tuesday from the electric utility on what to expect as the 2022 base rate review case approaches the homestretch. Following a lengthy series of hearings last month, the city-appointed independent hearing examiner is slated to issue […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy amends initial proposal at base rate review conference, but critics say it’s not enough
As the grid works overtime to absorb record-breaking heat, the battle over energy prices continues. Austin Energy met face-to-face with stakeholders earlier this month with its proposal to raise and restructure rates, citing mounting revenue gaps threatening the utility’s finances. The three-day hearing consisted of hours of cross examination, with interest groups disputing the case from […]
Posted inEnergy
Consumer advocates warn Austin Energy’s rate increase could have devastating impact on residents
As they prepare for next month’s public hearing, participants in Austin Energy’s rate review case are pushing back against a proposal to significantly alter pricing of the city’s electricity supply. The utility proposes to reorganize the five-tiered structure used to calculate residential service rates into three tiers, eliminating existing premiums for higher consumption brackets and […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy ramps up outreach for proposed rate changes
Austin Energy has entered the public hearing phase of its base rate review process, following its proposal to raise service costs. The monthslong dialogue with stakeholders and city staff, slated for resolution by City Council in November, has surfaced predictable conflicts over the price hike. Released late April, Austin Energy’s proposal includes an overall base […]