Although Austin Energy expects to provide both residential and commercial customers with $35 million in bill relief between now and Sept. 30, the utility does not expect the rate reduction to greatly affect its balance sheet. Austin Energy’s Chief Financial Officer Mark Dombroski told the Electric Utility Commission at its May 11 meeting that lowering […]
Electric Utility Commission
The advisory body charged with oversight of Austin Energy, the City of Austin’s municipally-owned electric utility.
Posted inCity Council
Waste management emergency contract heads to Council with split recommendations
Austin’s dumpster wars continue. The city’s contract with Waste Management of Texas expires Feb. 28. To avoid a public health crisis, City Council will vote tonight on whether to execute an emergency multi-term contract with the waste collector for up to one year and an amount not to exceed $1.06 million. Not all commissions are […]
Posted inCity Hall
City on pace for goal of 330 electrified vehicles by close of 2020
The city is on pace to have 330 electric vehicles in its fleet by the end of 2020, meeting a 2016 goal set by City Council that will make nearly 5 percent of the city’s 6,700 vehicle fleet composed of EVs. Representatives from Austin Energy and the city’s Fleet Services Division gave an update at […]
Posted inEnergy
Commission supports energy rebate program change, calls for more information
Austin Energy has long struggled to find enough customers to take part in its multifamily energy efficiency rebate program. The trend continued last fiscal year when more than half of its rebate funds, which don’t carry over into subsequent years, never made it into customer hands. Denise Kuehn, the utility’s director of energy efficiency services, […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy plans to purchase more wind energy
The Electric Utility Commission unanimously recommended the approval of a new energy contract that would bring Austin Energy’s percentage of renewable energy up to 61 percent by the middle of 2021. That is only 4 percentage points below the City Council-approved goal of generating 65 percent of the city’s energy from renewable sources by 2027. […]
Posted inEnergy
Electric Utility Commission unanimously declares climate crisis must be addressed
In a unanimous show of hands, the Electric Utility Commission passed a resolution July 15 asserting that the time has come for Austin to declare support for climate change mitigation policies and to adopt its own resolution declaring a climate emergency. The need to take a stance against climate change is nothing new, Commissioner Stefan […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy finishes the year with $50.5M in excess revenue, lower bills for customers
After weathering an erratic Electric Reliability Council of Texas market this summer, Austin Energy finished the year in a financially stable position with extra revenue that will be passed on to the public in the coming year. According to Mark Dombroski, chief financial officer at Austin Energy, who addressed the Electric Utility Commission at its […]
Posted inResources
Austin Energy discusses how to resolve repercussions of water bill fiasco
It has been over a year since the water bill saga first made headlines in Austin. However, only now are city utilities releasing a post-mortem report designed to help them avoid a similar situation in the future. While the report that Monica Joyner, an Austin Energy process manager for quality, presented at the Nov. 19 […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy: Storage is the next hurdle to Austin’s renewable energy plan
The big conundrum facing energy utilities today is how to balance supply and demand for every second of every day. Although there are debates around the subject, the answer, albeit simple, seems to lie with storage. In the Austin Energy Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan there is a section that outlines the utility’s commitment […]
Posted inEnergy
An update on the Fayette Power Plant reveals no news, inspires working group
Almost five years ago, Council recommended that Austin Energy retire its portion of the Fayette Power Plant, which is run on coal, by 2022. Despite intense pressure from environmentalists to move that date up, the city utility is sticking to their plans for retirement on that date. However, the path forward toward retirement remains clear. […]
Posted inEnergy
EUC recommends code amendment to expand electric vehicle use
Soon Austin may have as many electric charging stations as gas stations. Currently, city code does not allow for the resale of city energy by third-party entities. However, the code was written before there was any inkling that electric vehicles would one day be rolling down the streets as everyday transportation. Now, seeing the possibilities […]
Posted inCity Hall
Despite water bill debacle, Austin’s utility customer service rating remains unharmed
The wounds that last fall’s water bill catastrophe left behind had the potential to open up once again as Austin Energy reviewed its customer service ratings and presented the findings at the July 16 meeting of the Electric Utility Commission. “Didn’t we have a huge spike after the water problem that’s not reflected here?” inquired Commissioner […]