Every year, Austin Energy pays contractors to make apartment buildings more energy-efficient. They put in place new duct sealant, solar screens and attic insulation, which helps tenants reduce their energy consumption and lower their utility bills. This year, however, the city-owned utility has spent dramatically less than in past years. It has also proposed cutting […]
Energy
Posted inEnergy
Where are Austin Energy’s generation metrics?
For three years, the Electric Utility Commission has not received an annual performance report from Austin Energy. Concerned about the lack of the familiar financial and operational reporting format, Commissioner Michael Osborne has repeatedly discussed its merits and requested its return at commission meetings. At the July 16 meeting, he finally received an answer as […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin’s electric vehicle programming is revving up
Thanks to the city’s goal to become carbon neutral by 2050 and Austin Energy’s commitment to adding 330 plug-in electric vehicles by 2020, Travis County recently passed Harris and Dallas counties and now has more electric vehicles than either. Now the question is, how do we incorporate our continually growing fleet – public and private […]
Posted inEnergy
Council-mandated energy studies have already quietly begun
After clamoring from the public and a push from the Electric Utility Commission last month to have Austin Energy come back with the scopes of work for the list of required studies included in City Council’s ambitious renewable energy plan, the utility has provided a timeline. Council’s plan requires Austin Energy to push to have […]
Posted inEnergy
EUC asks Austin Energy to begin planning Council-mandated energy studies
It’s been nine months since City Council passed its ambitious renewable energy plan that requires Austin Energy to push to have 65 percent of its energy come from renewable sources by 2027 and to create models that would show what 75 and 80 percent renewable energy by 2027 would require and what achieving 100 percent […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy financials show revenue is coming from the really rich and the really poor
Austin Energy hit the nail on the head in the second quarter with its actual financial expenditures and income tracking almost exactly to the numbers that it forecast. Even with eight out of 10 City Council districts using below the system average of 861 kilowatt-hours, Austin Energy saw an increase in revenues from last year. […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy’s last employee returns from Puerto Rico
At 6:30 p.m. on April 16, Paul Vasquez, the superintendent of system operations at Austin Energy, announced at the Electric Utility Commission meeting that Austin Energy’s last employee had returned from the disaster reparation efforts that Austin had participated in on Puerto Rico. After the catastrophic damage that Hurricane Maria caused in September of 2017, […]
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Community solar farm and batteries test power of Austin’s electric grid
One of the remarkable things about the La Loma community solar farm is where it’s located. Just east of Airport Boulevard, and a short drive to downtown, it’s the type of place you’d expect to see new homes going up. “There’s a lot of reason why this parcel really couldn’t have been used for something […]
Posted inEnergy
Commissioner rocks the boat with concerns about security of Austin Energy software contract
Several years ago, Austin Energy found itself “over a barrel” due to an underbid and underdelivered contract awarded to IBM to create new system software that would bridge Austin Energy’s meters and its billing system. Now one member of the Electric Utility Commission, who clearly remembers the ramifications of having poorly managed software involved with […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin’s community solar program comes to light
For years, people have lamented that although the sun shines at no cost, it is cost prohibitive to redirect its energy from the outdoors and into your home. Even if Austinites want to implement solar technology, they must contend with tree cover, roof maintenance issues and significant upfront costs. Last year, to help alleviate some […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin revamps solar rebate program as White House levies new tariffs on panels
At a new 28-home development in East Austin, workers for Lighthouse Solar pull solar panels from the back of a trailer, haul them to a ladder, and then carry them 30 feet up to the recently shingled rooftops where they’ll be installed. It’s a fun job, said Tyson Bagio, as long as you’re not afraid […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy gears up to ‘repower downtown’
As Austin grows, so must its utility. Austin Energy plans a nine-figure investment over the next eight years on improvements to its system of substations and transmission lines. In a presentation Wednesday to the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee, AE officials showed off a list of projects whose estimated cost totals $150.2 million. And that’s […]