Although solar panels are designed to soak up the sun, Austin Energy spokesperson Carlos Cordova says the utility wants its upcoming local solar project to be “reflective” of the East Austin community that will be its home. Austin Energy inked a deal in late May with local solar developer PowerFin Texas Solar Projects to construct […]
Energy
Posted inEnergy
Solar prices keep dropping, says Austin Energy
Although Austin Energy’s recent call for solar power contract solicitations yielded record low prices, the utility advised City Council on Thursday to take a “measured” approach to buying more solar in the next few years. Khalil Shalabi, the utility’s vice president of energy market operations and resource planning, made the statement in a presentation to […]
Posted inEnergy
Council picks consultant for energy gap study
In an unusual turn of events, City Council selected a company on Thursday that did not score the most points with Austin Energy staff to conduct an upcoming independent energy gap study. Council voted 7-3 to award the contract to Navigant Consulting, with Council members Sheri Gallo, Ellen Troxclair and Don Zimmerman dissenting and Council […]
Posted inEnergy
Council urged to change “demand charges”
Austin Energy is scheduled to present to City Council today a process for conducting a new cost-of-service study. Among the many things that Council will be asked to consider in reviewing Austin Energy rates is whether to lower or eliminate what are called “demand charges” for certain small businesses. Such charges are used to recover […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy to tighten up collections
City Council on Tuesday put its stamp of approval on a compromise between Austin Energy staff and advocates for low-income customers that both sides hope will help reduce the amount of bad debt owed to the utility. Austin Energy places the blame for the bad debt on lenient collection policies, specifically a previous Council’s directive […]
Posted inEnergy
Weis memo addresses AE bad-debt questions
Austin Energy’s bad-debt problem is not the result of a policy “that penalizes customers who are a day late or a penny short,” according to a memo to City Council and Mayor Steve Adler from Austin Energy General Manager Larry Weis. Instead, the utility places the blame on lenient collection policies. “After the city’s previous utility […]
Posted inEnergy
Council extends certain hospital energy contracts
Following up on last week’s decision to extend contracts for large Austin Energy customers, City Council voted Thursday to expand the treatment to St. David’s HealthCare and Seton Healthcare Family. The six-month extensions for contracts that were set to expire at the end of the month apply to each of the providers’ primary facilities, which […]
Posted inEnergy
Council extends large energy contracts
Following extensive deliberation, City Council voted Thursday to extend long-term contracts for Austin Energy’s two largest customers for six months and permanently revise the way the utility calculates rates for a third major customer. The move effectively keeps rates for Samsung and Freescale Semiconductor lower than they would be if the contracts were to expire […]
Posted inEnergy, Texas State Legislature
Council tentatively extends large energy contracts
Austin Energy is stuck between a rock and a hard place, with the rock being the Texas Legislature and the hard place being the utility’s exhausted reserve funds. City Council is now working to wriggle the municipal energy provider out of its predicament without serious damage. Acting essentially as Austin Energy’s board of directors, Council […]
Posted inEnergy, Texas State Legislature
Adler suggests changes to AE business model
Mayor Steve Adler says City Council members are open to shifting how Austin Energy makes its transfers to the city, a move that may quiet talk in the Texas Legislature of deregulating the municipal energy company. “There is some support of us to looking at a CPS (Energy) model where they handle their transfers in […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy bad debt increases (corrected)
Austin Energy’s customer debt is skyrocketinghas risen. From September 2014 to the end of March, the electric utility’sAustin Energy’s bad debt — or bills unlikely to ever be collected — increased more than 300 percent, from $20.8 million to more than $85 million. The rapid increase is due to a policy, put in place two […]
Posted inEnergy, Texas State Legislature
Austin Energy deregulation bill sent to Senate
A bill that could have major implications for Austin Energy and the city budget passed its first hurdle in the Texas House on Tuesday and now goes to the Senate floor. It could give certain Austin Energy customers the ability to break away from the utility and buy energy on the deregulated market. The Senate […]