Newsletter Signup
The Austin Monitor thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Most Popular Stories
- Austin Transit Partnership presents pedestrian features, changes to stops in revised Project Connect plan
- Austin’s new CapMetro Rapid lines debut with buses every 20 minutes
- Commercial EV station moves forward despite opposition
- Amid ongoing measles concerns, Austin ISD’s vaccination rate is below target for its youngest students
- Under threat of a federal freeze, city staff says they’re staying the course on infrastructure grants
-
Discover News By District
-
Energy
‘We did the best we could’: Commissioners evaluate Austin Energy’s winter storm response
At a special called joint meeting Monday, commissioners from the Electric Utility and Resource Management commissions praised Austin Energy’s response to last month’s winter storm that left hundreds of thousands of people without power for days. Commissioners also offered ideas…
Energy • By Jonathan Lee • Mar 11, 2021
AE chief apologizes for hardships caused by storm
Austin Energy General Manager Jackie Sargent apologized to the community during Wednesday’s AE Utility Oversight Committee meeting for the suffering and hardships experienced during Winter Storm Uri as a result of electric system outages. Even though the outages were ordered…
Energy • By Jo Clifton • Mar 4, 2021
Austin utilities work to help those hit by storm
The wake of winter storm Uri brought recriminations, finger-pointing and at least one major utility bankruptcy, not to mention the sky-high prices charged to many Texas utility customers. Meanwhile, at Austin Energy, officials have been spending their time trying to…
Energy • By Jo Clifton • Mar 2, 2021
Austin Energy customers need not worry about skyrocketing bills
Austin Energy customers, like the customers of other utilities throughout the state, experienced power outages and water shortages caused by winter storm Uri. But unlike customers of other utilities, Austin Energy customers will not be facing a huge spike in…
Energy • By Jo Clifton • Feb 23, 2021
Just before the storms, Austin Energy gave Covid relief update
Before winter storm Uri wrought devastation and widespread power outages, Austin Energy was focused on the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and its accompanying economic damage. In April of last year, City Council approved measures collectively providing $46 million in utility bill…
Energy • By Ramon Rodriguez • Feb 23, 2021
Power could get cut to circuits that include hospitals as a 'last resort,' Austin Energy warns
Austin Energy could decide to shut off electricity to circuits that include critical infrastructure – such as fire stations, hospitals and 911 operations – to prevent the state’s power grid from collapsing, the municipal utility warned Tuesday. “Only as an…
Energy • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Feb 17, 2021
Subscribe to our newsletter
Storm deals heavy blow to Austin Energy, other utilities
With roughly 40 percent of its customers without power Monday, Austin Energy and other local officials worked to explain what happened when an unprecedented winter storm swept through the entire state, leaving roughly 2 million Texans without electricity. The Electric…
Energy • By Jo Clifton • Feb 16, 2021
Consumer advocate seeks audit of Austin Energy program
Consumer advocate Paul Robbins, who has argued for years that Austin Energy is wasting money and inadequately screening participants in its Customer Assistance Program, is asking City Auditor Corrie Stokes to audit the program for wasted expenditures. The program, which…
Energy • By Jo Clifton • Jan 20, 2021
Austin Energy touts its weatherization program for limited-income customers
Sarah Chatterjee, the new director of energy efficiency services for Austin Energy, presented the utility’s new weatherization programs for low-income customers before the Electric Utility Commission on Jan. 11. The program is aimed at providing weatherproofing modifications, optimizing energy efficiencies and…
Energy • By Seth Smalley • Jan 19, 2021
Combating climate change in Austin to start at Austin Energy
As the Office of Sustainability’s newly revised Climate Equity Plan makes its way through boards and commissions for public comment, its latest stop was the Electric Utility Commission on Sept. 14. Zach Baumer, who is the program manager for the…
Energy • By Jessi Devenyns • Sep 17, 2020
Austin Energy price on coal energy reduces emissions 20 percent since March
In a little over four months, Austin Energy’s carbon pricing program, REACH (Reduce Emissions Affordably for Climate Health) has cut the utility’s carbon emissions by roughly 20 percent, saving more than 480,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere since the…
Energy • By Ryan Thornton • Aug 20, 2020
Electric Utility Commission won't recommend Austin Energy technology contract
At its Monday meeting, the Electric Utility Commission took a hard look at a purchasing contract that would have authorized $62 million in contracts for computer, network and other technology hardware. Ultimately, none of the commissioners made a motion to…
