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Council approves new recycling standards for construction material
In a victory for environmentalists, City Council voted Thursday to approve an ordinance that sets limits on the amount of material from a construction or demolition site that can go to waste. The ordinance, which passed 8-3, with Council members…
Resources • By Jack Craver • Nov 24, 2015
Low-Income Weatherization Program scrutinized
The Office of the City Auditor and the City Council Audit and Finance Committee put Austin Energy’s Low-Income Weatherization Program under the microscope on Wednesday, finding that customers are satisfied with the program overall but that it needs improvement. The…
Energy • By Tyler Whitson • Nov 2, 2015
Austin Monitor Radio: 600 MW of solar power?
The Sierra Club’s Cyrus Reed and city of Austin Electric Utility Commission chair (and former Austin Energy employee) Michael Osborne join Austin Monitor publisher Mike Kanin to talk about the potential of as much as 600 megawatts in additional solar…
Energy • By Michael Kanin • Oct 5, 2015
Full-scale solar option remains on table
In spite of a lengthy debate about how much solar capacity the city should contract into next month, the City Council Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee did not appear to rule out any options at its meeting on Thursday. The…
Energy • By Tyler Whitson • Sep 25, 2015
Citywide compost pickup plan faces resistance
Based on comments that a few City Council members made at Thursday’s budget work session, it appears that a proposed citywide, curbside organics collection rollout could get transformed into an opt-in program – if it remains in the forthcoming city…
Resources • By Tyler Whitson • Sep 1, 2015
Citywide compost pickup may be on the way
The blue recycling bin that many Austinites leave on their curbs may soon have a counterpart – a green organics collection bin. While a citywide compost pickup program boasts obvious environmental benefits, it would come at a cost to taxpayers,…
Resources • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 26, 2015
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New ozone standards may be challenge for Austin
The Austin area has a strong track record for meeting federal ground-level ozone standards, but a proposal to tighten regulations means that the region will likely have to work harder to stay in attainment. Failing to do so could make…
Environment • By Tyler Whitson • Jul 24, 2015
Judges propose rollback in water rate case
A pair of administrative law judges appears to have dealt a major blow to the city of Austin in an ongoing water and wastewater rate case brought by a group of wholesale customers in 2013. The judges, Pratibha Shenoy and…
Resources • By Tyler Whitson • Jul 23, 2015
Parks Department sat on Metz Pool repair bid for nearly 6 months
Although the city’s Parks and Recreation Department ordered the repair of an East Austin neighborhood pool in late April, it appears that the department had bids for the work for some time. This, even as department officials initially told residents…
Parks • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 22, 2015
Austin Energy projects $1 residential bill increase
According to current forecasts, the average residential Austin Energy customer will see his or her monthly bill increase this fall by 1 percent, or about $1. However, that number may change once the utility figures in cost data for May…
Energy • By Tyler Whitson • Jul 22, 2015
AE GM responds to AIBA call for demand charge change
Austin Energy General Manager Larry Weis responded on Thursday to Austin Independent Business Alliance Executive Director Rebecca Melançon’s request that the city change the utility’s policies on demand charges. “The policy on demand charges is based on Cost of Service…
Energy • By Tyler Whitson • Jul 22, 2015
Conservation district passes new guidelines
The Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District Board of Directors unanimously passed updated rules and bylaws governing 170 square miles of freshly annexed territory primarily in Hays County. The move came over objections from an attorney with Houston-based water supplier Electro…
