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 […]
Austin Energy
As a municipally-owned electric utility, Austin Energy is a rarity in the largely deregulated State of Texas. Its annual budget clocks in at over $1 billion. The utility’s annual direct transfer of a Council-determined percentage of its revenues offers the city a notable revenue stream.
Posted inCity Hall
Final hearing scheduled for fraudulent vacation time case
After retiring in June of last year, Curtis Graves, a former superintendent of system operations at Austin Energy, found out that he was under investigation for his use of vacation and sick time by both Austin Energy’s internal Human Resources team and the Office of the City Auditor. On Aug. 8, Graves came before the […]
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 […]
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 inWater
Commissioners: Water bills should be overseen by Austin Water
Following the water bill fiasco from last fall, Austin Energy and Austin Water teamed up on a working group to uncover the puzzling reasons behind the unusual spikes. Although the group started off with one question, Commissioner Mickey Maia reported back to the Water and Wastewater Commission at its July 11 meeting that, “as we […]
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 inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Don’t speak
Once more, away from the breach… For decades, those who work with digital data have learned to encrypt it in defense against potential breaches. Unfortunately, according to Khalil Shalabi, Austin Energy vice president of strategy, technology and markets, data protection is not always consistent. At the May 23 meeting of the Austin Energy Utility Oversight […]
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 inCity Hall
Austin Energy troubled by hiring concerns
City jobs are notorious for having a prolonged hiring process. However, at Austin Energy, the process has become excruciatingly long, even by its own standards, and it’s starting to have repercussions. At the April 16 Electric Utility Commission meeting, Mark Dombroski, who is the chief financial officer of Austin Energy, distilled the issue down into numbers […]
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, […]