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 through July, when residents are likely to consume a lot of power. Austin Energy staff […]
Austin Energy 2012 rate increase
2012 marked the first time in roughly two decades that the city’s municipally-owned electric utility asked for an increase in the rates it charges customers. The process took about a year to wind its way through deliberation, passage, and an expected challenge from ratepayers outside city limits who challenged the increase at the State’s Public Utility Commission.
Posted inEnergy, Resources
Local small-business alliance proposes energy policy change
Small-business owners often wrestle with financial uncertainty, and some have complained that Austin Energy policies contribute to that challenge. Rebecca Melançon, executive director of the Austin Independent Business Alliance, wrote a letter to City Council and Austin Energy management Monday proposing changes that she believes will improve the situation. Melançon’s primary request is that the […]
Posted inAustin, Budget, Energy, Resources
Explainer: The Austin Energy-CoA funds transfer
The Explainer takes a deeper look at stories we have been following. This week, we tackle the annual transfer from Austin Energy to the City of Austin’s General Fund. The annual transfer of what has historically been many millions of dollars in cash from the coffers of Austin Energy to those just across the river […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Resources
Austin Energy pitches Council to restore its cash reserves
Austin Energy officials pressed Austin City Council members Tuesday to allow the utility to reconfigure its cash holdings to allow it to fill a series of neglected reserve funds. The move, according to utility representatives, would better position the utility for lower interest rates when it sells bonds — and could save the city millions […]
Posted inLocal Government, Local Politics, Resources
PUC: Non-city utility customers must pay legal fees
The Texas Public Utility Commission has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of non-City of Austin ratepayers against Austin Energy. That dismissal means that ratepayers who are not Austin residents will foot the $1.55 million bill for the utility’s legal fees related to a rate case settled earlier this year. So, those who […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Resources
Council to hash out Austin Energy issues in committee meeting
With Council Member Kathie Tovo pushing hard to gain approval of an ordinance that would offer more leeway for Austin Energy ratepayers in deep arrears on their bills, utility officials remained leery of the plan. It will all be hashed out this afternoon as Council members meet for their monthly Austin Energy Committee meeting, which […]
Posted inLocal Government, Resources
PUC staff urges dismissal of latest rate challenge
A document filed Tuesday by staff of the Texas Public Utility Commission hints strongly that the commission will reject an appeal by Homeowners United for Rate Fairness of Austin City Council members’ action to assess legal costs from the Austin Energy rate case to out-of-city ratepayers. In a 12-page filing, commission staff conclude that […]
Posted inLocal Government, Resources
Non-Austin ratepayers file another Austin Energy complaint with PUC
The group of out-of-town residents who originally challenged last year’s Austin Energy rate increase has filed another complaint with Public Utility Commission against AE. In a nine-page document signed by Homeowners United for Rate Fairness attorney (and Travis County Republican Party Vice Chair) Roger Borgelt, the organization argues that the utility violated the settlement agreement […]