As Austin Energy continues to refine its renewable energy and storage network, customers using solar panels or electric vehicles can look forward to some system upgrades. Richard Genece, vice president of customer energy solutions, and Tim Harvey, renewable solutions manager, stopped by last week’s Electric Utility Commission meeting to present a number of developments in […]
Electric Utility Commission
The advisory body charged with oversight of Austin Energy, the City of Austin’s municipally-owned electric utility.
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy reflects on emergency response two months after record-breaking ice storm
As brush collectors make their final sweeps for toppled tree debris, Austin Energy is working to uncover the hard lessons wrought by February’s catastrophic ice storm. Gearing up to deliver an after-action report to City Council this spring, interim Deputy General Manager Stuart Riley and a cohort of Austin Energy executives stopped by the Electric […]
Posted inCity Council
How realistic is the idea to bury Austin’s power lines? Council wants to know.
At its regular meeting Thursday, City Council approved a pair of items aimed at exploring the possibilities for burying existing utility power lines as well as ones to be constructed in new capital projects such as Project Connect. The idea surfaced after the devastating February winter ice storm that left thousands of Austinites without power […]
Posted inEnergy
Draft recommendation suggests EUC will push back on Austin Energy rate case
With the end of the year steadily approaching, schedules are packed and the city is at full throttle preparing for a ruling on Austin Energy’s controversial rate review case. Last week, the Electric Utility Commission spent its meeting deliberating a draft resolution that would ask City Council to substantially deviate from Austin Energy’s proposed revenue […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy ramps up outreach for proposed rate changes
Austin Energy has entered the public hearing phase of its base rate review process, following its proposal to raise service costs. The monthslong dialogue with stakeholders and city staff, slated for resolution by City Council in November, has surfaced predictable conflicts over the price hike. Released late April, Austin Energy’s proposal includes an overall base […]
Posted inEnergy
Utility commission ponders letting new developments shoulder rate increase
Austin’s Electric Utility Commission is thinking over some suggestions to offer to City Council about Austin Energy’s rate review, which as currently proposed would increase the utility’s base rate by 7.6 percent to make up for a $48 million deficit. The commission’s budget and audit work group came to this week’s EUC meeting with some […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy’s REACH program falls behind its carbon emissions goals
Austin Energy announced last week that it is significantly behind its goals for reducing carbon emissions this year, citing operational and market factors. While the utility hopes to make up some of the gap between now and the end of the year, it may fall short of the 1.28 million metric tons of carbon it hoped […]
Posted inEnergy
Legislators respond to winter storm with new requirements for energy providers
The Electric Utility Commission received an update last week on legislative action related to electric utilities, with Senate Bill 3 serving as the omnibus response bill to Winter Storm Uri in mid-February. SB 3, approved at the close of the regular session in May, enacts a number of new requirements for electric generation plants, transmission […]
Posted inEnergy
‘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 on how the utility could improve if a similar scenario were to occur again. Resource […]
Posted inEnergy
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 reducing energy use at little to no cost to customers. The program is available both to […]
Posted inEnergy
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 plan, told commissioners that while there are plenty of ways Austinites can help the city […]
Posted inEnergy
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 approve and the item left without a recommendation. Item 13 provides $62 million for staff […]