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 […]
Electric Utility Commission
The advisory body charged with oversight of Austin Energy, the City of Austin’s municipally-owned electric utility.
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 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, […]
Posted inEnergy
Commissioner rocks the boat with concerns about security of Austin Energy software contract
Several years ago, Austin Energy found itself “over a barrel” due to an underbid and underdelivered contract awarded to IBM to create new system software that would bridge Austin Energy’s meters and its billing system. Now one member of the Electric Utility Commission, who clearly remembers the ramifications of having poorly managed software involved with […]
Posted inWater
Austin Water still repairing shattered trust with water bill smoothing
After months of investigation, Austin Water and Austin Energy have an answer for the unusual spikes that Austinites saw in their water bills last September. Although Austin Water responded and changed its meter-reading contractor after the rash of misreads came to light, it is only now that the utility is discovering what precisely went awry. […]
Posted inWater
Phantom water bill charges remain an unsolved mystery at Austin Water
For several years, water bills have been mysteriously spiking and leaving homeowners clutching their wallets and demanding answers. However, even when the public came en masse to plead that the Electric Utility Commission demand answers from city staff after the most recent surge, Austin Energy and Austin Water had none to give. On Dec. 11, […]
Posted inEnergy
Electric Utility Commission recommends purchase of more solar power
Austin has a herculean trial ahead of itself as it tries to reach 65 percent renewable energy by 2027. Thankfully, one new proposed project may make that goal achievable. Despite making up only 4 percent of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas market, Austin Energy’s renewable energy contribution is noteworthy. With its latest proposed project, the […]
Posted inEnergy
Fath retiring from Electric Utility Commission
After 40 years of fighting for consumers and small businesses on Austin’s Electric Utility Commission, Shudde Fath this week announced her resignation. Fath, who is often referred to as the grande dame of Austin’s environmental movement, is 101 years old and was first appointed by Mayor Carole Keeton McClellan in 1977. In a letter to […]