As the city prepares to renegotiate its contract with Texas Gas Service, Austin’s Resource Management Commission is vying for a seat at the table, with a proposal to expand its purview to include the utility’s oversight on its way to City Council. The proposal, spearheaded by Commissioner Paul Robbins, would amend the commission’s bylaws to […]
Resource Management Commission
A commission that reviews and advises the city council on renewable energy technologies.
Posted inEnergy
Electric Utility Commission offers climate-friendly recommendations for Austin Energy update
As the deadline approaches for an update to Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan, the city’s Electric Utility Commission is joining the conversation, banding behind its own proposal for the coming decade. The proposal, formed in collaboration with the city’s Resource Management Commission and a number of Austin Energy ratepayers, asks that the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Who should regulate Texas Gas Service conservation programs?
Longtime utility critic Paul Robbins has discovered that House Bill 2263, legislation approved by the Texas Legislature this spring, may hamper city efforts to regulate rebates offered by Texas Gas Service. The same would be true of other cities throughout the state that have regulated natural gas utilities. HB 2263 gives the Texas Railroad Commission […]
Posted inResources
Resource Management Commission considers petition for oversight on gas utilities
The city’s Resource Management Commission may soon find itself a bit busier, with plans for a vote to add oversight of Austin’s natural gas utilities to its purview. Commissioner Paul Robbins, a longtime environmentalist, brought the proposal forth. It would explicitly designate the commission as City Council’s primary adviser on gas utility policies like rate […]
Posted inWater
Amid drought conditions, Austin Water proposes ways to slash water use in new homes
The average water use per year in new Austin homes is 28,000 gallons. But that could soon decrease with initiatives aimed at conserving water through landscape transformations and other efforts. Kevin Kluge, environmental conservation division manager of Austin Water, presented possible ordinances on home landscapes during a Resource Management Commission meeting last week. Improving water […]
Posted inCity Hall
Resource Management Commission at stalemate over toxic materials resolution
Resource Management commissioners recently butted heads over a proposed resolution directing Austin Energy staff to facilitate a working group tasked with brainstorming how to dissuade builders from using toxic materials. The resolution ultimately did not pass, ending in a 4-4 tie vote, with one abstention. Ultimately there was some confusion over what exactly the resolution aimed […]
Posted inEnergy
Gas companies seek interim rate hikes
The three companies that supply natural gas to Austin residential and commercial customers are each seeking a rate increase under the Gas Reliability Infrastructure Program, or GRIP. City Council acted on April 8 and again on Thursday to temporarily suspend implementation of those increases. However, the increases are likely to take effect after a short […]
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 inWater
Austin Water aims to bring new conservation ordinances before Council in December
Timelines across the city have been adjusted or paused following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the ongoing limitations imposed by the “new normal” have not stopped Austin Water from developing new conservation ordinances to bring before City Council in December. The city water utility plans to bring at least two ordinances before Council […]
Posted inEnergy
Should natural gas be a required secondary fuel source?
Even as the city strives to reach net-zero community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the Energy Code for Austin still, with some exceptions, requires the use of natural gas for water heating when a residential building is constructed adjacent to natural gas service. Recognizing this inconsistency with the city’s goals, the Resource Management Commission unanimously […]
Posted inEnergy
Debate heats up over solar energy contracts
There is a solar energy tug-of-war taking place at City Hall. Amid calls from solar advocates for the city to quickly procure 600 megawatts of utility-scale solar energy, Austin Energy will propose to City Council at an Oct. 1 meeting that it take smaller steps and authorize 200 to 300 megawatts’ worth of solar contracts […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Council hears early report on future of boards and commissions
Austin City Council members appeared generally receptive to a host of potential changes to the structure of the city’s many – some say too many – boards and commissions. Still, as the Boards and Commission Transition Taskforce, which has become known as the Commission on Commissions, made its presentation at last week’s Council work session, […]