Last week, after City Council adopted the Fiscal Year 2017-18 budget, longtime Austin environmental advocate and Austin Energy critic Paul Robbins had something to celebrate. Robbins had been asking Council to reform Austin Energy’s Customer Assistance Program since 2014 and the new budget includes direction to do just that. Starting in 2014, Robbins collected data […]
T. Paul Robbins
Paul Robbins is a longtime environmental activist.
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Vultures everywhere
Reply all … Over the weekend, Public Safety Commissioner Mike Levy put Austin Neighborhoods Council President Mary Ingle on blast over the upcoming transportation bond election. It all started last week, when ANC held a panel on the upcoming bonds. That panel was held in front of a packed, interested house – but it was […]
Posted inEnergy
Some AE panelists reject all manager finalists
Three of eight members of an informal citizen advisory group that was created by Mayor Steve Adler and City Council members Leslie Pool and Sheri Gallo to weigh in on finalists for the Austin Energy general manager job have indicated that they would choose Jacqueline Sargent of the Platte River Power Authority in Fort Collins, […]
Posted inCity Hall
Pool proposes changes to rules for lobbyists
If City Council Member Leslie Pool and her cadre of ethics reformers have their way, any number of people who are currently working to persuade city officials to take action, or not, will have to register under a revised city lobby ordinance. And there may be a shakeup at city commissions as well. At a […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy to tighten up collections
City Council on Tuesday put its stamp of approval on a compromise between Austin Energy staff and advocates for low-income customers that both sides hope will help reduce the amount of bad debt owed to the utility. Austin Energy places the blame for the bad debt on lenient collection policies, specifically a previous Council’s directive […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Resources
AE low-income program comes at a high cost
Though there is a push to increase some parts of Austin Energy’s low-income weatherization program, there is at least one part of that program that no one was clamoring to save at Wednesday’s budget session. Activist Paul Robbins started the conversation about revamping Austin’s low-income weatherization program in the next year, and provided City Council […]
Posted inResources, Uncategorized
EUC backs plan to shift all franchise fees to suburban customers
For months, consumer watchdog Paul Robbins has been pushing a proposal to have suburban customers of Austin Energy pay the total cost of franchise fees that the utility pays to six suburban municipalities for use of public rights-of-way in those communities. Robbins received a modest measure of support in his quest this week thanks […]