Austin Energy is the nation’s 9th largest community-owned electric utility. They serve 388,000 customers and a population of more than 900,000, providing service within the City of Austin, Travis County, and a portion of Williamson County.
BACKGROUND
Learn more about Austin’s demand for electricity, the power plants that produce the city’s electricity and the role Austin plays within Texas’ electricity grid by watching the following videos.
Austin's Demand for Electricity
Austin's Power Plants
Austin is Part of Texas' Grid
THE_GENERATION PLAN
On April 22, 2010, Austin City Council adopted a new Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan to 2020. Updates on implementation of this Plan, including development of affordability measures, are available through Austin Energy
The final decision was informed by four formal recommendations made by Austin Energy and official advisory groups: 1) Austin Energy’s recommendation, 2) the Generation Planning Task Force recommendation, 3) the Electric Utility Commission’s recommendation, and 4) the Resource Management Commission’s recommendation.
Summary of Alternatives
As part of the research effort, Austin Energy commissioned PACE Consulting to model different generation scenarios in addition to a “straw man” based on the utility’s own Draft Generation Plan. These effort provided extensive analysis and perspective regarding issues such as cost and risk. (The full report is available on the Austin Smart Energy website.
THE DECISION MAKERS
The following groups guide and decide Austin’s energy policy.
City Council
Austin has a seven member City Council, led by the Mayor, which serves as the Board of Directors of Austin Energy. They are the ultimate decision-makers for utility policies. View council members’ positions on energy policy when they ran for office prior to the election on May 9, 2009.
Austin Energy
Austin Energy staff manage the day-to-day affairs of Austin’s electric utility under the ultimate supervision of the City Manager, Marc Ott. City Council currently delegates most utility decisions to the City Manager and Austin Energy staff.
Advisory Groups
The Electric Utility Commission (EUC), the Resource Management Commission (RMC), and the Generation Resource Planning Task Force (now disbanded) provide varying degrees of input to Austin Energy and City Council. EUC-Chairman Phillip Schmandt describes the work of the Electric Utility Commission in the following interview.
Austin Energy is expected to make a final recommendation on their preferred Generation Master Plan on August 20, 2009. There is expected to be an opportunity for the public to comment on the plan at a City Council workshop on October 15. Final action by City Council currently expected in October. (Per information shared at the Generation Planning Task Force on July 15)