Austin City Council on Monday approved restructuring the rates and fees for Austin Energy, the city-owned utility provider, following a seven-month-long public rate review process. The updated story can be found here.
Posted Aug. 26 at 12:43 p.m.
Austin Energy will reduce its revenue by $42 million to alter its rate structure and conclude a months-long public review of how the municipally-owned utility charges its customers. Austin City Council will vote Monday on whether to approve the revised rate schedule.
Environmental advocates hold signs at a news conference yesterday to announce a settlement agreement with Austin Energy over its proposed rate restructure.[/caption]In January the city of Austin initiated a public process to examine Austin Energy's rates. Citizen groups and local entities intervened in the case to contest the utility's proposed revamp of rates and fees.
Among the intervenors were environmental groups Public Citizen and the Sierra Club, which announced a settlement yesterday with Austin Energy to accept the new rate schedule and address the organizations' concerns.
"We worked diligently with these parties to come to this agreement," said Mark Dreyfus, Austin Energy's vice president for regulatory affairs and corporate communications. "We believe that the agreement we arrived at strikes the right balance for the community and the customers."
Public Citizen and the Sierra Club championed at a press conference yesterday what they believe are key concessions resulting from the rate case:
- The decommissioning of an Austin Energy- and Lower Colorado River Authority-owned coal-fired power plant in Fayette County, which Mayor Steve Adler said would help reduce city of Austin-produced carbon emissions by 80 percent
- An agreement to ensure solar and energy efficiency programs are sufficiently funded and develop policies for compensating commercial solar owners
- Meeting these environmental objectives while keeping residential electricity rates affordable
City Council meets Monday to discuss, among other items, approval of a revised rate structure for Austin Energy customers.[/caption]Meeting details
City Council meets Monday at noon in Austin City Hall, 301 W. Second St., Austin, to vote on whether to approve a revised rate structure for Austin Energy customers. A meeting agenda can be found here. Watch the live stream on ATXN.
