Austin Sierra Club and other members of the public interested in the updates made to Austin Energy Resource, Generation and Climate Change plan are joined by Councilman Mike Martinez and Councilman Chris Riley.[/caption] Austin Energy last year focused on proposed rate changes and efforts to become more energy-efficient, and the focus in 2015 is anticipated to shift toward improving customer service. Austin Energy General Manager Larry Weis in a staff memo Jan. 5 declared excellent customer service [is] on center stage in 2015 when serving the agency's 440,000 ratepayers. "One of the areas that I really want to emphasize for 2015 is to try and do the very best we can with customer service," Weis said. On Dec. 11, Austin City Council approved changes to the city-owned utility's generation plan, or the timeline for future goals, after Austin Energy struck an agreement with the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, an Austin-based environmental advocacy group. The agreement changes the deadlines for closing Decker Power Plant and adding more solar resources. "I feel like there has been a lot of good progress [in the changes to the generation plan]," Weis said. "I still have concerns over affordability." Austin Energy cannot raise its rates annually more than 2 percent, an increase Weis said is likely to occur each year to ensure there is enough revenue for day-to-day operations. Austin Energy also proposed building a new natural gas plant that Weis said would help the agency meet its affordability goals. Although Austin intends to become a zero-carbon city by 2030, that does not necessarily mean the natural gas plant would have to close by that time, Weis said. If enough measures were taken to mitigate the carbon emissions from the plant, it could then stay open, he said.