Austin Energy tells council how much mandate will cost

Austin Energy presented City Council members Sept. 24 with a financial plan for creating more solar energy and phasing out Decker power plant as mandated by a recently passed resolution.

The mandate to move toward renewable resources would cost about $30 million if enacted by 2016 and increases to $163 million if not implemented until 2026, according to Austin Energy.

If forced to limit utility bill increases to 2 percent annually, as mandated by the council resolution, Austin Energy officials said the public utility agency would lose $678.2 million in net revenue from 2016–26 because renewable resources do not produce as much revenue-generating energy as fossil fuel-powered plants such as Decker. Consumer bills would have to increase beyond the 2 percent maximum to make up lost revenue, Austin Energy told council members.

From 2011–14, Austin Energy made $18.7 million in net revenue from selling power generated by its existing solar resources to the Texas energy market. During that same time frame, fossil fuel-powered plants such as Decker generated $58 million in net revenue.

Austin Energy officials presented council with an alternative solution—referred to as the 500+ scenario, which would instead have Austin acquire 500 MW of solar energy, 375 MW of wind energy and create a new and more efficient natural gas-powered plant to replace Decker. The city- initiated zero-carbon deadline would also be pushed back to 2050 instead of 2030, per the resolution.

This plan would cost about $28 million in 2016 and create about $26 million in revenue by 2026, according to Austin Energy estimates.

City Council must choose which route to take, but members did not make any decision Sept. 24. Austin Energy will present council with a resource planning analysis for the scenarios in mid- to late October.