On May 1, the City of Austin released the audit report for Austin Energy, which is overall supportive of the utility's reported revenue requirements in conjunction with its rate increase plan.
On Feb. 22, City Council directed City Auditor Ken Mory to review the proposed revenue requirements in the wake of controversy surrounding an increase in rates for the first time in 17 years.
AE said in September that a $131 million shortfall necessitated a 12.5 percent system-wide rate increase, which the city-owned utility modified in February to occur in two phases in 2012 and 2014.
Public reaction to the plan has been overwhelmingly negative. In part, there has been skepticism of the reported revenue requirements and the subsequent high rate increases.
