Author Archives: Bill Oakey

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About Bill Oakey

I am retired from the State of Texas as an accountant. I am now an artist in Austin, doing photographic art. I'm also a lifelong music fan and a computer geek.

Dumpsters In The Night – Austin’s Insurmountable Challenge

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By Bill Oakey – October2, 2025

At a recent neighborhood association meeting, I learned a whole lot more than I bargained for. While reading my notes later, the phrase “dumpsters in the night” kept haunting me. Somebody asked the featured speaker, a City Council member, what could be done to get rid of the awful noise from trash haulers emptying commercial dumpsters, and waking them up in the wee hours of the morning.

This Council member’s short answer was that we have a noise ordinance, but we don’t have the resources to enforce it. Apparently, the-middle-of-the-night banging, clanging and otherwise haranguing noise has been disrupting sleep in neighborhoods all over town, for a good many years. I immediately wondered why the City Council doesn’t just pass an ordinance restricting the hours that commercial trash haulers can operate near residential neighborhoods.

Since we don’t live in Houston, we can’t easily ask a rocket scientist to help solve this insurmountable, years-long problem. On this blog, my first instinct is to research how a problem is approached in that great big world outside of Austin. Here’s what I found from an AI search:

1. Many cities have passed local ordinances restricting the hours during which commercial dumpsters can be serviced in or near residential areas. Typical rules prohibit pickups before 7 a.m. or after 10 p.m. and impose fines for violations, making enforcement possible when residents report early-morning disturbances. For example, Chicago enforces such time windows for noise control, with fines between $300 and $1,000 for violations. Urbana, Illinois has considered similar operational ordinances as they found noise limits alone difficult to enforce.

2. A growing number of cities rely on waste management schedules and advanced route planning software. By mapping out efficient daytime-only collection routes for commercial properties close to residences, cities minimize conflict between necessary services and quality-of-life concerns.

3. Cities and waste haulers in progressive regions deploy newer, quieter garbage trucks with technology that reduces mechanical banging, limits engine noise, and avoids beeping backup alarms where possible. Converting fleets to side-load trucks can reduce noise, though upfront investment is required. Advocates suggest cities incentivize or require such upgrades for haulers operating in dense urban or mixed-use neighborhoods.

I will run this by a couple of City Council members. In the meantime, grab a pillow when it’s time for bed. Think back to that old Frank Sinatra song, but with slightly modified lyrics:

Dumpsters in the night, those circumstances
Wondering in the night
What were the chances we could get some sleep
Before the night was through

The anger in your eyes, a fire igniting
Something in your scowl was truly frightening
Something in my heart
Told me I still love you

Ever since those nights, we’ve fought together
Knowing we were right, surrender never
We’ll go on to fight
Those dumpsters in the night

Dooby dooby doo…

Musical Accompaniment For This Blog Piece

1. “Strangers In the Night” – Frank Sinatra

(Note that the “Dooby dooby doo” at the end of the song was the inspiration for the title and the character’s name in the CBS cartoon series, “Scooby-Doo).”

Stop The “Forever Tax” – Vote No On Prop Q!

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By Bill Oakey – September 29, 2025

$100 Million Dollars – Three Times The Amount Of The Budget Shortfall, Every Year, Forever!

The City Tax Rate Election on November 4th is something to tell your friends, neighbors and colleagues about. The City claims to have a $33 million budget shortfall. But, if the voters approve Prop Q, the folks at City Hall will end up with a huge slush fund. This thing would generate over $100 million. The property tax rate accumulates each year, and becomes the new baseline for the following year. So, the $100 million tax windfall would repeat itself until the end of eternity!. It’s a Forever Tax. And, the City can pass annual regular tax increases on top of the Forever Tax. We simply can’t let this happen!


Why Is The City Asking For All That Money?

Please, please, please don’t be fooled by the ballot language on Prop Q. It is worded to make you fear that our parks will crumble into decay, and even fewer police officers will patrol our streets, without the Forever Tax. The language is very broad, generic and vague. You will not see any specific departmental programs or services that will be expanded if Prop Q passes. And City officials have not told us exactly which specific programs or services will be impacted if Prop Q fails.

A Huge Bombshell That No One Is Talking About!

We deserve to see a detailed accounting, showing the items within each department that would be funded, expanded or reduced, depending on the outcome of the election. Well, last Friday night, instead of watching “Superman” on HBO Max, I explored the FY 2026 Approved City Budget. On Page 917, I discovered a set of General Fund Financial Policies for Tax Rate Elections. Here is Policy #3:

“The City shall clearly identify the level of programming or services funded with the additional revenue generated above the voter approved rate, and provide an accounting of the expected level of services should the election fail.”

There is a City Council Resolution that formalized this policy. It began as a recommendation that passed unanimously by the Audit and Finance Committee. Then, on May 22 the City Council unanimously passed it as Resolution No. 20250522-058.

Where Is The Transparency That Was Promised Back In May?

That question will be put to the City Council while you are reading this. In the meantime, here’s a little history lesson about the City Budget. Several years ago, I got a surprise phone call from 1980’s era City Council Member, Max Nofziger. He shared what he had recently learned about the budget. From its earliest days until the year 2000, it went up on a gently inclining slope. From 2000 onward, it has shot up into the sky.

The City Should Manage Its Budget The Way Austin Families Do

If Prop Q fails, the City will still have the maximum tax increase allowed by State law. In this tough economy, many Austin families are struggling. People have to do without what they want, or postpone things until they can afford them. With Prop Q, homeowners and small businesses would suffer. Landlords would pass their costs on to renters. This is the wrong time for a walloping tax increase.

Ax The Tax! Vote No On Prop Q!

For additional info, check out AustinTaxRateElection

Musical Accompaniment For This Blog Piece

1. “One Minute Past Eternity” – Jerry Lee Lewis

2. “Forever” – The Little Dippers (Actually the Anita Kerr Singers)

3. “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” – Connie Francis

4. “Eternally” – Petula Clark

5. “Please Love Me Forever” – Bobby Vinton

6. “Taxman” – The Beatles

Mackenzie Kelly Rocks – Support Her Reelection!

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By Bill Oakey – August 19, 2024

Why am I not surprised at the City Council’s record $5.9 billion budget? Last week’s vote delivered a whole parade of cost increases, for every type of tax and utility fee that you can imagine. And what did they tell us…”Oh, it’s ONLY going to cost you $361.92 more per year.”

Only one City Council member stood tall for the taxpayers – Mackenzie Kelly.

Mackenzie Kelly - For the Taxpayers!

Mackenzie Kelly – For the Taxpayers!

This year’s City Budget is a huge wake-up call for voters. We have a City Council that is completely out of touch. By contrast, Mackenzie Kelly is working hard on a platform to help longtime residents with real, tangible affordability. Check out her platform:

Senior Discounts

Here are the initiatives I am actively pursuing:

  1. Senior Discounts for Utility Bills: During our budget, I am committed to advocating for fixed charges on utility bills, including waste disposal and water rates, to be adjusted to offer discounts for seniors.

  2. Senior Discounts on All City Facilities: I will begin working on an ordinance to require senior discounts across all city facilities. This includes private events hosted on city property.

  3. Encouraging Business Community Adoption: I will encourage the business community to adopt senior discounts to support our elderly residents.

Homestead Exemptions for Property Taxes

During her time on the City Council, Mackenzie has proactively supported increases to the general homestead exemption and the over-65 and disabled homestead exemption.

Strong Support for Preserving Neighborhoods

Mackenzie was a leading voice in opposing the ill-conceived HOME initiative to allow developers to build multiple living units on single-family lots throughout the City. The Council majority thumbed their noses at three prominent studies, showing that high density in tech hubs like Austin actually makes housing more expensive. Despite the overwhelming public resistance to HOME, the Council approved a sweeping, one-size-fits-all approach. They ignored obvious pitfalls related to parking, flooding, drainage, wildfires, infrastructure issues and incursions of short term rentals. Mackenzie stands ready to work for meaningful amendments to correct the overreach, as the process moves forward.

Working With All Sides to Get Things Done

During her time on the Council, Mackenzie has successfully sponsored and co-sponsored ordinances and resolutions to solve problems. She has done a great job of putting partisanship aside, for the sake of affordability, and a host of other issues.

A Closing Poem

The Austin City Council can seem like a zoo
What are struggling taxpayers supposed to do?
If you get a queasy feeling way down in your belly
The solution is to support Mackenzie Kelly

Trimming the City Budget is tedious, not fun
But we can count on Mackenzie to get the job done
Check out her campaign, you’ll quickly see
She will listen to people like you and me

Please don’t think of her in a partisan way
She works hard for all of us, we need her to stay!
Even if you don’t live in District 6
Support her anyway, there are problems she can fix

Before You Go…

Visit Mackenzie’s website and make a donation.

Austin Should Lead The Way On Texas Power Grid Issues

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By Bill Oakey – July 18, 2024

With another summer heatwave gripping the state, Texas faces a potential major disaster. If our power grid were to fail, or if cities were thrown into blackouts to protect the grid, how well are public officials prepared? That is the immediate concern here in Austin.  An equally ominous worry is whether the Texas grid will hold up going forward, beyond the current heatwave. These two fundamental questions haunt many parts of the country, as record triple digit temperatures scorch several states.

For us locally, I recommend a bipartisan, coordinated initiative among the City of Austin, Travis County and State officials. From there, an effort to seek Federal assistance could also be considered. We should be prepared for a possible worse-case scenario, that could come at any time. And, unless the correct sequence of actions are taken to shore up the grid, we face a potential disaster each year going forward.

We Need a Working Group of Public Officials to Tackle Disaster Preparedness and Grid Stability

My research indicates that both of these challenges have reached a critical inflection point this summer. Below, I will lay out the case for why a coordinated effort from a Working Group is needed.

Disaster Preparedness

1. Air conditioning is essential for protecting people during heatwaves. In the event of a grid failure or prolonged blackout, the City needs a good plan and sufficient resources to implement it. Here are some recent news articles that highlight the problem:

a. Heat waves are getting longer and more brutal. Here’s why your AC can’t save you anymore. https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/04/climate/heat-waves-air-conditioning-climate/index.html

b. A Call For Immediate Public Health And Emergency Response Planning For Widespread Grid Failure Under Extreme Heat. https://fas.org/publication/grid-failure-extreme-heat/

c. Many people can’t physically flee disasters. Too often, we fail to help them. https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/07/opinions/disabilities-disasters-challenges-failing-taylor/index.html

City of Austin Preparedness Resources

1. Webpage dedicated to power outage procedures:

https://austinenergy.com/outages/plan-ahead/how-we-prepare-for-outages

2. Emergency Operations Plan, which covers all disasters:

https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/HSEM/Signed_Basic_Plan_06-23-2023.pdf

3. Austin Energy has a Medically Vulnerable Registry, for customers with critical medical conditions requiring electricity. Here are two links that describe this program:

a. Customer enrollment information: https://coautilities.com/wps/wcm/connect/occ/coa/util/support/customer-assistance/services-medically-vulnerable

b. Current parameters and future improvements: https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=426910

Questions On Preparedness That the Working Group Should Address

1. Are there specific plans actually in place right now to move large numbers of elderly and disabled people to a cool location? The stakes are high. We should proactively prepare for temperatures at or above 105 degrees. A severe heatwave blackout could be a deadly disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina.

2. Will cool locations be made available during nighttime hours, when it is above 90 degrees long after dark? Will food and water be available?

3. Does the City have a complete list, with the addresses and contact info of facilities and organizations for both elderly and disabled citizens? 

 4. Does the City have a plan to help elderly and disabled citizens living in their homes, who are not eligible for the Medically Vulnerable Registry? A major power grid failure during an extreme heatwave could impact these people within a matter of hours.

5. Has the City worked with elder care facilities to advise them or assist them with financing to install generators?

Ensuring the Future Stability of the Grid

The Working Group should meet regularly to monitor progress and make recommendations to prevent a breakdown of the grid. Here are some recent news articles on the current status and major challenges:

1.Texas Electricity Demand Could Nearly Double In Six Years.

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/06/20/texas-electricity-demand-forecast-ercot/

2. As Summer Heat Hits, How Is the Texas Grid Faring?

https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-grid-heat-summer-doug-lewin/

3. Artificial intelligence needs so much power it’s overwhelming the electrical grid.

https://studyfinds.org/artificial-intelligence-needs-so-much-power-its-destroying-the-electrical-grid/

4. Amid Explosive Demand, America Is Running Out of Power.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/07/ai-data-centers-power/

5. Doug Lewin’s Texas Energy and Power Newsletter. Doug is a prominent energy consultant. You can read his bio here. Check out his newsletter that covers the Texas grid below:

https://www.douglewin.com/

Conclusions

1. The City of Austin should form a bipartisan Working Group with Travis County and State officials, to ensure that they are prepared to protect citizens to the greatest extent possible during a Texas power grid failure.

2. The State should consider releasing Rainy Day Funds and allocating them to this effort, for Cities and communities across Texas.

3. The City should use every bit of influence they can muster to encourage the State to shore up the power grid. This includes funding and incentives for new power generation, more transmission lines and new energy storage and conservation technologies.

4. The Working Group should meet regularly and utilize a strong, proactive approach. There needs to be a timeline, with milestones, clear objectives and followup to ensure positive results. This would require outreach to industries and businesses involved in shoring up the grid.

5. Along the way, the Working Group should constantly seek out and review the initiatives and the progress being made by other cities and states around the country.

6. This coordinated effort could lead to saving numerous lives, and substantially reduce the costs associated with delays or inaction in protecting the Texas power grid.

We Need Marc Duchen on the City Council – Spread the Word!

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By Bill Oakey, June 29, 2024

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Marc for this blog. He is tailor-made to bring affordability to City Hall. We’ve heard local politicians roll that word off their tongues for years. But they have clearly not delivered. Now it’s time for the real deal. Here are the first refreshing words from Marc in the interview:

1. “We have a problem with just the way our dollars are spent, creating public value for people.”

That is quite a wallop for an opening statement! He quite simply “gets it.”

2. “Looking at the City Budget over the last several years, I ask myself if we are getting the right value for the accelerated increases in spending? The benefits to the people are not obvious. Do we get more value from the $1.6 billion convention center, or from supporting the arts, local musicians and the other things that Austinites enjoy? I think we need to scrutinize and evaluate some of the major items, like Project Connect.”

I did not have to nudge Marc on the “value” of Project Connect. Much of the fairy tale promises of sipping cocktails by an underground station, while listening to a band and waiting for a magical chariot on rails have already collapsed before our eyes. The courts are now determining whether our open ended, perpetual tax increase for Project Connect is even legal.

3. “The hometown spirit of Austin is at risk of being lost. We may be way past keeping Austin weird. But at least we need to have public events that are accessible to people of all ages and all income levels. The Parks and Recreation Department, especially, has a lot of events that cater to the wealthy, as opposed to longtime Austinites. I do support a broad range of senior discounts. We seem to have fewer of those than we used to.”

Marc is reviewing one of my earlier blog posting that called for senior discounts. All of his responses during our interview were carefully and thoroughly worded. I could tell that he had a firm grasp on the substance of the issues.

So, Where Does Marc Duchen Really Stand On Affordability?

Firmly in your corner!

Please spread the word to your neighbors and friends. Stay tuned for more details from this blog interview. I will share his thoughts on accountability and citizen engagement at City Hall. Plus – Marc’s take on the City Budget.

Support Marc Duchen for City Council, Place 10

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By Bill Oakey, June 12, 2024

In all my years of endorsing Candidates for the Austin City Council, I have never met a better affordability candidate than Marc Duchen. Our City is at a critical crossroads, facing financial headwinds that are unprecedented. We need a strong voice for affordability now more than ever. Marc Duchen checks all the boxes. He has also committed to focusing on much better accountability and citizen engagement at City Hall.

I will be publishing a detailed interview with Marc in the next few days. In the meantime, please let your friends and neighbors in District 10 know that we all need to spread the word about Marc, and get to know him. My best advice is to attend his meet and greet events, check out his website, and start making donations with this link.

Here is a photo of Marc. Stay tuned for more details on why I offer this endorsement.

Marc Duchen, District 10 Affordability Candidate

Stephanie Bazan Is Top Choice In District 5 Runoff

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By Bill Oakey, December 11, 2022

The City Council runoff election is almost here. I’m excited to have this late opportunity to recommend Stephanie Bazan for District 5. As a native South Austinite, with an impressive record of leadership, education and civic engagement, she’s ready to hit the ground running on the City Council.

What Word Stands Out When You Click “Issues” On Her Website?

Affordability…!

It’s right at the top in bold print. I haven’t seen that in any of the other campaigns. At the end, I will provide a YouTube link, where she will tell you with passion and enthusiasm where she stands. But I want to highlight a few quick things. She repeatedly says that Austinites should be able to afford to stay in their homes.

People at City Hall talk about affordability all the time. But not nearly enough is being done. We need a fresh voice who lives every day among people who actually feel the lack of affordability – like renters, homeowners with high property taxes, artists and musicians and all kinds of small businesses.

A Few Concrete Examples

I submitted three questions to Stephanie. Before answering them, she offered this encouraging comment, “In order to keep pace with growth, we should continue to raise the senior and disabled tax exemption. It’s also important to manage the budget to keep property taxes and fees low.” Here are the questions and her responses:

1. Can you support senior discounts on the monthly service charges on our utility bills – such as electric, water, wastewater and solid waste? We should keep electric and water bills as low as possible and avoid rate hikes. I would be in support of viable options to support seniors, including discounts. 
 
2. Will you consider supporting senior discounts on other City services, such as admission fees and parking fees at City-owned facilities? I would consider supporting senior discounts on other City services. 
 
3. In 2014, I asked the City Council to appoint a Regional Affordability Committee, and develop an affordability action plan. They did appoint the committee. It met from early 2015 until March 2020. Then, they abruptly canceled all future meetings because of the pandemic. They published a draft Affordability Strategic Plan. But the plan was never adopted by the City Council. Would you support having the new Council review the work of the Committee, and consider adopting the Strategic Plan?
 
I would be open to having the new Council review the work and consider adopting the plan. I would like to get more background on why the plan was not originally adopted, but appreciate the work of the committee.

A Closing Poem

This is a busy time of year, lots of things are going on
But if you live in District 5, make some time for Stephanie Bazan
Mark your calendar for Tuesday’s election
And make sure that Stephanie is your selection

Head over to her website, it’s not to be missed
You’ll find affordability at the top of her list!
One thing you should do without hesitation
Is click that button and make a donation

Check out Stephanie’s impressive YouTube video:

Stephanie Bazan

The City Council Has Been Snookered – But It’s Not Too Late To Fix It!

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By Bill Oakey – November 30, 2022

I am not surprised by what happed yesterday with the City Council and Austin Energy. After all, a good sales pitch can be hard to resist. The odds are pretty good that snake oil, if it were cleverly packaged in souvenir bottles with an antique logo, might sell pretty well. Heck, you could probably sell them in a gift shop on Congress Avenue.

But, when it comes to something serious, like our electric bills, we should all pay careful attention to what’s inside the package that we are being sold. Otherwise, we could easily be sold down the river.

So, How Can We Un-Snooker the City Council?

The answer is pretty simple. Just let the numbers do the talking. I like to talk, but I would be willing to sit still without uttering a single word, if we could just get the right set of numbers. So, let me try this, and let’s see how it goes…

Dear Friends On the Austin City Council,

Most of you know me pretty well. I don’t have a reputation for making up things that are not true. I try to ensure that my research produces accurate information. If I make an honest mistake, I will accept responsibility for it, and correct it promptly. You probably know that I have successfully challenged Austin electric rates in the past. I was appointed to the Electric Utility Commission, after getting the City Council to cut a 20% rate increase in half, in April 1984. In between music events and art shows, I have been following electric rate cases for 39 years. So, I know more than just a little bit about them.

Here is my simple challenge for you in the current rate case. Stop listening to me, and all of the other competing voices. Ask for a few sets of numbers, and then let those numbers do the talking. Please do that, and I promise that this whole confusing matter will be put to rest.

These Are the Numbers That You Need to Ask For

For each proposed rate increase scenario, ask Austin Energy to provide residential customer bill examples for the following consumption amounts and timeframes:

1. 860 kWh (the average customer amount) in a typical winter month

2. 1000 kWh in a typical winter month

3. 1500 kWh in a typical winter month

4. 2000 kWh in a typical winter month

5. The same four examples in a typical July

6. The same four examples, using  July, 2022 data

 7. Try to get some estimated bill impacts for typical small business ratepayers. Those folks are still trying to recover from pandemic-related financial losses. They need your compassion, and the best possible diligence that you can provide.

Of course, every individual customer has different conditions in their home that will affect their energy usage. But any examples are better than no examples at all. You folks on the City Council could offer your own electric bills, or the bills of people on your  staffs. The point of this exercise is to demystify the actual impact of whatever rate increase that you consider. Will a triple-dose of rate shock give most of us a $30 monthly bill increase, or will it be significantly higher for a 3 bedroom home, especially in another summer heatwave?

Please ask for those sets of numbers, and take a good, hard look at them. Don’t pass a highly controversial rate increase, without knowing up front how it will impact the community. Thank you for your time and consideration.

On a Lighter Note, Here’s the Lowdown On Snookering

Here’s the official definition by Merriam-Webster. Click to enlarge the images.

The transitive verb describes what has befallen our City Council.

And a lesson can be learned from the noun definition.

Don’t be snookered on your Christmas gift purchase of professional snooker balls. You can get them for less than the full retail price of $452.03.

Balderdash And Poppycock – Austin Energy’s Convoluted Presentation To The City Council

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By Bill Oakey, November 29, 2022

To the untrained ear, Austin Energy’s presentation to the City Council this afternoon would sound very convincing. It had all of the slickness of a clever, seasoned used car salesman. But if you kick the tires, even just a little bit, those nagging flaws start spewing out like a noxious cloud of dust.

Here Is a Quick Breakdown:

1. The positive year-end revenue balance was offset by the negative impact of not getting paid for the sale of Austin Energy’s old headquarters at Town Lake Center.

Reality Check – They could have delayed some planned expenses until this fiscal year, when they will get paid for that building. (Duh)! Regardless of what they wanted to do with the un-budgeted summer revenue surplus, they should have requested a budget amendment approval from the City Council. Then, the lengthy explanation made this afternoon would not have been necessary. Transparency, anyone?

2. A dramatic increase in the monthly customer charge, and a radical upending of the rate design is necessary to “move residential ratepayers closer to “cost of service.” Right now, large users of electricity are “subsidizing” the small users.

Reality Check – All of the large electric utilities in Texas maintain a standard $10.00 customer charge. What is so strange and unique about Austin Energy that makes a high customer charge necessary? Absolutely nothing, unless you believe in balderdash and poppycock. (I used to believe I could fly, at the age of 6, when I saw Peter Pan on TV). As for the large electricity users “subsidizing” the small users, that is a policy decision established in Austin in 1981, to encourage conservation. This afternoon Austin Energy made a bold pronouncement. They arbitrarily declared that the current tiered rate structure does not incentivize conservation. Oh, really? Is that a universally accepted notion? Is there a national study to back up that capricious claim? If there is, show me!

3. Residential ratepayers are not paying their “true cost of service.” This is unfair to the commercial ratepayers.

Reality Check – That is a worn-out discussion that has crept into Austin rate cases, since Gary Hart tried to run for President in 1984. Read this blog piece for the full lowdown on that crazy issue.

Observation – The City Council today spent a great deal of time talking about the low-income CAP Program. This is an important program, and it should be strengthened if we have a rate increase. But Austin Energy has planted the notion that they are the only citizens who will suffer from a triple dose of rate shock. Renters, seniors and property taxpayers of several income levels deserve a seat at this table!

Conclusion – No other utility in Central Texas has asked for a base rate increase. San Antonio returned nearly $50 million to their ratepayers from the summer surplus. These utilities have obviously done better planning and better financial management, with better oversight.

Warning – If you believe that three doses of rate shock will only cost you perhaps $30.00 per month, good luck if you live in a 3 bedroom house. Your bill increase during several months each year will be much higher. Unless you carry a fan in each hand, and keep your thermostat above 80 degrees.

Austin Energy’s Triple Rate Shock – Look At The Forest And Not The Trees!

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By Bill Oakey – November 29, 2022

My view of this rate case is simple and straightforward – It’s a matter of many people involved not seeing the forest for the trees! I look at it like this:

1. Austin Energy asked for a base rate increase back in April.

2. They asked to increase the monthly customer charge by 2 1/2 times, to $25.00. No other major utility in the State has done that! Shouldn’t that raise a huge red flag? Why are people saying that we should “compromise” with a $12.00 customer charge? $10.00 is standard throughout the State.

3. Austin Energy wants to upend our conservation-based rate design, that dates back to 1981. Why would we want to do that? Reducing the incentive to conserve would jeopardize the City’s adopted Climate Equity Plan. A “compromise,” to reduce the rate tiers from 5 to 4 might only reduce our conservation incentives by 20% or so. But why cut back on conservation at all?

4. Austin Energy said they need a base rate increase because of declining energy sales. But their own charts, presented to the City Council at the very beginning, don’t back up that claim. The only years where costs exceeded revenues were 2020 and 2021. Well, duh, we had a 100-year pandemic and a highly unusual winter storm. Of course less energy was sold, but only in those two years.

5. Now, here’s the clincher. In 2022, this year, Austin Energy sold more electricity from mid-May through mid-September, than in any other summer season in their entire history. And, they are still insisting that they need a rate increase? What’s up with that?? Well, apparently, they spent that huge summer surplus, without a required budget amendment being approved by the City Council. The public deserves to know the base revenue amount of that surplus, and how those un-budgeted funds were spent.

6. Austin Energy sprang a last-minute surprise on the City Council in late October. We got a double dose of rate shock for fuel and regulatory charges on Halloween at midnight.

7. One final important note – The so-called $15 increase in the “average” customer’s bill for the fuel and regulatory charges is mythical. It is only that low if you use 860 kWh per month. Try going that low in a 3-bedroom house in the sweltering July heat. So, obviously, if the City Council approves a third round of rate shock, be careful with the “average user” cost estimate. It might be as lowball as another $15.00. Well, for starters, even $30.00 more per month is tough to swallow during an affordability crisis. So, just imagine the actual, much higher costs for a 3-bedroom homeowner, in every neighborhood across the City!

This Is Not Rocket Science…

It just requires you to stand back and look at that big forest in front of you. Don’t get bogged down in all of those confusing trees. No other Central Texas electric utility is asking for radical, controversial changes to their rate structure. And they are not asking for a base rate increase. They are getting along just fine, with the historic summer heatwave providing a nice revenue cushion.

What Austin Energy does badly need is a big reality check. Austin’  hard-working residents and small business owners deserve much better transparency and accountability. Because, after all, we are the folks who own Austin Energy!

Musical Accompaniment for This Blog Piece:

1. “A Walk In the Black Forest” – Horst Jankowski
2. “A Walk In the Black Forest” – Rare vocal version by the Modernaires
3. “Tall Tall Trees” – Alan Jackson, Excellent George Jones cover version
4. “Tall Oak Tree” – Dorsey Burnette, Stereo version
5. “I Fell In Love Again Last Night” – The Forester Sisters