AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Austin Energy is urging the Public Utility Commission of Texas to avoid adjusting wholesale energy prices during last month's winter storm, saying any retroactive price changes would harm the utility's customers - as calls from elected officials mount for the Texas Legislature to take action.
According to a city memo, Austin Energy currently estimates that it accumulated $54 million in net revenue during the storm, as the utility's power generation plants stayed largely online - even while as much as 40 percent of the utility's own customers were in the dark.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, the utility says it "made difficult operational decisions throughout this winter storm event, during a time of unprecedently high natural gas prices, to ensure the stability of the grid based on energy prices in effect under the PUC’s order. These prices were not the result of an ERCOT system 'error' but were intentionally set to maintain the stability of the system and provide the appropriate pricing signals to ensure sufficient generation remained online as load was restored and conditions remained tight."
According to the utility, profits from its power generation assets are used to lower the power supply adjustment cost on customers' bills.
If the PUC or state legislators take action to re-price any portion of the wholesale charges during the winter storm event, officials say costs would be unfairly shifted on to utility customers' bills.
That uncertainty, along with lingering questions about whether ERCOT will be able to collect from other utility providers across the state, has Austin Energy officials warning of the possibility that customers could still be impacted. According to the city memo, final net revenue results from the storm could be realized in a range between positive $104 million to negative $16 million.
