AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Electric customers served by Austin Energy will see their rates go up beginning November 1, as newly approved pass-through rates go into effect.
Austin City Council members voted to approve the changes Thursday. For the average residential customer, the increase will amount to about $15 a month, based on Austin Energy estimates.
One of the largest reasons for the rate increase is rising costs of producing and purchasing electricity. Austin Energy officials say over the past year, the utility under recovered $104 million in power supply adjustment costs.
“We know that any rate increase impacts our customers, so we always strive to keep costs low by operating as efficiently as possible,” said Austin Energy General Manager Jackie Sargent. “The escalating cost of energy production and transmission poses a substantial challenge to power providers everywhere, including Austin Energy. We will continue to work with Council to find strategies that help protect ratepayers from rate shock to the greatest extent possible.”
Utility officials say there are several primary factors, including rising natural gas prices, transmission congestion costs, increased ERCOT costs, and savings returned to ratepayers last year due to Winter Storm Uri in 2021.
Under the approved plan, Austin Energy will spread the impact of the under recovered amount over the next three years. This will reduce the impact on the average ratepayer by roughly $5 each month.
Also included in the rate increases is an adjustment to the utility's Regulatory Charge. The fee is designed to recover Austin Energy’s costs paid to ERCOT for transmission and other regulatory fees and charges, based on the utility's roughly 4% share of the ERCOT market.