24 Mar Meeting Report: Austin Energy’s Transparency Problem, pt. 1

Austin’s Electric Utility Commission (the "EUC") conducted its first hearing re: complaints about Austin Energy’s transparency policies, Monday night. The results were surprising.

The EUC is a citizen body, responsible for oversight on AE’s business decisions. Austin Energy ("AE") is our electric utility, municipally-owned. Austin’s City Council is its board of directors. "Transparency" refers to the openness with which AE shares cost and other operating info with the public. AE refers to their transparency policies as "competitive matters." AE was not allowed, nor did it request, any rebuttal during Monday’s hearing.

AE has been keeping lots of operating data murky and/or secret. It hasn’t always been this way. Citizen-activists Mike Sloan and Paul Robbins point out that from AE’s founding in 1897 until around the year 2001, all of AE’s operating info was available for public review. Mike Sloan further highlights that 7 other utilities with similar models in the state of TX offer annual reports numbering from 250 to 300 pages. AE’s 2009 annual report? … 5 pages.

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Why Surprising? 
The EUC’s hearing on Transparency was an exciting progression of comments from traditionally opposed areas of the Austin community. Citizen, low income, business, big employer, and environmental activists all stood up to emphasize the need for clearer, more easily accessible, information. Furthermore, the EUC responded positively during the meeting, collectively voicing the idea that more public info would most likely have positive impacts on our bills and the quality of AE’s business.

In part two of this post, I’ll list notable comments from the various speakers and Commissioners (coming later today) during the hearing. Some great things were said.

Image shown created by Mike Sloan.

Your comments appreciated.