Update on Austin Energy's 2020 Renewable Plan and Rate Increase

Austin Energy's "Generation and CO2 plan" will be up for a vote in the city council this spring. Key issues in the plan include:

· Replacing a portion of the electricity generated by the coal-fired power plant in Fayette County with renewable energy from solar, wind, and biomass power.

· Increasing Austin's portfolio of renewable energy from 11 percent (current) to 30 percent by 2020.

· Increase electric bills by 22 percent over the next ten years.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, Roger Duncan, general manager of Austin Energy, has said that the energy-generation proposal would raise bills and that the utility could have suggested cheaper alternatives. But doing so, he said, would either sacrifice some environmental benefits or expose the system to blackout risks.

Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell's office is planning a town-hall-style public forum in late February, with a final vote on Austin Energy's proposed plan coming about a month later.