Each year, Austin Energy participates in and sponsors events that support our local community. View the events and organizations that we sponsored, and amounts we contributed annually.

The City of Austin Utility Contact Center is managed by Austin Energy. This is the place customers call to start, stop, or transfer utility services. The center receives about 6,000 calls per day on average and Online Customer Care handles about 12,000 requests per month.

Utility payment arrangements are available to customers who fall behind on their utility bills. To enter into an arrangement, customers must make on time payments of their monthly bills which include the current billed amount plus a monthly installment of their delinquent total.

The utility has a diverse repertoire of efficiency programs, including Austin Energy Green Building, PowerSaver and Demand Response, that help customers reduce energy and save money. These efforts directly benefit customers as well as set the utility on the path to meet goals put in place by Austin City Council. Find more information at http://austinenergy.com/go/advantage and http://austinenergy.com/go/reports.

Austin Energy’s free, interactive web app allows customers to monitor their daily energy usage, view their bill history, and see a future forecast of their energy bill cost. They can also set alerts to warn them of an upcoming rate tier change.

Austin Energy Web App users can also download Green Button Data which can help them better understand their energy usage and take action towards savings. This data set shows the number of web app users by month.

Learn more about the app at http://powersaver.austinenergy.com/wps/portal/psp/residential/learn/free-home-energy-management-options/alerts-and-tips-help-you-manage-your-energy-costs

This report is the result of the Austin City Code 6-7’s Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Ordinance approved in November 2008 (amended in April 2011) to improve the energy efficiency of homes and buildings that receive electricity from Austin Energy. The ordinance meets one of the goals of the Austin Climate Protection Plan, which is to offset 900 megawatts of peak energy demand by 2024. This report contains information on commercial facilities that have reported the EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager benchmarking results in 2016 (*) to the City of Austin, as well as the calculated electric Energy Utilization Index (EUI). For information on ECAD exemptions and other requirements, see Austin City Code Chapter 6-7. Note – (*) Data reported by Commercial Customers

Austin Energy has four main customer classes: residential, commercial, industrial, and lighting.

Residential customers live in single-family dwellings, mobile homes, townhouses, or individually metered apartment units.
The majority of commercial customers are small to large businesses that fall under Austin Energy’s secondary level of service. This means Austin Energy owns, operates, and maintains the equipment (wires, transformers, etc.) supplying power to those facilities.

Industrial customers such as semiconductor and other high-tech facilities and data centers typically fall under the primary level of service, which take service at high voltage and own, operate and maintain their own transformation equipment. These customers typically have very high usage and load factors because they tend to operate 24/7.

“Public Street and Highway Lighting” refers to street lighting, traffic signals and highway signs. “Other lighting” refers to lighting other community areas like ballparks. These accounts will typically have minimal load during the summer peak time periods.

The City of Austin's Plus 1 Fund provides emergency utility bill financial assistance to customers experiencing extreme hardships such as medical illness or sudden job loss. In 2009 the City of Austin doubled to $300,000 the amount of funding made available annually for this program. Beginning in fiscal year 2009, City of Austin employees were given the option to donate to the Plus 1 Fund through the City's annual Combined Charities Campaign, which raises money for local and regional charitable groups. Additionally, utility customers have the option to donate to the Plus 1 Fund when they make their monthly utility bill payments. Plus 1 funding is distributed to customers by more than a dozen social service agencies including Travis County Family Services and Meals on Wheels.

The Austin Energy Regional Science Festival is one of the largest regional science festivals held in Texas and the nation. Middle and high school students who win at their respective schools compete at the regional festival to advance to the state science fair competition. Five senior level projects receive Best of Fair awards and the winners of those projects have the option to advance directly to the international competition.

Central Texas middle and high school students have performed very well at past state and international competitions. Between 2004 and 2016, 100 students representing 71 projects advanced to the international level. Of those, 44 students representing 29 projects won 73 category and special awards. Since 2004, more than 1,225 students have advanced to the state level, where about 20% have won awards.

In 2016, the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival showcased 755 middle and high school projects. Unlike most regional events, Austin Energy also hosts elementary school students. Nearly 4,000 students and their families turn out for the event which includes a public viewing of the science projects as well as educational booths and scientific demonstrations.
Over 550 judges and 180 volunteers from the City of Austin, local businesses, colleges, and elementary/middle/high schools contribute annually to the event’s success. Revenues to fund the event come from fees paid by participating schools and companies that provide sponsorships.