#utility-rates

#utility-rates

In a Berkeley National Lab report published last year that looked at trends in electric rates from 2019 to 2024, researchers found that states that had the biggest growth in electricity demand-from customers like data centers-actually saw costs go down. That's because the electricity market isn't just about supply and demand; it's expensive to maintain equipment, and if costs can be spread out among more customers, everyone pays less.

Like so many other costs, city rates and fees are going up in the upcoming fiscal year, which starts in October. Overall, the projected yearly impact of all the fee increases will be $417 for the average homeowner in Austin. Those increases include fees for water, trash service, drainage, the Clean Community Fee and the Transportation User fee. The monthly charge from Austin Energy will also increase slightly, but the utility is lowering the overall customer bill by reducing the amount per kilowatt-hour used.

Austin Energy has worked diligently to avoid shocking ratepayers with higher bills, having approved a reduction in the average customer's monthly bill by $4.89.

"As utilities race to meet skyrocketing demand from AI and cloud computing, they're building new infrastructure and raising rates, often without transparency or public input."