Austin Energy By the Numbers
Financial Health, Reliable Service
Customer Driven. Community Focused.
Austin Energy is an enterprise of the City of Austin. Community-owned since 1895, we provide electric power and retail energy services to the Greater Austin area. The Austin City Council sets rates and terms and conditions of service. Austin Energy is part of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
Five of the nation’s 20 largest cities own their electric utilities. Only two of these cities — San Antonio and Los Angeles — are larger in population than Austin. In the United States, 2,020 public entities, mostly cities, own their electric utilities. Together, public power serves 49 million Americans.
Financial
Austin Energy earns no profits and pays no federal income taxes. All revenues benefit the customers of Austin Energy and the residents of the City of Austin. The primary financial benefit to the City of Austin is Austin Energy’s transfer to the General Fund, which is allocated by elected City Council members to municipal purposes such as fire and parks. The amount is set by policy and has ranged from $105 million to $114 million in recent years.
All revenues of Austin Energy come from the sale, distribution, and transmission of electric power and from supplying chilled water.
| Fiscal Year | Operating Revenue |
| 2021 | $1.27 billion |
| 2020 | $1.37 billion |
| 2019 | $1.45 billion |
| 2018 | $1.40 billion |
| 2017 | $1.36 billion |
| 2016 | $1.37 billion |
Customers
We serve primarily residential customers, as well as commercial and industrial customers. Customer growth has been strong for many years, exceeding electric sales growth because Austin Energy incentivizes customers to reduce their electric power usage and save money.
| Fiscal Year | Total Customers | Total MWh Sales | Total $ Sales |
| 2021 | 520,757 | 13.113 million | $1.10 billion |
| 2020 | 507,660 | 13.262 million | $1.19 billion |
| 2019 | 496,258 | 13.446 million | $1.25 billion |
| 2018 | 485,204 | 13.410 million | $1.21 billion |
| 2017 | 472,701 | 12.982 million | $1.18 billion |
| 2016 | 461,343 | 12.874 million | $1.20 billion |
| Customers | FY 2016 | FY 2017 | FY 2018 | FY 2019 | FY 2020 | FY 2021 |
| Residential | 411,366 | 421,752 | 433,411 | 443,792 | 454,616 | 467,291 |
| Commercial | 47,352 | 48,285 | 48,966 | 49,587 | 50,135 | 50,561 |
| Industrial | 110 | 104 | 112 | 114 | 116 | 112 |
| Other | 2,515 | 2,560 | 2,715 | 2,765 | 2,793 | 2,793 |
| Total | 461,343 | 472,701 | 485,204 | 496,258 | 507,660 | 520,757 |
Traditional Generation Infrastructure
Unlike many municipal utilities, Austin Energy owns and operates power plants. It owns natural-gas-fueled power generation facilities, and it owns interests in a coal plant and a nuclear power plant. As with all power producers within ERCOT, all output is sold to the ERCOT market at prices set by the competitive market.
| Name | Type | Year of Newest Unit | Rating in Megawatts |
| Sand Hill | Gas – Combined cycle combustion and gas turbine | 2010 | 595 MW |
| Decker | Gas turbine | 1988 | 200 MW |
| Mueller | Gas turbine | 2006 | 4.6 MW |
| Fayette Power Project | Coal | 1980 | 600 MW (Austin share) |
| South Texas Project | Nuclear | 1989 | 430 MW (Austin share) |
Carbon-Free Generation, Off-Site Power and Storage, and Energy Efficiency
Austin Energy is a leader in adopting innovative technologies, and our goal is to match our customer’s use with 100% carbon-free generation by 2040, helping the City of Austin reach its goal of becoming a net-zero City.
| Fiscal Year | % Carbon Free | % Carbon Based |
| 2021 | 72% | 28% |
| 2020 | 66% | 34% |
| 2019 | 63% | 37% |
| 2018 | 63% | 37% |
| 2017 | 60% | 40% |
| 2016 | 54% | 46% |
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Chilling Stations — Austin Energy operates three central chilling stations for air
conditioning use in downtown and other high-density areas. This operation moves peak electric use to non-peak
periods to save money.
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Power Storage — In early 2018, Austin Energy installed a major 1.5-megawatt battery for
distribution-level power storage from renewable and other resources.
- Energy Efficiency — Austin Energy also has made steady progress in energy efficiency for more than three decades.
Transmission and Distribution Infrastructure
Austin Energy owns and operates a high-voltage transmission system to move electricity from power generation facilities to substations for distribution. The transmission system is used by Austin Energy, as well as other utilities within ERCOT, with rates regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Transmission revenue is earned from utilities within ERCOT, including Austin Energy, and not directly from retail customers.
Austin Energy’s mission is to safely and reliably distribute electricity from its substations to customers’ homes and businesses throughout the Austin area. We work around the clock to maintain the integrity of our system to ensure we deliver safe, clean and reliable power to our customers.
| Transmission Lines | 633 miles |
| Distribution Lines | 12,164 miles |
| Overhead Transformers | 44,308 |
| Transmission and Distribution Substations | 79 |
| Distribution Poles | 161,807 |
| Pad-mounted and Underground Transformers | 44,193 |
| Transmission Structures | 4,753 |
Reliability
Austin Energy spends millions a year to maintain, replace, and modernize its distribution system. Reliability is important to Austin Energy, and the utility is always working to make sure customers have the power they need and expect.
| Standard | Texas Electric Utilities Average | FY 2021 Austin Energy Metrics |
| CAIDI — The customer's average interruption duration in minutes | 101.24 minutes | 85.26 minutes |
| SAIFI — The system’s average number of times service was interrupted | 1.37 interruptions | 0.72 interruptions |
| SAIDI — The system's average interruption duration in minutes | 177.67 minutes | 61.39 minutes |
Date last reviewed or modified: 03/15/2024