October 7, 2009
Austin Energy General Manager Announces Retirement

Austin Energy General Manager Roger Duncan, the architect of Austin’s nationally recognized energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, announced today his retirement effective March 1, 2010.

Duncan, as a two-term Austin City Council Member in the early 1980s, helped establish the conservation and sustainability emphasis for which Austin has become nationally recognized. He joined the City in 1989 to manage Austin’s environmental and conservation services and in 1998, joined Austin Energy as Vice President of Conservation, Renewables and Environmental Policy. He was appointed General Manager in 2008.

Between 1982 and 2003, Austin’s energy efficiency programs offset more than 600 MW of peak demand and are now on track to offset another 700 MW by 2020. Duncan established the nation’s first green building program in 1991 and a renewable energy program in 2001 that has been number one in sales nationwide every year since among more than 800 utility-sponsored programs. Austin Energy is now on track to deliver 30 percent of the energy it produces by 2020 from renewables, including 100 MW of solar capacity.

Duncan was also a leading force in the design of the City of Austin Climate Protection Plan, approved by the City Council in 2007. That plan provides a blueprint for both comprehensive energy efficiency through city building codes and community-wide reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The plan establishes energy efficiency standards by 2015 that will mean all new homes built in Austin will be zero-energy capable. Duncan also organized a nationwide grassroots initiative aimed at demonstrating to auto makers that there is sufficient demand to support the mass production of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. More than 100 cities and counties and 500 organizations joined the campaign.

“Roger Duncan put Austin Energy on the map,” said Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell, “not just in Texas and the nation but in the world.”  

City Manager Marc Ott praised Duncan for the excellent job he had done both in managing the operation of the utility and in achieving sustainability goals. When asked what qualities he would look for when searching for a replacement, Ott said, “Roger is the standard.”

In 2006, Duncan was named by Business Week as one of the top 20 “Carbon Reducers” in the world and this year is a finalist for the CEO of the Year Platt Global Energy Lifetime Achievement Award, a prestigious industry award. Duncan serves on numerous boards including the Department of Energy State Energy Advisory Board, the Alliance to Save Energy board of directors, The Electric Drive Transportation Association board, and the Public Sustainability Partnership board, to name a few.

Duncan, 62, says he plans to complete a book on energy he has begun to write and may do some teaching and part-time consulting. “I want to say what a great honor it has been for me to serve the citizens of Austin in various roles over the years. Now I look forward to finding new opportunities to help this great city,” he said.