29 Jan 2012

Downtown Austin Power Outage Update

January 29, 2012

8:30 a.m. Update

Power was restored at about 8:15 a.m. to 99% of the downtown area experiencing a power outage that began last night at about 8:30 p.m. The affected area was Congress Avenue to Red River Street and 12th Street to 5th street. Only one customer remains without power, and that customer is expected to have power by noon.

The outage was due to a cascading problem that resulted in fire or other damage to two transformers and several sections of power lines. Austin Energy crews worked throughout the night, replacing one of the damaged transformers and making repairs to the affected lines. The second transformer replacement will be completed later in the day.

Downtown Austin is powered through an underground network that includes 600 transformers located within some 300 vaults throughout the downtown area. The system includes miles of power lines accessible through the vaults and manholes.

Austin Energy will continue testing and performing other work this week to further quality assure areas affected by the outage, and a thorough investigation will be conducted to fully determine its cause.

27 Jan 2012

Student Art Promotes Refrigerator Recycling

January 27, 2012

Art students from 10 Austin area high schools recently painted refrigerator doors with images designed to promote recycling of old, inefficient refrigerators and freezers. A panel of local sustainability professionals judged the entries today. The winning entries will be displayed during February at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and at Sears retail and appliance stores and community events throughout the year, such as Earth Day.

Winning Entries

  • Judges Choice: Maximiliano Sarabia Cabrera and Archer Black (Anderson High School)
  • Marketing Excellence: Sarah Christensen and Owen Summers (McCallum High School)
  • Best Interpretation: Dallin Phelps, Tran Vu, Isabelle Griffith, Julia McIntosh, Diwu Zhou (McNeil High School)
  • Most Original: Brittany Stamey (Akins High School)
  • Emerging Artist: Gina Senese and Lucy Ellis (Westlake High School)
More details in our news release at http://bit.ly/yi5vqZ
Link to Austin Energy Refrigerator Recycling: http://bit.ly/lL2HDo
Photos from the day:
(download)
25 Jan 2012

Austin Energy Storm Outage Updates

January 25, 2012

7:00 p.m. Update 

 Power was restored to all but about 20 Austin Energy customers by 1:00 p.m. today, in response to the overnight storm activity. 

Customers remaining without power at that time were in two locations where the storm left extraordinary damage to homes, trees and/or the electric system. Basically, the electric system needed to be rebuilt in the two locations.  

Crews replaced four power poles that had snapped just off Highway 290 at Springdale Road. Two power poles are being replaced in the Springdale Road/Ferguson Lane neighborhood area. In both locations, extensive tree debris clearance was necessary, which took much of the day. In the Springdale Road/Ferguson Lane area huge trees were toppled and uprooted.

Power is now restored to the Highway 290/Springdale location.

Power should be restored to the Springdale/Ferguson neighborhood location by late this evening.

Images directly below were taken during the power restoration process in the two areas described above:

(download)

11:00 a.m. Update

 

About 400 Austin Energy customers remain without power from the overnight storm. The largest outage was caused by tree limbs on power lines and involved about 500 customers in the Congress Avenue/Annie Street neighborhood. Power was restored to the area at 10:28 a.m. 

 

More than 35 Austin Energy repair crews are currently working to restore power to all customers. Repairs are needed at about 43 locations. One very intense part of the restoration effort centered around storm damaged homes, uprooted trees and downed power lines in the Springdale Road/Ferguson Lane area (photos below). In that location, several poles must be replaced and lines and equipment reset.

  

Customers should report all outages by calling 322-9100.

(download)

 

7:00 a.m. Update

Approximately 2000 Austin Energy customers are currently without power, with repairs needed at about 80 locations. Field crews are fully deployed in the outage restoration efforts. Completing all repairs – with some outage calls still coming in -- could take into the afternoon. Customers are asked to report power outages by calling 322-9100. 

 6:15 a.m. Update

 

About 2,800 Austin Energy customers are without power at this hour due to area thunderstorm activity. This number is down from an earlier figure of about 5,000, occurring at 4:45 this morning. 

Austin Energy estimates repairs are currently needed at 70 to 80 locations. The challenge is getting crews to all locations as quickly as possible in rush hour traffic.

Customers can help speed up the outage response effort in this way: All customers who have an outage—should call in their outage to 322-9100. This helps our Outage Management System better pinpoint the piece of equipment that may be responsible for a particular outage. For instance, a transformer (grey box at the top of a power pole) generally serves 6 to 12 homes. If a transformer trips offline and most or all of the homes affected call in the outage, the Outage Management System will point to the transformer, because the system is looking for a common piece of equipment or section of power line serving the affected customers. This allows Austin Energy repair crews to go straight to the problem and make the repair. If only a few customers call in an outage – that broadens the range of equipment that must be checked.

 

20 Jan 2012

Northwest Recreation Center Gets Rooftop Solar

January 20, 2012

Northwest Recreation Center, at 2913 Northland Drive, is now the 39th City of Austin facility equipped with a solar installation.

Solar contractors installed the 33-kilowatt system, which can generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 4.5 homes and is the largest on an Austin Parks and Recreation Department structure to date. Energy produced by the solar panels will be used to power the facility. Any surplus power will feed into the Austin electric grid.

The strategy is to outfit every current City facility over time with solar, provided there is appropriate roof space and orientation, and to include solar in the planning and construction of new City facilities.

(download)

19 Jan 2012

Austin Energy Rate Case Update

January 19, 2012

Austin Energy is developing options to address concerns raised by Austin City Council members in regard to our rate proposal presented to Council. These options focus on:

·         Further satisfying Council on the amount of revenue required by the utility; 

·         Concern that residential rates will increase out of proportion to commercial rate increases;

 ·         Concern that the needs of schools, worship facilities and low-income customers are not adequately addressed; 

·         Concern that the current proposal does not do enough to promote energy efficiency and conservation; 

·         Concern regarding out-of-city customers paying into a general fund transfer that funds public services they may not directly receive; and

 ·         A desire to see the rate increase phased-in over time rather than implemented all at once.

Our goal is to deliver options to the Council in advance of a February 2 public hearing. That hearing will be held at City Hall, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Austin Energy Rate Review website: https://my.austinenergy.com/wps/portal/rr/

Main-image-power-new

6 Jan 2012

Webberville Solar Project Dedicated

January 6, 2012

The Austin City Council, Austin Energy and state officials were among those attending a dedication for the Webberville 30 MW solar project today.

It is the largest solar installation in Texas and among the largest in the country.  The project covers almost 400 acres with more than 127,000 solar panels and should generate power sufficient for about 5,000 homes annually.

Austin Energy will purchase all power produced by the facility for 25 years. The $100 million solar farm is privately owned and operated.

Photos from today's on-site ceremony:
(download)

4 Jan 2012

Our Student Presentations are Hair-Raising!

Over the past year, Austin Energy employees have made more than 100 presentations to Austin area students, reaching almost 11,000 with interesting facts about how electricity works, how power is generated and delivered, and what it’s like to be an electric system lineworker.

If you would like us to visit your classroom or student assembly for a fun and educational presentation, give us a shout at education@austinenergy.com.

(download)

30 Dec 2011

Additional $900,000 in Federal Funding for Free Weatherization

December 30, 2011

The City of Austin is in line to receive another $900,000 in federal free weatherization program funding. The program is designed to make all key energy efficiency improvements for homes or apartments that qualify. This includes installation of high-efficiency air conditioning and heating equipment as well as refrigerator replacement. Austin Energy administers the funding, which, with the $900,000, will total more than $9 million received since late 2009.

To date, almost 1,700 Austin area homes or apartments have received efficiency improvements under the program. The average expenditure per unit has been about $5,000. Because this program is comprehensive, homes and apartments receiving improvements are not eligible for any additional federal efficiency programs for at least 15 years. This is why efforts are made to make all energy efficiency improvements needed.

Administrative costs for entities expending these federal funds cannot exceed 5%. Austin Energy administrative expenses for the program to date are at 3.7%.

29 Dec 2011

Tree Limbs Cleared from 447 Miles of Austin Electric Lines in Past FY

December 29, 2011

Austin Energy contract crews trimmed tree limbs away from power lines and equipment along 447 miles of Austin’s electric system in the fiscal year just ended – the second largest number of completed miles ever. The trimming involved almost 12,000 properties. Tree limbs are the number one cause of power outages during stormy weather.

Austin Energy is one of the few utilities in the nation that contacts each property owner to share with them a trimming plan for the trees on their property.

The AE program also funded more than 1,000 replacement trees last year in situations where dead trees had to be removed or where other circumstances warranted re-plantings. In all, Austin Energy funds the planting of more than 5,000 trees annually in the Austin area.

(download)

29 Dec 2011

Banner Year for Austin Energy Home Solar Rebates

December 29, 2011

This was a record fiscal year for the Austin Energy solar program, with utility rebates assisting 328 home solar rooftop system installations. 

The average size system installed this year is 4.12 kilowatts (kW), which produces 40% to 60% of the average home’s energy needs. The Austin Energy rebate of $2.50 per watt covers 50% to 65% of the installation cost.

Since our solar program began in 2004, a total of 1,446 Austin Energy customers have installed almost 4.5 megawatts of solar capacity.

(download)

Next

Austin Energy's Space

About Austin Energy

Austin Energy, the nation’s 9th largest public power utility, serves more than 400,000 customers and a population of more than 900,000 in Austin, Travis County and a small area of Williamson County, Texas. The Utility operates a diverse generation portfolio that includes nuclear, coal, natural gas and renewables.

Contributors

Austin Energy

Search

Archive

2012 (14)
2011 (166)
2010 (81)
Obox Design