Austin Energy rate to rise for the third time in a year

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Your energy bill may be a bit more expensive next month.

According to Austin Energy, there will be a 5% increase to its Power Supply Adjustment on October 1st.

AE spokesman Matt Mitchell says this covers the costs of previously purchased energy on the ERCOT market.

"This is not going into Austin Energy's pockets,” he said. “This is recovering costs that we've already incurred on behalf of our customers during this very hot summer."

According to the public utility, the bill impact will be “less than $2 per month” for the typical residential customer.

This marks the third rate increase that Austin Energy has put in place over the past year.

Last November, the public utility upped customers' monthly bills by an average of $15 to cover the cost of buying and transporting energy.

In March, AE's base rates rose to $13 a month.

“In order to maintain a utility that is financially stable, prepared for future emergencies along with all the challenges associated with providing power, we have to make sure that we have a stable bottom line,” Mitchell said.

Louis Garcia has lived in Austin his entire life. He says his energy bills have gone up $30 a month compared to this time last year.

"A lot of people are staying inside because it's hot,” Garcia said. “That’s going to increase the use of AC’s, which will increase energy bills. It's definitely not helping with the cost of living here."

Over the last year, Austin Energy’s rate increases have added hundreds of dollars to customer's annual electric bill. With this in mind, Garcia wants change sooner rather than later.

“Austin is growing so quickly,” he said. “The grid that we're relying on right now, isn't what we need during this current time.”

The third rate increase arriving in October comes in advance of a separate billing change that goes into effect in November.

Austin City Council will vote on that base rate adjustment.