18 Mar AUSTIN RALLIES FOR CLEAN, AFFORDABLE & RENEWABLE ENERGY

You can watch a video of the rally. Just click on the screen below or go to:  bit.ly/EUC_Rally

Over 100 concerned Austinites filled the Electric Utility Commission (EUC) hearing room to overflowing Monday night following a big rally for clean energy outside the headquarters of Austin Energy. The event was scheduled as a joint meeting between the EUC which advises Austin City Council on matters related to Austin's utility and the Resource Management Commission (RMC) which advises Council on the city's resource planning issues.

The RMC was recently involved in the proposal by City Council to increase the solar goals to 400 MW with 200 MW of that being local. The EUC was the leader in last year's proposal to study the options for retiring the Fayette Coal Plant in 2018. Both commissions are teaming with very experienced Austin volunteers who bring their expertise to the fore in advising Council. That said, it's sometime difficult to figure who's on first. Consequently, the joint meeting was scheduled on March 17 to hear Austin Energy's results from their stakeholder process and then to hear public testimony which had not been part of the Austin Energy's meetings.

This meeting was to be the sole public speaking opportunity in this year's Generation Planning process which will set Austin's energy future course in a very dynamic and changing energy market.

Khalil Shalabi, Austin Energy's VP of Energy Markets and Planning led off with a review of what they had learned in their three public meetings, an online survey and an email link accepting public input. The overwhelming public demand was for significantly more renewable wind and solar, more local solar and local energy jobs, more weatherization and less pollution and climate change greenhouse gases from coal and frackinggas. Khalil's chart indicated the two highest responses were 38% for 66% renewables by 2020 and 41% for 69% renewables for 2025. Here is the full report.

Next up were over forty citizen shareholders of Austin Energy with well stated arguements for – you guessed it – significantly more renewable wind and solar, more local solar and local energy jobs, more weatherization and less pollution and climate change greenhouse gases from coal and frackinggas. Of the forty plus speakers, only one seemed to have enjoyed living near a coal plant and breathing toxic air. You have to figure there is one in every crowd. So call the climate protection final score 42 to 1. The EUC then resolved to take their understanding of the public comments as the basis for a recommendation to Austin City Council on both the Generation Plan and for new Climate Protection goals that the city should aspire to if it wants to continue to be a leading sustainable city.

Information and a schedule of the Generation Plan process are on Austin Energy's website. A video of Monday's testimony to the joint EUC and RMC is promised soon, so keep checking.  Of course, there are likely to be significantly more opportunities for public input with the recent formation of a special Task Force on the Generation Plan by City Council. Stay tuned. . . . and keep tuned in!