Austin Energy rate dispute resolved

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Austin City Council unanimously approved a settlement agreement Friday that will provide discounts on electric rates paid by approximately 50,000 Austin Energy customers who live outside the Austin city limits.

The new rates for those customers will reduce Austin Energy revenues by about $5.75 million annually.

Because Austin Energy is overseen by the City Council, customers who live outside the city limits have no say in the utility's operations, and therefore no say in the rate structure.

The main feature of the agreement is that customers outside Austin city limits will pay less for power used in the highest consumption tiers. Instead of paying 11 and 11.4 cents per kilowatt hour at the two highest tiers, they will pay 9.3 cents per kilowatt hour.

All parties approved the settlement before it went to Council.

The new rates will go into effect on June 1, 2013.

The group, Homeowners United for Rate Fairness, appealed to the Public Utility Commission last year, when the new rates were established.