September 22, 2009
Interactive Town Hall Meeting Set on Generation Plan

An interactive Town Hall meeting will be conducted Wednesday, Sept. 23, to discuss Austin Energy recommendations regarding how to power Austin through 2020.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 301 W. Second Street. The public can watch the meeting live on Channel 6 and can e-mail questions to smolen@foxsmolen.com or call in questions at 974-5597. Questions will be answered live.

The meeting covers Austin Energy’s generation and CO2 reduction plan through 2020. Austin Energy proposes to increase from 30 to 35%, the percentage of power provided by renewable energy resources, to increase from 100 to 200 megawatts (MW), installed solar capacity as part of that renewables portfolio and to increase from 700 to 800 MW, peak demand to be offset through energy efficiency and load shifting.

Meetings with stakeholder groups, which include large businesses, environmental groups, churches and non-profits, also are being scheduled, and presentations on the plan have been made to City boards and commissions.

More information is available at www.austinsmartenergy.com on the plan and the public participation process that has included nine town hall meetings to date.