Statesman Article on Georgetown Electric Woes

The Statesman has a long article on the issues surrounding the Georgetown municipal electric utility. Here are excerpts. Read the whole thing.

GEORGETOWN — After the county seat of traditionally conservative Williamson County opted to go big on renewable energy a half-dozen years ago, its mayor was exalted by climate activists and liberal icons.

Smithsonian magazine called Mayor Dale Ross, a Republican, the “unlikeliest hero of the green revolution.” Journalists poured in to write about the cultural and energy significance of Georgetown’s move.

The city invested in wind and solar contracts, part of its claim that it was powered 100 percent by renewable energy, because it made financial sense, Ross said then.

Now the hosannas have ceased, as Georgetown finds itself struggling with a revolt among its 25,000 ratepayers. Even as city officials acknowledge they had misjudged their residents’ power demands, they are pointing fingers at the state’s grid for what they say were incorrect projections about the nature of a volatile energy market.

As of Feb. 1, monthly rates for the average Georgetown electricity consumer jumped nearly $13, or about 10 percent, to cover budget deficits. The mayor, an accountant whose second term ends in 2020, said he wasn’t in office or didn’t vote when the renewable contracts were approved because the mayor only votes in case of a tie.

Comparing energy bills Georgetown Utility Systems says its average residential customer uses 949 kilowatt-hours a month of electricity. Here’s how a monthly bill compares for that amount of electricity use by customers of Georgetown, Austin Energy and San Marcos Electric Utility — which remains a wholesale customer of the Lower Colorado River Authority.

Georgetown Utility Systems: $132.32

Austin Energy: $96.22

San Marcos Electric Utility: $87.69