One of the greatest benefits of Austin owning our electric utility is that it is accountable to you, not wealthy investors seeking to enrich themselves even more. When you choose a member of the City Council, you are also electing a member of Austin Energy’s board of directors – a responsibility I take seriously. In this role, my north star has always been keeping the lights on affordably for residents without polluting our community and planet.
This is why I have been a fierce advocate for more renewable energy. We know renewables are a proven, cheap, clean source of energy. That’s why I passed resolutions to put solar on as many city facilities as possible and enroll our buildings in Austin Energy’s demand response program. It’s also why I fought vigorously against expanding fossil-fueled generation in the Resource and Generation Plan adopted in late 2024 and instead pushed for the inclusion of more batteries and more renewables. These efforts have resulted in installing more local solar than ever before, potentially the largest city-facility solar project in the nation, and surpassing our battery installation targets in the Generation Plan.
Despite this progress, last month the Council approved the purchase of gas-powered “peaker” units, for use during times of peak energy demand. Consistent with my position in 2024, I continue to have serious concerns about their impact on our environment and made those concerns known publicly. I asked the hard questions about what the impacts would be from a climate perspective and why we were not pursuing other options like more batteries, renewables, or demand response.
Those questions led directly to a meaningful protection I was able to secure that will ensure less, not more, pollution results from this purchase. This guardrail will require Austin Energy to emit less greenhouse gases and other pollutants after the new peakers are placed into service compared to before. This is possible by using the new cleaner units instead of – not in addition to – our existing much dirtier fleet on a day-to-day basis. While this is not a perfect fix, it moves this action closer to affordably keeping the lights on without more pollution.
Another unfortunate element of this decision was that it had to happen behind closed doors. Texas law specifically provides for public utilities to “deliberate, vote, or take final action on any competitive matter” in private. This is to protect the utility, and by extension, you the customer. Transparency is important to me, and I always strive to be as open as possible. But confidentiality is not a dial. Something is either confidential under the law or it is not, and here the vote was inseparable from the competitive matter itself. I wish I could share more, and I will continue pushing for greater transparency.
Ultimately, the fight for a clean energy future is not easy and certainly not without setbacks. As we move forward, I will continue to push for increased transparency and a day when all our energy is cheap, clean, and reliable.
Austin City Council Member Ryan Alter represents District 5 and is seeking re-election in 2026.
Ryan Alter: Balancing reliability and sustainability in Austin Energy’s future
One of the greatest benefits of Austin owning our electric utility is that it is accountable to you, not wealthy investors seeking to enrich themselves even more. When you choose a member of the City Council, you are also electing a member of Austin Energy’s board of directors – a responsibility I take seriously. In this role, my north star has always been keeping the lights on affordably for residents without polluting our community and planet.
This is why I have been a fierce advocate for more renewable energy. We know renewables are a proven, cheap, clean source of energy. That’s why I passed resolutions to put solar on as many city facilities as possible and enroll our buildings in Austin Energy’s demand response program. It’s also why I fought vigorously against expanding fossil-fueled generation in the Resource and Generation Plan adopted in late 2024 and instead pushed for the inclusion of more batteries and more renewables. These efforts have resulted in installing more local solar than ever before, potentially the largest city-facility solar project in the nation, and surpassing our battery installation targets in the Generation Plan.
Despite this progress, last month the Council approved the purchase of gas-powered “peaker” units, for use during times of peak energy demand. Consistent with my position in 2024, I continue to have serious concerns about their impact on our environment and made those concerns known publicly. I asked the hard questions about what the impacts would be from a climate perspective and why we were not pursuing other options like more batteries, renewables, or demand response.
Those questions led directly to a meaningful protection I was able to secure that will ensure less, not more, pollution results from this purchase. This guardrail will require Austin Energy to emit less greenhouse gases and other pollutants after the new peakers are placed into service compared to before. This is possible by using the new cleaner units instead of – not in addition to – our existing much dirtier fleet on a day-to-day basis. While this is not a perfect fix, it moves this action closer to affordably keeping the lights on without more pollution.
Another unfortunate element of this decision was that it had to happen behind closed doors. Texas law specifically provides for public utilities to “deliberate, vote, or take final action on any competitive matter” in private. This is to protect the utility, and by extension, you the customer. Transparency is important to me, and I always strive to be as open as possible. But confidentiality is not a dial. Something is either confidential under the law or it is not, and here the vote was inseparable from the competitive matter itself. I wish I could share more, and I will continue pushing for greater transparency.
Ultimately, the fight for a clean energy future is not easy and certainly not without setbacks. As we move forward, I will continue to push for increased transparency and a day when all our energy is cheap, clean, and reliable.
Austin City Council Member Ryan Alter represents District 5 and is seeking re-election in 2026.
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