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Austin proclaims Austin Energy Week as utility marks 130 years
Summary
The Austin City Council proclaimed May 2025 as Austin Energy Week to mark the 130th anniversary of the city-owned utility, highlighting its history, customer programs and role in the region’s clean-energy transition.
The Austin City Council proclaimed May 2025 as Austin Energy Week in recognition of Austin Energy’s 130th anniversary and the utility’s role as a city-owned electric provider.
Council Member Chito Vela, joined by Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, called attention to the utility’s origins in the 1890s, noting that "more than a hundred 30 years ago, Austinites voted to create a city owned electric utility." He urged residents to view the anniversary as a reminder of long-term public investments in the city’s infrastructure.
The proclamation recounts early milestones in Austin Energy’s history, including the construction of a dam and the lighting of the city’s moonlight towers in May 1895. The document cited operational scale from remarks made at the ceremony: Austin Energy serves "more than 1,000,000 people across a 437-square-mile service area in Travis and Williamson counties." The proclamation also directs residents to a commemorative history available at local libraries and invited visitors to a replica moonlight tower on display at City Hall.
Austin Energy’s interim general manager, Stuart Riley, accepted the proclamation on behalf of the utility and noted the work of long-serving employees. Riley said the utility has a record of early adoption of new technologies and programs and added, "We are now leaders statewide and nationally in delivering carbon free energy." He also said the five longest-serving employees present collectively have 189 years of service to the community and listed them by name and role.
The council’s remarks emphasized Austin Energy’s public-power model, with Vela saying the city’s elected officials provide oversight "to ensure Austin Energy stays focused on the public good, keeping power reliable and affordable, protecting the environment, and making decisions in the best interest of the community, not shareholder profits." The proclamation highlighted Austin Energy programs in energy efficiency, solar, customer assistance and other customer-facing initiatives cited during the ceremony.
The proclamation and accompanying remarks presented the anniversary as both a commemoration of past innovations and a public endorsement of the utility’s continued focus on reliability, affordability and clean-energy development.
