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Commissioners say Austin Energy offered limited data on district cooling; outside firm signals interest
Summary
At a Resource Management Commission meeting, members reported that Austin Energy’s district cooling team said it is exploring growth rather than an immediate sale, but commissioners said staff provided limited financial data. A private district-energy firm, Cordia Energy, introduced itself and said it is open to partnering with Austin Energy.
A sub quorum briefing with Austin Energy staff about the utility’s district cooling system produced assurances that the utility is not currently pursuing a sale, but commissioners said the meeting delivered little additional financial detail and that formal public information requests may be needed to get records.
Commissioners raised transparency concerns after a March 11 sub-quorum meeting. Commissioner Davis, who sponsored the briefing, said Austin Energy staff “did assure us that they are not at this time seeking a sale, but rather that they wanted to explore how to expand, to grow the system,” and added the system is not yet operating on a “sustainable financial level.”
Vice Chair Robbins told fellow commissioners he had been unable to obtain requested customer and financial data informally and was told Austin Energy would treat such requests as requiring an attorney-general opinion. “I was told that if I wanted some of this information, I would have to make a formal public information request, which would then be submitted to the attorney general for an opinion,” Robbins said, adding that a new request could take “three plus months” for a determination. Robbins said he is considering asking City Council to assign its audit department to obtain data the commission cannot access directly.
Commissioner Silverstein, who also attended the March 11 meeting, said the briefing covered the district-heating-and-cooling plant’s status and a separate request for system data. He urged Austin Energy to provide a timeline for financial analysis and options so the commission, the Electric Utility Commission and City Council could consider whether to retain and expand the system or invite private partners to build under conditions that preserve staff and service. “I would like to be hearing pretty soon from you about the timeline for the analysis and the timeline for the decisions that you have ahead of you on the district heating and cooling system,” Silverstein said.
At the start of the meeting, Richard Riopelle introduced himself on behalf of Cordia Energy, a private district- and distributed-energy developer backed by KKR. “We see ourselves as partner of communities,” Riopelle said, adding Cordia is interested in exploring partnerships with Austin Energy for district cooling and distributed energy investments.
Commissioners did not take formal action on the briefing. They discussed next steps, including additional information requests and possibly a formal resolution directing further review or recommending an audit. No motion to refer or vote on a recommendation was recorded.
The commission did not identify a timetable for receiving new analysis from Austin Energy during the public portion of the meeting; several commissioners urged staff to provide an anticipated timeline for the utility’s internal analysis and options.
