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Austin Energy seeks flexibility to secure peakers, awards 100‑MW battery contract
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Summary
Austin Energy reported a new 100‑megawatt, 4‑hour battery contract and told the utility oversight committee it will issue an all‑resource RFP to evaluate whether local, lower‑carbon resources can replace or supplement aging peaker units; staff asked the council to authorize nimble spending to hold or act on fleeting peaker opportunities and will return in January with a formal recommendation.
Austin Energy announced it has executed a contract for a 100‑megawatt, four‑hour battery storage project with Jupiter Power and plans an all‑resource request for proposals to evaluate local solar, storage, peakers and other technologies to meet energy and risk‑mitigation needs.
"We executed a contract for a 100 megawatt battery storage project with Jupiter Power," Stuart O'Reilly, Austin Energy general manager, told the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee on Nov. 18, 2025. He said the 4‑hour duration will better support late‑day reliability and market opportunities.
Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer Lisa Martin said staff will issue an all‑resource RFP this month with proposals due in January. "By design, this type of RFP is intended to determine whether carbon free resources can be used to effectively meet the needs of our community," Martin said during the presentation.
Committee members pressed staff about constrained peaker supply and the need to be "positioned for action." Martin described the peaker market as tight: new peakers have long lead times (some vendors quoted earliest availability in 2029–2030), require 10–20% milestone payments (which Martin estimated could amount to roughly $5 million–$15 million), and manufacturers are quoting higher prices than in the past. She described refurbished units as occasionally available but fleeting opportunities.
Council members asked whether deposits to secure queue positions are refundable. Martin said deposits are generally treated as firm commitments, though third‑party spot transfers can sometimes occur. Mayor and council members asked staff what authority Austin Energy would need to move quickly on a purchase or deposit; Martin said staff would require authorization to spend for down payments or to act on sudden opportunities and agreed to bring a staff recommendation to the committee in January.
Council Member Siegel raised a separate near‑term capacity concern: "There's basically 202 residential customers who are waiting to get their inspections done" to qualify for a federal tax credit before Dec. 31. Martin said staff will check coordination between interconnection and inspection teams and scale up capacity where possible to meet the year‑end deadline.
Next steps: staff will return to AUOC in January with an updated resource generation plan and a staff recommendation on authorization to enter the peaker queue or otherwise secure resources.