As Austin’s Poverty Crisis Persists, Demand for Affordable Clean Energy Grows

energy bills forum

By Dave Cortez and Mayté Salazar

Have you ever fallen behind on your bills? What about getting your power, water, or gas service cut off because you fell behind? As Austin confronts a poverty crisis, persistent drought, and ongoing economic segregation, thousands of Austinites continue to struggle to pay for one of the most fundamental services we’ve all become accustomed to – electricity.

For information on how to lower your utility bills, click here for our bilingual reference guide.

Whereas Austin Energy and the Austin city council are working to develop a process to address a backlog of unpaid customer debt, the Sierra Club ATX Environmental Justice Team is organizing door-to-door in neighborhoods most impacted by high bills. We’re organizing to engage Austinites in dialogue about high bills, the desire for more energy efficient homes, and ways to increase access to renewable energy for low-income customers and renters.

We’re calling on you to join our team and be part of a community-based organizing campaign for economic and environmental justice. Take a moment to fill out our team survey at http://tinyurl.com/SierraClubATXEJ and collaborate with us to bring a Community Power Forum to your neighborhood!

Below is a report from our first Community Power Forum with residents of City Council District 3 ­at Santa Julia’s Church in East Austin.

Community Power Forum: lowering electric bills and revitalizing our neighborhood

Hosted by: Springdale-Airport Neighborhood Association (S.A.N.A.), PODER, Sierra Club and our Austin Environmental Justice Team

In partnership with: Austin Energy, Austin Water, Austin Code Compliance, Gridmates, Southwest Key, Texas WIC, Habitat for Humanity, Capital Idea, and the Austin Language Justice Collective 

Goals: Provide direct connections between residents and support services, provide information on how to contest a high energy bill, identify questions and concerns residents have about services to help reduce utility bills.

In 2014, the Austin City Council created a Task Force to assess how our electric utility could better serve low-and-moderate-income customers. While Austin Energy has some programs to assist customers in paying and/or lowering their utility bills, this Task Force provides an avenue to expand those existing programs, to increase access to energy savings and renewable energy, and thus to reduce air pollution while enhancing the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

Having recently passed a Generation Plan that commits to retiring two of the dirtiest power plants in the Austin area, our next step is organizing so the city collectively decides on a retirement path that mitigates any rate increase for Austin's poor and working class. In this, our first event as the ATX Environmental Justice team, we not only brought the conversation about high bills to the community and helped stakeholders influence the Task Force recommendations, we also identified critical problems folks are encountering as they appeal for help with high bills.

Take Teresa’s story. She received a bill in last summer for more than $500. She called Austin Energy to see what could be done and was told that a payment plan could be set up where she would pay a certain amount that day and be responsible for the remainder divided in fixed amounts the next 3 months.

“What happens if my next bill is $400 then that (the payment program) added an extra $70,” said Teresa. “There needs to be a more reasonable solution. I was told we could get our home weatherized but that’s a hard thing for my husband and I to afford. We need help.”

Teresa went on to say that she’d rather pay the $500 amount and forgo her medication that month – rather than face the same debate the next month and possibly the one after. Sure enough, her next month’s bill was in the $400’s.

In our conversations about the community’s experience with Austin Energy, many folks identified the rising cost of living in Austin as an issue. Many expressed concern about having to dedicate a large percentage of their income to paying utility bills. How large of a percentage? To put this into perspective, several community members acknowledged that as their bills have gone up, wages and social services have remained stagnant, which has forced a difficult decision - to go without their medication or healthcare for that month or to pay their utility bills?

Throughout the discussion, it became clear to many folks that these recurring issues are not simply individual hardships, but problems affecting entire communities.

As we seek the most effective way to address these issues, we should think about how we can empower entire communities by giving individuals the tools to share information with their neighbors and their families. In working alongside neighborhood leaders, we can further empower our communities, create new leaders for a sustainable movement, and continue having a discussion about equity in services and community self reliance.

In this way, as we continue to organize for power and raise the community’s IQ on their rights as ratepayers, on energy efficiency, and the dangers of fossil fuels, we can push for more just and inclusive energy policies that not only retire the dirtiest plants (Decker and Fayette) and ramp up clean energy, but enhance the overall quality of life in neighborhoods most impacted by high bills and air pollution.

At the end of our community meeting, many of the hands in the room shot up when asked who would commit to combatting high bills as a community, inspiring one of the community members, Johnny Limon, to stand up and say the following: 

“Whenever something comes up… if we really want to make change, us the people, we have to show up.  Even if we don’t talk, we need to support the advocates.  If the people show up at City Hall, they start to change things.”

Recap of concerns raised by residents:

Things that work well:

  • Lead Removal Program worked well, helped replace windows & reduce bills by $100/month
  • Had good experience as renter with energy conservation program. Saved $ on water/waste water
  • Utility and other social service providers are willing to show up and educate
  • Weatherization program has helped lower bills and improve comfort levels in some cases

Problems/concerns raised by residents:

  • High bills are more than just electricity – stories of $500, $700 bills in summer months
  • Highest fees may be in the water – which some don’t event look at drainage fee/sewage fee/waste water
  • Using a new name to get services - Daughter was 1 day late and got kicked off AE payment program. She (mother) had to sign as guarantor to get daughter back on AE utilities. (Has become a frequent story in E. Austin)

  • Not all assistance information is provided in Spanish
  • No CAP info in Spanish
  • Insufficient bilingual staff available when calling customer service
  • AE reps don’t sufficiently apprise ratepayers calling for help as to the wealth of options available (A lot of help ratepayers receive who call in depends on AE employee on the line.)
  • Need warning of cutoffs digitally for online bill pay customers

  • Unclear what rights ratepayers have to challenge a high bill, info not provided by CSRs
  • Little paper trail for folks who pay bills in cash at bill payment centers
  • Unable to read meter
  • Want new appliances, a/c, solar, but rebates = an upfront payment that is too high
  • Want more community solar or ability to partner with neighbors for solar
  • Payment due dates change without notice

  • Some have had bills go up after weatherization
  • Doesn’t like idea of Code Enforcement coming into homes, especially rentals, that may be in violation à possibly get kicked out of an affordable home
  • Can’t force landlords in Single Family rentals to participate in weatherization = high bills, no rights for tenant except option to move

  • Fees are ridiculous (taxation by other means; in lieu of raising tax rate)
  • On disability. Been on many AE payment plans. Threatened w/ disconnects
  • Renter saw bill up to $3000, cut off, renter got electricity in their name, renter got that up to $2900 then left. Property owner held responsible for nothing. Process is not clear and standardized not streamlined.

Ideas for solutions:

  • On qualifying ratepayers for assistance programs: Take into account all living expenses (medication, food, rent, car payments,house payments, clothes, other bills); income; no employment;  sicknesses, retired/not
  • Someone from city should intervene before debt even gets unreasonably high. Coa/AE should help ratepayers by checking in on high debts/unusually high amounts associated with an accountProvide more information about Leveling Program to those w/ high Summer bills
  • Need clear, accessible info on how to challenge a high bill
  • Youtube videos teaching you how to read your meter
  • Spanish pamphlets that explain everything in language that IS NOT complicated
  • More meetings such as this one in schools and churches
  • Volunteer or staff person who helps people fill out application
  • Somebody who takes on project of translating things into Spanish and other languages
  • Door hangers (the utility going door-to-door)
  • Train more people
  • Educate through house meetings

Photos by Librado Almanza from PODER (People Organized in the Defense of Earth and her Resources)