https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2010-05-21/the-daily-hustle-5-21-10/

The Daily Hustle: 5/21/10

By Wells Dunbar, May 21, 2010, 11:39am, Newsdesk

All the city action hasn't been restricted to David Smith's retirement. On Wednesday, the day of Smith's announcement, Mayor Lee Leffingwell was talking energy in the Capitol. And not too surprisingly, some familiar faces followed him there.

Leffingwell and interim Austin Energy head Robert Goode appeared before the Senate's Committee on Business and Commerce this week, and the topic at hand was AE's recently adopted energy generation, mix and climate protection plan. According to an excellent write-up of the proceedings at In Fact Daily, chair Troy Fraser "mostly made good on his promise to keep the hearing from turning into an 'Austin bashing.'" That, it appears, was left to the indefatigable conservative action group Austinites for Action, there to testify against the council-approved measure.

In a move telegraphed months earlier, with their talk about fighting the AE plan at the Lege (see the last graf here), AFA went before the committee, larded with recommendations to slow-walk the plan implementation and punish AE. In a press release issued afterward, they outlined four proposals:

– Establish an independently appointed, qualified, and geographically representative Board of Trustees to manage utility operations separate and apart from the Austin City Council.
– Require an annual independent audit of Austin Energy by an outside auditor.
– Direct an independent review of Austin Energy’s operations and finances similar to the sunset legislation directed at Capital Metro.
– Direct an independent review of Austin Energy’s Climate Protection Plan by the Texas Public Utility Commission, with a focus on the utility’s ability to finance the plan in relation to current budget constraints.

While there's a germ of some transparency boosting measures in their proposals, having the traditionally pro-business PUC (who oversee ERCOT and areas with competitive electrical markets, i.e., not Austin) and an nebulous "Board" (appointed by the not-exactly Austin-endeared Lege, we assume) flies in the face of conservative principles we imagine AFA would espouse like small government and local control. (Kinda funny their website promises to "Break the establishment's lock on Austin politics." Last time I checked, the Texas Senate ain't exactly the ragged Thai red shirts.)

It all may be for naught, as IFD made it sound Leffingwell received a relatively sympathetic audience, aside from taking a few (arguably deserved) lumps from Fraser, notably over AE's controversial biomass deal. (It's worth noting AE's climate plan requires public council approval of any energy acquisition over 10 megawatts.) As IFD quoted Fraser, “I take it as a big deal that the mayor (came to the hearing). … (This) sends a signal to me that they’re paying attention.”

What the hell else is happening?
The city's Live From the Plaza jam, featuring funk machine Grupo Fantasma, is happening at City Hall, 301 W. Second, 12pm.
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