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This was originally written by Robin Rather & Mike Sloan SEP 24, 2010. and posted at http://powersmack.org/2010/09/... Reposted with permission.
Larry Weis, the new General Manager for Austin Energy, starts work on Monday.
What will he awake to find?
A) A utility that at the beginning of 2008 was widely recognized as the greenest, most innovative, and among the most affordable utilities in Texas.
B) A utility that owns many power plants, 99% of which are nukes, coal and natural gas.
C) A utility that is steering steadily toward the rocks with an obsolete business model based on growing use of its nukes, coal and natural gas.
D) All of the above.
Many in our community believe the answer is D) All of the above.
Austin residents, who own their own electric utility, should rightfully be concerned about who is behind the helm. For the last six months, city administrators rather than energy professionals have been steering. Now Weis arrives to take charge, but without knowledge of the local waters that are the Texas electric system and Austin's complex political dynamics. Will Weis and City Manager Marc Ott - who the GM will report to - navigate Austin Energy to its rightful place as a leader, or instead hold a course of peril? That is an open question and a serious one. It takes a long time to build an innovative market leader, but almost no time to wreck it.
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