$22 flat fee on electricity

 On Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, The Austin American Statesman published an article about an energy proposal to raise rates which would charge a $22 flat fee for all customers. The problem over this is whether the rate increase proposal spreads the higher costs unfairly ammong the diffrent income households. The idea behind the $22 fee is to remove the pressure to sell electricity, allowing the utility to promote conservation. But critics say it would not help conservation as much as Austin Energy says and point to utility calculations showing that someone living in a small apartment would probably see their average monthly bill rise 41%. The other problem witht the energy saving plan is that unlike building a powerplant that would take effect instantly this plan would be for the long run. So what might end up happening is that Austin Energy might not be able keep up witht the growing demand for energy that the population will need.