Vote: May 21, 2026

Tell your council member: Vote NO on new gas plants.

This vote is happening May 21st. Austin Energy wants to spend $1 billion to build new natural gas power plants that will drive your energy bills up and that violate our clean energy commitment. The City Council vote is on the Consent Agenda — meaning it passes automatically with no public debate. The only way to stop it is if a City Council member pulls this item from the agenda.

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Subject
Vote NO on Item 7 at the May 21st City Council meeting
Body
I am a resident of District ___. I'm writing to voice my opposition to Agenda Item 7 and urge you to: 1. Pull Agenda Item 7 from the City Council meeting agenda AND 2. Vote NO on Agenda Item 7 — "Approve implementation of efficient, local, natural gas-powered peaker generation units as part of Austin Energy's Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan to 2035." The plan that City Council unanimously approved admits that Travis County is already at risk of violating EPA ozone standards. It acknowledges all existing gas plants stay running after the new ones are built. This new plan quietly dropped the promise to convert these plants to clean fuel by 2035. The Austin Energy 2035 plan is a fossil fuel expansion dressed up in "green" language. A "yes" vote ties your name to that exact fossil fuel greenwashing. A "no" vote costs you nothing and protects your constituents. Please PULL AGENDA ITEM 7 and VOTE NO on new gas peaker plants. [Your name] District ___
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Read the plan for yourself

Austin Energy published a 68-page resource plan that authorizes this fossil fuel expansion. It was not linked from the Austin Energy homepage or the City Council's public facing documentation about its 2035 "Clean Energy" plan — it took me four separate URL hops through the city's own website to find it. Here is what the plan says, in its own words:

“In support of reliability and affordability, the 2035 Plan allows Austin Energy to consider adding natural gas generation, only as that relates to more efficient, local peaker units.”

— Austin Energy Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan to 2035 (2024), “Develop Local Solutions” section

“The 2035 Plan replaces all previous resource generation plans. The objectives, goals and recommendations laid out here supersede any prior versions or related resolutions.”

— Austin Energy Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan to 2035 (2024), closing paragraph

“Travis County is at risk of exceeding local air quality standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — specifically for ozone. Some generation resources — like those burning natural gas — produce pollutants such as NOx.”

— Austin Energy Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan to 2035 (2024), “Local Air Quality and Non-Attainment” section
U.S. EPA: Health Effects of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) →

NO₂ is the primary pollutant emitted when natural gas burns. The EPA — the agency enforcing the air quality standards Austin Energy acknowledges Travis County is already close to violating — documents that NO₂ exposure aggravates asthma, increases susceptibility to respiratory infections, and drives formation of both ground-level ozone and particulate matter.