It's 2018, fix your autopay. It's 2018, how do you guys remove autopay after 3 failures without any remediation option. It's 2018, how does it make sense when your autopay system fails, or double charges, that there's "Nothing you can do™"? Your customer service sucks. Do better. Stop hamstring your CSR employees by making your system unusable by users. read more

Did s horrible job handling outages due to Uri leaving thousands without power, poor communication and follow-up, and unequal distribution of power during crisis. read more

Customer service is severely lacking. I cannot find a way to use a credit card on their website to pay a bill. When I called in, I got someone with a very thick accent that was difficult to understand. He kept saying "Yuh" (I think he was trying to say 'yep', but what is up with that??). I was finally transferred again to the automated system. They don't take AmEx, and the maximum amount you can pay at one time is $400, so I had to call back a second time to finish paying my initial bill with this company. Overall, I do NOT recommend this company. If you can get another service provider, it will be worth it. read more

No agency has ever deserved a low rating more than Austin Energy. On top of having outrageous rates, every single interaction I've ever had with them has been horrible. It's like it's being run entirely by people who are at their first day on the job. Any job. The customer service reps are completely inept. The outrage of the day: I called to have service transferred to my new place. Was told I had to pay my existing bill before they can transfer service. I said no problem! Happy to pay it right now! Nope, can't take a payment over the phone. Have to call back and pay through the automated system or pay online. I've only every paid online, so I went to the website, and... it's not working! Every time I hit "pay my bill" it boots me out of the system. I called back to report the website being down and to see what my other options are. I was told by the customer service rep that her supervisor said nothing was wrong with the website. WTF!?? She told me to try clearing my cache, which I did while on the phone, and tried again - same exact problem. Again, she told me there was no problem, the website was working fine on their end. Trying to move forward, I asked what the other options are for paying it. She said I could go to HEB or use the phone system, which charges a fee! I said I was absolutely not paying a fee to pay my bill just because their website is down. I asked her to waive the phone payment fee since I was only using it due to their malfunctioning website, which is their fault, not mine. She told me again their was nothing wrong with the website and I almost lost my damn mind. So now, in order to have f'ing electricity when I move in a few days, I either have to leave work and go stand in line at HEB, or I have to pay them even more money to process my payment by phone. Kicker - I asked to speak with a supervisor and was told I could WRITE A LETTER and mail it to their physical address. A LETTER. Did I just step back in time? Should I go locate the nearest pony express office? Jerks. read more

If you hadn't figured out by now, Austin Energy is arguably the most dishonest company out there. To start, they're a monopoly. Why do they care to give honest bills, easy to read billing statements, or notice before cutting off power and water? They don't, and there is literally no competition that will force them to. Unfortunately City Counsel can't be counted on to do anything to you know, help the citizens with these crooks. We have one bill that is not set up on auto pay- Austin Energy. If you are wondering why, turn on the news. Want the Austin Energy experience? Live in Austin a few years, they'll screw you one way or another, basically let you know they don't care that they screwed you, and then screw you one last time for kicks. And when you call in, expect to be told they don't care. read more

Two days without power with three kids by Wells branch. My brother also by William cannon on south Austin. Terrible service!!!

Always paid my bill on time. I had to move out of travis county and moved to Bastrop. Had trouble paying my final bill. they would not work with me at all. I have till Oct to finish paying my bill before it goes to collections. I was never late on payments and I needed help with my last bill and they would not help me at all. So in the future if you plan to move make sure you have enough funds to pay your final bill because once you leave them they do not care for you at all. read more

Here is another one for the books now we owe another $900 bill go figure that and being on a payment plan,the supposedly sent someone with a disconnect notice we never received and is not shown on our cameras that anyone came by. and happy New Year because this is coming right after Christmas when they told us that our bill was already due before Christmas Even though we had made a payment by the deadline that was given on our payment plan to pay off of our bill now they're saying that we owe $900 or our electric is going to be disconnected and already should have been disconnected.. before Christmas with our kids in the house so that being said we may have to scrounge around and come up out of pocket or have no electricity in the 30 degree weather we're about to be having so thank you so very much City of Austin again for totally NOT restoring my faith in this company at all !!! I cannot believe what these people get away with crook money hungry snake thieves!! Horrible company live in Kyle if you can!!! Out of City limits for the sake of not having to deal with this electric company read more

Wow, austin energy, the people of this city really hate you. Keeping with the trend here. For a so-called "progressive" city, Austin Energy is ass backwards. Been using their service for the past 7 years. Ok, so maybe I had 1 or 2 late payments in the past couple of years, but I've always paid. The result, I move to a new place and have to pay an additional $200 deposit to transfer the service. I seriously doubt I will ever see that money back for some BS stipulation in the service contract. And I refuse to set up autopay with you because then you will charge me for whatever the hell you want and I won't be able to get ahold of anyone to help with it in an efficient manner. This is not how you treat people in ANY situation, and the only reason you get away with it is because you're a monopoly. I cannot wait for the day another service becomes available here and your business comes crumbling down. Suck a fat one austin energy (note: I didn't capitalize your name because you are unworthy). I fart into my floor fan in your general direction read more

City of Austin Energy and Water Utilities, You suck. You have been overcharging our family ever since we got annexed by the City. $500 water bills each month? It doesn't matter whether we are here or gone. Like when we were out of town in Boston getting cancer treatment for three months in the dead of winter with no sprinklers going on? Someone needs to file a class action lawsuit against you all. ASSHOLES. I grew up in this city and it is now corrupt. The Austin mafia is in full swing. Moving to California where they have some level of consumer protection. I demand a true accounting of our water usage. We have solar panels too. Tell me, why are our bills sometimes $700 per month? Tell me? read more

I don't do reviews but this company made me write one. I have never seen a more crooked company then austin energy that doesn't give a crap about tenants. I moved out of a house a month ago. They state there is a past due balance on the account- doubtful since I don't see it online but okay. They now will not give the new tenants power util 1800 bill is paid in full and with cash? The new tenants are not any one I know, they did not live at the house before I moved out and now are stuck with no power on thanksgiving! This company is a fraud and doesn't care about any one but them selves. The tenants have not had power for 3 weeks now, and austin energy is denying giving them power without a 6 month lease.in no way is this legal since they know I don't live there and won't even provide proof that I owe any money since my bank statement shows otherwise. We need to go on a strike about this, there is hundreds of 1 star reviews, and I'm sure we can get something like this resolved much quicker then 4 weeks of no power. I recommend that they fix this immediately to regain any trust from anyone on here and earn some stars back on your review. read more

Without water and electricity for 26 hours now and no end in sight. They gave me a range of 7am to 10 pm to turn services back on. Absolutely horrible company. We just moved to Austin and the utilities are switched off almost immediately. They can't control the smart meter remotely? No supervisor to talk to at all! How can this company still be in business? They have a complete monopoly on the energy business in Austin. The city of Austin should do something. We work from home and depend hugely on Internet and obviously power! We had to reschedule the appointment twice now for Internet. This "company" does not deserve 1 star. 0 would be appropriate. read more

Out of the *numerous* problems I've had with Austin Energy, this one is by far the most infuriating: They double-billed me on a nearly $900 utility bill. I called and wanted my money back. "Sorry, we can't do that, a third party handles the payments and we can't do refunds. You have to call your bank and have them stop the second payment" Fine, that's incredibly stupid but I'll do it anyway. After some hassle from the bank, I get the second payment stopped. Next month there's a 30 dollar fee on my bill for having the bank stop the payment. To get my money back, Austin Energy told me I'd have to get my bank to send them a letter outlining that it was a stop payment and not a problem from having insufficient funds (why does that even matter?!? They're the ones that told me to do the stop payment in the first place!). Luckily for me, I had that letter already. Unluckily I was dealing with a giant turd of a company, and as soon as I produced that letter, they said it probably wouldn't be refunded anyway. Probably 3 of my top 10 worst CSR experiences have come from Austin Energy. Congratulations on your epic failure. read more

Sleezey, scamming, no good, money-grubbing scum of the filthy Earth, I HATE YOU, Austin Energy. We just let go of $530.00 last month for ONE MONTH's worth of electricity, thanks to your deplorable 3-tier system through which, the more energy you need, the higher tier you're bumped up to, catapulting you into the astronomical price category. And that wasn't a one-time thing. We've never paid less than $300 / month in our home for the last two years - but average about $450 / month. Summer or winter, nothing changes. Really? NOTHING changes when I'm using my fireplace and not using my central unit even for heat? Yeah. Bite me. I realize the house we're in is older. I realize it's not well insulated, but I follow all the "tips to conserve energy" guidelines as a rule, and they don't do jack. Your mother was a hamster. And your father smelt of elderberries. I fart in your general direction. And one of your utility trucks, number 10p702 spat out SO MUCH emission this morning on my way to work, I choked for 3 blocks and almost passed out behind the wheel. There is a special place in Hell for you, Austin Energy. It's somewhere between Hitler and Justin Bieber's preemptive reservation. read more

I've always paid on time. They even sent me a check for the deposit amount after two years of paying on time. I set up the auto draft option so I could continue my good record of prompt payment. A woman called me two weeks ago at 7:30am from Austin Energy to ask me if I received our print version of the bill yet. To which I replied, "Uh...no. Why? What's up?" She said, "Oh...well, when you get it, just toss it. It's incorrect. We made a mistake...switched some numbers around on accident." Me: "Uh...what kind of mistake? Will it be corrected before our auto draft date?" She assured me it would be. *Here comes the climax, and not a good one either. They deducted $2087.82 out of my debit account. Oh yeah, you read that correctly. $2087.82 that did not exist in this account. Our regular bill usually runs us $70/month. I haven't yelled or cursed. I have no solutions. It's not like there's another energy option. I just needed someone to listen to me. read more

Dear Austin Energy, I can't thank you ENOUGH for your generous gift today! How did you know that I was just praying that last October 29th, your website would glitch out and not process my utility payment and that I wouldn't have any idea about it until today, right before Thanksgiving travels, when you so graciously came to shut off my power? You Rock! And I'm amazed at your foresight of having your customer service representative discount the fact that I had an electronic trail in my web history of having actually made the payment and implying that, after years of making my payment online, that I decided holiday travel needed to be spiced up and I actually called my bank to cancel it! She was so silly. Of course I didn't do that, but it was nice of her to suggest it. And in the meantime, packing by flashlight? Wow, was that a blast! And the absolute topper on the cake was your lovely requirement that I pay an $80 reconnection fee to get my power turned back on today. Today is such a vague word, isn't it, Austin Energy? Because really, you meant you'd turn the power on at 7:30 at night! We love surprises, Austin Energy, and we love giving you $80 to help you soothe over the fact that your website had a booboo. And we love having our children do homework by candle light. Just Like Abraham Lincoln! It was so so educational, Austin Energy! You Rock AND ROLL! Love, Me read more

Just all around awful and unhelpful. Horrific site full of dead links. Do not recommend, but what choice do we have but to leave austin or go off the grid? read more

Absolutely the worst utility company I've ever dealt with, by a long run. I'll refrain from personal insults, but imagine the worst run, lousiest business you've ever had to deal with, and I'll guaranty you it wasn't as bad as what you get from Austin Energy. As a landlord/property manager, I've dealt with this City owned utility for over 20 years. It regularly screws up the billing. Not just a little bit, but badly, and often. It's a chronic, ongoing problem for which no solution seems to be forthcoming. My only hope is that we get true deregulation in Austin so we can pick from providers and let Austin Energy die the death it deserves, or get sold to an entity that knows how to operate a utility service. read more

Just recently I received a letter in the mail claiming that my meter had been frozen and they were adding on $693.00 to my next bill when I called Austin Energy to dispute the claim. They informed me that my bills, which had been always been under $30 a month since FOREVER were wrong that this was correcting the error. When I asked them review my bills for my last apartment which was also an efficiency and also in the same apartment complex they claimed that someone would get back to me and then pressured me into agreeing to a payment plan, basically to accept responsibility for the outrageous claim. I have already received my $200 deposit back from my last apartment and had been a good customer for over 8 years. I had always payed my bills on time and had them automatically drafted from my bank account. Not only that, now they are charging me over $45 dollars a month + the payment arrangement they had coerced me into. In the mean time claiming that someone from Customer Services would be returning my call. After 3 months of back and forth with no explanation and bills over 70$ being drafted from my bank account, I receive 2 copies of a disconnect notice for failure to pay the now inflated over $700 charge they claim I owe them for what they claim was a "frozen meter". Let alone the fact that they are holding me responsible for their faulty equipment, I can see that all of the meters for the entire complex seem to be working fine. On top of that I haven't even received a copy of my bill in the 3 months since they singled me out for over charge. I am very seriously considering legal action and urge all you to contact me because it is high time that something be done about the injustice that Austin Energy has subjected it's customers to. That they would do this to a paying customer of over 8 years who has long since payed and received their deposit in return for promptly paying all of their bills on time. There is definitely something wrong within their infrastructure to allow someone to just single someone out and overcharge them while claiming their "meter was frozen" that I should be held liable for that, when it isn't even true. I urge others to contact me as I seek legal litigation because it's about time Austin Energy be held accountable for their unscrupulous business practices. read more

Monopoly is not as fun when it's real life, yall. I'm waiting 5 weeks just to speak with someone who can (hopefully) correct my absurdly high electric bill. My 971 sq ft apartment somehow used 2013 kW of electricity in a period where we were traveling and/or did not have our heating unit on. Here's what I would do with that much energy: * Sponsor a portion of the Trail of Lights * Create an in-house sauna * Buy 3 tanning beds and turn them all on at the same time * Inflate the world's largest bounce house * Charge my Tesla I would not leave my heat on 24/7 at 95 degrees, or whatever insanely high degree one must leave it on to incur such a high bill. read more

When you see THIS many negative reviews, you know it is not just a few disgruntled, unhappy people. It is indeed an ill & poorly run company. It is indeed one of the worst aspects of life in Austin. They KNOW they are the only Utility company in town & they damn sure act like it. I can sum up their ideology & business philosophy in a statement given to me by MORE than one of their employees. Word for word, I swear it, "Electricity is NOT a necessity, it's a luxury. People live without electricity all the time." Not joking one bit. Was told that by 2 customer service people and one person representing themselves as a supervisor. As they say, shit rolls downhill. Larry Weis has been at the helm 6 years now & things are not better one bit from the day he took over, they are in fact, worse. They certainly treat the service they are providing exactly like it IS a "luxury service" and the level of service they provide is anything BUT luxurious. Mr. Weis needs to go. He is obviously not suited for the job when you are failing to deliver even the most basic customer service. Seems like his area of expertise, is delivering customer dis-service. This is 2016, and in this day and age, Austin Energy does not accept electronic payments through most bill payments services. They insist on a paper check. Then if your payments are late, they penalize you with late payments and disconnect notices because of their antiquated 1974 payment system. As long as you are an Austin Energy customer, you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't. The one thing you really are, is screwed. read more

Austin Energy strikes again! After I did a news interview on Keye they called me to "discuss" my bill. Which really was just a call to explain to me what I was seeing on my bill. "See that where is says you usually use 2400 gallons of water, well now you use 7800." Really?! I can see that! Can you see that I am still one person with only one husband and nothing has changed to cause this?? They dont care. So we have done all the things they say. We dont water, we have energy efficient washer and dishwasher, we keep the temp at 78 (which I want to include is NOT a comfortable temp, especially for the baby who sleeps upstairs). I just dont know what we will do when out bill is $500 for every month, which it has been for 2 in a row now. But here is a new low! I got a statement that says they changed billing programs and they have "discovered" I owe a mysterious $160 from 3 years ago. They added this to my already $500 bill and explained if its not paid service will be turned off. I was also told that if I could prove I paid said $160 then they would take it off. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?! Even the IRS has a statute of limitations, but the electric company can just throw totals at me right and left and I have NO OTHER CHOICE! After a lot of tears, there is only one thing I can do... Oh thats right, NOTHING because if I don't pay whatever they say I have to then I have no electricity or water. And there is no other company but this one. Where will there ever be a point that they are held accountable?? I am at such a loss and I am so frustrated and really afraid of the future because we cannot continue this way. And obviously there is not a relief in sight. read more

I've lived in Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and a few other cities. This is the first city I have ever lived in where I have had problems with public utilities. My bills are outrageous. My 1,110 square foot luxury apartment, built in 2002, regularly racked up $200 electric and water bills. I had the complex check the insulation (even though I was sandwiched between two other units), utilized the automated programming to turn the air conditioner off during the day, and used low energy bulbs, Energy Star washer and dryer, and all the rest. Now, in my 2,400 square foot house (built in the mid 1980s), my bills regularly run to $350 or $400 per month. I have had meters checked, insulation replaced, energy efficient EVERYTHING installed, yet my bills are absurd - they never came CLOSE to these amounts in other cities. My 1,200 square foot apartment in north Houston cost me about $75/mo through Green Mountain Energy, and I wasn't exactly conserving power at that point. When I was having financial problems of my own, I called to ask for a payment plan so my electricity didn't get cut off. I was informed that I couldn't have one because it was too close to the cut-off date. So because I was in need, I couldn't have an extension? When I managed to come up with the money, I was $20 short. I called and explained, telling them I could have the remaining amount within the week, and was told tough cookies - I would pay the ENTIRE amount, or my service would be cut off. Austin's energy market needs to be de-regulated. The monopoly factor means that customer service is a joke - completely unresponsive, rude, and otherwise useless - and rates are nowhere close to competitive. Let's get some real competition and see what happens. Will Winn, are you listening? read more

Moved to Travis county and was forced to use Austin Energy. Got my 2nd bill today and was grossly shocked by the amount and charge system they use for energy. I used to have PEC which was a WHOLE LOT more reasonable and affordable. The cost of energy with Austin Energy seems outrageously high, and how can you argue with them since we have NO OTHER CHOICE but to use them. I can't wait for there to be other options so that this MONOPOLY can be exploited. Simple price gouging at its finest!! read more

If I could give it a 0 stars I would. Horrible customer service, horrible website, horrible fees. Their website was undergoing some sort of maintenance for the longest time in January 2015, so it took me a couple of days before I could log in and pay my bill (I usually do it around the 15th-20th every month depending on when the bills are out). Turns out, the amount was not processed and I was not notified that I had been charged a late fee. I paid right away and attempted to contact a representative via the online system, but NEVER received a response. I am attempting to contact a live representative at the moment, have been on the line for 30 MIN and have still not reached one. I'm not so concerned about the fee as much as the late record on my account that is a result of their web error and how it may affect future sign-ups with energy companies. Edit: Made a payment yesterday for the latest bill and logged in today to see that my amount due has been changed from $0 (yesterday) to the original bill amount. Now I don't know whether or not to re-submit the payment in fear of being charged twice. Still can't get ahold of a representative and it's been nearly an hour. If anyone is interested in filing a class lawsuit or complaint, please message me! read more

Don't get me wrong. I like having lights that turn on and water that is clean from the tap. The city does pretty well on that front. And I do appreciate that, having lived for some time in areas of the world that lack such services. But for billing and oversight? The troubles continue. Any trick that they can use to make sure that you are at fault when they make a mistake will be used. I paid my most recent bill on the due date. I work, so I pay online. I have had the same arrangement for the same account for years. I have paid the bill on or before the due date almost religiously- I have missed the deadline once in about a decade. Mind you, they "forgot' to bill me for water for a year and a half and recently had to reimburse me for overcharging for at least that long for street fees. But I digress. When I paid the bill on the due date last month, I was apparently paying "late," and was thrown off of the payment agreement made to cover the uncharged-therefore-unpaid water bills. Now I'm told that I have to pay the bill now or I may get my power turned off. I am still paying for their having overlooked my account- and in their usual manner, the customer is being treated as the one who is wrong. Perhaps if they straightened out their business practices there would be fewer unhappy customers. read more

Please note that this review and story is much longer and more in depth. It just infuriates me, so I have to keep it short. Last year, my electric bill was enormous. So high, in fact, that I had to move. My final bill in August was $898 for an 800 sq. duplex. The month before it was $770. The lowest bill I had in the year and a half I lived in that duplex was $220. That was one month. I was so happy. When I called to ask about my high bill (because I was living with no AC and in the dark at that point), the customer service person I spoke to was shocked. She could seem my meter, as it was digital, and told me I was using more that twice the amount of energy an average customer used. She told me that my meter was flying as we spoke. While we were speaking, I only had the fridge plugged in, my laptop on, and the AC was on 80. I was dying of heat stroke and in the dark, but still my bill $898. She (and her higher up) told me it seemed as if there was a theft of electricity going on. But guess what? That's a civil issue. If I didn't pay the bill, they would shut it off. It's not "their problem" that my electricity was probably being stolen. Being as my electricity was more than the rent, I had to move. If I were going to pay that much, I can't imagine what it would have been if I had lowered the AC. And, I just couldn't live another minute by going and sitting in my car to cool down. I can't believe there are no other options in this town. I don't understand how that doesn't make for a monopoly or something? Terrible company! Actually, I guess it is more of a government entity, as opposed to a company. Dang you, City of Austin for ripping off your town. read more

COA has such rude customer service and ridiculous rules. I don't understand how it is possible to have a $150 electricity bill when I live in a two bedroom condo ALONE, with 1 1/2 bathrooms and my condo is less than 1,000 sq ft. Not to mention, I was out of town for an accumulative amount of 8 days that month and I left my AC off because I figured if I wasn't using it then why would I need it on...? I called in questioning the amount stating that it had tripled my bills prior to this one and the guy I inititally spoke with was so rude, I was pretty taken back. He told me that my bill is what it is and I should just pay it. I asked if they could have someone come out and check my meter and he reluctantly said "I can have somebody go out and check but if it's correct, you have to just pay your bill." In my mind I thought, uummm...yeah, I figured. I don't ever not pay my bills but just told him okay. He told me I should call back today so I did. I don't know if it was the same person or a different one that I spoke with today but when I called he seemed polite enough to begin with and then when I started asking questions he got annoyed very quickly. He told me that my meter had been checked and it was fine so I started asking him how my bill could have tripled in one month's time and if he had any thoughts as to what I was doing to make it jump so high so quickly. I told him my bill has always been less than $60 and now it's $150? He said "you moved in July or August of last year..." and I told him yes, that is correct, and there was an awkward pause so I asked "what does that have to do with anything though?" He then went on to say I paid close to $120 for my first bill so this shouldn't be a shock. What?! Really? Rude. I then informed him that, yes, I did..because that included activation costs. To that he just told me I was probably cranking my AC and needed to just pay my bill. He also said that during summer months they charge you near triple per KWH than what they charge other times...seriously...? I think that is just awful. If I had a choice I would not use them. Too bad I don't have the option.....Sigh... read more

Every time I call in to question a bill or have them explain something to me, I am always received in the rudest manner, and I think that I am quite pleasant on the phone-- I don't mind holding, I don't ever raise my voice, etc. This latest time, I called to express concern over a charge that seemed out of place-- $40 EXTRA in "setup fees" that were simply double charges with no explanation. They told me sorry, you're right but you have to pay it, and we will credit you next time. I asked if there was any way for me to have proof of this conversation or proof that I will be getting that credit, and they simply said "look for it on your next bill". BS ALERT read more

Ok, I respect that if it weren't for them (and the Colorado River), I wouldn't be sending in this review (I would almost rather have hamster power), but I have SERIOUS issues with this 'company.' Every single time I have ever called, I get hung up on after waiting for who knows how long, just to have to call back and do it all over again. When I do get through, I get someone who either doesn't care or is a crazy nutso-burrito City Of Austin Utility Supporter. The ONLY reason I gave two stars is because #1, I 'need' their energy and #2, the people who aren't crazy work in the set up dept and are super nice. Have you ever truly looked at your bill? Like reviewed the back, not just the front to see how much you owe?...Yea, look at all those flippin' fees!!! Ready? 1. Customer Charge for Water 2. Customer Charge for Electricity 3. Customer Charge for Trash (if you have that) 4. Fuel Charge So, let's review shall we? You get charged three, yes, 3, customer charges on one bill. I called to ask...here was my response: 1. Per Steve in customer service: Each department has their own billing so it is for the use of the billing paper a. Me: ...uh? Squeeze me? I don't know what you are looking at, but I only get one sheet of paper. If I go "green," will those fees be waived? NOPE. 2. Per Steve in customer service: When you call in, you will need to speak to that particular department with any questions you may have. b. Me: So, who do I need to speak to about my water bill?..wait, that's you too? Okaaaay...can I speak with someone in the Trash Billing department? WHAT?! You can help me with that as well? Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm....Steve, are your eyes brown or do you suffer from short term memory loss? Cause...um, you just told me that I would need to speak with diff departments... So, what the hell is the COA doing with all those extra funds? Cause if you take $20/month and multiply it by the number of customers and then multiply that by 12...wow...I could go on and on about this one. Actually, I did - wrote a letter to Mr. Bigwig pants. He didn't respond back after he sent me a 'suck it up and pay it' letter. Now, if you choose not to pay those Customer Charges, they will cut off your electricity... Yes, if you choose to only pay for the usages alone, COA will cut you off. I sh*t you not. Fuel Charge: This one is great. So, not only do you pay for the electricity that you use within your household, you pay for the cost to MAKE that electricity within your household...nice.. Another issue is the deposits. This is great. You pay the deposit when you first sign up of $200 (unless you can get a letter of referral from your previous energy company). DON'T MOVE! If you move, you have to pay that $200 again because the City's computer system doesn't understand how to transfer credits from account to account. You have to wait for them to cut you a refund check within 30-60 days. So, that means, you have to pay the deposit again before you get your refund...Now, I don't know if this has changed, but, I have had to do it 3 times (don't ask...). If you move within their service area, they will look up your payment history. If you have been late more than one time in a year, you aren't a good customer and they will not waive the $200 fee. Payment plans suck - can you tell I have been through it all with them? Ouch - don't ever go through this. You will get someone who doesn't know what they are talking about and if you make a mistake, you have to speak with a manager's manager who will review the phone conversation tapes (yes, they tape you) and decide whether or not you deserve another chance...I will spare the details, but if you are late on your payment plan, they will cancel the payment plan and make it all due right then and there and will not turn your services back on until it is paid in full...it doesn't matter if it is colder than a witch's left titty and you have an infant in the house. All in all, I am still working on the hamster ball theory to power the entire household...until then, I guess I am stuck with COA. read more

Canceled our account with Austin Energy early November last year! Come to find out they never actually canceled that account and billed us anyhow! We call in and they can find no records we ever called in, though of course we did. I get them to admit on the phone that it is possible that they could have made an error. Then I ask who pays for it if they in fact made such an error, YOU DO, they replied on the phone! THEY'RE CROOKS!!! Never mind we were model customers and never missed a bill in the 3 years we were customers! I hope I NEVER have to be an Austin Energy customer EVER again! How can you "legally" run such a company! This whole company is an embarrassment to the city of Austin! I guess I have to start running my own recordings of these calls, since I can't rely on these people ever to have the customers interest! I am SO disappointed! read more

I was told my landlord called in and shut my services off at my house, except I own the house. I was then told the company I am using to manage this property did it, except I don't have a management company. I was then told that another person called in and took over my services, except if that were true the power would never have been shut off. I own this house, I live in the house absolutely no one but me should be able to make any changes to the account I have with you. You have to verify my identity when I call in with the last 4 of my social, why was the person who did this not required to provide some sort of proof. The excuses I was given were all lies. I then asked that a note be placed on my account to verify any and all future cancelation/take over requests to prevent this same issue your company caused. I was told that's not an option. You're lucky you are running a monopoly on my neighborhood and I am not able to use any other company to provide me with electrical services or I would have canceled. Hardly any real remorse for the issues this could have potentially caused was never expressed. I have a 4 year old, I am pregnant, 4 dogs, 4 cats, I have fish tanks and a snake that all require electrical power to remain alive and comfortable. You jeopardized the lives of my animals and the ability to keep the heat on my home with this artic cold front coming in. The rep I spoke to could use some more training in communicating and rectifying a potentially catastrophic event. Her condescending tone and nature became evident the moment I began expressing my lack of satisfaction with the lies I was being given. Completely unacceptable. read more

The absolute worst. If you live in an outlying area, you will benefit greatly from choosing any other company, of which there are many. Our problem started several years ago at a different address. We had a normal bill of around $200 for a 2000 square foot house. Had a roommate, total of 3 people. Completely manageable. But then, in the later part of the year, we started seeing climbs up to $300 & even $400, in a house that used GAS for heating. Something wasn't adding up, and I began contesting the billing. At the very least, I wanted the meter checked because something was not right. The finally sent someone out to check the appliances and items we had in the house, and even the technician that came out said there was nothing in the house that wasn't effeciently energy rated and that there did appear to be a problem. We continued to pay the bills while complaining about the charges. The decided to change out the meter and immediately we saw a drop in the bill, with the same 3 people in the house. We lost that roommate and the bill dropped even further, to about $120 a month. However, I wanted and requested a credit for the meter that was not working correctly. For THREE MONTHS I called to find out the status of the meter "testing" and was told it wasn't "back yet". This started in November 2008 and on a call in January 2009, the "manager" who was handling the case was ready to give a 25% credit for the 18 months of service with the faulty meter. That was per his phone call. That same afternoon COA suddenly "found" the meter test, and said it had been working correctly. I informed them that there was no possible way it was working correctly and I thought their timing was incredibly suspect. By this time, the balance that I was requesting credit for was approximately $800. I demanded, and received, a "hearing" which was extremely unprofessional when it happened, with one arbitrator and an extremely rude and unpleasant Austin Energy representative. The numbers they supplied in their paperwork even proved that the usage dropped accordingly with the number of people in the house, and that the previous meter was in no way working correctly. They used a set of numbers for one explanation and a different set of numbers for another, and with those numbers I was able to prove to them that their claim of the meter working correctly was not feasible. We moved to a different address in February, transferred the service to the new address and heard nothing. Beginning in June, the meter on this house stopped functioning, meaning the numbers were not moving at all, even though there was power to the house. We keep the gate locked to keep our dogs in & others out, so they left a tag on the door each month to call in the numbers, which I did as soon as receiving and informed them each month that the numbers weren't moving. The bill was $6.00 each month. I had asked for someone to look into this for 4 months solid. So imagine my shock when I arrived home on DECEMBER 31 - NEW YEARS EVE - with temperatures expected to drop into the low 30's - and find my service shut OFF. No disconnect notice, no phone call, NOTHING. And of course, a phone call to Austin Energy tells me there's a balance of TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS on the account and they said the meter was tampered with! And they would not turn the power on without a fee of $2,220! They could not provide backup at that time to what the balance included, whether there was an additional deposit included, what the amounts were comprised of, NOTHING. I am in touch with an attorney for a lawsuit against Austin Energy for improper business practices and extortion, if I can get it. I feel the decision to shut off the power with no contact or notice, on a freezing night, and a holiday to boot shows that Austin Energy cares nothing about the wellbeing or safety of their customers and are ONLY out to make a large buck from any & everyone they can. Customer service from this company is the absolute worst I have ever experienced, calls are handled rudely and they take the attitude they do because in Austin proper, you have no choice. You MUST go with their services, and that is completely and wholly unfair. I hope to see them fall and that deregulation wipes their sorry asses out. read more

We're in a drought, right? Water is becoming more and more valuable, right? We are getting tons of notices to conserve and follow the mandatory restrictions, right? So, when my water bill jumps from 9,000 gallons of usage to 25,000 gallons with no explanation I called the City of Austin Utilities to come have a look at both the meter and a potential leak. The customer service line was busy for 3 days. Then, when I finally got it to ring I waited on hold for over an hour. I was told that somebody would be out within the week and that I would get a notice with their findings. Nope. Nobody has come out and nobody has sent me any findings. So, for all I know, I could be running enough water to support a small country down the street. Thanks City of Austin! I bet we're in this water crisis because of you! read more

Abysmal. Embarrassing. Josh told me my service would be turned on 8/27. I moved all my things to the new place and turned off electricity at the old place. I called today wondering what the hold up was. The rep today told me Josh made a mistake and that I would have to wait til tomorrow. I'm not sure how they are justifying their mistake as my problem, but the rep told me to just deal with it. Unfortunately I have zero recourse, and there are no competitors, so I am forced to continue giving my money to liars who can't do their job. read more

Lets keep this simple: * Horrendously expensive * Terrible customer service full of people that rarely help and are indifferent to your issues. * Garbage website that sometimes doesn't work. * Takes 3 days advance to request cancellation for some reason and takes them longer than that all the while you're billed for everything. * etc etc read more

I grew up in a house with window units and fans and a cooperative energy service to power them all. $40.00 electric bills in the summer. Not that our house was huge, mind you, it was a small three bedroom, but it also leaked air out from under the rotten exterior door frames. So I know, I know, I have unrealistic expectations for my power provider. In Austin, I have lived in some teeny tiny apartments. Apartments with weather stripping under the door frames and around the windows. Most of them had central air and heat, but even in the tiny house with one AC window unit and no heat in the winter, I have never gotten an electric bill under $100 a month from Austin Energy. I can't figure out how that's possible. It just is and it astounds me every month. Cutting off the lights until the sun sets, cutting off heating or cooling, and running the dishwasher once a week doesn't seem to affect my bill at all. I can't for the life of me figure out how to reduce my bill. Another thing that bugs me about Austin Energy is that they always demand a $200.00 deposit every time I transfer service even if I am all paid up on my bill and have had power with them for the past year and am connecting service at my new place the same day I am cutting it off at the old place. I think I've paid them for about a year in service for all the deposits I've left with them that were never returned to me because it's impossible to pay back at least $300 in a month if you've just moved and they only give you a month to pay the deposit. The last thing I'll complain about is their telephone payment service. If you call them and pay by check card, they stick you with a $4.95 service fee which is not only exorbitant, but they never say if you should add the $4.95 to your bill or if the fee will be automatically charged. What's sad is that by all accounts, Austin Energy is really the lowest priced utility service you can find in the Austin area. Cheaper than TXU and Pedernales Falls Co-op. If I'm getting a $120.00 bill on a skeezy little apartment which I do little more than cook in, I can't imagine what folks are paying to cool their McMansions. read more

My account has been closed for over a year and I am still dealing with them. My account online (as this is how I pay) says I have ($55.03) to pay. This is a credit amount. Austin Energy says I owe $50, but how is this possible if I have a credit AND if I have a credit that is more than the supposed amount due, why are they sending collection agencies my way? Shouldn't the credit be applied with a $5.03 check headed my way for the difference? I have repeatedly asked why this has not been resolved and they say that 'What's online doesn't match what's on your paper statements because there's something wrong with our online system.' FOR A YEAR?????? I haven't been able to get anyone to assist me and it's getting frustrating. Is it best to reach out to council members? Is there someone in a higher up position to talk with about this? Why would I pay a bill if I have a credit on that same account that is more than what the bill is? read more

Austin Energy is the felon you do not feel bad for when said felon is sentenced to life in prison, gets assigned a cell with Bubba from Alabama who has never seen fresh meat he didn't like, and has the unfortunate circumstance of dropping the soap on the first day. To keep it short: It started off well, to their credit. They never egregiously overcharged me, although they twice got some "numbers mixed up" (that's verbatim, btw) and charged me the wrong amounts, which I had to call and get fixed in two separate phone calls that, added together, come out to about 5 hours (no, I'm not joking). They are the only ones, so they can do what they want. And they are well aware of that. You need to examine your bill and examine your energy measurement rate, to make sure they match with the amount of energy you've used for the pay period. YOU MUST do this for yourself; do not just trust their accounting. Do not call expecting to be free within 5 minutes. This is about the most positive experience I've heard of concerning AE, so... there you have it. All I can say - and I never thought I would - THANK BABY JESUS I'm moving to Wells Branch, where I have 29 pages of energy choices, and not a one of them is AE. read more

Absolutely horrible customer service. I seriously cannot believe how awful it is. I know this is a major first world problem but my fiancee and I have never EVER been treated so terribly on the phone. I don't write reviews for anything; but our experience has been so disturbing that I feel like I need to warn any newcomers about what they're going to have to deal with. Austin energy is relentlessly trying to bill us twice for the $200 deposit due to a mistake on their end. We've already paid the deposit. I'm looking at the bank statement right here in front of my face. We were told we would be called back after multiple calls and after waiting three days we heard nothing. We have been on the phone for hours on end with no real resolution or help. All of this over a measly $200. My fiancee manages difficult people and situations for a living. She's solving problems all day. And not once but twice she got off the phone in literal TEARS after dealing with your all star customer service agents like, Joseph. Implying your customers are liars isn't a good way to win points, guys. We have moved all across the US and have never had an experience with a power company that comes close to the way we've been treated here. Please get back to me Austin Energy. read more