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Understanding Your Utility Bill

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Created on February 3, 2026

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Transcript

Welcome!

Here's how to explore your bill:

Click the green circles to get more information about each section of your bill.

Use the gray arrows on the left and right to move from page to page. On your phone? If you don’t see the arrows, try zooming out a little to reveal them.

Click Here to get Started

Bill Overview

Electric Charges

Water Charges

Other Charges

Penalty After Date Due

Fee charged if payment is not made in full by the due date. The late fee is 5% of metered services (Electric, Water and Wastewater) and will appear on your next utility bill.

Customer Charge

This fixed monthly charge helps recover overhead and administrative costs of billing, metering collections, customer service and the servicing and monitoring of fire hydrants throughout the city.

Service Details

Outlines a detailed cost breakdown for your electric service and fees, as well as how charges are calculated.

Austin Development Services

The Austin Code Department is now part of Austin Development Services. Fee also covers the enforcement of some City codes and graffiti abatement.

Current Activity / Charges

Lists your current utility charges, including those described below.

  • Clean Community Service Charge: Funds services that keep Austin clean and enhance the livability of our neighborhoods and the downtown area.
  • Solid Waste Charge: Covers administrative costs and your trash cart fee for Austin Resource Recovery.
  • Drainage Service Charge: Funds the repair and maintenance of the City’s drainage system.
  • Street Service Charge: Funds the repair and maintenance of the City’s streets.

Account Number

Your 10–digit account number is displayed here.

Water Use Graphs

Contains the past 13 months of water use, detailing average daily usage and cost per day for the current billing cycle.

Due Date

Payment must be processed and posted to the account by this date in order to avoid late fees. If you are mailing your payment or using a City of Austin Utilities drop box, please allow extra time for us to receive and process your payment.

Reserve Fund Surcharge

This is a volume–based charge for all customers to build a reserve to offset revenue losses caused by extreme weather patterns, both wet and dry.

Community Benefit Charge

These charges are used to fund the Austin Water portion of the Customer Assistance Program as well as the GoPurple reclaimed water program.

Tear-Off Payment Stub

Provides complete payment information. The account, payment due date and contribution information are all located on the right side of the stub. Listed on the back are various payment options.

Previous Activity / Charges

Indicates if you overpaid your last bill or if you did not pay your last bill in full. A credit (for overpayment) or a remaining balance and late fees (for underpayment or nonpayment) will appear in this section.

Four-Tier Base Electric Rates

The rate structure is tiered to promote conservation and to help cover your actual costs. Depending on how many kWhs you use, you will see one or more tiers listed. Those charges will vary month to month based on your energy use. A four–tier rate structure rewards Austin Energy customers who use less electricity with lower rates.

Energy Use Graphs

Contains the past 13 months of energy use, detailing average daily usage and cost per day for the current billing cycle. On a customer bill, energy is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). A kilowatt-hour is a unit of energy and measures the amount of electricity a customer uses.

Two-Tier Volume Charge

Rate is charged per 1,000 gallons of wastewater billed during the billing period. The amount of wastewater billed is based upon water usage during a three month averaging period, or monthly water consumption, whichever is lower.

PSA Administrative Adjustment

As conditions require throughout the year, Austin Energy can make small changes to the Power Supply Adjustment. These changes allow the utility to better manage its financial health by responding to changing market conditions faster.

Service Details

Outlines a detailed cost breakdown for your water service and fees as well as how charges are calculated.

Customer Charge

This fixed monthly charge helps to recover overhead and administrative costs.

Contact Information

Lists the many ways to connect with City of Austin Utilities, including a website for making online payments and account changes.

Customer Charge

This fixed monthly charge helps recover overhead and administrative costs of billing, collections, customer service and other account management services.

Tiered Fixed Charge

This fixed monthly charge helps recover overhead and administrative costs of billing, metering collections, customer service and the servicing and monitoring of fire hydrants throughout the city.

Austin Resource Recovery

City services such as street sweeping, dead animal collection and litter abatement.

Community Benefit Charge

This charge funds the Customer Assistance Program, energy efficiency programs and street lighting service. This charge varies depending on whether the customer is inside or outside the city limits.

Community Benefit Charges

These charges are used to fund the Austin Water portion of the Customer Assistance Program as well as the GoPurple reclaimed water program.

Drainage Charge

Goes to fund the ongoing maintenance and repair of the City’s drainage infrastructure, such as cleaning creeks, water quality ponds and storm sewer drainage systems. It also funds programs to help with flooding erosion and water pollution. The charge varies based on the percentage of impervious cover on the property.

Transportation User Fee

Goes to pay for the maintenance and repair of the City’s street system such as pothole repair, street resurfacing and street construction. The fee is applied to customers with usage over 150 kWh. The fee varies based on home structure.

Summary of Service

Delivers at–a–glance information about your utility account.

Customer Charge

Austin Resource Recovery’s fixed monthly customer charge helps recover overhead and administrative costs.

Clean Community Service

All residents in Austin, including single-family homes and apartment and condo dwellers, pay a monthly Clean Community Fee for services that keep Austin clean and enhance the livability of our neighborhoods and the downtown area. This fee is paid to two departments, Austin Resource Recovery and Austin Development Services (which includes the Austin Code Department.)

Regulatory Charge

This charge goes toward power grid transmission costs, including new construction for state transmission and grid operation costs in addition to Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) administrative fees. The charge is the same for both inside and outside city limit residents.

Trash Cart Fee

Cost for the trash cart at your residence.

Power Supply Adjustment

This fee covers fuel costs for power plants as well as the total of power sales and purchases through the electric market. The Power Supply Adjustment (PSA) is typically amended at the beginning of each year to reflect changing market conditions and the price of fuel and power. This charge is the same for customers inside and outside the city limits.

Utility News

Provides customers with updates and changes to the bill and services.

Volume Unit Charge

Covers the cost of operating water treatment plants. The rate is charged per 1,000 gallons of total billed water consumption for the billing period.

Waste Water Use Graphs

Contains the past 13 months of wastewater use, detailing average daily usage and cost per day for the current billing cycle.

Charitable Contributions

Your tax-deductible contribution to one of the following charitable funds can be added to your payment coupon.

  • Customer Assistance Program: Help those who are having difficulty paying their bills dues to serious illness, job loss or other emergencies.
  • Parks and Libraries Fund: Help the City's parks and libraries continue to provide valuable services to the Austin community.
  • Homeless Student Assistance Fund: Help local schools provide quality educational opportunities to students experiencing homelessness.
  • Purple Choice: Help expand Austin Water's purple pipe system to provide more reclaimed water, giving our most precious resource a second life.