Austin Energy announced a new long-term plan to strengthen the local power grid, which has struggled to keep the lights on for thousands of people during winter storms in recent years. Known as the Electric System Resiliency Plan, utility officials say it’s goal is to develop a stronger, smarter, and more reliable electric system for Austin.
The ESRP includes a combination of hardening existing infrastructure, improving the grid to better accommodate Distributed Energy Resources like solar and batteries, and continuing ongoing initiatives like vegetation management and upgrading equipment.
“Compared to statewide averages, Austin Energy’s system is at least twice as reliable, but there’s always room for improvement,” said General Manager Stuart Reilly. “Austin Energy’s resiliency efforts will go toward building an even more reliable electric system for our community.”
Austin Energy’s ESRP priorities in 2026 include:
- Expand the circuit hardening program to 10 circuits.
- Circuit hardening is upgrading existing overhead lines with more robust equipment (reclosers and fuses) and better technology to withstand damage and be more reliable.
- Proactively replace 40 segments of underground cable.
- Begin wildfire circuit hardening and apply it to 10 circuits in high wildfire risk areas.
- Align vegetation management with risk & hardening efforts.
- Inspect 8,000 poles.
- Deploy 30 main line reclosers and 100 lateral reclosers in strategic locations.
- A recloser is an automatic switch on power lines that detects faults, briefly cuts power to clear temporary issues (like a branch falling) and then automatically recloses to restore power, significantly reducing outage time.
- Conduct circuit optimization studies.
What’s the cost?
The utility’s initial budget forecast for the full 10-year implementation shows a $735 million investment in system improvements, including:
- $340 for vegetation management and wildfire mitigation.
- $280 million for circuit hardening, pole inspection, sectionalization and automation.
- $115 million for intelligent systems, grid analytics and progress dashboard.
The approved FY26 budget allocates $60 million for ESRP-related utility expenses, including:
- $32 million for vegetation management and wildfire mitigation.
- $16 million for circuit hardening, pole inspection, sectionalization and automation.
- $12 million for intelligent systems, grid analytics and progress dashboard.
