Depending upon where you live in our service area, you may be billed for electric service, water service, or both. You may also be billed for other City services and fees.

The First Page of Your Bill

On the left:

  • Utility News — News updates and changes to the bill and City services.
  • Contact Information — The many ways to connect with City of Austin Utilities, including a website for making online payments and account changes.

On the right:

  • Summary of Service — At-a-glance information about your utility account and current bill charges.

Along the bottom:

  • 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.
  • Penalty After Date Due — Fee charged if payment is not made in full by the due date. The late fee will appear on your next utility bill.

The Summary of Service

The first page of your bill contains a summary of all utility charges. Depending on where you live, you may see charges for Electric, Water, Wastewater, Clean Community Service, Solid Waste Services, and Street and Drainage Services. The Summary of Service contains:

  • Account Number — Your 10-digit account number.
  • Due Date — Payment must be processed and posted to the account by this date. City of Austin Utility Service Centers can process and post your payment to your account on the same day. If paying your bill at H-E-B, via telephone or online at coautilities.com, please allow 1–2 business days before the due date for processing.
  • 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.
  • Current Activity/Charges — A list of your current utility charges.
  • Clean Community Service Charge — This 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 — This charge funds the repair and maintenance of the City’s streets.

The Remaining Pages: Service Details 

The Service Details section of your bill outlines a detailed cost breakdown for electric, water, and wastewater services and fees that apply to your City of Austin Utilities account. Depending on where you live, could be charged for one or more City utilities.

  • Charges for Electric, Water, and Wastewater Consumption — Energy consumption is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Water and wastewater consumption is measured in gallons.
  • Consumption Graphs — Consumption for electric, water, and wastewater services are depicted in graphs. Each graph contains the past 13 months of energy, water, or wastewater use. They detail average daily usage and cost per day for the current billing cycle.

Want more details on electric and water charges?

Other Electric Charges

  • Customer Charge — This charge helps to recover overhead and administrative costs.
  • Four-Tier Base Electric Rates — Electric rates are tiered to promote conservation. Each month, residential customers will be charged the rate of their electric usage by tier, or levels, of usage. The amount of usage can spread over one or more tiers. Commercial customers are charged by customer class and varying levels of voltage used in each class.
  • Regulatory Charge — This charge goes toward power grid transmission costs, including new construction for state transmission and grid operation costs in addition to ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) administrative fees.
  • Community Benefit Charge — This charge funds the Customer Assistance Program, energy efficiency programs and street lighting service.
  • Power Supply Adjustment (PSA) — 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 is typically amended at the beginning of each year to reflect changing market conditions and the price of fuel and power.
  • 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.

Other Water Charges

  • Customer Charge — Helps recover overhead and administrative costs of billing, metering collections, customer service and the servicing and monitoring of fire hydrants throughout the city.
  • Tiered Fixed Charge — Covers the cost of maintaining and upgrading water meters, water lines, and other water infrastructure. The charge is based on your total monthly usage.
  • 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.
  • Community Benefit Charge — Is used to fund the Austin Water portion of the Customer Assistance Program.
  • Reserve Fund Surcharge — A volume-based charge for all customers to build a reserve fund to offset revenue losses caused by extreme weather patterns — both wet and dry.
  • Customer Charge — Helps recover overhead and administrative costs of billing, collections, customer service, and other account management services.
  • 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.

Clean Community Service

All Austin residents pay this fee for services that keep Austin clean and enhance the livability of our neighborhoods and the downtown area. It is paid to two departments:

  • Austin Resource Recovery — Covers city services such as street sweeping, dead animal collection, and litter abatement.
  • Austin Development Services Department — Covers the enforcement of some City codes and graffiti abatement.

Solid Waste Services

  • Customer Charge — Helps recover overhead and administrative costs.
  • Trash Cart Fee — The cost per gallon for the trash cart at your residence.

Watershed Protection

  • 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 and Public Works

  • 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, and varies based on home structure.

Download These Guides to Learn More

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Date last reviewed or modified: 1/24/24