Ruling Concerning Austin Energy’s Rate Structure Gives Texans New Rights to Challenge Excessive and Discriminatory Rates
Austin, Texas – April 28, 2021 — Data Foundry, a premier colocation data center provider with facilities in Austin and Houston, Texas won new rights for businesses and residents to challenge discriminatory rates imposed by municipalities in historic Texas Supreme Court decision against the City of Austin.
In 2016, Austin Energy, the City of Austin’s municipal power authority conducted a consumer rate review in which Data Foundry participated in. After the rate review completed, new rates were to be imposed beginning January 1, 2017. Recognizing that the rates were excessive and discriminatory, Data Foundry sued Austin Energy in Texas District Court. After the court ruled that consumers like Data Foundry cannot challenge rates set by municipal utilities and are left to the mercy of the municipality, Data Foundry appealed.
On appeal, Data Foundry convinced the Texas Supreme Court that Texas law guarantees consumers the right to challenge potentially excessive and discriminatory electricity rates in court. In April of 2021, the Texas Supreme Court notified Data Foundry that it had won its appeal against the City of Austin in a landmark decision and is able to proceed with a suit.
“As an industrial-scale buyer of power, and through efficient design and operations of our facilities, Data Foundry ensures customers achieve optimal utilization when they choose our services and facilities,” comments Edward Henigin, CTO of Data Foundry. “Any unfair electric rate impacts our customers both directly and indirectly, and it’s in our best interest to protect them. We took on this fight to ensure our customers don’t get taken advantage of, to help reduce overall costs, all the while ensuring we can provide the best product at the most competitive prices.”
Henigin concludes, “This is why it’s optimal for companies to outsource their digital infrastructure management and services to data center companies like Data Foundry. With digital transformation driving business decisions to adopt more compute infrastructure capabilities such as internet and cloud services, power costs can make or break a business in the process. This win sets a whole new standard. Data Foundry is bullish on our mission. We know it’s a long road ahead and we’re committed to do what’s right for all Texans.”
About Data Foundry:
Data Foundry is a privately held company headquartered in Austin, Texas, that provides data center colocation, disaster recovery, and managed services for enterprise customers in Austin and Houston, Texas. Data Foundry services a variety of industries including technology, energy, healthcare, financial services, and more. The company’s premier data centers are supported by experienced on-site technicians, security staff, and customer support 24x7x365. Data Foundry has more than 25+ years of data center operations experience and was one of the first 50 Texas Internet Service Providers. For more information, visit www.datafoundry.com or call 1.888.839.2794.
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