Round Rock, Hutto energy customers claim they're being 'singled out' to conserve gas

KVUE
Author: Isabella Basco
Published: 6:14 PM CST January 15, 2024

ROUND ROCK, Texas — On Sunday night, Round Rock resident Jennifer Nussbaum got a text message from Atmos Energy asking to conserve gas.

When she clicked the link, she noticed her neighborhood was amongst other areas that were being called out on the corporation's website.

"When I posted the alert in our neighborhood page last night ... People were also curious as to why our area was kind of being singled out as high consumers of gas," Nussbaum said. "And no one really knows what the issue is. And no one really can tell us what the issue is."

But Steve Blackwell, the CEO of Invito Energy Partners says Round Rock and Hutto homeowners should not feel singled out. 

"That message that Round Rock is receiving is basically being sent to everybody across Texas by ERCOT," Blackwell said. "So you can download the ERCOT mobile app which will show you the capacity, the demand and the first thing you're going to see on that app is the exact message that the folks from Round Rock are getting."

Blackwell warns these notes will get sent out any time it gets really hot or really cold.

"Essentially ... If you're ERCOT, it's better to be safe than sorry. Ask people to conserve," Blackwell said. 

Still, Nussbaum is calling for transparency when it comes to the resources her family works hard for.

"Communicate things with us so that we understand why we're being asked to conserve," Nussbaum said. 

KVUE News reached out to Atmos Energy several times to ask more about their conservation alert in Round Rock and Hutto. The company did not answer our question but did send an email that said:

As the forecast calls for extreme winter weather, Atmos Energy is closely monitoring the weather and staging our employees across our system. We have been sending the attached press release for tips to help our customers stay safe and conserve energy this winter to our service areas.