# Austin

ERCOT asset profile · https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/austin

City of Austin - Travis County - ERCOT

Austin (Tom Miller Dam) is a two-unit, 18 MW conventional hydroelectric plant in Travis County, Texas, with a combined net summer capacity of about 17.0 MW. The plant sits on the Colorado River within the city of Austin and impounds Lake Austin, part of the Highland Lakes chain. The dam and powerhouse are owned by the City of Austin but have long been leased to and operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), which maintains and runs the facility under a long-term lease. Both generating units remain in active operation with no retirement scheduled. LCRA has continued to invest in the dam's infrastructure, including a multi-year floodgate replacement project completed to keep the facility operating safely. The plant's output settles in ERCOT at its own Austin (Hydroelectric) settlement point, near the AEN load zone.

## Metrics

- **Nameplate capacity:** 18 MW — Canonical EIA plant baseline.
- **Registry anchor:** Plant 3594 — plant-3594

## Facts

- **Technology:** Conventional Hydroelectric
- **Operator:** Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA)

## Related parties

- **Operator / construction contractor / O&M provider:** Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) — Lessee, reconstruction contractor, and current operator; listed as EIA plant utility ([source](https://www.lcra.org))
- **Balancing authority / market operator:** Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) — Independent system operator and market operator for the ERCOT grid ([source](https://www.ercot.com))

## Sources

- [austincouncil.app](https://austincouncil.app/archives/meeting/1937-09-20_118229) — austincouncil.app · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [mbrweb.ferc.gov](https://mbrweb.ferc.gov/SearchlkpEIA/Index?page=34) — mbrweb.ferc.gov · authoritative — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [ercot.com](https://www.ercot.com/about/index) — ercot.com · authoritative — Source retained for exact-record publication review.

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Canonical page: https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/austin
Website: [City of Austin](https://www.austintexas.gov)

Source: Ask the Grid — https://askthegrid.com/
