[00:00:01]
YOU.[CALL TO ORDER]
SO, UH, WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, CALL THIS MEETING NOVEMBER MEETING OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION TO ORDER AT 2:50 PM.UH, I'LL BEGIN WITH ROLL CALL.
UH, THIS IS CHAIR DANA HARMON, UH, VICE CHAIR, WHITE PRESIDENT, UH, COMMISSIONER BABIAK LEAVE IS ABSENT COMMISSIONER BLACKBURN PRESENT.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CHAVARRIA.
COMMISSIONER FREELAN COMMISSIONER JOHNSON AND COMMISSIONER SMITH.
WE HAVE SIX COMMISSIONERS, SO WE HAVE A QUORUM.
[CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: Speakers signed up 12 noon on November 16, 2020 prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed three minutes to address concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda.]
UM, I BELIEVE THAT WE DO HAVE, UH, UH, CITIZENS SIGNED UP.MR. ROBINS SIGNED UP FOR CITIZENS COMMUNICATION.
WE HAVE MR. PAUL ROBBINS SPEAKING ON ITEMS NUMBERS THREE AND FOUR.
SO HE WOULD GET A TOTAL OF, UH, THREE MINUTES ON EACH ONE OF THOSE.
UH, MR. MR. ROBBINS, DO WE HAVE YOUR AUDIO? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU.
WHEN READY BEFORE TIME STARTS, I JUST WANT TO STATE FROM THE BEGINNING THAT I DON'T THINK I'M ON A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD.
I WILL NOT HAVE NARROWLY THE TIME THAT SUPPORTERS OF TEXAS GAS SERVICE HAVE, LET ME BEGIN COMMISSION.
I PLAYED A FORMATIVE ROLE IN CREATING AUSTIN ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. WHEN THEY BEGAN IN THE EARLY 1980S, I AM ASKING YOU TO RECOMMEND CANCELING REBATE PROGRAMS THAT TEXAS GAS SERVICE IS CONDUCTING FOR TANKLESS WATER HEATERS, FURNACES, AND GAS CLOTHES, DRYERS THAT REPLACE EXISTING GAS, CLOTHES, DRYERS.
UH, THESE MEASURES SAVE LITTLE ENERGY AND DO SO AT A COST HIGHER THAN THE PRICE OF NATURAL GAS.
IN SOME CASES WITH CLOSED DRYERS, THEY SAVE NO ENERGY AT ALL.
WHEN ALMOST ALL AUSTIN ENERGY INCENTIVE PROGRAMS SAVE ENERGY BELOW THE COST OF BUYING IT.
TEXAS GAS SERVICE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE THIS WASTE OF TAX OF RATE PAYER MONEY.
TANKLESS WATER HEATERS INSTALLED IN A RESIDENCE ARE SO EXPENSIVE AND SAVE SO LITTLE ENERGY THAT IT MAKES NO SENSE EXCEPT FOR CONVENIENCE, RIGHT? PAYERS ARE REBATING WEALTHY PEOPLE, $650 PER HOME SO THEIR KIDS CAN TAKE 30 MINUTES SHOWERS.
THIS HUGE UPFRONT COST ALONG WITH LARGE MAINTENANCE COSTS THAT ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED.
MAKE THIS AN UNSOUND CONSERVATION INVESTMENT.
THE EFFICIENT FURNACE REBATE DOES NOT MAKE ECONOMIC SENSE IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE UNITED STATES.
IT'S LIKE PUTTING AN EXPENSIVE, EFFICIENT AIR CONDITIONER IN ALASKA.
IT MAY SAVE ENERGY, BUT IT MIGHT ALSO RUN ONLY A FEW HOURS A YEAR AND REBATES FOR GAS DRYERS THAT REPLACE EXISTING GAS DRYERS ARE NOTHING BUT A MARKETING TOOL MARKETING TOOL THAT SAVES LITTLE OR NO ENERGY.
THE GAS COMPANY SHOULD BE PAYING ITS OWN MARKETING BUDGET WITH ITS INFLATED PROFITS, NOT SKIMMED CONSERVATION FUNDS.
THESE THREE PROGRAMS REBATES FOR TANKLESS, WATER HEATERS, FURNACES, AND GAS TO GAS, CLOTHES DRYER, CHANGE OUT WE'LL WASTE OVER $1 MILLION OF RATE PAYER MONEY A YEAR.
THEY WILL NEVER PAY FOR THEMSELVES WITH GAS SAVINGS.
UH, YOU HAVE RECENTLY BEEN HANDED A CONSULTANT'S REPORT MEANT TO JUSTIFY THIS CONTINUED WASTE.
HOWEVER, THIS REPORT WAS LATE LACKING IN TRANSPARENCY, LACKING IN SOME OF THE MOST BASIC DATA USE TO MAKE ITS CONCLUSIONS AND ATTEMPTS TO JUSTIFY A PROGRAM THAT IN MANY WAYS HAS FAILED AT BEST.
IT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A TARDY FIRST DRAFT IN DESPERATE NEED OF REVISION.
STATISTICS ARE, UM, INTERESTING THINGS.
HEY, GIVE ME THE RIGHT STATISTICS AND I COULD MAKE A HAMSTER ON A TREADMILL.
ALLOW ME TO PROVIDE YOU A BIT OF HISTORY.
IN 1985, THE FORMER OWNER OF TEXAS GAS SERVICE SOUTHERN UNION WAS AVERSE TO CREATING
[00:05:01]
AN ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAM.HOWEVER, THEIR FRANCHISE WAS UP FOR RENEWAL AND THE COMPANY WAS FORCED TO COMPROMISE AND OFFER CONSERVATION INCENTIVES TO OBTAIN PERMISSION, TO CONTINUE OPERATION THE COMPANY.
THEN TRIED TO TWIST SOME OF THE CONSERVATION FUNDS INTO A MARKETING EFFORT, BUT IT RAN INTO DETERMINED OPPOSITION AND RETREATED.
THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION PLAYED A PROMINENT ADVOCACY ROLE IN OBTAINING CONSERVATION FUNDING AND MAKING SURE THAT IT WAS SPENT CORRECTLY.
THOSE OF YOU NEW TO THIS MAY THINK THAT YOUR OPINION ACCOUNTS FOR A LITTLE, BUT IF RMC CONTINUES TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL WITH ITS CONCERNS YOU CAN WITH PATIENTS PREVAIL, IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE.
I'M AFRAID YOUR, YOUR OVERTIME ON THIS AGENDA ITEM.
CAN YOU GO 10 MORE SECONDS? THOUGHT I HAD SIX MINUTES.
I THOUGHT WE WERE, WE WERE DOING BOTH.
UH, STATE WHICH AGENDA ITEM YOU ARE NOW SPEAKING ON, UH, ITEMS THEY'RE THEY'RE CLOSELY RELATED THAT, THAT THEY'RE THE SAME THING.
I'M SORRY, PAUL, PLEASE CONTINUE.
I'VE GOT, UH, TWO MINUTES AND 15 SECONDS ON THE CLOCK STILL LEFT UP FROM THE SIX.
LET ME, UH, GO BACK TO WHERE I, UH, MY LAST PARAGRAPH, THE CITY'S REGULATORY OFFICE, UH, WHICH THEORETICALLY OVERSEES THIS PROGRAM HAS LITTLE DIRECT, UH, EXPERIENCE WITH ENERGY CONSERVATION POLICY.
THEY WERE GIVEN THIS ASSIGNMENT BY DEFAULT FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICE MANAGED GAS CONSERVATION PROGRAMS DIRECTLY WHEN AUSTIN ENERGY TOOK OVER MANAGEMENT OF ENERGY CONSERVATION FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICE IN 1997, THE GAS COMPANY DEMANDED A REC, A DIRECT REPAIR AND MANAGEMENT OF THE GAS CONSERVATION PROGRAM BECAUSE THEY REVIEWED, UH, THEY VIEWED AUSTIN ENERGY AS A COMPETITOR, SINCE THE REGULATORY OFFICE TOOK A SUPERVISORY ROLE, IT HAS BEEN RELUCTANT TO MAKE DECISIONS TO LIMIT WASTE OFTEN DEFERRING TO THE COMPANY'S WISHES.
MY LAST POINT IS ABOUT THE BIGGER PICTURE.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE ARGUING ABOUT CONSERVATION, BUT A NUMBER OF POLICY AND RATE ISSUES SURROUNDING GAS UTILITIES IN AUSTIN ARE BEING IGNORED.
AND ONE REASON IS BECAUSE THERE IS NO CITY COMMISSION TO HAVE OVERSIGHT OVER THEM.
THERE'S NO PLAN TO DEAL WITH TEXAS GAS SERVICES, CARBON FOOTPRINT, IT'S REGRESSIVE RATE STRUCTURE.
IT'S EXCESSIVE IN INCESSANT RATE INCREASE REQUEST IT'S SUBSIDIES FOR NEW HOOKUPS AND ASSISTANCE FOR FUNDING TO THE POOR IS SO LOW THAT IT COULD BE MISTAKEN FOR SATIRE.
I SUGGEST THAT AT YOUR NEXT MEETING, YOU CONSIDER A MOTION ASKING CITY COUNCIL TO BROADEN YOUR PURVIEW, TO STUDY AND GIVE RECOMMENDATIONS ON GAS, UTILITY RATE CASES, AND POLICY ISSUES RELATED TO GAS UTILITIES IN AUSTIN.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. ROBBINS.
AND AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE FOR INTERRUPTING YOU.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR, YOUR THOUGHTFUL REMARKS, UH, AS ALWAYS.
CAN I THANK YOU FOR THIS? THERE'S A QUESTION.
CAN, CAN I ASK A QUESTION? IS THAT ALLOWED HERE? I, I BELIEVE SO.
WE, WE CAN ASK HER PREROGATIVE MADAM.
JUST SO I'M CLEAR WHAT EXACTLY YOU'RE ASKING.
SO YOU'RE S YOU'RE SUGGESTING THAT WE ASK CITY COUNCIL TO EXPAND, UM, OUR PURVIEW OVER TEXAS GAS SERVICE.
OUR WHAT ELSE ARE YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FOR US TO DO, UM, WHAT ELSE? UH, I, I THINK, UM, IF, IF YOU'RE REFERRING TO MY SPEECH, I'M REFERRING TO FOUR THINGS, UH, TO TAKE YOUR FIRST POINT THOUGH.
UM, UH, I'M AM SUGGESTING THAT AT YOUR NEXT MEETING, YOU CONSIDER, UH, ADOPTING A MOTION TO ASK COUNCIL, TO BROADEN YOUR PURVIEW, TO LOOK AT ALL GAS UTILITY MATTERS WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THERE ARE ACTUALLY THREE GAS UTILITIES, BUT TEXAS GAS SERVICE SERVES LIKE 98% OF THE CUSTOMERS.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY THE MAIN ITEM, BUT STILL ALL GAS UTILITIES WOULD BE UNDER, UH, A BROADENED PURVIEW.
THE OTHER THINGS THAT I'M ASKING YOU TO CONSIDER ARE, UH, CANCELING THE REBATES FOR TANKLESS WATER HEATER, RESIDENTIAL REBATES
[00:10:01]
FOR TANKLESS WATER HEATERS, FURNACE CLOSED DRYERS THAT REPLACE EXISTING GAS CLOTHES DRYERS.I DID SEND SOME COLLATERAL INFORMATION IN A LETTER THAT I WROTE TO ALL OF YOU.
AND SOME OF YOU HAVE, MAY HAVE HAD TIME TO LOOK AT IT.
AND SOME OF YOU MAY HAVEN'T, BUT IT EXPLAINS IN MORE DETAIL MY RESERVATIONS ABOUT THESE THREE PROGRAMS. SO I GUESS JUST MAYBE A QUESTION FOR DANA FOR JAMIE THAT IS THAT THIS, THE IDEA OF CANCELING REBATES.
HOW DOES THAT FIT INTO OUR COMMISSIONS, UH, SCOPE? I MEAN, IS THAT SOMETHING WE HAVE OVERSIGHT OVER MY INTERPRETATION OF OUR BYLAWS, UH, REALLY IT'S RELATED.
WE HAVE OVERSIGHT OVER, UM, MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS WITH REGARD TO ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. UM, SO MY, UH, INTERPRETATION AND I'M OPEN TO PAST CHAIR OR CURRENT VICE CHAIR OR LIAISON INTERPRETATION ON THIS AS WELL, IS THAT, UM, IF WE ARE CONCERNED THAT THE REBATE PROGRAMS ARE NOT MEETING WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT FOR CONSERVATION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY, THAT WOULD BE AN ITEM THAT WE COULD DISCUSS AND TAKE ACTION ON.
UM, BUT I WOULD BE OPEN TO THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS THOUGHTS ON THAT AS WELL.
YEAH, I THINK CURRENTLY THAT IS WHAT'S UNDER OUR PURVIEW IS TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS AS THEY RELATE TO THE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. SO YES, ALL THE INCENTIVES ARE CURRENTLY IN OUR PURVIEW.
THE OTHER THING THAT PAUL IS TALKING ABOUT IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD DEFINITELY BE AN EXPANSION EXPANSION.
UM, I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT CABAN AND GOOD FOR US TO ALL UNDERSTAND, UM, UH, BECAUSE OUR CURRENT PURVIEW IS LIMITED TO THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION PROGRAMS WITH REGARD TO THE GAS UTILITY, UM, YOU KNOW, OVERSIGHT OF, UH, RATES WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT EXPANSION OF OUR, OUR, OUR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS A COMMISSION.
UM, BUT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DISCUSS IF THIS COMMISSION, UH, FEELS WHAT'S WITHIN OUR PURVIEW PURVIEW TO, UH, TO TAKE ACTION, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE, UH, QUARTERLY UPDATES FROM TEXAS GAS SERVICE REGARDING THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM AND, UH, THE, UH, A PROGRAM REVIEW REPORT, UH, ON OUR AGENDA.
UM, I THINK I'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT WE SUSPEND DISCUSSION ON THOSE TWO ITEMS UNTIL AFTER THOSE TWO PRESENTATIONS.
UM, AND WE CAN MOVE ON WITH STAFF PRESENTATIONS, UH, FOR, UH, FOR THIS MEETING.
ANY OTHER, HELLO? HELLO, PAUL.
UH, OH, LOOK, I KNOW Y'ALL NEED TO MOVE ON.
SO I'M GOING TO MAKE THIS OFFER.
UH, IF YOU ALL NEED TO ASK ME MORE QUESTIONS, I'LL STAY HERE AT MY DESK AND, UM, YOU CAN CALL IN IF NEED BE.
AND ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PREPARED REMARKS AND THE, ALL OF THE WORK AND EFFORT THAT WENT INTO THE MATERIALS THAT YOU, YOU SHARED WITH US.
[1. Approve minutes of the October 20, 2020 Meeting of Resource Management Commission.]
SO NOW LET'S PLEASE, UH, MOVE ON TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE OCTOBER 20TH MEETING.UM, THESE MATERIALS WERE, UH, THE MINUTES WERE DISTRIBUTED WITH MATERIALS THAT JAMIE SENT OUT IN PREPARATION FOR THIS MEETING.
UH, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GENTLEMEN, DO I HAVE A SECOND, REBECCA? THANK YOU, REBECCA.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AN EDIT.
UM, YEAH, JUST, UM, I DON'T KNOW, TWO OR, WELL, I GUESS MAYBE IT MAKES SENSE TO PUT IT IN ITEM FOUR.
UM, I KNOW WE KIND OF LIKE TOOK ITEM TWO AND FOUR TOGETHER, SO IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER, BUT IT DOES REFLECT THAT I REQUESTED INFORMATION ABOUT NEEDED STAFF, BUT I WOULD LIKE IT TO ALSO REFLECT THAT WE WERE TOLD THAT WE WOULD GET THAT INFORMATION, UH, SO NOTED BY SARAH.
SO DANA I'LL, I'LL AMEND MY, UH, MY EMOTION, IF I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE RIGHT ROBERT'S RULES THING IS, BUT, UH, I'LL AMEND IT TO, UH, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS, UM, MODIFIED BY COMMISSIONER WHITE
[00:15:06]
AND REBECCA, CAN WE STILL HAVE YOUR SECOND, UH, FOR THE MINUTES AS MODIFIED, UH, BY COMMISSIONER WHITE? YES.I'LL MAKE SURE THAT I ASKED HER EDITS BEFORE I, UH, QUESTION.
[2. Presentation on Austin Energy Weatherization Programs for Limited Income Customers.]
THIS MOVE ON TO ITEM TWO ON THE AGENDA, UM, WHICH IS A PRESENTATION FROM AUSTIN ENERGY WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS FOR LIMITED INCOME CUSTOMERS.YES, WE SHOULD HAVE, UM, DEBBIE KIMBERLEY AND HER STAFF.
UH, I KNOW TERRY MOORE IS ON AND THEN, UH, DO WE HAVE SARAH? IS SHE ON THERE? SARAH AND ALSO AMANDA GARCIA.
AND IF, UM, CITY HALL COULD BRING UP THE SLIDE DECK FOR THAT PRESENTATION, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
THAT'S IT? THAT'S IT NOT MY APOLOGIES.
I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN, I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU FOR AWHILE.
UH, MY STAFF AND I ARE PLEASED TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH YOU TODAY ON ENHANCEMENTS TO OUR SINGLE AND MULTIFAMILY WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS. AS JAMIE MENTIONED, JOINING ME TODAY IS SARAH SATURDAY, CHATTER G.
SHE IS OUR NEW DIRECTOR OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES.
SARAH JOINED US IN OCTOBER AND REPLACES DENISE KEEN TO RETURN TO HER HOME STATE OF NEBRASKA.
SARAH IS AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER AND SHE PREVIOUSLY WORKED FOR MORE THAN 12 YEARS AT NV ENERGY.
UM, IN NEVADA WHERE SHE MOST RECENTLY WAS THE DIRECTOR OF THE ENERGY RENEWABLE PROGRAMS. SHE ALSO MANAGED NB ENERGY AS DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS SERVING IN IT AND CUSTOMER CARE MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS.
SO SHE BRINGS A REALLY GREAT COMPLIMENT OF SKILLS FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT POSITION AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
CO-PRESENTING WITH ME TODAY, OR TERRY MOORE MANAGER OF AUSTIN, ENERGY'S RESIDENTIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES GROUP, AND MANUEL MANNY GARZA MANAGER OF COMMERCIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES.
SO OUR AGENDA TODAY, WE'LL START AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF OUR WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS, WHICH I WILL TEE UP AS WELL AS THE UNIQUE CHALLENGES THAT AUSTIN ENERGY FACED THIS YEAR IN PARTICULAR, AS A RESULT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THAT WILL THEN BE FOLLOWED BY A DEEPER DISCUSSION OF OUR PROGRAMS THAT ARE DESIGNED FOR AUSTIN ENERGY AND LIMITED INCOME CUSTOMERS WHO LIVE IN SINGLE FAMILY AND MULTIFAMILY.
YOU ALL KNOW, AND PAUL JUST REFERENCED HIS LONG ASSOCIATION WITH OUR VARIOUS PROGRAMS. AUSTIN ENERGY HAS OFFERED WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS TO OUR CUSTOMERS FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS, AND FRANKLY, IN THE UTILITY INDUSTRY, THAT'S A PRETTY RARE THING.
UM, OVER THE PERIOD OF TIME, SINCE WE STARTED OFFERING WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS WOULD HAVE OTHERIZED OVER 20,000 UNIQUE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
AND SOMETIMES YOU'LL GO BACK EVERY 10 YEARS AND WEATHERIZE THOSE SAME HOMES, AS WELL AS OVER 12,000 APARTMENTS.
WEATHERIZED AT NO COST TO THE CUSTOMER OR THE OWNER OF THOSE, UH, PHARMACISTS, UH, IN OUR STANDARD PROGRAM, WHICH HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
WE'VE ALSO, WEATHERIZED 137,000 PART, UH, APARTMENTS IN THAT PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S BEEN IN PLACE, AS I SAID, FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND MULTIFAMILY INCOME QUALIFIED PROGRAM HAS BEEN OPERATING IN PILOT MODE.
AND WE'RE HAPPY TO SAY WE NOW BELIEVE IT IS BEYOND THE PILOT AND INTO A STANDARD OFFERING.
I WANTED TO ALSO ADD IN LIGHT OF THE WORK THAT SOME OF YOU HAVE DONE ON THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AS WELL AS YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE RESOURCE PLAN WORKING GROUP, THAT OUR EFFORTS IN THESE PROGRAMS HAS TO FOCUS ON CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND INCLUSION IN ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS. AND THESE AREN'T THE ONLY PROGRAMS THAT WE OFFER TO CUSTOMERS THAT FALL WITHIN THOSE CATEGORIES OF LIMITED INCOME AND NOTE THAT I'M USING THAT VERY INTENTIONALLY.
THESE CUSTOMERS DO NOT LIKE TO BE REFERRED TO AS LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS.
THEY PREFER TO BE RECOGNIZED WITH LIMITED INCOME CUSTOMERS, AND WE OFFER OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE RESPONSIVE TO THOSE CUSTOMERS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE OFFERED DISCOUNTS ON OVER 187,000 PRODUCTS AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS AROUND OUR SERVICE TERRITORY, 70 OF THEM TO BE EXACT.
[00:20:01]
THINGS SUCH AS LIGHTING WINDOW, AIR CONDITIONERS AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN BETWEEN A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, WE LAUNCHED A PROGRAM TOTALLY DIRECTED AT TITLE ONE STUDENTS WHO ARE IN GRADE SIX AND A LOCAL SCHOOLS, AND WE'VE DISTRIBUTED 4,800 KIDS JUST IN THE LAST YEAR TO THE STUDENTS.WE ALSO JUST IN THE LAST YEAR, WHETHER I'VE ALMOST 1400 SMART HOUSING UNITS AS PART OF OUR, UM, OR RATED THEM RATHER AS PART OF OUR GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, THESE ARE BOTH MULTIFAMILY AS WELL AS SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
SO THAT'S JUST A ONE-YEAR SNAPSHOT.
WE OFFER ENERGY ALERTS, FREE ENERGY ALERTS THROUGH OUR SMART BUILDING APP AND AS QAEDA AND ALL OF YOU KNOW, VERY WELL.
WE ALL ALSO OFFER SOLAR FOR LIMITED INCOME CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT IN PREVIOUS PRESENTATIONS.
YOU LOOK AT THE MAP ON THE RIGHT.
YOU CAN SEE A MAP OF OUR SERVICE TERRITORY AND THE FIRST LAYER IT'S SHADED IN BLUE AND THE DARKER, THE BLUE SHADING, THE GREATER, THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS THAT RECEIVE DISCOUNTS OF 10% BILL DISCOUNT FROM OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND LAYERED ON TOP OF THAT, OUR CIRCLES AND THOSE CIRCLES DON'T REPRESENT A SINGLE PREMISE WITH A LARGER CIRCUIT CIRCLE, CHOSE GREATER DENSITY.
THOSE ARE WHETHER I SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AND KIND OF HIDDEN UNDERNEATH THOSE ARE LARGE STARS THAT SHOW WEATHERIZED MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES.
AND SO THIS THOUGH WE CALL IT THE JACKSON POLLOCK MAP, AND MY GROUP IS INTENDED TO SPEAK TO JUST NOT ONLY WHERE WE SEE THE PREVALENCE OF OUR OFFERINGS, BUT AS WELL, UM, THE DENSITY IN TERMS OF EACH ONE OF THOSE AUTHENTIC OFFERING.
SO YOU CAN SEE KIND OF GENERICALLY, THEY KIND OF SPAN THE I FIVE CORRIDOR AND THEN INCREASINGLY IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF OUR SERVICE, NEXT SLIDE, ALL RIGHT, THE REALIZATION PROGRAMS HAVE EVOLVED OVER TIME.
IN FACT, WHEN WE FIRST LAUNCHED THIS PROGRAM ALMOST 40 YEARS AGO, THE ONLY THING THAT WE REALLY OFFERED WAS ATTIC INSULATION.
AND SO IT HAS EVOLVED OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS.
AND SO THESE SQUARES ON THIS CHART REPRESENT ALL OF THE MEASURES THAT ARE CURRENTLY INCLUDED.
UM, THE ONLY EXCEPTION I WOULD OFFER HERE IS THAT, UM, BACK DURING THE ERA GRANT, UM, THIS WAS THE, UM, STIMULUS GRANTS.
WE DID OFFER APPLIANCES AND THAT WAS PROBLEMATIC.
ACTUALLY, WE WENT IN AND WE RETROFITTED PROPERTIES, UM, FOR, UM, AIR CONDITIONING AND REFRIGERATORS.
IT CAUSED NO END TO PROBLEMS. IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT WE ACTUALLY SET ABOUT DOING, BUT WE DO REBATE ON ENERGY STAR APPLIANCES, CERTAINLY AS PART OF THAT, UH, SPUR PROGRAM, THOSE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH UTILITIES AND RETAILERS, WE DON'T DO THIS ALONE.
WE PARTNER WITH NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, THE HOME REPAIR COALITION.
WE ALSO PARTNER WITH HAKA, UM, AS WELL AS FAMILY ELDER CARE AND NUMEROUS, NUMEROUS SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES AND EXTENDING THE REACH OF A PROGRAM IN THE CASE OF THE SINGLE FAMILY PROGRAM, WHICH TOTAL SUM $2.3 MILLION A YEAR.
AND IN THE CASE OF OUR MULTIFAMILY PROGRAM, UM, FOR THE WEATHERIZATION ONLY IN EXCESS, SLIGHTLY IN EXCESS, A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.
AND NOT TO END MY SEGMENT ON THE DEBBIE DOWNER NOTE, BUT I MEAN, THIS WILL SERIOUSLY, OUR PROGRAMS WERE IMPACTED AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
AND WE WERE ESSENTIALLY NOT IN THE MARKET FOR A THIRD OF THE YEAR IN THE MIDDLE OF MARCH WHEN SHELTER IN PLACE ORDERS WERE PUT INTO EFFECT BY THE GOVERNOR.
AND CERTAINLY BY THE CITY, OUR PROGRAM SHUT DOWN, WE DID STARTING IN THE MONTH OF MAY CONDUCT EXTERNAL WORK IN PARTICULAR ON MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES AND THEN STARTING IN JULY, UM, ON VACANT APARTMENT UNITS.
BUT RECALL DURING THOSE EARLY DAYS, WE DIDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO PPE.
THAT MEANT THAT OUR CONTRACTORS WEREN'T PROTECTED OUR STAFF WASN'T PROTECTED AND OUR CUSTOMERS WEREN'T PROTECTED.
AND THIS REQUIRES SOME PRESENCE INSIDE A HOME, OBVIOUSLY TO WEATHERIZE A HOME MORE THAN JUST A WORD IN OUR MISSION, STATE STATEMENT, HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR CUSTOMERS, OUR EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS ARE ESSENTIAL.
I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT DUE TO THE EARLY RESULTS, UM, IN THE FIRST PART OF 2020, OR MULTIFAMILY FINISHED AHEAD OF BUDGET IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF UNITS WEATHERIZED AS WELL AS DOLLAR SPENT.
BUT WE TOOK THAT DOWNTIME TO FOCUS ON PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS, ORDERING PPE, UPDATING OUR FIELD PROCEDURES, TRANSITIONING LARGELY TO VIRTUAL INSPECTIONS, WHICH HAD THE BENEFIT OF BEING ABLE TO DO MORE WHILE REDUCING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
[00:25:02]
AND ARE ON A BETTER COURSE NOW TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO PROCEED, OBVIOUSLY, WHILE ALWAYS BEING MINDFUL OF THE STAGES THAT WE'RE AT RELATIVE TO THE PANDEMIC.SO THAT CONCLUDES MY INTRO TO THIS TOPIC.
AND IF THERE AREN'T ANY QUESTIONS, I WOULD TURN IT OVER TO TERRY MOORE TO TALK ABOUT THE SINGLE FAMILY PROGRAM, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER WHITE.
UM, THANKS FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND FOR THE WORK THAT YOU, YOUR TEAM HAS BEEN DOING.
UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, I GUESS, STARTING AT THE END HERE, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE VIRTUAL INSPECTIONS, LIKE, DOES THAT ACTUALLY INCLUDE THE HOMEOWNER OR OCCUPANT SOMEBODY GOING AROUND WITH A CAMERA OR WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? A VIRTUAL INSPECTION? SO IT CAN INCLUDE EITHER THE HOMEOWNER OR THE CONTRACTOR IN THE ATTIC WITH A TELEPHONE CONDUCTING A FACE-TIME INSPECTION.
THERE ARE LIMITED INSTANCES WHERE WE WOULD GO INTO A PROPERTY TO CONDUCT LIFE SAFETY INSPECTIONS THAT ARE REALLY BEST DONE IN PERSON.
AND IN THAT CASE, WE ENSURE PROPER SOCIAL DISTANCING, OBVIOUSLY, UM, OUR FOLKS WEAR PPE AND THEY, THEY CONSCIOUSLY LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF TIME IN THE HOME AND ASK QUESTIONS OF, UH, THE, UM, RESIDENTS IN TERMS OF THE COVID SCREENING QUESTIONS THAT YOU WOULD NORMALLY SEE.
UM, IT'S PROVEN TO BE QUITE, UM, FRANKLY, UH, QUITE BENEFICIAL AS I SAY, IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO INSPECT MORE HOMES IN LESS TIME.
UM, AND I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT THERE IS THAT, THAT, THAT THE INSPECTOR DOES ACTUALLY GET TO SEE THROUGH A CAMERA, WHAT THEY'RE INSPECTING.
GLAD THAT WE'RE KEEPING PEOPLE SAFE.
UM, AND THEN I GUESS JUST, UH, GOING BACK TO YOUR PREVIOUS SLIDE, UH, YOU MENTIONED APPLIANCES, SO I JUST WAS WONDERING, UM, IF THERE ARE ANY APPLIANCE UPGRADES HAPPENING AT THE TIME AT THIS CURRENT TIME, AND, UM, WHAT THE, UM, MAIN HURDLES WERE WHEN YOU WERE DOING MORE APPLIANCE REPLACEMENT.
I'M HAPPY TO GIVE YOU A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW BECAUSE AT THE TIME THAT WAS DONE DURING THE RECEIPT OF OVER $9 MILLION IN OUR GRANTS, UM, WE WERE SEEING THE AVERAGE TIME TO WEATHERIZE A HOME, UM, EQUALLY IN ROUGHLY 165 DAYS BECAUSE A CONTRACTOR WOULD GO INTO A HOME WOULD HAVE TO TRY TO REPLACE DUCT WORK IN SPACES THAT, UM, FRANKLY HAD DIFFICULTY IN ACCOMMODATING THE DUCT WORK.
UM, WE HAD CHALLENGES AND IN TERMS OF SOME HOMES THAT MAYBE HADN'T REALLY USED AIR CONDITIONING, BUT HAD RELIED MORE ON, UM, EVAPORATIVE COOLING WINDOW UNITS AND THE, LIKE, IT WAS VERY COSTLY.
WE HAD CONTRACTORS INSTALLING PLUMBING FIXTURES WHERE THAT REALLY WASN'T IN THEIR WHEELHOUSE.
UM, AND IT WAS EXTRAORDINARILY COSTLY.
SO WE WERE SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY TO NOT WEATHERIZE VERY MANY HOMES.
UM, NOW WHAT WE DO IS IN THE CASE OF OUR SPUR PROGRAM, COMMISSIONER WILL OFFER POINT OF SALE DISCOUNTS ON THINGS SUCH AS ENERGY STAR, WINDOW UNITS, AND OTHER APPLIANCES THAT YOU COULD PURCHASE, FOR EXAMPLE, IN A HOME DEPOT, A WALMART AND THE LIKE, OKAY, THAT'S HELPFUL.
UM, IN PART OF WHY I'M ASKING IS, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, AS PART OF THE, THE CLIMATE PLAN UPDATE, WHICH HOPEFULLY WILL BE APPROVED SOON, THERE IS, YOU KNOW, SOME EMPHASIS ON, UM, ELECTRIFICATION OF BUILDINGS, YOU KNOW, INCLUDING RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS AND, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THAT EVER IS DONE IN AN EQUITABLE WAY IS DEFINITELY A TOP PRIORITY.
AND, UM, SO I'M JUST THINKING FORWARD TO THOSE CONVERSATIONS THAT I THINK WILL BE UPCOMING IN ABOUT HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT LOWER INCOME LIMITED INCOME, UH, CUSTOMERS ARE ABLE TO ACCESS THOSE PROGRAMS THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR CONVERSION TO ELECTRIC APPLIANCES.
UM, I KNOW THAT TERRY WARREN IS GOING TO BE REALLY HAPPY TO TAKE THAT ON BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE DONE WITH OUR SINGLE FAMILY WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM IS TO PROVIDE CUSTOMERS WITH REALLY LOW VIRTUALLY 0% INTEREST, UH, UH, LOANS FOR, UM, ENERGY STAR AC UNITS.
AND SO THAT IS SOMETHING I WOULD INVITE YOU TO, UM, HAVE HIM CHAT ABOUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS ONE OF OUR GREAT NEW FEATURES IN OUR PROGRAM, BECAUSE WE REALIZED THAT EVERYBODY TO YOUR VERY POINT SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE PROGRAMS. AND TERRY'S GOT THAT, UM, COVERED
[00:30:01]
ON HIS SLIDES UPCOMING.UM, WELL MAYBE HE'LL BE THE ONE TO ANSWER THIS, BUT IS THAT LIKE, WOULD THAT APPLY TO LIKE SAY HEAT PUMPS AS WELL FOR HOT WATER AND CONDITIONED SPACE CONDITIONING? I'LL LET TERRY ANSWER THAT.
UM, AS DEBBIE MENTIONED FROM AN EARLIER SLIDE, THE, THE RESIDENTIAL WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM WAS LAUNCHED OVER 38 YEARS AGO.
SO I, I CAN MAKE A COUPLE OF POINTS.
UM, BEFORE WE GET TO THE MEAT OF THE SLIDE, UH, IN THE LAST 30 YEARS, 38 YEARS, IT'S REALLY GROWN AND EVOLVED FROM A, A SINGLE MEASURE PROGRAM.
LIKE SHE SAID, WHICH INSTALLED ATTIC INSULATION TO WHERE IT IS NOW IS A COMPREHENSIVE WHOLE HOUSE PROGRAM.
VERY SIMILAR TO OUR HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STAR PROGRAM AND THIS, THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM NOW ASSESSES EACH HALL AND DEVELOPS A PROJECT FOR THAT HOME BASED ON THE SPECIFIC ENERGY NEEDS THAT IT HAS.
IN ADDITION, THE MITCHELL WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS BECOME PART OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S ENERGY STAR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE, UM, WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.
SO ALONG WITH OUR HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STAR PROGRAM, THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY BEING NAMED PARTNER OF THE YEAR FOR SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, I'VE BEEN WITH YOU, IT'S PROBABLY ABOUT 14 YEARS.
AND I THINK I CAN THINK OF MAYBE ONE YEAR THAT, THAT WE DID NOT, UH, DID NOT GET, SO IT'S REALLY GROWN AND IT'S REALLY EXPANDED TO MULTIPLE MEASURES.
SO HOW DO CUSTOMERS QUALIFY FOR THIS PROGRAM? UH, THE HOME THAT WE HAVE BEEN MUST BE A 2,500 SQUARE FEET OR LESS, UH, IT MUST HAVE A VALUE WITHOUT LAND OF $300,000 OR LESS.
IT MUST BE OLDER THAN 10 YEARS, A SINGLE FAMILY HOME, A DUPLEX TRIPLEX, FOURPLEX, A CONDO OR A MOBILE HOME, UM, CUSTOMERS WHO RENT AND OWNERS CAN BOTH QUALIFY FOR THE PROGRAM.
JUST AS A SIDE NOTE, UH, 60% OF OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS, UH, ARE RENTERS.
SO IF THEY QUALIFY IN THE ABOVE CRITERIA, THEY GET UP TO $7,500 IN FREE HOME IMPROVEMENTS SLIDE, PLEASE.
I PROGRAM TEAM WHO'S BEEN WORKING ON ENHANCEMENTS IN ORDER TO REMOVE BARRIERS AND INCREASE THE ELIGIBILITY FOR THIS PROGRAM.
UH, ENHANCED LGBT EQUALS INCREASED INCLUSION ENHANCEMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE SO FAR FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR INCLUDE RAISING THE INCOME QUALIFICATION THRESHOLD.
UM, INITIALLY LAST YEAR, UH, IN YEARS BEFORE AT 200% FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL, WHICH IS A NATIONAL STANDARD, UH, AT 200% FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR BECOMES $52,400.
UH, WE HAVE MOVED NOW TO, UH, MEET THE FAMILY INCOME, UH, 80% OF THAT LEVEL, WHICH IS A LOCAL STANDARD THAT ACTUALLY TAKES INTO, INTO CONSIDERATION.
NOW THE COST OF LIVING IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THE INCOME, UH, PREAMBLING A FOUR 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME IS $78,100.
SO BY MAKING THIS ENHANCEMENT, WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE RAISED, UH, OF INCOME THAT A CUSTOMER CAN, CAN, CAN HAVE, UH, BY OVER $25,000 AND STILL QUALIFY FOR THE PROGRAM.
BUT WE'VE ALSO MODIFIED APPLICATION.
AND WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN THE LAST YEAR OR TWO TALKING TO OUR CUSTOMERS PRIMARILY, UH, THROUGH FOCUS GROUPS, UH, TRYING TO, TO LISTEN TO THE THINGS THAT THEY SAID ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND MAYBE BARRIERS THAT THEY HAD TO PARTICIPATE IN.
UH, ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES THEY HAD WAS THE APPLICATION AND, UH, THEY LISTED THE APPLICATION WAS TOO LONG, UH, SORT OF DAUNTING AND CONFUSING A LOT OF TIMES.
SO WE TOOK A REDUCED OUR MULTI PAGE APPLICATIONS TO JUST ONE PAGE.
ADDITIONALLY, WE NO LONGER REQUIRED CUSTOMERS TO SUBMIT INCOME DOCUMENTS, SUCH AS TAX RETURNS, UH, W2 FORMS, CHECK STUBS.
NOW CUSTOMERS CAN SELF ATTEST THEIR INCOME ON THE ONE PAGE APPLICATION.
AND LASTLY, WE MAPPED OUT OUR AC REBATE AND LOAN PROGRAM, WHICH ALLOWS CUSTOMERS TO PURCHASE A NEW, UH, ENERGY EFFICIENT, UH, AC SYSTEM VIA A LOAN THROUGH OUR LENDING PARTNER.
A VELOCITY CREDIT CUSTOMER CAN BORROW UP TO $10,000 TO INSTALL HIGH EFFICIENCY CAC SYSTEM.
AND IF THEY NEED A CREDIT SCORE, FIVE 50 OR BEDROOM, WE'VE LOWERED THAT FROM 600 TO FIVE 50 FOR THIS YEAR.
UH, AND THEN THEY GET UP TO A $950 REBATE, DEPENDING ON YOU CAN SEE OF THE EQUIPMENT, A 0% INTEREST RATE AND A LOAN TERM OF UP TO 120 MONTHS.
[00:35:03]
SO WHAT ARE THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN FROM THE ENHANCEMENTS THAT WE'VE PUT IN PLACE FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR? I THINK RAISING THE BUILDING LEVEL HAS MADE A HUGE IMPACT ON THE PROGRAM AND JUST OVER A MONTH OR SO BY COMPARISON, LAST FISCAL YEAR, OUR GOAL WAS TO WHETHER I WAS 527 HOLES, AND WE WERE ABLE TO WEATHERIZE CERTAIN 46 HOMES RECEIVED ONLY 95 APPLICATIONS THE ENTIRE YEAR.AND WE BELIEVE THAT THESE ENHANCEMENTS ARE GOING TO DRAMATICALLY CHANGE THAT WE DIDN'T RECEIVE ANY APPLICATIONS FOR THE AC REBATE, THE LOAN PROGRAM FOR THE YEAR.
UH, IN CONTRAST SO FAR IN
AND OVER A MONTH, WE CONTINUE TO RECEIVE ONE TO TWO APPLICATIONS A DAY FROM THAT, AND WE'VE ALREADY RECEIVED APPLICATIONS FOR THE AC AC REBATE AND LOAN PROGRAM.
AND EVEN MORE INTEREST HAS BEEN GENERATED SINCE THEN.
SO THE ENHANCEMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE TO THIS PROGRAM HAVE ALREADY MADE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, THIS IS EMMANUEL MANUAL GARZA.
UH, I MANAGE THE COMMERCIAL MULTI-FAMILY AND SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM AND AUSTIN ENERGY.
I'M GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR MULTIFAMILY INCOME QUALIFIED PROGRAM.
SO WHEN I THINK ABOUT OUR INCOME QUALIFIED PROGRAM, REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE FOR US, SO WE HAVE SOME PROGRAM PILLARS WE THINK ABOUT AND THAT'S MARKET WHAT THEY WANT BUNDLE, WHAT THEY NEED AND FOCUS ON THE INTENT, RIGHT? SO MARKET WHAT THEY WANT, WHAT IS THAT? SO REALLY FOR US, YOU KNOW, IN THE MULTI-FAMILY PROGRAM, THERE'S A SPLIT INCENTIVE.
THE OWNER MAKES A DECISION, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO DO SOMETHING TO THEIR UNIT, YOU KNOW, THEIR PROPERTY, BUT THE BENEFIT REALLY LIES IN THE TENANT.
AND SO, SO HOW DO YOU BRIDGE THAT SPLIT INCENTIVE GAP? AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN AT THE SMART THERMOSTAT IS, IS EFFECTIVELY THAT BRIDGE.
SO THE SMART THERMOSTATS, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK ONE OF OUR CONTRACTORS PUT IT THE BEST.
IT'S REALLY THE GRANITE COUNTERTOPS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
SO PROPERTY IS ABLE TO, TO MARKET THE SMART THERMOSTAT AS AN AMENITY, BUT THE TENANT GETS THE BENEFIT.
AND SO I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT REALLY FOR US IS, HAS BEEN A REALLY BIG WIN, UM, BECAUSE IT'S REALLY DRIVEN PARTICIPATION, BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S PASSIVE.
SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE INTERACT WITH ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND SO THE EDUCATION AND THE, UM, THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE INTERACTION SHOULD BE SEAMLESS.
AND SO WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK AROUND EDUCATION FOR THIS MARKET.
SO WHEN WE GO TO A PROPERTY, WE TAKE A WORKING DEMO OF THREE WORKING THERMOSTATS THAT WE OFFER IN OUR PROGRAM, SO THAT THE PROPERTY, THE LEASING OFFICE AND MAINTENANCE PEOPLE, THEY GET, THEY GET A HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE AND THEY GET TO DECIDE WHICH, UH, IS A PROPER THERMOSTAT FOR THEM.
ONCE THEY MAKE THAT DECISION, WE PUT A S A WORKING THERMOSTAT IN THE LEASING OFFICE THAT CONTROLS A UNIT FOR THE LEASING OFFICE, THAT THEY CAN ENGAGE AND BETTER LEARN HOW TO, TO OPERATE THE THERMOSTAT.
WE ALSO LEAVE A WORKING MODEL THAT IS IN THE LEASING OFFICE.
I CAN TRAIN NEW TENANTS AND THE TENANTS HAVE ISSUES WITH THE THERMOSTAT.
THEY CAN ACTUALLY GET A HANDS-ON IN THE LEASING OFFICE EXPERIENCE.
WE ACTUALLY EVEN PUT, UH, THERMOSTAT HANGERS ON THE THERMOSTATS THEMSELVES TO GIVE THE CUSTOMER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO USE IT IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH, UM, BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING THAT THEY INTERACT WITH THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THAT NEEDS TO BE SEAMLESS BECAUSE IT'S A REFLECTION OF OUR PROGRAM, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, AND THEN BUNDLE WHAT THEY NEED.
SO FOR US, YOU KNOW, THIS IS LIKE A, WE'RE CREATING THAT WIN-WIN RIGHT.
SO WE LEAVE WITH DESSERT AND THAT'S REALLY THE THERMOSTATS, YOU KNOW, AND WE'RE NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT SMART STRIPS AND HVAC TUNE-UPS, THEY ATTRACT, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY A MAINTENANCE PLATE FOR THE PROPERTIES.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFIT FOR THEM.
IT ALSO BENEFITS THE CUSTOMER, BUT WE ALSO MAKE SURE THAT THEY EAT THEIR VEGETABLES.
AND THAT'S THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, TO GET THE, THE DESSERT, THEY HAVE TO EAT THE VEGETABLES, THEY BUNDLED THEM TOGETHER AND ASKED THAT THEY DO ALL RE MEASURES THAT THEY ACTUALLY QUALIFY FOR.
SO IT'S THINGS LIKE INSULATION, SOLAR SCREENS, UH, OR IN OUR PROGRAM, WE CALL IT PLAN ON REMEDIATION OR DUCT SEAL, UM, AND THEN LIGHTING.
SO THE LESS TANGIBLE ITEMS OTHER THAN LIGHTING, OF COURSE, UH, BUT THEN WE'RE KIND OF OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND.
UM, SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO PUSH A BUNDLED APPROACH SO THAT WE COULD BE MORE HOLISTIC IN OUR APPROACH.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, AND THEN FOCUSING ON THE INTENT.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, COULDN'T, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE WHAT TERRY WOULD TALK ABOUT IN HIS PROGRAM CONTINUED TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE, THINK ABOUT HOW WE BROADEN OUR REACH, YOU KNOW, GET SOME MORE CUSTOMERS.
WE CREATE NEW OFFERINGS, YOU KNOW, WE START TO REALLY DRIVE FOR INCLUSION AND THEN IMPACT THE ENERGY BURDEN.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE CUSTOMER IS WHAT
[00:40:01]
IS IMPORTANT HERE.AND SO REALLY DRIVING TO IMPACT THAT ENERGY BURDEN FOR CUSTOMER.
AND THEN BEYOND THAT CONSIDER THOSE NON-ENERGY BENEFITS.
SO INDOOR AIR QUALITY, COMFORT, CONVENIENCE CONTROL, THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THAT THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY ONLY ENERGY PLAYS AND THEN BEING INTENTIONAL ABOUT REACH.
SO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT IS WHEN WE OFFER SMART THERMOSTATS INTO YOUR TARGET INCOME QUALIFIED PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, DOES THE CONVERSION TO DR IS NOT AS GREAT, BUT IN REALITY, IT'S A, IT'S AN ENERGY PLAY THAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO GIVE PEOPLE, UH, THINGS THAT NECESSARILY THEY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN OFFERED IN THE PAST.
AND WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT THAT AND BUILD IT, AND THEY WILL COME, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S IMPORTANT HERE IS WIFI.
SO, YOU KNOW, CAN WE USE THIS AS A LEVER TO KIND OF SPUR PROPERTIES TO PROVIDE, UH, PROPERTY WIDE WIFI, AND NOW THAT THEY OFFER SMART THERMOSTATS, WOULD THEY PROVIDE PROPERTY WIDE WIFI SO THAT THEY CAN ENABLE THE CONTROL OF THOSE NUMBER STATS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, AND THEN THE PANDEMIC HIT AND THEN, YOU KNOW, UH, WIFI IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT.
AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO DRIVE, YOU KNOW, UH, NON-ENERGY BENEFITS TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO, AND LIKE I SAID, JUST REMEMBER THE INTENT AND THAT'S OUR CUSTOMER, RIGHT.
SO MAKE SURE THAT WE DELIVER WHAT THE CUSTOMER NEEDS.
SO HOW DO WE DO IT THIS YEAR? UM, SO FROM OUR MEGAWATT GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE, WE ONLY HIT 80% OF OUR MEGALONG GOAL, BUT WE OVERSPEND, WE SPENT BY OVERSPENDING BY 4%.
UM, BUT LIKE I SAID, WE'RE REALLY FOCUSING ON THE CUSTOMER AND THE ENERGY BURDEN AND THAT'S REALLY A KILOWATT HOUR PLATE OR MAKING SURE THAT WE AFFECT THE CUSTOMER'S BILL.
UM, AND SO WE'VE SACRIFICED A LITTLE BIT OF MEGAWATTS TO REALLY DRIVE, UH, TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE BENEFITING THE CUSTOMER DIRECTLY.
UM, AND ONE OTHER NOTE IS THAT OUR, OUR BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR, IT WAS JUST A LITTLE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE $1.8 MILLION IN, UM, MULTI-FAMILY INCOME QUALIFY NEXT YEAR.
UM, BUT I THINK WE CAN GET THERE.
SO FISCAL FISCAL YEAR 19 VERSUS FISCAL YEAR 20.
SO THE NUMBER OF INCOME QUALIFIED 10 YEARS RESERVE LAST, LAST YEAR IN FY 19, UH, WAS JUST OVER 1700 AND A UNITS.
AND FYI 20, WE SERVED OVER 4,700 TENANT UNITS, SIGNIFICANT INCREASE, BUT WHEN I TALKED ABOUT BUNDLE, WHAT THEY NEED, THE IMPORTANT THING HERE IS THAT WE DIDN'T PROVIDE JUST ONE MEASURE BEFORE AND FYI 19 WORDS, YOU KNOW, OUR AVERAGE MEASURES PER ENROLLMENT WAS JUST OVER ONE, BUT THIS YEAR IT'S JUST SHY OF THREE.
AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THAT IMPACTS RELATED TO THE PANDEMIC WHERE WE HAD TO DO EXTERNAL, UH, WORK ONLY WHERE WE HAD TO LIMIT NUMBER OF MEASURES THAT WE COULD DO PER ENROLLMENT.
UH, WE COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN AT THREE.
UM, SO WE'RE REALLY STRIVING TO BE MORE HOLISTIC IN THIS PROGRAM.
UM, THE OTHER IMPORTANT THING HERE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT WHAT I TELL YOU, BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW CONTRACTORS VIEW THE PROGRAM.
AND I THINK DOUBLING OUR CONTRACTOR BASE FROM SIX TO 12 SPEAKS VOLUMES IN TERMS OF HOW ATTRACTIVE THIS PROGRAM IS, IT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN SELL.
THEY'RE STARTING TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS TYPE OF WORK, UH, YOU KNOW, BUT I, I WANNA, YOU KNOW, GIVE THE COMMISSION A KUDOS HERE, UH, ALONG WITH CITY COUNCIL, UH, THE SUPPORT THAT YOU GUYS GAVE US WITH THE BLANKET AUTHORITY REALLY ENABLED US TO DO THIS TYPE OF THING.
SO, YOU KNOW, I CAN DO A LOT OF WORK AROUND THESE TYPES OF THINGS.
THINGS THAT I CONTROL ARE REALLY, YOU KNOW, THE KEY FOR US WAS UNLOCKING BLANKET AUTHORITY APPROVAL.
UM, IT'S REALLY ENABLED US TO MAKE AN ATTRACTIVE PROGRAM THAT PEOPLE WANT AND THAT WE CAN SERVE MORE TENANTS, BUT ALSO CREATE MORE, UH, VALUE THAT THE CONTRACTORS WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN IT.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO YOU GUYS.
SO CUSTOMER FEEDBACK, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, REALLY WHAT WE SEE IS THAT WHEN PEOPLE PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM ON BOTH PROGRAMS, UH, THEY REALLY, REALLY ENJOY HIM, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE OUTCOME OF THE EXPERIENCE.
UM, SO OUR, OUR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION NUMBERS ARE REALLY HIGH AND WE HAVE REALLY GREAT CUSTOMER FEEDBACK.
AND SO IN CONCLUSION, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT THE WORK THAT, YOU KNOW, MILITARY AND, YOU KNOW, MY TEAM HAVE DONE, UH, IT'S REALLY TO DRIVE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT FOR THESE PROGRAMS. YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN A MUCH BETTER PLACE, BUT WE STILL HAVE A WAYS TO GO AND WE'RE REALLY GOING TO CONTINUE TO STRIVE TO MAKE IT BETTER.
UM, YOU KNOW, NOT REALLY THINK THAT THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE WANTED TO SHOW HERE.
UM, AND THEN WE USE OUR OTHER PROGRAMS TO AUGMENT THESE OFFERS.
SO, LIKE DEBBIE MENTIONED LIKE OUR SPERM PROGRAM AND OTHER PROGRAMS WHERE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE PEOPLE
[00:45:01]
DON'T NECESSARILY WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR, OUR REBATE PROGRAM IS, OR, YOU KNOW, DIRECTLY, HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE REACH THOSE CUSTOMERS INDIRECTLY? YOU KNOW, AND, AND THE PANDEMIC HAS TAUGHT US A LOT.SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY PUSHED US TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE WORK AND I THINK IT'S GONNA, YOU KNOW, IT'S GIVEN US THE OPPORTUNITY TO REINVENT THE WAY WE APPROACH CUSTOMERS AND THE WAY WE HANDLE INSPECTIONS AND TO BE MORE EFFICIENT, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, I USE THE WORD DYNAMIC, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY SHOWED US TO BE MORE DYNAMIC AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO BE BETTER, UM, AND THEN LEARN FROM THIS EXPERIENCE.
AND THEN HOW CAN WE TAKE THOSE LEARNINGS AND APPLY THEM MOVING FORWARD? AND THEN ON CLOSING, I'LL, I'LL MENTION THAT WE ALSO HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN EQUITY OFFICE.
THERE'S AN RFP TO BRING ON, UH, UH, CONSULTANTS AND EQUITY CONSULTANTS, UH, TO CONTINUE TO PUSH THESE PROGRAMS FORWARD, TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE BEING EQUITABLE.
AND HOW DO WE ENGAGE AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IN A SAFE CHANNELS TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S NO COMMUNITIES SPREAD RELATED TO THESE TYPES OF, UH, PROGRAMS. AND CURRENTLY THAT'S BEING FINALIZED BY OUR PURCHASING DEPARTMENT.
AND I BELIEVE THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE SOME, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MANNY.
AND THANK YOU, TERRY AND DEBBIE FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND REMARKS.
UM, I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, BUT I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION.
UH, FIRST IN CASE THERE ARE OTHERS.
I FIRST JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU.
LIKE I'M SEEING SO MANY IMPROVEMENTS THAT I THINK WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT FOR YEARS, AND I'M, I'M JUST, I'M REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
LIKE THE EXPANDING INCOME, NOT REQUIRING COMPLEX QUALIFICATIONS, SHORTER APPLICATION, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS PREGNANCY, I THINK ALL OF THAT IS GREAT.
UM, GETTING MORE MEASURES INTO THE MULTI-FILAMENT FAMILY ALSO JUST REALLY IMPORTANT.
I KNOW I HAVE SOMETIMES MAYBE BEEN A THORN IN YOUR SIDE.
SO ONE THING TO GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT'S DOWN.
I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT I CAN, I CAN WAIT FOR OTHERS.
PLEASE GO AHEAD, KAYLA, IF YOU'D LIKE TO YOU'VE GOT THE, OKAY.
UH, WELL I GUESS MAYBE FIRST GOING BACK TO, UM, MY QUESTION FROM BEFORE I HAD THE TERMS THAT I SAW THERE FOR THE AC, UM, UPGRADES, IS THAT ONLY FOR AIR CONDITIONING, CAN IT BE USED FOR HEAT PUMPS FOR SPACE AND WATER HEATING OR OTHER MEASURES AS WELL? YOU KNOW, I CAN THINK OF A NUMBER OF, UM, REBATES THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS OFFERING THAT ARE GREAT, BUT THAT ARE PROBABLY, UM, OUT OF REACH FOR THIS CLASS OF CUSTOMERS.
WHAT CAN THAT FINANCING BE USED FOR? THIS IS TERRY MOORE OFFERS GOT ONE.
UM, THIS, THIS FUNDING MECHANISM IS TIED BACK TO THE BETTER BUILDINGS GRANT FROM THE GRANT.
SO IT'S, UM, THE LOAN LOSS RESERVE MONEY, UH, THAT'S THERE AND, UH, SPECIFICALLY FOR HPAC, SO IT CAN BE COOLING.
IT CAN BE HEAT PUMPS, BUT IT'S FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF, UH, THE ENTIRE SYSTEM INSIDE AND OUT.
AND, UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, IT, IT REQUIRES, UM, TO GET TO THAT MONEY REQUIRES THAT THEY ACTUALLY PARTICIPATE IN THE WEATHERIZATION.
SO THERE'S A 15, UH, FORM THAT WE FILL OUT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE GETTING THE, THE, THE ENERGY SAVINGS THAT WE NEED.
UH, AND THEN THEY'RE ABLE TO DELIVER THAT MONEY.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT IS HOW WE WERE ADDRESSING THE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM PART OF IT.
UH, YOU MENTIONED, UM, I CAN KEEP PUMP WATER HEATERS.
UH, WE HAVE ANOTHER PROGRAM APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY PROGRAM WHERE WE OFFER, UM, ENERGY STAR REPLACEMENTS.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, AN $800 FATE RIGHT NOW ON A HEAT PUMP, WATER HEATERS.
SO THAT'S A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT, AND I THINK FOR THAT DEFINITELY KEEPS THAT IN REACH, UH, FOR, FOR THIS PROGRAM, IF WE WERE TO USE THAT, UH, WE ALSO INCENTIVIZE, UH, UH, VARIABLE SPEED POOL PUMPS, UH, ROOMMATES C SMART THERMOSTATS AS WELL.
SO THAT, THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.
SO I, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT COULD BE USED FOR, FOR HEATING, BUT, BUT NOT FOR THE WATER HEATER.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I CERTAINLY, I THINK THAT THE $800 IS, IS A GREAT REBATE, UM, RIGHT.
I'VE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF IT MYSELF AND REPLACED MY WATER HEATER, BUT, UM, I KNOW THAT THAT HEAT PUMP WALLET
[00:50:01]
IS SAVING MONEY OVER TIME IN MY HOUSE.IT WAS EXPENSIVE ON THE FRONT END.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE AS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT I DO THINK THAT THAT IS AN AREA, UM, THE ADDITIONAL CREATIVITY WILL BE NEEDED IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT ACCESSIBLE TO LOW-INCOME RESIDENTS.
UM, MAYBE THERE'S A WAY TO MAKE THAT A POINT OF SALE REBATE, AS OPPOSED TO AN AFTER FACT.
MAYBE THERE'S A SPAM THAT, UM, FINANCING, YOU KNOW, DON'T WANT TO DELVE INTO ALL OF THE POSSIBILITIES RIGHT NOW, BUT I'M JUST KIND OF FLAGGING THAT AS A, AN AREA WHERE I THINK, UM, THERE'S, THERE MIGHT BE A BARRIER.
BUT DO YOU MIND IF I KIND OF CHIME IN ON THAT ONE? I KIND OF WANT TO SECOND THAT, UM, CAUSE I ALSO HAVE, HAVE RECENTLY GONE THROUGH A NATURAL GAS CONVERSION TO AN ELECTRIC HEAT PUMP WATER HEATER AND WENT THROUGH THAT REBATE PROCESS.
AND THE BIG STICKING POINT FOR ME WAS JUST FINDING A CONTRACTOR THAT, UM, WAS FAMILIAR AND WILLING TO ACTUALLY DO THAT TYPE OF CONVERSION.
AND IT REALLY, YOU KNOW, I HAD ONE CONTRACTOR TELL ME THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN REGULATIONS DON'T ALLOW THAT.
AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER ONE THAT DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HEAT PUMP, WATER HEATER AND JUST REGULAR RESISTANCE WATER HEATER.
AND FINALLY, EVEN THE THIRD ONE, UM, I HAD TO KIND OF DIRECT THEM WITH HOW TO PROPERLY INSTALL IT, THE CONDENSATE LINE, WHICH YOU TYPICALLY WOULDN'T HAVE IN, UH, IN, IN A DIFFERENT TYPE OF WATER HEATER.
SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD THINK THERE'S PROBABLY SOME CONTRACTOR INTERFACING THERE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, COULD HELP SOME OF THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU EVEN PUBLISH A LIST OF CONTRACTORS THAT KNOW HOW TO DO THESE.
UM, I THINK THAT SOMETHING LIKE THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL.
I THINK, YES, I SECOND THAT SUGGESTION, UM, I WAS ABLE TO FIND A COUPLE OF CONTRACTORS THAT, YOU KNOW, WERE WILLING AND ABLE TO DO IT.
UM, BUT IT DEFINITELY, I ALSO ENCOUNTERED A COUPLE WHO WERE NOT ABLE TO DO IT.
UM, ONE THAT SAID THAT WOULDN'T WORK IN THE ATTIC, UM, YOU KNOW, IT, IT WAS A BIT OF A CHALLENGE, SO THAT'S A GOOD SUGGESTION.
AND I WOULDN'T SUGGEST THIS, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE CAN, WE CAN WORK ON FROM, UH, OUR WEBSITE, UM, FROM THAT POINT OF VIEW.
BUT, YOU KNOW, AS A, AS AN INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY WHERE WE'RE ALWAYS, UM, YOU KNOW, WILLING TO PUT ANY KIND OF CONSULTATION THAT WE CAN, UM, EVEN TO HELP OUT.
SO JUST AS A REMINDER, BUT IT DOES SOUND LIKE A CONTRACTOR EDUCATION CASEY, WE COULD PROBABLY PROVIDE.
UM, I HAD ONE OTHER QUESTION, UH, AROUND THE SMART THERMOSTATS.
I'M SO GLAD THAT Y'ALL ARE GETTING THOSE INTO THE MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES AND, UH, ADDRESSING THE WIFI ISSUE.
UM, I'M WONDERING IF IN YOUR USER EDUCATION FOR THE THERMOSTATS IT'S OF THE EXPLORE, LIKE EXPLAINING TO PEOPLE THAT, UM, OBVIOUSLY THIS MAYBE DOESN'T APPLY AS MUCH IN THE MOMENT, BUT WHEN THEY'RE NOT GONE, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, TURNING THE AC DOWN OR THE, UH, FOR THE AC UP OR THE, THE HEAT DOWN WHEN THEY'RE GONE LIKE THAT, THAT DOES SAVE ENERGY BECAUSE IT'S ONE THING THAT I ENCOUNTER WITH PEOPLE THAT THEY THINK THAT IT JUST LEAVING IT AT THE SAME TEMPERATURE, SAVES THEM MORE ENERGY.
I'LL TAKE THAT ONE, MAESTRO WHITE.
UH, SO ACTUALLY, UM, THESE THREE THERMOSTATS THAT WE OFFER ACTUALLY HAVE THE WAVE FUNCTION.
SO IT PROVIDES THE, THOSE SAVINGS WITHOUT ACTUALLY INTERACTING WITH US.
SO NO ONE ACTUALLY HAS TO GO BACK AND SAID EFFECTIVELY, IT HAS AN OCCUPANCY SENSOR IN THERE THAT SETS YOUR THERMOSTAT BACK, UH, WHEN IT DOESN'T SENSE OCCUPANCY.
SO THAT'S REALLY HOW THE BASIS OF ALL OF THE ENERGY SAVINGS ARE RELATED TO SAVINGS.
IF WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON THESE THREE THAT ARE ENERGY STAR THAT HAVE THE AWAY FUNCTION THAT WILL DRIVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, EVEN IF SOMEONE DOESN'T NECESSARILY WANT TO GO AND TURN IT BACK, YOU'RE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO USE THAT FUNCTION.
AND AS PART OF OUR PROGRAM WAS SCHEDULE, SO WE PROVIDE PROGRAMMING THERE A WAY TEMPERATURE AND THEN THEIR CURRENT TEMPERATURE, LIKE THE OPTIMAL TEMPERATURE THAT THEY WANT WHEN THEY'RE, WHEN THEY'RE AT HOME.
SO THE CONTRACTOR IS ACTUALLY PROGRAMMED THAT WE SET A SET PROGRAM AND IF THEY WANT TO CHANGE IT, THEY HAVE TO DO THAT.
BUT WE, WE OFFER THAT TO THEM SO THAT WE ASSURE THAT THERE'S, THEY WOULD HAVE TO OPT OUT OF THAT TO TRY TO MITIGATE
[00:55:01]
ENERGY SAVINGS.BUT YES, WE'VE, WE'VE PROGRAMMED THAT FOR THEM.
I'VE GOT, UM, A COUPLE OF MORE, UH, JUST WHAT I THINK WILL BE BRIEF QUESTIONS, UM, FOR, FOR THE TEAM, BUT I, I WANTED TO START OUT JUST BY SAYING, UM, CONGRATULATIONS TO, UH, TO THE FULL TEAM AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
I THINK THE, UM, THE ELIGIBILITY ENHANCEMENTS AND THE WORK THAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE, UM, TO, TO, TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE.
AND THEN ALSO THE, I THINK THE BUNDLING OF MEASURES, UM, ARE REAL EXAMPLES OF CREATIVITY AND, AND FOCUSING ON OUTCOMES THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE IN TERMS OF INCLUSION AND, UH, INCREASED DEPLOYMENT.
UH, SO, SO CONGRATULATIONS, I THINK YOU ALL HAVE SHOWN A LOT OF REAL, UM, TRUE CREATIVITY, UM, ESPECIALLY, ESPECIALLY DURING THE PANDEMIC.
UM, SO, SO THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, I, ONE QUESTION I HAD WAS RELATED TO, UM, DEBBIE, YOU MENTIONED THE, THE HOMEWORK REPAIR PROGRAM, AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU DID, UM, IN OUR LAST COMMISSION MEETING DURING CERTAIN CITIZEN COMMUNICATION, A COMMENT CAME UP ABOUT, UM, COORDINATING, UH, HOME REPAIR, REPAIR AND WEATHERIZATION.
UM, AND I WAS WONDERING IF YOU, OR MAYBE TERRY COULD SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO, UM, THE NUMBER OF THAT YOU SEE THAT YOU AREN'T ABLE TO WEATHERIZE, UH, DUE, DUE TO HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES OR OTHER ISSUES THAT MAY BE COVERED BY, BY OTHER PROGRAMS. AND IS THAT PREVALENT, UM, OR COULD YOU SPEAK TO HOW WELL THAT THAT COORDINATION IS WORKING? WELL, I'LL START OFF WITH A HIGH LEVEL OF DETAIL, UM, CHAIR HARMON.
AND FOR A LONG, LONG TIME, WE HAVE CROSS-REFERENCED WITH NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, UM, AS WELL.
SO THEY SEND US REFERRALS, WE SEND THEM REFERRALS AND OBVIOUSLY THEY USE, UH, TO REPAIR COALITION AND OTHERS, IF YOU GO INTO A HOME AND FIND THAT WINDOWS ARE BROKEN OR MISSING, ARE THERE HOLES IN THE WALLS? UM, OR, UH, THERE MAY BE ISSUES THAT ARE, UM, LIKE SAFETY ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.
SO THAT DOES, I WOULD SAY, UM, CARRIE CAN SPEAK MORE SPECIFICALLY AS CONSTITUTES, WHICH I DON'T HAVE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
SO TERRY, WHY DON'T YOU TAKE ON THE MORE GRANULAR DETAIL, BUT CLEARLY THE INTENT HERE IS TO TRY TO ENSURE THERE'S NO WRONG DOOR.
THEY'LL GET TO US EITHER THROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING OR WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEND PEOPLE TO NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND HR CITY OR, OKAY.
UM, SO IN REGARDS TO, TO NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING, UM, WE DO REFER CUSTOMERS, UM, BACK AND FORTH WITH, WITH NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING.
UH, WE CREATED A, UM, SORT OF A CUSTOMER INTERFACE IN OUR DATABASE SYSTEM TO WHERE WE CAN HELP OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND WE KEEP A LOG OF, UH, PROGRAMS THAT THEY PARTICIPATED IN.
AND THAT'S THE MECHANISM THAT WE USE TO REFER CUSTOMERS BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN OUR TWO, OUR TWO GROUPS, UH, AS FAR AS THE NUMBER GOES, IT'S BEEN RELATIVELY SMALL AND THE PRICE FOR IT BEING SMALL AND NUMBER IS BECAUSE THEIR PROGRAMS, THE VAST MAJORITY WERE AT 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
OURS WAS AT 200% FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL OR, AND SO CUSTOMERS THAT WE WOULD NORMALLY GET IF OUR THRESHOLDS WERE THE SAME WOULD ALREADY BE INCOME QUALIFIED, AND WE WOULDN'T REALLY LOSE ANY TIME OR ACTUALLY HAVE CUSTOMERS FALL OUT.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WHEN WE RAISED THE INCOME THRESHOLD WAS THAT SORT OF LEVEL PLAYING FIELD BETWEEN US AND NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING.
SO THAT NOW WE'RE BOTH 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION VERY FEW IN THE PAST, BUT I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE THAT NUMBER CONTINUE TO GO UP.
AND WE'RE BOTH AT THE SAME LEVEL WITH OUR INCOME QUALIFICATION, UM, IN REGARD TO, UM, HOW WE, HOW WE ASSESS THESE HOMES.
ONE OF THE THINGS BUILT INTO OUR PROCESS IS A PRE-ASSESSMENT OR A PRE-SCREENING THAT WE DID WHERE WE ACTUALLY CONTACT THE CUSTOMER BEFORE WE ASSIGN THEM.
AND WE HAVE A SERIES OF QUESTIONS THAT WE TO TRY TO IDENTIFY ISSUES THAT THEY MAY HAVE IN THEIR HOME, UH, PRIMARILY, YOU KNOW, MAJOR REPAIRS USE STRUCTURAL ISSUES.
AND IF WE, IF, IF THEY ANSWER A CERTAIN WAY TO THE QUESTIONS WE ACTUALLY GO OUT, BUT OUR EYES ON THAT HOME.
AND THEN WE, IF WE DO SEE STRUCTURAL ISSUES AND BABY REPAIR ISSUES, THEN WE REFER THOSE OUT THE HOUSING, THE HOUSING COALITION, AND THEN ONCE THE REHAB IS DONE ON THE HOME, THEY REFER THOSE BACK TO US.
SO WE COMPLETE THE WEATHERIZATION.
SO THAT'S PRIMARILY HOW THAT WORKS.
SO AT A HIGH LEVEL, AND I'M, I PROBABLY, I APOLOGIZE, I DON'T HAVE EXACT NUMBERS, BUT I SEE, I SEE THAT NUMBER GOING
[01:00:01]
UP SIGNIFICANTLY.I APPRECIATE THE EXPLANATION AND THAT'S OKAY TO NOT HAVE THE NUMBERS.
AND I THINK REALLY I WAS, I WAS TRYING TO GET A HANDLE ON WHETHER, UM, UH, HOME REPAIR WAS A BARRIER TO WEATHERIZATION.
UM, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A, A GOOD PROCESS IN PLACE TO, TO ADDRESS THAT AND COORDINATION EFFORTS, UH, IN PLACE.
AND I CAN CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT THE, UM, STANDARDIZING, UH, ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, UM, BUT IT DOES ALLEVIATE, UM, A LOT OF THE CHALLENGES THERE.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT EXPLANATION.
AND I THINK THIS ONE IS, UH, FOR YOU, MANNY, UM, WHEN YOU, YOU MENTIONED, UH, THE NON-ENERGY BENEFITS, UH, AS BEING, UH, I LOVE THE, THE, IT KIND OF LEAD WITH DESSERT, BUT MAKING ME THROUGH THEIR VEGETABLES.
I THINK THAT THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT ANALOGY.
UM, BUT IN TERMS OF INDOOR AIR QUALITY, COMFORT, CONVENIENCE CONTROL, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE, THE NON-ENERGY BENEFITS.
I KNOW WE'RE ALWAYS A BIT OF A CHALLENGE TO, TO QUANTIFY.
UM, I'M CURIOUS IF, IF THAT IS, UM, ARE THOSE SELLING POINTS THAT YOU'RE USING FOR A MULTI-FAMILY BUILDING OWNER OR PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, KIND OF EXCLUSIVELY, OR ARE YOU, UM, ABLE TO QUANTIFY ANY OF THOSE NON-ENERGY BENEFITS FOR, FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS WHO, WHO PARTICIPATE? SURE.
UH, CHAIRMAN, UH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO, I MEAN, I THINK FOR US, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE HARD PART IS THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO GET TO THE DECISION-MAKER RIGHT.
THE PROPERTY OWNER TO KIND OF GET HIM TO MAKE A DECISION.
AND SO FOR THEM, IT'S, IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, IN SOME CASES, NOT ALL CASES, BUT IT'S A, IT'S A FINANCIAL PLAY.
AND SO REALLY WE WERE TRYING TO SELL THEM ABOUT THAT.
SO IF WE REALLY NEED TO EXPLAIN THAT, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO EXPLAIN THINGS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE BENEFITS AND THEY'RE HARDER.
AND LIKE YOU SAID, THEY'RE HARDER TO QUANTIFY AND PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT LESS TANGIBLE, BUT THE, THE, THE TENANTS FEEL IT AFTERWARDS.
AND SO THAT'S A LOT OF WHAT WE GET ON THE BACK END IS THAT THE CUSTOMERS WILL TELL YOU, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, NOW WE'RE NOT HAVING KNOW HUGE TEMPERATURE SWINGS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, BUT IT'S KIND OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE TRYING TO, AND THIS GOES BACK TO LIKE EDUCATION FROM THE CONTRACTORS, HEAT PUMP ARGUERS, YOU KNOW, WE, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE TALK ABOUT IT.
AND PEOPLE START TO EXPERIENCE IT.
SO THEN, YOU KNOW, WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING COMES, YOU KNOW, ON THE BACK END.
AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US.
UM, BUT ALSO ENSURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE IMPACTING THE BILL, RIGHT? SO IT'S LIKE A COMPLETE THING, RIGHT.
AND YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE IMPACTING THEIR ENERGY BURDEN, BUT YOU'RE ALSO TELLING THEM ABOUT ALL THE OTHER BENEFITS THAT THEY GOT BEYOND THAT.
AND SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE BOTH AND NOT JUST ONE OR THE OTHER.
AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHAT YOU WANT TO BE.
YOU WANT TO BE HOLISTIC IN YOUR APPROACH, EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT ALL THE BENEFITS THAT THEY GET, BECAUSE SOME THINGS ARE GOING TO BE MORE IMPORTANT TO OTHERS THAN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE FINANCIAL.
AND SO REALLY UNDERSTANDING HERE ARE ALL THE BENEFITS, AND THEN YOU CAN SEE WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT EXPLANATION.
UM, MANNY, AND ONCE AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEAM ON, ON THIS PROGRESS AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR, UM, YOUR, YOUR TIME AND, AND YOUR UPDATES.
UM, BEFORE WE MOVE ON, UH, IN ANY OTHER, UH, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSION, UH, BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, HERE'S A QUICK ONE.
I'M JUST WONDERING ON THE WIFI ISSUE.
IF YOU ALL HAVE IDENTIFIED ANY POTENTIAL, UM, SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT MIGHT BE WILLING TO, I DUNNO, UH, CONTRIBUTE TO THE EXPANSION OF WIFI AVAILABILITY, UM, OR I GUESS CUSTOMERS, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, IT'S NICE THAT YOU'RE, I'M GLAD YOU ALL ARE WORKING WITH THE PROPERTY OWNERS.
I'M SURE SOME WILL BE WILLING, BUT SOME WON'T, UM, JUST THINKING ABOUT THE NEED FOR A MORE WHOLESALE SOLUTION.
AND I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S ANY CONVERSATIONS THAT Y'ALL ARE PART OF THAT WOULD ADDRESS THAT.
THIS IS MANNY AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TALKED TO DIFFERENT PROVIDERS, JUST, YOU KNOW, UH, KIND OF BROADLY, BUT WE HAVEN'T BEEN ANY IN WITH ANY, LIKE, IN-DEPTH TALK TO, UH, UH, UH, INTERNET PROVIDER OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO THINK ABOUT THINGS, YOU KNOW, LIKE, AT LEAST FOR ME, LIKE, YES, THE WIFI IS IMPORTANT, BUT HOW DO WE ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE, EVEN IF THEY DON'T HAVE WIFI? CAUSE IT IS JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE WIFI DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THEY'RE GOING TO GET HER TO OUR LEADER.
AND SO HOW DO YOU, WE'RE LOOKING AT LIKE BEHAVIORAL TYPE PROGRAMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, OR IT GIVES PEOPLE CONTROL, BUT MAYBE NOT DIRECTLY ABILITY CONTROL, UH, SO THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO I THINK WE'RE, YOU KNOW, UM, BUT I, I THINK THE, THE, THE WIFI ISSUE, UM, IS AN IMPORTANT ONE, BUT IT, IT IT'S, UM, IT'S HARD TO COORDINATE WITH AT THAT HIGHER LEVEL.
[01:05:02]
FAIR ENOUGH.WITH, UM, WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO SAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, THE AUSTIN ENERGY TEAM TO, TO DEBBIE TERRY, MANNY, AND, UM, SARAH, I WANT TO SAY ALSO WELCOME.
UH, IT'S, IT'S VERY NICE TO MEET YOU AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, TO HEARING FROM YOU AND WORKING WITH YOU, UH, IN, IN THE FUTURE.
[3. Presentation and Report from Office of Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs on Texas Gas Service Conservation/Energy Efficiency Program review for the program period of 2018.]
MADAM CHAIR.WE NOW MOVE TO A AGENDA ITEM THREE, WHERE WE WILL HAVE A RUN DELLA HAWKINS FROM THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY AFFAIRS OFFICE.
RANDELL, ARE YOU THERE? I'M I'M HERE AND WE WILL GET, UH, DAWN AND, UM, JOHN AND ADAM.
I'M GOING BLIND HERE IN CITY HALL, TOO MUCH SCREEN TIME.
THANK YOU FOR, UH, FOR JOINING US, RON DELLA AND TEAM, AND YES, PLEASE.
THE FLOOR IS YOURS FOR, FOR ITEM THREE.
THANK YOU FOR THE COMMISSION VERY MUCH.
I'M RHONDA HAWKINS WITH THE CITY'S OFFICE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS.
AND I'M HERE TO INTRODUCE ADAM THOMAS AND JOHN WAS WITH ADM ASSOCIATES, WHICH IS A FIRM THAT, UH, THE CITY SELECTED THROUGH A SOLICITATION PROCESS.
AND WE HIRED ADM EARLIER THIS YEAR TO CONDUCT A REVIEW OF THE 2018 TEXAS GAS SERVICE CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM.
AND JUST A REMINDER, WE, UH, THE CITY GRANTED A FRANCHISE AGREEMENT TO TEXAS GAS SERVICE, WHICH REQUIRES THE COMPANY TO OPERATE IT CONSERVATION PROGRAM.
AND THAT PROGRAM IS MANAGED AND OPERATED BY TGS.
UH, IT IS A RATE PAYER FUNDED PROGRAM AND TGS IS, UH, REQUIRED IN THE FRANCHISE TO PROVIDE THE QUARTERLY UPDATES TO THIS COMMISSION.
AND THIS IS THE FIRST, UM, THIS IS THE FIRST, UH, TIME THAT THE CITY HAS HIRED, UM, UH, A CONSULTANT TO CONDUCT A REVIEW OF THE PROGRAM.
UM, THE PAST FIVE OR SIX YEARS, UH, TEXAS GAS SERVICE HAS HIRED, UM, THEIR, THEIR EXPERTS.
AND, UH, WE WANTED TO HAVE OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR REPORT, OUR, OUR REVIEW, SO THAT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AHEAD AT, YOU KNOW, THE PROGRAM DESIGN, LOOKING AHEAD AT POLICY CONSIDERATIONS, THE PROGRAM DESIGN EVALUATION CRITERIA, UH, WE CAN W WE CAN WORK IN CONJUNCTION WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS INFORMATION, UM, AND WORKING WITH THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, TEXAS GAS, UM, SO THAT WE'VE GOT THIS.
SO THE, THE CURRENT TARIFF, UH, FOR THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM COVERS A THREE-YEAR BUDGET, AND THAT'S THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST OF 2021.
UM, BUT I WANTED TO INTRODUCE ADAM AND JOHN.
UH, THEY, THEY, UH, CONDUCTED A REVIEW.
THEY DID, UM, A SURVEY ON SOME BENCHMARKING OF OTHER UTILITIES, AND THEY DO HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, TO PROVIDE TO, UH, TO THE COMMISSION AND TO THE CITY AND OF THE COMMISSION.
AND SO I JUST WANT TO TURN IT OVER TO, TO THEM AND NOW TO GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION, WHICH, UM, YOU ALL SHOULD HAVE, AS WELL AS, UH, THE, THE FINAL REPORT, WE DID MAKE A CHANGE TO THE UPDATED FINAL REPORTS.
SO THAT SHOULD BE LOADED ON THE COMMISSION WEBSITE AS WELL.
AND JAMIE I'M SURE PROVIDED TO YOU ALL.
I'M A PRINCIPAL AT, UH, ADM ASSOCIATES.
UH, RON DELLA, UH, WE THINK THIS MIGHT BE THE OLDER DRAFT OF THE PRESENTATION, UM, SORRY TO SHORT CIRCUIT, THE FLOW HERE.
UH, JOHN, DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THE CASE, UH, I THINK, UH, ONE WAY TO BE CERTAIN WOULD BE JUST QUICKLY THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THAT'S POSSIBLE IT WOULD HAVE A MEETING AGENDA ON THE SECOND SLIDE IS THAT, UM, I THINK IT IS THE OLD ONE.
I, I WAS MISSING SOME, UH, ONE, SORRY.
I ADDED AN ITEM ON SANITATION OUTLINE, SO I BELIEVE IT IS THE OLDER VERSION.
SO CAN WE SHARE A SCREEN OR, SORRY, SORRY, COMMISSIONERS.
UH, WHO OR DOES ANYONE HAVE THE, UH, FINAL
[01:10:01]
REVISED VERSION VASQUEZ HERE? I, I DO.I CAN, UH, TRANSFER PRESENTATION AND PERMISSIONS TO YOU TO ALLOW YOU TO SHARE YOUR SCREEN IF YOU'D LIKE.
I CAN NEVER EVERYONE SEE MY SCREEN HERE.
I JUST NEED TO CHANGE THE SLIDESHOW AND WE'RE GOOD.
AND ADAM, UM, DID YOU WANT TO, UH, UM, YEAH, SO, UM, YEAH, SO, UM, SO, UM, I'M THOMAS, I'M A PRINCIPAL AT ADM ASSOCIATES AND JOHN VASQUEZ IS A SENIOR MANAGER WORKING WITH
SO, UM, WITH THAT, UH, AS LONG AS WE GET TO THE SITES, THANK YOU, ADAM.
UM, AND AGAIN, MY NAME IS JOHN BASKETS AND I'M A SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, ADM, UM, PERFORMING THE RESEARCH, UH, FOR ON THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE OR TGS, UH, UH, NATURAL GAS CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. UH, WE, WE DID, UH, PARKING BY, UH, INTERVIEWING, UH, SEVERAL UTILITIES.
WE REVIEWED, UM, THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAMS IN 2018, AND, UH, WE PROVIDED RECOMMENDATIONS ON BEST PRACTICES RELATED TO, UH, EVALUATION MEASUREMENT AND VERIFICATION OF, OF SUCH PROGRAMS. UH, AND W WHEN WE DID THE, ALSO THE TGS CUSTOMER SURVEY.
UM, SO, UM, JUST A BRIEF OUTLINE HERE.
WE'LL, I'LL PROVIDE, UH, SOME BACKGROUND ON ADM AND OUR COMPANY, AND AGAIN, WE'LL GO OVER THE UTILITY BENCHMARK, UH, RESULTS FROM THOSE UTILITY INTERVIEWS.
UH, I'LL GO INTO THE DETAILS ON THE COST EFFECTIVENESS REVIEW OF THE SPECIFICALLY THE 2018 PROGRAMS THAT, UH, TEACHERS IMPLEMENTED, UH, IN 2018.
AND, UH, I'LL GO INTO, UH, EVALUATION MEASUREMENT OVER VERIFICATION, BEST PRACTICES, OR I'LL REFER TO THAT AS M AND V FROM, FOR THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION.
AND LASTLY, THE TGS CUSTOMER SURVEY AND THE RESULTS FROM THAT, FROM THAT EFFORT, UH, JUST A BRIEF BRIEF BACKGROUND ON ADM WHERE A THIRD PARTY EVALUATOR.
AND, UM, WE, YOU KNOW, OUR PRIMARY FUNCTION IS AS THE EVALUATION OF PROGRAMS OFFERED BY UTILITIES, UH, UH, THESE, UH, PROGRAMS THAT ARE DESIGNED FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, UH, DESIGNED TO, TO BRING PEOPLE TO, TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAMS AND TO, UM, INSTALL MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT EQUIPMENT, OR, UM, TAKE ACTIONS THAT HELP TO REDUCE THE DEMAND.
UH, WE WERE FOUNDED IN 1979, AND WE ARE STILL UNDER THE ORIGINAL FOUNDING LEADERSHIP.
SO THAT MAKES US THE LONGEST RUNNING ENERGY EVALUATION FIRM IN OUR AREAS OF EXPERTISE INCLUDE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, PROGRAM EVALUATION, UH, DEMAND RESPONSE, PROGRAM, EVALUATION, PROCESS EVALUATION, WHICH, UH, IS DESIGNED TO HELP UTILITIES, UH, BETTER, UM, DESIGN THEIR PROGRAMS ARE TO IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, UH, AS WELL AS, UM, PLANNING AND REGULATORY SUPPORT, UH, FOR THE UTILITIES.
UM, SO THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF THE AREAS THAT, THAT WE HAVE EXPERTISE IN.
UM, AND, UH, BUT WE DO HAVE OTHER, UH, AREAS AS WELL.
SO ALL OF THEM GO INTO THE NATURAL GAS UTILITY BENCHMARK STUDY THAT WE PERFORMED A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THAT WE, UM, SELECTED
[01:15:01]
SEVERAL UTILITY, NATURAL GAS UTILITIES, UM, FOR THIS, UH, BENCHMARKING STATES THAT SHARE COMMON FACTORS WITH, UH, TGS SUCH AS NATURAL GAS, ANNUAL SALES CUSTOMER, DEMOGRAPHICS, CONSERVATION PROGRAM, TENURE REGULATORY GUIDELINES, AND AS WELL AS A SIMILAR CLIMATE ZONES.SO WE CAN SAY THAT NOT ALL UTILITIES HAD THESE KEY ATTRIBUTES IN COMMON WITH THE, BUT THEY HAD, YOU KNOW, EACH ONE HAD SOME COMMON ATTRIBUTES WITH TGS.
SO WE FELT IT WAS A GOOD, A GOOD CROSS SECTION OF UTILITIES TO BENCHMARK THE TGS PROGRAMS. WE CONTACTED 12 UTILITIES AND, UH, IN TOTAL SIX OF THEM, UM, COMPLETED THE INTERVIEW AND THAT INCLUDED TGS.
AND SO THEY PARTICIPATED IN AN INTERVIEW ABOUT THEIR PROGRAMS AND CURRENT PRACTICES.
UH, FIVE OUT OF THE SIX UTILITIES ARE IN THE SOUTHWEST OR WEST COAST REGIONS.
UH, THESE, UH, YOU KNOW, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THE TULLYS INTERVIEWED ALOUD, UM, FOR BENCHMARKING OF THE MOST CRITICAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE TGS PROGRAMS, UM, AND JUST, UH, GENERAL BASED ON THE INTERVIEWS, UM, THAT MOST UTILITIES OFFERED RESIDENTIAL APPLIANCE PROGRAMS, SUCH AS, UM, FURNACES AND WATER HEATERS.
UH, THEY HAD LOW-INCOME WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS, RESIDENTIAL NEW CONSTRUCTION, ALSO A LOW FLOW WATER SAVING DEVICE PROGRAMS. AND, UM, THEY ALSO HAD A COMMERCIAL, UH, COMPONENT.
UM, SO, UM, WE ALSO, UH, FOUND THAT SEVERAL UTILITIES OFFERED MIDSTREAM APPLIANCE PROGRAMS, AND I'LL BRIEFLY, UH, UH, DEFINE WHAT MIDSTREAM IS.
THOSE ARE PROGRAMS IN WHICH THE EQUIPMENT IS DISCOUNTED AT THE POINT OF SALE.
SO THE END USER DOES NOT NEED TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION OF A REBATE APPLICATION TO GET THE DISCOUNT.
UM, SO THOSE THAT'S WHEN I'D SAY MIDSTREAM THAT'S, THAT IS TO WHAT I REFER, UH, AND, UH, THEY ALL UTILITIES ALSO OFFER A MIDSTREAM COMMERCIAL FOOD SERVICE EQUIPMENT PROGRAMS. SO THAT'S WHAT WE FOUND ACROSS THE, THE, THE INTERVIEWS WITH THE UTILITIES.
ALSO, UH, MOST UTILITIES HAVE A THIRD-PARTY PROGRAM IMPLEMENTER FOR THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR PROGRAMS, BUT NOT NECESSARILY FOR THE RESIDENTIAL SECTOR, UH, THIRD-PARTY IMPLEMENTERS, UH, HELP THE UTILITY WITH IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM.
SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO, UM, TAKE ON ALL THE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT THAT ENTAILS.
UM, SO, UH, MOST UTILITIES ALSO HAVE A STRENGTH STRONG TRADE ALLY NETWORKS THAT'S, UH, TYPICALLY WITH COMMERCIAL OR RESIDENTIAL CONTRACTORS.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, THEY MAY HAVE A, UH, CONTRACTOR PROGRAM THAT, UH, OR THE, OR THE CONTRACTORS CAN JUST ACT ON BEHALF OF CUSTOMERS IN SUCH CASES, BUT AT THE END, IT'S JUST, UM, THEY HAD, THEY HAVE PRETTY STRONG TREK TRADE ALLY NETWORKS.
AND, UM, LASTLY WE DID SEE THAT A LOT, MANY OF THE NATURAL GAS UTILITIES DID PARTNER WITH THE ELECTRIC UTILITY IN THE SERVICE TERRITORY TO MARKET THE PROGRAMS AND PROVIDE IMPROVED SERVICES AND REBATE OFFERINGS.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, BASED ON, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE INTERVIEWS OR OUR FINDINGS, WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE THINK THAT THE PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSTIN ENERGY CONTINUES TO BE BENEFICIAL WHEN MARKETING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAMS THAT THE TTGS TGS PARTNERS WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND THE LOW-INCOME WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM, UM, YOU KNOW, UTILITIES INTERVIEWED THAT WORKING WITH THE ELECTRIC UTILITY AND THE SAME TERRITORY WILL PROVIDE CUSTOMERS WITH MORE REBATE OPTIONS AND BETTER SERVICES.
UM, HAVING A THIRD PARTY IMPLEMENTER, I'M SORRY, SOMEBODY, I HAVE A QUESTION.
I BELIEVE SOMEONE MAY OR MAY NOT BE MUTED.
SO IF NOT, PLEASE, PLEASE REMAIN UNDERSTOOD.
SO ANOTHER FINDING WAS THAT IT WAS COMMON FOR UTILITIES TO HAVE THIRD-PARTY IMPLEMENTERS, AND THEY HELPED THE UTILITIES WITH A RANGE OF ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION, TRACKING OF PROGRAM DATA, MARKETING THE PROGRAMS AND PROVIDING MORE TECHNICAL, UH, ENGINEERING SERVICES LIKE CALCULATING SAVINGS FOR, FOR EQUIPMENT.
UH, LASTLY, UH, FOR PROVIDING FLEXIBILITY SAMPLE PROCESS AND THE REBATE APPLICATION PROCESS IS HELPFUL FOR UTILITIES TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, REACHING SAVINGS GOALS AND, AND PROGRAM PARTICIPATION.
UM, SO BASED ON ALL OF THAT, WE, YOU KNOW, WE THINK THAT TGS HAS A GOOD FOUNDATION FOR, FOR THE PROGRAMS THAT THEY OFFER,
[01:20:01]
UM, TO CONTINUE NATURAL GAS CONSERVATION.UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, A LOT OF SIMILARITIES WITH THE UTILITIES THAT WE INTERVIEWED AND THE BENCHMARKS WITH WHAT TGS WAS DOING.
YEAH, THERE'S DEFINITELY ROOM FOR, FOR CHANGE AND IMPROVEMENT IS ALWAYS, BUT WE WANT TO JUST MENTION THAT WE THINK BASED ON THE ARC STUDY, THAT TGS IS ON, YOU KNOW, HAS A GOOD FOUNDATION APPROACH.
JOHN, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU.
IT DOESN'T LIKE WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF, UH, FEEDBACK OR BACKGROUND NOISE FROM SOMEONE ON THE LINE AND JOHN I'M SURE THAT MAKES IT A BIT MORE DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO PRESENT.
IF YOU ARE NOT UNMUTE, CAN YOU PLEASE GO ON MUTE? IT SOUNDS LIKE MAYBE SOMEBODY FROM A CALL IN NUMBER, IF I, IF I CAN INTERPRET WHAT I'M HEARING CORRECTLY TO LIKE FROM A PHONE AND, UM, ADAM, IF YOU, DID YOU HAVE ANY, ANY, UM, ADDITIONAL YES.
AND SO WE'RE GETTING TO GET INTO WHAT WE'LL BE GETTING INTO NEXT, AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS, UH, IS, UH, THE DISCUSSION OF THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS WHERE, UH, WE HAVE, UM, WHERE WE WERE LOOKING AT THE COST EFFECTIVENESS, UH, TESTS WERE PERFORMED BY, UM, CPS AS CONSULTANT COMPARED TO OUR ANALYSIS, WHICH WE COMPLETED FROM, YOU KNOW, THE TIME'S UP WE WERE IN, WE WEREN'T TAKING THAT STARTING POINT ANALYTICAL TOOL AND BUILDING OFF THAT THE, UH, SO IT COULD BE RAW INPUTS AND POPULATED THE BENEFIT COST RATIOS OF THE TWO MOST COMMONLY USED, UH, SCREENING TESTS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY, MEASURES, PROGRAMS, AND WORKFLOWS.
AND WE ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT A COUPLE OF KEY AREAS AND NOTING AREAS WHERE WE'VE HAD SIGNIFICANT DEVIATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MOST PART WE FOUND, UH, MOST OF THE ASSUMPTIONS USED BY TGS AS CONSULTANTS TO BE REASONABLE.
UM, WE FOUND THERE ARE SOME AREAS WHERE WE HAVE A DIFFERENCE IN APPROACH OR ASSUMPTIONS THAT RESULTED IN A MORE SHARPLY DIFFERENT BENEFIT COST RATIO.
UH, WE ALSO WILL SHOW THE COMPARISON OF INCENTIVE LEVELS THAT HAVE BEEN OFFERED FOR A SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES, PARTICULARLY FOR, YOU KNOW, UM, MEASURES OF GREATER IMPORTANCE IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET LEVEL.
AND, UM, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, JOHN, IF YOU WANT TO GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WE CAN START LOOKING AT THE PROGRAMS AND MEASURES.
SO FIRST OFF, YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF AN INCENTIVE LEVEL OFFERED BY TGS COMPARED TO TWO REGIONAL UTILITIES, UH, ARKANSAS, OKLAHOMA GAS AND, UH, BLACK HILLS ENERGY.
UM, WE, YOU WOULD ALSO FIND SIMILAR INCIDENT, UM, AS WELL AS A CPM CPO.
UH, WE FOUND, UH, SIMILAR INCENTIVE LEVELS FOR A COUPLE OF OTHER GAS UTILITIES THAT ARE NOT ON THIS TABLE, INCLUDING, UH, CENTERPOINT ENERGY AND ARKANSAS AND OKLAHOMA, UH, AS WELL AS NEW MEXICO GAS COMPANY AND A GENERAL SORT OF CROSS CUTTING, JUST IF IT WAS THAT FOR TANKLESS WATER HEATERS, THE TGS REBATE IS HIGHER THAN TYPICAL, UH, IS WE EXTEND TO THAT WE WOULD IN GENERAL ADVISOR REDUCTION, BUT NOT TO, YOU KNOW, NOT HIGHER TO THE POINT OF AN, UH, OF ENDED UP SEEING DIFFERENCE.
AND, UM, ALSO PLEASE INTERJECT AT ANY POINT WITH QUESTIONS AS WE, ESPECIALLY IF WE'VE DONE THE TERRIBLE CONSULTANTS IN, OF GOING OFF INTO NOMENCLATURE, THAT'S UNKNOWN.
UM, ONE OF THE, UH, NEXT SLIDE, JOHN.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE'RE GETTING TO SOME OF THE PROGRAMS. AND NOW WITH THIS, I'M GOING TO DEFINE SOME ACRONYMS TO THE, UH, FOR THE, FOR THE AUDIENCE HERE.
THE TWO TESTS WE LOOKED AT ARE THE PRIMARILY ARE THE TOTAL RESOURCE COST TEST, AND A SECOND CLASS THAT HAS TWO NAMES.
YOU MIGHT RUN INTO THE PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR COST TEST OR THE UTILITY COST TEST.
AND WE WANT TO DISCUSS BEFORE GOING INTO THESE NUMBERS, WHAT THESE TESTS ARE AND WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THEM.
SO THE DIFFERENCE OF THESE TWO TESTS, THEY HAVE SOME VERY SIMILAR THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS, BUT, UM, IT COMES TO THE MATTER OF WHOSE PERSPECTIVES ARE BEING CONSIDERED.
UH, THE UTILITY COST TEST LOOKS AT BENEFITS AND COSTS SOLELY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE UTILITY OR PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR.
IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK MORE GENERALLY ABOUT TYPES OF PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS, UH, OR UTILITY COST TEST, THEREFORE ON THE BENEFIT SIDE, BY THE WAY, THESE ARE BENEFIT COST RATIOS, BENEFITS
[01:25:01]
DIVIDED BY COST, UH, ON THE BENEFITS SLIDE LOOKS AT THE TOTAL AVOIDED COMMODITY COSTS RESULTING FROM THE ENERGY SAVINGS DIVIDED BY THE TOTAL COST OF RUNNING THE PROGRAM.I E THE, UM, ADMINISTRATION PLUS INCENTIVES, A TOTAL RESOURCE COST TEST EXAMINES, A MEASURE OR A PROGRAM SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A UTILITY COMPANY AND A CUSTOMER.
SO YOU LOOK AT, FROM THE BENEFITS SIDE, THE PRIMARY FUEL BENEFITS, THE SAME AS YOU WOULD FROM UTILITY COST TEST, YOU WOULD ALSO INCORPORATE OTHER BENEFITS SUCH AS INCIDENTAL ELECTRIC SAVINGS THAT ARE BEING PRODUCED BY THE PROGRAM, BUT NOT BEING CLAIMED BY ANOTHER PROGRAM.
SO IF A HOME WERE TO GET INSULATION, THAT WAS NOT BEING CLAIMED BY AUSTIN ENERGY, THAT ELECTRIC BENEFIT GETS CREDITED INTO THE TRC OF A TGS PROGRAM.
UH, SIMILARLY, UH, YOU KNOW, MANY PARTIES MIGHT INCLUDE OTHER BENEFITS SUCH AS, UH, WATER IS A COMMON EXAMPLE.
AND THEN ON COST SIDE, THIS IS WHERE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCES YOU LOOK AT THE ADMINISTRATION COST OF A PROGRAM, BUT INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT INCENTIVES AND YOU LOOK AT THE INCREMENTAL COST BORN BY THE CUSTOMER, YOU PURCHASE THE EQUIPMENT.
UM, AND SO AS WE GO DOWN THIS LIST, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO GENERALLY SPEAKING, UH, THAT YOU TOLD ME, COST TEST IS MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD OF A TEST.
UM, THE INPUTS ARE MORE CLEANLY DEFINED VERSUS AN A TOTAL RESOURCE COST TEST.
YOU COULD SEE GREATER VARIATIONS AMONG EXPERT GOVERNMENT, UH, BECAUSE OF SOME ASSUMPTIONS OF WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T INCLUDE, OR WHAT ASSUMPTIONS DO YOU TAKE WHEN EXAMINING THE COST OF EQUIPMENT TO BEING DISCUSSED? UH, YOU CAN FIND ONE STUDY THAT SAYS, UM, THIS, YOU KNOW, UH, A DRYER COSTS $800, AND YOU CAN FIND ANOTHER STUDY.
THE DRYER COST $700 AND THEY BOTH WILL BE WELL-FOUNDED STUDIES.
AND SO THERE WAS THE AREAS OF UNCERTAINTY IN THAT REGARD, UH, WHEN LOOKING AT THIS, UH, WE WANT GOING DOWN TO THE PORTFOLIO TOTAL, UH, WE EXCLUDED THE IMPACTS OF LOW-INCOME PROGRAMS BECAUSE LOW-INCOME PROGRAMS, GENERALLY SPEAKING, ARE NOT EXPECTED TO PASS THESE TESTS.
IT'S CONSIDERED SORT OF A BONUS OR A GRAVY IF THEY DO.
AND WITH THAT, WE ARE HAVING A PORTFOLIO LEVEL.
UH, YOU TOLD THE COST TEST RATIO OF 0.97, ONCE YOU'VE EXCLUDED LOW INCOME, IF YOU INCLUDE LOW-INCOME THE PORTFOLIO LEVEL UTILITY COST TEST RATIO IS 0.89.
AND WITH SOME KEY NOTES HERE OF THE RESIDENTIAL SECTOR, BEING LESS COST-EFFECTIVE THAN THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR, WHICH IS A RELATIVELY NORMAL THING TO SEE IN THE WORLD OF GAPS, UH, UH, AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND, UH, WITH LOWER RESULTS, NOTABLE AMONG RESIDENTIAL WATER HEATING AND, UH, RESIDENTIAL, UH, SPACE HEATING PROGRAMS. SO, UH, THERE'S A NUMBER OF DEATHS SLIDE.
AND SO I WOULD WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS HERE AS THIS WAS SORT OF AT THE CORE OF OUR COMPONENTS AND OF OUR ANALYSIS TO THAT, OF THE TGS, A CONSULTANT.
THIS IS, UM, MY VIDEO BACK ON IT.
UM, AND JUST TO QUICK, BECAUSE I AGREE THAT HE'S A BIT OF A NUMBERS SLIDE, UM, AND I, I BELIEVE YOU YOU'VE MENTIONED THE, UH, EARLIER COMMENTS FROM THE CITIZEN COMMUNICATION FROM PAUL ROBBINS, UM, TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT, UM, WATER HEATERS, FURNACES, AND DRYERS.
UM, COULD YOU PLEASE, UM, JUST VERY QUICKLY, UH, HELP US INTERPRET SPECIFICALLY THOSE THREE LINES AND, UM, HIGHLIGHT EXACTLY WHAT YOUR, WHAT THE STUDY IS SHOWING WITH REGARD TO THE EFFICACY OF THOSE REBATES, OR YES, YES.
SO WE FIND THE REBOUND AND TOTAL RESOURCE COST TEST RATIO OF 0.5.
I'M GOING TO START WITH SPACING AND BOTH OF THESE LINES ON THE ORDER OF 0.59 FOR SPACE HEATING AND, UH, WE'RE TOTAL RESOURCE COST THAN 0.414.
UH, THE UTILITY COST TEST, UH, THAT COULD BE INTERPRETED AS SAYING THIS MEASURE IS MORE BENEFICIAL TO THE CUSTOMER THAN THIS UTILITY, BUT IN AGGREGATE OF BOTH OF THOSE TESTS, UM, IT IS NOT COST-EFFECTIVE, UH, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF, YOU KNOW, FROM, UH, FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE OF TAKING THE NET PRESENT VALUE OF COMMODITY COSTS, UH, DIFF COUNTED BY THE UTILITIES AFTER TAX WEIGHTED AVERAGE COST OF CAPITAL.
SO THE SCORE 0.59 AND 0.41 MEANS IF
[01:30:01]
PRODUCE MORE COSTS THAN BENEFITS AS SHOWN IN THE LATTER TWO COLUMNS, WHERE WE SHOWED THE BENEFIT MINUS COST, YOU KNOW, DELTA VETERAN, THEY'RE NEGATIVE, THEY'RE IN THE RED NOW, WHAT THEN GO TO THIS SUBJECT, THAT RESIDENTIAL WATER EATING, UM, WHERE THE UTILITY COST TEST DOES NOT PASS, BUT THE, UH, BUT THE TOTAL RESOURCE COST TEST DOES PASS.WHAT THIS MEANS HERE IS THAT FROM THE UTILITY PERSPECTIVE, THIS PRODUCES LESS BENEFITS THAN IT COSTS, BUT FROM SIMULTANEOUSLY TAKING THE CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE, THERE IS A HIGHER BENEFIT.
NOW OUR BENEFIT ON TRC, DIFFERENT SHARPLY FROM THE OUTSIDE EXPERT.
AND THAT WAS BECAUSE OF A WAY THAT, UH, WE ACCOUNT FOR MEASURE LIVES FOR THIS SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY.
NOW, THE WORLD OPTICAL ELECTRIC SIDE OF THIS, I'M SORRY, OR THIS, SOMETIMES THERE'S REALLY LOUD, I'M TRYING TO POWER THROUGH, BUT IT'S VERY DISTRACTING.
THE SOURCE YET, I'M GOING TO GO BACK ON MUTE, BUT CITY HALL, IF YOU'RE ABLE TO, TO OFFER THE ADVICE ON THE BACKGROUND NOISE, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
I, I WAS, I WAS TRYING TO SHUT IT OUT, BUT THEN IT'S GETTING HARDER.
SO, UM, SO WHERE THERE'S, WHAT DO YOU SEEN? THIS IS VERY COMMON IN LOOKING AT LIGHTING AND LED AND LASTS 10 TIMES LONGER THAN AN INCANDESCENT BULL.
AND SO ALL THOSE EXTRA BULBS THAT YOU DON'T PURCHASE BECAUSE THE EQUIPMENT LAST LONGER ARE A BENEFIT ON THE PROGRAM NOW, UH, BECAUSE IT'S SORT OF LIKE THE LIFE CYCLE INCREMENTAL COSTS, NOT JUST THE FACT THAT AN LED IS UPFRONT MORE EXPENSIVE, BUT THEN IT GIVES YOU OPERATIONAL MAINTENANCE SAVINGS BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO REPEATED REPLACEMENTS TO A LESSER EXTENT.
THIS APPLIES TO WATER LITERS, A TANKLESS WATER HEATER IS RATED TO LAST 20 YEARS, A STORAGE TANK, WATER HEATER, OR AN IN-APP NATURAL GAS IS RATED TO LAST 11.
AND THAT WAS BECAUSE THE POINT OF FAILURE IS ON CORROSION OF THE STORAGE TANK, NOT ON DEGRADATION OF THE COMBUSTION SYSTEM.
AND SO WE ACCOUNTED FOR THE FACT THAT A CUSTOMER GETTING A TANKLESS WATER HEATER HAS AN AVOIDED WATER HEATER PURCHASE ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE LIFE OF THE TANKLESS SYSTEM.
AND THAT MAKES THEM MUCH MORE COST EFFECTIVE FROM THAT CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE.
UH, THE 0.67 RATIO FOUND BY THE, UH, TGS CONSULTANTS ONLY LOOKED AT THE UPFRONT COST DIFFERENCE AND DID NOT ACCOUNT FOR THIS FACT.
SO WHEN WE DID THAT CORRECTION OR WHERE WE GET WELL, YOU KNOW, THAT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT FACTORED INTO THIS INCREASE, UM, THAT THIS TYPE OF ANALYSIS IS, UH, READILY ACCEPTABLE IN MANY STATES IT'S, UH, EXPLICITLY WRITTEN INTO AN ALLOWED IN, UH, GAS EVALUATION PROTOCOLS FOR, UM, ARKANSAS, OKLAHOMA AND NEW MEXICO, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO WE DID THIS, THIS CORRECTION COMPLETED BY US IS WITHIN INDUSTRY NORMS. THAT BEING SAID THAT BENEFIT ADDER DOES NOT DO ANYTHING FOR THE UTILITY COST TEST RATIO.
AND SO FOR THIS UCT VALUE, IT'S NOT A COST EFFECTIVE MEASURE.
UM, NOW RESIDENTIAL DRIVERS, SORRY, CAN I ASK A QUESTION BEFORE YOU MOVE ON? SO THE, SOME INFORMATION THAT MR. ROBBINS, UH, PROVIDED TO THE COMMISSION INDICATED THAT THOSE TANKLESS WATER HEATERS WERE GENERALLY NOT WARRANTIED FOR, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU HAVE 20 OR 21 YEAR LIFETIME, THAT IT WAS, YOU KNOW, SOME PART, I THINK HE SAID LIKE AROUND 12, UM, AND THAT, THAT WAS A STANDARD BEING USED OTHER PLACES IN TERMS OF A ASSUMED LIFETIME FOR THOSE APPLIANCES.
SO CAN YOU SPEAK TO, YOU KNOW, WHY, WHY YOUR NUMBERS MIGHT BE, OR ASSUMPTIONS MIGHT BE DIFFERENT? OKAY.
SO EFFECTIVE, USEFUL LIFE OR UL OF AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURE IS DEFINED THAT THE POINT AT WHICH ON A SURVIVAL CURVE, HALF OF THEM HAVE FAILED AND ASK THEM ARE STILL FUNCTIONING.
NOW THAT DOESN'T MATCH WITH WHAT A MANUFACTURER WARRANTIES AND MANUFACTURER WARRANTIES, WHAT IT'S COMFORTABLE DOING FINANCIALLY.
UM, SO IN T IN, UH, TESTING THAT HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY DOV SUPPORTED BY THE CALIFORNIA DATABASE FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY, RESOURCES, OR PROPERTY DEER, UM, AS FOUND, YOU KNOW, IN GENERAL, YOU KNOW, A MEASURE, YOU KNOW, THE MOST TYPICAL MEASURE LIFE FOUND IN THIS IS 20 YEARS AFTER 20 YEARS, AF OF TANKLESS W A LOT OF GAS, WATER AND RESENTFUL.
AND THAT'S WHY WE USE THAT AS THE EXPECTED USEFUL LIFE.
AND THAT'S SORT OF HOW WE DEFINE USEFUL LIFE ACROSS ALL OF THE, ALL THE, UH, PRODUCTS, UH, SHOWN HERE.
[01:35:01]
THE CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL RESEARCH? WELL, THE CALIFORNIA, WELL, I CALL IT DEER DATABASE FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN YOUR RESOURCES.WELL, UM, YEAH, I GUESS MR. ROBBINS WAS SETTING THE CALIFORNIA TECHNICAL RESOURCE MANUAL AND, UM, SAID THAT THEY ASSUMED A TEN-YEAR WIFE.
UM, UH, I WILL TAKE A LOOK AT THAT TO, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS THE VERACITY OF THAT, UM, AND SHOW YOU, YOU KNOW, BUT, UM, YEAH, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THE KEY, UM, ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, LIKE, I DON'T DISAGREE WITH THE METHODOLOGY THAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING, BUT IT DOES SEEM LIKE THIS, UM, THIS LIFTS THAT SEEMED TO LIFE SPAN SEEMS LIKE A KEY METRIC THAT NEEDS TO BE AS ACCURATE AS POSSIBLE.
AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S CERTAINLY A POINT WORTH INVESTIGATING.
AND, UM, SO REAL QUICK, THE QUESTION KIND OF IN A SIMILAR VEIN HERE, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED THAT PART OF THE BENEFIT HERE IS THE AVOIDED, UM, REPLACEMENT COSTS THAT YOU INCUR.
UM, UH, MR. ROBINS HAS ALSO SUGGESTED THOUGH THAT, UH, THE MAINTENANCE COST ON TANKLESS REPEATERS IS, UH, GREATER THAN THAT, OF A, UH, A TANK WATER HEATER DUE TO THE SCALING.
I'M CURIOUS IF YOU AGREE WITH ME THAT THERE, YOU KNOW, THE, JUST THE REGULAR MAY NOT COMPARE.
AND, UH, COULD YOU INCLUDE, SO, UM, ALSO I HAD THE DEAR WORK PAPER, SORRY TO THE QUESTION.
IT WILL BE MOST RECENT, UH, CALIFORNIA TRM, A WORK PAPER FOR RESIDENTIAL ADAM, JUST SO YOU KNOW, WE CAN HEAR WHATEVER WAS YOU WERE SAYING.
UM, UH, CAN YOU, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? IT DOES SOUND BETTER NOW.
WELL, UM, WELL, FIRST TO THE QUESTION OF D SCALING, UH, D SCALING NEEDS TO OCCUR FOR THESE TO BE SCALING NEEDS TO OCCUR FOR ALL WATER HEATERS.
UM, I DON'T, I HAVE NOT SEEN MUCH COMPELLING INFORMATION TO ASSERT THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT, UM, A TANKLESS ONE NEEDS A GREATER EXTENT OF MAINTENANCE THAN, UH, THAN A STORAGE TANK, UM, THAT I WOULD DISAGREE WITH.
I WOULD, I WOULD DISAGREE WITH THAT ASSERTION.
AND, UM, AND NOW, UM, TO THE OTHER QUESTION ABOUT THE, UH, RESIDENTIAL TANKLESS WATER HEATERS, UH, THE LAST DOCUMENT I HAVE AVAILABLE FOR IT, UH, LAST DEAL WORK PAPER DATED 2020 THAT WAS COMPLETED IN 2020, STILL LISTS THE MEASURE LIFE AS 20 YEARS.
THAT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, CALIFORNIA, THEY ALSO CALL IT THE TRM, WHICH REFERENCES THIS DATABASE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, MEDIA TANKLESS, WATER HEATER, IT'S MEASUREMENT NUMBER
SO THAT IS THE 10 YEAR MEASURE LIFE FROM THAT DATABASE IS, UH, UH, FACTUALLY INCORRECT, UH, WHERE YOU DO SEE A 10 YEAR MEASURE LIFE FOR WATER HEATERS IS FOR ELECTRIC HEAT PUMP WATER.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S POSSIBLE, BUT THOSE TWO THAT HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED.
SO, UM, HAVE, DOES THAT ADDRESS THE MEASURE LIFE QUESTION? I DON'T, I HOPE YOU ALL CAN HEAR ME THIS TIME AND I WASN'T BREAKING UP IF YOU CAN SHARE THAT.
I WILL EMAIL IT AFTER THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
SO, UM, NOW, UH, FOR THE OTHER MARCH PIECE ON THE RESIDENTIAL DRYER, UH, JOHN, DO YOU WANT TO GO INTO SOME DETAIL OVER THE DEVIATIONS AND ANALYSIS ON THE RESIDENTIAL CLOSE MEYER, THE TRC VERSUS UCT DIFFERENCE, JOHN?
[01:40:02]
YES.UM, YEAH, SO, UM, FOR, UH, RESIDENTIAL DRYER, UH, WE, WE HAD SOME DIFFERENCE, UH, DRC, UH, IN HOW THE OUTSIDE PART, UM, CALCULATED BENEFITS.
HE INCLUDED AN AVOIDED EQUIPMENT COSTS, VALUE, UM, YOU KNOW, BASED ON OUR REVIEW, WE WEREN'T TO VERIFY, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO VERIFY THAT SOURCE OF THE, UH, UH, THAT BENEFIT, WHICH, UM, UM, INCREASED BENEFITS, UM, BY QUITE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT.
AND, UH, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE BIG DRIVERS OF WHY YOU SEE, UH, SOME DIFFERENCE THERE.
AND, UM, I'LL JUST SHOW THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH, UM, LET ME SEE IF I CAN, OKAY, SO THESE, THIS IS A COMPARISON OF, UM, THE TRC MONETIZED BENEFITS, AS YOU CAN SEE FOR, FOR THE MOST PART, UM, THINGS ARE CONSISTENT FOR THE TOTAL RESOURCE COST TEST BENEFITS, UM, AT THE RESIDENTIAL DRYER, THERE IS THAT, THAT LARGE DIFFERENCE, THE OUTSIDE EXPERT IS THE DARK BLUE AND THE ADM CALCULATED BENEFITS ARE THE LIGHT BLUE.
UM, SO AGAIN, WE DIDN'T INCLUDE THIS VERY LARGE FACTOR OR AVOIDED EQUIPMENT COST FOR DRYERS.
UM, HOWEVER, UH, THE OUTSIDE EXPERT ALSO HAD A HIGH, UM, INCREMENTAL COST FOR DRYERS, AND WE USED, UH, A DIFFERENT VALUE.
SO OVERALL, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TR THE ACTUAL TEST RATIO WAS NOT HUGELY DIFFERENT.
UH, IT WAS NOT, I MEAN, THEY WERE NOT VERY CLOSELY ALIGNED, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE DIFFERENT BEST SHOWN IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
SO THE CRUX OF THE CRUX OF THAT BEING, UH, I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD DEFINE A TERM WE ARE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT INCREMENTAL COSTS, THAT IS THE COST OF THE EFFICIENT OPTION MINUS THE COST OF THE ALTERNATIVE OPTION.
SO WHEN YOU DISCUSSED THE EQUIPMENT THAT IS BEING REPLACED, THAT IS REPLACING FAILED EQUIPMENT, YOU ASSUME THAT IT'S BEING COMPARED TO THE COST OF THE EFFICIENT CODE COMPLIANT OPTION.
UH, AND SO WHEN LOOKING AT THE CLOSED DRIVERS, WE HAVE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN BENEFITS.
WE REDUCE THE BENEFITS BY 60% BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, WE CAN NOT FIND THE COST, UH, FOR THEIR BENEFITS BEING HIGHER.
AND WE JUST MADE THE ADJUSTMENT.
WE CALCULATE THE BENEFITS BASED OFF OUR REVIEW AND COULD NOT RECONCILE WHY THERE'S HIGHER.
THERE'S SOME HARD THING THAT WE COULDN'T NAVIGATE, BUT BASED ON THE LOWER COSTS, WE FOUND THAT THEY WOULD RECEIVE THE FULL PURCHASE PRESENT, WHERE WE ARE USING PURCHASE PRICE OF THE DRY OF ENOUGH OF A ENERGY STORAGE, THE PRICE OF THE STANDARD EFFICIENCY DRIVER.
AND THERE'S A BEFORE UTILITY COST TEST BENEFITS ARE MUCH MORE PREDICTABLE.
YOU HAVE YOUR SAVINGS, YOU'VE GOT YOUR YEARS OF OPERATION AND THE COMMODITY.
SO WE FOUND VERY SIMILAR IMPACTS, UH, COMPARED TO, UM, COMPARED TO OUTSIDE.
SO, UM, AND THIS IS SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE WORK, UH, WATER HEATERS.
THE INCENTIVE MODEL IS HIGHER THAN TYPICALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THE COST EFFECTS IN THE CLINIC COULD BE IMPROVED BY THE INCENSE CONSENTED THAT WE WOULD CONCLUDE BASED OFF OF THE POOR COST-EFFECTIVENESS RATIO AT THE, THE, THE UTILITY COST TEST THAT, UM, THAT YOU KNOW, THAT THE INCENTIVES SHOULD BE LOWERED TO MORE TOWARDS THE UTILITY MOMS THAT YOU SEE IN NEIGHBORING STATES.
AND, UM, YEAH, TO GET IT MORE TOWARDS, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING COST-EFFECTIVE FOR THE RATE PAYERS.
UM, WE TALKED ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN THEY INCREASE PARTICIPATION PROGRAMS? ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOUND WAS THAT THERE WASN'T REALLY A SUPPORT OR A RESIDENTIAL CONTRACT WITH NETWORK OR ADVERTISING CONTRACT.
AND THIS CAME FROM A UTILITY PERSPECTIVE OF NOT WANTING TO PLAY FAVORITES OR SHOWING CONTRACTORS OR GIVING SOME IMPLICIT ENDORSEMENT OF A CONTRACTOR.
UH, BUT WE DO, WE DO FIND THAT THERE IS VALUE EVEN IF, IF A UTILITY, YOU KNOW, 40 UTILITY OR OTHER PROGRAMS TO FACILITATE CONTACT WITH QUALIFYING CONTRACTORS.
[01:45:01]
FAVORITISM ISSUE IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED BY JUST HAVING AN OPEN TENT.DO YOU WANT TO BE ON THIS LIST, JUST SEND US, YOU KNOW, SHOW US THAT YOU'RE LICENSED AND BONDED AND YOU KNOW, WHERE THIS WORK AND YOU ARE YOU'RE ON THIS HVAC LIST.
SO AS LONG AS THE INVITATION'S OPEN, I DON'T THINK IT'S A COMPETITIVE FAVORITISM ISSUE, BUT THERE IS A CONCERN THAT YOU USE HILARY TO HOLD ABOUT, YOU KNOW, JUST PUTTING THEM ON THERE, JUST PUTTING IT ON THEM, ON THEIR SERVE AS AN IMPLICIT ENDORSEMENT.
IS IT, UH, IS THERE A COMPETITIVE FAIRNESS ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED? I SUPPOSE THAT AS A POLICY MATTER TO WHAT'S THE PRIORITY HERE AND ARE THOSE CONCERNS ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED BY ENSURING THAT ANYONE THAT IS QUALIFIED, CAN THEY GET ON THAT IS LICENSED AND BONDED, CAN MAKE IT ONTO THE HVAC LIST OR EXAMPLE, UM, FOR THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, YOU KNOW, GAS PROGRAMS REALLY TEND TO FOCUS A LOT ON DIRECT INSTALL THESE DAYS, DIRECT INSTALL AND MIDSTREAM, UH, DIRECT INSTALL BEING, YOU KNOW, GOING DIRECTLY ON SITE AND PUTTING IN THESE HIGH RETURNING MEASURES, YOUR LOW FLOW DEVICES, UH, SHOWER HEADS, AIR RAIDERS, PRE RINSE, SPRAY VALVES FOR MARKETS BUFFER FOR MARKETS AND, UH, RESTAURANTS.
UM, AND, AND ALSO FOR OUT SOME OTHER, YOU KNOW, SPECIFIC HIGH GASEOUS COMMERCIAL SEGMENTS, SUCH AS LAUNDRY OR DRY CLEANERS, YOU KNOW, DIRECT INSTALLING IMPROVEMENTS, SUCH AS STEAM TRAP REPLACEMENT OR INSTALLATION OF HOT WATER AND STEAM LINES.
AND THIS IS TO REALLY GET AT, UM, END USES THAT ARE HIGH USE, BUT ARE INVISIBLE TO THE CUSTOMER BECAUSE HOW OFTEN DO THEY LOOK AT THEIR PIPES, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, NOW LET'S SEE, UM, JOHN, DO I GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE? OKAY.
THE AREAS THAT WE HAVE DISCUSSED, WE IN OUR REPORT WAS THE DISCUSSION OF EVALUATION, MEASUREMENT AND VERIFICATION, BEST PRACTICES.
UH, WE INCLUDE THIS IN THE REPORT AND WE DISCUSSED A YEAR AS FAR AS WHAT DOES EVALUATION LOOK LIKE? AND, YOU KNOW, W UH, WHEN IT IS BEING PERFORMED, UH, I CAN ADD SOME CONTEXT IN TERMS OF HOW OFTEN IS THIS PERFORMED OR OFF HOW OFTEN, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH.
UM, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY WHEN LOOKING AT EVALUATING GASP PROGRAMS, WE DEVELOP, YOU KNOW, PLANS DETAILING HOW MUCH DATA WILL BE COLLECTED.
UH, WE JUST DECIDE TO DEFINE WHAT CUSTOMER SEGMENTS JUST, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, MIGHT RECEIVE A VERIFICATION SURVEY.
YES, I GOT THIS FURNACE, NO, I DID NOT GET THIS FURNACE VERSUS WHAT PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, OR PROGRAM TYPES BENEFIT FROM AN ONSITE INSPECTION VERIFYING THAT EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN INSTALLED AND IS IN USE.
UM, SOME PROGRAMS MIGHT HAVE THEIR BILLING DATA, STATISTICALLY ANALYZED FOR NATURAL GAS IMPACTS THAT COULD HAPPEN WITH, UH, FURNACE PROGRAMS OR LOW-INCOME WEATHERIZATION, ANYTHING WHERE THERE IS A SIZABLE PERCENT OF ANNUAL USE.
UM, YOU KNOW, GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE WANT, YOU KNOW, BECOMES, STARTS BECOMING POSSIBLE WHEN YOU SEE, YOU KNOW, A FIVE OR 10% REDUCTION IN ANNUAL USE, UH, YOU CAN START SEEING SOMETHING THAT COMING OUT IN THE BILLS.
UM, AND THEN, THEN WHEN YOU DO EVALUATE THE IMPACTS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER NORMALIZING FOR THE LONGTERM TYPICAL METEOROLOGICAL YEAR, UH, WEATHER DATA IS SOMETHING REPRESENTATIVE OF LONG-TERM TRENDS FOR THE AREA.
AND THOSE ARE WEATHER DATASETS CREATED BY THE NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY.
UM, I THINK WE CAN KEEP GOING, JOHN.
UM, THIS IS JUST A BRIEF, YOU KNOW, FIGURE DETAILING AT WHAT SOME OF THE IMPACT EVALUATION ACTIVITIES AND HOW THEY INTERPLAY.
AND WHAT DOES THIS, WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE? UM, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS WITH, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS HOW OFTEN THIS TYPE OF WORK GETS DONE AND EVALUATION FOR, YOU KNOW, SMALLER, MODERATE SIZED PORTFOLIOS IS VERY OFTEN ONLY DONE ONCE ON A ONCE PER CYCLE BASIS, MAYBE ONE SEVEN, THREE OR FOUR YEARS TO JUST AS A SPOT CHECK TO SEE YES, IS THIS STILL FUNCTIONING AS INTENDED? IS IT PRODUCING BENEFITS AS WE'D EXPECT, UH, SOME STATES WITH AN ANNUAL, UH, TRUE UP, UH, OR LOST REVENUE ADJUSTMENT OR PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES OR FINES, THAT TYPE OF FRAMEWORK WILL CONDUCT EVALUATION ANNUALLY AS A SORT OF COMPLIANCE AUDIT FOR THOSE SORTS OF PURPOSES.
BUT SO THOSE ARE THE SORT OF, YOU KNOW, TWO LEVELS, TWO LEVELS OF EUROPE, HOW OFTEN IS IT TRUE AND NECESSARY? AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THERE IS BETWEEN THOSE TWO LEVELS.
THERE IS NO REAL RIGHT ANSWER.
IT'S A MATTER OF, UH, BUT THAT'S, UM, A MATTER OF CHOICE AND POLICY AND ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, HOW MUCH IS THERE AT RISK IN TERM IN EITHER A CARROT OR STICK FORM TO THE UTILITY BEING
[01:50:01]
EVALUATED? UM, NEXT SLIDE, JOHN.AND THE OTHER ASPECT OF EVALUATION, OTHER THAN THE IMPACT EVALUATION THAT I WAS DESCRIBING BEFORE, WHERE WE ARE VERIFYING ONE THAT VERIFY GAS IMPACTS IS A PROCESS EVALUATION.
NOW, PROCESS EVALUATION INVOLVES SOLICITING FEEDBACK FROM PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS, UH, CUSTOMERS THAT BOTH PARTICIPANTS AND NON-PARTICIPANTS, UH, CONTRACTORS THAT MIGHT BE INVOLVED IN A PROGRAM SUCH AS AN HVAC OR PLUMBING CONTRACTOR, AND TRYING TO IDENTIFY AREAS WHERE THE PROGRAM CAN IMPROVE.
NOW, SOME OF WHAT WE DID FOR THIS STUDY FALLS INTO THE REALM OF PROCESS EVALUATION, INCLUDING BENCHMARKING AGAINST OTHER UTILITIES, TO TRY AND IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE PORTFOLIO NOT DOING THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED.
UM, BUT THE, A LARGER PROCESS EVALUATION IS SORT OF A COMBINATION OF MARKET RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT CONSULTING, UH, WHERE YOU WANT TO IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, WHAT ELSE COULD ON A BIG PICTURE BASIS, COULD THE PROGRAMS BE DOING? AND THEN WITHIN WHAT THEY ARE CURRENTLY DOING, WHAT SORT OF OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES COULD BE FOUND AND INACCURATE.
UM, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO GO BY THE LAST PART OF, THIS WAS THE TV SURVEY EFFORT WE DID AT TGS CUSTOMERS.
UH, WE SURVEYED 200, 300 CUSTOMERS, UM, 200, SORRY, UH, RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
AND, UH, WE ASKED ABOUT HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND INCOME LEVEL.
THEY DETERMINED THAT THEY WERE, UM, LOW INCOME BASED OFF OF A TREND RATIO OF THOSE TWO FACTORS.
AND WE FOUND THAT 10% OF THE RESPONDENTS WERE LOW-INCOME CUSTOMERS.
AND, UM, WE ALSO, UH, WE SOLICITED RESPONSES FROM A SMALLER NUMBER OF COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
AND, UH, WE WERE LOOKING FOR REALLY THE PERSPECTIVE OF NON-PARTICIPANTS FOR THOSE THAT HAVE NOT PARTICIPATED IN A PROGRAM, WHY HAVEN'T THEY PARTICIPATED AND WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO GET THEM TO PARTICIPATE? OH, OKAY.
AND, UH, AMONG THE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS, AS FOR THE SLIGHT HEARING, YOU KNOW, AND THERE'S NOT A BIG ISSUE WITH A LACK OF AWARENESS, UH, OVER 50% OF RESPONDENTS WERE UNAWARE THAT REBATES WERE OFFERED, UM, MOST LEARNED THROUGH MAIL OR EMAIL THAT MOST THAT DID LEARN WERE GROUP MAIL, PHYSICAL MAIL, OR EMAIL ALERTS ABOUT PROGRAMS. AND, UM, AND THE NON-PARTICIPANTS ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, WE SPOKE WITH DON'T EXPECT THAT THEIR FUTURE EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENTS, UH, WE'LL BE EFFICIENT OR QUALIFYING FOR A REBATE THAT THEY DO NOT ANTICIPATE INSTALLING HIGH EFFICIENCY OPTIONS WHEN THEY DO NEED TO REPLACE EQUIPMENT.
SO, UM, NOW THIS, THE, THIS QUESTION WAS ABOUT, UH, WHITNEY QUESTIONS OF AWARENESS OF PROGRAMS AND INTEREST LEVEL OF PROGRAMS FOR AMONG RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS, UH, 27% OF THE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
UM, SORRY, JOHN, DO YOU WANT TO GO INTO FURTHER DETAIL ON THE SURVEY PORTION? UH, YES.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, OUT OF 100, WE LOOKED AT, UM, TO START OFF, WE LOOKED AT ALL 200 SURVEY RESPONSES FROM THE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS, UM, AND, UM, OUT OF, YOU KNOW, UH, FOR, FOR, UH, PROGRAM AWARENESS AND REBATE AWARENESS, UH, WE HAD 175 VALID RESPONSES.
UM, AND ABOUT 73% OF THOSE SAID THAT THEY WERE NOT AWARE OF, UM, TGS REBATES OR, UM, REBATES BEING OFFERED BY TGS, UH, AND OUT OF 160 VALID RESPONSES.
WHEN WE SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WERE VERY INTERESTED OR MODERATELY INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT, UH, ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND, AND THE PROGRAM WAS OFFERED BY TGS.
UM, WE ALSO ASKED THEM, UH, ASKED RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHAT KIND OF EQUIPMENT THEY HAD INSTALLED RECENTLY IN THEIR HOMES.
AND, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THIS WAS EQUIPMENT THAT WAS NOT REBATED, UM, THROUGH ANY TGS PROGRAM.
UH, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT SOME OF THESE, UM, SOME OF, SOME OF THE EQUIPMENT THAT WAS INSTALLED, IT WAS NOT, YOU KNOW, ENERGY EFFICIENT.
IT MIGHT'VE NOT BEEN, IT MIGHT'VE BEEN USED.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, IT SHOWS HERE THAT THEY, THAT PEOPLE ARE TAKING ACTION, UM, AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO IMPROVE THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF THEIR HOME.
SO WE THINK THAT WE BELIEVE THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY HERE, UH, FOR, FOR CUSTOMERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAMS. AND, UH,
[01:55:01]
AS YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WERE INSTALLING ANYTHING FROM THERMOSTATS AND THIS COULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, THESE MIGHT BE WIFI, UH, PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTATS, OR SMART THERMOSTATS, UM, STOVE, TOPS, CLOTHES, DRYERS, UH, DIFFERENT AIR CEILING, UH, INSTALLATIONS, UH, WATER HEATERS, AND FURNACES, AS WELL AS A LOW FLOW DEVICES.AND WE SAW ELMA RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS THAT THE INTEREST IN HOME AND THE HOMES, ENERGY EFFICIENCY IS, IS ACTUALLY VERY HIGH.
UM, YOU KNOW, 10 BEING EXTREMELY INTERESTED.
UH, SO WE CAN SEE HERE THAT PEOPLE ARE DEFINITELY, UM, INVOLVED IN, IN TRYING TO MAKE THEIR HOMES ENERGY EFFICIENT.
UM, THEN WE SPLIT OUT THE, THE SMALLER SAMPLE SIZE OF CUSTOMERS THAT WE DEEMED TO BE LOW INCOME BASED ON OUR, UH, QUESTIONS IN THE SURVEY.
UH, SO IT'S, UH, IT'S A SMALL SAMPLE SIZE.
IT'S HARD TO, UM, IT'S HARD TO APPLY THIS TO THE LARGER LOW-INCOME POPULATION, BUT WE WANTED TO PROVIDE THOSE RESPONSES HERE.
UH, AND WE FOUND THAT THE OVERALL, THE FINDINGS WERE SIMILAR TO THE OVERALL RESIDENTIAL SURVEY POPULATION.
UH, HERE'S THE QUESTIONS ABOUT HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND INCOME OR LOW INCOME RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS? UH, SO MOST HOUSEHOLDS IN THIS GROUP HAD TWO TO FIVE, UM, PEOPLE LIVING IN THE HOUSEHOLD AND MOST MADE 40,000 OR LESS, UM, IN ANNUAL INCOME.
UM, WE HAD, UH, IN THE SAME QUESTIONS ABOUT PROGRAM AWARENESS AND INTEREST IN, UH, ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
UH, WE SEE THAT, UM, MAJORITY OF RESPONDENTS IN THE LOW INCOME GROUP, UH, WERE NOT AWARE OF, UH, REBATES OFFERED BY TGS AND, UM, THEIR INTEREST LEVEL AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY IS QUITE HIGH.
UM, NEXT, UH, HERE IS THE SIMILAR FIGURE SHOWING THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, MEASURES OR EQUIPMENT THAT HAS BEEN INSTALLED WITHOUT A REBATE FOR LOW-INCOME RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
AND WE SEE, UM, SAME TYPE OF THINGS BEING INSTALLED HERE.
EXCUSE ME, MADAM CHAIR AND PRESENTERS.
THIS IS JUST THE, UH, 15 MINUTE MARK OF OUR ALLOTTED TIME.
SO I WANTED EVERYBODY TO BE AWARE OF THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE ONLY HAVE A COUPLE OF SLIDES LEFT, SO JOHN FREE.
THANK YOU FOR THE TIME WARNING.
JAMIE, DO WE HAVE A HARD STOP THAT I FOR, FOR THAT COMMISSION MEETING? IS THAT CORRECT? YES, MA'AM UNFORTUNATELY, YES.
UNFORTUNATELY WE DID HAVE A HARD STOP.
I'M REALLY HOPING WE CAN STILL ESP YOU, WE ALSO RCA FROM AUSTIN WATER.
SO, SO THEN LET'S THEN JOHN, CAN YOU PUSH GO THROUGH THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES AND WE'LL CONCLUDE.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR FINDINGS FOR LOW-INCOME RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS FOR AN INTEREST IN A NEW HOMES, ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
SO, AND THEN, UM, WE'LL, LET'S JUST, LET'S, LET'S SORT OF GET THROUGH IT, SO THE OTHER FOLKS CAN HAVE THEIR TIME IN THIS FOR SURE.
UM, BUT NON-RESIDENTIAL, YOU KNOW, YEAH.
COULD BE WHAT RESPONSE RATE IN A CERTAIN WAY, UNFORTUNATELY.
SO THAT'S, THE RESULTS COULD BE SOMEWHAT TAKEN WITH A BIT OF A GREAT ASSAULT.
UM, SOME FIRMOGRAPHIC PIECES, WHICH WE CAN THEN THERE ARE ALSO SUMMARIZED IN THE REPORT.
AND YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, JOHN, DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE, UH, CONCLUSIONS YOU WANT TO DISCUSS OR IS JUST THE REMAINING SURVEY DATA YOU SINCE OPEN STATION.
YEAH, FROM THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, YOU KNOW, THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE A LITTLE WEAK WEAKER DUE TO THE LOWER, LOWER SAMPLE.
UH, BUT THERE ARE STILL SOME, YOU KNOW, AMONG THOSE REACH DAY, YOU KNOW, A LOT GENERAL, APPARENTLY SPEAKING TO LACK OF PROGRAM AWARENESS, UM, AND JOHN NEXT SLIDE.
THAT'S A BIT THEN WE'LL WRAP INTO SR WHO TOOK LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED AND, UH, HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP WITH ANY OTHER, UH, SIDEBAR QUESTIONS FROM THIS.
HAVING HAD THE CHANCE TO, UH, PRESENT TO YOU ALL TODAY.
HE PRETTY MUCH ADAM AND JOHN FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND APOLOGIES FOR RUSHING YOU
[02:00:01]
TO, UH, EVERYONE ON THE LINE AS WE, WE DID GET STARTED LATE, UH, TODAY.[Items 5 & 6]
I'D ACTUALLY LIKE TO, UH, HEAR FROM THE COMMISSION QUICKLY BECAUSE WE DO HAVE SEVERAL IMPORTANT ITEMS REMAINING ON THE AGENDA.AND I JUST WANT TO GET A QUICK PULSE FROM THE GROUP.
UM, KAI, IF YOU SAY THAT IT'S, UH, YOU WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM DSD TODAY.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A QUARTERLY UPDATE FROM TGS AND THEN TO RCAS, UH, RELATED TO AUSTIN WATER.
MADAM CHAIR, UM, TEXAS GAS SERVICES OFFERED TO COME BACK, UH, NEXT MONTH OR IN JANUARY.
UM, THE RCAS ARE A TIME-SENSITIVE AND THAT THERE'S A DECEMBER, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEETING COMING UP.
THEY'D LIKE A RECOMMENDATION BEFORE THEY DID THEIR IT.
AND I, I SEE THAT THAT COUNCIL MEETING IS DECEMBER 10TH, WHICH IS BEFORE OUR COMMISSION WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET.
UM, LET ME JUST TAKE A QUICK POLL FROM THE COMMISSION IF YOU'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO RE REVIEW THOSE RCAS.
AND, UM, DO WE, DO WE NEED TO HOLD DISCUSSION ON THOSE ITEMS? UM, OR ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS THAT ANYBODY WANTS TO DRINK BRING UP OR, AND REALLY, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IF WE CAN ADDRESS THOSE TOO QUICKLY.
UM, MOVING THOSE UP ON THE AGENDA.
WE HAVE DISCUSSED THESE THINGS WITH AUSTIN WATER, SO I'M, I'M SUPPORTIVE.
THANK YOU, CARRIE, BUT OTHER OTHER COMMISSIONERS DISAGREE.
I'M SUPPORTIVE OF, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF IT AS WELL.
SO BOTH, BOTH, BOTH OF THE RCAS.
AND, UM, JAMIE, WE CAN TAKE BOTH OF THESE, UH, FOR APPROVAL AT, UH, AT ONCE.
MADAM CHAIR IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, AS LONG AS EVERYBODY IS WELL AWARE THAT WE'RE APPROVING, UH, TO REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION ON, ON SEPARATE ISSUES FROM THE AUSTIN WATER UTILITY, THERE'S AN AUDIT NUMBER FIVE, WHICH I BELIEVE IS ON REUSE AND NOT A NUMBER SIX, WHICH IS ON COOLING TOWERS.
AND, UM, YES, YOU MAY, YOU MAY PROCEED, JUST HAVE A VOICE VOTE REAL QUICK AND WE'LL GO FROM THERE.
MOVE APPROVAL FOR ITEMS FOUR AND FIVE FROM THE AUSTIN WATER UTILITY, EXCUSE ME.
THAT WOULD BE ITEMS FIVE AND SIX AND EMBASSY, SORRY, FIVE AND SIX APOLOGIES.
I'LL SECOND IT, THANK YOU, LEO.
UH, COMMISSIONER FREELAND JOINED QUITE A WHILE BACK.
I JUST DID NOT WANT TO INTERRUPT WHATEVER FLOW WE HAD TO LET Y'ALL KNOW THAT.
AND WELCOME, UH, BELATED WELCOME COMMISSIONER FREELAND, JUST TO MAKE SURE WE GOT YOUR VOTE.
WERE YOU ABLE TO VOICE VOTE WITH THAT AS WELL? YES MA'AM.
WE HAVE ITEM FIVE AND A SEVEN OH VOTE.
SO IT'S APPROVED AND WE HAVE THE ITEM NUMBER SIX ON THE SEVEN ZERO AND THAT'S A PRETTY DOSSIER.
[4. Quarterly update from Texas Gas Service regarding energy efficiency programs.]
JAMIE, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I, UH, HEARD YOUR RECOMMENDATION REGARDING ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS THE UPDATE FROM TGS REGARDING THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, UM, WHICH I KNOW IS, IS QUITE RELEVANT TO THE DISCUSSION THAT WE'VE HAD TODAY.I ALSO APPRECIATE IN OUR SEVEN MINUTES MINUTES REMAINING, WE LIKELY DON'T HAVE TIME TO FULLY COVER THAT ITEM.
UM, DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO THE COMMISSION TO INVITE, UH, TGS BACK TO OUR NEXT MEETING FOR THAT UPDATE PRESENTATION? YEAH.
AND THEY HAVE AGREED TO, UH, COME BACK THAT THEY WOULD WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TO YOU.
THANK YOU TO THE TGS STAFF FOR, FOR STAYING ON THE LINE WITH US TODAY, AND WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR PRESENTATION, UH, AT OUR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING.
WE'VE TAKEN CARE OF ITEMS FIVE AND SIX.
[7. Set meeting dates for Resource Management Commission for 2021.]
IS, UH, SETTING DATES FOR THE ACTUALLY I'M GOING TO MAYBE PASS FORWARD TO ITEM SEVEN, TO TAKE CARE OF THE DSD, UH, STAFFING RECOMMENDATIONS, APOLOGIES, MADAM CHAIR.WE NEED TO FORMALIZE THAT REAL QUICK.
I HOPE EVERYBODY HAS GOTTEN A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THAT.
DYNAMIC PRIORITIZATION IS WHAT THIS IS CALLED.
RIGHT? MOVE THE APPROVAL OF THE COMMITTEE FOR 2021, AS OPPOSED TO IT.
COMMISSIONER WHITE, VICE CHAIR BIKE.
I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION ALL IN FAVOR.
[02:05:01]
AYE.REBECCA SAYS I THANK YOU, REBECCA.
SO WE HAVE UNANIMOUS VOTE AND IT PASSES.
WE NOW HAVE A SCHEDULE FOR NEXT YEAR.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE BEFORE WE DSD
[8. Discussion and possible action on solar ready code enforcement staffing recommendation to Council.]
AND IF WE'RE ABLE TO GET IT UPDATED IN FIVE MINUTES? NO MA'AM AND I APPRECIATE YOUR, THE, WELL WE'RE GOOD.NOW, IF WE CAN JUST BRING BETH BETH CALVER UP, UH, CAV HALL TECH, NATHAN, UM, THE SPEAKER FOR NUMBER EIGHT, I BELIEVE IT'S BETH CULVER WITH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIVISION.
UH, HOPEFULLY I'M UN-MUTED QUICKLY.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON COMMISSIONERS.
UH, I'M BETH COLVER, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, AND BUILDING OFFICIAL WITH THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
UH, WE APPRECIATE YOU ALL HAVING US BACK TODAY AS THAT WAS UNEXPECTED.
UM, WE WOULD ULTIMATELY LIKE TO HAVE A FURTHER CONVERSATION WITH THE COMMISSION REGARDING THE SCOPE OF REVIEW AND INSPECTIONS FOR SELLER READY, BUT MAYBE IN A FUTURE MEETING.
SO I WILL GET TO THE POINT ABOUT WHAT THE POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS ARE THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR FROM THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.
AT THE LAST MEETING, WE WERE REQUESTED TO PROVIDE A STAFFING PLAN, UH, TO REVIEW AND INSPECT SOLAR READY REQUIREMENTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION CODE, UM, ENERGY CONSERVATION CODE, SORRY.
SO WE DID LOOK INTO WHAT THAT MIGHT ENTAIL, BUT ULTIMATELY BEFORE WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE ANYTHING SUCH AS A STAFFING PLAN OR BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS FOR OUR DEPARTMENT, WE'LL NEED TO HAVE CITY MANAGER APPROVAL.
SO OUR DEPARTMENT, UM, ALONE DOES NOT INTEND TO REQUEST ANY ADDITIONAL STAFF FROM CITY COUNCIL FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS, UNLESS IT'S IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO A CITY COUNCIL, UH, RESOLUTION OR, UM, SOME TYPE OF MANDATE.
SO, UM, SO WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING THAT WE MOVE FORWARD WITH ANY PROCESS CHANGES AT THIS TIME.
SO OUR REQUEST TODAY IS THAT, UH, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, UH, ASSUMING THAT YOU STILL DON'T FULLY ATTEND TO HAVE US PROVIDE THE STAFFING PLAN THAT, THAT, UH, REQUESTS GO THROUGH CITY COUNCIL.
I BELIEVE LAST TIME IT CAME FROM A RESOLUTION TO CITY COUNCIL AND THEN CITY COUNCIL ISSUED A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO PROVIDE WITH A REPORT THAT OUTLINED THE, UM, FULL ENERGY REVIEWS AT THAT TIME.
SO WE RECOMMEND THE SAME, UH, MEASURES TO, UH, PROVIDE A REPORT, OUTLINE THE SCOPE, RE PERMIT SOME MIDDLE REQUIREMENTS, FULL STAFFING REQUIREMENTS, INCLUDING THE QUANTITY, THE COST CUSTOMER FEE INCREASES ALL OF THAT.
BUT ULTIMATELY WE WOULD NEED THAT DIRECTION TO COME FROM OUR, UM, CITY COUNCIL TO CITY MANAGERS SO THAT WE CAN FOLLOW OUR CHAIN OF COMMAND AND GETTING ALL OF THAT APPROVED OR BEFORE PROVIDING ANY KIND OF CHANGES TO OUR BUDGET, CLEAR YOU NEED CITY COUNCIL DIRECTION, JUST TO TELL US WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO DO THE THING, NOT W YOU KNOW, WE, WEREN'T ASKING FOR A RECOMMENDATION TO COME FROM Y'ALL IN TERMS OF ACTUALLY REQUESTING THE STAFF, BUT YOU'RE SAYING EVEN TO DO THE ASSESSMENT OF WHAT IT WOULD TAKE, YOU NEED CITY COUNCIL DIRECTION.
ULTIMATELY I NEED CITY MANAGER TO BE INVOLVED WITH THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION.
AND SO THAT THAT'S THE FORMAT THAT WOULD NEED TO COME IN, BUT I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT BEING CLEAR ON THAT LAST TIME, IF THIS IS NEW TO ME, I'M NEW IN THIS ROLE.
BUT IF YOU DID MOVE FORWARD WITH, UM, THAT RESOLUTION TO CITY COUNCIL, UH, PERHAPS AT A FUTURE MEETING, WE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE SCOPE SO THAT WE CAN ENSURE ANY TYPE OF MEMO WE PROVIDE RESPONSES, UH, MEETS YOUR EXPECTATIONS.
UM, WELL, I GUESS GIVEN THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE A FEW STEPS AWAY FROM ANYTHING HAPPENING.
AND, UM, I KNOW THE, THE CITY BUDGET PROCESS ACTUALLY STARTS REALLY SOON.
UM, I'M WONDERING IF THE COMMISSION WOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE JUST MAKING A REALLY, UM, KIND OF BASIC RECOMMENDATION THAT COUNCIL REQUEST AN ASSESSMENT FROM DEVELOPMENT SERVICES FOR WHAT STAFFING WOULD BE REQUIRED TO FULLY ENFORCE THE ENERGY CODE, INCLUDING THE SEVERITY PROVISIONS.
I CAN'T EVEN MY, MY, UM, REACTION TO THAT SUGGESTION AND THANK YOU FOR, FOR KIND OF ALL OFFERING ALTERNATIVES.
AND ALSO THANK YOU, BETH, AGAIN FOR BEING HERE.
UM, I THINK IN TERMS OF, WITH REGARD TO THE KIND OF OUR PURVIEW AS A COMMISSION, UM, THE REAL ISSUE HERE IS THAT THE CODE'S NOT BEING ENFORCED.
AND, AND, AND THAT THAT'S CLEAR, UM, AND I MIGHT PROPOSE OR SUGGEST TO THE COMMISSION THAT REALLY OUR, OUR MESSAGE TO COUNCIL IS THAT THE FACT THAT THE CODE IS UNKNOWN IS
[02:10:01]
NOT BEING ENFORCED AS A PROBLEM, YOU KNOW, UM, HAVING, UM, UH, CODES THAT ARE IN FIRST ENFORCED DON'T REALLY HAVE MUCH TEETH.AND I WONDER IF THERE'S A WAY, YOU KNOW, DSD AND CITY MANAGER IN COUNCIL WITH REGARD TO THE STAFFING REQUIRED.
THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF UP TO THEM TO SOME EXTENT, BUT I THINK WE ACKNOWLEDGED THE REASON THAT WE WE'VE HEARD THAT WE DON'T HAVE STAFF.
SO I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S A, A, UM, RESOLUTION OR A RECOMMENDATION THAT, THAT BASICALLY BECOMING FROM THIS COMMISSION THAT SAYS THAT THE FACT THAT THE CODE, THE CODE, WE BELIEVE THAT THE FACT THAT THE CODE IS NOT BEING ENFORCED, UM, IS NOT, UH, ADVANCING THE OBJECTIVES WITH REGARD TO RENEWABLE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION.
UM, AND I APOLOGIZE, I DON'T HAVE THAT LANGUAGE AVAILABLE.
UH, I THINK, AND WE COULD ADD AFFORDABILITY PROBABLY TO THAT AS WELL.
UM, BECAUSE THAT TIES INTO EFFICIENCY.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WE COULD JUST SAY SOMETHING LIKE IT, IT IS, UH, THE VIEW OF THIS COMMISSION THAT THE FACT THAT THE ENERGY CODE IS NOT BEING FULLY ENFORCED IS A DETRIMENT TO ADVANCEMENT OF A FOREIGNER AFFORDABILITY, ENERGY CONSERVATION EFFICIENCY, AND, UH, THE USE OF RENEWED ONSITE, RENEWABLE ENERGY, AND RECOMMEND THAT THE COUNCIL DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO ASSESS, UH, STAFFING AND OTHER NEEDS TO FULLY ENFORCE THE ENERGY CODE.
I MIGHT, UM, UM, SUGGEST A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO THAT, BUT I AGREE WITH YOU, AND IT'S SOMETHING WE'VE DISCUSSED IN THE PAST, BUT IT'S MAYBE EXPLORE OPTIONS THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR THAT STAFFING TO OCCUR.
UM, IF YOU REMEMBER THE PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD, THE, THE PROBLEM IS, IS THAT, UM, IS EXACTLY WHAT BETH I THINK HAS SAID IS, IS THAT THEY HAVE A BUDGET THAT THEY HAVE TO ADHERE TO, AND TO, TO SUGGEST ADDITIONAL STAFF HIRES MEANS THEY HAVE TO INCREASE THEIR BUDGET.
AND THAT HAS TO GO THROUGH CITY MANAGERS.
SO IN THE PAST WE, WE DISCUSSED, ONE OF THE OPTIONS WOULD BE FOR THEM TO GO INTO ENTERPRISE, GO ENTERPRISE AND FUND THEMSELVES ON STAFFING AND HIRING AND BY, BY PERMIT FEES.
AND I, I, THAT'S AN OPTION THAT I THINK THAT, THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEM EXPLORE, UH, BECAUSE THE SOLAR, THE SOLAR READY IS NOT JUST, IT'S JUST ONE OF THEIR PROBLEMS, NOT ALL OF THEIR PROBLEMS. SO, AND I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THAT LAST TIME, SO I AGREE WITH YOU.
UM, I THINK THAT'S WORTH, UH, ADJUSTMENT, SIN IDENTIFY.
UM, BUT, UH, W WAS IT BUDGET OPTIONS? YEAH.
FUNDING OPTIONS OR OPERATIONAL OPTIONS THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM TO, UM, MAINTAIN ADEQUATE STAFF TO, UH, UM, ENFORCE CODE COMPLIANCE.
SO IN TERMS OF, OF TIMING FOR THAT RESOLUTION, DO WE HAVE THE LUXURY OF, OF TAKING THIS UP AND APPROVING THAT, UH, LANGUAGE AT OUR NEXT MEETING? UH, JUST QUICK TIME CHECK ON, ON THE TIMING OF THAT.
UH, I KNOW KYLA, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE BUDGET DISCUSSIONS ARE GOING ON NOW.
UM, WELL, I MEAN, USUALLY, I MEAN, BASICALLY AS SOON AS THE LAST BUDGET IS ADOPTED IS KIND OF LIKE,
[02:18:09]