[00:00:02]
UH, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU ON ONBOARD.
[CALL TO ORDER]
UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER AT, UH, SIX 15.UM, AND I'LL BEGIN WITH THE ROLL CALL TO GET US STARTED.
UH, THIS IS DANA HARMON CHAIR.
UM, I'M PRESENT, UH, VICE-CHAIR WHITE PRESIDENT, UH, COMMISSIONER BABIAK.
UH, COMMISSIONER BLACKBURN HERE.
HELLO, COMMISSIONER TABATA COMMISSIONER.
SHE CAN TRY TO IT HERE ABOUT SEVEN.
AND I DID SEE THAT COMMUNICATION.
UH, COMMISSIONER DIELMAN AND COMMISSIONER DALE MANN IS UNABLE TO MAKE IT TONIGHT.
THANK YOU, JAMIE, UH, COMMISSIONER FREELAND AND SHE IS ALSO UNABLE TO MAKE IT TONIGHT.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON HERE, COMMISSIONER SMITH.
AM I SAYING YOUR NAME CORRECTLY? YES.
WE'RE UH, WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE YOU ON THE COMMISSION AND APOLOGIES FOR, UH, FOR THE TECHNICAL GLITCHES THAT WE'RE HAVING, BUT, UH, WELCOME, UH, WELCOME TO THE COMMISSION.
UM, SO WITH THAT, UM, ON OUR AGENDA TODAY, WE DO HAVE A RELATIVELY LIGHT, UH, AGENDA FOR OUR MEETINGS, BUT I THINK, UH, THAT DOES, UH, BOARD US THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE SOME SPACE, UH, FOR COMMISSION DISCUSSION AT THIS MEETING, WHICH I THINK WILL BE QUITE HELPFUL.
UM, SO WE WILL, UH, MOVE INTO CITIZEN COMMUNICATION SHORTLY, UH, AND THEN WE WILL HAVE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
UM, NEXT WE'LL MOVE ON TO A QUARTERLY UPDATE FROM TEXAS GAS SERVICE REGARDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS. UM, AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR, FOR TEXAS GAS SERVICE FOR THEIR PATIENTS AS THIS ITEM WAS AN ITEM WE DID NOT, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO GET TO AT OUR LAST, UH, AGENDA MEETING.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO A COMMISSION DISCUSSION, UH, LOOKING FORWARD INTO 2021.
[CITIZEN COMMUNICATION]
SO WITH THAT, UH, JAMIE, I DO BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE, UH, PAUL ROBINS SIGNED UP FOR CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.IS THAT CORRECT? UM, PERHAPS EITHER JV OR, OR, UH, CITY HALL, DO WE HAVE, UM, PAUL SAYS AND COMMUNICATION.
MADAM CHAIR, MR. ROBINSON SIGNED UP FOR, UH, CITIZEN COMMUNICATION, WHICH IS ANY TOPIC THAT IS NOT ON THE TODAY'S AGENDA AND FOR THE AGENDA ITEM ON THE GAS SERVICES, EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, UPDATE, AND THE ITEM ON FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. SO, UM, THAT'S UH, WITHOUT MS. ROBINS, I'D ASK YOU TO KEEP YOUR COMMENTS, UH, WITHIN THE TIMEFRAMES ALOUD AND, UH, ON EACH ONE OF THOSE TOPICS.
DANA, CAN YOU HEAR ME LOUD AND CLEAR? THANK YOU.
TECHNICALLY I HAVE NINE MINUTES.
I HAVE REDUCED THIS TO SIX MINUTES.
MAY I PLEASE PRESENT THEM ALL AT THE BEGINNING? YES, SIR.
A FEW DAYS AGO, I RECEIVED A MARKETING EMAIL FROM TEXAS GAS SERVICE OFFERING ME $325 FOR A NEW ALLEGEDLY ENERGY EFFICIENT GAS CLOTHES DRYER.
PERSONALLY, I USE THE SUN TO DRY MY CLOTHES.
SO I WOULD ACTUALLY END UP USING MORE GAS IF I TOOK ADVANTAGE OF IT.
BUT EVEN THE AVERAGE PERSON THAT OWNED A GAS DRYER WOULD BE CHALLENGED TO SAVE MUCH ENERGY.
THE ENERGY EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGY COUPLED WITH THIS REBATE IS A MOISTURE SENSOR.
THEY SAVE ONLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF ENERGY TO BEGIN WITH AND RESIDENTIAL CLOTHES DRYERS THEMSELVES ONLY USE A SMALL AMOUNT OF ENERGY.
SO THIS REBATE WILL RESULT IN SAVING
[00:05:01]
ENERGY.IT MANY TIMES IT'S COST, BUT IF YOU READ THE FINE PRINT, THIS PROGRAM IS EVEN WORSE.
A CUSTOMER CAN GET A DRYER REBATE AS OFTEN AS ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS.
IF YOU ALREADY HAPPENED TO OWN A DRYER WITH A MOISTURE SENSOR AND REPLACE IT WITH ANOTHER DRYER WITH A MOISTURE SENSOR, $325 WILL BE WELL-ROOTED AWARDED, UH, WITH NO PURPOSE EXCEPT ENSURING THE GAS COMPANY RETAINS ITS MARKET SHARE.
NOW THIS REBATE CAN ALSO BE USED TO INCENT CONVERSION OF ELECTRIC DRYERS TO GAS DRYERS, WHICH DOES INDEED SAVE SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNTS OF ENERGY.
HOWEVER, REESE, THE RECENT CONSULTANT REPORT THAT YOU HEARD LAST WEEK THAT SUPPOSEDLY ANALYZE THE COST OF GAS CONSERVATION PROGRAMS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BREAK DOWN THE TWO FUELS SEPARATELY.
WE DO NOT KNOW HOW MANY REBATES ARE GIVEN TO CONVERT ELECTRIC DRYERS, AS OPPOSED TO RETAINING THE GAS COMPANY'S EXISTING MARKET SHARE OF GAS, CLOTHES, DRYERS, AND THE OFFICE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS, WHICH SUPPOSEDLY OVERSEES THE GAS COMPANY IS DOING NOTHING TO STOP THIS.
THIS IS HARDLY THE ONLY SHORTCOMING OF THE CONSULTANTS REPORT THE REPORT ECONOMICALLY RATIONALIZED REBATES FOR TANKLESS WATER HEATERS BY DOING THREE THINGS.
FIRST IT'S CLAIMING AN UNREALISTIC LIFE OF A UNIT COMPARED TO A CONVENTIONAL WATER HEATER.
SECONDLY, IT IS IGNORING THE COST OF CLEANING SCALE AND FOOD.
IT IS CLAIMING A COST PREMIUM, PROFOUNDLY LOWER THAN, UH, OTHER NUMBERS THAT, UH, I'VE GROWN TO RELY ON REGARD THAT THAT I RELY ON REGARDING THIS COST PREMIUM TEXAS GAS SERVICE HAS HIDDEN THAT DATA FROM ME WHEN I ASKED THEM FOR IT EARLY, EARLIER THIS YEAR IN DISCOVERY ON A RATE CASE AND THE OFFICE OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS ONLY RELEASED SOME OF THE INFORMATION ON THE SUBJECT TODAY, EVEN THOUGH I ASKED FOR IT MORE THAN A MONTH AGO, REGARDING SCALE OF TANKLESS, WATER HEATERS, ANYONE WHO BUYS A TANKLESS UNIT WITHOUT EXPECTING TO CLEAN IT IS IN FOR STICKER SHOCK.
WELL, ONE CAN SEE A RADICALLY DO THE WORK THEMSELVES.
THIS IS MORE COMPLICATED TO CLEAN THAN CONVENTIONAL TANK STORAGE UNITS.
AND MANY CUSTOMERS WILL HIRE A PROFESSIONAL.
UH, THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT TEXAS GAS SERVICE IS MISSPENDING ABOUT $1 MILLION A YEAR ON REBATES THAT DO NOT COST EFFECTIVELY SAVE ENERGY.
AND THE OFFICE OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS WILL NOT DO ITS JOB BY STOPPING.
WHAT IN MANY RESPECTS IS A GLORIFIED MARKETING CAMPAIGN.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE COMMISSION WAS DENIED THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON THE CONSULTANT'S REPORT AND TEXAS GAS SERVICES CONSERVATION PROGRAM BECAUSE OF THE BUDGET WAS FINALIZED.
AT THE END OF LAST MONTH, THE CONSULTANT'S REPORT WAS PROVIDED TO YOU LATE, AND THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION HAD NO TIME TO CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES.
THE INFORMATION PROVIDED TO YOU BY TEXAS GAS SERVICE FOR ITEM TWO ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA IS ALSO INADEQUATE IN THE PAST.
THE COMPANY HAS PROVIDED A DETAILED BUDGET BY PROGRAM AND BY YEAR THE INFORMATION CURRENTLY POSTED ON YOUR COMMISSION'S WEBSITE IS COMPARATIVELY AND WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT.
SO I END BY REPEATING MY TWO REQUESTS FROM THE LAST MEETING.
FIRST I ASK YOU TO RECOMMEND TO CITY COUNCIL, THE CANCELLATION OF REBATES THAT TEXAS GAS SERVICES GIVING FOR GAS, CLOTHES, DRYERS, TANKLESS, WATER HEATERS, AND CENTRAL FURNACES.
AND BY THAT GAS CLOTHES DRYERS, I MEAN GAS CLOTHES, DRYERS THAT REPLACE EXISTING GAS CLOTHES DRYERS.
THESE SAY VERY LITTLE ENERGY AND DO SO AT A COST HIGHER THAN THE PRICE OF GAS.
IN SOME CASES WITH GAS, CLOTHES DRYERS, THEY SAVE NO ENERGY AT ALL.
[00:10:01]
GOING DIRECTLY TO CITY COUNCIL BECAUSE THE REGULATORY OFFICE IS COMPLACENT AND UNENGAGED.SECOND, I ASK YOU TO REQUEST THE CITY COUNCIL TO EXPAND THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION'S PURVIEW TO REVIEW ALL MATTERS RELATED TO GAS COMPANIES OPERATING IN THE CITY.
IN ADDITION TO A POORLY PERFORMING CONSERVATION PROGRAM, THERE IS NO PLAN TO DEAL WITH TEXAS GAS SERVICES, CARBON FOOTPRINT, IT'S REGRESSIVE RATE STRUCTURE, IT'S LAUGHABLY INADEQUATE ASSISTANCE TO THE POOR IT'S EXCESSIVE AND INCESSANT RATE INCREASES.
IT'S FRANCHISE RENEWAL AND IT'S SUBSIDY TO NEW HOOKUPS AT THE EXPENSE OF EXISTING CUSTOMERS.
I HOPE YOU WILL CONSIDER THIS IN YOUR DISCUSSION ABOUT YOUR MISSION A LITTLE LATER IN THIS EVENING.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PREPARED REMARKS.
UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR ATTENTION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PAUL, FOR COMING TO SPEAK WITH THIS COMMISSION.
UM, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO ANY, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR MR. ROBBINS FROM THE COMMISSION AT THE TIME? THIS IS TEVA.
THANK YOU, PAUL, FOR YOUR, UH, COMMENTS.
UM, IT DOES SHOCK ME THAT IF YOU HAVE ONLY A THREE-YEAR OLD GAS DRYER, YOU CAN REPLACE IT WITH A NEW GAS DRYER IN, DID THAT KIND OF REBATE THAT WE'RE ALL PAYING FOR.
UH, ESPECIALLY WHEN I'M SURE MANY OF THE TEXAS GAS CUSTOMERS ARE IN THE SAME BOAT AS ME AND THAT THE MAJORITY OF OUR BILL IS OFTEN FIXED CHARGES.
SO WE HAVE NO OPPORTUNITY TO REDUCE OUR GAS BILL OR VERY LIMITED OPPORTUNITY.
UM, AND YOU THREE YEARS, I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT THE, UH, EMBODIED CARBON AND ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF AN APPLIANCE THAT IS ONLY THREE YEARS OLD.
HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THAT AT ALL? WELL, IT'S A, IT'S AN INTERESTING POINT, BUT, UH, NO, I, I HAVEN'T, UH, LOOKED AT THE EMBODIED ENERGY, UH, IN THE DRYER ITSELF.
UM, A GOOD POINT, BUT, UM, MAYBE I SHOULD ADD THAT TO MY, UM, RESPONSIBILITIES.
WELL, I, WASN'T TRYING TO PUT MORE WORK ON YOU, BUT IF, UH, IF YOU WANT TO BRING THAT IN CALCULATIONS, MELISSA, I THINK IT WOULD BE AN INTERESTING ASPECT OF THE CONVERSATION.
UH, I'LL I'LL SEE WHAT I CAN DO.
UM, SO T PAUL, IS THERE A, THIS IS SMITTY AND THINGS FOR BRINGING THIS ISSUE TO US.
IS THERE A UPCOMING AGENDA ITEM, UM, ON THE COUNCIL'S WEBSITE, UM, THAT, UH, NOT WEBSITE ON THEIR AGENDA THAT WE'RE USING THESE KINDS OF ISSUES BEING RAISED WOULD BE HELPFUL? UM, I'M, I'M SURE THAT, UM, THERE ARE ITEMS THAT COME UP FROM TIME TO TIME.
I THINK THAT, UM, UM, IT COULD COME FROM THE COMMISSION ITSELF.
UM, IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR, AS YOU KNOW, FOR COMMISSIONS TO GIVE REPORTS TO COUNCIL.
UM, IT'S USUALLY DONE IN, UH, A LETTER FORMAT, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE PRO HABITED AND, UH, VERBAL COMMENTS.
AND SOMETIMES THAT DOES OCCUR.
ANOTHER QUESTION, UM, IS, ARE THERE, UH, MY MEMORY IS THAT THERE ARE OTHER PROGRAMS IN THE ELECTRIC WORLD, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, IN THE CONSERVATION PROGRAM THAT SAY, UH, REBATES ARE ONLY, UM, UH, LOUD FOR EQUIPMENT THAT IS MORE THAN X OR Y YEARS OLD.
UM, ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THOSE AND CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT ISSUE BY COMPARISON TO THE GAS COMPANY'S PLAN? UH, I COULD AT YOUR NEXT MEETING OR THE MEETING AFTER I HAVE NOT RESEARCHED THAT.
UM, BUT THE REQUIREMENTS CAN BE ANYTHING THAT, UH, THE GAS COMPANY OR THE REGULATORY THAT, UH, THAT SUPERVISES THEM, UM, TWICE AS ON THEM.
[00:15:02]
UH, AGAIN, I, I CAN, I CAN RESEARCH THIS, BUT I DON'T HAVE A QUICK ANSWER FOR YOU.UM, I DO THINK OF COURSE FROM, FROM WHAT I SAID, THAT IT'S KIND OF AN AGREGIOUS, UH, ABUSE OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO STEWARD RIGHT.
PAYER DOLLARS NOW, UM, BEFORE I LEAVE, LET ME TO SYNTHESIZE IT THIS 300 AND TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS REBATE IS A SPECIAL, AND IT'S ONLY AVAILABLE TILL THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO ANY OF YOU THAT WANT TO CASH IN ON THIS, YOU BETTER DO IT SOON.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND FOR THE THOUGHT THAT YOU'VE PUT INTO YOUR, YOUR REMARKS.
UM, AND I RECOMMENDED IT TO THE FULL COMMISSION.
UM, LET'S DO AN ITEM THREE WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, OR LOOKING FORWARD TO 2021.
UM, WE'LL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS WHAT, IF ANY ACTION WE'D LIKE TO TAKE AND HOW WE'D LIKE TO PUT THIS ON OUR FUTURE AGENDA.
UM, UH, MR. ROBINSON, I WAS JUST THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INPUT.
AND I'D JUST LIKE TO REMIND THE COMMISSIONERS THAT WE HAVE BOTH TEXAS GAS SERVICE AND THE, UH, OFFICE OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS, UH, AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR THE AGENDA ITEM THAT'S COMING UP.
I'M HONORED TO HAVE ATTENDED, UH, YOUR MEETING VIRTUALLY.
I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT, UH, ALL HIS YEARS OF SERVICE AS AN UNPAID WATCHDOG OF SUCH THINGS.
AND WHILE WE, AS A CITY HAVE MADE A LOT OF DECISIONS TO FUND THE OFFICE OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS AND CONSERVATION SPECIALISTS, UM, IT'S FREQUENTLY T PAUL WHO BRINGS TO OUR ATTENTION ISSUES LIKE THIS, THAT, UM, IN MANY WAYS OUGHT TO BE, UM, ISSUES RAISED BY THE OFFICE OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS, UM, AND, UH, AND AS PART OF THEIR PURVIEW AND THEIR WORK.
AND I, UH, AS MANY OF YOU HAVE OVER YEARS PAST, ONCE AGAIN, WENT TO EXPRESS TO PAUL, MY GRATITUDE FOR YOUR YEARS OF WATCHDOG AND, AND RAISING THESE ISSUES.
UH, IT'S A SERVICE THAT HE'S PROVIDED TO, UM, I GUESS, AN ENTIRE GENERATION T4, MAYBE FOR NOW IN THE SECOND GENERATION OF YOUR ONGOING COMMENTARY A LONG TIME.
I'M EXTREMELY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
UH, I KNOW I SHOULD GET OFF
BYE-BYE WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO TALKING WITH YOU SOON.
[1. Approve minutes of the November 17, 2020 Meeting of Resource Management Commission.]
SO, UH, NEXT WE'LL, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE, THE FIRST, UH, OFFICIAL, UH, ITEM ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 17TH MEETING OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.UH, THOSE MINUTES WERE DISTRIBUTED WITH THE MATERIALS THAT JAMIE SIT DOWN IN PREPARATION FOR THIS DISCUSSION.
UM, MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? IDEALLY, VERBALLY AS I I'M AFRAID.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR AND WE MAY NEED TO GO VERBALLY, I'LL SAY AYE.
JAMIE, CAN YOU HELP ME? DO WE WASN'T TRACKING.
[00:20:01]
JONATHAN AND SHANE AND SAM.I HOPE THEY HAVE A CHANCE TO SPEAK UP.
IF ANY OF THEM ARE HERE, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE STILL ON, ON THE COMPUTER COMMISSIONER.
THAT WAS COMMISSIONER BLACKBURN.
SO I THINK WE NEED COMMISSIONER JOHNSON.
UH, BUT I THANK YOU AND COMMITTEE, COMMISSIONER AND GORY, I WOULD ASSUME THEY WENT TO, TO ABSTAIN.
SO I'LL, I'LL CALL FOR EXTENSION.
YEAH, I'M STAYING IN SINCE I WASN'T, I WASN'T THINKING THERE.
[2. Quarterly update from Texas Gas Service regarding energy efficiency programs.]
SO WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM TWO ON THE AGENDA, UM, WHICH IS OUR QUARTERLY UPDATE FROM TEXAS GAS SERVICE REGARDING THE ENERGY EFFICIENT FEE PROGRAMS. UM, AND AGAIN, THANK YOU TO STAFF AT TGS.UH, WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ALL WERE PATIENTLY WAITING ON OUR AGENDA FOR THE LAST MONTH AND, AND DIDN'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
UM, SO THANK YOU FOR COMING TO US AGAIN.
W UH, SHOULD I TURN MY CAMERA ON? I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL NEED THAT.
NOW I HAVE THE OPTION PRESENTATION.
AND THEN, UM, ARE YOU ALL RUNNING? OKAY.
UH, FOR THOSE WHO HAVE JUST JOINED THE COUNCIL CONGRATULATION COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, AND GORY, MY NAME IS JASMINE KING BUSH.
I AM THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM SUPERVISOR FOR TEXAS GAS SERVICE, UH, FOR THE CENTRAL TEXAS AREA.
UH, COULD YOU ADVANCE FOR ME PLEASE? QUARTERLY? UM, I PROVIDE A REPORT ON THE PROGRAM AND, UM, WHERE WE ARE AT THAT QUARTER OF THE YEAR.
SO THIS, UH, WILL SERVE AS THE, UM, THIRD QUARTER, I BELIEVE REPORT, UM, FOR OUR COMMERCIAL PROGRAM.
WE, OF COURSE, WE'RE STILL, UH, WORKING WITHIN THE, UM, GUIDELINES, UH, PROVIDED BY THE, UH, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE STATE AND THE COUNTY.
UH, SO THAT IMPACTED OPERATIONS A BIT, UM, AS WE MOVED TOWARDS MORE OPEN OPERATIONS, UM, THE DIRECT INSTALL VENDOR CLEAR RESULT WAS ABLE TO RESUME SERVICING CUSTOMERS AND, UM, AND, UM, AT, UH, THEIR COMFORT LEVELS.
SO THERE WAS A LOT MORE COMMUNICATION WITH THOSE CUSTOMERS, UM, SURROUNDING, UH, ACCESS, UM, AND LEVEL OF, OF ENTRY INTO THEIR, UH, UH, BUSINESSES.
UM, WE REACHED OUT TO HOSPITALS, HOTELS, AND MULTI-FAMILY, UH, CUSTOMERS THEN, UM, WE'RE PROVIDING THOSE DIRECT INSTALL SERVICES TO THEM.
SO HIGHLIGHTS FOR OUR RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM.
UH, WE MOST RECENTLY SENT OUT OUR WINTER NEWSLETTER, UH, PROVIDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY, TIPS, AND BEHAVIOR CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS THAT OUR CUSTOMERS CAN MAKE TO SEE SAVINGS ON THEIR BILL, UM, AND, UH, WITH THEIR USAGE.
UM, IT ALSO PROVIDES, UH, OUR WEBSITE PROVIDES AN ENERGY CALCULATOR WHERE PEOPLE CAN LOOK AT, UM, CHANGES IN HOUSEHOLD FIVE OR, UH, APPLIANCES TO SEE WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE AS FAR AS, UM, UH, IMPACT ON THE BILL PRESENTATION WENT AWAY.
I HAVE MINE UP SO I CAN KEEP GOING.
UM, WE SAW WITH THE, UH, ANNUAL WATER SAVINGS KIT THAT WE DO, WE SAW 3060 WATER KITS BEING CLAIMED BY OUR, UH, CUSTOMERS, UH, TOO, AT THIS POINT OF THE YEAR, WE HAD SEEN 2,600 REBATES AND PROMOTE, UH, PROMOS PROVIDED TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND WE GREW, UM, OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH PARTICIPATING BUILDERS TO 44 PLUS BUILDERS.
AND WE'RE STILL GROWING THAT PROVIDING EDUCATION ON HOW THEY CAN BUILD, UM, WITH GAS AND, UM, IN AN EFFICIENT MANNER.
UH, EXCUSE ME, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND THIS IS, UH, THE GRAPHIC THAT WE UPDATE QUARTERLY TO GIVE A YEAR OVER YEAR COMPARISON, UH, WITH REGARDS TO PARTICIPATION IN THE RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM, UM, AS CAN BE EXPECTED, WE SAW VERY DIFFERENT NUMBERS THIS YEAR THAN WE EXPECTED TO SEE GIVEN THE FACT THAT PEOPLE WEREN'T OUT, UM, SHOPPING OR THEY WEREN'T
[00:25:01]
OUT REPLACING, UM, APPLIANCES THAT MAY HAVE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.UM, THEY WEREN'T NECESSARILY OUT BUYING HOMES.
A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE ALL OF US, UH, WERE HOME.
UM, AND OF COURSE THERE WAS THE FINANCIAL IMPACT TO CUSTOMERS AS WELL, WHICH CAUSED A CHANGE IN PRIORITY.
SO WE DO SEE THAT IMPACT, UM, IN THE NUMBERS, UM, THAT WE'VE PROVIDED TO YOU HERE.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, FOR OUR LOW INCOME, UH, FREE EQUIPMENT PROGRAM, WE WERE ABLE TO ASSIST OVER A HUNDRED FAMILIES.
WE HAD AT THAT POINT IN A YEAR, UH, REPLACED 198 APPLIANCES AND WE REALIZED OUR BUDGET COMPLETELY.
AND THIS OF COURSE WAS I BELIEVE ALSO A PART OF WHERE WE ARE WITH THE PANDEMIC.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN COMMUNICATING TO OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT WE, UH, THAT WE RECEIVE REFERRALS FROM, UH, OTHER WAYS THAT THEY CAN REACH OUT TO TEXAS GAS AND TRY TO, UM, OBTAIN RESOURCE INFORMATION FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS THAT ARE COMING IN OR FOR THEIR, UH, THEIR, UH, CLIENTS THAT ARE COMING IN AND STILL NEEDING ASSISTANCE BEYOND, UM, THE APPLIANCES, EXCUSE ME, NEXT SLIDE.
AND AS A PART OF THE PROGRAM, WE DO HAVE THE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH INITIATIVES.
THIS IS, UM, THESE ARE THE CHANNELS THAT WE REALLY TRY TO, UM, PROVIDE ACCESS TO FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND SO, UH, AS MENTIONED EARLIER, WE HAVE THE NEWSLETTER THAT JUST WENT OUT WITH A WINTER TIP.
UM, THE WATER SAVINGS KIT PROMOTION IS ANOTHER WAY THAT WE CAN SHARE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, HOW, UH, SMALL CHANGES IN THE WAY THAT THEY USE THEIR UTILITY CAN MAKE CHANGES IN THEIR BILL.
UM, AN OVERALL CHANGE IN THE, THE, UM, GAS, THE NATURAL GAS USAGE AS WELL, EXCUSE ME, NEXT SLIDE.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'M GOING TO TAKE A SIP OF WATER, BUT EXCUSE ME, IF THERE'S ANYONE WITH ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I WAS ABOUT TO OPEN, OPEN IT UP.
UH, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I HAVE FOUR QUESTIONS, UM, FIRST, UM, ON YOUR BILL ASSISTANCE, UH, WHAT IS, WHAT ARE YOU HEARING AND WHAT DIFFERENCE HAS IT BEEN YEAR TO YEAR SMITTY? I AM SO SORRY.
LET ME TRY A DIFFERENT, I'M SORRY.
I'M GOING TO TURN UP MY SPEAKERS AS WELL, BUT LARRY HIM FROM TEXAS GAS SERVICE.
SO I BELIEVE THAT YOU ASKED IF I HEARD A LITTLE BIT, CORRECT.
YOU WERE ASKING ABOUT THE BILL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, WHICH IS OUTSIDE OF THE ENERGY, UM, ENERGY PROGRAM, BUT WE DO HAVE LARRY GRAHAM EXCUSE, UH, ON THE CALL THAT HE MAY BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THAT.
UM, THIS IS SMITTY AND THE QUESTION I HAD WAS WHAT DIFFERENCE HAS THERE BEEN YEAR TO YEAR IN TERMS OF THE SPEND OUT OR UPTAKE OR REQUEST OR GAS BILL ASSISTANCE? CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.
CAN YOU HEAR ME SMITTY? WE, WE RECENTLY GAVE A HUNDRED.
WE RECENTLY GAVE TRAVIS COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
UH, IN ADDITION, UH, TO AUGMENT OUR SHARE OF THE WORKS PROGRAM.
UM, WE HAD A MEETING WITH THEM, I THINK IN OCTOBER, AND THEY TO KIND OF SEE WHERE THEY WERE AND WHAT THE DEMAND WAS.
THEY DID SOME ADDITIONAL, I THINK IT'S CALLED SIOP FUNDS, YOU KNOW, FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
AND AT THAT POINT IN OCTOBER, THEY WERE DOING, UM, THEY HAD ENOUGH OF THE FEDERAL FUNDS THAT THEY HADN'T BEEN TAPPING INTO THE FUNDS THAT WE REGULARLY GIVE THEM, UH, FOR UTILITY ASSISTANCE.
[00:30:01]
AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, AFTER THAT IN NOVEMBER, WE GAVE THEM A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.SO I THINK, UM, FOR THE MOMENT THEY'RE IN GOOD SHAPE, BUT I, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE SITUATION WILL CHANGE AND WE'VE COMMITTED TO, UM, BEING IN, UH, YOU KNOW, BETTER COMMUNICATION WITH THEM TO KNOW THAT.
UM, AND ACTUALLY WE, UH, WE HAD A MEETING WITH, UH, DANA, SHE, SHE WASN'T ABLE TO JOIN US FOR THAT FIRST MEETING, BUT, UH, YOUR CHAIRMAN, UH, WE HAVE MET WITH HER TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT SOME OF THESE ISSUES AND WHAT WE CAN DO.
AND I, I, I WILL COMMENT ON THAT.
UM, AND WITH REGARD, I, I DO BELIEVE THAT THAT THE CF FUNDING, THE COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FUNDING, THAT LARRY WAS MENTIONING, UM, THERE, THERE IS ADDITIONAL FUNDING AVAILABLE THROUGH THE CARES ACT, UM, WHICH I THINK MANY COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCIES, INCLUDING, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ARE NEUTRALIZING THOSE FUNDS, UH, FOR THE ADDITIONAL UTILITY ASSISTANCE.
SO SMITTY, WE COULD PROBABLY GET AN ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION FROM HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, IF THAT'S OF INTEREST TO THE COMMISSION.
I HAVE A QUESTION, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, UH, FIRST, UH, UH, GREAT PRESENTATION AND, UH, NICE TO MEET YOU.
AND, UH, SO ON A SLIDE THREE, UM, TALKS ABOUT RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 3060 WATER SAVING KIDS.
SO ARE THESE NUMBERS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN ONLY, OR IS IT FOR TRAVIS COUNTY? THESE NUMBERS ARE FOR THE CITIES THAT WE PROVIDE THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM AND WITHIN, UM, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND SURROUNDING.
SO THERE ARE, UM, UH, TRIPPING, SPRAYING, UM, YOAKUM.
SO THERE'S LIKE 16 CITIES TOTAL.
AND THIS IS THOSE NUMBERS FOR THAT THERE FOR THOSE AREAS.
AND I CAN PROVIDE A LIST OF THE CITIES IF YOU NEED THAT TOO.
WELL, I WAS JUST WONDERING, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY OF THESE ARE WITHIN THE CITY OF BOSTON AND WHAT AREAS, UH, WITHIN THE CITY OF BOSTON, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE THEY HAVE ZIP CODES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT I WAS JUST WONDERING ABOUT THAT.
IF NOT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, WE, WE DON'T, UM, WE DON'T NECESSARILY TRACK THE BY ZIP CODE OR BY SPECIFIC CITY.
UM, I DEFINITELY CAN GIVE YOU A LIST OF, UM, OF THE CITIES THAT THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM IS AN EXISTENCE IN TO KIND OF GIVE YOU AN IDEA, SAM, THIS IS LARRY.
I THINK IT'S OVER 90% OF THE CUSTOMERS THAT PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM ARE INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS OF AUSTIN.
SO MOST OF THE CITIES THAT JASMINE REFERENCED ARE PRETTY SMALL IN TERMS OF NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S OVER 90% OF THEM ARE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THAT ACTUALLY SPEAKS A LITTLE BIT TO A QUESTION THAT I HAD AS WELL ON YOUR, YOUR SLIDE FIVE, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN YOU SHOWED THE, UM, UH, LOW-INCOME FREE EQUIPMENT PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS.
UM, I TH THE MAP THAT YOU SHOW ON THAT SLIDE IS HELPFUL IN UNDER THAT'S SPECIFICALLY THE LOW INCOME PROGRAM THAT THE, THAT THE FULL RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM.
UM, AND I BELIEVE WE'VE SEEN THIS MAP BEFORE, BUT COULD YOU PLEASE REMIND US THE, THE, UM, THE CIRCLES AND THE PIE GRAPH WITH THE COLORS, OR CAN YOU HELP US INTERPRET THAT, THAT MAP? UM, SO THE COLORS AND THE SIZES.
YEAH, SO THE MAP JUST SHOWS, UM, THE, THE USAGE, UH, OF THE PROGRAM IN THE AREA, UM, FOR THE FAMILIES AND WHAT THEY HAD RECEIVED.
SO IF IT WAS, UM, UH, WATER HEATER OR, UM, FURNACE, UM, OR, UH, RANGE, SO THAT'S KIND OF SHOWING, AND THE CONCENTRATION, THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION IS AN AUSTIN.
AND FORGIVE ME IF I'M JUST NOT, WE'VE NOT SEEN IT ON THE MAP, BUT THE GREEN, FOR EXAMPLE, IS THAT WATER HEATERS.
UM, YOU KNOW WHAT, LET ME PULL UP THE, I SHOULD HAVE INCLUDED THAT IN, I APOLOGIZE, I'LL PULL UP THE NUMBERS SO THAT I CAN INCLUDE THAT IN THE SLIDE AND SEND THAT OVER.
[00:35:01]
IT'S ON THE SLIDE IN THE PAST.I'LL PULL THAT UP AND SEND IT OVER TO CHAD, JASMINE IN THE FREE EQUIPMENT PROGRAM.
UH, WHAT'S MOST COMMON AS FAR AS TO REPLACE WATER HEATERS AND FURNACES, RIGHT.
THAT'S THE BULK OF IT, OCCASIONALLY STOVES.
UM, BUT MOSTLY IT'S WATER HEATERS AND THEN FURNACES.
AND JASMINE, IF YOU, YOU ARE ABLE TO FOLLOW UP WITH THE NUMBERS.
I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
WE WOULD, WE WOULD THAT SURE THING AND SMITTY, I BELIEVE I AM AFRAID WE MAY HAVE CUT YOU OFF.
YOU MENTIONED YOU HAD FOUR QUESTIONS, AND I THINK WE GOT TO ONE, WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE NUMBER OF LOW IN INCOME CUSTOMERS ON YOUR SERVICE LIST? AND WHAT PERCENTAGE ARE YOU REACHING WITH YOUR LOW INCOME PROGRAMS? I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS FOR THE, THE LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS.
LARRY, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE? OKAY.
NO, I MEAN, SPEEDY, ARE YOU TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE FREE EQUIPMENT PROGRAM THAT IS FOR THE LOW INCOME FOLKS? YEAH.
WE'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT, BUT I WAS ALSO WONDERING IF YOU LOOK SO JUST WITHIN THE AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE AREA OR, UH, WHICH IS THAT GUESS WHAT WE HAVE JURISDICTION, UH, OR THOSE WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH IS A GLARY, WHICH, WHICH GEOGRAPHIC AREA WE HAVE CITY OF AUSTIN, OR IS IT WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA? IT'S I AM SO SORRY.
I'M HAVING A HARD TIME HEARING YOU.
I THINK YOU WERE ASKING ABOUT OUR SERVICE AREA.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF LOW END CASH COM CUSTOMERS IN YOUR SERVICE AREA THAT WE HAVE JURISDICTION OVER? ARE YOU REACHING? IS IT 1%, 2%, 10, LARRY, WE LOST DEAL.
AND SO I GO BACK TO YOUR QUESTION.
SO THE, THE PROGRAM THAT, UM, JASMINE IS TALKING ABOUT, WE WORK WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, RIGHT? WE ACTUALLY GET THE REFERRALS FROM THEM.
IS THAT CORRECT? WE HAVE SEVERAL REFERRAL SOURCES.
SO AUSTIN ENERGY IS ONE OF THEM.
MEALS ON WHEELS IS ANOTHER ONE.
UM, UH, WE WERE WORKING WITH AIDS SERVICE AUSTIN.
SO WE HAVE A COUPLE OF COMMUNITY PROGRAMS THAT WE RECEIVE REFERRALS FROM, BUT I THINK WHAT'S WHAT HE'S ASKING IS OVERALL WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA THAT THE RMC, UM, COVERS WITH, UM, WITH, UH, THEIR COMMISSION, HOW MANY OF THOSE CUSTOMERS IN THAT AREA ARE LOW INCOME.
AND THEN HE WANTS TO KNOW WHAT THE RATIO IS FOR CUSTOMERS THAT ARE LOW INCOME TO CUSTOMERS THAT WE SERVICE THAT ARE LOW INCOME WITH OUR PROGRAM.
AND I DON'T HAVE READILY AVAILABLE THE NUMBER OF LOW-INCOME CUSTOMERS OVERALL IN THE SERVICE AREA THAT, THAT THE RMC COVERS.
UM, SO I CA I CAN'T GIVE AN ANSWER TO, SO I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAD AN IDEA, WE, WE SMITTY, WE DON'T COLLECT DATA AND DON'T HAVE INCOME DATA ON OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO, UM, SO WE, WE DON'T HAVE THAT JUST ON ALL THE CUSTOMERS.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE 230,000 CUSTOMERS INSIDE THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT WE DON'T COLLECT INCOME DATA FROM THEM.
IS THAT, AND I'M SORRY, IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE WANTING TO GET AT? YEAH, IT IS LARRY.
AND IF YOU CAN SEE A PICTURE OF ME, IT WOULDN'T HAVE SEEN COMING OUT OF MY EARS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE A LOW-INCOME PROGRAM.
DON'T KNOW HOW MANY CUSTOMERS YOU MIGHT HAVE AND DON'T KNOW HOW EFFECTIVE IT IS.
I FIND DISAPPOINTING TO SAY THE LEAST, BUT WE'LL GO ON TO ANOTHER QUESTION PERHAPS.
UM, BUT BOTTOM LINE IS DIG THAT OUT, FIND IT LET'S LET'S HAVE THAT, UH, AT OUR, WHATEVER, OUR NEXT MEETINGS, WHEN YOU MAKE A PRESENTATION AND THEN, UM, LARRY, UH, OR WHOMEVER, HOW MUCH IS YOUR BUILDER STIFF? HOW MUCH YOU PAN TO HAVE BUILDERS INSTALL GAS, AND WHAT DOES THAT WORK OUT TO PER HOME? WAIT, WAIT, I'M SORRY.
YOU'RE ASKING WHAT WE PAY TO HAVE BUILDERS INSTALL GAS IN THE HOME.
I MEAN, WHAT'S THE, WE, WE DON'T, WE DON'T, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, CONTRARY TO WHAT PAUL SAID, THIS WAS DISCUSSED AND EVALUATED
[00:40:01]
QUITE RIGOROUSLY IN THE RATE CASE, AND WE DON'T DO IT AND WE DON'T SUBSIDIZE THE GROWTH, BUT I'M SORRY.THE, THE WOMAN WHO MADE THE PRESENTATION SAID THERE WAS A DEALER INCENTIVE PROGRAM.
SO THERE IS, UM, A PORTION OF THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM.
YES, IT'S IT, IT PROVIDES REBATES FOR THE, UM, NATURAL GAS APPLIANCES INSTALLED IN NEW CON NEW RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION.
SO HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST YOU? WELL, AGAIN, WHAT IS THE NET SAVING? W I DON'T HAVE THAT AT OUR FINGERTIPS.
WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION SMITTY, AND AGAIN, THERE'S NOT A DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN GIVING REBATES FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION OR A REMODEL.
THE GENERAL CRITERIA IS IF THE APPLIANCE IS MORE EFFICIENT THAN CODE, WE WILL GIVE A REBATE ON IT.
AND IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S NEW CONSTRUCTION.
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S LIKE MY HOUSE AT 70 YEARS OLD.
AND THE NEW CONSTRUCTION ALSO, UM, SOMEBODY, AND I DIDN'T MAKE THAT CLEAR, UM, IS THAT, UM, IT IS ALSO AVAILABLE TO THE BUYERS OF THE NEW CONSTRUCTION.
SO IT IS NOT SPECIFIC TO JUST THE BUILDERS.
THANK YOU FOR THOSE CLARIFICATION.
SMITTY, IF I MAY JUMP IN THIS, IS DANA, ARE YOU ASKING FOR, OR ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SOMETHING LIKE A SAVINGS TO INVESTMENT RATIO TO, TO SEE IF THE SAVINGS GENERATED BY THOSE REBATES IS GREATER THAN THE REBATES THEMSELVES? YES, DEAN, I AM.
THAT'S A GOOD WAY OF FRAMING IT.
JASMINE, IS THAT, IS THAT A NUMBER THAT Y'ALL CAN PROVIDE A SAVINGS INVESTMENT RATIO? THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE, UM, WE DO TOUCH ON IN OUR ANNUAL REPORT.
UM, AND SO I CAN GO BACK TO THAT AND LOOK AND SEE, I DON'T HAVE IT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I CAN GO BACK AND LOOK TO THAT AND SEE, UM, WHAT WE HAVE.
IT'S NOT EXACTLY THE SAVINGS SYMBOLISM RATIO, BUT IT DOES THE SAVINGS FOR THE PROGRAM.
UM, AND IT ALSO GIVES, UM, WHAT WE, UM, WHAT THE REBATE AMOUNTS WERE THAT WERE DISPERSED.
SO, UM, I CAN LOOK INTO THAT THOUGH.
I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK OUT OF TURN, BUT I CAN LOOK INTO THAT, BUT I KNOW THAT WE DO TOUCH ON THAT, UM, IN THE ANNUAL REPORT.
I, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL AND TO THE EXTENT THAT IT'S AVAILABLE, UM, JUST, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE, UH, CONTEMPLATING PAUL'S COMMENTS EARLIER, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE ABLE TO SEE THAT BY APPLIANCE TYPE, UM, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
SO IF YOU, IF YOU HAD, UM, LIKE AN SIR FOR A GAS WATER HEATERS VERSUS A GAS CLOTHES, DRYERS, ET CETERA, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT MAY HELP US WITH ANY, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMISSION WITH REGARD TO, UM, THOSE EFFICIENCY INVESTMENTS.
UM, I, I THINK THAT THAT COULD BE, UH, INTERESTING AND HELPFUL.
AND ALSO IF, IF THERE IS ANY DATA THAT YOU HAD AVAILABLE, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, ARE WE REPLACING, ARE THOSE REBATES GOING TO REPLACE APPLIANCES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, THREE YEARS OLDER OR RELATIVELY NEW, LET'S SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S DATA ON THAT AVAILABLE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE, WE DON'T HAVE DATA ON THAT PIECE.
UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S THE SPECTRUM FOR THE REASONS WHY, UM, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, AN APPLIANCES REPLACED RANGE FROM, YOU KNOW, A CONVERSION TO, UM, A MOVE.
AND SO, UM, THE THEY'VE MOVED INTO A NEW PROPERTY THAT DOESN'T HAVE THE, UM, THE, THE MOST EFFICIENT APPLIANCES AND IT, OR DOESN'T HAVE APPLIANCES IN IT.
SO THERE'S A WIDE RANGE OF REASONS WE DO NOT, UM, HAVE THE DATA AS TO WHY THEY'RE, WHY THEY'RE REPLACING OR WHY THEY'RE SUBMITTING FOR A REBATE OR THE
SO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE THE AGE OF WHAT'S THERE.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALIGNED IN THE REQUEST AND WE'RE, WE'RE RESPECTFUL OF, OF STAFF TIME, IF WE ARE ASKING FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, IS THAT THE WAY THAT WE JUST FRAME THAT, DOES THAT HIT ON WHAT YOU NEEDED OR WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? YEAH, THANKS FOR TAKING MY LESS THAN THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS AND PUTTING THEM IN THE RIGHT CONCERT.
AND IF, YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT, I COULD HELP.
[00:45:01]
UM, AND THE OTHER COMMENT THAT I WANTED TO MAKE, UM, JUST TO GO BACK TO THE, THE POINT A MOMENT AGO, UM, WITH REGARD TO THE NUMBER OF LOW-INCOME CUSTOMERS IN THE SERVICE AREA, THE NUMBER THAT ARE BEING ASSISTED.UM, SO I, I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, IN MY DAY JOB, UH, AT THE TEXAS ENERGY POVERTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, UM, I DO THINK WE HEAR THAT IT'S, IT'S QUITE COMMON, UM, THAT, THAT ELECTRICITY OR ENERGY SERVICE PROVIDERS USE ME, UM, DON'T COLLECT INCOME INFORMATION.
HOWEVER, I, I DO KNOW THAT THAT INFORMATION IS, UM, YOU KNOW, AVAILABLE THROUGH CENSUS DATA AND OTHER OTHER MEANS, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT AN EXACT TGS CUSTOMER LIST.
UM, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT WE ALSO HAVE, JASMINE'S PROVIDED US HERE WITH THE NUMBER OF FAMILIES ASSISTED BY THE PROGRAM, UM, WHICH I, I THINK I INTERPRETED, UM, ON SLIDE FIVE AS A 2020 NUMBER THAT A HUNDRED PLUS FAMILIES ASSISTANT AT 198 APPLIANCES YEAR TO DATE.
UM, SO I, I DO BELIEVE THAT WE COULD, YOU KNOW, WE COULD COME UP WITH THAT ESTIMATION IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE CUSTOMERS SERVED, UM, FOR OUR FUTURE DISCUSSION.
LARRY, I'M SORRY WITH VIDEO LARRY'S THAT, YOU KNOW, MUTED, PLEASE.
JAMIE, LET ME TALK AND TRY TO LET YOU TALK, MR. GRAHAM, WE DIDN'T GET A LOT OF BACKGROUND NOISE.
CAN I CONTROL THE MUSIC THAT I CAN MUTE WHEN I'M NOT TALKING? YES, SIR.
UM, YOU KNOW, I DO WANT TO REMIND PEOPLE THAT THE REPORT FROM EIGHT D AND M OUR ADM COVERED THIS, AND I THINK IT SAID SOMETHING LIKE OVERALL, THE TGS, THE EXPERTS THAT WE USE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, TO DETERMINE THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE PROGRAMS, UM, THEY HAVE BASICALLY ENDORSED WHAT WE'VE DONE, AND I KNOW PAUL MAY NOT AGREE, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE CITY DID SPEND A LOT OF MONEY TO HIRE SOMEBODY TO REVIEW WHAT OTHER GAS UTILITIES DO.
AND I JUST WANNA REMIND PEOPLE THAT THAT INFORMATION IS IN THE REPORT THAT WAS GIVEN LAST WEEK.
AND I THINK IT REALLY AFFIRMS WHAT WE'RE DOING AND THE METHODOLOGY THAT WE'RE USING, AND TO SHOW THAT THESE PROGRAMS TARGET COST EFFECTIVE.
WE'RE HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT THAT NEXT MONTH, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT DIFFERENT REBATES, BUT I JUST WANT TO POINT IT OUT THAT IT'S IN THERE.
AND I, AND I ALSO WANT TO SAY, YOU KNOW, JUST ONE THING ABOUT WHAT PAUL SAID AT THE BEGINNING ON THE CLOTHES DRYER REBATES.
YOU KNOW, WE DO NOT GIVE A BUNCH OF CLOTHES, DRYER REBATES TO PEOPLE EVERY THREE YEARS.
I THINK THE IDEA IS THAT IF SOMEBODY BUYS ONE IN THEIR HOUSE AND MOVES TO A DIFFERENT HOUSE, THEY ARE ELIGIBLE TO PURCHASE A NEW ONE.
AND PART OF THE THINKING IS THAT, THAT OLD CLOTHES DRYERS GOING TO BE USED BY SOMEBODY ELSE.
AND I'M SURE WE COULD ASK JASMINE TO DIG UP THE DATA, BUT I'M SURE WE GIVE VERY FEW OF THOSE TO THE SAME PEOPLE, UM, IN A THREE MINUTE PERIOD.
SO I JUST WANTED TO BRING THOSE POINTS OUT.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT TO OUR ATTENTION.
AND, UM, BUT WE, WE SHOULD, AS A COMMISSION, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE DIGESTED THE ADM REPORT.
UM, AND I DO THINK THAT IS THAT IT'S IN FACT, ONE OF THE, THE, UM, UH, ANNUAL OBJECTIVES, UH, THAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT LATER THIS EVENING IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE REVIEWING AND, AND, UM, AND, AND PROCESSING AND CONSIDERING THE PROBATION THAT'S AVAILABLE, UH, IN, IN FRONT OF US.
AND, AND REALLY THE QUESTION I THINK ON, UH, ON THE DATA COLLECTED FOR THE AGE OF THE APPLIANCES BEING REPLACED IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S ALWAYS HELPFUL TO HAVE THAT DATA AVAILABLE.
IF, IF THERE IS A SUSPICION, YOU KNOW, ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S USUALLY EVIDENCE IS USUALLY THE BEST WAY TO PROVE A CASE.
UM, BUT, BUT POINT POINT WELL-TAKEN, UM, AND, AND THANK YOU FOR DRAWING OUR ATTENTION BACK THAT DIRECTION TO THE REPORT.
HEY, AND WHAT DID DANA, WHAT ONE LAST THING, I MEAN, YOU AND I DID TALK ABOUT THIS, BUT JUST TO REMIND THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A THREE-YEAR BUDGET THAT WAS APPROVED BY THE, UH, CITY COUNCIL, I BELIEVE TWO YEARS AGO, DECEMBER 18.
SO WE'RE, WE ARE JUST ABOUT TO BEGIN THE THIRD YEAR OF THE BUDGET.
UM, THEN ALSO BELIEVE THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION SIGNED OFF A FEW MONTHS BEFORE THAT, ON THE, UH, THE BUDGET.
SO, YOU KNOW, THIS SPRING, THE SUMMER OF 2021, WE'RE GOING TO BE REVIEWING THE PROGRAMS, TAKING THIS DATA, AND WE'RE COMING BACK TO YOU AGAIN, JASMINE, WHAT IS IT? SEPTEMBER, AUGUST, OR SEPTEMBER AGAIN FOR THE NEXT THREE-YEAR BUDGET.
[00:50:01]
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THAT'S THE REMIND YOU, THAT'S WHAT THE PROCESS IS, AND THERE'LL BE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR DISCUSSION AND INPUT WHEN WE LOOK TO THE NEXT, THROUGH YOUR BUDGET.AND I THINK, HONESTLY, THAT'S WHEN WE'RE GOING TO DIVE IN A LITTLE MORE TO THE ADM REPORT, BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE GOING TO, THAT'S GOING TO INFORM A LOT OF WHAT, UH, WHEN WE PUT THE BUDGET TOGETHER FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
UM, AND, AND YES, THAT IS, THAT IS WHAT, WHAT YOU AND I DISCUSSED.
UM, ESPECIALLY AS WE WERE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE DEBATING WHETHER, UH, TEXAS GAS SERVICE, ADM REPORT PRESENTATION WAS APPROPRIATE FOR THIS AGENDA.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, AT YOUR RECOMMENDATION, IT WAS THE REALLY DEEP DIVE OF THAT REPORT FOR THE PURPOSE OF, OF THAT BUDGET DISCUSSION.
UM, BUT FOR THE COMMISSION, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT THE, I THINK THIS IS HELPFUL CONTEXT FOR US AS WE'RE LOOKING AHEAD TO OUR, YOU KNOW, 20, 21 PLANNING, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE HAVING THESE KIND OF DEEP DIVE EVALUATIONS INTO THOSE, UM, ITEMS, WHICH ARE OF INTEREST TO THIS COMMISSION, UM, IN A WAY THAT IS TIMELY AND ALIGNS WITH, UH, WITH THAT, THAT NATURALLY OCCURRING PROCESS.
UM, THAT WAS A LONG WAY OF SAYING THAT LARRY, I I'M IN AGREEMENT WITH YOU ON, ON, ON THAT TOPIC.
UM, AND JUST TO, TO KIND OF POINT EVERYBODY BACK TO THE REPORT ITSELF, UH, WAS, UH, ITEM THREE IN OUR AGENDA MATERIALS FOR, FROM OUR NOVEMBER MEETING.
UM, AND SO WE DO HAVE THAT, UH, AVAILABLE TO US AS A COMMISSION NOW.
AND CAN I ASK A QUESTION? OF COURSE.
SO I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY, UH, COMMISSIONERS WE HAVE LEFT TO FROM WHEN WE ADOPTED THIS, BUT, UM, BACK IN 2017, WHEN WE WERE, UH, THEN REVIEWING BUDGETS, TGS BUDGETS AND PROGRAMS, AND THE COMMISSION HAD SEVERAL MONTHS OF CONVERSATION AND WORK WITH TEXAS GAS TO COME UP WITH THREE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND, UM, I JUST EMAILED THE LINK TO JAMIE.
HOPEFULLY HE CAN, UH, SEND IT AROUND TO EVERYBODY SO THAT FOLKS CAN PULL THIS UP.
BUT, UH, IF YOU, IF THAT HASN'T HAPPENED IN, YOU WANT TO CHECK IT OUT, YOU CAN GO TO THE JUNE 20TH, UM, DOCUMENTS ON THE WEBSITE, AND IT'S THE RECOMMENDATION THERE LISTED RESOLUTION RESOLUTION TO IMPROVE TEXAS GAS SERVICES CONSERVATION PROGRAM IN THE 2018 BUDGET.
AND, UH, THERE WERE THREE THINGS, AS I MENTIONED THAT WERE AGREED TO, AND I DO SAY AGREED BECAUSE WE SPENT MANY MONTHS, UH, NEGOTIATING AND HEARING FROM TEXAS GAS TO TRY TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT WASN'T JUST THE COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, VOICING OUR OPINION, BUT ACTUALLY COMING TO AN AGREEMENT.
AND THE FIRST ONE I THINK WAS PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT, AND IT READS THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS ARE UPDATED AND REVISED TO INCREASE SAVINGS FROM EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS, SUCH THAT NATURAL GAS USAGE.
NATURAL GAS USAGE IS REDUCED BY A CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF 5% OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, INCLUDING AT LEAST 4.5% CITE, NATURAL GAS SAVINGS STARTING IN 2018.
AND MY QUESTION IS, ARE YOU ON TRACK TO MEET THAT GOAL? HAVE YOU BEEN MEETING THAT GOAL? THANK YOU.
I AM NOT, UM, FAMILIAR WITH WHERE WE ARE ON THAT GOAL, UM, THAT PREDATES ME, BUT I WILL LOOK INTO IT.
AND, UM, I CAN PROVIDE THAT IN MY UPDATE, UM, THAT I HAVE NOTES ON THIS IS LARRY.
I'M PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT WE ARE ON TRACK TO MEET THE GOAL.
AND AS JASMINE SAYS, WE'LL, WE'LL COME BACK CONFIRM THAT WITH YOU.
AND JUST TO HIGHLIGHT AGAIN, THIS IS ABOUT ACTUAL NATURAL GAS USAGE.
SO ANY CALCULATION THAT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT CONVERTING FROM ELECTRICITY TO NATURAL GAS, DOESN'T GET WHAT THIS WAS INTENDED TO DO.
THIS IS ABOUT ARE ACTUALLY REDUCING THE NATURAL GAS USED ONSITE.
[00:55:03]
I'VE MADE A NOTE OF IT.AND I'D LIKE TO JUST KIND OF, UH, FOLLOW UP IT, PICK UP ON ONE THING THAT YOU SAID THERE, UM, KAYLA ABOUT THAT, THAT PROCESS AND THAT, THAT, THAT PROCESS AND RESOLUTION, UM, ALSO PREDATES MY TIME ON THE COMMISSION.
UM, BUT I, I DID LIKE THE POINT THAT YOU, THAT YOU MADE ABOUT THIS COMMISSION WORKING CLOSELY WITH TEXAS GAS SERVICE STAFF TO, TO TRY TO COME UP WITH RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, THAT WERE BOTH IN KEEPING WITH THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THIS COMMISSION, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENTABLE OR ACTIONABLE, UH, ON THE PART OF TEXAS GAS SERVICE.
UM, AND I THINK THAT WE DO HAVE SOME, UH, GOOD, UM, W WE WE'VE MADE GOOD PROGRESS, UM, WITH THAT KIND OF, THAT, THAT GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP, I BELIEVE ON THE AUSTIN ENERGY SIDE, UM, IN THIS PAST, UH, IN THE PAST YEAR.
AND I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY HERE FOR THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT COLLABORATIVE WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALIGNED IN MEETING THE GOALS OF THE COMMISSION, BUT, AND WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, WE CAN DO THAT.
UM, AND SO I'M GLAD THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT WAS PART OF THE PROCESS, UM, AT, UH, FOR, IN 2017.
AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE US TO TAKE THAT SAME, UH, APPROACH AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO 2021.
UM, I JUST, I WILL ADD TO THAT, THAT I THINK, UM, PART OF US MAINTAINING THAT, UH, COOPERATIVE APPROACH DOES RELY ON REPORTING BACK ON THESE KIND OF THINGS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, APPRECIATE THAT YOU'LL COME BACK, UH, HOPEFULLY SOON TO LET US KNOW WHERE YOU STAND ON THAT I WOULD JUST REQUEST THE, YOU KNOW, THAT SHOULD BE PART OF YOUR REGULAR REPORT BACK TO THIS COMMISSION.
UM, BECAUSE IT IS IN MY VIEW, AN AGREEMENT THAT YOU ALL MADE WITH US AS A COMMISSION AND THEREFORE WITH THE CITY, EVEN IF IT IS NOT FORMALLY IN, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING ADOPTED, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE, THE GOOD FAITH EFFORT WAS MADE TO, TO COME TO, TO AN AGREEMENT THAT, THAT Y'ALL COULD LIVE WITH THAT YOU FELT LIKE WAS SOMETHING THAT YOU WERE ALREADY SAYING, UH, SORRY, WAS THAT LARRY TRIMMING? I HEARD SOMEONE MADAM CHAIR.
I DO BELIEVE IT WAS LARRY, BUT NOW WE'RE NOT HEARING HIM SO SORRY.
COMMISSIONER SHOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, RANDELL HAWKINS WITH THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY AFFAIRS OFFICE IS ALSO AVAILABLE IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR I DUNNO IF, UH, MS. HAWKINS WOULD LIKE TO MAKE ANY COMMENTS.
WELL, MR. GRAHAM IS SORTING OUT HIS, UH, TECHNICAL GLITCHES.
RONDELLA HAWKINS WITH TELEKOM AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS.
I'M ON THE PHONE, NOT VIDEO BECAUSE OF TECHNICAL PROBLEMS, BUT I WANTED TO ADD THAT A COUPLE OF THINGS, THE, I THINK LOOKING AHEAD AND YOUR AGENDA ITEM, LOOKING AHEAD FOR THE WORK PLAN FOR 21 FISCAL YEAR 21.
UM, THE PURPOSE OF US HAVING THAT, UH, THE OUTSIDE CITY CONSULTANT TO REVIEW THE, THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM WAS FOR THAT TO BE A BASELINE OR A FRAMEWORK FOR SOME RECOMMENDATIONS, FOR IMPROVING, CHANGING, MODIFYING, UH, THE, THE, THE PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, WHICH WE, UH, WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THE TARIFF THAT, UH, FOR EFFECTIVE DATE, JANUARY ONE OF 2022.
AND OF COURSE THE, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION THAT, UH, THERE'S ANY INPUT FOR POLICY CHANGES OR, YOU KNOW, ENHANCEMENTS, OR, YOU KNOW, THAT THE ADM REPORT WAS THE FRAMEWORK.
AND, UH, YOUR INPUT IS, IS CERTAINLY WE WILL, YOU KNOW, TAKE IT INTO CONSIDERATION.
AND, UM, I LOOK AT THIS AS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN TEXAS GAS, UH, RMC AND, AND THE CITY STAFF.
I MEAN, WE, UM, I, SO I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT AND THE, UM, AND ALSO THE, THE IDEA OF MAKING YEAH.
I MEAN, WE'RE CERTAINLY OPEN TO IT.
SO I THINK IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME TO STUDY THIS AND COME UP WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THE NEW FRAMEWORK.
AND ANOTHER ADD ADDITION TO THIS IS THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
[01:00:02]
I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT WILL, UH, IF IT WILL INFLUENCE WHAT THE REBATE PROGRAM LOOKS LIKE AS FAR AS THE COST EFFECTIVENESS, YOU KNOW, THE FACTORS THAT WE'RE ALL LOOKING AT, AS FAR AS, UH, THE RETURN RESPIN, THE ENERGY SAVINGS.SO THERE'S A COMBINATION OF DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES UNDERWAY THAT, UH, WE, WE NEED TO ALL LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE OPEN TO, YOU KNOW, WORKING TOGETHER AND PUT, UM, W WITH YOU ALL.
SO I JUST WANTED TO, JUST TO ADD, ADD THOSE COMMENTS INTO THE DISCUSSION.
UM, ONE THING THAT I GUESS I WOULD, UM, UH, PROVIDERS, UH, IMMEDIATE RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION ABOUT HOW THE CLIMATE PLAN MIGHT, UH, UH, AFFECT THOSE CALCULATIONS GOING FORWARD IS THAT YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING NOT JUST ENERGY SAVINGS PER SE, BUT OUR TOOL CARBON SAVINGS.
AND YOU'LL SEE THAT, UM, IN THE, THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, THAT IT IS ABOUT NET ZERO CARBON, WHICH IS DIFFERENT.
AND I MEAN, JUST LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT REPORTING, LIKE THE, THE RMCS RESOLUTION ON REDUCING THE NATURAL GAS NET, YOU KNOW, CONSUMPTION SAVINGS OVER THE COURSE OF THE FIVE YEARS.
THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE JUST NEED TO ARTICULATE.
AND, UM, I THINK JUST HAVE A REALLY GOOD CADENCE OF REPORTING AND EVERYBODY KNOWS.
YEAH, THERE'S JUST, THERE'S AGAIN, A MOVING TARGET.
SO AS FAR AS THE, WHAT NEEDS TO GO INTO THE REPORTING, UM, SO LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, AND, UH, AND I BELIEVE THAT CLIMATE ACTION PLAN EQUITY ACTION PLAN HAS GONE TO COUNCIL HOPEFULLY LIKE IN MARCH.
UH, SO I THINK IF IT'S MARCH OR APRIL, THEN THAT WOULD GIVE US ENOUGH TIME, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THAT AND LOOKING AHEAD, BRINGING A REVISED CONSERVATION TARIFFS AND THE BUDGET AND THE PROGRAM EVALUATE, YOU KNOW, THE PROGRAM, THE REBATES, UM, IN ORDER TO BECOME EFFECTIVE JANUARY THE FIRST, THEY'LL TAKE SOME TIME TO WORK THROUGH THE COMMISSION AND THEN GET THE CITY COUNCIL AND FOR TEXAS GAS TO HAVE, UM, IF THERE'S CHANGES, UH, SOME RAMP UP TIME JUST FOR, UH, CHANGING, YOU KNOW, THE MATERIALS AND, AND WHAT, WHAT IT TAKES TO RAMP IT UP.
AND I SHOULD HAVE IN MY COMMENT EARLIER, I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED ALSO, I AGREE, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE OFFICE OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS AND THEN CITY STAFF ON THIS.
AND, YOU KNOW, TO, TO THE EXTENT I THINK THAT WE, AS A COMMISSION ARE ABLE TO ARTICULATE THOSE METRICS OR REPORTING THAT WE THINK WILL BE MOST HELPFUL IN US FORMING EDUCATED AND THOUGHTFUL RECOMMENDATIONS AS A COMMISSION, UH, IN LINE WITH OUR PURVIEW.
UM, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT THAT I THINK WE'RE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THAT TO YOU ALL AT THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE, AND, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT HELPS US GET THE DATA AND REPORTING BACK THAT WE NEED IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT PROCESS GO MORE SMOOTHLY.
UM, SO I, UH, I, WE, WE THANK YOU FOR THAT, THAT PERSPECTIVE, UM, TOPIC, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR, OR, UH, COMMENTS EITHER FOR ROD ELA OR FOR LARRY OR JASMINE BEFORE WE MOVE ON, UH, TO, TO OUR COMMISSION, LOOK AHEAD FOR 2021, EXCUSE ME, MADAM CHAIR.
LARRY GRAHAM HAS REESTABLISHED CONNECTION.
SO I JUST WANT TO GIVE HIM THE OPPORTUNITY.
UM, I DID HAVE A BRILLIANT THOUGHT AND I MAY HAVE LOST IT.
UM, I THINK THE ONE THING I WAS RESPONDING TO WAS KYBER JUST THAT WE HAVE OUR OUTSIDE CONSULTANT RUN THE DATA TWICE A YEAR.
SO I THINK ON THE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE ARE ON THE GOAL, WE COULD PROBABLY GIVE THAT TO TWICE A YEAR, BUT THAT IS NOT SOMETHING WE TRACK ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
SO, BUT W WE'RE HAPPY TO DO THAT.
AND I'M SORRY FOR THE, UH, THE PROBLEMS. I THINK, I THINK PAUL ROBBINS CURSED ME AND SOMEHOW KEPT ME FROM GETTING ON THE VIDEO AGAIN.
SO I THINK IT'S 20, 21 QUESTIONS.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
ANY, UH, ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR, FOR LARRY OR JASMINE OR, OR RONDELLA FOR THIS PART OF OUR DISCUSSION.
[01:05:06]
OKAY.WITH THAT? UM, I WOULD SAY THANK YOU.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, JASMINE FOR, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
AND RONDELLA FOR BEING HERE WITH US AND TALKING WITH US THIS EVENING.
[3. Discuss future agenda items for 2021 to ensure that Commission will be able to meet the goals and objectives memorialized in the Annual Internal Review of the Resource Management Commission of July 2020.]
WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM THREE ON OUR AGENDA, WHICH IS OUR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, UM, WHICH I BELIEVE THE, THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION, UH, AND THIS MEETING HAS, HAS SET US UP WELL FOR, UM, I, UM, INTENTIONALLY PUT THIS ITEM ON THE AGENDA BECAUSE I'M HERE AT A, UM, ALMOST HALFWAY POINTS, UM, IN OUR, OUR, UH, I GUESS CALENDAR YEAR AS A COMMISSION, OUR ANNUAL, UH, INTERNAL REVIEW, UH, IS, IS JULY 1ST THROUGH JUNE 31ST.IF I, IF I RECALL CORRECTLY AND I THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, UH, TO TAKE A MOMENT AND LOOK AHEAD AT 2021.
AND, UM, IMPORTANTLY ALSO REVIEW, UM, THOSE ITEMS THAT WE SET FORTH, UH, FOR OURSELVES AS THE, OUR COMMISSION'S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE NEW CALENDAR YEAR.
UM, THOSE WERE, UH, DISTRIBUTED.
JAMIE SENT THOSE OUT WITH OUR MATERIALS, UH, FOR, FOR THIS MEETING.
UM, IT'S THE, THE PDF TITLE ANNUAL INTERNAL REVIEW OR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION 2019, 20, 20 FINAL.
UM, AND YOU'LL SEE, ON PAGE THREE OF THAT DOCUMENT, UM, WE HAVE A LIST OF THE, OF OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE NEW CALENDAR YEAR, UM, BECAUSE THEY GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH N IN THE ALPHABET, WHICH I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY NUMBERS THAT ARE, THOSE ARE, I DON'T NECESSARILY WANT TO, TO, YOU KNOW, READ THROUGH ALL OF THESE INDIVIDUALLY.
UM, BUT I DID WANT TO GIVE THIS COMMISSION THE OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT, THAT WE THINK ARE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT, AND THAT PERHAPS WE SHOULD PRIORITIZE AS WE'RE LOOKING FOR AND SETTING OUR, UH, SETTING OUR FUTURE AGENDAS.
UM, I HAVE A FEW THOUGHTS, BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE TOO LEADING.
UM, SO I'LL, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE GROUP FIRST TO PUT FORWARD, UH, THOUGHTS OR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS PART OF THE DISCUSSION, YOU KNOW, THE SAME.
SO, UM, UH, THIS IS SALMON AND, UH, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS I WAS, I WAS, UH, UM, REALLY INTERESTED IN.
UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF, IF, UH, THIS HAS BEEN DONE AS PAST YEAR OR SO OR NOT, BUT THERE, UM, UH, IN, IN THE, UH, UM, THE CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN, THERE'S A DISCUSSION ABOUT THREE 75 MEGAWATT, LOCAL SOLAR, UH, RJ, IT'S GOING TO BE DONE BY BY 2030.
AND I WAS WONDERING IF HOPEFULLY, MAYBE AUSTIN ENERGY CAN, I KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE 10 YEARS, BUT, UH, UM, MAYBE IT CAN GIVE US A REPORT ON, ON, UH, WHERE WE ARE SOMETIME, YOU KNOW, DURING THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, UM, WHERE THE LOCATIONS ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE PLAN IS OR HOW THEY'RE GONNA MEET THE, MEET THE REQUIREMENTS, UM, AND CONNECTED WITH THAT.
UM, THERE, THERE ARE, UH, I'M SURE THAT A LOT OF, UH, DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY OWNS SOME, UH, SOME PROPERTIES, FOR EXAMPLE, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, UH, HAS APPROXIMATELY 9,200 ACRES, UH, THAT THEY COULD, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE THE TWO DEPARTMENTS HAVE TO TALK TO EACH OTHER THAT THEY COULD POSSIBLY ALLOW FOR, UM, UH, FOR HAVING SUNO SOLAR, UH, PANELS OR ARRAYS THERE TO, TO, TO PROVIDE, UM, UM, UM, RENEWABLE ENERGY.
SO, UM, EH, AND I WAS WONDERING, HOPEFULLY, MAYBE WE CAN GET SOME, SOME REPORT ON THAT.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS, UH, ANOTHER ITEM, MAYBE A REPORT ON VEHICLE, UM, ELECTRIFICATION, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF CITY VEHICLES AND, UM, I KNOW AT ONE POINT THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT, UH, GETTING SOME TRASH TRUCKS OR, OR RECYCLING TRUCKS THAT ARE, UH, ELECTRIC, UM, AND, UM, UH, OF COURSE THERE'S GOING TO BE A BUDGET OR FUNDING ISSUES INVOLVED WITH THAT.
UM, UH, WOULD LIKE TO ALSO GET A REPORT MAYBE AT SOME POINT FROM AUSTIN ENERGY TO SEE, UM, UH, HOW MANY OF, OF, UH, VEHICLES THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY.
UH, UH, I'M TALKING ABOUT CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, NOT, NOT, UH, PRIVATE SECTOR OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, UH, TO SEE HOW MANY OF, UH, UH, VEHICLES WE HAVE,
[01:10:01]
UM, UH, THAT BELONGS TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, AS EMPLOYER, UM, THAT, UH, UH, THAT ARE ELECTRIC AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT'S THE PLAN, UH, WHAT WOULD BE THE PLAN FOR, FOR NEXT FEW YEARS? THANK YOU.THANK YOU, SAM, BOTH, BOTH, UH, GOOD SUGGESTIONS.
AND I THINK, UM, I, I BELIEVE IN KEEPING WITH THE TYPES OF REPORTS THAT WE, UM, ARE GETTING REGULARLY, I THINK QUARTERLY, EVEN FROM, FROM AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, AND I BELIEVE, UM, WE, WE JUST HAD, UH, THE, UM, REPORT ON THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE PROGRAM.
I THINK IT WAS OCTOBER, UM, A PRESENTATION.
AND SO WE WE'VE GOTTEN A, A RELATIVELY RECENT UPDATE, BUT WE'LL MAKE SURE TO ADD THOSE TWO AS, UM, THAT END THE PLAN FOR THE LOCAL SOLAR PROJECTS, UM, AS PART OF THE REQUEST, UH, FOR OUR NEXT AUSTIN ENERGY QUARTERLY UPDATES.
IF I MAY, MADAM CHAIR, UM, NEXT MONTH, JANUARY, YOU'RE SCHEDULED TO HAVE, UH, TIM HARVEY, WHO'S THE DIRECTOR OF OUR SOLAR PROGRAM AND IS ADDRESSING SOME CONCERNS ABOUT, UH, SOLAR.
SO I'LL PUT THAT ON HIS LIST TO BRING UP TO YELL, UM, COMMITTED, TRYING TO RAISE QUESTIONS ON LOCAL SOLAR.
UM, SO WAS THINKING ABOUT FUTURE ISSUES AND THESE MAY OR MAY NOT BE WITHIN, UM, OUR CURRENT SCOPE OF REPORTS OR THINGS WE OTHERWISE MIGHT REVIEW, BUT IT OCCURS TO ME WITH, UM, THE WELCOME NEWS YESTERDAY, UH, THE, UM, ELECTORAL COLLEGE, AND THEN MICHOACANA, UH, UM, MAJORITY LEADER MCCONNELL STATEMENT THIS MORNING ON THE SENATE FLOOR AND HIS LATER DISCUSSION WITH REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP THAT, UM, HE WAS WELCOMING OR CONGRATULATING PRECEDENT BY ELECTRIFIED.
AND, AND THEN LATER ESSENTIALLY SAYING TO THE SENATE REPUBLICAN CAUCUS THAT HE WAS HOPING HE WAS HOPING NO SHENANIGANS ON JANUARY 6TH, THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO PLAN FOR A BIDEN PRESIDENCY.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE PRESIDENT BIDEN AS COMMITTED TO IS A MASSIVE, UH, HOME, UH, UH, SORT OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY REBUILDING PROGRAM, AND MOTHERS MAY REMEMBER, BUT IT'S IN THE MILLIONS OF HOMES.
UM, SO I THINK LOOKING AT WHAT THAT MEANS TO AUSTIN, UM, AND ASSUMING IT'S A GRANT TYPE OF PROGRAM, WHAT DO WE HAVE LEFT TO DO? AND WHAT WOULD OUR TARGETS BE, WOULD BE AN APT EARLY AGENDA ITEM, UM, AND SOMETHING WE OUGHT TO DISCUSS.
AND I SUSPECT IT WILL BE CEREAL DISCUSSIONS.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, INITIALLY I THINK ASSESSMENTS OF WHAT WE HAVE, UM, REBATE READY OR WHAT MIGHT GO BEYOND IT, AND THEN AN UPDATE ON THAT LIST.
ONCE WE HAVE MORE SPECIFIC PROGRAM DETAILS AND, UM, HAVING BEEN THROUGH, I GUESS, 50 YEARS WORTH OF, UH, UH, PROBABLY WHAT WOULD TURN OUT TO BE 12, 10 OR 12 TRANSITIONS.
UM, AND THEN IT TAKES GENERALLY SIX MONTHS TO GET AN IDEA OF WHAT THE PROGRAMS ARE.
AND THEN A YEAR BEFORE YOU GET THE KIND OF PROGRAM DETAILS THAT WE MIGHT EXPECT FROM BIDEN, BUT LET'S BEGIN THAT DISCUSSION.
AND THEN SECONDLY, UM, I THINK ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WILL PROBABLY COME UP DURING THIS COMING YEAR IS THE PASSAGE OF A CLIMATE PLAN, UM, BY CITY COUNCIL, CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
AND THEN I THINK THE QUESTION IS, IS HOW IS THAT GOING TO AFFECT OUR OPERATIONS? AND, UM, WHAT DO WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF FUTURE GOALS TO ASSIST IN THAT? UM, AND THEN LAST, UM, WE HAVE, UM, PERIODICALLY BEGUN TO RANK OR LOOKED AT, UM, COST BENEFITS, UH, ALL OF THE VARIOUS PROGRAMS WITHIN OUR PURVIEW, UH, ELECTRIC, GAS,
[01:15:01]
AND WATER.AND I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT WE OUGHT TO BE RECOMMENDING, UM, FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR AND JUNE, OR WHENEVER THE BUDGETS REALLY DEVELOPED, UM, ADJUSTMENTS TO THE EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO MAXIMIZE COST BENEFITS.
UM, SO THOSE WOULD BE THREE THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO SUSPECT SUGGEST.
UM, AND THERE MAY BE THINGS WE NEED TO COME UP WITH AFTER THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, BUT AFTER YEARS OF BENDING ON THE LEGISLATURE, DOING ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY OR RENEWABLES, I WOULD NOT RESERVE A WHOLE LOT OF ENERGY, BUT IT MAY BE SOMETHING WE TO LOOK INTO PERIODICALLY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH SMITTY, AND, UM, ALL, ALL NOTED, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS AND, UM, IN MY OPINION, REASONABLE SUGGESTIONS FOR US TO BE CONSIDERING, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, I CERTAINLY WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THIS IS NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY FINALIZING OUR AGENDA, UH, THROUGH JUNE WITH THIS DISCUSSION, BUT I THINK IT IS REALLY HELPFUL FOR US TO HAVE THIS, THIS LOOK AHEAD.
UM, UH, OF COURSE WE COULD ADAPT, YOU KNOW, AS MORE INFORMATION STIMULUS FUNDING, ET CETERA, MAY, MAY BE AVAILABLE.
UM, BUT I, I DID WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT, YOU KNOW, BY MY, UH, INTERPRETATION OF THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT WE SET FOR OURSELVES, I THINK THERE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SEVERAL POINTS THAT, UM, UH, SMITTY BOTH YOU AND SAM HAS HAVE MENTIONED, UM, WITH REGARD TO SUPPORTING THE, UM, AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UM, WE'VE WRITTEN A COMMUNITY CLIMATE PLAN HERE, BUT WHICH IS, UH, ITEM, UH, L ON OUR AGENDA, UM, BY EXPLORING OPTIONS AND, AND MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO BASICALLY SUPPORT THAT PLAN, UH, WHICH I THINK IS, IS VERY MUCH IN LINE WITH WHAT YOU'VE DESCRIBED.
UM, AS I PERSONALLY WANTED TO POINT OUT, UH, TO THE COMMISSION, SOMETHING THAT I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN, AND I THINK IT'S GONNA BE A THING TO SUPPORT, UM, LARGELY OF THE TH THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS AND, AND SORT OF THE, THE MORE STANDARDIZED METRICS, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, UH, WITH MY INTERPRETATION OF WHAT YOU WERE JUST RECOMMENDING AS WELL.
UM, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF OUR MAIN OBJECTIVES, IN FACT, THE FIRST ITEM THAT WE LIST, UM, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CONTINUING TO PROVIDE REVIEW OF PROGRAMS, STUDIES AND PROPOSALS, UM, AND IN ADVISING CITY COUNCIL AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY AND WATER USE OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.
UM, AND, AND I, I BRING THAT UP JUST, YOU KNOW, IN PART, BECAUSE OF THE DISCUSSION WE HAD EARLIER WITH REGARD TO THE SAVINGS TO INVESTMENT RATIOS, BUT THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, IT, MY INTERPRETATION OF THIS IS THAT IT IS, UM, UH, THE, UH, BOTH WITHIN THE PURVIEW, BUT ALSO THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THIS COMMISSION TO REVIEWS STUDIES LIKE THE ADM REPORT THAT WAS PRESENTED TO US LAST MONTH, UM, AND, AND REALLY USE THAT TO INFORM OUR RECOMMENDATIONS GOING FORWARD.
UM, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK I, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA OF SORT OF THOSE MAKING SURE THAT WE, UM, NO ONE CAN ARTICULATE THOSE METRICS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO US, UM, KIND OF ACROSS THE BOARD, UM, WITH OUR, YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF GENERAL, UM, MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO ENCOURAGE CONSERVATION AND EFFICIENCY, UM, FOR WATER GAS, ELECTRICITY, UM, IT KIND OF GENERALLY, AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT WE, AS A COMMISSION CAN ARTICULATE HOW OUR WORK IS SUPPORTING CLIMATE PLAN.
UM, I ALSO THINK IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND SINCE I GOT THE MIC GET, I WANTED TO JUST BRING UP THE OTHER PIECE THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UH, QUITE A BIT, UH, AS A COMMISSION, BUT JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT IT CONTINUES TO RE REMAIN ON OUR RADARS, UM, ITEM D UNDER OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES IS CONTINUE TO REGARD CITIZEN INPUT ON THESE ISSUES AS IMPORTANT AS ANY OTHER SOURCE.
UM, AND I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR ME PERSONALLY, THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, BOTH SOLICITING AND LISTENING TO, AND, UH, AND REGARDING CITIZEN INPUTS, LIKE THE INPUT FROM THE PAUL ROBBINS AND THE TIME AND ENERGY HE'S PUT INTO, UH, COMMENTS REMARKS TO, TO THIS COMMISSION LIKE HE DID EARLIER TODAY.
UM, AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CONTINUE TO BE MINDFUL OF, UM, OUR, EH, KIND OF AGREEMENTS WITH EACH OTHER EARLIER THIS FALL ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY SEEKING A REPRESENTATIVE AND EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION IN OUR WORK AS A COMMISSION.
UM, AND SO I, I, I THINK THAT THAT, UM, IS SOMETHING THAT I HOPE WE CAN CONTINUE TO, UH, TO HIGHLIGHT AND PUT FORWARD IN OUR, IN
[01:20:01]
OUR GOALS, AS WE'RE LOOKING AHEAD, I DIDN'T REALLY INTEND THAT TO BE THIS LITTLE AS A MONOLOGUE, IT JUST TURNED INTO, BUT, UM, BUT THOSE ARE SOME, SOME THOUGHTS THAT I HAD FOR CONSIDERATION BY THIS BODY.AND THIS IS, UH, JONATHAN, IF I MAY.
UM, SO KIND OF FOLLOWING ALONG ON SOME OF SMITTY'S COMMENTS, UM, UH, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SHARE WHERE, WHERE I THINK, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR FOCUS MIGHT NEED TO BE, UM, AND SPECIFICALLY ON THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, AUSTIN IS ON THE VERGE OF ADOPTING A PRETTY AGGRESSIVE GOAL, UM, WHICH IS IT'S GOING TO BE, IS GOING TO HAVE TO, IT'S GOING TO BE TAKE A LOT OF, UH, KIND OF INNOVATION AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, CREATIVITY TO, TO HIT OUR, YOU KNOW, CARBON TARGETS.
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE VERY, THEY'VE BEEN VERY GOOD ABOUT KIND OF SPLITTING OUT OUR CURRENT CARBON EMISSIONS BY SECTOR AND ACTUALLY SHOWING, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT THAT WE NEED TO DO TO, TO GET TO A NET ZERO? AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK PART OF WHAT WE CAN DO IS, IS KIND OF WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF THOSE SPECIFIC SECTORS, HOW CAN WE, UH, YOU KNOW, HELP, HELP THOSE SPECIFIC SECTORS THAT WE HAVE, UM, OVERSIGHT OVER TO, UH, YOU KNOW, PUT TOGETHER A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR, FOR GETTING TO, TO NET ZERO.
UM, THE TWO KIND OF THAT THAT MAYBE INTERESTS ME THE MOST ONE IS, IS OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, USE AND RELIANCE ON, ON OFFSETS TO ACHIEVE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, AN EVENTUAL NET ZERO.
UM, BUT NUMBER TWO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ALSO PIGGYBACKING ON, ON, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE HEARD TONIGHT IS, IS OUR OVERSIGHT OF, UH, UH, TEXAS GAS SERVICE.
UM, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY GOOD TO HEAR THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THE REBATE BUDGET IS, IS UP THE CYCLE WAS UP NEXT YEAR.
AND I, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE, WE DEFINITELY NEED TO BE VERY, UM, KIND OF, UH, YOU KNOW, VERY, VERY AGGRESSIVE IN MAKING SURE THAT, UH, CARBON IS, IS ACCOUNTED FOR IN THE ANALYSIS OF THEIR REBATE BUDGET.
UM, YOU KNOW, NOT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE'VE MENTIONED W WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE, YOU KNOW, THE COST BENEFITS THERE, BUT, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, BEYOND THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS, WHAT ARE THE CARBON IMPLICATIONS OF, OF THE REBATE PLAN? AND, AND IT WAS GOOD TO HEAR THAT THE SEE BOSTON, A REGULAR REGULATORY AFFAIRS, UM, WOMAN ACKNOWLEDGED THAT, UH, THE, THE, THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN MIGHT PLAY INTO THAT.
I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, WE REALLY NEED TO, UM, FOCUS ON THAT, YOU KNOW, FROM, FROM, JUST FROM, FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE CLEARLY SOME OF THE REBATE PROGRAMS, WHICH, UH, ARE, ARE HAVING THE EFFECT OF, OF INCENTIVIZING GAS USAGE, WHICH IS ULTIMATELY GOING TO INCREASE CARBON EMISSIONS, NOT, NOT DECREASE THEM.
AND, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT, THAT WE'VE HAD, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF SUCCESS IN WORKING WITH, UM, THE CITY UTILITY, AUSTIN ENERGY AND PUTTING SOME KIND OF FERN AND CONCRETE TARGETS AND WAYS TO GET TO, TO, TO, TO A NET ZERO POLICY.
I THINK WE NEED TO CONSIDER WAYS TO ALSO EXTEND THAT TO TEXAS GAS AND, AND WORK WITH THEM IN PUTTING TOGETHER A PLAN TO, UM, COMPREHENSIVELY ADDRESS THEIR CARBON EMISSIONS AND HOW ARE THEY REALLY GOING TO, UH, TO GET TO ZERO.
AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'VE HEARD A LOT OF, WELL, I GUESS I'VE NEVER, I HAVE YET TO HEAR KIND OF A CONCRETE, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMITMENT AND, AND, AND A METHODOLOGY FOR HOW THEY'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO DO THAT.
AND I THINK THE, THE, THE BUDGET CYCLE ON THE REBATES MIGHT BE ONE WAY THAT WE CAN START TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
UM, YOU ACTUALLY BRING UP A POINT THAT I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN, UM, I GUESS KIND OF TRYING TO NOODLE ON A BIT, UH, W REGARDING THIS COMMISSION AND HOW OUR EFFORTS SUPPORT THE CLIMATE PLAN.
UM, AND I WOULD LOVE TO GET OTHER COMMISSIONERS THOUGHTS ON THIS.
UM, AND, AND OF MAYBE YOU'RE SPECIFICALLY NOT THE AGENDA ON THE HOOK, BUT IT'S PART OF, UH, THEIR REPRESENTATIVE ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
UM, I, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CLEAR ON IS, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR, UM, PURVIEW AS A COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, VERY CLEARLY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF, OF BOTH GAS AND ELECTRICITY, UM, ARE, YOU KNOW, WITHIN OUR PURVIEW, LIKE SQUARELY IN OUR LANE.
[01:25:01]
AND I THINK IT ALSO SUPPORTING THE CLIMATE EQUITY POINT, I THINK IS, IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE OBJECTIVES THAT I, I BELIEVE THAT WE ALL, UM, CAN AGREE TO.ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS REALLY INTERESTING IS WHEN IT COMES SPECIFICALLY TO, UM, CARBON AND, UM, KIND OF ACTUALLY YOUR, YOUR COMMENT EARLIER, UM, AND TODAY'S MEETING ABOUT EMBODIED CARBON CARBON RELATED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, EARLY REPLACEMENTS, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, A GAS APPLIANCES KIND OF, KIND OF MADE ME THINK THAT, AND ONE OF THE THINGS I'M, I WOULD LOVE THE THOUGHTS ON, UH, OF THE DISCUSSION IS SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR GOAL IS ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION AND, YOU KNOW, MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS AND, UM, UH, SUPPORTING, WORKING WITH STAFF TO, TO TRY TO, UH, TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS.
UM, AND I THINK WE CAN APPLY IN A, YOU KNOW, IN A, IN A MANNER THAT IS EQUITABLE.
UM, AND I THINK THIS CONDITION HAS CLEARLY SHOWN THAT, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, LIFTING UP, UH, UNDER SERVED, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, INCLUDING LOW-INCOME RESIDENTS, RENTERS, ET CETERA, IS, IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO US.
UM, BUT JONATHAN, I THINK THAT, THAT SPECIFICALLY THAT QUESTION ON, ON CARBON AND, AND OUR CARB, OUR PURVIEW WITH REGARD TO, UH, TO, TO, TO REALLY CARBON EMISSIONS BEING REDUCTION, BEING A METRIC OF THE COMMISSION, I WOULD JUST LOVE TO HEAR THE THOUGHTS OF THIS, THIS GROUP ON, ON, YOU KNOW, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO MAKE, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF CENTER TO OUR AGENDA, I GUESS I'LL, I'LL TAKE THAT FIRST AND THIRD THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THE, UM, THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A COMMUNITY-WIDE CLIMATE PLAN NOW, AND I'LL HAVE AS A COMMUNITY TO HAVE DEVELOPED A SIGNIFICANT NEW VERSION OF THAT, THE STINT CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, I THINK IT'S, IT, IT IS, UH, STRONGLY IMPLIED IF NOT OVERTLY, UM, I GUESS STATED THE CARBON REDUCTION IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS.
IT IS EVERY COMMISSION'S BUSINESS THAT HAS EVERY INDIVIDUAL'S BUSINESS.
IT IS EVERY DEPARTMENT'S BUSINESS.
IT IS A LITERALLY CITY WIDE COMMUNITY WIDE GOAL THAT WE ALL NEED TO BE ENGAGED IN.
I THINK THE SAME IS TRUE FOR EQUITY, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S ASKING CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UM, SO JUST LIKE WE WOULDN'T SAY THE EQUITY IS NOT OUR BUSINESS HERE.
I THINK LIKEWISE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, I JUST, I DON'T, I DON'T EVEN THINK, UH, MAYBE ALL OF THE COMMISSION BYLAWS SHOULD BE UPDATED TO REFLECT THOSE TWO THINGS, BUT, UM, I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THAT I DON'T THINK THAT SHOULD BE NECESSARY.
I THINK THAT'S JUST PART OF WHAT WE ALL HAVE TO BE DOING TEVA.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL.
AND I TH THE THING THAT KEPT GETTING ME AS I WAS THINKING THROUGH THIS IS THE COMMENT ABOUT THE EMBODIED CARBON, WHICH, YOU KNOW, FOR THE, THE, UM, AND SORRY, I'M NOT LAUGHING BECAUSE IT'S FUNNY, I'M LAUGHING BECAUSE I, I DON'T KNOW QUITE HOW TO ARTICULATE WHAT I WANT TO SAY, BUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT ENERGY CONSERVATION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY, UM, YOU KNOW, EMBODIED CARBON ISN'T NECESSARILY WHAT I WOULD'VE CONSIDERED TRADITIONALLY IN THE, IN THE PURVIEW OF, OF THIS COMMISSION, BUT MAYBE THAT WE COLLECTIVELY THINK THAT WITH REGARD TO, UM, REALLY ANY MEASURE THAT IS RECOMMENDED, UM, THE FULL, YOU KNOW, OR FOR WHICH THERE'S A REBATE, UH, REALLY THE WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF LOOKING AT THE FULL LIFE CYCLE OF, OF THAT MEASURE.
UM, IS THAT THE WAY THAT YOU YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT IT? YEAH, I MEAN, REALLY, I THINK THAT, UH, IF YOU THINK HOLISTICALLY, EVEN JUST ABOUT ENERGY EFFICIENCY, UH, SETTING CARBON ASIDE, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S TOTALLY VALID TO CONSIDER EMBODIED ENERGY BECAUSE PART OF THAT CALCULATION.
AND JONATHAN, I DIDN'T MEAN TO TAKE US OFF TRACK OF, OF THE RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU WERE JUST MAKING WITH REGARD TO, TO CARBON REDUCTION AND OFFSETS, BUT I'M, I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW DO WE, AS A COMMISSION NEEDS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, SMART AND EDUCATED, UM, ABOUT THESE EVALUATIONS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, IT, TO SOME EXTENT IT'S COMING BACK TO, OKAY, WHAT ARE THE KEY METRICS THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT AS A COMMISSION, UM, TO, TO, TO, YOU KNOW, INFORM
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OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL? UM, I SUPPOSE I GO, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION HERE.I JUST REALLY, I WANTED TO KIND OF OPEN IT UP TO THE GROUP FOR, FOR THOUGHTS, UM, SO THAT WE CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE VEIN THAT WE WERE DESCRIBING BEFORE HELP, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH, WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS AND THE DEPARTMENTS, TEXAS GAS SERVICE, AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, THE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICES, ET CETERA, TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SAY, HEY, HERE'S, HERE'S WHAT WE WANT TO BE LOOKING AT.
UM, HERE'S HOW WE WANT TO USE, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE, UM, EMISSIONS DASHBOARD TOOL, UH, THAT THE FITZ SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE HELPED US UNDERSTAND.
HERE'S HOW WE USE THOSE TOOLS TO GO ABOUT OUR BUSINESSES, THE COMMISSION.
UM, I THINK THAT THAT'S REALLY WHAT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE COULD ARTICULATE.
I JUST, UM, I DUNNO, GOING KIND OF BACK TO THE, UM, THE, THE POINT ON OFFSETS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LATEST VERSION OF THE PLAN, WHICH I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN PUBLICLY POSTED.
I DON'T THINK THAT IT HAS, UM, HAS AN EXPANDED SECTION ON OFFSETS AND NEGATIVE EMISSIONS, UH, PROJECTS AND REALLY LAYING OUT WHAT THE VISION IS FOR PRIORITIZING THE USE OF OFFSETS AND NEGATIVE EMISSIONS AND LOCAL CARBON REDUCTION PROJECTS.
AND JUST TO KIND OF SUMMARIZE IT, ACTUALLY REDUCING EMISSIONS WITHIN ALL STAN IS THE PRIORITY.
OH, IF THERE IS A WAY TO INVEST IN, IN THAT, UM, THAT'S THE FIRST PRIORITY, SECOND PRIORITY IS, UH, ACTUAL NEGATIVE EMISSIONS, UH, PROJECTS.
AND, YOU KNOW, THAT PARTIALLY COMES FROM NATURAL SYSTEMS, WHICH HAS ITS OWN SECTION IN THE PLAN, BUT WE'LL ALSO BE DIRECT AIR CAPTURE OTHER, YOU KNOW, TECHNO TECHNOLOGY-BASED SOLUTIONS AND THAT'S ABSOLUTELY GOING TO BE NEEDED, IS NEEDED.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THEIR THIRD, THIRD DESK OPTION IS, YOU KNOW, ANY OTHER KIND OF OFFSETS THAT ARE SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD, PERHAPS, AND PERHAPS INCLUDING AVOIDED EMISSIONS.
UM, BUT THE, THE GUIDANCE AND THE PLAN, UH, YOU KNOW, SAYS THAT, THAT THOSE OF USE OF AVOIDED EMISSIONS OFFSETS, WHICH WOULD BE PHASED OUT, UH, I DON'T HAVE IT RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.
I CAN'T REMEMBER IF THAT'S BY 2030 OR BY 2040.
AND AFTER THAT, YOU KNOW, SHOULD JUST BE NEGATIVE EMISSIONS, UH, SOLUTIONS IN TERMS OF ANY SORT OF OFFSETS BEING PURCHASED.
BUT IT ALSO MAKES CLEAR THAT, YOU KNOW, OFFSETS ARE NOT OUR PRIMARY METHOD THAT WE NEED TO BE ACTUALLY REDUCING EMISSIONS.
AND THE, EVEN THOUGH THE PLAN AS IT CURRENTLY IS PRESENTED, DOES NOT OFFER SUFFICIENT STRATEGIES TO ACTUALLY REDUCE EMISSIONS, TO MEET THE GOAL THAT WE NEED TO KEEP BUILDING ON THAT SO THAT WE ARE GETTING MUCH CLOSER TO, TO, TO MEET THE, IN THAT ACTUAL GOAL.
AND IN THE THAT WE NEED THAT THE, I GUESS THAT THE, UM, THE, ANY SORT OF OFFSETS WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE SPREAD EQUALLY OR PROPORTIONALLY BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT SECTORS.
THERE'S GONNA BE SOME SECTORS THAT ARE JUST MUCH MORE DIFFICULT AND EXPENSIVE TO DECARBONIZE ENTIRELY.
AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT THE PLAN ENVISIONS, YOU KNOW, MORE USE OF OFFSETS, YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY WITH THE NEGATIVE EMISSIONS TECHNOLOGIES, YOU KNOW, MAKING UP FOR THOSE EMISSIONS THAT ARE DIFFICULT OR PERHAPS IMPOSSIBLE TO ELIMINATE.
TAYYABA SO, WOULD THAT, WOULD THAT MEAN THAT, AND JUST TRYING TO SEE IF I'M TRACKING WITH, WITH BOTH OF YOU HERE THAT, SO WE, AS A COMMISSION SHOULD SORT OF UNDERSTAND THOSE, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY CATEGORIES THAT, THAT, THAT WAS JUST NOW THAT YOU MENTIONED KV, BUT LIKE FOR EACH OF THE, SORT OF THE, THE PROGRAMS, UM, OR UPDATES THAT WE'RE, WE'RE RECEIVING
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FROM EACH OF THE, THE, FROM, FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, FROM TEXAS GAS SERVICE, UM, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS FROM, FROM, FROM AUSTIN WATER, UM, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TO UNDERSTAND PROGRESS TO DATE REGARDING EMISSIONS REDUCTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CLIMATE PLAN, AS WE'RE GETTING THE STANDARD QUARTERLY UPDATES THAT WE'VE BEEN, THAT WE'VE GOTTEN.AND THEN ALSO YOU MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND, UM, THE, THE NEGATIVE MISSION, THE OFFSETS BOTH LOCALLY AND ELSEWHERE THAT ARE BEING, UH, INCLUDED AS, AS PROGRESS TO THAT PLAN.
IT IS THAT, I GUESS MAYBE I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK OF LIKE, KIND OF ALMOST THE, THE MECHANICS OF THIS, LIKE HOW DO WE GET THE UPDATES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE INFORMED IN THE WAY THAT WE NEED TO BE, TO, TO MAKE THE APPROPRIATE RECOMMENDATIONS? I MEAN, I DON'T THINK THAT THERE'S A, THERE IS NOT AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ON THOSE OFFSETS AT THE MOMENT.
UM, I THINK THAT'S, UH, NEEDS TO BE A TOP PRIORITY, YOU KNOW, UH, FOR IMPLEMENTATION FOR SURE, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S NOT A PLAN.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT, THE NEXT PHASE IS COMING UP WITH THAT PLAN.
SO IT'S NOT SO MUCH JUST BEING INFORMED, IT'S, YOU KNOW, WEIGHING IN ON, ON HOW THAT SHOULD HAPPEN.
AND I THINK THE, THE FIRST BIG CONVERSATION, AT LEAST THAT WE'VE, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY BEEN DISCUSSING AT THE STEERING COMMITTEE IS WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM? YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE BUYING IN OFFSETS, WHETHER THEY'RE AVOIDED EMISSIONS OR NEGATIVE EMISSIONS, IT'S, IT'S GOING TO COST.
AND, UM, WE DON'T AS A CITY, AS A COMMUNITY CURRENTLY HAVE THAT POT OF MONEY AVAILABLE.
SO WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THAT'S COMING FROM.
THANK YOU, PAIVA AND SORRY FOR TAKING SO MUCH TIME ON THAT ONE, BUT I, I LET'S, LET'S CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS, AS THE FIRST AND SECOND QUARTER PROGRESSED AND AS THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN IS IN FACT ADAPTED AND, AND, UM, I THINK IT IS HELPFUL FOR US TO BE ABLE TO ARTICULATE WHAT, WHAT WE BELIEVE THE ROLE OF THIS COMMISSION IS IN, IN SUPPORTING THAT PLAN, UM, AND, AND SUPPORTING THE IMPLEMENTATION AND WORKING WITH, UM, EACH OF THE CITY DEPARTMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, UM, THAT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS CAN, CAN BE HELPFUL TO, TO COUNCIL AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE PROCESS.
ARE THERE OTHER, UM, OTHER THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS RELIGHT RELATED TO EITHER THE SPECIFIC EMISSIONS AND OFFSET TOPICS OR ANY OF THESE OTHER TOPICS THAT WERE RECOMMENDED RECOMMENDED OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE, OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE YEAR THAT COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE TO, TO HIGHLIGHT AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PRIORITIZING AS WE'RE LOOKING AHEAD, THEN AT THE SAME TIME, I HEARD A LOT ABOUT IT, BODY, UH, CARBON FOOTPRINT AND, AND, UM, I GUESS BASICALLY, UM, THE PART OF IT OBVIOUSLY HAS TO DO WITH THE BUILDING AND MATERIALS AND SO ON.
UH, AND I THINK MAYBE, UM, MAYBE WE CAN GET A REPORT OR A LITTLE BIT OF GUIDANCE FROM DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, UM, UH, DEPARTMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE IN CHARGE OF ALL THE PERMITTING FOR, UM, BUILDINGS, UH, WHETHER IT HAS TO DO WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN OR, OR PRIVATE SECTOR.
I MEAN, THERE COULD HELP US OUT A LITTLE BIT WITH, UH, UM, HOW THEY'RE GOING TO MEET, UH, THERE'S 40% THAT'S IN, UM, THE, UM, EQUITY GOALS FOR, FOR US.
AND THAT'S A REALLY GOOD IDEA.
I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE IT ONE FURTHER.
UM, ONE OF THE AREAS THAT'S WITHIN OUR PURVIEW IS WATER CONSERVATION AND, UM, WE HAVE REALLY AGGRESSIVE WATER CONSERVATION GOALS.
AND PART OF THAT, UM, HAS TO DO WITH LOOKING AT THE CLIMATE AND SAYING TO THE CITY, UM, IF WE DON'T AGGRESSIVELY TOOK ACTION TO REDUCE OUR CLIMATE EMISSIONS, OUR WATER AVAILABILITY IS GOING TO GET FAR MORE ACUTE, UM, AND COMING UP WITH WAYS TO REDUCE WATER USE AS PART OF THAT PLAN AND TO, UM, UH, RECYCLE, UH, OR REPURPOSE.
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WHETHER THAT BE THROUGH REUSE IN RAIN GARDENS FOR, IN, UM, CAPTURING RAINWATER, UH, FOR, UH, IRRIGATION PURPOSES OR, UM, COMING UP WITH WAYS TO RECYCLE THEM THROUGH THE PURPLE PIPE.AND SO I THINK IN THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, UM, REPORT, WE'RE ASKING THEM TO TALK ABOUT IN TERMS OF CLIMATE IMPACT, UM, ALSO MEASURING HOW THEIR PLANS, THEIR UPCOMING CODES, THERE ARE ALL GOING TO IMPACT, UM, THE CITY'S FORWARD FACING STRATEGIES, UM, TO DEAL WITH THOSE REDUCING CLIMATE EMISSIONS, BUT ALSO FRANKLY FOR ADAPTATION.
UM, UM, AND I DON'T NEED TO TELL THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION, HOW SEVERE OUR FUTURE IS GOING TO BE, UM, WITH ALL THE GOOD WISHES AND WORKS OF THIS CITY AND THE NATION, HOPEFULLY, UH, WE'RE IN FOR A ROUGH RIDE AND YOU ALL WHO ARE YOUNGER THAN I ARE GOING TO BE, UH, SUFFERING FAR MORE THAN THOSE OF US WHO HAVE CAUSED THIS PROBLEM.
AND I, FOR ONE, WANT TO APOLOGIZE FOR OUR LACK OF LEADERSHIP, BUT ALSO SUGGEST THAT WE'RE AT AN OPPORTUNE MOMENT NOW TO BEGIN THAT PLANNING TO DEAL WITH THAT ADAPTATION AND, UM, COMING UP WITH REPORTS ON WHAT THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT SERVICES ARE DOING IS IMPORTANT.
AND THANK YOU, SAM, FOR THE, THE RECOMMENDATION, OTHER THOUGHTS FROM THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, PERHAPS YOU HAVEN'T SPOKEN AS MUCH THIS MEETING.
UM, I KNOW IN THE PAST, AS I MENTIONED, LIKE THE COMPLETE LIFECYCLE OF FACIL, THEIR PANELS, THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, I GUESS PURCHASES, BUT THEY HAVE NO CONTROL IN WHAT THEY PURCHASED, BUT IN THEIR MATRIX, UM, HOW THEY DECIDE WHO GETS THE BID.
UM, THEY HAD MENTIONED THAT THEY DO WEIGH SOME THINGS HEAVIER THAN OTHERS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO INCLUDE THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE EMBODIED, YOU KNOW, ENERGY AND MATERIALS THAT THE SOLAR PANELS HAVE, CAN SOMEHOW BE FACTORED INTO THIS, THIS WHOLE PICTURE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, MANAGE AS FAR AS OUR RESOURCES.
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW, OR WHEN THAT CAN BE BROUGHT UP, BUT I DO WANT TO PUT PRESSURE ON THEM AS THEY'RE PURCHASING NEW UTILITY SCALE SOLAR PROJECTS TO PUT THAT MORE, THAT JUST MAKE THAT A HEAVIER FACTOR IN THE WHO WINS THE BID.
UM, BECAUSE IF THERE'S A DEMAND FOR MORE RESPONSIBLY, UH, MANUFACTURED SOLAR PANELS, THEN THE MANUFACTURERS ARE GOING TO RESPOND TO THAT DEMAND.
UM, IF THERE'S NOT A DEMAND, THEN THEY CAN JUST GET THEM WHEREVER THEY WANT.
AND THE SOLAR PANELS THEMSELVES COULD BE CONTRIBUTING TO POLLUTION, NOT NECESSARILY IN AN ABOVE AND ALL AROUND AUSTIN, BUT IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD LIKE CHINA.
AND I ALSO RECALL THAT THAT WAS PART OF OUR WORKING GROUP AS WE WERE WORKING WITH, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY ON, UM, THE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REQUIREMENTS FOR THE RFP THAT HAD GONE OUT.
SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT ONE UP AND WE'LL ADD IT TO THE LIST.
UM, YEAH, SO I THINK I JUST WANTED TO BRING UP, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A LOT OF STUFF THAT IS UPCOMING, UM, AS FAR AS WHAT WE'RE PROJECTING FOR, UM, ADMISSIONS, OUR PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE, ET CETERA.
UM, BUT JUST ONE THING THAT'S ON MY MIND IS THAT ALL OF THIS KIND OF AVOIDS, OR IT DOESN'T TAKE INTO FACTOR, LIKE WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY LIVING IN, UM, SPECIFICALLY THE
[01:45:01]
PANDEMIC.UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE ALL NOW ON THE ZOOM CALL AND NOT IN PERSON.
UM, BUT I, I, I JUST KEEP ON THINKING, YOU KNOW, ALL, ALL THESE BASELINES, ALL OF THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE PROJECTING OUT, WHAT WE'RE FORECASTING AND WHAT ARE WE SAYING ARE ENERGY SAY CLAIMS, UM, ARE NOT GOING TO BE VALID FOR THIS YEAR, UH, THERE, AND THEY COULD POTENTIALLY SHIFT SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE COMING YEARS.
YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, MORE CURRENT PRACTICES STAY IN PLACE, SUCH AS WORK MORE WORK FROM HOME POLICIES, ET CETERA.
UM, SO I GUESS, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M BRINGING THIS UP IS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER WE TALKING ABOUT OUR, OUR, OUR PROJECTIONS ARE OUR ENERGY SAVINGS WHERE THEY, THEY USE THESE KIND OF STANDARD SCHEDULES, RIGHT.
OF LIKE WHAT THEY, UM, HOW MUCH OCCUPANCY IS IN A BUILDING AND, UM, HOW LONG LIGHTS ARE ON, UH, UH, AND THAT HAS SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED.
AND DO WE KNOW THAT WE CAN, UM, ACTUALLY RELY ON THOSE, UM, ASSUMPTIONS, UM, FOR A GIVEN PERIOD OF TIME, AND THIS CURRENTLY AFFECTS OUR ABILITY TO PROJECT OUT ANY, UM, UM, ACTUAL TOTAL EMISSIONS, UM, DIVERTED AWAY FROM OUR ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, UM, FROM, FROM TJS PROGRAMS AS WELL.
UM, AND I THINK I WOULD JUST REALLY WANT TO HEAR FROM, FROM ALL PARTIES FROM THE, FROM THE, FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, FROM TGS, JUST HOW WERE THEY THINKING ABOUT THIS AND HOW ARE THEY FACTORING IT IN BECAUSE IT DOES NEED TO BE FACTORED IN.
AND I KNOW IT'S A HUGE, HUGE HEADACHE AND A HUGE SHIFT IN HOW WE EVALUATE AND LOOK AT SOME OF THESE ITEMS. UM, BUT I W I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT, UM, AT LEAST STARTED GENERALLY BEING MORE OF A PART OF THE DISCUSSION RATHER THAN KEEPING ON, UM, KIND OF TALKING ABOUT THINGS AS IF THERE WERE STATUS QUO.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTOOD THAT AS WELL.
SO BASICALLY, LIKE HOW, HOW DO CHANGES IN BEHAVIOR ASSOCIATED WITH THE PANDEMIC? HOW IS THAT AFFECTING CONSUMPTION, EXCUSE ME, ENERGY AND WATER CONSUMPTION KIND OF ACROSS THE BOARD, LIKE BASICALLY KIND OF ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THIS ISN'T AN APPLES TO APPLES OR COMPARING 2019 TO 20, 20, 19 TO 2020, ISN'T A RELEVANT COMPARISON.
IF YOU'RE THEN TRYING TO PUT EFFICIENCY ON TOP OF THAT, IS THAT KIND OF THAT PIECE, IS THAT RIGHT? OKAY.
SO IF WE'RE GOING TO CLAIM ENERGY SAVINGS, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR 2020 FOR A COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS, YOU KNOW, A LARGE MAJORITY OF OUR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS REMAIN VACANT OR ARE A SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED CAPACITY FOR THAT TIME PERIOD.
SO HOW HAS THAT FACTORED IN AND HOW ARE WE EVEN USING THAT OR ARE CONSIDERING THAT FOR WHAT WE'RE ASSUMING TO BE FUTURE PROJECTIONS.
THAT, THAT, THAT CERTAINLY MAKES A LOT OF SENSE AND IT, UM, IT AGREED IT'S, IT'S CERTAINLY HARD TO, HARD TO PROJECT WHAT THE FUTURE IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, BUT I ALSO AGREE WITH YOU.
IT'S A, IT'S AMAZING HOW MUCH WE, YOU KNOW, UM, PUSH ON WITH OUR WORK, UM, IN SPITE OF DESPITE THE PANDEMIC.
AND I THINK I AGREE WITH YOU, IT'S IMPORTANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALL AROUND THE WAY THAT THIS IS CHANGING THE WAY THAT WE ALL ARE WORKING AND THINKING ABOUT OUR WORK.
OTHER OTHER THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS TO, TO INCLUDE IN THIS DISCUSSION, MADAM CHAIR TO PICK UP ON, ON JAMES' POINT? UM, I THINK THAT THE, UM, ONE OF THE STUDIES WAS IN NEW YORK TIMES THIS MORNING SAID THAT ABOUT 26% OF AMERICANS PREFER NEVER TO GO BACK TO THEIR OFFICE JOBS, UH, AND JUST WORK FROM HOME AND THAT THERE, THEY FOUND THEIR PRODUCTIVITY WAS HIGHER.
AND, UM, SIMILARLY STUDIES ON, UM, THE, UH, THE, AS JAMES MENTIONED, THE DECLINE
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AND CENTRAL OFFICE BUILDING OCCUPANCY RATES HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT AND, UM, REGARD TO FEARS OF LARGE SCALE, UM, DEFAULTS ON LEASES OR FAILURES TO RENEW AND, UM, AND SUING BANKRUPTCIES OF COMMERCIAL DEVELOPERS.UM, AND I THINK THAT, UM, HAVING NOW GONE THROUGH, UH, RECESSIONS IN THE EIGHTIES AND THEN, UM, IN THE NINETIES IS A, UH, AN, THE SAVINGS AND LOAN, UH, DEBICO ARE PREDICTABLE, UH, IMPACTS THAT WILL AFFECT AUSTIN IN PARTICULAR AS AN OVERBUILT CITY, UM, IN SOME PRETTY PROFOUND WAYS.
AND SO OUR PROJECTIONS ABOUT ENERGY USE MADE CHANGE DRAMATICALLY.
THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE STAYING AT HOME WILL CERTAINLY AFFECT THAT.
AND SO THE QUESTION RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS, ARE WE BETTER, UM, TO INVEST IN PEOPLE'S HOMES OR INTO OUR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS? UM, OUR, UH, QUESTIONS, I THINK WE MAY WANT TO REVIEW AT SOME POINT, PERHAPS LATE NEXT YEAR, UH, AS WE BEGAN TO TAKE A FULL MEASURE OF THE PANDEMIC, UH, SECOND YEAR AND WHAT I THINK WE WILL SEE IN TERMS OF EXHIBITS FINANCIAL IMPACTS, UM, ON, UH, THE ECONOMY.
UM, SO IT'S JUST A THOUGHT, BUT I THINK PICKING UP ON JAMES THING, IT'S NOT A POSITION, NOT A SNAPSHOT THAT WE CAN TAKE NOW AND FULLY UNDERSTAND, UM, THAT IT IS SOMETHING WE BOTH NEED TO KEEP OUR EYE ON AND PLAN AHEAD FOR, IN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE PROGRAMS. I THINK THAT THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE, MANY.
UM, AND, AND, AND JANE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
I DO, YOU KNOW, I AGREE WITH YOU BOTH THAT, THAT WE, AS A COMMISSION SHOULD BE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING FORWARD, UM, AT, YOU KNOW, TRENDS THAT WE CAN EXPECT.
UM, EVEN THOUGH, YOU KNOW, I, I, AS I MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO, I KNOW WE DON'T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL, BUT YOU KNOW, SOME OF IT IS IF WE CAN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THINK THROUGH THE SCENARIOS THAT WE MIGHT, HOW MIGHT WE MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, THAT CAN, CAN HELP POSITION OUR CITY, UH, FOR THOSE EXPECTED OUTCOMES.
UM, I THINK THAT'S A REALLY, REALLY GREAT POINT.
ONE THING THAT MADE ME THINK ABOUT THIS IS REBECCA, UM, IS HOW WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE, THESE CHANGES IN BEHAVIORS BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC.
UM, IT, LIKE IF THERE'S BEEN A STUDY DONE TO SAY BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, UM, YOU KNOW, EMISSIONS HAVE BEEN REDUCED DRASTICALLY BECAUSE OF THESE CERTAIN THINGS, PERHAPS THERE CAN BE PROGRAMS THAT THE CITY CAN IMPLEMENT TO INCENTIVIZED TO CONTINUE WITH THESE CERTAIN PAPERS, LIKE WORKING FROM HOME AND NOT COMMUTING, OR, YOU KNOW, GIVING BUSINESSES REASON TO ALLOW MORE FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULES, UM, AND WORK FROM HOME, UM, CAUSE THAT JUST BEHAVIOR CAN REDUCE EMISSIONS AND SAVE RESOURCES, WHICH WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE, YOU KNOW, HELPING CONSERVE
WELL, I, I KNOW, UM, I THINK IT'S ALMOST EIGHT 10.
UM, I, I THINK THAT THIS HAS BEEN A VERY HEALTHY AND ROBUST DISCUSSION AND I, I REALLY, I APPRECIATE THE COMMISSION FOR ALLOWING US THE TIME AND SPACE TO DO THIS AND REALLY BRINGING YOUR, YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS TO THIS DISCUSSION.
AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE US, UM, I KNOW, ESPECIALLY WITH OUR, UM, MEETING CONSTRAINTS WITH THE VIRTUAL MEETINGS, ET CETERA, I KNOW WE OFTEN DON'T ALLOW THE TIME FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS OR WE DON'T GIVE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE END UP WRITING AND RUNNING OUT OF TIME QUITE A BIT, BUT I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT, UH, FOR US TO, TO DO AND THINK THROUGH, AND I'D RECOMMEND, UM, THAT WE, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO REVIEW THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT WE'RE SETTING FOR OURSELVES THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO, TO, TO REALLY CHECK OURSELVES AND SAY, YOU KNOW, DO WE BELIEVE THAT AS A COMMISSION, WE ARE, WE'RE STRUCTURING BOTH OUR AGENDAS AND OUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN A WAY THAT CAN, CAN MAKE THE IMPACTS THAT WE BELIEVE THAT IT IS
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ON US TO MAKE IT THE COMMISSION.UM, SO THIS, UM, I GUESS I I'M, I'M SETTING ALL THAT UP TO SAY, I HOPE THAT THIS CAN, THIS DISCUSSION CAN BE CONTINUED.
UM, AND SO PLEASE CONTINUE, YOU KNOW, KEEP, KEEP THINKING ABOUT THESE ITEMS AND WE'LL, WE'LL STRUCTURE THEM ON THE AGENDA, UM, AS, AS IT'S APPROPRIATE.
UM, AND I BELIEVE JAMIE, YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I DON'T SAY THIS EXACTLY RIGHT.
BUT I BELIEVE, UM, YOU KNOW, IF ANY TWO COMMISSIONERS, UH, SUPPORT A SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEM, UH, IT, IT, THAT THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES TO GET ON THE AGENDA.
UM, AND, AND SO PLEASE CONTINUE TO SHARE YOUR, YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS OF WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE IN TERMS OF OUR AGENDAS, AS WE'RE AS, AS 2021 IS DEVELOPING.
UM, AND I, I, UH, COMMIT TO YOU ALL THAT I'LL, I'LL DO MY BEST TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WE, UM, WITH, WITH, UH, KAI WAS HELP THAT, THAT WE DO STRUCTURE THESE AGENDAS APPROPRIATELY SO THAT WE CAN, WE CAN, YOU KNOW, REACH OUR POTENTIAL AS A COMMISSION.
SO, SO THANK YOU ALL, JAMIE, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'RE ALWAYS GOOD ABOUT KEEPING ME ON TRACK? IS THERE ANYTHING THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO SAY I DIDN'T, OR THAT WE OKAY.
SO THE, THE WINTER HOLIDAY, THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, THE YULE SEASON IS ONE WHERE FOR SOME TIME IN MEMORIAL, THE LONGEST NIGHTS OF THE YEAR WERE TRANSFORMED AROUND THE SOUL.
AND PEOPLE CELEBRATED BY LIGHTING CANDLES OR ILLUMINATING CHRISTMAS TREES OR LIGHTING THEIR VILLAGES AND COMMUNITIES TO CELEBRATE THE TIME OF TRANSFORMATION A TIME WHEN DARKNESS WILL BEGIN TO LEAVE THE NATION.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT WE'VE HAD AN EARLY SOLSTICE, THAT THE TIME OF TRANSFORMATION AND THE LIFTING OF THE CLOUD OF DARKNESS THAT HAS BEEN OVER OUR NATION FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS HAS BEGUN TO TRANSFORM INTO A TIME OF LIGHT.
SO IN THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON, WHEN WE BEGIN TO LIGHT OUR TREES OR OUR CANDLES TO CELEBRATE HANUKKAH OR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, LET'S ALL BE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE TRANSFORMATION THAT'S LIKELY TO BE TAKING PLACE AS WE PROGRESS INTO THE FUTURE.
THANK YOU FOR THE MOMENT OF REFLECTION.
AND WITH THAT, I BELIEVE WE WILL.
AND I, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, I'M THANKFUL FOR MY OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH Y'ALL THIS PAST YEAR.
UM, I'M TAKING A LITTLE SABBATICAL TO, UM, REPRESENT AN AUSTIN ENERGY AT THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE.
UH, YOU'LL BE IN GOOD HANDS WITH NATASHA GOODWIN, EXCUSE ME THERE.
UM, AND, UM, ALWAYS A PHONE CALL AWAY IF Y'ALL NEED ANY HELP, BUT, UH, I HOPE TO BE BACK AND EVERYBODY ENJOYED, AND IT'S BEEN A PRIVILEGE WORKING WITH Y'ALL AND SEEING YOUR, YOUR COMMITMENT AND DEDICATION, AND JUST, JUST GETTING ON THIS CALL TONIGHT, EXEMPLIFIED THAT.
I'D LOVE TO GET ALL OF Y'ALL HUGGED, BUT I KNOW I'LL DO IT VIRTUALLY SAID, THANK YOU SO MUCH, JAMIE.
I APPRECIATE YOU PERSONALLY MORE THAN, THAN I CAN SAY.
AND I THINK WE, AS A COMMISSION APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE, UH, FOR, FOR US AS A COMMISSION.
I'M, I'M SAD TO LOSE YOU TO THE LEGISLATURE FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS.
UM, BUT THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU WILL BE DOING THERE.
AND I HOPE THINGS GO AS SMOOTHLY AS POSSIBLE.
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORK FOR THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.
AND WE, WE ALSO, WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH, WITH NATASHA AND WE'LL BE, UH, EXCITED TO HAVE HER, UM, TO, TO WORK WITH HER FOR, UH, FOR OUR FUTURE MEETINGS DURING SESSION.
UM, AND, UH, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, UH, AND IF I DON'T, UH, SPEAK WITH YOU ALL AND, UH, WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO RECONVENING THE RMC AND 2021.
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