[00:00:04]
[CALL TO ORDER]
UM, SO WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, CALL TO ORDER THE APRIL MEETING OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, UH, AT 6:12 PM.UM, FIRST UP WE'LL HAVE, UH, CITIZEN COMMUNICATION AND THEN WE'LL GO OVER APPROVAL OF TWO MEETINGS WORTH OF MINUTES.
UM, WE'VE GOT AN RCA ON THE AGENDA RELATED TO AUSTIN WATER, UM, ISSUING INCENTIVES.
UH, THEN WE WILL HAVE A STAFF, UH, REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS ON THE AUSTIN, THE REACH UPDATE, AS WELL AS THE AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING CODE.
UM, WE WILL GO THROUGH OFFICER ELECTIONS AND, UH, TALK ABOUT FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM,
[CITIZEN COMMUNICATION:]
SO WITH THAT, I BELIEVE, UH, WE DO HAVE, UH, ONE PERSON SIGNED UP FOR CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.NATASHA, IS THAT CORRECT? YES, THAT'S CORRECT.
CAN YOU HELP US GET PAUL PROMOTED PLEASE? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? HI PAUL.
YES, SCOTT, YOU LOUD AND CLEAR.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US A COMMISSION TONIGHT.
YOU WILL BE BRIEFED ON THE NEW ENERGY CODE, A CODE THAT YOU WERE NOT INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN.
PRIOR TO THIS EVENING, I ASKED RMC TO RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DELAY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW ENERGY CODE UNTIL THE FALL WHEN COMMISSION MEMBERS, AS WELL AS OTHER CITIZENS CAN HAVE MORE INPUT.
THE IMPLEMENTATION IS BEING RUSHED.
I AM DISAPPOINTED IN THE ENERGY CODE DRAFTS THAT'S BEEN CIRCULATED FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
THE TOPIC OF WATER HEATING HAS BEEN PUBLICLY DEBATED.
BOTH THE COMMISSION AND AUSTIN ENERGY HAVE WANTED TO REMOVE LANGUAGE REQUIRING GAS, WATER HEATING AS A PREFERRED OPTION.
WHEN GAS MAINS ARE ADJACENT TO RESIDENCES LOST IN THIS DEBATE IS WHAT YOU PUT IN HIS PLACE.
STRIP WATER HEAT WILL BECOME THE DEFAULT AND WIDELY ADOPTED OPTION, WHICH CAUSES EXCESSIVE ENERGY USE AND EXCESSIVE BILLS, PARTICULARLY TO MULTI-FAMILY CUSTOMERS WHO CAN LEAST AFFORD IT FROM BOTH AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE.
HEAT PUMP WATER HEATERS SHOULD BE THE MINIMUM STANDARD FOR NEW SINGLE FUEL DWELLINGS, BUT YOU'LL FIND NO WHISPER OF THIS IN THE PROPOSED CODE LANGUAGE.
THE STAFF AT GREEN BUILDING, UH, ARE IGNORING THEIR ROLE AS CONSUMER ADVOCATES, IGNORING WATER HEATING WILL SELL MORE ENERGY AND BOOST UTILITY PROFITS, BUT WILL NOT SAVE ENERGY ON BEHALF OF RATE PAYERS AND HELP THE ENVIRONMENT.
ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH THE ENERGY CODE REVISIONS IS IT'S CONTINUED TACIT APPROVAL OF VINYL WINDOWS, WHICH ARE TOXIC TO MANUFACTURER AS A DEFAULT OPTION WHILE THE CITY CANNOT CURRENTLY PROHIBIT THEM.
IT CAN MAKE IT EASIER TO SUBSTITUTE ALTERNATIVES AND IT HAS NOT DONE SO LIMITING THE COMMISSION ON DECISIONS LIKE CODE SEEMS TO BE A GROWING TREND.
UH, IF MY MEMORY IS CORRECT LAST MAY I CRITICIZED GREEN BUILDING FOR IMPLEMENTING A NEW POINT SYSTEM FOR RESIDENCES WITHOUT RMC INPUT.
I WANTED TO APPEAL THE NEW VOLUNTARY POINT SYSTEM BECAUSE IT DID NOT ELIMINATE TOXIC CHEMICALS OR DID IT LITTLE TO ELIMINATE TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM BUILDINGS RATED BY THE PROGRAM.
THE COMMISSION WAS NOT ALLOWED TO SUGGEST REVISIONS AT THAT TIME.
HOWEVER, YOU WERE TOLD AS I RECALL THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION WAS ONLY TEMPORARY AND THE POINT SYSTEM WOULD BE BROUGHT BACK TO THE COMMISSION FOR A REVIEW IN ABOUT NINE MONTHS.
AGAIN, I URGE YOU TO USE YOUR INFLUENCE AND I FINISHED MY SENTENCE.
I URGE YOU TO USE YOUR INFLUENCE TO PERSUADE COUNCIL, TO DELAY CODE REVISIONS UNTIL A FAIRER PROCESS IS CREATED.
UH, FOR YOUR, FOR ROBINS, ANY, UH, DISCUSSIONS FROM THE COMMISSION.
[00:05:01]
YEAH.UM, AND THANK YOU, PAUL, FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU BROUGHT UP WAS THE HOT WATER HEATERS AND, UM, HEAT PUMPS AS THE MINIMUM STANDARD.
UH, I DO AGREE THAT THAT THAT WOULD MAKE A LOT OF SENSE.
UM, AND I'M, I'M JUST WONDERING IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THE ADDITION OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR TIMERS AND DO YOU SEE THAT AS A SUFFICIENT? UM, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE MAYBE NOT, BUT IF, IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT PROVISION, UH, IN THE PROPOSED UPDATE, I GUESS I HAVE TWO THOUGHTS ON TIMERS ONE, UH, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THEM.
UH, I, I GUESS MY, UM, UH, OTHER THOUGHT IS THAT, UM, IT'S ARGUABLE NOW THAT THE AIR SYSTEM THAT WE ARE PART OF HAS REACHED A THRESHOLD WHERE OUR PEAK DEMAND COULD BE IN THE WINTER INSTEAD OF THE SUMMER.
UH, IT'S GETTING VERY CLOSE AND IT WOULD APPEAR CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG THAT THIS ADDRESSES SUMMER PEAK DEMAND, BUT NOT WINTER PEAK DEMAND.
DID YOU HAVE A FINAL COMMENT? UH, NO, I APPRECIATE BEING HERE.
Y'ALL HAVE A GOOD NIGHT QUESTION.
SO CHIEF PAUL, WHAT'S THE, SO WHAT OTHER STRATEGIES WOULD YOU USE TO REDUCE WINTER PEAK DEMAND AND HOW WOULD THEY BE DIFFERENT THAN SUMMER PEAK DEMAND? UM, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WATER HEATERS NOW? HELLO? ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WATER HEATERS NOW? YES, THAT WAS A YES.
UH, I GUESS I WOULD JUST CHANGE THE TIMES IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
I BELIEVE THAT RESIDENTIAL WINTER PEAK DEMAND OCCURS AT ABOUT 7:00 AM AND THAT DON'T THINK THE CODE DRESSES THAT I CAN PULL IT UP REAL QUICK, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S INCLUDED.
AND I, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE CAN SAVE THAT DISCUSSION, UH, FOR, AFTER WE GET TO THE STAFF BRIEFING IN OUR DISCUSSION, UH, AS A COMMISSION, UH, AT, AT THAT POINT.
UM, BUT THANK YOU MR. ROBBINS FOR YOUR TIME.
UM, UH, WE, WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE AND MADAM CHAIRMAN BEFORE AND BEFORE END UP.
BEFORE WE GO ON TO STAFF BRIEFINGS, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THE SUGGESTION THAT WE CHANGE THE AGENDA TO THE ELECTION OF OFFICERS.
UM, BECAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE TO GET THAT DONE TONIGHT.
UM, SO, UM, I'M DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY ELSE WOULD SECOND THAT MOTION OR IF WE NEED A MOTION TO CHANGE THE AGENDA, I THINK THANK YOU, SMITTY.
AND GIVEN YOUR TIME CONSTRAINTS, I WOULD SUPPORT THAT.
UM, SO I'LL, I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION.
UH, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SMITH.
UM, AND I REALIZED ACTUALLY, UM, I, UH, FORGIVE ME.
I WENT OUT OF PROCESS HERE IS I DID NOT FORMALLY CALL ROLE, UH, FOR THE COMMISSION.
SO FOR THE RECORD, UH, OH, I'LL PICK THE AGENDA TWO WAYS FIRST I'LL CALL ROLE, UH, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE TO, WE'LL MOVE UP THE OFFICER ELECTIONS ON THE AGENDA.
UM, SO LET ME QUICKLY GO THROUGH THAT PIECE.
UM, IF YOU WOULD PLEASE JUST GIVE A QUICK VERBAL, UH, VICE-CHAIR WHITE PROGRAM, UH, COMMISSIONER BABIAK, ABSENT COMMISSIONER BLACKBURN, UH, COMMISSIONER BRENNAMAN ABSENT COMMISSIONER SHOULD HAVE ARIA PRESENT.
COMMISSIONER FREELAND, UH, ABSENT COMMISSIONER JOHNSON.
THANK YOU, SHANE, UH, COMMISSIONER SMITH PRESENT.
[6. Officer elections]
HAVE YOU WITH THAT BUSINESS COMPLETED, LET'S SAY, DO PLEASE MOVE STRAIGHT TO OFFICER ELECTIONS.UM, AND SO, UH, AS IS THE CUSTOM OFFICER, UH, TERMS OF THE OFFICER POSITION ARE ONE-YEAR ON THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.
UM, I'VE THOROUGHLY ENJOYED SERVING AS YOUR CHEER CHAIR FOR THE PAST YEAR.
UM, BUT I WILL BE SEEKING REELECTION
[00:10:01]
FOR ANOTHER TERM, UM, DUE TO, UH, REALLY PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENTS OTHERWISE.UM, SO THAT SEAT, UH, WILL BE OPEN, LET'S START WITH THE, THE CHAIR POSITION AND THEN WE'LL MOVE TO THE VICE CHAIR.
UM, I WOULDN'T LIKE TO MAKE A NOMINATION IN MY PLACE.
UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE COMMISSIONER, UH, BLACKBURN, UH, TO SERVE AS CHAIR OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
AND I WOULD SECOND THAT MOTION.
UM, ANY, ANY QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION OR ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? OKAY.
ALL IN FAVOR OF COMMISSIONER BLACKBURN AS CHAIR.
THE MOTION PASSES, UM, NEXT FOR, FOR VICE CHAIR.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS, UH, KIVA HAS GRACIOUSLY AGREED TO SERVE IN THE VICE CHAIR ROLE AGAIN.
UH, AND SO I ASSUME THAT YOU STILL NEED TO BE NOMINATED KIVA.
AND SO I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE YOU FOR, FOR VICE CHAIR.
UH, THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR SERVICE AND AGREEING TO SERVE IN THOSE POSITIONS MOVING FORWARD.
WELL, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO YOU.
YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT CHAIR WOMAN, AND, UM, I HOPE THAT AT SOME POINT WHEN YOUR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DUTIES ARE LESSENED, YOU MIGHT CONSIDER RE RESUMING CHAIR IN IT AT A DIFFERENT POINT.
AND, UM, THE KIMBERLITE FOR THE COMMISSION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH THAT I APPRECIATE THOSE, THOSE WORDS.
AND I, I, YOU KNOW, WOULD, WOULD VERY MUCH WHEN, UH, WHEN JONATHAN IS COMPLAINING THAT ROLE PERHAPS RIGHT.
UM, NEXT, UH, LET'S MOVE ON TO, WE'VE GOT TWO, TWO OTHER, UH, VOTING CREDITS AND SO SMITTY, I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN, WE CAN KEEP YOU ON THE LINE, UH, FOR THESE TWO, UH,
[1. Approve minutes of the January 19, 2021 Meeting of Resource Management Commission.]
[2. Approve minutes of the March 8, 2021 Joint Meeting of Resource Management and Electric Utility Commissions.]
THAT ARE ON THE AGENDA, UM, RELATED TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.UM, AND, UH, THE RCA HONOR AGENDA.
SO I'M AT THIS MEETING, WE DO NEED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JANUARY, UH, MEETING, AS YOU WILL RECALL, OUR FEBRUARY MEETING WAS CANCELED DUE TO THE WINTER STORM.
UM, AND THEN OUR MARCH MEETING WAS A JOINT MEETING, UH, WITH, UH, RMC AND THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION.
UM, AND SO BOTH OF THOSE MEETING MINUTES WERE IN THE, UH, PACKET THAT NATASHA SHARED.
UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? I THINK I WILL.
I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE BOTH THE JANUARY AND THE FEBRUARY MINUTES.
DO YOU HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
I THINK I HEARD LISA FIRST, SO THANK YOU, LISA.
UM, MOVING QUICKLY THROUGH THE AGENDA
[3. (4/22) [Resolution] Recommend approval of a resolution authorizing Austin Water (AW) to issue incentives on a pilot basis during Fiscal Year 2020-2021 for alternatives onsite water reuse systems for large new commercial and multi-family developments under AW’s new regulatory framework in the total aggregate amount of $1,000,000 and not exceed $500,000 for each project.]
AS THE NEXT, UH, ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS, UH, AN RCA, UM, WHICH IS RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AUSTIN WATER TO ISSUE INCENTIVES, UM, ON A PILOT BASIS FOR ALTERNATE, UH, ALTERNATIVES, ON-SITE USE WATER SYSTEM, REUSE WATER SYSTEMS. UM, WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO PULL THIS ITEM FOR DISCUSSION? OKAY.THEN WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE RCA.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? OH, THANK YOU.
AND THANK YOU MARK, FOR BEING HERE.
I SEE THAT YOU WERE PROMOTED, UH, APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
UM, AND THEN WITH THAT, WE CAN MOVE ON TO OUR, UH, STAFF REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS.
CHAIRMAN, MY BATTERY IS GOING DEAD.
SO I'M GOING TO GO SWITCH OVER TO ANOTHER TECHNOLOGY.
SO I'M NOT SURE YOU HAVE TO HAVE QUORUM TO DO BRIEFINGS, BUT I WILL BE BACK.
[4. REACH Update]
UM, SO, UH, NEXT ITEM FOR ON OUR AGENDA IS THE REACH UPDATE, WHICH I'M PERSONALLY, UH, REALLY LOOKING[00:15:01]
FORWARD TO HEARING ABOUT.UM, AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE, UH, ERICA HERE TO PROVIDE THE UPDATE.
UM, I'M ERICA,
AND I'D LIKE TO WALK THROUGH OUR FIRST ANNUAL UPDATE ON REACH, WHICH WILL BE FOR THE 20, 20 CALENDAR YEAR.
UH, AN ITEM OF NOTE IS THAT, UM, SINCE THE RESOURCE PLAN, UH, TO 2030 WAS APPROVED IN LAST MARCH, UH, THE 2020 RESULTS ARE BASED ON APPLYING THE STRATEGY OVER NINE MONTHS OF LAST YEAR.
SO THIS SLIDE PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE STRATEGY.
REACH INCORPORATES A COST OF CARBON TO AES GENERATION DISPATCH PRICE, AND THEREFORE IT REDUCES GENERATION OUTPUT DURING LOW MARGIN PERIODS.
THIS ALLOWS US TO REDUCE CARBON IN OUR GENERATION, IN OUR OPERATIONS AND IT STILL, AND STILL MAKE THEM AVAILABLE FOR HIGH MARGIN PERIODS.
THE PLAN, UH, TARGETED CARBON SAVINGS OF 1.36 MILLION METRIC TONS FOR 2020.
AND AS A REMINDER, THE PLAN SET A 30% REDUCTION OF THE UTILITIES, CARBON EMISSIONS, OR ROUGHLY 4 MILLION METRIC TONS, UH, BETWEEN INCEPTION OF THE PLAN AND AUSTIN ENERGY'S EXIT FROM FAYETTE.
AFTER THAT 8% WILL BE REDUCED ANNUALLY FROM OUR, UM, GAS FIRE GENERATION UNTIL 2035.
UH, WHEN WE ACHIEVE ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS FROM OUR UNITS OR SOONER SHOULD THE MARKET DICTATE.
CAN WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE? THANK YOU.
UH, THIS IS, UH, THIS GRAPH IS EXHIBIT A TO THE 2030 PLAN.
SO Y'ALL, UH, SOME OF YOU MIGHT, UM, UH, RECOGNIZE THIS GRAPH.
UH, THESE ARE, UH, THE FORECASTED AND TARGET EMISSIONS THAT WE ARE WORKING TOWARD.
SO 5.9 MILLION IS WHAT WAS FORECASTED AND THE 4.5 MILLION, UM, IS THE REACH TARGET.
THIS GRAPH PROVIDES THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRICES.
WE FORECASTED FOR 2020 AND THE PRICES WE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED AND WERE PRINTED IN REAL TIME.
THE GREAT PRICES ARE WHAT WE USE TO RUN THE MODEL THAT DERIVED THE 5.9 MILLION CARBON EMISSIONS FORECASTED, AND THE ORANGE PRICES ARE WHAT ACTUALLY OCCURRED WHILE IMPLEMENTING REACH AND ACHIEVING OUR TARGETS.
THERE'S SEVERAL REASONS FOR THE LOWER PRICE REGIME THAT WE EXPERIENCED.
AND I'M GOING TO WALK THROUGH THOSE WITH YOU.
SO WHAT HAPPENED AT 2020? WELL, FOR ONE, UH, THE PANDEMIC DID IMPACT DEMAND ACROSS ERCOT.
CLEARLY NOT SOMETHING WE WERE EXPECTING IN 2019 WHEN WE WERE DOING THE MODELING ON THIS, EVEN THOUGH WE SAW A SHIFT FROM THE COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL TO RESIDENTIAL, UM, IT WAS NOT A ONE FOR ONE AND THE DECREASE IN DEMAND DECREASED THE AMOUNT OF GENERATION THAT WAS REQUIRED AND PUSHED PRICES DOWN.
OVERALL, THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES, WE'RE GOING TO WALK THROUGH, SPEAK TO BULLETS THREE AND FOUR ON THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
NATURAL GAS PRICES DROPPED IN 2020 NATURAL GAS PRICING STILL HAS A RELATIONSHIP IN THE MARKET BY BEING ON THE MARGIN FOR LARGE PERIODS OF TIMES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
AND THEREFORE IT AFFECTS POWER PRICES.
THIS WAS ANOTHER SHOCK FACTOR THAT SHIFTED THE PRICE DISTRIBUTION TO THE LEFT.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, WE'RE SHOWING BASICALLY TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT, UM, THE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, UM, FOR THE EARLY PART OF, OF, OF 2020 AFFECTING PRICES, UH, FOR THE SUMMER AND ALSO, UH, HOW WE MANAGE STORAGE.
AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, ON YOUR LEFT IS YOU SEE P UH, NATURAL GAS PRICES, UH, GOING FROM $2 AND 80 CENTS DOWN, UH, TO, UH, THE MID, UH, DOLLAR 1.5 RANGE, UH, AT ITS LOWS.
SO THIS KIND OF A NATURAL GAS PRICING HAS AN EFFECT ON POWER PRICES, WHICH IS ANOTHER REASON FOR THAT SHIFT TO THE LEFT THAT YOU SAW IN AN EARLIER SLIDE.
ANOTHER, UH, THIRD, UM, UH, UH, REASON IS, UH, WE HAD A MILD END TO SUMMER 2020, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, SEPTEMBER OF 2020,
[00:20:01]
UM, WAS THE 17TH COOLEST ON RECORD OUT OF 126 YEARS, UM, RIGHT HERE, YOU'LL SEE.UM, ALSO THAT NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER WERE ACTUALLY QUITE MILD COMPARED TO THE AVERAGE, WHICH THESE KINDS OF MILD TEMPERATURES, AGAIN, PUSHED POWER PRICES DOWN OVERALL.
SO TO THE RIGHT, I'M SHOWING YOU, UM, WHAT, WHAT LOAD ZONE PRICES FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, THE 15 MINUTE REAL TIME SETTLEMENT POINT PRICE.
WE ACTUALLY, 97% OF THE INTERVALS.
THOSE 15 MINUTE INTERVALS ACTUALLY SETTLED BELOW $30.
SO THESE ARE THE MAIN DRIVERS FOR PRICES MATERIALIZING, UH, SIX TO $7 LOWER THAN WHAT WE PROJECTED THIS AFFECTS OR COTS GENERATION STACK.
IT AFFECTS OUR REACH STRATEGY.
AND I'LL EXPLAIN HOW PLEASE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO HERE'S A BREAKDOWN ON THE REACH PERFORMANCE FOR 2020.
SO REMEMBER THE FORECAST PROJECTED, UM, OF 5.9 METRIC TONS IS WHAT WE PROJECTED WOULD BE ADMITTED.
AND THAT'S THE NUMBER IN THE TOP LEFT CORNER.
UM, THAT TOTAL IS OF GAS AND NATURAL GAS EMISSIONS.
THE NEXT COLUMN, IT IS THE ECONOMIC EMISSIONS AND THESE EMISSIONS IS WHAT WE WOULD HAVE EMITTED WITHOUT REACH GIVEN THE ACTUAL PRICES WE EXPERIENCED IN 2020 EMISSIONS, ACTUAL, WHICH IS THE THIRD COLUMN.
THERE IS WHAT WE EMITTED AFTER WE APPLIED REACH.
THEN YOU SEE EMISSION REDUCTION AS THE FOURTH COLUMN, AND THAT'S BETWEEN THE FORECASTED EMISSIONS.
THAT'S WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS GOING TO BE EMITTED ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT AND WHAT WE ACTUALLY ADMITTED.
SO THAT TOTAL IS 1.935, UM, 1.5 BILLION TONS.
SO OUR TARGET WAS TO REDUCE EMISSIONS BY 30%.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE A 32.5% OVERALL CARBON REDUCTION, AND I'M GOING TO BREAK DOWN HOW THAT REDUCTION WAS ACHIEVED.
SO IF YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THE FIRST GRAY BAR IS AGAIN, THE 5.9 MILLION METRIC TONS FROM THE FORECAST.
THE SECOND GREEN BAR SHOWS THE EMISSIONS REDUCED A TRUE ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE REACH STRATEGY, WHICH ARE ABOUT 150 815 MILLION, 815,000 METRIC TONS.
UM, THEN WE SHOW, UH, THE AMOUNT OF EMISSIONS BETWEEN OUR FORECAST AND ACTUALS THAT DID NOT MATERIALIZE DUE TO OUTAGES SO CENTRALLY.
UM, THEY OCCURRED, THESE OUTAGES OCCURRED, BUT THEY WEREN'T IN THE FORECAST.
AND THAT ACTUALLY IS ABOUT 300,000 METRIC TONS.
THEN THE LAST GREEN BAR IS THE AMOUNT OF EMISSIONS THAT WERE REDUCED DUE TO MARKET CONDITIONS.
SO WE FORECASTED A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF GENERATION BASED ON A PROJECTION OF WHAT THE MARKET WOULD DO.
AND THEN AS WE DISCUSSED DEMAND PRICING AND WEATHER MATERIALIZED A MARKET THAT REDUCED THE AMOUNT OF GENERATION ORIGINALLY FORECASTED AND THEREFORE REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF EMISSIONS BY APPROXIMATELY 830,000 METRIC TONS.
SO THAT'S THE FINAL GREEN BAR.
THIS LEAVES US WITH THE LAST GRAY BAR COMING IN AT 4 MILLION METRIC TONS EMITTED FOR 20, WHICH IS BELOW THE 4.5 METRIC TONS THAT WE ORIGINALLY TARGETED.
SO WE CAN'T, WE DON'T CONTROL OUTAGES.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T CONTROL MARKET PRICES.
WE MANAGE AROUND THEM, BUT WE CAN CONTROL REACH IN THE ADDER.
AND SO WE USED THAT TOOL TO BE ABLE TO EXCEED OUR, UH, GOAL.
SO, UM, WE WILL, UH, I'LL, I'LL WRAP UP WITH THAT.
IF YOU COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, I'M GONNA WRAP UP WITH WHAT REACH COST US IN YEAR ONE.
SO FIRST, UM, YOU'LL SEE, THIS IS, WE'RE LOOKING AT FAYETTE BECAUSE THAT'S THE, UM, THE UNITS THAT WE APPLIED REACH TO.
UM, FIRST YOU'LL SEE WHAT WE FORECASTED, UM, FAYETTE WOULD EMIT IN OUR MODELS BACK IN THE EARLY FALL OF 2019.
UM, NEXT, UH, IS WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ADMITTED FROM FAYETTE, UM, HAD WE NOT APPLIED REACH TO BOTH UNITS? SO THAT'S THE 3.6 AND THEN YOU SEE WHAT WE ACTUALLY ADMITTED FROM FAYETTE WITH OUR REACH STRATEGY, WHICH IS THE 2.8.
UM, SO, UH, THERE IS THAT THAT'S 815,000 TONS OF REDUCTION, UM,
[00:25:01]
THAT WE SAW IN THE EARLIER SLIDE.AND THEN THE SECOND TO LAST COLUMN SHOWS THAT WE DID NOT RECEIVE ALMOST $2.7 MILLION IN REVENUES, UH, FROM FAYETTE, UM, DUE TO THE REACH STRATEGY.
AND THAT, UH, ENDED UP COSTING US ABOUT $3 AND 31 CENTS PER TON.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S MY LAST SLIDE.
SO, UM, THOSE ARE OUR RESULTS FOR 2020.
UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF, IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS I'M HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN THEM.
THANK YOU MUCH MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION, MS. SPHERES BACK.
UM, DO YOU HAVE, UH, I'LL OPEN THE FLOOR UP TO QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION AND I THINK I'VE GOT A QUESTION PLEASE, ERICA.
UM, SO, SO I MEAN, THIS IS REALLY FASCINATING.
I MEAN, YOU GUYS HAVE ACHIEVED, UM, A MASSIVE REDUCTION AT A CARBON PRICE, LESS THAN $5 A TON.
DO YOU GUYS TALK ABOUT THIS STRATEGY WITH OTHER UTILITIES OR CITIES THAT HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, HAVE THEIR OWN MUNICIPAL UTILITY ABOUT IMPLEMENTING THIS? I MEAN, IT'S JUST SEEMS LIKE THE RESULTS ARE FANTASTIC.
SO, UH, WE ACTUALLY HAVE, UM, UH, SPOKEN ABOUT AND, UH, DISCUSSED OUR STRATEGIES WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UM, INDUSTRY, UH, PARTICIPANTS.
SO LIKE THE EPRI'S OF THE WORLD, SEPA, UH, ENERGY CENTRAL, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, I CAN KEEP GOING.
AND SO WE, WE, UM, UH, ENERGY RISK, UM, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL DIFFERENT, UM, OUTLETS, UM, WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO COMMUNICATE, UM, RESULTS AND TALK ABOUT OUR STRATEGY, UM, UM, WITH, AS FAR AS, UH, LIKE OUR PEERS, IF YOU WILL.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, THIS ISN'T, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, WE CERTAINLY ARE HERE TO, TO ASK WHAT, YOU KNOW, ANSWER QUESTIONS AND, AND, AND, AND TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE.
UM, BUT I CAN'T SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, I WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF ONGOING DIALOGUE WITH OUR, WITH OUR PEERS, UM, YOU KNOW, TO, TO, TO TRY AND GARNER SOME INTEREST.
DO YOU KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE IS DOING ANYTHING LIKE THIS? UM, I, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY IS DOING, IF ANYONE IS DOING ANYTHING LIKE THIS, I WILL SAY, UM, I WILL SAY THAT I HAVE BEEN ON SEVERAL CALLS WITH PUBLIC POWER, UH, WITH CPS, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, AND, AND OTHER PUBLIC POWER LOOKING AT BENCHMARKING DIFFERENT, UM, UH, STAKEHOLDER PROCESSES, UH, RESOURCE PLANNING, PROCESSES, UH, AN INTEGRATED, INTEGRATED, YOU KNOW, UTILITY VERTICALLY INTEGRATED UTILITY KIND OF PLANNING PROCESSES.
AND WE HAVE, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, UH, KIND OF FORGED A REALLY GREAT, UM, A REALLY GOOD STRATEGY, UM, THAT HAS ALLOWED US TO BE ABLE TO MEET SEVERAL NEEDS, UH, IN OUR PORTFOLIO AND, UM, AND MEET, UM, THE, THE GOAL, YOU KNOW, TO HELP FURTHER DRIVE THE GOALS OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
SO WE HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO OTHER PUBLIC POWER ENTITIES ABOUT THIS.
UM, AND SO, UM, SO I, I, WE HAVE HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY AND, AND IT'S, IT HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL, IT HAS BEEN MANY, UM, IT HASN'T JUST BEEN ONE OR TWO, SO YEAH, I MEAN, I WOULD JUST COMMEND YOU GUYS, UH, JUST THAT, THAT THE, FROM THE IDEA OF, OF THIS PARTICULAR TECHNIQUE TO THE IMPLEMENTATION, I MEAN, THIS JUST SEEMS LIKE IT'S, IT'S, UM, DELIVERED, UM, YOU KNOW, GREAT RESULTS THAT ARE REALLY ECONOMIC.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TALK ABOUT CARBON PRICING NEEDING TO BE, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLES OF 10, BUT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A MASSIVE REDUCTION AT LESS THAN $5 A TIME.
I MEAN, IT'S PRETTY IMPRESSIVE.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND, UM, YEAH, I'M, I'M DEFINITELY, UH, EXCITED THAT THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS CONCEPT IS ACTUALLY WORKING FOR US.
UM, MY FIRST QUESTION, I GUESS, IS, CAN YOU, UH, SHARE THIS, THIS NET REVENUE FORGONE, UM, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE PSA DOES THAT COME OUT TO? UM, IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE YEAR, UM, BUT I WOULD SAY THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
UM, SO IT'S PROBABLY ABOUT A HALF A PERCENT OR A PERCENT.
UM, I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT HAVING THAT ON MY FINGERTIPS, BUT, UM, OKAY.
UH, WELL, I GUESS, UM, THAT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT IT WAS SOME SOMEWHERE IN THAT RANGE.
AND I GUESS MY, MY NEXT QUESTION IS, UM, CAN YOU
[00:30:01]
SHARE WITH US KIND OF, UH, OBVIOUSLY THIS WAS THE FIRST YEAR WAS ONLY A PARTIAL YEAR.UM, YOU KNOW, THE GOAL BEING SET FORTH TO, TO SPEND 2% OF THE PRIOR YEAR'S PSA, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHAT THINGS YOU LEARNED THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO TAKE INTO THE COMING YEAR TO, TO MEET THAT GOAL.
BECAUSE AS, AS GOOD AS THIS IS, IT LOOKS LIKE WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN EVEN MORE REDUCTIONS WITH THAT BUDGET.
UM, SO YEAH, JUST LOOKING, LOOKING FORWARD, WHAT WILL YOU DO DIFFERENTLY? SO, YOU KNOW, PART OF, UH, THE FLEXIBILITY THAT THIS STRATEGY ALLOWS, UH, US, UH, ALLOWS US TO BE SUCCESSFUL IS BECAUSE OF THE OPERATIONAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS OF MANAGING A POWER PLANT.
UM, WE HAVE LONGTERM COMMITMENTS, WE HAVE FUEL, UH, COMMITMENTS, AND THOSE HAVE TO BE MANAGED WHEN WE GENERATE LESS THAN WHAT WE ANTICIPATED.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A VERY INTERESTING AND CHALLENGING YEAR, UH, TO, UH, MANAGE A COAL PILE, UM, THAT WE COULD NOT ALLOW TO BECOME UNSAFE.
AND, UH, THERE'S RESTRICTIONS, THERE'S PHYSICAL RESTRICTIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, IN INVENTORY.
UM, THERE ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CERTAIN, UH, COMMITMENTS AND OBLIGATIONS THAT WE HAVE TO WORK AROUND AND RENEGOTIATE AS FAR AS, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW A RAIL, A RAIL WORKS, A RAIL, UM, OUR RAIL, UM, CONTRACTS WORK, EXCUSE ME.
UM, SO THESE WERE ALL, AND, AND WE, UH, IT IS NOT OUR FULL PLANT TO MANAGE.
SO WE HAVE, UH, A, UH, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER OPERATOR WITH WHICH WE WORK WITH WHEN WE'RE MANAGING OUR SHARE, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WE SHARE CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE PLANT.
SO ALL OF THESE OPERATIONAL, UM, LET'S CALL THEM, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, ISSUES WHEN YOU'RE MANAGING A PHYSICAL PLANT ARE A VERY REAL PART OF THE APPLICATION OF THIS STRATEGY.
SO WE LEARNED, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, WE LEARNED A LOT, UH, AS FAR AS APPLYING THE STRATEGY, UH, IN 2020, AND WE'RE TAKING THAT KNOWLEDGE.
SO THEN WE CAN MORE EFFECTIVELY APPLY THE STRATEGY IN 2021, UM, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO ALWAYS MAKE THOSE IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I TH I THINK THAT'S THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY, UM, AS FAR AS WE'RE CONCERNED, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE, WE, WE, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT LIKE WE HAVEN'T HAD THE UNIT FOR A LONG TIME.
WE KNOW THE UNIT, IT'S NOT LIKE WE HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MARKET A LONG TIME.
WE'VE BEEN IN THE MARKET, WE HAVE THE TOOLS.
SO IN THAT SENSE WHERE WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GOOD CANDIDATES TO APPLY IT.
UM, IT'S JUST, IT HASN'T BEEN DONE, UH, BEFORE IN A VERY CONSISTENT, YOU KNOW, WAY THROUGHOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST EVERY SINGLE DAY.
AND SO, BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THAT STRATEGY IN PLAY, UM, CONTINUOUSLY, YOU KNOW, UNLESS THERE IS A PHYSICAL REASON I HAVE TO PULL IT OFF, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, WHICH LUCKILY HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, IT HAS, UH, IS LESS OFTEN THAN NOT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ABLE TO MANAGE, YOU KNOW, THESE CONSTRAINTS FOR NOW, YOU KNOW, WE, WE FEEL EFFECTIVELY AND, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD LIKE TO ADD A BIGGER, A BIGGER BITE, YOU KNOW, A BIGGER PORTION, UH, OF THAT GOAL.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'D RATHER EXCEED EXPECTATIONS THAN JUST MEET THEM.
UM, SO, BUT, BUT THOSE ARE REAL CONSTRAINTS AND REAL OPERATIONAL ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE MANAGED, UM, AND YOU KNOW, THEIR SAFETY CONCERNS.
AND SO THOSE THINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, DO, UH, ARE A REAL PART OF, UH, THE DECISIONS THAT WE MAKE.
I DEFINITELY HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT, UM, YEAH, THE RAIL AND COAL CONTRACTS.
UM, DO THOSE COME UP FOR RENEWAL BEFORE THE TARGET DATE FOR, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN ENERGY'S PORTION RETIRING? THOSE ARE ALL, I MEAN, I MEAN, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CONFIDENTIALITY AROUND, YOU KNOW, CONTRACTS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, DATES, BUT, UH, THOSE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE, LIKE WE LOOK AT EVERYTHING OR WE, WE, WE TRY TO LOOK AT EVERYTHING IN OUR PORTFOLIO WITH DIVERSITY.
UM, WE HAVE DIVERSITY IN HOW WE OUT, YOU KNOW, HOW WE SUPPLY, UH, THE FUEL AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW WE S UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF RAILS TO CHOOSE FROM.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE LOOK TO HAVE AS MUCH OPTIONALITY AS POSSIBLE, WHICH ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE A STRATEGY EFFECTIVELY, UH, DONE, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE AREN'T, LIKE I SAID, REAL CONSTRAINTS.
SO, UM, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION,
[00:35:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T HAVE THE, THOSE DATES, UM, YOU KNOW, AT MY FINGERTIPS.UM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, UM, THERE'S SEVERAL DIFFERENT CONTRACTS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ISSUES AT PLAY WHEN IT COMES TO WHETHER IT'S A RAIL CONTRACT WHEN IT COMES TO WHETHER IT'S COAL, THAT'S BEEN ACQUIRED ON A LONG-TERM BASIS OR A SHORT-TERM BASIS.
WE DON'T DO, IT'S NOT JUST ONE PURCHASE, RIGHT.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, YOU LAYER IT IN OVER TIME, YOU HAVE LONGER TERM CONTRACTS OR SHORTER TERM CONTRACTS, BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO SECURE ONE PRICE AT ONE TIME.
SO THERE'S A, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S KIND AN ONGOING TYPE MANAGEMENT OF THE RAIL AND THE FUEL.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ALWAYS LOOKING TO HAVE FLEXIBILITY AND OPTIONALITY IN HOW WE MANAGE THAT.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, HAVING SAID THAT WE DO HAVE COMMITMENTS AND WE DO NEED TO WORK AROUND THEM.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE, UM, WITH THE COMMITMENTS THAT YOU HAVE, YOU ARE LOOKING TO HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY GIVEN THAT THIS STRATEGY, UH, THERE THERE'S MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR SUCCESS WITH THIS STRATEGY.
THE MORE FLEXIBILITY YOU HAVE IS THAT RIGHT.
TO ASSUME THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THOSE OPTIONS, UM, WITH ALL THE SUPPORT EXACTLY.
YOU'LL HAVE YOUR EYE ON TRYING TO INCREASE WHAT'S ABILITY SENSE THE WAY YOU'RE TRYING TO MANAGE THE PLANET NOW.
AND REMEMBER QUEBEC, UM, OR I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER WHITE, UM, OPTIONALITY COMES AT A PRICE.
SO THAT, THAT COSTS MONEY AS WELL.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WHENEVER WE'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, MANAGING ANY KIND OF ASSET OR STRATEGY.
UH, SEEMS LIKE THERE'S, THERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL THAT COULD BE SPENT ON THAT, BUT I HEAR YOU, UH, WITH THE NEEDS TO BE WITHIN REASON, UM, I GUESS THIS IS MAYBE, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OFF THE BEATEN, BEATEN PATH, BUT, BUT SINCE IT'S ON THE SAME TOPIC, UM, I'M, I'M ASSUMING, BUT I HATE TO ASSUME THAT THOSE CONTRACTS, UH, AND YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE LOCKED IN ARE, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S ALSO BEING CONSIDERED AS, AS THE RETIREMENT DATE COMES UP.
AND, AND WE WON'T, UH, YOU KNOW, BE IN A TIGHT, TIGHT PLACE WHERE WE ARE ON THE HOOK FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR ONE CONTRACT OR ANOTHER, THAT CAN'T BE EXITED, UH, WHEN THAT RETIREMENT DATE COMES AROUND, IS THAT PART OF, PART OF WHAT'S BEEN CONSIDERED, IT'S ALL PART OF THE, UH, ALL PART OF, YOU KNOW, UH, ALL PART OF OWNING THAT ASSET AND, AND NEGOTIATING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR POSITION IS THAT ASSET.
OH, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, BUT ERICA, HOW SO? AND THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS IN EXTENDING MY THANKS.
AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING US THROUGH THE UPDATE.
I AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER BLACKBURN AND, UH, AND COMMISSIONER, IF VICE CHAIR WHITE, IT'S REALLY, IT'S AN INCREDIBLE ACCOMPLISHMENT.
UM, THANK YOU FOR TAKING US THROUGH IT.
AND, AND ALSO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE LESSONS YOU ALL ARE LEARNING.
THIS WAS A 2020 WAS REALLY INCREDIBLE TO HAVE GONE THROUGH IT.
SO FOR YOUR, UM, EXPLAINING WHAT WAS RELATED TO REACH VERSUS THE MARKET TO MODEL CONCEPTS, I THINK IS REALLY HELPFUL FOR US TO UNDERSTAND AND OTHERS TO UNDERSTAND AS WELL.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR YOUR TIME.
[5. Discussion and possible action on Austin Energy Green Building Code Updates.]
OKAY.UM, NEXT UP ON OUR AGENDA, UM, WE HAVE, UH, THE UPDATE FROM, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY, GREEN BUILDING CODE UPDATES, AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE, UH, KURT STOCKVILLE HERE TO, UH, TO SHARE A PRESENTATION.
IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE YOU'VE BEEN PROMOTED.
UH, I'D ALSO HOPED TO BE JOINED BY BETH CULVER.
WHO'S THE CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL.
I DON'T SEE HER DIALED IN HERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S ON THE PHONE OR NOT.
AND IF SO, IF WE CAN ACTIVATE HER VOICE LINE IN CASE THERE ARE QUESTIONS FOR HER.
HELLO, UH, PATRICIA SHOULD BE UN-MUTED IF SHE CAN TOUCH HER MICROPHONE.
ACTUALLY, A PERSON I WAS LOOKING FOR WAS BETH CULVER.
WE'VE GONE AHEAD AND MOVED IN DEPTH CULVER.
WELL, THANKS FOR HAVING ME HERE, UH, HERE TO TALK ABOUT, UH, THE ENERGY CODE, THE 2021 ENERGY
[00:40:01]
CODE.AND AS I SAID, I'M JOINED BY BETH CULVER.
WHO'S THE CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL FOR US CITY OF AUSTIN ALSO, UH, WORKS FOR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
UH, SHE'S HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU'LL HEAR FOR HER AS WELL.
SO TONIGHT I'D LIKE TO TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT JUST A REVIEW OF, OF THE RMCS ROLE RELATING TO ENERGY CODE.
IT DOESN'T HAPPEN ALL THE TIME.
SO A REFRESHER ON THAT, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT THE PURVIEW IS, I THINK IS A GREAT START.
AND I'D LIKE TO TALK GENERICALLY ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY CONSERVATION CODE OR THE IECC THEN TO TALK ABOUT AN OVERVIEW AND TIMELINE FOR THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION PROCESS, AND SPEAK TO SOME NOTABLE DEVELOPMENTS, BOTH WITHIN THE IECC PROCESS, AND THEN LOCALLY, THAT WILL IMPACT THAT AND ITS ADOPTION AND IT SPEAK TO NEXT STEPS.
SO GOING STRAIGHT FROM THE BYLAWS FOR THE RMC, IF YOU GO TO THE SECTION THAT SPEAKS TO THE PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION UNDER ITEM D IT'S SPECIFICALLY TO REVIEW AND ANALYZE CODE, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE IN THIS CASE ENERGY CODE, UH, TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS, LOOKING AT USE OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES, RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND THE CONSERVATION OF ENERGY.
AND THEN IF YOU GO UNDER THE SECTION E WHICH IS ADVICE TO THE CITY COUNCIL BY THE RMC, IT'S SAY IT SPEAKS TO THAT SAME SCOPE.
SO NO, WELL WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF THE RNC AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE IS THE ONLY GROUP THAT IS SPECIFICALLY SPELLED OUT IN THEIR CHARTER, IN THEIR BYLAWS THAT YOU'RE TO REVIEW AND ANALYZE, AND THEN ADVISE CITY COUNCIL ON LOCAL AMENDMENTS TO THE ENERGY CODE.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE LOOKING AT THE IECC AS A WHOLE, UH, THE INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL IS THE GROUP THAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPING THE SUITE OF CODES, THE INTERNATIONAL CODES, ONE OF WHICH IS ENERGY, OTHER CODES THAT YOU WOULD TYPICALLY SEE INCLUDE FIRE PLUMBING AND MECHANICAL.
SO THERE'S A WHOLE SUITE OF INTERNATIONAL CODES THERE.
ALL OF THOSE ARE REVISITED ON A THREE-YEAR CYCLE, JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE REVISITED ON A THREE-YEAR CYCLE, DOESN'T MEAN THAT A JURISDICTION NEEDS TO ADOPT THEM ON THAT CYCLE.
SO JURISDICTIONS, DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY ARE, HAVE GIVEN DEGREES OF LATITUDE AND WHEN THEY CAN CHOOSE TO ADOPT CODES AND THEY COULD LOOK AT DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF CODES, OR THEY CAN LOOK AT UNANIMITY ACROSS THE BOARD AND SAY ADOPT ALL 2015 CODES.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN TENDS TO TRY AND USE THAT APPROACH TO, TO AVOID CONFUSION.
AUSTIN IS CURRENTLY UNDER THE 2015 IECC WE DIDN'T LOOK INTO THE, OR DIDN'T PURSUE ADOPTION OF THE 2018 CODES.
UH, WE WERE ON THE HEELS OF A REALLY CONTENTIOUS 2015 CODE ADOPTION CYCLE.
UH, THE 2018 CODES REALLY DIDN'T FURTHER THINGS DRAMATICALLY FROM WHERE THE 15 CODES WERE.
WE WERE ALSO, UH, IN THE MIDST OF WORKING THROUGH SOME OF THE CODE NEXT ISSUES AT THE TIME.
SO GIVEN THAT CULMINATION OF, OF EVENTS, WE OPTED OUT OF PURSUING 2018 CODES, UH, LOOKING AT THE PURPOSE OF THE CODE IT'S TO REGULATE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION FOR EFFECTIVE USE AND CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, AND THEN PERMIT THE USE OF INNOVATIVE APPROACHES THERE.
SOMETHING THAT WE'LL SEE IS THAT THE IECC OR THE INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL ACTUALLY IS LOOKING TO LOOK MORE STRONGLY ON THE CONSERVATION OF ENERGY SIDE WITH CODES MOVING FORWARD.
AND I'LL GO INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT HOW THAT IMPACTS US.
IN ADDITION, UH, ENERGY CODES IS DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS.
THERE'S A COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL SECTION.
UH, THERE'S ALSO MULTIFAMILY, WHICH FOR A CITY OF AUSTIN IS DIVIDED AT THE SEVEN AND EIGHT STORY BREAK.
SO EIGHT STORIES AND ABOVE IS CONSIDERED COMMERCIAL SEVEN STORIES AND BELOW IS CONSIDERED RESIDENTIAL THAT'S BECAUSE THE TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION THAT WE TYPICALLY SEE, SORRY, WAS THERE A QUESTION? NO.
TYPICALLY THE TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION THAT WE SEE, UH, IN THE COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL SEGMENTS TENDS TO CORRESPOND WELL WITH THAT HEIGHT BREAK INTO BUILDINGS.
SO LOOKING AT THE MAIN SECTIONS THAT YOU'RE IN, INCLUDING EVEN THE CODE AND THEY TOUCH ON A WIDE VARIETY OF ITEMS BEYOND THIS, BUT THE BIGGEST THAT YOU SEE FROM AN ENERGY PERSPECTIVE AND THE ENERGY IMPACT PERSPECTIVE AROUND INSTALLATION ENVELOPE, WHICH IS THE EXTERIOR OF THE BUILDING, THINGS LIKE WINDOWS, SHADING, REFLECTIVE SURFACES, THAT SORT OF THING, MECHANICAL SYSTEMS, WHICH IS HPAC, AND SOME OTHER ELECTRIC ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS AND LIGHTING.
THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT PATHS TO MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF ENERGY CODE.
[00:45:01]
DESIGNING A NEW BUILDING, THERE'S THE PRESCRIPTIVE PATH WHERE YOU'RE LOOKING AT BASICALLY A CHECKLIST OF YOU MUST DO A, B, C, D, AND E, AND THEN YOU MAY HAVE SOME CHOICES TO MAKE, YOU MUST DO F OR G, ET CETERA.AND AS LONG AS YOU CHECK OFF ALL THE BOXES ON THE PRESCRIPTIVE PATH, IT'S LISTED, YOU'RE CONSIDERED TO HAVE YOUR BUILDING MEET CODE.
YOU CAN CHOOSE TO GO BEYOND THAT, BUT THAT'S THE BASE REQUIREMENTS.
AND THEN ON PERFORMANCE BASED APP, IT'S BASED ON MODELING.
AND YOU'VE GOT A LIST OF PARAMETERS THAT YOU ARE ASKED TO MEET.
YOU HAVE A BUNCH OF VARIABLES THAT YOU INPUT INTO THE MODEL AND BASED ON THE ALGORITHMS IN THE MODEL, IF YOUR SCORE IS WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF, OF MEETING CODE REQUIREMENTS, YOU'RE CONSIDERED TO BE WITHIN CODE.
AND THERE ARE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES FOR, FOR THE PERFORMANCE BASED MODELING, A WAY TO GET THERE AS WELL.
THEN WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT LOCAL AMENDMENTS AND MUNICIPALITIES MAY PASS AMENDMENTS TO THE IECC TO MEET THE RELEVANT LOCAL GOALS AND PRIORITIES.
AND THIS RELEVANCE PART IS GOING TO GO BACK TO THAT PART ABOUT THE IECC ABOUT THEM WANTING TO LOOK MORE AT CONSERVATION, AS OPPOSED TO, TO USE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO FOR THE PROCESS OF CODE ADOPTION, AS FAR AS ROLES, UH, FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IS THE LEAD IN THIS THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ADOPTION AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF BUILDING CODES FOR THE CITY.
THEY'RE THE ONES THAT FORMALLY TAKE THIS TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL OR FOR APPROVAL AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING IS INVOLVED IN FACILITATING STAKEHOLDER REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL AMENDMENTS BACK DIGGING BACK TO THE ABOUT THE 2000 CODE AUSTIN ENERGY GOT INVOLVED IN DEVELOPMENT OF THESE LOCAL AMENDMENTS.
WE HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF EXPERTISE IN MODELING CAPABILITY AND ARE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF THESE DIFFERENT AMENDMENTS AND HOW THEY MIGHT APPLY, UH, TO, TO, TO BUILD IN DESIGN IMPACTS AS WELL AS TO AFFORDABILITY.
SO WE'VE AGREED LONG AGO TO FORM A PARTNERSHIP WITH DSD TO HELP THEM BRING THESE CODES FORWARD.
SO THAT'S OUR ROLE IN THIS NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AND WE ALSO HAVE STAKEHOLDERS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THIS AND STAKEHOLDER REVIEW AND INPUT PROCESS THAT IS SPLIT BETWEEN RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
SO WE HAVE GROUPS WITH OVERLAPPING, BUT DIFFERENT CONSTITUENCIES THAT LOOK AT BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL, A PERIOD FOR OPEN CUP, OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT FOR STAKEHOLDER REVIEW WAS MARCH 15TH TO APRIL 15TH.
AND THAT WAS VIA DSDS PUBLIC INPUT PROGRAM.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE USED THAT WE THINK IT GIVES US A GREAT WAY TO PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE PUBLIC INPUT THAT WE'VE RECEIVED SO THAT IT ADDS MORE TRANSPARENCY TO THE PROCESS.
WE DID INCLUDE A TRADITIONAL LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS, WHICH INCLUDES HOME BUILDERS, HOME BUILDERS, ASSOCIATION, ARCHITECTS, THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, A NUMBER OF NONPROFIT REPRESENTATIVES, AS WELL AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY THAT SAID THIS, THIS PROCESS IS AN OPEN PROCESS AND WOULD BE OPEN TO ANYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WISHES TO PARTICIPATE.
SO THIS IS THE SCHEDULE THAT WE'VE OUTLINED.
IF YOU LOOK AT THIS, IT IS, IT IS A COMPRESSED SCHEDULE.
THIS WAS BY, UH, NOT BY DEVICE, BUT BY NECESSITY.
UH, WE REALLY LOOKED AT ENGAGING WITH DSD BACK IN OCTOBER AND OUTLINING A TIMELINE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENERGY CODE.
UH, IN OCTOBER, THE CODE COUNCIL WAS STILL NOT SET ON WHAT THE 21 IECC WAS GONNA LOOK LIKE.
THERE WAS STILL A LOT OF, OF DISCUSSION GOING ON THERE WITH WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
AND AS SUCH, WE REALLY WEREN'T IN A PLACE THAT WE COULD INITIATE CODE DEVELOPMENT.
IN OCTOBER, WE KNEW THAT WE HAD, I MEAN, IN WITH NOVEMBER, WE HAD THE HOLIDAYS.
SO WE AGREED WITH, WITH DSD TO PUSH OUT OUR NEXT LOOK AT ICC ADOPTION TO EARLY JANUARY.
WHEN WE GOT TOGETHER IN JANUARY, UH, WE AGREED OR, OR IT WAS, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL DOS EXPLICITLY THAT WE REALLY WANTED IT TO BE ON A, AN ADOPTION SCHEDULE FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.
AND WE REALLY WANTED TO LOOK TO HAVE ALL THE CODES TO GO TOGETHER.
WE WERE TOO LATE TO GET ON THE JANUARY RMC SCHEDULE.
AND THEN AS YOU KNOW, THE FEBRUARY RMC SCHEDULE THAT COMBINED WITH EUC AND WASN'T AN OPEN AVENUE FOR US.
AND THEN WE HAD THE WINTER STORM IN MARCH.
SO WE WERE UNABLE TO GET ON THE AGENDA THERE.
SO WE FIND OURSELVES, UNFORTUNATELY, WITH BEING
[00:50:02]
BEFORE YOU IN APRIL, WHICH IS LATER THAN WE WOULD HAVE PREFERRED THAT SAID, THIS IS THE SCHEDULE THAT WE'VE OUTLINED MOVING FORWARD.UH, WE'RE HERE TODAY FOR AN INTRODUCTION.
UH, WE'LL GO BEFORE THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION IN ON THE, ON THE 28TH.
AND WE TALK ABOUT COURTESY REVIEW HERE.
YOU KNOW, WE REALLY LOOK AT, AT THE RMC AS THE GROUP THAT HAS IT SPECIFICALLY IN ITS CHARTER TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS AND TAKE ACTION WITH REGARDS TO LOCAL AMENDMENTS.
BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT WE DO HAS GREAT POTENTIAL IMPACT ON OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS IN OTHER GROUPS.
SO WE GO BEFORE THEM TO TELL THEM WHERE WE THINK THE CODES ARE GOING AND TO GET THEIR INPUT, SEE IF THERE ARE POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OR NOT, OR, OR DISRUPTIONS THAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER, UH, AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD IN TO GET THEIR ACTIVE, ACTIVE FEEDBACK.
SO IT'S NOT REALLY A CALL FOR ACTION FROM THEM, BUT IT'S TO GET, GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK THEM, ASK US QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE WE'RE HEADED AND TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK ABOUT AREAS WHERE WE MAY BE MISSING THE MARK.
AND ON MAY SIX, WE'LL GO TO CITY COUNCIL TO SET A HEARING THAT'S JUST NOTIFICATION TO THE COMMUNITY THAT THE ENERGY CODE WILL BE ON THE, UH, AGENDA FOR THE MEETING ON THE, ON THE 3RD OF JUNE, WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO THE RMC IF WE NEED TO, UH, TO REVIEW PROPOSED CODE CHANGES.
WHAT THE CODE REALLY IS, IS, IS GOING TO LOOK AT IN, IN MORE DETAIL AND ALSO TO GO OVER STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK AND ANYTHING THAT WE MIGHT'VE DONE TO ACCOMMODATE THAT, UH, WITHIN TWO DAYS OF THE MEETING ON THE 20TH, ANY KIND OF RMC RECOMMENDATION AROUND FOR ACTION WOULD NEED TO BE FORMALIZED AND COMPLETE SO WE CAN MEET THE OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR OUR COUNCIL.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO KEEP TO TAKE NOTE OF.
WE'LL ALSO BE GOING BEFORE THE PLUMBING AND MECHANICAL BOARD AND THE BUILDING AND FIRE CODE BOARD OF APPEALS FOR CURRENCY REVIEWS.
THEN WE'LL LOOK TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT DSD WILL DO EXPLICITLY.
AND THEN WE'RE LOOKING AT IMPLEMENTATION.
UH, SEPTEMBER 1ST, THAT IS THE DATE THAT DSD IS TYPICALLY TRIED TO ACHIEVE WITH ADOPTION OF NEW CODES TO PROVIDE CONSISTENCY AND TO ALLOW THE COMMUNITY, TO KNOW WHEN TO LOOK FOR THESE THINGS.
THERE ARE REALLY THREE DRIVERS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN TRYING TO GET THIS DONE IN THIS FISCAL YEAR.
UH, ONE OF THEM IS AROUND AGAIN, CONSISTENCY AND TRYING TO BRING ALL OF THESE CODES FORWARD AT ONCE SO THAT PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO LOOK AND TRACK MULTIPLE BAITS FOR WHEN CODES ARE EFFECTIVE.
SO THAT WAY YOU DON'T HAVE, UH, TRY AND TRACK A PLUMBING CODE THAT WAS EFFECTIVE IN SEPTEMBER AND THE ENERGY CODE THEN COMING ON IN, YOU KNOW, OCTOBER OR JANUARY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WHERE YOU HAVE DIFFERENT PAGES THAT OUTLINE THERE.
UH, THEN THERE'S ALSO THE LOST OPPORTUNITY OF HAVING BUILDINGS COME IN THAT ARE PERMITTED, THAT ARE UNDER THE OLD CODE.
AND I CAN TALK ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS OF THAT.
AND THEN THE THIRD THING IS SOMETHING THAT JUST CAME TO MY ATTENTION.
UH, WE WERE, WE, THE CITY WORK WITH A GROUP CALLED THE INSURANCE SERVICES OFFICE, AND THERE ARE A PROVIDER OF STATISTICAL ACTUARIAL UNDERWRITING AND CLAIMS DATA FOR THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY.
AND THEY, THEY FOCUS ON, ON PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE.
THEY HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A BUILDING CODE EFFECTIVENESS RATING SCHEDULE.
AND THAT RELATES, WHO'S GOING TO LOOK AT MY NOTES HERE, MAKING SURE I GET THIS RIGHT, BUT IT ASSESSES THE BUILDING CODES, UH, IN AFFECTING THE COMMUNITY AND HOW THE COMMUNITY ENFORCES THOSE WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON MITIGATION OF LOSSES FROM NATIONAL DISASTERS.
UH, AND WHAT THEY DO IS THEY COME OUT WITH A SCORECARD FOR THE, FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UH, IF WE GET DINGED ON THAT SCORECARD CUMULATIVELY ACROSS WHAT WE'RE DOING THROUGH CODES, IT HAS THE POTENTIAL HORIZON, DRAI'S, UH, INSURANCE RATES IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE WANT TO BE MINDFUL THAT WE'RE KEEPING OUR SCORE UP THERE, AND THEY HAVE A REQUIREMENT THAT THE COMMUNITY, A COMMUNITY SHOULD HAVE ADOPTED THE, A CODE WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS OR THE MOST RECENT CODE WHENEVER WE'RE AUDITED.
WE'RE NOT SURE WHEN WE'RE GOING TO BE AUDITED, BUT COULD HAPPEN THIS YEAR.
WE'RE UP AGAINST THAT FIVE YEARS.
NOW, WE REALLY WANT TO GET THE NEW CODE IN.
SO, SO THERE'S AN IMPETUS TO, TO DO THAT AS WELL.
SO AS FAR AS NOTABLE NOTABLE DEVELOPMENTS, UH, THE IECC FROM AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY PERSPECTIVE IS A SIGNIFICANT JUMP ABOVE THE EXISTING CODE, UH, ESTIMATES RANGE FROM EIGHT TO 10% ON INCREASE IN EFFICIENCY
[00:55:01]
OVER THE ENTIRE BODY BODY OF BUILDING TYPES.WE REALLY LOOK AT THIS AS A STRETCH CODE.
IT WILL NOT BE A GIMME FOR FOLKS TO MEET THIS UPFRONT.
THERE IS GOING TO BE A LEARNING CURVE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
UH, THAT IS ALSO ANOTHER REASON WE'RE LOOKING AT HAVING A COUPLE OF MONTHS THERE, BUT BETWEEN THE TIME IT'S ANNOUNCED AND IT GOES, UH, ACTIVE, IT ALLOWS US TO TRAIN UP DSD STAFF ON THE ENFORCEMENT SIDE.
IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO PUT TOGETHER SOME PRIMERS FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UH, SO YOU KNOW, THIS REALLY IS A, A SUBSTANTIAL JUMP FORWARD, AND WE REALLY THINK THAT IT'S GREAT FOR THE COMMUNITY ELECTRIC VEHICLE READY AND ELECTRIFICATION RESTRUC DURING THE APPEALS PROCESS.
SO ALL DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENERGY CODE, INITIALLY THERE WAS THE INTENT OF THE STAKEHOLDERS TO INCLUDE EVIE READY AND ELECTRIFICATION.
WHEN IT GOT INTO THE VOTING PORTION OF IT, THERE WAS A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OR PUSH BY A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES TO WHEN YOU CAN OR ELIMINATE EVIE READY AND ELECTRIFICATION THAT THE JUSTIFICATIONS THAT WERE DELIVERED UPON OR THAT WERE DELIVERED AND AGREED UPON, AND EVENTUALLY VOTED UPON AGAINST EBV READY AND ELECTRIFICATION WERE AROUND CHOICE OF UTILITY AND UTILITY CHOICE, THAT SORT OF THING, AND COSTS IN PARTICULAR.
UH, AND THEN IT WAS ALSO THAT THE IECC AGAIN, IS, IS TRYING TO PUSH MORE TOWARD WORKING MORE STRONGLY AND MORE EXCLUSIVELY AT CONSERVATION.
NOW WHETHER THIS AREA'S FOR NEW, THE 24, UH, CODE REMAINS TO BE SEEN, BUT IT WAS A PRETTY CLEAR MESSAGE FROM THE IACC THAT IT WASN'T A DIRECTION THAT THE COUNCIL THEMSELVES WANTED TO GO.
UM, AND THAT WEIGHS INTO SOME OF OUR CONSIDERATIONS WITH THE APPROACH THAT WE'RE, WE'RE PROPOSING ALSO LOCALLY, UH, WE'RE PROPOSING RIGHT NOW THAT THERE WOULD BE NO NEW LOCAL AMENDMENTS, BUT THAT WE WILL LOOK TO CARRY OVER WHATEVER RELEVANT AMENDMENTS THERE WERE IN THE 2015 CODE, NOTABLY IN THAT IS SOLAR READY.
WE ABSOLUTELY PLAN TO CARRY SOLAR READY FORWARD.
AND WE'VE DRAFTED THAT LANGUAGE OF RAMON INCLUDED.
UH, WE DO LOOK TO REVISIT THE REQUIREMENT AS MR. ROBBINS TALKED ABOUT ON THE REQUIREMENT FOR NATURAL GAS HEATING THROUGH RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION.
UH, RIGHT NOW THERE'S A REQUIREMENT THAT YOU HAVE ADJACENT NATURAL GAS, UH, SERVICE.
YOU HAVE TO USE NATURAL GAS FOR WATER HEATING, UH, WE AND ANTICIPATION OF, OF, OF LEGISLATION LOOKING AT NOT HAVING ANY KIND OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST UTILITY TYPES HAVE, HAVE GONE AHEAD AND LOOKED AT THIS AS THE PATH FORWARD.
AND THAT'S THE PRIMARY IMPETUS THERE WE ARE THOUGH, STILL LOOKING TO PROGRESS, EVIE, READY, AND ELECTRIFICATION THROUGH WHATEVER MEANS WE CAN MOVING FORWARD.
UH, WE DON'T THINK THAT AT THIS TIME WITH THE IECC AND THE COMPRESSED TIMELINE, WE HAVE, THAT WE CAN GET A ROBUST COMMUNITY DISCUSSION AROUND THOSE ITEMS, BUT WE DO HAVE A PRECEDENT FOR COMING BACK AND REVISITING THINGS.
WE DID IT WITH SOLAR READY DURING THE 2015 CODE.
AND THERE ARE OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN LOOK AT ELECTRIFICATION AND DV READY AND HOW TO ACHIEVE THOSE.
AND WE'RE CERTAINLY LOOKING TO, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE A BROADER DISCUSSION WITH THE COMMUNITY ON HOW WE DO THAT, YOUR SLIDE PLEASE.
SO OTHER STEPS THAT WE HAVE MOVING FORWARD, UH, WE NEED TO, WE, AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING NEED TO RUN SOME MODELS, UH, TO BETTER QUANTIFY THE, THE DEMAND AND ENERGY IMPACTS OF THE NEW CODE, WHAT THE SAVINGS WILL BE, SO THAT WE CAN BETTER PROTECT THE COMMUNITY.
WHAT, WHAT THE REAL IMPACT IS HERE, HOPEFULLY GET MORE GRANULAR THAN JUST EIGHT TO 10%.
ALL THAT MAY BE WHERE WE LAND.
UH, WE'LL PREPARE YOUR RESIDENTIAL AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT.
THERE WE LOOK, AND WE WORK WITH NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING ON THIS, AND WE LOOK AT THE POTENTIAL INCREASE IN COSTS RELATED TO MEETING NEW CODE.
AND THEN ALSO THE EFFICIENCY BENEFITS THAT WOULD BE MANIFEST OVER A PERIOD OF TIME TO PEOPLE LIVING IN THOSE, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE IMPACT IS.
UH, GENERALLY THESE HAVE FARED VERY WELL.
OUR ENERGY EFFICIENCY IS, HAS PERFORMED VERY FAVORABLY IN THESE HISTORICALLY.
AND I WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT ON THE LONGTERM ANALYSIS, THEY'LL, THEY'LL STILL COME OUT VERY POSITIVE.
WE'LL GO TO CITY LEGAL FOR REVIEW.
AGAIN, WE'LL LOOK TO COME BACK TO THE RMC, LOOKING FOR A RECOMMENDATION.
WE WILL NEED TO UPDATE OUR GREEN BUILDING UP OUR GREEN BUILDING RATINGS.
WE ALSO NEED TO LOOK AT THE CODE SAVINGS METHODOLOGY THAT WE USE.
WE AUSTIN ENERGY USE AND OUR GOALS.
UH, WE HAVE BEEN BENCHMARKED FOR THE LAST YEAR ON THE 2008 CODES, BUT WORKED WITH THE CONSULTANTS.
UM, AND I'VE COME UP WITH A DETERMINATION THAT WE REALLY NEED
[01:00:01]
TO BENCHMARK AGAINST WHATEVER THE CURRENT STATE CODE IS AT THIS POINT, IT'S THE 2015, BUT IF THEY PASS THE 21 AND WE WOULD BENCHMARK AGAINST THAT FOR OUR CLAIMS SAVINGS FOR OUR DEAN SAVINGS FOR, FOR CODE AND AS SUCH, WE'LL LOOK AT OUR GOALS GOING DOWN AS WE'RE HITTING A LOT HIGHER BENCHMARKS.SO WE'LL HAVE TO RESET OUR GOALS AS WELL.
WE'LL, WE'LL BRIEF YOU ON THAT AS WE GET MORE INFORMATION THAT THAT'S GOING TO COME AFTER WE GET THE, THE, UH, THE CODE SET AND AS WELL, WE WILL, LIKE I SAID, CONTINUE TO LOOK TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY ON ONGOING DISCUSSIONS ON WHAT EVIE READY AND ELECTRIFICATION MEASURES CAN LOOK LIKE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION, KURT.
UM, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE COMMISSION FOR QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS, DISCUSSION.
AND I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS PLEASE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THIS COMMISSION HAS LOOKED AT A LOT, UM, IS, UH, WAYS OF REDUCING CARBON, THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF BUILDINGS.
AND, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY THE, YOU KNOW, THE BIG ONE WE SEE IS, IS KIND OF, ON-SITE USE OF NATURAL GAS.
AND WHEN WE LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT OTHER CITIES AND, AND, YOU KNOW, TEXAS AND OTHER STATES ARE DOING, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE HAS BEEN KIND OF THIS MOVE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, EITHER DO SOME TYPE OF GAS BAN OR SOME, SOME TYPE OF MANAGEMENT AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, COMBUSTION OF GAS AND BUILDINGS.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT CONCEPT, UM, A BIT, BUT JUST KNOWING THAT THERE ARE SOME KIND OF POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS WITH, YOU KNOW, THOSE TYPES OF POLICY ISSUES, LOOKING AT AN ALTERNATIVE TO, UM, REDUCE CARBON, THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF BUILDINGS.
UM, ONE IDEA I'VE COME ACROSS IS, UM, THE IDEA OF HAVING SOME TYPE OF CARBON STANDARD, UM, IN A BUILDING CODE OR AN ENERGY CODE AS KIND OF AN ALTERNATIVE TO, YOU KNOW, UH, SOME TYPE OF OUTRIGHT GAS BAN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
HAVE YOU GUYS LOOKED OR COME ACROSS THAT CONCEPT OR LOOKED AT SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE'VE LOOKED AT THAT, UM, GIVEN THE ENVIRONMENT THAT YOU REFERENCED, WE, WE DON'T THINK THAT IT'S AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO DO THAT THROUGH CODE.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IS DEVELOPMENT OF, OR WE'RE REALLY LOOKING CURRENTLY AT EMBODIED CARBON.
SO THE, THE CARBON THAT GOES INTO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING, UH, AS YOU BEGIN TO GREEN UP, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ELECTRIC PORTION OF YOUR FLEET, THE CARBON IMPACT, DO YOU GET THOSE DOWN DRAMATICALLY FROM, FROM THE OPERATIONAL PERSPECTIVE? SO WE'RE REALLY FOCUSING RIGHT NOW ON THE EMBODIED PORTION AND MEASURES THAT WE CAN DO FOR THAT.
AND IT'S CENTERED SPECIFICALLY AROUND, UH, CONCRETE AND STEEL.
AND WE WILL LOOK TO, TO PRESENT TO YOU GUYS IN THE COMING MONTHS ON A PROJECT THAT WE'VE GOT IN THE WORKS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR THAT.
UM, AND I THINK IN GENERAL RIGHT NOW, WE'LL ALSO LOOK TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS ON DE-CARBONIZATION PARTICULARLY WITH, UH, WITH TEXAS GAS, HAVE A STRONG INVOLVEMENT THROUGH THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
I, I WOULD VOICE MY, UH, SUPPORT OF THAT.
LIKE, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT WE'VE LOOKED AT THE, YOU KNOW, THE VARIOUS SECTORS WITHIN AUSTIN AND THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ASSOCIATED CARBON FOOTPRINTS AND AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, YOU KNOW, TO THEIR CREDIT HAS, HAS DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB OF, UH, YOU KNOW, PLANNING FOR THEIR EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS.
BUT WE REALLY ARE GOING TO NEED TO START TURNING TO THESE OTHER SECTORS OF WHICH IN TEXAS GAS SERVICE OR ONE, UH, ONE OF THEM THAT THAT WILL NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.
SO I, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR ME PERSONALLY, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A, UH, A PRIORITY TOPIC.
HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, EFFECTIVELY MANAGE, UM, THOSE, THOSE SOURCES OF EMISSIONS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE BEST WAY THAT'S, YOU KNOW, FAIR BOTH TO, UH, YOU KNOW, TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS, RIGHT? YEP.
IS THE PIECES OF THE PIE GET SMALLER.
WELL, AND I GUESS JUST ONE, I GUESS ONE OTHER QUESTION, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HEARD EARLIER, UH, FROM, FROM THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE FEW, UM, QUESTIONS RAISED THAT I THOUGHT WOULD BE WORTH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ASKING FOR YOUR OPINION ON, I GUESS, ONE, UM, THE IDEA OF A HEAT PUMP, WATER HEATERS, UM, WHY NOT MAKE THAT KIND OF THE STANDARD, UM, RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, ALLOWING, UH, ELECTRIC RESISTANCE OPTION.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I ACTUALLY JUST INSTALLED
[01:05:01]
ONE A FEW MONTHS AGO AND IT, FROM A RETROFIT PERSPECTIVE, IT IS SOMEWHAT OF A CHALLENGE, BUT IT'S MOSTLY BECAUSE OF THE, HAVING TO RUN A NEW, YOU KNOW, HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRIC LINE.BUT IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT NEW BENEFIT, IT DOES SEEM LIKE IF YOU CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ELECTRIFY FROM THE BEGINNING, UM, ESPECIALLY COMBINED WITH THE REBATES YOU GUYS OFFER, UH, THE COST IS ACTUALLY NOT THAT MUCH DIFFERENT BETWEEN A HEAT PUMP AND RESISTANCE.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE BIG FANS OF, OF HEAT PUMP, WATER HEATERS.
UH, THE ISSUE WE'RE GOING TO RUN INTO WAS THERE WAS A BILL IN THE LAST SESSION CALLED HB 24 39.
AND IT WASN'T REAL CLEARLY DEFINED, BUT IT REALLY PUT LIMITATIONS ON WHAT YOU COULD BAN EFFECTIVELY.
AND BASICALLY IT, IT SPOKE TO PRODUCTS, BUT CODES REALLY DON'T SPEAK TO PRODUCTS, BUT IT SAYS THAT ANY PRODUCT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN USED IN THE LAST TWO CODE CYCLES, YOU CAN'T BAN.
SO WE COULD NOT SPECIFICALLY SAY THIS TYPE OF PRODUCT CANNOT BE USED.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF, WE HAVE LIMITATIONS OF WHAT WE COULD DO FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE IN BANNING EXPLICIT TECHNOLOGIES.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER BLACKBURN, ARE THERE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YEAH.
UM, YOU KNOW, FIRST OFF I'LL SAY THAT, UH, KURT NATE SPOKE EARLIER AND I APPRECIATED THE CONVERSATION, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO JUST KIND OF BRING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, UP HERE IN OUR MEETING.
UM, AND IT DOES KIND OF TIE INTO WHAT PAUL, UM, CALLED IN TO TALK WITH US ABOUT TODAY AND THAT, THAT BEING KIND OF THE ORDER OF OPERATIONS AND THE PROCESS AND OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC, UH, IN PUT ON THIS CODE UPDATE.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IN GENERAL, WE NEED TO BE ERRING ON THE SIDE OF, YOU KNOW, OPEN, INCLUSIVE PUBLIC PROCESS.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THAT IS PART OF OUR ROLE, UH, AS COMMISSIONERS IS TO, UH, HELP FACILITATE THAT AND, AND BE A CONDUIT TO THE COMMUNITY AND, UH, LET OTHER PEOPLE KNOW WHEN THINGS LIKE THIS ARE HAPPENING AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO DO THAT EFFECTIVELY IF WE AREN'T INFORMED AHEAD OF TIME.
UM, AND, AND I, YOU KNOW, VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS NOT INTENTIONAL BE YOU'RE TRYING TO FIT WITHIN THE SCHEDULE.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I JUST DO WANT TO RAISE THAT AND, UM, I GUESS WANT TO HEAR FROM MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS, UM, YOU KNOW, NOW THE OPPORTUNITY FOR STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS AND PUBLIC COMMENT HAS CLOSED, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT, WHAT ARE OUR OPTIONS HERE AND WHAT DO WE FEEL LIKE IS APPROPRIATE GOING FORWARD RIGHT NOW? I THINK YOU, BUT I THINK IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UM, AND I, I ECHO YOUR SENTIMENT AND, YOU KNOW, I, I DO WISH THAT WE'D BEEN BROUGHT INTO THIS PROCESS A BIT EARLIER, AND I THINK THERE IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVISIT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE METHOD BY WHICH WE, WE DO THAT.
UM, AND KURT, I HEARD YOU AS WELL WITH REGARD TO THE FEBRUARY MEETING BEING CANCELED AND THE MARCH MEETING, UH, BEING THE, THE, THE JOINT, UH, JOINT MEETING.
UM, I GUESS KURT, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU ABOUT, IF YOU CAN COMMENT ON THE QUALITY AMOUNT OF, OF PUBLIC COMMENT AND ENGAGEMENT THAT THAT WAS RECEIVED DURING THAT OPEN PERIOD FROM MARCH.
I THINK YOU SAID MARCH 15TH TO APRIL 15TH, I BELIEVE.
CAN YOU, UM, AND I, I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO HAVE GONE THROUGH A SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS JUST YET.
I THINK YOU OFFERED TO DO THAT NEXT MEETING.
DID YOU FEEL YOU'VE SUFFICIENT ENGAGEMENT OR THERE WAS SUFFICIENT ENGAGEMENT IN THAT PROCESS? I FEEL THAT THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT ENGAGEMENT, BUT TO THE TWO POINTS THAT THERE WAS DECIDED WISH FOR BRIGHT, FOR GREATER DISCUSSION WAS AROUND EVIE READY AND ELECTRIFICATION.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK AND REVISIT THOSE IS, IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE DONE.
AND I THINK THAT WHILE YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT DOING SOMETHING, YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING, UH, WE, WE CERTAINLY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK AND REVISIT THOSE WE'VE
[01:10:01]
WE HAVE A PRECEDENT AND I'M CERTAINLY COMMITTED TO DOING IT.CAN WE ENVISION A AND MAYBE, BUT I'M TRYING TO, TO KIND OF MAYBE BUILD OFF OF THE CHALLENGE THAT I THINK YOU JUST PRESENTED TO US.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I APPRECIATE THE COMPRESSED SCHEDULE FEELING A BIT RUSHED ON ONE HAND, AND I ALSO APPRECIATE KURT WHAT YOU OUTLINED, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GOING FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL ON, ON JUNE 3RD FOR A SEPTEMBER IMPLEMENTATION OF, OF THE CODE.
IS THERE, IS THERE, UH, CAN WE ENVISION A SORT OF BEST OF BOTH WORLDS OPTION, UM, WHERE WE COULD STILL MEET THAT, THAT JUNE, UM, UH, DEADLINE FOR GOING BEFORE COUNCIL WHILE STILL FEELING LIKE WE COULD HAVE SUFFICIENT PUBLIC COMMENTS? I DON'T SEE HOW YOU DO IT FOR, FOR, FOR THE AREAS THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVEN'T BEEN BROUGHT UP AS, AS PARTICULAR CONCERN.
UM, IT WOULD BE TOUGH, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM A NOTIFICATION PERSPECTIVE AND, AND FORGETTING WORD TO, TO THE VARIOUS, YOU KNOW, BODIES AS TO WHERE, WHERE WE THINK THINGS ARE HEADED, IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE HARD.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD COMMIT TO DOING LATER THIS YEAR, IF, YOU KNOW, IF THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, IF KIND OF THE, THE BASE CODE WITH THE, THE AMENDMENTS THAT ARE ALREADY ON THERE MOVE FORWARD, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING, HAVING, INITIATING THAT PROCESS, YOU KNOW, SOME KIND OF IN THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
I THINK THE OTHER THING THAT YOU AND I TALKED ABOUT, AND AGAIN, UM, I, I APPRECIATE THAT.
I THINK WE HAD A GOOD UNDERSTANDING ON THE PHONE, BUT, YOU KNOW, JUST GOING TO SAY HERE, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF, OF WHETHER IT'S, UH, THROUGH MEETINGS OR WHATEVER, I KNOW THAT THERE IS SOME SORT OF, UH, STAKEHOLDER LIST THAT IS INFORMED FOR THOSE MEETINGS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, SO I JUST WANT TO SAY HERE THAT I THINK THAT THAT LIST NEEDS TO BE A MUCH BROADER THAN IT IS.
AND THE, UM, AND AGAIN, THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BE WORKING TO FACILITATE AS A COMMISSION IS, IS ACTIVELY, YOU KNOW, IT SHOULDN'T BE, YOU KNOW, I'VE HEARD THE NUMBER 40 PEOPLE OR SOMETHING, AND ON THAT LIST, IT SHOULDN'T BE 40 PEOPLE GETTING NOTIFIED.
IT SHOULD BE, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE AT THE VERY LEAST GETTING NOTIFIED.
AND IF PEOPLE DON'T CHOOSE GIVING GAGE, THEN THAT IS THEIR CHOICE, BUT, UM, AN ACCESSIBLE WAY TO, TO ENGAGE NEEDS TO BE PROVIDED.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, KURT, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU ALREADY GET RECOGNIZE THAT, BUT I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, SHARING THAT HERE BECAUSE I, I DO THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.
AND I THINK, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR CLIMATE PLAN, UM, YOU CAN OFFER FOR THOSE OF Y'ALL WHO, WHO HAVEN'T BEEN ENGAGED IN THAT PROCESS, IT WAS REALLY, YOU KNOW, ROOTED IN EQUITY AND IN, UM, YOU KNOW, THE NEED FOR, FOR FULL PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY, UH, YEAH, COMMUNITY PROCESS DRIVING OUR POLICY DECISIONS, UM, REALLY BEING AT THE ROOT OF HOW WE MOVE FORWARD WITH, YOU KNOW, ALL KINDS OF CHALLENGES IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT INCLUDING ENERGY ISSUES.
UM, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S GREAT TO HAVE THAT IN A, IN A BROAD PLAN, LIKE THE BOSTON CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, WHICH, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY WILL BE ADOPTED BEFORE TOO LONG.
UM, BUT WHERE IT REALLY, I THINK IN MY VIEW IS MOST IMPORTANT IS, IS ALL THE LITTLE BORING THINGS THAT ARE CALLED IMPLEMENTATION AND FOODS ARE ONE OF THOSE THINGS.
I APPRECIATE THAT YOU AND I HAD TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, EXPLICITLY INFORMING THE, UH, THE RMC, THE UC IN THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION.
AND I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT FOR WHAT A REPUBLICAN, BUT WE HAVE MOVING FORWARD ON CODES.
AND CAN I, AND I DO APPRECIATE THAT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY HAD A ILL INTENT IN THIS PROCESS.
I CAN UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WANTING, WANTING TO GET THIS MOVING, AND THERE'S BEEN ALL KINDS OF CRAZINESS, UH, OVER THE PAST YEAR AND SHE SEEMS TO STILL CONTINUE.
UM, ALL WE CAN DO IS, YOU KNOW, I THINK, YOU KNOW, LOOK, LOOK AT WHERE WE CAN DO EVEN BETTER IN THE FUTURE.
[01:15:01]
THOSE COMMENTS, KIVA, UM, AND KURT, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTOOD YOUR PROPOSAL FOR COMING BACK TO THIS COMMISSION NEXT MONTH.UM, WERE YOU IN, IN THAT, UH, DISCUSSION, WERE YOU PROPOSING AN UPDATE ON THE SUMMARY OF, OF THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AND KEY PIECES OF FEEDBACK RELATED TO THOSE TWO SPECIFIC ITEMS, BUT THEN I ASSUME MORE, MORE BROADLY.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THE, I PERSONALLY AM VERY INTERESTED IN THE, UM, AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT.
UM, I THINK THAT THAT SHOULD BE A KEY PIECE OF, OF OUR, UM, DISCUSSION AS WELL.
AND THEN YOU WILL BE LOOKING FOR IN THE MAIN MEETING, A RECOMMENDATION FROM THIS BODY, UM, RELATED TO THE CODE PROCESS.
AND I THINK YOU SAID WITHIN TWO DAYS TIME OF OUR NEXT MEETING IS WHAT THE, KIND OF WHAT THE SCHEDULE HAS US UP AGAINST.
SO I, I WOULD, UM, YOU KNOW, RECOMMEND TO THIS, UH, COMMISSION THAT WE DO SPEND SOME TIME THINKING ABOUT THIS PROCESS AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF REALLY WHAT ARE THE KEY THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO US, UH, IN THAT DISCUSSION.
UM, AND KURT, I'LL ALSO SAY, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN PLEASE LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN BE HELPFUL TO YOU AND COLLABORATIVE IN THIS PROCESS.
UM, I AGREE WITH, BUT THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE ALL TRYING TO DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH, YOU KNOW, COMPLICATED PROCESSES HERE.
UM, SORT OF PLEASE DO KEEP, UH, YOU KNOW, KEEP THAT, UM, LET'S KEEP THAT CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION OPEN WHILE RESPECTING ALL OF OUR QUORUM RULES THAT WE NEED TO, UM, ARE THERE OTHER, OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? THANKS.
YEAH, I WAS, YOU KNOW, AGREE WITH, WHAT'S BEEN SAID SO FAR, ESPECIALLY AT THIS POINT ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, WE GET BLINDSIDED BY THINGS WE CAN'T PREDICT LIKE DEPENDENT NICOLA, UH, POLAR VORTEX AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T PREDICT THOSE THINGS, UM, BUT DEFINITELY YOU TO LEARN FROM THOSE AND PRIORITIZE HOW WE, UH, CENTER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN AN EQUITABLE WAY.
UM, AND THEN THE CLIMATE PLAN, WE EXTENDED OUR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PERIOD.
UM, AND, UH, DEPENDING, YOU KNOW, ALSO WANNA WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, CITY, CITY PROCESSES BY DEFAULT ARE FAIRLY PASSIVE.
YOU KNOW, THEY RELY ON FOLKS IN, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY ENGAGING WITH THEM.
AND THEN WE, CAN'T JUST, UH, THAT'S JUST NOT GOING TO WORK WELL IN TERMS OF GETTING BROAD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, IN THE MOST EQUITABLE MANNER, YOU KNOW, ON, IN, IN THE BEST OF YEARS.
AND IT'S CERTAINLY, UH, GONNA HAVE LOW ENGAGEMENT IN A PANDEMIC AND THAT PEOPLE ARE RECOVERING AND PEOPLE ARE, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU I'VE SEEN IN THE NEWS, MANY PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR HOMES ARE BEING EVICTED BECAUSE THEY'RE PREGNANT BY THE STORM.
SO THAT'S, THERE'S STILL VERY SEVERE IMPACTS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT WEEKS LATER.
UM, SO, UH, WE JUST GOTTA BE, BE COGNIZANT OF THAT AS WELL.
SO LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING, YOU KNOW, HOW THE MEDIATION PROCESS IS GOING AND, AND, AND THAT'S COLLABORATING ON THAT.
SHANE, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OR DISCUSSION ITEMS, UH, TO BRING UP RELATED TO THIS TOPIC? I DO HAVE QUITE A ONE OTHER QUICK QUESTION.
UH, KURT, MAYBE YOU ALREADY SAID THIS, BUT, UH, ARE Y'ALL WORKING ON, UH, TRYING TO DO AN ASSESSMENT OF WHAT THE EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT WILL BE SPECIFICALLY FOR AUSTIN? UM, FROM OUR CURRENT CODE WITH OUR CURRENT LOCAL AMENDMENTS TO THIS NEW CODE? YEAH.
THE WAY WE'LL PROBABLY PRESENT IT, IT'LL BE CUMULATIVE IMPACT FROM A MEGAWATT PERSPECTIVE BASED ON PROJECTIONS FOR, FOR CONSTRUCT NEW CONSTRUCTION.
AND THEN WE'LL LOOK AT, UH, YOU'LL GET A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE BASED ON A, ON A, UH, ON A LOW INCOME, UH, MODEL AS WELL.
W IF, IF YOU'RE, IF, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GEEK OUT AND GET INTO THE SPECIFIC BUILDING TYPES, WE CAN GIVE YOU A BREAKDOWN OF THAT AND GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE GRANULARITY.
WE SHOULD HAVE SOME OF THE, SOME OF THEM WERE BUILDING TYPES AND I CAN SEE IF WE'LL HAVE THOSE READY OR NOT.
YEAH, I THINK, YEAH, WHATEVER YOU HAVE, I'M, I'M INTERESTED IN THAT.
ANYTHING ELSE GUYS? WELL, KURT, THANK YOU
[01:20:01]
VERY MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION AND THE DISCUSSION, AND, UH, WE WILL LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING YOU BACK IN, IN MAY TO, UH, TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION.UM, AND SO SINCE WE'VE ALREADY, UH, MOVED FORWARD WITH THE OFFICER ELECTIONS, UM,
[7. Discuss potential future agenda items.]
THE LAST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS, UH, REALLY LOOKING AT, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, AND AS NATASHA AND I HAVE, UH, GONE THROUGH THIS, I THINK MAY, MAY END UP BEING A BIT OF A PACKED MEETING, UH, JUST THE WAY THAT THINGS HAVE FALLEN NATURALLY, UM, AND NATASHA GRACIOUSLY OFFERED TO, TO KIND OF REVIEW, UH, THE AGENDA ITEMS THAT WE'VE GOT ON THE LIST NOW.UH, NATASHA, MAY I, UH, TURN IT OVER TO YOU PLEASE? YES.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE FOR MAY WE HAVE TEXAS GAS, QUARTERLY UPDATE, UM, AUSTIN WATERS, QUARTERLY UPDATE, UM, AUSTIN WATER.
WE'LL ALSO BE BRINGING THEIR DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE ITEM.
UM, WE'RE ALSO SCHEDULED TO HAVE THE C S BUDGET BRIEFING AND, UM, KURT, WE'LL BE BACK WITH A CODE UPDATE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT UPDATE, NATASHA.
AND, UH, JONATHAN, I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE YOUR HANDS IN THE HALL, UH, FOR THAT, UH, TH TH RUNNING THAT MEETING, AND I KNOW YOU'LL DO A GREAT JOB WITH IT.
UM, IS THERE ANY ITEM, UH, THAT THE COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP THE, THAT YOU EITHER FOR THE NEXT MEETING OR THAT WE NEED TO PLAN FOR, UH, LOOKING FORWARD INTO THE MONTHS OF JUNE AND JULY, THAT WASN'T PART OF THAT UPDATE.
IF I MISSED IT, DID YOU MENTION, UH, SOLAR, UH, INCENTIVE? I DON'T BELIEVE THAT SHE DID.
AND KAYLA, THAT WAS, THAT WAS MY FAULT THAT I HAD NOT CONNECTED THE DOTS THERE, BUT, UM, YES, WE HAD SPOKEN WITH TIM ABOUT AN, UH, MAY, UH, UPDATE FOR THE SOLAR COMMERCIAL, SOLAR INCENTIVE, UH, PROGRAM.
UM, AND SO WE'LL, WE'LL LOOK TO, TO TRY TO GET THAT SCHEDULED INTO IT.
AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO REQUEST, UH, THE, THAT WE, WHILE WE HAVE TIM ALSO TALK ABOUT THE, UH, SHARED SOLAR PROGRAM, BECAUSE THAT IS NOW ACTIVE IN THE BILLING SYSTEM AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SO THE DECISION IS GOING TO HAVE TO BE MADE, UM, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS ABOUT WHICH, WHICH KIND OF TYPES OF PROPERTIES ARE GOING TO BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE, UH, AND USE THAT TOOL THAT IS NOW, UH, YOU KNOW, AVAILABLE.
SO IT SEEMS LIKE WE SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THAT CONVERSATION.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S AN EXCITING ADVANCEMENT.
I'M GLAD, GLAD THAT WE'RE THERE.
UM, WELL, UH, WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THE UPDATE FROM, FROM TIM AND NATASHA SHARED, APPRECIATE YOU, HELPING US GET ALL OF THOSE SCHEDULED AND ORGANIZED.
UM, AND WE'LL JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AMPLE TIME FOR THE, WHAT I'M SURE WILL BE A ROBUST DISCUSSION ACROSS THE BOARD, ANY OTHER, UH, ITEMS, UH, FOR OUR FUTURE AGENDA.
WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, CALL THIS MEETING TO A CLOSE AT 7:35 PM.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND WE'LL, UH, SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN IN MAY.