* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] UH, I'M [Call to Order] LESLIE POOLE. I'M A DISTRICT SAT ON A CHAIR OF THE AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. AND TODAY IS TUESDAY, JUNE ONE, 2021. IT IS 1:41 PM AND I'M HAPPY TO CONVENE, UM, THIS MEETING, UH, BY, UH, VIA VIDEO CONFERENCE. AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, 10, 11 OF US. SO WE ARE ALL HERE. THANKS EVERYBODY FOR MAKING TIME TODAY FOR WHAT I THINK WILL BE A, A GOOD EXPEDITED MEETING OF THE UTILITY AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. UM, DO WE HAVE STAFF, DID WE HAVE ANY CITIZEN COMMUNICATION? NO, THERE IS NONE SO MUCH. UM, [1. Approve the minutes of the February 10 and March 31, 2021 meetings of the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee.] I WILL RECOGNIZE A COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, FOR APPROVAL OF MINUTES OR ANY CHANGES TO THE MINUTES. THAT'S ITEM ONE, APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 10 AND MARCH 31, 2021 MEETINGS OF THE AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. AND I SEE A COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, UH, MAKES THAT MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND AND COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS. THANK YOU BOTH. ANY, UH, CHANGES OR CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES SEEING NONE. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR, I ASSUME THAT'S MIRROR PART TIME. ARE YOU VOTING? OKAY. OKAY. IT LOOKS LIKE THAT'S UNANIMOUS ON THE DIVE SITES VERY MUCH. UM, WE WILL [2. General Manager’s Report (Part 1 of 2)] MOVE NEXT TO THE GENERAL MANAGERS REPORT AND I WANTED TO LET YOU ALL KNOW THAT GENERAL MANAGER SERGEANT IS UNABLE TO ATTEND THE MEETING TODAY DUE TO SOME SURGERY THAT SHE HAD PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED. SHE ASKED ME TO CONVEY THAT SHE UNDERSTANDS THE FRUSTRATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE EXTENDED OUTAGES EXPERIENCED BY AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS DUE TO THE RECENT SEVERE STORM. THE ONE THAT CAME THROUGH OUR AREA TRY TO TONIGHT AND THE WAVES OF, OF THUNDERSTORMS WE HAD ALL THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND. SHE WAS ACTIVELY ENGAGED WITH THE TEAM DURING RESTORATION EFFORTS OVER THE WEEKEND AND YESTERDAY. AND IN FACT, I WAS IN A DAILY CONVERSATION WITH GENERAL MANAGER SERGEANT. SO I WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE UP THE AGENDA ORDER A WEE BIT [4. Second Quarter Operations Briefing. (Part 1 of 2)] TO START WITH AGENDA ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS THE QUARTERLY OPERATIONS BRIEFING THIS WAY. DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER SYDNEY. JACKSON CAN PROVIDE US AN UPDATE ON THE STORMS, AFFECTS THE IMPACTS OF THE STORM ON OUR CITY. AND MAYBE JUST JUMP DIRECTLY TO AN ITEM THAT IS TOP OF MIND FOR EVERYBODY TODAY. MR. JACKSON, ARE YOU, HAVE YOU BEEN BROUGHT UP? OKAY, GOOD. AND THEN THE MIC IS YOUR PSYCH HERE. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON. AND THANK YOU, COMMITTEE CHAIR POOL. UM, GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS. SO WE'RE GOING TO START WITH THE OPERATIONS REPORT AND I'M GOING TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE RECENT OUTAGES THAT BEGAN FRIDAY, UH, JUST PRIOR TO PRIOR TO MEMORIAL DAY. AND AS YOU MENTIONED, UH, COMMITTEE CHAIR WHO ARE TRYING TO DO THIS IN AN EXPEDITED FASHION IS A LITTLE BIT OF A CHALLENGE. UM, BUT I WILL TRY TO STEP THROUGH IT AS EXPEDIENTLY AS I CAN. SO LET'S FOCUS OUR COMMENTS UPON THREE THINGS I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO THE STORM IN ITSELF. WHAT WERE THE WEATHER CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ACTUAL EVENT AND WHY DID IT CAUSE SO MANY ALLERGIES? AND I ALSO LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S ADVANCED PLANNING, UH, AS THE WEATHER WAS APPROACHING, I THOUGHT SHE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THAT. AND FINALLY, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME CUSTOMER RESTORATIONS, TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE METRICS, UH, THE SIZE AND THE BREADTH. UH, LET'S FOCUS ON THE NUMBERS, ESPECIALLY THE FIRST 24 HOURS OF THE STORM EVENT. AND THAT DATA WILL SHOW WHEN WE GET TO THAT POINT, THAT, UH, AT THE PEAK OF THAT FRIDAY EVENING, BEFORE MEMORIAL DAY, THERE WERE 37,800 CUSTOMERS OUT THAT EXPERIENCED AN OUTAGE. AND BY, UH, 24 HOURS LATER, 88% OF THOSE 37,800 CUSTOMERS WERE RESTORED AGAIN, RESTORED IN THE FIRST 24 HOURS. BUT AGAIN, WE'LL GET TO THAT. UH, THANK YOU FOR MOVING THE SLIDES FOR THE GRAPHIC FOR THAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU. SO LET'S EXAMINE THAT, UH, SEVERE STORM. UM, FOR THOSE OF YOU PERHAPS THAT DON'T CONSIDER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS, UM, TO BE PARTICULARLY CHALLENGED, I'D ASK THAT YOU WOULD RECONSIDER YOUR POINT OF VIEW. UH, I HAVE, UH, TOPICALLY HEARD THINGS WELL, YOU KNOW, THE SYSTEM SHOULD BE ABLE TO HANDLE A STORM. UM, THE SYSTEM IS RESILIENT AND I'D LIKE TO TALK TO YOU, UH, AS, AS TO WHY SO FIRST LOOKING AT THE STORM AND YOU CAN SEE THE IMPACTS OF THE STORM. WHAT WERE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STORM AS YOU WELL KNOW? AND IT CAME [00:05:01] THROUGH YOUR AREA AS WELL, SEVERE LIGHTENING, HIGH WINDS, STRAIGHT LIGHT LENS. IN SOME CASES, LASH FLOODING, FLOODING IN GENERAL AND PASSABLE STREETS, PONDING, PONDING, AND POOLING WATER, ZERO VISIBILITY, TORRENTIAL, RAIN, UM, HALE, AND SOME AREAS, UH, ALL OCCURRING OVER A SUSTAINED PERIOD OF TIME. SO WHAT DOES THIS LEAD TO WHY? WHY ARE THOSE THINGS IMPORTANT DOWN TREES? AS YOU CAN SEE, THESE TREES WERE DOWN WITH THE WHOLE, UH, UH, THE WHOLE BREADTH OF OUR SERVICE TERRITORY. AND MORE SPECIFICALLY, IT'S NOT ONLY DOWN TREES, BUT IT'S DOWN TREES ON OUR POWER LINES. YOU CAN SEE FROM THESE FEATURES, MANY OF THESE TREES ARE APPROACHING 10 TONS OR 20,000 POUNDS OR MORE. THE AUSTIN ENERGY ELECTRIC SYSTEM IS RESILIENT. HOWEVER, 10, 10 TREES FALLING ON OUR OVERHEAD DISTRIBUTION LINES WILL CAUSE OUTAGES. THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, MAINTENANCE, DESIGN, OR OPERATION. THE MAIN CONTRIBUTOR IS HUGE DEBRIS ON OUR SYSTEMS. IN ADDITION, ONE OF THE PROBLEMS AREAS AS MANY OF THESE TREES LACK, UM, SOIL ADHESION, JUST DUE TO THE SATURATION OF THE GROUND. BROKEN BRANCHES OFTEN ARE NOT TWIGS OUT OF THESE BROKEN LIMBS ARE CONSIDERED, UH, FACTIONS OF A TREE OR SECTIONS OF A TREE. AND THEY CAN OFTEN ALONE WAY ALMOST A TIME. LIGHTNING STRIKES ARE A KEY ISSUE. UH, THIS STORM WAS, UH, FULL OF LIGHTNING AND IT CAN CAUSE DAMAGE TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND IT DID, UH, BUT MORE BROADLY PEOPLE TALK ABOUT STORMS AND ELECTRIC SYSTEM, BUT LET'S LOOK BEYOND THAT. THIS STORM WAS A CALAMITY OF SORTS TO PERSONAL PROPERTY DAMAGE. YOU'RE TALKING HOMES, RUE SHEDS, COMMERCIAL PROPERTY, UH, AND YOU CAN SEE FROM THE GRAPHICS OF THE DEVASTATION, I THINK WOULD BE INTERESTING TO LOOK AT THE INSURANCE COMPANY'S PERSPECTIVE ON THESE STORMS. UH, AGAIN, THEY CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE. UM, BUT BEFORE WE TRANSITION AWAY, THE RECURRING THEME HERE IS THAT, UH, AS YOU'VE ALREADY MENTIONED, STORM ONE CAME IN FRIDAY. STORM TUBE CAME IN SUNDAY, STORM THREE CAME IN LAST NIGHT, ESSENTIALLY AT THREE IN ONE EVENT, UH, ESSENTIALLY 24 HOURS APART. AND THAT IS CHALLENGING TO RESTORE SERVICE, UH, DURING THESE EVENTS. SO IF SET A WHOLE LOT THERE LET'S MOVE TO, UM, THE SYSTEM WAS WORKED AS IT WAS DESIGNED. AS I'VE MENTIONED IN THE PAST, THE ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS DESIGNED TO ENTER RE-UPPED ELECTRIC DELIVERY UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS. ONE OF THESE PRIMARY GOALS IS TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC. YOU DO NOT WANT A COMPROMISE TREE ON AN ENERGIZED POWER LINE. UH, IT IS, UH, DANGEROUS TO THE PUBLIC, DANGEROUS TO HUMANS, DANGEROUS TO ANIMALS AND WILL RESULT IN FATALITIES. OUR SYSTEMS WILL, UM, ARREST, UH, REST OF THE ELECTRIC DELIVERY. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE'S A POWER HOURS ASSOCIATED WITH IT, BUT IT DOES PROTECT IT, PROTECT THE PUBLIC ALSO PROTECTS EQUIPMENT AND IT PROTECTS OUR MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL. SO WITHOUT GOING INTO A LOT OF DETAIL, OUR SYSTEMS, WE'RE RESILIENT AND I'D LIKE TO CONCLUDE WITH, AND THIS IS KIND OF A LONG CONCLUSION. LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OUTAGE METRICS, AND I'D LIKE TO APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE. AS OFTEN, THESE NUMBERS CAN CONVEY THE HUMAN ELEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH OUTAGES, EVEN WHEN THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE RESTORED. IT IS OUR GOAL TO STRIVE WITH THE SAME EXCELLENT VIGOR SKILL AND DETERMINATION TO RESTORE THE BALANCE THAT IS NOT ENERGIZED. AND AS YOU KNOW, UM, IN TERMS OF OUTAGE RESTORATION, OUR PRIORITIES ARE WELL-KNOWN, UH, LET'S TAKE CARE OF CRITICAL CUSTOMERS AS A FIRST PRIORITY. SUBORDINATE TO THAT PRIMARY MANDATE IS A FOCUS UPON, UM, RESTORING AS MANY CUSTOMERS AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL, THE OUTAGES AFFECTING THE LARGEST CUSTOMERS, OUR FIRST PRIORITY, AND THEN WORKING TOWARDS THE OUTAGE IMPACTING, UH, THE SMALLER NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS. SO I ALLUDED TO THIS EARLIER, JUST LOOKING AT THE DATA FRIDAY, AGAIN, PRIOR TO MEMORIAL DAY, 37,800 CUSTOMERS WERE OUT ROUGHLY AT 9:30 PM. OUR AUSTIN ENERGY CREWS WERE ON STANDBY, READY, AND ABLE TO RESPOND. WE KNEW THE FORECAST, WE KNEW THE THREAT OF THE STORMS. UM, I WOULD SAY THAT THERE ARE VERY FEW INDUSTRIES THAT ARE GLUED TO WEATHER AS, AS WE ARE. I THINK THE ONLY ONE THAT WOULD EVEN COME CLOSE TO US IS PROBABLY FARMER AND APP FARMING AND AGRICULTURE. AND I COULDN'T TELL YOU WHO WOULD BE FIRST OR SECOND OR SECOND OR FIRST. SO AUSTIN ENERGY MOBILIZED IN THE NIGHTTIME HOURS IS THAT CANE STORM CAME THROUGH. WE ALSO HAVE REPLACEMENT CREWS AT THE READY AS THE DAY SHIFT, AND THE NIGHT SHIFT ROLLED OFF. IT WAS ALL HANDS ON DECK. UH, WE CALL IT SUPPLEMENTAL FIELD TEAMS AND MOVE WE NEEDED TO. AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE CALLED FOR MUTUAL AID HELP FROM OUR NEIGHBORING UTILITIES, [00:10:01] UH, SATURDAY MORNING UPON FIRST LIGHT. UM, SO WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF ALL THIS MOBILIZATION BRINGING AUSTIN ENERGY'S RESOURCES TO BEAR? AND THIS IS WHAT I ALLUDED TO EARLIER. ALMOST 90% OF ALL CUSTOMERS WERE RESTORED WITHIN THE FIRST 24 HOURS. THAT'S AN IMPORTANT METRIC STARTED OUT AT, UH, 37,800 CUSTOMERS FRIDAY EVENING BY SATURDAY EVENING. THAT WAS DOWN TO 4,200 CUSTOMERS, AGAIN, ALMOST A 90% REDUCTION IN OUTAGES OVER THE FIRST 24 HOURS. SO HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? AND I JUST LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT THE AUSTIN ENERGY TEAM MEMBERS, THE PROFESSIONALISM SKILL OF THE AUSTIN ENERGY OPERATIONS AND SUPPORT TEAM. I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT INCLUDES NOT ONLY THE FIELD CREWS, BUT ALSO THE CUSTOMER SERVICE, PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS, LOGISTICS, AND MANY OTHERS. IT TAKES A LOT OF PEOPLE TO COORDINATE THAT THE STRATEGIC MANAGER MANAGEMENT OF THE OUTAGE AS MORE STORMS ROLL IN, UH, RE CATEGORIZATION OR RESTRATIFICATION OFTEN HAS TO HAPPEN DYNAMICALLY. WE NEED TO WORK ON THE RIGHT ISSUES AT THE RIGHT TIME AND THE RIGHT SEQUENCE TO INCLUDE FIELD STAFF COORDINATION. THAT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN RESTORE THAT MANY CUSTOMERS IN THAT SHORT, SHORTER TIME SKILL AND EXPERTISE TRAINING. THE TEAMS WORK 16 HOURS, THAT'S THE MAXIMUM AMERICAN PUBLIC POWER ASSOCIATION, UM, AND INDUSTRY STANDARD. UH, AND ADDITIONALLY, THERE WAS NOT A SINGLE OSHA RECORDABLE, UH, FROM OUR TEAMS, UH, DURING THE STORM RESTORATION. I'D LIKE TO JUST REMIND YOU THAT, UH, THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS, UM, INDUSTRY, UH, JUST THE NOTION OF WORKING AROUND HIGH VOLTAGE AS A RISK TO HEALTH AND SAFETY. AND THAT'S VERY APPARENT AND THE OSHA STATISTICS AFFIRM THAT AS WELL. SO WHAT HAPPENED AFTER SATURDAY AFTER 90% WAS RESTORED, UM, BY THE TIME WE REACH SUNDAY, UM, OF THAT 4,000, THERE WAS ONLY 1700 REMAINING, ANOTHER 60% REDUCTION, AND THAT WAS OBTAINED WHILE MORE STORMS CAME THROUGH THE AREA. AND AGAIN, THESE STATISTICS ARE IMPORTANT. UM, BUT AGAIN, THE PICTURES, UH, TELL THE IMAGE. SO THE LAST 10% RESTORATION WAS CHALLENGED BY RECURRING WEATHER. UM, IT WAS ALSO ONE WHERE WE HAD SECTIONALIZED AS THESE GRAPHICS ARE THESE PICTURES SHOW. WE HAD SECTIONALIZED AROUND A LOT OF THIS, UH, DAMAGE SO THAT WE HAD ROUTED THE CIRCUITS AROUND THEM, UM, SO THAT WE CAN ENERGIZE EVERYTHING IN AND AROUND THEM BEST WE COULD THROUGH SEXUALIZATION. UH, BUT WHEN WE GOT DOWN TO THE LAST 10%, WE HAVE TO COME IN AND CLEAN UP THESE TONS AND TONS OF DEBRIS. UH, WE PHYSICALLY HAVE TO GO TO ALL OF THESE SITES AND CLEAN THIS UP OVERNIGHT IN LOW VISIBILITY DURING THE DAYTIME WITH OUR CREWS. UH, AND I WILL ALSO SAY, UNFORTUNATELY, THE MUTUAL AID TEAMS, UH, DID NOT COME AND ASSIST BECAUSE ONE OF THE CHALLENGES OF THESE WIDE SPREAD STORMS IS NOT ON OUR SERVICE, TERRI SERVICE TERRITORY, TORI HAMPERED, UH, ALSO THAT OF OUR, UM, NEIGHBORING UTILITIES IS ALSO COMPROMISED A COMMUNITY POOL. UM, AGAIN, ONE OF THE POINTS I HAD A COMMITTEE CHAIR POOL, ONE OF THE POINTS I JUST WANT TO RE-EMPHASIZE IS THAT 90% REVIEW STORED IN THE FIRST 24 HOURS. UH, THIS WAS A TREMENDOUS STORM OR A TREMENDOUS MOBILIZATION. UM, AND I HOPE THESE PICTURES DO JUSTICE AS TO, UM, THE NATURE OF THE STORM. AND THAT CONCLUDES MY REMARKS. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. JACKSON. AND I THINK, UM, WHEN WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A CRISIS ON WHEN WE ARE, UM, HAVING TO DEAL WITH ITS, UM, ITS IMPACTS, IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST PLACES WE ALL GO JUST AS HUMAN BEINGS IS TO FIND FAULT OR, OR TO CRITICIZE. AND I, UM, I RECOGNIZE IT THAT JUST KIND OF, UH, WHERE PEOPLE GO. AND SO IT IS A, SOMETIMES A BIGGER LIFT FOR PEOPLE TO SAY, WELL, WAIT A SECOND, YOU KNOW, 99% OF THE TIME MY POWER IS OR PAY AND MAYBE 1% OR LESS OF THE TIME IT ISN'T. AND, UM, AND THEN RECOGNIZING THE REAL PERIL THAT YOUR CREWS ARE IN WHEN THEY ARE OUT, UM, MAKING THESE REPAIRS, UH, WE ALL KNOW FROM SCHOOL STUDIES, WHAT THE IMPACTS OF ELECTROCUTION HAVE ON A BODY. AND, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SUPER HIGH POWER LINES IN SOME OF THESE INSTANCES. SO I THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND PLEASE PASS ALONG MY APPRECIATION TO YOUR WHOLE TEAM. I WANT TO SAY ONE MORE THING ABOUT THE SPRING STORMS AND THEN SEE IF THERE'S ANYBODY ELSE WHO WANTS TO ASK YOU A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. UM, BECAUSE I SEE THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR HAS A QUESTION. [00:15:01] I JUST WANTED TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT THE SPRING STORMS ARE STRONG THIS YEAR, STRONGER THAN I CAN RECALL. AND WE KNOW THAT THE CLIMATE CHANGING IS HAVING IMPACTS AND HERE IS A REAL LIFE EXAMPLE OF WHERE THAT'S HAPPENING. SO AS A SMART PRECAUTION, IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS MATURE TREES IN THEIR YARD, PLEASE REMIND THEM THAT NOW'S A GOOD TIME TO HAVE A PROFESSIONAL ARBORIST, COMMON ASSESS THESE TREES FOR LIFTING AND TO REMOVE DEAD LAMBS. YOUR TREES WILL. THANK YOU FOR SURE. THEY'LL LOOK, THERE'LL BE HEALTHIER. THEY'LL LOOK BETTER. AND THEN YOU WILL REDUCE THE PROSPECT OF STORM AND WIND DAMAGE TO THE POWER LINES AND SAVE US, SAVE THE HEADACHES AND THE CRISES IN THE FUTURE COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER. THANK YOU. UM, MR. JACKSON, FOR, FOR, UM, BEING AVAILABLE THIS WEEKEND, WE HAD THE CHANCE AND THE NEED TO SPEAK SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE WEEKEND. THERE WERE LARGE NUMBER OF POWER OUTAGES IN MY DISTRICT. I KNOW THEY WERE ALL OVER THE CITY, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, ONCE AGAIN, AT ONE POINT I THINK THERE WERE 10,000 OUT IN MY DISTRICT. UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS TO, UM, CELEBRATE THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. THERE ARE NOW PLANS TO DO THAT ON THE HIGH WILDFIRE RISK AREAS BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. AND I'M, I'M PLEASED WITH THAT. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER THIS TODAY, BUT WE REALLY DO NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH OF WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS STORM HAS TO DO WITH VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT HAD THEY BEEN IN PLACE AND FULLY IMPLEMENTED WOULD HAVE AVOIDED THE DEBRIS AND THE LINES AND HOW MUCH HAD TO DO WITH THE SPECIFIC NATURE OF THE STRENGTH OF THIS STORM. UM, BECAUSE IT, YOU KNOW, THE STANDARD VEGETATION MANAGEMENT IS NOT SO MUCH ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHOLE TREES FALLING ON THE LINE AS IT IS ABOUT LIMBS. UM, BUT FROM THE INFORMATION WE HAVE AT THIS POINT, HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND THAT DIFFERENCE? BECAUSE WE, WE, WE HAD A CONVERSATION AT OUR LAST MEETING WITH THE POST URI STORM WHERE WE COULD CLEARLY SEE THAT THE LINE THAT HAD HAD THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT FROM, UM, ALONG THAT CIRCUIT DIDN'T EXPERIENCE THE OUTAGE. UM, BUT THE ONES THAT DIDN'T HAVE IT YET DID. UM, AND I KNOW THAT IN, IN MY DISTRICT GREAT HILLS, WHICH HAD DEFACTO MORE OF THAT, UM, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, BECAUSE OF THE BIG IMPACT FOR A YEAR STORM YURI, WASN'T IMPACTED BY THIS, BUT OTHER PARTS THAT DIDN'T HAVE ANY OF THAT WORK. SO HOW DO, HOW DO WE KNOW WHETHER THIS IS THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OR THE STRENGTH OF THE STORM, OR SOME COMBINATION WHERE WE COULD BE RESILIENCY FURTHER WITH OUR EFFORTS? YEAH. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. COUNSEL, MENTOR, REMEMBER ALTAR, UH, I WILL WORK TO BRING SOME DATA BACK JUST LIKE WE DID IN ERIE STORM. WE LOOKED AT THOSE CIRCUITS THAT HAD BEEN TRIMMED AND SEE WHAT THE IMPACT ON THEM WAS. AND WE SAW THAT IT WAS, UH, A POSITIVE RELIABILITY IMPACT. UM, SO WE WILL LOOK AND BRING BACK SOME DATA WHEN WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY FOR THIS PARTICULAR STORE. UM, JUST BASED ON EXPERIENCE, I AM A HUNDRED PERCENT CONFIDENT. WE WILL FIND THAT VEGETATION MANAGEMENT WAS POSITIVE EVEN IN THIS STORM, BUT TO YOUR POINT, OUR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT IS USUALLY AROUND TRIMMING IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. AND THE BOUNDARIES OF THE RIGHT OF WAY ARE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE EASEMENTS. IT DOES NOT INCLUDE TREES THAT MAY BE OUTSIDE THE EASEMENT OR OUTSIDE THE RIGHT AWAY THAT TOPPLE. AND THEY'RE TALL ENOUGH TO ENCROACH UPON OUR LINES AND DAMAGE OUR LINES. UH, SO YES, YOU'RE RIGHT IN BOTH, BOTH, BOTH INSTANCES, BUT, UM, WE WILL BRING SOME DATA BACK, UM, TO HELP TO HELP, UH, INFORM THAT DISCUSSION. YEAH. SO I THINK WE REALLY, WE KNOW WE NEED THAT DATA. WE NEED, WE DO NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF THE STORM AND THE CHALLENGES TO THE RELIABILITY SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE MAKING ALL THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE NEED, UM, FOR RESILIENCE. UM, SO TALK WITH, UM, THE GENERAL MANAGER OVER THE WEEKEND AND, YOU KNOW, WE AS A COUNCIL, IF THERE ARE INVESTMENTS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE, AND THIS IS NOT SIMPLY A FUNCTION OF WHETHER, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE NEED TO HAVE THOSE DECISIONS BEFORE US AND TO UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE OF THOSE DECISIONS AND WHAT THOSE CHOICES ARE. UM, WE'VE BEEN HEARING A LOT OF FOLKS SAYING ABOUT BURYING LINES AND, AND OTHER KINDS OF STUFF. UM, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THOSE ARE THE RIGHT SOLUTION, BUT, BUT WE NEED TO HAVE A OPEN CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT INVESTMENTS ARE POSSIBLE AND WHAT'S NECESSARY. YOU KNOW, OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY HAVE SEVERE WEATHER AND THEY DON'T EXPERIENCE THESE COUNTS OF BROAD SPREAD OUTAGES THAT LAST OVER TIME. UM, SO I DEFINITELY AM GOING TO NEED TO HAVE A LOT MORE DEBRIEF ON THIS PARTICULAR STORM. UM, WE HAD, UM, [00:20:01] OUTAGES IN MY DISTRICT THAT HAPPENED SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE IN PERFECTLY GOOD WEATHER. AND THEN THOSE WERE ECHOED AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WITH THE WEATHER. AND SO, UM, THERE'S SOMETHING MORE GOING ON HERE THAT WE HAVE TO GET, UM, TO THE BOTTOM FOR THAT. THE SECOND THING THAT I WANTED TO RAISE IS, AND I UNDERSTAND, UM, AGAIN, I HAD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS OVER THE WEEKEND. UM, OUR OUTAGE MAP PROCESS, WE NEED A NEW OUTAGE MAP SOFTWARE OR PROCESS OR UPGRADES. UM, IT IS INFURIATING TO PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR OUTAGE ALERTS AND TO WAIT MORE THAN 24 HOURS AFTER THEIR ORIGINAL ALERT TO HEAR ANYTHING, ANYTHING. AND AS I UNDERSTAND THAT THE SYSTEM ONLY TELLS YOU WHEN THERE'S SOME ACTION TAKEN WITH SOME, UM, SLIP THAT HAPPENS THROUGH THE TECHNICAL PROCESS AND WHEN SOMEBODY GETS ASSIGNED OR SOMETHING GETS FIXED, THAT IS THE ONLY TIME THAT ANOTHER ALERT HAPPENS. UM, BUT YET YOU HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT OF POWER WHO ARE NOT ACCESSING THE WEB, AND YOU CAN'T SEE EVERY BIT OF NEWS THAT IS OUT THERE, OR DON'T KNOW WHERE TO LOOK OR WHO ARE OLDER AND DON'T ACCESS TWITTER AND FACEBOOK. AND THEY THINK THAT THEY SIGNED UP FOR AN OUTAGE ALERT. AND THAT MEANS THAT THEY WILL BE TOLD SOMETHING ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON. I UNDERSTAND THAT FROM MY CONVERSATIONS THIS WEEKEND, THAT IT IS NOT POSSIBLE WITH THE SYSTEM WE HAVE, WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT FIXING THAT SYSTEM, CHANGING THAT SYSTEM, UM, SO THAT WE CAN HANDLE IT. IF WE HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF OUTAGES, I UNDERSTAND THIS IS PART OF THE REVIEW FROM STORM YURI, BUT I REALLY WANT TO UNDERSCORE HOW MUCH FRUSTRATION COMES FROM THE OUTAGE SYSTEM. WE HAVE PEOPLE ALSO EXPERIENCED OUTAGES, NOT SHOWING UP. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT PROCESS IS FOR, UM, REVIEWING THAT SYSTEM? WELL, WE REVIEW ALL OUR TECHNOLOGY ON A, ON A REGULAR BASIS. UM, WE CAN ALWAYS LOOK TO BRING BACK SOME MORE INFORMATION. IT IS PART OF THE AFTER ACTION REPORT. UM, I REALLY DON'T WANT TO JUMP AHEAD OF THAT REPORT BECAUSE THAT OUTAGE MAP IS ONE OF THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE, OF THE AFTER-ACTION REPORT IN THAT ANALYSIS IS ONGOING. WELL, IT MAY BE THAT WE NEED TO TAKE SOME OF THE LESSONS OF WHERE IT FAILED IN THIS ONE, TOO, AS YOU'RE TAKING THAT NEXT STEP FOR, FOR THE, THE CONCLUSIONS THAT GET JOHN AND I'LL LET OTHER PEOPLE, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY. I SEE. COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS. OKAY. UM, YEAH. SO THANK YOU. UM, UH, ONE OF THE QUESTION THAT ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE JUST RELATES TO, UM, UH, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU, YOU SAY CASPER POOL, UH, W WE SHOULD BE ENCOURAGING INDIVIDUALS TO LOOK AT THE TREES IN THEIR YARD AND IN THEIR NEIGHBOR'S YARD. UM, IS THERE A PROCESS OR A PLACE THAT, THAT, UM, UM, THAT PEOPLE CAN NOTIFY AUSTIN ENERGY OR, AND, OR GET HELP WITH TRIMMING, UH, TREES IN THEIR OWN YARD OR THEIR NEIGHBOR'S YARD, IF THEY ARE NOTICING ISSUES, THAT COULD BE A PROBLEM. UM, WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE PROCESS TO, TO HELP INDIVIDUALLY? OH, THAT IS A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. AND A COUNCIL MEMBER. I DO KNOW THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS GENERALLY RELEGATED TO THE PUBLIC RIGHT AWAY TO WHERE OUR FACILITIES ARE. WE DON'T HAVE LICENSE TO JUST, UM, TO, UH, ENCROACH UPON PRIVATE PROPERTY, UH, AS YOU WELL KNOW, UH, IN TERMS OF WHAT RESOURCES BE AVAILABLE, I WOULD HAVE TO GET BACK WITH YOU AND AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY MIGHT BE A AIDE. AND I DON'T KNOW, BUT I DO KNOW THAT IF THOSE LINES ARE EVEN ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, EXCUSE ME, IF THOSE TREES ARE ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, BUT THEY'RE VERY CLOSE TO OUR LINES. UH, I KNOW WE WOULD HAVE AN INTEREST IN TRYING TO HELP IN ANY WAY WE COULD. OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU. IF YOU COULD HELP ME WITH THAT. UM, I ALSO DON'T KNOW TO WHAT EXTENT IF, IF PEOPLE HIRE AN ARBORIST OR A TREE TRIMMING COMPANY, UH, TO WHAT EXTENT OF THOSE COMPANIES ARE AUTHORIZED TO GET ANYWHERE NEAR, UM, TRIMMING TREES THAT ARE NEAR LINES, DO YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT? ARE THERE LIMITATIONS ON WHAT THE, WHAT THEY CAN DO AND TRIMMING THE TREES THAT MIGHT BE, UM, NEAR IMPACTING LINES? WELL, I SUSPECT IF THEY'RE ARBORISTS, THEY SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A TREE TRIMMING PROFESSIONAL, AND OBVIOUSLY YOU CAN CONTACT AUSTIN ENERGY AND HELP COORDINATE WHETHER THE AND THE LINE MIGHT BE NEEDED OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AVAILABLE TO THEM. YES. OKAY. BECAUSE I, YOU KNOW, THERE'S AN ISSUE OF COST, OF COURSE. SO, UH, THAT'S GOING TO BE AN ISSUE, UM, UH, WITH REGARD TO TWO PEOPLE [00:25:01] TAKING CARE OF TRIMMING IN THEIR OWN MIRIAM, AND THEN THERE'S THE ISSUE OF SAFETY, UH, AND WANTING TO BE SURE THAT'S DONE IN THIS SAFE WAY. IT JUST OCCURS TO ME, I THINK OBVIOUSLY ALSO THE POSSIBILITY FOR THE VEGETATION PROGRAM, AND I APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS THAT ARE BEING DONE AND STILL NEED TO BE DONE, UH, REGARDING IMPROVING THAT PROGRAM. BUT, UM, EYES ON THE GROUND IS SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY CAN HELP WITH. AND, UM, SEEING THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT, UM, AS WELL AS TO THE EXTENT THAT HOMEOWNERS HAVE THE ABILITY TO TAKE CARE OF THE TREES IN THEIR YARD, THEY SHOULD BE DOING THAT. SO, UM, SO IF YOU CHECK ALSO FOR ME, I THINK IT'D BE HELPFUL ALSO FOR OTHER, UH, FOR THE EVERYONE ON THE DIOCESE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT KIND OF OPTIONS THERE MIGHT BE TO HELP INDIVIDUALS WHO, UM, MAY HAVE LIMITATIONS IN TERMS OF, UM, OF TRIMMING THEIR OWN YARD, OR MAY JUST NOTICE SOMETHING THAT THEY NEED TO REPORT THAT THAT MAY NOT BE DIRECTLY IN THE RIGHT OF WAY. SO IF YOU HELP ME WITH THAT, THAT WOULD BE HELP. ABSOLUTELY. WE WILL WORK TO GET YOU A WRITTEN COMMUNICATION BACK TO YOU. UM, EVEN IF WE STILL WANT TO HAVE A DISCLOSURE AT THIS MEETING THE NEXT MONTH OR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE, BUT WE WILL WORK TO GET YOU SOMETHING. AND AS YOU CAN, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. CAUSE WE'LL DISSEMINATE THE INFORMATION. I'M SURE MY COLLEAGUES WOULD LIKE THAT TOO. AND DISTRICT MR. JACKSON, BE SURE TO HAVE OUR, UM, LEGAL TEAM, GIVE YOU A HAND WITH THE ORDINANCES. THERE IS SOME CITY ORDINANCES ABOUT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PROPERTY OWNERS FOR THE CARE AND, AND, UH, KEEPING AN EYE ON THE TREES FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE. AND, UM, AND LIKE IF A LIMB OVERHANGS FROM YOUR NEIGHBOR'S YARD INTO YOUR YARD, YOU'RE ACTUALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PORTION OF IT. THAT'S IN YOUR YARD, EVEN THOUGH THE TREE ITSELF IS IN YOUR NEIGHBOR'S YARD. SO IT'S A, IT'S AN INTRO BECAUSE IT'S ON, ON YOUR PROPERTY. SO THERE'S SOME LEGAL, UH, SPECIFICATIONS, I BELIEVE IN OUR, IN OUR ORDINANCES MANUAL, THAT WOULD BE USEFUL AND HELPFUL. OKAY. UM, ANY, I THINK, UH, YEAH, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS, AND THEN I'M GONNA MOVE US ON TO THE NEXT ITEMS AFTER COUNCILOR UMBRELLAS. THANK YOU. I'LL TRY TO KEEP IT QUICK. I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT ON OUR AGENDA TODAY. UM, IS THERE A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND OR UNDERSTAND WHERE INFORMATION, IF THEY'RE EXPERIENCING FREQUENT OUTAGES? UH, WE DID GET AN EMAIL TODAY FROM, UH, UH, SOMEONE IN DISTRICT EIGHT THAT SAID THEY SEEM TO ALWAYS HAVE OUTAGES WHEN THERE'S STORMS. MY LAST APARTMENT. IT SEEMS LIKE THE POWER WAS GOING OUT COMMONLY, BUT SOME OF THAT MAY HAVE BEEN MORE DUE TO, I DON'T KNOW, CAR ACCIDENTS OR OTHER RIGHT. OF WAY CONCERNS THAT WERE NOT NECESSARILY TREE RELATED. DO YOU HAVE ANY ASSESSMENTS OR UNDERSTANDING OR ANY INFORMATION I CAN HOPE SHARE WITH MY CONSTITUENTS IF THEY ARE FEELING LIKE THEY ARE EXPERIENCING OUTAGES FAR MORE COMMONLY THAN MAYBE SOME OF THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT LIVE DOWN THE STREET? YEAH. COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS. I AM SURE THAT THERE'S SOME INFORMATION ON THEIR WEBSITE AND I KNOW THERE IS BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN IT. UM, CAN I WORK TO WORK WITH THE TEAM AND GET YOU THAT INFORMATION IN WRITING AND, UH, WE'LL GET THAT COMMUNICATION TO YOU. OKAY. THAT WOULD BE GREAT. AND I ALSO DO APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER KISH KITCHEN'S LINE OF QUESTIONS JUST ABOUT SAFETY AND KNOWING DON'T TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS, MAKE SURE YOU'RE HIRING A PROFESSIONAL. YOU CAN ASK THE CITY TO TURN POWER OFF, SO YOU, SO THEY CAN SAFELY TRIM TREES. I THINK ALL THAT INFORMATION IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT. UM, AND I DID JUST WANT TO SAY, I REALLY DO APPRECIATE THE DEPLOYMENT OF A COOLING CENTER. I KNOW WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATION AROUND RESILIENCE HUBS, AND SO SEEING SOUTH AUSTIN GET A COOLING CENTER, UM, WITHOUT ME HAVING TO SHAKE ANYONE DOWN WAS, WAS REALLY HAPPY, WAS REALLY GOOD TO SEE. MAYBE IT COUNCILMEMBER KITCHEN WAS WORKING ON IT AND THAT'S WHY IT GOT INTO HER DISTRICT, BUT I JUST KNOW IT WAS REALLY NEEDED AND REALLY HELPS PEOPLE. AND SO I DO APPRECIATE THAT QUICK RESPONSE. ALL RIGHT. LET US MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM, MR. JACKSON, I THINK, ARE YOU GOING TO HANDLE THE NEXT FEW ITEMS THAT ARE ON NOW? OKAY. SO WE'VE YES. BEFORE MR. JACKSON LEAVES, JACKSON, I JUST WANT TO BE SURE WHEN YOU PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO COUNCIL MEMBER LS ARE DOING SO TO ALL OF US ON THE DICE. I'M ALSO INTERESTED IN THAT QUESTION ABOUT WHAT CONSTITUENTS WHO HAVE FREQUENT OUTAGES, WHAT THEIR, WHAT THEIR REMEDIES MIGHT BE IN TERMS OF CLOSER ANALYSIS. THANK YOU. THANKS COUNCILMEMBER. TOBER. THAT SOUNDS GOOD. OKAY. [2. General Manager’s Report (Part 2 of 2)] WHO ON STAFF WILL BE HANDLING THE GENERAL MANAGERS REPORT AND WHO IS UP FOR THE SECOND QUARTER FINANCIAL BRIEFING AND THE SECOND QUARTER OPERATIONS BRIEFING. IF THOSE FOLKS CAN JUMP IN. UM, COOL. UH, THIS IS TAMMY COOPER. HI, TAMMY. AND I'M GOING TO BE TAKING THE GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT. GREAT. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MS. COOPER, UM, FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU. [00:30:01] I BELIEVE THERE'S A PRESENTATION. UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND KEEP TALKING THOUGH, SINCE I KNOW WE'RE ON A TIME CONSTRAINT WHILE CTM IMPULSE SET UP PINK HERE, AND I'LL START WITH AN UPDATE ON OUR PLUS ONE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM SINCE FISCAL YEAR 2020 AND INCLUDING FISCAL YEAR 2021 TO DATE, CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITIES HAVE APPROVED OVER 42,000 REQUESTS FOR PLUS ONE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO OVER 25,000 HOUSEHOLDS FOR A TOTAL OF MORE THAN $15.2 MILLION IN UTILITY BILL RELIEF. THIS IS IN ADDITION TO THE OTHER BILL RELIEF MEASURES APPROVED BY COUNCIL. LAST YEAR, WE WERE PROUD OF THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THIS PROGRAM AND THE ENHANCEMENTS MADE THE HELL CUSTOMERS DURING CHALLENGING TIMES AS CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITIES, RESUME STANDARD COLLECTION ACTIVITIES. OUR ASSISTANCE EFFORTS WILL CONTINUE AND WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY COVID-19 OR OTHER FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS TO APPLY FOR HELP WITH THEIR UTILITY BILLS@AUSTINBILLHEALTH.COM OR BY CALLING (512) 765-9721. AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BRING TO THE COMMITTEE ON A FEW OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S UPCOMING REQUESTS FOR COUNCIL ACTION. THE FIRST ITEM IS A FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT WITH CATAPULT SYSTEMS TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR MICROSOFT ON-PREMISE SOFTWARE AND CLOUD SERVICES OR TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED $12 MILLION. THIS CONTRACT WILL PROVIDE CONTINUOUS TECHNICAL AND PROJECT BASED SERVICES, AS WELL AS ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT. FOR ALL MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGIES, THESE SERVICES WILL IMPROVE SECURITY AND ACHIEVE COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL STANDARDS. THE NEXT ITEM IS A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH ALLEGIANCE GROUP HOLDINGS FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR ELECTRIC SYSTEM ENGINEERING AND IN TECHNICAL SERVICES ROTATION LIST. THESE SERVICES INCLUDE PRODUCING TURNKEY PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION DRAWING PACKAGES, AS WELL AS PROVIDING ENGINEERING, TECHNICAL AND DRAFTING PERSONNEL TO AUGMENT ENGINEERING STAFF. THIS ITEM WAS PREVIOUSLY PRESENTED TO COUNCIL ON MARCH 4TH FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $25.9 MILLION AWARDED TO A TOTAL OF TWO FIRMS. HOWEVER, IT IS GOING BACK TO COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION BECAUSE STAFF WAS UNABLE TO COME TO CONTRACT TERMS WITH ONE OF THE TWO FIRMS AND WE ARE REQUIRED TO COME BACK TO REQUEST NEGOTIATIONS WITH A THIRD FROM THE NEXT ITEM I'D LIKE TO BRIEF YOU ON TODAY, AMENDS THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 AUSTIN ENERGY OPERATING BUDGET TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE AUSTIN ENERGY WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. THIS BUDGET AMENDMENT WOULD PROVIDE $1.1 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM THAT REMAINED UNSPENT DURING FISCAL YEAR 2020. THE FINAL ITEM I'D LIKE TO BRIEF YOU ON TODAY IS A PUBLIC HEARING AND AN ORDINANCE UPDATE TO ADOPT THE 2021 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY CONSERVATION CODE. THERE ARE NO NEW LOCAL AMENDMENTS IN THIS UPDATE AND SOME IMPORTANT HIGHLIGHTS TO NOTE INCLUDE THAT IT KEEPS SOLAR READY AS WRITTEN FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS. AND WE'LL REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT FOR NATURAL GAS, WATER HEATING AND NEW RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION WITH ADJACENT NATURAL GAS SERVICE INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGE FOR THE CODE WILL BE AN AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT, WHICH OUTLINES THE IMPACT THAT THE NEW CODES WILL HAVE ON HOUSING COSTS AND ENERGY BURDEN. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE QUICKLY, I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND RECOGNIZE SOME AWARDS AND EVENTS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS RECENTLY ACHIEVED. LAST MONTH. SIPA IS SMART ELECTRIC POWER. LION'S NAMED AUSTIN ENERGY TO THEIR UTILITY TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE LEADERBOARD OUT OF 132 LEADS, SUBMITTING RESPONSES, AUSTIN ENERGY RANKED, AND CAEP AS TOP 10 FOR CARBON-FREE AND GRID MODERNIZATION EFFORTS. ALSO LAST MONTH, THE SMART ENERGY CONSUMER COLLABORATIVE AWARDED AUSTIN ENERGY, THEIR CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT AWARD FOR LAUNCHING A CUSTOMER DRIVEN INITIATIVE. IT IS REMOVING BARRIERS OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE ADOPTION BY IMPROVING THE CONSUMER BUYING EXPERIENCE. THAT'S THE LATEST COMMUNITY SOLAR PROJECT LOCATED ON THE BLUE GARAGE AT ABI CAME ONLINE A FEW WEEKS AGO. THE NEWLY INSTALLED CAPACITY WILL SUPPORT AN ADDITIONAL 160 SUBSCRIBERS TO THE COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAM BY PROVIDING EASY ACCESS TO SOLAR ENERGY IN THE COMMUNITY THROUGH A USER FRIENDLY EXPERIENCE WITH NO UPFRONT COSTS. IT ALSO INCLUDES NO COST PARTICIPATION FOR CAP CUSTOMERS SINCE FUNDS USED TO PAY FOR THAT PORTION, COME FROM THE CVC CHARGE, THUS BREAKING DOWN HISTORICAL BARRIERS TO SOLAR. AND FINALLY, AS PART OF THE GLOBAL EBY 2021 SUMMIT TWO 80 STAFF MEMBERS WERE INDUCTED AS TOP OF WOMEN AND EBV FOR THEIR SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO EBY INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMS, INCLUDING THE ELECTRIC DRIVE SHOWCASE UTILITIES, DC FAST NETWORK, AUSTIN ENERGY'S EBY EQUITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAMS, WHICH INCLUDE EVS FOR SCHOOLS AND EVS ARE FOR EVERYONE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MARK DOMBROWSKI TO PRESENT THE SECOND ORDER FINANCIAL BRIEFING. AND AS MR. DON BRZESKI IS COMING ON, I WANTED TO LET EVERYBODY NOW [00:35:01] TO KEEP THIS TO THE 45 MINUTES AS PROMISED WE HAVE ABOUT FIVE ISH MORE MINUTES. AND SO WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IS ASK MR. DOMBROWSKI TO DO THE FINANCIAL BRIEFING AND THEN OUR SECOND QUARTER OPERATIONS BRIEFING. AND THEN, UM, I'M GOING TO, UH, PUT, UH, ASIDE THAT DECKER CREEK POWER STATION WORKFORCE PLANNING, UH, WE CAN CATCH UP ON THAT EITHER WITH A MEMO AS NECESSARY FOR ANY NEW INFORMATION THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE AND OF COURSE HAVE IT ON OUR AGENDA FOR NEXT TIME. AND THEN WE TOUCHED ON THE WINTER STORM URI AFTER ACTION REPORT BRIEFING. SO THAT ITEM NUMBER SIX, I'M GOING TO, UM, YES, MAYOR, BECAUSE THANK YOU FOR THAT. JUST WANT TO STATE REAL QUICKLY THAT UP AT THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION, I WANT TO THANK THE GENERAL MANAGER AND STAFF WITH LOSS OF ENERGY FOR BEING ABLE TO FIGHT BACK THE, UH, EFFORTS TO, UH, UH, TAKE AWAY FROM US. SOME OF THE, THE, THE ABILITY WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO RUN OUR POWER COMPANY CONSISTENT WITH OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY VALUES. A LOT OF CREDIT OF COURSE, GOES TO OUR LEGISLATIVE TEAM, BUT I KNOW HOW HARD, UH, THE GENERAL MANAGER HAD STAFF WORKED ON, ON THAT THROUGHOUT THE SESSION. SO CONGRATULATIONS ON THAT. THANK YOU HERE. AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE WORK OF, OF MY TEAM AS WELL ON THAT, AND OUR APPRECIATE ALL OF OUR COLLABORATION WITH THE IPRO OFFICE. THANK YOU FOR THAT RECOGNITION TO MAYOR. APPRECIATE IT, MR. DOMBROWSKI CHAIR. YES. THE DECKER WORKFORCE, UM, USUALLY JUST TAKES ABOUT FIVE MINUTES AND IT IS ON A PRETTY TIGHT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY MARCHING TOWARD, UM, THE CONCLUSION OF THAT. SO IF WE CAN KEEP THAT ON FOR FIVE MINUTES, I THINK, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE FIVE MINUTES FOR IT, BUT, UM, I WILL, UH, TEXT WITH STAFF TO SEE IF THEY COULD DO IT FOR LIKE TWO MINUTES. UM, BECAUSE TALKED TO IN THE PAST ABOUT HAVING THE FINANCIAL QUARTERLY REPORTS BE LESS PRESENTATION AND SORT OF MORE OF A Q AND A THAT THEY GET DISTRIBUTED AND ADVANCE SO THAT WE CAN REALLY USE OUR TIME AT AA MEETINGS JUST FOR Q AND A. SO THAT JUST IN THE FUTURE, THAT MIGHT BE ANOTHER OPTION OF A TIME SAVINGS. THANKS SO MUCH. THANK YOU, MR. [3. Second Quarter Financial Briefing.] DON. BRZESKI YES. THANK YOU. I HAVE A PRESENTATION. IF YOU JUST PULL UP TO PAGE FIVE, WE'LL COVER EVERYTHING ON THAT ONE PAGE. I CAN THINK I ENGAGE IN LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES HERE. SO GO TO PAGE FIVE, PLEASE. SO WE'LL JUST ORDINARY IN THE COVID PANDEMIC HAVE, AND THEY'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OUR FINANCIAL PATIENT POSITION HERE AT AUSTIN ENERGY. SO, UM, ON PAGE FIVE, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT AT THE END OF SECOND QUARTER OF 2021, WE ARE SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLIANT WITH ALL OF OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES, CONTINGENCY AND CAPITAL RESERVE BALANCES ARE BELOW THEIR MINIMUMS, BUT OUR TOTAL EXCEED OUR MINIMUM 457 MILLION. WE'RE CURRENTLY MEETING OUR AA CREDIT RATING METRIC. UH, HOWEVER, TWO OF THE THREE CREDIT RATING AGENCIES, S AND P M BITCH PLACED ALL PUBLIC POWER PROVIDERS IN OR CAUGHT ON A NEGATIVE OUTLOOK AS A RESULT OF THE STORM YURI ON MAY 7TH S AND P REAFFIRMED OUR AA RATING, BUT LEFT US ON THE NEGATIVE CREDIT WATCH DUE TO THE REGULATORY AND LEGISLATIVE UNCERTAINTY IN OUR CON, AS WELL AS THE CONCERN OF OPERATIONAL RISK ASSOCIATED WITH EXITING DECKER AND FAYETTE WITHOUT A POWER PLACEMENT OR EXPECTING TO UNDERGO OR REQUIRE REVIEW WITH FINCH SOMETIME IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS, WHILE MOODY'S HAS TAKEN MORE OF A WAIT AND SEE APPROACH. OUR OPERATING REVENUES CAME IN AT 501 MILLION FOR THE SECOND QUARTER ENDING IN MARCH, WHICH IS 22% UNDER BUDGET. THAT'S LARGELY DUE TO THE LOWER POWER SUPPLY. THE REMAKE MAY REMEMBER THAT OUR POWER SUPPLY REVENUES ALWAYS MATCH OUR EXPENSES DURING THE WINTER STORM MIRROR. THE VALUE OF THE POWER WE PRODUCED AND SOLD TO ERCOT WAS SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE COST OF THE POWER WE PURCHASED FROM OUR COCKPIT SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS. THE OPERATING EXPENSES OF 372 MILLION WERE 28% UNDER BUDGET. AGAIN, LARGELY DUE TO THE POWER SUPPLY COST. THIS RESULTED IN AN OPERATING INCOME OF 125 MILLION, EXCUSE ME, 129 MILLION. UM, AND AFTER MEETING OUR DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS AT 65 MILLION MAKING TRANSFERS 117 MILLION AUSTIN ENERGY ENDED THE QUARTER WITH A DEFICIT OF 51 MILLION, WHICH IS IN LINE WITH OUR FORECAST OF 52 MILLION. AS YOU REMEMBER, AUSTIN, ENERGY'S A SUMMER PEAKING UTILITY. HISTORICALLY WE DID NOT HAVE POSITIVE CASH FLOWS UNTIL THE FOURTH QUARTER. HOWEVER, WE ARE SEEING LOWER SALES AND LOWER MARGINS, WHICH WILL PUT PRESSURE ON OUR ABILITY TO END THE YEAR WITHOUT A DEFICIT. AT THE END OF THE SECOND QUARTER, OUR CASH BALANCE HAD INCREASED BY 42 MILLION TO $461 MILLION. HOWEVER, MUCH OF THAT INCREASE IS ASSOCIATED WITH POSITIVE BALANCES IN THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT AND THE COMMUNITY, BUT [00:40:01] I'VE BEEN CHARGED, WHICH WILL BE RETURNED TO OUR CUSTOMER IN THE FUTURE, AS WELL AS OTHER OBLIGATIONS THAT GET US THAT $461 MILLION BALANCE. SO ACTUALLY ACCOUNT FOR THOSE OBLIGATIONS ARE TRUE ON OBLIGATED CASH BALANCE IS 37 MILLION LOWER THAN IT WAS A YEAR AGO. AND THAT'S LARGELY ATTRIBUTED TO GREATER CASH REQUIREMENTS FOR OUR CIP PROJECTS. AND IN OUR MARKET INDUSTRY ANALYSIS SECTION THIS QUARTER, WE PRESENTED HOW COVID HAS AMPLIFIED THE TREND OF INCREASING CUSTOMERS, BUT LOWER ENERGY SALES THAT WE CAN SEE BETWEEN MARCH OF 2020 AND MARCH AT 21, WE ADDED 11,308 CUSTOMERS, WHICH IS A 2.2% INCREASE. ALL OUR SALES DECREASED BY 198 GIGAWATT HOURS OR 3.2%. AND THIS IS NOT AN ANOMALY. WE LOOK BACK AS FAR AS 2016, OUR COMPOUND GROWTH RATE, UH, FOR CUSTOMERS IS 2.2% PER YEAR. AND DURING THAT SAME PERIOD, OUR RETAIL SALES HAVE EXPERIENCED A 0.3% COMPOUND GROWTH RATE. SO THE YEARS OF 20 AND 21 ARE REALLY IMPACTED BY COVID. AND THAT TRANSLATES INTO EIGHT ROSARY OF SALES AND FUTURE YEARS, WE EXPECT TO SEE ABOUT A $40 MILLION REDUCTION IN BASE REVENUE FOR 20 AND 21. AND BECAUSE WE'RE STARTING AT A LOWER FORECAST THAN WE HAD ANTICIPATED IN 2019, OR FORECASTED 2022 BASED REVENUES, $14 MILLION LESS RESULTED, UH COVID. SO THIS RATIO OF NEW CUSTOMERS, NEW SALES, AS PART OF WHAT'S DRIVING OUR LOWER OPERATING MARGINS, UH, WE'RE INCREASING FIXED COSTS. UM, BUT WE'RE COLLECTING THAT FROM A DECREASING VOLUME METRIC UNIT. SO WITH THAT, I CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. IS THERE ANYBODY YOU CAN TAKE DOWN THAT ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, MR. DOMBROWSKI? THANK YOU SO MUCH. DO WE HAVE FOR THE OPERATIONS REPORT? YEAH. MR. SWEENEY, SYDNEY JACKSON, SYDNEY OPERATIONS REPORT. I LOOK ON THERE. OKAY. I SEE YOUR NAME, NOT YOUR CASE. SORRY. THERE WE GO. THANK YOU. AND WHAT ELSE SYDNEY IS PULLING THIS UP, BUT IF WHOEVER WAS, I THINK IT WAS PAT SWEENEY WAS GOING TO GIVE THE DECA REPORT. MR. SWEENEY, IF YOU'RE, CAN I SEE HER ON THERE? I SEE HER NAME. IF YOU COULD BE READY TO JUMP IN AND GIVE US A HIGH LEVEL RECAP FOR SPECIFICALLY, UM, ITEMS. THANKS, MR. JACKSON. [4. Second Quarter Operations Briefing. (Part 2 of 2)] UH, CAN WE MOVE TO SLIDE NUMBER FIVE, PLEASE? I BELIEVE IT'S FOUR OR FIVE. YEAH, EXACTLY. RIGHT. IT'S LIKE FIVE AND THIS SLIDE SPEAKS TO THE COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY OF OUR POWER PLANTS. THEIR TAKEAWAY HERE IS THAT WE ARE GREATER THAN OUR 90% GOAL ABOUT WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT IS THESE POWER PLANTS HAVE HAD SOME COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY D RATES, BUT THAT IS A SPECIFICALLY DUE TO EXPAND OUTAGE. AND THESE OUTAGES ARE IN PREPARATION FOR THE SUMMER PEAK LOAD SEASON. SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT HAD A PLANNED OUTAGE AND DECKER HAD PLANNED OUTAGE IN APRIL IN SAN HILL HAS HAD SOME PLANNED OUTAGES AS WELL. AND THE LAST SLIDE I LIKE TO SPEAK TO, IF WE COULD MOVE TO SLIDE EIGHT, THIS HAS TO DO WITH ON SLIDE NINE. I SHOULD SAY, THIS HAS TO DO WITH ONE MORE. AS YOU CAN SEE, RENEWABLE GENERATION HAS PERCENT OF LOAD IS AT 70% ON THE RIGHT THAT ISN'T ALL TIME RECORDS OR RENEWABLE GENERATION, UM, EXCEEDED THE PREVIOUS RECORD AS A PERCENT OF LOAD. I BELIEVE THAT WAS NOMINALLY. UM, BUT UP HERE, 53%. SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY JUST LOOK AT THE GRAPH. SO OUR RENEWABLE GENERATION HAS A PERCENT OF LOAD, WAS ROBUST, A LOT OF WIND IN THE REGION, UM, DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH. UH, AND THAT IS A NEW, UH, RECORD AND THAT CONCLUDES THE OPERATIONS REPORT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. JACKSON, MR. JACKSON AND MR. SWEENEY, [5. Decker Creek Power Station Workforce Planning.] AND THEN WE'LL COME CLEARED? WELL, I'LL GIVE YOU A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE DECKER TRANSITION FOR OUR TEAM THERE. SINCE MARCH WITH CONTINUED TO FOCUS ON JOB SHADOWING, WE'VE GOT 21 FOLKS WHO REQUESTED THOSE, UH, WE'VE DONE 16 SO FAR. WELL, THE BALANCED THEM BY THE END OF JUNE. SO THEY'RE UNDERWAY. UM, IN ADDITION, WE'RE CONTINUE TO OFFER TRAINING. WE HAD A TRAINING OPPORTUNITY WITH THE THIS PAST MONTH AND THAT THAT WAS WELL ATTENDED. THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER OR ONGOING, UH, MEETINGS COMING UP, UH, IN JUNE. [00:45:01] AND I THINK I MAY HAVE LOST YOU GUYS. IT SEEMS LIKE YOUR CONNECTION HAS A LITTLE BIT SKETCHY THERE. I'M SORRY. I TURNED MY VIDEO OFF. UH, SO I, I HOPE YOU CAUGHT THAT. WE DID SOME TRAINING RECENTLY. UH, WE HAVE ANOTHER MEETING WITH OUR EMPLOYEES, REGULAR MEETING SERIES COMING UP IN JUNE. AND I THINK WITH THE COMBINATION OF MOVEMENT THAT WE'VE ALREADY GOTTEN FROM RETIREMENTS FROM FOLKS TAKING INTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE FOLKS WHO ARE ACTIVELY PURSUING, UH, TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, UH, THAT WILL GET A GOOD PART OF THE WAY TOWARDS WHAT WE EXPECT TO BE THE LOWER LEVEL WORKFORCE. SO I THINK WE'RE ON A GOOD TRAJECTORY. THAT'S MY REPORT. GREAT CUSTOMER. TARA, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO ASK? OKAY, THAT'S GREAT. I APPRECIATE YOU MAKING TIME FOR IT. UM, THANK YOU. THAT'S UH, THAT'S HELPFUL. AND I WOULD JUST SAY THAT THE, IT LOOKS LIKE THE POWERPOINT WE GOT THIS MORNING DID NOT HAVE MR. DOMBROWSKI'S SLIDES, UNLESS, UNLESS I'M JUST MISSING THEM. SO IF THERE'S A MORE UPDATED POWERPOINT, IF THE STAFF COULD PLEASE SEND THAT TO US. OKAY. SO THE PACKET FOR THE ITEM. ALL RIGHT. I THINK THAT'S IT. DOES ANYBODY ELSE? WE DID RECEIVE A VERSION THIS MORNING, UM, AND I ASSUMED WAS MORE RECENT, SO I'LL TAKE A LOOK FOR IT. THANKS. THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE FOR THE GOOD OF THE CAUSE? AND I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ELSE. ANYBODY HAS ANY AGENDA ITEMS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE? JUST, UM, EITHER LET ME KNOW, UM, BY THE MESSAGE BOARD, I GUESS, AND MAYOR, I WILL, UH, ADJOURN THE AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING AT 2:27 PM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.