[00:00:04]
UM, LET ME MAKE SURE HEX SOON IS READY TO GO.
I BELIEVE THEY ARE READY TO GO.
[CALL MEETING TO ORDER]
I WILL CALL YOU SO ORDER THIS, UH, JUNE MEETING OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION, IT'S 5:34 PM ON MONDAY, JUNE 21ST, 2021.UH, IN ATTENDANCE FOR THE RECORD, WE HAVE COMMISSIONERS HADDEN, STONE, VIRTUAL TUTTLE, CHAPMAN, AND HOPKINS.
OH, AND S AND COMMISSIONER REED.
AND, UM, JUST A QUICK HOUSEKEEPING.
UM, JEFF, I, UH, SORRY, I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO REACH OUT TO YOU BEFORE THE MEETING, BUT DO WE HAVE A TENTATIVE DATE FOR THE JULY MEETING YET? I'M SORRY.
UM, WE'LL WATCH FOR THAT EMAIL.
[CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
OKAY.SO THEN WE WILL MOVE ON TO, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT.
DID YOU SAY TO TWO SPEAKERS? WE DO.
OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS, UH, DAVID GLENN.
UH, MR. GLENN, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
UM, GOOD EVENING, MADAM CHAIR, COMMISSIONERS.
I'M THE SENIOR DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS AT THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION.
UH, I AM SPEAKING NEUTRAL ON ITEM 18 TODAY AS OTHER WORDS, AND ANY OTHER BACKUP TO INDICATE WHETHER THE COMMISSION WAS IN SUPPORT OF, OR POST TO THE NEW RULE.
BUT AS OUR APPEAL INDICATES, WE AS AN ORGANIZATION ARE OPPOSED TO THE NEW RULE.
I WANT TO START OFF BY THINKING OFTEN ENERGY STAFF, UM, PARTICULARLY SCOTT BEYER AND MICHAEL PITTMAN FOR SPENDING A LOT OF TIME WITH US WORKING ON THIS ISSUE.
AND ALTHOUGH WE WEREN'T ABLE TO COME TO A WORKABLE SOLUTION, WE DO APPRECIATE THE TIME THAT THEY'VE SPENT WITH US ON IT.
UM, I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF AUSTIN'S, UH, STATED PRIORITY AND HOUSING GOALS.
UM, FIRST OFF, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE 2017 STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT.
IT'S A 10 YEAR PLAN TO CREATE 135,000 HOUSING UNITS, VERY AGGRESSIVE PLAN.
UM, THE PLAN SPECIFICALLY CALLS FOR THE CREATION, PRESERVATION AND EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSING UNITS, UM, ACCESSIBLE TO A WIDE SPREAD OF INCOMES IN JANUARY HOUSING, WHERE IT GAVE AN UPDATE ON THE CITY'S PROGRESS ON THE PLAN.
AND AS OF JANUARY ONLY 16,000 UNITS WERE PRODUCED A ROUGHLY 10% OF THE GOAL, UM, NEARLY HALFWAY THROUGH THE 10 YEAR PLAN, FOUR YEARS IN ONE KEY INSIGHT THAT THEY HIGHLIGHTED FROM THE JANUARY UPDATE WAS THAT THEY NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THAT EXISTING REGULATIONS AND PROGRAMS ALIGN WITH THE CITY'S AFFORDABILITY GOALS.
UM, IN ADDITION, JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, THE CITY COUNCIL ALSO ADOPTED AND NEW EPO D RESOLUTION, UM, TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT RESOLUTION, WHICH CALLS SPECIFICALLY FOR ENTITLEMENTS THAT INCREASE HOUSING CAPACITY AND MAXIMIZE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES.
BOTH OF THESE, BOTH OF THESE ADOPTED POLICY POSITIONS CALLED FOR ROBUST HOUSING SUPPLY, PARTICULARLY IN THE CITY'S CORE NEAR TRANSIT AND JOBS.
UM, DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN FACING ISSUES ON A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FRONTS, SOME ISSUES THE CITY CAN'T CONTROL LIKE THE PRICE OF LUMBER, WHICH IS UP 300% YEAR OVER YEAR, BUT THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT THE CITY CAN'T CONTROL LIKE ITS REGULATIONS, AND JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF, OF THE MULTIPLE FRONTS THAT THE DEVELOPMENT IS FIGHTING ON.
THE CITY JUST ADOPTED A NEW FIRE CODE THAT WILL REDUCE HOUSING YIELDS ALONG THE EDGE OF THE TOWN.
BOSTON WATER IS NOW ASKING FOR A FIVE FOOT BY FIVE FOOT EASEMENT ON LOTS FOR WASHOUT ACCESS.
AND WE STILL HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO UPDATE OUR 30 YEAR OLD LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE TO ACCOMMODATE MORE GROWTH IN HOUSING WHERE WE NEED IT.
SO WE W WE, WE SUBMITTED OUR APPEAL.
UM, WE OF COURSE, HAS HOME BUILDERS APPRECIATE SAFETY AND THE CONCERNS SURROUNDING SAFETY.
WE'RE ONE OF THE MOST HIGHLY REGULATED INDUSTRIES AND FOR GOOD REASON, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO BRING TO THE COMMISSION, UM, YOU KNOW, THE RECOGNITION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY TRADE-OFFS AND IDENTIFY WHEN A REGULATION, MAYBE IT GOES TOO FAR.
UM, WE THINK THAT THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES OUT THERE WE'RE OPEN TO HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS, BUT WE THINK THE FIRST STEP IS TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS RULE AND MAYBE TAKE IT BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD TO, TO CONSIDER SOME OF THOSE OTHER OPTIONS.
UH, WE DO HAVE ONE OF OUR BUILDER MEMBERS ON THE LINE.
UM, I THINK HE'S REGISTERED SPEAK AFTER ME, WHO CAN TALK MORE ABOUT HOW THIS NEW RULE CREATES CHALLENGES FOR HIM AS HE'S TRYING TO BRING MORE HOUSING SUPPLY ONLINE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
BUT BEFORE, BEFORE I HOP OFF, I WANTED TO, UM, POINT OUT THAT WE DO HAVE SUPPORT FROM A NUMBER OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, REAL ESTATE COUNCIL OF AUSTIN, AUSTIN, BOARD OF REALTORS AND AUSTIN HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, OF COURSE, AUSTIN HABITAT, UM, TRYING TO MAKE, UH, BRING HOUSING SUPPLY THAT IS THE MOST AFFORDABLE TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT THE MOST.
AND THEY'RE ARE GOING TO BE EQUALLY AS IMPACTED BY THIS NEW RULE AS, UM, MARKET RATE HOUSING AND HOME BUILDERS.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION THIS EVENING AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU ALL MAY HAVE.
[00:05:01]
AND THE SECOND IS CARRIE VIRTUE.DID YOU SAY YOU WERE SPEAKING ON ITEM 18? YES.
I BELIEVE THAT'S THE AGENDA ITEM, UH, WHICH IS REGARDING, UH, CLARENCE SETBACKS.
UM, THERE WAS A NEW RULE ADOPTED ON MAY 14 BY AUSTIN ENERGY THAT INCREASED THE CLEARANCE SETBACKS, UM, TO, TO 15 FEET, UM, AND FOR THE POWER LINES, WHICH IS, UM, UM, TAKING A RATHER LARGE CHUNK OUT OF THE LOT AND MAKING A LARGE CHUNK OF THAT LOT.
SECOND SPEAKER IS SCOTT TURNER, MR. TURNER.
AGAIN, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
I'M THE PRESIDENT ELECT OF THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF GREATER AUSTIN.
UM, I'M ALSO AN URBAN INFILL HOME BUILDER, A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER.
AND I'M SPEAKING ABOUT AUTOMATE TEEN ON THE AGENDA, UH, INVOLVING THE ADDITIONAL LINE CLEARANCES.
UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ASK ME WHY HOUSING IN AUSTIN, ISN'T AFFORDABLE AND WHY WE SEE SO MANY BIG NEWS SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES, REPLACING OLD ONES, UH, PARTICULARLY IN URBAN AUSTIN, WHERE THERE ARE OVERHEAD POWER LINES AND THIS RAISES PRICES WITHOUT REALLY INCREASING OUR HOUSING SUPPLY.
AND, AND I TELL THEM IT'S BECAUSE OUR SYSTEM OF RULES AND REGULATIONS AROUND LAND USE ENCOURAGES THE CONSTRUCTION OF LARGE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES INSTEAD OF, UH, THE ABILITY TO ADD MORE HOUSING.
AND, AND THIS RULE IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THAT.
UH, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE DIAGRAM SUBMITTED IN THE COMMENTS FOR THE RULE ITSELF, UH, WHICH WERE, WERE VERY HELPFUL, UH, BOTH THE ONES AWESOME ENERGY GENERATED AND SOME PROVIDED BY, BY, UH, UM, SOME OF THE STAKEHOLDERS REDUCING THE BUILDABLE AREA OF A RESIDENTIAL LOT BY AN ADDITIONAL FIVE FOOT CAUSES CONFLICTS WITH OTHER RULES AND REGULATIONS.
UH, AND THAT, AND THE RESULT IS A LOSS OF HOUSING, UH, AND SPECIFICALLY ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS OR 80 USE, YOU KNOW, GARAGE APARTMENTS.
UM, THESE TINY HOMES ARE, ARE MORE AFFORDABLE.
THE CITY EVEN HAS AN AFFORDABLE ADU RESOLUTION, UH, THAT THEY PASSED RECENTLY.
UH, THEY ALLOW MULTI-GENERATIONAL HOUSING, ENCOURAGE HAZY AGING IN PLACE, AND THEY KEEP RESIDENTS IN THEIR HOMES IN THE FACE OF RISING PROPERTY TAXES AND OTHER PRESSURES TO MOVE.
AND THOSE PRESSURES ARE SUBSTANTIAL RIGHT NOW AND GETTING WORSE.
UM, AND I CERTAINLY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THAT THERE'S SOME REAL SAFETY CONCERNS WORKING AROUND POWER LINES.
UM, UH, I SORT OF DREW AN ANALOGY TO THE SAFETY CONCERNS, UH, DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY, UH, AND, AND I'M GONNA DATE MYSELF HERE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALL HEARD SAMMY HAGAR SAYING I CAN'T DRIVE 55.
UH, I THINK WE'D ALL AGREE THAT THAT'S DANGEROUS, OR HE WOULDN'T BE THINKING ABOUT IT.
UH, YOU KNOW, SLOWER SPEEDS ON THE HIGHWAY ARE UNDOUBTEDLY SAFER, BUT SAMMY GOT HIS WISH AND THE SPEED LIMIT IS HIGHER NOW ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UM, KNOW, YOU KNOW, SO, SO WHY IS THAT? UM, WELL, THERE ARE OTHER POLICIES CONSIDERED ALONG WITH SAFETY, UH, BUT ALSO BECAUSE THERE ARE OTHER POLICIES THAT ARE USED TO ACHIEVE SAFE HIGHWAY TRAVEL, YOU CAN BUILD BETTER TRANSIT OPTIONS, LIKE PROJECT CONNECT, PUT FEWER CARS ON THE ROAD.
YOU CAN INCREASE ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS, UH, AND THOSE ARE PARTICULARLY EFFECTIVE WHEN THEY'RE COMBINED WITH IMPROVED EDUCATION.
SO DRIVERS MAKE SAFER DECISIONS, UH, USING SIGNAGE, OUTREACH TRAINING AND SO ON.
AND I THINK MANY OF THOSE, UH, SAME TOOLS CAN BE APPLIED HERE TO CREATE SAFE OUTCOMES.
UH, AND, AND MY POINT IS THAT THERE, THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO, YOU KNOW, STAY SAFE ON THE ROAD WITHOUT MAKING SAMMY, YOU KNOW, AND EVERYBODY ELSE DRIVE 55.
UM, SO I I'D ASK YOU TO CONSIDER OTHER WAYS TO MAKE MAINTENANCE AROUND EXISTING BUILDINGS AND EXISTING LINES SAFER WITHOUT REDUCING THE CITY'S HOUSING SUPPLY.
AND I BELIEVE THAT THAT BOTH OF THESE GOALS CAN BE ACHIEVED IF WE CONSIDER THEM TOGETHER, UH, RATHER THAN ONE BY ONE, BECAUSE THE ONE BY ONE APPROACHES, CUMULATIVELY NOMINEE, ONE RULE, THAT'S DONE IT.
IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, DECADES OF, UH, SMALL RULES THAT CUMULATIVE HAVE CUMULATIVELY, EXCUSE ME, HAVE LIMITED OUR HOUSING SUPPLY.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE ALL AGREE WE WOULD NEED A SAFE WORKING ENVIRONMENT FOR MAINTENANCE WORKERS AND EVERYBODY AROUND POWER LINES.
UH, AND I THINK WE'D ALL AGREE.
WE ALL NEED MORE HOUSING OR MILLIONAIRES LIKE SAN DIEGO ARE GOING TO BE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CAN AFFORD TO LIVE, UH, IN AUSTIN ANYMORE.
I'D BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL HAVE.
CAN YOU GIVE US SOME BACKGROUND BECAUSE WASN'T THE REQUIREMENT IN THE PAST 15, AND THEN IT WENT DOWN TO 10 AND NOW IT'S BEEN PUSHED BACK TO 15.
AND IS THIS JUST FOR EXISTING ABOVE GROUND WHERE THIS ISN'T REALLY RELEVANT AND NEW NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE BURIED? I,
[00:10:01]
I DON'T KNOW THE HISTORY BEHIND THE 15TH OF 10 TO 15, OTHER THAN, THAN ALL WE FOLLOW IS OSHA GUIDELINES, YOU KNOW, UH, AND I BELIEVE THAT'S WHAT MICHAEL PITTMAN HAD SAID IN OUR DISCUSSIONS THAT THE, THE CURRENT PRIOR TO THE RULE, THE CURRENT, UH, YOU KNOW, POLICY WITH AUSTIN ENERGY WAS TO FOLLOW THE OSHA GUIDELINES, THE 10 FOOT RADIUS.UH, AND, AND SO, UH, YOU ARE CORRECT TO SAY THAT THAT ONLY AFFECT AREAS WITH OVERHEAD LINES, UNDERGROUND LINES, YOU, YOU, YOU DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THOSE.
AND GENERALLY THOSE, THOSE ARE AN EASEMENTS THAT WERE SET DOWN WHEN THE PROPERTY WAS DEVELOPED.
UH, BUT, BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN, EVERYTHING'S A HODGEPODGE AND EVERYTHING'S SERVED BY EXISTING LINES.
UM, AND, AND, AND YET IT'S THE, IT'S AN EXTENSION OF THE 10 FOOT OSHA CLEARANCE, WHICH IS THE APPLIED NATIONWIDE, UH, TO, TO, TO, TO 15, UH, AND, AND THAT EXTRA FIVE FEET, UH, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THEIR OVERHEAD LINES.
AND IT ALSO APPLIES TO THE NEUTRAL, WHICH IS IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT, UH, I'M NOT AN OSHA EXPERT NOR DO I DO COMMERCIAL PROJECTS.
I DO GENERALLY SINGLE FAMILY SCALE TYPE STUFF.
UH, BUT, UH, UH, AS FAR AS THAT, THAT NEUTRAL LINE GOES, THOSE ARE ALL THE SET LOWERS THAT BRINGS THAT 15 FOOT BRINGS THAT DOWN ALMOST TO THE GROUND.
SO IT'S EFFECTIVELY ALMOST LIKE AN EASEMENT IN, IN THESE LOCATIONS.
UH, AND I TH COMMISSIONER, THIS IS JEFF.
I JUST WANT TO, AGAIN, POINT OUT THAT ITEM 18 IS IN FACT, A BRIEFING FROM STAFF ON THE RULEMAKING, AND SURE.
UH, BOTH MR. GLENN AND MR. TURNER, WE, WE APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS TONIGHT.
IF THERE ARE NO OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS, WE'LL MOVE
[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – Approve minutes of the May 13, 2021 special-called meeting.]
ON TO, UH, I DON'T REMEMBER THREE, UH, APPROVAL OF THE, OR, WELL, I GUESS IT'S TECHNICALLY ITEM NUMBER ONE, UM, APPROVAL OF THE MAY 13TH, 2021 MEETING MINUTES.UH, ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS OR CHANGES TO THE MINUTES HEARING NONE.
I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MAY 13TH MEETING MINUTES.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN.
IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND IS KAREN.
UH, ALL THOSE, UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.
COULD I GET A VERBAL FROM YOU? I DON'T THINK I COULD HEAR COMMISSIONER REED AND COMMISSIONER STONE.
I DON'T THINK I, I CAN'T, I COULDN'T SEE YOU ON THE VIDEO.
UM, SO I THINK THE MEETING MINUTES ARE APPROVED.
UM, MR. VICE, HOW DO WE NOTE COMMISSIONER REED? DO WE JUST KNOW THAT WE COULDN'T HEAR HIM? I'M SORRY.
WERE YOU SAYING THAT, UH, WE DID NOT HEAR COMMISSIONER REED VOTE.
UH, CYRUS, YOU WANNA TRY A UNMUTING AGAIN, CAREFULLY SINCE YOU'RE DRIVING? I THINK WE'LL GO WITH SIX ZERO A VOTE, AND I'LL SAY THAT CYRUS WAS OFF THE DAYAS.
[NEW BUSINESS – CONSENT]
TO NEW BUSINESS, UM, ARE THERE ANY ITEMS, UH, THAT COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE PULL FOR DISCUSSION? OKAY.I'M HAVING TO TAKE NOTE OF THIS REAL QUICK.
UM, COMMISSIONER REED, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU ONE MORE CHANCE TO TRY TO, UH, CHIME IN HERE.
ANY ITEMS THAT YOU WANT PULLED FOR DISCUSSION.
UH, THE AAV TECH THINKS THAT WE MAY HAVE LOST, UH, COMMISSIONER REED.
SO HEARING NONE, UH, THEN IT'S CARRIE.
SO DO WE HAVE A CORUM WITHOUT HIM? I THINK WE DO.
WE'VE GOT, BECAUSE COMMISSIONER STONE, UH, JOINED.
SO LET'S SAY WE DO 3, 4, 5, 6.
SO, UM, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEMS TWO
[00:15:01]
THROUGH 14.IS THERE A SECOND? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER TUTTLE.
AND I DON'T HAVE MY, ON THIS TIME, MY VIDEO.
KAREN, CAN YOU COMMISSIONER HEAD WHEN YOU, OKAY.
SO, UH, ALL OF THE ITEMS TWO THROUGH 14 UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED BY THE COMMISSION.
[15. Power plant winterization ]
TO STAFF BRIEFINGS AND REPORTS, ITEM NUMBER 15, POWER PLANT WINTERIZATION.WE HAVE OUR VICE-PRESIDENT PAT SWEENEY THERE HE IS WITH, UH, OVER POWER PRODUCTION.
AND WE'LL PULL UP THE SLIDE DECK FOR YOU IN JUST A SECOND, PAT.
BUT THEN I'VE GOT IT ON MINE AS WELL.
I MEAN, YOU HAVE TO DO TO CHAIR FROM MY NO, SIR.
THE AB TEXTS JUST HAD, YOU KNOW, JUST BE A MOMENT.
NO, SHE'D BE ABLE TO SEE THAT NOW.
UM, WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, COMMISSIONERS.
UH, THIS IS A SLIDE DECK, UH, THAT WE WENT THROUGH WITH COUNCIL BACK LAST MONTH AS PART OF THEIR REVIEW OF WINTER STORM URI ACTIVITIES.
AND SO, UH, YOU'LL SEE, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, THERE'LL BE BRIEF, UH, IT'S HEAVILY WEIGHTED ON PICTURES.
LIKE IN THIS CASE, WE THOUGHT PICTURES WERE A LITTLE MORE HELPFUL FOR FOLKS WHO AREN'T QUITE FAMILIAR WITH SOME OF OUR PLANTS AND HOW THEY OPERATE.
UH, SO WE'LL STEP THROUGH, UH, WE'LL GO BACK.
SO ONE THING ABOUT, UH, I WANT TO MAKE SURE FOLKS ARE CLEAR ON ABOUT OUR FACILITIES AND THAT IS THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY BUILT TO OPERATE OVER A WIDE RANGE OF TEMPERATURES, BUT THEY'RE PRIMARILY GEARED TOWARD, UH, SUMMER OPERATIONS AND EXTREME HEAT.
IN FACT, SEVERAL OF THE WINTERIZATION STEPS THAT WE TAKE ARE ACTUALLY REMOVED IN THE SUMMER TEMPERATURE COOLING AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, I THINK THAT GOES TOWARDS ANSWERING QUESTION.
A LOT OF FOLKS HAVE ABOUT WHY NOT WANT TO JUST PUT THEM, PUT THE WHOLE FACILITY IN A BUILDING OR AN ENCLOSURE.
AND IN FACT, SOME POWER PLANTS, UH, IN SOME LOCALES ARE IN BUILDINGS IT'S ON.
HOWEVER, HOWEVER, UH, WHEN YOU DO THAT, THAT RATES A DIFFERENT SET OF CONCERNS IT'S POSSIBLY, UH, AND THEN IN OUR CASE, IT WOULD CREATE THE ISSUE OF HAVING TO REMOVE HEAT, UH, TO BE EFFICIENT AND WOULD ADD COMPLICATION RISK.
SO, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE IS, THERE IS A DESIGN CON CONSIDERATION ABOUT WHERE YOU'RE LOCATED.
UH, AND, AND AGAIN, WE'RE REALLY BUILT FOR HEAT DOWN HERE IN OUR PLANTS.
AREN'T REALLY ANY DIFFERENT IN THAT RESPECT THAN THE OTHER PLANTS IN TEXAS IN THE SOUTH.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT IN HERE TOO, IS THAT, UH, THE STEPS THAT WE TAKE DURING WINTERIZATION ARE INFORMED BY PAST EXPERIENCE.
THAT INCLUDES 2011 WHEN WE HAD A VERY STRONG WINTER EVENT.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO GO OVER OUR PROCESS.
AND SO THE, THE PROCESS FOR WINTER IS ACTION REALLY BEGINS IN THE FALL.
AND WE HAVE TO AFFIRM THAT TO ERCOT BY DECEMBER 21ST OF EACH YEAR.
SO THAT'S AN ANNUALIZED PROCESS, AND IT REALLY BREAKS DOWN TO TWO COMPONENTS, UH, PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY MEASURES.
SO PERMANENT MEASURES ARE THINGS LIKE INSULATION THAT'S ON PIPING OR CABINETS THAT ARE THERE ALL THE TIME.
UH, ALSO METAL STRUCTURES AROUND AREAS THAT ARE DETERMINED AS, UH, POINTS OF CONCERN FROM PAST WEATHER EVENTS AND ALSO HEAT TRACE.
UH, AND YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD THAT REFERENCE HEAT TRACE OR HEAT TRACING IS, UH, IS, IS WIRE, UH, POWERED WIRE OR, UH, THAT, THAT RELIES ON RESISTANCE HEATING THAT IS WRAPPED AROUND, UH, CRITICAL COMPONENTS.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S A MEANS OF PROVIDING HEAT TO, UH, UH, AREAS THAT HAVE CONCERNS.
AND THEN THE OTHER PORTION OF THESE ARE TEMPORARIES, UH, TEMPORARY APPLICATIONS.
AND SO THOSE ARE THINGS LIKE WINDBREAKS THERMAL BLANKETS, FIVE TO CRITICAL COMPONENTS.
UH, ALSO WE ADD TEMPORARY HEAT SOURCES, UH, LIKE, UH, USING PORTAL, UH, PROPANE, ELECTRICAL HEATERS, AND EVEN LIGHTING
[00:20:01]
AS HEAT SOURCES.AND SO THE TEMPORARY MEASURES ARE INSTALLED, UH, WHILE PERMANENT MEASURES ARE CHECKED FOR PROPER FUNCTION AT EACH PLANT PER THEIR PREPARATION CHECKLIST AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO, WELL FROM A PLANT WINTERIZATION PLAN PERSPECTIVE, OUR MEASURES ARE RECHECKED PRIOR TO A MAJOR FORECAST EVENT LIKE FEBRUARY.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, WE DON'T JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, INSTALL THINGS IN NOVEMBER, OCTOBER, UH, IN SIM THE CHECKLIST ERCOT, WE, WE RECHECK IT, UH, THROUGHOUT THE WINTER.
AND IN PARTICULAR WE HAVE ORC ACID INDICATE A BIG STORM IS COMING, UH, OPERATORS USE REMOTE AND VISUAL CHECKS TO CONFIRM THE STATUS OF THESE SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES.
UM, IN ADDITION, WE ALSO CONFIRM THE FUNCTION OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SUCH AS OUR SATELLITE PHONES, SO THAT WE CAN STAY IN TOUCH WITH THE AREAS THAT WE NEED TO IN ADDITIONALLY, TAKE, UH, MEASURES WITH RESPECT TO OUR PERSONNEL.
WE ENSURE THAT ADEQUATE PLANTS HAVE ADEQUATE STAFFING.
WE INCREASED THOSE DURING MAJOR FORECAST EVENTS, AND WE ALSO PROVISION THEM FOR FOOD AND ONSITE LODGE HOLD THE MOAT FOR THE NEXT SLIDE HERE SO THIS IS AN APP WHEN YOU'LL SEE SOME MORE OF THESE OF WINTER PREPARATIONS INSTALLED AROUND THE LOWER AREAS OF OUR UNIT FIVE, IT'S OUR COMBINED CYCLE OUT AT SANDHILL.
UH, IN THIS CASE, IT'S SOME PROTECTION AROUND THE HEAT RECOVERY, STEAM GENERATOR.
UH, IT'S, IT'S REFERRED TO AS A WIND WALL ON THE W ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE UNIT IS THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND BY THE WAY, IF YOU GO OUT THERE, UH, IF YOU GO OUT TO SANDHILL TODAY THAT THAT WALL HAS BEEN TAKEN DOWN AND REMOVED, THAT'S A TEMPORARY MEASURE.
UH, AND THIS WAS AN EXAMPLE OF A PERMANENT MEASURE, AND IT WAS ALSO ADDED AFTER 2011.
THIS IS, UH, REFERRED TO AS A DOG HOUSE.
IT'S A METAL, UH, AROUND STRUCTURE THAT WAS ADDED AFTER WE HAD SOME ISSUES WITH THE HEAT RECOVERY STEAM GENERATOR, AGAIN ON UNIT FIVE AT SANDY.
SO THAT MEANT THAT MEASURE STAYS IN PLACE YEAR ROUND.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE HERE, AGAIN, SOME OTHER EXAMPLES OF BOTH PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT, UH, REFERENCE UP IN THE TOP LEFT, UH, WAS SOME ADDITIONAL FREEZE PROTECTION AROUND OUR HEAT RECOVERY, STEAM GENERATOR DRUMS. AND THEN ALSO TO THE RIGHT, YOU CAN SEE A COVER, UH, ON REESE PROTECTION ON UNIT FIVE, IT'S ON OUR EVAPORATOR BACKWARD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, THIS IS A SCREENSHOT OF, UH, A SYSTEM THAT WE USE TO MONITOR FREEZE PROTECTION AS IS OUT OF SANDHILL.
AND AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, AS SYNCING ABILITY, REMOTE SENSING CAPABILITIES HAVE INCREASED OVER TIME, IT'S BECOME FAR LESS EXPENSIVE, EASIER TO IMPLEMENT.
WE'VE ADDED FEATURES LIKE THIS TOO, SO THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN, UM, MAINTAIN AWARENESS OF THE STATUS OF THE SYSTEMS OVERALL.
AND THROUGH AN EVENT SLIDE, HERE'S SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF, OF TEMPORARY MEASURES.
UH, YOU CAN SEE A, UH, COVER ON THE LEFT, THE BLUE COVER, UH, ANOTHER COVER.
YOU CAN ALSO SEE SOME, UH, PROPANE HEATERS THAT ARE OUT THERE AS WELL.
AND THEN SOME ADDITIONAL COVERING THAT'S PUT ON, UH, SOME TUBING ONTO THE FAR, RIGHT? THIS IS THAT OUR DECKER PLANT, THE NEXT SLIDE, HERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL, UH, EXAMPLES OF TEMPORARY MEASURES, UH, IN THIS CASE, UH, HEATERS THAT ARE APPLIED, UH, IN AREAS WHERE WE HAVE CONCERNS WITH THE EQUIPMENT, UH, IF IT GETS TOO COLD AND SET OUR DECKER PLANT NEXT LINE, ONCE AGAIN, SOME, UH, BOTH COMBINATION OF PERMANENT AND, UM, AND TEMPORARY, UH, IN THE FIRST SLIDE ON THE LEFT OR THE PICTURE ON THE LEFT, YOU CAN SEE SOME INSULATION AROUND PIPING THAT'S PERMANENT, BUT THEN IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THERE'S A TARP RECOVERING AROUND THAT AREA.
AND SO IT PROTECTS THAT, UH, FROM DIRECT WIND EXPOSURE, UH, AND THEN TO THE RIGHT AGAIN, UH, TEMPORARY COVERS THAT ARE PUT ON, UH, ON A, ON A CONTROL, A GASKET AND FALL DOWN AND SLIDE.
SO THIS, THIS THE EXAMPLE AT OUR DECKER PLANT, UH, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT ARE SOME, UH, UH, TRANSMITTER BOXES, UH, AND IT, IT'S HARD TO TELL, BUT, UH, ON THE, ON THE RIGHT HAND, WHEN, IF YOU LOOK DOWN
[00:25:01]
TOWARDS THE LOWER PART OF THAT CIRCLE, YOU'LL SEE IT GLOWING.IN BOTH CASES, WE'VE INSTALLED A TEMPORARY LIGHTING IN THERE.
SO, UH, HALOGEN TYPE LIGHTING THAT GENERATES HEAT WHEN IT'S ON.
AND SO A SIMPLE THINGS LIKE THAT TO KEEP THOSE INSTRUMENTS, UH, WARM AND FUNCTIONING, UH, FROM EXTREME COLD, NEXT SLIDE.
YOU'RE AGAIN, SOME OTHER EXAMPLES OF TEMPORARY COVERS THAT ARE PUT ON, UH, AND OUR DECKER PLANT.
UH, YOU CAN LOOK AT THOSE VERY QUICKLY, UM, GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF BOTH A COVER PUT ON, AND THEN, UH, THAT, THAT BRIGHT LIGHT THERE AGAIN IS A, IS A BRIGHT AND WARM HALOGEN, LIGHT, UH, UP, UH, NEAR SOME CONTROL, UH, SYSTEMS THAT WE NEED TO KEEP WARM.
AND THEN TO THE RIGHT, YOU CAN SEE HEATERS, UH, THAT ARE PUT IN PLACE TEMPORARILY TO, UH, PROVIDE HEAT TO CONTROL CABINETS.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THE, UH, AMOUNT OF ICE BUILDUP ON THE LEFT AND OUR SANDHILL PLANT, UH, AND, AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE IN THE MIDDLE PHOTO, THERE ARE SOME FOLKS THAT ARE UP, UH, ON ELEVATED STRUCTURE OUT OF SANDHILL.
I JUST WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO, UH, JUST TEAMS WORK.
UH, THESE FOLKS WERE REALLY SEQUESTERED FOR DAYS ON END, BEFORE THEY COULD GET IN OR OUT OF THE PLANT.
UH, THEY WORKED 24 7 WITH MINIMAL REST, AND IN MANY CASES, SUCH AS THE ONE IN THE CENTER THERE, UH, THAT THAT'S, THAT'S VERY RISKY TO BE UP ON A STRUCTURE, A METAL STRUCTURE LIKE THAT IN THOSE, THOSE CONDITIONS CONDITIONS.
AND SO WE DID THIS WITHOUT INCURRING ANY INJURY.
AGAIN, OVERALL, WE HAD A GOOD AVAILABILITY OF OUR UNITS THROUGH THE EVENT.
AND AGAIN, JUST A FEW MORE PICTURES.
YOU CAN SEE THE AMOUNT OF SNOW AND ICE THAT WE HAD OUT AT THE SANDHILL PLANT.
SO AS WE START TO LOOK AHEAD, UH, UH, THE REVIEWS ARE STILL UNDERWAY.
WE, WE, WE, WE WILL BE DOING THESE FOR A WHILE, BUT, UH, WE, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENTS, UM, IN 2011, THE IMPROVEMENT FROM THE IMPROVEMENTS FROM 2011 MOSTLY WORKED, BUT DIDN'T IN ONE INSTANCE.
SO WE HAD A PROTECTIVE CONTROLS CABINET THAT WAS INSTALLED, UH, AFTER 2011.
UH, AND IT PROVED JUST NOT BE ADEQUATE.
AND SO NOW WE'VE ADDED A HEAT SOURCE TO THAT.
SO SOME HEAT TRAYS, SO, BUT HEAT INTO IT, UM, WE'VE IDENTIFIED SOME NEEDS FOR HIGHER STOCKS DURING LONGER DURATION EVENTS.
THIS IS, UH, THIS PAST EVENT WAS AMONG OTHER, OTHER FEATURES WAS LONG IN DURATION.
IT WASN'T JUST A DAY OR TWO OR A NIGHT OR TWO OF COLD.
AND SO THAT MEANS ADDITIONAL FOOD FOR STAFF, UH, SUCH AS MRAS, COTS, AND BEDDING ADDITIONAL, UH, CHANGE OUT FOR THOSE, UH, ADDITIONAL FUEL FOR PEOPLE, PORTABLE HEATERS, UH, CAUSE AS YOU KNOW, ARE LARGE PART OF THAT PERIOD, UH, ROAD ACCESS WAS VERY CHALLENGING IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
UH, IN ADDITION, MOVING FROM AN EVENT, UH, TYPE TRAINING TO SCENARIO TRAINING.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS A MORE HOLISTIC TYPE OF LOOK, I'M SORRY, VERSUS CHECKLIST TRAINING.
SO, UH, WE CERTAINLY LOOK AT IT AND DO OUR CHECKLIST, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT A BROADER EVENT AND YOU SAY BEYOND JUST GOING, DOING A WALK DOWN AND IS THAT COVER INSTALLED, IS THAT HEAT SYSTEM FUNCTIONING? WE GO THROUGH EXERCISES LIKE, WELL, WHAT IF WE'RE CUT OFF, UH, FROM, UH, BEING ABLE TO RECEIVE DELIVERIES? WHAT IF IT'S, IF WE HAVE A LOT OF SNOW OR ICE BUILDUP, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, UH, BEYOND THAT, UH, WE DO REGULAR REVIEWS AND UPDATES AND ADDRESS, UH, OUR NEEDS AS A CHANGE IN THE FUTURE AS WE MAKE MODIFICATIONS TO FACILITIES.
AND AS, AS, UH, AS NEW INFORMATION PATIENT DICTATES NEXT SLIDE.
ANY QUESTIONS I'LL TRY AND ANSWER IT.
AND THANK YOUR TEAM FOR DOING THAT.
UM, SO THESE ARE THE, IT LOOKS LIKE THE FOCUS WAS AUSTIN, ENERGY OWNED AND OPERATED.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT, OR CAN SOMEBODY ELSE TALK ABOUT THE AUSTIN ENERGY CO-OP BUT SOME KIND OF OPCO LIKE SOUTH TEXAS NOW THERE WAS A LOT OF MONEY LOSS, A LOT OF GENERATION LOSS WITH ONE OF THE REACTORS DOWN THERE FOR, FOR DAYS.
AND UM, SO SOMEBODY IN AUSTIN ENERGY, ALTHOUGH IT'S RUN BY AN OPCO, THAT'S SEPARATE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE POST-MORTEM ON THAT.
AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION, AND THEN FAYETTE,
[00:30:01]
I KNOW THAT MAY BE SHORTLY FROM OUR STANDPOINT IN THE NEXT YEAR, HOW MANY WINNERS ARE THERE LEFT? MAYBE ONE MORE WINNER LEFT AND FAYETTE.AND THEN ON THE CONTRACTED GENERATION, YOU KNOW, WITH PBAS, IS THERE A GROUP SINCE YOU ALL HAVE EXPERTISE IN SOME OF THIS, SOME OF IT MAY BE RELEVANT, YOU KNOW, ON THE CONTRACTED WIND AND SOLAR GOING OUT THERE AND INSPECTING MAKING SURE WE HAVE IN THE CONTRACTS WINTERIZATION FOR THOSE.
SO WE CAN, ESPECIALLY AS WE START TO GO AWAY FROM AS MUCH OWN GENERATION UNDER YOUR CONTROL TO CONTRACTED YOU, THEN YOU'RE JUST, YOU'RE DEPENDING UPON OTHER SOURCES THAT ARE OTHER ENTITIES.
AND SO IT SEEMED LIKE A, WE NEED FROM CONTRACTS THAT TALK ABOUT THE WINTERIZATION SPECS FOR THOSE TECHNOLOGIES INSPECTION RIGHTS.
AND THEN IF THEY DON'T DELIVER, THEY MAY HAVE TO GO INTO THE MARKET AND BUY IT, BUT THEN THAT'S A COUNTER PARTY RISK.
AND THEN, THEN WHAT'S THE FINANCIAL HEAD JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT IF THEY CAN'T DELIVER AND THEY DON'T HAVE THE FINANCIAL SECURITY THAT WE'RE NOT LEFT WITH A HUGE BILL, YOU KNOW, THE RATE PAYERS ARE STUCK WITH.
SO CAN YOU, I KNOW THERE'S A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS, BUT THAT'S JUST TO START.
AND THEN I'VE GOT A QUESTION ABOUT BLACKSTAR.
THERE WERE SOME ARTICLES ABOUT IF ERCOT HAD LET THE GRID FAIL AND WE WOULD HAVE DEPENDED UPON BLACKSTAR.
THERE WERE A HUGE NUMBER OF BLACK START RESOURCES THAT WERE NOT FUNCTIONAL.
SO DOES HE HAVE BLACK START? DID WE GET THE FUND AND HOW WAS OUR BLACK START CAPABILITY, EVEN THOUGH IT WASN'T DEPLOYED AND I DON'T BLAME YOU FOR GOOD.
I ASKED ME TO REPEAT SOME OF THAT BECAUSE I JUST GAVE YOU A BOOK I'LL TRY AND I'LL TRY AND TAKE THEM ROUGHLY IN ORDER.
SO YEAH, SO, UH, SO WE DID HAVE A LONG OUTAGE AT STP.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY WHEN THOSE UNITS GO DOWN BECAUSE THEY'RE NUCLEAR AND BECAUSE OF THE SAFETY PROTOCOLS AROUND THEM, UH, OUTAGES, EVEN WHAT MIGHT BE SAID APPEAR TO BE SIMPLE, CAN TAKE A WHILE TO GET THE UNIT RESTARTED AND BACK TO, UH, BACK TO FULL OPERATION.
SO IN THAT CASE, THEY HAD A BAD, UH, CENTRAL LINE THAT WAS IMPACTED BY THE WEATHER, THE CENTRAL LINE THAT HAD NOT FAILED IN PREVIOUS COLD WEATHER EVENTS AND TURNED OUT THERE WERE SOME BAD INSTALLATIONS.
SO, UH, THAT'S BEEN ADDRESSED, UH, UNFORTUNATELY THE, THE WALK DOWN INSPECTIONS AND WHATNOT DID NOT CAPTURE THAT AT THE TIME.
SO, UH, BUT I'LL SAY BOTH THEM AND, UH, IN THE CASE OF FED, UH, OUR COLOGNE GENERATION, THEY FOLLOW PROCEDURES AND PROCESSES VERY TO WHAT YOU JUST SAW, UH, FOR OUR LOCAL PLANTS.
SO, AND THIS IS TRUE OF ALL OF THE SORT OF THERMAL RESOURCES IN AND IN ERCOT IS THEY'LL DEVELOP A, A CHECKLIST PROCESS FOR WINTERIZATION WINTER APPLICATION, UH, RELATIVE TO THEIR SITE IS VERY, MY SIDE, UH, ARE NOT, THEY'RE NOT ALL COOKIE CUTTER.
AND SO THEY'LL DO THEIR PROCESS RELATIVE TO THE SITE.
SO THEY EACH HAVE A VERSION OF WHAT I JUST SHOWED YOU.
UH, AND THEY ALL REPORT INTO ERCOT TO AFFIRM THAT THEY'VE DONE THEIR CHECKS.
SO IN THE CASE OF FAYETTE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE VERY GOOD PERFORMANCE.
IF THEY HAD A, THEY HAD A BRIEF PROBLEM FOR ABOUT FOUR HOURS ON ONE UNIT, UH, WHERE THE, THE CALL WAS, UH, BASICALLY, UH, ICE, THE ICE AND THE SNOW OR TOO MUCH, THEY HAD TO TEMPORARILY STOP FEEDING.
UH, IT'S A VERY SHORT D RATE ON ONE UNIT, FOUR HOUR WINDOW, ONLY A PARTIAL D RATE WHILE THEY CLEARED THAT SHOOT OF THE, UH, THE BLOCKAGE.
SO OVERALL GOOD PERFORMANCE THERE, BUT AGAIN, UH,
SO WITH RESPECT TO THE RENEWABLES, UM, I, I DON'T HAVE, UH, WE ASKED SOME OTHER FOLKS TO REALLY MANAGE THOSE DAY TO DAY, BUT I'LL TELL YOU THAT THE PAST EXPERIENCE WITH THEM, OUR CONTRACTS GENERALLY AND SENT THE WELL THEY DO IN SENT PERFORMANCE.
THEY DON'T GET PAID, THEY DON'T PERFORM.
AND SO, UM, THEY ALSO REQUIRE THEM TO ABIDE BY ALL APPLICABLE PROTOCOLS.
AND SO THEY HAVE TO DO, UH, THE WINTERIZATION CHECKLIST PROCESS RELATIVE TO THEIR SITE AS WELL.
NOW THEY SUBMIT THAT, UH, AT A STATION, UH, ON THEIR OWN, UH, TO ERCOT AS THE INDIVIDUAL GENERATOR OWNERS.
SO I, I BELIEVE THOUGH THAT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING IS LOOKING AT WHETHER, WHETHER THE FORTHCOMING CHANGES AROUND WINTERIZATION MIGHT IMPLY CHANGES THAT WE NEED TO MAKE AND FUTURE, UH, PPA IS ALONG THE LINES THAT YOU SUGGESTED.
AND SO YOU'RE ALREADY KIND OF ALLUDING TO THE SP THREE IMPLICATION.
SO CAN YOU GIVE US, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN UPDATE, I THINK IN JULY ON THE LEGISLATOR SESSION, BUT SB THREE HAS ALREADY BEEN SIGNED AND YOU WERE PROBABLY FOLLOWING
[00:35:01]
IT.CAN YOU TALK ABOUT AS FAR AS YOUR BUSINESS, IS THERE ANY IMPACT FROM THAT OR ARE YOU ALREADY DOING EVERYTHING THAT IT'S STATED? I, I TH TH THE ANSWER IS, I DON'T KNOW YET, AND IT'S QUITE SIMPLE.
UH, THE SB THREE SAID THAT, UH, W WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO DO WINTERIZATION, UH, IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
HOWEVER, UH, THAT IS THAT, THAT ASSIGNMENT OF WHAT TO DO HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION.
THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION IS HOLDING A SERIES OF WORKSHOP WORKSHOPS WITH MARKET PARTICIPANTS, GENERATION OWNERS, AND ON TO DEVELOP THAT.
AND SO THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT REQUIRES JUST YET, THAT IS TO BE DETERMINED.
AND SO IT WILL ASSESS WHAT THOSE REQUIREMENTS ARE, AND THEN LOOK AT THEM AS THEY APPLY TO EACH INDIVIDUAL PLANT, BECAUSE IT WILL HAVE VARYING IMPACTS.
AND FRANKLY, AT THE MOMENT, I DON'T KNOW, UH, I WOULD GENERALLY SURMISE THAT, UH, BASED ON WHAT WE FEEL IS THE LEVEL OF WINTERIZATION THAT WE'VE THUS FAR HAD, THAT I WOULD BELIEVE IT FOR US WOULD BE LARGELY INCREMENTAL IN NATURE.
WELL, SO MY CONCERN WITH THAT IS THAT SUPPOSEDLY NERC HAS HAD A STAKEHOLDER PROCESS THAT IS GOTTEN THE PARTICIPANTS TOGETHER FOR YEARS NOW, POST 2011, EVEN BEFORE 2011 AND THEY GET TOGETHER AND THEN THEY ALL TALK ABOUT WHAT TO DO, AND THEY ALL SAY, NO, WE DON'T WANT TO DO IT.
UM, AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT A WORKSHOP, YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT KIND OF TEETH MIGHT BE IN THAT TO MAKE SURE IT HAPPENS? UM, SO IT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE, MAYBE YOU CAN GIVE US AN UPDATE DOWN THE ROAD AFTER YOU GET THROUGH WITH THE WORKSHOPS.
YEAH, PROBABLY I WOULD HAVE, BASED ON THE, AT LEAST THE SCHEDULES, I UNDERSTAND IT PERHAPS BY THE FALL, THE WORKSHOPS ARE INTENDED TO DERIVE THE ACTUAL REQUIREMENTS.
AND SO, UH, IT'S PRETTY FAST TRACK.
UH, BUT, BUT I WOULD EXPECT LATER THIS FALL, I DON'T FRANKLY KNOW THAT, THAT EVEN IF THE, EVEN IF THOSE STANDARDS ARE SET IN THE FALL, IT'S HIGHLY LIKELY THAT ALL OF THEM COULD BE IMPLEMENTED FOR THE WINTER.
UH, SO IF SOMEBODY, IF THEY'RE LOW HANGING FRUIT TYPE ITEMS, UH, BUT, UH, IT'LL BE A TIGHT TIMELINE TO FULLY IMPLEMENT EVERY POTENTIAL STANDARD THAT MIGHT COME INTO PLAY BY THIS COMING YEAR.
AND THEN WHAT ABOUT BLACK START? DOES AA HAVE BLACK START GENERATORS? UH, SO BLACKSTAR AT 80 IS A BLACKSTAR PROVIDER IN ERCOT.
THE WAY BLACKSTAR WORKS IS, UH, UH, THEY GO OUT ON A, EVERY OTHER YEAR PROCESS, UH, AND, UH, ACQUIRE BLACK SPARKS SOURCES.
THESE ARE GENERATORS THAT WILL START UP IN A, IN A TOTAL GRID, BLACKOUT.
THEY HAVE CAPABILITIES TO START WITHOUT, UH, OUT WITHOUT ALL SCIENCE COWARDS THEM ALREADY.
UH, WE ARE A BLACKSTAR PROVIDER CURRENTLY.
WE'VE BEEN A BLACKSTAR PROVIDER FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
WE'VE WON THAT, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
WE HAVE A DECKER GAS TURBINE AND A BACKUP TO THAT.
ANOTHER GASP BECKER THAT IS A BAXTER BLACKSTAR UNIT.
AND THEN IN A BLACKSTAR PROCESS, YOU IDENTIFY WHAT'S CALLED A CRANKING PATH TO A NEXT START UNIT.
AND SO WE WILL, UNDER THAT SCENARIO, OUR GAS TURBINE WOULD START UP AND IT WOULD LINK UP, UH, THROUGH A DESIGNATED PATH, UH, ON OUR TRANSMISSION SYSTEM OVER TO SANDHILL AND START UP ANOTHER GAS TURBINE AT SAND HILL.
AND SO, UH, JUST AS A, AS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE WAY BLACKSTAR WORKS, IT'S VERY MUCH A BUILD A BLOCK TYPE, UH, ARRANGEMENT.
YOU START SMALL, AND THEN YOU GROW IT.
AND IT'S A, UH, I THINK YOU'VE HEARD FOLKS TALK ABOUT IT COULD BE LINKED TO TRICKY, AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S COMPLICATED AND YOU HAVE TO, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER, YOU HAVE TO BALANCE THAT SUPPLY AND DEMAND AND ELECTRIC SYSTEM.
AND SO AS WE TURN ON ONE THING, YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE MATCH UP WITH THAT, AND DON'T OVER UNDERSHOOT.
SO AGAIN, THAT THEN YOU BEGIN THAT DAISY CHAIN BUILD OUT OF ANOTHER GENERATOR OR LOAD ANOTHER GENERATOR, MORE LOAD ANOTHER GENERATOR MORE OR SO, UH, IT WOULD LIKELY TAKE A WHILE, PARTICULARLY UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES, LIKELY HEADBOARD.
SO HOW DID THE CAPABILITY FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, IF IT HAD COME TO WHERE YOU HAD TO DEPLOY THE BLACK START? DID WE PERFORM OKAY? YES.
OUR, OUR GAS TURBINES WERE AVAILABLE FOR THAT IF NEEDED RIGHT NOW.
AND SO ALSO THE NEXT THING IS, AS FAR AS THE DISCUSSION IN THE FUTURE ABOUT SEXUALIZATION OF THE 409 FEEDERS, SO GETTING GREATER SEXUALIZATION WOULDN'T THAT ALSO HELP THE BLACK START, IT GIVES YOU THE FINER GREEN GRANULARITY.
WE SHOULD PROBABLY LET SOMEBODY ON OUR WALKER SIDE ANSWER THAT QUESTION, BUT I WOULD SAY BASED ON WHAT I KNOW ABOUT BLACKSTAR AT THE REFINERY, YOU CAN MODULATE LOAD VERSUS
[00:40:01]
SUPPLY.THE MORE, THE MORE CONTROL YOU HAVE, THE EASIER IT WOULD BE TO MAKE THAT A SMOOTH AND LESS BUMPY PATH TO A REBUILD OF THE SYSTEM.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER HATTON.
I THINK YOU HAD SOME QUESTIONS.
AND, UM, I APPRECIATED THE QUESTIONS THAT MR. TUTTLE WAS ASKING AS WELL.
AND I WANTED TO JUST SHARE MY CONCERNS, ESPECIALLY ABOUT THE NUCLEAR REACTORS.
UH, JUST THIS TIME AROUND WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT, UH, HEAT PROBLEMS, UM, A WEEK OR SO AGO, WE HAD COMANCHE PEAK HAVING ONE UNIT DOWN AND THEY'RE BACK ONLINE NOW, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WE NEED TO TRULY BE BUILDING AROUND THAT IN OUR PLANNING MORE THAN EVER.
AND, UM, I'M HOPING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE HEARING ABOUT SOME NEW, ADDITIONAL PBAS, UM, FOR WIND AND SOLAR.
THAT'LL HELP US IN TERMS OF, UM, MORE OF A MARGIN.
UM, AND, UH, AND I'M ALSO CURIOUS AS TO WHETHER WE ARE USING ANY SOLAR POWERED HEAT LAMPS AT ALL.
UM, I'VE HEARD THAT IN THE GAS INDUSTRY, THEY'RE ACTUALLY THE BIGGEST USERS OF SOLAR BECAUSE FOR A LOT OF THE COMPRESSOR STATIONS, THEY DON'T WANT TO RUN LINES ALL THE WAY OUT THERE.
SO THEY'RE JUST USING SOLAR POWER, UH, AT THOSE LITTLE COMPRESSOR, UM, TRANSITION SITES THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
SO ARE WE DOING THAT? ARE WE, YOU KNOW, UM, IN TERMS OF THE HEAT LAMP TYPE SCENARIOS? NO, NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE.
AND IT'S MAINLY BECAUSE OF THE NEED TO HAVE 24 7 FUNCTIONALITY.
I DON'T KNOW, THERE'S ANOTHER WORD.
AND, AND I THINK THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, YOU ALREADY HAD SEVERAL ASPECTS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, VERY EXTREME, COLD, LONG DURATION, AND ALSO A LOT OF PRECISION PATIENT, A LOT OF SNOW AND ICE WILD COVER AND SO ON.
AND SO, UH, I'M NOT AWARE THAT WE HAVE THOSE CURRENTLY, BUT IT'S ALSO REFLECTIVE OF WE, WE, WE USE FOR EXAMPLE, PROPANE OR ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN HEATERS, UH, THAT CAN OPERATE DURING, UH, AN AROUND THE CLOCK BASIS HERE, REGARDLESS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, AVAILABLE, UH, SOLAR.
AND ARE WE LOOKING AT MORE STORAGE ALSO TO HELP US GET THROUGH THESE SCENARIOS? THAT'S GOING TO BE AN ONGOING LOOK.
I THINK WE IN EVERYBODY ELSE ARE LOOKING AT OPPORTUNITIES WHERE STORAGE CAN PROVIDE, POTENTIALLY PROVIDE SOME DRIVE THROUGH CAPABILITY IN THIS.
YEAH, PAT, UM, I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON SOMETHING DAVE WAS ASKING ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR CURRENT RESOURCE PLAN BASICALLY TOSSES ALL OF OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF OUR, UM, UM, OUR GAS, ALL OF OUR COAL.
UM, I'M, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER THAT IS CREATING ADDITIONAL RISK.
I MEAN, PART OF WHAT DAVE WAS ASKING YOU ABOUT AS WELL.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO HAD SOLAR AND WIND RESOURCES, AND I GUESS FOR THE MOST PART, THEY RAN, WE HAD SOME, SOME THAT DIDN'T RUN WHEN WE WANTED THEM TO, BUT, UH, ON THE WHOLE, IT SEEMS LIKE IT WORKED OUT.
I'M JUST WONDERING IF WE NEED TO RE CONCERN OURSELVES WITH, UH, UH, RELIABILITY THAT WE'RE CREATING RISK FOR OURSELF, UH, FOR, BY ELIMINATING OUR THERMAL RESOURCES AND WHETHER THERE'S A WAY FOR US TO HEDGE THAT RISK, YOU KNOW, FROM A PHYSICAL POINT OF VIEW.
UH, AND THE ONE THING THAT HE ASKED YOU ABOUT IT SOUNDS LIKE WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON IT YET, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT OUR PROVIDERS ARE ACTUALLY, UH, WENT ARRIVES TO, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF CONTROL OVER THAT YET.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M CONCERNED THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT MIGHT BE A RISK THAT IF WE FOLLOW OUR GYM PLAN, WE'RE ACTUALLY INCREASING OUR, UM, UH, OUR EXPOSURE TO, UM, WEATHER OUTAGES.
SO I NEED TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S ON THE SAME PAGE FROM ONE STANDPOINT, EVEN THOUGH I THINK THIS HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP IN THAT BE CERTAIN THAT, THAT WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T PHYSICALLY MATCH OUR SUPPLY TO OUR LOAD IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH, UM, OR TELLMAN OR ANYTHING I, I DIDN'T MEAN TO GET INTO I'M TALKING ABOUT THE FINANCIAL IMPACT
[00:45:02]
ON OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE ELECTRICITY.I THINK WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S NOT, WE'RE NOT SAVING.
I JUST WANT TO BE CERTAIN ABOUT THAT.
AND SO FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, THEN I THINK YOU'RE YOU'RE RIGHT.
SO AS WE EVOLVE THE PORTFOLIO, AND THIS HAS BEEN ONGOING FOR QUITE SOME TIME, AS WE'VE RETIRED PLANTS ADDED NEW PLANTS, ADD MORE WIND AND SOLAR, AND AS THAT EVOLUTION CONTINUES, OUR RISK PROFILE IS CHANGING.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE MINDFUL, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARDS THAT.
AND SO ON A GOING FORWARD BASIS, AS WE HAVE, AS WE RETIRE PHYSICAL ASSETS, WHO MIGHT'VE BEEN PROVIDING SOME OF THAT RISK MANAGEMENT BY VIRTUE OF HAVING ON OFF SWITCH, SO TO SPEAK, UH, AND, OR, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO MORE CONTROLLABLE SAY THAN, THAN WIND OR SOLAR, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING MORE FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT TO OFFSET THAT, RIGHT? SO YOU BUY FOUR CONTRACTS, YOU, YOU HAVE ENOUGH IN PLACE TO MANAGE THAT FINANCIAL RISK.
AND I THINK THE OTHER PART IS, UH, AND, AND YOU SAW THIS IN FACT DURING THE WINTER EVENT IS THAT WE ALSO HAVE BENEFITED CONTINUE TO BENEFIT BY HAVING A DIVERSE PORTFOLIO WHERE WE HAVE A LOT OF CONTRACTS FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT RESOURCES IN DIFFERENT AREAS.
AND SO, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT ALL THE SAME WAY S THE SUN AND, OR THE WIND BLOWS AND SHINES DIFFERENTLY AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN TIME.
AND SO WE SPREAD THAT RISK AROUND, UH, WE ALSO HAVE DONE THAT WITH OUR, WITH OUR THERMAL RESOURCES OVER TIME.
SO IT'S BLURRED NUMEROUS GENERATORS.
SO WE BREAK THAT RISK UP IN CHUNKS, AND THAT'LL BE THE FEATURE OF, OF THE FUTURE AS WELL AS WE ADD MORE CONTRACTS FOR RENEWABLES AND SO ON.
AND THE OTHER PART, THE OTHER LINK IN THERE EVENTUALLY WILL BE, UH, STORAGE OR STORAGE THAT WILL FIT IN TO HELP SMOOTH, SMOOTH THINGS OUT AND BALANCE OUT SOME OF THOSE ASSETS THAT WILL BE RETIRING IN THE FUTURE.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER STONE.
DID I HEAR YOU, UH, EARLIER? UH, NOPE, NOT ME.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. SWEENEY? ALL RIGHT.
[16. Distribution vegetation management program]
MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER 16.THIS IS DISTRIBUTION VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, UH, BRIEFING FROM STEP.
WE'LL HAVE, UH, JOSEPH OSBORNE, OUR ELECTRIC SYSTEM FIELD OPERATIONS MANAGER TO DO THAT BRIEFING.
AND JOSEPH WILL, UH, PULL THAT UP FOR YOU NOW.
CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME OKAY? YES.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER FOR ALLOWING ME TO, UH, DO OUR VISITATION MANAGEMENT UPDATE, UH, FROM THE URI STORM.
UH, THIS PRESENTATION WILL CONSIST OF ABOUT THREE PARTS.
SO THE FIRST PART WILL BE, UH, A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE STORM.
UH, SECOND PART WILL BE A KIND OF A PILLARS OF EXCELLENCE, WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE DOING CURRENT STATE, AND THE LAST PART WILL BE THE PARTNERSHIP EFFORTS.
SO AGAIN, I'M, JOE WAS BORN ON THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM, FIELD OPERATIONS MANAGER WITH OVERSIGHT OVER VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.
SO LIKE MINI STORMS, UH, WE, WE OFTEN PREPARE CREWS TO, TO BE READY TO GO.
UH, YOU KNOW, MY BACKGROUND IS FROM OKLAHOMA, SO I'VE BEEN IN PLENTY OF ICE STORMS. SO WE WERE CERTAINLY, UH, KEEPING AN EYE OUT ON THIS.
SO WE HAD LINE CREWS AND FORESTRY CREWS READY TO GO.
UH, MOST PEOPLE SAW THIS AS PROBABLY ONE LONG EVENT, BUT FOR THIS, THOSE OF US OF BOSTON, THE ENERGY, YOU KNOW, WE SAW THIS AS THREE WINTER EVENTS AND OBVIOUSLY AN ERCOT EVENT, UH, AS A, AS A RESULT OF THE, THE SIGNIFICANT HEISING.
UH, WE CERTAINLY HAD A LOT OF BRANCH FAILURES, TREAT FAILURES, UH, CERTAINLY HAD SOME INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES, BUT, UH, ALL OF THIS CONTRIBUTED TO, UM, JUST GETTING BACK AND GETTING THE POWER BACK ON IN A TIMELY FASHION.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OUR LINES ARE BACKED SPOTS AND IN CANYON LAND.
SO IT WAS, IT WAS QUITE A CHALLENGE, UM, TO GET THAT BACK UP NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO HERE'S A POWER DELIVERY MODEL, UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEAL OF THE VEGETATION CONCERNS DURING THE EVENT.
UH, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE ON THE GENERATION SIDE, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY VEGETATION CAUSED OUTAGES ON OUR TRANSMISSION INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE HAD NO VEGETATION CAUSED OUTAGES, BUT OBVIOUSLY ON OUR DISTRIBUTION, WE CERTAINLY HAD SOME CHALLENGES OUT THERE FROM FALLING TREES AND BRANCHES.
UH, WE HAD A FEW, UH, YOU KNOW, INCIDENTAL AUTOMOBILES, AND I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT HERE, WE, UH, THE NORTHLAND 14 CIRCUIT WAS A CIRCUIT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FROM DECEMBER 20TH, UH,
[00:50:01]
DECEMBER 20, 20, I'M SORRY.AND, UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY OUTAGES ON THAT CIRCUIT.
THAT CIRCUIT WOULD BE WRAPPED UP HERE IN ABOUT, UP ABOUT A MONTH OR SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO HERE'S A WINTER EVENT, TIMELINE BREAKDOWN, UH, ON OUR CRUISE.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE SAW THAT FIRST STORM COMING IN.
SO WE HAD OUR 42 LOCAL CREWS READY TO GO.
UH, AS WE GOT INTO SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY, WE ALSO HAD AN INSIGHT OF THE NEXT STORM.
SO WE, UH, WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE BROUGHT IN 32 MORE, UH, MUTUAL CREWS TO ASSIST WITH RESTORATION EFFORTS AND THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT SIDE.
AND THEY CARRIED THROUGH THROUGH THE END OF THE, THE, UH, EVENTS THROUGH THE 21ST AND FROM THE 22ND TO THE 26TH, ALL OF THE CREWS WERE CONDUCTING DEBRIS UP AND, YOU KNOW, JUST WORKING ON INS AND OUTS, UH, THAT WERE LEFT OVER FROM THE STORM.
SO MOVE INTO THE NEXT SECOND SECTION.
THIS IS, UH, OUR PILLARS OF EXCELLENCE.
SO ONE THING WE'VE BEEN VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE COUNSELING FOR YOUR TEAMS, UH, LOOKING AT OUR SUSTAINABILITY WE'RE, WE'RE CERTAINLY LOOKING TO GET THE SYSTEM BACK ON CYCLE ON THE FIVE TO SEVEN YEAR CYCLE.
UH, WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN WORKING ON THE UNDERPERFORMING LIABILITY ISSUES, UH, BUT THERE'S RIGHT SIDE OF FIRE MITIGATION HAS COME INTO PLAY IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO WE CERTAINLY PARTNER WITH THE WILDFIRE DIVISION, AND WE'RE CERTAINLY LOOKING AT OUR CIRCUITS IN THAT, IN THAT REGARD AS WELL.
SO WE'RE, WE IDENTIFY SOME OF THE CIRCUITS THAT ARE HIGH FIRE RISK AREAS.
AND LIKE I SAID, WE'RE WORKING VERY DILIGENTLY TO GET THIS BACK ON A SEVEN YEAR CYCLE.
COMMISSIONER HEAD, SORRY, SORRY FOR THE INTERRUPTION.
UM, WOULD YOU MIND MUTING YOUR MIC? I THINK I CAN HEAR SOME FEEDBACK.
AND APOLOGIZE TO MY, MY CAMERA'S HAVING ISSUES AS WELL.
I MEANT TO TELL YOU THAT EARLIER.
SORRY ABOUT THAT COMMISSIONERS.
THIS SLIDE HERE KIND OF REPRESENTS OUR WORKLOAD, UH, GOING THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR.
UH, ONE THING TO MAKE NOTE OF HERE IS THE 7 35, WHICH ARE TICKETS.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WILL CERTAINLY BE KEEPING OUR EYE ON AS WE, AS WE START TO CATCH UP ON THESE CYCLES.
UH, WE SHOULD SEE THAT THAT TICKET NUMBER STARTS TO BEEN MANAGED AND A TICKET IS ACTUALLY A CUSTOMER OR A DRIVEN CALL IN FROM PROPERTY OWNER WITH A TREE PRUNING CONCERN.
SO, UH, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT WE'RE CERTAINLY KEEPING AN EYE ON.
UH, ONE THING I CAN TELL YOU IS WE DID HAVE A DIRECTIVE TO HAVE 10 CIRCUITS COMPLETED BY THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY AT FOUR, WE'RE WORKING ON SIX ADDITIONAL WILDFIRE, UNDERPERFORMING FEEDERS.
SO WE'RE ON WE'RE ON TRACK TO MEET THAT GOAL FOR THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
SO THIS IS JUST A QUICK SNAPSHOT.
UH, IF YOU'LL RECALL BACK IN SEPTEMBER OF 2019, WE, WE HAD SOME, SOME RELIABILITY ISSUES ON STECCO SEVEN CIRCUIT.
UH, THE TOP PICTURE REPRESENTS A AERIAL SHOT OF WHAT THAT CIRCUIT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT VEGETATION LOOKED LIKE UP INTO OUR COURT OR, OR CONDUCTORS, UH, AND THIS, THIS BOTTOM PICTURE IS A FOLLOW-UP, UH, KIND OF GIVE YOU AN IDEAL OF, UH, YOU KNOW, ONCE YOU GO IN THERE AND DO SOME PRUNING AND DO SOME, YOU KNOW, TREE MITIGATION AND REMOVALS TO KIND OF OPEN UP THAT CIRCUIT, UH, TO MINIMIZE THOSE RISKS OVER LOUD BUILDING AND FIRE RISK.
SO EVERYONE'S AWARE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PRUNING LIMITATIONS THAT WE WORK WITH HERE WITH, WITH, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY.
UH, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE COMING OUT OF THE OAKWOOD SEASON, GOT BETTER ABOUT A WEEK TO GO HERE, AND IT WILL BE READY TO GO WITH ANY VEGETATION WORK PLANS THAT ARE SCHEDULED ON, ON OAK TREES.
UH, WE DO HONOR THAT BIRD HABITAT PRESERVATION AREA AS WELL.
SO, UH, THERE ARE IDENTIFIED AREAS OF BIRD HABITAT THAT WE CERTAINLY RESTRICT ANY WORK IN FROM, UH, MARCH 1ST THROUGH, UH, IN THE BOG LIST.
SO THIS IS JUST KIND OF AN OVERVIEW OF THOSE LIMITATIONS SOMETIMES WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, COMPLETE THE CYCLE WORK.
SO THIS YEAR JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN OVERSIGHT OF, UH, WE'VE GOT OUR, UH, CERTAINLY APPRECIATE, LIKE I SAID, THE, THE ADDITION TO THE BUDGET, BUT WE WENT FROM A, A $45 MILLION BUDGET UP TO AN $85 MILLION BUDGET THAT, THAT NEW CONTRACT WENT INTO PLAY IN JANUARY.
UH, WE WERE AT 38 CREWS, UH, LOOKING AT, BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK TO BE UP TO 58 CREWS TO, YOU KNOW, TO TRY AND, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKE HER MAKE A GOOD RUN AT THE CYCLES
[00:55:01]
AND GET THESE THINGS BACK ON TRACK.UH, WE HAVE AROUND 270 OR SO, UH, CIRCUITS AND OF THOSE, THOSE CIRCUITS, UH, FOR US AROUND 235 OF THOSE REQUIRE, UH, SOME FORM OF VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.
SO, SO WE'RE ALWAYS JUST LOOKING TO GET BETTER AND ADDING CREWS ON TO TRY AND MEET THE, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKE THE UNDERPERFORMING CIRCUITS AND MINIMIZE A WILDFIRE RISK X Y PLEASE.
SO YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN THIS ONE BEFORE.
THIS IS JUST A, A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF ALL THE DISTRICTS AND, YOU KNOW, THE LEGEND REPRESENTS THE FIRE RISKS THAN THOSE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THE WEST SIDE HAS HAD SOME SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES WITH THE HILLS AND VALLEYS AND JUST THE URBAN FOREST OUT THERE.
SO, LIKE I SAID, WE, WE WILL CONTINUE THE PARKER WITH THE WILDFIRE DIVISION AND DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MINIMIZE THOSE FIRE RISK IN THOSE AREAS FOR TREE AND WIRE CONFLICT.
SO THE RECENT IMPROVEMENTS, SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE MADE, UH, A VERY GOOD POINT TO CONTINUE PRUNING TREES, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE WORKING CIRCUITS THAT THAT MAY BE IDENTIFIED IN AN OAK LOOP AREA.
WE'RE CONTINUING TO PRUNE THE NON OAK TREES IN THOSE AREAS.
SO SEE US WORKING IN THOSE AREAS FOR, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S AN EXTENDED TIME.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE DO HONOR THE FACT THAT IF, IF A PROPERTY OWNER WOULD LIKE US TO WAIT PAST JULY 1ST TO PRUNE THEIR OAKS, WE WILL HONOR THAT.
UH, BUT WE'RE ALSO PUSHING TO, UH, TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THAT DONE IN THAT TIME.
WE, WE DO, UH, STERILIZE ALL OF OUR TOOLS AND WE PAINT ALL THE CUTS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE DOING ALL THE RECOMMENDED STANDARDS, UH, IF WE'RE ALLOWED TO PRUNE OAKS DURING THAT TIME.
SO THAT'S ONE THING WE'RE, WE'RE CERTAINLY PUSHING FORWARD TO HELP US GET THROUGH THESE, THESE CIRCUITS PASTOR, OBVIOUSLY, WE'RE, WE'RE PUSHED BACK TO THE, UH, 15 FEET AND 10 FEET TALL, FAST GOING, SLOW GROWING TREE SPECIES.
SO, UH, THAT, THAT WILL ALSO HELP US, YOU KNOW, GET TO THAT CYCLE AND MAINTAIN THE FOREST, UH, AWAY FROM THE UTILITY CONDUCTORS.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, BEFORE YOU GO ON THERE, COULD YOU EXPLAIN MAYBE YOUR RIGHT NOW, IF, IF THAT 10 OR 15 FEET IS A DIFFERENT DISCUSSION AND WHAT WAS BROUGHT UP IN THE PUBLIC COMMENT BY THE BUILDER'S ASSOCIATION? IS THAT A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION? UH, YES.
THAT IS A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.
UH, THIS, THIS IS STRICTLY, UH, BASED ON THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AND OUR, UH, TRYING TO MEET OUR UTILITY STANDARDS, UH, FOR PRUNING TREES AWAY FROM CONDUCTOR.
SO YEAH, IT'S DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS.
AND I AM NOT, MAY I ASK, UH, 10 TO 15 FEET, I PRESUME THAT IT STEMS OFF THE SIDES, BUT DOES NOT ALSO, UH, IT'S 10 TO UNDERGROWTH.
SO UNDERGRAD, LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE, I'VE BEEN HERE IN AUSTIN, UH, ABOUT THREE YEARS.
AND I CAN TELL YOU, I KNOW THAT THE GUESTROOMS, THE CHINA BERRIES, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF FAST GROWING SPECIES THAT ARE JUST REALLY HARD TO MANAGE AND, AND THEY RE SPREAD QUICKLY.
UH, SO W YEAH, THE, THE 15 AND 10 FEET, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY MUCH THE, THE, UH, ENCROACHMENT, UH, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MINIMIZE ANYTHING UNDER THE CONDUCTORS, BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE TREE SPECIES UNDER THE CONDUCTOR.
SO WE, WE DO TRY AND GET, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST THAT MINIMAL OF 10 UNDERNEATH THE NEUTRAL.
AND THIS, THIS LAST SLIDE IS THE THIRD PART IS THE PARTNERSHIP.
UH, LIKE I SAID, WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE ALL OF THE, THE STAKEHOLDERS, THE MEETINGS THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS MEETINGS, UH, YOUR TEAM, THE HOA, UH, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, UH, WE'RE WE'RE MEETING WITH THE BCP WE'RE, WE'RE, LIKE I SAID, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE TO, TO JUST GET TO A BETTER PLACE WHERE WE'RE PRUNING THE TREES, UH, THE PROPER WAY.
WE'RE, WE'RE JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE CAN MINIMIZE THAT RISK OF A FIRE OF A TREE AND A WIRE CONFLICT, UH, SPECIFICALLY OUT, YOU KNOW, OUT TO THE WEST AND THE CENTRAL PART OF AUSTIN.
UH, LIKE I SAID, WE'LL CONTINUE TO PARTNER WITH THE WILDFIRE DIVISION, UH, YOU KNOW, HELPING JUSTICE JONES AND HIS TEAM ON, ON, YOU KNOW, WE GOT ANY SHADED FUEL BREAKS WE NEED TO ASSIST WITH, OR, OR ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE.
UM, AND LIKE I SAID, WE'LL JUST CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS AND DO THE BEST WE CAN.
AND FIRST, CERTAINLY WORKING WITH THE HOA AND JUST, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO GET TO A BETTER PLACE WHERE EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS, YOU KNOW, WHY WE'RE DOING THE WORK AND THE IMPACT THAT, THAT WE'RE TRYING TO, UH, TO, UH, FOCUS ON OUT THERE DOING THE WORK.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CERTAINLY RECOMMEND TO, YOU KNOW, IF ANY, ANY OF YOUR COLLEAGUES OR ANY NEIGHBORS
[01:00:01]
OR FRIENDS, OR, YOU KNOW, NEEDING TO PRUNE TREES AROUND THEIR PROPERTY OR BETTER NEAR CONDUCTOR, UH, PLEASE CALL US, UH, YOU KNOW, CALL, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN EMAIL OR UTILITY FORESTRY, UH, EMAIL ADDRESS.AND WE, WE WILL SEND OUT SOME OF OUR STAFF THAT TO CHECK THOSE OUT.
WE WANT TO CERTAINLY MINIMIZE THAT RISK OF, OF, UH, ANYONE BEING INJURED OUT THERE.
THANK YOU, MR. OSBORNE, REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND APPRECIATE THE WORK OF ALL THE TEAMS YOU'VE GOT OUT THERE.
AND I KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THIS WORK IS.
UM, I AM, UM, WONDERING HOW MUCH YOU GUYS ARE HAVING TO USE THE, UM, GARLAND FOR CHEMICAL THAT WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST.
I'M A BIG FAN OF USING THE MANUAL REMOVAL, BUT VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE USE OF HERBICIDES AND THE IMPACTS THAT IT COULD HAVE ON OUR STREAMS AND FISH AND WILDLIFE.
SO, UM, CAN YOU COMMENT ON THAT AT THIS POINT? YEAH.
AND, AND THANK YOU, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER HAD, WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAD THIS DISCUSSION BEFORE, I THINK I WAS ON A CALL WITH YOU WITH ONE OF THE HOS OR ONE OF THE GROUPS, THE TEAMS, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS, THE HERBICIDE USE IS, IS, UH, BASICALLY BELOW 1% OF, OF THE USE IN OUR DISTRIBUTION SIDE WOULD WORK IF WE'RE REMOVING ANY OAKS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
WE'RE, WE'RE SPRAYING THOSE WITH, YOU KNOW, WITH SPRAY PAINT.
CAUSE WE, WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT, UH, THAT OAK AT OAKWELL TO SPRAY IT.
SO IT'S, IT'S, UH, THE HERBICIDE USE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, IT'S A PA APPROVED HERBICIDE, BUT IT'S, IT'S VERY MINIMAL USE OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
I HOPE THAT CONTINUES THAT, UM, I I'M CONCERNED ABOUT IT EVEN IF IT IS CPA APPROVED, BECAUSE IT'S STILL DID HAVE A FAIR AMOUNT OF IMPACTS POTENTIALLY.
MA'AM MR. OSBORNE, UH, COULD YOU TALK, UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE MUTUAL, A VEGETATION CREWS AND SORT OF, YOU KNOW, WHO, WHO ARE THESE FOLKS AND, AND WHEN DO WE CALL THEM AND, AND HOW, HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST? UM, UH, AND THEN I'M ALSO INTERESTED IN THE IMPACT, UH, GIVEN THE, THE BUDGET INCREASE THIS, THIS PAST YEAR, UM, AND THE HIRING, IT LOOKS LIKE ALL, I MEAN, I GUESS IT'S NOT QUITE DOUBLING, BUT, BUT SIGNIFICANTLY MORE, UH, I DON'T HAVE THE SLIDE IN FRONT OF ME HERE, BUT, BUT SIGNIFICANTLY MORE FULL-TIME CREWS.
UM, DO YOU ANTICIPATE, UH, STILL NEEDING TO CALL IN THE, UM, MUTUAL AID VEGETATION CREWS IN, IN, IN, IN ANTICIPATION OF WINTER EVENTS? UH, THAT'S A MOUTHFUL.
SO, UH, IF YOU NEED ME TO REPEAT ANYTHING, LET ME KNOW.
I DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS IN FRONT OF ME, BUT, BUT TYPICALLY, LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, MY, MY BACKGROUND COMING FROM OKLAHOMA, I'VE BEEN IN SO MANY ICE STORMS. WHEN YOU SEE EVENTS OF THIS MAGNITUDE, THERE IS THAT POSSIBILITY THAT YOU WANT TO HAVE REGIONAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE.
UH, ALL OF OUR AUSTIN ENERGY CREWS, UH, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY WORKS ON A ROTATE.
SO, SO YOU ALWAYS WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH, UH, STAFF TO MANAGE THE EVENT.
AND, AND WE KNEW, WE KNEW WELL IN ADVANCE, UH, JUST LOOKING AT THE MODELS, UH, THE ICING EVENT WAS GOING TO BE SOMEWHAT SIGNIFICANT.
SO WE, WE BROUGHT IN JUST ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM THE AREA, UH, WITH, WITH THE CURRENT CONTRACTORS WE USE.
SO, UM, AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, WE, WE HAD A, SOME, UH, I CERTAINLY HAD A, A CONCERN ABOUT THE, AFTER, YOU KNOW, THE DEBRIS THAT WAS LEFT OVER.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THOSE CREWS STICK AROUND AND HELP MITIGATE SOME OF THAT DEBRIS FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, IN CASE, YOU KNOW, LIKE IT IS NOW STARTING TO GET DRY, HAVING WILDFIRE CONCERNS.
SO, UH, I CAN CERTAINLY TAKE THAT BACK AND DO A LITTLE RESEARCH AND LET YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU'D LIKE ME TO RESEARCH.
UH, BUT I DON'T, I'M SORRY, I DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS IN FRONT OF ME RIGHT NOW.
SO IF I'M UNDERSTANDING YOU, RIGHT.
UM, THE, THE, THE ADDITIONAL CREWS THAT ARE ESSENTIALLY BACKUP, UH, ARE, ARE PULLED FROM THE EXISTING, UH, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT CONTRACTS THAT ARE BETTER IN PLACE.
WE'RE NOT ACCESSING, UM, RESOURCES OUTSIDE OF EXISTING CONTRACTS.
IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND, AND ARE THE TERMS UNDER WHICH THEY PROVIDE THAT ADDITIONAL CREWS SERVICE THE SAME, UM, IN OTHER WORDS, THE RATES, ARE THEY, ARE THEY THE SAME AS WHAT THE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER NORMAL, UH, CRUISE THEY'RE PROVIDING AT THAT TIME? UM, IS IT THE SAME RATES OR DO WE PAY SOME, UH, IS IT SOME HIGHER RATE BECAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, NEEDED IMMEDIATELY OR IT BECAUSE OF,
[01:05:01]
YOU KNOW, AN EMERGENCY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? YEAH.TYPICALLY ON, ON A, ON A CATASTROPHIC EVENT, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT FEMA LIKES YOU TO DO AS WELL.
UH, WE HAVE A STORM RESPONSE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, CATEGORY BUILT INTO OUR CURRENT TO PROCURE SOME OUTSIDE RESOURCES.
AND IN THESE CASES, LIKE I GOT HERE RIGHT AFTER HARVEY, AND I'M VERY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT MISUSE AND THE SIGNIFICANCE THAT IT WAS, BUT, BUT THAT'S WHY IT'S THERE.
UH, JUST, JUST SO YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THAT ABILITY TO BRING IN ADDITIONAL RESOURCES IF THE STORM TURNS OUT TO BE A CATASTROPHIC TYPE EVENT, WHICH OBVIOUSLY YOU RE UH, CERTAINLY MET THAT.
AND SO THE EXISTING CON THE EXISTING CONTRACTS, UH, PROVIDE FOR THAT.
UH, THEN I HAVE ANOTHER, UM, QUESTION OR COMMENT REALLY, I GUESS, UH, AND WANTED TO SEE IF YOU COULD JUST TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, AFTER THIS, UM, IT'S BEEN A COUPLE OF WEEKS NOW, BUT THE MOST RECENT, UM, RAIN AND WIND, UH, STORM THAT CAME THROUGH THAT WAS FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT IN, UH, IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE TERRITORY.
AND WE HAD SEVERAL, UM, AVERAGES THAT LASTED, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE, I MEAN, I THINK THERE WERE SOME FOLKS THAT SAID THAT THEY WERE OUT FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS, UM, AND EXPERIENCING, YOU KNOW, REALLY, REALLY FRUSTRATED GIVEN, UH, THE EVENTS IN FEBRUARY AND FEELING, FEELING LIKE IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN.
UM, WOULD YOU, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU COMMENT ON, UH, THE, THE MEASURES THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS, IS UNDERTAKING TO TRY TO ADDRESS THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE OUTAGES THAT ARE AT LEAST CAUSED BY VEGETATION, UH, WITH REGARD TO, UH, STORMS THAT COME THROUGH.
SO FOR THIS LAST, THIS LAST STORM, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ARE, HOW DOES THIS PLAN IMPACT THAT? AND CAN YOU, CAN YOU JUST, YOU KNOW, TALK TO THE FOLKS THAT WHOSE WHOSE POWER WAS OUT RECENTLY, UM, AND, AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING, WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO TO HELP.
I APPRECIATE COMMISSIONER HAT, BECAUSE I, I CAN TELL YOU, I DON'T HAVE ANY DATA FROM, FROM THE LAST EVENT.
THIS PRESENTATION WAS BASICALLY THE URI, UH, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT REPORT.
UH, I CERTAINLY CAN TAKE THAT NOTE BACK AND GET SOME OF THAT INFORMATION IT PROVIDED, UH, YOU KNOW, AT A LATER DATE OR, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GUYS NEED IT.
UH, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE, WE'RE ALWAYS, UH, THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE INITIATIVES IS THAT WE ARE KEEPING AN EYE ON VEGETATION RELATED OUTAGES AND DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MITIGATE THOSE.
BUT, BUT I'M SORRY RIGHT NOW, I DO NOT HAVE THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE, UH, FROM, FROM THOSE PAST EVENT.
AND YOU, ANYBODY ELSE HAVE QUESTIONS? YEAH, SO, UM, I THINK DISTRICT 10 AUSTIN ENERGY IS ALREADY ENGAGING WITH SOME MEETINGS.
UM, CAN YOU GIVE SOME FEEDBACK OF WHAT YOU'VE HEARD FROM THE CONSTITUENTS AND THE DISTRICT, AND IS IT BROADER THAN THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT? ARE THEY ASKING ABOUT OTHER THINGS CAN JUST GIVE US A FEEL FOR WHAT YOU, UH, YES, SIR.
UH, WHAT I'VE HEARD SO FAR, LIKE I SAID, WE, WE JUST HAVE A COUPLE MORE THIS WEEK.
I THINK I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THREE.
UH, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAVE SOME CONCERNS, YOU KNOW, OUR COLLEAGUES AND, AND, AND FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS OUT THERE HAVE HAD CONCERNS ABOUT WILDFIRE, BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY DO HAVE THE CONCERNS ABOUT THREE, THREE AND WIRE CONFLICT.
UM, OVERALL, I MEAN, IT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
UH, I CAN TELL YOU, UH, GOING TO THAT INCREASED, UH, 15 AND 10 FOOT, UH, CLEARANCE, UH, VERY LITTLE, UH, YOU KNOW, FEEDBACK ON, ON, YOU KNOW, BANK, PEOPLE BEING DISTRESSED ABOUT THAT.
THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
AND WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD A VERY GOOD SUCCESS PRUNING A LOT OF THE OAK TREES, UH, DURING THIS, THIS OAK WINDOW, WHEN, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT RECOMMENDED THAT YOU PRUNE TREES, BUT IF YOU'RE FOLLOWING THE PROPER PROCEDURES OF STERILIZING YOUR TOOLS AND, YOU KNOW, PAINTING THOSE CUTS, UH, IT IS ALLOWED AND IT HAS, IT HAS ALLOWED US TO GET A LOT MORE OF THE CIRCUS COMPLETED.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHY I WAS REALLY GRATEFUL.
UH, YOU KNOW, THAT NORTHERN 14 CIRCUIT HELD UP VERY WELL DURING THAT ICING EVENT.
AND A LOT OF THESE CIRCUITS, UH, WILL BE COMPLETE, YOU KNOW, THE SPECTRUM SEVEN CIRCUITS, HOW WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING NOW, I BELIEVE THE SPEC OF SEVEN NORTHLAND 14, UH, H HOA MEETING IS TOMORROW EVENING.
UH, SO LOOKING FORWARD TO VISITING WITH THOSE, THOSE PEOPLE AND, UH, JUST TALKING THROUGH IT AND, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THEY NEED FROM US, WE'RE WILLING TO WORK WITH THEM, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE AROUND A LITTLE WHILE PRUNING IN THOSE AREAS, BUT, UH, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF AREAS AROUND THE CITY TO PRUNE IN AS WELL.
[01:10:01]
GOOD.ANYBODY ELSE LOOKS LIKE? NOPE.
[17. Alternatives for EV ready, Electric ready, and Residential Multifamily Water Heating]
MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER 17.THIS IS ALTERNATIVES FOR EVIE READY, ELECTRIC.
READY IN RESIDENTIAL MULTIFAMILY WATER HEATING.
WE'LL HAVE, UH, KIRK STOCKDALE IS JOINING US FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
KURT, WE'RE PULLING UP THAT RIGHT NOW FOR YOU.
I'M KURT STOCKVILLE, I'M THE MANAGER FOR GREEN BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND WE'D LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU THIS EVENING ABOUT ALTERNATIVES AROUND READY, ELECTRIC, READY, AND WATER HEATING.
IN SPECIFIC TO THAT, I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO SOME ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE UNDERTAKING PERSON CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, BOTH YOURSELVES AND ALSO THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, AS WELL AS OUR STAKEHOLDERS, AS PART OF THE, UH, ENERGY CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
SO SPEAK TO SOME OF THE AREAS THAT WE WANT TO LOOK AT, SPEAK TO WHAT A PROCESS AROUND THAT WILL LOOK LIKE AS WELL AS THE TIMELINE.
WE, A LOT OF THIS HAS BEEN PROMPTED, UH, THROUGH DISCUSSIONS WE HAD AROUND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENERGY CODE, UH, CITY COUNCIL DURING THE JUNE 3RD MEETING PAST THE 21 IECC FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, IT WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1ST.
UH, I BELIEVE WE'RE THE FIRST CITY IN TEXAS TO ADOPT THE NEW ENERGY CODE.
I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO CONFIRM THAT, UH, WAS SURETY.
UH, AND HOW MANY OUT OF THE DISCUSSION AROUND ENERGY CODE FOR COUNCIL, IT WAS MADE CLEAR THAT THERE IS LIKELY TO BE AN ITEM FROM COUNCIL THAT MAY ALSO INFLUENCE THIS PROCESS.
AND I CAN SPEAK TO THAT IN MORE DEPTH HERE IN, UH, IN, UH, IN A BIT, UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO SPECIFIC THIS, THERE WERE THREE AREAS FOR ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION WERE LOOKED AT, WHO HAVE BEEN EXPRESSED AS AREAS THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE MORE DISCUSSION.
WE'VE ALREADY COMMITTED TO LOOKING AT EVIE READY AND ELECTRIC READY, UH, EARLIER IN OUR DISCUSSIONS WITH BOTH THE EEC IN THE RMC, AS WELL AS HAVING STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK THERE, AND ALSO THROUGH THE DISCUSSIONS ON THE DYESS AND THROUGH CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS AROUND THE IACC, UH, THERE WAS AN EX EX EXPRESS DESIRE TO LOOK AT MULTIFAMILY WATER HEATING.
UH, WE REMOVED THE NATURAL GAS REQUIREMENT IN THAT AREA.
WE FELT THAT THERE WAS A STRONG LIKELIHOOD THAT WE WOULD HAVE LEGISLATION COMING FROM THE STATE, UH, THAT WOULDN'T ALLOW US TO DISCRIMINATE BASED ON TYPE OF UTILITY TURNS OUT THAT'S TRUE.
AND THERE'S A BILL, UH, HB 17 THAT WAS PASSED THAT MAKES IT ILLEGAL TO, UH, DISCRIMINATE BASED ON TYPE OF UTILITY.
SO THIS WOULD'VE BEEN STRIPPED FROM CODE ANYWAY, SO WE, OUR TIMING WAS FORTUITOUS.
AND I THINK THAT WE, WE HAD GOOD FORESIGHT IN, IN ADDRESSING THAT UPFRONT, BUT IT HAS SOME UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES IN THAT IT DOES ALLOW FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING MORE STRIP HEATING, UM, OR, UH, PARTICULARLY FOR MULTIFAMILY.
SO WE'D LIKE TO LOOK AT THINGS THAT WE CAN DO AS A COMMUNITY PROACTIVELY TO HELP ADDRESS THAT NEXT, UH, CYCLISTS, HEY, KURT, JUST REAL REQUEST.
SO THAT WATER HEATING, IS THAT SAYING A SET OF SAY, IF YOU HAVE 20 DIFFERENT UNITS IN AN APARTMENT BUILDING, YOU'D HAVE LIKE ONE BIG WATER HEATER OR WHAT IS THAT EXACTLY.
AND THEN CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT ELECTRIC READY? ED READY IS MORE OBVIOUS, BUT ELECTRIC READY? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU? SURE.
UH, SO FROM A RESIDENTIAL APPROACH, A LOT OF THIS IS DEPENDENT ON, ON THE SIZE LAYOUT, UH, DESIGN OF, OF THE MULTI-FAMILY COMPLEX, BUT THEY CAN CHOOSE TO EITHER GO WITH CENTRALIZED SYSTEMS, UH, WHERE OFTENTIMES THEY'RE USING, UH, NATURAL GAS BOILERS, OR THEY CAN GO TO MORE DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS WHERE THEY CAN EITHER GO AGAIN WITH NATURAL GAS OR THEY CAN LOOK AT ELECTRIC OPTIONS.
SO, AND THAT COULD BE ON THE ELECTRIC SIDE, EITHER HEAT PUMP, WATER HEATERS, WHICH HAS SOME, SOME CHALLENGES ON THE MULTI-FAMILY SIDE, BECAUSE THEY TEND TO TAKE UP MORE, UM, WE'RE SPACE, MORE FOOTPRINT.
UH, THEY ALSO, UH, HAVE SOME UPFRONT COST,
[01:15:01]
UH, CHALLENGES THERE, OR THEY CAN LOOK AT AND LOOK AT RESISTANCE, WATER HEATING THERE, UH, AS FAR AS WHAT ELECTRIC READY MEANS TO ME, IT'S THE IDEA THAT WITHIN THE DESIGN OF A NEW NEW BUILDING, IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT COULD BE DONE TO ACCOMMODATE CHOICE IN THE TYPE OF APPLIANCES THAT ARE INSTALLED EITHER INITIALLY OR UPON REPLACEMENT, UH, THROUGH THE DESIGN, AND THAT GENERALLY MEANS ALLOWING SPACE OR VENTILATION OR DIFFERENT TYPES OF, OR DIFFERENT CHOICES, AS WELL AS TYPES OF SERVICE CONNECTIONS, BE IT ADDITIONAL ELECTRIC CONNECTIONS, PROXIMATE TO THE POTENTIAL, UH, APPLIANCE, UH, BE INSTALLED OR DESIGNED UPFRONT, EITHER ALLOW IT TO HAVE, UH, BE DONE BASICALLY SEAMLESSLY JUST BY HAVING A PLUG THERE THAT ALREADY HAS A BREAKER SET UP, OR AT LEAST ALLOWING SPACE IN THE ELECTRIC PANEL AND PATHWAYS TO, TO ATTACH THAT SORT OF THING.A BIG ONE YOU RUN INTO IS WITH, WITH WATER HEATING, IF YOU'VE GOT A NATURAL GAS WATER HEATER, AND YOU WANT TO LOOK AT SAY A HEAT PUMP WATER HEATER OPTION, IT WOULD REQUIRE MORE SPACE BECAUSE HEAT PUMP WATER HEATERS TEND TO BE, UH, LESS COMPACT AND DESIGN, AND THEN YOU WOULD NEED ADDITIONAL ELECTRICITY TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE PAYLOAD AS OPPOSED TO WHAT YOU WOULD TYPICALLY GET WITH, WITH A GAS WATER HEATER.
SO IF YOU'VE GOT A REALLY COMPACT CLOSET FOR YOUR WATER HEATER, IT'S HARD TO COME BACK AND RETROFIT FOR HEAT PUMP WATER HEATER, BECAUSE IT WOULD REQUIRE YOU TO MOVE WALLS AND ALSO POTENTIALLY, AND ALSO POTENTIALLY TO ADD NEW ELECTRIC SERVICE.
SO BIT MORE SPACE THAN A TWO 40 VOLT WITH SOME KIND OF AMPERAGE CAPABILITY THERE, DINNER VIDEOS, AND THEN VENTING.
SO YOU COULD GO GAS OR ELECTRIC.
AND, AND TYPICALLY THE APPLIANCES THAT YOU WOULD SEE THAT ARE, ARE DUAL FUEL OPTIONS.
YOU'VE GOT COOKING, YOU'VE GOT WATER HEATING, YOU'VE GOT YOUR, UH, FURNACE AND POTENTIALLY YOUR DRYER OR THE BIGGIES.
SO, SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE, UH, WE'RE LOOKING TO HAVE A BROAD COMMUNITY DISCUSSION ABOUT THESE PARTICULAR AREAS OF FOCUS.
THERE WAS DEFINITELY A DESIRE EXPRESSED TO HAVE A, A MORE ROBUST DISCUSSION AROUND WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY WOULD LIKE HERE.
UM, WE'D LIKE TO CATALOG ALL THE CHALLENGES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THEM AND HAVE THOSE INCLUDED IN THIS DISCUSSION.
UH, WE'D LIKE TO IDENTIFY THE BEST STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING THESE CHALLENGES SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE MOVING FORWARD AND, AND, AND COME UP WITH A PATHWAY AND THEN DEVELOP THAT PLAN AS WELL AS THE TIMELINE FOR ACTION.
AND REALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS AN ACTIONABLE PLAN FOR AUSTIN ENERGY AND POTENTIAL PARTNERS, UH, TO FURTHER COMMUNITY DESIRES AND EFFORTS ASSOCIATED WITH ELECTRIC READY, EVIE READY, AND ALSO LOOKING AT LOW CARBON AND LOW DEMAND OPTIONS AROUND WATER HEATING, PARTICULARLY IN THE MULTI-FAMILY SPACE.
SO, AS FAR AS WHAT THE PROCESS ITSELF LOOKS LIKE, JUST GENERICALLY, UH, WE NEED TO CATALOG RELEVANT CITY GOALS THAT REALLY PROVIDES THE, THE DEFINITION FOR WHAT IT IS WE'RE LOOKING FOR IN A LOT OF RHINOS TO GET THE AUTHORIZATION FROM, FROM COUNCIL AS TO WHAT WE, WHAT WE'RE DIRECTED TO DO.
UH, WE WOULD LOOK CERTAINLY AT THE AUSTIN ENERGY GENERATION RESOURCE PLAN, WE WOULD LOOK AT THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, WHICH IS ASSUMED TO BE SUPPLANTED BY THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN THAT IS BEING WORKED ON THROUGH THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
WE'D ALSO LOOK AT SOME OF THE TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVES, BUT WE'D WANT TO HAVE ALL THOSE GOALS PUT FORTH WELL CATALOG AND HAVE THOSE UP FRONT AND CENTER IN OUR DELIBERATIONS MOVING FORWARD.
UH, WE ALSO WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT KIND OF STATE AND FEDERAL POLICY OR LEGISLATION WE HAVE THAT HAS EITHER BEEN ON THE BOOKS, OR HAS JUST RECENTLY BEEN PASSED THAT MIGHT IMPACT WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UH, WE WOULD ALSO LOOK AT ANYTHING THAT MIGHT BE PENDING COMING OUT OF ANY KIND OF SPECIAL SESSION.
WE ALSO LOOK AT ENERGY CODE AND NOT JUST WHAT'S BEEN PASSED, BUT I THINK WHERE THE FUTURE IS LOOKING FOR ENERGY CODE, I THINK THE INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO HAVE A DIFFERENT FOCUS WITH WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT, MOVING FORWARD WITH ENERGY CODE AND HAVING IT BE A LITTLE LESS EXPANSIVE.
AND, UH, I THINK WE'LL LOOK TO WHAT WHAT'S COMING INTO THE 24 CODE TO HELP, TO HELP WITH THOSE DISCUSSIONS AS WELL, AS FAR AS WHERE IT MAKES SENSE TO PUT THINGS.
WE'LL ALSO NEED TO LOOK AT ALIGNMENT WITH CURRENT CITY PROGRAMS AND CURRENT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. UH, THIS ALLOWS
[01:20:01]
US TO KNOW WHERE WE COULD DOVETAIL EFFORTS IN, IN EASILY, AS OPPOSED TO THINGS THAT MIGHT TAKE, TAKE MORE EFFORT, MORE WORK OR MORE BUDGET.UH, WE'RE ALSO GONNA LOOK AT STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENTS.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT, UH, FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AND THAT WOULD BE BOTH CITY FUNDING, AS WELL AS POTENTIALLY EXTERNAL FUNDING, UH, VIA GRANT FUNDING, UH, OR, OR OTHER FUNDING MAYBE OUT THERE.
AND THEN WE'LL LOOK AT THE ROLLOUT OF ANY KIND OF POLICY THAT WE LOOK AT IT.
AND I WOULD LOOK AT THAT EVERYTHING FROM PROGRAMS TO EDUCATION TO POTENTIALLY EVEN CODES, UH, MOVING FORWARD, NEXT SLIDE.
SO AS FAR AS THE TIMELINE, UH, WE'VE ALREADY BEGUN OUR, OUR RESEARCH INTO DIFFERENT BODIES OF, OF, OF CITY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, AND ARE BEGINNING TO NOW JUST LOOK INTO THE, INTO LEGISLATIVE SIDE OF THINGS.
SINCE MOST OF THE BILLS HAVE, UH, HAVE GONE THROUGH THEIR, UM, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT SIDE OF THINGS, WE'LL NEED TO FORM THE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.
AND THAT WILL BEGIN IMMEDIATELY, UH, CERTAINLY WOULD LOOK TO BOTH, UH, THE EDC AND THE RNC FOR ANY PARTICIPANTS, ANYBODY THAT WOULD LIKE TO BE DIRECTLY ENGAGED IN THESE.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING TO BE OPEN TO ALL, OR IF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, YOU'D LIKE US TO REACH OUT TO, WE'RE HAPPY TO DO THAT, LET ME KNOW.
AND WE CAN DO THAT, UH, THAT TIMELINE.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR ACTIVE PARTICIPATION, UH, FROM AUGUST INTO NOVEMBER.
UH, I TALKED ABOUT A POTENTIAL ITEM FROM COUNCIL.
UH, WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE NECESSARILY, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE TALK ON THE DYESS WAS, AGAIN, THAT THEY WANTED TO LOOK AT EVIE READY, ELECTRIC READY, AND IN WATER HEATING, UH, INITIAL DISCUSSION THAT INDICATED WE MIGHT BE LOOKING AT SOMETHING POSSIBLY WITH, UH, UH, DECEMBER REPORT OUT.
SO ALL OF THIS IS REALLY SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND COULD BE HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY WHAT AN ITEM FROM COUNCIL MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
IN ADDITION, WE'VE GOT THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN THAT I DON'T REALLY THINK COUNCIL HAS HAD A WHOLE LOT OF TIME TO DIGEST YET.
SO I HAVEN'T HEARD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT ANY POTENTIAL CHANGES THAT MIGHT COME FOR THAT, OR IF THERE'D BE ANYTHING IN ADDITION TO WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN PROPOSED THERE.
SO ANYTHING THAT CHANGES RELATED TO WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN PROPOSED WOULD NEED TO BE REFLECTED IN WHAT WE DO MOVING FORWARD.
UH, AS FAR AS BRIEFING BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, WE'D LOOK TO COME BACK TO YOU IN SEPTEMBER AND NOVEMBER.
SO IN SEPTEMBER TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF KIND OF WHERE WE'RE HEADED AND WHERE OUR INITIAL DISCUSSIONS HAVE, HAVE, HAVE LED US, AND THEN IN NOVEMBER TO GET A PRETTY GOOD SYNOPSIS OF WHAT SPECIFICALLY WE'D BE LOOKING TO TAKE TO COUNCIL IN DECEMBER TO GET FEEDBACK FROM YOU, IF THERE'S ANY KIND OF SUBTLE CHANGES OR SHIFTS WE NEED TO MAKE WITH REGARDS TO THAT DIRECTION ON THE FUNDING SIDE OF THINGS, WE'VE GOT CURRENT CITY BUDGETS.
UH, I THINK OUR BUDGET YEAR FOR THE COMING YEAR IS PRETTY WELL SET.
SO ANYTHING WE'VE LOOKED TO DO FROM A FUNDING PERSPECTIVE WITH CITY BUDGET, UH, WOULD NEED TO COME FROM EXISTING BUDGETS UNLESS WE WERE ABLE TO GET SOME SORT OF GRANT FUNDING, BUT THEN UNDER THE LONGER TERM FOR SUBSEQUENT BUDGETS, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO LOOK AT BUILDING THAT INTO OUR BUDGETS MOVING FORWARD AND ON THE POLICY SIDE OF THINGS, IT'S BASICALLY TO BE DETERMINED.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT.
UH, ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? NO.
I KNOW COMMISSIONER REED HAD A LOT OF FEEDBACK IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS AND I REACHED OUT TO HIM SOME, AND I'LL BE WORKING WITH HIM SOME DIRECTLY ON SOME OF THESE.
SO I'LL ENGAGE HIM DIRECTLY ON THE CONVERSATION AFTER THIS MEETING TO MAKE SURE THAT I'VE GOT HIS FEEDBACK AS WELL.
I THINK HE HAD, HE DROPPED OFF.
SO, UM, I, I, MAYBE I MISSED IT, BUT IS THERE, I'M ON THE, UM, HOUSING COALITION, UH, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
I'D LOVE TO GET THIS AROUND TO SOME OF THEM MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPERS IS WHERE, WHERE SHOULD I BE SENDING THEM? OH, YOU CAN SEND THEM TO ME.
SO I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT BERT.
UM, I'LL JUST SAY, GOD BLESS YOU.
YOU GET THIS DONE BY DECEMBER.
I WAS LIKE, I'LL BE SURPRISED.
I'VE SEEN QUITE A FEW OF THESE EFFORTS IN THE PAST.
THEY THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS THEY CAN BE SIDETRACKED.
SO, UM, I'D LOVE TO SEE IT DONE.
WELL, THANK YOU, MR. STOCKVILLE, UH, STOCK BILL.
THEY BREW MUCH OKEY-DOKEY UM, OUR, UH, LAST
[01:25:01]
STAFF BRIEFING REPORT.[18. Clearance requirements for distribution overhead lines]
CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR DISTRIBUTION OVERHEAD LINES.WE HAVE ONLINE, UH, SCOTT BEAR, OUR DIRECTOR OF TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION ENGINEERING.
AND HE'LL GIVE THE PRESENTATION.
SCOTT WILL, UH, HAVE THAT FOR YOU IN JUST A SECOND AND WE'VE MOVED OVER, UH, MICHAEL IN CASE, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO REFER SOMETHING TO HIM.
WELL, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME OKAY? YES, WE CAN.
THEY'RE THE, UH, DIRECTOR OF TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION ENGINEERING FOR AUSTIN ENERGY AND, UH, A BRIEFING TO YOU IS TO DISCUSS THE OVERHEAD DISTRIBUTION LINE CLEARANCE RULE CHANGE.
UH, THAT'S IT, THE SPEAKERS SPOKE TO AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE, THE MEETING.
WHAT I'M GOING TO COVER IS IS THE, THE PREVIOUS CLEARANCE AND THE NEW, UH, CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS AND, UH, AND A GRAPHICAL SLIDE THERE.
AND THEN TALK ABOUT WHY WE MADE THE CHANGE AND GIVE YOU SOME EXAMPLES, WHAT WE'RE SEEING OUT THERE IN THE FIELD.
UH, AND THEN TALK ABOUT THE, UH, UH, PARISHES THAT WE DID WITH SOME LOCAL UTILITIES HERE.
AND THEN JUST BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT THE RULEMAKING THAT GOT US TO THIS POINT.
AND, UH, OF COURSE THE APPEAL PROCESS THAT WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH.
I WILL SAY THAT THE, UH, THERE WERE FOUR DEPARTMENTS.
GO AHEAD AND GO INTO SLOT, PLEASE.
UM, THERE WERE FOUR DEPARTMENTS WITHIN AUSTIN ENERGY THAT BROUGHT FORTH THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THIS RULE CHANGE, AND THAT WAS, UH, DISTRIBUTION ENGINEERING, DISTRIBUTION, FIELD SERVICES, UH, OUR WORK MANAGEMENT GROUP AND OUR PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IN REAL ESTATE, UH, THAT ALL SIGNED ON TO SUPPORT THIS, UH, THIS CHANGE ON THE LEFT.
YOU'LL SEE THE PREVIOUS, UH, CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAD, WHICH BASICALLY WAS A SEVEN FOOT, SIX INCH AWAY FROM THE ENERGIZED CONDUCTOR FROM GROUND SCOTT.
UH, SEVEN FOOT SIX IS THE NFC STANDARD, UH, FROM 2 34, UH, THE HATCHED AREA IS THE OSHA CLEARANCE GOING SHOW HIM THAT IT'S, UH, 10 FEET FROM THE, FROM THE ENERGIZED CONDUCTOR.
THE ONE ON THE RIGHT MAINTAINS WHAT WE HAD BEFORE, BUT THEN ADDS THE 15 FOOT RADIUS FROM THE ENERGIZED CONDUCTOR AND A 15 FOOT RADIUS FROM THE NEUTRAL CONDUCTOR.
UH, SO THE NEUTRAL CONDUCTOR IS GENERALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, LOCATED SEVERAL FEET DOWN FROM, FROM WHERE THE ENERGIZED CROSS ARM IS.
SO MOST UTILITIES USE THE NSC AS A MINIMUM CLEARANCE STANDARD.
AND, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THE, UH, FOR THE VOLTAGE CLASS FROM 750 VOLTS TO 22,000 VOLTS, IT'S 7.5 FEET HORIZONTAL.
THEY DO HAVE A VERTICAL COMPONENT TO IT.
UH, IT'S 12 AND A HALF TO 18 AND A HALF, DEPENDING ON WHETHER THAT'S ACCESSIBLE BY THE PEDESTRIAN OR WHETHER IT'S OVER THE STREET WITH VEHICLES OR A TRUCK THAT'S CONSIDERED, YOU KNOW, EIGHT THEATER ABOVE, UH, MOST UTILITIES WILL TAKE THAT AS A BASIS AND THEN, UH, ADD TO IT.
AND AS THEY, AS THEY NEED TO, UM, ALSO WE HAVE THE OSHA 1910 RULE, WHICH PROVIDES THAT MINIMUM RADIAL DISTANCE FOR UNQUALIFIED WORK AND SWITCH.
YOU'RE REALLY UNQUALIFIED WORKERS MEANS THAT IT'S A NON ELECTRIC UNIT ELECTRIC UTILITY WORKER, A PERSON THAT'S NOT, UH, VERSED IN THE HAZARDS OF WORKING AROUND ENERGIZED CONDUCTORS.
AND THAT'S A 10 FEET FOR THIS, UH, FOR THIS VOLTAGE CLASS 12.53 D.
NOW NOT MENTIONED THAT THIS RULE IS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE PRIMARY VOLTAGE THAT WE USE ON THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, WHICH IS 7,200 VOLTS TO GROUND AND, UH, YOU KNOW, 12,500, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO AS WE LOOKED AT THIS OVER TIME, UH, INEXPERIENCE WHEN, WHEN WORKING WITH CONTRACTORS AND THEN WHAT THEY BUILT, UH, BILLINGS CAN BE BUILT.
SO OUR CLEARANCE REQUIREMENT, UH, WHICH IS SEVEN AND A HALF FEET FROM, YOU KNOW, 12,407 VOLTS, BUT THOSE BUILDINGS DO NOT ALLOW FOR UNQUALIFIED WORKERS PERFORM THE CONSTRUCTION
[01:30:01]
OR MAINTENANCE OF THAT BUILT, UH, SORT OF AN ISSUE.UH, SO AFTER THE DEVELOPER OR CONTRACT THE POLICE CONSTRUCTION, YOU KNOW, THERE POSES A POTENTIAL ELECTRIC HAZARD, UH, FOR THAT OWNER, WHETHER THEY'RE OKAY INFORMED OR UNINFORMED WHEN PERFORMING FUTURE MAINTENANCE.
SO AUSTIN ENERGY'S NEW 15 FOOT RADIO CLEARANCE RULE WAS DEVELOPED FROM TAKING THE 10 FOOT OSHA AND A QUALIFIED WORKER CLEARANCE REQUIREMENT, WHICH THE SEVEN AND A HALF FOOT NSC MINIMUM DISTANCE IS EMBEDDED IN THAT.
AND THEN ADDING A SPOTSWOOD ALLOWANCE FOR SCAFFOLDING AND MATERIAL HANDLING, BECAUSE IF YOU'VE GOT THE WALL, YOU'VE GOT SCAFFOLDING TO GET UP TO WHATEVER YOU NEED TO LADDERS, WHATEVER.
AND THEN YOU NEED TO KEEP THAT 10 FOOT DISTANCE FROM AN ENERGIZED CONDUCTOR.
UM, AND THAT'S, THAT'S HOW THE 15 FOOT, UH, DISTANCE THE ABOUT, UH, ALSO WE HAD A PAST HISTORY OF NON-COMPLIANT CONSTRUCTION, UH, INCLUDING A FATALITY OF ONE NON-QUALIFIED WORKER, UH, SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
AND, UH, WE'VE ISSUES OVER THIS SINCE 2017, WE WE'VE ISSUED OVER 70 NOTICES OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS, UH, FOR, UH, CONSTRUCTION SITES OR, UH, THINGS THAT WE SEE THAT, THAT, THAT DON'T MEAN WE NEED OUR PROPER CLEARANCE TO DO SO.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THE LAST SIX OR SEVEN YEARS ZONING CHANGES THAT HAVE LED TO A PROLIFERATION OF A AUXILIARY DWELLING UNITS, WHICH HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED THE WORKSPACE AND ACCESS TO LINES AND POLES FOR THE AUSTIN ENERGY LINEMAN.
I USED TO BE ABLE TO GO BACK IN THE BACKYARD AND BE ABLE TO GET ACCESS TO THESE THINGS, BUT, UH, NOW THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT WITH, UH, THE MORE DENSE DWELLING UNITS THAT WE HAD IN SOME OF TALENT.
SO HERE ARE A FEW PICTURES OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING OUT THERE, UH, THROUGH THE YEARS.
SO THIS ONE IS, IS A MULTI-STORY BUILDING THAT ACTUALLY MAKES IT SEVEN AND A HALF FOOT AUSTIN AS YOUR CLEARANCE REQUIREMENT.
UH, BUT YOU ADD ON TO THAT, THE SCAFFOLDING AND, UH, IT, IT PUTS THE EDGE OF THE SCAFFOLD AND FIVE FOOT FROM THE ENERGIZED PRIMARY.
SO WHEN WE SEE THESE THINGS, WE, WE TRY TO WORK WITH THE, UH, WITH THE BUILDERS AND DEVELOPERS TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE IT A SAFE SITUATION.
UH, IN SOME CASES WE CAN TEMPORARILY TRY TO RELOCATE THE, UH, THE CIRCUIT AWAY FROM IT.
SOMETIMES WE MAY HAVE TO DE-ENERGIZE THE CIRCUIT FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, THAT CAN BE DIFFICULT TOO, BECAUSE WE MAY HAVE TO, UM, DROP QUITE A FEW CUSTOMERS ALONG WITH THAT PARTICULAR BUILDING TO, TO MAKE IT SAFE.
SO IT DOES POSE A CHALLENGE TO, TO TRY TO MAINTAIN THE SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC WHEN THIS HAPPENS.
SO HERE IS A RESIDENCE THAT, UH, ACTUALLY ON THE LEFT SIDE THERE, YOU'VE GOT, UH, UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT HOUSE, I BELIEVE IT'S, UH, THEY BE, UH, A GARAGE IN A, IN A DECK THERE THAT THEY WERE BUILDING AND IT IT'S ALMOST DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH THE, UM, THE PRIMARY CONDUCTORS THERE.
AND, UH, ONCE THIS WAS CAUGHT, UH, UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, TO RESOLVE THIS, THEY HAD STOPPED THEIR PLANS AND REMOVED THAT STRUCTURE THAT DIDN'T MEET THE
HERE'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF, UH, UH, COMMERCIAL BUILDING ENCROACHING UPON THE 10 FOOT RADIO CLEARANCE DURING CONSTRUCTION.
ARE THESE ALL EXAMPLES OF BUILDINGS THAT ARE NOT MEETING THE CURRENT ROLE OR THAT ARE NEEDING THE NEW RULE, BECAUSE THEY'RE TOO DANGEROUS.
THESE ARE NOT EVEN FOLLOWING THE 10 FOOT.
YOU'RE SAYING THESE ARE NOT MEETING, UH, AND IN SOME CASES THEY'RE NOT MEETING THE CENTER AND A HALF FOOT CLEARANCE, BUT IN ALL CASES, THEY'RE NOT MEETING THE TENT FOR THE OSHA AS THEY'RE BEING CONSTRUCTED.
SO THERE, UH, SINCE THE BUILDING MAY BE PLACED SO CLOSE TO THE LINES THAT MAY MEET THE SEVEN AND HALF OF THE CLEARANCE, WHEN YOU ADD TO THAT, UH, WORKERS WORKING ON THE WALL OF THAT BUILDING, THEY, THEY COME TOO CLOSE TO THE ENERGIZED CONDUCTORS AND THEY'RE WITH,
[01:35:01]
WITHIN THAT 10 FOOT, UH, CLEARANCE DISTANCE THAT THEY SHOULD STAY OUT OF.AND THE, UH, THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE HERE, UH, THE SCAFFOLDING WAS ERECTED, UH, BY CONTRACTORS AND TO ACTUALLY ERECT IT, THEY HADN'T PUSHED THE PRIMARY CONDUCTOR IN JOHN'S PRIMARY CONDUCTOR OUT OF THE WAY WITH TWO BY FOURS TO BE ABLE TO, UH, PUT UP THE SCAFFOLDING AT THE TOP THERE.
AND, UH, UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE WORKING VERY, VERY CLOSE TO THE LINE, AND UNFORTUNATELY IT DID RESULT IN THE ELECTROCUTION FATALITY, UH, SOME 10 YEARS AGO, IF I COULD ASK, ALL RIGHT, IF I COULD ASK IT, CAN THIS BE ADDRESSED ALL BY NETTING OR ARE DIFFERENT SCAFFOLDING AS OPPOSED TO, AND AN ADDITIONAL FIVE FEET, IS THAT ONE WAY OF ADDRESSING THE ISSUE, NOT PER OSHA'S RULES? UH, WHAT, WHAT WE HAVE DONE BEFORE IS THAT WE HAVE, UH, PLACED GUARDS, THE TEMPORARY GUARDS OVER THE CONDUCTOR WHILE THEY WORK IN THOSE SITUATIONS.
BUT THOSE USUALLY REQUIRE OUR, UH, ONE OF OUR ALIGNMENT OR TWO OF OUR LINE AND OUR CREW TO BE THERE, UH, TO MAINTAIN VISUAL, UH, VIEW OF THE WORK BECAUSE THE TEMPORARY INSULATING GUARDS ARE NOT REALLY RECOGNIZED AS, UH, PROVIDING THE PROPER DISTANCE AND, AND SECURITY FOR, YOU KNOW, THE SAFETY FOR THOSE WORKERS.
SO THAT IS ONE WAY THAT WE, WE DO THIS, BUT THEN AGAIN, IT DOES TIE UP, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR CREWS AS WELL AS, UH, COSTS EXTRA FOR THE, UH, FOR THE CONTRACTORS.
SO HERE ARE THE OTHER UTILITIES THAT WE BENCHMARK AGAINST, UH, OURS FROM THE, FROM A CLEARANCE STANDPOINT ON THIS VOLTAGE.
SO CPS, ANOTHER CITY OWNED UTILITY DOWN TO SAN ANTONIO.
THEY REQUIRE A 10 AND A HALF FOOT HORIZONTAL DISTANCE FROM THE ENERGIZED CONDUCTOR.
UH, THEY DON'T USE THE GROUND SKY LIMIT LIKE WE DO, BUT THEY, THEY WENT AHEAD AND, AND USED.
UH, I THINK THEY ADDED ANOTHER FOOT TO THE NAC REQUIREMENT.
UH, THEY USE 13 AND A HALF TO 19 AND A HALF, UH, VERTICAL DISTANCE, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON WHETHER IT'S SUCCESSFUL ABOUT PEDESTRIANS VEHICLES OR TRUCKS, UH, BLUE BONNET IS THEY DON'T HAVE A PUBLISHED CLEARANCE TABLE, BUT I DID DISCUSS THIS WITH THEIR, UH, ENGINEERING MANAGER.
WHAT THEY ENDED UP DOING IS THEY, UH, THEY GO BY WHAT THEIR EASEMENTS ARE.
SO THEY HAVE A, UH, GENERALLY HAVE A 30 FOOT EASEMENT AND SAY, IF THE POLE IS IN THE MIDDLE, THAT NEEDS TO, THAT THEY DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO BUILT, UH, WITHIN 15 FEET OF THAT POLE.
SO, YOU KNOW, NO BUILDINGS AND NO OTHER, UH, STRUCTURES, YOU KNOW, FROM, FROM GROUND SKY, UH, AND ON THREE PHASE, THEY MAY REQUIRE AN ADDITIONAL FIVE FEET THERE.
SO PTC IS MUCH LIKE THE BLUEBONNET, UH, OR THEY ACTUALLY GO BY THE EASEMENT, THEY REQUIRED.
AND ON SINGLE PHASE, THEY HAVE A 20 FOOT EASEMENT, WHICH MEANS THEY, UH, RESTRICTED ANYTHING TO BE WITHIN 10 FEET FROM THAT LINE.
AND ON THE THREE PHASE IT'S 30 FEET, WHICH IS, UH, YOU KNOW, BE A 15 FOOT TALL THREE PHASE LINE.
SO WE REALIZED THAT, YOU KNOW, BOTH BLUE BONNET AND PC ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE RURAL THAN WHAT AUSTIN IS, BUT, UH, IT WAS, IT WAS AN IMPORTANT COMPARISON TO, TO MAKE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, DID YOU ALSO LOOK AT OTHER CITIES OF A SIMILAR POPULATION AS AUSTIN OR OTHER PLACES IN THE COUNTRY? WHY, WHY, W WHY IS IT IMPORTANT THAT THESE ARE LIKE NEARBY AUSTIN AS OPPOSED TO SIMILAR TO AUSTIN? WELL, WE DID LOOK AT ENCORE, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, LARGE UTILITY TO THE NORTH, AND WE DIDN'T INCLUDE, I DIDN'T INCLUDE THEM ON THIS SLIDE ONE, JUST BECAUSE THERE ARE, UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH DETAIL ON WHAT THEY REQUIRE IN EACH ONE OF THEIR CITIES THAT THEY SERVE, BECAUSE THEY CAN HAVE AN OVERALL REQUIREMENT.
AND THEN THE CITY CAN HAVE ANOTHER REQUIREMENT FITS ON TOP OF THAT.
SO, UH, I DIDN'T GET INTO THAT DETAIL THERE.
[01:40:01]
INFORMATION FROM, UH, COLORADO SPRINGS UTILITY AND, UH, THERE, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WITH IT BEING A DIFFERENT STATE, I DIDN'T, UH, DIDN'T INCLUDE IT IN THIS PARTICULAR COMPARISON, BUT WE CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, WE CAN GO BACK AND BENCHMARK, UH, MORE UTILITIES TO SEE WHAT OTHER RECEPTORS ARE DOING ON THIS ITEM.I JUST THINK GIVEN AUSTIN BEING, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING CITIES IN THE U S AND HAVING AN INCREDIBLE HOUSING CRISIS, IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO SEE WHAT CITIES THAT ARE FACING THOSE KINDS OF DEVELOPMENT STRESSORS ARE DOING AS OPPOSED TO SOMEWHERE LIKE BLUEBONNET, WHERE THEY GOT LOTS OF SPACE, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO THE, THIS, THIS PARTICULAR RULE TOOK EFFECT IN THE PIER AT THE THIRD QUARTER, AND THIS IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS.
THERE'S A, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A, UH, ONE OF THE CITY DEPARTMENTS TO, UH, MODIFY OR REVISE THEIR, THEIR RULES OR CRITERIA OR REQUIREMENTS.
AND, YOU KNOW, TH THIS IS THE CALENDAR THAT'S PUBLISHED, UH, BY THE CITY.
AND SO ON THIS PARTICULAR ONE, WE, UH, INTERNAL DAWSON ENERGY, WE DEVELOPED THE, A CERTAIN SET OF RULES BECAUSE THERE WERE MORE THAN JUST THIS ONE THAT WE, THAT WE MODIFIED.
UH, THE, ALONG WITH THAT IT'S REQUIRED THAT WE DO A STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH AND A MEETING WITH THEM, WHICH ON THE RIGHT.
AND YOU CAN TELL WHEN WE'VE, WHEN WE'VE MET WITH THEM, UH, BY THE, UH, 1ST OF FEBRUARY, WE SEND IT OFF TO THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS FOR THEIR INTERDEPARTMENTAL REVIEW.
AND, UH, I'LL HAVE TO SAY THAT EVERY ONE OF THE DEPARTMENTS HAS TO READ THE RULE, OR IT WILL NOT GO FORWARD.
SO, UH, SO THAT, THAT INNER DEPARTMENTAL REVIEW WAS DONE.
AND THEN IT WENT TO CITY CLERK, WHICH, UH, IN A NOTE POSTED THE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE THAT STARTS THE 30 DAY PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
UH, AND WE, WE DID RECEIVE SOME COMMENTS AND REPLY BACK TO THOSE.
AND THEN IT WAS, UH, I GUESS, ADOPTED, UH, ON, I BELIEVE MAY THE 14TH, BUT STARTED IN 30 DAY PUBLIC FIELD PROCESS PERIOD, WHICH, UH, INTO TWO THINGS.
AND WE DID RECEIVE TWO APPEALS AS YOU KNOW, UH, ON THIS RULE.
AND, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, THOSE INDUSTRY GROUPS AND, AND TRY TO COME UP WITH A RECONCILED, UH, RULE THAT WILL, THAT WILL AT LEAST, UH, HELP THEM AND HELP US AT THE SAME TIME.
SO YOU'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO THIS LAST ONE HERE IS THE APPEAL PROCESS.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT HAS TO BE MADE NOT IN 10 30 DAYS OF POSTING, WHICH, WHICH IT WAS BOTH OF THOSE WERE, IT GOES TO THE CITY MANAGER OR DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENT ADOPTING THE RULE AND EACH CITY COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND ONE IMPORTANT THING IS THIS RULE IS NOT IN EFFECT CAUSE AN APPEAL RULE MAY NOT BE ENFORCED UNTIL CITY MANAGER'S DECISION.
SO THE RULE HAS BEEN SUSPENDED.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE CITY MANAGER MAY AFFIRM A MAN AND WITHDRAW YOUR APPEAL RULE, AND HE HAS 60 DAYS TO, FOR THAT DECISION.
AND IF NO DECISION IS MADE, THEN THE RULE IS AUTOMATICALLY WITHDRAWN.
SO, UH, ACTUALLY WE, WE HAD, UH, MICHAEL PITTMAN AND MYSELF HAD, UH, DISCUSSIONS WITH, UH, DAVID GLENN AND SCOTT TURNER, UH, TO, YOU KNOW, THEY REALLY WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE COMING FROM AND WHY WE, YOU KNOW, HAD MADE THE RULE CHANGE THE WAY IT WAS.
AND WE, WE UNDERSTAND THEIR, THEIR CONCERNS.
UM, AND, AND THE ISSUES THAT, THAT AFFECTS THE, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, THE ABILITY TO, UH, FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, FOR HIGHER DENSITY HOUSING.
AND WE DO WANT TO HELP RECONCILE WHAT WE CAN WITH, UH, BOTH BASED ON SAFETY THAT WE NEED FOR NOT ONLY OUR PEOPLE, BUT THE PUBLIC WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, W WITH THE INTENT OF WHAT WE'D WANT TO TRY TO DO TO MAKE THIS A MORE AFFORDABLE CITY.
THE ONLY, THAT'S THE LAST SLIDE.
SO I'M OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS, MR. MAYOR.
UH, SO ONE OF THE THINGS, I MEAN, YOU JUST SAID, YOU'RE, YOU'RE INTENDING TO WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE APPEALING.
[01:45:01]
AND SO IS THIS RULE THOUGH, THE FORM OF THE RULE THAT YOU WANT TO SEE THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE, OR ARE YOU PLANNING TO TRY TO WORK AROUND SOME OF THIS AND CHANGE THE RULE AND COME BACK WITH SOMETHING ELSE FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE? WELL, WE'LL BE OKAY.I FEEL LIKE WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE RULE, UH, APPROVED THE WAY IT IS.
UH, WE FELT LIKE THERE WERE AMPLE OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENTS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE RULE MAKING PROCESS TO, UH, GET TO THE POINT, YOU KNOW, BEFORE IT WAS, UH, AN ADOPTED RULES.
AND WE REALLY ONLY HEARD ABOUT THE ISSUES, UH, AT THAT 30 DAY PERIOD FOR THE, FOR THE APPEAL.
UH, AND SO RECOGNIZING THAT MAYBE THEY WEREN'T QUITE ENGAGED AS EARLY AS THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN, UH, UH, POSSIBLY COULD HAVE BEEN.
THEN, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO GIVE, YOU KNOW, THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THIS.
UH, KNOW WE FEEL LIKE, LET'S SAY THIS IS NOT UNUSUAL BASED ON SOME OF THE OTHER UTILITIES THAT WE'VE SEEN ON THAT BENCHMARKING.
I MEAN, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, CPS IS USING PRETTY MUCH THE OSHA RULE TO DO THAT.
NOW, AGAIN, YOU CAN, YOU CAN BASE IT ON THE OSHA RULE, BUT THEN YOU'VE ALSO GOT TO GIVE, UH, ALLOWANCE FOR THAT SCAFFOLDING AND EQUIPMENT TO BE ABLE TO PUT UP AND NOT VIOLATE THE OSHA RULE.
SO THAT WAS THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF WHY WE WENT TO, UH, TO 15 FEET AS A, AS A RADIO, UH, ENVELOPE.
IT DOESN'T GO ALL THE WAY TO THE GROUND.
SO, UH, AND WE, IN, IN DISCUSSING WITH DAVID AND SCOTT TURNER, WE DID DISCUSS ALTERNATIVE METHODS THAT CAN BE PERFORMED.
OF COURSE, THESE OTHER METHODS WITHIN THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WOULD HAVE TO BE THE COST WOULD HAVE TO BE BORN BY THE, BY THE CUSTOMER AND THE DEVELOPER.
THERE ARE A POSSIBILITY OF TRYING TO RELATE THE LINE TO ANOTHER AREA, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, DIFFICULT TO DO AT TIMES BECAUSE OF THE, UH, THE ROUTING.
UH, THERE ARE THE ABILITY TO UNDERGROUND SECTION OF IT, WHICH IS VERY EXPENSIVE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT IT IS A POSSIBILITY.
I'M S I'M SORRY, I DON'T, I DON'T WANT TO INTERRUPT YOU.
I'M JUST, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET TO THE CONCLUSION.
ARE YOU WORKING WITH HIM TO CHANGE THE RULES OR ARE YOU JUST GOING TO TALK TO THEM AND NOT CHANGE THE RULE? YEAH.
AND CARRIE, I, MAYBE FOR SOME BACKGROUND, UM, THE REASON THIS IS ON THE AGENDA IS BECAUSE I REQUESTED IT BECAUSE I HEARD ABOUT IT FROM, UM, THE BUILDING DEVELOPERS.
IT'S NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE COMING TO GIVE US A PRESENTATION ON THIS.
SO THIS RULE WENT THROUGH WITHOUT IT COMING TO THE EUC, UM, WHICH I ASKED FOR THIS BRIEFING, THAT'S MY QUESTION STANDS.
ARE YOU LOOKING TO GET INPUT FROM THEM OR US OR ANYONE ELSE TOO, WITH A, UH, WITH A, A VIEW TO POSSIBLY CHANGING THE RULE AND PRESENTING A DIFFERENT RULE FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE? OR ARE WE JUST TALKING COMMISSIONER VIRTUAL, UH, SCOTT, THIS IS JEFF.
I JUST WANTED TO JUMP IN REAL QUICK IN RESPONSE TO SOMETHING COMMISSIONER STONE MENTIONED, SHE'S CORRECT THAT THIS ITEM HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO THE UC, UH, AT HER REQUEST, BUT WE CERTAINLY TRY AND MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THE RULEMAKING PROCESS IS LAID OUT IN CITY ORDINANCE AND, UH, IS NOT NORMALLY SOMETHING WE BRING, IT'S NOT PART OF THE COMMISSION'S, UH, COUNCIL PROCESS, SO TO SPEAK.
BUT IN THIS INSTANCE, WE WANTED TO COME AND GIVE YOU THE BRIEFING AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT WAS, UH, UNDERWAY.
BUT RIGHT NOW THAT RULE HAS BEEN APPEALED, UH, WHICH IS PART OF AGAIN, THE PROCESS THAT IS LAID OUT IN RULEMAKING.
AND SO THIS WILL BE WORKING WITH THE CITY MANAGER WITH REGARDS TO THAT RESPONSE TO THE
I MEAN, I'M JUST FOLLOWING UP ON WHAT HE ALREADY TOLD US, AND I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT WHETHER THE CITY AND THE CITY STAFF IS WORKING WITH PEOPLE WITH A VIEW TO POSSIBLY ADJUSTING THIS RULE OR NOT.
WE ARE OPEN TO DISCUSS CHANGES TO THE RULE AND TO HERE, UH, HEAR THEM OUT IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
AND WE'VE JUST STARTED THAT PROCESS.
AND WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY, UH, INTERNAL MEETINGS YET ABOUT THIS, AND WE HAVEN'T REACHED OUT TO, UH, DAVID
[01:50:01]
OR YOU GOING DARK ON US? I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S JUST ME, MR. BAYER, BUT YOU'VE GONE QUIET.JUST A REASON WHY IT'S NEEDED.
IF YOU MOVE OVER TO JACKSON, HAVE YOU MADE THE ACCIDENTALLY MUTED YOURSELF THERE? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? I'M SORRY.
YOU'VE ALSO MOVED OVER SYDNEY JACKSON.
IF, UH, IF SYDNEY WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT.
JEFF, COULD YOU SPEAK UP A LITTLE? I CAN'T, I CAN'T MAKE OUT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
I WAS TRYING TO SAY THAT THE, UH, WE'VE ALSO MOVED OVER SIDNEY JACKSON AND HE CAN MAKE A COMMENT IF, UH, IF HE WOULD LIKE TO, TO TRY TO ADDRESS YOUR QUESTION.
THIS IS A SIDNEY JACKSON, UH, CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, MISSIONARY, YOU MENTIONED, UH, ARE WE JUST GOING TO NEED, SO PART OF THE DUE DILIGENCE, UH, THAT WAS REQUIRED FROM THE CITY MANAGER IS THAT WE DO, IT'S ATTEMPT TO REACH OUT AS WE DO WITH ALL KEY STAKEHOLDERS AND TRY TO RECONCILE.
SO THE ANSWER, YOUR QUESTION IS ABSOLUTELY.
WE WILL HAVE A MEETING OF THE MINDS AND ATTEMPT TO RECORD RECONCILE WITH, WITH, UH, WITH THE BUILDING, UH, COMMUNITY.
UH, THAT IS A REQUIREMENT, NOT ONLY WE WOULD HOLD OURSELVES TO, BUT THE CITY MANAGER WOULD HOLD OURSELVES TO, UM, TO THE EXTENT IT IS, WE REACH AN IMPASSE.
THEN, THEN THAT HAS A DIFFERENT LOOK AND FIELD.
UH, BUT WE HAVE NOT REACHED THAT IN PAST.
WE DO HAVE A REQUIREMENT TO REACH OUT AND TRY TO RECONCILE.
SO THAT WAS THE FIRST THING I WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
THE, THE NEXT THING WAS, I WAS A LITTLE CONFUSED BY YOUR PRESENTATION.
ALL OF THE EXAMPLES THAT YOU GAVE SEEM TO BE VIOLATIONS OF THE EXISTING RULE.
UH, AND SO WHAT I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS WHETHER THERE'S, YOU KNOW, DID ANYONE THINK ABOUT JUST, LET'S START IN FORCING THE ACTUAL RULE, UH, MORE AGGRESSIVELY, OR HAVE A, A PROGRAM FOR DOING THAT.
AND ARE THERE ANY THREATS THAT HAVE OCCURRED WELL BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE ACTUALLY SCRUPULOUSLY APPLIED THE EXISTING RULE? WELL, THE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE AUSTIN ENERGY ENFORCES OUR CLEARANCE REQUIREMENT OF SEVEN AND A HALF FEET.
WE DO HAVE A SECTION IN THE, IN OUR, IN OUR DESIGN CRITERIA MANUAL THAT TALKS ABOUT OSHA, BUT WE DON'T NECESSARILY ENFORCE OSHA CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS.
SO WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY START TO BUILD A BUILDING, IF IT'S WITHIN SEVEN AND A HALF FEET, THEN WE CAN ACTUALLY, UH, REQUIRED THEM TO DO SOMETHING TO MITIGATE THAT OR CORRECT THAT.
OR WE WORK THEM, WORK WITH THEM TO TRY TO GET A, MOVE OUR LINES OR DO SOMETHING TO WHERE WE HAVE THAT, UH, THAT CLEARANCE MET.
THE OSHA CLEARANCE IS USUALLY JUST WHENEVER THEY'RE CONSTRUCTING IT, OR IF IT'S BEING MODIFIED OR MAINTAINED, IF THERE'S SOME KIND OF WORK GOING ON INSIDE OF THE BUILDING IN A LOT OF CASES, THOSE DO NOT REALLY COME THROUGH US.
AND SO WE SEE THOSE, OUR SAFETY DEPARTMENT SEES THOSE AND THEY'LL SEE THAT THERE'S A, UH, PROXIMITY TIRE ARE LINES, AND THEY WILL ISSUE THEM, UH, A NOTICE OF ELECTRICAL HAZARD AND TRY TO WORK WITH THEM TO MITIGATE THAT HAZARD.
UM, UM, I'M SORRY TO BELABOR THIS, BUT, YOU KNOW, I GUESS I'VE GOTTEN MY TEETH INTO IT NOW.
UM, THE, UH, THE EXPRESSION THAT I UNDERSTOOD FROM THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO HAVE WANTED TO APPEAL THIS RULE, UH, IS THAT IT WOULD CONSTRAIN FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF ESPECIALLY, UH, LOW INCOME HOUSING OR OUR LOWER COST HOUSING, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, AND ALL.
AND SO I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS DOESN'T REQUIRE ANYBODY TO TEAR DOWN BUILDINGS THAT ARE ALREADY BUILT.
[01:55:02]
UH, I MAY BE WRONG ABOUT THAT.IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
THIS IS FUTURE LOOKING FOR IT.
SO THIS IS GOING TO APPLY TO NEW BUILDINGS THAT GET BUILT AND OLD BUILDINGS THAT ARE BEING REFURBISHED OR REBUILD OR REHABBED, UH, IN SOME FASHION.
AND, UH, SO I MEAN, IT, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE SCOPE IS KIND OF NATURALLY GOING TO BE SOMEWHAT LIMITED JUST BECAUSE YOU GOT MOST OF YOUR, YOUR BUILDING STOCK OUT THERE ALREADY.
UH, AND SO THIS ONLY APPLIES TO PEOPLE WHO ARE REHABBING, WHAT THEY HAVE OR SOMETHING ENTIRELY NEW THAT'S THAT'S IN CLOSE PROXIMITY.
HAS, HAS ANYONE PRESENTED YOU WITH ANYTHING THAT SAYS HERE'S, HERE'S HOW MUCH THIS IS GOING TO IMPACT FURTHER DEVELOPMENT IN THE CITY? NO, NOT REALLY.
WE'VE ASKED THAT QUESTION IN OUR DISCUSSIONS WITH, UH, WITH DAVID AND SCOTT, UH, AND REALLY HAVEN'T GOTTEN THEM DISCRETE QUANTITY.
I'M NOT SURE IF THEY KNOW, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE FROM ONE SECTION OF THE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THE RESIDENTIAL HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION.
AND SO I WOULD THINK THIS WOULD ALSO IMPACT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE COMMERCIAL SIDE OF THINGS TOO, WHERE THEY'RE BUILDING A MULTI-STORY FACILITY, THAT IT REALLY SHOULD BE SET BACK A LITTLE BIT FURTHER THAN WHAT THEY ARE CURRENTLY.
I JUST, JUST FOR MY OWN PURPOSES, IN TERMS OF KIND OF WEIGHING HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS, TO THE EXTENT THAT MATTERS TO ANYBODY, UH, UH, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR ME TO HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH THIS IS GOING TO RESTRICT PEOPLE ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO BUILD THINGS, OR IS IT A VERY MODEST, UM, YOU KNOW, RESTRICTION? AND I, YOU KNOW, I GUESS REALLY YOU CAN PASS THAT ON TO THE, TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE COMMENTING AND, AND APPEALING AND STUFF.
I KIND OF LIKE TO KNOW THAT INFORMATION YEAH.
I JUST LIKE TO ASK THE QUESTION AFTER THAT.
I WAS GOING TO SAY IN OUR EVALUATION, IF YOU HAVE A, AND I CAN'T REALLY SPEAK TO THE, UH, DESIGNS OF THE ARCHITECTS AND 80 USE, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY'RE WORKING WITH A VERY SMALL, UH, FOOTPRINT, BUT ON THE LARGER COMMERCIAL PROJECTS, THE ARCHITECT OR ENGINEER, IN MY OPINION, SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUILDING THAT BUILDING WHERE THEY WOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO HAVE 10 FEET AWAY FROM AN ENERGIZED FARMERY LINE, UH, PLUS WHATEVER KIND OF, UH, SCAFFOLDING THEY WOULD NEED TO, TO BUILD THAT OR MAINTAIN THAT.
SO, UH, I THINK WHAT WE'VE DONE WAS BASICALLY, SINCE WE PREVIOUSLY HAVE NOT SAID, WE WERE GONNA ENFORCE OSHA, WE'VE ACTUALLY COME AROUND TO SAYING WE NEED TO ENFORCE OSHA TO TAKE IT ON AS OURSELVES.
SO WE'RE USING OSHA, THE 10 FOOT RULE OF OSHA AS A BASIS FOR, UH, DEVELOPING THIS CLEARANCE REQUIREMENT AND THEN SAYING, YOU KNOW, COMMON SENSE MEANS THAT IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE WORKING ON THAT BUILDING, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE UP THERE WITH SOME KIND OF EITHER A MANLIFT OR A SCAFFOLDING OR A LADDER.
AND SO THAT'S GOING TO TAKE A FEW THEATER SPACE.
SO WE, WE, THEM RECOGNIZE FIVE FEET IS WHAT THAT SPACE SHOULD BE.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE LOOKED AT, UH, AT 15 FEET FROM A RADIO, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME, A RADIUS FROM THE ENERGIZED CONDUCTOR.
IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT GROUND THE SKY, IT'S 15 FEET FROM THAT CONDUCTOR.
SO WHAT'S ANOTHER SEVEN AND A HALF FEET OUT FROM WHERE THAT GROUND SKY, YOU KNOW, ONTO BLOKE THAT WE HAD PREVIOUSLY.
WELL, I'M GOING TO LET SOMEBODY ELSE ASK SOME QUESTIONS NOW.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WE OFTEN ARE PUSHED TO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, THERE ARE, UM, PROJECTS WHERE SOME OF THE SET THERE ARE WAYS TO RE UM, RELAX SOME OF THE, UH, SETBACKS AND SUCH THINGS SO THAT MORE AFFORDABLE UNITS CAN BE FIT ONTO A SITE.
SO THIS COMES SORT OF DIRECTLY INTO CONFLICT WITH SOME OF THOSE POLICIES THAT ARE TRYING TO INCENTIVIZE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
SO THAT'S WHY IT'S BEING BROUGHT UP SO SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND ALSO, I'M NOT SURE IF I DIDN'T MAKE THE REQUEST FOR THIS ON THE AGENDA APPROPRIATELY, BUT LIKE, THERE IS A PIECE OF THIS THAT IS, UM, CHANGING THE FEE WAIVERS THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING WOULD USUALLY GET WHEN, UM, HAVING REQUESTING ON LINE EXTENSION.
[02:00:01]
ALSO A HUGE ISSUE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.IT'S, IT'S VEERING AWAY FROM THE TYPICAL METHOD OF HOW, UM, FEE WAIVERS HELP AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPERS REDUCE THEIR PROJECT COSTS.
SO I WAS HOPING TO HEAR SOME ON THAT, IS THAT, ARE YOU PREPARED TO SPEAK TO THAT SCOTT OR, UM, WELL, NOT RACHEL, UH, THAT I'M ACTUALLY NOT REAL FAMILIAR WITH THE WHOLE FEE WAIVER ON THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING LIKE THAT, BUT THAT IS, THAT WILL BE, UH, AN AREA THAT WE'LL BE WORKING WITH ON THE FIELD PROCESS, BECAUSE THAT WAS APPEALED.
AND SO THAT, THAT'S ANOTHER RULE THAT WILL BE, THAT WE'LL BE RESEARCHING.
I JUST, I'D LOVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ISN'T A SPECIFIC OUTREACH TO THE STAKEHOLDERS IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
CAUSE IT, I, WE, I ONLY HEARD ABOUT THIS ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, AND I UNDERSTAND YOU WERE DOING OUTREACH IN FEBRUARY, BUT I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHO THE STAKEHOLDER LIST IS FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR THAT KIND OF OUTREACH.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I THINK IT WOULD JUST ALSO BE REALLY HELPFUL IF WE COULD HEAR BACK, UM, ON SOME OF THE RESEARCH FROM OTHER CITIES THAT ARE A LITTLE MORE CONSTRICTED IN TERMS OF HOW THEY'RE HANDLING THIS KIND OF ISSUE.
I'LL SIMPLY TRY TO GO AFTER, UH, SIMILAR TYPE CITIES.
I MEAN, IT'S HARD TO PICK SOME OF THEM TO AUSTIN WITH IT'S A BOOMING GROWTH, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL RESEARCH THE COUNTRY TO SEE IF WE CAN'T, UH, BENCHMARK AGAINST THOSE, THOSE UTILITIES CLEARANCES.
I MEAN, EVEN IF THEY HAVE STATE REGULATION, I THINK IT'S STILL HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT THE TOTAL IMPACT IS.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THAT I UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT IT'S DIFFERENT HERE IN AUSTIN DUE TO THE, YOU KNOW, YOU ALL CAN MAKE YOUR OWN RULES AROUND THIS, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE A 10 FOOT OR 15 FOOT, EVEN IF YOU LAYER THOSE ISSUES AROUND EACH OTHER.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL PLACE LIKE DENVER, FOR EXAMPLE, IS EXPERIENCED SIMILAR SIZE, SIMILAR DEVELOPMENT ISSUES.
UM, AND JUST ON ANOTHER QUESTION IS WHETHER OR NOT THE CITY, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT THAT'S AN ENERGY IS CONSIDERED AN IMPACT ANALYSIS IN TERMS OF WHAT THE COST DIFFERENCES, UM, UM, ON PROJECTS, THE IMPACT FOR, UH, COULD YOU REPEAT THAT? I MEAN, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE SMART HOUSING ORDINANCE, WHEN, UH, WHEN THERE'S A NEW FEE INTRODUCED THERE, UH, THE CITY IS SUPPOSED TO DO, UM, YOU KNOW, A HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT ON HOW THAT'S GOING TO CHANGE THE AFFORDABILITY OF HOUSING AND THIS ISN'T QUITE A NEW FEED, BUT THIS REGULATION, I THINK TO CARRIE'S POINT, IT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS IS REALLY GOING TO CHANGE THINGS WITHOUT SOME KIND OF ANALYSIS AROUND WHAT THE ACTUAL IMPACT IS.
LIKE IF EVERY PROJECT THAT WOULD NORMALLY BE ABLE TO GO TO THE LINE IS GOING TO USE, LOSE A UNIT OR TWO THAT IS GOING TO CHANGE THE DYNAMIC OF THE, OF THE ECONOMICS OF THE PROJECT.
WE HAVE NOT PULLED IN THAT EVALUATION.
QUICK QUESTION ON THIS REALLY, PROBABLY FOR JAFFA, AS WE'RE HEARING ABOUT, ABOUT THIS ISSUE NOW, WHAT IS THE, UH, YOU KNOW, BEING NEW TO THE COMMISSION? WHY, WHY WAS THIS NOT A RULE BROUGHT BEFORE THE AUC AND MUCH EARLIER, UH, THAN HEARING IT NOW? IS IT BRIEFING INSURANCE, COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN? THIS IS JEFF, UH, THAT IS BECAUSE THERE IS A RULE-MAKING PROCESS LAID OUT IN CITY ORDINANCE, AND IT DOES NOT LAY OUT A BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS PROCESS.
IT HASN'T ENTIRELY SEPARATE PROCESS, INCLUDING OTHER RULES, UH, RULES LIKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAL.
THAT'S WHY LAST AS COMMISSIONER STONE MENTIONED, WE DID BRING IT TO THE COMMISSION AT HER REQUEST AND, AND SECONDED BY, UH, BY THE CHAIR.
I, UM, I'M JUST THINKING IN TERMS OF THE FUTURE, UH, WHEN THERE'S SOMETHING
[02:05:01]
THAT WOULD, IF THIS WERE AN INFORMATIONAL ITEM, UH, IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF, I, I JUST THINK IT WOULD BE MORE, CERTAINLY MORE HELPFUL THAN BY HEARING ABOUT THIS FAIR IN THE APPEAL.ANY, ANY MORE QUESTIONS FOR MR. BEAR? DOES IT SAY, HOPEFULLY I ANSWERED MOST OF YOUR QUESTIONS AND A FEW NOTES HERE THAT WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH.
IF YOU COULD COME FROM THE COME BACK WITH, TO US AFTER THE, UM, YOU KNOW, DECISIONS ARE MADE, SO WE GET AN UPDATE.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR STAFF BRIEFINGS AND REPORTS.
UM, MOVING ON TO OTHER BUSINESS ITEM NUMBER 19, THIS IS A REPORT REGARDING COUNCIL ACTION ON ITEMS PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED BY THE EUC CIRCULATED IN YOUR MEETING MATERIALS.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS HEARING? NONE.
[20. Future agenda items.]
ON TO ITEM NUMBER 20 FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. YEAH, I THINK WE'VE GOT, UM, OBVIOUSLY A REQUEST FROM COMMISSIONER STONE FOR A REPORT ON THE OUTCOME OF THIS RULE, UM, AT THE, AND THEN THERE ARE FOLLOW-UP ITEMS THAT I DON'T KNOW IF, IF, UH, MR. BEAR WILL, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO YOU DIRECTLY OR BE, UH, UH, WRITTEN MATERIAL, BUT I'M SURE AMY WILL GET BACK TO US ON THAT.CAUSE I GUESS I LIKE TO HEAR WHAT THE FINDINGS ARE BEFORE THE END OF THE DAY, THE END OF THE CONVERSATION MAKES SENSE.
JEFF, ARE THERE ANY, UH, FUTURE ITEMS THAT WE HAVE, UH, SCHEDULED OUT ALREADY THAT AREN'T JUST OUR REGULAR UPDATES THAT I, THAT I, I HAVEN'T, UH, MENTIONED LATELY.
UM, I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER TUTTLE MENTIONED THE UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE REVIEW.
UM, EVENTUALLY WE'LL HAVE A URI AFTER ACTION REPORT AND A COMMISSIONED READ, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN APPLICABLE WANTS TO HAVE AN UPDATE REGARDING THE RENEWABLE RFP.
AND THEN OF COURSE, UH, I BELIEVE THERE'S ONE OR TWO OTHER, UH, ITEMS LISTED BY COMMISSIONER TUTTLE, THINGS LIKE, UH, UH, WHEN WE COME AROUND TO TALKING ABOUT SEXUALIZATION AGAIN, OR, UM, TRANSMISSION INVESTMENTS, PLANS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
I JUST HAD SOME ADDITIONAL NOTES AND I THINK THAT BETWEEN THE LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY AND THE AFTER ACTION URI, I HAD NOTES DOWN HERE ABOUT THE SB TWO AND SB THREE LAWS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE AND SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR.
I GUESS THEY COME INTO FORCE ON SEPTEMBER 1ST.
AND THAT'LL BE MOSTLY AS FAR AS HE TALKING ABOUT GENERATION, I GUESS.
AND THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, SUBSECTION OF WHAT WE'VE JUST TALKED ABOUT THERE TOO, IS THERE'S NERC ACTION PLANS TO, AND SUPPOSEDLY THERE'S SOME APPROVAL OF A NERC BOARD OF DIRECTORS, BOARD OF TRUSTEES ABOUT THEIR WINTERIZATION PLANS.
AND SO HOW DOES THAT OVERLAP WITH WHAT SB TWO SB THREE IS DICTATING? SO IF WE COULD JUST KIND OF LUMP THAT IN AND THEN CONTINUE ON WITH OUR, OUR NOTION OF, UM, HOW WE'RE GOING TO HIT THE SAFETY, SAFETY AND KATY GOALS AND SOME NOTION OF HOW WE'RE GETTING THE WORST PERFORMING FEEDERS FIXED.
I FEEL LIKE THOSE ITEMS SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN OUR, UH, QUARTERLY OPERATIONS REPORTS.
AND ANYBODY ELSE ON FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? YES.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE AN UPDATE ON THE HEADQUARTERS BUILDING, UM, YEAH, PHYSICALLY, UH, FINANCIALLY AND ON THE RENEWABLE RFP THAT CYRUS IS LOOKING AT.
I'M HOPING THAT THAT WOULD INCLUDE ENERGY STORAGE UPDATES AND, AND ANY NEW DATA.
[02:10:02]
AND, UH, I'LL, I'LL TALK, GO AHEAD, KAREN, EXCUSE ME.UH, ALL OF WHAT SHE HAS ONCE WE ARE ABLE, UH, READY, WILLING, AND ABLE TO, UH, MEET IN PERSON.
AGAIN, MY, I STARTED IN LATE TWO ITEMS. ONE SUGGEST WE HAVE A FIELD TRIP, UH, TO THE NEW FACILITY.
UH, AND THE SECOND WAY THAT WE IN, IN FUTURE PLANNING CONTINUE TO BE AT A CENTRAL, UH, WHICH IS CONVENIENT, BOTH FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE NORTH AND SOUTH, UH, CENTRAL LOCATION CITY, ALL, UH, OR, UH, SOMEWHERE NEAR, UH, WHERE WE DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT THROUGH
I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING I'VE DISCUSSED WITH ANOTHER COMMISSIONER, UH, UH, FOR FUTURE PLANNING PURPOSES.
ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? THAT, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA.
WHEN WILL THEY BE MOVING INTO THE NEW HEADQUARTERS? I BELIEVE THE TENTATIVE PLAN IS FOR SEPTEMBER.
THAT'S A TIMEFRAME THAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING.
AND I, I HAVE DOWN HERE THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER CHATMAN WANTS TO DISCUSS, UM, YOU KNOW, FUTURE LOCATION OF THE UC MEETINGS.
AS A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM AND GET, AND GET ALL THE COMMISSIONERS TO WEIGH IN.
I MEAN, THE NEW HEADQUARTERS IS GOING TO RECEIVE, UH, EQUIPMENT SIMILAR TO, UH, THAT WAS AT THE TOWN LAKE CENTER SO THAT IT COULD HAVE MEETINGS LIKE THIS FOR ATX N RIGHT.
UM, THAT, THAT, THAT'S SOMETHING I THINK WE SHOULD BE MINDFUL OF.
I THINK THAT THE HEADQUARTERS IS, IS GOING, IS OUTFITTED, UH, SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS PURPOSE.
UM, ALTHOUGH I'M SURE THEY WILL USE IT FOR OTHER MEANS, UH, BUT JUST LIKE THE, UH, TOWN CENTER, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE, UH, THE CAPABILITIES TO BROADCAST, UH, OUR, OUR MEETING AND THE, AND THE FACILITIES TO ACCOMMODATE OUR MEETING AND, AND THE PUBLIC.
SO JUST SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND, ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS LET'S PLAY ON IT.
SO W WHEN DO YOU THINK WE'LL HAVE OUR FIRST IN-PERSON MEETING IN THE SUMMER? IF YOU'RE ASKING ME COMMISSIONER? UM, I DON'T KNOW.
AND WE HAVE ASKED THAT, UH, OF THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, AND OF COURSE THEY ALSO ARE SAYING, WHO KNOWS.
AND, UM, THAT'S ABOUT AS MUCH SPECIFICITY AS I CAN GIVE YOU.
AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO TRY AND WORK THAT ANGLE.
WE KNOW THAT IT IS FRUSTRATING NOT TO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, RECURRING SCHEDULED MEETINGS AT A SINGULAR LOCATION, UH, OR, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE VIRTUALLY AND FOR HOW LONG, AND UM, THAT'S, THAT'S ABOUT AS MUCH LIGHT AS I CAN SHED ON THAT TOPIC RIGHT NOW, DAVE, SORRY, TENTATIVELY TARGET SEPTEMBER THE NEW HEADQUARTERS THEN PLACEHOLDER, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE DEFAULT, UH, IS, UH, MEETING IN PERSON AT THE NEW HEADQUARTERS, UH, ONCE IT IS, UH, OPEN AND AVAILABLE, UM, JUST IN THE SAME WAY THAT THE DEFAULT WAS MEETING AT THE, THE HEADQUARTERS ON, ON BARTON SPRINGS.
UM, SO, UH, I THINK THAT WE WERE JUST GOING, THE, THE PLAN WAS THE DEFAULT PLAN WAS TO JUST CONTINUE IN THAT, IN THAT SAME VEIN.
UM, SO I THINK UNLESS WE REQUEST A DIFFERENT, UH, LOCATION, AND I THINK WE WOULD, WE WOULD NEED TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT IT AND GET, AND GET EVERYBODY'S INPUT, INCLUDING I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, 80 STAFF AND, AND THE CITY, UM, UH, ABOUT WHETHER LIKE, I, I THINK JEFF WOULD NEED TO REACH OUT TO, TO THE CITY AND GET THEIR, UH, INPUT ON WHETHER, UM, YOU KNOW, MOVING LOCATIONS WOULD BE, UM,
[02:15:01]
POSSIBLE TO ACCOMMODATE.I MEAN, I THINK PART OF THE REASON THAT WE MET AT THE, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY FACILITY ON, ON BARTON SPRINGS WAS BECAUSE WE, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE BUYING FOR THE BIG ROOM AT CITY COUNCIL.
SORRY, THERE ARE DEFINITELY SPACE CONSTRAINTS AT CITY HALL.
AND I ALSO THINK THAT IT'S FROM THE FACT THAT IT'S AFTER HOURS.
AND SO AUSTIN ENERGY EXECUTIVES AND EMPLOYEES ARE RIGHT THERE AND THEN THEY COULD JUST STAY AFTER WORK.
WELL, AT LEAST TRADITIONALLY WE WERE, BUT YOU KNOW, NEW NORMAL NOW COMMISSIONER TUTTLE, SO WHO KNOWS, MAYBE PEOPLE WILL THINK.
UM, WELL, WELL WE, I THINK WE CAN ADD THAT AS A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM, BUT MAYBE WE SET IT FOR SOMETHING LIKE AUGUST, UH, UM, UNLESS, YOU KNOW, UNLESS IT COMES UP BEFORE THEN AND WERE, WERE ASKED TO COME BACK TO IN-PERSON MEETINGS BY, UH, THE CITY.
UM, WELL WITHOUT OBJECTION, THEN I WILL ADJOURN THE MEETING.