[00:00:02]
[CALL MEETING TO ORDER]
WE HAVE A QUORUM.SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED, UH, CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER, UH, FOR THE RECORD.
JUST SO WE'VE GOT A RECORD OF WHO'S IN ATTENDANCE, I'VE GOT BLACKBURN WHITE JOHNSON, STONE HARMON, AND CHEVERIA SO WE HAVE A QUORUM.
UH, SO I GUESS, UH, THIS IS OUR FIRST TIME, UH, I GUESS SOME PROCEDURAL THINGS TO DISCUSS REALLY QUICK, UH, COMMISSIONERS.
WHEN YOU WANT TO SPEAK, YOU SEE, MY MIC IS LIT UP WITH RED TO DO THAT.
YOU PRESS THE BUTTON ON THE RIGHT.
UH, YOUR MICHAEL WILL LIGHT UP RED AFTER YOU'RE DONE SPEAKING, PLEASE TURN IT OFF.
UH, SO THEY, THEY SHOULD, THEY CAN HEAR, THEY CAN PICK UP THE SOUND THROUGH THE CAMERA AS WELL AS THE WEBEX.
UM, YEAH, SO I TRUST EVERYONE FOUND PARKING.
RIGHT NOW STREET PARKING IS FINE.
THERE IS ALSO A GARAGE FOR, FOR IN THE FUTURE, UH, DOWN THIS ROAD, UH, WITH, WITH VISITOR PARKING FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
UH, FOR VOTING TONIGHT, SINCE WE'RE ALL IN PERSON, I THINK WE CAN JUST DO A SHOW OF HANDS INSTEAD OF KIND OF A TYPICAL ROLL CALL WE'D BEEN DOING, UH, VIA THE WEBEX.
UM, I THINK THAT'S THE LOGISTICS.
UH, WE DO HAVE A NEW MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION, UH, COMMISSIONER STONE.
UH, SO WE'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOU AND TO, UH, IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND, UH, TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND WHY YOU, UH, JOINED THE RMC.
SO, UM, LOU STONE, I MOVED HERE TO AUSTIN.
WE'RE GOING TO CALL IT 18 MONTHS AGO, GIVE OR TAKE.
UM, AND, UH, I AM PROBABLY THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE ME AS I'M A PERSON IN A VERY LIBERTARIAN OFFICE THAT ACTUALLY SORTS THE RECYCLABLES OUT FOR PEOPLE.
SO, YOU KNOW, I REACHED OUT TO, UH, UH, THE COUNCIL WOMAN AND SAID, HEY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S AN OPENING FOR SOMETHING ON RMC I'D LIKE TO BE INVOLVED AT AND LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UH, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR INPUT, UH, AS, UH, THE, THE AGENDA DEVELOPS.
[CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
GET INTO OUR AGENDA TODAY.FIRST UP CITIZEN COMMUNICATION, WE DO HAVE ONE, UH, UP PAUL ROBBINS.
UH, PAUL, IF YOU COULD GO TO THE PODIUM, UH, IN LIEU OF SPEAKING ON TWO SEPARATE, UH, TWO SEPARATE ITEMS, PAUL, WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU FIVE MINUTES, UH, IN, IN ONE GO AND YOU ARE WELCOME TO BEGIN ONCE, ONCE YOU'RE READY.
UM, ARE YOU ALL READY FOR ME? WE CAN HEAR YOU FROM THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
I HELPED START AUSTIN ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS BACK IN THE 1980S WITH 20 OTHER PEOPLE.
I'M HERE TONIGHT TO SPEAK ABOUT TWO MATTERS RELATED TO THE TEXAS GAS SERVICE AND THEIR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. THE FIRST ISSUE IS TO ASK YOU TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL THAT THREE OF THESE PROGRAMS BE DISCONTINUED BECAUSE THEY ARE A WASTE OF RATE PAYER MONEY.
I REALIZE YOU ALL ARE NOT POSTED TO VOTE TONIGHT.
MAYBE YOU COULD POST THIS FOR OCTOBER.
THE SECOND MATTER IS TO SUGGEST A NEW WAY TO REPURPOSE SOME OR ALL OF THIS SAVED MONEY.
UH, WHEN THESE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS ARE DISCONTINUED REGARDING COST EFFECTIVENESS, NONE OF YOU WOULD DRIVE FROM AUSTIN TO DALLAS TO FUEL YOUR CAR PAYING REBATES FOR APPLIANCES THAT DO NOT SAVE MUCH ENERGY AMOUNTS TO THE SAME THING.
THE GAS COMPANIES REBATES FOR TANKLESS, WATER HEATERS, CENTRAL FURNACES, AND GAS CLOTHES, DRYERS THAT REPLACE EXISTING GAS CLOTHES DRYERS ARE IN THIS CATEGORY.
THEY ARE ENERGY EFFICIENT C PROGRAMS THAT DO NOT SAVE ANY SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF ENERGY.
THE GAS COMPANY IS WASTING BETWEEN 1.3 AND 1.9 MILLION A YEAR, OR ABOUT SIX TO $8 PER RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER PER YEAR.
FOR THESE PROGRAMS, THE GAS CLOTHES DRYER PROGRAM HAS A PAYBACK.
I KID YOU NOT HAVE AT LEAST 172 YEARS.
IF YOU GET THE BONUS REBATE, UH, IT'S 246 YEARS FOR THE PAYBACK EFFICIENT FURNACES AND TANKLESS WATER HEATERS, UH, WILL ALSO NEVER BREAK EVEN
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ON THE INVESTMENT OVER THE LIVES OF THESE APPLIANCES.UH, IF YOU SAW THE DATA SET THAT I SENT YOU, UH, ON TANKLESS WATER HEATERS, MANY HAVE NO ENERGY OR MONETARY SAVINGS AT ALL BECAUSE THEY ARE REPLACING EXISTING TANKLESS WATER HEATERS, UH, THAT CAN'T GO FROM A BASE, LESS EFFICIENT TANK WATER HEATER TO A TANKLESS EFFICIENT WATER HEATER BECAUSE THEY ARE, ARE, THEY ARE ALREADY TANKLESS WATER HEATERS, UH, AND MANY EXCEED A COST OF THREE, MANY TANKLESS WATER HEATERS EXCEED A COST OF $3,000 PER UNIT.
WHY DO WE LET THIS WASTE CONTINUE TO HAPPEN? THIS BRINGS UP THE SECOND MATTER.
IS THERE SOMETHING BETTER THAT COULD BE DONE WITH $1.9 MILLION A YEAR? THERE ARE TWO APPROACHES.
FIRST ONE COULD JUST DISTRIBUTE THE SAVINGS BACK TO THE RIGHT PAYER.
GAS COSTS ARE ALREADY EXPENSIVE.
THE OTHER IS TO REPURPOSE SOME OR ALL OF THIS MONEY INTO A COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE, SIMILAR TO WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS DONE FOR YEARS.
THE GAS COMPANY CAN HAVE A SINGLE CHARGE THAT FUNDS CONSERVATION LOW-INCOME ASSISTANCE FOR THE POOR AND RESEARCH INTO HYDROCARBONS MADE FROM RENEWABLE ENERGY.
AND I WOULD URGE YOU ALL TO, UH, POST THIS FOR A VOTE OF SOME KIND AT THE NEXT MEETING IN OCTOBER.
UM, JUST A, A FEW MORE WORDS ON THE INEFFECTIVENESS OF SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS. UH, PLEASE UNDERSTAND I'VE BEEN AN ENVIRONMENTALIST SINCE I WAS A TEENAGER.
THERE ARE FEW PROGRAMS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY THAT I WOULD EVER BE AGAINST, BUT 172 YEAR PAYBACK.
I JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND, UH, REGARDING A TANKLESS UNITS AFTER A LONG TIME, A LONG PERIOD OF NAGGING, I FINALLY OBTAINED REAL WORLD DATA ON WHAT THESE REALLY COST IN AUSTIN, AND I'VE ANALYZED ABOUT 50 REBATE PARTICIPANTS AND, UH, I'VE MADE TWO CONCLUSIONS.
FIRST ABOUT HALF OF THIS PRELIMINARY SAMPLE OF REBATES IS FOR REPLACEMENTS OF EXISTING FAILED TANKLESS UNITS WITH NEW TANKLESS UNITS.
AGAIN, THERE'S NO SAVINGS, UH, NOR CAN I UNDERSTAND HOW SUPPORTERS OF THESE APPLIANCES CAN CLAIM.
THEY HAVE AN INCREASED LIFE COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL UNITS WHEN THEY'RE BEING REPLACED PREMATURELY AT SUCH A HIGH RATE.
UH, AND AGAIN, SOME OF THESE UNITS IN AT LEAST 16 CASES OUT OF THESE 50 SAMPLES, UH, THE COST EXCEEDS $3,000 PER UNIT.
AND IN TWO OF THESE CASES, IT'S $5,000 A UNIT IN SHORT.
UH, I ASKED YOU AGAIN TO, UM, POST TO VOTE FOR THE OCTOBER MEETING, UH, UH, ELIMINATING THESE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS AND, UM, UM, REIMBURSING.
UH, FIRST UP, SO LET'S MOVE INTO OUR AGENDA ITEMS. UH, FIRST UP
[1. Approve minutes of the August 17, 2021 Resource Management Commission meeting.]
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES APPROVED MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 17TH, 2021 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MEETING.UH, THERE IS ONE UPDATE ON ITEM ONE ON THE MINUTES THAT WERE DISTRIBUTED, UH, COMMISSIONER AND GORDY AN ABSTENTION ON THAT PARTICULAR ITEM.
UM, SO WITH THAT UPDATE, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, ITEM ONE I'LL APPROVE MOTION MOTION MADE BY, OKAY.
MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER HARMAN.
IS THERE A SECOND, SECOND MOTION SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER CHEVERIA, UH, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HANDS AND WE'LL THINK ABOUT IT THIS WAY.
[2. (9/30) [Austin Energy] Authorize issuance of energy efficiency program rebates by Austin Energy during Fiscal Year 2021-22, in an amount not to exceed $2,700,000 for multifamily energy efficiency rebates and $3,350,000 for commercial and small business energy efficiency rebates, for a total combined amount not to exceed $6,050,000.]
RIGHT.MOVING ON TO AGENDA ITEM TWO, THE NEXT TWO ARE RCAS.
WE DO HAVE A STAFF AVAILABLE FOR ANY DISCUSSION THAT'S NEEDED.
UH, FIRST UP IS AN AUSTIN ENERGY RCA AUTHORIZED ISSUANCE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM REBATES BY AUSTIN ENERGY
[00:10:01]
DURING FISCAL YEAR 20 21, 20 22, AND AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $2,700,000 FOR MULTI-FAMILY ENERGY EFFICIENCY REBATES AND 3 MILLION, $350,000 FOR COMMERCIAL AND SMALL BUSINESS ENERGY EFFICIENCY REBATES FOR A TOTAL COMBINED AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED $6,050,000.UH, WE DO HAVE MANNY GARZA FROM AUSTIN ENERGY.
IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.
SO MANNY, DO YOU MIND GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS MANUAL GARZA.
I MANAGE THE COMMERCIAL MOVIE FAMILY AND SMALL BUSINESS REBATES AND AUSTIN WELCOME.
YEAH, I APOLOGIZE THAT I'M I'M NEW HERE.
SO I'M GOING TO ASK KIND OF DUMB QUESTIONS ALONG THE WAY, BUT, UM, HOW IS THIS PROGRAM FUNDED S PROGRAM IS FUNDED THROUGH THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE ON THE BILL THAT'S PROVIDED TO ALL THAT'S GIVE OR TAKE ABOUT $8 ON MY BILL? UM, NO, SIR.
PAUL WAS REFERRING TO THE GUESTS.
UM, YEAH, I, I KNOW THE GAS BILL ONE.
I JUST CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT MY ELECTRIC BILL IS TOP OF MY HEAD.
SO THIS IS PAID FOR BY RATE PAYERS AND THEN BASICALLY IT GOES INTO A POOL AND THEN GETS REDISTRIBUTED BASED ON NEED FOR THESE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE GOING ALONG.
IS THERE ANY MEANS TESTING INVOLVED? YEAH, WE DO COMPETENT AND TESTING AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, WE ALSO LOOK TO OUR PROGRAM GOALS AND THINGS LIKE THAT THAT HAVE BEEN LAID OUT BY CITY COUNCILS.
SO WE HAVE LOW INCOME OR LIMITED INCOME GOALS THAT WE HAVE TO REACH.
UM, AND WE TRY TO SERVE CUSTOMERS BASED ON THEIR DEMOGRAPHIC TO ENSURE DIVERSITY THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, AND WE STARTED ONE WILL ALL SECTORS ACROSS THE POPULATION.
AND HOW MANY VOUCHERS DID YOU PROCESS LAST YEAR WHEN YOU MEAN DOCTORS MEAN PAYMENT VOUCHERS? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
WELL, ACTUALLY I MIGHT HAVE, SO THEY VARY.
SO WE HAVE LIKE, YOU KNOW, OUR STANDARD SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, UH, WE'RE PROVIDING REBATES.
UH, SO I'M TRYING TO THINK OF SINGLE FAMILY WE TOUCHED AND IT COULD BE BASED ON DEVICE DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF REBATE.
UH, BUT 13,438 THUS FAR THIS YEAR.
UM, AND, UM, THAT'S ACROSS ALL, UM, ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS. SO COMMERCIAL MULTI-FAMILY SMALL BUSINESS MAN THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE DEMAND RESPONSE NETWORK REBUILDING PROGRAMS. OKAY.
MAY I POINT OF CLARIFICATION? THIS RCA IS FOR MULTI-FAMILY AND COMMERCIAL, NOT RESIDENTIAL SINGLE FAMILY.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.
SO THIS, UH, RSA IS FOR THE APPROVAL TO ISSUE REBATES AND NOT HAVE TO COME ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS FOR RCA, WHICH HISTORICALLY HAS CAUSED A SLOW DOWN IN THE PROGRAM.
AND THEN IT, HER PARTICIPATION AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS MULTIFAMILY AND COMMERCIAL BECAUSE IT WAS PROJECT SIZE.
AND WILL YOU REMIND US, WE, AUSTIN ENERGY SWITCHED TO THIS KIND OF A BULK APPROVAL METHOD? WAS IT 20? WAS IT LAST YEAR, 2019? AND IT HAS BEEN WORKING WELL FOR YOU ALL IN TERMS OF SPEEDING UP PROCESSING FOR COMMERCIAL AND MULTIFAMILY REBATES.
WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN PATIENT AND THEN ALSO, UH, ESPECIALLY IN MULTI-FAMILY, UH, WHERE WE WERE HAVING, UH, PARTICIPATION ISSUES THAT WE SAW A TURNAROUND, BOTH IN PARTICIPATION, UM, AND CONTRACTOR BASE.
SO OUR CONTRACT PIECE MORE THAN DOUBLED THESE TYPE OF CHANGES.
WE DID A LOT OF WORK ON THE PROGRAM AS WELL, SO THIS IS A PART OF IT.
UM, SO IT WASN'T ALL ATTRIBUTED TO THE BLANK, THE AUTHORITY, UM, BUT IT WAS A VITAL PART AND ALL DURING COVID TOO.
AND THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY CHALLENGES.
AND ONE MORE QUESTION, IF I MAY SHARE, UM, EH, COULD YOU REMIND US, HOW DOES THIS BUDGET COMPARE TO THE 20, 20, 20, 21 BUDGET? SO, UH, VERSUS, UH, THE 21 LAST YEAR'S BUDGET IS FLAT.
I'M JUST WONDERING IF YOU CAN QUANTIFY, UH, THE IMPROVEMENT IN PARTICIPATION SINCE THIS METHOD STARTED.
NO, I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE IT READILY AVAILABLE.
UM, BUT I THINK IT WAS IN 20, PRIOR TO THE, THE APPROVAL WE HAD, YOU KNOW, JUST LIMIT TO A MULTI-FAMILY INCOME QUALIFIED CAUSE THAT'S THE ONE I KNOW OFF HAND WE HAD ABOUT 1700 UNITS THAT WE SERVED LAST YEAR.
WE SERVED JUST SHY OF 5,000 AND THIS YEAR WE'RE GOING TO SERVE ABOUT 5,000.
[00:15:01]
YOU, WHAT, WHAT OVERHEAD COSTS ARE INCLUDED WITHIN THESE NUMBERS? SO IN TERMS OF THESE NUMBERS, THIS IS JUST REBATE DOLLARS.IT DOESN'T INCLUDE ANY OF THAT.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING SEPARATE, RIGHT? PERFECT.
IS THERE A MOTION LIVE APPROVAL MR. WHITE MOVES TO APPROVE? IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND, MR. HARMAN SECONDS.
MOTION PASSES ON A SIX TO ZERO VOTE.
[3. (9/30) [Austin Water] Approve a resolution authorizing Austin Water to continue a pilot program and issue incentives during Fiscal Year 2021-2022 for alternative onsite water reuse systems for large new commercial and multi-family developments under the utility’s new regulatory framework, in a total aggregate amount not to exceed $1,000,000, and not to exceed $500,000 for each individual project.]
TO ITEM THREE, AUSTIN WATER APPROVE A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AUSTIN WATER TO CONTINUE A PILOT PROGRAM AND ISSUE INCENTIVES DURING FISCAL YEAR 20 21, 20 22 FOR ALTERNATIVE ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS FOR LARGE NEW COMMERCIAL AND MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENTS UNDER THE UTILITIES, NEW REGULATORY FRAMEWORK AND A TOTAL AGGREGATE AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED $1 MILLION AND NOT TO EXCEED $500,000 FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL PROJECT.UH, WE DO HAVE ROBERT STEFFANI FROM AUSTIN WATER.
IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? OKAY.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM COORDINATOR ONSITE WATER REUSE PROGRAM AREA.
UH, MY, MY QUESTION IS, IS, ARE THERE, UH, ARE THERE ALREADY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PIPELINE THAT ARE SEEKING THESE FUNDS? YES.
UM, IS THERE, UH, IS THERE A SINGLE DEVELOPMENT THAT'S LOOKING FOR GIVE OR TAKE HALF A MILLION DOLLARS? YES.
ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS OR IS THERE A MOTION I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE? COMMISSIONER HARMON MOVES TO APPROVE.
IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND COMMISSIONER CHEVERIA SECONDS.
UH, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HANDS.
NEXT UP, WE HAVE A SECTION ON STAFF REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS.
[4. Briefing from Texas Gas Service on weatherization, climate, and energy efficiency programs.]
UP WE HAVE TEXAS GAS SERVICE.UM, THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THREE DIFFERENT PARTS TO THIS PRESENTATION, UH, WITH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SPEAKERS FROM, UH, TEXAS GAS SERVICE.
I'VE ASKED TO SPLIT THEIR, UH, COMMENTS INTO THREE DIFFERENT SECTIONS SO WE CAN TAKE EACH ONE IN TURN.
UM, THE THREE TOPICS BEING WEATHERIZATION, CLIMATE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM REBATE, OR REBATE PROGRAMS. UM, FIRST UP, UH, WE'RE GOING TO ADDRESS THE WEATHERIZATION ISSUE.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE JASON KETCHUM ON, UH, PRESENTING ONLINE, UH, TO ADDRESS THIS TOPIC.
UH, THIS WAS A TOPIC THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER SMITH RAISED AT THE LAST MEETING.
UH, THE QUESTION WAS DIRECTED TO TEXAS GAS AROUND WHAT, UH, PROVISIONS THEY HAVE IN THEIR CONTRACTS AROUND WEATHERIZATION, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE, UH, WINTER STORM EVENT WE HAD IN SEXIST IN FEBRUARY.
AND I BELIEVE, UH, JASON IS HERE TO, UH, ADDRESS THAT ISSUE OR WE, ARE WE GOOD ONLINE? I'M HERE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU.
I CAN HEAR YOU AND I CAN SEE THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD, RIGHT? YEAH.
UH, SO, UH, AND SO COMMISSIONERS AFTER EACH SECTION, HE'S GOING TO GIVE HIS PRESENTATION ON WEATHERIZATION.
UH, WE'LL OPEN UP BEFORE FOR QUESTIONS, UH, BECAUSE THE CAMERA IS HE CAN'T SEE US DIRECTLY.
UM, I WOULD ASK THAT IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, STATE YOUR NAME, JUST SO WE NOTICE WHO'S, WHO'S ASKING, UH, ALL RIGHT, JASON, THE FLOOR IS YOURS, IF YOU'RE READY.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS REALLY, UH, ASKING ABOUT OUR WEATHERIZATION, OBVIOUSLY WITH STORM YURI THAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR.
THERE'S A, THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST, NOT JUST IN GAS, BUT ELECTRICITY, KIND OF ALL TYPES OF RESILIENCY AROUND UTILITIES.
YOU KNOW, THANKFULLY OUR SYSTEM PERFORMED VERY, VERY WELL, UM, THAT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH HOW WE OPERATE IN PLAN IN MODEL OUR SYSTEM ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR GAS SUPPLY CONTRACTS.
WE DON'T MAKE CONTRACTS WITH PRODUCERS.
WE MAKE THEM WITH THE SUPPLIERS, WHICH IS REALLY, UM, AN INTERMEDIARY BETWEEN US.
AND, YOU KNOW, SO-CALLED THE, YOU KNOW, UH, THE PRODUCTION AT THE WELLS.
SO OUR SUPPLY, OUR SUPPLY AGREEMENTS ARE FOR, UH, GETTING A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF GAS OVER OCCUR OVER A TERM.
NORMALLY, YOU KNOW, MOST IN THE WINTER PERIOD, WHICH IS, UH, THE KIND OF THE AROUND THE WINTERIZATION TOPIC.
YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT AN, UH, NOVEMBER THROUGH
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MARCH TIME PERIOD, AND WE BALANCE THAT OUT WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, AS WELL AS WHAT STORAGE ACCESS DO WE HAVE FOR THE REGION, AS WELL AS HOW DO WE BALANCE THAT WITH WHAT WE CAN BUY ON THE MARKET? CAUSE WE DON'T, PRE-PURCHASE EVERYTHING, UM, YOU KNOW, WEATHERIZATION WISE OR WINTERIZATION, UM, IS REALLY KIND OF HOW WE THINK ABOUT THE RESILIENCY OF OUR SYSTEM.AND SO A BIG PART OF WHY I BELIEVE WE DID SO WELL THROUGH THE WINTER STORM IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE INVESTED MONEY IN AUSTIN, AS WELL AS ACROSS OUR TERRITORIES USING A MODELING PROCESS THAT REALLY HELPS US IDENTIFY WHERE THERE'S GOING TO BE WEAK POINTS.
AND WE GO AFTER THOSE WEAK POINTS BEFORE THEY BECOME AN ISSUE.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE NICE THINGS WITH NATURAL GAS IS THAT IT'S DELIVERED IN A PIPE AND THAT'S UNDERGROUND.
SO WE ALSO A WINTER WINTERIZATION OR WEATHER PERSPECTIVE, WE DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WIRES ARE ABOVE GROUND DEAL WITH WIND AND BRANCHES AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR PRODUCT IS, YOU KNOW, BY NATURE AND HOW IT'S DELIVERED IS A LOT MORE RESILIENT.
WE DO HAVE, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS RIGHT NOW ON WEATHERIZATION WINTERIZATION ISSUES.
UM, WE HAVE INFORMATION IN FRONT OF THEM IN A FILING AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO REVIT PROVIDE THAT FILING ANYBODY THAT WOULD, WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT.
UM, WE DON'T WANT TO, I DON'T WANT TO GO INTO ALL THE DETAILS OF THOSE CURRENT DISCUSSIONS, UH, BECAUSE WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF, OF MANAGING THROUGH THAT, THAT HEARING OR THAT, UH, THAT PROCESS.
UH, COMMISSIONER IS ANY, ANY QUESTIONS FOR JASON ON THIS TOPIC? YEAH.
I'LL JUST SAY THAT I DEFINITELY WANT TO, WOULD LOVE TO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT FILING, AND THIS IS A COMMISSIONER JOHNSON.
ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT TOPIC? ALL RIGHT.
I THINK YOU'RE UP ON THE NEXT ITEM TO WRITE.
I WANTED TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON WHAT WE'RE DOING AROUND MANAGING MISSIONS AND REALLY TRYING TO HELP THE CITY OF AUSTIN ACCOMPLISHES ITS GOALS, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE COMING TOGETHER IN THIS STAGE AS PART OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
SO THERE ARE SPECIFIC THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING, UM, IN AUSTIN AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE SEE FOR AUSTIN AS AN OVERALL COMPANY, WE HAVE, UM, WE ARE WORKING, UH, TO HELP WITH A COMPANY CALLED ICF THERE THAT SOME OF YOU WILL REMEMBER, THAT'S THE ORGANIZATION THAT PRODUCED THE, UH, RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS RESEARCH PAPER THAT INDICATED, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH NATURAL GAS, UM, IS AVAILABLE AS FEED STOCK IN THE AUSTIN REGION.
AND HOW COULD THAT, AND HOW MUCH IS POSSIBLE TO OFFSET THE, UH, EMISSIONS, UH, FOR THE AUSTIN AREA.
ICF IS ALSO NOW HELPING US AND THEY WERE WORKING WITH QUITE A FEW OTHER COMPANIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, GAS AND ELECTRIC TO REALLY HELP THEM BUILD OUT THEIR EMISSION REDUCTION PLANS.
UM, ONE IS, YOU KNOW, ESTABLISHING A GOAL, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST, UH, FOR US, IT'S NOT JUST ESTABLISHING A GOAL.
IT'S REALLY A ROADMAP FOR HOW WE, YOU KNOW, HOW WE ACTUALLY GET THERE AND WHAT, WHAT GOALS ALONG THE WAY DO WE PLAN TO HIT? SO KNOWING WHERE AUSTIN IS GOING IS OBVIOUSLY VERY IMPORTANT TO US AND HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL FOR US AND HOW TO BALANCE THAT AND LOOK AT WHAT WE KNEW TO ACCOMPLISH BY CERTAIN TIMES IN, UM, IN AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES, YOU KNOW, ONE IS ONCE WE'VE BEEN IN, I KNOW WE HAD THE WATER PEOPLE HERE, I THINK JUST RIGHT BEFORE ME.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THE CITY, UM, YOU KNOW, HORNS WHERE WE'VE BEEN TO ALREADY HAD PROCESSES, UM, BIO GAS, UM, FROM THE HORNS WE'VE BEEN FACILITY, WHICH IS MORE OF A SOLID WASTE FACILITY.
UM, THEY HAVE INNER OHMIC DIGESTERS ONSITE.
THEY USE ABOUT HALF OF THAT GAS THAT'S PRODUCED FOR THEIR OWN GENERATION, WHICH RUNS THEIR FACILITY.
AND THEN THE REST OF IT IS REALLY JUST FLARED AT THIS STAGE.
SO WHEN YOU DRIVE BY, UM, YOU KNOW, WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES, LANDFILLS, UM, PARTICULARLY LARGER ONES, IT'S PRETTY COMMON THAT YOU'LL SEE A FLARE AT SOME POINT.
A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, BUT THEY'RE BASICALLY JUST FLARING OFF THAT GAS.
AND IT'S ANOTHER WAY TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TRY TO KEEP THE METHANE FROM GOING TO THAT ATMOSPHERE.
UH, BUT IT'S STILL OBVIOUSLY HAS, DOES HAVE EMISSIONS, UM, ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW THE CITY IS IN THE PROCESS OF ISSUING AN RFI TO, UM, BASICALLY, UH, FIGURE OUT HOW TO BUILD OUT THAT PROJECT.
UM, WE'VE GOT A LINE VERY, VERY CLOSE TO THAT LOCATION.
I'VE BEEN OUT THERE A COUPLE OF TIMES AS WELL, AND TALK TO PEOPLE THAT WERE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT PROJECT AND THINK IT WILL BE, UH, A GREAT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, FIRST RUN FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THE ICF RESEARCH ALSO INDICATED THAT THERE IS ENOUGH FEED STOCK IN THE AUSTIN AREA THAT WE COULD OFFSET A HUNDRED PERCENT OF OUR CO2 EQUIVALENT EMISSIONS.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS OR RNG, UM, MOST PEOPLE
[00:25:01]
INCLUDING MYSELF FOR QUITE A WHILE, THOUGHT OF THAT AS MORE LANDFILL AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT.UM, THE OTHER AREA THAT IS, IS, UM, NOT TALKED A LOT ABOUT, BUT IS A VERY LARGE, IT'S JUST FOOD WASTE.
AND BY FOOD WASTE, I ALSO MEAN AGRICULTURAL WASTE FOR PROCESS OR WASTE.
IF YOU TOOK ALL OF THE FOOD WASTE IN THE WORLD AND YOU CAN MEASURE IT UP IN SUBMISSIONS, UM, AND IT WAS A COUNTRY BY ITSELF, IT WOULD BE UNITED STATES THAN CHINA AND THEN FOOD WASTE.
SO THERE IS A LOT OF POTENTIAL THERE, AND THAT'S PART OF WHY WE HAVE A PROGRAM RIGHT NOW THAT WE DID A PARTNERSHIP WITH, OR A JOINT VENTURE WITH A COMPANY CALLED VANGUARD RENEWABLES THAT HAS BEEN DOING THIS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND IS ALSO WORKING WITH SOME PREMIER COMPANIES, SUCH AS STARBUCKS, UM, TO HELP THEM FIGURE OUT HOW TO, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY PROCESS THEIR OWN WASTE, BUT THEN ALSO HOW TO OFFSET THEIR EMISSIONS AND CAPTURE MORE OF THOSE EMISSIONS.
SO WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE A REALLY STRONG PARTNER AND, UM, WE'RE EXCITED TO GET THEM INVOLVED IN, UH, IN AUSTIN, UH, HERE VERY SOON.
WE ALSO HAVE, UM, THE POTENTIAL AND WE WERE VERY CLOSE TO REALLY DRAWING THIS PROGRAM UP.
UM, WE WOULD WANT TO COME BACK TO THIS COMMITTEE, UH, OR COMMISSION, UH, TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK ON IT, BUT BASICALLY IT'D BE A RE UH, VOLUNTARY, RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS PROGRAM THAT CUSTOMERS CAN OPT INTO WHERE THEY CAN OPT INTO, YOU KNOW, AN OFFSET UP TO A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THEIR RELATED METHANE EMISSIONS.
SO THE COMPANY THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH IS, IS, UM, IS A COMPANY THAT HAD DONE THIS FOR QUITE A FEW ELECTRIC UTILITIES FOR THEIR, UM, UH, RENEWED FOR THEIR VOLUNTARY PROGRAMS. UM, AND THEN WE'RE WORKING WITH NOT ONLY ONE GAS, BUT SEVERAL OTHER LARGER GAS UTILITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO HELP PUT TOGETHER A SIMILAR PROGRAM WITH, YOU KNOW, UH, CERTIFICATIONS, YOU KNOW, AUDITS, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS TO MAKE IT AS, AS CREDIBLE AND AS POWERFUL AS POSSIBLE.
SO, UM, MORE TO COME ON THAT, BUT WANTED TO MENTION IT TO YOU.
UM, ALSO WE'RE, WE'RE IN PARTNERSHIP, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LAB AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, UH, WE'VE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN THE HYDROGEN PROJECT AT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IN AUSTIN CALLED H TWO S SCALE.
UM, AND THAT PROJECT, THAT PROJECT IS REALLY LOOKING AT HOW DO YOU DEVELOP ALL THE UK USE CASES FOR HYDROGEN AND HOW DO YOU COMMERCIALIZE THOSE AND GET THEM INTO THE MARKET? UM, SO IT'S ANYTHING FROM, YOU KNOW, PRODUCING A HYDROGEN FOR RENEWABLE GENERATION, YOU KNOW, AT THAT LOCATION, IT'D BE SOLAR TO HOW DO YOU ELECTROLYZE THAT AND TURN THAT INTO, UH, INTO A GREEN OR BLUE OR BETTER, YOU KNOW, TYPE OF, UH, PROFILE FOR HYDROGEN.
UM, CAN YOU USE, CAN USE THAT, UM, THROUGH, UH, GENERATE STORE THAT AND USE THAT AS GENERATION, UM, FUELS FOR THE FUTURE? UM, CAN YOU USE IT FOR TRANSPORTATION? YOU KNOW, THERE'S QUITE A FEW DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS THAT WE BELIEVE HYDROGEN IS GOING TO HAVE, NOT JUST FOR US, BUT REALLY FOR THE ENTIRE ENERGY SECTOR.
SO I'M VERY EXCITED, YOU KNOW, IN RENTAL, UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE HAD A CHANCE TO VISIT THERE MANY TIMES.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE THEM INVOLVED IN THIS AS WELL.
UM, THEY ARE VERY CUTTING EDGE ON, ON THIS, UH, ON HELPING PULL THESE THINGS FROM THIS CONCEPT INTO, INTO REALITY AND HELP MAKE IT, YOU KNOW, BRING IT INTO A WHOLE MARKET.
THE LAST THING, UH, THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS NOT AN UNKNOWN EITHER IS, BUT IT JUST A POINTED OUT IS OUR ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT, UM, IN JUST A LITTLE BIT, BUT, YOU KNOW, FOR US AND A NATURAL, NOT JUST FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, BUT ACROSS THE NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY, MOST GAS COMPANIES HAVE AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM AND OVERALL RESIDENTIAL USE OR DEMAND OF NATURAL GAS HAS CONTINUED TO DECLINE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE LAST 20, 25 YEARS.
AND THAT'S PRIMARILY TIED TO THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T MAKE ANY MONEY FROM THE AMOUNT OF NATURAL GAS SOMEBODY USES OR FROM THE SALE OF NATURAL GAS.
SO WE DON'T HAVE AN INCENTIVE TO TRY TO GROW, YOU KNOW, THAT DEMAND.
AND SO THESE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS ALSO AS A WAY THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, IN, IN THE PAST HAS BEEN SEEN AS A PART OF TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, BUILD OUT, HELPING PEOPLE GET MORE EFFICIENT WITH THE ENERGY, HELP SAVE THEM DOLLARS, AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY HELP THEM REDUCE THEIR OVERALL MISSION PROFILE.
UM, AND WITH THAT ALL, OPEN IT UP AND SEE WHAT QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'M HOPING TO GET, UH, AND YOU KNOW, THE REASON THAT, YOU KNOW, WE INVITED YOU HERE TONIGHT IS I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO START A DIALOGUE WITH TEXAS GAS AROUND, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU GUYS ARE PLANNING TO MEET, UH, THE, THE, THE TARGETS THAT ARE SOON TO BE ADOPTED IN THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU'RE QUITE AWARE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN THAT PLAN IS ADOPTED, IT'S, IT'S GOING TO BE FAIRLY AGGRESSIVE IN TERMS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SECTORAL CHANGES THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN IN THE CITY IN ORDER TO MEET THOSE TARGETS.
AND, YOU KNOW, TRADITIONALLY WHEN WE'VE LOOKED AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S EMISSIONS, WE'VE STARTED WITH AUSTIN ENERGY BECAUSE THAT'S KIND OF IN THE LION'S SHARE.
BUT AS, AS THE ELECTRIC UTILITY HAS KIND OF PUT IN PLACE A PLAN, UH, FOR, FOR GETTING TO A, UH, UH, A NET ZERO WORLD, UH,
[00:30:01]
WE HAVE TO START TURNING OUR ATTENTION TO TWO OTHER SECTORS, UM, INCLUDING, UH, THE NATURAL GAS, NATURAL GAS AND, AND, AND THE PRODUCT THAT YOU GUYS PROVIDE.SO I, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING AND HOPE THAT THIS IS A GOOD INTRO, UH, TO START A DIALOGUE WITH YOU GUYS AS THAT PROCESS UNFOLDS.
UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO HOPEFULLY HAVE YOU BACK, UH, YOU KNOW, OVER THE COMING MONTHS TO KIND OF DISCUSS IN MORE DETAIL EXACTLY HOW, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS ARE GONNA MEET THE, MEET THOSE TARGETS, UH, KNOWING THAT, UH, WE WERE GOING TO GET TO ZERO AND IT'S GOING TO BE IN A RELATIVELY SHORT TIME FRAME.
UM, I KNOW FOR ME PERSONALLY, YOU KNOW, WHEN I STARTED 15 YEARS AGO FOR AN ELECTRIC UTILITY, AND AT THAT TIME WE WERE LOOKING AT COAL PLANTS THINKING THAT WE WOULD RUN THEM FOR THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, 40 OR 50 YEARS, UH, BECAUSE THE COST OF WIND AND SOLAR WAS JUST SO HIGH AT THAT TIME, BUT OVER THE LAST DECADE, UH, THAT THAT ENTIRE LANDSCAPE HAS CHANGED.
AND SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DIDN'T THINK POSSIBLE IN THE ELECTRIC SECTOR, UH, EVEN 10 YEARS AGO IS, IS, UH, WELL WITHIN REACH NOW.
AND I, I THINK THAT THAT ALSO IS GOING TO BE POSSIBLE IN THE, IN THE, IN THE OIL AND GAS SECTOR, BUT IT HAS TO START NOW AND THE TRANSITION IS GOING TO BE TOUGH AND, UH, FRANKLY NOT ALL COMPANIES ARE GONNA MAKE IT.
UH, BUT WE, AS A COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH YOU GUYS, UH, TO, TO, TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT, THAT YOU GUYS ARE ONE OF THOSE THAT THAT'S ABLE TO MAKE THAT TRANSITION.
AND IT MAKES SO, AND MAKE A TRANSITION IN A, IN AN ECONOMIC FASHION.
UM, SO WITH THAT, UH, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE COMMISSION FOR ANY QUESTIONS ON, UH, JASON'S REMARKS SO FAR.
UH, THANKS, UH, CABLE Y UH, REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO, UM, I GUESS JUST TO REITERATE, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UH, AND I KNOW THAT THE COUNCIL ASKED FOR THIS, THIS REPORT AND Y'ALL CAME UP WITH A LIST OF POSSIBILITIES AND YOU'RE WORKING ON SOME THINGS, I WILL JUST SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, WE DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF TO REITERATE WHAT OUR CHAIR JUST SAID, NEED TO MOVE IN TO THE PHASE OF SETTING HARD GOALS AND MAKING COMMITMENTS, UH, AS OPPOSED TO JUST, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS THE MENU OF ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE TABLE, UM, BECAUSE WE JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO WORK WITH, TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF KEEP EVERYTHING AS A QUESTION MARK ANY LONGER.
UM, I AGREE WITH YOU AND I, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE VERY COMMITTED TO HELPING THE CITY ACCOMPLISH ITS GOALS.
THERE ARE AGGRESSIVE, BUT THEY'RE IMPORTANT TO US, AND WE'RE VERY OPTIMISTIC THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE, SOME OF THESE ITEMS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, CAN GO FASTER THAN OTHERS, YOU KNOW, AND HAVE A GREATER IMPACT.
UH, AND FOR US TO ACCOMPLISH THIS ONE, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS TAKE THIS CHALLENGE SERIOUS AND WE DO, AND THEN ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S NOT, THERE IS NOT GOING TO BE JUST ONE THING THAT SOLVES IT, ALL OF THIS FOR, FOR US EITHER.
UM, WE ARE THINKING ABOUT HOW DO YOU PHASE SOME OF THIS.
AND, AND HONESTLY, I THINK, YOU KNOW, OFFSETS AND AN OFFSET OR VOLUNTARY OFFSET PROGRAM IS A GOOD PLACE TO START.
IT INDICATES HOW MUCH, UM, A COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, WANTS TO DO THAT.
YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE AUSTIN ENERGY HAS A SIM SIMILAR, YOU KNOW, RENEWABLE PRO UH, OPT-IN RENEWABLE PROGRAM.
UM, I DON'T WANT TO STOP THERE VITAMINS.
I THINK THAT'S A GREAT PLACE TO START IN AND BASICALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WILL IS OF THE COMMUNITY IS TO GO THAT DIRECTION.
YOU KNOW, THEN THAT GETS US INTO RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS, CAN HAVE A VERY, YOU KNOW, SERIOUS AND VERY IMPORTANT IMPACT, YOU KNOW, TO THE POINT WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE CANDIDLY SURPRISED THAT THERE IS ENOUGH FEED STOCK, ACCORDING TO ICF, TO, TO DISPLACE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE EMISSIONS.
UM, THAT'S NOT VOLUMES, UH, BUT THAT IS, THAT IS EMISSIONS BECAUSE OF THE DIFFERENT EMISSION PROFILE THAT METHANE HAS TO JUST STRAIGHT CO2.
UM, AND THEN LONG-TERM, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, HYDROGEN, I, I TRULY BELIEVE JUST EVEN ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, HYDROGEN IS GONNA HAVE A SERIOUS ROLE IN THE ENERGY WORLD.
YOU KNOW, I, AND THAT'S A LONGER TERM, YOU KNOW, SO WE WE'RE, WE'RE APPROACHING THIS FOR HORIZONS, BUT WHERE I DON'T WANT US TO BE FIVE YEARS FROM NOW IS WE'RE HAVING TO START FROM SCRATCH FROM ANYTHING.
SO A LOT OF OUR ATTENTION RIGHT NOW IS FOCUSED ON THAT OPT-IN GREEN PROGRAM IN RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS.
CAUSE THOSE ARE THINGS THAT, THAT CAN HAPPEN IN THE NEXT YEAR TO THREE YEARS.
YOU KNOW, WE WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO GET AN RG PROJECT, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPED AND BUILT, YOU KNOW, AS FAST AS WE CAN, BUT THAT OPT-IN PROGRAM IS SOMETHING THAT WE, WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CITY TO, TO GO A LOT FASTER ON, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO, UM, AS A WHOLE ORGANIZATION, AS A PART OF THAT WORK, ICF IS DOING IS THEY ARE TAKING US THROUGH ALL THE, YOU KNOW, SKILL POINTS, TWO AND THREE EMISSION
[00:35:01]
REDUCTIONS THAT WE CAN DO.YOU KNOW, IN ADDITION, YOU KNOW, SINCE 2014, WE'VE REDUCED OUR OVERALL EMISSIONS BY OVER 20% BASED ON US OPERATING AND RUNNING A BETTER SYSTEM IN THE PRACTICES THAT WE'RE PUTTING INTO PLACE, YOU KNOW, BY REPLACING PIPES AND FITTINGS, UM, IN CONTROL AND HOW WE CONTROL THOSE AND HOW WE MONITOR IT AND TEST FOR LEAKS.
UM, WE HAVE REDUCED OUR EMISSIONS BY 20%, SINCE 2014.
UM, AND WE EXPECT THAT THERE'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY, BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH, YOU KNOW, FOR FRAUD, THAT'LL BE A PART OF IT.
UM, THE REAL IMPACT I BELIEVE THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, BY 2030 IS GOING TO BE FROM RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS.
UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
UM, AND IN ADDITION TO THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, UM, IT, I THINK IT IS ENCOURAGING TO SEE THE MENU OF OPTIONS THAT YOU'VE PUT FORTH, UM, AND TOTALLY GET THE HORIZON, THE PLANNING, UH, REQUIRED.
UM, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO THIS COMMISSION.
UM, AS YOU, UH, JONATHAN WAS MENTIONING AUSTIN'S CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN IS MAKING SURE THAT THERE ARE AVENUES FOR EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION IN EACH OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT YOU PUT FORTH AND THE OPTIONS YOU PUT FORTH.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, AS, AS JONATHAN MENTIONED RELATED TO ACCESS TO RENEWABLE ENERGY, OFTEN THOSE, THOSE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ARE OFTEN OFFERED AT A PREMIUM.
UM, I THINK WE'LL BE VERY INTERESTED TO SEE, UM, HOW, YOU KNOW, WHETHER EITHER THE OFFSETS OR THE VOLUNTARY, RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS, UH, OPT-IN PROGRAMS ARE A PREMIUM OFFERINGS.
UM, AND IF SO, WHAT OPPORTUNITIES MAY THERE BE TO BUY DOWN THOSE COSTS SO THAT THERE CAN BE EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION BY OUR FULL COMMUNITY? UM, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE TRY TO, I MEAN, WE'VE THE WAY WE OPERATE HAVE FOR, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY OUR EXISTENCE AS A REGULATED BUSINESS IS THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO SAFELY INEFFICIENT AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE, UM, DELIVER OUR PRODUCT TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO WE'RE VERY FOCUSED ON COST.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, AND I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE, HOW YOU BRING SOME OF THESE PIECES TOGETHER AND OPT-IN PROGRAM AT THE START, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING TO BE A MONTHLY, IT IS GOING TO BE A PREMIUM.
UM, BUT AS MORE AND MORE RNG COMES ONLINE, THAT'S ACCESSIBLE IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
WE CAN USE THAT TO BASICALLY IDEALLY HELP OFFSET WHAT THAT PREMIUM WOULD BE.
YOU KNOW, SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE CITY OWNS ONCE WE BEND THAT.
SO THE CITY, IF THE CITY DEVELOPS THAT PROPERTY AND SELL IN, BASICALLY PUTS THAT, UH, GAS INTO OUR SYSTEM AND WE GET IT CERTIFIED.
IT'S NOW RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS THAT HAS VALUE RIGHT NOW IT'S VALUE FROM A PROGRAM THAT THE EPA ESTABLISHED, UH, FOR THE FUEL STANDARD, AS WELL AS WHAT THE LOW CARBON FUEL STANDARD HAS DONE IN CALIFORNIA.
AND I WOULD SAY THAT IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE'D BE INTERESTED IN TALKING TO THE CITY IS HOW DO WE CAPTURE THAT VALUE AND KEEP IT IN AUSTIN? YOU KNOW? UM, SO THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT'S TOP OF MIND FOR US.
AND I, I BELIEVE THERE'S SOME OPTIONS FOR US TO DO TO DO THAT, BUT I THINK IT'S WILL BE IMPORTANT FOR US TO GO IN EYES WIDE OPEN AT THE BEGINNING.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY NOT JUST, UM, ALLOW, YOU KNOW, SOME OTHER DEVELOPER TO TAKE ALL THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OUT OF THAT.
HI, JASON, CAN I START CHAVARRIA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I WAS WONDERING HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU HAVE ON YOUR STAFF FOCUSED ON THESE INITIATIVES THAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING.
IS IT YOU AND TWO PEOPLE OR 10 PEOPLE JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW FOCUSED YOU GUYS ARE ON SOME OF THESE INITIATIVES? YEAH, SO I'VE GOT A TEAM OF 120 PEOPLE, UM, AND FOCUSED ON THIS.
I'VE GOT AROUND 15 THAT ARE FOCUSED ON BASICALLY, UM, WILL CARBON SOLUTIONS AND RESILIENCY SOLUTIONS AND RESILIENCY SOLUTIONS HAS NEW RECENTLY BECAUSE OF STORM URI.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, WHERE ELSE DO WE NEED TO, UH, WHAT ELSE CAN WE NEED TO DO TO HELP ANY CUSTOMERS THAT HAD CHALLENGES, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, DURING A WINTER EVENT THAT WE HAD, SO, YOU KNOW, TRUCKING, LNG, UM, CNG, YOU KNOW, THOSE KINDS OF SOLUTIONS, AS WELL AS HELPING MORE AND MORE OF THOSE CUSTOMERS THINK ABOUT, UM, THEIR OWN ONSITE GENERATION, EITHER RENEWABLE OR, UM, YOU KNOW, BACKUP RECIPROCATING ENGINES, YOU KNOW, SO FOR THEIR OWN NEEDS, UM, AS WELL AS WE HAVE, WE JUST RECENTLY, UM, ON OUR ENGINEERING TEAM, CAUSE I'M, I'M, I'M OVER A COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT TEAM.
THAT'S WORKING ON ALL OF THIS.
WE ALSO RECENTLY AS OF, UH, MONDAY OR FRIDAY I'M FRONT REMEMBER CAUSE I'VE, I WAS TRAVELING LAST WEEK.
UM, BUT WE PUT A, PUT A PERSON OVER, BASICALLY ALL, UH, BASICALLY AN ENGINEER, THE SPECIFIED RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS.
AND WE HAVE OTHER ENGINEERS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THAT AS WELL.
AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH THIRD-PARTY FIRMS TO HELP US TO HELP US DO THAT, TO KIND OF SUPPLEMENT ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING.
UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE'S A VARIETY OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION ARE WORKING ON RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS FROM A REGULATED PERSPECTIVE, LEGAL
[00:40:01]
PERSPECTIVE, UH, COMPLIANCE, YOU KNOW, ALL THOSE THINGS, BUT, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, FULL TIME, I'VE GOT ABOUT 15 DIFFERENT PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, PROJECT MANAGERS AND DIFFERENT THINGS THAT, THAT WORK ON, UH, WHAT I'D CALL THE LOW CARBON AND RESILIENCY TYPE OF INITIATIVES.UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE, UM, WE DO HAVE A SUSTAINABILITY, UH, DIRECTOR NOW, UM, IN THAT POSITION WAS CREATED ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO AND THAT IT HAS A STAFF OF TWO ALREADY.
UM, BUT THAT'S THAT TEAM PER I ANTICIPATE IS GOING TO GROW PRETTY FAST.
I KNOW THEY'RE ALREADY BORROWING, YOU KNOW, I'VE LEARNED MY, AT SOME OF MY OTHER EMPLOYEES TO WORK ON THAT TEAM FULL-TIME FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO AS A WHOLE COMPANY, WE'RE VERY FOCUSED ON THIS RIGHT NOW, AND WE REALLY DO SEE THIS AS THE FUTURE, YOU KNOW, FOR US TO BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION IS HOW OUR BUSINESS CONTINUES TO LIVE AND THRIVE.
UM, SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S SUPPORTED ALL THE WAY AT THE TOP.
HI JASON, THIS IS SHANE JOHNSON, UH, COMMISSIONER
WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE FACILITY AGAIN?
I THINK THAT THEY WOULD, THEY WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING IS THEY WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO PRODUCE MORE ELECTRICITY ON SITE, BUT, UM, THAT'S, THEY DON'T HAVE THE NEED FOR, OR TO BE ABLE TO USE IT AS IT, YOU KNOW, MICRO GRID THAT CAN BE A PART OF AUSTRIAN ENERGY'S GRID AS WELL.
SO THEY, THEY DO FULLY POWER THE SITE WITH GAS AND THEN THEY HAVE 50% IS, IS THE EXCESS THAT'S WHAT'S FLARED OFF.
I MEAN, WHEN ID, I MEAN THAT RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS HAS ECONOMIC VALUE, YOU KNOW, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE THE, THE CITY AND I ENCOURAGE THEM TO THINK ABOUT IT THAT WAY AND TO BE CAREFUL WHEN THEY'RE WORKING WITH PRIVATE DEVELOPERS TO MAKE SURE THE CITY AND THE COMMUNITY HOLDS ONTO THE VALUE OF THAT NATURAL GAS OF RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS, UM, I'VE WORKED WITH OTHER CITIES WHERE I'VE SEEN IT GONE SIDEWAYS.
THEY'VE, THEY'VE REALLY LOST ACCESS TO THAT.
SO, UM, YEAH, I THINK THAT THERE, THERE IS A LOT OF POTENTIAL THERE THAT'S NOT THE ONLY, YOU KNOW, UH, WASTE SITE IN THE, IN THE AREA, YOU KNOW, I KNOW FROM EARLIER AND IT WAS PRE COVID.
I WAS VISITING WITH THEM IN PERSON AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FATS OILS AND GREASES AND, YOU KNOW, IN, INSTEAD OF DUMPING THAT IN A LANDFILL, YOU KNOW, PUTTING THAT THROUGH THE SOLID WASTE PROCESS AS WELL.
CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, ENERGY, YOU KNOW, IN THOSE WHAT THEY CALL THEIR, THEIR FOG MATERIALS, FOG, OILS, AND GREASES.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF POTENTIAL, YOU KNOW, IN AUSTIN, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, YOU KNOW, MORE SO THAN WHAT WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT.
UM, AND YOU ALSO SAID THERE'S A, THE ICF PREDICTS, THERE'S A FEEDSTOCK TO OFFSET A HUNDRED PERCENT OF TGS EMISSIONS.
UH, AND THEN YOU SAID, HOW DID THAT COMPARE TO THE VOLUME? OR WHAT DID YOU SAY THERE AGAIN, I I'D HAVE TO PULL IT BACK OUT.
IT'S THE REPORT WAS PROVIDED TO THE CITY AND I CAN GET YOU THAT AS WELL.
BUT IF YOU, AND THAT'S BASED OFF OF THE EPA ESTIMATE, THAT METHOD IS 25 TIMES HARDER ON THE GREENLINE GREENHOUSE GASES THAN JUST STRAIGHT CO2.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S OTHER GROUPS THAT HAVE HIGHER ESTIMATES THAN THAT.
UH, WE USE THE EPA ONE IS CAUSE WE HAD TO PICK ONE AND, UM, IT WOULD ONLY BE TO THE BENEFIT OF US TO YOU PICK A MORE AGGRESSIVE ONE.
UH, SO TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT WE THAT'S HOW THEY MODELED IT OUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND IT REALLY DEPENDS ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE TOTAL THROUGHPUT OF THE SYSTEM IS.
I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT NUMBER WE WOULD HAVE TO HIT TO DO THAT.
YOU KNOW, UM, IF, IF YOU'RE GOING TO SAY IT'S A 25 TIMES, YOU KNOW, THEN IT'S GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE A FOURTH OF WHAT THE TOTAL VOLUME IS VERSUS ALL OF THE VOLUME.
YOU KNOW, THE OTHER PART IS, IS WHAT WE BELIEVE.
THAT'S ALSO WHY WE'RE LOOKING AT HYDROGEN ONE.
WE THINK LONG-TERM, THAT'S IT, THAT'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF WHAT'S GOING THROUGH THE PIPES.
UM, WE DID WHEN WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF RESEARCH ON WHAT WE CAN START BLENDING MORE IMMEDIATE, UM, INTO THAT.
SO IT'LL PROBABLY BE, YOU KNOW, A BLEND OF RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS, HYDROGEN AND GEOLOGICAL, NATURAL GAS.
UM, I THINK THAT WAS ALL MY QUESTIONS.
YOU SAID AT THE HORNSBY BEND SITE, THEY'RE CURRENTLY FLARING 50% OF THE GAS THERE IS.
DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT? THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING.
AND YOU'RE SAYING THAT, I MEAN, YOU GUYS CA CAN YOU GUYS USE THAT IN YOUR SYSTEM? IS THAT ALSO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? THAT'S THAT'S YEAH.
I MEAN, IT MIGHT REQUIRE A LITTLE ADDITIONAL CLEANUP.
[00:45:01]
YOU KNOW, I THINK WE SUFFERED LANDFILLS ARE THE HARDEST NATURAL GAS OR RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS TO WORK WITH BECAUSE OF ALL THE OTHER STUFF IN IT, PRIMARILY SLOT SAINTS.UM, BUT WE W WE NEED TO HAVE A THAT'S WHAT THE, THAT'S WHAT THE RFI IS THAT THE CITY IS.
SO THE WATER DEPARTMENT IS PUTTING OUT.
THEY MAY HAVE ALREADY PUT IT OUT.
I, UH, IF YOU WANT ME TO FIND OUT I CAN FOR YOU, UM, BUT IS TO FIND OUT IF SOMEONE COME IN AND ACTUALLY BUILD OUT THAT PROJECT, SINCE WE'RE NOT A DEVELOPER OF RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS PROJECTS, WE HAVE PARTNERS, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CAN, THAT WE CAN BRING IN ON THOSE, BUT YEAH, THEY'RE THERE, YOU'VE ALREADY GOT AN OWNER.
YOU CAN GO OUT THERE AND VISIT, AND I'M SURE THEY WOULD, THEY WOULD ALLOW THAT, UM, THEY'VE GOT AN ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS ON SITE ALREADY.
SO I WAS VERY EXCITED WHEN I WENT THERE.
I THOUGHT THAT I WAS GOING TO BE STARTING AT KIND OF A GREENFIELD PROJECT, YOU KNOW, UH, OPEN TANKS AND EVERYTHING ELSE, BUT THEY'VE ALREADY GOT AN ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT THAT FAR OFF FROM CLEANUP EQUIPMENT.
AND THEN WE'RE RIGHT ACROSS, RIGHT DOWN THE STREET FROM WHERE WE HAVE A GOOD LINE RIGHT DOWN THE STREET FROM WHERE THAT PROJECT HARDY IS.
AND WHEN YOU SAID THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE ICF REPORT SHOWS THAT THAT THERE'S ENOUGH, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS CAN OFFSET ALL OF YOUR EMISSIONS, UH, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY WITH THE RNG.
IS THAT JUST THE KIND OF TIER ONE, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT ALL, ALL THREE LEVELS OF, UM, OF RNG CLASSIFICATIONS ON ALL THREE LEVELS? THAT WAS FOUR, AND THAT WAS COMPARED TO OUR TOTAL THROUGHPUT, SO EVERYTHING.
I MEAN, WE HAVE OPERATIONAL EMISSIONS, BUT, YOU KNOW, FROM US DRIVING OUR OWN FLEET VEHICLES, THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT NOT AS MUCH CAN CABLE, WAIT AGAIN.
UM, I'M WONDERING IF YOU CAN GIVE US AT LEAST BALLPARK NUMBERS ON THE PERCENTAGE THAT WOULD BE, UH, OFFSET OR THAT COULD BE REPLACED WITH THE VARIOUS SOURCES THAT YOU'VE LISTED FOR US.
UH, I MEAN, WE'RE ALREADY, WE'RE FOCUSING ON RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE HYDROGEN IS GOING TO TAKE AWHILE, UM, YOU KNOW, TO GET TO WHERE THERE'S A, WHERE THERE'S ENOUGH SCALE, WHERE IT COULD ACTUALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
SO, UH, WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON OUR ASSUMPTION RIGHT NOW IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO GET AS MUCH RENEWABLE, NATURAL GAS INTO OUR SYSTEM, AND THEN BE ABLE TO SUPPLEMENT THAT AS YOU KNOW, THE ACCESS TO RENEWABLE HYDROGEN BECOMES AVAILABLE.
BUT I MEAN, THE, THE GAS AT HORNSBY BEND, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT'S A PRETTY KNOWN QUANTITY.
BUT YOU CAN'T TELL US HOW MANY, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF YOUR DELIVERY IN AUSTIN THAT WOULD ACCOUNT FOR? UM, I BELIEVE IT'S IN THE, IN THE REPORT, BUT I DON'T KNOW IT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
DO YOU THINK YOU CAN FOLLOW UP WITH THAT? YEAH, DEFINITELY.
CAN YOU JUST, YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH VOLUME IN OFFSET POTENTIAL AREAS IT WORKS? HAVE YOU BEEN TO OUR OVERALL SYSTEM? YEAH.
AND, UH, AND ANY OTHER SOURCES THAT YOU'RE, THAT, THAT EXIST TODAY THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT? I UNDERSTAND IF THERE'S SOURCES THAT DON'T ACTUALLY EXIST TODAY, THAT MAYBE YOU DON'T KNOW, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THAT WOULD BE A VERY SMALL, LIKE SINGLE DIGIT PERCENTAGE, MAYBE LIKE LESS THAN 5%, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU WHAT THE, I CAN GET YOU, THE HORSE WE'VE BEEN, BUT, UM, THE NORTH, THE ICF REPORT DOES IDENTIFY SPECIFIC FEEDSTOCK PROJECTS THAT CAN DO THAT.
UM, ARE YOU INTERESTED IN RECEIVING THE REPORT TO, I THINK I HAVE IT, BUT I WOULD APPRECIATE YOU SENDING IT OUT TO THE WHOLE COMMISSION AGAIN.
IN FACT, IF THERE'S INTEREST THERE, WE IN A, YOU KNOW, UM, WE COULD, WE COULD INVITE IF, IF THIS GROUP WOULD LIGHT AND GET OUT OF ICF TO COME BACK AND PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW, IT IS A PRETTY THOROUGH LONG REPORT, BUT I'M SURE WE COULD, UH, ASK THEM TO COME IN AND GIVE MORE OF A BRIEFING ON IT AND ALLOW YOU TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT METHODOLOGY AND THINGS TOO.
IF THERE'S INTEREST, I HAVE AN INTEREST FOR SURE.
UH, COMMISSIONER IS ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
UH, JASON, WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.
UM, JUST KIND OF, YOU KNOW, IN CONCLUSION, WE, WE DO WANT TO INVITE THIS TO BE AN OPEN DIALOGUE, TO WORK WITH YOU GUYS.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WORKING TOWARDS THE, GETTING TO NET ZERO AND, AND MEETING THE TARGETS IN THE, IN THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UM, WE'RE WILLING TO WORK WITH YOU GUYS, BUT IN RETURN, YOU KNOW, WE NEED BASICALLY TWO THINGS THAT WE NEED YOU GUYS TO BUILD ON, BE TRANSPARENT WITH, YOU KNOW, THESE
[00:50:01]
ARE OUR MISSIONS, UH, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE, WE'VE GOT TO GET, AND THIS IS HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO IT IN TERMS OF SETTING INTERIM MILESTONES.AND WE NEED YOU GUYS TO ACT WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY THAT THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO WAIT 20 YEARS OR EVEN FIVE YEARS.
UM, AND, AND WE WOULD BE GLAD TO WORK WITH YOU AS A COMMISSION TO HELP DEVELOP THAT PLAN.
AND I, I HOPE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
I, I APPRECIATE THAT AND LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU.
UH, I THINK THAT DOES IT FOR JASON.
ANY FINAL QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, JASON, WE APPRECIATE HAVING YOU.
AND THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME BE THERE VIRTUALLY, UM, OUR COMPANY HAS A LOT OF RESTRICTIONS ON TRAVEL AND GROUP MEETINGS RIGHT NOW.
UH, OUR AWESOME STAFF AS HAVE ARRANGED THAT, SO, ALRIGHT.
UH, NEXT UP STILL ON THE TEXAS GAS, UH, ISSUE.
I THINK JASMINE, ARE YOU OKAY, SO JASMINE IS GOING TO PRESENT, UH, JUST SOME BACKGROUND ON THIS SIDE ON, THIS IS A, UH, TARIFF THAT COMES UP, UH, ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS, UH, TEXAS GAS IS REQUIRED TO BRIEF THE RMC ON, UH, THEIR PROPOSED THREE-YEAR BUDGET, AS WELL AS, UH, RECEIVE FEEDBACK.
UH, SO WHILE THIS IS NOT A VOTING ISSUE, A VOTING ITEM, UH, THAT TGS WILL BE COLLECTING FEEDBACK FROM, FROM THE COMMISSIONERS.
MY NAME IS JASMINE CAIN, BUSH.
I AM THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM SUPERVISOR FOR TEXAS GUEST SERVICE.
AND JOINING ME THIS EVENING IS LARRY GRAHAM, UM, YOUR OFFICIAL TITLES AS STRATEGIC ADVOCACY MANAGER.
UM, SO WE'RE, BEFORE YOU TONIGHT, JUST TO SHARE, UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, THE CHANGES THAT ARE PROPOSED TO THE PROGRAM FOR YEARS TO 2022, 2023 AND 2024.
AND WE JUST INCLUDED, UH, THE PORTION OF THE, UH, ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE THAT SPEAKS TO, UH, THE REQUIREMENT, UM, AND THEN YOU CAN ADVANCE TO THE NEXT, UM, FLOOD.
SO, UH, THE REQUIREMENT JUST TO BRIEF, UH, COMMISSIONER STONE.
UM, WE PROVIDE A COPY OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET IN ADVANCE OF THE FILING, UH IT'S TO ALLOW THE RMC, UH, UM, MEMBERSHIP TO ASK QUESTIONS.
AND THEN WE INTEND TO FILE THE PR THE PROPOSED BUDGET, UH, ON OCTOBER 15TH.
AND THEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS UNTIL NOVEMBER 30TH TO MAKE, UM, TAKE ACTION.
SO A FEW CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED FOR THE UPCOMING, UH, THREE-YEAR TERM.
UH, WE ARE GOING TO, UH, UH, TURN OUT THE ANNUAL FURNACE TUNEUP REBATE RIGHT NOW.
THAT'S A $49 REBATE THAT IS CURRENTLY OFFERED.
UM, WE ARE MAKING A REVISION, UM, UH, ABOUT, I GUESS, EIGHT MONTHS, MAYBE 10 MONTHS AGO.
UH, THERE WAS A REPORT PUBLISHED BY, UH, ADM AND PROVIDED TO THE RMC AND TO THE CITY.
AND THEY MADE A COUPLE OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGES TO THE PROGRAM THAT COUPLED WITH RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR CONSULTANT, PAUL ROB, WHO IS ACTUALLY ON THE LINE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AS WELL AS THE FRATERNITY PERTAINS TO, UM, MEASUREMENT.
UM, SO WITH THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS IN MIND, WE ARE TAKING A TIERED APPROACH WITH OUR NATURAL GAS TANK, WATER TANKLESS WATER HEATER FOR, UH, FOR UNITS THAT ARE AT 82 UEF, UM, UP TO 93
UM, AND I'LL CIRCLE BACK, UH, TO THE Y, UH, AND THEN WITH OUR NEW RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION UNITS, UH, THE SAME APPROACH, BUT WE ARE OFFERING A 400, UH, 2 75 FOR THE 82 TO 93 UEF AND A NEW REBATE OF 4 25 FOR THE HIGHER EFFICIENCY UNITS AT 93 UEF AND HIGHER.
UH, THE JUSTIFICATION FOR THAT IS WE'VE DONE SOME MARKET RESEARCH AGAIN WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS, AND WE'RE FINDING THAT, UM, HOMEOWNERS THAT ARE, UM, A PART OF THE RETROFIT AS WELL AS BUILDERS ARE GOING FOR THE, THE, THE HIGHER EFFICIENCY UNITS.
AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE A PART OF THAT BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE JOINING WITH, UM, THE MOVE TOWARDS BEING MORE EFFICIENT.
AND THEN, UH, THE CONSERVATION ADJUSTMENT CHARGE COMMISSIONER STONE.
THIS IS ON THE, UH, MONTHLY BILL FOR RESIDENTS.
IT'S A FLAT RATE FOR COMMERCIAL.
UM, WE'RE PROPOSING A REDUCTION IN THAT RATE FROM A DOLLAR 19 TO A DOLLAR OH NINE
[00:55:05]
AND I'M AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS.UH, COMMISSIONER IS ANY, ANY QUESTIONS OR I WOULD, UH, ALSO REITERATE, UH, THAT THEIR BUDGET WAS SENT OUT A FEW WEEKS AGO.
UM, AND ANY COMMENTS THAT THEY'RE REQUIRED TO RECEIVE, UH, BASICALLY COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSION ON THAT PARTICULAR BUDGET.
SO WE'LL OPEN THE FLOOR FOR THAT RIGHT NOW.
SO, UH, FIRST QUESTION I HAVE FOR YOU IS HOW MANY RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS ARE THERE THAT ARE PAYING INTO THE PROGRAM YOU HAVE ABOUT 270.
SO THE DOLLAR $19, NINE THAT'S PER CUSTOMER PER MONTH.
UM, THEN I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT WITH WHY IS IT THEN THAT WE ARE SEEING A REDUCTION IN COST FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS, BUT YOU'RE ESSENTIALLY TRIPLING THE COST ON YOUR COMMERCIAL CLIENTS.
SORRY, MORE THAN DOUBLING IT, NOT TRIPLING.
WE ARE HAVING A GREATER DEMAND ON OUR, OUR COMMERCIAL.
UM, UH, WE HAVE LOT OF MORE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
SO THE, UM, AND THE DEMAND FOR THE PROGRAM HAS GROWN FOR THE PROJECT, UM, WITH OUR CUST OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS, WE DO HAVE A SMALL OVERAGE THAT WE'VE CARRIED FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR, AND THAT, UH, ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO REDUCE THE RATE FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS AND UTILIZE THOSE FUNDS.
SO THE WAY THAT YOU MODEL IT IS BASICALLY YOU TRY TO TAKE IN FROM COMMERCIAL CLIENTS, WHAT YOU'RE PAYING OUT IN THE REBATE PROGRAM FOR THEM IN A SIMILAR, SIMILAR CALCULUS ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE.
THAT, THAT I UNDERSTAND THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME.
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR SOMEBODY TO GET A REBATE LARGER THAN WHAT THEY ACTUALLY SPENT? OKAY.
AND, UM, A QUESTION I HAVE, AND I EXPLAINED SOMEBODY EARLIER, UM, I COME HERE FROM ILLINOIS AND THE WAY THAT WE HAD THINGS THERE WAS STRUCTURED A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
WE HAD LIKE DOUBLE STACKING OF REBATE PROGRAMS BETWEEN THE GAS COMPANY, THE ELECTRIC COMPANY, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE LEARNED, ESPECIALLY OVER SUMMERS IN HOW AUSTIN ENERGY MANAGES POWER IS THAT THE SMART THERMOSTATS SEEM TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS VERY BENEFICIAL BECAUSE THEN THEY CAN REMOTELY JUST KIND OF DIAL IT BACK A COUPLE OF DEGREES AND IN ILLINOIS, THE WAY THAT THEY HANDLED IT AS THEY ESSENTIALLY BETWEEN THE, BETWEEN THE VARYING PROGRAMS, THEY HAVE, THOSE THERMOSTATS ARE FREE.
AND SO I LOOK, AND I KNOW AUSTIN ENERGY, FOR EXAMPLE, AS AN $85 REBATE ATTACHED TO JOINING THEIR, LET US PLAY WITH YOUR DIAL PROGRAM, IN ADDITION TO A $25 REBATE, JUST FOR GETTING THE THERMOSTAT TO BEGIN WITH.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS, IF I COULD MAKE A SUGGESTION WOULD BE WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE STRUCTURE OF THIS PROGRAM WOULD BE SEE IF THERE IS A WAY TO HELP GET US CLOSER OVERALL FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS TO ESSENTIALLY HAVE SMART THERMOSTATS APPROACH THE NUMBER OF ZERO.
AND SO THEN I LOOK AT SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT WE HAVE ON HERE AS, UM, IS OUR FRAUD MENTIONED EARLIER.
UH, WE HAVE THINGS LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, QUESTIONABLE SAVINGS BETWEEN GOING FROM AN OLD TANKLESS TO A NEW TANKLESS AND THINK THERE'S THAT.
AND I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S A WAY WE CAN KIND OF PLAY WITH THESE NUMBERS A LITTLE BIT TO TRY TO MAKE AN EFFORT, TO TRY TO MAKE INVESTMENTS IN SMART THERMOSTATS UP AND THAT WE WOULD PRIORITIZE.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY KIND OF THOUGHTS ON THAT, OR IF I'M RAMBLING TO BE ENTIRELY FRANK, YOU'RE DEFINITELY NOT.
UM, WE DO PARTNER WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, UH, THROUGH OUR HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STAR PROGRAM.
AND THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO TAKE A LOOK AT.
SO, UH, LARRY WAS WANTING ME TO POINT OUT.
SO WITH THE, WITH THE HOME PERFORMANCE, WITH ENERGY STAR PROGRAM, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS THAT WANT TO, UH, TAKE, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT PROGRAM, UM, CAN GET A CERTAIN WORK DONE.
SO ATTIC, UM, UH, ADDICT, UH, CEILING, DUCT REPAIR, DUCT INSTALLATION, AND THEY COUPLE, WE COUPLE OUR, UH, REBATES WITH THEM.
SO THAT'S THE WAY WE'VE PARTNERED WITH THEM.
AND SO THERE IS SOME, AS YOU FRAMED THE DOUBLE STACKING THERE.
SO, UH, WE CAN LOOK AT THAT WITH WHAT THE SMART THERMOSTAT AS WELL.
I JUST TEND TO THINK, YOU KNOW, PART OF GETTING PEOPLE TO ADOPT THINGS LIKE THAT IS TO MAKE THE COST OF ENTRY AS LOW AS, AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE.
UM, AND WE LOOKED AT THE COST EFFICIENCY THAT FOR THE GAS, THAT MAY BE ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'VE HAD ABOUT THE EFFICIENCY OF US PROVIDING THE REBATE FOR THAT THERMOSTAT.
I THINK WE APPLY ON AUSTIN ENERGY TO DO THAT, BUT WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
WE HAVE ONE BID IT ALSO HELPS ON THE GAS SIDE TOO, RIGHT? YES, YES, YES.
[01:00:01]
GENTLEMEN THAT IS ON THE CALL, WE PROVIDE, WE WORK WITH HIM, I SHOULD SAY, TO LOOK AT ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS. AND SO THAT REQUEST THAT YOU JUST SUBMITTED IS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD TAKE THE HIM IN AND LOOK IN AND MAKE SURE THAT IT MAKES SENSE.IT'S JUST, LIKE I SAID, IT'S SOMETHING THAT I KNOW THAT I'VE DEALT WITH IN THE PAST A LITTLE BIT.
THEN MY OTHER QUESTION FOR YOU IS HOW MANY ACTUAL CHECK VOUCHERS, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT, ARE YOU WRITING OUT A YEAR UNDER THIS PROGRAM? UH, PROVIDED, UH, 7,900, JUST OVER 7,900 RESIDENTIAL REBATES AND ABOUT ANOTHER 25,000 GIVE OR TAKE IN COMMERCIAL.
SO I'M GOING TO ASK YOU A DIFFERENT QUESTION ON THE COMMERCIAL THEN.
SO YOU'RE SAYING 25,000, BUT I'M SURE YOU'RE NOT WRITING $8 CHECKS FOR WEATHERSTRIPPING.
SO YOU HAVE SOME ECONOMIES OF SCALE THERE I'M GOING TO PRESUME.
IS THAT A FAIR ASSUMPTION? YES.
SO LET'S SAY MAYBE THERE'S 2000 COMMERCIAL ONES.
I'M JUST GOING TO GO WITH ROUND NUMBERS JUST TO MAKE MY LIFE EASIER FOR THIS.
SO MY QUESTION IS I SEE HERE $400,450,000 SET ASIDE FOR OPERATIONAL EXPENSES ON MANAGING THIS PROGRAM.
SO IF I TAKE THAT BY MY 10,000 VOUCHERS THAT I'M DOING, THAT MEANS THAT YOUR OVERHEAD COST IS $45 PER TRANSACTION THAT IS RUNNING THROUGH PER CHECK.
AND SO I FIGURED THERE'S A STORY THERE AND I SEE HIM SHAKING HIS HEAD, WHICH MEANS THERE IS SO WELL GOOD, GOOD QUESTION.
SO, FIRST THING, YOU KNOW, OUR PARENT COMPANY IS ONE GAS, SO WE HAVE THREE UTILITIES, KANSAS, OKLAHOMA, AND TEXAS.
SO I BELIEVE THAT THE REBATES ARE, WE HAVE A PROGRAM IN OKLAHOMA, ACTUALLY A LARGER PROGRAM IN OKLAHOMA.
SO AS FAR AS THE EFFICIENCIES THEY'RE ADMINISTERED IN OKLAHOMA, SO THERE'S, AND WE ALSO HAVE A SMALL PROGRAM IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY.
SO THE ADMINISTRATION IS SPREAD OUT MORE THAN JUST WHAT WE DO IN AUSTIN.
SO I THINK THAT THAT'S THE FIRST THING WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE OTHER THING IS THE TARIFF REQUIRES US.
WE CAN SPEND NO MORE THAN 15% OF THE OVERALL BUDGET ON ADMINISTRATION, WHICH INCLUDES SALARIES AND WHAT IT COSTS TO, UH, TO PROCESS ANY OF THE REBATES.
SO WE ARE LIMITED THAT WAY, AND I THINK 70% TARIFFS REQUIRE 70% OF THE BUDGET TO BE SPENT DIRECTLY ON REBATES.
AND I THINK WE'RE WELL WITHIN THAT THOSE PARAMETERS AND 15% IS FOR REALLY EDUCATION AND LETTING PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE PROGRAMS. AND YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN THE CITY TWO YEARS AGO HIRED SOMEBODY TO, UM, THIS FROM ADM TO REVIEW WHAT WE'RE DOING, UM, THE, ONE OF THE FEW THINGS THAT THEY REALLY HIT US ON IS THAT WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB, GETTING THE WORD OUT TO PEOPLE AND MAKING SURE MORE OF THE CUSTOMERS KNOW ABOUT IT.
BUT AGAIN, WE WANT TO POINT OUT THAT WE'RE LIMITED IN WHAT WE CAN SPEND TO DO THAT.
AND THAT WAS GOING TO BE ANOTHER QUESTION I HAD IS WHAT KIND OF EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS DO YOU MAKE AS PART OF THIS EFFORT? SO THIS YEAR, WELL, LAST YEAR WAS KIND OF THE ADVENT OF, OF DOING THINGS A LITTLE OUT OF THE NORM.
UM, WE DO PARTNER WITH LOCAL RADIO STATIONS.
UH, WE HAVE NEWSLETTERS THAT WE SEND OUT.
WE PARTICIPATE IN, UM, UH, CITY EVENTS.
UH, LAST YEAR WAS A LOT OF VIRTUAL CITY EVENTS, BUT, UH, CITY EVENTS, WE PARTNER WITH A LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS TO GET THE WORD OUT AS WELL.
ONE OF THE PROGRAMS, UM, THAT, UM, WE, UH, OFFER IS THE LOW INCOME FREE EQUIPMENT PROGRAM.
UH, THIS IS WHERE WE PARTNER WITH LOCAL CUSTOMER ADVOCACY GROUPS, UH, LIKE AUSTIN.
UM, WE WORK ACROSS ENERGY ON THAT AND WE WORK WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY MEALS ON WHEELS, AND THEY ALSO SERVE TO GET THE WORD OUT TO US IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, WE ALSO, UH, USE DIGITAL ADS, SOCIAL MEDIA.
UM, WE'VE BEEN REALLY IDENTIFYING NEW WAYS LIKE NEXT DOOR, UH, AND, UM, UH, THE, UM, OH GOSH, THE IMPACT, THE NEWSLETTER THAT GOES OUT.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIND NEW AND INVENTIVE WAYS TO GET THE WORD OUT.
WE WERE GOING TO PARTICIPATE IN A LARGE FESTIVAL.
THAT'S BEEN TAKEN OFFLINE BECAUSE OF A CONCERN FOR EVERYONE'S SAFETY, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT FARMER'S MARKETS AND THINGS LIKE THAT TO GET THE WORD OUT.
I'LL GIVE YOU GUYS FOR A BREAK FOR A SECOND.
UM, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT, ABOUT YOUR BUDGET.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, UM, I'M LOOKING AT THE, UM, THE DOCUMENT THAT YOU SHARED WITH US THAT HAS, UH, SEVERAL COLUMNS FOR, FOR THE COMING YEAR, AS WELL AS THE PAST TWO YEARS.
AND I SEE THAT THERE ARE NO, UM, DOLLAR AMOUNTS LISTED UNDER THE RESIDENTIAL NEW CONSTRUCTION FOR SOME OF THE WATER HEATING
[01:05:01]
EXPENDITURES.AND I'M JUST WONDERING WHY THAT IS THE RESIDENTIAL.
THEN YOU SAID THE NEW CONSTRUCTION RESIDENTIAL.
YES, WE PUT THEM, WE JUST PUT THEM IN ONE BUCKET PER THE, PER THE, UM, ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE.
WE CAN MOVE THE FUNDS AROUND WITHIN THE RESIDENTIAL BUCKET.
SO WE JUST PUT THEM IN ONE BUCKET THAT ALLOWS US IF OUR RESIDENTIAL RETROFIT USAGE RATE IS HIGHER, WE CAN MOVE THOSE FUNDS AROUND TO, UM, ACCOMMODATE THAT HIGHER DEMAND.
I GUESS I'M JUST SEEING TANKLESS WATER HEATERS FOR LAST YEAR, 750 FOR, I GUESS, RETROFITS OR, YOU KNOW, 750 FOR, UH, PURCHASES, BUT THEN NO DOLLAR AMOUNT.
IT SHOULD BE, THERE SHOULD BE A DOLLAR AMOUNT IN THERE AND THE SAME THING FOR THE NEXT COUPLE ITEMS. AND THEN THE TOTAL BELOW THAT THERE'S JUST, THERE'S MISSING DATA HERE.
THERE SHOULD BE JUST THAT LINE RIGHT THERE TO TOTAL WATER HEATING PROGRAM.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHERE YEAH, THERE SHOULD JUST BE THAT ONE.
WELL, NEVERTHELESS, THIS SECTION IS ONE THAT I REMAIN CONCERNED ABOUT AND I'VE BEEN PUSHING ON THIS FOR A WHILE, SO I'M SURE IT DOESN'T COME AS A SURPRISE THAT I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE CONTINUED REBATING OF NEW EQUIPMENT FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT YOU DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE ANY PLAN, LET ALONE ANY IMPLEMENTATION OF RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS.
AND SO ANY NEW EQUIPMENT IS BY NATURE INCREASING THE USAGE OF NATURAL GAS AS OPPOSED TO DECREASING IT.
AND I'M JUST LOOKING AT THESE NUMBERS HERE FROM LAST YEAR, AND I CAN'T SEE THE AMOUNTS, YOU KNOW, I DO SEE THE TOTAL, UM, THAT ONE ISN'T BROKEN OUT, BUT IT, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE EXPECTING TO HAVE A LOT MORE ACTIVITY UNDER NEW CONSTRUCTION RESIDENTIAL THAN YOU HAVE LAST YEAR.
AND I'M WONDERING WHY YOU'RE PLACING THIS EMPHASIS ON THESE PROGRAMS THAT ARE NOT ACTUALLY REDUCING NATURAL GAS USAGE, AS OPPOSED TO BEEFING UP THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE FOR RETROFIT.
SO WE DO MEET UP THE PROGRAM FOR THE RETROFIT TANKLESS AS WELL.
AND WE ARE, THE, THE BUDGET IS TAILORED TO WHAT OUR CURRENT USAGES.
SO THE CURRENT, UM, THE CURRENT USAGE OF THE PROGRAM IS, IS HIGHER.
AND SO THAT IS, THIS BUDGET ISN'T IS ACCOMMODATING THAT INCREASED DEMAND FOR THOSE, FOR THOSE REASONS.
WELL, BUT MA'AM, I'M LOOKING HERE UNDER HEATING NATURAL GAS FURNACE LAST YEAR, YOU HAD 46 PARTICIPANTS AND YOU'RE EXPECTING 300 NEXT YEAR.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE 2021, LET'S SEE HERE, THE NATURAL GAS FURNACE AFU, UH, HIGH OR HIGHER.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE GREEN COLUMN, CORRECT.
WE'VE, WE'VE SEEN 46, BUT WE'RE STILL ALLOWING TO HAVE 180 DAYS TO, TO REQUEST THAT.
AND WE ARE STILL SEEING A HIGHER AMOUNT AND THIS, THIS DATA WAS PULLED IN TO LIE, I BELIEVE, UM, OR AUGUST.
SO WE ARE SEEING THAT HIGHER DEMAND.
SO WE'RE, UH, WE DID ADJUST IT DOWN A LITTLE BIT FROM LAST YEAR, BUT WE DID SEE THE HIGHER DEMAND AND WE ARE STILL SEEING, UM, REQUESTS COME IN DELAYED.
WELL, I GUESS IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE UPDATED DATA FOR US TO ACTUALLY EVALUATE WHETHER OR NOT THESE ARE EVEN MEETING DEMAND OR IF THEY'RE IN FACT WHAT IT APPEARS ON THIS PAGE THAT I'M LOOKING AT, THAT THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE PROJECTED.
IN NOT JUST IN THOSE CATEGORIES.
SAME THING WITH THE NATURAL GAS DRYERS, I MEAN, NATURAL GRASS DRYERS, TOTAL PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS LASH THIS YEAR 143 EXPECTED FOR NEXT YEAR 900.
THAT SEEMS LIKE A, QUITE A JUMP.
ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE 2020 NUMBERS FOR 2020? I'M LOOKING IN THE GREEN COLUMN.
SO 2021 IS NOT A COMPLETE YEAR.
BUT I MEAN, WE'RE MOST OF THE WAY THROUGH 2021.
BUT WE ARE STILL SEEING A LARGE LAG
[01:10:01]
IN REQUESTS.SO THEY HAVE PART OF THE, UM, PROGRAM.
THEY HAVE 180 DAYS TO REQUEST THE REBATE BASED ON THE 20, 20 ACTUAL WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN 2021.
AND WHAT WE'RE EXPECTING TO SEE THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR, THE 2022 BUDGET, 20 22, 23 AND 24 BUDGET WAS FORMULATED.
SO BASICALLY YOU, YOU WERE SAYING YOU BASE IT OFF 20 THE YEAR, THE YEAR PRIOR, NOT THE YEAR YOU'RE IN YOUR PRIOR CURRENT YEAR TREND AND WHAT WE EXPECT FOR 22, 23 AND 20.
MY, MY CORE CONCERN REMAINS THOUGH THAT YOU'RE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO USE MORE NATURAL GAS.
YOU HAD THIS DISCUSSION BEFORE.
WE DON'T AGREE WITH THAT, A WORD VERSION WHERE IT SAID PEOPLE REMEMBER WE CAN HOLD IT AND GIVE IT A SETTING ON SOMETHING ON A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT'S MORE EFFICIENT THAN THE CODE REQUIRES, RIGHT? BUT THEY AREN'T REQUIRED DEVIN, NATURAL GAS, FURNACE, OR WATER HEATER IN THE FIRST PLACE.
AND I WANT TO POINT OUT, WELL, YOU'RE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE A NEW CONSTRUCTION OR, YOU KNOW, THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN IN A LOT OF LANGUAGE.
AND THEY'RE ENCOURAGING A UTILITY PROGRAM THAT PEOPLE HAVE MORE VISUALLY.
SO WE USE A LITTLE BIT HERE WHERE, AND AGAIN, WE ALSO HAVE THE, UH, COST EFFICIENCY PROGRAM AND THAT WILL ACTUALLY RESOLVE AND MAKE IT A COST EFFICIENT.
BUT IF YOU DON'T PROVIDE AN INCENTIVE, THEY'RE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE THE EQUIPMENT IN THE FIRST PLACE.
AND INSTEAD WOULD BE MORE LIKELY TO GO WITH ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT, WHICH CAN BE TOTALLY EMISSIONS FREE.
I SIT IN THE MEETINGS TO YOUR POINT WITH THE NEW CONSTRUCTION, THE BUILDERS, I SIT IN THE MEETINGS, THEY WILL BUILD WITH THEM REGARDLESS.
THEY WANT TO KNOW IF THERE ARE PROGRAMS AVAILABLE, BUT THEY WILL BUILD WITH THEM REGARDLESS.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME DATA TO BACK THAT ASSERTION UP.
I CAN SEE WHAT I CAN FIND THIS AS.
THIS IS ME SITTING IN MEETINGS, TALKING TO THEM AND, AND WE DO RECEIVE ALL OF THE INCREASE FROM THE BUILDERS THAT COMES RIGHT INTO MY TEAM OR TO MYSELF DIRECTLY.
AND THE INQUIRIES THAT WE WERE RECEIVING AS WE ARE BUILDING WITH THIS, WHAT DO YOU HAVE AVAILABLE? OR IS THERE ANYTHING AVAILABLE? WELL, I'M NOT GONNA, I'M NOT GONNA BOTHER WITH JOHN ANYMORE, UH, OF THE TIME HERE.
OTHER THAN TO JUST SAY, I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS AN INAPPROPRIATE USE OF THESE FUNDS HAD MY BREAK.
UM, YEAH, SO KIND OF TO HER POINT, I MEAN, AS AN ACCOUNTANT, I CAN TELL YOU WHEN I SEE 20, 21 ACTUAL SEVEN PLUS FIVE, TO ME, WHAT THAT MEANS IS I HAD THE ACTUAL FOR THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF THE YEAR AND THEN THE PROJECTION OF FIVE.
SO YOU'VE GOT 1.9 IS THE BOTTOM LINE NUMBER THERE.
SO YOU'RE SAYING BY THE END OF THE YEAR, YOU EXPECT TO SPEND PRETTY CLOSE TO THE 3.5 THAT YOU HAD PLANNED FOR THE YEAR.
SO THEN IN THAT CASE, I WOULD RELABEL THAT IN COLUMN ENTIRELY BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S CONFUSING.
UM, THAT HADN'T BEEN SAID, I DO GENERALLY AGREE WITH WHAT SHE'S SAYING.
UM, IN PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, WHEN YOU SAY THAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING ANYWAY, THEN I DON'T SEE THE PURPOSE OF INCENTING THEM, THE INCENTIVE ONLY GIVEN, OR THAT ALL THE QUALIFYING EFFICIENT EQUIPMENT THAT IS MORE EFFICIENT THAN THE CODE REQUIRES THAT WE DON'T GET THE REVISE THEY'RE GOING TO USE OUT.
THEY'RE JUST GOING TO USE THE EQUIPMENT THAT THE CODE REQUIRES, WHICH IS NOT AS EFFICIENT AS WHAT THE REBATE IS FOR.
SO THEN THIS IS JUST ME THINKING OUT LOUD, BUT IF THAT'S THE CASE, SHOULDN'T THE CITY OF AUSTIN WORK ON THE CODE ITSELF IN ORDER TO FORCE COMPLIANCE WITH IT FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION, BECAUSE THEY DO ALL KINDS OF THINGS LIKE SET ASIDES FOR GREEN SPACE AND MAKING SURE THEY GET PROPER DRAINAGE AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO IF THAT'S THAT BIG OF A CONCERN, THEN WHY HASN'T THE CITY OF AUSTIN BASICALLY MANDATED ANY NEW TANKLESS WATER HEATER INSTALLED ON A NEW COMER AND ON A NEW RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY HAS TO BE 0.93.
SO JUST TO POINT OUT THAT THIS, THIS IS A SEPARATE GROUP AND THEY, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE CONTROL OVER THE CITY OF AUSTIN CODE.
UH, ANOTHER SMALL QUESTION THAT I HAD IN THAT RUSE WITH REGARD TO, I GOT TO FIND WHERE MY NOTE WAS, UM, THE MAIL-OUT KITS, UM, IT SAYS
[01:15:01]
IN HERE BASICALLY THAT YOU DID 2100 OF THEM LAST YEAR, YOU'VE ALREADY ALLOCATED 3000 THIS YEAR, WHICH MEANS YOU'VE ALREADY PAID FOR THEM.SO YOU BUY THEM IN BULK FAIR ASSESSMENT.
UM, AND SO YOU BELIEVE YOU'RE GOING TO EXHAUST THAT SUPPLY, EVEN THOUGH YOU HAD CLOSE TO A 30 REALLOCATION FROM THE PRIOR YEAR, YOU BELIEVE YOU'RE GOING TO EXHAUST THAT PLUS GO MORE THAT YOU NEED TO RELOAD THE ENTIRE WAREHOUSE AGAIN FOR NEXT YEAR.
WE'VE EXHAUSTED THE SUPPLY FOR THIS YEAR ALREADY.
AND WE ARE LOOKING, UM, AT, UH, NEXT YEAR'S, UH, SUPPLY AND HOW TO ADMINISTER THAT.
UM, AS PART OF YOUR EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH, DO YOU ALSO LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE ENERGY STAR? UH, THE, THE INNER, THE, THE ENERGY STAR REBATES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM AS WELL THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS, WE DON'T PROVIDE, UM, THE, UH, ENERGY STAR LINKED TO THE FEDERAL PROGRAMS, BUT WE DO THE HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STAR PROGRAM IS, UM, OUR, OUR PORTION OF THAT.
SO THAT DOES PROVIDE THE INCENTIVE AND THE EDUCATION SURROUNDING THAT SPECIFIC PROGRAM THAT WE PARTNERED WITH
AND, UH, THANKS TO OUR FRIENDS RESEARCH EARLIER TODAY.
HE ALSO SENT US BASICALLY JUST A SNAPSHOT OF THOSE 50 THAT HE WAS ABLE TO SEE FROM REBATE REQUESTS.
AND WHAT I NOTICED THERE IS THAT ALMOST ALL OF THEM, I THINK THERE WAS ONE RANDOM ONE, BUT ALMOST ALL OF THEM SEEM LIKE THEY WERE COMING FROM PLUMBERS OR FROM INSTALLERS ON THE LIST THAT HE GAVE US.
AND SO I GUESS THE QUESTION IS, IS DOES THAT WORK THAT WAY OR DID HE JUST NOT GIVE THE DATA IN THE PROPER FORM? SO IT'S STILL APPLIED FOR INDIVIDUALLY WITH THE FORM THAT'S MAILED IN.
AND SO I JUST DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT I LOOKED AT.
UM, I WANTED TO GO BACK AND BRING UP THE BACK TO, TO PAUL SORT OF COMMENT PAUL'S COMMENTS EARLIER.
I'M REALLY LOOKING AT THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF SOME OF THE MEASURES THAT ARE BEING REBATED, UM, AS WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THINKING THROUGH, UM, HOW TO, WHILE WE MAY BE GETTING MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT APPLIANCE GAS APPLIANCES, UH, OUT THERE IN THE MARKET, THROUGH THE REBATES, THERE IS THE QUESTION OF, OF WHETHER THEY ARE COST-EFFECTIVE.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU ALL USE AS COST EFFECTIVENESS TESTS, UM, AND MAYBE COMMENT ON SOME OF THE CONCERNING SIR RATIOS THAT, UH, THE POLISH SHARING YOU HAVE, UH, THE GENTLEMEN THAT PERFORMS THE CALCULATION FOR US IS ON THE LINE THAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING TO JUMP INTO THE CONVERSATION, BUT LET ME, LET ME JUST SAY THIS FIRST, AND THEN WE'LL SET UP PAULA, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE CITY HIRED ADM TO DO A REPORT AND IN THE REPORT, THEY TALK ABOUT THE FIVE DIFFERENT TESTS THAT WE USE THAT ARE STANDARDIZED AND IT KIND OF ACCEPTED IN THE INDUSTRY.
AND SO WE DO A RATING ON EACH OF THE REBATES BASED ON THE FIVE DIFFERENT TESTS.
WE PERFORMED FIVE TESTS ON EACH ONE.
AND JUST AGAIN, WHEN THEY DID THIS, THEY SAMPLED SIX OR SEVEN OTHER GAS UTILITIES, AND THEY LOOKED AT WHAT THEY DO AND WHERE WE FALL IN THAT.
AND THEY BASICALLY BLESSED WHAT WE DID AND SAID THAT THE METHODOLOGY IS SOUND AND THAT THE REBATES, THE PORTFOLIO ITSELF IS COST-EFFECTIVE OKAY.
SO I WANT TO, AND PAUL HASN'T SHARED WITH US HIS DATA, BUT I DON'T THINK HE'S USING ONE OF THE FIVE TESTS.
AND, AND AGAIN, SO I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING CAUSE HE HASN'T SHARED ANY OF THAT WITH US.
AND WITH THAT, MAYBE WE SHOULD LET PAUL ROB OUR CONSULTANT JUMP IN.
PAUL, ARE YOU THERE? UH, YEAH, I AM.
UH, PAUL ROB, UM, I'LL BRIEFLY ADDRESS COST EFFECT IN THAT SAYS AS BOTH LARRY AND JASMINE MENTIONED, I, I DO THIS EVERY YEAR FOR THE COMPANY.
I ALSO, UH, DO THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATION FOR, UH, UH, FOR ONG AND I DO COST-EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATION FOR OTHER, UH, NATURAL GAS UTILITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY.
UM, AS YOU, AS YOU PROBABLY CAN GUESS, UH, AND GIVEN THE CONTROVERSY, I WOULD, I'M ASSUMING YOU CAN ASSUME THAT IT IS, IT IS A RELATIVELY COMPLICATED PROCESS.
IT INVOLVES, UH, YOU KNOW, A FAIR AMOUNT OF JUDGMENT, BUT I THINK, UH, WHAT, WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST AND, AND I THINK THE BEST WAY TO EXPLAIN THIS TO THE, TO THE, UH, UH, COMMISSION IS TO, YOU KNOW, JUST TO BASICALLY SAY TO YOU THAT WE HAVE PRESENTED IN THE PAST OUR EVALUATIONS, OUR POSSIBLE COST EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATIONS OF THESE PROGRAMS. UM, AND, AND IN, IN PRESENTING THAT INFORMATION TO THE, TO THE COMMISSION, UH, WHAT I TEND TO DO IS I HAVE A VERY
[01:20:01]
DETAILED, UH, MULTI TABS SPREADSHEET THAT I RELY ON, AND THAT SPREADSHEET CONTAINS ALL OF THE INPUT ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE USE, ALL OF THE INPUT VALUES THAT WE USE AND ALL OF THE CALCULATIONS THAT WE USE IN ORDER TO DETERMINE COST EFFECTIVENESS AND SAVINGS, UM, BOTH ENERGY SAVINGS, WATER SAVINGS, UH, EMISSIONS SAVINGS, AND SO ON, UH, FOR, UH, THE CURRENT YEAR THAT THE PROGRAMS ARE IN PLACE AND OVER THEIR PROGRAM LIFETIMES, UM, THE, UH, THE CALCULATIONS ARE, ARE TEDIOUS TO GO THROUGH A COURSE AND THEY GO DOWN TO THE MEASURE LEVEL.UM, THE, WE DO THOSE CALCULATIONS ON THE BASIS OF THE FIVE TRADITIONAL COST BENEFIT TESTS THAT THE, UH, THAT, THAT MOST PEOPLE CARE ABOUT, OBVIOUSLY THAT THE PRIMARY, THE ONE, A PRIMARY IMPORTANCE TO EVERYONE IS THE TOTAL RESOURCE COST TEST.
UH, THAT'S PRESENTED IN THERE.
UM, I, UH, THE ONLY, I GUESS THE ONLY OTHER THING I CAN SAY ABOUT, AND AGAIN, WE'RE HAPPY TO HEAR ANY OF, ANY OF THOSE ASSUMPTIONS.
WE'RE HAPPY TO SHARE THOSE SPREADSHEETS SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GO THROUGH IT.
AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M CERTAINLY HAPPY TO PRESENT EITHER, UH, IN THIS FORUM OR IN A MORE INDIVIDUAL FORUM.
ALL OF THE CALCULATIONS WE DO, UM, BARRY HAS ALSO, UH, HAS, HAS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED THE FACT THAT THIS REPORT HAS BEEN AUDITED AT, I GUESS YOU WOULD SAY AUDITED BY ADM, AND THEY'VE GENERALLY, UH, UH, BLESSED OUR CALCULATIONS, UH, THE WAY WE'VE DONE THE CALCULATIONS AND, AND THE RESULTS.
UM, AND, AND I THINK IN FACT, UH, I WOULD SAY THAT THEY FOUND THAT WE ARE, WE ARE GENERALLY MORE CONSERVATIVE I'VE, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT MY WORK HAS BEEN AUDITED BY OTHERS.
I'M GENERALLY MORE CONSERVATIVE THAN OTHERS IN TERMS OF DETERMINING THE COST BENEFIT RATIOS FOR ALL THESE TESTS, BUT, UH, BUT YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY CAN MAKE THEIR OWN JUDGMENT ABOUT THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY ALL I CAN SAY ABOUT AT THIS POINT, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY I'M WILLING TO SHARE ANY DETAILS THAT I MAY HAVE WITH, UH, WITH ANYBODY IN THE GROUP, UH, EITHER COLLECTIVELY OR INDIVIDUALLY.
THANK YOU FOR THAT EXPLANATION.
AND WE DID APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION OF THE REPORT A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO.
UM, YOU KNOW, I CERTAINLY CAN'T PRESUME TO BE AN EXPERT OR HOLD EXPERTISE IN ANY OF THE FIVE COST-EFFECTIVE THIS TEST.
UM, BUT I, AND I CAN ALSO APPRECIATE HOW IT'S, UM, A BIT UNFAIR TO RESPOND TO ANALYSIS YOU HAVEN'T SEEN.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY I THINK THERE WOULD BE SOME VALUE IN SHARING THAT ANALYSIS IF THAT'S APPROPRIATE FOR THE GROUP.
AND IT WOULD BE HELPFUL, I THINK, TO, TO SEE YOUR RESPONSE.
UM, I GUESS THE, THE ONE KIND OF QUESTION THAT IS OUTSTANDING IN MY MIND THERE IS IN THOSE CALCULATIONS WITH THE FIVE TESTS, IS THERE, UM, ARE WE ACCOUNTING FOR THE, FOR THE RETROFITS, THE EQUIPMENT THAT'S BEING REPLACED, UH, HERE IN AUSTIN'S SERVICE TERRITORY AND TGS SERVICE TERRITORY, OR ARE THESE GENERAL NUMBERS ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON THE OTHER MARKETS THAT ARE BEING SERVED WELL? WELL, CERTAINLY WE TRY TO BE AS SPECIFIC, UH, TO, TO THE AUSTIN MARKET AS WE CAN BE.
UH, BUT IT'S GENERALLY, UM, NOT, YOU KNOW, THE FUNNY THING ABOUT THESE TESTS, IT'S NOT THE COST OF THE EQUIPMENT THAT YOU'VE JUST REPLACED.
IT'S THE COST OF THE EQUIPMENT THAT WOULD REPLACE THE EQUIPMENT, THE EQUIPMENT THAT YOU'RE JUST REPLACED.
SO THAT NATURALLY DRIVES YOU TO A POINT WHERE YOU'RE USING A MORE GENERIC, PERHAPS A MORE, UH, OR A LESS AUSTIN SPECIFIC NUMBER IN DOING THE EVALUATION.
BUT I WOULD, I WOULD GENERALLY SAY WE, WE TRY TO GET AS AUSTIN SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE.
THAT'S ONE OF THOSE JUDGMENTS THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT, AND IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE CAN QUIBBLE OVER OR QUESTION JUDGEMENTS.
I, I TEND TO BE CONSERVATIVE, BUT, UH, BUT I'M CERTAINLY HAPPY TO SHARE THOSE ASSUMPTIONS WITH THE GROUP AS WELL.
AND I'LL JUST TO WHAT I WAS TRYING TO TEASE OUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, MR. ROBIN SHARED WITH US THE EXAMPLE OF REBATES, REPLACING A TANKLESS WATER HEATERS FOR FAILED TANKLESS WATER HEATERS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT HADN'T YET MET THEIR USEFUL LIFE.
UM, IT IS REALLY JUST TRYING TO GET A HANDLE ON HOW MUCH OF THAT, UM, MIGHT BE HAPPENING WITH THE PROGRAM, BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR EXPLANATION AND WHAT WE CAN, UH, CONTINUE TO, TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION OVER TIME.
HOW CAN I HELP AS MUCH AS I CAN? THANK YOU.
UM, SO ONE QUESTION I HAD WAS THAT IT, UH, FROM WHAT I GOT, I SPENT SOME TIME ON THE INTERNET TRYING TO PREPARE FOR THIS MEETING TONIGHT.
AND I SEE THAT ABOUT 17% OF THE TYPICAL RESIDENTIAL GAS BILL GOES TO KEEPING WATER HEATED IN A HOME.
AND SO MY QUESTION IS WHY IS THIS PROGRAM STRUCTURED? WE'RE 41% OF ITS
[01:25:01]
SPEND IS GOING TOWARDS THAT SAME THING INSTEAD OF SPREADING AROUND, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, WHY HAVEN'T YOU LOOKED AT, UH, THERMAL WINDOWS, DOUBLE PAID WINDOWS AS SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE WORTHY OF LOOKING AT AS PEOPLE ARE REHABBING HOMES.SO WE'RE CURRENTLY FOCUSED ON THE ACTUAL ALLIANCES AND HOW WE CAN IMPACT THE USE OF THE, OF CLIENTS WHEN THE SELECTION OF THE APPLIANCE TO CREATE A MORE EFFICIENT CUSTOMER.
UM, WITH THAT SAID, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT DID NOT MAKE THIS BUDGET PROPOSAL, BECAUSE THEY'RE A LITTLE LONGER TERM, UM, THAT DON'T QUITE CREEP INTO THE SPACE OF WINDOWS, BUT THEY DO LOOK INTO WINTERIZATION EFFORTS UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
THAT MAY BE SOMETHING LIKE A KIT THAT WE CAN SEND OUT SIMILAR TO THE WATER KIT THAT HOMEOWNERS AND CUSTOMERS CAN USE TO MAKE THEIR HOME MORE EFFICIENT FOR WINTERIZATION AND REDUCE THEIR USAGE AND SEEPAGE THAT WAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE, I THINK THAT 17% IS PROBABLY PRETTY, PRETTY ACCURATE.
YOU'RE GOING FOR WATER HEATING.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PERCENTAGE IS, BUT SOME OF IT IS FOR COOKING.
THERE'S REALLY NO, UM, COOKING EQUIPMENT THAT IS SUPER EFFICIENT, THAT WOULD BE WORTHY OF A, UH, OF A REBATE.
AND I, I THINK IN THIS CLIMATE TO THE WINDOWS, IT'S INTERESTING.
I THINK THE WINDOWS WOULD BENEFIT THE, UH, ELECTRIC UTILITY PAYING CUSTOMER MORE THAN THE GAS BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, THERE THERE'S A LOT, WE DON'T HAVE AS MANY HEATING DEGREE DAYS HERE.
YOU KNOW, THE WET, THE WINTERS ARE SO MILD THAT I'M NOT SURE THAT ONE WOULD MAKE SENSE FOR US UNLESS WE PARTNERED WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND THEN THE OTHER PIECE OF THAT IS HAVING TO LOOK AT WHAT THE CODE REQUIRES AND WHAT IS MORE EFFICIENT THAN A CODE.
WE CAN LOOK INTO THAT, BUT I'M NOT VERSED IN THAT POINT.
AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION, AND I PROMISE THIS TIME, IT'S THE LAST ONE? WHAT IS AN OFF SEASON INCENTIVE? THE OFF-SEASON INCENTIVE IS A PROMOTION THAT IS PROVIDED TO CUSTOMERS THAT MAKE A DRIER NEW, NATURAL GAS DRYER PURCHASES.
AND THAT IS AN ADDITIONAL, UM, UM, PROMOTION.
I'M SORRY, THERE'S THE OFF SEASON PROMOTIONS DO A HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STARTS AND ADDITIONAL BENEFIT FOR THE HOME PERFORMANCE, ENERGY STAR.
WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER, UM, PROMOTION WE RUN AT THE SAME TIME.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING OF.
UM, SO THAT'S AN ADDITIONAL LAYER ON TOP OF THE ACTUAL HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STAR EXISTING PROGRAM.
IT'S JUST, IT RUNS FROM OCTOBER THROUGH APRIL.
THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED OFF SEASON.
AND WITH THAT, LARRY AND JASMINE, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME, I THINK IS AGAIN FOR COMING AND FOR, UH, ANSWERING QUESTIONS AND AS WELL AS RECEIVING FEEDBACK, UH, AS, AS ALWAYS, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL.
[5. Water Loss and Mitigation Briefing.]
WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE ON THE AGENDA, WATER LOSS AND MITIGATION BRIEFING.I BELIEVE WE HAVE MATT COLIN FROM AUSTIN WATER.
IS THAT CORRECT? ALL RIGHT, THEN COMMISSIONER, MY NAME IS MATT CULLEN ON THE, UH, DIVISION MANAGER FOR D DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM ENGINEERING AT AUSTIN MATER THIS EVENING.
I'LL, UH, BE GIVING YOU AN UPDATE ON AUSTIN WATERS, WATER MITIGATION, UH, EFFORT, WATER LOSS, MITIGATION EFFORTS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WATER LOSS IS AN ISSUE THAT, UH, EVERY UTILITY HAS TO EVERY WATER UTILITY HAS TO DEAL WITH.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, GIVEN OUR 4,000 MILES OF MAINS AND, AND HOW SPREAD OUT OUR SYSTEM IS, IT'S A, IT'S A FAIRLY COMPLICATED PROCESS.
UH, BUT I'LL BE GIVING YOU AN UPDATE TONIGHT ON, ON WHAT WE'RE DOING THERE.
SO, UH, I'LL BE LOOKING OVER THERE A LITTLE BIT.
SO, UH, WHAT I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT TONIGHT IS HOW WE MEASURE WATER LOSS AND OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND INDICATORS RELATED TO THAT, UH, HOW THOSE ARE CALCULATED AND WHAT THEY ARE, AND THEN WHERE, WHERE WE STAND.
UM, AND THEN RELATED TO THAT IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THAT MEASUREMENT IS OUR PRODUCTION METERS AT OUR PLANTS.
AND SO I'LL SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THAT.
I'LL TALK ABOUT OUR STRATEGIES THAT WE UTILIZE FOR, UH, LIMITING, TRYING TO LIMIT, MINIMIZE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, OUR WATER LOSS, AND THEN I'LL SUMMARIZE THINGS AND, AND TAKE QUESTIONS AT THAT POINT.
SO, UH, MEASURING WATER LOSS, UM, WE UTILIZE THE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR TRACKING, UH, AND, UH, OUR WATER LOSS, ESSENTIALLY.
IT'S THE VOLUME OF WATER THAT COMES OUT OF OUR PLANTS.
UH, AND THEN YOU SUBTRACT OUT THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, LIKE THE METERED BUILD
[01:30:01]
WATER, THE, UH, THE WATER THAT WE BILL WATER USE FOR FIREFIGHTING AND FLUSHING AND EVERYTHING.AND THEN WHAT IS LEFT THEN IS, IS YOUR WATER LOSS.
AND THIS IS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD, UM, APPROACH FOR COMING UP WITH, UH, YOUR WATER LOSSES, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE CAN DIRECTLY MEET HER IN ADVANCE.
AND SO THE PERFORMANCE INDICATOR THAT COMES FROM THAT IS CALLED, UH, THE INFRASTRUCTURE LEAKAGE INDEX IN YEARS PAST, UH, UH, PERCENT WATER LOSS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS REFERRED TO A LOT, BUT THERE WERE A LOT OF ISSUES WITH THAT.
AND SO, UH, THE INFRASTRUCTURE LEAKAGE INDEX IS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD NOW FOR, UH, MEASURING THE PERFORMANCE OF A WATER UTILITY AS IT RELATES TO WATER LOSS.
AND SO, UM, THE WAY THAT IS CALCULATED IS THE REAL WATER LOSS THAT I MENTIONED ON THE LAST SLIDE IS CALCULATED.
UM, AND THEN THAT IS DIVIDED BY AN UNAVOIDABLE REAL LOSS, UH, WHICH MEANS KIND OF EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE, THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT YOU JUST, YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY AVOID LOSING, UH, IN THE PROCESS.
AND THAT'S, THAT IS CALCULATED BASED ON THE SIZE OF THE SYSTEM AND THE SYSTEM PRESSURE AND THE NUMBER OF CONNECTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
UH, AND SO YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SURMISE FROM THAT, JUST LOOKING AT IT THEN, UH, A THEORETICAL BEST, UH, PERFECTION LEVEL WOULD BE A 1.0, SO IN THE ONLY WATER YOU'RE LOSING IS THE WATER YOU CAN AVOID LOSING, UH, MENTIONED THESE BENCHMARKS HERE, BECAUSE THIS IS, UH, TRYING TO GIVE AN IDEA OF, OF WHAT'S GOOD.
AND THIS IS LIKE GOLF, YOU KNOW, A LOWER, LOWER NUMBER IS BETTER.
UM, YOU KNOW, A 2.0 IS REALLY EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE AND THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD.
AND AWW, I WOULD SAY FOR A UTILITY LIKE OURS, A THREE TO FIVE IS A APPROPRIATE RANGE TO, TO BE OPERATING IN, GO AHEAD AND ADVANCE.
SO WHERE IS AUSTIN WATER'S PERFORMANCE? SO, UH, ON THIS SLIDE, THE GREEN BOX IS AT THREE TO FIVE THAT, UH, THAT I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY.
UH, AND AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THIS, UH, ORANGE LINE IS OUR ILI OVER THE LAST DECADE PLUS, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE BEEN WITHIN THAT RANGE, THERE WAS A PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, THERE, THERE IS AN UPWARD TICK AND UPWARD SLANT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT SOME MORE, UM, AS WE GO THROUGH, UH, THE PRESENTATION, UH, BUT WE ARE OPERATING WITHIN THAT, UM, THAT RANGE THAT, UH, IS INDICATED TO BE APPROPRIATE FOR UTILITY LIKE OURS SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO, UH, WE DON'T PASS OFF THE, THE, THE FACT THAT THAT, UH, WATER LOSS IS INCREASING.
UH, WE LOOK AT EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING TO SEE WHY THAT MAY BE.
UM, AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE LOOKED AT OUR, OUR BREAK RATES, OUR RESPONSE TIMES TO LEAKS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
AND, UM, NOTHING'S REALLY STANDING OUT AS, AS BEING A DIRECT ISSUE FOR WHY THAT WATER LOSS WAS INCREASING.
UH, LET ME EXPLAIN THIS SLIDE A LITTLE BIT HERE.
UM, THIS BLUE LINE IS OUR BREAKS PER A HUNDRED MILES PER YEAR, UH, UH, MAIN BREAKS AND THE PURPLE LINE IS THE INDUSTRY KIND OF BENCHMARK STANDARDS ABOUT 14.
UH, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE USED TO BE ABOVE THAT.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS LIKE GOLF, LOWER, LOWER IS BETTER.
AND THROUGH OUR, UH, INVESTMENT IN OUR REPLACING SOME OF OUR AGENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REDUCE OUR BREAK RATE AND THAT'S KIND OF COUNTER TO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING WITH OUR WATER LOSSES AND, AND THE SLIGHT INCREASE IN OUR AND OUR IOI, UH, NOTE THOSE COUPLE OF YEARS HERE RECENTLY WITH UPTICKS, UH, WERE, UH, UH, AN EXTREME SUMMER AND AN EXTREME WINTER.
UH, THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE URI.
YOU KNOW, THIS ONLY GOES THROUGH 2020.
UM, BUT, UH, SO WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND INDICATORS TO SEE WHERE THIS ISSUE MAY BE COMING FROM OF, UH, THIS INCREASING WATER LOSS SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS, UH, THAT WE'VE LEARNED IN, IN, UM, TALKING WITH OTHER UTILITIES AND TAKING PART IN CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS IS WITH THE ILI, WITH THE WATER LOSS, THAT, THAT FIRST NUMBER, THAT VOLUME COMING OUT OF YOUR PLANTS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND, UH, THE MEASUREMENT IS VERY SENSITIVE TO VARIATIONS, UH, IN THAT NUMBER.
AND SO FROM THAT END, WE UNDERTOOK A PROCESS, A PROJECT TO DO A, UH, A VALIDATION OF THE METERS IN OUR TREATMENT PLANTS TO GET THOSE AS PRECISE AS WE CAN.
AND SO WE BROUGHT IN A CONSULTANT TO HELP US WITH THAT AND TOOK A LOOK AT ALL 37 METERS AT OUR PLANTS.
AND WE'RE JUST FINISHING THAT REPORT.
I'VE GOT THIS LIST OF JUST PRELIMINARY TAKEAWAYS.
[01:35:01]
NOT ALL OF THE METERS WERE CALIBRATED CORRECTLY, UM, NOT HORRIBLY OFF, BUT THERE WERE THINGS TO DO THERE TO, UH, IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF THE NUMBERS COMING OUT OF OUR PLANTS.UM, AND THEN SOME OF THE PLANT METERS DID HAVE ERRORS AND EXCESSIVE 5% I'VE GOT PLUS, OR MINUS THERE.
SOME OF THEM WERE PLUS SOME OF THEM WERE MINUS, BUT THERE WERE SOME METER ERRORS THERE.
AND SO THAT INDICATES TO US THERE'S ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
UM, NOTE THAT THOSE ERRORS ARE VARIABLE.
UM, THE, UH, SOME OF THE CALIBRATION FACTORS CHANGE WITH TIME.
SO WE CAN'T NECESSARILY WHAT, WHILE WE DID THIS STUDY TO LOOK AT WHAT THE ACCURACY OF THE METERS ARE, WE CAN'T NECESSARILY TAKE TODAY'S RESULTS AND GO APPLY THEM BACK TO 2015 OR SOMETHING AND SAY, WHAT WOULD THOSE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN? BUT OUT OF THIS STUDY, OUT OF THIS PROJECT, UH, WE DO HAVE SOME ACTION ITEMS. WE'RE CERTAINLY GOING TO BE REFINING OUR CALIPH CALIBRATION PROCEDURES, UH, AT THE PLANTS.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S SOME RECOMMENDED, UH, IMPROVEMENTS, UH, CLEANING OUT SOME METERS AND REPLACING SOME, UH, UH, SOME SENSORS AND SOME WIRING AND SUCH.
AND THEN COME BACK AND REPEAT THE VALIDATION PROCESS AFTER WE'RE DOING THAT AGAIN, TRYING TO GET MORE PRECISE WITH THE METERING, UM, HISTORICALLY, YOU KNOW, THE METERS HAVE OPERATED VERY WELL FOR OPERATING THE PLANT THAT THERE HADN'T BEEN PROBLEMS OPERATING THE PLANT, BUT, AND THAT'S MOSTLY WHAT THOSE METERS WHEN THEY'RE INSTALLED AND WHEN THE PLANTS WERE BUILT, MOSTLY WHAT THEY WERE WERE THERE FOR.
WE'VE GOT TO GET NOWADAYS, WE'VE GOT TO GET TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF PRECISION WHEN WE'RE USING THOSE NUMBERS FOR WATER LOSS TRACKING.
SO I WANT TO TALK ABOUT OUR STRATEGY.
SO THOSE WERE ALL THE THINGS ABOUT HOW WE, UH, HOW WE MEASURE AND WHAT OUR PERFORMANCE, UH, IS.
UM, BUT THEN THERE'S INDUSTRY STANDARDS, STRATEGIES FOR, UH, LIMITING WATER LOSS.
ONE OF THE MAIN ONES, I KNOW THIS IS A BORING SLIDE, UM, BUT ONE OF THE MAIN ONES IS RESPONSE TIME TO LEAKS.
AND, UM, HERE ARE THIS WHAT THIS SHOWS IN VERY BORING WAYS THAT OVER 90% OF THE TIME, WE'RE RESPONDING TO LAKES WITHIN THREE HOURS.
UH, AND THAT'S VERY QUICK, UH, RESPONSE TIME.
IF THIS WENT FURTHER BACK BEFORE 2012, THE NUMBERS WOULDN'T BE AS HIGH.
UM, BUT, UH, THE UTILITY IS VERY FOCUSED ON AND, AND, UH, UH, APPLIES RESOURCES TOWARDS THIS SO THAT WE CAN RESPOND, UH, IN A QUICK MANNER.
ANOTHER ONE OF THE INDUSTRY STANDARD, UH, STRATEGIES IS, UH, YOU KNOW, INVESTING IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, RENEWING REHABBING, UH, WATER LINES.
AND FOR US, THAT'S MOSTLY REPLACING LINES AND THAT'S TYPICALLY OUR CAST IRON MAINS.
AND SO WE'VE GOT THE RENEWING AUSTIN PROGRAM, AND IT TYPICALLY FOCUSES ON THE LINES THAT ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE TO ADDITIONAL LEAKS AND THEREFORE A WATER LOSS.
WE'VE ALSO GOT A PROGRAM OR CIP PROGRAM TO RE UH, REDUCE THE NUMBER OF POLYBUTYLENE SERVICES.
SO THIS SERVICE LINE THAT GOES FROM THE MAIN UP TO THE METER.
SO A MATERIAL THAT WAS USED LATE SIXTIES TO EARLY EIGHTIES, IT'S MORE PRONE TO FAILURE, UH, THAN OTHER MATERIAL TYPES.
AND SO WE'VE GOT A FOCUSED PROGRAM TO, UH, REPLACE THOSE SERVICES, UH, THAT ARE MOST LIKELY TO BREAK.
UM, ANOTHER PART OF THIS AND, UH, INVESTING IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND OUR RENEWAL IS LOOKING AT THE MATERIALS THAT WE USE IN OUR SYSTEM.
AND JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS WE'VE USED HDPE FOR WATER SERVICE LINES FOR ABOUT A DECADE NOW, BUT IT HASN'T BEEN USED THAT MUCH ON FOR MAIN LINES.
UH, BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT INCORPORATING THAT AND THE WATER LOSS ADVANTAGE THERE IS, UH, YOU KNOW, IN PVC PIPES, DUCTILE IRON PIPES, UH, ALL OF THOSE HAVE GASKETED JOINTS, AND THERE'S AN EXPECTED AMOUNT OF LEAKAGE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE THERE THERE'S ALLOWABLE LEAKAGE, EVEN IN THE ACCEPTANCE TESTING, WHEREAS WITH THE HDPE THAT'S FUSED PIPE.
SO YOU DON'T HAVE THOSE JOINTS.
UH, AND SO IN THE END, YOU'RE, YOU LOSE LESS WATER IF YOU UTILIZE, UH, THE HDPE MATERIAL NEXT LINE.
UM, AND I'M SURE YOU'RE AWARE AS WELL.
WE'RE UNDERGOING OUR MA MY ATX WATER, UH, PROGRAM, UH, WHICH IS OUR AMI PROGRAM.
UH, OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, WE'LL BE REPLACING AN EXCESS OF 240,000 METERS.
UM, AND THERE'LL BE AN IMMEDIATE, UH, UH, ADVANTAGE IS THE WORD THAT'S COMING TO MY HEAD, IMMEDIATE PAYBACK ON THAT, AND REDUCING WATER LOSS, MAYBE NOT THE ILI, BUT PARTICULARLY ON THE CUSTOMER SIDE.
UM, THERE ARE METRICS, THERE ARE THINGS IN PLACE SO THAT WE CAN NOTIFY A CUSTOMER.
[01:40:01]
IF THEY HAVE A LINK LEAK ON THEIR SIDE, AND MANY OTHER UTILITIES WHO'VE GONE, THE AMI PATH HAVE SEEN THAT, THAT PAYBACK, UH, QUICKLY.SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO THERE.
UH, THAT'S THAT ENHANCED LEAK DETECTION ON THE CUSTOMER SIDE.
UH, BUT WE'RE ALSO, YOU KNOW, WITH THIS AMI PROGRAM, THERE'S GOING TO BE, UH, UH, A LARGE NETWORK OUT THERE OF, OF, UH, FOR COLLECTING DATA.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO LEVERAGE THAT TO COLLECT DATA RELATED TO PRESSURE, LEAK SENSORS, AND, UH, LOOKING AT WHAT THIS THING CALLED DISTRICT METERED AREAS, WHICH IS A VERY DIFFICULT THING TO DO IN THE REAL WORLD SECTIONING OFFICE SYSTEM AND MEASURING EVERYTHING GOING IN AND OUT, AND THEN EVERYTHING BEING USED.
SO YOU CAN DETERMINE A LOSS WITH AMI WILL BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING VIRTUAL ALONG THAT LINE, UH, WITH THE, UH, LARGE AMOUNT OF DATA THAT WE'LL BE GETTING IN THE DAILY DATA, AS OPPOSED TO METER READING AND THOSE SORT OF THINGS.
SO WE'LL BE LOOKING TO LEVERAGE AMI TO REDUCE WATER LOSSES AS WELL.
AND THEN OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WATER LOSSES, I IMAGINE ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT COMES TO EVERYONE'S MIND IS LEAK DETECTION, UH, AND, UH, PREVENTION.
AND SO, UH, WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS IN THAT AREA AT THE UTILITY.
UH, WE'VE GOT A CONTRACT, UH, A CONTRACTOR THAT GOES OUT AND LISTENS TO VALVES AND HYDRANTS AND SERVICES IN OUR SYSTEM.
UH, THEY COVER FIVE TO 700 MILES OF THE SYSTEM EACH YEAR.
SO THAT'S ABOUT A SIX YEAR TURNOVER FOR GOING THROUGH THE ENTIRE SYSTEM.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER CONTRACT THAT DOES LEAK DETECTION AND CONDITION ASSESSMENT ON OUR TRANSMISSION MAINS IT'S BECAUSE THE TECHNOLOGY NEEDED IS DIFFERENT.
UH, THAT SAME LISTENING TECHNOLOGY THAT WORKS ON THE SMALLER DIAMETER JUST WON'T WORK ON THE LARGER DIAMETER, TAKES QUITE A BIT MORE PREPARATION AND EVERYTHING TO DO THAT.
BUT SO WE HAVE A CONTRACT FOR THAT, AND WE GET ABOUT 10 MILES OF LEAK DETECTION ON OUR TRANSMISSION MAINS EACH YEAR AND FIVE TO 10 MILES OF CONDITION ASSESSMENT.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THIS PICTURE TO THE RIGHT.
I CAN'T SEE IT, BUT I THINK YOU CAN, UM, THAT'S, I'LL TALK ABOUT IT ON OUR NEXT SLIDE, BUT THAT'S A PIPE DIVER.
IT'S A CONDITION ASSESSMENT TOOL THAT FLOATS THROUGH SOME OF OUR TRANSMISSION MAINS AND, UH, THOSE TRANSMISSION MAIN, MANY OF THEM ARE PRE-STRESSED CONCRETE CYLINDER PIPE THAT ARE BASICALLY HELD TOGETHER BY A WIRE THAT TRAPPED AROUND IT.
AND THAT, UH, THAT ROBOT THERE, IF YOU WILL, UH, WILL IDENTIFY WHERE YOU HAVE WIRE BREAKS AND, AND EMINENT FAILURE OF PIPES.
UM, SO I WILL NOTE THIS PICTURE IS PRE PANDEMIC.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU CAN SEE THE SMILES, UH, ON EVERYONE'S FACES.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT INNOVATION BECAUSE A WATER LOSS IS AN INCREASING, INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT, UH, TOPIC TO EVERYONE.
UM, AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGY.
SO WE'RE PART OF, UH, TECH TECHNOLOGY ADVOCACY GROUP, WHERE WE GET, UH, EXPOSED TO EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, GET TO PILOT THEM AND TEST THEM OUT.
AND SO, WHILE WE BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING A GOOD JOB OF UTILIZING LEAK DETECTION AND CONDITION ASSESSMENT, WE'RE LOOKING AT OPTIMIZING, HOW CAN WE DO BETTER? WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ELSE IS AVAILABLE OUT THERE? AND ALONG THAT SAME LINES, UM, WE'RE COLLABORATING WITH UT THERE'S A PROFESSOR AT UT, UH, THAT HAS, UM, WE'VE COLLABORATED WITH THEM.
UH, SHE HAS, UM, DEPLOYED, UH, ABOUT A DOZEN HIGH RATE PRESSURE SENSORS ACROSS OUR SYSTEM, UH, AND SOME OF THAT'S TO IDENTIFY LEAKS SOME OF THAT SHE'S WORKING ON PREPARING ALGORITHMS TO, FOR PREDICTIVE, UH, FAILURE, UH, PURPOSES.
NEXT LINE, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF BIG WINS THAT WE'VE HAD ON OUR CONDITION ASSESSMENT SIDE.
UH, THESE TWO PICTURES ON THE LEFT.
THIS IS OUR, UH, ALRICH HIGH SERVICE TRANSMISSION MAIN ON WEST BOULEVARD, RIGHT BY WEST GATE LANES.
UM, HAD NO REASON TO BELIEVE THERE WAS NECESSARILY ANYTHING WRONG WITH THIS LINE, BUT IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT LINE FOR US, UH, FOR OUR SYSTEM.
SO WE, THAT ROBOT FROM THE LAST SLIDE, UH, FLOATED THROUGH THIS LINE AND INDICATED A PARTICULAR FEW PIECES OF PIPE, UH, RIGHT IN THIS AREA THAT HAD A NUMBER OF WIRE BREAKS.
AND THEN WHEN WE DUG IT UP, THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND.
AND THE PIPE WAS JUST ABOUT COMING APART AS WE WERE, WE'RE DIGGING IT UP.
AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO AVOID THIS PIPE, DOESN'T LEAK A LITTLE AND THEN LEAK A LITTLE MORE AND THEN GIVE WAY THIS TYPE OF PIPE TENDS TO FAIL CATASTROPHICALLY.
IT GOES FROM NO NOTHING TO, TO BLOWN OUT.
AND THIS PIPE WAS NOT REAL FAR FROM, FROM THAT HAPPENING.
AND SO OUR PROACTIVE CONDITION ASSESSMENT WAS ABLE TO CAP CAP CATCH THAT AHEAD OF TIME AND, UH, SAVE QUITE A BIT OF WATER LOSS FROM DOING THAT.
AND SIMILARLY, ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE, THIS IS OUR DAVIS HIGH SERVICE TRANSMISSION.
MAIN T1, UH, RUNS ALONG MOPAC.
THIS IS NEAR 22, 22, AGAIN, MOST ALL OF THIS LINE, FIVE, SIX MILES ALIGN
[01:45:01]
AND NO, NO ISSUES, BUT ONE PIECE OF PIPE, IT INDICATED 30 WIRE BREAKS IN ONE SEGMENT, 10 WIRE BREAKS AND ANOTHER, AND WE DUG IT UP AND THE CONCRETE WAS FALLEN OFF OF THE PIPE AND THE WIRES WERE BREAKING.AND SO, UH, JUST ANOTHER CASE OF, AND THAT ONE WOULD HAVE POTENTIALLY HAD A LOT OF OTHER SIDE EFFECTS THAT THAT WOULD HAVE FLOODED LIKE THE FRONTAGE ROAD OF MOPAC AND MAYBE EVEN THE MAIN LANES.
AND SO THESE ARE TWO EXAMPLES OF, UH, I THINK A REAL WINS FOR US IN OUR, UH, UH, PROACTIVE APPROACH TO LEAK DETECTION AND CONDITION ASSESSMENT.
SO JUST IN SUMMARY, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK, UH, WE'RE GOING TO COMPLETE THE ACTION ITEMS THAT ARE LEFT FROM OUR PRODUCTION METER VALIDATION PROJECT, AND THEN REDO, UH, THE VALIDATION, UH, AND CONTINUE THAT AND KEEP TRYING TO GET, UH, THOSE METER READINGS AS PRECISE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE OUR CURRENT BEST PRACTICES.
WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE RESPONDING QUICKLY TO LEAKS.
WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE OUR LEAK DETECTION, UH, CONDITION ASSESSMENT, LEVERAGING AMI, UH, AS I MENTIONED, AND CONTINUE INVESTING AND REPLACING OUR OLDEST LEAKY PIPES.
UM, AND THEN A NEXT STEP THAT WE'RE JUST BEGINNING A PROCESS ON IS BRINGING, BRINGING WATER LOSS EXPERT CONSULTANT ON BOARD TO LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UH, YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE WE'RE DOING A LOT OF GOOD THINGS, BUT IT, IT, UH, WE THINK IT'D BE WORTHWHILE TO HAVE AN EXPERT IN THE INDUSTRY, COME LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE DOING AND, UH, SEE IF THEY MIGHT GIVE US, UH, ANY OTHER POINTERS OR ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT.
SO WITH THAT, UM, IF YOU'VE GOT ANY QUESTIONS, BE HAPPY TO TRY TO ADDRESS THEM.
MUCH APPRECIATED COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU.
THE PRESENTATION, I CONTINUE TO THINK WATER IS FASCINATING, AND THIS IS WATER LOSS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PIECE OF AS YOU'RE THINKING OF WATER EFFICIENCY.
SO WE APPRECIATE THAT THE UPDATE AND THE PROACTIVE APPROACH, UM, APOLOGIES FOR THE IGNORANT QUESTION HERE, BUT I'M CURIOUS AS WE'RE THINKING ABOUT WATER LOSS, IS THAT ALSO A SOURCE OF CONTAMINATION FOR THE SYSTEM? DOES IT, UH, THOSE, THOSE LEAKAGE POINTS ARE THOSE ALSO ENTRY POINTS THAT CAUSE CONCERN FOR AUSTIN WATER? I CERTAINLY CAN BE.
I MEAN, WHEN THE PIPE IS PRESSURIZED AND UNDER PRESSURE, AS LONG AS THE WATER'S GOING OUT, THEN ANY OF THE CONTAMINANTS WOULD BE PUSHED OUT, BUT WE DO HAVE TO DEPRESSURIZE TYPICALLY TO, UH, TO MAKE REPAIRS OR WHEN I'M LYING BREAKS YOUR DRAIN ENOUGH.
IT DEPRESSURIZES, UH, SO THAT IT'S NOT THE MAIN CONCERN OF, OF THE LEAKS, BUT THAT'S, YOU'RE CERTAINLY LESS SECURE THE MORE, UH, FROM THAT END WITH THE MORE LEAKS THAT YOU HAVE.
HEARING NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, MATT.
[6. Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Customer Energy Solutions Proposed Budget Presentation.]
FISCAL YEAR 20 21, 20 22 CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS, PROPOSED BUDGET PRESENTATION, UH, THE MUCH ANTICIPATED AND DELAYED.UH, I BELIEVE WE HAVE MANNY GARZA FROM AUSTIN ENERGY AS WELL.
UH, FYI TWO, UH, BUDGET, A MANUAL GARZA.
I MANAGE THE COMMERCIAL MULTI-FAMILY SMALL BUSINESS AND THE CNI DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE.
SO I JUST WANT TO REVISIT SOME OF THE GOALS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, SO WE HAVE A DIVERSE PUBLISHED BY COUNCIL.
UM, WE CURRENTLY HAVE, UM, UH, 1% PER ANNUAL SALES, UM, ENERGY TARGET.
UM, SO FOR
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A GOAL OF 1200 MEGAWATTS, UM, BY 2030 OF WHICH 225 MEGAWATTS, UH, IS TO BE DEMAND RESPONSE.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A SOLAR GOAL, 375 MEGAWATTS OF LOCAL SOLAR OF WHICH 200 MEGAWATTS IS TO BE CUSTOMER SIDED.
UH, WE CURRENTLY STAND AT ABOUT 72% AND 48% RESPECTIVELY TO THOSE GOALS.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE CARBON GOALS WHICH ARE TIERED THAT CULMINATE AT A HUNDRED PERCENT CARBON FREE, BUT BY 2035, UM, WE CONTINUE TO MAKE PROGRESS IN THIS ARENA WITH PROJECTS LIKE REACH AND ADDING ADDITIONAL CPAS.
UH, OVER TIME, UM, MARCH OF THIS YEAR WAS A RECORD YEAR, A RECORD MONTH FOR US, WHERE WE HAD ABOUT 97% RENEWABLE ENERGY, UM, WHICH IS A REALLY, REALLY GREAT THING.
SO, UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, CUSTOMER TARGETS WHERE WE TARGET WHERE TO TARGET 25,000, AT LEAST 25,000 CUSTOMERS IN OUR PROGRAMS, UM, WITH 25% OF THAT BEING LIMITED INCOME, UM, WE BELIEVE WE
[01:50:01]
EXPECT TO OVERACHIEVE IN THIS AREA, UH, AND SERVE MORE THAN 6,250, UH, LIMITED INCOME CUSTOMERS.SO I KNOW OBVIOUSLY BUDGET CERTAINTY HAS BEEN AN ISSUE, UM, YOU KNOW, AND IT CONTINUES TO BE AN ISSUE.
UM, SO IT IMPACTED
UM, SO IT'S LIKELY TO HAVE IMPACTS IN OUR PROGRAM DELIVERY AND THUS OUR BUDGET AND SAVINGS.
UM, ALL OF OUR, OUR BUDGET IS IN LINE WITH ALL CITY COUNCIL, UH, SET BOARD GOALS, UM, THAT COMBINED CES BUDGET IN TOTALITY IS, UH, UP BY MILLION DOLLARS FROM LAST YEAR UP TO 45 MILLION.
UM, SO 39 MILLION OF THAT IS ALLOCATED TO ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, UH, TARGETING ABOUT 40 MEGAWATTS OF DEMAND SAVINGS AND 132,000 MEGAWATT HOURS.
THE SOLAR INCENTIVE IS FLAT, UM, WITH THE BUDGET OF 5.2, 5 MILLION AND A GOAL OF 12 MEGAWATTS, RESPECTIVELY, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO THIS SLIDE DEPICTS, UM, THE ITEMIZED INCENTIVE BUDGETS FOR IES AND CAP WEATHERIZATION.
SO ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES AND CAPITAL WEATHERIZATION.
UH, THERE ARE SOME VARIANCES, UH, FUNDING FOR LIMITED INCOME, UH, WEATHERIZATION IN AGGREGATE INCREASES 300,000 OVER LAST YEAR.
AND THAT'S DUE TO A LOT OF THE GREAT WORK THAT THE TEAM HAS DONE TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN THAT AREA.
UM, OUR LOW CO-OP PROGRAM, WHICH IS OUR CNI DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM, UH, IS UP 150,000.
UM, AND THIS IS TO INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR, AS WE RAMP UP TO MEET THE 225 MEGAWATT GOAL, UH, HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STAR IS INCREASING BY A HUNDRED THOUSAND A WEEK, AS WE'VE SEEN AT AN INTEREST IN WHOLE HOME PROGRAMS AND IN CONJUNCTION WITH 0% LOANS, OUR APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY PROGRAM REDUCTION IS RELATED TO A SLOW IN PARTICIPATION AND THAT MONEY HAS BEEN REALLOCATED TO WEATHERIZATION.
UM, OUR WATER HEATER TIMER PROGRAM IS SUNSETTING, AND THAT'S DUE TO THAT.
AND AS WE TRANSITIONED TO TWO WAY WATER HEATER CONTROL, WE ALSO HAVE A DOE GRANT THAT IS GOING TO DO SOME WORK AROUND THIS AREA IN THE MULTIFAMILY SECTOR THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO KICK OFF.
UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE THE SPUR PROGRAM OR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH UTILITIES AND RETAILERS.
IT'S OUR POINT OF SELL PROGRAM.
UM, IT SHOWS A DECREASE OF ABOUT 150,000 AS WE TRANSITIONED SOME OF THAT MONEY TO, UH, PARTNERS AND EVENTS AS MEANS TO PROVIDE DIY KITS, TO REACH EVEN MORE CUSTOMERS IN A TIME OF NEED.
SO JUST AN ADDITIONAL CHANNEL TO TRY TO REACH MORE CUSTOMERS.
SO THIS PIE CHART REPRESENTS PROGRESS TO THE 20, 30 GOAL OF 1200 MEGAWATTS.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS I DO WANT TO SAY IS THAT SAVINGS WILL BECOME HARDER AND HARDER TO REACH OVER TIME AND THAT'S DUE TO MARKET TRANSFORMATION AND ADJUSTMENT AND BASELINES.
UM, SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE SEE, UH, ARE GOING TO BE IMPACTS TO LIGHTING AS LEDS HAVE BECOME MORE OF THE STANDARD, UM, AND THEN OUR ADJUSTMENT TO THE ENERGY CODE BASELINE, UH, WHICH WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ON OUR PROGRAM AS WE'LL SEE IN SOME SUBSEQUENT SLIDES.
UM, THOUGH WE HAVE, UH, JUST SHY OF 219 MEGAWATTS TO MEET AND THAT'S INCLUDING THE PROJECTED
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SAVINGS ARE GOING TO BE TOUGH RIGHT ON THE HORIZON.
WE'RE GOING TO SEE THE MARKET CONTRACT.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO GET LESS SAVINGS PER PROJECT.
SO IT'S GOING TO BE A VERY DIFFICULT THING TO, TO REACH.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, UH, JUST SOMETHING TO, TO KEEP IN MIND, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO AS FOR OUR, UM, SOLAR GOALS ON THE, ON THE LEFT, YOU HAVE THE CUSTOMER SITED GOAL OF 200 MEGAWATTS.
WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT 103, I SAY ONLY 48%.
WE HAVE A, UM, TWO GOAL RIGHT NOW THAT WE HAVE 103.5 MEGAWATTS STILL LEFT ON CUSTOMER SIDED TO MEET THE 200 MEGAWATT GOAL, UH, FOR LOCAL SOLAR.
WE'RE A BIT MORE, UH, ADVANCED WITH 72% TO GO, OR 105, 104.5 LEFT, UH, UH, MEGAWATTS LIFTED TO GO.
SO THIS IS OUR RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS AND ON THE LEFT, YOU CAN SEE F Y 21 AND ON THE RIGHT FYI 22, UM, OUR SOLAR GOAL REMAINS FLAT AT SEVEN MEGAWATTS.
UH, BUT THE REDUCTION, UM, IN THE OTHER RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS IS LARGELY DRIVEN BY THE REDUCTION IN THE ENERGY CODE BASELINE, UH, WHERE WE SEE A REDUCTION OF 4.5 MEGAWATTS.
[01:55:01]
THIS IS OUR COMMERCIAL GOALS.UM, THIS IS EVEN MORE SIGNIFICANT.
AGAIN, THIS IS DRIVEN BY, UH, THE ENERGY CODE BASELINE ADJUSTMENT, WHERE IN OUR COMMERCIAL ENERGY CODE, WE'RE SEEING A REGIONAL REDUCTION OF 20 MEGAWATTS OVER LAST YEAR.
AND IN MULTI-FAMILY ENERGY CODE, WE'RE SEEING A REDUCTION OF 7.8 MEGAWATTS.
SO PRETTY SIGNIFICANT HENCE WHY IT IS GOING TO BE HARDER AND HARDER TO REACH OUR GOAL AND OUR SOLAR GOAL FOR COMMERCIAL REMAINS FLAT AT VIA MEGAWATTS.
NEXT SLIDE, TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST, UM, AND A LOT OF PARTICIPATION.
UM, OUR AUSTIN CLIMATE AND EQUITY PLAN HAS RECOMMENDATIONS TO INCLUDE, UM, INCREASE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED FROM ABOUT 1% TODAY TO 40% BY 2030.
AND THOUGH THIS IS A COMMUNITY GOAL, NOT AN AUSTIN ENERGY GOAL.
UH, IT DOES HAVE IMPACTS AND, YOU KNOW, TOSSED AND ENERGY.
UM, OUR PUBLIC CHARGING CONTINUES TO EXPAND.
WE HAVE 26 FAST CHARGERS AND 1100 LEVEL TWO CHARGING PORTS, CUSTOMER ADOPTIONS FOR EVIE REMAIN STRONG.
WE HAVE JUST SHY OF 14,000 REGISTERED EVS.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN GETTING AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE, THERE'S REALLY GOOD RESOURCE, THE, UM, EVIE OWNER GUIDE LOCATED AT
I'M SORRY, EVY DOT AUSTIN, ENERGY.COM.
AND THIS IS JUST A FURTHER, UH, YOU KNOW, BRING HOME THE POINT THAT WE'RE SEEING EXPONENTIAL GROWTH IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH HOSTS STATIONS AND HOME CHARGING REBATES, SO EXPONENTIAL GROWTH, NEXT SLIDE.
SO IN CLOSING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY WORKING TO TRY TO REACH MORE CUSTOMERS NOW MORE THAN EVER.
I MEAN, IT'S REALLY BEEN, WE JUST HAVE AN ADDED SENSE OF URGENCY AS PEOPLE ARE GOING THROUGH A LOT RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO REALLY TRYING TO, TO, YOU KNOW, ITERATE IN THE PROGRAM AND MAKE SOME CHANGES TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION.
YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, THE ITEMS OF NOTE IS THAT THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM WHERE WE MADE A LOT OF CHANGES TO PROGRAM, UH, PUTTING SOME GREAT, UM, PROGRAM CHANGES, THAT'S ALL PARTICIPATION INCREASED FIVE X.
SO THOUGH WE HAVEN'T FINISHED THE YEAR YET, WE'RE VERY CLOSE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO SEE, WELL OVER A FIVE X INCREASE, UH, OVER F Y 20 SO SIGNIFICANT WORK THERE.
THE MULTIFAMILY PROGRAM CONTINUES TO PUSH BUNDLE OFFERINGS.
UH, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DRIVE FOR IMPACTS ON THE ENERGY BURDEN IN THAT SECTOR.
UH, SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO PUSH TO DO MULTIPLE MEASURES.
UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE PANDEMIC HAS PUSHED US TO BE MORE EFFICIENT, BUT WE JUST WANT TO TOUCH THE CUSTOMER ONE TIME AND DO AS MANY MEASURES AS WE CAN.
UH, IT'S BOTH MORE COST EFFECTIVE FOR US, BUT IT'S ALSO LESS INTRUSIVE ON THE TENANT.
SO, AND OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM, WE CONTINUE TO DRIVE FOR VALUE.
UM, WE HAVE A PRETTY AGGRESSIVE GOAL.
UH, SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO LOOK FOR VALUE SO WE CAN INCREASE INCENTIVES, HENCE PASS IT ONTO THE CUSTOMERS THAT WE CAN GET INCREASED CAPACITY.
UM, AND SOME OF THE STRATEGIC INITIATIVES THAT WE ALSO HAVE IN PLACES GREEN BUILDING IS WORKING ON EMBODIED CARBON.
UH, THE FIRST STEP IN THAT IS WITH CONCRETE AND ACTUALLY THIS BUILDING, UH, YOU KNOW, WE EFFECTIVELY PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACHED AND WE TRIED TO REDUCE EMBODIED CARBON IN THIS HEADQUARTERS, UH, FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO, AND, UH, WE ALSO HAVE EQUITY AT TOP OF MIND.
UM, WE HAD BROUGHT ON A CONSULTANT.
I HOW TO KICKOFF ME TODAY, UH, TO WORK WITH, UM, ENSURING EQUITY ACROSS ALL OF OUR CUSTOMER FACING PROGRAMS. SO, AND I BELIEVE THAT'S ALL I HAVE YOU HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU CAN REMIND US, UM, THE MEASURES THAT ARE CURRENTLY PART OF THE MULTIFAMILY BUNDLE.
SO, UM, I DID A PRESENTATION, UM, AND THEN ALSO TO THE COMMISSIONER'S POINT THAT WE DO LEAD WITH THE SMART THERMOSTAT.
SO WHEN MULTI-FAMILY PROGRAM, WHEN YOU PAY A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE SMART THERMOSTAT, AS A MEANS TO GET INTO THE, THE PROPERTY, TELL US BRIDGE THIS, WHAT INCENTIVE, IT'S BENEFICIAL TO THE PROPERTY, BUT ALSO BENEFICIAL TO THE TENANT.
UM, SO WE LEAVE WITH THAT, BUT WE ALSO DO, UH, ADDING INSTALLATION, SOLAR SCREENS, UH, DUCT SEAL, UM, UH, WATER SAVING DEVICES, UH, LED LIGHTING.
SO I CAN REMEMBER THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
[02:00:01]
UM, THAT'S GREAT.UH, IF THERE ARE ACTUAL, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, CRACKS LEAKS THAT, YOU KNOW, AROUND WINDOWS OR DOORS, THAT KIND OF THING IS THAT AT ALL PART OF THE MULTIFAMILY PROGRAM TO DO, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S DRIPPING, CAULKING THOSE KINDS OF BETA BASIC WEATHERIZATION, WE HAVE NOT VENTURED INTO THAT REALM OF DOING LIKE WEATHERSTRIPPING.
UM, BUT A LOT OF THE WORK IN MULTI-FAMILY, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A MISNOMER, BUT MULTI-FAMILY IS REALLY NOT DUCT SEAL.
UH, THERE'S A PLAN ON BETWEEN FLOORS AND YOU HAVE TO SEAL THAT.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK RELATED TO CEILING WITH T BETWEEN UNITS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, BUT WE DO POINT OUT THE CONTRACTORS DO POINT OUT WHEN THERE'S ISSUES SO THAT HOPEFULLY THE MAINTENANCE CREW CAN ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES.
UM, YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO ASK, UM, HOW, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH AS YOU CAN SAY PUBLICLY, HOW DID THAT KICK OFF ME AND GO WITH THE EQUITY CONSULTANT OR, UM, AND WHAT'S THE SORT OF EXPECTED PROCESS GOING FORWARD IN THE SHORT TERM WITH THAT? OR WHAT'S THE TIMELINE? YEAH.
UM, SO I MEAN, THE KICKOFF WAS PRETTY BROAD.
WE'RE JUST KIND OF DOING INTRODUCTIONS ACROSS TEAMS, BOTH YOU GET TO KNOW THEM AND THEN FOR THEM TO GET TO KNOW US.
UM, AND THEN WE STARTED TO EXPLORE SOME OF THE DATA THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, WHO THE RIGHT PEOPLE WOULD BE TO GET IN THE ROAD TO MAKE SURE THAT DATA IS TRANSFERRED PROPERLY.
SO, UM, DON'T HAVE, DON'T HAVE FULL DETAILS TO SHARE RELATED TO THE TIMELINE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT I'M SURE THAT WE GET AS WE PROGRESS, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WITH THE COMMISSION.
THANK YOU, MANNY FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, THE FIRST IS RELATED TO, YOU MENTIONED, UM, THE TINDER 19 MEGAWATTS TO GET TO THAT 20, 30 DSM GOAL IS GETTING HARDER AND HARDER TO, TO, TO ACHIEVE THOSE SAVINGS.
UM, I ASSUME THAT'S NOT BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL OR THE NEED ISN'T THERE IN TERMS OF OUR BUILDING STOCK, UH, IN THE TERRITORY.
IT'S JUST THAT IT'S, IT'S HARDER TO REACH BASED ON THE MEASURES THAT ARE PART OF THESE PROGRAMS. AND I GUESS PART OF WHAT I'M WONDERING IS IF, AS WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD, DOES THAT MEAN THAT THE SAVINGS ARE GOING TO BE MORE EXPENSIVE? UM, MEANING WE SHOULD EXPECT TO SEE YOUR BUDGET INCREASE OVER TIME AS WE GET CLOSER TO THAT IS CORRECT.
UM, SO THERE'S A TRADE-OFF RIGHT? SO AS WE MOVE INTO LESS COSTLY MEASURES, LIKE LIGHTING THAT HAVE MORE, UH, VERY ACCELERATED PAYBACK, WE'LL MOVE INTO MEASURES THAT HAVE MUCH LONGER PAYBACK, UM, HIGHER CAPITAL COST TO THE CUSTOMER.
UM, AND HENCE WE TRY TO OVERCOME THAT WITH OUR REBATES TO REALLY INCENTIVE THAT.
I MEAN, WE, WE OPERATE WITHIN THE BUDGET, YOU KNOW, AND, UM, WE TRY TO MOVE PEOPLE IN A CERTAIN DIRECTION, BUT IT IS GOING TO BECOME MORE COSTLY TO GET THOSE MEGAWATTS OVER TIME.
UM, THE NEXT IS, AS YOU, IT WAS REALLY ENCOURAGING TO SEE THE, THE FIVE X INCREASE IN THE WEATHERIZATION DEMAND.
UM, AND YOU SAID THAT WAS BASED ON SOME PROGRAM TWEAKS, IF YOU COULD.
I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO WHAT W WHAT, WHAT SUCCESSES DID YOU SEE THERE? WHAT, WHAT WAS WORKING? SURE.
UM, SO ONE OF THE BIG CHANGES, UH, WAS HE MOVED FROM THE 200% FEDERAL POVERTY LIMIT.
UM, AND SO THAT'S A NATIONAL STANDARD.
SO SAN ANTONIO HAS THE SAME 200% BETTER THAN POVERTY LIMIT, AND OBVIOUSLY THE COST OF A MADE IN AUSTIN AS MUCH DIFFERENT.
SO WE MOVED TO THE 8% MFI MEDIAN, FAMILY INCOME.
UM, AND SO THAT GAVE US A MUCH BROADER POOL OBVIOUSLY, SO THAT WE COULD REACH MORE CUSTOMERS.
UH, AND IT WAS MORE, WE FELT IT WAS MORE APPROPRIATE GIVEN, UH, AUSTIN'S COST OF LIVING.
UM, SO THAT WAS THE BIG ONE THERE.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE USING DATA READILY AVAILABLE DATA, CENSUS DATA, THINGS LIKE THAT, TO QUALIFY PEOPLE.
AND THEN THEY DO A SELF ANTICIPATION, UM, AS OPPOSED TO DOING FULL INCOME VERIFICATION.
LIKE WE USED TO DO A LOT OF LIMITED INCOME WOULD SHY AWAY FROM THAT AS SOON AS WE ASKED FOR THEIR PAY STUBS AND W2'S AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WOULD BALK, UM, YOU KNOW, ALSO WAS COUNTER TO A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WERE GOING ON.
SO AUSTIN ENERGY WAS PUTTING OUT, YOU KNOW, DON'T FALL FOR THE CALL AND DON'T DO THIS, AND, YOU KNOW, DON'T SHARE INFORMATION AND THEN WE WOULD CALL THEM AND ASK FOR THEIR INFORMATION.
SO IT WAS KIND OF COUNTER TO THE MESSAGE.
SO, UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE WERE TRYING TO ELIMINATE A LOT OF THOSE THINGS AND BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION, UM, AND THERE'S COSTS TO, TO VERIFY AN INCOME.
UM, SO WE COULD USE THAT TO SERVE ONE CUSTOMER KUDOS TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR, FOR, UM, INCREASING ACCESS TO, TO THE PROGRAM.
THAT'S REALLY ENCOURAGING TO SEE AND USING GOL ELIGIBILITY.
AND IT WAS A TREND, UM, WAS CERTAINLY HAPPENING ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
WE DID ADD SMART THERMOSTATS IN THE PROGRAM AS WELL.
UM, AND SO THAT'S ALSO BEEN BENEFICIAL IN THE PROGRAM.
[02:05:01]
YOU.UM, AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION WAS WITH REGARD TO THE DOE GRANT, UM, SO THAT THAT'S A GRANT TO TRY TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS. DID I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY, SPECIFICALLY IN THE MULTIFAMILY SECTOR? SO, UM, WE WANT TO DEAL A GRANT.
UH, SO THE TOTAL GRANT IS 1.4, $5 MILLION, A MILLION OF WHICH IS FROM THE DOE.
AND IT'S SPECIFICALLY TO ADDRESS, UH, TRY TO OVERCOME, UH, THE WHOLE SPLIT INCENTIVE PROPERTY HAS TO MAKE AN INVESTMENT ATTENDANT IS THE ONE THAT BENEFITS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE PROVIDED SMART THERMOSTATS IN OUR LIMITED INCOME WILL BE FAMILY PROGRAM FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE LIMITING FACTORS IS WIFI, RIGHT? SO OUR THEORY WAS BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME PUT IT OUT THERE.
AND THAT WOULD BE THE LEVERAGE RIGHT AT THE PROPERTIES.
UH, YOU'RE GOING TO PROMOTE A SMART THERMOSTAT.
REALLY THE FUNCTIONALITY COMES WITH WIFI.
THE PANDEMIC CAME, OBVIOUSLY WIFI BECAME WAY MORE IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE THAT HAD CHILDREN.
UM, AND SO THIS DOE GRANT IS EFFECTIVELY TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT FOR PURPOSE, UH, NETWORK, WHETHER IT BE WIFI OR SOME OTHER, UH, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE PEOPLE A MEANS TO ACCESS OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS. UM, IF EVEN IF THEY DON'T HAVE A PERSONAL WIFI.
AND SO WE'LL SPLIT THE INCENTIVE, PROVIDE THE INCENTIVE PARTLY TO THE TENANT FOR PARTICIPATING IN A NON ALLOWING CONTROL.
UM, AND THEN ALSO TO THE WE'LL AGGREGATE ALL THE PROPERTY, A METER, UH, CREATE A VIRTUAL METER, UM, AND THEN MEASURE PERFORMANCE AND PAY THE PROPERTY BASED ON THAT PERFORMANCE.
SO WE'LL BE CONTROLLING SOME MARKED ON THE STATS AT WATER HEATERS.
DOES ANY OF THE SAVINGS IN THAT CASE GO TO THE TENANT OR IS ALL IT'S ALL AND WE'LL HAVE A W SO WE CALL IT LIKE SPLIT TO OVERCOME THE SPLIT AND SEND THAT WE'RE SPLITTING THE INCENTIVE WITH THE TENANTS AND WE'RE EVEN THE PROPERTY MANAGERS.
SOME, BECAUSE THEY BOTH HAVE ONCE EXPERIENCING, YOU KNOW, SOFT COSTS, COMFORT IS, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT ARE IMPACTED.
UM, BUT THE PROPERTY HAS ONGOING COSTS RELATED TO NETWORKS AND MAINTAINING DEVICES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UH, SO WE'RE TRYING TO SPLIT IT AND MAKE IT LOOK BETTER FOR BOTH AND REALLY ELIMINATE BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION IN A HARD TO REACH PROGRAM, ESPECIALLY IN THE DEMAND RESPONSE.
AND THEN WE, WE SAW ON WINTER STORM FURY AND ELECTRIC STRIP, HE WAS REALLY THE DRIVER, UM, AND DISPROPORTIONATELY IN AUSTIN ELECTRIC STRIP.
HE RESIDES IN MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES.
UM, IF YOU WOULD, AS YOU COME BACK TO THIS COMMISSION PERIODICALLY, UM, I, I, FOR ONE WOULD LOVE TO RECEIVE UPDATES ON THAT GRANT AND THE PROGRESS OF, OF THAT PROGRAM.
UM, I AM THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR ON THAT GRANT AS WELL.
UH, SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO DO TO MAKE SURE WE SHARE OUR FINDINGS.
UM, YOU JUST MENTIONED THE, UH, ELECTRIC STRIP HEAT.
AND SO I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE IS ANY KIND OF INFLATION ABOUT INCLUDING HEAT PUMPS IN THE PROGRAM.
I MEAN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DEFINITELY EXPLORING.
UM, WE WOULD HAVE TO CATCH IT IN NEW CONSTRUCTION, WHICH WE HAVE A NEW CONSTRUCTION WILL BE FAMILY PROGRAM ON THE HORIZON THAT WE'RE TRYING TO STAND UP.
UM, BUT WITH HEAT PUMPS, YOU NEED SPACE, YOU NEED AIR FLOW, RIGHT.
UM, AND SOME THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO SOME MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES ARE NOT GOING TO BE CONDUCIVE TO THAT IF THEIR CURRENTLY EXISTING SPACE IS A VALUE TO THEM.
UM, SO THEY LIMIT SPACE RELATED TO, OR WASTED SPACE RELATED TO WATER HEATING.
SO, UM, SPACE WOULD BE AN ISSUE IN THAT SCENARIO, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO EXPLORE WAYS TO OVERCOME THAT, AND THEN ALSO CREATE A NEW CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM WHERE WE CAN GET IN FRONT OF THIS STUFF, UM, TO REALLY AFFECT THE DECISION DRIVE FOR, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENTING THOSE THINGS INITIALLY SO THAT, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY IT WILL IMPACT THE TENANT FROM THE START AND THEN ALL THE WAY THROUGH RETROFIT.
AND, AND I GUESS THE SAME QUESTION MAYBE FOR SINGLE FAMILY WHERE I GUESS IT WOULD BE EASIER IN TERMS OF SPACE.
YEAH, SO WE, WE DO HAVE A, UH, HEAT PUMP, WATER HEATER, UM, OFFERING, UH, IN SINGLE FAMILY IS $800 PER, UM, BUT, UM, THERE IS ISSUES WE'RE TRYING TO GET THE CONTRACTOR BASE TRAINED.
UM, SO A LOT OF CONTRACTORS ARE NOT NECESSARILY ACTIVELY PROMOTING OR INSTALLING A HEAT PUMP, WATER HEATERS.
UM, SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM TO TRY TO EDUCATE THEM ABOUT HOW BENEFICIAL IT IS AND HOW IT CAN BENEFIT THE CUSTOMER.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE CONTRACTORS ARE REALLY ARE, WE CAN'T RUN THEM.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE THE ONES ACTUALLY DOING A LOT OF THIS WORK.
SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE TRAINED AND READY TO GO ON THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF EDUCATION WORK
[02:10:01]
HAPPENING AROUND COUPONS.I WAS ACTUALLY THINKING ABOUT, UM, THE HVAC, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S FINE.
I MEAN, I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE BOTH PROGRAMS AND I THINK THAT'S GREAT.
I GUESS I WAS SPECIFICALLY WONDERING, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT COMES TO LOW INCOME, YOU KNOW, THEY, A HUNDRED DOLLARS IS I THINK, A DECENT REBATE FOR, YOU KNOW, THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER PERHAPS, BUT NOT GONNA BE ENOUGH FOR THOSE LOW INCOME PROPERTIES.
SO THAT'S WHAT I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S ANY THOUGHT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HAVING THAT'D BE A HIGHER REBATE FOR LOW-INCOME PROPERTIES.
SO TO ADDRESS THE, THE, UH, AC HEAT PUMP ISSUE, SORRY, I MISSED THAT.
UM, SO YES, WE DO OFFER THAT AS WELL, BUT THE POINT IS VALID.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT COMES BACK TO A COST EFFECTIVENESS, YOU KNOW, AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW AGGRESSIVE DO WE WANT TO BE IN REBATING IN THOSE AREAS? BECAUSE IT IS A REALLY HARD PAYBACK, RIGHT.
UM, SO IT'S REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WAYS, CREATIVE WAYS TO TRY TO OVERCOME THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK AROUND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT OTHER INCENTIVES TO TRY TO HELP PEOPLE AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, HVAC IS VERY COSTLY, UM, LIKE ON A PER UNIT BASIS, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME PROPOSALS NOT REALLY CAN'T SHARE PUBLICLY BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T BEEN APPROVED, BUT, UH, SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON TO TRY TO HELP A VERY SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHIC, UM, TO TRY TO DRIVE HVAC REPLACEMENT.
BUT THAT IS A, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANT, WE ACTIVELY WANT TO ADDRESS.
IT'S JUST BEEN VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO GET THERE.
I'M GLAD YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT IT.
I REALIZE THAT IT'S EXPENSIVE, BUT IT'S ALSO VERY IMPACTFUL FOR, YOU KNOW, THOSE FOLKS WHO HAVE INEFFICIENT ELECTRIC HEAT OR INEFFICIENT HEATING OF ANY SOAR.
UM, SO I, YOU KNOW, I DO THINK THAT JUST LIKE WE DON'T NECESSARILY, UH, LOOK AT COST-EFFECTIVENESS AS THE PRIMARY JUDGMENT ON THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM AS A WHOLE, I THINK IT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE TO TAKE A BROADER VIEW AND THINK ABOUT THOSE EQUITY CONCERNS WHEN IT COMES TO HEATING AND COOLING AS WELL.
AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WHEN IT COMES TO THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, YOU KNOW, THAT IS, THAT IS THE TYPE OF CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING, THAT, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE WERE GOING TO NEED TO PAY MORE, TO, TO BRING SOME FOLKS UP TO THE STANDARD THAT OTHERS ALREADY AT POINT TAKEN, YOU KNOW, IT IS SOMETHING WE ACTIVELY THINK ABOUT.
SO, I MEAN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO DO THINGS VERY CREATIVELY, YOU KNOW, AND LIKE I SAID, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO TAKE OUR FIRST STEP INTO THAT.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN GET THIS PROPOSAL, UM, YOU KNOW, IN LINE AND HOPEFULLY GET IT APPROVED AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, WE COULD TAKE THAT FIRST STEP, UH, IN THAT ARENA.
SO, BUT WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING ON THESE TYPES OF THINGS.
ALL RIGHT, MANNY, I THINK THAT'S IT.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION FOR THE QUESTIONS.
[7. Discuss potential future agenda items.]
ALL RIGHT.SO LET'S MOVE ON TO THE FINAL AGENDA ITEM, UH, DISCUSS POTENTIAL FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, RIGHT NOW FOR OCTOBER, WE'VE GOT TWO THINGS.
UH, ONE PAUL ROBBINS WILL BE GIVING US A SHORT PRESENTATION ON TOXIC MATERIALS AND BUILDINGS AS IT RELATES TO THE AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM.
UH, AND THEN SECONDLY, UH, KURT STOCK DEAL, WE'LL GIVE AN UPDATE ON THEIR UV READY EFFORTS, AS WELL AS BE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS ON THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, UH, WITH THAT, ANY SUGGESTIONS FROM ANY COMMISSIONERS OF POTENTIAL FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, FIRST A QUESTION.
UM, WELL, EITHER OF THOSE, UH, ITEMS BE POSTED FOR ACTION, UH, THE AGENDA HAS NOT BEEN DEVELOPED YET.
SO I, I THINK IT WOULD BE POTENTIALLY BE GOOD TO HAVE THAT OPTION ON THOSE ITEMS. UM, BUT THE ITEM THAT I WANTED TO ADD WAS, UH, AN UPDATE AND AGAIN, POSTED FOR, FOR POSSIBLE ACTION, ALTHOUGH PERHAPS IT WON'T BE NEEDED, UH, ON THE MULTI-FAMILY OR NOT MULTIFAMILY, THE DISTRIBUTED COMMUNITY, SOLAR, UM, RFP THAT WENT OUT LAST YEAR.
SO YOU'RE SAYING YOU'RE LOOKING FOR AN UPDATE ON THAT RFP AND AN UPDATE, AND THEN A CONVERSATION ABOUT KIND OF FUTURE EFFORTS IN THAT ARENA.
AND, AND JUST TO REMIND FOLKS, THIS IS
[02:15:01]
WHERE WE MADE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ON CRITERIA.WE HAD OUR WORKING GROUP AND CAME AND WORKED WITH AUSTIN ENERGY STUFF.
AND SO I'D LIKE TO CIRCLE BACK ON THAT.
I ASKED YOU ONE QUESTION FOR CABLE ON THAT TOPIC, AND THEN ANOTHER ONE RELATED TO THE TOP TOXIC BUILDING MATERIALS THING.
UM, WHEN, AND NOW I'M AFRAID BY MEMORY'S ESCAPING ME AND TIM, WHEN TIM CAME AND SPOKE WITH US IN AUGUST, AND WE ASK FOR THE UPDATE ON THAT SPECIFIC ITEM.
DO YOU GUYS REMEMBER WHAT THEIR COMMITMENT TO COME BACK WITH AN UPDATED PARTICULAR TIME? I CAN'T, I DON'T REMEMBER.
I WAS JUST TRYING TO THINK OF, I KNOW WE HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE STATUS OF THAT RFP IN AUGUST, AND I WAS TRYING TO REMEMBER WHERE, WHERE WE LEFT IT AT THE, THERE WAS A PARTICULAR MILESTONE WE WERE WAITING FOR.
I, I THINK THAT HE SAID THEY WERE STILL MAYBE EVALUATING THE RESPONSES.
I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH TIM AND SEE IF THERE'S AN UPDATE.
UH, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THEY'VE FINISHED THEIR EVALUATION.
AND THEY'RE NOT MOVING FORWARD.
WHICH IS WHY I WANT THE FUTURE LOOKING CONVERSATION TO BE PART OF IT.
UM, AND THEN MY, MY SECOND QUESTION, AND I GUESS THIS IS MAYBE JUST FOR US AS A COMMISSION, UM, OR MAYBE I JUST NEED TO EDUCATE MYSELF, BUT I DO STRUGGLE WITH THE TOXIC, JUST REGARDING OUR PURVIEW RELATED TO TOXIC BUILDING MATERIALS.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR CHARTER REGARDING RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION AND, AND KIND OF AS WE'RE GETTING INTO THE TOXICITY OF BUILDING MATERIALS WHERE OUR LANE INS, UM, TO SOME EXTENT, UM, AND I DON'T FEEL LIKE I'VE GOTTEN A GREAT ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, ACCORDING TO OUR BYLAWS, IT'S, IT'S KINDA HARD TO, THERE'S, THERE'S REALLY NO REFERENCE TO THAT TOPIC.
UM, ANY THOUGHTS ON HOW WE MIGHT GET CLARITY ON? YEAH, WE, SO WE HAVE, UH, TRY TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION AND YOU'RE RIGHT.
IT IS A BIT OF A GRAY AREA, BUT ONE IN WHICH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE CONTEXT OF THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, UM, THAT SPECIFICALLY THE OCTOBER ITEM IS, IS, UH, FOR PAUL TO, UH, YOU KNOW, GIVE US A BRIEFING ON THAT SPECIFIC PART OF THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, UH, NOTING THAT IT IS A VOLUNTARY PROGRAM AND ONE WHICH WE DO NOT HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T MANDATE, UH, WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY DOES THERE.
SO IT IS MORE OF A, I THINK, INFORMATIVE BRIEFING.
THAT'S HELPFUL IF WE WERE GOING TO POST THAT ITEM FOR ACTION.
I JUST LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHERE OUR, UH, PER CHARTER WAS.
THAT'S SOMETHING I'LL HAVE TO TAKE BACK AND LOOK AT, OKAY.
I'M NOT GOOD AT TURNING OFF MY, OKAY.
IF I AT, I THINK THAT THE, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THAT THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON ENERGY AND WATER CONSERVATION, THAT'S THE CONNECTION TO US BECAUSE ENERGY AND WATER CONSERVATION ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO ADVISE ON.
AND YES, THE TEXAS CITY IS, IS NOT ENERGY OR WATER CONSERVATION, BUT IF WE'RE, IF WE BIG WAYS, THE CITY IS ENCOURAGING FOLKS IN THE NAME OF ENERGY OR WATER CONSERVATION TO DO SOMETHING THAT THEN IS HARMFUL IN SOME OTHER WAVE.
THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE IS FROM ANY OF THE PRESENTATIONS WE HEARD TODAY, IS THERE A TIME SENSITIVITY IN TERMS OF OUR REVIEWING AND MAKING DECISION ON THEM PRIOR TO CITY COUNCIL DOING WHAT CITY COUNCIL NEEDS TO DO? YEAH.
UH, THERE IS ON THE, UH, TEXAS GAS SERVICE EFFICIENCY PROGRAM THAT WILL GO TO COUNCIL.
I THINK LARRY SAID AND, UH, MID OCTOBER, BUT IT WILL HAPPEN BEFORE OUR NEXT MEETING.
SO IF THERE ARE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS OR FEEDBACK THAT COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE TO THEM, UH, THAT WOULD NEED TO HAPPEN IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS FOR THEM TO TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
UH, IT SEEMS WE ARE DONE FOR THE NIGHT, SO I WILL ADJOURN THE MEETING.
THANK YOU, EVERYONE FOR ATTENDING AND HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT MONTH.