Nov 16, 2021 Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee

THANKS MAYOR.

[00:00:01]

[CALL TO ORDER]

AND I'M HERE TODAY AT 2:31 PM AT CITY HALL, UM, WITH A SIX, SEVEN WITH A QUORUM OF OUR MEMBERS HERE, BOTH IN-PERSON AND IN-PERSON ON THE SCREEN.

UM, WE HAVE FIVE, SO I'VE CALLED THIS MEETING TO ORDER.

WE HAVE FIVE

[Citizen Communication: General]

LET ME READ THE NAMES.

IF YOU ALL COULD KIND OF, UH, PREPARE YOURSELVES, WE'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES FOR EACH OF YOU.

KYLE JEWELS, BARBARA , DANNY , COHIBA WHITE AND ROBERT FOSTER IN THAT ORDER THREE MINUTES EACH.

SO IS MR. DUELS HERE? ARE YOU, ARE YOU KYLE JEWELS? ALL RIGHT.

UM, THE PHOTON TASTE, BARBARA AND DANNY.

YES, PLEASE AT THE PODIUM.

AND YOU'RE WELCOME TO IF IT'S EASIER FOR YOU TO SPEAK WITHOUT YOUR MASK ON.

YOU'RE WELCOME TO TAKE IT OFF.

NO, I, I THINK I'M HARD ENOUGH TO HEAR AS IT IS, SO I'LL TAKE IT OFF, UH, ONE AFTERNOON AND I GUESS THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO SPEAK.

UH, MY NAME IS BARBARA .

I'M A CONCERNED CITIZEN AND MEMBER OF THREE 50 AUSTIN.

SO I, MY MESS SAID BE KIND, AND I'M NOT GOING TO BE KIND, UH, YOU DECLARED A CLIMATE EMERGENCY SOMETIME BEFORE COVID AND TO ME, THAT'S AN ACTUAL JOKE.

OBVIOUSLY I'M HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT THE FAYETTE COAL PLANT AND IT IS A COAL PLANT IS I KNOW IT CREATES POWER, BUT I THINK IT WAS VERY CLEVER WHEN THE NAME GOT CHANGED, EVEN SO TO ME, JUST LIKE WRITE A TURNBERG SAID WHAT COMES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH AS A LOT OF BLAH-BLAH-BLAH? SO WE HAVE SPOKEN SINCE COVID MAYBE THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF TO AT LEAST FIVE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS OR YOUR STAFF.

UH, AND THEY'VE ALL SAID THE SAME THING.

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN AUSTIN ENERGY AND LCRA, BECAUSE AUSTIN ENERGY SAID THAT, UH, THEY COULD NOT SHARE THIS INFORMATION BECAUSE IT WAS CONFIDENTIAL.

WE GOT TOLD THAT FROM EVERY OFFICE WE SPOKE TO, WE ASKED, I THINK IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS NOW, THE CITY COUNCIL FOR MONEY TO BEGIN TESTING THE PEOPLE, THE LAND AND THE WATER AND THE GRANGE AND FAYETTEVILLE THAT NEVER EVEN GOT TO COUNCIL BECAUSE THAT THE LAWYERS, AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS YOUR LAWYERS OR AUSTIN ENERGY LAWYERS SAID THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THAT BECAUSE THEN THE CITY WOULD BE LIABLE IF THEY KNEW THERE WAS CONTAMINATION AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT.

WELL, DO ANY OF, YOU KNOW, WHERE THERE'S, WHAT IF THERE'S ANY SUCH THING AS CLEAN COAL ASH? I THINK THAT'S SORT OF LIKE CLEAN COAL.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING.

UH, AND WHETHER YOU LIED OR NOT, IT'S NOT THE POINT HERE.

YOU OWN ONE THIRD OF THIS PLANT AND YOU NEED TO TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE POISONING OF THE LAND, THE PECAN FARMS, THE WATER, AND THE PEOPLE IN THE GRANGE AND FAYETTEVILLE, FOR SOME REASON, THE CITY FOLLOWS WHATEVER LCRA LCRA SAYS, WITHOUT QUESTION.

AND I THINK THIS IS TRUE THAT ONLY TESTING THAT GOES ON AROUND FADE IS DONE BY RA.

AND TO ME, THAT'S LIKE LETTING THE FOX WATCH THE HEN HOUSE.

IT'S THE SAME THING AS BOEING BEING THE ONE THAT DID THE SAFETY CHECKS ON THEIR PLATES.

WE'VE TALKED TO THE EPA RELATIVELY RECENTLY AND THEY TOLD US WHATEVER IS REPORTED FROM AUSTIN.

THEY JUST ACCEPT WITH NO QUESTION.

SO AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO ASK WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY AND START DOING SOME INDEPENDENT TESTING, THERE'S NO CLAUSE.

AS FAR AS I KNOW IN THE LCA, I LCRA CONTRACT THE BARS, YOU FROM CLEANING UP, STARTING THE CLEANUP OF THE KALASH NOW.

AND THERE'S NO CLAUSE THAT BARS OFF THAT BARS, AUSTIN FROM DOING INDEPENDENT TESTING OF THE PEOPLE IN THE GRANGE, FAYETTEVILLE, COLUMBUS, AND WHARTON.

I THINK THAT'S THE END.

SO IS THAT THE END? YES, MA'AM.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

YOU BET DANNY PHOTON.

GOOD AFTERNOON AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO WELCOME.

UH, MY NAME IS DANNY LAST WEEK.

WE WERE AT, AT NOVEMBER 8TH AT THE EUC MEETING AT THAT MEETING.

PAUL SWEENEY THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR POWER GENERATION AT AUSTIN.

ENERGY SAID THAT LCRA MEETS ALL GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS.

[00:05:01]

YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT LCRA MEETS ALL OF THE SAFETY STANDARDS.

THE TRUTH IS THAT EPA UNDER TRUMP GUTTED EVERY REGULATION IN THE FOUR YEARS THAT THEY DID AWAY WITH ONE REGULATION AFTER ANOTHER, THEY TOOK THE STANDARDS FOR, UH, TESTS ON LEAD AND MERCURY OUT OF THE EPA GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS BIDENS IN, BUT THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO RETURN THAT STUFF.

LCRA MEETS NO GOVERNMENT SAFETY REGULATIONS BECAUSE THERE IS NO REGULATIONS.

AND AUSTIN ENERGY KNOWS IT.

MEETING GOVERNMENT STANDARDS CAN NO LONGER BE AN EXCUSE FOR INACTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL.

THE SECOND REGULATOR IS THE STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.

THEY TEST EVERY COUNTY FOR LEAD IN THE WATER EVERY YEAR, A FEW YEARS BACK.

OUR GREAT GOVERNOR ABBOTT TILL OFFICE GOT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO STOP TESTING FOR LEAD IN THE NINE LCRA COUNTIES.

ONE OF THE TESTERS ASKED ONE OF THE SUPERVISORS WHY THEY WERE NOT ALLOWED TO TEST IN FAYETTE, COLORADO OR WHARTON COUNTIES.

THE SUPERVISOR TOLD THE TESTER THEY COULD NOT TEST IN THOSE COUNTIES BECAUSE PEOPLE GET UPSET WHEN THEY FIND OUT THERE'S LEAD IN THEIR WATER.

I SPOKE BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE AND TOLD YOU ABOUT THE BLOCK IN LAGRANGE, WHERE EVERY HOUSE HAD SOMEONE IN CANCER.

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CANCER AND HOW IT EATS AWAY AT YOUR BODY? I KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT CANCER.

I'VE HAD NINE COAL ASH TUMORS INSIDE MY BODY.

SINCE 2019, THE CITY COUNCIL HAS TO TAKE A PUBLIC STAND AGAINST LCRA POISONING, THE PEOPLE OF FAYETTEVILLE, COLUMBUS, AND WHARTON, THE PARENTS IN THOSE CITIES CARE JUST AS MUCH ABOUT THEIR KIDS AS WE DO.

AND WE CANNOT JUST ACT LIKE IT'S NOT GOING ON YOU ALL ONE THIRD OF THE PLANT AND 50% OF THE LAND WHERE THE POISON SITS, DO THE PARENTS IN FAYETTEVILLE, COLUMBUS, AND WHARTON CARE LESS ABOUT THEIR KIDS.

NO, I'M ASKING YOU TO DO SOMETHING.

START THE CLEANUP, WHICH YOU'RE NOT BARRED FROM DOING OF BURIED COAL ASH, START TESTING FOR LEAD AND MERCURY IT'S.

IT'S DANGEROUS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU, MR. WELCOME, MS. WHITE, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES THAT AFTERNOON.

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING THESE MEETINGS TO PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY.

I TOO, AM HERE TO SPEAK ON FAYETTE, BUT MORE DIRECTLY ON THE ISSUE OF RETIREMENT, WHICH I REALIZE IS A COMPLICATED TOPIC.

AND ONE THAT Y'ALL HAVE BEEN GIVEN SOME ATTENTION BEHIND CLOSED DOORS IN RECENT WEEKS.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

I THINK EVERYONE INVOLVED ON AUSTIN'S SIDE OF THE NEGOTIATION, INCLUDING YOURSELVES, ARE TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING BY THE COMMUNITY.

HOWEVER, I DO THINK THAT THAT NOW THAT WE ARE AT THIS POINT IN TIME, AT THIS POINT IN THE NEGOTIATIONS WHERE THINGS HAVE COME TO A STANDSTILL IT'S TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS A FULL AND ROBUST PUBLIC PROCESS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE NEXT STEP NEEDS TO BE RETIRING.

FAIR.

GETTING OUT OF COAL IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL FOR MEDIA, OUR CLIMATE GOALS, WHICH I KNOW IS VERY IMPORTANT TOO.

I THINK ALL OF YOU, AT LEAST THE VAST MAJORITY OF YOU ON THIS DIOCESE, AND I APPRECIATE THE COMMITMENTS THAT YOU HAVE MADE, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE NEXT STEP IS, BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS.

THE COMMUNITY IS LEFT, WONDERING ABOUT INTENTIONS, AND THAT'S NOT A GREAT PLACE TO BE.

SO I REALIZED THAT THERE'S LIMITS ON WHAT CAN BE SAID IN PUBLIC FORUMS. BUT I THINK THAT PROBABLY THERE IS A WAY TO BE SOMEWHAT MORE INCLUSIVE THAN WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR.

SO THAT IS MY FIRST REQUEST.

MY SECOND IS FOR AS Y'ALL DO, MAKE THOSE DECISIONS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, WHERE YOU HAVE TO, TO BE THINKING ABOUT THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON.

THE QUESTION IS NOT JUST IS LCRA DEMANDING A FAIR AND REASONABLE PRICE TO GET OUT OF THIS DEAL.

I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THEY ARE BEING UNREASONABLE.

THAT DOES NOT SURPRISE ME.

HOWEVER, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT EVEN THEIR UNREASONABLE DEMAND IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER

[00:10:02]

THAT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE.

THE EPA HAD A ROBUST PROCESS PRIOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ADMINISTRATION TO COME UP WITH THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON.

AS OF 2020, THE KIND OF MEDIAN VALUE WAS $42 A TON.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAS BEEN PUT BEFORE YOU, BUT I URGE YOU TO THINK ABOUT THAT AND THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT THE SPEAKERS BEFORE HAVE BROUGHT UP IN TERMS OF HARM, BEING DONE TO PEOPLE, NOT JUST IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT IN OUR BROADER TEXAS COMMUNITY.

THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE EASY, BUT I THINK THAT THERE ARE PATHS FORWARD AND WE NEED TO DO THAT IN THE MOST KIND OF OPEN WAY POSSIBLE.

I LOOK FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY MEETING AND WORKING WITH YOU ON THIS, UH, VERY SHORTLY.

AND I HOPE THAT I'LL HAVE YOUR SUPPORT FOR, FOR THAT PROCESS GOING FORWARD.

THANK YOU.

THANKS MS. WHITE AND ROBERT FOSTER.

WELCOME MR. FOSTER, AND YOU WILL HAVE THREE NEW, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK HERE.

I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF THE SUNRISE MOVEMENT HERE IN AUSTIN, UH, YOUTH ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT.

AND I WANT TO TALK ABOUT JUST HOW IMPORTANT CLOSING DOWN BAY IT IS TO OUR CARBON REDUCTIONS.

SO HERE WE'RE LOOKING THIS ENTIRE PIE CHART REPRESENTS ALL OF AUSTIN'S EMISSIONS.

NOW LET'S SAY WE ACTUALLY BELIEVE IN CLIMATE CHANGE, AND WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO REDUCE IT BY 50% BY 2030.

WELL, EVEN WITH PROJECT CONNECT, EVEN WITH ELECTRIFYING TRANSIT, EVEN WITH THE PAIRED DOWN, BUILD, NOT BUILD BACK BETTER, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET 9% REDUCTION OFF OF THAT.

IF WE DO EXTENSIVE TRANSIT DEMAND MANAGEMENT, LIKE CHARGING FOR PARKING DOWNTOWN, TRYING TO HAVE PEOPLE WORK FROM HOME, WE MIGHT GET ANOTHER 4%.

WE GET A FEW PERCENT FROM ALSO CLOSING DECKER, BUT 30% OF AUSTIN'S CARBON EMISSIONS ARE BEING RELEASED BY FAY.

AND IF WE DO NOT CLOSE THAT DOWN, WE'RE GOING TO MISS THE GOAL BY 60%.

AND I KNOW I'VE SEEN THE REACH PLAN.

YOU GUYS DO DO START TO REDUCE THAT, BUT IT'S NOT NEARLY QUICK ENOUGH.

AND FOR HOW IMPORTANT AND HOW MUCH, HOW LARGE OF A PORTION OF OUR EMISSIONS IT IS.

THIS SHOULD REALLY BE THE ONE THING WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON AS A CITY.

IF WE ACTUALLY BELIEVE IN REDUCING OUR CARBON EMISSIONS BY 2030.

UM, AND I KNOW AUSTIN'S A SAVE SLACKERS AND, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY MIGHT BE PROCRASTINATING A LITTLE BIT, BUT THEY'VE HAD SEVEN YEARS NOW.

AND TO TELL US THAT THEY JUST CAN'T GET IT DONE IS UNACCEPTABLE.

THE AMOUNT OF COSTS THAT WE'D HAVE TO PAY, EVEN IF WE HAD TO BUY IT OUT WOULD BE WORTH IT.

GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF REDUCTIONS WE COULD ACCOUNT FOR IN THE FUTURE.

AND ESPECIALLY SINCE LIKE, FOR THOSE OF US HERE, WE'RE GONNA FEEL CARBON, UH, CLIMATE CHANGE.

BUT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO BE HIT WORST BY ARE THE POOR MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITIES, THE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE ENERGY, POOR AND TRANSIT DEPENDENT.

SO PLEASE, I URGE YOU TO DO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO MAKE THIS A PRIORITY IN TERMS OF OUR CLIMATE CHANGE GOALS.

AND, UH, YEAH.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

ALSO ON A LIGHTER NOTE, THE 37TH STREET LIGHTS KICKOFF IS DECEMBER 10TH.

YOU GUYS ARE ALL INVITED TO THAT.

IF YOU GUYS HAVEN'T BEEN BEFORE, IT'S A VERY FUN AUSTIN FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US.

SO THANK YOU.

THANKS, MR. FOSTER.

I THINK THERE IS ONE, IS THERE AN EAR UNTIL DID YOU, UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE YOU ON OUR LIST, BUT IF YOU WILL, UH, LET WHERE'S ROBIN AUTO, IF YOU WILL, UM, YOU CAN HAVE THREE MINUTES AND THEN BE SURE TO COME AND GIVE MS. AUTO YOUR NAME SO THAT WE CAN ADD YOU TO THE OFFICIAL RECORD, BUT GO AHEAD AND COME ON DOWN AND WE'LL GET YOU REGISTERED AFTER YOU SPEAK AND YOU WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

NO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS AARON TOE AND I AM A STUDENT CONCERNED ABOUT OUR ENVIRONMENT AND, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UM, I BELIEVE THAT THE ISSUE OF CLIMATE CHANGE IS AN URGENT MATTER.

THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED SERIOUSLY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL AUSTIN ENERGY'S DECISION TO KEEP RUNNING THE FIRE COAL PLANT, NOT ONLY DISRUPTS AUSTIN'S OWN CARBON REDUCTION GOALS, BUT IT WILL ALSO AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITIES ALL AROUND US, INCLUDING IN GENERATIONS TO COME.

IT IS MY, MY GENERATION THAT WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF YEARS OF NEGLECT ON CLIMATE CHANGE.

AND WE WOULD REALLY LIKE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY TO RECONSIDER THIS DECISION, UH, DELONG, UM, LONG-LASTING IF NOT EVERLASTING EFFECTS OF THEIR DECISION ON THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND US.

I THINK.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ALL RIGHT.

IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE HERE WHO SIGNED UP, BUT DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO SPEAK.

OKAY.

VERY GOOD.

UM, TO YOUR MAC.

YES.

YOU MET MAYOR PROTON.

THANK YOU.

THE LAST SPEAKER I'D LIKE TO ASK OUR LAST SPEAKER, WHETHER OR NOT THEY'VE EVER PRESENTED FOR COUNCIL BEFORE,

[00:15:04]

WELCOME.

THANKS FOR BEING HERE.

WAIT, I THINK WE'RE ALL PROBABLY GOING TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE WHEN WE SAY THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

UM, YOUR, YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THIS DISCUSSION AND EVERY OTHER DISCUSSION IS ENTIRELY CRITICAL.

WE HAVE TO GET ALL THE FIRST TIMERS OUT TO, TO SAY THE WORDS.

SO I APPRECIATE YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE DISCUSSION.

I'M GOING TO TAKE THAT AWAY, BUT I MOSTLY JUST WANTED TO SAY GOOD ON YOU FOR BRAVO FOR COMING OUT AND DOING THE THING CAUSE, UH, IT'S, IT'S INTIMIDATING IN ITS OWN WAY.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WE APPRECIATE YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANKS SO MUCH.

YES MA'AM.

IF I COULD JUST REAL QUICKLY, UM, THE SPEAKERS, THEY CAME TO TALK ABOUT FAT.

UM, I THINK THEY KNOW, OR IF THEY DON'T KNOW THAT WELL OVER MAJORITY OF THIS COUNCIL RECOGNIZES THAT THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE COULD BE DOING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE WOULD BE TO CLOSE THAT PLANT.

UH, IT'S NOT A PLANT THAT WE CONTROL OURSELVES, SO IT'S NOT A UNILATERAL DECISION THAT WE CAN MAKE, BUT IF THERE WAS A WAY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE, WITH THE PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE ON THIS COUNCIL, WE WOULD BE, WE WOULD BE DOING THAT.

UH, IT IS REALLY FRUSTRATING TO SIT WHERE WE ARE AND NOT TO BE ABLE TO, TO TALK PUBLICLY ABOUT THE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE GOTTEN.

UH, BUT WE KNOW THE EXTENT OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE BEING HELD ON THIS.

THERE'S NOT INFORMATION THAT WE'RE NOT GETTING FROM, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF.

UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO, TO, TO DO EVERYTHING WITHIN OUR POWER TO BE ABLE TO, TO, UM, UH, LESSEN THE, OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT.

WE RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS ELEMENT.

IF THERE WAS A WAY LOOK AT THIS DIOCESE, WE WOULD BE DOING THAT.

AND I WISH IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD TALK ABOUT MORE OPENLY.

THANKS MAYOR.

OKAY.

I'M GOING TO MOVE ON TO THE REST OF THE AGENDA.

ITEM.

ONE IS THE

[1. Approve the minutes of the September 28,2021 meeting of the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee.]

DO I HAVE ANY, UH, I'LL TAKE A MOTION AND A SECOND.

AND THEN IF ANYBODY HAS ANY CORRECTIONS OR AMENDMENTS AND THE MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR AND SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, ANY CHANGES OR CORRECTIONS, ALL RIGHT.

UH, ALL IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE, UM, UH, MINUTES, UH, PLEASE SIGNIFY.

AND THAT LOOKS LIKE IT IS UNANIMOUS ACROSS THE DIOCESE AND ON OUR VIRTUAL.

THANK YOU.

UH, OKAY.

ITEM NUMBER

[2. Approve the 2022 Austin Energy and Utility Oversight Committee meeting calendar.]

AND I THINK YOU ALL SEE THAT IN YOUR BACKUP.

THERE ARE SIX DATES AND I AM GOING TO OPEN THIS UP AND READ THEM INTO THE RECORD.

AND OF COURSE MY COMPUTER IS SLOW.

OKAY.

PROPOSED SCHEDULE FEBRUARY ONE, APRIL FIVE, JUNE SEVEN, AUGUST 30, OCTOBER 11, NOVEMBER 29.

ALL THESE MEETINGS ARE PROPOSED FOR A ONE 30 IN THE AFTERNOON, AND THESE ARE ALL ON TUESDAYS.

I'LL TAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY MOVES TO APPROVE AND COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS SECONDS.

ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT? ANYBODY ON THE THAT'S MEMBER TOVA DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? OKAY.

ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING AND THAT SCHEDULE IS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY ACROSS THE DIOCESE.

THANK YOU.

ITEM

[3. General Manager's Report -Upcoming Recommendations for Council Action -Innovations, events, awards.]

WELCOME TO OUR GENERAL MANAGER, JACKIE SERGEANT.

THANKS FOR BEING HERE TODAY.

THANK YOU.

UH, GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR, VICE CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

I'M JACKIE SERGEANT AUSTIN ENERGY GENERAL MANAGER.

IN ADDITION TO MY REPORT TODAY, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER SYDNEY JACKSON WILL PRESENT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FOURTH QUARTER OPERATIONS BRIEFING, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER AND CHIEF FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER MARK DOMBROSKI WILL PRESENT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FOURTH QUARTER FINANCIAL BRIEFING, INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE.

RUSTY MANIAS WILL BE PRESENT, PRESENT ON SMALL COMMERCIAL DEMAND CHARGES AND CUSTOMER ASSISTANT PROGRAM DISCOUNT LEVEL AND RATE IMPACTS VICE-PRESIDENT OF ELECTRIC SYSTEM FIELD OPERATIONS.

ELTON RICHARDS WILL PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE WEST CAMPUS LIGHTING AND FINALLY VICE-PRESIDENT

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PAT SWEENEY WILL PRESENT AN UPDATE ON THE DECKER CREEK POWER STATION, WORKFORCE PLANNING.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

I WILL BEGIN TODAY WITH A SHORT BRIEFING ON SIX OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S UPCOMING REQUESTS FOR COUNCIL ACTION.

THE FIRST ITEM IS TO AUTHORIZE NEGOTIATION AND EXECUTION OF A SIX-YEAR CONTRACT WITH MASS TECH, NORTH AMERICA FOR UNDERGROUND ELECTRICAL CIVIL CONSTRUCTION FOR TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED $72 MILLION.

THIS CONTRACT WILL SUPPLEMENT AUSTIN ENERGY'S LABOR FORCE IN ORDER TO PROVIDE READY ACCESS TO CONTRACT LABOR AND EQUIPMENT FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF UNDERGROUND TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION SERVICES, INCLUDING ROUTINE ELECTRIC, SERVICE, EXTENSIONS AND, AND SUPPORT FOR SYSTEM RESTORATIONS.

THE NEXT ITEM IS AUTHORIZATION OF A CONTRACT AMENDMENT FOR THE CONTINUED PURCHASE OF COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL ELECTRIC METERS.

WITH TEXAS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES.

THIS AMENDMENT WILL INCREASE THE CONTRACT BY 18 MONTHS AND $10 MILLION FOR REVISED TOTAL CONTRACT OF $40 MILLION.

THE NEXT ITEM IS AUTHORIZATION OF AMENDMENTS FOR $14.5 MILLION FOR TWO COOPERATIVE CONTRACTS WITH DELL MARKETING AND SIRIUS COMPUTER SOLUTIONS FOR REVISE TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED $48.5 MILLION DIVIDED BETWEEN THESE TWO CONTRACTORS.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS WILL ALLOW FOR ADDITIONAL HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND MAINTENANCE SUPPORT SERVICES TO CONTINUE THE STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE ROADMAP PROGRAM.

THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, AUSTIN ENERGY IS TRANSFORMING ITS HARDWARE BASED TECHNOLOGY TO SOFTWARE DEFINED DATA CENTER, NETWORKING AND SECURITY PLATFORMS. THIS PROGRAM WILL MODERNIZE AUSTIN ENERGY'S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY NETWORK AND PROVIDE CROSS SITE DISASTER RECOVERY CAPABILITIES THAT ARE EASIER TO MANAGE WITH LOWER COSTS AND LOWER RISKS.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

THE NEXT ITEM IS A $1.4 MILLION CONTRACT WITH SOUTHWIRE TO PROVIDE OVERHEAD CONDUCTOR LINES AND ASSESSORS.

THE CONTRACT WILL ALLOW AUSTIN ENERGY TO MAKE NECESSARY UPGRADES TO ONE OF ITS ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS USING A CLASS OF NEW CONDUCTORS, WHICH REPLACED THE CONVENTIONAL STEEL CORE STRANDS WITH CORE STRANDS MADE OF CARBON FIBER.

THIS WILL REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF STRUCTURAL REPLACEMENTS RESULTING IN SHORTER CONSTRUCTION AND OUTAGE DURATION AND FAR FEWER EASEMENT ACQUISITIONS.

THE NEXT ITEM IS A CONTRACT AMENDMENT WITH COBRA ARIZONA, INC, TO UPGRADE THE CURRENT STORM CENTER SOFTWARE AT AUSTIN ENERGY.

THIS AMENDMENT WILL INCREASE THE CONTRACT BY ONE YEAR AND $925,000 FOR A REVISED TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT OF $3.2 MILLION.

THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT WILL ALLOW FOR THE UPGRADE AND EXTENSION TO AUSTIN ENERGY STORM SET OR PLATFORM.

THIS WILL PROVIDE AN UPDATED PLATFORM FOR OUTAGE REPORTING AND INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH CUSTOMERS MOBILE DEVICES.

IT WILL ALSO ENHANCE THE TEXT ALERT APPLICATION, WHICH WILL IMPROVE COMMUNICATION TO AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS.

DURING A POWER OUTAGE.

THE UPGRADE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE, UH, FEBRUARY, 2021 WINTER STORMS AFTER ACTION REPORT.

WHILE THIS UPGRADE WAS ALREADY IN THE PLANNING STAGE, AUSTIN ENERGY THOROUGHLY VETTED THE UPGRADE AGAINST NEW CONCERNS THAT AROSE FROM THE WINTER STORM URI.

AND THE FINAL ITEM IS TO AUTHORIZE A FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT FOR WEATHERIZATION SERVICES FOR QUALIFYING AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS WITH SIX CONTRACTORS FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $19 MILLION.

AUSTIN WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM PROVIDES HOME ENERGY IMPROVEMENTS TO LOW TO MODERATE INCOME CUSTOMERS THAT REDUCED COSTUMERS CUSTOMER'S ENERGY COSTS WHILE CREATING A MORE COMFORTABLE AND SAFE LIVING ENVIRONMENT SERVICES PROVIDED INCLUDES SEALING IN BUILDING STRUCTURE, SEALING THE BUILDING STRUCTURE, DUCT REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT, INSTALLING ATTIC INSULATION, SOLAR SCREENS, SMOKE DETECTORS, CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS, HIGH EFFICIENCY, LIGHTING, AIR CONDITIONING TUNE-UPS AND SMART THERMOSTATS IN FISCAL YEAR 2021, AUSTIN ENERGY WEATHERIZED OVER 600 HOMES.

THE NEW CONTRACT BUDGET ANTICIPATES INCREASED PARTICIPATION DUE TO THE PROGRAM CHANGES THAT RAISE THE INCOME ELIGIBILITY TO 80% OF MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME AND CREATED A STREAMLINED APPLICATION PROCESS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

FINALLY, I'D LIKE TO MENTION THAT ON OCTOBER 28TH, AUSTIN ENERGY CREWS, STRUNG LIGHTS FOR THE 155 FOOT TALL ZILKER HOLIDAY TREE, THE TEA IS DECORATED WITH 39 STRINGS OF LED LIGHTS, EACH CONTAINING 81, RED, YELLOW, GREEN, AND BLUE BULBS.

ALL OF THE LIGHTS ON THE ICONIC TREE ARE NOW

[00:25:01]

THE OLD LIGHTS DID A GREAT ENERGY SAVINGS WHILE THERE IS NO PUBLIC LIGHTING CEREMONY PLAN.

THIS YEAR, THE ZILKER TREE WILL BE LIT UP NIGHTLY BEGINNING ON NOVEMBER 27TH THROUGH JANUARY 1ST.

I KNOW THAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO TAKING MY GRANDDAUGHTERS, TO SEE THE ZILKER TREE AND ENJOY SOME, UH, TRADITIONAL HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES WITH THEM THIS YEAR.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, WITH THAT, I'LL PAUSE AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

YOU MAY HAVE THE QUESTIONS FOR THE GENERAL MANAGER.

UH, I DON'T SEE ANY, THANK YOU.

OKAY.

WE DO HAVE ONE FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS.

I WAS GOING TO HAVE A QUESTION, BUT YOU ANSWERED IT AND I'M VERY SAD.

THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE A TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY, BUT I HOPE THERE WILL BE ONE NEXT YEAR.

IT'S A REALLY FUN EVENT FOR FOLKS WHO HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT OUT YET.

IT'S IT'S REALLY NICE.

YES, IT IS.

THANK YOU.

GOOD

[4. 4th Quarter Operations Briefing.]

UH, AGAIN, I AM SYDNEY JACKSON, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER AND CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER AT AUSTIN ENERGY.

AND IT'S MY PLEASURE TODAY TO PRESENT THE Q4 OPERATIONS REPORT.

Q4 OPERATIONS REPORT IS FOR THE MONTHS OF JULY, AUGUST, AND SEPTEMBER A IMPORTANT TIME PERIOD AS TRADITIONALLY, THIS PEAK, THIS REPRESENTS THE PEAK SEASON OR THE MAGNITUDE OF ELECTRIC MARKET ENERGY PRICES AND ELECTRICAL DEMAND ON THE GRID ARE AT CUSTOMARILY, UH, PEAK LEVELS, UH, FOR THE OPERATIONS REPORT TODAY, I WAS JUST PRESENT, UH, TWO SLIDES TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, FOR YOU, UH, THE GRAPHICS THAT I HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU ON PAGE FOUR, UH, LOOKS AT THE COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY OF ELECTRICAL GENERATORS.

LOOKING AT THE RIGHT-HAND COLUMN POWER SUPPLY PERFORMANCE REMAINS HIGH COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY OF KEY GENERATION HAS BEEN EXCEPTIONAL FOR QUARTER FOUR WITH NEAR A HUNDRED PERCENT AVAILABILITY.

AND AGAIN, THAT'S AFFIRMED ON THE RIGHT COLUMN.

RECALL THAT IN PREVIOUS QUARTERLY REPORTS, I COMMUNICATED THAT SPRING OUTAGES WERE NECESSARY, UH, TO INCREASE THE RELIABILITY OVER THESE OVER THE CRITICAL SUMMER SEASON.

THE STELLAR SUMMER SEASON OPERATIONAL AVAILABILITY METRICS AT NEAR A HUNDRED PERCENT ARE IN LARGE PART DUE TO THOSE SPRING OUTAGES AND GENERATOR PREPARATIONS, AND LASTLY, BUT EQUALLY IMPORTANT.

UH, THESE GENERATION FACILITIES ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE OVERALL ENERGY MARKETING AND PORTFOLIO RISK MITIGATION AND PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, PROVIDING IMPORTANT FINANCIAL HEDGE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, CUSTOMERS, AS WE OPERATE IN THE ERCOT ENERGY MARKETS AND MOVING TO MY LAST SLIDE, NUMBER FIVE, LOOKING AT POWER GENERATION BY FUEL TYPE.

I'D LIKE TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE BOTTOM RIGHT-HAND CORNER.

RENEWABLE GENERATION REMAINS ROBUST, UM, WITH RENEWABLE GENERATION AS A PERCENT OF CONSUMPTION AT 42% FOR THE QUARTER AGAIN, ROBUST CONTRIBUTIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR THAT CONCLUDES THE OPERATIONS REPORT FOR THANKS MR. JACKSON, ANY QUESTIONS ON OUR FOURTH QUARTER OPERATIONS BRIEFING? I DON'T SEE ANY THANKS SO MUCH.

AND WE'LL MOVE INTO

[5. 4th Quarter Financial Briefing.]

I SEE MR. DOMBROWSKI COMING DOWN.

WELCOME.

UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, MARK NEBRASKA, THE CFO OF AUSTIN ENERGY.

AND I'LL GIVE YOU THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF OUR FOURTH QUARTER FINANCIAL BRIEF PAGE FIVE.

SO AT THE, UH, AT THE END OF OUR FOURTH QUARTER, UH, 2021, WE'RE GENERALLY COMPLIANT WITH ALL OF OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES WHERE RESERVES STILL SIT BELOW THE MINIMUMS, BUT OUR CASH EXCEEDS OUR MINIMUM OF 457 MILLION.

OUR OPERATING RESERVES OR OPERATING REVENUES WERE 9% UNDER BUDGET, AND THAT WAS PRIMARILY DUE TO LOWER THAN EXPECTED POWER SUPPLY REVENUE AND BASE REVENUE UNDER REGULATORY COUNTING OUR POWER SUPPLY REVENUES ALWAYS MATCH OUR ACTUAL POWER SUPPLY EXPENSES.

UH, DO THE ENERGIES NET GAIN DURING THE FEBRUARY STORM, UH, BOTH OUR OPERATING REVENUES AND EXPENSES ARE BOTH UNDER BUDGET BUDGET ON A BUDGETARY BASIS.

OUR OPERATING REVENUE WAS 1.28 BILLION FOR FYI 21 OR 9% UNDER BUDGET WHILE OUR OPERATING EXPENSES WERE 937 MILLION OR 10% UNDER BUDGET RESULT WAS A BUDGETARY OPERATING INCOME OF 350 MILLION.

AS I STATED, MOST OF THIS

[00:30:01]

UH, BUT WE ALSO SAW A DECREASE IN OUR BASE REVENUES AS A RESULT FROM LOWER THAN FORECAST.

THE ASSUMPTION THAT'S MOSTLY DUE TO A VERY MILD SUMMER FROM OUR OPERATING INCOME OF 350 MILLION.

WE MADE CITY SUPPORT TRANSFERS AND INTERNAL TRANSFERS SUCH AS DEBT SERVICE AND THE CASH PORTION OF OUR CIP SPEND, WHICH NETS TO A BUDGETARY DEFICIT OF 129 MILLION VERSUS A FORECAST OF 11 MILLION FIT TWO DEFICIENCY ON A GAP BASIS.

WE EXPERIENCED THAT NET LOSS OF 53 MILLION FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDING SEPTEMBER 21.

AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, OUR CASH BALANCE IS 330 MILLION, WHICH IS A DECREASE OF 72 MILLION FROM A YEAR AGO.

AND THIS IS PRIMARILY DUE TO THE NEED TO INCREASE OUR CASH TRANSFER TO THE CIP.

UH, SINCE WE DID NOT CONVEY, UH, THE TOWN LAKE CENTER BUILDING IN FISCAL YEAR 21, AS WE HAD PLANNED WE'RE MEETING OUR AA CREDIT RATING METRIC, AND THAT WAS REAFFIRMED BY STANDARD AND POOR'S IN JULY OF 21 AND, AND OUR MARKET COMPETITIVENESS, UH, FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR OF 2020, UH, WE WERE 2.5% BELOW THE STATE AVERAGE, UH, ELECTRIC RATES, WHICH IS ONE 10TH OF A PERCENT IMPROVEMENT FROM, UM, CALENDAR YEAR 19.

SO WITH THAT, I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

UH, GREAT, THANKS FOR THE REPORT.

COUNCILMEMBER ALTERNATE.

UM, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THE NUMBERS.

SO OUR REVENUE IS 300 MILLION MORE THAN OUR EXPENSES, BUT THEN WHAT WERE THE OTHER EXPENSES THAT PUT US INTO, RIGHT? SO WE HAD OPERATING REVENUES, WHICH HAS ALL OF THE REVENUE UTILITY.

THAT'S WHAT ABOUT 1.28, 7 BILLION? THEN WE HAVE OPERATING EXPENSES, WHICH IS WHAT DOES IT COST US TO OPERATE? THE UTILITY WAS 937 MILLION, AND WE MAKE TRANSFERS TO THE CITY.

WE MAKE TRANSFERS, UH, FUND OUR CIP PORTION.

UM, AND AFTER ALL OF THAT, WE HAD A DEFICIT OF 129 MILLION.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. TOM LASKEY, AND LET'S SEE,

[6. Small Commercial Demand Charges.]

AND I REMEMBER THIS WAS AN ITEM THAT WE BRIEFLY TOUCHED ON AT OUR LAST MEETING.

WE WANTED SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AT TODAY'S MEETING.

I'M SORRY.

I'M CERTAIN YOU COULDN'T SEE ME WAVING AND WE'VE GOT, I KNOW THIS IS, IT'S THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF LIKE THE VIRTUAL COMPONENT.

UM, I, I DID HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT, UH, THE SORT OF MARKET COMPARATIVE MARKET RATE, CORRECT.

HANG ON, HANG ON A SEC.

LET ME GET MR. DON BRESCHI TO COME BACK ON DOWN TO THE PODIUM.

YEAH, YOU BET.

THANKS FOR PIPING UP.

HERE WE GO.

ALL RIGHT, GO AHEAD.

I AM MR. JOE BRESCHI IF YOU COULD JUST MAYBE LAY OUT FOR ME.

UM, I THINK I AM PROBABLY LIKE MANY OF MY CONSTITUENTS.

UM, AND I, I JUST DON'T ENTIRELY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEAN WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT LIKE COMPARATIVELY OUR MARKET RATE.

WOULD YOU MIND JUST GIVING ME JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE INSIGHT INTO WHAT EXACTLY THAT IMPLIES? UM, SURE.

ROBIN, CAN YOU PULL THAT UP GRAPH? SO, UM, YES, BACK IN 2011 DURING THE RESOURCE AND GENERATION PLAN, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY WAS TASKED WITH TRYING TO COMPLY WITH TWO DISTINCT METRICS.

UH, ONE WAS THE AFFORDABILITY METRIC, WHICH IS TO TRY TO KEEP OUR RATES BELOW 2% INCREASE ON ACCOUNT COMPOUNDED RATE, UH, EACH YEAR, WHICH, WHICH WE MEET.

AND THE OTHER METRIC WAS WHAT WE REFERRED TO AS OUR COMMITTED COMPETITIVENESS, THIS METRIC, WHICH IS TO KEEP OUR RATES AT THE LOWER OF THE 50% OF ALL TEXAS UTILITIES.

SO WE USE DATA FROM THE ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UM, TO, TO MEASURE THAT TOWARDS THE END.

UM, AND SO EACH YEAR AROUND OCTOBER, WE GET THE DATA FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR, UM, PREVIOUS CALENDAR YEAR, AND WE, UH, COLLECT ALL THAT DATA FOR ALL UTILITIES IN TEXAS.

AND WE DO SOME FILTERING TO GET TO, UH, TO GET DOWN TO OTHER UTILITIES LIKE OURSELVES.

AND WE COMPARE OUR AVERAGE SYSTEM RATES.

SO THAT'S OUR TOTAL RETAIL REVENUE DIVIDED BY OUR TOTAL, UH, RETAIL LOAD.

AND THAT GIVES US AN AVERAGE SYSTEM RATE.

AND THAT SHOWS THAT WE ARE BELOW THE STATE AVERAGE, HERE'S THE CHART HERE.

SO, UH, EXCEPT FOR YEARS, UH, 15, 16 AND 17, WE BELIEVE WE'VE BEEN BELOW THAT STATE AVERAGE FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS.

DID ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.

IT DOES AT THE, I THINK IT JUST FINDS US RIGHT BACK IN THAT SITUATION THAT I OFTEN FIND

[00:35:01]

UM, IN WHICH CASE I, I JUST, I ALWAYS WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT, THAT OUR CONSTITUENTS UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT'S BEING PRESENTED TO THEM.

SO I THINK SOME OF THIS IS JUST SO TECHNICAL THAT, THAT IT'S GONNA, IT WOULD, IT WOULD TAKE CONSIDERABLY MORE TIME FOR US TO DIG INTO, BUT I JUST, WHEN YOU SAID IT, IT SOUNDED LIKE THERE WAS LIKE SOME VERY CLEARLY, UM, UH, EXISTING, LIKE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING.

AND SO I JUST WAS TRYING TO HOPE YOU HELPED ME FIRST OF ALL, UNDERSTAND, BUT THEN ALSO SUBSEQUENTLY HELPED MY, OUR CONSTITUENTS UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS THAT YOU WERE BRINGING FORWARD.

UM, I, I THINK YOU GAVE AS MUCH AS YOU COULD WITHOUT GOING TOO DEEP.

AND THEN ALSO WITHOUT US HAVING AN AUGUST BEEN 12 YEARS LEARNING HOW TO DO THIS, SO SURE.

AT ALL, I THINK YOU, I THINK YOU DID THE BEST YOU CAN.

THANK YOU.

I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME, BUT THE BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT.

SO WHEN IT ENDS UP IS WE ALSO DECREASED OUR AVERAGE CONSUMPTION DOWN TO 851 KILOWATT HOURS, UH, PER UH, PER MONTH, WHICH IS A DECREASE OF ABOUT 15 FROM OUR PREVIOUS YEAR AND WHAT THAT RESULTS IS THE SECOND LOWEST AVERAGE BILL IN TEXAS SO WELL, AND THAT IS REALLY GREAT NEWS AND THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE PAY.

THEY PAY BILLS, NOT RATES.

SO THAT'S RIGHT.

THANK YOU.

THANKS SO MUCH.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? AND I WILL SAY THAT I HAVE HAD, UM, I THINK IN THE PAST INVITED AUSTIN ENERGY EXECUTIVES TO COME TO TOWN HALLS IN MY DISTRICT SOMETIMES TO TALK ABOUT SOMETIMES IT'S STARTING BUDGET AND SOMETIMES IT'S, YOU KNOW, A SPECIAL FOCUS GROUP TO HAVE A MORE IN-DEPTH CONVERSATION WITH FOLKS.

UM, AND SO IT IS POSSIBLE TO GET OUR STAFF OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY TO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME MORE INTERESTING AND DEEPER DIVE CONVERSATIONS TO HELP WITH THE EDUCATION AND THE COMMUNITY AND THE GENERAL UNDERSTANDING.

THESE ARE VERY TECHNICAL MATTERS TRULY, BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS THE ELECTRICITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO OUR WAY OF LIFE AND OUR QUALITY OF LIFE.

SO WE'RE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE GOOD TEAM LEADING AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY.

THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN.

I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MAYBE I WILL FOLLOW YOUR LEAD IN AND, AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, JUST SORT OF DEEP DIVE INTO HAVING FOLKS COME IN AND TALK ABOUT THE MORE TECHNICAL MATTERS.

I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT SUGGESTION.

YOU BET.

YOU BET.

LET'S SEE.

WE HAVE ITEM NUMBER SIX, WHICH IS THE SMALL COMMERCIAL DEMAND CHARGES.

AND IF YOU COULD INTRODUCE YOURSELF, SIR, CERTAINLY MY NAME IS RUSSELL MANIAS.

I'M THE INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE WELCOME MR. MARTINEZ.

THANK YOU.

THERE'S BEEN A REQUEST TO CHANGE AUSTIN ENERGY, SMALLEST COMMERCIAL ACCOUNT, WHICH WE REFER TO AS SEC ONE FROM ZERO TO 10 KW TO ZERO TO 20 K W AUSTIN ENERGY ADDRESSED A SIMILAR REQUEST BACK IN 2017.

AND, UH, AT THAT TIME WE, WE PREPARED TWO TYPES OF ANALYSIS.

UH, THE ASKS THAT YOU HAVE TODAY INCREASING THAT SMALL S ONE CLASS A TO ZERO TO 20, AND THEN A SECOND ANALYSIS, UH, THAT WOULD CREATE A SEPARATE DISTINCT CLASS OF 10 TO 20 KW CUSTOMERS.

THIS PRESENTATION WILL HAVE BOTH OF THOSE ANALYSIS.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

UM, IT MIGHT MAKE SENSE IF WE START BY DEFINING AN EXACTLY WHAT A CUSTOMER CLASS IS AND WHY THEY'RE IMPORTANT.

AND IN THE SIMPLEST TERMS, THE CUSTOMER CLASS IS DEFINED AS A GROUP OF, UM, THAT HAVE SIMILAR USAGE PATTERNS AND IMPOSE SIMILAR COSTS ON THE UTILITY.

AND THEY'RE THE BUILDING BLOCKS IN OUR RIGHT CASES.

UH, THEY COLLECT THE BUCKET OF COSTS THAT WE CREATE RIGHTS FOR.

SO THE MAIN TAKEAWAY IS THAT CLASSES THERE'S A RHYME AND A REASON THAT WE HAVE THOSE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO PRIOR TO 2012, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY HAD 24 CUSTOMER CLASSES AND 89 DIFFERENT RATE STRUCTURES, NOT REALLY UNUSUAL FOR UTILITIES THAT HAVE GONE A LONG STRETCH OF TIME, UH, BETWEEN WRITE REVIEWS AND PRIOR TO 2012, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY WENT NEARLY 20 YEARS WITHOUT A RATE CASE.

SO YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT THE CLASSES WERE BASED MOSTLY ON WHO USED THE ENERGY AND NOT HOW THEY, HOW THE CUSTOMERS IMPACTED THE SYSTEM.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO IN 2012, WE HAD A RATE CASE AND WE REDUCED THE NUMBER OF CLASSES AND WE PROPERLY BASED THEM ON HOW THE CUSTOMERS USE ELECTRICITY.

JUST LIKE THE DEFINITION I GAVE IT AT THE BEGINNING OF A CUSTOMER CLASS IN 2012, THE S ONE CLASS WAS REDUCED FROM ZERO TO 20 KW TO ZERO TO 10 KW.

I'D LIKE TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE YELLOW CIRCLE.

WHAT THAT REPRESENTS IS THAT IT SHOWS THAT THE SEC TWO CLASS RECEIVES BOTH AN ENERGY AND A DEMAND CHARGE.

WHILE

[00:40:01]

NOW THIS IS IN ADDITION TO CUSTOMER CHARGES.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO WHAT IS A DEMAND CHARGE? WELL, IT'S THE COST OF ALWAYS BEING READY AND HE NEEDS TO ENSURE THAT POWER IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE WHEN OUR CUSTOMERS DEMAND IT MORE EFFICIENT.

THE CUSTOMER IS TO HAVE THE HIGHER THEIR LOAD FACTOR IS AND DEMAND CHARGES, UM, REWARD CUSTOMERS WHO USE THE SYSTEM MORE EFFICIENTLY, DEMAND CHARGES, ALSO GIVE PRICE SIGNALS TO ENCOURAGE ENERGY EFFICIENCY.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO THE ISSUE I'M TRYING TO FRAME HERE IS THAT AFTER THE 2012, RIGHT REVIEW, THE SEC ONE CLASS THRESHOLD WAS REDUCED FROM A ZERO TO 20 KW TO ZERO TO 10 KW.

AND THE PRIMARY DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE SEC TWO RENTS HAVE DEMAND CHARGES WHILE THE SECOND ONE DOES NOT.

AND THE SEC ONE CLASS, THE ZERO TO 10 KW THRESHOLD WAS REVIEWED BY AN INDEPENDENT STUDY.

AND IT WAS REAFFIRMED IN THE 2016, RIGHT CASE CURRENTLY THERE ARE ABOUT 6,000 CUSTOMERS THAT RESIDE IN THAT 10 TO 20 KW THRESHOLD.

SO THE ISSUE IS, IS DO THESE 6,000 CUSTOMERS USE MORE ENERGY LIKE SEC, TWO CUSTOMERS, AND THEREFORE BE ASSESSED A DEMAND CHARGE OR MORE LIKE SEC ONE CUSTOMERS AND ASSESSED ON AN ENERGY ONLY CHARGE.

AND THE LAST BULLET POINT HERE IS THE LINK TO THE 2017 ANALYSIS.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO THIS HAS GOT A LOT OF DOTS AND A LOT OF COLORS, RIGHT? BUT IT'S THE INDEPENDENT STUDY BY AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT.

THE BLUE DOTS ARE OUR OBSERVATIONS OR OUR BILLS, IF YOU WILL.

AND THE ORANGE DOTS REPRESENT A TREND LINE, IF YOU WILL, OF ALL OF THOSE BLUE DOTS.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S A YELLOW CIRCLE IN THAT 10 TO 20 K W CLASS THAT REPRESENTS THOSE 6,000 CUSTOMERS THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IN THIS STUDY SHOWS THAT THOSE TEND TO 20 KW CUSTOMERS USE THE SYSTEM IN A SIMILAR WAY AS ALL THE CUSTOMERS TO THE RIGHT OF THAT VERTICAL RED LINE.

AND THE VERTICAL RED LINE REPRESENTS THE S THE CUTOFF BETWEEN OUR CURRENT S ONE AND S TWO CLASS.

SO IF YOU ASKED THE QUESTION, DO THESE 6,000 CUSTOMERS USE ENERGY, MORE LIKE A SEC TO CUSTOMER, OR MORE LIKE A SEC ONE, THE ANSWER IS MORE LIKE AN S TO OUR SEC, TWO CLASS CUSTOMER.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO THIS IS JUST GIVES YOU A VISUAL OF ALL OUR SECONDARY CLASSES, RIGHT? AND, AND THE BLUE PIECE OF THE PIE CHART, A REPRIMAND, OR REPRESENTS OUR SEC ONE CLASS THAT ZERO TO 10 KW, AND THEY MAKE UP ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF ALL THOSE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.

AND THEN YOU SEE THE AQUA COLOR OR THE GREEN COLOR.

THOSE ARE THE SEC TWO CUSTOMERS WHERE OUR 6,000 CUSTOMERS ARE 10 TO 20 LINES.

SO THEY REPRESENT ABOUT A THIRD OF, OF THOSE CLASSES.

AND THEN YOU HAVE A FLIPPER LESS THAN A THOUSAND THAT ARE S3.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO, AS I SAID, AT THE BEGINNING, WE, WE LOOKED AT TWO SCENARIOS.

THE FIRST IS TO EXPAND THE SEC ONE CLASS BACK TO 20 K W WHICH IS THE ORIGINAL ASK THAT WAS BROUGHT TO YOU RECENTLY.

AND THE SECOND WAS TO CREATE A NEW SEC ONE CLASS FROM 10 KW TO 20 K W WITHOUT A DEMAND CHARGE, ONCE AGAIN, ABOUT 6,000 CUSTOMERS.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO WHEN WE EXPANDED THE CLASS TO, UH, ZERO TO 20 K W WE DID THE BILL ANALYSIS, 91% OF ALL THOSE CUSTOMERS WOULD RECEIVE A BILL INCREASE.

ONLY 9% WOULD RECEIVE A BILL DECREASE.

YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THOSE ORIGINAL 35,000 CUSTOMERS.

AND ALONG WITH THE ADDITIONAL 6,000 IN THAT 10 TO 20 K W SO IT'S ABOUT 40,000 CUSTOMERS OF WHICH OVER 90%, WE'D GET A BILL INCREASE IN SCENARIO TWO, WHERE WE CARVED OUT A SEPARATE CLASS, RIGHT? AND APPLIED ENERGY ONLY CHARGES.

WE FOUND OUT THAT 75% OF THE CUSTOMERS WOULD RECEIVE A BILL INCREASE AND A PRETTY GOOD ONE ABOUT $78 A MONTH.

AND ABOUT 25% OF THE CUSTOMERS WOULD RECEIVE A BILL DECREASE OR HAVE ABOUT $7 A MONTH.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AND THIS IS ANALYSIS OF THAT CARVING OUT THAT SEPARATE CLASS 10 TO 20 K W AND YOU SEE THAT EVERYBODY ABOVE THAT SOLID RED LINE, THAT HORIZONTAL LINE WOULD BE HARMED.

THEY HAD TO GET A, UH, A BILL INCREASE, AND YOU CAN SEE THE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE HARMED THE WORST ARE THE MOST EFFICIENT CUSTOMERS, THOSE WITH A HIGHER LOAD FACTOR.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO OUR OBSERVATIONS, WHETHER IT'S SCENARIO ONE OR SCENARIO TWO, AT LEAST 75% OF THE CUSTOMERS WOULD RECEIVE HIGHER BILLS.

UH, THIS IS NOT A CUSTOMER DRIVEN INITIATIVE.

WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY COMPLAINTS FROM CUSTOMERS

[00:45:01]

UH, THE 10 TO 20 KW CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN ASSESSED DEMAND CHARGES FOR NEARLY 10 YEARS ALREADY.

THE CURRENT S ONE CLASS OR SEC ONE CLASS IS CONSISTENT WITH INDUSTRY STANDARDS AND A TECHNICAL EVALUATION.

AND THEN FINALLY, ALL OF THOSE CUSTOMERS ARE, ARE ELIGIBLE FOR AUSTIN.

ENERGY'S EXPANSIVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, NEXT SLIDE.

AND SO BASED ON THE ANALYSIS, AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF RECOMMENDS THAT THE CURRENT CLASS STRUCTURE REMAIN IS DESIGNED AND THAT THE THRESHOLD FOR SEC ONE BE REVIEWED DURING THE NEXT RATE REVIEW.

AND THAT CONCLUDES THIS PRESENTATION.

GREAT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

YES, MA'AM.

IS THERE SOME ACTION? UM, THE SERGEANT THAT'S NEEDED FROM US TODAY.

THIS WAS MORE INFORMATIONAL.

OKAY.

ANY QUESTIONS UP ON THE SCREEN, MAYOR PRO TEM OR COUNCIL MEMBER ENTER YET? ANY QUESTIONS COUNCIL MEMBER TOVA YEAH, I'LL JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR THIS ANALYSIS.

I'M GOING TO CIRCLE BACK TO OUR, OUR, UM, REALLY EXPERT COMMUNITY MEMBER WHO HAS RAISED THIS ISSUE AND SEE IF SHE HAS ANY FOLLOW UP, BUT I APPRECIATE, I APPRECIATE YOU PROVIDING THOSE TWO ANALYSES AND, AND AGAIN, LOOK FORWARD TO THE ONGOING DIALOGUE IF THERE IS ONE, BUT THIS IS VERY USEFUL INFORMATION.

THANK YOU.

MA'AM YEAH, I THINK IT WAS PRETTY ELIMINATING.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OKAY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ITEM NUMBER

[7. Customer Assistance Program discount level and rate impacts.]

YOU'RE GOING TO KICK ANOTHER ONE RIGHT OUT OF THE PARK FOR, SO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION HAS MADE A RECOMMENDATION TO MODIFY THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM OR CAP BY INCREASING THE BILL DISCOUNT FEATURE FROM 10% TO 15%.

SO THIS PRESENTATION WILL PROVIDE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CAP DEMONSTRATE THE ACTUAL BILL DISCOUNTS KEPT CUSTOMERS ACTUALLY RECEIVE, AND THEN SHOW THE IMPACT OF ANY OF CHANGING THE DISCOUNT FEATURE FROM 10%, 15%.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO AS YOU ALL ARE PROBABLY WELL AWARE, WE BUILT A REALLY ROBUST CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND IT IS JUST THAT IT'S A PROGRAM IT'S NOT SIMPLY A BILL DISCOUNT AS YOU'RE WELL AWARE SO THAT YOU HAVE BILL DISCOUNTS, YOU HAVE PAYMENT ASSISTANCE.

THERE'S A REARAGE MANAGEMENT, IT'S WHETHER A WEATHERIZATION SERVICE, AND IT'S GOT A DEDICATED FUNDING SOURCE.

SO NOT TALKING JUST ABOUT BILL DISCOUNTS, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A ROBUST PROGRAM.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AND RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHO RECEIVE OR, OR RESIDE WITH A HOUSEHOLD MEMBER WHO RECEIVES ANY OF THESE BENEFITS OR QUALIFIES, UH, AT THE LAST BULLET POINT HAS INCOME AT, OR BELOW 200% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL QUALIFIES FOR CAP.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE CAP PROGRAM, IT'S FRAMED AROUND THE DISCOUNT, RIGHT? IF YOU WILL, BUT THE CAP PROGRAM ALSO WEIGHS BOTH THE CUSTOMER CHARGE AND THE CAP CHARGE WERE CRATE, WHICH CREATES ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A CAP OF CAP DISCOUNTS ON ACTUAL BILLS.

THESE ARE, UH, UH, AUGUST CONSUMPTION FOR THREE ACTUAL CAP CUSTOMERS, UH, RECEIVING A 10% DISCOUNT.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE ACTUAL DISCOUNT THAT THE CUSTOMERS, THE CAP CUSTOMERS RECEIVE, UM, RANGE ANYWHERES FROM 30% TO 17%.