[00:00:01]
WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A QUORUM IN PERSON OR WAIT 1, 2, 3, 6.
WE HAVE A CORE IN-PERSON PLUS CYRUS ON THE PHONE, SO, OKAY.
[CALL MEETING TO ORDER]
TO CALL TO ORDER THIS MEETING OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION.IT IS 6:00 PM ON APRIL 11TH, AND WE ARE IN THE SHUDI FATH CONFERENCE ROOM AT THE MILLER HEADQUARTERS OF AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, LET'S SEE, FOR RECORD KEEPING PURPOSES, WE HAVE COMMISSIONER, WELL, I DON'T NEED TO GO THROUGH THE ROLL CALL.
YOU CAN SEE, AND THEN WE HAVE COMMISSIONER REED ON THE, UH, WEBEX, ANYONE ELSE ON THE WEBEX THAT NORMALLY THERE'S A WHOLE LIST HERE, BUT I DON'T SEE IT TODAY.
SO MAYBE THAT JUST MEANS IT'S JUST CYRUS.
OH, IS COMMISSIONER HADDON ON THE WEBEX? OKAY, GREAT.
ANY CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS OKAY.
[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – Approve minutes of the March 21, 2022 meeting.]
APPROVAL OF, UH, LAST MONTH'S MINUTES.UH, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MARCH 21ST, 2022 MEETING? UM, A MOTION TO APPROVE, BUT I DID HAVE ONE VERY SMALL CHANGE.
UM, JUST IN THE, IN THE ITEM ABOUT THE FA WORKING GROUP, UH, THERE WAS NOTHING PUT THERE.
UM, SO I WOULD PROPOSE THAT, UH, WE COULD JUST SAY SOMETHING LIKE COMMISSIONERS DISCUSSED POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND AGREED TO BRING BACK THE MATTER NEXT MONTH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
JUST SO THERE'S, YOU KNOW, SOME RECORD THAT WE HAD A DISCUSSION.
UM, SO IS THAT A MOTION TO, UH, APPROVE THE MINUTES WITH THE PROPOSED CHANGE? YES.
AND IS THERE A SECOND? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER VIRTUAL AND, UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.
ALL THOSE, ANY OPPOSED? GREAT.
UM, I GUESS WE DON'T HAVE TO RAISE OUR HANDS IN PERSON ANYMORE EITHER.
UM, ALTHOUGH IS IT EASIER FOR ROBIN? IS IT EASIER FOR YOU TO KEEP TRACK IF WE RAISE OUR HANDS OR DO YOU NOT NEED THAT? OKAY.
SO, UH, MINUTES ARE APPROVED AND WE ALSO HAVE COMMISSIONER TUTTLE JOINING US ON THE WEBEX AS WELL.
[NEW BUSINESS – CONSENT]
NEW BUSINESS.UM, THIS IS ITEMS TWO THROUGH SIX.
ARE THERE ANY ITEMS THAT COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE PULLED FOR DISCUSSION? MOVE FOR ADOPTION AS STATED.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN.
IS THERE A SECOND? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER TRUSSELL.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING ITEMS TWO THROUGH SIX, SAY AYE.
UH, ITEMS. UH, TWO THROUGH SIX ARE APPROVED FOR RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL MOVING RIGHT ALONG TO, UH, STAFF BRIEFINGS
[7. Austin Energy FY23 Forecast and Budget Planning]
AND REPORTS.FIRST UP WE HAVE THE AUSTIN ENERGY FISCAL YEAR, 2023 FORECAST AND BUDGET PLANNING REPORT.
LET'S WAIT FOR THE PRESENTATION TO GET QUEUED UP.
ALRIGHT, NOW, NOW WE'RE ALL SET.
I'M JOHN DAVIS, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.
THIS EVENING, I'LL BE PRESENTING TO YOU THE HIGHLIGHTS OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S FORECAST PROCESS.
UH, THIS FORECAST WAS SUBMITTED TO THE CITY BACK ON MARCH THE 11TH.
ALSO BE PROVIDING YOU WITH AN OVERVIEW OF OUR BUDGETING PROCESS FOR 2023.
NEXT, AS WE NORMALLY DO, WE NEED TO REMIND THAT YOU SEE IN THE PUBLIC THAT THIS REPORT CONTAINS UNAUDITED
[00:05:01]
INFORMATION IN A SUBJECT TO CHANGE OUR AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 21 WERE RELEASED BACK ON MARCH THE 14TH AND CAN BE FOUND ON THE LINK LISTED ON THE SLIDE.NEXT, THIS PRESENTATION CONTAINS A LOT OF INFORMATION.
IT'S INTENDED TO BE A REFERENCE DOCUMENT, BUT WE HAVE SOME NEW COMMISSIONERS AND I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL REGARDING OUR FORECAST AND UPCOMING BUDGET PROCESS.
THIS FORMAT IS VERY SIMILAR TO LAST YEAR'S PRESENTATION.
I WON'T BE COVERING OR DISCUSSING ALL THE MATERIALS PRESENTED.
HOWEVER, IF ANY OF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, I'D BE PLEASED TO ANSWER THEM.
THE PRIMARY FOCUS IS GOING TO THIS EVENING'S PRESENTATION IS TO PROVIDE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE BUDGET AND FORECASTING PROCESS NEXT AND NEXT.
THIS TIMELINE LAYS OUT SOME KEY EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE 23 BUDGET FORECAST PROCESS ITEMS ARE ORGANIZED BY COLOR TO HELP YOU KEEP TRACK OF KEY DATES BY RESPONSIBLE PARTY.
FOR EXAMPLE, ALL THE UC RELATED DATES ARE IN BLUE.
THE RED STAR IS JUST A REFERENCE POINT TO INDICATE WHERE WE ARE AS OF TODAY, AS IT STATES IN THE TIMELINE TODAY, WE WE'RE PRESENTING BOTH THE FORECASTS AS WELL AS AN OVERVIEW OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.
EACH YEAR, THE CITY COUNCIL EXPECTS TO RECEIVE A FORECAST PRESENTATION FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
THIS YEAR, THE CITY MANAGER WILL BE DELIVERING THAT FORECAST PRESENTATION.
THIS FRIDAY, APRIL THE 15TH, WE'RE PRESENTING TO YOU AUSTIN ENERGY'S PORTION OF THAT FORECAST.
THIS EVENING, THE CITY COUNCIL HAS A BIT OF A TWO-STEP PROCESS AND PERFORMING ITS FISCAL REVIEW POLICY.
THE FIRST STEP IS COMPLETING THE FINANCIAL FORECAST AND THE SECOND STEP IS COMPLETING THE BUDGET.
THIS FORECAST IS THE FIRST OUTPUT OF OUR BUDGET PROCESS.
HOWEVER, THE 23 BUDGET WAS ACTUALLY STARTED WAY BACK IN JANUARY.
IT'S BEING DEVELOPED AT THE SAME TIME.
THIS FORECAST IS BEING PREPARED AND PRESENTED TO YOU.
THAT PROCESS CONTINUES FROM NOW THROUGH MAY THE SIXTH, WHICH IS WHEN OUR BUDGET IS DUE TO BE TURNED INTO THE CITY FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
YOU'VE ALREADY COLLECTIVELY PROVIDED INPUT TO THE PROCESS BY SUBMITTING QUESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH YOU MIGHT REMEMBER BACK TO ROBIN BACK ON MARCH THE 31ST, I BELIEVE YOU WILL ALSO BE DISCUSSING YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE TODAY.
OF COURSE, YOU WILL HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVIDE INPUT USING THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS INFORMATION SYSTEM, OR AGAIN, UTILIZING ROBIN TO SUBMIT THOSE UP UNTIL THE BUDGET PROCESS IS ADOPTED BY THE CITY LATER IN AUGUST, ONCE OUR BUDGET IS HANDED OVER TO THE CITY ON MAY THE SIXTH, THE CITY FINANCE TEAM INCORPORATE IT INTO THE OVERALL CITY BUDGET AND THE CITY MANAGERS THEN EXPECTED TO PRESENT IT TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON JULY THE 15TH.
IT IS REQUIRED THAT AUSSIE ENERGY WAIT UNTIL THE CITY MANAGER PRESENTS THAT OVERALL BUDGET TO THE CITY COUNCIL BEFORE WE'RE ALLOWED TO PRESENT IT TO THE AUC.
SO SOMETIME AFTER THAT JULY THE 15TH DATE, AUSTIN ENERGY WILL THEN PRESENT THE 23 BUDGET TO YOU.
THE CITY COUNCIL IS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED TO HOLD PUBLIC INPUT SESSIONS ON JULY THE 27TH AND ALSO HOLD WORKING SESSIONS ON AUGUST 9TH AND THE 11TH, AS WELL AS DURING THE BUDGET APPROVAL WINDOW SCHEDULE FOR AUGUST THE 17TH THROUGH THE 19TH, THE EUC WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES.
AS I SAID TO PROVIDE INPUT UP UNTIL THE BUDGET IS FINALLY ADOPTED SOMETIME IN THAT AUGUST THE 17TH AND 19TH, THE TIME PERIOD, PERIOD, THE NEW FISCAL YEAR 23 BUDGET OR SORRY, THE NEW FISCAL YEAR 23 BEGINS IN OCTOBER.
THE FIRST, ANY CHANGES IN THE PAST, THEIR RATES WILL BE IMPLEMENTED LATER ON NOVEMBER.
THE FIRST NEXT, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AUSTIN ENERGY PUBLISH A LOT OF INFORMATION REGARDING FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE.
HOWEVER, FINDING THAT DATA CAN BE A CHALLENGE.
WE PROVIDED THE LOCATION OF SOME USEFUL SITES WHERE THE PUBLIC CAN ACQUIRE THAT INFORMATION, INCLUDING INCLUDING HISTORICAL STOREROOM, BUDGETS, BUDGETS, AND INFORMATION FROM THE CITY'S STRATEGIC PLAN.
THE CITY'S AWESOME PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT IS IMPROVING AS IMPROVED QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF THE DATE OF THE DAY.
WE'RE EXPERIENCING SOME TECHNICAL ECHOS.
I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THAT AT THE BEGINNING.
I FORGOT THAT THIS IS MANY PEOPLE'S FIRST TIME IN PERSON.
SO ARE OUR NIFTY LITTLE SPEAKERS HERE AND MIKE'S IN THE FRONT.
THERE'S A, A PERSON WITH, YOU KNOW, LIKE A LITTLE WIFI SIGNAL.
UH, IF YOU PRESS THAT BUTTON, A RED LIGHT WILL COME ON AND THEN YOUR MIC IS HOT.
AND UH, CITY STAFF HAVE ASKED US TO LEAVE.
IT TURNED OFF IF WE'RE NOT SPEAKING, UH, TO AVOID FEEDBACK AND ECHOING ISSUES.
THERE CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING TESTING.
WE NEED TO GET HERE TO THE ECHO.
[00:10:09]
CYRUS? CAN YOU HEAR ME, UM, CONCERNED? WE MAY HAVE LOST OUR WEBEX FOLKS, UM, COMMISSIONER TITLE.CAN YOU HEAR US COMMISSIONER REED? CAN YOU HEAR US? CYRUS? CAN YOU HEAR ME? YEAH, I CAN.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? YEAH, I CAN HEAR YOU JUST FINE.
OH, IT SAYS WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT.
SHE SAID, WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT.
I THINK WE'RE WE'RE BACK IN BUSINESS.
THIS SLIDE SUMMARIZES THE FOUR STEPS THAT WE TAKE TO GET FROM THE FORECAST TO THE CITY'S PROPOSED BUDGET, STARTING WITH THE TOP OF THE ILLUSTRATION HERE, I'LL GO STEP BY STEP.
AUSTIN ENERGY'S FORECAST TEAM BEGINS PREPARING THE FORECAST FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR IN JANUARY, AND WE'LL CALL THIS THE INITIAL FORECAST AND IT WAS SUBMITTED TO THE CITY ON MARCH THE 11TH COMMENSURATE WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE FORECAST, THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS WITHIN AUSTIN ENERGY BEGIN THE ZERO-BASED BUDGETING PROCESS FORECASTING ON ONM EXPENSES AND ALSO WORKING ON THEIR FIVE-YEAR CIP FORECAST.
AS INDICATED IN STEP THREE, THE ILLUSTRATION, ONCE THESE BUDGETS ARE SCRUBBED AND VETTED, AUSTIN ENERGY WILL REVISE THAT FIRST FORECAST TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ANY ADJUSTMENTS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE BUDGETING PROCESS.
AND FROM THIS NEW INPUT, DEVELOP A SECOND VERSION OF THE FORECAST.
FINALLY IN STEP FOUR, THE DRAFT 23 BUDGET AND FIVE-YEAR CIP PLAN AND FORECAST NUMBER TWO WILL BE SUBMITTED TO TOGETHER TO THE CITY BUDGET OFFICE.
AGAIN ON MAY THE SIXTH AUSTIN ENERGY WILL WORK TOGETHER WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND CITY COUNCIL TO MAKE FURTHER ADJUSTMENTS TO THE BUDGET PRIOR TO APPROVAL BY CITY COUNCIL.
WITH THE INTENT OF GETTING THE BUDGET ADOPTED PRIOR TO THE START OF THE NEW FISCAL YEAR.
NEXT, NOW WE'RE GOING TO REVIEW THE FORECAST INPUTS AND ASSUMPTIONS.
NEXT, THIS IS A LIST OF INPUTS FOR OUR FORECAST.
I'M NOT GOING TO ADDRESS EACH ONE OF THESE, BUT THE KEY TAKEAWAY HERE IS THAT WE USE THE HISTORICAL DATA AND FORECAST TO PER OBJECT, THE LOAD, THE REVENUE, AND THE FINANCIAL OUTCOMES FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
IN ADDITION TO NEW ITEMS PROPOSED FOR 2023, MANY OF THE INPUTS INTO BUDGET PROCESS STEM FROM INPUT AND PROGRAMS PUT IN PLACE BY THE EDC AND THE CITY COUNCIL FROM PRIOR PERIODS NEXT AS WITH ANY FORECAST, ASSUMPTIONS MUST BE MADE ABOUT WHAT MIGHT BE HAPPENING IN THE FUTURE.
WE'LL FIRST DISCUSS SOME OF THE ASSUMPTIONS MADE BY AUSTIN ENERGY AND WE'LL FOLLOW WITH ASSUMPTIONS THAT WERE PROVIDED BY THE CITY BUDGETING OFFICE.
HERE'S SOME OF THE KEY ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE MADE HERE AT AUSTIN ENERGY, STARTING WITH THE REVENUE ASSUMPTION ON THE LEFT, OUR FINANCIAL DATA SUGGESTED A REVENUE INCREASE WOULD BE NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE DEBT COVENANTS.
THEREFORE WE ASSUMED REVENUE INCREASE STARTING IN JANUARY, 2023.
AS WE MENTIONED IN THE SECOND BULLET ON THE LEFT FOR PURPOSES OF THE FORECAST AND BUDGET, OUR PASS THROUGH REVENUE IS SET TO EQUAL THE COST WITH NO OVER OR UNDER COLLECTION.
IT'S ALSO ASSUMED THAT THE NACADOCIOUS BIOFUEL PLANT COSTS WOULD CONTINUE TO BE RECOVERED AS PART OF THE PASS THROUGHS INCLUDED AS PSA REVENUE ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE, YOU'LL SEE THE INFLATION ON NON LABOR COSTS WAS ASSUMED TO BE 2.4% FOR FISCAL YEAR 23.
THE SOURCE OF THIS INFLATION RATE CAME FROM THE FITCH RATING AGENCY.
THE CAPITAL PLAN, AND THIS FORECAST IS APPROVED 20 TO 2022 FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL PLAN THAT HAS ALSO BEEN UPDATED.
THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, AS FAR AS DISTRIBUTION PROJECTS GOES, IS ASSUMED TO BE FUNDED PRIMARILY FROM CONTRIBUTIONS IN ANY REMAINDER
[00:15:01]
FUNDED, WITH 6% CASH AND 40% DEBT AS CONSISTENT WITH PRIOR YEARS.NOW WE'LL GO OVER SOME OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN FINANCE GROUPS, ASSUMPTIONS THAT THEY PROVIDED TO US.
THE LABOR ESCALATION FACTOR IS AT 3%.
SO PAYROLL INCREASE AT 3% BUDGETED FOR 2023 AND FORECAST MUCH LIKE WE HAVE ALL EXPERIENCED FUEL COSTS ARE ALSO ON THE RISE.
THEREFORE, A 5% INCREASE WAS ALLOWED FOR FUEL COSTS.
WE HAVE ALSO FACTORED IN INCREASES IN SUPPORT SERVICES AND IT COSTS AS RECOMMENDED BY THE CITY.
AND FINALLY, ADDITIONAL ASSUMPTIONS WERE MADE RELATED TO CITY TRANSFER PAYMENTS GROWING AT 5% PER YEAR ON AVERAGE, NEXT OTHER CONSIDERATIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS THAT WERE MADE DURING THE FORECAST PROCESS INCLUDE THE RETIREMENT OF DECKER UNIT TWO, WHICH RETIRED EARLIER IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR WITH NO GAIN OR LOSS AND DISPOSAL.
AND THIS HAS THEREFORE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE FORECAST.
AUSTIN ENERGY SHARE FIT WOULD CONTINUE TO RUN WITH REDUCED DISPATCH TO MEET AUSTIN ENERGY'S CARBON EMISSION GOALS, 475 MEGAWATTS SOLAR PURCHASE POWER AGREEMENT WAS ADDED IN 23 AND THE HACKBERRY WIND PURCHASE POWER GRANT, UH, WILL EXPIRE IN 23 POWER SUPPLY COST BASED ON THE LATEST GENERATION RESOURCE UPDATES AND FORECASTED MARKET PRICE WERE INCLUDED.
AND THEN FOR PURPOSES OF THE FORECAST, AUSTIN ENERGY IS ASSUMED WILL RECEIVE AN AMOUNT BASED UPON THE APPRAISED VALUE FROM THE SALE OR THE TRANSFER OF THE OLD TLC FACILITY TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
NEXT, EXCUSE ME, WHAT'S THE TLC FACILITY, A TOWN LAKE CENTER.
THE FIRE GOT TO BE, YES, ISN'T IT.
THIS WILL FLOW CHART ILLUSTRATES THE LOAD REVENUE AND FINANCIAL FORECASTING PROCESS.
ALSO ENERGY LOAD FORECASTING STARTS WITH MACRO INPUTS USING WOODS AND POOLE ECONOMIC FORECASTING TOOLS, AS WELL AS PYRAMIDS ECONOMIC TOOLS USED FOR THE MACRO ECONOMIC TRENDS WITH EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING.
THEN WE COMBINE THIS INFORMATION WITH AUSTIN ENERGY'S USAGE EXPERIENCE USING METER DATA.
WE ALSO OBTAINED THE DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT AND SOLAR PV FORECAST PROVIDED BY THE CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS TEAM.
ALONG WITH HISTORICAL ENERGY SALES AND CUSTOMER BILLING DATA.
WE USED ALL OF THESE FORECAST DETERMINANTS TO DEVELOP A FORECAST FOR ENERGY SALES BY CLASS TO DETERMINE THE REVENUE FORECAST.
AND ULTIMATELY THIS WILL BE COMBINED WITH THE CIP AND ONM UPDATES TO DEVELOP THE BUDGET THAT WE PRESENT TO THE CITY LATER THIS SUMMER NEXT.
NOW WE'RE GOING TO GO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAILED.
NEXT THIS CHART IS THE FINANCIAL FORECAST PRESENTED IN A FUND SUMMARY FORMAT.
THERE ARE A FEW ITEMS I'D LIKE TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION, WHICH WE'VE CIRCLED IN EITHER GREEN OR RED ITEMS CIRCLED IN GREEN ARE FAVORABLE TO AUSTIN ENERGY'S FINANCIAL HEALTH WHILE THOSE CIRCLE IN RED.
WELL, THEY'RE NOT QUITE SO FAVORABLE, STARTING IN THE THIRD COLUMN AT THE TOP.
I DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE FIRST GREEN CIRCLE AMOUNT OF 1.56, 8 BILLION.
AND YOU'LL NOTICE THAT IN COMPARISON TO FISCAL YEAR 22, YOU'LL SEE AN INCREASE FROM 1.505 BILLION TO 1.56, 8 BILLION.
THAT IS PRIMARILY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE REVENUE ASSUMPTION THAT WE HAD INCLUDED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MEET ALL THE DEBT COVENANT REQUIREMENTS IN OUR FORECAST EMBEDDED IN THAT 2023 REVENUE INCREASE IS AN ADDITIONAL FOUR AND A HALF MILLION RELATED TO TRANSMISSION REVENUE INCREASES STEMMING FROM THE T COST FILING WITH THE PUC, WHICH OCCURRED IN 2022.
AS YOU MOVE DOWN THE THIRD COLUMN, THE NEXT GREEN CIRCLE THAT YOU SEE PERTAINS TO THE POWER SUPPLY EXPENSE IN 23 POWER SUPPLY EXPENSES IN 23 ARE EXPECTED TO BE LOWER AND DECLINE INTO THE FUTURE.
PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY LOWER NYMEX FUTURES PRICING.
AS WE MOVE DOWN THE PAGE, YOU'LL NOTICE THE RED CIRCLE AMOUNT, WHICH IS INDICATING A HIGHER.
CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? I HAD ONE QUICK QUESTION.
HAVE YOU GUYS THOUGHT ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE EXTRA COSTS THIS YEAR WITHIN ERCOT, UM, AS IT HAD BECOME MORE CONSERVATIVE WITH, UH, ANCILLARY SERVICES AND THERE'S POTENTIALLY SOME OTHER COSTS, UH, COMING TO THE MARKET, IS, IS IT, IS IT TOO EARLY? IS THAT PART OF THAT, THIS FORECAST JUST SORT OF THE COST YOU HAVE AS A, AS A LOAD SERVING ENTITY WITHIN, WITHIN OUR CA WHERE WOULD THAT BE REFLECTED IN THESE, IN THESE COLUMNS OR IS THAT PART OF THE POWER SUPPLY EXPENSES? WHERE, WHERE WOULD THAT BE? YEAH, IT'S PART OF THE REGULATORY CHARGE COMPONENT OF THE PART.
WHICH IS POWER SUPPLY EXPENSES.
WELL, THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT.
I JUST DON'T SEE IT ON THIS, ON THIS CHART.
IT IS EMBEDDED IN THE POWER SUPPLY EXPENSE, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO BASICALLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS, EVEN THOUGH THE COSTS, UM, THE COSTS OF SOME OF THOSE ERCOT REQUIREMENTS ARE GOING UP, THE, THE WHOLESALE
[00:20:01]
PRICES ARE GOING DOWN BECAUSE WE EXPECT GAS PRICES TO GO DOWN.UH, WELL, I THINK IN GENERAL, WE'RE EXPECTING THE MAJORITY OF THE COST RELATED POWER SUPPLY EXPENSES RELATED TO THE COMMODITY COMPONENT.
THIS IS THE NET AMOUNT OF POWER SUPPLY EXPENSE.
UM, AND WE EXPECT THE POWER SUPPLY EXPENSE TO BE DRIVEN PRIMARILY BY NYMEX PRICING FOR NATURAL GAS.
AND WE COULD PROVIDE FURTHER BREAKDOWN OF THAT CYRUS IF YOU'D LIKE, I JUST BE INTERESTED TO KNOW WHAT, WHAT PROJECTIONS YOU'RE MAKING FOR 23 IN TERMS OF THE REGULATORY EXPENSES.
UH, AS I MOVED DOWN THE PAGE, YOU'LL NOTICE THE RED CIRCLE AMOUNT, WHICH IS INDICATING THE HIGHER LEVEL OF DEBT SERVICE IN 2024 AND 2027.
THIS IS DUE TO ANTICIPATED NEED ISSUE, NEW DEBT.
UM, IN 2023 AND 2026, THE GENERAL FUNDS TRANSFER IS ALSO CONTINUING TO GROW FROM 114 MILLION IN 2020 TO 234 MILLION IN 2027, THE ASSUMED REVENUE INCREASE WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE GROWTH OF THESE TRANSFERS.
AND THE REASON WHY THE $61.7 MILLION DEFICIENCY IS CIRCLED AT THE BOTTOM FOR FISCAL YEAR 22 IS DUE TO THE CURRENT TRACK WE ARE ON FOR FISCAL YEAR 22.
IF WE WERE TO ASSUME NO ADJUSTMENT REVENUE IN THE CURRENT YEAR, UM, THIS IS SHOWING DRASTIC IMPROVEMENT IN THE FUTURE PERIODS AS WE ADJUST FOR THAT ASSUMED REVENUE INCREASE NEXT.
THE CAPITAL PLAN, AND THIS FORECAST IS THE ADOPTED FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL PLAN FROM THE 2022 BUDGET.
AUSTIN ENERGY CIP PROGRAM HAS BEEN HIGHER THAN TYPICAL IN THE PAST FEW YEARS DUE TO INCREASE DISTRIBUTION AND TRANSMISSION CIP ACTIVITIES.
YOU ALSO NOTE THAT WE ANTICIPATE REDUCTIONS IN BOTH THE POWER PRODUCTION IN GENERAL CIP EXPENDITURES, GOING FORWARD SANDHILL AND DECKER POWER PLANTS HAVE MULTI-YEAR CIP PROJECTS THAT STARTED IN 22 AND ARE PLANNED TO BE COMPLETED BY 2025 GENERAL PLANT FOR 22 AND 23 INCLUDES COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE NEW WAREHOUSE AND LAID OUT FACILITY, WHICH WE ANTICIPATED AT THE TIME.
THE CIP FORECAST WAS PREPARED THAT THIS WOULD BE COMPLETED IN 23.
LASTLY, BECAUSE WE ASSUMED WE WOULD HAVE A BASE RATE INCREASE IN REVENUES OR REVENUE INCREASE, I SHOULD SAY.
UM, IN 2023, UH, THE CIP PLAN IS ASSUMED TO BE FUNDED AT 40% DEBT AND 60% CASH ON AVERAGE FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
NEXT, AN IMPORTANT VALIDATION PART OF OUR FINANCIAL FORECAST IS TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR KEY METRICS FOR FUTURE YEARS.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT ALL OF THESE FINANCIAL METRICS ARE NOW STARTING TO SHOW SOME IMPROVEMENT BECAUSE THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE MADE RELATED TO THE REVENUE INCREASE ALONG WITH THE ADJUSTMENTS TO EXPENSES.
YOU'LL SEE THAT THE QUICK RATIO IS ABOVE 1.5 FOR ALL YEARS, WHICH IS A GOOD THING.
AND AS INDICATED IN THE DAY'S CASH ON HAND METRIC, AUSTIN ENERGY'S CASH POSITION IS IMPROVED.
AGAIN, ONCE WE INCLUDE THE REVENUE INCREASE, THE DAY'S CASH ON HAND IS NOW INDICATING 210 DAYS ON AVERAGE AT 2.3 TIMES, MULTIPLE THE DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE RATIO IS ABOVE THE MINIMUM OF 2.0 IN 2023, AND THEN TRENDS DOWN TO 2.0 IN 2027, WHICH IS ABOUT THE TIME THAT WE EXPECT TO BE PERFORMING.
ANOTHER RATE REVIEW FOLLOWED THE NEW, SORRY.
FINALLY, THE DEBT TO CAPITAL RATIO IS OVER 50% DUE TO THE INCREASE IN DEBT AND DECREASE IN EQUITY THAT OCCURRED UP UNTIL NOW.
NEXT, OUR FORECAST UTILIZES CURRENT TARIFFS AND RETAIL RATES.
THOSE RETAIL RATES DO CHANGE PERIODICALLY, BUT HAVE BEEN TRENDING DOWNWARD.
THE LAST FEW YEARS, ALL COMPONENTS OF THE RATES HAVE DECREASED EXCEPT FOR THE REGULATORY CHARGE.
THIS CHARGE PRIMARILY RELATES TO COSTS, PAID TO THE OTHER UTILITIES, DO UTILIZE THE GRID.
THESE COSTS HAVE INCREASED, WHICH LED TO THE NEED TO INCREASE THIS RATE IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR, USING PASS THROUGH RATES, WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO REGULATORY ACCOUNTING, WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE BETTER RATES STABILITY.
NEXT, THIS CHART IS AN ILLUSTRATION OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S AVERAGE RATE HISTORY RELATIVE TO THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR URBAN ELECTRICITY.
THE ORANGE LINE ON TOP IS THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX HISTORY FOR ELECTRICITY PROVIDERS IN URBAN AREAS.
GOING BACK TO 1995, THE BLACK LINE ON BOTTOM IS AUSTIN ENERGY'S AVERAGE SYSTEM RATE.
AND THE YELLOW LINE IN BETWEEN IS A TREND LINE THAT'S JUST USED AS A REFERENCE POINT, INDICATE THE GROWTH OF THE INDEX AT 2%.
THE VERTICAL LINE INDICATES WHERE WE ARE IN TIME AS OF TODAY.
UM, AND WITH THE FUTURE YEARS IN THE FORECAST, GOING OUT IN THE FUTURE, AS YOU CAN SEE FOR ALL PERIOD SHOWN AUSTIN, ENERGY'S WELL BELOW THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR ELECTRICITY, AS WELL AS BELOW THE 2% ANNUAL GROWTH TREND.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE'RE FORECASTED TO STAY BELOW THAT TREND LINE GOING INTO THE FUTURE NEXT AND NOW, SORRY, ONE QUICK QUESTION.
IN TERMS OF YOUR, UM, OF THE FORECAST GOING FORWARD,
[00:25:02]
ARE YOU MAKING ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT YOU'RE MAKING ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT YOUR PROPOSED RATE INCREASE AND WHAT YOU'RE LIKELY TO THE RESULTS OF THAT ARE LIKELY TO BE OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? IS THAT HOW YOU CAME UP WITH THAT BLACK LINE, UH, COMMISSIONER WHERE YOU, I GUESS THE ONLY WAY TO PHRASE IT WOULD BE A ASSUMPTION RELATED TO A REVENUE INCREASE.WE DIDN'T REALLY PUSH IT DOWN TO THE RATE LEVEL.
WE JUST KNEW THAT WE HAD TO ADJUST REVENUE SOMEWHAT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MET THE DEBT COVENANTS, BUT YES, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IT INCLUDES THAT ASSUMPTION.
UH, THE STACKED BAR CHART HERE SHOWS THE 2% AFFORDABILITY RATE IN AUSTIN ENERGY'S RETAIL RATE COMPONENTS ON A PER KILOWATT HOUR BASIS.
AGAIN, THE VERTICAL DASH LINE INDICATES WHERE WE ARE IN TIME TODAY AND THE HEADROOM BETWEEN OUR RETAIL RATE AND AFFORDABILITY METRIC.
2% GOAL IS ON AVERAGE, ABOUT $280 MILLION A YEAR FOR EACH OF THE FIVE YEARS IN THE FORECAST PERIOD, WE EXPECT TO REMAIN COMPLIANT WITH THIS METRIC AS WELL.
NEXT AUSTIN ENERGY IS COMMITTED TO AN AFFORDABILITY GOAL THAT AIMS TO KEEP ITS RATES IN THE LOWER 50TH PERCENTILE, THE TEXAS RETAIL RATES.
THIS CHART ILLUSTRATES HOW AUSTIN ENERGY COMPARES TO OTHER UTILITIES FROM 2001 TO 2020.
THE GRAPH SHOWS THE AUSTIN ENERGY IS 97.5% OF THE TEXAS AVERAGE.
UM, AND WE'VE ALSO ADDED THE AVERAGE RATE FOR THOSE PROVIDERS WITHIN ERCOT.
AUSTIN ENERGY IS ON AVERAGE CONSISTENTLY BELOW THE RATES IN THE ERCOT MARKET.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE WEATHER IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT FACTOR THAT CAUSES OUR REVENUES TO MOVE UP OR DOWN FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
EXTREME WEATHER WILL RESULT IN HIGH REVENUE AND MILD WEATHER WILL BRING MUCH LESS REVENUE.
HOWEVER, FOR PURPOSES OF CONSISTENCY AND FORECASTING, THE FORECAST IS BASED ON NORMAL WEATHER PATTERNS USING A 20 YEAR HISTORICAL AVERAGE FROM CAMP, MAYBE WEATHER STATION AS AN ASIDE ANNUAL BASE REVENUE VARIABILITY CAN BE AS HIGH AS 48 MILLION, THE TOP BAR, UH, AND 19 MILLION, UH, POSSIBLY LOWER IN MILD WEATHER.
HERE'S THE SUMMARY OF THE FORECAST AND SOME OF THE TRENDS WE'RE EXPERIENCING WITH CHALLENGES ON THE LEFT AND OPPORTUNITIES LISTED ON THE RIGHT ARE FORECAST INDICATED AUSTIN ENERGY REQUIRED A REVENUE ADJUSTMENT TO IMPROVE ITS FINANCIAL POSITION.
DESPITE 1.7% CUSTOMER GROWTH RATE, THE ENERGY SALES ARE STILL FLAT.
WE ALSO NOTED THAT DECLINING AVERAGE CONSUMPTION THREATENS COST RECOVERY.
THE FORECAST INDICATED DEBT SERVICE WOULD CONTINUE TO INCREASE DUE TO EXPAND TO CAPITAL PLAN EXPENDITURES.
BEFORE WE MADE CHANGES IN THE ASSUMPTIONS, KEY RATIOS WERE NOT MEETING THE TARGETS.
ON THE OTHER HAND, ONCE WE MADE THE ADJUSTMENT, UH, INCREASED THE REVENUES, WE STARTED TO SEE POSITIVE CASH POSITIONS THAT PROVIDED MORE FLEXIBILITY, RESTRICTED CASH RESERVES WERE NOW INCREASING FORECASTED RATES REMAINED WELL BELOW THE 2% OR FOUR ABILITY AND STATEWIDE AVERAGE SYSTEM RATE NEXT.
UH, WE DON'T YET HAVE THE 23 BUDGET, UH, BUT WE CAN COVER THE FISCAL YEAR 22 BUDGET.
THAT'S BEEN AMENDED TO GET A GOOD SENSE OF WHAT WILL LIKELY BE INCLUDED.
UM, WHEN WE DO PRESENT THE 23 BUDGET, YOU'LL SEE UPDATED AMOUNTS, BUT IT WILL BE IN THE SAME FAMILIAR FORMAT THAT WE FOLLOW FOR CONSISTENCY PURPOSES.
NEXT, EVEN THOUGH AUSTIN ENERGY'S OPERATING BUDGET IS 1.5 BILLION.
MOST OF THE OFFLOAD RELATES TO PROGRAMS THAT ARE NOT EASILY CHANGED IN THE SHORT RUN.
HOWEVER, THE TEAM CONTINUES TO IDENTIFY SAVINGS AND STRATEGIES FOR GRADUALLY RAMPING UP NEW PROGRAMS OVER TIME TO AVOID BUDGET SHORTFALLS BUDGETS FOR PROGRAMS SUCH AS THE RESOURCE PLAN AND THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ARE REEVALUATED EACH YEAR BASED UPON FUNDING REQUIREMENTS.
NEXT WE ROUTINELY REPORT OUR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE USING TWO VERY DIFFERENT FORMATS.
THE SLIDES MEANT TO SUMMARIZE SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES IN PRESENTATION FORMAT BETWEEN THE FUND SUMMARY FORMAT, WHICH YOU HEAR US TALK ABOUT AS WELL AS THE GAP FINANCIAL STATEMENT FORMAT, THE NUMBERS THAT HAVE THE SUPERSCRIPTS ON THE HEADINGS ARE THERE TO BE AS A REMINDER THAT YOU'VE RECEIVED IN YOUR PACKETS VERSIONS OF THOSE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
SO YOU SHOULD HAVE A FUN SUMMARY AND ALSO A GAP FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR AUSTIN ENERGY FOR LAST YEAR.
THE LEFT-HAND SIDE PROVIDES YOU A QUICK SUMMARY OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FUND SUMMARY AND THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE PROVIDES KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GAP.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, I'LL PRESENT A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE 22 APPROVED BUDGET.
UM, THE PURPOSE OF THIS SLIDE IS TO ILLUSTRATE THE COMPONENTS OF REVENUE GENERATED BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
BASED UPON THE 22 APPROVED BUDGET.
THESE REVENUES ARE USED TO FUND OPERATIONS AND PROVIDE FUNDS TO COVER TRANSFERS AND ALSO MEET COMMUNITY REQUIREMENTS.
NEXT LINE, THE PRIOR SLIDE WAS THE, UM, REFERENCE TO THE SOURCES OF FUNDS.
UH, NOW WE NEED TO DISCUSS THE USES OF THESE FUNDS, WHICH ARE BASED UPON THE 22 APPROVED BUDGET.
AUSTIN ENERGY'S BUDGET OF 1.5 BILLION IS USED TO MEET MANY DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS.
THE PORTION THAT HAS THE HIGHEST DISCRETION IS THE ONM BUDGET, WHICH IS ABOUT 458 MILLION.
[00:30:01]
ON THE RIGHT PROVIDES A BREAKOUT FOR YOU TO SEE THAT THE OWN AND BUDGET IS COMPRISED PERMANENTLY OF LABOR, CONTRACTUALS, AND QUANTITIES.THE NEXT FOUR SLIDES THAT I'M ABOUT TO PROVIDE, YOU WILL SHOW CLARIFICATION ON THE USES OR ANNUAL OPERATING REQUIREMENTS TO HELP PROVIDE YOU FURTHER INSIGHT INTO AUSTIN ENERGY'S OPERATIONS.
THIS SLIDE PRESENTS THE DEFINITIONS FOR THE COMPONENTS OF THE PIE CHART ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, THE EXPENSES TO FIND ON THIS SLIDE ARE MEANT TO EMPHASIZE THOSE REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE CONSIDERED NON-DISCRETIONARY.
MANY OF THESE COSTS ARE RECOVERED THROUGH BASE RATES, BASE RATES.
AS WE REFER TO IT ARE DEFINED AS THE CUSTOMER CHARGE AND THE ENERGY CHARGE, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS COST AND THE BASE RATES REQUIRED TO RECOVER.
THESE COSTS ARE VIEWED AS PART OF THE PERIODIC COST OF SERVICE REVIEW.
SO THAT BASE RATES KEEP UP WITH THE CHANGES IN THE COSTS.
THIS SLIDE IS A SUMMARY OF THE COSTS AND OFFSETTING REVENUES THAT ARE INCORPORATED INTO THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT, A 422 MILLION THAT TIES BACK TO THE PIE CHART ON SLIDE 29, ESTIMATED REVENUES OF 326 MILLION EARNED FROM SELLING POWER PRODUCED BY OUR GENERATING ASSETS INTO THE ERCOT WHOLESALE MARKET ARE USED TO OFFSET 748 MILLION OF POWER PURCHASES SUPPLY TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
THE NET RESULT IS A BUDGET OF 422.3 MILLION IN POWER SUPPLY COSTS.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THESE COSTS ARE LARGELY NON-DISCRETIONARY AS THEY'RE DRIVEN BY MARKET PRICING RESPONSES TO CUSTOMER LOAD AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE RESOURCE PLAN.
THIS SLIDE PROVIDES MORE INSIGHT INTO THE COMPONENTS THAT MAKE UP ONM EXPENSE AND THE DONUT CHART ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF SLIDE 29, INCLUDING PAYROLL CONTRACTUALS AND COMMODITIES WHILE PORTIONS OF THIS BUDGET ARE CONTROLLABLE.
MUCH OF THIS IS NECESSARY TO SUPPORT THE EFFICIENT, SAFE OPERATION OF UTILITY, MUCH LIKE THE NON-DISCRETIONARY COSTS LISTED BACK ON SLIDE 29.
THESE COSTS ARE ALSO RECOVERED THROUGH BASE RATES.
THIS SLIDE IS A SUMMARY OF THE CONTRACTUALS AMOUNT OF 166 MILLION THAT APPEARS IN SLIDE 29.
NOTE THE COMMENT AT THE TOP OF THE SLIDE, THAT TO MAKE YOU AWARE THAT THE ACTUAL GROSS CONTRACTUALS BUDGET IS ACTUALLY 292 MILLION, BUT THIS IS OFFSET BY 125 MILLION BEING REIMBURSED AUSTIN ENERGY FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS RESULTING IN A NET EXPENSE OF A HUNDRED SIXTY SIX, A HUNDRED AND SIXTY 6 MILLION.
THIS SLIDE SIMPLY LISTS OUT THE TOP 10 ITEMS THAT MAKE UP THE 147 MILLION OF THAT HUNDRED AND $66 MILLION BUDGET EXPENSE.
THIS IS A SUMMARY OF THE TOP 10 COMMODITIES THAT ARE BUDGETED FOR FISCAL YEAR 22, MUCH LIKE THE CONTRACTUALS BUDGET THAT COMMODITIES GROSS EXPENDITURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE 15.3 MILLION, AND THAT ENDS THE OVERVIEW OF THE FORECAST AND BUDGET PROCESS.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? HI.
I HAVE ACTUALLY FOUR QUESTIONS.
UH, ALL OF WHICH IS YOU ARE ON A ROLL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO INTERRUPT YOU.
AH, LET ME ADD BACK BACK ON PAGE 10.
THERE WERE SOME ESTIMATIONS ON INFLATION AND ALL OF WHICH IS I READ THE PAPER AND I KNOW HOW CAP METRO HAS BEEN IN ESTIMATING IN PLACE.
UH, SO LET ME ASK, UH, 2.4% FOR NEXT YEAR, UH, UH, FOR NON-PERSONNEL 3% FOR PERSONNEL AND THEN ZERO INCREASE FOR HEALTH INSURANCE.
AND IF I GET IT RIGHT, UH, 1.5 FOR FUTURE PERCENT FOR FUTURE YEARS, HOW I HOPE THAT'S RIGHT.
BUT, UH, CAN YOU TELL ME HOW THOSE NUMBERS WERE TO ROT, HOW THOSE ESTIMATES WERE DERIVED? UH, THOSE ARE COMING FROM FITCH.
SO WE RELY UPON OUTSIDE SOURCES TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION.
SO THAT INFORMATION CAME FROM PITCH CREDIT RATING AGENCY, IN TERMS OF THEIR FORECAST.
YOU AGREE WITH THOSE NUMBERS, THEN I WOULD SAY, YEAH, THIS IS A LOADED QUESTION.
IT'S KIND OF GUESSING WHAT THE WEATHER IS GOING TO BE, I GUESS, IN A MONTH.
BUT, UM, WE, SO WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO RELY ON OUTSIDE SOURCES BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THOSE RESOURCES HERE TO PROVIDE THE, YOU KNOW, THOSE ESTIMATES, BUT IT IS A BIT SUBJECTIVE.
SO RUSTY, IF YOU'VE GOT A BETTER ANSWER, PLEASE, INSTEAD OF IN, UH, RUSTY MAN, I'M VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE, I WOULD ADD THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS, THAT FORECAST WAS DEVELOPED LATE IN 2021.
AND SO A LOT OF WHAT YOU'RE HEARING TODAY IS THAT FORECAST WAS WRITTEN PRIOR TO THAT.
AND SO WE RELIED ON STUFF THAT WAS PROBABLY THIRD QUARTER OF 21.
SO IT'S A LITTLE DATED, BUT IT'S THE BEST INFORMATION WE HAD AT THE TIME.
AND IS THERE A PLAN TO UPDATE, UPDATE THAT, UH, UH, WHEN IT, WHEN IT'S REVIEWED BY COUNCIL? WELL, THE F THE FORECAST HAS ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED TO
[00:35:01]
COUNCIL, SO THEY THEY'VE ALREADY HAD IT.SO WE WON'T UPDATE THOSE NUMBERS ANYMORE THIS YEAR, NEXT YEAR, WE'LL WE'LL CATCH UP.
UH, MY SECOND QUESTION IS, UH, ASSUMING EVERYTHING DOES NOT GO SMOOTHLY AND THERE'S AN APPEAL TO THE PUC BY AN INTERESTED PARTY.
UH, HOW, WHAT DOES THE TIMING OF THAT? HOW DOES THE TIMING OF THAT EFFECT AFFECT THIS? IT WON'T, I MEAN, THAT'S, W WE'LL MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR BUDGET.
IN FACT, OUR BUDGET WILL BE APPROVED AND ALL OF THIS FEEDS INTO OUR BUDGET WILL BE APPROVED BEFORE, UH, THE RIGHT, UH, RIGHT CASE EVER GOES TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
UM, I THINK WE LAID OUT A TIME SCHEDULE AT THE LAST YEAR, A E AT THE LAST AUC MEETING, AND IT'S SUPPOSED TO COME IN FRONT OF THE CITY COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 17TH.
SO, SO WE'LL BE IN TRANSITION THIRD, MY THIRD QUESTION THREE OUT OF FOUR, UH, HA I DON'T SEE ANYTHING IN HERE THAT SPEAKS TO THE QUESTION OF COST ALLOCATION.
WHAT ARE YOU PROJECTING IN TERMS, IN TERMS OF WHERE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS? WELL, B IS IN TERMS OF THE INCREASED COST, UH, ARE INCREASED REVENUE.
HOW WILL THAT AFFECT RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS VERSUS, UH, LARGE INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS? THIS IS AT A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL, SO THAT YOU HAVE TO DISASSOCIATE THE COST OF SERVICE WITH THIS, THESE NUMBERS WHEN WE NEED IN THESE FORECASTS, WHEN WE NEED TO UP UPDATE NUMBERS, IT'S JUST ACROSS THE BOARD.
SO IF WE NEED A 4% INCREASE, EVERYBODY GETS A 4% INCREASE.
AND SO THERE'S REAL, NO COST OF SERVICE, NO COST ALLOCATION, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
IT'S, IT'S SIMPLY A FORECAST THAT'S AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN, THAN THE DETAILED YOU'D CAPTURE IN A COST OF SERVICE.
IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION CORRECTLY, DOES THAT, DOES THAT ANSWER WHAT YOUR, THAT, THAT ANSWERS THAT, AND WHEN, WHEN DOES THE COST ALLOCATION, UH, ISSUE? SO THE COST OF SERVICE WILL COME OUT A WEEK FROM TODAY.
AND SO ALL OF THOSE NUMBERS THAT DEAL WITH, WITH THE COST OF SERVICE IN OUR RIGHT CASE GOING FORWARD WILL BECOME PUBLIC A WEEK FROM TODAY.
PERFECT WEIGHT ALONG WITH A BIG EXCEL SPREADSHEET THAT HAS ALL A COST ALLOCATORS.
FINALLY, I WAS WATCHING THE, UH, CITY COUNCIL, UH, MEETING A WEEK AGO, UH, AND THERE WAS A QUESTION I BELIEVE IT WAS FROM THE MAYOR ABOUT LOAD SHED AND DOWNTOWN OFFICE BUILDINGS AND SO FORTH.
UH, AND I, I GUESS I THINK HIS QUESTION HAD TO DO WITH SEXUALIZATION.
UH, SO MY QUEST QUESTION, AND, AND IF THIS ISN'T THE RIGHT TIME TO ASK, LET ME KNOW.
BUT, UH, UH, I BELIEVE THE STAFF SAID THAT, UH, AGREEMENTS WERE REACHED WITH CERTAIN DOWNTOWN BUILDING OWNERS, UH, TO DO VOLUNTARY LOAD SHED.
MY QUESTION IS, UH, WHERE THOSE VOLUNTARY AGREEMENTS OR, UH, ANOTHER WORDS, IS THERE A COST ASSOCIATED, UH, WHERE THOSE, UH, AGREEMENT AGREEMENT, WHERE THOSE AGREEMENTS HAVE A PRICE ARE WHERE THE BUILDING OWNERS DOING THIS FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD, THE LADDER, SARAH IT'S IT'S, UH, IT'S VOLUNTARY PROGRAM AND IT'S CURTAILMENTS.
SO REDUCTION OF LOAD IN LIEU OF LOAD SHED, TURNING THEM OFF.
UM, AND, UH, SO, AND SO FAR, THESE HAVE BEEN VOLUNTARY PROGRAMS AND PROBABLY WILL CONTINUE TO BE SO, OKAY.
SO RELATED TO THAT, UH, THERE IS NO SPECIFIC ITEM, AGAIN, THIS, THESE ARE LONG-TERM PROJECTIONS, BUT THERE'S NOTHING FURTHER OR IMMEDIATE PLANNED IN TERMS OF FURTHER SEC SEXUALIZATION IS THAT THEN WE BATS.
AND THAT'S MY FOURTH QUESTION.
I LIKE TO MAYBE CLARIFY ONE POINT YOU HAD ASKED WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CASE GETS APPEALED OR THE RIGHT CASE GETS APPEALED FROM A FUNCTIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON THIS FORECAST.
IT WON'T WON'T HAVE, HAVE AN IMPACT.
THE FORECAST WILL BE DONE AGAIN NEXT YEAR AND TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
[00:40:01]
THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT IF WE DON'T GET THE RIGHT CASE, THAT WE'RE REQUESTING, THAT WE'LL HAVE TO RELY ON CASH ONCE AGAIN, TO FUND THOSE DEFICITS UNTIL WE CAN COME ONCE AGAIN AND, AND REQUEST ANOTHER RATE INCREASE.SO, UH, EVERY DOLLAR THAT WE ASKED FOR IS A DOLLAR THAT WE ACTUALLY SPENT.
ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, UH, FROM THE PHONE ADDICT? QUICK QUESTION ON, UM, IT'S ON SLIDE 18.
UH, IT'S REALLY TWO QUESTIONS, SORRY.
UM, WHICH IS, UH, ONE OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, THE REVENUES AND, AND I GUESS THE EXPENSES IS THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE, AND I'M PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES, WHICH, UM, ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE RESOURCE PLAN FOR MEETING THE GOALS OF THE RESOURCE PLAN.
UM, AND IT, IT SAYS THAT, UH, THOSE WERE ADJUSTED LAST IN NOVEMBER OF 2020, AND THEY DECREASED, UM, 29%.
SO I GUESS THAT MEANS THE, THE CHARGE TO CUSTOMERS WENT DOWN 29%.
UM, I'D BE INTERESTED IN JUST SEEING, ARE WE, I GUESS YOU DON'T HAVE IN THIS PRESENTATION, A BUDGET FOR WHAT YOU'RE PLANNING IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT OF, TO FUND THOSE PROGRAMS, GREEN BUILDING AND THE DIFFERENT INCENTIVES, UH, WEATHERIZATION, ET CETERA.
WE DON'T HAVE A SEPARATE BREAKOUT TO YOU NOW, BUT WE CAN, WE CAN WORK ON THAT.
I'D BE INTERESTED IN JUST GETTING A, UM, IT CAN JUST BE A SIMPLE, A SIMPLE TABLE THAT SHOWS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT YOU SPENT THIS FISCAL YEAR AND WHAT YOU'RE PLANNING TO SPEND NEXT FISCAL YEAR ON THE DIFFERENT INCENTIVES ON THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM AND HOW AND HOW THEY COMPARE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
[8. REACH Update]
NUMBER EIGHT.GOOD AFTERNOON OR GOOD EVENING.
MY NAME IS ERICA PIERCE, PETERSBURG, VICE PRESIDENT OF ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS AND RESOURCE PLANNING.
AND TODAY I'LL BE PROVIDING AN UPDATE OF OUR RESEARCH STRATEGY FOR THE 2021 CALENDAR YEAR.
SO REDUCE EMISSIONS AFFORDABLY FOR CLIMATE HEALTH, OR REACH PLACES, A COST OF CARBON ON OUR SHARE OF THE ASSETS, DISPATCH A PRICE.
WE CARVE OUT A BUDGET, WHICH IS 2% OF THE PRIOR YEAR'S PSA.
THIS ISN'T DOLLARS WE SPEND, BUT INSTEAD OF DOLLARS, WE DON'T RECEIVE EMISSION SAVINGS FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2021.
WE'RE FORECASTED AT 1.29 MILLION METRIC TONS OR 24% OF FAYETTE'S.
UM, TOTAL FORECASTED EMISSIONS.
MR. BEARISH BUCK IS THAT THAT'S TOTAL EMISSIONS OR OUR PERCENTAGE.
SO, UM, THIS SLIDE RIGHT HERE, UM, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THE, KIND OF THE CHALLENGES WE HAD IN DEPLOYING REACH LAST YEAR, THE GRAY AND BLUE SHADED AREAS OF THE GRAPH REPRESENT EMISSION REDUCTIONS FROM PHASE ONE AND TWO, WE HAD HEAVY RAINS IN THE SPRING, WHICH HALTED REACH APPLICATION DUE TO THE NEED TO EVAPORATE WATER.
WE HAD HIGH GAS PRICES IN THE FALL THAT CHALLENGED REDUCTION OPPORTUNITIES HAVING US INCREASE THE ADDER, UH, OVER SEVERAL MONTHS, UM, THE INCREASED ADDER AND THEN A FALL OUTAGE IN FAYETTE TO, UH, EXTENDED OUTAGE HELPED THIS, UH, TO REDUCE EMISSIONS TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO THIS RIGHT HERE SHOWS THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF REACH FOR 2021.
UM, IT HAD US COMING IN VERY, VERY CLOSE TO TARGET.
AS YOU CAN TELL THERE AT THE BOTTOM, UH, CARBON EMISSIONS FROM OUR NATURAL GAS FLEET WERE FAIRLY CLOSE TO WHAT WE FORECASTED THEM TO BE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
AND THEN THE CARBON EMISSIONS, UM, FROM FAYETTE WERE REDUCED BY REACH QUITE SUCCESSFULLY MISSING OUR TARGET BY, UH, JUST 1% DUE TO THE FACTORS THAT I COVERED EARLIER.
AND THAT'S ALL THE SLIDES I HAVE, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
ON THE LAST SLIDE, UM, THE GAS WHERE YOU USING REACH ON GAS, OR YOU'RE JUST SHOWING THE EMISSIONS.
[00:45:01]
WE DID NOT APPLY REACHED ANY OF OUR GAS FLEET, UH, THIS YEAR OR LAST YEAR.UM, I SHOULD SAY 20, 21 OR 2020.
UH, THAT'S JUST SHOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UM, FORECAST AND, UH, WHAT WE ACTUALLY ADMITTED.
IF WE WANTED TO FIND JUST THE, THE CAPACITY THAT FAT, UM, WAS RUN AT, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE ON A MONTHLY BASIS OR EVEN, OR EVEN FOR THE YEAR, IS THAT, IS THAT IN OUR, IN OUR QUARTERLY REPORTS, THE ACTUAL CAPACITY THAT WAS USED? I DON'T THINK SO.
UM, I THINK WE MAY HAVE PROVIDED THAT INFORMATION IN THE PAST, SO I CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT PUTTING THAT TOGETHER FOR YOU.
WHATEVER IS AN EASY WAY TO PRESENT IT, BUT IT DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD FOR YOU GUYS IS FINE.
IF THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS WE'LL MOVE ON TO, LET'S SEE THAT CONCLUDES OUR STAFF BRIEFINGS.
SO WE'RE MOVING ON TO DISCUSSION
[9. Discussion and possible action regarding the 2022-2023 City of Austin Budget recommendations.]
AND POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS. THIS IS ITEM NUMBER NINE, A DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE 20 22 23 CITY OF AUSTIN BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.AND YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED WITH YOUR, UM, INFORMATION PACKET, EIGHT POTENTIAL BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
AND THESE WERE, UH, SUBMITTED AS, UM, PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, UH, TO ME AND ROBIN, UH, AND, UH, PRIOR TO THE MARCH 31ST DEADLINE.
AND, UM, WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS THOSE TODAY AND, UM, EITHER APPROVE OR NOT APPROVE THESE ITEMS. AND THEN, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY WILL RESPOND TO OUR, UH, SUGGESTIONS AND OR QUESTIONS HERE BY, I BELIEVE THE TIMELINE SAID MAY 6TH.
UM, SO, UH, LET'S, WE'LL JUST GO THROUGH THESE ONE AT A TIME AND I'LL, I'LL, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN READ IT YOURSELF, BUT, UM, JUST FOR REFERENCE COMMISSIONER READS SUBMITTED THE FIRST FOUR AND COMMISSIONER TUTTLE SUBMITTED THE, UH, FIVE THROUGH EIGHT.
AND SO, UM, WE'LL JUST, I THINK MAYBE LET'S JUST DO IT ONE AT A TIME.
UM, IT MIGHT BE, UM, IT MIGHT TAKE A MINUTE, BUT WE'RE GOING TO, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DISCUSS ALL EIGHT OF THEM.
I, WHERE ARE THESE, THESE, THESE SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE INFORMATION THAT ROBIN CIRCULATED WITH THE MEETING INVITE.
IT WAS THE EMAIL RECEIVED FRIDAY AND IT WAS JUST AT THE END.
I DID NOT SEE IT THERE, BUT OKAY.
SO THE FIRST ITEM HERE IS ENSURE SUFFICIENT FUNDS FOR ADEQUATE TESTING, FOR ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND CONTROLS WITH FEDERAL STATE RULES, INCLUDING, I'M NOT SURE HOW TO SAY THAT ACRONYM.
IS IT CASPER, CCR, CCR, AND EGU REGULATIONS AND, UH, CHRISTIAN READ? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SAY ABOUT, ABOUT THIS ONE? SO, I MEAN, UM, I VIEWED THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AS KIND OF DIRECTION TO AUSTIN ENERGY, AND HOPEFULLY THEY CAN GET BACK WITH US AND SAY YES, IN OUR, YOU KNOW, SHARED BUDGET.
UM, UH, WE, WE HAVE THIS COVERED, OR WE HAVE SET ASIDE MONEY FOR THESE PURPOSES TO MAKE SURE WE, YOU KNOW, COMPLY.
THERE'S BEEN SOME CONCERN OF THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHETHER WE'RE DOING ADEQUATE CONTROLS AND TESTING, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH THE COAL ASH PILE.
SO THIS WAS JUST AN ATTEMPT TO RESPOND TO THAT CONCERN.
UM, AND SO I DIDN'T ATTACH A NUMBER TO THIS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, FRANKLY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NUMBER IS, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE TAKING CARE OF OUR OBLIGATIONS OUT THERE.
ANY FURTHER COMMENTS OR DISCUSSION ON A BUDGET RECOMMENDATION, NUMBER ONE, CYBER SECURITY.
UM, YOU'RE NOT SPECIFYING SOME SOMETHING IN ADDITION TO WHAT'S ALREADY REQUIRED BY REGULATORY POLICY.
ARE YOU? NO, I'M SAYING, UM, YEAH, I'M BASICALLY SAYING WE SHOULD MEET THE REGULATIONS NOW THAT THE CCR REGULATIONS ARE DONE.
THE, THE, UM, TEXAS PROGRAM WAS AT LEAST PARTIALLY APPROVED BY THE EPA.
THE OTHERS ARE STILL IN FLUX, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, UH, AS THE NEW ADMINISTRATION
[00:50:01]
COMES OUT WITH REGULATIONS AND TO THE EXTENT WE'RE STILL OPERATING THAT PLANT, WE HAVE A BUG, WE HAVE BUD MONEY BUDGETED TO MEET THOSE OBLIGATIONS.THAT'S ALSO NOT PUTTING A NUMBER ON IT.
I'M JUST GIVING SORT OF A DIRECTION.
AND IF, IF AUSTIN ENERGY WANTS TO RESPOND EITHER TONIGHT OR ON MAY 6TH OR ANOTHER TIME, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
BUT, UM, IT'S, IT'S MORE OF A DIRECTION, BUT NO, NOTHING, NOTHING ABOVE WHAT WOULD BE REQUIRED, ANY FURTHER COMMENT.
HEARING, I THINK I'LL TAKE A VOTE ON, UM, WELL, CYRUS, DO YOU WANT TO DO ALL FOUR OF YOURS TOGETHER? YEAH, I CAN DO THEM ALL FORWARD TOGETHER.
UM, THE SECOND IS, UM, THIS WAS PART OF THE RESOURCE PLAN.
UM, WE HAD ASKED, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY HAD AGREED TO DO A TRANSMISSION STUDY TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL UPGRADES FOR, OR, UM, BOTH, YOU KNOW, BOTH FOR INTERNAL USE IN OUR SERVICE AREA, BUT ALSO TO ALLOW POTENTIALLY FOR MORE IMPORTS, UM, FROM OUTSIDE OUR AREA.
AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER WE'VE, UH, YOU KNOW, COMPLETED THAT TRANSMISSION STUDY AND THE MONEY IS IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET AND IT'S DONE AND DUSTED OR, OR NOT.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO ASSURE THAT TO THE EXTENT WE'RE NOT FINISHED WITH THAT WORK, THAT WE'VE GOT SOME MONEY IN THE 20 BUDGET TO COVER IT.
SO, UM, AGAIN, AUSTIN ENERGY IS WELCOME TO TELL ME WE GOT THIS COVERED IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
WE DON'T NEED THIS, OR YES, WE PLAN TO HAVE MONEY FOR, YOU KNOW, TO COMPLETE IT IN 23.
UM, SHOULDN'T GO ON OR, UH, LET'S JUST PAUSE FOR ANY COMMENT ON THAT ITEM.
MARNIE, I JUST HAD A PROCEDURAL QUESTION IS IF AUSTIN ENERGY IS PREPARED TO RESPOND TO ANY OF CYRUS'S QUESTIONS HERE, COULD THEY JUST RESPOND? AND THEN WE AVOID THE NEED TO ISSUE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND I DON'T MEAN TO PUT THE STAFF ON THE SPOT, BUT IF THESE WERE READILY ANSWERABLE CYRUS, WOULD YOU, WOULD THAT BE SUFFICIENT TO YOU? YEAH.
IS THAT, IS THAT, I DON'T KNOW THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS PREPARED TO DO THAT, BUT IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU ARE PREPARED TO DO OR HAVE INFORMATION THAT YOU COULD SHARE THAT WOULD AVOID THE, UH, PUTTING IN THE OFFICIAL RECOMMENDATION.
TOM PEERPOINT VICE-PRESIDENT OF ELECTRIC SYSTEM ENGINEERING.
NUMBER TWO IS FUNDED AND THE STUDY IS UNDERWAY.
ANY, ANY THOUGHTS ON NUMBER ONE OR ARE WE NOT AS, I MEAN THAT ONE'S A LITTLE MORE DIRECTIONAL IN THE SENSE THAT SOME OF THESE RULES, SOME OF THESE REGULATIONS ARE STILL IN PROPOSAL PHASE.
UM, SO IT'S MORE OF A DIRECTION, BUT YOU KNOW, IF THEY WANT TO ANSWER IT, THAT'S FINE TOO.
UH, SIDNEY JACKSON, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AUSTIN ENERGY, MANY OF THESE REQUESTS ARE STANDARD UTILITY PRACTICE.
THEY ARE ROTE AND ROUTINE TO THE POINT OF NUMBER THREE, WE DO ACCRUE FUNDS FOR DECOMMISSIONING.
UH, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING WITH OUR PARTNER CO-OWNER OF THAT FACILITY TO DO A MORE DETAILED AND MORE EXACTING DECOMMISSIONING STUDY THAT IS STILL ON THE PLAN.
UH, ONCE THAT IS INFORMED, WE WOULD HAVE MORE PRECISE BUDGETS, BUT WE, WE TR WE DO ACCRUE, UH, FOR DECOMMISSIONING AS A GOOD AS AGAIN, CONSISTENT WITH STANDARD UTILITY PRACTICE.
I WAS ACTUALLY REFERRING TO, TO THE DECKER PLANTS BECAUSE YOU HAD ONE RETIRE.
I WAS ASSUMING FPP, BUT NEVERTHELESS, THAT'S STILL IT'S STANDARD UTILITY PRACTICE TO DO SOME ESTIMATION ON DECOMMISSIONING AND ACCRUAL FOR DE DECOMMISSIONING.
AND THEN, SO THE SPECIFIC QUESTION WOULD BE IN THE 23 BUDGET.
ARE WE, ARE WE SETTING ASIDE, UM, THE EXPENSES TO START THE DECOMMISSIONING PROCESS? I'M SURE THERE ARE STUDIES THAT NEED TO BE DONE FIRST.
AND YOU KNOW, THAT PROBABLY TAKES A WHILE, BUT IS THAT ALREADY IN THE BUDGET FOR 2023 OR WILL IT BE SORRY, MARK.
YOUR BOSS IS THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.
SO, UM, ABOUT THE LAST SIX OR SEVEN YEARS, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS BEEN SETTING ASIDE $8 MILLION EACH YEAR
[00:55:01]
FOR DECOMMISSIONING OF OUR NON NUCLEAR FACILITIES.SO THAT INCLUDES DECKER AND FAYETTE AS WELL.
SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE ABOUT $48 MILLION IN DECOMMISSIONING AND THOSE FUNDS, UM, ARE RESERVED FOR THE DECOMMISSIONING EXERCISE WHEN THEY WILL BE EXPENDED, WHETHER IT'S AN FYI 23 OR 24, THOSE FUNDS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THAT EXERCISE.
I DON'T HAVE A DECOMMISSIONING PLAN IN FRONT OF ME TO KNOW WHEN THEY MIGHT SPEND THOSE FUNDS, BUT WE DO HAVE THAT FUNDED.
I'M HAPPY TO, TO NOT INCLUDE NUMBER THREE, NUMBER TWO, AND NUMBER THREE, I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD ON GIVEN THE RESPONSES.
UM, AND THEN NUMBER FOUR WAS REALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, I ASKED THE QUESTION EARLIER, COULD WE BE PROVIDED WITH A SPECIFIC BUDGET, UM, FOR THE, UM, BASICALLY FOR THE CBC BUDGET? UH, UM, SO I JUST WANT TO SURE THAT WE'RE, UH, SETTING ASIDE SUFFICIENT MONEY IS AROUND COURSE TO REACH THAT OVERALL GOAL AND TO CONTINUE TO MEET, UH, BUT THE CUMULATIVE GOAL, UM, THAT'S IN THE RESOURCE PLAN, BUT ALSO THE ANNUAL ENERGY SAVINGS GOAL.
UM, AND SO, UM, I, I, AGAIN, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC NUMBER.
I JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING AUSTIN ENERGY CAN RUN TWO BEFORE MAY 6TH ON, ON WHAT THEIR PLAN IS AND WHAT'S GOING TO BE IN THEIR BUDGET.
RIGHT? SO, UM, WE, WE DON'T, UH, WE DON'T PUBLISH WHAT IS INSIDE THE, UH, F Y 23 BUDGET UNTIL THE CITY MANAGER RELEASES THAT WHICH WILL BE ON JULY 15TH.
AND SO THAT NEXT MEETING WITH THE EEC WILL, WE'LL GIVE YOU EACH PROGRAMMATIC BUDGET WHAT'S INCLUDED, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT ROUTINELY THE MANAGERS OF THOSE PROGRAMS, LIKE THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM, WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS, THEIR BUDGET MEETS WHAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS, IDENTIFIED IN A RESOURCE IN GENERATION PLAN.
I'LL LEAVE IT UP TO THE CHAIR, WHETHER WE WANT TO INCLUDE THIS.
I DON'T, I DON'T THINK IT'S, I DON'T THINK IT HURTS US TO INCLUDE IT TO THEN HAVE THEM COME BACK ON JULY 15TH AND, AND SHOW US WHY IT WOULD MEET THOSE, THOSE GOALS.
BUT IT'S SORT OF UP TO YOU HOW YOU WANT TO PROCEED.
YEAH, I THINK, UM, SO WE'VE, WE'VE ELIMINATED TWO AND THREE.
I THINK THE DISCUSSION NOW IS JUST ONE AND FOUR AND IN IT, IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONER REED WOULD LIKE IS A MORE DETAILED BREAK OUT OF WHAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE 2023 BUDGET FOR THESE ITEMS WILL INCLUDE BECAUSE IT, BECAUSE I'M HEARING AUSTIN ENERGY SAY WE HAVE FUNDS BUDGETED FOR ONE AND FOUR AND, UH, COMMISSIONER REED JUST ONCE A MORE PRECISE BREAKOUT TO, UM, I, I EVALUATE WHETHER YOU, YOU BELIEVE THOSE FUNDS TO BE SUFFICIENT.
IS THAT, IS THAT FAIR? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND MR. DOMBROWSKI IS THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE SAYING WE CAN'T GET THAT, UH, BREAKOUT UNTIL AFTER IT'S BEEN PRESENTED TO THE, UM, CITY COUNCIL.
IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO WE DON'T GET IN FRONT OF CITY MANAGER ON THE BUDGET RELEASE.
SO ONCE HE RELEASES IT, WE ROUTINELY HAVE ALL OF OUR PROGRAM MANAGERS AT THE OFFICER LEVEL WILL PRESENT, UH, THEIR PROGRAMMATIC BUDGETS TO YOU, UM, IN DETAIL AND THE OWNER AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS MUCH LIKE YOU HAVE HERE, UH, IDENTIFIED.
SO YOU CAN TALK ABOUT THE SPECIFICS WITHIN EACH BUDGET ITEM AND HOW THEY MEET THEIR PRESCRIBED GOALS.
WELL, LET ME ASK ANOTHER PROCEDURAL QUESTION.
IF A COMMISSIONER READ WERE A PART OF THE, UM, UH, BUDGET WORKING GROUP, UM, WOULD ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BE ABLE TO BE SHARED ON A, JUST A WORKING GROUP LEVEL PRIOR TO THE PRESENTATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL? UH, NOT FOR THE
IF THESE ARE APPLICABLE TO THE FY 22, WE CAN GET, GET YOU THAT INFORMATION.
UM, COMMISSIONER REED, LET, UH, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROCEED ON ONE AND FOUR? IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, UH, THE, THE AUSTIN ENERGY HAS BUDGETED FOR THESE ITEMS. UH, THEY ARE, WE'LL PROVIDE THE BREAKOUT AFTER JULY 15TH, UM, BUT CAN'T PROVIDE IT UNTIL THAT TIME.
UH, AND, AND SO DO YOU STILL WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A RECOMMENDATION TO ENSURE SUFFICIENT FUNDS
[01:00:01]
TO ITEMS? UH, I'M A I'M AGNOSTIC ON IT? UH, I, I THINK HOPEFULLY THEY'VE HEARD THE CONCERN AND THAT WE'D LIKE THAT INFORMATION, UH, WHEN THEY PRESENT TO US IN JULY, IF THAT'S FINE, IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY'LL STILL BE, WE COULD STILL GIVE INPUT TO CITY COUNCIL.UM, AM I CORRECT ON THAT? UH, IN JULY? THAT'S CORRECT.
I, I'M FINE WITH JUST PERHAPS AT THE JULY MEETING, THEY CAN, THEY CAN RESPOND TO THOSE TWO ITEMS. OKAY, GREAT.
I THINK THEY'VE HEARD, UH, THE, UH, ASK AND WE'LL RESPOND ACCORDINGLY AND IN JULY.
SO NOW WE'RE MOVING ON TO ITEMS FIVE THROUGH EIGHT, AND THESE WERE FROM COMMISSIONER TODDLE AND COMMISSIONER TUTTLE.
IF YOU WANT TO JUST, UH, WALK THROUGH, I GUESS, YOUR THINKING ON THESE AND WE CAN TAKE THEM UP, UM, EITHER AS A GROUP OR ONE AT A TIME LIKE WE DID WITH COMMISSIONER REED.
AND SO AFTER DISCUSSION WITH STAFF, UH, WE CAN STRIKE FIVE AND SEVEN OFF THE BAT BECAUSE THE PLAN IS TO NOT TAKE THE TOU PILOT AND EXPAND IT TO ALL CUSTOMERS.
THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WORKS THAT DIDN'T SPECIFY, BUT I TRUST THAT IT IS MOVING ON EIGHT, EIGHT, THE ONE G INTELLIGENT CHARGING PROGRAM, AT LEAST FOR DR.
SO LET'S STRIKE FIVE AND THEN SEVEN, BECAUSE SEVEN TALKS ABOUT THE SECOND METER ASSOCIATED WITH THE TOU PLAN AND THEY HAVE SOMETHING IN THE WORKS THAT'S YET TO BE ANNOUNCED.
UM, AND SO I GUESS A FOLLOW-UP ON THAT AS WE'D LIKE TO SEE THAT IN A PRESENTATION, ONCE IT GETS TO THE POINT WHERE THE, UM, THE ANNOUNCEMENT IS READY AND THE RFP IS CLOSED OR WHATEVER THE PROCESS OR THAT.
SO I THINK THAT THAT WOULD TAKE CARE OF SIX IF WE COULD GET A PRESENTATION IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS OR WHENEVER THAT'S GOOD.
AND EIGHT, I, I LIKE TO JUST HAVE FOLLOW-UP CONVERSATIONS.
I'M NOT SURE IT'S REALLY BUDGETARY, UM, A LONGER-TERM PLAN FOR VIRTUAL, FOR VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS USING BEHIND THE METER STORAGE AND OR B TO G USING ED BATTERIES.
SO I, I HAD A, UH, AN EXCELLENT CONVERSATION WITH STAFF I'M HAPPY.
WELL, LET'S, LET'S, UH, DAVE, I UNDERSTAND I HAVE A, A MEMORY OF A CONVERSATION ON A, I THINK FROM ERICA DISCUSSING, UH, A STUDY THEY MAY BE DOING WITH, UM, WITH THE PECAN STREET PROJECT ON EXACTLY THAT IDEA, BUT I MIGHT BE MAKING THAT UP IN MY HEAD, BUT, UM, I HAVE THE IDEA THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT AT LEAST, UH, SORT OF A PILOT OF IT.
WELL, THERE WAS A VEDA G PILOT, BUT I THINK HE WORKED WITH A CONCENTRATE ON, BUT ERIC, I DON'T KNOW IF ERIC HAS STOLEN.
UH, SO CYRUS, I THINK YOU'RE, UH, MIGHT BE REFERRING TO THE, UH, STUDY THAT WE'RE, UH, THAT'S UNDERWAY WITH WEBER WITH, UH, DR.
AND WE ARE LOOKING AT DISTRIBUTED AT THE DISTRIBUTED, UH, NETWORK TO SEE WHERE WE CAN PLACE, UM, STORAGE, UM, AS WELL BATTERIES, AS WELL AS ANY KIND OF, UH, TO HELP DRIVE OUR COMMUNITY, SOLAR, RFP.
UM, SO THAT IS, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A REPORT TO ME WEDNESDAY FROM THEM JUST AS A FIRST, THIS IS GOING TO PROBABLY GO THROUGH OUT 20, 22 FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GET SOME GOOD, UM, LOCATIONS ON WHERE WE CAN SOURCE, UH, SOME OF THESE, UM, ASSETS.
SO THAT, THAT IS, I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU MIGHT BE REMEMBERING, RIGHT? THAT IS WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO.
AND, BUT THERE'S NOT A, THERE'S NOT A 23 NECESSARILY BUDGET, UM, IMPACT OR NEED BECAUSE OF THAT STUDY.
WE ARE, WE NEED THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY.
SO THEN WE CAN PUT IT IN OUR, IN OUR BUDGET FOR, UH, THE, I GUESS, FEBRUARY OF NEXT YEAR.
AND SINCE NONE OF THE VEHICLES YET ARE VTG G CAPABLE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A LONGER TERM DISCUSSION.
AND SOME OF THESE MAY NOT EVEN BE BUDGET DRIVEN FROM A E BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING TO WORK WITH, UH, VENDORS OR DEVELOPERS.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIND THE RIGHT BUSINESS MODEL FOR SOME OF THESE PROJECTS AS WELL.
SO IT IS, UH IN-DEPTH UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'VE GONE TO BAT A COUPLE TIMES, UM, WITH SOME OF OUR DISTRIBUTED, UH, GENERATION IDEAS AND, OR COMMUNITY SOLAR, AND WE HAVE NOT BEEN VERY FRUITFUL.
AND SO WE ARE TAKING ANOTHER, UM, AVENUE TO, UH,
[01:05:01]
DETERMINE WHAT IS THE RIGHT WAY TO, UM, WRITE THESE RFP.SO THEN WE CAN, UH, GET SOME PROJECTS ON THE GROUND.
UH, SO COMMISSIONER TUTTLE, IT SOUNDS LIKE, UH, MOST OF YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND OR QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED AS WELL.
SO I THINK MAYBE WE DON'T NEED TO TAKE A VOTE ON THIS, ON THIS ITEM.
[10. Approve a representative and an alternate to serve on the Joint Sustainability Committee.]
ITEM NUMBER 10.THIS IS A APPROVE, A REPRESENTATIVE AND ALTERNATE TO SERVE ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
AND ARE YOU STILL ON COMMISSIONER? HADN'T TOLD ME THAT SHE MIGHT HAVE TO, UH, JUMP.
SO, UH, ROBIN, DO YOU KNOW IF WE, CAN WE DO THIS OVER EMAIL OR DO IT, DOES IT HAVE TO BE IN A, IN A PUBLIC MEETING? I BELIEVE THERE HAS TO BE A PUBLIC MEETING.
UH, COMMISSIONER HADDON CURRENTLY SERVES AS THE, UM, REPRESENTATIVE TO THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE AN ALTERNATE.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN SERVING AS THE ALTERNATE? NOPE.
DON'T EVERYBODY JUMP UP AT ONCE.
I WILL SAY THAT I SERVED AS THE ALTERNATE AND NEVER WENT.
IT NEVER HAPPENED THE, UH, THE NEED NEVER AROSE, UH, BECAUSE I GUESS THE REPRESENTATIVE ALWAYS WAS ABLE TO ATTEND.
IN THAT CASE, I WILL FOLLOW UP.
UM, SO WE'LL JUST TAKE A VOTE ON COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN, SERVING AS THE ALTERNATE, AND THEN WE'LL CONFIRM, UH, WITH COMMISSIONER HADDEN, NEXT MEETING, UH, THAT SHE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE ON AS THE REPRESENTATIVE MOVED SECOND.
[11. Discussion and possible action from Fayette Power Plant Resource Plan Working Group. (Sponsors: Tuttle; Reed)]
ON TO, THIS IS ITEMS FROM COMMISSIONERS.UH, WE HAVE DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION FROM THE FAYETTE POWER PLANT RESOURCE PLAN, WORKING GROUP, UH, COMMISSIONER REED.
I BELIEVE YOU'RE THE SPONSOR IF YOU'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE THIS ITEM.
YEAH, WE JUST, WE DISCUSSED THIS BRIEFLY, UM, LAST MONTH AND LAST MONTH, UH, WE HAD BROUGHT SOME DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AND THERE WAS, UH, SOME CONCERN ABOUT THOSE DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS, HOW SPECIFIC THEY WERE, UM, AND WHETHER, WHETHER THEY WERE APPROPRIATE RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO, UM, WE DID HAVE, UH, AN ADDITIONAL MEETING.
UH, WE GOT SOME INPUT FROM, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY AS WELL.
UM, AND SO I, I BELIEVE YOU HAVE IN YOUR PACKETS A VERY MUCH REVISED LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, AND SO IT'S BEEN REWRITTEN IN A WAY THAT'S LESS OF, UM, IT'S MORE OF A DIRECTION TO CITY COUNCIL, UM, AND IT'S GOT, UH, SIX ITEMS IN IT.
UM, BUT I, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU WANT TO DO THIS, WHETHER YOU WANT ME TO JUST GO THROUGH THEM ONE BY ONE SO IT'S MORE OF A STATEMENT, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE UC MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE RMC MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND REPRESENTATIVES OF AUSTIN ENERGY REGARDING THAT, UH, COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT AND HIS FUTURE OPERATIONS.
UM, AGAIN, BECAUSE THERE WERE CERTAIN MATTERS THAT COULDN'T BE DISCUSSED BECAUSE OF NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS AND ONGOING DISCUSSIONS.
UM, BUT WE, YOU KNOW, TH THIS, THIS STATEMENT SAYS, WE DO THINK, UH, THAT THERE'S A PATH FORWARD TO MEET THE 20, 30 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN.
AND THESE ARE DIRECTIONS TO CITY COUNCIL.
UM, ONE IS JUST, WE RECOMMEND THAT AUSTIN ENERGY CONTINUE TO EXPLORE EVERY AVENUE AVAILABLE TO ACHIEVE CLOSURE OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S PORTION OF THAT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
DIDN'T PUT A DATE ON IT BECAUSE, UM, I THINK, I THINK, UH, 2022 IS NOW IT'S NOT LOOKING VERY LIKELY IN 2022.
UH, SO I DIDN'T WANT TO PUT A DATE ON IT, UM, TO RECOMMEND THAT AUSTIN ENERGY CONTINUE TO UTILIZE STRATEGIES TO LOWER CARBON EMISSIONS FROM ITS PORTFOLIO PORTFOLIO OF RESOURCES.
SO THESE ARE THINGS LIKE REACH AND OTHER STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE USED, UH, TO MEET THE GOALS.
UM, THREE ISN'T DIRECTLY RELATED TO, TO FAYETTE ITSELF.
UH, BUT IT'S MORE CONTINUING THE COURSE OF, UH, LOOKING AT REPLACEMENT POWER.
SO LOOK, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO DO AN ANNUAL RFP FOR RENEWABLES, LOOKING AT THE RESULTS OF THE STORAGE, UH, RFP, UM, AND SPECIFICALLY ENCOURAGING
[01:10:02]
AUSTIN ENERGY, NOT ONLY TO LOOK AT GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY, UH, BUT LOOK AT OTHER TYPES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY.AND THE EXAMPLE I USE WE USE IS, UH, GEOTHERMAL ENERGY.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE A LOT ON WIND AND SOLAR OBVIOUSLY, BUT THERE MAY BE OTHER RESOURCES THAT ARE MORE, UH, QUOTE UNQUOTE, DISPATCHABLE THAT WE'D LIKE AUSTIN ENERGY TO CONSIDER AS THEY MOVE FORWARD.
UM, FOUR IS THAT WE RECOMMEND THAT AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, SEEK INPUT FROM CITY COUNCIL ON THE ANNUAL BUDGET AND EXPENSES THAT GO TO THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE THERE AT FAYETTE, UM, SO THAT WE AREN'T, UM, ENCUMBERING LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS IN THE PLAN GIVEN THAT WE WANT TO GET OUT OF IT.
UM, SORRY, I'M SORT OF, UH, GIVING MY OPINION AS I READ THEM.
UM, UH, FIVE HAS INCLUDED THE COST OF DECOMMISSIONING AS PART OF THE UPCOMING COST OF SERVICE STUDY IN THAT COMING RIGHT CASE.
SO KIND OF IN LINE WITH THE BUDGET DISCUSSION, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SETTING ASIDE MONEY FOR EVENTUAL DECOMMISSIONING.
AND THEN SIX IS JUST, UM, UH, IS EVALUATE THE CURRENT EMISSIONS AND COMPLIANCE WITH CURRENT AND PROPOSED ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS, UM, MONITORING AND OTHER COMPLIANCE COSTS DUE TO, YOU KNOW, BOTH EXISTING REGULATIONS, BUT ALSO SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE ONES THAT ARE ON THE TABLE.
UM, AND, AND IN TERMS OF THAT SIX RECOMMENDATION, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'D LIKE TO SEE A PRESENTATION IN THE NEAR FUTURE, UM, ON THOSE, UH, CURRENT COSTS AND LIKELY FUTURE COSTS.
AND SO I'M, I'M HAPPY TO DISCUSS ANY OF THE, UH, ANY OF THESE, BUT AGAIN, THE, UH, THIS, UH, THIS DOCUMENT CHANGED A LOT FROM THE PREVIOUS ONE.
SO IT'S MORE OF A DIRECTIVE TO CITY COUNCIL TO WORK WITH AUSTIN ENERGY ON THESE SIX ITEMS AND MAYBE LESS SPECIFIC THAN THE PREVIOUS VERSION AND COMMISSIONER RATE.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE, ALL THE EFFORT THAT WENT INTO REVISING THIS DOCUMENT.
UM, UH, AND, AND, AND I KNOW THAT IT DID TAKE A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT, AND I DO REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT, AND, AND COMMISSIONER REED KNOWS MY, MY POSITION ON THIS, THAT I ACTUALLY THINK THAT THESE, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS ARE NOT NECESSARY, UH, TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL BECAUSE WE HAVE THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN, UH, WHICH IS REFERENCED IN HERE, THE 2030 PLAN.
UM, AND, AND I JUST, I, AND WE ALSO HAVE THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UM, THAT, THAT, THAT HAS BEEN ADOPTED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND I, UH, YOU KNOW, TRUST THAT THE UTILITY AND, UH, CITY COUNCIL ARE, ARE WORKING TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS AND THAT THIS DOCUMENT DOESN'T ADVANCE, UH, THAT CONVERSATION ANY FURTHER, UM, THAT THOSE, THOSE GOALS ARE STILL IN PLACE.
AND THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS WORKING, UH, YOU KNOW, W WITHIN ALL OF THE EXISTING PARAMETERS TO, TO MEET THOSE GOALS.
AND, AND GRANTED THERE MAY BE, UM, NEW, UH, CHALLENGES, BUT THAT THOSE, THE GOALS HAVEN'T CHANGED.
AND SO I JUST DON'T THINK THAT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE NECESSARY TO ACCOMPLISH, UH, WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE AFTER HERE.
UM, AND I ALSO THINK THAT POTENTIALLY, UM, THEY COULD BE HARMFUL AND CAUSE MORE HARM THAN GOOD, UH, JUST BY, UM, YOU KNOW, FURTHER, FURTHER, UH, HIGHLIGHTING OR OUR, UH, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, ARE, ARE, ARE, THERE ARE SENSITIVITIES AROUND, UM, FAT AND IT'S CLOSURE.
AND I THINK THAT WE, AS, AS A BODY ARE NOT, UH, PRIVY TO CERTAIN INFORMATION THAT IS SHARED WITH CITY COUNCIL IN EXECUTIVE SESSION.
AND I THINK THAT THERE COULD BE LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS AND, UH, LEGISLATIVE RE RAMIFICATIONS, UM, UH, FINANCIAL RAMIFICATIONS THAT I, THAT I JUST PERSONALLY FEEL LIKE I DON'T HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION TO MAKE A, YOU KNOW, A GOOD DECISION.
AND, AND SO LONG STORY SHORT WITH, WITH THOSE CONCERNS IN MIND.
UH, I DO, I, I, AND LAYERING ON TOP THAT I THINK THAT THE EXISTING PLANS, UH, AND GOALS HAVEN'T CHANGED.
I JUST THINK THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE, ARE JUST NOT NECESSARY.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S MY POSITION.
[01:15:01]
OTHERS FEEL, UH, OTHER COMMISSIONERS FEEL ABOUT WHETHER IT'S A BENEFIT TO MOVE THESE FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL.UM, I AGREE WITH MARTY, I'VE THOUGHT FROM KIND OF THE ONSET THAT GIVEN WHAT WE HEARD FROM AUSTIN ENERGY AT THE INITIAL MEETING ABOUT THIS, I GUESS THAT WAS IN THE FALL OF LAST YEAR, THAT, THAT THERE'S REALLY, THIS IS A LEGAL CONSIDERATION BETWEEN AUSTIN ENERGY AND LCRA, AND IT'S, IT'S KIND OF UP TO THEM TO REACH SOME AGREEMENT.
AND THERE'S NOT REALLY ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO KIND OF FURTHER THAT.
AND IN ADDITION, I, I REMAIN CONCERNED WITH, UM, COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN'S CONCERN THAT HE RAISED AT THE VERY BEGINNING ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THIS ON OUR CUSTOMERS AND HOW, UM, THE COST OF THIS MIGHT FLOW DOWN, TRICKLE DOWN TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND I, I JUST REMAINED CONCERNED ABOUT THAT PERSONALLY, OF, OF, AND I'M NOT SURE THAT THAT'S REALLY REFLECTED IN THE, IN THIS CURRENT SET BEYOND SAYING INCLUDING THE COST OF DECOMMISSION AS PART OF THE UPCOMING COST OF SERVICE STUDY, BUT THAT KIND OF ASSUMES THAT DECOMMISSIONING IS GOING TO HAPPEN REGARDLESS OF THE COST TO THE CUSTOMER.
SO I'M, I'M FURTHER HESITANT ON THAT, ON THOSE GROUNDS TO CARRIE OR OTHERS, WOULD IT, WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ON IT? CAUSE I, I MAY HAVE A, UH, UH, A SLIGHT, A SLIGHT DIFFERENT PROPOSAL DEPENDING ON HOW PEOPLE FEEL.
I AGREE WITH MARTY FOR THE MOST PART.
UM, IT, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THAT MOST, ALL OF THIS IS ALREADY COVERED IN OUR, IN OUR RESOURCE PLAN.
UH, WE OBVIOUSLY FAILED TO GET TO THE TIMING THAT WE HOPED FOR, UH, WITH, UH, THE FAYETTE CLOSURE, UH, IN, UNDER OUR RESOURCE PLAN.
UH, AND IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE WE NEED TO DO ANYTHING MORE THAN, THAN TO RECOMMIT TO CLOSING FAYETTE, OR AT LEAST GETTING OUT OF OUR PORTION OF FAYETTE, UH, AS RAPIDLY AS POSSIBLE.
SO I JUST DON'T THINK IT ADVANCES THE BAR.
I, I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT THAT YOU'VE PUT INTO THIS, BUT I'M NOT SURE THAT, THAT WE IN THE POSITION WE'RE IN, ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO A LOT TO ADVANCE THAT BALL.
AND I WILL JUST NOTE THAT, UM, ALONG THOSE LINES, UH, COMMISSIONER VIRTUAL, THAT, UH, IN THE RESOURCE PLAN, THERE, THERE'S A STATEMENT THAT SAYS AUSTIN ENERGY COMMITS TO PROVIDING ACCESS TO THE BENEFITS.
OH, EXCUSE ME, HANG ON JUST A SECOND AS, OKAY.
I'M JUST GONNA, UH, READ THE VISION STATEMENT HERE.
2030 PLAN COMMITS AUSTIN ENERGY TO CONTINUING TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE, DEPENDABLE, AND SAFE ELECTRICITY SERVICE TO RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES WHILE PURSUING THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S CLIMATE PROTECTION AND SUSTAINABILITY GOALS, AND THE DIRECTIVE SET FORTH IN THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EMERGENCY RESOLUTION, AS PART OF ITS COMMITMENT, AUSTIN ENERGY WILL MAINTAIN AN ENERGY SUPPLY PORTFOLIO PORTFOLIO SUFFICIENT TO OFFSET CUSTOMER DEMAND WHILE ELIMINATING CARBON AND OTHER POLLUTANT EMISSIONS EMISSIONS FROM ITS ELECTRIC GENERATION FACILITIES AS RAPIDLY AS FEASIBLE WITHIN THE LIMITATIONS SET BY THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, AUSTIN ENERGY COMMITS TO PROVIDING ACCESS TO THE BENEFITS OF THIS 2030 PLAN FOR LIMITED INCOME COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
AND SO I JUST, I WOULD JUST NOTE THAT I THINK THAT COMMITMENT IS IN THE, IN THE PLAN, UM, AS, YOU KNOW, AS RAPIDLY AS POSSIBLE AS, AS RAPIDLY AS FEASIBLE WITHIN THE LIMITATIONS SET BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
SO I THINK THAT THAT COMMITMENT EXISTS, UM, AND THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS THAT IS STILL THEIR PLAN.
AND I, I WILL NOTE, UH, CARA AND MARTY KNOW THIS, THAT WE, THERE IS A PROVISION IN THE PLAN THAT SAYS THE EUC CAN REVISIT THE PLAN AT THE END OF, I BELIEVE IT'S THE END OF THIS YEAR, IF, IF CONDITIONS ARE SO DIFFERENT THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S ASPECTS OF THE PLAN WE NEED TO REVISIT.
SO I DO THINK THERE'S SOME FLEXIBILITY, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, TO, TO, TO LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE SIX MONTHS FROM NOW AND SEE IF ANY, ANYTHING NEW IS, UH, IS MADE.
SO I, I'M NOT HEARING, UH, YOU KNOW, OVERWHELMING SUPPORT TO MOVE THIS FORWARD.
UM, I DO WONDER MARTY THERE'S, UM, TWO ITEMS IN HERE THAT ARE REALLY MORE THEY'RE LESS ACTION AND MORE PRESENTATIONS, UH, WHICH IT IS, UM, UH, I, I WONDER IF YOU'D BE WILLING TO SOMETIME THIS YEAR, UH, I WON'T SPECIFY THE MONTH, BUT HAVING AUSTIN ENERGY PRESENT THE RESULTS
[01:20:01]
OF THEIR LAST STORAGE, UH, THE STORAGE FOR UP TO 200 MEGAWATTS AND THEIR LATEST RFP ON RENEWABLES, AND THAT WE ASK THEM TO COME AND PRESENT TO US WHAT THOSE, WHAT THEY FOUND AND WHETHER THERE WERE ANY, YOU KNOW, CANDIDATES THAT WERE WORTHY.UM, AND THEN ALSO HAVING A PRESENTATION ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND FUTURE COSTS THAT'S LAID OUT IN NUMBER SIX.
IS THAT SOMETHING YOU'RE WILLING TO, TO ENTERTAIN THAT WE HAVE PRESENTATIONS AT THE EOC, WHICH WE COULD THEN MAKE AVAILABLE TO CITY COUNCIL? YES, I, I WOULD, I WOULD SUPPORT THAT COMMISSIONER READ, UM, UH, PRESENT, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKE A REQUEST OF AUSTIN ENERGY FOR THOSE TWO PRESENTATIONS AND, UH, AND SEE WHAT WE GET.
AND I DO, I'M AN, I DO THINK, UH, THE DECOMMISSIONING COSTS, UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'LL BE TAKING UP THE RATE CASE AND WE CAN SEE WHETHER THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, THAT THOSE ARE INCORPORATED.
UH, SO, UM, AND, UH, AS WELL AS JUST THE, THE ANNUAL BUDGETS ON WHAT WE'RE SPENDING ON FAT, WE CAN DO THROUGH THE OTHER PROCESSES.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL, I'LL WITHDRAW THIS, UNLESS I HEAR FROM OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT REALLY WANT TO MOVE IT FORWARD.
AND, UM, UH, WE CAN, WE CAN GET THOSE PRESENTATIONS LATER ON THE YEAR.
SO I DO SEE IN THE PLAN THAT WE CAN REVISIT THIS END OF YEAR 2022, AND THEN MAYBE GET LIKE AN UPDATED GRAPH CONSIDERING THAT FAYETTE LIKELY WON'T BE SHUT DOWN BY END OF YEAR.
AND WE'LL ALSO GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE IF 0.5 WAS CAUSE I THINK THAT IS AN IMPORTANT POINT.
AND I KNOW THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE COST OF SHUTTING DOWN FAYETTE TO CUSTOMERS.
SO I WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTED IN BOTH 0.5 AND JUST SEEING WHAT A NEW FORECAST MIGHT BE.
BUT SO JUST TO, I GUESS, JUST TO SUMMARIZE THAT WE DO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO REVISIT BOTH OF THOSE.
CERTAINLY WE, WE ALWAYS HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO REVISIT, UM, WONDERFUL.
UM, I WOULD, I WOULD NOTE THAT ON THE RESOURCE PLAN, UM, THAT, AND, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, PERHAPS YOUR ENGAGEMENT ON, ON THAT, UH, THE, THE RESOURCE PLAN IS QUITE AN UNDERTAKING.
AND, AND SO IT, IT IS, IT IS NO SMALL, UH, LIFT TO OPEN THAT PROCESS BACK UP.
WE ABSOLUTELY MAY DECIDE THAT THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
UM, BUT IT IS A MULTI-WEEK, UM, MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PROCESS OF INTENSE WORK WITH, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF TO PUT TOGETHER, UM, A VERY DATA-DRIVEN AND, YOU KNOW, REACHABLE, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, RESOURCE PLAN.
UM, AND I ALREADY GOT IT WASN'T TO BE CLEAR, I WASN'T, UM, STATING AN OPINION THAT WE SHOULD REOPEN IT DECEMBER.
IT WAS SAYING IS WE HAVE, ACCORDING TO THE PLAN ITSELF, WE HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY.
AND SO WE CAN, WE CAN GET A PRESENTATION DECEMBER, SEE HOW THINGS ARE GOING.
AND IF WE FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WE GOT TO REOPEN THIS WHOLE THING, CAUSE FAT'S GOING TO BE AROUND FOREVER.
UH, WE CAN DO THAT, BUT WE CAN, WE CAN DECIDE THAT BASED IN THE FUTURE, WE DON'T NEED TO DECIDE IT TODAY.
THANKS FOR THE, UH, DISCUSSION EVERYONE.
UH, LET ME, LET ME SEE WHERE WE ARE HERE.
[12. Update from Budget and Audit Workgroup (Sponsors: Chapman; Hopkins)]
ITEM NUMBER 12, UPDATE FROM THE BUDGET AND AUDIT WORK GROUP.UM, AND THIS IS COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN GOOD EVENING.
UH, VERY HARDLY AT THE FEBRUARY MEETING AS WE WERE, AS PEOPLE WERE LEAVING, WE CREATED THE WORK GROUP, UH, BUT ALL OF WHICH IS THE WORK GROUP HAS NOT HAD ITS FIRST MEETING.
AND AS WE LOOK AT THE TIMELINE AT THE RELEVANT TIMELINES, WE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE DATA NECESSARY DATA.
SO ALL OF WHICH IS WHAT I, I SENT OUT A SHORT EMAIL AT THE END OF LAST WEEK.
UH, I'VE HEARD FROM CYRUS, BUT, UH, CERTAINLY, AND I BELIEVE YOU HAD VOLUNTEER.
I HAVE NOT, I HAVE NOT VOLUNTEERED.
I DON'T THINK I HAVE THE TIME COMMITMENT TO GIVE.
ALL, ALL OF WHICH HAS THE AUDIENCE IS TO DRILL DOWN A LITTLE BIT, INSTEAD OF SIMPLY LOOKING AT THE SLIDE SHOW PRESENTATIONS AND ASK FOR VOLUNTEERS AT THIS POINT, I THINK I WOULD ACTUALLY BE INTERESTED IN TAKING PART I'M LEANING CLOSE.
[01:25:01]
I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN TAKING PART OF THAT WORKING GROUP.AND I, UM, WAS LOOKING AT SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION ALSO MADE.
I THINK THEY HAVE SOME INTERESTING POINTS THAT WE COULD EXAMINE AS WELL, JUST IN REGARDS TO LIKE COMMUNITY SOLAR, PARTICULARLY.
RANDY, I'M HAPPY TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT GROUP.
NOW THAT ONE WORKING GROUP HAS DONE, I HAVE TIME TO DO THE OTHER, I, I WILL, UH, VOLUNTEER AS WELL FOR THAT'S GREAT.
UM, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR VOLUNTEERING YOUR TIME.
[13. Officer Election]
MOVES US ON TO OTHER BUSINESS AND WE HAVE ITEM NUMBER 13, OFFICER ELECTIONS, UM, COMMISSIONER TUTTLE HAS GRACIOUSLY AGREED TO, UH, CONTINUE SERVING IN THE VICE-CHAIR ROLE UNLESS SOMEONE IS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN TAKING THAT OVER.HE WOULDN'T BE, HE WOULDN'T MIND.
UM, SO IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO SERVE IN THAT POSITION, LET US KNOW.
OTHERWISE I, UM, I'M GOING TO NOMINATE COMMISSIONER TODDLE TO CONTINUE TO SERVE AS THE VICE CHAIR SO I COULD.
THE I'S HAVE IT COMMISSIONER TUTTLE.
YOU'VE YOU'VE GOT YOURSELF A, ANOTHER, I THINK, IS IT TWO YEARS AS THESE ARE THESE COMMITMENTS? TWO YEARS? I THOUGHT IT WAS YEARLY ONE YEAR, ONE YEAR, ONE YEAR COMMITMENT.
AND, AND ON THAT NOTE, I LIKEWISE HAVE, UM, RE-UPPED MYSELF FOR ANOTHER ONE YEAR AT CHAIR, IF YOU'LL HAVE ME.
UH, SO UNLESS SOMEONE ELSE AGAIN WANTS IT, ANY TAKERS, THERE'S A GROUP OF A DOZEN PEOPLE STANDING RIGHT OUTSIDE WAITING FOR IT.
THAT CASE IS, IS THAT A NOMINATION COMMISSIONER VIRGIL.
I WILL BE THE CHAIR FOR THE NEXT YEAR AS WELL.
UM, THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
REPORT REGARDING CITY COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED BY THE UC THAT WAS CIRCULATED WITH YOUR MATERIAL, YOUR MEETING MATERIALS, ANY COMMENTS ON THAT, UH, OR CHANGES.
[15. Future agenda items]
TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND, UH, COMMISSIONER REED.I HAVE THE TWO PRESENTATIONS THAT YOU MENTIONED, UM, THAT WE DISCUSSED, UH, DURING THE WORKING GROUP CONVERSATION.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT, UH, ROBIN IS TRACKING, UH, OTHER THINGS THAT I DON'T HAVE IN FRONT OF ME RIGHT NOW.
UH, BUT IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THAT FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP RIGHT NOW, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
WELL, IT WAS SO GLAD TO SEE SO MANY OF YOU IN PERSON AND IT WAS NICE NOT BEING ALONE AT THIS BIG TABLE.