* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] IF I FORGET ABOUT SOMETHING, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. JUST REMIND ME I FORGOTTEN ABOUT SOMETHING. WE NEED TO ADD IT IN THERE TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL. ARE WE READY TO GO ON THE RECORD? THE FOLKS IN THE BACK. GOOD. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE ON THE RECORD. TODAY IS JULY 12TH, 2022. THIS IS A PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY, 2022 BASE RATE WITH VIEW. MY NAME IS TRAVIS VICKERY ON THE INDEPENDENT HEARINGS EXAMINER FOR THE BASE RATE REVIEW. I HAVE TOGETHER WITH ME TODAY FROM MY LAW FIRM, ANDREW EDGE, THE CELL CLARK AUSTIN JONES AND LINDA RADFORD THEY'RE ASSISTING IN, UH, PRESIDING OR ASSISTING ME IN PRESIDING. ALSO, THEY'RE GONNA ASSIST, UM, IN THE DRAFTING OF CERTAIN ISSUES FOR THE REPORT, WHICH OF COURSE I DO A FINAL REVIEW ON AND WE'RE GOING TO BE DISCUSSING ALL THE WAY THROUGH, BUT I CAN'T WRITE IT ALL BY MYSELF. SO THEY'RE GOING TO BE ASSISTING WITH THAT. UM, AT THIS TIME, UH, LET'S JUST MOVE AROUND THE ROOM, STARTING TO MY LEFT. WE'LL TAKE APPEARANCES FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO AREN'T ATTORNEYS AND AREN'T FAMILIAR. THIS IS JUST A CHANCE FOR YOU TO STATE YOUR NAME AND THAT YOU'RE HERE AND YOU'RE PRESENT TODAY, UH, ON THE RECORD. ALL RIGHT. AND WE'LL START WITH AUSTIN ENERGY. THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR. MY NAME IS THOMAS . I'M WITH THE LAW FIRM OF LLOYD GOSLING. I'M PAIRING TODAY ON BEHALF OF, OF AUSTIN ENERGY. UH, ALSO WITH ME IS TAYLOR DENNISON WHO REPRESENTS, UM, ALTON ENERGY AS WELL. TAMMY COOPER, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT REGULATORY COMMUNICATIONS AND COMPLIANCE WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, CHRIS HUGHES AND ELENA'S ARMINO WITH HUSCH BLACKWELL REPRESENTING NXP SEMICONDUCTORS, ROGER GAL REPRESENTING HOMEOWNERS UNITED FOR RATE FAIRNESS, ALSO KNOWN AS HERFF TODD KIMBRO WITH THE FIRM OF BALDWIN BEING UMBRELLA, PRESENTING DATA FOUNDRY, BEN HALLMARK WITH O'MELVENY AND MYERS REPRESENTING TEXAS INDUSTRIAL ENERGY CONSUMERS, ASHLEY FISHER, REPRESENTING SOLAR AND STORAGE COALITION OR SSE. THANK YOU. LEONETTA COOPER HERE ON BEHALF OF, UH, TWO WOMEN RATE PAYERS ALSO KNOWN AS TWO W R UH, APPEARING ON BEHALF OF THE INDEPENDENT CONSUMER ADVOCATE OR ICA JOHN B. KAUFMAN. I ALSO HAVE, UM, OUR WITNESS CLARENCE JOHNSON WITH US TODAY. THANK YOU. UM, I'M JAMES BRAZELLE. I'M APPEARING TODAY FOR A SIERRA CLUB PUBLIC CITIZEN, SOME ISSUES SON WITH ME HERE TODAY ARE OUR WITNESSES ARE ALSO PARTICIPANTS AT CYRUS REED CABLE. WHY? SHELLY, THANK YOU, MR. BRAZIL. I AM PAUL ROBBINS. I'M AN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST AND CONSUMER ADVOCATE. UH, UM, I'M NOT, UH, PAYING TO BE HERE ON DOING THIS PROGRAM. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? OH, ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS WHETHER GREEN IS ON OR RED IS OFF FOR THESE MICROPHONES. RED SEEMS TO BE ON YOU'RE ALWAYS DIFFERENT. MR. BRAZIL, ALWAYS DIFFERENT. YEAH. AGAIN, IT'S JAMES BRAZELLE, UH, PERIOD FOR SIERRA CLUB PUBLIC CITIZEN, AND ON SOME ISSUES SON AND WITH ME ARE CYRUS REED, CABLE WHITE AND ADRIAN SHELLEY. THE LAST TWO ARE CYRUS READING WITH SIERRA CLUB CABLE WHITENING. ADRIAN SHELLEY WAS HOMELESS. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU, MR. BRAZIL, ANYONE ELSE TO ENTER OUR PARENTS TODAY? THERE ARE A FEW OTHER PEOPLE IN THE ROOM, BUT ALL RIGHT. SO, UH, BRIEFLY I WANTED TO, UH, ADDRESS A COUPLE OF PENDING ISSUES. UH, FIRST OF ALL, MR. ROBBINS, UH, RECENTLY FILED A NOTICE OF A CONFLICT ON JULY 14TH. SO HE WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE ON JULY 14TH. UM, THE CITY, OR I'M SORRY, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS INDICATED THAT PROBABLY JULY 15TH IS THE DAY THAT WE WOULD HAVE YOUR, YOUR THAT'S FINE WITH ME. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. UM, ALSO TEXAS INDUSTRIAL ENERGY CONSUMERS, UH, FILED A LETTER ON JULY 8TH, UM, REGARDING DIVISION OF TIME. I WANT TO THANK THE PARTIES FOR, FOR WORKING ON THE DIVISION OF TIME AND ALSO WORKING ON IN ADDITION TO EVERYTHING ELSE THAT YOU'VE DONE IN THIS CASE, UH, WORKING ON THE ORDER PRESENTATION, THE ORDER OF CROSS, UM, ALL OF THOSE ENDEAVORS ARE APPRECIATED AND, UH, I WON'T GO INTO IT RIGHT NOW, BUT WE DO HAVE A, UM, TIME ALLOTMENTS BREAKING UP ROUGHLY EIGHT HOURS OF, OF HEARING OVER THREE DAYS [00:05:01] EACH. AND THOUGH THAT'S A LOT OF HEARING TIME. AND SO WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO, TO KEEP THINGS MOVING ONCE THE HEARING STARTS TOMORROW, UH, TO THAT END, WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO, UM, GET ALL OF THE EXHIBITS POSSIBLE ADMITTED TODAY. UM, THEY JUST, I THINK SOME OF THEM JUST TO BE NUMBERED DID MART THAT THOSE TWO MOTIONS OR REQUESTS ARE BOTH GRANTED, UH, MR. ROBIN'S REQUEST IS GRANTED IN, UH, THE TIC LETTER REQUEST IS GRANTED, UH, IN TERMS OF THE ISSUES THAT WE IDENTIFIED IN ORDER NUMBER SIX. UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WITNESS PANELS JUST REVIEWING THE ORDER PRESENTATION, WHICH WAS DISTRIBUTED THIS MORNING, THAT AUSTIN ENERGY WILL HAVE A WITNESS PANEL, UH, FOR BOTH, UH, DIRECT AND REBUTTAL, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S ONLY AUSTIN ENERGY. THAT'S GOING TO HAVE A PANEL. IS THAT CORRECT? YES. EXCUSE ME. YES, YOUR HONOR. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU, MR. MERCADO. ALL RIGHT. UM, WE HAVE, UM, ON THE PANELS, UH, I DO HAVE ONE, ONE CONCERN. UH, I'VE, I'VE PARTICIPATED IN TOWELS BEFORE WHERE, UH, THE LAWYER THROWS OUT THE QUESTION AND THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE ALL SIX PEOPLE COMMENTING ON IT AND WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME. SO I'D LIKE TO HAVE A CLARIFICATION THAT WE'VE GOT, LIKE THE THREE OR FOUR FOLKS THERE. AND LIKE, I DIRECT A QUESTION TO PERSON NUMBER ONE, AND THAT'S, WHO'S ANSWERING IT, NOT PERSON NUMBER TWO, THREE, AND FOUR. UH, AND IF I WANT TO ASK ANOTHER COMMENT FOR TWO, BUT I DON'T REALLY WANT ALL MY TIME TO BE SUBSUMED BY, BY THAT NOW THAT THEY WANT TO DO IT ON REDIRECT, THAT'S FINE. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE LIKE A ONE-ON-ONE CROSS-EXAMINATION, UM, THAT'S JUST NOT HOW THE PANELS WORK. I'VE BEEN DOING WITNESS PANELS SINCE THE, ALL THE CRES CASES WE HAD TO DO WITNESS PANELS AND IT ACTUALLY WORKS GREAT. AND IT GOT ADOPTED AND USED ACROSS THE BOARD. I THINK. SO IT'S STILL USING PANELS. THE POINT OF HAVING THOSE EXPERTS UP THERE ALL AT THE SAME TIME IS THAT YOU PUT YOUR QUESTION OUT THERE AND I'VE NOT SEEN A SITUATION WHERE THEY'RE STUMBLING OVER EACH OTHER. TYPICALLY WHAT THEY DO IS THEY'LL LOOK AT EACH OTHER WHERE THERE'S SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THAT THAT'S THEIR ISSUE. THEY ANSWER IT. YOU ASK THE NEXT QUESTION. IT IS NOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO CATCH THEM IN CROSS EXAMINATION. OKAY. THAT WASN'T THE POINT I WAS MAKING. YOUR HONOR, WE HAVE LIMITED TIME. WE DO, AND WITNESS PANELS ARE VERY EFFICIENT. WE, I, I, I'M NOT SAYING THAT THEY'RE NOT EFFICIENT, YOUR HONOR. I'M JUST SAYING THAT. DO WE HAVE, CAN WE HAVE A TIME LIMIT ON THE RESPONSE THEN THAT WHEN WE ASK A QUESTION, I MEAN, THAT'S THE CONCERN I HAVE IS WE HAVE VERY LIMITED TIME ON, ON OUR, UH, THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE FOR US. IF A WITNESS ISN'T ANSWERING A QUESTION, YOU CAN ASK ME TO ORDER THEM TO ANSWER THE QUESTION THAT I THINK THAT'S THE APPROACH, BUT I DON'T THINK I'M, WE DO NOT HAVE THE TIME OR THE ABILITY TO SIT HERE AND ASCRIBE A CERTAIN VALUE OF TIME FOR EACH QUESTION. OH, THE WITNESS TOOK TOO LONG, UH, IN ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION, I, I REALLY DON'T THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE A PROBLEM. I'VE NOT SEEN IT BEFORE. I'LL TRUST YOU, YOUR HONOR. OKAY, YOUR HONOR, IF I MAY JUST TO, UM, HELP THIS OUT, PERHAPS WE'VE GONE TO SOME LINKS TO WORK WITH OUR WITNESSES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT ISSUES THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR AND WHICH ISSUES THEY'RE ARE NOT. AND, UM, WE'LL CERTAINLY INFORM THEM OF YOUR CONCERN AND, UH, DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROPER PERSON IS ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS AND, UH, NOT GOING ANY, UH, BEYOND WHAT IS NECESSARY TO, TO RESPOND TO THE QUESTIONS. SO WE'LL, WE'LL PLAY ALONG YOUR HONOR TO, I'M SORRY, WHO'S CHRIS. CHRIS. SHE'S AN XP. OKAY. SORRY. I SHOULD PUT MY GLASSES ON. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. TO THOMAS' TO THIS WELL, TO THIS WHOLE CONVERSATION, THOMAS, SHOULD WE, YOU KNOW, IN THE RIGHT FILING PACKAGE, THERE'S NOT ANY, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT BROKEN DOWN IN SPONSORING WITNESSES FOR TESTIMONY. SHOULD WE THEN ASCRIBE THE ISSUES THAT EACH WITNESS TOOK UP IN REBUTTAL, THE SAME ISSUES THAT WERE PRESENTED IN DIRECT? YES, THAT'S A GOOD ROADMAP. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. YOU'LL NEED TO USE THOSE. SORRY, YOUR HONOR. I APOLOGIZE. AND THIS IS DIRECTED TO THOMAS, UH, ARE THE PANELS ORGANIZED BY SUBJECT MATTER OR ARE YOU JUST PUT THE FIRST FOUR UP? AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I KIND OF LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF ORDER ON OUR CROSS-EXAMINATION. SURE. UH, GENERALLY SPEAKING, UH, AND AGAIN, YOU CAN LOOK TO THE REBUTTAL IF YOU WANT MORE GUIDANCE, BUT GENERALLY MR. MANUS DOMBROSKI AND GONZALEZ, THEY'RE ALL FINANCIAL, UH, REVENUE REQUIREMENT WITNESSES, UH, MR. GALVIN ADDRESSES 3 1 1, WHICH IS THE REVENUE REQUIREMENT [00:10:01] ISSUE. UH, AND SO THAT'S WHY THEY'RE IN THE FIRST PANEL. UH, THE SECOND PANEL, MR. ROBIN IS IN BARNUM, OUR COST ALLOCATION AND RATE DESIGN, AS WELL AS MR. MURPHY. AND THEN MR. HARVEY ADDRESSES, UM, SOLAR ISSUES. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS IN REBUTTAL. YOU'LL SEE, IT'S MR. GENESEE INSTEAD OF MR. HARVEY, BUT HE ALSO ADDRESSES THE SOLAR ISSUES THAT MR. HARVEY ADDRESSES, UH, AND ANDRE, OTHERWISE THE SAME IS TRUE ON BOTH DIRECT AS WELL AS REBUTTAL. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SURE. OKAY. THANK YOU BOTH. UM, IN TERMS OF EXHIBITS, WE'RE GOING TO, WHEN WE TAKE A LITTLE BREAK HERE, UM, WE'LL BUILD A COUPLE OF BOXES OR TWO OR THREE BOXES, AND JUST WHOEVER HAS YOUR TWO COPIES, PLEASE JUST DROP THEM OFF IN THE BOX. WE'D APPRECIATE THAT. UM, FOR ELECTRONIC COPIES OF EXHIBITS, THE PARTIES ARE GOING TO BASICALLY RELY ON WHAT HAS BEEN FILED ON THE CITY'S OR THE AUSTIN ENERGY'S INTERCHANGE. AND THOSE WILL BE IDENTIFIED, UH, THROUGH AN EXHIBIT LIST, UH, THAT WE WILL DEVELOP. I THINK WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT OFF THE RECORD. WE'LL DEVELOP AN EXHIBIT LIST OFF THE RECORD BASED ON HOW PARTIES WANT THEIR EXHIBITS TO BE NUMBERED. UM, WE WILL NEED SOME COMMUNICATION ABOUT THAT IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. IT MAY BE AS SIMPLE AS TAKE YOUR ORDER OF PRESENTATION AND, AND FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU WANT TO MARK EACH OF YOUR EXHIBITS. AND THEN, AND THEN JUST GIVE US A LIST AND WE'LL CREATE A UNIT. AND I DON'T CARE IF IT'S HANDWRITTEN, THAT'S FINE. WE JUST NEED SOMETHING TO CREATE A UNIFIED EXHIBIT LIST FROM. UM, AND THEN IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE REALLY ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE ANY OBJECTIONS TO ANY OF THE PRE-FILED EXHIBITS. UM, IS IT FAIR TO SAY THAT IF A PARTY OFFERS SOMETHING THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN FILED ON THE AUSTIN ENERGY INTERCHANGE, THAT THERE IS NOT GOING TO BE AN OBJECTION TO IT WHERE RESERVING CROSS-EXAMINATION EXHIBITS, LET'S SET THAT ASIDE, AND I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT YOUR DIRECT CASE EXHIBITS AND REBUTTAL EXHIBITS THAT HAVE BEEN FILED. DO WE ANTICIPATE ANY OBJECTIONS? UH, YOUR HONOR, THERE IS ONE ITEM AND I'M NOT SURE IF NOW IS THE PROPER TIME TO DISCUSS IT OR NOT, BUT, UH, LAST NIGHT, MR. ROBINS FILED WHAT HE LABELED AS A SPECIAL MOTION TO COMPEL, TO PRODUCE, UH, EVIDENCE RELATED TO THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM OR CAP. UM, HE HAD ASKED, UM, AN RFI EARLY ON IN THE CASE THAT WE OBJECTED TO. AND THEN HE ASKED THAT QUESTION AGAIN, UH, UH, IN RESPONSE TO OUR REBUTTAL TESTIMONY. WE HAVE NOT OBJECTED TO THAT QUESTION YET. THE RESPONSE IS ACTUALLY DUE TOMORROW. UH, HE ALSO ATTACHED A LENGTHY DOCUMENT, UM, THAT WAS FILED WITH, UH, THE RA. UM, I'M NOT SURE IF HE INTENDS TO OFFER THAT OR NOT, BUT WE WOULD HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT IT AS WELL AS HIS SPECIAL MOTION. UH, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW IT OR NOT. I'M PREPARED IF NECESSARY TO, TO, UH, ADDRESS IT NOW ORALLY, OR I CAN DO THAT IN THE MORNING IF THAT'S MORE APPROPRIATE AND GIVES YOU TIME TO LOOK AT IT. UH, I'VE LOOKED AT IT BRIEFLY, BUT, UM, I THINK I WOULD PREFER TO WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW MORNING. UM, YES, MR. MR. ROBBINS, UM, I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS SPECIAL MOTION AND THE DISCOURSE OF THESE HEARINGS BECAUSE THERE'S NO INFORMATION YET THAT, UM, I MEAN, IF MR. BURKE, KETO AND AUSTIN ENERGY WANNA ARGUE ABOUT IT SEPARATELY, THAT'S OF COURSE, THEY'RE RIGHT. AND I EXPECT THEM TO, BUT, UM, I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO MAKE THIS MOTION APART OF THE HEARING. ALL RIGHT. WELL THEN, THEN WE DON'T HAVE AN ISSUE WITH RESPECT TO AN EXHIBIT BEING ADMITTED, ADMITTED SINCE HE'S NOT GOING TO BE OFFERING THAT INFORMATION. ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU BOTH FOR RESOLVING THAT ON THE RECORD AND, UM, HEARING NO OBJECTIONS TO THE, WHAT ARE GOING TO BE MARKED AS EXHIBITS OR IDENTIFIED AS EXHIBITS RATHER, BUT HAVE ALREADY BEEN FILED ON THE, ON AUSTIN ENERGY AND OUR CHANGE. ALL OF THOSE EXHIBITS ARE ESSENTIALLY ADMITTED INTO THE RECORD FOR THIS, FOR THIS PROCEEDING, FOR CROSS-EXAMINATION EXHIBITS. THE PARTIES HAVE AGREED TO LAY OUT A COUPLE OF COPIES AT A SPECIFIC TABLE IN THE HEARING ROOM IN THE MORNING FOR OTHER PARTICIPANTS TO GO OR PARTICIPANT REPRESENTATIVES TO GO TAKE A LOOK AT AND SEE, LOOK AT AND SEE IF THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH IT. AND IF WE CAN, IN THE MORNING, EVERY MORNING, I WOULD LIKE TO GET THOSE CROSS-EXAMINATION EXHIBITS ADMITTED SO THAT THE HEARING JUST MOVES SMOOTHLY. [00:15:01] AND THERE'S NO OBJECTION TO THEM, MID, MID STREAM. UM, ANY ISSUE WITH THAT? SO AGAIN, HARD COPIES WE'LL HAVE BOXES, ELECTRONIC COPIES, JUST GIVE US, UH, AN EXHIBIT LIST, IDENTIFYING THOSE BY EXHIBIT NUMBER AS YOU WANT THEM, WE'LL PRODUCE A UNIFIED EXHIBIT LIST BY THE END OF THE HEARING, I'M ASKING THE PARTIES TO HELP ME REMEMBER IT, THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE LAST THINGS YOU DO AT THE, AT A HEARING IS MAKE SURE THAT YOU'VE GOT ALL OF YOUR EXHIBITS COVERED AND EMBEDDED, AND THERE ISN'T ANYTHING MISSING THAT SOMEONE WANTED TO GET IN. YES, SIR. YOU'RE ON A JOHN KAUFMAN, IS WE, WHEN WE PUT OUR EXHIBITS IN THE BOX, THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN PROVIDE, DO WE WANT, DO YOU WANT US TO LABEL THEM? YES. IN THE BAR ON THE TOP, YOU KNOW, TOP, BOTTOM, FRONT PAGE, THAT'S ALL IT MATTERS. WE JUST GOT TO KNOW WHICH ONE THAT IS WHO'S, WHO'S OFFERING IT AND WHAT THE EXHIBIT NUMBER IS. AND THEN WE'RE GOOD TO GO. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'LL HELP US RECONCILE TOO, BECAUSE A LOT OF PARTIES HAVE COUNSEL HERE. UM, UH, THERE. OKAY. SO I THINK WE'RE DONE WITH EXHIBITS, YOUR HONOR. ONE LAST THING, IF I COULD JUST MENTION IT'S JAMES BRAZIL SIERRA CLUB, AND I PUT MY GLASSES ON OKAY. FEEDBACK FOR SOME REASON, BUT I THINK IT'S BETTER. UH, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION, THIS IS JUST A NOTE TO AVOID POSSIBLE CONFUSION LATER ON IN THE EVENT THAT IT MATTERS IN THE ORDER OF PRESENTATION, OUR WITNESSES ARE SHOWN AS READ ROBIN, GO AND HOUSEMAN, AND ACTUALLY WE'LL HAVE THE ORDER REVERSED. IT'LL BE DIFFERENT. IT'LL BE HOUSEMAN IS EXHIBIT ONE. RABAGO EXHIBIT TWO, READ THREE. AND THEN A SUMMARY IS EXHIBIT FOUR. SO, UH, THAT'LL SHOW UP ON THE EXHIBIT LIST. AND IN ANY FUTURE COPIES, I HOPE OF THE ORDER OF PRESENTATION, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MENTION IT. SO THERE WASN'T ANY CONFUSION LATER ON HOUSEMEN YEAH, I'M NOT, I'M NOT MR. BRAZELLE. I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT THAT. RIGHT. UH, EXHIBIT ONE IS HOUSEMAN. EXHIBIT TWO IS ROBIN ROBIN GO, EXHIBIT THREE IS READ. AND THEN WHAT IS EXHIBIT FOUR? OUR SUMMARY. OKAY. THANK YOU, RON. THANK YOU. UM, ALRIGHT, SO EXHIBITS, ANYTHING ELSE ON EXHIBITS FOR NOW? WE CAN, WE CAN CIRCLE UP EVERY MORNING. ALL RIGHT. THERE ARE NO STIPULATIONS THAT THE PARTIES ARE, UH, ARE READY TO ENTER INTO, BUT AS USUAL, ANY GIVEN MORNING, YOU'VE GOT STIPULATIONS FROM SOMETHING THAT OCCURRED THE DAY BEFORE, OR YOU'RE READY TO ENTER TO JUST LET US KNOW AND WE'LL ANSWER THEM ON THE RECORD. UM, WE, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF HEARING TIME TO GET THROUGH OVER THE NEXT THREE DAYS. IF THE PARTIES, EVERYONE PRESENT AGREES TO START AT AN EARLIER TIME AND WAIVE THE FIVE DAY, IT'S A FIVE DAY NOTICE PERIOD FOR THE INDEPENDENT HEARING EXAMINER TO NOTIFY EVERYONE A HEARING TIME AND PLACE. IF YOU WANT TO SHOW UP EARLIER IN THE MORNING, THE 9:00 AM, WHICH IS WHEN I'VE NOTICED THE HEARING FOR THE RATHER THE FINAL CONFERENCE, LET ME USE THE CORRECT TERM. UM, DIDN'T LET US KNOW. AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN DISCUSS WHEN WE, WHEN WE LEAVE THE ROOM, WE'RE GOING TO GO OFF THE RECORD FOR A SECOND, LET Y'ALL TALK, LET US, AND THEN JUST SOMEONE CAN TEXT ME, LET US KNOW, OR, OR COME GET US. AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK IN AND WRAP THINGS UP. UM, AND THEN LET YOU CONTINUE, CONTINUE WORKING ON THIS CASE. UM, BUT BEFORE WE DO THAT, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE NEED TO CHAT ABOUT? I DO WANT TO GO OVER BRIEFING REAL QUICK, BUT OKAY. SO FOR BRIEFING THERE, UH, I HAD REQUESTED A LIST OF ISSUES AND ORDER NUMBER SIX, UH, FOR THE BRIEFING OR A UNIFIED BRIEFING OUTLINE, REALLY THAT EVERYONE WAS COMFORTABLE WITH HEARING TO, UH, MR. BOCCATO. YOU INDICATED THAT THE AUSTIN ENERGY HAS ALREADY BEEN WORKING ON THAT AND YOU'LL YOU'LL HAVE SOMETHING WHICH I REALLY APPRECIATE AGAIN, HAVING TO DO ALL THIS STUFF ON THE SIDE OF EVERYTHING ELSE YOU HAVE GOING ON. WE APPRECIATE, YES, YOUR HONOR. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF, UM, FINALIZING THAT WE'LL DISTRIBUTE IT TO THE PARTIES TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK AND THEN GET A DOCUMENT TO YOU TO REVIEW. ALL RIGHT. UM, LAST THING, AND I HAVE NOT SPOKEN WITH ANYONE ABOUT THIS. IT'S JUST LOOK, THE, THE PROCEDURAL SCHEDULE THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR A LONG TIME. NOW THERE HAVE BEEN ADJUSTMENTS TO IT THAT WERE AGREED TO. I ACTUALLY HAD A CONFLICT IN SEPTEMBER WHEN THERE WAS A PROPOSAL TO PUSH THINGS BACK A BIT. I WAS FIRST CHAIR AND A TRIAL MATAGORDA AND MATAGORDA COUNTY. AND THAT HAS BEEN RESOLVED. NOW I HAVE NOT SPOKEN WITH ANYONE ABOUT THIS, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO THROW THINGS OFF THE RAILS IN TERMS OF WHERE WE'RE HEADED. BUT IF THE PARTIES WANT A LITTLE BIT MORE ADDITIONAL TIME FOR BRIEFING, IT'S UP TO THE PARTIES AND WE'RE ON. AND HERE'S THE THING. IT IS MY JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STAY ON THE SCHEDULE. BUT IF EVERYONE AGREES, I DON'T WANT TO HAVE A FIGHT ABOUT THIS, BUT IF EVERYONE AGREES, YEAH, WE CAN GET THREE MORE DAYS HERE. AND THREE MORE DAYS THERE PUSH THINGS BACK. MAYBE ONE WEEK, ALL I KNOW IS THIS, [00:20:01] FROM MY EXPERIENCE AS AN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE, THE MORE TIME YOU DON'T WANT A WHOLE BUNCH OF TIME, CAUSE YOU GOTTA, YOU GOTTA BE WORKING ON IT. BUT THE MORE TIME THAT PARTIES HAVE FOR BRIEFING, THE BETTER THE BRIEFING. AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A RATE CASE, SO GOOD BRIEFING IS ESSENTIAL AND THERE ARE A LOT OF ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED. SO IT'S JUST AN IDEA. I NO LONGER HAVE THAT CONFLICT IF AUSTIN ENERGY, WHICH I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO RESPOND TO RIGHT NOW ON THE RECORD, WE CAN DEAL WITH IT LATER IF WE NEED TO, BUT I'M ASKING FOR A CONSENSUS, YOU HAVE TO WELL AN AGREEMENT. AND IF ONE PARTY SAYS NO, THEN PRETTY MUCH I'M GOING TO STICK WITH THE EXISTING PROCEDURAL SCHEDULE. BUT I THOUGHT I'D THROW IT OUT THERE BECAUSE I HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME IN SEPTEMBER NOW TO TAKE A LOOK AT THINGS. IT WOULD PUSH BACK MY DEADLINE BY WHATEVER OF DAYS. OKAY. OKAY. JUST A PROPONENT. THAT'S ALL. YES. YES. IT WOULD PUSH IT BACK TO PRO YOU KNOW, I WAS THINKING MAYBE ONE WEEK WOULD BE GOOD. THEY WOULD PICK UP THREE OR FOUR DAYS AND YOU ONLY PICK UP THREE, THREE DAYS OR SO. OKAY. SO THAT'S ALL YOUR HONOR. JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE PARTICIPANTS HERE. YES. BUT THIS IS A NOTICE HEARING. THEY WERE ENTITLED TO COVER IT. THEY WANTED TO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE JUST SAYING, OH, WELL THAT WOULD BE MR. ROBBINS. THAT WOULD BE THE SUBJECT OF AN ORDER AT WHAT I HAVE JUST PUT UP, PUT ON THE TABLE IS SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE HAS BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD IN THIS ROOM. I KNOW THAT. AND SO A FEW MORE DAYS MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE, UH, OR CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. SOMETIMES I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IF PEOPLE WEREN'T NOT HERE TODAY, THE CONSENSUS WOULD STILL STAND THAT'S ALL. WELL, THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE HERE TODAY TO ENTER, ENTER INTO THIS DISCUSSION. AND IT WOULD BE THE SUBJECT OF AN ORDER. I WOULD ISSUE ORDER NUMBER SEVEN, BASICALLY SAYING, HEY, EVERYONE'S GOT A FEW MORE DAYS AND WE'RE NOT TALKING LIKE A LOT OF EXTRA TIME. IT'S JUST A FEW MORE DAYS. THANK YOU. YOU BET. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. ANYTHING ELSE ON THE RECORD? I HAVE A COUPLE OF ITEMS. UH, YOUR HONOR. YES, SIR. WE'RE GOING TO TALK IN A MOMENT ABOUT START FINISH TIMES AND I JUST WANTED TO GET SOME INFORMATION FROM YOU. DO YOU HAVE A STRONG PREFERENCE AS TO LUNCH? FOR EXAMPLE, 30 MINUTES. OKAY. OR DO YOU NEED AN HOUR? UM, AND ON BREAKS, DO YOU REQUIRE ONE IN THE MORNING AND OR THE AFTERNOON? AND IF SO, IS THAT 10 MINUTES 15? OR DO YOU WANT TO JUST ANYTHING YOU REQUIRE LET'S WELL, IT'S NOT, IT IS, IT IS KIND OF A HUMAN REQUIREMENT THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE BREAKS. UM, BUT, BUT REALLY IT'S LIKE, WE'VE GOT A BUNCH OF FOLKS IN THE ROOM AND YES, LOOK TYPICALLY I THINK WHAT WE SHOULD DO IS STICK WITH THE NORMAL PARADIGM. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MAYBE LUNCH, YOU GOT TO HAVE A 15 MINUTE BREAK OR 10 OR 15 MINUTE BREAK IN THE MORNING AND IT'S, YOU DON'T ADHERE TO IT. SUPER STRICTLY YOU TAKE A 10 MINUTE BREAK, 15, TRY TO BE BACK WITHIN 15, GET STARTED BACK ON THE RECORD. WE HAVE TO DO THAT IN THE MORNING AND AFTERNOON. NOW LUNCH, IF YOU'RE GOING TO, IF WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO DO A 30 MINUTE LUNCH, THEN FOLKS EITHER NEED TO BRING THEIR LUNCH ORDER IN LIKE PIZZA. I DON'T KNOW. CAN WE GET PIZZA DELIVERED HERE? UH, YES. DELIVERIES CAN BE MADE TO THE FRONT DESK, BUT NEEDS TO BE ON THE RECORD BY THE WAY. YEAH. WELL, I WOULD JUST NOTE, AT LEAST IN TERMS OF BREAKS WHILE WE COULD ALL GET UP AND GO AND, AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVE A BREAK WITHOUT THERE BEING AN OFFICIAL ONE, YOU KNOW, THAT THE TELEVISION FOLKS ARE KIND OF LIKE OUR COURT REPORTER. RIGHT. AND USUALLY THEY NEED A LITTLE BREAK CAUSE THERE'S ONLY ONE OF THEM. SO IF WE CAN KEEP THAT IN MIND. YEAH. YES. MA'AM MS. COOPER AND YOU'LL LET, YOU'LL LET ME KNOW IF WE NEED TO TAKE A BREAK AND WE'LL DO THANK YOU. MA'AM THANK YOU. UM, OKAY. THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE. UH, WELL THAT'S EVERYTHING I HAD WITH RESPECT TO JUST THE SCHEDULING ISSUES. I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF OTHER ITEMS FOR THIS PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO BRING THOSE UP NOW OR NOT. LET'S DO IT. OKAY. SO AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, BACK ON JUNE THE EIGHTH, AND THEN AGAIN ON JULY THE 11TH AUSTIN ENERGY COLLECTED ALL OF THE FEEDBACK FORMS THAT WE HAD RECEIVED, UH, AT THAT TIME. AND WE SUBMITTED THOSE TO THE RA AT THE JUNE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSIONER EEC MEETING. THEY RECOMMENDED THAT AUSTIN ENERGY PROVIDE THOSE FEEDBACK FORMS TO THE IHG. AND SPECIFICALLY THEY STATED THAT TO ENSURE THAT THE IHG AND THE CITY COUNCIL ARE ABLE TO CONSIDER THE BROAD CROSS SECTION OF INPUT FROM RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS REFLECTED IN THE FEEDBACK FORMS RECEIVED BY AUSTIN ENERGY. THE EEC RECOMMENDS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY PRESENT TO THE IHG AS PART OF THE FORMAL HEARING PROCESS, ALL FEEDBACK FORMS RECEIVED. SO WHAT I HAVE HERE TO PROVIDE TO YOU ARE ALL THE FEEDBACK FORMS THAT WE RECEIVED AND FILED ON JUNE 8TH AND THEN THOSE THAT WE RECEIVE BETWEEN JUNE 8TH AND JULY THE 11TH, UH, I'VE GOT TWO COPIES AND I'LL PRESENT THEM TO YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE DID NOT GET ADDITIONAL DIRECTION OR GUIDANCE OR RECOMMENDATION FROM THE EDC. [00:25:01] IF IT PLEASES, YOUR HONOR, WE COULD WE, UM, HAPPY TO SPONSOR THOSE, YOU KNOW, AS, AS ICA FIVE AND SIX, ANY OBJECTION TO, UH, RECEIVING THESE IN THE RECORD AND ALSO MARKING THEM AS ICA FIVE AND SIX. THE ONLY THING I WOULD COMMENT ON ABOUT THOSE IS I KNOW THAT WE'VE TAKEN SOMEWHAT OF A LOOSER APPROACH TO WHAT EVIDENCE IS AND WHAT EVIDENCE IS NOT. AND I WOULD JUST SUGGEST THAT THESE BE TREATED AS, SO A JUDGE MIGHT TREAT A STATEMENT OR POSITION WHERE IT IS INFORMATIVE, BUT IT IS NOT ACTUALLY EVIDENCE UPON WHICH A DECISION HAS BEEN MADE. AND THE REASON I WOULD SAY THAT IT'S SIMPLY BECAUSE FRANKLY WE HAVEN'T HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO, OR IN WON'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND TO THOSE IN ANY FASHION, IF THEY WERE TREATED AS IN A MORE FORMAL WAY. AND I THINK THAT'S CONSISTENT WITH WHAT MR. KAUFFMAN SAYING. I DON'T THINK YOU'RE, YOU'RE ACTUALLY ASKING FOR LIKE SUBSTANTIVE TREATMENT OF THOSE ITEMS. OKAY. SO WE CAN MAKE A ONE. UM, YEAH. SO IF THAT'S, YEAH, IF THAT'S THE QUESTION, UM, TREAT IT AS ONE PACKAGE AS ICA FIVE, SINCE YOU'VE PUT THEM ALL TOGETHER AT THIS AS OF THIS DATE, BUT AS TO THE POINT, I THINK, I THINK I AGREE WITH MR. , UH, EXCEPT TO MAYBE THE DEGREE THAT, UH, RATE DESIGN IS SUPPOSED TO, YOU KNOW, ADHERE, YOU KNOW, TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, UH, PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE AND THE CITY COUNCIL I'M SURE WILL, YOU'LL WANT TO ACCEPT IT, BUT IT'S THE COMMENTS IN THERE ARE NOT BEING OFFERED AS NECESSARILY ICS OPINIONS OR, UH, AS EXPERT OPINIONS, BUT AS, UH, SOMETHING I, I I'M SURE AS A SOPHISTICATED TRIER OF FACT, THE IAG UNDERSTANDS WHAT THE NATURE OF THAT IS. DON'T THESE AMOUNT TO, I MEAN, IT'S CHRIS HUGHES, NXP. I MEAN, NOBODY'S SEEN HIM, SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY SAY. I CERTAINLY DON'T THINK THEY OUGHT TO BE EVIDENTIARY THEY'RE THERE ON THE INTERCHANGE. UM, WELL THERE'S NOTHING THE JUNE 8TH OF THE JULY 11TH FILING, BUT MORE STUFF TO READ. I WOULD ALSO, I MEAN, LET'S DO THIS. OKAY. SORRY. YEAH, JUST REAL QUICK. LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT. WHAT, WHAT, UH, MR. ROBERTO HAS PROVIDED TO THE IHG AND, AND, UM, WHAT THE IHG HAS, UH, HANDED TO THE ICA AND NXP TO REVIEW IS A COVER LETTER DATED JULY 12TH, WHICH IS TODAY'S DATE 2022. AND THEN IT IS FOLLOWED BY A 39 PAGES OF WHAT APPEARS TO BE PUBLIC COMMENT. UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING IT'S ACTUALLY 36 PAGES THINK, WELL, THERE'S A COMPLETE PACKAGE. I THINK IT'S MORE I'VE UNDERESTIMATED. YOU HAVE, LET ME BE CLEAR. I'M LOOKING AT THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME YOU HAVE 39 PAGES FOR, I THINK THE JUNE 8TH, 2022 PACKET OF PUBLIC COMMENT, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT. AND THEN IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAT ARE THE, THERE ARE TWO UNMARKED AUSTIN ENERGY BASED RATE, CHANGE FEEDBACK FORMS, TWO OF THEM. AND BY THAT, BY WHEN I SAY UNMARKED, THEY DON'T HAVE PAGE NUMBERS AT THE BOTTOM OF THEM. AND THEN IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAT IS PAGE ONE THROUGH 36 OF ADDITIONAL PUBLIC PUBLIC COMMENT. AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THOSE WERE IN THE JULY 11, 20, 22 FILING. IT SHOULD BE CORRECT. I DON'T HAVE A COPY IN FRONT OF ME, BUT I BELIEVE THAT'S HOW THEY WERE COMPILED. AND BASICALLY THEY TOOK THE JUNE 8TH FILING AND THEN THEY PUT THE JULY 11TH FILING RIGHT BEHIND IT OR WITH IT. YES. UM, LOOK, THESE, WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS SO THAT THE CITY COUNCIL CAN ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT IT. I WILL REVIEW THEM TO INCORPORATE, I WILL REVIEW THIS ENTIRE PACKAGE JUST SO I CAN RESPOND TO THE CITY COUNCIL. HOWEVER, IN TERMS OF GETTING THROUGH A FINAL REPORT, BASED ON THREE DAYS OF SOMEWHAT EVIDENTIARY HEARING THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO GO THROUGH, THAT'S GOING TO BE THE FOCUS OF THE FINAL REPORT. IT DOESN'T MEAN I WON'T READ THESE AND THINK ABOUT THEM AND HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THE CITY COUNCIL IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THEM. BUT THE REALITY IS WHAT'S IN THIS, IN THIS SERIES OF PACKAGES, IT'S, IT'S LIKE, IT'S NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH OUR, OUR EVIDENTIARY PROCESS. SO YEAH, I, I WOULD'VE THOUGHT SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE APPROPRIATE FOR THE EUC TO ACTUALLY PROVIDE TO CITY COUNCIL THEMSELVES IF THEY WANTED TO DO IT, NOT INTERJECTED INTO THIS PROCESS, BUT I DON'T, [00:30:01] I DON'T REALLY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT. IT'S THE SAME REASON WHY, SO ALJS ARE SOMEWHAT PERMISSIVE WITH EVIDENCE BECAUSE THEY CAN ADDRESS IT IN THE, IN THE PROPOSAL FOR A DECISION AND SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, IT'S NOT GOOD EVIDENCE AND THAT'S BETTER THAN EXCLUDING IT TO BEGIN WITH. SO I'M NOT CONCERNED ABOUT RECEIVING THIS I'M WAY MORE FOCUSED IN TERMS OF GETTING TO THE FINAL REPORT AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO HEAR OVER THE NEXT THREE DAYS WHAT'S BEEN FILED IN TERMS OF EVIDENCE FOR THE HEARING AND THE BRIEFING. SO JUST SO YOU KNOW, ON THE RECORD, THOSE ARE MY FOCUS. OKAY. THANK YOU. YOU BET. SO ICA WANTS TO MARK THIS AS ICA FIVE. THAT'S CORRECT. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS COMING INTO THE RECORD FOR THE LIMITED PURPOSE THAT WE'VE ALREADY IDENTIFIED? NO OBJECTION, YOUR HONOR. OKAY. I AM MARKING AND I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND ASK FOR THE OTHER ONE, BUT I'M GOING TO MARK THIS, UH, THE, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE JULY 12TH, 2022 COVER LETTER IS ICA EXHIBIT FIVE. ALL RIGHT, MR. RONCHETTO, ANYTHING ELSE? I DO. I HAVE TWO OTHER ITEMS. UM, THE FIRST IS THAT, UH, I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S ANY WITNESSES, UM, WHO CAN BE WAIVED FOR CROSS-EXAMINATION. UM, WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT ANYONE TO HAVE TO TRAVEL UNNECESSARILY. I UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR HONOR MIGHT HAVE QUESTIONS FOR WITNESSES, EVEN IF THEY'VE BEEN WAIVED BY THE OTHER PARTIES. I WOULD JUST REQUEST THAT IF YOU ALL KNOW OF ANY WITNESS THAT IS NOT THERE, THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE CROSS-EXAMINATION FOR, UH, IF YOU'D LET ME KNOW AND WE'LL DO THE SAME FOR THE PARTICIPANTS WITNESSES, BUT I WOULD, UH, ASK YOUR HONOR, IF, IF YOU KNOW, THERE ARE WITNESSES THAT YOU NEED TO HEAR, PERHAPS IF WE FIND OUT THAT, UM, THERE'S A WITNESS WHO MIGHT BE WAIVED, THEN WE COULD SEE IF THAT WAS FINE WITH YOU AS WELL, WAVELL, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT THEIR DIRECT AND, AND I'M GOING TO HAVE BRIEFING WAIVE THEM. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN LASTLY, JUST WANT TO MAKE A CLARIFICATION ABOUT THE PRESENTATIONS, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY IN A SOA CASE, AS YOU'RE WELL AWARE, UM, PARTIES WILL, UM, MAKE AN OPENING STATEMENT. ALL PARTIES WILL DO SO, AND THEN THE UTILITY OR THE APPLICANT WILL THEN BEGIN WITH THEIR DIRECT CASE THAT WE CROSS EXAMINATION, REDIRECT AND SO FORTH. HERE, WE SET UP A PROCESS WHERE EACH PARTY IS ALLOWED TO DO A PRESENTATION. AND THE REASON WE DID THAT IS WE DIDN'T KNOW IF WE WERE GOING TO HAVE PARTIES REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL AND WITNESSES WHO PROVIDED PRE-FILED DIRECT TESTIMONY. WE WERE SIMPLY GOING TO HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL SHOW UP WHO SAID, HERE'S MY STATEMENT OR POSITION, OR HERE'S MY ORAL. AND SO THE WAY THAT WE ENVISION THIS HAPPENING IS THAT TOMORROW AUSTIN ENERGY WOULD BEGIN WITH EITHER ITS WITNESSES OR AN OPENING STATEMENT. I INTEND TO MAKE AN OPENING STATEMENT AND THEN PRESENT OUR WITNESSES FOR CROSS EXAMINATION. ONCE THAT IS COMPLETE, THEN WE WOULD GO ON TO THE NEXT PARTY AND SO FORTH AND SO ON SO THAT YOU WOULDN'T HAVE PRESENTATIONS OR OPENING STATEMENTS, ALL BEING MADE AT THE SAME TIME AT THE VERY BEGINNING. THAT'S FINE. UM, BUT YOU CAN ALSO, I MEAN, FEEL FREE TO JUST DIVE INTO YOUR WITNESSES IF YOU WANT. AND CERTAINLY THAT'S AN OPTION FOR FOLKS AS WELL, BUT MOSTLY I JUST WANTED TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THIS WAS NOT GOING TO BE WHERE ALL PARTIES WOULD DO, EITHER AN OPENING STATEMENT, UH, OR WHAT IS CALLED A PRESENTATION OF SOME SORT AT THE SAME TIME AT THE BEGINNING BEFORE WITNESSES APPEAR AS YOU WOULD HAVE AT A SELLER PRESENT. RIGHT, RIGHT. UM, NO, THAT, THAT, THAT IS FINE. OKAY. BUT AGAIN, FOR THE FOLKS, FOR ALL PARTIES, IF YOU JUST WANT TO GET STRAIGHT TO YOUR WITNESSES, JUST GET STRAIGHT TO YOUR WITNESSES. WE'LL WE WILL HAVE BRIEFING. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. OKAY, GREAT. I HAVE A CLARIFICATION QUESTION, YOUR HONOR, WHO CHRIS USE EXTREME? NO WORRIES. UM, PROBABLY JUST THAT I JUST HAVE TO KEEP MY GLASSES ON, BUT I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING IN FRONT OF ME IF I DO. SO THOMAS HAS COMMENTS JUST THEN. AND, UM, SO WHEN THE WITNESSES ARE UP, ARE YOU, ARE WE STILL EXPECTING THAT THEY WOULD PROVIDE AN OUTLINE OF WHAT THEIR TESTIMONY IS LIKE WHEN AUSTIN ENERGY, FOR INSTANCE, OUTLINES WHAT'S IN THEIR ORIGINAL RATE FILING PACKAGE? ARE THEY GOING TO GO, ARE YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO GO THROUGH IT AND GIVE AN OUTLINE OF IT? OR ARE YOU JUST GONNA SAY, JUST PRESENT THE WITNESSES? UM, THE WAY THAT WE'RE PLANNING ON PROCEEDING IS THAT I WOULD START WITH AN OPENING STATEMENT, ALTHOUGH BASED UPON YOUR REMARKS, MAYBE WE'LL RECONSIDER THAT, BUT I WOULD MAKE AN OPENING STATEMENT IS AS AN ATTORNEY WOULD TRADITIONALLY A PROCEEDING. AND THEN I WOULD SIMPLY SAY, ALL RIGHT, NOW WE'VE GOT OUR WITNESSES. HERE'S THE FIRST PANEL THEY'VE ALREADY GOT THE RIGHT APPLICATION BEEN ADMITTED. WE TEND TO RUN CROSS EXAMINATION. SO ANY KIND OF BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE PRESENTATION COULD BE MADE BY THE LAWYER AS OPPOSED TO THE EXPERT. [00:35:01] IT CAN. AND THAT'S WHY WE SET IT UP THIS WAY. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE HAVE SOME PRO SE INDIVIDUALS WHOSE DON'T HAVE A CONSULTANT. SO, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, TWO WOMEN RIGHT PAY OR MS. COOPER FILED A STATEMENT OF POSITION AND SHE MIGHT WANT TO EXPAND ON THAT, BUT THEN SHE WOULD BE SUBJECT TO CROSS-EXAMINATION. SURE. SO WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF FLEXIBILITY. OKAY. I WOULD EXPECT THAT FOR PARTIES THAT HAVE CONSULTANTS WHO PROVIDED PRE-FILED DIRECT TESTIMONY, THAT PERHAPS WE WOULD DISPENSE WITH A, SORT OF A PRESENTATION AND JUST GO STRAIGHT TO THE WITNESSES ALONG WITH AN OPENING STATEMENT. BUT IF YOU'D LIKE TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, THAT'S FINE. MY ONLY CONCERN THERE WOULD JUST BE, IF WE HAVE NEW EVIDENCE THAT YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE A WITNESS TO CROSS EXAMINE OR TALK ABOUT. NO, I WAS JUST GETTING CLARITY. THANKS. YEP. YEAH. UM, I THINK, UH, BEING FLEXIBLE IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR GETTING TO THIS PROCESS EFFICIENTLY. UM, SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND, IF YOU WANT TO SUMMARIZE SOMETHING, THAT'S FINE. THAT'S TOTALLY FINE. IF YOU DON'T WANT ANYONE TO PUT YOUR WITNESSES UP, LET'S JUST DO THAT TOO. UM, ONE WORD ABOUT THE ATTORNEYS AND, UM, MS. RADFORD WHO ARE ASSISTING, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THIS GENERAL IDEA THAT WHEN, WHEN SOMEONE IS GOING TO WRITE UP AN ISSUE ON A PROPOSAL FOR A DECISION OR A FINAL REPORT THAT THEY'RE PRESENT AT THE HEARING, AND THEY'VE HEARD THAT ISSUE DISCUSSED, OR THEY REVIEWED THE RECORD AND WE'RE GOING TO ADHERE TO THAT. SO OBVIOUSLY ALL OF US ARE PRACTICING ATTORNEYS UP HERE. WE ALL HAVE OTHER CASES GOING ON. I THINK ONE OF US WON'T BE HERE ONE DAY. UM, THEY MAY NEED TO GET UP AND LEAVE AND HANDLE THINGS FOR OTHER CASES. BUT IF THEY'RE RIDING ON AN ISSUE, THEY'RE GOING TO REVIEW THE RECORD AND THE RELEVANT, UH, CROSS EXAMINATION AND TESTIMONY OR POSITION STATEMENTS FOR THAT ISSUE. UM, ALL RIGHT, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS TAKE A LITTLE BREAK. WE HAVE A FEW HOUSEKEEPING MATTERS TO ADDRESS THE PARTIES HAVE DECIDED THAT WE'RE GOING TO RETAIN THE, UH, 9:00 AM, START TIME FOR JULY 13TH, THE FIRST DAY OF THE FINAL CONFERENCE. WE'RE GOING TO SEE HOW THINGS GO. AND IF THE PARTIES, UH, DECIDE IN ALL AGREE, UH, WE CAN ADJUST THE, UH, THE START TIME FOR THE FOLLOWING DAYS. BUT AT THIS TIME IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE STICKING WITH 9:00 AM. UM, ANYTHING MORE ON THAT? NO, YOUR HONOR. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. OKO FOR BRIEFING. UH, THE PARTIES HAVE AGREED THAT THE, THE PARTICIPANTS, UH, FINAL BRIEFS WILL BE DUE ON JULY 26TH. THAT THAT DEADLINE IS, IS MOVING. UH, AUSTIN ENERGY'S, UH, FINAL BRIEF DEADLINE WILL BE AUGUST 4TH. AND THEN THAT MEANS THE IHG, UM, UH, FINAL REPORT WILL BE DUE ON SEPTEMBER 7TH INSTEAD OF AUGUST 31. AND I WILL, UH, MAKE A NOTE TO CAPTURE THAT IN AN ORDER. UM, JUST SO EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON, EVERYONE IN THE, IN THE CASE, IF THEY AREN'T HERE. UM, LET'S SEE, MR. BRAZIL, YOU WANTED TO, UM, MAKE A CORRECTION ON THE RECORD TO YOU. THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR. I'D LIKE TO CORRECT WHAT I SAID EARLIER ABOUT THE ORDER OF OUR WITNESSES AND OUR EXHIBIT NUMBERS. UH, IT WILL BE THE WAY IT WAS SHOWN ON THE, UH, ORDER OF PRESENTATION WITH ONE EDITION. SO IT'LL BE READ AS, UH, OUR EXHIBIT NUMBER. RABAGO OUR EXHIBIT NUMBER TWO HOUSEMAN EXHIBIT NUMBER THREE. AND OUR SUMMARY IS EXHIBIT NUMBER FOUR. THANK YOU, RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. LET'S SEE. WHAT AM I FORGETTING? ALL RIGHT. WE HAD TALKED ABOUT, UM, 15 MINUTE BREAK IN THE MORNING, 15 MINUTE BREAK IN THE AFTERNOON. SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO, IF YOU'RE GOING LATE, YOU JUST, YOU GOTTA HAVE A COUPLE. AND THEN, UH, WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT FOR LUNCH? WHAT DOES EVERYONE WANT TO DO FOR LUNCH? 30 MINUTES AN HOUR. IF YOU HAVE 30 MINUTES, YOU GOT TO HAVE STUFF HERE, YOU KNOW, READY TO GO. WE'RE FINE. WITH AN HOUR OF PARTIES ARE AS WELL. ALL RIGHT. THE I'LL TELL YOU. I KNOW THAT WE'RE STARTING AT NINE. THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW ME KNOW, I LIKE TO GO TO LUNCH AROUND 1145 BECAUSE YOU THAT 15 MINUTE INTERVAL, YOU GET TO BEAT THE CROWD. IT'S WEIRD HOW IT JUST TAKES A FEW MINUTES AND YOU BEAT YOU BEAT PEOPLE. SO THAT'LL HELP THINGS GO MORE SMOOTHLY, BUT STILL EVEN WITH AN HOUR, YOU'RE ALL BUSY. I'VE WORKED TODAY. YOU MIGHT WANT TO BRING LUNCHES. ANYTHING ELSE, MR. ROBBINS? WELL, HIS HONOR BE OFFENDED IF WE EAT DURING THE YEAR. NO, SIR. NOT AT ALL. HAVE COFFEE, WHATEVER YOU HAVE FOOD. I'M FINE. IT DOESN'T MATTER. AND THERE ARE FOLKS STILL WEARING JACKETS. IF YOU'RE WARM, TAKE YOUR JACKET OFF. IT'S I MEAN, WE'VE GOT TO KEEP OURS ON BECAUSE WE HAVE TO LOOK OFFICIAL. [00:40:02] UM, BUT ANYONE HERE JUST MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE AND LET'S GET THROUGH THE HEARING. THANK YOU. YOU BET. ANYTHING ELSE? ALL RIGHT, WELL, WE'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW MORNING AT NINE. THANK YOU EVERYONE. WE'RE OFF THE RECORD. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.