[Austin Winter Weather News Conference on February 2, 2023.]
[00:00:04]
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BEING HERE.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE DEALING WITH A VERY DYNAMIC SITUATION OF CHANGE IN WHAT GETS REPORTED TO YOU AND TO THE, THE RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN, UH, IS GOING TO BE INEVITABLE, UH, BUT AUSTIN ENERGY IS IN A POSITION WHERE IT NEEDS TO GIVE, UH, PEOPLE CLEAR AND ACCURATE INFORMATION SO THAT THEY CAN, UH, PLAN AND PROCEED ACCORDINGLY.
SO THAT IS WHY WE'RE FOLLOWING UP ON THE, UH, PRESS CONFERENCE WE HAD EARLIER TODAY AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT PEOPLE, UH, WE KNOW HAVE, UH, PEOPLE IN THE PUBLIC WE KNOW HAVE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO, AS, AS BEFORE, WE HAVE HERE WITH US, UH, THE CITY MANAGER AND WE HAVE THE GENERAL MANAGER OF AUSTIN ENERGY AND THE DIRECTOR OF OUR WATER DEPARTMENT.
SO THAT TECHNICAL QUESTIONS CAN BE ASKED AND YOU CAN GET ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS.
BUT BEFORE WE GO TO THEM, I WANT TO TURN, UH, THE PODIUM OVER TO THE COUNTY, JUDGE ANDY BROWN.
I'M TRAVIS COUNTY JUDGE ANDY BROWN.
I WANNA THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US.
I'M JOINING TODAY WITH BY, UM, FROM THE COUNTY SIDE, HECTOR NETTO AND CHUCK BROTHERTON.
UM, AND JUST WANNA REPORT THAT WE'RE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS IN CLEARING ROADS ACROSS THE COUNTY, BUT THERE'S A TON OF WORK TO DO.
OUR CREWS THAT HAVE BEEN OUT TODAY COULD USE YOUR HELP TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS.
AND ALSO WE'RE LOOKING AT WAYS TO HELP THEM SPEED UP THE PROCESS BECAUSE AS WE GET REPORTS BACK FROM THE ROADS AND THE STREETS OF THE COUNTY, IT SEEMS LIKE THE NUMBER OF TREES DOWN AND DEBRIS OUT THERE IS JUST MASSIVE.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT DECLARING A DISASTER DECLARATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO SEE IF THAT WILL HELP US ON THE CLEANUP EFFORTS.
UM, YOU CAN ALSO REPORT TREE LIMBS OR DEBRIS BLOCKING COUNTY ROADS TO OUR DISPATCH AT 5 1 12 8 5 4 9 4 3 3.
OR YOU CAN EMAIL TNR DOT DISPATCH@TRAVISCOUNTYTX.GOV FOR ISSUES ON AUSTIN CITY ROADS OR RIGHT OF WAYS, YOU CAN JUST CALL THREE 11.
UM, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO, AGAIN, WARN EVERYONE OF JUST HOW DANGEROUS THE SITUATION IS.
IF YOU'RE GOING OUT, KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR FALLING ICE TREE LIMBS OR POWER LINES ON THE ROAD.
AND IF YOU'RE DRIVING THE ROAD, STILL COULD BE SLIPPERY.
IF YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE TO GO, PLEASE TAKE IT SLOW AND LET'S ALL WORK TOGETHER TO ENSURE THAT OUR ENERGY CREWS HAVE EASY ACCESS TO HIGH PRIORITY AREAS.
AS WE RECOVER, OUR COMMUNITY IS GOING TO HAVE ADDITIONAL NEEDS.
I SPENT THIS AFTERNOON AT THE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK, UM, WHO, LIKE MANY PEOPLE IN AUSTIN IS WITHOUT POWER STILL.
THEY ARE GETTING THINGS UP AND RUNNING AGAIN, FIGURING OUT WAYS TO DO THE DISTRIBUTION AS BEST THEY CAN RIGHT NOW.
AND ONCE THEIR POWER IS BACK, THEY HAVE 21 COUNTIES TO SERVE.
THEY'VE BEEN DOWN FOR AT LEAST THREE DAYS NOW.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF NEED THAT THEY HAVE.
SO I'D ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO JOIN ME IN VOLUNTEERING WITH THEM NEXT WEEK.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND, UM, THANK YOU FOR WORKING TOGETHER, JUDGE.
WELL AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US THIS EVENING.
I'M SPENCER CRONK, THE AUSTIN CITY MANAGER, AND JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT, AS YOU KNOW, ALL WEATHER RELATED INCIDENTS ARE EVOLVING FLUID SITUATIONS, AND EVERY INCIDENT IS UNIQUE IN ITS OWN WAY.
AS CITY GOVERNMENTS, WE ARE SOMETIMES FACED WITH STRIKING A BALANCE BETWEEN SHARING OUR BEST ESTIMATES AND TIMELINES ON OBJECTIVES AND SPENDING TIME TO ENSURE OUR ESTIMATES ARE EXACT AND PRECISE.
BUT IN THE REAL WORLD, AS WE'VE SEEN TODAY, UH, GETTING THAT BALANCE RIGHT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY.
BUT PLEASE KNOW THAT WE DO OUR BEST TO PROVIDE THOSE ESTIMATES ON HOW THINGS ARE GOING, AND WE DO IT BASED ON THE BEST INFORMATION AT THE TIME.
I WANT TO ASSURE THIS COMMUNITY THAT ONCE WE HAVE COMPLETED THE WORK OF RESTORING POWER, WE WILL LOOK TO THE LESSONS LEARNED AND BUILD ON OUR RESPONSE FOR FUTURE WEATHER RELATED INCIDENTS.
BUT SINCE WE LAST SPOKE, OUR STAFF HAS CONTINUED TO WORK HARD ON RESTORING POWER, SHELTERING PEOPLE, AND KEEPING PEOPLE SAFE.
AND WE'RE HERE TO PROVIDE UPDATES ON ALL OF THAT.
I'M JOINED AS THE MAYOR SAID BY AUSTIN ENERGY GENERAL MANAGER, JACKIE SERGEANT AND AUSTIN WATER DIRECTOR SHAY RALSTON.
AND I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO JACKIE.
I'M HERE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH AN UPDATE ON AUSTIN ENERGY OPERATIONS.
WHILE THE WEATHER CONDITIONS HAVE GREATLY IMPROVED, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS DETERMINED WE ARE UNABLE TO PROVIDE A SPECIFIC SYSTEM-WIDE RESTORATION ESTIMATE.
WE HAD HOPED TO MAKE MORE PROGRESS
[00:05:01]
TODAY ON RESTORATIONS, AND THAT SIMPLY HAS NOT HAPPENED.THE MAJORITY OF OUTAGES FROM THIS WINTER STORM ARE COMPLEX, INVOLVING HEAVY CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT IN AREAS THAT ARE SOMETIMES IMPASSABLE DUE TO DOWN TREES AND BRANCHES.
ADDITIONALLY, WE ARE CONTINUING TO EXPERIENCE REPEATED OUTAGES, MEANING ICE TREES AND TREE LIMBS CONTINUE TO KNOCK OUT POWER TO THE SAME CIRCUITS THAT CREWS HAVE JUST RESTORED.
CREWS ARE ALSO BEING EXTRA CAREFUL TO AVOID SHEETS OF ICE ICICLES AND TREE BRANCHES THAT MAY SIT SNAP BACK AS THEY THAW.
AS A RESULT, FULL RESTORATION WILL TAKE LONGER THAN IN INITIALLY ANTICIPATED.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS MAKES AN ALREADY CHALLENGING SITUATION EVEN MORE DIFFICULT.
WE ARE MORE, WE HAVE MORE THAN A HUNDRED CREWS AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES HEADED TO OUR AREA TO ASSIST WITH RESTORATION EFFORTS.
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE ASSISTANCE OF OUR NEIGHBORING UTILITIES AND OTHERS WHO ARE PROVIDING OUR MUCH NEEDED ASSISTANCE.
WE APPRECIATE THE PATIENCE AS OUR CU OUR CUSTOMERS OF OUR CUSTOMERS AS OUR LINE WORKERS, BRAVE THE CONDITIONS AND WORK WITH THE REST OF OUR STAFF TO RESTORE POWER.
ALSO, PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT CREWS WILL BE KNOCKING ON DOORS TO GAIN ACCESS TO OUR EQUIPMENT.
AE PERSONNEL WILL BE CLEARLY MARKED AND BADGED, BUT I ASK THAT YOU PLEASE ALLOW THEM ACCESS AS NEEDED TO GET TO THE EQUIPMENT.
ELTON RICHARDS, MY VP OF FIELD OPS, WAS OUT IN THE FIELD TODAY AND WILL NOW SHARE SOME OF WHAT HE SAW.
HEY, WHAT'S UP FOLKS? UH, THANKS FOR LETTING ME COME HERE AND SHARE WHAT I WAS OUT TODAY.
I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF FIELD OPERATIONS, UH, FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
UH, VISITED A CRUISE TODAY JUST TO SEE IF THEY NEED ANYTHING.
AND, AND WHAT WAS UNIQUE ABOUT THIS, THIS STORM? UH, FIRST OF ALL, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS OVER 20, 20 SOMETHING YEARS NOW.
I HAVEN'T SEEN THIS MUCH DEVASTATION OUTSIDE OF, OF TORNADOES UP NORTH.
UH, THE PROBLEM IS, IS THE ICE AND THE WEIGHT.
SO I KNOW EARLIER THIS MORNING ON THE, THE PRESENTATION AND THE, THE NEWS THAT WAS TALKED ABOUT VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, I'M, I'M TELLING YOU GUYS THIS ISN'T A VEG MANAGEMENT ISSUE.
THE AREAS THAT WE HAD ACTUALLY TRIMMED AND I THINK THE SPENCER AND THE CITY COUNCIL FOR, FOR LETTING MY GUYS GET BACK TO THAT TRIMMING CYCLE, AND WE'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS NOW, EVEN OUTSIDE TO 15 FEET ABOVE WHERE WE CUT AND IT HAS CUT TO STANDARD.
THE ICE THAT WAS ON THOSE BRANCHES CAVED THEM ON TOP OF.
SO THAT WAS ONE, SEEN THAT BEFORE WASN'T A BIG SURPRISE.
WE'VE GOT TREES OUT THERE THAT ARE 50, 60 FEET TALL THAT ARE COMING DOWN LINE TO BREAK IN PRIMARY CABLE COMMUNICATIONS, CABLE POLES, UH, YOU'VE SEEN THE CARS AND HOUSES, IS THE DAMAGE? SEEN THAT ONE.
SO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF EXPECTED THAT ONE.
BUT A THIRD ONE I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE WAS ONE OF THE JOBS I WAS ON TODAY OUT ON THE SLAUGHTER LANE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE ROAD WAS ALL COMMUNICATION CLIENTS.
AND ONE COMMUNICATION POLE HAD A GUY ANCHOR, WHICH IS THAT METAL ANCHOR, UH, UH, WIRE THAT COMES DOWN.
IT GOES INTO THE GROUND AND IT GOES ACROSS TO OUR POLE.
AND THAT'S WHAT KIND OF SECURES THEIR POLE.
WELL, THE LARGE TREE, IT ACTUALLY FELL ON THE COMMUNICATION WIRE, PUSHED THAT POLE OVER, GAVE SLACK ON OUR POLE, IT LEANED OVER.
AND SO EVEN THOUGH IT WAS IN A TRIMMED AREA, IT THEN PUSHED IT 10 FEET INTO THE VEGETATION.
SO IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S JUST HORRENDOUS OUT THERE.
AND I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE MY GUYS.
AND I CAN TELL YOU, UH, WE HAD MULTIPLE PEOPLE COMING BY AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE AUSTIN ENERGY CU, UH, CUSTOMERS THAT TOLD MY GUYS THANKS FOR WHAT THEY WERE DOING.
THEY'VE BEEN WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK.
AS JACKIE SAID, WE BROUGHT IN MULTIPLE CREWS, THANK YOU, NEW BRUNS, UH, CENTERPOINT ENERGY, CPS, THE SENDING CREWS TOMORROW, AND BIRD ELECTRIC AND, AND WE'RE REALLY WORKING HARD TO GET THE SERVICE RESTORED FOR THE CUSTOMER.
I'M SHAY ROLSON, DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER, AND I'M HERE TO PROVIDE YOU A SYSTEM UPDATE FOR OUR WATER SYSTEM.
OUR TREATMENT PLANTS HAVE BEEN OPERATING NORMALLY THROUGHOUT THIS COLD WEATHER, AND THERE IS PLENTY OF WATER IN THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
UM, UNLIKE WINTER STORM URI, WATER DEMANDS HAVE BEEN IN NORMAL RANGES, AND WE JUST HAVE NOT SEEN THE KIND OF BREAKS ON THE PRIVATE SIDE AND THE PUBLIC SIDE THAT WE SAW DURING URI.
SO OVERALL, WATER STORAGE LEVELS ARE HEALTHY IN THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
SO WE HAVE SEVERAL DOZEN PUMP STATIONS THAT WE USE TO MOVE WATER AROUND OUR SYSTEM SO THAT THE WATER GETS TO WHERE THE CUSTOMERS NEED IT, AND THAT'S WHAT PROVIDES WATER PRESSURE IN OUR SYSTEM.
AND OUR CREWS HAVE BEEN WORKING, UH, 24 7 SINCE THIS EVENT BEGAN TO KEEP THOSE PUMP STATIONS
[00:10:01]
OPERATIONAL.UM, AND WE'VE WORKED CLOSELY WITH AUSTIN ENERGY TO PRIORITIZE REPAIRS AND RESTORATION OF POWER, UH, WHEN POWER HAS GONE OUT AT THOSE PUMP STATIONS.
AND WE HAVE HAD MANY, UH, POWER OUTAGES AND WE'VE HAD PUMP STATIONS GO OUT OF POWER AND COME BACK IN AND GO OUT AGAIN.
UM, IT'S BEEN A VERY DYNAMIC SITUATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST IN THE SPACE OF A FEW HOURS, WE MIGHT HAVE ONE PUMP STATION OUT OF POWER IN OUR SYSTEM AND THEN NONE.
SO, UH, OUR CREWS CONTINUE TO, UH, MOVE AROUND OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, RESTORING POWER, STAYING ON SITE, MAKING SURE THAT THAT EVERYTHING IS OPERATING.
EARLIER TODAY WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT WATER STORAGE IN SOUTHWEST AUSTIN, BUT WE'VE REGAINED POWER TO THE DAVIS LANE PUMP STATION THANKS TO TRULY HEROIC EFFORTS ON THE PART OF AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND WE'RE REPLENISHING STORAGE LEVELS THERE.
SO INTERMITTENT POWER OUTAGES ARE STILL HAPPENING AROUND TOWN, AND WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR OUR SYSTEM CLOSELY, BUT WE DO NOT ANTICIPATE THE NEED TO ISSUE ANY KIND OF CITYWIDE, UH, WATER OUTAGE OR BOIL WATER NOTICE.
UM, THE, UH, WE HAVE HAD POWER OUTAGES THAT HAVE AFFECTED OUR ABILITY TO SERVE WATER IN SMALL POCKETS OF OUR SYSTEM.
THERE'S TWO SMALL POCKETS, UM, WHERE WE WERE UNABLE TO MAINTAIN WATER STORAGE LEVELS.
AND WE ARE, UH, WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THOSE, UH, CUSTOMERS.
IT'S ABOUT, UH, JUST SHY OF 40 CUSTOMERS.
SO WE'RE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THEM, UM, DELIVERING WATER TO THEM.
AND, UM, ONCE WE RESTORE WATER SERVICE, UM, THEY WILL HAVE TO BOIL IT UNTIL WE'RE ABLE TO CLEAR IT AND THEN WE WILL DO THAT.
SO, UM, OVERALL I JUST WANT TO, UM, JUST GIVE, UH, GRATITUDE AND THANKS TO THE AUSTIN WATER CREWS WHO HAVE BEEN, UH, WORKING 24 7, UM, WHO HAVE BEEN COLLABORATING SO CLOSELY WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND THANK YOU TO OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, FOR YOUR PATIENCE FOR REACHING OUT TO US.
AS YOU GET BACK TO NORMAL TOMORROW WHEN IT'S SUNNY AND AND WARM, UM, WE ASK THAT YOU CONSIDER CONSERVING WATER AS WE MAKE OUR WAY BACK TO NORMAL OPERATIONS THROUGHOUT OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
IF THE LESS WATER YOU USE, THE LESS THE TANKS DRAW DOWN, THAT JUST GIVES US MORE TIME WHEN WE HAVE A POWER OUTAGE TO, UH, RESTORE, UH, A PUMP STATION OPERATION AND KEEP OUR STORAGE LEVELS HEALTHY IN THE SYSTEM.
SO TOGETHER, UM, WE WILL, UM, GET THROUGH THIS SUCCESSFULLY.
I JUST WANTED ME TO OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTION.
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE VERY FRUSTRATED WITH THE WAY THAT THEY FEEL, YOU KNOW, THE CITY HAS HANDLED THIS RESPONSE.
WHAT'S BEING DONE TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING IN THE FUTURE? I START WITH THAT.
YOU KNOW, WITH EVERY RESPONSE, WE LOOK AT HOW WE CAN DO THINGS BETTER, UH, IN THE FUTURE, AND EVERY RESPONSE IS UNIQUE.
AND SO WE TOOK THE LESSONS LEARNED THAT WE HAD FROM WINTER STORM URI, UH, FROM PREVIOUS WATER BOIL NOTICES, UM, AND APPLIED THEM TO THIS SITUATION.
BUT THIS SITUATION WAS UNIQUE, AND SO IT HAD ITS OWN UNIQUE SET OF CHALLENGES.
UH, WE KNOW THAT WE'LL BE DOING THE SAME AFTER ACTION REPORTS AND ENSURING THAT WE'RE GETTING AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE CAN IN THE, THAN THE MANNER THAT OUR COMMUNITY CAN EXPECT THAT, UH, TO DO THAT.
SO I'LL SEE IF, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY WANTS TO ADD ANYTHING, BUT CERTAINLY WE ALWAYS ARE LEARNING FROM THESE EXPERIENCES SO WE CAN DO BETTER IN THE FUTURE.
CAN YOU GO INTO DETAIL ABOUT THOSE LESSONS LEARNED SPECIFICALLY, OR? SURE.
SO I THINK PART OF IT IS TRYING TO COMMUNICATE WHAT WE CAN IN REAL TIME.
AND SO THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRESS CONFERENCE IS ALSO A RECOGNITION THAT WE TOLD YOU SOMETHING EARLIER TODAY, AND WE KNOW THAT THE SITUATION HAS CHANGED BASED ON WHAT WE'RE SEEING ON THE GROUND, AND WE WANTED TO GET IN FRONT OF OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, SO YOU CAN BE MAKING DECISIONS BASED ON THAT MORE ACCURATE INFORMATION.
LET ME MENTION SOMETHING FROM THE MAYOR'S PERSPECTIVE, AND THAT IS THAT, UH, WE, AUSTIN, THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL HAS A, UH, AN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, AND THAT IS CHAIRED BY, UH, CHAIR LESLIE POOLE, WHO'S A COUNCIL MEMBER ON THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.
UH, YOU SHOULD ANTICIPATE THAT AS EARLY AS NEXT TUESDAY.
UH, WE WILL HAVE AT A WORK SESSION, WE HAVE A SCHEDULED WORK SESSION NEXT TUESDAY.
WE WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY THEN TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF LOOKING AT IT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THE MAYOR AND COUNSEL.
UH, WHAT THAT, WHAT I ANTICIPATE WILL HAPPEN ON THAT TUESDAY WAS, IS WE WILL GET A REPORT ON THE STATUS OF EVERYTHING FROM, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY TO WATER, TO RESOURCE RECOVERY, ALL OF THOSE, ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS AND, UH, THAT, THAT WE'RE HAVING TO DEAL WITH AND WE'RE REPORTING ON HERE.
THAT WILL BE THE FIRST STEP TOWARD A, A FULL MEETING OF THE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
AND BY THE WAY, WHEN I SAY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, IT IS A COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE COUNCIL.
[00:15:01]
SO EVERYBODY IS ON THIS, UH, THAT MEETING, THE FIRST MEETING, UH, OF THAT COMMITTEE IS THE FEBRUARY 21ST.THAT IS IN CONJUNCTION WITH, UM, UH, ONE OF OUR OTHER WORK SESSIONS, ANOTHER WORK SESSION WE HAVE SCHEDULED.
OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE ALREADY BEGINNING, BUT RIGHT NOW WE KNOW WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT CAN ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS THAT ARE BUSY DOING OTHER THINGS IN THE FIELD.
THAT BEING SAID, TUESDAY WILL START THAT PROCESS, AND THEN WE WILL HAVE A MORE, UH, IN DEPTH MEETING ON FEBRUARY 21ST BECAUSE WE NEED TO HAVE QUESTIONS ANSWERED, UH, INCLUDING, UH, HOW WE COMMUNICATE WITH THE PUBLIC, HOW WE MAKE SURE THE PUBLIC KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON AND HOW, UH, WE PREVENT THIS SORT OF INCIDENT IN THE FUTURE.
HOW, WHAT'S THE AVERAGE TIME IT TAKES PER FIX ON A LINE RIGHT NOW, GIVEN EVERYTHING? WELL, IT'S REALLY A CHALLENGING, UH, QUESTION TO ANSWER, AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITY OF THE SITUATION AND THE OBSTACLES AND THINGS THAT OUR CREWS ARE RUNNING INTO.
SO THERE IS NO AVERAGE RESTORATION TIME THAT WE CAN GIVE YOU AT THIS TIME.
CAN YOU, IS IS IT TAKING UP TO SIX HOURS AT SOME POINTS? IS THERE ANY KIND OF RANGE WE CAN GET WITH THAT? YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA LET ELTON ANSWER THAT QUESTION BECAUSE HE'S, UM, IN CHARGE OF THE FIELD OPS.
THE, THE PROBLEM WITH TRYING TO GIVE A AN AVERAGE TIME IS IT, THERE'S, THERE'S NO AVERAGE.
AND WHAT, WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS IF YOU TAKE A CIRCUIT WHICH GOES FROM A SUBSTATION THROUGH MULTIPLE SUBDIVISIONS TO ANOTHER SUBSTATION, POTENTIALLY, LET'S SAY YOU GOT 3000 CUSTOMERS ON THERE, IT COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS A A JUST A LIMB LAYING ON THE LINE.
IF IT IS, THEN THE CREW GOES OUT 30 MINUTES TO SET UP AN HOUR TO TRIM IT, 30 MINUTES TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE CLEAR AND IT'S DONE.
SO A TWO HOUR JOB, NOW TAKE THAT SAME JOB WITH THAT SAME LINE, ADD A FULLY GROWN TREE THAT GOES INTO PRIMARY BREAKS, TWO POLES AND DROPS ABOUT 70 TO A HUNDRED FOOT OF PRIMARY, NOW YOU'RE INTO EIGHT TO 10 HOUR RESTORATION.
THEN SOME OF 'EM EVEN MORE COMPLEX THAN THAT.
AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'RE RUNNING IN ON.
THIS ONE, LIKE I SAID, I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE THREE YEARS, BUT EVEN IN STORM URI, MOST OF THE DAMAGE WAS CONSOLIDATED IN ONE AREA.
WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE CIRCUIT, THAT LINE HERE, THE REASON WE'RE WE'RE GETTING POUNDED IS BECAUSE THERE'S LIKE THREE DIFFERENT SITUATIONS.
SO WHAT WOULD NORMALLY BE A FOUR HOUR REPAIR ON THE LINE, IT'S NOW TAKING 12 HOURS BECAUSE THEY'RE HAVING TO GO TO THREE DIFFERENT ONES.
NOW, I'LL TELL YOU ONE THING THAT WE'RE REALLY GOOD ABOUT IS ADAPTING.
AND WHAT WE'VE, WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST IS WE SEND A VEG, VEG CREW OUT, WE DO A PATROL ON IT, THEY TRIM IT, AND THEN THE CREWS COME IN TO DO THE REPAIR.
WHAT WE'VE ADJUSTED ON BASED UPON THE DAMAGE THIS TIME, IS WE'RE ACTUALLY SIGNING TO VEGETATION MANAGEMENT CREWS WITH THE CONSTRUCTION CREW AND THE REPAIR CREW.
SO THEY'RE ALL TRAVELING AT THE SAME TIME.
AND WE DID THE SAME THING WITH THE CONTRACTORS.
SO I THINK WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS IS A MASSIVE DECLINE IN THE CUSTOMER COUNT AND ALSO THE LINES REPAIRS.
SAY AGAIN? ARE LIMBS CONTINUING? JOHN FALL ON POWER LINES WITH THE TEMPERATURE INCREASE TODAY, TODAY HAS PROBABLY BEEN THE BEST DAY THAT WE'VE ONLY SEEN ICE DROPPING DOWN, UH, BEFORE WHAT WAS HAPPENING IS SOME OF THE CREWS WOULD ACTUALLY CLOSE IN, RE-ENERGIZED AT LINE, LOOK DOWN AND SEE ANOTHER LIMB FALL FROM ABOUT 30 FEET ABOVE ARC FLASH AND THEN OPEN IT BACK UP AGAIN.
SO THE, THE RAIN THAT WE HAD YESTERDAY WITH ABOVE TEMPERATURES WAS ACTUALLY GODSEND FOR US.
AND THEN FOR AUSTIN WATER, YOU HAD MENTIONED, UM, CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW THERE'S ABOUT 40 CUSTOMERS WITHOUT WATER.
IS THAT CORRECT? DO WE ANTICIPATE THAT NUMBER RISING? WHAT FACTORS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THAT? WE DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT NUMBER RISING.
THOSE ARE IN SMALL POCKETS, UM, THAT WE HAVE TO, THAT HAVE SMALL SYSTEMS PUMPING INTO THEM.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S VERY SPECIFIC TO THOSE, TO THOSE PARTICULAR AREAS OF OUR SYSTEM.
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF PEOPLE DON'T CONSERVE TOMORROW? WELL, I THINK WE ARE PRODUCING, UH, PLENTY OF WATER AND WE ARE KEEPING OUR TANKS FULL.
SO, UM, THE, THE BENEFIT OF CONSERVATION IS TO JUST GIVE US, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY TO BE, UM, ABLE TO BE, TO RESPOND TO THIS EVOLVING SITUATION.
AGAIN, I'LL JUST ASK THE COMMUNITY TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DO NEED A PLACE TO STAY TONIGHT, UH, YOU CAN EITHER GO TO ONE TEXAS CENTER AND WE WILL BE TRANSPORTING YOU TO OUR, UH, COLD WEATHER SHELTERS.
WE HAVE NOT TURNED ANYONE AWAY, UH, DURING THIS ENTIRE OPERATION, AND WE WILL KEEP THOSE OPEN AS LONG AS THEY'RE NEEDED.
[00:20:01]
ARE ALSO GOING TO BE OPENING UP, UH, FULL OPERATIONS OF OUR CITY TOMORROW.AND SO OUR LIBRARIES ARE REC CENTERS.
UH, WHEN, WHERE THEY'RE AVAILABLE TO BE OPEN, THEY WILL BE OPEN AS WARMING CENTERS FOR OUR PUBLIC TOMORROW.
WHAT BACK HERE? UH, THIS IS FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
UH, WE'VE HEARD FROM SOME RESIDENTS WHO SAY THEY HAVE TREE LIMBS ON POWER LINES AND THEY SAY THAT'S A FIRE HAZARD.
AND KNOWING THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO COME OUT TO LOOK AT THAT, WHAT IS THE PRIORITIZATION LOOKING LIKE FOR THOSE WITH THAT SITUATION? AND THEN ALSO THOSE WITH NO POWER.
SO IF A, A LIMB IS CURRENTLY RIGHT ON A LINE AND THERE IS NO ARCING THAT IS GOING ON, UM, THE, AND, AND WITH THE MOISTURE THAT WE'VE HAD, UM, AND THE MOISTURE ON THE, UM, TREE LIMBS, UH, I WOULD SAY THAT THERE'S LESS OF A FIRE IMPACT.
NOW IF PEOPLE WERE TO SEE ARCING AND THAT SORT OF THING, UM, WE WOULD WANT THEM TO, UH, TO REPORT THAT THEY CERTAINLY CAN, UH, USE, UH, OUR RESOURCES AND, UH, LET US KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE AWARE, UH, OF THAT SITUATION.
UM, BUT IF THERE'S NOT CURRENTLY A POWER OUTAGE, UM, WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON TRYING TO GET, UH, POWER RESTORED.
UM, FOR ALSO FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, DO YOU HAVE ANY BACKLOG OF TREE TRIMMING AND MAINTENANCE, AND WILL THERE BE ANY REVIEW OR CHANGES TO YOUR POLICIES AND PRACTICES AROUND THAT? SO I'M GONNA LET, UM, ELTON, UH, ANSWER THAT QUESTION BECAUSE, UH, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT FALLS UNDER HIS PURVIEW.
UM, BUT I WILL SAY THAT WE ALWAYS DO AN AFTER ACTION, UH, REVIEW WHEN WE HAVE INCIDENTS, ESPECIALLY OF THIS MAGNITUDE.
AND WE WILL BE LOOKING AT OUR POLICIES AND SEEING IF THERE ARE ADJUSTMENTS, UM, THAT WE NEED TO, TO MAKE AND WILL BE WORKING WITH OUR, OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND OUR GOVERNING BOARD TO IMPLEMENT THOSE.
UM, IS THERE SOMETHING YOU WANNA ADD, ELTON? YEAH.
SO AGAIN, WITH TRANSPARENCY, IS THERE BACKLOG? ABSOLUTELY THERE IS.
UH, PRIOR TO ME ARRIVING HERE, THE CITY COUNCIL AT THAT TIME HAD RESTRICTED THE TRIMMING ON THE TREES DOWN TO AN UNSUSTAINABLE MANNER.
UH, THE CEO THAT CAME IN, CHARLES DICKERSON, PRESENTED TO THE COUNCIL TO GET IT BACK TO THE INDUSTRY STANDARD, WHICH WE ARE NOW DOING BETWEEN FAST GROWTH AND SLOW GROWTH.
WE INCREASED OUR BUDGET BY TWICE OR TWO YEARS AGO, AND SINCE THAT TIME WE HAVE BEEN JUST GOING, JUST, JUST POUNDING ON THE VEGETATION.
IT'S PROBABLY GONNA TAKE ANOTHER THREE YEARS TO GET THE WHOLE CITY BACK ON A NORMAL CYCLE.
BUT OUR CONCENTRATION WAS, WE PRIORITIZED WHICH ONES HAD THE WILDFIRE LOCATIONS, WORKED WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THOSE AREAS.
THEN WE ALSO LOOKED AT ONES WHICH HAD THE MOST OUTAGES, DID IT OCCURRED, AND THEN WE WORKED WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBER IN THOSE AREAS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE CONCENTRATED ON WAS THOSE TWO AREAS.
THAT'S OUR HIGHEST RETURN FOR THE TIME THAT WE HAD.
WITHIN THE PAST SIX MONTHS, AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS HAVE SEEN TWO GREAT INCREASES.
OH, I'M BAGGING OUTTA THAT ONE.
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO THOSE CITIZENS WHO ARE SAYING, YOU KNOW, WHY ARE WE CONTINUING TO PAY MORE IF WE CAN'T DEPEND ON THE SERVICES WHEN WE NEED THEM THE MOST? SO THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT COMPONENTS TO OUR RATES.
OUR POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT PASS THROUGH CHARGES, OUR REGULATORY CHARGE, OUR COMMUNITY BENEFITS CHARGE.
UM, ONE WAS THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT THAT WAS INCREASED LAST FALL, AND I EXPLAINED THAT IN DETAIL THIS MORNING.
UH, THE OTHER ADJUSTMENT THAT WE MADE WAS TO OUR BASE, UH, OUR BASE RATES AND THE BASE RATES PAY FOR ELTON'S CRUISE.
THEY PAY FOR THE TREE TRIMMING, THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, THEY PAY FOR THE POLES, THEY PAY FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
THEY, UH, IT PAYS FOR OUR DEBT SERVICE.
WE HAVE NOT HAD AN INCREASE IN BASE RATES IN 10 YEARS, AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE DECREASE BASE RATES BY 42 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IN 2017.
I'M SURE ALL OF YOU REALIZE HOW INFLATION HAS IMPACTED THINGS, HOW, UM, WE HAVE HAD TO ADD RESOURCES, UH, AND INCUR ADDITIONAL COSTS.
AND SO WE NEEDED TO GO IN, BUT WE DIDN'T ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE THAN WHAT WE NEEDED SO THAT WE COULD HAVE THOSE FUNDS TO HELP US TO MAINTAIN OUR SYSTEM GOING FORWARD.
AND THOSE RATES DON'T GO IN EFFECT UNTIL MARCH 1ST.
UM, DO YOU GUYS HAVE A PLAN ON HOW TO GET COMMUNICATION OUT TO PEOPLE WITHOUT POWER WHO ARE WAITING FOR THESE UPDATES? SO THAT'S ALWAYS, UH, A CHALLENGE AND WE WILL BE, UH, LOOKING AT THAT AGAIN.
UM, HOPEFULLY PEOPLE THAT DO NOT HAVE POWER, SO THEY'RE NOT GONNA TURN ON THE TV RIGHT, AND, AND GET THE NEWS.
HOPEFULLY THEY HAVE, UM, A CELL PHONE, UH, RESOURCES LIKE THAT.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE USING, UTILIZING THOSE, UM, AND THAT, UM, THEY
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ARE ABLE TO, UH, PERHAPS GET CHARGING FROM NEIGHBORS.SO NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS, WHICH IS ONE THING, UM, THAT'S REALLY ATTRACTED ME TO THIS COMMUNITY IS HOW MUCH PEOPLE CARE ABOUT ONE ANOTHER AND ARE THERE TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER.
UM, BUT WE'LL WORK WITH OUR RESOURCES, OUR COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT AND SEE IF WE CAN'T USE SOME OF OUR OTHER, UM, PARTNERS TO HELP US WITH THOSE COMMUNICATIONS.
WHAT IF THEY DON'T HAVE A CELL PHONE? WHAT IF THEY NEED TO BE INFORMED IN PERSON OR ANOTHER WAY? YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S A CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVEN'T, UH, BEEN ABLE TO, TO CRACK AT THIS POINT.
BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT, UM, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE SITTING THERE WITHOUT POWER, YOU JUST WANNA KNOW WHEN, WHEN, WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND, AND IT'S, IF WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION TO 'EM, THAT'LL BE HELPFUL.
MAYOR, DO YOU HAVE ANY, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY OTHER REMARKS? THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND COMMUNICATING, UM, TO THE PUBLIC.
WE, WE, WE NEED YOU TO DO, TO DO THAT AND BE HELPFUL IN THAT REGARD.