[Winter Weather News Conference]
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THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY.
I AM AUSTIN'S MAYOR PRO TEM PAGE ELLIS, STANDING IN FOR MAYOR KIRK WATSON TODAY AFTER THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIM TESTING POSITIVE FOR COVID.
WE WISH HIM A SPEEDY RECOVERY.
AUSTIN ENERGY WILL PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON RESTORATION EFFORTS HERE SHORTLY, BUT I KNOW MANY OF YOU ARE NOW ON DAY FIVE WITHOUT POWER, AND POSSIBLY STILL WITHOUT A TIMELINE OF WHEN YOU CAN EXPECT TO HAVE YOUR ELECTRICITY COME BACK ON.
I SHARE YOUR FRUSTRATION ABOUT THESE UNKNOWN TIMELINES, ESPECIALLY WHEN OUTAGE REPORTING TOOLS ARE SOMETIMES NOT ACCURATELY REFLECTING YOUR SITUATION IN REAL TIME AND LONG PHONE CALL WAIT TIMES, PUTS PEOPLE IN A POSITION OF USING THEIR LIMITED CELL PHONE BATTERY TO MAKE SURE THAT CREWS KNOW THEIR CURRENT CONDITION.
MY OFFICE HAS BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY ALONGSIDE AUSTIN ENERGY AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS WE CONTINUE PRESSING FOR ANSWERS ON SYSTEM ERRORS AND OTHER ONGOING ISSUES RELATED TO POWER OUTAGES, INCLUDING TREE CLEARINGS, PROVIDING CLEAR, ACCURATE, AND TIMELY COMMUNICATION IS ESSENTIAL IN THESE TYPES OF EMERGENCIES.
AND AT TUESDAY'S WORK SESSION, WE HOPE WE'LL BE BE GETTING A VERY PRELIMINARY INFORMATIONAL ASSESSMENT LED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS ALISON ALTER AND VANESSA FUENTEZ.
AS REQUESTED, I WANT TO THANK OUR AUSTIN ENERGY LINE WORKERS, AS WELL AS THOSE FROM OTHER JURISDICTIONS WHO HAVE RESPONDED TO THE CITY'S REQUEST FOR MUTUAL AID FOR THEIR LONG HOURS OF DILIGENT WORK IN POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATIONS SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING OF THIS ICE ACCUMULATION EVENT.
OUR PARTNERS AT TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE CREWS OF EMERGENCY OPERATIONS, AUSTIN WATER TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, PUBLIC WORKS RESOURCE RECOVERY, AND OF COURSE OUR FIRST RESON FIRST RESPONDERS AND PUBLIC SAFETY PROFESSIONALS AND CALL TAKERS.
LASTLY, THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHO HAVE STEPPED UP IN PROVIDING AID TO THOSE STILL WITHOUT POWER, AND THAT INCLUDES ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK WHO LED FOOD DISTRIBUTION EVENTS TODAY, AND RECOVERY SUPPORT FROM THE RED CROSS AND AUSTIN DISASTER RELIEF NETWORK.
I'M SPENCER CRONK, THE AUSTIN CITY MANAGER, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYONE FOR JOINING US AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON.
UH, WE CONTINUE TO MAKE PROGRESS ON THE STORM RECOVERY AND I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THAT SINCE 5:00 PM FRIDAY, AUSTIN ENERGY CREWS HAVE RESTORED POWER TO THOUSANDS OF ADDITIONAL CUSTOMERS.
THESE WARMER TEMPERATURES WE'RE EXPERIENCING TODAY WITH, UH, OUR AIDING US IN THIS PROGRESS.
AND THE DANGER OF TREES AND LIMBS FALLING ON POWER LINES HAS CERTAINLY RECEDED.
AUSTIN ENERGY WILL BE PROVIDING MORE DETAILS, BUT I WANT TO PERSONALLY THANK THE MORE THAN 400 LINE WORKERS TREE TREMORS AND OTHER PERSONNEL FROM AUSTIN ENERGY AND OUR NEIGHBORING UTILITIES WHO ARE WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK TO GET POWER RESTORED.
WE ARE PARTNERS HERE WITH US FROM NEW BRAUNFELS UTILITIES CENTER POINT ENERGY BIRD ELECTRIC RENEGADE, AND C P S ENERGY IN SAN ANTONIO, AND WE'RE SO GRATEFUL TO THEIR HELP.
THANKFULLY, THIS WINTER WEATHER EVENT HAS NOT IMPACTED AUSTIN WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND THE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS CONTINUE TO MEET THE EXPECT EXPECTED PRODUCTION RATES.
WE DO CONTINUE TO ASK OUR RESIDENTS ACROSS THE CITY TO CONSERVE WATER.
UH, THIS HELPS BY REDUCING THE DEMAND ON THE SYSTEM WHILE WE WORK THROUGH THESE INTERMITTENT POWDER POWER OUTAGES.
WE DO STILL HAVE SOME TRAFFIC SIGNALS ACROSS THE CITY THAT AREN'T OPERATING DUE TO POWER OUTAGES AND AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT CREWS ARE WORKING TO RESET THEM AS SOON AS POWER IS RESTORED.
PLEASE USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING AND TREAT DARK OR FLASHING SIGNALS AS A FOUR-WAY STOP.
NOW, I KNOW THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN ARE RESILIENT.
I KNOW THEY ARE FRUSTRATED AND I SHARE IN THEIR FRUSTRATION.
AND WITH EVERYONE WORKING TOGETHER, WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS.
I WILL NOW ASK AUSTIN ENERGY GENERAL MANAGER, JACKIE AND SERGEANT TO GIVE AN UPDATE.
JACKIE, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
I'M JACKIE SERGEANT AUSTIN, ENERGY GENERAL MANAGER.
TODAY, WE'VE CONTINUED TO MAKE PROGRESS WITH OUR RESTORATIONS AND SINCE, UH, YESTERDAY AT 5:00 PM UH, THROUGH NOON TODAY, CREWS HAVE RESTORED MORE THAN 62,000, UH, CUSTOMERS FOR A TOTAL OF OVER 267,000 RESTORATIONS.
SINCE THE START OF THIS EVENT, CURRENTLY WE HAVE ABOUT 1700 OUTAGES AFFECTING APPROXIMATELY 68,000 CUSTOMERS.
ELTON AND I WENT OUT IN THE FIELD TODAY FIRSTHAND TO SEE THE ISSUES THAT OUR CREWS ARE FACING.
WE SAW THAT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE OUTAGE IS, MAKING SURE THAT THE
[00:05:01]
WORK ZONE IS SAFE, UH, BRING IN THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT OR THE TREE TREMORS TO CLEAR DEBRIS OUT OF THE WAY.TO GET INTO ONE OF THE SITES THAT WE WENT TO, WE HAD TO GO THROUGH THE HOMEOWNER'S PROPERTY, UH, BECAUSE THE, THE SERVICE WAS ALONG THE BACK OF THE PROPERTY.
THERE WERE TREE LI LIMBS DOWN EVERYWHERE.
THE CREWS HAD TO GET OVER THE DEBRIS THAT THAT WAS THE CUSTOMERS, UM, TO GET BACK AND INTO THE WORK ZONE, UM, WHICH PRESENTS SOME CHALLENGES.
ONCE THE LINE CLEARANCE CREWS, UH, WERE OUT OF THE WAY, THE LINE WORKER HAD TO CLIMB THE POLE AND RECONNECT THE SERVICE MANUALLY.
WE'RE DOING THIS EFFORT AS SAFELY AND AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, BUT JUST FROM THAT EXAMPLE, YOU CAN, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND HOW TEDIOUS THESE EFFORTS ARE AND WHILE THE, THE WEATHER CONTINUES, UH, TO IMPROVE, WHICH IS VERY HELPFUL.
UM, THE TREES ARE COMPROMISED.
THEY WERE STRESSED BY THE HEAVY LOADING OF ICE ON THEM.
SO THERE'S STILL THE POTENTIAL FOR TREE BRANCHES, UH, TO COME DOWN AND FOR, UM, MORE DEBRIS TO IMPEDE OUR, OUR OUTAGE RESTORATION.
AND THAT MAKES THE RESTORATION EFFORTS MORE COMPLEX AND THAT MAKES THE RESTORATIONS TIMES TAKE LONGER TO ACHIEVE.
WE BROUGHT WITH US SOME PHOTOS TODAY, AND I'M GONNA REFER TO OR DEFER TO ELTON TO WALK, WALK YOU THROUGH SOME OF THOSE PHOTOS.
ELTON, YOU CAN GO UP A SECOND.
HEY, WHAT'S UP GUYS? UH, WISH WE WERE VISITING A DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I GOT FEEDBACK FROM THE TRANSLATORS.
I THOUGHT I WAS ACTUALLY TALKING PRETTY SLOW, BUT THEY SAID I WAS GOING TOO FAST.
SO I'LL, I'LL TRY TO SLOW DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
AS J JACKIE STATED, WE WERE OUT IN THE FIELD AGAIN WHEN WE CRUISED TODAY.
AND I'D LIKE TO, TO AGAIN PUT MY SHOUT OUT TO THE CREW, THE MUTUAL AID CREW, AND ALSO THE BEST DISPATCH CENTER AND THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SUPPORTING.
UH, OUR SUPPORT TEAM HAD PROBABLY DELIVERED OVER 4,000 MILLS TO EVERYBODY THAT'S OUT IN THE FIELD.
SO THEY'RE JUST INCREDIBLE SPORT TEAM.
WHICH ONE YOU GOT UP FIRST? JOSH, YOU CAN GO STEP IN FRONT OF.
I DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER THE MICS MESSED IT UP OR NOT.
OH, AND THEY SAID I SHOULDN'T COMPETE WITH YOU, SO THANK YOU.
UH, SO WHAT WE GOT HERE, UH, THIS IS ONE THAT I KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THAT IS HARD TO GIVE AN E R THIS WAS THE COMMUNICATION TOWER THAT WAS DOWN.
OKAY, I'LL GET BACK BEHIND THE, THE MIC.
THIS IS THE COM TOWER THAT I SPOKE ABOUT YESTERDAY.
AND WHAT HAPPENED WAS THE G WIRES THE ICE BUILT UP ON IT.
UH, ONE OF THE STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS SAID IT ON OVER 300 FOOT SECTION OF GUIDEWIRE WITH A HALF INCH OF ICE ON IT.
THAT'S 5,000 POUNDS ON EACH ONE OF THOSE G WIRES.
SO THAT TOWER ACTUALLY COLLAPSED.
THIS IS A HALF A MILE BACK INTO WOODS.
THERE WAS FIVE SPANS OF WIRE THAT CAME DOWN THAT CONSISTED OF ABOUT A THOUSAND FEET OF WIRE.
AND YOU'RE TALKING THREE PE THREE WIRES BECAUSE IT'S PRIMARY.
SO THAT'S WHAT THE CREW HAD TO, TO DO DEAL WITH.
THE OTHER ISSUE WITH THIS IS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, UH, THE VEGETATION WAS OFF THE LINES, BUT THE PROBLEM WAS IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.
IT WASN'T CLEARED FOR US TO DRIVE INTO.
SO THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT CREWS HAD TO CLEAR A PATH IN THE RIGHT OF WAY JUST SO WE COULD GET THE TRUCKS IN.
UH, LUCKILY THE, UH, MUTUAL AID CREWS AND ONE OF OUR MUTUAL AID BOX IS ON THAT JOB TODAY.
AND THAT JOB SHOULD BE COMPLETED TODAY, AND THAT DOES FEED THREE OTHER CELL PHONE TOWERS.
SO IT WILL DEFINITELY ASSIST IN SOME OF THE COMMUNICATIONS THAT'S COMING THROUGH.
YEAH, THAT WAS COMMUNICATION
SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE'RE FINDING ON MULTIPLE BROKEN POLES.
YOU CAN, I MEAN, YOU CAN THINK ABOUT A TELEPHONE POLE, NOT EXACTLY A FRAGILE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT, BUT WHAT HAPPENS IS THE WEIGHTED ICE VEGETATION DOWNSTREAM, WHICH MEANS IT WAS DOWN AWAY FROM THIS PART, WENT ONTO THE PRIMARY WIRES, THE WIRES DIDN'T SNAP, AND THAT WAS ENOUGH FORCE TO SNAP THAT TELEPHONE POLE WHERE YOU SIT.
SO THIS ISN'T LIKE AN HOUR FIXED JOB.
THIS IS A FULL DAY JOB FOR A SIX MAN CREW.
THEY HAVE TO REMOVE THAT POLE.
THEY HAVE TO MAKE SAFE, THEY HAVE TO SET A NEW POLE, PUT NEW CROSS ARMS, AND TRANSFER ALL OF THAT STUFF BACK OVER.
THAT'S WHAT'S DRIVING THE LENGTH OF RESTORATION THAT WE'RE SEEING AS WE GO THROUGH.
MY GRANDMOTHER USED TO SAY, YOU KNOW, BAD NEWS IS LIKE MEATLOAF.
IF YOU DON'T PUSH IT IN THE BACK OF REFRIGERATORS, PULL IT OUT, PUT IT ON THE COUNTER AND GO FOR IT.
UH, AND, AND THE REASON I BRING THAT UP IS WHEN YESTERDAY I TALKED ABOUT CIRCUITS, WHICH WERE THE LONG ONES, AND YOU ENERGIZE
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IT AND WE GET A LOT OF CUSTOMERS PICKED UP.THAT'S WHY WE'VE SEEN THAT OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS.
THERE'S NINE CIRCUITS LEFT AND WE HAVE CREWS ASSIGNED TO EVERY ONE OF THOSE CIRCUITS RIGHT NOW.
THE REASON I'M STATING THAT IS ONCE THAT'S DONE, IT'S NOT GONNA BE ANY FASTER.
BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENS IS WHEN I GAVE THAT EXAMPLE OF THAT STRIP CORD THAT WENT OUT AND THE INDIVIDUAL PLUGS OFF TO THE SIDE, THOSE THAT ARE UNPLUGGED, WE NOW HAVE TO GO AND REPAIR.
AND THE EXAMPLE THAT JACKIE GAVE TODAY ON THAT LITTLE SHORT SECTION THAT WE HAD, THERE WAS PROBABLY FOUR DIFFERENT SITES THAT THEY HAD TO REPAIR JUST TO GET APPROXIMATELY 30 HOMES UP.
SO IT, IT'S, IT'S JUST, IT'S TEDIOUS WORK, BUT IT'S GOTTA BE DONE SAFELY.
AND WE ARE DEFINITELY WORKING TO GET IT.
I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION ONE THING THAT, UH, OUR GM JACKIE BROUGHT UP YESTERDAY.
SHE SHOWED YOU THE CHART ABOUT WHAT WAS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A HOMEOWNER IN AUSTIN ENERGY'S, ONE OF 'EM WAS A SERVICE.
AND THE PIPE THAT WENT UP THE SIDE WITH THE WEATHERHEAD THAT WAS ON THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE, A NEIGHBOR CAME OUT WHILE WE WERE OUT ON THIS JOB SITE AND SAID, HEY, IT'S DOWN IN MY BACKYARD SINCE YOU HERE, COULD YOU TAKE A LOOK AT IT? WELL, THE CREW WENT BACK, THANK GOODNESS SHE FOLLOWED A PROCESS ABOUT TREATING HIS ENERGIZED, BECAUSE GUESS WHAT? IT WAS ENERGIZED.
SO THERE WAS A LIVE WIRE LINE THERE IN OUR BACKYARD.
SO PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THE WIRES, CALL 'EM IN.
WE WILL GET TO THEM AS SOON AS WE CAN, BUT JUST TREAT THEM AS ENERGIZED AND PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN SAFETY PLEASE.
WE GOT MORE MUTUAL AID CREWS IN.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, JACKIE AND I WELCOME THEM AT NOON, UH, BEFORE WE CAME DOWN TO HERE.
SO MY, MY GUYS WILL CONTINUE TO GRIND OUT TONIGHT.
THEY'LL BE POUNDING IN THE STREETS.
I I WANT TO THANK THE S THE CUSTOMERS OF AUSTIN ENERGY.
IT WAS JUST REFRESHING FOR THE NEIGHBORS TO COME OUT THAT'S BEEN OUT OF POWER FOR THREE OR FOUR DAYS, AND THEY COME OUT AND TELL THE CREW, THANK YOU.
THEY KNOW THEY'RE OUT OF POWER, BUT, BUT THEY'RE SAYING THANK YOU.
UH, SOME OF 'EM WERE OFFERING COFFEE.
SOME WANTED TO BAKE COOKIES IF THEY HAD A GAS STOVE, I GUESS.
BUT IT WAS JUST, IT'S, IT'S REFRESHING FOR THE CREWS TO KNOW THAT THE, THAT THE CUSTOMERS ARE RESPECTING WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
SO THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO JACKIE.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE A, A PICTURE OF WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT YESTERDAY, AND THIS IS WHERE THE EQUIPMENT ON THE HOMEOWNER'S, UH, HOUSE WAS, UH, DAMAGED.
AND, UH, THE, THIS IS THE EQUIPMENT THAT THE HOMEOWNER'S RESPONSIBLE TO HAVE REPAIRED.
AND IF THE LINES CONNECTING TO THAT ARE DOWN ON THE GROUND, UH, WE NEED TO HAVE YOU CALL THOSE IN.
UM, SO THAT THE, THAT WE CAN DISCONNECT THOSE AND THAT THE ELECTRIC SHOULDN CAN COME OUT AND SAFELY, UH, RESTORE YOUR POWER.
TODAY WE ADDED ADDITIONAL CONTRACTORS.
UM, AS ELTON TALKED ABOUT, WE WELCOMED THEM HERE AT NOON.
AND, UH, ONE OF OUR PRIMARY MESSAGES, UH, TO THEM, UH, AFTER THANKING THEM FOR BEING HERE WAS THAT THEY NEEDED TO WORK SAFELY.
SO YOU'RE GONNA SEE OUT IN OUR COMMUNITY MORE THAN AUSTIN ENERGY CREWS, BUT CREWS FROM OTHER RESOURCES.
AND I WANNA THANK ALL OF THE MUTUAL AID TEAMS WHO ARE HELPING US RESTORE POWER FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
I ALSO WANNA THANK OUR AUSTIN ENERGY CREWS THAT CONTINUE TO WORK, UM, TO RESTORE EVERYONE'S POWER.
THEY ARE WORKING TIRELESSLY AND AROUND THE CLOCK AND THANKING THE CUSTOMERS.
UM, THIS MORNING WHEN WE WERE OUT AND WE WERE GOING BACK TO THE VEHICLE, THERE WAS A WOMAN WHO WAS WALKING HER DOG AND SHE SHARED WITH US, UM, THANKED US FOR BEING OUT, SHARED WITH US THAT SHE HAD POWER, BUT HER NEIGHBOR ACROSS THE STREET, UH, DID NOT.
SO SHE HAD REACHED OUT TO HER NEIGHBOR AND INVITED HER TO HER HOME, HELPED HER WITH CHARGING HER DEVICE, AND SHE LET US PET HER DOG.
AS THE WEATHER IMPROVES, WE'RE SEEING PEOPLE OUT AND ABOUT.
CARS ARE SPEEDING, CARS ARE SPEEDING BY OUR JOB SITES.
I WOULD ASK YOU TO PLEASE RESPECT THEM.
WE NEED THOSE WORKERS TO BE SAFE.
SO IF YOU ARE GOING PAST CREWS, PLEASE SLOW DOWN AND GIVE THEM EXTRA SPACE.
ANOTHER ISSUE THAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT IS OUR OUTAGE MAP.
A SINGLE POINT ON THE MAP MAY REPRESENT MULTIPLE OUTAGES.
THE POINTS ON THE MAP, UH, SHOW OUTAGES THAT ARE IN AN AREA.
SO IF THERE'S A POINT ON THE MAP THAT'S CLOSE TO WHERE YOU ARE, YOU'RE LIKELY INCLUDED IN THAT OUTAGE.
IF YOU RECEIVE A, A TEXT MESSAGE THAT SAYS THAT POWER HAS BEEN RESTORED AND YOUR POWER HAS NOT REPLIED TO THAT TEXT MESSAGE, O U T OR OUT.
IF YOU TEXT S A T FOR STATUS AND MESSAGE RESPONDS, YOU GET A A MESSAGE AND RESPONSE THAT SAYS, NOT AWARE OF AN OUTAGE, THEN PLEASE REPLY
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O U T OR OUT.AND WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THE VENDOR TO TROUBLESHOOT ISSUES, UH, WITH OUR OUTAGE MAP, AND WE'LL WORK TO, UH, CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE THAT.
I WANNA, ONCE AGAIN, THANK EVERYONE AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
IT'S MORE THAN THE FIELD CREWS.
UH, AT THE START OF THIS EVENT, OUR PEOPLE AT OUR POWER PLANTS WE'RE WORKING.
UH, MANY WERE STAYING OVERNIGHT ON SITE BECAUSE OF THE TRAVEL CONDITIONS.
UH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THEIR EFFORTS.
UM, OUR CUSTOMER CARE PEOPLE WHO ARE, UH, HANDLING THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF, OF CALLS.
THE FOLKS THAT WE HAVE AT THREE 11 WHO ARE ALSO TAKING CALLS, UM, THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES AND FINANCE AND LOGISTICS AND PLANNING AND ENGINEERING, UM, OUR DISPATCH CREWS IN OUR EMERGENCY, OUR ENERGY, UM, CONTROL CENTER.
THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE SUPPORTING THIS EFFORT AND THEY CARE DEEPLY JUST AS I DO ABOUT GETTING EVERY EVERY CUSTOMER'S POWER BACK ON.
MY NAME IS KEN SNIPES, DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
I WANNA START BY THANKING THE WOMEN AND MEN AROUND THE CITY WHO ARE WORKING DILIGENTLY TO RESTORE AND, AND RESOLVE THE ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THIS STORM FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
THIS EFFORT WILL OCCUR IN TWO PHASES.
THE FIRST OF THOSE PHASES IS TO RESTORE OUR NORMAL COLLECTION SERVICES.
AS OF TODAY, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY HAS CAUGHT UP ON ALL OF ITS REGULAR CART SERVICES, AND ON MONDAY, THOSE SERVICES WILL RETURN TO NORMAL.
THE SECOND PHASE OF OUR WORK WILL INCLUDE, UH, DEBRIS MANAGEMENT AND, UH, DEBRIS, UM, COLLECTION.
AND FOR MORE ON THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO DEPUTY DE DIRECTOR, RICHARD MACHA.
I'M DEPUTY DIRECTOR RICHARD MCKAY WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE WITH THE STORM DEBRIS RESPONSE.
UH, BUT BEFORE I DO THAT, I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO THANK, UH, THE STAFF OF A R R AND THE OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE DOING ALL THIS WORK.
I'VE BEEN WITH THE CITY FOR, UH, NEARLY 30 YEARS NOW, AND THIS IS BY FAR THE WORST DISASTER THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN.
SO I'M AMAZED THAT THERE ARE, IS ANY ELECTRIC WEST OF MOPAC.
SO MY HAT'S OFF DOS ENERGY FOR THE VEGETATION, UH, WORK THAT THEY HAVE DONE.
SO, UH, WITH THAT, UM, JUST AN UPDATE.
UM, THERE WERE SOME EXISTING BRUSH ROUTES.
WE DO, UH, BRUSH COLLECTION TWICE A YEAR FROM, UH, REG, UH, RESIDENTS.
UH, WE HAD THREE PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED MAILOUTS HAD GONE OUT.
SO THOSE, UH, COLLECTIONS WILL STILL OCCUR.
SO IF YOU RECEIVED A MAILER NOTIFYING YOU OF YOUR, UH, SEMI-ANNUAL BRUSH COLLECTION, UH, THOSE DATES WILL STILL APPLY.
SO YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND PUT YOUR MATERIAL OUT, UH, STORM DEBRIS AND ANY OTHER MATERIAL YOU HAVE, AND WE WILL GET THAT COLLECTED, UH, AS IT WAS PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED.
UH, ARR, UM, WE LEARNED A LOT FROM YURI.
WE LEARNED A LOT WHEN WE, UH, REPLIED TO A MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UH, WE HELPED OUT WITH HARVEY, SO WE HAD A LOT OF LEARNED LESSONS FROM, UH, FROM OTHER AREAS.
UM, SO WE TOOK THOSE LESSONS AND WE HAD SOME PREPOSITIONED CONTRACTS IN PLACE FOR DEBRIS CONTRACTORS AND DEBRIS MONITORS.
UH, DEBRIS MONITORS ARE FOR IF THIS BECOMES A FEMA EVENT AND WE ARE REQUESTING REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UH, WE HAVE TO HAVE THOSE DEBRIS MONITORS.
SO ALL THOSE CONTRACTS WERE ACTIVATED.
UH, WE MET WITH THE CONTRACTORS TODAY.
THEY ALREADY HAVE TRUCKS THAT ARE ARRIVING.
THE FIRST STEP WILL BE TO, UH, WE HAVE TO, UH, CATALOG AND CERTIFY EACH OF THE TRUCKS THAT'LL BE USED, GET ALL THE SIZES AND WEIGHTS, UH, HAVE THEM, UH, GIVEN DECALS SO THEY, UH, THEY, WE KNOW WHOSE TRUCKS ARE WHOSE, UH, ONCE WE GET THAT DONE, UH, WE, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO START COLLECTIONS.
SO WE ANTICIPATE, UH, CONTRACTORS STARTING COLLECTIONS, UM, MONDAY.
SO BETWEEN THE THREE CONTRACTORS, UM, THEY ARE BRINGING IN FOLKS FROM, UH, FROM THE LOCAL AREA AS THEY CAN, BUT THEY'RE ALSO GETTING RESOURCES FROM SOME OTHER AREAS THAT THEY HAVE CREWS IN.
SO, UM, THAT WORK WILL START, UH, MONDAY.
UM, THE CITY IS, UH, ARR HAS A WEBPAGE THAT WE ARE PUTTING UP.
IT'S AT AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV/UH, STORM DEBRIS.
UH, YOU CAN GO TO THAT PAGE AND WE WILL HAVE ANY INFORMATION AND RESOURCES ON GUIDELINES FOR SETTING OUT BRUSH AND OTHER RESOURCES IF, UH, IF YOU MAY NEED ASSISTANCE REMOVING SOME BRUSH FROM YOUR BACKYARD, THERE'S, UH, LINKS TO OTHER RESOURCES ON THAT PAGE AS WELL.
SO WE ASK THAT YOU DO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
UM, SERVICE ORDER WISE, JUST TO GIVE YOU A SCALE OF THE, THE ISSUE HERE.
SO, WINTER STORM URI, IN THE FIRST THREE DAYS, WE HAD ABOUT 307 SERVICE ORDERS.
FIRST THREE DAYS OF THIS EVENT, WE ARE ABOUT 3000 SERVICE ORDERS.
SO SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE, A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE.
50% OF THE SERVICE ORDERS ARE COMING, COUNCIL DISTRICTS SIX, EIGHT, AND 10.
SO PRIMARILY WEST, UH, WEST AUSTIN.
UM, SO WE, UH, WILL LOOK AT THE SERVICE ORDERS AND WE WILL USE THAT TO GUIDE HOW WE DEPLOY RESOURCES.
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RESOURCES IN EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT, BOTH IN EAST AUSTIN, WEST AUSTIN, NORTH AUSTIN, AND SOUTH AUSTIN.UM, WE WILL ALSO BE PUTTING UP A MAP ON OUR WEBSITE TO GIVE, UH, CUSTOMERS AN IDEA OF, UH, WHERE WE'RE WORKING AND, UH, HOPEFULLY WHEN WE ANTICIPATE MOVING TO OTHER AREAS.
SO, UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DOING FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR, SO WE SHOULD HAVE THAT UP AND RUNNING SOON.
AND WE WILL, UH, MAKE SURE WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION UPDATED ON A DAILY BASIS.
UH, WE DO HAVE A PUBLIC DROP OFF SPOT CURRENTLY AT HORNSBY BEND.
UM, A LOT OF FOLKS HAVE BEEN TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
WE ARE ALSO WORKING ON SOME ADDITIONAL DROP-OFF FACILITIES, UH, IN NORTH AUSTIN AND SOUTH AUSTIN.
I DON'T HAVE THE DETAILS ON THAT YET, BUT, UH, WE HOPE TO HAVE THAT UP AND RUNNING AS SOON AS MONDAY.
SO, UH, WE WILL GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION AS THOSE SITES, UM, ARE ESTABLISHED.
UM, WE DO ASK IF, UH, IF THERE ARE, IF YOU DO HAVE STORM DAMAGE, DO CALL 3 1 1.
EVEN IF YOU THINK ALL YOUR OTHER NEIGHBORS HAVE, WE DO ASK THAT YOU CALL JUST SO WE CAN GET A GOOD IDEA OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THE ISSUE.
UM, WHEN WE DID, UH, URI, WE HAD ONE CONTRACTOR WORKING, THEY WORKED HERE FOR ABOUT FIVE WEEKS.
UM, AND THEN THE CITY WORKED FOR ABOUT ADDITIONAL THREE MONTHS, UM, WITH ADDITIONAL MATERIAL.
UH, WE HAVE A LOT MORE CONTRACTORS THIS TIME, BUT THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG-TERM RECOVERY.
I MEAN, WE WILL BE BUSY ALL OF FEBRUARY FOR SURE.
UM, BUT I, UH, THE KEY POINT I WANNA GET ACROSS IS EVEN IF WE DON'T GET YOU ON THE FIRST ROUND, IF YOU STICK OUT MATERIAL, YOU HAVEN'T GOT TO THE FRONT, DON'T WORRY, WE'RE GONNA BE BACK.
WE'RE GONNA BE MAKING MULTIPLE SWEEPS OF THE CITY.
SO IF WE DON'T GET YOU ON THE FIRST PASS, WE WILL GET YOU ON THE, THE SUBSEQUENT PASSES.
SO, UH, REST ASSURED THAT WE WILL GET THAT MATERIAL COLLECTED.
UM, WITH THAT I CAN TAKE, UH, PASS IT ON
WHAT I'D LIKE TO TRY TO DO TODAY IS GIVE YOU AN UPDATES TEST WHERE WE'RE AT, TALK ABOUT OUR TRANSITION TO RECOVERY OPS, AND ALSO GIVE A BRIEF, UH, UPDATE FROM MY MOBILITY PARTNER, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION AS FAR AS TRAFFIC SIGNALS.
BUT FIRST OF ALL, ON BEHALF OF PUBLIC WORKS, WE LIKE TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR THEIR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING AS OUR CREWS HAVE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY AND AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TO CLEAR THE DEBRIS IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.
SINCE TUESDAY PUBLIC, UH, CORRECTION, SINCE MONDAY, PUBLIC WORKS, STAFF AND CREW HAVE BEEN WORKING 24 HOUR OPERATIONS FOCUSED ON WINTER STORM RESPONSE BY EITHER TREATING ROADS OR CLEARING DEBRIS TO ENSURE THAT SAFE MOBILITY FOR OUR CITIZENS FIRST RESPONDERS AND OTHER CRITICAL CITY SERVICES.
CURRENTLY WE HAVE 29 CREWS FROM PUBLIC WORKS, AUSTIN, RESOURCE RECOVERY, WATERSHED PARKS, AND TEXAS FORESTRY DEPLOYED THROUGHOUT THE CITY THAT ARE RESPONDING TO SERVICE REQUESTS FOR CLEARING THE RIGHT OF WAY OF THE DEBRIS FOR SAFE TRAVEL, AND THEN PLACING THE DEBRIS TO THE SIDE SO THAT WE CAN COORDINATE WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AS PART OF THE COORDINATION EFFORT TO PICK UP DEBRIS.
AS OF THIS AFTERNOON, WE RECEIVED OVER 1500 REQUESTS FOR SERVICES.
SINCE THE EVENT STARTED, CREWS HAVE RESPONDED TO OVER 748 DEBRIS REQUESTS, AND CURRENTLY HAVE A BACKLOG OF OVER 500 SERVICE REQUESTS WITH 90% OF THOSE BEING DEBRIS REMOVAL.
WE HAVE COMPLETED 186 REQUESTS JUST IN THE LAST 24 HOURS.
PLEASE, WE KNOW WE ASK YOU TO BE PATIENT, WE'RE TRYING TO DO AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE TO RE REMOVE THOSE.
DURING YESTERDAY'S PRESS CONFERENCE, I REPORTED THAT WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF RECONFIGURING OUR OPERATIONS GROUP TO SHIFT FROM THE FOCUS OF WINTER RESPONSE, WHICH IS TREATING ROADS AND CLEARING DEBRIS TO STORM RECOVERY OPERATIONS, PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON DEBRIS CLEARING AND REMOVAL.
ON MONDAY, PUBLIC WORKS WILL BEGIN A SYSTEMATIC GRID APPROACH THAT WILL BE U THAT WE'VE USED IN OTHER STORM RECOVERY OPERATIONS TO ASSIGN TEAMS CERTAIN SECTORS OF THE CITY.
THIS APPROACH WILL ALLOW US TO CONFIRM DEBRIS HAS BEEN CLEARED AND ESTABLISH, UH, PICKUP POINTS TO BE COORDINATED WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
EVEN THOUGH WE'RE MAKING THAT TRANSITION FROM STORM RESPONSE TO STORM RECOVERY, WE STILL WANT RESIDENTS TO REPORT DOWN TREES IN THE RIGHT WAY.
THEY SHOULD CALL 3 1 1, AND THAT REQUEST WILL BE ROUTED TO OUR SECTION, UH, CREW THAT'LL BE WORKING THROUGH THIS EFFORT.
BUT I SAID AT THE BEGINNING, I'D LIKE TO ALSO GIVE AN UPDATE FROM OUR MOBILITY PARTNER TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.
UH, AS FAR AS THEIR PROGRESS ON SIGNALS.
CURRENTLY THERE ARE 54 TRAFFIC SIGNALS THAT ARE DARK AND NINE TRAFFIC SIGNALS THAT ARE IN THE FLASHING MODE.
AS OF THIS PRESS CONFERENCE, THESE SIGNALS COME UP JUST IN A CORRESPONDENCE.
WITH AUSTIN ENERGY PROGRESS TO RESTORING POWER, THE NINE FLASHING SIGNALS WILL BE RESPO, UH, CREWS WILL RESPOND AND GET THEM BACK IN WORKING ORDER BY THE END OF THE DAY.
AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION ALSO HAS CREWS INSPECTING THE, UH, DARK TRAFFIC LIGHTS AND STAFF ARE PREPARED TO ENSURE THAT ONCE THOSE LIGHTS COME ON BOARD, THEY'LL GET BACK IN QUICK, UH, QUICK
[00:25:01]
ORDER QUICKLY.AGAIN, THEY ASK US TO REMIND YOU THE PLEASE TREAT ALL INTERSECTIONS WITH DARK OR FLASHING LIGHTS AS A FOUR-WAY STOP.
SO THAT COMPLETES OUR UPDATES FROM OUR OPERATIONAL PARTNERS, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, HOW, HOW OLD DO YOU JUSTIFY, UH, RAISING RATES WHEN MOST AUSTINITES WILL SAY THAT YOUR SERVICE HAS PROVEN TO BE UNRELIABLE TIME AND TIME AGAIN YEAR AFTER YEAR? WELL, FIRST, LET ME SAY THAT NOTWITHSTANDING A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT, WHICH THIS IS, THAT HAS CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE, AND WE'VE SHOWN PHOTOS OF THAT, WE REGULARLY, UM, TRACK AND REPORT OUT ON THE RELIABILITY OF OUR SYSTEM.
WE BENCHMARK WITH OUR PURE UTILITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND WE HAVE SOME OF THE STRONGEST RELIABILITY NUMBERS WITH REGARD TO RATES.
OUR BASE RATES, WE HAVEN'T RAISED BASE RATES SINCE 2012, COST FOR EVERYTHING HAVE GONE UP AND ESCALATED.
THEY PAY FOR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, THEY PAY FOR POWER PLANTS, THEY PAY FOR THE DEBT SERVICE, THE MONEY WE HAVE TO BORROW TO BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, THE POLES, THE LINES, THE TRANSFORMERS, UH, AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
OUR RATE REVIEW PROCESS USED A TEST YEAR OF 2021, WHICH DEMONSTRATED THAT WE WERE UNDER RECOVERED IN OUR RATES.
AND SO IT WAS NECESSARY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO INCREASE RATES SO THAT WE CAN REPLENISH SOME OF OUR FUNDS THAT WE NEED TO MANAGE CASH BALANCES AND WE NEED THOSE SO THAT WE CAN BUY THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO MAINTAIN AND RESTORE THE SYSTEM.
I KNOW NOBODY WANTS THEIR RATES TO GO UP.
I WISH THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO RAISE THEM, BUT AS YOU KNOW, INFLATION HAS OCCURRED.
SUPPLY CHAIN SHORTAGES HAVE DRIVEN COSTS UP.
WE HAVE SEEN INCREASE IN OUR LABOR COST.
WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PAY OUR PEOPLE IN ORDER TO KEEP THEM, AND WE NEED THEM TO SERVE ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO, ALTHOUGH THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT EVENT CAUSED BY A VERY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT WHERE WE SAW, UH, LOTS AND LOTS OF ICE FORM, UH, HALF INCH TO 0.8 INCHES OR MORE, IN SOME CASES, THE FARTHER WEST YOU WERE, UM, I THINK IT WAS K X A N THAT REPORTED LAST EVENING THAT THIS WAS THE WORST ICE STORM TO HIT AUSTIN IN HISTORY.
SO THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT EVENT IS WHAT HAS DRIVEN THESE CURRENT OUTAGES.
AND I THINK THE PICTURES THAT WE HAVE AND THE THINGS THAT OUR CREWS ARE DOING AND DEALING WITH OUT IN THE FIELD ARE DEMONSTRATIVE OF THAT.
I THINK ALL WITH KATIE, I THINK THE BIGGEST FRUSTRATION THAT WE'RE HEARING WITH ALL THE CALLS FROM NEIGHBORS AND STILL HAVING A POWER OUTAGE JUST FOR FIVE DAYS IS, UM, WHAT'S CAUSING TO HOLD UP.
LOT OF PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY'VE BEEN TOLD THE FROZEN EQUIPMENT WITH SLOWING THEM DOWN, BUT NOW THAT THE WEATHER'S NICE, AND I KNOW YOU MENTIONED EARLIER IN THE CONFERENCE IT IS HELPING, LIKE WHY IS IT JUST TAKING SO LONG AND WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST THINGS BEHIND YOU? YOU SAW THE PICTURE, THE FIRST PICTURE THAT ELTON SHOWED YOU WHERE, UM, THAT TRANSMISSION TOWER, UM, THE GUY WIRES WERE SO WEIGHTED DOWN, UH, WITH THE ICE, THE, THE TOWER COLLAPSED.
AND WHEN THE TOWER CAME DOWN, IT TOOK OUT OUR POWER LINE, A MAIN LINE, A PRIMARY, UH, PRIMARY CIRCUIT.
AND SO FIRST YOU HAVE TO REMOVE ALL OF THAT DEBRIS AND THEN YOU HAVE TO GET IN THERE, YOU HAVE TO HAVE ACCESS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THE REPAIRS.
AND THEN I THINK IT WAS A THOUSAND FEET A LINE.
AND, UM, FIVE STRUCTURES THAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.
THAT'S WHAT'S CAUSING THE, THE LENGTH OR THE, THE AMOUNT OF TIME TO RESTORE THESE OUTAGES.
[00:30:01]
THEY'RE NOT EASY FIX.IT'S NOT LIKE WE HAD EQUIPMENT THAT FAILED WHEN IT WAS IN SERVICE.
WE HAD EQUIPMENT THAT WAS DAMAGED AND IT WAS DAMAGED AS A RESULT OF THE ICE ACCUMULATION AND THE, THE TREES AND, AND TREE LIMBS AND ALL OF THAT.
EVEN THE ONES NOT IN, IN THE AREA THAT IN OUR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT ZONE, BUT TREES OUTSIDE OF THAT THAT WERE SO WEIGHTED DOWN THAT THEY FELL OVER OR LARGE SECTIONS OF THEM BROKE OFF AND LANDED ON THE POWER LINES.
CAN I TAKE THAT? SO A COUPLE OF YEARS BACK, AUSTIN ENERGY SWITCHED TO WHAT'S CALLED SMART METERS.
AND ON YOUR OWN WEBSITE IT SAYS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE OUTAGE DETECTION.
WHY IS IT THAT WE NEED TO REPORT OUTAGES AT ALL? SO NORMALLY THE SYSTEM SEES THOSE RIGHT WITHOUT YOU REPORTING 'EM.
AND THE, AND THE OUTAGE MAP GETS, UM, POPULATED.
AND SO AS THOSE OUTAGES COME IN, AND IN SOME CASES THERE'S A NUMBER OF CUSTOMER, THERE'S ONE OF THOSE FEEDERS LIKE THAT LINE, UH, THAT WAS TAKEN DOWN BY THE, THE TOWER.
AND SO THAT ACCOUNTS FOR A LARGE NUMBER OF COUNT OF, OF CUSTOMERS, BUT IT'S CONSIDERED ONE OUTAGE.
SO WHEN THAT GETS RESTORED, SOMETIMES THOSE, THOSE LINES, WHEN WE GO TO, TO ENERGIZE THEM, THEY'LL BE THE, UM, PLUGS AS, AS ELTON EXPLAINED, THAT ARE COMING OFF OF THERE, THE LINES THAT GO THEN OUT AND DOWN TO FEED HOMES OR OTHER BUSINESSES AND THEY HAVE DEBRIS ON THEM.
AND WHEN WE GO TO PUT THE LINE IN, IT TRIPS BACK OUT BECAUSE OF, OF THAT DEBRIS OR THOSE, UM, OBSTRUCTIONS IN THE SYSTEM.
AND SO WE THEN HAVE TO GO AND DISCONNECT, UNPLUG THOSE PLUGS FROM THE, THE, THE STRIP, RIGHT, UNPLUG THOSE PLUGS, GET THEM OFF THAT, AND THEN LEAVE THE ONES THAT, UM, ARE SAFE TO BE ENERGIZED, TURN THAT BACK ON.
AND THEN WE HAVE TO INDIVIDUALLY GO OUT TO EACH ONE OF THOSE SECTIONS OF LINE OR THOSE PLUGS AND FIX THE DAMAGE THAT'S ON THOSE.
AND SO WHEN WE CLEAR THAT BIG OUTAGE, IT LOOKS LIKE THAT OUTAGE WAS CLEARED AND YOUR PARTICULAR OUTAGE WAS LUMPED INTO THAT AS PART OF IT, THE WAY THE OUTAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, UH, WORKS.
AND SO IF YOU'RE SIGNED UP FOR TEXT ALERTS, THEN A MESSAGE GOES OUT THAT SAYS POWER HAS BEEN RESTORED IN YOUR AREA.
IT DOESN'T SAY POWER HAS BEEN RESTORED TO YOU.
AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE POWER RESTORED AND YOU GET THAT MESSAGE, THAT'S WHY YOU REPLY BACK O U T AND THAT GOES BACK INTO THE SYSTEM TO REPOPULATE IT.
CAN I ASK THE FOLLOW UP? UM, IF THIS OUTAGE DETECTION SYSTEM ONLY DETECTS ONE LARGE OUTAGE, WHY DO WE AS CUSTOMERS HAVE TO REPORT OUTAGES INDIVIDUALLY? YOU DON'T UNTIL IT'S A, UH, SITUATION THAT, UM, AN OUTAGE, A A BIG OUTAGE HAS BEEN CLEARED, THE MAIN LINE HAS BEEN CLEARED AND THAT, SO THAT THE SYSTEM SEES THAT THAT ONE OUTAGE WAS CLEARED.
AND THEN IF YOU'RE SIGNED UP FOR THE OUTAGE ALERT, A MESSAGE GOES OUT TO YOU THAT SAYS OUT POWER HAS BEEN RESTORED IN YOUR AREA AND YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO REPLY BACK O U T OUT IF YOUR INDIVIDUAL POWER IS OUT BECAUSE IT, IT DOES THIS IN A BLOCK AND IT DOESN'T, THEN THE, THE METER'S ALREADY OUT SO IT CAN'T SEND ANOTHER SIGNAL THAT IT'S OUT.
SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THE VENDOR TO SEE IF THERE'S WAYS THAT WE CAN IMPROVE THAT.
CAUSE WE KNOW THAT'S CREATING A LOT OF FRUSTRATION FOR FOLKS AND THAT'S THE LAST THING WE WANT RIGHT NOW.
UM, PEOPLE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KNOW THAT THEIR POWER IS OUT AND WE WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT WE'RE WORKING TO RESTORE IT.
UH, ANDY MCKAY, UH, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF POWER AT NURSING HOMES AND ASSISTED LIVING, UH, FACILITIES RIGHT NOW AND HOW ARE THEY BEING PRIORITIZED? I'LL LET UH, ELTON ANSWER THAT ONE.
NURSING HOMES ARE CONSIDERED, UH, A CRITICAL LOAD AND IT DEPENDS ON WHAT TYPE OF CARE IS BEING PROVIDED.
SO CRITICAL LOAD AS FAR AS A CUSTOMER IS CRITICAL LOAD ONE, TWO, OR THREE.
AND AS, UH, GM JACKIE SERGEANT MENTIONED YESTERDAY, FIRST OF ALL, THEY HAVE TO BE REGISTERED.
SO WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU CAN'T JUST CALL UP DURING THE STORM.
SO LET'S SAY IT'S, UH, AN ASSISTED LIVING THAT HAS HOSPITAL CARE AT THE HOME.
THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE A CRITICAL LOAD.
ONE, WE HAVE A LARGE CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT REVIEWS IT AND PLACES IT, IF IT'S JUST A, AN A AN ASSISTED LIVING THAT DOESN'T PROVIDE MEDICAL CARE, IT'S PROBABLY A CRITICAL LOAD TWO.
SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T SAY WHAT IT IS WITHOUT IT DONE, BUT THAT'S KIND OF HOW THEY DO THE LEVELS.
THEY LOOK AT WHAT TYPE OF CARE IS BEING PROVIDED, WHAT'S THE LEVEL
[00:35:01]
OF RESPONSE FOR ELECTRICAL SERVICES DO NEED, AND THEN WHERE DID IT GO? AND IF YOU WOULD, IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'D LIKE TO GO BACK TO THIS YOUNG LADY'S QUESTION ABOUT THE FRUSTRATION.UH, IF YOU, IF YOU WOULD, I'D LIKE TO USE WINTER STORM URI AS A BASELINE CAUSE IN, IN THE HISTORY OF OUR LIFETIME, AND I'M, I'M A LOT OLDER IN YOU OUT THERE, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS KIND OF THE, THE BAD GUY.
AND TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF WINTER STORM URI, IF YOU TAKE THE TOTAL TIME OF THE OUTAGES OR THE DAYS OUT WITH THE SEVEN TO EIGHT DAYS, THE MAJORITY OF THAT WAS BECAUSE OF THE ROLLING BLACKOUTS OF WHICH WE KNOW AND, AND THE COMPRESSION OF THE LOAD, THE ACTUAL STORM RESPONSE, WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, IT'S LIKE OVER THREE SPECIFIC DAYS.
DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY MUTUAL AID CREWS WE HAD DURING THAT TIME? ZERO.
OUR INDIGENOUS WORKFORCE DID WORLD CLASS PERFORMANCE DURING WORLD, UH, STORM URI AND GOT ALL THE CUSTOMERS RESTORED USUALLY WITHIN 24 HOURS.
WHEN THE FIRST STORM CAME IN, WE WERE COMPLETELY RESTORED BY SUNDAY, AND THAT WAS A 24 HOUR PERIOD.
WE HAD THE LOAD CUT, HAD TO WAIT BEFORE WE DID THE REPAIRS.
BUT WORLD CLASS PERFORMANCE, WE HAD ZERO MUTUAL AID.
THAT'S WHY THIS ONE, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT SIGNIFICANCE AND, AND I AGAIN USE STORM URI IN STORM URI ON A CIRCUIT, NORMALLY WHAT HAPPENED WAS ONE BRANCH WENT INTO IT AND IT TRIPPED THE WHOLE LINE.
THEY HAD TO GO OUT AND PATROL IT AND DO THAT REPAIR.
I'VE NEVER SEEN IT IN, IN MY LIFE.
AND, AND LIKE I SAID, I WORKED IN THE NORTHERN PART OF ILLINOIS, NEVER SAW THIS LEVEL OF DEVASTATION.
YOU TAKE THAT SAME OUTAGE, MULTIPLY THAT LIMB ON THE WIRE WITH TWO TREES, A BROKEN POLE AND CALM LINE.
SO THAT SAME REPAIR THAT WE DID DURING STORM URI, WHICH TOOK MAYBE EIGHT HOURS, JUST TURNED INTO ALMOST A TWO DAY JOB.
SO JUST TO PICK UP THAT SHORT AMOUNT OF CUSTOMERS, THE MAGNITUDE WE'RE PERFORMING ALMOST FOUR TO FIVE JOBS JUST IN THAT NORMAL SECTION THAT WE WOULD DO ONE JOB.
SO I UNDERSTAND THE FRUSTRATION.
BELIEVE ME, MY CREWS ARE FRUSTRATED.
THEY WANT YOUR POWER ON, THEY'D LIKE TO GO BACK HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES.
THEY'RE TIRED OF LIVING IN THE HOTELS AND WORKING 16 HOURS A DAY, YOU KNOW, BUT THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE.
AND HOPEFULLY SHOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STORM URI AND NOW, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN KIND OF DO A COMPARISON ON IT IN INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW, US JUST SITTING UP HERE SAYING, YEAH, OKAY.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHY THAT'S KIND OF A VISUAL IF IT HELPS.
UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY LIKE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, UM, THAT YOU, THAT ANY OF YOUR PROGRAMS WILL HELP PROVIDE FOR THOSE? INCLUDE ANYTHING UNEXPECTED? UH, THAT'S, UH, I'M, I'M JUST TURNING THE LIGHTS ON MA'AM.
THAT'LL BE A QUESTION FOR SOMEBODY ELSE, WHICH I CAN CERTAINLY FOLLOW UP ON.
OTHER ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE TO OUR, UM, FAMILIES AND RESIDENTS IN AUSTIN.
I KNOW THAT AS WE DID DECLARE THE LOCAL DISASTER AND ALSO THAT'S IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE COUNTY AND I UNDERSTAND THE STATE AS WELL.
UH, THAT DOES UNLOCK ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS. AND SO AS THOSE PROGRAMS BECOME AVAILABLE, UH, WE'LL BE PROVIDING THAT INFORMATION TO OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT DOES CONCLUDE OUR PRESS CON OH SORRY.
AND ONE LAST QUESTION HERE AND THEN WE'RE DONE.
YEAH, THOSE QUESTIONS FOR THE CITY.
I WAS WONDERING WHAT EXACTLY GOES INTO A DISASTER DECLARATION? WHAT KIND OF FUNDING ARE WE GONNA GET? WHAT, WHAT ARE THE FIRST YEAH, IT'S TOO EARLY TO SAY THAT AT THIS POINT, BUT IT CERTAINLY, UM, WAS DONE AFTER AN ASSESSMENT OF HOW MUCH DAMAGE HAS OCCURRED SO FAR, HOW MANY RESOURCES WE ARE USING TO, UH, RECOVER FROM THE STORM EVENT.
UH, BUT IT WILL ALLOW US TO LOOK AT ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS THAT THE STATE AND FEDERAL, UH, GOVERNMENT ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE CITY.
AGAIN, WE UNDERSTAND YOUR FRUSTRATION.
UH, THIS COMMUNITY IS STRONG AND RESILIENT AND WE WILL GET THROUGH IT TOGETHER.