* 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. [Winter Weather News Conference] [00:00:18] WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. MY NAME IS SPENCER CRONK. I'M THE AUSTIN BY JACKIE SERGEANT GENERAL MANAGER FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, AND CRAIG BROOKS. UH, WE ARE HERE TO GIVE A STATUS UPDATE ON THE EFFORTS AROUND RESTORING POWER TO OUR CITIZENS AND CUSTOMERS. UH, AND WE BROUGHT YOU HERE TO GIVE A SENSE OF HOW WE'RE WORKING WITH MANY PARTNERS TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING ALL THE RESOURCES THAT THIS COMMUNITY NEEDS SO WE CAN HAVE AN ALL HANDS ON DECK EFFORT. UH, THIS HAS BEEN A COLLABORATIVE WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS ACROSS THE REGION, UH, AND CRAIG'S GONNA SPEAK TO THAT IN A FEW MINUTES, BUT FIRST I'LL HAND IT OVER TO JACKIE. SERGEANT. THANK YOU, SPENCER. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR COMING OUT. I'M AUSTIN, UH, ENERGY GENERAL MANAGER, JACKIE SERGEANT. WE CONTINUE TO WORK AROUND THE CLOCK TO RESTORE POWER AFTER THE HURRICANE LEVEL DEVASTATION FROM THE HISTORIC ICE STORM, WHICH LED TO BOTH LOCAL AND STATE DISASTER DECLARATIONS. WE ARE CURRENTLY FOCUSED ON THE 4% OF OUR CUSTOMERS WHO STILL REMAIN WITHOUT POWER. WE ARE WORKING DILIGENTLY AROUND THE CLOCK TO RESTORE YOUR SERVICE. WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK AND UNTIL EVERYONE'S LIGHTS ARE BACK ON, MORE THAN 96% OF OUR CUSTOMERS NOW HAVE POWER. FROM AROUND THE TIME THAT I SPOKE WITH YOU YESTERDAY, WE'VE RESTORED POWER TO ABOUT 19,000 OR 19,000 MORE CUSTOMERS, AND WE HAVE COMPLETED NEARLY 333,000 RESTORATIONS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS HISTORIC ICE STORM. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE ABOUT 1100 OUTAGES AFFECTING APPROXIMATELY 21,000 CUSTOMERS. FOR THOSE OF YOU ARE STILL WITHOUT POWER. I'M SORRY FOR HOW LONG THIS IS TAKING. I WISH THAT I COULD GIVE YOU A SPECIFIC ESTIMATE FOR YOUR SPECIFIC OUTAGE. WE KNOW IT'S HARD FOR YOU TO PLAN WITHOUT THAT INFORMATION. UNFORTUNATELY, THE COMPLEXITY AND SEVERITY OF THE ICE STORM DAMAGE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL OUTAGE JUST HASN'T ALLOWED US TO GIVE A MORE GRANULAR ESTIMATE FOR RESTORATION TO GIVE CUSTOMERS SOMETHING TO PLAN. I TASKED, UH, PLAN FOR. I TASKED A TEAM WITH DETERMINING A GENERAL TIMEFRAME FOR RESTORING THE MAJORITY OF REMAINING OUT OUTAGES. THE ESTIMATE INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING FACTORS RATE OF RESTORATION SINCE THE START OF THE STORM. NUMBER OF WORKERS, UH, INVOLVED IN THE RESTORATION PROCESS, A MORE COMPLETE ASSESSMENT OF THE DAMAGE AND ANTICIPATED RAINY AND WINDY WEATHER THAT HAS BEEN FORECASTED. WE NOW HAVE A GOAL OF SUNDAY FEBRUARY 12TH TO COMPLETE RESTORATIONS FOR THOSE READY TO RECEIVE POWER. BUT IMPENDING RAIN, WIND, AND THUNDER THUNDERSTORMS THIS WEEK COULD FURTHER COMPLICATE OUR EFFORTS. WE CONTINUE TO RESTORE CUSTOMERS EACH DAY, AND MANY CUSTOMERS WILL BE RESTORED WELL WELL BEFORE SUNDAY. YOU AND THE COMMUNITY CAN HELP US MEET OUR GOAL BY NOT INTERFERING WITH OUR CREW'S ABILITY TO ACCESS WORK SITES. IF OUR CREWS FEEL UNSAFE AND MUST LEAVE DUE TO THREATENING ENVIRONMENT THAT WILL SLOW OUR RESTORATION EFFORTS, WE WILL ASSESS THIS GOAL AND PROVIDE AN UPDATE. MIDWEEK THIS GOAL COULD NOT BE REALISTIC WITHOUT THE HELP WE ARE RECEIVING FROM MUTUAL AID CREWS. SO WE WANTED TO COME HERE TO THE STAGING GROUNDS TO SHOW THE MASSIVE COORDINATION EFFORTS THAT ARE UNDER UNDERWAY. WITH ME TODAY IS CRAIG BROOKS, ONE OF OUR FIELD OPERATIONS DIRECTORS, WHO IS OVERSEEING MUTUAL AID RESTORATION SUPPORT. I'LL NOW TURN IT OVER TO CRAIG TO TALK ABOUT THESE COORDINATION EFFORTS TO BRING MUTUAL AID TO OUR HELP. THANKS. THANK YOU, JACKIE. UM, LIKE JACKIE MENTIONED, I'M CRAIG BROOKS, DIRECTOR OF FIELD OPERATIONS. I ALSO MANAGE THIS, UH, MUTUAL AID STAGING SITE. UM, FIRST OFF, I WANNA START OFF BY THANKING THE CUSTOMERS BEING IN THE FIELD, SPENDING SOME TIME WITH OUR CUSTOMERS OUT IN THE FIELD. WE'VE GOTTEN LOTS OF GOOD REPORTS FROM THE CUSTOMERS, A LOT OF THANKS. THANK YOU FOR THAT. IT REALLY DOES UPLIFT OUR CREWS AND WE'RE THANKFUL FOR ALL THE, UH, THE GRATITUDE THAT WE RECEIVED IN THIS TRYING TIME. UM, ANOTHER, SO LET'S SEE, TECH STOCK. I WANNA THANK TEX DOT FOR ALLOWING US TO USE THIS FACILITY, H E B FOR THEIR SUPPORT, SUNCOAST FOR PROVIDING FUEL, THE AUSTIN ENERGY TEAMS THAT HAVE BEEN HELPING US PROVIDE SUPPORT THROUGH ALL THIS, UH, THIS RESTORATION. UM, A COUPLE OF CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE BEEN FACING IN THE FIELD. TREES, LOTS OF TREES. OF COURSE, THIS WAS AN ACT OF NATURE. SO I DO, UH, CONTINUE TO ASK Y'ALL TO PROVIDE US A LITTLE BIT OF GRACE. WE'RE DOING OUR BEST TO GET OUT HERE, TRIM TREES, MAINTAIN YOUR PROPERTY AS BEST WE CAN. WE HAVE TO GET THESE TREES OUTTA HERE TO GET YOUR LINES UP. IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF TIME. AND AGAIN, I'M SORRY TO THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE SPENT A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME WITHOUT SERVICE. SO NOW I'M SPEAKING TO THE 4% [00:05:01] THAT, UM, ARE STILL OUT. WE'RE COMING. JACKIE MENTIONED THAT THE WEATHER IS GONNA GET BAD. THE WEATHER WILL GET BAD, BUT WE'LL BE OUT WORKING. WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK LONG HOURS. THESE GUYS ARE WORKING 16 HOUR DAYS. THEY'RE A LONG WAY FROM HOME. SOME OF THESE GUYS HAVE COME AS FAR AS LOUISIANA, ALABAMA, WE HAVE A LOT OF TEXAS CREWS IN HERE, AND EVERYBODY'S HERE TO HELP. WE'RE IN THE BUSINESS OF GETTING THE LIGHTS ON. THAT'S WHAT LINEMEN DO. AND I TAKE MY HATS OFF TO THESE GUYS THAT LEFT THEIR FAMILIES SAFE AND SOUND TO COME IN. HELP US HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. SO AGAIN, UM, 405 MUTUAL AID EMPLOYEES HAVE TRAVELED HERE FROM ALL OVER THE AREA TO HELP US OUT. THESE GUYS, THEY'RE OUT IN THE FIELD RIGHT NOW. YOU SEE TRUCKS EVERYWHERE, BUT AGAIN, THEY'RE OUT. JUST GIVE THEM, UM, CONTINUE TO UPLIFT THEM, CONTINUE TO JUST GET OUTTA THEIR WAY SO THEY CAN GO TO WORK. UM, ONE THING THAT WE HAVE FACED AS FAR AS A CHALLENGE, AS SOME IRATE CUSTOMERS, WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE UPSET THESE GUYS CAME TO HELP AND THEY'RE NOT HERE TO, UM, THEY DON'T DESERVE THAT. SO JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DOING OUR BEST TO GET OUTTA THEIR WAY AND LET 'EM DO WHAT THEY DO BEST. AND AGAIN, WE'RE NOT GOING HOME UNTIL YOU HAVE LIGHTS. WHEN IT'S RAINING, THERE'LL BE CREWS OUT WORKING. SO WHEN YOU SEE A LINEMAN OUT DOING SOME WORK, THANK THEM AND JUST LET 'EM DO WHAT THEY GET PAID TO DO. I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO JACKIE. THANK YOU, CRAIG. WE KNOW THAT MUTUAL AID EFFORTS ARE, ARE CHANGING. AND TODAY WE KNOW THAT SOME CREWS ARE HAVING TO LEAVE TO GO BACK HOME, UM, TO PREPARE FOR THE PENDING WEATHER IN THEIR SERVICE AREAS. CRAIG AND HIS TEAM HAVE ALREADY FOUND REPLACEMENTS FOR THOSE WORKERS. AND THANK YOU TO TEMPEST ENERGY FOR PROVIDING 60 ADDITIONAL WORKERS TO SUPPORT OUR RESTORATION EFFORTS. IN ALL. WE HAVE MORE THAN 400 MUTUAL AID PERSONNEL, UH, JOINING OUR 630 MEMBER US AND ENERGY TEAM IN THE FIELD WORKING ON RESTORATIONS THAT IS MORE THAN 1000 INDIVIDUALS TO BRING YOUR LIGHTS BACK ON. AND AT THIS STAGING FACILITY, IT MIGHT SEEM ODD. NOBODY'S HERE. YOU'RE NOT SEEING ANY VEHICLES, YOU'RE NOT SEEING THOSE MUTUAL AID CREW CREWS, BUT THAT'S A GOOD THING. THAT MEANS THEY'RE OUT IN THE FIELD AND THEY'RE WORKING TO RESTORE YOUR SERVICE. THANK YOU. WE'LL TAKE QUESTIONS NOW ONE AT A TIME. PLEASE ASK MORE ABOUT, UH, CREWS GETTING THREATS FROM PEOPLE. IS IT ANYTHING BEYOND VERBAL OR IS IT JUST VERBAL OR WHAT, WHAT'S GOING ON THERE? UM, SOME VERBAL, UM, SOME PEOPLE ARE PROTECTING THEIR PROPERTY. UM, WE EVEN HAVE, I MEAN, OF COURSE WE'RE WORKING 24 HOURS A DAY, SO AS OUR CREWS ARE OUT WORKING, SOMETIMES WE MAY SURPRISE THE CUSTOMER AND, UM, THEY MAY COME OUT AND ADDRESS OUR CREWS. SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH SOME OF THESE, THESE INCIDENTS WITH THE CUSTOMERS. HAVE YOU HAD TO LEAVE ANY SITES AS OF THIS SO FAR? NO. WE HAVE NOT, BUT WE WILL. IF OUR CREW, THE, THE SAFETY OF OUR CREW IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE HAVE, WE WILL NOT PUT THEM IN HARM'S WAY. OUR INTERNAL CREW, ESPECIALLY NOT THE GUYS THAT ARE COMING IN TO HELP FROM OTHER PLACES. MY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY IS MAKING SURE THESE GUYS GET HOME THE WAY THEY SHOWED UP HERE. AT THIS POINT, THESE THREATS HAVE NOT INHIBITED Y'ALL'S, UH, REPAIR. WE HAVE ONE. WE HAVE ONE WHERE WE HAD TO, UM, CONTACT UM, AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, BUT THAT'S THE ONLY REPORT WE HAVE SO FAR. POWER. ARE THERE CERTAIN COMMON ISSUES ACROSS THE BOARD THERE OR THOSE, THE LOWER PRIORITY? I'M JUST CURIOUS WHY THAT, UH, EVERY CUSTOMER IS OUR PRIORITY. UM, TREES, WE JUST, WE HAVE SO MANY CUSTOMERS WITHOUT POWER AND WE HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CREWS TO HELP RESTORE AND WE'RE JUST TRYING TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS WE CAN AND SYSTEMATICALLY WORK DOWN THROUGH THOSE OUTAGE. JUST WHAT'S, WHAT'S MAKING THE, THE FIXES THE STONE NEED TO BE DONE? MORE SHOCK I OTHER TREES, BUT ANY OTHER FACTORS COMING UP? UH, WELL, UM, THESE ARE THE SMALL CUSTOMER OUTAGES. A A LOT OF THOSE, THEY, A LOT OF OF TREES, A LOT OF WIRED DOWN. UM, SOME OF 'EM ARE ACCESS ISSUES, SO LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT. IT'S JUST, IT'S RANDOM THINGS THAT JUST SLOW DOWN RESTORATIONS. AND IT'S TYPICAL FOR THIS TYPE OF EVENT. I KNOW AUSTIN ALSO MENTIONED ONCE THE DOES GET ON, SOME ARE CUSTOMERS THAT ON PROPERTY. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT? UH, KIND OF WHAT THE NEXT STEP FOR THEM AND YOU STILL HAVE TO WAIT TILL THAT POWER COMES BACK ON BEFORE I, I ASSUME YOU CAN FIGURE THAT STUFF OUT. WELL, UM, A LOT OF THE CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE DAMAGE TO THEIR FACILITIES, THEY'LL HAVE TO ENLIST A, A LOCAL, UH, ELECTRICIAN TO MAKE REPAIRS TO THEIR FACILITIES AND THEN WE'LL DISCONNECT IT AND COME BACK LATER WHEN THEY'RE READY AND WE'LL HOOK UP THEIR POWER. IS THE 4%, UM, LOCATED IN A SPECIFIC AREA OR JUST SPREAD? IT IS SPREAD OUT ACROSS OUR TERRITORY. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE WIND AND RAIN THAT'S GONNA BE COMING OUT WINTER THIS WEEK, HOW MUCH IS THAT GOING TO INHIBIT YOUR WORK? ARE WE TALKING EVEN IF IT'S A LIGHT DRIZZLE, WE COULD SEE DELAYS OR IS IT MORE JUST AS LONG AS THERE'S NOT SEVERE WEATHER? WELL, ANYTIME THAT WE HAVE INCLEMENT WEATHER, IT SLOWS DOWN THE RESTORATION. WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT DRIVING IN THE CITY AND IT'S JUST NOT OUR GUYS OUT THERE ON THE HIGHWAY. WE'RE, WE'RE AGAINST THE, [00:10:01] THE TRAFFIC AND EVERYBODY KNOWS HOW BAD THE TRAFFIC HERE IS IN AUSTIN AND JUST THE WORK THAT WE DO, MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS GROUNDED, IT'S SAFE FOR OUR GUYS TO COMPLETE THIS WORK. QUESTION, CRITICAL MEDICAL RISK. DOES AUSTIN HAVE SOMETHING THAT KEEPS YOU INFORMED ON, YOU KNOW, PATIENTS OR PEOPLE WHO, WHO NEED THAT POWER, ESPECIALLY WITH OXYGEN, THINGS LIKE THAT? HAD A CUSTOMER TELL ME THAT SHE'S BEEN REACHING OUT, HAVING ISSUES SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, WHY SHE MIGHT NOT BE, SHE MAY NOT BE ON OUR, UH, MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY. AND SO WE HAVE A REGISTRY THAT CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE, UH, CONDITIONS THAT WARRANT THAT THEY NEED MEDICAL DEVICES AND SUPPORT OF THAT KIND CAN GET A DECLARATION FROM THEIR DOCTOR AND WE ADD THEM TO OUR MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY. AND WE HAVE A GROUP, A TEAM OF PEOPLE THAT HELP TO CASE MANAGE THOSE FOLKS. ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BEING ON THAT REGISTRY IS TO HAVE A BACKUP PLAN, UH, AND CONTACTS FOR US. SO IF WE'RE NOT ABLE TO REACH YOU, THEN WE ARE ABLE TO REACH YOUR CONTACT PERSON. IF WE'RE UNABLE TO DO THAT, WE ACTUALLY SEND THE TEAM OUT INTO THE FIELD TO CHECK ON THOSE CUSTOMERS. SO IT MAY BE A CIRCUMSTANCE THAT THIS PERSON HAS NOT, UM, REGISTERED, UH, FOR THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE, BUT I WOULD ENCOURAGE HER TO CALL 5 1 2 3 2 2 9 1 0 0 TO REPORT HER SITUATION. YOU SAID SHE IS ON THIS LIST THOUGH. ARE Y'ALL HAVING ANY ISSUES HERE? WE ARE HAVING SOME PEOPLE THAT HAVE NOT RESPONDED. WE HAVE HAD SOME OF THEIR CONTACTS THAT HAVE NOT RESPONDED AND WE HAVE SENT PEOPLE TO THE FIELD AND WE HAVE HAD A FEW CUSTOMERS, LESS THAN A HANDFUL, THAT HAVE NOT RESPONDED TO US. SO IF WE COME TO YOUR LOCATION, TO YOUR RESIDENCE TO HELP YOU AND YOU DON'T RESPOND, THEN THAT CREATES A CHALLENGE FOR US. AND IF WE, WE THINK THERE'S SOMETHING, UH, POTEN THAT, THAT SOMEBODY REALLY IS HOME AND WE'RE NOT GETTING, UM, A RESPONSE, THEN WE'LL ENGAGE, UH, OUR, OUR EMERGENCY SERVICES THROUGH THE CITY. HOW MANY PEOPLE ON THAT TEAM, UH, THAT GO OUT AND AND ADDRESS THIS? LIKE I SAID, SHES ON THE, THE LIST. I BELIEVE SHE'S BEEN AT HER HOME THE WHOLE TIME. WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK INTO THAT AND, AND IF YOU CAN GET HER NAME TO US, UM, YOU CAN GET THAT TO MATT, UM, AND WE'LL FOLLOW FOLLOW UP WITH YOU. I WANNA KEEP MOVING A LITTLE BIT. YES. YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A NATURAL DISASTER. UM, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS HAS LIKENED IT TO AN ICE HURRICANE. THE AMOUNT OF DEVASTATION AND DAMAGE THAT IS OUT THERE THAT IS ACROSS OUR ENTIRE SERVICE TERRITORY IS SOMETHING THAT IS HISTORIC. AND SO I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS IS WE HAVE TO HELP OUR CUSTOMERS UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE IN RESTORING POWER AFTER SUCH A DEVASTATING EVENT OCCURS AND MAYBE A RESET WITH EXPECTATIONS. MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, THERE'S A LOT OF FINGER POINT. IT SEEMS TO BEEN, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW, WE KNOW HOW FRUSTRATED AND ANGRY PEOPLE ARE, BUT OUR SOLE FO FOCUS RIGHT NOW IS RESTORING POWER TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS. AND THAT'S WHERE OUR FOCUS WILL REMAIN UNTIL EVERY PERSON'S LIGHTS ARE BACK ON. SO TO PUT IT DIFFERENTLY, YOU HAVE NOT YET RUN DIAGNOSTICS ON WHERE YOU THINK LAPSES WERE, WHERE YOU THINK PROBLEM AREAS, WERE INTO THAT NATURE. WE ALWAYS DO AN AFTER ACTION REVIEW OF ANY MAJOR EVENT THAT WE HAVE. WE ARE A LEARNING ORGANIZATION. WE CONTINUE, WE, WE, WE REALLY PRIDE OURSELVES ON CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. AND SO WE ARE DOCUMENTING THINGS THAT WE'RE LEARNING THROUGHOUT THIS EVENT THAT WILL BECOME OBSERVATIONS IN OUR AFTER ACTION REVIEW. AND WE WILL COME UP WITH, UH, UH, PLANS TO ADDRESS THOSE THINGS. WE'LL EITHER PUT THEM INTO OUR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, THEY MAY BE ONE TIME FIXES, THEY MAY BE THINGS ON HOW WE ADDRESS FUTURE EVENTS. ALL OF THOSE THINGS WILL BE LOOKED AT AND WE WILL INCORPORATE THOSE INTO OUR PLANNING, INTO OUR OPERATIONS AND INTO OUR PROCEDURES GOING FORWARD. PART OF THAT, WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU MAY KNOW IS THAT THERE IS A RESOLUTION THAT WILL BE, UH, DISCUSSED WITH COUNSEL TO LOOK AT OUR VE OUR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. UH, MR. RICHARDS HAS BEEN TO SOME OF THESE PRESS CONFERENCES AND SHARED WITH YOU THAT SEVERAL YEARS AGO WE ACTUALLY WENT IN AND ADJUSTED OUR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES TO GIVE US BETTER CLEARANCE. UM, AND WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THE SYSTEM. IT'S A BIG SYSTEM AND WE CAN'T GET ALL THOSE TREES TRIMMED, [00:15:01] UH, OVERNIGHT. AND IT TAKES, UH, A PROCESS AND THERE'S A CYCLE OF APPROXIMATELY FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS, DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF TREE. IS IT SLOW GROWING? IS IT FAST GROWING? AND IT'S GONNA TAKE US APPROXIMATELY THREE MORE YEARS TO GET THE WHOLE SYSTEM TRIMMED OUT. UM, BUT CUSTOMERS CAN HELP TOO BY MANAGING, UM, THINGS AND IF THEY SEE SOMETHING TO REPORT IT TO US SO THAT WE CAN, UH, GET THAT ONTO OUR LIST TO, TO TAKE CARE OF. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. A FEW PEOPLE REACH OUT TO OUR STATION, SEEN A NUMBER OF TRUCKS, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY AUSTIN ENERGY, BUT ALSO OTHER COMPANIES ARE COMING STATION IN A PARKING MAYBE WHY THAT IS BEFORE. OKAY. UM, THE CREWS, THEY START HERE, WE HAVE TAIL BOARDS AND ALL THE CREWS ARE ASSIGNED THEIR, UM, EMPLOYEE IN CHARGE AND AUSTIN ENERGY EMPLOYEE TAKES THESE FOREIGN CREWS OUT IN THE FIELD. NOW, WHEN THEY GET TO THEIR WORK LOCATION, THEY WILL FIND A SPOT WHERE THEY CAN CONGREGATE AND THEY CAN TALK ABOUT THE WORK THAT THEY'RE ABOUT TO PERFORM. SO WHEN YOU DO SEE THESE TRUCKS CONGREGATED IN AN AREA, THEY'RE HAVING THESE DISCUSSIONS ON SAFETY, ON THE WORK THAT THEY NEED TO PERFORM, UM, THE, THE CLOSEST HOSPITALS, ALL THESE THINGS THAT WE TALK ABOUT IN OUR TAIL BOARDS. SO EVERYONE CAN STAY AS SAFE AS THEY CAN AND WE CAN HAVE A GAME PLAN AND RESTORE POWER AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. CREW SUFFERED IN THE INJURIES AND ALL THIS AS THEY SEVERE WEATHER CLEAR NOW? NO SIR. I'M VERY PROUD TO SAY THAT WE HAVE GONE THROUGHOUT THIS INCIDENT WITHOUT ANY ACCIDENTS. ANY INJURIES? ARE YOU GOING TO MULTIPLE, UH, JOBS A DAY OR JUST KINDA ONE, TWO? UM, IT DEPENDS ON THE, THE, THE JOB SITE, THE DEVASTATION. UM, THEY, THEY WORK, THEY GET IT DONE, THEY MOVE TO ANOTHER ONE. SO YES, THEY COULD BE HITTING MULTIPLE JOB SITES IN THE COURSE OF A DAY TO GIVE CUSTOMERS AN UNDERSTANDING. WHAT'S UH, I MEAN THE LONGEST, I KNOW THERE'S CERTAIN TIMEFRAMES MIGHT BE A QUICK FIX OR LONG, WHAT'S THE LONGEST DEAL? SEEN JOB SITE, TAKE TWO DAYS. UH, A TOWER, YEAH. COLLAPSED AND TOOK DOWN MULTIPLE SPANS OF OUR PRIMARY CONDUCTOR AND POLLS AND I, COMMUNICATIONS TOWER, COMMUNICATIONS TOWER AND OUR CENTERPOINT ENERGY MUTUAL AID CREWS TOOK THAT ON. THEY COMPLETED THEIR WORK IN TWO DAYS. WERE ANY CITATIONS OR CHARGES ISSUED IN THESE, UH, INCIDENTS THAT, UH, APD HAD TO BE CALLED? I'M SORRY? WERE THERE ANY CITATIONS OR CHARGES AGAINST, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHEN YOU HAD TO CALL AD? I'M NOT AWARE. GOT TIME FOR TWO MORE. ANYONE? I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION. THIS MAY BE FIRST, UH, THE EMERGENCY DECLARED AT THE STATE LEVEL OVER THE WEEKEND. IS THERE ANY EARLY INDICATIONS ON WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE FUNDING GO TOWARDS, UH, ON THAT SAFE EMERGENCY DECLARATION? WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME FUNDING GO TO ASSISTING OUR CUSTOMERS. UH, WE KNOW THAT, AND, AND IF YOU'VE DRIVEN AROUND THE COMMUNITY THAT CUSTOMERS' HOUSES HAVE BEEN IMPACTED, DEPENDING ON WHAT THEIR INSURANCE IS, THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL NEEDS THAT THEY HAVE. UH, THEY MAY NEED SUPPORT WITH COVERING THEIR DEDUCTIBLE, UM, AND THEIR AUTOMOBILES, SOME PEOPLE'S AUTOMOBILES. AND MAYBE IF THEY ONLY HAD LIABILITY INSURANCE, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT BE THE ONLY CAR, UM, THAT THEY HAVE. AND IF A TREE CAME DOWN ON THAT AND AND DESTROYED IT IN THIS EVENT, UM, DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT THAT COULD BE OUTREACH. UM, AND JUST THE, THE REPAIRS THAT ARE GONNA NEED TO BE DONE ON, ON THEIR END. FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, UM, ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF THAT DECLARATION IS THAT ALL OF THIS MUTUAL SUPPORT THAT WE'RE BRINGING IN, UM, WILL QUALIFY FOR FEMA REIMBURSEMENT. AND SO THESE ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT WE'RE INCURRING WILL NOT HAVE TO BE BORN BY OUR CUSTOMERS. LAST ONE WE'RE RESTORATION DATE. SO WHEN WE FIRST, UM, TRIED TO GIVE AN ESTIMATE OF TIMELINE FOR RESTORATION, WE HADN'T BEEN OUT TO BE ABLE TO FULLY PATROL ALL OF THE AREAS AND FULLY UNDERSTAND THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE. AND SO WITH OUR EXPERIENCE FROM PAST STORMS, TYPICALLY YOU WOULD HAVE A CIRCUIT, UH, THAT WOULD BE DOWN AND YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO GO OUT, GET THAT CIRCUIT RESTORED AND THAT WOULD RESTORE A MUCH LARGER GROUP OF CUSTOMERS THAN WHAT WE SAW THIS TIME. BECAUSE IN THIS EVENT, THERE WERE MULTIPLE IMPACTS TO CIRCUITS. SO IT WASN'T JUST GO OUT AND REMOVE THIS IMPEDIMENT, IT WAS ALSO ABOUT, OKAY, THAT'S NOT IT. THERE'S THIS, OH THERE'S TWO MORE. THERE'S TWO POLES, THERE'S G WIRES, THERE'S A CROSS ARM. AND IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE SERVICE TERRITORY WAS IMPACTED BY THAT. AND SO WHAT THE TEAM DID IS, AS I EXPLAINED EARLIER, IS [00:20:01] THEY TOOK THAT INFORMATION AND THEY LOOKED AT HOW WE'VE BEEN DOING ON RESTORATIONS. THEY LOOKED AT THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES, PEOPLE AND THINGS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE AND THEY, UM, PUT THAT TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH THAT ESTIMATE. NOW, YOU KNOW, CUZ I'VE BEEN REPORTING EVERY DAY HOW MANY CUSTOMERS THAT WE'VE RESTORED AND IT WAS ABOUT 19,000, UH, SINCE WE, UH, MET A AROUND WHEN WE MET YESTERDAY. UM, AND, AND WE'LL CONTINUE, WE'LL CONTINUE AROUND THE CLOCK. UM, WE'LL CONTINUE TO ADD THOSE RESTORATIONS AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE THOSE NUMBERS, UM, OF CUSTOMERS WITH POWER GO UP AND THOSE WITHOUT GO DOWN. UM, AND CUSTOMERS, UM, WILL SEE THIS HAPPEN. IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT THAT THE REMAINING CUSTOMERS AREN'T GONNA BE RESTORED UNTIL SUNDAY. THERE MAY BE A FEW BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO GET DONE UNTIL WE GET TO THAT POINT. AND THEY ALSO TOOK INTO ACCOUNT THE POTENTIAL IMPACT BASED ON THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY, THE WEATHER THAT'S COMING IN. SO DEPENDING ON HOW SIGNIFICANT THAT IS, THE REAL CONCERN THERE IS THE TREES ARE COMPROMISED, THE TREES ARE COMPROMISED. WE HAD DROUGHT GOING INTO THIS, THEN WE HAD ALL THAT, UH, ICE AND THAT'S A LOT OF WEIGHT FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT SAW THAT, UH, STRUCTURE YESTERDAY. WHERE WERE WE OUT, OUT ON SITE AND THE, AND HOW, UM, COMPLICATED THAT RESTORATION WAS. UM, IF WE GET HIGH WINDS, IF WE GET MORE MOISTURE IN THE GROUND, UM, AND THEN WE GET HIGH ENOUGH WINDS OR WIND GUSTS, WE COULD POTENTIALLY, PEOPLE'S TREES, UH, COULD COME OVER AND CAUSE, UH, MORE OUTAGES AND, AND MORE WORK FOR REPAIR. SO, UM, WE JUST NEED TO MONITOR AND MANAGE THAT. MR, CAN YOU LAST WORDS DIGG INTO PRESCRIPTION OF THE PEOPLE JUST WANNA AGAIN, REITERATE JACKIE'S STATEMENT ON OUR SOLE FOCUS IS ON THIS RESPONSE TO THIS HISTORIC WINTER EVENT AND WE WILL NOT REST UNTIL WE HAVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, WITH POWER AGAIN. UH, THIS IS, UH, UH, AN EVENT THAT WE HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE AND WE NEED TO SUPPORT OUR CREWS. UH, CRAIG DID A GREAT JOB OF EXPLAINING SOME OF THE INCREDIBLE WORK THAT IS HAPPENING, UH, AND THE MUTUAL AID THAT IS HERE. SO THAT'S WHERE OUR FOCUS IS AND WE APPRECIATE, UH, EVERYONE'S TIME THIS AFTERNOON. THANK YOU. ONE QUICK CALL JUST FOR CUSTOMERS WHO ARE OUT. I KNOW A LOT OF, SHE USED TO SAY SHE WASN'T ORPHANED. THERE NEVER WAS EXACTLY THE TRUTH. HER SISTER, MOTHER GOT TIRED. TIRED OF HER HANGING AROUND. * 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.