[00:00:02]
WE'LL GO UP HIGH AND SEE IF THAT WORKS.
UH, I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE RESOURCE
[CALL MEETING TO ORDER]
MANAGEMENT, UH, COMMISSION TO ORDER AT 6:06 PM UH, WE'LL START WITH A QUICK ROLL CALL.WE HAVE SEVEN MEMBERS PRESENT.
UH, WHAT WE WANTED TO START OFF WITH
[INTRODUCTION OF NEW COMMISSIONERS]
TODAY WAS INTRODUCTION OF, UH, NEW COMMISSIONERS.UM, UH, IN GENERAL, THERE ARE WHAT, FOUR OF US WHO ARE CONTINUING FROM THE PREVIOUS, UH, YEAR.
AND SO WE THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE GOOD JUST TO HAVE PEOPLE KIND OF GO AROUND, INTRODUCE THEMSELVES VERY BRIEFLY.
UM, SO WE'LL START WITH PEOPLE IN THE ROOM FIRST, IF YOU WANNA LEAD US SAUCE SINCE YOU TO THE LEFT.
I'VE BEEN SERVING ON THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION FOR ABOUT A YEAR, REPRESENTING DISTRICT FOUR.
I'VE BEEN ON THE COMMISSION FOR ABOUT A YEAR AS WELL, REPRESENTING DISTRICT SEVEN.
UM, I REPRESENT DISTRICT FIVE.
UM, I AM, UH, AN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST AND CONSUMER ADVOCATE.
AND THEN WE'LL KICK IT OVER TO, UH, COMMISSIONER BRENNAN.
HI, I'M KATE BRENNAN, UM, NEW COMMISSIONER.
I BELIEVE I'M REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO, AND MY BACKGROUND IS IN, UM, ENERGY MODELING AND CARBON ACCOUNTING FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS.
AND I'M, UH, COMMISSIONER FOR D FOUR.
I'VE BEEN ON, I HONESTLY, I'M FORGETTING 2018 OR 2019 WHEN I JOINED.
UH, AND I'M A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER.
UM, YOU NEGLECTED TO SAY THAT YOU ALSO WORK WITH SIERRA CLUB.
YEAH, I'VE WORKED FOR SIERRA CLUB FOR MY DAY JOB.
AND I, AND I'LL ALSO ADD, I WAS CO-CHAIR OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
HELLO, MY NAME'S MELISSA CARTI.
UH, I BELIEVE I'M WORKING WITH, UH, REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO, VANESSA PUENTES.
UH, MY BACKGROUND LIES IN WATER RIGHTS, UH, TRANSPORTATION, AND, UM, ENERGY WITH, UH, TRANSMISSION.
UM, I'VE WORKED WITH T CQ, TECH DOT AND L C R A.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, COMMISSIONER GARY.
I'M REPRESENTING DISTRICT EIGHT.
UH, MY BACKGROUND IS RISK MANAGEMENT AND POLITICS.
WE'LL OPEN UP THE MEETING TO, UH, COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC.
IS THERE ANYBODY HERE WHO'S, UH, SIGNED UP TO SPEAK THIS EVENING? NOPE.
I'M MOVING ALONG THEN, UH, IN YOUR PACKETS,
[1. Approve the minutes of the Resource Management Commission Regular Meeting on April 18, 2023.]
YOU RECEIVED A COPY OF THE MINUTES BEFORE THE MEETING.I HOPE YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THEM.
IF YOU HAVEN'T, PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT THEM NOW AND THEN I'LL BE LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE.
I MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 18TH MEETING.
THERE'S BEEN A MOTION TO APPROVE BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS AND A SECOND BY, UH, COMMISSIONER GARY.
ANY OBJECTIONS THERE BEING NONE? I'LL CONSIDER THE MINUTES APPROVED FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING.
[2. Discussion and recommendation of Austin Water Capital Improvement Projects located in the Drinking Water Protection Zone for approval to include in the 5-year Capital spending plan as required by Financial Policy #8.]
NOW INTO, UH, UH, ITEM FOR DISCUSSION NUMBER TWO, AUSTIN WATER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.[00:05:01]
WE HAVE PEOPLE HERE TO, UH, GIVE A PRESENTATION ON THAT MATTER.WE HAVE A ZORA PIZA ON THE LINE.
UH, SO MY NAME IS AURORA PISANO, FINANCIAL MANAGER FOR AUSTIN WATER.
AND, UM, ON THE LINE I ALSO HAVE LAUREN KING, WHO'S SUPERVISED AN ENGINEER, UM, TO COME TO YOU AND PRESENT.
UM, EACH YEAR WE COME AND PRESENT THE C I P PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
AND UM, LAST YEAR WE PRESENTED, UM, THE PROJECTS THAT ARE ON THE NEXT PAGE.
UM, IF YOU WANNA MOVE OVER TO THE NEXT PAGE, UM, DAVID, THAT WAY WE CAN SEE THIS SAP AP PROJECTS ON TABLE ONE.
AND, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, MAJORITY OF THOSE PROJECTS ARE A CARRYOVER FROM, UH, THE LAST FIVE YEAR PLAN WE PRESENTED TO YOU.
ONLY THOSE THAT ARE MA MARKED WITH AN ASTERISK.
ITEM ONE AND ITEM 10 ARE C I P PROJECTS THAT ARE NOW PART OF OUR FIVE YEAR C I P PLAN IN FISCAL YEAR 24 TO 28.
SO, UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, WITH THE TOTAL OF ALL THE 11 PROJECTS IS 48.46 MILLION.
AND, UM, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO SEE IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE SAP PROJECTS LISTED OR, UM, IN REGARDS TO THIS FINANCIAL POLICY OF THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
UH, THE, THE ENTIRE, UH, AUSTIN WATER FIVE YEAR PLAN IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE CITY'S BUDGET OFFICE, UM, WHEN, ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET LATER THIS SUMMER.
SO, BUT WE DO HAVE A LINK THAT I CAN PROVIDE THE LIAISON WHERE PREVIOUS C I P PLANS HAVE BEEN POSTED AND APPROVED, UM, WHEN IT PERTAINS TO 23 TO 27.
SO THIS, UH, 11 PROJECTS HERE ARE, ARE ONLY A SUBSET.
UM, HAVE ALL THESE PROJECTS ALREADY BEEN APPROVED AND STARTED? I WOULD SAY THE ONES THAT ARE NOT MARKED WITH AN ASTERISK HAVE BEEN PART OF A PREVIOUS FIVE YEAR PLAN.
UH, SO THAT WOULD BE THE NINE OUT OF THE 11 PROJECTS BECAUSE THEY ARE EXISTING IN THAT AND THEY'RE EITHER, YOU KNOW, IN DESIGN OR CONSTRUCTION PHASE.
SO THEY HAVE STARTED, UM, THE NEW ONE ON, ON HERE WOULD BE THE, THE ONE, THE VERY FIRST ONE, DAVIS WATER TREATMENT PLANT, MEDIUM SERVICE PUMP STATION.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT STARTS OUT WITH ZERO MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THEN IT, IT'S ESSENTIALLY TARGETED TO START IN 2028, CUZ THAT'S WHEN THE SPENDING PLAN STARTS TO REFLECT.
UM, WHERE, WHEN THIS PROJECT WOULD START, CONSTRUCTION OR DESIGN, I SHOULD SAY, UM, IN A SIMILAR CONCEPT, ITEM NUMBER 10, WHICH IS A BARRINGTON OAKS DOWNSTREAM GRAVITY IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, IT HAS $0 TO BE SPENT IN 24 TO 27, BUT JUST GETTING STARTED IN 2028.
SO THAT'S HOW WE, UM, HOW THOSE PROJECTS ARE SELECTED.
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THEY HAVE TO BE IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
THERE IS A MAP AT THE, UM, ON PAGE FIVE OF THIS MEMO.
AND, AND THEN WE ALSO LOOK TO SEE AT THE SPENDING PLAN, THE DOLLARS THAT ARE GOING TO BE SPENT IN THE FIVE YEAR, 24 TO 28 PERIOD.
SO I, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS MORE ALONG THE LINES.
HAS THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN PAST PLANNING AND SCOPING, SO THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN APPROVED.
IS IS THAT, EXCEPT FOR NUMBER ONE AND NUMBER NINE, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? OR ALL GO AHEAD AND JUMP IN IF THAT'S OKAY.
KING AUSTIN WATER, C I P AND ASSET MANAGEMENT.
[00:10:01]
UH, PROJECTS THAT ARE, UH, SHOWN ON THE, UH, TABLE ARE ALL IN THE BUDGET THAT WE ARE PROPOSING THE FY 24 THROUGH 28 BUDGET THAT IS NOW CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH THE BUDGET OFFICE AND THEN WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL.SO THEY HAVE BEEN THROUGH OUR INTERNAL APPROVALS PROJECT TO BE INCLUDE, UH, PROCESSED TO BE INCLUDED INTO THE PLAN.
THEY ARE AT VARIOUS STAGES OF PLANNING, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT IN THE SPENDING PLANS YEAR TO YEAR.
UM, BUT THESE ARE ALL PROJECTS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, HAVE GONE THROUGH THE AUSTIN WATER, UH, SCOPING AND APPROVAL PROCESS TO BE PART OF THE BUDGET.
IF I COULD JUMP IN WITH THE QUESTION, UH, IS THERE A, WHAT I'LL CALL A TARGET BUDGET NUMBER THAT YOU ARE AIMING FOR ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AS PART OF THIS? ON AN ANNUAL BASIS? NOT AS MUCH.
WE LOOK AT A, A SINGLE YEAR AND THEN A FOUR YEAR HORIZON FOR A TOTAL OF FIVE YEAR BUDGET.
UM, THIS YEAR, OUR FIVE YEAR TOTAL IS GONNA BE 1.88 BILLION OVER THE FIVE YEAR, I THINK WE'RE STILL IN THE 200 MILLION FOR FY 24, UH, RANGE.
AND THAT KIND OF MOVES UP AS WE START TO GETTING INTO SOME OF OUR LARGER INVESTMENTS.
THE WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT, PLANT EXPANSION, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECTS THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED AS PART OF THIS, UH, GROWTH PROJECTS IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE, UH, SUBSET OF THE BUDGET.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTION FROM ANY COMMISSIONERS? YEAH, I'M SORRY.
SO, IN FUNDING, IN FUNDING SOME OF THESE PROJECTS, I'VE NOTICED SOME OF THESE PROJECTS ARE LOCATED IN LIKE PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT AREAS ARE, WHERE'S THE, I'LL ASK THE BLANKET QUESTION.
WHERE DOES THE FUNDING COME FROM? I KNOW MOST OF IT'S PAID FOR, YOU KNOW, BY THE CITY AND THE CITIZENS.
UM, IS THERE ANY FUNDING, UM, SUPPORTED BY LIKE DEVELOPERS AND SUCH? YES.
UH, FULLY FUNDED PROJECTS THAT ARE BY DEVELOPERS ONLY WILL NOT APPEAR ON THIS LIST BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT PART OF OUR CAPITAL BUDGET.
BUT THE ONES THAT WE HAVE COST PARTICIPATION, I'LL POINT TO THE MARSHALL TRACK PROJECT AS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.
UM, WE ARE CONTRIBUTING TO A DEVELOPER PROJECT TO ADD ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, TO SUPPORT, UH, FUTURE, UH, GROWTH AND, UH, RESILIENCY IN THAT AREA.
UM, BUT OVERALL GROWTH PAYS FOR GROWTH.
DEVELOPERS PAY FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS REQUIRED, UH, FOR THEIR DEVELOPMENTS.
WE DO DO SOME COST PARTICIPATION, UM, THAT APPEARS IN OUR BUDGET, BUT THOSE DEVELOPER PROJECTS OTHERWISE WOULD NOT APPEAR ON THIS LIST.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? OKAY, THERE BEING NONE.
UH, WE ARE REQUIRED TO VOTE ON THIS PROPOSAL FOR APPROVAL TO SEND ON TO CITY COUNCIL.
UM, SO I WILL, I GUESS LOOK FOR A MOTION ON THIS ONE.
UH, IS, IS THIS TIME CRITICAL? I MEAN, DOES THE COUNCIL HAVE TO HEAR FROM US AT THIS MEETING? UH, WILL THIS BE VOTED ON BEFORE OUR NEXT MEETING BY COUNSEL AURORA? CAN YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION? SURE.
UH, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, ARE YOU ASKING TO IF, UM, BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING THAT RESOURCE MEETING, COMMISSION MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MEETS, IS THIS GOING TO COUNSEL? IS THAT THE QUESTION? I DOUBT I'M GONNA HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS, BUT I'M LIKE TO, UM, TALK ABOUT IT WITH SOMEONE FIRST AND, UH, IF COUNSEL IS GOING TO APPROVE THIS, YOU KNOW, UH, IN AN HOUR, WELL, YEAH, I GUESS WE NEED TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION.
IF COUNSEL'S NOT GONNA APPROVE THIS TILL THE FALL, THEN WE HAVE TIME.
I'M SIMPLY ASKING DO WE HAVE TIME? OKAY, I CAN ANSWER THAT.
SO NORMALLY THIS, LIKE I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING, THIS IS PART OF OUR, UH, FINANCIAL POLICY THAT GOES IN LINE WITH OUR BUDGET CYCLE.
AND, UH, THERE ARE VARIOUS FINANCIAL POLICIES AS PART OF OUR BUDGET SUBMITTAL.
AND, UM, WE NORMALLY HAVE TO INTERNALLY MAKE SURE WE'RE IN COMPLIANCE WITH OUR MULTIPLE FINANCIAL POLICIES.
SO WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, BUT
[00:15:01]
NOT TOO MUCH TIME WHERE, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T WANT US TO ADD A DELAY IN THE BUDGET SUBMITTAL PROCESS.UM, I THINK YOU SAID THAT WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.
DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT? I WOULD ASK, UH, IF SOMEONE CAN TELL ME WHEN IS THIS A MONTHLY MEETING THAT HAPPENS? SO THAT MEANS THAT WE CAN POSTPONE TO JUNE IF THAT IS THE DESIRE, BUT AT THAT TIME, THEN WE WOULD NEED TO HAVE AN ACTION.
UM, IF IT, IF IT'S OKAY WITH OTHER MEMBERS, UH, I WOULD ASK FOR A BRIEF DELAY.
I AM NOT TRYING TO FILIBUSTER OR IN ANY WAY, UH, MAKE THIS PAINFUL AND JUST SIMPLY, UH, WANTED TO THINK ABOUT IT JUST A LITTLE MORE, IF THAT'S OKAY.
WHAT, WHEN IS YOUR BUDGET SUBMITTAL DUE INTERNALLY? UM, FOR BUDGET OFFICE TO CITY COUNCIL.
UM, I'M THINKING THAT'S PROBABLY IN THE JULY TIMEFRAME.
I KNOW THEIR WORK SESSIONS ARE USUALLY SCHEDULED AUGUST 10TH THROUGH THE 12TH, I BELIEVE.
UM, AND SO THAT IS WHEN COUNCIL WOULD SEE OUR BUDGET SUBMITTED.
BECAUSE OUR NEXT MEETING IS JUNE 20TH, WHICH MEANS THAT THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, IF THEY WANTED TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT OUTSIDE OF THE BUDGET WOULD BE JULY 20TH.
SO THAT WOULD BE KIND OF WHAT THAT PROCESS MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
BUT IF IT'S PART OF THE OVERALL BUDGETING PROCESS, THEN DEPAUL'S POINT, MAYBE IT CAN BE SAT ON.
I RE I DO REALIZE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE A DECISION FROM US SOONER THAN LATER.
UM, THIS IS NOT ABOUT SELF IMPORTANCE.
UNDERSTAND I HAVE COMMISSIONER DAVIS, UH, QUESTION, UH, THIS IS, UH, REQUIRED TO GO IN FRONT OF WATER AND WASTEWATER AS WELL AS, AND IF SO, WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME OF THAT? UH, THAT'S VERY TRUE.
AS PART OF THIS FINANCIAL POLICY, WE'RE REQUIRED TO ALSO GO TO THE, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, WHICH I'M SCHEDULED TO PRESENT TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND THE WATERWAYS WATER COMMISSION.
SO, UH, UH, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION JUST HAPPENS TO BE THE FIRST ONE DURING THIS, UH, BUDGET CYCLE.
BUT, UM, THE, THE ACTION ITEM WILL ALSO GO TO THOSE OTHER TWO COMMISSIONS BEFORE IT GOES TO COUNCIL.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT IN PREVIOUS YEARS, UM, I'VE HAD A FEW QUESTIONS, BUT NOTHING THAT, UH, WHERE WE POSTPONE THIS ITEM TO ANOTHER MEETING.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? OKAY, I CAN TAKE A MOTION TO TABLE.
I CAN TAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE.
I HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER ROBBINS TO TABLE.
IS THERE A SECOND? THERE BEING NO SECOND.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE?
UM, THIS WILL BE A ROLL CALL VOTE.
WE WILL START WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER ROBBINS? YES.
AND COMMISSIONER STONES VOTES? YES.
[00:20:03]
THANK YOU.[3. Staff briefing regarding the Water Supply Update and Drought Conditions by Kevin Kluge, Water Conservation Division Manager and Teresa Lutes, Systems Planning Managing Engineer both of Austin Water.]
ON TO STAFF BRIEFINGS.UH, WE HAVE AUSTIN WATER HERE TO DISCUSS OUR QUARTER.
THIS IS THE QUARTERLY UPDATE CORRECT ON WATER SUPPLY AND DROUGHT.
THIS IS CALLED WATER SUPPLY UPDATE AND DROUGHT, CATIONS WATER UPDATE SUPPLY, A WATER SUPPLY UPDATE AND DROUGHT CONDITIONS, CHAIR STONES, UH, AND COMMISSION MEMBERS.
I'M TERESA LUTZ WITH AUSTIN WATER.
I'M A DIVISION MANAGER FOR THE SYSTEMS PLANNING DIVISION, AND I'M HERE TO GIVE, PARDON ME, A WATER SUPPLY UPDATE.
THIS OVERVIEW MAP SHOWS AUSTIN'S WATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND THE BASINS WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIRS LAKES, TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN.
CITY OF AUSTIN HAS ACCESS TO UP TO 325,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER PER YEAR FROM THIS COLORADO RIVER SYSTEM.
THIS SUPPLY COMES FROM A COMBINATION OF AUSTIN'S RUN OF RIVER RIGHTS AND WATER SUPPLY CONTRACTS WITH THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY FOR PROVIDING FIRM WATER AND BACKING UP THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S RUN OF RIVER RIGHTS.
RUN OF RIVER WATER IS A WATER THAT ARE, UH, PERMITTED BY THE STATE, BY THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, AND IS AVAILABLE ON A FIRST IN TIME.
FIRST IN RIGHT PRIORITY SYSTEM.
L C R A FIRMS UP WATER, UM, TO FIRM WATER USERS IN THE BASIN THROUGH CONTRACTING FROM THE RIVER SYSTEM, RELYING ON LAKES TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN AS STORAGE RESERVOIRS TO BACK UP, UH, WATERS, UH, RUN OF RIVER WATER WHEN, UM, WHEN THEIR LOW RUN OF RIVER WATER AMOUNTS AND WHEN THE, THE SYSTEM IS DRY IN, IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS.
FIRM WATER IS WATER THAT'S EXPECTED TO BE AVAILABLE THROUGH A REPEAT OF THE DROUGHT OF RECORD, WHICH IN THIS RIVER BASIN IS THE DROUGHT WE EXPERIENCED FROM 2008 TO 2015.
THIS IS A GRAPH OF THE, UH, WATER FLOWING INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES.
WE ALSO CALL THAT INFLOWS, UH, WATER FLOWING INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES, WHICH ARE THE REGIONS, UH, STORAGE RESERVOIRS.
THE BARS SHOW HOW LOW THE INFLOWS HAVE BEEN, UH, IN 2022, AND THUS FAR THROUGH 2023.
THE, UH, BARS THERE IN PURPLE ARE FOR 2023, AND THE BARS IN GREEN ARE FOR 2022.
THE INFLOWS INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES ARE AT HISTORIC LOWS WITH THE JANUARY THROUGH APRIL TOTAL, UH, BEING THE LOWEST IN THE HISTORY OF THE LAKES SINCE THEY WERE COMPLETED IN THE EARLY 1940S.
ALSO SHOWN ARE THE INFLOWS FOR 2020, UH, TWO FOR COMPARISON.
AND THEN THE DROUGHT OF RECORD AVERAGE FROM 20, UH, 2008 THROUGH 2015.
ALSO SHOWN ARE THE, UH, PERIOD OF RECORD AVERAGE FROM WHEN THE NA UH, WHEN THE LAKES WERE INITIALLY FILLED BACK IN 1942 TO PRESENT.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO TRACK THESE INFLOWS, UH, ON A REGULAR BASIS AS THIS DROUGHT THAT WE'RE IN CONTINUES.
UM, AND WE'LL HOPEFULLY GET TO SEE SOME IMPROVED, UH, INFLOWS INTO THE LAKES, UH, OVER THE COURSE OF THIS DROUGHT.
THIS IS A GRAPH OF COMBINED STORAGE IN THOSE TWO WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIRS.
UH, THE COMBINED STORAGE OF LAKES, TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN TOTALS ABOUT 2 MILLION ACRE FEET OF WATER.
UH, FOR, UH, TODAY WE HAVE ABOUT 1.02 MILLION ACRE FEET IN THE RESERVOIRS.
THAT'S A 51% FULL AMOUNT, WHICH IS UP ACTUALLY WITH THIS, UH, RAIN WE'VE HAD.
IT'S UP, UH, 1% SINCE LAST WEEK.
YOU CAN SEE ON THE RIGHT THERE THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN STAGES ARE NOTATED.
UH, WE'RE, WE'RE IN CURRENTLY IN DROUGHT STAGE DE DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN STAGE ONE THAT WAS TRIGGERED WHEN THE, UH, COMBINED STORAGE OF THE RESERVOIRS DROP BELOW 1.4 MILLION ACRE FEET.
AND NOW THEY'RE JUST HOVERING A LITTLE BIT ABOVE 1 MILLION ACRE FEET.
SO WE'RE KIND OF GETTING NEAR THAT STAGE
[00:25:01]
TWO TRIGGER THERE, WHICH IS 900,000 ACRE FEET OF THE DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN.UH, THIS CHART ALSO SHOWS PERIODS OF TIME WHEN L C A, UH, INTERRUPTABLE WATER, WHICH IS WATER L C R A, PROVIDES TO DOWNSTREAM AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION IN THE LOWER THREE COUNTIES.
UH, WHEN THAT, UM, PERIOD OF TIME FROM 2012 THROUGH 2015 AND THEN SINCE MID LAST YEAR, IT'S NOTATED AT THE BOTTOM THERE WITH, UH, THE BLUE BARS.
UM, THOSE ARE TIMES WHEN L C R A CUT OFF THOSE DOWNSTREAM RELEASES FOR, UH, MOSTLY RICE IRRIGATION IN THE LOWER COUNTIES THEY OPERATE.
THE, UH, L C R A OPERATES THE RESERVOIRS IN, UH, IN ACCORDANCE TO A WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT'S APPROVED BY T C Q.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR AND TRACK THE COMBINED STORAGE, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET INTO A LITTLE BIT WETTER PATTERN AND WE'LL HAVE SOME REPLENISHMENT TO THE RESERVOIRS.
BUT THIS IS A KIND OF A CURRENT SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE NOW.
THIS IS, UH, THE MOST RECENT, UH, WATER WEEKLY.
UM, IT'S A A WEEKLY DROUGHT MONITOR, UH, THAT WE HAVE FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS.
IT SHOWS THE CITY OF AUSTIN THERE IN THE MIDDLE WITH THE, UH, THE BLUE STAR.
THIS SHOWS DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS THE STATE.
UM, THIS HOPEFULLY WILL IMPROVE WITH THIS RAIN.
I EXPECT THE, THE NEXT, UM, DROUGHT MONITOR TO LOOK A LOT, UH, BETTER, A LOT MORE IMPROVED SINCE, UM, WE'VE GOTTEN SOME RAIN.
BUT THIS WAS THE ONE WE HAD WHEN WE WERE PREPARING THIS PRESENTATION.
IT SHOWS HOW, UH, WE'VE BEEN HAVING DROUGHT CONDITIONS UPSTREAM OF AUSTIN AND ESPECIALLY TO THE SOUTHWEST, UH, KIND OF TOWARDS THE SAN ANTONIO AREA.
IT'S BEEN EVEN MORE, UM, IN THE EXCEPTIONAL CATEGORY, BUT, UH, EVEN CLOSE TO AUSTIN AND UPSTREAM, WE'VE BEEN IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS FROM MODERATE DROUGHT ALL THE WAY TO EXTREME.
AND FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT COMPLETELY AWARE, THE AREA THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT IS, UH, THE RECHARGE TO LAKE BUCHANAN BUCHANAN AND LAKE TRAVIS W RIGHT.
THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN UPSTREAM OF AUSTIN.
THIS, UH, SHOWS THE OUTLOOK, UH, FOR MAY THROUGH JULY FROM NOAA, A THREE MONTH OUTLOOK ON, UH, PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE.
UH, THE, UH, TEMPERATURE IS PROJECTED TO BE ABOVE, UH, NORMAL CONDITIONS, UH, FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS ON THE TEMPERATURE SIDE AND ABOUT, UH, NORMAL CONDITIONS OR EQUAL CHANCES THAT THE PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK WILL BE ABOUT, UH, THE SAME AS NORMAL.
UH, BUT WE DO SEE THAT IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GONNA TRANSITION TO EL NINO BY THE FALL.
THERE'S AN 80% CHANCE THAT WE'LL TRANSITION TO A A A, A CONDITION OF EL NINO, WHICH WILL GIVE US A CHANCE FOR, UH, WETTER CONDITIONS, UH, INTO THE FALL.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION BEFORE YOU MOVE ON? SURE.
WHAT IS, WHAT IS, UH, PERCEIVED AS A NORMAL CONDITION? WHAT IS THAT BASED ON? THAT'S BASED ON THE, THE PRECIPITATION HISTORY FOR THE AREA.
SO, UM, IT'S JUST KIND OF LIKE IN AUSTIN WE HAVE, UH, AN AVERAGE RAINFALL OF ABOUT 32 INCHES.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, SIMILAR FOUR, BUT THIS IS ON A MONTHLY BASIS, SO HAVING PRECIPITATION IN A KIND OF MORE AVERAGE, UH, CONDITION FOR, FOR THE, OKAY.
AND IS THAT 32 INCHES FOR THE LAST, LIKE 20 YEARS OR SO IN AUSTIN, THAT'S BEEN THE AVERAGE PARTI PRECIPITATION, OR IS IT A DIFFERENT TIMEFRAME THAT YOU'RE REFERENCING? I DON'T HAVE THE SPECIFICS ON THAT.
I'D NEED TO FOLLOW BACK UP WITH YOU ON THAT.
THAT'S INFORMATION YOU PROVIDED IS HELPFUL.
THAT'S KIND OF A LONG-TERM AVERAGE.
YEAH, THIS SLIDE, UM, THIS IS A SLIDE THAT IS PRODUCED BY THE LOW COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY.
THEY DO A SIX MONTH OUTLOOK ON COMBINED STORAGE, AGAIN, WHICH IS THE, THE STORAGE IN LAKES, TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN COMBINED, WHICH, UH, WILL TOTAL 2 MILLION ACRE FEET WHEN FULL THEY'RE PROJECT PROJECTING, UH, OUT INTO THE FUTURE.
[00:30:01]
BY ABOUT THE EARLY PART OF JULY, JULY ONE OR SO, IT'S PROJECTED THAT WE'LL LIKELY DROP BELOW THE 900,000 ACRE FEET LEVEL, WHICH WOULD TRIGGER US TO GO INTO STAGE TWO, UH, OF OUR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN.SO WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO MONITOR THE, MONITOR THIS AND, UH, AND WATCH WHAT HAPPENS.
WE'VE ALREADY GOTTEN A LITTLE BIT OF ADDITIONAL WATER INTO THE LAKE WITH THIS, UM, RAIN, UH, PERIOD THAT WE'RE RAINY, PERIOD THAT WE'VE BEEN IN.
AND WE'LL SEE IF WE CONTINUE TO GET SOME MORE RAIN, UM, BEFORE THIS TIMEFRAME TO HOPEFULLY PUSH THAT OUT A LITTLE BIT.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE DROUGHT SITUATION.
UH, WE'RE IMPLEMENTING OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN, WHICH IS AUSTIN'S INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES PLAN, UH, THAT HAS STRATEGIES, UH, TO HELP, UH, PREPARE FOR DROUGHT AND TO, UM, TO INCREASE AUSTIN'S RESILIENCY TO DROUGHT, AND THEN ALSO PROMOTE WATER CONSERVATION AND ADHERENCE TO OUR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN STAGES.
AND AT THIS POINT, I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO KEVIN KLUGE, UH, ALSO WITH AUSTIN WATER FOR THE NEXT PART OF THE PRESENTATION.
UH, KEVIN KLUGE, AUSTIN WATER CONSERVATION DIVISION MANAGER.
AND I'M GONNA BE TAKING US THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL SLIDES THAT DISCUSS THE, UH, REGULATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS THAT WE HAVE IN THESE CURRENT DROUGHT STAGES.
AS THERESA MENTIONED, WE ARE IN DROUGHT STAGE ONE OF OUR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN.
UM, HOWEVER, I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT ALL OF THESE, UH, RESTRICTIONS AND REGULATIONS THAT YOU SEE IN DROUGHT STAGE ONE, OR JUST ABOUT ALL OF THEM ARE ALSO IN OUR CONSERVATION STAGE.
UH, AND THAT'S OUR BASE STAGE, OUR DAY IN, DAY OUT.
SO ANYTIME, UH, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WE HAVE ONE DAY WATER WATERING RESTRICTIONS AND, AND MOST OF THESE WATERING RESTRICTIONS.
SO AUSTIN REALLY FRONT LOADS A LOT OF THEIR SAVINGS IN THEIR, UH, CONSERVATION AND DROUGHT MANAGEMENT STAGES, ALL, ALL THE TIME.
DROUGHT, STAGE ONE RESTRICTIONS.
THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE NOW PRIMARILY REVOLVE AROUND LANDSCAPE WATERING, UH, FOR AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS FOR RESIDENTS.
UH, IT'S A ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING, UH, EITHER WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY, DEPENDING ON YOUR ADDRESS HOSE IRRIGATION CAN TAKE PLACE EITHER DURING THE WEEK OR IN THE WEEKEND AND NOT UP ON THE SLIDE.
BUT COMMERCIAL, UH, CUSTOMERS ALSO HAVE THESE LANDSCAPE WATERING RESTRICTIONS EITHER ON TUESDAY OR FRIDAY.
AND MONDAY IS SD FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
SO A LOT OF OUR CONSERVATION EFFORTS REVOLVE AROUND THESE LANDSCAPE WATERING RESTRICTIONS.
THERE ARE ALSO RESTRICTIONS ON, UH, PATIO MISTERS AND ORNAMENTAL FOUNTAINS, AND THERE'S A LOT OF MUCH MORE SPECIFIC RESTRICTIONS THAT TAKE PLACE.
THERESA MENTIONED THAT IN JULY WE MAY BE GOING INTO DROUGHT STAGE TWO.
UH, ACCORDING TO OUR DROUGHT CONTINUENCY PLAN, THE RESTRICTIONS ARE VERY SIMILAR BECAUSE WE'VE FRONT LOADED A LOT OF THESE RESTRICTIONS IN OUR BASE CONSERVATION STAGE, THE PRIMARY CHANGE CHANGES INCLUDE FOR AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION, IT'S STILL ONE DAY A WEEK, BUT YOU CAN'T, YOU HAVE TO STOP YOUR IRRIGATION SYSTEM AT 5:00 AM INSTEAD OF 8:00 AM TO SAVE A LITTLE BIT OF WATER ON EVAPORATION AND, AND OVERSPRAY HOSE IRRIGATION GOES FROM TWO DAYS A WEEK TO JUST ONE DAY A WEEK ON, ON THE WEEKEND.
AND WE'LL BE HAVING INCREASED ENFORCEMENT IF WE GO INTO STAGE TWO AND INCREASED INVESTIGATIONS, UH, FOR WATERWAYS TO LEAKS OR, UH, RESIDENT REPORTED WATERING ON THE WRONG DAY.
ORNAMENT ORNAMENTAL FOUNTAINS, THE LARGE ORNAMENTAL FOUNTAINS ARE PROHIBITED IN STAGE TWO.
UM, GOLF COURSES IRRIGATE JUST ONE DAY A WEEK ON THE FAIRWAYS.
AND THAT LAST BULLET I WANNA BRING ATTENTION TO WHEN WE HIT STAGE TWO.
UH, LANDSCAPE ESTA ESTABLISHMENT IS NO LONGER EXEMPTED FROM WATERING SCHEDULES.
UH, PRIOR TO THAT IN CONSERVATION AND IN STAGE ONE, IF A NEW HOME HAS A NEW LANDSCAPE, THEY CAN WATER THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
[00:35:01]
ON ANY DAY THEY NEED TO IN THE EVENING TO ESTABLISH THAT LANDSCAPE, BUT IF WE DO GO INTO STAGE TWO, THEY'RE NO LONGER EXEMPTED AND THEY HAVE TO ADHERE TO THAT ONE DAY A WEEK, UH, FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEMS AND THEN THEY COULD WATER ANOTHER DAY FOR, UM, HOSE IRRIGATION.SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL NEED TO BE COMMUNICATING BOTH TO THE BUILDERS AND TO THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY.
KIND OF WRAPPING UP HERE, AS TERESA MENTIONED, AS WE GO FORWARD, WE WILL BE CONTINUING TO MONITOR NOT ONLY THE LAKE LEVELS, BUT OUR AVERAGE DAILY USE TO SEE IF WE'RE SEEING HIGH PEAKS GOING INTO THE SUMMER, WHICH WE OFTEN DO IN JUNE.
AND WE'LL BE PROMOTING WATER CONSERVATION.
UH, WE'LL BE CONTINUING THE ENFORCEMENT AND OUTREACH.
AND FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO BE COMMUNICATING TO THEM THAT WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN WATER CITY STAFF, THEY CAN'T MAKE THESE SAVINGS HAPPEN.
WE REALLY DEPEND ON THE RESIDENTS AND THE CUSTOMERS, BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL TO ONE, ADHERE TO THE IRRIGATION SCHEDULES.
WE'RE ALSO ASKING THEM IF THEY HAVE ONE OF THE NEW SMART METERS, THE MYAT X WATER METERS, UH, TO LOG ONTO THAT AND SIGN UP FOR LEAK ALERTS AND FOR HIGH TIER ALERTS.
AND TO ASK OUR CUSTOMERS TO BE MORE COGNIZANT OF WATERING AND TAKING STEPS TO REDUCE THEIR WATERING, PARTICULARLY THE OUTDOOR LANDSCAPING, UH, WHERE EITHER YOU REDUCE YOUR WATERING TIME OR YOU MIGHT JUST LET YOUR LAWN GOLON FOR THE SUMMER, UH, AND LET IT GO DORMANT RATHER THAN TRYING TO KEEP IT IN EMERALD GREENING ALL SUMMER.
SO THAT IS OUR WATER SUPPLY UPDATE AS WELL, OUR DISCUSSION ON THE DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS, UH, AND DROUGHT STAGES.
AND WE'RE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, COMMISSIONER S HAVE YOU SEEN ANY QUANTIFIABLE, UH, REDUCTION IN WATER USE FROM THE MASS INSTALLATION OF SMART WATER METERS? I DON'T, I DON'T THINK WE AT, AT A HIGHER MACRO LEVEL.
I HAVE NOT SEEN THAT CUZ WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF, UM, UH, OF PUTTING THE METERS IN, OF THE 220, 30,000 METERS.
WE HAVE, I BELIEVE WE HAVE ABOUT ONE 30, 130,000 METERS IN, SO OVER HALFWAY.
UH, BUT IT'S ALWAYS KIND OF A MOVING TARGET WHEN THEY'RE PUTTING IN 500 METERS A WEEK ON THE NUMBERS.
I DO KNOW THAT THE TWO ALERTS THAT I MENTIONED, THE LEAK ALERTS, UM, THEY HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN HELPING PEOPLE REALIZE THEY HAVE A WATER LEAK AND, AND TO ADDRESS IT.
LAST YEAR THEY WERE WORKING, AND AGAIN, AS, AS I MENTIONED THIS IS AS WE ARE ADDING METERS, BUT IT WAS ESTIMATED TO SAVE 90 MILLION GALLONS LAST YEAR, THAT ALERT ALONE, UH, WE ALSO HAVE A HIGH TIER ALERT IN WHICH CUSTOMERS WITH THESE SMART WATER METERS, UH, THE, THE SYSTEM WILL LOOK AT THEIR WATER USE OVER THE FIRST EIGHT DAYS.
AND IF IT APPEARS THAT THE TREND OF THEIR WATER USE WILL PUT THEM INTO TIER THREE OF OUR RATES, WHICH IT REALLY JUMPS UP IN TIER THREE IN TERMS OF FIXED COST AND PER THOUSAND GALLONS COST, UM, IT WILL SEND OUT AN ALERT TO THEM JUST LETTING THEM KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ALL FINE, BUT YOU'RE ON TRACK TO GO INTO TIER THREE AND FACE THESE HIGHER RATES.
AND THAT ONLY STARTED IN JULY, BUT BETWEEN JULY AND DECEMBER, IT WAS ESTIMATED TO SAVE 70 MILLION GALLONS BECAUSE THREE QUARTERS OF THE CUSTOMERS WHO RECEIVED THAT ALERT ENDED UP USING LESS THAN WHAT THEY'RE PROJECTED TO USE.
SO OVERALL, I DON'T HAVE ANY NUMBERS ON, AND WE MAY NOT SEE THAT UNTIL WE'RE ENTIRELY BUILT OUT, BUT THESE TWO ALERTS HAVE SHOWN THAT THEY ARE SAVING WATER.
SO KIND OF TAGGING ALONG, UH, COMMISSIONER ROBBINS, UM, FOLKS, I'M GONNA START RECOGNIZING PEOPLE SO THAT THAT WAY WE DON'T START TALKING OVER EACH OTHER.
UH, SO IF YOU LIKE COMMISSIONER ROBBINS FINISH UP AND THEN IF YOU JUST WAVE AT ME, THEN I'LL CALL YOU.
[00:40:04]
HEY, I HAD A SIMILAR QUESTION.UM, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE, UH, I GUESS RESULTS THAT YOU'RE SEEING FROM THE DROUGHT PLANS THAT IT'S CURRENTLY IN PLACE AND IF IT'S MEETING YOUR EXPECTATIONS.
AND THEN SIMILARLY, HISTORICALLY, HAVE YOU SEEN REDUCTIONS FROM, UM, GOING INTO THAT PHASE TWO PLAN AND ARE THEY MEETING YOUR EXPECTATIONS? WELL, IN TERMS OF THE RESTRICTIONS, WE, WE KNOW THAT THE RESTRICTIONS WORK BOTH FOR, UH, SAVING WATER AND FOR LAWNS.
UH, ONE DAY A WEEK IS A RECOMMENDED WATERING SCHEDULE BY TEXAS AG AGRILIFE, A TURF SCIENTIST.
AND WE HAVE SEEN A BIG SAVINGS OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS COMING OUT OF THE 2011 DROUGHT TO NOW IN TERMS OF SAVINGS FOR, UH, PER PERSON WATER USE IN TERMS OF SAVINGS, YOU KNOW, GOING INTO DROUGHT STAGE ONE, UM, THAT'S REALLY HARD TO QUANTIFY BECAUSE LAST YEAR IT WAS DROUGHT STAGE ONE, BUT IT WAS ALSO VERY HOT AND DRY.
SO IT WAS HARD TO, UM, SEE, KIND OF TEASE OUT THE SAVINGS WHERE PEOPLE WERE SAVING AND WHERE THEY'RE JUST USING MORE PEOPLE, WERE USING MORE WATER.
BUT IT DOES BRING UP A GOOD POINT AS WE GO IN, PARTICULARLY IF WE GO INTO STAGE TWO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF IT RAINS ALL MAY AND ALL JUNE, WE MAY NEVER SEE STAGE TWO.
BUT IF WE DO GO INTO STAGE TWO, THAT WILL BE SOMETHING WE WILL PARTICULARLY NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON THAT DAILY WATER USE AND SEE IF IT'S PEAKING UP, YOU KNOW, FROM 1 31 THAT IT IS KIND OF, NOW IF IT STARTS PEAKING UP TO 150 MILLION GALLONS A DAY, 60, 70, 80 MILLION, IF WE START SEEING THAT TREND, THEN WE KNOW THAT WE DO NEED TO UP OUR ENFORCEMENT AND OUR OUTREACH FOR BOTH.
SO I DON'T THINK I EXACTLY ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION, BUT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL NEED TO BE MONITORING AS WE GO TOWARDS STAGE TWO.
YEAH, AND IT'D BE GREAT TO SEE THAT KIND OF DATA.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THESE PRESENTATIONS ARE QUARTERLY I'D, I'D LOVE TO SEE KIND OF HOW WATER USAGE TRENDS WITH THE, UM, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PHASE ONE AND PHASE TWO, IF THAT'S, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING Y'ALL ARE ABLE TO SHOW US.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION, SO THANKS.
AND I CAN, I CAN BRING THAT BACK NEXT TIME WE HAVE A QUARTERLY UPDATE.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR ANYONE ELSE ON THE COMMISSION THOUGH? OUR HANDS ARE UP.
COMMISSIONER GARY, GO AHEAD PLEASE.
FIRST I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I JUST HAD A COUPLE OF, UM, QUESTIONS.
HOW ARE YOU EDUCATING THE, THE RESIDENTS? HOW ARE YOU EDUCATING THE, THE BUILDERS AND EVERYONE THAT ABOUT THE PROGRAM, ABOUT THE, THE WATER USAGE, ABOUT THE RESTRICTIONS? AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION IS IN REGARDS TO ENFORCEMENT AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? IF YOU CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO ABOUT THAT.
AND I WAS JUST WONDERING, IS THAT ALSO FOR STAGE ONE AND IF IT'S NOT ONE, AND THAT'S IT.
CAN YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION AT THE VERY END? I'M NOT SURE.
I, SO THE LAST QUESTION WAS REGARDING THE ENFORCEMENT ASPECT.
AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF, OF, OF BREAKING THE RESTRICTIONS.
I JUST WANTED YOU TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT AND JUST EXPLAIN, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENCE WHY I SEE IT ON STAGE TWO AND NOT STAGE ONE.
STARTING WITH, WITH OUTREACH, PRIMARILY THE OUTREACH IS ELECTRONIC OUTREACH, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE MEDIA ON, ON RADIO AND TV, WHAT HAVE YOU.
UH, AUSTIN WATER PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE PUTS A LOT OF INFORMATION OUT, PARTICULARLY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, UH, UH, FACEBOOK AND, AND, UH, NEXT DOOR I BELIEVE.
AND THAT'S A LOT OF WHAT WE TRY TO DO IN TERMS OF, OF EDUCATING THE PUBLIC.
UH, IF WE DO START TO GO TO STAGE TWO, TWO, WE'LL REALLY NEED TO START PICKING THAT UP AND LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT IF WE'RE HITTING 900,000 ACRE FEET, THIS IS SOMETHING WE NEED TO DEAL WITH.
IN TERMS OF ENFORCEMENT, UNDER STAGE ONE, WE HAVE, UH, PATROL STAFF GOING OUT, UH, FOUR DAYS A WEEK.
UH, PRIMARILY PATROLLING IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS, BUT ALSO IN THE EVENING HOURS.
AND, AND THAT IS WHAT WE HAD GOING LAST SUMMER AND THEN GOING FORWARD, THEY ALSO DO INVESTIGATIONS WHEN PEOPLE REPORT ON THREE 11 IN TERMS OF EITHER A WATER LEAK OR THEIR NEIGHBORS WATERING ON THE WRONG DAY, WHAT HAVE YOU.
THEY ALSO GO OUT AND DO INVESTIGATIONS.
UM, IN SOME CASES, SOMETIMES THEY JUST SEND A POSTCARD, UM, BUT IF IT'S A REPEAT,
[00:45:01]
THEY GO OUT AND ACTUALLY DO INVESTIGATIONS.IF WE HIT TO STAGE TWO, UH, WE WILL BE DOING, UH, WE'LL BE INCREASING PATROLS, UH, PROBABLY 50%.
SO WE'LL BE DOING MORE PATROLS IN THE EVENING, MORE PATROLS ON THE WEEKEND.
UM, WE MAY BE HIRING NEW OR TEMPORARY STAFF TO EXPAND OUR PATROLS, UM, AND, AND OUR INVESTIGATION ABILITY.
BUT REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY PEOPLE WE HAVE ON PATROLS, IF I CAN DOUBLE MY PATROL STAFF FROM FOUR TO EIGHT, UH, IS STILL IS VERY DEPENDENT ON AUSTIN RESIDENTS COMPLYING WITH THE SCHEDULE.
UH, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY CATCH IS ACTUALLY A, A SMALL PERCENTAGE.
SO IT REALLY DEPENDS ON ALL THE RESIDENTS COMING TOGETHER AND ADHERING TO THAT ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING SCHEDULE.
DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? IT DID.
UM, YOU DO HAVE TICKETING AUTHORITY IN A WORSE CASE, DON'T YOU? RIGHT.
I, I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT, UM, IF WE HAVE STAFF GOING OUT ON PATROL AND THEY DO SEE SOMEONE WATERING ON THE WRONG DAY, THEY WILL GIVE 'EM A WARNING, FIRST OF ALL.
UM, BUT THEN IF THEY ARE CUT AGAIN WATERING ON THE WRONG DAY, WE DO HAVE, UH, VI VIOLATION.
UH, IT'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS.
IT DOESN'T GO THROUGH THE MUNICIPAL COURTS.
IT'S, WE OFFER AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING.
AND THEN AS THAT GOES THROUGH THAT PROCESS, UH, VIOLATORS CAN BE FINED, UM, PARTICULAR AMOUNTS, I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW MUCH IT IS, IT DOES GO UP IN EACH STAGE OF THE DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN.
I THINK IT MAY BE $50 NOW, AND IT MIGHT BE GO UP TO 75 AS A BASE FOR THE FIRST TIME IF SOMEONE WAS CAUGHT VIOLATING.
UM, SO YES, WE DO HAVE THAT AUTHORITY TO FIND BOTH COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
THERE QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE ELSE ON THE COMMISSION THAT I MIGHT HAVE MISSED? YES, THIS IS COMMISSIONER KARA GOTTI.
I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS, UH, KIND OF PIGGYBACKING ON EVERYONE ELSE, BUT A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
UM, DO Y'ALL HAVE DATA, UM, THAT SUPPORTS HOW MUCH WATER, UH, PER CAPITA? UM, I GUESS DEPENDING ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT STAGE WE'RE IN OR WHAT KIND OF DROUGHT WE'RE IN, OR IF WE'RE HAVING, UM, TO COMPARE WHEN WE'RE IN A DROUGHT, WHEN WE'RE NOT IN A DROUGHT, THE DATA TO SEE HOW MUCH WATER WE'RE ACTUALLY USING WHEN WE'RE IN A DROUGHT, WHEN WE'RE NOT IN A DROUGHT FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
UM, WE, WE CERTAINLY HAVE HISTORICAL DATA BOTH, UM, AT A, UH, ANNUAL PER PERSON WATER USE A AVERAGE OVER ENTIRE YEAR.
AND WE DO HAVE, UH, I GUESS DAILY PRODUCTION VOLUMES.
AS I MENTIONED, ONE LAST MONTH IT WAS 130 MILLION GALLONS.
AND THEN IN THE SUMMER IT GOES UP PEAKING TO 1 50, 1 70, 180, 1 90, UH, MILLION GALLONS.
SO WE DO HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
WE, IT'S BEEN QUITE A WHILE SINCE WE HAVE GONE INTO STAGE TWO.
I THINK THE LAST TIME WAS STAGE TWO WAS 20, 20 15 OR SO, 15, 20 15.
UM, SO WE HAVE BEEN, SO DO YOU SEE, DO YOU SEE A TREND ANYWHERE? DO YOU SEE ANY TREND ANALYSIS SEEING THAT WE ARE AS A COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE USING LESS WATER? MORE WATER? WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU SEEING IN YOUR ANALYSIS? WELL, CERTAINLY BACK IN 2011 WE USED 162 MILLION GALLONS.
THAT WAS LIKE THE DRIEST YEAR ON RECORD AT KIND OF THE HEIGHT OF THAT, THAT MULTI-YEAR DROUGHT.
SO WE WERE USING 162 GALLONS PER CAPITA PER DAY, PER PERSON PER DAY IN THAT YEAR, WHICH IS TO BE EXPECTED.
IT WAS A REALLY HOT AND DRY YEAR.
THE FOLLOWING YEARS WE STARTED INSTITUTING THE WATERING RESTRICTIONS, EVENTUALLY MAKING IT DOWN TO ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING.
UM, AND, AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS REALLY PUSHING THE PER PERSON WATER USE DOWN TO THE MID ONE TWENTIES, UM, WHICH HAS BEEN A GREAT, UH, SUCCESS IN TERMS OF WATER USE.
UM, HOWEVER, WE HAVE BEEN STILL BUMPING AROUND THAT MID ONE TWENTIES AND LAST YEAR, UH, IT WENT UP TO 132 GALLONS PER PERSON PER DAY.
SO WE HAVE MADE GREAT STRIDES INITIALLY GOING DOWN TO ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING.
BUT I, I THINK THAT THE MESSAGE WOULD BE, WE STILL HAVE WORK TO DO CUZ WE'VE KIND OF PLATEAUED OUT AT THAT
[00:50:01]
MID ONE TWENTIES, UM, AND EVEN BUMPED UP A LITTLE BIT LAST YEAR.DO YOU RIGHT, AND I APPRECIATE YOU HAVING THIS INFORMATION AS I'M ASKING THE QUESTION, SO SORRY.
UM, IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST DRIVER FOR THIS, DO YOU THINK, IS THE EDUCATION ON DROUGHT? DO YOU THINK IT'S THE EDUCATION ON THE SMART METER, SMART WATER METER, WHICH I ACTUALLY HAVE NOT EVEN HEARD OF.
I'VE JUST HEARD GLIMPSES OF IT.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT IT TO BE HONEST.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE, THE, I'M TRYING, I GU I GUESS MY QUESTION IS JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE WHAT IS OUR BIGGEST DRIVER? WHAT, WHAT IS THE BIGGEST GOAL THAT WE CAN, THAT Y'ALL CAN GET TO IN ORDER TO PUSH, YOU KNOW, BACK TO THE ONE 20 PER CAPITA TYPE TYPE SO WE CAN SAVE WATER? YEAH, I THINK, I THINK IT'S A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE IN THE EARLY 2010S, 2011 THROUGH 2015, YOU KNOW, THEY LIVED THROUGH THE YEARS OF SEEING LAKE TRAVIS REALLY LOW AND THEY REALLY RESPONDED TO THAT.
BUT SINCE THEN, SINCE 2015, THINGS HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, NORMAL OR PRETTY GOOD.
UH, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE FORGOTTEN THOSE LESSONS ABOUT WATERING.
AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF NEW PEOPLE COME IN WHO MAYBE DIDN'T REALIZE WE WERE IN ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING OR WHAT THE WEATHER IN CENTRAL TEXAS IS LIKE.
UH, SO THERE'S A KIND OF A REEDUCATION THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE WITH RESIDENTS IN TERMS OF WATERING, BUT ALSO, AS YOU MENTIONED THAT MY ETX WATER, I THINK THAT WILL BE A BIG THING.
UH, AS, AS YOU ALLUDED TO, NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT.
I THINK THAT'LL BE ONE OF THE GAME CHANGERS GOING IN, NOT ONLY FOR AUSTIN WATER, BUT ALL WATER UTILITIES.
THAT ABILITY FOR CUSTOMERS TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH WATER THEY'RE USING ON AN HOURLY TIME STEP.
UM, AND TO BE ALERTED FOR HIGH USE OR HIGH OR LEAKS, WHAT HAVE YOU.
I THINK THAT WILL HELP A LOT IN TERMS OF, OF MOVING US DOWN THAT ONE 20 MID ONE 20 PLATEAU, UM, BOTH THE REEDUCATION AND INTRODUCTION OF MY ETX WATER COMPLETION OF THAT IN, I'D SAY WITHIN TWO YEARS WE'LL HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT, UM, NEARLY 100% WITH A SMART METER.
I'M JUST CURIOUS, AM I RECOGNIZED MR. ROBINS? GO AHEAD.
HOW MANY COMMISSIONERS HAVE USED, UH, THE ATX SYSTEM? I'M JUST CURIOUS.
I HAVE, WELL, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO CHECK IT OUT IF YOU HAVEN'T YET.
IT'S FASCINATING TO KNOW HOW MUCH WATER YOU USE AT TWO IN THE MORNING,
I LIKE HOW AUSTIN ELECTRIC SHOWS ME EVERY WEEK HOW MUCH I USE, SO I DEFINITELY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN TRACKING THIS AS WELL.
ARE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? OKAY, THEN I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU ACTUALLY.
UM, LET'S PLAY MAD MAX FOR A SECOND AND EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT DROUGHT STAGE THREE LOOKS LIKE.
DROUGHT STAGE THREE IS 600,000 ACRE FEET.
UH, I DON'T BELIEVE WE'VE EVER GONE INTO DROUGHT STAGE THREE DURING THAT LAST BIG DROUGHT.
DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT WE GOT DOWN TO? YEAH, I THINK WE GOT DOWN TO ABOUT 630,000 ACRE FEET.
SO THE COMBINED STORAGE GOT CLOSE TO TRIGGERING THAT DROUGHT STAGE THREE, BUT WE DID NOT HAVE TO GO INTO THAT.
WE ONLY HAD TO GO TO STAGE TWO IN THAT LAST DROUGHT.
AND IF YOU DO GO INTO DROUGHT STAGE, DROUGHT STAGE THREE, UH, THE RESTRICTIONS, UH, STAY A LOT LIKE WHAT THEY'VE SEEN.
THE, THE CHANGE IS THAT FOR AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, YOU CAN STILL WATER ONE DAY A WEEK, UM, BUT YOU WON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WATER IN THE EVENING.
YOU COULD ONLY WATER IN THE MORNING, UH, FOR SIX HOURS DURING THAT TIME PERIOD.
UM, THERE'S SOME CHANGES ON RESTRICTIONS FOR PATIO MISTERS.
YOU HAVE TO TURN PATIO MISTERS OFF EARLIER IN THE EVENING AND, UH, CAN'T NOT OPERATE SPLASH PADS.
THOSE ARE SOME OF THE FEW OF THE CHANGES, BUT A LOT OF THE RESTRICTIONS ARE SIMILAR TO STAGE TWO.
UM, BUT LIKE, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WHEN WE GET TO STAGE THREE AND WE'LL HAVE TO DO THE OUTREACH AND ENFORCEMENT EVEN MORE.
AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION IS WHAT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WATER USAGE IN GENERAL, UH, FOR THE AUSTIN
[00:55:01]
REGION, ARE YOU ABLE TO QUANTIFY AT ALL THE INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF WATER USAGE THAT WE'VE HAD OVER TIME, UH, TIED IN WITH POPULATION GROWTH IN THE AREA? YES, WE, WE CERTAINLY ARE, I HAVE TO ADMIT, I CANNOT THINK OF THE MANY OF THE NUMBERS OFFHAND, BUT YES, ON AN, ON AN PARTICULARLY ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, WE CAN DELINEATE THE VOLUMES FOR RESIDENTIAL, RESIDENTIAL, OUTSIDE COMMERCIAL, DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMERCIAL.SO WE CAN GAUGE ON THAT, THAT ANNUAL BASIS ON HOW WATER USE HAS CHANGED OVER TIME WHILE OUR POPULATION HAS CHANGED.
DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING I WANNA ADD THAT, UM, AS AN EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, WE DO TRACK OUR POPULATION SERVED AND THEN HOW MUCH WATER WE'RE USING, UH, BECAUSE OF THE, UM, INCORPORATION OF THE NO MORE THAN ONE DAY PER WEEK WATERING AS OUR, UH, STANDARD PRACTICE AND, UH, THE RESULTS OF OUR COMMUNITY RESPONDING TO THE, THE DROUGHT OF THE 2008 TO 2015 AND LOWERING OUR WATER USE DOWN IN THOSE PER CAPITA WATER USE SAVINGS.
WE ESTIMATED THAT WE DROPPED OUR OVERALL WATER USE DOWN, UH, SO THAT WE WERE SERVING ABOUT 300,000 ADDITIONAL PEOPLE WITH THE SAME AMOUNT OF WATER UNTIL ONLY RECENTLY WE'VE STARTED TO GET BACK UP TO OVERALL WATER USE LEVELS THAT WE HAD AS, UH, LA AS RECENTLY AS IN THE, UH, AROUND YEAR 2000 OR SO.
SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GAIN 300,000 MORE PEOPLE AND, AND ARE USING ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF WATER, UH, BY REDUCING THAT PER CAPITA WATER USE.
UH, WE'RE SERVING ABOUT 1.1 MILLION PEOPLE NOW.
UH, IT'S, IT EQUATES TO ABOUT 250,000 METERS OR 250,000 CUSTOMERS, BUT IT'S ABOUT ONE POINT, UH, 1 MILLION PEOPLE.
AND WE CONTINUE TO GAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, IN OUR POPULATION AND OUR WATER USE IS, IS GOING UP SOME, BUT NOT AS FAST AS, UM, AS IT CERTAINLY HAD PRIOR TO US, UH, INCORPORATING THOSE RESTRICTIONS AND THEN HAVE CONTINUED TO HAVE THAT GOOD CONSERVATION AND, UH, REDUCED WATER USE FOR OUTDOOR IRRIGATION SINCE THE DROUGHT.
AND I WOULD SAY IF YOU, IF YOU'RE CURIOUS, WE DO HAVE, I HAVE, WE DO HAVE SOME NEAT SLIDES SHOWING HOW WATER USE IS ALL DIVIDED UP, UM, TO THE VARIOUS DIFFERENT CUSTOMERS THAT WE COULD EITHER PROVIDE IN A FUTURE UPDATE OR WE COULD JUST SEND TO THE COMMISSION.
UM, I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE AN INTERESTING READ.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED A FULL PRESENTATION ON IT, BUT I THINK IT'D BE AN INTERESTING READING NONETHELESS.
SO IF YOU COULD SEND IT OVER TO NATASHA, SHE CAN GET IT TO US.
LAST CHANCE FOR QUESTIONS BEFORE I LET THESE FINE PEOPLE GO HOME FOR THE EVENING.
[4. Presentation by Texas Gas Service regarding a quarterly update of the Central Texas Energy Efficiency Program by Jasmine King-Bush, Energy Efficiency Program Manager.]
ITEM NUMBER FOUR, PRESENT PRESENTATION BY TEXAS GAS SERVICE, UH, FOR QUARTERLY UPDATE ON THE, UH, CENTRAL TEXAS ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM.UNLESS SHE'S, SHE SAID SHE'S MUTED.
JASMINE, CAN YOU UN HELLO, CAN YOU, HELLO, JASMINE?
[01:00:01]
YES, MA'AM.I WAS TALKING AND I WAS LIKE, I MUTE THIS.
I'M, UH, UNABLE TO ATTEND IN PERSON.
UM, AND I AM IN A, AN AREA THAT DOES NOT HAVE GREAT COVERAGE.
SO I HAVE MY PRESENTATION ON MY LAPTOP AND I'M GOING TO WALK THROUGH THE SLIDES, UM, THROUGH THE PHONE.
SO IF WE ARE ON THE FIRST SLIDE, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I GAVE A BIT OF AN INTRODUCTION REALLY QUICKLY FOR THE NEW, UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.
MY NAME IS JASMINE KEITH BUSH.
I'M THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM MANAGER.
I OVERSEE, UM, AND HAVE THE, THE PRIVILEGE OF LEADING EE PROGRAMS FOR TEXAS GAS SERVICE, UM, ACROSS THE STATE.
UH, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UH, HE'S ON PTO THIS WEEK, BUT HIS NAME IS MICHAEL
HE IS THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM SUPERVISOR.
HE WILL BE WITH ME THE NEXT TIME WE COME BEFORE YOU FOR OUR NEXT QUARTERLY MEETING.
UM, AND FOR THIS, THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENTATION, I'LL BE COVERING Q4 2022 UPDATE AND Q4 2023 UPDATE.
UH, AND WE CAN GO TO THE SECOND SLIDE.
UH, JUST A COUPLE, UH, HIGHLIGHTS ON THE, UH, EFFICIENCY PROGRAM OVERALL, UM, AND Q4 2022.
UM, WELL, AS I SAID MOST RECENTLY, WE DISTRIBUTED THE 2022 ANNUAL REPORT THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES, PROVIDES AN ANNUAL REPORT OF PROGRAM PERFORMANCE AND UTILIZATION WITH A FEW HIGHLIGHTS IN A DIGITAL, UH, FORMAT THAT WAS DISTRIBUTED ON APRIL 30TH.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COPY, PLEASE LET ME KNOW OR LET NATASHA KNOW TO REACH OUT TO ME AND I CAN MAKE SURE THAT YOU RECEIVE, UM, A COPY FOR REVIEW.
UM, LAST YEAR WE HIRED ALEX SEPTA.
HE, UH, JOINED THE TEAM AS EDUCATION OUTREACH SPECIALIST.
UH, PREVIOUSLY HAVING WORKED WITH THE BROWNSVILLE PUBLIC UTILITY BOARD, HE BRINGS WITH HIM A WEALTH OF INFORMATION.
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO SEE HOW HE, UM, FURTHERS RELATIONSHIPS, UH, WITH, UH, VENDORS AND RETAILERS IN THE AREA.
AND, UM, HELPED US TO, UM, PARTICIPATE IN MORE COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS AND EDUCATION EVENTS.
UH, LAST YEAR Q4, WE PARTICIPATED, UH, AS A JOINT VENTURE WITH AUSTIN ENERGY IN THE TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL THAT HAD GREAT OUT TURNOUT.
I THINK WE HAD ABOUT 50,000 PEOPLE COMING THROUGH THE VARIOUS TENTS.
UM, AND, UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, JOINING THEM, UH, IN A, AN ADVENTURE.
UH, AGAIN, IN THE FALL, UH, WE, UH, KEPT UP, UH, OUR PARTICIPATION IN THE COMMUNITY IMPACT AS, UH, THE COMMUNITY IMPACT PAPER.
IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE IT AS A GREAT, UH, DISTRIBUTION OF LOCAL INFORMATION THAT IS SPECIFIC TO VARIOUS REGIONS THROUGHOUT AUSTIN, A BIT NORTH AUSTIN, A BIT SOUTH.
UM, SO AS THEY EXPANDED THEIR TERRITORY THIS YEAR, WE ALSO EXPANDED OUR, UM, OUR, UH, OUR VISIBILITY IN THOSE PUBLICATIONS.
AND THEN WE ALSO PARTICIPATED IN THE WATERLOO CREEK SHOW.
AGAIN, THIS IS PART OF OUR, UH, ENDEAVOR TO BE PRESENT MORE IN THE COMMUNITY AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENT.
UH, Q1 OF 2023, WE PARTICIPATED IN THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, UH, HOLIDAY FESTIVAL AT HOUSTON PILSON.
UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE PARTICIPATE IN ANNUALLY.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE RE-UPPED WITH K U T AND K UTX.
SO YOU MIGHT HEAR US, UH, WITH OUR ADS PROVIDING EDUCATION AND AWARENESS OF VARIOUS REBATE, CONSENSUS AND PROGRAM OVERALL.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, UH, TOUCHPOINT FOR OUR COMMERCIAL PROGRAM.
WE HAVE, UH, FOR THOSE WHO ARE, UH, UH, NEW CONGRATULATIONS, UM, BUT WE HAVE TWO, UH, ARMS OF OUR COMMERCIAL PROGRAM.
WE HAVE A COMMERCIAL DIRECT INSTALL PROGRAM, WHICH IS THE, UH, LION SHARE OF THE COMMERCIAL PROGRAM, AND THAT IS ADMINISTERED BY A THIRD PARTY COMPANY BY THE NAME OF CLEAR REVOLT.
THEY WORK WITH UTILITIES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND UP INTO CANADA.
UH, AND THEY PARTNER, UH, WITH US TO, UH, REACH OUT TO LOCAL RETAILERS, UH, LAUNDROMATS, UH, HOTELS, MOTELS, UM, LOW INCOME APARTMENTS TO PROVIDE WEATHERIZATION, UM, EFFORTS, UH, SHOWER HEAD REPLACEMENT, UM, DRYER, SMART SCENE TRACK.
AND SO THIS IS JUST PROVIDING SOME OVERSIGHT, UH, INTO THE PROJECTS THAT WERE COMPLETED, UH, IN Q4 AND, UH, INITIATED IN Q1 AND WITH A LITTLE, UH, VISUAL MAP OF WHERE THOSE PROJECTS TOOK PLACE.
AND HERE'S JUST A FEW OF THE RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS.
UH, WE ENGAGE IN BEHAVIOR EDUCATION.
SO OUR PROGRAM IS NOT LIMITED TO JUST OFFERING, UH, REBATES AND INCENTIVES.
WE ALSO TRY TO PROVIDE TIPS AND TRICKS AND, UH, EDUCATIONAL ON HOW CUSTOMERS USING TEXAS GAS SERVICE CAN USE IT MORE EFFICIENTLY.
UH, AND SO WE, UH, Q4 UH, WE'VE PARTNERED WITH THE ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE TO, UH, PROVIDE TIPS AND TRIPS, TRICKS AND EDUCATION IN THE PIPELINE NEWSLETTER.
[01:05:01]
UH, WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS IS THAT IT REACHES BEYOND WHERE THE SERVICE AREAS ARE FOR THE PROGRAM.UM, IT GOES INTO THE ENVIRONMENT WHICH, UH, REACHES OUR CUSTOMERS THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RETHINK AND INCENTIVE PROGRAM, BUT WE CAN STILL REACH THEM WITH THE EDUCATION.
UH, I'M WORKING WITH VENDORS RIGHT NOW TO EXPAND OUR DIY KITS.
WE OFFER A WATER KIT RIGHT NOW FOR ANY CUSTOMER INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS OF A, A CITY THAT HAS OUR PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEY CAN REQUEST THAT AND RECEIVE A KIT IN THE MAIL WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE A VIDEO THAT SHOWS 'EM HOW TO INSTALL, UH, LOW FLOW SHOWER HEAD, LOW FLOW AIRS FOR FAUCETS AND KITCHEN.
UM, AND I'M LOOKING TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO KIND OF GET THOSE INTO LOOK, UM, AND, UM, INCREASE, UM, RELEVANCE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO SOMETHING LIKE A PIPE RACK, UM, SOMETHING LIKE WEATHER STRIPPING, DIY WEATHER STRIPPING.
SO I'M LOOKING INTO SOME, UM, QUOTES FROM VARIOUS VENDORS TO SEE HOW WE CAN EXPAND THAT OR MAYBE WE CAN ADD THAT TO THE WA WATER KIT AND HAVE A WEATHER AS A HEAT KIT AND A WATER KIT.
I'LL BE REPORTING BACK ONCE WE HAVE MADE A DECISION.
AND THEN JUST REPORTING SOME GEOGRAPHIC GROWTH.
WE, UM, HAVE EXPANDED OUR EE PROGRAM, UH, INTO PFLUGERVILLE, MARVEL FALLS AND BUTTA.
IT'S NOT REALLY RELEVANT TO AUSTIN, BUT JUST LOOKING AT, UM, WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING REQUESTS FROM THOSE CITIES.
THEY WANT TO SEE OUR PROGRAM, UM, ACTIVE IN THOSE AREAS.
UM, AND A LOT OF THAT IS BECAUSE THEY'VE SEEN THE SUCCESS, UM, AND THE PRESENCE IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
UH, THIS SLIDE REALLY IS A, IS A GRAPHICAL, UH, REPRESENTATION OF PROGRAM PERFORMANCE YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, AND SO, UH, I HAVE INCLUDED, UH, 20 21, 20 22 AND YEAR TO DATE 2023, UM, STATS.
SO AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE YEAR, YOU'LL SEE, UM, THE BARS GROW AS UTILIZATION AND PARTICIPATION INCREASE.
UM, BUT THOSE WHO, UH, EITHER WERE NOT IN THE AREA ARE POSSIBLY UNAWARE, UM, IN, UH, YOU'LL SEE A HIGH, UH, USAGE FOR THE, UM, WATER HEATING IN 2021.
AND THAT ATTRIBUTED TO ALL OF THE WATER HEATERS THAT WERE DAMAGED DURING THE STORM URI.
UM, AND THEN WE SEE A PRETTY STEADY USAGE WITH THE, UM, HOME IMPROVEMENT.
UM, THAT IS A COLLABORATION WE DO WITH AUSTIN ENERGY CALLED THE HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STAR PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S WHERE, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS WHO ARE ALSO TEXAS GAS CUSTOMERS CAN MAKE USE OF ATTIC INSULATION, DUCT CEILING, AND, UH, PERFORMED BY A LICENSED CONTRACTOR.
AND THEY WILL RECEIVE THREE REBATES FROM BOTH, FROM BOTH UTILITIES.
UH, WE ALSO OFFER A LOW INCOME FREE EQUIPMENT PROGRAM THAT IS FOR TEXAS GAS CUSTOMERS WHO ARE IN THE, UM, SERVICE AREAS COVERED BY THE PROGRAM, UH, THAT WE WILL, UM, EXPRESS THEIR NEED, UH, THROUGH A COMMUNITY AGENCY, MEALS ON WHEELS, UM, OFTEN ENERGY'S LOW INCOME WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM.
UH, THEY WILL BE, UH, REFERRED TO US.
OUR STAFF WILL MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE, UM, ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE.
AND, UH, WE WILL WORK WITH LOCAL LICENSED CONTRACTORS TO ASSESS WHAT THE NEEDS ARE.
UM, AND WE WILL GO IN, UH, PERFORM THOSE NEEDS, UM, VIA THE CONTRACTOR AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO THE PARTICIPANTS.
UM, THIS PROGRAM, UH, UNDERSTANDABLY SO, HAS A VERY, UH, HIGH BURN RATE.
SO WE HAVE, UH, A SET BUDGET FOR THAT, AND IT IS, IS PRETTY SPENT BY THE THREE QUARTERS OF THE YEAR.
BY THE THIRD QUARTER OF THE YEAR WE'RE PRETTY SPENT, UM, BECAUSE OF THE HIGH DEMAND.
UM, AND WE'RE SEEING THAT INCREASE.
UM, SO, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT WAYS TO EITHER INCREASE THE BUDGET OR HOW WE CAN PARTNER WITH LOCAL CONTRACTORS TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO, UH, IN A MORE COST EFFECTIVE MANNER TO MAKE SURE WE CAN CONTINUE TO HELP AS MANY FAMILIES AS POSSIBLE.
AND IF I'M TRACKING WITH YOU ALL, THAT IS MY LAST SLIDE, I AM AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
I SEE COMMISSIONER ROBBINS HAS HIS HAND UP.
WELL, I EMAILED, UH, JASMINE, UH, LIKE THE STAFF AFTERNOON AND SHE'S PROBABLY ALREADY, SHE PROBABLY ALREADY KNOWS WHAT I'M GOING TO SAY.
BUT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE REST OF YOU, UH, YOU HAVE NOT PROVIDED THE METRICS THAT THIS COMMISSION NEEDS TO ANALYZE YOUR PROGRAM AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL.
[01:10:01]
UM, EXCUSE ME, WE, WE NEED YOUR ESTIMATED FUEL COST ESTIMATED LIFETIME OF THE MEASURES, UM, THE, UH, BREAKDOWN BETWEEN, UH, REBATES AND, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, UM, AND, UH, YOUR ASSUMED INTEREST RATES.UH, AND I GUESS I COULD BE CRITICIZED IF THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I ASKED FOR IT, BUT IT ISN'T, I REMEMBER ASKING FOR THE SAME, THESE SAME KINDS OF METRICS MANY MONTHS AGO, AND AT THE TIME YOU SAID YOU'D CONSIDER IT AND WE STILL DON'T HAVE THEM.
IS THAT A QUESTION? I DON'T WANNA SPEAK OVER YOU.
YES, IT'S A QUESTION I JUST DON'T WANT, I WANNA RESPOND, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I, I HEAR THE TOTALITY OF THE QUESTION.
THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE TOTALITY.
SO THE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ARE OUTLINED IN THE ANNUAL REPORT THAT WAS DISTRIBUTED, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, THE, UH, UH, REBATE IN DOLLARS AND, UM, UNITS.
SO IF, IF YOU DON'T HAVE A COPY OF THAT, AND I KNOW WE SPOKE EARLIER, I WILL MAKE SURE TO GET IT TO YOU.
I AM, UM, AS YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M, I HAVE NOT GOTTEN BACK TO MY HOME OFFICE YET, SO, UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE WITH ME, BUT I WILL MAKE SURE THAT THOSE ARE NOT CALCULATIONS THAT WE UTILIZE IN OUR PROGRAMS. I'M NOT QUITE SURE.
YOUR ACT OF ME IS, IS, IS WHAT I'M THINKING THAT YOUR ACT MAY BE NEED, NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING I PASS ALONG.
UM, WOULD YOU REPEAT PLEASE? YOU, YOU STATED OUT.
WOULD YOU REPEAT PLEASE? OH, I'M SORRY.
THE, THE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND THE RE THE REBATES VOLUMES IN DOLLARS AND UNITS ARE REPORTED IN AN ANNUAL REPORT THAT WAS DISTRIBUTED ON APRIL 30TH.
UM, THE OTHER COST, THE INTEREST RATES, I'M NOT SURE.
WE DON'T USE AN INTEREST RATE CALCULATION FOR THE PROGRAM.
UM, AND SO I'M WONDERING IF THIS IS AN ASK THAT I NEED TO PASS ALONG TO A DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT.
ARE YOU, ARE YOU INTERESTED IN COST OF GAS, LIKE RATE CALCULATION? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? OKAY, TO RESPOND.
FIRST OF ALL, I LOOKED AT YOUR ANNUAL REPORT AND I COULD NOT FIND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS BROKEN OUT.
UM, THERE REALLY WAS VERY LITTLE IN THE REPORT REGARDING INTEREST RATES.
WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO AND WHAT I THINK THIS COMMISSION NEEDS TO DO IS PARSE HOW COST EFFECTIVE THESE PROGRAMS ARE.
AND IT'S A PRETTY ACADEMIC, UH, EQUATION TO, UH, FIGURE OUT WHAT THE COST OF THE MEASURE IS, THE LIFETIME OF THE MEASURE, AMORTIZE IT OVER THE LIFETIME OF THE MEASURE AND DIVIDE THAT, UH, BY THE FUEL SAVINGS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR COST PER, UH, UNIT OF GAS IS.
AND IF IT'S HIGHER THAN, UH, WHAT GAS COSTS, THEN MAYBE WE SHOULDN'T BE DOING THESE PROGRAMS. AND IF IT'S LOWER, THEN MAYBE WE SHOULD DO MORE OF THESE PROGRAMS. BUT WE DO NOT HAVE THE METRICS THAT WE NEED TO DETERMINE THIS FROM THE REPORT THAT YOU SENT.
SO I THINK, OKAY, SO LET ME CLARIFY.
I THINK YOU'RE LOOKING FOR AN ITEMIZED, UH, UH, ACCOUNTING OF ADMIN COSTS.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR OF ADMIN AND EDUCATION COSTS? BECAUSE THE ADMIN AND EDUCATION COSTS ARE CALLED OUT SEPARATELY ON THE ANNUAL REPORT, BUT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A LINE, UH, A LINE BY LINE ACCOUNTING FOR ADMIN AND EDUCATION COSTS? COST? HOW, HOW LONG WAS YOUR ANNUAL REPORT? MAYBE I MISSED SOMETHING.
THERE'S, THERE'S ABOUT THREE PAGES.
THERE'S A COVER PAGE, INSIDE COVER, SECOND PAGE, BACK COVER, SO FORTH.
AND MAY I THOUGHT MAYBE I, I MESSED UP AND ONLY SAW THE BEGINNING OF IT.
NOW I'M LOOKING AT THE ONE SUBSTANTIVE PAGE THAT YOU HAVE HERE, AND THERE IS NO BREAKDOWN BETWEEN ADMIN AND, UH, REBATES.
AND IF YOU, I DON'T WANT TO, TO, WE'VE GOT A LOT TO TALK ABOUT, AND I DON'T WANNA HOLD US HERE FOREVER ON THIS, UH, ONE PROTEST, BUT I WILL BE GLAD TO GIVE YOU A MOCK SPREADSHEET OF HOW IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR US TO RECEIVE THE DATA.
UH, AND I, I COULD SEND A COPY TO NATASHA WHEN I SEND IT TO
[01:15:01]
YOU SO THE ENTIRE COMMISSION COULD SEE IT.BUT, UH, I'M REALLY NOT ASKING FOR ANYTHING, UH, OUTLANDISH OR EXORBITANT.
IF WE'RE GONNA DO OUR JOB, WE NEED MORE THAN YOU'VE GIVEN US.
I'M GOING TO, I, LIKE I SAID, I DON'T HAVE GREAT INTERNET COVERAGE, BUT WE DEFINITELY DID BREAK OUT REBATE COSTS BY RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL EDUCATION ADMIN.
SO I WANNA SEND TO YOU WHAT WE WERE DISSEMINATED OR DISTRIBUTED.
I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU WERE LOOKING AT THE SAME THING.
UM, SO I HOPE THAT THAT WILL MEET YOUR ASK THERE, CAUSE I DO WANNA MEET YOUR ASK.
AND THEN I, UM, DID AGREE TO SHARE THE CALCULATIONS USED BY THE INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY, UM, PROGRAM RE REVIEWER, WHICH SHOWS THE CALCULATIONS FOR THE, UM, THE TEST, UH, FOR, UH, PARTICIPANT COST TEST, COST TEST, AND THE BENEFIT COST TEST THAT SHOW BY MEASURE, UM, THE, UH, THE, UM, THE COST, UH, THE FACT THAT THESE ARE COST EFFECTIVE, THAT THE MEASURES ARE COST EFFECTIVE, UM, AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS.
UM, THE PROGRAM, AS PART OF THE ANNUAL REPORT PROCESS, THE PROGRAM UNDERGOES AN ANNUAL REVIEW BY A THIRD PARTY, UM, CONSULTANT, UM, WHO HAS, UM, REVIEWED NOT ONLY OUR PROGRAM, BUT PROGRAMS FOR OTHER UTILITIES AND REVIEWS IT AGAINST, UM, THE CALIFORNIA STANDARDS PRACTICE MANUAL FOR COST EFFECTIVENESS AND VARIOUS OTHER TESTS.
UM, AND SO HE PROVIDES A SPREADSHEET, UH, TO SUBSTANTIATE HIS RECOMMENDATION OR HIS FINDINGS.
AND SO I'VE AGREED TO SHARE THAT WITH THE COMMISSION.
I WILL MAKE SURE THAT I HAVE THAT ACCOMPANY THE, UM, ANNUAL REPORT AS WELL.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A LINE BY LINE ITEM REPORTING FOR EVERY ADMIN PROCESS AND EDUCATION PROCESS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM.
WE'LL NEED TO DISCUSS THAT FURTHER BECAUSE THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO CREATE ANOTHER REPORT.
AND, AND, AND, UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I AM UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU'RE ASKING, BUT I WILL SEND OVER THE ANNUAL REPORT TO YOU TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE SAME ONE.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, GET THAT, UM, CALCULATION SPREADSHEET OVER TO YOU FROM, UM, PAUL ROBERTS.
I DO SEE OPERATION ADMINISTRATIVE HERE IN A, UH, UM, ONE, TWO, IN A THIRD GROUPING, BUT IT IS NOT BROKEN OUT BY PROGRAM.
I GUESS I COULD ASSUME A MULTIPLIER, BUT, UM, WE DON'T BREAK OUR ADMIN PRO, WE DON'T BREAK OUR ADMIN COSTS BY PROGRAM.
SO THE ADMIN COSTS ARE OVERALL FOR, FOR THE PROGRAM AS A WHOLE.
SO WE DON'T BREAK 'EM OUT BY HOW MUCH IT COSTS ADMINISTRATIVELY TO RUN THE COMMERCIAL PROGRAM VERSUS ADMINISTRATIVELY HOW MUCH IT COSTS TO RUN THE RED DIGITAL PROGRAM VERSUS ADMINISTRATIVELY HOW MUCH IT COSTS TO RUN THE LOW INCOME PROGRAM, UH, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.
UM, TO KIND OF PUT A BOW ON HOW THIS IS ALL COMING ABOUT, UH, THERE'S A GENERAL BELIEF THAT WITHIN THIS PROGRAM THERE ARE ITEMS THAT THEY ARE INCENTIVIZING THAT ARE NOT ECONOMICALLY RATIONAL TO DO SO.
AND SO WE AS RATE PAYERS AND RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN PAYING INTO THIS PROGRAM ARE NOT GETTING THE BEST VALUE THAT WE COULD IN CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THIS PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT PAUL HAS BEEN WORKING ON FOR A WHILE.
SO, UM, WE WILL GET THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM TEXAS GAS AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO REVISIT THIS ISSUE, BUT IT IS, IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN LITIGATED NOW FOR, I MEAN, THE ENTIRE TIME I'VE BEEN ON THE COMMISSION, I'M SURE LONG SINCE BEFOREHAND WITH PAUL, JUST TO GIVE YOU GUYS A LITTLE BIT OF COLOR ABOUT WHAT THIS IS REALLY ALL ABOUT.
UM, WHEN, HOW THE INCENTIVE IS ESSENTIALLY COME UP WITH, LIKE, IS THAT, IS THAT IN THEORY THE COST OF THE LABOR AND OR SOME SORT OF PERCENTAGE OF THE LABOR AND THE COST OF THE, UM, ITEM THAT YOU'RE INSTALLING OR, OR HOW IS IT RELATED TO THE, THE GAS SAVINGS? CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND? I APOLOGIZE, I JUST WANNA ASK YOU TO RESTATE YOUR QUESTION BECAUSE YOU CUT OUT.
I DID NOT HEAR YOUR WHOLE QUESTION.
SO I'M LOOKING AT THE COMMERCIAL PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS THAT YOU WENT OVER UHHUH,
AND I WAS CURIOUS HOW THOSE NUMBERS ARE, UM, ARRIVED AT,
[01:20:01]
I GUESS, SO THE, I I WAS, I WAS OFFERING, MAYBE IT'S HAS TO DO WITH THE PERCENTAGE OF, UM, SOME SORT OF LABOR COST AND THE, UH, COST OF THE ITEM THAT YOU'RE, UH, REPLACING OR IT HAS TO DO WITH THE, UM, PRICE OF GAS.CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND? YES, SO, UH, I'LL GIVE YOU A TWO PRONGED ANSWER.
SO THE INCENTIVE TOTAL COLUMN THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS THE TOTAL OF, UM, INCENTIVE THAT'S BEEN ASSIGNED TO SAY A FIXED SHOWER HEAD VERSUS A HANDHELD SHOWER HEAD VERSUS A WEATHER STRIP.
UM, AND THAT SET SET AMOUNT, SAY LIKE $8 PER, UM, FOOT OF WEATHER STRIPPING.
UM, AND SO WHEN, AND THAT'S I'M DESCRIBING NUMBERS, UM, THAT'S THE CALCULATION, THAT'S THE RESULTING TOTAL, UM, FROM THAT CALCULATION, HOW WE APPROACH, UM, THE REBATES INCENTIVES, UM, OVERALL IS LOOKING AT THE LIFE OF, UM, A MEASURE, UM, THE EXPECTED, UM, SAVINGS, UH, FROM THE ASSOCIATED EFFICIENCY WITH THAT MEASURE.
AND, UM, LOOKING AT, UM, HOW WE CAN HELP INCENTIVIZE, UM, THE PURCHASE OF THE, OF THAT MEASURE.
UM, THE REBATE AND OR INCENTIVE IS NOT MEANT TO NECESSARILY COVER THE COST OF THE MEASURE.
UM, AND THAT'S MORE SPECIFIC TO YOUR RESIDENTIAL RETROFIT REBATES THAT WE HAVE, SAY THE DRYER DRYER STUB, UM, UH, WIRE HEATER FURNACE FOR THE NEW RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION.
IT'S NOT MEANT TO NECESSARILY COVER THE COST OF THE ITEM, BUT MORE SO, UM, WE APPRECIATE THAT THERE IS A HIGHER COST, UM, WHEN YOU ARE BUYING A MORE, UM, A UNIT THAT IS MORE EFFICIENT THAN WHAT CURRENT BUILDING CODES, UH, REQUIRE.
AND SO THIS IS TO HELP KIND OF OFFSET THAT DIFFERENCE IN COST.
UM, BUT THERE ARE CALCULATIONS YES, THAT GO INTO THE LOOK AT THE LIFE OF HOW LONG IS THE, IS THE DRYER GONNA BE AROUND, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH, UM, WOULD THEY SAVE IN, UM, UH, ENERGY AND, UM, FILL, UM, AMOUNT IF THEY USE, YOU KNOW, X AMOUNT DR.
A DRYER WITH MOISTURE SENSOR RATHER THAN A REGULAR DRYER.
SO A DRYER THAT SHUTS OFF WHEN IT EXPENSIVE AT THE CLOSER DRY VERSUS A DRYER THAT JUST GOES FOR THAT 60 MINUTES.
IT'D BE GREAT TO SEE THAT LEVEL OF DATA, AND I THINK IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS SIMILAR TO WHAT PAUL WAS ASKING, MAYBE IT'S VALIDATED IN THAT THIRD PARTY CONSULTANT REPORT THAT YOU'VE GOT.
YES, AND I WILL, I WILL PUT THE DISCLAIMER OUT THERE THAT OUR THIRD PARTY CONSULTANT PROVIDES THE SPREADSHEET TO US.
IT IS NOT IN A BEAUTIFUL FORMAT.
UM, SO WHEN YOU ALL RECEIVE IT, UM, IT IS REALLY MEANT TO PROVIDE THE CALCULATIONS AND THE DATA, BUT IT IS NOT, UM, GOING TO BE, UM, AS PRESENTABLE AS SAY AN ANNUAL REPORT WAS.
BUT YES, WE'LL BE PROVIDING THAT TO THE SOLUTION.
YEAH, I, I'D BE HAPPY TO, I MEAN, LOOK AT THE SPREADSHEET, BUT IT'D ALSO BE GREAT IF YOU GUYS COULD PRESENT ON THAT INFORMATION TO US AS WELL.
WE, UM, HAVE HAD OUR THIRD PARTY CONSULTANT JOIN MEETINGS, UM, IN THE PAST AND HE WOULD BE OPEN TO DOING THAT AGAIN.
THANKS, UH, JASMINE FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION ON THE ANNUAL REPORT.
UM, IF YOU COULD HELP ME UNDERSTAND, I NOTICED THAT THE, UM, THE COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE UNDER BUDGET IN 2022 AND THE COLLECTIONS, UM, EXCEEDED THE REBATES BY ABOUT $700,000.
AND, UM, IF YOU COULD JUST HELP ME UNDERSTAND THAT THE COLLECT THAT THE RATE PAYERS ARE PAYING INTO THIS PROGRAM, AND, UM, IF SO, UM, WHERE DOES THE OTHER $700,000 GO? YES, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UH, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
SO THE COLLECTION RATE DOES SPEAK TO THE CONTRIBUTION, UH, THE ON BILL CONTRIBUTION OF OUR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS IN PARTICIPATING AREAS.
UM, AND THE, UH, UNDERPERFORMANCE LAST YEAR, UH, WE WERE UNDERSTAFFED BY TWO.
UM, AND SO THE PROGRAM THAT, UM, AS ITS PREVIOUS PERFORMED WHEN THE PROGRAM IS FULLY STAFFED, UM, PARTICIPATING IN THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH, BEING VERY VISIBLE ADS AND ET CETERA, WE DID NOT HAVE THE BENEFIT OF HAVING A FULL STAFF.
WE WEREN'T FULLY STAFFED UNTIL NOVEMBER.
AND SO EVEN, UM, THIS YEAR, UM, IN Q1 WE'VE SEEN WHERE WE ARE OUTPACING WHERE WE WERE PACING THIS TIME LAST YEAR.
UM, SO WE WON'T SEE THAT, UM, UH, IN, IN THE 2023 REPORT THAT CO UH, THE 2024 REPORT THAT COVERS 2023.
UM, ANOTHER ITEM OF NOTE IS THAT THERE WAS,
[01:25:01]
UM, UNDER UTILIZATION, UM, THAT ROLLS FROM YEAR TO YEAR.AND TO ADDRESS THAT UNDER UTILIZATION, I'VE REDUCED THE, UH, ON BILL CONTRIBUTION RATE FROM, UM, A DOLLAR NINE TO 71 CENTS.
UM, AND THAT WILL HELP ADDRESS THAT.
UM, MY GOAL IS TO, UH, BALANCE THAT FINE LINE BETWEEN HAVING ENOUGH MONEY TO MEET THE DEMAND FOR REBATES AND INCENTIVES, UM, BUT NOT HAVING THAT, UM, ROLLOVER FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
SO IF I UNDERSTAND, YOU'RE SAYING THAT THE CONTRIBUTION PER RATE PAYER HAS BEEN REDUCED FROM, SAY, A DOLLAR DOLLAR NINE DOWN TO 71.
UM, AND SO OVERALL, THE RATE PAYERS ARE NOT PAYING IN EXCESS OF WHAT'S BEING PAID OUT AS REBATES OR CORRECT, PLEASE.
SO THIS WILL ADDRESS THE ROLLOVER FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR, AND IT WILL ALSO, UM, HELP TO, UM, GET US TO A PLACE WHERE WE HAVE A, A, A LOWER MARGIN OF, HOPEFULLY WE DON'T RUN RUN OUT OF FUNDS AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
WE ARE, UM, WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN PROGRAM SERVICE AREA PARTICIPANTS.
SO WHEREAS, UM, MAYBE WE HAD 210,000 CUSTOMERS, NOW WE'VE GOT 225,000 CUSTOMERS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE.
UM, AND WE HAVE A, UH, VERY, UM, ROBUST CUSTOMER OUTREACH CAMPAIGN THAT'S RUNNING RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND SO THE, THE GOAL IS TO, UM, UTILIZE THE FUNDS THAT ROLLED OVER FROM 2022 WHILE ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE COLLECTING ENOUGH TO KEEP THE PROGRAM GOING FOR A FOUR YEAR.
CAN I ANSWER THAT REAL QUICKLY? YEAH.
LARRY GRAHAM WITH TEXAS GAS SERVICE, JUST TO MAKE IT CLEAR, THESE FUNDS ARE HELD SEPARATELY, SO WHATEVER'S NOT SPENT IN ONE YEAR DOES ROLL OVER.
WE HAVE A THREE YEAR BUDGET, SO AT THE END OF THE THREE YEAR CYCLE, IF WE HAVE LEFTOVER FUNDS, THEY ROLL OVER TO THE NEXT THREE YEARS AND WE ADJUST THE RATE DOWNWARD.
SO ANYTHING THAT IS COLLECTED FOR THE, UH, CONSERVATION FUND IS SPENT ON THE CONSERVATION FUND.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSION? OKAY, PAUL, SORRY, PAUL.
COMMISSIONER ROBBINS
UM, CAN YOU CUE IT PLEASE, NATASHA? HONOR MS. GOODWIN, I'M SORRY.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, I, UM, SPENT, UH, SEVERAL HOURS OFF AND ON TODAY UPDATING THIS, UH, TO GET THE BEST NUMBERS.
UH, I REALIZE, UM, I'VE TALKED TO YOU ABOUT, UH, A FEW OF YOU ABOUT THIS THING BEFORE.
I'LL TRY TO SPEAK THROUGH IT WHILE GIVING AS MUCH CONTEXT AS I CAN.
WHEN WE LOOK AT COST EFFECTIVENESS OF A CONSERVATION PROGRAM, ENERGY OR WATER, UH, WE LOOK AT VARIOUS THINGS LIKE THE LIFE OF THE MEASURE, THE COST OF THE MEASURE, THE COST OF FUEL, THE ENERGY SAVINGS, AND THE MONETARY SAVINGS.
IT'S PRETTY BASIC, UH, AND WE CAN COME UP WITH A BALLPARK OF IF THESE PROGRAMS HAVE A BENEFIT THAT IS GREATER THAN THEIR COST.
NOW, IN THE FIRST PROGRAM THAT I QUESTION, UH, GAS DRYERS WITH A MOISTURE SENSOR, TEXAS GAS SERVICE IS GIVING BETWEEN 225 AND $325 TO SAVE $1 AND 49 CENTS A YEAR IN GAS TO GAS CHANGE OUT.
RARELY DO THEY EVER, UH, USED THIS TO CHANGE FROM GAS TO ELECTRIC, WHICH IS ACTUALLY COST EFFECTIVE.
THIS, UH, AT THE HIGHER LEVEL WOULD RESULT IN A 219 YEAR PAYBACK.
NOW, CONSIDER IF YOU HAD A CHILD AND BOUGHT A DRYER IN 2023, THE DRYER WOULD NOT PAY BACK
[01:30:01]
UNTIL THE END OF THE LIFE OF YOUR GREAT-GRANDCHILD.SO THAT GIVES YOU SOME IDEA OF THE ABSURDITY, UH, SLIDE TANKLESS WATER HEATERS.
UM, ACCORDING TO, UH, ABOUT THREE DAYS OF RESEARCH GETTING ACTUAL RECEIPTS FROM TEXAS GAS SERVICE, UH, TANKLESS WATER HEATERS GENERALLY COSTS BETWEEN $4,150 AND $5,050, VERSUS ABOUT $1,700 FOR A NEW STANDARD CONVENTIONAL UNIT.
THEY REQUIRE REGULAR CLEANING, WHICH A PROFESSIONAL WILL CHARGE YOU ABOUT $150.
AND GIVEN AUSTIN'S, UM, AUSTIN'S HARDNESS OF WATER, IT PROBABLY WOULD NEED TO BE CLEANED ABOUT EVERY THREE YEARS.
UH, THERE ARE CLAIMS OF AN INCREASED LIFETIME, BUT THEY MAY BE EXAGGERATED BECAUSE THEY ARE VULNERABLE TO FREEZE DAMAGE AS HAS HAPPENED IN, UH, WINTER STORM URI.
UH, AND THEY ONLY RESULT IN ABOUT $464 IN SAVINGS OVER THEIR 19 YEAR LIFETIME, PRESUMING THEY LAST 19 YEARS.
SO YOU'RE REALLY NOT GOING TO GET A PAYBACK FROM THESE SLIDE NOW IN EFFICIENT FURNACES FOR, FOR NORTHERN CLIMATES, THEY'RE, THEY SHOULD BE CONSIDERED.
BUT WE DO NOT LIVE IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.
WE DO NOT LIVE IN SASKATCHEWAN.
WE LIVE IN TEXAS, AND THESE JUST DON'T GENERATE ENOUGH SAVINGS IN OUR CLIMATE TO JUSTIFY THEIR EXPENSE.
AND SO IN 2022, UH, AND THIS WAS WITH THEIR, UM, THE BUDGET THAT THEY ORIGINALLY SUBMITTED.
I HAVE NOT CALCULATED THIS WITH THEIR, UH, REVISED NUMBERS, BUT I CALCULATED AN ESTIMATE OF WASTING ABOUT 1.8 MILLION A YEAR OR $5.5 MILLION A YEAR OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD.
UH, AND THESE ARE FOUR APPLIANCES THAT WILL NOT PAY FOR THEMSELVES OVER THEIR LIFETIME.
FINAL SLIDE, AND THIS IS WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY DOES.
UH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY'S HAD REBATE PROGRAMS FOR DECADES.
AND AS A GENERAL RULE, ALL AUSTIN ENERGY'S PROGRAMS MAKE AS MUCH OR MORE MONEY THAN THEY SPEND.
THE ONLY EXCEPTION IS, UH, THE WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, WHICH IS A SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAM.
REALLY, IT'S NOT MEANT TO SAVE ANY GREAT AMOUNT OF ENERGY, IT'S MEANT TO HELP THE POOR.
SO FOR ALL THESE REASONS, I IMPLORE THIS COMMISSION TO CONSIDER AGAIN, UH, HAVE PASSING A RESOLUTION.
I DO NOT HAVE THIS RESOLUTION FOR US TO DISCUSS TONIGHT, BUT PASSING A RESOLUTION TO SANCTION THESE PROGRAMS AND ASK CITY COUNCIL TO ELIMINATE THEM.
IN FACT, RMC HAS ALREADY VOTED TO LIMIT SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS, UH, LAST YEAR, AND WE NEED TO DO IT AGAIN.
WE ARE THE ADVOCATES COMMISSION.
WE ARE THE ONES WHO COUNSEL THAT COUNCIL ASKS TO STUDY, UH, AND GIVE THEM ADVICE.
UH, AND I DO NOT KNOW HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO JUSTIFY THIS MISSPENDING TO RATE PAYERS.
UH, I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION FOR COMMISSIONER ROBBINS, AND THAT WOULD BE, WOULD IT BE BENEFICIAL TO CREATE A SMALL WORKING GROUP OF THE RMC TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE FOLKS FROM TEXAS GAS ON CREATING A PROPOSAL THAT WOULD HELP US CRAFT A RESOLUTION ON WHAT IT IS THAT MAKES SENSE FOR ALL PARTIES INVOLVED GOING FORWARD, RATHER THAN DOING LIKE WE KIND OF NORMALLY DO AND JUST BUTTON HEADS STRAIGHT UP IF, UH, THEY ARE SERIOUS ABOUT A COMPROMISE, I WILL BE GLAD TO MEET WITH THEM EITHER PERSONALLY OR, UH, IF, UH, IF THERE'S A WORKING GROUP.
UH, UH, I JUST, THIS HAS TO END
[01:35:04]
MY QUESTION.COMMISSIONER ROBBINS, IS THIS JUST FOR, IS THIS FOR ALL ENERGY AND GAS OR JUST GAS? I SEE ENERGY ON HERE, SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I'M SEEING THE CORRECT THING.
UM, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE LAST CHART? YES.
THIS IS AUSTIN ENERGY'S PROGRAMS. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE TEXAS GAS SERVICE PROGRAMS. I THOUGHT ABOUT ACTUALLY HAVING A CHART THAT DOES THAT, BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL, UM, BIG DIFFERENCES OF OPINION, UH, BASED ON, UH, THE ASSUMPTIONS.
AND, UM, I WOULD BE GLAD TO, UH, GO INTO THAT IN GREAT DETAIL, BUT I JUST COULDN'T SEE DOING THAT TONIGHT.
BUT I'M NOT TRYING TO HIDE ANYTHING, UH, FROM ANY COMMISSIONER THAT WANTS TO DO A DEEPER DIVE.
UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT TEXAS GAS SERVICE'S OWN CONSULTANT IN, UH, 2020, UM, I'M HUNTING AROUND FOR THE DOCUMENT HERE, BUT THEIR OWN CONSULTANT ADMITTED THAT BOTH THEIR TANKLESS WATER HEATER PROGRAM AND THEIR SPACE HEATER PROGRAM DID NOT MEET THE TOTAL RESOURCE COST, UH, TEST.
AND THE ONLY REASON THE DRYER, UH, THE, THE CLOSED DRYER PROGRAM, UH, WAS ABOVE IT IS BECAUSE THEY MADE THE, I'M PRETTY SURE THEY MADE THE ASSUMPTION THAT THIS WAS FOR A CHANGE OUT FROM ELECTRIC CLOSED DRYING, WHICH IS VERY EXPENSIVE, TWO GAS CLOSED DRY, WHICH ISN'T, THE FACT IS MOST OF THESE, UH, REBATES ARE GOING TO PEOPLE THAT ALREADY HAVE A GAS DRYER.
SO THEY'RE CONVERTING FROM A GAS DRYER THAT'S VERY, VERY SLIGHTLY LESS EFFICIENT TO ONE THAT'S VERY SLIGHTLY MORE EFFICIENT, AND IT SAVES A DOLLAR 49 CENTS A YEAR.
THANK YOU FOR THAT EXPLANATION.
MY ONLY CONCERN ON THIS, I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK DEEPER INTO THIS.
I MEAN, I, I THINK A WORKING GROUP IS, IS A GREAT IDEA BECAUSE I WOULD HATE TO TAKE AWAY SOME BENEFITS TO LESS, UM, ECONOMIC FAMILIES, UH, WHICH THIS HAS BENEFITED A LOT FOR.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A DEEPER DIVE INTO THIS, UH, WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING, UM, JUST BECAUSE IT DOES HELP SOME OF THE LESS FORTUNATE PEOPLE OUT THERE IN THE CITY, IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
UM, I WOULD HATE TO TAKE AWAY MORE THINGS FROM THAT COMMUNITY.
UM, COMMISSIONER GARY, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
OR I, I, I'M SORRY, I I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THAT THAT WAS COMMISSIONER KARA GOTTI.
UM, AND, AND, AND YES, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU, COMMISSIONER GARY.
UH, COMMISSIONER CALLEGARI, UH, YES.
THESE PROGRAMS GENERALLY DO NOT GO TO LOW INCOME PEOPLE.
TEXAS GAS SERVICE DOES HAVE A LOW INCOME PROGRAM.
UH, AND, UM, THAT'S A DIFFERENT DISCUSSION.
I, I AM GONNA TAKE THE LIBERTY OF, UH, SPEAKING MY MIND.
THE TANKLESS WATER HEATER PROGRAM IS A LUXURY.
IT WOULD BE ASTOUNDING IF THERE WERE MANY LOW INCOME PEOPLE THAT USED THAT PROGRAM COMMISSION MCGARRY, YOU WERE, YOU'VE BEEN VERY PATIENT.
I THINK WE DO NEED TO HAVE A WORKING GROUP, HOWEVER, THE ONLY WAY I WOULD VOTE FOR THAT IS IF WE GET, UM, SOME FRESH LENSES ON THIS.
RIGHT? AND, AND I KNOW COMMISSIONER ROBBINS IS VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS, BUT LIKE, UM, THE PREVIOUS COMMISSIONER I SPOKE, YOU KNOW, I, I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO DIVE DEEP, SEE HOW WE CAN NEGOTIATE, DEVELOP THAT PARTNERSHIP AND SEE HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO WHERE IT MAKES SENSE.
UM, AND, AND MAYBE WE'RE MISSING SOMETHING, BUT THAT WOULD BE THE ONLY WAY I WOULD VOTE FOR THIS, IS IF WE JUST HAD, YOU KNOW, TWO NEWBIES THAT'S THAT'S BRAND NEW ON THIS COMMISSION TO, TO WORK WITH THEM AND TO UNDERSTAND AND DEVELOP SOMETHING THAT IS SUSTAINABLE, RIGHT.
THAT WE CAN BRING BACK TO THE COMMISSION, AND HOPEFULLY THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION, I MEAN BY MIKE.
UH, UH, CAN, CAN I ASK, UH, MS. KING BUSH,
[01:40:01]
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD BE AMENABLE TO IN WORKING WITH A COUPLE OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION TO BE ABLE TO, UH, PUT YOUR HEADS TOGETHER AND COME UP WITH, UH, A PATH FORWARD? ABSOLUTELY.MISS, UH, COMMISSIONER GARY, UH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A MEMBER OF THIS WORKING GROUP? ABSOLUTELY.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE WORKING GROUP.
DO WE HAVE OTHER PEOPLE WHO COULD BE MEMBERS OF THE WORKING GROUP? I, I HAVE NO, NO.
SO THAT, THAT, THAT'S MY THING.
COMMISSIONER ROBINSON, IF I SPEAK, YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOU'RE, YOU'RE DEEPLY IMMERSED IN THIS.
YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE AN UNBIASED KIND OF POSITION.
SOMEONE NEW, COME IN AND JUST HAVE THAT RELATIONSHIP AND BUILD UPON IT SO WE CAN BRING SOMETHING BACK.
UH, AND AGAIN, NOTHING AGAINST THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE, BUT I THINK THAT IF WE WANNA MOVE FORWARD AND GET SOMETHING, IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS HAS BEEN TABLED FOR SO LONG.
THERE ACTUALLY NEEDS TO BE AN ACTION PLAN WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, SUSTAINABLE STEPS MOVING FORWARD.
AND SO THAT'S ALL I'M REQUESTING AT THIS TIME.
UM, COMMISSIONER GARY, I UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM.
UH, I THINK BIASED WOULD BE A LITTLE, UM, MISPLACED.
UM, I DO NOT, UH, I AM NOT EMPLOYED BY ANYBODY TO, UH, TO MAKE THESE CRITICISMS. I AM MOTIVATED BY A DESIRE TO, UH, HAVE OUR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS IN AUSTIN DO THE MOST GOOD.
UM, I, I, UH, IT, I GUESS I MIGHT BE CRITICIZED IF I SCREAMED AT SOMEBODY OR SWORE AT SOMEBODY, BUT HAVEN'T, AND I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO HAVE BOTH MY POINT OF VIEW IN THE ROOM, AS WELL AS TEXAS GAVIS SERVICE'S POINT OF VIEW IN THE ROOM, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER PERSON WHO WANTED TO JOIN THIS WORKING GROUP.
I THINK THEY NEED TO HEAR THE BACK AND FORTH.
UH, LARRY, YOU KNOW, I JUST, FOR THE RECORD, I WANNA SAY WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A THREE YEAR PROGRAM THAT'S BEEN APPROVED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
WE'RE HAPPY TO MEET AND TALK AND DISCUSS.
I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO CHANGE THE PROGRAMS AND PULL ANY OF 'EM DURING THE THREE YEAR, YOU KNOW, NOW I THINK WHAT THIS LEADS UP TO IS TEEING UP FOR THE NEXT THREE YEAR PROGRAM, BUT AGAIN, WE'RE HAPPY, UM, TO EDUCATE AND TO SIT DOWN AND DISCUSS, BUT I, I JUST DON'T, I WANT TO SET THE EXPECTATIONS.
I THINK IT'S HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT WE WOULD AGREE TO PULL ANY OF THESE REBATES IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS THREE YEAR THAT, THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE CITY.
I THINK WHAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR HERE IS, YOU KNOW, STARTING TO ESTABLISH THAT BETTER PATH FORWARD, UM, TAKE AWAY A LITTLE BIT OF THE TENSION BETWEEN THE COMMISSION AND TEXAS GAS ITSELF.
HAVE US WORKING TOGETHER A LITTLE BIT TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT CAN MOVE FORWARD.
AND WHEN WE DO GET TO THE NEXT THREE YEAR ITERATION, NOW WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY'S ABLE TO AGREE ON AND, AND BE A LITTLE BIT HAPPIER WITH.
YEAH, WE'D BE HAPPY TO, TO PARTICIPATE.
UM, MY PREFERENCE WOULD BE TO HAVE THREE MEMBERS OF THE RMC, UH, ACT AS THE INTERFACE ON THIS ONE, UH, WITH, UH, DESIGNEES, UH, FROM TEXAS GAS.
SO IF I COULD GET THREE PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER FOR THIS, I WOULD LIKE IT.
UH, THIS IS COMMISSIONER KARA GOTTI.
I WOULD, I WOULD BE A PART OF THAT, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND.
AND COMMISSIONER GARY WANTS TO BE PART OF IT, AND I WOULD LIKE TO BE PART OF IT.
UH, I DON'T THINK ANYTHING PRESCRIBES MORE THAN THREE.
UH, I, I JUST LIKE TO KEEP THINGS, YOU KNOW, TWO TO A, A REASONABLE SIZE WORKING GROUP.
SO THAT'S GENERALLY MY THOUGHT PROCESS IS LET THESE THREE PEOPLE GET DEEP INTO THE WEEDS, LET THEM TRULY UNDERSTAND THE PROGRAM, AND THEN BRING IT BACK TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION.
WOULD BE MY GENERAL PREFERENCE ON THIS ONE.
SIMILAR TO WHAT WE WOULD DID WHEN WE STARTED WORKING WITH THE AUSTIN GREEN BUILDING PEOPLE.
I, I, I JUST DON'T WANT TO BE ACCUSED OF BLOCKING ANYBODY.
I, I, I, I THINK YOU'RE FINE THERE.
I'M SURE THAT OUR, OUR COLLEAGUES ON THE COMMISSION WOULD'VE RAISED THEIR HANDS IF THEY WANTED TO TAKE ON
[01:45:01]
ANY MORE MEETINGS.SO GIVEN THAT, THEN WE'LL ESTABLISH A, UH, I DON'T NEED TO VOTE ON THIS, DO I? I DON'T THINK SO, BECAUSE WE'RE JUST ESTABLISHING A WORKING GROUP JUST TO MAKE SURE WE'RE GOOD.
UM, THEN IF I COULD GET A MOTION NOMINATING COMMISSIONER'S CARTY COMMISSIONER GARY, COMMISSIONER ROBBINS TO THE WORKING GROUP TO WORK WITH TEXAS NATURAL GAS ON THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM.
SECOND MOTION HAS BEEN MADE BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER ROBBINS.
UH, WE'LL DO A ROLL CALL JUST SO THAT, THAT WAY EVERYTHING IS ALL NICE AND ABOVE BOARD.
UH, COMMISSIONER ROBBINS? UH, YEAH.
AND, UM, COMMISSIONER GARY, IF I COULD ASK YOU TO TAKE THE LEAD FROM THE COMMISSION SIDE IN, UH, SETTING UP AND COORDINATING WITH THE FOLKS OVER AT TEXAS GAS, AND THEN WE'LL, UH, ASK FOR AN UPDATE AT THE COMMISSION, UH, AGAIN IN TWO MONTHS TIME.
SOUNDS LIKE PLAN IF MS. UH, NATASHA COULD PROVIDE ME THE CONTACT INFORMATION AND THE RELEVANT INFORMATION THAT I'LL NEED, I CAN DO THAT.
I AM AVAILABLE ANYTIME AFTER 10:00 AM.
[5. Approve a recommendation regarding the oversight of natural gas utility rates and operations. (Sponsors: Robbins and Davis) ]
ON IN THE AGENDA, WE'RE NOW ON ITEM NUMBER FIVE.IT IS THE, WHERE'S THE SHORT RESOLUTION? IT IS STILL THE SHORT RESOLUTION, RIGHT? WE DIDN'T MOVE ON SECOND, SECOND PIECE.
YEAH, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT.
THE, THE OTHER ONE WAS HIM SENDING OVER TO THE GROUP OF CLARIFICATION ON WHAT IT WAS THAT HE WAS, WHAT HE HAD ORIGINALLY PROPOSED BEFORE IT GOT STRIPPED BACK DOWN.
IS THAT CORRECT, PAUL? YES, THAT'S CORRECT.
SO, UH, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO LOOK IN YOUR PACKETS AND SEE.
I WAS ABOUT TO HOLD IT UP LIKE YOU GUYS CAN SEE.
UM,
DRAFT 1.1, UH, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, COMMISSION RESOLUTION ON OVERSIGHT OF GAS UTILITIES.
IT'S THE ONE THAT HAS ONLY TWO WAREHOUSES AND ONE NOW, THEREFORE, DO YOU HAVE THAT ONE IN ANY OF YOUR PACKETS? I'M SEEING A GENERAL THUMBS UP.
UH, THIS ONE IS SPONSORED BY COMMISSIONERS ROBBINS AND DAVIS.
SO I WILL OPEN IT UP TO YOU FOR, UH, INITIAL DISCUSSION.
FIRST, UM, AT THE LAST MEETING, UH, COMMISSIONER GARY HAD SAID THAT SHE WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING MORE DEFINED.
SHE SENT OVER A KIND OF AN OUTLINE STRUCTURE, UH, AND I COUNTERED WITH THE ORIGINAL RESOLUTION.
UM, UM, WE WANTED TO KEEP THIS SIMPLE IN THE BEGINNING, BUT I'M ASKING, COMMISSIONER GARY, IS THIS EXPANDED RESOLUTION MORE TO YOUR LIKING? UH, IS, IS THIS MORE, UH, FLESHED OUT? IS THIS MORE EXPLANATORY, OR DO YOU NEED ME TO ACTUALLY TAKE YOUR FORMAT AND INTEGRATE THE, UM, THE THINGS IN THIS EXPANDED RESOLUTION INTO, UH, YOUR SUGGESTED FORMAT? SO, FIRST, MS. NATASHA ADVISED THAT I WAS UNABLE TO BRING THAT BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE TO BE, UH, SUBMITTED WITH TWO PEOPLE A FORM.
IS THAT CORRECT, MS. NATASHA? NO, MA'AM.
SO I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT FOR A NEW ITEM TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSION, MEANING IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOMETHING UM, ADDED, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CO-SPONSOR.
SO IF YOU, OKAY, SO IF, IF YOU WERE JUST, UM, PROVIDING DOCUMENTATION IN REFERENCE TO COMMISSIONER ROBBINS ITEM CUZ YOU WERE ASSISTING, THEN THAT WOULD'VE BEEN FINE? YES, MA'AM.
SO, SO THE, THE GOAL BEHIND THAT DOCUMENT WAS TO TRY TO INTEGRATE THAT INTO THE COMMISSION IN ORDER TO PRESENT SOMETHING TO THE COUNCIL.
[01:50:01]
THINK BY HAVING NEW MEMBERS ON HERE, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING THE BACKGROUND, THE SUBSTANTIAL INFORMATION THAT THAT DOCUMENT HAS, WOULD HELP BRING LIGHT AND UNDERSTANDING TO WHY WE ARE MOVING THIS RESOLUTION OR ANY RESOLUTION FORWARD.WELL, I'M NOT OPPOSED TO DOING WHAT YOU'VE SUGGESTED.
UH, I DO WANT TO SAY TWO THINGS THOUGH.
ONE, UH, THE WHEREAS IS THE LONGER, WHEREAS VERSION IS KIND OF OUR PROFORMA STANDARD.
IF YOU WANT TO DEVIATE FROM THAT, THAT'S OKAY.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT IF, IF I DO USE YOUR SUGGESTED FORMAT, UM, IT WOULD NEED TO BE SHORT.
I'M NOT SAYING ANYTHING, UH, BAD ABOUT CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, BUT THEY ARE REAL BUSY AND THEY OFTEN DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ LONG, UM, LONG DOCUMENTS, UH, AS, UH, AMY EVERHART, UH, WHO'S HERE TONIGHT CAN PERSONALLY ATTEST TO, SO AND SO, I JUST WANNA COMMENT ON WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
SO THE DOCUMENT THAT I PRESENTED WOULD BE THE, I WOULD SAY THE TOP PAGE OF THE MEMO.
SO BASICALLY YOU WOULD BE EXPLAINING WHY WE'RE PRINTING PRESENTING THIS, WHERE THIS RESOLUTION, THE, WHEREAS THE WAY YOU HAVE IT WRITTEN, THAT IS BASICALLY LIKE YOU SAID, THE FORMAT FOR PRESENTING A RESOLUTION.
I WASN'T TRYING TO TAKE AWAY FROM THAT, BUT ONLY BRINGING DEPTH OF INFORMATION.
UNDERSTANDING WHY IS IT IMPORTANT, KIND OF GIVING IT THE CHARGE BEHIND THE, THE, THE RESOLUTION FROM THE COMMISSION'S PERSPECTIVE AND THEN BRINGING IN THIS PARTICULAR DOCUMENT THAT YOU HAVE DRAFT AS A SECOND PAGE TO BRING TO THE COUNCIL.
AND YOU'RE, I AGREE, IT SHOULD BE DEFINITELY TO THE POINT NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, SO MANY WORDS.
IT'S BASICALLY PROVIDING THE BASIC INFORMATION IN ORDER TO PERSUADE OR, OR PUSH, I WOULD SAY THE COUNCIL TO REVIEW IT AND APPROVE IT.
UM, YOU AND I ARE LOOPED IN ON THIS, UM, UH, WITHOUT, UH, BREAKING QUORUM RULES, SO I WILL COME UP WITH A DRAFT AND SEND IT TO YOU AND GET YOUR INPUT.
DOES THAT SOUND GOOD? THAT SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN.
UM, I WASN'T EXPECTING TO VOTE ON THIS TONIGHT.
UH, I WOULD LIKE TO GET AT LEAST ONE OR TWO OTHER COMMISSIONERS HERE BEFORE I DID THAT.
BUT I WOULD LIKE IF, IF, UH, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER, INCLUDING THE TWO NEW ONES OR TWO OF THE THREE NEWER ONES, UH, ALSO HAVE COMMENTS ON THIS, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THEM, UM, COMMISSIONER, UH, BRAND COMMISSIONER, UH, CALLEGARI IN SUPPORT OF THIS.
AND I'D LIKE TO SEE THE, THE KIND OF MORE CONTACT DOCUMENT THAT, UM, UH, JANELLE WAS MENTIONING.
SO FOR NEXT TIME, I GUESS HIM FOR NEXT, FOR NEXT MONTH, UH, OR THE NEXT MEETING.
I'D LIKE TO, I I AM IN SUPPORT OF IT.
I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE OTHER INFORMATION.
NATASHA, UH, MS. GOODWIN, I'M GONNA, UH, ASK YOUR, UH, OPINION ON HOW WE DO THIS.
I CAN, I CAN GET INPUT FROM, UH, SO MANY PEOPLE BEFORE I'M IN VIOLATION OF THE OPEN MEETING.
ZACH, CAN THEY SEND THEIR COMMENTS TO YOU? YES.
SO ANY, UM, INFORMATION, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU MAY HAVE, I CAN FUNNEL IT TO THEM AND VICE VERSA.
UM, ACTUALLY I CAN FUNNEL IT TO THE WHOLE COMMISSION.
THEN THAT'S, UM, IF, IF I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING OVER MY LIMIT OF FIVE COMMISSIONERS, THAT'S THE WAY I WILL PROCEED.
BUT COMMISSIONER GARY WILL DEFINITELY GET IT FROM ME.
LIKE, SO IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, WE'D LIKE TO GO ON AHEAD AND PUT THIS BACK ON THE TABLE FOR ANOTHER MONTH OR TWO
[01:55:02]
EVEN BETTER, UH, SEEING NO OBJECTION, WE'LL JUST BRING THAT UP AGAIN ON THE NEXT CYCLE.ARE THERE ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT PEOPLE WISH TO ADD TO THE AGENDA, UH, IN THE COMING MONTH OR MONTHS THAT WE JUST WANT TO KIND OF OUTLINE FOR OURSELVES AND KIND OF KEEP ON THE RADAR? I KNOW THAT WE HAVE AN ANNUAL REPORT THAT WILL BE DUE IN JULY, IS THAT CORRECT? YES.
SO WE'LL HAVE THAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO.
UM, BUT IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT THE COMMISSION WANTS TO TAKE UP THAT WE WANT TO START EXPLORING AS WE START HEADING INTO BUDGET AND THEN TOWARDS THE HOME STRETCH AT THE END OF THE YEAR? I HAVE A QUESTION MAYBE ON THAT TOPIC AND ON THIS ONE THAT WE'RE, THAT'S STILL ON THE SCREEN.
IF WE WERE TO PROVIDE OVERSIGHT OF TEXAS GAS, DO WE NEED TO PRESENT A PLAN TO DO THAT OR WOULD IT FOLLOW OUR STRUCTURE THAT THE EXISTING FOR OTHER, UH, UTILITIES? UH, COULD YOU TRY REWARDING THAT JUST A SMIDGE, PLEASE? SURE.
SO I'M CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT OVERSIGHT LOOKS LIKE.
IF WE WERE TO ADD TEXAS GAS TO THE LIST OF UTILITIES THAT WE PROVIDE OVERSIGHT TO, WOULD IT FOLLOW A SIMILAR STRUCTURE TO WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING WITH WATER AND ELECTRICITY, OR WOULD IT BE DIFFERENT? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO COME UP WITH BY THE END OF THE YEAR OR IN ORDER TO PRESENT THIS, UM, DRAFT THE CITY COUNCIL? MY UNDERSTANDING OF, OF OUR INTERACTION WITH TEXAS GAS RIGHT NOW IS THAT I, BECAUSE THEY REPORT TO THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION ON THEIR ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, THAT'S WHY THEY COME IN TO TALK TO US AT THE CURRENT RIGHT NOW.
HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT GAS RATES ARE SET, THEY ESSENTIALLY WORK WITH CITY COUNCIL AND THE RAILROAD COMMISSION.
SO WHEN THE CITY COUNCIL NEGOTIATION, FOR EXAMPLE, DOESN'T WORK OUT THE WAY IT MIGHT, THEN THEY WORK WITH THE RAILROAD COMMISSION.
AND IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S, IT'S A PROCESS THAT HASN'T INVOLVED ANY BOARD OR COMMISSION'S INPUT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
IT HAS BEEN HANDLED BY THE CITY'S LEGAL COUNCIL.
AND SO WHAT PAUL'S PROPOSING WITHIN THIS IS TO ESSENTIALLY HAVE RMC INSERT ITSELF IN THERE BECAUSE THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMISSIONS OR BOARDS THAT WORK ON THIS.
AND SO THIS WOULD GIVE US, GIVE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN A CHANCE TO BE ABLE TO WEIGH IN BEFORE CITY COUNCIL LOOKS AT IT.
AND, AND TO JUST STRESS, WE ARE NOT, OF COURSE, A SOVEREIGN BOARD.
ALL WE ARE DOING IS OFFERING STUDY AND ADVICE TO COUNCIL, WHICH THEY REALLY DO NOT HAVE FROM ANY OTHER BOARD.
DOES THAT KIND OF MAKE SENSE AND ANSWER THE QUESTION? YEAH, I GUESS MY QUESTION MAY, MIGHT BE MORE BROADLY THEN, LIKE WHAT DOES OUR OVERSIGHT OF OTHER ENTITIES LOOK LIKE AND, AND WOULD WE APPLY THAT STRUCTURE TO TEXAS GAS WELL OR WOULD IT BE A DIFFERENT STRUCTURE? I THINK THE DIFFERENCE IS, IS YOU SHOULDN'T THINK OF IT AS US HAVING OVERSIGHT OVER ENTITIES.
WE HAVE OVERSIGHT INSTEAD OVER PROGRAMS AND, AND THINGS THAT ARE TIED INTO, UM, I MEAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.
I MEAN, SO RECYCLING, FOR EXAMPLE, WATER CONSERVATION INITIATIVES, ENERGY CONSERVATION INITIATIVES, THAT'S WHAT OUR PURVIEW IS.
I MEAN, WE CAN'T, YOU KNOW, HOLD AUSTIN ENERGY HOSTAGE WITH THEIR BUDGET OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT BECAUSE THE CITY OF AUSTIN, FOR EXAMPLE, WOULD, THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD JUST APPROVE IT REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE WOULD SAY.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT IT'S, IT'S NOT AN OVERSIGHT ROLE.
THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE A BOARD OR COMMISSION THAT DOES PAUL'S POINT HAVE SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY TO BE ABLE TO DO THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE ARE PURELY JUST TO BE THE EYES AND EARS OF CITY COUNCIL ON THESE KINDS OF INITIATIVES.
NOW, COUNCIL CAN, UH, IF IF THEY HEAR FROM US LOUDLY ON SOME ISSUE, THEY CAN BE PERSUADED.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HOPEFULLY HERE FOR.
IS THAT GOOD US THERE? I THINK I OKAY.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
I WOULD, UH, AGAIN, UH, I BROUGHT THIS UP AT THE LAST MEETING AT SOME POINT, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE NEXT MONTH, BUT AT SOME POINT, HOPEFULLY, UH, LATE SUMMER, EARLY FALL, I WOULD LIKE US TO START EXPLORING THE REPURPOSING OF THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM.[02:00:01]
GREAT PROGRAM WHEN IT WAS FOUNDED 20 YEARS AGO.AND, UM, I, I WOULD, I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, START THAT DISCUSSION.
I WOULD ALSO, UH, LIKE TO ENTERTAIN SOMETHING THAT WE DID LAST SUMMER, WHICH IS WE ASKED CITY COUNCIL TO PASS A PROGRESSIVE RATE STRUCTURE AND THEY DID NOT.
UH, THE ISSUE HAS NOT GONE AWAY.
AND WITH SUMMER BILLS COMING ON, UH, I THINK WE NEED TO REVISIT THIS AGAIN.
UH, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE NEXT MONTH, BUT THINGS ARE ONLY GONNA GET WORSE AS THE SUMMER KEEPS GOING.
ANYONE ELSE? NO, WE'RE ALL READY TO GO HOME.
UM, IF I CAN GET A MOTION TO ADJOURN, I SO MOVE.
IS THERE A SECOND? ANYONE? BULER BUELLER, COMMISSIONER GARY, WHO I SECOND.
ANY OPPOSITION THERE TOO? THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 8:07 PM THANK YOU FOLKS.