[CALL MEETING TO ORDER]
[00:00:05]
THIS IS THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION.
I'D LIKE TO CALL THE MEETING IN ORDER.
WE HAVE FOUR ONLINE AND THREE IN PERSON.
WE MAY HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL SHOW UP CALL TO ORDER.
LET'S TALK ABOUT PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
IS THERE ANYONE? OKAY, I'LL DO THAT.
HE MAY NOT BE PAYING ATTENTION YET, BUT, UH, THE NEW GENERAL MANAGERS COMING NEXT MONTH.
SO WE HOPEFULLY WILL MEET HIM AT OUR NEXT EUC MEETING.
AND WE'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK MARK DOMBROSKI FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE UTILITY MANY YEARS.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE LAST MEETING'S MINUTES? UM, I WOULD SO MOVE SECOND.
I THINK WE HAVE THAT OUT OF THE WAY.
[Items 2 - 7]
ITEMS THROUGH SEVEN.ANYONE WANNA PULL THOSE AND DISCUSS THOSE FURTHER? I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT NUMBER SIX, AND THAT IS, UH, UH, WHO PAYS, WHO PAYS FOR THE 5 MILLION? DOES TECH DOT REIMBURSE, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY FOR MOVING ALL THE LINES? AND I HAD A QUICK QUESTION ON THREE, THE CLEAR RESULT.
ANYONE ELSE? ANYONE ELSE? OKAY.
UM, RICHARD, ARE YOU HERE TO TALK ABOUT THREE? I AM.
UM, WHAT, WHAT IS A QUESTION, IRIS? SHE HAD A QUESTION ON THREE.
UM, I'M IN NEW MEXICO IN A HOTEL AND I WAS DRIVING EIGHT HOURS, SO I'M A LITTLE OUT OF IT.
BUT, UM, UH, MY QUESTION IS FIVE IS IS IT NORMAL TO DO SUCH A LONG CONTRACT ON AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY? UH, UM, SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIME.
WELL, IT SAYS FOR UP TO FIVE YEARS.
SO JUST WONDERED IF THAT WAS NORMAL, IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU'VE DONE IN THE PAST.
IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS DONE IN THE PAST.
RICHARD GENE, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.
UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
UM, YES, IT IS NORMAL AS SOMETHING THAT WAS DONE ON THE LAST CONTRACT, AND IT IS IN THE FORM OF TWO YEARS WITH THREE ONE YEAR EXTENSIONS FOR THE TOTAL OF FIVE YEARS.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, IF WE APPROVE THIS, WE STILL CAN COME BACK IN TWO YEARS AND, AND IF THEY HAVEN'T DONE A GOOD JOB OR AREN'T MEETING THE, THE GOALS SET FORTH, YOU CAN REASSESS THAT.
YEAH, THAT, THAT WOULD BE PART OF THE NORMAL REASSESSMENT THAT WE WOULD BE DOING ANYWAY, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE PERFORMING TO THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THREE? YES, PLEASE.
UM, I JUST WANTED A LITTLE CLARIFICATION.
SO THIS IS, UH, SPECIFICALLY RELATED, IS THIS RELATED TO CERTAIN ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, UH, THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS OFFERING OR ALL OF THEM? IT WAS JUST, I WAS A LITTLE UNCLEAR AS TO WHICH PROGRAMS WERE COVERED UNDER THIS.
THE, SO THIS IS A HOME ENERGY SERVICES CONTRACT, UH, THAT WOULD BE COVERING, UH, THE HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STAR PROJECTS AND WEATHERIZATION PROJECTS.
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, THIS IS FOR, UM, INSPECTION SERVICES.
SO THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL WORK OF, UH, DOING THE SERVICE, BUT IT IS INSPECTING THE WORK OF THE CONTRACTORS WHO ARE DOING THE SERVICE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
AND, UM, SO THEY WOULD NOT BE INSPECTING FOR, FOR ANY OF THE OTHER PROGRAMS? JUST THOSE, YEAH, JUST, JUST THE HOME
[00:05:01]
ENERGY SERVICES CONTRACT, BUT IT, UH, FINAL INSPECTIONS, YEAH.I MEAN, THEY COULD, THEY COULD ACROSS THE WHOLE PORTFOLIO, BUT THE INTENTION IS FOR THOSE TWO, UM, UH, INSPE THOSE TWO PROGRAMS PRIMARILY.
AND I, I MEAN, I REALIZE THIS, THIS CONTRACT DOES NOT COVER THIS, BUT, UM, JUST WONDERING IF THERE HAS BEEN ANY, UM, CONSIDERATION TO PERHAPS EXPANDING THIS TO, UM, INSPECTING TO ENFORCE THE, YOU KNOW, THE ENERGY BUILDING CODE? UM, YOU KNOW, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THAT IS NOT REALLY, THOSE, THOSE, THE INSPECTIONS THAT OCCUR DON'T REALLY ENFORCE THE ENERGY CODE.
UH, SO JUST, YEAH, AS I WAS LOOKING AT THIS, WONDERING IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY POTENTIALLY TO, TO CONTRACT THAT OUT.
NOT, NOT THIS CONTRACT, BUT, YOU KNOW, AS WE WORK REALLY CLOSELY WITH D S D AND JOSE AND UH, ROIG AND HIS GROUP, UH, WE CERTAINLY CAN BE IN DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HOW TO, UH, DO THAT ON A GOING FORWARD BASIS OR HOW TO CONSIDER THAT ON A GOING FORWARD BASIS.
UM, AND I GUESS LIKE LAST QUESTION ON THIS, IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS WOULD NOT INCLUDE ANY SORT OF, UM, AND I GUESS SINCE IT'S JUST JUST INSPECTIONS, IT MAKES SENSE THAT IT WOULDN'T, BUT IS THERE ANY CONSIDERATION OF, UM, KINDA HEAT PUMPS AND, UM, UTILIZING CLEAR RESULT, UM, TO TRY TO RAMP UP DEPLOYMENT OF HEAT PUMPS? YEAH, YEAH.
IT'S A KIND OF SEPARATE QUESTION, BUT I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, WE DO CONSIDER, I MEAN, SINCE CLEAR RESULT IS A, A CONTRACTOR WE WORK WITH EXTENSIVELY ACROSS, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, WE WORK WITH THEM IN SEVERAL CAPACITIES, SO UTILIZING CLEAR RESULT FOR THE EXPANSION OF HEAT PUMPS IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE HAVE BEEN IN DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM ON AND WOULD CONTINUE TO BE IN DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM ON, IN TERMS OF OTHER PROGRAMS AS WELL.
I'M, I'M SUPPORTIVE JUST LOOKING AT THIS AND THINKING LIKE WHERE, WHERE ELSE THIS KIND OF APPROACH MIGHT BE UTILIZED.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS ON THREE? OKAY, LET'S GO TO SIX.
COMMISSIONER, YOU HAVE A QUESTION.
ELAINE, THE SKA ACNE VICE PRESIDENT OF ELECTRIC SYSTEM ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES.
AND IF I UNDERSTOOD YOU CORRECTLY, YOUR QUESTION WAS ABOUT REIMBURSEMENT FOR THIS CONTRACT, RIGHT? THE QUE THE QUESTION, UH, THE QUESTION IN 5.5 MILLION, UH, TO RELOCATE POWER LINES, PRESUMABLY, UH, IS PART OF THE HO OAK HILL PARKWAY PROJECT? WHO, UM, YES.
THE WHO, WHO PAYS FOR IT? SO IN THIS SITUATION, ACTUALLY AE PAYS FOR IT.
UM, IF IT IS A TOLLWAY, AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY OR ON PROPERTY WHERE AUSTIN ENERGY HAS PROPERTY INTEREST, THEN IT'S REIMBURSABLE, BUT IT MEETS NONE OF THOSE QUALIFICATIONS.
AND SO, UM, IT'S AT OUR COST AND IT'S, UH, MANDATED BY THE STATE TRANSPORTATION CODE AND WE HAVE TO, UH, PAY FOR IT.
IF THE STATE ORDERS IT, WE DO IT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON NUMBER SIX? OKAY.
HOW ABOUT WE JUST HAVE A CLEAN BILL HERE, SO TWO THROUGH SEVEN.
DO I HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVE, DO I HAVE A SECOND? ON SECOND? OKAY.
[8. Staff briefing on Distributed Energy Resources Integration]
STAFF BRIEFING, DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES.UH, AGAIN, I'M RICHARD GENE, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS, AND, UH, WITH ME THIS EVENING IS TIM HARVEY, WHO IS THE MANAGER OF OUR CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS GROUP.
WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, GIVING YOU A BRIEFING ON DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES AND THE INNOVATIONS, THREE RECENT INNOVATIONS THAT WE HAVE IN THIS AREA.
AND, YOU KNOW, QUITE SIMPLY, OUR CUSTOMERS ARE INTERESTED IN USING AND ACCESSING ENERGY AND STORAGE IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
AND SO THESE INNOVATIONS, WE THINK OF INNOVATIONS NOT JUST IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY, BUT WE THINK OF INNOVATIONS IN TERMS OF THE CUSTOMER, AND WE THINK OF THE INNOVATION IN TERMS OF PROCESS AS WELL.
[00:10:01]
UH, THESE INNOVATIONS HAVE THE ADDED BENEFIT OF MAKING US EASIER TO DO BUSINESS WITH AND STREAMLINING OUR OPERATIONS, WHICH ALSO REDUCES LEAD TIMES FOR CUSTOMERS TO BENEFIT FROM THESE TECHNOLOGIES.UH, SO, UH, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'M GONNA TURN OVER TO TIM TO GO OVER THESE, UH, THREE AREAS OF DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES.
SO THE, THE FIRST ONE THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TONIGHT IS ENABLING DC COUPLING.
AND SO, UM, PRIOR TO MAKING THIS ADJUSTMENT TO THE BILLING SYSTEM, WE WERE UNABLE TO ALLOW DC COUPLING, UM, BEHIND THE SOLAR METER, ESPECIALLY ONCE THOSE BA THOSE, UH, INVERTERS BECAME PO UH, CAPABLE OF CHARGING THE BATTERY BEHIND THE SOLAR METER.
UM, BECAUSE THEN WHAT HAPPENS IS THE GRID POWER GOES BACKWARDS ACROSS THE SOLAR METER, UM, MIXES WITH THE SOLAR POWER THAT'S STORED IN THAT BATTERY.
AND THEN WE CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT CAME FROM THE GRID AND WHAT CAME FROM THE SOLAR ARRAY.
WE CAN, BUT THE BILLING SYSTEM COULDN'T.
UM, SO WE HAD TO, UH, BASICALLY TEACH THE BILLING SYSTEM TO LOOK AT THE, UH, RECEIVED READ ON THE SOLAR METER.
SO NOW THEY CAN SEE BOTH READS, UH, THE ENERGY GOING BOTH WAYS ON THE SOLAR METER, AND THEN IT CAN DO THAT CALCULATION TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH ENERGY WAS SOLAR ENERGY AND HOW MUCH ENERGY MIGHT HAVE CAME FROM THE GRID AND WAS PUSHED BACK ACROSS.
SO WE'RE ABLE TO BUILD THOSE CUSTOMERS CORRECTLY NOW, UM, THAT, THAT, UM, ENHANCEMENT HAS BEEN MADE TO THE BILLING SYSTEM.
DOES THIS ALSO ADDRESS THE STORM MODE? YES.
SO, UM, WHAT, UM, MR. TUTTLE'S REFERRING TO IS, UH, STORM WATCH.
UH, IT'S A, IT'S A FUNCTION OF THE TESLA BATTERY.
UH, IT BASICALLY SAYS, OKAY, IF IF I'M A BATTERY AND I'M NOT FULLY CHARGED AND THERE'S A STORM EVENT COMING, THEN I'LL PULL THAT ENERGY FROM THE GRID.
UM, EVEN, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF THE SOLAR'S PRODUCING, I'M ON TOP OFF THE BATTERY FROM THE GRID.
AND WHAT THAT DOES IS IT PULLS ENERGY BACKWARDS ACROSS THE PV METER.
WE MEASURE THAT ENERGY AND THEN WE DEDUCT IT FROM ALL OF THE ENERGY THAT FLOWS BACK ACROSS THE PV METER TO, TO MEET THE LOADS.
DOES THIS, OOPS, UH, DOES THIS MEAN FOR A HOMEOWNER THAT THEY WON'T RE CONTINUE TO RECEIVE SEPARATE BILLS OR NOT? UM, WE NEED WATER AND ELECTRICITY.
UH, WE COMBINED THE BILLS A LONG TIME, A WHILE BACK.
SO ALL THE, ALL THE SOLAR CUSTOMERS RECEIVE ONE BILL.
UM, I, I'M, I GOTTA GO THROUGH MY RECOLLECTION BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE HAVE ENABLED THAT IF YOU'RE RECEIVING TWO BILLS, LET ME KNOW.
AND I THINK THAT WE CAN GET THEM ALL COMBINED AGAIN.
UH, I'M PRETTY SURE WE SENT OUT, UM, QUITE A FEW COMMUNICATIONS BACK IN THE DAY, IT THREE YEARS AGO THAT WE COMBINED THE BILLS.
UH, SO SOMETHING SUPPOSED, UM, POTENTIALLY, OKAY.
UM, CUZ I THINK WE DID HAVE SOME SOLAR CUSTOMERS THAT SAID THEY WANTED TO HAVE TWO BILLS.
SO WE'RE LIKE, OKAY, WE CAN, WE'LL GIVE YOU A CHOICE.
MAY MAYBE BE GOOD TO GET WORD OUT TO ALL SOLAR CUSTOMERS THAT YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN DO ANOTHER CAMPAIGN ON THAT TO, TO MAKE SURE, I GUESS I MISSED, EVERYBODY KNOWS
SO ANY MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT, ABOUT THIS FUNCTIONALITY IN THE BILLING SYSTEM? SO PEOPLE ARE HAPPY WITH WHOEVER CAN DELIVER BEHIND THE METER STORAGE? MULTIPLE VENDORS ARE ALL HAPPY WITH THIS.
WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY COMPLAINTS AND THE ONES THAT WE'RE REALLY PRESSING FOR IT ARE HAPPY.
ONE OF THESE TYPES OF SYSTEMS IS, AND, AND THERE ARE ARE SEVERAL, BUT ONE, UM, SYSTEM THAT HAS BEHIND THE METER STORAGE IS THE TESLA, TESLA POWER WALL PLUS, WHICH YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN HERE.
AND, UM, ANOTHER COMPONENT THAT WE HAVE NOW EVALUATED IS THE METER COLLAR DISCONNECT.
OKAY? SO WHEN, WHEN A CUSTOMER HAS THIS BATTERY STORAGE SYSTEM AND IT'S BEHIND THEIR METER, UM, IF, IF THE GRID FAILS, THEN WE NEED TO ISOLATE THAT SYSTEM FROM THE GRID SO THAT IT DOESN'T BACKFEED ENERGY ONTO THE LINE AND ACCIDENTALLY, YOU KNOW, HURT A LINEMAN WHO'S EXPECTING THAT LINE TO BE DEAD.
[00:15:01]
SO, UM, ALL OF THE DEVICES THAT ARE CAPABLE OF FORMING THAT MICROGRID ALSO HAVE AN ISOLATION DEVICE.THIS METER COLLAR DISCONNECT, UM, PUTS THAT ISOLATION DEVICE IN THE METER COLOR.
SO RATHER THAN HAVING TO GO INTO THE MAIN ELECTRICAL PANEL AND RE RELOCATE A BUNCH OF LOADS AND DO HOURS WORTH OF WORK, THEY CAN GO IN AND PUT IN THIS DEVICE IN 10 MINUTES.
AND SO IT SAVES THE INSTALLERS A LOT OF TIME, THE CUSTOMERS A LOT OF TIME, AND IT'S LESS POINTS, UM, OF CONCERN AT THE, AT THE FINAL INSPECTION AS WELL.
UM, AND IT STREAMLINES PROCESSES.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT WENT THROUGH A FULL REVIEW.
WELL, BEFORE YOU GET OFF THAT, SO THAT COULD ALSO ENABLE SOMEONE WHO HAS A PORTABLE GENERATOR.
I GUESS IT'S A TRANSFER SWITCH THAT ISOLATES THE HOME.
IT'S, THIS IS, THAT'S A TESLA DEVICE THERE.
SO THEY'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, USE THAT FOR THEIR EQUIPMENT.
BUT THERE ARE OTHER DEVICES THAT CAN DO THAT.
AND SOME OF THEM ARE, UM, GEN LIKE TECHNOLOGY AGNOSTIC, UM, AND MANUFACTURER AGNOSTIC.
SO, BUT THAT ONE WAS PARTICULARLY FOR TESLA AND IT COMMUNICATES BACK TO THEIR INVERTER.
BUT YES, SO YOU PROBABLY HAD A BUNCH OF, AFTER URI AND MARA, A BUNCH OF PERMIT REQUESTS FOR BACKUP GENERATORS.
I WONDER IF WE COULD GET SOME MORE OF THOSE FROM DIFFERENT VENDORS IN THE QUEUE SO THAT IT MAKES IT EASY TO HAVE BACKUP THE GENERATORS TOO IN A SAFER WAY.
YES, THAT'S, THAT'S A HOPEFUL OUTCOME.
UM, BUT IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT IT WON'T REQUIRE A SHUTDOWN, UH, BECAUSE IT, IT MAY STILL REQUIRE A SHUTDOWN, BUT, UM, THE, IT'S, THE LIKELIHOOD OF IT REQUIRING ONE BECOMES LESS.
AND, AND THAT SHOULD HELP WITH THAT QUEUE IF IT, IF THAT'S THE CASE.
AND SO IS THAT ONLY FOR 200 AMP SERVICE OR CAN YOU HAVE A, A GREATER THAN 200 ALSO? OR IS THIS JUST WHEN YOU GET A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT YOU WANT TO, THAT SOMEBODY REQUESTS, YOU'LL RUN IT THROUGH THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS TO MAKE SURE IT'S OKAY FOR THE METER? CAN? YEAH, I BELIEVE THIS IS FOR RESIDENTIAL, MEANT FOR RESIDENTIAL SERVICES ONLY.
UM, SO THIS PARTICULAR DEVICE, I BELIEVE IS FOR 200 AMP SERVICE.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE EXPECT TO SEE MORE OF THESE COME ALONG AND, AND IN FACT, WE'VE, UM, WE'VE ALREADY SEEN ONE FROM GENERAC AND WE'RE LOOKING AT ANOTHER ONE FROM CONNECT D E R.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE COMING DOWN THE PIPE AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE WANT TO EMBRACE THEM, BUT WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE READY TO HANDLE THEM.
AND SO THESE ARE, THIS, THIS IS GONNA KIND OF GO INTO THAT.
SO, UM, YOU'LL SEE HERE IN THIS PICTURE, UM, THAT WE TOOK A TEAM OUT TO EVALUATE THIS.
WE PERFORMED A DISCONNECT FROM THE GRID, UM, MANUALLY AT THE WEATHERHEAD TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE OPERATIONS WERE GONNA GO AS EXPECTED.
UM, AND THEN WE HAD TESLA RUN THROUGH, UM, ALL OF THEIR FUNCTIONS SO THAT WE COULD SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING, SEE IT ON THE METERS, BECAUSE THE PV METER IS STILL ENERGIZED.
SO WE CAN SEE, STILL SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE, UM, AND WITH THAT METER.
UM, AND, AND WE WANTED TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT IF THERE ARE ANY ONSITE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM INSTALLING AND REMOVING THAT, THAT WE WERE ABLE TO CAPTURE THAT ONSITE.
AND THEN, UM, WE DID A VARIETY OF TESTS AS WELL TO, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WASN'T ANY, UM, HARMONIC DISTORTION OR ANY OTHER POWER QUALITY ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
UM, AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL OF OUR PROCESSES IN PLACE FROM LIKE PUTTING IN THE RIGHT CODE INTO THE BILLING SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE THAT IT BILLS CORRECTLY ALL THE WAY DOWN THE LINE TOO, WHERE, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S A SCENARIO WHERE WE NEED TO PULL THAT METER, WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO AND WHO TO NOTIFY.
UM, AND, AND SO THE NEXT STEPS AFTER THAT WERE TO UPGRADE OR UPDATE THE, UM, DISTRIBUTION INTERCONNECTION GUIDE AND THE DESIGN CRITERIA MANUAL.
SO THESE ARE IN THE PIPELINE RIGHT NOW BEING INSTALLED.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, WE HAVE, UH, INTERCONNECTED OUR FIRST VEHICLE TO HOME SYSTEM.
SO THIS ALLOWS THE CUSTOMER TO, IN THE EVENT OF A POWER FAILURE, THE SAME KIND OF ISOLATION DEVICE IS, UM, INSTALLED THERE.
THEY DISCONNECT FROM THE GRID AND THEN THEY
[00:20:01]
TEMPORARILY FORM A MICROGRID USING THE BATTERY FROM THEIR VEHICLE.UH, WE ANTICIPATE MORE OF THIS, UM, COMING DOWN FROM, UH, OTHER
SO WE'LL SEE WHERE ALL THIS, WHERE ALL THIS GOES AND, UM, HOW THE, UH, VEHICLE INDUSTRY HANDLES THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
BUT WE DO SEE DEFINITE POTENTIAL THERE AND, UM, ADDED RESILIENCY.
SO DOES THIS REQUIRE AN UPGRADE ALSO, THE, THE INTERCONNECTION GUIDE, ET CETERA? UH, NO, ACTUALLY EVERYTHING THAT WAS NEEDED TO BE IN THERE, UM, TO ENABLE THIS WAS ALREADY IN THE INTER OH, THE DISTRIBUTION INTERCONNECTION GUIDE.
BECAUSE IT'S REALLY ON, ITS ON ITS FACE, IT'S JUST A BATTERY OR IT'S JUST AN AUXILIARY POWERED SYSTEM.
SO WE ALREADY HAD EVERYTHING WE NEEDED IN PLACE, SURPRISINGLY FOR THIS.
AND SO, YEAH, HE, YOU MAY ALREADY KNOW THIS, HEADS UP, GM HAS ANNOUNCED THAT THEIR VEHICLES WILL HAVE THIS ALSO, AND ALSO RAM HAS ANNOUNCED THAT TOO.
AND THAT'S ALL FOR MY PRESENTATION TODAY.
[9. Update from Budget & Audit Working Group]
UPDATE FROM THE BUDGET AND AUDIT WORKING GROUP COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN.UH, WE HAVE NOTHING, NOTHING TO REPORT.
[10. Discussion and prioritization from future agenda items list for EUC meeting planning.]
COMMISSIONER WHITE, COMMISSIONER WHITE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO START OUR DISCUSSION? YES.UM, CAN I SHARE THE PRESENTATION THAT I, WELL ACTUALLY I GOT, UH, CONFUSED HERE A LITTLE BIT.
10 IS DISCUSSION OF PRIORITIZATION OF FUTURE ITEMS. LET ME JUST RUN THROUGH WHAT WE'VE GOT COMING UP HERE AND THEN WE'LL GO TO 11.
11 IS THE, UH, PAST ITEMS AND THEN 12 WAS THE DISCUSSION, SO I APOLOGIZE.
SO LET ME GIVE A, A, WHAT I'VE HEARD IS LINED UP JULY, WE'VE GOT THE TRANSMISSION STUDY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AND A PROCESS FOR THE RESOURCE PLAN, AT LEAST A BRIEFING.
SEPTEMBER WAS A BATTERY STORAGE BASED UPON THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION AND SOME MORE ABOUT THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER.
UM, SOMETIME IN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO.
CYRUS, YOU WERE GONNA HELP US OUT WITH, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT EV READY AND ELECTRIC READY FROM YOUR OTHER EXPERIENCES.
AND, AND SORRY, I DIDN'T HAVE THAT READY FOR TODAY, BUT I CAN, I CAN HAVE THAT AT LEAST.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU NEED A PRESENTATION OR JUST INFORMATION, BUT HAPPY TO PROVIDE IT AT THE NEXT MEETING.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE MORE DISCUSSIONS ON STANDARD OFFER.
ANY DISCUSSION WE WANNA HAVE ABOUT FUTURE ITEMS IN THE AGENDA? THERE'S A LIST.
UH, UH, AT THE LAST MEETING, UH, COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ, UH, UH, MENTIONED THE CAP PRO, LOW INCOME CAP PROGRAM AND WEATHERIZATION.
UH, HOPEFULLY, UH, THERE I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, PROPOSE THAT THAT TOPIC BE IN THE, UH, SEPTEMBER MEETING.
UH, HOPEFULLY, UH, AGREEMENTS WILL BE IN PLACE WITH THE VARIOUS SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UH, FOR THE EXPANSION AND, UH, THE LOW INCOME AUTHORIZATION PROGRAM SHOULD BE BACK UP AND RUNNING FULLY.
IS THAT GONNA BE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGES OF AUTHORIZATION COST OR ANOTHER NEW, UH, WHAT, WHAT COMMUNITY BENEFIT? NO, NO, THAT'D BE THAT, THAT'D BE DIFFERENT.
IT THAT, DID I SUMMARIZE IT CORRECTLY? UH, COMMISSIONER AVAREZ AS, UH, I BELIEVE YOU'RE MUTED.
I MEAN, YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK, UM, I'M JUST INTERESTED IN GETTING AN UPDATE ON SORT OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE PROGRAM AND WHAT,
[00:25:01]
UM, UM, AGAIN, DIFFERENT WAYS PEOPLE CAN GET ASSISTANCE, HOW MANY FOLKS WE ASSIST.I ASSUME THERE'S SOME KIND OF STANDARD PRESENTATION THAT'S MADE.
UM, UM, AND AGAIN, WHENEVER IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR ANOTHER PRESENTATION TO BE MADE TO THE COMMISSION, THEN UM, UH, CERTAINLY INTERESTED IN SEEING THAT.
SO ROBERT, DO YOU WANT TO QUEUE THAT UP WITH AE STAFF AND THEN GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK ON WHEN THAT COULD BE PRESENTED? UM, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS, IF YOU LOOK AT THE DOCUMENT, THE BACKUP CALLED THE, UM, MEETING PLANNING DOCUMENT, WE HAVE, UM, OPENINGS FOR BRIEFINGS IN OCTOBER.
WE HAVE BRIEFING ONE AND TWO T B D.
THAT'S WHEN WE'RE LOOKING REALLY FOR GUIDANCE ON WHAT THE EUC COMMISSION IS PRIORITIZING BASED ON THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, WHAT THE BODY, UM, IS LOOKING TO BASED ON THE PRIOR, BASED ON THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS LIST, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING TO PRIORITIZE SO WE CAN START SLOTTING IN THERE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE GENERALLY TRY TO KEEP BRIEFINGS AT AROUND TWO BRIEFINGS PER MEETING.
AND WE ARE PRETTY BOOKED THROUGH SEPTEMBER.
SO OCTOBER IS OUR, UM, NEXT SPOT TO PUT IN SOME NEW BRIEFINGS.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE COMMISSION TO PROVIDE SOME GUIDANCE ON WHAT THE, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING TO PRIORITIZE FOR OUR NEXT COUPLE OF BRIEFINGS.
AND WE HAVE OPENINGS IN OCTOBER, JANUARY AND MARCH IT LOOKS LIKE, BASED ON OUR SCHEDULE.
MR. WHITE, DID YOU HAVE A COMMENT, MR. YEAH.
UM, WELL, I GUESS TWO ITEMS. ONE, I'M, I'M NOT SEEING, I, MAYBE, MAYBE I'VE MISUNDERSTOOD, BUT I, I THINK THAT, THAT THE AE STAFF SAID THAT THEY COULD PRESENT ON THE STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM NEXT MONTH.
UM, SO I GUESS THAT'S QUESTION NUMBER ONE.
UM, AND THEN I GUESS NUMBER TWO ON THE ENERGY CODE, UM, WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD IS THAT IT SHOULD BE COMING, COMING OUT, UM, I THINK IN THE EARLY FALL.
SO IF WE COULD GET THAT IN FOR LIKE OCTOBER, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD TO SET US ON A TRACK TO ADOPTING IT HOPEFULLY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
BUT THE FIRST ONE WAS A QUESTION.
OKAY, SO WE HAVE TWO ITEMS AT LEAST THAT I KNOW OF THAT ARE VERY HIGH, THE STANDARD OFFER AND ALSO THIS DISTRIBUTED STORAGE.
AND SO I DON'T WANT TO STEP ON THOSE.
UM, BUT ISN'T THAT IN SEPTEMBER, THE, UNDER THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION BRIEFING IS, IS IN WHAT, IN SEPTEMBER? SO THERE'S TWO ITEMS LISTED IN THE SEPTEMBER COUNCIL RESOLUTION BRIEFING AND THEN A SECOND COUNCIL RESOLUTION BRIEFING.
MAYBE, I'M NOT LOOKING WHAT, I'M JUST LOOKING AT THE SCREEN.
AM I MISSING SOMETHING? YEAH, THIS IS, UH, I THINK ADDITIONALLY IN THE PACKAGE, OR THIS IS ANOTHER SEPARATE FILE YOU NEED DIRECT ME TO WHAT PAGE? I'M SCROLLING, SORRY.
YEAH, I'M JUST NOT SEEING ITEM 10.
YEAH, I'M NOT SEEING ANYTHING ON THE STANDARD OFFER HERE.
SO I GUESS MY REQUEST IS THAT, THAT BE FOR JULY, SINCE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I THINK IF THE PROGRAM IS, IS GONNA, WHICH STAFF ON FAITH THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY SAID THEY'RE ON TRACK FOR, FOR OCTOBER ONE.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, PART OF THAT WAS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, ENGAGE THE UC.
SO I THINK IT'S TIME TO DO THAT.
I, I, I KNOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT TOMORROW, BUT, UM, YEAH, HOPING THAT THAT CAN CAN BE INCLUDED IN JULY.
JULY SAID I COULDN'T HEAR YOU.
JOEL CURRENTLY NOT SCHEDULED
I THINK WHAT DAVE TULE IS REFERRING TO, THERE'S A, THERE'S A PAGE BEFORE THE FIRST PAGE OF ITEM 10 SAYS IT HAS A SORT OF A SCHEDULE AND SEPTEMBER JUST SAYS COUNCIL RESOLUTION BRIEFING TWICE, BUT IT DOESN'T SAY WHAT THE RESOLUTION IS ABOUT.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE REFERRING TO THE STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM OR NOT.
YEAH, IT'S ON PAGE 21 OF THE PDF.
I'M, I'M LOOKING AT IT AND I DON'T KNOW, IT WASN'T A RESOLUTION PER SE.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S THE REFERENCE, BUT REGARDLESS, THAT'S LIKE NOT TIMELY FOR IN MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT FOR A PROGRAM THAT
[00:30:01]
IS, YOU KNOW, TO BE ROLLED OUT OCTOBER ONE.THE RESOLUTIONS THAT WE'LL BE BRINGING FORWARD TO E E U C ARE GOING TO BE RESOLUTIONS THAT WILL BE BRIEFING AT THE U O C THAT WERE REQUESTED BY COUNSEL.
DO YOU, DO YOU KNOW WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE ABOUT? YES.
UM, THEY ARE RELATED TO, UM, THE CHARGING STATIONS AND TO SOLAR BATTERY STORAGE PROCESS.
I, I CAN SEND THE RESOLUTION NUMBERS OUT TO YOU.
SO WAS THAT RESOLUTION 20 22 12 0 1 45? CORRECT.
SO WE KNOW WHAT ONE OF 'EM WAS.
AND THE EV CHARGING STATIONS, WHAT WAS THAT ONE? THAT WAS A RESOLUTION PASSED IN MARCH, EQUITABLY DISTRIBUTING THEM PROCESSING.
SO WHERE DO YOU THINK WE'LL PUT THE STANDARD OFFER DISCUSSION IN SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER? WELL, I THINK THAT WHAT WE'RE ASKING OF YOU IS TO PRIORITIZE WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE WHEN OR IF SOMETHING CAN JUST COME BACK AS A MEMO OR PART OF ANOTHER.
IS RICHARD STILL THERE? YES, YES.
MAYBE HE CAN JUST SPEAK TO WHETHER OR NOT THEY CAN PRESENT NEXT MONTH, UH, RICHARD GENE, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.
AND WE WOULD BE, UM, THE ONLY LIMITATION WE WOULD HAVE WITH JULY IS THAT, UH, WE HAVE A STAFF LIMITATION BECAUSE TIM IS NOT GONNA BE HERE FOR THAT, BUT WE WOULD BE READY WITH CONTENT.
UM, BUT WE WOULD HAVE A LIMITATION IN TERMS OF STAFF.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY I LIKE SEPTEMBER, SEPTEMBER WOULD BE PREFERRED FOR THAT, BUT I THINK THE, UM, EUC HAS TO LET US KNOW WHAT, UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR PRIOR, YOUR PRIORITIZATION, UH, NEEDS ARE.
TAMMY COOPER, UH, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF REGULATORY COMMUNICATIONS AND COMPLIANCE.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS, YOU KNOW, THE TRANSMISSION STUDY REPORT IS, I MEAN, WE'VE ALREADY GOT THREE ITEMS ON JULY, SO IT'S GONNA BE PRETTY MEATY.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, UH, THERE, THERE WILL BE A, A FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME TAKEN ON THE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AS WELL.
SO JUST KEEPING THAT IN MIND IN TERMS OF SEQUENCING.
AND I THINK WHAT AMY IS TRYING TO SAY IS, OKAY, IF YOU'D RATHER HAVE THE STANDARD OFFER IN JULY, THEN MAYBE WE PUSH LEGISLATIVE BRIEFING BACK.
OR FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET THE DIRECTION ON IS WE, WE HAVE A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME AT EACH MEETING AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU TELL US WHAT YOUR TOP TWO PRIORITIES ARE AND THEN WE CAN WORK WITH THAT.
SO I THINK THAT EXACTLY RIGHT, JULY'S GONNA BE VERY BUSY AND TIM'S NOT GONNA BE HERE, SO THAT JUST MAKES SENSE TO NOT HAVE THAT IN JULY, UM, ON AUGUST.
BUT I'VE BEEN REQUESTING IT FOR THREE MONTHS NOW, AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS LIKE, IF, IF INDEED IT IS GOING TO BE AN OCTOBER ONE START DATE SEPTEMBER, IT'S NOT TIMELY.
SO THE VERY LEAST, I GUESS, CAN WE PUT IT IN AUGUST? I'M HAVING A HARD TIME HEARING.
I, I NOT AT THE POINT WE'RE, WE'RE HAVING A, A DIFFICULT TIME HEARING HEARING UK, BUT, OKAY.
I, I ALSO WANT, I'LL SPEAK UP.
ALSO WANTED TO SUGGEST THE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE.
THE MATERIALS THAT ROBIN HAS BEEN FORWARDING HAVE BEEN, I THOUGHT VERY HELPFUL AND, UH, ALL OF WHICH IS, I I BELIEVE THAT COULD BE DONE IN WRITTEN FORM AND, AND THIS COULD BE TAKEN UP IN JULY.
I THINK THAT WE NEED THE UPDATES, BUT THE LAST TIME IT WAS VERY USEFUL TO HAVE INTER INTERACTIVE DISCUSSIONS ON THAT BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT THAT THEY JUST HAVE.
I HAVE QUESTIONS, SO I, I'D LIKE TO STILL HAVE THAT.
UM, CAN WE, CAN WE CRAM DOWN SOME OF THE TIME TAKEN IN AUGUST FOR THE OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL BRIEFINGS? UM, WE, WELL, I ALSO KNOW THAT THE, THAT'S WHEN WE'LL BE PRESENTING THE, UM, THE BUDGET.
AND I KNOW THAT IS GOING TO BE A LENGTHY PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION.
SO I KNOW OUR PLAN ALREADY WAS TO, UM, TRY AND SHORTEN THE QUARTERLY BRIEFINGS.
UM, AND STAFF HAS ALREADY ADVISED THAT THE, THE ACTUAL BUDGET PRESENTATION IS GOING TO BE QUITE LENGTHY, SO IT'D
[00:35:01]
BE LIKE DIFFICULT TO TRY AND CRAM ANY ADDITIONAL PRESENTATION ONTO THE AUGUST MEETING.SO IT APPEARS TO ME YOU'RE ASKING FOR OUR INPUT, BUT YOU'RE TELLING US THAT WE, THERE'S NO OPPORTUNITY UNTIL OCTOBER TO PUT ANYTHING ON THE AGENDA.
IS THAT RIGHT? AND JUST STRAIGHTFORWARD? WELL, EVERYTHING WE'VE OFFERED THAT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED YOU SAY NO, BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY FULL AND THAT'S FINE.
I JUST WANT A STRAIGHT ANSWER.
SO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS WE CAN PUT SOMETHING ON THE AGENDA FOR OCTOBER, JANUARY, OR MARCH, AND THAT'S IT.
WE, WE COULD TAKE THE LEGISLATIVE OFF AND PUT SOMETHING ELSE IN.
UM, NO, I DON'T THINK, WELL, ONE THING ABOUT THE LEGISLATIVE IS I THINK WE COULD, TO ME, THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY UPDATE AT THE PUC ARE ALL ONE AND THE SAME BECAUSE THE LEGISLATION'S GONNA LEAD TO PAR AT LEAST PARTIALLY TO REGULATION.
SO MAYBE TO ME THAT ALMOST, UH, BECOMES PART OF THE RESOURCE PLAN.
WHAT LEGISLATION HAS CHANGED? I, I DON'T KNOW.
I MEAN, I THINK WE COULD, I THINK YOU COULD DELAY THE LEGISLATIVE REPORT AND HAVE THE SOLAR, UM, THE STANDARD OFFER SOLAR.
WELL, OKAY, I RESPECT YOUR OPINION, BUT YOU LIVE AND BREATHE AS TOUGH.
SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE TOTALLY FAMILIAR.
LIKE, JUST LIKE, LET'S JUST ADD ANOTHER ITEM.
THERE'S LIKE NO REASON THAT WE CAN'T JUST SAY WE'RE GONNA ADD ANOTHER ITEM.
WE CAN GO INTO IT KNOWING THAT WE NEED TO BE, YOU KNOW, EFFICIENT WITH OUR CONVERSATION.
AND, YOU KNOW, I, MY MAIN THING IS I JUST WANT TO HEAR LIKE FROM STAFF WHERE IT IS THAT THEY ARE ON THIS PROGRAM.
BUT JULY, TIM'S NOT GONNA BE AROUND, SO IT'S NOT GONNA BE EASY
I, I JUST THINK THAT IT'S GONNA BE MORE CONSTRUCTIVE TO PUT IT, AND I'D RATHER STUFF THAT IN AUGUST AND THEN TRY TO MAKE SURE THE BUDGET CONVERSATION GETS TO BE MORE EFFICIENT.
AND THOSE WHO HAVE ANY INPUTS ON THE BUDGET, THEY, THEY TRY TO DO SOMETHING THERE AS LONG AS WE GET THE MATERIALS, UH, WELL IN ADVANCE AND THE WORK GROUP HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW IT.
SO HOW ABOUT, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT? ABOUT AUGUST AT LEAST GIVES TIME TO YEAH, I'LL TAKE IT.
ANYTHING ELSE ON ITEM 10? FUTURE ITEMS? WAS THERE ANY DECISION ON THE, UM, I'M SORRY.
ENERGY CODE? IT'S, IT'S ONGOING.
THERE'S A NEW ENERGY CODE, UM, THAT WILL BE COMING OUT SOMETIME, SOMETIME IN THE FALL.
UM, I, MY UNDERSTANDING WAS PROBABLY EARLIER IN THE FALL, SO I WAS SUGGESTING WE COULD PUT THAT ON OCTOBER.
I THINK NOVEMBER COULD, COULD ALSO WORK.
UM, HOW ABOUT WE LOOK AT THAT IN OCTOBER, BUILDING ENERGY CODES, INCLUDING EBI READY.
THIS IS AUSTIN ENERGY'S UPDATE VERSUS WHAT CYRUS IS GONNA GET US, RIGHT? YEAH, MINE WOULD JUST BE A WRITTEN, JUST A WRITTEN ON WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING, UH, WHICH ISN'T A LOT, BUT THEY'VE STARTED, SOME OF THE OTHER CITIES STARTED TO DO THINGS, UM, VERSUS THE ACTUAL CODE AT THE NEW CODE, THE 24 CODE.
BUT IT, WHICH COULD BE ONE CONVERSATION.
COULD BE ONE CONVERSATION, YEAH.
OR WERE YOU TRYING TO GO EARLIER SERVICE? NO, NO, NO.
I WAS JUST SAID I WOULD PROVIDE INFORMATION.
I WASN'T SAYING I NEEDED TO PRESENT IT.
I JUST PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE COMMISSION THAT WE CAN USE TO SEE WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING.
ANY FEEDBACK, AMY? UM, SO FOR THE, UH, CODE BRIEFING, THAT WOULD BE WITH DSD, SO WE WOULD NEED TO COORDINATE WITH THEM ON THAT AND SEE IF THEY'RE READY BY THAT'S THE SURE.
AND THEN AGAIN, THE THE, YOU HAVE LISTED IRA OPPORTUNITIES, UM, I'M SURE THOSE WILL BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION OF THE RESOURCE PLAN BECAUSE
[00:40:01]
THERE'LL BE OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THINGS IN THE RESOURCE PLAN, AND IT'LL PROBABLY BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION.I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED A WHOLE PRESENTATION.
I THINK WHAT, UM, WHAT ROBIN DID RECENTLY WHERE SHE JUST PROVIDED INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, APPLICATIONS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY AND THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY WERE DOING IS REALLY USEFUL.
JUST HAVING WRITTEN AND THEN HOPEFULLY WE CAN, WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT INTO THE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE BUDGET AND ABOUT THE RESOURCE PLAN AS THOSE COME UP.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED A WHOLE SEPARATE IRA PRESENTATION.
AND, UH, LET ME SUGGEST I MENTIONED EARLIER THE CAP PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS UP AN UPDATE ON THAT.
THAT CAN BE, UH, THAT CAN BE WRITTEN IN WRITTEN FORM.
WELL, THAT'S WHAT COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ HAD REQUESTED AS WELL, RIGHT? SO HE MAY WANNA WRITE.
HE'S, I BELIEVE, UH, THAT'S FINE.
UH, COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ, DOES THAT WORK WITH YOU? I, I, I'M JUST BECAUSE OF THE TWO LIMIT, TWO ITEM LIMITATION.
UH, AND I WON'T BE AVAILABLE BY THE WAY, JUST IN OCTOBER, BUT, UH, BECAUSE OF THE TWO LIMIT, WE'RE PUSHING THAT BACK TO JANUARY.
WELL, CAN YOU LOOK, FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS IMPORTANT, THE LOW INCOME CAP PROGRAM.
CAN YOU FIND THE, THE LAST PRESENTATION OF THAT AND JUST SEND IT TO THE EUC AGAIN AS A REFRESHER? JUST WHAT YOU ALREADY DID.
SOMEBODY ALREADY DID, I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG AGO GIVEN UP.
WE DID ONE TO, WE DID ONE TO THE CITY COUNCIL OVER THE SUMMER, RIGHT? YEAH, WE CAN, SO WE CAN RESEND THAT.
YEAH, WHY DON'T WE DO THAT? THE COUNCIL SET NEW GOALS FOR THE CAP PROGRAM, SO YOU CAN BE REFRESHED ON THAT AND YOU CAN YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, MY, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS PART OF MY REQUEST IS WHATEVER WAS THE MOST RECENT UPDATE, IF THAT CAN BE SHARED AND THEN I ASSUME AT SOME POINT A YEAR, A YEAR AFTER THAT, OR WHENEVER THERE'LL BE ANOTHER UPDATE RIGHT? TO THE COMMISSION.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S PART OF WHAT WE TYPICALLY HEAR, RIGHT? IN TERMS OF UPDATES, YOU KNOW, TO THE, THE UC.
AND, UM, BUT I'M, I'LL AGAIN, I, YOU MAY HAVE PROVIDED SOMETHING TO ME ALREADY, HONESTLY, UH, THAT, THAT PARTICULAR REPORT, BUT IF I NOT HAVE GONE TO EVERY, EVERY COMMISSIONER, UH, BUT, UH, BUT I'M CERTAINLY AGAIN, HAPPY TO, TO REVIEW WHATEVER WAS THE MOST RECENT PRESENTATION.
UM, BUT THEN ALSO REQUEST THAT AGAIN, WHENEVER, IF WE USUALLY DO THAT ONCE A YEAR, WELL, LET'S KIND OF MAKE SURE IT'S ON THE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ON THE, UH, ON THE SCHEDULE, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, FOR US TO GET AN UPDATE.
UM, CUZ I ATTENDED ONE OF THE, UH, COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE CAP AND IT WAS VERY, UH, I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH, UM, THE INFORMATION, RIGHT? AND THE PROGRAM.
AND I JUST THINK IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR, UM, FOR US ALL TO KNOW, UM, WHAT IT'S, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THAT PROGRAM CUZ IT SERVES A LOT OF PEOPLE AND, UM, I DON'T THINK AUSTIN AND ENERGY GETS ENOUGH CREDIT
AND ALWAYS LOOKING TO SEE AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF YOU KNOW A REPORT ON THE COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS, RIGHT, WOULD BE USEFUL.
WHAT WAS THE FEEDBACK THAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY ON THOSE CONVERSATIONS? CUZ I REACTED MORE AS A POLICY GUY, NOT AS A, A CONSUMER NECESSARILY THAT MIGHT NEED ASSISTANCE.
BUT, UH, THAT MIGHT ALSO BE USEFUL TOO, IS IF THERE WAS SOME KIND OF PUBLIC PROCESS, UM, WHAT WAS THE FEEDBACK AND DID THAT LEAD TO ANY, YOU KNOW, ANY IMPROVEMENTS OR ANY REVISIONS TO, UM, TO THE PROGRAM GOING FORWARD? SO THAT'S REALLY MY INTEREST IS JUST, UH, UM, HAVING A REGULAR UPDATE, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY ONCE A YEAR AND THEN, UM, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE IMMEDIATELY RIGHT IN TWO MONTHS OR THREE MONTHS OR SIX MONTHS, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHENEVER IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S THE RIGHT TIME TO REVISIT THAT WITH STAFF, THEN I'M HAPPY TO, UH, FOR THAT TO BE ON, UM, ON A BRIEFING SCHEDULE FOR THE, FOR THE EEC.
YEAH, IF WE COULD JUST PUT A PLACEHOLDER THAT GETS THAT ON, ON A REGULAR BASIS, ESPECIALLY IF IT ALREADY LINES UP WITH SOMETHING THE COUNCIL WANTS TO.
UM, CHAIR, I APOLOGIZE, I JUST FLIPPED AT THE ACTUAL CALENDAR AND REALIZED I MAY NOT BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR THE AUGUST MEETING.
IF STAFF ISN'T ABLE TO PRESENT ON THAT ITEM IN JULY, I CAN STILL, I'LL JUST WATCH IT LATER IN AUGUST AND MAYBE I'LL SUBMIT SOME, SOME WRITTEN QUESTIONS, BUT I JUST, UM, SINCE I'M REQUESTING THE ITEM, WANTED TO SAY THAT NOW THAT I MIGHT NOT BE THERE TO BE INVESTIGATING, BUT I STILL WOULD LIKE A PRESENT TO, MAN,
[00:45:01]
IT'S HARD TO HEAR YOUI, IT'S ONLY WEBEX, BUT I HAVE THIS PROBLEM.
CAN, CAN YOU, CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME NOW? IT'S BETTER NOW.
I'M JUST GONNA KIND OF YELL AT THE COMPUTER.
UM, I WAS JUST SAYING THAT I, I LOOKED AT THE ACTUAL CALENDAR AND REALIZED THAT I AM LIKELY NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO BE AT THE AUGUST MEETING CUZ I'M GONNA BE ON VACATION.
UM, SO I, WHATEVER I, I THINK WE, WE STILL NEED THE PRESENTATION AND IF STAFF CAN'T DO, UM, ON THE STANDARD OFFER, UH, IF STAFF CAN'T DO JULY, THEN YOU KNOW, AUGUST IT IS.
UM, BUT I JUST, SINCE I WAS REQUESTING THE ITEM, I I JUST FELT LIKE I SHOULD WHATEVER, BE TRANSPARENT THAT MAY NOT BE THERE AND I MAY SUBMIT.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON ITEM 10? FUTURE ITEMS? OKAY, LET'S MOVE ON.
[11. Discussion of report regarding City Council action on items previously reviewed by the EUC.]
WAS, UH, JUST TRACKING THE ITEMS FROM LAST MONTH.I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY ACTION ITEM ON THAT, RIGHT, ROBIN? OKAY, WE'VE GOT THAT NOW.
[12. Discussion of creation of a Standard Offer for Distributed Solar at Austin Energy, and possible establishment of a working group to advise on the creation of this program. (Sponsors: White, Trostle, Reed, Chapman) ]
IS THE DISCUSSION OF THE STANDARD OFFER AND KIVA, DO YOU WANNA LEAD US THROUGH THAT? YEAH, YEAH.SO MY PURPOSE HERE IS REALLY JUST LIKE, SO THE PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THE HECK I'M TALKING ABOUT WHEN I KEEP, UH, BRINGING UP THIS ITEM.
UM, SO I DID PUT TOGETHER A BRIEF PRESENTATION, UM, SO WE CAN'T HEAR YOU.
WE CAN'T REALLY READ YOUR CHARTS.
YOU, YOU CAN'T HEAR ME NOW? WE CAN HEAR YOU IN THE COLOR SCHEME IS PRETTY HARD IN THE PROJECTOR HERE.
UM, CAN YOU READ THIS? I CAN READ IT.
YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER DISPLAY THERE.
WE'VE GOT ON HOW TO DRIVE IN THEATER PROJECTOR, YOU KNOW,
JUST LISTEN TO MY WORDS AND I'LL, YOU'LL HAVE THE LINK AFTERWARDS SO YOU CAN PERUSE THE, THE WRITTEN, THE WRITTEN WORD.
BUT, UM, BASICALLY, UH, THIS, THIS PROGRAM THAT I KEEP TALKING ABOUT IS TO ADDRESS A KINDA A NEED A GAP IN ACCESS TO DISTRIBUTED CUSTOMER SIDED SOLAR.
SO AUSTIN ENERGY HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF, OF OFFERING REBATES GOING BACK TWO DECADES, UH, NOW AND THEY'VE, THEY'VE OFFERED REBATES FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS AND INCENTIVES FOR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
AND, UH, AS I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A MINUTE, THEY HAVE BEEN ADDING TO THOSE PROGRAM OFFERINGS.
BUT THERE ARE STILL, YES, THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE CASH ON HAND OR ACCESS TO FINANCING, UH, FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
UM, AND, AND, AND SO THEREFORE ARE FINANCIALLY UNABLE TO, UH, PURCHASE SOLAR TO BE CITED ON ON THEIR ROOFTOP AND OTHER, UH, BARRIERS TO ADOPTING ROOF ROOFTOP SOLAR AS WELL, INCLUDING SPLIT INCENTIVES AND, UH, YOU KNOW, MULTI, UH, FAMILY PROPERTIES THAT, THAT HAVE SPECIAL, UM, BARRIERS THAT INCLUDE THE SPLIT INCENTIVE BUT ALSO ADDITIONAL BARRIERS.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S ALSO ISSUES WITH POOR, UH, OR OLD ROOFS AND OTHER KIND OF PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS OF HOMES.
AND THEN OF COURSE THERE'S SHAPING AND THAT LAST ONE WE CAN'T USUALLY DO ANYTHING ABOUT, BUT IT IS, IT IS A CONSTRAINT.
AND SO JUST TO, UM, YEAH, ACKNOWLEDGE WESTERN ENERGY I THINK HAS DONE A LOT TO TRY TO ADDRESS, UH, SOME OF THESE GAPS, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY.
THE SHARED SOLAR BILLING SYSTEM UPDATE IS NOW AVAILABLE TO ALL MUL MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES.
SOMETHING THAT, THAT I'M, I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT AND I APPLAUD, UH, TIM AND, AND RICHARD AND AND THEIR TEAM ON GETTING THAT, UM, THAT ACCESS OUT TO, TO ALL MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES.
AND ALL THIS IS, YOU KNOW, IT, IT SOUNDS SIMPLE, BUT I KNOW IT'S BEEN A REALLY HEAVY LIFT TO MAKE IT SO THE BILLING SYSTEM CAN DIVIDE BILLING CREDIT BILL CREDITS FROM THE VALUE OF SOLAR CREDIT FROM A SINGLE SOLAR ARRAY THAT THEN GETS CREDITED TO MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS AT A MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTY.
SO THAT ADDRESSES ONE ASPECT OF BARRIER FOR SAY, RENTERS AND, AND MULTI-FAMILY.
THERE'S ALSO THE MULTI-FAMILY, UH, INCENTIVE AND UH, AS WELL AS A NON-PROFIT, UH, INCENTIVE.
AND THE MULTI-FAMILY INCENTIVE DOES START TO ADDRESS A LITTLE BIT OF THE,
[00:50:01]
THE SPLITT INCENTIVE CUZ THAT GOES TO THE PROPERTY OWNER.UM, AND, YOU KNOW, NONPROFIT INCENTIVE JUST, YOU KNOW, ALSO JUST KIND OF ADDRESSING SOME OF THE FINANCE FINANCIAL BARRIER THERE.
THERE WAS ALSO THIS PREVIOUS EFFORT ON, UH, FINANCING, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THAT THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, KINDA WASN'T UTILIZED, UH, AND SO HAS, HAS, HAS EXPIRED, BUT, UM, YOU MAYBE SOMETHING ELSE WILL COME IN THE FUTURE ON THAT.
SO THERE'S BEEN GOOD WORK STILL, THERE'S A NEED TO KIND OF CLOSE THAT GAP AND MAKE IT SO THAT MORE FOLKS THAT MAYBE, UH, YOU KNOW, DON'T HAVE THE SAME FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITY.
SOME OF US WHO MIGHT ALREADY HAVE SOLAR CAN GET ACCESS TO SOLAR.
SO I JUST PUT ON HERE, UM, A TIMELINE OF, OF SOME, AND THIS PROBABLY IS NOT COMPREHENSIVE, BUT SOME OF THE KEY, UM, SORT OF, YOU KNOW, EFFORTS ALONG THE WAY TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE.
GOING BACK TO AN AUSTIN ENERGY RFP IN 2016, UM, UNFORTUNATELY NO PROJECTS WERE SELECTED OUT OF THAT.
AND THEN BACK IN 2019, THE RMC PUT TOGETHER A WORKING GROUP FOCUSED ON THIS TOPIC OF EXPANDING ACCESS TO SOLAR.
AND THEN, UH, NOT TOO LONG AFTER THAT, UH, TIM PUT TOGETHER A TEAM, UH, INCLUDING MYSELF THAT WENT TO AN RMI EVENT AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY KIND OF HOPPED, UH, DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR EXPANDING ACCESS AND COMING OUT OF THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAD, WE HAD A LOT OF IDEAS, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, I THINK THE THING THAT, THAT EVERYBODY, INCLUDING AUSTIN ENERGY COULD GET ON BOARD WITH WAS HAVING SOME SET CRITERIA AROUND DOING ANOTHER RFP TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS REALLY GOOD COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
UM, AND THEN THE RMC UH, WORKING GROUP KIND OF MERGED WITH THAT E ELAB FORGE TEAM AND WORKED WITH AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF AND PUT TOGETHER CRITERIA FOR THAT.
YOU CAN SEE THAT WAS ADOPTED IN JUNE, 2020.
AND, UH, THEN IN THE FALL, NOVEMBER, 2020, AUSTIN ENERGY PUT OUT ANOTHER RFP FOCUSED ON, UH, DISTRIBUTED.
I THINK IT COULD HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED IN LOCAL, UH, SOLAR.
SO SLIGHT CORRECTION THERE, MY APOLOGIES.
UM, BUT AGAIN, NO PROJECTS WERE SELECTED.
SO THE, THE, YOU KNOW, FUNDAMENTAL, UH, ISSUE IS STILL NOT ADDRESSED OF, YOU KNOW, HOW TO UTILIZE ALL THESE ROOFTOPS AND, UH, IN A WAY THAT, UH, DOES NOT PUT A FINANCIAL BURDEN ON PEOPLE WHO CANNOT AFFORD ANOTHER FINANCIAL BURDEN.
AND SO, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY COMMITTED AT THE END OF THE, UH, MOST RECENT AUSTIN ENERGY RATE CASE THAT THEY WOULD CREATE A DISTRIBUTED SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM.
AND SO THIS KIND OF FLIPS, UH, THE RFP ON ITS HEAD AS, UH, I'LL EXPLAIN IN THE NEXT.
SO, AND THAT, AND THAT, UM, HAS THIS TARGET PROGRAM START DATE OF OCTOBER ONE THAT I KEEP MENTIONING IT, WHICH IS WHY I'M, SO I HAVE A QUICK, UM, QUICK QUESTION.
SO WITH THE IDEA OF THE RFP, IT WAS TO HIRE A THIRD PARTY TO ACTUALLY INSTALL SOLAR IN A WAY THAT PEOPLE COULD GET ACCESS TO OR, SO THE, YOU MEAN THE PREVIOUS RFPS? THE PREVIOUS RFPS, YEAH, THE PREVIOUS RFPS WERE FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD'VE BEEN, IT HAD THEY BEEN SUCCESSFUL, UH, THEY WOULD'VE BEEN POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS, UM, JUST, JUST LIKE FOR UTILITY SCALE SOLAR.
UM, BUT THEY COULD HAVE BEEN FOR, YOU KNOW, SMALLER LOCAL INSTALLATION, AT LEAST I THINK IN BOTH OF THEM COULD HAVE, COULD HAVE INCLUDED ROOFTOP SOLAR INSTALLATIONS.
SO IT, IT WOULD'VE BEEN A, A PPA, UH, KIND OF, DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? ALL RIGHT.
SO I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA ASSUME YES.
UM, SO DOES THIS IDEA OF HAVING A STANDARD OFFER, UM, DOES, DOES NOT COME OUT OF THE GREAT BLUE, UH, NOTHING.
IT, UM, AT LEAST AND, AND PROBABLY THERE'S BEEN OTHER MODELS, UM, THAT ARE KIND OF SIMILAR OTHER PLACES, BUT THE ONE THAT'S CLOSEST TO HOME, UM, THAT ARE, THAT I AM FAMILIAR WITH IS AT CPS ENERGY.
THEY DID THIS, UH, PILOT PROGRAM THAT THEY CALLED SOLAR HOSTS.
AND, UH, THE WHOLE IDEA OF, UH, OF THIS, THIS PROGRAM WAS THAT, THAT RESIDENTS COULD GET SOLAR INSTALLED IN THEIR ROOFS WITHOUT PAYING ANYTHING, UH, UPFRONT AND ALSO NOT PAYING ANYTHING OVER TIME.
UH, AND THAT THIS WORKS BECAUSE THE
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SOLAR COMPANY WOULD PAY FOR THE INSTALLATION AND THEY RECEIVED, UH, BASICALLY A PPA FROM, FROM, UH, CS ENERGY TO, UH, GIVE GET, THEY WOULD CPS ENERGY JUST PUT THAT ENERGY INTO THEIR REGULAR MIX.AND, UH, THE SOLAR COMPANY GOT THAT PAYMENT, AND THEN THEY PAID THE HOST, WHICH WERE OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS, UH, SET RATE FOR THE USE OF THEIR ROOF SPACE.
AND LIKE I SAID, THIS WAS A PILOT, IT HAD A FIVE MEGAWATT CAP, SO IT IS NOW CLOSED.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE PROGRAM IS STILL ONGOING IN A SENSE THAT ALL OF THE, THE CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE THOSE SOLAR INSTALLATIONS ARE, YOU KNOW, STILL HOSTING THEM, UM, AND, AND GETTING THOSE PAYMENTS, BUT THEY'RE NOT TAKING ANY NEW PAYMENTS.
UM, I DO THINK THERE WERE, YOU KNOW, SOME THINGS ABOUT THAT THAT COULD BE IMPROVED UPON.
IT WAS A CONTRACT WITH A SINGLE SOLAR COMPANY, UM, WHICH MAYBE IS APPROPRIATE FOR A HO FOR A, FOR A PILOT, UH, PROGRAM, BUT MIGHT NOT BE THE BEST MODEL FOR SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA BE ONGOING.
UM, IT WAS RESIDENTIAL SINGLE FAMILY ONLY, UM, WHICH I THINK WAS GREAT IN TERMS OF EXPANDING ACCESS TO SOLAR.
UH, BUT THERE'S NO REASON WHY IT COULDN'T BE EXPANDED TO OTHER CUSTOMER TYPES, THE SAME SORT OF MODEL.
AND THERE WERE THOUSANDS, THOUSANDS OF APP APPLICATIONS.
PEOPLE WERE REALLY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THIS PROGRAM.
IT TURNS OUT THAT PEOPLE JUST KIND OF WANNA BE PART OF THE SOLUTION AND ARE PEOPLE LOVE SOLAR.
AND SO EVEN THOUGH THEY DID NOT GET AS MUCH BENEFIT AS IF THEY COULD, THEY PURCHASED THEIR OWN SYSTEM, THEY ALSO DID NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR IT.
AND SO THEY WOULD GET SOME FINANCIAL BENEFIT AND THEY WOULD GET TO HAVE SOLAR ON THEIR ROOFTOP.
DO YOU HAVE A, DO YOU, EXCUSE ME, DO YOU HAVE A SUMMARY OF THE PROGRAM? IT'S A PILOT.
IT HAS, IS THERE DATA AVAILABLE THAT YOU COULD SHARE WITH US? YOU KNOW, UM, I BELIEVE THAT THE, THERE MAY BE, UH, LIKE SURVEY OR SOMETHING, I CAN, I CAN FOLLOW UP ON THAT, UM, AND, AND SEE IF I CAN GET AHOLD OF, UH, OF ANY SUMMARY DATA.
I DON'T HAVE IT ON HAND, BUT I, I THINK IT MIGHT EXIST.
UM, I DO KNOW THAT MANY APPLICANT APPLICANTS WERE DISQUALIFIED BECAUSE THEY HAD OLDER ROOF AND, UH, AND MAYBE LIKE OTHER KIND OF HOME REPAIR ISSUES THAT, UH, PRECLUDED THEM FROM PARTICIPATING.
AND SOME OF THEM MIGHT'VE ALSO HAD, UM, OLDER, UM, UH, SORRY, ELECTRIC PANELS AND THAT MAYBE WOULD'VE NEEDED TO BE UPGRADED IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE SOLAR.
AND SO AT THE TIME THERE WAS JUST A PRETTY, UH, YOU KNOW, QUICK AND DIRTY DISQUALIFICATION OF THOSE CUSTOMERS.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT THERE ARE SOLUTIONS TO BOTH OF THOSE ISSUES AND THEY'RE NOW ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD, UH, FEDERAL INCENTIVES FOR UPGRADING, UH, ELECTRIC PANELS IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE INSTALLING SOLAR.
IN FACT, A LOT OF PEOPLE CAN GET THAT DONE FOR FREE DEPENDING ON YOUR INCOME.
AND, UH, THERE'S ALSO EXISTING FUNDS AVAILABLE LOCALLY FOR HOME REPAIRS.
SO INSTEAD OF JUST DISQUALIFI AND PEOPLE AND, AND YOU KNOW, THAT BEING THE END OF THE STORY, THEY, SOME OF THESE THINGS COULD BE ADDRESSED AGAIN, I THINK IF YOU'RE IN MORE OF AN ONGOING PROCESS.
SO JUST, YOU KNOW, HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE LEARNED THERE.
SO NOW, UH, JUST TO TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT THE COMMITMENT THAT AUSTIN ENERGY MADE, UH, AT THE END OF THE RATE CASE, THIS WAS UPON APPROVAL OF THE VALUE OF SOLAR TARIFF, AUSTIN ENERGY WOULD, WOULD MOVE FORWARD WITH A PUBLIC STAKEHOLDER PROCESS AND, UH, INCLUDING PERIODIC UPDATES TO THE EUC AND THE R M C WITH THE INTENTION OF DEVELOPING THIS PROGRAM TO BE EFFECTIVE FOR OCTOBER 1ST OF THIS YEAR.
AND THE VALUE OF SOLAR TARIFF IS RELEVANT HERE BECAUSE, UM, IN SOME WAYS THAT CAN POTENTIALLY BE A STARTING POINT FOR, UH, DETERMINING WHAT THE RATE MIGHT BE FOR, UH, FOR THIS OFFERING.
IT MAY OR MAY NOT BE THE SAME, BUT IT AT LEAST OFFERS SOME SORT OF STARTING POINT FOR THAT DISCUSSION.
AT LEAST THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING OF A BOY AUSTIN ENERGY WANTED THAT KIND OF SETTLED THE FIRST THE VALUE OF SOLAR TARIFF.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S ALSO, YOU KNOW, THAT STATEMENT THERE ABOUT INVOLVING THE EOC AND THE RMC AND PERIODIC UPDATES IS WHY I'VE BEEN SO ANXIOUS TO GET A PRESENTATION FROM STAFF.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT I BELIEVE IS KIND OF
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KNOWN IS THAT THIS WILL BE SOME SORT OF, THERE'LL BE A PROGRAM THAT WILL HAVE A SET RATE, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, PER KILOWATT HOUR FOR ENERGY PRODUCED, THAT THERE WILL BE SOME MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR COMPANIES TO PARTICIPATE AND SOME SORT OF DEFINITION OF WHICH CUSTOMERS CAN PARTICIPATE.AND I, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY'S INTENTION IS TO USE THIS CAPACITY, SINCE THIS IS GONNA BE IN FRONT OF THE, UM, METER AND OTHER WORDS ON THE UTILITIES SIDE OF THE METER, IT WILL NOT BE, UM, ALLOCATED TO THE CUSTOMER.
THE CUSTOMER WILL NOT RECEIVE VALUE OF SOLAR CREDITS FOR THIS ENERGY PRODUCED.
IT WILL INSTEAD BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY SOLAR CAPACITY.
SO IS MY UNDERSTANDING IN ANY WAY STAFF IS WELCOME TO CORRECT THAT, BUT I THINK MOST OF, MOST OF THE QUESTIONS ARE YET TO BE ANSWERED.
WHAT IS THE RATE? IS THERE GONNA BE DIFFERENT RATES FOR SAY, A LARGE, UH, COMMERCIAL INSTALLATIONS VERSUS SMALLER COMMERCIAL OR EVEN RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATIONS? WHICH CUSTOMERS CAN PARTICIPATE? RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, BOTH.
WHAT WILL THE MINIMUM SYSTEM SIZE BE? CAN THERE BE AGGREGATION TO MEET A MINIMUM LENGTH OF THE, UM, AGREEMENTS? UH, IN OTHER WORDS, HOW LONG WILL THE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT ESSENTIALLY BE FOR, YOU KNOW, UH, THE CURRENT SOLAR PROGRAM, THE AUSTIN ENERGY HAS, UH, KIND OF WELCOME CUSTOMER INTO LEAVING THEIR SYSTEM UP FOR 20 YEARS, MORE OR LESS.
UH, THERE, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE I GUESS CERTAIN FACTORS THAT MAYBE COULD, UH, CHANGE THAT, BUT, UM, MAYBE THAT'S DIFFERENT FOR THIS.
MAYBE IT'S LONGER, MAYBE IT'S SHORTER.
UM, AND, AND HOW CAN THESE TERMS BE ADJUSTED OVER TIME? YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE APPROPRIATE PROCESS FOR THAT? AND IS, IS THERE GOING TO BE ANY SORT OF, UH, REQUIREMENTS FOR, YOU KNOW, CONNECTING CUSTOMERS WITH, UM, INCENTIVES AND, UH, FUNDS TO REPAIR THEIR HOMES, INCLUDING, LIKE I SAID, THEIR FEDERAL INCENTIVES FOR, YOU KNOW, UPGRADING YOUR ELECTRIC PANEL IF THAT'S NEEDED.
AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF IN A SIMILAR VEIN, YOU KNOW, WHAT SORT OF CONSUMER PROTECTIONS SHOULD BE INCLUDED? YOU KNOW, IS THERE, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME SORT OF DISCLOSURE OR MINIMUM PAYMENT THAT SHOULD BE REQUIRED, OR SHOULD IT JUST BE TOTALLY, YOU KNOW, UP TO THE MARKET AND, YOU KNOW, ALSO, YOU KNOW, IS THERE ANY WAY FOR SYSTEMS TO BE UTILIZED FOR BACKUP POWER? UM, AT ONE POINT I WAS HEARING THAT, LIKE THAT WAS DEFINITELY A NO-GO, AND THEN IT SOUNDED LIKE MAYBE THERE WOULD BE SOME WAY FOR, FOR THAT STILL TO, TO HAPPEN, EVEN THOUGH THESE ARE ON THE UTILITY SIDE OF THE METERS.
SO LOTS OF QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED.
UM, YOU KNOW, O OVER THE SUMMER HERE, HOPEFULLY IN ORDER TO GET THIS, UH, THIS PROGRAM UP AND RUNNING, WHICH, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK, UH, I THINK THIS IS POSSIBLE, BUT THERE IS A LOT TO WORK THROUGH HERE AND I HOPE THAT, THAT MANY OF YOU WILL WANNA ENGAGE IN THIS CONVERSATION AND, AND HELPING TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS.
SO YEAH, ANOTHER ONE AS FAR AS CONSUMER PROTECTIONS WOULD BE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEBODY SELLS THEIR HOUSE OR IT TRANSFERS TITLE WHAT HA UM, YEP.
AND WHILE YOU'RE POKING AT C P S TO GET SOME INFORMATION, I REMEMBER HEARING SOMETHING ABOUT THIS TIME FLIES, BUT IT MAY HAVE BEEN AT LEAST FIVE YEARS AGO, THIS CPS PILOT.
SO WHATEVER YOU CAN GET WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED AS FAR AS INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR, UM, AFTER ACTION REPORT, OR ARE THEY STILL DOING, DID THEY EXPAND IT FROM A PILOT TO A FULL-BLOWN PROGRAM? NO, THEY DID NOT EXPAND IT.
UM, AND YEAH, I, I'LL, I'LL DEFINITELY FIND OUT YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT THEY HAVE IN
I, I'M SURE THEY HAVE SOME DATA, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT IT'S A LIKE COMPREHENSIVE REPORT, I DON'T KNOW.
BUT I WILL, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A COUPLE PEOPLE BASED IN SAN ANTONIO THAT ARE MEETING REGULARLY WITH CPS, SO I CAN, UM, I CAN GET THEM TO, TO MAKE THAT REQUEST FOR US.
UM, YEAH, AND SO I JUST KIND OF, YOU KNOW, I MEAN I THINK THIS IS, THIS IS JUST, YOU KNOW, MY THOUGHTS ON KIND OF THING, THINGS THAT BASED ON THE COMMITMENT, UM, HOPEFULLY WILL BE COMING.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE WILL HAVE MORE THAN ONE PRESENTATION OR CONVERSATION WITH AE.
UM, BUT PRESUMABLY IF THERE ARE PUBLIC, WHICH THERE SHOULD BE PUBLIC STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE COULD PARTICIPATE IN THAT WAY, ALTHOUGH OBVIOUSLY NOT ALL OF US AT THE SAME TIME.
SO SOME LIMITATIONS THERE, UH, IF AE JUST THERE, COME TO OUR MEETINGS TO PRESENT.
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JUST, YOU KNOW, UM, HOPING THAT WE CAN HAVE, UH, KIND OF ROBUST PROCESS HERE TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM THAT THAT REALLY, YOU KNOW, SERVES THE PURPOSE OF EXPANDING ACCESS TO SOLAR IN A WAY THAT CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, BE ACCEPTABLE TO AUSTIN ENERGY AND, AND BENEFICIAL TO, TO ALL FOR, HOPEFULLY FOR, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST A PILOT PROGRAM, BUT FOR YOU.THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR INSIGHTS.
SO, DOES ROBIN HAVE THAT SO SHE CAN DISTRIBUTE THAT PRESENTATION TO THE WHOLE EC? NO, BUT I'LL SEND IT TO HER RIGHT NOW.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO DO THAT.
WELL, YOU HAVE TO REALIZE, IF YOU WERE A KID AND YOU WENT TO A DRIVE-IN THEATER AND THEY STARTED SHOWING THE MOVIE BEFORE IT GOT DARK, THAT'S WHAT IT SOMEWHAT LOOKS LIKE HERE ON THE BIG SCREEN.
WHAT'S THAT?
WHAT'S THE DRIVE MOVE? WHAT'S THE DRIVE? SO RANDY'S THE ONE SAYING, WHAT'S THE DRIVE THEATER THAT THAT DOES, THAT DOES DATE ME THERE.
UM, ANYWAY, OKAY, SO WE'RE DONE WITH 12.
YOU'RE GONNA SEND THAT TO THE REST OF THE E U C, UM, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. I, I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT, RIGHT? SO I GUESS WE'RE GONNA BE FINISHING AT A RECORD TIME AT SEVEN 11.