Sep 19, 2023 Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee

UH, THANK YOU.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER.

UH, WITH RESPECT TO UTILITY CUSTOMERS, WE CAN'T SEEM TO CATCH A BREAK THESE DAYS.

UH, FUEL INCREASED A YEAR AGO, WINTER STORM MARA KNOCKED PEOPLE OUT FOR AS LONG AS TWO WEEKS.

THEN THERE WAS A RATE INCREASE IN MARCH, AND THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY THE HOTTEST AUGUST IN AUSTIN'S HISTORY.

AND NOW WE HAVE ANOTHER FUEL INCREASE ANY DAY.

NOW, UH, SLIDE, UH, IS A SLIDE UP WITH AIR COT.

UH, YOU'LL NOTE THAT, UH, YEAR ON YEAR, THERE'S BEEN AN 18% INCREASE IN ELECTRIC CONSUMPTION AT ERCOT.

UM, THIS IS 18% HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR.

THIS IS A RECORD SLIDE.

UH, THERE'S BEEN A 23% HIGHER INCREASE IN COOLING DEGREE DAYS THAN THE LAST YEAR IN TEXAS.

THIS WAS ONLY RIVALED BY THE DROUGHT OF 2011 SLIDE.

AND IN TRAVIS COUNTY, THIS WAS ACTUALLY THE HOTTEST RECORDED AUGUST IN ITS HISTORY, IN OUR HISTORY, 20% HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR.

UH, AND IF ALL THIS WILL NOT ENOUGH, I'VE RECENTLY CALCULATED THAT WE'RE LOSING ABOUT $1.4 MILLION A YEAR BY PAYING FRANCHISE FEES TO CITIES THAT DO NOT NEED SUBSIDIES.

UH, COUNSEL, WE NEED RATE RELIEF SLIDE LAST SLIDE TO UH, AND TO THIS END.

UH, I HAVE FOUR SUGGESTIONS.

ONE, USE HALF OF ANY SUMMER WINDFALL THAT WE MIGHT GET AS A TEMPORARY RATE DECREASE.

TWO, TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE STOP FRANCHISE PEOPLE FRANCHISE FEE PAYMENTS FROM GENERAL OPERATING REVENUES.

UH, MOST FEES ARE ACTUALLY PAID BY CUSTOMERS, NOT UTILITIES.

THIRD IS BAN RESISTANCE WATER HEATING IN THE ENERGY BUILDING CODE.

THIS WAS BROUGHT UP IN 2020, BUT NEVER IMPLEMENTED.

AND FINALLY, BUILD MORE TRANSMISSION LINES.

WE NEED THEM BADLY.

AFTER HIM, KABA WHITE KABA.

THANK YOU, MR. ROBBINS.

APPRECIATED OUR NEXT SPEAKER, AL BRADEN.

AND

[00:05:01]

WHY DON'T YOU COME ON DOWN AND YOU'LL EACH HAVE THREE MINUTES.

MR. BRADEN, WELCOME.

ARE DOING WHAT WE CAN TO TRY TO, UH, KIND OF POKE L C R A AS WELL.

UH, CHAIR ROMAN POOL COUNSELORS AND AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF.

MY NAME IS AL BRADEN, A DISTRICT SEVEN VOTER AND AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMER.

I'M HERE TO ADDRESS ITEM THREE, THE UPDATE OF THE GENERATION AND RESOURCE PLAN.

I WAS A MEMBER OF THE WORKING GROUP THAT WROTE THE CURRENT PLAN IN 2020, AND A MEMBER OF THE NEW WORKING GROUP FORMED BY THE E U C.

THIS MONTH, SO MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE 2020.

IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE HAVE A NEW BROAD POLICY DISCUSSION OF OUR FUTURE PLANS.

YOUR COUNCIL RESOLUTION LAST DECEMBER RECOGNIZED THIS IN DETAIL, THE FAILURE TO CLOSE FAYETTE, THE REPORT OF THE TRANSMISSION STUDY WITH ITS IMPACTS ON CURRENT RELIABILITY AND ON THE CLOSING OF OUR GAS GENERATION UNITS, MAJOR ADVANCES IN BATTERY AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS.

MAJOR CHANGES IN ERCOT AND P U C REGULATORY LANDSCAPE FOLLOWING WINTER STORM URI, THE ICE STORM, THE SUMMER'S NEW NORMAL OF EXCESSIVE CLIMATE REALITY TEMPERATURES, SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN THE PRICE OF NATURAL GAS AS A FUEL SOURCE.

AND PRESIDENT BIDEN'S INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT IN JOBS ACT AND INFLATION REDUCTION ACT.

THESE DEMAND A FEW, A FULL COMMUNITY DISCUSSION.

THE PAST WORKING GROUPS HAVE HEARD REPRESENTATIVES FROM RESIDENTIAL, LOW-INCOME MANUFACTURING, COMMERCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, HOUSES OF SHIP, AND OTHERS.

TO BRING A BALANCED PERSPECTIVE THIS YEAR, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS CLAIMED THAT THEY HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION THEY NEED.

THEY OFFERED PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AS THREE, TWO HOURS, SHOW AND TELL PRESENTATIONS AT THEIR HEADQUARTERS.

AND A BRIEF SURVEY, YOU WILL SEE THIS AS POWERPOINT.

THIS POWERPOINT IS ITEM THREE TODAY.

IT'S IDENTICAL TO WHAT THEY TRIED IN 2013 AND THAT YEAR.

COUNCIL DEMANDED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FORMED A TASK FORCE WHOSE RECOMMENDATIONS OR THE BEDROCK OF OUR ENERGY POLICY TODAY PRIORITIZED WIND AND SOLAR, ELIMINATE GAS AND COAL, MAXIMIZE WEATHERIZATION AND DEMAND MANAGEMENT ACHIEVE ZERO CARBON BY 2030 OR 2035 IF YOU'RE OR AT THE AUSTIN ENERGY VIEWPOINT.

BUT WITH ALL THESE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING US SINCE 2020, I ASK YOU AS COUNCIL MEMBERS, AS AUSTIN ENERGY'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS, TO REALLY DEMAND, ENCOURAGE THEIR COLLABORATION WITH THE E U C WORKING GROUP.

WE MUST PRODUCE THE BEST ENERGY FUTURE FOR AUSTIN.

WE NEED THEIR VIEWS, EXPERTISE, MODELING, AND THEIR PARTICIPATION OF COURSE.

AND WE NEED A THOROUGH COMMUNITY DISCUSSION.

THE ENERGY LANDSCAPE HAS SHIFTED SO MUCH SINCE 2020.

SO I ASK YOU, PLEASE SUPPORT THE E U C WORKING GROUP ON THIS GENERATION PLAN UPDATE.

THANK YOU ALL.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. BREAD.

UH, KABA WHITE.

WELCOME, MS. WHITE, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.

MY NAME IS KABA WHITE.

I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF PUBLIC CITIZENS TEXAS OFFICE.

AND I'LL START BY SAYING PLUS ONE TO EVERYTHING THAT MY FRIEND AL JUST SAID.

UM, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT UPDATE TO THE PLAN, AND I'M GONNA USE THE WORD UPDATE IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT HAS BEEN USED IN THE PAST.

AND THAT IS JUST TO MEAN THAT WE ARE BUILDING ON THE PAST PROGRESS THAT WE HAVE MADE WITH AUSTIN ENERGY POLICY.

I DON'T THINK THAT THAT MEANS THAT THIS SHOULD BE A LIMITED SCOPE.

ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT AL UH, ALMOST EVERYTHING IN THE PLAN IS AFFECTED BY THE VARIOUS CHANGES THAT AL JUST MENTIONED, FROM MARKET CHANGES TO NEW INCENTIVES THAT MAKE IT EASIER AND CHEAPER TO DO THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE A COMMUNITY HAVE ALREADY COMMITTED TO DO.

AND, AND THANKS TO THOSE OF Y'ALL WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THAT LEADERSHIP IN THE PAST, I DO, UM, HAVE A, A SUGGESTION FOR THIS BODY.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE, UH, COUNSEL HAS BEEN UPDATED AND BRIEFED MY, AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND IN EXECUTIVE SESSION ON THE FAYETTE POWER, UH, PLANT AND RETIREMENT OF.

AND SO SOME OF Y'ALL ARE NEW TO THIS BODY SINCE THEN, AND I KNOW THIS IS ON SOME OF Y'ALL'S MINDS.

SO I'M JUST, UM, I GUESS REITERATING Y'ALL SHOULD REQUEST A NEW UPDATE IN, IN THAT APPROPRIATE VENUE.

I UNDERSTAND THAT WE AS THE PUBLIC, ARE NOT GONNA GET THAT INFORMATION AND NOT NOT ASKING FOR WHAT WE CAN'T HAVE, BUT YOU, AT LEAST AS OUR, OUR LEADER SHOULD, SHOULD HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION AS WE GO INTO THIS UPDATE, BECAUSE THAT IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS HERE.

FAY A IS STILL OUR LARGEST SOURCE OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AS A COMMUNITY.

AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE STILL A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING MY OWN, THAT ARE FOCUSED ON THIS ISSUE HERE IN AUSTIN AND

[00:10:01]

SO IT'S NOT THAT WE THINK THAT THAT AUSTIN IS THE ONLY, UM, UH, ONLY PARTY THAT THAT NEEDS TO COME TO THE TABLE AND ADDRESS IT.

BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT, THAT YOU ALL ARE MUCH MORE RESPONSIVE THAN THE L C R A AND, AND HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THINGS THAT THEY WILL NOT BECAUSE OF POLITICAL, UH, KIND OF DIRECTION, I GUESS, OF THAT BODY.

SO I, I HOPE THAT WE CAN HAVE YOUR SUPPORT FULL FOR A FULL AND ROBUST UPDATE TO THE PLAN AND THAT ADDRESSING FAYETTE AND NOT JUST, UH, KIND OF SLAPPING A NEW DATE ON IT OR SAYING WE'RE GOING TO KEEP RUNNING, RUNNING IT.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS IN MIND, BUT I DO KNOW THAT IT REMAINS A LARGE AND GLARING KIND OF SPOT ON AUSTIN ENERGY'S KIND OF GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE IMAGE, AND WE WANNA LIVE UP TO THAT IMAGE.

SO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND I HOPE THIS IS THE START OF A FEW MONTHS OF GOOD CONVERSATION ABOUT AUSTIN ENERGY ISSUES.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE, MS. WHITE.

I WILL, I WILL LET YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE TALKED WITH THE, UH, GENERAL MANAGER ABOUT UPDATING OUR NEWEST MEMBERS ON FAYETTE.

AND EVERYBODY'S SCHEDULE IS REALLY FULL.

AND AS YOU HAVE NOTICED HOW TODAY WENT, IN FACT, I, I HAD ASKED THAT WE HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TODAY ON FAYETTE, BUT THAT WASN'T POSSIBLE.

SO, UM, MR. KHAN AND I HAVE HAD A SPECIFIC CONVERSATION ABOUT, UH, UPDATING THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL WHO ALREADY KNOW SOME BACKGROUND, BUT ALSO TO BE SURE THAT THE NEW MEMBERS ARE CLEAR ON THE, THE STEPS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE AND WHERE WE ARE.

AND I, I FEEL CERTAIN THAT THAT IS UNDERWAY.

WE ARE ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH.

SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

I'M, I'M SO GLAD TO HEAR THAT.

AND MAYBE MORE FREQUENT MEETINGS OF THIS BODY MIGHT, UM, HELP TO ALLEVIATE SOME OF THAT PRESSURE OF TIME.

THANKS.

ALRIGHT.

THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING TO SPEAK.

UM, OUR NEXT ITEM IS APPROVAL OF MINUTES.

[Approval of Minutes]

I WILL TAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 16TH, 2023 MEETING OF THE AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER MAKES THAT MOTION AND VICE CHAIR KELLY SECONDS IT, ARE THERE ANY AMENDMENTS OR CHANGES, UH, AMENDMENTS OR, UH, QUESTIONS ON THE MINUTES? HEARING NONE, IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO APPROVING THE MINUTES THEY ARE ADOPTED? NEXT WE HAVE

[2. General Manager’s Report: Upcoming Recommendations for Council Action, Innovations, events, awards.]

OUR LINEUP OF BRIEFINGS AND GENERAL MANAGER KHAN.

WELCOME.

UH, IN RESPONSE TO THE, TO THE LAST SPEAKER, UM, CHAIR POLL, UH, WE DO HAVE SOME MEETINGS.

I THINK THEY'RE SCHEDULED NEXT WEEK TO UPDATE SOME OF THE NEWER, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS ON FAYETTE.

AND THEN I THINK, AS YOU MAY KNOW ALREADY, WE DO HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION THAT WE'RE GONNA SCHEDULE IN OCTOBER THAT IS TO BRING YOU UP TO SPEED ON ALL THAT.

WE GOT INTO, INTO REAL TROUBLE.

APPRECIATE THAT.

SURE.

SO, UH, SO CHAIR POLL MAYOR PROAM ELLIS, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, THANKS FOR HAVING US HERE TODAY.

I THINK I'VE MET WITH MOST OF YOU, UH, BUT FOR THE ONES THAT I HAVEN'T MET, I AM GENERAL MANAGER, BOB KAHN.

AND, UH, THIS IS MY THIRD TIME BACK HERE.

UH, AND, UH, AFTER I LEFT, AND I RETIRED IN 2007 FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, AND THEN IT WENT ON, I WAS THE C E O OF ERCOT, AND THEN I WORKED AT THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL POWER AGENCY FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS.

AND THAT WAS A KIND OF A MUNI, LIKE, LIKE AUSTIN ENERGY.

AND WE PROVIDED A GENERATION AND TRANSMISSION SERVICES TO BRIAN DENTON, GARLAND AND GREENVILLE.

SO I DID THAT FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS.

AND PRIOR TO AE I WAS AT THE P U C AND I WAS IN PRIOR PRACTICE FOR, FOR SIX YEARS, BASICALLY REPRESENTING CITIES LIKE AUSTIN ENERGY.

AND, UH, THEN I WAS A JAG IN THE AIR FORCE FOR A FEW YEARS UP IN MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA.

UM, SO I DO WANNA TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS A FEW THINGS BEFORE WE GET TO OUR PRESENTATIONS TODAY.

FIRST OFF, AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE COMING OFF A HISTORIC HEAT WAVE.

UM, BY NOW YOU'RE LIKELY VERY FAMILIAR WITH ERCOT MANY WEATHER WATCHES THAT WE'VE, WE'VE HAD DAY AFTER DAY GOING ON THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS, THE CALL FOR CONSERVATION.

WE EVEN HAD AN ENERGY EMERGENCY ALERT THAT BROUGHT US VERY CLOSE TO SOME CON CONTROL OUTAGES, UH, A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.

UH, NOW HOPEFULLY WE'RE TRANSITIONING OUT OF THE HEAT, UH, AND WE AREN'T UNDER AS MUCH PRESSURE.

I THOUGHT IT'D BE A GOOD TIME TO REVIEW ERCOT T'S ENERGY EMERGENCY ALERT LEVELS.

UH, BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE MAYOR AND, UH, CITY MANAGER FOR HELPING TO AMPLIFY OUR MESSAGES ABOUT ERCOT GRID CHALLENGES.

I KNOW THE MAYOR SENT OUT A FEW, UH, PRESS RELEASES AS THINGS GOT VERY TIGHT.

UM, THEY WERE REALLY TIGHT FOR ABOUT 45 DAYS.

UH, UH, A LOT OF TIMES WE'RE WITHIN A, A UNIT, UNIT OR SO TRIPPING BEFORE

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BUT LUCKILY THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.

UM, SO I BRING THIS UP TODAY BECAUSE JUST LIKE WITH THE EXTREME WEATHER, WE'RE GONNA BE FACING FREEZING TEMPERATURES, UH, WHICH MAY BE WELCOME, UH, AGAIN BEFORE WE KNOW IT.

SO I WANNA MAKE SURE EACH OF YOU AND YOUR CONSTITUENTS UNDERSTAND THE TERMINOLOGY AND ACTIONS FOR EACH LEVEL.

SO HERE WE GO.

UH, SO FIRST WE HAVE THE PRE, WHAT I CALL THE PRE EMERGENCY NOTICES.

WE HAVE THE ERCOT WEATHER WATCH, VOLUNTARY CONSERVATION NOTICE, AND THEIR CONSERVATION APPEAL.

THOSE ARE MAINLY WERE US SAYING, PLEASE CONSERVE, PLEASE CONSERVE, TURN UP YOUR AIR A LITTLE, UH, CLOSE YOUR BLINDS, UH, TURN THE LIGHTS DOWN.

AND THESE NOTICES ARE INTENDED TO GET PEOPLE TO CONSERVE.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

UH, THEN IF ENERGY RESERVES GET TOO LOW, THEN WE ACTIVATE THE E E A OR ENERGY EMERGENCY ALERTS, UH, WHICH HAVE THREE LEVELS, ONE, TWO, AND THREE.

AND THE FIRST ONE ALLOWS ERCOT TO EMPLOY ALL RESERVES.

AND THOSE ARE THINGS LIKE, UH, THEY'RE CALLED ANCILLARY SERVICES.

UH, AND, AND THEN WE GO TO LEVEL TWO WHERE ERCOT CAN CALL ON THE LARGER CUSTOMERS TO REDUCE THEIR LOAD DEMAND RESPONSE.

AND THEN AT LEVEL THREE, UH, CONTROL OUTAGES COULD OCCUR.

UM, AS YOU KNOW, A FEW WEEKS AGO WE WENT, WE JUMPED FROM CONSERVATION TO EEA TWO RIGHT AWAY.

SO YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN AN INSTANT IF, IF THINGS ARE GOING ON ON THE GRID THAT ARE UNEXPECTED.

UM, BUT IF WE DO GO TO LEVEL THREE AND WE ARE GONNA HAVE CONTROLLED OUTAGES, WE DO HAVE A ROTATION PLAN IN PLACE WHERE, UM, WE ROTATE THROUGH CERTAIN FEEDERS IN OUR SYSTEM THAT DO NOT HAVE A SERVER CRITICAL LOAD FOR, UH, NO MORE THAN 40 MINUTES.

SO THAT IF THERE'S CONTROLLED OUTAGES, PROBABLY THE MOST YOU'LL BE OUT IS 40 MINUTES.

AND JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, IF THERE IS A CONTROLLED OUTAGE, IT MAY BE THAT A UNIT'S TRIPPED AND MAYBE ER HOUSE'S LOOKING FOR A THOUSAND MEGAWATTS.

SO JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF, OF THE LEVEL OF OUTAGES THAT COULD OCCUR, WE'RE ABOUT 3.55% OF ERCOT.

SO THAT MEANS ABOUT 35 MEGAWATTS IN OUR AREA WOULD HAVE TO BE ROTATED.

OUR PEAK HAS BEEN 3000.

SO ONE PERSON BEING WITHOUT POWER IS NOT GOOD.

BUT IT JUST GIVES YOU AN IDEA THAT IT WOULD BE A MINIMAL AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THAT WOULD BE OUT FOR MAYBE UP TO 40 MINUTES AS A TIME AS WE ROTATE THROUGH FEEDERS THAT WE'VE ALREADY ALREADY IDENTIFIED.

UM, NEXT SLIDE.

UH, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO HERE IS GIVE YOU AN UPDATE, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME OF THE SPEAKERS, UH, AN UPDATE ON OUR, WHERE WE ARE IN OUR RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN, UM, ACTING VICE PRESIDENT, UH, OF POWER PRODUCTION.

MICHAEL ANCHOR'S GONNA PROVIDE MORE DETAIL ON THE FACTORS GOING INTO HOW WE'LL BE UPDATING THE PLAN DURING THE PRESENTATION SHORTLY.

BUT I WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO LET YOU KNOW WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY.

SO YOU RECALL THAT WE HAVE OUR CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION FROM DECEMBER OF 22.

AND SINCE THEN, WE'VE BEEN OPERATING UNDER THAT RESOLUTION'S GUIDANCE EVERY FIVE YEARS OR SO.

UH, WE WORK WITH E U C TO REVISE OUR PLAN BASED ON NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND MARKET CHANGES.

WE'VE HAD MARKET DESIGN CHANGES FROM THE P C AND ERCOT AND THE LEDGE.

WE HAVE THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT COSTS HAVE GONE UP.

SO WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT ALL, ALL THOSE, ALL THOSE ISSUE, ALL THOSE ISSUES.

UM, COUNCIL APPROVED THE 2030 PLAN JUST THREE YEARS AGO AFTER A WORKING GROUP MADE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE RESOURCE PLANS IMPLEMENTATION.

AND THE PLAN WAS ADOPTED LITERALLY THE WEEK THAT WE WENT INTO LOCKDOWN WITH THE PANDEMIC.

UM, THIS TIME WE'RE DOING WHAT I, I'M CALLING A MID-COURSE CORRECTION.

OF COURSE, WE ALL HAVE THE SAME GOAL, RIGHT? CARBON FREE.

THAT'S WHAT WE WANTED TO DO.

AND, UH, WE HAD OUR, OUR TRANSMISSION, UH, PLAN OR UPDATE THAT WAS PRESENTED A MONTH OR SO AGO AT THE E U C.

AND NOW THAT WE HAVE THAT IN OUR POCKET, NOW WE'RE LOOKING IN MORE DETAIL HOW OUR GENERATION RESOURCE PLAN WILL MELD WITH THE TRANSMISSION PLAN.

UM, AND WHEN WE HAVE DESIGNED AN OUTREACH PLAN THAT DIRECTLY ENGAGES CUSTOMERS IN EVERY CUSTOMER CLASS BY HOLDING PUBLIC MEETINGS, LAUNCHING A SURVEY, AND PRESENTING AT THE UC.

AND MICHAEL, WHO WILL GET UP HERE IN A FEW MINUTES, WE'VE ALREADY MADE A PRESENTATION TO THE UC, AND HE IS MADE THIS SAME PRESENTATION TO THE, WE'VE HAD FOUR MEETINGS, ONE LIVE AND THREE VIRTUAL.

AND EACH ONE OF THOSE MEETINGS, WE MADE A PRESENTATION TO THE PARTICIPANTS, UH, ON WHAT OUR, WHAT THE BEGINNINGS OF OUR RESOURCE PLAN ARE GONNA LOOK LIKE AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.

SO WE HAVE PROVIDED COUNCIL WITH A MEMO ON OUTREACH PLAN.

I THINK WE DID THAT IN JULY, I THINK THE FIRST WEEK AFTER I GOT HERE.

UH, LIKE I SAID, WE'VE HOSTED FOUR PUBLIC MEETINGS WITH VARIOUS CUSTOMER CLASSES, BOTH VIRTUAL AND IN PERSON.

WE'VE LAUNCHED A CUSTOMER WIDE A, A SURVEY, WHICH, UH, I THINK WE'VE BEEN OUT HERE FOR ABOUT FIVE WEEKS.

AND, UH, WE HAVE PRESENTED TO THE UC.

AS I SAID, WE'VE

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ACTUALLY GOT GREAT RESPONSES ON THE SURVEY.

WE'VE HAD ABOUT 2300 RESPONSES TODAY.

IT, IT BUILDS AS TIME GOES BY.

AND JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD RESPONSE.

UH, C P S DID SOMETHING SIMILAR ON A SIMILAR TYPE ISSUE WITH THE SURVEY, AND THEY HAD 600 RESPONSES.

SO WE'RE DOING PRETTY GOOD.

IT'S ACTUALLY GONNA THINK, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.

UM, SO THAT WILL BE A, A GOOD THING.

UM, AND GOING FORWARD, THEY'LL HAVE A CHANCE, UH, THEY BEING THE CUSTOMERS, THEY'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE AT OTHER E U C MEETINGS.

YOU KNOW, THEY COULD ALWAYS SHOW UP AT THE MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE MONTHLY TO GIVE THEIR INPUT.

I KNOW THAT THE E U C IS WORKING AS, AS A RESOLUTION CALLED FOR WORKING WITH R M C MEMBERS, AND THEY'RE WORKING WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT, UH, THE RESOLUTION, I THINK CALLED OUT FOR, UH, EXPERTS OR RESOURCE PLANNING.

AND WE'LL BE MAKING PRESENTATIONS TO THE EC.

WE'LL GIVE THEM OUR THOUGHTS.

WE'LL GET FEEDBACK AND, YOU KNOW, SHAME ON US IF WE CAN'T DEFEND WHAT WE WANNA DO.

AND IF THERE WE HEAR GOOD IDEAS, WE'LL CERTAINLY TAKE A GOOD FAITH, LOOK AT ALL THOSE AND WE'LL COME UP WITH OUR PLAN.

AND WE'RE PLANNING TO COME BACK TO YOU IN, I THINK FEBRUARY IS, IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.

THAT'S THE TIMELINE.

UH, THE NEXT THING I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IS, UH, JUST SOME OTHER, I'LL SAY ODDS AND ENDS.

THESE ARE IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AS A TEAM.

AND THERE WE GO.

SO, PROBABLY ABOUT A MONTH AGO, HUNDREDS OF CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITIES CUSTOMERS ATTENDED OUR ANNUAL COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS RESOURCE FAIR AT DELVAL HIGH SCHOOL.

DURING THE LAST WEEKEND IN AUGUST.

THIS FREE EVENT ASSISTS CUSTOMERS WHO NEED HELP WITH MEETING BASIC NEEDS, INCLUDING PAYING THEIR UTILITY BILLS.

THE RESOURCE FAIR GATHERS SUPPORT FROM SEVERAL CIVIC AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TO SHARE INFORMATION, OFFER ASSISTANCE, AND ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT SAVING MONEY ON UTILITY BILLS.

AND MORE.

WE HAD ABOUT 150 EXHIBITORS.

I WAS KIND OF BLOWN AWAY.

I I WAS THERE FOR A FEW HOURS.

I WAS KIND OF BLOWN AWAY WITH ALL THE EXHIBITS THAT WE HAD THERE, ABOUT 150 FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AS WELL AS COUNTY AND STATE AGENCIES AND, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.

AND, AND THANK, THANK YOU TO THOSE OF YOU THAT MIGHT'VE ATTENDED THAT.

THAT FAIR? UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND THE NEXT ONE IS, CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR COOLING TEAM FOR WINNING THE SYSTEM OF THE YEAR AWARD FROM THE INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT ENERGY ASSOCIATION OR IDEA, THE SYSTEM OF THE YEAR AWARD IS THE HIGHEST HONOR IDEA CAN BESTOW ON A DISTRICT ENERGY SYSTEM.

IT RECOGNIZES AN EXEMPLARY DISTRICT ENERGY SYSTEM PROVIDING HIGH LEVEL PERFORMANCE AND SERVICE THAT FURTHER THE GOALS OF THE DISTRICT ENERGY INDUSTRY.

AND THEN, UH, LAST SLIDE.

UH, WE HAD THE, UH, WE PARTICIPATED IN THE 27TH ANNUAL TEXAS LINE WORKERS RODEO THIS YEAR IN SEGE.

UH, OUR LINE WORKERS, INCLUDING JOURNEY PERSON, TEAMS AND APPRENTICES, CAME OUT TO SHOWCASE THEIR SKILLS, COMPETING AND TRAINING WITH OTHER UTILITIES ACROSS THE STATE.

OUR CREWS BROUGHT, WE DID PRETTY GOOD.

WE BROUGHT HOME 11 AWARDS, TESTING THEIR ANALOGY, AND INSTALLING, MAINTAINING AND REPAIRING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS. CRUISE OUR JUDGE ON AGILITY, TECHNIQUE, TECHNIQUE, SPEED, AND SAFETY.

AND ALONG WITH THE TROPHIES, WE ALSO GOT $12,200 TO GO ALONG WITH HELP FUNDING, UH, JOURNEYMAN TRAINING, UH, AND PEOPLE THAT ARE, UH, INTERESTED IN GOING INTO THE UTILITY INDUSTRY.

SO THAT'S ALL I'VE HAD TODAY.

I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.

OTHERWISE, MICHAEL ENGER IS READY TO JUST BITING AT THE BIT TO GET UP HERE AND MAKE HIS PRESENTATION.

THANK YOU MR. CONN.

UH, ANY QUESTIONS? I KNOW THAT COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT CLIMBING THE, THE POLES.

UH, YEAH, SO, SURE.

I'VE ACTUALLY HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO GO TO A LINE WORKER RODEO WHEN IT WAS HERE.

WHICH GAVE ME THIS CRAZY FASCINATION OF HOW THE WORK IS ACTUALLY DONE.

LIKE, YES.

HOW DO THEY DO WHAT THEY DO? SO I WAS ABLE TO TALK YOUR TRAINING TEAM INTO SHOWING ME HOW TO CLIMB AN ELECTRIC POLE AND UHOH .

LEMME JUST SAY IT COULD'VE GONE LIKE MULTIPLE DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, RIGHT? BUT, OKAY.

YOUR TRAINING TEAM IS VERY TALENTED.

AND SO I DIDN'T GET INJURED, WHICH IS AMAZING.

BUT I DID LEARN A LOT ABOUT THE WORK THAT THEY DO, AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT IT IS INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING WORK.

UM, I WAS OUT THERE ON SEPTEMBER 7TH, IT WAS TRIPLE DIGIT HEAT, BUT I WAS ABLE TO PUT ON THE GAS AND THE BELT AND SAFELY CLIMB 10 FEET IN THE AIR ON THE POLE, WHICH IS AMAZING.

UM, CONSIDERING THAT I DON'T HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE IN THAT AT ALL.

AND SO THAT SAID, I WANNA ENCOURAGE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO MIGHT WANT TO GET INTO THAT CAREER, BUT MAYBE DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START OR WHAT TO DO.

THEY CAN GO TO AUSTIN ENERGY.COM/ABOUT/CAREERS AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT WORK.

THERE I AM UP ON THE POLE.

UM, WHICH AGAIN, IS INCREDIBLE.

[00:25:01]

UM, IT WAS GREAT.

IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE.

THEY MADE IT REALLY EASY.

AND I KNOW RIGHT NOW YOU HAVE LINE WORKERS GOING THROUGH THAT TRAINING NOW, AND THEY WILL GRADUATE SOON.

SO ANYBODY CAN APPLY AS LONG AS THEY'RE ABLE TO DO THE PHYSICAL PORTION OF THAT.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO YOUR TALENTED TEAM FOR TRAINING ME AND TEACHING ME SO I CAN GO OUT AND ADVOCATE MORE IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND THANK YOU COLLEAGUES FOR LISTENING TO MY EXPERIENCE.

UM, AGAIN, THE LINE WORKERS GO THROUGH A LOT OF WORK THAT IS CHALLENGING AND EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS, AND IT GAVE ME A REAL APPRECIATION FOR WHAT THEY DO.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND WE'RE REALLY GLAD THAT YOU DIDN'T FALL.

I HEARD STORIES SOMETIMES THEY, THEY FALL ON THE POLE AND GET SPLINTERS EVERYWHERE.

IT'S RIGHT.

IT'S DANGEROUS, BUT THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN TO ME.

SO, YES.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.

I'M NOT SURE MY QUESTION WOULD BE THAT EXCITING, BUT I'M GLAD YOU, I'M GLAD YOU CAME DOWN SAFELY.

UM, I WAS WONDERING, AND, AND IF THIS MAY BE COVERED IN SOME OF THE OTHER PRESENTATIONS AND YOU CAN DEFER TO THEM, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO HOW AUSTIN ENERGY IS APPROACHING THE MANY, MANY FEDERAL GRANT OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.

UM, WE'LL SPEAK TO THAT.

THAT'S, THAT'S IMPORTANT.

IT LOOKS LIKE WE'LL BE SPEAKING TO THAT.

AND, UH, SO GLAD WE'RE GONNA HAVE A SPECIAL FOCUS ON THAT.

COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, AND I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS GONNA BE THE, THE PRELUDE TO OUR NEXT PRESENTATION, BUT I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD HELP UN HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHEN WE SAY WE'RE UPDATING THE PLAN VERSUS, YOU KNOW, A NEW PLAN, DOES THAT MEAN WE'RE, ARE WE, ARE WE CHANGING ANY UNDERLYING GOALS? OR, OR WHAT DOES IT MEAN JUST TO UPDATE RATHER THAN TO YEAH.

SO WE ARE NOT CHANGING OUR GOALS.

UH, AND, AND I'VE, AS I SAID AT OUR PUBLIC MEETING, WE ALL HAVE THE SAME GOAL TO GET CARBON FREE.

IT'S HOW WE GET THERE.

THAT, THAT'S THE QUESTION.

AND, AND WE HAVE A COUPLE NEW THINGS THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE 2020 WHEN WE FIRST PRESENTED THIS PLAN TO BEGIN WITH.

WE HAVE A TRANSMISSION, UH, UPDATE THAT WAS DONE AT THE EUC A MONTH OR SO AGO.

AND WHAT THAT LOOKED AT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NOW A LOT OF WIND AND SOLAR OUTSIDE, I'LL SAY OUR LOAD ZONE.

WE HAVE GENERATION INSIDE OUR LOAD ZONE, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING SOME THINGS WITH THAT.

AND THAT'S GONNA ALTER WHAT OUR TRANSMISSION SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE.

'CAUSE RIGHT NOW WE'RE EXPERIENCING A LOT OF CONGESTION COMING IN.

SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO WITH OUR TRANSMISSION SYSTEM TO MEET OUR GOALS.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING NEW THAT WE HAVE.

WE ALSO HAVE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, UH, THE P U C ERCOT AND, AND, UH, UH, THEY'VE BEEN LOOKING AT A MARKET DESIGN, SO THAT HAS IMPACTED HOW ERCOT WORKS AND IT AFFECTS HOW WE, UH, BRING POWER INTO OUR SYSTEM OR HOW WE, UH, OFFER IN.

AND, UH, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THOSE THINGS.

AND, UH, SO THE ANSWER IS YES, SAME GOALS, BUT OPERATIONAL OPERATIONALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE USING OUR EXPERTISE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THERE AFFORDABLY, YOU KNOW, IN A CLEAN MANNER RELIABLY.

GOT IT.

I'M REALLY GLAD THAT YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION BECAUSE I, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS COULD HEAR US REALLY EMPHATICALLY PUBLICLY SAYING THERE IS NO, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE UPDATE TO THE GENERATION RESOURCE PLAN, WE'RE NOT CHANGING OUR POLICIES.

WE'RE NOT CHANGING OUR GOALS.

RIGHT.

AND IN FACT, THOSE GOALS ARE EMBEDDED IN A NUMBER OF OTHER DOCUMENTS, LIKE OUR CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, FOR EXAMPLE.

ALSO, YES.

UH, SO OUR ASPIRATIONS REMAIN, BUT WE HAVE SEEN SOME CHANGES OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, AND BY THE TIME WE COMPLETE THIS REVIEW AND THEN UPDATE IT, WE WILL BE STILL BE WITHIN THAT FIVE YEAR CYCLE AND, AND THEN WE'LL DO IT AGAIN, UM, THREE TO FOUR OR FIVE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD FROM THEN.

SO IT'S AN ITERATIVE PRO, UH, PROCESS THAT WE ARE ENTERED INTO.

AND I, I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE STAY ON TARGET AND WITHIN THE CADENCE THAT WE'VE LAID OUT SO THAT WE CAN GET THIS, UH, CONTINUE THIS WORK AND MOVE IT FORWARD AND MAKE THE A ADJUSTMENTS AND THE UPDATES AS QUICKLY AND EXPEDITIOUS AND EFFICIENTLY AS WE CAN.

RIGHT.

AND, YOU KNOW, WITH THE HOW QUICKLY TECHNOLOGY CHANGES, UM, WE MIGHT HAVE TO COME BACK TO YOU SOONER AGAIN, IF SOMETHING COMES UP THAT MAKES IT MORE AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE, UH, SO WE'RE ALWAYS WATCHING THOSE THINGS.

AND REMEMBER WE ADDED THE AGENDA ITEM ON INNOVATIONS TO OUR, UM, MONTHLY MEETING AGENDAS.

SO WHEN WE SEE SOME NEW THINGS ON THE HORIZON, AND AS WE SEE STAFF MOVE FORWARD ON NEW PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS, UH, WE CAN GET THOSE UPDATES ON INNOVATIONS IN A REALLY TIMELY FASHION.

ANYTHING ELSE FOR THE GENERAL MANAGER BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE SPECIFIC BRIEFINGS? YES.

MAYOR PRAM QUESTION WHILE WE'VE GOT YOU UP HERE WITH A MICROPHONE.

PROPOSITION NUMBER SEVEN, COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT ENERGY FUND AND WHAT, IF THERE'S ANY POTENTIAL PROJECTS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE THAT FOR, OR HOW THE PROCESS WOULD WORK, SHOULD THAT BE APPROVED? UH, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE 45 MILLION THAT CAME IN? I'M TRYING TO THINK.

UM, THE STATE

[00:30:01]

IS THAT, IS THAT THE 45 MILLION? NO, TAMMY'S GONNA HELP YOU OUT.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, MAYOR PRO TEM, TAMMY COOPER, UM, I THINK WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO IS THE MEASURE THAT'S GONNA BE ON THE BALLOT THIS NOVEMBER, WHICH IS A CERTAIN SEVERAL BILLION DOLLARS ACTUALLY, UH, THAT COULD BE FUNDED AS PART OF SOME OF THE LEGISLATION THAT CAME OUT.

UM, SO AGAIN, FIRST OF ALL, I THINK IT HAS TO PASS.

UH, THERE'S, THERE'S CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, UH, A QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY THAT, THAT WILL GET VOTER APPROVAL, BUT ASSUMING THAT IT DOES, THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION HAS IMPLEMENTED OR HAS INSTITUTED A PROJECT THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE VARIOUS, UH, POTENTIAL, UH, WAYS THAT, THAT, THAT FUND MAY BE DISTRIBUTED AND DISPERSED.

IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE EVALUATING AND LOOKING AT.

UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF UNCLEAR AT THIS POINT UNTIL WE GET MORE FURTHER CONFIRMATION FROM THE P U C AND AGAIN, ENSURE THAT THERE HAS BEEN VOTER APPROVAL FOR THAT.

BUT WE CAN KEEP YOU UPDATED AS THE PROJECT MOVES FORWARD AND LET YOU KNOW AS, AS THINGS MAY POP UP, WHAT OPPORTUNITIES THERE MAY BE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY TO PARTICIPATE.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I'VE, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET MYSELF UP TO SPEED ON WHAT SOME OF THESE PROVISIONS MIGHT HOLD.

UM, AND SO I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT OPPORTUNITIES MIGHT BE THERE, SHOULD, SHOULD IT PASS, OR WHAT WOULD BE THE LIMITATIONS, UM, BE BEFORE WE YEAH, WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE A NOTE TO, UH, COME BACK AND, AND SPEAK WITH YOU ALL, UH, ON THAT TOPIC.

YEAH, LET'S MAKE SURE TO ADD THAT TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS MAYBE IN FEBRUARY.

WHEN WE COME BACK FROM THE BREAK.

UM, AND WE'LL HAVE PA YOU KNOW, THE, THE ELECTION WILL HAVE BEEN COMPLETED, AND IF IT'S PASSED, THEN WE'LL HAVE SOME MORE INFORMATION AND THEN, AND THEN WE CAN KEEP TRACK OF THINGS.

CERTAINLY.

ON TO THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN UPDATE.

ALRIGHT, LET'S MOVE

[3. Resource Generation Plan Update.]

AND MR. KAHAN, WHO DO WE HAVE FROM YOUR STAFF WHO'S GOING TO MAKE THAT PRESENTATION? HI, MICHAEL GER.

HI.

I'LL INTRODUCE NTRODUCE YOURSELF.

HI, MR. GER, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY.

DOES THIS WORK FOR ME? OKAY, AWESOME.

WELL, HEY, GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS MIKE LANGER.

I'M THE ACTING VICE PRESIDENT OF ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS AND RESOURCE PLANNING.

I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY IN THE ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS GROUP FOR A LITTLE OVER 22 YEARS, AND I'M VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON MY TEAM, ESPECIALLY A COUPLE WITHIN RESOURCE PLANNING THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING WITHIN THE INDUSTRY FOR ABOUT 30 YEARS.

SO WE HAVE QUITE A BIT OF EXPERIENCE WITHIN ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS.

UM, TO GET STARTED, I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT AUSTIN ENERGY AND, AND HOW WE SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, WITH ENERGY.

SO AUSTIN ENERGY IS A MARKET PARTICIPANT WITHIN THE ERCOT WHOLESALE MARKET.

UH, PARTICIPATION IS MANDATORY, THAT'S NOT VOLUNTARY.

AND SO WHILE WE ARE VERTICALLY INTEGRATED, WHICH IS U UNIQUE, UH, NOT EVERYBODY IN THE STATE IS VERTICALLY INTEGRATED LIKE OURSELVES.

AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS WE OWN GENERATION, WE OWN WIRES AND WE HAVE RETAIL LOAD.

UH, MANY OF THE, UH, OTHER, UH, UTILITIES OUTSIDE OF, UH, MUNICIPALITIES, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE DALLAS AND HOUSTON, WHEN THE MARKET DEREGULATED, THEY WERE BROKEN UP INTO INDIVIDUAL COMPANIES.

AND SO THEY'RE NOT VERTICALLY INTEGRATED ANYMORE.

UH, BUT WE ARE VERTICALLY INTEGRATED, BUT DESPITE BEING VERTICALLY INTEGRATED, WE ARE NOT DIRECTLY SERVING OUR LOAD WITH OUR OWN GENERATION.

SO HOW ERCOT WORKS IS WE'RE SELLING ALL OF OUR GENERATION SUPPLY INTO THE MARKET AND IS RECEIVING A PRICE AT ITS LOCATION.

ALL THAT POWER GOES INTO THE MARKET.

AND THEN ALL OF OUR, THE DEMAND, THE ELECTRIC LOAD IS BOUGHT BACK FROM ERCOT AT A LOCATION.

IN OUR CASE, THE LOCATION IS, UM, RIGHT HERE IN THIS LITTLE CIRCLE RIGHT HERE, UH, THAT I HAVE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.

UM, AND THEN ULTIMATELY THAT POWER IS THEN DELIVERED TO OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, THROUGH OUR DISTRIBUTION LINES AND, AND BILL THROUGH OUR RETAIL RATES.

AND SO ERCOT IS, UH, THE MAJORITY OF TEXAS.

IT SERVES ABOUT 90% OF THE LOAD IN TEXAS.

THERE ARE SLIGHT PARTS OF TEXAS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF ERCOT, UH, EAST OF EAST TEXAS OVER NEAR HOUSTON.

IF YOU GET A LITTLE FURTHER EAST ISN'T ACTUALLY AN ENTERGY.

UM, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT, LIKE I SAID, LIKE I WAS MENTIONING YOU BEFORE, AND I'LL USE THE, MAYBE TRY TO USE THE POINT HERE, IT'S NOT GONNA WORK, UH, THAT LITTLE KIND OF MAGENTA PIC UH, DOT WHERE THE CIRCLE IS, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE BUYING ALL OF OUR LOAD.

BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR, OUR SUPPLY PORTFOLIO, UH, WHICH WE'VE, WE'VE DONE HERE, UH, YOU'LL, YOU'LL NOTICE IT'S VERY SPREAD OUT.

SO THERE'S, THERE'S TWO THINGS TO NOTE ABOUT OUR SUPPLY PORTFOLIO.

ONE, WE HAVE A VERY DIVERSIFIED PORTFOLIO IN THE GENERATION RESOURCES WE USE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FUEL TYPES.

SO YOU'LL NOTICE THAT WE HAVE, UH, ALMOST 1800 MEGAWATTS OF WIND, UH, THAT IS MOSTLY UP IN THE PANHANDLE DOWN FROM THE NORTH AS WELL AS DOWN ALONG THE COAST WHERE WE GET GOOD PROFILES IN THE AFTERNOONS IN THE SUMMER AS WELL INTO SOUTH TEXAS.

YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE ALMOST A THOUSAND MEGAWATTS

[00:35:01]

OF SOLAR.

A LOT OF THAT'S IN WEST TEXAS.

BUT SOME OF THE MORE RECENT SOLAR WE'VE DONE HAS BEEN RIGHT HERE OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN, TEXAS.

UH, WE HAVE ABOUT 800 MEGAWATTS OF NATURAL GAS.

UH, THAT'S LARGELY RIGHT HERE IN THE, IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UH, WE HAVE ABOUT 600 MEGAWATTS OF COAL.

THAT IS THE FAYETTE POWER PROJECT THAT'S OUT IN FAYETTE, UH, COUNTY, JUST EAST OF HERE.

UH, WE HAVE THE NATOS BIOMASS PLANT AT 105 MEGAWATTS THAT'S IN EAST TEXAS IN NA, OCHE, TEXAS.

AND WE ALSO ARE A PART OWNER, OR WE OWN, UH, ONE SIXTH OF THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT DOWN IN BAY CITY, THE SOUTH TEXAS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT.

WHEN YOU TOTAL ALL REGENERATION CAPACITY UP, YOU'LL SEE THAT IT'S CLOSE TO 4,700 MEGAWATTS.

IF YOU LOOK OVER TO THE RIGHT, I HAVE OUR ALL TIME PEAK DEMAND IN BOTH THE SUMMER AND THE WINTER.

WHAT WE ARE STARTING TO SEE AS WE HAVE MORE AND MORE ELECTRIFICATION AND WE'RE MOVING AWAY FROM NATURAL GAS FOR HEATING HOMES, MOVING MORE TO ELECTRIFYING HEAT IS WE'RE STARTING TO SEE OUR WINTER, UH, PEAK DEMAND AND OUR SUMMER PEAK DEMAND GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER THAN WHAT WE SAW MAYBE FIVE, EVEN 10 YEARS AGO.

BUT YOU'LL NOTICE OUR PEAK DEMAND FOR THE SUMMER IS CLOSER TO ABOUT 3000 MEGAWATTS, AND IN THE WINTER IS CLOSER TO 2,600 MEGAWATTS, SO SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN OUR TOTAL GENERATION CAPACITY.

HOWEVER, ABOUT 2,800 MEGAWATTS OF THAT IS INTERMITTENT RESOURCES, BOTH WIND AND SOLAR.

AND SO THERE WILL ONLY BE A PERCENTAGE OF THAT AT ANY TIME, UH, PRODUCING.

SO WE'RE NEVER GONNA GET UP TO THAT FULL CAPACITY.

BUT WE DO OFTENTIMES SEE A SUPPLY IN OUR PORTFOLIO OF 3,400 MEGAWATTS OR GREATER.

UM, THE OTHER THING YOU'LL NOTICE IS THAT WE ARE SPREAD OUT THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

UH, I LIKE TO CALL THAT GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSIFICATION, AND WE DO THAT INTENTIONALLY.

UM, AND SO THIS NEXT GRAPHIC TALKS ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.

UH, SO WHEN WE LOOK AT DIFFERENT RENEWABLE GENERATION PROFILES, UH, WIND AND SOLAR IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE STATE HAVE DIFFERENT OUTPUT PROFILES.

ON AVERAGE, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ABOUT 45 TO 52 MINUTES, UH, IN THE, IN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE, THE SUN RISING AND FAR EAST TEXAS AND, AND FAR WEST TEXAS, WE'RE A VERY BIG STATE.

AND SO BY HAVING SOLAR EAST AS WELL AS SOLAR WEST, WE'RE ABLE TO KIND OF CHANGE THAT SLOWER RAMP DOWN A LITTLE BIT AND SPREAD IT OUT.

UH, AND THEN WE LOOK AT DIFFERENT WIND PROFILES.

AND SO AS WE, WHEN WE KIND OF STACK THESE TOGETHER, SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE LEFT SIDE, THOSE ARE INDIVIDUAL GENERATION PROFILES FROM DIFFERENT KINDS OF RENEWABLE RESOURCES THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

IF YOU OVER LOOK OVER ON THE RIGHT SIDE, IF WE STACK THOSE ALL TOGETHER, YOU GET THAT BLUE SHADED SHAPE, WHICH IS MUCH MORE CLOSELY, UH, RESEMBLES WHAT OUR LOAD SHAPE LOOKS LIKE, UH, ESPECIALLY IN THE SUMMER HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.

AND SO, WHILE WE'RE NOT DIRECTLY SERVING OUR LOAD, IT IS ADVANTAGEOUS FOR US TO HAVE GENERATION, UH, PRODUCING AT THE SAME TIME OR CONCURRENTLY WITH OUR LOADS THAT THE REVENUES THAT WE RECEIVE FROM THAT, UH, GENERATION HELP OFFSET THE COST THAT WE ARE INCURRING FOR BY BUYING OUR LOAD.

SO JUST REALLY QUICKLY, I WANTED TO SHOW YOU HOW AUSTIN ENERGY SUPPLY PORTFOLIO COMPARES TO THE STATE OF TEXAS AS A WHOLE, OR ERCO.

SO 90% OF THE STATE OF TEXAS.

AND SO OUR SUPPLY PORTFOLIO IS OVER ON THE LEFT.

YOU NOTICE THAT WE'RE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN THE STATE, WHICH IS OVER ON THE RIGHT AND, AND WHICH YOU'LL SEE THE BIG DIFFERENCES THERE IS YOU'LL SEE WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE WIND GENERATION, A LITTLE BIT HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF SOLAR GENERATION.

UH, AND WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT LESS GAS GENERATION.

YOU KNOW, WE HAVE RETIRED TWO LARGE GAS PLANTS OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, UH, WHICH HAS REDUCED THAT, THAT SLICE OF THAT PIE FOR US.

UH, AND WE HAVE BEEN ADDING WIND AND SOLAR OVER THE PAST, UH, PRETTY AGGRESSIVELY OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, UH, WHICH HAVE INCREASED THAT.

BUT I THINK WE'RE JUST A LITTLE BIT FURTHER AHEAD OF ERCOT.

IF YOU LOOK OUT AT THEIR, THEIR SUPPLY QUEUE OR THE QUEUE FOR NEW GENERATION LOOKING TO TIE IN, WHAT YOU'LL NOTICE IS THERE'S ABOUT 31,000 MEGAWATTS OF ADDITIONAL SOLAR LOOKING TO TIE INTO THE STATE.

THAT WOULD BE ON TOP OF THE 17,700 MEGAWATTS WE HAVE, UH, TODAY.

UH, THERE'S ABOUT ANOTHER 5,000 MEGAWATTS OF WIND LOOKING TO TIE IN AND, AND GO COMMERCIAL.

THAT'S ON TOP OF ABOUT THE 39,000 MEGAWATTS WE HAVE TODAY.

AND, AND ON TOP OF THAT, THERE'S A LOT OF BATTERY STORAGE AS WELL, BUT ONLY 1200 MEGAWATTS OF NEW GAS GENERATION IN ERCOT.

SO YOU'LL, YOU'LL START TO SEE THOSE PIE SLICES CHANGING FOR THE STATE, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE WHAT YOU SEE HERE IN AUSTIN ENERGY.

UH, I WILL, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT WE DON'T HAVE THAT, THAT LARGE WEDGE FOR STORAGE THAT YOU'RE SEEING IN THE STATE RIGHT NOW.

A LOT OF THAT STORAGE IS GETTING BUILT MERCHANT RIGHT NOW, WHICH MEANS THEY ARE TAKING ON MARKET RISK.

WE ARE CURRENTLY EVALUATING, UH, UTILITY SCALE BATTERY STORAGE.

UH, WE HAVE BEEN OVER THE LAST, UH, EIGHT TO 10 YEARS.

UH, BUT WE HAVE A COUPLE PROPOSALS IN FRONT OF US RIGHT NOW THAT WE, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, IN PRETTY GREAT DETAIL.

AS WE HAVE SEEN COSTS COME DOWN A LITTLE BIT, UH, IN REFERENCE TO SOME OF THE, IN, UH, THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT AND A FEW OF THE OTHER PIECES OF LEGISLATION THAT HAVE PASSED.

UH, AND SO WE'RE LOOKING TO SEE HOW ECONOMIC THAT WOULD BE AND HOW IT MIGHT BENEFIT OUR CUSTOMERS.

UM, SO THE RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN OF 2030, UH, WAS DESIGNED TO COMMIT AUSTIN ENERGY TO CONTINUE TO SAFELY DELIVER CLEAN, AFFORDABLE, AND RELIABLE ENERGY SUFFICIENT TO MEET CUSTOMER DEMANDS WHILE PURSUING THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S CLIMATE PROTECTION AND SUSTAINABILITY GOALS.

AND SO, UM, WHEN WE WERE DOING THIS BACK IN 2019, WHICH WAS PASSED AT THE CITY COUNCIL IN 2020, BECAME VERY, UH, VERY CLEAR THAT IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO OUR COMMUNITY AND TO OUR CUSTOMERS THAT WE HAVE CARBON REDUCTION.

UH, WHAT WAS ALSO VERY CLEAR AND AND APPARENT WAS THAT OUR CUSTOMERS WANTED AFFORDABILITY AS WELL.

AND WE COULD SEE

[00:40:01]

A LOT OF THINGS CHANGING IN THE MARKET AT THE TIME.

SO IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE MAINTAINED FLEXIBILITY WITHIN THIS RESOURCE PLAN.

SO WE WERE ABLE TO ADJUST TO THE DYNAMICALLY CHANGING ENVIRONMENT THAT WE'RE IN.

AND OVER ON THE RIGHT IS JUST A BLURB FROM THE ACTUAL RESOURCE PLAN THAT SPEAKS TO THAT, UM, THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO RESPOND TO CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES INCLUDING CUSTOMER ELECTRIC LOAD, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, ENERGY, PRICE, AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT WHILE STRICTLY COMMITTING TO CARBON DUCTION.

SO FROM THAT WHOLE PLANNING PROCESS, WE'VE KIND OF DERIVED WHAT WE WOULD CALL, UM, KIND OF FOUR MAIN VALUES OR PRIORITIES, UH, FOR OUR CUSTOMERS AND OUR COMMUNITY.

THAT'S ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, RELIABILITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND THEN COST STABILITY RATES THAT DON'T INCREASE DRASTICALLY YEAR OVER YEAR.

AND OUT OF THOSE OBJECTIVES, WE CAME UP WITH A NUMBER OF GOALS.

MANY OF THEM ARE LISTED HERE, UH, I WON'T MENTION ALL OF THEM, BUT THE DECKER CREEK POWER STATION.

WE HAVE RETIRED DECKER UNITS ONE AND TWO, SO ABOUT 750 MEGAWATTS OF NATURAL GAS STEAM GENERATION, UH, WAS RETIRED, UH, WITH THE LAST UNIT RETIRING IN MARCH OF 2022.

UM, WE HAVE ADDED ADDITIONAL RENEWABLE GENERATION FACILITIES.

UH, MANY OF THOSE PPAS WERE NEGOTIATED AHEAD OF THIS RESOURCE PLAN, UH, BEING VOTED AND APPROVED.

BUT THEY CAME ONLINE, UH, IN THE 2019 TO 2021 TIMEFRAME.

UH, THAT WAS A, AN ADDITIONAL FOUR RENEWABLE RESOURCES.

UH, AND THEN THE TRANSMISSION STUDY HAS RECENTLY BEEN COM UH, COMPLETED, UH, TO UNDERSTAND AS WE CONTINUE TO RETIRE RESOURCES WITHIN OUR, WITHIN OUR CITY IN THE, IN OUR, OUR LOCAL AREA HERE, HOW THAT AFFECTS RELIABILITY.

AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT'S SPURRING THE UPDATE HERE NOW THAT WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION.

UM, SO JUST LOOKING HIGH LEVEL, HOW ARE WE ARE DOING, UH, OVER ON THE LEFT IS YOUR CARBON FREE GENERATION AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD ON A ROLLING 12 MONTH AVERAGE.

YOU'LL NOTICE THAT MOST RECENTLY WE ARE ABOUT 71% OFFSETTING OUR LOAD WITH CARBON FREE GENERATION.

YOU'VE ALSO NOTICED THIS DOWN A LITTLE BIT FROM WHERE WE WERE BACK IN MAY OF 2022, WHICH WAS CLOSER TO 78, 70 9%.

UH, PART OF THE REASON FOR THAT IS WE HAD A VERY UNSEASONABLY, LOW WINDY PERIOD IN, UH, APRIL AND MAY AND EARLY PARTS OF JUNE HERE IN TEXAS.

UH, SO THE WHOLE STATE OF TEXAS HAD MUCH LESS WIND GENERATION THAN THE YEARS BEFORE.

DESPITE MORE CAPACITY, WE ARE ALSO SEEING INCREASING CURTAILMENTS FOR WIND AND SOLAR, UH, GENERATION AS MORE AND MORE OF IT COMES ONLINE AS IT IS GONNA PRODUCE, AS THE WIND AND SUN IS AVAILABLE, NOT NECESSARILY AS LOW IS HIGH OR LOW IS LOW.

UM, OVER ON THE RIGHT I HAVE AUSTIN ENERGY'S POWER PLANT EMISSIONS, AND THIS IS, UH, CARBON EMISSIONS.

SO OUR C O TWO EMISSIONS IN TERMS OF MILLIONS OF TONS.

SO IN 2018, BEFORE WE STARTED WORKING ON THIS PLAN, AUSTIN ENERGY WAS EMITTING ABOUT 5.3 MILLION TONS OF C O TWO FROM OUR POWER PLANTS.

IF YOU FAST FORWARD TO 2022, YOU'LL SEE THAT THAT'S CLOSER TO THREE AND A HALF MILLION TONS.

SO WE'VE REDUCED THAT BY ALMOST 2 MILLION TONS, UH, PER YEAR, UH, SINCE WE PASSED THIS RESOURCE PLAN.

AND TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE'RE DOING THAT IS WHAT WE CALL A REACH, WHICH IS REDUCE EMISSIONS AFFORDABLY FOR CLIMATE HEALTH.

AND SO THIS IS A MARKET-BASED SOLUTION AS OPPOSED TO A MANDATE THAT WILL REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF GENERATION WHEN, WHEN PRICES ARE LOW AND REVENUE IS MUCH LOWER, BUT WOULD STILL ALLOW FOR THAT GENERATION TO, TO RAMP UP WHEN PRICES ARE VERY HIGH DURING THOSE CONSERVATION DAYS.

FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE SEE $5,000 MARKET PRICES TO THEN PRODUCE RE REVENUE TO HELP OFFSET THE COST FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.

SO SINCE WE HAVE ENACTED REACH, WHICH ACTUALLY WE PUT INTO EFFECT THE DAY THAT WE PASSED, THE RESOURCE PLAN WAS PASSED AT CITY COUNCIL BACK IN MARCH OF 2020.

I BELIEVE IT WAS THE FIRST CITY COUNCIL MEETING THAT WAS ALL REMOTE.

SO IT WAS RIGHT AS WE HIT THE PANDEMIC, WE ENACTED IT THAT EVENING.

UM, AND TO DATE, WE HAVE, UH, REDUCED OVER 4.12 MILLION TONS OF C O TWO, UH, THROUGH THE REACH PROGRAM.

AND SO TO LOOK A LITTLE BIT DEEPER AT THAT ON THE BENEFITS, UH, AND THE PERFORMANCE, UM, SO I HAVE THAT 4.12 MILLION TONS REPEATED HERE AGAIN, BUT WHAT WE LOOK AT, 'CAUSE PART OF THAT, UH, REACH WAS AFFORDABLE, RIGHT? UH, WE LIKE TO LOOK AT WHAT IS OUR COST TO REDUCE C O TWO RELATIVE TO SOME OF THE OTHER MARKETS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.

AND SO WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REDUCE THAT 4.12 MILLION TONS AT ABOUT $12 AND 45 CENTS PER TON.

UH, WHEN WE COMPARE THAT CALIFORNIA, THE CREDITS ARE TRADING THERE AT ABOUT $36 PER TON.

AND IF WE LOOK AT THE NORTHEAST, WHICH IS THE REGGIE MARKET, THE REGIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS INITIATIVE MARKET, THOSE ARE CLOSER TO 14 TO SOMETIMES UP TO $16 A TON.

SO WE FEEL THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT FAIRLY AFFORDABLE RELATIVE TO SOME OF THE OTHER MARKETS WE SEE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.

IF YOU LOOK OVER ON THE RIGHT.

THIS DOES SPEAK TO THE AFFORDABILITY ASPECT AS WELL FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.

UH, THIS IS THE ACTUAL DAY OF, UH, AUGUST 17TH.

UH, THIS WAS ONE OF THE DAYS THAT WE HAD A CALL FOR CONSERVATION.

WE HAD LOWER WIND, WE HAD HIGHER PRICES.

YOU CAN SEE OUR LOAD ZONE WENT UP OVER $5,000 A TON.

UH, ON THAT PARTICULAR DAY, THE FAYETTE POWER PROJECT MADE $11 MILLION TO HELP OFFSET THE COST TO OUR LOAD.

UH, THAT WASN'T THE ONLY CALL FOR CONSERVATION WE HAD THERE IN AUGUST AND THEN INTO EARLY SEPTEMBER.

SO IF YOU TAKE THE THREE, THE THREE BIGGEST DAYS THERE, I BELIEVE IT'S AUGUST 17TH, AUGUST 25TH AND SEPTEMBER 5TH, THOSE UNITS WERE ABLE TO PRODUCE $30 MILLION OF REVENUE TO HELP OFFSET, UH, COST TO

[00:45:01]

OUR CUSTOMERS.

SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT JUST $11 MILLION ON A SINGLE DAY, THAT MAKES UP ABOUT 2% OF THE NET COSTS WE'RE PASSING THROUGH TO OUR CUSTOMERS THROUGH THE P S A.

SO IF THAT UNIT'S THERE FOR FIVE OR MAYBE 10, 10 DAYS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR FOR EVENTS LIKE THIS, THAT HELPS REDUCE THE PRESSURE ON OUR P SS A BY 10 TO 20%.

SO RESOURCE PLANNING IS A PROCESS.

UH, WE'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS ALREADY, BUT THERE'S MANY DIFFERENT INPUTS THAT WE HAVE.

WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, THE CUSTOMERS, THE CUSTOMER NEEDS.

WE ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY FOCUSED AND CUSTOMER DRIVEN.

UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT LOAD LOW GROWTH, HOW THAT IS CHANGING.

I DON'T HAVE A GRAPHIC IN HERE, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UM, BACK IN 2020, OUR FIRST YEAR OF THIS PLAN, WE HAD ABOUT 49 INTERVALS WHERE WE EXCEEDED 2,700 MEGAWATTS LOAD HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UH, AND THIS LAST AUGUST WE EXCEEDED, OR THIS LAST SUMMER, WE HAVE EXCEEDED THAT 900 TIMES.

SO OUR LOAD IS GROWING SIGNIFICANTLY HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, ESPECIALLY ON THOSE HOTTER DAYS.

UH, WE NEED TO LOOK AT OUR CUSTOMER PROGRAMS AND HOW THOSE FIT INTO THE RESOURCE PLAN, OUR SUPPLY PORTFOLIO, THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT, AS WELL AS THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT, RELIABILITY, AND THEN THE FINANCIAL IMPACTS ON OUR CUSTOMERS AS WELL AS ON OUR UTILITY.

UM, AND SO WE ARE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW OF, OF RUNNING DIFF VARIOUS SCENARIOS.

YOU KNOW, SETTING SCOPES OBJECTIVES, COLLECTING THE DIFFERENT INPUTS AND ASSUMPTIONS, RUNNING SCENARIOS, DOING UH, FINANCIAL AND RISK ANALYSIS, AND THEN ULTIMATELY SELECTING A PREFERRED STRATEGY THAT WE'LL BE BRINGING BACK TO THE CITY COUNCIL EITHER IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH.

UH, ALONG THE WAY WE WILL BE BRINGING BACK, UH, DRAFT STRATEGIES TO THE E U C TO GET INPUT AND FEEDBACK SO THAT WE CAN TAKE THEIR INPUT AND FEEDBACK INTO ACCOUNT AS WELL AND, AND ADDRESS ANY OF THEIR CONCERNS THAT THEY MAY HAVE.

UM, SO AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED A COUPLE TIMES ALREADY SINCE WE, UM, APPROVED THIS PLAN IN MARCH OF 2020, THERE HAVE A LOT HAS CHANGED.

UH, WE HAD THE PANDEMIC, THAT WAS SOMETHING I DON'T THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE SAW COMING.

UH, IT WAS CERTAINLY A A LOT DIFFERENT, UH, THAN I HAD EXPERIENCED IN MY LIFETIME.

WE'VE SEEN SOME EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS, UH, DUE TO SOME OF THOSE EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.

WE'VE SEEN REGULATORY AND ERCOT MARKET CHANGES, AND WE ARE SEEING INCREASED MARKET VOLATILITY WITHIN OUR LOAD ZONE AS WELL AS THE MARKET IN GENERAL AS WELL.

SO JUST TO TOUCH A LITTLE BIT ON EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS, I HAVE A COUPLE GRAPHICS HERE ON THE LEFT THAT IS AN ACTUAL, UH, GRAPHIC FROM YURI.

UH, WINTER STORM IN URI SAW TEMPERATURES THAT WERE 30 TO 50 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.

AND NOT ONLY WAS IT VERY COLD, BUT IT WAS COLD FOR A SUSTAINABLE PERIOD OF TIME, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT RARE FOR THIS PART OF TEXAS.

UH, LOOKING OVER AT THE RIGHT, I HAVE THE STATEWIDE, UH, TEMPERATURE AVERAGES, UH, FOR LAST YEAR, WHICH WAS THE SECOND HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UH, JUNE THROUGH AUGUST.

UH, AND THIS YEAR IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE BEAT THAT.

SO WE, WE DID IT.

WE HAVE, UH, SET YET ANOTHER RECORD.

UM, AND SO THAT HAS HAD, HAS LED TO JUST MORE EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.

AND FROM THOSE EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS, ERCOT HAS REALLY STARTED TO LOOK AT THE MARKET RULES AND LOOK AT SOME MARKET RULE CHANGES.

UM, AND SO MAYBE A WAY TO KIND OF AT A HIGH LEVEL DESCRIBE IT IS PREVIOUSLY WHILE ERCOT, IT'S, UH, RESPONSIBILITY ALWAYS TO MAINTAIN RELIABILITY, THEY HAD MORE OF A FOCUS ON OPTIMIZING, UH, LOWEST COST TO MEET LOAD OF STILL MAINTAINING RELIABILITY.

AND I THINK GIVEN SOME OF THOSE EVENTS, THERE'S BEEN A LITTLE STEP BACK AND THERE'S MAYBE A LITTLE BIT BIGGER FOCUS ON, ON RELIABILITY AND A LITTLE BIT SMALLER FOCUS ON THE, THE LEASE COST SOLUTION.

UM, PART OF THAT WOULD COME THROUGH ADDITIONAL ANCILLARY SERVICES THAT WE NOW HAVE AND WE ARE OBLIGATED TO PROCURE AS A LOAD.

AND SO THAT IS HOLDING ADDITIONAL GENERATION ON THE SIDELINES TO BE AVAILABLE AND READY WHEN NEEDED.

WHEN YOU HOLD ADDITIONAL, UH, GENERATION ON THE SIDELINES, THAT LEADS LESS GENERATION TO PRODUCE ENERGY, WHICH CAN, UH, LEAD TO HIGHER OVERALL AVERAGE COSTS WITHIN THE SYSTEM.

AND SOME OF THESE OTHER MARKET RULES HAVE, UH, EITHER BENEFITED OR ADVERSELY IMPACTED DIFFERENT GENERATION TYPES.

UH, SO THERE HAS BEEN A DESIRE FOR MORE FIRMING AROUND RENEWABLES, FOR EXAMPLE, WHICH WOULD INCREASE COSTS THERE.

SOME OF THESE NEW ANCILLARY SERVICE PRODUCTS ARE ONLY REALLY PROVIDED BY DISPATCHABLE OR THERMAL GENERATION, SO IT'S ADDED MORE REVENUE FOR THOSE, UH, THOSE TYPE OF GENERATION ASSETS.

UH, LOOKING AT AN INCREASED MARKET VOLATILITY, I HAVE A GRAPHIC HERE OF JUNE THROUGH AUGUST.

UH, 2020 IS IN BLACK AND 2023.

THIS MOST RECENT JUNE THROUGH AUGUST IS IN ORANGE.

AND WHAT YOU'LL NOTICE VERY QUICKLY IS THAT THERE ARE QUITE A FEW MORE ORANGE PRICE SPIKES, UH, THAN WHAT WE SAW IN 2020 AT THE BLACK LINE, AS WELL AS THE MAGNITUDES MUCH, MUCH LARGER.

SO WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASED FREQUENCY IN PRICE OR PRICE SPIKES AS WELL AS A GREATER MAGNITUDE OF THOSE PRICE SPIKES.

UM, TALKING ABOUT MARKET CONGESTION, SO WE TALKED ABOUT WE'RE SELLING ALL OF OUR GENERATION AT THOSE LOCATIONS FROM THAT, THAT MAP THAT SPREAD OUT THROUGHOUT TEXAS, AND WE'RE BUYING ALL OUR LOAD IN THAT ONE LOCATION RIGHT HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

SO YOU CAN LOOK AT THESE KIND OF LIKE A TEMPERATURE HEAT MAP IF YOU WILL.

SO INSTEAD OF RED BEING MUCH HIGHER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES RED IN THIS CASE WOULD BE HIGHER PRICES AND THE DARKER BLUE WOULD BE THE LOWER PRICES AS OPPOSED TO LOWER TEMPERATURES.

AND WHAT I WANTED TO SHOW HERE IS THAT THE TOP THREE GRAPHICS THERE ARE ALL IN THE SAME DAY.

SO CONGESTION IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS, UM, EASILY PREDICTABLE.

[00:50:01]

IT CAN CHANGE QUICKLY, IT CAN CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND IT CAN CHANGE FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.

IT HAS TO DO WITH THE POWER FLOW WITHIN THE SYSTEM.

SO IT CAN CHANGE DEPENDING ON HOW WIND OR SOLAR IS PRODUCING.

IT CAN ALSO CHANGE DEPENDING ON HOW A POWER PLANT IS PRODUCING OR IF A POWER PLANT TRIPS OFFLINE, AS WELL AS IF THERE'S TRANSMISSION ELEMENTS, UH, THAT GO INTO OUTAGE.

UM, AND DOWN BELOW IS JUST YET ANOTHER DAY IN AUGUST WHERE YOU CAN SEE HOW THAT, THAT PATTERN CAN CHANGE PRETTY DRASTICALLY.

UM, SO WHAT IS CONGESTION? I, I THINK I'VE SPOKEN TO YOU ALL A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS BEFORE, BUT I'LL JUST TRY TO GO THROUGH THIS BRIEFLY.

UM, SO IF WE LOOK AT TRANSMISSION LINES AS ROADS AND WE LOOK AT ELECTRONS AS CARS, UH, SO I HAVE A PICTURE UP HERE OF I 35.

UH, IF WE HAD SOMEBODY IN AUSTIN MONITORING ALL OF THE ROADS WITH THE IDEA THAT IF THERE WAS A WRECK OR ONE ROAD CLOSED, WE COULD DIVERT ALL THE TRAFFIC WITHOUT ANY GRIDLOCK.

UM, THAT IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT ERCOT IS TRYING TO DO ON THE LINES, ON THE TRANSMISSION LINES.

IF YOU HAVE GRIDLOCK, WE WOULD LIKEN THAT TO A, TO A BLACKOUT.

SO WHEN YOU HAVE GRIDLOCK WITH CARS, IT'S VERY UNSAFE.

AMBULANCES CAN'T GET TO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO.

FIRE TRUCKS CAN'T GET TO, CAN'T GET TO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO.

IF YOU HAVE A BLACKOUT, IT'S VERY UNSAFE AS WELL.

WE DON'T HAVE THE ELECTRICITY THAT WE DEPEND ON FOR LICENSE REPORTING SERVICES AS WELL AS SECURITY.

AND SO ERCOT IS CONSTANTLY MA MONITORING THESE TRANSMISSION LINES IN WHAT WE CALL AN N MINUS ONE CONTINGENCY.

BUT THE IDEA THAT IF ANY OF THESE LINES GO DOWN AT ANY TIME, CAN WE DIVERT ALL OF THE ENERGY, UH, AND AND CONTINUE TO HAVE ELECTRONS FLOW SO THAT WE CAN AVOID, UH, THAT BLACKOUT.

AND THEY DO THAT THROUGH PRICE SIGNALS THAT THE CONGESTION MAPS I SHOWED YOU BEFORE, WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S TOO MANY CARS ON ONE ROAD OR TOO MANY ELECTRONS ON ONE TRANSMISSION LINE, THEY'RE GONNA GIVE THAT A MUCH LOWER PRICE INDICATING WE WANT LESS LOAD IN THIS AREA OR COMES CONVERSELY, YOU MIGHT GET AN IDEA FROM ANOTHER AREA THAT COULD PROVIDE COUNTERFLOW, IF YOU WILL, WHERE WE WANT MORE GENERATION IN THIS AREA.

SO THE GENERATION WILL GET A HIGHER PRICE, UM, DEPENDING ON ON WHICH SIDE OF THE, THE CONSTRAINTS YOU'RE ON.

BUT AUSTIN ENERGY ALSO HAS AN AN ADDITIONAL, UH, NUANCE OR, OR CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH, AND THAT IS, UH, LOCAL CONGESTION OR A LOAD ZONE PRICE SEPARATION.

AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE REALLY STARTED TO SEE, UH, BECOME, UH, MUCH MORE APPARENT WITH THE RETIRE THE FINAL RETIREMENT OF THE, OF THE DECK OR TWO UNIT AND HAVING LESS, LESS LOCAL GENERATION, UM, AS WELL AS WHEN OUR LOAD CONTINUES TO GROW.

WHEN I MENTIONED EARLIER THE NUMBER OF TIMES WE GOT ABOVE 2,700 MEGAWATTS IN 2020 VERSUS 2023, SO WE'RE ON THE LEFT.

THIS IS AN ACTUAL, UM, DAY IN THE MARKET.

IT WAS JUNE 15TH.

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT BLUE RELYING RIGHT THERE.

THAT IS THE PRICE WE ARE PAYING FOR WHOLESALE ENERGY.

THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PAYING TO BUY THE POWER.

SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT UNDER A THOUSAND DOLLARS THERE, MAYBE ABOUT $900 PER MEGAWATT HOUR.

AND THAT LASTED FOR A GOOD NUMBER OF HOURS, ABOUT SIX HOURS.

UH, IF YOU LOOK DOWN THERE AND YOU SEE THAT ORANGE LINE THAT IS THE HUB AVERAGE FOR GENERATORS, THAT'S WHAT THE AVERAGE GENERATOR'S RECEIVING.

SO THEY'LL BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY'RE AT.

UH, BUT THIS A JUST A GOOD KIND OF RULE OF THUMB TO WHAT IS GENERATION RECEIVING VERSUS WHAT IS LOAD PAYING.

SO IN THIS SITUATION, WE'RE PAYING ALMOST $900 PER MEGAWATT FOR OUR LOAD, BUT WE'RE ONLY GETTING PAID 50, $50 TO MAYBE $75 FOR OUR GENERATION.

AND THAT CAN CREATE A SIGNIFICANT, UH, FINANCIAL IMBALANCE ON THE DAY AND, AND PUT PRESSURE ON OUR RATES.

AND SO JUST A LITTLE GRAPHIC ON ON WHY THAT OCCURS.

SO THINK ABOUT WE HAVE ALL THESE ROADS COMING TO AUSTIN, BUT YOU MIGHT HAVE SOME, SOME POWER PLANTS WITH ROADS THAT ARE, ARE PUTTING CARS OUT, RIGHT IN AUSTIN.

SO YOU HAVE KINDA LINES COMING IN AND LINES GOING OUT.

SO WHILE WE'RE NOT PHYSICALLY SERVING OUR OWN LOAD, WE ARE HELP OFFSETTING, UH, THE PHYSICS OF IMPORT CONSTRAINTS.

AND SO AS WE RETIRE UNITS, IT JUST REQUIRES MORE OF THOSE ELECTRONS TO FLOW INTO THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO SERVE OUR LOADS.

SO WE'RE MORE DEPENDENT ON THOSE ROADS FROM OUTSIDE THE CITY AND WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF CONTROL OVER WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE ROADS A LITTLE BIT FURTHER OUT OF OUR CITY.

SO WE'RE A LITTLE BIT MORE DEPENDENT ON OTHER MARKET PARTICIPANTS TO AVOID SITUATIONS LIKE JUNE 15TH.

SO THERE HAVE BEEN A, A QUITE A, A FEW, UM, NEW AND EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL, NOT JUST CHALLENGES, UH, IT'S BEEN MENTIONED EARLIER, THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT HAS A LOT OF, UH, BENEFITS AND, AND GRANTS AVAILABLE, UH, TO HELP MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME OF THE CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES WE WOULD LIKE TO DO.

THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT IS VERY EXCITING TO ME PERSONALLY.

UH, YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST WE'VE DONE A LOT OF PURCHASE POWER AGREEMENTS FOR RENEWABLES BECAUSE WE WERE UNABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PRODUCTION TAX CREDITS OR INVESTMENT TAX CREDITS.

THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT ALLOWS US TO TAKE A DIRECT PAY OF A SIMILAR BENEFIT THAT A PRIVATE DEVELOPER COULD, COULD TAKE, MAKING, OWNING RE RENEWABLES MORE AFFORD AFFORDABLE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.

AND THERE'S ALSO CARVE OUTS IN THERE THAT MAKE OWNING AND BUILDING LOCAL SOLAR IN THE RIGHT LOCATIONS OF AUSTIN MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE AND CLOSER TO THE COST THAT WE SEE FOR UTILITIES SCALE SOLAR.

ON THE NEW EMERGING TECHNOLOGY SIDE, WE ARE SEEING SOME TECHNOLOGIES MATURE A BIT FASTER THAN WE ANTICIPATED BACK IN 2019.

UH, I'VE LISTED A FEW UP HERE, GREEN HYDROGEN WITH THE OVERSUPPLY OF, OR THE OVERBUILD OF WIND AND SOLAR IN THE STATE THAT IS NOT THERE ALL OF THE TIME, BUT IS THERE QUITE A BIT AT A TIME.

THERE IS A LOT OF CURTAILED ENERGY.

I MENTIONED THAT EARLIER, THAT MIGHT BE PRIME TO, TO RUN ELECTROLYZERS IN CERTAIN AREAS

[00:55:01]

TO CREATE GREEN HYDROGEN.

UH, WE ARE SEEING LONGER DURATION STORAGE.

A LOT OF THE STORAGE YOU SEE BUILT IN TEXAS IS TYPICALLY FROM 40 MINUTES TO TWO HOURS LONG.

THERE IS SOME NEW STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE LOOKING TO COMMERCIALIZE HERE THIS YEAR THAT ARE A HUNDRED HOUR STORAGE DEVICES, SO, WHICH HELP MUCH, MUCH BETTER DURING A URI TYPE EVENT.

UH, WE'RE SEEING ADVANCEMENTS IN ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTORS AND RESURGENCE THERE, AND WE'RE ALSO STARTING TO SEE MORE CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION.

I'M AWARE OF A PARTICULAR POWER PLANT IN CALIFORNIA THAT HAS RECENTLY, UH, WENT C O D WITH A CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION DEVICE.

THERE'S ALSO ONE UP IN WEST TEXAS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO BUILD AT A COMBINED CYCLE RIGHT NOW.

SO WHAT'S NEXT IS WE HAVE BEEN SOLICITING FEEDBACK FROM OUR CUSTOMERS.

BOB MENTIONED THE, THE GOOD RESPONSE WE'VE HAD FOR OUR SURVEY THAT IS A STATISTICAL, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER GIVEN THE POPULATION SIZE.

UH, WE ARE EVALUATING THOSE EXISTING AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE TALKED ABOUT AND SEEING HOW THOSE FIT INTO CARBON REDUCTION, AFFORDABILITY, RELIABILITY, AND RATE STABILITY.

AND THEN ULTIMATELY WE WILL BE BRINGING BACK DRAFT UPDATED PLANS TO THE UC FOR FEEDBACK AND INPUT.

AND THEN WE'LL BRINGING BACK A FINAL PLAN FOR APPROVAL TO THE CITY COUNCIL IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH OF NEXT YEAR.

SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR PREPARED SLIDES, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ANYBODY MAY HAVE.

THAT'S GREAT.

TIMES, DEPENDING ON WHAT'S GOING ON WITHIN THE SYSTEM WHERE, WHERE IT MAY NOT BE AS BENEFICIAL OR HELP, UH, CERTAINLY WHEN THE SUN'S NOT SHINING.

UM, WE'VE BEEN WAITING TO HAVE THE UPDATE ON, ON THE PLAN FOR A WHILE AND I'M SURE MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.

I'M GONNA KICK IT OFF, UM, TO TALK, UH, TO ASK YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, WE'VE HAD TWO WINTER STORMS AND A RECORD HEAT WAVE SINCE, UH, AND RECORD HEAT SINCE WE DEVELOPED THE LAST GENERATION RESOURCE PLAN.

HOW ARE YOU FACTORING THESE EXTREME TEMPERATURES AND CIRCUMSTANCES INTO YOUR PLANNING? SURE.

SO WE DO, UM, PLANNING IN, IN OUR GROUP WE TYPICALLY HAVE, UH, THREE TO FIVE DIFFERENT FORECASTS WE'RE LOOKING AT.

WE HAVE A BASE FORECAST, WHICH IS BASED ON THE FORECASTED WEATHER THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM ALL THE METEOROLOGISTS OUT THERE.

UH, ON TOP OF THAT WE HAVE AN EXTREME, UH, FORECAST, A MILD FORECAST, AND THEN WE HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL FORECAST WHERE WE STRESS IT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER OUT AND WE TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT AS WE'RE PLANNING AND, AND PUTTING POSITIONS ON IN THE MARKET.

I WILL TELL YOU THAT WEATHER FORECASTS HAVE BEEN QUITE A BIT OFF HERE RECENTLY.

AND IF YOU EVER GO OUT AND LOOK@ERCOT.COM AND LOOK AT THEIR, THEIR DAY AHEAD LOAD PROJECTION VERSUS THE ACTUAL LOAD PROJECTION PROJECTION, YOU'LL SEE THAT SOMETIMES IT VARIES BY AS MUCH AS 7,000 MEGAWATTS, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANT.

UH, AND SO TYPICALLY DEMAND FORECASTS ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS THE WEATHER.

I CAN ALSO TELL YOU THAT OUR EXTREME WEATHER FORECAST FOR OUR LOAD, WE, WE EXCEEDED THAT LOAD BY OVER 50 MEGAWATTS.

SO IT'S AN ONGOING CHALLENGE AND SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALL TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH AND, AND LOOKING FOR BETTER FORECASTS.

BUT WE HAVE SEEN FORECASTS, UH, FOR WEATHER, WHICH ARE THE DRIVER FOR A LOT OF THESE OTHER FORECASTS NOT AS ACCURATE OVER THE LAST THREE TO FIVE YEARS.

SO IT, IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE LOOK AT AND WE, WE TRY TO CAST A WIDE NET, BUT WE CAN'T MAN MANAGE OE TO THE MOST EXTREME OUTCOME 'CAUSE THAT INCREASES COST AND, AND HERTS AFFORDABILITY.

SO HAVE THOSE EXTREMES HAD SOME IMPACTS ON THE CALCULATIONS THAT YOU HAVE FOR WHAT YOU EXPECT FOR FORECAST? WELL, CERTAINLY, AND, AND I WILL SAY, UH, THOSE EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS WERE NOT IN OUR MODELS WHEN WE, WE SET OUR RESOURCE PLAN IN 2020.

AND SO PART OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT IN THIS RESOURCE PLAN IS WE HAVE SEEN SOME OF THESE WEATHER EVENTS MATERIALIZE.

WE'VE SEEN THAT RISK MATERIALIZE AND WE UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED TO DIFFERENT GENERATION ASSETS THROUGHOUT THE STATE WHEN PARTICULAR WIND FARMS FROZE UP WHEN SOLAR WAS PRODUCING AND NOT PRODUCING.

AND SO ULTIMATELY WE WANT TO TAKE THIS RESOURCE PLAN THAT WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO Y'ALL WITH AND MAKE SURE IT SURVIVES SOMETHING LIKE A WINTER STORM URI.

'CAUSE WE CAN'T MEET ANY OF THESE GOALS OUT IN 2035 IF WE'RE UNABLE TO WEATHER SOME OF THESE VERY SIGNIFICANT EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.

SO WHAT ABOUT DISPATCHABLE GENERATION? WILL HAVING MORE DISPATCHABLE GENERATION HELP US IN FUTURE WINTER STORMS? IT, IT CERTAINLY IS VERY BENEFICIAL.

IT WAS VERY BENEFICIAL TO US DURING THE WINTER STORM.

YURI, AS YOU ARE WELL AWARE, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, HAD A DIFFERENT OUTCOME THAN MANY IN THE STATE, UH, WHERE WE DID NOT INCUR SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL LOSS DURING WINTER STORM YURI, WE HAD ADDITIONAL, UH, EXCESS GENERATION THAT ALLOWED US TO PRODUCE EXTRA, UH, REVENUE TO OFFSET THAT COST AND A LITTLE BIT MORE REVENUE THAN ACTUAL COST.

SO IT DID BENEFIT OUR CUSTOMERS.

UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID SEE DURING WINTER STORM URI IS THERE WERE PERIODS WHEN, WHEN SOME OF THE RESOURCES WITHIN OUR PORTFOLIO WERE NOT PRODUCING, AND THAT'S WHERE THAT N MINUS ONE CONTINGENCY OR DISPATCHABLE GENERATION CAN KIND OF COME IN AND BE THAT, THAT REAL TIME PHYSICAL CALL OPTION, IF YOU WILL, TO HELP PROTECT OUR CUSTOMERS, WOULD MORE LOCAL SOLAR HAVE HELPED US, UH, WITH TRANSMISSION CONGESTION AND COST CHALLENGES.

IT, IT CAN AT TIMES, UH, BUT, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY NOT, UH, A FULL AND COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION.

SO AT TIMES, YES, IT CAN HELP, HELP REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF, OF GEN, UH, SORRY, IT CAN HELP REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF ELECTRICITY WE'RE IMPORTING.

SO WE DON'T PUT AS MUCH STRAIN AND STRESS, AND WE MAY NOT SEPARATE AS QUICKLY, BUT THERE ARE

[01:00:01]

BUT ALSO, UH, DURING ONE OF THESE MOST RECENT EVENTS, WE HAD A PERIOD WHERE ONE OF THE SOLAR GENERATORS WITHIN OUR SERVICE TERRITORY ACTUALLY WENT TO MINUS $350 WHERE MY LOADS WENT TO $900.

SO THAT CONGESTION CAN HIT IN MULTIPLE AREAS FOR MULTIPLE REASONS.

SO IT'S CERTAINLY NOT, UH, IT, IT, IT HELPS, BUT IT'S NOT A COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION.

ALRIGHT.

QUESTIONS COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON AL ALTER.

I APPRECIATE, UM, THE PRESENTATION.

THAT'S THE SECOND TIME I HEARD IT.

I WENT TO THE, UM, THE PUBLIC MEETING.

UM, AND, AND I THINK THIS IS A REALLY VERY IMPORTANT, UM, EXERCISE THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH AND, AND I WAS PLEASED TO AUTHOR THE RESOLUTION CALLING FOR IT LAST DECEMBER.

UM, I HAVE A, A QUESTION THAT I CAN TRY TO ARTICULATE.

IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL IF YOU COULD PUT UP SLIDE NUMBER NINE FOR ME PLEASE.

SO AS WE'VE TRIED TO, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND, UM, SOME OF THE ADVOCATES AND THE MEMBERS OF THE E U C AND THE R M C WHO, WHO ARE EAGER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCESS AND IN THIS UPDATE WHO IN FACT WORKED WITH ME TO CALL FOR THE UPDATE, UM, IN THE FIRST PLACE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COMES UP IS THIS NOTION OF WE'RE NOT CHANGING OUR GOALS, BUT WE SEEM TO USE THAT TERM IN MULTIPLE SENSES.

SO I WANTED TO GET A LITTLE BIT OF CLARITY WHEN I'VE BEEN SAYING AND THINKING ABOUT OUR GOALS ARE NOT CHANGING.

I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THESE ORANGE SHAPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, RELIABILITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND COST STABILITY.

IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY OUR GOALS ARE NOT CHANGING? OR ARE YOU SAYING, YOU KNOW, OUR GOAL OF 200 MEGAWATTS OF THIS KIND OF LOCAL SOLAR IS OUR GOAL, SO THAT'S NOT CHANGING, RIGHT? YEAH, I WOULD, AT WHAT LEVEL IS RIGHT.

SO I, I WOULD CALL THESE MORE VALUES AND PRIORITIES OF OUR COMMUNITY, UH, WITH SOME OF THE GOALS OF BEING, UH, CARBON FREE STACK EMISSIONS BY 2035.

UM, 65% RENEWABLE BY 2027.

I BELIEVE IT'S 55% RENEWABLE BY 2025.

UH, I BELIEVE THERE'S A LOCAL SOLAR GOAL IN THERE.

MIGHT MESS THIS UP, BUT I THINK IT'S 375 MEGAWATTS WITH 200 MEGAWATTS CUSTOMER CITED.

SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF GOALS AND RESOURCE PLANS.

SO WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY LOOKING TO CHANGE THOSE GOALS, UH, BUT WE WILL BE EVALUATING SOME OF THOSE GOALS IN THE NEAR TERM VERSUS THE LONGER TERM AND HOW AFFORDABLE IT IS FOR US TO GET THERE, AS WELL AS THE IMPACTS ON RELIABILITY.

SO THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOME OF THOSE KIND OF GOALS THAT YOU'VE MENTIONED AT THE LEVEL, YOU KNOW, OF ANALYSIS.

SO IT, IT SEEMS TO ME WE MIGHT WANNA INCREASE OUR LOCAL SOLAR IF WE'RE TRYING TO DEAL WITH LOAD SEPARATION AS ONE OF THE STRATEGIES.

AND, AND WE HAVE THERE, WE CAN, WE CAN TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT THERE.

WE, WHEN WE COME BACK, THERE MAY BE SOME TWEAKS TO SOME OF THOSE GOALS.

IT'S NOT THE INTENT FROM THE OUTSET TO CHANGE THOSE GOALS, IT'S TRY TO MAINTAIN THOSE GOALS AND LOOK FOR THE BEST GENERATION MIX TO, TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS.

BUT AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS, THERE MAY BE SOME TWEAKS TO SOME OF THOSE GOALS THAT MAY BENEFIT US THAT WE WOULD WANNA BRING BACK AND DISCUSS.

I, I THINK THAT THERE'S SOME LANGUAGE SHIFTING THAT'S GOING ON BETWEEN WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY'S TALKING ABOUT AND WHAT THE ADVOCATES ARE.

AND I'M NOT GONNA RESOLVE IT TODAY ON THE DAAS.

UM, BUT I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO THINK THAT THROUGH A LITTLE BIT MORE CLEARLY AS TO WHAT IS MOVABLE AND WHAT IS NOT MOVABLE.

BECAUSE AT SOME LEVEL, IF WE'RE NOT MOVING ANY OF THESE THINGS, THEN THE, THE UPDATE HAS NO VALUE.

AND WE, WE CLEARLY ALL AGREE THAT THERE'S VALUE AND NEED FOR THIS UPDATE GIVEN THE MARKET CONDITIONS AND THE OTHER, THE OTHER, THE OTHER PIECES.

SO I THINK THERE'S SOME MISCOMMUNICATION OR SOME DIFFERENCES IN APPROACH THAT IF WE COULD IRON OUT WHAT THAT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL, UM, TO GET THE COMMUNITY ON BOARD MORE FULLY WITH THIS PROCESS AND FOR, FOR THERE TO BE GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE GOALS OF, OF THE, OF THE UPDATE.

SURE.

UM, I ALSO WANTED TO INVITE, UM, MS. WHITE IF YOU WANTED TO COME UP AS A MEMBER OF THE EC, UM, TO RESPOND TO THE PRESENTATION BRIEFLY.

IS IT THAT YOU ALL WANT? AND I HEAR YOU SAYING THAT PERHAPS LOCAL SOLAR GOALS ARE SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED.

COUNCIL MEMBER.

UM, YEAH, I, I'M A MEMBER OF THE UC AND I'VE BEEN HELPING TO, UH, STAND UP THE, UM, RESOURCE PLANNING WORKING GROUP THAT AL MENTIONED EARLIER.

AND I AGREE THIS, UH, ISSUE OF WHAT IS IS UP FOR CONSIDERATION IN THIS UPDATE IS I THINK, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE DEFINITELY COULD USE ADDITIONAL CLARITY ON, AND FRANKLY, WE COULD USE CLARITY FROM, FROM YOU ALL, WHAT

[01:05:01]

I WOULD ALSO JUST HIGHLIGHT THERE ARE OTHER, UM, GOALS IN THE PLAN, INCLUDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY GOALS THAT ARE NOW, UM, I THINK DEFINITELY AFFECTED BY NEW FEDERAL INCENTIVES.

THAT'S A GREAT THING THAT WE HAVE OUTSIDE MONEY TO DRAW ON TO, UM, YOU KNOW, BOOST ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN OUR COMMUNITY.

SAME THING GOES FOR SOLAR AND, AND LOCAL SOLAR IN PARTICULAR.

ANOTHER, UM, ITEM THAT I THINK SHOULD BE ON THE TABLE, UH, FOR, FOR, UH, I GUESS CHANGING GOALS WOULD BE THAT CARBON FREE DATE.

ONE OF THE, THE REASONS FOR DOING A TRANSMISSION STUDY AT THE TIME THAT IT WAS INITIATED OR COMMITTING TO IT.

AND IT WAS JUST ONE REASON I REALIZED THE STUDY WOULD'VE BEEN NEEDED EITHER WAY.

BUT WE WERE IN A COMMUNITY CONVERSATION WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND WITH THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL AT THAT TIME ABOUT SHOULD CARBON FREE BE AT 2030 OR 2035.

AND ONE OF THE BIG, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF QUESTION MARKS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, STAFF BROUGHT UP WAS WHAT TRANSMISSION UPGRADES WOULD BE NEEDED AND HOW LONG WOULD THEY TAKE? AND THIS STUDY WAS INTENDED TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION AND I, AND I THINK THAT IT DID.

AND, AND THAT'S GREAT WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE.

SO MY HOPE AND EXPECTATION, AND I THINK THIS GOES FOR THE OTHERS WHO ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE PROCESS, IS THAT THAT GOAL IS OPEN FOR DISCUSSION, SHOULD IT BE MOVED FORWARD TO BE EARLIER THAN 2035.

SO THAT'S JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THREE, UM, GOALS.

I GUESS ANOTHER ONE THAT I WOULD, UM, HIGHLIGHT THERE IS ENERGY STORAGE.

THERE IS NO COMMITMENT TO BATTERY STORAGE IN THE EXISTING PLAN.

AUSTIN ENERGY, YOU KNOW, I THINK HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE ERCOT MARKET IS ACTUALLY MOVING FORWARD QUICKER THAN THEY HAVE ON BATTERY STORAGE.

AND CERTAINLY THAT INDICATES THAT THE, NOT ONLY THE TECHNOLOGIES, BUT THE ECONOMICS OF THAT HAVE CHANGED.

AND SO THAT ALSO SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE UPDATED IN THE PLAN.

THERE'S PROBABLY OTHER NUANCES IN THERE AS WELL, BUT THOSE ARE A FEW OF THE LIKE GOALS THAT I THINK WE WOULD SEE SHOULD BE ON THE TABLE FOR DISCUSSION.

BUT IT'D BE HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT Y'ALL THINK ABOUT IT.

THANK YOU, MS. WHITE, YOU CAN RESPOND TO THIS RESPOND.

SO WE DID DO A TRANSMISSION STUDY AND IF MS. WHITE, UH, WENT THROUGH IT, SHE WOULD SEE THAT IT WAS, IT LOOKED ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO GET TO THAT CARBON FREE GOAL EARLIER AND MAINTAIN RELIABILITY.

THERE'S A NUMBER OF INVESTMENTS THAT NEED TO BE MADE THAT WILL TAKE LONGER THAN SEVEN YEARS TO DO, UH, ON THE AFFORDABILITY OF BATTERY STORAGE.

I WILL SAY DURING WINTER STORY, YURI, QUITE A FEW BATTERY COMPANIES WENT BANKRUPT AND OUT OF BUSINESS, SO I'M NOT SURE IF THE ECONOMICS ARE QUITE THERE.

AND A LOT OF THE ECONOMICS THAT OTHER BATTERY DEVELOPERS GET WHEN THEY GET THESE FINANCED IS TO CARRY RESPONSIVE RESERVE SERVICES FOR 24 HOURS IN A BATTERY, EVEN THOUGH IT CANNOT ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY DO THAT.

AUSTIN ENERGY TRIES TO BE A GOOD MARKET PARTICIPANT, UH, AND, AND WE ONLY CONVEY WHAT WE CAN DO TO THE ERCOT MARKET.

WE DON'T TRY TO PLAY FINANCIAL GAMES AND OPERATE WITHIN THE GRAY AREAS OF THE PROTOCOLS.

SO WE DON'T HAVE TO REHASH EVERYTHING AGAIN.

I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE PART OF THE KINDS OF CONVERSATIONS THAT I HOPE WILL BE TAKING PLACE, YOU KNOW, WITH THE WORKING GROUP, WITH THE E U C SO THAT WHEN YOU COME BACK TO COUNCIL, WE HAVE, UM, ADDRESSED SOME OF THESE THINGS, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, KNOW CHALLENGES TO ASSERTIONS OR ON EITHER SIDE CAN BE ADDRESSED AND, AND DISCUSSED OUT.

UM, I DID WANNA ASK, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THE E U C HAS SET UP A WORKING GROUP THAT INCLUDES R M C AND SOME OTHER FOLKS, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S, THAT AUSTIN ENERGY'S WORKING, UM, WITH THEM TO PROVIDE ANSWERS.

I DID JUST WANNA, UM, YOU KNOW, EXPRESS THAT AS MY HOPE AND I'D LIKE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO RESPOND IN A TIMELY FASHION TO THOSE AND MAYBE AIM FOR A WEEK OR 10 DAYS AS YOUR RESPONSE AND THEN IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO MEET THAT, BECAUSE SOMETIMES THEY'LL BE QUESTIONS THAT TAKE LONGER THAT YOU CAN BE UPFRONT AND OPEN ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A QUESTION THAT'S GONNA TAKE LONGER BECAUSE WE HAVE TO DO X, Y, AND Z AND THIS IS WHEN WE THINK WE CAN GET IT.

UM, I KNOW WE HAD A SERIES OF QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED BY THE UC AND IT TOOK QUITE A WHILE, UM, TO GET ANSWERS AND THEY WEREN'T NECESSARILY, UM, AS SUBSTANTIVE AS THEY WOULD LIKE, IF THIS IS GONNA WORK AND WE'RE NOT GONNA END UP WITH COUNCIL, HAVING FOLKS COMING, ASKING US TO RE-CHANGE A LOT OF THINGS THAT DYNAMIC AND THOSE THAT WORK HAS TO TAKE PLACE, UM, BEFORE IT COMES TO US.

AND I THINK THAT HAVING BEEN AT THE COMMUNITY MEETING, UM, THERE IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE FOR WHOM THE SURVEY WORK, UM, AND PERHAPS JUST THE CONVERSATIONS AT EUC IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR THEM TO HAVE INPUT.

THEY HAVE PROVEN OVER THE YEARS THAT THEY CAN PROVIDE AND ADD VALUE.

I BELIEVE THAT THE REACH PROGRAM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH SOME SMART AE STAFF CAME OUT OF CONVERSATIONS THAT WERE FROM THE GEN PLAN, AND I THINK THAT'S LEADING THE NATION.

I THINK WE CAN DO THAT AGAIN, AS LONG AS WE ARE APPROACHING THIS, UM, IN A VERY CONSTRUCTIVE AND COLLABORATIVE WAY AND THE RIGHT INFORMATION IS BEING SHARED, UM, IN THE RIGHT WAY

[01:10:01]

UM, THAT CERTAINLY IS OUR GOAL.

AND I THINK THAT'S THE INTENTION AND THE GOAL.

I JUST, JUST WANNA, YOU KNOW, RESTATE THAT THAT IS OUR GOAL AND I THAT IS OUR INTENT AND WE HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME PULLING TOGETHER INFORMATION FOR SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ASKED FROM THE EC.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER.

HAVE WE DONE LOOKING AT THAT, UH, THE CONGESTION ISSUE? HAVE WE, OR DO Y'ALL DO ANY KIND OF ANALYSIS OF THE, THE, THE DOLLARS THAT WE'RE GENERATING FROM LOCAL OR SEMI-LOCAL SOLAR VERSUS WEST TEXAS SOLAR, GIVEN THAT WEST TEXAS, THE SUN MIGHT SHINE A LITTLE LONGER, BUT HERE WE MIGHT GET MORE DOLLARS WHEN THE SUN IS SHINING.

HAVE Y'ALL DONE ANY KIND OF ANALYSIS ON THAT? YEAH, YEAH.

WE TRACK THAT.

WE TRACK THE, THE BENEFIT IN THE MARKET THAT WE GET FROM ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT ASSETS.

UH, IT CAN VARY, UM, BUT CERTAINLY, UH, LOCAL GENERATION WHEN THE LOAD ZONE PRICE SEPARATES TYPICALLY AT A HIGHER PRICE, NOT THAT ONE INSTANCE I MENTIONED EARLIER.

UM, BUT FOR EXAMPLE, UH, RECENTLY WHEN OUR LOAD ZONE WENT TO $900 PER MEGAWATT HOUR, OUR GAS GENERATORS WERE GETTING PAID $1,200 PER MEGAWATT HOUR, SENDING THAT PRICE SIGNAL THAT WE NEED MORE GENERATION IN THIS AREA.

SO LOCAL SOLAR CITED IN THE RIGHT AREA WOULD RECEIVE THAT AS WELL, ASSUMING IT'S, IT'S THERE TO GENERATE WHEN THE PRICES ARE HIGH.

AND CONVERSELY, I WOULD ASSUME IN OUR MARKET WE'RE NEVER SEEING NEGATIVE PRICING.

NO, WE DO CERTAINLY SEE NEGATIVE PRICING.

REALLY, UH, IN FACT IT, IT'S BEEN A LITTLE RARER THIS SUMMER THAT WE HAVEN'T SEEN AS MUCH NEGATIVE PRICING.

I DIDN'T KNOW WE SAW TWO 15 MINUTE INTERVALS THAT WERE NEGATIVE IN AUGUST DESPITE HOW HOT IT WAS.

UH, BUT AS WE GET INTO SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER AND THE LOWS START GETTING LOWER WITH THAT OVERSUPPLY OF RENEWABLES, WE'LL GET BACK INTO SEEING POTENTIALLY A HUNDRED, 150 INTERVALS WHERE THE PRICE ACTUALLY GOES NEGATIVE.

WELL, BUT THAT'S A, THAT'S A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD.

SO WHILE WE ARE GETTING PAID TO, TO TAKE LOAD, WE'RE ALSO, UM, PAYING THEM TO TAKE GENERATION.

WELL, AND ON THAT EXACT POINT, I'M, I'M LOOKING AT ERCOT, IT'S AUGUST, UM, INTERCONNECTION QUEUE AS IT RELATES TO STORAGE AND THERE'S 71,000 MEGAWATTS PLANNED AND IT WON'T ALL GET BUILT BUT PLANNED, UH, FOR STANDALONE BATTERY, ANOTHER 28,000 CO-LOCATING IT WHERE THERE IS SOLAR SO THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN HOLD ON TO THAT, NOT SELL IT TO THE MARKET AND THEN REAP THOSE BENEFITS TO COUNCILLOR.

ALLISON ALTER'S KIND OF POINT IN QUESTION, WHAT, HOW ARE WE THINKING ABOUT STORAGE IN THIS UPDATE AND WHERE THAT FITS IN? WHETHER IT BE CO-LOCATED AT A GENERATION SITE OR JUST WITHIN? SURE.

UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT IT A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS.

UM, EVEN BEFORE THIS UPDATE, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT UTILITY SCALE SOLAR.

WE HAVE PROPOSAL, OR SORRY, STORAGE.

WE HAVE PROPOSALS IN FRONT OF US.

WE WERE LOOKING AT THAT MORE AS SOME WAY TO HELP MITIGATE PRICE RISK DURING THE RAMP DOWN WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN WITHIN OUR LOAD ZONE.

SO HAVING THAT LOCAL STORAGE RIGHT HERE.

WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT COMBINING STORAGE WITH COMMUNITY SOLAR AT A PARTICULAR SITE.

WE HAVE AN R F P OUT FOR TODAY THAT I'M KIND OF EXCITED ABOUT WITH THE IDEA THAT IF WE COULD LOOK AT ONE OF THOSE A HUNDRED HOUR TYPE STORAGE DEVICES, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE OR CREATE A SEVEN BY 24 GREEN PRODUCT FOR CUSTOMERS INTERESTED IN THAT, WHERE IT'S ALL SELF-CONTAINED RIGHT THERE IN THIS AREA, JUST SOUTHEAST AUSTIN.

UH, AND THEN WE ARE HAVING TO LOOK AT STORAGE WITH SOME OF OUR RENEWABLES BECAUSE THERE'S LIKELY A FIRMING REQUIREMENT COMING UP STARTING IN 2027, WHERE YOU WILL HAVE TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF STORAGE EITHER AT THAT, UH, RENEWABLE FACILITY OR WITHIN YOUR PORTFOLIO TO CREATE A FIRM PROFILE.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY WOULD BE MORE BENEFICIAL FOR US IF YOU COULD PUT A HUNDRED MEGAWATTS OF LOCAL SOLAR OR WIND OR PICK YOUR GENERATION SOURCE OR A HUNDRED MEGAWATTS OF BATTERY ALSO LOCALLY SO THAT IT WOULD BE AVAILABLE? WHAT, WHAT WOULD YIELD SO THE THE MORE FLEXIBLE AND MORE DISPATCHABLE AN ASSET, THE MORE, UH, RISK MITIGATION IT'S GONNA PROVIDE WITHIN OUR PORTFOLIO.

I THINK ONE OF THE CHALLENGES AROUND, UH, SOLAR AND WIND IS THE AMOUNT OF LAND THAT IS REQUIRED TO HAVE ANYTHING OF SIZE.

AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITHIN THE CITY THAT IS, UH, FAIRLY DENSE ALREADY.

UM, YOU KNOW, A A BATTERY HAS A LOT OF VALUE IN HOW QUICKLY IT CAN MOVE, BUT THEY TYPICALLY HAVE VERY SHORT DURATIONS.

THAT'S, AS I MENTIONED, A LOT OF BATTERY COMPANIES WENT BANKRUPT OR BATTERY PROJECTS WENT BANKRUPT DURING URI.

'CAUSE AFTER THEIR, THEIR FIRST UM, KIND OF DISCHARGE OF BATTERIES, THEY WERE KIND OF OUTTA LUCK.

AND IF THEY HAD DONE ANYTHING LIKE PROVIDE AS THEY HAD TO BUY THAT BACK AT $12,000 IN MEGAWATT HOUR.

UM, AND SO TO, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, SOMETHING THAT THAT USES STORED ENERGY, UH, SUCH AS NATURAL GAS HAS A BIT MORE VALUE WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT DOES NOT, UH, HELP US MEET OUR GOALS THOUGH, SO THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT OTHER ALTERNATIVES

[01:15:01]

TO HAVE SOME OF THOSE SAME CHARACTERISTICS AND ATTRIBUTES BUT IN A CARBON FREEWAY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHAIR.

ANYBODY ELSE? UM, SO I JUST HAD ONE LAST QUESTION FOR YOU.

CAN YOU TELL US HOW NEW RULES OR CONSTRAINTS FROM ERCOT AND THE LEGISLATURE AFFECT OUR PLANNING GOALS? WELL, WE NEED TO TAKE THEM INTO ACCOUNT AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT WILL IMPACT OUR PORTFOLIO AND PLAN FOR ASSETS TO HELP MITIGATE OR OFFSET SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES OR RISKS.

UM, SO YEAH, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THOSE DIFFERENT REGULATORY RULE CHANGES.

WE'LL LOOK AT THE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAVE AS A LOAD.

'CAUSE WE DO HAVE OBLIGATIONS AS A LOAD, UH, PROVIDING AS, FOR EXAMPLE, AND THEN UNDERSTAND WHICH TYPE OF ASSETS HELP DEFER SOME OF THAT COST, ALLOW US TO BENEFIT FROM THOSE RULE CHANGES VERSUS WHICH ASSETS ARE HARMED BY IT.

THAT'S GREAT.

YOU DESCRIBE WHAT AS IS OH, SORRY.

ANCILLARY SERVICES.

YES, SORRY.

THAT'S A, A RELIABILITY PRODUCT.

SO THERE'S, THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ANCILLARY SERVICES, UM, TO HELP PROVIDE RELIABILITY.

UH, THERE'S SIX OR SEVEN OF 'EM NOW.

UH, SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS REGULATION UP A REGULATION DOWN, AS YOU'RE, AS YOU MAY BE AWARE, YOU NEED TO MAINTAIN, UH, 60 HERTZ FREQUENCY AND PEOPLE USE POWER DIFFERENTLY, NOT JUST CONSISTENTLY.

SO THERE'S GENERATORS THAT CAN JUST KIND OF MOVE UP AND DOWN A LITTLE BIT TO HELP PROVIDE THAT, THAT FREQUENCY.

UH, THERE'S SOMETHING CALLED, UH, NONS SPIN.

SO THAT IS GENERATION THAT IS NOT, UH, GENERATING RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S ON THE SIDELINES THAT CAN COME UP AND BE AT FULL LOAD WITHIN 30 MINUTES.

SO IF THERE IS, UH, WE LOOK OUT AN HOUR AND SEE THAT THERE'S A DEFICIENCY IN THE MARKET, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH GENERATION THEY CAN CALL ON THAT.

UH, RESPONSIVE RESERVE SERVICES IS A PRODUCT DESIGN THAT IF THE LARGEST UNIT IN TEXAS GOES INTO OUTAGE, THEY HAVE RESERVE, UH, GENERATION JUST WAITING THAT CAN GET UP IN 10 MINUTES TO MAKE UP THAT DIFFERENCE TO MAINTAIN VOLTAGE AND FREQUENCY.

SO WE DON'T LOSE THE GRID.

UH, THERE'S SOMETHING CALLED E C R S NOW, WHICH IS, UH, ENERGY CONTINGENT RESERVE SERVICES, UH, WHICH HAS REALLY BEEN DESIGNED TO HELP WITH THE SOLAR RAMP DOWN.

SO WHEN WE LOSE 13, 14,000 MEGAWATTS WITHIN AN HOUR PERIOD OF TIME, THERE'S MEGAWATTS THAT IT CAN, CAN, UH, TO DISCHARGE TO, TO THEN HELP OFFSET SOME OF THAT DECLINE.

UM, AND THERE'S A NEW ONE CALLED D R R SS, BUT I'LL HAVE TO, I'LL HAVE TO LOOK UP WHAT THAT STANDS FOR EXACTLY AGAIN, BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF JUST RELIABILITY SERVICES TO HELP MAINTAIN RELIABILITY IN THE SYSTEM.

SO BOTH NIMBLE AND REDUNDANT? I'M SORRY? BOTH NIMBLE? YES.

UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.

SO, UM, WHEN WE PUT OUR AGENDA TOGETHER FOR NEXT MONTH, WE'LL PROBABLY BE TALKING WITH YOU MORE.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

WHO DO WE HAVE FOR ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS OUR SOLAR BATTERY STORAGE? IS THAT MR. GENESEE? GREAT.

UM, MR. CONN,

[4. Briefing on Council Resolution 20221201-045 relating to solar battery storage, microgrids, and load-shaping technology.]

THIS IS A BRIEFING ON COUNCIL RESOLUTION THAT RELATED TO SOLAR BATTERY STORAGE, MICROGRIDS, AND LOAD SHAPING TECHNOLOGY.

WELCOME, MR. GENESSEE.

GOOD TO SEE YOU.

FROM THE BATTERY FEEDS THE CUSTOMER LOADS, BUT IS NOT CAPABLE OF FEEDING BACK ONTO THE GRID.

GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.

UH, I'M RICHARD GENESEE.

I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS, AND I'LL BE PROVIDING THE, UH, BRIEFING ON BATTERY AND STORAGE.

SO THIS IS ACTUALLY A BRIEFING BASED ON THE RESOLUTION.

UM, AND SO THERE ARE FIVE COMPONENTS OF THE RESOLUTION.

WE'LL BE SPEAKING TO ALL FIVE OF THEM TODAY.

UM, AND THEN, UM, I'LL BE HANDLING ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.

SO WE ARE CONSIDERING OUR APPROACH TO BATTERY TO A BATTERY STORAGE PROGRAM.

WE WANT TO INCENTIVIZE OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS TO OPERATE EFFICIENTLY USING A RATE OR COMBINATION OF RATES AND INCENTIVES.

THIS PROGRAM WILL INCENTIVIZE CUSTOMERS TO LEVERAGE THEIR BATTERIES AND FOR THOSE BATTERIES TO BENEFIT AUSTIN ENERGY AND ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS.

ANOTHER APPROACH TO LEVERAGING BATTERIES IS THROUGH AGGREGATION.

THE CUSTOMER WOULD ENTER THE PROGRAM AND ALLOW AUSTIN ENERGY THROUGH AN AGGREGATOR TO HAVE A LIMITED AMOUNT OF CONTROL OF THE BATTERY.

IN EXCHANGE FOR A FINANCIAL BENEFIT TO THAT CUSTOMER.

THE CUSTOMER WOULD ALWAYS HAVE OVERRIDE CAPABILITIES AND SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS COULD BE MADE FOR EDGE OF EVENT CHARGING.

WE ARE DISCOVERING THAT THE COMMUNICATION AND CONTROL FOR BATTERIES CAN BE EXPENSIVE AND TIME CONSUMING.

AUSTIN ENERGY CURRENTLY ENABLES BEHIND THE METER MICROGRIDS, SO I WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR ON THAT.

UM, WE DO, WE DO ENABLE MICROGRIDS AND ALLOW MICROGRIDS TODAY IN THIS CASE, WHEN THE GRID GOES DOWN, THE ISOLATION DEVICE OPENS SO THAT ENERGY

[01:20:01]

THIS ENSURES THAT LINE WORKERS DO NOT INTERACT WITH ENERGIZED LINES.

WHEN THE GRID COMES BACK ONLINE, THE ISOLATION DEVICE AUTOMATICALLY SYNCHRONIZES AND SWITCHES BACK TO GRID POWER.

AUSTIN ENERGY IS READY TO EXPLORE THE FRONT OF THE METER MICROGRID CONFIGURATIONS AND BILLING SOLUTIONS.

WE CURRENTLY DO NOT HAVE EXAMPLES OF THIS IN OUR TERRITORY.

BATTERY SYSTEMS THAT SERVE MULTIPLE CUSTOMERS WOULD NECESSITATE A UTILITY SIDE INTERCONNECTION, AS WELL AS ISOLATION FUNCTIONALITY THAT WOULD SECTIONALIZE THE BATTERY BACKED UP AREA FROM THE REST OF THE GRID.

ENABLING THIS REQUIRES ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERCONNECTION POLICIES AND REQUIREMENTS, FUNCTIONAL PROCEDURES TO ENABLE ISOLATION AND RECONNECTION AND MAINTENANCE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.

THE WORK HERE IS TECHNICALLY DETAILED AND PROCEDURALLY COMPLEX, SO IT WILL TAKE TIME.

AUSTIN ENERGY IS COMMITTED TO WORKING WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, CONTRACTORS, LINE WORKERS, AND FIRST RESPONDERS.

ADDITIONALLY, AUSTIN ENERGY WOULD NEED TO EXPLORE RATES AND BILLING FUNCTIONALITY TO CREDIT CUSTOMERS FOR BATTERY OPERATIONS AND IDENTIFY SOLUTIONS THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR ALLOCATIONS TO CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS AS A RESULT OF STRATEGICALLY DISCHARGING THE BATTERY INTO THE SYSTEM FOR MARKET BENEFIT.

WE ANTICIPATE THIS TO BE A MULTIPLE YEAR EFFORT.

BEFORE AUSTIN ENERGY DEVELOPS AN UPFRONT INCENTIVE OR REBATE FOR BATTERY ADOPTION, WE MUST IDENTIFY THE BEST APPROACH TO PROVIDE CUSTOMERS WITH ONGOING BENEFITS FOR DEPLOYING THE STORED ENERGY AT PEAK TIMES.

FOR EXAMPLE, WITH RESPECT TO BATTERY BENEFITS, A ONE-TIME INCENTIVE MAY NOT BE AS EFFECTIVE AS AN ONGOING PAY FOR PERFORMANCE BENEFIT.

THIS WORK AND ANALYSIS IS ONGOING.

COUNCIL'S DIRECTION TO US WAS TO EXPLORE A RATE STRUCTURE THAT REWARDS STORAGE CUSTOMERS FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THE GRID.

APPROXIMATELY HALF OF THE CAPACITY ASSOCIATED WITH RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS IS USED, IS ONLY USED FOR 20% OF THE TIME BASED ON LOW DURATION DATA.

THE TOTAL CAPACITY COST FOR THE RESIDENTIAL CLASS IS APPROXIMATELY $300 MILLION.

150 MILLION OF THAT TOTAL IS UTILIZED INFREQUENTLY.

IN ADDITION TO THE BASE RATE DESIGN, THE REGULATORY CHARGE PROPOSAL MAY ALLOW THE SOLAR PLUS STORAGE CUSTOMER TO ACTUALLY REDUCE THEIR BILL, EVEN RECEIVING A CREDIT BY POWERING THEIR HOME WITH THE STORAGE WHILE DISCHARGING THEIR PV ONTO THE GRID.

WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS AN ENERGY BASED COMPONENT RELATED TO THE TIMING OF MARKET PURCHASES.

WE ARE STILL INVESTIGATING THIS ISSUE AND WORKING TO DEVELOP AN APPROPRIATE OPTION.

LARGE.

UH, WE ARE WORKING ON BATTERY END OF LIFE SOLUTIONS WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

UH, AS YOU KNOW, BATTERIES, UH, YOU KNOW, IS IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE SOLUTIONS THAT WILL END UP, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, ENSURING THAT BATTERIES ARE, ARE DISPOSED OF PROPERLY.

UM, THAT LARGE, UM, LARGE LITHIUM ION BATTERIES CAN HAVE 60 TO 70% OF THEIR TOTAL CAPACITY REMAINING AFTER 10 YEARS.

BATTERIES CONTAIN COBALT, NICKEL, COPPER, MAGNES, AND LITHIUM.

ON THE SUBJECT OF PILOT LOAD SHAPING TECHNOLOGIES, WE DO THIS CURRENTLY AND ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND OUR DEMAND RESPONSE CAPABILITIES.

AUSTIN ENERGY'S EXISTING CUSTOMER DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS USE INTERNET AND WIFI RADIO FREQUENCY AND CELLULAR SIGNALS TO COMMUNICATE WITH RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY CUSTOMERS.

TO ENCOURAGE SHIFTING OF ELECTRICITY USE, THESE SIGNALS CAN COMMUNICATE WITH MULTIPLE CUSTOMER DEVICES AND EQUIPMENT.

AUSTIN ENERGY USES EXISTING SMART METER INFRASTRUCTURE TO HELP MEASURE AND QUANTIFY ELECTRICITY USE AND SAVINGS TO ISSUE CUSTOMER PARTICIPATION INCENTIVES.

AUSTIN ENERGY IS ALSO CURRENTLY EXPANDING AND INCREASING OUR CUSTOMER FACING INCENTIVES THAT ENCOURAGE SHIFTING OF ENERGY.

AND WE'RE OPEN TO DISCUSSIONS WITH STAKEHOLDERS ON DEFINING THE PROBLEM STATEMENT AND WAYS IN WHICH TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE WHILE ENSURING THE INTEGRITY OF THE METERING NETWORK.

CURRENTLY, AUSTIN ENERGY DOES NOT ALLOW THIRD PARTY TRAFFIC ON OUR PROPRIETARY SECURE ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK WITH RESPECT TO CONVENING A PUBLIC STAKEHOLDER PROCESS.

WE HAVE HAD TWO STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS TO DATE, UH, WITH GOOD PARTICIPATION AND PLAN MULTIPLE ADDITIONAL ONES THROUGH THIS MULTIPLE YEAR EFFORT.

[01:25:03]

THAT CONCLUDES THE BRIEFING, AND I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I SAW YOU REACHING FOR YOUR MICROPHONE.

ANY QUESTIONS DOWN THIS WAY? YES, MAYOR PATAN, MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING YOU'RE ALREADY MORE FAMILIAR WITH 'CAUSE I KNOW YOU, UH, LED ON THIS CONVERSATION, BUT IF, UM, IF WE HAVE HOMEOWNERS HERE IN THE CITY AND IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY MARKET THAT ARE COLLECTING SOLAR POWER, UM, DOES IT GO BACK ON TO AN AUSTIN ENERGY GRID AT SOME POINT? DOES IT END UP IN THE ERCOT MARKET? LIKE HOW DOES IT WORK WITH THE ISOLATION, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE THAT YOU'VE PUT IN THIS? YEAH, AT THIS POINT, YOU KNOW, IT IT, WE HAVE SOLAR, UH, IN A WAY WHERE, UM, WE INCENTIVIZE CUSTOMERS.

ALL THE SOLAR THAT THEY GENERATE, THEY GET INCENTIVIZED FOR JUST AS ALL THE USAGE THAT A CUSTOMER, UM, HAS FOR THEIR HOME, UH, THEY GET CHARGED FOR.

SO THAT, THAT'S THE KIND OF STRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE, UH, REGARDING THE SOLAR.

AND CAN THE ACTUAL ENERGY THAT'S COLLECTED, SHOULD THE HOMEOWNER NOT NEED IT, COULD IT GO THE OTHER DIRECTION WHERE IT COMES BACK INTO THE LOCAL GRID? I THINK THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE EXPLORING WHERE WE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S DONE IN A SAFE WAY AND WITH THE, UM, MULTIPLE ISOLATION CONFIGURATIONS THAT WE CAN HAVE.

UH, BOTH THE SIMPLE ONE THAT WE SUPPORT TODAY AND THE MORE COMPLEX ONE THAT WE'RE EXPLORING, SAFETY IS OUR PRIMARY CONCERN IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE THAT THAT CAN BE DONE SAFELY.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER STORAGE PROGRAM MODELS STATEWIDE OR NATIONALLY THAT ARE SIMILAR TO WHAT THE RESOLUTION REQUESTS? YEAH, UM, ON THAT POINT, THERE ARE, UM, I MEAN CERTAINLY WE'RE AWARE OF VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS AND WE ARE WORKING TO EXPLORE THOSE.

I'M NOT AWARE BESIDES VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS OF ANY OTHER SUCCESSFUL STORAGE, UH, CONFIGURATIONS IN THIS STATE.

NATIONALLY, UH, THERE ARE A FEW OTHER STORAGE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE STUDYING, UH, FOR POTENTIAL ADOPTION, UH, INTO OUR PROGRAM.

AND, UM, WILL RESIDENTIAL DEMAND CHARGES FOR STORAGE CUSTOMERS HINDER UPTAKE OF OTHER ELECTRIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES LIKE ELECTRIC HEAT OR HOT WATER HEATERS, ELECTRIC VEHICLES? UM, MY SIMPLE ANSWER TO THAT IS NO, BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT HINDERED ADOPTION OF THOSE TECHNOLOGIES TO DATE SO FAR.

I, YEAH, SO FAR I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS A CHALLENGE FOR US IS HOW MUCH WE ARE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATING TO CUSTOMERS ABOUT THOSE TECHNOLOGIES, BUT I DON'T THINK THEIR, THEIR ADOPTION HAS BEEN HINDERED.

THE ANOTHER RESOLUTION, THIS ONE RELATING TO FAST CHARGING STATIONS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

AND I THINK YOU HAVE THE NEXT ITEM, AND THIS IS ON

[5. Briefing on Council Resolution 20230309-027 relating to fast charging stations for electric vehicles.]

AND THEN I'M GOING TO ASK THE GENERAL MANAGER IF WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO CONSOLIDATE THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS AND OPERATIONS HIGHLIGHTS INTO MAYBE A, UH, EITHER A REAL QUICK UPDATE OR A MEMO.

YEAH, I JUST AGREED TO DO A MEMO, VERY, VERY GOOD.

BECAUSE THAT'S OKAY.

WE'RE RUNNING PRETTY LONG AND, AND WE DEFINITELY WANTED TO GET THESE BRIEFINGS IN, SO PLEASE PRESS WE'RE DOING THAT CHAIR.

I, I DO HAVE A QUICK QUESTION ON THE FINANCIALS BEFORE WE BREAK.

YOU BET.

WE'LL DEFINITELY DO THAT.

WE'LL LET MR. GENESEE FINISH NOW WITH EVS.

THE FIRST PART OF THE STRATEGY OR THE VISION, UH, FOR THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE INVOLVES, UH, ESTABLISHING, YOU KNOW, HOW BIG IS THE BREAD BOX, SO TO SPEAK.

UM, OKAY.

ON THE RESOLUTION, UM, THAT YOU ALL RECEIVED, MY UNDERSTANDING IS, UH, EARLIER TODAY, UM, SO THE RESOLUTION HAS THREE DIRECTIVES.

FIRST, DEVELOPING A VISION, UH, PLAN FOR EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC CHARGING STATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, INCLUDING BOTH DC FAST AND LEVEL TWO CHARGERS.

IN ADDITION TO RESOLUTION CALLS FOR ESTABLISHING PRIORITIES FOR AN INITIAL THREE YEAR IMPLEMENTATION, UH, PHASE OF THE VISION WITH ACTIONABLE FUNDING OPTIONS THAT INCLUDE FEDERAL INCENTIVES AND GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.

SO WE WILL, WILL TALK ABOUT THAT.

SECOND, THE RESOLUTION CALLS FOR COORDINATING WITH LOCAL AND REGIONAL PARTNERS TO DEVELOP A CHARGING RESOURCE MODEL FOR THEIR FLEETS.

AND LASTLY, THE RESOLUTION CALLS FOR THE PREPARATION ON THE UPTIME AND RELIABILITY OF THE PLUGIN EVERYWHERE NETWORK OVER THE PAST YEAR, AS WELL AS TIME TO REPAIR DATA AND ONGOING LEVELS OF EFFORT AND BUDGET FOR PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM.

SO I'M SURE IT'S NO SURPRISE TO YOU, WE HAVE A RECORD EV REGISTRATIONS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

THERE ARE MORE EVS BEING DRIVEN THAN EVER BEFORE.

IN FACT, AT 12% OF ALL NEW VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS IN AUSTIN BEING EVS, WE ARE NOW GREATER THAN HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES, UM, IN TERMS OF TOTAL VEHICLE REGISTRATION.

SO THE GROWTH IS THERE, AND THIS LIST IS NOT EVEN EXHAUSTIVE.

THERE ARE NEW MODELS THAT ARE COMING OUT, UH, LITERALLY EVERY DAY FOR MANUFACTURERS.

AND AS I'M SURE YOU KNOW, EVERY MANUFACTURER IS COMMITTED TO AN EV FUTURE.

[01:30:03]

SO WE HAVE QUANTIFIED 226 MEGA MEGAWATTS IN TERMS OF THIS GOAL FROM SUPPORTING THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN WITH 40% VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED, UH, BEING ELECTRIC, UH, THAT TRANSLATES TO 460,000 EVS ON THE ROAD.

IT ALSO TRANSLATES TO 37,000, UH, CHARGING PORTS, BUT THAT'S A VERY LOOSE NUMBER DEPENDING ON THE CONFIGURATION OF THOSE CHARGERS SPECIFICALLY.

NOW, VERY IMPORTANTLY, THIS GOAL OF 226 MEGAWATTS NOT ONLY INCLUDES PUBLIC FACING, BUT ALSO THE SUPPORT OF FLEET ELECTRIFICATION.

THE CHARGING EFFORT INFRASTRUCTURE WILL BE A COMBINATION OF THE EFFORTS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN LOCAL FLEETS, AS WELL AS EN ENABLING PRIVATE SECTOR GROWTH OF EV CHARGING TO SUPPORT MULTIPLE USE CASES.

UM, THE, THE, AFTER WE'VE ESTABLISHED THE 266 MEGAWATTS, WE GOTTA SCALE PROPERLY AND WE HAVE TO ENSURE EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.

UH, JUSTICE 40, UH, I WANTED TO EXPLAIN WHAT THAT IS.

JUSTICE 40 INITIATIVE IS A FEDERAL EFFORT TO DELIVER AT LEAST 40% OF THE OVERALL BENEFITS FROM CERTAIN FEDERAL INVESTMENTS TO DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.

SO, UH, WE ARE, UH, WE, WE, JUSTICE 40 IS A WAY IN WHICH WE WILL ENSURE ADHERENCE TO MAKING SURE THAT OUR, UH, BENEFITS GO TO DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.

AND THERE'S A MAP THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO OVERLAY ON OUR SERVICE TERRITORY, WHICH WILL PROVIDE GUIDANCE FOR US ON IN THE FUTURE OF WHERE BOTH DC FAST AND LEVEL TWO CHARGING STATIONS WOULD IDEALLY BE PLACED.

UM, NOW ON THE SCALABLE GROWTH PART, UH, WE ARE, WE ARE EXPLORING SOLUTIONS THROUGH BOTH INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA FOR HOW WE SCALE APPROPRIATELY.

WE HAVE, UH, ALSO, UH, PROJECTED EV EV GROWTH SCENARIOS AND WE ARE PARTICIPATING WITH EPRI, WHICH IS THE ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN A, UH, EVS TO SCALE PROJECT, WHICH HAS OVER 500 PARTNERS ACROSS INDUSTRY, OTHER UTILITIES, ET CETERA, THAT ARE REALLY ADDRESSING THIS PROBLEM OF HOW DO WE SCALE AND HOW DO WE DO THAT IN A EQUITABLE FASHION.

AUSTIN ENERGY WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER INCENTIVES THROUGH OUR PLUGIN PROGRAM, PLUGIN AUSTIN PROGRAM TO INCREASE PUB PUBLIC CHARGING.

IT'S THESE REBATES THAT HAVE BUILT THE CURRENT 1600 LEVEL TWO CHARGING PORTS AND 30 DC FAST CHARGERS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UM, ADDITIONALLY, AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN FLEET SERVICES AND PUBLIC WORKS HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY DEPLOYING DEDICATED CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT CITY OF AUSTIN FLEET SERVICES TRANSITION TO EVS AT CITY OF AUSTIN PROPERTIES.

WE ARE ALSO GOING TO LEVERAGE FEDERAL FUNDING TO EXPAND DC FAST CHARGING IN AUSTIN.

UM, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS A CAPITAL BUDGET OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS TO SUPPORT, SUPPORT DEPLOYMENT AND MATCH NEEDED, UH, FOR FEDERAL FUND GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.

SO I SAID I WOULD COVER THE CHARGING AND FUELING INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT.

UH, THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, UH, GRANT PROGRAM IS AIMED TO SUPPORT GREATER ACCESS TO PUBLIC CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE WITH AN EMPHASIS ON SUPPORTING LOW MODERATE INCOME COMMUNITIES, MULTI-FAMILY AND FLEET AND RIDESHARE APPLICATIONS.

$700 MILLION WAS OFF, WAS AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS FUNDING ROUND WITH AN ANTICIPATED 1.8 BILLION OVER THE NEXT FOUR FISCAL YEARS.

OUR APPLICATION, WHICH WAS SUBMITTED IN JUNE, IS FOR THE MAXIMUM OF $15 MILLION.

UH, WE ARE STILL AWAITING STATUS ON THE APPLICATION IN THE APPLICATION.

CITY OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTIES WERE PRIORITIZED SO THAT WE COULD MINIMIZE LAND ACQUISITION COSTS AND SPEND THE MOST ON THE ACTUAL, UH, EXPANSION OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ITSELF.

THIS WOULD RESULT IN A PROJECTED INCREASE OF ABOUT 80 DC FAST CHARGERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

AND THAT 80 WOULD BE INCREMENTAL, UH, TO ADD TO OUR EXISTING 30 DC FAST CHARGERS.

WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH SEVERAL PARTNERS ON THEIR FLEET ELECTRIFICATION EFFORTS TO INCLUDE CITY OF AUSTIN, FLEET SERVICES, CAPITAL, METRO, AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND MULTIPLE PRIVATE SECTOR FLEET APPLICATIONS.

EACH OF THESE APPLICATIONS IS GOING TO REQUIRE DIFFERENT OPERATIONAL NEEDS SUCH AS ACCESS AND SCHEDULE OF CHARGING, OPEN CHARGING VERSUS BEHIND THE GATE, ET CETERA.

WE HAVE ALREADY MADE PROGRESS ON THE CO-LOCATION, UH, AT CITY OF AUSTIN PROPERTIES WHERE FLEET AND PUBLIC CHARGING ARE CO-LOCATED.

WE'VE ALSO CITED DC FAST CHARGING AT AN A I S D SCHOOL AND INCLUDED TRAVIS COUNTY PROPERTIES IN OUR GRANT APPLICATION TO

[01:35:01]

THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.

WE WILL CONTINUE TO ELEVATE OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY ALLOW FOR SHARED ACCESS.

OVER THE LAST DECADE, THE INDUSTRY FOCUS AND OUR FOCUS HAS BEEN ON GROWTH.

THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE A FOCUS, BUT WE WANT THE NEXT 10 YEARS TO BE REALLY FOCUSED ON RELIABILITY.

UM, AND I AM HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WE ARE MAKING, UH, STRIDES AND PROGRESS IN THIS AREA, HAVING DECREASED OUR OUTAGE RATE FROM 28% IN MARCH AND JANUARY TO 11% CURRENTLY.

BUT WE ARE NOT STOPPING THERE.

WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE UNTIL WE ACTUALLY HAVE EVERY CHARGER ACROSS THE WHOLE NETWORK OPERATIONAL.

I AM A NEW EV OWNER MYSELF, AND SO I KNOW FIRSTHAND WHEN YOU NEED A CHARGER TO BE AVAILABLE, YOU NEED IT TO BE RELIABLE, YOU NEED IT TO BE UP AND WORKING.

AND THERE ARE CHALLENGES RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF PROPER REPRESENTATION ON ALL THE APPS OF ARE THE CHARGERS ACTUALLY WHERE THEY SAY THEY ARE LISTED? ARE THEY UP AND RUNNING AND DO THEY STAY UP AND RUNNING? AND WE'RE WORKING ON THAT CHALLENGE.

WE ALSO HAVE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE IN APRIL, 2023.

WE CON WE HAVE A CONTRACTED SERVICE PROVIDER THAT'S PROVIDING PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE, UM, THAT INCLUDES A DEDICATED VENDOR, UH, GOING OUT TO TEST EVERY CHARGING STATION IN AUSTIN ENERGY'S NETWORK, BOTH AE OWNED AND PRIVATELY OWNED.

UH, CLEAN EACH STATION AND REPORT BACK ANY PENDING OR NEW SERVICE NEEDED.

WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE SECOND PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE RUN, WHICH LAUNCHED IN AUGUST.

UM, SOME OF THE RECENT ACTIVITIES, UH, THAT I WANT TO JUST COMMENT ON, AND AS I COME TO A CLOSE, UM, UH, YOU, YOU APPROVED OUR FIVE YEAR CHARGEPOINT CONTRACT, UH, IN JULY.

THIS APPROVAL OF THIS CONTRACT, UM, DESIGNATES US WITH CHARGEPOINT AS A CRITICAL CUSTOMER DESIGNATION, ALTHOUGH THAT SOUNDS AWFUL.

IT'S ACTUALLY ACTUALLY VERY GOOD THAT WE'RE DESIGNATED A CRYSTAL CRITICAL CUSTOMER DESIGNATION BECAUSE IT GIVES US A LOT MORE RESOURCES AND A LOT MORE ACCESS.

WITH CHARGEPOINT, WE ARE HAVING DEDICATED LOCAL ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT ACCOUNT AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT.

SO IT IS REALLY, IT REALLY MAKES A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE TO BE ABLE TO PICK UP THE PHONE, HAVE A CHARGEPOINT REPRESENTATIVE HERE ON, YOU KNOW, LOCALLY THAT ENSURES THAT THE NETWORK IS UP AND RUNNING AT ALL TIMES.

UM, ALSO THE LAST THING I'LL SAY HERE IS SUPPLY SUPPLY CHAIN CONSTRAINTS ARE SUBSIDING THAT THIS HAS BEEN IN THE PAST.

A REAL ISSUE WITH THE AVAILABILITY OF REPLACEMENT PARTS, UH, OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT IS, IS IT'S REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, OCCURRING LESS AND LESS.

WE'RE SEEING LESS AND LESS SUPPLY, UH, CHAIN CONSTRAINTS AND ISSUES.

THAT CONCLUDES THE BRIEFING QUESTIONS.

WHAT A GREAT REPORT.

ESPECIALLY LIKE SEEING THE NEARLY 30% OUTAGES DROPPING DOWN TO ALMOST A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN 10%.

THAT'S TREMENDOUS.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE, I MEAN, IF YOU'RE DRIVING AN EV AS, AS YOU KNOW, AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOUR, YOUR BATTERY'S LOW AND YOU GOTTA GO TOP IT OFF AND, BUT YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND THE RELIABLE SOURCE, IT WOULD BE AS IF THOSE GAS STATIONS THAT ARE ON EVERY CORNER WERE ALL CLOSED, OR ALL THOSE PUMPS WERE BROKEN AND YOU COULDN'T, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE DRIVING RIGHT BY 'EM, BUT YOU CAN'T USE 'EM.

SO IT'S, UH, I'M GLAD THAT THE TECHNOLOGY IS SHIFTING IN THIS DIRECTION.

I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE THAT WE ARE STEPPING UP ON MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN FOR PREDICTABILITY AND RELIABILITY FOR RE FOR THE CHARGING STATION.

SO I ESPECIALLY THANK YOU FOR THAT.

YES, AL UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.

I'LL BE REALLY BRIEF.

I JUST WANTED TO FLAG THAT SEVERAL OF US SERVE ON CAMPO THE METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION.

WE'RE ANTICIPATING ABOUT $18 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS THAT ARE GONNA BE ALLOCATED THROUGH THE M P O PLUS 5 MILLION OF O AND M FOR EV CHARGING.

UM, I BEGAN TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF CAMPO ON THAT, BUT REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE COORDINATING WITH TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS AND MR. GOODE, MAYBE YOU CAN MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S HAPPENING SO THAT WE CAN REPRESENT WELL THE CITY'S INTERESTS, UM, THROUGH THE CAMPO PROCESS, UM, WHEN THOSE EVS, UM, OPTIONS ARE READY.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S OTHER PARTS OF THE M P O TERRITORY THAT DON'T HAVE AS MUCH EVS, BUT THERE WILL STILL BE SOME REAL OPPORTUNITIES, I THINK, FOR THE AUSTIN AREA, BUT WE CAN BETTER ADVOCATE FOR BRINGING THOSE RESOURCES IF YOU GUYS ARE IN TOUCH WITH TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC COURTS, WHICH I KNOW YOU ARE ON A FAIRLY REGULAR BASIS, BUT JUST WANTED TO FLAG THAT PARTICULAR POT OF MONEY THAT'S GONNA COME THROUGH THE M P O IN PARTICULAR.

YEP.

STATION, THE, THE CHARGING STATIONS THAT WE HAVE, I MEAN, THINKING THROUGHOUT THE CITY, ALMOST ALL OF THOSE ARE GOING TO BE, UH, CITY OWNED, UH, CHARGING MINUS AGAIN, I KNOW THAT TESLA HAS A, A HANDFUL OF, UH, DIFFERENT STATIONS, BUT YEAH, I DON'T WANT TO CLARIFY.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, COUNCIL MEMBER VALLA.

UH, THANK YOU.

UH, JUST THE, SO THE

[01:40:03]

UM, THE, THE, WHERE THE MARKET'S GOING AND THE FUTURE AS WE SEE IT, IS IN REALLY SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC PRIVATE COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIP.

IT IS NOT EXCLUSIVE, UH, PUBLIC OWNED STATIONS.

IT'S A COLLABORATION.

BUT CURRENTLY AROUND THE CITY FOR THE NUMBER OF, UH, CHARGING STATIONS THAT WE HAVE ARE, WE ARE AT 19%.

SO THE CITY OWNS ABOUT 19%, THE CITY OWNS 19% OF THE 1600.

GOT IT.

AND THE REST ARE, UH, PRIVATELY OWNED.

UH, AND THE ONES, AND THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO A CONSTITUENT, UH, UH, QUESTION.

THERE'S, UH, THE H E B M MUELLER HAS A NUMBER OF, I THINK CHARGEPOINT, UH, STATIONS ARE THOSE CITY OWNED STATIONS? UH, YES, I BELIEVE THEY ARE.

WELL, NO, THEY'RE H E B, UH, H E B WOULD WOULD BE THE, UH, THEY WOULD BE THE OWNER.

SO YEAH, IN TERMS OF THE MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY OF THOSE, UH, STATIONS IN PARTICULAR, H E B WOULD BE THE, THE ENTITY TO TALK TO.

BUT THOSE ARE PRIORITIZED BECAUSE OF THEIR PRO YEAH, WE, WE HAVE A PRIORITIZED LIST THAT WE'RE MAINTAINING AS WELL.

AND IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THOSE FOUR, UM, DC FAST CHARGERS THAT ARE VERY CLOSE TO AUSTIN ENERGY HEADQUARTERS, THEY ARE ON OUR PRIORITIZED LIST MM-HMM.

AS ARE THE CHARGERS HERE AT CITY HALL.

SO WE MAKE SURE THAT THOSE CHARGERS RECEIVE OUR TOP PRIORITY IN TERMS OF BEING UP ALL THE TIME.

AND I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THOSE CHARGERS ARE UP RIGHT NOW.

THEY'RE UP RIGHT NOW.

I, I JUST WANTED TO, 'CAUSE I, I GOT A, A, A COMMUNICATION FROM A CONSTITUENT DAYS AGO, MAN, MAYBE WEEKS AGO, SAYING LIKE, HOW COME THOSE ARE ALWAYS DOWN.

YEAH.

THE OTHER THING, I'LL, I CAN , SORRY.

, UH, CAMERON FREEBERG, I'M THE, UH, MANAGER OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND YEAH.

AS, UH, RICHARD MENTIONED, YES.

SO OF THE 1600, UM, YES, WE OWN 19%.

THE PRIVATE SECTOR OWNS THE REST OF THOSE, BUT WE MANAGE AND MAINTAIN 'EM THROUGH PARTNERSHIP, THROUGH INCENTIVES IN WAYS THAT THEY COME INTO OUR PROGRAM.

AND THOSE FOUR, UH, AT H E B MUELLER AS DIRECTLY TO A CONSTITUENTS QUESTIONED, THOSE WERE ONES THAT WE PUT IN FROM A TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY GRANT.

SO WE DO OWN AND OPERATE THOSE THAT PICKS THAT LAST PICTURE.

AND, UH, RICHARD SLIDE DECK WAS ACTUALLY THOSE GETTING REPAIRED MM-HMM.

, UH, WITH ALL FOUR BEING USED AT THE TIME.

SO, UH, THOSE WERE ACTUALLY UP AND RUNNING NOW, UH, THANKS TO OUR CRITICAL DESIGNATION, CHARGEPOINT.

SO.

APPRECIATE THE CLARIFICATION.

AND JUST OUTTA CURIOSITY, I MEAN, HOW OFTEN DO THEY GO DOWN AND LIKE HOW MUCH, YOU KNOW, REPAIR AND, AND, AND WHATNOT? YOU KNOW, IT'S, IS NECESSARY.

I MEAN, AGAIN, I'M THINKING ABOUT LIKE, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I'VE SEEN SOMEONE DRIVE OFF WITH THE, WITH THE HANDLE AND UH, YOU KNOW, RIP THE PUMP OFF , UH, AS SOMEBODY THAT'S ACTUALLY DONE THAT AT A GAS PUMP , UM, , VERY EMBARRASSING.

UM, SO THE, THE FREQUENCY OF THEM GOING DOWN IT, IT'S ACTUALLY NOT THAT FREQUENT.

UH, IT'S THINGS LIKE THE DURATION WITH PARTS AVAILABILITY AND GETTING THEM BACK A BLIND HAS BEEN AN ISSUE.

UH, THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT WILL CAUSE MORE FREQUENCY OUTAGE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THINGS RELATED TO LIKE COMMUNICATION SIGNALS AND RADIO SIGNALS AND WIFI ACCESSIBILITY THAT'LL ACTUALLY TRIGGER THEM, TRIGGER THAT MORE OFTEN.

MM-HMM.

, UH, IN TERMS OF HARDWARE, THAT SEEMS TO BE LESS FREQUENT, ESPECIALLY IN LEVEL TWO STATIONS AND DC STATIONS.

YOU'RE SEEING UH, SOME HARDWARE, UH, MALFUNCTIONS.

MM-HMM.

AND THAT'S ONE OF THE AREAS WHERE WE WERE REALLY, UH, HEARD BY SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES THAT'S NOW BEEN RESOLVED.

BUT FROM A HARDWARE PERSPECTIVE IT'S A LOT LESS OFTEN THAN THINGS LIKE SOFTWARE COMMUNICATIONS.

GOT IT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ABSOLUTELY.

I'LL PASS THAT ALONG TO THE CONSTITUENT TOO.

THANK YOU GENTLEMEN.

I THINK THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS.

SO GENERAL MANAGER KHAN, WHAT SHALL WE DO? WE'VE GOT A QUESTION ON A, ON THE FINANCIAL UPDATE.

[6. Third quarter financial highlights briefing.]

YES, DEFINITELY.

WE'LL SEND YOU A MEMO, WE'LL SEND YOU A MEMO ON FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONS.

AND THEN I THINK I HEARD THERE WAS A QUESTION, A FINANCIAL QUESTION THOUGH.

BY COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES.

UTILIZED THE 5% UP TO 5% ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUSTMENT.

OVER BE HERE TO YOUR RIGHT .

OH, PERFECT.

UM, SO MY QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, I, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, AUSTIN ENERGY PLANS TO RAISE THE RATE AGAIN, IS THAT CORRECT? HI, GOOD AFTERNOON.

STEPHANIE ALKA, I'M DIRECTOR OF FINANCE.

ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT? YES.

SO YES, WE UM, INCURRED SOME PRETTY MATERIAL COSTS AS YOU HEARD MICHAEL SPEAK TO CONGESTION AND EXTREME HEAT PUTTING PRESSURE ON THE MARKET.

SO, UM, WE INCURRED, UM, QUITE A BIT OF COST IN AUGUST AND WE UNDERCOVERED 49 MILLION JUST AT THE MONTH OF AUGUST.

SO AS WE SAW THAT COMING, UM, WE DECIDED TO USE OUR ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY TO INCREASE THE P S A RATE BY 5% AND THAT'S EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1ST.

AND, BUT THAT'S STILL, WELL IS THAT WITHIN, LIKE IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS? IS IT STILL WITHIN THE APPROVED AUTHORIZATION OF THE INCREASE THAT WE DID AT THE LAST REVIEW? WE REVIEWED AND INCREASED IT AS PART OF OUR PASS THROUGH BUDGET PROCESS LAST NOVEMBER.

AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE HAVE

[01:45:01]