[00:00:01]
WE HAVE, UH, CAN YOU HELP ME PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME? AO ECKY.UM, AND SO WHAT WE CAN DO IS GO AROUND AND EACH KIND OF INTRODUCE YOU ALL TO THE EXISTING COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE HERE TO HELP A LITTLE BIT.
JONATHAN, DO YOU WANT TO START? SURE.
UH, WHAT? EL WHAT ALL? SOME YOUR BACKGROUND.
WORK IN THE, UM, UTILITY SCALE, UM, SOLAR AND STORAGE, UH, DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY, WORKING ON, UH, POWER PROJECTS.
HI, I'M RANDY CHAPMAN, AND SERVED, I GUESS THIS IS MY THIRD YEAR ON THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION.
I PREVIOUSLY PRACTICED LAW WORKING WITH NON-PROFIT, TEXAS LEGAL SERVICES CENTER, REPRESENTING LOW INCOME CONSUMERS.
UM, I TEACH ELECTRICITY SYSTEMS AT UT, HAVE RESEARCH PROJECTS RELATED TO, ALSO USED TO ACTUALLY DEVELOP PRODUCTS THAT HAD BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF REVENUE.
SO I UNDERSTAND PRODUCTS AND SCHEDULES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UH, I PREVIOUSLY WORKED FOR THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION, UH, AND PRESENTLY WORKED FOR TRAVIS COUNTY PRECINCT THREE.
I'M REPRESENTING COUNCIL MEMBER NINE.
I GUESS I WAS POINTED BY BY ZOE, UH, ON ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION.
MY DAY JOB IS WITH THE SIERRA CLUB LONE STAR CHAPTER.
WE'LL GO THROUGH AND LET YOU TWO INTRODUCE YOURSELVES AT THE END.
UH, KABA YOU, ARE YOU ONLINE OR SHE WAS HAVING A, SOME, UH, COMMISSIONER WHITE IS NOT ONLINE.
UH, RAUL ALVAREZ, UH, APPOINTED BY, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER OF VELAZQUEZ.
AND, UM, I WORKED WITH LOTS OF DIFFERENT GROUPS, BUT COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT NETWORK IS MY DAY JOB.
I REPRESENT DISTRICT FOUR, OR I WAS APPOINTED FOR DISTRICT DISTRICT FOUR BY COUNCIL MEMBER VELA.
UM, I PREVIOUSLY WORK OMAN ENERGY, AND CURRENTLY I WORK ON CRA.
AA, DO YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF? INTRODUCE YOURSELF? ABSOLUTELY.
I WAS APPOINTED BY COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, AND I RECENTLY RETIRED FROM DELL TECHNOLOGIES.
HI, JOSHUA RHODES, UH, UM, APPOINTED BY, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HARBOR MADISON.
UM, AND MY DAY JOB IS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
UH, TEACH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING ENERGY SYSTEMS. DO A LOT OF ENERGY SYSTEMS ANALYSIS, UM, AND, UH, IN STUDIES ON THE ELECTRICITY GRID.
WE HOPE KABA FEELS BETTER ALSO.
NEXT IS, DID I MISS ANYBODY? I DON'T THINK SO.
RANDY, WHY ARE YOU UP ON THERE ALSO? OH, I, I WAS CONNECTED ON YOU WANNA GET REINTRODUCED AGAIN? NO, NO, NO.
DID I MISS ANYBODY? ROBIN? UH, COMMISSIONER I WANT YOU HAS JUST JOINED.
HI, KABA, YOU CAME IN PERFECTLY TIMED TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO THE NEW COMMISSIONERS.
UH, I LIVE IN DISTRICT THREE, BUT REPRESENT DISTRICT TWO ON THE COMMISSION.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
UM, NEXT, LET'S GO TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY REVISIONS? MOTION TO APPROVE.
MOTION? MOVE TO APPROVE? YEAH.
[00:05:01]
YOUR HAND AS WELL.SOMETIMES IT'S EASIER THAT WAY.
OKAY, NEXT WE HAVE DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. WHO WANTS TO PULL ANY OF THESE? UM, I PERSONALLY WANNA UNDERSTAND FOUR AND FIVE.
WHY ARE THERE TWO SEPARATE ONES FOR ORACLE? WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? ANYONE ELSE WANNA PULL ANY? I I HAVE A QUESTION NUMBER THREE.
SO HOW ABOUT WE GET TWO, SIX? WELL, WE'RE GONNA GO OVER SIX AFTER WE GO OVER.
UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER TO HAVE NUMBER EIGHT, WHICH IS THE STAFF BRIEFING ON THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY AND THEN VOTE ON SIX.
ROB, WE COULD DO THAT, RIGHT? WE CAN CHANGE THE ORDER OF THOSE.
UM, WE RECOMMEND YOU TAKE UP A NUMBER, UM, SIX AFTER YOU DO THE BRIEFING.
OKAY, SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TWO AND SEVEN BY CONSENT.
NUMBER SEVEN IS THE, UM, CONDUCTING THE OFFICER ELECTIONS.
[3. Recommend authorizing negotiation and execution of three contracts for gas turbine repair and maintenance with ProEnergy Services LLC; Transcanada Turbines, Inc.; and Wood Group Pratt & Whitney Industrial Turbine Services LLC, each for up to five years for total contract amounts not to exceed $60,000,000, divided among the contractors. ]
CYRUS, YOU HAD QUESTIONS ON NUMBER THREE? YES.I DON'T KNOW IF, I DON'T KNOW WHO'S AVAILABLE TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
KATHLEEN GARRETT, INTERIM, UH, VICE PRESIDENT OF POWER PRODUCTION.
OKAY, SO MY FIRST QUESTION, I HAVE A QUESTION ON THE SCOPE AND THE AMOUNT.
UM, SO THE AMOUNT OF $60 MILLION, THAT'S OVER WHAT TIME PERIOD FOR, FOR REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE OF THESE FACILITIES? FIVE YEARS.
AND IS THE, BUT IT'S SPREAD OUT BETWEEN THE THREE DIFFERENT CONTRACTORS.
IT'S NOT JUST ONE CONTRACTOR GETTING, OKAY, SO IT'S THREE DIFFERENT CONTRACTORS.
THE TOTAL AMOUNT IS 60 MILLION, BUT THAT'S OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD? YES, SIR.
UM, AND THE REASON WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT CONTRACTS IS WHY? IT GENERALLY WILL DEPEND ON THE TYPE OF SERVICES THAT YOU'RE ASKING.
SOME, SOME ARE MORE EQUIPPED WITH ONE TYPE OF SERVICE FOR TURBINES OR MAINTENANCE OR WHATNOT.
SOMETIMES IT'S ALSO INVOLVING, IT'S GOOD TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE BECAUSE SUPPLY CHAIN, THE SCOPE OF WORK AND THE NUMBER OF OUTAGES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY OR WHATNOT, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET THEM IN LINE WHEN YOU HAVE TIME FOR OUTAGES.
SO IT'S GOOD TO HAVE THREE ALIGNED.
AND THIS, THIS CONTRACT IS FOR, UM, MAINTENANCE REPAIR, BUT IT DOES NOT, YOU COULD NOT UNDER THIS CONTRACT ADD ADDITIONAL CAPABILITY AT THESE FACILITIES, IS THAT CORRECT? IT'S JUST FOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I THINK I, I HAD A QUESTION.
UM, AND CAN YOU JUST, UH, CLARIFY WHICH, UM, WHICH OF THE UNITS THIS APPLIES TO? IT GOES FOR OUR UNITS ARE, ARE GTS OUT AT SANDHILL AND OUT AT DECKER.
SO JUST FOR THE PEAKERS? YES, I BELIEVE THAT'S CORRECT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, WELL, YEAH, I GUESS I DID HAVE, I DID HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.
UM, HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO THE AMOUNT THAT'S BEEN EXPENDED OVER, LIKE THE, YOU SAID THIS WAS FOR FIVE A FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
CAN YOU TELL US WHAT'S BEEN SPENT OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS IN THIS CATEGORY? I DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I CAN GET IT BACK TO YOU.
IS IT SIMILAR TO THIS OR LIKE, DO YOU JUST HAVE NO IDEA? I HONESTLY DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA AT THIS MOMENT.
THIS SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF MONEY.
SEEMS, SEEMS, SEEMS LIKE A LOT.
UM, UH, IS THERE ANY OTHER QUESTION THAT
[00:10:01]
I CAN ANSWER? WELL, I GUESS I'M JUST KINDA WONDERING, UM, I, I'M ASKING JUST 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, I I I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE BREAKDOWN IS BETWEEN, UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW SOME OF THOSE UNITS ARE MUCH OLDER THAN OTHERS, AND SO I GUESS I'M SORT OF WONDERING IF MAYBE WE'RE GETTING A DIMINISHING RETURN FROM SOME OF THE OLDER UNITS IF THEY'RE STARTING TO COST A LOT MORE IN MAINTENANCE.UM, SO I GUESS I PERSONALLY WOULD MAYBE HOPE THAT WE COULD GET SOME OF THAT INFORMATION BEFORE THIS MOVES FORWARD.
UM, YOU KNOW, I REALIZE THAT SOME OF THE UNITS AT SANDHILL ARE, ARE NEWER, BUT THAT SOME OF THE ONES THAT, OR I THINK ALL THE ONES AT DECKER ARE, ARE PRETTY PRETTY OLD.
SO I THINK, UM, JUST IN TERMS OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, IT MIGHT BE GOOD TO, TO TAKE A LOOK AND SEE IF, SO YEAH, SOME MIND ARE, ARE COSTING US MORE THAN THEY'RE WORTH
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE GOING TO SPEND THAT 60 MILLION.
IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHAT HAPPENS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND, AND WHAT UNITS AND ALSO OUR DECKER UNITS, OUR BLACKSTAR CAPABILITY, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT IN THE ERCOT MARKET RIGHT NOW.
BUT ERCOT IS NOT PAYING THIS BILL.
RIGHT? UM, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW IF, YEAH, I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE, THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO HAVE BLACKSTAR CAPABILITY.
SO I GUESS I'M JUST FLAGGING THAT MAYBE I, MAYBE WE SHOULD LOOK AT OTHER OPTIONS IF, IF WE'RE SPENDING THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY ON, ON VERY AGING PIECES OF EQUIPMENT.
SO KEHE, I'M, I'M KIND OF CURIOUS WHAT OTHER WAYS ARE THERE TO HAVE BLACK STAR CAPABILITY THAN HAVING A PEAKER READY TO GO IN THE AUSTIN AREA, WHICH IS VERY VALUABLE.
OH, WELL, I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
I'M SAYING THAT PERHAPS IT'S TIME FOR A NEW INVESTMENT TO REPLACE THESE UNITS.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
THE GENERATIONAL RESOURCE PLAN.
YEAH, I MEAN, I, I, I DEFINITELY SEE IT AS A, A CRUCIAL NEED.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE ARE INVESTMENTS THAT COULD BE MADE, YOU KNOW, SAY IN BATTERIES THAT COULD BE READY SOONER THAN A FIVE YEAR TIMEFRAME FOR SURE COULD BE READY IN THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS.
UM, AND MAYBE THAT WOULD THOSE UNITS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IF YOU WERE AND MAKE THE INVESTMENT IN BATTERIES, THOSE COULD BE, UH, UTILIZED ON A, YOU KNOW, DAILY KIND OF BASIS TO BE EARNING REVENUE.
WHEREAS MY UNDERSTANDING IS THOSE SPEAKER UNITS AT DECA ARE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THERE FOR CRITICAL NEED.
UM, AND CERTAINLY THAT BLACKSTAR NEED.
AND SO I, I AM NOT DIMINISHING THAT WE NEED NEED THAT, THAT TYPE OF, OR THOSE CAPABILITIES.
I'M JUST QUESTIONING WHETHER OR NOT 60 MILLION, WHICH I'M GUESSING IS DISPROPORTIONATELY GOING INTO THE OLDER EQUIPMENT, JUST NOT HAVING THE INFORMATION, BUT KNOWING, YOU KNOW, OLDER THINGS GENERALLY TAKE MORE MAINTENANCE, UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY HAVE A LOT OF MOVING PARTS.
SO I, HEY BOB, I'VE GOT A QUESTION.
ARE BATTERIES QUALIFIED FOR BLACKSTAR? YOU'RE MAKING AS REVENUE FROM BLACKSTAR, RIGHT? NO, THEY'RE NOT.
THERE ARE BATTERIES THAT HAVE BEEN QUALIFIED FOR BLACKSTAR.
THERE'S A DISCUSSION ABOUT IT AT ERCOT, BUT IT CURRENTLY, YOU CAN'T GET BLACKSTAR FOR BATTERIES.
BUT OUTSIDE OF ERCOT, THEIR, AND, AND AE MAKES ANCILLARY SERVICES REVENUE FROM BLACKSTAR, RIGHT? I'M SORRY, WHAT? AUSTIN ENERGY MAKES REVENUE FROM ANCILLARY SERVICES.
BLACKSTAR WELL, WE, WE HAVE A CONTRACT WITH ERCOT.
WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE REVENUE FROM THAT? I DON'T THINK, WHO KNOWS? I HAVE NO IDEA AT THE MOMENT.
WE, WE CAN, DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS? NO, WE CAN GET BACK WITH YOU ON THAT, EVA.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.
I I MEAN, I GENUINELY, LIKE, I I DON'T THINK THAT Y'ALL ARE LIKE TRYING TO MAKE A BAD INVESTMENT HERE.
SO I, I FEEL LIKE THIS IS ONE WHERE WE SHOULD, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE DIG INTO IT A LITTLE BIT BEFORE WE APPROVE $60 MILLION.
WELL, I, I WOULD SAY WE'VE LOOKED AT THIS VERY CAREFULLY.
IT'S A GOOD INVESTMENT AND A FEW PEAKERS THAT WE HAVE.
IT'S GOOD TO HAVE A BLACK START UNIT.
WE DON'T WANNA BE THE LAST ISLAND THAT'S BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE.
IF THERE'S AN EXTREME WEATHER EVENT AND, AND THE GRID GOES DOWN.
BUT MAYBE A CONTRACT THAT'S FOR A LESSER AMOUNT OVER LIKE TWO OR THREE YEARS MIGHT BE MORE
[00:15:01]
APPROPRIATE.THIS IS WHAT WE'VE NEGOTIATED.
COULD, UM, COULD WE GET INFORMATION, UM, SAY BY THE NEXT MEETING ON, ON THE AMOUNT THAT'S BEEN SPENT FOR, UH, MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS, REPAIRS AT THESE UNITS JUST TO HAVE? YES.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THERE WAS SOME INFORMATION PRIOR TO MY STEPPING INTO THIS ROLE AS INTERIM THAT WAS GIVEN, UM, IN A MEMO TO Y'ALL, I BELIEVE BACK MAYBE IN NOVEMBER, DECEMBER TIMEFRAME.
UM, BUT I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBERS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
I COULD GET IT FOR YOU THOUGH.
I THINK THESE UNITS ARE ESSENTIAL.
THEY'RE GONNA BE AROUND FOR A WHILE.
YOU'VE GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS.
UM, DO WE HAVE A MOTION? I'LL MOTION TO APPROVE.
ALL IN FAVOR FOR NUMBER THREE? SAY AYE.
SO WE HAVE, WHAT'S THE COUNT? COULD YOU, UH, RAISE YOUR HANDS ONE, ONE MORE TIME? SURE.
I'LL, I'LL ABSTAIN ON THIS ONE.
SO LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE EIGHT, EIGHT PLUS TWO ABSTAIN.
I'M GONNA VOTE, I'M GONNA VOTE AGAINST I IN THE FUTURE.
I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IF WE CAN HAVE THIS KIND OF INFORMATION.
'CAUSE I'VE BEEN ASKING IT EVERY TIME THAT WE HAVE ONE OF THESE CONTRACTS AROUND THE GAS PLANTS.
IF Y'ALL CAN START BRINGING IT FORWARD, I LIKE, I DON'T WANT NECESSARILY TO BE A VOTE AGAINST, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE NEED THAT INFORMATION.
SO I'M VOTING AGAINST THIS ONE.
SO WE PASSED WITH EIGHT ON THAT.
UM, WE WOULD APPRECIATE INFORMATION FOLLOWING UP NUMBER FOUR AND FIVE.
[Items 4 & 5]
A LOT OF MONEY GOING TO ORACLE IN HOW MANY DIFFERENT CONTRACTS THAT ARE CUSTOMER CARE AND BILLING.MONICA JOINER, INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT FOR CUSTOMER ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT.
SO I THINK YOUR FIRST QUESTION WAS WHY ARE THERE TWO? UM, THE FIRST ONE IS FOR A THREE YEAR REQUESTING A THREE YEAR EXTENSION FOR OUR CURRENT SERVICES, FOR OUR BILLING SYSTEM.
UM, THE SECOND ONE IS THE LICENSING AND INCREASING THE AMOUNT TO SUPPORT THE THREE YEAR EXTENSION.
THE LICENSING IS FOR OUR USERS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY ALTERNATIVE TO THIS? WE DO BENCHMARKING AGAINST ALL OTHER SYSTEMS. WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, OUR BILLING SYSTEM AND THE SERVICES THAT ARE CONNECTED TO IT, THIS IS ORACLE AS THE LEADER.
UM, WE ARE IN LINE WITH PRICING WITH WHAT IS OUT THERE FOR THE SERVICES THAT ARE PROVIDED.
LET ME, A LET ME ASK, UH, DOES THE CONTRACT CONTEMPLATE, UH, ADDITIONAL, UH, SERVICES IN TERMS OF BILLING, UH, CHANGES THAT MIGHT BE, UH, REQUIRED BY ANY CHANGES IN RATE DESIGN OR OTHER, OTHER CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITY DEPARTMENTS? UM, YES.
SO PART OF THE THREE YEAR EXTENSION INCLUDES AN UPGRADE, WHICH INCREASES CAPABILITIES.
COULD, COULD YOU, WHAT TYPES OF THINGS ARE CONTEMPLATED WHEN YOU SAY THAT? SO THE BILLING SYSTEM CAN BE CUSTOMIZED IN TO DESIGN ANY SORT OF RATES THAT WE WANT.
IT IS LOOKING AT THE OTHER SYSTEMS THAT ARE CONNECTED TO THE BILLING SYSTEM.
THOSE ARE WHERE WE EVALUATE WHAT THOSE CAPABILITIES ARE.
DOES, SO DOES THIS MONEY ALREADY HAVE SOME, SOME APPROPRIATE, UH, NOT APPROPRIATION, BUT SOME BUDGET IN THERE FOR THE BILLING SYSTEM UPGRADES? FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS AN EFFORT THAT SUPPOSED TO BE UNDERWAY FOR THE, UH, SOLAR PLUS STORAGE, A NEW TARIFF DESIGN IN THAT.
SO IS THAT ROLLED INTO THIS? IT IS.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING CURRENTLY.
SO LAST FEBRUARY, COUNCIL APPROVED A 17 MONTH CONTRACT.
THIS THREE YEAR EXTENSION IS TO ALLOW US TO GET THE UPGRADE AND THE SOLAR, UM, COMPONENT IS INCLUDED IN THAT.
[00:20:01]
OKAY.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? SO, UM, SO IT SAYS INCREASED THE AMOUNT BY 33 MILLION NOT TO EXCEED 48.
UM, WHAT WAS IT BEFORE? IT WAS, UM, THE, THE REASON YOU HAVE THAT, THAT MATH IS BECAUSE WE CURRENTLY HAVE A 17 MONTH CONTRACT.
SO WE HAVE FUNDING, IT DOESN'T EXPIRE UNTIL END OF JULY.
SO WE'RE REQUESTING THIS EXTENSION NOW SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE A LAPSE IN SERVICE.
IT'S EXPENSIVE TO BE AN IT BUSINESS.
OTHER QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS ONLINE? I
I THINK THAT'S UNANIMOUS FOR, FOR AND FIVE.
AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO DEFER SIX UNTIL WE HAVE EIGHT.
[10. Staff briefing on the Medically Vulnerable Registry Program by Gerardo ‘Jerry’ Galvan, Vice President, Customer Care Services. ]
STAFF BRIEFING ON THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY PROGRAM.SO WHO'S GOING TO GO OVER THAT? JERRY GALVIN.
I SAW JERRY JUST A LITTLE BIT.
UM, YOU, YOU MEAN NUMBER 10? I DO.
WELL, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DO NOT KNOW ME YET, I'M GERARDO OR JERRY GALVAN, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER CARE SERVICES HERE AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, I WANT TO THANK THE COMMISSIONERS BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND YOU'VE REQUESTED, UH, PRESENTATIONS ON OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMMING.
UH, AND TODAY I HAVE THE, THE HONOR TO, UH, INTRODUCE TO YOU, UH, AN IMPORTANT TOPIC TO ME, WHICH IS THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY, UH, PROGRAM.
I KNOW HOW TO WORK THIS THING.
SO THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY PROGRAM IS FOR CUSTOMERS WITH LIFE SUPPORT EQUIPMENT OR, UH, CERTIFIED CRITICAL ILLNESS LIKE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS OR PARAPLEGIA OR ANY OTHER SERIOUS ILLNESS.
NOW, ONE OF THE REASONS I WANTED TO TALK TODAY ABOUT MVR OR MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY IS BECAUSE OF THE TIMING OF IT.
UM, LAST MONTH, THE AUDITOR OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, UPDATED COUNCIL ON THE MOST RECENT AUDIT OF THIS PROGRAM.
AND WHAT I HAVE HERE IS THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE OBSERVATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE AUDITOR MADE.
SO, I'LL START WITH THE OBSERVATION.
UM, THE AUDITOR BENCHMARKED THE AUSTIN ENERGY'S MEDICALLY VULNERABLE PROGRAM AGAINST OTHER CITIES AND UTILITIES AS FAR OUT AS CALIFORNIA.
AND WHAT IT, WHAT THE AUDITOR FOUND WAS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY OFFERS MORE SERVICES TO OUR MEDICALLY VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS THAN THE OTHER UTILITIES.
AND I'LL GET INTO THE BENEFITS SHORTLY.
UM, THERE ARE TWO PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS OR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE AUDITOR.
ONE HAS TO DO WITH THE FREQUENCY OF CERTIFICATION AND THE OTHER ONE WITH THE EASE OF APPLICATION, MAKING IT EASIER FOR OUR CUSTOMERS TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
SO HERE ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS.
UM, SHORTLY AFTER A CUSTOMER GETS ENROLLED IN THE CUSTOMER, IN THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE PROGRAM, UH, WE INITIATE A HOME VISIT.
WE ACTUALLY GO TO THE CUSTOMER'S HOME, SIT DOWN WITH THEM OR THEIR CAREGIVERS, AND CREATE AN EMERGENCY BACKUP PLAN.
THAT'S SO THAT IN THE EVENT OF AN OUTAGE, THAT HOUSEHOLD KNOWS WHAT TO DO AND THEY'RE PREPARED AND WE GIVE THEM A COPY AND WE BRING A COPY BACK TO THE OFFICE.
UH, WE ALSO PROVIDE ONE-ON-ONE CASE MANAGEMENT.
FOR THOSE THAT NEED ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE, UH, WE DO, UM, WE COORDINATE WITH THE, WITH THOSE HOUSEHOLDS WHENEVER WE'RE GONNA HAVE PLANNED POWER OUTAGES.
AND IN THE EVENT THAT THERE'S A FIELD TECHNICIAN OUT THERE ABOUT TO DO SOME MAINTENANCE WORK, THEY WILL NOTICE THAT EACH METER HAS A PURPLE TAG.
ONLY MVR CUSTOMERS CAN HAVE A PURPLE TAG.
AND THAT IS SO DESIGNED SO THAT THE TECHNICIAN WILL STOP AND KNOW THEY NEED TO CALL THE CUSTOMER
[00:25:01]
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TEAM, MY TEAM, TO COORDINATE BEFORE THEY DISCONNECT ANY, ANY SERVICE TO THAT PROPERTY DURING EMERGENCY EVENTS, LARGE OUTAGES, UH, WE ALSO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS TO THE CUSTOMERS.AND IF NEEDED, WE EVEN DO A WELLNESS CHECK TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE TAKEN CARE OF.
WE HAVE A WONDERFUL NETWORK OF NON-PROFIT SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES LIKE MEALS ON WHEELS, ANY BABY CAN.
UM, TRAVIS COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND THIS NETWORK OF PARTNERS.
I HAVE OVER 55 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS WITH OVER 85 LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT OUR SERVICE TERRITORY.
THEY DO A LOT MORE THAN FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
THEY CAN HELP WITH FOOD, SHELTER, AND OTHER SERVICES FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS.
THIS IS THE CURRENT, OH, WAIT A MINUTE.
THIS IS THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR MEDICALLY VULNERABLE PROGRAM.
THESE ARE THE THREE CATEGORIES THAT WE HAVE TODAY.
THE, THE ONLY THING THAT I WANT TO CALL OUT HERE IS THAT YOU'LL SEE THAT LIFE SUPPORT AND, UH, CRITICAL ILLNESS, UH, HAS AN ANNUAL RECERTIFICATION.
THAT'S ONE OF THE FINDINGS IN THE AUDIT, AND WE'LL GET INTO THAT IN THE NEXT SLIDE.
SERIOUS ILLNESS, IT'S A 60 DAY RECERTIFICATION THAT WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT FOR POST-PROCEDURE RECOVERY, BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOW MORE THAN THAT.
IT'S ANY OTHER ILLNESS THAT IS NOT CAPTURED UNDER CRITICAL ILLNESS.
THIS IS THE BREAD AND BUTTER OF WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY.
AND THE REASON FOR THE REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION.
AND IT'S ALSO IN LINE WITH THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE AUDITOR.
YOU WILL SEE THAT LIFE SUPPORT FOR LIFE SUPPORT CUSTOMERS.
WE ARE REDUCING THE ANNUAL RECERTIFICATION AND WE'RE MAKING THAT A LIFETIME CERTIFICATION.
THAT'S BASED ON WHAT WE FIND IN OUR CUSTOMER BASE.
UNFORTUNATELY, ONCE A CUSTOMER HAS LIFE SUPPORT EQUIPMENT, THEY USUALLY DON'T STOP USING THAT, UH, EVER.
SO WE WILL HAVE ANNUAL CHECK-INS JUST TO CONTINUE TO CHECK UP ON THE CUSTOMER AND THE HOUSEHOLD.
UH, CRITICAL ILLNESS WILL MOVE FROM ANNUAL RECERTIFICATION TO FIVE YEAR CERTIFICATION WITH ANNUAL CHECK-INS, AND THEN SERIOUS ILLNESS, UH, 60 DAY TO AN ANNUAL RECERTIFICATION.
ANOTHER, UM, RECOMMENDATION WITHIN THE, THE FIRST PART, UM, FROM THE AUDITOR WAS TO CONSIDER EXPANDING THOSE THAT CAN VALIDATE A CUSTOMER HAS THAT NEED.
UM, TODAY, UH, IN THE CURRENT PROGRAM, IT REQUIRES A LICENSED PHYSICIAN TO BE ABLE TO GET CERTIFIED.
WE FOUND THAT MANY OF OUR CUSTOMERS ACTUALLY HAVE TO SEE A SPECIALIST, UM, BECAUSE OF THE CONDITIONS THAT THEY HAVE.
AND AS WE ALL KNOW, GETTING IN TO SEE A SPECIALIST CAN TAKE A MINUTE AND IT'S NOT INEXPENSIVE.
SO WITH THAT IN MIND, WE ARE INCREASING, UH, THE NETWORK OF THOSE THAT CAN, UH, VALIDATE THAT A CUSTOMER IS INDEED MEDICALLY VULNERABLE.
UH, AND IT'S CLINICAL STAFF LIKE DOCTORS, NURSES, CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKERS, THOSE THAT HAVE ACCESS TO THE MEDICAL FILE.
SO WE, WE BELIEVE THIS PRACTICE WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR CUSTOMERS TO GET THROUGH THE PROCESS AND ALSO FOR, UH, THE MEDICAL PROVIDERS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO CERTIFY THIS WITHOUT HAVING TO SET UP AN APPOINTMENT TO VISIT WITH THE, WITH THE PATIENT.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, EASE OF ENROLLMENT.
TODAY WE HAVE A CURRENT, CURRENTLY A MANUAL PROCESS THAT INVOLVES PAPER FORMS. AND WE'RE GONNA BE CHANGING THAT TO A SECURED ONLINE PORTAL SO OUR CUSTOMERS CAN INITIATE THE APPLICATION ONLINE AND THE CLINICAL STAFF CAN VERIFY IT ONLINE AS WELL.
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS YOU ASK? UH, NEXT STEPS.
UH, WE, WE WILL BRING THE, UM, ITEM FOR COUNCIL ACTION MAY 2ND.
I TRUST WITH YOUR UNANIMOUS SUPPORT.
UH, AND THAT WILL ALLOW US, ASSUMING THAT IT'S APPROVED, THAT WILL ALLOW US TO, UH, BEGIN COMPLETE, I'M SORRY, COMPLETE OUR SECURE ONLINE APPLICATION.
BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON ADVERTISING AND OUTREACH AND SOME OF THE EXCITING NEWS.
SOME OF THE EXCITING WORK WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE PARTNERING WITH MEDICAL PROVIDERS AS RESOURCE EXPERTS TO, UH, BETTER IDENTIFY THE TARGETED AUDIENCE THAT WE NEED TO, TO GET IN FRONT OF.
[00:30:01]
GO AHEAD, SIR.AND THIS, BY THE WAY, DOES NOT COST US ANY MONEY.
UH, THE, THE, THESE ARE VERY MUCH NEEDED AND IMPORTANT IMPROVEMENTS IN MY OPINION, UH, AND PLEASED WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY AUDITOR.
MY COUPLE QUESTIONS THOUGH, UH, FOR THE INSTANCE WHERE SOMEBODY IS ON LIFE SUPPORT IN THE DISTANT PAST, UH, WHEN THERE WAS A SITUATION OF NON-PAYMENT PERSON IN GRAVE SITUATION FINANCIALLY AS WELL AS MEDICALLY, UH, THE WORD WAS THEN, AND TELL ME IF IT IS NOW THAT AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, MAY SEND OUT A SOCIAL WORKER AND DO THAT, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THEY WOULD NOT, UH, TURN OFF OR DEACTIVATE A ANYONE WITH A PURPLE TAG.
IS THAT STILL THE CASE? SO, SO LET ME ANSWER THAT WITH, WITH FIRST, THE, THE, THE, THE OFFICIAL ANSWER IS WE, UH, WE WOULD DISCONNECT, BUT, UH, WE HAVE NOT DONE SO IN A DECADE.
I HAVE NOT DISCONNECTED A SINGLE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE CUSTOMER IN OVER A DECADE.
AND THE REASON WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT IS, TO YOUR POINT, COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN, THAT WE DO EVERY EFFORT HUMANLY POSSIBLE.
WE HAVE ADDITIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.
THE CODE, UH, ASK US TO DO TWO ADDITIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.
OUR REAL PRACTICE IS MORE LIKE SIX TO EIGHT.
AND WE ALSO SEND OUT STAFF THAT WILL GO AND KNOCK ON THEIR DOOR, UH, AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED.
ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I'M SO PROUD OF THE NON-FOR-PROFIT COMMUNITY HERE IN AUSTIN IS SO FAR WE HAVE NOT ALLOWED ONE OF THOSE CUSTOMERS TO FALL THROUGH THE CRACKS.
WE GET 'EM REFERRED TO THE RIGHT SOCIAL, A SERVICE AGENCY THAT HAS THE ABILITY TO, TO HELP THOSE CUSTOMERS.
SO WHILE THE, THE, THE LEGAL AND THE PROPER ANSWER IS YES, WE WOULD DISCONNECT.
I HAVE NOT FOUND THAT TO BE NECESSARY IN OVER A DECADE.
THANK, THANK YOU MUCH AND BOTH, BOTH FOR THEORY AND FOR PRACTICE.
UM, JERRY, JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR GUYS WORK ON THIS.
HOW DO, UM, DO WE HAVE A SENSE OF WHETHER EVERYONE WHO'S ELIGIBLE FOR THESE BENEFITS IS RECEIVING IT? IS IT, YOU KNOW, ARE 90% OR 98% OR 80? DO WE HAVE ANY SENSE OF THAT? THE UNFORTUNATE ANSWER IS NO, BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A SINGLE PLACE OR DATABASE THAT ACTUALLY HOUSES THAT INFORMATION.
I EVEN ASKED CHAD GPT-4 AND EVEN CHAD GPT-4 WOULD NOT KNOW
SO, UM, I BELIEVE THAT WITH THIS ENHANCEMENTS, UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY AT ROUGHLY 342 CUSTOMERS.
THAT'S AN INCREASE OF 211 FROM LAST YEAR.
UH, I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL GET TO ABOUT 600 TO 700 BY THE YEAR, UH, BY YEAR END CALENDAR YEAR END.
UM, AND WE'LL GO UP FROM THERE NEXT YEAR.
YEAH, I ONLY MENTIONED THAT 'CAUSE UM, IT'S AN UNFORTUNATE FACT OF LIFE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE GET DISEASES AND ARE SUDDENLY IN HOSPICE, THEN MAYBE THEY COME HOME, YOU KNOW, FOR THEIR LAST FEW DAYS OR 30 DAYS OR 60 DAYS OR WHATEVER.
I'VE SEEN IT HAPPEN A NUMBER OF TIMES.
SO, UM, YES, IT'D BE NICE TO ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE.
AND THAT'S PRECISELY THE PILOT THAT I HAD IN THE LAST, UH, SLIDE.
WHY THAT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE'VE SPENT SOME MONEY TO DO ADVERTISEMENT AND PUT UP BILLBOARDS TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF IT.
BUT I, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE IDENTIFY HOW DO WE GET IN FRONT OF THE PATIENTS OR THE FAMILY OF THE PATIENTS THAT ARE ACTUALLY VISITING THE HOSPITAL AND THEY JUST GOT DIAGNOSED WITH THAT, WITH THAT ILLNESS.
UH, I KNOW THERE'S HIPAA REGULATIONS, YOU KNOW, MEDICAL AND, AND ELECTRICITY WE'RE ALL HEAVILY REGULATED AND THERE MAY BE CONCERNS FROM, FROM PROVIDERS, BUT WE'RE GONNA FIND A WAY THAT COLLECTIVELY WE CAN AT LEAST MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE FOLKS AT THE SOCIAL WORKERS AT THE HOSPITAL OR THE CLINIC HAVE SOME MATERIAL TO SHARE WITH THOSE FOLKS.
DOES AUSTIN ENERGY PROVIDE ANY KIND OF BATTERY BACKUP SYSTEM? SO IF SOMEONE'S ON OXYGEN AND THEY HAVE A MACHINE AND IF THERE'S A GRID FAILURE, WHAT HAPPENS? THAT, THAT IS NOT MY, MY EXPERTISE, SO I WOULD NOT ANSWER ON THE BACKUP, UH, POWER.
UM, DO WE HAVE, I, I'VE HEARD WE ARE LOOKING INTO SOME OF THOSE THINGS, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE ANYTHING, UH, SPECIFIC TO, TO BACK UP.
UH, FOR, FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS? NO, I WOULD SAY WE'RE DEVELOPING, WE'RE WORKING ON SYSTEMS LIKE THAT BATTERIES.
[00:35:01]
FROM UTILITY SCALE ALL THE WAY THROUGH RESIDENTIAL.GOOD EVENING, UH, COMMISSIONERS, RICHARD GENESEE, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.
UH, WE DO NOT HAVE A, A PROGRAM PER SE AT THE CURRENT TIME.
WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, A RANGE OF BATTERY SOLUTIONS ACROSS, UH, THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM FROM UTILITY SCALE BATTERIES ALL THE WAY THROUGH RESIDENTIAL BATTERIES.
BUT, UH, IN DIRECT ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, YOU KNOW, IN, IN WITH AN MVR CUSTOMER, WE DO NOT HAVE A DEPLOYED SOLUTION AS OF RIGHT NOW.
DO YOU HAVE RECOMMENDED SOLUTION? SO SAY SOMEONE'S ON HOME DIALYSIS AND WE HAVE ANOTHER MARA OR URI WHERE THE POWER GOES OUT FOR A FEW DAYS.
WHAT, WHAT DO THEY DO BESIDES MAYBE DIE? WELL, THEY, THAT'S NOT TO SAY THE PROGRAM HAS, THEY DO HAVE AN EMERGENCY BACKUP PLAN, TO YOUR POINT.
AND, AND THERE'S DIFFERENT LIFE SUPPORT EQUIPMENTS.
UM, SOME, SOME HAVE BACKUP, UM, POWER, SOME DO NOT.
UM, AND SOME FOLKS NEED TO CALL 9 1 1 IF THAT WAS TO HAPPEN AT TODAY.
BUT THEY DO HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE.
AND SO FAR, UH, I DON'T THINK THAT HAS BEEN A, A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM.
UH, GREAT TO SEE IMPROVEMENTS.
I WAS CURIOUS, DOES THIS, UM, DOES THIS PROGRAM ALSO FEED INTO, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE DID RUN INTO ANOTHER YURI TYPE SITUATION AND ERCOT TELLS AUSTIN ENERGY, THEY MUST SHED 20% LOAD.
DOES THIS GO INTO WHICH FEEDERS GET CHOSEN FOR THAT KIND OF THING? NO, BUT WHAT WE DO DO TODAY, AND ACTUALLY SOME OF THIS STUFF THAT I'M ABOUT TO MENTION NOW COMES FROM LEARNINGS THAT WE HAVE FROM THOSE MAJOR INCIDENTS.
UH, WE HAVE AUTOMATED IN THE, IN THE OLDEN DAYS, MY TEAM HAD TO MANUALLY BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR CUSTOMERS THAT ARE MVR TO SEE IF THEY LOST POWER.
NOW WE HAVE US, UH, WE HAVE AN, UH, UPDATED THE SYSTEM ON THE ELECTRIC SIDE THAT NOTIFIES, PINGS MY TEAM IMMEDIATELY AS SOON AS ONE OF OUR MVR CUSTOMERS, UH, IS EXPERIENCING AN OUTAGE.
UH, SO WE CAN INITIATE, UH, COMMUNICATIONS RIGHT THEN AND THERE, MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE OKAY, THAT THEY'RE EVEN AT THE HOUSE OR INSTEAD OF, UH, A HOSPITAL AT THE MOMENT.
UM, AND, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THEIR EMERGENCY BACKUP PLAN AND THEY'RE EXECUTING IT OR AVAILABLE TO EXECUTE.
AND, AND THE, THE ONE THING THAT I'LL ADD IS THAT UN UNLIKE OTHER UTILITIES THAT DON'T HAVE THIS, UH, I CAN TELL YOU WE DO, AND HISTORICALLY WHEN THOSE EVENTS HAPPEN, WE WOULD MANUALLY CALL CUSTOMERS.
THAT WAS ANOTHER IMPROVEMENT WE MADE.
NOW WE CAN CALL THEM THROUGH AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM AND WITHIN A MATTER OF MINUTES WE CAN GET A HOLD OF HUNDREDS OF FOLKS AND ONLY THOSE THAT NEED HELP CAN SELECT, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THEY NEED ASSISTANCE FROM US AND THEY GO TO US IMMEDIATELY.
SO, SO AGAIN, THOUGH IS NOT PERFECT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS ONLINE ABOUT THIS? I JUST, UH, YEAH, WANT TO COMMEND Y'ALL FOR THE IMPROVEMENTS AND CERTAINLY WANNA SEE US MOVE FORWARD WITH THE SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS FROM THE AUDIT.
BUT, UH, UM, BUT REALLY AGAIN, THIS COULD BE IN A WRITTEN FORMAT, BUT WOULD LIKE TO SEE MAYBE A COPY OF THE PROCEDURES WHEN WE DO HAVE A STORM EVENT, RIGHT? WHERE THERE'S LARGE AREAS, UM, THAT ARE HAVE OUTAGES.
YOU KNOW, WHEN THE FIRST STORM HAPPENED, YOU KNOW, I LIVE IN CENTRAL EAST AUSTIN AND WE WERE THE FIRST ONES TO GO OUT AND ONE OF THE LAST ONES TO COME BACK IN.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF ELDERS STILL LIVING IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND SO YOU KIND OF WALK AROUND CHECKING ON FOLKS, BUT IT WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT MADE YOU WONDER.
IT'S LIKE, WELL, IS ANYONE CHECKING ON THEM MEDICALLY VULNERABLE? SO I DEFINITELY, UM, APPRECIATE THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT HELP FLAG PEOPLE, BUT IT'D BE NICE IF THE PROCEDURES ALSO SAID, WELL, WE DON'T HEAR FROM FOLKS, WE'RE GONNA GO CHECK ON 'EM.
BECAUSE IT JUST SEEMS KIND OF ODD THAT, UH, WE KNOW WHERE VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS LIVE, BUT YET WE MIGHT STILL BE DEPENDING ON THEM TO ASK FOR HELP WHEN WE KNOW IF THEIR POWER'S UP, THAT THEY'RE HIGH LIKELIHOOD THAT THEY'RE GONNA NEED HELP.
RIGHT? SO IT'S ALMOST LIKE, LET'S GET OUT THE MIDDLE MAN, LET'S JUST GO CHECK ON IT, SEND SOMEBODY TO GO CHECK ON 'EM, RIGHT? UM, WE, WE DO, I DO APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MORE FOLKS SIGNED UP, UM, AND THAT, AGAIN, WE'LL BE ABLE TO BETTER SERVE THEM IN THE FUTURE.
I'M, I'M, I'M, I CAN ANSWER THAT RIGHT NOW.
[00:40:01]
IN, IN BOTH IN URI AS WELL AS MARA, IN, IN, IN THOSE INCIDENTS, WE, UH, CONNECTED WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.AND WHEN WE DID NOT FOR THE ONE OR TWO OR THREE THAT WE COULDN'T CONNECT, WE DID, UM, UH, WELLNESS CHECKS IS WHAT WE CALL THEM.
WE ACTUALLY SENT SOMEBODY, WE, WE COULDN'T SEND OUR, OUR, OUR CAP EMPLOYEES BECAUSE THE ROADS WERE ICY DURING SOME OF THOSE, BUT WE HAD SOME FIELD TRUCKS THAT ARE VERY HEAVY, AND SOME OF THE FOLKS IN THE FIELD, UH, WE GAVE 'EM A QUICK, UM, TRAINING ON WHAT THEY NEEDED TO GO DO, AND THEY DID.
UH, SO WE WENT TO EVERY SINGLE, UH, LOCATION, THOSE CUSTOMERS THAT WE HAD NOT HEARD FROM.
UM, AND THEN LATER WE FOUND OUT THAT THEY JUST HADN'T UPDATED THEIR PHONE NUMBER WITH US.
SO NOW WE HAVE A NEW PROCESS IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, AT LEAST ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR, WE REACH OUT TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THEIR MOST UP TO DATE, UH, CONTACT INFORMATION AS WELL AS THEIR DESIGNATED EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION.
UH, AND, AND IN THE PAST, THIS IS GOING BACK YEARS.
IF WE, IF WE THOUGHT THERE WAS SOMEBODY THAT NEEDED ASSISTANCE, WE CAN CALL, UH, 9 1 1 OURSELVES.
IF, IF THAT'S, IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES.
AND, UM, AGAIN, I THINK IT'S, UH, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE MAKE THE PROGRAM AS, UH, ROBUST AS POSSIBLE.
SO I APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE IMPROVEMENT.
LET ME, LET ME ASK, UH, ONE, ONE LAST QUESTION FROM ME.
UH, IN THE PREVIOUS STORM, YURI, UH, WE HAD SITUATIONS WHERE THERE WERE RESIDENTIAL, UH, NURSING HOME, UH, AT LEAST ONE, MAYBE MORE, UH, OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF MEDICALLY VULNERABLE PEOPLE THERE, AND YET THEY LOST P THEY LOST POWER.
IS THERE ANY REQUIREMENT, UH, SINCE THEN, UH, TO REQUIRE THOSE TYPES OF FACILITY FACILITIES THAT PRIMARILY SERVE THIS POPULATION TO ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE OPERATING, UH, POWER? AND IF SO, WHAT IS IT? YEAH, SO, SO LEMME CLARIFY THIS.
THIS PROGRAM IS FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS ONLY.
UH, I DON'T HAVE, UH, KNOWLEDGE OF THE RULES FOR THOSE, UH, ENTITIES.
I WOULD HOPE THAT PART OF THEIR LICENSING, DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF CUSTOMERS THAT THEY HAVE, THAT REQUIRES THEM TO HAVE SOME OF THE SAFETY FEATURES IN PLACE.
BUT THAT'S JUST ME HOPING, RIGHT? I, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.
I DO KNOW THAT, UM, THERE'S SOME FACILITIES THAT HAVE APPLIED AND GOTTEN, UH, CRITICAL, UH, CRITICAL LOAD, UH, AS A DESIGNATION IN THE PAST.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S CURRENTLY AVAILABLE, BUT THAT COULD BE A PATHWAY AS WELL.
I, I'M NOT, I I, I'M NOT SURE THE EXTENT TO WHICH UNDER TODAY'S REGIME, IF, IF THE CITY OF AUSTIN EVEN HAS THE POWER TO REQUIRE IT.
BUT, UH, AND, AND MAY BE, THIS MAY BE A BROADER QUESTION FOR KA.
IT'S A STATE LICENSING OF THE NURSING HOMES.
WELL, JERRY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND THANK YOU FOR THE UPGRADES.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE, THE UPDATE.
NOW THAT I'VE GOT AN UPDATED VERSION AND NOT FRIDAY'S VERSION OF THE AGENDA, WE CAN GO BACK, THAT WAS NUMBER 10.
[6. Recommend approving an ordinance amending City Code Chapter 15-9 as it relates to utility customers with certain medical vulnerabilities.]
GO TO NUMBER SIX AND VOTE ON RECOMMENDED APPROVAL OF THE ORDINANCE IN CHAPTER 15 DASH NINE.HOW ABOUT IF WE DO THAT? DO I HAVE A, A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR PASSING OF APPROVAL? OKAY.
I THINK, I THINK WE HAVE ANONYMITY ON THIS.
[7. Conduct officer elections for the Chair and Vice Chair of the Electric Utility Commission. ]
THE REVISED AGENDA.I MOVE KABA FOR CHAIR OR VICE CHAIR.
[00:45:01]
CHAIR.I THINK IT'S PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT WE HAVE CONTINUITY, UH, UH, AS, AS WE HAVE A NUMBER OF ISSUES REGARDING GENERATION.
UH, THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR SERVICE THIS PAST YEAR.
I'M NOT SURE IF THIS WAS DONE CORRECTLY OR NOT.
ANXIOUS TO HEAR THE STAFF BRIEFINGS ON SOME OTHER THINGS TOO.
DO YOU BOTH ACCEPT YOUR NOMINATIONS? YES, SURE.
[8. Staff briefing and process update on the Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan by Lisa Martin, Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer and Lynda Rife, President of Rifeline. ]
BRIEFINGS, WHICH THEY'RE REVISED HAS AS NUMBER EIGHT AND NUMBER NINE, RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN.LISA AND LINDA, IT IS WORKING.
HELLO? WELL, I DON'T KNOW
WELL, BUT IT WON'T BE RECORDING.
YEAH, YOU WANNA USE THIS ONE RIGHT HERE, BOB? THEY CAN'T SEE THAT ONE ONLINE.
YOU HAVE TO USE THIS ONE OVER HERE.
NO, THEY CAN'T SEE, THEY CAN'T SEE THIS ONE.
SO WHY YOU CAN'T SEE WHY YOU CAN'T HEAR? YEAH.
I, I THINK I'M GONNA MAKE A BIG DECISION TODAY SINCE THIS WORKS.
SO WHEN I WAS AT OUR, OUR LAST UC MEETING, I, I MENTIONED THAT, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE HIRING A FACILITATOR AND WE'VE DONE THAT.
WE HIRED LINDA RIF, UH, SHE'S HERE TODAY.
SHE'S GONNA TALK TO YOU FOR A WHILE.
BUT, UH, SHE'S BEEN DOING THIS KIND OF STUFF FOR OVER 25 YEARS, FACILITATING MEETINGS.
SHE'S A SEASONED SPECIALIST IN THE AREAS OF PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT, COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, AND GRASSROOTS POLITICAL STRATEGY.
SHE ACTUALLY STUDIED MEDIATION AT UT SCHOOL OF LAW, EH, SCHOOL OF LAW.
UH, SHE'S FACILITATED HUNDREDS OF MEETINGS AND ADVISORY GROUPS AND EXECUTED OUTREACH STRATEGIES TO REACH NEIGHBORHOODS, SCHOOLS, PARENTS, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, BUSINESS GROUPS, ET CETERA.
UM, MY HOPE IS THAT SHE CAN ASSIST IN, BRING IN US ALL TOGETHER IN A MANNER THAT WE HAVE A CONSENSUS SO THAT WE CAN TAKE ONE PROPOSAL TO CITY COUNCIL AT SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE FOR OUR GENERATION RESOURCE PLAN.
I'M NOT THE BEST AT SITTING STILL, SO I WILL TRY, UM, DESPERATELY TO SIT STILL, BUT I DO WANNA WRITE SOME AS WELL.
I HAVE LIVED IN THE AUSTIN AREA FOR 40 YEARS.
UM, IT WAS THE SMALLEST CITY I EVER LIVED IN, UH, WHEN I MOVED HERE.
UM, IT IS NOW BIGGER THAN EITHER ONE OF THE CITIES THAT I LIVED IN PRIOR TO SAN JOSE AND INDIANAPOLIS.
SO, UM, I'VE SEEN A LOT OF GROWTH AND SEEN A LOT OF THINGS WITH THAT.
UM, AND I, UH, HAVE, HAVE WORKED FOR 25 YEARS IN THIS FIELD.
I HAVE NO SPECIAL IDEA ON ENERGY, UM, ISSUES AT ALL.
I KNOW HOW TO PULL WIRE, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT.
I THINK SOME OF THAT IS HELPFUL TO YOU ACTUALLY, BECAUSE IF YOU CAN'T EXPLAIN IT TO ME, THEN WE REALLY CAN'T EXPLAIN IT TO RATE PAYERS OR THAT KIND OF THING.
UM, WE SPECIALIZE IN SOMETHING ACTUALLY CALLED INFORMED CONSENT.
UM, IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN CONSENSUS.
IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO BRING EVERYBODY UP TO SPEED WITH THE INFORMATION THAT THEY MIGHT NEED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE WISE DECISIONS AS THEY MOVE FORWARD.
UM, WE FOCUS ON THE PROBLEM STATEMENT ON ALTERNATIVES ON COST AND BENEFITS.
UM, AND WE TRY TO ENSURE THAT ALL THE PEOPLE ARE AT THE TABLE.
SO WHAT WE'VE ASKED TO DO, LEMME SEE IF I CAN DO THIS, OKAY.
UM, OUR JOB IS TO SERVE AS A NEUTRAL PARTY, TO CREATE A COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S MISSION OF SAFELY DELIVERING CLEAN, AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE ENERGY, AND EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE.
THAT CAN BE DEFINED IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
[00:50:01]
PART OF THAT IS COMING TO CONSENSUS OR CONSENT ON WHAT THAT MEANS.WE'RE GONNA ENSURE THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HEARS FROM DIVERSE VOICES WHOSE VALUES ARE REFLECTED IN, IN THE MISSION SPECIFICALLY OF RELIABILITY, SUSTAINABILITY, AND AFFORDABILITY.
WE JUST HAD AN AMAZING, I LEARNED SO MUCH ALREADY, UM, TALKING ABOUT RELIABILITY AND THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE IN NURSING HOMES.
AND PERHAPS THOSE ARE A VOICE THAT NEEDS TO BE AT THE TABLE THAT WE NEED TO LISTEN TO.
SO THANK YOU, UM, COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
CREATE A COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF ENERGY OPTIONS AND TECHNOLOGIES AND COST AND BENEFITS, AND THEN DEVELOP THIS INFORMED CONSENT PROCESS REGARDING THE MIX OF SOLUTIONS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY TO MEET ITS MISSION AND, UH, BOTH IN A RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE WAY AND SUPPORT A GROWING CUSTOMER BASE WITH THE CHANGING MARKET.
UM, SO THIS IS WHAT THEY'VE ASKED ME TO DO.
SO THAT'S THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
QUESTIONS SO FAR BEFORE I MOVE ON? OKAY.
UM, SO MY JOB IS TO KEEP YOU ALL INFORMED OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, WHAT, WHATEVER, UH, I AM, MY CONTRACT CAME THROUGH THE EMAIL TODAY, SO I AM STARTING WITH YOU ALL FIRST
UM, SO, SO, UH, DEFINITELY NOT ANNOUNCING DEFENDING TODAY AT ALL, BUT THIS IS MY JOB IS TO HELP KEEP YOU INFORMED OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
WE ARE GOING TO PULL TOGETHER A, UH, CHARETTE OR WORKING GROUP OR WORK TEAM OF SOME SORT, UM, A WORKSHOP, REALLY NOT A WORKING GROUP, A WORKSHOP AND, AND REALLY LOOK AT DIFFERENT, UM, DIFFERENT ISSUES.
AND THIS WILL BE A SERIES OF WOR OF, UH, WORKSHOPS OR CHARETTES TO BRING A GROUP OF PEOPLE UP TO SPEED AND THEN WORK THEM THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
WE'LL ALSO KEEP THE, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE IS NEEDED THERE.
SO IT'S PRETTY BROAD RIGHT NOW, BUT THAT'S THE GENERAL IDEA OF WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH THAT.
SO, QUESTIONS SO FAR? SO ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW UP TO SPEED YOU ARE, BUT, UM, THIS BODY OF THE EUC, UH, PASSED A RESOLUTION AND I THINK ONE THAT WAS GENERALLY SUPPORTED BY AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF THAT SAID, WE'D LIKE TO HAVE A DRAFT PLAN FOR REVIEW BACK HERE IN SEPTEMBER.
CAN YOU ACCOMPLISH ALL THIS BEFORE SEPTEMBER? IT'S A LOT TO DO BEFORE SEPTEMBER.
DO YOU THINK THAT'S DOABLE? THE, I'M, I, I'M NOT POSITIVE.
I'LL JUST BE REAL, REAL CLEAR ON THAT.
IT KIND OF DEPENDS ON HOW QUICKLY THIS GROUP MEETS.
I THINK WE CAN DEVELOP A GROUP.
I THINK WE CAN HAVE A COUPLE MEETINGS.
JULY'S HARD TO FIND ANYBODY LIVING IN AUSTIN.
AUGUST IS KIND OF GETTING WORSE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE.
SO, UH, SEPTEMBER'S GONNA BE TIGHT.
UM, BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT WE CAN COME HAVE SOMETHING BY THE END OF THE YEARS.
BUT GIVE ME A CHANCE, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'D LIKE ME TO WORK TOWARDS, THEN I WILL TAKE THAT AS YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.
THANK YOU FOR CALLING ON PEOPLE BEHIND MY BACK.
UM, I, I HEAR YOU THAT THE SUMMER MONTHS ARE DIFFICULT.
AND SO I, I GUESS I'LL JUST ADD THAT ENCOURAGEMENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE, THERE ARE SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO WON'T BE ON COUNCIL AFTER THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND, UM, AS YOU KNOW, THINGS TAKE TIME TO WORK THEIR WAY THROUGH COUNCIL.
THIS WILL GO THROUGH COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL ONCE IT GETS THERE, AS, AS YOU HAVE HERE ON NUMBER THREE.
AND, AND THEN TO THE FULL BODY.
AND, AND THAT CAN TAKE, YOU KNOW, TWO TO THREE MONTHS, UM, JUST IN THAT STEP OF THE PROCESS.
AND THAT REALLY NEEDS TO HAPPEN BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO, UM, YEAH, JUST ADDING TO THAT.
UM, AND, AND SORRY FOR THE PRESSURE, BUT, UM, WE'VE, WE'VE GOT SOME GOOD COOL MONTHS HERE OR MAYBE NOT COOL, BUT PEOPLE ARE STILL AROUND.
SO, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE READY TO JUMP IN TO JUMP IN AND GET STARTED.
AND I DO BELIEVE, I DO BELIEVE WE CAN GET THERE BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
I DON'T KNOW ALL OF YOUR PROCESSES, HOW FAST THAT CAN HAPPEN, BUT, BUT I FEEL COMFORTABLE WE COULD, WE COULD STILL WORK WITH THIS COUNCIL GOING FORWARD, BUT I CAN'T TELL YOU FOR SURE.
I'M GONNA HAVE A RECOMMENDATION BY SEPTEMBER.
BUT END THE YEAR THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS.
BUT I'M, I'M HEARING YOU VERY, VERY MUCH.
UH, LET ME ASK, UH, I'VE PARTICIPATED IN, IN THE DESIGN OF, IN SOMETHING CALLED DELIBERATIVE POLLING, UH, WHICH REQUIRES A LOT, BUT IN, IN THE OLD DAYS, ALL THE UTILITIES IN TEXAS,
[00:55:01]
UH, UH, ENGAGED IN THAT, THIS SOUNDS SOMETHING, THIS SOUNDS DIFFERENT.UH, AND I HAVE BEEN CRITICAL OF SOME OF THE SURVEYS THAT POP UP IN OUR EMAILS THAT APPEAR MORE LIKE PUSH POLLING.
UH, IF YOU AN ANSWER ONE QUESTION, IT KIND OF SUGGESTS AND GOES ON AND THEN COMES UP WITH, WITH THE, UH, ANSWER THAT WAS EXPECTED,
THEREFORE, DO YOU CONTEMPLATE USING THOSE TYPE OF ONLINE SURVEYS IN ADDITION? UH, WHEN YOU SAY GATHER FEEDBACK? NO, I, I'VE LOOKED AT THE SURVEYS THAT YOUR, UM, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WORK HAS DONE, I REALLY BELIEVE.
AND PART OF IT IS WHEN I STARTED LOOKING AT THE MATERIAL ONLINE, I WILL, I, I WROTE AND I HAD 42 QUESTIONS.
UM, I JUST HAD JUST A BUNCH OF THEM.
I DON'T KNOW YOUR, YOUR WORLD.
AND SO IT MADE ME FEEL LIKE IF YOU WERE ASKING SURVEYS TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, I HAVE A MASTER'S DEGREE, UM, THAT THEY, THEY'RE NOT GONNA UNDERSTAND ENOUGH TO DO THAT.
AND THEN SECOND OF ALL, UH, I DO A LOT OF EDUCATION STUFF AND IF I JUST SEND OUT A SURVEY, I'M GOING TO HEAR A LOT AND PARDON ME, BUT I'M GONNA SAY THIS OUT LOUD.
I WILL HEAR A LOT FROM MOMS IN SOUTHWEST AND NORTHWEST AUSTIN AND NOT A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE.
AND SO IF YOU JUST DO A SURVEY THAT'S NOT BASED ON SCIENCE OR IS NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT, THEN YOU GET SOME GOOD DATA, BUT IT'S NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
SO THIS REALLY IS AN, A WORKSHOP OR CHARETTE WHY ORGANIZATIONS THAT REPRESENT DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS AND SPEND SOME TIME WITH US.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL THAT'S GONNA MEAN TO THEM, BUT I'M HOPING THAT THEY'LL COME TO THE TABLE AND REALLY HELP US DO THAT.
I'VE DONE THIS BEFORE ON TRANSIT AND SOMES OTHER AREAS LIKE THAT, UH, AND IN HEALTHCARE WITH CENTRAL HEALTH.
SO I REALLY BELIEVE THAT IT'S DOABLE, UM, BECAUSE BOTTOM LINE, THEY CARE IF THE ENERGY'S ON.
IF YOU'RE, YOU'VE GOT A, A VULNERABLE MOM OR IF YOU'RE ONE OF SUSTAINABILITY AND YOU REALLY WANNA GET TO, UM, YOU KNOW, CLEAN ENERGY BY WHERE, WHERE YOU'VE SET YOUR MARK, THESE ARE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.
SO WE JUST, WE'VE GOTTA GIVE THEM SOME TIME TO GET UP TO SPEED AND THEN TALK THROUGH THOSE THINGS.
SO THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY A FOCUS PROCESS AND NOT A ANYBODY SHOWS UP AND THOSE WHO HAVE MORE TIME GET TO HAVE A LOT OF VOICE.
OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH, A LOT OF US JUST WANNA GET GOING ON THIS.
THERE'S A LOT FROM OUR PREVIOUS WORK GROUP EFFORT THAT I THINK AUSTIN ENERGY AGREES WITH.
THERE REALLY ISN'T MUCH DEBATE AND MAYBE WE COULD GO THROUGH IN AN ACCELERATED FASHION, KIND OF GO THROUGH THOSE AND, AND SORT OF CLEAR THEM OUT OF THE WAY TO THE MORE DIFFICULT ONES THAT ARE BASED ON PERCEPTIONS OF RISK OR PERCEPTIONS OF DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES, EVOLUTIONS AND SUCH, NOT, UM, AND THERE'S OTHER ONES THAT ARE LIKE FAYETTE THAT ARE JUST DIFFICULT ROCKS TO MOVE.
AND SO WE COULD PROBABLY NARROW THAT DOWN AND GIVE A VIEW OF WHAT WE AGREE.
AND THEN WHAT'S THE CROSS EDUCATION PART OF IT? WELL, I WROTE PHASING DOWN HERE, OR AGREEMENTS GO FIRST.
SO LET US TAKE A LOOK AS WE DESIGN THIS WHOLE PROCESS AND, AND HEAR ABOUT WHAT WE POSSIBLY COULD DO.
BECAUSE EVEN IF WE MIGHT NOT HAVE A FINAL GROUP, MAYBE WE COULD GET SOME OF THIS BY SEPTEMBER AND THEN MOVE THAT FORWARD.
SO YEAH, I, THE REASON I BROUGHT UP, I USED TO DEVELOP PRODUCTS THAT HAD SCHEDULES IS THIS SHOULDN'T TAKE BUT A COUPLE WEEKS FOR BOB, LISA, MICHAEL, GET TOGETHER, LOOK AT OUR WORK GROUP AND SAY, CHECK, CHECK, CHECK, CHECK, CHECK.
HERE ARE THE WHATEVER NUMBER THAT WE KIND OF AGREE ON.
IT'S JUST A MATTER OF WHERE THE KNEE OF THE CURVE IS.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF EE AND DR WE CAN DO, WE CAN GET THROUGH THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
WE DON'T HAVE TO BELABOR THAT AND WE CAN ACCELERATE THIS.
A LOT OF US SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THE WORK GROUP AND WE DON'T WANT THAT WASTED.
I DON'T, I THINK IT'S APPRECIATED, BUT WE CAN GET THOSE KIND OF CLEARED OUT OF THE WAY FOR THE TOUGHER DISCUSSIONS THAT ALSO REQUIRE MORE CROSS EDUCATION.
WELL, AND, BUT I'D ALSO LIKE TO BRING SOME VO BRING SOME NEW VOICES TO THE TABLE.
IN FACT, I THINK RO ALVAREZ IS THE ONE WHO TOLD ME THIS, BUT IF YOU'RE NOT AT THE TABLE, YOU'RE LIKELY ON THE MENU.
AND SO, UM, UH, I I, I WANNA SPEND A LITTLE TIME.
I KNOW THAT YOUR WORKING GROUP'S DONE A LOT OF WORK AND I WANNA HONOR THAT WORK AND THEY'VE MADE A RECOMMENDATION AND WE SHOULD USE A LOT OF THAT STUFF.
BUT I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOME VOICES AT THE TABLE AND THEY'RE EXPANDED OUT AND SPEND A LITTLE TIME EXPLAINING SOME OF THIS.
'CAUSE SOMETIMES WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN
[01:00:01]
IT AS A TEACHER, YOU LEARN MORE, RIGHT? YOU LEARN WHAT'S GOING ON AND YOU COME UP WITH NEW IDEAS.AND SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE TIME REALLY SMART PEOPLE CAN SIT IN A ROOM AND FIGURE THIS OUT, BUT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE THAT, YOU KNOW, 10-YEAR-OLD KEN COMES UP WITH THIS AMAZING IDEA THAT'S SUPER SIMPLE AND WORK SOME THINGS OUT.
I KNOW YOURS IS PROBABLY NOT EXACTLY THAT WAY, BUT THERE MIGHT BE A GOOD SOLUTION THAT PULLS A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT IDEAS TOGETHER.
AUSTIN HAS INCREDIBLY SMART PEOPLE.
LET'S LET 'EM TRY, YOU KNOW, LET'S LET 'EM TRY AND SEE IF THEY CAN GIVE US SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN COME TOGETHER THAT BALANCES OUT THE NEEDS AND THE MISSION OF, OF WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN, THAT RESPONSIVENESS AND RESPONSIBILITY THAT WE WORK ON.
I PROMISE I'LL HONOR YOU, I PROMISE WE'LL WORK FAST.
UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HEAR FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT VOICES AND WE GIVE IT A CHANCE TO SEE IF WE CAN HELP THIS COMMUNITY HELP US.
SOME OF THOSE REALLY SHOULDN'T BE TOO, TOO MUCH IN DEBATE BY THE COMMUNITY EITHER.
I WILL TELL YOU, I'M, I GOTTA LEARN MORE BEFORE I CAN SAY I AGREE WITH THAT OR NOT.
UH, COULD YOU, IS THAT WORKING GROUP STILL GOING ON? AND WILL THIS, IS IT GONNA BE REPLACED OR SUPPLEMENTED, BUT HOW THAT, HOW WILL THE MECHANICS OF ALL THAT WORK? THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION.
CYRUS, WHAT'S YOUR VIEW SINCE YOU WERE CHAIRMAN OF THE WORKING GROUP? UM, MY VIEW IS THE WORKING GROUP.
MATT PRODUCED A PRODUCT AND DELIVERED TO, TO THE EUC.
I DON'T THINK WE OFFICIALLY DISSOLVED IT, BUT UNLESS THERE'S A, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A NEED TO CALL IT BACK.
I, I VIEW IT, IT'S WORK AS COMPLETED AND THIS, THIS IS A NEW PROCESS, BUT OTHERS MAY DISAGREE WITH THAT, BUT THAT'S, MY FEELINGS WOULD BE PRETTY HARD TO GET ALL THOSE WORK GROUP PEOPLE BACK
AND THAT, AND THAT'S WHAT I HAVE HEARD AS WELL, IS THE WORKING GROUP HAS PRESENTED THAT WORK.
IT WILL PROBABLY BE A PRODUCT THAT WE MIGHT BRING INTO THIS NEW CHARETTE OR WORKSHOPS SERIES, UM, WITH SOME OF THE WORK OR WHATEVER.
BUT THIS IS HOW, BUT YOU HAD YOUR HAND UP.
UM, YEAH, I, I AGREE THAT I THINK THAT NOT EVERYBODY ON THAT WORKING GROUP IS GONNA HAVE CAPACITY TO REENGAGE, BUT I, I THINK THAT SOME WILL AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND SOME OF THOSE ARE ON THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION AND SO WE SHOULD, YOU KNOW, LOOP THEM IN AS, AS, UH, THEY HAVE THE CAPACITY AS WELL.
WELL, LET LET, THAT ACTUALLY OPENS UP TO EXACTLY WHERE I WANNA GO.
UM, WITH THE WHOLE IDEA OF IF YOU'RE NOT AT THE TABLE, YOU'RE ON THE MENU, I'D LIKE US TO SPEND A FEW MINUTES WHERE YOU SAY, HEY, IF, IF JUST LIKE YOU, WE HEARD COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN SAY ABOUT RELIABILITY IN NURSING HOMES.
ARE THERE PEOPLE OR GROUPS, ORGANIZATIONS THAT, THAT WE FEEL, WHICH SHOULD HAVE A VOICE AT THE TABLE? AND LET'S JUST START WITH SUSTAINABILITY.
'CAUSE I KNOW THAT'S NEAR AND DEAR TO YOUR HEART.
WHO WOULD YOU, WHO WOULD YOU WANT TO BE AT THE TABLE AND MAYBE THAT'S A GROUP OR WHATEVER ELSE THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA GIVE ME? UM, WELL, UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, ALLISON SILVERSTEIN, WHO'S ON THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, UM, HAS, YOU KNOW, SAID THAT SHE WANTS TO STAY ENGAGED.
SO SHE, SHE'S ONE PERSON THAT I WOULD PUT ON YOUR LIST.
UM, I'M NOT SURE WHO ALL ELSE, AND, AND I'M NOT GONNA PUT INDIVIDUAL NAMES DOWN.
I'M GONNA PUT PEOPLE THAT SERVE ON THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.
WE'LL KEEP THAT IDEA THERE, BUT WE'LL LEAVE THAT AS, AS ORGANIZATIONS.
'CAUSE I'M LOOKING AT ORGANIZATIONS RIGHT NOW.
SORRY, I CAN SEE YOUR, YOUR VISUAL, BUT I KNOW, I GUESS, UM, OTHER GROUPS THAT WE, UH, REACHED OUT TO AND THAT SOME OF THEM WERE ON THE WORKING GROUP AND THAT I WOULD SUGGEST REACHING OUT TO AGAIN, UM, PODER, UM, THEY DID HAVE SOMEBODY WHO WAS, UH, ATTENDING AND PARTICIPATING IN THE MEETINGS.
UM, WE DID NOT, UH, GET PARTICIPATION FROM SOMEBODY AT GAVA, BUT THAT WAS ANOTHER GROUP THAT WE HAD REACHED OUT TO.
UM, AND IT WOULD BE WORTH REACHING OUT TO THEM AGAIN.
UM, I THINK 'CAUSE THEY HAVE SOMETIMES WORKED ON THESE ISSUES.
I, I'VE WORKED WITH GAVA ON, ON A LOT OF HEALTH EQUITY POLICY COUNCILS AND KNOW MONICA VERY WELL, SO I CAN DEFINITELY REACH OUT TO HER.
ANOTHER GROUP THAT WE HAD WAS FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES, WHICH BUILDS A LOT OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN AUSTIN.
SO THEY'RE, THEY HAVE AN IMPORTANT VOICE.
I, I WILL SAY ON OUR WORKING GROUP, WE WERE DISAPPOINTED ACTUALLY NOT TO GET SOME REPRESENTATIVES OF HOSPITALS OR NURSING HOMES OR, SO I, YOU KNOW, AND IT COULD BE, WE
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DIDN'T REALLY KNOW WHO TO REACH OUT TO, BUT, UM, AGAIN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE LARGE ENERGY USERS, BUT THEY ALSO SERVE IMPORTANT POPULATIONS.I THINK THEY'RE, THEY'RE IMPORTANT.
SO NURSING HOMES AND THEN AND HOSPITALS.
HOW ABOUT ANYBODY ELSE? I'M JUST GONNA YELL
HOW ABOUT SOMEBODY, UM, DO WE NEED TO LOOK AT, UM, ARE YOU KIND OF GOT AFFORDABILITY SOMEWHAT WITH PODER IN FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES? WE GOT RELIABILITY WITH NURSING AND HOSPITALS.
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, COMMISSION FOR SUSTAINABILITY OR CLEAN.
UH, UH, A A RP HAS BEEN A ARP HAS BEEN VERY ACTIVE.
IS THERE ANY OTHER DEMOGRAPHIC PEOPLE OR GROUPS THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT OR INVITE? URBAN LEAGUE OR SOME OF THE DECA THE, UH, MINORITY CHAMBERS? I WOULD SUGGEST A ADAPT.
YEAH, WE WORK WITH THEM A LOT ON TRANSIT.
THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE HAVE QUITE SUCCEEDED YET, BUT I HAVE HAD KIND OF SPORADIC CONVERSATIONS JUST HERE AND THERE WITH DIFFERENT, UM, MEMBERS OF QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THEY WOULD ALL, YOU KNOW, HAVE SOMEBODY WHO'S INTERESTED, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE, UH, GREAT IF WE COULD GET THOSE COMMISSIONS ENGAGED IN THIS KIND OF WORK.
I'M PULLING THIS OFF AND STICKING IT UP.
ALRIGHT, WHAT ELSE? WHO ELSE COULD BE SOMEBODY? UM, I MEAN, LARGE USERS ARE IMPORTANT TOO.
NOT THAT I'M THEIR REPRESENTATIVE, BUT WE DID HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE SAMSUNG AND THEY JUST GOT $6.4 BILLION FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, SO I HEARD.
UM, SO, UH, WE DID INVITE ALSO NXP, THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO ATTEND OUR MEETINGS, BUT I THINK THE LARGE, IS THAT RIGHT? WASN'T THERE SOMEBODY FROM NO, IT WASN'T, IT WASN'T NXP.
SO APPLIED MATERIALS, WAS THAT WHAT FREESCALE USED TO BE OR THEY NOW NO, BUT FREESCALE USED TO BE NXP.
OH, FREESCALE USED TO BE, THEY ALL CHANGED THEIR NAMES.
YEAH, I THINK APPLIED MATERIALS HAD SOMEBODY WHO SAID THEY WERE INTERESTED AND THEN I DON'T KNOW IF THEY JUST GOT BUSY OR WHAT, BUT THEY DIDN'T SHOW UP.
I THINK IT WAS PHILLIP SOMETHING.
MAYBE WE'LL SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.
HOW ABOUT, UM, LARGE USERS WAS LIKE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, LIKE A, A ISD OR ACC OR ANYBODY LIKE THAT? WOULD ANYBODY LIKE THAT BE BUILT? I THINK SO, YEAH.
I JUST KNOW A ISD SPENT A TON ON THEIR BOND ON AIR CONDITIONING UNITS,
UM, HOW ABOUT GEOGRAPHICALLY? DO YOU NEED TO LOOK AT GEOGRAPHY AT ALL ENERGY SERVE PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE CITY OF AUSTIN? AT ANY OF THOSE VOICES INTO I'M GETTING A, NO, WE DON'T LIKE ANYBODY WHO LIVES OUTSIDE US.
THE, UH, THESE MUNICIPALITIES HAVE BARGAINED FOR AND RECEIVED SPECIAL BENEFITS FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS.
DIFFERENT RATE DESIGN IN THE FORM OF DIFFERENT RATE DESIGN.
THEY'RE NOT ALL THEIR VIEWS DO NOT COINCIDE WITH MANY OF THE CUSTOMERS SERVED BY AU OKAY.
THE BULK OF CUSTOMERS SERVED BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
LIKE I SAID, I'M NOT, I'M JUST ASKING QUESTIONS TODAY, BUT THAT'S, THAT WAS ONE OF MY GEOGRAPHY QUESTIONS, DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS.
UM, DID, WAS THERE ANY SMALL BUSINESS THINGS OR ANY GROUPS THAT YOU WORKED WITH, UM, TO THINK ABOUT LIKE THOSE, LIKE SMALL RETAIL SPACES OR SMALL RESTAURANTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? WE, WE HAD A HARD TIME WITH THAT.
WE REACHED OUT TO SOME ALLIANCES AND THEY DIDN'T CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE.
BUT IF, IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE BETTER LUCK,
THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, RETAIL, UM, RETAILERS.
I WILL SAY YOU MIGHT HAVE SOMEWHAT BETTER LUCK, UH, RECRUITING 'CAUSE YOU'RE RECRUITING FOR THREE MEETINGS INSTEAD OF LIKE, INSTEAD OF A WHOLE BUNCH FIVE MONTHS OF MEETINGS.
OH, ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS WONDERING, HOW ABOUT LIKE APARTMENT ASSOCIATIONS OR THE AUSTIN TENANTS COUNCIL? IS THAT, WOULD THAT BE SOMEBODY? AUSTIN TENANT COUNCIL? DEFINITELY.
UH, AND I, LIKE I SAID, I JUST WE'RE GROUPS THAT I'D WORKED WITH BEFORE THAT I WANTED TO ASK YOU.
[01:10:01]
UM, AND YOU SAID GEOGRAPHY WISE, WE DON'T REALLY CARE 'CAUSE IT'S ALL PRETTY MUCH THE SAME.IS THERE LIKE, WELL, I GUESS I WOULD SAY, I THINK IT WOULD BE IDEAL IF WE COULD GET SOME REPRESENTATION FROM THOSE WHO ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN CLOSER PROXIMITY TO AUSTIN ENERGY'S EXISTING POWER PLANTS.
I'LL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THOSE ARE.
SO LIKE NEAR THE AIRPORT AND THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, DECKER LAKE.
SO THEY, UM, I, I THINK IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER INCLUDING PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT IN THE CITY LIMITS OF BOSTON.
I MEAN, THEY ARE OUR CUSTOMERS, EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY NOT AGREE WITH US, OR MAYBE THEY HAVE SPECIAL RACE.
I THINK IT'S SERIOUSLY IMPORTANT TO, OH, YOU CAN'T HEAR YOU
I THINK IT'D BE IMPORTANT TO AT LEAST INVITE PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS.
UM, AND JUST 'CAUSE THEY MAY HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS.
I, I DON'T THINK THAT MEANS WE, WE SHOULDN'T CONSIDER INCLUDING THEM.
TO CLARIFY, TO CLARIFY, I'M NOT SPEAKING ABOUT INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMERS.
I'M TALKING ABOUT MUNICIPAL CITY, LIKE HAVING THE MAYOR OR COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM LAKEWAY, FOR EXAMPLE.
UH, SO, SO TO THE EXTENT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS CUSTOMERS IN THOSE AREAS, AND THEY DO, UH, THAT I DID NOT INTEND TO PRECLUDE
TODAY IS JUST ABOUT BRAINSTORMING IDEAS.
IF IF I HEAR DIFFERENTLY, WE'LL COME BACK AND WE'LL, WE'LL TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED.
BUT I'M HEARING THAT YOUR BIGGEST CONCERN, LET ME JUST MAKE SURE, IS YOU FEEL THAT THEY, EVEN THOUGH THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE PAYING, THEY'RE, THEY'RE PAYING FOR SERVICE BASED ON AN OUTSIDE AGREEMENT AND THEY, THEREFORE THEY, COULD THEY LEAVE ANYTIME? LIKE DO THEY, DO THEY HAVE AN OPTION TO WALK OUT? NO.
SO, SO WHY SHOULDN'T THEY, WHY SHOULDN'T THEY HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE? AND I, I'M NOT ARGUING ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, JUST TO HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE CUSTOMERS OR THE, WELL, LET'S JUST, LET'S JUST, ALL RIGHT.
THE WAY WE SAID THE WORD LAKEWAY,
WHAT IF WE HAD THE MAYOR OF LAKEWAY AS, NOT, NOT EVERY CITY, BUT THAT ONE MAYOR AT THE TABLE OR INVITED HIM? THAT'S A BAD, BAD THING, OR, ALL RIGHT.
OR WHAT ARE WE, WHAT ARE WE DOING? I, I, I I, ALL OF WHICH, ALL OF WHICH IS, IT'S, IT'S A CONSTITUENT, IT'S A POLITICAL CONSTITUENCY.
AND I THINK IF YOU INVITE ONE, YOU INVITE, YOU MUST, YOU HAVE TO INVITE 'EM ALL.
AND, AND, AND ALL OF WHICH IS, UH, THIS IS A POLITICAL GROUP.
POLITICAL GROUPS THAT GO TO THE LEGISLATURE AND DIRECTLY IMPACT THE ABILITY OF AUSTIN ENERGY TO DO ITS JOB.
AND IN FACT, TO BE HERE TO SERVE US IN THE FUTURE AS A MUNICIPAL MUNICIPALITY.
CYRUS, YOU WERE GONNA SAY SOMETHING? UM, I, I WAS GONNA SAY, I'LL SEND YOU, UM, SOME TAPE FROM THE LEGISLATURE AND YOU CAN WATCH WHAT THOSE MAYORS SAID,
SO THERE'S, IT'S A LOT OF PAIN FOR YOU.
OH, DON'T LIKE THE MAYORS, BUT CUSTOMERS ARE OKAY.
WELL, LET ME JUST THINK ABOUT THAT.
I JUST, I THINK A LOT OF THESE GROUPS ARE POLITICAL GROUPS.
UH, NOT, NOT JUST THE MAYORS OF CITIES.
UH, AND THEY HAVE PARTICULAR INTERESTS TRYING THINGS THEY'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE.
AND IF WE'RE GONNA TRY TO BALANCE ALL THAT, THEN WE OUGHT TO BE INCLUSIVE.
I, I DON'T, I'M NOT HERE TO SUGGEST MAYORS, BUT I THINK THAT ALL THE CUSTOMERS OF AUSTIN ENERGY SHOULD HAVE REPRESENTATION HERE.
LET ME JUST, WE DON'T HAVE TO MAKE THAT DECISION.
WE'RE JUST GIVING ME IDEAS AND THOUGHTS ON SOME OF THAT.
ONE OF THE THINGS I SAW IN THE MISSION, I'M SORRY, I KEEP WANDERING.
ONE OF THE THINGS I SAW IN THE MISSION WAS SAFETY.
UM, AND I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT, IF THERE IS A STAKEHOLDER FOR SAFETY OR IS THERE ANYTHING LIKE THAT THAT WE NEED TO EVEN THINK ABOUT? OR IS THAT JUST A, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY NEED TO DO? IS THERE A STAKEHOLDER THAT NEEDS TO BE AT TABLE IN REGARD TO SAFETY? I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE SAFETY ISSUE IS, BUT I DID HAVE SOME
[01:15:01]
OTHER, UH, CONSTITUENCIES.'CAUSE I WASN'T WATCHING BEHIND MY BACK AGAIN.
UM, I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE ALL, I THINK WE'RE ALL, UH, WANT SAFETY.
UM, YOU CAN, YOU CAN PUT ME IN THAT BUCKET FOR SURE.
UM,
SO, UM, MY SUGGESTIONS ARE, UH, SUNRISE AUSTIN, AND THERE ARE A FEW DIFFERENT, UH, GROUPS AT UT.
UM, THERE'S PROBABLY GROUPS THAT SOME OF THE OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, LOCAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AS WELL.
UM, AT UT THERE'S STUDENTS FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE.
UM, I THINK THERE'S ALSO A, UH, STUDENT, UH, PER CHAPTER AT UT.
I JUST, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE YOUNG PEOPLE.
UM, 'CAUSE I, I, I'M 40 NOW AND I'M OFTEN THE YOUNGEST OR ONE OF THE YOUNGEST, UH, AT, AT THE TABLE.
I THINK YOU'RE YOUNG, BUT IT'S ALL GOOD.
ANYBODY ELSE? KE UH, YEAH, I WOULD JUST, UH, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY, I MEAN, AGAIN, IT'S, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE THE INTEREST GROUPS THAT CARE ABOUT ELECTRIC UTILITIES, RIGHT? SO IF YOU HAVE MEETINGS ABOUT A GENERATION PLAN, IF MAYORS WANNA SHOW UP, THEY'RE GONNA SHOW UP OR THEY'RE GONNA SEND SOMEBODY TO SHOW UP, RIGHT? IT'S MORE HOW DO WE INVOLVE COMMUNITY FOLKS IN THESE IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS? UM, SHOULD WE NOTIFY EVERYBODY? YES.
BUT I MEAN, AGAIN, I THINK THERE, THERE'S THOSE FOLKS THAT ARE EASIER, UM, HAVE AN EASIER TIME PARTICIPATING THAN OTHERS.
UM, SO, AND I, I DEFINITELY THINK WITH AFFORDABILITY, THE WAY IT IS KIND OF TO REACH OUT TO A LOT OF THE HOUSING ADVOCACY GROUPS, UM, IN ADDITION TO KIND OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, UM, JUST AS ANOTHER VOICE AND ANOTHER WAY TO KIND OF LOOK AT THESE ISSUES.
AND, UM, BUT I DO THINK, UM, SUSTAINABILITY, RIGHT? AND AFFORDABILITY AND RELIABILITY, RIGHT? THOSE ARE ALL THE THINGS WE'RE TRYING TO JUGGLE HERE, RIGHT? SO HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE HAVE THOSE PERSPECTIVES ADEQUATELY REPRESENTED? SO THAT WOULD BE MY, MY 2 CENTS OR MORE.
AND THIS IS GONNA BE, IT'S NOT A FREE FOR ALL.
SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA TRY TO PICK THE PEOPLE THAT WE'D LIKE TO SHOW UP AND REALLY WORK HARD TO GET THEM TO THE TABLE.
AND SO, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE WHERE WE GO WITH THAT.
BUT I HAVE HOUSING, UM, ADVOCACY GROUPS, WORK WITH HOUSING WORKS QUITE A BIT, UM, AND SOME OTHER GROUPS LIKE THAT.
THERE ANYBODY ELSE THAT I'VE MISSED OR ANYBODY THAT WOULD LIKE, AND IF THIS ISN'T A ENDING PART, IT'S JUST, AGAIN, TO GET YOUR GENERAL IDEAS OR THOUGHTS AS WE START THIS WHOLE PROCESS.
WELL, I APPRECIATE YOUR FAITH, UH, IN ME AND, AND GETTING THIS GOING, AND I APPRECIATE, UM, THE CHALLENGE AND I'M EXCITED TO, TO TAKE IT ON AND SEE WHERE WE ALL GO TOGETHER TO CREATE THE BEST ANSWER, UM, TO DO CLEAN, AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE ENERGY IN AUSTIN AND CREATE A NEW GENERATION PLAN.
LISA, YOU'RE LISTED ON THIS ITEM ALSO.
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING MORE TO ADD? OKAY.
CAN, UH, THIS IS A VERY FLUID PROCESS.
UH, AND WE, UH, OF COURSE WE DON'T HAVE A WORK PLAN, WORK PLAN YET.
UH, THIS IS THE BEGINNINGS OF A WORK PLAN, BUT LIKE TO INCLUDE THIS AS A STANDING FOR A STANDING UPDATE ON AT EACH OF OUR MEETINGS THIS YEAR.
PERFECT FOR THE FUTURE EC MEETINGS.
OKAY, TIME TO MOVE ON TO NUMBER NINE.
[9. Staff briefing on the Energy Code Adoption by Heidi Kasper, Director, Energy Efficiency Services. ]
STAFF BRIEFING ON ENERGY CODE ADOPTION.COMMISSIONERS, UH, RICHARD GENESEE, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.
AGAIN, I GONNA BRING UP, UH, HEIDI CASPER, WHO'S OUR DIRECTOR OF GREEN BUILDING AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.
BUT I JUST HAD A COUPLE OF POINTS THAT I WANTED TO MAKE BEFORE I TURNED IT OVER TO HER FOR THE BRIEFING.
UH, ONE IS THAT, UH, THE, THE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY, UH, CONSERVATION CODE UPDATE THAT YOU'RE GONNA GET, THIS, UH, EVENING IS JUST PART OF, UH, THE, ALL OF THE CODE OF THE
[01:20:01]
CITY.UH, AND THAT THIS IS A VERY COMPREHENSIVE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT, UH, THAT WE UNDERTAKE WITH, UH, OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY.
AND THAT DSD, THE DEPARTMENT OF, UM, DSD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IS GOING TO BE BRINGING THIS ITEM FORWARD TO COUNCIL FOR A VOTE, UH, AS PART OF, UH, COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGE.
SO WHILE WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT ENERGY TONIGHT, UH, WHEN IT'S PRESENTED TO COUNCIL, IT'LL ACTUALLY INCLUDE EVERYTHING.
UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, AS YOU'LL SEE FROM THE BRIEFING, IT'S PART OF A LONGER PROCESS.
SO JUST WANTED TO MAKE THOSE, THOSE POINTS SO THAT IT'S UNDERSTOOD IN CONTEXT.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO HEIDI.
UM, SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER I GAVE A VERY SIMILAR BRIEFING LAST FALL, BUT I WAS TOLD THERE'S SOME NEW MEMBERS.
AND AS WE'RE GETTING CLOSER, UM, GONNA REFRESH AND TELL YOU WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
SO, UM, SO WE'LL GO OVER THE PROPOSED TIMELINE, SOME OF THE EXPECTED CHANGES THAT WE ARE SEEING IN, UM, WHAT WILL BE THE PUBLISHED CODE.
UM, WE WILL TALK ABOUT ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND ELECTRIC READINESS PROVISIONS IN PARTICULAR SINCE THOSE HAVE BEEN, UM, BIG TOPIC OF CONVERSATION AMONGST STAKEHOLDERS AND THEN NEXT STEPS IN QUEUE AND ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UM, SO ON THE PROPOSED TIMELINE, LIKE RICHARD SAID, THIS IS BEING COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, UM, WITH THAT OTHER PACKAGE OF CODES THAT CREATES THE RULES BY WHICH WE BUILD NEW BUILDINGS IN AUSTIN.
UM, THAT MODEL CODE BEING DEVELOPED BY THE ICC INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL, UM, THEY ARE A THIRD PARTY THAT PUBLISHES THESE MODEL CODES.
THEY GET INPUT ON THEM FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY BUILDERS, DEVELOPERS, UTILITIES, AND THE LIKE.
UM, THE BOOK IS NOT PUBLISHED
SO, UH, JUST AT THE END OF LAST WEEK, EVEN AFTER I PUT THIS TOGETHER FOR YOU, UM, WE WERE JUST FINDING OUT THAT THEY WILL LIKELY PUBLISH THE BOOK, UM, BEGINNING PART OF MAY.
SO WE HAD MAY 6TH AS OUR PUBLIC STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.
WE THINK THAT'S GONNA SLIP BY A WEEK OR TWO.
UM, HARD TO COMMENT ON A CODE THAT I CAN'T ACTUALLY SEND YOU TO.
SO, UM, THE, THE ACTUAL START DATE OF THE, THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IS A LITTLE BIT IN FLUX UNTIL WE ACTUALLY HAVE A PUBLISHED CODE TO SEND FOLKS TO, TO COMMENT ON.
UM, OUR GOAL IS TO COME BACK TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS WITH THE RCA IN JULY, UM, TAKE IT TO COUNCIL IN SEPTEMBER.
SO IS IT, DO I GENERALLY REMEMBER THAT THIS PARTICULAR CODE GOES TO APPROVAL TO THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION? CORRECT.
AND NOT, AND NOT THE EUC? CORRECT.
BUT WE, WE'LL PROVIDE YOU, UM, AN UPDATE AS TO WHAT WE ARE BRINGING TO THE RMC AT THAT TIME.
AND IF, IF THE EUC WANTED TO SAY WE LIKE THE CODE, DOES THAT HURT ANYTHING OR IT'S JUST NOT, IT'S JUST NOT REQUIRED IS, YEAH, I GUESS IT'S JUST NOT REQUIRED.
UM, SO AGAIN, UH, IT'LL GO TO COUNCIL HOPEFULLY IN SEPTEMBER, AND THAT WILL BE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT THAT'S BRINGING THAT TOGETHER, AS RICHARD SAID, WITH THAT WHOLE PACKAGE OF CODES.
AND THEN HOPEFULLY WITH AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF JANUARY 1ST OF NEXT YEAR.
UM, IN TERMS OF STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, WE HAVE A SPEAK UP AUSTIN SITE THAT HAS BEEN, UM, LAUNCHED.
AGAIN, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT HAS CREATED A LANDING PAGE FOR ALL OF THE DIFFERENT CODES.
THIS ONE WILL BE ON THERE AS WELL.
UM, WE HAVE A LIST OF TARGETED EMAILS THAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER FROM STAKEHOLDERS WE THINK ARE GONNA BE INTERESTED.
UM, SO WE BE TRYING TO GET THE WORD OUT AS WELL.
Y'ALL WILL GET A NOTICE WHEN WE'RE LIVE.
UM, AND WE'RE DOING PRESENTATIONS TO VARIOUS GROUPS.
SO WE'RE GONNA REACH OUT TO HBA, THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION, UM, US AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, UM, AND SOME OTHER LOCAL GROUPS THAT HAVE, UH, SHOWN INTEREST IN TERMS OF EXPECTED CHANGES IN THE PUBLISHED CODE.
UM, I'LL RUN THROUGH THESE REALLY QUICKLY.
ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, THEY HAVE MOVED FROM ENERGY EFFICIENCY PACKAGES WHERE YOU HAD TO PICK ONE OF THESE PACKAGES TO, UM, WHAT THEY'RE CALLING AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY REQUIREMENT POINT SYSTEM.
THE COMMERCIAL CODE ALREADY HAD SUCH A SYSTEM, SO THE RESIDENTIAL CODE IS JUST LOOKING MORE LIKE RE COMMERCIAL THERE.
UM, DEMAND RESPONSE CONTROLS ARE GONNA BE REQUIRED FOR ELECTRIC WATER HEATERS.
THIS ISN'T TERRIBLY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT AUSTIN ALREADY HAS, WHICH IS TIME A REQUIREMENT FOR TIMERS WITH AN EXCEPTION, UM, TO THAT
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PROVIDED FOR DEMAND RESPONSE CONTROLS.UM, BATHROOM EXHAUST FANS ARE GOING TO REQUIRE CONTROLS SUCH AS, UH, TIMERS OR HUMIDS STATS TO REMOVE MU MOISTURE.
THE EARLY LEAKAGE TARGET IS REDUCING FROM FIVE AACH H TO FOUR AACH H WHAT THAT MEANS IS JUST THE BUILDING ENVELOPE ITSELF WILL HAVE TO BE TIGHTER AND LESS LEAKY.
UM, PRESCRIPTIVE ATTIC INSULATION, WE PUT THIS ON HERE RIGHT NOW.
THE CODE HERE IS R 49 AND THIS IS DECREASING TO R 38.
THIS WAS PART OF A NEGOTIATED PACKAGE OF CHANGES WITH THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION AT THAT NATIONAL LEVEL.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT FROM AN ENERGY MODELING STANDPOINT, YOU DON'T LOSE A LOT OF EFFICIENCY IN OUR CLIMATE ZONE BY MAKING THAT DROP.
SO WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY OVERLY CONCERNED ABOUT IT.
WE'D RATHER GET SOME OF THE OTHER MORE COST EFFECTIVE EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS ON THE, UH, COMMERCIAL SIDE.
THEY ARE MAKING ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO THEIR MENU OF POINTS.
THOSE ADDITIONAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS TO ALIGN WITH ASHRAY.
ASHRAY IS A SIMILAR CODE STANDARD.
UM, THE TWO ARE VERY CLOSELY CONNECTED, AND THERE'S A PATHWAY IN THE IECC THAT ALLOWS YOU TO COMPLY USING AN ASHRAY METHODOLOGY.
SO THE MORE THE TWO ARE ALIGNED, THE BETTER, UM, AND EASIER IT IS.
UM, THERE IS A REQUIREMENT THAT WE THINK WILL STAY, WILL STAY IN THERE, UH, FOR ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS. UM, IT EITHER REQUIRES THAT YOU HAVE A BATTERY INSTALLED OR YOU PROVIDE FOR THE SPACE TO INSTALL THE BATTERY LATER TIME.
SO JUST A QUICK QUESTION ON THIS, IS THIS ALL COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS OR A CERTAIN, I THINK IT'S OVER A CERTAIN SQUARE FOOTAGE, BUT IT'S A FAIRLY SMALL SQUARE FOOTAGE IF MEMORY SQUARE.
SO THIS, THIS COULD APPLY TO MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING POTENTIALLY.
DO THEY, IS THERE A PERCENTAGE OR A CERTAIN, LIKE A SIZING REQUIREMENT THAT COMES WITH THOSE ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS? I THINK SO, BUT I DON'T HAVE THE DETAILS IN FRONT OF ME TONIGHT.
GOING BACK TO THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
ON THE END OF IT, IT SAID THERE WAS A TRADE OFF GOING DOWN TO R 38 AND IT WAS PART OF A NEGOTIATED SUMMIT.
WHAT WERE THE OTHER BENEFITS THAT WERE PART OF THAT NEGOTIATION THAT WERE NET ADDS? UM, SO PART OF IT WAS THE INCLUSION OF THINGS LIKE EB READINESS AND ELECTRIC READINESS.
UM, BUT I THOUGHT THOSE WERE KICKED OUT AS OPTIONAL.
WELL, I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT, UM, ON THAT SLIDE, IF THAT'S OKAY.
CAN, CAN I ASK A QUESTION ON THAT, ON THAT OTHER SIDE THOUGH? THE RESIDENTIAL ONE? YEAH, SORRY.
UM, DEMAND RESPONSE, UM, ON LIKE, DID YOU SAY WATER HEATER? THAT'S LATER ON, RIGHT? OH, WAIT, NO, SORRY.
UM, IS THERE, IS THERE, UM, IS THERE, UH, ALSO SOMETHING FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS WITH THOSE WATER HEATERS? LIKE WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? LIKE FROM A PRAC, LIKE HOW WOULD AUSTIN ENERGY UTILIZE THAT? SO, UM, THIS WOULD BE SIMILAR TO WHAT WE HAVE IN CODE FOR THE WIFI THERMOSTATS.
FOR INSTANCE, WE DON'T REQUIRE THAT YOU PARTICIPATE IN OUR POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT PROGRAM, BUT THERE'S A CODE PROVISION THAT SAYS, UM, YOUR THERMOSTAT NEEDS TO BE WIFI CAPABLE.
SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, AND WE'RE COORDINATING DETAILS RIGHT NOW WITH OUR, UM, INTERNAL STAFF, OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM STAFF, TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE PUT IN CODE SETS PEOPLE UP TO PARTICIPATE IN A FUTURE DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM, UM, WHEN WE HAVE ONE READY.
GLEN FRANCE HAS LIKE THREE GIGAWATTS OF LIKE, DEMAND RESPONSE FROM JUST WATER HEATERS.
THAT IS AN ENTIRE COUNTRY, BUT, UM, THERE'S POTENTIAL THERE.
YEAH, I MEAN, THERE'S A, THERE'S A PLUS AND A MINUS TO THE TIMERS.
UM, 'CAUSE THE TIMERS NO ONE HAS TO THINK ABOUT VERSUS YEAH, BUT I THOUGHT NO ONE BATHED THEM FRANCE.
MAYBE THAT'S WHY THEY HAVE SO MUCH.
THE OTHER BIG ONE ON COMMERCIAL IS A REQUIREMENT FOR ONSITE RENEWABLES.
UM, I'M HAVING LEGAL REVIEW THIS AT THE MOMENT, UM, BUT RIGHT NOW THAT'S IN THE CODE AND IT WASN'T TAKEN OUT BY THE ICC BOARD.
SO TALKING ABOUT ELECTRIC VEHICLE READINESS, UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL DEFINITIONS.
THERE'S CAPABLE READY, AND E-V-S-E-E-V-S-E IS JUST A FANCY WAY OF SAYING THAT THE CHARGER IS INSTALLED.
UM, SO FOR ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, ONE IN TWO FAMILY DWELLINGS WOULD HAVE TO HAVE ONE, UM, EV CAPABLE SPACE CHARGE.
IT COULD BE A CHARGER READY SPACE, UM, WHATEVER LEVEL THEY WENT TO, BUT AT LEAST THE CAPABLE
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SPACE PER DWELLING.ONCE WE GET TO LOW RISE MULTIFAMILY, WHICH IS ALSO COVERED BY THE RESIDENTIAL CODE, IT WOULD BE 40% OF THEIR PARKING OR DWELLING UNITS, WHICHEVER WAS LESS.
AND THEN IN THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, IT GETS, UH, COMPLICATED.
THERE'S A WHOLE TABLE, UM, WITH DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH OF THESE DIFFERENT THINGS BASED ON THE USE OF THE BUILDING.
IS IT, UM, IS THAT A, A ONE 10 OUTLET OR IS IT, IS THERE A CERTAIN AMPERAGE THAT IT'S GOTTA BE AT? UM, THIS WOULD BE A TWO 40 OUTLET.
YEAH, I BELIEVE TWO 40 AT 30 AMP, 40 AMP, 50 AMP DON'T HAVE THE DETAILS, BUT I, I THINK THERE'S, I THINK IT'S 30, BUT I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT ON THAT.
AND SO YOU MENTIONED THAT THESE WERE ACTUALLY TAKEN OUT AND PUT IT IN A SEPARATE APPENDIX, UH, BY ACTION, BY THE BOARD OF ICC? YES.
UM, BUT THOSE APPENDICES CAN BE ADOPTED BY LOCAL JURISDICTIONS LIKE AUSTIN COR.
AND AND THAT'S YOUR CURRENT INTENT WOULD BE TO ADOPT THOSE? YES.
SO, UM, GETTING BACK TO THE QUESTION ABOUT THE NEGOTIATION AT THE ICC LEVEL, UM, THESE WERE INCLUDED IN THE BODY OF THE CODE BY THE COMMITTEE THAT PUT IT TOGETHER.
THE, UM, APPEALS BOARD ACTUALLY RECOMMENDED DENYING THE APPEALS AND IT THE, IT WAS THE ICC BOARD THAT TOOK IT OUT.
UM, LEADING BUILDERS OF AMERICA ACTUALLY WROTE A LETTER, UM, JUST ADVOCATING THAT THE APPEALS BE DENIED AND, UM, EXPRESSING DISAPPOINTMENT WITH THE MOTION THAT THE ICC BOARD TOOK.
SO, UM, YOU HAVE PEOPLE LIKE AC EE AND THE LEADING BOARD OF AMERICAS, UM, KIND OF ON THE SAME SIDE OF THIS ISSUE, WHICH TO ME GIVES A GOOD INDICATION OF THE STRENGTH OF THE CONSENSUS THAT WAS DEVELOPED.
UM, SO BASICALLY THEY DIDN'T, THEY WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE COST, INCREMENTAL COST.
THEY, NO, THEY WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SCOPE AND WHETHER IT WAS APPROPRIATE TO HAVE, UM, ITEMS IN THE CODE THAT ADDRESSED GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION, UM, OR RESILIENCE AS OPPOSED TO STRICTLY, UH, ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
UM, ON THE ELECTRIC READINESS, AGAIN, THIS IS NOW AN APPENDIX, BUT, UH, IT WOULD BE OUR INTENT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ADOPTING IT.
THE REQUIREMENTS HAVE TO DO WITH YOUR COOKING AND CLOTHES DRYING WATER HEATING USES.
UM, COMMERCIAL ALSO INCLUDES SPACE HEATING IN THAT IT REQUIRES ESSENTIALLY YOUR CAPACITY AND DEDICATED CIRCUITS.
THE RESIDENTIAL INCLUDES REQUIREMENTS THAT YOU HAVE AN OUTLET WITHIN THREE FEET OF THOSE DEDICATED USES.
UM, THERE ARE SOME EXCEPTIONS IN RESIDENTIAL FOR THINGS LIKE CENTRALIZED EQUIPMENT OR CASES WHERE THE EQUIPMENT'S NOT INSTALLED.
SO FOR INSTANCE, IN AN APARTMENT WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE LAUNDRY UNIT OR HOOKUPS, OBVIOUSLY YOU DON'T HAVE TO PROVIDE THE ELECTRICAL, UM, FOR LAUNDRY THAT DOESN'T EXIST.
A FINAL NOTE SINCE IT WAS BROUGHT UP, UH, ONE BY ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS LAST TIME ON SPACE CLEARANCE, UM, THIS WAS IN THE 2021 CODE, UM, WHEN THEY TOOK IT, EVERYTHING OUT OF THE 21 CODE IN THIS VERSION, IT'S BEEN PULLED OUT OF RESIDENTIAL, BUT LEFT IN THE COMMERCIAL CHAPTER.
SO WE WOULD LIKE TO FIGURE THAT OUT AND ALIGN, UM, THE TEAM IS RESEARCHING RIGHT NOW ON WHETHER IT'S NEEDED AND IF SO, WHAT THE APPROPRIATE SPACE REQUIREMENTS WOULD BE.
SO WE'RE REACHING OUT TO MANUFACTURERS AND BUILDERS AND TRYING TO GET SOME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHETHER WE ALIGN BY TAKING IT OUT OF THOSE OR WHETHER WE ALIGN BY PUTTING IT INTO BOTH.
UM, I, I MAYBE I, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M NOT WHATEVER READ, READING ALL THE TRADE THINGS ALL THE TIME, SO MAYBE SOMETHING EXISTS THAT I DON'T, UH, KNOW ABOUT.
BUT, UM, IS YOUR RESEARCH LOOKING AT JUST LIKE THE SIZE OF HEAT PUMP WATER HEATERS COMPARED TO OTHER TANK BASED WATER HEATERS? OR ARE THERE NOW HEAT PUMP WATER HEATERS THAT ARE COMPARABLE IN SIZE TO THE INSTANT HOT WATER HEATERS THAT RUN ON EITHER, YOU KNOW, NATURAL GAS OR ELECTRIC? SO THERE'S DEFINITELY NOT A HEAT PUMP WATER HEATER THAT IS COMPARABLE IN SIZE TO, UM, THE INSTANTANEOUS OR THE TANKLESS VERSIONS.
UM, WHAT THERE IS, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT BOTH THE, THE SIZE OF THE ACTUAL EQUIPMENT, UM, AND
[01:35:01]
THEN WHAT ARE THE CLEARANCES AROUND THAT EQUIPMENT THAT YOU MIGHT NEED.UM, THERE, THERE ARE SOME NEW TECHNOLOGIES COMING ON.
SO THERE IS, THERE ARE SPLIT SYSTEM HEAP WATER HEATERS, UM, WHICH DEFINITELY CHANGES THE FOOTPRINT OF THE EQUIPMENT IF THE CONDENSER IS NOT CO-LOCATED WITH THE TANK ITSELF.
SO, UM, THERE ARE SOME TECHNOLOGY CHANGES IN THAT SPACE TO, FOR US TO KEEP AN EYE ON.
WE, WE CAN TAKE, WE CAN TAKE IT UP IN THE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THAT MAY THEN OPEN ANOTHER CAN OF WORMS OF LIKE, THEN DO YOU HAVE TO HAVE PLUMBING BETWEEN THE AREA WHERE YOU MIGHT HAVE THE EXTERNAL PORTION, BUT YEAH, THAT, I'M, I'M GLAD YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT IT.
SO YOU CAN STILL HAVE WATER HEATERS IN THE ATTIC OR IN SEPARATE CLOSETS.
UM, YEAH, THERE'S ACTUALLY SOME OTHER BUILDING REQUIREMENTS THESE DAYS THAT MAKE IT MUCH HARDER TO INSTALL A WATER HEATER IN YOUR ATTIC.
UM, HAVING TO DO WITH NEEDING ACCESS.
UM, SO IN MOST OF THE NEW HOMES WE SEE THE WATER HEATERS ARE BEING LOCATED IN THE GARAGE.
UM, IN WHICH CASE SPACE IS NOT REALLY AN ISSUE.
UM, IT IS POSSIBLE TO PUT ONE IN AN ATTIC, BUT YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF ACCESS AND HAVE AN ACTUAL STOREWAY TO GET UP THERE.
YOU CAN'T BE FORCED TO TRY TO GO UP ONE OF THESE PULL DOWN STAIRS.
SO THAT, THAT'S BEEN TAKEN CARE OF IT IN THE ACTUAL, IN THE OTHER CODES.
AND SO WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE EV READY AND THE, UH, ELECTRIC READY? SO IT'S THE, THE MAIN BODY OF THE CODE, UM, THEY WERE, THEY WERE THERE BY THE COMMITTEES THAT PUT THE CODES TOGETHER AND THEN THERE WAS AN APPEAL, UM, FROM, PRIMARILY FROM NATURAL GAS COMPANIES, UM, THAT MOSTLY IT WENT TO PROCEDURE AND IT WENT TO SCOPE, UM, AS TO WHETHER IT WAS APPROPRIATE FOR THINGS LIKE DEMAND RESPONSE, GREENHOUSE GAS, OR RESILIENCY TO BE IN THE ENERGY CODE.
AND THE ICC BOARD, UM, I GUESS MUST HAVE AGREED WITH THEM ON THAT SCOPE POINT.
AND SO THOSE THINGS, RATHER THAN LIVING IN THE MAIN BODY OF THE CODE, THEY'RE OPTIONAL APPENDICES.
SO WHEN THEY'RE OPTIONAL, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN? WHERE ARE, ARE THEY GONNA BE PUT INTO THE CODE AS FAR AS CITY OF AUSTIN OR WHAT? SO WE ARE GONNA PROPOSE TO ALSO ADOPT THOSE APPENDICES.
UM, HOWEVER, I, I THINK IT JUST MAKES IT A LITTLE LIKE CITIES HAVE TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE DELIBERATE AND IT CALLS MORE ATTENTION TO THEM, FRANKLY, AS STANDALONE ITEMS. BUT YES, WE ARE PLANNING TO ADOPT THOSE PARTICULAR APPENDICES.
THERE ARE APPENDICES WE ARE NOT PLANNING TO ADOPT.
FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S AN ALL ELECTRIC BUILDING APPEND, WHICH WOULD NOT BE LEGAL HERE IN TEXAS.
UM, SO WE WOULD NOT ADOPT THAT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS? THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION ON PLUMBING.
I I'VE GOT A HEAT BUMP WATER HEATER AND YEAH, YOU DEFINITELY HAVE TO DRAIN IT 'CAUSE I THINK MAKES A LOT OF WATER IN THIS CLIMATE.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR DOING THE PRESENTATION AND, AND KEEPING US INFORMED.
WE, I'D LIKE TO INVITE EVERYBODY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AS WELL.
MOVING ON TO NUMBER 11, DISCUSSION OF REPORT REGARDING CITY OF COUNCIL ACTIONS PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY ACTION ON THAT, DO WE ROBIN? NO.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, HERE ARE SOME OF THE ONES THAT I'VE TAKEN NOTES ON.AND RANDY, YOU HAD TALKED ABOUT ANOTHER ONE.
DO YOU WANNA DISCUSS ORIENTATION IDEA OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? YEAH, I'D BE HAPPY TO.
UH, I CIRCULATED TO, UH, COMMISSIONERS THAT THE CONCEPT OF HAVING, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT PREVIOUSLY, UH, ORIENTATION, UH, AND TRAINING UPDATE.
UH, FOR SOME OF US IT MAY BE CERTAIN AREAS WILL BE AN UPDATE, OTHERS WILL BE, UH, TRAINING, UH, ANYWAY, ALL OF WHICH IS, WE CAN'T HAVE A MEANINGFUL DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS TONIGHT BECAUSE OF, UH, POSTING REQUIREMENTS.
BUT I WOULD ASK, UH, UH, WE CAN CERTAINLY PUT THIS ON THE AGENDA FOR THE, AS AN ACTION ITEM FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
AND IN THE MEANTIME, IN THE MEANTIME, I WELCOME ALL COMMISSIONERS TO SEND EITHER, EITHER AS WE LEAVE, WALK OUT THE DOOR OR YOU HAVE MY EMAIL, UH, MY GMAIL.
UH, LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS.
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WE'D, IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS, WHICH WE CAN'T DECIDE TONIGHT, UH, BUT IF WE MOVE FORWARD, WE'D LIKE VOLUNTEERS AND THERE'S CERTAINLY SUBJECT ITEMS THAT I LEFT OUT.IT WAS PUT TOGETHER VERY QUICKLY.
UH, AND, AND, UH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT AT THE NEXT MEETING, BUT SHOOT ME, SHOOT ME AN EMAIL WITH ANY THOUGHTS YOU HAVE.
AND THEN WE'VE BEEN HAVING A FEW DISCUSSIONS ON ELECTRIC LANDSCAPE REBATE PROGRAM.
SO I'D LIKE TO HAVE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE STAFF, RICHARD, SARAH, UM, SCOTT AND OTHERS ON THAT.
SO WE HAVE THE BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOMES OF THAT.
SO WE NEEDED TO GIVE OURSELVES SOME MORE TIME.
SO THAT LANDSCAPE REBATE PROGRAM, UH, COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ, YOU HAD MENTIONED YOU'D LIKE TO SEE A LIST OF PROCEDURES FOR THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE.
UH, DO YOU STILL HAVE THAT REQUEST OR DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR THAT TO BE SENT OUT TO THE EUC OR DO YOU WANT TO? I THINK, UH, HE ADDRESSED THE QUESTION IN HIS RESPONSE, SO THAT'S NOT NEEDED, BUT IF THEY EXIST, I WOULDN'T MIND SEEING THEM
WHAT OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS DO WE HAVE? WAS THERE AN EXPECTATION ON THE, THE PRESENTATION WE HEARD EARLIER ON THE FACILITATION? IS THERE AN EXPECTATION THERE'D BE KIND OF UPDATES TO US EACH MONTH? IS THAT THE IDEA? YES, AS PART OF THAT.
SO I GUESS THAT WOULD BE ON ANY A STANDING ITEM.
ANYTHING ELSE? WELL, AND THEN, UM, IN LAST MONTH'S PRESENTATION FROM AUSTIN ENERGY ON THE GENERATION PLAN UPDATE, IT WAS MENTIONED THEY'D BE DOING A SERIES OF RFIS RFPS.
SO I, I DON'T THINK WE NEED A PRESENTATION, BUT JUST AS INFORMATION COMES, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
UH, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD BE DONE IN THE FACILITATED MEETINGS OR TO US, BUT JUST THINK THAT WOULD BE USEFUL INFORMATION.
WE CAN GIVE AN UPDATE ON WHAT WE, AS LONG AS IT'S NOT CONFIDENTIAL, AS LONG AS IT'S NOT, OBVIOUSLY WHILE WE BACK AND RP VERIFY, SIR.
ALSO AT THE LAST MEETING, I, I HAD, UH, SUGGESTED OR REQUESTED UPDATE ON THE CAP, UH, ENROLLMENT EN THE, UH, ENROLLMENT AND WHERE WE ARE SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND OTHERWISE, UH, AND I WAS INFORMED BY STAFF THAT, UH, THAT IS IN THE WORKS.
UH, COUNCIL IS INTERESTED ALSO.
UH, SO THAT'LL BE PROBABLY JUNE, JULY.
ANYTHING FROM ANYONE ON ONLINE? YEAH.
UM, I WILL, I WAS, I KNOW THAT THERE'S THE, YOU KNOW, NEW RFPS GOING OUT, BUT, UH, WAS HOPING THAT WE COULD GET, YOU KNOW, AND I, AND I KNOW THAT WHEN IT COMES TO RFPS, WE CAN'T HAVE THE SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON THE PROPOSALS, BUT IF WE COULD GET A, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SUMMARIZED VERSION, UM, ON THE, THE PAST, UH, RFP RESPONSES FOR THE ENERGY STORAGE BATTERIES.
LISA MARTIN, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER.
YEAH, I CAN SEE WHAT WE CAN PULL TOGETHER, UM, TO, UH, PROVIDE TO THE GROUP.
UH, I CERTAINLY THINK IT WILL BE HELPFUL INFORMATION AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE FACILITATED DISCUSSIONS ALSO.
AND I GUESS, UM, ON A RELATED NOTE, I THINK WE BROUGHT UP AT THE LAST MEETING THE, UM, DISTRIBUTED STORAGE RESOLUTION.
AND I KNOW THERE HAD BEEN ONE OR TWO, UM, LIKE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS ON THAT, BUT I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING IN A WHILE.
SO RAISING THAT UP AGAIN, UH, IS SOMETHING THAT IT WOULD BE GREAT TO GET AN UPDATE ON AND, AND YEAH, HEAR WHAT THE NEXT STEPS ARE.
THIS IS THE SOLAR PLUS STORAGE NEW TARIFF.
YEAH, WELL I THINK IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE ABOUT CONSIDERING LIKE EVERYTHING YEAH.
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I THINK WE PROVIDED A, A KIND OF COMPANY-WIDE UPDATE ON THAT RESOLUTION, UM, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TIMELINE IN THAT RESOLUTION.UM, WE CAN CHECK INTERNALLY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WHAT ELSE MIGHT BE NEW TO REPORT OUT AND CIRCLE BACK IF THERE IS ANYTHING NEW.
ANYTHING ELSE? WELL, WELCOME TO OUR NEW COMMISSIONERS.
WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU HERE TOO.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH EVERYONE.