Jul 15, 2024 Electric Utility Commission

AND I HEAR MY, MY VOICE ECHOING.

MY NAME IS TTA COOPER, AND THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR LETTING ME, UH, TALK WITH YOU.

I'M HERE ABOUT THE CHILLERS.

I THINK Y'ALL CALL 'EM THE DISTRICT ENERGY AND COOLING SYSTEM, BUT I REFER TO 'EM AS CHILLERS.

AND I ALWAYS THINK OF THE MICHAEL JACKSON THRILLER SEQUENCE 'CAUSE THAT'S HOW I FEEL ABOUT THESE CHILLERS.

AND I FIRST BECAME INVOLVED WITH THEM IN THE LAST WATER RAPE CASE AND REALIZED THAT THEY, WE'VE BEEN SUBSIDIZING THEM FOR QUITE SOME TIME.

LIKE IN THE LAST RATE CASE, THAT'S FISCAL YEAR 2022.

WITH THE TEST YEAR OF 2021, THEY HAD THE LOSSES OF $20 MILLION.

AND THEN THEY ALSO HAVE A SERIOUS AMOUNT OF DEBT BECAUSE THEIR ASSETS ARE LIKE A HUNDRED AND SIXTY, SIXTY SEVEN $0.5 MILLION.

SO I'M VERY CONCERNED THAT EVEN IF WE CAN SELL 'EM, 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S BEFORE THE COUNCIL THIS THURSDAY IS SELLING, THAT THEY MAY END UP BEING, UH, SOLD FOR A LOSS.

AND I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT KIND OF PROTECTIONS WE, THE RATE PAYERS ARE GONNA HAVE ABOUT THAT.

SO, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS THAT I HOPE THAT Y'ALL CAN AGREE WITH AND FORWARD ONTO THE COUNCIL TO MAKE SURE.

THE, THE THING BEFORE THE COUNCIL THURSDAY IS THAT THEY'RE JUST ASKING FOR A CONSULTANT, OF COURSE.

DON'T WE ALL HIRE CONSULTANTS? AND IT'S A CONSULTANT TO CHECK ON, UH, THE, HOW GOOD IS IT GONNA BE TO SELL IT? AND SO SOME OF THE THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IS, FIRST OF ALL, IS THE BUSINESS NOW MAKING A PROFIT? UH, WHAT'S THE HORIZON FOR IT TO EVER MAKE A PROFIT? UH, HOW LONG HAS THE BUSINESS, UH, UH, IF THE BUSINESS IS OPERATING AT A LOSS, WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF THIS CONTINUED OPERATING LOSS? WHAT TIMEFRAME, IF ANY, CAN A BUYER EXPECT TO HAVE AN OPERATING PROFIT WITH THE SELLER OF THE PRO OF THE, UH, OF THE GOODS AND SERVICES AS IS? UH, THERE, THERE'S LOTS OF LONG-TERM CONTRACTS, AND THERE'S AN ASSURANCE IN THIS MEMO THAT THOSE LONG CONTRACTS WILL BE, UH, HONORED.

WELL LONG-TERM CONTRACTS, JUST AS ANOTHER WORD FOR WHAT THEY'RE PAYING US.

AND THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY NOT PAYING US ENOUGH BECAUSE WE OPERATE AT A LOSS.

SO WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN GOING FORWARD AS A RATE PAYER IN TERMS OF THESE LONG-TERM CONTRACTS? WILL WE HAVE, HOW ARE WE GONNA GET COMPENSATED? OR HOW IS THE UTILITY GOING TO HANDLE THIS IN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS? ARE THEY GONNA AGREE TO A CHEAPER OR A LOWER PURCHASE PRICE FOR THEIR GOODS? OR ARE THEY GOING TO BE WILLING TO CONTINUE TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THOSE CONTRACTS? RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE ON THOSE CONTRACTS MEANS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LOSSES.

AND THOSE LOSSES SHOULD BE, UH, UH, WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CARRY THOSE LOSSES.

UH, ARE THERE MAINTENANCE COSTS? I MEAN, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE, BUT BOTTOM LINE, I KNOW THAT MY TIME IS SHORT AND Y'ALL'S MEETING IS LONG.

SO, UH, I HOPE THAT THEY REQ THAT THEY REQUIRE THE CONTRACT CONSULTANT TO HAVE A DRAFT REPORT PROVIDED TO YOU ALL.

SO YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT IT AND SEE IF THERE'S OTHER QUESTIONS THAT YOU WANT, UH, ANSWERED THAT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS TO ME.

MY INITIAL LEVEL DISCOVERY, ALL OF A SUDDEN I END UP WITH ALMOST TWICE AS MANY MORE QUESTIONS TO ASK JUST BECAUSE OF THE INFORMATION I'VE GOTTEN.

BUT I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE RATE EFFECT GOING FORWARD.

MS. COOPER, YOUR TIME HAS EXPIRED, IF YOU COULD.

GREAT.

WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THE NEXT SPEAKER IS PAUL ROBBINS, AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.

GOOD EVENING, CAMAL.

GOOD

[00:05:01]

EVENING.

IS THIS ON? IS THIS NO, PRESS THE, PRESS THE BUTTON.

THERE YOU GO.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSION.

I AM PAUL ROBBINS, UH, AN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST AND CONSUMER ADVOCATE.

I AM VICE CHAIR OF THE CITY'S RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.

I'M HERE TO ADDRESS THE PROPOSAL TO STUDY THE SALE OF AUSTIN'S DISTRICT CHILLING SYSTEM.

I ASK YOU TO VOTE TO DELAY THIS PROPOSAL, UH, UNTIL SUBSTANTIAL INFORMATION IS PROVIDED TO THE COMMISSION'S CUSTOMERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL STAKEHOLDERS.

I DO NOT DIRECTLY SPEAK FOR THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION AT THIS TIME, BUT WE HAVE AN ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TOMORROW NIGHT TO ASK CITY COUNCIL TO POSTPONE THIS ITEM.

I WILL STATE SOME OF THE REASONS BRIEFLY.

A MAJOR PROBLEM IS THAT UP UNTIL A WEEK AGO, WE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS.

THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION CREATED A STAKEHOLDER GROUP TO REVIEW AUSTIN ENERGY'S RESOURCE PLAN.

THIS GROUP BEGAN IN SEPTEMBER, AND WE HAVE PUT IN CONSIDERABLE WORK OVER A PERIOD OF MONTHS TO GIVE CONSTRUCTIVE RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT THE UTILITIES FUTURE.

AT NO POINT IN THIS PROCESS WAS THERE A MENTION, HINT OR WHISPER OF THIS PROPOSAL TO SELL THE SYSTEM THAT HAS A DIRECT BEARING ON AUSTIN'S ENERGY USE.

THE PROPOSAL WILL INEVITABLY RAISE RATES FOR DISTRICT CHILLING CUSTOMERS BECAUSE OF THE HIGHER COST OF CAPITAL PROPERTY AND INCOME TAXES AND RECOUPING THE PREMIUM PAID TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UH, THAT MUST BE RECOUPED BY THE POTENTIAL BUYER.

AND IN MY OPINION, MY FINAL CONCERN THAT I'LL EXPRESS TONIGHT IS THAT THIS SYSTEM WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN CREATED WITHOUT THE CITY'S INVOLVEMENT.

AUSTIN IS OBVIOUSLY COMMITTED TO IT, AND YET, AND, AND AS YET UNKNOWN, FUTURE OWNER, PROBABLY HEADQUARTERED IN ANOTHER CITY, MAY NOT HAVE AUSTIN'S BEST INTEREST AT HEART.

AGAIN, I ASK YOU TO DELAY THIS PROPOSAL UNTIL SUBSTANTIAL INFORMATION IS PROVIDED TO THE CITY, TO THE COMMUNITY.

THE NEXT SPEAKER IS BRADLEY JAEL.

I'M NOT GONNA SPEAK.

UH, AND THEN BEN SOTHEBY.

THAT'S ALL THE SPEAKERS WE HAVE.

APPROVAL OF

[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

THE MINUTES.

DO WE HAVE ANY UPDATES OR CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES? I MOVE ADOPTION.

I SECOND.

ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

AYE.

ITEMS. WE HAVE 2, 3, 4 HAS BEEN STRICKEN AND WITHDRAWN.

DISCUSSION AND ACTION

[Items 2, 3 & 5]

FIVE AND SIX.

CAN WE APPROVE 2, 3, 5.

AND, UH, CHAIR? WE NEED SIX.

CHAIR TOTAL.

UH, CAN WE GET CLARIFICATION ON ITEM NUMBER FOUR? IT'S, IT'S STILL ON OUR AGENDA.

IT'S BEEN STRICKEN FROM CITY COUNCIL'S AGENDA, BUT NOT OUR AGENDA.

AMY? YEAH, IT'S BEING WITHDRAWN FROM THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA, SO THEREFORE THIS COMMISSION DOES NOT NEED TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON IT, BUT WE CAN STILL HAVE A DISCUSSION ON IT.

YES, SURE.

YES, YOU COULD.

WE STILL HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THAT.

THAT SOUNDS GOOD.

SO LET'S PULL THAT.

UM, AND DO WE, AMY, DO WE NEED TO VOTE ON SIX? UM, YOU DO NOT NEED TO VOTE ON SIX.

SIX IS THE ANNUAL REPORT THAT THE EUC CHAIR PUTS TOGETHER.

UM, IT'S DUE JULY 31ST.

IT TECHNICALLY DOES NOT NEED AN ACTION FROM THE GROUP.

SO DAVE AND I WILL WORK TOGETHER TO, UH, GET THAT DONE AND GET IT CIRCULATED TO YOU ALL.

UM, VIA EMAIL.

WE'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION ON FOUR.

[00:10:01]

HOW ABOUT TWO, THREE, AND FIVE.

ANY QUESTIONS ON THOSE? WHAT ABOUT ONLINE? ANY DISCUSSIONS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT TWO, THREE, AND FIVE? I LIKE THE HEAD MOTIONS THAT REALLY HELP .

DO I HAVE A, DO I HAVE A MOTION ON TWO, THREE, AND FIVE? MOTION TO APPROVE.

SECOND.

SO, OKAY.

ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

AYE.

WE'RE DONE WITH TWO, THREE, AND FIVE.

SO LET'S DISCUSS

[4. Recommend authorizing negotiation and execution of a contract and other necessary and appropriate agreements with J.P. Morgan Securities LLC needed to evaluate and facilitate the potential sale of the District Energy and Cooling assets. ]

FOUR.

THAT IS MORE ON THE DISTRICT COOLING.

COULD, COULD WE, UH, COULD WE CLARIFY FROM THE COMMENTS, UH, THAT WERE MADE? WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS HAS BEEN PULLED FROM CITY COUNCIL FOR NOT FOREVER, BUT AT LEAST FROM THIS COUNCIL MEETING.

UM, AND, AND, UH, BUT EVERYONE IN THE ROOM SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT THE STUDY, UH, OR PROPOSED STUDY IS NOT, UH, SCHEDULED FOR ACTION.

SO WHO COULD GIVE US THE BEST DESCRIPTION OF, OF NUMBER FOUR? THIS.

I, I, I'M NOT SURE WHAT, WHEN YOU SAID BEST DESCRIPTION, YOU KNOW, WE WITHDREW IT.

THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT IT AS, AS YOU KNOW, AND WE JUST FEEL LIKE MOVING FORWARD WE NEED A, NEED A, YOU KNOW, A MORE ROBUST, ROBUST DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM.

, ANY QUESTIONS? CAN WE ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS, BOB? UH, SURE.

ANYONE ONLINE HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DISTRICT COOLING IDEA? YOU HAVE A FEEL FOR HOW, HOW MUCH FURTHER IT NEEDS TO BE EXPANDED AND HOW MUCH THAT WOULD COST? WELL, WE HAVE $240 MILLION OR $250 MILLION IN DEBT RIGHT NOW.

MY, MY QUE MY QUESTION IS, IS IT POSTPONED OR IS IT WITHDRAWN? WITHDRAWN.

OR IN OTHER WORDS, EXHAUST AND ENERGY.

UH, STILL RECOMMEND IS STILL IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING FORWARD WITH SUBJECT TO MORE DISCUSSION OR, UH, IS, IS THE PROJECT PUT TO REST NOW WE'LL WORK ON WHEN WE MIGHT BRING IT BACK.

WHAT WOULD THE TIMELINE ON THAT BE? WE'RE WORKING ON THAT.

SO, UH, IS THE INTENT STILL TO LOOK AT SELLING DES SYSTEM? I, I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME FURTHER DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THAT, BUT, UH, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE.

CAN CAN YOU GIVE US SOME CLARIFICATION ON WHAT LED AE TO PUT THIS ON THE AGENDA IN THE FIRST PLACE? BECAUSE WE WERE LOOKING AT HIRING SOMEBODY TO ADVISE US ON SOLVING THE SYSTEM WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD DO THAT.

AND THAT WAS BASED ON WHAT INTERNAL METRICS? WELL, THE SYSTEM IS NEAR CAPACITY.

WE DID NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY TO EXPAND THE SYSTEM.

UH, WE WANTED TO SEE THE ENERGY SAVINGS THAT HAVE BEEN GOING ON FOR 20 PLUS YEARS CONTINUE.

UH, WE ALSO WANTED TO SEE THE SAVINGS TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE BEEN GOING ON FOR ALL THESE YEARS.

CONTINUE.

IF WE DON'T, UH, HAVE SOMEBODY ELSE TAKE OVER THE SYSTEM, THEN BASICALLY THE ENERGY SAVINGS AND THE DOLLAR SAVINGS TO ALL OUR CUSTOMER.

'CAUSE OUR TRANSMISSION COSTS ARE REDUCED, WILL BE CAPPED AND THE SYSTEM WILL NOT EXPAND ANYMORE.

SO WE WERE LOOKING AT WHAT IS THE WAY TO CONTINUE THAT FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS.

AND WE THOUGHT THE BEST WAY WOULD BE IS TO EXPLORE WHETHER OR NOT SOMEBODY MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN TAKING OVER THE SYSTEM THAT HAS A WOR WHEREWITHAL TO EXPAND IT AND THEY WOULD BE OBLIGATED TO EXPAND IT BASED ON CUSTOMER INTEREST.

OR, I, I'M NOT, WHEN YOU SAY OBLIGATED, I MEAN, IF SOMEBODY BUYS THE SYSTEM, OBVIOUSLY THERE'D BE DUE DILIGENCE.

THERE'D BE A DATA ROOM SET UP.

UH, THEY WOULD HAVE TO DO THEIR DUE DILIGENCE TO SEE WHAT, WHAT THEY CAN DO.

AND IT'D BE A NEGOTIATION, PROBABLY TAKE NINE TO 12 MONTHS IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH IT.

BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE PULLING IT BACK.

A LOT OF QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ASKED AND WE JUST FELT LIKE WE NEED MORE DISCUSSIONS OUT THERE.

[00:15:03]

AND, UH, I'VE BEEN TOLD, OR IT'S BEEN SUGGESTED THAT IT COULD PROBABLY DOUBLE IN SIZE WHEN YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE SEEN ALL THE CRANES DOWNTOWN AND AROUND TOWN.

AND THE DEVELOPERS LOVE THIS BUSINESS MODEL BECAUSE BASICALLY THEY GET AC BUT THEY DON'T HAVE TO INSTALL THAT IN THEIR BUILDING.

IT SAVES IN SPACE.

THEY DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT O AND M.

THEY COULD JUST PAY SOMEBODY TO SUPPLY, UH, CHILLED WATER TO THEM OFF PEAK.

UH, THAT'S A LOT CHEAPER THAN RUNNING AN AC UNIT, WHICH IS USUALLY 50% OF THE COST FOR AN OFFICE BUILDING IN THE SUMMER.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH, THIS IS KABA.

I WAS JUST WONDERING IF ANY CONSIDERATION HAD BEEN GIVEN TO CREATING A NEW CITY DEPARTMENT OR TRANSFERRING THIS ASSET OR ASSETS TO A DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENT? WE HAVEN'T CONSIDERED THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK GOING FORWARD, WE'LL, WE'LL LOOK AT ANYTHING THAT MIGHT MAKE SENSE.

I THINK WE'VE EXHAUSTED THE QUESTIONS FOR NOW ON THAT.

NUMBER SEVEN, ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES.

SO I GUESS WE

[7. Staff briefing on the Weatherization Program by Holly Prosser, Energy Efficiency Services Manager, Austin Energy.]

MOVE TO STAFF BRIEFINGS.

UH, GOOD EVENING.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

RICHARD GENESEE, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS, UH, WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.

I JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF A SETUP, UH, BEFORE WE BROUGHT HOLLY UP HERE FOR THE STAFF BRIEFING.

UH, THIS IS ACTUALLY, UH, IN RESPONSE TO COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN'S ORIGINAL REQUEST FOR WEATHERIZATION PRESENTATION.

AND, UH, LAST MONTH WE HAD, UH, CARRIE OVERTON DO THE CAP PORTION OF THIS.

THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE FOCUSED ON RESIDENTIAL, BUT ALSO SUPPORTING, UH, MULTIFAMILY, UH, WHICH IS PART OF THE WEATHERIZATION AS WELL.

SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE THE PROPER CONTEXT.

AND OF COURSE, IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS AFTER THE BRIEFING, UH, MYSELF OR HOLLY WILL BE AVAILABLE.

UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

MY NAME IS HOLLY PROSSER AND I'M THE MANAGER FOR RESIDENTIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES AT AUSTIN ENERGY.

UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAVING ME THIS EVENING.

SO I'M GOING TO WALK YOU, UH, THROUGH KIND OF A STATUS UPDATE OF OUR, UH, WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

ALL RIGHT.

UM, THEY MUST LIVE IN A SINGLE FAMILY DUPLEX, TRIPLEX, FOURPLEX OR CONDO.

SO WHAT IS THE WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM? GIMME JUST A SECOND.

I GOTTA PULL THAT BACK.

UM, SO THIS IS OUR NO COST WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM FOR OUR INCOME QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS.

UH, WE OFFER A RANGE OF, UH, WHAT WE CALL MEASURES OR COULD BE CALLED HOME ENERGY UPGRADES, UH, TO THESE CUSTOMERS AT NO COST TO THEM.

UH, WE, UH, WILL PUT AN ATTIC INSTALLATION.

WE DO AIR INFILTRATION SUCH AS CEILING CRACKS AND GAPS.

UH, WE DO DUCT CEILING REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT.

UM, AND WE HAVE A VERY BUILDING SCIENCE ORIENTATION TO THAT PARTICULAR MEASURE AND MAKE SURE OUR, YOU KNOW, THE DUCTS GOING IN ARE SIZED APPROPRIATELY TO THE HOUSE.

UH, IT'S ONE OF THE, MAKES US ONE OF THE MORE UNIQUE PROGRAMS IN THE UNITED STATES.

UM, NOT A LOT OF WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS HAVE THAT KIND OF BUILDING SCIENCE FORWARD APPROACH.

UH, WE INSTALL SOLAR SCREENS, HIGH EFFICIENCY, LED LIGHTING.

WE DO AN AC TUNEUP.

UM, AND THE AC TUNEUP DOES INCLUDE SOME MINOR REPAIRS TO AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS. WE ADDRESS HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERNS LIKE CARBON MONOXIDE AND SMOKE DETECTORS.

WE ALSO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THE, UH, GAS APPLIANCES ARE VENTED APPROPRIATELY.

AND, UH, UH, WHEN YOU HAVE A GAS APPLIANCE IN A CLOSET.

WE ALSO INSTALL, UH, SMART THERMOSTATS AND WE PUT REFLECTIVE ROOF COATING ON MOBILE HOMES.

UM, AND IF YOU'RE CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA IS, BASICALLY, UH, CUSTOMERS MUST BE 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME, UM, WHICH ALIGNS WITH THE OTHER CITY, UH, REPAIR ORGANIZATIONS.

UH, AND CUSTOMERS NEED TO LIVE IN A HOUSE THAT'S GONNA BE WEATHERIZED.

[00:20:02]

UH, THE HOME NEEDS TO BE 2,500 SQUARE FEET OR LESS.

UH, THE HOME MUST BE 10 YEARS AGE OR OLDER, AND THE HOME CAN'T HAVE PARTICIPATED IN EITHER OF OUR WHOLE HOME PROGRAMS IN THE PAST 10 YEARS.

IF I MAY ASK A QUESTION.

UH, FOR THE FAMILY OR SENIORS WHO ARE IN A UNIT, RIGHT? UH, I QUESTION THE AIR CONDITIONING TUNEUP.

WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT ACCOMP, WHAT, WHAT IS THAT? WHAT IS A TUNEUP? RIGHT.

AND SECONDLY, UH, FOR THE PERSON WHO HAS WIND, HAS TO RELY ON ONE OR TWO WINDOW UNITS THAT RUN CONSTANTLY.

UH, IS, AND REALLY IN THE ROLLED UNITS IN NEED OF REPLACEMENT.

WHY ARE THEY NOT BEING REPLACED? WE DO REPLACE WINDOW AC UNITS.

WE'LL REPLACE UP TO THREE IN A HOUSE, UH, ESPECIALLY FOR ELDERLY CUSTOMERS.

UH, THE AC TUNEUP INCLUDES THINGS LIKE, UM, CLEANING THE EVAPORATOR COIL, WE'RE, WE'LL REPLACE A CAPACITOR OR CONTACTOR.

UM, WE'LL REPLACE FILTERS, UM, WE'LL BLOW OUT CONDENSATE DRAIN LINES.

UM, SO WE'RE KIND OF JUST MAKING SURE THAT THE SYSTEM IS, UM, KIND OF CLEAN AND UP AND RUNNING.

BUT WE DO ALSO HAVE TWO OTHER AIR CONDITIONING RELATED PROGRAMS. IF WE COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

UM, SO WE HAVE KIND OF TWO.

WE TRY TO PROVIDE A SPECTRUM OF SERVICES FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.

TEXAS IS VERY HOT AND THEY NEED HVAC TO, UH, BE COMFORTABLE.

UM, SO LIKE I SAID, WE CAN PROVIDE WINDOW AC UNITS, UM, BUT WE ALSO HAVE AN AIR CONDITIONING REBATE AND LOAN PROGRAM.

WE WERE ABLE TO LEVERAGE A, UH, REVOLVING LOAN FUND THAT WAS, UM, PROVIDED TO US THROUGH A FEDERAL GRANT BACK IN 2010 THROUGH THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT.

IT'S A, IT'S A SORT OF A GRANT OF FEDERAL FUNDS THAT BASICALLY SERVES AS COLLATERAL FOR LOANS TO CUSTOMERS.

UM, THE LOANS ARE CAPPED AT $10,000, AND WE BUY DOWN THE INTEREST RATE TO 0%.

AND, UH, WE ALSO WILL GIVE THEM, UH, UP TO $1,200 REBATE ON A NEW AC UNIT.

AND TYPICALLY CUSTOMERS WHO PARTICIPATE IN THAT PROGRAM, THE SAVINGS THEY SEE ON THEIR ENERGY BILL COVERS THE MONTHLY PAYMENT OF THEIR NEW HVAC UNIT.

UH, IF I MAY ASK ON THAT PROGRAM, UH, Y'ALL HAD AN AGREEMENT WITH VELOCITY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION? CORRECT.

AND ALL OF WHICH IS THE PARTICIPATION IN THAT, IN THAT PROGRAM.

MM-HMM.

, AS I RECALL, WAS MINIMAL.

WE HAVE ABOUT 20 TO 30 CUSTOMERS PARTICIPATE EVERY YEAR.

THAT MINIMAL, NOT EVERYBODY NEEDS A NEW UNIT.

UH, WE DO TRY AND WORK WITH THE CUSTOMER, AND IF THEY CAN'T AFFORD A UNIT, WE WILL REFER THEM TO SOME OF OUR NONPROFITS THAT WILL DO AN HVAC REPLACEMENT FOR THEM.

WE ALSO PROVIDE, UH, HVAC REPLACEMENTS FOR MEDICALLY VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS ON OUR MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY.

THAT'S A FREE, UH, AIR CONDITIONING REPLACEMENT TO, TO THOSE CUSTOMERS IS HAVE, HAVE, HAS, HAVE Y'ALL SCHEDULED, AND MAYBE I'M GETTING AHEAD ON THE SLIDES.

UH, DID Y'ALL REQUEST MORE MONEY IN ORDER TO SERVE MORE THAN THE 70 OR 80 CUSTOMERS THAT YOU MENTION THAT YOU MENTIONED? UM, WE KIND OF MAKE USE OF OUR ENERGY EFFICIENCY BUDGET AS A WHOLE AND FIND AREAS TO KIND OF MAKE IT OF EFFECTIVE.

I'LL LET RICHARD ADDRESS THE BUDGET.

JUST ON THE BUDGET, UH, QUESTION COLLECTIVELY ACROSS, UH, UH, COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY AND, AND, UH, WEATHERIZATION.

UH, IN FISCAL 25, IT'S ABOUT A $7.2 MILLION BUDGET ITEM.

AND THAT'S ABOUT A $2.4 MILLION INCREASE FROM FY 24.

AND THAT'S, AND, AND, AND, AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BUDGET INCREASE, UH, THE CITY, UH, CITY MANAGER PUBLISHED, UH, HIS BUDGET ON FRIDAY ARE, ARE, ARE THE NUMBERS IDENTICAL TO WHAT Y'ALL REQUESTED AND, AND WHAT WAS, UH, APPROVED BY THE CITY MANAGER? YES.

THE, OUR BUDGET WOULD BE PART OF THE 5.9 BILLION THAT WAS PART OF THE CITY MANAGER'S BUDGET.

UM, SO I THINK I, BUT DO YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? OH, NO, THAT WAS OLD.

SORRY.

CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME? CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME OKAY? UM, GOTTA MOVE QUICKLY.

IT'S LIKE A GAME SHOW.

UH,

[00:25:01]

SO I, I GUESS, UH, I WANTED TO KIND OF PROVIDE YOU GUYS THREE THINGS TO TAKE AWAY, UH, WITH OUR PROGRAM.

UM, ONE IS THAT WE SERVE AS A TRUSTED ENERGY ADVISOR, UH, FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.

UNLIKE A LOT OF WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS, WE ARE IN THE HOUSE.

WE DON'T OUTSOURCE THIS PROGRAM TO A THIRD PARTY TO RUN AUSTIN ENERGY.

EMPLOYEES ARE IN THE HOUSE BASICALLY PROJECT MANAGING EACH WEATHERIZATION PROJECT FOR THE CUSTOMER FROM BEGINNING TO END.

UM, AND SO IT REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THERE WITH THE CONTRACTOR AND REALLY PROVIDING A CUSTOM, UH, PRODUCT FOR EACH CUSTOMER, INCLUDING GUIDING THEM WITH ASSISTANCE THAT THEY MAY NEED ON THEIR HVAC UNIT, WHETHER THAT'S A REPLACEMENT OR A WINDOW UNIT, OR A REFERRAL TO, UH, A NONPROFIT.

AND ON THE TAIL END OF EACH WEATHERIZATION PROJECT PROJECT, THERE IS A THIRD PARTY, UH, QC THAT COMES IN AND TESTS EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WAS INSTALLED UP TO SUSPECT, DOES AIR TESTING, DOES STATIC PRESSURE TESTING.

AND I HAVE WORKED, UH, IN THE WEATHERIZATION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY WORLD FOR MANY YEARS PRIOR TO COMING HERE.

AND I DON'T KNOW OF ANOTHER WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM THAT GOES THIS FAR AND THIS HARD FOR EACH CUSTOMER, BECAUSE TYPICALLY MOST UTILITIES ARE TRYING TO REALLY CUT AND MAKE A, YOU KNOW, REALLY CUT THE, THE, THE MARGINS.

AND WE REALLY GO ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR EACH CUSTOMER.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE A CLOSE NETWORK WITH OUR, UH, HOUSING REPAIR COALITION PARTNERS.

UH, THESE ARE LOCAL PARTNERS LIKE URBAN LEAGUE, UH, MEALS ON WHEELS, UH, EASTER SEALS.

AND WE'LL GO SO FAR AS TO COORDINATE WITH THOSE NONPROFITS, MEET THEM IN THE HOUSE, AND MAKE SURE THAT THE CUSTOMER IS GETTING ALL OF THE REPAIRS THAT THEY NEED, AS WELL AS THE WEATHERIZATION.

BECAUSE SOMETIMES HOMES CAN'T GO THROUGH WEATHERIZATION WITHOUT SOME REPAIR REPAIRS PRIOR TO THE, TO THE WEATHERIZATION WORK.

AND FINALLY, I JUST WANNA, YOU KNOW, IT, IT REALLY DOES SAVE A LOT ON ENERGY BILLS.

IT REALLY MAKES THE CUSTOMER MORE COMFORTABLE.

UM, IT REALLY IS A FANTASTIC PRODUCT FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, AND IT'S AN HONOR TO GET TO RUN, RUN THE PROGRAM.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

SO THE PROGRAM HAS GONE THROUGH, YOU KNOW, VARIOUS ITERATIONS, UH, STARTED IN THE EIGHTIES, BUT WE DIDN'T GO ALL THE WAY BACK WITH THIS GRAPH.

WE JUST KIND OF STARTED RIGHT AFTER THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT ENDED.

UM, WE ACHIEVED, UH, YOU KNOW, A HIGH POINT AROUND 20 17, 20 18.

AND THEN WE REALIZED, YOU KNOW, WE STARTED TO NOT GET AS MANY CUSTOMERS, KIND OF, THE PRIOR METHODS WE HAD BEEN USING WASN'T REALLY WORKING AS WELL.

AND WE REALIZED WE NEEDED TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AND FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, HOW TO ITERATE THE PROGRAM AND INNOVATE AND IMPROVE.

UM, SO WE DID THINGS LIKE, WE HAD FOCUS GROUPS WITH OUR CUSTOMERS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE BARRIERS WERE TO THEM PARTICIPATING, AS WELL AS, UH, REVIEWED BEST PRACTICES, UH, AMONGST OTHER UTILITIES AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY WERE DOING, UH, TO RECRUIT CUSTOMERS.

BASICALLY, WE CAME OUT WITH, WE NEEDED TO SIMPLIFY AND MAKE IT WAY EASIER FOR CUSTOMERS TO PARTICIPATE.

UH, WE REALIZED ALSO THAT OUR, UH, INCOME STANDARDS WERE OUT OF SYNC WITH THE COST OF LIVING IN AUSTIN'S, WHICH IS WHY WE MOVED TO MFI AS OUR STANDARD.

UM, AND BASICALLY THROUGH THOSE SORT OF, UM, TWO ITERATIONS, UH, WE PUT IN PLACE SOME, UH, NEW REQUIREMENTS AND KIND OF MADE IT A LOT EASIER FOR CUSTOMERS TO PARTICIPATE.

IT'S BASICALLY A ONE MINUTE APPLICATION THAT THEY CAN FILL OUT ON THEIR PHONE.

IT'S INCREDIBLY EASY AND IT'S INCREDIBLY EASY TO KIND OF SPREAD WORD OF MOUTH.

WE DID A LOT OF, UM, PRE-SCREENING OF CUSTOMERS THAT WE COULD JUST LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY QUALIFIED RATHER THAN MAKING THEM DO THE WORK.

'CAUSE THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE HEARD IN OUR FOCUS GROUPS.

OF COURSE, RIGHT AROUND THAT TIME, THAT'S WHEN COVID HIT, AND THAT KIND OF DERAILED US.

UM, AND, UH, ONCE WE KIND OF WERE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT AND GET IT UP AND RUNNING, WE MET A TWIN ISSUE OF NOT HAVING ENOUGH CONTRACTORS TO SERVE.

AND SO WE HAD TO RESTRUCTURE AND RETHINK HOW WE DID PROCUREMENT.

UM, IT'S KIND OF, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT TOOK SOME RETHINKING, AND I'M PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO WE HAD SIX CONTRACTORS AND WE NOW HAVE 19 CONTRACTORS.

AND SO WE HAVE DOUBLED OUR THROUGHPUT.

WE'RE REALLY SEEING NUMBERS.

SO NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE A LOT OF CUSTOMERS THAT ARE INTERESTED, WE HAVE A LOT OF CONTRACTORS NOW AVAILABLE TO SERVE THEM.

UH, WE, WE HAVE A QUESTION ONLINE.

COMMISSIONER RHODES? YES.

AND JUST A QUICK QUESTION, UM, IS, IS, ARE THE NUMBERS HERE NUMBERS OF HOMES OR CUSTOMERS OR MEASURES COMPLETED HOMES? YEP.

WHAT ARE THE NUMBER OF HOMES?

[00:30:01]

NUMBER OF HOMES, OKAY, THANK YOU.

IF I MAY ASK, WHAT IN THE NATIONALLY, THE WORD IS WALKAWAYS MM-HMM.

WHERE, UH, BECAUSE OF A LEAKING ROOF, YOU DON'T PUT IN NEW INSULATION, ET CETERA.

REALIZE THAT THEY MAYBE NEED FURTHER ASSISTANCE THAT'S BEYOND THE SCOPE THAT WE CAN PROVIDE.

AND YOU'RE WORKING WITH THE HOME REPAIR.

WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THERE'S, WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS? WHAT IS THE NUMBER OR PERCENTAGE OF WALKAWAYS WHERE, UH, THE REPAIRS ARE EXTENSIVE? UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY IN, UH, FY 23, WE HAD 53 CUSTOMERS THAT, UH, COULDN'T PARTICIPATE DUE TO REPAIRS THAT WERE NEEDED.

SOME OF THOSE CUSTOMERS CAME BACK THROUGH, AND I DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS IN FRONT OF ME, BUT WE SEE, YOU KNOW, PERCENTAGE WISE, THAT'S PROBABLY ABOUT, UM, 10%, I WOULD GUESS, UM, THAT, THAT, UH, END UP, WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, LOSE CUSTOMERS BECAUSE THEY DON'T RETURN PHONE CALLS OR, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE OTHER REASONS THAT THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO PARTICIPATE AT THE TIME.

UM, SO, UH, THAT'S HOW MANY I WOULD SAY.

AND YEAH, WE, WE DO OUR BEST TO GET THEM REFERRALS AND WORK WITH OUR NONPROFIT PARTNERS TO MAKE SURE THEY GET THE REPAIRS NEEDED SO THEY CAN COME BACK.

UM, SOMETIMES THEY DON'T COME BACK THOUGH.

UH, WE DO, IF THEY'RE A CAP CUSTOMER, WE'LL WORK WITH THE CAP TEAM TO, UM, DO FURTHER OUTREACH TO THEM TO TRY AND PULL THEM BACK IN AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE.

UH, SOMETIMES IT JUST DOESN'T WORK, WORK OUT FOR WHATEVER REASON, THOUGH.

SO, NEXT SLIDE.

SO ANYWAY, UH, AS A RESULT, UH, WE THINK WE'RE GONNA PROBABLY DOUBLE OUR NUMBERS FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.

UM, AND IT'S REALLY THANKS TO OUR, YOU KNOW, STREAMLINED APPLICATION PROCESS, OUR KIND OF REVISION OF OUR INCOME STANDARD.

AND THEN A LOT OF THE WORKFORCE WE DEVELOPMENT WE'VE DONE TO GET 19 CONTRACTORS, UH, CURRENTLY SERVING THESE CUSTOMERS.

AND AS A RESULT, WE HAVE A YEAR OVER YEAR INCREASE IN APPLICATIONS AND A RECORD NUMBER OF CONTRACTORS.

I DON'T THINK WE EVEN HAD 19 DURING THE ARA, UH, YEARS.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

AND SO, WHERE ARE WE GOING? WELL, YOU KNOW, WE'VE KIND OF BUILT THIS PROGRAM AT THIS POINT.

IT'S KIND OF READY TO, TO BE RESPONSIVE TO WHATEVER THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY ARE.

UH, WE'VE MANAGED TO KIND OF SHED SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE BUREAUCRACY AND STREAMLINE IT BOTH INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY.

SO WE'RE REALLY READY TO BE RESPONSIVE TO WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, OUR STAKEHOLDERS ARE INTERESTED IN US PURSUING.

UM, WE WANNA CONTINUE TO FIND WAYS TO INCREASE COMMUNITY ACCESS AND COMMUNICATIONS.

UM, WE WANNA CONTINUE TO PURSUE, PURSUE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL COMFORT INSTITUTE TO, UM, PROVIDE TRAININGS TO OUR CONTRACTORS, AS WELL AS A QUARTERLY, UH, TRAINING CALLED BACK TO BASICS, UM, WHERE WE PROVIDE, BASICALLY WE REALIZE THAT A LOT OF THESE CONTRACTORS HAVE A LOT OF TURNOVER AND THEY'RE CONSTANTLY HIRING NEW PEOPLE, AND IT'S HELPFUL FOR THEM TO HAVE A TRAINING THEY CAN JUST SEND FOR FREE SOME, SOME NEW STAFF, AND THEY CAN GET UP TO SPEED VERY QUICKLY ON WEATHERIZATION AND, AND WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW IN ORDER TO DO THE WEATHERIZATION WORK.

AND THAT'S BEEN A REALLY GREAT SUCCESS.

SOMETIMES CONTRACTORS WILL COME BACK MORE THAN ONCE BECAUSE THEY REALIZE THEY HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.

UM, AND THEN WE JUST SEE OURSELVES REALLY AS A MODEL FOR OTHER PROGRAMS. THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY COOL THINGS THAT WE DO, LIKE THE BUILDING SCIENCE FORWARD ASPECT OF IT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE DUCT WORK.

UM, THE FACT THAT WE ARE SO HIGH TOUCH AND WE HAVE A TRUSTED ENERGY ADVISOR, BASICALLY HELPING THE CUSTOMER FROM BEGINNING TO END.

UH, THESE ARE THINGS I'VE NOT SEEN IN OTHER WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS THAT I'VE WORKED WITH.

NOT TO SAY THAT THERE AREN'T ANY, BUT NONE, NONE THAT I SAW PRIOR TO WORKING HERE AT AUSTIN ENERGY.

SO, YES, ALL OF WHICH IS, THIS IS QUITE IMPRESSIVE.

ALTHOUGH THE NUMBERS, UH, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE SERVED IS, IS ABYSMAL.

BUT THOSE THAT PARTICIPATE, THOSE LUCKY FAMILIES, SENIORS, UH, FIRST CLASS SERVICE, UH, MY QUEST QUESTION IS HOW DOES THE FEDERAL WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ADMINISTERED IN TEXAS BY T-D-H-C-A, CORRECT.

AND THEN TRAVIS COUNTY, TRAVIS COUNTY, HOW DO THEY COORDINATE HOW, IF PEOPLE ARE AE CUSTOMERS, UH, THAT PROGRAM IS MODELED SOMEWHAT DIFFERENTLY.

DO IS THERE, DO THE PROGRAMS PIGGYBACK TOGETHER IN SOME INSTANCES? HOW DOES THAT WORK? YEAH, SO AGAIN, OUR TRUSTED ENERGY ADVISORS WILL WORK WITH THE CUSTOMER TO

[00:35:01]

AND SO WE WILL, YOU KNOW, SEND THE, THE CUSTOMER TO, TO TRAVIS COUNTY, TO ONE OF THEIR APPLICATION CENTERS TO TRY AND GET THEM SOME ASSISTANCE THROUGH THE COUNTY WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM.

THAT PROGRAM DOES HAVE A VERY LONG WAIT TIME, AND IT IS VERY COMPLICATED COMPARED TO OURS.

UM, SO IT DOESN'T ALWAYS MATCH.

UH, BUT THAT'S, LUCKILY WE KNOW A LOT OF DIFFERENT NONPROFITS THAT CAN, THAT CAN PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.

SO IF THAT DOESN'T WORK, THEN WE'LL TRY AND DIRECT THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE.

UM, MAYBE YOU COULD CLARIFY SOMETHING.

COULD YOU GO BACK A SLIDE OR TWO, OR, IT SHOWS THE NUMBERS? SO, YEAH, I'M SORRY, AS FAR AS THE NUMBERS, I THOUGHT I HEARD 30 OR 40, BUT HOW DOES THAT COMPARE WITH 500 454 HOMES? HOW ARE THESE DIFFERENT NUMBERS? MY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE'S THE FREE WEATHERIZATION MM-HMM.

PROGRAM.

AND THIS IS KIND OF, IF, IF I UNDERSTAND THIS IS LUMPED TOGETHER, THIS SLIDE.

SO YEAH, SOME OF THESE CUSTOMERS PARTICIPATE IN THE WEATHERIZATION, AC REBATE AND LOAN, AND THAT'S WHERE THE 30 AND 40 NUMBER CAME FROM.

SO 30 TO 40 OF THESE CUSTOMERS WILL RECEIVE, GO THROUGH THE WEATHERIZATION, AC, REBATE AND LOAN.

ANOTHER 10 OR 20 WILL GO THROUGH THE MVR AC PROGRAM AND, AND LOOKING AT, BUT THAT DOESN'T GET UP TO THE 454 TOTAL THAT CORRECT.

THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.

RIGHT.

SO THESE ARE, THESE ARE FOLKS THAT MAYBE ARE ABOVE INCOME LIMITS OR WHATEVER, BUT THEY STILL GET HELP IN SOME WAY? NO, THESE CUSTOMERS RECEIVE FREE WEATHERIZATION THROUGH OUR WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM.

BUT IT'S A SUBSET THAT GET EVEN MORE, NO, E EVERYONE IS ELIGIBLE FOR BOTH THE, FOR THE WEATHERIZATION, AC, REBATE AND LOAN IF THEY SO CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE.

ALRIGHT.

WELL, IT LOOKS EXCELLENT.

ANY QUESTIONS ONLINE, COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ? I HAVE A COUPLE QUICK, COUPLE QUICK ONES.

UM, YEAH, I WAS LOOKING AT THE SORT OF LIST OF SERVICES, AND IT DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT WINDOW REPLACEMENT.

IS THAT KIND OF OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF PROGRAM? NO, WE DON'T DO WINDOW REPLACEMENTS.

WE WILL PUT SOLAR SCREENS ON THE WINDOW.

WINDOWS ARE INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE, AND SO YOU HAVE TO KIND OF BALANCE THE AMOUNT OF JOBS YOU CAN DO VERSUS THE AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU HAVE.

AND THE, THE, ESPECIALLY IN A, UH, COOLING INTENSIVE CLIMATE, UH, SOLAR SCREENS ARE VERY EFFECTIVE AT REDUCING THE COOLING LOAD OF A HOUSE AND MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE THAN A WINDOW.

UH, A NEW WINDOW.

JUST, JUST A , BELIEVE ME, I, I KNOW WINDOWS MAKES SENSE, , UH, JUST FROM BEING A HOMEOWNER.

UM, BUT, UH, JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THAT.

UM, AND THEN, SO IN TERMS OF, UH, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A, A, UM, HIGHER PROJECTION OF SORT OF PROGRAM UTILIZATION OR HOUSEHOLD SERVE RIGHT.

THIS YEAR.

UM, NOW WAS THAT BUDGETED ACCORDINGLY? RIGHT? 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY 750 IS CURRENT IS A LOT MORE THAN 4 54.

RIGHT? SO WAS IT THAT WE JUST HAD A HIGHER BUDGET AND DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH CAPACITY RIGHT.

TO SPEND THE MONEY OR, UM, WHAT, WHAT WE DID WAS, AND WE HAD TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS, RIGHT? SURE.

YOU KNOW? YEAH.

SO EVERY YEAR WE HAVE SPENT OUR BUDGET, LIKE, UH, INFLATION REALLY TOOK A, A BITE OUT OF THE NUMBER OF HOUSES WE COULD DO WITH OUR BUDGET, BUT OUR NEW DIRECTOR AND RICHARD KIND OF WERE LIKE, OKAY, FIND SOME SPACE IN SOME OF THE OTHER PROGRAMS WHERE WE'RE NOT SPENDING AS MUCH AND LET'S REALLOCATE TO OUR LOW INCOME PROGRAMS. AND SO WE'RE ESSENTIALLY GOING TO BE USING THAT SLACK TO, TO BE ABLE TO WEATHERIZE MORE HOUSES PER YEAR.

AND, AND, UH, I JUST THAT WAS KIND YEAH, GO AHEAD.

WELL, LET ME JUST, UH, THAT'S WHERE I WAS GOING IS WE'RE GONNA GET A BUDGET PRESENTATION SHORTLY.

AND, UH, AND OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT THE PRESENTATION, NOT THE LEVEL OF DETAIL, WHAT IT, WHERE IT WOULD SHOW IF THERE'S A SUFFICIENT ENOUGH ALLOCATED RIGHT.

FOR THIS LEVEL OF, UH, OF, UH, SERVICE RIGHT.

OR NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS SERVED.

SO, UH, YEAH, I, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR THE BUDGET, BUT I DO KNOW WE CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO OPTIMIZE ALL THE BUDGETS ACROSS ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES AND CES TO CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO SERVE A HIGHER NUMBER OF WEATHERIZATION CUSTOMERS.

SO DEFINITELY KINDA AS, AS WE KIND OF MOVE FORWARD INTO THE BUDGET DISCUSSION IS, 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY EIGHT 50 IS PRETTY HIGH ON THAT, UH, ON THAT BAR CHART, Y'ALL SHOULD IT'S ALMOST AT THE VERY TOP OR THE VERY HIGHEST

[00:40:01]

NUMBER.

UM, SO, UH, BUT WHAT IS THE BUDGETED AMOUNT WE WOULD WANT? RIGHT.

YOU KNOW, JUST TO, UH, TO BE ABLE TO MEET THE NEED, RIGHT? IF THERE'S SUFFICIENT ENOUGH DEMAND, UM, AND ELIGIBILITY RIGHTS FOR, FOR THE PROGRAM.

SO, UM, SO I GUESS WE'LL, WE'LL WANNA MAKE SURE, RIGHT? THAT, THAT THERE'S ENOUGH MONEY THERE, RIGHT? IF THE, IF THE DEMAND IS, IS GOING UP FOR, FOR THIS KIND OF SUPPORT.

THIS IS, UH, THIS IS RICHARD GENESEE.

AGAIN, JUST A CLARIFICATION THAT IS COVERED IN THE BUDGET.

UH, WHEN I GOT UP EARLIER AND I TALKED ABOUT THE $7.2 MILLION, UH, ACROSS ALL WEATHERIZATION FOR FY 25, THAT, THAT'S A $2.4 MILLION INCREASE OVER FY 24.

AND, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR APPROACH ON THE BUDGET IS WE DON'T TURN AWAY DEMAND.

WE FIND THE BUDGET TO SERVE THE DEMAND IN THE WEATHERIZATION, EVEN IF WE HAVE TO, UH, FIGURE OUT ADJUSTING FROM OTHER AREAS OF THE PORTFOLIO.

UH, I, I APPRECIATE THE CLARIFICATION AND OBVIOUSLY THE, THE COMMITMENT TO, UH, TO MEET THE NEEDS OF, UH, OF OUR CUSTOMERS.

THANKS VERY MUCH.

THE OTHER, THE OTHER CLARIFICATION FOR COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN AND COMMISSIONER TUTTLE, JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE IF WE JUMP ONE SLIDE BACK, WHAT HOLLY WAS SPECIFYING IS THAT'S THE NUMBER OF HOMES SERVED.

AND WHAT SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT WAS A SUBSET IN TERMS OF SPECIFIC MEASURES.

BUT FOR THAT LAST, UH, NUMBER THAT WOULD BE FOR ACROSS ALL, UM, OF CUSTOMER, ALL HOUSEHOLDS SERVED IN WEATHERIZATION.

SO HER 40 TO 50 IS PART OF THAT NUMBER.

THANKS FOR THE CLARIFICATION.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY.

QUESTIONS AROUND THE TABLE HERE OR ONLINE? JOSH, YOU'RE MAKING A, YOU MOVED YOUR HAND.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? NO, NO, SORRY.

BATTERY STORAGE, MICROGRIDS AND LOAD SHAPING.

WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

NEXT,

[8. Staff briefing on solar battery storage, microgrids, and load-shaping technology by Tim Harvey, Customer Renewable Solutions Manager]

TIM HARVEY .

WELL LET JUST, YEAH, SO JUST A LITTLE, UH, SETUP ON THIS.

UH, AGAIN, RICHARD GENE, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS, I KNOW THIS IS AN INTEREST, UH, FOR THE EUC, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE, UM, IN RESPONSE TO COUNCIL RESOLUTION, WE ACTUALLY PROVIDED A MEMO ON LAST APRIL, A PRESENTATION ON LAST SEPTEMBER.

AND THEN WE ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE GIVING THIS SAME PRESENTATION TO THE A-E-U-O-C TOMORROW.

SO, UH, YOU GUYS ARE KIND OF GETTING A PREVIEW TONIGHT.

GOOD EVENING.

MY NAME'S TIM HARVEY.

I'M THE CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS MANAGER AT AUSTIN ENERGY.

SO, UH, WE BELIEVE WITH THIS $31 MILLION, WE'LL BE ABLE TO TARGET 3000 LOW INCOME HOMES IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.

SO I WANTED TO, UM, FIRST OFF, START OFF WITH THE SOLAR FOR ALL GRANT.

UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT.

UM, WE DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY FOR THIS YET, BUT WE DO ANTICIPATE THAT TO COME TOWARDS THE END OF THIS YEAR.

UM, THIS GRANT IS A $7 BILLION GRANT FROM THE EPA.

THEY GAVE OUT 60 AWARDS.

UM, WE, UM, WERE ONE OF THE AWARDEES THROUGH THE TEXAS COALITION, UM, WHICH IS A COALITION OF CITIES AND, UM, AREAS IN TEXAS WITH, UH, HOUSTON BEING THE LEAD ON THAT.

UH, UH, WE AWARDED $250 MILLION AS THE COALITION OF WHICH, UM, WE BELIEVE AUSTIN ENERGY WILL RECEIVE SOMEWHERE AROUND THREE POINT, OR SORRY, $31 MILLION AND, UM, SOME CHANGE.

SO, UM, THE INTENT OF THIS IS TO, UM, TRANSFORM THE STATUS QUO AND TO, UM, PUT SOLAR AND IN OUR CASE STORAGE AND LOW INCOME, UM, NEIGHBORHOODS TO HELP WITH THEIR ENERGY BURDEN AND ALSO FOR RESILIENCY FOR US.

[00:45:01]

UM, WE WILL GO IN AND PUT IN SOLAR AND STORAGE ON THOSE HOMES WITH THE SOLAR ADDING TO THE COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAM AND THE STORAGE BEING USED ON THE MARKET BY AUSTIN ENERGY THROUGH A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.

SO ALL OF THOSE BATTERIES WILL BE AGGREGATED AND, AND CONTROLLED BY US, UH, FOR THE FIRST 15 YEARS.

SO, UM, THE HOST CUSTOMER WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THAT BATTERY IF THE, UH, POWER GOES OUT.

SO THEY'LL HAVE RESILIENCY THERE, UH, BUILT IN.

THEY'LL ALSO GET AN UPFRONT INCENTIVE FOR HOSTING THE SYSTEM.

AND AT THE END OF THE 15 YEAR PERIOD, THE OWNERSHIP WILL REVERT TO THEM, UM, AT NO COST.

AND, AND THAT SYSTEM WILL BE MAINTAINED UP UNTIL THAT POINT.

UM, THEN LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS CAN PARTICIPATE THROUGH THE COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAM TO GET 20% BILL DISCOUNTS ON THEIR ELECTRIC CHARGES.

UM, AND WE WILL UTILIZE A, UM, WORK WE'LL UTILIZE LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, UH, TO FACILITATE THIS, UM, WHICH WILL PROVIDE LONG LASTING BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITIES.

UM, SORRY, I CAN'T SEE.

UM, AND, AND OF COURSE THIS ADDS, UM, DISPATCHABLE GENERATION IN OUR LOAD ZONE.

UM, NEXT SLIDE.

LET ME ASK, EXCUSE ME, UH, LET ME ASK IT.

FOR THE HOMEOWNER THAT DOESN'T HOLD THEIR HOME FOR 15 YEARS, IS THERE A LIEN OR, OR SOMETHING ATTACHED OR, OR HOW DOES THAT AFFECT? SO THE SYSTEM IS OWNED BY A THIRD PARTY, UM, THROUGH THIS, THROUGH THE CONTRACT.

UM, SO THE THIRD PARTY OWNERSHIP WILL THEN REVERT TO THE EXISTING HOMEOWNER AT THE TIME AFTER THE 15 YEAR PERIOD.

SO IF, IF A, IF A HOMEOWNER MOVES OUT AND A NEW ONE MOVES IN, THEN THEY'LL HAVE THE SYSTEM AND THEY'LL HAVE ACCESS TO IT UNTIL WE REVERT OWNERSHIP TO THEM.

LET, LET'S SAY A PERSON MOVE MOVES OUT AN UPPER INCOME, UH, GENTRIFICATION INELIGIBLE CUSTOMER PURCHASES THE PROPERTY, WHAT HAPPENS? SO, SO THE HOST CUSTOMER DOESN'T HAVE TO BE, UM, INCOME QUALIFIED.

THE HOST CUSTOMER HAS TO BE IN A DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY, UM, AS IDENTIFIED THROUGH, UM, LIKE THE C JST MAP FROM JUSTICE 40 INITIATIVES.

SO, UM, ALL OF THESE PROJECTS WILL HAPPEN WITHIN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES, BUT NOT NECESSARILY, UM, ON LOW INCOME HOMES.

BUT THE PARTICIPATION THAT WILL ALLOW THE 20% BILL SAVINGS, THOSE DO HAVE TO BE INCOME QUALIFIED.

UM, WE'RE CERTAINLY INTENTION TO, UM, BRING AS MUCH BENEFIT TO THE LOW INCOME COMMUNITY AS POSSIBLE.

SO, OKAY.

BUT YOU HAVE A QUESTION.

UH, UM, I THINK, I KNOW I'VE, I'VE, I'VE HEARD YOU SAYING THAT AND I DON'T THINK I QUITE, UH, GRASP WHAT THAT MEANS UNTIL JUST NOW, TIM.

UM, HOW, HOW ARE YOU, OR ARE YOU, UH, GOING TO MAKE SOME EFFORT TO PLACE AS MANY AS POSSIBLE ON LOW OR MODERATE INCOME HOMES? YOU KNOW, IT DOES SEEM A LITTLE, UM, YEAH, I GUESS UNFAIR TO THINK THAT, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WEALTHY PEOPLE WHO HAPPEN TO LIVE NEXT TO POOR PEOPLE WOULD GET FREE BATTERY BACKUP.

UM, YEAH, JUST WONDERING IF YOU HAVE ANY PLAN TO TRY TO MINIMIZE, UH, THAT OCCURRENCE.

SO, SO PART OF THIS, THE, THE GRANT IS TO, UM, IDENTIFY STRATEGIES.

UM, AND SO THAT'S WORK THAT WE HAVE YET TO DO.

UM, WE DO PLAN TO HAVE, UM, ENGAGEMENT MEETINGS WITH, UM, THE COMMUNITY, UM, THROUGH COMMUNITY BENEFIT ORGANIZATIONS, UM, TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT OUR BEST APPROACH.

UH, THAT SAID, I THINK, YOU KNOW, IDEALLY WE WILL TARGET LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS TO BE THOSE HOSTS, UM, AND ALSO, UM, WITH A SPECIAL TARGET TO MEDICALLY VULNERABLE WHERE POSSIBLE.

UM, BUT WE HAVEN'T IDENTIFIED AND SOLIDIFIED THE STRATEGIES OF DEPLOYMENT AT THIS POINT.

BUT, YOU KNOW, I, I, I THINK THAT,

[00:50:01]

THANKS.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND I KNOW THAT'S YOUR INTENTION.

I JUST, YEAH.

UM, I'M, I'M WONDERING, ARE YOU ABLE TO ALSO PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, ALLOW FOR HOSTING AT LOW INCOME HOMES THAT ARE NOT IN THOSE DESIGNATED AREAS? I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THAT.

THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL HAVE TO EXPLORE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, UM, TO MAKE SURE I WOULD, I WOULD ASSUME THAT THERE'S A, A PATH FOR THAT.

UM, BUT WE NEED TO EXPLORE THAT WITH, UM, THE EPA AND, AND, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS IN COMPLIANT WITH WHAT THEY'RE SEEKING.

BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S PROBABLY THE CASE.

TO HOME WITH MORE IN LINE, AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE ABOUT 10 MEGAWATTS OF, UH, RESIDENTIAL BATTERIES INSTALLED.

AND WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, UH, LOW INCOME MULTIFAMILY AS WELL.

YEAH, I THINK THAT'S GREAT.

ALL.

SO, UM, AGGREGATED DISTRIBUTION, ENERGY RESOURCES, UM, WHILE ERCOT HAS THEIR A PROGRAM FOR THE, A PILOT FOR THIS, UM, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT SPECIFICALLY.

UM, BUT THIS IS JUST THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF THAT AND ONE THAT WILL BE EMPLOYED, UM, BY THE SOLAR FOR ALL.

AND, UM, WE'RE LOOKING TO, UM, EMPLOY THIS APPROACH, UH, WITH OTHER CUSTOMERS BESIDES THOSE AS WELL.

UM, SO THIS IS WHERE AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, WOULD CALL AN EVENT TO THE AGGREGATOR.

THE AGGREGATOR HAS SIGNED UP, UM, PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM THAT ADD BATTERIES, UM, AT THEIR, UH, HOMES.

UM, THE AGGREGATOR RECEIVES THE SIG SIGNAL AND CONTROLS THE CUSTOMER BATTERIES THROUGH A DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

UM, AND THEN THE, UH, CUSTOMER'S BATTERIES WILL DISCHARGE DUE TO THAT CALL.

WE, UM, RECOG OR WE, UM, LEVERAGE THE AVOIDED COSTS ON THE MARKET FOR THAT.

WE PASS THROUGH BENEFITS TO THE PARTICIPATING CUSTOMER AND ON AND ON IT GOES UNTIL WE HAVE, UM, A LOT OF DISPATCHABLE POWER.

SO THIS IS THE APPROACH.

UM, AND, AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT IN, IN FUTURE SLIDES.

SO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

UM, AND SO THIS WOULD ALSO BE COUPLED WITH BATTERY INCENTIVES, UM, TO THE CUSTOMER.

SO, UM, WE'RE CONSIDERING THAT VALUE PROPOSITION, UM, UM, ONCE WE'VE, UM, FIGURED OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA DO THE ONGOING COMPENSATION TO THE CUSTOMER FOR PARTICIPATING IN THOSE EVENTS, AND IT WOULD BE MOST LIKELY BASED ON PARTICIPATION, IF THEY OPT OUT OF AN EVENT, WE'RE NOT GONNA PAY THEM.

UM, THEN WE WILL LOOK AT, UM, WHETHER OR NOT AN UPFRONT INCENTIVE IS NEEDED AND HOW WE FACILITATE THAT.

UM, THE STRUCTURE FOR THAT, THAT IS MAINLY, ARE MOSTLY IN PLACE THROUGH THE SOLAR INCENTIVE PROGRAM.

WE THINK WE COULD ADD THAT ON PRETTY EASILY WITHOUT A LOT OF DIFFICULTY.

UM, AND THEN, UM, SO WE'RE WORKING ON APPROACHES THAT WOULD, UH, UTILIZE THE UTILITY CONTROL BATTERIES TO PROVIDE RESILIENCY BENEFITS TO LOW INCOME, UM, CUSTOMERS AS WELL.

UM, AND NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, AND I'LL HIGHLIGHT ONE OF THOSE APPROACHES IN A SECOND.

UM, SO AS FAR AS THE BATTERY ADOPTION GOES, UM, SO FAR WE'VE MADE QUITE A BIT OF PROGRESS, UM, STARTING WITH THE SHINES PROJECT, UM, WHERE PROVIDED LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT INTERCONNECTION AND OPERATIONS, UM, WE HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK IN TERMS OF THE INTERCONNECTION STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS.

WE'VE WORKED WITH, UM, THE FIRST RESPONDERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE GETTING EVERYTHING THEY NEED IN TERMS OF SIGNAGE SO THAT THEY CAN CLEARLY, UH, DISABLE THE SYSTEMS WHEN THEY NEED TO.

UM, WE'VE, WE'VE INCREASED OUR, UH, FUNCTIONALITY IN THE PERMITTING SYSTEM TO BE ABLE TO, UH, TRACK THESE SYSTEMS AND, AND GET ALL THE INFORMATION WE NEED TO FACILITATE THE INSPECTIONS.

UH, WE'VE DONE BILLING SYSTEM UPDATES TO ENABLE, UM, A, THE DC COUPLED CONFIGURATION.

WE HAVE DONE OUR FIRST VEHICLE

[00:55:01]

UM, SO CURRENTLY WHAT WE HAVE UNDERWAY, UM, WE'RE PLANNING RESILIENCE HUBS.

I'LL HAVE A SLIDE ON THAT.

UM, WE'RE WORKING ON A MICROGRID WITH CAMP MABRY.

UM, WE ARE, UM, MAKING THE BATTERY RECYCLING INFORMATION READILY AVAILABLE.

UM, WE ENVISION THAT TO BE A STICKER THAT OUR INSPECTORS WILL PUT ON THE BATTERY WITH A QR CODE.

AND THE QR CODE WILL THEN LEAD TO A WEBPAGE THAT HAS THE LATEST AND GREATEST INFORMATION ON RECYCLING.

WE'LL KEEP THAT UP TO DATE.

UM, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF, UM, PROCURING AN EDGE GERMS, UM, SYSTEM.

SO EDGE DERMS IS, UM, DIFFERENT FROM A CENTRAL DERMS IN THAT IT'S OWNED BY A THIRD PARTY.

UM, AND, UM, SO, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT, AT CURRENTLY AT PROCURING THAT WHILE WE ALSO LOOK AT A CENTRALIZED DERMS, WHICH WOULD, UM, GIVE US MORE FUNCTIONALITY AND BUILT INTO OUR MODELING AND SO FORTH.

AND THAT AND A CENTRALIZED TERMS WOULD BE OWNED BY THE UTILITY? YES, SIR.

UH, DIFFERENT INSTALLATIONS.

SO, UM, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DRO AND A DERMS? WHEN I WAS READING YEARS AGO, THE SHINES REPORTS, I THOUGHT I SAW BOTH THOSE TERMS. MM-HMM.

, UH, DO YOU REALLY NOT HAVE A DRO YOU HAVE THAT FUNCTION INCORPORATED IN THE DERMS, OR CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE, THE DERMS IS THE SOFTWARE SYSTEM THAT, THAT ENABLES THE FUNCTIONALITY AND THE DRO IS THE OPERATOR.

UM, SO I THINK, AND, AND THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OUTTA MY WHEELHOUSE, I'M NOT AS AN EXPERT ON THAT, BUT LISA MARTIN IS, AND SHE'S GONNA COME UP HERE AND EDUCATE US ALL.

, THANK YOU.

ANYTIME.

TIM, LISA MARTIN, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, FORMER SHINES PROJECT MANAGER, UM, DRO IS, IS REALLY JUST A SOFTWARE NAME DISTRIBUTOR ENERGY RESOURCE OPTIMIZER.

AND IT WAS THE NAME OF THE DERM SYSTEM THAT WAS, UH, PUT IN PLACE DURING THE SHINES PROJECT.

IT WAS VERY SPECIFIC TO, UM, THE WORK WE WERE DOING DURING THAT GRANT.

AND SO, UM, YES, DIRA WAS, IS A DERMS, WAS A DERMS. IT'S NOT A DERMS THAT DOES ALL OF THE THINGS THAT ARE NECESSARILY, UM, CONTEMPLATED UNDER TIM'S PRESENTATION TODAY.

UM, AND, UH, I DON'T, UH, DID, DID IT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, DAVE? YEAH, THANKS.

AND THEN I'VE GOT A QUESTION ON THE VEHICLE TO HOME.

SO IS THAT RIGHT NOW JUST THE LIGHTNING AND MAYBE WITH GM ON THE SILVERADO EV, OR IS THAT ALSO CYBER TRUCK? BECAUSE I, I'VE GOT A COLLEAGUE WHO'S INSTALLED ALREADY 40 VEHICLE TO HOME ON A CYBER TRUCK.

I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY ARE IN AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE AREA, BUT NONE THAT I KNOW OF.

BUT YES, IT IS.

IT, IT DOES INCLUDE THE CYBER TRUCK AND I DON'T SEE ANY REASON WHY THAT WOULD, UM, SEE ANY HICCUPS ALONG THE, THE ROAD TO ADOPTION.

AND SO WILL THERE BE A SPECIAL PROVISION, SAY YOU'RE NOT PART OF THE 3000 THAT GETS THIS INSTALLED FROM THE GRANT, BUT YOU HAVE YOUR OWN CYBER TRUCK AND YOUR OWN POWER WALL BEHIND THE METER, ET CETERA.

CAN THEY PARTICIPATE IN YOUR VPP PROGRAM AND MAYBE GET COMPENSATION? YEAH, SO, SO I, I THINK WE'LL HAVE TO KEEP THE GRANT SEPARATE FOR REPORTING REASONS.

UM, BUT WE DO WANT TO HAVE A VERY SIMILAR VPP, IT WOULD BE PRACTICALLY THE SAME IN APPROACH AND FUNCTIONALITY, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HOW WE COMPENSATE THE CUSTOMER FOR THAT.

BECAUSE DURING, THROUGH THE SOLAR FOR ALL, WE CONTROL THE BATTERY THROUGH, UM, A, A, UM, PERFORMANCE CONTRACT.

SO THE THIRD PARTY OWNS THE BATTERY, WE CONTROL IT, AND THEN AFTER THAT IT, THE OWNERSHIP GOES TO THE CUSTOMER AND THEN THEY CAN PARTICIPATE IN THAT PROGRAM.

AND THE OTHER PROGRAM AS WELL WHERE THE CUSTOMER OWNS THE BATTERY, WE'RE PROVIDING THEM SOME KIND OF A BENEFIT FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN EVENTS, PROBABLY ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.

UM, AND THEN THAT AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.

SO WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THE, THE NON-GRANT PROGRAM IS WHO HAVE THAT VEHICLE TO HOME SYSTEM, WHETHER BY FOUR GM OR TESLA YEAH.

COULD PARTICIPATE IN, WHAT KIND OF COMPENSATE WOULD THAT BE LATER THIS YEAR OR EARLY NEXT YEAR? MAYBE IT'S, IT'S HARD TO PUT A TIMEFRAME ON THAT.

I WOULD SAY PROBABLY CLOSER TO EARLY NEXT YEAR, UM, WE, WE FIRST NEED TO, UH, GET A CONTRACT WITH A PROVIDER, WITH

[01:00:01]

A DERMS PROVIDER.

AND THEN, UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF CONSIDERATIONS ON WHAT WE WOULD OFFER BECAUSE, UM, THAT, THAT HAS TO INCORPORATE OEMS, UM, ONTO THEIR PLATFORM.

AND A LOT OF TIMES THE OEMS HAVE THEIR OWN THRESHOLDS THAT THEY REQUIRE BEFORE THEY'LL PARTICIPATE BECAUSE THEY ARE DRIVEN TO INCREASE SALES.

AND SO THEY MAY SAY, OKAY, WELL WE'RE ONLY GOING TO PARTICIPATE IF THE BENEFIT TO THE CUSTOMER IS X SO THAT WE CAN INCREASE OUR SALES BY WHY.

UM, SO WE HAVEN'T GOT TO THAT POINT WHERE WE'RE IN THOSE NEGOTIATIONS.

WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO REQUIRE.

UM, BUT THAT'S DOWN, DOWN THE LINE.

AND THEN THE DERMS WORKING GROUP, IS THAT AN INTERNAL AE WORKING GROUP OR IS THAT OPEN TO OTHER PEOPLE TOO? THAT'S AN INTERNAL AE WORKING GROUP.

TO, TO, TO FOLLOW UP ON, UH, CHAIR, UH, I INQUIRED OF TWO GM DEALERSHIPS AND THEY BOTH SAID THE VEHICLE TO HOME, UH, IS NOT AVAILABLE, WILL NOT WORK WITH THEIR PLATFORM.

THAT'S NOT WHAT THE GENERAL MOTORS WEBSITE SAYS.

AND JUST SO JUST TO HIT THE REST OF THE POINTS, UM, AND, AND, AND IN THE PLANNING PHASE, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING WITH RE TO HELP BUILD THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A UTILITY OWNED DERMS PLATFORM OR, OR CENTRAL DERMS. UM, WE HAVE FORMED A DERMS WORKING GROUP INTERNALLY AND WE MEET REGULARLY AND, UM, WE DO HAVE MONEY IN THE CIP BUDGET THAT INCLUDES FUNDING FOR DERMS. NEXT SLIDE.

WELL, IT MIGHT BE A MATTER OF TIMEFRAME.

THEY DON'T HAVE IT OUT YET.

ALRIGHT.

SO, UM, I, UH, WHAT HAPPENED HERE? UH, THAT'S IT.

MICROGRID ENABLEMENT.

UM, SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE ALREADY HAVE THIS FUNCTIONALITY.

WE ALLOW CUSTOMERS TO FORM THEIR OWN MICROGRIDS BEHIND THE METER.

SO THIS IS SMALL SCALE MICROGRID.

UM, SO JUST SO EVERYBODY'S, UM, KIND OF FAMILIAR WITH WHAT HAPPENS HERE, UM, JUST BEYOND THE BILLING METER, THERE'S AN ISOLATION DEVICE WHEN THE GRID GOES DOWN, THE SYSTEM SENSES THAT IT OPENS THAT, WHOA, IT OPENS THAT ISOLATION DEVICE SO THE ENERGY CAN'T GO BACK ONTO THE LINE AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ACCIDENTALLY SHOCK A LINE WORKER WHO MAY BE WORKING ON A LINE THAT'S DOWN BECAUSE OF A WINDSTORM OR SOMETHING.

UM, SO THEN ONCE THE GRID IS RE-ENABLED, UM, THE SYSTEM WILL SENSE THAT AND GO BACK AND, AND, AND FORM WITH THE GRID.

SO IT'S ALL KIND OF AUTOMATED, UM, IN THAT ISOLATED EVENT, UH, WHERE THEY HAVE, WHERE THE MICRO GRID IS FORMED AND THEY'VE ISOLATED FROM THE GRID, THAT SOLAR METER IS GONNA STAY ONLINE 'CAUSE IT'S GONNA STAY ENERGIZED.

UM, SO WE STILL WILL BE ABLE TO FUNCTION ALL OF OUR RATES AND, AND INCLUDING THE VALUE OF SOLAR AND CONSUMPTION RATES.

COMMISSIONER RHODES HAS A QUESTION.

UM, SO THIS ONE'S, IT'S SHOWING JUST THE SOLAR, BUT I GUESS, UM, I GUESS A CUSTOMER COULD HAVE LIKE A, THEY COULD HAVE A BACKUP, THEY COULD HAVE A GENERATOR, THEY COULD BE FUNCTIONING IN THIS SAME REGARD.

IS THAT, IS THAT RIGHT? IS THAT, THAT'S CORRECT.

BUT THE ISOLATION DEVICE STILL SEVERS IT FROM THE GRID SO THAT IT FORMS ITS OWN MICROGRID.

RIGHT.

DO YOU HAVE A FEEL FOR HOW MANY, HOW MANY FOLKS OR HOW MANY HOMES HAVE, HAVE THIS IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE TERRITORY, UH, INCLUDING THOSE WITH THEIR OWN GENERATOR? I, I DON'T HAVE THAT DATA, BUT I COULD, I COULD TRY TO FIND THAT OUT.

WELL, I'M ASSUMING THAT WOULDN'T PROBABLY HAVE THE GENERATOR 'CAUSE YOU PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE A METER NECESSARILY ON THAT, LIKE YOU WOULD FOR, FOR THE SOLAR AND THE STORAGE FOR THE VALUE OF SOLAR.

RIGHT.

BUT I THINK THAT IT STILL REQUIRES A PERMIT.

UM, SO THERE MAY BE SOME ABILITY TO ASSESS THAT.

IT'D JUST BE INTERESTING TO KNOW, I MEAN, WITH ALL THE STUFF GOING ON WITH CENTERPOINT IN HOUSTON, YOU KNOW, THE PAST, UM, WEEK AND ALL THE FOLKS THAT ARE STILL WITHOUT POWER, IT JUST BE A, MIGHT BE A GOOD NUM, IT'D BE GOOD TO KNOW HOW MANY FOLKS HAVE IT HERE.

WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH THAT INFORMATION IF WE CAN FIND IT.

[01:05:03]

OKAY, NEXT SLIDE.

SO, UH, ONE EXAMPLE ON A, ON A COMMERCIAL SCALE OF THAT TYPE OF A MICROGRID WOULD BE RESILIENCE HUBS.

AND WE ARE CURRENTLY, UM, LOOKING AT FOUR PILOT SITES.

UM, ON TOP OF THIS, GUS GARCIA, DOVE SPRINGS AND GIVENS REC CENTERS.

UH, THESE SITES WERE IDENTIFIED, UM, THROUGH THE RESILIENCE OF EFFORT, UM, THAT WERE LED BY THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCY, WHICH I THINK IS BACK TO THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY AGAIN NOW.

UM, AND SO WITH THE, SO WE IDENTIFIED THESE SITES WITH THE COMMUNITY.

UM, WE PLAN TO, UM, OUTFIT THESE SITES WITH SOLAR TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE.

UM, AND CO-LOCATE A COMMERCIAL SIZE BATTERY, UM, THAT'S CAPABLE OF PROVIDING THREE DAYS OF AUTONOMY AND HANDLING THE FULL LOAD TO THE BUILDING.

UM, WE WILL USE THAT BATTERY AS VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.

WE'LL USE THE SOLAR AS COMMUNITY SOLAR, UM, AND WE WILL ALSO COLO CO-LOCATE A, UM, NATURAL GAS GENERATOR THERE.

SO IT'S A BELT AND SUSPENDERS APPROACH THAT WOULD ALLOW THAT BUILDING TO HAVE, UM, MULTIPLE DAYS OF AUTONOMY, MAYBE MONTHS EVEN, UM, IF THE GRID WERE TO GO DOWN FOR LONG-TERM CIRCUMSTANCES.

UM, YEP, THAT'S IT FOR THAT SLIDE.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO, UM, THIS IS LIKE NEXT LEVEL MICROGRID WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY SECTION SECTIONALIZING A FEEDER, UM, TO DO LIKE A COMMUNITY MICROGRID.

UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE, THAT WE CANNOT ENABLE TODAY.

THIS WOULD BE MULTI-YEAR, UM, PROJECT AND PLANNING TO PUT THIS IN PLACE, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE READY TO ENTERTAIN AND EXPLORE, UH, WITH A DEVELOPER THAT WANTS TO PROPOSE SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S QUITE A BIT MORE COMPLICATED BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE COMPLETELY SECTIONALIZING THE GRID AND THEN WHEN IT COMES TIME TO REENERGIZE THAT, UM, IT TAKES A LOT OF COORDINATION AND CONTROLS.

JOSH HAS A QUESTION.

YES, SIR.

YEAH, I JUST HAVE A, JUST KIND OF ON THE SAME, KINDA ON THE SAME THREAD ABOUT KIND OF JUST NOTICING WHAT'S GOING ON IN HOUSTON, UM, THE PAST BIT, I GUESS LIKE, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, MOST, MOST OF THE RE MOST OF THE TIMES WHEN PEOPLE LOSE OUTAGES IS BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, INTERRUPTIONS ON THE DISTRIBUTION NETWORK.

I'M JUST, I'M JUST WONDERING LIKE, LIKE THE RESILIENCY BENEFIT OF LIKE THE, OF LIKE THIS TYPE OF MICROGRID VERSUS LIKE AN INDIVIDUAL HOME OR RESIDENCE OR BUILDING, I GUESS, UM, LIKE, LIKE MICROGRID APPROACH.

IS THERE, I I KNOW WE'RE NOT DOING THIS RIGHT NOW, BUT I JUST, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY WANT TO, TO IN MOVING TOWARDS THESE DIRECTIONS TO FIGURE OUT LIKE, WHICH, WHICH ONE IS MORE RESILIENT, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU STILL GOT A LOT OF THE DISTRIBUTION INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, THAT WOULD BE EXPOSED HERE FOR, UH, THAT COULD BE INTERRUPTED FOR LIMBS OR ICE OR, YOU KNOW, OTHER TYPES OF, OF EVENTS.

UM, AND THEN WHICH, YOU KNOW, WHICH ONES ARE MORE EQUITABLE AND WHICH ONES, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE, YOU KNOW, GIVE THE, YOU KNOW, THE BEST AMOUNT OF RESILIENCE FOR THE, FOR THE DOLLAR SPENT.

UM, YEAH.

SO, UM, I THINK THAT WHEN IT COMES TO SPENDING MONEY ON, ON MICROGRIDS, THE, THE SOLAR FOR ALL APPROACH IS, IS OUR FIRST STAB AT IT.

UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO DO THAT AS EQUITABLY AS POSSIBLE AND, AND REALLY REACH INTO THE LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES WHEN IT COMES TO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY MORE, UM, ARE PROBABLY MOST VIABLE IN LIKE, NEW CONSTRUCTION COMMUNITIES AND I WOULD THINK THAT DEVELOPERS WOULD BRING THIS TO US, UM, MORE THAN WE COULD SPUR IT.

UM, SO THAT MAKES SENSE.

THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I ASSUME WILL HAPPEN.

THAT MAKES SENSE.

PHASES THEM SO THAT NOT ALL OF THE, UM, THE AC UNITS ARE COMING ON AT THE SAME TIME.

SO ONTO LOAD SHAPING AND DEMAND RESPONSE TECHNOLOGIES.

SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE, UH, COMMERCIAL DEMAND RESPONSE, UM, WHERE, UM, WE ARE BASICALLY ENCOURAGING OUR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS TO REDUCE THEIR LOADS DURING DEMAND EVENTS.

UM, WE HAVE POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT THAT SHIFTS THE H-H-V-A-C LOADS AND, AND

[01:10:01]

UM, WE HAVE THR THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE, UM, CHILLED WATER, UM, WITH THE CHILLED WATER SYSTEMS, UM, AS, AS WELL AS, UM, WE CONTROL WATER HEATER TIMERS.

UM, AND, UM, WE HAVE SOME DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS WITH THE POWER SAVER PROGRAM.

SO, UH, RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS CAN VOLUNTARILY RECEIVE ALERTS AND CONSERVE ENERGY ON PEAK DAYS, AS WELL AS A MULTIFAMILY SMART HOME REWARDS PROGRAM WHERE WE'RE INCENTIVIZING BOTH THE CUSTOMER AND THE MULTIFAMILY, UM, UM, OWNER TO, UM, TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM, WHICH WOULD ALSO GIVE US SOME CONTROL OVER THEIR THERMOSTATS AND WATER HEATER TIMERS.

UM, AND IT COMES WITH, UM, THE ADDED BENEFIT OF LEAK DETECTION FOR THE, FOR THE MULTIFAMILY, UM, APARTMENT OWNER.

WOULDN'T YOU INCLUDE THE NEW EV CHARGING PROGRAM IN THIS LOAD SHAPING? YES.

, THAT WAS, THAT WAS NOT, UM, ON THE SLIDE, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, THAT IS ANOTHER LOAD SHAPING TECHNOLOGY THAT WE ARE PUSHING OUT.

AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.

THANK YOU, TIM.

ANY QUESTIONS ONLINE OR HERE? THANK YOU.

I HAD A QUICK QUESTION.

OH, TIM, ON THE, THE RESILIENCE HUBS, UM, THAT YOU MENTIONED.

MM-HMM.

, LIKE WHAT'S THE TIMELINE FOR TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THOSE KIND OF SYSTEMS? IS IT JUST IN THE PLANNING PHASES OR, UM, YEAH, WE'RE, WE HAVEN'T MOVED TO A PROCUREMENT PHASE YET.

UM, WE'RE STILL IN A PLANNING PHASE.

WE HAVE SUBMITTED A GRANT PROPOSAL FOR IT.

UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE ANXIOUS TO SEE IF WE GET AWARDED THAT GRANT, THAT WOULD DEFINITELY HELP THINGS.

UM, BUT WE DO PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD REGARDLESS OF THE GRANT.

YEAH, I THINK IT'S, UH, VERY IMPORTANT.

SO I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE EMPHASIS ON THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, AND, UH, AS I DO THINK, UH, WE'VE SEEN SOME POWER ISSUES, RIGHT, UH, DURING THESE, UH, UM, STORM EVENTS.

AND, UH, SO I DO THINK, UM, THIS IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT CAN BE HELPFUL FOR A LOT OF, UH, A LOT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.

SO THANKS FOR, FOR SHARING THAT.

ABSOLUTELY, EVA.

THANKS.

HEY, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

UM, I ALSO HAD A, JUST A QUICK QUESTION ON THE RESILIENCE HUBS, WHICH I'M, YOU KNOW, EXCITED TO SEE ARE, ARE MOVING FORWARD OR HOPEFULLY MOVING FORWARD.

UM, I JUST WAS WONDERING, UM, THE NATURAL GAS BACKUP GENERATORS, ARE THOSE GONNA BE PURELY FOR BACKUP OR ARE THOSE INTENDED FOR OTHER USE? THOSE ARE INTENDED PURELY FOR BACKUP, AND THEY WOULD BE ONLY IN THE EVENT THAT THE BATTERIES HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED.

[9. Staff briefing on recent Request for Proposals for renewable energy and storage technologies by Michael Enger, Vice President, Energy Market Operations & Resource Planning.]

MY NAME IS MICHAEL ENGER.

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

AND I'LL BE DOING AN OVERVIEW OF THE RFP THAT WE HAVE RECENTLY CLOSED AND ARE STILL WORKING ON THE ANALYSIS.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO I WANNA START, UH, JUST KIND OF BRIEFLY GO OVER THE OVERALL, UH, RFP PROCESS.

SO FIRST OF, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE MAINTAIN ONGOING CONTACT WITH THE RENEWABLE DEVELOPERS AND MARKETERS WITHIN THE ERCOT MARKET.

THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE JUST GO OUT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE TO SEE WHERE PRICES ARE.

UH, WE'RE IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH THEM.

I TALK TO DEVELOPERS AND MARKETERS ON A WEEKLY BASIS.

UH, WE WILL ACCEPT UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS JUST SO WE CAN LEARN MORE.

AND THERE ARE A FEW SITES LIKE RENEW FIFY, WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY LOOK AT BIDS AND OFFERS FOR RENEWABLES THAT ARE LIVE OUT THERE IN THE MARKET AS WELL.

SO ALL OF THAT HELPS US INFORM WHERE WE BELIEVE PRICES MAY BE, WHAT PROJECTS ARE BEING DEVELOPED, AND WHAT WE MIGHT SEE IN AN RFP TO HELP US CRAFT THE KIND OF RFP THAT WE'RE GONNA PUT OUT.

UH, THE NEXT STEP IS WE SOLICIT A PROPOSAL, UH, FOR, OR WE SOLICIT PROPOSALS THROUGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL PROCESS.

UH, AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE JUST CONDUCTED, UH, WHICH CLOSED FOR US ON ON JUNE 7TH.

UH, ONCE WE GET THOSE PROPOSALS BACK, WE'RE GONNA ANALYZE ALL THOSE PROPOSALS, UH, TO SEE WHICH ONES ADD THE MOST VALUE OR HAVE THE MOST VALUE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS.

[01:15:01]

UH, WE WILL ULTIMATELY, WE'LL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION, UH, BASED ON THIS RFP, WHETHER WE WANNA MOVE FORWARD WITH PROJECTS OR, OR NOT.

AND IF NOT, WHY NOT? AND THEN WE WILL SEEK AUTHORITY FROM CITY COUNCIL TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE THE PPA AGREEMENT.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

UM, SO JUST, UH, A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE RFP THAT WE JUST ISSUED.

UH, WE ISSUED IT OUT ON APRIL 19TH.

UM, WE, WE ISSUED A PROPOSAL FOR PROJECTS BETWEEN 50 AND 500 MEGAWATTS.

WE WERE LOOKING FOR PROJECTS THAT WERE CARBON FREE GENERATION, SO WE WERE LOOKING FOR WIND, SOLAR, BATTERY STORAGE.

AND THEN WE ALSO ASKED FOR CARBON FREE PROJECTS AND GAVE A FEW EXAMPLES SUCH AS FUEL CELLS OR GEOTHERMAL.

SO WE ISSUED THAT ON THE 19TH.

WE, WE ALLOW DEVELOPERS TO ALL ASK QUESTIONS, AND THEN WE POST THOSE QUESTIONS, ANSWERS THOSE QUESTIONS OUT FOR EVERYBODY TO KEEP AN EVEN PLAYING FIELD.

UH, THAT WAS DUE ON MAY 3RD, UH, AND THEN ULTIMATELY PROPOSALS WERE DUE BACK TO AUSTIN ENERGY ON JUNE 7TH.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO, JUST KIND OF A, A HIGH LEVEL OF WHAT WE GOT BACK.

UH, WE RECEIVED BIDS FROM OVER 42 DIFFERENT COMPANIES.

UH, SO A PRETTY ROBUST RESPONSE TO OUR RFP.

UH, OF THOSE 42 COMPANIES, THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY A HUNDRED DIFFERENT PROJECTS.

UH, BATTERY STORAGE WAS MORE THAN HALF OF THOSE PROJECTS.

SO, AS YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY WELL AWARE, LOOKING AT THE QUEUE OUT THERE IN ERCOT, WE ARE SEEING A LOT OF BATTERIES THAT ARE TRYING TO COME TO MARKET AND LOOK FOR A HOME OR LOOK FOR AN OFFTAKER.

UH, WE DID SEE SOME SOLAR AS WELL.

UH, WE SAW MUCH LESS WIND THAN WE HAD BEEN SEEING IN PREVIOUS, UM, RFPS.

LOOKS LIKE WIND IS GETTING A LITTLE MORE SATURATED IN ERCOT, AND MAYBE SOME OF THE BEST, UH, LOCATIONS HAVE ALREADY KIND OF BEEN, UM, UTILIZED AT THIS POINT WITH, WITH NEARLY 40,000 MEGAWATTS OF WIND CAPACITY IN ERCOT.

UH, AND THEN WE DID RECEIVE, UH, WHAT I PUT DOWN AS OTHER, WE ACTUALLY DID RECEIVE A PROPOSAL FOR A COMBINED CYCLE NATURAL GAS UNIT WITH CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION AS WELL.

UM, OF THOSE A HUNDRED PROJECTS, WE RECEIVED MORE THAN 350 PROPOSALS.

SO THAT MAY SEEM A LITTLE ODD TO YOU HOW IT CAN HAVE SO MANY PROPOSALS ON A LOWER NUMBER OF PROJECTS.

UH, BUT THAT WOULD DICTATE DIFFERENT TERMS. PEOPLE MAY BE BE WILLING TO OFFER A PROJECT FOR DIFFERENT TERM LENGTHS, UM, THAT COULD ALSO BE DIFFERENT, UH, SETTLEMENT LOCATIONS.

AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS, AS YOU GUYS ARE WELL AWARE FROM PREVIOUS PRESENTATIONS, EVERYTHING SETTLES AT ITS NODE WITH ERCOT, BUT THERE ARE TRADING HUBS AS WELL.

AND SO YOU COULD HAVE SOMEBODY ELSE TAKE ON SOME OF THAT CONGESTION RISK, UH, BY NOT TAKING IT AT THE, THE NODE, THE RESOURCE NODE WHERE THE PROJECT IS, BUT SETTLING AT ONE OF THOSE, THOSE, UH, TRADING HUBS INSTEAD.

AND THEN WHEN IT COMES TO BATTERIES, THAT COULD, UH, YOU COULD HAVE DIFFERENT PROPOSALS BASED UPON, UH, DIFFERENT HOUR DURATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, AT THE SAME SITE.

UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND SO I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT NEXT ABOUT WHAT WE SAW BACK.

SO KIND OF GIVE YOU GUYS A HIGH LEVEL, UH, OVERVIEW OF THE NOMINAL PRICING THAT WE RECEIVED.

UM, AND SO I, I DO WANT TO CAVEAT THAT, THAT WE'RE NOT JUST BUYING SOMETHING OFF THE SHELF.

UM, AND, AND PRICING LOCATION REALLY MATTERS, ERCOT AS WELL AS CONTRACTUAL TERMS. UM, BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT SOLAR, WE SAW SOLAR PROJECTS IN THE LOW $30 RANGE, ALL THE WAY UP TO THE UPPER $70 PER MEGAWATT HOUR RANGE.

SO FAIRLY WIDE RANGE THERE.

UH, FOR WIND, WE SAW THE LOWER THIRTIES ALL THE WAY UP INTO THE UPPER FIFTIES.

AND THEN FOR BATTERY STORAGE, WE SAW LOW $6 TO THE UPPER THIRTIES, AND THAT'S A PER KW MONTH.

SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN MEGAWATT HOURS.

IF I WAS GONNA CONVERT THAT TO MEGAWATT HOURS BASED ON A BATTERY THAT HAS ABOUT 300 CYCLES, UH, THAT WOULD BE NEAR THAT LOWER RANGE.

SO WE'RE AROUND 140 TO $150 PER MEGAWATT HOUR, UH, BEFORE YOU CHARGE THE BATTERY.

UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

UM, AND SO WE'RE GONNA DO A FAIR BIT OF, UH, ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OR ANALYSIS ON THESE PROJECTS AND MAYBE JUST, UH, LIKE A STORY I WOULD TELL YOU WHEN WE LOOK AT THAT NOMINAL PRICING VERSUS WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO NEXT.

UH, MAYBE, LET'S SEE, IT WAS BACK IN 2016 OR 2017, UH, ONE OF OUR RFPS, WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED A WIND PPA FOR LESS THAN $10 A MEGAWATT HOUR.

UH, SO YOU WOULD THINK, WOW, THAT'S REALLY INEXPENSIVE.

THAT MUST BE THE PROJECT WE SHOULD GO WITH.

WHEN WE TALKED TO THE DEVELOPER A BIT MORE AND LOOKED AT CONTRACTUAL TERMS, UH, THEY WANTED TO BE ABLE TO OFFER IN AT A NEGATIVE PRICE, BEING ABLE TO REALIZE MORE OF THE PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT.

UH, AND THEY WANTED AUSTIN ENERGY TO BEAR ALL THE MARKET RISK.

AND SO WHEN WE ASKED THEM TO REPRICE THAT WITH THE $0 OFFER CURVE WHERE IT CURTAILS WHEN THE PRICE GOES NEGATIVE AND ERCOT DOESN'T WANT THE POWER, THE PRICE OF THAT PPP ACTUALLY TRIPLED.

SO IT GOT CLOSE TO $30 A MEGAWATT HOUR.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO THROUGH THIS ANALYSIS, IS WE WANNA LOOK AT ALL THESE PROJECTS, WE WANNA LOOK AT THE PROPOSED TERMS. WE'RE GONNA RUN THEM THROUGH, UH, BOTH OUR FUNDAMENTAL MODELING, WHICH IS THE U PLAN MODEL.

MANY OF YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH, UH, PRODUCTION COST MODEL THAT HAS THE ENTIRE ERCOT MARKET, UH, WITHIN IT, ALL THE TRANSMISSION LINES AS WELL AS POWER PLANTS AND OFFER CURVES.

WE ALSO LIKE TO RUN IT THROUGH A STOCHASTIC MODEL, WHICH DOES A LITTLE BIT BETTER AT LOOKING AT POTENTIAL ERROR AND RISK AROUND AN ASSET.

UH, WE WILL THEN LOOK AT POWER FLOW MODELING

[01:20:01]

TO SEE IF OTHER PROJECTS ARE BUILT IN THAT AREA, WHAT DOES THAT DO IN THE FUTURE TO POWER FLOW? AND THAT'S BASED ON SOME LESSONS LEARNED FROM SOME OF OUR EARLIER, UM, PPAS THAT WE DID BACK IN THE EARLY 2012 TO 2015 TIMEFRAME.

UH, AND THEN OFTENTIMES WE'RE DOING BRAND NEW, UH, ADDITIONALITY, RIGHT? NEW PROJECTS THAT DON'T EXIST.

IN FACT, I WOULD SAY THAT'S OVERWHELMING MAJORITY.

AND SO OFTENTIMES FOR SOME OF THESE MODELS, WE MAY NOT HAVE A NOTES.

WE MIGHT LOOK BACK AT, UH, PROXY NODES OR, OR HISTORICAL LOCATIONS THAT ARE VERY CLOSE BY OR INTERCONNECTED TO THE SAME TRANSMISSION ELEMENTS TO BE ABLE TO, TO DRIVE SOME OF THOSE MODELS.

UH, THAT'S MORE ON THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS SIDE TO LOOK AT JUST VALUE COMING OUTTA MODELS.

WE'RE ALSO GONNA LOOK AT PROJECT VIABILITY.

IS THERE ADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE IN AND AROUND THE AREA? WHAT ELSE IS BEING BUILT IN AND AROUND THE AREA? WE LOOK AT PORTFOLIO FIT.

AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS DIFFERENT RENEWABLE ASSETS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE STATE WILL HAVE DIFFERENT GENERATION OUTPUT CURVES AS WE LIKE TO COMBINE THE DIFFERENT ASSETS WITH DIFFERENT OUTPUT CURVES TO GET A BETTER OVERALL OUTPUT CURVE THAT MORE OFFSETS OUR LOAD PRICE RISK.

UH, SO IT'S KIND OF, UH, PRODUCING POWER AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE'RE CONSUMING LOAD.

UM, AND THEN WE ALSO WANNA LOOK AT FUTURE REGULATORY RISKS, WHETHER THEY'RE GONNA BE FIRMING REQUIREMENTS, VOLTAGE RIDE THROUGH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE TO MAKE SURE THE PROJECTS WE'RE LOOKING AT WILL HELP MITIGATE THOSE, UH, REGULATORY RISKS THAT MAY BE COMING.

UH, WE ALSO LOOK AT THE, LIKE, TO LOOK AT THE DEVELOPER EXPERIENCE, UH, EXPERIENCE, UH, AND WHAT THEY'VE DONE.

WE WANT FIND PEOPLE THAT HAVE A PROVEN TRACK RECORD WITH THE TECHNOLOGY.

WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY WANTING TO ENGAGE WITH A WIND DEVELOPER WHO'S NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE.

UH, WE ALSO WANT PEOPLE WITH PROJECT EXPERIENCE WITHIN ERCOT.

EVERY ISO'S DIFFERENT.

INTERCONNECTING IS DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU'RE AT.

UH, AND PART OF THE REASON WE'RE LOOKING FOR THAT IS IT'S A VERY LONG PROCESS.

I JUST MENTIONED WE CLOSED THIS RFP ON JUNE 7TH, UH, AND WE WILL LIKELY NOT BE GOING BACK FOR RECOMMENDATION UNTIL THIS FALL OR MAYBE EARLY WINTER.

AND SO WE DON'T WANNA SPEND A LOT OF TIME, UH, DOING ALL THE ANALYSIS, GETTING TO COUNCIL TO NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT AND THEN FIND OUT THAT DEVELOPER'S UNABLE TO, TO DELIVER.

UH, 'CAUSE THEN WE HAVE TO START ALL OVER AND WE'RE TRYING TO MEET RENEWABLE GOALS THAT HAVE SPECIFIC TIME PERIODS.

UH, AND THEN FINALLY, WE'D LIKE TO LOOK AT FINANCIAL VIABILITY.

HOW LIKELY IS THE PROJECT TO RECEIVE FINANCING? OFTENTIMES WE'LL SEE PROPOSALS AND OFFERS THAT ARE MUCH BELOW THE LEVELIZED COST OF ELECTRICITY, LEVELIZE COST OF ENERGY FOR THE, FOR THE, UH, THE TYPE OF ASSET.

AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY EITHER HAVE A BALANCE SHEET THAT THEY CAN FUND THAT, WHETHER THAT'S GONNA BE FINANCEABLE WITH A BANK.

UM, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES THAT VER AS WELL.

HOW, HOW LONG ARE THE PROPOSALS THAT YOU'VE RECEIVED GOOD FOR? YEAH, SO WE ASK PEOPLE TO HOLD THEIR PROPOSAL PRICE FOR 120 DAYS.

I WILL TELL YOU THAT IN ERCOT AND IN MY EXPERIENCE, UM, WHEN YOU START TO ENGAGE THE DEVELOPER AND, AND TALK ABOUT TERMS, UH, PRICING ALWAYS SEEMS TO MOVE A LITTLE BIT.

UM, SO EVEN THOUGH THAT PRICING IS HELD FOR YOU FOR 120 DAYS, NOBODY'S REALLY LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE OR ON THE HOOK UNTIL YOU'VE SIGNED A CONTRACT.

UM, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AND SO I JUST KIND OF WANTED TO, TO, TO LEAVE WHERE, OR NEXT SLIDE IS TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ANOTHER THING I'D LIKE TO DO.

AND THAT IS TO GO OUT AND, AND LOOK AT WHERE THE PROJECTS ARE BEING DEVELOPED AND WHERE ALL THE PROPOSALS ARE RELATIVE TO, TO EXISTING ASSETS THAT WE HAVE, AS WELL AS GET TO SEE WHERE THEY'RE KIND OF GROUPING, WHERE WE'RE GONNA START TO MAYBE SEE NEW CONGESTION PATTERNS MOVE AS WELL AS, AS, AS I MEAN, TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, IF WE LOOK DOWN HERE AND WE SEE THAT WE ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF WIND ASSETS DOWN THERE IN, IN THE SOUTH, WE MAY BE LESS, UH, ATTRACTED TO AN WIND ASSET DOWN IN THAT AREA SINCE WE ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF SUPPLY DOWN THERE.

WE DON'T WANT TO ISOLATE OR HAVE SUPPLY AND POOLS BECAUSE IF THERE'S AN ISSUE IN THE GRID THAT COULD, UM, IMPACT US.

SO WE LIKE THAT GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY AND WE LIKE TO KNOW WHAT'S GETTING BUILT IN AND AROUND, UM, THAT AREA.

AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAP, I'VE JUST KIND OF, UH, PLOTTED, UH, YELLOW STARS AS SOLAR PROPOSALS IN THE COUNTIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING THAT WE SAW IN RFP.

THE GREEN STARS ARE WIND PROPOSAL, SO YOU CAN SEE THERE'S NOT QUITE THAT MANY OF 'EM.

I THINK THERE'S ONLY EIGHT TOTAL.

AND THEN THOSE ORANGE STARS ARE DIFFERENT STORAGE, STORAGE, UM, PROPOSALS AS WELL.

SO YOU CAN SEE A LOT OF THOSE ARE, ARE STARTING TO MOVE TOWARDS, UH, LOAD CENTERS AS WELL AS A LITTLE BIT FURTHER EAST WHERE WE HAD SEEN MANY OF THOSE IN THE PAST OUT IN THE WEST.

UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND SO JUST MY, MY FINAL SLIDE IS TO TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS.

SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF, OF DOING THE MODELING RIGHT NOW.

WE KICKED OFF THOSE MODELS, UH, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.

UH, SO WE'LL BE WORKING THROUGH THAT AND, AND THE OUT OUTPUT THERE.

UH, FROM THERE WE'RE GONNA SHORTLIST, UH, PROPOSALS.

SO WE HAVE KIND OF MORE OF A HANDFUL, MAYBE 10 TO 15 DIFFERENT PROPOSALS.

WE WILL RUN THOSE PROPOSALS THROUGH THAT, UH, POWER FILL MODELING I MENTIONED EARLIER, TO SEE HOW, HOW THAT MAY CHANGE OR HOW CONGESTION PATTERNS MAY CHANGE IF WE SEE MORE PROJECTS BUILT IN AND AROUND THAT AREA.

UM, THEN WE'LL HAVE, UH, INTERNAL DISCUSSIONS ON WHICH RECOMMENDATIONS AND WHY WE WILL THEN BRING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION AND THEN ULTIMATELY SEEK AUTHORITY FROM CITY COUNCIL TO NEGOTIATE

[01:25:01]

AND EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT.

UH, THAT'S ALL I HAVE PREPARED, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL MAY HAVE.

KABA YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP.

YEAH, THANKS.

I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS, BUT ONE IS JUST ON THIS, UM, TIMELINE.

UM, CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE OF LIKE HOW LONG DOES THE, LIKE WHEN WILL THE MODELING BE DONE? UH, TYPICALLY THE, THE FIRST CUT OF MODELING IS KIND OF DONE WITHIN FOUR WEEKS.

I WOULD JUST LIKE TO CAVEAT THAT, THAT THE, THE SAME INDIVIDUALS THAT RUN THESE MODELS ARE ALSO WORKING ON THE RESOURCE PLAN.

UM, AND SO THERE, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, OVERLAP THERE.

AND SO IT'S POTENTIALLY COULD TAKE US A LITTLE BIT LONGER DEPENDING ON, ON WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON THE RESOURCE PLAN.

BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ALL THE MODELING DONE WITHIN ABOUT FOUR WEEKS BEFORE WE GET KIND OF TO THE NEXT SET OF, OF ANALYSIS AND MODELING.

THANKS.

AND IS THAT ALREADY STARTED? AND I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE HAD THESE YEAH, THE MODELING'S ALREADY STARTED.

SO WE, WE TYPICALLY ALSO DO A LITTLE BIT OF SORTING AT THE BEGINNING AS WELL.

UH, SO THAT TYPICALLY TAKES THE FIRST COUPLE OF WEEKS.

THESE PROPOSALS ARE FAIRLY LONG.

WE WANNA READ THROUGH THEM, UNDERSTAND THEM.

AND WHAT I MEAN BY SORTING IS, UH, THIS IS A BAD EXAMPLE WITH THIS ONE BECAUSE THERE'S NOT THAT MANY WIN PROPOSALS, BUT IN THE PAST IF I HAD THREE OR FOUR WIN PROPOSALS ALL TIED INTO A 3 45 KV LINE ALL AT THE SAME, UH, SUBSTATION, LIKE SAY BAKERSFIELD, UH, AND ONE OF THOSE IS AT $53 AND ANOTHER ONE'S AT $20 AND THEY BOTH HAVE SIMILAR CONTRACTUAL TERMS, WE'RE NOT GONNA ANALYZE THE $53 ONE THROUGH TO MODEL, UH, BECAUSE IT'S GONNA RETURN, UM, WORSE NET VALUE THAN THAT 20 SOMETHING DOLLARS, UH, PROJECT ON THE SAME AREA.

SO WE DO THAT AS WELL.

OKAY, THAT MAKES SENSE.

I WAS JUST ALSO WONDERING, UM, HOW MANY OF THE PROPOSALS HAD BOTH WIND AND SOLAR, YOU KNOW, WIND, WIND, CO CO-LOCATED WITH BATTERIES OR SOLAR CO-LOCATED WITH BATTERIES? SO MOST OF THE PROJECTS WE DID SEE WILL HAVE EITHER, UH, A PROPOSAL WHERE YOU COULD DO IT WITH OR WITHOUT A BATTERY RIGHT THERE ON SITE, OR WE DID SEE, UH, CERTAIN BATTERIES BEING PROPOSED, UH, NEAR EXISTING WIND AND SOLAR SITES IN MORE CONGESTED AREAS.

UM, BUT I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF REGULATORY RISK IF YOU'RE UNABLE TO MEET, UH, POTENTIAL FUTURE FIRMING REQUIREMENTS.

SO A LOT OF THE DEVELOPERS ARE NOW INCORPORATING SOME TYPE OF BATTERY STORAGE WITH THOSE PROJECTS.

BUT LIKE I SAID, WE HAD A HUNDRED PROJECTS OVER 350 PROPOSALS, SO MANY OF THE PROPOSALS COULD BE STANDALONE OR STANDALONE WITH A BATTERY.

AND ARE ANY, WITH OUR, IT WAS A LITTLE HARD TO TELL ON THE MAP.

WERE THERE LOCAL BATTERY PROJECTS PROPOSED WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA? THERE ARE A FEW, UH, BATTERIES PROPOSED WITHIN THE TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, ALSO WITHIN THE AUSTIN, UH, AREA AS WELL.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

MM-HMM, , CAN WE, CAN WE GET LIKE NUMBERS ON THESE THINGS OR, UM, YEAH, LIKE COULD WE GET AN ACCOUNT OF LIKE HOW MANY SOLAR PLUS BATTERY, WIND PLUS BATTERY, HOW MANY LOCAL BATTERY? IS THAT SOMETHING YOU CAN SHARE? SO HOW MANY SOLAR PROJECTS, NOT TOTAL PROJECTS.

AND THEN HOW MANY OF THOSE SOLAR PROJECTS HAD A PROPOSAL WITH BATTERIES AND HOW MANY HAD A PROPOSAL WITHOUT ANY BATTERIES? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR? YEAH.

AND HOW MANY LOCAL, LIKE WITHIN THE, I DON'T KNOW, HOWEVER Y'ALL ARE DEFINING THAT FOR BATTERIES, UM, WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA, I GUESS BEING ONE METRIC AND THEN MAYBE WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY OR SOMETHING BEING ANOTHER.

YES, I, WE, WE CAN WORK ON THAT AND GET THOSE NUMBERS BACK TO YOU.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

I WILL SAY SOME OF THE BATTERIES THAT WE ARE, ONE OF THE PROPOSALS WE SAW FOR BATTERIES WITHIN THE AUSTIN AREA DIDN'T ACTUALLY HAVE A, A LOCATION, JUST THE DESIRE TO, TO INTERCONNECT AND DO SOMETHING WITHIN THE AUSTIN AREA.

UM, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY TELL YOU HOW MANY WE SAW THAT WERE LOOKING TO BE WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY, AND THEN LARGER THAN THAT.

ALRIGHT, THANKS.