[00:00:01]
CONVENE THE AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, AND WE ARE STILL AT CITY HALL AND IT IS 9:04 AM LESLIE POOLE, CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE.LET ME SHIFT OVER TO THAT AGENDA.
WE ARE CALLED TO ORDER, AND I UNDERSTAND FROM THE CITY CLERK THAT WE HAVE NO SPEAKERS FOR TODAY.
IS THAT CORRECT OR DO WE HAVE SPEAKERS FOR AUSTIN ENERGY OVERSIGHT? UM, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK FOR, I CAN'T TELL WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, NO SPEAKERS TODAY.
SO WE WILL MOVE TO THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES, WHICH IS ITEM ONE, PROVE THE MINUTES OF APRIL 30TH, 2024 MEETING OF THE AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY CHAIR POOL.
WHO, MR. SOBE, ARE YOU REGISTERED TO SPEAK? I EMAILED THIS MORNING.
DID NOT SIGN UP THROUGH THE SYSTEM.
DO YOU HAVE THAT SIGN UP? YES.
I'LL FORWARD IT TO YOUR STAFF.
[Public Communication: General]
MR. SOTHEBY, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.WON'T TAKE THE FULL THREE MINUTES.
UH, I, I WANTED TO, UH, COME DOWN HERE AND, AND LET Y'ALL KNOW THAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO SEE SOME REALLY GOOD PRESENTATIONS ON ITEMS FOUR AND FIVE.
UH, I SAW THESE SLIDES LAST NIGHT OVER IN MUELLER.
UM, AND THESE ARE THE TYPES OF, UH, EFFORTS AND ENERGY THAT, UH, I LOVE TO SEE OUR CITY FOCUSING ON, LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD RESILIENCY INTO OUR COMMUNITIES, UH, FOCUSING ON, UH, RE RESILIENCY HUBS, FOCUSING ON FINDING GRANTS THAT ALLOW US TO BUILD MICROGRIDS AND SOLAR.
UM, FINDING ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE US MORE RESILIENT.
I, I KNOW THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS, UH, OUR HEARTS ARE GOING OUT TO, UH, ALL THE FOLKS OUT IN HOUSTON.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ON, UH, YOU KNOW, I JUST FORGOT TO MENTION, I'M, I'M HERE SPEAKING AS, AS A RESIDENT OF D FOUR, PERSONAL CAPACITY, NOT ON BEHALF OF, UH, OF MY UNION, WHICH I'M A PROUD MEMBER OF, OR MY EMPLOYER.
I'M PROUD, PROUD TO SERVE THE PUBLIC.
UH, BUT I AM, I AM GLAD TO SEE ITEMS EVEN LIKE FOUR WHERE WE'RE PUTTING OUT, UH, RFPS THAT HAVE REALLY GOOD, UH, RETURNS ON, UH, REALLY GOOD RESPONSE RATES WHERE THERE ARE LOTS OF IDEAS COMING TO THE TABLE, UH, AND, AND THE CITY HAVING A GOOD STRATEGY AND AUSTIN ENERGY HAVING A GOOD METHOD FOR SORTING THROUGH THEM AND, AND MAKING SHORT LISTS OF WHICH ARE THE BEST IDEAS.
THIS IS THE TYPE OF THING THAT WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON BUILDING OUR CAPACITY AS A COMMUNITY.
UH, AND, AND, UH, I MIGHT ADD ALSO, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT OTHER IDEAS THAT ARE OUT THERE, UH, WERE PULLED, UH, THAT WOULD REDUCE OUR, OUR, OUR OWN CAPACITY, OUR OWN STRATEGIES, UM, TO ADDRESS OUR ENERGY NEEDS AND, AND THE CLIMATE.
UM, THE, THE IDEA OF LOAD SHAPING AND DEMAND RESPON RESPONSE TECHNOLOGIES THAT ALLOW US TO TURN ON A DIME IS EXACTLY THE DIRECTION WE NEED TO GO.
UH, YOU KNOW, THESE CLIMATE, YOU KNOW, PRECIPITATED ENERGY CRISES ARE NOT GOING AWAY.
SO NOW IS THE TIME FOR US TO BE PREPARING AND I'M SO GLAD THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS DOING THAT.
AND IN YOUR CAPACITY OF OVERSIGHT, I WANT TO ENCOURAGE Y'ALL TO KEEP PUSHING THAT WAY.
[Approval of Minutes]
FIRST ITEM, WHICH IS APPROVAL OF MINUTES DUE.I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF APRIL 30, 20, 24.
COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON, AND A SECOND.
COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, ARE THERE ANY CORRECTIONS OR CHANGES TO THE MINUTES? IF NOT, THEY ARE ADOPTED.
[2. General Manager’s Report - Operational Update, Awards & Recognitions.]
ITEM TWO, GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT, GENERAL MANAGER KAHN, WELCOME FOR AN OPERATIONAL UPDATE, AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS.UH, GOOD MORNING, CHAIR POOLE, VICE CHAIR VELA, UH, I GUESS MAYOR WATSON'S NOT HERE RIGHT NOW.
I'M BOB CON, GENERAL MANAGER OF AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO I'D LIKE TO START TODAY BY TALKING ABOUT OUR NEIGHBORS IN THE HOUSTON AREA WHO WERE AFFECTED BY THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE BARROW.
MORE THAN 2 MILLION PEOPLE LOST POWER AND SOME STILL HAVE NOT BEEN RESTORED.
ONE WEEK AGO TODAY, AUSTIN ENERGY SENT LINE WORKERS AND SUPPORT STAFF WITH BUCKET TRUCKS TO HELP WITH RESTORATION EFFORTS.
OUR CREWS HAVE REPLACED MULTIPLE BROKEN POLES, MILES OF OVERHEAD WIRES, AND MANY DAMAGE TRANSFORMERS
[00:05:01]
TO HELP GET THE POWER BACK FOR THE PEOPLE OF HOUSTON.PROVIDING MUTUAL AID AND NATURAL DISASTERS IS SOMETHING OUR LINE WORKERS TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN, AND WE'RE ESPECIALLY THANKFUL TO THE 20 EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE TAKEN TIME AWAY FROM THEIR OWN FAMILIES TO HELP THEIR FELLOW TEXANS IN NEED.
NEXT THING I WANNA TALK ABOUT IS ERCOT.
SO ERCOT, THE STATEWIDE GRID OPERATOR, SAYS THE SUMMER WEATHER OUTLOOK LIKELY BE ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS TEXAS FOR THE REST OF THE SUMMER.
THEY'RE EXPECTING 2024 TO BE IN THE TOP 10 HOTTEST SUMMERS ON RECORD, BUT NOT AS HOT AS LAST SUMMER.
ERCOT PROJECTS SUFFICIENT RESOURCES TO MEET SUMMER DEMAND.
RICCO IS TALKING MORE ABOUT SOMETHING CALLED THE SOLAR RAMP DOWN, AND LET ME, LET ME TALK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND.
SO, SOLAR POWER, AS WE KNOW, IS CLEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY AND IT'S HELPED THE ERCOT GRID MEET INCREASING DEMAND FOR ENERGY AS OUR STATE'S POPULATION GROWS.
BUT THE SUN GOES DOWN FASTER THAN THE ENERGY DEMAND TO CONTINUE CALLING HOMES AND BUSINESSES.
AND THAT'S CALLED THE SOLAR RAMP DOWN.
AND IT CAN LEAD TO TIGHTER CONDITIONS AROUND SUNSET, ESPECIALLY IN THE HOTTEST PART OF THE SUMMER, AND ESPECIALLY IN AUGUST.
THIS IS DUE TO A LOSS OF SOLAR GENERATION WHILE ENERGY DEMAND IS STILL HIGH AND WIND IS LOW, AND THAT USUALLY HAPPENS BETWEEN EIGHT AND 10 O'CLOCK AT NIGHT.
YOU, YOU MAY REMEMBER ALL THE CONSERVATION ALERTS WE HAD LAST SUMMER, AND USUALLY THAT'S AROUND WHEN THAT HAPPENED.
UM, AND, AND AGAIN, LIKE I SAID, IN AUGUST, UH, THAT'S WHEN WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO PROBABLY SEEING SOME OF THOSE CONSERVATION ALERTS 'CAUSE THE WIND IS NOT BLOWING AS MUCH AS WE NEED IT WHEN THE SOLAR IS RAMPING DOWN.
SO AT AUSTIN ENERGY, WE ARE USING MESSAGING TO HELP EMPOWER OUR CUSTOMERS TO CONTINUE TO SAVE ENERGY AND MONEY WITH CONSERVATION TIPS INTO THE SOLAR RAMP DOWN HOURS.
AS SOLAR RAMPS DOWN IN THE HOTTEST PART OF THE YEAR, WE'RE RAMPING UP OUR EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION TIPS ACROSS OUR MULTIPLE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS AND PARTNERS.
SO TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR A MORE RELIABLE AND SUSTAINABLE GRID.
I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT, UH, ON THE NEXT SUBJECT, TALK ABOUT OUR LIGHT UP NAVAJO EFFORT.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT THAT, BUT FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, UH, THANKS TO A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN AUSTIN ENERGY, THE AMERICAN POWER ASSOCIATION, AND THE NAVAJO TRIBAL UTILITY AUTHORITY, MANY NAVAJO AUTHOR, UH, FAMILIES CAN TURN ON LIGHTS, OVENS, AND AIR CONDITIONERS IN THEIR HOMES.
FOR THE FIRST TIME RECENTLY, 16 AUSTIN ENERGY CREWS MADE A 2000 MILE ROUND TRIP TO ARIZONA.
THEY INSTALLED 10 MILES OF OVERHEAD ELECTRICAL LINES AND 78 ELECTRICAL POLES.
NOW NINE NAVAJO FAMILIES HAVE WORKING ELECTRICITY IN THEIR HOMES FOR THE FIRST TIME.
THAT'S AN INCREDIBLY REWARDING EXPERIENCE FOR OUR CREW MEMBERS ALONG WITH EDUCATION AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES THAT A PROJECT LIKE THIS, UH, ALLOWS, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR NEWER LINE WORKERS.
FOR ONE OF OUR LINE WORKERS, EDWARD, JODY.
IT WAS A HOMECOMING, SO I BROUGHT A SHORT ONE MINUTE SNIPPET OF VIDEO SO YOU CAN HEAR FROM EDWARD HIMSELF.
I'M AN ENROLLED MEMBER OF THE NAVAJO NATION, LIKE TAKING A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE.
'CAUSE I, I HAVEN'T BEEN HOME HERE, I'D SAY 15, 20 YEARS.
I WAS RECOGNIZING EVERY, UH, LOCAL SPOT THAT I USED TO GO, YOU KNOW, VISIT WITH MY GRANDMA, MY GRANDPA.
SO IT'S A FUN EXPERIENCE AND THE GUYS GAVE ME THE HONOR OF STABBING THE FIRST METER TO ENERGIZE THE CUSTOMER'S HOUSE, UH, OVER ON SOMIL.
SO THEY WERE VERY THANKFUL FOR IT.
TURNS OUT THE FAMILY THERE KNOW MY EXTENDED FAMILY HERE IN, UH, PINON, ARIZONA.
I FEEL LIKE ALMOST LIKE A SUPERHERO, LIKE GIVING THEM POWER AND THEY'RE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR IT.
IT'S ALWAYS A BLESSING TO GIVE BACK WHEN YOU HAVE A 90-YEAR-OLD WOMAN CRYING AND SHE MAKES THE STATEMENT, I CAN GO TO THE GROCERY STORE AND BUY MORE THAN THREE DAYS WORTH OF FOOD BECAUSE SHE NOW HAS A REFRIGERATOR INSTEAD OF COOLER.
I MEAN, NOT ONE OF MY CREW MEMBERS HAVE CAME BACK WITHOUT FEELING JUST A, A BLESSED TO BE A PART OF BRINGING THAT TO SOMEBODY'S LIFE.
IN THIS DAY AND AGE, THE TRIBE ALWAYS TELLS US WE'RE NOW PART OF A TRIBE.
AND I ALWAYS TELL THEM, YOU'RE PART OF OUR TRIBE ALSO.
AS MUCH AS YOU ARE HUMBLED BY US COMING IN, WE ARE MORE HUMBLED BY PROVIDING THIS THIS SERVICE TO YOU.
SO I'D LIKE TO PUBLICLY THANK EDWARD AND ALL 16 MEMBERS OF OUR AUSTIN ENERGY TEAM WHO TOOK THE TIME AWAY FROM THEIR FAMILIES TO DO THIS.
AND I WILL SAY THAT THIS IS A NATIONWIDE EFFORT.
WE AREN'T THE ONLY UTILITY THAT DOES THIS, THAT'S A LARGE AREA OF ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO THAT JUST HAS NO POWER.
SO WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT DOING THAT AND GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
UH, SO THAT INCLUDES MY REPORT.
I KNOW WE HAVE A BUSY AGENDA TODAY
[00:10:01]
WITH UPDATES ON THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN, RENEWABLE RFPS, BATTERY STORAGE, AND OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.SO I'D BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
YOU KNOW, I JUST WANTED TO BE REMINDED, HOW MANY YEARS NOW HAVE WE, UM, BEEN SENDING OUR LINEMEN TO HELP THE NAVAJO NATION THREE YEARS.
THAT'S REALLY, REALLY, UM, DOES MY HEART GOOD? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE GENERAL MANAGER? YES, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER A QUESTION RELATED TO THE SOLAR RAMP DOWN ISSUE THAT OBVIOUSLY AFFECTS US, AFFECTS THE STATE.
WE HAD A CONVERSATION A WHILE BACK, UH, IN TERMS OF OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM ABOUT WHEN WE UTILIZE THE CALL AND, AND HOW WE, WHEN, WHEN WE PUT OUR CALL OUT TO CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, THE THE FINANCIAL INCENTIVE COMPONENT OF THAT.
I'M CURIOUS IN, IN THAT CONVERSATION, THE DISCUSSION WAS THAT WE WOULD DO IT WHEN THERE WAS A, AND I FORGET THE EXACT TERM, BUT THE EMERGENCY URGENCY CONSTRAINT FROM ERCOT.
UH, YEAH, THEY'LL CALL AN EEA OR CONSERVATION OR, IT JUST DEPENDS ON HOW SERIOUS IT IS, RIGHT? AND, AND THERE WAS ALSO DISCUSSION ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF JUST LOOKING AT THE SHEER MONETARY ELEMENTS, RIGHT? LIKE IF, IF PRICES GO ABOVE $500 OR A THOUSAND DOLLARS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO CONSERVATION CALL, BUT IT IS IN OUR FINANCIAL INTEREST TO HAVE USERS, UM, USE LESS ENERGY.
'CAUSE THEN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MAKING MORE MONEY.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE EXPLORING FOR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM TO, TO GO BEYOND THE CONSERVATION CALLS? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
IN FACT, I THINK TODAY YOU MIGHT HEAR FROM, UH, MICHAEL ANGER WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT OUR RFP RESPONSES AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AS FAR AS BATTERY STORAGE AND HOW THOSE CAN BE USED IN HOMES TO HELP THAT EFFORT.
[3. Staff briefing and process update on the Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan by Lisa Martin, Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, Lynda Rife, President of Rifeline, and Dr. Michael Webber of The University of Texas at Austin.]
NUMBER THREE, WE HAVE LISA MARTIN, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER, AND COO LINDA RIFE, PRESIDENT OF RIF LINE.AND I BELIEVE WE WILL HEAR FROM DR. MICHAEL WEBER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEAD AUSTIN AND HE WILL BE REMOTE.
UH, GOOD MORNING CHAIR POOLE, VICE CHAIR VELA AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I'M LISA MARTIN, AUSTIN ENERGY'S CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER.
MY GOAL TODAY IS TO PROVIDE YOU A BRIEF STATUS UPDATE ON THE RESEARCH RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN EFFORTS.
AND, UH, THEN I'LL SHARE THE FLOOR WITH MOST AND MOST OF MY TIME TODAY WITH SOME SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS.
THE LAST UOC UPDATE WAS IN APRIL, AND AT THAT TIME I EMPHASIZED THAT WE WERE NO LONGER DOING A 2030 UPDATE TO THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN.
INSTEAD, WE'RE LEVERAGING THE NECESSARY RESOURCES TO PROPOSE A FULL RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN TO 2035.
THIS INVOLVES STAYING TRUE TO OUR GOAL OF CARBON FREE BY 2035, BUT ALSO ENSURING THAT WE ESTABLISH OTHER OBJECTIVES TO ALIGN WITH COMMUNITY VALUES.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO LEVERAGING THE WORK OF THE 2030 UPDATE, INCLUDING THE EUC WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND WE HAD A PRODUCTIVE TECHNICAL DISCUSSION LAST MONTH WHEN WE MET TO DISCUSS THEIR WORK.
AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO BEAR FRUIT AS WE PROCEED ALONG THIS PATH.
ULTIMATELY, THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN TO 2035 WILL BE AN OBJECTIVE BASED PLAN ROOTED IN COMMUNITY VALUES AND PRIORITIES.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THE TRADE-OFFS OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND WE'LL WALK YOU THROUGH THAT AS WE GO.
UM, UH, ACROSS THE GLOBE THERE ARE DYNAMIC FACTORS DRIVING A CHANGE TO HOW ALL UTILITIES ARE APPROACHING RESOURCE PLANNING.
AND AS A RESULT OF THESE DRIVERS RESOURCE PLANS ARE BEING STRUCTURED TO ALLOW FLEXIBILITY TO RESPOND TO CHANGING MARKET AND DYNAMIC CIRCUMSTANCES.
SAID ANOTHER WAY, THE 2035 PLAN WILL BE STRUCTURED TO HOLD UP TO UNCERTAINTY AND WE'RE ON THE RIGHT PATH.
THIS SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS THE SIX MAIN WORK STREAMS THAT WE HAVE RUNNING IN PARALLEL ON THIS EFFORT.
WITH OUR LONGER TERM PLANNING HORIZON, WE'VE ENGAGED WITH SEVERAL EXTERNAL PARTIES TO HELP THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.
YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE FIRST TWO RIF LINE AND ENERGY RESEARCH, UH, COMMUNITY FACILITATION BY LIFELINE AND ENERGY RESEARCH BY DR. MICHAEL WEBER IN UT.
IN ADDITION TO PRESENTING HERE TODAY, DR. WEBER WILL BE A MAIN SPEAKER AT THE SECOND LIFELINE WORKSHOP, ROUNDING OUT THE TOP ROW, YOU RECENTLY APPROVED A CONTRACT WITH DNV ENERGY INSIGHTS TO CONDUCT A MARKET STUDY OF DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT AND LOCAL SOLAR FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
AS WE DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY, THE SCOPE OF WORK WAS INFORMED BY THE EUC WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS.
THIS WORK WILL FEED INTO THE MODELING AS WELL AS THE OPTIONS PRESENTED TO YOU AT THE END OF THIS PROCESS.
MOVING TO THE BOTTOM ROW, WE HAVE PORTFOLIO MODELING AN ITEM WHICH WE KICKED OFF LAST NIGHT WITH THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION MEETING.
WE ALSO EXTENDED A CONTRACT WITH ASCEND, WHICH IS A THIRD PARTY ANALYTICS COMPANY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INSIGHT INTO THE MODELING WORK ASSOCIATED WITH THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN.
NEXT IS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.
AND AFTER THIS AGENDA ITEM, MICHAEL ANGER WILL PRESENT AN UPDATE ON THE LATEST RENEWABLE AND STORAGE RFP.
[00:15:01]
TAPPING INTO OUR INDUSTRY CONTACTS AT ESOURCE AND EPRI, BOTH OF WHICH HAVE DEEP KNOWLEDGE ON SUBJECTS RELEVANT TO THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN, SUCH AS ENERGY EFFICIENCY, DEMAND RESPONSE, AND DECARBONIZATION METHODS.AS I JUST MENTIONED LAST NIGHT, WE KICKED OFF THE DEEPER LEVEL MODELING WORK WITH THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION.
WE'RE STARTING OUR COLLABORATION BY SHARING INFORMATION ON THE MODELING FRAMEWORK AND THE INPUTS.
WE'VE SOLICITED FEEDBACK, IT'S THE INPUTS AND ASSUMPTIONS THIS MONTH AND THE PORTFOLIOS NEXT MONTH.
AND THEN AFTER THE MODELS ARE RUN, WE'LL WORK WITH THE EUC TO REVIEW THE OUTPUTS, WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
ABOVE ALL THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING ACROSS ALL THESE AREAS AND WITH ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS FOLLOWS A COMMON PATTERN WE'RE WORKING THROUGH PHASE BY PHASE.
AND AS WE DO SO, THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE'RE ASKING OF AND ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY.
WE STARTED WITH A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT VALUES ARE IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT EACH VALUE MEANS.
LINDA'S PRESENTATION TODAY WILL CLOSE OUT THE VALUES AND DEFINITIONS PHASE OF WORK, AND NEXT WE'RE EXPLORING WHAT'S THE CURRENT AND FUTURE STATE AND WHAT PROBLEMS WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE AND WHAT RISKS WE'RE FACING.
WEBER'S PRESENTATION TODAY WILL INITIATE THAT PHASE OF WORK, AND ULTIMATELY WE'RE LOOKING TO UNDERSTAND RISK TOLERANCES AND COMMUNITY PRIORITIES.
AFTER THAT, WE'LL ENGAGE IN DISCUSSIONS TO IDENTIFY OBJECTIVES AND HOW WE SHOULD PUT OUR COLLECTIVE VALUES INTO ACTION.
THIS IS ABOUT DEFINING METRICS FOR SUCCESS AND EXPLORING THE TRADE-OFFS.
AND FINALLY, WE'LL ARRIVE AT SOLUTIONS AE PLANS TO PRESENT A SET OF SOLUTIONS WITH ASSOCIATED RISKS AND TRADE-OFFS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
THESE WILL INCLUDE DETAILS DESCRIBING THE DEGREE TO WHICH EACH PORTFOLIO ALIGNS WITH COMMUNITY RISKS AND VALUES, UH, AND COMMUNITY RISK TOLERANCES, VALUES AND PRIORITIES, AND THE TRADE-OFFS THAT EACH OPTION PROPOSE POSES.
THE RESULTS WILL GO INTO THE GEN PLAN.
MY FINAL SLIDE SHOWS THOSE FOUR PHASES IN A GRAPHIC WAY WITH KEY DATES ALL ALONG THE WAY.
THE KEY TAKEAWAY HERE IS THAT THERE ARE MANY TOUCH POINTS, ACTUALLY EVEN MORE THAN WE'VE SHOWN HERE, AND WE'RE LEADING TO A COMPLETION BEFORE THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
SO NOW I'LL PASS THE FLOOR TO LINDA RIFE FOR AN UPDATE ON WORKSHOP ONE.
AFTER THAT, DR. MICHAEL WEBER WILL SHARE HIS INSIGHTS ON SOME KEY ITEMS FOR ALL OF US TO CONSIDER AND I'LL RETURN FOR QUESTIONS AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE PRESENTATION.
UM, OUR JOB IS PROCESS AND FACILITATION OF THE WORKSHOPS.
AUSTIN ENERGY HOSTED, UM, IT'S GONNA BE HOST FOUR, UH, WORKSHOPS.
UM, THE FIRST ONE WAS HELD ON FRIDAY, JUNE 7TH FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS OVER LUNCH.
AND THAT INFORMATION YOU JUST HEARD FROM LISA WAS TO GATHER INITIAL FEEDBACK FROM, UH, A VERY DIVERSE SET OF PEOPLE, WHICH I'M HOPING WILL SHOW UP HERE IN A SECOND.
AND THE STAKEHOLDERS ARE GONNA IDENTIFY COMMUNITY VALUES, PRIOR PRIORITIES, AND THEN SOME CRITERIA THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS THAT COME UP AND, AND SEE HOW THEY THEY FIT INTO ALL OF THAT.
THE AGENDA INCLUDED INTRODUCTORY PRESENTATION OF THE BASICS OF TEXAS AND AUSTIN AREA ENERGY MARKETS.
AND THEN WE BROKE OUT INTO SMALL GROUPS.
SO THERE WERE 35 PARTICIPANTS THAT SHOWED UP AT THIS FIRST MEETING.
IT SEEMED TO BE VERY POPULAR AND I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S INPUT INTO THAT PROCESS.
SO THESE ARE THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ON THAT WORKSHOP.
WE HAD SOMEONE THAT REPRESENTING A A RP AND A STUDENT THAT JUST GRADUATED FROM A ISD.
UM, WE HAD, UM, THE DIVERSITY CHAMBERS.
WE HAD, UM, SOMEONE FROM ASSISTED LIVING.
SO IT'S VERY, VERY DIVERSE AS WELL AS PEOPLE THAT KNOW A LOT ABOUT THIS, LIKE PUBLIC CITIZEN IN SIERRA CLUB.
SO OVERALL, WE LEARNED THAT THERE'S AGREEMENT WITH THE MISSION PILLARS OF SUSTAINABILITY, RELIABILITY, AND AFFORDABILITY.
ALL OF THOSE ARE IMPORTANT, BUT THE GROUP ALSO TALKED ABOUT EQUITY, TRANSPARENCY, AND COMMUNICATION.
UM, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE THINK ABOUT THOSE THINGS AS WE MOVE FORWARD FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND IN INNOVATION, THEY WANTED A HOLISTIC VIEW.
WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT, UH, CRADLE TO GRAVE OR LIFECYCLE ASSESSMENTS AS METHOD METHODS OF MEASURING SUSTAINABILITY.
WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT EQUITY, THAT WAS AN INTERESTING ONE FOR ME.
THEY DEFINED IT AS MAKING SURE THAT AUSTIN ENERGY CONSIDERS THE POPULATION THAT NEEDS ENERGY MOST, UM, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE, LOW INCOME OR ON FIXED INCOME, UM, IN EVERYTHING IT DOES.
AND THAT INCLUDES RETURNING RELIABILITY TO THE GRID.
THAT INCLUDES AFFORDABILITY FOR SURE, UM, IN AND MAKING SURE THEIR ENVIRONMENT AROUND IF WE'RE BUILDING SOMETHING CLOSE TO THEM WAS CLEAN.
LASTLY, THEY RECOGNIZE THAT A HUNDRED PERCENT RELIABILITY
[00:20:01]
IS LIKELY NOT ATTAINABLE, PROBABLY NOT ATTAINABLE.HOWEVER, TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNICATION WERE NOTED HERE AS WELL.
AND THEY ENCOURAGED AUSTIN ENERGY TO BE MORE PREDICTABLE AND MORE COMMUNICATIVE, UH, WITH THE SPECIFIC INFORMATION AFTER THAT WORKSHOP.
UM, WE IT OUT AND YOU ALL SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE WHOLE REPORT FROM ALL OF THAT, FROM THE DIFFERENT GROUPS.
IF YOU HAVEN'T, MAKE SURE YOU LET US KNOW AND WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU GET IT.
BUT WE TALKED TO THE EUC AND WE CA UH, GATHERED A COUPLE A ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONS.
A BIG TAKEAWAY WAS THEY EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING AUSTIN ENERGY PUBLIC AND TO ENSURE THAT IT REMAINS FINANCIALLY VIABLE BECAUSE IT'S A DIVIDEND TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THE COMMISSIONERS AGREED THAT EQUITY SHOULD BE TOP OF MIND AND INCORPORATED AND DEVELOPED IN THE GENERATION RESOURCE PLAN.
UM, THEY ALSO MIRRORED THE FEEDBACK WE HEARD FROM THE GROUP ABOUT THE BALANCE BETWEEN RESPONSIBLY ADDRESSING OUR CURRENT AND FUTURE ENERGY CHALLENGES WHILE PRIORITIZING COMMUNITY VALUES.
AND THEY FELT LIKE AUSTIN ENERGY COULD DO MORE TO PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY AND BETTER COMMUNICATION.
I KNOW THEY'VE TAKEN A MAJOR STEP FORWARD ON THAT.
WHAT YOU'RE WE'RE SEEING NEXT IS WE HAVE AN UPCOMING WORKSHOP ON FRIDAY, JULY 26TH, 1115 TO ONE 30 THAT IS SHOWN.
UM, YOU CAN WATCH IT ON, ON UH, CHANNEL SIX I THINK, BUT AT LEAST ON ON SITE OR YOU CAN WATCH THE VIDEO LATER.
UM, THIS IS MOSTLY GONNA BE A PRESENTATION AND SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
IT REALLY IS KIND OF A TABLE SETTING FOR THE NEXT STEPS.
UM, BUT WE WILL ALSO PROVIDE A REPORT OUT FOR THAT.
THE NEXT WORKSHOP AFTER THAT WOULD BE THURSDAY, AUGUST 22ND, AND THEN FINALLY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13TH TO MEET YOUR NEEDS TO GET THIS DONE BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO, UM, WE'LL, UH, ENSURE AND WE'LL KEEP TALKING TO THE UTILITY COMMISSION AND ALSO TO ALL TO YOU IN THIS PROCESS.
BUT I THANK YOU FOR AGAIN, ALL YOUR GOOD IDEAS.
WE'VE GOT A, A GREAT DIVERSE GROUP OF PEOPLE AND THEY'VE GIVEN US SOME REALLY GOOD FEEDBACK TO DATE AND I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE NEXT UPCOMING MEETINGS.
I THINK WE HAVE DR. WEBER JOINING US REMOTELY.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN BRING HIS IMAGE UP.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? WE CAN HEAR YOU.
ARE WE ABLE TO SEE YOU? IF BRIEFLY BEFORE YOU START? THERE YOU ARE.
AND THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME TO BE PART OF THIS CONVERSATION AND THIS ANALYSIS.
AND SORRY, I COULD NOT BE THERE IN PERSON.
I'M ACTUALLY ON HOLIDAY IN NEW YORK, SO I'M GLAD THE VIRTUAL CONNECTION WILL WORK.
THIS IS A COLLECTION OF SOME ANALYSIS THOUGHTS PULLED TOGETHER BY EMILY ARNUM.
SHE'S A GRADUATE STUDENT AT UT AND DR.
YAEL GLASER, A RESEARCH ASSOCIATE AT UT.
SO I'M MOSTLY PRESENTING THEIR WORK AND THEY'RE ON THE CALL SO IF I GET ANY QUESTIONS THAT I CAN'T ANSWER, THEY'LL HELP ME OUT.
OR IF I SAY ANYTHING THAT'S WRONG, HOPEFULLY THEY WILL CORRECT ME.
I HAVE ABOUT 30 SLIDES AND A LOT OF INFORMATION.
IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN ME PRESENT, YOU KNOW, I'M A FAST TALKER SO I SHOULD GET THROUGH THEM, BUT THERE IS A LOT OF DIFFERENT CONCEPTS AND SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO INTERRUPT ME WITH QUESTIONS IF YOU NEED ME TO CLARIFY SOMETHING OR EXPLAIN IT AGAIN OR JUST REPEAT IT BECAUSE I SPOKE TOO QUICKLY.
THESE ARE PRELIMINARY RESULTS WE JUST STARTED A LITTLE WHILE AGO.
WE'RE JUST DIGGING IN, BUT WE THINK THERE ARE ALREADY SOME INSIGHTS WORTH SHARING.
START WITH AUSTIN ENERGY BASICS.
I, I APOLOGIZE FOR TELLING YOU A BUNCH OF THINGS YOU ALREADY KNOW, BUT I THINK IT'S GOOD TO RETURN TO THE BASICS EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.
WHAT IS AUSTIN ENERGY? WELL, IT'S A PART OF LOCAL COMMUNITY AND JUST SO YOU KNOW MY BACKGROUND, I WAS ONCE A MEMBER OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION FROM 2008 TO 2013.
SO I, I HAVE KNOWN AUSTIN ENERGY AND BEEN A CUSTOMER SINCE I WAS BORN IN 1971.
UH, BUT ALSO HAVE KNOWN HIM AS A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION AND A RESEARCH PARTNER FOR A LONG TIME.
AUSTIN ENERGY HAS OVER HALF A MILLION CUSTOMERS AND THAT MEANS HOUSEHOLDS ESSENTIALLY THERE'S ROUGHLY TWO TO THREE PEOPLE PER HOUSEHOLD.
SO YOU CAN THINK OF THAT AS SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT EARNS A LOT OF REVENUE AND HAS A COUPLE THOUSAND EMPLOYEES.
AND THEN TWO NUMBERS AT THE BOTTOM LEFT THAT ARE WORTH PAYING ATTENTION TO IS THE PEAK DEMAND RECORD, WHICH WAS SET LAST YEAR DURING THE HEAT DOME IN 2023 IS A LITTLE OVER 3000 MEGAWATTS.
THAT'S THE SAME AS SAYING A LITTLE OVER THREE GIGAWATTS.
SO YOU'LL HEAR ME TALK ABOUT MEGAWATTS IN GIGAWATTS.
THAT'S BASICALLY THE SIZE OF THE POWER PLANTS YOU NEED TO PROVIDE THE ELECTRICITY TO AUSTIN.
THEN THERE'S THIS OTHER NUMBER, 14,000, A LITTLE OVER 14,000 GIGAWATT HOURS.
THAT'S HOW MUCH ELECTRICITY IS ACTUALLY GENERATED IN THE 3000 MEGAWATTS IS THE ABILITY TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY IN REAL TIME.
SO IT'S A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL UTILITY.
IT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST MUNICIPAL UTILITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.
UH, AUSTIN ENERGY IS A LEADER, SO IT'S GOT A VERY CLEAN FUEL MIX.
OVER 25% IS CARBON FREE, WHICH IS WAY ABOVE INDUSTRY AVERAGE, WHICH IS REALLY FANTASTIC.
THAT COLOR COATED DONUT SHOWS THE DIFFERENT FORMS. THERE'S WIND AND SOLAR AND BIOMASS AND NUCLEAR.
THOSE ARE THE CARBON FREE SOURCES.
AND THEN YOU HAVE UH, A LITTLE BIT OF COAL AND NATURAL GAS, SORRY.
SO YOU HAVE THE CLEAN ONES AND THEN THE NATURAL GAS AND COAL.
AND OVER TIME THE MIX GETS CLEANER, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT.
THE MAP ON THE LEFT SHOWS THE LOCATION TO THE POWER PLANTS.
THE NATURAL GAS POWER PLANTS TEND TO BE REALLY CLOSE TO AUSTIN WHOLE,
[00:25:01]
NOT SO FAR AWAY AT FAYETTE AND THEN NUCLEAR ON THE COAST.AND THEN WIND IS IN THE PANHANDLE OR THE SOUTH AND SOLAR IS KIND OF WEST AND ALSO NEAR AUSTIN.
AND THEN THE BIOMASS PLANT IS IN NADOS IN EAST TEXAS.
SO WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD MIX, WHICH IS GREAT.
IT'S SENSIBLE FROM A RESILIENCE PERSPECTIVE TO HAVE A DIVERSE MIX IN THE MIX IS PARTICULARLY CLEAN, WHICH I THINK IS GREAT.
THE CHALLENGE BEFORE US RIGHT NOW THAT AUSTIN ENERGY'S EXPERIENCED, BUT REALLY THIS IS A UNIVERSAL CHALLENGE IS THAT THE GRID NEEDS TO GROW BECAUSE DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY IS EXPANDING, INCREASING.
THIS IS A GOOD NEWS STORY BUT WE ALSO NEED TO DECARBONIZE THE GRID AND NEED TO REPLACE THINGS THAT WILL RETIRE AND THE WORLD IS WARMING.
SO WE NEED TO DESIGN THE GRID TO WORK IN A WARMING WORLD IN A CLEANER WAY WHILE ALSO EXPANDING.
SO WE HAVE TO DO A LOT OF THINGS AT ONCE AND THAT'S THE CHALLENGE FOR US.
AND THAT ALL WHAT I'M TALKING LIKE IN A WARMING WORLD, EXPANDING DECARBONIZE IS REALLY THE ENERGY TRANSITION.
UH, MY VIEW WE'RE ABOUT 10 TO 15 YEARS INTO A 30 TO 40 YEAR TRANSITION.
UM, THE REASON I SAY WE'RE 10 TO 15 YEARS INTO THE TRANSITION ALREADY IS THAT IN THE UNITED STATES, CO2 EMISSIONS PEAKED ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO AND HAVE BEEN DROPPING DESPITE POPULATION GROWTH AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, WHICH IS REALLY GOOD NEWS STORY THAT'S PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF A DECLINE IN COAL USE NATIONALLY, BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF EFFICIENCY STANDARDS LIKE FUEL ECONOMY, STANDARDS FOR CARS AND LIGHT BULB EFFICIENCY STANDARDS WE'VE GOTTEN THERE THROUGH FUEL SUBSTITUTION AND EFFICIENCY.
SO WE ACTUALLY USE LESS ENERGY PER PERSON AND LESS ENERGY PER UNIT OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY TODAY THAN WE USED TO.
THE UNITED STATES IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE LEADERS ON THIS.
DESPITE EVERYTHING A ENERGY IS A PART OF THAT STORY.
A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOOKED AT HOW TO GET TO A NET ZERO WORLD OR A ZERO CARBON WORLD WHO LOOKED AT THE FUTURE AND HOW TO DECARBONIZE HAVE DONE A VARIETY OF ANALYSIS.
MY GROUP UT'S DONE SOME ANALYSIS BUT SO HAS THE WHITE HOUSE INTERNATIONAL GROUPS, THE US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, PRINCETON, YOU NAME IT.
THERE ARE A LOT OF THE DECARBONIZATION STUDIES AND THE GOAL HERE, IF YOU WANT TO DECARBONIZE THE ECONOMIES TO REDUCE THE CO2 EMISSIONS TO THE ATMOSPHERE, UM, AND OR REMOVE CO2 FROM THE ATMOSPHERE TO KEEP THE CONCENTRATION OF CO2 LEVELS FROM GROWING.
IN FACT EVEN POTENTIALLY SOMEBODY TO REDUCE EM BACK TO WHERE THEY WERE AT PRE-INDUSTRIAL LEVELS, WHICH WOULD BE GREAT.
AND THERE ARE A LOT OF SIMILAR AND OVERLAPPING CONCLUSIONS.
THERE'S ONLY SO MANY WAYS YOU CAN DECARBONIZE AND WE TEND TO CONVERGE ON THE SAME SETS OF SOLUTIONS WHICH I'LL TALK ABOUT.
AND ALONG THE WAY THERE ARE SOME DISTINCT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND.
UH, THE CONCEPTS OF CARBON NEUTRAL, UH, VERSUS OR NET ZERO VERSUS CARBON FREE.
SO CARBON FREE MEANS YOU DO NOT EMIT CO2 INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, BUT NET ZERO MEANS YOU MIGHT HAVE EMISSIONS IN ONE LOCATION, SAY A SMOKE STACK ON ONE PART OF TEXAS, BUT THEN YOU HAVE A REMOVAL IN ANOTHER LOCATION, SAY FROM DIRECT AIR CAPTURE OR SOME SORT OF CARBON SCRUBBING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND ALL THESE STUDIES CONCLUDE THAT NET ZERO IS CHEAPER, FASTER, MORE EQUITABLE THAN HAVING ZERO CARBON, WHICH IS A PRETTY IMPORTANT CONCLUSION.
AND WE TEND TO ARGUE AROUND THE EDGES OF ALL HOW MUCH CARBON AND THIS AND THAT.
BUT WE ALL AGREE THAT IF YOU WANT TO GET TO NET, IF YOU WANNA GET TO DECARBONIZE ECONOMY FASTER AND CHEAPER IN A WAY THAT'S MORE RELIABLE AND EQUITABLE, IT'S OKAY TO HAVE SOME EMISSIONS IN SOME PLACE AS LONG AS YOU CLEAN THEM UP.
AND THAT'S THE QUESTION OF HOW YOU MIGHT CLEAN IT UP WITH DIRECT AIR CAPTURE OR SOIL CARBON SEQUESTRATION OR PLANTING TREES.
THERE'S A RIGHT OF WAYS TO DO IT.
SO THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT POINT I WANNA MAKE BECAUSE THAT WILL BE RELEVANT TO AUSTIN'S FUTURE AS WELL.
THE PRIORITY ORDER FOR DECARBONIZATION GENERALLY HAS FOUR STEPS.
THIS IS KIND OF MY TAGLINE, SAY DO YOUR BEST, THEN CLEAN UP THE REST AND DO YOUR BEST MEANS AVOID AS MUCH MESS AS YOU CAN.
THE FIRST MOST IMPORTANT STEP IS EFFICIENCY.
EFFICIENCY SAVES YOU A LOT OF COST AND TROUBLE.
AND THANKFULLY ALSO ENERGY HAS ALREADY DONE A LOT AND AS A LEADER ON THIS, THAT'S GREAT NEWS.
UH, ALSO ENERGY BEEN AT IT FOR DECADES.
THAT ALSO MEANS THERE'S A LITTLE LESS OBVIOUS EFFICIENCY REMAINING.
SO IF YOU ARE IN OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE OR OTHER PARTS OF THE NATION, YOU CAN START WITH EFFICIENCY 'CAUSE YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT YET.
SO THE GOOD NEWS IS WE'VE ALREADY DONE IT.
THE BAD NEWS IS IT GETS A LITTLE HARDER FOR THE NEXT STEP.
HOWEVER, THAT EFFICIENCY HAS SAVED US A LOT OF HEARTACHE AND MONEY THAT WE CAN NOW USE TO INVEST IN SORT OF THE NEXT ROUND OF EQUIPMENT WE NEED.
SO ANYWAY, EFFICIENCY REMAINS AN OPTION BUT MIGHT NOT BE AS OBVIOUS AN OPTION AS IT WAS A COUPLE DECADES AGO.
ELECTRIFICATION IS THE NEXT STEP OF DECARBONIZATION, ESPECIALLY ELECTRIFYING LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES.
THAT'S CARS, GETTING CARS OFF.
GASOLINE ONTO ELECTRICITY IS REALLY GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS.
SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT MORE IF YOU WANT.
BUT ALSO SWITCHING FROM NATURAL GAS FOR HOME HEATING AND COOKING TO ELECTRIC HOME HEATING AND COOKING IS REALLY GOOD ENVIRONMENTALLY, ET CETERA.
BUT WE'LL PROBABLY NEED TO EXPAND THE GRID TO ACCOMMODATE BOTH OF THOSE.
THE ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND ELECTRIC COOKING AND HEATING.
BUT ELECTRIFICATION COMES WITH A LOT OF EFFICIENCIES.
IT COMES WITH A LOT OF AIR QUALITY BENEFITS AND IT ALSO COMES WITH REVENUE BENEFITS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND IT ALSO, IT HAS THESE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHERE IT IMPROVES THE OVERALL ECONOMICS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SYSTEM IF WE DO IT THE RIGHT WAY.
HOWEVER, IT WILL DRIVE UP THE DEMAND FOR HOW MUCH CAPACITY WE NEED TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY AND HOW MUCH OVERALL ELECTRICITY WILL NEED TO BE MADE.
BUT ELECTRIFICATION IS A GOOD NEWS STORY, ESPECIALLY AS WE DECARBONIZE THE POWER SECTOR.
SO YOU GET LIKE A DOUBLE BENEFIT THERE.
THE THIRD STEP IS CLEAN MOLECULES.
WE SEE FOR WHATEVER PARTS OF THE ECONOMY THAT ARE HARD TO ELECTRIFY, IT'S HARD TO ELECTRIFY
[00:30:01]
PLANES OR SHIPS ACROSS THE OCEAN OR UH, HIGH TEMPERATURE INDUSTRIAL HEAT OR CHEMICALS, FABRICATION.SOMETIMES WE BE HEAVY DUTY TRUCKING, WE CAN SEE.
SO THERE ARE CERTAIN PARTS OF THE ECONOMY THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO ELECTRIFY AND MOLECULES MAKE A GOOD FIT FOR THAT.
AND THERE ARE A VARIETY OF MOLECULES WE MIGHT CONSIDER THAT ARE CLEANER THAN COAL BIO METHANE OR HYDROGEN OR HYDROGEN CARRIERS LIKE AMMONIA.
AND WE MIGHT USE THOSE MOLECULES FOR POWER GENERATION WHEN WE DON'T HAVE ELECTRICITY DIRECTLY AVAILABLE, SAY FROM WIND AND SOLAR.
AND THEN THE FOURTH STEP IS KIND OF PING UP THE REST.
SO DO YOUR BEST AS STEPS ONE, TWO, AND THREE AND THEN CLEAN UP THE REST AS STEP FOUR, WHICH IS CARBON MANAGEMENT, USING POINT SOURCE CAPTURE TO KEEP THE CO2 FROM GOING INTO THE ATMOSPHERE OR DIRECT CAPTURE TO REMOVE IT OR OTHER METHODS.
PLANTING SEA GRASS MEADOWS ON THE COAST TO TAKE CO2 OUTTA THE OCEAN, WHICH TAKES CO2 OUTTA THE ATMOSPHERE.
THERE ARE A LOT OF WAYS TO REMOVE CO2 BUT THAT TENDS TO BE PRETTY EXPENSIVE.
SO IT'S BEST TO FIRST DO YOUR BEST TO REDUCE THE MESS AND THEN YOU CAN USE CARBON MANAGEMENT TO CLEAN IT UP.
ONE OF THE TRENDS THAT'S IMPORTANT AUSTIN ENERGY TO BE AWARE OF IS WHAT'S HAPPENING IN
UH, I THINK, UH, THERE'S ALREADY BEEN SOME TALK ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING AND AUSTIN ENERGY IS GONNA BE FEELING SOME OF THE, THE SAME TRENDS, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN DEMAND FOR POWER, THAT'S GIGAWATTS AS WELL AS OVERALL CONSUMPTION AND GIGAWATT HOURS.
ANOTHER KEY TREND IN ERCOT IS TRANSMISSION CONGESTION.
THE WIRES ARE FOLD AT PEAK TIMES AND IT'S EASIER TO BUILD POWER PLANTS AND EASIER TO BUY ELECTRIC VEHICLES THAN IT IS TO BUILD THE TRANSMISSION.
SO WE'RE ENTERING OR REALLY HAVE ALREADY ENTERED A TRANSMISSION SCARCE ENVIRONMENT.
SO THAT MEANS TRANSMISSION, WHICH IS THE ABILITY TO MOVE POWER FROM SAY A WEST TEXAS WIND FARM TO AUSTIN OR A UH, SOLAR FARM, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
IF IT'S FAR AWAY, IT'S GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE, MORE VOLATILE, MORE DIFFICULT.
AND SO THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE LOCATION OF WHERE THE ENERGY IS GENERATED WILL BECOME SOMETHING THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS VERY SENSITIVE TO.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE GROWTH, IT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE.
UH, AND THERE'S A LOT OF AGREEMENT THAT ERCOT AND GOVERNOR ABBOTT, ELON MUSK AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES AGREE THAT ELECTRICITY DEMAND IS GOING UP AND SHOULD GO UP.
THAT'S GOOD ENVIRONMENTALLY IT'S ALSO GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY.
SO WE HAVE TWO CHARTS SHOW HERE.
UH, PEAK DEMAND ON THE RIGHT AND 10 AND MEGAWATTS, UH, PEAK DEMANDS GOING TO MAYBE 90,000 MEGAWATTS OR 90 GIGAWATTS IN SAY SIX YEARS OR EIGHT YEARS OR SO.
AND THEN GIGAWATT HOURS ON THE LEFT ALSO INCREASING.
SO ERCOT IS EXPECTING A LOT MORE POWER REQUIREMENTS AND A LOT MORE ENERGY, UH, GENERATION CONSUMPTION TO MEET THE LOADS FOR OIL AND GAS, ELECTRIFICATION, DATA CENTERS, ELECTRIC VEHICLES, MORE PEOPLE, MORE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND HOTTER SUMMERS.
SO THAT'S THE FUNDAMENTAL TREND OF THE REGION AND ALSO ENERGY IS CAUGHT UP IN THAT AS WELL.
LOW GROWTH IS ON THE WAY UP FOR A FEW REASONS.
I JUST MENTIONED SOME ELECTRIFICATION AND TRANSPORTATION IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES ARE ON THE RISE.
THEY'RE ALREADY 50,000 OR SO IN AUSTIN ENERGIES AREA AND THAT'LL GROW BY AN ORDER MAGNITUDE IN THE COMING DECADE OR SO.
THERE'S ALSO ELECTRIFICATION OF INDUSTRIAL LOADS.
OIL AND GAS IS ELECTRIFYING FOR EXTRACTING THE OIL AND GAS FROM THE GROUND, BUT ALSO FOR THE REFINERIES.
YOU ALSO HAVE MORE STEEL SMELTERS AND MILLS AND ALSO DATA CENTERS.
SO DATA CENTERS ARE REALLY A NEW SOURCE OF INDUSTRIAL LOAD, BUT ALSO WE MIGHT ELECTRIFY HOME HEATING AND COOK AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.
AND THERE'S JUST MORE OF US AND WE'RE GETTING ACTIVE.
AND THEN REPEATING WHAT I SAID EARLIER, THE TRANSMISSION CONGESTION WILL BE, UH, PARTICULARLY ACUTE FROST ENERGY.
IT'S ALREADY KIND OF ACUTE BUT IT WILL GET WORSE.
LET'S TAKE A SPECIFIC VIEW OF LOW GROWTH AND AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND THIS CHART SHOWS IN BLUE THE HISTORICAL GROWTH LOOKING BACKWARDS FROM 2023 AND BEFORE IN GROWTH THE, THE UH, LOAD HAS GROWN JUST BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN MORE PEOPLE IN AUSTIN AND WE HAVE MORE ELECTRIC LOADS FOR ZOOM AND VIRTUAL MEETINGS LIKE THIS.
SO WE SEE, UH, PRETTY RELIABLE GROWTH OVER THE YEARS AND DECADES.
BUT LOOKING FORWARD FROM 2024 AND BEYOND, WE HAVE PROJECTIONS CONTINUED PO POPULATION ECONOMIC GROWTH, WHICH IS THE DARK BLUE, BUT ALSO A FEW OTHER THINGS.
UH, SOME GROWTH FROM HOME, UH, HOME ELECTRIFICATION WHICH MIGHT BE HEATING AND UH, AND COOKING AND THAT KIND OF THING.
DATA CENTERS IN BLUE AND THEN LOOK AT ELECTRIC VEHICLE GENERATION OR ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING, EXCUSE ME, IN GREEN.
AND THIS IS A SCENARIO WHERE EVERYONE COMES HOME AND PLUGS IN THEIR ELECTRIC VEHICLE AT THE SAME TIME, WHICH IS KIND OF PREPOSTEROUS.
SO DON'T GET TOO ATTACHED TO THESE NUMBERS.
BUT IF EVERYBODY PLUGS IN THEIR ELECTRIC VEHICLES AT THE SAME TIME, THE PEAK DEMAND WILL GO UP BY A FACTOR OF TWO AND A HALF OR SO FROM THREE GIGAWATTS TO ALMOST EIGHT GIGAWATTS.
SO SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN PEAK DEMAND JUST FROM MORE OF US.
BUT THEN ELECTRIFYING MORE LOADS OF HOME DATA CENTER GROWTH AND ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES ARE THE BIGGEST PART OF THIS STORY AND THIS IS THE SCENARIO WHERE THERE'S NO CHARGING MANAGEMENT WHERE WE ALL PLUG IN AT THE SAME TIME.
SOMETHING ELSE ON THIS CHART IS THIS MAGENTA LINE THAT SHOWS THE GENERATION CAPACITY ACROSS ENERGY.
AUSTIN ENERGY ALREADY DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH GENERATING CAPACITY TO MEET PEAK DEMAND AND SO HAS TO GO TO THE MARKETS THROUGH A VARIETY MEANS TO BUY POWER FROM ERCOT.
THAT GENERALLY WORKS FINE IF PRICES ARE LOW, BUT PRICES CAN BE VOLATILE AND BE VERY EXPENSIVE SOMETIMES AND YOU HAVE A TRANSMISSION CONGESTION, OTHER THINGS.
SO THERE'S ALREADY A SHORTFALL SO TO SPEAK.
AND THAT MAGENTA LINE PREDICTING THE FUTURE WILL DROP.
I'LL COME BACK TO THAT IN JUST A COUPLE SLIDES AS OUR
[00:35:01]
DIFFERENT POWER PLANTS RETIRE OR AS OUR DIFFERENT POWER PLANT AGREEMENTS FOR THESE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS FOR WHEN A SOLAR FOR EXAMPLE, END WE'LL HAVE A SHORTFALL AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PEAK DEMAND AT THE TOP OF THE COLORS AND THE MAGENTA SUPPLY, THAT IS THE SHORTFALL THAT NEEDS TO BE FILLED.AND THERE ARE A VARIETY OF WAYS WE CAN DO THAT, WHICH I'LL COME TO SHORTLY.
SO THIS IS A SCENARIO WITH ELECTRIC VEHICLES THAT ARE NOT MANAGED FOR THE CHARGING, WHICH IS A STUPID WAY TO DO IT.
AND I DON'T THINK THIS WILL HAPPEN, BUT IT'S A RISK WE NEED TO BE WARY OF.
ANOTHER SCENARIO IS YOU TAKE THOSE ELECTRIC VEHICLES INSTEAD OF EVERYONE PLUGGING THEM IN AT 6:00 PM YOU CHARGE THEM AROUND THE CLOCK.
LET'S SAY WE COULD DO PERFECTLY SMOOTH ROUND THE CLOCK CHARGING.
WE KNOW HOW MANY MILES PEOPLE DRIVE, WE KNOW IT'S ABOUT A THIRD OF A KILOWATT, UH, KILOWATT HOUR PER MILE DRIVEN.
WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW MANY KILOWATT HOURS PER YEAR WE NEED AND WE UH, SORT OF GENERATE AROUND THE CLOCK.
THEN THE PEAK DEMAND GROWTH IS NOT SO SIGNIFICANT OR NOT AS SIGNIFICANT I SAY, BUT STILL GROWING FROM ABOUT THREE GIGAWATTS TO OVER FOUR GIGAWATTS.
SO STILL SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN POWER DEMAND WITH ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
IF WE HAD PERFECT ROUND THE CLOCK MANAGEMENT AND THEN THE DATA CENTERS START TO LOOK A LITTLE MORE IMPORTANT THERE.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE DATA CENTERS FOR A SECOND.
THERE'S 125 MEGAWATTS OF DATA CENTERS IN AUSTIN ALREADY AND THIS IS ANTICIPATING A QUADRUPLING OF THAT LIKE ANOTHER 500 UH, MEGAWATTS OF DATA CENTERS.
UH, THERE ARE TENS OF GIGAWATTS OR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MEGAWATTS OF DATA CENTERS COMING TO TEXAS AND HOW MANY OF THEM COME INTO THE AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE AREAS? UNKNOWN.
SOMETIMES THEY BOLT OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN 'CAUSE THEY CAN GET A CHEAPER RATE.
HOWEVER, IF FOR THE DATA CENTER WORLD, THEY'RE IN A RACE TO GET UTILITY HOOKUPS FASTER AND THEY CAN GET MORE RELIABLE IN SERVICE AND A FASTER HOOKUP IN AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO WE MIGHT SEE SOME OF THEM COMING INTO AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE AREA.
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ON THURSDAY WAS AWARDED A BILLION DOLLAR SUPERCOMPUTER FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, DOES A HUGE THING.
UT WILL HAVE THE FASTEST OPEN SCIENCE ACADEMIC RESEARCH COMPUTER IN THE WORLD, WHICH IS REALLY COOL.
IT WILL BE 30 MEGAWATTS, THAT ONE COMPUTER, THAT ONE RESEARCH COMPUTER.
SO JUST ONE DATA CENTER, ONE COMPUTER, JUST A UT WILL BE 30 MEGAWATTS.
AND WE'RE THINKING THERE'LL BE MORE THAN JUST THE RESEARCH, UH, COMPUTER AT UT.
THIS IS WHERE YOU EXPECT 10% OF YOUR ELECTRIC VEHICLES TO CHARGE AT PEAK TIMES, WHICH IS ACTUALLY WHAT ERCOT EXPECTS.
ERCOT DOESN'T EXPECT EVERYBODY PLUGS IN AT THE SAME TIME.
IT ALSO DOES NOT EXPECT ROUND THE CLOCK SMOOTH CHARGING.
IT EXPECTS ABOUT 10% OF EVS TO CHARGE AT PEAK TIMES BASED ON HISTORICAL DATA.
AND THIS GIVES US A RESULT THAT'S MORE LIKE FOUR AND A HALF GIGAWATTS OR SO.
UM, SO THAT MEANS OUR PEAK DEMAND AND ALSO ENERGY SERVICE AREA WILL GROW BY 50% OR SO IN THE COMING 16 YEARS.
SO THIS IS PROBABLY WHERE WE'LL END UP, BUT THE RISK THAT WILL BE LOWER OR MUCH HIGHER WITH AN UNMANAGED SITUATION RAISES THE IMPORTANCE OR CRITICALITY OF HAVING SMART MANAGEMENT FOR THE EV CHARGING SO THAT THE EVS ARE GOOD FOR THE GRID AS OPPOSED TO BAD FOR THE GRID.
AND HERE'S A QUESTION LIKE WILL WE ALL REALLY ACT AT THE SAME TIME WITH OUR EVS? UH, IS IT POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE ACROSS A WIDE GEOGRAPHIC AREA TO REALLY HAVE SYNCHRONOUS BEHAVIOR? AND THE THE ANSWER IS YES FOR WEATHER FOR SURE.
WE TURN ON OUR AIR CONDITIONERS AT THE SAME TIME OR WE TURN ON OUR FURNACES FOR HEATING AT THE SAME TIME, BUT WE ALSO DO IT FOR NON WEATHER THINGS AND I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU A COUPLE EXAMPLES.
UH, THE, THESE ARE KIND OF RIDICULOUS, BUT THEY DO REVEAL SOME HUMAN BEHAVIOR.
THERE'S A POPULAR SOAP OPERA IN ENGLAND ON BBC CALLED EASTENDERS AND A LOT OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WATCH IT AND WHEN IT ENDS 1.75 MILLION ELECTRIC T KETTLES ARE TURNED ON ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY.
AND EACH ONE'S A COUPLE KILOWATTS AND SO THERE'S A SURGE OF THREE GIGAWATTS, THREE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS WORTH OF POWER FOR THREE TO FIVE MINUTES.
SO THE GRID OPERATOR KNOWS AND THEY HAVE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ON STANDBY IN FRANCE AS WELL AS LIKE SOME HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS IN THE UK WHALE JUST TO DOODLES.
SO THIS IS NOT A WEATHER THING, BUT THIS IS A LOT OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE WATER AREA DOING THE EXACT SAME THING, THE EXACT SAME MOMENT.
IN AMERICA IT'S NOT TEA, IT'S THE SUPER BOWL FLUSH.
THIS IS A KNOWN PHENOMENON IN THE WASTEWATER WORLD WHERE WE ALL FLUSH OUR TOILETS AT THE SAME TIME AT COMMERCIAL BREAK.
AND THIS CREATES A WAVE OF WASTEWATER THAT, UH, ALSO THEN TRIGGERS A SURGE IN DEMAND FOR WATER FROM THE WATER RESERVOIR.
SO THIS IS NOT WEATHER RELATED, THIS IS, UH, CULTURAL ACTIVITY RELATED AND IT'S KIND OF A, A FUNNY HUMAN THING.
WE ALL HIT THE ROADS AT THE SAME TIME FOR THANKSGIVING.
SO THIS IS THE RISK FOR AUSTIN ENERGY IS THAT ELECTRIC VEHICLE OWNERS AND THERE'LL BE LIKE HALF A MILLION OR A MILLION ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN AUSTIN.
WE WILL ALL DO THE SAME THING AT THE SAME TIME.
THIS IS A PAPER FROM 2008 ABOUT ELECTRIC VEHICLES SHOWING TWO DIFFERENT WAYS TO CHARGE.
THIS IS IN CALIFORNIA, UH, FOR A DIFFERENT NUMBER OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES, IN THIS CASE PVS PLUGIN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
AND ON THE RIGHT IT SHOWS WHAT HAPPENS IF EVERYONE CHARGES AT THE SAME TIME.
IT CREATES HUGE SURGES IN DEMAND, WHICH ARE THOSE RED, BLUE AND SORT OF PINK OR MAGENTA CURVES, UM, CAUSING A REQUIREMENT TO BUILD A LOT MORE POWER PLANTS JUST TO MANAGE THE CHARGING.
BUT ON THE LEFT IS IF YOU HAVE MANAGED CHARGING WITH CHARGING OFF PEAK AND THEN YOU DO WHAT'S CALLED VALLEY FILLING, YOU HAVE THIS EXCESS CAPACITY AT NIGHT, YOU CHARGE UP AT NIGHT.
WELL ALL OF A SUDDEN THAT DOESN'T STREAM THE GRID.
IT ACTUALLY SAVES COSTS BECAUSE THE COST OF THE GRID IS AMORTIZED OVER MORE KILOWATT HOURS.
SO I OFTEN SAY THAT WHETHER ELECTRIC VEHICLES BREAK OR SAVE THE GRID DEPENDS ON WHAT TIME OF DAY YOU CHARGE THEM.
[00:40:01]
IF YOU CHARGE THEM AT THE PEAK TIME, IT'S REALLY HARD ON THE GRID.BUT IF IT'S MANAGED YOU CAN SPREAD IT AROUND THE CLOCK AND IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE GOOD FOR THE GRID AND LOWERS COSTS FOR EVERYBODY, WHICH IS REALLY A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY.
THE FORECAST OF SHORTFALL IN GENERATING CAPACITY IS REALLY SIGNIFICANT.
SO THAT'S WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER.
NEXT SLIDE AND I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT HERE.
THIS SHOWS THAT GENERATING CAPACITY IN AUSTIN ENERGY TODAY, 2,500 MEGAWATTS OR TWO AND A HALF GIGAWATTS AND YOU COULD START TO ROLL OFF DIFFERENT POWER PLANTS, UH, FAYETTE SHOWN THERE IN BLUE AND ORANGE FOR DIFFERENT TIMES IT ROLLS OFF REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS WITH FAYETTE POWER PLANT.
A LOT OF PPAS, THESE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS FOR WIND AND SOLAR THAT WERE SIGNED IN THE 10, LIKE THE TWO THOUSANDS AND 2000 TENS LIKE UH, YOU KNOW A DECADE OR SO AGO WILL ROLL OFF.
AND IF WE ALLOW 'EM TO ROLL OFF, THEN WE'LL HAVE EVEN GREATER SHORTFALL IN GENERATING CAPACITY EVEN BEYOND FAYETTE.
AND FAYETTE COULD SHUT DOWN IN 2029, WHICH IS LIKE A LOCAL PREFERENCE, BUT EVEN IF WE DON'T HAVE A LOCAL PREFERENCE TO SHUT DOWN THE COAL PLANT, THE EPA HAS SENT RULES IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AND WE'LL SEE HOW STICKY THOSE RULES ARE.
THERE ARE A VARIETY OF LAWSUITS BUT THEY SAY BASICALLY IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE YOUR COAL PLAN AFTER 2032, YOU HAVE TO ADD SCRUBBERS.
SO YOU CAN ANTICIPATE THE FAYETTE SHUTS DOWN LIKE IN 2029 OR 23RD TWO OR YOU PICK YOUR DATE.
BUT IF YOU ADD IN THE RETIREMENT OF FAYETTE AND THE ENDING DATE OF THESE SOLAR WIND PPAS, THERE'S SIGNIFICANT SHORTFALL IN SUPPLY.
AND SO WE HAVE TO FILL IN THAT DIFFERENCE TO GET RESOURCE ADEQUACY TO HAVE ENOUGH SUPPLY TO MATCH DEMAND WITHOUT HAVING TO BUY IT ALL FROM ERCOT.
'CAUSE THAT CAN GET REALLY PRICEY AND THAT DECLINE SETS UP SOME OF THE THAT NEED.
WE HAVE SOME OPTIONS TO MEET OUR RESOURCE ADEQUATE NEEDS MEANING TO HAVE ENOUGH POWER GENERATION CAPACITY.
WE HAVE SOME OPTIONS THAT ARE NOT POWER PLANTS LIKE ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
I ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THAT BEFORE.
THAT IS THE CHEAPEST BEST THING TO DO.
THAT REDUCES THE NEED FOR POWER GENERATION AND CONSUMPTION.
BUT IT ALSO HAS THIS UH, EQUITY AND SAFETY ASPECT, WHICH IS IF THE POWER GOES OUT DURING A COLD SNAP OR HEAT WAVE, YOUR HOME WILL STAY AT A SAFE FOR A MORE COMFORTABLE TEMPERATURE FOR LONGER.
AND SO EFFICIENCY HAS OTHER BENEFITS BEYOND JUST REDUCING THE NEED FOR MORE ELECTRICITY DEMAND.
UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALREADY ASKED BOB KAHN ABOUT THAT.
THAT'S, THAT'S A BIG OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE FOR GRID BALANCING, TURNING A LOAD OFF IS JUST AS USEFUL AS TURNING POWER PLANTS ON.
AND THERE ARE A VARIETY OF NON-ESSENTIAL LOADS SUCH AS HOT WATER HEATERS OR COOL PUMPS.
YOU CAN TURN OFF HERE AND THERE TO SPA TO SPARE SOME POWER DEMAND.
AND THEN THERE ARE ALSO ESSENTIAL LOADS, HEATING COOLING YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO TURN OFF FOR GOOD BUT MAYBE YOU CAN ROTATE.
AND ALSO ENERGY'S DONE THAT WITH A POWER PARTNERS PROGRAM FOR QUITE SOME TIME WITH TENS OF MEGAWATTS OF DEMAND RESPONSE CAPABILITY.
REALLY ONE OF THE LEADERS ON THAT.
I THINK THIS IS A BIG OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND, REQUIRE SOME NEW DEVICES AND SOME SMART COMMUNICATIONS AND OTHER THINGS BUT THAT MIGHT BE CHEAPER THAN BUILDING NEW POWER PLANT.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE BATTERIES AND OTHER STORAGE SYSTEMS AND YOU'VE HEARD BOB CON MENTION THAT AS WELL AND BATTERIES ARE REALLY HELPFUL FOR THAT SOLAR WIND GAP THAT UM, THAT BOB TALKED ABOUT WHERE SOLAR IS DECLINING, WHEN HAS IT PICKED UP YET? SO IT'S LIKE A TWO TO FOUR HOUR PERIOD IN THE EVENINGS WHERE IT'S STILL HOT BUT YOU DON'T HAVE RENEWABLES AVAILABLE NECESSARILY.
BATTERIES ARE GREAT FOR THAT BUT BATTERIES ARE NOT GREAT FOR A FIVE OR SEVEN OR 12 DAY PERIOD WHERE IT'S NEITHER WINDY, NO SUNNY.
SO BATTERIES ARE REALLY GREAT FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES BUT FOR LONGER DURATION STORAGE YOU NEED A DIFFERENT KIND OF BATTERY OR A DIFFERENT KIND OF STORAGE TECHNIQUE OR A DIFFERENT GENERATOR.
THERE ARE ALSO RENEWABLE OPTIONS TO MEET OUR RESOURCE ADEQUACY NEEDS.
I THINK THE FIRST PRIORITY AND WE'RE NOT REALLY DONE WITH OUR RECOMMENDATIONS SO IT'S SO PRELIMINARY, BUT THIS IS WHERE WE'RE LEANING.
I THINK IT MAKES SENSE TO RENEW THE EXISTING PPAS.
THOSE PPAS FOR SOLAR AND WIND ARE OUTSIDE OF THE SERVICE AREA AND IT WOULD BE GOOD TO EITHER RENEW OR EXTEND THOSE AND IT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE AS THOSE ARE RENEWED TO REPOWER THE WIND TURBINES FOR EXAMPLE, OR REPLACE THE SOLAR PANELS.
SO AT THE SAME SITE YOU ACTUALLY GET MORE POWER OUT AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT BOOST MIGHT BE 10 OR 20% BUT IT MIGHT BE GOOD TO RENEW THOSE AND GET MORE POWER OUT.
ONE THING I'LL POINT OUT THOUGH IS A REASON WHY PPAS WERE SO ATTRACTIVE IN THE 2,002,000 TENS IS BECAUSE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES WEREN'T ABLE TO ACCESS THE TAX CREDITS, THE INVESTMENT TAX CREDITS OR PRODUCTION TAX CREDITS THAT SUPPORTED SOLAR AND WIND.
BUT WITH THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT THAT PASSED IN 2022, THERE IS TAX TRANSFERABILITY.
SO LOSS ENERGY NOW CAN COLLECT THOSE TAX CREDITS WHICH MIGHT MAKE THEM WANT TO BUILD THEIR OWN WAY IN SOLAR FARMS RATHER THAN DO PPAS.
AND THE OTHER CHALLENGE OF PPAS, EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN REPOWER AND THE SITES ARE ALREADY THERE AND WE ALREADY KNOW THOSE CUSTOMERS OR THOSE PROVIDERS, IT DOES NOT ALLEVIATE THE CONCERNS ABOUT TRANSMISSION CONGESTION.
THOSE TRANSMISSION LINES ARE GETTING MORE CONGESTED.
UH, WE COULD ALSO ADD NEW SOLAR IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE AREA.
THERE IS NOT A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR WIND IN AUSTIN BUT THERE IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR SOLAR AND I WOULD RECOMMEND PRIORITIZING COMMERCIAL LOCATIONS, PARKING LOTS, WAREHOUSES, UH, THINGS LIKE THAT AS OPPOSED TO RESIDENTIAL ROOFTOP.
RESIDENTIAL ROOFTOP IS, I'VE GOT A RESIDENTIAL ROOFTOP ARRAY.
I LOVE RESIDENTIAL SOLAR BUT IT'S THE MOST EXPENSIVE KIND BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF COMMERCIAL LOCATIONS.
I THINK LIKE ESPECIALLY EVERY PARKING LOT SHOULD HAVE SOLAR AND THAT'S WHAT WE CAN DO IN THE SERVICE AREA AND MAYBE WE CAN EXPAND SOLAR OUT OF THE SERVICE AREA BUT TRY TO FIND LOCATIONS THAT DON'T HAVE AS MUCH TRANSMISSION CONGESTION.
AND THEN THERE ARE THE DISPATCHABLE SOURCES.
SO WHEN IN SOLAR YOU DO NOT DISPATCH SO EASILY YOU TAKE THEM
[00:45:01]
WHEN WEATHER PROVIDES 'EM TO YOU, BUT THERE ARE THINGS YOU CAN TURN ON AND OFF, BUT WE WANT THEM TO BE LOW CARBON SO WE NEED UH, CARBON FREE DISPATCHABLE SOURCES IN WHATEVER WE HAVE OF THAT IN THE FUEL MIX PROBABLY WILL HAVE A LOW CAPACITY FACTOR, MEANING IT WILL NOT BE USED MUCH, IT WOULD BE USED WIN-WIN AND SOLAR UNAVAILABLE FOR EXAMPLE.'CAUSE WIND AND SOLAR ARE THE CHEAPEST AND CLEANEST IF YOU HAVE THEM.
BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE THEM YOU MIGHT NEED SOMETHING ELSE.
THERE ARE SOME NEAR TERM OPTIONS AND IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT CLEAN, IT COULD BE GAS, BUT YOU WOULD EITHER NEED TO UH, REMOVE THE CARBON A NACODOCHES AT THE BIOMASS PLANT OR SOMEWHERE ELSE.
OR YOU COULD DO GAS WITH CARBON CAPTURE ON SITE OR YOU COULD DO GAS WITH FLEXIBLE FUEL, WHICH INCLUDES LIKE BLENDING WITH HYDROGEN OR BIO METHANE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND BIO METHANE IS CLEAN AND WE HAVE SOME OF OUR OWN BIO METHANE FROM THE LANDFILLS AND FROM WASTEWATER TREATMENT.
AND THEN THERE ARE FUTURE FUELS.
THEY DON'T REALLY, I DUNNO IF THEY REALLY CALL 'EM FUTURE FUELS OR NOT, BUT HYDROGEN'S BECOMING MORE POPULAR.
THERE ARE HYDROGEN TURBINES AVAILABLE.
AMMONIA WHICH IS A, A HYDROGEN CARRIER THAT DOES NOT MISS A-C-O-T-C O2.
ALSO FAYETTE POWER PLANT BUT WITH WOOD PELLETS OR THINGS LIKE THAT LIKE THEY DID IN THE UK WHERE THEY QUIT USING COAL BUT THEY USE WOOD INSTEAD OR ADD CARBON CAPTURE OR DO BOTH.
AND IF YOU HAVE WOOD WITH CARBON CAPTURE, IT'S ACTUALLY CARBON NEGATIVE, WHICH IS PRETTY INTERESTING.
LONGER TERM WE COULD DO GEOTHERMAL.
AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE AREA IS NOT THE BEST GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE SITE.
THERE ARE OTHER PLACES IN TEXAS WHERE IT MAKES MORE SENSE.
MOST GEOTHERMAL TENDS TO BE IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST OR HAWAII OR ICELAND OR INDONESIA WHERE YOU HAVE VOLCANOES NEARBY.
SO WE CAN GET THERE EVENTUALLY, BUT THAT DOESN'T SEEM NEAR AT HAND.
NUCLEAR FISSION IS JUST EXPENSIVE AND SLOW TO BUILD AND HARD TO DO IN AUSTIN, BUT MAYBE THERE COULD BE SOME PLUS UP AT THE SOUTH TEXAS NUCLEAR PROJECT SITE ON THE COAST EITHER WITH UH, TRADITIONAL LARGE FISSION REACTORS, EITHER GENERATION THREE OR GENERATION FOUR OR SMALL MODULAR REACTORS AND NUCLEAR FUSION'S.
VERY EXCITING BUT VERY TECHNICALLY, UH, IMMATURE AND HARD TO ESTIMATE THE COST.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE OPTIONS WE CAN CHOOSE FROM.
JUST SOME SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR OS ENERGY.
I THINK I HAVE TWO SLIDES LEFT.
UM, BUILDING DISPATCHABLE POWER WITHIN THE SERVICE ZONE REDUCES EXPOSURE TO SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL RISK FROM JUST PRICE VOLATILITY IN THE GRID AS A WHOLE TRANSMISSION CONGESTION PRICING AND IMPROVES LOCAL RELIABILITY, WHICH IS IMPORTANT.
UM, THIS IS MORE OF A TECHNICAL ISSUE.
HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT IT MORE IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ROTATING MACHINES LIKE THE THERMAL POWER PLANTS.
THEY CAN BE DIRTY BUT THEY'RE REALLY VALUABLE FOR GRID RELIABILITY AND VOLTAGE AND FREQUENCY CONTROL.
AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND.
THE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS STILL HAVE A PARTIAL PLATE BUT MIGHT BE, UH, LESS DESIRABLE BECAUSE OF THE NEW TAX RULES.
AND MUNICIPAL UTILITIES ARE UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO ADDRESS LOW GROWTH BECAUSE OF THEIR ABILITY TO BUILD DIFFERENT THINGS ON THEIR OWN.
SO THERE ARE A COUPLE THINGS THAT ARE PRETTY INTERESTING FOR US.
AND THEN THERE ARE OF COURSE EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS WE NEED.
KEEP IN MIND, TRADITIONALLY EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS HAVE BEEN AROUND FENCE LINE POLLUTION, PEOPLE LIVING NEAR THE POWER PLANT, BUT THERE ARE OTHER THINGS AROUND, UH, SITE POLLUTION OR LIGHT POLLUTION OR NOISE.
OTHER EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS IS WHO GETS THE JOBS, WHAT POPULATIONS GET TO WORK AND THE NEW CLEAN STUFF.
BUT ALSO KEEPING COSTS LOW AND KEEPING ELECTRICITY RELIABLE ARE VERY IMPORTANT FOR EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE AN OUTAGE EVENT, IT'S THE POORER MARGINALIZED POPULATIONS THAT SUFFER THE MOST HISTORICALLY.
AND IF THE COSTS ARE TOO HIGH, THEN PEOPLE WILL GET PRICED OUT OF THE MARKET.
ONE OTHER SUBTLE NUANCE BUT IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL POINT IS BASICALLY SOME RESEARCH WE DID ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO OUTTA MY GROUP AT UT.
AND UH, THIS CONFUSES PEOPLE SOMETIMES.
SO HAPPY TO COME BACK TO IT IF YOU WANT, BUT USING ELECTRICITY TO DISPLACE GASOLINE OR DIESEL VEHICLES OR USING ELECTRICITY TO DISPLACE NATURAL GAS FOR HOME HEATING, COOKING HAS VERY GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS.
EVEN IF YOU HAVE COAL-FIRED ELECTRICITY, A COAL-FIRED ELECTRIC CAR IS CLEANER THAN A GASOLINE CAR.
AND THIS IS RELEVANT TO FAYETTE, UM, BECAUSE, UH, FAYETTE TO CHARGE ELECTRIC VEHICLES ACTUALLY IS ENVIRONMENTALLY BENEFICIAL, BENEFICIAL COMPARED TO GASOLINE OR DIESEL ENGINES.
THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES ARE DIRTY AND THAT POLLUTION IS DURING THE DAY IN A POPULATED URBAN AREA AT GROUND LEVEL, WHICH MEANS A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE BREATHING IN THAT POLLUTION.
BUT ELECTRIC VEHICLES, IF THEY'RE CHARGED AT NIGHT IN RURAL AREAS, THAT POLLUTION'S EMITTED OUT OF A SMOKESTACK THAT'S HUNDREDS OF FEET TALL.
AND THAT BECOMES IMPORTANT BECAUSE IF IT'S REALLY HIGH UP, IT REALLY SPREADS OUT IN THE ATMOSPHERE.
PEOPLE AREN'T BREATHING IT IN.
SO IF FEWER PEOPLE BREATHE IT IN, IT'S AT NIGHT.
SO THERE ARE NOT SUNLIGHT AROUND AND SUNLIGHT'S AN IMPORTANT INGREDIENT FOR PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG.
SO IF YOU EMIT YOUR POLLUTION UP HIGH AT NIGHT IN A RURAL AREA RATHER THAN DOWN LOW IN THE DAYTIME IN AN URBAN AREA, THEN YOU GET REALLY GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS GOING FROM THE TAILPIPE TO THE SMOKESTACK.
AND THAT THAT'S, I MEAN, KEEPING IN MIND.
AND IF YOU GO IN YOUR POWER PLANTS LIKE NATURAL GAS OR WIND, SOLAR, YOU GET EVEN MORE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT.
AND THEN THIS IS MY LAST SLIDE.
I BELIEVE SUMMARY, UH, UTILITIES AND INCLUDING OR MAYBE ESPECIALLY AUSTIN ENERGY NEED TO PREPARE FOR AN ERA OF UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH IN ELECTRICITY.
WE HAVE HAD NOT GROWTH, WE HAVE NOT HAD GROWTH LIKE THIS IN THE POWER SECTOR FOR AT LEAST LIKE 90 YEARS, BUT IT MIGHT BE EVER, IT MIGHT BE THE FASTEST RATE OF GROWTH THAT WE'LL HAVE EVER SEEN.
AND SO AUSTIN ENERGY SHOULD EXPEDITE THE DEPLOYMENT OF A VARIETY OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND OPTIONS
[00:50:01]
TO ENSURE RESOURCE ADEQUACY WHILE REDUCING EXPOSURE TO OUTER SERVICE AREA PRICE VOLATILITY AND TRANSMISSION CONGESTION.AND THERE ARE A VARIETY OF OPTIONS FOR HOW YOU MIGHT GENERATE POWER OR AVOID POWER USE OR DO DEMAND RESPONSE.
AND UH, IF WE DO IT THE RIGHT WAY WITH AN UPDATED DIVERSIFIED FUEL MIX PLUS ELECTRIFICATION, WE WILL REDUCE AIR POLLUTION IN AUSTIN WHILE IMPROVING EQUITY AND IMPROVING FINANCIAL HEALTH OF THE CITY AND THE UTILITY BECAUSE INSTEAD OF SENDING MONEY OUT OF THE AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE AREA TO BUY GASOLINE, WE'LL BE BUYING ELECTRICITY HERE AT HOME.
AND THEN MY FINAL COMMENT IS, THE KEY LENS THROUGH WHICH ENERGY OPTIONS SHOULD BE VIEWED IS WITH THE LENS OF TRADEOFFS.
THERE'S NO OPTION THAT'S ALL BAD OR ALL GOOD.
THEY ALL HAVE SOME BENEFIT OR DIS BENEFIT, AND WE NEED TO OPTIMIZE THAT COMPLEX MIX.
AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SPEAK SO LONG.
THAT IS I'LL, I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS OR PROVIDE CLARIFICATIONS.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET HIS, UM, VISUAL UP ON THE SCREEN WHEN WE REMOVE THE THERE YOU ARE.
THIS HAS BEEN REALLY INFORMATIVE.
I JUST WANNA NOTE THAT THE MAYOR HAS JOINED US FOR THE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING HERE.
WEER HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU AND THEN WE'LL SEE WHAT OTHER QUESTIONS ARE ON THE DAIS.
COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, IT'S YOUR SLIDE 25, YOU MENTIONED REPOWERING, AND THEN ALSO ROTATING MACHINES.
I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN EFFICIENCIES AND THE WAYS TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED AND IMPROVED.
THAT HELPS US PUSH DOWN THE COST OF TECHNOLOGY, UH, PROVIDING THE SERVICE DOWN OR AT LEAST HOLDING THE LINE ON THE COST.
YEAH, SO IF YOU THINK OF LIKE, UH, REPOWERING, SO IF YOU HAVE A WIND FARM, IT'S GOT THE TOWER AND THEN THE TURBINE IS AT THE TOP.
AND YOU MIGHT NOT NEED TO REPLACE THE TOWER 'CAUSE THE TOWER IS STRUCTURALLY SOUND, BUT THERE ARE NEW WIND TURBINE, THEY'RE CALLED CELS AND GENERATORS UP THERE, YOU CAN REPLACE THE TOP, THE BLADES, EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND WITH THE SAME FOOTPRINT OF THAT TOWER, YOU CAN GET MORE POWER OUT OF THAT TOWER.
SO, AND THOSE WIND TURBINES LAST 20 OR 25 YEARS OR SO, BUT THE TOWER LASTS LONGER.
SO SOMETIMES YOU COULD JUST ADD NEW OR BETTER EQUIPMENT AND GET A LITTLE MORE, UM, POWER OUTTA THE SAME WIND FARM, SAME NUMBER TURBINES, THAT KIND OF THING.
AND I'M HEARING, UH, DISCUSSION, I THINK LOST ENERGY STAFF WILL, WILL KNOW A LOT MORE THAN I WILL ON THIS, BUT IT, I'M HEARING THAT IF YOU REPLACE SOLAR PANELS WITH THE SAME SIZE AND FOOTPRINT, YOU'RE GETTING MORE POWER OUT.
THERE'RE JUST A LITTLE MORE EFFICIENT NOW THAN SAY 10 YEARS AGO.
AND THERE'S A RECENT EXAMPLE OF A HAILSTORM THAT DAMAGED A LOT OF SOLAR PANELS IN WEST TEXAS, WEST OF AUSTIN.
AND THE DAMAGED PANELS WERE REPLACED WITH NEW PANELS.
THEY'RE KIND OF OFF THE SHELF PARKS NOW.
SO YOU CAN QUICKLY REPLACE THE DAMAGE PANELS AND THE NEW PANELS HAD A MORE PERFORMANCE AND MORE OUTPUT.
SO MAYBE THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THE EARLY WIND OF SOLAR FARMS BUILT IN THE TWO THOUSANDS, 2000 TENS, THERE'S JUST NEWER TECHNOLOGY.
SO THAT'S EXCITING TO ME THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO NECESSARILY BUILD A, A BIGGER WIND FARM OF SOLAR FARM OR A NEW WIND FARM, OF SOLAR FARM.
USE EXISTING FOOTPRINT TO GET MORE POWER OUT.
DID THAT BEFORE I GO ON WORD JET MACHINES, DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT REPOWERING? YEAH, IT, IT DOES.
AND I ESPECIALLY LIKE THE FACT THAT YOU ARE UPGRADING OR, UH, REPLACING WITH NEWER, MORE EFFICIENT PARTS SO THAT YOU'RE NOT REPLACING THE ENTIRETY, FOR EXAMPLE, OF THE TOWER AS YOU POINT OUT.
AND I MEAN, YOU ALREADY HAVE SUFFERED THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF THE TOWER.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE NEW FOOTPRINT, RIGHT.
NEW ENVIRONMENT AND ALL SYNERGIES, EXPERTS WILL KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW MUCH MORE POWER YOU CAN GET OUTTA THAT.
SO THAT'S REALLY SOMETHING I THINK IT'S WORTH LOOKING INTO AS, AS BPAS ROLL OFF WITH ROTATING MACHINES, BECAUSE WE HAVE ALTERNATING CURRENT IN THE POWER SYSTEM, WE, WE HAVE THESE SIGN WAVES OF POWER THAT GO OVER THE LINES.
YOU HAVE TO MAINTAIN THE FREQUENCY OF THE ELECTRICITY AT 60 HERTZ, UM, SO THAT, THAT SIGN WAVES MOVING AT 60 TIMES PER SECOND.
AND IF THAT FREQUENCY GETS TOO HIGHER, TOO LOW, IT CREATES PROBLEMS FOR THE GRID.
THIS HAPPENED DURING WINTER STORM YEAR IN FEBRUARY, 2021.
YOU NEED TO MAINTAIN THE FREQUENCY AND IF YOU HAVE TOO FEW POWER PLANTS ONLINE, THEN THE FREQUENCY CAN SAG AND IT STARTS TO BLOW UP EQUIPMENT OR DAMAGE EQUIPMENT OR JUST CREATE THIS CASCADING OUTAGE.
SO FREQUENCY MAINTENANCE IS VERY IMPORTANT AND ONE WAY YOU CAN DO THAT IS WITH ROTATIONAL INERTIA.
YOU HAVE THESE ROTATING MACHINES THAT HELP YOU GENERATE THE FREQUENCIES YOU NEED TO MAINTAIN THE VOLTAGE.
THIS IS ALL DEEP IN THE WORLD OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING.
SO I'M ALREADY OVER MY SKIS ON WHAT I KNOW.
BUT IF YOU HAVE ROTATING MACHINES LIKE TURBINES AND SHAFTS AND GENERATORS AND SPINNING MAGNETS, YOU COULD HELP PROP UP THE FREQUENCY AS A WAY TO THINK ABOUT IT.
AND ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF COAL PLANTS OR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS OR NATURAL GAS POWER PLANTS IS THEY HAVE THESE ROTATING THERMAL THERMAL SYSTEMS, THESE ROTATING MASSES OF TURBINES AND GENERATORS AND UH, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT HELP MAINTAIN THE FREQUENCY.
AND SO IT'D BE GREAT IF WE COULD GET THAT FREQUENCY BENEFIT FROM SAY, THE GAS POWER PLANT WITHOUT THE EMISSIONS.
AND YOU CAN DO THAT WITH SOMETHING CALLED SYNCHRONOUS CONDENSERS WHERE IT'S REALLY THERE JUST TO SPIN THE MASS FLYWHEELS AND OTHER THINGS CAN THAT AS WELL.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, THEY ALREADY HAVE A MARKET FOR IN THE UK.
IRELAND IS INSTALLED SOME SYNCHRONOUS CONDENSERS.
THE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO ROTATE, GET ROTATING MACHINE TO HELP PROP UP THE FREQUENCY.
AND THEN MAYBE IF YOU HAD A NATURAL GAS POWER PLANT, YOU COULD ALSO GET POWER OUT OF IT IF YOU WANT, IF WIND AND SOLAR ARE NOT AVAILABLE.
AND THE REASON WHY THIS IS BECOMING MORE IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE,
[00:55:01]
UH, THE SOLAR PANELS DO NOT ROTATE.THEY DON'T GENERATE ROTATIONAL INERTIA.
THEY CAN GIVE SOME WHAT'S CALLED SYNTHETIC INERTIA, BUT IT'S NOT NEARLY AS MUCH AS SAY A ROTATING TURBINE MIGHT GIVE.
AND WIND TURBINES THOUGH THEY ROTATE, ARE CALLED ASYNCHRONOUS.
THEY'RE NOT CONNECTED TO THE GRID IN THAT WAY WHERE THEY PROP UP THE INERTIA.
SO ROTATING MACHINES ARE PRETTY USEFUL AND, AND WE BUILT UP OUR GRID BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT, THAT THEY WOULD ALWAYS BE THERE.
AND SO AS WE SHUT OFF THE ROTATING MACHINES FROM COAL PLANTS, FOR EXAMPLE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T UNDERMINE THE ABILITY OF THE GRID TO STAY STABLE.
SO I, I THINK I UNDERSTAND THIS CONCEPT.
IF WE WERE TO HAVE HAD ROTATING MACHINES DURING URI, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE HAD TO SHUT DOWN THE DI THE CIRCUITS ACROSS THE STATE BECAUSE THERE WAS A CONCERN ABOUT CRATERING THE SYSTEM, IS THAT AN INSTANCE WHERE THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN USEFUL OR WOULD THAT NOT HAVE APPLIED AT ALL? IT IT WOULD'VE APPLIED EITHER.
IT WOULD'VE BEEN USEFUL TO HAVE THINGS GIVING US MORE INERTIA.
UM, IT WOULD NOT HAVE SOLVED THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM THAT TWO THROUGH POWER PLANTS WERE WORKING.
SO IT DOESN'T, DOESN'T GIVE YOU MORE POWER, BUT IT DOES MAINTAIN THE FREQUENCY.
SO WHAT IT WOULD'VE DONE IS REDUCE THE RISK OF A TOTAL SYSTEM WIDE BLACKOUT AND WE GOT WITHIN FOUR AND A HALF MINUTES WHERE WE WOULD'VE BEEN ON THE EDGE AND THAT WOULD'VE MADE THOSE RISKS A LITTLE BIT LESS.
SO IT JUST GIVES THE OPERATORS A FEW MORE TOOLS TO HELP, UM, MANAGE THE RISK AND ROTATE THINGS AROUND RATHER THAN JUST TURNING OFF LOADS.
THE WAY THEY DID IS JUST TURN OFF FIELD A A NEIGHBORHOOD, TURN OFF A CITY, JUST KEEP TURNING OFF LOAD.
AND IF YOU HAD THOSE SEQUENCE CONDENSERS, MAYBE YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHED QUITE AS MUCH LOAD.
SO IT GIVES GIVES YOU A LITTLE MORE OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY AND PRECISION.
BUT IT WOULD NOT HAVE SOLVED THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM WITH NOT HAVING THAT POWER PLANTS.
BUT IT WOULD'VE BEEN HELPFUL, I WOULD SAY.
AND THEN THAT WOULD ALSO HELP US IF WE ARE LOOKING AT THE PROSPECT, FOR EXAMPLE, OF BROWNOUTS IN THE SUMMERTIME.
I THINK, AND I THINK WE'RE WHERE I REALLY THINK IT'D BE HELPFUL AND, AND IN, I'M NOT SURE IF, GET ON MY WORDS RIGHT, IF WE HAVE A LOT OF SOLAR IN AUSTIN MM-HMM
THEN WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT FREQUENCY CONTROL WITHIN THE AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE AREA MIGHT HELP WITH THAT.
AND, AND REALLY THERE ARE OTHER EXPERTS AT AUSTIN ENERGY THAT CAN ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS MORE PRECISELY THAN I CAN, BUT IT'S JUST ONE MORE TOOL IN OUR TOOLBOX THE WAY I THINK ABOUT IT ALONG WITH BATTERIES AND ROOFTOP SOLAR AND DEMAND RESPONSE AND THAT KIND OF THING.
YOU MENTIONED THAT IT'S REALLY THE GASOLINE POWERED VEHICLES ON THE ROAD DURING THE DAY THAT ARE CREATING THE LOAD OR, OR THE EMISSIONS THAT ARE SO DANGEROUS AND, UM, IN FACT THAT THOSE EMISSIONS ARE MORE TOXIC AND MORE DANGEROUS THAN THE EMISSIONS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF, FOR EXAMPLE, FAYETTE.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE? PLEASE? CORRECT.
AND UH, AND I'M AN AUSTIN NATIVE, SO I'VE SEEN THE AIR QUALITY CHANGE OVER MY DECADES IN AUSTIN.
AND THE, THE BROWN CLOUD OF THE HAYES IN AUSTIN IS PRIMARILY AN AUTOMOBILE DRIVEN EVENT.
SO IT'S EITHER THE GASOLINE, UH, EMISSIONS FROM THE TAILPIPES OF CARS OR THE DIESEL EMISSIONS FROM TRUCKS, SAY.
IT ALSO CAN BE, IF EVERYONE TURNS ON THEIR GAS FURNACES AT THE SAME TIME THE GAS FURNACES CONTRIBUTE.
AND IT COULD BE THE GAS POWER PLANTS, BUT THE GAS POWER PLANTS ARE ON THE EASTERN EDGE OF TOWN.
AND SO THE, THE, THE POLLUTION IS NOT IN THE HEART OF THE TOWN THE WAY THE CARS ARE.
SO THE, THE POWER IN FAYETTE, ESPECIALLY AS FAR AWAY FROM AUSTIN, THE TAILPIPES ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF AUSTIN.
AND SO THEY'RE THE BIGGEST SOURCE OF OUR AIR QUALITY CONCERNS IN AUSTIN RIGHT NOW.
NOW, MAYBE MANY DECADES AGO WHEN WE DID HAVE A POWER PLANT RIGHT IN THE HEART OF THE CITY THAT WAS OPERATING THAT WAY HAVE BEEN A BIGGER SOURCE.
BUT TAILPIPES ARE OUR BIGGEST AIR QUALITY PROBLEM IN AUSTIN.
AND GOING FROM TAILPIPES TO SMOKESTACKS FOR THOSE ELECTRIC VEHICLES WOULD HAVE DISTINCT AIR QUALITY BENEFITS IN THE CITY.
AND I'M THINKING WE WOULD HAVE OZONE BENEFITS AS WELL.
WE HAVE THESE OZONE ACTION DAYS AND THAT KIND OF THING.
SO GETTING THE TAILPIPES OUT WOULD BE REALLY GOOD.
SO THAT REALLY PUTS THE EMPHASIS ON OUR, ON THE CARS, ON THE GAS POWERED CARS.
I'M NOT AT ALL, UM, JUST IN CASE ANYBODY'S WORRIED, I'M NOT AT ALL, UH, SUGGESTING THAT WE SHOULD NOT CONTINUE TO PROCEED WITH CLOSING DOWN FAYETTE.
AND I KNOW THAT THE, UH, FEDS ARE REQUIRING THEM TO HAVE SCRUBBERS BY 2032.
THIS IS SIMPLY TO MAGNIFY THE CONCERN ABOUT SHIFTING FROM, UH, GAS POWERED VEHICLES TO HOPEFULLY ELECTRIC POWERED ONES.
UM, I HAVE TWO MORE QUESTIONS.
WHAT WOULD MANAGING EV CHARGING ACROSS THE CITY OR COUNTY LOOK LIKE? AND UH, LIKE WHAT SORT OF A PROGRAM OR RECOMMENDATION MIGHT YOU HAVE? AND, AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO NOTE, I GUESS THIS ISN'T A QUESTION, IT WAS GOOD INFORMATION ON THE POSSIBILITIES OF GEOTHERMAL.
I HAD WONDERED ABOUT WHETHER THE AUSTIN AREA WOULD BE A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR THAT AND IT SOUNDS LIKE IT MIGHT BE A HEAVIER LIFT OR INVOLVE MORE COST THAN IF WE WERE SAY, LOCATED IN A DIFFERENT PART OF THE COUNTRY OR THE STATE EVEN.
SO WE, SO LEMME TALK ABOUT GEOTHERMAL FIRST AND COME LET TO
[01:00:01]
VEHICLES.GEOTHERMAL IS AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
IT'S JUST A MATTER OF HOW DEEP YOU HAVE TO DRILL FOR IT.
AND IN AUSTIN WE'D HAVE TO DRILL PRETTY DEEP THROUGH A LOT OF ROCK.
SO IT WOULD JUST BE MORE EXPENSIVE.
AND SO PROBABLY WE SHOULD LET THE GEOTHERMAL DEVELOPERS FIGURE OUT THE TECHNOLOGY A LITTLE BIT BETTER IN NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA.
AND THEN AS IT GETS CHEAPER, IT BECOMES A BETTER OPTION FOR US.
SO IT, IT'S NOT AN IMPOSSIBLE OPTION, IT'S PRETTY EXPENSIVE RIGHT NOW, BUT 10 OR 20 YEARS FROM NOW MIGHT BE VERY AFFORDABLE ACTUALLY BECAUSE DRILLING COSTS WILL GO DOWN AND THE, UH, ABILITY TO KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THE HEAT IS WILL IMPROVE.
SO IT IS AN OPTION FOR US, JUST NOT IMMEDIATELY I WOULD SAY, OR JUST LOOKS TOO EXPENSIVE TO MY EYE COMPARED TO SAY SOLAR OR OTHER FEES WE COULD DO IN TERMS OF SMART CHARGING MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
UH, I MEAN I THINK THERE ARE A VARIETY OF WAYS TO DO IT IN ENGLAND, BUT THEY DON'T, UH, MANAGE THINGS LIKE THAT IN A SMART WAY.
THEY JUST SAY IF YOU WANT TO CHARGE YOUR ELECTRIC VEHICLE BEFORE 10:00 PM IT'S GONNA BE SUPER EXPENSIVE AND IF YOU CHARGE IT AFTER 10:00 PM IT'LL BE CHEAPER.
AND PEOPLE FIGURE OUT PRETTY QUICKLY, OKAY, I WON'T PLUG IT IN UNTIL 10:00 PM AND SO WE COULD JUST USE PRICES OR THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, THERE COULD BE SMART CIRCUITS WHERE YOU PLUG IT IN RIGHT WHEN YOU GO HOME, BUT YOUR CHARGER OR YOUR CIRCUIT IS CONNECTED IN A PROGRAM MAYBE WITH LOST ENERGY OR SOMEONE ELSE WHERE IT JUST DOESN'T START THE CHARGING UNTIL 10:00 PM OR MIDNIGHT OR WHENEVER THE EXCESS ELECTRICITY IS AVAILABLE, EVEN THOUGH YOU MIGHT PLUG IT IN.
'CAUSE IT MIGHT BE I PLUG IN, I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK OUT IN MY SLIPPERS AT 10:00 PM TO PLUG IN MY CAR OR SOMETHING.
SO IT COULD BE IT'S DONE BY ME, THE CHARGING, I JUST WAIT TO PLUG IT IN OR THERE'S A SMART CONTROL THAT WILL DO THAT FOR ME.
AND I THINK THAT WILL BE REALLY IMPORTANT AS TIME GOES ON.
AND THERE ARE SMART CHARGING CAPABILITIES.
THE CHARGERS SOMETIMES HAVE THE CAPACITY, THERE ARE REMOTE CONTROL CAPACITY CAPABILITIES.
MAYBE COULD BE LIKE THE POWER PARTNERS PROGRAM WHERE OFF ENERGY CAN REMOTELY DIAL AIR MACHINE UP AND DOWN, SAY MAYBE WE GIVE THEM THE SAME KIND OF CONTROL FOR OUR ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN EXCHANGE FOR A BETTER RATE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, OR AN EXCHANGE FOR THE CHARGER ITSELF.
BUT THEN IF YOU GET TO SMART CHARGING, THERE'S THIS OTHER BENEFIT, NOT ONLY WILL YOU REDUCE THE STRAIN ON THE PEAK DEMAND, BUT IF WE WIRE OUR SYSTEMS THE RIGHT WAY, IF THERE IS AN OUTAGE WHICH WE DON'T WANT, THOSE CARS CAN THEN BACK UP THE HOUSES OR BUSINESSES.
MAYBE THE POWER FLOWS THE OTHER WAY.
SO IT MIGHT NOT BE JUST SMART CHARGING, IT MIGHT BE SMART DISCHARGING.
AND I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ALL THE TOOLS IN HAND IN A REALLY EASY WAY TODAY, BUT I THINK THEY'RE COMING AND I I, I SEE MORE AND MORE OF THAT HAPPENING ON FORD WITH THEIR FORD F-150 LIGHTNING TRUCK ALREADY KINDA ADVERTISED, USE OUR TRUCK TO BACK UP YOUR HOUSE AS SMART CHARGING.
SO I THINK THERE'S RIGHT OF WAYS TO GET THERE AND WE'RE NOT DONE, WE DON'T HAVE FINAL SORT OF RECOMMENDATION ON THAT, BUT I THINK IT'S GONNA BE NECESSARY TO SPARE A LOT OF HEARTACHE AND COST.
COUNCIL MEMBER HARBOR MADISON, YOU HAD A QUESTION? I DID.
AND UM, I, UH, THERE YOU LAST QUESTION WAS REALLY GREAT SEGUE.
SO, UM, YOU GUYS MIGHT REMEMBER THERE'S A COMMUNITY DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO DISTRICT ONE CALLED WHISPER VALLEY THAT'S TAPPED INTO A LOT OF REALLY COOL SUSTAINABILITY, INNOVATION, GEOTHERMAL BEING ONE.
AND YOU KNOW, IT'S A QUESTION THAT I'VE POSED TO AE AND A COUPLE OTHER FOLKS ALONG THE WAY.
AND JUST FOR CONTEXT, UM, WITH SO MUCH OF DISTRICT ONE KIND OF BEING THE WILD, WILD EAST, UM, SO TO SPEAK, THERE'S SO MUCH THAT'S COMING THAT IS GONNA REQUIRE, I MEAN ALL OF THE BASICS IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO JUST KIND OF THINKING THROUGH, EXCUSE ME, JUST KIND OF THINKING THROUGH PREEMPTIVELY WHAT SORT OF INFRASTRUCTURE CAN WE INSTALL ON THE FRONT END, ESPECIALLY AS IT PERTAINS TO SUSTAINABILITY MEASURES.
I MEAN EVERYTHING FROM, YOU KNOW, GRAY WATER CAPTURE TO GEOTHERMAL TO LIKE, WHAT ARE ALL THE POSSIBILITIES THAT WE COULD CONSIDER FROM A LIKE PERPETUALLY SUSTAINABLE PERSPECTIVE ON THE FRONT END WITH US, YOU KNOW, JUST REALLY STARTING FROM SCRATCH.
AND SO THAT WAS A QUESTION I HAD, BUT I I, I APPRECIATE UM, UH, MAYOR TIM POOL'S QUESTION BECAUSE THAT YOU, YOU ANSWERED MY QUESTION.
LIKE IN TERMS OF FEAS, IN TERMS OF FEASIBILITY, LIKE WHERE ALONG OUR TRAJECTORY ARE WE LOOKING? AND I THINK ABOUT THAT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LIKE FOR SUCCESSION PLANNING, IS IT MY SUCCESSOR OR MY SUCCESSOR'S SUCCESSOR? LIKE WHERE IN THE QUEUE ARE WE STARTING TO PULL THE LEVERS AROUND GEOTHERMAL TYPE THOUGHT PROCESSES? YEAH, MAY I COMMENT ON THAT REAL QUICK? 'CAUSE YOU BRING A IMPORTANT POINTS.
SO WHISPER VALLEY'S A GREAT EXAMPLE.
UH, SO THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT WAYS TO USE GEOTHERMAL.
ONE IS IN A SHALLOW WAY WHERE YOU, UH, TRENCH DOWN OR DIG DOWN TENS OF FEET OR HUNDREDS OF FEET WHERE YOU USE THAT HEATING OR COOLING OF THE EARTH TO HEAT OR COOL YOUR HOMES.
AND WHISPER VALLEY'S GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT.
THE OTHER WAY TO USE GEOTHERMAL IS DRILL DOWN THOUSANDS OF FEET TO GET POWER GENERATION.
SO I WAS TALKING ABOUT GEOTHERMAL FOR POWER GENERATION.
GEOTHERMAL FOR HEATING AND COOLING IS ALREADY IN PLACE AS YOU MENTIONED, WHISPER VALLEY AND IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO RAMP UP.
THAT'S REALLY AN EFFICIENCY PLAY, IS THE WAY I THINK OF IT.
AND I WOULD SAY EVERY SUBDIVISION THAT'S BUILT SHOULD HAVE THOSE HEATING OR COOLING DISTRICTS.
AND AUSTIN ENERGY HAS COOLING DISTRICTS AT, AT, AT MILLER AND DOMAIN AND DOWNTOWN.
AND HAVING MORE HEATING AND COOLING DISTRICTS IS A VERY IMPORTANT INFRASTRUCTURE PLAY.
IT'S MUCH EASIER TO BUILD IT WHEN YOU'RE BUILDING ANYWAY, RATHER THAN TRY TO ADD
[01:05:01]
IT AFTER THE PACK.AND GEOTHERMAL AS A WAY TO ACHIEVE SOME OF THE HEATING COOLING IS REALLY CLEAN AND EFFICIENT.
THAT SPRAY, IT SAVES A LOT OF MONEY FOR THE WHISPER VALLEY RESIDENTS AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO IT'S SOFTER CLAY SOILS INSTEAD OF THE HARDER LIMESTONE.
SO HARDER TO DO IN THE WESTERN PART OF AUSTIN, BUT EASIER TO DO IN THE EASTERN PART.
AND AS YOU BUILD NEW SUBDIVISION, I WOULD SAY BUILDING THE UNDERGROUND INFRASTRUCTURE WILL BE REALLY KEY.
SO I I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP BECAUSE THAT IS A VERY IMPORTANT EFFICIENCY PLAY AND FOR THE RESIDENTS THERE, THEIR BULLS 50 BUCKS A MONTH, IT DOESN'T SPIKE TO $500 A MONTH UNEXPECTEDLY IN A HOT SUMMER.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF ECONOMIC BENEFITS.
AND YOU KNOW, AS WE ARE ON THE PRECIPICE OF APPROACHING EXECUTION ON THE NORTHEAST PLANNING DISTRICT WITH, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST EVER INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY, THERE'S SO MUCH THERE IN MY MIND'S EYE, ESPECIALLY THAT ETJ AREA, WE'RE STARTING TO THINK MORE REGIONALLY.
SO I'M GONNA HAVE JOHN LAWLER, YOU KNOW, REALLY JUST GET WITH, UM, AE FOLKS AND JUST HELP US TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO, UM, ARTICULATE OUR QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS.
UH, THE OTHER THING THAT YOU SAID THAT REALLY PIQUED MY INTEREST, UM, GIVEN THAT I'M A FARMER AT HEART, YOU SAID SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF VEGETATIVE, I DON'T THINK YOU CALLED IT THIS.
I CALLED IT VEGETATIVE CARBON MANAGEMENT.
IF I TRADEMARK THAT, THEN Y'ALL PUT A T IN A CIRCLE.
UM, AND SO, UH, VEGETATIVE CARBON MANAGEMENT, YOU REALLY GOT ME CURIOUS THOUGH, YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT SEA MOSS, IN WHICH CASE I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ECONOMICS AROUND THAT ARE, BUT I KNOW THAT WE DO HAVE SORT OF LIKE MARSHLAND NATIVE VEGETATIVE BOG PLANTS THAT WE COULD EASILY DEPLOY ON FLOODPLAIN AGAIN IN THE NORTHEAST PLANNING DISTRICT.
SO MUCH OF THAT WE CAN'T DO RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL, BUT WE COULD DO VEGETATIVE BUFFERS, WE COULD DO SOME FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT WITH VEGETATION.
SO I'M CURIOUS THAT YOU DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE TO EXPAND HERE, BUT I'M CURIOUS TO EXPAND ON THAT CONVERSATION ALSO.
YEAH, AND I'M HAPPY TO MEET WITH YOU AND YOUR TEAM TALK MORE ABOUT THAT.
SO THERE ARE MECHANICAL OR MACHINE-BASED WAYS TO REMOVE CO2 FROM THE ATMOSPHERE, LIKE LARGE VACUUM CLEANERS FOR THE SKY THAT ARE BEING DEPLOYED AROUND THE WORLD.
BUT THERE ARE ALSO, UM, NATURAL WAYS TO DO IT WITH REFORESTATION, A FORESTATION SOIL, CARBON SEQUESTRATION, PLANTING GRASSES OF MEADOWS.
AND THEN I MENTIONED CP GRASS MEADOWS.
WE HAVE A COUPLE MILLION DOLLARS JUST AWARDED TO US A UT MY GROUP'S A PART OF THIS FROM ARPA E ARPA E IS THE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY FOR ENERGY FOR US GOVERNMENT TO PLANT SEA GRASS MEADOWS, UM, ALONG THE GULF COAST NEAR CORPUS CHRISTI.
AND THOSE SEA GRASSES TAKE CO2 OUT OF THE OCEAN INTO THE SEA INTO LIKE THE, THE, THE SEDIMENT AND THE SEABED.
AND AS IT TAKES TWO, TWO OUTTA THE OCEAN, THE OCEAN TAKES MORE CO2 OUT OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
SO OFFSHORE SEAGRASS MEADOWS IS WHAT I PARTICULARLY MENTIONED BECAUSE I'M PART OF THAT PROJECT.
BUT THERE ARE A VARIETY OF NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS IN ADDITION TO THE MECHANICAL SOLUTIONS.
AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE OFFSHORE, IT COULD BE IN A FLOODPLAIN OR WHATEVER, AND THERE MIGHT BE A WAY TO MEASURE HOW MUCH VEGETATIVE GROWTH THERE IS AND THEREFORE MUCH CO2 IS TO OUT ATMOSPHERE AND GET AUSTIN CREDIT FOR THAT.
UH, THE MARKETS ARE ALL VERY IMMATURE, BUT USING THOSE GRASSES IN THE FLOODPLAINS, IT TAKES TWO, TWO OUT.
THE ATMOSPHERE CAN HELP OFFSET SOME OF EMISSIONS SOMEWHERE ELSE.
AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WORTH CONSIDERING.
I'M HAPPY TO TALK MORE ABOUT THAT.
I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON THAT, BUT I KNOW SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE SMART ON IT.
WELL, YOU JUST SAID A A LOT OF THINGS THAT I'M VERY CURIOUS AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S YOU THAT'S MY NEW BEST FRIEND OR THOSE PEOPLE, BUT, UM, I'M VERY INTERESTED IN CONTINUING THAT CONVERSATION.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY LIKE AS WE, YOU KNOW, MAKE ADJACENT THE CONVERSATION AROUND URBAN AGRICULTURE AND ALL THE OTHER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT TOOLS, MAKING THEM MORE INTEGRATED IN COMPREHENSIVE, I THINK IS IN ALL OF OUR BEST INTERESTS.
SO THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN AL ALTER.
GOOD TO SEE YOU, PROFESSOR WEBER.
UM, WANTED TO ASK YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DEMAND SIDE ISSUES OR, OR IDEAS YOU TALKED ABOUT.
I'M WONDERING FIRST AND FOREMOST KIND OF THE GLOBAL LEVEL.
HAVE YOU OR ANYONE, YOU KNOW, LOOKED AT WHAT, HOW FAR COULD WE GET JUST ON THE DEMAND SIDE PIECE OF THINGS? THAT, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I DON'T HAVE FINAL RESULTS AND, AND STILL TRYING TO FIGURE THAT OUT FOR THE AUSTIN ENERGY SITUATION, BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY.
I THINK LOSS ENERGY IS 50 TO 85 MEGAWATTS OR SO DEMAND RESPONSE AND, UH, DON'T PUT TOO MUCH STOCK IN THOSE NUMBERS I JUST SAID FROM CYCLING AIR CONDITIONERS AND THAT KIND OF THING.
AND IT, IT'S A GOOD PROGRAM AND I'M A PARTICIPANT IN THAT PROGRAM AND I, I WOULD JUST EXPECT THAT THE TOTAL POTENTIAL IS IN THE HUNDREDS OF MEGAWATTS.
UH, YOU CAN'T GET GIGAWATTS OF DEMAND RESPONSE, SO WE CAN'T GET, UH, EVEN HALF OUR DEMAND FROM NAME RESPONSE OR HALF OUR SUPPLY MANAGED THAT WAY, BUT MAYBE IT'S LARGER THAN WHERE WE ARE NOW.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S FOUR.
LIKE YOU MIGHT NEED A NEW SWITCH OR CONTROL ON YOUR WATER HEATER IF IT'S ELECTRIC OR A SWITCHER CONTROL ON, UM, NON-ESSENTIAL DEVICES, MAYBE YOUR ELECTRIC CLOTHES DRYER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO IT TAKES MORE CONTROLS, SO IT DOESN'T HAPPEN FOR FREE.
BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, THOSE CONTROLS COST LESS THAN A NEW POWER PLANT.
SO I, I THINK IT'S A WAY TO GET MORE AVAILABILITY RESOURCES FOR LOWER COST AND THEN
[01:10:01]
THE COST IS NON EMISSIONS DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH IT.SO I FIND THAT VERY APPEALING.
THE PRACTICAL OPERATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION BARRIERS ARE SIGNIFICANT.
SO I DON'T WANT TO SORT OF UNDERMINE OR BELITTLE HOW HARD IT WOULD BE TO ACTUALLY GET THESE THINGS WIRED UP.
BUT ONE THING, IT FEELS EASIER TO ME TO INSTALL A BUNCH OF CHIPS AND CONTROLS AND SMART COMMUNICATION.
MAYBE THAT TAKES A FEW YEARS AS OPPOSED TO BUILDING A POWER PLANT, WHICH MIGHT BE FOUR TO SIX YEARS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO I'M PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO IT.
THERE ARE SOME LEADERS THAT, THAT DO THIS IN DIFFERENT PLACES.
IN FRANCE THEY DO A DEMAND RESPONSE, BUT IN A VERY BLUNT ANALOG 1970S WAY, THEY JUST LIMIT HOW MUCH CAPACITY YOU HAVE AT YOUR PANEL.
AND IT'S UP TO YOU TO FIGURE OUT ON YOUR SIDE OF THE PANEL WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO.
AND YOU FIGURE OUT IN FRANCE THAT YOU CAN'T PLUG IN YOUR ELECTRIC IRON, YOUR ELECTRIC COOKTOP, AND YOUR ELECTRIC CLOTHES DRYER ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
LIKE YOU WILL JUST KIND OF JUST TURN ON TWO OR THREE.
IT'S VERY CLUNKY, BUT THEY'VE DONE IT FOR A LONG TIME.
AND THEY ALSO HAVE SOME ANALOG SIGNALS.
THEY SEND DOWN THE WIRES TO TURN OFF HOT WATER HEATERS AND TURN 'EM BACK ON.
SO IT CAN BE DONE WITH OLD TECHNOLOGY AS WELL OR JUST SAY, HEY, FIGURE IT OUT ON YOUR SIDE.
BUT IN, IN TEXAS WE HAVE MORE OF AN ATTITUDE THAT WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO MANAGE ON OUR SIDE.
WE'D RATHER HAVE SMART CONTROLS.
AND SO I THINK THAT WILL BE MORE CULTURALLY ALIGNED WITH HOW AUSTIN ENERGY CONSUMERS WILL BE.
I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY THERE.
AND I'VE ALREADY SPOKEN WITH BOB AND LISA AND OTHERS AUSTIN ENERGY, SO THEY KNOW WHAT I THINK ABOUT THAT AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THEY'RE LOOKING INTO AND I THINK WE'LL HEAR ABOUT IT MORE LATER.
UM, I WAS ALSO CURIOUS ON YOUR SLIDE SEVEN, YOU TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CARBON NEUTRAL VERSUS CARBON FREE, THE EQUITY ELEMENT OF THAT.
AND I WAS CURIOUS IF YOU COULD EXPAND A LITTLE BIT MORE YES.
ON THAT CONCLUSION, I DO THAT.
SO THE CARBON FREE SOURCES ARE WIND AND SOLAR, NUCLEAR AND GEOTHERMAL.
AND USUALLY BIOMASS IS ALSO CONSIDERED CARBON FREE BECAUSE IT TAKES CO2 OUTTA THE ATMOSPHERE TO GROW YOUR BIOMASS AND THEN YOU EMIT.
SO THOSE ARE CONSIDERED YOUR CARBON FREE.
AND THEN YOUR CARBON EMITTING ARE GAS, COAL, AND PETROLEUM IF YOU LIKE, A DIESEL GENERATOR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND GENERALLY SPEAKING, YOU WANT TO USE THE CARBON FREE SOURCES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
NUCLEAR, GEOTHERMAL, WIND AND SOLAR.
IF YOU HAVE HYDROELECTRIC, USE HYDROELECTRIC AS WELL.
AND SO YOU, YOU USE THE CARBON FREE SOURCES, BUT IF YOU ONLY USE CARBON FREE SOURCES AND YOU CANNOT BUILD NUCLEAR IN GEOTHERMAL, WELL THEN IT'S ESPECIALLY WIND AND SOLAR BECAUSE OF THE VARIABILITY OF WIND AND SOLAR, YOU HAVE TO OVERBUILD THE CAPACITY SO SUBSTANTIALLY IT BECOMES PRETTY EXPENSIVE.
AND WE DON'T KNOW IF THE LIMIT IS 70 OR 80 OR 90% OR WHATEVER IT IS OF THE GRID BEING WIND AND SOLAR.
BUT A SOME LIMIT IT BECOMES EXPONENTIAL IN COST TO BUILD ENOUGH TO MAKE UP FOR THE TIMES WHEN YOU HAVE LOW WIND OR LOW SUN.
AND SO IT ENDS UP BEING CHEAPER TO HAVE SOME EMITTING SOURCES PAY A NATURAL GAS POWER PLANT OR WHATEVER IT IS WITH CARBON CAPTURE OR GAS WITH CARBON REMOVAL SOMEWHERE ELSE.
UH, BECAUSE THEN YOU DON'T HAVE TO OVER BUILD YOUR WIND AND SOLAR SO MUCH.
SO THE EQUITY BENEFIT OF THAT IS IT LOWERS THE COST FOR EVERYONE IN MOST, UM, COST OPTIMIZATION ANALYSIS, WHICH IS WHAT WE DID AT UT OR PRINCETON DID, OR OTHERS.
IF YOU OPTIMIZE AROUND COST, YOU'LL END UP HAVING SOME EMISSIONS SOMEWHERE THAT YOU THEN PAY TO REMOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE.
AND I DON'T MEAN AN OFFSET LIKE YOU AVOID REFRIGERATION EMISSIONS IN INDONESIA, I MEAN LIKE AN ACTUAL REMOVAL OF CO2, IT JUST ENDS UP BEING CHEAPER AND THEREFORE MORE EQUITABLE.
IT ALSO BECOMES MORE RELIABLE, WHICH IS ALSO EQUITABLE BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE AN UNRELIABLE SYSTEM THAT UH, REALLY HIGHLIGHTS A LOT OF THE INEQUITIES AND WHO CAN RESPOND TO AN OUTAGE AND THAT KIND OF THING.
SO THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU HAVE A LEASE COST ANALYSIS OR YOU KNOW, UH, INEQUITABLE THING IN THAT WAY.
SO THAT REQUIRES US TO HAVE SOME CARBON REMOVALS OR CARBON TECHNOLOGIES IN THE MIX SOMEWHERE AS A CONSEQUENCE.
AND ONE THING, THIS IS KIND OF MY OWN PERSONAL INTEREST, SO I'M NOT SPEAKING ABOUT ON BEHALF OF AUSTIN ENERGY OR ANYTHING, BUT LOOK AT NACODOCHES IN THE BIOMASS POWER PLANT THAT IS CARBON FREE FUEL.
AND THEN IF CARBON CAPTURE BECOMES CARBON NEGATIVES, THAT THAT COULD OFFSET A LOT OF OTHER EMISSIONS ELSEWHERE.
AND I I IT'S HELPFUL TO KNOW IT'S FROM A RELIABILITY ECONOMIC STANDPOINT.
YOU KNOW, I THINK WE THINK ABOUT HERE IN AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, THE EQUITY CONCERN OF WHETHER IT'S DECKER OR SANDHILL, RIGHT, THE GEOGRAPHIC ELEMENT BEING TRADITIONALLY LOCATING THESE SOURCE EMITTERS IN EAST AUSTIN.
AND THAT'S A, THAT'S A DIFFERENT PART OF THE CONVERSATION, UH, THAN WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
SO I, I APPRECIATE JUST THAT CONTEXT THERE.
UM, I KNOW WE'VE GOT A LOT ON OUR AGENDA, SO I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
GOOD TO SEE YOU AS ALWAYS, AND I'M SURE WE'LL CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION COLLEAGUES.
I, I DO HAVE A REQUEST FOR US TO BE ABLE TO MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION BY ABOUT 10 30, WHICH MEANS KIND OF MOVING THROUGH THE REST OF THIS AGENDA MORE QUICKLY.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? UM, YEAH, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT I WOULD LIKE TO ENSURE THAT DR. WEBER CAN COME BACK AND TALK TO US AT A FUTURE MEETING SO THAT WE CAN HAVE, BECAUSE CLEARLY THIS IS OF REALLY DEEP INTEREST TO EVERYBODY.
WE DON'T HAVE TO GET IT ALL OUT HERE TODAY.
UM, SO FIRST I JUST WANNA STATE THAT, YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE IT IS OFFICIALLY COUNCIL POLICY THAT THE FAYETTE, UM, POWER PLANT SHOULD ALREADY
[01:15:01]
BE CLOSED, UM, NOT A DATE OF 2029.UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT MOVED SOONER, UH, FOR CLOSURE THAN 2029.
UM, I KNOW THAT YOU WERE JUST PUTTING AN ASSUMPTION UP THERE, BUT I I JUST WANTED TO, TO PUT THAT OUT THERE.
UM, SO PROFESSOR WEBER, THANK YOU FOR THE, THE PRESENTATION.
IT WAS, UH, VERY THOROUGH AND I THINK IT COVERED, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME REALLY IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF WHAT WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO.
UM, YOU MENTIONED, UM, TIME SENSITIVE PRICING.
UM, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE GENERATION PLAN, UM, BUT THERE IS THIS QUESTION OF WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO IMPROVE OUR BILLING STRUCTURE, UM, TO SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, THE DEMAND RESPONSE ELEMENTS OF IT.
UM, SO CAN YOU TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE THIS IS IN PLACE IN TERMS OF THE TIME SENSITIVE PRICING AND, AND HOW WE THINK ABOUT THAT? THERE'S NOT AS MUCH OF IT IN THE UNITED STATES.
IT TENDS TO BE IN EUROPE OR OTHER PLACES WHERE THE TIME OF DAY OR, UH, SORT OF THE PRICES CHANGE BY HOUR.
THAT HAPPENS MORE TYPICALLY ELSEWHERE, ALTHOUGH WE ALL MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH IT FROM OUR CELL PHONE PLANS 20 YEARS AGO.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER HOW CELL PHONES USED TO HAVE LIKE FREE NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS, BUT THEY'RE MORE EXPENSIVE COSTS DURING THE DAY UNTIL THEY BUILT ENOUGH CAPACITY.
NOW IT'S JUST KINDA THE SAME PRICE ALL THE TIME.
BUT THAT COULD BE THE SAME KIND OF CONCEPT TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES CHARGING WOULD BE FREE ON NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS, BUT MORE EXPENSIVE DURING THE DAY, MAYBE ESPECIALLY EXPENSIVE AT PEAK TIMES.
THAT REQUIRES A RATE MAKING PROCESS.
THAT'S EASIER SAID THAN DONE, BUT IT ALSO REQUIRES THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE CONSUMERS ABOUT WHAT THE PRICES ARE IN A CLEAR WAY.
SO NO ONE'S CAUGHT BY SURPRISE.
IT'S A VERY EXPENSIVE BILL AND, UH, MAKE IT EASIER FOR THEM TO INTERPRET.
AND THAT CAN BE HARD FOR CONSUMERS, FRANKLY.
SO THAT'S WHY LIKE CELL PHONE COMPANIES HAVE MOVED AWAY FROM, IT JUST GOT TOO CONFUSING FOR CONSUMERS.
SO THEY SAID, WELL, WE WON'T DO THAT.
AND THEY MANAGED CAPACITY ANOTHER WAY.
I, SO I THINK IT'S A PART OF THE RATE MAKING PROCESS AND, UH, JUST MAKING SURE THAT IF YOU DON'T NEED TO PLUG IT IN AT 6:00 PM YOU DON'T, BUT IF YOU NEED TO, YOU CAN.
YOU JUST HAVE TO PAY A DIFFERENT PRICE.
YEAH, I, I WOULD LIKE US TO REALLY BE EXPLORING THAT.
UM, THE SECOND QUESTION THAT I HAVE HAS TO DO WITH MODEL ASSUMPTION.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE HEARING A LOT FROM FOLKS YOU'RE INVOLVED IN THE WORKING GROUP IS SORT OF QUESTIONING THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS MAKING IN THEIR MODELS, WHETHER IT'S THE COST OF SOLAR RENEWABLE OR WHETHER IT IS, UM, THE LEVEL OF EMISSIONS THAT ARE COMING OUT, UM, FROM PARTICULAR CHOICES, UM, FOR GENERATION.
HOW, IN YOUR MIND, HOW SHOULD WE BE THINKING ABOUT THOSE MODELING ASSUMPTIONS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AT SOME LEVEL YOU JUST HAVE TO PICK A NUMBER, BUT, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WE KEEP COMING TO THIS DEBATE OVER WHO, WHAT THE ASSUMPTIONS ARE AND THE ASSUMPTIONS CAN REALLY LEAD YOU TO DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS.
YEAH, AND THERE'S GREAT QUESTION.
I HAVEN'T LOOKED, I HAVE NOT LOOKED IN DETAIL AUSTIN ENERGY'S MODEL, SO I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THEIR ASSUMPTIONS.
AND WE DON'T HAVE COSTS IN OUR MODEL.
WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT LOW FORECAST.
WE HAVE NOT PUT ANY PRICING ON IT, BUT ON OUR BIG STUDY WE RELEASED TWO YEARS AGO, T WHERE WE DID A COST OPTIMIZATION MODEL, WE DID HAVE TO PUT A PRICE ON WIND AND SOLAR AND COAL AND THAT KIND OF THING.
AND THOSE COSTS, ESPECIALLY FOR SOLAR AND BATTERIES DROP WITH TIME, WIND DROPS OF TIME, BUT NOT AS MUCH.
NUCLEAR HAS GONE UP WITH TIME.
SO IT, BUT WHETHER YOU BELIEVE NUCLEAR GOES UP OR DOWN, THESE ASSUMPTIONS BECOME VERY IMPORTANT FOR HOW THE MODEL RESULTS WILL COME OUT.
THE ONE THING THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND THOUGH IS PUTTING A PRICE ON POLLUTION.
AND IF YOU PUT A PRICE ON THE CRITERIA, AIR POLLUTES POLLUTANTS OR THE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, YOU'LL GET A DIFFERENT RESULT THAN IF YOU DON'T.
AND, AND SO THAT'S ONE THING MODELERS OFTEN DO NOW IF YOU WANNA DO A FULL ECONOMIC STUDY TO INCLUDE THE COST OF POLLUTION, THE COST OF RELIABILITY, AND THEREFORE THE BENEFITS OF CLEANLINESS OF WIND SOLAR, BUT THE RELIABILITY BENEFITS OF OTHERS.
SO IT'S, THERE'S JUST SO MANY ASSUMPTION.
THERE'S SO MANY THINGS GO INTO IT.
AND THE BIGGEST WILD CARD, FRANKLY, IS WHAT THE PRICE OF NATURAL GAS WILL BE, WHICH NO ONE KNOWS.
AND GAS IS CHEAP TODAY, BUT MIGHT BE EXPENSIVE IN THE FUTURE.
'CAUSE CHEAP GAS, UM, WILL AFFECT WHAT LOOKS CHEAPEST IN THE MARKETS.
BUT, UH, SO I CAN'T REALLY COMMENT ON THE DETAILS, LOSS ENERGY MODELS, BUT THE ASSUMPTIONS BECOME VERY, VERY IMPORTANT FOR SURE, BECAUSE WE'RE PROPAGATING AMOUNT 20 YEARS.
I'LL CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION WITH YOU OFFLINE, UH, PROFESSOR WEBER AND ENJOY YOUR VACATION.
AND I JUST DO WANNA SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, IN MY CONVERSATIONS WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, I HAVE COMMUNICATED THE DESIRE TO HAVE THAT COST OF POLLUTION, UM, IN THOSE MODELS AND HOPEFULLY THE NEW MODELS, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE THOSE.
AND DR. WEBER, THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US FROM NEW YORK.
[6. Staff briefing on the Customer Assistance Program by Kerry Overton, Deputy General Manager Chief Customer Officer.]
I AM GOING TO ASK, UM, MR. OVERTON TO COME UP AND DO, UH, HIS CAP PRESENTATION.HE SAYS HE CAN DO A, A QUICK SUMMARY OF THAT.
WE WILL PUSH ITEM FIVE, UH, TO SEPTEMBER, AND ITEM FOUR WAS PRESENTED LAST NIGHT, UM, TO THE EUC.
YOU CAN LOOK AT THAT PRESENTATION AND I WILL BE TALKING WITH OUR STAFF TO SEE IF THAT IS ALSO SOMETHING TO PUT ONTO THE SEPTEMBER AGENDA.
UM, AND THANK YOU TO AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF FOR YOUR FLEXIBILITY.
THERE'S SO, SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT.
[01:20:01]
TRY TO, UH, TAKE THIS, UH, PRESENTATION DOWN TO ABOUT TWO MINUTES.UNLESS YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
I PROBABLY PROBABLY CAN'T GO AT THE SPEED OF, UH, DR. WEBER.
UH, I AM THE, UH, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER, CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER.
UM, I HANDLE ALL OF THE CUSTOMER FACING, UH, PROGRAMS AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
UH, WE PROVIDE OUR SERVICES TO A COMBINED GROUP OF UTILITIES FOR ALL SERVICES TO GO OUT AUSTIN WATER, THE TRANSPORTATION, UH, AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND WATERSHED PROTECTION.
THOSE ARE ALL THE DEPARTMENTS THAT PROVIDE SOME LEVEL OF DISCOUNTS TO THE CUSTOMERS THAT I'M GONNA SPEAK TO.
AND WE JUST HAVE THE FORTUNE OF MANAGING THE OVERALL OPERATIONS OF DOING THE BILL BILL PRODUCTIONS AND THE PAYMENTS AND DISTRIBUTING THOSE DISCOUNTS.
UH, WE HAVE AN EXTENSIVE, UH, PROGRAM IN CAPS IN DECEMBER OF 2022.
COUNSEL YOU ASKED THAT WE EXPAND, UH, THE ENROLLMENT IN THAT PROGRAM OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD.
UM, OUR TEAM HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN WORKING HARD IN THE COMMUNITY WITH THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT I JUST MENTIONED.
UM, AND EACH OF THOSE PROVIDE DISCOUNTS, UM, AS THOSE SERVICES ARE THOSE EMPLOYEES.
UM, LET ME BACK UP, AS THOSE HOUSEHOLDS ARE ENROLLED.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THAT GOAL, WE, UH, EXCEEDED THAT AT 53,000 AND OUR GOAL WAS AT 42.
AT THE TIME OF THE PRINT WE WERE AT 63,000, BUT WE ALWAYS WAIT UNTIL WE GET OUR JUNE DATA.
I JUST RECEIVED THAT, UH, YESTERDAY EVENING AND WE'RE AT ABOUT 67,000.
SO WE ARE, UM, AT, UH, ON TRACK FOR WHAT WE ARE ACHIEVING.
THE, THE CHALLENGE IS GONNA BE, UM, WE'VE EXHAUSTED A LOT OF OUR EFFORTS IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'VE DONE IN AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT FOR THE PROGRAMS WHERE HOUSEHOLDS AUTO AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFY FOR FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAMS. WE ARE ENROLLING THEM, UM, AUTOMATICALLY.
AND WHILE WE ALSO ARE DOING SELF-ENROLLMENT THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, WHAT THAT MEANS IS OUR EFFORTS OVER THIS NEXT YEAR ARE GONNA HAVE TO SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGE.
WE WILL CONTINUE THOSE PROGRAMS, BUT WE'RE GOING TO EXPAND, UH, THE DATA ANALYSIS THAT WE DO WITH THE TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PART OF THOSE FILES.
WE RECEIVE JUSTICE 40 DATA AND BASICALLY JUSTICE 40 DATA IS AN OVERLAY IN OUR COMMUNITY WHERE YOU HAVE, UH, DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES MEASURED BY, UM, UM, HARDSHIPS OR BURDENS IN HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION.
THERE'S A VARIOUS, UM, LEVEL OF OVERLAY.
WE'VE LOOKED AT THAT AND WE THINK IT MATCHES UP PHENOMENALLY WITH OUR DATA.
AND SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO ENROLL, UM, HOUSEHOLDS, UH, USING THOSE METHODS.
THE SUMMARY HERE IS THAT, UM, INDIVIDUALLY WE'VE DONE A LOT OF MARKETING TO ONLY APPEAL TO THE INDIVIDUALS, UM, TO GO OUT.
WE HAVE, IN OUR CASE MANAGERS WORK OUT THERE, UM, IN THE HOUSEHOLDS DOING CASE MANAGEMENT ONE-ON-ONE WRAPAROUND SERVICES.
THOSE ARE, UM, VERY EFFECTIVE, BUT IT'S A VERY SLOW PROCESS.
UM, WE'RE OFTEN THERE, UM, HAVING HOUSEHOLDS KEEP THOSE, UH, COMMITMENTS AND MEET US THERE.
MANY OF THESE, UM, UM, INDIVIDUALS WHO LIVE THERE HAVE THREE OR FOUR JOBS THAT THEY'RE WORKING.
UM, SO WE HAVE TO USE A COMBINATION OF THAT, BUT ALSO, UM, OPT OUT STRATEGIES.
AND WHEN WE USE JUSTICE 40 OVERLAYS, WE'RE GONNA PULL IN AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE QUALITY CONTROLS TO WEED OUT.
UM, THOSE THAT DON'T, UM, DESERVE TO BE ON THAT PROGRAM.
BUT THIS IS BASICALLY, INSTEAD OF GOING ONE BY ONE, WE'RE GONNA BRING IN THE DATA POOL, DO THE OVERLAY MATCH, AND THEN OUR Q AND A WILL CONTINUE TO WORK TO, UM, HAVE A 4% TOLERANCE THRESHOLD TO TAKE OUT ANYBODY WHO, WHO DOESN'T MEET THOSE QUALIFICATIONS.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, UH, THIS IS ONE EXAMPLE.
IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, 7 8 7 0 2, AND IT'S RIGHT ON THE BORDER OF, UH, 7 8 7 21, WE, FOR AN EXAMPLE, WE'LL CONCENTRATE HERE IS 2000, UM, 800, UH, HOUSEHOLDS, UH, UH, IN THAT POPULATION.
WE'RE GONNA DO A DA UH, JUSTICE 40 OVERLAY.
WE'LL CLEAN THAT THROUGH OUR DATA AS WELL.
AND WE BELIEVE THAT WE'LL GET A GOOD, A GOOD TARGET, UM, RESULT OF ACHIEVING THAT.
AND WE'RE GONNA GO AROUND THE ENTIRE CITY OF AUSTIN ZIP CODE BY ZIP CODE OVERLAY BY THOSE, UH, USING THAT TACTICS.
UH, MY SUMMARY WOULD BE IS THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO MAXIMIZE OUR CURRENT STRATEGIES OF WHAT WE'VE DONE.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO MAKE OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO PROPERTY SCREENINGS SAFEGUARDS.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO OPENING, UM, ONGOING MARKETING AND OUTREACH, BUT WE'RE ALSO HAVE LEARNED A LOT THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.
AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO ADVANCE IN THE FUTURE USING THE, UH, TO ADOPT THE JUSTICE 40 DATA OVERLAY.
WE'RE GOING TO EXPAND, UM, OUR AUTO ENROLLMENT AND WE ARE GOING TO MOVE MORE TOWARD AN OPT-OUT, UH, PROCESS AND USE ALL OF THOSE IN CONJUNCTION.
[01:25:01]
ON TARGET.YOU WILL GET A LETTER FROM US AT THE END OF THIS MONTH AND IT WILL ACTUALLY UPDATE THAT CHART THAT I GAVE YOU.
WE'RE AT ABOUT 67,000, UH, CUSTOMERS ENROLLED.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. EVERSON? YES.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.
NOT ACTUALLY A QUESTION, UM, CHAIR, JUST A REALLY BRIEF COMMENT.
I, ON FRIDAY RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM AUSTIN ENERGY NOTIFYING ME THAT I WAS ELIGIBLE FOR WEATHERIZATION CONSIDERATIONS.
UM, AND SHE WALKED ME THROUGH THE PROCESS AND HOW TO WORK WITH MY LANDLORD, I'M A RENTER.
UM, IT WAS THOROUGH AND BRIEF AND I REALLY APPRECIATED THEM TAKING THE INITIATIVE TO REACH OUT TO ME.
SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE Y'ALL A NICE SHOUT OUT ON YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE PROGRAMS AND THEM TAKING THE INITIATIVE TO REACH OUT PREEMPTIVELY.
I, I HADN'T EVEN INQUIRED, BUT I'M ELIGIBLE ON MY LANDLORD'S IN IT IS INTO IT.
SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE Y'ALL THAT SHOUT UP.
I HAD A SECTION IN HERE WHERE I WAS GONNA REALLY BRAG ON THE TEAM.
THERE'S, WE HAVE A WONDERFUL GROUP OF EMPLOYEES WHO DO THIS WORK EVERY DAY.
AND I ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY, ALONG WITH AUSTIN WATER PROVIDES A LOT OF DISCOUNTS.
AND RIGHT NOW WE WERE AT, IN LAST YEAR, FY 23, WE WERE RECEIVING IN SOME OF THE DISCOUNTS ABOUT ONE POINT, UH, I'M SORRY, $11 MILLION IN DISCOUNTS.
AND WHEN YOU ADD THAT TOGETHER ALREADY, UM, WE STILL HAVE ANOTHER QUARTER TO GO IN THIS YEAR WE'VE INCREASED THAT OVER ANOTHER $2.8 MILLION AND THAT'S ADDITION TO WHAT AUSTIN WATER IS DOING AS WELL.
SO WE'VE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL.
UM, AS WE CONCLUDE AND, UH, AJOUR HERE, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SURE, HANG ON ONE SECOND THAT WE GET A COPY OF DR.
I THINK THAT'S THE ONE THAT WE DIDN'T YET HAVE.
UH, YOU GUYS HAVE THE FINAL IN YOUR EMAIL, BUT WE WILL HAVE IT POSTED TODAY TO THE, TO THE BACKUP TO AGENDA.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.
P I'M JUST WONDERING, UM, WHY WE CAN'T GO TO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND COME BACK AND HEAR THE OTHER REPORTS.
UM, IF WE ARE GOING TO GET THE GENERATION PLAN DONE BY THE END OF THE YEAR, WE HAVE A COUNCIL NEED TO BE DOING THIS WORK, AND THESE ARE REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, PRESENTATIONS.
THEY HAVE GONE OUT AND DONE THESE RFPS AND, UM, I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A SENSE, AND THE COMMUNITY NEEDS TO HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE FOR THIS.
THIS GETS TO THE HEART OF SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT THE WORKING GROUP IS GETTING AT AND TRYING TO ASK FOR MORE LOCAL, SOLAR, ET CETERA.
AND I'M CONCERNED ABOUT PUSHING THIS OFF FOR ANOTHER TWO MONTHS.
IF THAT'S FINE, I THINK WE CAN DO THAT.
WE CAN RECESS, UH, SO THAT WE CAN GET TO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
I DID NOTE THAT EUC HAD HEARD THE PRESENTATION LAST NIGHT, SO THE INFORMATION IS OUT THERE, BUT IS THAT A GENERAL FEEL ON THE DIOCESE? YOU WOULD RATHER US, UM, RECESS AND THEN COME BACK FOR THAT ITEM THAT JUST THAT ONE BRIEFING AND WE'LL HOLD SOME, WELL, THERE ARE TWO THAT ARE RELATED.
I THINK THAT, THAT, UH, THEN MAYOR IS WHAT WE WILL DO.
I WILL RECESS THE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING THEN AT 10 32 AND TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
AND AT 1130 WE ARE RECONVENING AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING.
SO WE CAN GET, UH, THE TWO ADDITIONAL ITEMS, IF THAT IS THE, UM, WILLINGNESS OF THE D ARE YOU ALL OKAY WITH ALSO TALKING ABOUT THE, THE SOLAR BATTERY PIECE? WE'LL GET THAT KNOCKED OUT THEN TODAY.
SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR FLEXIBILITY STAFF AND WE WILL MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER
[4. Staff briefing on recent Requests for Proposals for renewable energy and storage technologies by Michael Enger, Vice President, Energy Market Operations & Resource Planning.]
FOUR.MICHAEL ENGER TALKING, A STAFF BRIEFING ON REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES.
AND MR. ENGER IS OUR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS AND RESOURCE PLANNING.
GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, MICHAEL ENGER, VICE PRESIDENT, ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS AND RESOURCE PLANNING.
AND I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MOST RECENT, UH, REQUEST FOR, UH, PROPOSALS FOR RENEWABLE AND CARBON FREE GENERATION THAT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF ANALYZING.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO START WITH JUST THE OVERALL RFP PROCESS AND, AND WHAT WE DO.
UH, THE FIRST THING WE DO IS WE MAINTAIN ONGOING CONTACT WITH RENEWABLE DEVELOPERS AND MARKETERS WITHIN THE ERCOT MARKET.
UH, WE ARE, WE MAINTAIN THAT, THAT COMMUNICATION WITH THEM.
WE WANNA UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE WORKING ON, WHAT CHALLENGES THEY'RE SEEING, WHERE, WHERE THE PRICE, UM, WHERE THEY'RE SEEING PRICING CHALLENGES, FOR EXAMPLE, AND THEN WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE REALLY LOOKING TO DEVELOP.
SO BY THE TIME WE GO OUT FOR AN RFP, UH, IT'S NOT REALLY A SURPRISE.
WE KIND OF HAVE A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT WE MIGHT SEE AND, AND THE LEVELS OF PRICING WE MAY SEE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE ARE SOME NEW EXCHANGES SUCH AS UNIFY, WHERE THEY ACTUALLY HAVE LIVE BIDS AND OFFERS FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF RENEWABLE PPAS.
AND SO WE'RE ABLE TO ALSO GET PRICING POINTS THAT WAY AS WELL.
UH, SO THEN WE GO OUT AND SOLICIT PROPOSALS, UM, THROUGH OUR REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL PROCESS.
WE TRY TO DO THIS AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR, UH, THAT WAY WE CAN ALSO KEEP A GOOD PULSE ON WHERE THE MARKET IS AND WHERE THOSE LIVE OFFERS ARE.
AND WHEN WE RECEIVE BACK THOSE PROPOSALS, WE THEN, THEN GONNA ANALYZE THOSE PROPOSALS AND FIND OUT WHAT DELIVERS THE MOST VALUE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
[01:30:01]
MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO OUR ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION AND ULTIMATELY WE'LL COME BACK TO CITY COUNCIL TO THINK A SEEK AUTHORITY TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE A PPA AGREEMENT.UH, SO IF THIS PARTICULAR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, WE WERE LOOKING FOR CARBON FREE GENERATION, UH, AS WELL AS RENEWABLES.
UH, WE, WE PUT IT OUT LOOKING FOR, UH, PROJECTS THAT WERE BETWEEN 50 MEGAWATTS AND 500 MEGAWATTS.
I WILL SAY THAT WE'LL PUT THAT IN RFP, BUT WE'LL GET MANY DIFFERENT PROPOSALS OF ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF SIZES AS WELL.
UH, WE ISSUED THIS RFP APRIL 19TH, WE THEN ALLOW DEVELOPERS TO ASK QUESTIONS.
UH, THAT DEADLINE WAS, THAT WAS MAY 3RD.
WE TAKE ALL THOSE QUESTIONS AND WE POST THOSE ANSWERS TO ALL THE DEVELOPERS SO EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT THOSE ANSWERS ARE TO KEEP A, AN EVEN, UH, AND LEVEL PLAYING FIELD.
AND THEN THOSE RESPONSES WERE DUE BACK TO US JUNE 7TH.
WE WERE ASKING FOR, LIKE I MENTIONED, RENEWABLE AND CARBON FREE GENERATIONS.
SO WE INCLUDED WIND, SOLAR, BATTERY STORAGE, AND THEN FOR CARBON FREE PROJECTS, WE IS, UH, LISTED A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES SUCH AS FUEL CELLS AND GEOTHERMAL.
UH, WE GOT BACK A PRETTY ROBUST RESPONSE.
WE HAD BIDS FROM OVER, FROM 42 DIFFERENT COMPANIES, SO QUITE A FEW PEOPLE INTERESTED IN, IN OR GIVING US PROPOSALS FOR OUR, OUR REQUEST.
UH, WE SAW APPROXIMATELY A HUNDRED DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
UH, I WILL TELL YOU THAT MOST OF THOSE, OR MORE THAN HALF OF THOSE WERE BATTERY STORAGE PROJECTS.
UH, WE SAW LESS, A LOT LESS WIND THAN WE HAD BEEN SEEING IN PREVIOUS RFPS.
AND I THINK LARGELY THAT'S BECAUSE WIND HAS BEEN MORE SATURATED IN ERCOT AND A LOT OF THE REALLY GOOD LOCATIONS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DEVELOPED.
SO WE ONLY SAW EIGHT PROJECTS THERE.
AND I'VE LISTED OTHER, UH, WE ACTUALLY DID GET A PROPOSAL FOR A NATURAL GAS GENERATOR WITH CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION THAT WAS OUT IN WEST TEXAS.
UH, OF THOSE A HUNDRED PROJECTS, WE HAD OVER 350 DIFFERENT PROPOSALS.
SO I JUST WANNA EXPLAIN THAT FOR A MOMENT.
HOW CAN WE HAVE A HUNDRED PROJECTS AND 350 DIFFERENT PROPOSALS OR MAYBE CLOSER TO 400? UH, SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS WILL VARY IN TERM LENGTH.
UH, THEY MIGHT OFFER IT TO US FOR A 10 YEAR TERM OR A 30 YEAR TERM.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE DIFFERENT PRICING THERE.
SO AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST ABOUT BEING IN A NODAL MARKET, EVERY POWER PLANT SETTLES WITH ERCOT AT ITS RESOURCE NODE.
YOU CAN ALSO LOOK AT SETTLING THAT AT A GENERATION HUB OR A TRADING HUB.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE YOU PUT SOME OF THAT CONGESTION RISK MORE ON THE DEVELOPER, AND THAT WILL IMPACT PRICING AS WELL.
SO YOU MAY HAVE A PROJECT THAT IS EITHER AT ITS NODE OR AT A TRADING HUB WHERE, WHERE IT'S GONNA SETTLE WITH ERCOT.
AND WHEN WE GET TO BATTERIES, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT, AT DIFFERENT PRICES AND DIFFERENT PROPOSALS AROUND DURATION, UH, TWO HOUR, FOUR HOUR OR EVEN LONGER DURATION.
WE DID SEE A 12 HOUR BATTERY AS WELL AS THE, UH, NEWER EMERGING A HUNDRED, UH, HOUR BATTERY AS WELL.
SO JUST TO GIVE YOU KIND OF A HIGH LEVEL, UH, PRICING OVERVIEW OF NOMINAL PRICING.
UM, FOR SOLAR, WE SAW PRICING IN THE LOW THIRTIES TO UPPER SEVENTIES PER MEGAWATT HOUR.
UM, FOR WIND, WE SAW IT IN THE LOW THIRTIES TO UPPER FIFTIES PER MEGAWATT HOUR.
AND THEN FOR BATTERY STORAGE, WE SAW IT IN THE LOW $6 TO UPPER $30 PER KILOWATT MONTH.
AND I KNOW THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT TERM THAN WIND AND SOLAR.
UH, SO IF I WANT TO CONVERT THAT TO MEGAWATT HOURS, IF I HAD A BATTERY THAT HAD 300 CYCLES PER YEAR, TYPICALLY WE'LL SEE PROPOSALS FOR 200 OR 300 CYCLES, BUT 300 CYCLES PER YEAR, KIND OF NEAR THAT LOWER END, THAT'S ABOUT 140 TO $150 PER MEGAWATT HOUR BEFORE YOU CHARGE THAT BATTERY.
UM, YOU WILL NOTICE THERE'S JUST QUITE A WIDE RANGE, UH, ON PRICING AND THAT WILL GET TO KIND OF THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS ANALYZING WHICH PROPOSAL DELIVERS THE MOST VALUE.
UM, THE NOMINAL PRICING IS GREAT, BUT WE'RE NOT BUYING SOMETHING OFF OF A SHELF.
WE'RE BUYING A PROJECT THAT'S LOCATED.
I THINK, UH, JUST, UH, KIND OF AN ANECDOTE OR A STORY I COULD TELL YOU, UH, IS PROBABLY BACK IN THE 20 16 20 17 TIMEFRAME WHEN WE DID A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.
WE ACTUALLY HAD A WIND PROPOSAL THAT WAS LESS THAN $10 A MEGAWATT HOUR.
SO BASED ON THE NOMINAL PRICING, YOU MIGHT THINK THAT IS THE DEAL THAT WE SHOULD BE GOING AFTER THAT IT'S THE PROJECT.
UH, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACT THE DEVELOPER HAD PROPOSED THEY WANTED TO OFFER THAT IN AT A NEGATIVE PRICE SO THEY COULD CAPTURE AS MUCH OF THE PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT AS POSSIBLE.
AND THEY WANTED AUSTIN ENERGY TO TAKE ALL THE MARKET RISK, WHICH MEANS IF IT WAS A NEGATIVE PRICE, WE'RE PAYING ERCOT TO TAKE THE POWER AND THEY WE'RE PAYING THE DEVELOPER FOR THE POWER AS WELL.
SO WHEN WE ASKED 'EM TO REPRICE THAT WITH A ZERO OFFER CURVE SO THAT IT OCCURRED TAILED WHEN ERCOT DID NOT WANT THE POWER AND PRICES WERE NEGATIVE, IT MORE THAN TRIPLED THE, OR IT ALMOST TRIPLED THE, THE COST OF THAT PPA.
SO THAT'S JUST TO SAY THAT THE NOMINAL PRICING IS GREAT, UH, BUT WE REALLY DO SOME DEEP ANALYSIS TO SEE WHERE THE NET VALUE IS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND SO WE KIND OF LOOK AT, UH, FOUR MAJOR AREAS HERE.
THE FIRST IS ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.
SO WE LOOK AT THE CONTRACT COST AS WELL AS THE, THE TERMS IN THE CONTRACT TERMS REALLY MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE ON RENEWABLES, UH, AND THE NET VALUE TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
WE WILL RUN IT THROUGH A COUPLE DIFFERENT MODELS.
ONE IS A FUNDAMENTAL MODEL THAT HAS ALL OF ERCOT MODELED INSIDE OF ALL THE TRANSMISSION LINES AS WELL AS POWER PLANTS AND OFFER CURVES.
WE'LL ALSO USE A STOCHASTIC MODEL, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT BETTER, UH, JOB AT, UH, APPROXIMATING RISK AROUND THAT ASSET AS THINGS MAY CHANGE.
UH, WE'LL, WE'LL ALSO LOOK AT POWER FLOW MODELING.
SO IF WE BUILD SOMETHING AT THIS LOCATION OR HAVE A PROJECT BUILT THIS LOCATION, IF OTHER THINGS GET BUILT THERE, HOW DOES THAT LOOK? DOES IT OVERLOAD THAT PARTICULAR SUBSTATION? MAYBE WE HAVE CONGESTION RISK.
[01:35:01]
AND THEN SINCE WE ARE DOING A LOT OF ADDITIONALITY IN THE PROJECTS THAT WE WORK ON, A LOT OF THERE, THERE IS NOT A HISTORICAL NODE FOR IT YET.SO WE'LL LOOK AT HISTORICAL, UH, WHAT WE CALL PROXY NODES.
SO, SO OTHER NODES NEAR OR IN THAT REGION, WE'RE ON SIMILAR TRANSMISSION TO SEE HOW THOSE ARE PERFORMED AS WELL.
UH, WE ALSO LOOK AT PROJECT VIABILITY.
IS THERE ADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE IN AND AROUND THE AREA TO SUPPORT THAT PROJECT? OR DO WE NEED, OR ARE WE GONNA NEED MORE TRANSMISSION UPGRADES? UH, WHAT ELSE IS GETTING BUILT AROUND THERE? UH, WE LOOK AT PORTFOLIO FIT.
AND SO WE ARE NOT LOOKING AT JUST AN INDIVIDUAL PROJECT PRO PROJECT, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW WE BUILD A RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO.
AND SO THE WAY I WOULD DESCRIBE THAT IS DIFFERENT RENEWABLE GENERATION SOURCES IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF TEXAS.
WE'LL HAVE DIFFERENT GENERATION OUTPUT CURVES.
AND SO WE LIKE TO PUT THOSE TOGETHER IN COMBINATION TO CREATE A RENEWABLE OUTPUT CURVE THAT MORE CLOSELY MATCHES OUR LOAD SO THAT WE'RE GENERATING, UH, AND PRODUCING REVENUE AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE'RE CONSUMING LOAD AND INCURRING COST.
UH, WE ALSO WANNA LOOK AT REGULATORY RISKS.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF TALK AROUND AFFIRMING REQUIREMENTS IN THE FUTURE, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO WE WANNA SEE HOW THAT PROJECT MAY INSULATE US OR MITIGATE US FROM POTENTIAL FUTURE REGULATORY CHANGES AND RISK AS WELL, UH, VOLTAGE RIDE THROUGH THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UH, WE ARE ALSO GONNA LOOK AT THE DEVELOPER AND THE DEVELOPER'S EXPERIENCE.
WE'D LIKE TO SEE A DEVELOPER WITH A PROVEN TRACK RECORD WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY.
WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY AS KEEN TO DO SOMETHING WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER DEVELOPED A WIND PROJECT BEFORE, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND WE ALSO WANNA SEE THAT THEY HAVE PROJECT EXPERIENCE IN THE ERCOT REGION.
THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT ISOS THROUGHOUT, UH, THE UNITED STATES, AND EACH ONE HAS KIND OF DIFFERENT INTERCONNECTION RULES AND, AND DIFFERENT WAYS THE MARKET WORKS.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY, THEY'VE WORKED HERE IN ERCOT AS WELL.
AND THEN FINALLY WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT FINANCIAL VIABILITY.
SO HOW LIKELY IS THE PROJECT TO BE ABLE TO RECEIVE FINANCING AND GET BUILT? UH, DOES THE DEVELOPER HAVE THE, THE ABILITY TO BALANCE SHEET FINANCE IT? ARE WE LOOKING AT THE BANK FINANCING IT? AND THEN WE MIGHT HAVE SOME CONCERNS AROUND THE TERMS OF WHETHER OR NOT THAT WILL MAKE IT FINANCABLE.
UH, THIS IS JUST A, A LITTLE MAP THAT I LIKE TO, TO LOOK AT AS WELL, KIND OF MORE OF A QUALITATIVE LOOK.
UH, BUT WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE IS, IS YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN THIS MAP BEFORE WITH OUR ASSETS, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT NICER PICTURE BEFORE, BUT HERE WE'VE MAPPED OUR ASSETS, UH, THROUGHOUT TEXAS AND THEN WE'VE MAPPED WHERE WE SAW THE PROPOSALS.
SO THE GREEN STARS ARE WIND, THE YELLOW STARS ARE SOLAR, THE ORANGE STARS ARE STORAGE.
AND WHEN I'M TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PORTFOLIO FIT, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU LOOK DOWN IN THE SOUTH PART OF TEXAS NEAR LOS BETOS THREE AND FOUR AND LOS BETOS, UH, TWO, WE HAVE A LOT OF WIND DOWN IN THAT REGION ALREADY.
AND SO WE MIGHT BE LESS ATTRACTED TO A WIND ASSET DOWN THERE BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA PUT TOO MUCH OF OUR SUPPLY IN ANY ONE AREA IN TEXAS.
WE LIKE GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY AS ANOTHER WAY TO MITIGATE OUR RISK.
UH, SO WE WILL BE LOOKING AT AS WELL.
AND IT ALSO GIVES US THE ABILITY TO SEE WHERE THINGS ARE MOVING TOWARDS.
SO YOU'RE SEEING A LOT OF BATTERIES NOW NEAR LOAD CENTERS WHERE IN THE PAST WE SAW THOSE BATTERIES DEVELOPED, UM, OUT WEST NEAR SOME OF THE RENEWABLES THAT ARE HAVING, UH, ISSUES WITH CONGESTION.
SO NEXT STEPS IS WE ARE LOOKING TO COMPLETE OUR FUNDAMENTAL AND STOCHASTIC MODELING.
WE ALREADY KICKED THAT OFF ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF AGO.
WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE THAT DONE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
UH, WE'LL THEN SHORTLIST THOSE PROPOSALS TO GET KIND OF THE HANDFUL OR THE TOP 10 PROPOSALS.
WE'LL RUN THROUGH THOSE THROUGH THAT POWER, UH, FLOW.
MODELING THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, TO SEE HOW DIFFERENT PROJECTS BEING BUILT MAY IMPACT, UH, THE OUTPUT OR THE NET VALUE TO OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, SHOULD THAT OCCUR.
SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND THAT RISK AS WELL.
UH, THEN WE'LL DISCUSS INTERNALLY ON WHICH RECOMMENDATIONS WE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE.
WE'LL TAKE THAT TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION AND THEN ULTIMATELY BRING IT TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT.
SO THAT'S ALL THE SLIDES I HAVE PREPARED, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU ALL MAY HAVE.
WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS DO WE HAVE? YES, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.
UM, CAN YOU HELP ME, I, I KNOW YOU HAVE THE CHART THAT HAD SORT OF THE STARS OF WHERE THEY WERE, UM, THAT HAD, DIDN'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF PROPOSALS THAT WERE IN OUR, OUR LOAD ZONE MM-HMM.
UM, CAN YOU SPEAK TO, YOU KNOW, THE ONES THAT WERE IN OUR AREA AND WHAT YOU SAW THERE? UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT.
SO WE, IT LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE MOSTLY STORAGE PROPOSALS AND WHAT, JUST STORAGE BATTERIE LIKE BATTERIES.
AT THIS POINT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE LOOK FOR UTILITY SCALE RENEWABLES IN OUR RFP.
SO TYPICALLY YOU'RE NOT GONNA SEE A WIND OR SOLAR, UH, FARM PROPOSED THAT'S IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
UH, PART OF THAT IS THE AMOUNT OF LAND REQUIRED FOR SOME OF THESE LARGER SOLAR FARMS OR WIND FARMS. UM, THEY'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR THE AREAS WITH THE BEST OF RADIANCE AND JUST, UH, WIND SPEEDS.
UH, 'CAUSE THE CAPITAL COST IS THE SAME FOR THAT WIND TURBINE.
UH, WHAT, WHAT BRINGS DOWN THE PRICES? HOW MANY MEGAWATTS THAT WIND TURBINE REPRODUCES? UH, SO TYPICALLY WE DO NOT SEE WIND AND SOLAR PROPOSALS IN THE AUSTIN AREA UNLESS WE DO SOMETHING VERY SPECIFIC FOR SMALLER SCALE.
UH, BUT WE WILL SEE BATTERY ASSETS, UH, IN THIS AREA.
AND THEN AT THIS POINT IN TIME, YOU HAVEN'T EVALUATED ALL THE PROPOSALS, SO IF YEAH.
WE'RE STILL IN THE EVALUATION PHASE.
I WILL SAY THAT WE ARE SEEING PRICES A LITTLE BIT HIGHER.
I'VE BEEN DOING BATTERY STORAGE RFPS SINCE ABOUT 2016.
UH, WE SAW THE LOW, THAT PRICE PER KILOWATT MONTH BACK IN ABOUT 2020.
AND WE'VE SEEN IT STEADILY TICK UP SINCE THEN.
AND TO THIS TIME AROUND IS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN THE ONE WE DID IN 2022.
[01:40:01]
OKAY.SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT I'M HEARING ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, QUESTIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE PROPOSALS ARE COMING IN WITH, YOU KNOW, LOW COSTS FOR SOLAR AND YOUR ASSUMPTIONS IN THE MODEL ARE MUCH HIGHER.
UM, SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD, I KNOW YOU HAVEN'T EVALUATED THOSE PROPOSALS YET, SO WE, WE USED THE INFORMATION FROM THE RFP TO INFLUENCE THOSE ASSUMPTIONS.
UH, I THINK WHAT I MENTIONED LAST NIGHT IS, IS WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE THE VERY, VERY LOWEST ONE TO MAKE THAT OUR ASSUMPTION.
AND THAT GETS BACK TO THAT LESS THAN $10 WIND PROJECT I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT EARLIER IS THE TERMS REALLY MATTER.
SO WE, WE LOOK IN THAT LOWER QUARTILE, UH, NOT NECESSARILY RIGHT AT THE, THE MEDIAN OR THE MEAN, IT'S SOMETHING THERE WHERE WE THINK IS A LITTLE BIT MORE VIABLE.
SO TYPICALLY THE, THE CHEAPEST PROJECT WILL NOT HAVE FAVORABLE TERMS. AND SO THAT'S NOT THE PRICE WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT.
WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT, UH, HIGHER THAN THAT.
THAT SEEMS A, A BIT MORE WHAT WE WOULD DO AND, AND MORE VIABLE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO THAT'S, UH, SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU DID IT AT EUC AND AND ARE DOING IT HERE.
IT'S HELPFUL IF YOU CAN CLARIFY HOW YOU GOT TO YOUR ASSUMPTIONS AS YOU SURE.
AS YOU MOVE BECAUSE, SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE HAVE 50, SO, SO THE PROJECTS ARE IN DIFFERENT REGIONS.
SO THE PROJECTS, THE WIND PROJECTS DOWN ON THE, THE GULF COAST FOR EXAMPLE, IS A MORE EXPENSIVE, I GAVE YOU A WIDE RANGE.
DIFFERENT REGIONS, WE'LL HAVE DIFFERENT PRICES AND WE'LL HAVE A DIFFERENT PRICE FOR GULF COAST WIND THAN WE'LL HAVE FOR WEST TEXAS WIND OR PANHANDLE WIND.
UH, SOLAR IN THE HOUSTON AREA, FOR EXAMPLE, IS MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE THAN SOLAR OUT IN WEST TEXAS WHERE DOWN IN SOUTH TEXAS.
SO WE HAVE DIFFERENT PRICES FOR THE REGIONS AND WE LOOK AT ALL THOSE PROPOSALS AND WE LOOK AT KIND OF, LIKE I SAID, NOT THE VERY CHEAPEST PROPOSAL, BUT IF WE HAVE A CLUSTER OF A FEW PROPOSALS ALL IN A SIMILAR PRICE AREA, THAT SEEMS A LOT MORE LIKELY TO GET BUILT.
UH, AND, AND PROBABLY BETTER TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND SO WE WILL UTILIZE THAT PRICE 'CAUSE IT SEEMS, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO ACT UPON AS OPPOSED TO SOMETHING THAT'S, UH, MORE ACADEMIC.
AND DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE AT THIS POINT OF WHAT'S GONNA BE MORE USEFUL IN TERMS OF LIKE SOLAR ALONE OR COLAC LOCATED WITH STORAGE OR? SO I THINK SOME OF THE REGULATORY RISKS ARE LOOKING AT FIRMING REQUIREMENTS IN THE FUTURE.
UH, MAYBE AS EARLY AS 20 27, 20 28.
UH, SO RECOMMENDATIONS WILL LIKELY INVOLVE SOMETHING THAT HAS SOME COMPONENT OF STORAGE THAT WOULD HELP FIRM OR AS WE LOOK INTO THOSE RULES IF WE FELT WE HAD THAT FIRMING ELSEWHERE.
BUT WE DO WANT TO DO PROJECTS THAT MITIGATE US AGAINST FUTURE REGULATORY RISK.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN, WHERE ARE WE ON THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER? I BELIEVE TIM WILL MAYBE BE SPEAKING A LITTLE BIT LATER TO THAT, BUT I, I KNOW THAT'S MOVING FORWARD AND I BELIEVE THAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO, UH, BRING THAT BACK IN MAYBE OCTOBER.
I'M JUST CURIOUS IF AS PART OF THIS ANALYSIS AND WHEN WE ARE COMPARING OPTIONS, IF THE THAT PRICING IS ALSO WORTH US THINKING ABOUT, JUST IN TERMS OF, I KNOW WE, WE CAN'T JUST DO THAT INSTEAD OF THESE OTHER THINGS, BUT JUST IN TERMS OF HOW WE THINK ABOUT WHAT KIND OF BEHAVIOR WE WANNA MOTIVATE, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THE STANDARD OFFER ALLOWS FOR US TO HAVE A LOT OF LOCAL GENERATION, UM, WHILE THERE'S THE CERTAIN HARD COST ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, THERE ARE OTHER, TO YOUR POINT, KIND OF BENEFITS OF BEING IN THE LOAD ZONE AND WHAT IS THE TRANSMISSION THAT THE REDUCED RISK COST OF THAT.
AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS IF YOU COULD HELP US, YOU KNOW, PROFESSOR WEBER TALKED ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE IN COST WHEN WE THINK ABOUT JUST HOME, HOME, HOME TO HOME ROOFTOPS, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE THE PARKING LOT, THE COMMERCIAL ELEMENT.
AND SO IF, IF IT IS ECONOMICALLY, UH, MAKES MORE SENSE FOR US TO MAYBE MAKE THAT OFFER RICHER AND STILL IS CHEAPER AND LOWER RISK THAN LET'S SAY A SOLAR FARM OUT IN WEST TEXAS.
I'M JUST WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO COMPARE ALL THOSE THINGS TOGETHER IF THAT SURE.
AND I, I THINK YOU NEEDED A COMBINATION OF ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET MAYBE THE ECONOMIES OF SCALE, RIGHT? SOMETHING HERE LOCAL AND SOMETHING SMALLER.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, HE SHOWED THE SLIDES THAT SHOWED AS PPAS TO FINE, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO REPLACE IT ALL WITH, WITH LOCAL GENERATION.
UM, AND SO WE'LL NEED TO DO BOTH FOR SURE.
AND, UM, UH, ACTUALLY I HAD A QUESTION RIGHT ABOUT P OUR PPAS MM-HMM.
DO YOU WANNA RENEW FOR ANOTHER 10 YEARS? SO IN MY EXPERIENCE, THEY, THEY ALWAYS COME BACK TO US FIRST.
THEY'D LIKE TO EXTEND WE'RE, WE'RE A GREAT CREDIT ENTITY AND WE HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN THIS MARKET AND, AND A A LONG HISTORY AND, AND DOING RENEWABLES AND RENEWABLE PPAS, UH, WITHOUT MANY ISSUES.
UM, AND SO WE TYPICALLY WILL LOOK AT RENEGOTIATING TO EXTEND THOSE MAYBE AT A LOWER PRICE LIKE WE HAVE DONE WITH THE HACKBERRY PROJECT, OR WE MAY LOOK TO LET THOSE ASSETS JUST ROLL OFF DEPENDING ON THE LOCATION.
YOU KNOW, CONGESTION PATTERNS CHANGE IN ERCOT, WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN GREAT IN 2015 MIGHT NOT BE GREAT IN 2024.
[01:45:01]
SO WE'LL LOOK AT THAT.AND THEN WE ALSO LOOK AT POTENTIALLY REPOWERING THOSE ASSETS AS WELL.
UH, YOU KNOW, WEBER TALKED ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER.
THE PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT IS ONLY GOOD FOR THE FIRST 10 YEARS THAT A WIND FARM IS IN, IN PRODUCTION OR A SOLAR FARM.
AND IT'S WHAT WE SEE A LOT OF TIMES AFTER YEAR 11 OR AFTER OUR PPA HAS EXPIRED OR IT GETTING NEAR THE END AS MANY DEVELOPERS WANT TO REPOWER THAT TO GET THE PRODUCTION TAX CREDITS AGAIN.
UM, WELL THAT WAS MY LAST QUESTION, SO YOU ANSWERED IT.
AND NOW WE ARE MOVING TO OUR, UH, LAST ITEM,
[5. Staff briefing on solar battery storage, microgrids, and load-shaping technology by Tim Harvey, Customer Renewable Solutions Manager.]
WHICH IS THE STAFF BRIEFING ON SOLAR BATTERY STORAGE, MICROGRIDS, AND LOAD SHAPING TECHNOLOGY.THIS IS TIM HARVEY, CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS MANAGER.
UH, GOOD MORNING, UM, CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, CITY MANAGER AND DEPUTY CITY MANAGER.
I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.
I'M JUST GONNA GIVE A LITTLE BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT BEFORE TIM HARVEY DELIVERS THE BRIEFING.
SO IN DECEMBER OF 2022, COUNCIL APPROVED THE RESOLUTION ON STORAGE, UH, LOAD SHAPING, UM, AND MICROGRIDS.
AND WE DELIVERED, UH, MULTIPLE UPDATES TO THAT IN 2023.
THIS IS THE FIRST OF THE UPDATES IN 2024.
AND SO THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A VERY MULTIPLE YEAR EFFORT AND, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL HEAR SOME OF THE SUCCESS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, BUT VERY HAPPY TO, UH, SHARE THE BRIEFING WITH YOU.
AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, WE ARE ON TRACK.
TIM CAN GET INTO MORE OF THE DETAILS IN THE BRIEFING, BUT WE ARE ON TRACK TO LAUNCH THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER IN OCTOBER PER THE PLAN.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO, UH, TIM HARVEY.
I'M THE CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS MANAGER.
I'M GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT BATTERY STORAGE, MICROGRIDS, AND LOAD SHIFTING TECHNOLOGY.
UH, NEXT, OH, I GOT THIS CLICKER.
FIRST I WANT TO, UM, LET Y'ALL KNOW THAT, AND YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD, BUT, UM, WE WERE SUCCESSFUL AT GETTING THE SOLAR FOR ALL GRANT.
UM, THIS IS A $7 BILLION GRANT EFFORT FROM THE EPA.
UM, WE APPLIED THROUGH A COALITION IN TEXAS.
UH, THE COALITION WAS AWARDED $250 MILLION, AND WE ANTICIPATE RECEIVING, UM, 31 PLUS MILLION DOLLARS, UM, OF THAT MONEY.
UM, AND THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF THAT IS TO, UM, REACH INTO LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES, PROVIDE HIGH VALUE AND ACCESS TO SOLAR AND BATTERIES.
UM, THE WAY WE'LL DO THAT IS WE WILL, UM, GO OUT TO RFP TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS FOR POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS, AS WELL AS PERFORMANCE CONTRACTS FOR THE BATTERIES.
UM, THEN WE WILL APPROACH, UH, CUSTOMERS THAT ARE IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES FOCUSING ON LOW INCOME AND, UM, THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE AND, UM, PROVIDE THEM AN UPFRONT INCENTIVE FOR HOSTING A SYSTEM.
THE SYSTEM WOULD BE SOLAR AND BATTERIES.
UM, IN THE EVENT OF A POWER FAILURE, THE HOST CUSTOMER WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE, TO THE SOLAR AND BATTERIES TO POWER TO KEEP THEIR LIGHTS ON.
UM, AND THEN THE, THE SOLAR ENERGY THAT'S PRODUCED ON THOSE SYSTEMS WILL GO TO THE COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAM THROUGH WHICH LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS CAN PARTICIPATE AND RECEIVE 20% BILL SAVINGS.
UM, AND THE, THE BATTERIES WILL BE OPERATED AS A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.
SO WE'LL AGGREGATE THOSE BATTERIES, WE'LL CONTROL THEM, WE'LL, WE'LL USE THEM FOR DEMAND REDUCTION.
UM, ALL OF THIS WILL BE INSTALLED UTILIZING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. SO WE'RE REACHING DEEPER INTO THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND PROVIDING LONG LASTING VALUE THERE.
UM, THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE THERE ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF THE RENEWABLE ENERGY, UM, AND, UM, GENERATING IN OUR LOAD ZONE WITH A CONTROLLABLE ASSET AS, UM, AS WELL AS US STARTING TO, UM, REALLY PUT INTO PLACE AND, AND, UM, EXPERIMENT WITH VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS.
SO, UH, THIS IS, THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US.
WE'LL BEGIN BY ENGAGING, UM, COMMUNITY BENEFIT ORGANIZATIONS, UM, TO GET INFORMED ON WHAT THE LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES REALLY NEED OUT OF THIS BEFORE WE START TO REALLY, YOU KNOW, UM, BUTTON UP
[01:50:01]
THE STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAM.SO WE WANT TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE DOING AS MUCH, UM, POSITIVE THINGS IN IN THE COMMUNITY AS WE CAN.
SO THE VIRTUAL POWER PLANT, UM, THROUGH, UH, SOLAR FOR ALL WILL KIND OF BE SEPARATE.
UM, BUT WE INTEND TO ALSO DO A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT FOR THOSE THAT, UM, HAVE THEIR OWN BATTERIES.
CURRENTLY WE HAVE ABOUT 10 MEGAWATTS OF CUSTOMER OWNED BATTERIES.
UM, AND WHAT WE INTEND TO DO IS TO CREATE AN AVENUE BY WHICH THEY WOULD ALLOW US TO HAVE CONTROL OF THEIR BATTERY.
UM, THEN WE WOULD SIGNAL A DERMS OPERATOR, WHICH WOULD BE AN EDGE DERMS AT FIRST AT LEAST, WHICH MEANS THAT THE, UM, DISTRIBUTED ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS OWNED AND IS OWNED BY A THIRD PARTY THAT'S CONTRACTING WITH US, NOT BY US.
UM, AND SO WE WOULD SEND A SIGNAL TO THEM TO DEPLOY THOSE BATTERIES DURING DEMAND RESPONSE EVENTS.
UM, THEY WOULD THEN DISCHARGE THE BATTERIES, WE AVOID COSTS ON THE MARKET, AND THEN WE PASS SOME OF THOSE BENEFITS THROUGH TO THE PARTICIPATING CUSTOMERS.
SO, UM, THOSE, THOSE BENEFITS COME BACK AS INCENTIVES TO THE CUSTOMERS TO PARTICIPATE, UM, AND, AND ADOPT BATTERIES.
UH, WE MAY COUPLE THAT WITH AN UPFRONT INCENTIVE.
WE'LL HAVE TO SEE WHAT THAT INCENTIVE LOOKS LIKE, UM, FOR OVERTIME.
BUT, UM, IF NEEDED, WE'LL COUPLE, WE'LL COUPLE THAT WITH AN UPFRONT INCENTIVE.
UM, AND THEN THIS WOULD ALLOW US ANOTHER FLEET TO OPERATE IN A VERY SIMILAR, OR MAYBE EVEN THE EXACT SAME FASHION AS THE VPPS FROM SOLAR FOR ALL.
UM, BUT THIS WOULD BE ANOTHER FLEET OF VPPS THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO MANAGE SEPARATELY FOR GRANT PURPOSES.
SO, SO TO DATE, WE'VE MADE, UH, QUITE A BIT OF PROGRESS IN TERMS OF BATTERY ADOPTION.
THE SHINES, UM, PROJECT HAS, YOU KNOW, CREATED A LOT OF LESSONS LEARNED FOR US.
WE DEVELOPED RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL INTERCONNECTION GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS AND COORDINATION WITH, UM, OUR FIRST RESPONDERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SAFE.
UM, AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT SAFETY IS THROUGHOUT, UM, AND THAT IT'S MEETING ALL OF OUR, UM, EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS.
UM, WE HAVE UPGRADED THE BILLING SYSTEM TO ENABLE MORE CONFIGURATIONS OF BATTERIES AND, AND SOLAR.
UH, WE'VE INTEGRATED, UM, A VEHICLE TO HOME PROJECT AND WE HAVE MORE IN THE QUEUE.
AND WE HAVE ABOUT 10 MEGAWATTS OF RESIDENTIAL BATTERIES INSTALLED.
UM, SO CURRENT EFFORTS THAT WILL FURTHER BATTERY ADOPTION, UM, ARE THE RESILIENCE HUBS.
I HAVE A SLIDE ON THAT IN A MINUTE.
UM, WE'RE WORKING ON A MICROGRID WITH CAMP MABERRY, UM, WHICH IS A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL ONE THAT'S NOT, IT GOES BEYOND JUST A SINGLE BUILDING.
THEY HAVE MULTIPLE BUILDINGS THERE.
UM, WE HAVE A, WE'RE WORKING ON A BATTERY RECYCLING INFORMATION PROGRAM SO THAT WHEN WE GO OUT TO, UM, INSPECT A RESIDENTIAL, UH, BATTERY SYSTEM, WE'LL PUT A STICKER WITH A QR CODE ON THE SIDE OF THAT BATTERY SO THAT, UM, IN THE FUTURE, CUSTOMERS CAN JUST GO TO THAT QR CODE WEBSITE, WHICH WILL BE MAINTAINED AND UPDATED, UH, FREQUENTLY SO THAT THEY CAN GET THE LATEST AND GREATEST INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO RECYCLE THEIR BATTERY WHEN IT COMES TIME FOR THAT.
UM, SO WE ARE ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF, UM, TRYING TO PROCURE A, A EDGE DERMS SYSTEMS. SO THAT WOULD BE WORKING WITH A THIRD PARTY, UM, WHO, WHO OWNS AND MANAGES THE DERMS TO, UM, MEET OUR NEEDS.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE SOLAR FOR ALL.
UM, WE'LL ALSO USE DERMS. AND THEN, UH, IN TERMS OF PLANNING, WE ARE WORKING WITH EPRI TO IDENTIFY AND BUILD REQUIREMENTS FOR A CENTRAL DERMS THAT WOULD BE A DERMS SYSTEM THAT'S OWNED, UM, BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND THAT WILL INTEGRATE WITH ALL OF OUR SYSTEMS BETTER TO MORE ACCURATELY, UM, ALLOW US TO, TO MODEL ALL OF THE EVENTS, UM, ON OUR SYSTEM AND, UM, INTEGRATE WITH ALL OF OUR, UM, SOFTWARE.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, IN THE FY 25 BUDGET, UM, WE HAVE INCLUDED MONEY TO PROCURE THOSE TERMS. SO, UH, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MICROGRIDS.
UM, SO THIS IS A TYPICAL MICROGRID THAT YOU WOULD SEE AT THE HOME LEVEL OR SMALL BUSINESS LEVEL.
UM, IN THIS SCENARIO, UM, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT JUST BEHIND THE METER IS THE ISOLATION DEVICE.
SO WHEN THE GRID GOES DOWN, THE SYSTEM WILL SENSE THAT THE GRID IS DOWN.
[01:55:01]
WILL AUTOMATICALLY OPEN THAT, THAT ISOLATION DEVICE, WHICH KEEPS ANY ENERGY FROM FLOWING BACK ONTO LINES.AND THAT WILL, YOU KNOW, ENSURE THE SAFETY OF OUR LINE WORKERS.
UM, AND THEN THE, THE SYSTEM KICKS ON THE HOUSE, MIGHT, MAY SEE A SECOND OR TWO WHERE THERE'S A POWER LAPSE, BUT IT, IT'S, UM, PRETTY SEAMLESS.
THEN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SYSTEM WILL, UM, POWER THE HOME UNTIL THE GRID COMES BACK ON.
IT WILL SENSE THAT, AND THEN IT'LL SWITCH BACK OVER TO GRID POWER AT THAT TIME.
SO A AN EXAMPLE OF THAT IS, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE'RE PLANNING, WE'RE WORKING ON, UM, FOUR DIFFERENT RESILIENCE SUBPILOTS AT MONTOPOLIS, GUS GARCIA, DOVE SPRINGS, AND GIBBS.
THESE WERE, UM, REC CENTERS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED BY THE COMMUNITY AS SOME OF THEIR TOP CHOICES.
UM, AND WHAT WE PLAN TO DO IS TO PUT, UH, ENOUGH SOLAR OUT THERE, OR REALLY AS MUCH SOLAR OUT THERE AS THE, THE SITE WILL HANDLE, UM, AND, UH, AN APPROPRIATELY SIZED BATTERY THAT WILL PROVIDE THREE DAYS OF AUTONOMY, UM, TO THE SITE AT FULL, AT NORMAL LOADS, UM, AS WELL AS AN ONSITE NATURAL GAS GENERATOR FOR THE, THE BELT AND SUSPENDERS APPROACH.
SO WITH THAT TYPE OF A SYSTEM, YOU CAN HAVE, UH, DAYS, WEEKS, AND EVEN MONTHS OF AUTONOMY FROM THE GRID IF NEEDED.
SO THESE WOULD BE IMPORTANT AND EXTREME EVENTS, OR EVEN MILD EVENTS, UM, UH, IT, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WE WOULD OPERATE THAT BATTERY IN THE SAME FASHION AS OUR OTHER BATTERIES, UM, FOR DEMAND RESPONSE, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, THE SOLAR WOULD BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAM AND ADD TO THE BENEFITS OF THAT PROGRAM.
THE NEXT LEVEL, UH, MICROGRID, UM, WOULD BE TO SECTIONALIZE A FEEDER.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T DONE YET, UM, BUT WE'RE READY TO EXPLORE.
UM, THIS IS THE IDEA THAT YOU COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT IS ON A MICROGRID.
UM, SO THERE, THERE HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT EXAMPLES OF THIS.
UM, THERE'S ONE IN FLORIDA WHERE THEY HAD A MAJOR EVENT IN FLORIDA THAT THE PRACTICALLY THE WHOLE STATE WENT DOWN, BUT THIS COMMUNITY STAYED UP AND DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO RESET THEIR CLOCKS.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S POSSIBLE IT'S, IT'S MORE LIKELY WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION, WE'RE JUST KIND OF WAITING FOR, UM, A DEVELOPER TO BRING THAT TO US.
WE THINK THAT THIS WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, A MULTI-YEAR PROJECT TO GET SOMETHING LIKE THIS PUT IN PLACE.
UM, AND WE ARE EXCITED TO LEARN, UM, MORE ABOUT IT AND, AND ENABLE THAT.
AND FINALLY, UM, WE HAVE LOAD SHAPE, LOAD SHAPING AND DEMAND RESPONSE TECHNOLOGIES.
UH, WE OFFER PROGRAMS TO RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS TO, UM, ENROLL THEIR DEVICES AND TO DEMAND RESPONSE, WHICH ALLOWS US TO THROTTLE THEM BACK OR, OR TURN THEM OFF, UH, DURING DEMAND RESPONSE EVENTS.
UM, THE, THE COMMERCIAL DEMAND RESPONSE IS FOR MEDIUM TO LARGE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
UM, SO WE WOULD REDUCE THEIR HVAC LIGHTING AND PROCESS LOADS.
POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT, UM, IS, IS ALSO FOR EVS NOW.
UM, SO WE CAN HELP THEM MANAGE THEIR CHARGING TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE NOT CHARGING THEIR VEHICLES DURING, UM, DEMAND RESPONSE EVENTS, AS WELL AS CYCLING THERMOSTATS AND WATER HEATER TIMERS AS WELL.
UM, THEN WE, WE HAVE THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE WITH, WITH, UH, CHILLED WATER AND ICE STORAGE SYSTEMS THAT ALLOW COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS TO SHIFT, UM, COOLING LOADS.
AND, UM, A A COUPLE DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS, THE POWER SAVER PROGRAM, WHERE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS VOLUNTEER TO RECEIVE ALERTS TO CONSERVE ENERGY ON PEAK DAYS, AS WELL AS A, A MULTI-FAMILY SMART HOME REWARDS PROGRAM, WHICH UTILIZES A MILLION DOLLAR GRANT, UM, TO PROVIDE INCENTIVES TO BOTH THE TENANTS AND THE, UM, APARTMENT COMPLEXES, UH, TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, UM, CONNECTED AND WE'RE ABLE TO CONTROL THEIR DEVICES.
IT ALSO FEATURES LEAK DETECTION AND, UM, WOOD CONTROL, THEIR WATER HEATER TIMERS, AS WELL AS THERMOSTATS.
AND THAT'S ALL THE SLIDES I HAVE PREPARED TODAY.
WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS DO WE HAVE? YES, COUNCIL MEMBER, VANESSA ES THANK YOU.
UH, FOR THE SOLAR FOR ALL GRANT.
I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU'D BE REACHING OUT TO ORGANIZATIONS TO WORK TO IDENTIFY,
[02:00:01]
UM, ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS.WHAT IS THE TIMELINE IN DEVELOPING THAT PROGRAM AND HAVING IT AVAILABLE FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOODS? YEAH, SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE'RE WAITING FOR FUNDING, UM, TO COME THROUGH.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ENTER INTO A INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH HOUSTON, WHO IS THE LEAD ON THAT.
UM, SO ONCE THAT HAPPENS AND WE'RE ABLE TO, WE'LL GO OUT TO RFP.
UM, WE'LL, I'M, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE HOW ALL OF THAT IS GONNA WORK YET.
WE'RE STILL KIND OF IRONING OUT THE DETAILS.
BUT THE INTENT IS TO WORK WITH COMMUNITY BENEFIT ORGANIZATIONS WHO WILL HELP US CONNECT WITH LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES SO THAT WE CAN, UM, HAVE A GOOD STAKEHOLDER GROUP TO INFORM OUR APPROACH.
SO THROUGH THE GRANT, WE'RE ALLOWED A YEAR TO KIND OF SETTLE IN ON WHAT OUR APPROACH IS AND BEFORE WE HAVE TO START SPENDING MONEY ON THAT.
UM, AND WHEN YOU SAY, AND WE INTEND TO DO THAT UPFRONT, AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE, WHEN YOU SAY COMMUNITY BENEFIT ORGANIZATIONS, CAN YOU, IS THAT A DEFINED TYPE OF ORGANIZATION? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? UM, YEAH, I, I, WE HAVEN'T REALLY DUG DOWN INTO THE DEFINITION OF THAT, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE INVOLVED WITH LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES SO THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, GET THEM TOGETHER IN STAKEHOLDER GROUPS AND REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, REACH DOWN INTO THE COMMUNITY TO GET THAT INFORMATION.
I, I WOULD OFFER, UH, COMMUN UH, ORGANIZATIONS WITH WHICH WE ALREADY HAVE RELATIONSHIPS ELSEWHERE THROUGHOUT THE PORTFOLIO.
UH, LIKE IN OUR CAP PROGRAM, WE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS ESTABLISHED WITH LOTS AND LOTS OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
SO THEY WOULD BE TYPICALLY OF, UH, INDICATIVE OF THE ONES THAT WE WOULD REACH OUT FOR THIS PROGRAM AS WELL.
SO, BUT YOU IMAGINE A PROCESS WHERE, WHERE THERE IS AN OPEN SOLICITATION WHERE NONPROFITS AND OTHER TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS CAN APPLY FOR FUNDING TO HELP WITH IDENTIFYING HOUSEHOLDS.
I I DON'T KNOW ABOUT IDENTIFYING, UM, I, I'M TALKING ABOUT REALLY INPUT AND PARTNERSHIP IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATION OF THE PROGRAM AND ELIGIBILITY AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
IT'S PRIMARILY A RESIDENTIAL, UH, FOCUS PROGRAM.
SO IT WOULD BE, AS YOU SAW ON THE SLIDE, UP TO 3000 HOUSEHOLDS FOR BATTERIES AND SOLAR.
SO WE'D BE ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF HOW DO WE GET THE WORD OUT, HOW DO WE IDENTIFY THE, UH, 'CAUSE WE ALREADY KNOW, LIKE FOR THE GRANT PURPOSES, UH, THE AREAS HAVE TO BE ALIGNED WITH JUSTICE 40, AS YOU'VE HEARD.
SO IT WOULD BE WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY TO IDENTIFY HOUSEHOLDS IN THE JUSTICE 40 AREAS AND COMMUNICATION OF THE PROGRAM.
WELL, I KNOW Y'ALL HAD SOME REALLY GREAT SUCCESS WITH INCREASING OUR ENROLLEES IN THE CAP PROGRAM, UH, WHICH IS GREAT TO HEAR.
UH, I WOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, THINK THROUGH WHAT ARE SOME INNOVATIVE WAYS THAT WE CAN GET FAMILIES SIGNED UP QUICKLY TO PARTICIPATE? UM, MOSTLY BECAUSE I KNOW WITH OUR OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE WITH THE CITY, INCLUDING OUR, UH, HOME REPAIR PROGRAM, UH, IT'S CHALLENGING TO FIND, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO KNOW ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND TO GET THEM SIGNED UP TO, TO PARTICIPATE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.
SO, UM, WHEN WILL AUSTIN ENERGY HAVE A TARIFF TO SUPPORT, UH, DEPLOYMENT OF CUSTOMER CITED BATTERIES, UM, THAT AE CAN UTILIZE? I'D SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH A SPECIFIC TIMELINE.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE A SPECIFIC TIMELINE RIGHT NOW THAT WE CAN QUOTE, UH, BUT I WOULD SAY WE'RE MAKING REALLY GOOD PROGRESS ON IRONING OUT ALL THOSE DETAILS.
AS RECENTLY AS YESTERDAY, WE WERE IN AN INTERNAL MEETING IRONING OUT, YOU KNOW, THE APPROACH THAT WE'RE TAKING FOR, UH, TARIFF ON, ON THAT.
SO I, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC, BUT IS IT LIKE WITHIN A YEAR? OH YEAH, I'D CERTAINLY, CERTAINLY WITHIN A YEAR.
I'D SAY FRANKLY, SHORTER TIMEFRAME THAN THAT.
I MEAN, I, I THINK THE TIMING IS COMMENSURATE, UM, WITH SOLAR FOR ALL AND, UH, SOLAR STANDARD OFFER.
SO SOLAR STANDARD OFFER, WE ARE LAUNCHING IN OCTOBER SOLAR FOR ALL, AS YOU HEARD, WE'LL LAUNCH WITHIN A YEAR OF WHEN THE FUNDING IS AWARDED.
UM, AND FOR THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER, CAN YOU JUST REMIND ME, THERE'S A LOT OF SOLAR THINGS I WANNA MAKE SURE I'M NOT GETTING.
SO SOLAR STANDARD OFFER IS, UM, THE ABILITY FOR AUSTIN ENERGY TO PROVIDE A BENEFIT TO A THIRD PARTY WHO OWNS AND OPERATES THE SOLAR ARRAY IN THIS, IN THE, UM, DIS ON THE DISTRIBUTION GRID AND IN FRONT OF THE CUSTOMER'S METER.
AND THEN, UM, RIGHT NOW WITH OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM, WE JUST GET A UPFRONT INCENTIVE IF YOU DO THE THERMOSTAT, OR I THINK NOW WITH THE EVS, WHEN WOULD WE BE ABLE TO PAY OUR CUSTOMERS FOR, UM, BEING ABLE TO ADJUST THEIR DEMAND? 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST LIKE YOU HAVE THE CONNECTION BUT YOU DON'T GET IT IF YOU ACTUALLY DO IT WELL.
[02:05:01]
NOW WE DO PAY AN UPFRONT AND ANNUALLY FOR RETENTION IN THE PROGRAM.WE DON'T HAVE THE COMPONENT THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE ADDRESSING YET.
BUT I WOULD SAY, JUST SO YOU, UM, KNOW ACROSS THE WHOLE PORTFOLIO, IF SOMEONE SIGNED UP FOR EVERY SINGLE THING THAT WE HAVE, EITHER IN A PROGRAM OFFERING OR IN PILOT, IT WOULD BE $350 AND $175, $350 UPFRONT AND $175 ON A ANNUAL BASIS FOR EVERYTHING.
LIKE, 'CAUSE WE HAVE THERMOSTATS, WE HAVE EVS, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE DEVICES IN THE HOME.
ALRIGHT, I THINK, I THINK THAT'S IT FOR QUESTIONS AND I APPRECIATE STAFF'S FLEXIBILITY WITH, UM, HOW WE RAN OUR MEETING TODAY.
OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE IN SEPTEMBER, I THINK IT'S SEPTEMBER 24.
SEPTEMBER 24, 9:00 AM UH, THANK YOU STAFF AND I WILL ADJOURN THE JULY MEETING OF THE AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AND.