[Austin Resource Generation Plan Work Shop #3 on August 22, 2024.]
[00:00:38]
SITTING BY DIFFERENT PEOPLE EVERY TIME THAT YOU COME IN.
UM, AT LAST MEETING, UM, WE HEARD A LOT OF INFORMATION, SO I JUST WANNA GO THROUGH SOME OF THAT.
WHAT DID I DO? I NEED, I NEED THE WIZARD,
AT THE, UH, LAST WORKSHOP, WE'RE GONNA REPORT OUT ON THAT.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE SEVERAL SURVEYS, ACTUALLY THREE TODAY.
SO THERE'S AN IMPACT SURVEY, AND THAT'S IN FRONT OF YOU.
YOU SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THAT WHEN YOU COME IN.
WE'LL GIVE YOU A FEW MINUTES HERE TO FILL THAT OUT, BUT YOU CAN START WORKING ON THAT IF YOU WANT.
UM, WE WILL HAVE A, UM, GAME OF BEANS, WHICH WE'RE GONNA BE SOME TRADE-OFFS, SO WE'LL EXPLAIN THAT IN A LITTLE BIT.
WE ARE ARE ALSO GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT EQUITY TODAY AND THE CHIP REPORT, UM, PRESENTATION.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT SOME VULNERABLE, UM, THOUGHTS AND STRATEGIES ON THAT.
AND THEN WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT AN OBJECTIVE SURVEY.
AS YOU FINISH YOUR SURVEYS, PASS THEM BACK TO YOUR TABLE FACILITATORS.
TABLE FACILITATORS RAISE YOUR HAND, THEY'RE THERE TO HELP.
ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS, HELP YOU GET YOUR SURVEYS DONE, ALL OF THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO, UM, AT THE LAST MEETING WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT, UM, ERCOT.
WE HAD ERCOT 1 0 1, THE BIG TAKEAWAYS THERE WHERE AUSTIN ENERGY IS BOUND TO ERCOT MARKET AND ITS RULES AND CONSTRUCTS.
THE ERCOT MARKET, LIKE ANY MARKET, HAS BOTH BENEFITS AND RISK DECISIONS MADE IN THE MARKETPLACE HAVE TRADE-OFFS.
FOR EXAMPLE, A DECISION MADE TO MAXIMIZE REBI RELIABILITY COULD REDUCE AFFORDABILITY AND VICE VERSA.
AND DECISIONS WE MAKE FOR THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN, WHICH ARE ALL HELPING US THINK ABOUT, WILL AFFECT THE TOOLS AVAILABLE IN THE FUTURE TO MINIMIZE RISK, MAXIMIZE BENEFIT IN THE ERCOT MARKET IN TERMS OF AFFORDABILITY, SUSTAINABILITY, RELIABILITY, AND EQUITY.
WE ALSO HEARD FROM DR. WEBER AT, FROM THE COCKRELL SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AT UT.
UH, SOME TAKEAWAYS THERE WHERE UTILITIES, INCLUDING AUSTIN ENERGY, NEED TO PREPARE FOR AN AIR OF UNPRECEDENTED ELECTRICITY CON CONSUMPTION.
UH, THE CHALLENGE BEFORE US IS TO SIMULTANEOUSLY EXPAND AND DECARBONIZE THE GRID WHILE THE WORLD IS WARMING.
AUSTIN ENERGY IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED AS A MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITY TO ADDRESS LOAD GROWTH BECAUSE IT CAN WORK ON BOTH THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND SIDES OF THE EQUATION.
SINCE ITS SERVICE, ERRITORY IS ITS OWN LOAD ZONE.
AUSTIN ENERGY CAN AVOID CONGESTION COSTS BY BUILDING GENERATION CLOSE TO WHERE CUSTOMERS NEED IT.
UM, UH, YOU HEARD THIS MULTIPLE TIMES.
DO YOUR BEST CLEAN UP THE REST THROUGH A COMBINATION OF EFFICIENCY, ELECTRIFICATION, CLEAN MOLECULES, AND CARBON MANAGEMENT.
AND THEN AUSTIN ENERGY HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THE OVERALL FINANCIAL HEALTH OF THE UTILITY AND THEREFORE PROVIDE MORE BENEFIT TO THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY AND ITS CUSTOMERS.
THE KEY LENS, WHICH, UH, THROUGH WHICH ENERGY OPTIONS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IS TRADE-OFFS.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE THEME FOR TODAY IS, IS TRADE-OFFS.
UM, SO WITH THAT, UH, YOU'VE WALKED IN, THERE'S A SURVEY IN FRONT OF YOU, SO IF YOU CAN JUST FILL THAT SURVEY OUT IN FRONT OF YOU.
IF YOU HAVE SOME ISSUES WITH WRITING OR DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT, YOU CAN ALSO DO IT ONLINE.
THERE'S A QR CODE AND YOU CAN FILL IT OUT THAT WAY.
I JUST CAN'T TYPE ON MY PHONE.
BUT IF YOU COULD FILL OUT THAT SURVEY AND HAND IT TO YOUR TABLE FACILITATOR, I'LL GIVE YOU A FEW MINUTES.
WHEN YOU'VE DONE THAT, JUST KINDA WAVE AT ME SO I CAN WATCH WHAT'S GOING ON.
IS THERE A QR CODE? OH, I DON'T, IS THERE, UH, I DON'T KNOW.
I THOUGHT THERE WAS A QR CODE.
IS THERE NOT A QR CODE? I CAN PASS ONE OUT.
WE WERE GONNA HAVE AN ONLINE PART.
WE BROKE IT UP SO WE CAN, UH, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO FILL IT OUT BY, BY THAT, UM, SHOULD WRITE DOWN.
[00:05:06]
SO ON THIS SURVEY, IT'S FOR YOU PERSONALLY.AND THEN YOU KNOW THE ORGANIZATION.
MOST OF YOU HERE OR, WELL, ALL OF YOU I THINK ARE PRETTY MUCH, UM, REPRESENTING KIND OF AN ORGANIZATION OF PEOPLE.
AND SO ALSO TALK THROUGH SOME OF THAT AS WELL.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE SOME QR CODES, IF YOU'D RATHER DO IT THAT WAY.
IF YOU'RE USING THE QR CODE, STOP WHENEVER IT SAYS NEXT.
'CAUSE WE GOT SEVERAL SURVEYS.
SO JUST WHAT YOU CAN STOP AT THE END OF THAT FIRST PAGE.
LOOK, I'LL GIVE YOU ABOUT ANOTHER MINUTE.
IT LOOKS LIKE MOST PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO EAT MORE
LOOKS LIKE MOST PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO LOOK UP HERE.
ALL RIGHT, NOW WE'RE DOING THE JELLY BEAN GAME.
SO PUT UP WITH ME FOR THIS A LITTLE BIT, BUT I THINK IT'LL BE FUN.
UM, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TRADE-OFFS THROUGHOUT THIS SERIES OF WORKSHOPS.
WHILE IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL IF WE LIVED IN A PERFECT WORLD, WE CAN'T HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT
[00:10:01]
CLEAN, A HUNDRED PERCENT RELIABLE, A HUNDRED PERCENT AFFORDABLE AND TRUE EQUITY.UM, I'M REALLY SORRY TO TELL YOU, BUT WE DON'T.
UM, WHAT YOU'LL SEE STARTING TODAY AND AT THE NEXT WORKSHOP IN APPROACHING THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE ON ANY ONE VALUE, ANOTHER VALUE WILL BE EXPRESSED AS SOMETHING LESS THAN THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
THAT IS, UM, THE CHALLENGE THAT WE ASK YOU TO EXPLORE WITH US THIS SPRING.
AND THIS HAS KIND OF BEEN PREPARING YOU FOR THIS DISCUSSION AND OUR NEXT DISCUSSION, THE LAST TWO MEETINGS.
AS A REAL WORLD EXAMPLE, LET'S LOOK AT, UM, WINTER STORMS OF RECENT YEARS.
IF I'M TALKING ABOUT MYSELF, I, I HAVE A GOOD JOB.
WE ACTUALLY LIVE RIGHT NEXT TO SOUTH AUSTIN HOSPITAL, SO I DID NOT LOSE MY ENERGY.
SO WHEN YOU DO NEXT TIME, YOU CAN COME STAY WITH ME NOW, YOU KNOW, UM, BUT, AND SO I PROBABLY WOULD, WOULD CARE MORE ABOUT CLEANING AND, AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
HOWEVER, UM, MY PARENTS ALSO LIVED IN AUSTIN DURING ALL OF THAT, AND THEY DID LOT LOSE THEIR ENERGY.
AND SO RELIABILITY WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT THING FOR ME.
AND SO WE EVEN TALKED ABOUT WORKING ON TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE COULD DO WITHIN THEIR, UH, ASSISTED LIVING PLACE IF THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD SPY OR DO SOMETHING TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
AND SO, UM, THAT WOULD'VE BEEN LESS AFFORDABLE FOR ME, BUT MORE RELIABLE POTENTIALLY FOR THEM.
SO THERE'S ALWAYS THESE TRADE-OFFS, AND, AND THERE'S NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THE, IT'S NOT A THREE-LEGGED STOOL EITHER, WHERE IT'S ALL EQUAL.
SO, UM, OKAY, THIS IS KIND OF GOOFY AND THIS TELLS YOU HOW MY BRAIN THINKS, BUT, UM, HOW MANY PEOPLE KNOW WHAT SMORES ARE? WHAT'S, WHAT'S A SMORE? MY BOILER MAKER FRIEND, GRAHAM CRACKER, HORSE JAR, GRAHAM CRACKER, MARSHMALLOW AND CHOCOLATE.
SO I WAS, UH, HAD A FUN WEEKEND GETAWAY, AND WE WENT TO A REALLY NICE KIND OF HOTEL WITH, WITH MILES, WHO WAS SEVEN? KATRINA 10 AND TALIA ONE AND A HALF.
AND THEY HAVE A S'MORES NIGHT, EVEN IF IT'S 107 DEGREES OUT.
AND, UH, I, I HAD A BLAST WATCHING THEM.
WHO LIKES THE MARSHMALLOWS THE MOST IN THE S'MORES? OKAY, WE GOTTA HIT SOME.
WHO LIKES THE CHOCOLATE THE MOST IN THE S'MORES? OKAY, WHO LIKES THE GRAHAM CRACKERS THE MOST? AND THE S'MORES? HEY, WE GOT ONE.
ANYBODY WANT CINNAMON GRAHAM CRACKERS FOR THEIR S'MORES? OH, WE GOT A FEW MORE.
ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY MORE FOR THE CINNAMON GRAHAM CRACKERS? OH, WE GOT A COUPLE THAT STAYED.
WELL, I HAD A BLAST LISTENING TO THESE KIDS MAKE S'MORES.
UM, THEY WERE TELLING ME THAT YOU HAD TO HAVE TWO MARSHMALLOWS AND SOMEONE WAS ARGUING, NO, YOU JUST NEEDED, YOU NEEDED ONE MARSHMALLOW NOT COOKED WITH CHOCOLATE.
AND THEN THE 7-YEAR-OLD WAS EXPLAINING TO ME HOW THE, LET'S, I'VE GOTTA SAY THIS THE RIGHT WAY.
THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE SMORE NEEDED MORE GRAHAM CRACKERS,
SO IN THAT DISCUSSION, IT MADE ME THINK ABOUT THIS IDEA OF THERE'S NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWERS.
THERE'S, THERE'S VALUES AND WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT AND WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.
AND, AND THAT'S KIND OF WANTED TO EXPLAIN WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT TODAY.
SO IT REMINDED ME OF SOME MORE.
SO THANK YOU FOR MY WEIRD TRIP AND HOW MY BRAIN THINKS.
BUT, UM, WE'RE GONNA TALK TODAY ABOUT THAT THREE-LEGGED STOOL.
WE'RE GONNA START WITH, UH, AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE, AND SUSTAINABLE.
AND I PROMISE YOU WE'LL GET TO EQUITY AS YOU SAW IN THE FIRST AGENDA.
SO EACH OF YOU HAVE THEY BEEN GIVEN THEIR JELLY BEANS YET? OKAY, YOU SHOULD HAVE A PACKAGE OF JELLY BEANS, WHICH SHOULD HAVE 10 JELLY BEANS IN THERE.
SO QUALITY CONTROL ON THESE IS NOT THE BEST.
SO IF YOU DO NOT HAVE 10, OPEN UP ANOTHER PACKAGE OF JELLY BEANS.
DO NOT EAT ANY OF THEM YET, I PROMISE YOU.
I'LL TELL YOU WHEN YOU CAN EAT THEM, OKAY? OKAY.
WE NEED SOME MORE JELLY BEANS AROUND HERE.
SO THE GOAL OF THIS EXERCISE IS TO JUST PROVIDE US SOME VALUABLE FEEDBACK ABOUT TRADE-OFFS, RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS, AND THEN THIS EXERCISE ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE DAY'S, SURVEYS, ALL THE OTHER THINGS WILL HELP US LOOK AT SOME OF, OF THOSE RESOURCE GENERATION PORTFOLIOS AND THE MODELING THAT YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT NEXT TIME.
SO YOU SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS, THAT IN FRONT OF YOU RIGHT NOW.
[00:15:01]
AFFORDABILITY HAS FIVE.RELIABILITY HAS FIVE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY HAS FIVE.
BUT WE DON'T LIVE IN A PERFECT WORLD.
SO INSTEAD OF GIVING YOU 15, SO WE CAN HAVE A HUNDRED, A HUNDRED, A HUNDRED, YOU HAVE 10 JELLY BEANS.
SO YOU CAN ALLOCATE YOUR 10 JELLY BEANS.
SO IT WOULD BE 10, 10 AND FIVE.
SO YOU FILL OUT THE REST OF THE FIVE PLUS FIVE, YOU CAN DO EIGHT, SEVEN, WHATEVER THE LAST NUMBER IS.
ANYWAY, YOU CAN DO ALL SORTS OF THINGS.
YOU CAN KEEP, YOU CAN BALANCE THEM OUT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, BUT YOU HAVE 15 SPOTS TO PUT YOUR 10 JELLY BEANS IN.
AND THEN YOU COUNT THE JELLY BEANS ALL THE WAY ACROSS YOUR, THE FIVE THAT'S ALREADY IN THERE, PLUS YOUR, YOUR JELLY BEANS.
AND WRITE THE NUMBER IN THAT FIRST BOX.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? QUESTIONS? YES.
SO YOU, NO ONE SHOULD HAVE LESS THAN FIVE IN ANY OF THEIR ALLOCATIONS.
YOU CAN'T ADD MORE BOXES EITHER
AND THEN YOUR ALLOCATIONS SHOULD BE BETWEEN FIVE AND 10 IF YOU NEED TO KIND OF SEE WHAT THAT MIGHT MEAN.
SOME PEOPLE NEEDED MORE DETAILS THAN OTHERS.
THERE'S SOME GUIDES ON THE FRONT.
A 10 MIGHT BE CARBON FREE ON THE SUSTAINABILITY, OR A 10 ON AFFORDABILITY MIGHT BE THE LOWEST COST POSSIBLE.
BUT YOU CAN LOOK AT THOSE GUIDES IF YOU NEED THEM OR IF YOU JUST LIKE TO GO WITH YOUR GUT, WHICH IS KIND OF WHERE I ALWAYS GO.
UM, YOU'RE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK AT THOSE.
ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR NUMBERS IN THERE, HOW MANY HAVE THEIR NUMBERS ALL ADDED UP? THEY'VE DISTRIBUTED THEIR 10 BEANS.
UM, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO NOW IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO MOVE AND WORK WITH YOUR GROUP.
AND SO THIS IS WHERE, UM, YOUR FACILITATORS HAVE TO DO SOME MATH.
SOME OF YOU MIGHT NEED TO HELP THEM 'CAUSE THEY'RE ENGLISH AND COMMUNICATIONS MAJORS.
UM, BUT THEY CAN DO AVERAGES GENERALLY.
SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS HOWEVER MANY PEOPLE AT YOUR TABLE, WE'RE GONNA ADD UP THEIR NUMBERS.
SO THE, THE, THEY'LL, THEY'LL ADD EACH ONE OF THE INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE, YOUR NUMBERS.
AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE A GROUP ALLOCATION.
WE'RE GONNA WRITE IT REALLY LARGE ON THE WHITEBOARD.
AND SO WE'LL START FILLING OUT THOSE FORMS AND THEN YOU GUYS CAN TALK ABOUT YOUR INDIVIDUAL GROUP VERSUS YOUR, YOUR COMMUNITY, WHICH IS THE ONE AT YOUR TABLE, AND TALK ABOUT WHATEVER THE DIFFERENCES ARE.
ONCE YOU TALK ABOUT THAT, WE'LL ASK YOU TO SEE IF YOU WANNA MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THAT.
SO WE'RE GONNA TAKE THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, 20 MINUTES OR SO, GET THE, THE MATH DONE ON IT, FIGURE OUT WHATEVER ELSE THAT WE NEED TO DO ON IT AND LET YOU TALK.
AND THEN WE'LL BE REPORTING BACK OUT ON THIS.
SO YOU READY? AND THEN ONCE YOU FILL OUT YOUR OWN BOX, YOU CAN EAT YOUR JELLY BEANS.
IF YOU'VE GOT YOUR INITIAL ALLOCATION IN THERE, THOSE JELLY BEANS ARE YOURS TO EAT.
SO FOR THIS FIRST PART, I'M GONNA ASK YOU GUYS TO TELL ME YOUR FULL SCORE FOR EACH ONE, AND THEN AFTERWARDS WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT.
SO FOR AFFORDABILITY, WOULD YOU MIND GOING FIRST, WHAT WAS YOUR AFFORDABILITY? MANY.
HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE PULLED GOOD GIRL.
I, AND I'M, I KNOW, LIKE, LIKE SAME.
[00:20:02]
I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS YOUR GRADE? SHA.SO LET'S, LET US, LET US KNOW WHEN YOU'RE, UM, DONE.
OKAY, WE'LL GO TO RELIABILITY.
WHAT WAS YOUR TOTAL SCORE? I HAVE A 10.
WHAT WAS YOUR TOTAL SCORE THAT DAY? TOTAL SCORE.
SO THOSE, THESE ARE OUR AVERAGE AS A TABLE.
ARE YOU GUYS COMFORTABLE WITH THOSE NUMBERS SHOWING LIKE HOW WE PRIORITIZE? SO LET'S WORKING WITH A HOSPITAL THAT NEEDS TO BE A VERY HIGH PRIORITY TO BE RELIABLE.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY OTHER THOUGHTS ON WHAT, HOW ARE YOU GUYS COMFORTABLE WITH THIS? WHAT DROVE YOU TO POWER WALL? MAYBE NOT A PRIVILEGE, RATHER.
MY, AND I COME TO THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.
I LOVE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING EXACTLY RIGHT.
FOR, FOR OUR, FOR OUR DEMOGRAPHIC AND THOSE THAT WE REPRESENT.
THIS MEANS LOSS REVENUE MEANS LOSS, BEING ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE CLIENTELE, LOSS OF POTENTIAL REVENUE.
NOW THEIR WORKPLACE IS WHERE THEIR EMPLOYEES HAVE LOST POTENTIAL WORKERS.
UM, AND THEN BEYOND THAT, UM, OBVIOUSLY THE, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
[00:25:02]
ARE WE LOOKING FOR FANS BY FANS? WE GO BY EXTENSION CORDS BECAUSE THE LIKELIHOOD IS I DON'T HAVE A GENERATOR.SO I'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE TOTALLY AGREE.
THEY'RE ALL, I THINK ARE ALL, THEY'RE ALL, YOU GUYS HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON WHAT AGREE REALITY IS? MY EXPERIENCE DIFFER.
WE ALSO UNDERSTAND THIS IS WHY DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER.
WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE, UM, FROM AN AFFORDABILITY STANDPOINT, NOT QUESTION WHETHER OR NOT WE WANT A DIVERSE COMMUNITY.
AND I AGREE SOME OF US COMING IN SHARE WITH OTHERS AND SOME OF US ARE OKAY WITH THAT.
UM, BUT I THINK CHANGING, UNDERSTANDING THE MILLENNIAL, I WOULD SAY, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY PROBABLY GONNA BE THE GREATER PRIORITY.
I APPRECIATE THE CONSCIENTIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL PEOPLE HAVE TO YOU GOT IT.
[00:30:11]
THEM INTO? WELL, AND ITIES OFTENTIMES THE MOST VULNERABLE TO THESE KINDS OF CIRCUMSTANCES.SO I THINK I DIDN'T WRITE THAT.
I LOVE, BUT I LOVE THAT YOU'RE BRINGING UP BECAUSE NONE OF THAT I WROTE NOW, AND I LOVE THAT FROM STAND WE UNDERSTAND REGARD, TEMPERATURE RELATED ISSUES, OFTEN INCORPORATE AGING COMMUNITIES CRITICAL TO LIVELIHOOD.
WHICH GOES BACK TO AND EXTREME TIMES THAT ONLY WE KNOW THAT THIS ENVIRONMENT THINK IT'S FAIR FOR ME, I THINK WE'RE LONG TERM RATHER THAN SHORT TERM.
UM, BECAUSE THERE, THERE ARE SOLUTIONS THAT, AND SO IN ANY OF YOUR, WELL, YEAH.
NOW BETTY, I KNOW WE HAD TOUCHED ON AFFORDABILITY.
WE TALKED ABOUT AFFORDABILITY.
DID YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON AFFORDABILITY, BETTY, BEFORE MOVING FORWARD? SURE.
[00:35:01]
I'M CURIOUS.AND I WONDER LIKE, I THINK FOR ME IT CAME TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND I CAN'T TELL THE STORY WELL ENOUGH, ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT WE'RE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE JERRY GUN GUN ON OUR BOARD.
AND SO WE GET TO LEARN ABOUT THE GOOD WORK THAT'S HAPPENING.
'CAUSE I'M NOT READING THIS THE LOWEST, I'M JUST AWARE OF THIS COLOR BACKGROUND, BUT IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING.
I MEAN, CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE SOME LIKE, PRETTY IMPRESSIVE STA JUST AROUND LIKE WHAT YOU'RE DOING NOW.
WE SPEND WAY MORE, I, SO JOIN ME.
I THINK WE'VE IDENTIFIED A BIT GAP.
SO SEPARATE FROM OBVIOUSLY REPRESENTING THE CHIEF PR.
I'LL SAY, I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE SEEN.
AND I THINK FOR, AND THAT'S THIS, I THINK THIS IS OUR JOB TO, LIKE, WE NEED TO TELL THIS STORY IS HAPPENING.
I HAVEN'T SEEN, I HAVE NOTHING TO POINT TO SAY, HEY, THIS IS FRANK FOR ME BECAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE DOING A JOB.
I NEED TO SAY WHY, HOW, WHERE THE POINTS ARE.
AND SO THAT THE, I SUCCESS THAT SUCCESS STORY AS WELL BECAUSE WE CAN, BECAUSE IF WE'RE DOING IT RIGHT, WE'RE TRYING TO,
[00:40:13]
YOU ARE.AND I THINK THAT THE OVERARCHING STORY WHEN IT COMES TO IS, AND I THINK THAT THAT IS SO SYNONYMOUS THERE.
YEAH, THAT WHAT, OKAY, SO MIKE, DID WE JUST DECIDE YOU'RE THE SPOKEPERSON? I WAS SAY WRITE IT DOWN.
SO DO WE WANT CHANGE OUR BOARD? ALL THAT CONVERSATION? ARE YOU WITH THESE, ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH THESE? I THINK SO.
A GOOD, SHANE, ANY CHANGES IN NUMBERS FOR YOU? UM, I I ALSO REALLY LIKE, I THINK IT'S A, SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IN THERE, I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S A, THERE'S ALREADY ALREADY BEING ACCOMPLISHED.
WELL, I MEAN OBVIOUSLY WE'RE COMMUNITY THAT ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE DIRECTION TO, WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU A COUPLE MORE MINUTES HERE TO KIND OF CLOSE UP, UM, WITH WHETHER YOU WANNA REALLOCATE THESE AS A GROUP, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA REPORT OUT.
SO PICK YOUR FAVORITE PERSON OR LEAST FAVORITE PERSON TO REPORT OUT.
WHICHEVER WAY YOU WANNA DO THAT.
BETTY, YOU BE OUR SPOKESPERSON.
I WAS GONNA SAY SHE, SHE SEES, SHE, SHE, I'M,
[00:45:01]
I DON'T, SO COMING UP, DO YOU WANT ME TO MOVE THIS OUT? THE LIGHT? OH, I CAN SEE.YOU GUYS ALL HAD SOME REALLY GOOD POINTS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THAT.
UM, I KNOW IT'S A SIMPLIFIED GAME AND, AND, BUT IT DOES PROVIDE I THINK SOME INSIGHTS AND WE'LL HEAR WHAT EACH ONE OF YOUR SUB COMMUNITIES, UM, DID DURING ALL OF THIS.
AND SO, UM, I THINK CARMEN'S GROUP BACK THERE WAS THE FIRST ONE DONE.
SO I'M GONNA LET, UM, OH, I'M SORRY.
DID I GET THE WRONG NAME? I THINK IT'S YOU, AUTUMN.
YOU AND THE SCARF AND THE LOVELY BLUE.
UM, UM, WE'RE GONNA JUST REPORT OUT WHAT YOU STARTED WITH, WHY, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED AND DID YOU REALLOCATE AND IF SO, WHY? AND THEN ANY OTHER BIG TAKEAWAYS THAT YOU'VE GOT.
I AM, UH, REPRESENTING FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES.
UM, AND HERE AT OUR BLUE DOT TABLE, UH, WE PUT AFFORDABILITY AT 7.7, RELIABILITY 9.1, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AT 8.1.
THAT WAS OUR AVERAGE, UH, SCORES.
WE ALL FELT RELATIVELY HAPPY WITH THIS.
UM, AT FIRST GLANCE, I THINK WE ALL AGREED WITH PERSONAL STORIES FROM YURI AND THE DIFFERENT SECTORS THAT WE ALL WORK IN.
RELIABILITY IS DEFINITELY OUR NUMBER ONE.
UM, BUT, UH, WE WANTED TO KIND OF NOTE THAT IN ALL THREE OF THESE CATEGORIES, THERE'S A LOT OF NUANCE.
UM, AND SO I THINK OUR NUMBERS ARE REFLECTIVE OF THE FACT THAT AFFORDABILITY CAN MEAN A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND I THINK THERE ARE WAYS, EVEN THOUGH AFFORDABILITY WAS OUR LOWEST SCORE, UM, WE THINK THAT CAN BE COMBATED WITH THINGS LIKE TIERED RATE STRUCTURES OR BETTER OR, OR MORE ROBUST LIKE, UH, GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE OR HELPING, UH, LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES IN DIFFERENT WAYS TO KIND OF OFFSET THAT COST.
UM, ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, UM, WAS OUR MIDDLE ONE, BUT WE THINK, YOU KNOW, IS A 10 ABSOLUTELY ZERO.
CARBON IS A 10, UM, ZERO CARBON OVER TIME, WHAT YEAR? SO, UM, AND RELIABILITY.
ALSO, WE WANTED TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, DOES RELIABILITY MEAN, UM, ONE HOUR OF, UH, POWER OUTAGES OR DOES IT MEAN SOMETHING CLOSER TO 12 HOURS? BECAUSE IF IT'S 12 HOURS, OUR NUMBER IS PROBABLY A 10.
IF WE'RE LOOKING AT ONE TO TWO HOURS, WE'RE PRETTY HAPPY WITH OUR NINE, SO, GREAT.
ALL RIGHT, HOW ABOUT THE RED TABLE UP HERE? OH, ANYBODY EL ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD FROM THAT GROUP? I SHOULD LET YOU, ANYBODY ELSE TALK? OKAY, I THINK WE'RE GOOD.
RED GROUP, WHO'S OUR SPOKESPERSON? ALL RIGHT.
UM, MY NAME'S JOE DEITEL AND I'M REPRESENTING THE REAL ESTATE COUNCIL OF AUSTIN.
UH, OUR NUMBERS FOR AFFORDABILITY WERE 8.6, RELIABILITY NINE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL 7.2.
UH, WE BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE DEFINITION OF RELIABILITY SIMILAR TO THE FIRST GROUP THAT SPOKE.
UM, AND BASICALLY FOR MOST PEOPLE, RELIABILITY IS A NUMBER ONE THING.
I THINK WE'RE ALL TRIGGERED BY YURI, AND, AND IF THAT HADN'T HAPPENED, MAYBE OUR NUMBERS WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT, UH, AN OUTAGE BEING AN HOUR VERSUS, YOU KNOW, THREE OR FOUR DAYS LIKE THAT WAS.
SO, UM, IT DIDN'T REALLY CHANGE TOO MUCH AFTER OUR DISCUSSION.
UH, BUT WE DID THINK ABOUT, UM, SORT OF THESE DEFINITIONS AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR AFFORDABILITY.
[00:50:01]
SIMILAR TIERED APPROACH, UH, MAYBE THE WAY AUSTIN WATER DOES THEIR TIERED APPROACH WITH USAGE, UH, BUT SOMETHING MORE GEARED TOWARDS, UH, LOW INCOME FOLKS WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO AFFORD LOWER RATES SO THAT THEY CAN MAINTAIN RELIABILITY, UH, WHILE PEOPLE WHO MAYBE CAN AFFORD A LITTLE BIT MORE PAY, JUST A LITTLE BIT EXTRA.UM, WE ALSO THOUGHT IN TERMS OF AFFORDABILITY, WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN AND HOW AUSTIN ENERGY COMPARES TO, UH, OTHERS WITHIN ERCOT, OTHER UTILITIES.
UM, AND THEN THERE WERE SOME OTHER THINGS WE THOUGHT ABOUT DOWN THE LINE IN TERMS OF LIKE, UH, WHAT, WHAT'S OUR VISION? UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AFFORDABILITY AND RELIABILITY TODAY OR INTO THE FUTURE.
UH, AND SO THERE ARE THINGS LIKE WE WANTED TO BRING UP FOR CONSIDERATION, LIKE A POTENTIAL CLIMATE BOND AND HOW THAT MIGHT AFFECT SUSTAINABILITY AND, AND THE WAY WE PRODUCE OUR ELECTRICITY.
UM, BUT ALL IN ALL, WE, WE AGREE THAT RELIABILITY IS THE NUMBER ONE, UH, FOCUS FOR ALL OF US.
ANYBODY ELSE AT THE TABLE THAT WANNA ADD TO IT? ANYTHING ELSE? I HAD A IN THE RELIABILITY
UM, IN THE RELIABILITY IS A LIFE AND DEATH SITUATION, AM OR PM THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE RELY, UM, RELYING ON OXYGEN, ELECTRIC WHEELCHAIRS, UH,
IF YOU HAVE AN AUTOMATED HOUSE, WELL, GOOGLE'S NOT GONNA TALK TO YOU.
UM, THE FRONT DOOR'S NOT GONNA OPEN BECAUSE YOU CAN'T HIT THE APP TO GET THE ELECTRIC DOOR TO OPEN.
SO THE DANGERS ARE, ARE REALLY HIGHER THE MORE AUTOMATED WE BECOME, AND THE DISABILITY REQUIREMENTS AND EQUIPMENT THAT WE'RE ON BECAUSE THERE'S EVERYTHING PLUGS IN IN MY HOUSE.
UM, KABA WHITE WITH PUBLIC CITIZEN FOR GROUP NUMBER THREE HERE.
UH, OUR NUMBERS WERE, UH, FOR AFFORDABILITY, 7.8, RELIABILITY NINE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY 8.2.
UM, WE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW THESE ARE ACTUALLY VERY INTERCONNECTED, UM, AND ALSO CAME BACK REALLY IN ALL CATEGORIES, UM, TALKING ABOUT EQUITY AND HOW THE, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY DOES NOT EXPERIENCE ALL OF THESE, UH, IN AN EQUAL WAY.
AND, UM, WHILE AFFORDABILITY HAD OUR LOWEST SCORE, WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW EQUITY REALLY KIND OF NEEDS TO BE ANOTHER MAYBE LINE ON THIS SHEET BECAUSE MAYBE OVERALL AFFORDABILITY IS FINE, BUT EQUITY COULD USE IMPROVEMENT.
UM, AND ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, SUSTAINABILITY CAN AFFECT AFFORDABILITY AND ALSO RELIABILITY CAN AFFECT AFFORDABILITY.
WHEN THERE'S, YOU KNOW, MAJOR GRID PROBLEMS, THEN THAT CAN INCREASE COST.
AND, UM, LIKEWISE, WHEN, YOU KNOW, OUR AIR IS NOT CLEAN AND THAT AFFECTS PEOPLE'S HEALTH, THAT HAS SOMETIMES VERY IMMEDIATE AND ALSO LONG-TERM AFFORDABILITY IMPACTS.
SO DEFINITELY HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW THOSE ARE TIED TOGETHER AND, AND THOSE EQUITY ISSUES.
UM, DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE ALL WANT THE, THE POWER TO BE ON, BUT ALSO HAD SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW, UM, THERE'S A LIMIT TO THAT, THAT YOU DON'T WANNA NECESSARILY JUST SAY LIKE RELIABILITY AT ANY COST BECAUSE, UH, THAT COULD DEFINITELY BECOME UNAFFORDABLE.
UM, AND ALSO SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW A LACK OF RELIABILITY CAN, UM, ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO, UH, A LACK OF SUSTAINABILITY, UM, IF PEOPLE TURN TO REALLY POLLUTING BACKUP SOURCES LIKE DIESEL GENERATORS.
SO NOT WANTING TO, UM, THAT TO BE A, A SOLUTION.
UM, YEAH, I THINK WE, AND, AND THEN JUST LIKE ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY TALKED, YOU KNOW, SOME ABOUT THE, UM, THE LONG-TERM IMPACTS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS SOME QUESTION ABOUT KIND OF WHAT IS THE DEFAULT ASSUMPTION HERE? CAN, CAN WE ASSUME THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN ENERGY IS GOING TO BE INVESTING IN SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTALLY UH, GREEN SOURCES GOING FORWARD?
[00:55:01]
OR IS THAT, YOU KNOW, UP FOR, UP FOR DEBATE? I THINK THAT WAS KIND OF OUR, OUR MAIN POINTS.DID I MISS ANYTHING? THINK WE'RE GOOD? OKAY.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY, UM, ANYTHING TO ADD? WE GOOD? ALL RIGHT.
AND NOW GREEN, WHO'S OUR SPOKESPERSON? BRITTANY.
YEAH, I THINK SOME REALLY GREAT POINTS HAVE BEEN MADE UP AND SO WE'LL, WE'LL BRING THIS ON HOME.
UM, VERY SIMPLY, FOLKS, UM, I'D SAY WE REALLY LANDED WITH RELIABILITY BEING OUR TOP CHOICE.
UM, FOLLOWED EQUALLY ACTUALLY BY AFFORDABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS ON THINGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE TOPICS THAT CAME UP WITH THE LAST TABLE WAS THE ISSUE OR DISCUSSION SPECIFICALLY AROUND EQUITY.
THAT ABSOLUTELY CAME UP IN OUR GROUP AS WELL.
UM, THE INHERENT DISPARITIES THAT EXIST BETWEEN OUR OWN RESPONSES, UM, REPRESENTING AUSTIN ENERGY, REPRESENTING SMALL BUSINESS OWNERSHIP, FORMER CITY EMPLOYEES, THE SIERRA CLUB, ET CETERA.
UM, AND THAT OF THE TARGET DEMOGRAPHICS THAT WE REPRESENT.
SO BIG DISPARITIES THERE, BUT I THINK WHAT WHAT HELPED TO UNDERSCORE OUR DECISION HERE WAS CERTAINLY UNDERSTANDING THE EXTREME CHANGES TO THE ENVIRONMENT NOW LOCALLY AND IN THE CENTRAL TEXAS AREA.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE, WE DISCUSSED A REALLY GREAT POINT, WHICH WAS THAT WE BELIEVE ACCESS TO THESE KINDS OF RESOURCES ARE NO LONGER A PRIVILEGE, RATHER A RIGHT.
THIS IS SOMETHING EVERYBODY DESERVES ACCESS TO AT ALL TIMES.
DEVOID OF YOUR ZIP CODE, DEVOID OF YOUR SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS.
SO TO THAT END, UM, AGAIN, THAT'S WHERE THAT ISSUE OF EQUITY CAME IN.
I THINK A REALLY GREAT POINT THAT CAME TO THE TABLE THOUGH, AND I HEARD OTHERS MENTION IT AS WELL, WAS THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY HERE TO KILL THREE BIRDS WITH ONE STONE.
A LOT OF OVERLAP, AND I KNOW WE'VE GOT A LOT COMING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY IN TERMS OF FORTHCOMING ADVANCES AND NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT'LL AFFORD US A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE IN THAT WAY.
BUT I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DISCUSSED THAT WAS REALLY IMPACTFUL HERE WAS THAT PERHAPS AUSTIN ENERGY IS NOT NECESSARILY SPREADING THE GREAT WORD ABOUT THE GOOD JOB THAT'S BEING DONE ALREADY.
WE ARE ALREADY A NATIONAL LEADER WITH REGARD TO THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND SO FOR US, LISTING THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMPONENT AT THE SAME LEVEL OF AFFORDABILITY IS SIMPLY BECAUSE THERE'S ALREADY A GOOD JOB.
IF THERE'S A GREAT REPORT CARD, WE'D LOVE TO SEE THAT MORE FORWARD FACING SO THAT WE CAN SAY RELATIVE TO THE STORY WE HEAR WITH ERCOT, NO AE IS DOING THINGS REALLY WELL AND THIS IS HOW.
SO WE SAW A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT.
UM, BUT I THINK AS WELL, UM, CERTAINLY DANGERS TO SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES WERE DISCUSSED AS WELL.
AND OF COURSE THIS WAS VERY MUCH DISCUSSED IN THE AFFORDABILITY AND THE RELIABILITY AREAS, OBVIOUSLY, UM, WITH A GREAT DEAL OF FOCUS ON HOSPITALS AND NEEDING TO HAVE ACCESS TO ENERGY RELIABLY BIG FOCUS THERE.
UM, AND OF COURSE AGING POPULATIONS AND POPULATIONS OF COURSE, THAT ARE SOCIOECONOMICALLY CHALLENGED.
UM, SO AGAIN, THIS IS FORCING PEOPLE TO MAKE DIFFICULT DECISIONS AND TO CIRCUMVENT FUTURE BROWN MIGRATION OUT OF AREAS LIKE EAST AUSTIN.
WE ARE REQUIRED TO ABSOLUTELY LOOK AT ALL OF THESE AREAS EQUITABLY, BUT CERTAINLY I THINK AFFORDABILITY FALLS AS A CLOSE SECOND TO RELIABILITY FOR US.
UM, BUT PLEASE, I WELCOME ANY ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK TEAM.
ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO ADD TO WHAT BRITTANY TALKED ABOUT? YEAH, I'LL ADD REAL QUICK.
SO YEAH, JUST KIND OF REITERATING AND UNDERSCORING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAD, AFTER SOME DISCUSSION, WE, WE ALL AGREED THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE TECHNOLOGIES AND POLICIES THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT IN THE SHORT TERM THAT, OR NOT JUST THAT WE CAN, BUT WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE THE TECHNOLOGIES AND POLICIES THAT DO ADDRESS ALL THREE THINGS AT ONCE AND AREN'T PITTING AFFORDABILITY AGAINST RELIABILITY, AGAINST ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS.
UM, AND SO THAT'S THE TIME-WISE, THAT SHOULD BE THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
AND THEN AFTER THAT, THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, IN THE TERMS OF TIME, THE, UH, PRIORITY WOULD BE RELIABILITY.
AND THEN AFTER THAT AFFORDABILITY, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, THERE ARE THE, YOU KNOW, QUOTE UNQUOTE HARD TO DECARBONIZE SECTORS OR TECHNOLOGIES, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WOULD BE A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE.
AND TIMEWISE, WE CAN DEPRIORITIZE THAT, BUT NUMBER ONE, WE WANT TO FOCUS ON WHAT IS BOTH OR WHAT IS SIMULTANEOUSLY AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY BENEFICIAL.
BETTY, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE TO ADD? NOTHING EXCEPT THAT THIS IS EXCITING FOR ME.
BUT THESE THINGS ARE REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT AND I THINK THE, UM, THE ISSUE OF OF TRYING TO GET BEFORE THE PUBLIC WHEN THEY REALLY DON'T WANNA LOOK AT THIS STUFF RIGHT NOW.
UM, SOME OF THE GOOD THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING AND SOME OF THE DANGEROUS THINGS ARE IN THE FUTURE IF WE DON'T ADDRESS THESE.
[01:00:01]
YOU.I THINK THAT'S ALL REALLY, REALLY GOOD.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT REPORT OUT.
I WANT MY FACILITATORS TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE BOARD IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY.
'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA ERASE AND START AGAIN HERE SHORTLY.
AND THEN I WANT YOU TO TAKE YOUR BEING EXERCISE AND EITHER KEEP YOUR SAME ALLOCATION THAT YOU DID INDIVIDUALLY OR CHANGE IT BASED ON YOUR DISCUSSION AND HAND THEM INTO YOUR TABLE FACILITATOR.
IF YOU'VE ALREADY GOT THOSE, THAT'S GREAT.
BUT HAND EVERYTHING IN 'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA SWITCH TOPICS.
YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN WANTING TO TALK ABOUT EQUITY AND GUESS WHAT, YOU'RE GONNA GET TO TALK ABOUT EQUITY
IS THAT RIGHT? THANKS, BRITTANY.
ANYTHING WITH BEANS ON 'EM OR ANYTHING ELSE CAN GET PICKED UP?
WE'RE MOVING, WE'RE MOVING SUBJECTS.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT THERE WAS A LONG DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW YOU COULD PUT EQUITY IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS, AND IT WAS THE, IT JUST WASN'T WORKING WITH THE JELLY BEANS, SO WE HAD TO SEPARATE THE TOPIC, BUT NOW YOU GET TO TALK ABOUT IT.
SO, UM, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE MOVING OVER TO EQUITY BE BECAUSE WHAT WE HEARD IN THAT FIRST MEETING WAS THAT, UM, YOU REALLY WANTED THEM TO THINK ABOUT THEIR MISSION, WHICH IS AFFORDABILITY, RELIABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY.
BUT EQUITY HAS, IS, UH, IS A TOPIC THAT WE NEED TO REALLY ADDRESS AND MAKE SURE THAT WORKS IN, IN ALL OF THIS.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT.
WE'VE GOT A PRESENTATION HERE, UH, FROM RONNIE MENDOZA AND HE'S GONNA TALK ABOUT EQUITY AND THE TERA REPORT, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA DO ANOTHER SURVEY INDIVIDUALLY AND THEN A GROUP DISCUSSION.
SO SAME KIND OF THING ON EQUITY.
SO WITH THAT, RONNIE, LET YOU DO IT LIKE THIS HERE.
I'M THE MANAGER FOR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMMING.
SO I WAS GLAD TO HEAR THAT THERE WAS VOICES OUT THERE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH, UM, POVERTY AND STRUGGLING WITH MEDICAL ISSUES IN THE HOME.
AND SO A LOT OF THE PROGRAMMING THAT MY TEAM DOES IS REALLY FOCUSED IN THIS AREA.
SO I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS EE ENERGY EQUITY CONVERSATION.
SO WHAT I'M GONNA REALLY TALK TO YOU ABOUT TODAY IS A STUDY THAT THE TEXAS ENERGY POVERTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE DID IN TWO, UM, 2024, AND IT'S THEIR COMMUNITY VOICES AND ENERGY REPORT.
SO THE STUDY REALLY, UM, WAS DESIGNED TO HELP THESE TYPES OF CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING HERE TODAY TO REALLY HELP THE UTILITY, TO REALLY HELP OUR PARTNERS, OUR COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS, TO REALLY HAVE THIS CONVERSATION AND UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING WHEN IT COMES TO ENERGY EQUITY.
UM, IT DELVES INTO SOME COMPLEX ISSUES LIKE ENERGY INSECURITY.
UM, IT SHEDS LIGHT UPON ENERGY RELATED CHALLENGES FACED BY LOW INCOME AND MODERATE, UM, FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS.
SO WHAT WE'RE, I'M GONNA SHOW YOU TODAY IS JUST A SUMMARY OF THAT REPORT.
I BELIEVE YOU ALL HAVE A COPY OF THAT REPORT AT YOUR TABLE.
UM, AND IT'LL ALSO HIGHLIGHT SOME KEY FINDINGS AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CONTEXT TO YOU AS YOU IDENTIFY AND YOU GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
UM, THIS IS A VERY VALUABLE PROCESS.
IT BRINGS A LOT OF INFORMATION, BRINGS A LOT OF INSIGHT.
I KNOW JUST ON ON OUR DAY-TO-DAY PROGRAMMING, WE DO THIS SAME KIND OF WORK WITH OUR COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE IN LINE WITH WHAT THE COMMUNITY IS WANTING AND WHAT OUR COMMUNITY, UM, PARTNERS NEED.
SO FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO THANK TERI FOR DOING THIS STUDY.
IT WAS A VERY COMPREHENSIVE STUDY AND FOR ALLOWING US TO USE IT, UM, FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
SO THE, UM, MAIN TOPIC ON THIS IS ABOUT THE, UM, I THAT TERI HAS IDENTIFIED THESE ELEC ELECTRIC PRIORITIES.
SO YOU'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT ENERGY AFFORDABILITY, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY, UM, AND WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, SUSTAINABILITY.
SO, UM, THESE ALIGN WELL WITH THE COMMUNITY VALUES THAT YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN WORKING ON AS A GROUP.
AND SO WITHIN THE FINDINGS RE SPEAKS TO ONE OF THE UNIQUE THINGS ABOUT THIS STUDY IS THAT, UM, TERE SPEAKS ABOUT RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY SEPARATELY SOMETIMES, AND SOMETIMES THEY PUT IT TOGETHER.
AND SO IT'S VERY INTERESTING AS YOU'RE READING THIS AND THERE'LL BE, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT, UM, FURTHER IN THE PRESENTATION WHERE THEY ACTUALLY COMBINED RESILIENCY AND RELIABILITY.
SO IT WAS JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS, UM, PRESENTATION.
[01:05:01]
SO LET ME TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE STUDY AND HOW IT WAS DONE.SO TEXAS IS, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW, IS BROKEN OUT INTO REGIONS.
AND SO THESE REGIONS ARE DONE THIS WAY.
SO WHEN FEDERAL GRANTS COME DOWN, UM, FROM THE FEDERAL LEVEL TO THE STATE LEVEL, THEY DETERMINE HOW MUCH FUNDING GOES FOR ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROGRAMMING IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO THESE 13 REGIONS, UM, WHAT'S PARTICULARLY INTERESTING ABOUT THE REGIONS THEMSELVES IS THAT NEARLY 49% OF RESIDENTS ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR.
UM, AND THEN THAT 13% OF THE RESIDENTS ARE ABOVE THE AGE OF 65 AND 10% OF THE RESIDENTS ARE LIVING BELOW THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT REALLY WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON IS SOME OF THE DISCUSSION ABOUT REGION SEVEN.
AND THE REASON THAT WE ARE GOING TO FOCUS ON THAT IS THAT REALLY ENCOMPASSES THE ALL OF THE AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE TERRITORY.
UM, THERE WAS ABOUT 600 RESPONDENTS WHO RESPONDED TO THIS SURVEY WITHIN IN REGION SEVEN, BUT IN TOTALITY, WE HAD ABOUT, UM, KERI HAD ABOUT 6,500 RESPONDENTS TO THE SURVEY, WHICH WAS ACTUALLY REALLY, REALLY GOOD FOR A SURVEY LIKE THIS.
AND IT PROVIDES US A LOT OF INFORMATION, VALUABLE INFORMATION.
UM, SO MOST OF THE SUMMARIES FOCUS ON THE RESULTS, LIKE I SAID, FROM REGION SEVEN, WHICH INCLUDES AUSTIN ROUND ROCK, GEORGETOWN, AND CAN, AND LIKE I STATED, STATES, UM, THE ENTIRE AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE TERRITORY.
SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THEY BROKE DOWN THE STUDY, HOW THEY, WE GOT IT DOWN TO OUR REGION TO START REALLY DELVING INTO THE SPECIFIC, UM, PARTS OF WHAT WE'RE YOU ALL THE WORK THAT YOU ARE DOING TODAY.
SO HERE'S THE SEVEN FINDINGS RELATED TO AFFORDABILITY.
SO IT'S VERY INTERESTING TO HEAR Y'ALL TALKING ABOUT AFFORDABILITY AND HOW THAT WAS ALL RANKED.
UM, SO THIS IS NOT WHAT THE, THAT FIRST STATEMENT UP THERE ABOUT THE 6.9% IN COMPARISON TO THE 3.69%.
SO THE WORK THAT I DO, I'M INVOLVED WITH A LOT OF LOW INCOME CONSORTIUMS, AND THIS IS PRETTY AVERAGE ACROSS THE NATION THAT IS JUST NOT TYPICAL TO TO TEXAS.
SO, YOU KNOW, ENERGY BURDEN FOR LOW INCOME FAMILIES IS ALMOST DOUBLE WHAT IT IS TO OTHER FAMILIES.
SO THAT IS A TRUE CONCERN AND SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE LOOKING AT.
UM, ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THIS IS THAT NEARLY HALF OF THE REGION SEVEN RESPONDENTS DO NOT CONSIDER ENERGY BILLS AFFORDABLE, WHICH I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE WITH SOME OF THE WORK AND SOME OF THE COMMUNITY WORK WE DO THAT.
UM, PEOPLE WHO DO FEEL THIS WAY, UM, THE CHART GIVES A BREAKDOWN BY INCOME LEVEL MOVING FROM ACUTELY LOW INCOME AT THE LEFT SIDE TO MODERATE INCOME ON THE RIGHT SIDE.
UM, THOSE WHO CONSIDER THEIR ENERGY BILL TO BE AFFORDABLE ARE IN GREEN, AND THOSE WHO DO NOT CONSIDER THEIR ENERGY BILL TO AFFORDABLE ARE IN BLUE.
AND THEN THE OTHER KEY TAKEAWAY ON THIS IS THAT 10% OF THESE CUSTOMERS IN OUR ARE ENROLLED IN BILL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
UM, SO THAT'S A LOW NUMBER IN COMPARISON TO, YOU KNOW, THE DISCUSSION AROUND AFFORDABILITY.
AND THEN THE REPORT ALSO OUTLINED TRADE-OFFS MANY RESIDENTS HAVE TO MAKE.
AND WE KNOW THIS, YOU KNOW, AS AUSTIN ENERGY AND THE PROGRAMMING THAT WE DEVELOP, WE KNOW THAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE HAVING TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT DO I PAY THE RENT? DO I BUY MEDICINE, DO I BUY CLOTHES? DO I, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S A TRADE OFF.
YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THEY SAY, I'M NOT GONNA PAY MY BILL, OR SOMETIMES THEY'LL SAY, I'M GONNA PAY A PORTION OF MY BILL.
UM, SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE STUDY IS ALSO, UM, FINDING THAT IS TRUE.
SO HERE'S A DISCUSSION AROUND RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY.
UM, WELL, THIS CHART IS REALLY TALKING ABOUT HERE IS THAT OUTAGE CONCERNS, PARTICULARLY FOR LONG WEATHERED RELATED, UM, OUTAGES WERE VERY HIGH.
UM, 92% OF THE RESPONDENTS EXPRESS A AT LEAST SOME CONCERN, UM, WHICH IS, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT ON THE GRAPH, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO OUTAGES.
AND THEN, UM, RENTERS AND HOMEOWNERS WERE EQUALLY AS CONCERNED.
SO THERE WAS NOT A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THAT MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RENTERS AND HOMEOWNERS.
26% OF THE RESPONDENTS WITH INCOME LEVELS BELOW $50,000 REPORTED EXTREME CONCERNS ABOUT WEATHER RELATED OUTAGES.
UM, WHILE SIX, UM, 16% OF RESPONDENTS WITH MODERATE AND HIGH INCOMES, UM, HAD EXTREME CONCERNS ABOUT THIS INFORMATION.
SO RESPONDENTS EXPRESS A PARTICULAR CONCERN ABOUT MAINTAINING SAFE TEMPERATURES IN THEIR HOME DURING A LONG PROLONGED OUTAGE WITH 64% OF THOSE REPORTING THAT CONCERN.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN SOMEBODY HAS A MEDICAL ISSUE AND IS EXACERBATED BY EXTREME HEAT OR EXTREME WEATHER, THIS IS REALLY WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT IN THIS SITUATION.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ALWAYS KEEP ON THE FOREFRONT OF THE WORK THAT WE DO.
SO HERE'S WHERE WHEN I WAS TALKING ABOUT RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY, THE SURVEY TIES RELI RESILIENCY AND RELIABILITY TO THE ABILITY
[01:10:01]
TO CHARGE, UM, MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, TO CHARGE THEIR COMMUNICATION DEVICES IN AN EXTREME SITUATION, EXTREME WEATHER EVENT.UM, SO, UM, THIS IS, THAT'S THAT.
UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY AND TYING THAT TOGETHER, THOSE ARE THE PIECES THAT WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT IS HOW ARE PEOPLE USING THAT, YOU KNOW, IN DAY-TO-DAY LIFE, IF I'VE GOT A MEDICAL BED AND I'VE GOTTA, YOU KNOW, PLUG IT IN AND HAVE CONTINUOUS POWER, RELIABILITY, AND RESILIENCY IS GONNA MEAN SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT TO ME THAN SOMEBODY WHO DOESN'T HAVE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT IN THE HOME.
UM, THEN WE'RE TALK HERE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CLEAN ENERGY PERSPECTIVES, AND THIS IS REALLY ABOUT ARE PEOPLE WILLING TO PAY MORE MONEY FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND CLEAN ENERGY PRODUCTS? UM, 43, ACCORDING TO THE STUDY, 43% ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR CLEANER ENERGY.
NOT SURPRISING, 57% ARE NOT WILLING TO PAY, PAY FOR CLEAN ENERGY.
BUT WHAT THE CHART REALLY SHOWS IS THAT DESPITE INCOME, THERE IS SOME APPETITE AT ALL LEVELS OF INCOME FOR CLEAN ENERGY.
IT'S JUST WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE AND HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, MAKE THAT AVAILABLE TO LOW INCOME CUSTOMER CUSTOMERS? AND HOW MUCH DO WE CHARGE THEM FOR THOSE TYPES OF SERVICES? ALRIGHT, SO HERE'S WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE COMBINATION OF RES RESILIENCY AND RELIABILITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, TEPPER DEFINED THE FOUR DIFFERENT EQUITY PRIORITIES, SEPARATING RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY, WHICH YOU SEE HERE ON THE CHART, UH, WHEN POSING QUESTIONS ABOUT PRIORITIES, BUT COMBINING THEM WHEN SPEAKING ABOUT SUMMARY OUTCOMES.
SO THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THIS IS YOU SEE AFFORDABILITY IS AT VERY TOP OF THE SCALE HERE, AND THEN YOU SEE RELIABILITY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCALE.
BUT IF YOU COMBINED RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY, IT WOULD NATURALLY COME UP AS THE SECOND, UM, TOPIC OF DISCUSSION AND CONCERN HERE.
SO A COMMUNITY VALUE THAT SPEAKS TO AVOIDING OUTAGES MUST EMBRACE BOTH CONCERNS.
WE CAN'T JUST TAKE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER, BUT IT APPEARS THAT PROLONGED OUTAGES ARE A BIGGER CONCERN.
UM, DURING THE WORKSHOPS YOU HAVE USED RELIABILITY TO LABEL THE VALUE, BUT HAVE SPOKEN SEPARATELY TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, SO YOU KNOW, THAT'S A DISCUSSION POINT FOR YOU ALL AS YOU'RE MOVING FORWARD IS HOW DO YOU EFFECTIVELY HAVE THAT CONVERSATION? DO WE COMBINE IT? DO WE SEPARATE IT SO YOU KNOW, MORE FOR YOU ALL TO
UM, SO LIKE I STATED AT AFFORDABILITY AND RELIABILITY, UM, WERE LISTED BY RESPONDENTS AS THEIR TWO BIGGEST PRIORITIES.
IF RESILIENCY WERE TO, OH, LIKE I SAID, IF RESILIENCY WERE AND RELIABILITY WERE TO, TO BECOME COMBINED, THAT WOULD BE THE SECOND HIGHEST.
SO THE OTHER THING THAT RE DID IS THEY OFFERED POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE STUDY.
SO A LOT OF THESE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDED, YOU KNOW, ENHANCED ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, UM, ADDRESS RELIABILITY, UM, RESILIENCY CONCERNS, AND THEN PROMOTED CLEAN ENERGY AND ADOPTION.
SO ACROSS THESE PROGRAMS, THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS VERY CLEAR THAT WE EVERYTHING NEEDED TO HAPPEN HERE, AND THAT WAS LIKE TARGETED OUTREACH AND EDUCATION, UM, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT TO MEET SPECIFIC STAKEHOLDER NEEDS.
UM, REMOVING BARRIERS FOR PROGRAM ADOPTION.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE UNIQUE THING ABOUT AUSTIN ENERGY IS OUR DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
WE HAVE AN AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT PROCESS, SO WE REMOVE THOSE BARRIERS, SO TRY TO ADDRESS THE AFFORDABILITY PIECE FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS SO THAT THEY'RE NOT HAVING TO FILL OUT A BUNCH OF APPLICATIONS.
UM, AUSTIN ENERGY STRIVES TO BUILD EQUITY INTO ALL OF OUR PROGRAMMING.
AND SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE EXAMPLES.
SO I KIND OF GAVE YOU THE EXAMPLE ABOUT AFFORDABILITY AND THE DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
UM, BUT AROUND RESILIENCY AND RELIABILITY.
WE ALSO HAVE A MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY PROGRAM WHERE WE, UM, REGISTER THOSE PROGRAMS AND WE KNOW WHERE THOSE HOUSEHOLDS ARE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO WHEN THERE IS AN OUTAGE, MY TEAM IS ACTIVATED, UM, TO GO SUPPORT THOSE FAMILIES AND THOSE HOUSEHOLDS TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS OKAY.
SO, UM, A LOT OF THE PROGRAMMING THAT WE DO TODAY IS ABOUT FEEDING INTO THESE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, COMMUNITY SOLAR ACCESS IS ANOTHER ONE OF OUR PROGRAMS, UM, UNDER THE SUSTAINABILITY SIDE.
AND SO THAT PROGRAM OFFERS SOLAR TO LOW INCOME FAMILIES WITHOUT ACTUALLY PUTTING A SOLAR, YOU KNOW, PANEL ON YOUR HOUSE AND, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING ELSE THAT'S REALLY EXPENSIVE.
SO WE FIND ALTERNATIVES TO MAKE SURE THAT LOW INCOME FAMILIES CAN GET PULLED INTO THESE PROGRAMS. SORRY, I HIT SOMETHING.
[01:15:01]
UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, YOU KNOW, THAT'S IT ON THE PRESENTATION I TALKED A LITTLE ABOUT AT THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND THEN HOW WE KIND OF FEED INTO AFFORDABILITY AND RESILIENCY.UM, THERE'S ALSO A DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM RESILIENCY, AND SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE DO AROUND THAT IS AROUND CIRCUIT HARDENING PROGRAMS, UM, AROUND TACTICAL INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENTS.
AND ADDITIONALLY, WE MAKE HAVE PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS SO THAT MIDDLE GET READY, STAY READY IS ONE OF OUR BIG, UM, CAMPAIGNS THAT WE, UM, PUT OUT THERE.
SO TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE READY FOR ANY TYPE OF EVENT, UM, I KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF GET COMPLACENT WHEN IT'S BLUE SKY AND THERE'S NOT A LOT GOING ON, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN A STORM ROLLS IN AND KNOCKS OUT ALL THE ELECTRICITY, AND THEN PEOPLE ARE REACTING TO THAT.
SO THESE CAMPAIGNS ARE, TRY TO KEEP IT IN THE FOREFRONT EVEN DURING BLUE SKY SITUATIONS.
UM, AND LIKE I STATED, THE COMMUNITY SOLAR IS TO REALLY HELP OUR LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS PARTICIPATE IN THE SUSTAINABILITY DISCUSSION AND TRY TO, UH, MAKE THAT AVAILABLE TO THEM AS WELL.
SO THESE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE EQUITY WORK ALREADY UNDERWAY.
OBVIOUSLY, WE KNOW WE NEED TO BUILD UPON THOSE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT, HEY, WE'RE DONE.
YOU KNOW, NO, THAT'S NOT THE CASE AT ALL.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THESE TYPES OF WORKSHOPS IS FOR YOU ALL TO KIND OF HELP US IN THAT AREA.
SO, UM, AND ALSO WE WANNA INCLUDE THAT INTO THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN SO THAT INFORMATION REALLY BECOMES VALUABLE.
SO, UM, I HOPE THIS WAS SOME VALUE TO YOU ABOUT ENERGY EQUITY SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT AUSTIN ENERGY DOES REALLY CONSIDER THIS, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DO EVERY DAY TO TRY TO MAKE SURE WE'RE REACHING ALL OUR CUSTOMER BASES.
ANY, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TERI REPORT? YES, MA'AM.
I JUST WANNA MAKE ONE POINT THOUGH.
I DO THINK THAT RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCE SHOULD BE DIFFERENT, AND THE WAY THAT IT'S DEFINED IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT TOO.
AND IT'S ALSO DIFFERENT AT THE STATE LEVEL POLICY AS WELL.
RELIABILITY IS MORE ABOUT LIKE, UH, DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS.
UM, BUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT, UH,
AND I THINK THAT WHAT THE REPORT SHOWING NO, IS THAT PEOPLE CARE MOST ABOUT RESILIENCE THESE DAYS.
AND ONE REALLY INTERESTING FINDING, I THOUGHT, WAS THAT RELIABILITY WAS ACTUALLY CONSIDERED THE LEAST VOTED LEAST IMPORTANT IN A LOT OF WAYS.
SO SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND, UM, FOR EVERYBODY.
WHEN YOU'RE TALK, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT RESIL RELIABILITY, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AND, YOU KNOW, DEFINITION MATTERS, WORDS MATTER.
ON YOUR TABLE? UM, FIRST OF ALL, UM, JUST REAL QUICK BEFORE WE GET TO THE SURVEY, BUT ON YOUR TABLE, THERE ARE FOUR OR FIVE DOCUMENTS, I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW MANY.
THERE'S LIKE ONE PAGER THAT ON THE, UH, REPORT THERE'S SOME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY'S DOING FOR THOSE WITH LOW INCOME OR MORE VULNERABLE, THOSE WILL ALL GET EMAILED OUT TO YOU AS WELL AS THIS PRESENTATION.
JUST GIVE US A COUPLE OF DAYS TO GET THAT BACK OUT TO YOU.
SO YOU'LL HAVE THAT, BUT THERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON YOUR TABLE, AND I FORGOT TO GO OVER THOSE AT THE BEGINNING.
SO WHAT WE'RE DOING NEXT IS FOR YOU, WE'VE GOT A INDIVIDUAL SURVEY JUST LIKE WE DID EARLIER, UM, IN TODAY, UM, JUST TO TALK ABOUT, UM, WHO, HOW DO YOU DEFINE THE MOST VULNERABLE, UH, IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND MINDS.
EQUITY IS DIFFERENT, UH, AS YOU GO THROUGH DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO JUST ASK ABOUT THAT AND THEN, UM, SOME GENERAL DISCUSSIONS.
SO IF YOU COULD FILL OUT THAT SURVEY FOR US, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A TABLE DISCUSSION ON EQUITY.
[01:24:00]
LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GETTING CLOSER ON SOME OF THESE, SO WE'LL START HERE IN ABOUT A MINUTE.FACILITATORS, WHEN YOU'RE YOUR TABLE'S READY, WE'LL MOVE ON INTO THE GROUP DISCUSSION, AND THEN AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE REPORT OUTS, SO WE'LL FIND A NEW PERSON TO REPORT OUT.
[01:25:01]
UNLESS YOU WANNA LEAVE IT AT AUTUMN, SO I'LL GET HER NAME RIGHT THIS TIME.ALL RIGHT, YOU GUYS GET GOING.
THERE'S JUST TODAY SOMEONE IDENTIFYING ME AS DONE.
SO WHEN DID YOU GUYS, DID YOU GUYS IDENTIFY AS POPULATIONS? WHAT I HEARD I HAD, I YEAH, I SAW THE DAY.
I, YEAH, SO LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE, LIKE EVEN NO MATTER WHAT YOUR INPUT DEPEND ON A DAY A A DAY, RIGHT? RIGHT.
I THINK WAS TALKING ABOUT LIKE SOME PEOPLE, LIKE THEIR HOUSE MIGHT BE CERTAIN DISABILITIES, THEY MIGHT HAVE CERTAIN ABILITIES AND
[01:30:33]
LIKE WAS THAT GROWING VULNERABLE POPULATION? GOOD QUESTION, MIKE.AGAIN, WHAT ARE STUDENTS, LIKE THE STUDENTS THAT ARE HERE THAT ARE LIVING IN LIKE FACILITIES THAT ARE LIKE A UNIVERSITY? SO UT HAS THEIR OWN MICRO, UT YOU HAVE YOUR POWER BY YOU, THE APARTMENT.
WITHIN POPUL REASON WOULD BE THEY'RE YOUNG, THEY HIGHER ED POPULATION.
AND THERE'S SO MANY SHOULD WE SHOULD LIKE I LOVE IT.
SO THE NEXT ONE IS, HOW DOES EQUITY NEED TO BE THOUGHT ABOUT REGARDING AFFORDABILITY, THINK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY, WHAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER FOR.
[01:35:06]
AND HONESTLY, I THINK TO BETTY'S POINT, WHICH WHAT I WAS SAYING BETTY WAS LIKE, I THOUGHT MY, WHICH IS, BUT AGAIN, THAT ACCESS TO THE RESOURCE IS NOT A PRIVILEGE.BUT TO YOUR POINT, BETTY, IT'S A MATTER OF BETTY WILL BE THE WAS SAYING.
SO EQUITY WANNA CONSIDER HOW DOES EQUITY NEED TO BE THOUGHT ABOUT, THINK ABOUT GENERATOR.
WHAT IS THE DON'T HAVE LIKE, RIGHT.
OKAY, WE'RE GONNA CLOSE THIS DISCUSSION UP IN JUST A FEW MINUTES.
SO PICK YOUR PERSON TO REPORT OUT.
UM, MAKE SURE, AGAIN, UPDATE YOUR SURVEYS BACK WITH YOUR FACILITATOR.
I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO WALK HOME WITH THEIR SURVEYS.
I REALLY WANNA BE ABLE TO USE THOSE.
SO MAKE SURE YOU HAND YOUR SURVEYS INTO YOUR FACILITATOR AND THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE GROUPS, UM, REPORT OUT HERE.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT ONE MORE THING FOR YOU TO DO.
I KNOW WE CRAMMED IT FULL TODAY.
[01:40:01]
ALL RIGHT.CAN WE START, DO WE HAVE SOMEBODY BACK THERE WITH THE YELLOW GROUP THAT'S GONNA REPORT OUT?
SO WHO DID WE IDENTIFY AS MOST? VULNERABLE, UH, PEOPLE WHO HAVE HEALTH NEEDS AND HAVE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT THAT THEY NEED.
THE ELDERLY, UH, WORKING POOR OR GENERALLY LOW INCOME, UM, OUTDOOR WORKERS SINCE THEY WOULD BE MOST, UH, SUSCEPTIBLE TO OUTSIDE CONDITIONS.
NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS WHO MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO ACCESS RESOURCES AS EASILY.
AND THEN HOME, THE UNHOUSED COMMUNITY AS WELL.
AND THEN UNDER EQUITY, WE SAID, UH, UNDER AFFORDABILITY THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT, WHAT CAN PEOPLE PAY AND HELP REDUCE ENERGY BURDEN.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS RATHER THAN HAVING LIKE A PROGRAM THAT'S DIFFICULT TO ENROLL IN, TO GO AHEAD AND AUTOMATICALLY, UH, ENROLL THE PEOPLE SINCE YOU PROBABLY HAVE DATA ON WHERE, WHERE THESE, UM, VULNERABLE POPULATIONS ARE.
AND SO IN OPT-IN VERSUS A, UH, NO, TO DO AN AUTO PROGRAM VERSUS OPT-IN.
AND THEN FOR RELIABILITY, WE SAID TO EVALUATE THE IMPACTS IN THE RESPONSE.
UM, AND WE ASSUME THAT THERE MIGHT BE DISPROPORTIONATE RESPONSE AND IMPACT TO THE VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT US ENERGY SHOULD, UH, THINK ABOUT AND CONSIDER AND WORK ON PROGRAMMING FOR.
AND THEN FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, ONE IS, UM, LOOKING AT THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE CLOSEST TO, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY ASSETS THAT ARE POLLUTING AND WHAT, WHAT THE HEALTH IMPACTS ARE TO THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE, UH, AUSTIN TERRITORY.
AND, UM, ALSO TO CONSIDER GLOBAL, GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS, WHICH ARE CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ARE GLOBAL.
AND SO THERE ARE VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES OUTSIDE OF OUR COMMUNITIES THAT WE ARE IMPACTING AS WELL.
AND, UM, ALSO TO THINK ABOUT THE INEQUITABLE IMPACTS THAT, UH, AIR POLLUTION AROUND THE ASSETS MIGHT BE, UM, IMPACTING THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM FOR HEALTH.
AND THEN THEY MAY HAVE TO TAKE OFF WORK AND WHICH WILL EXACERBATE THE PROBLEM.
UM, AND THEN OTHER, YOU CAN SAY IT.
ALRIGHT, I'M GONNA KEEP GOING AROUND AND IF THEY'VE ALREADY SAID IT, LET THEM SAY IT AND JUST ADD TO IT.
UM, LET'S GO BACK HERE WITH THE BLUE.
ARE YOU BLUE? IS THAT RIGHT? BLUE? OKAY.
UM, SO FOR OUR GROUP, UH, THE FIRST GROUP PRETTY MUCH COVERED EVERYTHING PRETTY COMPREHENSIVELY.
UH, AND WE, WE HAD A, A PRETTY GOOD REPRESENTATION HERE.
UH, ONE THING THAT WE DID MENTION WAS THAT, UH, WHEN CONSIDERING AFFORDABILITY, PERHAPS IT'D BE BETTER TO USE A FEDERAL POVERTY LINE METRIC.
I BELIEVE FEDERAL POVERTY LINE OF 200% IS A LINE THAT, UH, CENTRAL HEALTH USES FOR DETERMINING, UH, UH, LOWER INCOME INDIVIDUALS AND MAYBE, YOU KNOW, METROPOLITAN A MI, UH, METRICS HERE IN AUSTIN AREN'T AS REFLECTIVE OF, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT AFFORDABILITY.
UM, OTHER, UH, ISSUES WE BROUGHT UP WERE, UH, RENTERS, UH, OVER HALF OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN ARE NOW RENTERS.
AND, UH, OFTEN THEY DON'T HAVE ANY AGENCY OVER, UM, WHEN, UH, HVAC REPLACEMENTS ARE MADE AND HOW THEY'RE APP, HOW EFFICIENT THEIR APPLIANCES ARE.
SO ARGUABLY THAT'S AN AFFORDABILITY IMPACT BECAUSE THEY OFTEN HAVE TO MAYBE USE MORE ENERGY TO COOL THEIR HOME IN THE, UH, SUMMER.
UM, UH, SENIOR SENIORS LIVING IN SENIOR LIVING CENTERS, THOSE WITH DISABILITIES, UH, AND ALSO THE UNHOUSED POPULATION.
UM, DEFINITELY, UH, AN IMPORTANT, UH, THING TO CONSIDER WITH AFFORDABILITY.
UM, THAT, UH, WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF A DISCUSSION ABOUT, UH, UM, CONSIDERING, UH, HOW MUCH GOES INTO THE GENERAL FUND, UH, FROM THE AUSTIN ENERGY TRANSFER INTO THE GENERAL FUND, AND ARGUABLY THAT HAS A DISTRIBUTIONAL IMPACT ON THE CITY'S FINANCES AND MAYBE LOWER SOME PROPERTY TAXES AROUND THE CITY OR, UM, HAS, UH, YOU KNOW, IMPACTS THAT WE NEED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN THINKING ABOUT AFFORDABILITY.
UM, AND WE MENTIONED MAYBE NOT HAVING A TON OF TRANSPARENCY ON WHERE THE GENERAL FUND TRANSFER GOES, UM, FROM AUSTIN ENERGY AND PERHAPS THERE'S A, UH, CASE TO BE MADE FOR USING SOME OF THAT GENERAL FUND MONEY, UH, TO REINVEST BACK INTO AUSTIN ENERGY.
UH, FOR CAP PROGRAMS OR FOR AFFORDABILITY PROGRAMS, UM, FOR RELIABILITY, UH, WE MENTIONED, UH, THE RESILIENCE HUBS, UM, UH,
[01:45:01]
INVESTING MORE MONEY INTO THOSE RESILIENCE HUBS.UM, THAT'S DEFINITELY AN EQUITY, UM, AND, UH, UH, AFFORD OR RELIABILITY, UM, ISSUE AS WELL.
AND I KNOW THE CITY HAS A FEW OF THOSE, BUT CONTINUING THAT MOVING FORWARD AND MAKING IT REALLY TRANSPARENT AND COMMUNICATING ACROSS THE CITY.
UH, WE MENTIONED MAYBE HIGH LOAD ENTITIES AND, AND ENTITIES THAT HAVE THE ABILITY ON, UH, TO, UH, SHED THEIR LOAD DURING HIGH, UH, LOAD EVENTS, UH, COULD REALLY HELP WITH THE RELIABILITY AND THERE'S AN EQUITY COMPONENT THERE AND THAT THERE MAY BE MORE CAPABLE OF DOING THAT KIND OF LOAD SHEDDING.
AND BECAUSE THOSE ARE TIMES OF REALLY HIGH ENERGY PRICES THAT COULD HAVE AN IMPACT ON AFFORDABILITY.
UM, AND FOR SUSTAINABILITY, WE JUST REPEATED THE, UH, TENANT HAVING TENANTS, HAVING ACCESS TO ELECTRIFICATION OF THEIR APPLIANCES AND HAVING ACCESS TO HIGH EFFICIENCY HEAT PUMPS AND MAYBE SOME AGENCY WITH THE DECISIONS AROUND ENERGY EFFICIENCY THAT THEIR LANDLORDS MAKE.
I'M GONNA, WE GOT ONE MORE THING AND I'M GONNA HONOR EVERYBODY'S TIME.
SO WHAT HASN'T ANYBODY ELSE SAID TABLE READ? YEAH, OF COURSE.
WE AGREE WITH A LOT OF WHAT'S BEEN SAID.
SO I'LL SAY THE ONE THING THAT WE COVERED, UH, THAT'S DIFFERENT IS THE LARGE INDUSTRIAL USERS, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO RELIABILITY, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE TIMES LOW INCOME PEOPLE TEND TO BE THE ONES WHO RESIDE NEXT TO THOSE LOCATIONS.
AND YOU COULD HAVE SOME CHEMICAL ISSUE OR SOME OTHER INDUSTRIAL, UH, YOU KNOW, ACCIDENT THAT COULD HAPPEN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF RELIABILITY.
AND THAT WOULD, UH, HAVE A GREATER IMPACT ON OUR LOW INCOME COMMUNITY, UH, PEOPLE OF COLOR AND OTHER MEDICALLY VULNERABLE, UH, USERS.
ANYTHING, UH, FROM THE YELLOW TABLE THAT NO ONE ELSE HAS SAID? UH, SO I THINK WE JUST HAD JUST A COUPLE THINGS TO ADD.
'CAUSE EVERYBODY IS, HAS PROVIDED A LOT OF INFORMATION ALREADY.
I THINK FOR THE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, WE JUST WANTED TO, TO ADD STUDENTS IN THERE AS WELL.
UM, AS WELL AS, UH, I THINK BETTY MADE A REALLY GOOD POINT.
ANYBODY WHO DEPENDS ON ELECTRICITY FOR, FOR THE FOOD THEY EAT OR FOR THE HEATING OR COOLING, UH, TO KEEP 'EM HOT OR COLD, UH, REALLY IS VULNERABLE AS WELL.
AND THEN JUST ONE MORE ADDITION.
WHEN IT CAME TO RELIABILITY, I THINK WE RECOGNIZE THAT, THAT, UH, DIFFERENT SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES MAY HAVE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF WEATHERIZATION AND, UM, ENERGY ENVELOPES IN THEIR HOMES.
AND SO DEPENDING ON, ON HOW, ON WHICH CLASS YOU MIGHT BE IN, UH, THE, THE LENGTH OF A AN OUTAGE REALLY MATTERS.
UH, AND WE JUST WENT THROUGH A COUPLE EXAMPLES OF HOW QUICKLY ONE HOME MIGHT GET COOLER IN A WINTER EVENT OVER 24 HOURS VERSUS ANOTHER.
AND SO A VERY, A LESS ENERGY EFFICIENT HOME, UH, CAN REALLY LOSE TEMPERATURE A LOT QUICKER.
AND SO THOSE OUTAGES NEED TO BE MUCH SHORTER FOR, FOR THOSE PEOPLE.
OH MY GOSH, YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING.
AND, UM, EACH INDIVIDUAL FACILITATOR WILL WRITE DOWN A LOT OF THESE NOTES, SO WE'LL FIND OUT HOW MANY OF THESE THINGS BUBBLED UP IN THE SAME.
ANYBODY ELSE WANNA ADD ONE MORE THING? 'CAUSE BEFORE WE JUMP TO THE NEXT.
OKAY, THIS LAST THING THAT WE'RE GONNA DO, WE'RE NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO JUST FILL OUT THIS SURVEY.
WE'RE GONNA COLLECT THEM AND WE'RE GOING TO USE THEM IN OUR NEXT, OUR NEXT WORKSHOP, WHICH WE'LL ALSO TALK ABOUT HERE IN A SECOND.
SO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS, YOU'VE, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TRADE-OFFS ALL DAY LONG, RIGHT? JUST THE TRADE OFFS BETWEEN ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA START LOOKING AT SOME OBJECTIVES FOR THE GENERATION PLAN.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THESE OBJECTIVES ARE THERE.
YOU CAN CIRCLE THE ONE THAT YOU LIKE THE BEST, OR IF YOU DON'T LIKE ANY OF THEM, YOU CAN CHANGE THEM OR YOU CAN REWRITE THEM OR WHATEVER YOU WANNA DO WITH THAT.
BUT YOU CAN SEE, LIKE IF YOU GAVE, UM, AFFORDABILITY A 10, THAT TOP OBJECTIVES KIND OF RELATES TO A 10.
SO THEY'RE, THEY KIND OF WORK THAT WAY.
THIS IS NOT, WE'RE JUST TRYING TO GET SOME FEEL FOR IT.
SO JUST REAL QUICK, GO THROUGH, CIRCLE THOSE AND HAND THAT BACK INTO YOUR FACILITATOR AND THEN WE'LL CLOSE UP HERE.
AND IF PEOPLE NEED MORE TIME, I'LL CLOSE UP AND LET YOU HAVE AS MUCH TIME AS YOU WANT.
[01:50:48]
YOU CAN KEEP WORKING ON THOSE.BUT I'M GONNA HONOR PEOPLE'S TIME AS THEY GET FINISHED.
BUT LET ME FINISH UP WITH HOW WE'RE, THANK YOU.
ARE YOU GUYS TIRED TODAY? IS YOUR BRAIN HURTING
I, UH, WE, YOU'VE PROVIDED SO MUCH INSIGHT AND FEEDBACK AND THIS INFORMATION WILL BE USED WITH OUR NEXT WORKSHOP 'CAUSE WE'LL START TALKING A LITTLE MORE DETAILS, UM, THEN, AND THEN IT'LL BE REPORTED OUT AS WELL TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE AUSTIN UTILITY COMMISSION.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THE, ALL THOSE DIFFERENT PLACES SHOW AND SHOW UP BACK UP IN, IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT AREAS.
SO GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK.
OUR NEXT WORKSHOP IS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3RD AT LUNCHTIME.
UM, THE, UH, WE WILL BE TALKING IN MORE DETAIL AND WE'LL TAKE WHAT WE USE FROM ALL OF WHAT YOU PUT TOGETHER INTO THIS, INTO THIS NEXT, UM, WORKSHOP.
I WANT YOU TO, AFTER YOU'RE DONE, TURN YOUR WORK, YOUR WORKSHEETS IN ON THE TABLES TO BE COLLECTED AND, UM, ANY, ANY FINAL QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, THOUGHTS AS WE CLOSE OUT TODAY TOO? YES.
IS THERE NOT A SEPTEMBER, THERE IS NOT A SEPTEMBER WORKSHOP.
WE'RE REALLY HOPING THAT YOU'LL BE, AND MAYBE LISA HAS TALKED ABOUT IT.
WE ARE REALLY HOPING THAT YOU CAN WORK WITH THE MODELS, UM, THAT THE, THAT, THAT AT THE NEXT WORKSHOP AND THE SEPTEMBER DATES THAT WE WERE USING ISN'T QUITE WORKING WELL.
SO WE DID IT, WE SCOOTED IT OFF TO OCTOBER AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE.
WE'RE STILL STILL ON THE, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL VOTES BY THE END.
ALL OF THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, JUST HAD TO MOVE IT BACK AND HONESTLY IS BECAUSE I THINK THAT WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH BETTER INSIGHT AND ALLOW YOU TO, TO SEE HOW THINGS CHANGE AND MOVE UP AND DOWN AND ALL THAT KINDA STUFF.
SO FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE PROJECT OR THE PRO, UM, WE, WE DO CHANGE THE PROCESS.
THANKS FOR ASKING THE QUESTION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, THOUGHTS? YEP.
JOE, SO IN TERMS OF THAT TIMELINE TO COUNCIL BACKING UP FROM THERE, WHEN PROCESS HAVE A REPORT TO, WELL, WE, THE FIRST OF ALL, THE COUN THE, WE'RE REPORTING TO THE COUNCIL ALMOST MONTHLY.
UM, AND THEN WE CAN LOOK AT, I'LL, WHAT I'LL DO IS I'LL BRING YOU WHERE WE THINK, OKAY, WE ARE ON THAT TIMELINE AT OUR NEXT MEETING, BUT WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT WHAT WAS, I THINK THERE WAS SOME HOPE FOR AND PROMISE THAT THERE WOULD GET TO BE A VOTE BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO THAT PART I THINK WE'RE STILL LINE FOR.
AND IF I SAID SOMETHING WRONG, AUSTIN ENERGY, YELL AT ME.
ANYTHING ELSE FROM ANYONE ELSE? YOU HAVE DONE YOUR PUBLIC SERVICE TODAY.