Nov 19, 2024 Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee

9:05 AM

[00:00:01]

THANKS, MAYOR.

I AM LESLIE POOLE,

[CALL TO ORDER]

WE ARE HERE CONVENING TODAY, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH, 2024 AT 9:06 AM UH, WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT FOR THIS COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE, FOR THE AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.

LET ME, UM, LAY OUT FOR YOU ALL HOW WE WILL PROCEED TODAY, UM, AND THEN WE WILL GET TO OUR BUSINESS.

WE HAVE, UH, A NUMBER OF SPEAKERS THIS MORNING WHO ARE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM FOUR.

UH, THE, UH, ACCEPTED PROCEDURE, UH, TO THIS POINT HAS ALWAYS BEEN FIVE SPEAKERS IN COMMITTEE MEETINGS, UH, WHICH IS DIFFERENT FROM COUNCIL MEETINGS.

UH, SEEING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE SIGNED UP TODAY, I WILL BE, UH, BREAKING WITH PRECEDENT AND ALLOWING THESE ADDITIONAL PEOPLE TO SPEAK.

UH, YOU WILL EACH HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK.

IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE MORE THAN, UH, ABOUT THREE DOZEN SPEAKERS, SO THAT WOULD BE, UH, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME, WHICH MEANS YOU ALL, UH, WILL ALSO BE WAITING TO THE END TO MAKE YOUR, YOUR PRESENTATIONS IF YOU ARE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST.

BUT WE WILL, UH, HEAR FROM EVERY SPEAKER WHO HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TODAY, UM, FOR TWO MINUTES.

AND I APPRECIATE YOU ALL COMING TO MAKE YOUR COMMENTS.

UH, THEN WE WILL, UM, MOVE TO THE BUSINESS OF THE MEETING TODAY.

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO IS ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO LISTEN TO THE PRESENTATION THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS GOING TO MAKE, AND WE WILL TAKE THE SPEAKERS UP AFTER THE PRESENTATION.

SO I WILL MOVE TO

[Approval of Minutes]

AND I HAVE A MOTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON AND A SECOND FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE.

ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR CORRECTIONS OR OBJECTIONS TO THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED? SEEING NONE AND SEEING NONE FROM THE, UH, PEOPLE REMOTE? UH, THOSE MINUTES ARE ADOPTED.

WE WILL MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER TWO.

DISCUSSION

[2. Approve the 2025 Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee meeting calendar.]

APPROVE THE 2024 AUSTIN ENERGY UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING CALENDAR.

UM, HAVE YOU ALL HAD A, A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE MEETING DATES THAT ARE RECOMMENDED FOR NEXT YEAR? I COMMEND THEM ALL TO YOU.

I MAYBE WE'LL WATCH THEM FROM HOME.

UM, ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR OBJECTIONS TO THE DATES AS PRESENTED? IS THERE A MOTION TO ADOPT? UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VELA MAKES THAT MOTION TO ADOPT.

AND COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE SECONDS AGAIN, ANY OBJECTIONS OR CHANGES? SEEING NONE.

THE CALENDAR FOR 2025 IS ADOPTED.

NOW WE WILL HEAR FROM

[3. General Manager’s Report - Operational Update, Awards & Recognitions.]

HE WILL GIVE US A REPORT AND OPERATIONAL UPDATE AND SOME, UH, INFORMATION ON AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS THE INNOVATIONS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD ON.

YES, THANK.

GOOD MORNING.

THANK YOU.

GOOD MORNING, CHAIR POOL, VICE CHAIR, VELA MAYOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

UH, I'M ACTUALLY, I HAVE A BUNCH OF STUFF I'M GONNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS MORNING.

I'M VERY, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS FIRST ONE, THE GEOTHERMAL PILOT PROJECT THAT YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN ALL OF THE NEWSPAPERS THAT WE'RE BRAGGING ABOUT.

THIS IS JUST EVIDENCE OF US CONTINUING OUR LEADERSHIP IN, UH, ENERGY INNOVATION.

LAST WEEK WE ANNOUNCED A FIRST OF ITS KIND ADVANCED GEOTHERMAL PROJECT.

IT'S A FIVE MEGAWATT PROJECT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH X EXCEED GEO ENERGY TO BRING ADDITIONAL CARBON FREE ENERGY ONLINE.

NEXT YEAR.

IT WILL DO SO BY TAPPING INTO HEAT STORE.

DEEP UNDERGROUND, WE'RE GONNA GO DOWN TWO MILES.

THEY SAY IT'S GONNA TAKE ABOUT 45 DAYS.

WE'LL SEE THEN, THEN USING A CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM WITH SUPER CRITICAL CO2 INSTEAD OF WATER AS THE HEAT TRANSFER FLUID TO PRODUCE ELECTRICITY.

WITH THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY AND THE POTENTIAL TO SCALLOP ENERGY PRODUCTION, THIS GEOTHERMAL EFFORT WILL CHANGE THE ENERGY LANDSCAPE IN TEXAS AND CREATE A MORE RELIABLE PATHWAY TO A CLEANER GREENER GRID.

WHILE WE'RE ALREADY THE MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE UTILITY IN TEXAS, FAR EXCEEDING STATEWIDE AND NATIONAL AVERAGES, YOU KNOW, WE'RE AT ABOUT 70% CARBON FREE ERCOT IN THE REST OF THE COUNTRY.

IT'S AT ABOUT 40%.

WE ALWAYS SEEK NEW WAYS TO PRODUCE CLEAN, RELIABLE ENERGY FOR THE GRID.

[00:05:01]

THE NEXT THING I WANNA TALK ABOUT IS AN AWARD WE RECEIVE FOR OUR GET READY.

I KNOW YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS, THE GET READY STAY READY OUTAGE PREP CAMPAIGN.

AS YOU MAY REMEMBER, AUSTIN ENERGY PRODUCES A CAMPAIGN TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY GET READY AND STAY READY IN CASE OF AN UNEXPECTED OUTAGE.

THAT CAMPAIGN HAS HELPED BRING 140,000 NEW UNIQUE VISITORS TO OUR, OUR, OUR OUTAGE WEBPAGE.

AND IT'S ALSO INCREASED ENROLLMENT FOR OUTAGE ALERTS BY AT LEAST 65,000 CUSTOMERS.

ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE HAD ISSUES WITH WAS GETTING PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR TEXT MESSAGES WHEN THERE'S GONNA BE A PROBLEM.

SO WE HAVE 65,000 NEW CUSTOMERS OUT OF OUR 578,000 METERS SIGN UP.

THAT'S A PRETTY BIG PERCENTAGE.

SO THAT WORK HAS NOT GONE UNNOTICED.

ESOURCE, A UTILITIES FOCUSED CONSULTING RESEARCH AND DATA SCIENCE COMPANY RECENTLY AWARDED THIS CAMPAIGN, THE GET READY STAY READY CAMPAIGN FIRST PLACE AT THE UTILITY AD AWARDS.

SO THIS AWARD COMES AFTER ESOURCE BENCHMARKED OUR OUTAGE WEB PAGES AS NUMBER ONE, NUMBER ONE OUT OF 93 UTILITY WEBSITES IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA LAST YEAR.

AND THIS ISN'T JUST AGAINST OTHER MOUS, WHICH IS A BIG DEAL, BUT THIS IS ACROSS CO-OPS, THE BIG IOUS.

WE'RE NUMBER ONE OUTTA 93.

THAT IS SOMETHING WE REALLY NEED TO BE PROUD OF.

I'D LIKE TO PUBLICLY THANK OUR TEAM FOR CONTINUING TO PUT OUR CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITY FIRST.

SO WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE COMMUNITY? IT'S A BUSY TIME FOR AUSTIN AND ENERGY OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.

IN ADDITION TO THE STAKEHOLDER WORK WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST YEAR, PROBABLY ON THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN, WHICH YOU'RE GONNA HEAR MORE ABOUT LATER.

FROM LISA MARTIN AND LINDA RIFE, I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW COMING AND RECENT EVENTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE GOING ON.

FIRST, WE HAD OUR WINTER POPUP EVENTS AT OUR UTILITY CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTERS DECEMBER 5TH THROUGH SEVENTH.

CUSTOMERS CAN PICK UP SUPPLIES FOR THEIR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS KITS AND WINTER PREPARATION TIP SHEETS.

SOME EXAMPLES ARE THEY GET SOLAR PHONE CHARGES, INSULATED COVERS FOR OUTDOOR FAUCETS AND COMPOSTING BAGS.

WE'RE DOING THESE EVENTS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSTIN WATER AND AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY TO HELP COMMUNITY MEMBERS TAKE STEPS NOW TO PREPARE FOR THE WE WINTER SEASON.

THE SECOND THING WE'RE DOING IN THE COMMUNITY, WE JUST HAD THIS A A FEW WEEKS AGO, IS OUR COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS RESOURCE FAIR IS HELD IN LATE OCTOBER AND IT CONNECTS CUSTOMERS STRUGGLING TO MEET THEIR BASIC NEEDS WITH RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY.

THERE WERE 144 VENDORS THAT WERE BROUGHT TOGETHER AND PROVIDED SUPPORT SERVICES AND INFORMATION IN ONE PLACE.

UH, SO SOME EXAMPLES OF SOME OF THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDED AT THIS FAIR WERE HEALTH, VISION AND BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENINGS, FOOD SERVICES AND HOUSING ASSISTANCE.

MORE THAN 25 CITY DEPARTMENTS STAFFING 50 BOOTHS WITH INFORMATION ABOUT CITY SERVICES WERE IN ONE PLACE FOR ALL THESE PEOPLE.

TO SEE NEARLY 1600 COMMUNITY MEMBERS PARTICIPATED IN THIS YEAR'S FAIR, MAKING IT THE MOST ATTENDED IN THE 12 YEAR HISTORY THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.

THIS THIRD, THE ELECTRIC ELECTRIFY EXPO AT THE CIRCUIT OF AMERICAS.

ITS NORTH AMERICA'S LARGEST ELECTRIC VEHICLES FESTIVAL.

IT PROMOTES E RIDES OF ALL KINDS ELECTRIC CARS, BIKES, MOTORCYCLES, SCOOTERS, AND EVEN WATERCRAFTS.

OUR ELECTRIC VEHICLE TEAM HAD A BOOTH THERE AND WAS PACKED FOR TWO DAYS.

UH, STAFF GOT TO TALK AND TO SHOW CUSTOMERS HOW EASY IT IS TO USE, UH, CHARGERS FOR THEIR CARS AND ENCOURAGING ATTENDEES TO CONSIDER ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION.

PART OF OUR ELE ELECTRIFICATION EFFORTS.

OVERALL.

TENANTS AT EXPO INCREASED BY 28% OVER THE LAST YEAR, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS ONE DAY SHORTER.

FINALLY, ON DECEMBER 1ST, WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE HOW HOLIDAY SEASON KICKOFF BY LIGHTING THE 58TH ANNUAL ZILKER HOLIDAY TREE.

EACH YEAR OUR CREWS TAKE PRIDE IN ASSEMBLING THE TREE WITH MORE THAN 3000 ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHT BULBS AND JUST THE RIGHT WAY TO CREATE THE ICONIC SW PATTERN.

AND THAT'S GONNA REMAIN LIT UNTIL JANUARY 1ST.

SO, JUST A COUPLE MORE THINGS I WANNA MENTION.

SO BEFORE I FINISH MY REPORT, SO OVER THE YEARS, MANY OF YOU HAVE WORKED CLOSELY WITH ELTON RICHARDS, VICE PRESIDENT OF OUR ELECTRIC SYSTEMS FILLED OPERATIONS.

YOU KNOW WHAT AN ASSET HE IS FOR OUR UTILITY, OUR CITY, AND OUR COMMUNITY.

HE LET US KNOW THAT HE'S LEAVING ENERGY, AUSTIN ENERGY NEXT MONTH, AND I'D

[00:10:01]

AND THE LAST THING I WANNA MENTION IS THIS IS CHAIR POOL'S LAST OFFICIAL MEETING AS CHAIR OF THIS COMMITTEE.

AND I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR GUIDING HAND DURING THE TIME YOU'VE BEEN THE CHAIR.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. CONN.

AND, AND CONGRATULATIONS TO ELTON.

UM, ENJOY YOUR RETIREMENT.

I HEAR IT'S, IT'S, UH, A GREAT, IT'S A GREAT NEW ROLE.

.

I'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO THAT.

.

I THINK WE ALL TRY .

ALL RIGHT.

LET'S SEE.

UM, THE NEXT ITEM.

YES, I HAD A QUESTION IF I MIGHT.

OH, SURE.

UH, FIRE AWAY PLEASE.

A QUESTION.

YEAH.

I JUST WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, WITH THE GEOTHERMAL YES.

AND SORT OF WHEN THAT WILL COME ONLINE AND HOW YOU SEE THAT HELPING WITH SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE, UM, BEEN TALKING ABOUT IN THE GEN PLAN? YES.

IT'S, IT'S GONNA COME ONLINE SOMETIME NEXT YEAR.

IT'S FIVE MEGAWATTS, WHICH IS, WHICH IS SMALL.

YOU KNOW, OUR PEAK LOAD WAS A LITTLE OVER 3,100 MEGAWATTS THIS YEAR.

IT'S A PILOT PROJECT.

UM, WE THINK IT'S GONNA BE VERY PROMISING AND IF IT DOES WORK, UM, AND WE'LL WAIT TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY START SENDING US POWER, WE PLAN TO EXPAND IT AND YOU KNOW, IT'S FREE FUEL, RIGHT? IT'S FREE FUEL AND IT'S CARBON FREE.

AND, AND SO THAT GOES ALONG WITH OUR GENERATION RESOURCE PLAN.

AND SO, UM, WHAT, YOU KNOW, ASSUMING IT DOES WORK, YES.

WHAT IS THE EXPECTED CAPACITY THAT WE COULD BUILD OUT IN THAT AREA? I ACTUALLY DO NOT KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.

IT'S THE PILOT IS FIVE MEGAWATTS.

UM, BUT I THINK WE'LL JUST HAVE TO SEE HOW THAT WORKS AND, AND GO FROM THERE.

I DON'T KNOW IF LISA HAS AN ANSWER TO THAT.

WE CAN ALWAYS GET BACK WITH YOU ON THAT, THAT QUESTION LOOKS LIKE STAFF'S COMING UP THERE.

OKAY.

COMES MIKE.

THERE HE IS.

HEY MIKE.

HI.

MICHAEL LANGER, VICE PRESIDENT ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS AND RESOURCE PLANNING.

UH, THERE IS CURRENTLY LAND LEASED OUT IN THAT AREA THAT WE BELIEVE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DO UP TO 400 MEGAWATTS OF GEOTHERMAL.

UM, 'CAUSE IT'S IN A GOOD PART OF THE STATE WITH GOOD HEAT.

AND THEN THERE'S ADDITIONAL LAND IN OTHER AREAS OF THE STATE THAT COULD EVEN GO EVEN LARGER.

SO THAT'S, IT'S A VERY LARGE POTENTIAL, VERY LARGE OPPORTUNITY IF THIS IS SUCCESSFUL.

AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THE LAND IS LEASED? WE ALREADY LEASE IT OR NO, THE DEVELOPER THAT IS WORKING ON THIS HAS, HAS LEASED LAND UP AND AROUND THE AREA.

OKAY.

UM, AND IS, UM, AND IN THE AUSTIN AREA IS GEOTHERMAL POSSIBLE GIVEN OUR, SO IT IS GEOGRAPH POSSIBLE IN THE AUSTIN AREA.

YOU HAVE TO GO EVEN DEEPER.

UM, 'CAUSE IT'S, YOU HAVE TO GO DEEPER TO GET TO THE HEAT IN ORDER TO, TO MAKE IT WORK.

AND SO THAT JUST ADDS AN ADDITIONAL COST.

UM, AND SO IT, IT COULD POTENTIALLY GET TO THE AUSTIN AREA AT SOME POINT, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE GONNA TARGET EARLY ON.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

UM, AND THEN I ALSO WANTED TO JUST, UH, THANK ELTON FOR HIS WORK.

I'VE WORKED WITH HIM OFTEN OVER THE YEARS AND, AND I'VE APPRECIATED, UH, WORKING WITH HIM.

SO THANK YOU.

ALRIGHT.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. KAHAN? YES.

COUNCIL MEMBER.

ARE THERE OTHER, UM, I KNOW THAT, THAT THERE ARE GEOTHERMAL PLANTS GLOBALLY.

UH, I THINK, UH, IF I'M REMEMBERING CORRECTLY, ICELAND I THINK IS MOST OF ITS, UH, ELECTRICITY FROM GEOTHERMAL.

RIGHT? BUT IN TERMS OF TEXAS AND THE UNITED STATES, ARE THERE EXAMPLES OF LARGE SCALE, UH, GEOTHERMAL PLANTS IN OPERATION? I KNOW THAT THIS IS A FIRST OF ITS KIND IN TEXAS.

UH, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

MIKE, DO YOU WANNA ? UM, THERE IS A, A RESEARCH PROJECT IN TEXAS DOWN HERE IN SAN ANTONIO AT THE SOUTHWEST EASTERN INSTITUTE FOR GEOTHERMAL.

AND SAM MCGILL HAS RECENTLY ANNOUNCED, UH, A DIFFERENT TYPE OF GEOTHERMAL THEY'RE LOOKING TO DEVELOP.

THERE IS GEOTHERMAL IN THE UNITED STATES.

UH, IT IS DONE MOSTLY THROUGH WATER, AND IT'S GENERALLY OUT, UH, IN THE WEST AND NORTHWEST WHERE YOU HAVE GEYSERS AND YOU HAVE HEAT CLOSER UP TO THE SURFACE.

UM, SO THIS WOULD BE THE FIRST OF VIS COUNTY IN TEXAS, AND THEN YES, YOU'RE CORRECT.

THERE IS GEOTHERMAL THROUGHOUT THE, THE, THE GLOBE, UH, MAINLY IN ICELAND WHERE THEY DO HAVE THAT HEAT VERY, VERY CLOSE TO THE SURFACE.

AND SO THEY'RE ABLE TO UTILIZE WATER AND GEYSERS TO PRODUCE ELECTRICITY.

GREAT.

BUT I GUESS, UH, THE PILOT PROJECT IS NOTABLE JUST BECAUSE IT'S GOING SO DEEP TO GET THE HEAT.

UH, IT'S AN ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM THAT USES SUPER CRITICAL CO2 MM-HMM.

, A LOT OF THE GEOTHERMAL THAT WE'VE SEEN OUT AROUND THE PLANET USES WATER.

MM-HMM.

.

UM, AND SO, AND, AND NOT NECESSARILY A CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM, IT MIGHT JUST RUN WATER THROUGH A FRACK ROCKS TO, TO PRODUCE THE HEAT AND THE STEAM.

MM-HMM.

.

AND SO THIS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT WITH THAT CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM AS, AS WELL AS USING, UH, SUPER CRITICAL CO2.

UH, GREAT.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, HEARING MORE ABOUT IT AND, AND APPRECIATE

[00:15:01]

THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANKS SO MUCH MR. KHAN.

APPRECIATE YOUR REPORT.

WE WILL MOVE

[4. Staff briefing and process update on the Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan by Lisa Martin, Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer and Lynda Rife, President of Rifeline.]

THIS WILL BE LISA MARTIN, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER AND AND COO AND LINDA RE, PRESIDENT OF RIF LINE.

AND AS WE BEGIN TODAY'S BRIEFING, I WANNA, I WANNA START, UH, WITH AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE 40 COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS PROCESS.

UM, IT'S AN IMPRESSIVE GROUP.

THEY REPRESENT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH THEIR ORGANIZATIONS, AND IT'S A BROAD SWATH OF ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS.

IF YOU ARE A STAKEHOLDER WHO PARTICIPATED AND YOU ARE HERE TODAY, COULD YOU STAND TO BE RECOGNIZED? YOUR CONTRIBUTION HAS BEEN INCREDIBLE AND MUCH APPRECIATED.

THANKS FOR VOLUNTEERING YOUR TIME AND GIVING VITAL.

YES.

WHO'S ON THE, UH, PHONE? THAT'S IT.

IT'S RYAN COUNCILMAN.

CAN CAN YOU TURN YOUR QUENTES AND I CAN, ARE YOU ABLE TO HEAR ME? WE CAN'T SEE YOU, BUT WE CAN HEAR YOU.

ARE YOU ABLE TO TURN ON YOUR CAMERA COUNCIL MEMBER? ALTER RYAN ALTER? UH, WELL, I AM, I'M AT A, A RED LIGHT, SO I GUESS I CAN DO THAT TECHNICALLY.

, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES AND I FLEW IN IN THIS MORNING TO BE HERE FOR THE GEN PLAN DISCUSSION.

UH, WE DID NOT KNOW THAT WE WOULD NOT BE TAKING PUBLIC SPEAKERS AHEAD OF TIME.

WE ARE BOTH EN ROUTE.

I KNOW THERE'S ANOTHER BRIEFING FROM AUSTIN ENERGY.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET THAT ONE FIRST SO THAT WE CAN BE PRESENT FOR THIS DISCUSSION? I'M LOOKING AROUND HERE FOR FOLKS WHO ARE WAITING TO MAKE THEIR COMMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS.

I DON'T SEE ANY DISAGREEMENT WITH THAT.

CAN YOU GIVE US AN ETA PLEASE? FIVE MINUTES.

OH, OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, WHY DON'T WE, UM, LET ME FINISH MY, UH, THANK YOU REMARKS TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND, UH, THEN WE WILL THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, AND, UM, HOPEFULLY YOU WILL.

THANK YOU ALL.

GET HERE, UH, QUICKLY, UH, AGAIN, I WANNA THANK ALL OF THE PEOPLE FROM OUR COMMUNITY WHO PARTICIPATED AND VOLUNTEERED THEIR TIME AND GAVE VITAL FEEDBACK ON AUSTIN'S RESOURCE GEN PLAN.

THE PLAN'S BETTER TODAY.

AS YOU ALL KNOW, THERE'S BEEN A BIG SHIFT IN THE FOCUS OF THE PLAN SINCE WE BEGAN THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT A YEAR AGO TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY.

AND I THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS.

YOU HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

AND I ALSO WANNA THANK AUSTIN ENERGY AND MY COLLEAGUES ON THIS DAAS FOR DIGGING IN TO TRY TO FIND A WAY TO MOVE THROUGH SOME PRETTY DENSE UNDERBRUSH AND PRETTY TECHNICAL, UH, CONVERSATIONS IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE ARE FACED WITH, RECOGNIZING THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE, UH, THAT WE WILL BE FACING IN THE FUTURE.

AND, UH, GETTING OURSELVES PREPARED AND LINKING ARMS ACROSS THIS COMMUNITY TO DO THIS IN CONCERT.

BECAUSE FRANKLY, GIVEN WHAT WE WILL BE FACING IN THE FUTURE, LITERALLY, UH, I THINK THE ONLY WAY WE WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE PROGRESS IS IF WE DO THIS AS A COMMUNITY STANDING TOGETHER AND SUPPORTING ONE ANOTHER, UM, IN THIS EFFORT.

SO, THANK YOU.

UH, LET'S SEE.

WE WERE ACTUALLY NOT GOING TO, UH, TAKE THE FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS AND OPERATIONS HIGHLIGHTS BRIEFING TODAY IN RECOGNITION OF THE AMOUNT OF TIME WE WERE GOING TO BE SPENDING, UM, ON THE GEN PLAN.

AND SO STAFF IS NOT PREPARED TO MAKE THOSE BRIEFINGS, IS MY UNDERSTANDING.

UM, LET'S DO THAT.

THANK YOU, MAYOR.

UM, WE WILL RECESS FOR THIS MEETING FOR 10 MINUTES TO AWAIT THE ARRIVAL OF OUR COLLEAGUES.

COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, AND COUNCIL MEMBER VANESSA FUENTES.

THANK YOU.

WE ARE IN RECESS AT 9 25.

WE WILL BE BACK AT 9 35.

THANK YOU ALL.

ALL RIGHT, EVERYBODY, WE ARE RECONVENING FROM OUR RECESS.

IT IS 9 35, AND, UH, WE HAVE, UH, LET'S SEE, UH, READY TO GO.

ALL RIGHT.

SO, UM, MS. MARTIN, WE WILL, UH, BRING YOU BACK UP TO THE

[00:20:01]

THANKS FOR BEING HERE TODAY.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

GOOD MORNING, CHAIR POOLE, VICE CHAIR VELA AND COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR.

I'M LISA MARTIN, AUSTIN ENERGY'S CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, HERE TO PROVIDE YOU THE LATEST UPDATE ON OUR RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN TO 2035.

SO I'VE USED THIS SLIDE SEVERAL TIMES, BUT IT'S A GREAT REMINDER TO ME TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TO BUILD A BRIDGE.

WE'RE WORKING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE FULFILL OUR FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS.

AND IT TAKES A LOT OF PEOPLE TO BUILD A BRIDGE AND TO DO IT RIGHT.

AND SO THANK YOU TO ALL THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO RECOGNIZE THE, THE, UH, STAKEHOLDER GROUP, UM, ALSO TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION, ALL THE AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF AND EVERYONE WHO'S SHOWN AN INTEREST IN THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE.

AND WHAT THIS BRIDGE LOOKS LIKE DEPENDS ON THE WORK THAT WE ARE DOING TODAY.

UM, AND SO I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT ALL THE EFFORT THAT WE'VE PUT INTO THIS, AND I'M HAPPY TO PRESENT TO YOU ESSENTIALLY THE CULMINATION OF THE WORK.

IF I WERE TO SUMMARIZE THE MISSION OF THE 2035 PLAN IN A SINGLE SENTENCE, IT WOULD BE WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN HERE.

WE HAVE TO MEET AUSTIN'S RISING ENERGY NEEDS WHILE ENABLING AN EQUITABLE CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION THAT REFLECTS OUR COMMUNITY'S VALUES, THE COMMUNITY VALUES, RELIABILITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.

AND GETTING THERE TAKES A LOT OF HARD WORK AND CONSIDERING CONSIDERATION OF TRADE-OFFS, WE WANNA START WITH WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE.

WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR MONTHS IN VARIOUS WAYS, AND OF COURSE IT'S A PRETTY COMPLEX PROBLEM.

UM, AND SO IT'S HARD TO SUMMARIZE IT ON A SINGLE SLIDE, BUT WE DO OUR BEST HERE AND YOU'LL SEE THINGS THAT YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH.

SO CERTAINLY THERE ARE, UM, INCREASES IN EXTREME WEATHER, AND THERE'S, UH, THE RISK OF, OF ADDITIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND CLIMATE RISK THAT IS, UM, EXACERBATING THE PROBLEMS. WE HAVE GROWTH IN POPULATION, BUT ALSO GROWTH IN THE FORM OF THINGS LIKE DATA CENTERS AND AI, UM, GROWTH IN ELECTRIFICATION, SO MORE ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND ELECTRIC APPLIANCES.

WE'VE ALSO RECENTLY RETIRED SOME LOCAL GENERATION.

AND THEN THERE'S A LOT OF ERCOT MARKET CHANGES THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TIME AND AGAIN, THAT ARE CREATING PRICE AND RELIABILITY ISSUES AND FINANCIAL RISK.

IF I WERE TO TELL IT IN THE FORM OF A STORYLINE, IT WOULD SOUND A LITTLE BIT LIKE THIS.

SO IF YOU START WITH WHERE THE PLAN, THE LAST PLAN, THE PLAN THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY UNDER WAS ADOPTED, THAT WAS IN MARCH OF 2020, SO JUST FOUR YEARS AGO, BUT A VERY, VERY DIFFERENT ENERGY LANDSCAPE THAN WE HAVE TODAY.

UM, AND SO A NUMBER OF THINGS HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THAT TIME, WHICH IS WHY WE ARE EMBARKING ON A PLAN TO 2035 NOW.

UM, ONE OF THE COMMITMENTS OF THE PLAN TO 2030 WAS TO RETIRE SOME OF OUR EXISTING GENERATION.

THE DECKER STEAM UNITS WERE OLDER GENERATION, AND IT WAS TIME TO RETIRE THEM.

WE RETIRED THE FIRST ONE AFTER THE SUMMER OF 2020.

THAT WAS 300 MEGAWATTS OF LOCAL GENERATION THAT WAS RETIRED.

AND THEN THAT NEXT WINTER WE HAD WINTER STORM URI, AND WE KNOW WHAT, WHAT THAT PUT, UH, DID TO OUR COMMUNITY AND, AND THE FEAR THAT IT PUT INSIDE OF EVERYBODY.

IT ALSO CREATED SIGNIFICANT ERCOT MARKET CHANGES AND INCREASED, UM, ENERGY COSTS.

WE WERE ORIGINALLY SLATED TO SHUT DOWN THE SECOND DECKER STEAM UNIT AFTER THE SUMMER OF 21, BUT HAVING JUST GONE THROUGH WINTER STORM URI, WE WANTED TO KEEP IT TO MAKE SURE WE COULD GET THROUGH THE NEXT WINTER.

AND SO WE ENDED UP RETIRING IT AFTER THE WINTER IN 2022 IN MARCH.

AND SO, UM, THAT WAS AN ADDITIONAL 425 MEGAWATTS, RETIRED IN TOTAL, 725 MEGAWATTS OF LOCAL GENERATION.

IT WAS 50% OF THE GENERATION WE HAD LOCALLY WITHIN THE AUSTIN SERVICE AREA.

AFTER RETIRING THAT UNIT, UH, WE STARTED SEEING, AND THIS WAS ALSO AROUND THE TIME WHEN IT WAS, WAS HARDER AND HARDER TO BRING IN, UM, UH, RENEWABLES FROM OTHER PARTS OF TEXAS.

UM, INCREASED CONGESTION ON THE LINES.

AND WE STARTED SEEING THOSE COSTS.

IM IMPACTING OUR CUSTOMERS.

IN 2022, CONGESTION COSTS WERE EQUIVALENT OF $135 MILLION.

AND IN 2023, IT WAS ANOTHER $150 MILLION.

UM, AND THOSE ARE COSTS THAT GET PASSED DIRECTLY TO OUR CUSTOMERS, AND THEY REALLY DON'T GET ANYTHING IN RETURN FOR IT.

THEY'RE JUST, IT'S LIKE TAKING THE TOLL LANE ON MOPAC BECAUSE YOU, YOU CAN'T, UH, YOU KNOW, SIT IN THE REGULAR TRAFFIC.

YOU CAN'T GET WHERE YOU NEED TO GO ANY OTHER WAY.

UM, AND SO THAT'S ALSO THE ERUPT MARKET TELLING US THAT THERE'S LOCAL RELIABILITY ISSUES AND AN INCREASED RISK OF OUTAGES.

UM, THAT TRANSMISSION AND CONGESTION, OF COURSE, COMES AT AN EXTREME COST.

AND THEN WE ALSO ARE IN THE FACE OF RISING, UH, DEMAND AND ENERGY USAGE, UM, FOR SOME OF IT'S, FOR GREAT REASONS, LIKE MORE ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

UM, BUT WE, UH, NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE PREPARING FOR THAT GROWTH.

SO IT'S NOT ANY ONE PARTICULAR EVENT THAT PUT US WHERE WE ARE TODAY.

A LOT OF THINGS HAVE CHANGED AND CREATED THE CURRENT STATE WHERE WE NEED TO, TO SET BACK RESET AND FIGURE OUT WHAT'S OUR PLAN TO 2035 TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY, UM, IN THE BEST WAY.

AND IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO DO SO.

WE HAVE TO ADAPT TO THE CHANGING ENERGY LANDSCAPE.

[00:25:01]

WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT OFF TO LINDA RIF TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP.

GOOD MORNING.

I HAD THE HONOR OF WORKING WITH THE STAKEHOLDER GROUP, UM, THAT YOU HONORED EARLIER.

THANK YOU, UM, CHAIR POOL VERY MUCH FOR DOING THAT.

THEY SPENT A LOT OF HOURS HERE.

WE ACTUALLY ENDED UP WITH FIVE WORKSHOPS, UM, TO HEAR FROM A GROUP OF DIVERSE VOICES, UM, ON A RELIABILITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.

AND YOU'RE GONNA HEAR, UH, SOME RESULTS OF THEIR WORK.

SO THE FIRST MEETING WAS IN JUNE.

THE LAST MEETING WAS LAST WEDNESDAY.

SO, UH, OVER THE COURSE OF THE WHOLE PLAN DEVELOPMENT, THEY WERE PART OF IT.

AS YOU TALKED ABOUT, THIS CAME FROM A DI DIVERSE GROUP OF, UM, ORGANIZATIONS.

WE, UH, RAN THOSE, WE GOT THOSE ORGANIZATIONS FROM SOME PEOPLE THAT WE KNEW, BUT WE ALSO ASKED ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS IF THEY HAD PEOPLE THAT WERE INTERESTED IN RELIABILITY, ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY OR AFFORDABILITY.

AND CREATED, WORKED ON THAT AS WELL AS THE EUC.

SO WE TRIED TO GATHER AS MUCH INPUT AS POSSIBLE.

AFTER YOU LOOK AT ALL FIVE WORKSHOPS, WE HAD JELLYBEAN GAMES, WE TALKED ABOUT SMORES.

WE'VE DONE ALL SORTS OF FUN THINGS, BUT THESE ARE SOME KEY TAKEAWAYS.

RELIABILITY IS THE COMMUNITY'S TOP PRIORITY.

IT DOESN'T MEAN IT NEEDS TO BE PERFECT.

UM, NONE OF THE THREE, UM, STANDARDS GOT A FIVE, BUT IT DID COME OUT ON TOP IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS.

EQUITY CONTINUES TO BE A MAJOR THEME, AND AUSTIN ENERGY HAS ADDED THAT TO THEIR VALUES.

THE IMPACTS OF ADAGES DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECT VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES.

WE HEARD THAT A LOT.

DECISIONS MADE FROM THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN WILL NEED TO MINIMIZE RISK AND MAXIMIZE BENEFITS FOR THE ERHART MARKET MARKET.

AUSTIN ENERGY IS FACING A TOUGH BALANCE BETWEEN ALL THE NEEDS.

AND THE WORKSHOPS HAVE BEEN A REAL EYE-OPENER.

OVERALL, A GOOD PROCESS.

THOSE ARE ACTUALLY WORDS THAT WE HEARD FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS.

AND THEN THE, WE RAN LAST WEDNESDAY, THE VALUES, OBJECTIVES, THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE PLAN AND SOME TOOLKIT CONCEPTS.

AND, UM, IN GENERAL, THERE WAS, UH, THE RIGHT APPROACH.

THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT ELSE NEEDED TO BE ADDED TO PLAN AND WHAT NEEDED TO BE TAKEN OUT OF THE PLAN.

SO WE DID HEAR THOSE AS WELL.

UM, THE KEY TAKEAWAYS, DR. WEBER SPOKE TO US ON WORKSHOP TWO, JUST AS A REMINDER, WE'RE IN AN UNPRECEDENTED ELECTRIC ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION.

WE'RE SIMULTANEOUSLY EXPANDING AND DECARBONIZING.

UM, WE HAVE TO WORK ON BOTH THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND SIDE OF THOSE EQUATIONS.

UM, DO YOUR BEST, CLEAN UP THE REST.

AND THEN AUSTIN ENERGY HAS, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THE FINANCIAL HEALTH OF THE UTILITY, WHICH BENEFITS ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY 'CAUSE WE ALL KNOW THAT THAT HELPS OUR BUDGET OUT.

AND THEN THE KEY LENS THROUGH WHICH ENERGY OPTIONS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IS TRADE-OFFS.

HENCE, WE GOT INTO THIS MORE DOCUMENTS, UM, WHERE THE VALUE STATEMENTS ARE THE WORDS THAT YOU SEE IN YELLOW OR BLUE IN THE ENERGY EQUITY ONE ARE WORDS THAT CAME OUT OF WORKSHOPS ONE AND TWO, UH, AND THREE.

UM, ON, ON WORKSHOP FOUR, WE ACTUALLY PROVIDED SOME STATEMENTS TO THE WORKSHOP.

UH, INDIVIDUALS THERE GOT FEEDBACK AND THEN UPDATED THESE TO REFLECT THEIR CONCERNS.

SO ONE, RELIABILITY, A VALUE STATEMENT THAT IS A MAJOR DRIVER IN THIS PLAN IS PROVIDING CONSISTENT AND PREDICTABLE ELECTRIC SERVICES THAT WILL POWER OUR COMMUNITY AS IT CONTINUES TO GROW.

AFFORDABILITY, ASSESSING THE IMPACTS AND PROMOTING FAIRNESS OF COSTS FOR CUSTOMERS WHILE CONTINUING TO PROVIDE THE PUBLIC POWER BENEFITS, THEN ENHANCE OUR COMMUNITY QUALITY OF LIFE.

AND THEN MAINTAINING FLEXIBILITY IN SUPPORT OF CLEAN AND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PRO PROGRAMS. WHILE TAKING A HOLISTIC ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN NEW IS ENERGY EQUITY, EVALUATING, EXPANDING ACCESS TO THE SERVICES ARID ENERGY PROVIDES SO THEY CAN REACH THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST, WHILE REDUCING THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF OUR OPERATION ON THE COMMUNITY.

WE DID THE EXACT SAME THING WITH THE UPDATED OBJECTIVES ON RELIABLE ABILITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.

THESE ARE THE OBJECTIVES THAT WILL DRIVE THAT PLAN.

THE, WE TOOK THE WORDS AGAIN IN YELLOW.

WE PROVIDED THE FEED, WE DRAFTED THEM, OR AUSTIN ENERGY DRAFTED THEM, PROVIDED FEEDBACK, AND THEN THIS IS WHERE WE ENDED UP.

SO AGAIN, UM, YOU'LL START SEEING ABOUT THE, UH, LIMITED EXPOSURE OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, LIMIT IMPACT OF BILL INCREASES, REDUCE EMISSIONS, AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

SO IT'S, IT'S A LOT OF TRADE-OFFS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN WITH ALL THREE OF THOSE.

UM, THE NEXT THING I'M GONNA DO IS SHOW A VIDEO HERE OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS.

SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT WORKED GENERATION PLAN WORKSHOPS AND INVITED STAKEHOLDERS FROM KEY COMMUNITY GROUPS, STAKEHOLDERS LEARNED THE BASICS OF BUILDING A GENERATION PLAN, ASSESSING RISK TOLERANCE, AND HOW TO BALANCE AFFORDABILITY, RELIABILITY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.

COMMUNITY

[00:30:01]

AUSTIN ENERGY IS DOING BETTER AT LISTENING TO THE MESSAGES THAT WE CONVEYED HERE AT THESE WORKSHOPS.

IT WAS GOOD TO SEE THAT THEY ARE MAKING EVERY EFFORT TO IMPROVE THEIR, THEIR CUSTOMER PROGRAMS. MY DISTRICT AND DISTRICT THREE AND DISTRICT FOUR HAVE POPULATIONS OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES AND PEOPLE OF COLOR THAT REALLY NEED MORE INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROCESS.

COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE UNIQUE INSIGHTS INTO THEIR OWN NEEDS AND CONCERNS, WHICH HELPS US CRAFT SOLUTIONS THAT TRULY RESONATE.

RELIABILITY IS A LIFE AND DEATH SITUATION.

AM OR PM THERE A LOT OF PEOPLE RELY ON OXYGEN, ELECTRIC WHEELCHAIRS, UH, .

OTHER MEANS THAT HAVE BECOME MORE AND MORE MANUFACTURED.

AUTOMATION.

EVERYTHING PLUGS IN IN MY HOUSE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS, THAT WE ARE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER WHEN WE MAKE THESE DECISIONS.

AND THAT TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, LIKE WE'RE IN THE SITUATION WE ARE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE BECAUSE IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN, THERE'VE BEEN ALL THESE REASONS THAT, UM, CONTINUING TO USE POLLUTING ENERGY SOURCES HAS BEEN CONVENIENT OR AFFORDABLE OR HELPED WITH THE RELIABILITY OR WHATEVER.

UM, AND NOW WE'RE LIKE UP AGAINST, YOU KNOW, CATASTROPHIC CLIMATE CHANGE.

AND I, I DON'T USE THAT TERM LIGHTLY.

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.

OUR NUMBERS FOR AFFORDABILITY WE'RE 8.6, RELIABILITY NINE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL 7.2.

UH, WE BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE DEFINITION OF RE RELIABILITY SIMILAR TO THE FIRST GROUP THAT SPOKE.

AND BASICALLY, FOR MOST PEOPLE, RELIABILITY IS A NUMBER ONE THING.

I THINK WE'RE ALL TRIGGERED BY URI AND THE, 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, I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CAPTURING AT SOME POINT IN THIS, THE IMPACT ON, WE TALK ABOUT MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT WE REALLY TALK ABOUT THE SMALL BUSINESS AND LOCAL OPERATORS WHO ARE TRYING TO SUSTAIN EVERY DAY, UH, AND JUST MAKE THE TACOS AND DO THE THINGS THE RIGHT WAY, BUT ALSO WITH RISING HEALTHCARE COSTS THAT ARE AT 1720 2% INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR.

SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INCLUDING THE DISCUSSION WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES THAT WE'RE INCLUDING ARE SMALL AS OUR CHAMBER CALLS OF MOM AND MOM AND POP AND POP SHOPS, UH, THAT, THAT THEY ARE PART OF THAT DISCUSSION AS WELL.

THE GOAL IS FOR THESE CONVERSATIONS TO LEAD TO COMMUNITY SUPPORTED GOALS THAT WILL ULTIMATELY BE CONSIDERED BY CITY COUNCIL.

WE APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT DURING THESE WORKSHOPS.

WE THANK EVERYONE WHO TOOK PART IN THESE WORKSHOPS TO HELP SHAPE UPRIGHT, SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR A COMMUNITY TOGETHER.

AS YOU CAN HEAR, WE HEARD LOTS OF VOICES, LOTS OF DIVERSITY, UM, LOTS OF OPINIONS AND TRADE-OFFS.

THERE'S JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF IN INPUT INTO SEEING WHAT HAPPENED AND HOW WE GOT HERE.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU LINDA.

UM, SO AS YOU HAVE HEARD, AND YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE, UM, HAD GREAT INVOLVEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY, WE'VE ALSO BROUGHT IN A LOT OF, UM, EXPERT, UH, INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS TO HELP SUPPORT OUR PROCESS AND ANSWER QUESTIONS ALONG THE WAY.

AND SO THAT'S WHAT'S SUMMARIZED HERE ON THIS SLIDE.

AND THEN THERE WAS A LOT OF ANALYSIS, UM, THANKS TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION AND AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF.

WE SPENT MANY, MANY HOURS GOING THROUGH MANY MODELS AND DATA.

YOU'VE SEEN SOME OF THAT.

UM, I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE CERTAINLY VERY INTERESTED IN THAT.

THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THAT EFFORT WAS TO REALLY DIG DEEP TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TRADE-OFFS ARE OF THE VARIOUS APPROACHES THAT WE CAN USE TO SOLVE AND MEET OUR FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS.

AND WE LOOKED AT DOZENS AND DOZENS OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO THAT.

SO UNDERSTANDING TRADE-OFFS AND LOOKING AT A RESOURCE PLAN NEEDS.

AND SO WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY MEAN IN TERMS OF A RESOURCE PLAN? WELL, THE RESOURCE PLANS MADE UP OF THREE MAJOR THINGS.

THE FIRST IS THE VALUES, AND THE SECOND IS THE OBJECTIVES.

AND THOSE ARE COME, COME FROM THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY.

THEY'RE INFORMED BY THE COMMUNITY'S STORIES AND THEIR, UH, THE, WHAT THEY'VE SHARED WITH US DURING THE STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOPS.

UM, AND ALSO ARE CHECKING IN WITH THEM TO SEEING IF WE HEARD THEM CORRECTLY.

UM, AND THEN YOU CAN'T JUST STOP WITH WHAT ARE YOUR

[00:35:01]

AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS FRAMEWORK ALIGNS WITH, UH, THE GUIDANCE THAT WE RECEIVED FROM DR. WEBER WHO SAID THAT EFFECTIVE POLICY DESIGN KEEPS TRADE-OFFS IN MIND AND IS RATHER THAN PRESCRIPTIVE.

SO WHEN I TALK ABOUT TOOLKIT, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? THERE ARE FOUR MAJOR CATEGORIES THAT WE PUT INTO THOSE TOOLKIT THAT ARE NECESSARY TO MEET OUR CURRENT DAY CHALLENGES AND TO HELP US REACH OUR ULTIMATE CLEAN ENERGY GOALS.

UM, AND THE ORDER IS IMPORTANT.

UH, SO WE START AT THE TOP.

WE PRIORITIZE CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS FIRST, AND THEN WE LAYER IN ADDITIONAL LOCAL ENERGY SOLUTIONS TO MITIGATE THE RISKS, UM, THAT ARE REMAINING.

UM, WE ALSO WANNA CONTINUE TO, UH, OUR, OUR GOOD WORK ON THE PATH TO ACHIEVING DECARBONIZATION.

IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE FOSTER A CULTURE OF INNOVATION SO THAT WE'RE POSITIONED TO ADOPT EMERGING TECH AS IT HELPS US FURTHER OUR GOALS.

IF WE BROKE THAT DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, UM, YOU SEE THAT THERE'S A MYRIAD OF TOOLS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO PUT IN THE TOOLBOX, UM, TO HELP US FIX THINGS, MITIGATE RISK, MAKE THINGS BETTER.

SO THIS IS KIND OF AN ALL THE TOOLS IN THE TOOLBOX APPROACH.

UM, LET'S WALK THROUGH IT.

PRIORITIZING CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS IS FIRST, THAT'S ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU KNOW AND LOVE THE PROGRAMS LIKE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND DEMAND RESPONSE.

THE BEST WAY TO SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS IS TO NOT HAVE TO PROVIDE THEM POWER TO BEGIN WITH BECAUSE THEY DON'T NEED IT.

'CAUSE THEY'VE GOT EFFICIENT AND COMFORTABLE HOMES, UM, IN PLACES TO WORK.

UM, IT ALSO INCLUDES THINGS LIKE, UH, REALLY, REALLY LOCAL SOLUTIONS LIKE ROOFTOP SOLAR AND CUSTOMER SIDED BATTERIES.

UM, THEN WHEN YOU, WE, WE WANTED TO MAX THAT OUT.

WE WANNA DO AS MUCH AS WE CAN IN THIS AREA.

SO WE HIRED A THIRD PARTY TO SAY, ASSESS WHAT THE POTENTIAL IS.

AND ONCE YOU PUT ALL THAT IN AND WE DO THE FURTHER ANALYSIS, YOU STILL NEED MORE TO HELP MITIGATE THE CURRENT DAY RELIABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY RISKS AND TO WORK ON OUR WAY TOWARDS OUR DECARBONIZATION GOALS.

AND SO THAT'S WHERE YOU LAYER IN ADDITIONAL LOCAL SOLUTIONS.

UM, THINGS LIKE WORK ON TRANSMISSION IMPORT CAPACITY, SO WE CAN BRING IN MORE POWER THAT IS CLEAN FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE.

UM, IT ALSO INCLUDES THINGS LIKE UTILITY SCALE BATTERIES AND MORE EFFICIENT PEAKER UNITS THAT WOULD BE USED ONLY WHEN NEEDED.

UM, AND, AND WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS PART OF A LOCAL SOLUTION, WE HAVE BLACK START, UH, STATUS AS A UTILITY.

I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT LATER.

UM, WE WANNA, UH, MAINTAIN OUR STATUS AMONG THE U ELITE UTILITIES IN TERMS OF, UM, OUR AGGRESSIVE CLEAN ENERGY GOALS.

UH, I DON'T KNOW OF ANY UTILITY ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT HAS A GOAL THAT'S MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN, UH, CARBON FREE BY 2035 AND THERE'S ONLY ONE OR TWO THAT THAT MATCH THAT.

UM, AND SO WE WANNA MAINTAIN AND REAFFIRM OUR GOAL OF CARBON FREE BY 2035.

WE HAVE TO EXIT COAL IN ORDER TO GET THERE.

IT'S THE BIGGEST BARRIER IN OUR WAY.

AND ALONG THE WAY WE'LL CONTINUE TO USE REACH.

WE ALSO WANNA, UM, ADOPT REMOTE WIND AND SOLAR AND OTHER CARBON FREE TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL HELP US GET THERE.

BUT RIGHT NOW, TODAY, I DON'T SEE THE PATH TO CARBON FREE BY 2035 GIVEN THE TECHNOLOGY THAT'S AVAILABLE TODAY.

AND SO THIS LAST BUCKET IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO STAY ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH EMERGING AND EVOLVING TECHNOLOGIES SO THAT WE CAN ADOPT THOSE GAME CHANGERS WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE.

AND THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, EXAMPLES HERE.

BOB TALKED ABOUT THE PILOT GEOTHERMAL AND Y'ALL DISCUSSED ITS POTENTIAL.

UM, THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES AS NUCLEAR CONTINUES TO EVOLVE IN VARIOUS WAYS, UM, AND, AND MORE AND MORE AS YOU SEE UP THERE.

WHAT'S BECOME VERY CLEAR THROUGHOUT ALL OF OUR WORK IS THAT WE NEED FLEXIBILITY TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD AND ADDRESS THE RISKS THAT WE SEE TODAY.

SO ONCE YOU MAX OUT THE CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS AND YOU BRING IN THE ADDITIONAL TRANSMISSION, YOU REALLY STILL HAVE, UH, ONLY TWO TECHNOLOGIES AVAILABLE TO TODAY TO HELP YOU FILL THE LOCAL GAP.

AND THOSE ARE UTILITY SCALE BATTERIES AND UH, NATURAL GAS PEAKER UNITS.

SO I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THOSE ARE, AND I'VE PUT THEM SIDE BY SIDE HERE BECAUSE, UH, AS YOU SAW ON THE LAST SLIDE, I THINK WE NEED BOTH OF THEM.

UM, SO, BUT JUST LET'S START WITH WHAT ARE THESE TOOLS? SO YOU SEE BATTERIES ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE.

UM, THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN STORE AND DISCHARGE ENERGY USUALLY FOR ABOUT TWO TO FOUR HOURS.

THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE, UM, IN THE ERCOT MARKET.

UM, AND YOU CAN HAVE A UTILITY SCALE THIS, UM, INSTALLATION, WHICH IS, UM, LIKE WHAT YOU SEE HERE IN THE PHOTO.

THIS IS 150 MEGAWATT UTILITY SCALE INSTALLATION.

YOU CAN ALSO DISTRIBUTE BATTERIES THROUGHOUT YOUR SERVICE TERRITORY, UM, AND PUT SOME OF THEM IN SUBSTATIONS.

[00:40:01]

AND I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT FOR AUSTIN, UM, OVER THE LAST OR ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS WORKING ON THE AUSTIN SHINES PROJECT.

SO I KNOW WHAT IT TAKES AND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO DO WORK WITH BATTERIES.

THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES THERE.

THERE'S A LOT OF CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME AS WELL.

BUT I DO THINK THAT THE TRADE-OFFS THERE ARE WORTH IT.

AND SO I DO THINK BATTERY STORAGE SHOULD BE IN OUR PORTFOLIO.

ON THE, UM, RIGHT SIDE, YOU SEE THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE DECKER, UH, SITE.

AND SO THE EXISTING PEAKER UNITS ARE CIRCLED, UH, THERE AND THEY'RE SITTING NEXT TO THE DECKER STEAM UNITS, WHICH ARE THE TWO THAT WE RETIRED.

AND I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION.

UM, TO BE CLEAR, WHEN WE SAY NATURAL GAS PEAKER UNITS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THESE MORE SMALLER, MORE MODULAR UNITS.

AND BY THEIR NATURE, THEY'RE ONLY RUN WHEN NEEDED, WHEN DEMAND IS HIGH.

MUCH EARLIER IN THE PROCESS WE WERE LOOKING AT LARGER UNITS, UH, LIKE COMBINED CYCLE UNITS.

UM, AND WE TALKED ABOUT HAVING THE ABILITY TO CONVERT THEM TO HYDROGEN.

WE'RE NO, WE'VE PIVOTED AWAY FROM THAT.

WE'VE HEARD THE CONCERNS ABOUT THE SIZE AND THE SCALE OF THOSE TYPES OF UNITS.

AND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS NATURAL GAS PEAKER UNITS, WHICH AGAIN, ARE MUCH SMALLER.

UM, AND SO WE WANNA REMAIN OPEN TO THE NEWER, MORE EFFICIENT, WHICH MEANS LESS EMISSIONS.

UH, NATURAL GAS PEAKER UNITS THAT RUN WHEN NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN RELIABILITY AND TO KEEP COSTS AFFORDABLE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.

THERE ARE TRADE OFFS ASSOCIATED WITH ALL OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES.

AND SO BATTERIES ARE HIGHLY DISPATCHABLE.

THEY CAN BE TURNED ON AND OFF VERY, VERY QUICKLY.

THEY CAN BE CLEANER IF THEY'RE, UH, CHARGED WITH CLEAN ENERGY.

UM, THEY ARE DURATION LIMITED.

AND SO ONCE YOU RUN OUT OF THE POWER THAT'S BEEN STORED, YOU HAVE TO CHARGE THEM BACK UP BEFORE YOU CAN USE THEM AGAIN.

THERE ARE UPSTREAM CONSIDERATIONS LIKE CRITICAL MINERAL MINING PRACTICES TO CONSIDER.

AND THEN THERE ARE ALSO, UH, SOME REGULATORY RISKS.

UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE NEW ADMINISTRATION, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH THE TARIFFS OR THE INCENTIVES, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL HAVE TO CONSIDER AS WE WE MOVE FORWARD.

'CAUSE IT COULD CHANGE THE DYNAMICS OF THINGS.

PEAKERS ARE ALSO HIGHLY DISPATCHABLE IN THIS CASE, THEY'RE BLACK START CAPABLE.

I WANNA PAUSE AND JUST TALK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND.

WHAT THAT REALLY MEANS IS THAT IF THERE'S A GRID BLACKOUT EMERGENCY, THESE UNITS HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO TURN ON WITHOUT POWER FROM THE REST OF THE GRID.

SO THEY, THEY'RE THE FIRST UNITS TO TURN ON AND TO HELP START REBUILD AND RESTORE POWER TO THE STATE OF TEXAS.

AND SO AS THE CAPITAL CITY, WE THINK IT'S PRETTY IMPORTANT TO HAVE THAT AS A TOOL.

IN OUR TOOLKIT, THE PEAKERS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ARE NEWER THAN THE ONES THAT WE HAVE BUILT TODAY.

SOME OF THE ONES WE HAVE TODAY ARE FROM THE 1980S.

AND SO THEY WOULD BE, UH, MORE EFFICIENT, THEY WOULD PRODUCE LESS EMISSIONS.

SO ON A NORMAL DAY YOU'D BE USING THESE PEAKERS BEFORE, UM, EXISTING UNITS AND WE'D HAVE A CLEANER SOLUTION.

THERE ALSO ARE UPSTREAM CONSIDERATIONS.

YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT LIKE METHANE LEAKAGE, AND OF COURSE THEY ARE FOSSIL FUEL BUILT, UH, BURNING.

AND SO THEY DO PRODUCE EMISSIONS.

IF YOU LOOK AT A SOLUTION THAT HAS BOTH, CONSIDER IT LIKE A HYBRID CAR, YOU'VE GOT BOTH BATTERIES AND PEAKERS IN YOUR TOOLKIT.

YOU USE YOUR BATTERIES FIRST TO MINIMIZE THE EMISSIONS.

YOU USE THE BATTERIES WHENEVER YOU HAVE A SHORT DURATION NEED.

WHEN YOUR DURATION NEED GETS LONGER, YOU'VE GOT YOUR PEAKERS THERE TO HELP FILL IN THE GAP.

THE DIVERSITY OF THE TOOL IS GONNA OVERALL IMPROVE THE RESPONSE AND YOUR LESS VULNERABLE TO ANY ONE OF THE DISADVANTAGES LISTED ABOVE FOR THE SINGLE TOOL.

WE ALSO, I HAD SEVERAL OF YOU ASK ME ABOUT HOW DO YOU TAKE THOSE, UH, TRADE OFFS AND PUT THEM INTO NUMBERS.