[00:00:02]
[CALL TO ORDER]
GONNA CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.UM, BEFORE WE GET GOING ON OUR AGENDA, IS THERE ANYBODY THAT'S GONNA HAVE TO DROP OFF AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME THIS EVENING? JUST 'CAUSE WE DO HAVE A COUPLE ACTION ITEMS AND WE ALSO HAVE SOME BRIEFINGS.
I HAVE TO LEAVE BETWEEN SEVEN AND SEVEN 30.
I TEXTED, BUT MIGHT NOT HAVE GONE THROUGH YET.
UM, SO WE HAVE WHAT, UH, WE HAVE EXACTLY ELEVEN'S AND WE NEED 11, RIGHT? WE NEED 10.
SO IF EVERYBODY ELSE IS ON FOR THE, FOR THE DURATION, UH, THEN WE CAN GO IN THE ORDER, UH, THAT'S POSTED.
UNLESS HEATHER, WOULD YOU PREFER TO, UM, HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY? WE COULD.
WHY DON'T WE JUST SWITCH THINGS AROUND IN THE, IN THE INTEREST OF, OF GIVING YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE ON OUR ACTION ITEMS. BUT WE WILL START,
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL ]
UH, FIRST WITH ANY CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK? YES.
A TOOL, PROBABLY THE, THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL FOR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO CHANGE OR IMPROVE THINGS WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS LIKELY THE BUDGET PROCESS.
SOME OF YOU KNOW ALREADY THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS ASK BUDGET QUESTIONS AND THEY'RE EXPECTING ANSWERS IN A WEEK'S TIME OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND THEY NORMALLY GET ANSWERED BY THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST.
I WANTED TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU ALL, 'CAUSE SOME OF YOU ARE NEWER TO THE JSC AND THEREFORE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS RESOURCE AND HOW TO FIND IT AND ALL.
I'VE SELECTED SOME ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS THAT RELATE TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
ONE OF THEM THAT I'VE WORKED ON, THAT YOU'VE HEARD ME SPEAK ABOUT IS THIS IDEA OF ELECTRIFICATION FOR EQUIPMENT AND FOR VEHICLES, BUT PARTICULARLY ON THE EQUIPMENT SIDE, BECAUSE WHILE THAT'S HAPPENING, IT'S HAPPENING SLOWLY.
WE NEED THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR IT.
AND ONCE THAT'S UP, IF YOU COULD SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE, THIS CAME FROM COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, WHO'S BEEN THE PERSON THAT I'VE SEEN PUT FORWARD THE MOST COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS AND, UH, HAS BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY WITH HIS STAFF ON THIS ISSUE AND OTHER ISSUES.
SO IF YOU, IF YOU LOOK THERE, THERE IS AN INTEREST TO DO IT.
IT'S GONNA REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT MONEY.
AS YOU SEE IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH, A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
THERE IS ACTION BY STAFF, INCLUDING FROM OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.
ZACH IS WORKING ON IT TO, UH, MOVE THIS ALONG.
AND RIGHT NOW, UH, THERE, IF YOU'LL SCROLL DOWN JUST A LITTLE MORE TO NUMBER FOUR, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE IS BEING WORKED ON AND A PLAN HAS TO EMERGE.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, 90 LEVEL TWO CHARGING STATIONS HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED AND IT GIVES YOU THE PRICE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I CARE ABOUT, BUT IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME TIME.
HOPEFULLY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR WE CAN, WE CAN SEE SOME PROGRESS ON THIS.
THE SECOND ATTACHMENT, PLEASE.
SOMETHING THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO THE JSC AND MEMBERS OF THE EUC IS THIS IDEA OF CAN THE CITY OF AUSTIN BUILD OUT THE SOLAR CAPACITY TO OFFSET THE ENERGY USE FROM THE BUILDINGS? AND SO THIS IS ONE THAT BUILDING SERVICES FIELDED.
AND THE FIRST QUESTION AND THE ANSWER TO THE FIRST QUESTION IS, IS TELLING THAT THEY WOULD NEED 3.15 MEGAWATTS OF SOLAR WOULD BE NEEDED TO OFFSET 25% OF THE BUILDING SERVICES DEPARTMENT'S ANNUAL CONSUMPTION OF 17.8 GIGAWATT HOURS.
IT'S, THESE ARE THINGS THAT YOU COULD ACCESS BY SEARCHING FOR CITY OF AUSTIN.
BUDGET QUESTIONS, ANSWERS FROM THE FISCAL YEAR 2025 BUDGET, WHICH IS THE ONE THAT WE'RE IN NOW SINCE OCTOBER 1ST, THE THIRD PDF FILE, PLEASE.
THIS ONE THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME.
THIS IS I THE IDEA OF EXPANDING WEATHERIZATION FROM THE CURRENT LEVEL OF
[00:05:01]
80% OF MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME TO A HUNDRED PERCENT.THIS QUESTION WAS ALSO ASKED BY RYAN ALTER'S OFFICE, AND THE INFORMATION IS THAT THEY ARE INCREASING PARTICIPATION AND THEREFORE THEY'RE GETTING GAINS.
COULD THEY GET MORE? POSSIBLY.
BUT SOMETIMES JUST HAVING IT MORE ACCESSIBLE DOESN'T MEAN THAT THERE'S MORE UPTAKE IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA, BUT I KNOW THAT THIS PROGRAM IS IMPORTANT IN MANY WAYS, ENVIRONMENTALLY, ECONOMICALLY, AND SOCIALLY.
SO THIS IS A RESOURCE, I, I HOPE THEY ALL WILL USE IT.
THE ANSWERS NOW ARE DATED BECAUSE THEY CAME IN LATE JULY OR EARLY AUGUST OF 2024.
BUT HOPEFULLY SOME UPDATES WILL BE COMING BASED ON YOUR REQUEST OR BASED ON STAFF GIVING PRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
SCOTT, DID YOU EMAIL THESE TO US? I SENT THEM TO, TO ANGELA AND, AND ANGELA CAN SEND THEM TO, TO Y'ALL.
NOT, IT'S NOT THE ENTIRETY OF BUDGET QUESTIONS.
THEY'RE 170 AND MOST OF THEM WERE NOT ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT.
[1. Approval of minutes from the October 23rd, 2024 meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee.]
WILL MOVE TO ITEM ONE, WHICH IS THE MINUTES FROM OUR OCTOBER 23RD MEETING.MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
WE'VE GOT A MOTION TO APPROVE.
UH, OR, UH, MAYBE A QUESTION IS, IS IT NECESSARY TO ENUMERATE WITHIN THE MINUTES, THE TIME AT WHICH COMMITTEE MEMBERS DROP OFF? THERE IS SOME CONFUSION IN THERE.
THERE'S SOME NOTATION OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS DROPPED OFF AT X TIME AND THEN THEY DROPPED OFF AGAIN FIVE MINUTES LATER.
IT'S JUST A LITTLE, IT, IT READ WEIRD TO ME.
I DO SEE ANNA LEAVING AT 7 34 AND AT 7 35.
SO PROBABLY AT LEAST ONE OF THOSE CAN BE DELETED.
WERE WERE THERE ANY OTHER DUPLICATES? UM, OH, IT, SAME THING FOR MELISSA, RIGHT? YEAH, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF THEM.
AND THEN THE OTHER, I HAD ONE OTHER, UM, ITEM, WHICH WAS, IF I CAN FIND IT MINUTES.
ON THE DISCUSSION, ITEM NUMBER FIVE, DISCUSSION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND ACQUISITION AND POTENTIAL WORKING FARMS FUND PILOT.
THERE'S JUST NOTHING UNDER THERE.
UM, TYPICALLY, I THINK WE JUST SAY THAT THE COMMITTEE DISCUSSED THE, UH, LAND ACQUISITION, UM, WISHLIST OR JUST THE, THE COMMITTEE DISCUSSED THE ITEM.
IT'S THE ONLY ONE WITH NOTHING.
WITH NO WHICH ITEM? IT'S NUMBER FIVE.
IT'S THE ONLY ONE WITH NOTHING UNDERNEATH IT, BUT WE DID JUST LIKE SOMETHING, WE DID DISCUSS IT.
JUST TO NOTE THAT THE COMMITTEE DISCUSSED IT.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THE EDITS THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR ARE TO REMOVE THE DUPLICATES OF WHEN MELISSA AND ANNA LEFT THE MEETING TO NOTE UNDER NUMBER FIVE THAT WE DID DISCUSS THAT ITEM.
UM, AND THEN I WOULD JUST ADD, IF WE CAN HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF, IF, IF YOU COULD CLEAN UP THE CONSISTENCY OF HOW THE COMMISSIONERS ARE REFERRED TO IN HERE.
BE IT FIRST INITIAL, LAST NAME OR FIRST NAME OR LAST NAME.
I DON'T REALLY HAVE A PREFERENCE, BUT I THINK I'M REFERRED TO TWO DIFFERENT WAYS IN HERE, WHICH MIGHT BE CONFUSING TO THE READER WHO DOESN'T KNOW WHO KAY WHITE IS.
AND I THINK EVERYBODY ELSE IS BY LAST NAME.
WELL, NO, SOME, YEAH, IT'S, IT'S A HODGEPODGE.
SOME PEOPLE ARE THEIR FULL NAME.
I, IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL, BUT I DO THINK IT WOULD BE JUST GOOD TO HAVE A CONSISTENT METHOD THERE.
ANYTHING ELSE ON THE MINUTES? OKAY.
UM, AS YOU MAKE MOTIONS THOUGH, UH, PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR NAME.
SO WE HAD HARRIS AS THE, UH, MOTION.
AND THEN CHRIS, CHRIS IS THE SECOND.
[00:10:01]
UH, ALL IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.OKAY, SO SINCE HEATHER IS, IS NOT GONNA BE WITH US FOR THE DURATION OF THE MEETING, WE ARE GONNA MOVE NOW, LET'S DO THE LAST ITEM FIRST BECAUSE I THINK IT WILL PROBABLY BE RELATIVELY QUICK.
UH, WE ACTUALLY HEARD ABOUT THIS, UM, GRANT OPPORTUNITY FOR LOW CARBON, UM, TRANSPORTATION CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, UH, FROM OUR EPA SPEAKER LAST MONTH.
AND IT TURNS OUT THAT THE CITY IS INDEED SEEKING THOSE FUNDS.
SO WE HAVE ON OUR, UM, AGENDA A, A, UH, AN, AN ITEM TO, OKAY, AND THIS IS NOT ACTUALLY THE LAST ITEM, I APOLOGIZE.
[7. Recommendation in support of the City pursuing a Low Carbon Transportation Materials Grant]
UM, UNDER DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS, A SUPPORT LETTER FOR PURSUING THIS GRANT FOR LOW CARBON TRANSPORTATION MATERIALS.GRANT, I, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THIS.
IS THERE ANY SPECIFIC DISCUSSION ITEMS FOR THIS OR IT IT'S JUST A MATTER OF US VOTING TO SIGN ONTO THIS LETTER OR IF WE HAVE ANY, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE WANT TO EDIT THE LETTER, WE COULD, BUT, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S THE INTENTION HERE.
COULD WE BRING IT UP ON THE SCREEN? WHOSE HAND WAS UP? I'M SORRY.
WHO DID YOU SEE? NO, I WAS ASKING IF WE COULD BRING THE LETTER.
I THOUGHT YOU SAID SOMEBODY'S HAND WAS UP ON THE SCREEN.
UM, YEAH, IF WE THANK YOU AND, AND I AM WORKING TO GET SOME OTHER ORGANIZATIONS SIGNED ONTO THIS AS WELL.
JUST WANNA, UH, CLARIFY OR FOR MY OWN, UH, EDUCATION THAT THIS ESSENTIALLY WOULD BE A LETTER FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE KIND OF ENDORSING THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S, UM, APPLICATION FOR, UH, FOR THIS FUNDING.
AND BASICALLY IT SAYS THAT WE WANT, WE SUPPORT THE IDEA OF GOING TO LOW CARBON TRANSPORTATION MATERIALS.
SO THIS ALIGNS WITH, YOU KNOW, THE, I THINK THE PLAN THAT THE CITY HAS AND ALSO I THINK OUR GOALS OF TRYING TO MOVE THINGS FORWARD IN A MORE EXPEDITED WAY.
SO I SEE THIS IS, I SEE NO REASON WHY I WOULD NOT SUPPORT THIS.
YEAH, I GUESS I JUST HAVE A QUESTION, BUT WE DO LIKE A RECOMMENDATION OR WE JUST WRITING A LETTER, LIKE IT WOULD JUST BE VOTING TO ADD THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE TO THIS LETTER.
AND AS I MENTIONED, MY INTENTION IS THAT WE WILL HAVE SOME OTHER LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS MM-HMM.
UM, THE APPLICATION IS DUE ON MONDAY, SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S GONNA BE OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHER COMMISSIONS, UNFORTUNATELY.
BUT, UM, YEAH, SOME OTHER ORGANIZATIONS I THINK WILL SIGN ON.
UH, I MAKE A MOTION THAT THE JSC BE ADDED AS A SIGNATORY.
OKAY, SO WE HAVE DIANA MAKING A MOTION AND ANNA MAKING THE SECOND.
ALRIGHT, ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND PLEASE.
DIANA, IF YOU'RE RAISING YOUR HAND.
YEAH, SORRY, CAN YOU NOT? YES, YES.
PROBABLY THE YELLOW BACKGROUND.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S IF YOU'RE ON YOUR PHONE OR WHAT, BUT YOU'RE VERY NARROW.
YEAH, AND SORRY, I'M HAVING SOME CAMERA DIFFICULTIES.
I'LL FIX IT, BUT MY HAND IS RAISED.
UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T THINK WE'RE ALLOWED TO COUNT IT, BUT I THINK IT STILL PASSES.
WE HAVE 10 YESES THERE, RIGHT? EVERYBODY WHO IS ON CAMERA HAD THEIR HAND RAISED, I BELIEVE.
[00:15:03]
OH, YOU WERE THERE.WE HAD YOU FOR A SECOND, DAVE, ME, OH, SO CLOSE.
UM, THE NEXT, OR THE NEXT ITEM
[6. Recommendation on Austin Energy Generation Plan]
UP FROM THAT IS ITEM SIX REGARDING THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN.IF WE CAN TAKE THIS ONE DOWN AND GET THAT, I SENT AROUND A NEW RECOMMENDATION, AND I'M SORRY TO SAY I DID NOT INCLUDE YOU ON THAT, BUT MAYBE DOES THAT WITH YOUR
ROHAN AND, AND LETTY SAYS REVISED.
SO HOPING LET'S SCROLL DOWN AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY, UH, RED LINE, IF THERE'S NOT.
THERE'S A ONE THAT, ARE YOU SEEING THAT FROM ME? BRADEN? I'M SEEING IT.
SORRY ANGELA, I DIDN'T KNOW, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE GONNA BE OUR, OUR LADY IN CHARGE HERE,
UM, WHILE YOU GUYS ARE PULLING THAT UP, AND NOT TO JUMP THE GUN ON THIS, BUT I'M NOT TOTALLY CLEAR WHAT THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN IS, AND BASED OFF OF MY ATTENDING OF THE UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMISSION MEETING, I'M NOT CLEAR THAT COUNCIL DOES, IS THERE A FIXED VERSION OF THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN THAT WE ARE REACTING TO? OR ARE WE ZOOMING OUT A LITTLE BIT AND RESPONDING TO A MORE GENERALIZED PLAN THAT WE'RE KIND OF GETTING THE VIBES FROM? YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO'S CONFUSED.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE BEEN AT THIS PLANNING PROCESS FOR A YEAR AND A HALF NOW, THERE IS NO PLAN RELEASED.
WE HAVE CONCEPTS OF CONCEPTS, WE HAVE CONCEPTS OF SOMETHING THAT I WOULD NOT PERSONALLY LISA CARED IN HER WAY.
ANSWER SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS.
HONESTLY, THE, THE PLAN, THE PLAN THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY HAS A LOT OF DETAILED GOALS.
WHAT WE'VE SEEN PRESENTED IS A LIST OF TOOLS, AKA RESOURCES AND STRATEGIES THAT AE WOULD BE ABLE TO USE.
UM, WHETHER ONE WANTS TO CALL THAT A PLAN OR NOT, I SUPPOSE IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER.
UM, BUT IN ANY CASE, THE DRAFT IS NOT GONNA BE RELEASED UNTIL NEXT WEDNESDAY.
AND THEN, AND THEN IT'S SET TO BE VOTED ON WHAT DATE? ON DECEMBER 12TH.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT, IT IS WHAT IT IS.
UM, BUT IT DOES LEAVE, UM, IT DOES LEAVE US IN THE POSITION OF IF WE, IF WE WANNA WEIGH IN ON IT, THEN NOW IS THE TIME THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION UNFORTUNATELY, IS GONNA BE MEETING, YOU KNOW, THE DAY WE GET BACK FROM THANKSGIVING TO READ THE PLAN THAT IT'S RELEASED THE DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING.
YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT, THAT JUST IS WHAT IT IS.
SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK ALL WE CAN DO IS, UM, YOU KNOW, EITHER DECIDE TO DECIDE TO WEIGH IN OR NOT.
SO, UM, I'M WONDERING IF WE CAN MAYBE, UH, ASK, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY TO COME AND JUST GIVE US AN OUTLINE OF KIND OF WHAT THE YEAH.
LISA, DO YOU WANNA GIVE US AN OVERVIEW, PLEASE.
I'M AUSTIN ENERGY'S CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER.
AND, UM, YEAH, I'D LOVE TO TELL YOU JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN TO 2035.
UM, ESSENTIALLY THE PLAN HAS A, A, THE, THE PURPOSE OF THE WHOLE THING IS ESSENTIALLY TO FIND A WAY TO MEET AUSTIN'S GROWING ENERGY NEEDS WHILE CREATING, UH, AN EQUITABLE CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION AND, UM, WORKING TOWARDS THE COMMUNITY'S VALUES AND PRIORITIES, WHICH INCLUDE RELIABILITY, UH, AFFORDABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.
AND SO, UH, WHAT'S HAPPENED IS THAT THE, UH, RESOURCE GEN PLAN HAS BEEN, UM, THERE'S
[00:20:01]
BEEN SEVERAL THAT HAVE BEEN ADOPTED YEAR OVER YEAR.UM, I SAY THAT IT'S NOT EVERY YEAR, BUT THERE'S BEEN SEVERAL SINCE 2010 WHEN THE FIRST ONE WAS ADOPTED, AND THE LAST ONE WAS ADOPTED IN 2020.
AND A LOT OF THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE THEN.
THERE'S A LOT OF RISKS, UM, THAT ARE, ARE WE ARE FACED IN TRYING TO SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS ENERGY NEEDS AND TO DO SO WHILE MEETING ALL OF THEIR VALUES.
AND THOSE THINGS INCLUDE GROWTH IN POPULATION AND A LOT OF GREAT THINGS LIKE ELECTRIC VEHICLES OR THE FUTURE DATA CENTERS OR AI, BUT ALSO, UM, CHANGES IN EXTREME WEATHER AND, AND CLIMATE IMPACTS.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CHANGES IN THE ERCOT MARKET, WHICH WE HAVE TO, UH, WORK WITHIN, UM, IN ORDER TO, UH, DO OUR JOB.
IT'S JUST BY LAW WE'RE REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ERCOT MARKET.
AND SO, UM, THERE'S A, A MULTIFACETED PROBLEM THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE.
AND, UM, WE'VE, WE, UH, CITY COUNCIL BACK IN DECEMBER OF 22, UM, FROM BASED OFF OF RECOMMENDATION FROM THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION, UH, TOLD US THAT WE NEEDED TO UPDATE THE PLAN, AND WE AGREED WITH THAT THE, THE WAY THE PLAN WAS WRITTEN DID NOT GIVE US ALL THE FLEXIBILITY THAT WE NEEDED TO ADAPT TO CHANGING ENERGY LANDSCAPES.
AND SO WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON A VERY EXTENSIVE PROCESS FOR THE BETTER PART OF TWO YEARS NOW.
UM, AND THAT'S BEEN HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION WITH A LARGE STAKEHOLDER GROUP, UM, AS WELL THAT'S, UH, GOT 40 DIFFERENT, UH, DIVERSE ORGANIZATIONS, UM, REPRESENTING THOUSANDS OF AUSTINITES AND COME COLLECTIVELY WE'RE BRINGING, WE'RE AT A POINT WHERE WE ARE, UM, LISTENING TO EVERYBODY AND RECOGNIZING A NEED TO COHESIVELY MEET ALL OF THEIR NEEDS TOWARDS OUR AGGRESSIVE CLEAN ENERGY GOALS, BUT ALSO DOING THAT IN A RELIABLE AND AFFORDABLE WAY.
AND SO, UM, THE PLAN THAT WE, THE PLAN'S NOT EVEN OUT YET.
IT'S GONNA BE PUBLISHED AND SHARED NEXT WEEK, UM, BUT IN IT, IN ITS DRAFT FORM AND CITY COUNCIL WILL BE VOTING ON IT IN DECEMBER.
UM, AND THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION WILL BE VOTING ON IT, UH, IN DECEMBER AS WELL, DECEMBER 2ND.
UM, AND SO, UH, THE PLAN IN AND OF ITSELF, UM, FOCUSES ON, UM, ADDRESSING THE MULTIFACETED RISKS BY STARTING WITH, UH, UH, PRIORITIZING CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.
SO AS MUCH, UM, LOCAL, LIKE HYPER-LOCAL AND, UH, ENERGY EFFICIENCY DEMAND RESPONSE TYPE PROGRAMS TO BEGIN WITH.
AND THEN IT STARTS TO SAY THAT IF YOU MAX THOSE OUT, UM, DO AS MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.
DOES THAT SOLVE ALL OF THE RISKS THAT WE ARE FACING NOW AND THAT WE SEE, UH, IN THE FUTURE? AND THE ANSWER IS THAT IT DOESN'T.
AND SO THEN WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO? UM, AND ONE THING IS TO INCREASE OUR TRANSMISSION IMPORT CAPACITY TO TRY TO BRING IN MORE RENEWABLES FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, WHAT CAN WE DO LOCALLY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPLY TO ADDRESS THE RISKS THAT WE FACE? AND THAT INCLUDES THINGS LIKE LOCAL BATTERIES, LOCAL SOLAR AND LOCAL NATURAL GAS GENERATION.
UM, AND SO THERE ARE NATURAL GAS PEAKING UNITS, UM, IN THE PROPOSED PLAN AS WELL.
AND, UM, ALL OF THAT IS TO ADDRESS OUR NEAR TERM RISK COLLECTIVELY.
BUT THEN WE HAVE, UM, REALLY AGGRESSIVE GOALS TO ACHIEVE DECARBONIZATION.
AND THE GOAL THAT IS IN THE PLAN IS TO BE CARBON FREE BY 2035.
UM, AND THAT GOAL HAS BEEN IN THE LA UM, THAT GOAL EXISTS IN THE CURRENT PLAN, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO CARRY THAT ONE FORWARD.
BUT WITH TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY, WE'RE NOT SURE THAT WE HAVE A PATH TO GET THERE, UM, BECAUSE, UH, THERE'S, THERE'S NOT REALLY A WAY TO SERVE, UM, ALL OF OUR, UH, ENERGY NEEDS A HUNDRED PERCENT CARBON FREE TODAY.
AND, UM, WE'RE NOT SURE, LIKE WE HOPE THAT WILL EXIST IN 2035.
AND SO, UM, ONE OF THE LAST COMPONENTS OF THE PLAN IS TO, UH, FOSTER A CULTURE OF INNOVATION SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STAYING ON TOP OF EMERGING AND EVOLVING TECHNOLOGIES AND, UM, BE PREPARED TO ADOPT THOSE TECHNOLOGIES WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE TO HELP US ACHIEVE THAT GOAL, UM, AND REPLACE ANYTHING THAT IS NOT CARBON FREE IN OUR PORTFOLIO.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT ONE OF THE MAIN, UM, COMPONENTS OF OUR PORTFOLIO TODAY THAT, UH, STANDS IN THE WAY OF OUR CARBON FREE GOALS IS OUR PARTICIPATION IN AND OWNERSHIP OF THE FAYETTE, UH, POWER PLANT OR FAY FAYETTE POWER PROJECT.
AND SO, UM, EXITING COAL, UM, AND, UH, UNTIL WE DO SO CONTINUING TO REDUCE THE EMISSIONS THAT COME OUT OF THAT PLANT, UM, CONTINUES TO BE A GOAL AS WELL.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF ASPECTS OF IT THAT ARE WORKING TOWARDS MAINTAINING THOSE CLEAN ENERGY GOALS.
AND, UM, AND THE PLAN LOOKS TO TAKE A HOLISTIC VIEW AT HOW WE CAN, UH, RESPOND TO CURRENT CHANGE AND ADDRESS AND MEET OUR FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS.
SO, UM, THAT IN A NUTSHELL IS WHAT WE'RE ATTEMPTING.
WE'VE, UM, WORKED ON THE PLAN FOR A LONG TIME WITH A
[00:25:01]
LOT OF FOLKS, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN WHERE IT CAN GO.UM, AND, UH, I THINK THAT, UM, I TOOK A A MOMENT TO, TO, UH, DIG IN FURTHER INTO, UM, OUR, OUR CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
AND I THINK IT, IT HELPS TO, UM, AUGMENT THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UM, IN THE SENSE THAT, UH, THE GOAL CONTINUES TO BE, UH, MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN THE OVERARCHING CITY GOAL.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE A HUGE CONTRIBUTION TO THAT.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, THE WORK THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DOING WILL ALLOW US TO, UH, REACH, UM, AND MEET RISING ENERGY NEEDS, ESPECIALLY, UM, AS THE TRANSPORTATION SECTOR STARTS TO TURN MORE AND MORE ELECTRIC, UM, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE POWER TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR THAT.
AND SO I THINK THAT THE OFFSETS THAT YOU'LL SEE, UM, IN THE TRANSPORTATION SECTOR ALONE WILL BE SUBSTANTIAL.
UM, AND OUR PLAN AS A WHOLE ULTIMATELY LOOKS TO HAVE CLEANER, UM, ENERGY EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, UM, BETWEEN NOW AND, AND 2035 WHEN WE'LL BE CARBON FREE.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE QUESTIONS FOR LISA BEFORE WE DIG INTO THIS RESOLUTION? I, I MEAN, I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS, BUT I, I JUST DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE APPROPRIATE IN THIS CONTEXT.
LIKE, WHY DON'T YOU ASK 'EM AND SEE
WELL, SO I MEAN, LET ME JUST START WITH THIS.
I MEAN THE, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, JOY AND THE BENEFIT, UM, BUT ALSO THE DOWNSIDE OF ENERGY SYSTEMS MODELING IS LIKE, MY INSTINCT HERE IS TO SAY, OKAY, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE, AS LIKE, WHAT ARE THE COST ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE'RE USING? SO, OKAY, SO I'LL START WITH MAYBE WHAT MIGHT BE LIKE A, A TERRIBLE RUMOR THAT I'VE HEARD, WHICH IS THAT THE, THE MODELING THAT WE'VE DONE HAS ASSUMED A FLAT AND NOT DECLINING COST CURVE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY AND BATTERY ENERGY SYSTEM STORAGE.
IS, IS THAT TRUE? AND LIKE, CAN YOU SPEAK TO WHAT COST ASSUMPTIONS WE'RE USING AND LIKE, HAVE THEY COME OUT YOU, LIKE, HAVE THEY ALIGNED WITH KNOW, DOE'S LIFTOFF REPORTS IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, ARE WE STILL ASSUMING WE'RE AT THIS POINT WHERE THE, LIKE BATTERY COSTS HAVE GONE UP, BUT LIKE NOW WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, COMING OUT OF CHINA, THEY'RE STARTING TO GO BACK DOWN? I'LL PAUSE THERE.
UM, SO THERE'S A MYRIAD OF ASSUMPTIONS THAT WERE PUT INTO THE ROBUST MODELING WORK THAT WENT INTO THIS.
AND, AND WE SPENT MONTHS AND MONTHS WORKING DEEPLY WITH THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION, UM, RUNNING MODELS.
WE HAD SOME WITH, UM, THIRD PARTY, UH, ANALYTICS FIRMS. AND, UH, THE COST ASSUMPTIONS ARE ALL LAID OUT, UM, IN A FILE THAT IS POSTED ON THE SPEAK UP AUSTIN SITE.
AND, UM, TO, TO TALK, SPEAK TO YOUR QUESTION IN GENERAL.
SO WHAT WE DID WAS WE DID, UH, WE USED REAL TIME DATA TO, UH, TO, TO SET THE, TO SET THE, UH, FOUNDATION FOR THE ASSUMPTIONS.
SO WE DID A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO SEE WHAT'S THE, YOU KNOW, GOING RATE FOR, UH, CARBON FREE SOLUTIONS IN, UH, AND AROUND TEXAS.
UM, AND THAT INCLUDED SOLAR BATTERIES AND WHATNOT.
AND, UM, AND THEN WE BAKED THOSE ASSUMPTIONS INTO THE MODELING.
UM, AT THE START OF IT, AS WE MOVED FORWARD, THERE WERE SOME ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT INCLU, UH, INCREASES IN INFLATION.
UM, WE DID HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT DECLINING PRICES, PRICE CURVES.
UM, AND SO, UH, WE DID DO THAT KIND OF SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS SPECIFICALLY FOR BATTERIES.
WE SAW THAT THE NUMBERS DIDN'T CHANGE DRASTICALLY, UM, IN THE END.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THAT DATA IS AVAILABLE, UM, IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
UH, THE THING THAT ULTIMATELY WE KNOW ABOUT MODELING IS THAT, UM, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU MIGHT KNOW THIS AS WELL, IS THAT ALL MODELS ARE WRONG, BUT A LOT OF THEM ARE USEFUL BECAUSE THEY GIVE YOU INFORMATION TO HELP YOU, UM, MAKE DECISIONS.
AND SO WE DIDN'T DO MODELING TO SAY, WHAT IS, WHAT SHOULD THE PLAN BE? WHICH, YOU KNOW, WHICH APPROACH SHOULD WE ULTIMATELY PUT INTO THE PLAN AND SAY, BUILD THIS AT THIS TIME AND DO THIS AT THAT TIME.
AND IT'S, IT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS PLAN IS.
IT'S MORE OF A POLICY-BASED DOCUMENT THAT SETS THE DIRECTION OF HOW WE'LL MEET OUR FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS AND PROVIDES THE FLEXIBILITY TO ADAPT TO THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, THE MODELING INFORMATION IS ALL OUT THERE, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE KEY INSIGHTS IS REALLY WHAT'S IMPORTANT THERE.
SO I THINK YOU SAID A REALLY IMPORTANT THING THERE OF, YOU KNOW, SOME MODELING IS USEFUL.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS I, I DID, BY THE WAY, IS I, I WENT BACK AND I LOOKED AT WHAT WERE, YOU KNOW, THE EIA, THE I A'S FORECASTING GOING BACK IN 2004 AND 2014, WHAT COULD THAT INFORM ABOUT GOING FORWARDS? AND, AND FOR ME, THE THING I'VE SEEN IS THAT ALL OF OUR FUTURE FORECASTING HAS BEEN HORRENDOUSLY WRONG, AND WE'VE BEEN TREMENDOUSLY LUCKY IN SOME JURISDICTIONS AND OTHER PLACES HAVE MA MADE BAD DECISIONS.
WHERE WE'VE BEEN TREMENDOUSLY WRONG IS WE'VE OVER FORECASTED THE PRICE OF RENEWABLES, AS I'M SURE YOU'RE KEENLY AWARE.
[00:30:01]
UM, AND WE'VE ALSO MIS FORECASTED DEMAND.I'VE NO DOUBT THAT DEMAND IS GOING UP DUE TO ELECTRIFICATION GROWTH, ALL THIS OTHER STUFF.
BUT LIKE IN MY MIND, WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE WHERE WE'VE SAID, OKAY, WE HAVE DEMAND THAT'S GOING UP AND UP AND UP AND LIKE, AH, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING.
AND SOME JURISDICTIONS WENT AHEAD AND LIKE 2007 WENT FORWARDS WITH BUILDING COAL IN RESPONSE TO PREDICTED DEMAND FROM DATA CENTERS.
AND LIKE LO AND BEHOLDEN COLORADO RATE PAYERS ARE HAD FOR EXCEL ARE HAVING TO PAY TO SHUTTER THOSE PLANTS EARLY.
NOW, MAYBE THAT'S NEVER GONNA HAPPEN IN A STATE WHERE WE DON'T HAVE SUPPORTIVE STATE LEGISLATORS WHO ARE GONNA BE AS CONCERNED ABOUT LOCAL AIR POLLUTION.
BUT MY QUESTION IS THIS, LIKE, WHAT IS DIFFERENT THIS TIME WHEN WE'RE SAYING, HEY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF DEMAND AND FOSSIL FUELS ARE THE CHEAPEST AND THUS THE BEST AND MOST RELIABLE SOLUTIONS, LIKE WHAT TO SHORE UP THE GRID, RIGHT? AND I AGREE THAT THERE'S LIKE A NUANCE HERE, RIGHT? I'M NOT SAYING LIKE, YOU COULD EVEN CONVINCE ME THAT WE NEED MORE GAS PEAKER PLANTS.
HONESTLY, I JUST LIKE, I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT EVIDENCE.
AND SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT WE'RE USING THE SAME MODELING FRAMEWORK THAT GOT US TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY, BUT IT WAS WRONG.
SO, SO A NUMBER OF THINGS I WANNA ADDRESS IN THERE FIRST, AND I KNOW IT WAS JUST AN EXAMPLE, BUT WE ARE ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NOT RECOMMENDING BUILDING A COAL PLANT.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA BE ABUNDANTLY CLEAR ABOUT THAT.
AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, THAT'S EXPLICITLY LISTED IN THE, IN THE, IN THE PROPOSED PLAN.
UM, WHAT, WHAT, UH, IF IF RISING DEMAND AND FORECAST WERE THE ONLY THING THAT WE WERE TRYING TO ADDRESS, THEN I, I SEE WHAT YOUR, WHERE YOUR CONCERN MAKES SENSE.
BUT WHAT'S THE PROBLEM IS, IS THAT WE'RE SITTING IN A PLACE RIGHT NOW, WE'RE WORKING IN A, A LOCAL GENERATION OR LOCAL SUPPLY DEFICIT.
UM, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A LOCAL RELIABILITY RISK AND WE HAVE AFFORDABILITY RISK.
WE, WE, UH, SOMETIMES HAVE, UH, HUNDREDS OF MILLION DOLLARS OF COSTS, UM, IN WHAT'S CALLED CONGESTION COSTS TO SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS THAT WE PASS ON DIRECTLY TO OUR CUSTOMERS, BECAUSE THAT'S THE WAY THAT THE MARKET AND THE STRUCTURE WORKS.
AND SO, UM, WHAT WE, WE ARE SAYING IS THAT WE'RE SITTING HERE RIGHT NOW, UM, PUTTING ON THE SHOULDERS OF OUR CUSTOMERS, UM, THE RISK OF HAVING LOCALIZED POWER OUTAGES AND, UM, AND ADDITIONAL AFFORDABILITY THAT WE COULD MITIGATE IF WE HAD, WERE WORKED IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
AND SO THE FIRST WAY TO DO THAT, OF COURSE, BEFORE YOU GO BUILD ANYTHING, AND YOU, BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S ABSOLUTELY NOT, OH, THIS IS THE CHEAPEST SOLUTION, LET'S GO THAT ROUTE.
THAT'S JUST NOT THE WAY AUSTIN DOES THINGS.
IT'S DEFINITELY NOT THE WAY AUSTIN ENERGY DOES THINGS.
UM, AND SO THE FIRST THING IS, WHAT CAN WE REDUCE, RIGHT? WE'RE ALREADY DOING A TON IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY, DEMAND RESPONSE AND WHATNOT.
THIS PLAN GOES EVEN FURTHER TO TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE BENEFICIAL ELECTRIFICATION, AND LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WHILE WE'RE MATURING OUR PLAN, LET'S CHANGE FROM A, A, A FRAMEWORK OF MEGAWATT REDUCTION TO GREENHOUSE GAS AVOIDANCE TO JUST RECOGNIZE THAT THAT'S ALSO GONNA PUT US INTO A CLEANER SPACE, UM, TO LIVE AND BE AROUND.
UM, SO IT STARTS WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S ABOUT REDUCING AND MANAGING THE DEMAND TO BEGIN WITH.
AND THEN IT SAYS, WHAT ELSE CAN I DO? AND WHEN WE THINK WE'RE DOING THE MOST WE CAN, AND THEN SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WITH THE LOCAL SOLUTIONS, UM, WE GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE STILL HAVE RISK AFTER LAYERING ALL THE THINGS THAT WE SAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT'S GONNA MITIGATE THAT RISK? AND SO, UH, BATTERIES WILL MITIGATE SOME OF THAT RISK, SHORT DURATION RISK.
THEY HAVE THEIR OWN, UM, TRADE-OFFS, IF YOU WILL.
THEY HAVE SOME, WE HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT BATTERIES AS WELL.
COULD YOU SPEAK TO WHAT THOSE CONCERNS ARE? SURE, YEAH.
AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, I'M, I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR DOING THE, UH, LARGER SCALE UTILITY SCALE BATTERY STORAGES THAT WE DO HAVE AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO I HAVE A LOT OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH IT.
SO, UM, FIRST THE, THE BIGGEST ONE HAS TO DO WITH THE DURATION, RIGHT? WHICH EVERYONE'S GONNA BE FAMILIAR WITH, BUT TYPICALLY IN THE ERCOT MARKET, UM, AND REALLY ACROSS THE BOARD, RIGHT, THE DURATION IS THAT THEY'RE TWO HOURS TO FOUR HOURS, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, WE HAVE, UM, SITUATIONS WHERE ON SUMMER DAYS, THE, UH, PRICE SEPARATION OR THE CONGESTION COSTS ARE EXCEEDING THAT TIME PERIOD BY FAR.
SOMETIMES IT'S, IT'S HAPPENING AT, YOU KNOW, BATTERIES MIGHT BE GREAT FOR THE SHORT DURATION OF SOLAR RAMP DOWN, BUT IF THE WIND DOESN'T PICK UP APPROPRIATELY, YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE SOMETHING ELSE TO FILL IN THE GAP.
AND 'CAUSE WHEN YOU, OBVIOUSLY, WHEN YOU DISCHARGE IT THEN, AND YOU'RE IN A NEED, YOU CAN'T JUST STOP AND RECHARGE IT, YOU'RE JUST MAKING PROBLEM WORSE.
ARE YOU JUST TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT ONE OR TWO HOUR BEST SYSTEMS? FOUR.
WE'RE LOOKING AT FOUR HOUR BATTERIES.
AND SO, UM, UH, THEN WE'RE ALSO, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S CONCERN ABOUT, UM, SO THE TECHNOLOGY, THE BATTERY STORAGE SYSTEMS THAT I INSTALLED, UM, WERE, ARE, ARE LITHIUM ION.
AND SO I KNOW THAT THAT TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING.
UM, BUT THE IDEA OF THE EVOLVING ASPECT OF IT AND THE SAFETY STANDARDS AND THE REGULATIONS
[00:35:01]
AROUND IT, THEY'RE ALL CATCHING UP.SO WHEN I WAS BUILDING THE ONES THAT WE HAVE ACTUALLY IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE WERE ALL THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT, WELL, HOW COULD WE, LIKE, HOW FAR APART DO THEY HAVE TO BE? HOW MUCH LAND SPACE DO WE NEED? WHAT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE QUESTIONS BECAUSE IT IS, YOU'RE SPEAKING ABOUT LIKE FIRE RISK AND THERMAL RUNWAY ISSUES, ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
AND PEOPLE WERE WORRIED ABOUT THE SOUND.
PEOPLE STILL ARE CONCERNED ABOUT SOUND.
SO THERE'S THIS, NOT IN MY BACKYARD CONCEPT, IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT IT CAN'T BE OVERCOME, BUT IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT IT'S JUST LIKE A SMOOTH SAILING EASY TO GO DEAL, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, WHAT REALLY, WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT, I MEAN, I COULD TALK TO YOU FOR, YOU KNOW, INTEROPERABILITY AND ALL THESE KINDS OF THINGS, STUFF WHERE, YOU KNOW, I'LL, I'LL TRY TO BE RESPECTFUL OF YOUR TIME FOR SURE.
WE MIGHT NEED TO GO HAVE COFFEE SOMETIME AND HAVE MORE OF A CONVERSATION.
BUT, UM, THE FACT IS, IS THAT WHEN YOU HAVE THE LONG DURATION RISK, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO HELP FILL THE GAP.
AND SO, UM, WE HAD ORIGINALLY MODELED, UH, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS.
WE DIDN'T MODEL A COAL PLANT, BUT WE DID MODEL COMBINED CYCLE.
WE, WE MODELED HYDROGEN CAPABLE, UH, UNITS AND, YOU KNOW, AS A FUTURE TECHNOLOGY, AND ULTIMATELY LANDED ON WHAT WE THINK IS THE MINIMAL AMOUNT THAT CAN HELP US, UM, MOVE MORE CLOSELY TO OUR CLEAN ENERGY GOALS WHILE, UM, WHILE, UH, WHILE STILL MEETING OUR NEAR TERM RISK.
AND, AND SO NATURAL GAS PEAKERS OFFER THAT LONG DURATION, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN I, THE FEW TIMES A YEAR THAT I NEED THAT LONG DURATION OPTION.
UM, AND ESSENTIALLY IN OUR MODELING, WE CHECKED AND SAID, WELL, SO WELL, LET'S JUST PUT GUARDRAILS ON THEM, RUN THEM JUST ONLY WHEN NEEDED.
AND THE, UM, THE MODELING SHOWED WHAT WE EXPECTED.
PEAKER UNITS RUN ABOUT 12% OF THE TIME.
UM, AND THEY'RE THERE ESSENTIALLY WHEN DEMAND IS HIGH.
AND THEN THEY HELP US MITIGATE BOTH THE RELIABILITY AND THE AFFORDABILITY RISK.
I HAVE A, I'VE CERTAINLY GOT MORE QUESTIONS, BUT I DON'T WANT TO MONOPOLIZE THIS.
DO OTHERS HAVE QUESTIONS? BECAUSE I THINK IF OTHER, IF OTHERS DON'T, THEN THEN KEEP ASKING YOU QUESTIONS.
BUT, UM, YEAH, FOR, FOR WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEAKER PLANTS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, THE DISCUSSIONS THAT CAME UP AND THE CONCERNS THAT WERE BROUGHT BY COUNCIL WAS, WAS WHERE DO WE PUT THESE? RIGHT? AND, AND LIKE, I APPRECIATE THAT I GET TO SIT HERE AND BE LIKE, WHY DON'T YOU GUYS JUST SOLVE THIS VERY COMPLEX PROBLEM? RIGHT? I, I APPRECIATE THAT.
AND THAT'S, I GUESS ONE OF THE JOYS OF SOMEHOW GETTING ON THIS, YOU KNOW, A BOARD AND COMMISSION.
UM, ONE OF THE CHARGES WAS THAT THESE PEAKERS ARE ONLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO GO REALISTICALLY IN A COUPLE OF PLACES.
UM, HAVE YOU GUYS THOUGHT ABOUT THAT? IS LIKE LOCATE LOCATION, HAS THAT COME UP IN DISCUSSIONS? SO WE'VE ABSOLUTELY HEARD THE CONCERNS.
WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY THOUGHT ABOUT IT AT THE, AT THE MOMENT, RIGHT? WE DON'T HAVE A LOCATION AS TO WHERE ANY NEW PEAKER PLANTS WOULD GO.
AND THAT'S LARGELY BECAUSE THAT'S JUST NOT WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THIS POINT OF THE GAME.
RIGHT NOW, OUR CURRENT PLAN HAS A PROHIBITION ON ANY TYPE OF, UH, NATURAL GAS GENERATION.
SO WE HAVE NOT BEEN THINKING OR LOOKING AT WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO BUILD NEW NATURAL GAS PEAKERS.
WE'RE TRYING TO CHANGE THE POLICY TO MAKE IT MORE FLEXIBLE SO THAT WE ULTIMATELY CAN CREATE A MORE HOLISTIC SOLUTION AND PERHAPS A MORE CREATIVE WAY.
UM, AND SO, UH, WE HAVEN'T DECIDED, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY GO.
UM, IF WE GET THE, THE PERMISSION TO CONSIDER NATURAL GAS PEAKERS AS PART OF OUR, UM, SERVING OUR FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS AND MITIGATING OUR CURRENT RISK, THEN UM, THE SIGHTING ACTUALLY HAPPENS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE.
AND SO, UH, WE WOULD HAVE TO STUDY ALL DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO LOOKING ACROSS THE CITY TO FIND VARIOUS, UM, OPPORTUNITIES FOR WHERE WE MIGHT CITE, UH, NEW NATURAL GAS PEAKER UNITS.
AND, UM, IN THE END THERE, THERE ARE TRADE-OFFS ASSOCIATED WITH, YOU KNOW, TIME AND COST AND PERMITTING AND, AND WE HAVE TO FIGURE ALL THAT OUT.
UM, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY GO BEFORE COUNCIL AS THEY GO FORWARD TO APPROVE THE, THE PROPOSED ACTUAL PLANT.
SO REALISTICALLY, LIKE WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE DEMAND GAP OR RELIABILITY GAP? LIKE WHAT TIME PERIOD ARE YOU FORECASTING THIS FOR? AND, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, LIKE WHY DOES, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN ABOUT ACTION NOW, RIGHT? LIKE, 'CAUSE I IMAGINE A PEAKER PLANT, LIKE AS YOU SAID, LIKE IT'S, IT'S JUST A JET ENGINE, RIGHT? IT'S JUST A JET ENGINE.
SO LIKE, WHAT, WHAT'S THE LEAD TIME ON THAT? CONSTRUCTION, PERMITTING, OPERATIONALIZATION, IT LEAD TIME COULD BE, UH, TWO TO THREE YEARS AND LONGER, UM, THAT, THAT'S THE SHORTEST WE COULD DO IT IN PROBABLY.
UM, AND THEN, UH, IT COULD TAKE LONGER DEPENDING ON, UM, LOCATION AND PERMITTING AND IF WE HAD TO BUILD ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
BUT LIKE PRESUMABLY IF YOU JUST WANTED TO PUT SOMETHING WHERE EXISTING INTERCONNECTS WERE, FOR EXAMPLE,
[00:40:01]
LIKE THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT POTENTIALLY SPEEDS UP THE PROCESS.AND THEN WHERE'S THAT DEMAND OR, AND OR RELIABILITY GAP, LIKE TIME-WISE THAT YOU'RE LIKE THE IT'S TODAY, IT WAS YESTERDAY, AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO BE IN THE FUTURE AND IT WILL GROW IN THE FUTURE.
THE, THE, THE RELIABILITY, THE COSTS THAT WE'RE SEEING SIGNAL THAT WE HAVE A RELIABILITY RISK.
AND, UH, IN 2022, IT WAS $135 MILLION OF ADDED COST PUSHED TO OUR CUSTOMERS IN 2023, $150 MILLION.
SO THE, THE RISK IS HERE AND IT'S REAL, AND IT JUST TAKES ANOTHER BAD SUMMER OR A, YOU KNOW, A TOUGH WINTER WHEN WE'LL HAVE THOSE DAYS WHEN WE'RE SITTING ON THE EDGE.
SO WHAT I'VE SEEN IN THE SUMMERTIME IS THAT, LIKE, HONESTLY, TEXAS HAS BEEN A WORLDWIDE SUCCESS.
ERCOT SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE OF THE DEPLOYMENT OF BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SAVED OUR BACON, HAS SAVED US A BUNCH OF OF MONEY.
UM, WHAT, YEAH, WHAT PART OF THAT STORY AREN'T I MISSING? BECAUSE LIKE, AS SOMEBODY WHO IS ADMITTEDLY NOT AN ELECTRICITY EXPERT, LIKE I LOOK AT THESE NUMBERS AND THESE SUCCESS STORIES THAT I'M SEEING AND I'M LIKE, WOW, LIKE THAT SEEMS GREAT.
AND MORE TO THE POINT, LIKE THAT'S WHAT MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS SAY TO ME.
AND SO WHEN I'M MENTIONING THIS PLAN, LIKE, WHAT DO I SAY BACK TO THEM? YEAH, BATTERY, BATTERY STORAGE IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE SOLUTION, AND IT HELPS YOU, ESPECIALLY DURING LIKE SOLAR RAMP DOWN, IT DOESN'T HELP YOU FOR THE, YOU KNOW, SEVEN DAYS IN A ROW WHERE YOU ARE SITTING IN A HEAT ISLAND OR THERE'S A HEAT DOME AND IT'S BECOME INCREDIBLY HOT.
AIR CONDITIONERS ARE RUNNING LIKE CRAZY AND, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN WE CAN'T BRING ANY MORE POWER IN BECAUSE ALL THE TRANSMISSION LINES ACROSS TEXAS ARE, ARE CONGESTED.
AND SO WE'RE STARTING TO SEE VOLTAGE SUPPLY ISSUES.
AND SO NOW WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT, WHAT DO WE DO TO SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS? AND THE BATTERIES WILL WORK FOR THE FIRST, LET'S SAY, FOUR HOURS, RIGHT? UM, BUT THEN, THEN WHAT HAPPENS NOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS STARTS AROUND AND LIKE HOW MANY, HOW MANY DAYS PER YEAR OR HOURS PER YEAR ARE WE EXCEEDING? ARE WE NEEDING TO DEPLOY BEYOND THAT FOUR HOUR WINDOW? YOU CAN, YOU CAN LOOK AT, THINK ABOUT HOW MANY DAYS OVER A HUNDRED DEGREES WE HAVE IN AUSTIN IN A SUMMER, AND WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, OR HOW MANY TIMES DID WE HAVE, UM, ERCOT CONSERVATION, UM, ALERTS? IT'S, IT'S REALLY THOSE TYPES OF SITUATIONS WHERE PEOPLE ARE SITTING ON THEIR EDGE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, I DON'T WANNA TURN DOWN MY THERMOSTAT, BUT YOU'RE TELLING ME I HAVE WHY, WHY, WHY AREN'T YOU SOLVING THIS PROBLEM? RIGHT? AND SOMETIMES IT'S AN ERCOT WIDE PROBLEM, AND SOMETIMES IT'S A, IT, IT HAPPENS HERE WHERE WE COULD SUPPORT WHAT, WHAT'S THE RATIO OF THAT, RIGHT? LIKE OF, OF ERCOT RELIABILITY.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S ALL INTERTWINED.
SORRY, BUT SPECIFICALLY LIKE IN TERMS OF THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING, WE CAN OR SHOULD BE SOLVING LOCALLY VERSUS STATEWIDE OUTAGES, RIGHT? LIKE, IS IS IT A ONE-TO-ONE, LIKE EVERY DAY THAT ERCOT HAS ISSUES, WE HAVE ISSUES, AND I KNOW I'M LIKE OVERSIMPLIFYING HERE, BUT I, I I GUESS THE METRIC WOULD BE LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A RELIABILITY INDEX, HOW MANY DAYS DOES THAT EXCEED THAT HERE AND NOT IN, IN ERCOT VERSUS, AND, AND I WISH I HAD AN EASY ANSWER FOR YOU, BUT WHAT REALLY COMES TO MIND IS STARTING TO ASK HOW MANY DAYS ARE ACCEPTABLE TO TELL YOUR CUSTOMERS THAT WE'RE SITTING AT RISK AND THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE COULD HAVE HAD OUTAGES HERE IN AUSTIN WHEN THE REST OF OUR CUT WERE STILL WORKING AND THE LIGHTS WERE ON.
WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS DONE IN TERMS OF AIR QUALITY MODELING, LIKE, OR CONSIDERATION? SO LIKE, SPECIFICALLY I'LL SAY LIKE, AUSTIN IS, WHAT'S THE STAT? LIKE WE'RE THE LARGEST, WE'RE THE LARGEST CITY IN THE NATION.
THAT'S, IT'S NOT NON-ATTAINMENT THAT IS ENTERTAINMENT.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW THE WORDS FOR THIS.
UM, BUT WE'RE RIGHT ON THAT EDGE.
MAYBE THIS PRESUPPOSES THAT WE'RE GONNA MAINTAIN EPA FEDERAL AIR QUALITY STANDARDS.
UM, GAS PEAKERS DON'T DO GREAT FOR AIR QUALITY.
LIKE IT'S ONE REASON THAT CALIFORNIA'S STILL HAVING ISSUES EVEN AS THEY'RE MOVING TO BATTERY, TO, TO BATTERY, BATTERY, ELECTRIC STORAGE SYSTEMS. UM, HAS THIS BEEN PART OF THE CONVERSATION? LOCAL AIR QUALITY IS ABSOLUTELY PART OF THE CONVERSATION AS WE MODELED THEM.
WE INCLUDED, UM, SELECTIVE CO CATALYTIC REDUCTION TO BEGIN WITH.
AND THEN WE'VE, WE RECENTLY HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH COUNCIL AND MOORE AND THEY SAID, WE WANNA KNOW WHAT, WHAT ELSE ARE YOU GONNA DO TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU CAN MAINTAIN LOCAL AIR QUALITY IN VARIOUS WAYS? SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MAKING THE MOST RESPONSIBLE DECISIONS AS WE'RE TRYING, RIGHT? WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO CONTINUE TO MOVE AS CLOSE AS WE CAN.
WE ULTIMATELY ARE DOING WHAT WE CAN TO ACHIEVE OUR, UM, OUR CLEAN ENERGY GOALS.
UM, AND SO, UH, BUT WE, AGAIN, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RELIABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY SOLUTIONS.
IT'S REALLY A BALANCE OF ALL THREE OF THOSE THINGS.
SO, BUT SPECIFICALLY, WHAT, IF ANY WORK HAS BEEN DONE FOR THIS RESOURCE PLAN? UH, ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT, UM, HOW,
[00:45:01]
YEAH, LIKE FOR, FOR THE RESOURCE PLAN, RIGHT? LIKE I, I'M AWARE THAT LIKE WEBER'S GROUP DID SOME LIKE DEMAND FORECASTING.IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S AN OUTSIDE GROUP THAT DID THE SCENARIO MODELING FOR VARIOUS DIFFERENT LIKE RESOURCE POSSIBILITIES.
DID SOMEONE GO IN AND AND DO LIKE AIR QUALITY MONITORING MODELING PART? PARDON ME? NOT MONITORING.
WE, AS PART OF OUR MODELING, WE DID ANALYSIS ABOUT VARIOUS, UH, PORTFOLIO OPTIONS TO SEE, UM, WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF WHAT ARE THE TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN COSTS AND RELIABILITY AND EMISSIONS.
HOW DO WE FIND THE RIGHT BALANCED MIX TO ALIGN WITH OUR COMMUNITY'S VALUES AND PRIORITIES? AND, UM, ULTIMATELY THE OUTPUT METRICS FROM THAT MODELING NOT ONLY INCLUDED, UM, CO2 SAC EMISSIONS, BUT ALSO, UM, SOC NOX AND PMS. OKAY, GREAT.
YOU CAN ANNA, I, I PULLED THIS UP JUST 'CAUSE YOU WERE ASKING ABOUT THE, UM, LOCAL AIR QUALITY AND, AND JUST FYI, WHILE AUSTIN HASN'T, THE AUSTIN REGION HASN'T BEEN DESIGNATED NON-ATTAINMENT, WE ARE NOW OVER THE LIMIT IN TERMS OF OZONE.
UM, YEAH, BUT WE'RE, YEAH, WE'RE NOT DESIGNATED AND WHO KNOWS, THERE MIGHT NOT BE AN EPA TO DESIGNATE US IN A FEW YEARS, BUT, UM, NEVERTHELESS THAT THE AIR IS UN IS NOW UNHEALTHY, BUT THIS IS THE, THE MODELING RESULTS.
UM, AND I KNOW 14, 15, 16 AND 17 DON'T MEAN ANYTHING TO ANYBODY HERE.
SO JUST 14 IS THE ONE THAT ADDS 200 MEGAWATTS OF NATURAL GAS, PEAKERS 15 RETIRES ALL OF THE EXISTING NATURAL GAS BY THE END OF 2024 AND 16 AND 17 DO SIMILAR BUT ADDITIONS OF, OF CLEAN RESOURCES, BUT ALLOW THE NATURAL GAS UNITS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS TO KEEP RUNNING THROUGH THE MODELING PERIOD.
AND FOR CONTEXT, UM, TODAY, UH, WE, UH, HAVE ABOUT 2.5 TO 3 MILLION METRIC TONS, UH, PRODUCED A YEAR FROM OUR STACKS.
AND THESE NUMBERS ARE OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD.
SO, UM, THESE NUMBERS SHOW A GREAT REDUCTION OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD COMPARED TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY BECAUSE THEY EXCLUDE FAYETTE, ALL THE MODELING EXCLUDED FAYETTE, JUST TO KIND OF ELIMINATE.
SO THAT, THAT'S MY QUESTION, RIGHT? OBVIOUSLY THAT'S NOT REALITY, BUT YEAH, JUST TO KIND OF COMPARE THE DIFFERENT LOCAL OPTIONS, WE JUST REMOVE THAT, BUT OBVIOUSLY THE EMISSIONS ARE STILL THERE.
I, SO THE QUESTION I WAS GOING GETTING TO WITH THE MODELING, WHICH MAYBE THIS GETS LIKE FAR TOO TECHNICAL RIGHT, IS LIKE, YEAH, I APPRECIATE THE STACK EMISSIONS, BUT THE, THE, THE BIT ABOUT LIKE DO WE, ARE WE AN EXCEEDANCE, UM, OF THOSE, THOSE KNS UM, THRESHOLDS, RIGHT? LIKE THAT COMES FROM REALLY DOING LIKE A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE ATMOSPHERIC TYPE MODELING AND, AND FIGURING OUT, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY DAYS ARE WE ABOVE, UM, THOSE LIMITS? SO, SO THAT WAS I THINK THE, THE SPECIFIC CONCERN.
UM, CHRIS HAS A QUESTION AND PLEASE, PLEASE SOMEONE ELSE.
CHRIS, CAN YOU ASK, CAN YOU ASK YOUR QUESTION? I MAKE YOUR COMMENT.
WHILE HE'S FIGURING OUT HIS MIC.
I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY THAT I'M, I'M CERTAINLY NOT, UH, AN ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, EXPERTS ON OUR TEAM, UM, WHO HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, BEEN LOOKING AT HOW DO WE MAKE THE MOST RESPONSIBLE DECISIONS AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO CONSIDER NOW AND WHICH ASPECTS COME INTO PLAY.
UM, AS WE GET FURTHER ALONG A PROCESS, CERTAINLY WE WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE FULL, UH, PERMITTING PROCESS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE USING THE BEST TECHNOLOGIES AVAILABLE AND INCLUDE THE COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDER COMPONENTS AS WELL.
UM, AND, AND IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, UH, A HIGHLIGHT AND EXPECTATION FROM CITY COUNCIL.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT, THAT YOU CAN REST ASSURED THAT ALL OF THAT IS CONSIDERED HA HAVE WE EVER NOT BUILT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE LIKE APPROVED THAT, THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED IN PLAN AND HAS LIKE GONE TO PERMITTING AND HAS JUST LIKE NOT GONE THROUGH, JUST CURIOUS.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, THERE WAS A COMBINED CYCLE GENERATOR APPROVED IN A PLAN PREVIOUSLY THAT HAS NEVER GOTTEN BUILT.
MAYBE SOME FOLLOW UPS ON THAT, BUT, UM, WHILE WE'RE WAITING, CHRIS, ARE YOU BACK ON? I STILL CAN'T, YEAH.
CHRIS, I, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE SPEAKING, BUT WE, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU.
UM, GIVE US A WAVE IF YOU CAN HEAR US.
UM, CAN YOU TYPE HIS QUESTION? YEAH, I WAS ABOUT TO SAY, IS THERE A CHAT QUESTION? YEAH, IF, IF YOU TYPE IT, I WOULD SAY TEXT ME, BUT
[00:50:01]
MAYBE TEXT SOMEONE ELSE.UM, WELL, WHILE CHRIS FIGURES THAT OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT I HEARD FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER WAS THAT THERE'S A NUMBER OF SCENARIOS THAT CAME OUT OF THE SCENARIO MODELING.
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WAS IN THE PLAN OR THE, LIKE, APOLOGIES I COULDN'T ACTUALLY FIND THE RIGHT DOCUMENT AND THAT THERE WERE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS AND THAT DIFFERENT SCENARIOS HAD VARIOUS PRICE IMPLICATIONS.
UM, IS IS, DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT? THERE WERE A NUMBER OF, OF COST METRICS THAT WERE INCLUDED, UM, COMING OUT FOR EVERY, YOU KNOW, PORTFOLIO.
SO THERE'S, UM, 17, I THINK AT LEAST DIFFERENT PORTFOLIOS WITH DIFFERENT SCENARIOS OR FUTURE WORLDS APPLIED TO EACH ONE OF THOSE.
AND UM, YES, ALL OF THOSE RESULTS ARE, ARE AVAILABLE EITHER THROUGH THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS OR ON THE SPEAK OF AUSTIN WEBSITE.
AND SO SPECIFICALLY WAS THERE, IT SOUNDED LIKE, AND THIS, MAYBE I GOT THIS WRONG, BUT IT SOUNDED LIKE THERE WAS A SCENARIO HE WAS PULLING OUT THAT WAS MAYBE CARBON FREE OR, OR, OR GAS PEAKER FREE.
IS THAT, SO, SO THAT'S NUMBER 15.
IT GETS TO THAT POINT, RIGHT? YEAH.
NONE OF THEM WERE LIKE, SHUT EVERYTHING DOWN.
NOW THE, THE MOST AGGRESSIVE DECARBONIZATION WAS PHASING THEM OUT AND SHUTTING DOWN AT THE END OF 2034.
UM, COULD CHRIS CALL IN, LIKE, JUST CALL ONE OF US AND YEAH, THAT'S NOT A BAD IDEA, CHRIS, IF YOU'RE ABLE TO DO THAT.
WELL, I MEAN, HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO JUST CALL IN THROUGH WEBEX.
UM, SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT COSTS.
ONE OF THEM THAT I, THIS MAY HAVE BEEN, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS THAT, WHICH COMMENT THAT YOU WERE REFERENCING, BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE, UM, I JUST SPECIFICALLY ONE THING LIKE STRUCK OUT TO ME IS, IS, IS COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER WAS SAYING, OKAY, THERE'S A SCENARIO HERE WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S LIKE A $2 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIKE SCENARIO A OR $2 PER CUSTOMER PER MONTH, RIGHT? UM, I WAS JUST CURIOUS LIKE WHAT ARE THE, WHAT IS THE PRICE SPREAD ON THE OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE? THERE WE GO.
SO, UM, THE COUNCIL MEMBER WAS, UH, DOING SOME ADDITIONAL MATH ON NUMBERS THAT WE HAVEN'T, WE, YOU KNOW, HE USED, WE, HE ASKED US SOME QUESTIONS, UM, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, NORMALIZING NUMBERS AND BRINGING, UM, AND HE USED OUR DATA FILE TO ULTIMATELY, LIKE THE DATA FILE THAT BASICALLY GIVES THE NUMBERS BEHIND THESE CHARTS.
AND HE DID SOME ADDITIONAL CALCULATIONS.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO SIT WITH HIM TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW HE CAME OUT, THE NUMBERS THAT HE PROVIDED.
'CAUSE THEY, THEY AREN'T NECESSARILY THE SAME AS WHAT WE SAW.
UM, THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT IN VARIOUS WAYS.
UM, AND SO, UM, ESSENTIALLY THE, THERE'S, THERE'S, UH, WE, WE END UP LOOKING AT THINGS IN TERMS OF, UM, NPV COST.
UM, THERE WAS A, UH, PEOPLE, THAT DOESN'T MEAN A LOT TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.
AND SO THERE WERE TIMES WHEN WE TRIED TO CONVERT IT TO WHAT WAS THE AVERAGE MONTHLY RESIDENTIAL BILL INCREASE.
UM, ONE OF THE BIG TAKEAWAYS HERE WAS THAT NO MATTER WHAT, UM, IF YOU TAKE OUR CURRENT AFFORDABILITY GOAL, WHICH SAYS, UH, TAKE FROM A CERTAIN BASELINE DATE, UH, AND THEN DRAW A 2% INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR AND DON'T EXCEED THAT, YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF THE PLANS DO EXCEED THAT.
AND OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A, THERE'S A POINT AT WHICH SOMETHING BECOMES TOO COSTLY, ESPECIALLY GIVEN, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SAYING, WELL, WHAT AM I GETTING FOR THAT COST? UM, BUT REALLY ONE THING THAT, UH, I THINK A LOT I THINK EVERYONE AGREES ON, UM, IS THAT, UH, THE LINE PEOPLE WERE THINKING THAT LINE MEANT YOU COULDN'T, YOU COULDN'T, LIKE ALL OF A SUDDEN A PORTFOLIO WASN'T CONSIDERED BECAUSE WE WERE JUST THROWING IT OUT.
AND THAT'S NOT AT ALL WHAT WE WERE SAYING.
UM, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THE AFFORDABILITY GOAL, UM, ALTHOUGH IT'S SET BY COUNCIL, UH, PROBABLY NEEDS TO BE ADJUSTED.
IT WAS SET AT A TIME WHEN INFLATION PROBABLY WAS MORE LIKE 2%.
AND OBVIOUSLY THINGS ARE DIFFERENT NOW.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ANYWAY, THERE'S, THERE'S THESE GRAPHS IN SOME WAY, UM, LOSE A LITTLE BIT OF THEIR CONTEXT.
UM, WHEN ONCE YOU RECOGNIZE THAT, THAT THAT LINE WHICH IS THERE TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND KIND OF WHAT WOULD BE THE EXPECTED BILL INCREASE BE, UM, OR WHAT COULD BE WHAT, WHAT WOULD BE BETTER SAID, WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT COUNCIL MIGHT CONSIDER TO BE AN ACCEPTABLE BILL INCREASE, YOU KNOW, STAYING BELOW THAT NUMBER.
AND, UM, AND WE REALIZED THAT IT MIGHT NEED TO BE HIGHER THAN THAT.
WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO GO INTO SOMETHING LIKE RATE SHOCK, UM, AND SO, UH, IN THE, UH, AND GO LIKE 5% INCREASE.
SO ANYWAY, THE POINT IS, IS THAT THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE LOOKED AT COSTS.
UM, BUT THEY'RE ALL PROXIES FOR VARIOUS THINGS.
[00:55:01]
YOU LOOK AT ANY ONE SET OF OUTPUTS BY THEMSELVES, YOU GET INTERESTING INFORMATION.BUT IT'S REALLY ABOUT SAYING, UM, WHAT ARE THE TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN THE VARIOUS, I THINK THERE WERE NINE OR 10 DIFFERENT, UM, OUTPUT METRICS, UM, THAT NOW, UH, A CHAIR WHITE IS, UM, SCROLLING THROUGH HERE.
AND SO, UH, WHAT, YOU KNOW, THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK THAT IS KEY THAT, UM, THE COUNCIL MEMBER WAS TALKING ABOUT WAS HE WAS SAYING, WELL, THERE IS A WAY TO, UM, HAVE, HAVE ITS ADDITIONAL COST, BUT HE WAS SAYING IT'S NOT THAT HIGH.
UM, AND I, I STILL NEED TO SEE THE MATH BEHIND IT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT HE'S GETTING AT.
BUT HE'S TALKING ABOUT PORTFOLIOS THAT HAVE AMOUNTS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY, DEMAND RESPONSE, SOLAR AND BATTERIES THAT WELL EXCEED WHAT WE BELIEVE ARE KIND OF THE UPPER LIMITS OF WHAT WE SHOULD ACCOUNT ON OR WHAT WE CAN INCLUDE, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UH, IT'S NOT THAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO MORE, IT'S THAT WE THINK THAT THEY ARE, UM, UH, UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS, UM, GIVEN HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE, UM, AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITY FOR PROGRAMS, UM, AND THE ANALYSIS THAT WAS PERFORMED BY A THIRD PARTY.
AND WE DON'T WANT TO, UM, QUOTE UNQUOTE BET ON HAVING MORE THAN, UH, IN THOSE AREAS AND NOT TAKING, UM, RESPONSIBILITY BY, UH, FINDING OTHER SOLUTIONS TO AUGMENT THEM SO THAT WE CAN DO THE LEAST AMOUNT POSSIBLE IN SOME OF THE AREAS THAT HAVE TRADE-OFFS THAT WE, OR, OR THINGS LIKE EMISSIONS THAT WE DON'T WANT.
BUT HOW DO WE CREATE A BALANCED PORTFOLIO THAT ULTIMATELY MITIGATES, UM, RISK AND, UH, HELPS US ON A CLEANER PATH TO OUR GOALS.
SO WHAT'S, WHAT IS THE TIMING ON THIS RATE LIKE, BECAUSE I, AGAIN, IT'S HARD TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT LIKE, AND MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE FOUND THIS AND LOOKED IT UP SO THAT THAT MIGHT BE ON ME.
UM, BUT UH, WHY DO WE NEED, LIKE IS THERE A DEADLINE TO GET THIS IN THAT'S CREATED BY, UH, IN YEAH, WHAT'S THE, THE DEADLINE WAS THE, I THINK THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE YEAR, SO OF THIS YEAR.
SO, AND LIKE WHAT THE DEAD, THE DEADLINE I THINK, OH, LIKE 20, 24.
LIKE WE WERE PAST THE DEADLINE ALREADY WE'RE, WE'RE PAST THE DEADLINE TO GET THIS DONE.
SO I, I GUESS I WOULD KIND OF SAY THERE CLEARLY WAS NOT AN URGENCY, BUT IF YOU'RE ASKING WHERE THERE WAS A DEADLINE, THERE WAS A DEADLINE IN A RESOLUTION PASSED DECEMBER 1ST, 2022.
AND WE ARE WELL PAST THE DEADLINE AND AS I MENTIONED, THE PROBLEM WAS IS TODAY, THE PROBLEM WAS YESTERDAY AND IT'S JUST GROWING.
SO YEAH, NO, I, I I, I LIKE, I, I TRULY AS SOMEBODY WHO IS, IS ON THIS GRID, LIKE I RECOGNIZE THAT, THAT THERE ARE PROBLEMS THAT, THAT WE ARE UP AGAINST.
I GUESS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE AT SOME POINT IN THESE DOCUMENTS, LIKE AT SOME POINT I SHOULD PROBABLY STOP TALKING AND WE SHOULD GET TO LIKE A DISCUSSION AND A DOCUMENT, AND I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY HERE TO VOICE STRONG DISAPPROVAL.
THERE'S PROBABLY OPPORTUNITY TO VOICE STRONG APPROVAL.
UM, BUT I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY ALSO A THIRD OPTION, WHICH IS LIKE, YO, LIKE CAN CAN WE TAKE SOME TIME TO, TO DIG INTO SOME OF THESE NUMBERS? 'CAUSE OF, OF EVERYTHING YOU SAID, LIKE, I, I THINK ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS HERE IS LIKE, WHAT CAN WE DO TODAY NOT KNOWING THE FUTURE? AND I, I THINK ONE BIG SCHISM THAT I'M CERTAINLY HEARING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, AND MAYBE THIS IS BECAUSE I SIT MORE IN MY PROFESSIONAL ROLE IN MORE OF THE TECHNOLOGY SIDE, LIKE WE ARE SEEING THIS PRECIPITOUS DROPPING OF RENEWABLES.
LIKE I KNOW A DEVELOPER WHO ALMOST WENT BACK TO DEVELOPING PIPELINES BECAUSE BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS PRICES WERE DROPPING SO FAST THAT THEY WERE LIKE, WE COULD NOT ACTUALLY MAKE THE BUSINESS CASE UNTIL WE FELT LIKE THE THINGS HAD CRATERED AND WE'RE PROBABLY NOT THERE YET.
AND LIKE, IN TERMS OF SEEING THE FLOOR.
AND SO, I DON'T KNOW, IN MY MIND IT'S JUST SO HARD TO LIKE SAY ANYTHING SMART ABOUT THIS KNOWING THAT THAT CONTACT, LIKE THE COST FOR THESE OTHER THINGS ARE, ARE DROPPING SO PRECIPITOUSLY, I DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS.
IT'S, IT'S A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION AND I THINK I WOULD JUST ASK YOU, RIGHT, EVEN IF THE COST, I WOULD LOVE IT, RIGHT? IF THE COST OF RENEWABLES CONTINUES, IF IT DROPS, UM, IN A WAY, BUT THE FACT IS, IS THAT THE PRICING THAT WE SEE FOR THOSE RENEWABLES ARE GOING HIGHER BECAUSE THERE'S THAT WE, IT, IT THERE'S NO, UM, ON, ON A DAY WHEN WE NEED TO BRING A LOT OF IT IN, THERE'S NOT SUFFICIENT TRANSMISSION TO BRING IT TO US.
AND SO HOW DO YOU SOLVE THE CONGESTION RISK THAT, THAT WE AS THE CITY OF AUSTIN DON'T HAVE FULL CONTROL OVER BECAUSE IT'S NOT OUR GRID, RIGHT? WE CAN INCREASE OUR IMPORT CAPACITY HERE LOCALLY, BUT IF THE PATH ALL THE WAY TO THE RENEWABLES ISN'T THERE, HOW DO YOU GET THAT POWER IN? AND SO, AND SO PART OF THIS
[01:00:01]
IS, IS RECOGNIZING THAT THESE, THESE RISKS ARE REAL, THAT THEY'RE TODAY, AND THAT IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PRICE OF RENEWABLES, UM, BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE THIS LOCAL RELIABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY RISK THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERY YEAR OUR CUSTOMERS ARE PAYING FOR THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO RESOLVE.BUT WE CAN'T BECAUSE THE CURRENT PLAN DOESN'T ALLOW US, IT ALLOWS US TO DO EVERYTHING UP UNTIL THE LAST STEP.
IT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, AND SO ESSENTIALLY THE, THE THING THAT WE NEED ON THE DAYS WHEN THE PRICES ARE THE HIGHEST THAT ARE MAKING UP THE BULK OF THAT $150 MILLION A YEAR THAT'S HAPPENING, THAT'S CALLED LOAD ZONE PRICE SEPARATION.
AND, AND LOCAL GENERATION THAT CAN LAST LONGER THAN THE DURATION OF A BATTERY WOULD SOLVE THAT PROBLEM.
IT WOULD CAUSE IT TO COLLAPSE AND IT WOULD PAY FOR THOSE THINGS WITHIN JUST A FEW YEARS.
AND SO WE WOULD BE MITIGATING THE COST FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, WE'D BE REMOVING AND REDUCING THE RISK OF LOCALIZED POWER OUTAGES, AND WE'D BE HAVING THESE UNITS AVAILABLE FOR THE WORST CASE SCENARIO, BUT ONLY FOR THE WORST CASE SCENARIO AND USING THE CLEANEST ENERGY POSSIBLE ON ALL THE OTHER TIMES OF THE YEAR.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO ACT NOW.
AND Y'ALL CAN CHOOSE NOT TO ACT NOW, RIGHT? THAT'S NOT RIGHT.
THIS, THIS, THIS RESOLUTION PREDATES AN ACTUAL PLAN THAT'S OUT THERE.
SO IT DOESN'T QUITE MAKE A LOT OF SENSE TO ME WHY THERE IS EVEN A RESOLUTION OUT THERE.
AND THE RESOLUTION ITSELF, ESSENTIALLY, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS IN IT, BUT IT ESSENTIALLY IS THE CURRENT PLAN WITH SOME MORE, UM, INCREASED RENEWABLE ENERGY GOALS, WHICH KIND OF SAYS YOU HAVE TO GO IN THIS DIRECTION TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM AND REALLY REMOVES THE FLEXIBILITY THAT THIS PLAN IS TRYING TO CREATE SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO ADAPT TO THE CHANGING ENERGY ENVIRONMENT.
SO THAT'S, I THINK THE CHA THE CHOICE BEFORE YOU TODAY.
SO WHAT HAVE WE TALKED, SO WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT, OKAY, SO WE'VE GOT THIS BIG PROBLEM AND IN YOUR SOLUTION YOU'RE MAKING A CLEAR CASE FOR, IS LOCAL DEMAND, LOCAL GENERATION, HAVE WE LOOKED AT LIKE CURTAILMENT, BUT LIKE PUT PLAINLY, LIKE A GAS PLAN IS EXPENSIVE, CAN WE JUST PAY PEOPLE TO NOT BUY ELECTRICITY DURING PERIODS OF HIGH GRID PRICES? LIKE THE WAY, SO FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE, MY UNDERSTANDING IS LIKE ON THE COMMERCIAL MARKET, LIKE WE PAY ERCOT PAYS OUT LIKE BITCOIN MINERS TO STOP.
ARE YOU ASKING IF WE CAN ASK OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS IF WE COULD SHED THEIR LOAD BECAUSE WE CAN'T PROVIDE POWER TO SERVE IT LOCALLY? I GUESS I DON'T HAVE A BREAKDOWN.
THE AUSTIN, THAT'S WHAT SHE'S ASKING.
THAT'S NOT, I GUESS I'M TRYING TO, SO I DON'T HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF LIKE THE COMMERCIAL VERSUS RESIDENTIAL LOAD ON THE GRID.
SO I DON'T HAVE A SENSE OF WHO OUR HIGHEST PROVIDERS ARE.
YOU KNOW, I'VE HEARD DATA CENTERS MENTION, I DON'T HAVE A SENSE OF LIKE, DO WE HAVE DATA CENTERS IN AUSTIN? I THINK BROADLY SPEAKING, I WAS ASKING LIKE, WHAT HAVE FOR BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, RIGHT? LIKE THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY AND I'VE HEARD OTHER PEOPLE PROPOSE SOLUTIONS LIKE IN OTHER MARKETS, MAYBE MORE AIMED AT THE COMMERCIAL SIDE WHERE YEAH, SO BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IS, IS NOT FOR THIS ONE PORTION OF THE PORTFOLIO, RIGHT? THAT'S ONE THING TO KNOW.
BUT ON THE SIDE OF COMMERCIAL, RIGHT? WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE A PROGRAM WHERE CUS WE, WE ASK, SAY IT'S BASICALLY PART OF OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM WHERE WE SAY, DO YOU WANNA, CAN YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM AND WHEN WE NEED IT, CAN WE CALL ON YOU TO REDUCE YOUR POWER? AND THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A PAY COMPONENT TO THAT.
AND HAVE WE DONE ANY MODELING TO SUGGEST THAT WE, LIKE IF YOU UPPED THAT, WHAT THE RESPONSE WOULD BE, THAT'S PART OF WHAT THE OKAY.
THE MODELING INCLUDED IN TERMS OF WHAT'S THE MAXIMUM YOU CAN DO ON THE DEMAND SIDE, HOW MUCH CAN YOU REDUCE PEAK DEMAND? UM, SORRY.
TO, TO ULTIMATELY TRY TO HELP SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
YOU GET CHARLOTTE, I HAVE QUITE
UH, QUITE LESS, UM, UH, COMPLICATED QUESTIONS.
UM, JUST WITH REGARD TO THE IDEA OF ADDING NEW NATURAL GAS, MORE EFFICIENT PEAKER PLANTS, WE ALREADY DO HAVE NATURAL GAS PEAKER PLANTS, RIGHT? IS PART OF THE IDEA THERE TO, UM, RETIRE THOSE EXISTING IN FAVOR OF THE NEW MORE EFFICIENT ONES? OR WOULD THIS PLAN, UH, TALK ABOUT KEEPING ALL OF THEM, KEEPING THE ONES WE HAVE AND ADDING NEW JET ENGINES? YEAH, THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT QUESTION.
I THINK I, I LOST THAT IN MY CONVERSATION EARLIER.
UM, IT'S ONE OF REALLY IMPORTANT ASPECT ABOUT NATURAL GAS PEAKER UNITS IS THAT THE TECHNOLOGY
[01:05:01]
CONTINUES TO GET BETTER, RIGHT? SO THE ONES WE'RE LOOKING AT ARE MORE EFFICIENT THAN OUR CURRENT ONES.THEY USE LESS FUEL TO GET THE SAME AMOUNT OF OUTPUT AND UM, ESSENTIALLY THAT MEANS LESS EMISSIONS.
AND SO, UM, UH, LET'S SAY, SO LET'S TALK ABOUT, WE HAVE FOUR, UH, PEAKER UNITS AT, UH, THAT ARE 1980S TECHNOLOGY.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE OLDER AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT VERY EFFICIENT.
UM, RIGHT NOW WE RUN THEM BECAUSE THAT'S ALL WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MEETING ALL OF OUR NEEDS, RIGHT? AND SO IF WE WERE TO BUILD FOUR NEW ONES, UH, YOU KNOW, ON A NORMAL DAY WHEN WE WOULD BE RUNNING THESE, WE WOULD NOT BE RUNNING THEM.
SO YES, ON A NORMAL DAY IT WOULD BE REPLACING THOSE UNITS.
THE FACT IS, IS THAT THESE, RIGHT NOW, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE AT A DEFICIT.
SO THESE STILL REMAIN THERE FOR THOSE FEW DAYS OUTTA THE YEAR WHEN WE, THE DEMAND IS THE HIGHEST, WE'RE HITTING A NEW RECORD PEAK.
AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT INSTEAD OF OUR CUSTOMERS PAYING, YOU KNOW, ON A REALLY BAD DAY, IT COULD BE $20 MILLION IN CONGESTION COSTS, 2022, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
WE'D RUN THESE UNITS AS WELL, BUT IT'S ONLY FOR A FEW DAYS OUTTA THE YEAR.
AND THE POINT BEING IS THAT COLLECTIVELY ADDING NEW PEAKERS CAN RESULT IN A CLEANER SOLUTION THAN WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE TODAY.
AND JUST FOR THE BENEFIT OF, UM, MY COLLEAGUES WHO MAY NOT HAVE, UH, HEARD THE DISCUSSION AT THE A-E-O-A-E-U-O-C-U-C MEETING YESTERDAY, MM-HMM,
UM, ERCOT CAN SAY YOU HAVE TO RUN THOSE EVEN IF YOU DON'T WANT.
AND THE INTENTION IS TO ONLY RUN THEM WHEN NECESSARY.
AND IF WE HAVE EIGHT OF THEM, THE ONLY WAY TO REALLY, OR IF WE HAVE FOUR NEW ONES, RATHER, THE ONLY WAY TO REALLY ASSURE THAT WE WON'T RUN THEM IS NOT TO BUILD THEM.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT, BUT I I FOUND THAT A LITTLE CONCERNING, UM, WHEN THAT CAME UP.
IT CERTAINLY IS CONCERNING AND I, I, I DO WANNA CLEAR UP THAT, THAT MISUNDERSTANDING.
UM, SO THE ERCOT MARKET ISN'T CREATED TO BE AN EFFICIENT MARKET TO BALANCE SUPPLY AND DEMAND.
AND SO ERCO T'S JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S SUFFICIENT SUPPLY TO MEET DEMAND AT WHATEVER PRICE IT ULTIMATELY LANDS AT, BECAUSE THAT'S HOW MARKETS WORK, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, WE, UH, WE DON'T HAVE TO TURN ON OUR GENERATORS JUST BECAUSE, RIGHT? WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT THAT ECONOMICS PROBLEM OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND MATCHING, RIGHT? AND THE PRICING ASSOCIATED WITH IT, SOMETIMES IT BREAKS DOWN.
'CAUSE THERE ARE ALSO METRICS WHERE ERCOT ISS LOOKING AT RELIABILITY.
AND IF YOU HAVE A CONSTRAINT THAT PREVENTS A RELIABLE SOLUTION WHERE YOU'RE ABOUT TO HAVE POWER OUTAGES FOR ANY SORT OF CUSTOMERS, WHETHER IT'S LOCALIZED OR WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, SYSTEM WIDE, ERCOT TAKES ACTION TO SAY, IS THERE A SOLUTION? UM, WHETHER IT'S TURNING A GENERATOR ON OR OPENING A SWITCH ON THE TRANSMISSION GRID TO CAUSE POWER TO FLOW A DIFFERENT WAY, THEY CAN PROVIDE A DIRECTIVE.
YOU HAVE TO DO THIS FOR A RELIABILITY PURPOSE.
SO THEY ONLY TAKE THAT ACTION WHEN THERE'S NO OTHER OPTION.
AND, YOU KNOW, AND WITHOUT DOING THIS, YOUR RELIABILITY, THE POWER CAN GO OUT, THE LIGHTS CAN GO OFF.
AND SO, UM, IT'S NOT A MATTER OF, HEY, I WANT YOU TO RUN THAT UNIT.
IT'S A MATTER OF, UH, I CAN SEE BOTH THE ERCOT SEES ALL SIDES, THE GENERATION AND THE TRANSMISSION.
UM, WHEREAS IN OUR, UH, REALTIME DESK, THE ENERGY MARKET OFFICE, THEY ONLY SEE THE GENERATION SIDE OF THINGS.
UM, AND SO, UH, WE HAVE ANOTHER TRANSMISSION DESK, BUT BECAUSE OF, UM, STANDARDS OF CONDUCT WITH THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION, THEY CAN'T REALLY TALK TO EACH OTHER BECAUSE IF THEY DID, THEN THE TRANSMISSION INFORMATION COULD BE USEFUL TO THOSE WHO ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE ERCOT MARKETS.
KIND OF LIKE THE IDEA OF PREVENTING INSIDER TRADING.
AND SO WE CAN'T HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS INTERNALLY.
SO ERCOT STEPS IN AND SAYS, YOU NEED TO TURN THAT UNIT ON BECAUSE YOU'RE ABOUT TO HAVE VOLTAGE COLLAPSE.
AND SO WE HAD THAT HAPPEN ONCE BEFORE.
AND BECAUSE WE TALK ABOUT THAT SOMETIMES PEOPLE SAY, WELL, IF ERCOT DID IT ONCE, THEY COULD DO IT ALL THE TIME.
BUT THE, THE CRITERIA BY WHICH THEY CAN DO THAT IS RELATED TO A SIGNIFICANT RELIABILITY RISK.
AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS MITIGATE THOSE RELIABILITY RISKS SO THAT ERCOT WOULDN'T HAVE THAT REASON TO CALL US AS A FOLLOW UP TO THAT.
LIKE, IF WE'RE HAVING, LIKE, IF WE SOLVE THIS GRID HERE, IF WE SHORE UP OUR GRID HERE, RIGHT? IF WE HAVE SUFFICIENT LOCAL GENERATION AND ERCOT DOESN'T
[01:10:01]
FIX ITS GRID, THIS IS A GROSS OVERSIMPLIFICATION, RIGHT? BUT HOW DOES THAT, DOES THAT SOLVE OUR LOCAL ISSUES IF ERCOT IS STILL IN A POSITION THAT WE WILL HAVE TO EXPORT EXTRA ENERGY IN THIS VERY SIMPLE SCENARIO OUTSIDE OF OUR BOUNDS? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? LIKE, IF WE FIX THINGS HERE AND WE DON'T FIX THINGS IN THE REST OF THE STATE, HAVE WE FIXED THINGS OR ARE THINGS STILL AN ISSUE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS? IT, SO ERCOT HAS A INTERCONNECTION QUEUE OF A LOT OF RENEWABLES, A LOT OF BATTERIES AND SOME NATURAL GAS UNITS THAT ARE COMING IN.THEY ALSO HAVE A QUEUE OF TRANSMISSION INTERCONNECTION AND LOAD INTERCONNECTION.
SO THERE'S A CONSTANT ANALYSIS ON THE TRANSMISSION, UH, UH, PLANNING SIDE, UM, THAT INVOLVES LOOKING AT THE SUPPLY, THE DEMAND, AND THE WIRES TO SAY WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NO CONSTRAINTS, RIGHT? IN ALL THESE DIFFERENT PLACES.
AND SO WHEN THOSE CONSTRAINTS, RIGHT, WE HAVE ONE NOW THAT WE NEED TO SOLVE AND, AND ARCOT SEES THEM AS WELL AND UM, YOU KNOW, PUTS REQUIREMENTS IN PLACE.
UM, IT'S, THEY START WITH, YOU KNOW, GENERIC TRANSMISSION CONSTRAINTS TO BEGIN WITH TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, YOU DON'T OVERLOAD LINES IN SUCH A WAY THAT, YOU KNOW, POWER WOULD GO OUT AND THAT KIND OF THING.
UM, AND SO IT'S A CONSTANT ITERATIVE PROCESS, UM, THAT IS BEING WORKED ON.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING WHERE YOU'RE JUST KIND OF SITTING AROUND GOING, WELL, IS THIS THING GONNA WORK OUT? IS SOMEONE GONNA REALIZE IT? IT'S A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS BECAUSE OUR GRID IS KOTS GRID, RIGHT? AND SO WHEREAS WE HAVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR RELIABILITY LOCALLY, WE ARE PART OF A BIGGER PART WHERE COLLECTIVELY, RIGHT, ERCOT DOESN'T OWN ANYTHING THEMSELVES.
AND SO THE WHOLE MARKET PARTICIPATION PROCESS, STAKEHOLDER PROCESS IS ALL OF US WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE A BETTER NARCOTIC GRID.
I I, I ALSO HEARD, SO IT'S LIKE, I'M CURIOUS, TELL ME IF I'M RIGHT OR WRONG, UM, THAT DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES WEREN'T CONSIDERED AS PART OF THE MODELING OF THIS, WAS THAT RIGHT? DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES.
DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES ARE PART OF THE MODELING.
LIKE LOCAL ABSO LIKE LOCAL SOLAR GENERATION, LOCAL BATTERY GENERATION, ABSOLUTELY.
ALL PART OF THE CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.
LET'S, LET'S FIRST SEE IF CHRIS IS ABLE TO SPEAK.
CHRIS, DO YOU STILL HAVE A QUESTION? AH, STILL CANNOT HEAR YOU.
HAVE YOU TRIED CALLING IN? THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN, CALLING IN.
IT'S IN THE CHAT IF YOU WANT TO, I THINK THE INFO'S THERE.
I JUST WANNA CLARIFY SOMETHING.
SO ARE THE, UM, ARE LIKE THE SOCIAL COSTS OF CARBON EMISSIONS AND LOCALIZED AIR POLLUTION INCORPORATED INTO THIS MODELING AT ALL? THEY ARE NOT INCLUDED INTO THE COST MODELING.
UM, NEITHER IS THE, UH, THE COST OF LOST LOAD OR, UH, POTENTIAL RISK OF, YOU KNOW, UH, EXTREME OUTAGES DURING EXTREME WEATHER SITUATIONS AND WHATNOT.
SO, UM, WE, UH, RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE COSTS TO ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
UM, AND, BUT THEY, AND WE RAISE THEM AS PART OF THE QUALITATIVE CON CONSIDERATIONS AS YOU LOOK AT TRADE OFFS.
THERE WERE, THERE WERE A LOT OF WORDS SAID THERE IN RESPONSE TO SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS.
UM, AND I, I WAS TRYING TO BRING UP A COUPLE SLIDES AS A VISUAL, BUT JUST TO LIKE, MAKE SURE THERE'S AN UNDERSTANDING.
THE ANSWER TO RETIREMENT IS NO, NOTHING'S GETTING RETIRED.
IT COULD POTENTIALLY RUN LESS.
WHETHER OR NOT THE EMISSIONS ARE REDUCED, I GUESS DEPENDS ON WHETHER OR NOT THERE IS A ACTUAL LIMITATION, THE MODEL INCHES THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE REDUCED, BUT THAT IS A POSSIBILITY.
[01:15:01]
UM, LISA, ONE THING THAT IS STILL UNCLEAR TO ME, I'VE GOTTEN THE SENSE FROM THE PRESENTATIONS THAT YOU'VE GIVEN THAT THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE THE KIND OF NUMERIC GOALS THAT WE SEE IN THE CURRENT PLAN AROUND LOCAL SOLAR ENERGY EFFICIENCY, DEMAND RESPONSE, BATTERY STORAGE, RENEWABLE ENERGY, AUSTIN ENERGY, INTEND TO HAVE GOALS FOR THOSE ITEMS IN THE WAY THAT THE CURRENT PLAN DOES.WE ARE, WE ARE STILL LOOKING AT THAT, UM, AND SEEING WHAT'S THE BEST PATH FORWARD TO, UM, HELP SET THE RIGHT TARGETS AND HELP PROVIDE THE RIGHT ASSURANCE FOR MOVING FORWARD WHILE ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO, YOU KNOW, UH, ADJUST AS NECESSARY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN MEET ALL OF WHATEVER THE NEEDS ARE THAT ARISE OUR WAY.
SO I THINK THAT YES, THERE WILL BE SOME GOALS IN THE PLAN, UM, UH, HOW THEY EXACTLY FIT IN AND HOW WE NAVIGATE THAT, ESPECIALLY IN THE SPACE WHERE WE'RE GONNA TRY TO, UM, UH, TRANSITION FROM MEGAWATT REDUCTION GOALS TO GREENHOUSE GAS AVOIDANCE GOALS, UM, IN LIGHT OF BENEFICIAL ELECTRIFICATION BENEFICIAL TEST THAT THAT IS, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING DILIGENTLY ON THAT NOW.
I'M GLAD TO HEAR YOU'RE CONSIDERING IT.
IT IS, UH, I GUESS A BIT CONCERNING THAT THERE'S BEEN NO CONVERSATION EVEN WITH THE UC, LET ALONE IN ANY OTHER PUBLIC FORUM ABOUT WHAT THOSE GOALS MIGHT BE.
USUALLY THAT'S WHAT WE SPEND MOST OF THE TIME ON.
IT SEEMS LIKE YOU WERE CALLED IN THERE FOR A SECOND, OR I'M GUESSING THAT WAS YOU.
HE MAY HAVE CHRIS, DOES SOMEONE HAVE CHRIS'S NUMBER? ARE WE ALLOWED TO DO THAT? UM, HE, HE SAYS YES, BUT NO WORRIES.
I'M GONNA PUT THE, UM, ITEM BACK UP HERE SO WE CAN, SO WE CAN WORK THROUGH ANY QUESTIONS ON THE RESOLUTION ITSELF.
OKAY, EVERYBODY GOOD WITH THAT? UM, LET'S SEE.
SORRY, I'VE GOT MULTIPLE THINGS UP HERE.
YEAH, ACTUALLY, IF YOU DON'T MIND 'CAUSE ACTUALLY I GUESS I DON'T HAVE IT UP.
DO WE STILL WANT POOR LISA TO STAND UP THERE? UH, NED IF SHE NED IF SHE DOESN'T WANT TO, YOU CAN SIT DOWN CHAIR IF YOU WANT.
I'M ADEPT AT STANDING AT THIS POINT.
ALRIGHT, SO HAS EVERYBODY READ THE RESOLUTION ALREADY? IF YOU HAVEN'T, IF YOU CAN SAY SO IT IS IN YOUR EMAIL, BUT THE INITIAL WHEREAS IS I THINK WE'RE PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH, UM, OR SOME OF THEM AT LEAST REGARDING CLIMATE GOALS AND RESOLUTIONS.
BUT IF ANYBODY HAS A QUESTION ON ANY OF THE OTHER, WHEREAS, WHY DON'T WE START WITH THAT? AND IF YOU'RE ONLINE, I'M NOT SURE IF I CAN SEE EVERYBODY, SO JUST SPEAK UP.
DO WE JUST START CALLING OUT COMMENTS?
UM, YEAH, I, I GUESS LIKE THERE'S THIS, THIS IS SO MINOR.
UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE AIR POLLUTION, I WOULD JUST POINT OUT THAT LIKE THERE'S, YOU SAY THERE'S A CORRELATION BETWEEN NOX EMISSIONS AND HIGH LOCAL OZONE OZONE MEASUREMENTS.
THAT'S NOT A CORRELATION, THAT'S A, THERE'S A CAUSATION.
LIKE THERE'S A CATALYTIC CYCLE OF PRODUCING NOX VIA OZONE.
IT WAS MEANT TO BE SPECIFICALLY FROM THE ELECTRIC GENERATING UNITS.
IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS CALLED OUT IN THAT CAP COG REPORT.
BUT LET ME SEE IF THERE'S A, LET'S SEE, GROUND LEVEL IS ON MINOR.
UM, SO WHAT WOULD YOUR EDIT BE? JUST
[01:20:01]
CAUSE LIKE, WELL, I MEAN I GUESS IT'S THE OZONE THAT'S CATALYZING THE NOX, BUT I MEAN, I MIGHT JUST SAY LIKE, WELL IF YOU'RE JUST QUOD, I MEAN IF YOU'RE QUOTING EP AND CAPCO, THAT'S ONE THING, BUT JUST, I MEAN IT'S NOT QUOTE, IT WAS A UM, AND THIS WAS FROM, YEAH, THIS WAS FROM CAP COG.THEY MADE NOTE THAT THE ELECTRIC GENERATING UNITS CAUSE NOX AND OZONE EMISSIONS, THEY, THEY MADE NOTE THAT THE DAYS WHEN THERE WERE HIGHER NOX EMISSIONS FROM THE ELECTRIC GENERATING UNITS, THERE WAS ALSO HIGHER OZONE.
I I AGREE THAT IT DOES CAUSE IT, I'M, I'M NOT, I I'M HAPPY TO MAKE A, A CHANGE HERE.
I GUESS WE, YOU COULD JUST SAY ENERGY'S POWER PLANTS CAUSE HIGH LOCAL OZONE MEASUREMENTS.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING? I THINK IT'S FINE THE WAY IT IS.
ALRIGHT, LET'S KEEP SCROLLING DOWN.
SO THE, WE'VE COME TO THE FIRST, UH, EDIT I MADE, UH, THIS WAS JUST TO KIND OF, THERE, THERE HAD INITIALLY BEEN, UM, MORE DETAIL HERE AND SPECIFICALLY ABOUT WINTER STORM URI THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN DELETED.
AND THEN I'VE JUST ADDED NOTE THAT, YOU KNOW, EXTREME EVENTS WILL STILL CAUSE RELIABILITY PROBLEMS. THERE'S, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT IS A, THAT IS A GRID WIDE ISSUE.
AND THEN IF WE CAN SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE MORE, WE HAVE TWO MORE.
UM, WHEREAS STATEMENTS, THE FIRST ONE KIND OF COMING OUT OF CONVERSATION THAT WE'VE HAD AT THE EUC AND THE SECOND ONE I ADDED BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE RELEVANT TO OUR WORK, CHRIS, THAT'S WHAT I MEANT TO SAY WAS DISPERSION MODELING.
HOW WAS THE WORD I WAS LOOKING FOR? YOU POPPED UP.
OH, DID THE, DID THE QUESTION COME THROUGH? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? YEAH.
SO CHRIS SAYS, HE SAID NOX IS A PRECURSOR TO OZONE.
MY COMMENT WAS RELATED TO THE IMPORTANCE OF DOING THE DISPERSION MODELING TO QUANTIFY IMPACTS FOR LOCAL AIR POLLUTANTS, NOX, PM ET CETERA.
JUST QUANTIFYING EMISSIONS RATES MASS OVER TIME DOES NOT GIVE YOU A COMPLETE PICTURE OF EMISSIONS IMPACT.
DISPERSION MODEL WILL GIVE YOU A BETTER REPRESENTATION OF IMPACT SINCE IT WILL GIVE YOU RESULTS OF CONCENTRATION CONCENTRATIONS ON THE GROUND, IN THE GROUND ON, I THINK HE MEANS ON THE GROUND.
I WAS JUST GONNA ASK A QUESTION ABOUT ONE OF THE WAREHOUSE CLAUSES.
CAN WE SCROLL BACK UP A LITTLE BIT TO THAT ONE? IT'S A COUPLE ONES I DIDN'T, I JUST THINK, I GUESS I WASN'T SURE WHAT THAT, WHY THAT WAS IN THERE.
WHAT THAT'S MEANING TO, TO SAY IS IT MEANT TO IMPLY THAT IT'S NOT AUSTIN ENERGY'S RESPONSIBILITY TO FULLY ENTER RELIABILITY OR LIKE, WHAT'S THE, WHY IS THAT INCLUDED? BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT, UM, HOW CAN WE IMPROVE RELIABILITY, HOW CAN WE HAVE RELIABILITY? AND, UH, THERE HAS BEEN CONFUSION AT LEAST AMONG SOME, ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT ANY OF THESE PORTFOLIOS ACHIEVE RELIABILITY.
[01:25:01]
THE REALITY IS, UNLESS WE SOMEHOW BECOME A MICROGRID THAT WE CANNOT ACHIEVE FULL RELIABILITY, WE WILL BE AT THE MERCY OF EXTREME EVENTS AND THE SITUATION IN THEBUT NEVERTHELESS, SOME THINGS ARE GONNA BE OUT OF AUSTIN ENERGY CONTROL.
UM, FEEL FREE TO COME BACK TO IT.
ANNA, WERE YOU GONNA SAY SOMETHING? UM, I, I MEAN, AND THIS IS LESS OF A DATA POINT, BUT JUST, JUST A NOTE THAT, LIKE, AGAIN, WHEN I TELL MY FRIENDS, PEOPLE IN SOME OF MY CIRCLES, LIKE ABOUT THE CONVERSATIONS WE'RE HAVING HERE, I THINK THE QUESTION WE KEEP COMING BACK TO IS LIKE THE COST DROPPING IN THE RENEWABLE SECTOR, THE COST DROPPING IN THE RENEWABLE SECTOR.
UM, AND SO, LIKE FOR ME, I, I THINK THE EQUITY, LIKE, I THINK ALL OF THESE ISSUES ARE IMPORTANT, BUT HONESTLY, IF I ASK THE PEOPLE AROUND ME LIKE WHAT THEY DON'T LIKE ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE HEARD, WHICH TO BE FAIR, LIKE WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE PLAN, UM, THEIR ANSWER IS COST.
LIKE, IT, IT'S, I I DON'T THINK, THEY DON'T THINK THESE OTHER THINGS ARE EXPENSIVE, BUT LIKE, I, SO WHEN I'M GOING TO THE END OF THIS, RIGHT, AND IT'S LIKE IF WE CAN'T GET THIS RELIABILITY, LIKE WITH ALL THIS STUFF, THEN WE SHOULD, YOU KNOW, MOVE TO CARBON CAPTURE, CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION AND LIKE THOSE ARE EVEN MORE EXPENSIVE.
I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE ANYTHING LIKE CONSTRUCTIVE THERE TO, OH, AM I LOOKING AT THE WRONG ONE? I'M SORRY.
HONESTLY, THAT SECTION SEEMED FRAUGHT, UM, IN OUR EUC CONVERSATION, SO I DELETED IT.
PARTIALLY BECAUSE OF, YEAH, IT IS EXPENSIVE AND ALSO BECAUSE IT APPEARS THAT IT'S NOT POSSIBLE ON PEAKER PLANTS.
SO AGREE THAT YEAH, IT, THAT WAS KIND OF WHERE WE WERE LIKE, WELL, HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE EVEN SAY THIS IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE IF THE TECHNOLOGY ISN'T EVEN APPROPRIATE, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T MATCH UP.
AND LIKE, I WANNA, SO I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE THERE'S A WAY TO STATE IT AND I'LL KEEP THINKING ON IT, BUT I, AND I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE, RIGHT? LIKE IF I, IF I WERE, IF I WERE AUSTIN ENERGY, LIKE YEAH, THAT, LIKE, I DON'T KNOW HOW AGGRESSIVE I COULD BE ON SOME OF THOSE COST CURVES, BUT AS SOMEONE WHO IS GONNA HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT, LIKE AS SOMEONE WHO DOES GET TO INVEST MY MONEY AND IS A CUSTOMER AND DOES SIT UP HERE AND SAY LIKE, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S MY JOB AND POSSIBLY OUR JOB TO LIKE POINT THAT OUT AND INSIST ON THIS AND SAY LIKE, WHAT, WHAT I'VE HEARD I FEEL LIKE GETS WRONG IS THAT I THINK IT'S OVERESTIMATING CERTAIN COSTS.
UM, AND WITHOUT KNOWING THE DETAILS, IT'S HARD TO MAKE THAT CHARGE.
BUT I JUST, I, I FEEL LIKE THESE DISCUSSIONS HAVE SO OFTEN BEEN ABOUT EQUITY AND WHO'S INCLUDED AND WHO'S IN THE ROOM VERSUS LIKE RELIABILITY AND COST AND LIKE, WE HAVE PASSED THIS TIPPING POINT, RIGHT? LIKE NEW GENERATION TODAY FOR RENEWABLES AND BATTERY ELECTRIC STORAGE SYSTEMS HAVE BECOME CHEAPER.
AND SO LIKE THIS DISCUSSION SHOULD HAVE FUNDAMENTALLY SHIFTED.
AND YET I'M SEEING SOME OF THE SAME LANGUAGE THAT I'VE HAD IN THIS TIME FROM WHEN I'VE BEEN LIKE AN ANGRY COLLEGE STUDENT TO NOW I'M LIKE A MIDDLE-AGED MOTHER WHO'S WON AN AWARD FROM OIL AND GAS INVESTOR MAGAZINE, RIGHT? LIKE, THIS CONVERSATION HAS SHIFTED AND I DON'T KNOW IF LIKE THAT IS INCLUDED IN THIS.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT CAN BE INCLUDED IN THIS, BUT I JUST, I I FEEL LIKE THE MARKET HAS SHIFTED AND I, I, YOU KNOW, I I DON'T KNOW, LIKE YOU'VE BEEN UP HERE BEFORE, YOU'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE, LIKE MAYBE I'M NEW, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE STILL HAVING THE SAME CONVERSATIONS IN A VERY DIFFERENT COST ENVIRONMENT.
ARE YOU SUGGESTING LIKE AWARE AS STATEMENT? IF, IF SO, UH, MAYBE YOU COULD TYPE, TYPE SOME WORDS OVER THERE.
YEAH, SORRY, AMY HAS A QUESTION.
WELL, HI, NOT SO MUCH A QUESTION, BUT JUST MORE AN AFFIRMATION AND THAT I DO THINK WE NEED TO, WHEREAS AS HERE, BECAUSE WHAT YOU'RE CALLING IN TO FOCUS IS WE ARE NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THE CHANGE IN COSTS AND WE ARE UTILIZING THE SAME LANGUAGE TO MAINTAIN THE SAME INFRASTRUCTURE THAT GIVES US THESE SAME NEGATIVE OUTCOMES.
AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH STATING THAT PLAINLY.
AND I'D REALLY LIKE FOR US TO EMPOWER OURSELVES TO USE THAT PLAIN LANGUAGE.
I THINK AMY'S LANGUAGE IS GREAT AND MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT I WOULD'VE COME UP WITH.
[01:30:01]
AMY, COULD YOU LIKE, TYPE THAT UP FOR US?
CAN I, IF I PUT IT IN THE CHAT, CAN YOU ADD IT TO THE DOT? YEAH, YEAH.
IF YOU PUT IT IN, I WILL ADD IT AND THEN WE CAN SWAP OUT AND I CAN SHARE IT.
'CAUSE I NOW HAVE IT UP ON, ON MY SCREEN, SO, UH, WE CAN PERFECT.
SHARE IT AND SEE IN REAL TIME.
ANNA CON CONGRATULATIONS ON THE AWARD, BY THE WAY.
I, I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO THROW IN THERE THOUGH, RIGHT? THAT I, I CAN SEE WHAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT AND HOW YOU'RE STRUGGLING, UM, TO TRY TO MAKE SENSE OF IT ALL.
AND, AND YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
UM, OUR COMMUNITY, THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE SPEND EVERY DOLLAR THAT THEY HAVE WISELY, RIGHT? THEY WANNA SPEND IT WISELY.
SO EVERY DOLLAR THEY GIVE TO US, THEY WANNA MAKE SURE WE SPEND WISELY.
THEY WANNA MAKE SURE THE LIGHTS STAY ON AND THEY WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, AS ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLY, WE, WE NEED TO HIT THOSE GOALS.
I THINK WHAT, IT'S NOT ALWAYS JUST THE COST OF WHAT IT COSTS TO BUILD SOMETHING, IT'S THE COST THAT WE ARE INCURRING FOR CONGESTION NOW.
AND SO IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, RENEWABLES, RIGHT? WIND AND SOLAR.
WHERE, WHERE AM I GONNA BUILD WIND IN AUSTIN? HOW CAN I DO THAT, RIGHT? AND SO THAT DOESN'T SOLVE MY, MY CONGESTION PROBLEM.
UM, AND SO YES, SOLAR AND WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH SOLAR AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
I, SORRY, I'M JUST GONNA TAKE US OFF THAT FOR ONE SECOND.
TO GO BACK TO THE PRESENTATION.
UM, SINCE CONGESTION WAS MENTIONED, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
WE DID LOOK AT, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, AFTER THE FIRST ROUND OF MODELING THE EUC MEMBERS THAT WERE WORKING ON THIS, WE SAW THAT THERE WAS THIS ISSUE WITH CHARGING THE BATTERIES BECAUSE, 'CAUSE THERE WAS ONLY SO MUCH IMPORT CAPACITY.
SO AUSTIN ENERGY AGREED TO LOOK AT ADDING ANOTHER 250 MEGAWATTS OF IMPORT CAPACITY TO TRY TO, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS THAT ISSUE.
AND FRANKLY, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY, UM, PRETTY STARK IN TERMS OF THE RESULT.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE WHAT TO GEN, HOW TO GENERATE LOCALLY, WHICH IS IMPORTANT, BUT ALSO THAT IS CLEARLY, AND THAT'S WHY THAT'S ONE OF THE, UM, ITEMS IN THAT THE PLAN NEEDS TO FOCUS ON TRANSMISSION AS WELL, BECAUSE CLEARLY WE NEED TO, I HAVE NO DOUBT INCREASE TRANSITION YEAR AND IN MANY OTHER PARTS OF THE RIDGE.
DON'T WANNA TAKE US TOTALLY BACK, BUT I JUST, YOU THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE TO SEE THAT IN ALL OF THE PORTFOLIOS.
SO THE TRANSMISSION CAPACITY GETS ADDED IN 2030 AND YOU SEE THIS BIG KIND OF DROP IN THE RELIABILITY RISK AND, UM, YEAH, IT'S A, IT'S AN EXCELLENT POINT.
THE, THE TRANSMISSION COMPONENT IS, IS KEY.
THAT KIND OF ASSUMES PERFECT SITUATION WHERE THE INVESTMENTS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY MAKES LOCALLY, UM, TO ALLOW TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF, UH, TRA UH, POWER THAT WE CAN BRING IN AT OUR BOUNDARIES, THAT THERE'S NO OTHER CONSTRAINTS BETWEEN WHERE THE RENEWABLE ENERGY IS ACROSS THE STATE AND THE INTERFACE WITH OUR BOUNDARY.
SO IT'S KIND OF A PERFECT WORLD.
AND SO IT'S WHY A LOT OF PEOPLE, UM, AND I, I KNOW CHAIR WHITE UNDERSTANDS THIS WELL, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT A LOT AT THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION.
IT'S NOT A SILVER BULLET, BUT IT'S ABSOLUTELY PART OF THE SOLUTION.
UM, ONE OF MY UNCERTAINTIES ABOUT, UM, THE TRANSMISSION IS SIMPLY THAT, UM, THERE ARE LARGE LOADS THAT ARE LOOKING EAGERLY TO FIND OUT WHERE CAN THEY, YOU KNOW, BUILD THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
AND, AND AS SOON AS YOU START TO, YOU KNOW, IT GOES AS WE'RE PLANNING TO BUILD TRANSMISSION, UM, MY THOUGHT IS THAT A LARGE LOAD WILL COME IN AND, AND PICK IT UP RIGHT AWAY.
SO I I ABSOLUTELY WILL CONTINUE TO, UH, MAKE TRANSMISSION A PRIORITY.
THESE PROJECTS ARE UNDERWAY, IT'S JUST GONNA TAKE A LONG TIME TO GET THERE.
UM, BUT I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO THINK ABOUT THEM AS A SILVER BULLET, SO.
SO HOPEFULLY AMY AND ANNA ARE WORKING ON SOME WORDS RELATED TO
I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE THE CHAT ACTUALLY IS THE ONE ON THE, I DON'T THINK SHE'S, I'M TYPING IN THE CHAT, BUT IF, UM, IF, UH, STAFF CAN TURN ON THE AI ASSIST, IT'LL RECORD WHAT WE SAY.
SO AS WE COME ACROSS NUGGETS, WE CAN ACTUALLY PULL IT OUT OF THAT.
OH GOD, DON'T DO IT TAKES SO MUCH ENERGY.
[01:35:02]
SORRY, I MEAN, I'M KIND OF NOT JOKING.UM, IT'S NOT A BAD IDEA THOUGH.
LET'S, LET'S MOVE INTO THE BE IT RESOLVED, UH, BEFORE WE ALL EXPIRE HERE.
I'D LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR PATIENCE.
YOU'RE ASKING IMPORTANT QUESTIONS AND MAKING GOOD.
UM, SO THE FIRST PIECE IS KIND OF JUST A RECOGNITION THAT THIS IS A, THE PLAN IS A VISION AND, UH, THIS KIND OF SETS A PATH FORWARD.
UM, AND THEN THERE ARE THESE ITEMS OF STATEMENTS OF KIND OF WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE PLAN, INCLUDING GETTING TO 100%, UH, CARBON FREE ENERGY.
UH, AT OUR EUC MEETING WE HAD A BUNCH OF DISCUSSION AND IT SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS DESIRE THERE TO MORE CLEARLY STATE WHAT THE INTENTION WAS, UM, TO MAINTAIN THE GOAL, NOT TO, UH, NOT TO ADD CARBON RESOURCES, NOT TO ADD FOSSIL FUELS.
THE WAY IT'S WAS STATED IN THE EXISTING PLAN IS NOT TO CONTRACT OR BUILD LONG-TERM GENERATION OR STORAGE RESOURCES THAT EMIT NEW CARBON.
SO I'M GONNA, UH, THAT'S NUMBER TWO.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE EXIST, SAME OLD STORY, RIGHT? SUPPOSED TO BE SHUT DOWN BY THE END OF 2022.
I THINK THERE WERE HAS BEEN KIND OF CONSENSUS, UH, AROUND NOT PUTTING A DATE IN BECAUSE THERE'S NOT MUCH POINT IN A DATE.
UM, THERE WERE SOME COMMENTS AT COUNCIL YESTERDAY ABOUT TRYING TO HAVE BENCHMARKS.
I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO PUT THAT REALLY IN WORDS OTHER THAN TO HAVE UPDATES TO CITY COUNCIL.
UM, I THINK THOSE OTHER THAN ELIMINATING NUMBER EIGHT, THOSE ARE THE CHANGES FROM, FROM WHAT WAS SENT OUT IN TERMS OF THIS LIST.
SO, UM, KYRA, DOES THIS INCLUDE, YOU MADE A REMARK I THINK YESTERDAY ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE TRACKING AND METRICS AND SO I SEE YOU'VE NOW PUT, UH, METRICS IN HERE.
YOU ALSO, I THINK MENTIONED TRACKING.
DOES THIS INCLUDE SOME OF YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT LIKE, TRACKING PROGRESS TOWARDS CYCLE? LIKE YEAH, I MEAN, I GUESS IT HAS THE RENEWABLE ENERGY GOALS.
UM, I MEAN NUMBER, I THINK WE TRACK THIS ANYWAY, SO IT MIGHT BE A, YEAH, NUMBER EIGHT.
I DON'T THINK I WROTE THIS PIECE, BUT, UM, IT DOES SAY TO CONTINUE TO MAKE INVESTMENTS IN POLICY IN BASICALLY DEPLOYING LOCAL SOLAR EFFICIENCY AND DEMAND RESPONSE AND STORAGE.
UM, BUT IT DOESN'T, IT DOES NOT EXPLICITLY SAY TO HAVE, HAVE NUMERICALS.
SO WE COULD ADD THAT IN, I THINK IN NUMBER EIGHT.
OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, CONCERNS? YEAH, I HAD A, A QUICK QUESTION.
SO IN THE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, UM, WHERE IT SAYS, YOU KNOW, UH, ESTABLISH A NEW GOAL THAT REFLECTS AUSTIN ENERGY'S PAST SUCCESS AND CONTINUED EMPHASIS ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY BY TYING THE GOAL TO TOTAL BUILDS INSTEAD OF RATES, AT LEAST FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
LIKE WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? BECAUSE I MEAN, RATES AND TIERS BASICALLY DETERMINE WHAT THE TOTAL BILL IS, RIGHT? SO IS THAT SORT OF LIKE JUST SAYING THAT WE SHOULD HOLISTICALLY LOOK AT LIKE, SORT OF THE TIERING OF HOW THE RATES ARE APPLIED AS WELL AS JUST THE RATES THEMSELVES OR, UM, THE, THE, THE INTENTION, UM, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT NUMBER ONE HERE.
UM, THE INTENTION WAS TO MOVE FROM JUST LOOKING AT THE COST PER KILOWATT HOUR TO HOW MUCH THE CUSTOMER PAYS IN THEIR BILL.
BECAUSE IF YOU USE FEWER KILOWATT HOURS THAN EVEN PERHAPS IF YOU PAY A HIGHER RATE PER KILOWATT HOUR, YOU MAY HAVE A LOWER BILL, WHICH IS THE CASE FOR, ON THE AVERAGE BILL FOR AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY HAVE EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS
[01:40:01]
WHERE MANY PLACES IN THE STATE THERE ARE LACKLUSTER PROGRAMS OR NO PROGRAMS. IT MIGHT BE WORTH LIKE EXPLICITLY SPELLING THAT OUT THERE.UM, IF I COULD JUST OFFER A STAFF COMMENT ABOUT TEST TEST OKAY.
ABOUT THIS, UM, THIS SECTION IN GENERAL, AND, AND CHAIR WHITE AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS, UM, A FEW DIFFERENT TIMES ALREADY.
UM, WHEREAS WE, UM, FULLY ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, AND ARE LOOKING TO REEVALUATE THE AFFORDABILITY GOAL WITH COUNCIL, UM, THE, THE TIME TO DO IT IS, IS NOT NOW WHILST WE'RE TRYING TO GET THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN PASSED, UM, SIMPLY BECAUSE, UH, THIS GENERALLY, WELL, WE HAD ANTICIPATED THIS WOULD BE HANDLED AS A SEPARATE PROCESS.
UM, AND PART OF IT IS TO, UM, WE, WE HADN'T INCORPORATED INTO OUR, OUR PROCESS TO DATE.
AND, UM, PART OF THE ISSUE IS WE REALLY NEED TO ALLOW AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF IN THE FINANCIAL WORLD TO LOOK AT ALL THE VARIOUS OPTIONS.
UM, WE CURRENTLY LOOK AT BOTH RATES AND BILLS, UM, IN TERMS OF REPORTING OUT, BUT FROM A STATE PERSPECTIVE, COMPARING BY RATES IS REALLY, UM, ONE OF THE, THE MAIN FACTORS THAT WE'LL HAVE TO KEEP INTO CONSIDERATION.
AND WHEREAS WE ARE VERY PROUD OF OUR ENERGY EFFICIENCY, UM, SUCCESS TO DATE AND HAVE LOWER ENERGY USAGE THAN, YOU KNOW, THE AVERAGE HOME IS 860 KILOWATT HOURS A MONTH.
AND SO THAT DOES CREATE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER BILLS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS AS OUR PLAN TALKS ABOUT BENEFICIAL ELECTRIFICATION, UH, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF IT'S BENEFICIAL, THE, THE, I IMAGINE THAT US TONIGHT WILL ADOPT THAT FASTER THAN OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE.
AND IF WE'RE COMPARING OUR BILLS TO OTHER PEOPLE, OUR AVERAGE, YOU KNOW, UH, KILOWATT HOUR USAGE MAY GO UP AND AS PEOPLE'S ENERGY BURDEN LOOKS MORE AND MORE EQUIVALENT TO THEIR ELECTRICITY BURDEN ALONE, UM, THAT ADDS SOME COMPLICATIONS.
SO, UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, UM, FOR THE BE IT FOR THE RESOLVED LANGUAGE THAT'S HERE.
AND FOR THAT THE FINANCIAL STAFF AT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS JUST SUGGESTED THAT THIS IS NEC NOT NECESSARILY THE APPROPRIATE PLACE TO, UM, PUT THIS RECOMMENDATION.
UH, SO I'VE, I'VE MADE A TRY IT, UM, ADDRESSING WHAT YOU SAID HERE IS SOME, AND ALSO THE POINT ABOUT BENEFICIAL ELECTRIFICATION.
UM, OBVIOUSLY IT'S, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER WE DECIDE, WE CAN CUT THIS WHOLE SECTION.
IF, YOU KNOW, WE JUST DON'T WANNA DEAL WITH IT, DON'T WANNA ADDRESS IT.
THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S FINE.
IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE FOR DISCUSSION.
WE DO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE RELIABILITY CODE NEEDS TO BE, UM, RE-LOOKED AT WITH COUNSEL AND OUR STAFF IS COMMITTED TO, TO TAKING THAT ON, ACTUALLY BEEN WORKING ON SPECIFICALLY, I JUST THINK THERE DO NEED TO BE GOALS, RIGHT? AND LIKE, IN SOME SENSE, LIKE THIS IS THE, THE JOY FOR ALL OF THE POOR CITY STAFF WHO'S STUCK HERE WITH ME AND US IS LIKE, THIS IS THE RELATIONSHIP, RIGHT? IS LIKE WE GET TO SAY, OKAY, NO, NO, THERE SHOULD BE GOALS AND PEOPLE CAN SAY, OKAY, THAT, THAT MIGHT NOT BE PRODUCTIVE.
BUT LIKE THAT, THAT'S KIND OF THE GOAL OF AN OVERSIGHT BOARD AND COMMISSION IS TO SAY LIKE, YOU SHOULD BE HERE.
BUT NO ONE TOLD ME THAT IN IN THE TRAINING.
I THINK THERE SHOULD BE MARKERS FOR EVALUATING PROCESS OR PROGRESS.
OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, SUGGESTIONS IN THIS SECTION HERE,
[01:45:01]
WHERE IT'S WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE PLAN QUESTION? YEP.AND NUMBER SIX, WHERE IT INDICATES ADDING A GOAL TO MEET 75% OF LOAD WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY BY 2030 AND 85 BY 2035.
UM, SO I'M INFERRING THAT THE EXISTING PLAN DOES NOT HAVE THOSE INTERIM GOALS FOR REDUCTION.
THE EXISTING PLAN HAS GOALS, UM, ENUMERATED IN TERMS OF CARBON FREE, UM, WHICH I THINK AT THE TIME EVERYBODY AGREED WAS A BACKEND WAY TO BE, TO GET TO RENEWABLE ENERGY GOALS.
'CAUSE THE PLAN SAID NO NUCLEAR AND NO FOSSIL, YOU KNOW, NO CARBON EMITTING RESOURCES.
SO THAT KIND OF, UH, AND, AND IT SAID TO GET TO CARBON FREE AND HAD THESE BENCHMARKS ALONG THE WAY AND THERE'S THE SOUTH TEXAS NUCLEAR PROJECT.
SO IT WAS LIKE, MAINTAIN THAT AND THEN THE REST WILL BE BACKFILLED WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY.
THROUGH THIS PROCESS, IT HAS BECOME CLEAR THAT, UM, THAT THAT WAS, I GUESS, OPEN TO INTERPRETATION.
UM, AND THIS IS AT LEAST CLEAR.
AND THEN THE TARGETS THE 75% BY 2030 AND 85% BY 2035 ARE BASED ON WHAT THEY'RE INTENDED TO ROUGHLY MATCH WHAT WAS IN THE EXISTING PLAN.
IT'S A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO DO BECAUSE THERE'S THE FORECAST OF LOAD AND THEN THERE'S THE, WHAT PERCENTAGE IS THE SOUTH TEXAS NUCLEAR PROJECT ACTUALLY GOING TO BE, UH, PROVIDING AS THAT LOAD INCREASES.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK THESE, UH, JUST LIKE THE MODELS ARE WRONG, PROBABLY
UH, BUT THAT WAS THE, THAT WAS THE INTENTION BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE, WHAT'S IN THE EXISTING POINT.
AND I, AND I, I DEFINITELY SEE THE, THE VALUE IN SETTING, YOU KNOW, SETTING BENCHMARKS AND MILESTONES AS, AS WE GO THROUGH, UM, TO GIVE, GIVE US SOMETHING TO REACH FOR.
UM, AND I WOULD LIKE, WHILE MS. MARTIN IS UP THERE, UM, JUST I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR, UM, YOUR IMPRESSION OF THAT 75% BY 2030 AND 85 BY PERCENT BY 2035.
UM, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU SEE AS, UM, AS DOABLE WITH THE PLAN AS IT'S SHAPING UP? YEAH.
MY, MY CONCERN WITH THIS, UM, BULLET HAS TO DO WITH SETTING PRESCRIPTION ON HOW WE GO ABOUT REACHING CARBON FREE BY 2035.
IT, IT PRESUMES THAT THE ONLY WAY TO DO THAT IS BY CONTINUALLY INCREASING YOUR RENEWABLE ENERGY PERCENTAGE.
AND SO IT, IT, IT REALLY KIND OF, UM, PUTS CONSTRAINTS ON THE FACT THAT MAYBE THERE IS A NEW NUCLEAR SOLUTION, OR PERHAPS THERE IS A CLEAN FUEL SOLUTION OR SOME OTHER TECHNOLOGY THAT IS EVOLVING BUT HASN'T YET EMERGED YET.
AND SO THIS PRESCRIBES THE PATH TO GET TO CARBON FREE WITH THESE PERCENTAGES OF RENEWABLES.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S ESSENTIALLY THE TYPE OF SPECIFICITY THAT'S IN OUR CURRENT PLAN THAT, UM, PREVENTS US FROM, UH, LOOKING AT ALL THE DIFFERENT PATHS THAT WE CAN TAKE TO GET TO THE END GOAL.
IT'S LIKE SAYING, I NEED YOU TO GO FROM HERE TO THERE AND STOP IN THESE CITIES ALONG THE WAY, AS OPPOSED TO SAYING TAKE WHICHEVER ROUTE YOU THINK IS THE BEST WAY TO ULTIMATELY GET THERE AS YOU'RE TRYING TO BALANCE ALL OF THE COMPETING NEEDS.
THE ONE THING I, I WOULD SAY IS, THE ANALOGY IS NOT QUITE THE SAME BECAUSE AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO GET TO ZERO CARBON, IT DOES MATTER HOW QUICKLY WE GET THERE.
IT, IT, WE CAN'T JUST KEEP CHUGGING ALONG WHERE WE ARE TODAY AND THEN INSTANTLY TURN IT OFF IN 2035 AND BE AND BE FINE.
WE NEED TO BE REDUCING ALL THE TIME.
AND, AND I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT.
UM, UH, IT'S, IT'S, I I CAUTION ANYONE FROM THINKING THAT IT WILL BE A LINEAR PATH.
UM, I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A STEPWISE PATH IN CERTAINLY EXITING FAYETTE.
UH, THE COAL EMISSIONS WILL BE A HUGE, UH, DROP, UM, AT ONE POINT IN TIME.
AND THEN CERTAINLY, UM, YOU KNOW, AS TECHNOLOGY EVOLVES AND WE'RE ABLE TO ADD DIFFERENT, UM, COMPONENTS.
BUT I GUESS I'M, I AM, I AM CURIOUS TO
[01:50:01]
UNDERSTAND THE ASPECT ABOUT THE NUCLEAR COMPONENT TO IT, BECAUSE THAT SEEMS TO, TO PUT YOU IN A HOLE AS WELL.SO, SORRY, JUST, JUST FOR ME WHO'S NOT BEEN PART OF THIS, THIS IS LIKE IN PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF THE PLAN, IF I'M UNDERSTANDING THIS RIGHT, THERE WAS A PROHIBITION AGAINST USING NUCLEAR SOURCES.
AND WHAT'S LIKE THE TEMPERATURE WE'RE TAKING ON THAT? LIKE HOW ARE, HOW ARE PEOPLE FEELING ABOUT THAT? I MEAN, YEAH.
YOU KNOW, I JUST DIDN'T MENTION IT IN HERE BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO BE, UH, YOU KNOW, A TOPIC THAT AE WANTS TO AT LEAST RESEARCH AND, YOU KNOW, MY ORGANIZATION DOES NOT SUPPORT THE EXPANSION OF NUCLEAR ENERGY, SO I'M NOT GONNA, UM, SUGGEST THAT WE ADD IT HERE.
UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE REALITY IS THIS PLANT GETS, OR THIS PLAN GETS UPDATED EVERY FEW YEARS.
UH, THE TECHNOLOGY IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT AT THIS POINT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN A KIND OF TESTING PHASE.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE A TODAY SORT OF QUESTION, ARE WE GONNA HAVE ONE OF THESE SMALL REACTORS OR HERE IN AUSTIN, UM, KIND OF LIKE, LET'S JUST TAKE THAT UP NEXT GO ROUND.
UM, BUT I DID, I DID HIGHLIGHT THIS NUMBER FIVE BECAUSE CLEAN FUELS WAS MENTIONED AND CLEAN IS OF COURSE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, CARBON FREE AND CLEAN ARE NOT THE SAME THING.
AND I THINK THAT'S, UM, JUST IMPORTANT TO SAY THAT I, I'M NOT AWARE OF A FUEL THAT DOES NOT, THAT YOU BURN AND DOESN'T CREATE NO EMISSIONS.
UM,
UM, NO, I MEAN, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, UH, I LIKE THIS.
I AGREE THAT HAVING, YOU KNOW, THE MORE THINGS THAT ARE PRESCRIBED, LIKE PROBABLY THE MORE FRUSTRATING THAT WOULD BE FOR ME IF I HAD TO CREATE A PLAN.
MAYBE THAT'S OUR PURPOSE, RIGHT? UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE GET TO TALK ABOUT IT TOGETHER IN PUBLIC.
UM, BUT I WOULD SAY, LIKE OUT OF ALL OF THOSE OPTIONS THAT ARE MENTIONED, LIKE I CERTAINLY AM SUPPORTIVE OF ALL OF THEM WITH THE EXCEPTION OF, SO-CALLED CLEAN FUELS.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE THE COMMUNITY ALSO MAYBE SHARES A LOT OF THOSE VIEWS, BUT I HAVEN'T TAKEN PEOPLE'S TEMPERATURE.
ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT WE MAYBE ADD NUCLEAR AS A POTENTIAL OPTION FOR NUMBER SIX HERE? I MEAN, I SUPPORT THAT, BUT I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, AGAIN, IT'S LATE.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF FOLKS HAVE A LOT TO SAY ON THE TOPIC OR HAVE STRONG THOUGHTS.
MAYBE WE CAN JUST DO A QUICK RAISE OF HANDS WHO WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF, OF ADDING NUCLEAR TO NUMBER SIX VERSUS, UH, LEAVING IT RENEWABLE ENERGY.
I GUESS IF YOU, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE NUCLEAR ADDED, IF YOU CAN RAISE YOUR HANDS.
I WONDER IF THIS IS THE POINT WHERE I, I NEED TO LET YOU KNOW, SINCE I WORK FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, I'M GONNA HAVE TO RECUSE MYSELF FROM THIS BECAUSE I, I AM SYMPATHETIC, UM, TO NOT PRESCRIBING FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO I HOPE YOU HAVE, I MEAN, WE HAD, WE HAD QUORUM MORE THAN QUORUM BEFORE, BUT, UM, I'M GONNA HAVE TO RECUSE MYSELF FROM THIS.
I DO, I DO WISH WE KNEW THAT
UM, IN LIGHT OF THAT, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO PASS THIS, SO I THINK WE SHOULD MOVE ON IF THAT'S THE CASE.
DO WE HAVE, LET'S, I'M GONNA STOP SHARING TO SEE IF WE HAVE, HOW MANY DO WE HAVE? OH, NO, WE HAVE MORE THAN I THOUGHT.
SORRY, I CAN'T SEE EVERYBODY WHEN I'M SHARING.
UM, SO CAN WE JUST DO A QUICK SHOW OF HANDS IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE NUCLEAR ADDED INTO THIS? UM, RAISE YOUR HAND.
IS IT MISS MCC CORN? IF YOU ABSTAIN, THIS IS ABOVE, THIS IS JUST LIKE A STRAW POLE HERE.
UM, I'M NOT NECESSARILY OPPOSED TO, IF YOU'RE JUST LOOKING INTO IT, I MEAN, I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT.
OBVIOUSLY THE PRACTICE OF ACTUALLY BUILDING, YOU'RE NOT LIVE, BY THE WAY.
YEAH, I MEAN, I'M NOT NECESSARILY SUPER OPPOSED TO LIKE LOOKING INTO NUCLEAR TECH,
[01:55:01]
EMERGING NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES AS POTENTIAL, YOU KNOW, USES OF, OF PRODUCING ENERGY.I THINK OBVIOUSLY THE, THE BUILDING OF THE FACILITIES WOULD BE A WHOLE DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.
UM, AND ONE THAT, FRANKLY, I'M EXTREMELY ILL-EQUIPPED TO GRASP THE NUANCE FOR THIS PARTICULAR TIME.
BUT THAT'S JUST KIND OF HOW I FEEL.
YEAH, I CAN, I CAN HEAR THAT FOR SURE.
UM, I ECHO, UH, THE CONCERNS THAT WERE RAISED.
I'M, I'M NOT, UH, YOU KNOW, OPPOSED TO IT, BUT I, I ALSO FEEL LIKE I HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO MAKE THAT CHOICE RIGHT NOW.
SO LANE AND RODRIGO AND HARRIS, GUYS WITH GLASSES,
UM, DO YOU, DO YOU PREFER WE ADD THE WORDS RENEW, LIKE IT COULD SAY WITH, YOU KNOW, UH, RENEWABLE OR NUCLEAR ENERGY? I GUESS I'M TRYING TO GET A SENSE OF WHETHER OR NOT, UM, THERE'S, UM, MORE SUPPORT FOR THAT OR FOR JUST HAVING IT BE RENEWABLE ENERGY IS NOT OF GREAT CONCERN TO ME.
'CAUSE I DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA HAPPEN REAL SOON.
WHAT IS THE SPECIFIC BENEFIT OF ADDING THE WORD NUCLEAR FOR ME? WHO BROUGHT IT UP? I THINK, UM, FUNDAMENTALLY IT'S, IT'S ABOUT LIKE THIS QUESTION OF, OF OPTIONS, RIGHT? AND LIKE, WHAT ARE OPTIONS ON THE TABLE? AND I SEE THAT PLANS LIKE THIS HAVE TURNED TO THINGS LIKE HYDROGEN OR THESE OTHER SOLUTIONS THAT WE KIND OF USE TO PENCIL IN THIS OTHER STUFF.
UM, SO TO PENCIL IN LIKE QUESTION MARKS AND DIFFERENT PEOPLE USE THIS IN DIFFERENT PLACES.
I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS UNIQUE TO AUSTIN ENERGY.
I'VE SEEN OTHER GOD, LIKE, I SAW SOME PLAN WHERE IT WAS LIKE, RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS WILL LIKE POWER EVERYTHING BY 2050, RIGHT? AND SO, BUT YOU KNOW, PERSONALLY, AND, AND FOR PEOPLE I'VE TALKED TO ABOUT THIS, LIKE THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE HATE AND THERE'S THINGS THAT WE HATE LESS AND THERE'S THINGS THAT WE LIKE AND THERE'S THINGS THAT WE LIKE MORE.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY I KNOW A NUMBER OF FOLKS WHO HAVE SHIFTED THEIR VIEWS ON NUCLEAR TO RESPOND TO THIS NEED FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, FIRM BASED LOAD POWER FOR RELIABILITY FOR A NUMBER OF OTHER REASONS.
BUT, UM, THAT I THINK WAS, WAS ONE OF THE, JUST THE, THE THINGS TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A GENERATION MIX THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE AND THEN THERE'S LIKE THE GENERATION MIX THAT MAYBE WE'D BE FINE WITH, WE'D, WE'D BE OKAY WITH SPEAKING.
WITH, UM, WHO WOULD NOT BE, OKAY, WHO, WHO, WHO IS GONNA HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS RESOLUTION IF WE ADD THE WORD NUCLEAR HERE? I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I'M UNDERSTANDING BECAUSE LIKE IN MY LAY PERSON BRAIN, I PUT IT AS THINGS ARE SO CRITICAL, WE ARE AT A POINT THAT WE MAY NEED TO CONSIDER NUCLEAR ENERGY TO HAVE A FUNCTIONING PLANET.
LIKE IF THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SAYING, THEN THAT, THAT SHOULD BE SAID OUT LOUD SO THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SAYING.
I MEAN, THAT'S HOW I PERSONALLY FEEL.
I'M, I'M NOT NECESSARILY ASKING FOR SIGN OFF ON MY, MY OWN PERSONAL BELIEFS.
UM, BUT I I'M JUST SAYING THAT'S AN IMPACTFUL STATEMENT.
LIKE IF, LIKE GUYS, WE ARE AT DEF BOND NUCLEAR
LIKE IF THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT, THAT IS, THAT IS A VERY DIFFERENT STATEMENT THAN WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN SAID IN 2000.
YOU KNOW, WHERE WE WOULD HAVE SOME OTHER OPTIONS WHEN WE FIRST STARTED LOOKING AT THESE THINGS.
SO THAT'S WHERE I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M A CHILD OF NANCY REAGAN, IT'S AMERICA.
WE SAY NO TO DRUGS, WE SAY NO TO NUCLEAR.
AND SO IF WE'RE NO LONGER IN THAT AMERICA, PUTTING THAT ON THE TABLE IS HELPFUL FOR ME IN THIS DISCUSSION.
NOW WE'RE LIKE, AMY, AS USUAL, YOU'RE SAYING IT MUCH MORE ELOQUENTLY THAN ME.
BASICALLY WE NEED TO, I I'VE ADDED, I'VE ADDED THE WORDS.
I THINK, UH, WE HAVE AT LEAST MOST OF US WHO ARE NOT GONNA HAVE, UH, GREAT ANGST WITH, WITH THAT ADDITION.
SO I THINK ADDING THEM IS THE, THE, THE BEST WE CAN DO FOR MOVING FORWARD.
POWER PLANTS SO THAT WE CAN TRAIN AI TO KILL US.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? 'CAUSE WE DO HAVE BRIEFINGS THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WAITING TO GIVE US.
[02:00:02]
ARE WE THERE? WE HAVE NOT ADDED THE RENEWABLE ENERGY CAU, WHEREAS RENEWABLE ENERGY AND BATTERY CAUSED HAVE BEEN DECLINING.IS THAT ESSENTIALLY WHAT YOU WANNA SAY? YEAH.
IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE? YEAH.
I, I, I MIGHT ADD ARE LIKELY OR ARE VERY LIKELY TO BE, TO CONTINUE TO DECLINE.
WE COULD SAY THEY'RE PROJECTED TO DECLINE 'CAUSE THAT IS OKAY.
I CAN'T FIND A SINGLE PERSON WHO WOULD DISAGREE WITH THAT, BUT I HAVEN'T PUT IT TO THIS ROOM YET.
I LOOKED IT UP SINCE THE NINETIES.
LITHIUM ION BATTERIES HAVE DECLINED AND COST 97%.
SO OVER THE PAST, WHAT? 10, 10, 10 YEARS? WHAT SHOULD I SAY? OH, I DIDN'T THINK THAT 20 YEARS.
I KNOW, BUT WHAT SHOULD, WHAT DO YOU WANNA SAY HERE? SEVERAL DECADES.
WHEN DID GOOD ENOUGH INVENT THAT STUFF? THE SEVENTIES? ANYONE? OKAY.
IS THAT GREAT? YOU GOOD WITH THAT? OKAY.
ANYTHING ELSE? IF NOT, I'M GONNA STOP SHARING AND SEE IF WE CAN MOVE INTO A MOTION AND A VOTE BEFORE.
I AM GONNA MAKE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THIS RESOLUTION AS EDITED.
ALL RIGHT, EVERYBODY IN FAVOR? UH, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
UH, JUST FOR THE RECORD, UH, ANYBODY VOTING? NO.
ANYBODY ABSTAINING? WE'VE GOT DIANA ABSTAINING.
SHE SAYING IT IN THE VOTE, BUT SHE RECUSED HERSELF BEFORE EVEN.
SO DIANA, I GUESS YOU WERE ACTUALLY RECUSING ON THIS ONE, RIGHT? MY APOLOGIES.
UH, IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE SAYING? AB UH, WHICHEVER I, I I'M NOT SURE WHICH ROBERT RULES OF ORDER IS ABSTAIN WORKS ETHICS VIOLATION.
I THINK IF YOU, IF IF YOU THINK THAT YOU HAVE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST, THEN THAT'S A RECUSAL AS OPPOSED TO AN EXTENSION.
I HAVE AN ACTUAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
YOU, YOU SAID YOU, YOU DO NOT, A CONFLICT OF INTEREST MEANS THAT I WOULD BE MAKING MONEY OR THERE WOULD BE MONEY OR POWER OR SOMETHING INVOLVED RIGHT THERE.
I'M, I'M NOT SUGGESTING YOU DO, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE, I THINK I'M ABSTAINING.
JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE WE GET IT RIGHT SO WE NOBODY GETS IN TROUBLE.
UM, I'M GONNA, YEAH, I'M GONNA SUGGEST
[3. Heat Pump Survey Response and Strategy – Zach Baumer, Office of Sustainability, and Sara Norris, Austin Energy]
THAT WE MAYBE START WITH THE HEAT PUMPS SO THAT RICHARD AND SARAH CAN GO HOME TONIGHT.THERE'S A SALE AT THE BULK SECTION ON RIVERSIDE, HEB 25% OFF ON THE BULK THINGS, GUYS, IF YOU BUY $10 OR MORE.
I'M ZACH BAUMER WITH OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, AND THIS IS, OH, IS IT HOT? OKAY.
AND I'M SARAH NORRIS, THE DIRECTOR OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.
OKAY, SO SARAH AND I ARE, UH, GOING TO GO THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION.
[02:05:01]
I'M GONNA GIVE THE FIRST PORTION AND THEN HAND IT OVER TO HER.UM, THIS HAS BEEN A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY AND, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST YEAR OR SO, UH, TO LOOK INTO HEAT PUMPS AND ISSUES AND CHALLENGES RELATED TO HEAT PUMPS AND ADOPTION OF THEM, UM, IN OUR, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO FIRST I'M GONNA GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON HEAT PUMPS, THE TECHNOLOGY, AND THEN TALK ABOUT THIS.
UM, MY WATER, UH, TALK ABOUT THIS HVAC CONTRACTOR, UH, SURVEY STUDY THAT WE DID, UM, WHICH, UM, WE JUST USED TO GATHER INFORMATION ON THE LOCAL MARKET OF, UM, OF HEAT PUMPS.
AND THEN, UH, AND AUSTIN ENERGY WAS A PARTNER WITH US IN THAT STUDY.
AND THEN, UH, SARAH'S GONNA TALK ABOUT, UH, WHAT THEIR CURRENT INCENTIVES ARE RELATED TO HEAT PUMPS, AND THEN TALK ABOUT THE ROADMAP AND WHERE THEY GO FROM HERE.
SO AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE HAVE THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN WAS ADOPTED IN 2021.
THERE'S A SUSTAINABLE BUILDING SECTION IN THAT PLAN.
AND, UH, THE FIRST GOAL IN THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDING SECTION IS TO, UM, HAVE TO AIM FOR BY 2030 FOR ALL NEW BUILDINGS TO BE NET ZERO CARBON, UM, AND THEN HAVE, I THINK, A 25% REDUCTION IN EMISSIONS FROM EXISTING BUILDINGS AND THEN AIM FOR A 30% REDUCTION IN NATURAL GAS USAGE IN, UM, IN EXISTING BUILDINGS.
SO, UH, TO DO THAT, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AROUND BUILDINGS.
SO WHAT'S THE SCALE OF EMISSIONS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE? UM, THIS IS THE COMMUNITY CARBON FOOTPRINT FOR AUSTIN.
UM, IT WAS ABOUT 11 MILLION METRIC TONS IN 2021.
UM, THE EMISSIONS THAT ARE, THAT COME FROM BUILDINGS ARE THE COMBINATION OF ELECTRICITY AND NATURAL GAS.
UH, THE NATURAL GAS PORTION HERE IS NATURAL GAS THAT'S JUST BURNED IN BUILDINGS.
IT'S NOT RELATED TO ELECTRICITY.
UM, SO ABOUT 9% OF OUR TOTAL EMISSIONS COMMUNITY WIDE COME FROM THE USAGE OF NATURAL GAS IN, UH, IN BUILDINGS.
THAT'S A COMBINATION OF SINGLE FAMILY, MULTIFAMILY, COMMERCIAL, ALL, YOU KNOW, ALL USES OF NATURAL GAS.
UM, SO THAT'S ABOUT A MILLION METRIC TONS PER YEAR OF EMISSIONS.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBERS.
WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW MANY HOMES HAVE FURNACES, UM, BUT OUR ESTIMATES ARE THAT ABOUT 50%, UM, OF THOSE EMISSIONS COME FROM, UH, SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
AND THEN IN SINGLE FAMILY HOMES THAT HAVE GAS, ABOUT 50 PERCENTAGE IN THE U OF THE USAGE OF GAS IN A HOME IS FROM THE FURNACE.
UM, SO WHAT THAT COMES OUT TO BE IS ABOUT 250,000 METRIC TONS OF CO2 PER YEAR.
UM, SO IF YOU, AND THOSE NUMBERS SORT OF SEEM TO PAN OUT THAT IF THERE'S ABOUT, UM, THE NUMBERS I LOOKED AT WERE ABOUT 400,000 HOUSEHOLDS IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
UM, SO ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND OF THOSE HOUSEHOLDS.
AND IF YOU RUN YOUR FURNACE, YOU KNOW, A NORMAL AMOUNT FOR THE AUSTIN AREA, IT'S PROBABLY ABOUT TWO TONS PER YEAR COMING OUTTA EACH ONE OF THOSE FURNACES.
UM, SO IT'S A RELATIVELY SMALL PORTION OF OUR EMISSIONS, BUT IT IS REAL AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND TONS.
UM, IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT, UM, THE WHOLE CONTEXT OF THIS PRESENTATION IS REALLY, UM, OUR CLIMATE IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THIS, RIGHT? THAT LIKE, IT DOESN'T GET VERY COLD HERE.
THIS IS A PRETTY SMALL, SMALL PORTION OF THE EMISSIONS.
WE HAVE ACTUALLY A LOT OF HOMES IN THE AUSTIN AREA THAT DON'T EVEN USE GAS.
UM, WHEREAS, UM, THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION, THE STUFF YOU SEE IN THE NEWS, UM, OR WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT DECARBONIZING LIKE IN NORTHERN CLIMATES, CHICAGO, NEW YORK, IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT CONVERSATION BECAUSE THEY USE A LOT MORE HEAT, YOU KNOW, IN THOSE CLIMATES.
SO WE'RE GONNA SAY THE HEAT PUMP, THE WORD HEAT PUMP APPROXIMATELY 345 TIMES IN THIS PRESENTATION,
UM, SO WHAT IS A HEAT PUMP? HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS ALL KNOW WHAT THIS IS.
UM, IT'S ESSENTIALLY HEAT AN HVAC SYSTEM, UM, THAT, UH, USES COMPRESSION AND EXPANSION AND, UM, IT RUNS IN TWO DIRECTIONS.
SO A TYPICAL AIR CONDITIONER THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR HOUSE, UM, CREATES COLD AIR AND IT'S ESSENTIALLY MOVING THE HEAT FROM INSIDE OF YOUR HOUSE TO THE OUTSIDE.
UM, BUT A HEAT PUMP CAN, UH, RUN AT VARIABLE SPEEDS AND YOU CAN SWITCH, IT CAN SWITCH THE DIRECTION INSIDE, AND IT CAN TAKE HEAT FROM THE OUTSIDE AND MOVE THE HEAT INSIDE.
UH, SO WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR HEAT PUMP, YOU ESSENTIALLY CAN TURN IT INTO COLD MODE OR TO HEAT MODE,
[02:10:01]
AND IT LOOKS LIKE JUST AN AIR CONDITIONER'S RUNNING OUTSIDE, BUT IT CAN CREATE COLD INSIDE OR HEAT INSIDE.UM, AND THERE ARE A COUPLE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SYSTEMS. UM, MANY OF US, ESPECIALLY IN THE LAST DECADE, THERE'S BEEN A PROLIFERATION OF THESE DUCTLESS SYSTEMS WHERE YOU JUST SEE THE SMALL LITTLE UNIT WITH ONE FAN.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S JUST LIKE A BOX INSIDE OF A ROOM.
THEY'RE USUALLY USED TO LIKE COOL AN APARTMENT OR COOL A GARAGE, LIKE SOMETHING SMALL.
UM, THOSE ARE DUCTLESS SYSTEMS. UM, BUT THEY DO MAKE FULL ON, UM, HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS TO LIKE RUN FORCED AIR, LIKE IN A, IN A HOUSE, LIKE IN A REGULAR AIR HANDLER KIND OF SITUATION.
UM, I GUESS I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT HEAT PUMPS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME.
LIKE THIS IS NOT A NEW TECHNOLOGY.
UM, THEY'VE JUST BEEN GETTING BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER.
SO THE EFFICIENCY ON THESE, UM, THE AMOUNT OF MANUFACTURERS THAT MAKE 'EM HAS JUST BEEN INCREASING DRAMATICALLY, UM, IN THE LAST DECADE.
SO SOME BENEFITS OF HEAT PUMPS, UH, THE FIRST BENEFIT IS THAT IT'S JUST SIMPLER.
YOU HAVE AN AIR HANDLER, YOU HAVE THE HEAT PUMP.
THAT'S ALL YOU NEED FOR HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A GAS LINE WRITTEN IN YOUR HOUSE.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A GAS LINE, UM, TO THE HOUSE.
UM, IT'S JUST A SIMPLER SITUATION.
UM, IT'S CONSISTENT ALL SEASON, HEATING AND COOLING WITH ONE SYSTEM.
UM, THERE CAN BE IMPROVED AIR QUALITY.
YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE ARE FURNACES OR, UM, OR EVEN WATER HEATERS IN A HOUSE THAT ARE BURNING GAS, RIGHT? YOU HAVE TO EXHAUST THAT.
LIKE THERE'S THE RISK THAT, UM, THAT YOU COULD HAVE CARBON MONOXIDE.
SO LIKE YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANY OF THAT STUFF.
UM, 'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT BURNING A FUEL INSIDE OF A, A BUILDING.
UM, POTENTIAL LOWER BILLS IF YOU'RE SWITCHING FROM RESISTANCE HEATING.
UM, AS WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT, UM, THE UPFRONT COST IN THIS AND THE BILLS, IT'S KIND OF, IT, IT CAN BE A COMPLICATED EQUATION.
UM, SO THERE'S NOT LIKE ONE SILVER BULLET ANSWER THAT.
LIKE A HEAT PUMP IS GOING TO SAVE YOU MONEY AND THERE'S GONNA BE CHEAPER.
UM, AND SO THE BOTTOM LINE REALLY WITH THIS IS THAT RENEWABLE ENERGY, AUSTIN ENERGY IS ALREADY AT 70% ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, RENEWABLE ENERGY.
SO IF WE'RE USING REALLY HIGH AMOUNTS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY AND WE'RE RUNNING HEAT PUMPS, THAT IS A LOT LESS CARBON INTENSIVE THAN, UM, BURNING GAS IN, IN BUILDINGS.
SO THIS IS A WAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN CALL BENEFICIAL ELECTRIC ELECTRIFICATION, ESSENTIALLY ELECTRIFYING FOSSIL FUEL BURNING THINGS TO REDUCE EMISSIONS.
THERE ARE CHALLENGES WITH HEAT PUMPS THOUGH, RIGHT? LIKE, UM, IT'S NOT A SOLUTION FOR EVERY SINGLE BUILDING.
UM, THERE CAN BE COMPATIBILITY, UM, SITUATIONS.
SOME, SOME BUILDINGS LIKE CAN YOU FIT THE EQUIPMENT? UM, IT, IT CAN DEPEND LIKE HOW THE BUILDING WAS DESIGNED AND WHAT, UM, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RETROFITS, WHAT CURRENTLY IS IN A BUILDING, UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU GET INTO TALKING ABOUT RETROFIT, RETROFITTING BUILDINGS AS WELL.
UM, THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM ENDS UP BEING A QUESTION, RIGHT? IF THE BUILDING WAS NOT DESIGNED TO HAVE HIGH ELECTRIC LOADS AND IT WAS DESIGNED TO HAVE GAS, THEN YOU'RE CHANGING THE EQUIPMENT.
YOU COULD HAVE PANEL ISSUES, YOU COULD HAVE, UM, TO UPGRADE THE ELECTRIC SERVICE.
UM, THERE CAN BE CHALLENGES THERE.
UM, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO COST, THE SORT OF GENERALLY ACCEPTED NOW IS THAT, UM, EFFICIENT HEAT PUMPS DO COST SLIGHTLY MORE THAN AIR CONDITIONING AND GAS SYSTEMS AT THIS TIME.
UM, SO THEY CAN BE MORE EXPENSIVE.
UM, THERE CAN ALSO BE ISSUES WITH, WITH PERCEPTION OF BILL IMPACTS, RIGHT? THAT LIKE YOU WERE USED TO LOW ELECTRIC BILLS IN, IN THE WINTER, AND THEN A GAS BILL THAT'S SORT OF JUST FLUCTUATED.
BUT IF IT CHANGES AND YOU STILL HAVE GAS, YOU MAY STILL BE PAYING A GAS BILL BUT MAY HAVE A HIGHER ELECTRIC BILL.
SO, UM, IT'S NOT GONNA JUST BE A SIMPLE SWITCH OUT AND YOU'RE SAVING MONEY.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO, YOU KNOW, IN AUSTIN ARE WINNERS FLUCTUATE PRETTY DRAMATICALLY, RIGHT? LIKE SOME WINTERS, UM, IT DOESN'T EVEN GET BELOW 32 DEGREES AND YOU RARELY EVEN USE YOUR FURNACE.
UM, OR YOU'D USE YOUR HEAT PUMP IN HEAT MODE.
UM, BUT SOMETIMES YOU USE IT A LOT AND SO YOU COULD HAVE HIGHER, UM, HIGHER SPIKES WITH THAT.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, AS WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT A LOT MORE, UM, THIS REALLY COMES DOWN TO THE HVAC CONTRACTING COMMUNITY, RIGHT? UM, FOR NEW BUILDINGS, IT KIND OF COMES DOWN TO THE ARCHITECTS AND THE ENGINEERS AND THE PEOPLE WHO DESIGN AND BUILD NEW CONSTRUCTION BUILDINGS.
UM, BUT FOR RETROFITS IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO THE COMPANY THAT YOU CALL WHEN YOUR AC OR YOUR FURNACE BREAKS AND SOMEBODY COMES OUT TO YOUR HOUSE AND YOU'RE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION AND TRYING TO MAKE A DECISION.
UM, SO EDUCATION, TRAINING, THE TOOLS, THE INFORMATION THAT THEY HAVE ENDS UP BEING A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THIS.
[02:15:01]
UM, THIS IS, THIS SLIDE HERE IS FROM A STUDY THAT WAS DONE BY ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE A FEW YEARS AGO LOOKING AT THE DESIGN OF NEW CONSTRUCTION SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.AND THEY BASICALLY DID THE MATH AND IMPROVED IN OUR CLIMATE SCENARIO THAT, UM, IF YOU HAVE AN ALL ELECTRIC HOME THAT HAS A HEAT PUMP, IT CAN BE CHEAPER TO BUILD, CHEAPER TO OPERATE AND MUCH LOWER EMISSIONS.
SO IF YOU DO THIS RIGHT UPFRONT IN NEW BUILDINGS, IT CAN BE KIND OF A SLAM DUNK.
UM, BUT RETROFITS AND GETTING TO THAT GAS THAT'S ALREADY OUT THERE IN THOSE BUILDINGS IS MORE CHALLENGING.
SO THIS IS JUST TWO DIFFERENT SCENARIOS OF EX EXISTING BILLING RETROFITS.
JUST TO SHOW KIND OF SOME OF THE COMPLICATION HERE.
UM, ON THE LEFT SIDE IS A SCENARIO WHERE, UM, UH, A HOMEOWNER HAS A GAS FURNACE AND AN AC UNIT, IT BREAKS AND YOU'RE LOOKING TO REPLACE IT WITH A HEAT PUMP.
UM, SO YOU'LL PROBABLY PAY MORE FOR THE HEAT PUMP UP FRONT.
UH, YOU MIGHT HAVE TO PAY HIGHER INSTALLATION COSTS, YOU MIGHT HAVE TO DO A PANEL UPGRADE, DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR ELECTRIC SYSTEM, WHICH WOULD COST MORE.
UM, IN THE SUMMER YOU'D PROBABLY SAVE MONEY.
YOU'LL DEFINITELY REDUCE EMISSIONS BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT BURNING GAS ANYMORE.
UM, AND THEN ON THE, ON THE SECOND SIDE IS AN ELECTRICAL RESISTANT SITUATION.
THE FIRST HOUSE IN A HOUSE THAT I ACTUALLY BOUGHT IN AUSTIN, UH, WAS A SMALL HOUSE AND HAD AN AC UNIT AND AN ELECTRIC RESISTANCE HEATER IN IT.
UM, SO WHEN IT GOT COLD, UM, THOSE COUPLE WINTERS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE RAN THE ELECTRIC RESISTANCE HEAT IN THE WINTER, WE'D GET THIS LIKE $300 ELECTRIC BILL LIKE IN JANUARY.
UM, 'CAUSE IT WASN'T A HEAT PUMP NOSO, IT WAS ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE.
SO, UM, IN THOSE SITUATIONS, UM, YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA HAVE AN ELECTRICAL UPDATE UPGRADE TO, UM, THAT NEEDS TO OCCUR BECAUSE YOU ALREADY HAVE HIGH ELECTRIC SERVICE THAT'S, THAT'S RUNNING THIS, UH, ELECTRIC RESISTANCE.
UM, YOU'D PROBABLY SAVE MONEY IN THE SUMMER.
YOU'D DEFINITELY SAVE MONEY IN THE WINTER.
THESE ARE REALLY, THAT'S LIKE THE MOST IDEAL HEAT PUMP REPLACEMENT SITUATION.
UM, THE AMOUNT OF EMISSIONS YOU SAVE, LIKE, UM, YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY NOT SAVE VERY MUCH, UM, EMISSIONS WISE 'CAUSE YOU'RE ALREADY USING ELECTRICITY.
UM, BUT YOU'RE DEFINITELY GONNA SAVE MONEY IN THAT SITUATION.
SO IN, I THINK THIS WAS ACTUALLY, I TRIED TO GO BACK.
I THINK THE FUNDING THAT WE ACTUALLY GOT FOR THIS STUDY CAME FROM JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION.
SO YOUR RECOMMENDATION'S NOT IN THIS BUDGET CYCLE, BUT TWO YEARS AGO, UM, YOU GUYS HAD A RECOMMENDATION, UM, TO, TO FUND THIS HVAC CONTRACTOR STUDY.
UM, SO $50,000 WAS ALLOCATED IN LAST BUDGET CYCLE.
UM, WE PUT OUT AN INVITATION FOR QUOTE, WE HIRED TARA LUMEN A CONSULTING, UM, AND THEY CAME IN AND DID THIS LOCAL, UH, HVAC CONTRACTOR STUDY FOR US, UM, TO BASICALLY TALK TO CONTRACTORS IN THE COMMUNITY, GET THEIR TAKE ON THE TECHNOLOGY, GET THEIR LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING.
UM, THEY DID A SURVEY, GOT I THINK 30 UNIQUE, UM, CONTRACTOR RESPONSES TO THE SURVEY.
UH, THEY DID 10 INTERVIEWS AND THEN THEY MADE TWO FOCUS GROUPS.
SO THEY TALKED TO A WIDE RANGE OF, UM, OF CONTRACTORS, LIKE ABOUT ALL OF THE ISSUES AND ALL THE QUESTIONS RELATED TO THIS.
UM, SO SOME OF THE HIGHEST LEVEL TAKEAWAY, UH, RESULTS FROM THE SURVEY WERE THAT OVER 75% OF THE SURVEY RESPONDENTS, SO THE CONTRACTORS INDICATED THAT AT THIS TIME, AT LEAST 15% OF THEIR NEW AND REPLACEMENT HV SYSTEMS ARE HEAT PUMPS.
SO ADOPTION IS ALREADY STARTING TO HAPPEN.
YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT 50%, IT'S NOT 75%, BUT, UM, THERE IS CURRENTLY DEMAND FOR THESE AND THEY, THEY ARE, UM, STARTING TO INSTALL THEM.
UM, 88% OF THE CONTRACTORS REPORTED THAT CUSTOMERS ARE SATISFIED WITH THE HEAT PUMPS.
UM, CONTRACTORS CONFIRM THAT THE COST IS THE BIGGEST BARRIER TO THE RESIDENTIAL HEAT PUMP ADOPTION.
UM, SO WHEN THEY PRESENT THE CUSTOMER OPTIONS, THE HEAT PUMP OPTION IS ALMOST ALWAYS MORE EXPENSIVE.
AND WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO SELL SOME SOMETHING TO SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, MOST PEOPLE GO FOR THE LOWEST COST THING.
UM, AND SO 75% OF THE SURVEY RESPONDENTS RES REPORTED THAT AUSTIN ENERGY'S REBATES MAKE THEM MORE LIKELY TO ENCOURAGE CUSTOMERS TO CHOOSE THE HEAT PUMPS.
UM, 'CAUSE THERE'S A, IF THERE'S A REBATE TO BRING THAT COST DOWN, THEN IT MIGHT, YOU MIGHT GET CLOSER TO COST PARITY.
UM, AND YEAH, YOU MIGHT GET SOMEBODY TO SWITCH.
UM, SO THE NEXT FEW SLIDES ARE
[02:20:01]
VERY HIGH LEVEL, UM, CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE STUDY.UM, WE WILL, UM, AFTER THIS MEETING, WE'LL POST THE FULL STUDY SO YOU GUYS CAN READ IT AND SEE ALL THE DETAIL AND ALL THE RESEARCH THAT WAS DONE FOR THE STUDY.
UM, BUT ESSENTIALLY WHAT WAS DONE IS THAT, UM, THE CONTRACTOR IDENTIFIED CHALLENGES AND THEN HAD MADE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS THAT COULD BE IMPLEMENTED TO, TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES THAT THEY FOUND FROM THE CONTRACTORS.
SO, UM, THE FIRST SET WAS AROUND HIGHER UPFRONT COST.
SO THEY RECOMMENDED THAT WE COULD INCREASE OR MODIFY THE INCENTIVES.
UH, WE COULD PROVIDE UNBIASED COST BENEFIT INFORMATION TO CONTRACTORS AND CUSTOMERS, LIKE ON OUR WEBSITE TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND BETTER.
UM, WE COULD STIMULATE BULK PURCHASING DISCOUNTS AGAIN TO TRY TO BRING THE COST DOWN.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST ONE WAS POTENTIALLY REQUIRE 200 AMP PANEL SERVICE SIZING FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION AND MAJOR RENOVATIONS.
JUST SO IT'S ENSURED THAT, UM, THE ELECTRICAL SERVICE UPGRADE HAS ALREADY BEEN MADE BECAUSE THAT IS JUST AN ADDITIONAL COST, RIGHT? SO IF THE HEAT PUMP'S ALREADY A COUPLE THOUSAND DOLLARS MORE AND THEN THE CONTRACTOR'S LIKE, OH YEAH, AND BY THE WAY, YOU ALSO HAVE TO DO $2,000 IN ELECTRIC WORK, THEN IT'S, IT'S AN EVEN BIGGER HURDLE TO GET OVER THAT.
UM, THAT FITS WITH THE NEXT GROUP HERE IS LONGER SALES CYCLE.
UM, THE CONTRACTORS REPORTED THAT NOT EVERYBODY KNOWS AND UNDERSTANDS ABOUT HEAT PUMPS.
AND IF YOU'RE REP, IF YOU GO OUT AND YOU'RE REPLACING A SYSTEM WITH EXACTLY WHAT THE CUSTOMER HAS, THAT'S KIND OF AN EASY SELL.
BUT IF YOU'RE, UM, TRYING TO SELL THEM SOMETHING NEW AND SOMETHING DIFFERENT, SOMETHING THAT COSTS MORE MONEY, IT'S POTENTIALLY MORE COMPLICATED, THEY MIGHT HAVE TO GET A TAX CREDIT FOR, IT'S GONNA DRAG OUT THE SALES CYCLE.
UM, AND IN MANY OF THESE CASES, PEOPLE NEED, IF YOUR HEAT GOES OUT AND IT'S COLD, YOU WANT TO REPLACE LIKE THAT DAY, NOT IN A WEEK, NOT IN TWO WEEKS AFTER YOU DO A BUNCH OF RESEARCH.
UM, SO ANYTHING TO SPEED THAT UP, UM, IS, IS A GOOD THING.
UM, NEXT ONE IS COLD TEMPERATURE PERFORMANCE.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN THE SORT OF THING THAT'S BEEN REALLY CHANGING OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS WITH TECHNOLOGY THAT FOR THE LONGEST TIME, UM, IT WAS SORT OF ACCEPTED THAT LIKE HEAT PUMPS WORKED DOWN TILL ABOUT FREEZING TEMPERATURES RIGHT DOWN TO LIKE THE 30 TO 40 RANGE.
AND THEN LIKE, THEY DIDN'T WORK VERY WELL.
UM, BUT THESE NEWER MODELS, THE NEW EFFICIENCY STUFF IS GOING DOWN TO LIKE SUPER LOW TEMPERATURES AND IT'S WORKING WAY BETTER.
UM, AND THAT'S JUST ADVANCEMENT IN TECHNOLOGY AND COMPRESSORS AND ALL THE THINGS, UH, THE DETAILS OF THIS.
UM, SO REQUIRING IN THOSE NEW MODELS OR INVERTER BASED MODELS THAT HAVE VARIABLE SPEED MOTORS SO THEY CAN GO DOWN TO LOWER TEMPERATURES AND REALLY WORK IN ALL SCENARIOS.
UM, AND THEN PROVIDE UNBIASED LOCAL COLD TEMPERATURE DATA REALLY JUST TO GIVE PEOPLE MORE INFORMATION TO MAKE THEM FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT THIS IS GONNA WORK.
UM, UH, LIMITED CONTRACTOR EXPERIENCE WITH ELECTRICAL UPGRADES.
THIS IS, UM, A CHALLENGE THAT HVAC CONTRACTORS AREN'T ELECTRICIANS, RIGHT? SO IF YOU NEED SOMETHING DONE WITH YOUR ELECTRIC SYSTEM, THE HVAC CONTRACTOR HAS TO, UM, EITHER JUST WALK AWAY OR REFER YOU TO AN ELECTRICIAN OR YOU HAVE TO CALL SOMEBODY ELSE AND GET A SEPARATE COMPANY TO COME OUT.
UM, SO WAYS TO CONNECT, UM, HVC CONTRACTORS WITH ELECTRICIANS AND MAKE THAT LINKAGE LIKE MORE SEAMLESS WOULD HELP.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, UM, THERE IS SOME CONTRACTOR RESISTANCE TO ADOPTION, RIGHT? UM, UM, I THINK THAT WHAT THEY FOUND IS THAT MOST CONTRACTORS SORT OF IN THIS SPACE TEND TO BE CONSERVATIVE.
THEY TEND TO LIKE, NOT LIKE POLITICALLY CONSERVATIVE, BUT CONSERVATIVE IN LIKE, THEY WANNA SELL YOU SOMETHING THAT THEY KNOW IS GONNA WORK AND THEY'RE NOT GONNA TRY TO SELL YOU SOME NEW FANCY THING THAT LIKE, THEY'RE NOT REALLY SURE IS GONNA WORK BECAUSE THEIR REPUTATION IS SORT OF ON THE LINE.
SO, UM, THE MORE THAT WE CAN GET MORE INFORMATION AND BETTER INFORMATION OUT THERE MESSAGING TO HELP 'EM UNDERSTAND THAT THIS DOES WORK, UM, WOULD HELP.
UM, THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE SPECIFIC TO MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES.
THERE WAS, UM, THE CONTRACTOR DID ENGAGE WITH, UM, FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES, UM, AND FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES BEING A SORT OF EARLY ADAPTER OF, UM, GREEN BUILDING.
THEY HAVE ADOPTED, UM, HEAT PUMPS IN THERE, UM, IN SOME OF THEIR BUILDINGS.
SO THEY, UM, RESPONDED TO SOME OF THIS.
SO, UM, THEY, THEY MENTIONED THAT THERE CAN BE HIGHER MAINTENANCE COSTS WITH HEAT PUMPS AS COMPARED TO JUST REGULAR AC UNITS AND, AND FURNACES.
UM, UM, THEY OFFER THE RECOMMENDATION TO, UM, DESIGN THE INCENTIVES IN A WAY THAT, UM, UH, THAT CAN JUST WORK BETTER AND BE SIMPLER FOR LIKE, UM, UM, A BIGGER BUILDING THAT HAS IS BUYING
[02:25:01]
LOTS OF DIFFERENT UNITS AT THE SAME TIME.UM, AND, AND THEN THEY ALSO MENTIONED, UH, LACK OF MAINTENANCE STAFF TRAINING THAT SOME OF THE MAINTENANCE STAFF JUST AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH NEWER THINGS.
SO LIKE GETTING PEOPLE FAMILIAR WITH THIS NEW STUFF, UM, WILL HELP IT BE ADOPTED AND, UM, AND WORKED ON INTO THE FUTURE.
SO NEXT, SARAH IS GONNA TAKE OVER AND TELL US ABOUT WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, CURRENTLY DOES AND INSERT DOES AND SUPPORTS AND HOW THEY INCENTIVIZE HEAT PUMPS AND SORT OF WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO DO GOING FORWARD FROM HERE.
THANK YOU ALL FOR, FOR WATCHING OUR PRESENTATION.
UM, SO WE DO HAVE, WE ALREADY HAVE, OH, THANKS.
UM, SO WE ACTUALLY DO CURRENTLY HAVE HEAT PUMP INCENTIVES ACROSS ALL CUSTOMER CLASSES.
SO WE OFFER BOTH EQUIPMENT ONLY AND WHOLE HOME AND, AND INCENTIVES AS PART OF A WHOLE HOME UPGRADE FOR OUR RESIDENTIAL CLASS.
WE HAVE BOTH, UM, BASICALLY AN APPLIANCE INCENTIVE PROGRAM WHERE WE OFFER REBATES FOR BETWEEN 400 AND $750 FOR HEAT PUMPS.
UM, IF YOU GO THROUGH OUR WHOLE HOME PROGRAM, THE HOME ENERGY SAVINGS PROGRAM, IT'S HIGHER.
AND THE INTENTION THERE IS THAT, UM, WE ACTUALLY REALLY WOULD LIKE TO DRIVE CUSTOMERS TO THINK ABOUT THEIR HOMES AS A COHESIVE SYSTEM.
UM, WE ACTUALLY THINK THAT CUSTOMERS GET A BETTER COMFORT LEVEL AND EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU DON'T JUST SWAP OUT THE SHINY BOX, BUT YOU ADD ATTIC CANCELLATION, YOU UPGRADE YOUR DUCT WORK, YOU SEAL UP YOUR WINDOWS AND DOORS, UM, IT SAVES EVERYBODY ENERGY.
AND THEN YOU DON'T END UP WITH A BUNCH OF OVERSIZED UNITS, WHICH IS IMPORTANT TO US AT AUSTIN ENERGY BECAUSE WE ALSO WANNA MANAGE THAT P LOAD.
UM, WE ALSO OFFER INCENTIVES FOR TUNEUPS.
AND AS I'M SURE MANY OF YOU ARE AWARE, THERE IS A FEDERAL INCENTIVE FOR, THAT'S ABOUT TWO, $2,000 PER HOUSEHOLD SPECIFICALLY FOR HEAT PUMPS, FOR QUALIFYING HEAT PUMPS.
UM, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL INCENTIVES IN THE MULTIFAMILY AND COMMERCIAL SPACE.
THOSE TEND TO BE BASED ON TONNAGE 'CAUSE THAT'S SORT OF THE, THE BULK PURCHASING, BULK INSTALLATION APPROACH.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE TUNE UP INCENTIVES FOR THOSE AND WE DO OFFER A SPECIALIZED INCENTIVE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
I DO WANNA TAKE, TAKE A MOMENT AND JUST COMMENT ON THE FACT THAT IN THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY SPACE, WE TRY TO THINK ABOUT, UM, RIGHT SIZING INCENTIVES.
AND IT'S A, IT'S A REALLY TRICKY PROBLEM.
I WAS IN SOLAR BEFORE I CAME OVER TO ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND IN SOLAR THE PROBLEM IS MUCH MORE SIMPLE, RIGHT? IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY, OUR SUITE OF PRODUCTS IS BROAD, RIGHT? THERE'S A LOT OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THAT GO INTO ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND THE APPROACH TO DEEMING THEIR VALUE IN TERMS OF MEGAWATT SAVINGS AND, AND IMPACT ON THE CUSTOMER COMFORT AND, AND, AND INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND SO FORTH IS IT'S, IT'S BROAD.
THERE'S A LOT OF KIND OF DEEMED SAVINGS VERSUS MEASURED SAVINGS.
IT'S, IT'S A DIFFICULT PLACE TO TRY TO DIAL IN ON PRECISE OUTCOMES, BUT WE DO THE BEST WE CAN.
UM, AND THE, AS I MENTIONED, BECAUSE THERE ARE JUST A LOT MORE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRODUCTS AND EVEN JUST HEAT PUMPS, RIGHT? THERE ARE DOZENS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEAT PUMPS.
AND SO WHAT WE REALLY TRY TO TAG TO IS RATHER THAN JUST SAYING EVERY HEAT PUMP GETS THIS SIZE OF INCENTIVE, WHICH WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE, RIGHT? WE REALLY TAG TO THE SEER RATINGS TWO RATINGS, RIGHT? WHICH IS THE MOST SORT OF INDUSTRY STANDARD, UM, CONSISTENT WAY TO COMPARE LIKE FOR LIKE, SO EVEN YOUR TRADITIONAL AC SYSTEM WILL HAVE A SEER RATING AND THAT SEER RATING DIRECTLY TIES TO THE DEMAND LEVELS AND THE CONSUMPTION THAT WILL COME OUT OF THAT SYSTEM.
AND SO IT'S JUST IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN WE ARE TRYING TO THINK ABOUT SIZING INCENTIVES, THERE ARE TWO APPROACHES THAT YOU CAN TAKE.
YOU CAN SAY, HEY, OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS THE UTILITY IS TO BRIDGE THE COST BARRIER FOR CUSTOMERS BECAUSE ADOPTION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
OR YOU CAN SAY WE'RE GOING TO TIE THE INCENTIVES TO THE OUTCOME.
SO IN THIS CASE IT WOULD BE THE MEGAWATTS SAVED.
UM, AS LISA ALLUDED TO EARLIER, WE'RE INTERESTED IN TRANSITIONING OVER TO A MORE HOLISTIC WAY OF THINKING ABOUT OUR PORTFOLIO BY HAVING GOALS THAT ARE IN GREENHOUSE GASES, GREENHOUSE GAS AVOIDANCE, UM, RATHER THAN MEGAWATTS.
AND WHAT THAT WOULD PROVIDE US IS I THINK, UH, THE ABILITY TO CAPTURE THAT ADDITIONAL VALUE THAT IN PARTICULAR TRANSITIONING HOUSEHOLDS FROM GAS TO ALL ELECTRIC HEAT PUMPS WOULD, WOULD OFFER.
SO I JUST LIKE TO KIND OF GIVE THAT, THAT PRIMER ON HOW WE THINK ABOUT INCENTIVE SETTING.
'CAUSE IT'S A REALLY INTERESTING MATH PROBLEM FOR ME.
MY BACKGROUND IS IN ENGINEERING AND UM, AND IT'S BEEN A REALLY BIG CHALLENGE AS, AS I HAVE WORKED THROUGH WHAT
[02:30:01]
THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PORTFOLIO LOOKS LIKE.SO BEYOND OUR INCENTIVES, WE ACTUALLY HA HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING WITH THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY ON THIS PROJECT OVER THE LAST YEAR.
AND WE'RE REALLY GRATEFUL THAT THEY BROUGHT US INTO THE FOLD.
THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO, BUT WE'RE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO START ALREADY ON SOME OF THE, ON SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE PLANS.
SO I JUST WANNA SHARE WITH YOU THAT OVER THE LAST YEAR WE'VE, WE'VE HOSTED FOUR DIFFERENT CONTRACTOR TRAININGS, UM, ABOUT HEAT PUMPS.
WE'VE BROUGHT IN DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS AND INDEPENDENT ORGANIZATIONS LIKE SPEAR, UM, WHICH IS THE SOUTHWEST PARTNERSHIP FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY AS A RESOURCE, UM, TO HOST THESE CONTRACTOR TRAININGS AND TRAIN OUR CONTRACTORS IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE A SALES PITCH TO THEM, BUT PROVIDES THEM WITH, YOU KNOW, NEUTRAL THIRD PARTY DATA.
UM, WE ALSO OFFER, ADDITIONALLY, WE OFFER CONTRACTOR REIMBURSEMENTS FOR EQUIPMENT AND FIELD STAFF TRAINING.
SO EVEN IF WE'RE NOT HOLDING CENTRALIZED TRAINING, WE REALLY ENCOURAGE OUR CONTRACTORS TO BE UP ON THE LATEST AND GREATEST IN THEIR FIELD AND THE TECHNOLOGY.
THIS PAST YEAR WE LAUNCHED, UM, A NEW CONSTRUCTION PILOT, WHICH WAS FOCUSED ON HEAT PUMP HOT WATER HEATERS, WHICH WE HAVEN'T TALKED MUCH ABOUT IN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT ARE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY.
UM, AND WE INSTALLED SEVERAL OF THOSE IN A HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, UM, SITE.
AND, UH, FINALLY WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF BRINGING ON A REPORTING AND EVALUATION PARTNER.
UM, A THIRD PARTY EMNV IS KIND OF WHAT THE INDUSTRY TERM IS, UM, TO HELP US CREATE A REALLY, UM, AIRTIGHT STRUCTURE FOR, UM, FOR CREATING THOSE INCENTIVES AND ATTACHING THEM DIRECTLY TO THE OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE DRIVING TOWARDS.
SO THOSE ARE ALL THE SORT OF THINGS AND THAT WE THINK ABOUT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HOW TO MEET THE, THE LETTER OF THE HEAT PUMP, AS WELL AS ENSURE THAT WE'RE WE'RE MOVING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE OUTCOMES THAT ARE OUTLINED IN THE GENERATION PLAN.
UM, I'M GONNA HOLD ON THAT MOMENT FOR A SECOND, OR ON THAT POINT FOR A SECOND BECAUSE THE COST EFFECTIVENESS IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME.
AS I NOTED AND AS KABA, OR SORRY, CHAIR WHITE, I'M SO SORRY.
UM, AS CHAIR WHITE NOTED, UM, OUR CURRENT GENERATION PLAN TIES US TO MEGAWATTS SAVINGS.
SO THE WAY THAT WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE WAY THE SIZE OF INCENTIVES IS ABOUT WHAT IS GOING TO CREATE MEGAWATT SAVINGS, AND THERE ARE MANY PAPERS DONE EVEN IN OUR CLIMATE ZONE THAT SUGGESTS THAT TRANSITIONING FROM NATURAL GAS TO AN ALL ELECTRIC HEAT PUMP PRODUCES ZERO SAVINGS, IF NOT NEGATIVE MEGAWATT SAVINGS.
SO THAT'S A REAL CHALLENGE FOR US AS WE THINK ABOUT HOW TO INCENTIVIZE HEAT PUMPS.
WE AGREE, WE AGREE WITH THE MISSION, RIGHT, OF WANTING TO DECARBONIZE AND THAT IS A BIG REASON WHY WE ARE PUSHING TO TRANSITION TO A GREENHOUSE GAS FOCUS RATHER THAN A MEGAWATT FOCUS.
UM, IN THAT SAME VEIN, WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL AS WE ADVANCE NEW TECHNOLOGIES, IN PARTICULAR FROM AN EQUITY LENS.
UM, HOW IS THIS GOING TO IMPACT CUSTOMER BILLS? SO THERE IS A STUDY BEING DONE IN ABILENE RIGHT NOW, NOT QUITE THE SAME CLIMATE ZONE, BUT CLOSE WHERE THEY ARE DOING, UH, A LONG-TERM BILLS COMPARISON OF PEOPLE WHO TRANSITION FROM GAS TO HEAT PUMPS.
UM, BUT RIGHT NOW THE EARLY RESULTS OF THAT STUDY ARE INDICATING THAT THEY'RE NOT QUITE A PARODY.
AND SO EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY NOT BE USING AS MUCH ENERGY OVERALL, YOU KNOW, MMBTU OVERALL, RIGHT? WHETHER THEY'RE ELECTRICITY OR GAS WITH A HEAT PUMP, YOUR BILLS ARE LIKELY TO MAY GO UP IF YOU TRANSITION FROM GAS TO A HEAT PUMP.
NOW, I WILL TELL YOU, IN MY OWN HOME HERE IN AUSTIN, I WENT THROUGH OUR WHOLE HOME PROGRAM RECENTLY AND I DID TRANSITION.
SO WE TRANSITIONED TO A HEAT PUMP.
WE DID HAVE TO DO AN ELECTRICAL UPGRADE.
UM, MY HUSBAND AND I ARE BOTH ENGINEERS, SO WE DID A LOT OF THE TRENCHING AND RUNNING THE CONDUIT OURSELVES, BUT I WOULD NOT EXPECT OUR AVERAGE CUSTOMER TO BE DOING THAT.
AND IT COULD HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY MORE EXPENSIVE HAD WE NOT KIND OF DONE A LOT OF THE WORK OURSELVES.
SO I JUST WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT AS WE THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, DO WE NEED TO GO ALL IN ON HEAT PUMPS? THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, IS 75% ADOPTION THE ANSWER, LIKE THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT WE ARE ALSO GRAPPLING WITH.
'CAUSE THEY'RE, THERE IS A SORT OF MATRIX OF COMPETING PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE TO BALANCE, BUT THEY'RE ALL REALLY IMPORTANT TO US.
AND SO, UM, WE ARE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT FINDING THE RIGHT SIZE OF,
[02:35:01]
OF INCENTIVE AND THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF PRESSURE TO APPLY.SO AS NOTED, WHAT I REALLY APPRECIATED ABOUT THE HOLISTIC NATURE OF THIS STUDY IS THAT IT DIDN'T JUST FOCUS ON, LIKE, THE ANSWER THAT CAME OUT OF IT WAS NOT JUST, HEY, AUSTIN ENERGY, YOU NEED TO HAVE A LARGER INCENTIVE, RIGHT? THAT'S, I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT BECAUSE THAT'S, I I'M NOT EVEN REALLY SURE THAT THAT IS THE SOLUTION, RIGHT? I THINK THAT THE SOLUTION CAN BE MULTIPLE MULTIFOLD.
SO NUMBER ONE, AND I THINK ZACH REALLY MADE THIS POINT REALLY WELL, IS THAT CUSTOMER OUTREACH AND EDUCATION IS A REALLY BIG GAP.
AND I WENT WITH A HEAT PUMP BECAUSE I EAT SLEEP AND BREATHE IN THIS SPACE, AND I WANNA WALK THE WALK, RIGHT? BUT I, IT TOOK, IT WAS A LONG SALES CYCLE FOR ME.
I MEAN, I TOOK MONTHS TO DECIDE WHAT WAS THE RIGHT APPROACH AND HOW MUCH WERE WE WILLING TO SPEND.
AND I KNOW THAT I DROVE OUR CONTRACTOR CRAZY, UM, BUT THEY WERE PATIENT WITH ME BECAUSE I RUN THIS PROGRAM.
UM, BUT ANYWAY, SO THE AVERAGE CUSTOMER ISN'T GONNA INVEST THAT, RIGHT? THE AVERAGE CUSTOMER HAS, THEIR AC HAS GONE OUT AND IT'S AUGUST AND THEY'VE GOT TWO KIDS AND THEY'RE WORKING FROM HOME AND THEY CAN'T, THEY CANNOT STAY IN A HOTEL, RIGHT? THEY CAN'T CRASH AT THEIR MOM'S HOUSE OR WHATEVER, RIGHT? AND THEY JUST NEED IT REPLACED TOMORROW.
AND WHEN THEY'RE, WHEN YOU'RE UNDER THAT KIND OF PRESSURE AND YOUR CONTRACTOR COMES TO YOU AND THEY SAY, OOH, BUT THERE'S THIS SHINY THING THAT'S JUST A COUPLE THOUSAND DOLLARS MORE, YOU KNOW, I WOULD BE SKEPTICAL, RIGHT? I WOULD BE LIKE, OH, YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO SELL ME.
YOU KNOW, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THE CAR, THE CAR THING WAS, BUT THE RHINO BLASTS OR WHATEVER THEY USED TO SELL.
UM, SO I THINK US GETTING AHEAD OF IT AND REALLY PARTNERING WITH THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY WHO CAN SERVE AS A NEUTRAL AND OBJECTIVE THIRD PARTY FOR COMMUNICATING TO CUSTOMERS ABOUT THIS IS A REALLY BIG OPPORTUNITY.
ANOTHER THING THAT WE ARE SENSITIVE TO IS WE ARE THE ELECTRIC UTILITY.
AND IF WE RUN AROUND TELLING CUSTOMERS, HEY, YOU SHOULD GO ALL ELECTRIC.
PEOPLE WON'T THINK THAT WE ARE OPERATING IN GOOD FAITH.
SO I THINK IT'S OUR, IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SUPPORT THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY BY PROVIDING DATA, LIKE REAL DATA ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN HOUSES THAT HAVE TRANSITIONED AND, UM, AND SUPPORTING THEM IN THAT WAY AND THEN FOLLOWING THEIR LEAD AND ENSURING THAT CUSTOMERS HAVE ACCESS TO THIS SORT OF NEUTRAL AND OBJECTIVE ADVICE.
THE SECOND, WHICH WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A LITTLE BIT ALREADY, IS CONTRACTOR ENGAGEMENT.
ONE OF THE SUPERPOWERS OF AUSTIN ENERGY AND OF CES IN PARTICULAR IS OUR VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH CONTRACTORS.
AND THAT'S TRUE ACROSS ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS. UM, SO AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'VE ALREADY PROVIDED SOME HEAT PUMP TRAINING AND RESOURCES AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO OFFER THAT CREATING NETWORKS FOR INSTALLERS TO CONNECT WITH OTHER TRADES SO THAT YOU CAN BRIDGE THIS GAP A LITTLE MORE EASILY SO THAT PEOPLE LIKE ME AREN'T DIGGING TRENCHES IN THEIR YARD AND TRYING TO LIKE SET A PANEL AND THEN CALLING MY ELECTRICIAN PRINT TO LIKE DO THE, YOU KNOW, THE MAIN PART OF THE WORK, RIGHT? LIKE, I WANT PEOPLE, I WANT THAT TO BE SEAMLESS FOR THE CUSTOMER.
I THINK THAT ADOPTION WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR CONTRACTORS TO SELL AND IT WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR CUSTOMERS TO MAKE THE DECISION.
UM, AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, OF COURSE I'VE KIND OF, I'VE KIND OF BEAT IT TO DEATH SO I WON'T GO INTO ANY MORE DETAIL ON IT.
BUT AGAIN, CONTINUOUSLY REVISITING OUR PROGRAM DESIGN AND INCENTIVE SIZING.
AND WE ARE REALLY, REALLY WORKING HARD IN EES RIGHT NOW TO MOVE IN A VERY CLEAR AND TRANSPARENT ANALYTICAL DIRECTION.
I THINK IT HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE IN THE PAST MOSTLY JUST BECAUSE OF HOW BROAD OUR PORTFOLIO IS TO HAVE THAT LEVEL OF, YOU KNOW, CLEAR CUT AND DRY ANALYSIS, UM, AND TRANSPARENCY.
AND SO THAT IS THE DIRECTION THAT WE ARE WORKING ON AND THAT IS WHY WE ARE BRINGING ON, UH, AND EMNV TO SUPPORT THAT EFFORT.
SO, UM, AND THAT WILL ALSO ALLOW US, I'LL JUST MAKE A FLAG FOR THIS, THAT WILL ALSO ALLOW US A CLEARER FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING TECHNOLOGIES IN THE FUTURE.
'CAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS AS I ALLUDED TO EARLIER THAT REALLY, REALLY STRIKES ME IN THIS FIELD VERSUS SOLAR IS THERE ARE, THERE ARE A VAST NUMBER OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT PEOPLE ARE CONVEYING AS BEING ENERGY EFFICIENCY ADVANCING OR WEATHERIZATION ADVANCING.
AND IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO SNIFF OUT WHERE THE HIGH QUALITY IS, RIGHT? AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO BE ON THE LEADING EDGE OF THIS INDUSTRY AND WE THINK THAT CREATING A CLEAR AND CONSISTENT FRAMEWORK BY WHICH WE CAN MEASURE RESULTS AND CONNECT INCENTIVES TO OUTCOMES IS, IS OUR BEST PATHWAY FOR THAT.
SO, BUT THAT, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS AND, UH, OTHERWISE
[02:40:01]
I'LL LET YOU GUYS HAVE A GOOD NIGHT.UM, I, I'M GONNA PITCH IT TO OTHERS FOR QUESTIONS FIRST, BUT I WANTED TO JUST SAY I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT THIS WORK HAS HAPPENED.
I HAVE A HOT WATER HEAT PUMP MYSELF, AND I, I DID GET A COUPLE QUOTES FOR THE HVAC SYSTEM AND I WILL SAY THAT BOTH OF THOSE, I HAD TO GO TO MULTIPLE CONTRACTORS TO FIND ANYBODY WHO WAS WILLING TO TELL ME ANYTHING OTHER THAN YOU DON'T WANNA HEAT PUMP.
SO I'M GLAD THAT IS CHANGING AND I'M GLAD Y'ALL ARE DOING THE, THE EDUCATION WORK.
UM, WHO HAS QUESTIONS? THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, SO FOR A RESIDENTIAL MULTIFAMILY ON THAT GREENHOUSE GAS METRIC, I GUESS LIKE FROM A PERCENTAGE WISE, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THAT REPRESENT? BECAUSE IF YOU WANT TO, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SWITCHING FROM A, JUST A MEGAWATT SAVINGS TO SAND A METRIC SHOULD BE GREENHOUSE GAS.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, MY WIFE AND I WERE PLANNING ON, YOU KNOW, TEARING DOWN OUR 1949 HOUSE AND, AND GOING COMPLETELY CARBON FREE OR NO GAS OR WHATEVER, RIGHT? UM, AND SO IF WE SAY WE'RE GONNA SWITCH TO SOME OTHER METRIC, BUT REALLY IN THE END IS THAT WHAT PART OF THE PORTFOLIO IS THIS? GREENHOUSE GASES FROM RESIDENTIAL SINGLE FAMILY MULTIFAMILY? IT'S MOSTLY FROM RESIDENTIAL SINGLE FAMILY.
UM, SO ABOUT 70%, I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE DATA IS ACTUALLY PRETTY HARD TO PIN DOWN.
WE SPOKE LAST NIGHT AT RMC AND TEXAS GAS SERVICE WAS THERE AND THEY ALSO DON'T KNOW HOW MANY HOUSES IN AUSTIN HAVE GAS HEATING.
SO, UM, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT BASED ON OUR ECA DATA THAT WE ESTIMATE THAT ABOUT 70%.
AND ALSO WHAT OUR, UM, THIRD PARTY, UH, ANALYST WHO, WHO WE BROUGHT IN TO DO A MARKET POTENTIAL STUDY FOR THE, UM, GEN PLAN ALSO KIND OF TOLD US BASED ON METER DATA IS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 70% OF OUR RESIDENTIAL SINGLE FAMILY SPACE IS NATURAL GAS HEATING.
UM, NOW WHEN YOU ZOOM OUT, THE NUMBERS THAT WE SEE ALSO BASED ON ECAD DATA ARE THAT ABOUT 50% OF UNITS, LIKE RESIDENTIAL UNITS IN AUSTIN ARE NATURAL GAS VERSUS, UM, AND THE OTHER 50% ELECTRIC AND THAT LIKELY INCLUDES MULTI-FAMILY.
AND MOST MULTI-FAMILY, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MAYBE SOME VERY SMALL COMPLEXES OR QUITE FANCY, YOU KNOW, COMPLEXES DOWNTOWN ARE, ARE GONNA BE ELECTRIC.
SO, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT RETROFITS 'CAUSE AS WE TALKED ABOUT YOU NUMERATED DIFFICULT CHALLENGES, BUT FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION, LIKE WHAT'S, WHAT ABOUT THE NUCLEAR OPTION OF SAYING, YOU KNOW, THE CODE BUILDING CODE? SO I'M REALLY GLAD YOU BRING THAT UP BECAUSE, UM, WE HAVE BEEN IN THE PROCESS OF, OF ADOPTING THE 2024 IECC CODE.
UM, AND BECAUSE OF SOME PROHIBITIONS AT THE STATE LEVEL, WE ARE UNABLE TO MANDATE, UM, THAT NEW CONSTRUCTION BE ELECTRIC.
I WAS SCHOOLED ON THAT BY PAUL ROBBINS LAST NIGHT, SO I'LL NEVER FORGET IT NOW,
HOWEVER, WE ARE PUSHING FOR A PROVISION IN THE CODE THAT WOULD, UM, REQUIRE EVERYTHING TO BE ELECTRIC READY.
SO WHAT THAT WOULD MEAN IS THE PANEL SIZING, THE, YOU KNOW, THE CON A LOT OF THE CONDUIT, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS WILL BE STANDARD WHEN YOU, UM, WHEN YOU BUILD A NEW HOUSE.
THAT SAID, I THINK THE RMI STUDY THAT, THAT ZACH POINTED OUT IS THAT IT IS SIGNIFICANTLY CHEAPER TO GO ALL ELECTRIC FROM THE GET GO.
SO BECAUSE JUST RUNNING THE NATURAL GAS INFRASTRUCTURE IS PRETTY EXPENSIVE.
AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, UPFRONT IT'S EMBEDDED INTO A LONG-TERM MORTGAGE, WHICH IS WAY DIFFERENT THAN PAYING FOR RETROFIT.
AND THE MARGINAL COST OF A 200 AMP PANEL VERSUS A ONE 50 AMP PANEL WHEN YOU'RE BUYING IT IS NOT HIGH.
BUT SWAPPING IT OUT WHEN YOU HAVE THE ADDITIONAL LABOR AND THE PERMITS, AND SOMETIMES IT CAN TAKE A REALLY LONG TIME, UM, 'CAUSE IT CAN REQUIRE SHUTDOWN AND SO FORTH.
THOSE ARE, THOSE CAN BE MORE PROHIBITIVE.
BUT WE SEE GOING TO A GREENHOUSE GAS METRIC AS A WAY THAT WE COULD SUPPORT THAT, LIKE INCENTIVES OR, YOU KNOW, THAT WE COULD MORE EFFECTIVELY SUPPORT THOSE TYPES OF, OF, UM, BARRIERS.
[02:45:04]
GOOD QUESTIONS.OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, WELL I'VE GOT A FEW.
UM, ON SLIDE NINE THERE WAS, UH, SOMETHING ABOUT NO CHANGE LOCALLY FOR EMISSIONS.
IS THAT REFERRING TO LIKE INDOOR AIR POLLUTION OR CAN, CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN THAT? OH YEAH.
ON THAT, ON THAT THE NO CHANGE OF EMISSIONS WAS BECAUSE THE SCENARIO WAS ELECTRIC RESISTANCE TO, UM, TO A HEAT PUMP.
SO, BUT IF IT'S USING LESS ELECTRICITY, THEN I MEAN THERE WOULD BE A REDUCTION IN EMISSIONS.
I GUESS THERE COULD BE SOME, BUT IT'S NOT GONNA BE LIKE A, YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE AVOIDING LIKE MULTIPLE TONS OF EMISSIONS OF THE GAS YOU'RE BURNING ON SITE.
BUT I WILL NOTE THAT IT SMALLER GREENHOUSE GAS METRIC FOR US WOULD CAPTURE, LIKE WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE IMPACT THAT BENEFICIAL ELECTRIFICATION WOULD HAVE ON A GREEN ON THE GREENHOUSE GASES OF, OF A PORTFOLIO, IT'S STILL RELATIVELY SMALL.
I MEAN, THAT DOESN'T, OUR INITIAL PASS DIDN'T INCLUDE EVS, BUT, UM, SO MEGAWATT SAVINGS CONTINUES TO BE LIKE THE LARGEST PORTION OF, OF THOSE GREENHOUSE GAS SAVINGS.
IT'S JUST THAT THERE IS A PIECE THAT YOU'RE MISSING AND THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T CAPTURE WITH THAT.
Y YEAH, I GUESS MY CONFUSION IS, 'CAUSE THAT IS UNDER THE ELECTRIC TO ELECTRIC, YOU KNOW, ELECTRIC RESISTANCE.
SO I WOULD'VE EXPECTED, I MEAN, THAT WOULD BE PROPORTIONAL TO HOWEVER THE REDUCTION IN ELECTRICITY USAGE.
I THINK WHAT WE'VE, WHAT ZACH HAD NOTED HERE IS THAT THERE ARE SOME IMPACTS AT THE UTILITY SCALE.
SO IT'S NO LOCAL, THERE'S NO LOCAL EMISSIONS REDUCTION.
I WOULD JUST MAYBE SUGGEST A CHANGE IN HOW YOU'RE COMMUNICATING THAT.
'CAUSE IT WAS CONFUSING TO ME UTILITY SCALE.
LIKE I GET NO CHANGE IN THE HOME, BUT A CHANGE FROM ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION.
UM, THE INVERTER BASED, UH, YOU KNOW, AS, AS YOU KNOW, I WAS ALSO AT THE SPEAR CONFERENCE.
UM, AND HEARING THAT, YOU KNOW, INVERTER BASED IS KEY FOR, UM, MAKING SURE THAT HEAT PUMP ADOPTION DOESN'T, UH, MAKE THE PEAK DEMAND MORE OF A PROBLEM.
IS AE REQUIRING INVERTER BASED HEAT PUMPS FOR THE INCENTIVE.
WE, UH, WE SIZE THE INCENTIVE TO THE SEER RATING AND THE INVERTER BASED ONES HAVE A HIGHER SEER RATING.
I GUESS A SUGGESTION, IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S KEY FOR, FOR THE DEMAND ISSUES THAT MAYBE THE BASELINE SHOULD BE WHEREVER THE INVERTER BASED CUTOFF IS SO THAT WE'RE NOT ADDING, YOU KNOW, ADDRESSING ONE PROBLEM BUT ADDING TO ANOTHER, I DON'T KNOW.
YEAH, I MEAN, I, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO LOOK INTO IT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, BUT MY EMPIRICAL AND DATA KNOWLEDGE WOULD SAY THAT IF WE, SO, I MEAN, I GUESS I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND YOUR, YOUR RECOMMENDATION.
ARE YOU SAYING THAT SPECIFICALLY FOR HEAT PUMPS, WE WOULDN'T INCENTIVIZE THE NON INVERTER BASED, BUT WE WOULD STILL INCENTIVIZE TRADITIONAL HVAC AT THE SAME SR.
I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD INCENTIVIZE THAT AT ALL.
YOU DON'T THINK THAT WE SHOULD INCENTIVIZE TRADITIONAL HVAC UNITS AT ALL? NO, I THINK WE'RE PAST THAT.
UM, IT'S JUST RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE
UM, IF YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE OTHER UPGRADES, CAN YOU QUOTE, LIKE, LET'S SAY YOU'VE ALREADY DONE IN LIKE THE LAST FEW YEARS, THE ATTIC INSTALLATION, YOU KNOW, THE CEILING, THE TESTING YOUR DUCTS, SEALING THE DUCTS.
CAN YOU THEN GET THAT HIGHER REBATE FROM WHOLE HOME IF YOU THEN GO TO MAKE THE NO, THE, THE WHOLE HOME INCENTIVE IS DESIGNED TO DRIVE PEOPLE TOWARD A WHOLE, LIKE TOWARD EVALUATING THEIR HOME SYSTEM.
UM, AND BECAUSE AGAIN, MOST PEOPLE MAKING THE DECISION ARE MAKING IT WHEN IT'S HOT AND THEY'RE UNCOMFORTABLE AND THEY DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO BRING IN ALL OF THE DIFFERENT STEPS TO INSULATE THEIR HOME AND ALL.
IT'S A MUCH LONGER PROCESS TO DO WHOLE HOME AUTHORIZATION PLUS AN HVAC UPGRADE.
AND SO THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT YOU COULD APPROACH IT, BUT THE WAY THAT WE'VE KIND OF DETERMINED IS THAT IT MAKES MORE SENSE FOR US TO HAVE A MORE SIZABLE INCENTIVE IN THE WHOLE HOME PROGRAM THAN IT, THAN FOR THE DIRECT
[02:50:01]
APPLIANCE PURCHASE.AND MAYBE I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING, IS THAT AMOUNT, THAT THE 800 TO 1200 FOR THE WHOLE HOME, IS THAT ALSO COVERING LIKE THE ATTIC INSTALLATION AND SUCH, OR ARE THEY GETTING SEPARATE REBATE FOR THAT? THERE ARE SOME SMALLER INCENTIVES FOR THAT IN ADDITION TO THAT FOR, FOR ATTIC IN INSTALLATION AND DUCT WORK.
WHAT'S THE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN HAVE THIS DATA, BUT DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE KIND OF AVERAGE COST OF A HEAT PUMP HVAC SYSTEM TODAY IN AUSTIN? IT IS, IT IS VERY VARIABLE.
AND WE DO HAVE, I, MY STAFF ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON PULLING TOGETHER EFFECTIVE PUBLIC FACING DATA.
I DO KNOW THAT THE HEAT PUMP STUDY DID TAKE SOME, I WAS IT ANECDOTAL OR NATIONWIDE DATA? YEAH, I THINK IT WAS SOME NATION DATA.
SO WE DO HAVE, WE HAVE A LOT OF NUMBERS LOCALLY.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY, WELL, I SHOULDN'T SAY UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF, OF ORGANIZING THOSE INTO A TABLE THAT WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO SHARE WITH YOU GUYS.
BUT IT IS VERY, I JUST WILL SAY LIKE AS NOTED, IT'S NOT JUST LIKE HEAT PUMP IS OPTION A AND TRADITIONAL HVAC IS OPTION B.
THERE'S A LOT A BIG RANGE, RIGHT? SO THERE'S ALL OF THE SR DIFFERENCES.
THERE ARE NON INVERTER HEAT PUMPS AND INVERTER HEAT PUMPS, AND THE RANGE IS REALLY VARIABLE.
AND IN SOME CASES, INVERTER HEAT PUMPS ARE CHEAPER.
AT CERTAIN, CERTAIN SEARS, THE RANGE IS FROM LET'S SAY $0 DIFFERENT TO ABOUT 4,500 TO FIVE, SORRY.
AND SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT OUR INCENTIVES, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT STACKING INCENTIVES, RIGHT? SO IF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS OFFERING $2,000, UM, PER CUSTOMER FOR A HEAT PUMP, AND THEN IS THAT A TAX CREDIT? IT IS A, YES, IT'S A TAX CREDIT.
UM, AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE, THERE MIGHT BE A VEHICLE FOR TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IT EVEN IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE TAX LIABILITY, BUT I'M NOT SURE.
UM, BUT UH, 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT THE IRA HAD A LOT OF THAT AS YOU, UH, CHAIR WHITE KNOW, AND, AND I'M SURE SOME OF YOU OTHERS OF YOU KNOW, THAT CCO, THE STATE ENERGY CONSERVATION OFFICE HAS ALSO BEEN, THEY'VE APPLIED FOR AND WILL BE AWARDED A LARGE SUM OF IRA MONEY THAT WILL GO INTO THINGS LIKE HEAT PUMPS AND HOME EFFICIENCY MEASURES.
UM, AND I IMAGINE THOSE, THOSE FUNDS WILL START HITTING THE STREETS IN 2026.
UM, BUT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT IT, WE THINK OKAY, IF MAYBE THE RANGE IS 4,500 TO $5,000 IS THE HIGH END OF THE DELTA, IF WE ARE CLOSING THE GAP UP TO $3,200, LIKE 3,200 OF THAT ARE COVERED BY THE COMBINATION OF OUR, UM, OUR, OUR INCENTIVES AND THE FEDERAL INCENTIVES, WE'RE GETTING PRETTY CLOSE.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN WE HAVE, THAT'S IF YOU GET THE WHOLE HOME CORRECT.
AND I, AND I WILL SAY, UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE DO THE WHOLE HOME.
I UNDERSTAND THAT IN YOUR UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCE, MAYBE THAT'S NOT ON THE, I JUST WONDER IF IT'S THAT UNIQUE, RIGHT? BECAUSE WOULDN'T PEOPLE BE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE ALREADY DONE OTHER RETROFITS DATA DOES NOT SUGGEST THAT REALLY, THAT THE AVERAGE PERSON IS INSTALLING ATTIC INSULATION.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT YOU SHOULD BE SURPRISED BY THAT MISSED OPPORTUNITY.
I MEAN, GET YOUR ATTIC INSULATION.
MY STU SPEECH SINCE I CAME INTO THIS POSITION IS THAT I AM HERE TO MAKE ATTIC INSULATION SEXY AGAIN AND JUST DON'T TOUCH IT.
JUST, WELL, THE QUOTES I GOT WERE LIKE EIGHT $18,000, WHICH IS WHY I ASKED.
'CAUSE THESE INCENTIVES, UM, YOU KNOW, VERSUS, WELL, MY SYSTEM'S NOT BROKEN.
AND I THINK THAT'S, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW, MAYBE THAT'S, MAYBE THAT'S THE APPROACH.
IT'S WAIT, WAIT TILL IT BREAKS.
BUT IN A LOT OF SITUATIONS, I THINK HVAC SYSTEMS GET KIND OF COBBLED TOGETHER FOR A LONG TIME.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME CONTRACTORS, EVEN IF YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, A REFRIGERANT LEAKAGE, THEY'LL JUST KINDA TOP YOU OFF AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER REASON WE WOULD LOVE TO MOVE TO GREENHOUSE GAS.
SO, UM, THESE ARE THINGS THAT I THINK ESPECIALLY IN LIKE RENTAL UNITS YEAH, YOU PROBABLY ARE GONNA SEE THAT MORE OFTEN.
UM, I CAN, I CAN VOUCH, I CAN VOUCH FOR THAT ONE
SO I WAS CONSIDERING IT AS A VOLUNTARY, YOU KNOW, I, BECAUSE I WANNA GET OFF GAS, IT'S MY LAST GAS APPLIANCE, UM, AND I WANT OUT.
UH, SO THE, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY LIKE THESE INCENTIVES, IF IF IT'S NOTHING OR $18,000 ARE NOT, AND
[02:55:01]
I GET THAT YOU'RE NOT GONNA SPEND IT, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE NEAR THAT.AND I WOULD JUST NOTE, LIKE I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMITMENT TO IT.
I ALSO SHARE THAT AND UM, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY SPENT BEYOND WHAT WE WOULD HAVE NORMALLY.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I CAN OFFER A FEW THINGS.
WE DO HAVE A LOW INTEREST LOAN THROUGH VELOCITY CREDIT UNION THAT'S AVAILABLE.
IT'S LIKE 3%, THREE TO 4% INTEREST, WHICH IS LIKE GOLD, UM, THAT YOU CAN DO HOME ENERGY UPGRADES WITH.
UM, SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT WE TRY TO HELP BRIDGE THE GAP.
WE, OF COURSE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF IF WE GIVE REALLY LARGE INCENTIVES TO FOLKS WHO ARE VOLUNTARILY REPLACING THEIR SYSTEMS, DOES THAT, LIKE HOW DOES THAT AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE INCENTIVES TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE WHO ARE HAVING TO REPLACE THEIR SYSTEMS WITH A MORE EFFICIENT SYSTEM? RIGHT? AND SO I THINK IT'S SOMEWHAT OF A PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT, LIKE WHERE SHOULD WE BE INVESTING THE MOST MONEY OR THE MOST ENERGY? AND I THINK THAT JUST CONTINUED, THAT'S A CONTINUED DIALOGUE I THINK BETWEEN AUSTIN ENERGY AND THE COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT THE MARGINAL VALUE OF SOMEBODY WHO LIVES, WHO IS IN A LESS FINANCIALLY SECURE POSITION, UM, GOING UP TO LIKE 16 C VERSUS WHATEVER THEIR CURRENT AC IS AT IS PROBABLY IS, IS HIGHER STILL.
RIGHT? THEN YOU TRANSITIONING YOUR HIGH EFFICIENCY AC TO A HEAT PUMP.
WELL, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT MINE'S NOT THAT THAT HIGH EFFICIENT.
IT'S NOT WHAT IT'S IT'S NOT NEW.
AND THE REASON I WAS LOOKING AT IT IS THERE WAS A QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT I HAD A REFRIGERANT LEAKAGE.
AND SO GIVEN THE COST, I DIDN'T DO IT, BUT THAT WAS WHY I, THAT WAS WHAT SPURRED IT.
'CAUSE I WAS LIKE, I DON'T WANNA BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO JUST KEEPS, YOU KNOW, PUMPING YEAH.
WELL, WE WEREN'T EVEN THE ONE WAS LIKE, I THINK HE MIGHT HAVE A LEAKAGE, BUT I COULD JUST TOP YOU OFF.
AND LIKE, I WAS LIKE, LET'S HOLD ON THAT I GUESS SOMEBODY ELSE TO LOOK.
YOU JUST NEEDED TO LIKE ADJUST, CLEAN YOUR SOMETHING ELSE OR WHATEVER.
THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE THAT NEEDED DOING SO.
WELL, AND I WILL SAY, I DO JUST WANNA SAY LIKE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IN MY JOURNEY THROUGH THIS POSITION AND THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS, I'VE REALLY RECOGNIZED IS NEEDED REALLY TERRIBLY IN THE INDUSTRY.
AND THERE ACTUALLY USED TO BE A LOT MORE ROBUST OFFERING OF THIS LIKE 10 YEARS AGO.
BUT IS WE REALLY NEED, UM, TO INCLUDE MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS IN OUR PORTFOLIO BECAUSE, AND, AND AGAIN, THIS IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF THE REFRIGERANT LEAKAGE, BECAUSE OF PRO, BECAUSE OF ISSUES WITH ADOPTION OF HEAT PUMPS BEING, BEING THAT THERE IS A LOT OF CONCERN, THERE IS ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE REQUIRED IN PARTICULAR TO HONOR YOUR WARRANTY.
UM, SO BECAUSE OF THOSE THINGS, WE ARE REALLY AWARE OF THE NECESSITY OF MAINTENANCE AND WE THINK THAT THAT IS A REALLY BIG OPPORTUNITY FOR US, A GAP FOR US TO FILL.
AND HOPEFULLY MAINTENANCE DOES NOT INCLUDE, JUST PUT SOME MORE REFRIGERANT IN AND WELL RIGHT.
MAINTENANCE SEE YOU NEXT YEAR, WHICH WAS WHAT THE ONE GUY TOLD ME ACTUALLY FIXING IT.
RIGHT? NO, ALL MY LAST QUESTION WAS JUST AROUND THAT STUDY ON THE BILLS, UM, I WAS WONDERING IF THERE'RE INCLUDING THE FIXED FEE, UM, AND I ASKED 'CAUSE OF MY SITUATION, YOU KNOW, UM, I PAY THIS $30 A MONTH FOR THE METER FEE EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR, AND THEN I USE HEATING FOR A FEW OF THOSE MONTHS.
IS THAT THEY DO, THE STUDY BEING DONE IN ABILENE IS A BILLS BASED.
SO THE WHOLE, NOW IT'S NOT TEXAS GAS SERVICE IS NOT THE SUPPLIER.
I THINK IT'S, UM, OH, I FORGET THEIR NAME.
IT'S THE OTHER ONE IN AUSTIN AT, AT ATMOS.
SO YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE SPECIFICS OF THEIR FEES IS DIFFERENT, BUT, UM, BUT THE COMPARISON IS IN IT'S WHOLE BILLS.
AND THE POINT ABOUT THE METER FEE IS A BIG REASON FOR THE ANALYSIS.
UM, I WILL NOTE, 'CAUSE PAUL, 'CAUSE COMMISSIONER ROBBINS BROUGHT IT UP LAST NIGHT, THAT THERE IS COMMUNITY CONCERN ABOUT MOVING EVERYBODY OFF OF GAS OR NOT HAVING SECONDARY FUEL SOURCES IN HOMES.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE A URI OR AARA, IF PEOPLE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO AN ALTERNATIVE, THAT COULD BE A SOURCE OF CONCERN.
UM, I JUST FEEL OBLIGATED TO BRING IT UP ON BEHALF OF COMMISSIONER ROBBINS, BUT, BUT YOUR HVAC DOESN'T WORK EVEN IT'S TRUE.
IF HOURS OUT, YOU'D STILL DON'T HAVE HEAT.
BECAUSE YOUR AIR HANDLER IS RUNNING OFF OF ELECTRICITY.
SO ALL YOU END UP WITH A IN THAT SITUATION IS PEOPLE RUNNING THEIR COOK STOVES FOR HEAT, WHICH IS LIKE, SURE, BOY, I'D I'D RATHER FREEZE TO DEATH
UM, YOU FEEL LESS WOOZY, I SUPPOSE.
I, I AGREE WITH HIS POINT WAS THAT HE HAS A GAS FIREPLACE.
UM, OR, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK OF
[03:00:01]
COURSE THAT IS CERTAINLY NOT THE NORM IN AUSTIN.WELL THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, SOME, SINCE YOU'RE HERE, SARAH, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK.
I, I KNOW YOU'RE LEAVING AUSTIN ENERGY AND YOU'VE DONE A LOT OF GOOD WORK FOR THE UTILITY AND FOR OUR COMMUNITY, AND THIS IS JUST THE, THE LATEST EXAMPLE.
WELL, IT'S BEEN MY GREAT PLEASURE TO SERVE AND IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME TO HAVE WORKED WITH BRILLIANT FOLKS LIKE YOU GUYS.
AND SO I REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND, UH, KEEP IN TOUCH.
AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, I'M NOT LEAVING FOR ANY BAD REASONS.
I AM MOVING TO COLORADO TO TAKE CARE OF MY MOTHER, BUT I WOULD STAY AT AUSTIN ENERGY UNTIL THEY KICKED ME OUT OTHERWISE.
[2. Austin Climate Equity Plan Implementation Update – Braden Latham-Jones, Office of Sustainability]
AN UPDATE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN FOR US.BRADEN, I BET YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU WERE DOING GONNA DO THIS AT 9 0 8
I'M GLAD Y'ALL GET TO GO HOME.
HI, Y UH, I KNOW IT HAS BEEN A LONG NIGHT, SO I'M GONNA TRY TO KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET, BUT MY NAME IS BRADEN LATON JONES.
I'M THE CLIMATE PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY HERE AT THE CITY.
UH, AS THE CHAIR MENTIONED, I'M GONNA BE TALKING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT OUR IN IMPLEMENTATION WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN CONDUCTING OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS AND MONTHS.
AND WE'RE GONNA BE GOING ON THROUGH THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS INTO NEXT YEAR.
I'M GONNA START, UH, WITH SOME BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT OF EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY IMPLEMENTATION WORK, UH, AND DIVE MORE SPECIFICALLY INTO THE ONE ASPECT OF THAT WORK, WHICH IS GONNA BE AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN IN EVEN GREATER DETAIL.
I'LL GO INTO SOME OF OUR PRIORITIZATION EXERCISES WE'RE CURRENTLY CONDUCTING, GOING INTO THAT PLAN, UH, AND THEN I'LL WRAP UP WITH SOME NEXT STEPS.
YOU CAN SAVE SOME TIME FOR QUESTIONS.
SO FOR CONTEXT, UH, IN JULY OF THIS YEAR, COUNSEL PASSED A RESOLUTION THAT GAVE STAFF DIRECTION TO BRING BACK TWO ITEMS TO COUNCIL.
ONE OF WHICH, AS WE ALL KNOW, WAS THE COMPREHENSIVE BOND PACKAGE, UH, THAT FUNDS CLIMATE AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND OTHER PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.
THE SECOND WILL BE THE FOCUS OF MY TOPIC TODAY, UH, AS A COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM, DETAILING AND PROVIDING A DETAILED AND THOROUGH MEANS FOR INVESTING IN OUR CLIMATE.
BEFORE GOING INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION STUFF, IT FEELS IMPORTANT TO SIT HERE FOR A SECOND.
THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF OUR CURRENT DASHBOARD, WHICH IS UPDATED AT THIS POINT AND AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE, AND GIVES US A PICTURE OF WHERE THE GOALS ARE OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UH, AS, UH, AS WE LOOK FORWARD, WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE IN ORDER TO KNOW WHERE WE NEED TO GO.
UM, AND SO AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THREE HAVE BEEN MARKED AS ON TRACK TO MEETING THAT GOAL.
UH, SEVEN ARE IN A CATEGORY CALLED NEED SUPPORT.
SO IT IS EITHER CLOSE TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE OR, YOU KNOW, GOING IN A REVERSE TRAJECTORY THAT WE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT WOULD, YOU KNOW, GUIDE US IN A BETTER DIRECTION.
UM, AND SO I, I SHARE THIS NOW.
I ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO GO TO THE DASHBOARD YOURSELVES AND DIVE INTO THE DETAIL AND CONTEXT THERE.
UM, AND, AND UNDERSTANDING WHERE WE ARE IN THE BROADER GOALS AND STRATEGIES PORTION OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
SO FOR THE CLIMATE, THE CLIMATE, UH, THE COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM, WE'RE CONSIDERING TWO MAJOR BUCKETS OF WORK FOR OUR OFFICE.
ONE IS PROGRAMMATIC ADJUSTMENTS.
THAT IS JUST WHAT, WHAT OBSTACLES HAVE WE IDENTIFIED THAT WE NEED TO OVERCOME IN ORDER FOR US TO INCREASE OUR CAPACITY FOR SUCCESS AS WE IMPLEMENT GOALS AND STRATEGIES WITHIN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UM, THAT IS AN ONGOING CONVERSATION.
IT'S TOO HALF BEGGED TO REALLY GET INTO HERE, BUT I HOPE IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS I'LL BE ABLE TO COME BACK AND GIVE YOU A MORE COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT THAT, UH, EXACTLY WHAT THOSE PROGRAMMATIC ADJUSTMENTS WOULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, BUT THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE HAPPENING WITHIN OUR OFFICE WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND WITH THE MANAGER'S OFFICE AT PRESENT.
UM, WHAT I'M HERE TO REALLY TALK ABOUT IS THE TWO YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN WILL BE A PRODUCT PROVIDED TO THE COUNCIL, TO THE PUBLIC, AND TO Y'ALL.
THAT ENCAPSULATES A LIST OF PROJECTS THAT WE BELIEVE ARE ACHIEVABLE WITHIN A TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME WITH, WITH RESPECT TO THE GOALS AND STRATEGIES OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN TO HELP US MOVE THAT FORWARD.
SO FIRST WE STARTED WITH, UH, WHAT PROJECTS EXIST IN THE CITY ACROSS DEPARTMENTS THAT HELP US WITH THOSE GOALS AND STRATEGIES.
WE TOOK A LOT FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THIS PROJECT.
[03:05:01]
VACATION EXERCISE HAS BEEN THROUGH THE HARD WORK THAT Y'ALL DID ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN.WE HAVE ALSO LOOKED AND INCORPORATED THE JSC RECOMMENDATIONS THAT Y'ALL HAVE PASSED.
UH, AND, UH, THE TEAM OF PEOPLE IN OUR OFFICE WHO ARE WORKING ON THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ARE, YOU KNOW, COMBING THROUGH THE OTHER DEPARTMENTAL PLANS WHERE RELEVANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE AREN'T MISSING ANYTHING, NOTHING'S FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS.
THESE WILL BE ADDED TO LIKELY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS AS WE CONTINUE DEPARTMENTAL WORKSHOPS WITH THOSE OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND THEY REVIEW OUR WORK AND, YOU KNOW, GIVE US A GOOD SENSE OF WHAT PROGRESS THEY HAVE MADE ON STUFF OR WHAT IS MOST VALUABLE FOR THEM TO INCLUDE.
SO ONCE WE HAVE IDENTIFIED A LIST OF SEVERAL HUNDRED POTENTIAL PROJECTS THAT COULD BE INCORPORATED INTO AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, UH, IT, IT'S OF COURSE CRITICAL TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO NARROW THAT DOWN INTO WHAT IS ACTUALLY ACHIEVABLE WITHIN A TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME.
SO THROUGH A LOT OF, UH, CONVERSATIONS WITH PEER CITIES AND OUR COLLEAGUES WITHIN, UH, OTHER NETWORKS SUCH AS THE URBAN SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTORS NETWORK, WE IDENTIFIED A TOOL THAT EXISTS THROUGH C 40.
UM, IT'S CALLED THE ACTION SELECTION AND PRIORITIZATION TOOL, OR ASAP TOOL.
AND WE'VE USED THAT AS OUR STARTING POINT FOR WHAT WE WILL DO IN OUR PRIORITIZATION WORK AHEAD.
UM, IT ALLOWS FOR US TO INCORPORATE A LOT OF LOCAL DATA AT A LOCAL PRIORITIES.
SO WE'RE PUTTING A LOT OF WHAT EXISTS IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN INTO THAT.
WE'RE INCORPORATING ALL ASPECTS OF THE EQUITY TOOL AND, UH, SEVERAL OVERARCHING STRATEGIES AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THE HEALTH AND HOUSING PRIORITIES ADDRESSED WITHIN THE CLIMATE PLAN.
THIS IS, UH, A BIT OF, UH, UH, BIG PICTURE.
LOOK AT HOW THE PRIORITIZATION PROCESS WILL LOOK, START TO FINISH.
SO WE ARE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW IN THE FIRST PHASE OF THIS, THAT THE YELLOW PORTION WHERE WE ARE INPUTTING ALL OUR LOCAL EMISSIONS DATA, OUR EMISSIONS INVENTORY, UH, AND GOING FROM THERE TO CO-BENEFITS CRITERIA, WE'RE ADDING IN A LOT.
THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THE EQUITY TOOL ASPECTS, THE OVERARCHING STRATEGIES, OTHER ASPECTS THAT WE ARE USING TO DEFINE THE CRITERIA ARE BEING INPUT, UH, INTO THAT SECTION.
UH, FEASIBILITY WILL ALSO BE CONSIDERED, AND THIS IS STUFF LIKE, DOES THE CITY HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO IMPLEMENT THIS? WHERE'S THE FINANCING AND FUNDING? IS IT AVAILABLE? IS IT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND OR POTENTIALLY THROUGH BONDS, DIFFERENT FUNDING CATEGORIES AND SO ON.
FROM THEN WE WILL GO FROM THERE.
WE WILL GO INTO THE ACTUAL PROCESS OF FILTERING DOWN THE SEVERAL HUNDRED LIST OF PROJECTS, UH, TO, UH, MUCH MORE ACHIEVABLE, MANAGEABLE LIST OF HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, 20 TO 30, MAYBE 30 TO 40, UH, DEPENDING ON WHAT FEELS RIGHT, WHAT LOOKS RIGHT BASED ON THIS ANALYSIS.
FROM THERE, WE GET THE ACTUAL SCORES AND RANKS OF ALL THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN FILTERED OUT.
WE DO THE COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW AND IDEALLY THEN THAT WE END UP WITH THAT MORE MANAGEABLE LIST THAT IS ACHIEVABLE IN A TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME.
WHEN THE PLAN IS COMPLETE, WE EXPECT THAT THE COMPONENTS OF THE PLAN WILL BE PROJECT DESCRIPTION.
SO WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT DOES.
UM, ALONG WITH A PRIORITIZATION OF THOSE LISTS, LIKE A RANKING, UH, IT WILL IDENTIFY WHICH DEPARTMENT IS TASKED WITH, UH, THE SUCCESS OF THAT PROJECT.
UH, IT'LL CON, IT'LL, UH, CONTAIN A GHD EMISSIONS REDUCTION ANALYSIS POTENTIAL FOR EACH OF THOSE PROJECTS LISTED, AS WELL AS A COST ANALYSIS, INCLUDING TOTAL COSTS AND POTENTIAL SAVINGS, UH, FUNDING PLANS FOR THOSE AND, AND INCLUDING FUNDING CATEGORIES IDENTIFIED.
NEXT STEPS FOR US IS TO GET THIS, THE PROGRAMMATIC ASPECTS DONE, UH, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT AND WE'RE READY TO MARCH FORWARD.
WE HOPE THAT THAT WILL BE FINALIZED BY JANUARY OF NEXT YEAR.
MY HOPE IS THEN THAT WE CAN COME BACK TO Y'ALL WITH THAT PRESENTATION TO GIVE YOU THAT INFORMATION AND UPDATE, UH, FOR A SECOND STATUS UPDATE.
AND THEN IDEALLY, ALL OF OUR WORK INTERNALLY AND WITH Y'ALL IS CONCLUDED, UH, IN MARCH OF NEXT YEAR, SO THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD INTO NEXT YEAR WITH THAT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AS OUR ROADMAP, HOPEFULLY.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS,
I THINK THIS IS GREAT, AND I THINK SOMEONE ELSE WHO DOESN'T HAVE A HOT MIC SHOULD GO ANY QUESTIONS? I CAN'T SEE EVERYBODY ONLINE, SO IF YOU GO AHEAD, ROGER.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION, AND THIS IS REALLY GREAT TO HEAR.
UH, IT'S REALLY GREAT TO HEAR THIS PROGRESS IS BEING MADE AND LIKE CONCRETE PROJECT IDEAS ARE GOING TO BE IDENTIFIED.
[03:10:01]
THE TIMELINE, YOU SAID IN MARCH THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN WILL BE PUBLISHED.IS THAT SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE LIKE, UM, LIKE ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL
AND SO WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE FULFILLING THE OBLIGATIONS THAT WE WERE GIVEN BY MAYOR AND COUNCIL BY DOING THIS.
SO I, I GUESS, UM, THE FOLLOW UP IS HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THE PLAN HAS TEETH? YEAH, I THINK MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK AND GIVING YOU ALL THAT INFORMATION, UM, SO THAT YOU CAN GIVE THAT INPUT, MAKE SURE THAT IT DOES HAVE THE TEETH BOTH IN ADVANCE OF IT BEING FINALIZED AND ONCE IT'S FINALIZED.
UM, AND I, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE APPROPRIATE FORMAT FOR THAT.
SO, ARE, ARE YOU PLANNING TO BRING US, I MEAN, I, I WOULD PERSONALLY LOVE TO SEE KIND OF THE LIST AND HOW THAT'S GETTING, UM, WINNOWED DOWN OR EVEN HOW THE LIST WAS DEFINED, UM, JUST BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, EACH, UH, STRATEGY WITHIN THE PLAN IS, AS, YOU KNOW, OFTEN INCLUDES BULLET POINTS THAT ACTUALLY ENCOMPASS WHAT COULD BE LIKE 10 PROGRAMS IN SOME CASES.
SO IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN SEE AT OUR NEXT MEETING? PERHAPS? IT COULD BE.
I MEAN, HONESTLY, IF OUR FIRST STEP WAS BASICALLY TO COPY PASTE THE WORK THAT Y'ALL DID WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN AND PUT IT INTO A DIFFERENT SPREADSHEET, RIGHT NOW WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WHAT WE LOOK AT IS VIABLE WITHIN A TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME.
SO WE'RE KIND OF, WE'RE LOOKING AT STUFF THAT IF IT'S 10 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD MAY NOT BE A GOOD FIT FOR THIS PARTICULAR PLAN.
UH, BUT WE HOPE TO ALSO DO THIS REGULARLY ENOUGH WHERE THOSE THINGS CAN BE INCORPORATED AT A FUTURE DATE.
UM, YEAH, I KNOW WE TALKED, UH, AND, AND I MENTIONED THE, UM, THE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I THINK WE MADE LAST YEAR.
DID YOU FIND YES, THOSE ARE THOSE ALSO, THOSE ARE ALSO INCORPORATED? YEAH, BECAUSE I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN WAS FOCUSED ON THINGS THAT NEED MONEY, AND IT'D BE GREAT IF PROBABLY WE COULD CHECK SOME POLICY CHANGES OFF MAYBE QUICKER THAN THE THINGS THAT, UM, NEED MONEY, AT LEAST IN SOME CASES.
UM, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT EITHER OF THOSE LISTS WERE, YOU KNOW, COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF EVERYTHING.
NEVERTHELESS, I DO THINK THEY'RE PROBABLY GOOD PLACES TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE STARTED FOR PRIORITIZING.
BUT, UM, YEAH, EVEN IF IT'S NOT FINISHED, I THINK IT WOULD BE NICE FOR US TO KIND OF SEE, SEE THE LIST AND WHERE IT'S AT AT OUR NEXT MEETING.
THAT NEXT MEETING WAS THE DATE FOR THAT, UM, DECEMBER 18TH, I BELIEVE.
YEAH, I MEAN, THERE'S A WHOLE GROUP OF US WORKING ON IT.
I'LL MAKE SURE THAT FEELS RIGHT TO THEM AND THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING THAT'S WORTHY OF Y'ALL'S EVALUATION BY THAT POINT.
NOW RODRIGO BROUGHT UP A GOOD POINT THAT I DO THINK WE SHOULD CIRCLE BACK TO, LIKE YEAH.
HOW DO WE MAKE SURE, LIKE HOW DOES THIS, I GUESS, WHAT HAVE YOU IDENTIFIED AS LIKE, I FORGET HOW YOU PUT IT IN YOUR SLIDE, BUT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF STRUCTURAL BARRIERS.
YEAH, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE ARE IS STILL IN THE REFLECTION PHASE OF THAT CONVERSATION.
SO PART OF IT IS HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER CITIES AND ARE THEY EXPERIENCING SIMILAR THINGS.
UM, AND A LOT OF THAT IS VERY COMMON ACROSS THE BOARD.
YOU KNOW, LIKE WHAT PROJECTS HAVE WE IDENTIFIED THAT ARE, THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL? A LOT OF THAT STUFF IS THE EASIER STUFF, RIGHT? SO WHERE WE GO FROM HERE IS HOW DO WE GET THE FUNDING NECESSARY? HOW DO WE GET THE COUNCIL'S, UH, AUTHORITY GRANTED TO US TO GET THOSE THINGS DONE IN A TIMELY FASHION? SO IT'S STUFF THAT YOU MIGHT EXPECT.
UM, AND THE PROGRAMMATIC ADJUSTMENTS WE'RE CONSIDERING, UH, ARE STILL, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE STILL IN THE OVEN AT THIS POINT, AND IT'S NOT, IT WOULD BE, I WOULD DON'T WANNA MISSPEAK IN WHAT I GIVE YOU NOW 'CAUSE IT MAY CHANGE EVEN A MONTH FROM NOW, JUST BECAUSE A LOT OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS WERE HAPPENING JUST YESTERDAY.
UM, AND SO WE THINK THAT BOTH THE PLAN AND THOSE ADJUSTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY ORGANIZATION WILL HELP THE, THE PLAN SUCCEED, BUT ALSO THE LONG TERM CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN SUCCEED.
YEAH, I GUESS I, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A FUTURE WHERE, UM, WHEN PROGRAMS ARE BEING DEVELOPED OR, YOU KNOW, CONTRACTS ARE BEING CONSIDERED, YOU KNOW, BUDGET ITEMS ARE BEING CONSIDERED THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT A SUSTAINABILITY AND, YOU KNOW, CARBON ANALYSIS WAS PART OF THAT
[03:15:01]
AND, AND THAT THE RESULTS, UM, YOU KNOW, I GUESS HAVE, WOULD HAVE WEIGHT WHERE IF THE ANSWER IS LIKE, WELL ACTUALLY THIS THING THAT YOU'VE THOUGHT ABOUT DOING TAKES US BACKWARDS ON OUR CLIMATE GOALS, UM, THAT, THAT WOULD BE ACCURATE, HAVE A, THAT, THAT WOULD SEND THINGS BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD TO, TO TRY AGAIN.UM, AND THEN I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT THE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE'S SOMETHING WITH STAFFING AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, I JUST THINK ABOUT THE, THE, THE KIND OF CONVERSATIONS AND REQUESTS THAT WE'VE MADE AROUND PURCHASING OVER THE PAST, LIKE THREE YEARS AS I WOULD SAY, A PRIME EXAMPLE WHERE IT'S JUST SEEMS LIKE IT HAS, AND NOT SAYING THAT ANY PERSON IS TO BLAME FOR THAT.
AND MAYBE IT'S JUST LIKE A LACK OF RESOURCES, LIKE HUMAN RESOURCES, I DON'T KNOW.
UM, BUT AGAIN, LIKE IF THERE'S, YEAH, IF THERE'S A, THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE PLAN, THEN LIKE THERE SHOULD BE STAFF YEAH.
SO IT'S NOT JUST, SO THERE'S NOT THIS CONSTANT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN CERTAIN CASES IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S SOMEBODY WITH LIKE A FULL WORKLOAD THAT THEN SEES US OR Y'ALL COMING AND LIKE, WANTING TO ADD TO AN ALREADY FULL WORKLOAD.
AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME PEOPLE THEY'RE LIKE, GUNGHO AND WANNA TAKE IT ON OR WHATEVER, BUT LIKE, I SEE THAT AS, AS A FUNDAMENTAL BARRIER PROBABLY IN CERTAIN CASES.
AND MAYBE THAT PURCHASING, YOU KNOW, FALLS INTO THAT CATEGORY.
RODRIGO, YEAH, I, I MEAN, A RELATED COMMENT, AND I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE IT'S TOO EARLY IN THE PROCESS, BUT, UM, HOW HAVE YOU ALL BEEN THINKING ABOUT HOW THIS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN WOULD CONNECT TO THE BUDGET CYCLE OR THE BUDGET PROCESS? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S PARTLY WHY WE'RE WORKING VERY HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE START THE YEAR OFF STRONG.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE ARE ABLE TO GET THIS DOCUMENT AS REQUESTED BY COUNCIL TO THEM, UH, IN THE FIRST PART OF THE NEW YEAR, I THINK THAT ALLOWS US, UM, AND THEM AND THE MANAGER A REALLY CLEAR PICTURE OF WHAT IT WOULD COST TO DO SOME OF THESE PROJECTS, UH, AND HOW THAT MIGHT PLAY INTO THE UPCOMING BUDGET CYCLE FOR THE ANNUAL NEXT YEAR.
UH, AND THAT'S PART OF OUR CONSIDERATION FOR THIS TIMELINE FOR SURE.
SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY WILL HAVE A MENU OF OPTIONS BASED ON EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS AND FEASIBILITY THAT ALSO INCLUDE A COST ANALYSIS AND THAT HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, SHORTENS THEIR DECISION MAKING CURVE, UH, AT BOTH AT THE MANAGER AND THE COUNCIL LEVEL.
I WAS SLEEP DEPRIVED COMING INTO THIS.
LITERALLY, I LIKE GO TO THE DOCTOR WITH ANY AILMENT AND THEY'RE LIKE, ARE YOU UNDER STRESS
[4. Update from Austin-Travis County Food Plan on Food Plan Implementation Resolution - Marissa Bell]
I'M THE NEW, UM, MEMBER OF THIS COMMITTEE FROM THE FOOD POLICY BOARD.
AND I'M JUST GONNA GIVE A VERY, VERY BRIEF UPDATE ABOUT THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD PLAN AND, UM, THE FOOD PLAN IMPLEMENTATION RESOLUTION THAT WENT TO COUNCIL.
UM, AS YOU GUYS PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW, THE FOOD PLAN WAS OFFICIALLY ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL AND COMMISSIONER'S COURT IN OCTOBER.
AND IN THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING IN WHICH IT WAS ADOPTED, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER VANESSA FUENTES PUT FORTH A FOOD PLAN IMPLEMENTATION RESOLUTION, WHICH PRETTY MUCH DIRECTED THE CITY MANAGER TO WORK WITH BUSINESSES, COMMUNITY GROUPS, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP AN ASSET MAP OF RESOURCES AND CURRENT FOOD SYSTEM CONDITIONS, CREATE AN ACTIONABLE ROADMAP FOR CITY TO LEAD ON PRIORITY STRATEGIES AND TO IDENTIFY FUNDING AND PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN.
IT ALSO, UM, CALLED FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY IN THIS PROCESS, UM, TO IDENTIFY LEADERSHIP ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, ESTABLISH METRICS FOR SUCCESS AND RETURN TO COUNCIL WITH AN UPDATE BY MARCH OF
[03:20:01]
2025, UH, WITH BIANNUAL UPDATES TO FOLLOW.UM, THEY'VE ALSO ASKED THE CITY MANAGER TO PRIORITIZE KEY STRATEGIES THAT ADDRESS RACIAL INEQUITIES, FOOD INSECURITY, DISPLACEMENT, FOOD WORKERS, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, AND AGRICULTURAL LAND, AND TO IDENTIFY FUNDING FOR THE PLAN IN FISCAL YEAR 25, 26 BUDGET, UM, AND AS WELL AS PRIORITIES FOR THE NEXT BOND PACKAGE.
UM, LASTLY, THEY DIRECTED THE CITY MANAGER TO, UM, PLAN A FIVE YEAR TIMELINE TO WORK WITH THE FOOD POLICY BOARD TO ASSESS PROGRESS AND RECOMMEND UPDATES TO THE PLAN AS NEEDED.
AND SO, UM, HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY HAS DEVELOPED A PHASED APPROACH TO THIS, UM, IMPLEMENTATION IN RESPONSE TO THE RESOLUTION.
AND WE'RE KIND OF IN PHASE ONE OF THIS APPROACH.
AND THE CITY OF THE OFFICE, UH, OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY IS COLLABORATING WITH THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD TO DEVELOP THOSE INITIAL PRIORITIES AND ESTABLISH WORKING GROUPS TO, UM, WORK AROUND THESE PRIORITIES.
AND SO I'LL GIVE A QUICK UPDATE ABOUT SOME EVOLVING WORK GROUPS, UM, THAT ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THE THEMES EVOLVING FROM THE AUSTIN TRAVIS FOOD POLICY BOARD IS AROUND LAND ACQUISITION AND CONSERVATION, UM, TAX INCENTIVES FOR REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE AND CONSERVATION, UM, INSTITUTIONS.
AND, UM, THAT'S AROUND FOOD HUB AND VALUES-BASED PURCHASING, AS WELL AS COMMUNITY GARDENING AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS RESPONSE.
AND SO BY EARLY NEXT YEAR, AIMING FOR JANUARY, A LIST OF CURRENT CITY AND COUNTY WORK, UM, IS GOING TO BE COMPILED TO HELP IDENTIFY WHAT WORK IS ALREADY BEING DONE, UM, AS WELL AS GAPS IN IMPLEMENTATION.
SO, UM, THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, UM, STRATEGY 9.1 IS ALL ABOUT CREATING A COMMUNITY-BASED COALITION TO KEEP THIS PLAN MOVING FORWARD.
AND SO, UM, HAPPY TO REPORT THAT CITY AND COUNTY STAFF ARE EXPLORING EXPLORING FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION COALITION.
UM, THERE'S HOPE VERY HOPEFUL THAT THE FUNDING WILL COME, UM, AND MORE DETAILS, WE'LL HAVE MORE DETAILS ON THAT BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR, BUT IT'S LOOKING LIKELY THAT WE'LL SUCCESSFULLY HAVE A COALITION TO HELP WITH PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, AND THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP REVIEW THE SCOPE OF THAT COALITION AND PARTICIPATE IN THE SELECTION PROCESS.
AND THEN, UM, ADDITIONALLY, SIMILAR TO THE ONLINE DASHBOARD FOR THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, THERE WILL BE AN ONLINE DASHBOARD FOR THE, UM, AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD PLAN AS WELL.
UH, QUESTION IF YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF THE IDENTIFY FUNDING, HAS THAT WORK LIKE RELATED TO THE BOND EFFORT? HAS THAT WORK BEEN DONE OR IS THAT STILL TO BE DONE? ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE FUNDING FOR THE COALITION? NO, UM, OVER HERE THE IDENTIFIED FUNDING FOR THE, FOR THE, OH, I THOUGHT THERE WAS SOMETHING IN ADDITION FOR THE, FOR THE CLIMATE BOND, IS THAT OH, YES.
THEY'RE ASKING PRETTY MUCH FOR RECOMMENDATIONS TO, UM, WELL, LET'S SEE.
MAYBE IT WAS JUST FOR THE BUDGET.
I, UM, YES, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEXT BOND PACKAGE AS WELL.
AND SO THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE YET TO BE DEVELOPED TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE OR CORRECT, CORRECT.
WE JUST, UM, YEAH, WE'RE ESTABLISHING WORKING GROUPS NOW TO START.
SO THE FOOD POLICY BOARD WILL BE DOING THAT, UH, YES.
AND HOPEFULLY IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHERS AS WELL, SO OKAY.
HAPPY TO REPORT BACK ABOUT THAT.
UM, THERE IS AN ALIGNMENT, A LOT OF ALIGNMENT WITH THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLANS.
YEAH, WELL, I'M, I'M SERVING ON THAT COMMISSION OR THAT TASK FORCE AND JUST WOULD LIKE TO YEAH.
CARRY FORWARD, UM, THINGS RELATED TO THIS IF, IF YOU'LL COME UP WITH STUFF.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS UPDATE? COOL.
ALRIGHT, NATALIE, I'M LIKE, NOW I DON'T TRUST MYSELF AT ALL, BUT I, NATALIE ACTUALLY IS NOT HERE.
SO WE'RE GONNA SKIP OVER NUMBER FIVE.
[8. Discussion of process of identifying and acquiring land in accordance of City of Austin Resolution No. 20240814-024 on Creating a Dedicated Land Acquisition Fund – Charlotte Davis]
CHARLOTTE WITH A DISCUSSION ITEM ON THE DEDICATED LAND ACQUISITION FUND.ACTUALLY, I'M GOING TO HAVE A COMMITTEE MEMBER AL LEAD THAT DISCUSSION.
[03:25:03]
DO YOU WANNA JUMP INTO THAT? SURE, YEAH.UM, AND I KNOW IT'S LATE, SO
BUT, UM, SO THE TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE, UM, TOGETHER WITH THE NATURAL SYS MEMBERS OF THE NATURAL SYSTEMS, UH, WORKING GROUPS HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, UM, PUTTING TOGETHER SOME PRINCIPLES AND RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND THE LAND ACQUISITION FUND.
SO WE HAVE A WORKING DOCUMENT THAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAPPY TO SHARE THAT.
UH, ACTUALLY I CAN SHARE MY SCREEN IF THAT'S OKAY.
UM, AND I CAN JUST GIVE YOU A QUICK OVERVIEW.
OH, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GONNA WORK 'CAUSE WEBEX IS WEIRD.
IF YOU WANNA EMAIL IT TO ME, I CAN SHARE IT IF IT'S NOT WORKING FOR YOU.
YEAH, I MIGHT HAVE TO JUST EMAIL IT TO YOU BECAUSE I HAVE TO CHANGE LIKE MY SYSTEM SETTINGS OR SOMETHING BECAUSE OF WEBEX WEIRDNESS.
BUT, UM, AS I EMAIL THAT TO YOU, UH, ESSENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND HOW TO, UH, INCREASE TRANSPARENCY AROUND THE LAND ACQUISITION FUND PROCESS.
UM, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE WAY TO DO THAT WOULD BE TO HAVE A CLEAR PRIORITIZATION FRAMEWORK, UM, THAT OUTLINES SOME OF THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE LAND ACQUISITION FUND PROGRAM, UM, AND A CLEAR DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS THAT THE CITY WILL TAKE.
UM, WE THINK, YOU KNOW, HAVING THAT INFORMATION WOULD, WOULD HELP SUPPORT TRANSPARENCY IN TERMS OF HOW THIS FUND IS GOING TO BE MANAGED.
WE ALSO HAVE IDENTIFIED OPPORTUNITIES TO ALIGN THIS LAND ACQUISITION FUND WITH SOME OF THE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UM, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT, UH, THE RESOLUTION FROM COUNCIL, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE KIND OF TOUCHES ON SOME HIGH LEVEL TOPICS, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TOUCHING ON CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN THAT WE KNOW CAN BE FURTHERED THROUGH LAND ACQUISITION.
SO, UM, SOME OF THOSE ITEMS INCLUDE, UM, SOME OF THE OVERARCHING STRATEGIES, STRATEGIES AROUND GREEN JOBS, UM, LOCAL COMMUNITY INITIATIVES, REGIONAL COLLABORATION, THOSE, UH, WE FEEL WOULD BE RELEVANT FOR, UM, THE LAND ACQUISITION FUND.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE SOME OTHER, UM, STRATEGIES, UH, UH, THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO, UM, SOME OF THE TOPICAL SECTIONS OF THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UM, THAT WE ALSO THINK ARE IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER IN TERMS OF, UM, THE LAND ACQUISITION PROCESS AND HOW, UM, LAND ACQUISITION WILL BE PRIORITIZED AND, AND HOW THAT LAND COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED.
SO WE HAVE SOME THOUGHTS ON THAT HERE.
AND THEN, UM, JUST MOVING ON QUICKLY TO THE NEXT SECTION, UM, WE ALSO THINK THAT WE NEED TO, UM, EMPHASIZE, UH, CERTAIN CLIMATE EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS IN TERMS OF, UH, PROCEDURAL EQUITY.
SO LIKE, HOW WILL THESE DECISIONS BE MADE? UM, HOW ARE WE GOING TO ENSURE THAT THE PRIORITIES OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES ARE INCORPORATED INTO THIS DECISION MAKING PROCESS? AND THEN DISTRIBUTIONAL EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS AS WELL.
SO HOW WILL THE, UH, THE LAND ACQUISITION FUND LEAD TO BENEFITS FOR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES? HOW WILL IT ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS? SO WE'RE SUGGESTING THAT THE CLIMATE EQUITY TOOL BE, UM, KIND OF A CENTRAL TOOL THAT IS USED TO GUIDE, UH, GUIDE DECISIONS AROUND THE LAND ACQUISITION FUND.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE SUGGEST SOME RELEVANT COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT WE THINK WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO ENGAGE WITH, UM, BECAUSE THEY MIGHT BRING PERSPECTIVES THAT PERHAPS ARE NOT REPRESENTED WITHIN THE CITY, OR THEY MIGHT HAVE EXPERIENCE ACTUALLY MANAGING LAND TRUST PROGRAMS FOR CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE BENEFITS.
SO, UH, SOME EXAMPLES WOULD INCLUDE LIKE LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES OR COOPERATIVES, GREEN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, UH, LOCAL CBOS THAT ARE ENGAGED IN EJ ORGANIZING AND NONPROFITS THAT, AGAIN, HAVE EXPERIENCED MANAGING THESE SORTS OF FUNDS.
UM, SO THOSE ARE KIND OF THE HIGH LEVEL RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE WANTED TO JUST KINDA HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT OR ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND POTENTIALLY WORK TOWARDS AN ACTUAL RECOMMENDATION, UM, THAT WE COULD MAYBE PRESENT AT THE NEXT JSC MEETING.
[03:30:02]
THANK YOU.RODRIGO, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, THOUGHTS ON THIS? RODRIGO, IS THIS AVAILABLE ALREADY OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE SENT OUT TO EVERYBODY? UH, IT'S, IT'S, WE'VE KEPT IT TO A BELOW QUORUM NUMBER, BUT, UM, I DON'T KNOW KAI, BUT WHAT'S THE PROCESS FOR LIKE SHARING THIS DOCUMENT? I, I, I THINK WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS, UH, YEAH, PUT IT IN A, DOWNLOAD IT INTO LIKE A WORD DOC AND SEND IT TO STAFF AND THEN THEY CAN SEND IT AROUND.
WHERE WE'LL RUN INTO TROUBLE IS IF EVERYBODY GETS SHARED ON THE GOOGLE DOC.
SO YEAH, WE COULD DEFINITELY SHARE IT.
UM, I CAN SEND IT TO THE SUSTAINABILITY STAFF.
YEAH, I, I MIGHT MAYBE SUGGEST, SINCE WE'RE ALL YAWNING, AND THAT IS UNIQUELY MY FAULT,
I, I DO THINK THAT WE'RE ALLOWED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE WANT TO SEND SOMETHING IN RESPONSE BACK TO STAFF AND HAVE IT CIRCULATED, I, I BELIEVE WE'RE ALLOWED TO DO THAT.
IF I'M, IF I'M WRONG, THEN WE'LL GET CORRECTED LATER, BUT I, I THINK WE'VE DONE THAT IN THE PAST.
IT'S KIND OF A LOT TO, TO DIGEST AT THIS LATE HOUR.
UM, BUT I THINK, UM, THERE'S SOME, I THINK SOME REALLY THOUGHTFUL THINGS IN HERE ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, ENABLING THIS BODY TO MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS TO, UM, THE CITY ABOUT HOW TO PRIORITIZE THAT, UH, 50 MILLION IN LAND ACQUISITION, UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS PUT FORTH TO DO PARKLAND AND PROTECT THE WATERSHED.
UM, BUT AS IT GETS PRACTICALLY, UM, A LOT OF THAT PROCESS IS KIND OF HAPPENING WITHOUT A LOT OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT BECAUSE I THINK THE, THE THOUGHT IS THAT, OH, IT'S NOT REALLY THAT CONTROVERSIAL WHEN THE CITY PURCHASES LAND.
WE PURCHASE LAND A LOT, BUT I THINK WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE, THE ABILITY AND SOME, SOME, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO, TO SUGGEST THAT THEY KEEP IN MIND, UM, IN DOING SO.
SO I THINK IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DO THAT.
SO WE'LL GET A, A DOWNLOAD TO, YOU KNOW, OF A VERY ROUGH DRAFT TO SHARE, AND I THINK THE INTENT WOULD BE TO HAVE A DRAFT RE RESOLUTION AT THE DECEMBER MEETING THAT WE CAN TALK THROUGH AND HOPEFULLY VOTE ON AT THAT TIME.
SO THANKS FOR ALL THAT, RODRIGO.
UM, YEAH, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT'S ON OUR, OUR LIST OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. AND I KNOW CHARLOTTE, YOU'LL REMIND US WHEN WE, WHEN WE MEET ON THAT.
[9. Update from Resource Management Commission on Austin Energy's Solar for All grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Charlotte Davis]
IS ALSO, OR IS, IS ACT, I THINK I'M ASSUMING ACTUALLY YOURS, RIGHT? YES.THIS IS JUST A QUICK, UM, RMC UPDATE FROM THE HOME COMMISSION.
IT'S ACTUALLY, UM, FROM OCTOBER, NOT FROM YESTERDAY.
UM, IF YOU, UH, RECALL IN, AT OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING, TIM HARVEY FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, PRESENTED THE SOLAR FOR ALL PROGRAM.
UH, AUSTIN ENERGY ACTUALLY DID, UH, GET AWARDED A GRANT FOR $31.6 MILLION FROM THE EPA, UH, AS PART OF A LARGER COALITION OF CITIES AND COUNTIES WITHIN TEXAS FOR THE SOLAR FOR ALL PROGRAM.
SO THEY'LL, THEY DO PLAN TO INSTALL ROOFTOP SOLAR IN COMBINATION WITH BATTERIES IN LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES, UM, AND PROVIDE BILL DISCOUNTS TO PARTICIPATE IN CUSTOMERS.
UM, THE PLAN IS TO INSTALL, UH, 2,500 RESIDENTIAL HOMES AND 25 MULTIFAMILY SLASH RESILIENCE CENTERS.
UH, AND THEY'RE GONNA HIRE THREE FTES, UM, TO HELP IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM.
AND, UH, THE UTILITY IS GONNA OWN THE SYSTEMS FOR THE FIRST 15 YEARS AFTER WHICH, UM, THE OWNERSHIP FLIPS, UM, TO THE CUSTOMER.
AND WHEN, UM, MR. HARVEY WAS HERE IN SEPTEMBER, YOU'LL RECALL THERE WAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS AROUND
[03:35:01]
EQUITY AND MAKING SURE THAT THE BENEFICIARIES OF THE PROGRAM ARE APPROPRIATE AND THERE'S STILL A LOT OF UNKNOWNS, UH, TO BE WORKED OUT, BUT THERE WILL BE, UM, A LOT OF COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, UM, INVOLVED THROUGHOUT EACH, UM, POINT IN THE PROCESS TO REALLY NAIL DOWN, UM, AND DETERMINE THE SPECIFICS OF, YOU KNOW, THE WHO'S AND WHERE'S AND, AND HOW, UM, AS IT GETS IMPLEMENTED.BUT, UM, JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT, UM, WITH THE, UH, WITH THE COMMITTEE THERE.
AND I, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THEY WERE PLANNING TO START THAT STAKEHOLDER PROCESS IN DECEMBER.
HAVE THEY TOLD THE RMC ABOUT ANY DATES? NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE AS YET.
UM, BUT I WILL, YOU KNOW, UPDATE AS, AS I KNOW MORE.
YEAH, I WOULD SAY, UM, FOR, FOR THAT AND, AND FOR THE STANDARD OFFER, MAYBE WHENEVER WE GET THOSE DATES WE CAN JUST CIRCULATE 'EM TO THE COMMISSION SINCE WE KNOW THERE'S, YOU KNOW, AN INTEREST IN THE TOPIC.
UM, UNLESS ANYBODY HAS A FUTURE
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
AGENDA ITEM THAT WE HAVEN'T ALREADY MENTIONED, THEN WE'RE AT THE END OF OUR AGENDA.ANY ITEMS THAT WE NEED ON HERE, WE WILL.
AND I'M SORRY I DROPPED THE BALL ON THE PORTLAND FOLKS.
THEY THANKFULLY ARE GONNA BE HERE AT OUR DECEMBER MEETING.
I'M SURE THERE'S NOT OBJECTION, SO I'M ADJOURNING.