[00:00:01]
CALL THE, THIS MEETING OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION TO ORDER.
YOU'LL PROBABLY NOTE THAT I AM NOT CHAIR TUTTLE OR VICE CHAIR WHITE.
BUT, UM, THERE, WERE UNABLE TO ATTEND IN PERSON TODAY, SO I'M SERVING IN THEIR ABSENCE.
UM, WE'LL START BY TAKING ATTENDANCE.
SO, CHAIR WHITE, OR I'M SORRY, CHAIR TUTTLE, VICE CHAIR WHITE.
COMMISSIONER ACON, ARE YOU HERE? I'M HERE.
COMMISSIONER BENAVIDES? I'M HERE.
COMMISSIONER KIRKSEY? I'M HERE.
AND BEFORE STARTING, OH, WE DO HAVE A QUORUM.
BEFORE STARTING ON THE AGENDA, WE'LL HAVE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
WE HAVE NO SPEAKER SIGNED UP TODAY.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 13TH MEETING.UM, BEFORE CALLING FOR A MOTION.
I HAVE A CORRECTION TO THE MINUTES.
I AM NOT LISTED AS ATTENDING AND I WAS ATTENDING REMOTELY.
WITH THAT, DOES ANYONE HAVE A MOTION, UH, TO APPROVE THE CORRECTIVE MINUTES? SO MOVED.
IS THERE A SECOND IT FROM ANYBODY? ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONER BLACKBURN.
ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? AYE.
ITEMS TWO THROUGH EIGHT ARE THE RCAS.
UM, WE CAN TAKE THESE ALL TOGETHER ON CONSENT, UNLESS ANYONE WANTS TO PULL AN ITEM.
DOES ANYONE WANNA PULL ONE OF THE RCAS ITEMS TWO THROUGH EIGHT? SEVEN? IS IT THROUGH SEVEN? SO YOU'RE RIGHT? YEAH.
DO YOU WANNA PULL ONE? UM, YEAH, I THINK IT WAS NUMBER TWO.
ANYTHING ELSE? UM, ALL RIGHT, SO LET'S, UM, TAKE UP NUMBER TWO FIRST.
SO IS STAFF HERE TO PRESENT ON THAT? YEP, I AM.
GERARDO OR JERRY GALVAN, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER CARE SERVICES.
UM, I, I MEAN, IT LOOKS, IT LOOKS LIKE THIS SHOULDN'T HAVE, UM, ANY EFFECT ON THE PSA GOING FORWARD, BUT JUST KIND OF WANTED TO HEAR THAT CONFIRMED.
I'VE HEARD THIS SHOULDN'T HAVE ANY IMPACT ON THE PSA.
IS THAT, WAS THAT THE QUESTION? THAT'S PROBABLY FOR FINANCE.
I GUESS, WILL THIS HAVE ANY EFFECT ON THE PSA? CAN YOU WHITE, THIS IS STUART RILEY, UH, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER OF BUSINESS SERVICES.
ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE ITEM FOR HIGH VOLUME CALL ANSWERING SYSTEM? OKAY.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON ANY OTHER ITEMS? TWO THROUGH SEVEN.
I DO THINK THAT THERE WAS A DIFFERENT ONE, A SOLAR RELATED ONE THAT I DID HAVE A QUESTION ON, AND I'M NOW REALIZING THAT THIS WAS ONE THAT I JUST HAD THE WRONG PACKET PULLED UP, AND THAT WAS LAST MONTH.
UM, COMMISSIONER WHITE ITEM FIVE, MY APOLOGIES.
[00:05:01]
ITEM FIVE IS THE SOLAR FOR ALL ONE.YOU MIGHT HAVE HAD A QUESTION ON THAT.
YEAH, THAT I WAS GONNA ASK A QUESTION THOUGH, OR AT LEAST A LITTLE OVERVIEW OF WHAT THAT IS YET AS WELL.
CAN WE HAVE STAFF PRESENT ON ITEM
[5. Recommend approval authorizing negotiation and execution of an interlocal agreement with Harris County in support of the Solar for All Program activities, for the term of March 27, 2025, through the grant period ending August 31, 2029, for a total agreement in the amount not to exceed $31,593,683. Funding in the amount of $31,593,683 is available starting in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Austin Energy Operating Budget Special Revenue Fund.]
FIVE THEN? TIM HARVEY, CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS? SO ITEM FIVE IS, UM, TO, UM, APPROVE AN ILA, AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH HARRIS COUNTY.UM, HARRIS COUNTY IS THE LEAD FOR THE SOLAR FOR ALL GRANT FOR TEXAS.
SO WHEN WE GOT THAT GRANT, IT WAS THROUGH A COALITION, UM, OF US, HARRIS COUNTY, AND, UM, SOME OTHER CITIES AND, AND AREAS IN TEXAS.
UM, SO THAT BASICALLY SETS OUT, UM, THE REQUIREMENTS FOR US SO THAT HARRIS COUNTY CAN MEET THEIR REQUIREMENTS TO MEET THE GRANT REQUIREMENTS.
UM, SO THIS IS A LEGAL DOCUMENT THAT, UM, KIND OF ALLOWS US TO, TO DO BUSINESS TOGETHER.
ARE THERE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM? AND HOW MUCH IS THE GRANT? WHAT IS THE GRANT AMOUNT, I GUESS? 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY 35 MILLION FOR OUR END, OR FOR OUR PART IS, IS A BIG, IS A BIG NUMBER, BUT, UM, HOW MUCH ARE WE LEVERAGING, I GUESS, THROUGH THAT? SO, UM, PARTNERSHIP, THE SOLAR FOR ALL, UM, GRANT IN TOTAL IS 7 BILLION.
UM, TEXAS WAS AWARDED 250 MILLION, AND THEN OF THAT AUSTIN ENERGY SET TO RECEIVE 31.59 MILLION.
QUESTION, UH, DO THEY HAVE THE MONEY ACTUALLY IN HAND FROM THE FEDS OR CAN IT BE CAUGHT POTENTIALLY GONE BACK? SO CURRENTLY THE, IT HAS BEEN APPROPRIATED, UM, AND UNTIL IT'S OBLIGATED AND THEN ASSIGNED, THE MONEY ISN'T IN HAND.
SO THE, AS AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THE MONEY IS SITTING IN, IN A POT THAT'S A ASSIGNED TO TEXAS, UM, AND US VIA HARRIS COUNTY.
UM, HOWEVER, UH, CURRENTLY IT, WE'RE UNABLE TO MAKE CLAIMS AGAINST THAT BECAUSE IT'S BEEN FROZEN.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE IT STANDS TODAY.
THE FUNDS ARE NOT ACCESSIBLE CURRENTLY, THEY'RE FROZEN.
I, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT SOME OF THOSE EPF FUNDS WERE BEING UNFROZEN, UM, AS OF FRIDAY, BUT I DON'T, THAT'S JUST FROM A CONVERSATION I HAD.
UM, SO IT, IT WOULD BE GREAT TO LET THE, YOU KNOW, THE COMMISSIONERS KNOW THE STATUS OF THAT ONCE WE HAVE A LITTLE MORE CLARITY, UH, FROM THE NEW ADMINISTRATION.
BUT I, I HAD HEARD THAT SOME OF THE EPA FUNDS WERE GETTING UNFROZEN, THE ONES THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN OBLIGATED.
UM, WE, AS PART OF THE TEXAS COALITION FOR THE SOLAR FOR ALL, ARE ALSO IN TALKS WITH ALL OF THE OTHER SOLAR FOR ALL COALITION MEMBERS ACROSS THE NATION.
AND SO AS WE, UM, YOU KNOW, DISCOVER, UM, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, UH, OR ANOTHER, WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE GONNA GET ACCESS TO THAT, WE'LL FEED THAT INFORMATION BACK TO THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, MY, I GUESS MY ONLY ADDITIONAL QUESTION WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, HOPEFULLY THE MONEY DOES START FLOWING, UM, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, IF THERE IS ANY CONTINGENCY PLAN BEING DEVELOPED IF THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN.
LIKE, IS THE PROGRAM GONNA
CROSSING MY FINGERS THAT THE MONEY STARTS BLOWING.
[00:10:01]
CONCLUDES DISCUSSION ON ITEM FIVE, LET'S GO AHEAD AND VOTE ON THAT ITEM.ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
YOU NEED A MOTION? AND A SECOND? FIRST.
UM, DOES ANYONE HAVE A MOTION ON ITEM FIVE? APPROVAL ON ITEM FIVE? ALL RIGHT.
SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER REED.
ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT.
OH, CYRUS, ARE YOU ABLE TO GET ON CAMERA? COMMISSIONER V? UM, DO YOU SEE ME? YEAH.
I'M AT THE CAP, I'M AT THE CAPITOL.
'CAUSE THERE'S A HEARING GOING ON, SO, OKAY.
ALL RIGHT, THE ITEM PASSES AND NOW WE WILL TAKE UP THE REMAINDER OF ITEMS TWO THROUGH SEVEN.
OH, BY, SHOULD I, I ALSO ASK A QUESTION ON NUMBER SIX, PLEASE.
[6. Recommend approval authorizing expenditures for annual renewals of professional dues and memberships in national and state associations and organizations related to the electric utility industry, in an amount not to exceed $460,000. Funding is available in the Operating Budget of Austin Energy.]
CHECK UP ITEM SIX.TAMMY COOPER, UH, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER OF REGULATORY COMMUNICATIONS, COMPLIANCE AND LEGAL SERVICES.
UH, YEAH, AND I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ON ITEM SIX.
UM, YEAH, I WAS JUST WONDERING, I MEAN, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT BEING A TOTALLY INSIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY, UM, HOW THESE DUES ARE DETERMINED, UM, IF THESE ARE STANDARD, I MEAN, THEY, THEY'RE VERY LIKE, PRECISE AMOUNTS DOWN TO THE DOLLAR.
UM, BUT YEAH, JUST WONDERING LIKE, YOU KNOW, IS AUSTIN, LIKE, IS IT SOMEHOW DETERMINED ON A UTILITY BY UTILITY BASIS OR YEAH.
HOW, HOW ARE THESE AMOUNTS DETERMINED? SO EACH OF THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A, OF A UNIQUE CALCULATION, BUT EFFECTIVELY IT'S BASED ON SIZE AND, AND TYPICALLY ON LIKE, YOU KNOW, MEGAWATT HOUR SOLD TYPE THING.
SO, UM, BECAUSE AUSTIN ENERGY IS, UM, THE, ONE OF THE LARGEST MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITIES IN THE COUNTRY, YOU KNOW, OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, AMOUNTS, YOU KNOW, MAY, MAY LOOK LARGE.
AND THE PRECISION IS BASED ON THE FACT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ONLY ASK FOR THE AMOUNT OF THE EXACT DUES IS IT'S BEEN CALCULATED BASED ON THAT FORMULA.
AND, UM, SO AGAIN, EACH UTILITIES AMOUNT IS CALCULATED BASED ON THOSE SPECIFIC CRITERIA.
I DON'T HAVE THE SPECIFIC CRITERIA FOR EACH OF THESE INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZATIONS IN FRONT OF ME RIGHT NOW, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S THE GENERAL CALCULATION IS BASED ON SIZE.
UM, AND I GUESS JUST LIKE, AS A FOLLOW UP, UM, JUST WONDERING IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE, YOU KNOW, REAL BRIEFLY, LIKE SOME MATERIAL, UM, KIND OF IDEAS, PROGRAMS, CHANGES, I DON'T KNOW, THINGS THAT Y'ALL HAVE GOT OUT OF THESE MEMBERSHIPS IN THE RECENT, YOU KNOW, PAST YEAR OR TWO.
UM, YOU KNOW, OVERALL THESE TRADE ASSOCIATIONS PROVIDE US EDUCATIONAL FORUMS AND POLICY ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES REGARDING THE INDUSTRY IMPACT RESPONSE TO, TO, UM, KIND OF ALL THINGS IN THE, UH, PUBLIC POWER SPACE, UH, AS WELL AS OTHER ISSUES SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE CHANGE AND, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT ON THESE GRANTS AND OTHER ITEMS. UM, YOU KNOW, THE AMERICAN PUBLIC POWER ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS AND ADVOCATES FOR CONGRESSIONAL ACTION TO ADDRESS A LOT OF, UH, DIFFERENT ISSUES.
UM, ONE IN PARTICULAR THAT WE'VE SEEN GREAT BENEFIT FROM WAS THE ADVOCACY OF A PPA ON, UH, THE DIRECT PAY TAX ITEM THAT CAME OUT OF, UM, THE IRA, UH, LARGE PUBLIC POWER COUNCIL.
UM, ALSO INCLUDES SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION OF CERTAIN INITIATIVES, INCLUDING INITIATIVES FOR THE CLEAN ENERGY TRANSFORMATION.
UH, THEY PROVIDE A LOT OF EDUCATIONAL, UH, SEMINARS, A LOT OF WORKING GROUPS FOR US TO COLLABORATE WITH OTHER UTILITIES ACROSS THE PUBLIC POWER SPACE.
AND AGAIN, THOSE ARE THE, THE LARGEST 28 PUBLIC POWER ENTITIES.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE UNITED STATES, UH, AS WELL, THE TEXAS PUBLIC POWER ASSOCIATION, UH, IS ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN A LOT OF ISSUES SPECIFIC TO TEXAS, UH, ERCOT ISSUES OR CO MARKET ISSUES.
THEY ADVOCATED THE CAPITAL, UM, YOU KNOW, ON A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT MARKET REDESIGN ISSUES AS WELL.
THESE GROUPS ALSO ASSIST US WITH MUTUAL AID.
UH, AND AGAIN, A LOT OF TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES ARE LIGHT UP NAVAJO OPPORTUNITY THAT, THAT WE, UM, YOU KNOW, HELP SUPPORT IS ALSO THROUGH A PPA.
[00:15:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE FOLKS ON THESE BOARDS AND, AND AGAIN, IT'S JUST A LOT OF EDUCATION TRAINING, POLICY ADVOCACY AND THINGS TO HELP THE PUBLIC POWER SECTOR.ANY MORE QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION ON ITEM SIX? IF NOT, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION, MOVE APPROVAL.
IS THERE A SECOND? I, ALL RIGHT.
ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED, COMMISSIONER REED? I'M IN FAVOR.
I'VE JUST LAID ON THE VIDEO THAT ITEM PASSES.
[Items 2 - 4 & 7]
ALL RIGHT.AND AT THIS TIME, UNLESS THERE ARE ANY OTHER, UM, SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, WE CAN TAKE UP THE REMAINDER OF ITEMS TWO THROUGH SEVEN.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS? I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION.
ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? COMMISSIONER REED, HOW DID YOU VOTE? I'M SORRY.
IN FAVOR? I'M DELAYED 'CAUSE I'M IN THE BASEMENT OF THE CAPITAL AND ALL IN SIX A MINUTE.
WELL, I THINK, I THINK VOTING IS ALMOST OVER, SO, UM, SO WITH THAT, THE REST OF THE ITEMS PASS, AND NOW ITEMS, UM, EIGHT THROUGH 11 ARE STAFF BRIEFINGS.
[8. Staff briefing on the First Quarter Financial Report by Stephanie Koudelka, Finance Director.]
ITEM EIGHT IS A STAFF BRIEFING ON THE FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL REPORT, UH, FINANCE DIRECTOR STEPHANIE ALKA, COULD YOU PLEASE PRESENT? GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.I'M DIRECTOR OF FINANCE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
TONIGHT I AM PRESENTING TO YOU OUR FIRST QUARTER RESULTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025.
UM, THESE RESULTS ARE PRELIMINARY AND UNAUDITED, AND THEY ENCOMPASS THE PERIOD OF OCTOBER THROUGH DECEMBER OF 2024.
THE QUARTERLY REPORT TONIGHT, UM, ONE BACK, UH, FOR THE AGENDA, IT'S A STANDARD AGENDA.
WE HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TO PRESENT TO YOU.
UM, I'LL GO OVER OUR FINANCIAL HEALTH, WHICH IS RELATED TO OUR BOND RATING.
UM, WE'LL GO THROUGH THE BUDGET STATEMENTS AS WELL AS, UH, THE ACTUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
FOR THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, FOR THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, I'LL START AT THE TOP LEFT.
OUR OPERATING RESULTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025, WE DID HAVE OPERATING INCOME THAT WAS FAVORABLE COMPARED TO BUDGET BY ABOUT 7%.
THAT TRANSLATES INTO ABOUT $3 MILLION.
UM, MOST OF THAT, UH, 3 MILLION IS DUE TO THE WEATHER.
WE HAD UNSEASONABLY WARM WEATHER IN THE FIRST QUARTER, WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO MORE BASE REVENUE FOR OUR BOND RATING.
UM, WE'RE STILL AT A DOUBLE A MINUS BOND RATING.
UM, THAT WAS A AFFIRMED DURING OUR NOVEMBER, 2024 BOND SALE.
WE RE, RE, UH, REMAIN BELOW OUR TARGET OF AA.
UM, I DO HAVE SOME MORE INFORMATION ON THAT BOND SALE UPCOMING IN THE PRESENTATION FOR FINANCIAL POLICIES.
UH, WE ARE SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLIANT WITH POLICIES AS OF THE END OF THE QUARTER.
UM, I'VE TALKED TO YOU IN THE PAST ABOUT OUR CASH AND RESERVE BALANCES.
WE DO SEE OUR CASH AND RESERVES AT 194 DAYS, WHICH IS ABOVE THAT POLICY MINIMUM OF 150 DAYS.
UM, I WILL LET YOU KNOW THAT'S INFLATED TEMPORARILY.
UM, MOST OF THAT IS DUE TO, UM, THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT RECOVERY, WHICH IS ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF THIS SLIDE.
UM, WE ARE $111 MILLION OVERCOVERED AS OF THE END OF THE QUARTER.
UH, ONCE THAT OVER RECOVERY IS RETURNED TO OUR CUSTOMERS, WE'LL GET A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO OUR MINIMUM, UH, PER POLICY, WHICH IS 150 DAYS.
UM, AUSTIN ENERGY RELATED TO THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT RATE, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS DECREASED THAT RATE, UH, FOUR TIMES BY 5%.
UM, WE STARTED THAT IN OCTOBER OF 2024, SO WE ARE BEGINNING TO RETURN THOSE FUNDS BACK TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND AUSTIN ENERGY CONTINUES TO MONITOR COST AND COST RECOVERY SO THAT WE CAN EFFECTIVELY RECOVER OUR COST AND MAINTAIN ST UH, STABLE BILLS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
THIS SLIDE YOU'VE SEEN IN THE PAST, WHICH, UH, HIGHLIGHTS FOUR, UH, SEPARATE METRICS RELATED TO OUR AA BOND RATING.
UM, I'LL START WITH DAYS CASH ON HAND.
[00:20:01]
DAYS, WHICH IS, UM, WHAT WE JUST SPOKE ABOUT, AND I HAVE GIVEN YOU KIND OF AN INDICATOR OF HOW MANY DAYS ARE RELATED TO THAT OVER RECOVERY RELATED TO OUR PASS THROUGH RATES.AGAIN, CASH IS TEMPORARILY INFLATED, UM, ON HAND, UM, BEFORE WE GIVE THAT, UH, FUNDS BACK TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, WE'RE STILL WELL BELOW OUR TARGET OF 200 DAYS ONCE THOSE FUNDS ARE RETURNED, UH, TO THE CUSTOMER.
UM, OUR DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE AND OPERATING MARGIN, UH, BOTH OF THOSE METRICS ARE GETTING HEALTHIER.
UM, YOU'VE SEEN DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE PRETTY CLOSE TO THE TARGET OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF QUARTERS.
AND THAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE, UM, THAT WE STILL NEED INFLATIONARY AT MINIMUM BASE RATE INCREASES TO COVER THOSE COSTS.
IN PARTICULAR, OUR DEBT SERVICE, UM, WHICH WILL BE GOING UP AS WE IMPLEMENT OUR FIVE YEAR CAPITAL PLAN.
WE HAVE A POSITIVE OPERATING MARGIN AT 11%, WHICH IS MOSTLY DUE TO BASE RATES, WHICH IS, UM, DOING BETTER AT RECOVERING COSTS MORE TIMELY.
AND OUR DEBT TO CAPITALIZATION RATIO, UM, IS SITTING PRETTY STEADY AT 56%.
UM, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE HERE, I'VE JUST GIVEN YOU A COUPLE OF POINTERS FROM OUR LATEST BOND SALE.
UM, WE WENT TO THE MARKET AND SOLD ABOUT $240 MILLION WORTH OF BONDS IN NOVEMBER OF 2024.
UM, IT WAS A VERY SUCCESSFUL SALE.
UM, AT ONE POINT IN THE BOND SALE WE WERE AT ABOUT FIVE TIMES SUBSCRIBED, UM, WHICH MEANS THERE WERE NOT ENOUGH BONDS FOR INVESTORS TO PURCHASE.
SO THAT'S A REALLY SUCCESSFUL SALE FOR THE UTILITY.
UM, AS A REMINDER FOR OUR BOND RATING, UH, WE ARE AT STABLE OUTLOOK, BUT WE'RE AT AA MINUS AGAIN, UM, BELOW THE TARGET.
UM, THE RATING AGENCIES, UM, MENTIONED THIS IN A PRIOR QUARTER.
THEY STILL WANNA SEE A SUSTAINED FINANCIAL HEALTH FROM THE UTILITY BEFORE, UM, ADJUSTING THAT, UH, RATING.
COULD, COULD YOU, YOU SAID ON THE BEFORE YOU SAID 150 DAYS MM-HMM
FOR SOMETHING I, BUT THERE'S 200 AND 194.
CAN YOU REMIND ME WHAT THE ONE 50 IS? SURE.
SO, UM, OUR, UH, BUDGET DOCUMENT APPROVED BY ORDINANCE, UM, LINES OUT OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES.
SO WE HAVE, UH, POLICIES RELATED TO OUR WORKING CAPITAL AND RESERVE BALANCES.
UH, ONE OF THOSE POLICIES IS THAT WE'LL HAVE A MINIMUM OF 150 DAYS CASH ON HAND.
THIS, UM, METRIC THAT WE USE FOR AA BOND RATING IS MORE, UM, RELATED TO, UH, SOME OF THE OTHER AA RATED PUBLIC POWER UTILITIES THAT WE'RE BENCHMARKING OURSELVES AGAINST.
SO, SO IF IT'S ON, IF IT'S IN STATUTE THAT IT'S 150 DAYS, WHAT'S THE, HOW COME THE TARGET'S 200 DAYS? SO THAT'S AN INTERNALLY SET TARGET.
SO WE HAVE, UM, TARGETS THAT WE SET ON TOP OF OUR POLICY.
SO A 150 DAYS IS A, A BARE MINIMUM NUMBER.
UH, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT WHERE WE'D LIKE TO BE.
UM, AS FAR AS OUR BOND RATING, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT MORE LIKE 200 DAYS AS AN IN BEST PRACTICE FOR THE INDUSTRY.
SO IF, IF, IF THE MINIMUM IS, IF THE MINIMUM IS 150, BUT THE TARGET'S 200 IS HOW DO WE GET TO TWO, HOW DO WE GET TO 200 IF WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO READJUST THE PSA AND GIVE THE MONEY BACK THROUGH BASE RATES, THROUGH BASE RATES.
YEAH, SO ALL OF THOSE CASH AND RESERVES ARE, UM, WE DO HAVE SOME PORTION OF THAT THAT'S GENERATED THROUGH POWER SUPPLY FOR OUR POWER SUPPLY RESERVE, BUT BASE RATES GENERATE THE REST OF OUR RETURN FOR THE UTILITY.
UM, THIS IS OUR BUDGET TO ACTUAL FUND SUMMARY AS OF THE END OF THE QUARTER.
UM, NOT MUCH TO MENTION HERE, BUT THE BIG TAKEAWAY IS THAT WE HAVE ENDED THE QUARTER, UM, ON BUDGET.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE AT A DEFICIENT, UM, STATE FOR OUR BUDGET AND ACTUAL, WHICH IS VERY TYPICAL FOR THE FIRST QUARTER, THE FISCAL YEAR.
UM, WE DO EXPECT TO, UM, END THE FISCAL YEAR AT BREAK EVEN.
SO YOU'VE SEEN THIS SLIDE BEFORE.
UM, THIS IS A DEPICTION OF THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT RATE.
SO THE GOLD AND DARK GRAY BARS REPRESENT OUR COST FOR POWER SUPPLY.
UM, WE'RE SHOWING YOU THAT WE ARE UNDER BUDGET FOR EACH MONTH IN THE QUARTER, WHICH IS GOOD NEWS.
WE'VE HAD PRETTY, UH, MODERATE PRICES IN A STABLE MARKET, UM, AND OUR BUDGET IS BUILT WITH, UM, VOLATILITY OR POTENTIAL RISK TO COST.
SO WE HAVE, UM, GOOD NEWS STAYED UNDER BUDGET FOR THE QUARTER.
THE BLUE LINE THAT HOVERS ABOVE THE COST, UH, REPRESENTS THE REVENUE THAT WE'RE RECEIVING FROM OUR CUSTOMERS, UM, UH, USING THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT RATE.
THAT STEEP DECLINE, UM, IS DUE TO THOSE RATE DECREASES THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.
AGAIN, WE'VE DONE FOUR REDUCTIONS TO THAT RATE AT 5% APIECE.
SO THAT'S THE REASON FOR THE STEEP DECLINE.
UM, IT TYPICALLY GOES DOWN AS WELL DURING, UM, THIS PERIOD
[00:25:01]
DUE TO USAGE.SO, UM, JUST STEEPER BECAUSE THE RATE IS DECREASED.
FOR OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, WE HAVE A $400 MILLION, UH, SPEND PLAN FOR THE FISCAL YEAR OF 25.
UM, WE SPENT, UM, ABOUT 18% OF THAT 400 MILLION THROUGH DECEMBER.
SO WE'RE A LITTLE BIT UNDER IN TIMING THERE.
UH, MOST OF THE SPEND HAS BEEN IN OUR DISTRIBUTION AREA.
UM, THAT'S STILL ON TRACK THOUGH WE'RE AT ABOUT 26%, UH, PERCENT SPENT IN DISTRIBUTION.
UH, THE, UH, VERY, VERY QUICK QUESTION.
WOULD, UM, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, IS THAT CAPTURED IN DISTRIBUTION OR WHERE, WHERE DO WE SEE, WHERE IS THAT? THOSE ARE OPERATING COSTS.
SO THOSE WOULD BE CAPTURED IN OPERATING EXPENSES IN THE FISCAL YEAR BUDGET.
CAPITAL SIDE INCLUDES ANY VEGETATION MANAGEMENT THAT ARE OPERATING.
ON, UH, THE RIGHT, I'VE SHOWN YOU, UM, HOW WE'RE PAYING FOR THOSE ASSETS THAT WE'VE SPENT, UM, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR.
UM, THAT REPRESENTS $72 MILLION SPENT FOR THE YEAR.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE ABOUT 60 40, UM, HEAVIER IN DEBT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR.
UM, MOST OF THAT FINANCING, UM, IS DUE TO OUR NEED TO KIND OF HOLD ONTO OUR CASH.
WE'VE HAD SOME CASH FUNDING CONSTRAINTS THAT WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT IN PRIOR QUARTERS, UM, WHICH THROWS US OFF OF OUR INTERNAL, UH, STRATEGY OF A 50 50 FUNDING SPLIT.
THIS SLIDE, UM, SHOWS YOU OUR INCOME STATEMENT AT DECEMBER.
UM, THE BIG TAKEAWAY HERE, AS YOU CAN SEE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN, I'VE HIGHLIGHTED WE HAD 5 MILLION IN NET INCOME FOR THE QUARTER.
UM, THAT IS, UM, POSITIVE FOR THE UTILITY.
WE HAD BEEN SEEING CONTINUAL LOSSES.
UM, BUT THE BIG TAKEAWAY IS THAT IT'S, UM, ON PAR WITH LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR INCLUDED ANOTHER 2% BASE RATE INCREASE.
SO WHAT THIS IS SHOWING US IS THAT COSTS ARE STILL PUTTING PRESSURE ON THE UTILITY, UM, AND THOSE BASE RATE INCREASES ARE BARELY KEEPING UP WITH THE RATE OF INFLATION.
THE BAR CHART, UH, CHARTS ON THE RIGHT SHOW YEAR OVER YEAR, CUSTOMER AND LOAD GROWTH, UH, BOTH OF THOSE ARE, UH, GROWING SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN WE EXPECTED.
UM, IN OUR FORECAST, UM, SALES ARE UP 3%.
MOST OF THAT IS DUE TO, UH, THE WARM WEATHER THAT, UM, I SPOKE OF EARLIER.
NEXT SLIDE FOR THE BALANCE SHEET.
UM, I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED CASH FIRST, UM, TO SHOW YOU THAT INCREASE.
SO AGAIN, WE DID INCREASE OUR DAYS CASH ON HAND.
A LOT OF THAT IS DUE TO THAT POWER SUPPLY OVER RECOVERY.
UM, RESERVES I'VE HIGHLIGHTED AS WELL, THOSE ARE UP FOR THE PERIOD.
UM, AS YOU MIGHT REMEMBER IN 2023, WE HAD A VERY EXPENSIVE POWER MARKET.
UM, OUR WORKING CAPITAL COULD NOT PAY THOSE BILLS TO ERCOT, SO WE NEEDED TO TRANSFER FROM OUR RESERVES TO WORKING CAPITAL.
WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MOVE THAT 70 MILLION BACK INTO RESERVES THIS FISCAL YEAR.
SO THAT'S, UM, PART OF THE REASON FOR THE INCREASE.
UM, WE ALSO ADDED 10 MILLION INTO OUR CONTINGENCY RESERVE THAT WAS BUDGETED AS PART OF OUR APPROVED BUDGET.
UM, WE DID PLAN TO DO MORE, BUT AGAIN, UM, WE TEMPERED THAT DOWN A BIT, UM, JUST TO BE MINDFUL OF OUR WORKING CAPITAL BALANCE.
AND FINALLY, UM, I HAVE THIS GRAPH FOR YOU THAT DEPICTS WHAT WE SPOKE OF EARLIER WITH THE 200 DAY TARGET.
I'M SHOWING YOU THAT OUR LIQUIDITY POSITION IS, UM, UNDER THE TARGET 200 DAYS.
WE HAVE ABOUT 695 MILLION OF CASH AND RESERVES.
AGAIN, OVER A HUNDRED MILLION OF THAT IS POWER SUPPLY OVER RECOVERY.
SO IT'S NOT THE UTILITIES FUNDS, WE'RE RETURNING THOSE TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND JUST A QUICK RECAP OF OUR FINANCIAL POSITION FOR THE QUARTER, AGAIN, WE'RE WELL UNDER OUR TARGET WITH OUR CURRENT LIQUIDITY BALANCES.
UM, THEY'RE TEMPORARILY INFLATED BY FUNDS THAT ARE BEING RETURNED THROUGH THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT, UM, ON OUR CUSTOMER'S BILL.
AND FINALLY, UM, THE BASE RATE INCREASES THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PUT THROUGH ARE CONTINUING TO SUPPORT OUR ONGOING FINANCIAL HEALTH AND, UH, STABILITY.
THAT CONCLUDES MY FINANCIAL PRESENTATION.
ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY, IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, ANYONE? NO.
[9. Staff briefing on the First Quarter Operations Report by Lisa Martin, Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer. ]
MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER NINE, WHICH IS A STAFF BRIEFING ON THE FIRST QUARTER OPERATIONS REPORT.[00:30:01]
EVENING COMMISSIONERS.I'M LISA MARTIN, AUSTIN ENERGY'S CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, AND TONIGHT I'M PRESENTING THE OPERATIONS QUARTERLY UPDATE FOR OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, AND DECEMBER OF 2024.
IN TERMS OF A QUICK OVERVIEW, YOU'LL SEE 43% RENEWABLE PRODUCTION AND 65% CARBON FREE PRODUCTION, BOTH AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD FOR THIS QUARTER.
OUR GENERATORS WERE GENERALLY AVAILABLE WITH LIMITED DURATION OFFLINE OTHER THAN PLANNED OUTAGES.
AND OUR RELIABILITY TRENDS REMAIN STABLE.
BUT I'LL SHOW YOU THE DETAILS IN THE NEXT SEVERAL SLIDES.
STARTING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE.
SO FOR THIS QUARTER, OUR CARBON-FREE GENERATION IS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD AVERAGE, 65%, UM, WHICH IS AN INCREASE FROM THE SUMMER QUARTER, UM, THAT YOU CAN SEE THE THREE BARS BEFORE THE ONE THAT HAVE THE BRACKETS OVER IT TODAY.
UM, AND THAT'S LARGELY BECAUSE OF, UM, LOWER LOAD REQUIREMENTS DURING THE, THE COOLER MORE TEMPERATE MONTHS.
UM, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT OCTOBER 24 WAS FAIRLY LOW, ESPECIALLY THE NUCLEAR PERCENTAGE, AND THAT WAS DUE TO A PLANNED REFUELING OUTAGE.
WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A SLIDE COMING UP.
LET ME TAKE THIS, UH, THESE BAR CHARTS AND YOU, UM, LOOK AT THE, UH, JAGGED LINE.
YOU'LL SEE A HISTORY OF THE, THE SEASONALITY OF THE, UM, CARBON FREE GENERATION AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD, AND SOMETIMES, UH, IT'S HELPFUL TO LOOK AT THAT AS A TREND IN TERMS OF OUR, UH, ROLLING 12 MONTH AVERAGE.
AND SO THAT'S THE SMOOTH LINE HERE.
AND AT THE END OF THIS QUARTER, WE'RE AT 63%.
LOOKING AT THAT IN TERMS OF OUR, UH, GENERATION AND OUR LOAD, AND STARTING IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER, OUR FUEL COST METRICS, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE'RE, UM, CONTINUING TO, UH, SPEND A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF OUR FUEL COSTS ON CARBON FREE SOURCES AT 74%, WHICH IS THE TOTAL OF THE RENEWABLE AND NUCLEAR PORTIONS OF THAT PIE CHART.
UH, GOING DOWN ON THE CHART, YOU'LL SEE THAT OUR SYSTEM PEAKED DEMAND FOR THIS QUARTER WAS LOWER, UM, THIS YEAR IN 2025, OR SORRY, THE END OF 2024.
UM, THAT NUMBER IS ABOUT 2,400 MEGAWATTS, UM, COMPARED TO THE LAST YEAR, WHICH WAS THE PEAK AT, UM, FOR THIS QUARTER AT 26 60 MEGAWATTS.
THE BAR CHART IN THE TOP RIGHT SHOWS OUR GENERATION FOR THE QUARTER COMPARED TO OUR LOAD, THAT GENERATION TOTALS ABOUT 3 MILLION MEGAWATT HOURS.
UM, AND THE CONSUMPTION FOR THE QUARTER WAS 3.3 MILLION MEGAWATT HOURS.
AND WHEN YOU TAKE EACH OF THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, BY FUEL TYPE COMPARED TO CONSUMPTION, THAT'S HOW YOU GET THE, UH, PIE CHART IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT.
UM, AND AGAIN, THIS IS HOW WE GET OUR PERCENTAGE POWER GENERATION IS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD WAS 43% RENEWABLES, 22% NUCLEAR, OR A TOTAL OF 65% CARBON FREE FOR THE QUARTER ORDER.
RIGHT? LET'S SWITCH TO SOME OF THE, UH, RELIABILITY NUMBERS, AND WE'LL START WITH SOME GENERATION AVAILABILITY.
UM, YOU'LL NOTE OR RECALL THAT THIS TIME OF YEAR IS WHEN WE TAKE PLANNED OUTAGES ON A NUMBER OF OUR, UM, LARGER GENERATING UNITS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE AVAILABLE TO MEET THOSE SUMMER TARGET AVAILABILITY NUMBERS IN THE CENTER COLUMN.
SO, UH, FOR THIS PARTICULAR QUARTER, YOU'LL SEE THE ACTUALS ARE BELOW.
UM, AGAIN, ON PURPOSE, SANDHILL COMBINED CYCLE HAD A PLANNED OUTAGE, UM, LARGELY FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, UM, LEADING TO ITS AVAILABILITY OF JUST UNDER 70% FOR THE QUARTER.
AND THEN YOU'LL SEE THAT FPP UNIT ONE AND STP UNIT TWO, THEY WERE, UH, A HUNDRED PERCENT COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE, NO ISSUES DURING THE QUARTER.
UM, IN TERMS OF PLANNED OUTAGES FOR EACH OF THESE LOCATIONS, THEY ROTATE, UM, WHICH UNIT IS OUT, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT BOTH OUT AT THE SAME TIME.
AND SO THIS, UH, QUARTER, IT WAS FPP TWO'S, UH, CH CHANCE TO BE HAVE A PLANNED OUTAGE, UM, THAT ACTUALLY EXTENDED THE ENTIRE QUARTER, THUS THE 0% AVAILABILITY.
AND THEN, UH, STP, THE NUCLEAR PLANT UNIT ONE WAS IN A PLANNED REFUELING OUTAGE, WHICH I HAD MENTIONED ON A PREVIOUS SLIDE.
UM, AND THAT WAS A, A GOOD SIX WEEKS OF THE QUARTER, UM, LEADING TO ITS AVAILABILITY JUST UNDER 60%.
NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL TURN TO SOME ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION OPERATIONS.
UM, AUSTIN ENERGY CONTINUES TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS ON MAINTENANCE OF THESE CHARGING STATIONS, BOTH, UH, IN A REACTIVE MODE WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG, BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF A PROACTIVE PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE CYCLE.
UM, ON A QUARTERLY BASIS, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT UPTIME FOR THESE, UH, STATIONS, UH, AS DESCRIBED BELOW THE PHOTO.
SO A PORTION OF TIME EACH INDIVIDUAL CHARGING POINT PORT IS WORKING OVER A DEFINED PERIOD OF TIME, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT A ROLLING 12 MONTH AVERAGE.
NOW, UM, THE OVERALL CHARGING NETWORK, SO BOTH THE LEVEL TWO CHARGERS AND THE DC FAST CHARGERS HAD AN UPTIME OF 98.5%.
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UM, AND THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT JUST THE DC FAST CHARGERS, UM, THEIR CUMULATIVE UPTIME WAS 97.7%.WE DO KNOW THAT, UM, IT IS QUITE FRUSTRATING WHEN PEOPLE DRIVE UP, UH, TRY TO START CHARGING AND THEN RUN INTO AN ISSUE.
AND SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF WAYS THAT CUSTOMERS CAN REPORT OUTAGES TO US, UM, BOTH THROUGH THE CHARGEPOINT APP, CALLING AUSTIN 3 1 1 OR EMAILING AUSTIN ENERGY
UM, A FEW MORE FACTS ABOUT OUR CHARGING STATION OPERATIONS.
WE, UH, CONTINUE TO SEE HIGH USAGE AT THESE, UH, STATIONS, OVER 34,000 CHARGING SESSIONS PER MONTH.
UH, THEY CONTINUE TO BE IN THE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS BETWEEN 9:00 AM AND 1:00 PM AND THE AVERAGE SESSION, UH, CONTINUES TO REMAIN STABLE AT JUST UNDER TWO HOURS AND 45 MINUTES.
SWITCHING GEARS A LITTLE BIT TO DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY, UM, I'M GONNA TURN YOUR ATTENTION FIRST TO THE TREND LINES TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE.
UM, ALL ALL OF THESE TRENDS IN TERMS OF FREQUENCY OF OUTAGES, DURATION OF OUTAGES ACROSS THE SYSTEM, OR DURATION OF OUTAGES FOR THE CUSTOMERS WHO ARE AFFECTED, YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY'RE, UH, LOW REMAINING STABLE AND LOWER THAN OUR PEAK A YEAR OR TWO AGO.
UM, SO THAT'S WHERE WE WANT TO BE.
UM, IN TERMS OF THIS QUARTER, YOU CAN SEE BY THE BAR CHARTS ABOVE THAT OUR METRICS CONTINUE TO BE WELL BELOW THE TEXAS AVERAGE.
UM, FOR, UM, JUST IN GENERAL, FROM, FROM, UM, CALENDAR YEAR 2023, WHICH IS THE LATEST DATA AVAILABLE FROM, UH, THE EIA AND, UH, FOR THIS PARTICULAR QUARTER, THE, UH, TOP THREE CAUSES WERE EQUIPMENT, ANIMALS, AND THEN A DISTANT THIRD WAS VEGETATION.
SO, UH, IT'S, YOU MAY THINK BACK TO OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, AND DECEMBER, THERE WEREN'T VERY MANY STORMS. UM, EVERY, EVERY OUTAGE, UH, NOTHING CONSIDERED A MAJOR EVENT DAY THAT WOULD BE PULLED OUT AND, UH, TRACKED SEPARATELY.
UM, IN TERMS OF EQUIPMENT, A LOT OF TIMES IT WAS RELATED TO FUSES.
UM, AND DAVID'S GONNA GIVE A PRESENTATION ON DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY IN A LITTLE BIT.
HE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
UM, I THOUGHT, INTERESTINGLY, 33% OF OUTAGES THIS QUARTER WERE DUE TO ANIMALS, UM, LARGELY DUE TO SQUIRRELS TIME OF YEAR WHEN THEY'RE VERY ACTIVE AND THEY KEEP GETTING INTO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND THEN, UH, 10% OF THE OUTAGES WERE RELATED TO VEGETATION.
ALL RIGHT, UM, NEXT SLIDE IN MY LAST SECTION IS TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR STRATEGIC GOALS.
SO, UM, I'M NOT GOING TO DELVE TOO MUCH INTO THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM RELIABILITY 'CAUSE DAVID HAS A WHOLE BRIEFING FOR YOU ON IT.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE NINE CIRCUITS COMPLETED, UM, ON OUR END-TO-END, UH, UH, REHABILITATION OR, OR, OR HARDENING, UM, EFFORT.
UM, AND THEN OUR OVERHEAD HARDENING AND UNDERGROUND FEASIBILITY STUDIES, UM, ARE, ARE NEAR FINALIZATION.
UM, AND WE SHOULD BE REPORTING OUT TO YOU SHORTLY, UM, ON THE RAZ PROGRAM, THE RESILIENCY AS A SERVICE.
UM, CUSTOMERS STILL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THAT AND MOVE SLOWLY THROUGH THE PROCESS OF, UM, FEASIBILITY AND ASSESSING WHETHER OR NOT IT'S THE RIGHT FIT FOR THEM.
UH, AS MANY OF YOU ARE WELL AWARE, THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN WAS ADOPTED IN DECEMBER OF 20, UH, 24.
AND THE FINAL VERSION, UM, INCLUDING ALL OF THE AMENDMENTS THAT NOT ONLY CAME OUT OF THIS COMMISSION, BUT ALSO, UM, UH, CITY COUNCIL HAVE BEEN, UM, INCORPORATED.
AND THAT FINAL VERSION IS POSTED ONLINE ON THE SPEAK UP AUSTIN WEBSITE AND SOON TO BE ON THE AUSTIN ENERGY WEBSITE AS WELL.
UH, THE 2035 PLAN COMMITS TO REGULAR COUNCIL UPDATES.
AND THIS SLIDE SUMMARIZES ALL OF THE SEMI-ANNUAL UPDATES ON GOALS AND GUARDRAILS, UM, THAT WE HAVE IN VARIOUS CATEGORIES.
UM, AND YOU'LL WE'LL USE THOSE AS A YARD STICK TO TRACK OUR PROGRESS AS WE REPORT, UM, EACH, UH, EVERY SIX MONTHS.
UM, THE PLAN ALSO, UH, SAYS WE'LL PROVIDE AN ANNUAL UPDATE, UH, WHICH WILL PROVIDE A CHECK-IN TO ENSURE WE'RE ON THE RIGHT PATH AND WHETHER THINGS THERE ARE ANY CHANGE CONDITIONS AND OTHER FACTORS THAT WOULD TRIGGER THE NEED FOR ANOTHER, UH, GEN PLAN UPDATE.
UM, SO WITH THE NEW PLAN IN FRONT OF US, WE KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO, AND SO ADDITION TO THE GOAL TRACKING, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF KEY IMPLEMENTATION PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE BEFORE US.
UM, THE IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES ARE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING THIS QUARTER, UM, LIKE THIS CURRENT QUARTER.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, WE LAUNCHED THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER, UM, LAST MONTH, AND WE ALSO, UH, LAUNCHED THE ENERGY STORAGE, UM, RFP, UM, LAST WEEK.
UH, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF COMPLETING, UH, THE DNV CONSULTANT STUDY, AND HOPEFULLY VERY SOON WE'LL BE BREAKING GROUND ON THE GEOTHERMAL PILOT
IN TERMS A VERY QUICK QUESTION, LISA, ON THE RFP FOR STORAGE MM-HMM
WHAT'S THE DEADLINE FOR, UM, APPLICANTS TO RESPOND? MARCH 24TH.
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THANKS.THERE'S A, A DEADLINE IN BETWEEN THERE FOR QUESTIONS, UM, SOMEWHERE IN THE, UH, LATE FEBRUARY, EARLY MARCH TIMELINE.
BUT IN TERMS OF THE PROPOSALS, THE RESPONSES IS, UH, MARCH 24TH.
UM, IN TERMS OF NEAR TERM ITEMS, UH, THESE ARE ITEMS THAT WILL, UM, CONTINUE TO HAPPEN THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THIS, UH, CALENDAR YEAR.
AND YOU'LL HEAR, UH, PRESENTATIONS ON THEM VIA VARIOUS, UH, SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AS WE CONTINUE FORWARD, AND SOME OF THEM EVEN TONIGHT.
UM, AND THEN LONG TERM ARE ITEMS THAT, UM, SOME WORK WAS UNDERWAY NOW, BUT, UM, FULLY PUTTING IT INTO PLACE IN 2026 AND BEYOND.
LISA, CAN I ASK THE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTING, WHEN IS THAT GOING TO BEGIN? DO YOU KNOW YET? UM, I THINK WE, WE'LL REPORT THEM TO THE A-E-U-O-C AND I BELIEVE THIS YEAR THEY'RE JULY IS THERE, YEAH, JULY, A-E-U-O-C MEETING.
AND I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT, UM, THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS COMPLETED ALL 82 OF THE ITEMS IDENTIFIED IN OUR WINTER STORM.
MARA AFTER ACTION REPORT, AND THE FINAL COMPLETION REPORT IS ALSO PUBLISHED ON AUSTIN ENERGY'S WEBSITE, UM, FOR ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED.
AND SO THAT WRAPS UP THIS QUARTER'S, UPDATE THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, AS YOU SEE, WE CONTINUE TO PRODUCE ON OUR CARBON FREE GOAL DESPITE SOME OF THE RISKS THAT WE'VE SEEN IN RECENT YEARS, BUT OUR RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN WILL POSITION US WELL TO MITIGATE SOME OF THOSE RISKS.
OUR DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY TRENDS AND OUR, UH, CHARGING CHARGING STATION TRENDS REMAIN STABLE.
UM, AND, UH, WE HAVE LOTS OF WORK TO DO ON GENERATION PLAN EFFORTS.
I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
LISA, I WAS JUST WONDERING, UM, ON THAT, UH, BATTERY STORAGE RFP WHEN, UH, WE COULD EXPECT A PRESENTATION ON, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSALS HERE AT THE EUC.
SO THE, UM, AS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WITH COMMISSIONER REED, THE PROPOSALS ARE DUE TOWARDS THE END OF MARCH, AND SO, UM, WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT THE TIMING, UM, AND SEE WHETHER OR NOT IT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE IN APRIL, BUT I'M THINKING IT'S MORE LIKELY IN MAY, JUST BASED ON TIMING.
JUST ONE QUICK ON THE, WHEN BREAKING GROUND ON THE GEOTHERMAL PILOT, DOES THAT MEAN DRILLING DRILLING HOLES? YEAH.
I WAS GONNA SEE IF MICHAEL WANTED TO COME UP AND TALK ABOUT IT.
I'LL BE INTERESTED TO FOLLOW THAT PROJECT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS PRESENTATION? ALL RIGHT.
[10. Staff briefing on Distribution Reliability and Resiliency by David Tomczyszyn, Vice President, Electric System Engineering & Technical Services.]
IS ITEM 10, A STAFF BRIEFING ON DISTRIBUTION, RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY WITH DAVID CHEEN.I REALLY JUST WANTED TO SHOW OFF THAT I LEARNED HOW TO SAY THAT'S IMPRESSIVE.
I'M NOT, I'M REALLY VERY IMPRESSIVE.
UM, CALL DAVID T
WELL, WELL, GOOD EVENING, UH, COMMISSIONERS.
I AM, UH, DAVID TOM TESSON, VICE PRESIDENT OF ELECTRIC SYSTEM ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES.
I'M HERE TO GIVE A BRIEFING ON DISTRIBUTION, RELIABILITY AND RE RESILIENCY AT AUSTIN ENERGY, SPECIFICALLY OUR EFFORTS, UH, TOWARDS WORKING TOWARDS A, A COMPREHENSIVE MULTI-YEAR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN.
SOME OF THESE SLIDES Y'ALL MAY HAVE SEEN BEFORE, BUT WE THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO DO A LEVEL SET, UH, GOING INTO THE COMING MONTHS WHERE WE'RE MEET, UH, BRINGING FORTH MORE PRESENTATIONS, UM, AND, UH, AND, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THOSE HERE, HERE SHORTLY.
SO, RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY.
HISTORICALLY, THE, THE ELECTRIC UTILITY INDUSTRY HAS FOCUSED PREDOMINANTLY ON RELIABILITY.
HOWEVER, RECENT EVENTS HAS HAVE SHOWN US THAT RESILIENCY IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT.
AND WHILE THESE TERMS ARE SOMETIMES USED INTERCHANGEABLY, RELIABILITY IS PERFORMING CONSISTENTLY WELL WITHOUT FAILURE.
FAILURE OVER TIME, WHILE RE RESILIENCE IS ABILITY TO SPRING BACK, UH, OR RECOVER QUICKLY WHEN AN AIR, UH, DIFFICULTY ARISES SPECIFICALLY FOR AUSTIN ENERGY AS IT APPLIES TO OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY IS, PERFORMANCE OF THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED, BUILT, AND OPERATED FOR SAFETY, POWER, QUALITY, AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION AND, AND DISTRIBUTION RESILIENCE.
WHILE IT STARTS WITH DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY, IT INCORPORATES SELF-HEALING AND HARDENING TECHNIQUES TO WITHSTAND AND RECOVER MORE QUICKLY FOR UNPLANNED EVENTS.
AUSTIN ENERGY IS WORKING TOWARDS CREATING A, A COMPREHENSIVE MULTI-YEAR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, A RESILIENCY PLAN THAT COMBINES BOTH RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY EFFORTS.
THIS WILL IMPROVE SERVICE RELIABILITY AND
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MINIMIZE IMPACTS FROM OUTAGES THROUGH MAINTENANCE UPGRADES AND TECHNOLOGY ENHANCEMENTS ACROSS THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.AS A QUICK OVERVIEW FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, STARTING WITH OUR TRANSMISSION SYSTEM WHERE THE POWER'S COMING IN, AUSTIN ENERGY OWNS AND OPERATES 600 MILES OF TRANSMISSION AND ABOUT 80 SUBSTATIONS.
AND IT, AND THE DISTRIBUTION REALLY STARTS AT THE, THE SUBSTATIONS ARE IN PARTICULAR SUBSTATION TRANSFORMER AT EACH SUBSTATION.
UH, A POWER TRANSFORMER STEPS DOWN.
UH, THE TRANSMISSION VOLTAGE IS SOMETHING OUR CUSTOMERS CAN USE.
AND ON, ON THE SCREEN, UM, UH, THE TRANSFORMER IS THE, UH, ORANGE BOX WITH THE LIGHTNING BOLTS.
SO EVERYTHING TO THE RIGHT OF THAT IS REALLY WHAT WE TALK ABOUT OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
AND THAT INCLUDES 12,000 MILES OF WINE.
7,000 OF THOSE ARE, ARE UNDERGROUND, ALREADY 5,000 OF IT IS OVERHEAD, SO THAT'S ABOUT 60% OF OUR LINES ARE ALREADY UNDERGROUND, AND WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 180,000 DISTRIBUTION POLES.
AND THEN, UH, 80, ABOUT 88,000, UH, TRANSFORMERS SPLIT BETWEEN OVERHEAD AND UNDERGROUND, SO 44,000 EACH.
UH, SO LISA HAD PREVIOUSLY HAD COVERED THIS SLIDE, SO I WON'T SPEND MUCH TIME ON IT, BUT, UH, ONE WAY, UH, WE IN THE ELECTRIC UTILITY INDUSTRY, TRACK, UH, RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY IS USING INDICES SUCH AS SAFETY, UH, SADIE AND KATIE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE PERFORM MUCH BETTER THAN TEXAS AVERAGE.
HOWEVER, YOU NEVER QUITE ARRIVE, AND WE'RE CONSTANTLY WORKING TO IMPROVE AND DRIVE, DRIVE DOWN THESE METRICS.
DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY TO IMPROVE THESE METRICS.
DISTRIBUTION RE RELIABILITY INVOLVES INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE, STAYING ON TOP OF OUR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, UTILITY STANDARDS AND BEST PRACTICES, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, MAINTAINING AND OPTIMAL SYSTEM CONFIGURATION, ENGINEERING COORDINATION STUDIES TO MAKE SURE ALL THE EQUIPMENT IN THE FIELD WORKS TOGETHER TO INTERRUPT AS FEW CUSTOMERS AS POSSIBLE WHEN AN UNPLANNED EVENT OR FAULT OCCURS.
AND FINALLY, MANUAL OPERATIONS TO PROACTIVELY PREVENT POWER DISRUPTIONS AND KEEP AS MANY CUSTOMERS ON WHEN WE'RE OUT DOING PROACTIVE MAINTENANCE.
CIRCUIT HARDENING PROGRAM, OTHER EFFORTS UNDERWAY.
UM, THIS IS AN END-TO-END DISTRIBUTION MITIGATION PROGRAM TO IMPROVE THE LONG-TERM HEALTH PERFORMANCE OF THE SYSTEM.
WE TAKE A SEVEN STEP APPROACH WHEN HARDENING A CIRCUIT.
FIRST, WE START BY REVIEWING ANY ACTIVE PROJECTS OR, UH, UPGRADE PROJECTS UNDERWAY.
WE THEN PATROL THE CIRCUIT AND COMPLETE A CIRCUIT COORDINATION STUDY.
WE PERFORM VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AND REPAIR, REMEDIATE, UH, OR REPLACE EQUIPMENT THAT MAY BE DAMAGED OR IS AT THE, AT ITS END OF LIFE, SUCH AS POSSIBLY A POLE AND WHEN, AND, AND, AND THEN WE INSTALL SMART GRID DEVICES TO ENHANCE PROTECTION, SEXUALIZE THE SYSTEM, AND ADD, UH, OTHER, UH, UH, GRID HARDENING DEVICES.
UH, I'LL SHOW A FEW EXAMPLES IN THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THEN WE DO A DATA AND ASSET TRUE UP TO MAKE SURE OUR RECORDS REFLECT THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WERE MADE, AND WE MONITOR THE CIRCUIT AND SMART DEVICES TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE PERFORMING AS INTENDED.
ANOTHER EFFORT UNDERWAY IS OUR POLE INSPECTION PROGRAM.
WE'VE HIRED OSMOS TO DO GROUND LINE INSPECTIONS AND ASSESS POLE HEALTH WHEN A POLE IS FOUND TO BE LESS THAN OPTIMAL, SUCH AS ROTTING NEAR THE, THE GROUND, THE GROUND LINE WHERE THERE'S THE MOST MOISTURE.
TYPICALLY WE CAN REPLACE THE POLE OR TRUSS IT, WHICH ENDS UP BEING MUCH MORE ECONOMICAL.
WE HAVE TWO PICTURES SHOWING TYPES OF TRUSSES HERE, UM, ON THE, THE FIRST TWO RIGHT THERE, THE, THE C TRUSS AND C TWO TRUSS.
UM, WE ALL, BUT ALSO IN WILDFIRE PRONE AREAS, WE CAN INSTALL THINGS LIKE FIBER WRAP, WHICH YOU SEE, SEE ON THE, UH, RIGHT TO HELP, UH, A POLE WITHSTAND A, A FIRE LONGER.
WE ARE ALSO WORKING, UH, TO PILOT DUCTILE IRON AND RESIN POLES THAT CAN WIN, WITHSTAND A WILDFIRE EVENT EVEN BETTER, UM, AND MAKE OUR SYSTEM MORE RESILIENT.
COMPREHENSIVE DRONE INSPECTIONS.
UM, WE'RE ALSO DOING THESE, UH, IT USED TO, THESE INSPECTIONS USED TO BE MANUAL AND FROM THE GROUND, WHICH MEANS YOU COULD MISS A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU JUST PHYSICALLY CAN'T SEE FROM, FROM LOOKING UP.
UH, A GOOD EXAMPLE WHILE YOU JUST KIND OF WALKING THROUGH THESE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE ARE OVERVIEWS AND YOU CAN SEE CLOSEUP OF HARDWARE THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, UH, SEE CRACKS.
WE ALSO, UH, DO, UH, THERMAL IMAGING IF THERE'S ANY TYPE OF HOTSPOTS.
UM, BUT SPECIFICALLY MAYBE THE BOTTOM RIGHT THERE, YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT'S CLEARLY SOMETHING WE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO SEE FROM THE GROUND.
AND SO IT IS, AGAIN, IS USING TECHNOLOGY DRONES TO GET ABOVE IT AND SEE THAT, THAT THE TOP OF THE POLE IS ROTTED OUT AND, UH, DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.
SO THAT'S HOW, YOU KNOW, WE'RE USING TECHNOLOGY TO, TO DO MORE THAN WE'VE EVER BEEN ABLE TO BEFORE.
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HERE'S SOME, UH, EXAMPLE RESILIENCY TECHNOLOGIES.I'LL JUST WALK THROUGH THEM BRIEFLY.
UM, UH, THEY'RE IN, WE'RE EITHER USING THESE OR EVALUATING 'EM, UH, VIA PILOTS RIGHT NOW FROM, UH, STARTING ON THE TOP LEFT TO RIGHT.
I THINK Y'ALL, Y'ALL HEARD ABOUT THE SINGLE PHASE RECLOSER THAT YOU CAN PLACE, UH, IN A STANDARD, UH, CUTOUT.
NEXT IS THE VACU FUSE, WHICH IS A FOR WALL FIRE PRONE AREAS, WHICH ELIMINATES SPARKS THAT CAN BE EMITTED, UH, FROM A TRADITIONAL FUSE.
UH, THIS ALLOWS REMOTE SWITCHING OF A PAD, MOUNTED TRANSFORMER, SAY, IN A SUBDIVISION.
UH, THIS SWITCH HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN OPERATED MANUALLY, UM, BUT NOW WE CAN DO IT REMOTELY.
AND ON THE, THE BOTTOM, UH, WE HAVE AN INTEL RUTER, UH, ANOTHER TYPE OF RECLOSER.
UM, AND THIS IS A THREE PHASE RECLOSER.
AND, UH, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE HAVE COVER CONDUCTOR.
UM, Y'ALL HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT, AND, AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE, WE'RE WRAPPING UP THE, THE STANDARDS ON NOW.
UM, BUT THIS IS JUST AN OVERHEAD CONDUCTOR WITH A, WITH A COVERING THAT, THAT HELPS PREVENT, UH, FAULTS FROM AN OCCASIONAL TREE OR ANIMAL CONTACT LIKE WE HEARD ABOUT EARLIER.
UH, IN REGARDS TO CIRCUIT RESILIENCY, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF OUR SEXUALIZING EFFORTS USING RECLOSERS AND SWITCHES TO BREAK UP A CIRCUIT INTO SMALLER SECTIONS, ALLOWING RESTORATION OF MORE, UH, CUSTOMERS FASTER AND ISOLATE THE SYSTEM TO ONLY THE SMALL SECTION, UH, POSSIBLE.
WHEN A, WHEN A FAULT OCCURS, THE TOP PICTURE SHOWS WHAT HAPPENS TO A CIRCUIT.
UH, WHEN A PERMANENT FAULT OCCURS, THE ENTIRE CIRCUIT HAS TO REMAIN OUT UNTIL THE FAULT'S CLEAR, AND THAT'S WHEN IT'S UN SECTIONALIZED.
AFTER WE GET DONE SECTIONALIZING IT, AS YOU SEE IN THE BOTTOM USING, UH, RECLOSERS AND, AND, AND SWITCHES.
UM, THIS SHOWS HOW WE, UH, SECTIONALIZING TO BE THE ONLY SMALLEST PIECE, AND IT'S ONLY THAT PIECE IN THE MIDDLE WILL REMAIN OUT, UM, AFTER THE INITIAL OUTAGE, OR POSSIBLY THAT'S THE ONLY, UH, PORTION THAT GOES OUT ENTIRELY DURING IT.
SO THAT'S THE, THE BENEFITS OF SEXUALIZING USING THINGS LIKE SWITCHES AND RECLOSERS.
AND SO WE'RE DOING THIS ACROSS OUR SYSTEM AT A MUCH MORE GRANULAR LEVEL THAN WE'VE EVER DONE BEFORE.
UH, WE'VE, UH, LISA HAD MENTIONED, AND I KNOW YOU'RE WELL AWARE, BUT THE UNDERGROUND FEASIBILITY STUDY AND OVERHEAD HARDENING CIRCUITS, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BEING WRAPPED UP.
UM, NOW, UM, I WANTED TO MENTION BOTH THESE TWIN STUDIES.
UM, I'LL BE COMING BACK IN MARCH AND, AND THEN MAY TO PRESENT ON EACH OF THEM.
IT IS, UH, THE UNDERGROUNDING FEASIBILITY STUDY IN THE OVERHEAD STUDY IN THE O OVERHEAD HARDENING STUDY, UH, WHICH WAS PARTIALLY COVERED BY A FEMA UM, BRI GRANT.
UH, STUDY RESULTS ONCE FI FINALIZED WILL INFORM, UH, THE COMPREHENSIVE MULTI-YEAR DISTRIBUTION RESILIENCY PLAN ESTIMATED IT COULD BE COMPLETED LATER THIS YEAR.
AND ON THAT, UH, THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, IT'S GONNA BE MULTI-YEAR AND COMBINES ALL THE VARIOUS RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY PROGRAMS UNDERWAY SO THAT WE CAN HOLISTICALLY LOOK AT THE MOST EFFICIENT ECONOMICAL SOLUTION TO MAKE OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AS RESILIENT AS POSSIBLE.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF A PORTION OF A LINE IS PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE TO UNDERGROUND, WE WOULD NOT STOP THERE.
WE WOULD LOOK TOWARDS AN OVERHEAD HARDENING SOLUTION OR ALTERNATIVE TO IMPROVE THE SYSTEM.
THE PLAN WILL INCLUDE EFFORTS SUCH AS CIRCUIT, THE CIRCUIT HARDENING PROGRAM, POLE INSPECTION, AND REMEDIATION DESIGN AND MATERIAL METHODOLOGIES, NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE THAT I'VE, UH, SPOKE ABOUT HERE TODAY, AS WELL AS MUCH MORE WILDFIRE MITIGATION AND STRATEGIC INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENTS, WHICH WILL COME FROM THE RESULTS OF THE STUDIES.
UH, TODAY'S PRESENTATION AGAIN WAS, UH, TO SET THE TABLE AND PROVIDE BACKGROUND FOR, FOR THE SEVERAL UPCOMING UPDATES THAT I'LL BE BRINGING TO YOU NEXT MONTH.
I PLAN TO PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THE UNDERGROUND FEASIBILITY STUDY AND THEN COME BACK IN MAY AND PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THE OVERHEAD HARDENING STUDY.
THEN WE PLAN TO INCORPORATE BEST PRACTICES AND PROJECTS IDENTIFIED IN BOTH STUDIES TO OUR EXISTING PROGRAMS AND DEVELOP ONE COMPREHENSIVE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN IN THE SECOND HALF OF THIS YEAR.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO BRINGING YOU MORE UPDATES, UH, OVER THE COMING MONTHS.
AND WITH THAT, UH, THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU, AND HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, JUST A QUESTION ON, UH, THE FUNDING ASPECT OF IT.
WHEN YOU COME BACK TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR WITH THAT LONG-TERM RESILIENCY PLAN, WILL IT INCLUDE, UM, KIND OF WHAT THE, WHAT, WHAT THE EXPECTED COSTS MIGHT BE, AND WHETHER THAT WOULD BE PAID FOR WITH, YOU KNOW, BASE RATES OR WHETHER SPECIAL FUNDING OR GRANTS WOULD BE NEEDED? IS THAT, IS THAT GONNA BE PART OF THE PRESENTATION? ABSOLUTELY.
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YEAH, SO PART OF IT, UH, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WRAPPING UP THE STUDIES AND, AND LOOKING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, PROJECTS THAT ARE, UH, MENTIONED, BUT REALLY PULL THAT TOGETHER.BUT YES, THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WILL INCLUDE THE FINANCIAL, UH, PORTION AS WELL.
JUST THAT A, A QUICK QUESTION.
UM, CAN YOU JUST GIVE LIKE A ELEVATOR PITCH ON WHAT THE, THE SCOPE OF EACH OF THEM WOULD IN, WOULD, IN WOULD INCLUDE OR ARE INCLUDING? UH, THESE ARE THE STUDIES? YEAH.
LIKE, LIKE WHAT ALL, WHAT ALL ARE EACH LOOKING AT? I SAW THE PRESS RELEASE FOR I THINK TODAY, BUT I, I DIDN'T.
SO, SO THE UNDERGROUNDING STUDY IS JUST THAT, IT'S, IT'S THE FEASIBILITY TO UNDERGROUND.
AND SO IT'S LOOKING AT THAT 5,000 MILES OF, OF UNDERGROUND LINES THAT'S GOING THROUGH AND DO A RATING SYSTEM TO SEE WHERE THERE'S ECONOMIC, WHERE IT MAKES SENSE ECONOMICALLY TO, TO DO IT, WHAT WOULD, UH, TAKE PLACE.
IT, IT LAYS OUT ALL THE THINGS THAT, THAT COME INTO THAT WHEN PHYSICALLY UNDERGROUNDING ALIGN AND THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO THAT, THAT'S THE UNDERGROUNDING STUDY, AND THAT'S WHAT I'LL BE PRESENTING NEXT MONTH.
UM, IT'S A LITTLE BIT, UH, UH, A LITTLE FURTHER, UH, UH, NOT AS FAR AS ALONG AS THE UNDERGROUNDING STUDY, BUT IT MAY, I'LL BE COMING BACK AND DOING THE UNDERGROUND FEAS OR THE OVERHEAD, UM, CIRCUIT HARDENING, UM, OR HARDENING PROGRAM, UH, STUDY, IF YOU WILL.
SORRY, UH, THAT, THAT PARTICULAR ONE IS LOOKING AT, UM, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS TO SECTIONALIZE EVERY CIRCUIT ON OUR SYSTEM, INCLUDING, UH, SETTINGS FOR THAT.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VARIOUS TECHNOLOGIES, UH, UH, TO USE, WHERE TO PLACE 'EM, SO FORTH.
AND THE REASON WHY WE REALLY LOOK AT IT IS, IS THOSE TWO ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO NOT JUST GET THE INFORMATION, FINALIZE 'EM, BUT REALLY DIGEST THAT INFORMATION AND BRING THOSE TWO TOGETHER, BECAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE PLACES WHERE IT'S JUST GONNA MAKE SENSE TO UNDERGROUND, AND THERE'S OTHER PLACES THAT IT MAY BE COST PROHIBITED DUE TO EASEMENTS OR, UM, UH, A, YOU KNOW, ACCESS OR TOO, YOU KNOW, TOO MUCH TELECOM OR WHATEVER, WHATEVER IT MAY BE.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, MOVING FROM REAR LOT TO, TO FRONT LOT.
AND SO, UH, WE WANT TO, WE DON'T, AGAIN, DON'T WANNA STOP THERE.
WE WANNA COME BACK AND SAY, OKAY, IN THIS PLACE, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO PURSUE AN OVERHEAD HARDENING APPROACH, UM, SO THAT WE MAKE OUR SYSTEM AS REALLY RESILIENT AS POSSIBLE.
SO, BUT, SO IT'S ALL 5,000 LINE, 5,000 MILES OF LOOKING AT IT, ALL THAT IS CORRECT.
AND THEN ON THE, THE OVER HARD, THE OVER THE OVERHEAD HARDENING, WOULD THAT ALLOW FOR, LIKE, IF WE EVER GOT INTO LIKE A WINTER STORM UY SITUATION AGAIN, LIKE EASIER TO ROLL, LIKE, OR LIKE, NOT LIKE EASIER TO ROLL OUTAGES AROUND IF WE HAD TO LIKE, WITH THESE ADDITIONAL CIRCUITS AND RECLOSERS AND THINGS? WELL, I MEAN, WITH THAT IS IF, IF, UM, IF THE LINES ARE MORE RESILIENT, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE AS MANY OUTAGES THAT HAVE CORDS, MORE OPPORTUNITIES, I THINK REALLY WHERE THE, THE SECTIONALIZING IS, UM, WHICH IS PART OF THAT IS GONNA BE KEY IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO MOVE STUFF AROUND.
RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TO MOVE BIGGER BLOCKS OF POWER IF WE CAN REALLY SECTIONALIZE OUR SYSTEM AND IF WE'RE JUST MORE SWITCHING OPPORTUNITIES, UM, AS, UH, IF WE NEED TO MOVE STUFF AROUND.
YEAH, NO, I, I SEE IT FOR LIKE, FOR LIKE, IF A TREE FALLS, IF A TREE LIMB FALLS ON SOMETHING, BUT IF ERCOT SAYS YOU NEED TO SHED 3000, NO, WELL, HOWEVER MANY HUNDREDS OF MEGAWATTS OF LOAD, LIKE 20,000, 20, ALL OF IT, IT, IT, ALL OF IT FOR US, WHERE IT COULD, WHERE IT COULD HELP IS, UH, THERE MAY BE MORE SECTIONS THAT WE COULD, UM, UH, ROLL THROUGH IF IT HAS TO BE, ROUTE OUT SOME BLACKOUTS TRYING TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT EACH INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMER WERE TO SEE AN OUTAGE WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE IT BROKEN UP IN THOSE PIECES AND THEY'RE JUST BIG CHUNKS.
THERE'S, THERE'S NOT REALLY A WHOLE LOT YOU CAN DO.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? THANK YOU.
[11. Staff briefing on the Battery Program Launch Update, including DERMS and the use of Virtual Power Plants by Tim Harvey, Manager, Customer Renewable Solutions and Lindsey McDougall, Manager, Demand Response and Technical Services.]
ITEM, ITEM 11, IS A STAFF BRIEFING ON THE BATTERY PROGRAM LAUNCH, INCLUDING GERMS AND THE USE OF VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS BY TIM HARVEY.I'M RICHARD GENESEE, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS, AND TONIGHT WE'LL BE BRIEFING YOU ON THE STATUS OF OUR BATTERY DEPLOYMENT LAUNCH FROM TWO OF OUR LEADERS IN THE SPACE, TIM HARVEY, WHO LEADS OUR CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS GROUP, AND LINDSEY MCDOUGAL WHO LEADS OUR DEMAND RESPONSE GROUP.
I WANT TO BRIEFLY EXPLAIN WHY YOU ARE HEARING FROM THESE TWO SPECIFIC LEADERS TONIGHT.
UH, WE ENVISION INCENTIVIZING NEW BATTERY PURCHASES IN OUR SERVICE TERRITORY, WHICH WILL BE MANAGED OUT OF THE CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS GROUP.
AND WE ENVISION A PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE, WHICH WILL BE MANAGED OUT OF THE DEMAND RESPONSE GROUP.
AS YOU LISTEN TO THE BRIEFING TONIGHT, I REALLY WANT YOU TO FOCUS ON THREE MAIN TAKEAWAYS.
NUMBER ONE, THERE ARE MULTIPLE PATHWAYS IN WHICH WE LOOK TO DELIVER A BATTERY PROGRAM.
NUMBER TWO, THIS ROADMAP TO DELIVER BATTERIES IS A LONG ONE.
A LOT HAS BEEN DONE ALREADY, BUT THERE IS A LOT MORE WORK TO DO.
UH, WE NEED TO KNOW A LOT MORE ABOUT HOW BATTERIES ARE VALUED AND HOW THEY WILL BEST PERFORM IN DESIGNING AN
[01:00:01]
OPTIMAL PROGRAM THAT WORKS FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, THE COMMUNITY AND CUSTOMERS.WE ALREADY HAVE 15 MEGAWATTS OF BATTERIES IN OUR SERVICE TERRITORY, BUT HOW WE LEVERAGE THOSE BATTERIES FOR THE MOST BENEFIT AT A REASONABLE COST WHILE MAINTAINING OUR AFFORDABILITY IS THE RIGHT PATH FORWARD.
AND THAT TAKES TIME TO STUDY AND IMPLEMENT.
WE ALREADY HAVE A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT OR VPP, BUT WEAVING MULTIPLE DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS OR DERMS INTO ONE COHESIVE SYSTEM, WHICH IS EASY FOR OUR ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS GROUP TO OPERATE.
AND LEVERAGE WILL TAKE TIME, FOCUS, AND ALIGNMENT OF MULTIPLE GROUPS ACROSS THE UTILITY.
NUMBER THREE, I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE CUSTOMER.
WILL THE CUSTOMER ENROLL, MAINTAIN AND PERFORM WHEN AND HOW WE NEED THEM TO.
SUCCESS DEMANDS LARGELY ON CUSTOMER ENROLLMENT, PERFORMANCE AND RETENTION.
LIKE IN OUR OTHER DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS, YOU'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT ALTERNATIVES WE ARE EVALUATING TO EXPAND OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM.
WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO TIM, AND I'LL BE BACK AFTER BOTH PRESENTATIONS FOR YOUR Q AND A.
I'M THE CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS MANAGER.
SO I'M GOING TO, UH, GIVE YOU A LITTLE EDUCATION, UM, ABOUT VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS, UM, AND THE WAYS THAT WE CAN LEVERAGE THEM TO, UM, GAIN AVOIDED COSTS, UM, WHICH THEN ALLOWS US TO PROVIDE BENEFITS BACK TO THE CUSTOMERS.
SO IN A TYPICAL, UM, EVENT, AUSTIN ENERGY WOULD, UM, CALL TO THE DERM SYSTEM THAT WE NEED ENERGY ON THE MARKET OR WE WANT THE BATTERIES TO CHARGE, WHICH WOULD TAKE ENERGY FROM THE MARKET.
I'LL KIND OF GO INTO MORE DETAIL ON, ON THAT IN A MINUTE, BUT, SO WE'RE SENDING THAT SIGNAL TO THE PROVIDERS OF THE DERM SYSTEMS. THEY THEN COMMUNICATE WITH THE CUSTOMER BATTERIES TO TELL THEM TO CHARGE OR DISCHARGE, UM, AND OTHER DER DEVICES, UH, THERMOSTATS, UM, ELECTRIC VEHICLES, WATER HEATER TIMERS, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, AUSTIN ENERGY THEN AVOIDS COSTS ON THE MARKET.
I'LL GO INTO DETAIL ON HOW THAT WORKS, AND THEN WE PASS THE, THE BENEFIT BACK TO THE CUSTOMER.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE EC THE, THE CYCLE WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE HERE.
UM, AND I WILL, UM, EXPLAIN THAT IN THE NEXT SLIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE.
SO HERE YOU SEE A, UM, WINTER DAY THAT WAS KIND OF COLD AND, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY WILL TYPICALLY BE, UM, PURCHASING ENERGY ON THE DAY AHEAD MARKET.
SO, UM, OH, SORRY, I GOTTA HAVE IT MYSELF.
SO ENERGY ARBITRAGE IS THE IDEA THAT YOU'RE CHARGING THE BATTERY WHEN THE MARKET PRICE IS LOW AND DISCHARGING IT WHEN THE MARKET PRICE IS HIGH.
SO IT'S EASY TO SEE HOW YOU CAN GAIN, UM, EFFICIENCY THERE.
BUT NOT ONLY IS IT DOING THAT, BUT IT'S KIND OF LEVELIZING OUR LOAD AND IT'S, IT'S MEETING THE DEMAND WITH LOCAL SUPPLY.
AND IN DOING THAT, WE MITIGATE OUR RISK OF PRICE SEPARATION ON THE ERCOT MARKET.
UM, WHEN THE DEMAND EXCEEDS SUPPLY TOO MUCH, THEN THE PRICE IN OUR LOAD ZONE STARTS TO SPIKE, AND THEN WE PAY MORE FOR EVERY KILOWATT HOUR THAT WE HAVE TO BUY OFF THE MARKET TO SERVE LOAD.
SO HAVING THAT LOCAL GENERATION SOURCE THERE TO, UM, BALANCE OUT SUPPLY AND DEMAND AND KIND OF LEVEL OFF THE PEAKS AND FILL IN THE VALLEYS IS, UM, ONE OF THE STRATEGIES THAT WE'LL USE.
AND THAT'S CALLED ENERGY ARBITRAGE.
SO ANOTHER THING TO UNDERSTAND IS THE DAY AHEAD MARKET, SO THIS IS A, A POTENTIALLY, THIS IS A COLD DAY IN THE WINTER, AND SO WE HAVE THE MORNING PEAK AND, AND YOU SEE THERE, IT DIDN'T REALLY SPIKE UP.
IT ONLY GOT UP TO $60, A LITTLE OVER $60 A MEGAWATT HOUR.
BUT IF THERE WAS SOME KIND OF A GENERATION SHORTAGE.
FOR SOME REASON, THAT NUMBER COULD SPIKE ALL THE WAY UP TO $5,000.
AND THAT THEN BECOMES A VERY, VERY COSTLY EVENT TO THE UTILITY.
EVEN IF IT SPIKES UP TO $400, IT'S, IT'S COSTLY AND IT, AND IT MAKES SENSE FOR US TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DAY AHEAD MARKET TO HEDGE THAT RISK.
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WE'LL, WE'LL BUY WHAT YOU SEE THERE ON THE BLUE LINE.WE PAY MORE FOR IT, BUT WE MITIGATE OUR RISK BY DOING THAT.
IF WE HAVE A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT AT OUR DISPOSAL WITHIN THE DISTRIBUTION GRID, THEN WE CAN POTENTIALLY AVOID HEDGING THERE BECAUSE WE KNOW WE HAVE A GENERATION SOURCE TO MEET THAT DEMAND, AND WE'RE NOT, WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO, UM, NOT HAVE TO GO TO THE MARKET AND BUY IT FOR, UM, VERY HIGH PRICES.
SO ON, ON, ON THIS DAY, IF WE'RE USING ENERGY ARBITRAGE, WE'VE, WE'VE CHARGED THAT BATTERY AT A LOW MARKET TIME.
WE'RE DISCHARGING IT, IT TO FLATTEN OUT THAT PEAK AND WE'RE REDUCING OUR MARKET PRICE AT THAT TIME, AND WE'RE NOT DOING THE DAY AHEAD MARKET.
SO WE'VE ALREADY GAINED THAT A HUNDRED AND AND $40 FROM NOT DOING THE DAY HEAD MARKET, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GAINING ANOTHER $50 OR SO FOR DOING THE ARBITRAGE THROUGH SHIFTING.
WELL, ONE OF MY SLIDES GOT TAKEN OUT, I THINK, UM,
UM, SO THERE, THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO, TO LEVERAGE, UM, DOLLARS OUT OF, UM, SOLAR.
UM, ONE OF THOSE IS TO, UM, USE IT FOR FOUR CP AVOIDANCE.
SO THERE ARE FOUR DAYS IN THE SUMMER, AND IT'S ONE DAY FOR EACH OF THE FOUR HOTTEST SUMMER MONTHS WHERE ERCOT SETS FOUR CP AND THAT'S A 15 MINUTE WINDOW.
IF WE DEPLOY THE VPP DURING THAT TIME, THEN WE REDUCE OUR CONSUMPTION DURING THAT WINDOW.
THOSE FOUR DAYS SET THE TRANSMISSION COSTS FOR AUSTIN ENERGY FOR THE ENTIRE NEXT YEAR.
SO THE, TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN AVOID CONSUMPTION DURING THOSE 15 MINUTE PERIODS ON THOSE FOUR DAYS, WE CAN REDUCE OUR COST FOR THE ENTIRE NEXT YEAR FOR TRANSMISSION.
AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT WHEN WE REDUCE OUR CONSUMPTION DURING THAT TIME, WE ALSO REDUCE OUR LOAD SHED REQUIREMENT BECAUSE IT'S BASED ON THAT CONSUMPTION.
SO, UM, THE, THE VPP WILL ALSO ALLOW US TO DO THAT.
AND THEN ONE OTHER WAY THAT WE CAN LEVERAGE BATTERIES ON THE DISTRIBUTION GRID IS, UM, FOR NON VIRUS ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES.
SO IN ORDER TO, UM, TO GAIN AVOIDED COSTS THROUGH THAT, YOU, YOU CAN IMAGINE A FEEDER, UM, THAT HAS LOAD GROWTH AND WE'RE NEARING A POINT WHERE WE WOULD NEED TO BUILD A NEW SUBSTATION.
SO IF WE CAN, UM, PUT BATTERIES AND SOLAR IN PLACE ON THAT FEEDER AND USE THEM STRATEGICALLY, THEN WE CAN MITIGATE THE, THE EFFECTS OF THAT LOAD GROWTH AND THEN, UM, DEFER OR MAYBE EVEN ELIMINATE THE, UM, COST OF THAT, UM, SUBSTATION.
SO BY DEFERRING THAT COST, THAT CREATES AN AVOIDED COST TO AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO THOSE ARE THE WAYS THAT WE CAN KIND OF USE BATTERIES IN A VPP SCENARIO TO GAIN AVOIDED COSTS.
UM, SO AS WE ARE MOVING THROUGH OUR EVOLUTION TOWARDS THE SMARTER UTILITY AND, AND TOWARDS DECENTRALIZATION AND USING VPPS, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CERTAIN STEPS THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE.
AND SO WE'VE PRETTY MUCH COMPLETED PHASE ONE.
PHASE ONE IS WHERE WE, UM, PARTICIPATED IN THE SHINES GRANT, UM, AND WE DID SOME STUDIES ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF BATTERIES, COMMERCIAL SCALE, UTILITY SCALE, RESIDENTIAL SCALE.
UM, WE WORKED WITH DSD AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO, UM, CREATE THE PROPER INTERCONNECTION REQUIREMENTS FOR SAFETY FOR NOT ONLY FOR ELECTRICAL WORKERS, BUT ALSO FOR OUR FIRST RESPONDERS.
UM, WE'VE INTEGRATED THAT INTO PERMITTING AND INSPECTIONS.
WE'VE UPGRADED THE BILLING SYSTEM TO ENABLE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BATTERY CONFIGURATIONS.
SOMETIMES THEY'RE COUPLED WITH THE, UM, SOLAR AND BEHIND THE SOLAR METER.
SOMETIMES IT'S JUST A STANDALONE BATTERY AND THERE IS NO SOLAR METER.
UM, WE HAD TO CONFIGURE OUR BILLING SYSTEM TO BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THAT AND BILL APPROPRIATELY.
UM, WE HAVE ENABLED VEHICLE TO HOME, SO A CUSTOMER CAN NOW USE THEIR ELECTRIC VEHICLE IF THEY HAVE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT AND THE SETUP, THEY CAN USE THEIR ELECTRIC VEHICLE TO POWER THEIR HOME IN A POWER IN A GRID OUTAGE.
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VEHICLE TO GRID YET, BUT THAT'S ALONG THE PATH.UM, AND WE'VE GOT 15 MEGAWATTS OF, OF BATTERIES IN PLACE AT, AT CUSTOMER SITES.
SO WE'RE KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF PHASE TWO, WHICH IS WHERE WE'RE GETTING TO.
UM, IT'S MORE OF THE EXPLORATION AND, AND US, UM, COMING UP WITH OUR, OUR DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES AND OUR PROGRAM STRATEGIES.
AND THEN THE FINAL STAGE WILL BE MORE, UM, ON DEPLOYMENT.
UM, SO OUR CURRENT EFFORTS INCLUDE, UM, RESILIENCE HUB PLANNING.
SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THE PAR, UM, PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT TO, AND WE'VE IDENTIFIED, UH, SITES IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES WHERE WE PLAN TO PUT SOLAR BATTERIES AND A BACKUP GENERATOR.
UM, SO THESE WILL PROVIDE LONG-TERM RESILIENCY.
UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH CAMP MABRY WHO IS ALMOST READY TO GO LIVE WITH THEIR MICRO GRID FUNCTIONALITY.
SO THAT WHOLE CAMPUS WILL BE, UM, ABLE TO, UM, STAND UP IN THE EVENT OF A GRID FAILURE FOR, UM, LONG PERIODS OF TIME.
UM, WE ARE GETTING READY TO PUT STICKERS ON THE BATTERIES AS WE INSPECT THEM.
AND THOSE STICK STICKERS WILL SAY RECYCLING INFORMATION ON THEM AND HAVE A QR CODE.
THAT QR CODE WILL LEAD TO A WEBSITE THAT'S, UM, CONSTANTLY MAINTAIN THAT GIVES CUSTOMERS INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO RECYCLE THEIR BATTERIES AND SOLAR.
UM, SO MARKET BENEFIT ANALYSIS AND OPERATION STRATEGIES.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE CURRENTLY EXPLORING, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING TO GET THIRD PARTIES INVOLVED IN THAT, UM, AND THAT ANALYSIS.
UH, SO, SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE A FEW DIFFERENT DERMS SYSTEMS FOR EDGE DERMS. NOW AN EDGE, AN EDGE DER DEVICE IS A CUSTOMER OWNED DEVICE.
AND EDGE DERMS TICKET TYPICALLY, UM, INTERFACE WITH THOSE DEVICES.
SO WE HAD THOSE OUT THERE FOR, UM, OUR, OUR THERMOSTAT AND ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING PROGRAMS. AND, AND WE ARE LOOKING TO POTENTIALLY INCORPORATE THE BATTERIES INTO THOSE.
SO WE'RE WORKING WITH, UM, VENDORS ON THAT AND, AND THOSE DIFFERENT TYPES OF, UM, AGREEMENTS AND, AND HOW THOSE WILL WORK.
WE, UM, ALSO HAVE THE SOLAR FOR ALL, UM, PROGRAM, HOPEFULLY COMING DOWN THE PIPE AND THROUGH IT, IT WILL HAVE ITS OWN INCORPORATED VPP, UM, AND WILL BE HAVE THAT EQUITY COMPONENT, UM, FOCUSED ON LOW INCOME.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO PLANNING, UM, FOR A CENTRAL DERMS. SO THE CENTRAL DERMS IS ANOTHER TYPE OF DERMS SYSTEM THAT SITS WITHIN THE UTILITY AND INTEGRATES WITH OUR OTHER PROGRAMS LIKE OUR CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, OUR DISTRIBUTION PLANNING, MODELING SYSTEM, ENERGY MARKET AND OPERATIONS.
SO IT'S ALL THE, THE FUTURE SMART UTILITY IS, UM, VERY COORDINATED AND THE, THE SYSTEMS ARE TALKING TO EACH OTHER.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO THAT STATE.
WE'RE WORKING WITH THE ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE WHO WORKS WITH MULTIPLE UTILITIES AROUND THE NATION, AND THEY'RE HELPING US TO SCOPE OUT, UM, AND, AND PROVIDE, UH, INFORMATION THAT'LL GO INTO THE RFP FOR PROCUREMENT OF THAT.
AND, UM, SO AS PART OF THAT, WE HAVE A DERMS, UM, INTERNAL WORKING GROUP THAT MEETS BIWEEKLY
UM, SO WE'RE ALSO, UM, ALWAYS LOOKING AT NEW TECHNOLOGY.
HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF A PIECE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY, UM, THAT ALLOWS FOR A MUCH FASTER INSTALL OF BATTERIES AND, UM, ALLOWS IT TO BACK UP THE HOME WITHOUT, UM, CREATING A NEW SUBPANEL FOR DEDICATED LOADS AND ET CETERA.
UM, SO THIS DEVICE RIGHT HERE SAVES ABOUT FOUR TO EIGHT HOURS ON THE INSTALLATION.
UM, AND WHAT IT DOES IS, UH, YOU JUST PULL OUT THE METER, YOU STICK IN THE METER COLOR, WHICH ENABLES A DISCONNECTION SO THAT WHEN THE GRID GOES DOWN, THE BATTERY'S SERVING THE LOAD OF THE HOME, IT'S NOT PUSHING ENERGY BACK ONTO THE LINE, WHICH THEN COULD AFFECT A LINE WORKER THAT'S TRYING TO RESTORE A, A LINE.
UM, SO, AND THEN THE METER STABS RIGHT INTO THE
[01:15:01]
TOP OF THAT.UM, THERE ARE A FEW DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS THAT HAVE THESE THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT AND, AND HAVE ENABLED.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY THAT'S GONNA HELP TO MOVE US ALONG AND STREAMLINE PROCESSES.
AND SO, AS WE ARE CONSIDERING A BATTERY PROGRAM, WE NEED TO LOOK AT THIS FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND, AND UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE ECONOMY OF IT.
SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT IT FROM THE CUSTOMER'S PERSPECTIVE, CONSIDER IT FROM THE COMMUNITY'S PERSPECTIVE, AND OF COURSE FROM THE UTILITIES PERSPECTIVE.
SO THE, THE CUSTOMER IS, UM, CURRENTLY GETTING TAX CREDITS FOR BATTERIES.
UM, THERE'S A 30% FEDERAL TAX CREDIT, UH, HOPEFULLY THAT CONTINUES ON, UM, AND UPFRONT AND SENDING FROM AUSTIN ENERGY WILL PART BE PART OF THE PICTURE SOON.
UM, RESILIENCY IS PROBABLY THE MAIN DRIVER FOR BATTERY ADOPTION CURRENTLY.
IF WE CAN CREATE VALUE STREAMS THAT WILL GIVE A CUSTOMER, YOU KNOW, MORE REASON TO ADOPT A BATTERY, BUT RIGHT NOW IT'S ESSENTIALLY FOR RESILIENCY.
SO WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WE'RE CONSIDERING UTILIZING THE CUSTOMER'S BATTERY.
WE DON'T WANT TO GO IN THERE, DRAW IT ALL DOWN, AND THEN THE CUSTOMER DOESN'T HAVE THE BATTERY FOR THEIR MAIN USE CASE IF, IF THE SITUATION ARISES.
SO WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT IN MIND.
UM, AND THEN THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD POTENTIALLY GET ONGOING BENEFITS THROUGH THE VPP PROGRAM ONCE WE GET THERE.
UM, SO THE COST TO THE CUSTOMERS ARE OBVIOUSLY THE COST OF THE BATTERY WEAR AND TEAR ON THAT BATTERY IF WE'RE USING IT ON THE, ON A DAILY BASIS, UH, MAINTENANCE INSURANCE, THEY NEED TO EDUCATE THEMSELVES TO GET TO THAT POINT AND THEN RECYCLING AT THE END OF LIFE.
AND THEN THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT.
SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE LEAD THEM THROUGH THE INCENTIVE PATH, THAT IT'S VERY EASY FOR THEM.
THEY'RE GETTING THE PROPER INFORMATION UP FRONT, MADE, MAKING EDUCATED DECISIONS ON, UH, THEIR BATTERIES, UM, AND THAT THE INSTALLATION AND INSPECTION IS TIMELY AND EASY, UH, FOR THEM.
THERE NEEDS TO BE A RATE OF RETURN EITHER THROUGH THE VPP OR AN ACTUAL RATE.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THAT UTILITY ENGAGEMENT THAT HELPS THEM ALONG THE WAY.
SO WE'RE LOOKING TO, TO REALLY, UM, IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ON ALL THESE LEVELS AND DESIGN A PROGRAM THAT'S GONNA BALANCE THOSE COSTS AND BENEFITS FOR THE CUSTOMER AS WELL AS FOR THE UTILITY.
I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITY THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED.
UM, AS MORE AND MORE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS GET BATTERIES, THAT CREATES MORE RESILIENCY IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO WHEN THERE IS AN EVENT, NEIGHBORS WILL HAVE PEOPLE TO GO TO.
THERE'LL BE RESOURCES, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COMMUNITY CAN HELP TO PROP ITSELF UP.
UM, LOCAL ECONOMIC IMPACTS, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, EVERY, EVERY TIME WE INSTALL BA YOU KNOW, INCREASE OUR PROGRAMS TO INSTALL MORE BATTERIES AND SOLAR, YOU'RE INCREASING JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND THE LOCAL DOMESTIC PRODUCT, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL OF COURSE, UM, AND BATTERIES CAN EVEN BOLSTER FURTHER THE ENVIRONMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF SOLAR BY THEN SHIFTING THAT SOLAR POWER TO A PEAK TIME AND, UM, HOPEFULLY AVOIDING SOME, UH, PEAKER GENERATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS THAT SCALES AND PEAKER GENERATION HAS A HIGH CARBON OUTPUT.
UM, SO HEALTH GOES ALONG WITH THAT.
UM, WE CURRENTLY HAVE A EDUCATION MODEL MODULES FOR, UM, MIDDLE SCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR SOLAR.
UM, I IMAGINE THAT BATTERIES WILL BE PART OF THOSE MODULES IN THE NEAR FUTURE AS WELL.
UM, IT PUTS DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON RATES.
SO, UM, AS I EXPLAINED EARLIER, AS WE CAN, UM, BALANCE BETTER OUR SUPPLY AND DEMAND ON THE DISTRIBUTION GRID, THAT BRINGS DOWN THE PRICE OF ENERGY ON THE ERCOT MARKET THAT WE PAY, WHICH THEN BRINGS DOWN RA RATES IN GENERAL, UM, AND THEN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO FOR THE UTILITY, WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR COST AND BENEFITS AS WELL.
AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE BALANCING THOSE CORRECTLY.
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OUR COSTS ARE EXCEEDING THE BENEFITS, THAT'S GONNA LEAD TO HIGHER PRICES TO, TO RATE PAYERS.UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE SENDING THE APPROPRIATE COST SIGNALS TO CUSTOMERS EARLY ON BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA HAVE TO BACKTRACK AND ON ON RATES WITH CUSTOMERS.
UM, SO UNDERSTANDING THAT VALUE PROPOSITION IS VERY IMPORTANT.
SO FOR THE COSTS, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE RATE THAT WE'LL PAY OUT.
UM, WITH THESE DERM SYSTEMS, THEY COME AT A COST AND IT'S PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL.
SO WE LOOK AT THOSE PLATFORM FEES.
UM, THERE ARE ALSO PLATFORM FEES FROM SOME OF THE OEMS, SO THE, UH, ORIGINAL MANUFACTURERS OF THE BATTERIES, IN ORDER FOR THEM TO ALLOW ACCESS TO BE CONTROLLED, THEY WANT A PLATFORM FEE SOMETIMES.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF MIDDLEMAN FEES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH.
UM, AND THEN AN UPFRONT INCENTIVE FOR THE BATTERY, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE PLAN TO HELP CUSTOMERS GET OVER THE COST HURDLE.
UM, MARKETING AND, AND EDUCATION ARE, ARE ALSO COST TO US.
UM, SO ON THE BENEFITS SIDE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HELPING TO INCREASE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR METRICS FOR SUCCESS.
UM, WE'RE INCREASING THE DISPATCHABILITY OF LOCAL SOLAR.
AGAIN, THAT ALLOWS US TO HELP PUT DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON THE MARKET, UM, RATE STABILITY, AVOIDED COSTS, AND A CLEAN, A CLEANER ENERGY FUTURE.
SO THESE ARE ALL OUR GOALS AND, AND GOALS THAT WE HAVE SET FORTH THROUGH THE GENERATION PLAN THAT WE NEED TO ACHIEVE.
UM, AND, AND SOME OF THE STRATEGIES FOR THAT ARE, LIKE I SAID, AN EDGE DERMS. UM, WE CURRENTLY HAVE A FEW OF THEM WE COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE MORE OR LESS IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND THEN THAT CENTRAL DERMS THAT'S GOING TO TALK TO ALL OF THE EDGE DERMS AS WELL AS ALL OF OUR, UM, CENTRAL PROGRAMS, CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT, EMO, UM, THE, THE DISTRIBUTION PLANNING, ET CETERA, BILLING SYSTEM.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL USE THOSE STRATEGIES THAT I TALKED ABOUT, ENERGY ARBITRAGE, FOUR, CP AVOIDANCE ANCILLARY SERVICES I DID NOT TALK ABOUT, BUT IF YOU, IF THE VPPS, IF THE, IF THE DEVICES AT THE EDGE GRID CAN BE CONTROLLED IN A WAY THAT'S FAST ENOUGH TO MEET ERCOT REQUIREMENTS, THEN WE CAN ALSO BID INTO THE ANCILLARY SERVICES MARKET.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER POTENTIAL REVENUE STREAM.
UM, AND THEN NON WIRE'S ALTERNATIVES.
SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO LEVERAGE THROUGH A BATTERY PROGRAM TO MAKE IT ALL PENCIL AND MAKE IT WHERE WE CAN PROVIDE THE CUSTOMER WITH A DECENT OFFERING THAT PROVIDES, UM, SOME PAYBACK ON AND RETURN ON THEIR INVESTMENT, UM, AND TO HELP TO PROPAGATE BATTERIES, UM, WITHIN OUR SERVICE TERRITORY.
IS THIS, IS THAT YOUR SLIDE? NO, THIS IS ME STILL.
SO, UM, SO I GUESS JUST TO KIND OF SUMMARIZE, UM, SOME OF THE KEY INFORMATION THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR AS WE'RE LOOKING TO, UM, ROLL OUT OR TO CREATE BATTERY PROGRAM ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE, UM, BEYOND THE SOLAR.
SO WHAT'S THE VAL, WHAT, WHAT ENVIRONMENTAL VA VALUE IN TERMS OF AVOIDED CARBON CAN WE GAIN FROM MOVING THAT SOLAR PRODUCTION TO A HIGHER PEAK TIME ON THE MARKET? UM, THE VALUE OF UTILITY CONTROLLED BATTERIES.
SO WHAT ARE ALL THE AVOIDED COSTS STACKED UP? THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW.
UM, THE VALUE OF CUSTOMER CONTROLLED BATTERIES.
SO IN A SCENARIO WHERE THE UTILITY ISN'T USING A VPP TO CONTROL THE CUSTOMER'S BATTERIES, AND WE'RE JUST GIVING THEM RATE SIGNALS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU USE YOUR BATTERY IN THIS WAY, IT WILL CREATE AVOIDED COST OF THE UTILITY AND YOU WILL AVOID COST ON YOUR BILL.
SO THAT WOULD REQUIRE A CERTAIN RATE STRUCTURE THAT WILL ALLOW THAT TIME OF USE OR DEMAND BILLING, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO I THINK THAT'S, UH, PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT, UM, YOU KNOW, LESS OF A CONCRETE VALUE, BUT CERTAINLY THERE'S A VALUE THERE AND CUSTOMERS KNOW THAT AND THAT'S WHY THEY'RE OUT THERE BUYING BATTERIES.
UM, DRIVERS FOR CUSTOMER, CUSTOMER ADOPTION, KIND OF SAME THING.
SO WHAT IS A CUSTOMER CONSIDERING WHEN THEY'RE LOOKING TO MAKE THIS PURCHASE? ARE
[01:25:01]
THEY LOOKING AT JUST BATTERIES OR MIGHT THEY BE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, A NATURAL GAS OR LIKE A, A GAS POWER POWERED GENERATOR OR SOME OTHER SOURCE OF ENERGY? UM, SO WHAT ARE THE COMPETING ALTERNATIVES AND THEN THE COSTS AND RISKS OF DOING NOTHING.SO WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND LIKE IF WE DON'T DO ANYTHING HERE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE COST OF THAT? AND IS THERE COMPELLING REASONS TO DO ONE THING OVER ANOTHER? SO ALL OF THESE THINGS WE'RE GONNA BE CONSIDERING AS WE DEVELOP OUR PROGRAM.
AND, UM, I'M GOING TO ASK LINDSAY TO COME UP AND SHE'S GONNA TELL YOU MORE ABOUT DEMAND RESPONSE.
IS THIS A GOOD TIME TO PAUSE FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THIS PORTION, OR WOULD YOU RATHER WAIT TILL THE END? IT'D PROBABLY BE BEST JUST TO WAIT TILL THE END.
AND THEN, YEAH, 'CAUSE SHE'S PROBABLY GONNA GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION.
I'M THE MANAGER OF DEMAND RESPONSE AND TECHNICAL SERVICES.
CAN YOU ADVANCE THE SLIDE? THANK YOU.
SO I COME FROM THE DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM PORTFOLIO, AND I'M PARTNERING WITH TIM HARVEY TO BRING THIS DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM FOR BATTERY OWNERS.
AND SINCE BATTERY OWNERS TYPICALLY INSTALL THEM WITH SOLAR, THAT'S WHY WE'RE TEAMING UP TO PROVIDE THE BEST PROGRAM POSSIBLE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT, VPP IS AN AGGREGATION OF DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES, AND IN THIS SITUATION WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BATTERIES COUPLED WITH SOLAR.
AND SO HOW THE UTILITY SEES THIS, THE CHARACTERISTICS WE SEE IN A PROGRAM IS THAT THE CUSTOMER IS PAID FOR THEIR PERFORMANCE AND HOW WELL THEY DO IN DEMAND RESPONSE EVENTS.
SO THAT MEANS IF WE DISPATCH A SIGNAL TO THESE BATTERY OWNERS, WE CAN PAY THE CUSTOMER ACCORDING TO HOW WELL THEIR BATTERY PERFORMS WHEN WE NEED IT.
ALSO, A CHARACTERISTIC IS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY CONTROLS THE BATTERY.
WE CAN REMOTELY DISCHARGE THAT BATTERY AND CONTROL WHEN IT CHARGES, AND WE CAN SEE THE BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE BASED ON THE TELEMETRY THAT WE CAN SEE THROUGH OUR VPP, OUR OUR AGGREGATOR.
WE CAN HAVE DIRECT INSIGHT INTO THIS TELEMETRY AND KNOW ALL THINGS ABOUT MANY THINGS ABOUT THE BATTERY THAT ALLOWS OUR ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS TO DO FORECASTING.
SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT, AND YOU CAN SEE THE ICONS OF THE DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE CONTROL OVER IN OUR VPP.
SO, UM, WE HAVE THE THERMOSTAT AND THE ELECTRIC VEHICLES, AND LIKE I SAID, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITY OF INCLUDING THE BATTERY COUPLED WITH SOLAR.
WHEN WE CONSIDER A UTILITY PROGRAM WITH A VPP, UM, WE LOOK AT COST EFFECTIVENESS.
TIM SPOKE ON SPOKE, SPOKE TO THIS, BUT DEMAND RESPONSE.
WE PUT ALL OF OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS THROUGH A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS TO SEE WHAT THE BENEFITS AND COSTS ARE TO THE UTILITY AND THE COMMUNITY AND THE CUSTOMERS.
SO WE'RE SEEKING A PROGRAM THAT PASSES THAT COST EFFECTIVENESS TEST.
WE ALSO WANT A PROGRAM THAT'S OEM INCLUSIVE, THAT'S THE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER THAT'S THE MAKER OF THE BATTERY.
SO WE WANT A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL OF THOSE BATTERIES.
WE ALSO SEEK TO EXPAND OUR EXISTING VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.
VIRTUAL POWER PLANT IS NOT THE ONLY PROGRAM THAT'S POSSIBLE THROUGH A SOLAR COUPLED BATTERY PROGRAM.
THERE'S TWO MAIN TYPES OF PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING THE VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.
THE KEY DISTINCTION IS AUSTIN ENERGY CONTROLS THAT BATTERY AND AUSTIN ENERGY CAN REMOTELY CONTROL THAT BATTERY'S CHARGE AND DISCHARGE.
SO AUSTIN ENERGY CAN MANAGE LOAD.
WE USE THE BATTERY'S TELEMETRY TO VERIFY THAT DISCHARGE AND CHARGE OF THE BATTERY THROUGH OUR THIRD PARTY CLOUD-BASED SOFTWARE AGGREGATOR.
AND AUSTIN ENERGY HAS PROGRAM EXAMPLES OF THIS EXISTING VPP WITH OUR POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT AND EV PROGRAM.
IN CONTRAST, THERE'S ANOTHER KIND OF BATTERY PROGRAM, WHICH WE USE A RATE, LIKE A TIME OF USE RATE OR A BILL CREDIT TO INCENTIVIZE PEAK SHAVING.
THE KEY DISTINCTION HERE IS THE CUSTOMER RETAINS CONTROL OF THEIR BATTERY.
AUSTIN ENERGY ASKS THE CUSTOMER TO CHARGE AND DISCHARGE THEIR BATTERY BASED ON A SCHEDULE OR PROGRAM PARAMETERS THAT WE SET FORTH TO THE CUSTOMER, AND WE CAN VERIFY THAT THE CUSTOMER IS DOING THIS BEHAVIOR AS WE DESIRE THROUGH OUR SMART METERS THAT WE'VE INSTALLED IN RESIDENTIAL HOMES.
HOWEVER, THERE'S NOT DETAILED FORECASTING IN THIS METER VERIFICATION.
WE HAVE AN EXISTING PROGRAM THAT THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THIS RATE DESIGN.
[01:30:01]
MANAGED EV CHARGING PILOT.NOW I'D LIKE TO TRANSITION A LITTLE BIT TO EXPANDING OUR EXISTING DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS. SO WE OFFER THE POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT AND EV PROGRAM TO OUR RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL AND MULTIFAMILY CUSTOMERS.
AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING AN OFF SEASON BONUS THAT AWARDS $75 FOR ENROLLMENT OF THOSE THERMOSTATS INTO THIS PROGRAM.
WE DO THIS BECAUSE WINTER IS NOT TYPICALLY A TIME WHEN PEOPLE BUY NEW THERMOSTATS.
USUALLY THEY BUY THEIR NEW THERMOSTATS IN THE SUMMER WHEN THEY'RE DOING THEIR HVAC WORK.
AND SO THIS IS A WAY TO JUST GAIN ENROLLMENTS OFF SEASON.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT KEEPING THAT INCENTIVE AROUND THAT ADDED INCENTIVE OF $75 FOR ENROLLMENT YEAR ROUND TO INCREASE OUR ENROLLMENTS TO THAT PROGRAM.
WE'RE ALSO IMPLEMENTING A REOCCURRING ANNUAL INCENTIVE OF $25 FOR BOTH POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT AND EV.
AND THIS IS TO RETAIN OUR CUSTOMERS YEAR OVER YEAR.
WE SEE AN ATTRITION PROBLEM IN OUR POWER PARTNER PROGRAMS BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL ENROLL AND THEN THEY'LL GO THROUGH A SUMMER OF DEMAND RESPONSE EVENTS AND THEN THEY'LL LEAVE THE PROGRAM.
AND SO THIS INCENTIVE IS INTENDED TO RETAIN THOSE CUSTOMERS, TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO KEEP ON WITH THE PROGRAM, KEEP RECEIVING OUR SIGNAL TO INCREASE THE THERMOSTATS TEMPERATURE OR DELAY THE ELECTRIC VEHICLES CHARGE.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT A RESIDENTIAL PAY FOR PERFORMANCE FEASIBILITY STUDY.
SO THIS WOULD TAKE THE PARTICIPATION INCENTIVE A STEP FARTHER.
SO CURRENTLY YOU CAN GET THE REOCCURRING ANNUAL INCENTIVE EVEN IF YOU OVERRIDE THE EVENT.
SO YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, LOWER YOUR TEMPERATURE, FOR EXAMPLE, AND YOU STAY IN THE PROGRAM AND YOU GET YOUR REOCCURRING INCENTIVE.
BUT WITH THIS PAY FOR PERFORMANCE IDEA, YOU'D BE PAID OUT BASED ON HOW MANY EVENTS YOU GO THROUGH IF YOU ALLOW AUSTIN ENERGY TO CONSISTENTLY CURTAIL YOUR THERMOSTAT OR YOUR EV CHARGING.
AND WE'RE ALREADY DOING THIS WITH OUR COM COMMERCIAL DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM, AND THOSE CUSTOMERS GET A PAYOUT BASED ON THEIR AVERAGE PERFORMANCE ACROSS ALL OF OUR DEMAND RESPONSE EVENTS.
DURING THE SUMMER, WE'RE EVALUATING AN AUSTIN ENERGY BRAND AND MICROSITE OR WEBSITE TO OFFER DEMAND RESPONSE AND ROLLED THERMOSTATS.
SO THIS IS A CONCEPT WHERE THERE'S A VIRTUAL RETAIL STORE THAT IS WHITE LABELED WITH AUSTIN ENERGY BRANDING, WHERE WE HAVE FOR SALE DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES THAT ARE ALREADY ENROLLED IN DEMAND RESPONSE.
SO AT THE POINT OF PURCHASE, THE CUSTOMER COULD CONFIRM THAT THEY'RE AN AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMER, SIGN OFF ON TERMS AND CONDITIONS TO BE ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM OF DEMAND RESPONSE, PAY FOR IT WITH THE INCENTIVE APPLIED SO AT A DISCOUNT AND HAVE THAT DEVICE SHIPPED TO THEIR HOME READY TO GO WITH DEMAND RESPONSE.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT HAVING OUR RESIDENTIAL ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION REBATE BE TIED TO DEMAND RESPONSE.
SO THIS MEANS THAT WHEN YOU ARE AWARDED THAT REBATE FOR YOUR CHARGING STATION, YOU MUST ENROLL IN POWER PARTNER EV.
AND SO THAT WOULD BE ALSO A PART OF THE TRANSACTION OF GETTING THE REBATE YOU WOULD HAVE TO ENROLL IN THE PROGRAM.
FURTHERMORE, WE'RE LOOKING TO SCALE INSTALLATIONS OF PRE-ENROLLED DEMAND RESPONSE THERMOSTATS.
SO THIS IS A PART OF OUR LESSONS LEARNED THROUGH OUR SMART HOME REWARDS PROGRAM.
WE'VE COMPLETED THREE PROPERTY INSTALLATIONS OF THREE MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES WHERE WE'VE GONE AND INSTALLED INTO THE TENANT UNITS PRE-ENROLLED DEMAND RESPONSE THERMOSTATS.
SO WHEN THE TENANTS MOVE IN, THAT THERMOSTAT IS ALREADY CONNECTED TO DEMAND RESPONSE THAT THAT TENANT WILL RECEIVE OUR CURTAILMENT SIGNALS OVER THE SUMMER.
AND IT'S JUST A, A FUNCTION OF THAT PROPERTY.
IT'S A PART OF THEIR LEASE THAT THEY, THAT THEY DO, THAT WE WANT TO BUILD ON OUR SUCCESS OF THE CITY DEMAND RESPONSE RESOLUTION AND CITY BUILDINGS IN WHICH WE ENROLLED ALL ELIGIBLE CITY OWNED BUILDINGS INTO DEMAND RESPONSE LAST YEAR.
WE CAN ALSO STRENGTHEN OUR BUILDING CODES FOR DEMAND RESPONSE, ENABLE DEVICES AND NEW CONSTRUCTION.
SO WE WOULD PARTNER WITH OUR GREEN BUILDING DIVISION TO DO THAT, AND WE WANT TO ENHANCE DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM MARKETING AND COMMUNITY AWARENESS.
SO IN CONCLUSION, OUR DESIRED OUTCOMES FOR BATTERY DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM INCLUDE INCREASED DISPATCHABILITY OF ENERGY IN OUR LOAD ZONE, INCREASED BATTERY OPPER ADOPTION, INCLUDING DERS,
[01:35:01]
HIGH CUSTOMER PARTICIPATION, EXCELLENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, SUSTAINABLE PROGRAM DESIGN, AND INTEGRATED SYSTEMS. THANK YOU THAT, UH, THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION.WE WILL NOW TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS
THANKS AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, ONE QUESTION I HAD WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, I HEARD YOU MENTION THAT YOU WANTED TO HAVE A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL OF THE DIFFERENT OEMS IN TERMS OF THE BATTERIES.
UM, BUT ALSO I MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME MANUFACTURERS ARE TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, INSTITUTE HIGHER FEES.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO NEGOTIATE THAT AWAY AND THE FEES ARE SIGNIFICANT, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, I I'M JUST CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF YOU MIGHT CONSIDER HAVING DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, UH, MAYBE REBATE LEVELS FOR, FOR DIFFERENT EQUIPMENT, IF THAT IS THE REALITY OF THE COST TO THE UTILITY.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE GOAL AS, AS HAS BEEN SAID, OUR GOAL IS TO NOT LAUNCH, UH, WITH EITHER ONE OEM DOMINANT OR, YOU KNOW, SOLELY, UH, ONE OR SEVERAL OEMS. WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE THIS OEM AGNOSTIC, UH, THAT'S, UH, CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE'RE WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
SO I GUESS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, STRIVE FOR THAT.
THAT'S REALLY GONNA BE OUR, OUR MODEL.
UH, I DON'T FORESEE LAUNCHING SOMETHING THAT WOULDN'T BE ACCESSIBLE TO MULTIPLE MANUFACTURERS.
NOW WE CAN'T MAKE EVERY MANUFACTURER NECESSARILY PARTICIPATE, BUT OUR, OUR OBJECTIVE IS THE WIDEST SWATH OF, UH, BATTERY MANUFACTURERS PARTICIPATING IN A, UH, A PROGRAM.
AND SORRY IF I DIDN'T MAYBE STATE MY QUESTION CLEARLY.
I WAS JUST, I YEAH, I HEAR YOU.
THAT YOU WANNA HAVE IT ACCESSIBLE AND, AND I, YOU KNOW, I APPLAUD YOU FOR THAT.
UM, I GUESS I WAS JUST MORE THINKING, UM, OR ASKING IF THE REALITY IS, IS THAT IN ORDER TO MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE TO ALL, SOME MANUFACTURERS ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, CAUSING THE UTILITY TO PAY SIGNIFICANTLY MORE, IF THAT MAY BE, UM, REFLECTED IN THE LEVEL OF UPFRONT REBATE THAT THE UTILITY GIVES TO THE CUSTOMER TO PARTICIPATE.
YEAH, I MEAN, I, I, I HEAR YOUR, YOUR QUESTION.
I THINK THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WOULD IMPACT WHAT, AT WHAT LEVEL WE WOULD BE ABLE TO OFFER, UH, THE TWO INCENTIVES THAT WE PLAN THE UPFRONT INCENTIVE FOR, UM, NEW BATTERIES AND THE ONGOING INCENTIVE FOR THE PERFORMANCE ALONG THE DEMAND RESPONSE FRONT.
UH, SO WHAT YOU'RE POINTING OUT WOULD IN FACT, UH, POTENTIALLY AFFECT ONE, IF NOT BOTH OF THOSE IN TERMS OF WHAT WOULD BE ABLE TO OFFER, BECAUSE AFFORDABILITY IS STILL SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO MAINTAIN AFFORDABILITY IN LAUNCHING THIS PROGRAM.
I GUESS JUST KIND OF, I'LL, I'LL FRAME IT IN A, AS, AS A INFORMAL SUGGESTION THAT IF IT COMES TO THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK INSTEAD OF REDUCING THE INCENTIVE FOR EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, MAKING IT SPECIFIC TO THOSE WHO CHOOSE THE MANUFACTURER OR MANUFACTURERS WHO ARE CHARGING THE HIGHER FEES, UM, SEEMS LIKE A PERHAPS HIGHER REASONABLE APPROACH.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST THROWING IT OUT THERE.
UM, CAN YOU SAY AGAIN, WHAT THE TIMELINE IS FOR IMPLEMENTATION ON THE BATTERY SIDE OF THINGS? UH, TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION? I, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC, UH, TIMELINE TO COMMIT TO TONIGHT.
WE'RE OBVIOUSLY TRYING TO IMPLEMENT AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN, AND THE OBJECTIVE WOULD BE TO LAUNCH THE BATTERY PROGRAM THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
UM, AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION JUST HAD TO DO WITH THE OVERRIDING OF EVENTS SPECIFICALLY FOR BATTERIES.
UM, IS THAT SOMETHING, UM, THAT YOU WOULD STILL ALLOW, UM, AND IF SO, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE LOOKING AT A, A PAY FOR PERFORMANCE MODEL, WHICH I STRONGLY SUPPORT.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE QUESTION IS, IS WOULD CUSTOMERS STILL BE ALLOWED TO OVERRIDE? I UNDERSTAND THAT IF AN EVENT WAS COMING, YOU KNOW, OR A POTENTIAL LIKE OUTAGE WAS COMING, IT SOUNDS LIKE Y'ALL WOULD NOT DRAIN THE BATTERY ANYWAY.
SO YEAH, JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THAT.
[01:40:01]
I, I THINK THAT, UM, THOSE ARE DETAILS TO BE WORKED OUT IN THE SPECIFIC PROGRAM PARAMETERS, BUT AS TIM ALLUDED TO WHEN HE WAS SPEAKING, YOU KNOW, SINCE THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE BATTERY IS RESILIENCY, WE WOULD NEVER INTEND TO DRAIN THE BATTERY SUFFICIENTLY SO THAT IT COULD NOT DELIVER ON THAT OBJECTIVE.AND IN FACT, BATTERIES CAN BE PROGRAMMED TO WHERE THEY NEVER GO LOWER THAN A CERTAIN AMOUNT IN ORDER TO RESERVE THAT RESILIENCY FOR THE CUSTOMER'S USE.
SO WE WOULD BE USING IT, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT LEVEL THAT IS, IS, BUT FROM A HUNDRED PERCENT TO LET'S SAY 20%, AND THEN THE BATTERY WOULD ALWAYS RETAIN 20% TO ZERO FOR THE CUSTOMER.
IS THERE SOME POINT AT WHICH, UM, THE COMMISSION WILL SEE KIND OF A, A DRAFT OF, YOU KNOW, THOSE DETAILS THAT WE CAN WEIGH IN ON BEFORE IT'S FINALIZED? OR IS THERE GONNA BE A STAKEHOLDER PROCESS FOR THAT SINCE WE'RE PURSUING MULTIPLE PATHWAYS? UM, I, I WANT TO ANSWER YES, BUT IT'S ON, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE PATHWAYS, OTHER PATHWAYS INCLUDE NEGOTIATIONS WITH, UH, VENDORS.
UH, SO THE COMMISSION WOULDN'T REALLY HAVE A WAY TO WEIGH IN ON THAT, BUT THERE ARE OTHER PATHWAYS WHERE THE COMMISSIONS WOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO WEIGH IN AND THERE WOULD BE MORE OF A PUBLIC PROCESS ELEMENT TO THAT.
I MENTIONED THE MULTIPLE PATHWAYS BEFORE, AND TIM MENTIONED THIS TOO, BUT LIKE THE FACT THAT SOLAR FOR ALL IS GONNA HAVE ITS OWN DURS AND THAT'S A SEPARATE PATHWAY AND, AND A VPP AND YOU KNOW, MAYBE A STANDALONE BATTERY PROGRAM IS GONNA BE ANOTHER PATHWAY.
SO I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION BY SAYING IS IT DEPENDS ON THE SPECIFIC PATHWAY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, BUT WE DO INTEND THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WOULD BE A LONG CERTAIN PATHWAYS THERE WOULD BE A ABILITY, UH, FOR MORE COMMISSION ENGAGEMENT AND OR, UH, A PUBLIC PROCESS.
WELL, I GUESS JUST IN CASE THERE MAYBE ISN'T, UH, IN SOME PATHWAYS, I'LL JUST SAY, I THINK FIRST OF ALL, I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING THIS.
I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIAL TO THE, THE FUTURE OF THE UTILITY, UM, AND, AND GOOD FOR CUSTOMERS IN A LOT OF WAYS.
UM, I ALSO, YOU KNOW, THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY BE USED, UM, YOU KNOW, TO MAXIMIZE THE DESIRED BENEFIT.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, RECEIVING THAT UPS UPFRONT REBATE SHOULD REQUIRE THE CUSTOMER TO ACTUALLY PARTICIPATE IN THE EVENTS.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IN GENERAL, YOU KNOW, HAVE SOME LIMITATIONS ON THE ABILITY TO OVERRIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE'S NOT A POTENTIAL ARTIST SCENARIO LOOMING.
UM, A FEW COMMENTS, THOUGHTS? QUESTIONS.
UM, I'M ALSO EXCITED TO SEE THIS, THIS GOING THROUGH, I WILL SAY LIKE FROM, FROM SOME OF LIKE A LOT OF THE WORK THAT I'VE DONE WITH LIKE PECAN STREET FROM LIKE THEIR FOUNDING UP UNTIL TODAY, AND THEN I'VE, I'VE ACTUALLY WORKED DIRECTLY WITH ONE OF THE TWO GROUPS THAT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT THROUGH ERCOT, A DER PROGRAM.
LIKE THIS IS, IT IS A HARD THING TO DO AND IT, IT, IT'S A VERY HARD THING TO DO.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE THE ONLY ONES FOLKS WHO'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT WORK ARE THOSE WHO BASICALLY OWN THE ENTIRE LIKE, UH, VALUE CHAIN OR LIKE OWN LIKE, LIKE EITHER TESLA OR BEC OR BANDERA.
LIKE THEY, LIKE HAVE THE CUSTOMER, THEY HAVE THE CONNECTION, THEY HAVE THE, THE HARDWARE AT THE END, THEY HAVE THE SOFTWARE THAT INTERACTS WITH THAT.
AND I DON'T, I DON'T REALLY SEE ANYONE ELSE WHO'S BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS, LIKE BRINGING A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER THINGS TOGETHER.
SO WHEN YOU SAY OEM INCLUSIVE, LIKE IT DOES MAKE ME A BIT NERVOUS, LIKE IN TERMS OF LIKE BODYING OFF, LIKE TOO MUCH, LIKE FOR A REALLY, REALLY HARD PROJECT.
SO I WOULD, I WOULD SAY MAKE THEM PLAY IF YOU WANT TO BE INCLUSIVE WITH OEMS, LIKE MAKE THEM PLAY YOUR GAME.
DON'T, DON'T PLAY THEIR GAME BECAUSE THIS IS GONNA BE HARD ENOUGH AS IT IS, UM, TO, TO DO.
AND THEN ALSO ON THAT, LIKE I, I THINK THERE, THERE'S PROBABLY SOME LEARNINGS TO BE, TO BE LEARNED FROM, FROM TESLA AND BEC, LIKE THEY'RE OPERATING IN THE, WELL, BE C'S A CO-OP, BUT TESLA'S OPERATING IN THE REP SPACE, BUT LIKE THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO KIND OF MAKE IT WORK SO FAR, OR AT LEAST TESLA'S FOR A WHILE, BC'S KIND OF GETTING OFF THE GROUND.
UM, WE MAYBE WE COULD LEARN SOME LESSONS THERE BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'VE ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED THESE PROGRAMS ALREADY.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE, WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM
[12. Discussion of Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget Priorities.]
12.IT'S A DISCUSSION ITEM TO DISCUSS BUDGET PRIORITIES FOR THE 2026 FISCAL YEAR.
UM, I KNOW THAT THIS ITEM WAS REQUESTED
[01:45:01]
BY VICE CHAIR WHITE, SO I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO HER TO START THE DISCUSSION.YEAH, AND I HAVE NOT, UH, WRITTEN ANYTHING UP FOR THIS, BUT JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR US TO START, UM, TALKING THIS MONTH BECAUSE, UM,
AND, UM, JUST FOR THOSE WHO ARE, UH, NEW TO THE COMMISSION OR NEW TO THE CITY COMMISSIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS JUST A KIND OF MAYBE AWKWARD REALITY THAT, UH, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS DON'T GET A, LIKE, BUDGET PRESENTATION OF WHAT THE DEPARTMENTS ARE PROPOSING IN ADVANCE OF THAT DEADLINE.
UM, BECAUSE THOSE HAVE TO GO THROUGH A WHOLE APPROVAL PROCESS UP THROUGH THE CITY MANAGER BEFORE THEY CAN THEN BE PRESENTED TO, TO COUNCIL, AND THEN EVENTUALLY TO US.
BUT THAT COMES, UM, PRETTY CLOSE TO WHEN THE BUDGET IS GONNA BE VOTED ON USUALLY, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY AT OUR, UM, JULY MEETING.
UM, SO THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TO IDENTIFY AREAS THAT WE SEE, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY NEED ADDITIONAL SUPPORT COMPARED TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING CURRENTLY.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THEY'RE VERY SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, HOWEVER MANY DOLLARS TO DO SOME CONTRACT OR CERTAIN NUMBER OF STUFF, POSITIONS OR WHATEVER, UM, OR THEY CAN BE, YOU KNOW, MORE GENERAL, YOU KNOW, PUT MONEY TOWARDS THE
UM, SO JUST, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT OF OVERVIEW THERE ABOUT WHAT THE KIND OF EXPECTATION AND TIMELINE IS.
UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE THINGS THAT, UM, I HOPE THAT WE MIGHT CONSIDER, UM, SPECIFICALLY ON STAFF ADDITIONS.
UM, WE'VE JUST HEARD FROM THE SOLAR TEAM ABOUT A BUNCH OF WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING.
UM, WE KNOW THAT ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, NOW RUNNING THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, HAD A REALLY GOOD, UH, LAUNCH AND SEEMS LIKELY TO, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE AS A ROBUST PROGRAM.
YOU KNOW, ASSUMING THAT THAT WASN'T JUST, YOU KNOW, A, A KIND OF ONE OFF WITH THE LAUNCH, BUT I DON'T THINK IT WILL BE.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW THAT THE SOLAR TEAM, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN DOING A LOT AND CAPACITY TO MANAGE ALL OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, KINDA APPLICATIONS THAT THEY'LL GET FROM THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM WAS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THEY STARTED WITH THE COMMERCIAL PROGRAM.
BUT NOW WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF LOOKING AT EXPANDING TO RESIDENTIAL, WHICH, UM, IS GREAT, BUT JUST WOULD MEAN, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY EVEN MORE APPLICATIONS, UH, TO MANAGE AND QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC AND WHATNOT.
UM, SO I THINK THAT THAT'S AN AREA WHERE, UM, IT MIGHT BE GOOD FOR US TO RECOMMEND STAFFING INCREASES FTES, UM, FOR THE SOLAR TEAM.
UM, I DON'T KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT THE DETAILS OF, YOU KNOW, THE NEED ON THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY TEAM, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF US HAVE KIND OF ASKED FOR A TALK WITH THEM ABOUT OVER THE PAST COUPLE YEARS HAS COME DOWN TO, YOU KNOW, STAFF CAPACITY TO DO THEM EVEN IF THEY'RE, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, NOT OPPOSED TO THE IDEAS.
SO I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY DEMAND RESPONSE, NEVER QUITE CLEAR ON IF THERE'S A LINE OR IF THEY'RE LINKED TOGETHER, BUT, UM, WOULD BE ANOTHER KIND OF BUCKET WHERE IT SEEMS LIKE MORE STAFF CAPACITY WOULD BE NEEDED.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE THAT WOULD FALL IN LINE WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DIRECTION THAT THE UTILITY IS MOVING IN THE, YOU KNOW, UPDATED RESOURCE PLAN WHERE THERE'S MORE EMPHASIS ON THESE DEMAND SIDE, UH, RESOURCES.
SO THOSE ARE A COUPLE OF THE THINGS I HAVE IN MIND WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IF OTHERS HAVE THOUGHT AT ALL ABOUT BUDGET AT KABA.
I MEAN, WE, WE ALWAYS HAVE THIS DISCUSSION ABOUT BUDGET AND IT'S ALWAYS THIS DIFFICULTY OF, UM, GETTING THE INFORMATION IN TIME TO MAKE REAL, UH, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, UH, THINGS HAVING TO DO WITH INSPECTIONS AND PERMITTING OF SOLAR, SORRY, I'M NOW IN A SOCCER GAME WITH A, IT'S REALLY LOUD.
UM, UH, SO, UH, SOLAR, UH, PERMITTING, BUT ALSO FOR THE ENERGY CODES WORK, ALL THAT'S IMPORTANT.
UM, BUT MAYBE WE CAN HAVE A GROUP TOGETHER AND COME BACK WITH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS LIKE WE DID BEFORE.
[01:50:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, FOR A FEW YEARS GOING, I KNOW THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION KEPT ASKING FOR, UM, STAFF AT, AT DSD TO ACTUALLY ENFORCE THE ENERGY CODE.UM, IT STILL HASN'T HAPPENED, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I EVEN SAY IT OUT LOUD, BUT WHAT THE IMPLICATION IS THERE, UM, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A GREAT ENERGY CODE, BUT TO ADOPT A NEW ONE, BUT, YOU KNOW, ENFORCEMENT IS, UM, A NEED.
ANYONE ELSE WANNA CONTRIBUTE? I'LL JUST CLARIFY THAT IF, UH, MEM THE, THE, THE OLD BUDGET AND AUDIT WORKING GROUP, WHICH USED TO EXIST LAST YEAR IS, IS NOT TOGETHER RIGHT NOW, BUT FIVE OR FEWER OF YOU ARE WELCOME TO CHAT ABOUT ANY BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU WANT AND, UM, WE, AND TO HAVE THEM READY FOR THE MARCH MEETING, BUT I'M HAPPY TO CHAT OFFLINE ABOUT THAT.
SO IF FIVE OR FEWER OF YOU WANT TO CONTACT AMY, YOU GO AHEAD.
YOU CAN CONTACT ME DIRECTLY AND I'LL TELL YOU IF YOU'RE THE SIXTH PERSON OR SOUNDS LIKE, LIKE A PLAN.
YEAH, IF ANYBODY WANTS TO, IF ANYBODY WANTS TO LIKE RAISE THEIR HAND RIGHT NOW, I THINK CYRUS AND I ARE DEFINITELY GONNA UM, YOU KNOW, PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO JOIN OCB.
I'M DEFINITELY INTERESTED, UM, IN HELPING, UM, I MEAN I DO, I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE BUDGET IF WE HAVE TO SUBMIT SUGGESTIONS BY THE END OF NEXT MONTH.
BUT, UM, I GUESS ONE IS WITH THE ADOPTION OF THE RESEARCH GENERATION PLAN IS LIKE, WELL, WHAT IS GONNA BE PROPOSED FOR THIS BUDGET, RIGHT? TO MOVE THAT PLAN FORWARD, RIGHT? SO JUST SOME INDICATION OF THE INVESTMENTS THAT WILL BE MADE TO ENSURE, UH, WE CAN MEET THE GOALS RIGHT IN THAT PLAN.
AND THEN ONE WHERE I'M JUST KIND OF INTERESTED IN THIS ISSUE IS THE, UH, LIKE THE TRANSITION OF, OF OUR STREET LIGHTS, RIGHT? TO LED LIGHTING, YOU KNOW, AND UM, 'CAUSE I'D LIKE TO KNOW JUST KIND OF WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT AND THEN LIKE HOW MANY OF OUR LIGHT, LIGHT FIXTURES, RIGHT? OUR LED VERSUS INCANDESCENT AND THEN WITH THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE BUDGET FOR THE NEXT YEAR, LIKE HOW LONG IS THAT TRANSITION GONNA TAKE? RIGHT? I MEAN, 'CAUSE I DO THINK THAT IT'S, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO SAY, BUT 20 YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS ON THE CITY COUNCIL
BUT IF Y'ALL COULD SHARE INFORMATION ON THE STATUS OF THAT CONVERSION, BUT ALSO WHAT, AGAIN, GIVEN WHAT WE BUDGET FOR THAT, HOW MUCH, UH, OF A DEBT CAN WE MAKE IN THAT THE, IN A YEAR, RIGHT? SO JUST BACKGROUND INFORMATION, IF YOU COULD SHARE ANYTHING, THAT'D BE GREAT.
IT'S AMY, IS THAT SOMETHING WE COULD GET THAT INFORMATION? STUART IS GONNA RESPOND I THINK.
COMMISSIONERS, UH, STEWART RILEY, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER OF BUSINESS SERVICES.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE REMINDER IS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BUDGETING MORE FOR SOMETHING, WE'RE REALLY JUST TALKING ABOUT THE EXPENSE SIDE OF THE EQUATION.
AND WE REALLY NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT IF WE'RE INCREASING A COSTS, WE NEED TO INCREASE OUR REVENUES.
FOR EXAMPLE, LAST YEAR WE HAD A 2% RATE INCREASE THAT GENERATED ABOUT 14 TO $15 MILLION.
OUR COST OF LIVING INCREASE FOR EMPLOYEES COSTS ABOUT 14 TO $15 MILLION.
SO BASICALLY WE JUST BARELY KEPT UP WITH WHAT OUR COSTS ARE ON THE LABOR SIDE AND THAT DOESN'T EVEN ACCOUNT FOR INCREASES THAT WE'RE SEEING TO ALL OF THE COMPONENTS THAT WE'RE PUTTING ONTO OUR SYSTEM.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING 200 OR, UH, YOU KNOW, 100 TO 200 DOUBLING AND TRIPLING OF, OF THE COST OF ALL THE COMPONENTS THAT WE'RE, UM, ACQUIRING MOST.
AND SO THERE'S JUST EXTREME COST PRESSURES ON US.
UM, I WILL ASSURE YOU THAT NOBODY WOULD LIKE TO BRING A RECOMMENDATION FOR MORE POSITIONS, MORE FTES IN THIS COMING BUDGET THAN US.
UM, WE DEFINITELY FEEL IT, OUR TEAMS FEEL IT.
UM, FOR YEARS, UM, IN OUR OPINION WE'VE BEEN UNDER INVESTING IN STAFF RESOURCES.
[01:55:01]
IN AND YEAR OUT.OUR SYSTEM GROWS, THE COMPLEXITY GROWS, THE COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS GROW, AND YET WE ADD LITTLE, IF ANY STAFF MEMBERS, NORMALLY IF WE ADD ANY NEW FTES, THEIR CONTRACTOR CONVERSIONS THAT ARE KIND OF A NET NET ZERO, YOU KNOW, SO, UM, A NET NEUTRAL.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE PROGRAMS, WE'RE LOOKING AT CREATING PROGRAMS THAT ARE SUCCESSFUL AND IN ORDER TO HAVE SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS, WE HOPE TO BRING YOU THE POSITIONS TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS, BUT ULTIMATELY THAT IS CONSTRAINED BY REVENUES.
SO I JUST WANNA REMIND YOU OF THAT.
AND THEN ALSO JUST TO COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ'S POINT, UM, WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION, UH, READILY AVAILABLE IN TERMS OF WE'RE MAKING GREAT PROGRESS IN TERMS OF CONVERTING THE HIGH PRESSURE SODIUM LIGHTS TO LED LIGHTS AND THAT WILL CONTINUE GOING.
THOSE STREET LIGHTS ARE PAID FOR UNDER THE, THE SERVICE AREA LIGHTING CHARGE COMPONENT OF THE, UH, CBC, THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE.
AND SO, UM, AGAIN, IF WE WERE TO DO MORE, IF WE WERE TO ACCELERATE THAT PROCESS OR DO MORE STREET LIGHTING AGAIN, THAT THAT'S JUST, THAT JUST RAISES RATES IN, IN ORDER TO BASICALLY BE ABLE TO RECOVER TO DO THAT WORK.
SO WE ARE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS THERE AND, UH, WE'LL CONTINUE DOING SO.
VICE CHAIR WHITE, THANK YOU FOR THAT INFORMATION.
I WAS JUST WONDERING ABOUT THAT LAST COMMENT ABOUT RAISING THE RATES TO PAY FOR THE CONVERSIONS.
UM, I MEAN THAT, THAT RATE IS ALSO FOR THE ENERGY USE, IS THAT CORRECT? OH, UH, ON THE SERVICE AREA LIGHTING CHARGE? YEAH.
UH, NO, THE SERVICE AREA LIGHTING CHARGE PAYS FOR THE LIGHTS AND FOR THE CONSUMPTION OF THE LIGHT, THE ENERGY USE OF THE LIGHTS, AS WELL AS THE ENERGY USE OF TRAFFIC SIGNALS.
BUT IT DOES NOT PAY FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE TRAFFIC SIGNALS.
IT PAYS FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE, THE STREET LIGHTING AND THEN THE USAGE OF THE STREET LIGHTING AND THE TRAFFIC SIGNALS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS.
SO I MEAN, EVEN IF THERE WAS MAYBE A TEMPORARY INCREASE TO PAY FOR THE CONVERSION LONG TERM, IT WOULD ACTUALLY SHOULD DECREASE THE RATE, RIGHT? WITH THE DECREASE IN ENERGY USE? OR AM I MISSING SOMETHING THERE? I, I BELIEVE WE'RE VERY WELL, UM, THROUGH THAT CONVERSION PROCESS ALREADY.
SO I, I DON'T THINK THAT IT WOULD REQUIRE EVEN A SHORT TERM INCREASE IN THE RATE.
UM, I WAS REALLY JUST MAKING THE POINT TO EMPHASIZE, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO BE THINKING OF BOTH SIDES OF THE EQUATION.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? THANK YOU.
ALRIGHT, WELL I THINK THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE INTERESTED IN MEETING OFFLINE ON THIS CAN DO THAT VIA AMY.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE FINAL ITEM TO IDENTIFY ITEMS TO DISCUSS AT FUTURE MEETINGS.WELL, I THINK WE'VE IDENTIFIED ONE, THE BUDGET.
UM, ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE MEETING TOPICS? UM, OH, DO YOU HAVE ONE VICE CHAIR WHITE? YEAH.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO GET A, AND IT PROBABLY CAN BE PRETTY BRIEF, BUT YOU KNOW, AN UPDATE ON THE STANDARD OFFER, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT STANDS AND IT DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, IT CAN BE NEXT MONTH, WHEREVER IT'S NEXT MONTH OR THE FOLLOWING MONTH.
COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ? I HAVEN'T, UH, UM, I HAVEN'T KEPT UP WITH SORT OF THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM.
UM, SO IT'D BE, I'D LOVE TO GET A BRIEFING ON SORT OF, UM, THE IMPACT RIGHT OF THAT PROGRAM SINCE WE ARE ONE OF THE PIONEERS IN, UM, IN THAT ARENA, RIGHT? SO JUST, UH, IF WE CAN SQUEEZE, UH, SOME INFORMATION IN, UH, AT ONE OF OUR MEETINGS, THAT'D BE GREAT.
COMMISSIONER CHAPMAN, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? YEAH, I WAS GONNA, UH, RECOMMEND, UH, AN AN WITHIN THE YEAR, UH, AN UPDATE ON THE LOW INCOME PROGRAMS AND SPECIFICALLY, UH, PART OF THE RATE INCREASE IN INCLUDED, UH, SEPARATION LEVELS FOR THE CAP PROGRAM.
AND I KNOW THERE'VE BEEN SOME HURDLES WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, BUT, UH, CERTAINLY HOW THAT'S WORKING AS WELL AS THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, UH, THAT COULD BE DONE.
I'M NOT THIS, CERTAINLY NOT THIS,
[02:00:01]
UH, LATER.ANYTHING ELSE? ALL RIGHT, WELL WE'VE MADE IT THROUGH OUR AGENDA.
THANK YOU FOR HUMORING ME AS ACTING CHAIR TONIGHT AND UH, WE ARE ADJOURNED.
OH, AND IT IS, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR FILLING IN AND I'M SORRY THAT I LIKE BAILED LAST MINUTE ON YOU.
NO, I WAS JUST WORRIED THAT I WAS GONNA BE ILL 'CAUSE MY KIDS STARTED GETTING MORE ILL AND I WAS.
WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOU STAYING FAR AWAY.