[00:00:03]
UH, I'M PAUL ROBBINS, ACTING CHAIR.
[CALL MEETING TO ORDER]
THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.I NEED AT LEAST ONE OF THE TWO MEMBERS WHO ARE, UH, ATTENDING REMOTELY TO BRIEFLY SHOW THEMSELVES ON CAMERA, UH, SO THAT WE KNOW WE HAVE A QUORUM.
COULD COMMISSIONER GARY OR COMMISSIONER SCHWARTZ, OR BOTH OF YOU PLEASE BRIEFLY, UH, SHOW YOURSELVES ON CAMERA SO THAT WE KNOW WE HAVE QUORUM AND THEY NEED TO STAY ON CAMERA TOO.
WELL, THAT'S KIND OF NEW, BUT, OKAY.
ONE OF YOU NEEDS TO STAY ON CAMERA AGAIN.
COULD, UH, EITHER COMMISSIONER SCHWARTZ OR COMMISSIONER GARY, UH, PLEASE, UH, SHOW THEMSELVES ON, OKAY.
WE HAVE COMMISSIONER SCHWARTZ.
ARE, ARE YOU IN ATTENDANCE? I AM IN ATTENDANCE.
UH, ARE YOU ABLE TO USE YOUR CAMERA OR ARE YOU ONLY ON YOUR, UH, AUDIO? I CAN USE MY CAMERA, BUT I'M NOT GONNA KEEP IT ON THE ENTIRE TIME.
WELL, ONE OF THE TWO OF YOU, UH, COMMISSIONER SCHWARTZ, I AM TOLD BY, UH, LEGAL COUNSEL IN THIS ROOM THAT YOU NEED TO, UH, BE ON CAMERA IN ORDER TO SHOW WE HAVE A QUORUM.
UH, THIS REQUIREMENT HAS NOT BEEN THERE BEFORE, BUT IT IS HERE NOW.
CAN YOU PLEASE LEAVE YOUR CAMERA ON? THANK YOU.
OUR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS TO APPROVE THE, DO YOU NEED, DO YOU NEED US TO DO ROLL CALL? UH, HONESTLY, NO.
IF WE'VE GOT, UH, HIM THERE, UH, WE CAN ALL COUNT AND WE'RE GOOD.
UM, I WAS GONNA TURN MY CAMERA ON.
I PROBABLY LAUGH AT THAT ON ANOTHER DAY.
SO, UH, UH, WE HAVE, UH, NO CITIZEN COMMUNICATION, NO PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS TONIGHT.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Resource Management Commission Special Called Meeting on February 3, 2025.]
SO WE'RE GOING TO GO TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.SO, MOVE, IS THERE A SECOND? THERE IS A SECOND.
ARE THERE ANY, UH, I'LL CALL THE ROLE, UH, SECOND.
I, I'M, I'M JUST GONNA ASK FOR ACCLIMATION HERE.
AND HE OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? OKAY, I ABSTAINED.
UH, COMMISSIONER GARY HAS SHOWN ABSTAINING, UH, I, I'M SORRY, I DID NOT HEAR HER.
[2. 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. ]
OKAY.OUR NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS IS, UM, THE, UM, 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 27TH, 2025, THROUGH THE GRANT PERIOD ENDING AUGUST 31ST, 2029, FOR A TOTAL AGREEMENT IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $31,593,683 FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $31,593, EXCUSE ME.
593 FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $31,593,683 IS AVAILABLE STARTING IN THE FISCAL YEAR, 20 24, 20 25.
AUSTIN ENERGY OPERATING BUDGET, SPECIAL REVENUE FUND.
UM, IS THERE, UH, STAFF IN ATTENDANCE WHO WANTS TO BRIEFLY, UH, GO OVER THIS? HELLO, COMMISSIONER.
I'M THE CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS MANAGER.
SO THIS IS AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH HARRIS COUNTY.
UM, HARRIS COUNTY IS THE MAIN RECIPIENT OF THIS, UH, $150 MILLION
[00:05:02]
GRANT TO THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND AUSTIN IS PART OF A COALITION THAT WON THAT GRANT.SO WE'RE SUB-RECIPIENTS TO HARRIS COUNTY.
SO THIS BASICALLY IS, UM, THE AGREEMENT WITH HARRIS COUNTY THAT WE WILL ABIDE BY, UM, THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE GRANT SO THAT THEY CAN STAY IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE GRANT.
UM, AND, AND THAT WE'RE DOING OUR PART WITH THAT.
UM, DO WE KNOW WHETHER, DO WE HAVE ANY VISIBILITY INTO THE ODDS THAT HARRIS COUNTY'S GONNA GET THIS MONEY AND THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PROGRAMS? WE DON'T HAVE A CLEAR INDICATION OF HOW THAT'S GOING TO PLAY OUT AT THIS POINT.
UM, WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THEY NO LONGER HAVE ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM TO SUBMIT A CLAIM TO GET REIMBURSED THROUGH THE GRANT.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE GRANT WAS APPROPRIATED TO THEM, SO IT'S BEING HELD IN THEIR NAME, ESSENTIALLY.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE, WE'LL JUST HAVE TO SEE WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS HERE.
HAS THE CITY OF AUSTIN BEGUN EXPENDITURES USING THIS MONEY? NO.
WE, WE, WE COULDN'T EVEN START UNTIL THIS ILA GOES THROUGH ANYWAY.
SO, SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY AT RISK UNTIL THIS IS COM THE AGREEMENT IS COMPLETED AND EPA CUTS LOOSE THE CASH AGAIN, RIGHT? CORRECT.
WE, WE, WE HAVEN'T SPENT ANY MONEY ON THIS.
ARE THERE COMMISSIONERS, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I HAVE A QUESTION AND MY CAMERA'S ON.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THIS, UH, TO OUR ATTENTION.
JUST GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
AS FAR AS THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS.
WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE AND WHAT WOULD THAT ENTAIL? UM, WHAT, WHAT NEGOTIATION PROCESS ARE, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? SO ARE YOU GUYS NEGOTIATING THE, THE FUNDS? IS THAT WHAT IS STATED ON HERE? AM I READING THAT WRONG? NO, IT'S, IT'S AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN US AND HARRIS COUNTY THAT, SO IT'S ALLOWS US ACCESS TO THE FUNDS THROUGH HARRIS COUNTY.
AND SO THE AMOUNT OF MONEY LOOKS LIKE ON THE 24TH THAT THERE WAS AN APPROVAL FOR POSITIONS, IS THAT CORRECT? LIKE, FULL-TIME POSITIONS? ONCE, ONCE WE GET ACCESS TO THE MONEY, WE'LL BE ABLE TO HIRE POSITIONS THAT WERE, UM, THAT WERE PLANNED THROUGH THE GRANT.
WE HAVE THREE POSITIONS THAT ARE PLANNED THROUGH THE GRANT, TWO COORDINATORS AND AN ASSOCIATE, AND THOSE WILL BE GRANT FUNDED POSITIONS FOR THE TERM OF THE GRANT.
AND WILL THEY BE INDOOR OR IS IT, WILL THEY BE FILLED POSITIONS? I'M SORRY, YOU, YOU BROKE UP AT THE END THERE.
ARE THEY, I SAID, ARE THEY INSIDE POSITIONS OR WILL THEY BE FILLED? I KNOW SOME GRANTS YOU HAVE TO GO OUT IN COMMUNITY, SO I WAS JUST WONDERING.
THEY, THEY WILL BE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY DURING THE GRANT PERIOD.
COMMISSIONERS, I'M SORRY, PLEASE.
JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION.
WE, WE PLAN TO PROCEED, UM, AS IF WE'RE GETTING THE MONEY.
WE DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING THAT WOULD, UM, GET US OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE GRANT NO MATTER WHAT UNTIL, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE FINAL RESOLUTION ON OUR ACCESS TO EVERYTHING.
AND FOR, FOR CLARIFICATION, THE AMOUNT OF THE MONEY IN THIS WAS DETERMINED IN THE PROPOSAL TO HARRIS COUNTY AND THE COALITION.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE, SO, SO EVERYTHING, THE AMOUNT OF CASH AND THE THINGS IT'LL BE SPENT FOR HAVE BEEN LONG RESOLVED AND NAILED DOWN.
AND THE ONLY THING LEFT TO DO IS THIS PAPERWORK AND HAVING THE FEDS RELEASE THE CASH AGAIN.
COMMISSIONERS, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OKAY.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS? SO MOVED.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
[00:10:02]
MS. GOODWIN, COULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE VICE CHAIR? UH, YES.COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN? YES.
UM, I'M GONNA TAKE UP THE TWO OTHER VOTING ITEMS BEFORE WE GO TO BRIEFINGS AND THE, UM, UH, THE BRIEFINGS ON THE VIRTUAL POWER PLANT AND THE, UH, UH, RESTRUCTURE OF PARTIAL RESTRUCTURE OF AUSTIN ENERGY SOLAR PROGRAM.
[4. Discussion and recommend to City Council to commend Chair Louis Stone on his service to the Resource Management Commission. (Sponsors: Robbins and Silverstein)]
I HOPE THIS IS UNANIMOUS, BUT THERE'S A RESOLUTION IN YOUR PACKET TO COMMEND OUR CHAIR, LEWIS STONE.HE WILL NOT BE, UH, ON OUR COMMISSION AFTER THE END OF APRIL.
UH, PERSONALLY, I THOUGHT HE DID AN EXCELLENT JOB, UH, AND, UM, DESPITE, UH, PHILOSOPHICALLY DISAGREEING WITH HIM ANY NUMBER OF TIMES, HE NEVER TOOK IT PERSONALLY.
UM, I, AT LEAST HE SAID HE NEVER TOOK IT PERSONALLY.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, UM, UM, I WOULD PARDON MY POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS FROM THE TRAFFIC JAMS. IT IS PAGE 46 OF 90.
I, THE, THE PAGES ARE NOT NUMBERED.
WELL, IF YOU HAVE YOUR HAND ON IT, COULD YOU PLEASE READ THE, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED? SURE.
THEN BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION ENTHUSIASTICALLY THANK COMMISSIONER STONE FOR HIS VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION TO OUR WORK, AND ENCOURAGE HIM TO APPLY TO OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT WORK TOWARD THE BETTERMENT OF AUSTIN.
IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, EXCUSE ME.
MS. GOODWIN, COULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL? YES, SIR.
COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN? YES.
[5. Discussion and recommend obtaining additional information on Austin Energy’s District Chilling System. (Sponsors: Robbins and Silverstein)]
NEXT, UH, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMEND, EXCUSE ME, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMEND OBTAINING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON AUSTIN ENERGY'S DISTRICT CHILLING SYSTEM.UH, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, UH, BACK LAST SUMMER, UH, WE PASSED A RECOMMENDATION THAT THE PROPOSED SALE OF THE DISTRICT CHILLING SYSTEM BE DELAYED, UH, UNTIL, UH, UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THERE WAS MORE INFORMATION AVAILABLE UNTIL IT COULD BE REVIEWED BY STAKEHOLDERS.
AND SINCE THEN, I HAVE PERSONALLY ENDEAVORED TO OBTAIN THAT INFORMATION.
AND SOME OF THE INFORMATION HAS NOT BEEN PROVIDED.
[00:15:01]
PROVIDED WAS EXTREMELY LATE IN BEING PROVIDED ORDINARILY, THIS KIND OF THING COULD BE HANDLED OFFLINE, BUT THIS HAS REACHED A LEVEL OF FRUSTRATION THAT IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE PUBLICLY DISCUSSED.UM, I DON'T THINK WHAT'S BEING ASKED FOR IN THIS RESOLUTION IS ASKING VERY MUCH.
WE ARE TRYING TO DETERMINE AS A COMMISSION IF THE DISTRICT CHILLING SYSTEM CAN BE FINANCIALLY REPAIRED AND HOW IT CAN BE FINANCIALLY REPAIRED.
AND FOR THAT TO OCCUR, WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT EACH CUSTOMER IS CURRENTLY PAYING, WHAT THOSE CUSTOMERS NEED TO BE PAYING IN ORDER FOR THE SYSTEM TO BE WHOLE, AND THE, UH, DATE YEAR WHEN THE CONTRACTS ARE UP.
SO THAT RATES FOR THE CUSTOMERS THAT AREN'T PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE, UH, CAN, UH, WE NEED TO KNOW THAT DATE.
SO THE CUSTOMERS WHO ARE NOT PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE, UH, CAN HAVE THEIR RATES RACED.
AND IS THERE ANYONE FROM, UH, STAFF IN ATTENDANCE ON THIS ISSUE? THE SUPERVISOR FOR DISTRICT ENERGY COOLING? BUT I DUNNO, I WANT YOU TO ASK, THIS IS A AE MANAGEMENT QUESTION.
THIS NEEDS TO BE AT A KIM SNIPS LEVEL OR HIRED.
SO YOU'RE, I'M SORRY, YOUR NAME AGAIN IS SIR.
I'M BAR STORY SUPERVISOR FOR DISTRICTING CENTER.
THIS IS A, THIS IS A QUESTION FOR KEN SNIPES.
SO YOU'RE HERE TO GATHER INFORMATION.
YOU'RE HERE TO, I WANT THOSE ANSWERS TOO.
I'M A PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR FOR DISTRICT ENERGY AND COOLING.
UM, UH, MS. DAVIS, UH, DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THE PODIUM AND BRIEFLY THE, OH, UM, NOT HERE IN AN OFFICIAL CAPACITY.
I JUST, SINCE YOU ASKED, I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I OWN, THESE ARE TWO STAFF PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR THE SYSTEM.
BUT NOT IN A DECISION MAKING CAPACITY.
UH, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, IF, IF I MAY THANK YOU VICE CHAIR ROBBINS, IF I MAY.
IT, THIS IS A GOOD LIST OF INFORMATION THAT WE NEED.
IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF YOU ALL WOULD TAKE BACK, AND, AND THOSE OF YOU WHO ALSO WORK FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, WHO AREN'T THESE TWO DIRECTLY IN DISTRICT COOLING, WOULD TAKE BACK TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT THAT THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION HAS ASKED FOR INFORMATION AND NOT RECEIVED ANY ANSWERS.
THERE IS OTHER INFORMATION I WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE, C INCLUDING WHAT IS THE COST OF AUSTIN PROVIDING THIS SERVICE NOT THROUGH DISTRICT COOLING, BUT BY SELLING ELECTRICITY IN LIEU OF HAVING A DISTRICT COOLING SYSTEM.
SO, UM, IT WOULD BE NICE IF SOMEBODY WOULD ACTUALLY SHOW UP AND ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS, AND I AM EXPECTING THAT SINCE THE UTILITY DID NOT BOTHER TO SEND ANYONE WHO COULD DO SO, THAT I, FOR ONE, AM ALL THE MORE ENCOURAGED ABOUT VOTING IN FAVOR OF THIS RESOLUTION SO THAT WE CAN GET SOME ANSWERS ON IT.
COMMISSIONERS, ARE THERE ANY, UH, TRICK QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OR UNTR QUESTIONS? SO, SO MY HAND IS RAISED, SO I DON'T HAVE ANY TRICK COUNT, UH, QUESTIONS, BUT I DO HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE INFORMATION THAT'S BEING, WHAT MEASURES HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO GET THIS INFORMATION PRIOR TO THIS RESOLUTION THAT'S BEEN BROUGHT? UM, I, UH, COMMISSIONER GARY, I PERSONALLY, AFTER THIS, UH, RESOLUTION, UH, THAT WE PASSED IN JULY OCCURRED, I PERSONALLY SENT IN, UH, A LIST OF QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED.
UH, AND I ALSO SENT AN AMENDMENT TO THOSE QUESTIONS TO BE EVEN MORE THOROUGH.
AND I DID GET SOME VERY, VERY, VERY
[00:20:01]
BASIC ANSWERS, BUT NOTHING ON THE LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT I HAVE DESCRIBED IN THIS RESOLUTION, WHICH IS WHAT IS NEEDED FOR US TO SEE IF, HOW, IF, AND HOW THE DISTRICT CHILLING SYSTEM CAN BE MADE WHOLE.UH, AFTER THE SUMMER, UH, SUMMER'S QUESTIONS WERE EITHER IGNORED OR ONLY CURSORY ANSWERED.
I SENT IN ANOTHER LIST OF QUESTIONS, ANOTHER, UH, UH, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION.
AND AFTER I GUESS ABOUT CLOSE TO TWO MONTHS, I GOT THE CONTRACTS OF ALL THE CUSTOMERS.
IT'S QUITE VOLUMINOUS AND IT'S GOOD, UH, IT'S A GOOD CURE FOR INSOMNIA, BUT I DID NOT GET, WE DID NOT GET THE INFORMATION ON, UH, WHAT WOULD BE NECESSARY FOR THE SYSTEM TO BE MADE WHOLE.
AND WHEN THE CONTRACTS WOULD EXPIRE SO WE COULD INCREASE THE RATES TO MAKE THE SYSTEM WHOLE, THAT DID NOT OCCUR.
AND I ASKED CLARIFICATION OF THAT AND WAS TOLD WE HAVE NOTHING.
AND THAT'S WHEN I PINNED THE RESOLUTION BEFORE US TONIGHT.
SO LET'S JUST, UH, BACKTRACK YOUR TIMELINE.
SO IN JULY, YOU SENT SOME QUESTIONS.
IN JULY, THE COMMISSION APPROVED PASSED THE RESOLUTION.
OH, CAN YOU HOLD ON? OH, OH, CAN YOU HOLD ON, LET ME FINISH MY QUESTION.
I DIDN'T INTERRUPT YOU, SO LET'S BE RESPECTFUL OF HER.
LET'S, LET'S JUST GO OVER, UH, CHAIR THE TIMELINE THAT YOU PROVIDED.
SO THE TIMELINE WAS THAT QUESTIONS WERE SENT IN JULY.
YOU GOT VAGUE ANSWERS, YOU AMENDED THOSE QUESTIONS.
WHO WERE THOSE QUESTIONS SENT TO? I KNOW THEY WERE SENT TO THE PUBLIC INFORMATION, UH, OFFICE.
AND WHEN I SEND THOSE, I USUALLY, UH, COPY, UH, A CONTACT AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
I DO NOT HAVE THE EMAIL IN FRONT OF ME, BUT IT IS LIKELY IT WAS, UH, SENT TO MS. EVERHART BECAUSE OKAY.
SHE'S MY, UH, MY FIRST POINT OF CONTACT WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO YOU SENT THOSE, YOU GOT IT AND SHE RESPONDED YOU, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING TO THOSE AMENDED QUESTIONS? UH, ACTUALLY THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE RESPONDED.
AND I, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS OR NOT, BUT IN AUSTIN, IN ALL PROCESS, I, HOLD ON.
I JUST NEED, I'M TAKING NOTES, MAKING SURE THAT I'M WRITING DOWN WHAT YOU'RE STATING IN ORDER TO MAKE AN INFORMATIVE DECISION, BECAUSE BASED ON THE INFORMATION I HAVE NOW, I CANNOT MAKE THAT DECISION.
SO THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING QUESTIONS FOR CLARITY.
AND THEN ONCE YOU PROVIDE THAT, THEN WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.
SO AFTER YOU, YOU SENT THAT AMENDED, YOU THEN SENT QUESTIONS IN THE SUMMERTIME REQUESTING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT.
AND THAT WAS PROBABLY IN SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER.
AND THAT ALSO WENT TO THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER? IT DID, AND I'M PRETTY SURE I COPIED MS. EVERHART ON THAT TOO.
AND THEN AFTER THAT, YOU STATED TWO MONTHS LATER YOU RECEIVED CONTRACTS OF INDIVIDUALS.
WAS IT THEIR, THEIR UTILITY BILLS? CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THOSE CONTRACTS WERE JUST BRIEFLY? TO THE EXTENT THAT I UNDERSTAND THEM, THEY THAT'S FINE.
THEY ARE, UH, CONTRACTS WITH APPROXIMATELY 60 INDIVIDUAL DISTRICT CHILLING CUSTOMERS.
AND IT STATES OUT, UH, THE SPECIFICATIONS OF, UH, IT STATES, THERE ARE SOME COSTS STATED IN THERE.
UH, IT TALKS KIND OF ABOUT EXPIRATION DATES, BUT NOT BEING A LAWYER, I HAVE NOT DONE A DEEP DIVE TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THOSE MEAN.
[00:25:01]
AGAIN, I COULD, I COULD SEND THEM TO ANYBODY, BUT BY THEMSELVES, THEY WILL NOT ANSWER THIS QUESTION.SO JUST ONE MORE QUESTION HERE REGARDING THOSE CONTRACTS.
SO ONCE YOU RECEIVED THOSE CONTRACTS AND YOU STATED, UH, BASED ON THE INFORMATION YOU RECEIVED, UM, YOU REALLY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS PROVIDED, DID YOU MAKE CONTACT WITH WHOEVER SENT THOSE CONTRACTS TO YOU AND HAVE A MEETING SO THEY CAN KIND OF GO OVER STEP BY STEP WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, WHAT THESE CONTRACTS ENTAIL TO GIVE MORE CLARITY SO YOU CAN BRING THIS RESOLUTION TO US? I DID NOT HAVE A, HAVE A MEETING WITH HIM.
I DID, UH, REPEATEDLY TALK TO VARIOUS CITY STAFF, UH, OKAY.
ABOUT, UH, THE FACT THAT THE INFORMATION WAS STILL NOT HERE.
UH, I DID, I'M GONNA GUESS, UH, SOMETIME LAST WEEK I DID TALK TO KEN SNIPES, WHO IS THE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, UH, ONE OF WHO IS AN EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND ONE OF HIS RESPONSIBILITIES IS, UH, THE DISTRICT CHILLING, UH, THE DISTRICT ENERGY SYSTEM.
AND I TOLD HIM OF MY FRUSTRATIONS, UM, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR MR. SNIPES, I CAME AWAY FROM THE CONVERSATION THINKING THAT ONE, HE UNDERSTOOD ME, AND TWO, THAT THERE WAS, UH, NO PROBLEM WITH GETTING THIS INFORMATION.
AND MAYBE THAT WAS A BAD ASSUMPTION ON MY PART, BUT SHORTLY AFTER THAT, UH, A DAY OR TWO LATER, I WAS TOLD, UH, BY EMAIL THAT, WELL, NO, THEY REALLY CAN'T DO THIS FOR THIS OR THAT REASON.
AND I, I'M SORRY, UH, COMMISSIONER, I JUST CAN'T ACCEPT THAT ANSWER.
SO I, I, I THINK FROM WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT, SO YOU DIDN'T GET CLARIFICATION ON THE CONTRACT.
YOU DID SPEAK WITH SOMEONE TO EXPRESS YOUR FRUSTRATIONS AND THEY, AND FROM YOUR WORDS THAT THEY SAID, THIS IS ALL WE HAVE, AND THAT YOU WERE NOT, WE WERE NOT GONNA GET THIS INFORMATION.
IS THAT CORRECT? I'M NOT SURE.
THEY SAID THIS IS ALL WE HAVE.
THAT, THAT WAS TOLD TO ME BY SOMEONE IN THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE.
I DO NOT RECALL MR. SNIPES SAYING THOSE WORDS.
I CAME AWAY WITH A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT IMPRESSION.
HOWEVER, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR HIM.
I'M JUST SAYING, MY INFERENCE IS THAT WHAT I WAS ASKING FOR WAS NOT A PROBLEM.
AND YET I AM, I STILL DON'T HAVE THE INFORMATION.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS AND PROVIDING ME WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
I, YOU KNOW, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE, BEFORE PASSING THIS, THIS IS JUST MY OPINION BEFORE PASSING THIS, UH, RESOLUTION THAT WE GO BACK AND, AND HAVE SOMEONE EITHER COME TO THE COMMISSION AND SPEAK TO ALL OF US AND, AND ASK QUESTIONS, BECAUSE I JUST DON'T THINK THAT WE DIDN'T GIVE, GET THE INFORMATION WE NEEDED BECAUSE THE COMMUNICATION WASN'T CLEAR.
UM, AS FAR AS WHAT WAS NEEDED.
WE DID GET, UH, THE EXPLANATION OF THE CONTRACT SO WE CAN HAVE CLARITY ON THAT.
SO I THINK, AGAIN, WE SHOULD HOLD OFF REQUEST.
IF THEY COULD COME IN WHO, WHOEVER IS IN CHARGE OF THIS DEPARTMENT AND SPEAK AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS PRIOR TO DOING THIS, NOW THEY COME AND WE STILL DON'T, THEN, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD.
BUT I THINK RIGHT NOW THERE'S STILL SOME DISCOVERY NEEDED SO WE CAN PROVIDE CLARITY BEFORE WE DO ANYTHING ELSE ON MOVING FORWARD.
THAT'S JUST MY SUGGESTION AND I'LL MUTE MY MIC.
COMMISSIONERS, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YES, SIR.
UM, COMMISSIONER GARY, I UNDERSTAND YOUR POSITION, HOWEVER, IT IS MY VIEW THAT BY PUTTING THIS RESOLUTION ON THE AGENDA, WE CREATED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR AUSTIN ENERGY MANAGEMENT TO COME IN AND TELL US WHAT INFORMATION WAS AVAILABLE AND WHETHER THEY INTENDED TO SHARE IT WITH US, AND WHY OR WHY NOT.
THEREFORE, I THINK THEY'VE HAD THEIR CHANCE TO CLARIFY THE ISSUE.
AND IF WE NEED A RESOLUTION TO GET THEM TO COME IN HERE, THEN I'M PREPARED TO VOTE ON IT.
NOW, I, I WILL ALSO POINT OUT THAT SAYING, HERE'S CONTRACT, HERE'S A STACK OF CONTRACTS DOES NOT ANSWER ANY OF THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE ITEMIZED IN THIS MEMO, IN THIS
[00:30:01]
RESOLUTION.SO, SAYING WE SENT YOU CONTRACTS DOES NOT DEAL WITH THIS ISSUE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.
AND, AND I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THAT.
THAT'S WHY IF WE HAVE SOMEONE TO EXPLAIN IT, RIGHT, IF WE HAD A COPY OF THE CONTRACTS, WE DO NOT.
UH, AND, AND WE CAN GO THROUGH THOSE CONTRACTS AND ASK THE QUESTIONS.
WE MAY BE ABLE TO FIND THE ANSWERS.
IT'S, IT'S NOT OUR JOB TO GO THROUGH CONTRACTS.
LET ME, I MEAN, WE NEED SOME QUO HERE BECAUSE I DON'T CUT YOU OFF.
SO IT MAY NOT BE YOUR JOB, BUT I THINK IF WE WANT TO GET ANSWERS, I THINK WE NEED TO DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE TO GIVE BOTH PARTIES OUR, UH, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION AS WELL AS AUSTIN ENERGY TO COME TO THE TABLE, HAVE THAT CONVERSATION, AND, AND START PROBING.
IF WE DON'T GET WHAT WE NEED, THEN AGAIN, WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.
BUT I JUST THINK WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION.
COMMISSIONERS, UH, ARE THERE OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? WOULD SOMEONE DROP A PEN, PLEASE? UH, I, UM, I WILL COMMENT THAT I DID NOT WANT, I'M SORRY.
UH, COMMISSIONER DAVIS, THANK YOU.
UM, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS, UM, TO THE COMMISSION.
I AGREE THAT WE NEED ALL OF THIS INFORMATION.
UM, IT WAS, WE WERE KIND OF BLINDSIDED LAST JULY WHEN THIS THE SALE WAS, WAS PUT OUT AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY QUICKLY WITHDREW IT, BUT WE KNOW THINGS ARE STILL BEING WORKED ON IN THE BACKGROUND, MOST LIKELY.
UM, AND YES, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME OF THE ANSWERS TO THIS.
UM, I'M INCLINED TO AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER GARY THAT ASKING, UH, THE AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, EXECUTIVES TO COME UP AND TALK TO US ABOUT THE WHOLE PROCESS.
AND, UH, THESE ANSWERS IS, IS PROBABLY WHERE, UH, THE NEXT STEP SHOULD BE.
I THINK PUTTING THIS ON THE AGENDA IS, IS GREAT BECAUSE IT, YOU KNOW, IT GETS ATTENTION.
UM, AND I I, I, I THINK I'M, I AM NOT READY TO SUPPORT THE RESOLUTION AND IS FORMED TONIGHT.
UH, ARE THERE OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OKAY.
TO RESPOND, UH, TO COMMISSIONER DAVIS, LET ME ASSURE YOU THAT I DID NOT WANT TO DO THIS.
THIS WAS A LAST, IS A LAST RESORT BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO.
EV AT THE END OF EVERY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MEETING, WE ARE ASKED FOR, UM, AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
WE CAN ASK FOR BRIEFINGS ANYTIME.
AND THAT I DON'T THINK THAT WAS DONE.
UH, THE REASON I DIDN'T ASK FOR IT IS BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION.
IT'S, IT'S SORT OF LIKE I, I SUBMIT A, PERSONALLY SUBMIT A LOT OF INFORMATION REQUESTS, UH, ABOUT ENERGY AND WATER, UH, AND THE GAS COMPANY, UM, ALTHOUGH IT EBBS AND FLOWS, I ONE TIME JOKED WITH A GUY AT THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE THAT MAYBE THEY NEEDED TO OPEN A SPECIAL OFFICE JUST FOR ME BECAUSE I SENT SO MANY PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS.
UH, THE, THE POINT IS THAT IF THESE, THESE REQUESTS WERE SO ACADEMIC, SO, UH, UM, SO SOFTBALL, THAT THERE REALLY WAS NO WAY TO EXPLAIN IT EXCEPT THAT IT WAS INCONVENIENT.
AT LEAST I SUSPECTED IT WAS INCONVENIENT FOR THEM TO ANSWER IT.
AND I'VE DEALT WITH THE AUSTIN BUREAUCRACY FOR CLOSE TO 50 YEARS.
SO AT LEAST I HAVE AN INTUITIVE, UH, REASON FOR THINKING THAT.
UH, THE FACT IS THIS AGENDA ITEM WAS POSTED.
UH, PEOPLE THAT COULD HAVE GONE ON RECORD COULD HAVE BEEN HERE TONIGHT.
[00:35:01]
AND SO, UH, COUNTING NOSES HERE, UH, SINCE WE ONLY HAVE SEVEN MEMBERS ON THE COMMISSION, THIS WOULD NOT RECEIVE A QUORUM OF VOTES TONIGHT.SO I'M GONNA THROW IT, UH, I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO QUESTION COMMISSIONER DAVIS, SINCE YOU WANT TO DELAY THIS.
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK WE NEED TO DO TO GET THESE ANSWERS.
WELL, UH, FIRST LET ME SAY, I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE IN TRYING TO GET THE ANSWERS.
I I DON'T MINIMIZE THAT AT, UH, AT ALL.
I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN WORKING FOR THOSE FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS I SAID, I THINK IDENTIFYING A, A PARTY FROM THE UTILITY TO COME TO OUR NEXT RMC MEETING, UH, WITH A BRIEFING WITH SOME OF THESE ANSWERS AND POTENTIALLY OTHERS, I THINK WE CAN POLL THE, THE COMMISSION ABOUT CERTAIN ANSWERS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ADDRESSED WITHIN THAT BRIEFING.
UM, AND ASK THEM TO COME IN MARCH FOR THAT.
WOULD YOU, COMMISSIONER DAVIS BE AMENABLE TO AMENDING THIS RESOLUTION TO STATE THAT INSTEAD OF SAYING WE ARE ASKING FOR THIS INFORMATION, IT WOULD SAY, BE IT RESOLVED THAT WE ASK CITY STAFF TO ATTEND OUR NEXT MEETING TO ANSWER A, B, C AND D.
I FEEL LIKE A RELU THE RESOLUTION IS A LITTLE BIT OF A STRANGE WAY OF ASKING THAT IS, IS IT YOUR, YOUR SENSE THAT WITHOUT A PAST RESOLUTION THAT THEY WILL NOT COME? I CAN'T ANSWER THAT.
UH, I, I I, I'M TRYING TO FIND A WAY FORWARD AND I'M TRYING TO GET US OUT OF HERE BEFORE.
MIDNIGHT, I MEAN, RESOLUTIONS GO TO CITY COUNCIL.
YOU'RE ASKING IF WE SHOULD SAY, HEY, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT WANTS CITY COUNCIL TO TELL AUSTIN ENERGY TO COME GIVE US A BRIEF BRIEFING ON DISTRICT CHILLING.
I THINK THIS RESOLUTION APPEARS TO BE AMENDED BECAUSE I'M SEEING HERE REQUEST THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, I THOUGHT I HAD WRITTEN THIS ORIGINALLY JUST FOR THE COMMISSION TO ASK FOR INFORMATION.
AM AM I? BUT YOU ALL, ALL A RESOLUTIONS, CORRECT? YOU ARE CORRECT.
I, SO, SO I EDITED THAT RESOLUTION, BUT IT DIDN'T GET, THAT VERSION SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN IN YOUR PACKET.
'CAUSE I WAS SUGGESTING THAT THAT'S HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BECAUSE THE C ANYTHING THAT YOU PASS GOES TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
YOU CAN'T ASK US DIRECTLY VIA RESOLUTION TO DO SOMETHING.
AMY EVERHART, DIRECTOR OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO HAVE, TO HAVE AUSTIN ENERGY SENIOR MANAGEMENT COME TALK TO US ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND BRING US INFORMATION IF A RESOLUTION IS NOT THE CORRECT PATH, WHAT IS NECESSARY? IT WOULD BE A REQUEST FOR A FUTURE BRIEFING AT THE END OF THE MEETING AS COMMISSIONER DAVIS.
DO WE NEED TO WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE MEETING OR CAN WE GET THAT IN? NO, WE CAN WRITE IT DOWN RIGHT NOW.
IT'S GOODWIN, BUT I PLEASE INCORPORATE, EXCUSE ME, JUST A MOMENT.
PLEASE INCORPORATE ALL OF THE LANGUAGE HERE.
WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO RECEIVE INFORMATION ON THE ANALYSIS THAT WAS CONDUCTED BEHIND AND THE RATIONALE BEHIND THE EARLIER RECOMMENDATION TO SELL THE CHILLING SYSTEM.
AND WE WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE THIS AT THE MARCH MEETING, PLEASE.
THE BRIEFING, IF THAT GOES INTO THE MINUTES, DO WE NEED TO PROCEED FARTHER WITH RESPECT TO THIS RESOLUTION AT THIS TIME? IS EVERYBODY COMFORTABLE WITH THIS REQUEST AND PROPOSAL? I, I, I AM FINE WITH IT AS LONG AS A, B, C AND D PLUS YOURS, E AND F GET INCORPORATED IN THE REQUEST.
[00:40:01]
DO YOU NEED ME TO WRITE DOWN WHAT E AND F WERE? I GOT IT.MS. GEARY, ARE YOU OKAY WITH THIS COMMISSIONER? GARRY? COMMISSIONER? SORRY, GIMME ONE SEC.
I AM, BUT I WANTED TO HEAR WHAT STAFF WAS GOING TO SAY.
I THINK MS.
UM, YEAH, I WAS ABOUT TO SAY, WE RESPONDED TO COMMISSIONER ROBBINS ABOUT THIS ON FRIDAY AND SUGGESTED THAT HE SUBMIT EVERYTHING THROUGH A PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST MM-HMM
BECAUSE SOME OF THIS CUSTOMER INFORMATION IS CONFIDENTIAL.
HE DID REQUEST AND RECEIVE ALL OF THE CONTRACTS THAT HE REQUESTED THAT HAVE THE START DATES, THE END DATES, AND THE AMOUNTS THAT EACH CUSTOMER PAYS THAT THEY AGREED TO PAY VIA THE CONTRACT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PROVIDING THAT.
AND SOME OF THOSE CONTRACTS ARE OVER A DECADE OLD AND THEY'RE 30, MANY OF THEM ARE 30 TO 50 YEAR CONTRACTS.
AND, UH, THERE ARE ESCALATIONS IN THERE.
UH, I'M NOT SURE IF THOSE ARE IN THE CONTRACT.
UM, IT, AND IT, IT WOULDN'T TELL US AGAIN WHAT, WHAT THEY NEED TO REALLY CHARGE TO BREAK EVEN NOW, JUST COMMISSIONERS, WHEN I MADE MY REQUEST, I ASKED FOR THIS.
UH, I MEAN, I MEAN, YOU'RE WE'RE BEING TOLD, WELL, THIS MIGHT, THIS IS CONFIDENTIAL.
ONE, I'M NOT AWARE THAT IT IS, BUT ASSUMING I AM WRONG, I ASKED FOR THIS ON A SYSTEM BASIS AS WELL AS AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS.
ARE, THE BUILDING WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW IS ON ONE OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S DISTRICT CHILLING SYSTEMS. AND THERE ARE SEVERAL BUILDINGS ON THIS LOOP, SO THEY COULD DO IT IN AGGREGATE SO THAT NO CUSTOMER WOULD BE, UH, UNFAIRLY COMPROMISED FOR CONFIDENTIALITY.
UH, THAT WAS NOT PROVIDED EITHER.
SO, AND, AND BY THE WAY, SOME OF THESE CONTRACTS ARE GOVERNMENTS AND THAT INFORMATION IS PUBLIC.
GOING BACK TO, UH, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN'S SUGGESTION, I'M FINE WITH IT AS LONG AS WE GET OUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
UM, I WOULDN'T PRESUME TO SPEAK FOR ANYONE ELSE.
COMMISSIONER GARY, ARE YOU OKAY WITH THIS? I AM.
UM, ALSO, I WAS WONDERING PRIOR TO MARCH, IS THERE ANYONE, LET ME TURN ON MY CAMERA.
WOULD YOU REPEAT? I COULD NOT HEAR THE LAST SENTENCE.
IS THERE ANY WAY THAT TWO MEMBERS FROM THE COMMISSION COULD SET UP A MEETING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY PRIOR TO THE MEETING IN MARCH? LIKE, LIKE PULL THE, THE COMMISSION, GET THE QUESTIONS AND SEE, LIKE, SO WE CAN KIND OF BE PREPARED ON OUR END AS WELL AS THEIRS TO GET INFORMATION.
WE DON'T HAVE TO, BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO SEE HOW WE CAN STREAMLINE THIS A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
I'M PERSONALLY FINE WITH YOUR SUGGESTION.
I'LL BE HAPPY TO MEET WITH THEM ANYTIME AFTER 10:00 PM UH, 10:00 AM UH, MOST DAYS, UH, I, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR ANYONE ELSE.
UM, AND, AND THIS IS OF COURSE, IF AUSTIN ENERGY THINKS THIS WOULD BE PRODUCTIVE, THEY MAY OR MAY NOT.
I, THERE'S NO ONE HERE TO ASK.
COMMISSIONER, UH, UH, SCHWARTZ, ARE YOU OKAY WITH THE SUGGESTIONS MADE BY COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN? SURE.
I THINK THIS IS AS CLOSE TO UNANIMOUS AS WE'RE GONNA GET WITHOUT A VOTE.
[6. 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.]
WE HAVE A BRIEFING.UH, I BELIEVE, UH, I, WE WERE ASKED TO HOLD THE BRIEFING ON VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS.
FIRST, UH, STAFF BRIEFING ON BATTERY PROGRAM LAUNCH UPDATE, INCLUDING D-E-R-M-S DERMS AND THE USE OF VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS BY TIM HARVEY, MANAGER,
[00:45:01]
CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS, AND LINDSEY MCDOUGALL MANAGER, DEMAND RESPONSE AND TECHNICAL SERVICES.UH, I'M RICHARD GENESEE, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.
AND I, UM, WANTED TO JUST, UH, SPEAK BEFORE THE BRIEFING, UH, BECAUSE I WANTED TO KIND OF, UH, EXPAND A LITTLE BIT ON, UM, WHY OR WHY TIM HARVEY, UH, WHO LEADS OUR CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS GROUP AND WHY LINDSEY MCDOUGALL, WHO LEADS OUR DEMAND RESPONSE GROUP, ARE GOING TO BE SPEAKING TO THIS TONIGHT IN BRIEFING YOU.
AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE, UH, THIS IS AN INTEGRATED PROGRAM EFFORT, AND SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE NUANCE OF, YOU KNOW, WE ARE BEYOND THE DAYS WHERE WE LAUNCH PROGRAMS OUT OF ONE GROUP.
AND THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE IN, UH, BATTERY AND A VIRTUAL POWER PLAN.
THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW GROUPS HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER ACROSS THE UTILITY TO SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCH PROGRAMS. UH, SO, YOU KNOW, WE ENVISION FOR THIS, AS YOU'LL HEAR, AS PART OF THE BRIEFING, WE ENVISION AN UPFRONT INCENTIVE, UH, TO DEFER THE COST OF THE BATTERY AS WELL AS A ONGOING PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, CUSTOMERS ACTUALLY PERFORMING IN THE PROGRAM AND ACTUALLY ALLOWING US ACCESS TO THEIR BATTERY CHARGING AND DISCHARGING AS WE WOULD NEED IN ORDER TO, UH, SERVE THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO THERE'S REALLY THREE THINGS THAT I'D JUST LIKE YOU TO PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO AND LISTEN FOR IN THIS BRIEFING.
UM, THREE MAIN TAKEAWAYS, ESSENTIALLY, ONE, UH, THERE ARE MULTIPLE PATHWAYS IN WHICH WE HAVE TO DELIVER, UH, A BATTERY PROGRAM.
UM, TWO, THIS ROADMAP IS, UM, A LONG ONE.
WE HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK ALREADY, AND THERE'S A LOT MORE WORK TO BE DONE.
UM, WE NEED TO KNOW A LOT MORE ABOUT HOW BATTERIES ARE VALUED AND HOW THEY WILL BEST PERFORM.
AND, AND WE NEED IN DESIGNING THE OPTIMAL PROGRAM, WHICH 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 ALL THAT, ALL THAT TAKES TIME, UH, 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 ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS GROUP TO OPERATE IN.
LEVERAGE WILL TAKE TIME AND FOCUS AND ALIGNMENT OF MULTIPLE GROUPS ACROSS THE UTILITY.
AND NUMBER THREE, TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE BIG QUESTION IN ALL OF THIS IS THE CUSTOMER, WILL THE CUSTOMER ENROLL REMAIN AND PERFORM WHEN AND HOW WE NEED THEM TO IN THIS BATTERY PROGRAM? LIKE OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM IN GENERAL, SUCCESS DEPENDS LARGELY ON THE CUSTOMER ENROLLMENT, PERFORMANCE, AND RETENTION.
SO YOU'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT THE ALTERNATIVES WE ARE EVALUATING TO EXPAND OUR DEMANDS RESPONSE PROGRAM AS PART OF THIS BRIEFING.
UH, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO TIM AND I'LL BE BACK UP TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE AFTERWARDS.
I'M CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS MANAGER.
SO I'M GONNA START WITH A LITTLE BIT OF EDUCATION, UM, JUST TO KIND OF GO THROUGH WHAT A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT IS AND HOW WE CAN LEVERAGE AVOIDED COSTS FROM A, A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.
SO BASICALLY WHAT'S HAPPENING IS OUR CUSTOMERS OWN DEVICES.
IT COULD BE BATTERIES, THERMOSTATS, WATER HEATER, TIMERS, ELECTRIC VEHICLES, PROBABLY OTHERS IN THE FUTURE.
UM, BUT ALL OF THOSE DEVICES ARE INCORPORATED INTO THE VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.
AND THE VIRTUAL POWER PLANT IS, UM, CONTROLLED BY A DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, OR MULTIPLE DIS UH, DISTRIBUTED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS DERMS. SO, UM, THE WAY IT WORKS IS AUSTIN ENERGY WOULD CALL AN EVENT BASED ON THE MARKET, AND I'M GONNA GIVE YOU SOME EXAMPLES OF THE, OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN A MINUTE.
[00:50:01]
UM, OF THE DERM SYSTEM IS IN COMMUNICATION WITH ALL OF THESE EDGE DEVICES AT CUSTOMER HOMES AND, AND COMMERCIAL FACILITIES.SO THE, THE MARKET IS, IS, UM, CREATING A NEED FOR THIS EVENT.
AUSTIN ENERGY CALLS THE EVENT, THE DERMS PROVIDER SENDS A SIGNAL OUT TO THE BATTERIES AND OTHER CUSTOMER DEVICES TO OPERATE THE WAY THAT WE WANT TO CREATE THIS MARKET ADVANTAGE.
UM, THEN WE'RE, UM, QUANTIFYING AVOIDED COSTS.
AS WE MOVE ALONG, WE PASS BENEFITS THROUGH TO THE CUSTOMER WHO OWNS THE DEVICES, AND THAT THEN, UM, GIVES THEM THE COST SIGNALING THEY NEED TO MAKE THOSE TYPES OF INVESTMENTS.
SO ONCE WE CAN GROW THIS VIRTUAL POWER PLANT TO A SIZABLE AMOUNT, THEN WE CAN START TO MAKE DIFFERENT MOVES ON, ON THE MARKET TO MONETIZE THE VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.
SO THE FIRST TYPE OF BENEFIT YOU CAN GET FROM AN A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT IS ENERGY ARBITRAGE.
SO, UM, THIS IS A, AN EXAMPLE OF A WINTER OR DAY JANUARY 7TH, 2025.
UM, WE WERE EXPECTING COLD TEMPERATURES THAT DAY, UH, AND YOU'LL SEE THERE, BUT IT REALLY DIDN'T PEAK OUT A LOT ON THE, UH, PRICE WISE ON THE ERCOT MARKET.
BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT OUR, OUR PEAK IN THE WINTERTIME IS IN THE MORNING MOST OFTEN MM-HMM
UM, AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE WOULD DISCHARGE THOSE BATTERIES TO MEAT LOAD WHILE THE MARKET PRICE IS HIGH.
AND THEN YOU'RE CHARGING THOSE BATTERIES, MAYBE THEY'RE BEING CHARGED BY SOLAR, MAYBE YOU'RE CHARGING THEM FROM THE GRID.
IF YOU CHARGE 'EM FROM THE GRID, THEN YOU'RE CHARGING THEM WHILE THE MARKET PRICE IS AT ITS LOWEST SO THAT IT SERVES TWO FUNCTIONS.
IT'S, IT'S, UM, A MARKET PLAY.
SO IT CREATES AVOIDED COST FOR US.
IF WE'RE CHARGING WHEN IT'S SUPER LOW THERE, ALMOST DOWN TO ZERO, AND WE'RE DISCHARGING IT WHEN IT'S, YOU KNOW, ABOVE 40, THEN WE'RE MAKING AT LEAST $40 ON THAT TRANSACTION PER KILOWATT HOUR OR FOR, SORRY, MEGAWATT HOUR HERE.
UM, SO, SO YOU'RE, YOU HAVE THAT MARKET FUNCTION, BUT YOU'RE ALSO SMOOTHING OUT LOAD.
SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE TAKING THE HIGH LOAD TIMES IN, IN OUR, ON OUR DISTRIBUTION GRID AND SUPPLYING THAT, UM, ENERGY LOCALLY WITH, UM, WITH ENERGY SOURCES ON THE DISTRIBUTION GRID.
AND SO THAT HELPS TO BALANCE THE GRID.
AND OVER TIME IT CAN HELP TO CREATE ANOTHER AVOIDED COST, WHICH IS DEFERMENT OF A NEW, UM, SUBSTATION FOR LOAD GROWTH.
SO IF YOU HAVE GENERATION GROWTH THAT EQUALS LOAD GROWTH ON A, ON A FEEDER, THEN YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE TO UPGRADE THAT FEEDER FOR, FOR QUITE A WHILE.
THIS IS, UM, DEMONSTRATING THE DAY AHEAD MARKET.
SO IN THIS SAME, ON THAT SAME DAY, WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY WILL TYPICALLY DO IS PARTICIPATE IN THE DAY AHEAD MARKET, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT AS THE BLUE LINE ON THE CUR ON THE CHART.
UM, WE DO THAT BECAUSE THERE'S RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THAT PEAK TIME.
IF THERE WERE TO BE A COUPLE GENERATORS THAT GO OFFLINE DURING THOSE TIME AND SOMETHING'S AFFECTING SUPPLY AND DEMAND IN THE MARKET, THEN THAT PRICE CAN GO FROM $60 A MEGAWATT HOUR AND IT CAPS OUT AT $5,000 A MEGAWATT HOUR.
SO THAT'S AN EXTREME AMOUNT OF RISK THERE.
AND TO MITIGATE THAT RISK, WE PARTICIPATE IN THE DAY AHEAD MARKET.
SO WE SOLIDIFY THAT PRICING FOR THAT PERIOD.
UM, BY PURCHASING IT THE DAY BEFORE.
IF WE HAVE A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT, THEN WE CAN, FOR THE, THE, THE AMOUNT OF CAPACITY IN THAT VIRTUAL POWER PLANT, WE CAN AVOID THAT DAY AHEAD PURCHASE FOR THAT AMOUNT OF THE CAPACITY BECAUSE WE CAN DEPLOY THAT CAPACITY INSTEAD OF GOING TO THE MARKET FOR IT.
SO NOW WE'RE, WE'RE, UM, POTENTIALLY CHARGING THAT BATTERY AT THE LOW PRICE OF THE DAY, THE NEXT DAY COMES ALONG AND WE'RE DISCHARGING IT DURING THAT, THAT PEAK IN THE BLUE PRICE, AND WE'RE SAVING THAT DAY AHEAD MARKET PRICE.
UM, ANOTHER WAY THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE AVOIDED COSTS, AND I'M I'M SURE YOU
[00:55:01]
GUYS HAVE HEARD THIS, UM, TERM IS FOUR CP.SO, UM, ERCOT SETS ITS TRANSMISSION PRICES ALONG WITH ITS LOAD SHEDDING REQUIREMENTS BASED ON AUSTIN ENERGY'S PEAK DEMAND DURING, UM, THE HIGHEST, USUALLY THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE DAY OF EACH FOR EACH OF THE FOUR SUMMER MONTHS.
SO IF WE CAN DEPLOY OUR VIRTUAL POWER PLANT TO HIT THAT 15 MINUTE PERIOD, THEN WE CAN NOT ONLY REDUCE OUR TRANSMISSION COSTS, BUT WE CAN ALSO REDUCE OUR LOAD SHE REQUIREMENT.
SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.
UM, AND THEN ANOTHER POTENTIAL BENEFIT IS TO PARTICIPATE IN ANCILLARY SERVICE MARKETS.
NOW THIS ONE'S A LITTLE BIT TRICKY, UM, ESPECIALLY FOR THE TYPE OF VIRTUAL POWER PLANT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE WITH RESIDENTIAL DEVICES, BECAUSE NOT ALL OF THE DEVICES HAVE A RESPONSE TIME THAT FITS THE REQUIREMENT OF ANCILLARY SERVICES.
SO THAT MIGHT BE OFF THE TABLE FOR NOW.
UM, BUT WE DO ANTICIPATE POTENTIALLY IN THE FUTURE BEING ABLE TO LEVERAGE, UM, THE, THE VIRTUAL POWER PLANT FOR, UM, ANCILLARY SERVICE BENEFITS.
SO IT, IT'S A, IT'S A, AS RICHARD SAID, IT, IT'S AN ITERATIVE PROCESS FOR US TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.
AND, UM, WE STARTED LONG AGO, UM, WITH THE SHINES GRANT, UM, THROUGH THE SHINES GRANT.
WE INSTALLED RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL AND UTILITY SCALE PROJECTS ON THE DISTRIBUTION GRID, AND WE STUDIED THOSE AND WE OPERATED THOSE ON THE MARKET.
AND, UM, WE CREATED A REPORT AROUND THAT.
THE MARKET HAS CHANGED A LOT SINCE THAT ANALYSIS.
UM, BUT IT DID HELP US GET THROUGH IT, IT, IT JUMPSTARTED THIS PHASE.
UM, DURING THIS PHASE, WE ALSO, UM, DEVELOPED A LOT OF THE INTERCONNECTION GUIDELINES REQUIRED TO PUT IN THESE DEVICES SAFELY.
SO, UM, WE WORKED, UM, WITH OUR INSPECTORS AND THE, THE SOLAR, UM, INSPECTORS WHO INSPECT ALL OF THESE SYSTEMS, THE, UM, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT BECAUSE, UM, THE FIRST RESPONDERS NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO WHEN THEY SHOW UP TO THESE, UM, SYSTEMS OUT IN THE FIELD.
AND SO WE DEVELOP THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SIGNAGE AND, AND SHUTOFFS AND, AND, UM, SPRINKLER SYSTEMS AND ALL THESE KIND OF THINGS.
UM, SO WE'VE UPDATED ALL OF THE INTERCONNECTION GUIDES AND REQUIREMENTS.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, UPGRADED OUR, WE'VE, WE'VE PUT INTO PLACE, UM, ALL THE REGULATION THROUGH INSPECTIONS.
UM, WE PERFORMED A BILLING SYSTEM UPGRADE THAT ALLOWS, UM, SO NOW WE CAN ALLOW ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BATTERY CONFIGURATIONS TO BE PUT IN PLACE OUT IN THE FIELD.
UM, WE HAVE ENABLED VEHICLE TO HOME.
SO, UM, THAT'S NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH VEHICLE TO GRID, VEHICLE TO HOME IS WHERE YOU'RE CHARGING YOUR, OR YOU'RE POWERING YOUR HOME IN AN OFF GRID SCENARIO.
UM, SO WE HAVE THAT OUT THERE CURRENTLY AND WE HAVE 15 MEGAWATTS OF RESIDENTIAL BATTERIES, UM, OUT THERE AS WELL.
SO CURRENTLY WE'RE WORKING TO PLAN FOR RESILIENCE HUBS.
UM, THESE WILL BE, UM, WELL, WE'VE IDENTIFIED FOUR PROJECTS IN THE EASTERN, UH, PART OF TOWN THAT WILL GET SOLAR BATTERIES AND A NATURAL GAS GENERATOR.
AND THOSE ARE RESILIENT FULL ON RESILIENCE HUBS THAT WILL HAVE ALL KINDS OF RESOURCES FOR, UM, OUR COMMUNITIES.
UM, IN, IN THE CASE OF POWER OUTAGES OR OTHER DISASTERS, UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH CAMP MABRY, THEY'RE ALMOST READY TO ENERGIZE THEIR, UH, MICROGRID.
SO THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM TO HAVE FULL AUTONOMY, UM, DURING POWER OUTAGES, UM, WE ARE ALMOST READY TO PUT STICKERS ON THE BATTERIES AT INSPECTION, WHICH WOULD GIVE CUSTOMERS DETAILS ON HOW TO RECYCLE THOSE BATTERIES AT THEIR END OF LIFE.
SO, UM, WE WILL BE MAINTAINING A WEBPAGE THAT THAT STICKER HAS A QR CODE TOO.
UM, WE'RE, UM, PUTTING RFPS AN RFP TOGETHER TO STUDY THE BENEFIT OF, UM, BATTERIES THROUGH THESE DIFFERENT OPERATIONAL STRATEGIES AND TRYING TO DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH EXACTLY CAN AUSTIN ENERGY LEVERAGE FROM A VPP, UM, SO THAT WE KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY, UM, UM, PASS THROUGH BENEFITS TO CUSTOMERS.
[01:00:02]
UM, AND, AND IT'S REAL, AND BY THE WAY, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE GET THAT PRICE RIGHT.WE DON'T WANT TO GO, UM, AND GIVE CUSTOMERS, UM, A HIGHER VALUE THAN WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING THAT WOULD LEAD TO, UM, HIGHER PRICES ACROSS THE BOARD FOR US.
SO WE TRY TO, WE GOTTA KEEP THOSE COSTS IN CHECK.
UM, AND WE ARE WORKING ON SOLAR FOR ALL, WHICH YOU, YOU'VE ALL HEARD OF, WHICH ALSO WILL INCORPORATE A DERMS, UM, VPP.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO PLANNING FOR A CENTRAL DERMS. SO CENTRAL DERMS SITS WITHIN THE UTILITY, IT INTEGRATES WITH OUR SYSTEMS, SO IT'S INTEGRATING WITH THE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, IT'S INTEGRATING WITH THE BILLING SYSTEM, DISTRIBUTION GRID PLANNING, ENERGY MARKET AND OPERATIONS.
SO NOT ONLY IS IT DOING THAT, BUT IT'S ALSO INTEGRATING WITH ALL OF THE OTHER DERMS SYSTEMS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
SO EVERYTHING'S COMING INTO ONE SOURCE AND IT'S, IT'S INCORPORATING EVERYTHING.
UM, AND, AND WE'RE ALWAYS, UM, LOOKING AT NEW TECHNOLOGY.
SO HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF, UM, A METER COLLAR DISCONNECT.
SO THIS DEVICE CREATES, UM, THAT ISOLATION BETWEEN A MICRO GRIDED HOME DURING A GRID FAILURE AND THE GRID, SO THAT IF THERE, LET'S SAY THERE WAS A ICE STORM AND A BRANCH FELL DOWN ON A, ON A POWER LINE, UM, WE HAVE CREWS OUT THERE WORKING ON THAT.
YOU DON'T WANT TO ENERGIZE THAT LINE, YOU DON'T WANT TO PUSH ENERGY BACK TO THE GRID, SO YOU HAVE TO OPEN UP, UM, AN ISOLATION DEVICE SO ENERGY CAN'T FLOW BACK ONTO THE GRID.
AND WHAT'S REALLY TRICKY ABOUT THIS IS THAT, UM, THE INSTALLATION OF THIS TAKES ABOUT 20 MINUTES, WHEREAS, UM, THE ALTERNATIVE AND PUTTING IN SOME KIND OF A SUB-PANEL WITH A DISCONNECT, IT'S MORE LIKE FOUR HOURS.
SO IT'S, IT'S A REALLY BIG TIME AND MONEY SAVING DEVICE, AND WE EXPECT TO SEE MORE THINGS LIKE THIS COME THROUGH.
UM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A FEW OF THESE DIFFERENT METER COLOR DISCONNECTS CURRENTLY AND, UM, YOU KNOW, SO ALL THE NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT'S COMING THROUGH WE'RE LOOKING AT AND WE'RE TRYING TO INTEGRATE WHAT WE CAN, UM, TO, TO STREAMLINE THINGS AND MAKE THINGS BETTER.
SO AS WE'RE BUILDING A BATTERY PROGRAM, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT THREE KEY THINGS AND OUR, FROM THREE KEY PERSPECTIVES, PUT IT THAT WAY.
UM, THE CUSTOMER'S PERSPECTIVE, THE COMMUNITY'S PERSPECTIVE, AND THE UTILITIES PERSPECTIVE.
SO FROM THE CUSTOMER'S PERSPECTIVE, UM, THE BENEFITS THAT THEY GET FOR INVESTING IN A BATTERY IS THEY GET A FEDERAL TAX CREDIT, CURRENTLY AN UPFRONT INCENTIVE FROM AUSTIN ENERGY ONCE THE PROGRAM IS IN PLACE.
UM, THEN RESILIENCY, THAT'S PROBABLY THE MAIN REASON THEY BUY BATTERIES IN THE FIRST PLACE.
UM, AND THEN, UM, A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT BENEFIT.
SO AS WE'RE OPERATING THE AND CONTROLLING THE CUSTOMER OWNED BATTERY, THEN WE PUSH BENEFITS BACK TO THEM THROUGH THE PROGRAM.
UM, SO THE COST TO THE CUSTOMER, OR OF COURSE THE BATTERY UPFRONT COST, UM, WEAR AND TEAR ON THE, ON THE BATTERY HAS A COST TO THE CUSTOMER.
UM, THEY'LL NEED TO MAINTAIN THAT BATTERY, HAVE INSURANCE, UM, ANY EDUCATION AND RECYCLING, UM, COULD ALSO BE AN EXPENSE.
AND THEN WE ALSO ALSO WANT TO BE ALWAYS MINDFUL OF THE CUSTOMER'S EXPERIENCE.
SO WHAT'S THEIR EXPEND EXPERIENCE WITH THE INCENTING PROGRAM? WE WANT IT TO BE FAST AND EASY, AND POTENTIALLY WITH THE PUSH OF THE BUTTON ON THEIR, ON THEIR APP, UM, THERE, THE EDUCATION THAT WE CAN PROVIDE AND THAT THEY CAN GET ELSEWHERE.
WE NEED TO ALWAYS CONSIDER HOW OUR CUSTOMERS GETTING THEIR INFORMATION, CAN WE GIVE IT TO THEM BETTER AND IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE.
UM, AND THEN THE INSTALL AND INSPECTION, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THEIR MAIN CONCERNS THERE FOR THE EXPERIENCE IS TIMELINES AND, AND THE EASE OF IT.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE THE RATE THAT THEY WOULD BE RECEIVING AND, UM, THE UTILITY ENGAGEMENT THEY GET THROUGH OUR PROGRAMS AND BILL SUPPORT AND OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT.
NEXT SLIDE, THEN WE HAVE COMMUNITY BENEFITS TO CONSIDER.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, AS YOU PROLIFERATE RESILIENT HOMES THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, YOU'RE INCREASING THE
[01:05:01]
RESILIENCY OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.UM, NOT TO MENTION RESILIENCE HUBS, UM, AND THINGS LIKE THAT AS WELL.
SO I THINK THIS IS A PRETTY BIG ONE.
WE ALL UNDERSTAND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT.
SO FOR BATTERIES, UM, THEY'RE NOT PRODUCING RENEWABLE ENERGY, BUT THEY TAKE, THEY CAN TAKE ENERGY AND DEPLOY IT DURING, UM, HIGH CARBON INTENSE TIMES ON THE MARKET.
AND SO THAT HELPS TO AVOID MORE CARBON.
UM, SO THERE'S A BENEFIT THERE AND WE WANNA THOROUGHLY UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, HEALTH BENEFITS, UM, EDUCATION OF COURSE, UM, HAVING MORE, UM, DISPATCHABLE ENERGY IN OUR LOAD ZONE WILL PUT DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON THE, THE LOAD ZONE PRICE.
SO WHEN WE START TO HAVE A SUPPLY AND DEMAND ISSUE WITHIN OUR LOAD ZONE ON THE DISTRIBUTION GRID, AT SOME POINT YOU CAN START TO SEE THE, UM, PRICE SEPARATION HAPPEN WHERE THE MARKET PRICE, UM, AT THE AUSTIN ENERGY NODES STARTS TO GO UP.
SO THE MORE, UM, GENERATION THAT WE HAVE TO MATCH LOAD WITHIN OUR LOAD ZONE WILL HELP TO KEEP THAT OVERALL PRICE UNDER CONTROL.
UM, AND THEN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE.
SO FROM THE UTILITIES PERSPECTIVE, UM, WE HAVE THE CUSTOMER RATE AS THE COST, WE HAVE THE CUSTOMER RATE, WE HAVE DERMS PLATFORM FEES, AND SO THESE ARE PRETTY SERIOUS FEES, LIKE THESE AREN'T SMALL AMOUNTS.
UM, THE, THE PLATFORM FEES, FRANKLY GIVE ME CONCERN ABOUT THE VALUE PROPOSITION.
UM, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE, WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT THOSE CAREFULLY ALONG WITH THE AVOIDED COSTS AND THE COSTS THAT WE CAN PASS FORWARD TO CUSTOMERS AND MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THAT IS BALANCED.
UM, AND SO THEN UPFRONT AND SEND THESE TO THE CUSTOMERS TO GET THEM OVER MARKET HURDLES.
THE MARKETING AND EDUCATION THERE ARE ALSO COSTS TO THE UTILITY, UM, ALONG WITH, I DON'T THINK I HAVE IT HERE, BUT CUSTOMER SUPPORT ALL ALONG THE WAY.
UM, AND THEN, SO THE BENEFITS TO US ARE INCREASED CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF OUR MISSION, UM, AND TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY.
UM, WE HAVE INCREASED DISPATCH DISPATCHABILITY IN OUR, UM, OF LOCAL SOLAR IN OUR LOAD ZONE, WHICH IS WHAT I JUST DESCRIBED, UM, LEADS TO, TO RATE STABILITY, UM, THE AVOIDED COSTS, AND THEN A CLEANER ENERGY FUTURE.
SO, UM, THESE DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH THE EDGE DERMS PROVIDERS.
THOSE ARE THE PROVIDERS THAT HAVE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTLY WITH CUSTOMER EQUIPMENT.
UM, AND THAT'S WHERE THOSE PLATFORM FEES COME IN.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE LOOKING AT A CENTRAL DERMS, WHICH WILL TALK TO THE EDGE DERMS AS WELL AS ALL OF OUR INTERNAL SYSTEMS, UM, ENERGY ARBITRAGE.
AND, AND NOW I'M, AND AFTER THIS, I'M JUST GONNA GO IN THROUGH THOSE DIFFERENT AVOIDED COST METHODOLOGIES, SO ENERGY ARBITRAGE, UH, FOUR CP AND TRANSMISSION REDUCTION AND SOLARI SERVICES.
AND THEN, AND, AND, AND I TALKED ABOUT THE DAY AHEAD, UM, AND REAL TIME MARKET, BUT ANOTHER ONE IS ON WIRE'S ALTERNATIVES, AND THAT'S THE IDEA THAT, UM, YOU'RE POTENTIALLY DEFERRING OR AVOIDING THE BUILD OUT OF A SUBSTATION BECAUSE YOU'RE BUILDING GENERATION, UM, HOPEFULLY AT A PACE THAT, UM, HELPS TO MEET THE LOAD GROWTH WITHIN THE SERVICE TERRITORY.
SO AS WE CONSIDER ALL OF THESE THINGS, UM, AND, AND AS WE GET MORE AND MORE INFORMATION, UM, THROUGH OUR OWN STUDIES AND THROUGH THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHAT THE PROPER PRICE POINTS ARE AND APPROACH IS FOR A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT, UM, SYSTEM.
SO I'M, I'M NOT GONNA READ THROUGH ALL OF THESE, BUT THESE ARE ALL PART OF THE CONSIDERATIONS THAT, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, IN TERMS OF DEVELOPING A NEW PROGRAM.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO LINDSAY, MS. MCDOUGALL, UH, JU, ABOUT HOW LONG WILL YOU NEED? UH, 10 TO 15 MINUTES.
I'M LINDSAY MCDOUGALL AND I'M THE MANAGER OF DEMAND RESPONSE AND TECHNICAL SERVICES.
SO I'LL BE SPEAKING MORE FROM THE DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM
[01:10:01]
SIDE OF THIS.I'VE PARTNERED WITH TIM BECAUSE THESE BATTERIES ARE INSTALLED ALONGSIDE WITH SOLAR.
SO WE SHARE THE CUSTOMERS AND WE MAKE A GOOD PARTNERSHIP IN BRINGING THE BEST PROGRAM TO THE CUSTOMERS AND FOR THE UTILITY.
SO THE WAY AUSTIN ENERGY SEES THIS VIRTUAL POWER PLANT, WHICH IS AN AGGREGATION OF DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES, IS WE SEE IT AS THE CUSTOMER IS PAID A DEMAND RESPONSE PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE.
SO THAT MEANS THE BETTER THE BATTERY PERFORMS FROM THE CUSTOMER'S HOME, THE MORE THAT CUSTOMER GETS PAID BY AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND ANOTHER CHARACTERISTIC IS AUSTIN ENERGY CONTROLS THAT BATTERY.
SO WE CAN REMOTELY CHARGE THAT BATTERY AND DISCHARGE THAT BATTERY BASED ON WHAT MAKES MOST SENSE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
WE CAN ALSO HAVE INSIGHT INTO THE BATTERY'S STATE OF CHARGE THROUGH THE BATTERY'S TELEMETRY, AND WE GET THAT THROUGH OUR AGGREGATOR.
SO THIS IS AN IMAGE OF OUR EXISTING VIRTUAL POWER PLANT AND WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE ONCE WE ADD THE SOLAR COUPLED BATTERIES TO IT.
WE ALREADY HAVE ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND THERMOSTATS, A PART OF OUR EXISTING VPP, AND WE'RE CONSIDERING ADDING THE OTHER DERS.
HOWEVER, IT HAS TO BE COST EFFECTIVE.
UM, LIKE TIM SAID, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US.
WE RUN ALL OF OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS THROUGH A COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS, AND WE ONLY PUT FORWARD PROGRAMS THAT PASS THAT COST EFFECTIVENESS TEST.
WE ALSO WANT TO BE OEM INCLUSIVE.
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER OF THE BATTERY, AND WE SEEK TO EXPAND OUR EXISTING VPP.
OF A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT, HOWEVER, IS NOT THE ONLY KIND OF PROGRAM WE'RE CONSIDERING TO BRING THESE BATTERIES TO OUR, OUR UTILITY DEMAND RESPONSE PORTFOLIO.
THERE ARE TWO DISTINCT KINDS OF PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE LOOKING INTO THE VIRTUAL POWER PLANT AND THE RATE OR BILL CREDIT OPTION.
THE DISTINCT DIFFERENCE HERE IS THAT IN THE VPP, AUSTIN ENERGY CONTROLS THAT BATTERY AND WE CAN REMOTELY CONTROL WHEN THAT BATTERY CHARGES AND DISCHARGES TO MANAGE LOAD IN OUR SERVICE TERRITORY.
WE CAN VERIFY THAT THIS IS HAPPENING BASED ON HOW WE SEEK IT TO BASED ON THE THIRD PARTY AGGREGATOR THAT WE AGGREGATE THE BATTERIES THROUGH.
WE ALREADY HAVE EXISTING PROGRAMS IN A VPP, IT'S VIRTUAL POWER, IT'S, I'M SORRY, POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT AND POWER PARTNER EV, HOW THERE'S ALSO IN CONTRAST THE RATE OR BILL CREDIT OPTION, AND IT'S DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT THAT THE CUSTOMER RETAINS THE CONTROL OF THEIR BATTERY IN THIS SCENARIO.
AND AUSTIN ENERGY SETS FORTH PARAMETERS OR A SCHEDULE TO THE CUSTOMER EXPECTING THE CUSTOMER TO BEHAVE WITH THEIR BATTERY IN CERTAIN WAYS, AND THEY RECEIVE AN INCENTIVE THROUGH A BILL CREDIT IF THEY PERFORM HOW WE SET FORTH.
AUSTIN ENERGY CAN USE OUR SMART METER DATA TO CONFIRM THIS.
HOWEVER, THERE'S NOT AS DETAILED FORECASTING BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THAT DIRECT INSIGHT INTO THE BATTERIES TO TELEMETRY.
WE HAVE AN EXISTING PROGRAM THAT FITS THAT KIND OF PROGRAM PARAMETER.
IT'S THE EV 360 MANAGED EV CHARGING PILOT.
NOW I'LL DISCUSS OUR EXISTING VIRTUAL POWER PLANT AND HOW WE'RE EXPANDING THOSE PROGRAMS. THE POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT AND POWER PARTNER EV ARE RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL AND MULTIFAMILY PROGRAMS. AND WE JUST FINISHED AWARDING AN OFF SEASON BONUS OF $75 FOR ENROLLMENT INTO THAT POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT PROGRAM.
WE DO THIS IN JANUARY BECAUSE TYPICALLY CUSTOMERS WILL IMPROVE THEIR HVAC AND GET NEW THERMOSTATS IN THE SUMMER.
SO THIS IS A WAY TO BRING PARTICIPANTS TO OUR PROGRAM IN AN OFF SEASON TIME.
WE'RE LOOKING AT JUST KEEPING THAT HIGHER INCENTIVE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO ENCOURAGE MORE ENROLLMENT.
WE'RE ALSO IMPLEMENTING A REOCCURRING INCENTIVE OF $25 A YEAR, AND THIS IS TO RETAIN OUR CUSTOMERS BECAUSE TYPICALLY WE SEE A LOT OF ATTRITION IN THIS PROGRAM.
AFTER CUSTOMERS SPEND A SUMMER WITH OUR PROGRAM, THEY'LL OPT OUT OF THE PROGRAM.
SO THIS IS INTENDED TO KEEP THOSE CUSTOMERS SO WE CAN BUILD ON THAT PORTFOLIO AND GAIN THE MEGAWATTS THAT WE NEED TO CURTAIL.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING INTO THE FEASIBILITY OF CHANGING THAT ANNUAL INCENTIVE INTO A PAY FOR PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE.
AND THAT WOULD MEASURE HOW OFTEN THE THERMOSTAT AND EV POWER PARTNERS RIDE THROUGH THE EVENTS WITH US.
SO WE WOULD LOOK AT THE COUNT OF
[01:15:01]
CUSTOMERS THAT ARE OVERRIDING THOSE EVENTS AND NOT PAY THEM AS HIGH OF A PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE AS THOSE WHO STAY WITH THE PROGRAM AND, AND RIDE THROUGH THOSE EVENTS WITH US.WE'RE ALSO EVALUATING AN AUSTIN ENERGY BRANDED WEBSITE OR A MICROSITE TO OFFER DEMAND RESPONSE ENROLLED THERMOSTATS.
SO THIS WOULD BE A VIRTUAL SHOPPING EXPERIENCE IN WHICH THE CUSTOMER COULD SHOP FOR ALREADY ELIGIBLE THERMOSTATS THAT ARE ALREADY ENROLLED IN THE POWER PARTNER PROGRAM.
AND SO THE CUSTOMER WOULD, AT THE POINT OF PURCHASE, BE VERIFIED THAT THEY'RE AN AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMER.
THEY WOULD SIGN OFF ON TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THAT PROGRAM, AND THEY WOULD BE AWARDED THAT ENROLLMENT INCENTIVE, WHICH WOULD SERVE AS A DISCOUNT AT THAT POINT OF PURCHASE FOR THE CUSTOMER.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT TYING OUR RESIDENTIAL CHARGING STATION REBATE TO DEMAND RESPONSE.
SO THAT MEANS NO LONGER WILL CUSTOMERS BE AWARDED A REBATE FOR A CHARGING STATION UNLESS THEY ENROLL IN POWER PARTNER EV.
WHEN MIGHT THAT, UH, PROGRAM THAT YOU JUST DISCUSSED BE, UH, IMPLEMENTED? SO THOSE TWO PROGRAMS ARE ALREADY EXISTING, THE POWER PARTNER EV AND POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT.
SO RIGHT NOW PEOPLE WILL NOT GET A REBATE UNLESS, UH, THE CONDITIONS ARE MET.
OH, FOR THE TYING IT? NO, WE, WE HAVE NOT IMPLEMENTED THE TIE THAT THE CUSTOMER HAS TO ENROLL IN DEMAND RESPONSE IF THEY GET THE REBATE FOR THE CHARGING STATION.
DO YOU KNOW WHEN THAT MIGHT HAPPEN? UM, I BELIEVE THIS YEAR, THIS SUMMER, I THINK.
YEAH, I WAS JUST GONNA ASK ON THE, I THINK YOU MENTIONED THE PAYING FOR PERFORMANCE WITH THE THERMOSTATS.
IS THERE A TIMELINE FOR THAT OR, UM, NO, WE'RE JUST, WE'RE DOING THE FEASIBILITY CURRENTLY.
WE'RE IN THE, IN THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING THE $25, UM, PAY FOR, UH, PARTICIPATION INCENTIVE CURRENTLY.
SO WE'RE BRINGING THAT TO THE CUSTOMERS NOW.
THAT'S THE, THE CURRENT $25 ANNUAL THAT'S RIGHT.
SO WHAT YOU, YOU SAID THAT A NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS DROP OUT AFTER ONE YEAR, ONE SUMMER, ONE SUMMER ON THE PROGRAM.
HAVE, UM, YOU DONE CUSTOMER SURVEYS TO DETERMINE WHY THEY DROP AND WHETHER THE, WHAT ARE THE OTHER STRATEGIES TO KEEP 'EM ON? WE DO CONDUCT AND WHAT, WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THOSE INQUIRIES? WELL, DISCOMFORT IS A PRIMARY, UM, MOTIVATION FOR CUSTOMERS TO OPT OUT.
AND SO, UM, WE'RE LOOKING INTO WAYS THAT WE CAN HAVE A STRATEGY TO MITIGATE THAT.
SHORTER EVENTS, MORE STRATEGIC EVENTS THAT DON'T LAST AS LONG, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE DISCOMFORT FROM THE PRE-COOLING, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR ABILITY TO BATCH CUSTOMERS INTO, LIKE, PROGRAM OPTIONS THAT DON'T INCLUDE COOLING DOWN ONE'S HOME IN ADVANCE OF THE EVENT, MR. ALL OF, BUT ALL OF THOSE DON'T SOUND LIKE THEY NEED A $25 BRIBE.
I MEAN, A $25, I'M, I'M, I'M FULLY IN FAVOR OF AN ANNUAL PAYMENT, BUT THE ANNUAL PAYMENT TO KEEP SOMEBODY IN THE PROGRAM ISN'T GOING TO BE AS EFFECTIVE AS GIVING A BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE STRATEGY TO KEEP THEM IN THE PROGRAM.
I MEAN, WE, WE HAVE NOT, WE HAVE NOT TRIED IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES.
YOU JUST, THE STRATEGIES THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED SOUND DARN SENSIBLE TO ME AS ALTERNATIVES.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE WORKING ON THAT AND NOT JUST THINKING THAT $25 CHECK ONCE, ONCE EVERY SPRING IS GONNA KEEP SOMEBODY IN THE PROGRAM.
WE'RE WORKING AT THANK YOU ON, ON DEVELOPING CONTROL STRATEGIES THAT ARE LESS UNCOMFORTABLE TO THE CUSTOMER.
SOME OTHER THINGS WE'RE DOING TO EXPAND OUR EXISTING DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS INCLUDE SCALING THE INSTALLATION OF PRE-ENROLLED DEMAND RESPONSE THERMOSTATS.
SO WE HAVE A PROGRAM CALLED SMART HOME REWARDS, WHERE WE'VE COMPLETED THE INSTALLATION OF PRE-ENROLLED THERMOSTATS IN THREE MULTI-FAMILY APARTMENT COMPLEXES.
SO WE CAN, WE CAN GROW FROM THOSE LESSONS LEARNED AND DO THAT IN MORE MULTIFAMILY COMPLEXES.
WE CAN BUILD ON THE SUCCESS OF CITY DEMAND, RESPONSE RESOLUTION AND CITY BUILDINGS IN WHICH WE ENROLLED ALL ELIGIBLE CITY BUILDINGS INTO OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM LAST YEAR.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING TO STRENGTHEN BUILDING CODES FOR DEMAND RESPONSE ENABLED DEVICES
[01:20:01]
IN NEW CONSTRUCTION.AND WE'RE LOOKING TO ENHANCE DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM MARKETING AND COMMUNITY AWARENESS OF THE GOOD THAT DEMAND RESPONSE CAN DO IN OUR COMMUNITY.
HAVE YOU BEEN TALKING TO STATE, THE, THE STATE'S PROPERTY MANAGER TO SEE ABOUT GETTING ALL OF THE STATE BUILDINGS, MANY OF THE STATE BUILDINGS IN CITY OF AUSTIN INVOLVED IN THIS? YES.
WE DO HAVE STATE FACILITIES ENROLLED IN THE COMMERCIAL DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM.
A LOT OF THEM, OR JUST A FEW? THE ONES THAT VOLUNTEER TO ENROLL, CAN WE WORK WITH THE STATE TO MAKE THAT BROADER? HOW SO? WELL, YOU SAID THE ONES THAT VOLUNTEERED, IT WOULD BE NICE IF THE GOVERNOR IS GONNA GO ON THE, ON TV TELLING US THAT WE'RE ALL SET FOR EVERY WEATHER EXTREME.
THAT, THAT THEY WERE DOING MORE TO MAKE MORE STATE BUILDINGS, NOT JUST VOLUNTEERING, BUT, BUT HAVE A STATE POLICY.
THEY, THEY, THEY ELECT TO JOIN OUR PROGRAM AND, AND I'M, I'M ENCOURAGING YOU TO GET MORE TO ELECT BY, BY ASKING THE STATE TO LEAN ON MORE BUILDINGS AND AGENCIES.
I, I WAS JUST GONNA ASK YOU ABOUT THE FIRST BULLET.
SO THAT WAS THE SCALE INSTALLATION OF PRE-ENROLLED DEMAND RESPONSE NUMBERS.
THAT'S, THAT WAS JUST, YOU SAID THREE BUILDINGS THAT WERE NEW CONSTRUCTION.
SO THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO OTHER PROGRAM TO INSTALL PRE-ENROLLED THERMOSTATS OR, OR THAT KIND OF THING? IT WASN'T NEW CONSTRUCTION.
THE BUILDINGS EXISTED, AND IT'S THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY THAT WE'RE INSTALLING THOSE THERMOSTATS AND WATER HEATER DEMAND RESPONSE, UM, DEVICES.
THAT, BUT THAT'S A, THAT'S AN OLD PROGRAM, RIGHT? LIKE SMART HOME REWARDS HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A FEW YEARS.
BUT WE'RE, WE'RE STILL, WE JUST COMPLETED THE THIRD INSTALLATION OF IT.
SO, IN CLOSING, OUR DESIRED OUTCOMES FOR BATTERY, A BATTERY DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM INCLUDE INCREASED DISPATCHABILITY OF ENERGY IN OUR LOAD ZONE, INCREASED BATTERY ADOPTION, HIGH CUSTOMER PARTICIPATION, EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE, SUSTAINABLE PROGRAM DESIGN, AND INTEGRATE INTEGRATED SYSTEMS. THANK YOU.
I HAVE, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? COMMISSIONER SCHWARTZ? I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
I GUESS THEY'RE GENERAL TO BOTH PRESENTATIONS, SO I DON'T THINK YOUR MUG IS TURNED.
UH, YEAH, SO IT IS SORT OF JUST A BROAD QUESTION REALLY.
I KNOW OTHER UTILITIES IN TEXAS, A LOT OF THEM ARE PARTNERING WITH, UH, RENEW HOME, OTHER COMPANIES, THIRD PARTY COMPANIES THAT COORDINATE ALL OF THIS.
HOW DO YOU GUYS SEE THAT DECISION VERSUS BUILDING ALL OF THIS YOURSELF LIKE THIS VERSUS DOING NRG IN HOUSTON WHERE THEY ANNOUNCED LIKE A, A GIGAWATT, UH, VPP JUST ON SMART THERMOSTATS, IT'S GONNA BE ROLLING OUT IN, I GUESS, THE NEXT NINE YEARS.
UM, SO HOW DO YOU SEE THE TRADE OFF, OR HAVE YOU LOOKED INTO THAT OR HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THOSE, UH, PROVIDERS ABOUT DOING THAT? WHAT I WOULD SAY IS WE ARE EVALUATING MULTIPLE MEANS OF ACCOMPLISHING THIS OBJECTIVE.
YOU KNOW, YOU'VE HEARD, MAYBE YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY THAT I BELIEVE THAT THE MOST CHALLENGING PORTION OF OUR RESOURCE AND GENERATION PLAN, THE 2035, IS DEMAND RESPONSE.
I MEAN, SO I DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA BE A ONE SOLUTION APPROACH.
I THINK WE'LL ACTUALLY END UP HAVING TO TAKE MULTIPLE PATHS.
UM, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY, I'D SAY NOTHING IS OFF THE TABLE AT THIS POINT.
WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF A LOT OF ANALYSIS, A LOT OF CONSIDERATION, INCLUDING OUR CURRENT VPP PROVIDER AND TRYING TO, UH, POTENTIALLY NEGOTIATE, UH, EXPANDED SCOPE AND, UH, SOLUTION WITH THEM.
BUT IF THAT'S NOT, UH, SUCCESSFUL, WE HAVE ALL THEIR ALTERNATIVES TO EXPLORE.
IS THAT POWER PARTNER OR IS THAT, UH, I, I, I, I, YEAH, I'M NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP, BUT, UM, IT'S, IT'S ANOTHER PROVIDER THAT IS CURRENTLY WE USE FOR, UH, THERMOSTATS AND FOR OUR EV UH, VIRTUAL POWER PLAN.
SO I'M GONNA, UM, I'M GONNA ASK THAT, UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER, I'M GONNA
[01:25:01]
ASK THAT YOU ASK THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.UH, COMMISSIONER SWARTZ, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OKAY.
I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION, UH, THAT RELATES TO THE, YOU, ME, UH, THE, I THINK TIM ME MENTIONED THE COSTS RELATED TO ALL OF THIS, AND I KNOW WHAT GETS TALKED ABOUT MOST, YOU KNOW, UM, AROUND VPPS IS THE VOIDED DISTRIBUTION BUILD OUT.
HOW COME THAT WASN'T INCLUDED? OR I GUESS THERE'S SOME NON WIRE COSTS, UH, AND I GUESS MORE BROADLY, HOW ARE YOU GUYS LOOKING AT THAT OR COSTING THAT OUT IN TERMS OF BUILDING THESE OUT AND THE, THE INCENTIVES THAT WOULD SORT OF INCENTIVIZE TO ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, THROW MONEY INTO THIS STUFF? YEAH, SO WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS NON WIRE SOLUTIONS.
UM, IT'S TYPICAL, THAT'S THE KIND OF CATCHPHRASE FOR IT.
UM, BUT IT'S THE IDEA THAT YOUR, UH, UTILITY IS EXPERIENCING LOW GROWTH ON A FEEDER.
AND SO THEN THEY DEPLOY THOSE BATTERIES IN A WAY THAT MANAGES THE LOAD GROWTH ON THE FEEDER AND MAYBE PRIORITIZES THAT RATHER THAN THE MARKET PLAY.
RIGHT? SO NOW YOU'RE TRYING TO MANAGE THE PEAK LOAD ON, ON A FEEDER SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BUILD A NEW SUBSTATION.
AND BY DEFERRING THE BUILD OF THAT SUBSTATION, MAYBE YOU'RE NOT EVEN ELIMINATING IT, BUT YOU'RE PUSHING IT DOWN THE ROAD A FEW YEARS OR MORE, THEN THAT'S MONEY.
THAT'S, THAT'S SAVINGS AND AVOIDING COSTS THERE.
SO THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS TO OPERATE THE BATTERY.
AND PART OF WHAT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND FROM THIRD PARTY ARE WHEN DO WE USE THESE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO LEVERAGING THE BATTERIES, AND HOW DO WE DO IT STRATEGICALLY SO THAT WE CAN GET THE MOST VALUE OUT OF THEM.
AND ARE YOU, I GUESS, HAVE YOU ALL BEEN LOOKING AT THOSE AVOIDED COSTS, NON WIRE AVOIDED COSTS IN, UH, ALL THE ACCOUNTING FOR THIS? WE HAVEN'T TAKEN THAT APPROACH YET.
AND, AND SO, AND, AND REALLY WHEN TO, TO ABSOLUTELY QUANTIFY THAT OR TRY TO, UM, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN AND, AND DEPLOY A STRATEGY AND THEN MEASURE THAT AND SEE IF YOUR STRATEGY WORK.
SO WE'RE AT THE POINT NOW WHERE WE'RE STARTING TO GET THAT VISIBILITY AND WE'RE STARTING TO HAVE ENOUGH, UM, INTELLIGENCE AND FUNCTIONALITY, UM, TO BEGIN A NON WIRE SIDE ALTERNATIVE APPROACH.
BUT WE HAVE NOT DONE THAT YET.
SO YOU'RE GONNA BEGIN, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SORT OF SAYING, THAT THE UTILITY WILL BEGIN TO LOOK AT THOSE COSTS OR SOMEHOW QUANTIFYING OR ESTIMATING THEM GOING FORWARD? YEAH, SO WE'RE DOING THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS ON, ON THAT, AND WHILE WE CONTINUE TO BUILD OUT OUR FUNCTIONALITY, UM, IN TERMS OF HOSTING CAPACITY ANALYSIS AND, UM, GRID MODELING, UM, TO IDENTIFY HOW TO IMPLEMENT THAT APPROACH.
ARE, ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WHO HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? MAY I SAY THANK YOU TO MS. MCDOUGALL, AND, AND NO, YOU MAY, YOU MAY NOT.
EXCELLENT PRESENTATION THUS FAR.
UH, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS, PLEASE? OKAY, MR. GENESEE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO BRIEFLY INTRODUCE, UH, THIS PRESENTATION, UH, AS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HEARD FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, SAA, UH, ON HIS PROPOSAL, AND AS PROMISED, WE WANTED TO COME BACK AT THE NEXT RMC AND, UH, UH, HA PRESENT OUR RESPONSE TO THAT PROPOSAL.
AND WE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, PREFER A VERY COLLABORATIVE, ENGAGING PROCESS WITH THE RMC IN TERMS OF, UH, IMPROVING THE PROGRAM.
AND AS TIM WILL COVER IN THE BRIEFING, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, ON AN ITERATIVE BASIS IMPROVE THE PROGRAM OVER DECADES, UH, THAT IT'S BEEN, BEEN GOING.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO
[7. Staff briefing on Austin Energy input on Resource Management Commission’s Proposed Resolution on Changes to Residential Rooftop Solar Rebate Program by Tim Harvey, Manager, Customer Renewable Solutions.]
TIM, UH, MR. HARVEY, ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME MIGHT YOU NEED? I'M 15 OR 20 MINUTES.ALRIGHT, I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER DAVIS, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT MAYBE MR. HARVEY GET THROUGH THE PRESENTATION AND WE CAN DO QUESTIONS AT THE END.
SO, UM, AS RICHARD STATED, WE'VE HAD PROGRAMS IN PLACE FOR SOLAR FOR OVER 20 YEARS NOW.
[01:30:01]
UM, IT HAS BEEN A CONTINUAL PROCESS OF IMPROVEMENT FOR US.UM, AND SO WE'VE WENT THROUGH SEVERAL DIFFERENT PHASES AS WE'VE DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED THESE PROGRAMS. UM, I THINK THE FIRST PHASE IT REALLY, UM, KIND OF, UM, FOCUSED ON THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND CULTIVATING EARLY ADOPTERS, GAINING, UM, THAT INITIAL KNOWLEDGE AND BUILDING OUT PROCESSES.
UM, WE, WE DID A LOT OF WORK WITH THE CONTRACTORS.
WE USED TO HAVE A REALLY HANDS-ON APPROACH WITH CUSTOMERS.
UM, WHEN I GOT HIRED, I WOULD GO OUT TO EVERY SINGLE HOME BEFORE THE CONTRACTOR TO IDENTIFY THE SOLAR ACCESS OF THE HOME AND TALK TO THE CUSTOMERS ABOUT IT.
AND SO, LIKE WE'VE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE EVOLVED AND, AND MATURED A LOT, UM, FROM THE EARLY DAYS.
UM, IN PHASE TWO, WE BROUGHT IN OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
WE FOSTERED IN INCLUSIVITY, UM, AND ESTABLISHED BEST PRACTICES, UM, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPING THE COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAM, UM, TO, TO MAKE SOLAR MORE ACCESSIBLE ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND, AND REALLY JUST, UM, WORKED ON TRYING, TRYING TO GET IT TO A PLACE WHERE WE CAN TAKE IT TO SCALE.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT NOW.
SO WE'RE SCALING THE ENGAGEMENT AND THE INCLUSIVITY, UM, PREPARING FOR, UM, A MORE DEMAND ON, ON THE INSPECTION PROCESS.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, THE, UM, INCREASING GOALS FROM THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN IS PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO INCREASE ADOPTION AND, AND PUT ALL THE THINGS IN PLACE TO, TO ENABLE THAT.
UM, AND THEN, UM, WE'RE WORKING ON LEVERAGING ALL OF THE BENEFITS OF A DECENTRALIZED GRID, UM, AND IN A LOT OF THE WAYS THAT I'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT WITH THE BATTERIES AND RESILIENCY, ET CETERA.
SO THE CUSTOMER RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS, UM, TEAM IS FOCUSED ON THESE KEY OBJECTIVES, UM, WITH SAFETY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION AT THE TOP.
UM, THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, JUST BASELINE FOR US.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING TO INCREASE ADOPTION AS PER THE GEN PLAN.
OF COURSE, WE ALWAYS WANNA HAVE FAIR RATES, UM, WHERE WE'RE COMPENSATING CUSTOMERS, UM, ACCORDINGLY TO, UM, FOR, FOR THE BENEFITS THAT THEY BRING TO THE GRID.
UM, SO THE VALUE OF SA THE VALUE OF SOLAR IS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT, UM, WHERE WE'RE QUANTIFYING THOSE AVOIDED COSTS, PASSING THEM THROUGH THE CUSTOMERS BECAUSE WE'RE INTERESTED IN BUILDING THIS, UM, GENERATION PORTFOLIO ON THE DISTRIBUTION GRID, UM, CONTRACTOR EDUCATION THAT'S BEEN IN PLACE SINCE DAY ONE.
WE HAVE MONTHLY CONTRACTOR MEETINGS.
WE'RE ALWAYS BRINGING THEM ALONG, UM, STAYING, UM, UM, OR STAYING ABREAST WITH THE BEST PRACTICES AND, AND, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE GET A FEEDBACK LOOP FROM THEM ON WAYS THAT WE CAN IMPROVE.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT.
SO AS WE LOOK AT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR, FOR PUTTING THOSE TOGETHER.
I KNOW A LOT OF THOUGHT AND EFFORT, UH, WENT INTO THOSE AND WE APPRECIATE THE FEEDBACK AND ARE ALWAYS OPEN TO NEW SUGGESTIONS ON WAYS TO IMPROVE.
UM, SOME OF THESE SUGGESTIONS WE'RE EXPLORING, UM, AND OR ARE ALREADY, UM, HAVE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED THROUGH THE PROGRAM, AND THEN SOME OF THEM WE HAVE CONCERNS WITH.
AND OUR CONCERNS ARE BASICALLY BUILT AROUND LESSONS LEARNED IN THE PAST.
UM, AND WITH, WITH THOSE KEY OBJECTIVES, UM, IN MIND.
SO I'M JUST GONNA GO THROUGH THEM ONE BY ONE.
UM, AND JUST KIND OF, UM, TELL YOU AUSTIN ENERGY'S PERSPECTIVE ON THEM.
SO THIS RECOMMENDATION, A ONE IS TO ELIMINATE, UM, THE SOLAR EDUCATION COURSE IN PLACE OF A FLYER.
SO TO THAT, I WOULD SAY, UM, THAT THE FLYER WAS OUR FIRST APPROACH, AND WE FOUND THAT, UM, IT JUST WASN'T ENGAGING ENOUGH FOR CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND WE STARTED TO NOTICE SOME REAL ISSUES WITH CONSUMER PROTECTION.
UM, CUSTOMERS WERE COMING TO US AND TELLING US THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, HAD INSTALLED SOLAR, AND THEN WE'D LOOK AT IT AND IT WAS TWICE AS MUCH AS THEY SHOULD HAVE PAID FOR IT.
AND I'M TALKING ABOUT LIKE, CUSTOMERS THAT COME IN WHO ARE ON FIXED INCOMES, AND
[01:35:01]
THIS SOLAR INVESTMENT IS TANKING THEM, AND IT'S VERY SAD TO SEE THAT.UM, AND SO WE'VE TAKEN ACTION IN THAT REGARD.
UH, WE DEVELOPED THE, UM, EDUCATION COURSE.
IN FACT, WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF GOING THROUGH ANOTHER REVISION OF IMPROVEMENTS FOR, UM, AND WE HAVE DATA THAT SHOWS THAT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THAT COURSE, UM, WHEN WE MOVE TO THAT, UM, PROCESS THAT TEACHES CUSTOMERS HOW TO PURCHASE SOLAR AND WHAT TO CONSIDER TO GET MULTIPLE BIDS, THINGS THAT ARE GONNA COST MORE, HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE RATES, ET CETERA.
UM, WE SAW THE INSTALL COSTS GO DOWN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE THEY WERE SHOPPING AROUND.
UM, I, I BELIEVE, UM, AND, UM, THE, THE CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS AND CONCERNS AROUND, UM, THE PREDATORY SOLAR MARKET THAT EXISTS OUT THERE, UM, DEFINITELY WENT DOWN.
SO, SO WE KNOW THAT IT'S EFFECTIVE.
UM, WE THINK THAT THE AVERAGE PERSON CAN GET THROUGH THAT COURSE IN 30 MINUTES OR LESS.
UM, AND FOR A $2,500 INCENTIVE, THAT'S A PRETTY LOW HURDLE.
UM, AND FINALLY, WE, UM, WE SURVEY EVERY SINGLE CUSTOMER THAT GOES THROUGH OUR PROGRAMS, OUR SOLAR PROGRAMS, AND IN THIS LAST QUARTER, 100% OF THEM SAID THEY WOULD RECOMMEND OUR, OUR, UM, PROGRAM TO OTHER CUSTOMERS.
THAT IS A PHENOMENAL RATE OF, UM, OF SATISFACTION.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I'LL LET THAT STAND ON ITS OWN NEXT SLIDE.
SO, UM, THIS IS ONE B SAYING THAT WE, UM, WILL NOT CONDITION THE REBATE APPROVAL ON A CUSTOMER'S CURRENT ELECTRIC USAGE.
UM, SO THE, THE SHORT ANSWER IS THAT WE, WE DON'T, WE DO REQUIRE THAT IF THEY'RE GOING TO EXCEED 110% OF THEIR CONSUMPTION WITH PRODUCTION, THAT THEY NOTIFY US AND THEN WE NOTIFY THEM THAT IF THEIR VALUE OF SOLAR CREDIT, FOR EXAMPLE, EXCEEDS THEIR BILL AMOUNT, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO CASH THAT OUT.
UM, AND WE DO THAT BECAUSE THAT'S BEEN A PROBLEM IN THE PAST.
THE VALUE OF SOLAR RATE FLUCTUATES.
UM, SOMETIMES IT'S VERY ON PAR OR EVEN MORE THAN THE CONSUMPTION RATE, AND SOMETIMES IT'S AT A LOWER PHASE.
RIGHT NOW IT'S AT A LOWER PHASE BECAUSE IT'S LOCKED IN, AND THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER STORY.
UM, BUT AT SOME POINTS, CUSTOMERS, EVEN WITH RIGHT SIZE SYSTEMS ARE GENERATING MORE CREDIT THAN THEY CAN USE ON THE BILL.
AND WHEN THAT CREDIT STARTS TO GET HIGH ENOUGH, CUSTOMERS GET REALLY FRUSTRATED THAT THEY CAN'T, THEY CAN'T CASH THAT OUT.
SO WE DON'T TELL THEM THAT THEY CAN'T OVER THE OVERSIZE THEIR SYSTEM.
WE JUST SAY, IF YOU OVERSIZE YOUR SYSTEM, THEN THIS COULD HAPPEN.
SO, UM, WE'RE KIND OF ALREADY DOING THIS.
NEXT SLIDE, ONE C UM, AUSTIN ENERGY SHALL NOT PLACE ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS ON THE INSTALLATION OR PARTS USED OTHER THAN COVERED BY NORMAL INSPECTION.
SO I'M, THIS IS A LITTLE VAGUE, I'M NOT REAL POSITIVE WHAT THIS IS REFERRING TO.
MY BEST GUESS, THOUGH IS THAT, UM, OUR, UH, INCENTIVE PROGRAMS REQUIRE THAT THE SYSTEMS BE NEW.
UM, WE DO THAT BECAUSE THERE'S NO WAY OF TELLING HOW MUCH LIFE IS LEFT ON A USED PANEL.
UM, AND WE DON'T, WE'RE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR WISE EXPENDITURE OF THE PUBLIC DOLLAR.
AND SO WE WANT TO GET HIGHEST AND BEST USE OUTTA THAT PUBLIC DOLLAR.
WE, AND WE DON'T WANT TO COST SIGNAL A CUSTOMER TO BUY USED EQUIPMENT THAT WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH LIFE IS LEFT ON IT.
UM, THAT SAID, WE TOTALLY SUPPORT THE USE OF USED EQUIPMENT AND WE ASSUME THAT CUSTOMERS CAN GET THAT AT A MAJOR DISCOUNT.
UM, SO IT, WE'LL, WE WILL LET CUSTOMERS INSTALL, USE EQUIPMENT, BUT WE DON'T INCENTIVIZE IT.
UM, SMART INVERTERS, UM, WOULD BE AN EXAMPLE OF A REQUIREMENT, UM, THAT ISN'T, UM, COVERED BY NORMAL INSPECTION.
A SMART INVERTER COULD HELP US WITH POWER QUALITY.
UM, THEY'RE GENERALLY IN PLACE ACROSS THE BOARD.
THERE'S ANOTHER RECOMMENDATION WHERE WE TALK ABOUT THIS AND WE'LL GO INTO MORE DETAIL, BUT SMART INVERTERS MIGHT BE ONE OF THOSE EXTRA REQUIREMENTS.
UM, AND THEN, UM, EXPORT LIMITING, UM, IS ANOTHER CASE WHERE
[01:40:01]
WE MAY SAY, OKAY, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS SETTING IN PLACE.EXPORT LIMITING WOULD SAY, OKAY, YOU HAVE A 50, UM, A 50 KW TRANSFORMER AND TWO CUSTOMERS ON IT.
SO EACH CUSTOMER, UM, THEY'RE SHARING THAT TRANSFORMER.
IF CUSTOMER A COMES ALONG AND PUTS IN A 50 OR A 45 W SYSTEM, CUSTOMER B, IF THEY WANNA DO SOLAR, THEY HAVE TO BUY A NEW TRANSFORMER.
SO THAT'S, THEY'RE NOT EVER GONNA DO SOLAR.
SO WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT DOING IS PUTTING AN EXPORT LIMIT ON THAT TO SAY, OKAY, CUSTOMER A, YOU CAN PUT IN A 50 KW SYSTEM, BUT YOU CAN ONLY EXPORT 25 KW TO THE GRID.
SO THAT SYSTEM CAN MEET THEIR LOAD IN THEIR HOUSE ALL DAY LONG.
THEY JUST CAN'T PUSH MORE THAN 25 KW BACK ONTO THE GRID.
AND THAT HARDLY WOULD EVER HAPPEN.
UM, BECAUSE TYPICALLY WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A SYSTEM THAT SIZE, IT'S 25 KW OF SOLAR AND 25 KW OF A BATTERY.
SO THEY'RE NEVER GONNA EXPORT MORE THAN 25 KW ANYWAY.
BUT WE PUT THAT LIMIT ON THERE, SO WE CAN SAY THAT FOR SURE.
AND THEN WHEN CUSTOMER B COMES ALONG, THEY HAVE THE OTHER HALF OF THE TRANSFORMER TO, TO WORK WITH.
SO IT SAYS ASHA AND ENERGY SELL SPECIFY A MINIMUM SET OF 10 YEAR WARRANTY PROVISIONS THAT EVERY CONTRACTOR MUST OFFER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE REBATE REBATE LIST.
UM, CURRENTLY WE REQUIRE OUR CONTRACTORS TO HAVE A 10 YEAR PARTS AND LABOR WORKMANSHIP WARRANTY.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS YOU WOULD WANT ON TOP OF THAT, BUT THAT SEEMS TO BE BALANCED ENOUGH, UM, TO, FOR CUSTOMERS TO GET THAT WARRANTY.
NOW DO WARRANTIES DIFFER ACROSS CONTRACTORS? YES, THEY ABSOLUTELY DO.
JUST LIKE RATES DIFFER AND THE INSTALL DIFFERS AND THE EQUIPMENT DIFFERS AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE ALWAYS TELL CUSTOMERS YOU NEED TO COMPARE.
YOU NEED TO GET MULTIPLE BIDS, COMPARE YOUR BIDS, LOOK AT THE DETAILS.
UM, SO I THINK REALLY THIS IS A, A CUSTOMER, UM, EDUCATION ISSUE THAT WE'RE ALREADY SOLVING AND THE WARRANTIES DO EXIST.
SO AUSTIN ENERGY SHALL PROVIDE UP TO DATE INTERACTIVE REFERENCE SOLAR AND BATTERY BENCHMARK COSTS ESTIMATES FOR A FEW HOUSE TYPES.
SO, UM, WE DON'T GO INTO GREAT DETAIL.
WE DO PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION REGARDING THAT, BUT, UM, IN THE PAST WE HAVE GONE INTO GREATER DETAIL AND IT PROVED TO NOT BE SO ADVANTAGEOUS.
UM, AT ONE POINT WE HAD A $4 OR WATT CAP ON THE INCENTIVE PROGRAM, AND AT THAT POINT, THE VAST MAJORITY OF ALL SOLAR THAT WENT IN THROUGH THE PROGRAM WAS AT $4 A WATT.
AS SOON AS WE TOOK THAT AWAY AND STARTED THE CUSTOMER EDUCATION PROGRAM, THAT PRICE WENT DOWN RIGHT AWAY.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST SAYING, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE SIGNALING TO CUSTOMERS, HEY, THIS IS THE GOOD DEAL PRICE, THEN FAR BE IT FROM CONTRACTORS TO GO LOWER THAN THAT, UM, THEY'RE GONNA DO WHAT THEY DO.
UM, AND SO, UM, ON THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT, IF WE WERE TO SAY A PRICE LOWER THAN THAT, UM, THEN CONTRACTORS WOULD BE UPSET ABOUT US TRYING TO PRICE FIX THINGS.
UM, AND, AND FRANKLY, HOUSES AND PRICES VARY, UM, SIGNIFICANTLY, YOU MAY HAVE A THREE STORY HOUSE WITH A TILE ROOF, YOU MAY HAVE A ONE STORY HOUSE WITH A SHINGLE ROOF.
LIKE THOSE ARE TWO DIFFERENT TOTALLY DIFFERENT SCENARIOS FOR AN INSTALLATION CONTRACTOR.
UM, MAYBE IT NEEDS A, A MAIN PANEL UPGRADE, MAYBE IT NEEDS A A METER BOX UPGRADE, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHUTDOWNS MIGHT BE REQUIRED, ET CETERA.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT COSTS, UM, CAUSING IMPACTS ON THESE.
SO THIS IS WHY WE AREN'T PLANNING TO DO COST ESTIMATES.
SO, SO CURRENTLY WE HAVE A RULE IN PLACE FOR THE REBATE PROGRAM TO SAY THAT THE SYSTEM HAS TO BE AT LEAST THREE KW AND THE ENTIRE SYSTEM HAS TO MEET A 75 TOTAL SOLAR RESOURCE FRACTION.
SO WHEN, WHEN I SAY 75% TOTAL SOLAR RESOURCE FRACTION, THAT MEANS 75% OF THE OPTIMAL PRODUCTION OF A SYSTEM IF IT WAS FACING DUE SOUTH AT 30 DEGREE TILT UNSHADED.
UM, AND THE REASON WE PUT THIS IN PLACE IS BECAUSE,
[01:45:01]
UM, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT CUSTOMERS ARE GETTING A DECENT DEAL, UM, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THE INCENTIVE PROGRAM AND WE'RE PUTTING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TOWARDS THEIR SYSTEM, UM, IF THE CUSTOMER, AND, AND SO WHAT THIS WOULD SAY IS THAT, OKAY, WELL IF THERE, IF THERE'S AT LEAST THREE KW AND THAT THREE KW IS AT 75%, THEN THEY CAN PUT ANYTHING ELSE IN AND STILL GET THE INCENTIVE.SO WHAT WE WOULD HAVE IN THAT SCENARIO IS CONTRACTORS MEETING THAT OBLIGATION, BUT THEN SELLING THE CUSTOMER A LOT MORE SOLAR THAT IS POTENTIALLY IN THE SHADE AND SHADE KILLS THE RETURN ON AN INVESTMENT FOR A SOLAR SYSTEM.
SO WE, WHILE, YOU KNOW, WE FROM A BANG FOR YOUR BUCK PERSPECTIVE FOR THE INCENTIVE DOLLAR, YES, WE WOULD STILL GET THAT MINIMUM THREE KW, TOTAL SOLAR RESOURCE FRACTION OF 75.
BUT WE WOULD ALSO GET A CUSTOMER WHO LIKELY GOT OVERSOLD ON THEIR SOLAR INVESTMENT AND MAY NEVER GET A RETURN ON THAT INVESTMENT AND WOULD END UP A NON HAPPY CUSTOMER.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT SOLAR IS VERY MUCH A WORD OF MOUTH INDUSTRY.
SO WE SEE NEIGHBORHOODS START TO GO SOLAR BECAUSE ONE CUSTOMER DID IT A COUPLE MORE DO IT, THEN THEY ALL START GETTING ON BOARD.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE HAPPY CUSTOMERS.
UM, WE NEED TO GIVE YOU EVERY LATITUDE TO EXPLAIN AND DEFEND YOUR PROGRAMS. WE ALSO ARE TIME LIMITED, SO I'M GONNA MAKE A CONSTRUCTIVE SUGGESTION THAT YOU PROCEED IN AS MUCH DETAIL AS YOU WANT FOR ABOUT THE NEXT 12 MINUTES AND THEN WHAT YOU CAN'T SAY, UH, WE COME BACK AT THE NEXT MEETING AND, UM, OKAY.
UM, THIS IS IN NO WAY A REBUKE TO YOU AT ALL.
SO THIS IS A SUGGESTION TO, UM, INFORM CUSTOMERS ABOUT ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND HOW THEY COULD, UM, SAVE MONEY ON THEIR SOLAR ARRAY.
SO THIS RECOMMENDATION IS TO UTILIZE SMART INVERTERS FOR, UM, FREQUENCY WATT MODE.
UM, I THINK THERE ARE OTHER POTENTIAL MODES YOU CAN PUT, UM, INVERTERS INTO.
WE KNOW THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF INVERTERS THAT GO IN TODAY MEET THIS 1547, UH, 2018 REQUIREMENT.
SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THIS AND, UH, LOOKING TO LEVERAGE THIS IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
UM, WE DID TEST REMOTE INSPECTIONS DURING COVID AND WE FOUND THAT THEY'RE NOT ADEQUATE TO, UM, IDENTIFY THE SAFETY CONCERNS, UM, THAT WE SEE OFTEN OUT IN THE FIELD.
UM, SO YOU KNOW, THAT INCLUDES, UM, NOT ONLY THE VIS VISUAL INSPECTION AND LOOKING UNDER PANELS AND LOOKING FOR WIRE MANAGEMENT ISSUES AND CHECK, BUT IT IT, IT INVOLVES A PHYSICAL TEST OF TUGGING ON PANELS AND TUGGING ON WIRES AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE ALL, UM, FASTENED AND CONNECTED CORRECTLY.
UM, SO WE FOUND THIS TO BE, UM, AND, AND ALSO I SHOULD SAY WE TEST FOR, UM, FOR RAPID SHUTDOWN, UM, WHICH KEEPS IT A BUILDING FROM IT BEING ENERGIZED WHEN YOU SHUT OFF THE POWER FROM THE SOLAR.
UM, AND WE ALSO FIND THAT THAT TEST DOES NOT ALWAYS COME OUT, UM, WORKING CORRECTLY.
UM, THAT IS DEFINITELY A LIFE SAFETY ISSUE FOR OUR FIRST RESPONDERS.
SO WE'RE VERY ADAMANT ABOUT DOING 100% TESTING ON SITE.
UM, AND, AND I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND MOVE THROUGH ALL OF THESE REMOTE INSPECTIONS BECAUSE I PRETTY MUCH SET IT OFF.
UM, AND THEN, SO THIS NEXT ONE IS THAT, UM, IF A CONTRACTOR, IF WE WERE TO DO REMOTE TESTING AND A CONTRACTOR, UM, HAD A FAIL RATE THAT EXCEEDED 10%, THEN
[01:50:01]
THEY WOULDN'T BE ELIGIBLE FOR, UM, THE REMOTE, UM, INSPECTION.BUT ALMOST ALL OF OUR CONTRACTORS FAIL MORE THAN 10% OF THE TIME.
CURRENTLY, THE FAIL RATE, UM, IN THE LAST, OVER THE LAST, UH, COUPLE YEARS WAS 20% FOR ALL THE AVERAGE FAIL RATE FOR ALL CONTRACTORS.
UM, AND SO THIS SAYS THAT INSPECTION SHALL CONTAIN NO ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS BEYOND, UM, THE NATIONAL ELECTRIC CODE.
UM, WELL, THE DESIGN CRITERIA HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, PROBABLY 50 PLUS YEARS.
THIS IS AUSTIN ENERGY'S LOCAL CODES AND STANDARDS THAT GO ABOVE THE NATIONAL ELECTRIC CODE.
THAT'S, IT'S, IT'S PART OF THE CITY CHARTER.
UM, SO WE CAN'T NOT INSPECT TO THAT.
WE WILL ALWAYS INSPECT TO THAT.
UM, AND, UM, WE WILL, WE USE OUR DISTRIBUTION INTERCONNECTION GUIDE TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON HOW WE INTERPRET AND ENFORCE, UM, CODE.
UM, AND THEN THE DESIGN CRITERIA MANUAL IS WHERE THE ACTUAL, UM, AMENDED CITY CODE IS.
CURRENTLY, WE, WE REQUIRE THAT BATTERIES, UM, GET A, UM, ENGINEERED STAMP ON THOSE.
THAT'S BECAUSE WE DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE, UM, ELECTRICAL PLAN REVIEW FOR SOLAR OR BATTERIES.
UM, THAT'S BEEN THE CASE FOR QUITE A WHILE.
WE'VE BEEN KICKING THIS AROUND WITH DSD.
WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF A SOLUTION THERE.
ONCE WE HAVE ELECTRIC PLANE REVIEW, WE'LL GET RID OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR A STAMPED ENGINEER DRAWING FOR BATTERIES.
UM, NO ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT CHECKS AGAIN, LIKE WE WE'RE, WE'RE GOING OUT THERE INSPECTING THE AS SYSTEMS. WE'RE GONNA BE CHECKING FOR RAPID SHUTDOWN.
UM, AND IF THERE ARE SETTINGS FOR THE INVERTER AND OR FOR, UM, FOR, UM, JUST ESCAPE ME
UM, SO WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THIS, UM, NEXT SLIDE.
WE APPRECIATE THE INCENTIVE RECOMMENDATIONS HERE, BUT WE DO NEED TO BALANCE THESE WITH AVOIDED COSTS AND WITH THE ONGOING INCENTIVE THAT IS OFFERED TO CUSTOMERS, WHEN WE PROVIDE AN UPFRONT INCENTIVE INCENTIVE FOR A BATTERY, IT WILL BE WITH THE REQUIREMENT THAT THEY PARTICIPATE IN A BATTERY PROGRAM.
UM, SO THAT SHOULD COVER THE NEXT BULLET AS WELL.
YEAH, SO WE WOULDN'T GIVE AN ADDITIONAL INCENTIVE.
WE WOULD JUST SAY, HEY, IF, IF YOU'RE GETTING THIS UPFRONT INCENTIVE HERE, YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM.
UH, AND THIS RECOMMENDATION IS TO POTENTIALLY REPLACE, UM, INVERTERS THAT AREN'T SMART INVERTERS WITH SMART INVERTERS.
UH, WE DON'T THINK THIS, THAT THE, THE, UM, COST WOULD EXCEED THE BENEFIT OR THE BENEFITS WOULD EXCEED THE COST HERE BECAUSE, UM, RIGHT NOW WE, WE JUST, WE DON'T HAVE HEAVY ENOUGH PENETRATION TO HAVE THOSE POWER QUALITY ISSUES THAT SMART INVERTER HELPS TO SOLVE FOR
AS WE GET MORE AND MORE PENETRATION, THAT WILL BECOME MORE NECESSARY AND NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO START IMPLEMENTING THAT.
BUT I DON'T THINK WE'RE AT A PLACE WHERE WE WOULD NEED TO GO BACK AND RETROFIT ANYTHING IF WE WERE TO DO THAT.
YOU COULD VOID CUSTOMER WARRANTIES ON WHAT THEY ALREADY HAVE.
UM, AND IT JUST, I, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD BE A FRUITFUL EFFORT.
SO IN SUMMARY, UM, WE ARE EXPLORING SMART INVERTERS, UM, A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT AND BATTERY INCENTIVES.
UM, WE CURRENTLY DO RIGHT SIZING OF SOLAR, HAVE A WARRANTY, UM, REQUIREMENT WITHIN THE INCENTIVE PROGRAM, DO ENERGY EFFICIENCY RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, AND OH, UH, ONE, ONE OF THE, UM, INSPECTION NOTICES OR ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS THAT WE GIVE FAILURE RESULTS FOR INSPECTIONS WITHIN TWO DAYS,
[01:55:01]
BUT WE CURRENTLY DO THAT THE SAME DAY, SO IT'S ALREADY IN PLACE.AND THEN, UM, THESE AREAS THAT WE HAVE CONCERN, UM, AND, AND YOU SEE THEM LISTED OVER THERE, WE HAVE THOSE CONCERNS BECAUSE OF SAFETY, CONSUMER PROTECTION INCREASE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO INCREASE ADOPTION AND WE WANNA HAVE FAIR RATES.
SO, YOU KNOW, UM, WHILE, UM, WE APPRECIATE ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, SOME OF THEM WE AGREE WITH, UM, SOME OF THEM WE, WE DON'T, BUT THE ONES THAT WE DON'T, WE HAVE VERY SPECIFIC REASONS FOR.
AND, UM, WE'RE DOING WHAT WE DO BASED ON OUR EXTENSIVE PROGRAM EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE.
UH, I'M SURE THERE'S GOING TO BE QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS YOU MIGHT CONSIDER STAYING THERE.
UH, MR. ROB? UH, IT'S, WE HAVE SOME ALREADY.
IT IS EIGHT 16, YOU ASKED ME TO TELL YOU AT EIGHT 17.
UM,
UH, I, I SENSE IT AND, UH, THE, ONE OF THE CHAMPIONS OF THIS RESOLUTION IS IN CHINA RIGHT NOW, SO, UM, IT WOULDN'T BE FAIR TO HIM EITHER.
UH, BUT, UH, AND, AND I THINK WE'RE GONNA BE GOING AROUND, I DON'T KNOW THIS, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE'RE GONNA BE AROUND, GOING AROUND ON THIS FOR TWO OR THREE MORE MEETINGS.
BUT ON THE CHANCE THAT PEOPLE WANT TO ASK QUESTIONS OR MAKE COMMENTS TONIGHT, UH, I'M GOING TO, UH, HOLD IT TO TWO PER PERSON.
UH, AND, UH, I'M, UM, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, DO YOU HAVE TWO QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I, I ONLY HAVE ONE.
AND, AND THAT IS, YOU CAN COME BACK WITH THE OTHER LATER.
UM, UH, THANK YOU FOR, AS, AS ONE OF THE CO-SPONSORS OF THIS RESOLUTION.
I WANNA THANK YOU FOR A VERY THOROUGH AND THOUGHTFUL SET OF RESPONSES.
VERY CONSTRUCTIVE AND HELPFUL.
UH, SHE GETS TO MAKE COMMENTS.
UH, COMMISSIONER SCHWARTZ, DO YOU HAVE TWO QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I HAVE ONE ALSO,
UM, WHEN DID THAT BECOME TRUE THAT YOU GUYS DON'T REQUIRE THAT? I GUESS WHEN I WAS PERSONALLY LOOKING AT DOING THIS, I DID DECIDE TO WAIT ME FOR A YEAR OR TWO AFTER I GOT THE, MY EV TO WAIT, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO INSTALL THE CORRECT SIZE SYSTEM.
IS IT CURRENTLY UPDATED ON THE WEBSITE THAT THAT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT ANYMORE, OR I GUESS IT'S STILL TECHNICALLY A REQUIREMENT.
IT'S, UH, THROUGH THE PROGRAM IF, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WENT THROUGH THE PROGRAM, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE THAT IT'S IN THE GUIDELINES, UM, OF THE PROGRAM THAT YOU CAN, UM, REQUEST, YOU CAN, YOU CAN MAKE A CASE FOR HAVING MORE THAN 110%.
AND SO I GUESS YOU WERE PROBABLY JUST LOOKING AT THE GUIDELINES ON THE DISTRIBUTION GUIDE.
LOOKING, I DON'T REMEMBER WHICH GUIDE, BUT YEAH.
LOOKING AT THE INFO ONLINE, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
THAT COULD BE A POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENT IS THAT WE MAKE THAT FUNCTIONALITY AVAILABLE TO ALL CUSTOMERS, WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THE INCENTIVE.
'CAUSE I KNOW OTHER PEOPLE, I THINK I DID READ LIKE SOME FORM ONLINE, PEOPLE WERE TALKING ABOUT TURNING UP THEIR, YOU KNOW, THER LIKE USING MORE POWER FOR THE YEAR BEFORE THAT SO THAT THEY COULD
LET'S HOPE THAT'S NOT HAPPENING.
COMMISSIONER GARY, DO YOU HAVE ANY, UH, DO YOU HAVE TWO QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? NO, I JUST WANTED TO SAY AN EXCELLENT PRESENTATION.
I HAVE NO, UM, QUESTIONS FOR YOU TONIGHT.
UM, AS A PERSON WHO USED TO INSTALL THESE SYSTEMS, I APPRECIATE THE, UM, SAFETY CONCERNS THAT YOU BROUGHT TO THIS.
UH, I, I DON'T WANNA UNDERESTIMATE HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THESE, UH, FOR A HOMEOWNER, IT'S A VERY COMPLICATED THING.
AND, UM, IF I THINK PEOPLE MAKE MISTAKES ON WANTING, UH, BEING VERY, UM, UH, EXCITED ABOUT GETTING THE SYSTEM AND OVERDOING IT SOMETIMES OR MAKING MISTAKES, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALLY UNDERSTAND IT BEFORE YOU GO AND DO IT.
UM, IS THAT THE EXTENT OF YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS? IT WASN'T A QUESTION
[02:00:01]
DAVIS, I JUST ALSO WANNA ECHO THE, UM, SENTIMENT FROM MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
I FOUND IT VERY INFORMATIVE, UM, APPRECIATE, UH, A LOT OF THE RATIONALE BEHIND SOME OF THE, THE, UM, YOU KNOW, REG REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE EXISTING.
AND SO THAT REALLY HELPED, HELPED ME SEE THAT, UM, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO PROTECTING CONSUMERS FROM UNSCRUPULOUS, UM, VENDORS.
UM, I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT AND THAT CERTAINLY WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS GIVING ME PAUSE IN, IN THE RESOLUTION ABOUT TAKING AWAY THINGS THAT, UM, MIGHT ACTUALLY BE PROTECTING CONSUMERS.
SO, UM, IT'S GOOD TO HAVE STORIES OF, OF THAT AND KIND OF SEE HOW, HOW THOSE PLAY OUT.
UM, ONE, I AM HAVING A HARD TIME UNDERSTANDING WHY THERE'S SUCH A HIGH FAIL RATE.
UH, I AM NOT AN EXPERT ON CODE, BUT I'VE BEEN, I, I MEAN, UH, COMMISSIONER SA SARITA, UH, AND TO AN EXTENT, COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, UH, I I THOUGHT THEY HAD BOTH TOLD ME THAT, UH, THERE WERE, UH, OTHER CITIES THAT HAD ONLINE INSPECTIONS AND THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL.
UM, UM, SO I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHY SUCH A HIGH FAIL RATE AND, UH, HOW COME THIS IS, UH, POSSIBLY DONE IN OTHER CITIES.
IT'S MORE OF A DINO THING THAN AN ALLISON THING, ALTHOUGH ALLISON LOVES THE IDEA.
I CAN'T SPEAK TO THE SUCCESS OF THESE AT OTHER CITIES.
I KNOW THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN VARYING AMOUNTS OR DEGREES OF INSPECTIONS FROM NO INSPECTION TO DRIVE BY INSPECTIONS TO THOROUGH INSPECTIONS LIKE AUSTIN ENERGY HAS.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN ON THE 100%, UM, INSPECTED AND MORE THOROUGH INSPECTION SIDE BECAUSE IT'S A SAFETY ISSUE, NOT ONLY FOR OUR LINE WORKERS, BUT FOR OUR FIRST RESPONDERS AND OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND THE REASON THAT WE SEE SO MANY FAILURES IS BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY DEFICIENCIES.
I MEAN, I, I CAN'T THINK OF ANY OTHER WAY TO PUT IT.
AND EVERY TIME THERE'S A FAILURE, THERE'S A DEFICIENCY NOTICE THAT GOES OUT THROUGH THE INSPECTION SYSTEM THAT NOTIFIES CONTRACTORS AS TO WHY THEY FAILED, AND ALSO REMEMBER THAT WE'RE ON SITE.
AND SO THAT ANYTHING THAT A CONTRACTOR CAN DO TO CORRECT AN ISSUE WHILE WE'RE THERE, WE, WE ALLOW THEM TO DO THAT.
SO WE TRY TO ELIMINATE RE-INSPECTIONS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IF IF IF A SYSTEM ISN'T INSTALLED TO CODE, THEN IT ISN'T INSTALLED TO CODE.
BUT I MEAN, I KEEP THINKING, I, TO MYSELF, IF, IF I'M AN ELECTRICIAN AND I GO DO THIS EVERY DAY OR EVERY WEEK, AND I GET TAGGED A FEW TIMES, I'M GONNA LEARN WHY, HOW NOT TO GET TAGGED.
I MEAN, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF TURNOVER IN THE, IN THAT COMMUNITY OF INSTALLERS.
UM, I CAN'T, I MEAN, I, I COULD PULL UP A HUNDRED RECORDS FROM THE LAST THREE MONTHS TO SHOW YOU WHAT ALL THE DEFICIENCIES WERE, BUT YOU KNOW, OKAY.
I, I, AGAIN, I I JUST DON'T KNOW WHY THEY WOULDN'T LEARN.
UM, THERE'S A LARGE TURNOVER RATE, UH, OF THE PEOPLE DOING THE WORK.
AND, UH, IN MY OPINION, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY ON TOP OF THE ROOF DOING THE WORK OR THE LEASE PAID PERSON WITHIN THE WHOLE SYSTEM, AND THEREFORE THE INCENTIVE IS FOR THEM TO, UM, WORK FAST.
AND THAT'S WHEN YOU MAKE MISTAKES, GENERALLY SPEAKING.
AND WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A VERY COMPLICATED DEVICE, AND THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF MOVING PARTS THERE.
AND, UH, YOU REALLY HAVE TO HAVE GREAT OVERSIGHT TO, UH, GET ALL THOSE PARTS RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.
AND GENERALLY SPEAKING, NO ONE EVER DOES.
AND IF THEY DO, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING REALLY WELL, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT MAKING THEM ENOUGH MONEY OFF OF IT BECAUSE IT TAKES
[02:05:01]
SO LONG TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.SO THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, SHORT CUTTING GOING ON SIMPLY BY THE FACT THAT, UH, IT'S A COMPLICATED DEVICE.
WELL, I APPRECIATE YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
UM, CAN I ASK ONE MORE QUICK QUESTION? OKAY.
DO YOU HAVE DATA ON HOW QUICKLY THEY'LL CORRECT IT? USUALLY I'M, I'M ASSUMING, YOU KNOW, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE TIME THEY'RE ABLE TO MAKE CHANGES AND GET THE SYSTEM UP AND RUNNING.
LIKE I SAID, IF THEY CAN DO IT, UM, ON, WHILE WE'RE ON THE SPOT, WE TOTALLY ENCOURAGE THAT.
WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO MAKE AN EXTRA TRIP.
UM, UH, THE INSPECTION WAIT TIME IS UNDER TWO WEEKS, AND WE'VE MAINTAINED THAT FOR QUITE A WHILE, AND THEY'RE USUALLY, IS IT TYPICAL THAT THE SECOND INSPECTION IS USUALLY A PASS AFTER THE FIRST FAILURE OR, MM-HMM
UM, WE WILL BE TAKING THIS UP AT THE NEXT MEETING.
UM, WE'RE THANKFUL FOR YOUR, UH, PRESENTATION, MR. HARVEY.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
I GUESS, OUR FINAL ITEM, WHICH IS NEW BUSINESS.UH, ARE THERE THINGS THAT PEOPLE WANT TO TAKE UP IN THE FUTURE AT OUR NEXT FEW MEETINGS, COMMISSIONER? SO, UH, UH, OF, OF COURSE WE'RE GOING TO TAKE UP THE DISTRICT CHILLING STATION AT OUR NEXT MEETING, BUT BEYOND THAT, UM, WE PROBABLY WANT TO BRING THIS LAST ITEM BACK AT THE NEXT MEETING.
AND, UM, IT IS WORTHWHILE WHEN COMMISSIONER SA RITAS GETS BACK FROM CHINA, IF THE CO-SPONSORS OF THIS ITEM CAN MEET WITH THE STAFF TO DISCUSS BOTH SEPARATING OUT THE VPP ISSUE, DETERMINING WHETHER WE NEED TO PURSUE THAT SINCE Y'ALL ARE ALREADY WORKING ON IT.
AND, UM, WE MIGHT ASK TO MEET WITH, WITH MR. HARVEY ABOUT THE SOLAR AND BATTERY ITEMS BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING.
BUT THAT, THAT IS ALL CONDITIONAL.
SO LET'S JUST PUT THE ITEM ON AND LET'S SEE HOW IT GETS REVISED, WHETHER AND HOW IT GETS REVISED BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING.
UM, I'M PERFECTLY HAPPY TO ATTEND AN INFORMAL MEETING, UH, IF THE STAFF WANTS TO, UM, ARE THERE, UH, OTHER ITEMS THAT PEOPLE WANT TO TAKE UP AT THE MARCH OR APRIL MEETING? SO COMMISSIONER SILVERSTEIN, A QUESTION FOR MS. EVERHART AND MS. GOODWIN, DO WE KNOW WHAT THE TIMING SEQUENCE IS FOR TEXAS GAS SERVICE AND TECH ON AND AUSTIN WATER? UH, TEXAS, YES.
SERVICE WILL BE PRESENTING, UM, AT OUR MARCH MEETING.
ARE YOU ALL AWARE OF ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT WE SHOULD ANTICIPATE? NOT AT THIS TIME.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE ON THE SCHEDULE BESIDES WHAT WE'RE REQUESTING.
I'M NOT HEARING ANYTHING ELSE.
UH, ALL OF YOU I THINK, ARE AWARE THAT AFTER A LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG TIME, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL FINALLY BROADENED OUR COMMISSION'S PURVIEW TO LOOK AT NATURAL GAS UTILITIES, AND I AM ATTEMPTING TO GET THE CITY STAFF HERE FOR, UM, MARCH TO EXPLAIN ATMOS AND THEIR RATE INCREASE.
SO FAR I HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL, UH, BECAUSE, UM, OF TIMING, UH, THEY SAY IT MIGHT BE TOO LATE FOR THE RAILROAD COMMISSION HEARING PROCESS, TO WHICH I REPLIED, WELL THEN HOW COME YOU DIDN'T BRING THIS TO COUNSEL IN JANUARY? SO WE WOULD BE IN TIME FOR THE RAILROAD COMMISSION HEARING PROCESS? I HAVE NOT RECEIVED AN ANSWER BACK ON THAT.
UH, ANOTHER MUCH, UH, ATMOS, WHILE THEIR, UH, RATE INCREASE IS OUTRAGEOUS, THEY'RE ONLY ABOUT 4% OF AUSTIN CUSTOMERS.
[02:10:01]
THE BIG UTILITY HERE IS TEXAS GAS SERVICE AND THEIR FRANCHISE FRANCHISES UP IN 2026.AND IT'S NOT TOO SOON AT ALL TO START THINKING ABOUT WHAT WE WANT TO ADVISE COUNSEL TO DO.
IT IS NOT TO PREMATURE AT ALL TO CONSIDER HOLDING A PUBLIC HEARING ON THIS.
UH, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT WE PUT THIS ON FOR A MEETING IN THE SPRING.
SO, UM, UH, OUR, OUR CHAIR, UH, WHO'S ABOUT TO, UH, GO OFF TO DO, UH, OTHER THINGS, UH, HE EQUIPPED A COUPLE TIMES.
THEY, THEY NEVER TAKE OUR ADVICE.
WELL, THE COUNCIL TOOK OUR ADVICE HERE, SO WE OUGHT TO STEP UP AND, AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE SHOULD DO WITH OUR EXPANDED PURVIEW.
CAN I ADD OR ASK A CLARIFYING QUESTION PLEASE? UM, IF YOU WANT ANOTHER CITY DEPARTMENT TO COME AND BRIEF ON THAT, WE'LL JUST NEED SOME LANGUAGE SO WE CAN ASK THEM OFFICIALLY.
THANK YOU FOR, IF YOU CAN JUST SEND THAT TO ME, A REMINDER.
UM, IF THERE ARE NO, I WAS GONNA MOVE TO ADJOURN.
WE HAVE TO HAVE A FORMAL VOTE TO ADJOURN.
UH, IF THERE IS NO OTHER BUSINESS, UH, UH, I I WOULD LIKE TO, WE ARE ADJOURNED.