Mar 25, 2025 Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MS. WHITE, STEPHANIE SIMMONS.

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.

I'M STEPHANIE SIMMONS.

I'M HERE REPRESENTING MYSELF AND I AM, UH, AN OWNER IN A HOME OF DISTRICT EIGHT.

I'M HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT TREES, WHICH IS MY PASSION, AND I'D LIKE TO TALK TO YOU AND FIRST GIVE YOU THE KUDOS THAT I KNOW THAT YOU WELL DESERVE ABOUT THE CLEANUP THAT HAPPENED AFTER THE 2023 ICE STORM, THE TRAGEDY THAT OCCURRED IN OUR URBAN TREE CANOPY.

UM, BRIEFLY ON THAT POINT IN 2019, THERE WAS A STUDY FROM CARLY ZEIDER, UH, CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY GRADUATE THAT SHOWED THAT IF WE CAN ACHIEVE A 40% TREE CANOPY AND A 60 TO 90 METER RADIUS, WE CAN, UH, MITIGATE THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT.

AND SO WE LOST SO MANY TREES DURING THAT ICE STORM, AND NOW WE'RE TRYING TO NOT ONLY REPLACE THOSE TREES, BUT WE'RE FOCUSING ON INCREASING THE CANOPY IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I RECENTLY WAS A PART OF WAS THE FOOD AND CLIMATE EQUITY GRANT TO HELP DO THAT.

AND ONE OF THE LIMITING FACTORS THAT WE EXPERIENCED WITH PLANTING TREES IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT IS SEE AMOUNT OF POWER LINES, OVERHEAD POWER LINES.

AND SO WHAT WHAT I'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE IS IN, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE FEASIBILITY STUDIES THAT ARE GONNA BE COMING OUT, IS THAT THE TREES ARE NOT CONSIDERED A NEGATIVE FACTOR SOLELY IN THE MODELING, IS THAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER FUTURE TREES AND HOW WE CAN ACCOMMODATE THEM.

SO IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT WITH SO MANY POWER LINES, HAVING THOSE BURIED AND I SEE THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT FOUR TO FIVE FEET, UM, BELOW GROUND BEFORE HITTING ROCK.

THE EASTERN CREST'S A GREAT PLACE TO BURY THOSE LINES AND ACCOUNT FOR FUTURE TREE CANOPY TO HELP MITIGATE THAT URBAN HEAT ISLAND.

SO I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE FEASIBILITY, THE ENGINEERING IS, IS NOT SOLELY LOOKING AT TREES AS NEGATIVES, WHICH THEY CAN BE WHEN THEY'RE ABOVE GROUND WITH POWER LINES, BUT POWER LINES BELOW GROUND AND REALLY ENABLE TREES TO BE PLANTED WHERE THEY NEED TO BE AND IN UNDERSERVED AREAS.

AND MOVE ON TO ITEM ONE, WHICH IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, UH, FROM THE JANUARY 28TH, 2025 MEETING.

IS THAT ALL THE SPEAKERS? YES, CHAIR.

ALRIGHT, THEN WE WILL GO AHEAD

[Approval of Minutes]

UH, CAN I GET A MOTION TO APPROVE MOTION FROM, UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ SECOND FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS? UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PLEASE, UH, SIGNIFY BY RAISING YOUR HAND.

UH, THAT'S UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.

THE MINUTES ITEM

[2. Briefing on Austin Energy Update. [Bob Kahn, General Manager - Austin Energy]]

TWO IS AN AUSTIN ENERGY OVERVIEW, AND I WOULD LIKE TO CALL UP OUR GENERAL MANAGER FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, BOB KAHN TO MAKE HIS PRESENTATION.

MR. KAHN.

GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY.

UH, GOOD MORNING, CHAIR VELA, VICE CHAIR SIEGEL MAYOR BOB CONGENITAL MANAGER AUSTIN ENERGY.

I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TO Y'ALL TODAY, UH, ABOUT THE IMPORTANT ROLE THAT WE PLAY IN THE COMMUNITY.

BUT I WANTED TO START OFF THE PRESENTATION WITH A VIDEO THAT WE FEATURED AS PART OF OUR VALUE OF PUBLIC POWER CAMPAIGN LATE LAST YEAR.

AND WE'LL SHARE THE ENGLISH VERSION, OF COURSE, WE HAVE THAT IN SPANISH.

ALSO, YOU TURN, BOSTON ENERGY IS YOUR COMMUNITY OWNED ELECTRIC UTILITY BRINGING POWER TO OUR VIBRANT CITY FOR MORE THAN 125 YEARS.

I THINK AUSTIN ENERGY IS A GIANT BENEFIT TO THE CITY.

INSTEAD OF SENDING THAT MONEY TO THE SHAREHOLDERS, THEY SEND IT BACK INTO THE SERVICES THAT THEY PROVIDE AS A PUBLIC POWER UTILITY.

WE ANSWER TO YOU THE PEOPLE WE SERVE, AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING CLEAN, AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE ENERGY AND EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

DISCOVER MORE ABOUT AUSTIN ENERGY AND HOW WE ARE POWERING OUR COMMUNITY.

OKAY, UH, ESER BEYOND ELECTION ITY, WE EXIST.

AUSTIN ENERGY EXISTS NOT TO GENERATE PROFITS FOR SHAREHOLDERS, BUT TO SERVE THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN.

PUBLIC POWER MEANS LOCAL CONTROL.

I KNOW YOU'RE ALL WELL AWARE OF THAT.

[00:10:01]

DECISIONS ABOUT OUR RATES, PROGRAMS AND INVESTMENTS ARE MADE RIGHT HERE WITH TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC INPUT.

IT MEANS AFFORDABILITY.

OUR RATES REMAIN COMPETITIVE AND FREE FROM PRICING, DRIVEN BY MAXIMIZING PROFITS AND SHAREHOLDER RETURNS.

AND IT MEANS ACCOUNTABILITY.

OUR CUSTOMERS AREN'T JUST RATE PAYERS, THEY'RE OWNERS OF THE UTILITY AND WE OPERATE WITH THEIR BEST INTERESTS IN MINE.

HERE IN AUSTIN, PUBLIC POWER HAS ALLOWED US TO LEAD IN RENEWABLE ENERGY, ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RELIABILITY WHILE KEEPING OUR RATES AND BILLS AMONG THE LOWEST IN TEXAS.

AS THE LARGEST DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

LAST YEAR, OUR APPROVED BUDGET CAME IN CLOSE TO $2 BILLION.

THAT PRICE TAG COVERS POWER SUPPLY, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, AND ERCOT COSTS, DEBT SERVICE O AND M, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, THE GENERAL FUND TRANSFER AND MORE.

SO OUR NEARLY 2000 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES SERVE A 437 SQUARE MILE AREA, WHICH IS ABOUT A THIRD LARGER THAN THE THE CITY LIMITS.

WE SERVE THAT AREA AS A VERTICALLY INTEGRATED UTILITY, WHICH MEANS WE DO EVERYTHING FROM GENERATION TO TRANSMISSION TO DISTRIBUTION TO CUSTOMER CARE AND BILLING.

AS YOU KNOW, AUSTIN ENERGY OPERATES AUSTIN 3 1 1 THIS LAST YEAR BETWEEN, UH, 3 1 1 AND OUR UTILITY CONTACT CENTER, WE TOOK OVER 2 MILLION CALLS.

THAT'S A LOT OF CALLS.

AUSTIN ENERGY OVERSEES A DIVERSE MIX OF MORE THAN 4,600 MEGAWATTS OF TOTAL GENERATING CAPACITY.

WE REMAIN A LEADER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY WITHIN TEXAS AND THE UNITED STATES WITH A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF OUR ELECTRICITY COMING FROM WIND AND SOLAR SOURCES LAST YEAR, ABOUT 72%.

OUR GOAL IS TO BE CARBON FREE BY 2035 AS Y'ALL WELL KNOW, .

AND WE'RE VERY MUCH AN INDUSTRY LEADER IN OUR PROGRESS TO THAT GOAL.

IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT THE UNITED STATES AND DOING, THEY'RE AT ABOUT 43%.

SO WE'RE WELL AHEAD OF THE, IN THE GAME LOOKING AT, UH, OUR CUSTOMERS.

NO SURPRISE HERE IS AUSTIN CON CONTINUES TO GROW.

SO DOES OUR LOAD GROWTH ON THE LEFT.

THE MATCH SHOWS HOW LOAD, UH, HAS GROWN.

THINK OF LOAD AS THE AMOUNT OF ENERGIES CONSUMED BY OUR CUSTOMERS.

IT'S BROKEN OUT BY PARTS OF OUR SERVICE AREA FROM ABOUT 5% OF OUR LOAD IN DOWNTOWN TO ABOUT 23% IN THE NORTHWEST ON THE RIGHT, YOU CAN SEE THE LOAD GROWTH ACROSS OUR SERVICE AREA OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS.

AND IT'S GROWN ABOUT 495 MEGAWATTS, WHICH IS ABOUT 20% OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS.

AND WE'RE NOT SEEING ANY SIGNS OF SLOWDOWN.

IN FACT, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THIS SLIDE, IN THIS LAST FISCAL YEAR, WE SAW BOTH OUR SUMMER AND WINTER PEAK DEMAND RECORDS SET NEW HIGHS.

SO NOT ONLY ARE WE EXPERIENCING A GENERALIZED LOW GROWTH, BUT ALSO SPIKES AT TIMES OF PEAK DEMAND.

AND WE JUST BEST AT WHAT, UH, THAT WINTER PEAK DEMAND IN FEBRUARY 25.

AN INTERESTING THING IS THAT OVER THE YEARS, AND I THINK IT'S GONNA KEEP OCCURRING, THE WINTER PEAK IS CLOSING IN ON THE SUMMER PEAK.

UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE SEEN WITH THE EXTREME WEATHER WE'VE BEEN HAVING IN THE WINTER, UH, YOU KNOW, AS A RESULT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, WHICH IS A CHALLENGE, LIKE MOST TEXAS UTILITIES, WE EXPERIENCE OUR HIGHEST DEMAND DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, JUNE THROUGH SEPTEMBER.

BUT INSTEAD OF SEEING THAT DEMAND AT THE HOTTEST TIME OF THE DAY, WE USUALLY SEE IT WHEN PEOPLE COME HOME FROM WORK AND TURN ON THE STOVE AND THEY SEE UNITS.

AND THAT'S WHEN WE STARTED OUR CAMPAIGN FOR SAVINGS AFTER SUNSET TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO CONSERVE ON THOSE PARTICULARLY HOT DAYS.

ON THE RIGHT IS A LOOK AT OUR CUSTOMERS BROKEN OUT BY CLASS OR TYPE.

LAST YEAR WE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS WE SERVE TO NEARLY 557,000 CUSTOMERS.

AND THAT'S METERS, RIGHT? THAT'S HOW MANY METERS WE HAVE.

THE YEAR BEFORE THE UTILITY HAD ABOUT 540,000 CUSTOMERS, A 2.9% GROWTH RATE OF OF ABOUT 16,000 CUSTOMERS.

WE ARE CONSTANTLY MONITORING AND REPORTING ON OUR SYSTEM RELIABILITY, USING KEY INDUSTRY METRICS.

IT'S VERY COMMON INDUSTRY TALK TO REFER TO THESE AS SADIE SAFETY AND KATIE.

BUT WE'RE TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM THE ACRONYM.

SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOP OF THE CHART THERE, WE'VE KIND OF USED REGULAR SIMPLE ENGLISH.

UM, THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE WANT THESE NUMBERS AS LOW AS POSSIBLE.

AS YOU'LL KNOW, WE OUTPERFORM TEXAS UTILITY INDUSTRY STANDARDS IN EACH MAJOR CATEGORY IN SOME CASES BY A LOT.

BUT WE KNOW INTERRUPTIONS CAN BE DISRUPTIVE.

SO WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN TO MINIMIZE THOSE.

A CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE

[00:15:01]

PROGRAM IS ESSENTIAL FOR AN ELECTRIC UTILITY BECAUSE IT HELPS ENSURE AFFORDABILITY, EQUITY, AND COMMUNITY WELLBEING.

WE KNOW THE NEED IS THERE OF, AS WE'VE NOW, UH, WE'RE NOW JUST AT A LITTLE OVER 70,000 CAP PARTICIPANTS.

THAT'S A 22% INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR.

AND LAST YEAR CAP ENROLLMENT INCREASED BY 75% WHEN WE STARTED OUR CAP ENROLLMENT EXPANSION EFFORTS.

OUR GOAL IS ABOUT 84,000 CAP PARTICIPANTS BY THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.

SO WE'RE MAKING GREAT STRIDES, BUT WE GOT MORE TO DO.

AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT GETTING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND LETTING THEM KNOW WHAT ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABILITY CAN MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE TO, TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND THE COMMUNITY ON ANY GIVEN DAY.

WE'RE HOSTING AN AFFORDABLE ENERGY SUMMIT.

WE'RE WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS.

WE HAVE ABOUT 40 OF THOSE THAT WE WORK WITH.

AND WE ARE NOT JUST DOING OUTREACH TO CAP, BUT WE'RE DOING OTHER THINGS TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.

FOR EXAMPLE, WE PARTICIPATE IN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS EVENTS WITH OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS.

WE ARE THERE FOR STEM DAY EVENTS IN CLASSROOM, TRYING TO START KIDS EARLY ON ELECTRICAL SAFETY AND ENERGY CONSERVATION.

JUST TO NAME A FEW EXAMPLES.

SO WE HAVE NEARLY 40 CES OR CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTION PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO SAVE CUSTOMERS ENERGY AND MONEY.

OUR CONSERVATION TEAMS ARE ALSO MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMMUNITY, NOT JUST THROUGH THE REBATES THEY'RE PROVIDING, BUT ALSO THROUGH THEIR PROGRAMMING.

WE'RE PROUD TO TELL PEOPLE THAT AUSTIN ENERGY'S GREEN BUILDING WAS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN THE COUNTRY IN 1991.

AND THE US A PART OF ENERGY'S ENERGY STAR PROGRAM WAS MODELED ON OUR EARLY AUSTIN ENERGY STAR HOME PROGRAM.

WE'RE CONTINUING TO SEE AN INTEREST IN ALL OUR CONSERVATION REPRO REBATE PROGRAMS AND APPRECIATE THE COUNCIL'S FINANCIAL SUPPORT IN MAKING SURE THOSE OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE.

IN 2024, THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM HAD A RECORD 918 SINGLE FAMILY HOMES WEATHERIZED.

I'M SURE COUNCIL MEMBER ALTERS HAPPY TO HEAR THAT.

HE'S BEEN TALKING TO US ABOUT THAT.

AND THAT'S TWICE THE NUMBER FROM FISCAL YEAR 23, WHERE WE DID 454 HOMES AND OVER 12,000 MULTI-FAMILY HOMES WERE, UH, UNITS WERE WEATHERIZED ALSO.

THAT IS A LOT.

12,000 2024 WAS ALSO RECORD FOR SOLAR WITH OVER 16 MEGAWATTS OF SOLAR PROG PROJECTS ACROSS THE ENTIRE PORTFOLIO OF OUR SOLAR PROGRAMS. 2025 ALSO LOOKS TO BE ANOTHER RECORD BREAKING YEAR IN TERMS OF MEGAWATT GENERATION.

THE CRA THE, SO THIS IS, THIS IS IMPORTANT.

UH, THESE PROGRAMS, THE CAP PROGRAM, GREEN CHOICE, EIDE REBATES, COMMUNITY SOLAR ARE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS. THESE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT SET US APART FOR THE INVESTOR OWNED UTILITIES AND MOST OF THE ELECTRIC CO-OPS IN THIS STATE LAST YEAR.

THESE ARE, THERE ARE THREE THAT A LOT OF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH.

THANKS TO YOUR SUPPORT, WE PASSED THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN UNANIMOUSLY.

THAT WAS GREAT.

AND NOW WE'RE MOVING FULL STEAM AHEAD ON IMPLEMENTATION.

THE PANEL AI WILDFIRE DETECTION SYSTEM, WHICH YOU'VE ALL READ ABOUT.

WE LAUNCHED LAST YEAR AND HAS ALREADY STARTED ALERTING TO STAFF, TO FIRES, AND SOMETIMES EVEN BEFORE THE 9 1 1 DISPATCH.

THE CAMERA SYSTEM IS ALSO DESIGNED, DESIGNED TO ALERT US TO, UH, STRUCTURE FIRES ALSO AND OUR SOLAR STANDARD OFFER, UH, WHICH I KNOW WE HAD A QUESTION ABOUT, WHICH WE LAUNCHED JUST TWO MONTHS AGO, ALREADY HAS 15 PROJECTS AND COUNTING.

IT'S GOING GREAT, BUT THE WORK DIDN'T STOP LAST YEAR, IN FACT, AT JUST BEGINNING, YOU KNOW, SEEING THE NEXT SLIDE.

SO HERE, HERE'S WHAT'S AHEAD.

WE WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE YOU ON OUR RESEARCH GENERATION PLAN IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH WILL COVER A NUMBER OF AREAS WITHIN THE UTILITY, THE MIDDLE ITEM, THE UNDERGROUND FEASIBILITY STUDY, AND OVERHEAD HARDENING STUDIES.

WE HAVE AN UPDATE TODAY AND SHOULD HAVE THE RESULTS OF THOSE STUDY STUDIES LATER THIS SUMMER.

THOSE RESULTS WILL HELP SET THE COURSE FOR RESILIENCY PLANNING IN THE FUTURE.

LAST MONTH, YOU ALL SECURED FUNDING BY APPROVING AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH HARRIS COUNTY RELATED TO THE SOLAR FOR ALL.

GRANT.

HARRIS COUNTY IS THE LEAD FOR THE TEXAS COALITION THAT WAS AWARDED THE GRANT.

THE FEDERAL DEPOSIT IN THIS GRANT WAS LIFTED AND THE WORK CONTINUES TO BUILD ON THAT PROGRAM.

SO THAT CONCLUDES WHAT I PLAN TO GIVE IN THE OVERVIEW.

I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY

[00:20:01]

QUESTIONS.

UH, MR. CONN, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER LANE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS OVERVIEW.

IT'S SO HELPFUL TO ME AS SOMEONE WHO'S NEWER ON THE DAIS.

UM, I ALSO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE WILDFIRE DETECTION ROLLOUT THAT YOU MENTIONED AT THE END AND WHAT A RELIEF THAT WAS TO ME TO HEAR THAT THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN ROLLED OUT AND ALSO TO MANY IN MY DISTRICT.

UM, AND THEN I WOULD LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION ABOUT PAGE SIX.

SLIDE SIX, WHICH IS, IT HAS THE MAP AND IT'S TALKING ABOUT THE LOAD GROWTH.

UM, SO I'M LOOKING AT THE MAP AND OBSERVING THAT THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF YOUR SERVICE AREA HAD THE GREATEST LOAD GROWTH IN THE CITY IN YOUR SERVICE AREA.

AND, UM, THAT HAPPENS TO BE A LOT OF DISTRICT SIX AND NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE ADJACENT, BUT IN THE ETJ BUT DISTRICT SIX NEIGHBORHOODS.

UM, MY QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, MY PERSONAL OBSERVATION IN THAT DISTRICT IS THAT MOST OF THE GROWTH UP THERE HAS COME FROM RAPIDLY APPEARING APARTMENT COMPLEXES, UM, THAT ARE LARGELY ALONG THE SIX 20 CORRIDOR BETWEEN CANYON CREEK, UH, PAST LAKELINE MALL AND 180 3, AND THEN ALL THE WAY OVER TO WHERE IT BECOMES 45.

MM-HMM .

WE'VE ALSO SEEN SOME APARTMENT GROWTH, UM, IN THE MCNEIL PALM SPRINGS AREA, WHICH IS ONE OF THE, UM, AREAS WHERE, WHERE WE HAVE A TITLE ONE MIDDLE SCHOOL IN THAT AREA.

SO I WOULD SAY FOR ALL OF THOSE APARTMENTS THAT ARE POPPING UP, UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF A FAMILIES LIVING IN THEM AND THERE ARE INCOME CHARACTERISTICS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN WHAT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN IN THAT PART OF TOWN.

UM, MY QUESTION FOR YOU, I KNOW YOU RUN A LOT OF PROGRAMS THAT I REALLY CARE ABOUT.

UM, JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF THOSE WOULD BE THE MEDICALLY FRAGILE LIST AND HOW PEOPLE ARE WORKED WITH DURING POWER OUTAGES.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE THE NEW CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, UH, WHICH IS DRAWING WILL DRAW MORE FAMILIES THAT DO HAVE MEDICALLY FRAGILE CHILDREN TO THE AREA.

UM, SO MY QUESTION TO YOU IS, IF THE GREATEST LOAD GROWTH HAS BEEN IN THE AREA, IN YOUR SERVICE AREA HAS BEEN IN THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF THE CITY, HAVE YOU SEEN, AND I DON'T NEED AN ANSWER TODAY, BUT THIS IS ON MY MIND, HAVE YOU SEEN A PROPORTIONATE GROWTH IN CUSTOMERS PARTICIPATING IN SO MANY OF THESE FANTASTIC PROGRAMS THAT YOU HAVE AND MANY OF WHICH ARE INTENDED TO SERVE SOME OF THE LOWER INCOME POPULATION PRETTY EFFECTIVELY? YOU KNOW, AND I I LOVE IT THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS A NATIONAL LEADER IN SO MANY AREAS.

UM, BUT I ALSO KNOW, AND I KNOW FROM THE EXPERIENCE IN DISTRICT SIX, THAT IS MY HIGHEST PRIORITY, THAT WE ARE REACHING OUR RESIDENTS AND THE PEOPLE, OUR CUSTOMERS.

AND I, SO THIS IS WHY, AND I KNOW THAT WAS A LOT OF CONTEXT FOR A FAIRLY SHORT QUESTION.

IN THE END, I AM VERY INTERESTED TO KNOW IF YOUR PROGRAM PARTICIPATION RATES HAVE INCREASED IN PARALLEL WITH WHERE THE GROWTH IS HAPPENING.

I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE ANSWER TO THAT TODAY, RICHARD, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN GET BACK WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBER ON.

WE'LL BE I WOULD LOVE THAT.

ONE OF THE TIER, UH, ONE REQUIREMENTS IS A GREEN BUILDING RATING.

AND I KNOW WE ARE ALREADY GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT RELIABILITY AND IF IT'S AVAILABLE AT THE SAME TIME, THAT WOULD BE A GREAT TOPIC TO ADD.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ.

OH, SORRY.

DIDN'T REALIZE I WAS NEXT.

UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.

I, UH, I WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION THAT THEY, WE HAVE, UH, AND I KNOW IT'S NO SURPRISE TO ANYBODY ON THIS DESK.

WE HAVE A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT IN DISTRICT THREE.

UM, AND JUST, UH, LAST WEEK THE MAYOR AND I WERE AT A GROUNDBREAKING FOR THE SASHA, WHICH, UH, PARTICIPATES IN THE GROUP AS PART OF ONE OF THE GREEN BUILDING PROJECTS.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE THAT.

HOW ARE WE ENGAGING WITH, UH, DEVELOPERS TO ENSURE MORE OF THEM ARE TAKING PART OF THIS PROGRAM AND, AND, AND BEING PART OF THE, UH, OF THE, UH, GREEN BUILDING PROGRAMS, GREEN BUILDING.

UH, RICHARD, YOU WANNA, OR HEIDI WANT ONE OF YOU? HI, HEIDI CASPER.

I'M ACTUALLY THE DIRECTOR OF THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE .

SURE.

UM, SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE ENGAGE WITH THE DEVELOPERS.

UM, A LOT OF IT'S ACTUALLY THROUGH ZONING.

UM, SO I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR, BUT THE PUD ZONING RULES REQUIRE A GREEN BUILDING, UM, RATINGS.

SO IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR PUD ZONING,

[00:25:01]

SO A LOT OF IT COMES TO US THROUGH THAT.

WE ALSO WORK WITH HOUSING AND SMART HOUSING.

SO THERE'S A UNDERSTANDING THERE THAT GREEN BUILDINGS WANT TO SERVE THE UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS AND THAT WE WANT BUILDINGS TO BE AFFORDABLE, NOT JUST TO CONSTRUCT, BUT ALSO TO LIVE AND PAY YOUR UTILITIES.

SO WE PARTNER WITH THEM THROUGH SMART HOUSING.

AND THEN WE DO A LOT OF EDUCATION, UM, PROGRAMS. WE HAVE A NEWSLETTER.

WE DO, UM, A BIMONTHLY SEMINAR FOR PROFESSIONALS.

SO WE PARTICIPATE IN THE A I A SUMMER SCHOOL, UM, DO A LOT OF OUTREACH THERE TO TRY AND DRIVE SOME OF THE VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION AS WELL.

AND ANY WAY THAT, THAT OUR OFFICE, ESPECIALLY WITH ALL THE, THE DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRICT THREE CAN HELP FOSTER SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO US.

SURE.

THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER FOR HIGHLIGHTING THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

'CAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF, UH, DEVELOPERS WATCH COUNCIL VERY CLOSELY AND, UH, WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE AWARE OF ANY, UH, ENERGY EFFICIENCY OPPORTUNITIES, ANY, UH, GOOD BUILDING STANDARD OPPORTUNITIES.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE GUYS? COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, THANK YOU CHAIR.

AND THANK YOU, UH, GENERAL MANAGER KAHN FOR ALL THE THE GOOD NEWS.

UM, I JUST WANNA ASK YOU TO COMMENT BRIEFLY ON A COUPLE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT CAME UP FROM THE CONSTITUENTS.

UM, THE FIRST ONE WAS ABOUT, UH, AE PROGRESS AND RAMPING UP BATTERY STORAGE.

THIS IS OBVIOUSLY VERY IMPORTANT ON MULTIPLE FRONTS FOR RESILIENCY, AND ALSO IT KIND OF, UH, IT NEEDS TO GO HAND IN HAND WITH SOLAR GROWTH, RIGHT? BATTERY AND SOLAR NEED TO GO TOGETHER.

AND THEN THE SECOND QUESTION, IF YOU COULD CHIME IN BRIEFLY, IS THE FEASIBILITY OF RECYCLING ALL THESE SOLAR PANELS.

YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE ENCOURAGING ANOTHER 250 WATT, 250 MEGAWATTS OF SOLAR CONSTRUCTION IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS UNDER THE GEN PLAN GOALS, UH, HAVE WE STUDIED THE FEASIBILITY OF, OF LOCAL RECYCLING? SO, UM, LET ME ANSWER THE FIRST QUESTION FIRST.

UM, ON THE BATTERIES, WE HAVE RFPS OUT AND, AND I THINK WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE RESPONSES BACK IN AND WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE NOW, SO WE'RE REVIEWING THOSE.

UH, AND WE DO OBVIOUSLY PLAN TO EXPAND THE BATTERY PROGRAM AS FAR AS RECYCLING.

UH, I DON'T KNOW, WE, UH, RICHARD LOOKS LIKE HE'S READY TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.

I KNOW WE'VE LOOKED AT THAT.

THERE ARE, THERE ARE CHALLENGES.

YES.

GOOD MORNING.

UH, RICHARD GENESEE, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.

AND YES, UH, WE ARE WORKING ON RECYCLING, UH, ALTERNATIVES OPTIONS.

WE'RE ACTUALLY LABELING, UH, OR IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING TO LABEL, UH, SOLAR PANELS, GOING OUT WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, BARCODES OR INFORMATION THAT COULD BE SCANNED THAT WOULD GIVE CUSTOMERS AT THE END OF THOSE, UH, SOLAR PANELS, UH, USE OF LIFE, UH, YOU KNOW, INSTRUCTIONS, PROPER INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO RECYCLE THEM.

ALSO, THERE'S THE CAPABILITY TO PARTNER WITH, UH, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND, UM, LAUNCH A EXPANDED, UH, RECYCLING PROGRAM, UH, COMMENSURATE WITH OUR EXPANSION OF SOLAR PROGRAMS. SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT.

AND ACTUALLY, MR. GENE, RIGHT QUICK TO FOLLOW UP ON, ON COUNCIL MEMBER GEL'S QUESTION, HOW LONG DOES A SOLAR PANEL LAST? UH, 15 TO 20 YEARS.

UH, I MEAN, YOU HA YOU DO HAVE EXAMPLES OF SOLAR PANELS LASTING EVEN LONGER THAN THAT, BUT I'D SAY AVERAGE USEFUL LIFE OF A, A SOLAR SYSTEM, 15 TO 20 YEARS.

MM-HMM .

AND ON, ON A, ON A TRIP OUT TO, UH, WEST TEXAS.

UH, LAST YEAR ACTUALLY, WE SAW A BUNCH OF THOSE, UH, UH, WINDMILL GRAVEYARDS WHERE THERE'S JUST, I MEAN, HUNDREDS OF, UH, OF USED WINDMILLS KIND OF STACKED UP ON EACH OTHER.

UH, AND, AND I KNOW THAT'S KIND OF BEEN AN ISSUE ABOUT WHAT TO DO WITH, UH, WINDMILLS WHEN THEY'VE, UH, LIVED THEIR USEFUL LIFE.

UH, IS THERE ANYTHING GOING ON WITH AUSTIN ENERGY WITH REGARD TO THE, THE WINDMILLS, DISPOSAL OF THE WINDMILLS AFTER THEY'RE DONE? THOSE KINDS OF, UH, UH, ISSUES, UM, THAT, THAT'S A, UH, FACTOR I THINK THAT WE WOULD NEED TO STUDY FURTHER.

I DON'T KNOW THAT I'M AWARE OF ANY ACTIVE, UH, EFFORT THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, BUT I THINK PARTNERING WITH MICHAEL ANGER, UM, UH, OF OUR ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS, WE WOULD LOOK INTO THAT FURTHER.

GOOD.

RESTAURANTS, HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE SPECIFICATIONS SURROUNDING THAT CERTIFICATION.

ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

I APPRECIATE IT.

UM, SO, UH, MY TEAM AND I, WE CAUGHT WIND OF, UH, OF SOMETHING THAT I THINK COULD BE EXCITING.

IT'S A REBATE QUESTION.

I'M NOT SURE WHO BEST TO POSE IT.

UM, SO, UH, WE HEARD THAT THE ALBERT CONVENTION CENTER IS ONLINE TO BECOME THE WORLD'S FIRST, UM, UH, ZERO CARBON CERTIFIED CONVENTION CENTER, UH, WHICH IS KIND OF COOL.

UM, BUT THAT SAID, THAT MEANS THAT EVERYBODY WHO ASSOCIATES, INCLUDING VENDORS, INCLUDING

[00:30:01]

UM, IN WHICH CASE, I'M SORRY.

NO, I WAS AGREEING WITH YOU.

OH, OKAY.

, UH, IN WHICH CASE MOST RESTAURANTS ARE POWERED BY, UM, GAS EQUIPMENT IS SOMETHING THAT I, I THOUGHT ABOUT DURING THE COURSE OF THE DISCUSSION WITH, UH, STAFF.

AND TO ALIGN OUR CONVENTION CENTER GOALS FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE, UM, THEY DON'T NEED TO SWITCH TO ELECTRIC, UH, SPECIFICALLY INDUCTION COOKING.

AND SO, UM, UH, WE HAVE THE BENEFIT OF HAVING A RESTAURATEUR ON OUR TEAM.

UH, THIS CHANGE BENEFITS BOTH THE ENVIRONMENT AND KITCHEN STAFF.

UH, BUT THE REALITY IS THAT INDUCTION EQUIPMENT ISN'T YET WIDESPREAD IN COMMERCIAL KITCHENS AND TENDS TO BE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN TRADITIONAL GAS OPTIONS.

UM, IN WHICH REBATE PROGRAM, SINCE INDUCTION COOKING DOES QUALIFY AS BENEFICIAL ELECTRIFICATION, UM, REPLACING FOSSIL FUELS WITH ELECTRICITY, DOES OUR CURRENT REBATE PROGRAM OFFER SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES MAKING THAT SWITCH? UM, THE SHORT ANSWER IS NO.

UH, AND NOT AT CURRENT, HOWEVER, COMMENSURATE WITH OUR RESOURCE AND GENERATION PLAN THAT COUNCIL APPROVED IN SWITCHING FROM JUST, UM, MEGAWATT REDUCTION AS A MEASUREMENT FROM OUR PROGRAMS TO GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION, THERE'S THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE MEASURES LIKE THAT FOR BENEFICIAL, UH, ELECTRIFICATION.

SO COMMENSURATE WITH OUR SWITCH, WHICH STARTS IN 2027, WE'D BE ABLE TO INTRODUCE, UH, MEASURES LIKE THAT.

AND WHEN YOU SAY MEASURES, YOU MEAN THE SAVINGS COMPONENT, THE REBATE COMPONENT, YES.

THE SAVINGS COMPONENT, THE REBATE COMPONENT.

THE OTHER THING I'D LIKE TO JUST POINT OUT, UH, VERY QUICKLY IS THAT, UM, PART OF OUR OFFERING WITH SMALL BUSINESSES IS WE MEET WITH THEM ON A CONSULTATIVE BASIS AND INDIVIDUALLY TAILOR FOR THAT SMALL BUSINESS, ALL THE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES AND CAPABILITIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM, UH, IN THEIR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCE.

SO, UH, WE'D BE MEETING WITH THOSE, UH, CONSTITUENTS NOW IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY'RE ELIGIBLE FOR NOW AND THEN MAPPING OUT IN THE FUTURE, UH, THE CONVERSION, UH, TO GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS IN 2027 AND THE BENEFICIAL ELECTRIFICATION MEASURES THAT WE'D BE PUTTING INTO PLACE.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, FOR THAT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF EVERGREEN CONSIDERATION THAT MAKES SENSE FOR LONG TERM AND NOT JUST CONSIDERATION FOR ONE OPERATION, ONE CONSTRUCTION, ONE BUSINESS, ET CETERA.

UM, BUT I, IT, IT DOES BEAR TO MIND THE QUESTION ABOUT, UH, WHETHER OR NOT THAT'S A FINANCIAL HARDSHIP FOR BUSINESSES.

YEP.

WELL, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UM, UH, UH, MR. KHAN, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION IS, UH, EXCELLENT.

AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE THE EXPANSION OF CAP IN PARTICULAR IS, UH, AFFORDABILITY BEING SUCH A CENTRAL CONCERN AND UTILITIES BEING SUCH A, A MAJOR COST OF JUST THE COST OF LIVING.

UH, IT'S GREAT TO SEE THE EXPANSION IN CAP AND, UH, AGAIN, JUST, UH, GREAT TO SEE THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS DONE SO MUCH GOOD WORK OVER THE LAST 25, 30 YEARS, REALLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT, UH, ABOUT THE NEXT 25, 30 YEARS.

UH, I'M REALLY HAPPY WE COULD DO THAT.

'CAUSE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IF WE HAVE 577,000 METERS AND NEARLY 80,000 OF THOSE METERS ARE GONNA BE CAP PROGRAM, IT, IT GIVES YOU SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.

YEAH.

AND, UH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND

[3. Briefing on the First Quarter Financial Highlights Report. [Rusty Maenius, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer - Austin Energy]]

MOVE ON TO ITEM THREE.

A BRIEFING ON AUSTIN ENERGY'S FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS, UH, WITH, UH, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, RUSTY MANUS TO PRESENT.

AND PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I MISPRONOUNCE YOUR NAME, SIR.

ALRIGHT, GOOD MORNING CHAIR, VICE CHAIR COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

MY NAME'S RUSTY MANUS.

I'M THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER HERE AT AUSTIN ENERGY, AND I AM HERE TO GIVE YOU THE FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL, UH, REPORT.

THIS COVERS THE THREE MONTH PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER 31ST, 2024.

IN NOVEMBER, WE WENT TO THE BOND AT EVENT ALL THE RATING AGENCIES REVIEWED AUSTIN ENERGY AS A CREDIT.

UH, THIS IS THE AGENDA THAT, UH, WE WON'T GO WORK ALL THE WAY THROUGH.

I JUST WANT YOU TO BE AWARE THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS GIVEN THIS ENTIRE PRESENTATION, PARDON ME, TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION LAST MONTH.

TODAY I'LL COVER THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND THE FINANCIAL HEALTH TAB, AND THAT WILL GIVE YOU SOME PERSPECTIVE AND OVERVIEW OF WHERE AUSTIN ENERGY IS.

I WILL PAUSE, TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, AND IF, UH, AND WE'LL GO FROM THERE.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS BEEN PERFORMING VERY WELL COMPARED TO BUDGET.

THROUGH THE FIRST QUARTER, OUR OPERATING INCOME WAS FAVORABLE COMPARED TO, UH, UH, BUDGET BY 7% OR ROUGHLY $4 MILLION.

THAT WAS ROUGHLY DUE TO SOME WARMER WEATHER THAT WE HAD IN THE FIRST QUARTER.

THAT GENERATED SOME ADDITIONAL BASE REVENUES.

[00:35:01]

UH, THESE RATING AGENCIES AND SPECIFICALLY S AND P HAVE, UH, REAFFIRMED OUR AA MINUS RATING.

KEEP IN MIND THAT OUR, UM, INTENT IS TO GET TO A DOUBLE A INSTEAD OF A A MINUS RATING FINANCIAL POLICIES.

WE ARE SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLIANT WITH THOSE POLICIES.

THE NEXT SLIDE, I'LL WALK THROUGH SOME KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND SHOW WHERE WE ARE PERFORMING BETTER AND WHERE WE MAY LACK.

AND FINALLY, THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT THROUGH DECEMBER.

WE ARE $111 MILLION OVER RECOVERED.

KEEP THAT NUMBER IN MIND AS WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

'CAUSE IT HAS A BEARING ON OUR FIRST KPI.

YOU SEE THAT OUR TARGET FOR DAYS OF CASH ON HAND IS 200 DAYS.

WE'RE CURRENTLY AT 194 DAYS WITH THE OVER RECOVERY THAT REPRESENTS ABOUT 40 DAYS OF CASH ON HAND.

ONCE THAT MONEY IS RETURNED THAT DAY'S, CASH ON HAND FALLS FROM 194 TO ROUGHLY 150 DAYS.

THAT IS, UH, BY FINANCIAL POLICY A MINIMUM OF 150 DAYS.

AND SO WE STRIVE FOR 200 AS WE MOVE ACROSS THE KPIS.

DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE IS 2.5, ACTUAL IS 2.3.

OPERATING MARGIN EXCEEDS OUR TARGET, 11% TO 10.

AND OUR DEBT TO CAPITALIZATION HAS BEEN STABLE, BUT STILL IS ABOVE THE 50%.

AS I SAID, WE WENT TO THE BOND MARKET IN NOVEMBER.

WE ISSUED $241 MILLION BOND.

IT WAS VERY WELL RECEIVED IN THE MARKET.

WE WERE 6% OR SIX X OVERSUBSCRIBED, UH, AND IT WAS A VERY SUCCESSFUL SALE.

AND WITH THAT, I'LL PAUSE AND TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.

QUICK QUESTION, THERE'S A RATING ON THE BONDS, AND THEN I BELIEVE THERE'S AN OUTLOOK ON THE BONDS AS WELL.

WHAT, WHAT'S THE CURRENT OUTLOOK? STABLE.

STABLE OUTLOOK.

YES.

AND THE, YOU SAID THE AUSTIN ENERGY SOLD ABOUT $241 MILLION IN BONDS.

IS THAT WHAT, 241 MILLION.

AND WHAT ARE THE BOND PROCEEDS USED FOR? SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT GOES TO HELP FINANCE OUR CAPITAL.

UH, ADDITIONS, HOW THAT ACTUALLY OCCURS IS WE ISSUE COMMERCIAL PAPER AS WE BUILD OUR PLANT, AND THEN ONCE WE KIND OF CAP OUT A COMMERCIAL PAPER, WE GO INTO THE LONG TERM DEBT MARKET INTO THE BOND MARKET, SELL BONDS, TAKE THOSE PROCEEDS, PAY OFF THE COMMERCIAL PAPER AND START THE PROCESS AGAIN.

GOT IT.

SO IT IS KINDA LIKE REFINANCING THE COMMERCIAL PAPER TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, HUH.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

YOU BET.

ANYTHING ELSE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, UH, THANK YOU MR. UH, MANEZ.

AND LET'S GO AHEAD IF THERE'S NO, UH, QUESTIONS, LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO ITEM FOUR.

[4. Briefing on the First Quarter Operations Highlights Report. [Lisa Martin, Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer - Austin Energy]]

BRIEFING ON AUSTIN ENERGY'S FIRST QUARTER OPERATIONS HIGHLIGHTS.

AND LISA MARTIN WILL BE PRESENTING, AND I BELIEVE SHE IS VIRTUAL TODAY.

MS. MARTIN, ARE YOU WITH US? YES, SIR.

CAN YOU HEAR ME? WE'VE GOT YOU.

WONDERFUL.

ALL RIGHT.

UM, AND WHILE THEY'RE BRINGING UP MY SLIDES, ALL RIGHT.

I BELIEVE THE FIRST SLIDE'S UP THERE.

HEY THERE.

GOOD TO SEE YOU.

ALL RIGHT, WELL, GOOD MORNING, VICE CHAIR.

UH, GOOD MORNING, VELA, VICE CHAIR SEGAL MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.

I AM LISA MARTIN, AUSTIN ENERGY'S CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER.

TODAY I HAVE THE OPERATIONS UPDATE FOR Q1 FISCAL YEAR 2025, WHICH COVERS THE MONTHS OF OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, AND DECEMBER, 2024.

I'M GONNA KEEP MY REMARKS TO THE HIGHLIGHTS ON A FEW SELECT SLIDES, AND THEN I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.

IN TERMS OF AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.

FOR THE QUARTER, WE HAD 43% RENEWABLE PRODUCTION AND 65% CARBON FREE PRODUCTION, BOTH AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD FOR THIS QUARTER.

OUR GENERATORS WERE GENERALLY AVAILABLE WITH EXPECTED PERIODS OFFLINE DUE TO PLANNED OUTAGES IN PREPARATION FOR THE WINTER AND MINIMAL DURATION OFFLINE OTHERWISE.

AND FINALLY, OUR DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY TRENDS REMAIN STABLE, SHOWING SIMILAR OUTAGE DURATION AND FREQUENCY AS THE PAST FEW QUARTERS.

NOW LET ME JUMP INTO A FEW HIGHLIGHTS.

SINCE ITS PEAK IN MID 2022.

ON THIS SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THE CARBON FREE GENERATION BY MONTH.

THAT'S THE JAGGED LINE.

IT SHOWS THE SEASONALITY WE TEND TO SEE EACH YEAR WITH HIGHER NUMBERS IN THE MONTHS WHEN CARBON FREE RESOURCES ARE MOST PLENTIFUL AND OFTEN WHEN THE LOAD IS THE LOWEST.

I ALSO WANNA SHOW THIS IN TERMS OF THE ROLLING 12 MONTH AVERAGE OF DATA.

THAT'S THE SMOOTH LINE HERE.

THE PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER, 2024 SHOWS 63% CARBON-FREE GENERATION AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD.

YOU'LL SEE THAT THE SMOOTH LINE IS TRENDING DOWN OVER TIME

[00:40:01]

WHILE WE EXPECT THERE TO BE SEASONAL VARIATION, WE DON'T WANNA SEE THE TREND LINE GO DOWN.

AND THIS IS HAPPENING DUE TO MANY OF THE CHALLENGES WE DISCUSSED DURING THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN WORK LAST YEAR, GROWING LOAD, RENEWABLE CURTAILMENTS, TRANSMISSION CONGESTION, ALL THINGS THAT ARE PART OF OUR CURRENT ENERGY LANDSCAPE.

AND OUR RESPONSE NEEDS TO ADAPT TO CHANGE THIS TREND.

UH, I POINT THIS OUT BECAUSE THE RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN IN 2023 THAT WAS ADOPTED IN DECEMBER HELPS ENABLE THE TOOLS WE NEED TO REVERSE THE TREND AND TO MAINTAIN RELIABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY ALONG OUR PATH TO OUR CLEAN ENERGY GOALS.

AS YOU HEARD FROM BOB PLAN, IMPLEMENTATION IS ONE OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S PRIORITIES THIS YEAR.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

HERE YOU SEE OUR DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY METRICS FOR Q1.

IN ALL CASES, LOWER NUMBERS ARE BETTER.

AND SO AUSTIN ENERGY'S METRICS COMPARE VERY WELL TO THE TEXAS AVERAGE.

BUT WE KNOW THAT OUR CUSTOMERS OFTEN ONLY KNOW THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES.

AND SO WHEN THE TREND LINES AT THE BOTTOM GO UP, OUR CUSTOMERS FEEL AND EXPERIENCE IT.

AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR TREND LINES ARE LOWER THAN THEY HAVE BEEN FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR, AND THEY'RE REMAINING LOWER.

THIS STABILIZING IS A GOOD SIGN DEMONSTRATING GOOD WORK FROM OUR TEAMS. AND MUCH OF THIS IS A REFLECTION OF THE END-TO-END CIRCUIT WORK FOCUSED ON THE AREAS EXPERIENCING MOST FREQUENT OUTAGES AND IN WILDFIRE RISK AREAS.

HOWEVER, THERE IS MORE WORK TO DO.

DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY IS ANOTHER MAJOR PRIORITY FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, AND YOU'LL HEAR A LOT ABOUT IT AS THE YEAR PROGRESSES.

TODAY, DAVID WILL SHARE THE RESULTS OF THE UNDERGROUNDING FEASIBILITY STUDY ALONG WITH ARLAN.

AND LATER THIS YEAR, WE'LL SHARE MULTI-YEAR DISTRIBUTION RESILIENCY PLAN WITH SHORT AND LONG-TERM PRIORITIES.

THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE OF THAT WORK IS TO REDUCE THE FREQUENCY AND DURATION OF OUTAGES EXPERIENCED BY OUR CUSTOMERS, AND THESE METRICS WILL SHOW HOW WE MEASURE THAT.

AS I WRAP UP, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT YOU CAN FIND THE FINAL APPROVED 2023 PLAN HOSTED ONLINE ON THE AUSTIN ENERGY WEBSITE.

THE LINK HERE WILL GET YOU THERE.

NEXT SLIDE.

I ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT AUSTIN ENERGY WRAPPED UP THE LAST OF THE 82 ACTION ITEMS IDENTIFIED IN OUR WINTER STORM, MARA, AFTER ACTION REPORT AT THE END OF LAST YEAR.

THE FINAL COMPLETION REPORT IS ALSO PUBLISHED ON AUSTIN ENERGY'S WEBSITE.

AND WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE AND THE REMAINDER OF THE SLIDES ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU FOR REFERENCE.

AREAS AND OUR MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS IN AUSTIN.

UH, MS. MARTIN, ANY QUESTIONS? UH, COUNCIL MEMBER BLA UM, OKAY, SO THIS WAS REALLY INTERESTING.

UH, I APPRECIATED THIS PRESENTATION A LOT.

UM, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SLIDE FOUR, WHICH IS THE DISTRIBUTION REALITY RE OH, SORRY, DISTRIBUTION RE RELIABILITY, UM, BREAKDOWN AND GRAPHS.

I AM WONDERING IF YOU HAVE, UH, AVAILABLE THAT I COULD LOOK AT AT SOME POINT, A BREAKDOWN BY GEOGRAPHIES SIMILAR TO PAGE SIX.

AND I'M SORRY, I'M LOOKING, I'M TRYING TO OPEN TO THAT SLIDE WHILE I'M TALKING, WHICH IS NOT GOING WELL.

PAGE SIX IN THE, IN THE PRESENTATION ON AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO.

UM, AND ONE OF THE REASONS I'M ASKING THIS IS BECAUSE ANOTHER THING THAT I NOTED IN LOOKING AT THIS MAP IS THAT, SO WHILE THE NORTHWEST AREA HAS HAD THE HIGHEST LOAD GROWTH IN, UH, A DECADE, IT'S NOT VERY FAR AHEAD OF THE NORTHEAST AND SOUTHWEST.

AND THESE ARE, I I HEARD YOUR COMMENT THAT ABOUT GREATER RELIABILITY CON OR GREATER ISSUES OF SOME SORT IN RELATION TO WILDFIRE HIGH RISK AREAS.

AND I KNOW THAT MANY OF THE AREAS WHERE THIS GROWTH HAS OCCURRED ARE ALSO HIGH RISK FOR WILDFIRE BASED ON WHAT I SEE ON THE GROUND.

UM, STILL WORKING ON FIGURING OUT HOW THAT FITS INTO AUSTIN INTERNALLY.

UM, BUT WHAT I WANT TO POINT OUT IS, UM, WE HAVE AREAS WHERE THERE'S HIGH GROWTH BECAUSE THERE'S LAND AVAILABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT, OR THERE ARE FEWER REGULATIONS OF A VARIETY OF TYPES, INCLUDING ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, REGULATIONS.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE AREAS WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF VACANT LAND BECAUSE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS LIKE ENDANGERED SPECIES AND SOS AND THAT SORT OF THING.

UM, SO IF I HEARD CORRECTLY THAT YOUR RELIABILITY, UH, DATA IS SHOWING, UH, LESS RELIABILITY IN WILDFIRE PRONE AREAS, I SUSPECT THAT THAT'S GONNA OVERLAP WITH OUR HIGHER GROWTH

[00:45:01]

UM, SO THAT WAS, AGAIN, A LOT OF CONTEXT FOR A QUESTION THAT I DON'T NECESSARILY NEED AN ANSWER TO ON THE SPOT.

BUT I AM INTERESTED IN WHETHER YOU HAVE SOME OF THOSE RELIABILITY STATISTICS WITH A MAP SIMILAR TO THIS ONE FROM PAGE SIX OF ITEM NUMBER TWO'S PRESENTATION.

YEAH, THANKS FOR THE QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER.

UM, SO MY TEAM IS GATHERING SOME INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO, UH, RELIABILITY DATA IN YOUR DISTRICT, UM, SO THAT WE CAN MEET, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, EARLY NEXT MONTH.

UM, REGARDING SLIDE SIX ON GENERAL MANAGER CON'S PRESENTATION.

THE MAP ACTUALLY SHOWS THE DISTRIBUTION OF LOAD DURING THE PEAK IN FISCAL YEAR 24.

SO WHERE YOU SEE THAT THE NORTHWEST HAD THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE, THAT MEANS THAT THAT'S WHERE THE MOST ENERGY WAS BEING USED DURING THE PEAK OF THAT FISCAL YEAR.

THE, UM, ALTHOUGH THERE IS GROWTH HAPPENING ACROSS THE ENTIRE SERVICE TERRITORY, UM, THE HIGHEST GROWTH IS ACTUALLY IN THE NORTHEAST AND IN THE SOUTHEAST.

UM, THAT SAID, THERE IS, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANT GROWTH EVERYWHERE.

UM, AND, UH, OVER THE PAST DECADE THERE WAS ABOUT 20% LOAD GROWTH IS WHAT THAT SLIDE WAS SHOWING.

UM, WE, WHAT I WAS ALSO SAYING IS THAT WHEN WE WORK ON OUR, UM, UH, END-TO-END CIRCUIT RE UH, RELIABILITY EFFORTS, WE FOCUS ON, UH, TWO DIFFERENT MAJOR METRICS.

ONE IS, UH, THE, UH, AREAS WHERE WE HAVE THE WORST OUTAGES, AND THE OTHER IS WILDFIRE RISK AREAS.

SOMETIMES THOSE OVERLAP AND SOMETIMES THEY DON'T.

UM, AND SO WE'RE WORKING ON PULLING KIND OF ALL THOSE DATA SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA TO BE ABLE TO, UM, SHARE AND ANSWER SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS.

AND HOPEFULLY, UM, WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS THERE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THAT REALLY HELPED ME UNDERSTAND RIGHT NOW WHERE I HAD GONE ASTRAY.

I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, UH, EXPLANATION.

UH, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE D UH, COUNCIL MEMBER? UCCI, THANKS FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

LISA, I NOT SURE THIS IS A BETTER QUESTION FOR YOU OR RUSTY, BUT I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE OVERALL STRATEGY TO RETURN US TO A DOUBLE A BOND RATING.

I'M LOOKING AT THE BALANCE SHEET THAT WAS IN HIS PRESENTATION THAT NOTES THE SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN CASH IN OPERATING RESERVES BETWEEN 2023 AND 2024.

I'M ASSUMING WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THAT TRAJECTORY FOR 2025 AS A, AS A MEANS TO CREATE WORKING CAPITAL AND GET TO THAT GOAL.

IS THAT, IS THAT A FAIR UNDERSTANDING? DID WE LOSE LISA COMMITTEE MEMBERS RUSTY MANIAS? CFO.

OH, THAT'S A LONG WALK FOR A YES.

OH, OKAY.

SO THE, THE, THE, THAT IS THE PLAN, RIGHT? SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO BUILD, UH, TOWARDS THAT AA RATING, WHICH MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO GENERATE, WE HAVE TO MANAGE OUR COSTS AND GENERATE ENOUGH REVENUE, BUILD THOSE CASH RESERVES, MITIGATE RISK, AND, UH, SUPPORT OUR CIP SPEND PLAN.

AND WOULD THE TIMEFRAME OF THAT BE THIS YEAR OR NEXT YEAR? NO, IT WILL BE ONGOING.

IT WILL BE A PROCESS.

DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHEN THAT TIMEFRAME WILL BE? WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF, OR WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A FIVE-YEAR FORECAST THAT IS, UH, GOING THROUGH THE CITY PROCESS AND, UM, UH, AND THAT WILL BE SHARED, UH, WITH THE CITY MANAGER AT, AT THAT POINT IN TIME.

I'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THAT WHEN THAT'S AVAILABLE.

BET.

AND BEFORE YOU WALK BACK RIGHT QUICK, A A QUESTION, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF INTEREST RATE BETWEEN AA NEGATIVE AND AA? OH, IT, IT'S, IT'S A MATTER OF RISK, RIGHT? SO THERE ARE CERTAIN METRICS THAT THEY'LL LOOK AT.

UM, I CAN GIVE YOU A BUNCH OF ACRONYMS MM-HMM .

FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR DEBT SERVICE AND, AND A LEVERAGE RATIO OF THOSE.

BUT IN SHORT, IT IS, IT'S A COMBINATION OF EFFECTS, RIGHT? WELL, MORE IN TERMS OF THE INTEREST RATE THAT, UH, SOMEONE WOULD PAY ON, YOU KNOW, AA VERSUS AA NEGATIVE.

SO WE, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I'M NOT PREPARED TO ANSWER THAT OFF THE CUFF, RIGHT? UM, UH, WE, I HAVE SEEN THAT INFORMATION.

THERE IS A DELTA, UH, AND IT BECOMES SIZABLE OVER, OVER A LARGE PORTFOLIO IN MANY YEARS.

NO PROBLEM.

WELL, I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH THE STAFF TO, TO CLARIFY THAT.

AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO ITEM FIVE.

ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.

WELL THEN LET'S GO

[5. Briefing on Distribution Reliability, Resiliency and Results of Underground Feasibility Study. [Lisa Martin, Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer and David Tomczyszyn, Vice President, Electric System Engineering & Technical Services - Austin Energy and Arlin Mire - 1898 & Co.]]

UH, AGAIN FROM MS. MARTIN, A BRIEFING ON DISTRIBUTION RESILIENCY AND THE RESULTS OF THE UNDERGROUND FEASIBILITY STUDY SAYS MS. MARTIN WILL OPEN, UH, AND THEN WILL PASS THE PRESENTATION ON TO MR. DAVID TOM CHEEN.

UH, AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND TURN OVER TO YOU, MS. MARTIN.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

AS DAVID AND ARLEN COME FORWARD,

[00:50:01]

I'LL JUST KICK IT OFF WITH SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR WE SPENT, UH, A TON OF TIME FOCUSING ON THE RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN.

AND DURING THAT TIME, WE HAD EXTENSIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, AND WE HEARD TIME AND AGAIN FROM OUR COMMUNITY THAT RELIABILITY IS A TOP PRIORITY.

AND SOMETIMES WE HAD QUESTIONS WHERE PEOPLE SAID, WELL, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT RELIABILITY, BUT A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE WIRES.

WE'RE LIKE, YES, RELIABILITY HAS TO DO WITH ALL ASPECTS OF OUR SYSTEM.

AND SO, UM, THERE ARE ASPECTS OF OUR WORK THAT FOCUS ON EVERY, YOU KNOW, VARIOUS, UH, MEASURES OF RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY.

AND TODAY, UM, AS I MENTIONED, AND AS BOB MENTIONED, DISTRIBUTION, RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY IS A HUGE, UM, FOCUS.

AND SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA PRESENT TO YOU STEP ONE OF A MULTI-STEP EFFORT TOWARDS A COMPREHENSIVE DISTRIBUTION RESILIENCY PLAN.

AND I'LL PASS IT OFF TO DAVID AND COME BACK TOWARDS THE END TO ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, LISA.

UH, GOOD MORNING, UH, CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, COUNCIL MEMBERS, MAYOR.

MY NAME IS DAVID TOM CHES, AND I'M VICE PRESIDENT OF ELECTRIC SYSTEM, UH, ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES AT AUSTIN ENERGY.

I'M HERE ALONGSIDE LISA MARTIN, VIRTUALLY, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY'S DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER IN ARLAN MUIR WITH 1898 AND COMPANY, WHICH IS PART OF BURNS AND MCDONALD TO REVIEW THE RESULTS OF THE UNDERGROUND FEASIBILITY STUDY.

THIS STUDY, AS LISA HAD JUST STATED, IS JUST ONE STEP TOWARDS CREATING A COMPREHENSIVE DISTRIBUTION RESILIENCY PLAN.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, FOR OUR AGENDA.

FOR OUR AGENDA TODAY, I'D LIKE TO, UH, START WITH PROVIDING A LITTLE BACKGROUND INFORMATION TO SET THE STAGE FOR ARLAN.

UH, HE WILL COME UP AND THEN, UH, REVIEW THIS STUDY AND THE RESULTS THAT HIS TEAM DID, AND LISA WILL WRAP UP WITH DISCUSSING NEXT STEPS AND OPENING UP TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.

YOU MAY HAVE TO SCROLL THROUGH A LITTLE BIT.

ONE MORE TIME.

IN RECENT YEARS, AUSTIN HAS CREATED, UH, SEVERAL RELIABILITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS SUCH AS WILDFIRE MITIGATION, UNDERPERFORMING FEEDERS, AND ADDING, UH, SMART EQUIPMENT TO SECTIONALIZE OUR SYSTEM.

AND WHILE THESE EFFORTS HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN SEPARATE INITIATIVES, WE NOW SEE THE NEED TO BRING THESE TOGETHER WITH LESSONS LEARNED FROM BOTH STUDIES.

THAT'S THE UNDERGROUND FEASIBILITY STUDY YOU'LL BE HEARING ABOUT TODAY, AND THE OVERHEAD HARDENING STUDY THAT WILL BE PRESENTING, UH, COME BACK TO PRESENT IN MAY TO DEVELOP ONE COMPREHENSIVE DISTRIBUTION RESILIENCY PLAN.

THIS, THIS LIVING PLAN WILL OUTLINE HOW WE MAKE OUR GRID MORE RELIABLE AND RESILIENT FOR THE DECADES TO COME.

SO TODAY, AGAIN, WE'RE, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT JUST ONE PART OR STUDY THAT WILL FEED INTO A MORE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.

THERE ARE PROS AND CONS OF EVERY APPROACH, AND WE BELIEVE THERE MAY NOT BE JUST ONE SOLUTION THAT SOLVES EVERY CHALLENGE THAT WE RUN INTO, BUT BY BRINGING ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS AND STUDIES AND LESSONS LEARNED, WE, UH, TOGETHER WE'LL YIELD THE BEST OVERALL, UH, SOLUTIONS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

SO, HOW DID WE GET HERE? ELECTRICITY HAS MOVED FROM BEING A LUXURY IN THE EARLY 19 HUNDREDS TO A NECESSITY TODAY.

AND DURING THIS TIME, WHAT HAS ALSO CHANGED IS OUR CLIMATE WEATHER EXTREMES ARE STARTING TO BECOME MORE COMMON.

OUR SUMMERS ARE GETTING HOTTER, OUR WINTERS ARE GETTING COLDER, ADDED THAT A CYCLE OF DROUGHTS AND FLOODS, AND OUR GRID HAS A NEED TO BE MORE RESILIENT AS EVER.

IN, IN RECENT YEARS, WE'VE SEEN WINTER STORMS SUCH AS YUR, AS YURI AND MARA, WHERE WE'VE HAD UP TO THREE QUARTERS OF INCH ICE.

AND IN, AND JUST IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS, WE'VE SEEN EXTREME WINDS AND WILDFIRES ADD ALL THIS HIGH GROWTH.

UH, BEING MOVING TO AUSTIN IS AS POPULAR AS EVER, AND ADD IN OTHER DRIVERS, SUCH AS, UH, THE BUILD OUT OF AI, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AS WELL AS THE ELECTRIC ELECTRIFICATION OF JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING.

AND WITH ALL THOSE TOGETHER, THERE'S NO SIGNS OF THINGS SLOWING DOWN.

SO WE NEED TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, BUT ALSO PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT IN DOING, IN DOING IT WHILE KEEPING THINGS AFFORDABLE.

ALL OF THESE ARE IN INCLUDED IN OUR VALUES, AND AE IS COMMITTED TO FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND SAFEGUARDING OUR CUSTOMERS.

RESILIENCY TAKES IT ONE STEP FURTHER, AND IT INCLUDES SYSTEM AUTOMATION, UH, A HARDENING OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGIES TO CREATE A SELF-HEALING SYSTEM.

UH, NOW I JUST WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, I COVERED WHY WE WERE, YOU KNOW, HERE AND HOW YOU KNOW, AND HOW WE GOT HERE.

I'D LIKE TO PROVIDE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND TO KIND OF SET THE TABLE FOR ARLEN'S PORTION OF THE PRESENTATION.

UH, FIRST I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT RESILIENCY AND RELIABILITY.

I WANT, I WANT TO, UH, PROVIDE SOME DEFINITIONS FOR EACH, BOTH IN THE TRADITIONAL, UH, DICTIONARY SENSE AS WELL AS THE ELECTRIC UTILITY APPLICATION.

RELIABILITY SPEAKS TO CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE AND PERFORMANCE AS INTENDED.

RELIABILITY IS HOW WELL THINGS, UH, REACT TO, OR, I'M SORRY, RESILIENCY IS HOW WELL THINGS REACT TO OR RECOVER SPRING BACK, IF YOU WILL, UH, FROM NON-STANDARD EVENTS.

WITH REGARD TO OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, AT A HIGH LEVEL, WE BUILD, MAINTAIN, AND OPERATE THE SYSTEM, PROVIDE STABLE AND CONSISTENT SERVICE.

AND THIS IS RELIABILITY,

[00:55:01]

WE NEED BOTH AND, AND HOW THEY COME TOGETHER WILL BE OUR DISTRIBUTION RE RESILIENCY PLAN.

FINALLY, I WANTED TO GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S SYSTEM AS BACKGROUND, WHICH HELPS GIVE PERSPECTIVE AS WE REVIEW THE RESULTS OF THE UNDERGROUNDING STUDY.

TODAY.

ON YOUR SCREEN FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, WE HAVE AUSTIN ENERGY'S TRANSMISSION SYSTEM, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 600 MILES OF, OF LINES.

THOSE ARE THOSE TALL TOWERS THAT YOU SEE, UH, THAT WAS NOT PART OF THE STUDY.

IT, IT FOCUSED ON DISTRIBUTION.

THEN WE HAVE, UH, ABOUT APPROXIMATELY 80 SUBSTATIONS WHERE POWER IS TRANSFORMED OR STEPPED DOWN TO A LOWER DISTRIBUTION VOLTAGE.

AND FINALLY, YOU HAVE THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, WHICH IS EVERYTHING YOU SEE TO THE RIGHT OF YOUR SCREEN, AND THAT'S WHAT THE STUDY FOCUSED ON.

IT CONSISTED APPROXIMATELY 12,000 MILES OF DISTRIBUTION LINES.

7,000 OF THOSE ARE UNDERGROUND AND APPROXIMATELY 5,000 REMAIN OVERHEAD.

THERE'S ABOUT 175,000 POLES AND ABOUT 90,000 TRANSFORMER SPLIT BETWEEN OVERHEAD AND UNDERGROUND.

BUT THOSE KEEPING TRACK, THAT MEANS APPROXIMATELY 58% OF OUR DISTRIBUTION LINES TODAY ARE ALREADY, ARE ALREADY UNDERGROUND.

NOW I'LL TURN IT OVER TO ARLAND TO PRESENT THE FINDINGS OF THE UNDERGROUND FEASIBILITY STUDY, WHICH FOCUSED ON WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO UNDERGROUND THE REMAINING 5,000 MILES OF OVERHEAD DISTRIBUTION LINES.

DOES UNDERGROUNDING, THE OVERHEAD, THE EXISTING OVERHEAD SYSTEM PLAY? SO THINKING ABOUT THE STUDY, UH, ITSELF, WE BROKE UP THE ENTIRE SYSTEM INTO ABOUT 5,000 SECTIONS, IF YOU WILL.

YOU, YOU'RE MY HEIGHT, SO I DON'T HAVE TO MESS WITH THE MICROPHONE.

UH, HI.

THANK YOU ALL FOR, FOR HAVING ME HERE TODAY.

UM, ARLA MEER, UM, WITH 1898 AND CO AND I'LL TALK ABOUT 1898 AND CO IN A SECOND.

UH, I LIVE IN KANSAS CITY NOW, BUT I WAS A A 10 YEAR RESIDENT OF, OF AUSTIN ROUND ROCK.

UH, SO I'M ACTUALLY REALLY HAPPY THAT OUR COMPANY GOT SELECTED AND ABLE TO BE HERE TO PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY TO YOU TODAY.

UM, THE UNDERGROUND AND FEASIBILITY STUDY RESULTS ARE A CULMINATION OF ABOUT A YEAR'S WORTH OF EFFORT.

UM, WE, OUR TEAM PERFORMED A LOT OF DIFFERENT ANALYTICS, SPOKE WITH A LOT OF FOLKS FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, CONSTANT MEETINGS AND COLLABORATION ABOUT WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES OF, OF, OF UNDERGROUNDING FOR THIS, FOR THIS, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY.

UH, WHAT TYPES OF CHALLENGES THEY MAY FACE, UH, ALONG WITH BRINGING FORTH SOME OF THE EXPERTISE AND KNOWLEDGE THAT, THAT OUR TEAM HAS GAINED OVER THE YEARS FROM HELPING OUR CLIENTS, UH, REEVALUATE.

WHAT DOES THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM LOOK LIKE GOING FORWARD FOR US? SO I MENTIONED 1898 AND CO.

WE ARE A PART OF BURNS AND MCDONALD BURNS AND MCDONALD'S FOUNDED IN 1898.

UM, WE GOT ABOUT NINE PROFESSIONALS, UH, A PRETTY LARGE DESIGN ENGINEERING DESIGN FIRM.

UH, PRETTY HIGHLY REGARDED IN TERMS OF POWER ESPECIALLY.

UM, OUR GROUP IN 1898 IS KIND OF THE CONSULTING ARM WHERE WE PERFORM A LOT OF DIFFERENT STUDIES, FINANCIAL ANALYSIS, UH, ASSET MANAGEMENT PLANNING, DATA ANALYTICS, TECHNOLOGY, SORT OF, YOU NAME IT, WHERE IT KIND OF DEALS WITH POWER AND, UH, KIND OF LEADING INTO DESIGN AND ENGINEERING.

SO ON OUR TEAM, WE HELP OUR CLIENTS DO WHAT I CALL DATA-DRIVEN CAPITAL PORTFOLIOS, WHERE WE HELP THEM EVALUATE WHAT SORT OF INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND WHAT KIND OF INSIGHTS CAN WE GET FROM THOSE LOOKING ACROSS OUR ENTIRE SYSTEM.

YOU HEARD DAVID MENTION GOT 5,000 MILES OF DISTRIBUTION LINES, UH, LOTS OF POLES, LOTS OF WIRES, LOTS OF THINGS THAT ARE GEOGRAPHICALLY DISPERSED, AND HOW DO WE INVEST IN THE SYSTEM TO ACHIEVE DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES, RIGHT? AND THAT COULD VARY FROM, UH, RELIABILITY, COULD BE RESILIENCY, COULD BE SORT OF A FINANCIAL RETURN, IF YOU WILL.

WE THEN MOVE INTO A PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT JUSTIFICATION.

SO OFTENTIMES WE'LL BREAK THE SYSTEM UP INTO DIFFERENT SECTIONS, EVALUATE EACH SECTION AND SAY, WHAT DO WE DO WITH THIS SECTION? WHAT IF WE UNDERGROUND IT? WHAT IF WE REBUILD IT? WHAT IF WE ADD SOME GRID MODERNIZATION OR OTHER TYPE OF RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES? SO THAT'S TYPE OF THE PART OF THE SYSTEM.

AND THEN SOMETIMES WE'LL ALSO HELP THEM ACTUALLY MOVE OVER AND MANAGE AND EXECUTE THAT PROGRAM AND SORT OF PUT WOOD AND STEEL ON GROUND, IF YOU WILL.

OUR, UM, UH, FROM AN UNDERGROUNDING PERSPECTIVE, WE'VE INCLUDED THAT AS A STUDY, UH, OR ONE OF THE ALTERNATIVES, IF YOU WILL, ACROSS LOTS OF DIFFERENT UTILITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY.

HOWEVER, UH, AS YOU ALL ARE OR AWARE, I'M SURE RESILIENCE HAS BEEN AN, AN ONGOING TOPIC, AT LEAST FOR THE LAST DECADE AND, AND JUST CONTINUES TO GROW YEAR AFTER YEAR.

SO, UH, WE'VE DONE WORK FOR AP TEXAS, TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, POWER TECO, ENCORE, UM, BALTIMORE GAS AND ELECTRIC, ACTUALLY SOME CANADIAN UTILITIES.

ALL OF THEM HAS HAVE ASKED US, HEY, WHEN WE GO TO DO THIS CAPITAL PORTFOLIO, WHAT ROLE

[01:00:01]

UH, NOT NECESSARILY A MILE, UM, BUT IT JUST KIND OF WORKS OUT.

THERE'S ABOUT 5,000 MILES AND ABOUT 5,000 SECTIONS.

UM, WE ESTIMATE THE COST TO UNDERGROUND EACH OF THOSE SECTIONS INDIVIDUALLY BASED ON WHAT WE CAN KIND OF GATHER FROM A DESKTOP REVIEW OF THE SYSTEM.

AND THE FIRST GOAL IS TO CALCULATE THE BENEFIT OF UNDERGROUNDING, RIGHT? WHAT IS THE LIFECYCLE BENEFIT OF TAKING SOMETHING OVERHEAD AND, AND PUTTING IT UNDERGROUND.

AND WE LOOK AT THAT INDIVIDUALLY ON A SECTION BY SECTION BASIS.

ONE OF THE MAJOR ITEMS, OF COURSE, IS REDUCING FUTURE COSTS, RIGHT? HOW ARE WE AVOIDING FUTURE OUTAGES ASSOCIATED WITH EQUIPMENT REPAIRS? UH, THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH POLE INSPECTIONS, COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH, WITH MAINTAINING VEGETATION, RIGHT? AND ON TOP OF THAT, ONE OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, MAIN REASONS I THINK UNDERGROUNDING COMES UP IS HOW DOES IT AFFECT CUSTOMER OUTAGES? HOW ARE WE REDUCING THOSE IN THE FUTURE? HOW ARE WE TAKING VEGETATION IF WE CAN, OUT OF THE MIX, WHETHER OUT OF THE MIX, RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT UNDERGROUNDING DOES FOR US.

FROM A RELIABILITY AND A RESILIENCE PERSPECTIVE, WE DID CONVERT THOSE OUTAGES TO A MONETARY VALUE, UH, FOR USE IN, IN A BENEFIT COST RATIO, WHICH I'LL MENTION HERE IN A SECOND.

UM, BUT AN UNDERGROUNDING SECTION, UH, UH, SECTIONS BENEFIT, IF YOU WILL, IS REDUCING THOSE FUTURE COSTS AND REDUCING CUSTOMER OUTAGES FROM THAT MONETIZED FASHION.

WE COMPARE EACH SECTION'S BENEFITS TO THE UNDERGROUNDING COST, AND WE DEVELOP A RATIO, RIGHT? BENEFIT DIVIDED BY COST.

AND SO YOU CAN LOOK AT ALL THE SECTIONS.

WE'VE GOT ABOUT 5,000 AND ABOUT 33 OF THOSE HAD A BENEFIT THAT EXCEEDED COST.

THE BENEFIT COST RATIO OF 1.0 OR GREATER COMES OUT TO ABOUT 120 MILES OR SO.

SO IN ORDER TO PUT ALL THIS TOGETHER, I MENTIONED A FEW THINGS THAT WE DID, BUT WE ALSO PUT A LOT OF CORE DATA INTO THIS ANALYSIS, AGAIN, TO TRY AND GET A GOOD DESKTOP REVIEW OF THE, THE POLES AND WIRES FROM THE GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION SYSTEM.

WE'RE LOOKING AT THE EXISTING EQUIPMENT AGE, AND HOW DOES THAT EQUIPMENT AGE, IF YOU LEAVE IT SORT OF OVERHEAD, HOW DOES IT AGE IF YOU PUT IT UNDERGROUND? UM, WE USE, THE WAY THE SYSTEM PROTECTION SORT OF WORKS TO BREAK UP THOSE SECTIONS.

WE LOOK AT HISTORICAL OUTAGES, WE LOOK AT THOSE CAUSES.

WE BRING IN CUSTOMERS, CUSTOMER TYPE.

WE ATTACH THEM TO ALL THE DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE SYSTEM AND ALL THE DIFFERENT ASSETS.

WE'RE LOOKING AT TREE CANOPY AND VEGETATION DENSITY, RIGHT? THAT DIFFERS THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM.

UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT PHYSICAL CONNECTIVITY.

IF THIS PARTICULAR SECTION OF LINE GOES OUT, ALL THESE DOWNSTREAM CUSTOMERS ARE GONNA GO OUT, RIGHT? IN SOME CASES WE LOOK AT ROAD ACCESS.

IF STRUCTURES ARE CLOSER TO THE ROAD, THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO TO TO REPAIR.

THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO REPLACE PROACTIVELY AS WELL.

UM, WE INVOLVE THAT.

AND THEN WE LOOK AT FLOOD, FEMA, FLOOD ZONES AS WELL TO ASSESS RISK FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE.

SO THINKING ABOUT THE BENEFITS, UH, LITTLE GRAPHIC ON THE RIGHT KIND OF SUMS IT UP.

WE'RE LOOKING AT TOTAL LIFECYCLE BENEFITS FROM A SORT OF LONG-TERM NET PRESENT VALUE LOOK, LONG-TERM PRESENT VALUE LOOK, EXCUSE ME, WHERE WE'RE TAKING THE AVOIDED FUTURE ENERGY COSTS, REPAIRS AND WHATNOT.

AND WE'RE TAKING THE AVOIDED FUTURE OUT CUSTOMER OUTAGES AND PUTTING THOSE TOGETHER TO CREATE THAT BENEFIT, UM, NUMERATOR, IF YOU WILL, IN THAT BCR.

UH, LOOKING AT THE TYPES OF COSTS, RIGHT? THERE'S EQUIPMENT FAILURES, POLES, CONDUCTOR FAILS, TRANSFORMER REPLACEMENTS, RIGHT? STORM WEATHER EVENT.

WE'RE AVOIDING THOSE TYPES OF EVENTS.

WHEN YOU GO UNDERGROUND, YOU WANNA CAPTURE THOSE BENEFITS.

I MENTIONED VEGETATION AND POLE INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE COSTS AS WELL, RIGHT? IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE POLES, YOU DON'T HAVE TO NECESSARILY WORRY ABOUT THAT ELEMENT.

AND THEN FROM A FUTURE CUSTOMER OUTAGE PERSPECTIVE, YOU'RE AVOIDING EQUIPMENT OUTAGES.

'CAUSE YOU'RE ESSENTIALLY MAKING BRAND NEW EQUIPMENT, RIGHT? YOU'RE AVOIDING IT FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME.

UH, YOU'RE AVOIDING MOST VEGETATION OUTAGES PORTION OF, OF THE TYPES OF OUTAGES THAT ARE, THAT'S YOUR CUSTOMER.

AND THEN WE USE THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S INTERRUPTION, COST ESTIMATOR, THE ICE TOOL, ICE CALCULATOR TO APPLY THE SORT OF SOCIETAL BENEFIT FOR THOSE AVOIDED OUTAGES TO THIS BENEFITS CALCULATION.

WE HAVE A COUPLE SLIDES ON SOME OF THE INTERESTING DATA THAT WE WERE ABLE TO KIND OF GATHER AND PUT TOGETHER.

ONE OF THEM IS DEPTH, UH, TO SORT OF ROCKY SOIL.

I, I REMEMBER, UH, I'M FROM LOUISIANA, WHERE CRAWFISH CAN JUST DIG HOLES IN THE FRONT YARD WITHOUT A, A REAL PROBLEM.

UH, BUT I TRIED TO DO SOME STUFF IN THE BACKYARD WHEN I MOVED TO AROUND ROCK.

AND, UM, I HIT, I HIT ROCK PRETTY QUICK, AND I I DIDN'T KNOW ANY, WELL, NO ONE TOLD ME, I GUESS.

SO I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

AND, UH, AND MY NEIGHBORS WERE

[01:05:01]

LIKE, YEAH, NO, YOU'RE GONNA NEED SOME MACHINERY IF YOU WANNA TRY TO DO ANYTHING TO ANY SORT OF DEPTH, SIR.

IT'S, IT'S CALLED ROUND ROCK.

OH, OH, SORRY, .

IT'S CALLED ROUND ROCK.

WELL, I, I THOUGHT THERE WAS JUST THE ROCK THAT WAS THERE.

OUR SETTLERS, SETTLERS, YOU'RE ASKING US TO RELY UPON YOUR CREDIBILITY, AND IT'S CALLED ROUND ROCK .

NOTED.

THANK YOU, .

UM, ALL THAT TO SAY, UH, WHEN YOU GO TO UNDERGROUND, YOU'RE LOOKING TO GO ABOUT AT LEAST THREE TO FOUR FEET DEEP.

AND SO AS YOU CAN SEE SOME SECTIONS OF THE SYSTEM, YOU HIT THAT YOU HIT ROCK ROCKY SOIL PRETTY DARN QUICK.

YOU HAVE TO BRING IN OTHER EQUIPMENT, TAKES LONGER, COSTS MORE, THAT SORT OF THING, RIGHT? YOU CAN IMAGINE.

WE ALSO HAD ONE OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL TEAMS WHO'S ACTUALLY SITS HERE, SITS IN AUSTIN, UH, CONDUCT AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE AREA, LOOKING AT LOTS OF DIFFERENT, UM, CRITICAL HABITATS, PRESERVATION AREAS, UH, EVEN ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES AND CEMETERIES, BECAUSE WHEN YOU START TO START TO DO WORK AROUND CEMETERIES, UH, SOME PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.

THE, THE PEOPLE THAT SHOULD BE RIGHT.

UM, AND WHEN YOU UNDERGROUND, YOU HAVE TO KINDA REROUTE NOW AND DO SOME OTHER THINGS.

UM, BUT THERE'S QUITE A SIGNIFICANT, UH, ELEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK AND UNCERTAINTY, IF YOU WILL, UH, AROUND THE AREA WITH GOLDEN CHEAP WARBLERS AND CAR ZONES, AND YOU HAVE WETLANDS AND PRESERVES AND, UH, UH, A LOT OF THINGS TO CONSIDER.

WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HEARD STORIES OF, HEY, IF, IF THESE BIRDS ARE NESTING, UH, IN HAPPEN TO HAPPEN TO HAVE MADE A NEST IN THE POLE, YOU CAN'T TOUCH IT, RIGHT? YOU CAN'T DEAL WITH IT.

UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF, IT JUST CONTRIBUTES TO THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE WORK IN GENERAL.

AND, AND OF COURSE, UNDERGROUNDING, IF YOU'RE GONNA MAKE LARGE MOVES WITH OVERHEAD EQUIPMENT.

WE ALSO GOT OUR TEAMS OUT TO LOOK AT THE SYSTEM.

WE VISITED OVER 40 DIFFERENT SORT OF SECTIONS ACROSS THE TERRITORY, UH, WHERE WE'VE, I THINK WE LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, 400 SOME ODD POLLS AS WELL.

UH, WE TRIED TO DISTRIBUTE THAT ACROSS THE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS, UH, INCLUDING UNINCORPORATED SO THAT WE COULD TRY AND GET A SENSE OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SITUATIONS THAT EXIST THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM.

AND OUR TEAM RECORDED LOTS OF OBSERVATIONS AROUND ASSET CONDITION, HOW OUR STRUCTURES CONFIGURED, WHAT SORT OF RIGHT AWAY CONDITIONS DO YOU HAVE? ARE THERE ANY, I GUESS TECHNICAL ENGINEERING SORT OF CHALLENGES THAT, UH, YOU CAN KINDA LAY EYES ON? SO WE GOT TO SEE SOME PICTURES OF SOME OF THOSE THINGS, UH, THAT, THAT AUSTIN ENERGY FOLKS HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT.

UM, AND, AND REALLY GOT TO USE THAT WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, ELABORATING ON THE TECHNICAL AND ENGINEERING CHALLENGES THAT THEY SEE OUT THERE.

SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED UNCERTAINTY, RIGHT? UH, I THINK THAT THERE IS INFORMATION THAT CAN BE GATHERED REGARDING SOME OF THESE UNCERTAINTIES JUST AT A, AT A GENERAL LEVEL.

UH, THEY AFFECT PLANNING, ENGINEERING COSTS AND, AND TIME, IF YOU WILL.

AND I THINK THAT, UM, SOME THINGS JUST REQUIRE SORT OF SITE SPECIFIC EVALUATION TO ESTIMATE THE COST OF A SECTION.

YOU DON'T, SOMETIMES YOU DON'T KIND OF KNOW UNTIL YOU GET OVER THERE WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING AND WHAT ACTUALLY NEEDS TO BE DONE TO UNDERGROUND A SECTION OF THE SYSTEM.

UH, SOME OF THESE THINGS INCLUDE TELECOMMUNICATION, RELOCATION, COSTS.

UH, I THINK THOSE ARE, YOU THINK YOU HAVE, UH, LIKE 30 SOME ODD TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERS IN THE CITY, AND YOU CAN DRIVE AROUND AND SEE THEM ATTACHED TO ALL KINDS OF POLES.

UM, HOW DO YOU HANDLE SECONDARY AND CUSTOMER SERVICES, RIGHT? WHEN YOU, WHEN THE, WHEN THE WIRES LEAVE THE TRANSFORMER GO TO THE HOUSE, THERE'S ANOTHER CONSIDERATION THAT HAPPENS THERE.

IF YOU EVER HAD WORK DONE ON YOUR ELECTRICAL PANEL, RIGHT? SAY, HEY, WELL, YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT.

USUALLY, UM, I DID HAVE SOMEBODY TRENCH THAT, UH, THAT, THAT WASN'T ME.

UH, IT WORKED OUT, WORKED OUT WELL.

UM, YOU HAVE TIGHT SPACE WITHIN EASEMENTS, RIGHT? WHEN YOU LOOK FOR THE UNDER AREA, WHERE YOU'RE GONNA GO UNDERGROUND, WHAT ELSE IS THERE? UM, ARE THERE OTHER SORT OF, UH, CITY WORKS AND WHATNOT AROUND? AND THEN HOW DO YOU ACQUIRE ADDITIONAL EASEMENTS AS NECESSARY WHEN YOU NEED TO REROUTE? THOSE ARE, THOSE CAN GET EXPENSIVE.

WHAT ABOUT CONTRACTING? RIGHT? IF YOU HAVE TO HIRE VENDORS OR, UH, OTHER VENDORS TO, TO KIND OF DO THE WORK OR, OR DO PROJECT MANAGEMENT TO DO LARGE SCALE, UH, USUALLY INVOLVES SOME CONTRACTING TYPE COSTS.

YOU HAVE SOME DENSE VEGETATION AREAS, YOU HAVE CRITICAL ROOT ZONES THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED AS WELL.

UH, OBVIOUSLY HIGH CUSTOMER DENSITY, SO THAT CONTRIBUTES TO TRAFFIC COSTS AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND WHATNOT.

AND THEN OF COURSE, I MENTIONED ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS.

SO ALL OF THOSE ARE THINGS THAT IN ORDER TO, TO BUILD A PROJECT AND A GOOD COST, YOU HAVE TO KIND OF GO IN THERE AND REALLY EVALUATE WHAT THAT SITUATION LOOKS LIKE.

SO WHAT ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, WITH ALL OF THIS? H 98 AND CO IS NOT CURRENTLY RECOMMENDING THAT AUSTIN ENERGY UNDERTAKE A SYSTEM-WIDE, WIDE UNDERGROUNDING OF THE OVERHEAD DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.

ONE OF THE MAJOR REASONS IS COST.

UM, WITH OUR COST ESTIMATE, UM, IT'S ABOUT PROBABLY 50 BILLION TO

[01:10:01]

MOVE IT ALL UNDERGROUND, WHICH PRETTY, PRETTY HIGH PRICE TAG IN MY OPINION.

UM, AND I KNOW WE HAVE A FEW SECTIONS THAT DO SHOW THE BENEFITS EXCEED COSTS, RIGHT? BUT IT'S ALSO POSSIBLE THAT OTHER SOLUTIONS MIGHT STILL YET PROVIDE BETTER COST BENEFIT, UH, FOR A PRETTY GOOD RESILIENCE RETURN.

SO A BENEFIT COST RATIO 1.0 DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN YOU NEED TO UNDERGROUND THIS, BUT IT DOES MEAN, HEY, YOU CAN CONSIDER THIS AREA WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO EVALUATE WHAT DOES THIS WHOLE AREA OF THE SYSTEM SORT OF NEED TO LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE.

THERE ARE A WIDE RANGE, OF COURSE, THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGES.

I MENTIONED A FEW RECENTLY, TELECOM ROCKY SOILS, WHICH I, I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT, UH, TRAFFIC CONTROL, UH, UNDERGROUND EASEMENTS, ACQUIRING PERMITS AND WHATNOT.

THAT SAID, UH, AND THIS IS KIND OF SIMILAR TO WHAT WE END UP RECOMMENDING WITH, WITH A LOT OF THE CLIENTS THAT WE, WE TALK TO WHEN WE DO COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSES.

THERE ARE AREAS THAT I THINK ARE HIGHLY STRATEGIC.

YOU CAN MAKE A HIGHLY STRATEGIC APPROACH TO UNDERGROUNDING.

UH, ONE OF OUR UTILITIES, UH, IS, IS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND THEY SAID, YEAH, YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE GOT A LOT OF OTHER WORK TO DO FIRST BEFORE WE START SPENDING MONEY IN UNDERGROUNDING, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT HIGHWAY EVACUATION ROUTES, SO WHEN IT COMES TO HURRICANES, RIGHT? THOSE ARE UNDERGROUNDED.

SO THEY STARTED MAKING A, A, A PROCESS WITH THE PUCT AND THEIR RESILIENCE PLANS TO UNDERGROUND GOING, YOU KNOW, ACROSS HIGHWAYS AND WHATNOT.

SO THERE, THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF A HIGHLY STRATEGIC REASON WHY YOU MAY NEED TO UNDERGROUND IN CERTAIN AREAS AND WHY THEY MAKE SENSE.

SO THAT SORT OF CONCLUDES MY, MY PRESENTATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT HERE TO TAKE QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, UH, VERY MUCH.

VERY, UH, INTERESTING, UH, PRESENTATION AND FINDINGS AND, AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES.

YES, THANK YOU.

UH, THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION.

I BELIEVE COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN TER AND I BOTH BROUGHT FORWARD ITEMS REGARDING, UH, EXPLORING UNDERGROUNDING, OUR, OUR POWER LINES, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF WHAT YOU HAVE LAID OUT HERE AND REALLY HONING IN, UM, JUST THE FINANCIAL COSTS THAT IT WOULD TAKE FOR US TO DO A SYSTEM-WIDE APPROACH TO UNDERGROUNDING.

UM, BUT LAYING OUT THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST 33 SECTIONS WHERE THE BENEFITS FAR OUTWEIGH THE COSTS.

UM, THE ITEM I BROUGHT FORWARD SPECIFICALLY ASKED THE CITY TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHERE THERE ARE CITY LED PROJECTS UNDERWAY OR PROPOSED FURTHER DOWN THE LINE.

SO ANTICIPATING WHERE THE PROJECTS, WHERE THE CITY'S ALREADY GONNA BE GOING UNDERGROUND, UM, EITHER WITH PROJECT CONNECT OR WITH OUR, UM, OUR MOBILITY PROJECTS, UH, OUR CORRIDOR PROJECTS, UM, ET CETERA.

DID, UM, HAVE STAFF HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THE 33 SECTIONS WHERE THE, THE BENEFITS ARE OUTWEIGH THE COSTS AND INTERLAY WHERE THE CITY HAS PROJECTS, UH, GOING ON IN THE UPCOMING YEARS AND WHERE THAT PORTION MIGHT MAKE SENSE FOR US TO, TO TAKE A LOOK AT.

I, I CAN TAKE THAT ONE.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER FO SAYS, THIS IS LISA MARTIN AGAIN.

UM, SO I'LL TAKE THAT QUESTION AND THEN IF WE COULD GO BACK TO THE PRESENTATION, I'VE GOT A COUPLE MORE SLIDES TO PRESENT.

BUT YES, OUR, OUR, UM, SO THEY HAVE NOT TAKEN THE, UH, 33 SECTIONS AND OVERLAID THEM WITH THE OTHER, UH, PROJECTS IN GENERAL.

BUT WE HAVE CONTINUED TO WORK WITH THE OTHER ASPECTS OF, UM, THE CITY, UH, DEPARTMENTS TO DISCUSS, UM, WHERE WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO DIG ONCE.

AND THAT CONTINUES TO BE AN EFFORT, UM, IN COORDINATION WITH, AGAIN, OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS AND, UM, THROUGH THE, UM, AUSTIN UTILITY LOCATE AND COORDINATION COMMITTEE, UM, SO THAT WE ULTIMATELY CAN MAKE SURE THAT WHETHER IT'S PROJECT CONNECT OR OTHER TRANSPORTATION MAJOR PROJECTS OR, UM, AUSTIN WATER PROJECTS THAT WE ARE COORDINATING AS A WHOLE.

AND SO, YES, YOUR, UM, WORK UNDER THAT RESOLUTION IS UNDERWAY.

AND ONE OF THE NEXT STEPS WITH SOME OF THESE SECTIONS IS TO TAKE A LOOK AND SEE, UM, IF, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THIS OVERLAY WITH OTHER CITY PROJECTS.

AND IF STAFF CAN SHARE THOSE 33 SECTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED OFFLINE, I'D BE INTERESTED AND CURIOUS TO SEE WHERE THOSE ARE.

THANK YOU O OKAY.

PROGRAMS HAVE THOSE AT, UH, RISKS AT TOP OF MIND.

UM, IF YOU, YOU COULD PUT THE PRESENTATION BACK UP.

I'M SO SORRY TO HELP NAVIGATE.

THERE'S ONE MORE SLIDE AND CHAIR.

CAN I JUST CONTINUE THE PRESENTATION? I'VE GOT, I'VE GOT TWO MORE SLIDES.

SO, UM, WE ALL SHARE THE SAME KEY OBJECTIVE, WHICH IS RELIABILITY PLUS RESILIENCY.

UM, AND THE QUESTION IS, HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THAT GIVEN THESE STUDY RESULTS? SO FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE CONTINUE SUPPORTING UNDERGROUND SERVICE DESIGN FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT.

A SANJI, AS YOU MAY KNOW, MAINTAINS AN UNDERGROUND STANDARD.

AND ALTHOUGH IT'S NOT REQUIRED, MANY DEVELOPERS ARE OPTING FOR THAT STANDARD TO AID IN THE VALUE AESTHETICS AND DESIRABILITY OF THEIR NEW DEVELOPMENTS.

WE, OF COURSE, CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON THE HIGHEST PRIORITY RISKS, WILDFIRE AND TREES TOO CLOSE TO THE WIRES, WHICH IS PROBLEMATIC DURING A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WEATHER CONDITIONS, WIND, ICE, DROUGHT, ET CETERA.

AND SO OUR TREE TRIMMING AND WILDFIRE MITIGATION

[01:15:01]

WE WILL CONTINUE TO EXAMINE WHERE STRATEGIC UNDERGROUND CONVERSIONS MAKE SENSE.

AND WE WILL DO THAT IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE RESULTS OF THE NEXT STUDY, WHICH IS THE OVERHEAD HARDENING STUDY, UM, WHICH WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL RESILIENCY SOLUTIONS TO CONSIDER, UM, SOME WHICH MAY BE, UH, LESS COSTLY FOR SIMILAR, UH, BENEFIT.

UM, WE WILL ENGAGE WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT ALL OF THIS, WHAT THEIR PREFERENCES ARE, AND WE'LL INCORPORATE THEIR FEEDBACK.

AND REMEMBER, TODAY'S RESULTS ARE ONLY STEP ONE.

WE STILL HAVE WORK TO DO TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE DISTRIBUTION RESILIENCY PLAN.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

HERE'S THE GENERAL FLOW FOR THAT WORK.

SO RIGHT NOW, UM, AS COUNCIL MEMBER ESS WAS DISCUSSING, UM, OUR TEAMS ARE CONTINUING TO ANALYZE THE UNDERGROUNDING RESULTS.

AND 1898 IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON THE OVERHEAD HARDENING STUDY.

UM, WE EXPECT WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE THOSE RESULTS WITH YOU IN MAY, AND THEN WE'LL USE BOTH STUDIES, FURTHER ANALYSIS AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT TO INFORM BOTH THE NEAR AND LONG-TERM PRIORITIES.

UH, LATER THIS YEAR, WE'LL RETURN, UH, TO PRESENT THE DISTRIBUTION RESILIENCY PLAN FOR YOUR REVIEW AND FEEDBACK.

AND SO THANK YOU FOR THAT, UM, UH, PIVOTS.

AND WITH THAT I'LL TAKE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.

ALRIGHT, UH, MAYOR, I ACTUALLY THINK SHE JUST ANSWERED MY QUESTIONS, SO THANK YOU.

COUNCIL MEMBER LANE.

UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THAT WHEN IT COMES.

UM, I ALSO SHARE THE CONCERNS OF COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES AND JUST WANT TO ELEVATE, UH, ALSO PROJECTS THAT MIGHT BE UNDERWAY BY CAMPO C-T-R-M-A, TRAVIS COUNTY, BUT ALSO WILLIAMS COUNTY, WILLIAMSON COUNTY, ALL OF THESE OTHER KIND OF TRANSIT ENTITIES.

UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE OP AT LEAST AS FAR AS NORTHWEST GOES, IT STILL PROBABLY MAY NOT BE FEASIBLE BECAUSE OF THE ROCK AND OTHER FACTORS, BUT JUST TO MAKE SURE WE'RE CONSIDERING WHERE THERE IS OPPORTUNITY.

LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE IN MAY, MA'AM.

CAN I ASSUME JUST ROUGHLY THAT THAT'S, UH, AN INVESTMENT THAT EXCEEDS THAT VALUE? UH, UH, I'D HAVE TO TALK TO THE UTILITY, PROBABLY NOT, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S GREENFIELD.

COUNCIL MEMBER.

ANY OTHER, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN, THANKS FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS PRESENTATION AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE, UH, THE OVERHEAD STUDY AS WELL.

I'M CURIOUS, UH, AS PART OF, AND THIS IS MAYBE A BETTER QUESTION FOR HARLAN, THIS, I'M CURIOUS, AS PART OF THE FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS THAT YOU GUYS PERFORMED, UM, I NOTICED THAT FLOOD AND SOME OTHER, UH, EMERGENCIES WERE CONSIDERED AS PART OF THAT, WE'VE BEEN ASKED AT A COUPLE OF OUR COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS ABOUT THE FEASIBILITY OF ADDRESSING, UM, UH, UNDERGROUND, UH, TRANSMISSION VIA SPECIFICALLY WILDFIRE RISK.

SO I'M CURIOUS IF THAT CAME UP.

I KNOW YOU, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, FLOODPLAINS AND ATLAS 14 AND DIFFERENT OTHER EMERGENCIES.

HOW MUCH WAS TOPOGRAPHY, WIND, AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS AS YOU ANALYZE THESE DIFFERENT SECTORS OR SECTIONS, UM, PART OF THE ANALYSIS? AND IF NOT, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN INCLUDE IN THE OVERHEAD STUDY? ONE OF THE THINGS I, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO WILDFIRE, UH, WE DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY INCLUDE WILDFIRE IN THE STUDY.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, OUR COMPANY IS DOING IS TRYING TO EVALUATE WILDFIRE RISK.

'CAUSE OUR COMPANY DOES A LOT OF PLANNING.

WE DO ENGINEERING, RIGHT? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR, FOR US AS, AS A COMPANY AS WELL? ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'D LIKE TO TELL OUR CLIENTS WHEN WILDFIRE COMES UP IS, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS NOW WHERE THIS IS SLOWLY BECOMING MORE AND MORE OF AN ISSUE, RIGHT? UM, WE'VE HAD SEVERAL, RIGHT? AND, AND SOME, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC AND NOTABLE, IF YOU IDENTIFY A HIGH WILDFIRE THREAT AREA AND YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE CAUSING ANY SORT OF ISSUES, THEN YOU SHOULD PROBABLY CONSIDER A PLAN.

AND YOU PROBABLY DON'T NEED A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS NECESSARILY TO, TO TAKE YOU THERE, RIGHT? THAT'S GONNA GET YOU SOME OF THE QUANTITATIVE ELEMENT.

BUT AS A UTILITY, I USUALLY RECOMMEND EVALUATING THAT AND DETERMINE WHERE THOSE ARE, HOW MUCH DOES THAT COST TO DO? AND, UM, OVER HOW, WHAT PERIOD OF TIME ARE YOU WILLING TO SORT OF KIND OF WORK WITH THESE TYPES OF RISKS, RIGHT? BECAUSE DEPENDING ON HOW MANY MILES YOU'VE GOT AND HOW MANY GO THROUGH DIFFERENT AREAS, UH, SOME OF OUR UTILITIES GO THROUGH LOTS OF MILES OF HIGH WILDFIRE AREAS AND YOU'VE GOTTA STILL KIND OF CHUNK AWAY THAT SORT OF THING.

SO THAT WAS THINKING ABOUT WILDFIRE.

WAS THERE ANOTHER ELEMENT OF, OF QUESTION THAT YOU HAD THAT I MISSED? UH, THE ONLY QUESTION I HAD WAS, UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE, IT WOULD COST ABOUT 50 BILLION TO BURY ALL OF OUR EXISTING LINES.

AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S NOT REALISTIC.

AND I WOULD IMAGINE THE OVERHEAD STUDY'S GONNA TELL US SOME DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS ABOUT HOW TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE CHALLENGES.

UM, BUT I AM CURIOUS IF, IF THERE'S A WAY TO QUANTIFY THE EXISTING INVESTMENT WE'VE MADE IN THE 7,000 OR SO LINES THAT WE HAVE BURIED,

[01:20:02]

SO GREENFIELD BEING NEW SORT OF EXPANSION, HEY, WE'RE GETTING NEW NEIGHBORHOODS, YOU KNOW, PUT EVERYTHING UNDERGROUND, RIGHT? AND IT'S ALREADY THERE AND IT'S READY TO GO.

UM, AND YOU'VE GOT NEIGHBORHOODS AROUND THE, THE AREA THAT HAVE BEEN UNDERGROUND FOR, FOR MANY YEARS.

UM, AND SO UNDERGROUNDING IN A, IN A GREENFIELD SPOT IS, IS USUALLY A LOT CHEAPER, UM, ON A DOLLAR PER MILE BASIS, UH, THAN IT IS TO TAKE SOMETHING THAT'S KIND OF ALREADY THERE AND THEN TRY AND BURY IT WITH, I MENTIONED TELECOM AND LOTS OF OTHER THINGS TODAY, BUT, SO PROBABLY NOT THAT MUCH.

UM, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.

YEAH, YOU'RE WELCOME.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN.

I'M SORRY, I JUST WANTED TO GO AHEAD.

ADD IN, GO AHEAD.

REALLY QUICKLY, JUST THAT, SO WILDFIRE RISK IS AT TOP OF MIND, UM, FOR ALL ASPECTS OF OUR RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY.

AND SO OUR EXISTING PROGRAMS DO FOCUS OUR EFFORTS, UM, ON WILDFIRE RISK AREAS.

AND AGAIN, THE FEEDERS THAT HAVE THE LARGEST OUTAGES.

SO THOSE TWO AREAS.

UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD, UM, WITH THESE STUDIES, WE WILL, UH, CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THE BENEFITS OF, UH, REDUCED WILDFIRE RISK.

AND I THINK YOU'LL SEE THAT MOSTLY IN THE OVERHEAD HARDENING WHERE SOME OF THE, UM, UH, MEASURES TO MITIGATE RISK WILL INCLUDE THINGS LIKE COVERED CONDUCTORS OR, UM, EQUIPMENT THAT, UM, PRODUCES LESS SPARKS OR THINGS LIKE THAT.

THANK YOU, LISA.

YEAH, THAT'D BE VALUABLE TO UNDERSTAND AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT STUDY, UH, 'CAUSE IT'D BE USEFUL TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION NEXT TIME IT COMES UP FROM, UH, CONSTITUENTS.

YES, SIR.

THANK YOU, MS. THANK YOU MS. MARTIN.

AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER.

IN TERMS OF NEW DEVELOPMENT FOLKS ARE CHOOSING TO BURY THE LINES FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT.

I WANTED TO JUST GET CLARIFICATION THE STUDY AS WE LOOK AT THE COST BENEFIT THAT IS FOR UNDERGROUNDING EXISTING WIRES, CORRECT? THAT'S, IT'S ALL ABOUT TAKING THE INFRASTRUCTURE WE HAVE AND MOVING IT UNDERGROUND.

THAT IS CORRECT.

SO I'M, I'M CURIOUS KIND OF, AND, AND THE, UM, INDIVIDUAL, JUST SPEAKING KIND OF ALLUDED TO IT RIGHT AT THE END ABOUT GREENFIELD DEVELOPMENT.

WHAT KIND OF RULES WE HAVE IN PLACE OR MIGHT NEED TO PUT IN PLACE FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT TO DO THE UNDERGROUNDING FROM THE BEGINNING? 'CAUSE I IMAGINE THE COST BENEFIT IS VERY DIFFERENT WHEN YOU'RE COMPARING COSTS, YOU KNOW, STARTUP COSTS TO OVERHEAD VERSUS JUST PUTTING IT UNDERGROUND.

YOU, YOU ARE CORRECT COUNCIL MEMBER.

SO IT'S, IT'S, UM, A LOT LESS EXPENSIVE TO, UM, INSTALL UNDERGROUND TO BEGIN WITH.

YOU CAN CERTAINLY HAVE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN TERMS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITIES AND THE ROCK AND VARIOUS THINGS, BUT IT IS, UM, LESS EXPENSIVE TO DO IT UPFRONT.

AND, UM, WE DO MAINTAIN AN UNDERGROUND STANDARD.

UM, AND SO THE UNDERGROUNDING STANDARD AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UM, THEN HAVE THAT OPTION.

OF COURSE, IT IS NOT REQUIRED, UM, UH, BUT OF COURSE IT'S IN Y'ALL'S PURVIEW TO MAKE POLICY CHANGES REGARDING THAT.

AND I THINK THAT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION I'D LIKE TO EXPLORE FURTHER.

I'M NOT NECESSARILY SAYING WE REQUIRE IT EVERYWHERE, BUT IN AREAS WHERE IT MAKES SENSE, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, AS I I THINK ABOUT THE NORTHEAST PLANNING DISTRICT THAT COUNCILLOR, HERBERT MADISON IS WORKING SO DILIGENTLY ON, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT AREA, GIVEN THE MAP OF WHERE THE BEDROCK IS, IT MIGHT MAKE SENSE TO INCENTIVIZE UNDERGROUNDING NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THAT AREA OR, UH, OTHER AREAS WHERE WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE THAT HIGH GROWTH AND CAN BETTER UTILIZE THAT FORM, UM, RATHER THAN OVERHEAD.

SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, A I DON'T THINK IT'D BE THROUGH ZONING, BUT JUST WHERE IF IF WE COULD HAVE A KIND OF FOLLOW ON CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT POLICY LEVERS WE MIGHT HAVE TO EITHER GO AS FAR AS REQUIRE OR BETTER INCENTIVIZE THE UNDERGROUNDING, I'D BE INTERESTED IN HAVING THAT CONVERSATION.

YEAH, SURE.

UNDERSTOOD.

AND I, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, HEIDI WAS TALKING EARLIER ABOUT PUD REQUIREMENTS AND GREEN BUILDING AND UM, PART OF THE PUD UH, REQUIREMENTS IS THEY GET BUILT FOR DIFFERENT AREAS.

LIKE THE NEWER NEIGHBORHOOD, IT IS ALL UNDERGROUND AND COLONY PARK, MY, I BELIEVE IT'S ALSO ALL UNDERGROUND.

AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW NORTHEAST PLAIN DISTRICT IS NOT ALL WITHIN THE CITY, UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, THERE ARE CERTAIN CONVERSATIONS THAT CAN BE HAD.

AND JUST TO FOLLOW UP ON, UH, ON COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER'S QUESTION, MY SENSE, AND FROM PRIOR CONVERSATIONS, I HAD A VERY SIMILAR CONVERSATION WITH THE STAFF THE OTHER DAY, IS THAT THE MAJORITY, OR ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY

[01:25:01]

CAN, CAN Y'ALL, UH, COMMENT ON THAT? DAVID, COULD YOU SPEAK TO THAT, PLEASE? YES, THAT IS CORRECT.

UH, WHILE, UM, THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED TO, UH, MANY DO CHOOSE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, AS IF YOU DO IT UP FRONT, UM, THE COST DIFFERENTIAL IS, IS NOT NEAR AS, AS GREAT.

AND IT PROVIDES SOME A AESTHETIC, YOU KNOW, FOR THEIR, YOU KNOW, UH, FOR A NEIGHBORHOOD OR, OR SO FORTH.

SO IT'S, UH, A LOT OF, UH, NEW DEVELOPMENT IS, IS, UH, CHOOSING TO GO UNDERGROUND.

YEAH.

AND I MEAN, I'M, AGAIN, JUST OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I'M THINKING ABOUT THE GROVE, A HANDFUL OF OTHER, ANY KIND OF MULTI ACRE KIND OF LARGER DEVELOPMENT.

I CAN'T THINK OF ONE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD THAT HAS OVERHEAD LINES.

YES, SIR.

UH, UH, AND CAN YOU THINK OF ONE THAT, UH, A NEWER ONE THAT, THAT DID NOT CHOOSE TO GO UNDERGROUND? I, NOT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, UM, SOMETIMES IT'LL BE ALONG THE, THE STREETS OR SO FORTH.

THEY MAY, YOU KNOW, UM, NOT BURY THAT, BUT OF COURSE WHEN THEY GO INTO THEIR DEVELOPMENT OR SO FORTH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S TYPICALLY UNDERGROUND.

ANY, UH, OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE DESK COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.

I APPRECIATE IT.

UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS I HAD INTENDED TO ASK OFF, OFF THE RECORD, BUT I WAS INSPIRED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER'S, UH, LINE OF QUESTIONING.

SO, UM, TO HIS POINT, THAT IS CERTAINLY, UH, ON THE LIST OF THE POINTS OF CONSIDERATION FOR US WITH THE NORTHEAST PLANNING DISTRICT, HOW BEST, BEST TO MAXIMIZE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET INFRASTRUCTURE RIGHT FROM THE START.

AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT WAS YOU GUYS THAT INTRODUCED ME TO THE TERM DOUBLE DIGGING.

UM, UH, THAT SAID, THOUGH, I THINK ABOUT TO HIS POINT ABOUT SPECIFIC PROJECTS OR REGION SPECIFIC, UM, I HAVE ALL OF 12TH STREET WITH ALL EXPOSED POWER LINES.

UM, ASIDE FROM THE AESTHETIC DISPLEASURE, , UM, THERE ARE OTHER IMPLICATIONS, BUT TRUTH BE TOLD, YOU KNOW, ALL OF 11TH STREET, WHICH WAS A PART OF THE URBAN RENEWAL EFFORT, DOESN'T HAVE EXPOSED POWER LINES.

UM, AND I CAN JUST TELL YOU UNEQUIVOCALLY THAT THE RETAIL OUTCOMES, PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC, ALL THE, ALL THE, BUT GIVEN THAT, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S GONNA BE AS MUCH COMPREHENSIVE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE DISTRICT.

IS A 12TH STREET LIKE A, FROM I 35 TO SPRINGDALE, WOULD THAT BE, YOU KNOW, THE KIND OF THING THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR SOME STANDALONE CONSIDERATIONS AS A PROJECT? SO, UM, TO OUR BENEFIT, TO OUR DETRIMENT, YOU KNOW, THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION HAS LOTS OF THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE'S ALMOST JUST ONE DEVELOPER THAT OWNS MOST OF 12TH STREET, UH, PERSONALLY, YOU KNOW, JUST IN CONVERSATIONS WITH INFRASTRUCTURE FOLKS LIKE Y'ALL AND OTHER PEOPLE DOING PROJECTS AROUND REVITALIZATION AROUND THE COUNTRY, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SAYING EXACTLY WHAT I'M SAYING, WHICH IS WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY, ONE DEVELOPER FOR THE CITY TO HAVE TO PARTNER WITH ONE DEVELOPER FOR US TO HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, SO THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME.

UM, THAT SAID, I KNOW THAT THEY'RE WANTING TO MOVE FORWARDS, YOU KNOW, UM, AT SOME POINT WITH THE REDEVELOPMENT OF WHAT WAS THE EPICENTER OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE DISTRICT AT SOME POINT, WHICH WILL BE MASSIVE REDEVELOPMENT.

AND I JUST, I CAN'T HELP BUT SEE THE ALIGNMENT FOR THE CITY TO WORK DIRECTLY IN CONJUNCTION WITH A DEVELOPER LIKE THAT WHO'S GONNA REDEVELOP, WHICH, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, IS A DOWNTOWN CITY BLOCK.

YOU STAND IN THE MIDDLE OF 12TH STREET AT TACOMA, YOU SEE DOWNTOWN, YOU'RE DOWNTOWN.

MM-HMM .

UM, SO MY HOPE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THOSE SORTS OF PROJECTS, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE A WHOLE TON OF THEM IN THE CITY FOR CONSIDERATION, BUT THAT THOSE SORTS OF PROJECTS GET THEIR OWN SORT OF SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS GIVEN THE, UH, SENSITIVITY OF THE, UM, OF THE INITIATIVE.

LISA, DO YOU WANNA TAKE THAT OR DO YOU WANT I LOOKED AT YOU 'CAUSE SHE'S ON THE SCREEN.

OH, YEAH.

BUT YOU KNOW, I JUST FIGURED YOU WERE LIKE A PLACEHOLDER.

YOU NOW, WHEN YOU DO AN INTERVIEW, YOU JUST SORT OF SCARE THE CAMERA DUDE.

I, I THINK I, I THINK, UH, WE HAVE A LOT TO, TO DIG INTO.

I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST EVALUATING THE RESULTS OF THE UNDERGROUNDING AND SO, YOU KNOW, EVEN THE 33 SECTIONS, YOU KNOW, UH, WHERE DOES IT MAKE SENSE? NOT, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE SOME, UH, LOOK AT SOME OTHER ALTERNATIVES, BUT I, I DO THINK THERE IS A PLACE FOR THAT AND, AND WE JUST NEED TO DISCUSS AS A COMMUNITY WHERE, WHERE IT MAKES THE MOST SENSE.

WELL, I APPRECIATE THAT RESPONSE AND I THINK IT'S GONNA BE HELPFUL MOVING FORWARD.

AS MY, UH, STAFF AND I WORKED THROUGH SOME, UM, REAL COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION POLICY MM-HMM .

UM, I'D LOVE TO GET Y'ALLS FEEDBACK ON WHAT WE SHOULD BE WORKING IN FROM A POLICY PERSPECTIVE, JUST TO SORT OF CODIFY SOME OF THESE CONSIDERATIONS.

YOU REALLY WOULDN'T THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH IMPACT EXPOSED POWER LINES HAVE ON A COMMUNITY'S ABILITY TO BE SUCCESSFUL FROM A COMMERCE PERSPECTIVE, BUT IT REALLY, IT'S, YEAH, IT'S NOT GOOD.

MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THE, UH, THE, THE, UH, TRANSMISSION LINES ARE IN THE BACKYARD.

YES, MA'AM.

UH, PIGGYBACKING ON THAT, UH, THAT, UH, COMMON QUESTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.

UH, WE WENT TO THE NORTH LAMAR AREA TO, TO BASICALLY DO A, A WALK ALONG THE STREET, LOOK AT THE DISTRIBUTION AND THE TRANSMISSION LINES.

ACTUALLY, THOSE ARE THE TRANSMISSION LINES THERE.

AND I HAD THE EXACT SAME THOUGHTS AS YOU, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM,

[01:30:01]

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S THESE HUGE, UH, TRANSMISSION LINES THAT STARTED ABOUT 51ST STREET, UH, AND GO UP LAMAR REALLY ALMOST THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF LAMAR UNTIL IT ENDS THERE AT THE, UH, CLOSE TO I 35.

UH, AND I JUST DON'T SEE HOW WE'RE GOING TO BUILD THE CORRIDOR THAT WE WANT TO BUILD WHEN WE HAVE SO MUCH, UH, LINES IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, KIND OF TAKING UP THAT PRECIOUS RIGHT OF WAY.

AGAIN, THINKING ABOUT LIGHT RAIL ONCE IT GOES UP THAT DIRECTION.

IF WE WANT LIGHT RAIL, WE NEED TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE VEHICLES, WE NEED TO MAKE ROOM FOR BIKE LANES, NICE SIDEWALKS.

AND, UH, THERE'S THESE HUGE METAL POLES THAT ARE 150 FEET HIGH.

YOU KNOW, MAYBE NOT THAT HIGH, BUT VERY, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RIGHT OF WAY.

AND WE TALKED ABOUT THAT.

AND, UH, MR. THOMPSON, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANTED TO, TO, TO JUST KIND OF COMMENT ON SOME OF THE, THE COMPLICATIONS THAT ARISE FROM, UH, FROM, YOU KNOW, BEARING SOME OF THE, THE, THE DISTRIBUTION LINES AND THE TRANSMISSION LINES TOO.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

UH, THERE ARE, THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE AS JUST PUTTING UNDERGROUND BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, AS IF A SERVICE, I THINK ARLAN TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT.

IF THE SERVICE IS COMING IN, UH, FROM THE TOP AND NOW YOU HAVE TO CONVERT IT TO UNDERGROUND, THERE'S WORK THAT ACTUALLY HAS TO HAPPEN ON EVERY SINGLE SERVICE.

UH, YOU, YOU MAY FIND, UM, UH, 'CAUSE ANYTIME YOU TOUCH SOMETHING, YOU HAVE TO BRING IT UP TO CODE.

UM, SO THERE MAY BE A LOT OF OF THINGS AND YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I THINK ARLEN TOUCHED ON IT IS A LOT OF TIMES, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN LOOK AT IT A MACRO LEVEL, BUT YOU REALLY GOTTA GET OUT THERE ON EVERY SINGLE PROJECT TO SEE WHAT, WHAT IT WOULD TAKE AND WHAT THE IMPACT WOULD BE.

UM, UH, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, IF WE, IF WE'RE GONNA, UH, PUT STUFF, UH, DEFINITELY ALONG THAT CORRIDOR, EVERYTHING'S OUT FRONT ANYWAYS.

BUT IN OTHERS, IF IT'S IN THE REAR LOT, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GONNA PUT IT IN, IT REALLY WOULD MAKE SENSE TO MOVE IT TO THE BACK.

UH, OR SORRY, TO THE FRONT ON THE TRANSMISSION, I'LL JUST SAY IS, UH, WE HAVE VERY LITTLE UNDERGROUND TRANSMISSION, AND THERE'S VERY LITTLE UNDERGROUND TRANSMISSION JUST REALLY IN THE, YOU KNOW, IN THE UNITED STATES.

UM, UH, THE REASON, THE REASON FOR THAT IS, IS OF COURSE, COST.

IT IS, IT IS, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY MORE EXPENSIVE TO UNDERGROUND, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION DOES NOT TYPICALLY, UM, REIMBURSES FOR.

SO, UH, THAT BEING SAID IS, YOU KNOW, I I I THINK WE JUST, UH, LOOK AT, UM, SECTION BY SECTION, UH, DIGEST THE RESULTS OF IT, AND THEN WORK WITH OUR COMMUNITY TO FIGURE OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PROJECTS THAT MAKE SENSE.

I, I, I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND, AND IN PARTICULAR, I THINK WE, WE NEED TO BE VERY OPPORTUNISTIC ABOUT THE SEGMENTS THAT WE UNDERGROUND, AGAIN, IF WE'RE GONNA DO PROJECT CONNECT AND RUN THE, AND MOVE THE WATER UTILITIES AND DO ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF LIKE THAT, IN OTHER WORDS, IF WE'RE OPENING UP THE STREET ANYWAY, THEN I THINK IT MAKES A A LOT OF SENSE TO LOOK AT THE OVERHEAD LINES AND DECIDE WHAT WE WANT TO DO WITH THEM AND, AND DECIDE IF THAT'S THE OPPORTUNITY WE WANT TO BURY 'EM.

ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF CREATING A GREAT STREET AND REALLY FACILITATING, UH, AS COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MEDICINE MENTIONED THAT THAT RETAIL ENVIRONMENT, A POSITIVE PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT WHERE RETAIL IS GONNA BE SUCCESSFUL, WHERE PEOPLE ARE GONNA ENJOY THE, THE STREET SCAPE, THOSE KINDS OF, UH, OPPORTUNITIES, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO EXPLORING SOME OF THOSE AS WE, UH, MOVE DOWN THE ROAD.

UM, AND, UH, A COUPLE OF OTHER, UH, QUESTIONS, UM, WITH REGARD TO THE TELECOM COMPANIES THAT ALSO HAVE THEIR, THEIR WIRES ALONG, UH, OUR POLES, WHO BEARS THE COST, IF WE WERE TO BURY LINES, WHO BEARS THE COST OF, OF MOVING THOSE WIRES? ARE THEY OUR COSTS OR ARE THE TELECOM COMPANIES PAY FOR THAT THEMSELVES? UH, I'LL TAKE THAT, DAVID.

UM, SO CHAIR BAYLA, THE, UM, DESIGN CRITERIA MANUAL HAS REQUIREMENTS IN IT RELATED TO POLE ATTACHMENTS.

AND SO ALL OF THE SERVICE PROVIDERS WHO ATTACH TO OUR POLES, THEY, IF, IF WE DO AN UNDERGROUND CONVERSION, THEN THEY ARE REQUIRED TO COVER THAT COST AS WELL.

UM, IT'S PART OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE.

UM, I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT IT WOULD BE A VERY, UM, EASYGOING EFFORT, UM, IN TERMS OF, OH YEAH, NO PROBLEM, I'LL JUST COVER THOSE COSTS.

UM, SO I THINK LEGALLY WE'VE GOT A, A STANCE, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF CODE.

UM, BUT I, I, IT WOULD, IT WOULD BE A BATTLE.

I THINK, UM, WE, AS, AS YOU NOTED, UM, OR HAVE NOTICED ON SOME POLLS, THERE'S A LOT OF TIMES THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UM, COMMUNICATION PROVIDERS WHO ARE ATTACHED TO POLLS, SOMETIMES 5, 6, 7 DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION PROVIDERS, AND THERE'S A PROCESS FOR WHICH YOU NOTIFY THEM BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO MOVE IN THE ORDER THAT THEY'RE ATTACHED.

AND THERE'S A, A PROCESS AND A, A NOTIFICATION SYSTEM THAT YOU COMMUNICATE TO THEM, AND THEY HAVE A CERTAIN TIMELINE TO, TO MOVE.

UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S FROM ONE POLL TO ANOTHER POLL OR FROM IN, IN THIS CASE, FROM A POLL TO UNDERGROUND, UM, IT, IT'S QUITE CUMBERSOME, IT'S COORDINATION WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT EFFORTS, UH, UH, DIFFERENT ENTITIES, UM, AND, UM, CERTAINLY, UM, BEARS INTO SOME OF THE UNCERTAINTY.

WE WOULDN'T WANT TO JUST ASSUME THAT IT WOULD BE EASYGOING AND ALL THE COSTS WOULD BE COVERED.

UM, HOPE I'VE ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A COMPLICATED SPACE.

NO, NO, I APPRECIATE IT.

AND AGAIN, THAT'S, I THINK ONE OF THE, THE LESS OBVIOUS COMPLICATIONS FROM, UH, BEARING LINES IS, IS, YOU KNOW, DRAGGING ALL THE TELECOM COMPANIES ALONG WITH US UNDERGROUND.

UH, AND WITH REGARD TO THE LOCATION OF THE LINES, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, IN

[01:35:01]

UH, IS THAT A, A, IS THAT THE, THE TYPICAL KIND OF ARRANGEMENT THROUGHOUT AUSTIN OR, UH, WHAT IS KIND OF THE, THE, THE STANDARD? WHAT AND HOW WOULD WE DO IT NOWADAYS? UH, UH, TOO, IN TERMS OF THE LOCATION OF, OF WHERE WE WOULD PUT, UH, TRANSMISSION LINES? YEAH, I CAN, I CAN TAKE THAT, LISA IS, UH, THAT WAS A LEGACY PRACTICE.

UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS PUT IN THE BACKYARDS, WHETHER IT WAS DISTRIBUTION OR TRANSMISSION, UH, KEEPING, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, UH, THE, THE FRONT YARDS, YOU KNOW, CLEAR.

UM, AND, UH, AND SO IT WAS KIND OF TUCKED BEHIND THERE.

AND, AND FROM A STANDPOINT IS EVEN, UH, CONNECTING TO EVERY SINGLE 'CAUSE A LOT OF TIMES THEY WERE OVERHEAD, UM, SERVICES.

SO THOSE WIRES THAT WERE STRUNG ACROSS OR THROUGH THE BACKYARDS, NOT THROUGH PEOPLE'S FRONT YARDS, UM, THAT IS, NO, NOT THE PRACTICE ANYMORE.

UM, INDUSTRYWIDE, UM, WE, WE TRY TO PUT EVERYTHING OUT IN THE FRONT.

UM, IT'S NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE, BUT WE DO OUR BEST TO DO THAT, UM, FOR BOTH, UM, TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION FOR ACCESSIBILITY, UM, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN RESTORE POWER FASTER, UH, WHEN THINGS DO OCCUR.

AND THEN, UH, OUT, OUT OF CURIOSITY, THE COST RATIO, THERE WERE THOSE 33 SEGMENTS THAT WERE OVER ONE WHERE, AGAIN, FROM THE ANALYSIS OF BENEFITS SEEMED TO OUTWEIGH THE COST.

WHAT WAS THE RATIO FOR A MORE TYPICAL SEGMENT? YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH MORE WOULD IT COST THAN THE BENEFIT THAT, THAT WE ARE PROJECTING? YEAH, OUR, OUR, UM, ARLAN JUST SAID WE'D HAVE TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK.

I KNOW WE'RE, AUSTIN ENERGY IS STILL DIGESTING THE RESULTS OF, OF THAT IN THE, IN THE OTHER, UH, SECTION.

SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET BACK WITH YOU ON THAT ONE.

AND THEN FINALLY, I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE THEORETICALLY LOOKING AT THESE THINGS AND ESTIMATING COSTS AND WHATNOT.

UH, AND AGAIN, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE NOT IN ANY POSITION TO, YOU KNOW, SPEND $50 BILLION TO BURY EVERY SINGLE ELECTRIC LINE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT SAID, WHAT ABOUT A SELECT PILOT PROJECT? YOU KNOW, AND I'M SURE THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME VOLUNTEER NEIGHBORHOODS OUT THERE THAT WOULD BE FIRST ON THE LIST TO SAY, PLEASE COME TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

I, I JUST THINK THAT, UH, AN AN ATTEMPT IN A, A LIMITED SCALE, MAYBE IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT AREAS MIGHT HELP US KIND OF FLESH OUT SOME OF THE CONCERNS, MIGHT HELP US REALIZE THAT THIS IS EASIER THAN WE THOUGHT.

THIS IS HARDER THAN WE THOUGHT, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE.

UH, WHAT ABOUT THAT AS A, AS A POSSIBILITY? YEAH, YOU MAKE SOME VERY VALID POINTS, CHAIRS, UM, BAYLA.

AND I THINK THAT WHEN WE BRING A COMPREHENSIVE DISTRIBUTION RESILIENCY PLAN, I WOULD IMAGINE IT WILL HAVE SOME, UM, SELECT, UH, UNDERGROUNDING AREAS.

SO WE CAN, AS YOU SAID, TEST IT OUT, SEE HOW IT WORKS.

UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT AND SEE CAN WE JUSTIFY, UM, UNDERGROUNDING COMPARED TO HARDENING ALTERNATIVES.

UM, BUT THERE MAY BE SOME PA PLACES WHERE, UM, THE QUANTITATIVE AND THE QUALITATIVE BENEFITS, UM, PUT IT AT THE TOP OF THE LIST.

AND SO, UM, OUR INTENT IS TO HAVE NOT A PLAN THAT WOULD SAY EVERY LAST THING WE'RE GONNA DO OVER THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, SO MANY YEARS, BUT IT WOULD HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE NEXT YEAR, UM, PERHAPS TWO YEARS OUT, AND THEN KIND OF LONGER TERM PRIORITIES SO WE CAN, UM, TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION BEST PRACTICES, UM, LESSONS LEARNED, AND, UM, ADAPT OUR, OUR PLAN AS WE GO FORWARD.

SO I THINK THAT APPROACH MAKES SENSE AND WE JUST NEED MORE, UM, RESULTS FROM THE NEXT STUDY TO BE ABLE TO, UM, LOOK AT THIS COMPREHENSIVELY.

AND THEN WHEN WE COME BACK TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR, UM, I IMAGINE THE COMPREHENSIVE DISTRIBUTION RESILIENCY PLAN WILL HAVE A FEW, UM, STRATEGIC UNDERGROUNDING LOCATIONS WE CAN USE AS A PILOT.

A LOT OF LINES IN DISTRICT SIX THAT ARE SHARED BETWEEN AUSTIN ENERGY AND PEC BECAUSE AS I THINK IS BECAUSE WE'RE CROSSING EACH OTHER'S TERRITORIES.

WELL, AND I, I, I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND, UH, LIKE I SAID, MY SENSE WOULD BE THE NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD COMPETE WITH EACH OTHER TO BE THE, UH, PILOT, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD FOR, UH, BEARING LINES COUNCIL MEMBER LAND.

UM, I WILL START BY VOICING MY LOVE OF PILOT PROGRAMS, UH, EVEN IN FULL KNOWLEDGE THAT MY PART OF THE CITY IS NOT AN EASY AREA FOR THIS.

SO WE WOULD NOT BE GETTING A PILOT.

I'M PRETTY CONFIDENT, BUT YEAH, I REALLY FIND THEM TO BE QUITE VALUABLE IN AN EFFECTIVE USE OF RESOURCES.

SO I DO SUPPORT THOSE.

UM, SO GOING INTO MY QUESTION, THIS HAS BEEN ALL OVERALL SO INFORMATIVE, UM, AND INCLUDING THE QUESTIONS AND THE SEQUENCING CONSIDERATIONS AND THAT SORT OF THING.

UM, IF WE ARE, AUSTIN IS QUITE CLEAR THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS DRIVING THE PROCESS FOR EVERY ENTITY THAT'S ON THE LINES THAT THEY SERVE, WHERE THEY CHOOSE TO UNDERGROUND, IT WILL DRIVE MORE.

UM, AND I KNOW THAT WE ARE ALSO TRYING TO COME UP WITH A CITYWIDE PLAN, SO I'M GOING TO ELEVATE THAT AND IT A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF MY DISTRICT, WHICH IS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

AND THERE ARE ALSO AUSTIN ADDRESSES THAT ARE IN THE ETJ THAT ARE SERVED BY PEC AND NOT AUSTIN ENERGY.

AND WHEN I WALK AROUND AND LOOK AT UTILITY LINES, WHICH I BECAME MUCH MORE ADEPT WITH AFTER, AFTER YURI, I SEE THAT THERE ARE

[01:40:01]

AND THAT'S ENDED UP TO MAKE SENSE.

UM, MY QUESTION IS, IS THERE A POINT IN THIS PROCESS WHERE WE ARE DEVELOPING LIKE THE CITYWIDE FEASIBILITY, OR ARE WE DEVELOPING AN AUSTIN ENERGY FEASIBILITY? 'CAUSE IT'S, IT'S NOT AT ALL THE SAME THING IN MY PART OF TOWN.

UM, AND I FEEL LIKE THERE WAS ONE OTHER PIECE OF THIS THAT MIGHT COME TO ME, BUT PLEASE THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER LANE.

IF YOUR QUESTION IS ASKING WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE ANY, UM, CONTROL OR JURISDICTION OVER, UM, PEC AND WHETHER THEY UNDERGROUND THEIR LINES, IS, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING? NO, AND I, I, WELL UNDERSTAND.

IT MIGHT NOT BE A QUESTION FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, BUT PERHAPS FOR OUR CONSULTANT OR TO PICK UP WITH THE MAYOR, I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHERE WE WOULD PICK IT UP.

UM, BUT PECI DON'T KNOW OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD THE PERCENTAGE OF MY DISTRICT THAT IS SERVED BY PEC, BUT IT'S NOT SMALL.

AND I WILL PULL UP THE MAP AND AS I'M DRIVING AROUND, START TO NOTICE WHAT PARTS OF THE PEC TERRITORY HAVE OVERHEAD LINES.

BUT REALLY MY QUESTION IS, UM, DO WE AS A CITY, ARE WE INCLUDING THE CITY AREAS THAT ARE NOT SERVED BY AUSTIN ENERGY? WHEN WE LOOK AT FEASIBILITY OF THIS TYPE OF THING? AND PERHAPS THE CONSULTANT KNOWS, PERHAPS IT'S A QUESTION FOR THE MAYOR, I'M NOT REALLY SURE.

WELL, I'M NOT SURE IT'S, I'M NOT SURE EITHER.

BUT I WILL SAY THIS, THE FEASIBILITY OF BEING ABLE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS, WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE JURISDICTION OR CONTROL OVER SOMEONE BECOMES MANIFEST.

YOU DON'T HAVE THE FEASIBILITY.

AND SO, UH, WHEN, WHEN THE DRG ACT WAS PASSED, UH, AND CREATED, UH, THE, THE VARIOUS ZONES THAT SPECIFICALLY ALLOWED FOR THE CONTINUATION OF MONOPOLIES, UM, AND THAT INCLUDED CO-OPS AND MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITIES, MY GUESS IS THAT WE WOULD RUN INTO REAL PROBABLE PROBLEMS ON ANY FORM OF FEASIBILITY, UH, JUST BECAUSE OF THE LIMITED, THE LIMITED CONTROL, LIMITED JURISDICTION, THAT MAKES ALL KINDS OF SENSE.

AND SO I WOULD JUST ELEVATE THAT IN OUR COMMUNICATIONS WITH OUR AUSTIN RESIDENTS, AND IN FACT, EVERYONE WHO HAS AN AUSTIN ADDRESS, EVEN THOUGH SOME OF THEM CAN'T VOTE, UM, THAT, THAT WE INCLUDE THEM IN THE COMMUNICATION SO THAT WE CAN HIGHLIGHT THAT.

UM, AND I ALSO SPECIFICALLY TOWARDS, I KNOW COUNCILMAN MEMBER UCHIN SHARES MY CONCERN AROUND WILDFIRES.

SOME OF THE NEW UTILITY LINES THAT HAVE GOT RUN THROUGH THE ENDANGERED SPECIES PRESERVE IN THE UPPER HALF, THE NORTHERN HALF OF THAT PRESERVE ARE SHARED LINES BETWEEN P WELL, THEY AT LEAST ARE PEC, THEY MIGHT BE SHARED BETWEEN PEC AND AUSTIN ENERGY.

SO THAT FEASIBILITY PART IS IMPORTANT TO THAT CONVERSATION TOO.

AND I JUST WANTED TO ELEVATE THOSE CONCERNS.

I DON'T KNOW IF OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY ARE IN THAT SAME SITUATION OF HAVING POWER SERVICE PROVIDED, NOT BY AUSTIN ENERGY, BUT OKAY.

THANK YOU, UH, VERY MUCH.

ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? WELL THEN, UH, THANK YOU, UH, VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.

THAT WAS, UH, VERY INTERESTING, VERY HELPFUL.

WE'LL DIGEST IT AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE, THE HARDENING STUDY RESULTS WHEN, UH, UH, THOSE, UH, COME BACK.

UH, MR. MEYER, THANK YOU.

[Items 6 - 9]

SIX THROUGH NINE ARE AUSTIN ENERGY MEMOS, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN RELEASED TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL SINCE OUR LAST MEETING.

THEY ARE LISTED JUST FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION.

WE'RE NOT GOING TO PRESENT OR COMMENT ON THOSE.

HOWEVER, I DID WANT TO THANK CITY MANAGEMENT FOR PUTTING THOSE IN THE BACK OF, IT'S A REALLY EASY, AND I THINK AS A GENERAL COMMITTEE PRACTICE, THAT SEEMS LIKE A GREAT IDEA.

'CAUSE THOSE, UH, MEMOS TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL FLY AROUND EVERYWHERE AND WE CAN MISS THEM.

AND IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET A SECOND LOOK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE UP TO DATE.

ALSO HELP THE PUBLIC, UH, BE ABLE TO JUST LOOK AT ONE AGENDA AND, AND PICK UP A LOT OF INFORMATION.

UM, AND THEN, SO WITH THAT, LET'S GO

[Future Items]

AHEAD AND MOVE TO ITEM 10, IDENTIFYING ITEMS, UH, TO DISCUSS AT FUTURE MEETINGS.

AGAIN, I'M ALWAYS AVAILABLE FOR MY COLLEAGUES TO SHOOT IDEAS OVER.

UM, IF ANYBODY HAS ANY IDEAS RIGHT NOW, WE CAN DISCUSS, BUT IF NOT, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND, UH, ADJOURN THE MEETING OF AUSTIN ENERGY AT 10 47.