Oct 07, 2025 Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee

FEW SECONDS, I WILL CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT THE SOLAR INSTALLATION ON THE, UH, CLOSED LANDFILL, THE AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY HAS CONTROL OF THAT PROPERTY HAS BEEN LANGUISHING.

GOOD MORNING.

I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF PUBLIC CITIZENS TEXAS OFFICE.

I'VE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN THE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS FOR THE RESIDENTIAL SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM, AND I APPRECIATE THE WORK AUSTIN ENERGY IS DOING.

I'M COMING TO YOU TODAY TO ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN GETTING THIS PROGRAM UP AND RUNNING BY JANUARY, AND TO PROVIDE THE SAME LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR RESIDENTIAL SOLAR THROUGH THIS PROGRAM AS AUSTIN ENERGY CURRENTLY DOES THROUGH ITS RESIDENTIAL SOLAR PROGRAMS. THE TIMING IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE 30% RESIDENTIAL SOLAR TAX CREDIT EXPIRES AT THE END OF 2025, BUT THE INSTALLATIONS DONE THROUGH THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM WILL QUALIFY FOR THE COMMERCIAL TAX INCENTIVE BECAUSE THEY WILL BE OWNED BY A THIRD PARTY.

THAT CREDIT APPLIES TO PROJECTS COMPLETED BY THE END OF 2027, OR BY THE END OF 2029.

IF THEY CAN START BY JULY 4TH, 2026.

THAT MAY SOUND CONFUSING, BUT THE POINT IS SIMPLE TIMING OF ESSENCE.

THIS PROGRAM CAN BE A LIFELINE FOR THE LOCAL SOLAR INDUSTRY AND CAN GIVE RESIDENTS AN AUSTIN ENERGY A PATH FORWARD TO CONTINUE WITH SOLAR ENERGY IN THE NEAR TERM.

WE'VE LITERALLY BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS PROGRAM SINCE 2021.

IT'S TIME TO DO IT.

THE CONTRACTING PROCESS YOU'LL HEAR, HEAR ABOUT FROM AUSTIN ENERGY IS GOOD, AND IT'S A GOOD SUPPLEMENT, BUT IT'S NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR THE STANDARD OFFER THAT ALLOWS ANY COMPANY AND, AND ANY, UH, PROPERTY OWNER TO PARTICIPATE.

FEEDBACK IN THE STAKEHOLDER PROCESS INDICATES THAT RESIDENTIAL SOLAR STANDARD OFFER RATE NEEDS TO BE HIGHER THAN THE RATE AUSTIN ENERGY CURRENTLY PAYS FOR THE COMMERCIAL PROGRAM.

LUCKILY, THERE'S PRECEDENT FOR EE PAYING MORE.

THE VALUE OF SOLAR TARIFF CURRENTLY IN PLACE FOR BEHIND THE METER OF SOLAR INSTALLATIONS INCLUDES A SOCIETAL BENEFIT THAT IS NOT CURRENTLY INCLUDED FOR THE STANDARD OFFER.

AUSTIN ENERGY ALSO PAYS A $2,500 REBATE FOR RESIDENTIAL SOLAR INSTALLATIONS.

THERE'S NO GOOD REASON THAT THAT CAN'T BE APPLIED FOR INCENTIVIZING PROPERTY OWNERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM.

WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS MANY TIMES IN THE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, AND THE DISCUSSION ALWAYS ENDS WITH AUSTIN ENERGY SAYING THEY'LL CONSIDER IT.

SO I'M ASKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

THIS IS VERY MUCH A POLICY DECISION, AND I HOPE THAT AS POLICY MAKERS, YOU'LL WEIGH IN AND SUPPORT APPLYING THE SAME VALUE OF SOLAR AND THE SAME LEVEL OF INCENTIVES TO THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM THAT WILL LARGELY HAVE TO REPLACE BEHIND THE METER SOLAR IN THE NEAR TERM.

THIS WILL ALLOW FOR MORE EQUITABLE AND ROBUST DEPLOYMENT OF SOLAR IN AUSTIN.

FINALLY, SINCE I HAVE A

[00:05:01]

THAT WAS ABOUT TO MOVE FORWARD, I THINK OVER A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, AND THINGS WENT OFF TRACK.

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GET ENGAGED THERE BEFORE THE TAX CREDITS EXPIRE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, YOUR TESTIMONY THEN.

DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER PUBLIC SPEAKERS TODAY? NO, WE DO NOT.

ITEM ONE IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JULY 22ND, 2025 MEETING.

UM,

[Approval of Minutes]

UH, I SEE A MOTION, UH, FROM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN AND A SECOND FROM COUNCILMEMBER ALTER.

UM, AND WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.

HOLD ON.

ALRIGHT.

UM, MOVING ON TO ITEM

[2. General Manager’s Report - ERCOT Large Loads, Solar For All Grant, Solar Standard Offer. [Stuart Reilly, Interim General Manager - Austin Energy].]

TWO IS THE GENERAL MANAGER REPORT BY INTERIM GENERAL MANAGER STUART RILEY.

MR. RILEY, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.

NECESSARILY, UM, BUILT OUT TO HANDLE THAT SIZE OF A CUSTOMER.

GOOD MORNING.

AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING PUBLIC POWER WEEK.

SO, UH, AGAIN, I'M STUART RILEY, AUSTIN ENERGY, INTERIM GENERAL MANAGER, AND TODAY I AM GOING TO START OUT WITH A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE TOPIC THAT'S REALLY FRONT AND CENTER FOR THE ELECTRIC INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS LARGE LOADS.

I'M GONNA TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT ERCOT LARGE LOADS, BUT WHEN WE SAY LARGE LOADS, JUST THINK LARGE CUSTOMERS LIKE DATA CENTERS, INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING FACILITIES, AND SO FORTH.

I'M ALSO GOING TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON SOME OF OUR SOLAR PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AND, UH, SO I WANTED TO SHOW THIS SLIDE.

UM, THIS IS ACTUALLY AN ERCOT SLIDE.

THIS IS NOT AN AUSTIN ENERGY SLIDE.

ERCOT HAS SHOWN THIS, UM, IN A LOT OF PRESENTATIONS, BUT WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS ERCOT ADJUSTED LOAD FORECAST, UM, STARTING IN 2025.

ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, YOU CAN SEE THEIR FORECAST FOR 2025 IN, IN THE BLUE BAR IS 87 GIGAWATTS OR 87,000 MEGAWATTS.

UM, TO PUT THAT INTO PERSPECTIVE, AUSTIN IS ABOUT THREE GIGAWATTS OR 3000 MEGAWATTS, A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAT.

SO OUR PERCENTAGE OF THAT, UM, JUST TO PUT THAT INTO PERSPECTIVE, BUT, UM, THE MAIN POINT OF THIS IS JUST TO SHOW HOW RAPIDLY, UM, WE NEED MORE ENERGY.

UM, THERE ARE MORE AND MORE PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, UM, DIFFERENT SYSTEMS, DIFFERENT GRIDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT NEED MORE ELECTRICITY.

AND, UM, ERCOT IS NO EXCEPTION.

SO YOU CAN SEE HERE THE LIGHT BLUE SHOWS THE BASE, UH, GROWTH FROM JUST NORMAL CUSTOMER GROWTH, AND THAT EXCLUDES THE PV, WHICH IS PHOTOVOLTAIC OR SOLAR.

THAT ACTUALLY REDUCES FROM THAT AMOUNT.

AS YOU CAN SEE, A LITTLE BIT OF PV IN THAT, UH, GOING ACROSS THE BOTTOM OF THIS.

BUT THEN STACKING IN THOSE OTHER COLORS THAT REFLECT DATA CENTERS, CRYPTO, INDUSTRIAL, HYDROGEN PRODUCTION, AND OIL AND GAS.

AND SO OVER THE COURSE OF THIS TIMELINE, YOU CAN SEE OUT TO 2031 AND, UM, THAT GRADUAL, THAT BLUE BAR INCREASES VERY, VERY GRADUALLY.

BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, THOSE COLORED BARS ON TOP OF IT START GROWING VERY QUICKLY.

AND, UM, ALL IN, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE ERCOT DEMAND IS FORECASTED TO INCREASE 67% IN JUST SIX YEARS.

SO TO PUT THAT INTO PERSPECTIVE, THAT'S THE EQUIVALENT OF ERCOT ADDING MORE THAN 19 AUSTINS INTO THE ERCOT MIX.

AND SO JUST A LOT OF LOAD GROWTH, A LOT TO KEEP UP WITH THAT SHADED GR LIGHT GRAY BAR IN THE BACKGROUND IS THE UNADJUSTED NUMBER.

SO WHAT, UH, ONE OF THE BIG CHALLENGES WITH LARGE LOADS IS DIFFERENTIATING WHAT'S REAL FROM WHAT'S NOT REAL, UM, A DATA CENTER THAT'S GOING TO COME TO FRUITION VERSUS ONE THAT'S NOT GOING TO COME TO FRUITION.

AND ERCOT HAS PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO, UM, ADJUSTING ITS LOAD FORECAST, DIFFERENTIATING THAT SHADOWED LIGHT GRAY NUMBER IN THE BACKGROUND THAT YOU CAN SEE GOES ALL THE WAY UP TO 218 GIGAWATTS.

ADJUSTING THAT DOWN TO WHAT ACTUALLY WILL COME TO FRUITION IS THAT 145 GIGAWATTS.

AND SO WE ARE SEEING THOSE REQUESTS IN AUSTIN AS WELL.

WE ARE SEEING LARGE CUSTOMERS COMING TO US THAT WANT TO CONNECT INTO OUR SYSTEM AS WELL, THAT WANT TO LOCATE IN AUSTIN.

AND THERE ARE A LOT OF CHALLENGES AROUND THAT.

AND THOSE CHALLENGES ARE THE SAME AS FOR US HERE IN AUSTIN AND FOR US IN ERCOT AS THEY ARE ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY.

UM, NEXT SLIDE.

BUT I'LL JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THOSE CHALLENGES IN ERCOT AND NATIONWIDE ARE.

AGAIN, NOT SPECIFIC TO US.

THIS IS REALLY AT THE FOREFRONT, UH, OF EVERYBODY'S MIND IN THE ELECTRIC INDUSTRY AND THINKING ABOUT HOW UTILITIES ARE BEING ASKED TO CONNECT RECORD SIZE LOADS FASTER THAN EVER, AND IN PLACES WHERE THE GRID WASN'T

[00:10:01]

SO OF COURSE, YOU HAVE GRID CAPACITY LIMITS.

THE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO HANDLE THAT SIZE OF CUSTOMER.

AND, UM, ALSO THAT LEADS INTO HAVING TO CREATE, UM, HAVING TO INVEST IN THAT INFRASTRUCTURE.

BUT THERE ARE EQUIPMENT SHORTAGES.

WE'VE TALKED A LOT AT THIS COMMITTEE ABOUT SUPPLY CHAIN ON THE DISTRIBUTION SIDE, SO GETTING TRANSFORMERS AND OTHER EQUIPMENT TO BE ABLE TO SERVE HOMES, TO, TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THINGS ON THE DISTRIBUTION SIDE.

BUT HERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EQUIPMENT SHORTAGES OF GRID SCALE EQUIPMENT.

SO TRA SUBSTATION, TRANSFORMERS, CIRCUIT BREAKERS, UM, GENERATORS, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS HAVE A LONG, HAVE VERY LONG LEAD TIMES, VERY FEW PEOPLE WHO CAN MANUFACTURE THAT EQUIPMENT.

AND THAT'S BUTTING UP AGAINST THAT.

THIRD ASPECT IS THE SPEED OF THE REQUEST, BECAUSE THESE CUSTOMERS WANT TO BE ABLE TO COME ONLINE WITHIN ONE TO TWO YEARS.

BUT THE REGULATORY PROCESS, THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS, THE SUPPLY CHAIN, IT'S, IT'S REALLY TAKING THREE TO FIVE YEARS, PROBABLY CLOSER TO THE FIVE YEAR ASPECT.

AND SO, UM, THERE'S THIS MISMATCH BETWEEN THESE CUSTOMERS THAT WANT TO LOCATE IN A CERTAIN AREA AND THE UTILITY'S ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THEM.

THE OTHER THING IS THAT UTILITIES ARE HAVING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ACCOUNTING FOR OR PREVENTING STRANDED COSTS.

AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS IF YOU'RE BUILDING OUT ALL OF THIS EQUIPMENT TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THESE NEW CUSTOMERS, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE DOING IT IN A WAY THAT RECOVERS ALL OF YOUR COSTS.

OTHERWISE, YOU RUN THE RISKS THAT THOSE CUSTOMERS MAY NOT MATERIALIZE IN THE WAY THAT THEY, THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO MATERIALIZE.

AND YOU'VE INVESTED ALL THIS MONEY.

YOU HAVE STRANDED ASSETS, STRANDED COSTS, AND SO I THINK WE HAVE A GOOD, UH, UH, SYSTEM FOR THAT HERE IN AUSTIN.

WE HAVE GROWTH PAYS FOR ITSELF.

IF YOU HAVE A LINE EXTENSION AND YOU'RE A NEW CUSTOMER, YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT.

UM, THE TRICK IS ALSO MAKING SURE THAT ANY OF THE GRID SCALE, UH, INVESTMENTS ALSO ARE ACCOUNTING FOR THAT AS WELL.

AND THEN OF COURSE, GENERATION ADEQUACY.

YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR THIS COUNCIL, UM, ADOPTED THE RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN IN 2035, PARTLY BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH GENERATION RESOURCES IN AUSTIN.

AND, UM, ADDING THESE NEW LARGE LOADS ANYWHERE IN ERCOT, NOT JUST IN AUSTIN, IS CREATING MORE AND MORE SCARCITY IN THE MARKET.

AND SCARCITY MEANS PRICES GOING UP, AND WE ALREADY NEED ADDITIONAL GENERATION RESOURCES IN AUSTIN IF WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY OF SOME OF THESE.

UM, CUSTOMERS WHO WANT TO LOCATE HERE MIGHT BE INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING ENTITIES THAT WOULD BRING A LOT OF JOBS WITH THEM.

WE CERTAINLY, AUSTIN ENERGY DOES NOT WANT TO BE THE BOTTLENECK IN BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT.

WE WANT TO HAVE ENOUGH GENERATION AND TRANSMISSION TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THOSE CUSTOMERS SO THAT THEY CAN LOCATE HERE AND PROVIDE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS.

AND THEN LASTLY, THERE ARE NEW RULES THAT WE'RE HAVING TO NAVIGATE ALONGSIDE THESE CUSTOMERS.

SENATE BILL SIX OF THE MO OF THE RECENT REGULAR SESSION OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE, UH, ADDRESSED LARGE LOADS, WHICH IT DEFINED AS 75 MEGAWATTS AND ABOVE.

IT CREATED SOME MORE TRANSPARENCY AROUND THOSE REQUESTS THAT IT ENHANCED SOME OF THE FORECASTING SO THAT WE KNOW WHOSE QUEUES THESE, THESE LARGE LOADS ARE IN.

SO THEY'RE NOT GETTING DOUBLE COUNTED.

AND WE CAN FORECAST MORE APPROPRIATELY, WE CAN PLAN MORE APPROPRIATELY.

BUT ALSO BECAUSE THAT THRESHOLD OF 75 MEGAWATTS WAS SET FOR THESE LARGE LOADS TO GO TO ERCOT FOR IN THE PLANNING PROCESS, MANY OF THOSE ARE NOT MAKING IT THROUGH EVERY ERCOT CONTINGENCY THAT THEY HAVE TO MEET IN THAT PROCESS.

AND SO, UH, THEY ARE SIZING DOWN TO SOMETHING LESS THAN 75 MEGAWATTS, WHICH THEN PUTS THE, UM, DECISION ON THE LOCAL UTILITIES.

AND SO THEN IT BECOMES KIND OF A RISK ASSESSMENT FOR EACH UTILITY.

AND WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SERVE.

SO IT'S NOT WHETHER WE ARE GOING TO SERVE THAT CUSTOMER, IT'S HOW FAST ARE WE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THAT CUSTOMER, UM, AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THAT CUSTOMER.

SO REALLY, UH, WHAT WE USED TO SEE IS MAYBE A DATA CENTER COMING ALONG THAT SAID, I WANT TO BE A, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED MEGAWATTS, 200 MEGAWATTS.

NOW MANY OF THESE LARGE CUSTOMERS ARE COMING ALONG TO ALL THE UTILITIES AND SAYING, HOW MANY MEGAWATTS HAVE YOU GOT? CAN I, HOW MANY CAN I GET? CAN I GET 30? CAN I GET 40? UM, AND GOING AROUND TO ANY UTILITIES AND JUST SEEING, UH, HOW MUCH IS AVAILABLE.

AND SO THAT NEW RULE HAS KIND OF FORCED THE, THESE, THE, THESE SIZES OF THESE CUSTOMERS TO COME DOWN A LITTLE BIT.

AND THAT'S PUT THE ONUS ON US TO BE ABLE TO DETERMINE HOW WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THOSE CUSTOMERS.

OF THAT, THAT WAS A $250 MILLION, UM, GRANT FOR THE TEXAS COALITION.

UM, I WILL SHIFT GEARS OFF OF LARGE LOADS AND TALK, UH, A BIT ABOUT OUR SOLAR PROGRAMS. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS COMMITTEE HAS MET SINCE THE EPA TERMINATED THE SOLAR FOR ALL GRANT.

I KNOW YOU'RE ALL AWARE OF THAT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO ADDRESS IT HERE.

UM, THE NATIONWIDE $7 BILLION SOLAR FOR ALL GRANT.

UM, THERE WAS A TEXAS COALITION THAT WAS A PART

[00:15:01]

OUR PORTION OF THAT AT AUSTIN ENERGY WAS 32 MILLION.

I THINK EVEN IN THE, UH, CONTEXT OF ALL THE SOLAR FOR ALL GRANT, UH, PARTICIPANTS, I THINK OUR SOLUTION WAS VERY INNOVATIVE AND, UH, REALLY AN INTERESTING CONCEPT OF, OF DEPLOYING SOLAR AND STORAGE FOR CUSTOMERS IN NEED, MEDICALLY VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS, LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS, AND BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE, UH, BILL DISCOUNTS, UM, AFFORDABILITY AND ADDITIONAL RESILIENCE DURING GRID OUTAGES WITH OWNERSHIP AT THE END OF THE TERM.

SO IT WAS A REALLY GOOD CONCEPT.

UM, UNFORTUNATELY WHAT THE EPA, UH, ISSUED AT STOP WORK NOTICE TO ALL THE GRANT AWARDEES AND, UM, WE HAVE STOPPED WORK IN ACCORDANCE WITH THAT.

THEY CITED A LACK OF STATUTORY AUTHORITY UNDER THE FEDERAL BUDGET RECONCILIATION.

AND, UM, THE TEXAS COALITION PARTNERS ARE NOW LOOKING AT WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE AND LOOKING AT, UM, WHAT LEGAL OPTIONS WE MAY HAVE AND, UH, CITING ARE, UH, IRREPARABLE HARMS THAT MAY HAVE OCCURRED FROM THE, UH, IMPROPER CANCELLATION OF THAT GRANT.

SO WE ARE ASSESSING THOSE OPTIONS AND WE WILL KEEP COUNSEL INFORMED OF THAT AS, UH, AS ANY OF THAT, UH, PROGRESSES.

BUT MEANWHILE, WE SEEK TO CONTINUE OUR MOMENTUM IN SOLAR THROUGH RESIDENTIAL OFFERINGS AND NEW BATTERY OFFERINGS.

AND, UM, ONE OF THOSE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

OF COURSE, THIS YEAR WE LAUNCHED THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM, UH, THAT INCREASES SOLAR ACCESS BY ENABLING CUSTOMERS TO HOST SO COMMUNITY SOLAR ARRAYS AND GET PAID BY AUSTIN ENERGY.

AND SO THAT COMMERCIAL PROGRAM LAUNCHED IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR.

SO FAR WE'VE HAD, WE HAVE 11 PROJECTS IN THE QUEUE TO BE INSTALLED, TOTALING 6.26 MEGAWATTS.

WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 14 PROJECTS THAT ARE UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR NINE MEGAWATTS, WHICH WE HOPE WILL COME TO FRUITION.

AND THEN, UM, UH, WE HAVE THE RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM THAT IS UNDERWAY UNDER DEVELOPMENT, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT MAKING SURE THAT THAT HAS ALL THE CONSUMER PROTECTIONS IN IT THAT ARE NEEDED, AND WE'RE FOCUSING ON MAKING SURE THAT THAT'S A VIABLE PROGRAM OFFERING THAT HAS THE CONSUMER PROTECTIONS, MAYBE LOOKING AT AGGREGATING SOME OF THOSE RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS TO OVERCOME ECONOMIES OF SCALE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE OUR PROGRESS AND LOOK TO, UM, LEVERAGE SOME OF THE LESSONS THAT WE LEARNED IN OUR GRANT CONCEPT FOR.

SO FOR THE, UH, SOLAR FOR ALL GRANT, UM, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE WE'RE A LEADER IN THIS INDUSTRY.

UH, IN TERMS OF SOLAR PROGRAM OFFERINGS THIS YEAR, FY 25 WAS OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL YEAR TO DATE.

UH, WE HAD 18.9 MEGAWATTS OF NEW SOLAR COME ONLINE, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY.

AND, UM, THIS IS COMING ON THE HEELS OF 2024, WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY OUR BEST EVER YEAR IN TERMS OF A ADDITIONAL SOLAR, OF COURSE.

UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF HEADWINDS NOW WITH THE TAX RESIDENTIAL TAX CREDIT EXPIRING.

UM, THAT'S WHY SOME OF THESE COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS THAT CAN STILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TAX CREDITS THROUGH 2027 ARE, UM, ATTRACTIVE AND WILL KEEP EVOLVING OUR PROGRAMS BECAUSE, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF OUR SOLAR PROGRAMS IN AUSTIN ENERGY, WE HAVE ACTUALLY INVESTED $100 MILLION IN LOCAL SOLAR FOR THIS COMMUNITY.

UH, SO OUR PROGRAM HAS THAT LEVEL OF INVESTMENT, THAT LEVEL OF BACKING.

WE'VE CREATED A VERY HEALTHY SOLAR INDUSTRY IN AUSTIN, AND WE ARE LOOKING AT WAYS TO CONTINUE THAT AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT SOLAR INSTALLER COMMUNITY STILL HAS WORK IN SPITE OF THOSE HEADWINDS FROM THE FEDERAL TAX CREDITS GOING AWAY.

OF SOME OF THE TAX BREAKS THAT ARE STILL THERE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.

LASTLY, BEFORE I CLOSE, I JUST WANNA MENTION THAT LAST WEEK, AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, TEAM MEMBERS HEADED OUT FOR OUR ANNUAL LIGHTUP NAVAJO TRIP.

AND THROUGH THIS EFFORT, WHICH IS LIKE A MUTUAL AID WITHOUT THE STORM TYPE EVENT, UH, WE SEND SOME OF OUR LINE WORKER CREWS TO NAVAJO NATION TO BRING POWER TO CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE NEVER HAD POWER BEFORE.

AND NOT ONLY IS THIS A, A, UH, VERY, UH, FULFILLING ENDEAVOR FOR OUR LINE WORKERS, IT ALSO PROVIDES VALUABLE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES OF INSTALLING POLES, WORKING IN RUGGED TERRAIN, UM, JUST LEARNING SKILLS ON THE JOB THAT SOME OF THE APPRENTICES ON THE ON THE TRIP ARE, ARE GAINING THOSE SKILLS, BUT ALSO DELIVERING TO THESE FAMILIES WHO ARE IN NEED AND A SEGMENT OF OUR COUNTRY THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN FORGOTTEN AND HAS BEEN LIVING WITHOUT POWER.

UM, CHAIR, THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT.

HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, MAYOR.

YEAH, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, I WANNA START WITH YOUR LAST, THE LAST SLIDE ON THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM.

UM, AND I GET WHAT'S GOING ON NATIONALLY AND ALL THAT.

SO, SO, BUT, BUT WHAT I WANNA ASK ABOUT IS INSTEAD OF, UM, SOMEBODY BUYING BASICALLY THE SOLAR ARRAY, IS THERE A WAY FOR US TO PUT TOGETHER A PROGRAM? AND I'VE BEEN READING ABOUT IT, IT'S, IT'S MATURING INDUSTRY, UH, LEASING AND DOING RESIDENTIAL LEASING AND, AND, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE

[00:20:01]

UM, BUT THROUGH A LEASING PROGRAM, UH, YES, MAYOR, SO, UM, WHEN YOU, YOU PRE, YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS CONCEPT, AND WHEN YOU BROUGHT THIS CONCEPT TO US, OUR TEAM LOOKED INTO IT.

WE DO THINK, UM, THAT, THAT THAT INDUSTRY OF SOLAR LEASING IS A MATURED INDUSTRY AT THIS POINT.

UM, IT HAD SOME CONSUMER PROTECTION TYPE OF CHALLENGES TO IT BEFORE, RIGHT? BUT NOW, BECAUSE THAT CONCEPT COULD STILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE COMMERCIAL, UM, TAX CREDITS, UM, WE DO THINK IT IS, IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE, AND THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR AUSTIN ENERGY TO CREATE A PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS FOR SOLAR LEASES.

THIS WOULD BE WHERE A CUSTOMER LEASES THE EQUIPMENT THAT WOULD BE INSTALLED ON THEIR ROOF.

UM, SO AS AN EQUIPMENT LEASE TO A COMMERCIAL ENTITY, THAT COMMERCIAL ENTITY CAN STILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TAX CREDITS AND THAT COULD PROVIDE A VIABLE OFFERING.

AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE AND, AND WE WILL START WORKING ON THAT AS, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE THE TIME IS RIGHT.

AND, AND THE, AS I'VE UNDERSTOOD IT, ONE OF THE BIG DIFFICULTIES IN THIS, AS I'VE LOOKED AT IT AND TRIED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO TO TO DEAL WITH IT, HAS BEEN THAT, UM, AE OBVIOUSLY IS THE SOLE ENERGY PROVIDER.

HOW DO WE, WHAT, WHAT'S THE WAY TO WORK AROUND THAT? AND WHEN I SAY AROUND, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING THAT IS A WORKAROUND, BUT BUT DO IT IN A WAY WHERE YOU CAN, YOU CAN LEASE IT AND NOT BE BUYING THE ENERGY FROM THE PEOPLE YOU'RE LEASING THE EQUIPMENT FROM SOME, AND I THINK I SAID THAT THE RIGHT WAY.

NO, YEAH, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT.

THAT'S, THAT'S THE CHALLENGE IS THAT OFTENTIMES AND IN, AND POTENTIALLY IN OTHER MARKETS, THESE AGREEMENTS MIGHT BE STRUCTURED IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE, THE END CONSUMER IS ESSENTIALLY BUYING ELECTRICITY FROM THE, THE SOLAR LEASE PROVIDER.

AND, UM, BECAUSE WE ARE THE SOLE PROVIDER AND, AND AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE TERRITORY, UM, IT REALLY HAS TO BE STRUCTURED PURELY AS AN EQUIPMENT LEASE.

THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN DO, LIKE A PRODUCTION GUARANTEE TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT CUSTOMER, UM, IS MADE WHOLE AND GETS THE AMOUNT OF PRODUCTION THAT THEY'RE EXPECTING.

UM, ALSO, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PROVISIONS THAT HAVE TO BE PUT IN FOR, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENS IF THE EQUIPMENT GOES DOWN, WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CUSTOMER ISN'T PAYING ON THEIR LEASE EQUIPMENT, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.

UM, BUT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS NOW OF STARTING TO LOOK AT WHAT SOME OF THOSE AGREEMENTS MIGHT LOOK LIKE IN OTHER AREAS TO BE ABLE TO ADAPT THEM.

AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THE, THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO KIND OF, UH, RIGHTSIZE THAT FOR, FOR OUR PARTICULAR SITUATION.

SO, SO HOW QUICKLY DO YOU THINK YOU COULD BRING FORWARD? I, WE'RE DOING IT THIS WAY AND I'M WITHOUT AN IFC AND THAT KIND OF THING, BUT IT, BUT I, IF I NEED TO DO THAT, I WOULD DO THAT TOO, BUT I, I'M NOT SURE WE NEED TO DO THAT.

HOW, HOW QUICKLY COULD YOU AE BRING FORWARD TO THE COUNCIL FOR CONSIDER MAYBE THIS COMMITTEE FIRST AND THEN THE COUNCIL, HOWEVER, UH, THE CHAIRMAN WANTS TO DEAL WITH THAT, BUT A, A LEASING PROGRAM WHERE WE, WE, WE, WE SHIFT A LITTLE BIT BASED UPON WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE SHIFTING WINS IN DC WE COULD, UM, I BELIEVE WE HAVE ANOTHER MEETING NEXT MONTH WHERE WE COULD PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THIS.

I THINK IT WILL TAKE US, UM, A FEW MORE MONTHS BEYOND THAT TO GET THE, GET SUCH A PROGRAM UP AND RUNNING.

THERE ARE SOME JUST TECHNICAL CHALLENGES THAT WE NEED TO OVERCOME, BUT WE COULD PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION ON THAT AT NEXT MONTH'S A-E-U-O-C WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE CERTAINTY.

MR. CHAIRMAN, I, I WOULD REQUEST, AND THEN I, UNLESS THERE'S OBJECTION THAT WE PURSUE THAT AGGRESSIVELY, I KNOW IT'S BEEN, I, I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN A BIG DIFFICULTY FOR US IN PART 'CAUSE OF THE, OF THE, UH, PURCHASE OF, OF THE POWER SITUATION.

BUT, UM, IF WE COULD MOVE, I THINK WE A SENSE OF URGENCY THERE AND, AND THAT'D BE GREAT.

YES.

AND, AND THE, WE DO HAVE A SENSE OF URGENCY ABOUT IT.

UM, PARTLY JUST BECAUSE OF THE TIMING IS SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE HAVE A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME, EVEN FOR THAT CONCEPT, BECAUSE WHILE THE RESIDENTIAL CREDITS ARE GOING AWAY AT THE END OF THIS YEAR, 25, WE ONLY HAVE UNTIL THE END OF 27 RIGHT BEFORE THE CONCEPT THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.

AND, AND WE THINK AT AUSTIN ENERGY, IT'S, IT'S INCUMBENT UPON US TO DO EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO KEEP AS MUCH SOLAR, TO GET AS MUCH SOLAR ON OUR SYSTEM TO GET AS, UH, TO KEEP THOSE SOLAR INSTALLERS WORKING.

AND I THINK THIS IS A CONCEPT THAT CAN HELP DO THAT.

AND THAT WAS GONNA BE THE NEXT THING I BROUGHT UP.

I MEAN, I KNOW A NUMBER OF COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, INCLUDING I READ SOMETHING JUST THE OTHER DAY WHERE COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER AND COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL QUOTED ABOUT THE, THE WORKERS AND USING THIS AS A WORKFORCE, UH, WITH, WITH ALL THE EFFORT THIS COUNCIL HAS MADE WITH REGARD TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY AND, AND, AND CA AUSTIN ENERGY MAKING THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT IT'S MADE TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.

THIS

[00:25:01]

IS AN AREA OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT THAT, THAT HELPS US STAY AFFORDABLE IN THE TOWN.

AT THE SAME TIME WE'RE DOING WELL WITH THE, THE ENERGY ASPECTS OF IT.

SO ABSOLUTELY.

GOOD.

YEAH, AND, AND, AND WITH OUR SOLAR FOR ALL GRANT CONCEPT, ONE OF THE COMPONENTS OF THAT, THAT, THAT WE WILL BE MISSING OUT ON IS THAT WE WERE GOING TO, WE WERE WORKING WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY BECAUSE THERE WAS GOING TO BE A WORKFORCE THAT WAS NECESSARY TO HELP US WITH EXECUTION OF THAT SOLAR FOR ALL GRANT.

AND SO THAT'S PARTLY WHY WE WANNA LOOK, UH, AT EVERY OPTION WE CAN IN TERMS OF, UH, RESCUING THAT OR RESUSCITATING THAT GRANT AND, AND SEEING WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE PARTLY BECAUSE OF THOSE WORKFORCE ISSUES.

GOOD.

WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND I, AND I, I, I REALLY DO LOOK FORWARD TO A, A PIVOT THAT I THINK WOULD BE A GREAT PIVOT.

SO THANK YOU.

BUT THANK YOU, UH, UH, MAYOR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER WALTER.

IT'S REALLY MORE IN TERMS OF THEM PAYING THEIR SHARE OF WHAT IT TAKES TO GET POWER TO THEM.

AND, AND I'LL JUST CERTAINLY ECHO THE, THOSE COMMENTS.

I THINK ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO COME UP WITH INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS, AND THAT SOUNDS LIKE ANOTHER ONE, ANOTHER WAY TO GET SOLAR IN OUR, UM, OUR AREA WOULD BE VERY USEFUL.

SO I WILL JUST SECOND EVERYTHING THE MAYOR JUST SAID, .

UM, I DID WANT TO ASK A COUPLE QUESTIONS.

YOU MENTIONED THAT ESSENTIALLY DATA CENTERS WILL GO TO VARIOUS UTILITIES AND SAY, HOW MUCH CAPACITY DO YOU HAVE? I'M CURIOUS, HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK? I MEAN, DON'T WE IN THEORY KIND OF, I MEAN, IT'S NOT AN UNLIMITED CAPACITY, BUT WE BUY FROM THE ERCOT MARKET, SO ISN'T OUR CAPACITY JUST WHATEVER IS IN THE ERCOT MARKET? UM, A LOT OF IT IS BASED ON WHAT THE, UM, CAPACITY LIMITATIONS ARE OF THE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM.

SO A LOT OF THE TRANSMISSION IS ALREADY, UM, CONGESTED, UH, AND THERE MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH CAPACITY ON THAT TRANSMISSION TO, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, ADD ANOTHER SUBSTATION TRANSFORMER, UH, TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THAT SIZE LOAD.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT IN TERMS OF, PART OF OUR STRATEGY UNDER THE RESOURCE PLAN IS WE NEED TO INCREASE OUR TRANSMISSION IMPORT CAPACITY.

AND SO PART OF OUR CHALLENGE IS BEING ABLE TO DO THAT AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN, BUT BY INCREASING OUR TRANSMISSION IMPORT CAPACITY, WE, WE CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH BECAUSE WE MIGHT BE MOVING THE BOTTLENECK FURTHER UPSTREAM BECAUSE IT MIGHT BE ANOTHER TRANSMISSION PROVIDER.

I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF ONE CUSTOMER THAT CAME TO US AND, AND WENT THROUGH THE ERCOT PLANNING PROCESS.

UM, AND I BELIEVE THEY WERE SEEKING A HUNDRED MEGAWATTS AND THEY WENT THROUGH ERCOT.

AND, UM, AT, AT THE CONCLUSION OF THAT ERCOT STUDY, ERCOT FOUND THAT NOT ONLY WOULD AUSTIN ENERGY HAVE TO UPGRADE ITS TRANSMISSION SYSTEM TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THAT, BUT ALSO TWO OTHER UTILITIES TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS WOULD HAVE TO BE UPGRADED AS WELL.

AND, UM, THE TIMEFRAME FOR THAT WOULD JUST BE VERY LONG.

AND SO IT'S, IT'S, UM, TRANSMISSION AND ITS GENERATION.

SO, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT ON THE GENERATION SIDE ABOUT HAVING LOCAL LOAD GROWTH FOR OUR CUSTOMERS IS, YOU KNOW, JUST VOLTAGE PROBLEMS. AND SO THERE'S REALLY NO SUBSTITUTE FOR LOCAL GENERATION WHEN IT COMES TO THAT.

YEAH.

UM, ARE WE EITHER, I GUESS TWO PART QUESTION.

ARE WE PERMITTED BY LAW AND IF WE ARE, HAVE WE THOUGHT ABOUT, OR ARE WE DOING ANY KIND OF TARIFF SPECIFICALLY FOR DATA CENTERS? SO WE DO HAVE, UH, UH, DATA CENTER CUSTOMERS RIGHT NOW.

UM, WE HAVE A RATE FOR THAT FOR, WE BASICALLY HAVE RATES THAT ACCOUNT FOR THE SIZE OF THE CUSTOMER AND THEIR USAGE CHARACTERISTICS, BASICALLY HOW, HOW THEY USE POWER.

UM, ONE THING ABOUT DATA CENTERS IS THAT THEY, I MEAN, THEY ARE USING, THEY ARE A VERY FLAT LOAD PROFILE, SO THEY'RE USING THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME HIGH LOAD FACTOR, SO THEY'RE USING THE SAME AMOUNT OF ENERGY AROUND THE CLOCK.

UM, THAT IS A, THAT IS A GOOD CUSTOMER TO HAVE IN TERMS OF THAT HIGH LOAD FACTOR.

SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR PEAK IS, UH, 30, 3100 MEGAWATTS, LET'S JUST SAY 3000 MEGAWATTS, BUT OUR AVERAGE LOAD IS REALLY MORE LIKE 1800, 1900 MEGAWATTS.

AND RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CUSTOMERS THAT WE HAVE COMING TO US WANTING TO, TO SITE HERE, YOU KNOW, MORE LIKE VERY ROUGH ESTIMATE WOULD BE ABOUT 500 MEGAWATTS.

SO THAT 500 MEGAWATTS WOULD BE MORE LIKE AROUND THE CLOCK, 500 MEGAWATTS ON THAT 1900 DO, UH, 1900 MEGAWATT AVERAGE.

THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT FOR US.

IT WOULD BE, UM, AND JUST IN TERMS OF, OF, YOU KNOW, REVENUE THAT YOU CAN THEN SPREAD, YOU CAN SPREAD YOUR COSTS ONTO SOME OF THOSE LARGE CUSTOMERS BECAUSE YOU DON'T NEED TO ADD MORE CALL CENTER EMPLOYEES.

YOU DON'T NEED TO ADD, YOU KNOW, MUCH MORE IN TERMS OF LINE WORKERS.

SO, SO THAT'S SOMEBODY THAT YOU CAN SPREAD YOUR COSTS ONTO, WHICH COULD ACTUALLY, UH, INCREASE AFFORDABILITY.

BUT THE, SO IT'S NOT REALLY ABOUT THE, THE RATE ITSELF IN TERMS OF THE KILOWATT HOURS THAT THEY'RE PURCHASING OR THE DEMAND THAT THEY'RE PURCHASING, IT'S, UM,

[00:30:01]

YEAH.

AND YOU ACTUALLY WENT RIGHT WHERE, UM, I WAS GONNA GO BECAUSE I, I WAS LISTENING TO SOMETHING ABOUT DATA CENTERS AND, AND BEFORE THIS, I THINK THE, OR I KNOW IN, IN MY PERSONAL VIEW, YOU KNOW, YOU HEAR DATA CENTERS AS KINDA LIKE DATA CENTER BAD, RIGHT? LIKE THEY'RE, THEY'RE JUST COMING AND TAKING UP EITHER SPACE OR, OR THEY'RE TAKING OUR POWER, RIGHT? AND THE ARGUMENT THAT WAS MADE THAT YOU JUST MADE WAS BY THE FACT THAT, UM, THEY ARE THIS LARGE CONSUMER THROUGH ALL THE HOURS, YOU CAN SOCIALIZE THE COSTS OF WHETHER IT'S TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION, BUT JUST THE COST OF, UM, GETTING POWER.

AND IT DOES, UH, BRING STABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY TO, UH, A MARKET.

AND I HAD NEVER THOUGHT OF IT THAT WAY.

AND SO I, I WOULD BE CURIOUS OF HOW WE CAN THINK ABOUT, UM, NOT NECESSARILY, YOU KNOW, LURING ALL THE DATA CENTERS HERE, BUT IF THERE ARE A WAY THAT DATA CENTERS CAN BE SMARTLY TARGETED SO THAT WE CAN INCREASE AFFORDABILITY FOR CUSTOMERS, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE SHOULD EMBRACE THAT MORE AND TELL THAT STORY, UH, MORE.

AND THAT, THAT PART, THAT PART IS ON US.

BUT, UM, I'D JUST BE INTERESTED, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF A DATA CENTER CAN ONLY GET 30 MEGAWATTS FROM BLUE BONNET, BUT 50 FROM US, BUT MAYBE THEY HAVE TO RAMP DOWN BETWEEN FIVE AND SEVEN O'CLOCK FOR A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THAT'S A GOOD, A GOOD TRADE FOR THEM.

I DON'T KNOW.

BUT, AND THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THAT BECAUSE THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALK TO THOSE CUSTOMERS ABOUT, ABOUT WHETHER THEY ARE CURTAIL ABLE.

AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS, UM, THERE ARE, UM, AI DATA CENTERS THAT MIGHT BE IN THAT SMALLER 30 MEGAWATT TYPE RANGE, BUT, UM, THOSE THAT ARE IN THAT SIZE AND WHO WANT TO BE IN AUSTIN ARE MORE LIKE R AND D DATA CENTERS.

SO RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, WHICH NOT, NOT ONLY MEANS MAYBE MORE PEOPLE, MORE JOBS, BUT ALSO THEY, THEY CAN RAMP DOWN IF, IF NEED BE.

SO THERE'S THOSE, EVERY CUSTOMER IS DIFFERENT.

THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO DO DIFFERENT THINGS.

MAYBE SOME OF THEM WANT TO BRING THEIR OWN GENERATION THAT THEY COULD DEPLOY DURING CERTAIN PEAK TIMES, PROVIDE SOME KIND OF DEMAND RESPONSE CAPABILITIES.

AND SO WE'RE HAVING ALL THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THESE, THESE CUSTOMERS.

BUT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, A BIG FOCUS OF OURS AND A BIG FOCUS OF THE CITY MANAGER, THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER AND A CM JOHNSON IS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

AND CERTAINLY WE WANNA LOOK AT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND THINK ABOUT THE TYPES OF CUSTOMERS THAT WANT TO COME HERE AND CREATE JOBS.

UM, BUT, AND, AND THERE ARE SOME OTHER ASPECTS MAYBE OF DATA CENTERS AS WELL THAT THEY MIGHT NOT CREATE AS MANY JOBS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE SOME ASPECTS THAT ARE, MIGHT BE FAVORABLE THERE TOO.

AND I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW, YOU MIGHT KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS THAN I DO, I'M, I'M SURE YOU DO AROUND THE THREE EIGHTIES.

LIKE, IS THERE A WAY TO OFTEN WE, WE TIE IT TO JOBS AND, AND THAT TYPE OF ECONOMIC BENEFIT, BUT IF A, A DATA CENTER CAME HERE AND WE WERE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THAT LOWERS UTILITY BILLS FOR EVERYBODY, IS THAT SOMETHING WE COULD ACCOUNT FOR AS THAT ECONOMIC BENEFIT? I, I DON'T KNOW.

TYPICALLY THAT'S BEEN TIED TO JOBS, RIGHT? BUT, UM, BUT I, I HAVE NOT LOOKED AT IT FROM THROUGH THAT, THAT LENS.

THAT'S NOT A BAD LENS TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO, TO MAKE IT A LITTLE CHEAPER TO LIVE HERE OR I THINK WE SHOULD EXPLORE.

SO I APPRECIATE IT.

THAT'S A VERY INTERESTING DISCUSSION.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

UH, I JUST HAVE A QUE CAN YOU GO BACK TO THE FIRST SLIDE PLEASE? THE ERCOT SLIDE.

SO I THINK WHEN YOU TOUCHED ON THE SLIDE, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE SHADOW BEHIND THERE IS THE OVERALL POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY, AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS WHAT'S DOLLARS THAT ARE ALREADY COMMITTED, OR CAN YOU EXPLAIN MORE ABOUT HOW THAT, HOW THAT WORKS? YEAH.

THE, THE, THE SHADOW IS THE, THE RAW DATA, BUT ERCOT IS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER AT DIFFERENTIATING WHAT'S REAL FROM WHAT'S NOT REAL.

SO MAYBE, YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT IT, LIKE SOMEBODY KIND OF JUST KICKING THE TIRES VERSUS SOMEBODY WHO'S REALLY GONNA BUILD SOMETHING.

AND, AND SO THAT SHADOW NUMBER, SO THERE, THE, THE REASON THAT SHADOW BAR IS STILL IN THERE IS BECAUSE THAT WAS VERY HEADLINE GRABBING FOR A PERIOD OF TIME WHEN ERCOT WAS JUST PUTTING OUT THE, THE RAW DATA, AND IT WAS SHOWING THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE GRID WAS GONNA MORE THAN DOUBLE, RIGHT? UM, AND, AND SO THEY'VE, THEY'VE DONE A, UH, A BETTER JOB OF, OF SEPARATING THAT OUT AND SHOWING WHAT IS MORE IS, IS LIKELY TO MATERIALIZE VERSUS WHAT JUST THE RAW DATA WOULD SUGGEST.

OF THE DOLLARS THAT MIGHT BE COMMITTED OR SEMI COMMITTED THAT YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT MIGHT NOT MATERIALIZE IN THAT SPACE.

WELL, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO, TO INQUIRE ABOUT IS THE DEGREE TO WHICH, WHAT'S REPRESENTED THERE IN THE FUTURE.

THE CRYPTO AND HYDROGEN AND DATA CENTERS ARE LIKELY, OR DO WE UNDERSTAND THE LIKELIHOOD OF THIS? MY SENSE IS FROM READING, AT LEAST IN SOME CIRCLES, THERE'S POTENTIALLY AN AI BUBBLE THAT'S OUT THERE, AND THAT IF THAT WERE TO CHANGE OR BURST, THEN I WOULD ASSUME SOME

[00:35:01]

SO I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, DID, HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU IN WHAT ERCOT HAS SHARED HERE IN TERMS OF IS THIS OPTIMISTIC, IS THIS A BASE CASE? IS THIS PESSIMISTIC? DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF THAT? SO, UM, I, THE, THE BEST APPROXIMATION I HAVE, BASED ON WHAT ERCOT HAS SAID, IS IT'S, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY, AND THIS IS KIND OF THEIR BEST APPROXIMATION AT THIS POINT.

UM, THE, THE, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS THAT A LOT OF THESE CUSTOMERS THEMSELVES DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH POWER THEY'RE GOING TO NEED BECAUSE MAYBE THEY'RE HAVING A, UM, KIND OF AN INTERMEDIARY WHO'S, WHO'S MORE OF A REAL ESTATE COMPANY THAT'S LOOKING FOR THE SITE THAT'S WORKING WITH A DATA CENTER TO LOCATE HERE, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.

SO THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE A FULL COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MANY MEGAWATTS THEY'RE GOING TO NEED.

AND SO THAT'S ACCOUNTED FOR IN HERE.

I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S PESSIMISTIC OR OPTIMISTIC, IT'S JUST THE BEST ESTIMATE THAT THEY HAVE AT THIS POINT.

HAS AUSTIN ENERGY ITSELF DONE ANY SORT OF SIMILAR FORECASTING BASED ON, UH, SIMILAR NEEDS LOCALLY? UH, YES.

I THINK, UM, OURS, WHAT WE'VE LOOKED AT WITH, IN TERMS OF THE REQUESTS THAT WE HAVE, IF WE CHARACTERIZE THOSE IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, LIKELIHOOD, UH, HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW TYPE OF LIKELIHOOD, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT SOMEWHERE ABOUT 500 MEGAWATTS, UH, IN TERMS OF REQUESTS, UH, THAT'S ACTUALLY QUITE SMALL COMPARED TO WHAT A LOT OF UTILITIES ARE LOOKING AT.

UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OUR PUBLIC POWER PEERS, SOME OF THOSE EVEN THAT MIGHT BE 3000 MEGAWATT PEAKING UTILITIES LIKE US, ARE SEEING THINGS LIKE 3000 MEGAWATTS, MORE LIKE DOUBLING OR 6,000 MEGAWATTS OF REQUESTS.

SO, UM, FOR US, I THINK PARTLY OUR SERVICE AREA IS QUITE COMPACT.

LAND IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN IF YOU'RE LOCATED, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE ELSE OUTSIDE OF A, A DENSE URBAN AREA.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, OUR REQUESTS ARE GOING TO BE MORE IN TERMS OF, UM, WHERE THESE, UM, LARGE LOADS ARE GONNA BE LOCATED TO BE CLOSE TO A WORKFORCE RATHER THAN JUST LIKE A CRYPTO OR A LOAD OR JUST A, A, A DATA CENTER THAT'S NOT EMPLOYING A LOT OF PEOPLE.

IT'S, IT'S GOING TO BE MORE, UH, FOCUSED ON WHERE THE EMPLOYMENT IS, BUT IT'S GOING, THEY'RE TYPICALLY GONNA BE SMALLER AND, UM, AND HAVE A SMALLER, MORE COMPACT FOOTPRINT JUST BECAUSE OF LAND.

AND THAT 500 NUMBER, THAT'S FOR THE NEXT SIX YEARS OR WHAT'S THE FORECAST? UM, THAT'S JUST IN TERMS OF THE INTEREST THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM CUSTOMERS, PROBABLY THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF INTEREST THAT, LIKE ANY UTILITY, THE AMOUNT OF INTEREST THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM THESE LARGE CUSTOMERS IS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH.

SO THAT'S, UM, GENERALLY WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN TERMS OF THOSE WHO HAVE EXPRESSED MORE, UH, A MORE, UM, A LEVEL OF INTEREST THAT WOULD INDICATE THAT THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO COME TO FRUITION.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

I'M JUST TRYING TO GAUGE WHAT, UH, A REALISTIC LEVEL OF NEED MIGHT LOOK LIKE AND NOT, UH, POTENTIALLY BE TOO OPTIMISTIC BASED ON WHATEVER THE CURRENT, YOU KNOW, NATIONAL ECONOMY IS OR THE AI BUBBLE OR WHATEVER, WHATEVER CIRCUMSTANCES.

I MEAN, IN THE LAST WEEK, I'VE PROBABLY READ SEVERAL ARTICLES SUGGESTING, YOU KNOW, ALMOST HALF OF STATES MAY ALREADY BE IN A RECESSION RIGHT NOW THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT IF THE, UH, BUBBLE DOES BURST SOMEHOW, THEN WE MIGHT ALREADY BE IN A QUASI RECESSION.

SO I'M JUST TRYING TO BE REALISTIC AND I'M BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND, OR FOR YOU TO CONTINUE TO UPDATE US ON WHAT YOU AND AUSTIN ENERGY THINK ARE REALISTIC LEVELS OF NEED GOING FORWARD OVER THE NEXT SIMILAR TIME HORIZON.

YEAH, AND, AND JUST ON THAT POINT, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE RATING AGENCIES RECENTLY, UH, COMMUNICATED THAT, THAT THE WAY THEY SEE IT, IF DATA, THESE DATA CENTERS ARE COMING TO FRUITION IN CERTAIN, UH, ELECTRIC UTILITY SERVICE AREAS, THAT THE RATING AGENCIES DON'T SEE THAT AS A HIGH RISK, EVEN IF THAT AI DATA CENTER MIGHT, THERE MIGHT BE AN AI BUBBLE, THEY SEE IT, THAT THAT WOULD LIKELY BECOME JUST A NORMAL DATA CENTER.

I SEE.

SO, YOU KNOW, ALL THE YOUTUBE VIDEOS AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT'S OUT THERE, ALL THE DATA THAT'S JUST GROWING EXPONENTIALLY ALL THE TIME, THAT THERE WOULD BE THAT DEMAND FOR IT, JUST EVEN BASED ON NEED FOR REGULAR DATA CENTERS.

WHO ARE RIGHT NOW LOOKING TO PUT, UH, SOLAR ON, UH, THEIR, THEIR RESIDENTIAL HOME? LIKE, YOU KNOW, COULD YOU TALK IN KIND OF PRACTICAL TERMS ABOUT WHAT THAT IS GONNA MEAN? SURE.

UH, AND ONE LAST THING, WHICH IS JUST TO THANK YOU ALL FOR STAYING UP LATE LAST NIGHT AND JOINING US, UH, AT OUR LISTENING SESSION AND, UH, ALL THE WORK THAT YOU AND LISA AND BROCK AND EVERYBODY, AMY.

SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT EFFORT LAST NIGHT.

HAPPY TO DO IT, COMMUNICATING TO, UH, THANKS FOR HAVING US JOIN.

THANKS.

UH, THANK YOU, UH, VERY MUCH.

COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, THE, THE, THE RESIDENTIAL REBATE, UH, THAT IS ENDING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD THAT, HOW DOES THAT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IN TERMS OF THE CUSTOMERS

[00:40:01]

YEAH.

PRACTICALLY SPEAKING, THAT'S A 30% TAX CREDIT, UH, TO THOSE CUSTOMERS.

SO TYPICALLY THE SOLAR INSTALLERS WILL PROVIDE THOSE CUSTOMERS WITH, WITH TWO LOANS, ONE THAT'S GOING TO COVER THE 30%, WHICH THEY CAN IMMEDIATELY PAY OFF AS SOON AS THEY GET THAT TAX CREDIT, AND THEN A LOAN FOR THE, THE REMAINING 70%.

AND SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT IS IT'S JUST GOING TO BECOME, YOU KNOW, THAT MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS TO WHO INSTALL AND OWN, UM, RESIDENTIAL ROOFTOP SOLAR, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GET THAT 30% TAX CREDIT.

SO BASICALLY EVERYBODY THAT WANTS TO INSTALL SOLAR ON THEIR HOME AFTER, UH, AT, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THIS YEAR, THERE WOULD BE AN INCREASE IN, IN COST OF ABOUT 30% FOR THAT INSTALLATION.

THAT'S RIGHT.

SO IF, UH, FOLKS ARE LISTENING, UH, THIS IS, UH, THE TIME TO MOVE IF YOU WANT TO, UH, ADD, UH, SOLAR TO, UH, YOUR HOUSE.

AND I, I JUST CAN'T SAY HOW DISAPPOINTED I AM TO, UH, SEE THAT, ESPECIALLY AT A TIME WHEN, UH, ENERGY NEEDS, ESPECIALLY CLEAN ENERGY NEEDS ARE JUST SO CRITICAL FOR, UH, FOR AUSTIN, BUT NOT JUST FOR AUSTIN, FOR THE COUNTRY AS A WHOLE.

IT'S JUST SO DISAPPOINTING, UH, TO SEE THOSE, UH, TAX CREDITS, UM, EXPIRING.

I JUST CAN'T REALLY SEE A POLICY CASE FOR THAT.

UM, BRIEFLY, LET ME JUST TOUCH BASE THE, THE, THE STORAGE CONTRACT THAT, UH, COUNCIL PASSED, UH, A A FEW MEETINGS AGO.

UH, WHAT IS, UH, THE STATUS OF THAT? ANYTHING NEW? UM, SO WE'VE BEEN IN, UH, NEGOTIATIONS ON THAT CONTRACT WITH THE, THAT BATTERY STORAGE PROVIDER.

AND, UM, WE'RE SORT OF AT THE HOME STRETCH, UH, WORKING OUT SOME LAST, UM, UH, PROVISIONS AND, UM, WE HOPE THAT THIS WEEK OR NEXT THAT THAT SHOULD BE COMPLETED.

GOT IT.

AND THEN THE, UH, SOLAR FOR ALL HAS BEEN CANCELED.

I KNOW THERE WAS A, A MENTION THERE OF LEGAL REMEDIES, BUT, UH, IT, MY, MY SENSE WOULD BE THAT THAT, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT MONEY IS, UH, IS EVER GONNA, YOU KNOW, GET TO AUSTIN, HUH? UM, YEAH, THAT'S THE, THOSE ARE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT THE, UH, TEXAS COALITION MEMBERS ARE HAVING.

AND, UM, I, I, I DO THINK, UM, MAYBE THERE'S MORE TO THAT ARGUMENT.

SO I THINK WE'LL HAVE SOME UPDATES TO COUNCIL IN THE NEAR FUTURE ABOUT THAT.

WELL, UH, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO THAT.

AND THEN FINALLY, YOU WERE MENTIONING, UH, THE LAG TIMES ON, UH, THE, THE PURCHASES OF, UH, EQUIPMENT.

UH, WHAT ARE YOU SEEING, AND AGAIN, I KNOW WE'VE HAD THE DISCUSSION AROUND, UH, UH, PEAKERS AND, AND, UH, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS LIKE THAT.

WHAT, WHAT ARE THE KIND OF LAG TIMES THAT YOU'RE SEEING, UH, AROUND THE, THE ABILITY OF COMPANIES TO PROVIDE, UH, PEAKER UNITS? SO, UM, THERE IS A LONG QUEUE FOR, UH, FOR PEAKERS, AND, UM, THAT WOULD BE, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT A FIVE YEAR LEAD TIME IN TERMS OF INSTALLING PEAKERS.

UM, YOU KNOW, UH, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS WE HAVE, UH, THE RESOURCE PLAN LAYS OUT KIND OF WHAT OUR TIMEFRAME NEEDS TO BE, WHAT STEPS WE NEED TO GO THROUGH, UM, BY THE TIME WE GET TO THAT POINT, IT WILL BE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE DELAYING KIND OF GETTING INTO QUEUE FOR, FOR THAT EQUIPMENT.

SO THAT DOES CREATE A CHALLENGE FOR US.

MM-HMM .

UM, OF BEING IN THAT THREE TO FIVE YEAR QUEUE WITH MAYBE FIVE YEARS OVERALL FOR, UH, DEPLOYMENT.

AND PREVIOUSLY, WHAT WERE WE LOOKING LIKE, LET'S SAY A, A FEW YEARS BACK? WHAT WAS THE KIND OF THE, THE LAG TIME TO ORDER AND, UH, AND GET A, A PEAKER UNIT? WELL, UM, A FEW YEARS AGO THERE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN A, A, YOU KNOW, QUITE THE QUEUE.

IT WOULD'VE BEEN MORE ABOUT HOW LONG IT TAKES TO DO THE ENGINEERING, THE PROCUREMENT AND CONSTRUCTION, UH, BUT LESS ABOUT JUST HOW LONG THAT QUEUE IS TO EVEN GET AN ORDER IN.

AND, AND SO UTILITIES ARE MAKING THEIR DEPOSIT PAYMENT AND GETTING INTO THAT QUEUE EARLIER JUST TO HOLD A SLOT MM-HMM .

UM, AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING ACROSS THE INDUSTRY.

AND THEN I, I KNOW AS PART OF THE, UM, THE, THE GENERATION PLAN, UH, THERE'S A, A PROCESS, UH, THAT, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, IS SUPPOSED TO GO THROUGH AND THEN, UH, COME BACK TO COUNCIL TO DISCUSS ABOUT, UH, PEAKERS.

BUT MY SENSE IS WITH THAT, UH, LONG LAG TIME, UH, THAT, THAT DISCUSSION PROBABLY NEEDS TO START, UH, SOONER THAN, THAN LATER, UH, GIVEN THE, THE DEMAND CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING STATEWIDE AND, AND LOCALLY FOR THAT MATTER.

UM, ALRIGHT.

WELL, UH, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

I KNOW THAT WENT A LITTLE LONG, BUT THERE WERE A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION.

REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

TO ITEM THREE, THE STAFF BRIEFING ON THE THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS REPORT BY INTERIM CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, UH, STEPHANIE KUDELKA.

UH, NEXT WE'LL GO

[3. Briefing on the Third Quarter Financial Highlights Report. [Stephanie Koudelka, Finance Director Austin Energy].]

[00:45:01]

I'M SORRY, DID I PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME CORRECTLY? ALRIGHT, IT, YOU DID.

GOOD MORNING.

GOOD MORNING MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS STEPHANIE ALKA.

I AM, UM, THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, AND TODAY I'LL BE PRESENTING TO YOU OUR THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDING JUNE, 2025.

SO, UH, YOUR PACKET HAS OUR ENTIRE FINANCIAL POSITION AS OF THE END OF JUNE.

SO A LOT OF INFORMATION ON AUSTIN ENERGY'S FINANCIALS.

I'M PROPOSING TO RUN THROUGH AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WITH YOU THIS MORNING, BUT OF COURSE, HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION.

SO FOR THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, OUR OPERATING RESULTS ARE TRENDING ABOVE BUDGET AND THAT'S REALLY A THEME THAT YOU'LL SEE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE QUARTERLY PRESENTATION.

UM, OUR OPERATING INCOME AND NET INCOME, UM, LOOK REALLY GOOD FOR THE QUARTER AND THAT'S REALLY PRIMARILY DUE TO THE TRANSFER THAT WE MADE FROM OUR POWER SUPPLY OVER RECOVERY TO OUR POWER SUPPLY STABILIZATION RESERVE.

SO EARLIER THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE MOVED $30 MILLION, UM, INTO THAT RESERVE AND THAT REALLY DID, UM, HAVE TWO IMPACTS ON THE UTILITY.

AGAIN, YOU'LL SEE THROUGHOUT THE THEME OF THE PRESENTATION THAT OUR RESULTS ARE, UM, TRENDING ABOVE BUDGET AND THAT IS A ONE-TIME EVENT FOR THE UTILITY THIS FISCAL YEAR.

YOU WILL NOT SEE THAT IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR'S RESULTS.

AND IT ALSO ALLOWED THE UTILITY TO MEET OUR FINANCIAL POLICY FOR POWER SUPPLY.

SO OUR POLICIES SAY THAT WE NEED 90 DAYS OF POWER SUPPLY CASH ON HAND, AND THIS TRANSFER ALLOWED US TO MEET THAT POLICY.

MOVING ON TO OUR BOND RATING ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, WE ARE STILL UNDER OUR TARGET OF AA, UH, RATED UTILITY.

WE'RE AT AA MINUS.

UM, THAT RATING WAS AFFIRMED BY STANDARD AND POS, THAT'S WHO OUR TARGET IS THROUGH.

UM, THAT WAS FIRM LAST YEAR WHEN WE WENT TO THE BOND MARKET ABOUT A YEAR AGO.

WE ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY MEETING WITH RATING AGENCIES, SO WE'LL HAVE AN UPDATE FOR YOU SOON ON WHAT STANDARD AND POORS ASSESSES FOR THE UTILITY.

BUT CURRENTLY WE'RE AT AA MINUS WITH A STABLE OUTLOOK.

OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES, THIS IS SIMILAR THAN WHAT, UH, TO WHAT YOU'VE SEEN IN PRIOR QUARTERS.

WE ARE IN SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE WITH OUR POLICIES.

I'VE LEFT IT SUBSTANTIAL JUST GIVEN THAT WE HAVE SOME RESERVE BALANCES THAT ARE UNDER MINIMUMS, BUT OVERALL THE UTILITY IS MEETING OUR 150 DAY, UM, DAYS, CASH ON HAND POLICY.

UM, WE'RE SITTING AT 195 DAYS AS OF THE END OF JUNE.

UM, THAT LEADS ME INTO THE NEXT BOX HERE.

UM, WE ARE PARTLY MEETING THAT POLICY BECAUSE OUR POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT IS OVERCOVERED AS OF THE END OF JUNE.

WE ARE, WE'RE AT 109 MILLION OVERCOVERED.

UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, WE HAVE USED OUR ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY THIS FISCAL YEAR TO REDUCE THAT RATE FIVE TIMES BY 5% AS WE CLOSE OUT SEPTEMBER, WHICH AS WE KNOW IS STILL A SUMMER MONTH FOR THE UTILITY, UM, WE WILL ASSESS THOSE RESULTS AND THEN, UM, BEGIN TO ADJUST THAT RATE AS SOON AS WE KIND OF CLOSE THAT OUT AND SEE WHERE SEPTEMBER LANDED.

THAT CONCLUDES MY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.

HAPPY TO TAKE ANY MORE QUESTIONS OR MOVE THROUGH ANY PART OF THE PRESENTATION YOU'D LIKE.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, ANY QUESTIONS? COUNCIL MEMBER BI WAS CURIOUS ON THE SLIDE, SLIDE EIGHT ABOUT YOUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.

UM, ON THE DISTRICT COOLING LINE ARE THE, WE HAVE THE PLANNED AND THEN THE ACTUALS ARE, UM, ARE WE GOING TO MEET THE PLANNED SPEND OR IS THERE A REASON FOR SUCH A SIGNIFICANT, UH, DELTA THERE? SO THE REASON WE'RE UNDER IS JUST DUE TO TIMING SO FAR.

SO MOST OF THOSE ARE JUST SOME DOWNTOWN PROJECTS THAT WE'VE HAD SOME, UM, UNDERAGES IN, BUT WE STILL DO PLAN AS OF TODAY.

I CAN GIVE YOU A BETTER UPDATE NEXT QUARTER TO SEE WHERE WE LANDED, BUT, UM, WE'RE NOT EXPECTING TO COME UNDER FOR THE FISCAL YEAR.

SO THESE, AS YOU KNOW, DON'T KIND OF RUN ON A CYCLE.

THEY'RE, UM, DEPENDING ON THE, THE TIMING OF THE PROJECT.

RIGHT.

VERY STAIR STEPPY.

YES, EXACTLY.

ALL RIGHT, VERY GOOD.

JUST WANTED TO DOUBLE CHECK.

SURE.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE? ALRIGHT, WELL THANK YOU, UH, VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE REPORT.

TO ITEM FOUR IS A STAFF BRIEFING ON THE THIRD QUARTER OPERATIONS HIGHLIGHTS REPORT BY DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER LISA MARTIN, MS. MARTIN, GOOD MORNING CHAIR AND, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

MOVING ON

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

I LIKE STEPHANIE WILL TAKE A SIMILAR APPROACH AND PROVIDE JUST THE HIGHLIGHTS AND THEN I'LL BE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.

IF WE COULD MOVE TO THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SLIDE, WHICH I THINK IS TWO MORE.

SAID, I BOUGHT AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE.

UM, SO AS A HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY, WE HAD, OH, I'M PRESENTING FOR, UM, APRIL, MAY AND

[00:50:01]

JUNE OF 2025.

SO IT MAY FEEL LIKE IT'S A LITTLE BIT OLD, BUT NEXT MONTH WE'LL CATCH UP AND GIVE YOU A LITTLE MORE RECENT QUARTER.

SO, UH, AS A HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY, THIS, UH, TIME PERIOD IS GOING INTO THE SUMMER MONTHS AND WE HAD 44% RENEWABLE PRODUCTION AND 68% CARBON FREE PRODUCTION, BOTH AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD FOR Q3 OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

OUR GENERATORS WERE LARGELY AVAILABLE WITH LIMITED DURATION OFFLINE DUE TO PLANNED OUTAGES IN PREPARATION FOR THE SUMMER MONTHS.

AND OUR RELIABILITY METRICS, UH, INDICATED INCREASED STORM RESTORATION REPAIRS AND TIME TO RESTORE.

IF WE COULD JUMP TO SLIDE FIVE PLEASE.

THIS SLIDE SHOWS YOU THE MONTHLY, UH, CARBON FREE PERCENTAGE OF LOAD AND THIS IS WHERE YOU SEE THE 68%.

UM, THIS IS A TIME OF YEAR WHEN OUR LOAD STARTS TO INCREASE DURING THE, UM, FISCAL YEAR.

AND SO ALTHOUGH WE ACTUALLY HAD MORE CARBON FREE GENERATION, YOU CAN SEE THAT IT DIDN'T GO QUITE AS FAR AND THAT'S WHY THIS IS TRENDING DOWNWARD, UM, JUST BECAUSE INCREASED LOAD.

UM, IF WE COULD JUMP TO SLIDE SEVEN, UM, HERE YOU CAN SEE IN THE TOP LEFT THAT OUR, UM, FUEL COST METRICS ARE CONTINUING TO SHOW AN, UH, HIGH PERCENTAGE OF CARBON FREE RESOURCES, BOTH RENEWABLE AND ORANGE AND NUCLEAR AND BLACK FOR A TOTAL OF 71%.

UM, AND IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT YOU CAN SEE THIS, UH, 68% CARBON FREE AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD.

THE REAL TAKEAWAY FROM THIS SLIDE IS IF YOU LOOK AT THE BLUE LINE CHART, YOU'LL SEE THAT, UM, DURING THIS FOR THE QUARTER, OUR PEAK DEMAND IS ACTUALLY DECREASING OVER TIME.

THAT'S ALSO HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME WHERE YEAR OVER YEAR OUR CONSUMPTION IS INCREASING.

SO THE BLUE BAR IN THE UPPER RIGHT IS ACTUALLY HIGHER THAN IT WAS THIS TIME LAST YEAR.

SO LOWER PEAK, BUT HIGHER ENERGY USAGE JUST MEANS ACROSS THE DAY PEOPLE ARE USING MORE ELECTRICITY.

SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE CONTINUING TO ADAPT FOR THAT.

UM, AND THEN FINALLY, SLIDE 12, WHICH IS, UM, HIGHLIGHTING OUR RELIABILITY METRICS.

UM, REMEMBER THESE ARE VARIOUS METRICS TO SHOW HOW OUR DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY IS SERVED IN TERMS OF, OF, UM, OUR CUSTOMERS ARE SERVED, NUMBER OF OUTAGES, UM, AND THE DURATION OF THOSE OUTAGES.

LOWER NUMBERS ARE BETTER.

WE CONTINUE TO BE TWO TO THREE TIMES, UH, BETTER PERFORM BETTER THAN THE STATE OF TEXAS.

UM, AND WE DO EXPECT THAT THE TEXAS STATE AVERAGE NUMBERS WILL BE UPDATED, UM, THIS MONTH FOR THE MOST RECENT NUMBERS.

SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO TRACK THOSE, UH, THAT NUMBER.

UM, ALSO YOU CAN SEE IN APRIL AND MAY, WE DID HAVE A FAIR AMOUNT OF WEATHER.

UM, SO FAR THESE NUMBERS DO NOT INCLUDE THE MAJOR EVENT THAT WAS THE MAY MICROBURST BECAUSE, UM, THAT DATA IS STILL BEING REVIEWED, BUT ALSO IT'S MAJOR EVENTS, SO IT'S PULLED OUT OF THIS TYPE OF DATA.

BUT YOU SEE, EVEN WITHOUT THAT, WE WE'RE SEEING A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPTICK, MOSTLY DUE TO SOME WEATHER.

UM, WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON OUR COMPREHENSIVE DISTRIBUTION, UH, RESILIENCY PLAN AND INTEND TO BRING THAT TO YOU AT THE NEXT UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING NEXT MONTH.

UM, AND THAT WILL, UH, CONTINUE TO WORK TO, UH, DRIVE THESE NUMBERS AND TREND LINES DOWNWARD.

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

CHAIR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

I'VE JUST GOT ONE QUESTION ON THE EV CHARGING STATION OPERATION SLIDE TOWARDS THE END, I'M GONNA OUT MYSELF WITH SOMEBODY THAT DOESN'T DRIVE AN EV SO, UH, IT MAY JUST BE MY LACK OF UNDERSTANDING HERE, BUT I NOTICED THAT THE CHARGING TIME IS BASICALLY ALMOST HALF OF THE PLUGIN TIME FOR THE AVERAGE VEHICLE.

DO YOU ALL CONSIDER THAT ANY KIND OF A BOTTLENECK IN THE SENSE THAT WE COULD BE SERVING MORE VEHICLES IF WE COULD FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE THEM OFF CHARGERS FASTER AFTER THEY'VE BEEN CHARGED? OR IS THAT, OR AM I MISUNDERSTANDING WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE? NO, WHAT, WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS THAT, UM, VEHICLES DO SIT IN THE PARKING SPACE LONGER THAN THEY ARE ACTUALLY NEEDING TO CHARGE.

I THINK A LOT OF TIMES THAT'S RELATED TO WORKPLACE CHARGING AND SO, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE IN THE OFFICE AND THEY DON'T LEAVE TO GO, UM, MOVE THEIR VEHICLE.

UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE LEVEL TWO CHARGERS, MY GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE SYSTEM OVERALL IS THAT IT'S NOT CREATING A, A IMPACT WHERE OTHERS CAN'T COME.

THERE'S, THERE'S ENOUGH STU CHARGING STATIONS AROUND WITH THE, UM, DC FAST CHARGERS.

UM, THERE IS, YOU KNOW, CHARGE PER MINUTE, WHICH DOESN'T INCENTIVIZE YOU TO, TO PLUG IN IN AND LEAVE WHEN YOU'RE DONE.

SO WE'LL CHECK IN WITH, UM, OUR, UM, EV TEAM AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH YOU.

UM, ON THAT QUESTION, MAYBE A BETTER QUESTION FOR ME TO ASK WOULD BE, UH, DO WE HAVE A GOOD WAY TO GAUGE UNMET DEMAND IN THAT SPACE? UM, I THINK WE'LL TAKE THAT QUESTION BACK.

ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE? NO, BUT A BIT OF ADVICE.

I HAVE A PERSON THAT I KNOW VERY WELL WHO I DIDN'T SEE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, AND WHEN I SAW HIM, HE HAD LOST ABOUT 25 POUNDS.

AND I SAID, MY GOODNESS, YOU'RE INSPIRATIONAL.

HOW, HOW DID YOU DO THAT? AND HE

[00:55:01]

AND I SAID, OKAY, I'VE HEARD A LOT OF GOOD TALK ABOUT EVS, BUT TELL ME HOW THAT DID IT FOR YOU.

AND HE KEEPS A JUMP ROPE IN THE BACKSEAT OF HIS CAR.

AND WHILE HE IS, UM, UH, CHARGING HIS CAR, HE, MY GUESS IS KNOWING HIM THE WAY I DO, HE'S NOT STAYING LONGER THAN HE NEEDS TO .

AND THANK YOU, UH, VERY MUCH MS. MARTIN.

ITEM FIVE IS A STAFF BRIEFING ON AUSTIN ENERGY'S WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM, UH, BY VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY, UH, SOLUTIONS.

UH, MOVING ON TO

[5. Briefing on Austin Energy’s Weatherization Program. [Richard Génecé, Vice President of Customer Energy Solutions - Austin Energy].]

RICHARD, UH, GENESEE.

MR. GENESEE, ALL YOURS.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

UH, GOOD MORNING.

I'M RICHARD GENESEE, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS, AND I'M HERE TO PRESENT A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF OUR INCOME QUALIFIED ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SINCE, UH, 1982, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS OFFERED NO COST ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS FOR INCOME QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS FOR BOTH OWNERS AND RENTERS REFLECTING THE VALUES OF THE CITY.

AUSTIN ENERGY HAS PRIORITIZED OFFERING PROGRAMS THAT REDUCE THEIR BILLS, IMPROVE COMFORT, AND OFFER ENERGY EFFICIENT UPGRADES FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS.

THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS, UH, WE HAVE WEATHERIZED OVER 25,000 SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AND OVER 150,000 APARTMENTS FOR INCOME QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS.

THESE PROGRAMS DEMONSTRATE AUSTIN ENERGY'S ONGOING COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING QUALITY SERVICE TO OUR INCOME QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS.

WE DO THIS THROUGH AUSTIN ENERGY'S EXPERTISE IN BUILDING SCIENCE AND THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIPS AND LOCAL, WITH NO LOCAL NONPROFITS AND WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO, AS WE ALL KNOW, TEXAS IS A HOT PLACE TO LIVE IN THE SUMMER.

AND WHILE MUCH RARER, IT CAN GET EXTREMELY COLD IN THE WINTER.

SO HAVING ACCESS TO AIR CONDITIONING IN THE SUMMER AND HEAT IN THE WINTER IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL TO THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS.

IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT THAT THESE SYSTEMS ARE ENERGY EFFICIENT SO THAT THEY CONTINUE TO REDUCE THE LOAD ON THE GRID AND TO REDUCE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT.

SO, AS SUCH, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS DIFFERENT COOLING SOLUTIONS FOR OUR INCOME QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS FOR BOTH SINGLE FAMILY AND MULTIFAMILY, UH, THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE CITY'S NEW PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE, WHICH REQUIRES AIR CONDITIONING IN INHABITABLE ROOMS TO MAINTAIN A TEMPERATURE OF NO HIGHER THAN 85 DEGREES.

AUSTIN ENERGY PROVIDES RE EXPERT ASSISTANCE TO CUSTOMERS TO HELP GUIDE THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS AND INFORM THEM ABOUT THEIR UPGRADES FOR THOSE INCOME QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS WHO NEED HELP WITH THEIR HOME BEFORE A WEATHERIZATION PRO PROJECT CAN BEGIN.

LET'S SAY AN EXAMPLE THAT A HOUSE NEEDS A ROOF REPAIR.

WE MAKE REFERRALS TO THE HOUSING REPAIR COALITION.

THE HOUSING REPAIR COALITION PROVIDES GRANTS OF UP TO $20,000 TO INCOME QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS WHO NEED TO FIX STRUCTURAL ISSUES IN THEIR HOMES.

THESE ARE FUNDED THROUGH THE GO REPAIR BOND ADMINISTERED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN HOUSING DEPARTMENT.

SINGLE FAMILY CUSTOMERS SEE AN AVERAGE OF A 20% DECREASE IN THEIR ENERGY BILLS, AS WELL AS IMPROVED SAFETY AND COMFORT.

MULTIFAMILY CUSTOMERS, UH, EXPERIENCED DUCT DUCT CEILING AS ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE UPGRADES PERFORMED.

THIS CHART SHOWS THE RECENT PERFORMANCE OF THE SINGLE FAMILY WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM IN 2024.

AUSTIN ENERGY WEATHERIZED, THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS IN THE PAST DECADE, THE THIRD HIGHEST IN THE PROGRAM'S HISTORY.

GOING BACK TO 1982.

WHILE THERE WERE MANY FACTORS DRIVING THIS SUCCESS, THE SINGLE LARGEST FACTOR WAS TRIPLING THE NUMBER OF CONTRACTORS IN THE PROGRAM FROM SIX TO 18, WHICH YOU SEE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE.

AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF AND ALLOWS FOR INCREASED PROJECT SCOPE AND A MORE SCALABLE PROGRAM ON THE MULTIFAMILY SIDE AS WELL.

ON THE MULTIFAMILY SIDE, UH, RECENT RESULTS ARE EVEN BETTER THAN THEY'VE BEEN ON THE SINGLE FAMILY SIDE WITH OVER 10,000 APARTMENTS WEATHERIZED IN 2024, REPRESENTING AN ALL-TIME HIGH FOR THE PROGRAM.

AND, UH, OUR RESULTS FOR 2025.

WHILE THEY'RE NOT COMPLETELY TABULATED YET, OUR RESULTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025 LOOK CONSISTENT WITH, UH, 2024.

2020 WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE WENT THROUGH AN RFP AND ADDED A THIRD PARTY IMPLEMENTER INTO THE PROGRAM, WHICH AUGMENTS

[01:00:01]

GROWING AND MAINTAINING A TRAINED, RELIABLE CONTRACTOR BASE HAS BEEN A KEY TO THE PROGRAM'S SUCCESS.

NEXT SLIDE, INNOVATION, FLEXIBILITY, SCALABILITY, AND SAFETY ARE ALL A CONSTANT FOCUS IN BOTH THE SINGLE FAMILY AND MULTIFAMILY PROGRAMS. OUR SINGLE FAMILY APPLICATION IS AVAILABLE IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH, AND WE'VE SIMPLIFIED FROM A FOUR PAGE PAPER APPLICATION TO A STREAMLINED ONE PAGE APPLICATION THAT IS BOTH MOBILE FRIENDLY AND WEB BASED.

WE STILL PROVIDE PAPER APPLICATIONS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS WHO NEED IT.

AT OUR UTILITY CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTERS, OUR INCOME STANDARD IS 80% MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME, WHICH ALIGNS WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S HOUSING DEPARTMENT QUALIFICATIONS FOR THEIR GOAL REPAIR PROGRAMS. WE OFFER A FREE BACK TO BASICS PROGRAM AS PART OF OUR COMMITMENT TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UM, AND WE OFFER THIS TRAINING TWICE A YEAR WHERE WE REVIEW STANDARDS AND PROGRAM OPERATIONS.

WE ENCOURAGE OUR CONTRACTORS TO SEND THEIR ENTIRE CREWS.

WE ALSO HOST THE NATIONAL COMFORT INSTITUTES CLASSES FOR CONTRACTORS PROVIDING NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED STANDARDS FOR DUCT DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE INSTALLATION.

IN MULTIFAMILY, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DRIVE, UH, THE NUMBERS OF, UM, ENERGY EFFICIENT UPGRADES IN THE, UH, APARTMENTS FROM 1.2 MEASURES PER APARTMENT TO AN AVERAGE OF TWO TO THREE, 2.5 TO THREE, UM, UPGRADES PER APARTMENT.

WE SURVEY EVERY MULTIFAMILY PARTICIPATING CUSTOMER, BOTH THE OCCUPANTS AND THE PROPERTY MANAGERS AND OWNERS, AND WE USE THOSE SURVEY RESULTS TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PROGRAM.

IN CONCLUSION, AUSTIN ENERGY'S WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS OPTIMIZE OUR COMMITMENT, OUR COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS THROUGH OUR NETWORK OF CONTRACTORS, LOCAL NONPROFITS, AND OTHER CITY OF AUSTIN DEPARTMENTS.

WE ARE COMMITTED TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH OUR TWICE A YEAR DELIVERED TRAINING AND HOSTING THE NATIONAL COMFORT INSTITUTE'S TRAINING PROGRAMS AND THE INNOVATION, FLEXIBILITY, SCALABILITY, AND SAFETY QUALITY OF OUR PROGRAMS FOR INCOME QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS HAVE MADE THESE PROGRAMS MODEL PROGRAMS NATIONALLY FOR DELIVERING CRITICAL AND HIGH QUALITY SERVICES TO OUR MOST VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS.

THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, AND I'M AVAILABLE TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

UH, MR. GENE, GOOD TO SEE THE, THE DEMAND, UH, REDUCTION SIDE OF THE, UH, CALCULUS, UH, GETTING, UH, WORKED ON AND, AND, AND GOOD TO SEE, UH, A STRONG, UH, UH, WORK ON BOTH THE RESIDENTIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY SIDE.

UH, ANY QUESTIONS FROM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SIR.

AND GO TO ITEM SIX, A STAFF BRIEFING ON AUSTIN ENERGY'S CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM EXPANSION BY DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER AND CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER, CARRIE OVERTON.

AND THEN LET'S GO AHEAD

[6. Briefing on Austin Energy’s Customer Assistance Program. [Kerry Overton, Deputy General Manager and Chief Customer Officer - Austin Energy]

MR. OVERTON, UH, GOOD MORNING.

THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, FOR THAT GREAT INTRODUCTION.

UM, I'M PRE, I'M GOING TO PRESENT A SHORT BRIEFING ON THE SUCCESS THAT WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING WITH THE EXPANSION OF OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, SPECIFICALLY THE, THE DISCOUNT PORTION OF IT.

UM, IN, UH, NEXT SLIDE.

IN DECEMBER OF 2022, COUNCIL, UM, PASSED A RESOLUTION, UH, DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXPAND THE CUSTOMER, UM, DISCOUNT PROGRAM OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD.

UM, WITH THE BASIS OF THAT WAS A GOAL SET THAT WE THOUGHT THAT THERE WERE ABOUT 97,000 CUSTOMERS BY LOOKING AT HOUSING DATA AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DATA OF ABOUT 97,000 CUSTOMERS THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE IN OUR SERVICE TERRITORY.

UM, THE RESOLUTION SET OUT FOR US TO MEET 90% OF THE ELIGIBLE, UM, HOUSEHOLD HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE LIVING BELOW 200% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.

AND WE SAT OUT ON A COURSE, UM, WITH A GREAT TEAM, UH, TO, TO IMPROVE THAT FROM WHERE WE WERE AT 35,000 CUSTOMERS IN THE EXISTING PROGRAM.

AND, UH, NOW, AND YOU'LL SEE IN JUST A SECOND, UM, HOW CLOSE WE HAVE REACHED, UM, THAT GOAL AND THAT YOU'VE SET OUT FOR US.

UM, THIS AND, AND THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS THAT ARE IN THERE.

IN IN GENERAL TERMS, UH, THIS IS MOST, UH, HOUSEHOLDS THAT FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR, THAT'S ABOUT 66, 60

[01:05:01]

$7,000 A YEAR.

UM, AND WE KNOW THAT THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, AND YOU'LL HEAR SOME MORE OF THE BENEFITS THAT THIS HAS BEEN GREATLY, UH, RECEIVED BY, UH, BY THESE CUSTOMERS.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

UM, AS I MENTIONED, UM, IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS, UH, OF REACHING THAT GOAL, WE HAD OUR MILESTONES, UM, SET THROUGH THAT DIRECTIVE, AND WE EXCEEDED 'EM EARLY.

BUT AS YOU KNOW, THE MORE WE GOT, UH, REALLY CLOSER TO THE TARGETED GOAL, IT BECAME A LITTLE BIT MORE, MORE DIFFICULT.

AND SO WE'RE GETTING REALLY, UH, JUST ABOUT, UM, UH, CURRENTLY AT ABOUT NINE, UH, 82,000, AND WE FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF THAT.

AND THE WAY WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT IS, UM, EXPANDING THE SKILL SETS OF OUR STAFF WHO PROVIDE WRAPAROUND SERVICES, BUT ALSO THROUGH A LOT OF TECHNOLOGICAL AND DATA MATCHING AND INTEGRATION NEEDS.

AND YOU'LL HEAR MORE, UH, ABOUT THAT AS WELL.

YOU CAN SEE IN THIS CHART, UH, WHERE WE WERE AT THE BEGINNING, AS I MENTIONED, THE 32,000, AND WE'RE NOW AT, UM, A LITTLE BIT OVER 82.

AND PROBABLY AT THE TIME OF THIS REPORT, IT MIGHT, THE 82,000 MIGHT BE SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN THAT NEXT SLIDE.

THESE DISCOUNTS, UM, ARE REALLY SIGNIFICANT FOR, UM, OUR HOUSEHOLDS, UM, HOUSEHOLDS THAT RECEIVE ALL UTILITY SERVICES CAN RECEIVE, UH, JUST OVER $1,400, UM, PER YEAR, UH, IN DISCOUNTS.

UH, YOU CAN SEE BY EACH UTILITY SEGMENT, UH, THE WAY EACH DEPARTMENT, UH, HAS PROVIDE THOSE KINDS OF INCENTIVES, UM, IN THE PROGRAM.

UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TOTAL AMOUNT DURING THE FY 2024, UH, YEAR, THE CUSTOMER SAVINGS COULD REACH AS MUCH AS, UH, 38 MILLION, UH, TOTAL.

AND SO WE THINK THAT THERE'S BEEN A SIGNIFICANT EFFORT FOR EACH OF THE DEPARTMENTS TO BE PART OF THAT PROGRAM AND MAKING SURE THAT THOSE DISCOUNTS, UM, ARE PROVIDED TO THESE CUSTOMERS.

UH, IN OUR MIND, WE SEE IT AS ANOTHER DEMONSTRATION OF THE WAY THE CITY IS CONTINUING TO INVEST IN OUR LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS, BUT ALSO MAKING AUSTIN, UM, AFFORDABLE.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THE NUMBERS IN EACH OF THE SLIDES, UM, WITH THAT AMOUNTS TO ON A MONTHLY BASIS AND A YEARLY BASIS.

BEEN PROVIDED PROPERLY, AND WE'LL DO SOME FOLLOW UP TO GET THAT CUSTOMER BACK ON TRACK, BUT IT'S BEEN, UH, REALLY GOOD FOR US TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT KIND OF AUTOMATION TO DO IT.

UH, PROVIDING THESE, UM, DISCOUNTS.

UM, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE DOLLARS, IT'S ALSO ABOUT THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.

IF I COULD KIND OF MAYBE START AT THE RIGHT QUADRANT AND WORK, WORK AROUND AS A WRAPAROUND SERVICE, UM, WE HAVE A DEDICATED TEAM OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ACTUALLY GO OUT, UM, INTO THESE HOMES AND DO ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT, CASE MANAGEMENT, WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS.

SO IT'S NOT JUST THE DISCOUNTS THAT THEY RECEIVE ON THEIR BILL.

WE ARE ACTUALLY IN THE COMMUNITY HAVING, UH, REAL CARE, UH, REAL REFERRAL SERVICES THAT HELP THE CUSTOMERS BECOME EDUCATED ABOUT THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.

AND WHEN WE DON'T, WE HAVE A GREAT PARTNERSHIP WHERE OTHERS CAN PICK UP WHERE THE CITY, UH, LEAVES OFF THAT.

UH, AND THAT WRAPAROUND SERVICES INCLUDED WITH NONPROFITS, SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCIES, AND ALSO OUR, UM, ORGANIZATIONS COMMUNITY OF FAITH THAT HELPS US DELIVER THESE SERVICES.

AND ALSO THE ADDITIONAL SERVICES THAT THEY PROVIDE.

UH, THERE'S A LOT OF EXPERT THERE.

IT'S THE SUPPORT THROUGH THE DISPLACEMENT FOR THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN DISPLACED.

ALSO, THE IN-HOME SERVICES THAT I MENTIONED.

ALSO, JUST OVERALL JUST BASIC NEED REFERRALS, AND THAT'S THE PRO AND THE PROGRAMS THAT WE PROVIDE ALL THE WAY TO LONG-TERM DEBT MANAGEMENT FOR ARREARAGE MANAGEMENT, AND ALSO ONE TIME EMERGENCY, UH, ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR CUSTOMERS WHO MAY FIND THEMSELVES IN A SINGLE PREDICAMENT, UH, TO PAY THEIR BILL.

WE CAN ADD SOME RELIEF.

UH, THERE'S A SPECIAL PROGRAM FOR THAT AS WELL, AND THAT TAKES IT ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.

WE COULD NOT HAVE ACHIEVED THIS MILESTONE, UH, BY OURSELVES.

WE'VE DONE THIS, UH, IN A CONSORTIUM AND A PARTNERSHIP AND A NETWORK THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY.

AND, UH, AND WE'RE ALSO ARE NOT JUST IN THE OFFICE.

WE'RE LITERALLY IN THE HOMES.

WE'RE IN THE COMMUNITIES WHERE ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, LIVE.

NEXT SLIDE, AS I SAID, UM, OUR STAFF DID NOT INCREASE DURING THIS TIME PERIOD, BUT WE DID HAVE, WE ADDED IN SOME NEEDED AREAS, SOME, UH, TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES TO HELP WITH SOME OF THE WORKLOAD, BUT WE ALSO, UM, AUTOMATED OVER THE THREE YEARS QUITE A BIT.

AND PART OF THAT AUTOMATION ENTAIL, IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH, UH, REAL TIME INTERFACING, ALSO LOOKING AT OUR ADDRESS MATCHING.

THE SUMMARY OF THAT IS WE CREATED, UM, WE CREATED A PORTAL THAT ALLOW OUR CUSTOMERS TO ENROLL, UM, INTO THE SYSTEM, AND IT ALLOWED US TO EVALUATE THOSE APPLICATIONS IN A MUCH FASTER WAY.

AND SO WE REDUCED THROUGH THIS AUTOMATION, UH, AN APPLICANT THAT, UH, MAYBE, UH, JUST BEFORE THE THREE YEARS AGO, THAT COULD TAKE SOMEWHERE UP TO 30, 60, OR 90 DAYS FOR THE FINAL PRODUCT.

UH, REVIEW IS NOW BEING ALL DONE REAL TIME, SAME DAY.

UH, THERE ARE SOME OCCASIONS WHERE NOT ALL OF THE, UH, THE INFORMATION HAS

[01:10:01]

UH, WE ALSO HAVE DONE A LOT OF DATA ANALYSIS.

WE LOOKED AT, UM, GEO-BASED DATA AND LOOKING AT WHERE OUR CUSTOMERS ARE LIVING AT ONE TIME.

I'M A AUSTIN, UH, NATIVE, AND I'M PRETTY, I'M PROUD OF THAT.

I GREW UP HERE AND I SAW, I'VE SEEN THIS AND EXPERIENCED THIS TOWN, UH, GROW.

UM, BUT IN REALITY WHERE I GREW UP, WE WERE ALL, UH, CONCENTRATED IN EAST AUSTIN, MAYBE ONE AREA, BUT NOW ALL OF OUR LOW INCOME HOUSING, UM, AND ALL OF OUR, UH, CUSTOMERS OF NEED ARE SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CITY.

SO WE HAD TO REALLY USE DATA MATCHING THE GEO-BASED, UM, POVERTY DATA HELPED US.

WE ALSO DID A LOT OF WORK IN INTEGRATING WITH OUR PARTNERS.

THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS WE'RE JUST BASICALLY, UM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE MORE DATA MINING PEOPLE ON OUR TEAM THAN WE HAD MAYBE FIVE YEARS AGO.

BUT IN LOOKING AT THOSE ANALYSIS, WE'RE, WE'RE ACTUALLY ABLE TO TARGET THOSE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE NEEDING THESE SERVICES.

AND THAT'S WHY I LISTED HERE AS AN OPERATIONAL STRENGTH.

I BELIEVE THROUGH THIS EFFORT, OUR STAFF HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST HELP TO, UM, SHOW THE CARE AND CONCERN AND MAKING SURE THAT THESE CUSTOMERS ARE RECEIVING THE DISCOUNT.

THE SCHOOLS, UH, NOT ONLY SHARE DATA WITH US, THEY HAVE BEEN A GREAT PARTNER IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT BECAUSE THEY ALSO HELP US DISSIMILATE THE RIGHT INFORMATION TO THE HOUSEHOLDS AND NEEDS THROUGH THEIR PROGRAMS. AND WE'RE ALSO TABLING EVENTS AND HAVING OUTREACH PROGRAMS WITH THEM IN CONJUNCTION WITH THOSE.

AND THEN WE'RE NOW SPENDING A LOT OF THE TIME OF OUR YEAR ON OUR QUALITY CONTROL PROCESSES TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, ALL OF THE RECORDS ARE ACCURATE, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE RECEIVING THOSE BENEFITS.

AND WE'LL DO THAT THROUGHOUT THE NEXT 18 MONTHS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING DATA SCRUBS.

SO, IN SUMMARY, UM, AGAIN, WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS WITHOUT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY.

UH, WE ARE CONTINUING TO GROWING AND MAKING OUR, UH, RELATIONSHIPS WITH THESE COMMUNITY-BASED PARTNERSHIPS.

WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR IDENTIFYING NEW ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS THAT MEET OUR QUALIFICATIONS.

SO WE'RE OUT THERE LOOKING AT ALL OF THE, UH, PROVIDERS AND SOCIAL SERVICE, UM, UM, AGENCIES.

WE ALSO ARE ALIGNING ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS TO THE BASIC NEEDS.

WE'VE DONE MORE WORK OVER THIS LAST THREE YEARS TO WORK WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UM, SUCH AS WATER, UM, AND EVEN THE TRANSPORTATION, UH, DEPARTMENT, UH, BECAUSE THEY ALSO PROVIDE SOME OF THE FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE BENEFITS.

AND WE ALSO ARE WORKING WITH OUR NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE HELPING US.

WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR PEER GROUPS AND THE UTILITIES, BUT WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT GROUPS THAT PROVIDE THESE SAME KIND OF SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

WE'RE LOOKING AT BEST PRACTICES, AND WE'VE TAKEN THE APPROACH THAT WE'VE DONE A GREAT JOB HERE, BUT WE CAN ALWAYS DO BETTER WITH THAT.

I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

UH, MR. OVERTON, ANY, UH, QUESTIONS FROM, UH, COUNCIL? WELL, I JUST WANNA CONGRATULATE Y'ALL ON THE DAAS AND, UH, DECEMBER OF 22, I REMEMBER THE DISCUSSION AROUND THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND I REMEMBER THINKING AT THE TIME THAT THAT WAS AN EXTREMELY AMBITIOUS GOAL THAT WE WERE SETTING AND WONDERING, UH, IF WE WERE GONNA BE ABLE TO, TO MEET THAT GOAL, UH, TO HAVE, UH, TRIPLED.

I BELIEVE THE, THE NUMBER OF FOLKS IN THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UH, IS JUST A, A TREMENDOUS, UH, OUTCOME AND, UH, CREDIT TO, TO YOU AND TO YOUR TEAM AND TO EVERYONE AT AUSTIN ENERGY FOR, UH, MOVING TO, TO GET THAT DONE.

THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY BACK IN THE POCKETS OF, UH, WORKING CLASS AUSTINITES THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT CAN GO TO EDUCATION, THAT CAN GO TO RECREATION, THAT CAN GO TO HEALTHCARE, THAT CAN GO TO A LOT OF OTHER, UH, USES.

AND SO I'M JUST VERY HAPPY TO, UH, TO, TO SEE THAT.

AND REMIND ME ONCE AGAIN, WHAT IS, UH, THE LEVEL FOR SOMEONE TO QUALIFY FOR THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM? UH, IT'S 200% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.

MM-HMM .

AND THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT $67,000 FOR A HOUSEHOLD OF FOUR.

SO IF YOU'RE A HOUSEHOLD OF FOUR THAT'S MAKING UNDER ABOUT $67,000, YOU CAN QUALIFY FOR THE, YOU DO QUALIFY FOR THE, YOU DO QUALIFY THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

AND AGAIN, AS YOU WERE MENTIONING, THE REBATE IS NOT JUST AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, ALL OF THE DIFFERENT, UH, UTILITY SERVICES THAT WE OFFER.

UH, AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE, UH, WATER WASTEWATER AND, UM, THE AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

UM, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY IS PART OF THE PROGRAM'S WHAT DELIVER, BUT THE, UM, UM, THEY'RE NOT HAVING A SPECIFIC DISCOUNT ON THE PROGRAM.