Nov 18, 2025 Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee

TO ITEMS TWO IS THE APPROVAL OF OUR 2026 MEETING SCHEDULE.

GOOD MORNING, MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VELA.

MY NAME IS SCOTT JOHNSON.

I HAVE A LONG HISTORY WITH ELECTRIC LAWNMOWERS AND SALES EVENTS AND EXCHANGE EVENTS HERE.

MY PURPOSE IS TO TRY TO WORK CREATIVELY TO FIND FUNDING THAT MAY BE WITHIN THE, OR MAYBE AVAILABLE TO THE OFFICE OF CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE, OR MAYBE NOT.

AND THEREFORE, I'VE FOLLOWED THIS ISSUE FOR A WHILE.

THIS CITY'S THIS LETTER THAT YOU'RE SEEING.

THERE IS A THANK YOU LETTER FROM A FORMER STAFF MEMBER AT AUSTIN ENERGY FOR BRINGING THE IDEA FOR AN ELECTRIC LAWN MOW EXCHANGE TO THEM IN 1996.

AND WE DID IT IN 97.

I PICKED IT UP AGAIN, UH, WORKING WITH A NONPROFIT AND THEN ON MY OWN FOR 10 YEARS BETWEEN 2001 AND 2015.

NEXT, PLEASE, AND THIS IS, UH, IMPORTANT, BUT RIGHT NOW, AUSTIN ENERGY IS PROVIDING A REBATE AT POINT OF SALE, WHERE WHEN YOU GO IN TO BUY AN ELECTRIC LAWNMOWER OR HANDHELD EQUIPMENT, YOU GET A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DISCOUNT OFF OF IT, AND THAT'S OKAY.

BUT THE MAR THE PROGRAM IS NOT WELL PROMOTED.

THE PERSON SOMETIMES IS SURPRISED THAT THEY DON'T, THAT THEY ARE GETTING A REBATE, AND MANY PEOPLE DON'T NEED A REBATE IF THE PRICE OF THE ELECTRIC LAWNMOWER IS $249.

WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT THAT PROGRAM COULD BE REVAMPED OR IT COULD JUST BE ELIMINATED.

AND I'VE SPOKEN ON THIS ISSUE LAST YEAR AT THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION TWICE.

THE FUNDING ANNUALLY THAT IS EXPENDED FOR THIS IS MORE THAN $40,000.

MOST YEAR RECORDS FROM THREE YEARS AGO SHOWED IT WAS 51,000 FOR A 12 OR 13 MONTH PERIOD.

THE POSITION THAT WAS APPROVED BY THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE, THAT'S CHAIRED BY KABA WHITE, THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT PAST THE TRE, IT WAS STRIPPED OUT, IS A SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT POSITION.

AND THAT POSITION MAY OR MAY NOT BE FUNDED THROUGH THE PROCESS THAT YOU'RE GOING FOR.

NOW, ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS IS AN E-BIKE PROGRAM.

I MEAN, EARLY ADOPTER OF E-BIKES, BUT THE MAJORITY OF THOSE PEOPLE TALKING TO A LARGE RETAILER ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN A POSITION TO BUY AN ELECTRIC BICYCLE WITHOUT A REBATE.

SO MY ASK IS FOR YOU TO DIG INTO THE BUDGET MORE AND FIND OUT IF THERE'S A WAY TO LIMIT OR ELIMINATE PROGRAMS THAT ARE NOT EFFECTIVE TO HELP PEOPLE OF, OF LESSER MEANS TO GET INTO AN ELECTRIC LAWNMOWER OR AN E-BIKE AND SEE IF THAT FUNDING CAN BE USED TO SUPPORT THE SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT, UH, FTE THAT WAS STRIPPED OUTTA THE BUDGET FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, AFTER THE TRE FAILED.

THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WAS CHAMPIONED BY RYAN ALTER'S OFFICE AND SUPPORTED BY OTHERS TO HAVE TWO NEW POSITIONS IN OFFICE OF CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE.

BUT NEITHER OF THOSE, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, ARE ARE THERE NOW.

WE NEED TO THINK CREATIVELY.

WE NEED TO LOOK AT THINGS MORE CLOSELY, OBVIOUSLY, THAN, THAN WE DID BEFORE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TESTIMONY.

ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. JOHNSON? MS. WHITE, THANK YOU.

GOOD MORNING, KABA WHITE ON BEHALF OF PUBLIC CITIZENS TEXAS OFFICE.

UM, I HAVE TWO THINGS I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT.

UM, THE FIRST, UM, I'VE BEEN ENCOUNTERING IN MY ROLE, UH, WITH SOLAR AUSTIN, WE ARE TRYING TO DONATE SOME SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS TO OTHER NONPROFITS HERE IN TOWN TO HELP REDUCE THEIR COST.

AND, UH, WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS THAT THE PERMITTING PROCESS AND FEES FOR SMALL COMMERCIAL SOLAR INSTALLATIONS, WHICH IS WHERE THIS FALLS FOR NONPROFITS, IS EXCESSIVE AND, UH, APPEARS TO BE OUT OF LINE WITH THE ACTUAL REVIEW THAT IS TAKING PLACE TO GET THOSE, THAT PERMITTING DONE.

UM,

[00:05:01]

SO IT'S EXPENSIVE.

IT IS COMPLICATED, AND IT SLOWS THE PROCESS DOWN.

AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT SOLAR IS BEING INSTALLED, YOU CAN HAVE A LOT OF RESIDENTIAL HERE IN AUSTIN.

AND THEN YOU HAVE A LOT, YOU KNOW, MORE OF THE KINDA LARGER SCALE COMMERCIAL.

BUT THERE'S THIS MISSING BUCKET, WHICH IS THE SMALLER COMMERCIAL.

AND I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY A BIG REASON WHY.

SO I KNOW YOU'LL HAVE A, A A A A RESOLUTION OUT THAT YOU'RE WAITING TO HEAR BACK FROM IN FEBRUARY ABOUT PERMITTING FEES.

AND I'M JUST SPEAKING TO THIS IN THE HOPES THAT SOME OF Y'ALL WILL MAKE SURE THAT, UH, PERMITTING PROCESS AND FEES FOR SOLAR, AND ESPECIALLY COMMERCIAL AND SMALL COMMERCIAL SOLAR IS PART OF THAT REVIEW.

UM, THE OTHER PIECE, UH, THAT I WANTED TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO IS ABOUT THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM THAT IS UP AND RUNNING NOW FOR COMMERCIAL, AND THAT IS IN DEVELOPMENT FOR RESIDENTIAL AND HOPEFULLY SMALL COMMERCIAL.

UM, I'VE BEEN HEARING FROM A NUMBER OF FOLKS THAT ARE IN THE INDUSTRY WANTING TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM, THAT THE RATE IS SIMPLY NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO MAKE THE FINANCES WORK, THAT THERE'S NOT REALLY AN ANY, UM, MONEY AVAILABLE WITH, WITH THAT BUDGET TO BE ABLE TO PAY THE PROPERTY OWNER FOR THE USE OF THEIR ROOF SPACE.

AND MANY PROPERTY OWNERS ARE NOT GONNA OFFER UP THEIR ROOF SPACE FOR NOTHING.

AND SPECIFICALLY, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THAT YOU DIRECT AUSTIN ENERGY TO START USING THE FULL VALUE OF SOLAR RATE, UM, NOT EXCLUDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL BENEFITS PIECE OF IT.

AND ALSO, THERE IS NO REASON WHY THIS TYPE OF DISTRIBUTED SOLAR SHOULD NOT BE, UH, AWARDED INCENTIVES JUST LIKE OTHER DISTRIBUTED SOLAR.

IT'S THE EXACT SAME THING.

IT'S JUST BEING FINANCED IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

SO IF THIS IS TRULY A PRIORITY IN TERMS OF HOW AUSTIN ENERGY IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO GET ITS ENERGY, I THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED TO MAKE SOME CHANGES IN THE EXISTING PROGRAM AND IN WHAT COMES FORWARD FOR THE SMALLER SCALE INSTALLATIONS.

I WILL SAY AUSTIN ENERGY HAS HAD A GREAT YEAR WITH DISTRIBUTED SOLAR.

THAT'S AWESOME.

THINGS ARE ABOUT TO BE CHANGING WITH THE TAX CREDITS GOING AWAY.

UM, SO WE NEED TO START, UH, MAKING SOME CHANGES HERE LOCALLY TO PREPARE FOR THAT.

[Approval of Minutes]

THE AGENDA.

UH, ITEM ONE IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE OCTOBER 7TH, 2025 MEETING.

CAN I GET A MOTION, A MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL AND A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.

UH, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE BY RAISE YOUR HAND UNANIMOUS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.

UH, GOING ON

[2. Discussion and approval of the 2026 Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee Meeting Schedule.]

IT IS IN YOUR BACKUP PACKET.

WE'RE LOOKING AT SIX MEETINGS FOR 2026, JANUARY, MARCH, MAY, JULY, SEPTEMBER, AND NOVEMBER.

UM, AND AGAIN, I WOULD ASK FOR A, UH, MOTION AND A SECOND, A MOTION FROM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN AND A SECOND FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS FOR APPROVAL OF OUR 2026 MEETING SCHEDULE.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PLEASE INDICATE BY, UH, UNANIMOUS, UH, APPROVAL OF THE 2026 MEETING SCHEDULE.

AND, UH,

[3. General Manager’s Report - Battery Storage, Renewable Energy Requests for Proposals, Affordability Benchmarking, and Light Up Navajo [Stuart Reilly, General Manager - Austin Energy].]

ITEM THREE IS A GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT BY, UH, MISTAKENLY, UH, WRITTEN AS INTERIM GENERAL MANAGER, STUART O'REILLY.

UH, HE, THERE'S CONGRATULATIONS IN ORDER, UH, TO, UH, MR. STUART REILLY, WHO IS NOW OUR, UH, FULL-TIME PERMANENT, UH, GENERAL MANAGER.

AND, UH, I JUST WANT TO GIVE HIM, UH, UH, HARDY CONGRATULATIONS FROM MYSELF AND I THINK FROM, FROM EVERYBODY, UH, ON THE DAY.

THANK, KATE.

ABLE TO MORE EFFECTIVELY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THE MARKET OPPORTUNITIES THAT MIGHT PRESENT THEMSELVES FOR FOUR HOUR DURATION.

APPRECIATE IT.

WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

UM, THAT TELLS YOU HOW FAR IN ADVANCE WE DO THESE AGENDAS, UH, TAKE SOME PLANNING.

SO, UH, I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND, UM, WITH THIS BEING MY FIRST MEETING AND IN THE PERMANENT ROLE, I JUST WANNA SAY WHAT A PRIVILEGE IT IS, UM, TO BE LEADING ONE OF THE NATION'S PREMIER PUBLIC POWER UTILITIES.

WE HAVE AN AMAZING TEAM OF ELECTRIC UTILITY PROFESSIONALS AT AUSTIN ENERGY, AND I'M, I'M THRILLED TO CONTINUE TO WORK ALONGSIDE ALL OF THEM, ALONGSIDE ALL OF YOU, OUR COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS, OUR CUSTOMERS, AND MEETING OUR AMBITIOUS CLEAN ENERGY GOALS.

SO, LOOK FORWARD TO IT.

UM, LOTS AHEAD.

SO THANK YOU.

UM, I WILL JUST GET RIGHT INTO IT.

UM, FIRST UPDATE IS A FEW WEEKS AGO WE EXECUTED A CONTRACT FOR 100 MEGAWATT BATTERY STORAGE PROJECT WITH JUPITER POWER.

UM, THIS IS A UTILITY SCALE ENERGY STORAGE PROJECT THAT IS LOCATED, WILL BE LOCATED WITHIN THE AUSTIN ENERGY LOAD ZONE IN EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY.

UM, ONE THING THAT'S NOTEWORTHY IS THIS IS A FOUR HOUR STORAGE SYSTEM.

AND SO THAT PUTS US IN TRULY ELITE COMPANY.

UH, MOST BATTERY STORAGE SYSTEMS IN ERCOT ARE ONE HOUR OR TWO HOUR ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS. BY HAVING A FOUR HOUR UTILITY SCALE BATTERY STORAGE SYSTEM, WE'RE

[00:10:01]

UM, REALLY SUPPORT RESILIENCY, RELIABILITY, AND AFFORDABILITY FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, ESPECIALLY IN THOSE CRITICAL, UM, SUNDOWN PERIODS LATE IN THE DAY.

UM, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

UM, LOCAL ENERGY SUPPORT, UM, REALLY GOOD FOR CUSTOMERS, GOOD FOR RELIABILITY, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO DO THAT IN A WAY THAT, UM, WE CAN CONTINUE THAT MOMENTUM.

WE ARE NOW WORKING ON OTHER ENERGY STORAGE EFFORTS.

UH, DON'T HAVE ANY NEWS ON THAT TODAY, BUT HOPEFULLY IN THE COMING MONTHS WE'LL HAVE SOME MORE, UM, POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ENERGY STORAGE SPACE.

ALSO WANTED TO MENTION TWO RENEWABLE REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS THAT ARE OUT ON THE STREET RIGHT NOW.

ONE IS A LANDFILL SOLAR RFP.

THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY TO MAKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN FM EIGHT 12 LANDFILL A PRODUCTIVE RENEWABLE ENERGY SITE.

SO WE'RE SEEKING PROPOSALS FOR UTILITY SCALE SOLAR AT THAT LANDFILL.

ALSO, WE HAVE A RENEWABLE RFP OUT FOR WIND ENERGY SEEKING PROPOSALS FOR, UH, SHOVEL READY WIND ENERGY PROJECTS WITH THE TAX INCENTIVES EXPIRING.

OUR HOPE IS THAT THERE ARE SOME GOOD OPPORTUNITIES TO GET SOME MORE RENEWABLE ENERGY INTO OUR PORTFOLIO, UM, WITH SOME DEVELOPERS THAT MIGHT BE LOOKING FOR OFF TAKERS WITH A, WITH A SHORT TIMELINE AHEAD OF AHEAD OF US.

AND WE ARE ACCEPTING OFFERS EITHER WITH OR WITHOUT ONSITE BATTERY STORAGE PAIRINGS.

UM, SO WE'RE HOPING TO GET SOME GOOD OFFERS THERE AS WELL.

UM, CHANGING GEARS.

WE HAVE THE NEWEST AFFORDABILITY DATA FROM THE US ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION.

AND YOU CAN SEE ON THIS CHART THAT AUSTIN ENERGY'S RESIDENTIAL AVERAGE MONTHLY BILL IS FOR.

AND THERE, I SHOULD SAY THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A LAG IN THIS INFORMATION.

SO THIS COMES OUT IN OCTOBER OF EACH YEAR FOR THE PRIOR YEAR.

SO THIS IS 2024 DATA.

UM, BUT YOU CAN SEE HERE OUR AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL MONTHLY BILL IS $105.

UM, THE ONLY CHEAPER UTILITY IS EL PASO.

UM, BUT IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT EL PASO ISN'T WITHIN ERCOT.

IN FACT, OF THE FOUR CHEAPEST UTILITIES ON THIS LIST, ONLY AUSTIN ENERGY IS WITHIN ERCOT.

AND SO BEING IN ERCOT FACED SOME ADDITIONAL COST PRESSURES, UM, THAT NON ERCOT UTILITIES AREN'T SUBJECT TO.

UM, SO THAT MAKES US THE CHEAPEST RESIDENTIAL MONTHLY BILL IN ALL OF ERCOT.

AND ACTUALLY, YOU CAN SEE FROM THAT BLACK LINE THAT SHOWS THE TEXAS AVERAGE.

AND SO WE ARE NOT ONLY THE LOWEST BILL IN ERCOT WITH WE AND THE SECOND LOWEST BILL IN TEXAS, BUT WE ARE $60 LESS PER MONTH THAN THE TEXAS AVERAGE.

THAT MEANS WE'RE SAVING OUR CUSTOMERS $720 PER YEAR FROM THE TEXAS AVERAGE.

SO SOME, SOME REALLY GOOD DATA THERE JUST SHOWS OUR CONTINUED FOCUS ON RELIABILITY.

AND YOU GET A LOT FOR YOUR BILL IN AUSTIN.

A LOT OF CUSTOMER PROGRAMS, UM, RENEWABLE PROGRAMS, A RENEW A LARGELY RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO.

AND SO A LOT GOES INTO THAT NUMBER.

AND OUR CUSTOMERS ARE, ARE GETTING GREAT VALUE.

AND MY LAST UPDATE, I MENTIONED IN OCTOBER THAT OUR CREWS HAD DEPLOYED FOR OUR ANNUAL LIGHTUP NAVAJO TRIP.

THIS IS A MUTUAL AID WITHOUT THE STORM TRIP, UM, BRINGING POWER TO A PART OF OUR COUNTRY THAT HAS NOT HAD POWER BEFORE.

UM, OUR CREWS HAVE COME HOME SAFELY WITHOUT ANY SAFETY INCIDENTS AND, UH, REALLY SOME PROLIFIC EFFORTS BY THE TEAM.

95 POLE INSTALLED ON THIS SHORT TRIP, 13 MILES OF OVERHEAD LINES.

UM, 13 FAMILIES RECEIVED ELECTRIC SERVICE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.

IT'S A, IT'S A PRETTY EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR THE FAMILIES, ALSO FOR OUR CREWS.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY FOR US HERE, SELFISHLY AT HOME, THEY'RE, THEY'RE LEARNING SOME VERY IMPORTANT SKILLS TO BRING BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY.

SOME GREAT ON THE JOB TRAINING, UM, TO ENHANCE, UH, IN SERVICE FOR OUR COMMUNITY HERE IN AUSTIN.

AND CHAIR, THAT'S WHAT I'VE GOT FOR YOU.

AND I KNOW WE HAVE A, A, A LIGHTNING AGENDA TODAY, BUT HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE DI THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ON TO THE, UH, ITEM EIGHT, THE STAFF BRIEFING ON THE RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN, UH, BY, UH, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, LISA MARTIN.

THEN MOVING

[8. Staff briefing on Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan to 2035 Update [Lisa Martin, Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer - Austin Energy].]

MS. MARTIN FLOOR IS YOURS.

GOOD MORNING CHAIR, VICE CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

I'M LISA MARTIN.

TODAY I'M BRINGING YOU A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN WORK.

AND THIS ONE IS SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO LOCAL GENERATION FEASIBILITY.

I'M GONNA JUMP RIGHT IN AND TAKE A STEP BACK.

MANY OF THE RISKS THAT WE DISCUSSED REGARDING THE GENERATION PLAN OR DURING THE GENERATION PLAN WORK CONTINUE TO BE PRESENT.

HOVER WITH EACH RISK COMES IN OPPORTUNITY.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE GROWTH IN ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND LARGE LOADS CAN LEAD TO ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PARTNERSHIPS.

FOR AUSTIN, EXTREME WEATHER AND CLIMATE RISK PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE MODERNIZATION AND THE TRANSMISSION CONGESTION AND VOLATILE PRICING.

WE EXPERIENCE TELL US THAT WE NEED TO FOCUS MORE ON CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS AND LOCAL GENERATION RESOURCES.

THE REGULATORY CHANGES AND TARIFFS THAT YOU KNOW, ARE,

[00:15:01]

UM, HITTING US HARD, PROMOTE THE NEED FOR CLEAR DECISIVE ACTION.

AND OUR AGING EXISTING FLEET TELLS US THAT WE NEED TO START THINKING ABOUT CLEANER, MORE EFFICIENT RESOURCES.

THAT BRINGS US TO OUR CURRENT STATE IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'VE DONE TO COMBAT THE RISKS ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.

WE'VE MADE GREAT PROGRESS SINCE THE ADOPTION OF THE 2035 PLAN IN DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR.

IN LESS THAN ONE YEAR, WE'VE MOVED THE NEEDLE ON ALL AREAS OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.

WE'VE MADE IT EASIER FOR CUSTOMERS TO INTERCONNECT LOCAL SOLAR AND BATTERIES.

THE STAND SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM LAUNCHED TO GREAT SUCCESS, AND WE HAVE ONE BATTERY STORAGE SYSTEM UNDER CONTRACT, AS STEWART JUST NOTED.

AND ANOTHER UNDER NEGOTIATION.

WE HAVE ACTIVE SOLICITATIONS FOR LOCAL SOLAR AND TEXAS WIND, AND MUCH WORK IS UNDERWAY TO INCREASE OUR TRANSMISSION IMPORT CAPACITY.

ON THE RIGHT, YOU CAN SEE JUST HOW MUCH PROGRESS WE'VE MADE TOWARDS OUR 2027 GOALS.

BUT DESPITE ALL OF THIS LOCAL CONGESTION REMAINS, THIS ERCOT PRICING HEAT MAP IS FROM SEPTEMBER 22ND OF THIS YEAR.

AND IT HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL LOCAL RESOURCES, ESPECIALLY IF WE WANNA ENABLE ADDITIONAL GROWTH AND ENTICE DEVELOPMENT TO THE AUSTIN AREA.

THAT RED IN AND AROUND TRAVIS COUNTY, TELLS US THAT THE MARKET IS SHOWING HIGHER PRICES SIGNALING THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL GENERATION.

THE BLUES AND GREENS AROUND US ARE MUCH LOWER PRICES.

ADDITIONALLY, MY TEAM IS TELLING ME THAT ERCOT IS DENYING OR CANCELING PLANNED TRANSMISSION OUTAGES DUE TO INSUFFICIENT AMOUNTS OF GENERATION LOCALLY.

THESE TRANSMISSION OUTAGES ARE NEEDED TO DO NECESSARY UPGRADES FOR RELIABILITY AND IMPORT CAPACITY.

BOTH ISSUES SIGNAL THAT LOCAL GENERATION REMAINS THE PIVOTAL NEED TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY AND ENABLE GROWTH WHILE MAINTAINING RELIABILITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY ABILITY.

SO FORTUNATELY, THE GENERATION PLAN PROVIDES A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL ENERGY RESOURCES.

IT REFERS TO A FOUR PHASE APPROACH, UH, FOR ALL UTILITY SCALE GENERATION, FEASIBILITY, PRE-DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT, AND CONSTRUCTION.

TO PUT THIS INTO PERSPECTIVE, OUR 100 MEGAWATT BATTERY STORAGE PROJECT IS IN THE DEVELOPMENT PHASE.

THAT SECOND BATTERY STORAGE PROJECT IS UNDER NEGOTIATION AND WILL SEEK COUNCIL APPROVAL IN THE COMING MONTHS.

THAT'S PRE-DEVELOPMENT.

JUST BEHIND THAT, WE HAVE THE LOCAL LANDFILL SOLAR RFP, THAT LAUNCHED LAST MONTH.

AND FINALLY, WE HAVE PEAKER UNITS.

THOSE ARE IN THE FEASIBILITY STAGE, WHICH IS AN EXPLORATORY PHASE TO ASSESS THE RANGE OF OPTIONS AVAILABLE.

IF I WERE TO ZOOM INTO THE FEASIBILITY PHASE A LITTLE BIT MORE, YOU'LL SEE IT FOCUSES ON CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING SITE SUITABILITY AND OWNERSHIP AND FINANCING STRUCTURE.

I'LL REPORT OUT ON SOME OF THAT WORK HERE.

THE GEN PLAN STATES THAT WHEN CONSIDERING SITE LOCATIONS FOR ANY FUTURE LOCAL GENERATION SOLUTIONS, WE WILL EXPLORE THE FEASIBILITY OF SITES ACROSS OUR LOCAL SERVICE TERRITORY.

TO DO SO, WE PULLED TOGETHER A CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAM WITHIN AUSTIN ENERGY, INCLUDING REAL ESTATE, ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ENGINEERING, OPERATIONS, AND ENERGY MARKETS.

THEY LOOKED AT LAND ACROSS OUR SERVICE AREA, BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE AUSTIN CITY LIMITS.

AND THEY CHARACTERIZE THOSE SITES IN A NUMBER OF WAYS.

THEY ASSESS SITE SUITABILITY BY CONSIDERING WHAT IS NEEDED FOR UTILITY SCALE, SOLAR UTILITY SCALE BATTERIES AND PEAKER UNITS.

AND THEY ALSO CONSIDERED LAND IMPACT CHARACTERISTICS LIKE FLOODPLAINS, WILDFIRE RISK, AND CRITICAL HABITATS.

NOT ALL OF THE SITES REVIEWED WOULD BE VIABLE FOR LOCAL GENERATION, AND OF COURSE, NOT EVERY SITE IS READILY AVAILABLE.

BUT IN THE END, THIS EXERCISE GIVES US THE TOOLS WE NEED TO CONSIDER SITE FEASIBILITY AS WE CONTINUE TO GET FUTURE PROPOSALS FOR VARIOUS RESOURCES.

IN TERMS OF OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE, WE HAVE A PREFERENCE, AND WE'VE STATED THIS BEFORE TOWARDS OWNING LOCAL PEAKERS BECAUSE IT GIVES US THE LONG TERM CONTROL OVER HOW WE OPERATE THEM.

WE STARTED DOING SOME MARKET RESEARCH, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO FAR BEFORE REALIZING THAT PEAKER UNITS ARE IN SCARCE SUPPLY.

THERE ARE BASICALLY TWO OPTIONS.

YOU CAN EITHER GET INTO THE QUEUE FOR NEW PEAKERS OR PURCHASE REFURBISHED UNITS.

WE'RE FINDING THAT NEW PEAKERS HAVE A VERY LONG LEAD TIME.

SOME QUOTED THE EARLIEST AVAILABILITY IN 2029.

OTHER MANUFACTURERS AREN'T EVEN ACCEPTING ORDERS UNTIL 2030.

ALL MANUFACTURERS ARE REQUIRING MILESTONE PAYMENTS OF 10 TO 20% UPFRONT, WHICH EQUATES ANYWHERE BETWEEN FIVE TO $15 MILLION.

ALSO, PRICES ARE ON THE RISE.

ONE MANUFACTURER THAT WE ASKED RECENTLY QUOTED $60 MILLION FOR A UNIT THAT USED TO GO FOR 40 MILLION.

THEN YOU HAVE REFURBISHED UNITS, WHICH ARE SLIGHTLY USED MODELS.

WE'VE SEEN AVAILABILITY PERIODICALLY, AND SOME OF THEM APPEAR TO BE REASONABLE DEALS, BUT THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE VERY FLEETING.

OUR CONCLUSION IS THAT IT'LL BE IMPORTANT TO POSITION AUSTIN ENERGY FOR ACTION, WHETHER THAT MEANS RESERVING OUR SPOT IN THE PEAKER QUEUE, OR ENABLING QUICK ACTION WHEN A POSITIVE REFURBISHED OPPORTUNITY PRESENTS ITSELF.

BUT FIRST, WE HAVE ONE MORE STEP IN THE PROCESS.

NEXT STEP, WE'LL CONDUCT AN ALL RESOURCE RFP TO MEET THE ENERGY AND RISK MITIGATION NEEDS OF AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS.

BY DESIGN,

[00:20:01]

THIS TYPE OF RFP IS INTENDED TO DETERMINE WHETHER CARBON FREE RESOURCES CAN BE USED TO EFFECTIVELY MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY.

IT WOULD BE OPEN TO ALL LOCAL RESOURCE TYPES, INCLUDING SOLAR STORAGE, PEAKERS, FUEL CELLS, GEOTHERMAL AND MORE.

WE PLAN TO ISSUE THE ALL RESOURCE RFP THIS MONTH, WHICH WE'LL MAKE PROPOSALS DUE IN JANUARY.

AND ONCE WE HAVE COMPLETED ANALYSIS, WE'LL SCHEDULE TIME TO DISCUSS WITH YOU.

SO THAT WRAPS UP MY UPDATE FOR TODAY.

WE'LL CONTINUE ALL OF OUR EXISTING WORK AND WE'LL CONDUCT THAT ALL RESOURCE RFP.

WE'LL MONITOR PEAKER AVAILABILITY AND PRICING, AS WELL AS DISCUSS OPPORTUNITIES WITH DEVELOPERS WANTING TO BRING LARGER LOADS INTO AUSTIN.

AND WE'LL RETURN TO COUNCIL WITH UPDATES AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

THANK, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UH, MS. MARTIN, QUESTIONS FROM THE NINTH, MAYOR.

YEAH, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.

I WANNA GO BACK TO THE, THE STATEMENT THAT YOU WOULD NEED TO BE POSITIONED FOR ACTION AND, AND EITHER BE AND BE IN THE PEAK OR QUEUE, BECAUSE I I, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE, THE SCARCITY.

WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT SCARCITY, I'M, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT LEAD TIME.

WALK ME THROUGH THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE SO THAT I KNOW IT, IT, IT STRIKES ME.

LET ME ASK THE QUESTION THIS WAY.

WHAT DO YOU NEED IN ORDER TO MEET THE GOAL OF BEING IN POSITION FOR ACTION AND BEING IN THE PEAKER QUEUE? WHAT NEEDS TO, WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN THAT REGARD? ULTIMATELY, UM, TO BE POSITIONED, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE THE AUTHORIZATION TO BE ABLE TO PUT OUT SOME, TO, TO DO SOME SPENDING, TO EITHER PUT DOWN A DOWN PAYMENT TO GET INTO THE QUEUE, OR IF A POSITIVE, UM, OPPORTUNITY COMES OUR WAY TO BE ABLE TO ACT ON IT QUICKLY.

UM, AND SOMETIMES THOSE OPPORTUNITIES ARE PRETTY FLEETING.

SO, AND YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO BE IN A POSITION, I GUESS, TO BE NIMBLE SO THAT YOU HAVE THE AUTHORITY SO THAT YOU CAN BE NIMBLE AND YOU CAN SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITIES AS THEY POP UP.

IS THAT A FIRM COMMITMENT? OR WHEN YOU GET TO YOUR POINT IN LINE, IF YOU SAY, YOU KNOW, WE PUT MONEY DOWN FOR THREE, BUT WE ONLY NEED ONE, WE GET OUR MONEY BACK.

UM, BUT I, I, I, I, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT CONCERNS ME.

'CAUSE WHAT I DON'T, PARTICULARLY WHEN I HEAR THE PRI, THE PRICES SPIKE ON YOU, AND I WORRY ABOUT WHERE WE WILL BE IN THE QUEUE WHEN WE NEED SOMETHING, AND THEN WE DON'T HAVE IT AVAILABLE.

SO, UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, I, I, I, I WOULD, I'D LIKE TO SEE US BE IN A POSITION TO GIVE THEM THE AUTHORITY THAT THEY NEED TO, TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE SO THAT WE CAN KEEP, SO WE CAN STAY WITH, STAY WITHIN OUR PLAN.

YEAH.

UM, UH, THANK YOU, UH, UH, MAYOR, FOR THE QUESTION OF THE COMMENTS.

I, I, UH, AGREE, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE, THE LONG LEAD TIME, THAT'S A CONCERN.

I DON'T WANNA BE IN, IN, IN, YOU KNOW, 2028 AND THEN DECIDE THAT WE NEED SOMETHING IN, IN 2030 AND NOT BE ABLE TO GET IT UNTIL 20 32, 20 33.

UH, I ALSO HAD A, A, A QUESTION ON THE, UM, UH, ON THE OPERATIONS REPORT.

UM, THE, IT LOOKS LIKE THE SANDHILL PEAKERS ARE AT 99% COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY, WHICH IS ABOVE THE GOAL OF 95%, BUT THE DECKER PEAKERS ARE AT 80% COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY, WHERE OUR TARGET IS AGAIN, UH, 95% WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE DECKER PEAKERS.

YEAH.

UM, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS DURING THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN AS WELL.

THOSE ARE OUR OLDEST UNITS, AND THEY'RE OUR, YOU KNOW, LAST, UH, RESOURCE OPPORTUNITY, UM, WHEN, WHEN MOST NEEDED, THEY'RE FROM THE EIGHTIES, AND THEY'RE JUST REALLY SHOWING THEIR AGE.

UM, WE'RE SEEING MORE EXTENSIVE, UM, FORCED OUTAGES ON THOSE UNITS MM-HMM .

UM, AND HAVING TO SHIP THEM OFF TO GET REPAIRED AND WHATNOT.

UM, I REPORTED THAT OUT TO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION EARLIER THIS MONTH, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, NOTED THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THIS SUMMER, THANKFULLY.

BUT, UM, A NUMBER OF THEM WEREN'T AVAILABLE WHEN WE NEEDED, IF, YOU KNOW, WORST CASE HAPPENED.

NO, THANKFULLY, IT WAS A RELATIVELY SPEAKING MILD, THANKFULLY, UH, SUMMER.

UH, BUT AGAIN, THE, THE LACK OF AVAILABILITY OF PERE IN THAT, THAT THAT'S, UH, IT ALSO GOES TO AFFORDABILITY.

YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO, UH, IMPORT ELECTRICITY FROM OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN, THAT'S GONNA BE ON A PEAK, UH, DAY, THAT'S GONNA BE A, A VERY EXPENSIVE AND, AND ULTIMATELY HURT OUR, UH, UH, OUR RATE PAYERS.

UH, ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I WAS CURIOUS, AS WE BOTH TALK ABOUT THE, THE PEAKERS, BUT JUST ANY KIND OF GENERATION, YOU, YOU TALKED ABOUT THIS FEASIBILITY, YOU KNOW, THE SITING.

HAS THAT OR EXERCISE ALREADY BEEN COMPLETED, OR YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT? JUST HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHERE WE ARE IN THAT PROCESS.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, YOUR QUESTION ABOUT CITING FEASIBILITY MM-HMM .

SO THE CITING FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT THAT'S BEEN DONE SO FAR IS REALLY KIND OF JUST A CAST YOUR NET WIDE AND LOOK TO SEE WHERE COULD YOU PUT GENERATION ACROSS OUR SERVICE TERRITORY.

AND THAT'S, AGAIN, WHETHER IT'S SOLAR BATTERIES OR, UM, OR UTILITY SCALE PEAKERS.

UM, ESSENTIALLY IT'S A, A FUNNELING EXERCISE.

SO WE'VE KIND OF CAST OUR NET TO SEE WHAT'S AVAILABLE, AND IT GIVES US THE TOOLS TO BE ABLE TO ASSESS FURTHER, UM, WHEN PROPOSALS COME OUR WAY AND OR WE GET FURTHER ALONG IN THE PROCESS.

AND THEN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE PEAKERS AND THE QUEUE, IF WE PUT MONEY DOWN,

[00:25:01]

HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK? NO, IT, IT IS A FIRM COMMITMENT.

UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS THERE MIGHT BE OTHER ENTITIES AROUND WHO ARE WILLING TO KIND OF TAKE YOUR SPOT.

BUT IN REALITY, THE WAY THAT WE THINK ABOUT IT IS IF WE GET OURSELVES INTO THE QUEUE NOW, UH, YOU KNOW, A UNIT THAT'S NOT GONNA BE AVAILABLE TILL 2029, WE THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED TO BE REPLACING OUR DECKER UNITS BY THAT POINT IN TIME.

UM, SO, AND, AND THAT ACTUALLY LEADS RIGHT INTO WHAT I WAS GOING TO ASK ABOUT, 'CAUSE YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW WE GOT THROUGH THE SUMMER WITHOUT THEM.

AND THEN I KNOW WHEN WE HAD THE GEN PLAN DISCUSSION, YOU KNOW, THE ACTUAL USAGE OF OUR PEAKERS, WHEN WE WOULD USE THEM, HOW OFTEN, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S AT THE NEXT MEETING OR WHENEVER WE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION, COULD YOU BRING US THE DATA? JUST LET'S LOOK AT THIS PAST YEAR TO UNDERSTAND WHEN THEY WERE USED, UH, WHEN WE MIGHT HAVE USED THEM, BUT THEY WERE OFFLINE, OR IF THOSE NEVER COINCIDED AND, AND WE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE OFFLINE MORE, UM, WE DIDN'T END UP NEEDING 'EM WHEN THEY WERE OFFLINE.

YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

THE, UM, METRIC THAT, UM, UH, CHAIR VELA WAS SPEAKING ABOUT IS COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY.

SO IT'S BASICALLY TRACKING WHEN THE UNITS ARE AVAILABLE, WHEN THEY'RE NEEDED.

RIGHT.

AND THAT, UM, FROM USUALLY TRACKED THROUGH AN ECONOMIC METRIC BECAUSE OF THE ERCOT MARKET AND THE WAY IT WORKS.

UM, AND SO THEY WERE AVAILABLE 80% OF THE TIME DURING THE, UH, SUMMER QUARTER, UM, WHEN OUR TARGET IS 95.

BUT YES, WE CAN PULL THE NUMBERS FOR THE YEAR FOR YOU AS WELL.

PERFECT.

AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION IS TO UNDERSTAND, UM, IN THE GEN PLAN, WE HAD SOME, UM, SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTING, YOU KNOW, STACK EMISSIONS AND OTHER THINGS.

I WAS CURIOUS JUST WHEN, WHAT IS OUR CADENCE? YES.

WE DID IT IN JULY, AND WE'LL DO IT AGAIN IN, UH, JANUARY.

PERFECT.

THAT, UH, ANSWERS IT.

WELL, I, I WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THE CONCERN ABOUT GETTING IN LINE.

UM, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BOTH THE USAGE NEEDS AS WELL AS WHERE WE'RE PROPOSING TO PUT THEM.

EVEN IF IT'S A LIST OF 10 PLACES OR FIVE PLACES, UM, YOU KNOW, I WANNA KNOW WHAT WE'RE COMMITTING TO.

AND THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BE FOR ME AT LEAST BEFORE WE MAKE ANY KIND OF FIRM COMMITMENT.

COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU SO MUCH MS. MARTIN, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

UM, WANNA DRILL DOWN ON KIND OF A MORE NARROW FOCUS, WHICH IS, UM, SOLAR ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.

UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S BASICALLY 202 RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHO ARE WAITING TO GET THEIR INSPECTIONS DONE ON, ON SOLAR INSTALLATIONS, UH, BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.

AND THAT, UM, A LOT OF THESE FOLKS, IF NOT ALL OF THEM, ARE COUNTING ON GETTING THE INSTALLATION COMPLETE SO THEY CAN GET THIS, UH, 30% FEDERAL TAX CREDIT.

AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING I'VE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY.

UM, FOLKS ARE ANXIOUS TO GET THEIR INSPECTIONS DONE SO THEY CAN QUALIFY.

AND THE QUESTION, UH, AND HAPPY IF YOU WANNA ANSWER THIS OFFLINE, BUT, UH, IS THERE A WAY THAT AUSTIN ENERGY COULD INCREASE CAPACITY, UH, FOR THE NUMBER OF SOLAR INSPECTION OR CONNECTION DAYS, UH, BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR SO FOLKS CAN MEET THE 1231 DEADLINE? YEAH.

UM, WE'LL HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THIS, UM, OFFLINE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER.

UM, BUT O OFTEN THAT, UH, SOLAR INTERCONNECTION QUEUE IS RELATED TO A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN, UM, RICHARD GENE'S TEAM AND THEN A TEAM UNDER MY GROUP AS WELL.

AND WE'VE, UM, DONE SOME WORK RECENTLY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE, UM, MORE ALIGNED AND IN PARTNERSHIP.

AND SO WE WILL CHECK IN ON, ON THAT AND SEE, UM, WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP SPEED THOSE THINGS ALONG.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

IF I MIGHT JUST SAY IN, IN THE PAST, Y'ALL HAVE DONE THAT, I, I REMEMBER A COUPLE YEARS AGO THAT YOU, YOU BROUGHT IN THIRD PARTIES TO HELP GET THAT DONE, OR SOMETHING WAS DONE.

I CAN'T, I'VE SAID THAT, LIKE, I ACTUALLY KNEW IT, BUT, BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING DONE JUST BECAUSE WE WERE BACKED UP AND IT WAS MORE THAT WAS NOT ON SOLAR, BUT IT'S THE SAME TYPE OF INSPECTION THAT HAPPENS WITH GENERATORS AND PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO GET GENERATORS, UH, BEFORE IT GOT COLD.

SO, UH, YES.

AND, AND I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION AND THE CONCERN.

WE'RE AWARE THAT PEOPLE ARE IN BASICALLY A, A RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK TO GET THEIR SYSTEMS UP AND RUNNING.

AND SO, UM, WE'RE PLANNING ON BEING ABLE TO MEET THOSE NEEDS.

AND SO, UM, SCALING UP, UH, TO BE ABLE TO MEET THAT DEMAND.

FOR US TO BE ABLE TO, TO AUTHORIZE, UH, Y'ALL TO, TO GET IN THE QUEUE? UM, YEAH, WE, WE CAN BRING AN, WE'LL BRING AN UPDATE ON THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN, UM, IN JANUARY, AND WE CAN PULL TOGETHER A STAFF RECOMMENDATION WITH A PROPOSAL FOR YOU, UM, TO, TO TAKE ACTION ON, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY WE WOULD NEED YOUR AUTHORITY TO TAKE ANY ACTION.

ALRIGHT, THANK, AND, UM, LET ME CLOSE OUT WITH, IN TERMS OF PROCESS FOR AUSTIN ENERGY TO HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO GO AHEAD AND GET IN THE QUEUE, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO AND, AND WHAT IS THE TIMEFRAME? I MEAN, OUR NEXT MEETING FOR THE A UOC IS, UH, IT WOULD BE IN JANUARY.

IS THAT A FEASIBLE DATE FOR YOU ALL TO HAVE THE SITE PLANNING AND

[00:30:01]

YEAH.

JUST GIVEN THE LONG LEAD TIME.

UH, THAT'S A REAL CONCERN.

UH, AND GIVEN THE PROJECTIONS OF, UH, ELECTRICAL DEMAND, AGAIN, THAT, THAT'S ALWAYS VARIABLE.

WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE ECONOMY.

WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.

BUT, UH, REGARDLESS, IT'S GONNA GROW.

AND, UH, AND AGAIN, LOOKING TO, TO, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL SHUTDOWNS OF THE OLDER, UH, PEAKERS OR FOR THAT MATTER, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COAL PLANT OUT IN FAYETTE THAT IS, YOU KNOW, 50 YEARS OLD AGAIN, YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHAT'S OUT THERE.

AND, UH, IT, IT JUST SEEMS, UH, WISE TO, AT THE VERY LEAST, GET IN THE QUEUE FOR PEAKERS AND HAVE THEM READY, UH, TO DEPLOY, AT LEAST IN THE KIND OF MEDIUM TERM, UH, FUTURE.

SO, UH, UH, ANYTHING THAT Y'ALL CAN DO TO BE READY TO PRESENT THE COUNCIL WITH, UH, AN ACTION ITEM, UH, WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

WILL DO.

WE'LL GO BACK TO ITEM SIX, A STAFF BRIEFING ON THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN BY, UH, DAVID, UH, TOM CHEEN, VICE PRESIDENT, UH, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES.

MOVING ON TO,

[6. Staff briefing on Electric System Resiliency Plan [David Tomczyszyn, Vice President, Electric System Engineering and Technical Services - Austin Energy].]

DAVID, ALL YOURS.

UM, YOU KNOW, THE GRID'S CHANGING AND IT'S BECOMING BIDIRECTIONAL.

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

UH, AGAIN, UH, MY NAME IS DAVID TOM CHESON, VICE PRESIDENT OF, UH, ENGINEERING TECHNICAL SERVICES, AND I'M VERY EXCITED TO PRESENT TODAY ON AUSTIN'S ELECTRIC SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN.

IT'S BEEN A, A LITTLE OVER A YEAR IN THE, IN THE, IN THE WORKINGS OR SO FORTH.

AND, AND, UH, SO LET ME, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND JUMP RIGHT IN FOR THE AGENDA TODAY.

I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BACKGROUND.

UH, WHAT IS AN ELECTRIC SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN, THE GOALS, UM, THE DEVELOPMENT OF IT, INCLUDING, UH, COMMUNITY INPUT AND DECISION FRAMEWORK, INVESTMENT AREAS, UH, THE OPERATIONAL PLAN ITSELF, AND THEN, UH, THE INVESTMENT FORECAST, AND OF COURSE, NEXT STEPS.

SO WHY ARE WE HERE? UH, WE ARE BUILDING A STRONGER, SMARTER, MORE RELIABLE ELECTRIC SYSTEM FOR AUSTIN.

UH, AGAIN, OVER THE LAST YEAR, WE'VE, UH, COMPLETED THE UNDERGROUNDING, UM, FEASIBILITY STUDY.

THAT WAS IN MARCH OF, UH, 2025.

UH, IN JULY OF 2025, WE, UH, COMPLETED THE OVERHEAD RESILIENCY STUDY THAT WOULD PROVIDE ALTERNATIVES WHERE, UH, IT MAY NOT BE FEASIBLE OR COST EFFECTIVE FOR UNDERGROUNDING.

AND, UH, AND THEN IN THE MORE RECENT TIME, WE'VE, WE'VE ACTUALLY DEVELOPED THE, TAKEN ALL THAT INFORMATION AS WELL AS EXISTING, UM, UH, PROGRAMS THAT, THAT HAVE BEEN ONGOING, UH, FOR, UH, FOR SEVERAL YEARS AT AUSTIN ENERGY, AND COMBINE THOSE ALL INTO THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN, UM, AND, UH, WITH STAKEHOLDER INPUT, WHICH WAS, WHICH WAS, UH, KEY.

SO AS FAR AS, UH, JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW OF, UH, AS FAR AS BACKGROUND ON THE, UH, UH, UNDERGROUNDING AND THE OVERHEAD STUDY TAKEAWAYS, THE, THE BIG THINGS THAT WE HEARD FROM THERE IS ONE IS $50 BILLION.

I THINK Y'ALL, YOU REMEMBER WHEN WE HAD PRESENTED THAT UNDERGROUND, UH, 5,000 MILES OF, OF OVERHEAD DISTRIBUTION LINES.

UM, UH, AS A REMINDER, WE HAVE 42% OF ALL ENERGY'S DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IS, IS OVERHEAD.

UM, AND THEN WITH THAT IS, WE ALSO FOUND IN THAT STUDY THERE THAT THERE WAS QUITE A FEW UNDERGROUNDING RISKS.

UM, SPECIFICALLY WE HAVE A LOT OF ROCKY, UH, SOIL HERE IN AUSTIN.

UH, ENVIRONMENTAL AND CULTURAL, UH, IMPACTS, UM, OF COURSE, TELECOM RELOCATION.

SO IF WE PUT OUR STUFF UNDERGROUND, UH, TELECOM WOULD HAVE TO FOLLOW.

AND THERE, THERE'S A COST FOR THAT.

AND THEN, OF COURSE, ACQUIRING EASEMENTS.

AND THEN, UM, AND THEN WITH THAT IS IN, IN THE, BOTH IN THE UNDERGROUNDING STUDY.

AND THEN, AND THEN FURTHER IN THE, UH, OVERHEAD HARDING STUDY, IT RECOMMENDED AUSTIN ENERGY DEVELOP A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO RESILIENCY.

UM, AND, AND SO WHILE, UH, UNDERGROUNDING IS ALWAYS GONNA BE A CONSIDERATION AND A TOOL IN OUR TOOL BELT, UM, WE FIND THAT OVERHEAD HARDENING IN MOST CASES, UH, IS FASTER, LESS EXPENSIVE, AND PROVIDES SIMILAR MORE BENEFITS.

BUT I JUST WANNA STATE THAT IT WILL ALWAYS BE A CONSIDERATION AS WE'RE LOOKING AT EVERY SINGLE, UH, PROJECT.

UM, AND THEN WITH THAT IS, UH, WE DEVELOP THE, YOU KNOW, DEVELOP ELECTRIC SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN, UM, FOCUSED ON THE OVERHEAD HARDENING AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES.

AGAIN, UNDERGROUNDING IS, WILL STILL BE A TOOL IN OUR TOOL BELT.

SO WHAT IS AN ELECTRIC SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN? UM, IN SHORT, IT'S KEEPING THE POWER ON EVEN WHEN IT GETS TOUGH.

UM, A, UH, ELECTRIC SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN, UM, IN ENSURES THAT THE, UH, GRID CAN WITHSTAND, UH, EXTREME WEATHER, UH, RECOVER QUICKLY AND ADAPT TO FUTURE CHALLENGES.

AND EVEN MORE SPECIFICALLY, WHAT IS IT FOR AUSTIN? AUSTIN ELECTRIC, UH, SYSTEM RESILIENCE PLAN IS A BOLD, INTEGRATED, AND FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGY TO MODERNIZE AND HARDEN THE, UH, THE GRID, UM, THE DISTRIBUTION GRID OVER THE NEXT DECADE.

UH, SPECIFIC GOALS FOR AUSTIN IS, IS REDUCED, UH, OUTAGE FREQUENCY AND DURATION, PRIORITIZE INVESTMENTS, UM, PROVIDING THE MOST CUSTOMER VALUE, UH, ENABLING,

[00:35:01]

AND SO TO BETTER ENABLE, UH, DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES TO BE CONNECTED TO THE GRID, AND THEN ADOPT A STRATEGIC AND ROBUST, UH, APPROACH TO HARDENING OUR SYSTEM SO WE CAN ACHIEVE MORE, UH, IN LESS TIME.

AND SO, ONE OF THE STEPS AS WE WERE, UH, DEVELOPING IT IS, UH, WE, WE CONDUCTED BOTH AN IN-PERSON AND, AND ALSO A VIRTUAL ONLINE SURVEY FOR STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK.

UM, THERE, THERE WAS A, A, A WONDERFUL AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THAT CAME IN ABOUT, UH, WHAT, WHAT, UH, THE VALUES OF OUR, OUR COMMUNITY AND WHAT WE SHOULD MAKE SURE WE, UM, STAY TRUE TO IN THE PLAN OF THOSE.

THE, THE FIRST ONE WAS, UH, EQUITY AND, UH, GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS SUCH THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, UM, MAKING IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS AUSTIN, NOT JUST IN CERTAIN AREAS THAT WE, UH, COMMUN, UH, COMMUNICATE OUR PROGRESS ALONG THE WAY AND BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT THAT.

AND, AND, OF COURSE, UM, UH, PRIORITIZE WILDFIRE MITIGATION AND VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.

AND SO WITH THAT IS THE, THE PLAN, UH, UH, ALIGNS WITH THAT.

FIRST, IT IS DATA DRIVEN TO PRIORITIZE AND TARGET, UH, S UH, INVESTMENTS, UH, EQUITABLY ACROSS THE SYSTEM.

THE PLAN, UM, UH, AND WE'RE WORKING ON THIS NOW, IS, IS TRANSPARENT REPORTING AND ACCESSIBLE PROJECT TIMELINES SO THAT, UM, UH, THE PUBLIC CAN TRACK OUR PROGRESS ALONG THE WAY.

AND FINALLY, IS WE WANNA EXPAND UPON VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.

AGAIN, UM, VERY DATA, UH, DRIVEN, BUT ALSO, UM, FOCUS ON RISK-BASED, UH, STANDARDS, UM, AND ENVIRONMENTAL BEST PRACTICE.

SO AS FAR AS THE DECISION FRAMEWORK, AS WE'RE LOOKING AT EVERY SINGLE PROJECT AND EVERY CIRCUIT, AND HOW, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO, UH, TO IMPROVE THEM, THE THINGS THAT WILL BE CONSIDERED, UM, UH, GOING INTO THE, THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION IS DOES IT IMPROVE AND SUSTAIN, UH, RELIABILITY METRICS? DOES IT STRENGTHEN THE GRID'S ABILITY TO WITHSTAND AND RECOVER FROM DISRUPTIONS? DOES IT PROVIDE THE BIGGEST IMPACT FOR, FOR THE MOST CUSTOMERS, BANG FOR YOUR BUCK.

DOES IT EQUITY IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE? DOES IT ALIGN WITH AUSTIN'S AFFORDABILITY, UH, GOALS, AND DOES IT SUPPORT INTEGRATION AND DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES AND DYNAMIC LOAD MANAGEMENT? AND SO THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WILL BE CONSIDERED AS WE'RE, UH, ASSESSING THE SYSTEM AND DEVELOPING PROJECTS FOR, UH, UH, TO, UH, INCREASE RESILIENCY.

SO WHAT INVESTMENTS MAKE THE MOST SENSE? SOME OF THESE, UH, HAVE BEEN ONGOING FOR A WHILE, SUCH AS CIRCUIT HARDENING, POLE INSPECTION, UH, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, WILDFIRE MITIGATION, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE NEWER ONES, UH, THAT HAVE COME INTO FOLD.

AND AGAIN, AS WE'VE COMBINED IN BOTH, UM, YOU KNOW, EXISTING PROGRAMS AS WELL AS, UM, UH, LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE STUDIES, UH, THOSE INCLUDE LIKE THE SEXUALIZATION, SO TO SECTIONALIZE THE SYSTEM IN SMALLER PIECES SUCH THAT WHEN AN OUTAGE DOES OCCUR, LESS PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED, OR IT GIVES US MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, REORIENT OR, OR RECONFIGURE THE GRID TO, TO GET AS MANY PEOPLE ON AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.

BUT ALSO IT'S THAT, UH, INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS AND THE GRID ANALYTICS TO, UM, BE SMARTER ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, AND MAKE A DATA DECI UH, UH, DRIVEN DECISIONS.

AND SO THE, UH, THE 10 YEAR ELECTRIC SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN, UM, KIND OF BROKE IT DOWN.

JUST, YOU KNOW, FY 26, WE ARE ALREADY IN FY 26, THEN 27, AND THEN 28 TO 35.

YOU GOTTA, YOU GOTTA HAVE TO CRAWL, WALK, AND THEN RUN.

AND SO WE, WE HAVE MORE SPECIFICS ON, UH, 26 AND 27.

UM, WE DO HAVE, UH, UH, INFORMATION IN THE PLAN FOR 28 THROUGH 35, BUT IT IS GONNA BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ALONG THE WAY OF BEST PRACTICES.

UM, YOU KNOW, IF IF SOMETHING'S NOT WORKING, IT'S NOT MOVING THE METRICS WE MAY NEED TO DO, UM, SOMETHING ELSE.

UH, THERE MAY BE NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT COME ALONG IN THE, IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS THAT MAY, UH, CHANGE, UH, HOW WE'RE DOING THINGS.

AND SO, UH, WE'RE OPEN, UH, UH, TO THAT FOR 2026.

UM, I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT A FEW THINGS.

UM, ONE OF THE BIG THINGS YOU KNOW, IS, UH, YOU KNOW, HARDENED 20 CIRCUITS INSPECT 80,000, UH, 8,000 POLES, UM, DEPLOY 30 MAINLINE, UH, RECLOSERS.

ALL A RECLOSER IS, IS LIKE A BREAKER IN YOUR HOUSE THAT, UH, WHEN IT SENSES, UH, AN EVENT, IF IT'S A TEMPORARY, UH, UH, UH, FAULT, IT WILL RECLOSE BACK AUTOMATICALLY.

UH, IF IT'S A PERMANENT FAULT, THEN IT WILL, IT WILL LOCK OUT AND, UH, AND BECOME AN OUTAGE, UM, A HUNDRED, UH, LATERAL RECLOSERS THIS YEAR.

UM, AND THEN, UH, OF COURSE, LOTS OF VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AND, UM, ALSO ESTABLISH THE GOVERNANCE AND THE DASHBOARDS, UH, AGAIN, AS WE WANT TO, UH, BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON, WHAT WE'RE GETTING TO WORK ON, AND WHAT WE'VE COMPLETED, 27 EXPANDS UPON THAT.

AND SO WITH THAT IS, UH, WE'VE BEEN MOVING TO 40 CIRCUITS HARDENING.

UH, FOR PERSPECTIVE, WE HAVE ABOUT 400 CIRCUITS IN OUR SYSTEM, SO IT KIND OF GIVES PERSPECTIVE, UM, INSPECT 15,000 POLES.

UH, WE'LL DEPLOY 40 MAINLINE RECLOSERS AND A HUNDRED LATERAL RECLOSERS.

UM, WE'LL START WORKING ON SOME MORE AUTOMATION, UM, OF FAULT LOCATION, ISOLATION AND SERVICE RESTORATION.

UM, AND AGAIN, IS, UM, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE WITH THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AND AUTOMATE, BECAUSE IT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT MORE MANUAL IN 26.

BUT THE, UH, RELIABILITY REPORTING, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, TO BE TRANSPARENT AND IN FUTURE YEARS, IT CONTINUES TO, TO EXPAND UPON AND GROW.

AND

[00:40:01]

AGAIN, AS IT'S THE WALK, UM, UH, CRAWL, WALK AND RUN, UH, JUST EXPAND ON THAT SO THAT AFTER, UH, 10 YEARS THAT WE'VE, UM, TOUCHED, UM, ALL 400 CIRCUITS AND MADE A MEANINGFUL IMPACT.

AND FINALLY, THIS IS A LIVING PLAN, AS I'VE STATED, UH, SUBJECTS TO CHANGE WITH LESSONS LEARNED AND AS TECHNOLOGY EVOLVES, AND THAT WE THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF TECHNOLOGY, UH, IN THE INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW, UM, THAT'S UP AND COMING, AND WE'LL SEE HOW IT, IT, UH, CRAFTS OUR FUTURE.

SO AS FAR AS 10 YEAR INVESTMENTS, UM, THE BOTTOM LINE IS, UH, UH, UH, $735 MILLION.

THIS ALIGNS WITH OUR, UH, EXISTING BUDGETS, UM, OVER TIME, AS, AS, AS WE CHANGE, WE SPEED UP, OR IF WE FIND THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S TAKING LONGER SO FORTH, WE MAY HAVE TO REVISIT THIS.

BUT, UM, UH, FROM FY 26 TO 35, 300 $40 MILLION IN VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, UM, $200 MILLION IN GRID, UH, HARDENING AND AUTOMATION, THAT INCLUDES THE SEXUALIZATION.

AND THEN, UM, UH, SMART GRID, UM, JUST ADDING, YOU KNOW, UM, THAT, THAT INTELLIGENCE TO OUR SYSTEM, $115 MILLION.

SO THERE ARE, THERE ARE SOME RISKS, UH, TO THIS.

UH, I THINK IT'D BE NO SURPRISE TO, TO MOST, UH, SUPPLY CHAIN.

ULTIMATELY, AS WE, WE SCALE UP, UM, AND WE, UH, ADD THAT NUMBER OF DEVICES, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO STAY AHEAD OF THAT, UH, MAKE SURE WE HAVE LONG-TERM FIXED PRICE CONTRACTS AND THAT, UM, GET AHEAD OF IT SO THAT WE DON'T, UH, UH, IT, THE SUPPLY CHAIN DOESN'T SLOW US DOWN.

OF COURSE, BUDGET AND FUNDING, UH, RESOURCES, UM, AS WE, UM, CONTINUE TO SCALE UP IS MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT, UM, UH, PEOPLE IN PLACE TO, TO, UM, UM, MAKE THE CHANGES NECESSARY.

AND THEN FINALLY, IS, UH, THERE ARE SEVERAL, UH, STATE REGULATORY, UH, CHANGES.

UM, BOTH OF THESE ARE IN FACT RIGHT NOW, SENATE BILL, UH, 1789 AND HOUSE BILL, UH, 1 44.

THEY'RE BASICALLY ON POLL INSPECTIONS, MAINTENANCE, WHERE YOU HAVE TO TURN IN A PLAN, UH, THERE MAY BE OTHERS COMING.

AND OF COURSE, WE, WE HAVE TO, UH, COMPLY, UH, WITH THOSE THAT APPLY TO US.

SO WHERE HAVE WE BEEN? IT'S BEEN THE, THE PLANNING PHASE.

IT'S BEEN A LONG YEAR.

UM, YOU KNOW, THE TEAM'S REALLY EXCITED TO, TO BE MOVING INTO THE ACTION, UH, PHASE.

UM, BUT IT'S, UH, UP TO THIS POINT, WE'VE COMPLETED THE UNDERGROUND FEASIBILITY STUDY, THE OVERHEAD HARDENING STUDY.

WE DEFINE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, SYSTEM VULNERABILITIES, DEVELOPED INITIAL ROADMAP, AND, AND, AND, UH, MOST IMPORTANTLY, ENGAGED OUR STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND SO, WHERE ARE WE GOING? UM, THE, THE, THE PLAN IS COMPLETE.

UM, WE WE'RE POLISHING IT UP.

AND SO WE LOOK, UH, ONE IS THAT WE WANTED TO PRESENT HERE FOR THE END OF THE YEAR.

UM, IT WILL BE, UM, POSTED, WE'RE TARGETING ABOUT MID, UM, DECEMBER AT THE LATEST.

UM, UH, AND, AND WITH THAT, IT'LL BE THE, THE PLAN SO THAT THE PUBLIC CAN, CAN READ IT THROUGH AND THROUGH.

UM, BUT PART OF THAT IS WE'RE GONNA LAUNCH THE FY 26 INITIATIVES WITH CLEAR SCOPE AND TIMELINES, DEVELOP KPIS, AND THOSE DASHBOARDS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT FOR TRANSPARENCY TO THE PUBLIC, UH, FURTHER ALIGN OUR, OUR STAFFING, OUR STAFF CONTRACTORS MATERIALS SO THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, AS WE CAN, UH, RAMP UP, UM, UH, IMPLEMENTATION AND FINALLY, UH, USE, YOU KNOW, BE DATA DRIVEN AND USE ANALYTICS AND FEEDBACK TO REFINE OUR EXECUTION ALONG THE WAY.

AND WITH THAT, THAT'S ALL I HAD TODAY, AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UH, QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION.

I JUST HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.

UM, IT LOOKS LIKE IN FISCAL YEAR 27, WHEN YOU'RE SCALING AND OPTIMIZING, DEPENDING ON WHAT METRIC WE'RE USING, WE ARE EXPANDING OUR CAPACITY BY 25 TO A HUNDRED PERCENT.

I'M CURIOUS, FIRST OF ALL, DOES THAT CONTINUE BEYOND 27, THAT EXPANSION? AND IF SO, UM, HOW ARE WE BECOMING THAT MUCH MORE EFFICIENT THAT QUICKLY? WELL, SO, UH, PART OF THAT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IS WE HAVE ABOUT 400, YOU KNOW, FOUR OH CIRCUITS.

UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE, WE DID 20 ACTUALLY IN, UH, 2025 AND 2024, UM, ANOTHER 20.

AND SO WE WOULD PROB BASICALLY, LIKE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HARDENED CIRCUITS, IT WOULD PRETTY MUCH CONTINUE ON, IS WHAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING.

WE MAY BE FASTER, OR WE MAY FIND THAT IT'S A LITTLE SLOWER.

UM, WITH THAT IS, UM, IT, IT, IT'S FROM A DEPLOYMENT STANDPOINT IS GETTING EVERYBODY ALIGNED, YOU KNOW, ALIGNED WHERE WE, UH, PLACING THESE DEVICES, THE SETTINGS, UM, AFTER A WHILE, YOU GET TO THE POINT WHERE YOU STILL HAVE TO LOOK AT 'EM, BUT THERE MAY BE COMMONALITIES THAT YOU FIND BETWEEN CIRCUIT AND YOU JUST FIND SOME EFFICIENCIES ALONG THE WAY.

BUT JUST IN SHORT, AS, AS YOU DO MORE OF 'EM, THE TEAM GETS FASTER AT EXECUTING.

UM, I WILL SAY THAT, UM, I, I ACTUALLY JUST TALKED TO THE TEAM YESTERDAY AND I SAID, HOW ARE WE DOING? WE'RE ACTUALLY, UH, TRAINING AHEAD OF SCHEDULE RIGHT NOW.

UM, THEY WERE ABLE TO ACTUALLY, UM, UH, I THINK LAST MONTH DO, UH, SEVEN, UH, MAINLINE RECLOSERS.

UM, WE STILL GOT A LOT OF THE, UH, LATERAL, UH, RECLOSERS DO, BUT THAT JUST SHOWS HOW FAST THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE SCALING UP, UM, TO IT.

SO I'M, I'M OPTIMISTIC.

WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL GET THERE.

SO IT'S A TRAINING THING AND NOT A RESOURCE ISSUE? WELL, IT'S, UH, FROM A RESOURCE STANDPOINT, UM, IT DEFINITELY FROM A SUPPLY CHAIN, WHICH WE'RE IN GOOD SHAPE THERE.

THEN SECOND OF ALL IS, IS YES, TRAIN TRAINING PEOPLE, BUT AS YOU TRAIN THEM, AND THEY DO THE FIRST ONE, THE SECOND ONE, THEY BECOME MUCH MORE EFFICIENT ABOUT INSTALLING THE PHYSICAL DEVICES IN THE FIELD PROGRAM, THE DEVICES IN THE FIELD, BRINGING THE COMMUNICATION BACK AND MAPPING IT TO, TO OUR CONTROL CENTER.

AND THEN, UM, AND THEN ALSO, UM, UH, THEY'RE BUILDING KIND OF THE, THE INTELLIGENCE BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE CONTROL CENTER, UM, TO WHERE, UH, ONCE

[00:45:01]

YOU GET THE FIRST FEW DEVICES, ADDING MORE DOESN'T NECESSARILY CREATE MORE WORK, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE JUST MERELY BROUGHT INTO THE SAME ALGORITHMS THAT YOU'VE DEVELOPED.

UH, LAST QUESTION IS, IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU'RE DELIVERING NEXT MONTH, WHEN WOULD THAT DASHBOARD BE READY? IS THAT ALSO INCLUDED IN MID-DECEMBER, OR IS THAT COMING THAT, UH, UH, WE WILL NOT HAVE THE DASHBOARD IN DECEMBER.

UM, PART OF IT IS THE TEAM IS WORKING ON IT NOW.

UM, I THINK WE CAN COME BACK AND, AND, AND STATE THE DATE.

IT DEFINITELY WILL BE IN, IN FISCAL YEAR 26, I WOULD HOPE, SOONER THAN LATER.

I, I THINK, UH, UH, JUST BECAUSE WE JUST COMPLETED THE PLAN, WE'RE MOVING, YOU KNOW, INTO THE EXECUTION PIECE.

BUT, UH, I WOULD, I WOULD THINK NO LATER THAN SUMMER OF, OF NEXT YEAR AT THE ABSOLUTE LATEST THAT WE CAN SHOW A DASHBOARD OF WHERE, UM, OF WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED AND WHERE WE'RE HEADED.

THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

YES, SIR.

ANY, UM, OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE DIVE COUNCIL MEMBER LANE? FIRST OF ALL, I JUST, I REALLY WANNA THANK YOU FOR THIS WORK, UM, AND THE THOROUGHNESS.

I REALLY APPRECIATE HAVING SOME OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTION THAT WE CAN SEE LAID OUT IN THIS WAY.

AND YOUR, UM, WILLINGNESS TO MEET WITH ME OFFLINE IN ORDER TO CLARIFY SOME OF THE ISSUES.

THAT IS THE MAIN THING THAT I WANT TO CONVEY.

UM, BUT I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.

UM, ON PAGE 12, UM, THE, THE TABLE THAT SHOWS THE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE MADE OR THE COST OF WHAT'S GOING TO BE DONE IN THIS AREA, IF NOT NOW, SOMETIME IN FOLLOW UP, I, I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO UNDERSTAND, UM, HOW MUCH OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS DEFERRED MAINTENANCE IS, IS CATCHING UP ON DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, AND STUART PROBABLY KNOWS WHY I'M ASKING 'CAUSE OF THAT WHOLE VEGETATION LINE ITEM.

BUT I, I WOULD LOVE TO UNDERSTAND IF WE ARE CORRECTING ANY DEFERRED MAINTENANCE IN THE, IN THE PROCESS OF DOING THAT.

I CAN TALK WITH YOU MORE OFFLINE IF YOU NEED TO.

UM, THE OTHER, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS, UM, WHEN WILL WE BE ABLE TO GET A FEEL FOR GEOGRAPHICALLY WHERE THE WORK IS OCCURRING, AND PARTICULARLY AS IT'S PHASED OUT? SO, UH, FRONT STANDPOINT IS, UM, AND THAT'S PART OF IT, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE QUESTION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE METRICS AND, AND SO FORTH POSTING ONLINE, PART OF IT'S, WE NEED TO SIT DOWN AND LOOK AT IT, HOW BEST TO DO THAT.

UH, THERE IS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVOLVED, SO WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF HOW DETAILED WE GET.

BUT I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO SHOW, UM, THAT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, AS BEING EQUITABLE ACROSS THE COMMUNITY AND ALSO, UM, MAYBE WHERE WE PLAN OUR PROJECTS AND SO FORTH.

SO MAYBE NOT BE SPECIFIC THIS STREET OR SO FORTH, BUT MAYBE, MAYBE THIS GENERAL AREA, UH, WE NEED TO SIT DOWN INTERNALLY AND, AND, AND DETERMINE WHAT'S, UH, UH, BEST BUT ALSO BE AS TRANSPARENT TO THE PUBLIC AS POSSIBLE.

SURE.

AND IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT, FOR SECURITY REASONS THAT YOU KNOW MM-HMM .

I'D WELCOME EITHER AN EXECUTIVE SESSION OR A BRIEFING.

UM, LAST QUESTION.

UM, WHEN YOU WERE DOING THIS WORK, DID YOU, SO IF DISTRIBUTION LINES ARE THE ONES THAT GO TO THE HOUSES, THEN TRANSMISSION LINES ARE THE ONES THAT GO LONGER DISTANCES.

GOOD.

I WANNA MAKE SURE I HAD THAT RIGHT.

YES.

UM, DI DID YOU LOOK AT ANY TRANS, DID YOU SEE ANY TRANSMISSION LINE ISSUES? DID YOU EVALUATE THEM? CAN YOU FILL ME IN ON ANY ISSUES THAT YOU MAY HAVE FOUND AROUND TRANSMISSION? THAT'S A GREAT, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

SO, UM, I THINK OUR, THE FOCUS FOR THIS, UH, AND YOU KNOW, REALLY FOR THIS YEAR HAS BEEN THE DISTRIBUTION COMPONENT OF IT.

BUT THE REALITY IS, UM, TRANSMISSION IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT.

AND SO WE HAVE A LOT OF, UM, UM, TRANSMISSION, YOU KNOW, RESILIENCY AND SUFFICIENCY, UH, EFFORTS UNDER UNDERWAY.

UH, BEHIND THE SCENES ARE, ARE, UH, THOUGH NOT COVERED IN HERE, THE PLAN WOULD BE TO INTEGRATE THESE INTO THIS PLAN AND THEN ULTIMATELY HAVE A SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN, WHICH WOULD BOTH BT AND D MM-HMM .

UM, AND SO THAT WAS SOMETHING, BUT, BUT, UH, THE FOCUS THIS YEAR HAS BEEN PREDOMINANTLY ON THE DISTRIBUTION DUE TO, YOU KNOW, PAST WINTER STORMS AND, AND SO FORTH.

SO YOU'LL DEFINITELY SEE THAT IN THE FUTURE.

I LOOK FORWARD TO IT.

IT'S DEFINITELY SOME TRANSMISSION LANES HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY THE WINTER STORMS AS WELL.

UM, AND THEN THE OTHER PIECE, I'LL SAY, THE LAST TIME YOU WERE UP HERE, I ASKED ABOUT VEHICLE CRASHES AND HOW THAT INFORMATION WAS, UM, GETTING CONSIDERED IN RESILIENCY ANALYSIS.

AND I'VE DONE SOME ADDITIONAL DIGGING SINCE THEN, AND I'M JUST GOING TO DAYLIGHT THAT I THINK IT IS NOT AN EFFECTIVE SHARING OF DATA.

SO, UM, DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH YOU'VE LOOKED AT THAT, I THINK YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED AND WOULD WELCOME FIGURING OUT A WAY TO SMOOTH THAT OUT.

WELCOME.