[00:00:04]
[CALL TO ORDER]
OKAY.LET'S CALL THEM THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
THIS IS THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION, FEBRUARY 9TH, 2026.
DO WE HAVE VICE CHAIR WHITE? NOT RIGHT NOW.
COMMISSIONER BLACKBURN REMOTE CHECK.
AND COMMISSIONER RHODES IS ABSENT.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
OKAY.NEXT LET'S TALK ABOUT PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? ALL RIGHT.
HI, DAVID LEVIT, AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMER, MY SECOND UC SPEAKER.
SO I'M A LITTLE, HOPEFULLY BE A LITTLE BIT MORE CLEAR AND CALM THIS TIME.
UM, SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO AN UPDATE ON ALL THE RECENT RFPS.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TONIGHT OR NOT, BUT I'M EXCITED TO SEE THAT WHEN IT IS AVAILABLE.
AND I'D LIKE TO ENCOURAGE THE EUC TO SUPPORT AUSTIN ENERGY IN PROPERLY INCENTIVIZING THE STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM.
AT A RECENT AUSTIN ENERGY STAKEHOLDER MEETING, IT APPEARED THAT THE PROGRAM'S AT RISK OF SLOWING DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY OR EVEN BEING STOPPED BECAUSE THE FINANCIALS ARE NOT WORKING OUT FOR ALL THE PARTIES INVOLVED.
SO I WANNA REMIND US THAT THIS PROGRAM CURRENTLY OUTSOURCES ALL THE FINANCIAL RISK FROM AUSTIN ENERGY TO THIRD PARTIES FOR NEW, MUCH NEEDED LOCAL GENERATION.
SO THAT'S A GOOD DEAL WHEN WE CAN OUTSOURCE ALL THE FINANCIAL RISK.
SO MAYBE WE TAKE ON A LITTLE BIT OF RISK AND MAKE THE PROGRAM ACTUALLY WORK AND GROW AND SCALE.
AND EVEN IF IT'S FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, BECAUSE AS WE ALL KNOW, THIS SOLAR INDUSTRY IS, UH, IN GENERAL IS AT A, A RISKY PART OF THE SOLAR COASTER.
WE'RE KIND OF IN THE DOWN SLOPE.
UM, SO AUSTIN ENERGY CAN STEP UP AND THE CITY, OUR COMMUNITY HAS ASKED FOR MORE SOLAR.
AND WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY NOW TO, WITH THIS PROGRAM, TO BRING A LOT MORE SOLAR FOR MAYBE JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE INVESTMENT.
ALSO WOULD SAY THAT, UM, AS WE ALL KNOW, THE, THE FEDERAL INCENTIVES FOR SOLAR ARE WANING AND THEY'RE STILL EXISTENT NOW.
SO WHAT OTHER PROGRAMS DO WE HAVE WHERE 30% OF THE COST IS PAID BY SOMEBODY ELSE ENTIRELY, IN THIS CASE, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD OPPORTUNITIES THERE.
I THINK I JUST WANNA ALSO LASTLY REMIND US THAT, UM, WE ARE IN A RACE AGAINST NATURE AND IN MY OPINION, IT'S MUCH WISER TO WORK WITH NATURE.
IF WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT AGAINST NATURE, WE WILL LOSE.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
NEXT APPROVAL OF MINUTES.ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS ON THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING? NO.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND? I'LL MOVE.
[Items 2 - 5]
DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. WE HAVE TWO THROUGH SEVEN.UM, I'VE BEEN ADVISED THAT IT MAY MAKE SENSE TO TAKE SEVEN AND MOVE IT AFTER THE STAFF BRIEFING ON THE CONNECTING LARGE CUSTOMERS.
THAT'S NUMBER 10 ON THE AGENDA.
SO WHY DON'T WE DO THAT? SO WHAT ABOUT TWO THROUGH SIX?
[00:05:01]
ANYONE WANT TO DISCUSS THEM FURTHER? I HAD A QUICK QUESTION ON NUMBER SIX, WHICH IS THE, UM, UH, JOINING THE ORGANIZATIONS.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THE OTHER TOPICS? OKAY.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION FOR TWO THROUGH FIVE? I MOVE COMMISSIONER BRADEN SECOND.
COMMISSIONER BENAVIDES SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR? TWO THROUGH FIVE.
[6. Recommend approval authorizing expenditures for annual renewals of professional dues and memberships in national and state associations and organizations related to the electric utility industry, in an amount not to exceed $510,000. Funding: $510,000 is available in the Operating Budget of Austin Energy.]
OKAY.YEAH, JUST A, A QUICK QUESTION.
SO THESE ARE, UM, TO JOIN DIFFERENT, UH, ORGANIZATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS AND I, I DON'T HAVE A, I DON'T HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THOSE ORGANIZATIONS OR JOINING THEM.
MY QUESTION WAS MORE, UM, DOES EVERY, I ASSUME THESE AREN'T THE ONLY ASSOCIATIONS OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS PART OF.
AND I GUESS MY QUESTION IS WHY? 'CAUSE I SEEM TO REMEMBER WE'RE ALSO MEMBERS OF LIKE, UM, THE ELECTRIC POWER INSTITUTE AND OTHER THINGS.
SO I'M, MY QUESTION IS, WHY, WHY IS THIS ONE, I MEAN, WHY DON'T WE SEE ALL THAT AT ONCE? UM, I KNOW, I KNOW US ENERGY'S A MEMBER OF SPEAR TOO 'CAUSE I'M ON THE BOARD OF SPHERE, BUT MAYBE THAT'S TOO SMALL OF A FEE TO COME TO US.
I'M JUST WONDERING WHY WE DON'T GET THOSE ALL AT ONCE, LIKE, ALL THE MEMBERSHIP, UH, FEES.
AM I RIGHT THAT THERE ARE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WE BELONG TO? ONE, TAMMY COOPER, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER OF REGULATORY COMMUNICATIONS, UH, AND COMPLIANCE, AND YES, YOU ARE CORRECT.
WE HAVE VARIOUS OTHER MEMBERSHIPS.
UM, PART OF IT IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS ONE IS SPECIFIC TO MEMBERSHIPS THAT, UM, NEED COUNCIL APPROVAL BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF, UM, THE MEMBERSHIP FEES.
AND SO SOME OF, SOME OF THE OTHER, UH, MEMBERSHIPS MAY HAVE DIFFERENT PRICING OR, OR FEE STRUCTURE.
AND SO THIS, THESE ARE PACKAGED AS THE ONES THAT WE NEED TO BRING TOGETHER FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL.
I, I DEFINITELY UNDERSTAND THE, THE REASON FOR BEING A MEMBER OF TEXAS PUBLIC POWER ASSOCIATION AND AMERICAN PUBLIC POWER ASSOCIATION.
I KNOW HOW MUCH TPPA WORKS AT THE STATE LEVEL AND A-P-P-A-I ASSUME DOES THE SAME AT THE FEDERAL.
WHAT, WHAT'S THE BENEFIT OF ALSO BEING PART OF LARGE, LARGE PUBLIC POWER COUNCIL? AREN'T, AREN'T THOSE NEEDS ALREADY MET BY THOSE OTHER ASSOCIATIONS? WHAT'S SPECIFIC TO THE LARGE ONE? YEAH.
THE, THE LARGE PUBLIC POWER, UH, COUNCIL, AS YOU KNOW, IT'S THE 29 LARGEST, UH, PUBLIC POWER SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND I, WHILE WE GET TREMENDOUS BENEFIT FROM A PPA, YOU KNOW, MUTUAL AID ASSISTANCE TRAINING, UH, SO MANY DIFFERENT, UH, OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN AND GROW THROUGH A PPA MEMBERSHIP, THERE ARE ISSUES SOMETIMES THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THE LARGER UTILITIES BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WITH A PPA, YOU'RE GOING FROM THE SIZE OF LITTLE TINY CITIES AGAIN TO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE COUNTRY.
AND SO, UM, I THINK OVER THE YEARS, LPPC HAS BEEN AN ORGANIZATION PROBABLY, I THINK CLOSE TO 40 YEARS.
AND ABOUT 40 YEARS AGO, THEY DETERMINED THAT THERE, THERE WERE JUST SPECIAL ISSUES SOMETIMES THAT WILL COME UP, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THESE LARGER UTILITIES.
AND IT GIVES AN AMAZING VENUE FOR, UH, THESE LARGE UTILITIES TO SHARE INFORMATION, UM, TO, TO REALLY LEARN AND GROW FROM EACH OTHER.
AND THEY ARE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, ADVOCATE ON SPECIFIC ISSUES AND AMPLIFY CERTAIN THINGS.
YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THE DIRECT PAY THAT WAS AN ISSUE.
YOU MAY RECALL IN A, IN A COUPLE OF, UH, LEGISL, UH, FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS AGO, YOU KNOW, WHERE THAT, THAT WOULD ALLOW, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE TAX, THE, THE TAX BENEFITS TO FLOW TO, UH, PUBLIC POWER.
UM, LPPC REALLY HELPED AMPLIFY A LOT OF THAT MESSAGING THAT A PPA, UM, WAS WORKING ON.
BUT LPPC MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY IS GONNA HAVE HUGE INVESTMENTS THAT THEY ARE MAKING, WHEREAS SOME OF THE SMALLER A PPA, UH, MEMBERS MAY HAVE, MAY HAVE SMALLER, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY MAY BE JUST DISTRIBUTION.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE FIND WITH LPPC IS, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE ABLE TO REALLY FOCUS AND BRING A LOT OF ADDITIONAL, UM, YOU KNOW, GRAVITAS ON BEHALF OF THIS SMALL SEGMENT OF LARGE PUBLIC POWER, UM, ENTITIES.
[00:10:01]
AND SO IN THAT INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, AGAIN, THAT'S AN EXAMPLE.UM, YOU KNOW, WHICH HELPED ALLOW MUNICIPAL OWNED UTILITIES TO, YOU KNOW, DEVELOP, UH, AND OWN RENEWABLE PROJECTS.
THAT'S, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE.
UH, I DON'T KNOW IF OTHER FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION ON SIX Y? YEAH, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO ENDORSE SIX.
OKAY, WE'RE DEFERRING NUMBER SEVEN UNTIL AFTER THE STAFF BRIEFING NUMBER 10.
[8. Staff Briefing on the First Quarter Financial Report by Stephanie Koudelka, Interim Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.]
NEXT WE HAVE STAFF BRIEFING ON THE FIRST QUARTER FINANCIALS.HI, GOOD EVENING, CHAIR TUTTLE AND COMMISSIONERS.
I'M SERVING NOW AS THE INTERIM SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, AND I'M PRESENTING TO YOU ON OUR FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026.
THAT WOULD BE FOR THE PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER, 2025.
THE QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT.
WE HAVE A STANDARD AGENDA THIS EVENING.
I'LL RUN THROUGH AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF OUR FINANCIAL RESULTS.
WE'LL LOOK AT SOME KPIS THAT WE TRACK FOR OUR BOND RATING TARGET, WHICH IS A DOUBLE A BOND RATING.
UH, WE'LL LOOK AT SOME BUDGET PERFORMANCE AS WELL AS SOME FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
NEXT SLIDE, STARTING WITH THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OR OPERATING RESULTS, I AM SHOWING YOU THAT WE'RE UNFAVORABLE TO BUDGET BY ABOUT 6 MILLION OR 9%.
THAT IS PRIMARILY DUE TO LOWER THAN EXPECTED TRANSMISSION REVENUE.
WE'RE ALSO SEEING SOME OF OUR COSTS ON NON-POWER SUPPLY OPERATING COSTS ABOVE BUDGET FOR THE QUARTER.
WE DO EXPECT THAT TO SMOOTH OUT AS WE GET THROUGH THE REST OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
UM, WE BELIEVE THAT'S JUST TIMING RELATED THROUGH THE FIRST QUARTER.
I'LL SHOW YOU MORE IN AN UPCOMING SLIDE, BUT WARMER WEATHER IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER OR ACTUALLY SUPPORTING THESE RESULTS.
SO, UM, OUR, WHILE THEY WERE UNFAVORABLE, THEY WERE ACTUALLY BOLSTERED BY WARMER WEATHER IN THE FIRST QUARTER FOR OUR BOND RATING, AGAIN, WE USE STANDARD AND PORES AA BOND RATING AS OUR TARGET.
WE ARE SITTING AT AA MINUS WITH A STABLE OUTLOOK AS OF THE END OF THE QUARTER.
UM, WE WERE LOOKED AT BY THE RATING AGENCIES IN OCTOBER OF 2025, AND THAT WAS PART OF OUR UPCOMING BOND SALE.
UM, WE, WE SOLD BONDS IN DECEMBER OF 2025.
UM, WE FINANCED SOME NEW CAPITAL PROJECTS AND THE UTILITY WAS ALSO ABLE TO REFINANCE, UM, A BOND THAT WAS ELIGIBLE AND THAT RESULTED IN NET SAVINGS TO OUR CUSTOMERS OF AROUND $20 MILLION.
AGAIN, WE STILL SIT BELOW OUR S AND P TARGET OF AA AND WE'RE AT AA MINUS.
I'LL MOVE ON TO OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES.
AUSTIN ENERGY IS SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLIANT WITH OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES.
WE HAVEN'T SEEN A LOT OF MOVEMENT OVER THE PRIOR QUARTERS THAT I PRESENTED TO YOU.
UM, THE UTILITY DOES MEET OUR MINIMUM 150 DAYS CASH ON HAND.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME OF OUR INDIVIDUAL RESERVES THAT SUM UP TO THAT 150 DAYS THAT DO NOT MEET THEIR MINIMUMS. ALSO, JUST AS A NOTE ON OUR POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT PASS THROUGH RATE, WE'RE AT $119 MILLION OVER RECOVERED AS OF THE END OF THE QUARTER.
AND THAT 119 MILLION IS INCLUDED IN THE CALCULATION FOR THE UTILITIES CASH ON HAND.
AS OF THE END OF THE QUARTER, UH, THAT FUNDING OF 119 MILLION WILL LIKELY BE RETURNED TO OUR CUSTOMERS THROUGH FUTURE RATES OR THE UTILITY MAY USE IT FOR, UM, POWER COSTS.
UM, IN THE INTERIM NEXT SLIDE.
SO I'LL RUN THROUGH NOW SOME FINANCIAL METRICS.
AGAIN, WE TARGET A AA RATING AND WE'RE AT AA MINUS, UM, FOR OUR FINANCIAL FINANCIAL HEALTH STRATEGIC GOAL, UM, WE'RE AT STABLE, A STABLE OUTLOOK AS WELL.
I THINK I'D LIKE TO JUST START BY GIVING YOU AN OVERALL PERSPECTIVE OF WHERE THE UTILITY SITS WITH THESE METRICS.
UM, WE HAVE HAD SOME RECENT BASE RATE INCREASES.
WE'VE ALSO HAD POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT UPDATES, AND THOSE TWO RATE IMPACTS HAVE REALLY IMPROVED THE FINANCIAL HEALTH OF THE UTILITY.
UM, AS OF THE END OF THE QUARTER, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE EFFORTS AND COST MANAGEMENT AND EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT COST RECOVERY AND, UH, 'CAUSE WE HAVE A CONTINUED NEED TO INVEST IN OUR SYSTEM.
[00:15:01]
A FUTURE SLIDE THAT OUR CAPITAL PLAN FOR THE FISCAL YEAR IS 422 MILLION.UM, I'LL START FIRST WITH DAY'S CASH ON HAND.
AGAIN EARLIER, I LET YOU KNOW THAT WE WERE AT OUR 150 MINIMUM DAYS CASH ON HAND, BUT FOR OUR AA BOND RATING, WE LOOK TO TARGET CLOSER TO 200 DAYS.
UM, REMINDER AGAIN, THAT 150 DAY POLICY IS JUST A MINIMUM.
THE UTILITY SHOULD HAVE ON HAND.
UM, AUSTIN ENERGY SHOULD LOOK TO SOMETHING CLOSER TO 200 DAYS TO SUPPORT OUR BOND RATING.
AGAIN, NOTE THAT THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT HERE, I'M SHOWING IT TO YOU IN DAYS.
THAT 119 MILLION TRANSLATES TO 32 DAYS OF CASH ON HAND THAT AGAIN, THE UTILITY WOULD NOT LIKELY USE FOR CURRENT OPERATIONS.
I'LL MOVE TO DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE, WE ARE JUST UNDER THE TARGET AT 2.4 TIMES AND THAT'S REALLY DUE TO INCREASED DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.
UM, WHAT THIS IS SIGNALING TO THE UTILITY IS THAT OUR BASE RATES NEED TO KEEP UP WITH OUR COST.
AGAIN, I'LL SHOW YOU THAT WE HAVE CONT CONTINUED NEED TO INVEST IN OUR SYSTEM.
WE HAVE A $420 MILLION CAPITAL PLAN FOR THE YEAR, AND OUR REVENUES HAVE TO KEEP UP WITH THOSE GROWING DEBT PAYMENTS.
UM, YOU DID SEE THIS LAST QUARTER, BUT I WILL REMIND YOU WE ARE WELL OVER THE TARGET AT DECEMBER AND THAT'S REALLY DUE TO A VERY TECHNICAL ACCOUNTING ADJUSTMENT, UM, THAT WAS SEEN OVER THE PERIOD RELATED TO OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.
SO THAT ACCOUNTING ENTRY WAS RELATED TO COSTS THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY IN BASE RATES.
THERE IS A SUBSTANTIAL DECREASE TO COST RELATED TO A FUTURE OBLIGATION OF THE UTILITY.
UM, AGAIN, THOSE COSTS ARE NOT FUNDED THROUGH BASE RATES.
THEY'RE NOT SIGNAL SIGNALING THAT WE HAVE EXCESS MARGIN TO WORK WITH THAT ACCOUNTING ADJUSTMENT.
UM, WHILE IT SAVES COST FOR THE UTILITIES IN THE LONG TERM, TRANSLATED TO AROUND 10% FOR THE OP MARGIN.
SO OPERATIONS ARE REALLY RETURNING ABOUT A 12% MARGIN.
AND FINALLY, I'LL END WITH DEBT TO CAPITALIZATION.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN STEADY OVER THE PAST QUARTERS, YOU'VE SEEN OF 57%, UM, CAPITALIZATION RATIO.
UM, IT'S ABOVE TARGET THOUGH AGAIN, BECAUSE WE ARE UTILIZING DEBT, UM, TO COVER OUR CAPITAL PLAN.
SO I'LL RUN INTO NOW OUR BUDGET RESULTS.
THIS IS A FUN SUMMARY FOR AUSTIN ENERGY THROUGH THE END OF DECEMBER.
WHAT THIS IS, IS A MORE DETAILED VIEW OF OUR BUDGET TO ACTUAL RESULTS.
I'M SHOWING YOU IN THE SECOND COLUMN THAT WE BUDGETED AS OF THE END OF DECEMBER TO BE AT A $48 MILLION DEFICIENCY.
AND WE'RE CURRENTLY AT 57 MILLION DEFICIENT.
AGAIN, THAT'S MOSTLY DUE TO SOME TIMING ISSUES.
WE ALSO HAD SOME DELAYS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF SOME TRANSMISSION REVENUE THAT WE BUDGETED.
UM, AGAIN, I'LL, I'LL JUST REITERATE THAT WARMER WEATHER IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER OF THE QUARTER REALLY HELPED OUR ACTUAL RESULTS, UM, WHICH WOULD'VE ENDED AT MORE OF A DEFICIENCY WITHOUT RELYING ON THE WEATHER.
ALSO, I DO WANNA REMIND YOU, THIS IS FOR A THREE MONTH PERIOD.
AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE BUDGETED A DEFICIENCY FOR 44 MILLION AND THAT WAS, UM, A $44 MILLION DEFICIENCY, INCLUDING A 5% BASE RATE INCREASE.
THIS SLIDE IS THE USUAL SLIDE THAT WE'RE JUST SHOWING YOU THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT PASS THROUGH RATE.
UM, THE BARS ARE SHOWING YOU KIND OF HOW COSTS PERFORM TO BUDGET.
AS YOU CAN SEE, COSTS HAVE BEEN EITHER AT OR BELOW BUDGET, WHICH IS GOOD NEWS FOR OUR COSTS AND FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, THAT'S JUST DUE TO MORE MODERATE MARKET PRICES OVER THE QUARTER.
AND THEN THE BLACK LINE THAT'S HOVERING OVER THE COST, UM, DEPICTS OUR POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT REVENUE.
UM, THE DECLINE YOU SEE IS NORMAL.
UM, THAT'S JUST DUE TO A DIP IN SALES OVER THE FIRST QUARTER.
JUST WANNA NOTE TO REMIND YOU, YOU WON'T SEE IT IN THIS DATA YET, BUT NEXT QUARTER YOU'LL SEE WE IMPLEMENTED A 5% POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT, DECREASE EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 1ST.
NEXT SLIDE ON THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, I MADE SEVERAL REFERENCES TO JUST THE ROBUST PLAN AND OUR NEED TO CONTINUE INVESTMENT IN OUR SYSTEM.
THAT IS WHAT YOU'RE SEEING ON THE LEFT HERE, 422 MILLION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR THAT IS DRIVING OUR DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE.
IT'S, IT'S DRIVING OUR CAPITALIZATION AND IT'S DRIVING OUR NEED TO CONTINUE WITH BASE RATE INCREASES TO COVER THESE COSTS.
UM, ON THE LEFT SIDE THAT DEPICTS KIND OF JUST A ROLL UP BY FUNCTION AT THE UTILITY, WE'VE SPENT AROUND 78 MILLION
[00:20:02]
THROUGH THE FIRST QUARTER, WHICH IS ABOUT 20%.AND IN LINE WITH WHERE WE THOUGHT WE'D BE AT THE END OF THE QUARTER.
UM, THE RIGHT SIDE HERE, I'M SHOWING YOU HOW WE PAY FOR THOSE ASSETS.
UM, THE BLACK PIECE OF THE PIE CHART IS A DEBT FINANCING, AGAIN, SHOWING YOU THAT WE ARE CONTINUING TO BE HEAVIER LEVERAGE THROUGH DEBT FUNDING OF OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM.
UH, THE REMAINING PIECES OF THE PIE CHART ARE CASH FUNDING, AND THAT'S EITHER THROUGH OUR BASE RATES OR FROM CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OUR CUSTOMERS.
THROUGH THE FIRST QUARTER, WE RECEIVED ABOUT 15 MILLION OF KAYAK.
AND THE LAST LAST SLIDE I HAVE FOR YOU, UM, I'LL RUN THROUGH THE INCOME STATEMENT, BUT I DO WANNA START WITH THE TWO CHARTS ON THE RIGHT.
THESE ARE OUR YEAR OVER YEAR CUSTOMER AND LOAD GROWTH.
SO THEY'RE SHOWING YOU THAT WE HAD 2% IN EACH OF THESE CATEGORIES.
THAT'S A LITTLE HIGHER THAN WE PROJECTED.
AGAIN, ON THE SALES SIDE, IT'S DUE TO THAT WARMER WEATHER THAT WE SAW IN THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF THE QUARTER.
MOVING LASTLY TO THE INCOME STATEMENT, I'M HIGHLIGHTING HERE THAT FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE DID HAVE AN IMPROVEMENT IN INCOME AND THAT WAS EXPECTED.
YOU KNOW, WE PUT A 5% BASE RATE INCREASE IN THIS YEAR.
WE EXPECT TO SEE MORE INCOME THAN LAST YEAR.
AS YOU CAN SEE IN OPERATING EXPENSES AND GENERAL FUND TRANSFER, THOSE COSTS ARE ALSO INCREASING OVER THE YEARS.
SO THAT THAT SHOWS YOU AND SUPPORTS THE NEED FOR THE INCREASE IN RATES.
THE 15 MILLION IS EXPECTED, UM, BUT IT'S ALSO BOLSTERED BY THE WEATHER.
AND SO SOME OF THAT REVENUE CAME FROM UNEXPECTED SALES DUE TO WEATHER.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
FIRST OF ALL, ON THE WEATHER, WAS IT WARMER WEATHER THAT CAUSED MORE AIR CONDITIONING THAT CAUSED MORE DEMAND IN THE, IN THE EARLY WINTER? THAT'S RIGHT.
IT HAS
UH, I KNOW YOU, YOU BRING IT DOWN AND YOU BRING IT UP, BUT IS THERE A ROLLING AVERAGE THAT IT FOLLOWS? OR DO YOU JUST KIND OF LOOK AT IT EACH MONTH AND FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR BEST GUESS IS? OR, OR WHAT'S THE KIND OF MECHANISM OF THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO EVEN IT OUT? SOMEWHAT.
SO WE DON'T HAVE BIG SEASONAL SPIKES, BUT HOW DO YOU FIGURE THAT YOU'RE RIGHT? UM, WE DO TRY TO LEVEL IT OUT SO THAT THE CUSTOMERS DON'T SEE A LOT OF V VOLATILITY IN THEIR BILLS BECAUSE THE MARKET IS VERY VOLATILE.
SO WE DO A REVIEW OF A 12 MONTH TRAILING PERIOD AND WE LOOKED AT, WE LOOK AT THE SYSTEM AVERAGE, AND THEN WE LOOK FORWARD AS WELL FOR ANY KNOWNS THAT WE HAVE SO THAT WE CAN ALSO INCLUDE THOSE AS KNOWN IMMEASURABLES INTO THE RATE SETTING.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE OVERCOVERED AND AGAIN, WE DECREASED THE RATE IN DECEMBER AND WE'RE ALSO WATCHING VERY CLOSELY TO SEE IF WE NEED TO CHANGE IT AGAIN.
YOU KNOW, WE HAD THE WEATHER EVENT, UM, IN JANUARY AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE MARKET CAN CHANGE VERY QUICKLY AND YOU CAN ABSORB, YOU KNOW, A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF THAT OVER RECOVERY JUST WITH ONE WEATHER EVENT.
UM, OUR STRATEGY IS TO LEAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT IN AS WE APPROACH THE SUMMER.
'CAUSE WE KNOW THE SUMMER IS GONNA BE AN UNDER RECOVER PERIOD.
UM, SO THAT'S A LONG WAY TO GET BACK TO YOUR RESPONSE.
BUT YES, WE HAVE SEVERAL VARIABLES THAT GO INTO REVIEWING RATE CHANGES FOR PSA.
IT'S NOT JUST A SIMPLE RUNNING AVERAGE, THEN IT, IT'S GOT SOME ANALYSIS BUILT INTO IT AND ABSOLUTELY.
OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH, I HAD A, A QUICK QUESTION FOR STEPHANIE.
UM, SO, UM, I WANNA SAY IT WOULD'VE BEEN LAST YEAR SOMETIME IN, IN A BUDGET PRESENTATION, BUT YOU GUYS HAD OUTLINED YOUR PLANS TO BASICALLY EVERY YEAR CONSIDER A, UM, BASICALLY A 5%, UH, IN INCREASE IN BASE RATES.
UM, AND I KNOW WE'RE COMING UPON PRETTY QUICKLY, YOU KNOW, BUDGET DISCUSSIONS.
DO YOU GUYS KNOW, ARE YOU PLANNING TO PUT FORWARD A 5%, UH, BASE RATE INCREASE, UM, FOR THIS NEXT YEAR? OR ARE YOU STILL DOING THAT ANALYSIS OR WHERE, SO THAT'S MY FIRST QUESTION.
AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION WOULD BE, UM, IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE TO A BASE RATE? WHAT WOULD BE THE ALTERNATIVE BE TO A BASE RATE INCREASE IN ORDER TO MEET YOUR FINANCIALS? IS THERE ANY OTHER THING YOU COULD DO, UH, BESIDES A 5% BASE RATE INCREASE, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE PLANNING? SO, UM, SURE.
I'LL START WITH YOUR FIRST QUESTION.
YOU'RE RIGHT, WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT OUR 27 BUDGET THAT'S IN PROCESS, BUT WHEN WE BROUGHT THIS PLAN FORWARD LAST YEAR, THE PLAN WAS TO GET FINANCIALLY HEALTHY
[00:25:01]
OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD, AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE A 5% BASE RATE INCREASE IN 27.AGAIN, SO FAR OUR ANALYSIS IS SHOWING THAT'S MORE THAN NEEDED BECAUSE WE REALLY DON'T HAVE ALL OF OUR COSTS COLLECTED AT THIS POINT IN THE PROCESS YET.
UM, IF THAT ANSWERS THAT QUESTION FOR YOU, I WILL MOVE TO YOUR SECOND QUESTION.
SO BASE RATES PICK UP, UM, ABOUT HALF OF THE COST FOR THE UTILITY.
UM, WE HAVE PASS THROUGH RATES THAT PICK UP THE REMAINING COSTS FOR, FOR THE UTILITY.
AND SO THOSE GET UPDATED OTHER THAN THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT, WHICH WE JUST TALKED ABOUT HAS A 5% MECHANISM TO PICK UP COSTS MORE, MORE QUICKLY AND OR RETURN THOSE COSTS BACK TO THE CUSTOMER.
UM, THE REST OF THOSE RATES GO THROUGH A MORE FREQUENT REVIEW PROCESS SO THEY'RE MORE EFFICIENT AND RECOVERING COSTS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
WE, WE REALLY NEED TO FOCUS ON THAT.
BASE RATES PICKS UP HALF OF OUR COSTS.
THEY PAY FOR OUR DEBT COVERAGE AND MANY OTHER, YOU KNOW, FIXED COSTS FOR THE UTILITY.
AND WHILE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, ANALYZE OTHER, UM, OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE BASE RATES HALF TO RECOVER THEIR COST, THERE AREN'T REALLY ANY OPTIONS FOR THE UTILITY OTHER THAN OUR RATE STRUCTURE.
YEAH, I MEAN, I GUESS THE OTHER OPTION OBVIOUSLY WOULD BE TO CUT COSTS, BUT THAT INVOLVES, UH, POTENTIALLY LOWERING YOUR SERVICES.
THAT THAT IS SOMETHING WE DO EVERY YEAR.
WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BUDGETING APPROPRIATELY.
UM, AND, AND EFFECTIVE COST MANAGEMENT IS AN INITIATIVE AS WE GO THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE DO HAVE TO MAKE, YOU KNOW, CRITICAL INVESTMENTS TO OUR SYSTEM, PAY OUR DEBT SERVICE, UM, PAY OUR EMPLOYEES AND OUR VENDORS AND, UM, THIS IS THE MECHANISM BY WHICH THAT HAPPENS.
YEAH, AND YOU'VE, YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY THIS BEFORE, IF YOU WERE HERE LAST YEAR, UM, I DON'T HAVE A ISSUE WITH AUSTIN ENERGY SAYING THEY NEED A BASE RATE INCREASE.
MY ONLY ISSUE IS REALLY ABOUT PROCESS AND, YOU KNOW, HAVING BASE RATE INCREASES OUTSIDE OF THE NORMAL, UM, YOU KNOW, PROCESS FOR SETTING RATES IS WHAT CONCERNS ME.
BUT WE, WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION TODAY.
WE CAN HAVE IT MAYBE NEXT MONTH, BUT, UM, I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, THEN IF YOU REALLY NEED BASE RATE INCREASES, MAYBE WE NEED TO, UH, START THAT COST OF SERVICE STUDY FASTER RATHER THAN WAITING FIVE YEARS.
BUT, UM, WE CAN HAVE THAT DISCUSSION NEXT TIME.
CAN I JUST GIVE A QUICK NOTE ON THAT? JUST THAT WE ARE REQUIRED BY FINANCIAL POLICY TO DO A REVENUE ADEQUACY REVIEW AT A MINIMUM EVERY FIVE YEARS.
SO AS WE MOVE INTO THAT NEXT TEST YEAR, WHICH WOULD BE FY 26, WE WILL BE DOING DUE DILIGENCE TO MAKE SURE THAT COSTS ARE APPROPRIATELY RECOVER, UH, COSTS ARE BEING APPROPRIATELY, APPROPRIATELY RECOVERED.
SO JUST TO THAT NOTE, THAT THAT PROCESS WILL BEGIN SOON.
SO YOU WILL BE LOOKING AT THE 20 FISCAL YEAR 26 AS A LIKE A TEST YEAR FOR REVENUE ADEQUACY.
DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT? CORRECT.
[9. Staff briefing on the First Quarter Operations Report by Lisa Martin, Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer.]
NEXT IS FIRST QUARTER OPERATIONS REVIEW.I, GOOD EVENING CHAIR TUTTLE AND COMMISSIONERS.
I'M LISA MARTIN, AUSTIN ENERGY'S CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, AND TONIGHT I'M HERE TO SHARE THE OPERATIONS UPDATE ALSO FOR FISCAL YEAR 26 Q1.
THAT COVERS OCTOBER, NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 2025.
I'LL COVER THE STANDARD AGENDA TONIGHT.
AND IN TERMS OF THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE HAD 38% RENEWABLE PRODUCTION AND 60% CARBON FREE PRODUCTION, BOTH AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD FOR THIS QUARTER.
YOU'LL SEE LOWER COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY FOR GENERATORS THIS QUARTER, AND THAT'S EXPECTED DUE TO THE SEASONAL OUTAGES THAT WE TAKE, UH, TO IN PREPARATION FOR WINTER.
WE DID HAVE SOME UNPLANNED OUTAGES CONTRIBUTING TO THESE NUMBERS AS WELL, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT WHEN WE GET TO THAT SLIDE.
FINALLY, OUR DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY METRICS ARE GENERALLY TRENDING STABLE, AND, UH, WE'LL SEE THAT TOWARDS THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
STARTING WITH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE ON THIS SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE OUR CARBON FREE GENERATION, AS HAS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD AVERAGED 60%.
AT THIS POINT IN TIME, YOU'LL SEE A FULL CALENDAR YEAR DATA ACROSS THE SCREEN.
AND SO I COMPARED THIS YEAR'S DATA TO LAST YEAR'S, AND THE SHAPE, AS YOU WOULD EXPECT, IS GENERALLY THE SAME.
WE TEND TO SEE THE LOWEST IN OCTOBER, WHICH IS ALWAYS A LITTLE CURIOUS TO ME.
BUT THEN I REMINDED MYSELF THAT WHEN WE HAVE AN STP UNIT OUT FOR A PLANNED
[00:30:01]
REFUELING OUTAGE, THAT'S WHEN YOU START TO SEE IT, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF DIP EVEN FURTHER.UM, AND THAT WAS THE CASE THIS YEAR.
LOOKING AT SIMILAR DATA, BUT FOR THE ROLLING 12 MONTH AVERAGE.
NOW HERE WE'RE LOOKING AT THE SMOOTH LINE SHOWN ACROSS THE SCREEN.
WE'RE AT ROUGHLY 64%, UH, CARBON FREE GENERATION AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD.
UH, LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME THE VALUE WAS 63%.
SO WE'RE STAYING, UH, PRETTY, PRETTY STEADY.
AS WE SAW DURING THE GEN PLAN UPDATE, WHICH I GAVE TO Y'ALL, UM, LAST MONTH.
THIS TREND IS STABILIZING AND NOW WE NEED TO TURN THAT CORNER AND START INCREASING IT.
AND, AND AS YOU ALL KNOW, AUSTIN ENERGY IS COMMITTED TO DOING THIS DESPITE THE CHALLENGES, UM, THAT WE'RE FACING, INCLUDING MANY THAT WE, UH, WE ALL KNOW ARE OUTSIDE OF OUR CONTROL.
WE'LL TURN OUR ATTENTION TO SOME GENERATION AND LOAD DATA.
STARTING IN THE TOP LEFT IN Q1 2026.
THE STACKED BAR CHART SHOWS GENERATION BY FUEL TYPE.
THESE NUMBERS TOTAL TO ABOUT 2.7 MILLION MEGAWATT HOURS OF GENERATION FOR THE QUARTER.
OUR QUARTERLY CONSUMPTION IS SHOWN BY THE PURPLE BAR, WHICH IS 3.4 MILLION MEGAWATT HOURS FOR THE QUARTER FOR COMPARISON, THIS TIME LAST YEAR, OUR GENERATION WAS AT 3 MILLION MEGAWATT HOURS AND THE CONSUMPTION WAS 3.3 MILLION MEGAWATT HOURS.
AS YOU KNOW, THE GENERATION PRODUCED IS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE ERCOT MARKETING PRICING AND THE SCED RUNS.
AND IN THIS MARKET, OUR AUSTIN ENERGY GENERATION PRODUCED DOES NOT NEED TO EQUAL THE CONSUMPTION.
HOWEVER, WE DO MEASURE OUR GENERATION AS A PERCENTAGE OF CONSUMPTION FOR SUSTAINABILITY PURPOSES.
AND SO ALL IN ALL, AND NOW I'M LOOKING AT THE, UH, PIE CHI PIE, EXCUSE ME, THE PIE CHART IN THE TOP RIGHT.
UH, THE GENERATION RESULTED IN THAT 38% RENEWABLE, 22% NUCLEAR, WHICH TOTALS UP TO THE 60% CARBON FREE AS A PERCENTAGE OF CONSUMPTION.
COULD YOU GO BACK, LISA? THERE WE GO.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE MORE THE UPPER LEFT, IS THIS REALLY LOW GROWTH OR IS IT DRIVEN BY PPAS ROLLING OFF OR, I MEAN, I REMEMBER THE DAYS WHEN WE SEEMED TO BE LONG AND HERE WE'RE WE'RE SHORT, AND THAT MAY BE A PURPOSEFUL STRATEGY BECAUSE THE MARKET WAS JUST LESS EXPENSIVE THAN A EACH GENERATION.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE A LITTLE BIT MORE? SO YOU'RE ASKING WHY IS OUR GENERATION SHORT? UM, IT, IT'S, IT'S REALLY JUST A FACTOR OF THE MARKET IN TERMS OF WHERE THE PRICING IS.
SO WE SAW A LOT OF MILD PRICING, UH, THIS QUARTER.
UM, OFTEN WE SAW NEGATIVE PRICING OR PRICING NEAR ZERO, AND SO THAT WOULD CAUSE US NOT TO RUN OUR GENERATION OR SOMETIMES OUR RENEWABLES WILL BE CURTAILED.
SO WE JUST SAW OVERALL LOWER GENERATION THIS QUARTER IN THIS.
SO THAT WAS, YOU HAD TO MEET LOADS, SO YOU BOUGHT ON THE MARKET INSTEAD OF GENERATING WITH YOUR OWN A ASSETS? THAT IS CORRECT, YES.
UM, AND NOW I'M GONNA TURN OUR ATTENTION TO THE PIE CHART IN THE BOTTOM.
UH, LEFT OUR FUEL COST METRICS IN THAT BOTTOM LEFT, CONTINUE TO SHOW SIGNIFICANT FOCUS ON OUR CARBON FREE SOURCES AT 72%, AND THAT'S THE SUM OF THE NUCLEAR AND THE RENEWABLE WEDGES OF THAT PIE CHART.
AND THEN OUR, UH, SYSTEM PEAK DEMAND FOR THIS QUARTER.
UH, YOU'LL SEE IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT, UH, THIS QUARTER IT WAS 2,500 MEGAWATTS UP SLIGHTLY FROM LAST YEAR, WHICH WAS 24 26 MEGAWATTS, BUT DOWN FROM THE MOST RECENT Q1 HIGH, UH, WHICH YOU SEE THERE IS THE PEAK IN 20, UH, 23, THAT WAS 26 61.
SO THOSE NUMBERS REALLY AREN'T THAT DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER.
UM, OVERALL, THIS QUARTER TENDS TO BE SOMEWHAT MILD.
I'M STILL CONFUSED BY THE, THE CHART ON THE LOWER LEFT IS, IT'S THE ALL IN COST FOR RENEWABLES VERSUS THE INCREMENTAL COST OF RUNNING FOR THE OTHER GENERATION.
IT'S THE COST THAT WE END UP PAYING, UM, TO WHEN THOSE RENEWABLES, YOU KNOW, OPERATE IN THE MARKET COST THAT YOU END UP PAYING.
SO IT IS THE COST OF THE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT, RIGHT, IS WHEN IT, WHEN THOSE UNITS RUN IN THE MARKET, WE PAY THAT PRICE MM-HMM
TO THE COUNTERPARTY THAT WE HAVE THE CONTRACT WITH, AND IT'S THE, UM, MARGINAL COST, IF YOU WILL, THE VARIABLE COST, UH, FOR RUNNING OUR OWNED UNITS.
IT'S STILL SEEMS LIKE AN APPLES TO ORANGES COMPARISON, BUT I, IT'S, IT'S REALLY, I MEAN, JUST SHOWING THE COST, UH, TO ACTUALLY PRODUCE POWER MM-HMM
SO IT'S KIND OF TRYING TO GO HAND IN HAND WITH SOME OF THE OTHER TYPE OF DATA THAT'S ON THIS SLIDE.
DOES IT HAVE ANY KIND OF FIXED COST ALLOCATION OR AMORTIZATION OF THE OWNED ASSETS? I DO NOT, NOT JUST THE FUEL COST.
[00:35:01]
MAKES THEI THINK THIS MEANS THAT WE'RE FOCUSING, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE SPENDING MONEY TO GENERATE, WE'RE FOCUSING OUR, OUR DOLLARS ON, UH, MOSTLY CARBON FREE SOURCES.
LET, LET ME ASK YOU BACK ON THE O OTHER CHART WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO GET OUR RENEWABLES PERCENTAGES HIGHER.
YOU HAD A RECENT PPA ON WHEN THAT CLOSED.
UH, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ON THAT YET TO REPORT? WE HAD A RECENT RFP ON WHEN THAT HAS CLOSED, OUR TEAM IS STILL DOING THE, UM, ANALYSIS, UH, TO BRING, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL SHORTLIST TO OUR, OUR LEADERSHIP.
UH, SO I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING FURTHER TO TELL YOU AT THIS POINT SOON,
ALL RIGHT, LET'S, UH, SWITCH GEARS AND TURN TO RELIABILITY PERFORMANCE.
UM, SO THIS SLIDE SHOWS GENERATOR PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY.
AS NOTED EARLIER, THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN YOU EXPECT TO SEE LOWER NUMBERS HERE.
UM, OUR UNITS ARE OUT FOR PLANNED MAINTENANCE AND PREPARATION FOR THE WINTER.
AND, UM, SO DURING THIS PEAK SEASON, OR SORRY, DURING PEAK SEASON, OUR UNITS TEND TO SHOW NUMBERS IN BETWEEN 95% AND A HUNDRED PERCENT ON THIS SLIDE.
UM, BUT DURING THIS TIME OF YEAR, WE OF COURSE EXPECT TO SEE THESE LOWER VALUES.
UM, ONE, UH, EXCEPTION TO THAT POINT, HOWEVER, ARE THE DECKER PEAKERS.
UM, THEY HAD PLANNED OUTAGES, WHICH IS TYPICAL, BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAD TWO PEAKERS WITH UNEXPECTED OUTAGES, UNPLANNED OUTAGES, UH, BETWEEN BLADE FAILURES AND SOME SEAL ISSUES.
TWO OF THOSE DECKER PEAKERS WERE OUT FOR MUCH OF THE QUARTER AND ARE STILL OUT TODAY.
UM, AND THEN AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, THOSE UNITS ARE THE OLDEST IN OUR FLEET AND THEY CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE ISSUES.
SO OUR TEAMS ARE WORKING TO TRY TO GET THOSE, UM, BACK IN SHAPE.
IS, IS THIS THE MAINTENANCE FOR THE YEAR OR WILL THERE BE A SIMILAR THING IN THE SPRING? THERE ARE, THERE IS SPRING MAINTENANCE.
UM, BUT IT, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR THE LARGEST UNITS, LIKE FOR UM, STP AND FPP, THOSE UNITS, THEY KIND OF TAKE TURNS.
UM, AND THEY DON'T ALWAYS GO INTO THE SAME AMOUNT OF MAJOR OUTAGES DURING THE FALL AND IN THE SPRING.
UM, THE OTHER UNITS TYPICALLY HAVE SOME SORT OF OUTAGE, BOTH IN THE FALL AND THE SPRING.
ONE TO PREPARE FOR WINTER AND ONE TO PREPARE FOR SUMMER.
TURNING OUR ATTENTION TO SOME ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING NETWORK, UH, INFORMATION AT THE TOP, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE OVERALL NETWORK OF 1400 PLUS CHARGING STATIONS HAD AN UPTIME OF 99%, UH, ON A 12 MONTH ROLLING AVERAGE.
AND THIS HAS REMI REMAINED QUITE STEADY OVER THE PAST YEAR.
AND THEN OUR OVERALL UPTIME FOR THE 30 DC FAST STATIONS, UH, IS ON THE BOTTOM CHART.
AND THIS QUARTER IT WAS, UH, 90, 90%, UM, ALSO ON A 12 MONTH ROLLING AVERAGE.
THE PLUGIN EVERYWHERE NETWORK CONTINUES TO HAVE HIGH USAGE AVERAGING OVER 30,000 CHARGING SESSIONS PER MONTH.
UM, OUR TEAM SAYS, NOTE THAT WE ALWAYS SEE SIGNIFICANT DROP OFFS IN THE NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER TIMEFRAME, WHICH TENDS TO JUST BE A DROP IN PUBLIC AND WORKPLACE CHARGING AS PEOPLE START TO TAKE, UH, CHANGE THEIR HABITS DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON.
UM, OUR PEAK USAGE CONTINUES, UH, TO BE BETWEEN 9:00 AM AND 2:00 PM WITH THE AVERAGE CHARGING TIME OF TWO HOURS AND 52 MINUTES.
AND THIS FINAL SLIDE IS OUR DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY METRICS.
THE BAR CHARTS AT THE TOP SHOW WE CONTINUE TO PERFORM BETTER THAN THE TEXAS AVERAGE.
UM, IN, IN AVERAGE DURATION, IT'S ABOUT TWO TIMES BETTER.
UM, OUR TREND LINES ARE SHOWING THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF OUTAGES IS HOLDING STEADY, UM, AND OUR DURATION WENT UP SLIGHTLY FROM THE LAST QUARTER.
OVERALL, THIS MEANS THAT THE AVERAGE MINUTES TO RESTORE SERVICE TO AFFECTED CUSTOMERS, WHICH IS WHAT YOU SEE ON THE FAR RIGHT, IT WENT UP SLIGHTLY AS WELL.
WE'RE STILL SHOWING SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT O UH, OVER THIS TIME LAST YEAR WHEN THAT, UH, AVERAGE WAS 88 MINUTES, AND NOW YOU'RE SEEING IT'S STILL AT 78 MINUTES.
AND SO WE'RE PLEASED TO SEE THE OVERALL DOWNWARD TREND ON THIS FAR RIGHT GRAPH, WHICH MEANS QUICKER RESTORATION TIMES FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
SINCE OUR FREQUENCY, WHICH IS ON THE FAR LEFT WENT UP, I WANNA PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT.
FOR THIS QUARTER IN PARTICULAR, WE SAW 26% OF OUTAGES DUE TO ANIMAL CONTACTS WITH SQUIRRELS CONTINUING TO BE THE LEADING FACTOR IN SERVICE DISRUPTION AROUND THIS TIME OF YEAR.
UM, ALSO NEARLY 24% OF OUR, UM, OUTAGES WERE DUE SCHEDULED WORK FOR UPGRADES OR MAINTENANCE ON THE SYSTEM.
AND THOSE ARE SHOWN IN THIS NUMBER AND IN THIS DATA AS WELL.
UM, AND OF NOTE, OUR VEGETATION RELATED INCIDENTS WERE UNDER 7%.
SO AS ALWAYS, WE CONTINUE TO WATCH THESE TREND LINES AND OUR RESILIENCY PLAN WORK SHOULD CONTINUE TO FORCE THE VALUES DOWNWARD IN THE DIRECTION OF POSITIVE MOVEMENT.
[00:40:02]
AND THAT, UH, SUMMARIZES THE UPDATE FOR THIS QUARTER.I'LL TAKE ANY REMAINING QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
WHAT ABOUT ONLINE CYRUS? YEAH.
UM, YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD THE SPEAKER EARLIER ASK ABOUT RFPS THAT KIND OF THE SAME QUESTION.
I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE DOING A, UH, DID AN RFP FOR LOOKING AT SPECIFICALLY AT WIND.
UM, CAN YOU JUST REMIND US THE TIMING? WHEN WOULD YOU BE ANALYZING WHAT YOU GET BACK AND WHEN MIGHT YOU MAKE A DECISION IF YOU WERE GONNA CONTRACT FOR ADDITIONAL WIND? JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE TIMING.
THE WIND, RFP, UM, THOSE PROPOSALS ARE UNDER ANALYSIS BY OUR TEAMS AND, UH, WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT THEY'LL BRING FORTH, YOU KNOW, A SUMMARY FOR OUR, UM, SENIOR LEADERSHIP TO TAKE A LOOK AT.
AND, UH, SIMILAR TO WHAT I PRESENTED LAST TIME, IF ANYTHING UM, COMES FORWARD THAT WE CAN, UH, THAT WE, WE BELIEVE WE CAN BRING FORWARD FOR A COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION, WE ANTICIPATE THAT WOULD BE IN THE SPRING TIMEFRAME.
SO STAY TUNED FOR SOME MORE OVER THE COMING MONTHS.
ALRIGHT, ANYTHING ELSE? THANK YOU, LISA.
[Items 7 & 10]
NEXT WE HAVE STAFF BRIEFING ON CONNECTING LARGE LOAD CUSTOMERS.UH, GOOD EVENING, UH, CHAIR TUTTLE AND COMMISSIONERS.
I'M VICE PRESIDENT OF, UH, ELECTRIC SYSTEM ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES.
AND I'M HERE, UH, TODAY JOINED WITH, UH, STEPHANIE ALKA, UM, INTERIM SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.
UH, WE'RE HERE TO TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT LARGE LOADS.
UM, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF BUZZ OUT THERE IN THE INDUSTRY, AND SO WANTED TO GIVE Y'ALL KIND OF A, A, A BRIEFING ON THAT.
UM, BUT ALSO TALK ABOUT A LITTLE CODE CLEANUP THAT'S BEEN KIND OF IDENTIFIED.
AND, AND STEPHANIE, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT.
SO, UH, LARGE LOAD, YOU KNOW, CUSTOMER GROWTH, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, WE DEFINITELY SEE IT HERE IN AUSTIN, BUT IT, IT IS, UH, IT'S MORE THAN THAT.
IT'S AT THE STATE LEVEL, THE NATIONAL LEVEL AND, AND FRANKLY JUST WORLD, UH, WORLDWIDE.
UM, A LOT THAT YOU HEAR ABOUT ARE AI DATA CENTERS AND, UH, WITH THAT, UM, THEY ARE DEFINITELY PART OF THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, WITH THE, WHAT YOU SEE THERE ON THE RIGHT IS JUST TALKING ABOUT ENERGY CONSUMPTION.
UM, JUST FOR, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GIVE SOME, SOME, UM, UH, COLOR SOME CONTEXT OR SO FORTH IS, UH, WHEN, WHEN SOMEONE DOES A, UH, SEARCH A VER UH, TRADITIONAL GOOGLE SEARCH VERSUS NOW LIKE AN AI SEARCH THAT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES YOU'LL SEE COME UP, UM, AT THE TOP OF THE SCREEN OR SO FORTH, USE ABOUT 10 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY, UM, BETWEEN THOSE TWO.
AND SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT ALL THE SEARCHES THAT GO ON IN THE WORLD AND SO FORTH, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND HOW AI IS GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION, UM, IN, IN PARTICULAR AROUND, UH, ENERGY USAGE.
THAT BEING SAID, AS LARGE LOADS ARE NOT JUST AI UH, DATA CENTERS THAT ARE TRADITIONAL DATA CENTERS, THEY'RE, UM, EV CHARGING, UH, STATIONS.
THERE'S RESEARCH FACILITIES, THERE'S MANUFACTURING FACILITIES.
AND, AND FRANKLY, UH, YOU KNOW, EVEN HERE, YOU KNOW, HERE IN AUSTIN WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT SEEING, UH, TOO MANY OF THE AI DATA CENTERS.
UM, UH, OR IF THEY ARE, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT BEING TOLD THAT WHAT THEY ARE.
UM, IT IS MORE, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THE EV CHARGERS AND, AND LIKE I SAID, MANUFACTURING SITES AND SO FORTH, WHICH, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY BRING JOBS TO, TO AUSTIN.
UM, AND THEN, UH, AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS TOO, IS JUST ABOUT LARGE LOADS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S NOTHING NEW.
IT'S JUST THE BIG THING THAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING AND ACROSS THE INDUSTRY IS JUST THE SHEER VOLUME OF THEM, UH, THAT, THAT WE'RE SEEING.
UM, AND, AND SO ON THE LEFT HERE, YOU CAN SEE JUST KIND OF ACROSS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE NATION.
UM, ANYTHING THAT'S IN BLUE THERE IS OPERATING, UH, ANYTHING KIND OF MORE IN THE ORANGE IS, IS IS PLANNED AND THIS IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING.
AND OF COURSE, THE BIGGER, THE CIRCLE, THE BIGGEST CIRCLE IS ABOUT 600 MEGAWATTS IN THE SMALLEST CIRCLE IS ABOUT 10 MEGAWATTS.
AND SO, UH, THEY DO RANGE A LOT.
AND THEN AGAIN, AS IT DEPENDS ON, ON WHAT THE USAGE IS GONNA BE, WHAT'S THE DATE ON THAT CHART, IT IS CHANGING ALL THE TIME.
AND, UH, THERE WERE JUST SOME BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS IN WEST TEXAS, BOTH FOR DATA CENTERS AND, AND GENERATORS.
AND I FIGURE MAYBE IN THE NEXT VERSION THAT WOULD BE ON THERE, THIS ONE MAY BE A, A DATE A LITTLE BIT.
I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT DATE ON IT, UH, UH, FOR YOU, BUT TO YOUR POINT, IT IS, IT IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING.
UH, PROJECTS ARE CONSTANTLY ANNOUNCED AND, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT THERE'S EVEN ONE REALLY GOOD SOURCE OUT THERE THAT YOU CAN GO TO AND SAY, HERE'S EVERYTHING.
IT'S REALLY YOU, YOU HAVE TO KIND OF PIECE IT TOGETHER.
SO IT WAS JUST, IT WAS JUST A SNAPSHOT IN TIME OF, OF, UH, WHAT WE'RE SEEING ACROSS THE NATION THAT THAT'S A STUNNING GRAPHIC WITH THE LIGHT BULB THERE.
AND THIS STUFF JUST SLIPS INTO YOUR LIFE.
I, I DON'T NECESSARILY WANT TO GET A FALSE CHAT GVP SEARCH, BUT I GET IT ANYWAY, EVEN IF I JUST LOOK UP SOMETHING I ALREADY KNOW.
SO IT, IT'S JUST, WE'RE ALL USING MORE AND MORE OF THIS, WHETHER WE SEARCH IT OUT OR NOT.
[00:45:01]
SO QUICK QUESTION ON THIS CHART.SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE TEXAS TRIANGLE THERE, AND YOU SEE THE AUSTIN BUBBLES, THE GR THE GREEN OR BLUE AND THE ORANGE MM-HMM
THERE'S A FAIRLY MEANINGFUL SIZE ORANGE.
AND IS THAT MOSTLY JUST OUTSIDE OF THE AE SERVICE TERRITORY, OR IS THAT MOSTLY INSIDE AE SERVICE TERRITORY? IT'S ALL, IT'S ALL AROUND US.
I MEAN, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE, WE'VE DEFINITELY SEEN IN THE LAST, YOU KNOW, TWO YEARS IN PARTICULAR, UM, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT IT A A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THIS WITH THE SENATE BILL SIX AND, UM, TRYING TO GET A BETTER HANDLE ON THIS IS, UM, E EVEN EVEN THE, THE SAME COMPANIES, THEY WILL SHOP AROUND, YOU KNOW, PROPERTIES IN AUSTIN AND ENCORE SERVICE AREA, WHICH IS TO THE NORTH AND PEC SERVICE AREAS TO THE WEST AND BLUE BONNETS TO, YOU KNOW, UH, TO THE EAST AND THEN, YOU KNOW, EVEN, YOU KNOW, EVEN FURTHER DOWN, UH, SOUTH.
AND SO BECAUSE OF THAT, UM, THE, THE ANSWER IS ALL AROUND AND THEY'RE TRYING TO FIND, YOU KNOW, SPEED TO MARKET, UM, SPECIFICALLY WHEN IT COMES TO AI, IT IS A AI RACE.
AND, UM, THAT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS BEEN THE, UH, UH, A CHALLENGE IN THIS IS BECAUSE, AGAIN, AS IT MAY BE ONE PROJECT THAT THEY'VE BEEN, UH, LOOKING AROUND FOUR DIFFERENT UTILITIES TALKING, HAVING FOUR DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS, BUT IN REALITY, IT'S JUST GONNA BE ONE.
AND SO EVEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS CHART, I DO THINK, UM, THIS PARTICULAR SNAPSHOT IN, IN TIME, IT CHANGES A LOT.
SENATE BILL SIX, WHICH I'LL TALK ABOUT IS, IS REALLY DESIGNED TO TRY TO GET A HANDLE ON WHAT'S REAL AND WHAT'S NOT.
AND THIS, AND THE, THE ORANGE IS JUST PLANNED EVEN, EVEN, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, INTERNALLY AT AUSTIN ENERGY, THE REQUESTS THAT WE ARE SEEING, YOU KNOW, WHILE THEY'RE, THEY'RE HIGHLY ENGAGED AND, AND SEEM TO BE MOVING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, TIME WILL TELL WHICH ONES ACTUALLY DO IN FACT MOVE FORWARD OR NOT.
SO HOW DOES THIS WORK BETWEEN THEM TALKING TO YOU AND THEM TALKING TO ERCOT? DO THEY JUST GIVE THE SAME APPLICATION THAT THEY
I, I GOT TWO SLIDES THAT ARE GONNA, THAT GONNA COVER THAT IF, IF THAT'S OKAY.
WE STILL FACE THE SAME CHALLENGE, THOUGH.
IF THEY GO RIGHT OUTSIDE OF US AND WE DON'T SELL THE POWER TO 'EM, WE STILL TAKE THE SAME HIT TO OUR LOCAL GRID.
YOU KNOW, WE STILL HAVE TRANSMISSION CONSTRAINTS THAT THEY CAN BRING TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, THE, YEAH, THE, IF WE DON'T SERVICE THEM, THAT IS, THAT IS A, THAT IS A, A POSSIBILITY AS, I MEAN, FROM A STANDPOINT AS ERCOT GRID, YOU HAVE DIFFERENT TRANSMISSION OWNERS, BUT IT IS OPERATED AS ONE GRID AND, AND THE POWER FLOW WHERE, WHERE IT IS.
BUT, UM, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN THESE SLIDES ABOUT THOSE STUDIES THAT ARE BEING DONE AND, AND, UM, AND THERE'S A LOT OF NEW THINGS THAT ARE GONNA BE COMING.
I THINK YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ALL KINDS OF THINGS, UH, IN 2026.
THERE WERE SOME IN 2025, UH, AS EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO GET A BETTER HANDLE ON THIS AS A, AS AN INDUSTRY.
SO WITH THAT IS, I JUST WANTED TO TALK ABOUT A FEW CONSIDERATIONS, AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO LIKE THE STUDIES AND, AND THE, LIKE, THE SENATE BILL SIX AND SO FORTH.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS I KIND OF GO THROUGH THESE, I JUST WANNA JUST HIGHLIGHT IS PROTECTING OUR CUSTOMERS IS, IS FOREMOST, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PRIORITY, BUT WE ALSO DO HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SERVE, AND SO WE CANNOT DISCRIMINATE AND SO FORTH.
AND SO A LOAD COMES IN OFFICER ENERGY SERVICE AREA, AND THEY ASK TO BE CONNECTED.
IT'S WHAT WILL IT TAKE, WHAT WILL IT COST AND HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE.
THOSE ARE ARE TO BE DETERMINED WITH, WITH THE VARIOUS STUDIES AND SO FORTH.
BUT WE DO HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SERVE.
BUT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE CONSIDERATIONS AND THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WITH THIS IS, YOU KNOW, YOU TALK ABOUT THE GRID CAPACITY LIMITS THAT YOU JUST KIND OF SPOKE TO AND, AND FROM THAT STANDPOINT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE GRID IS INTERCONNECTED, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT AN ISLAND, YOU KNOW, IT'S ACROSS ERCOT AND, AND FLOWS, YOU KNOW, THE ELECTRONS WILL FLOW WHERE, WHERE THE LOADS ARE.
UM, BUT WE HAVE A NEED TO, YOU KNOW, TO UPGRADE OUR EXISTING, YOU KNOW, LINES AND SUBSTATIONS.
WE HAVE, UH, MANY PROJECTS THAT ARE IN OUR CIP PLAYBOOK OF THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEARS TO IMPROVE IMPORT, YOU KNOW, CAPACITY, UM, TO, TO, UH, FEED LOADS HERE IN AUSTIN, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, THAT MAY FLOW ACROSS, UH, THE GRID.
UM, AND THEN, AND THEN WITH THAT IS COMING OUT OF, UM, UH, COVID IN PARTICULAR.
I KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SAW WAS, UH, SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES, AND THEY'VE GOTTEN MUCH BETTER ON THE DISTRIBUTION SIDE, BUT THAT, UH, IS, IS A CONTINUED ISSUE.
UH, IT'S GOTTEN A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, EQUIPMENT LIKE A, I'LL, I'LL JUST TAKE LIKE A, A POWER TRANSFORMER, THE ONES THAT SIT IN OUR SUBSTATIONS, IT USED TO BE A, UH, WE COULD GET 'EM IN A YEAR AND, UH, AND WE WOULD JUST PAY ON DELIVERY NOW, UH, IT CAN TAKE THREE TO FOUR YEARS TO GET THAT SAME, AND YOU HAVE TO DO MILESTONE PAYMENTS AND SO FORTH.
SO IT JUST HAS REALLY CHANGED.
AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT, UH, LARGE LOADS, UM, UM, ACROSS THE BOARD OR SO FORTH, YOU KNOW, IN MANY CASES THEY'RE LOOKING TO COME ONLINE IN 18 TO 24 MONTHS.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, THEIR TIMELINES HAVE KIND OF, UH, GROWN A LITTLE BIT, UM, JUST BECAUSE THE REALITY OF SITUATION.
BUT IN ORDER TO, YOU KNOW, WITH THE SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGE, IT CAN TAKE A WHILE TO, TO GET SOME OF THESE ONLINE.
THEN THE OTHER ONE IS, YOU KNOW, TALKED ABOUT SPEED OF REQUEST.
I ALREADY TOUCHED ON THAT, BUT, UH, I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT HERE IS, YOU KNOW, SO A LOT OF 'EM ARE ASKING, YOU KNOW, ONE TO TWO YEARS, HEY, CAN I, YOU KNOW, CAN I COME ONLINE? UM, IT CAN TAKE THREE TO FIVE PLUS.
AND IF THERE'S, YOU KNOW, CCNS AND IT'S A, YOU KNOW, MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE, IT, IT COULD TAKE WELL OVER, YOU KNOW, EIGHT YEARS, UM, TO, TO, TO
[00:50:01]
MAKE THE NEEDED, UM, UH, UPGRADES N UM, NECESSARY TO BRING THAT LOAD ONLINE.AND THEN, UH, THE BOTTOM LEFT THERE, YOU TALK ABOUT STRANDED COSTS.
WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, GOING BACK TO PROTECTING OUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS, AND ONE OF THOSE IS TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THIS INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE BUILD, UM, IS, IS EITHER PAID FOR UPFRONT, UM, YOU KNOW, BY THE REQUESTER, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IF IT, THEY DON'T, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T MATERIALIZE OR SO FORTH, THAT OUR, OUR CUSTOMERS, OUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS ARE NOT LEFT HOLDING, YOU KNOW, THE CHECK IF YOU WILL, AT THE END, UH, OR MAKING SURE THAT WE FILE FOR, UH, TCOS REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE, THE ITEMS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE AT THE TRANSMISSION LEVEL, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL THOSE PROTE, UH, PROTECTIONS IN THERE, UM, AND AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTUALLY TO MAKE SURE, AGAIN, IS THAT WE'RE PROTECTING OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND THE LAST ONE I HAVE ON HERE IS, UH, GENERATION ADEQUACY.
SO, YOU KNOW, ADDING, YOU KNOW, UH, NEW LOADS OF THE SYSTEM, OBVIOUSLY YOU NEED MORE GENERATION.
UM, UH, THIS ONE GOES HAND IN HAND WITH THE, UH, GRID CAPACITY LIMITS.
I MEAN, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE FACED IN RECENT TIME IS WE'RE SEEING, UH, MORE AND MORE TRANSMISSION OUTAGES, UM, BE, UH, DECLINED.
UM, AND SO IT'S KIND OF THIS CHICKEN BEFORE THE EGG THING IS, IS, UM, AND, AND THE REASON, ONE OF THE REASONS THEY'RE BEING DECLINED IS NOT SUFFICIENT LOCAL GENERATION, AND I'M NOT TALKING ANY SPECIFIC TYPE.
I'M JUST SAYING WE JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH GENERATION.
AND SO TO GIVE US THE OUTAGE THAT WE NEED TO DO THE UPGRADE TO, UH, TO, UM, EXPAND THE IMPORT PATH INTO AUSTIN, WE ALMOST NEED THE GENERATION FIRST.
AND SO THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE WRESTLING WITH RIGHT NOW AS UTILITY.
AND, AND, UH, YOU'LL DEFINITELY BE, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY HEARING MORE ABOUT THAT, UH, THIS YEAR.
SO, SENATE BILL SIX, AND THIS GETS INTO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THE STUDIES AND SO FORTH.
UM, SO SENATE BILL SIX CAME OUT IN 2025.
UM, AND, AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THAT IT DID WAS IT DEFINED WHAT IS A LARGE LOAD.
'CAUSE BEFORE THAT, THERE REALLY WASN'T A DEFINITION.
AND YOU ASK ONE UTILITY, YOU GET ONE ANSWER, YOU ASK ANOTHER UTILITY, ANOTHER ONE.
BUT BASICALLY IT DEFINED LARGE LOADS OF 75 MEGAWATTS OR MORE.
AND SO, SO BECAUSE OF THAT, IT, IT DREW A HARD LINE AND IT, IT, UM, ALSO STOOD OUT.
AND THERE'S STILL MORE STUFF COMING FROM THIS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE TO PLAY OUT IN ERCOT AND SO FORTH.
BUT, BUT WHAT IT DID WAS BASICALLY STATE THAT IF YOU'RE 75 MEGS OR MORE, IT NEEDS TO GO THROUGH A FORMAL ERCOT STUDY, UM, WHICH WAS MORE, IT, IT'S, IT'S, UH, UH, MORE IN LINE WITH LIKE A, WHAT A GENERATOR USED TO HAVE TO DO.
THEY, THEY STILL HAVE TO DO THAT NOW, BUT NOW LARGE LOADS FALL IN THAT CAMP.
AND SO WITH THAT IS, UM, IT IS A, UH, A FORMAL STUDY THAT, UH, AND PROCESS THAT GOES THROUGH ERCOT.
MANY CASES, THE STUDIES CAN COST HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND TAKE, YOU KNOW, SIX MONTHS TO DO.
IT IDENTIFIES ALL OF THE NECESSARY UPGRADES THAT NEED TO HAPPEN BOTH AT AUSTIN ENERGY AND OUR SURROUNDING UTILITIES OR SO FORTH.
I MEAN, BASICALLY, WHAT IS, WHAT IS NEEDED, UH, FOR THE GRID IMPROVEMENTS? AND THAT LOAD OF 75 MEGS MORE IS NOT ALLOWED TO BE BROUGHT ONLINE UNTIL EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE HAVE BEEN, UM, COMPLETED, INCLUDING PROJECT EXHAUST AND ENERGY.
BUT IT MAY BE SOME, AN ENCORE SYSTEM OR LCRA SYSTEM OR, OR, OR SO FORTH.
AND SO, UM, UH, AND SO WITH THAT IS, IS IS THAT, THAT IS A VERY, YOU KNOW, FORMAL PROCESS THAT IS, UM, SHEPHERDED BY, BY BY ERCOT.
UM, IT ALSO, YOU KNOW, TALKED ABOUT COST SHARING.
UM, AND I'M, I'M SURE THERE'LL BE MORE COMING ON THIS, BUT MAKING SURE THAT LARGE, UH, LOADS WERE PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE INTERCONNECTION STANDARDS, THAT'S THAT STUDY THAT I KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THAT I WAS REFERRING TO, UM, IS NOW REQUIRED AND THAT YOU MUST MAKE ALL THOSE IMPROVEMENTS BEFORE BRINGING IT ONLINE.
AND THEN ALSO TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, DURING WEATHER, WEATHER EMERGENCIES, THAT THEY ALSO HAVE TO PART, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT THEY PARTICIPATE, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH, UH, SHUTDOWNS, WHETHER THAT BE, YOU KNOW, UH, LOAD SHED, WHICH ARE MANDATED, BUT EVEN CURTAILMENT, UH, AS NEEDED, UM, IN ORDER TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT PUTTING THE GRID AT RISK.
WE'VE GOT A QUESTION ONLINE FOR COMMISSIONER KIRKSEY.
UH, UH, DAVID, LAST WEEK, ERCOT CAME OUT WITH SOME, UH, THIS PROPOSED BATCH STUDY PROCESS.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE ERCOT THEMSELVES PLANS TO DO ALL THE STUDIES, WHEREAS FOR GENERATION INTERCONNECTION, THE, THE TSP NORMALLY DOES THE STUDIES.
THAT IS WHAT, WHAT'S, YEAH, WHAT'S THE, HOW MUCH INVOLVEMENT ARE YOU GONNA HAVE FOR, FOR LARGE LOADS THAT WANT TO INTERCONNECT TO THE AUSTIN ENERGY SYSTEM? SO UP TO THE CONVERSATION ABOUT, AND WE'RE, YOU KNOW, ERCOT IS, WE EVEN MET WITH THEM LAST WEEK, YOU KNOW, TO GET, YOU KNOW, OUR, YOU KNOW, FEEDBACK FROM THE UTILITIES OR MEETING WITH ALL THE UTILITIES TO DO IT.
UH, IT IS MORE COMMON IN OTHER ISOS TO DO, AND THEY REFER TO 'EM AS CLUSTER STUDIES INSTEAD OF BATCH STUDIES.
UM, THE WAY IT'S BEEN HERE, UM, IN ERCOT IS THAT, UM, WHILE THAT THAT PROCESS IS SHEPHERD BY ERCOT AND, AND THEY'RE INVOLVED, THE UTILITY WOULD ACTUALLY DO THE STUDY AND THEN TURN THAT OVER THE RESULTS TO, TO ERCOT.
THEY ARE, THEY'RE EVALUATING RIGHT NOW, UM, POTENTIALLY DOING, UM, A, UH, BATCH PROCESS TO WHERE, UH, INSTEAD OF THE INDIVIDUAL UTILITIES DOING THE, THE, THE, UH, STUDIES AND MAYBE, MAYBE
[00:55:01]
THEY MISS OUT ON, ON ON SOMETHING THAT A PEER UTILITY IS DOING, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, JUST DOWN, DOWN THE ROAD OR SO FORTH IS PUTTING IN THESE, UH, INTO BATCH STUDIES.UM, THE DETAILS ARE STILL BEING, UH, DISCUSSED, BUT ULTIMATELY IS, IS KIND OF OUR UNDERSTANDING, IS THAT YEAH, THE WINDOW WOULD OPEN, UM, ANY, ANY, UM, UH, UH, ANY POTENTIAL LARGE LOADS THAT WOULD BE WANT TO BE BROUGHT ONLINE WOULD BE PART OF THAT BATCH STUDY, PROBABLY GENERATION AS WELL.
UH, THE, THE, UM, PERIOD WOULD CLOSE.
AND THEN ERCOT, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT, WOULD BASICALLY DO THAT, THAT STUDY.
THE QUESTION IS, IS HOW LONG IS THAT GONNA TAKE? AND THEN, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES IT FEED INTO OTHER PROCESSES AND SO FORTH.
BUT, YOU KNOW, ERCOT IS TRYING TO SEE HOW IT CAN BE DONE MORE EFFICIENTLY, UM, AND, AND, AND POTENTIALLY FASTER.
UM, AGAIN, IS THERE, UM, WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW IS JUST THEY'RE, THEY'RE DISCUSSING WITH THE UTILITIES AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE VARIOUS THINGS THAT NEED TO, UM, UH, BE CONSIDERED, UH, GOING INTO THAT.
AND EVEN THAT, WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT DOING IS DOING MORE OF KIND OF A, UM, YOU KNOW, A INITIAL, YOU KNOW, ONE TO TWO BATCH PROCESSES, YOU KNOW, CALL, THEY'RE CALLING A BATCH ZERO JUST TO SEE HOW IT GOES, AND THEN THAT MAY MAYBE, UH, FURTHER REFINE IT.
UM, BUT YES, THAT IS, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS BEING CONSIDERED RIGHT NOW AT, AT ERCOT, AND I KNOW, LIKE I SAID, THEY, THEY WERE JUST REACHING OUT TO GET OUR TAKE ON IT, UM, JUST LAST WEEK.
WELL, I, I, I JUST HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU GUYS ARE SOMEHOW INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS IF IT'S A LARGE LOAD IN YOUR, SO HOW WILL YOU BE INVOLVED IF IT'S LONGER IN YOUR DOMAIN AS THE UTILITY AND THEY'RE DOING IT? YEAH.
HOW DO THEY TAP INTO YOUR DISTRIBUTION OR PECULIAR? WELL, SO THIS WOULD ALL BE AT A TRANSMISSION LEVEL, SO IT'S NOT, UM, I DON'T, I DO NOT ENVISION THAT THIS WOULD BE WITHOUT THE UTILITIES, AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THEY, UM, THE UTILITIES STILL HAVE TO BE INVOLVED KNOWING, YOU KNOW, WHAT LOADS ARE COMING ONTO THEIR AREA.
UM, AND WHILE THERE'S, RIGHT, THERE IS THE MODEL AND, YOU KNOW, AND AND SO FORTH, UM, IT CANNOT BE DONE IN A VACUUM, AND I DON'T BELIEVE IT, IT WOULD BE, AND THAT'S HENCE WHY ER ARCHIVE WAS REACHING OUT, UM, TO GET OUR TAKE, UH, ON IT AS WELL AS THE OTHER UTILITIES.
WELL, THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR THAT THEY'RE ASKING.
EVERYBODY'S, EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT TOGETHER.
SO THIS, THIS SOLVES THE PROBLEM OF EVERYONE WORKING INDEPENDENTLY AND NOT SHARING INFORMATION THAT MULTIPLE LOADS AREN'T TALKING TO EACH OTHER, AND MULTIPLE TRANSMISSION ENTITIES AREN'T TALKING TO EACH OTHER.
THIS PUTS IT ALL IN A DIFFERENT BLACK BOX WHERE ERCOT CAN FIGURE IT OUT WITHOUT SHARING ALL THAT INFORMATION, BUT OPTIMIZING THE SYSTEM.
WHAT WAS THE THEY COULD, THEY COULD OPTIMIZE THE SYSTEM, BUT WITHOUT SHARING ALL THAT INFORMATION, TO THE, TO THE OTHER USERS? WELL, SO KEEP IN MIND IS WITH ERCOT IS THEY DO PUT OUT MODELS AND, UM, EACH UTILITY'S RESPONSIBLE FOR FEEDING UP INFORMATION IN THE MODEL.
UM, IN THE, UH, HISTORICALLY IT'S BEEN MORE KIND OF AN ON ANNUAL BASIS, BUT EVEN IN, UM, DECEMBER, ERCOT, UH, ALONG THE LINES OF SENATE BILL SIX AND SO FORTH, CAME OUT AND SAID, OKAY, IF YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A LARGE LOAD COMING ONLINE, UH, OR EVEN A MEDIUM SIZED LOAD, WHICH WE HADN'T TALKED ABOUT YET, AND, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, YOU NEED TO SHARE THAT WITH YOUR, YOUR, YOUR FELLOW, UM, AND, AND, UH, UTILITIES.
AND THE WAY THAT'S DONE IS YOU BASICALLY UPLOAD IT TO THE MODEL THAT IS SHARED AMONGST THE UTILITIES, THAT THAT'S WHAT THEY USE TO STUDY EACH OF THESE.
BUT THEN THE NEXT PROGRESSION AGAIN IS, AS YOU, YOU SAID, IS PULLING IT TOGETHER.
UM, THEY HAVE A STARTING MODEL.
THEY HAVE ALL THE REQUESTS, THEY DO THE STUDY, AND THEN THE, THE FULL EXPECTATION IS THEY WOULD BE SHARING THAT OUT AS FAR AS THE RESULTS OF IT AND HOW IT AFFECTS EACH UTILITY.
THEY'RE ALSO, UH, EVEN TO THAT POINT IS TALKING ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ANOTHER PROCESS, UM, RPG, WHICH IS BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, THE REGIONAL PLANNING GROUP.
UM, THAT IS A, YOU KNOW, YOU BASICALLY HAVE TO GO TALK ABOUT THE PROJECTS AND SO FORTH, IS HOW CAN THAT MAYBE TIE INTO THIS, THIS STUDY AND, AND AGAIN, IS MAKE THINGS MORE EFFICIENT OPPOSED TO, YOU KNOW, DOING THIS BIG STUDY, THEN, THEN, AND THEN EVERYBODY HAS TO GO BACK TO ERCOT AND, AND ASK FOR PERMISSION AGAIN.
A LOT OF IT'S STILL BEING, UH, FIGURED OUT.
AND SO EVEN WHAT I'M SAYING COULD CHANGE TOMORROW, BUT, UM, BUT AGAIN, IS ERCOT ERCOT IS, UH, UH, DOING THE RIGHT THING, WHICH IS REACHING OUT TO THE UTILITIES TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, UM, THE DECISIONS THEY'RE MAKING IS NOT DONE IN A VACUUM AND MAKE SURE THEY'RE GOING TO THE EYES WIDE OPEN.
SO DOES THAT GIVE YOU ALL A GOOD IDEA TOO, WHAT YOUR OPPORTUNITIES ARE GONNA BE FOR TRANSMISSION AND HOW THEY'LL BE IMPACTED BY THESE OTHER THINGS? OR WHAT MIGHT BECOME AVAILABLE TO YOU? WELL, SO CAN THIS, UH, FROM A STANDPOINT IS AT LEAST THE CONVERSATION HAS BEEN MORE ABOUT LIKE THE LARGE LOADS AND SO FORTH.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE WOULD STILL BE DOING PLANNING MODELS AND, YOU KNOW, UM, AND SO FORTH, UM, HOW THOSE WOULD BE INCORPORATED.
I, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT SPECIFICALLY WITH, WITH ERCOT.
'CAUSE THOSE ARE NORMALLY UP, UP UPLOADED TO ERCOT AND THEN EVERYBODY IS, UM, IT SHOWS, YOU KNOW, HOW THE SYSTEM HAS CHANGED AND YOU WOULD DO MODELS ON THAT.
SO, UM, IT'S ABOUT, IT'S ABOUT AS MUCH AS I COULD PROBABLY SHARE JUST BECAUSE IT REALLY IS, IS VERY FLUID.
I MEAN, EVEN, EVEN WE JUST GOT IN A ROOM, YOU KNOW, TALKED TO, TO ERCOT REALLY LAST WEEK.
SO, SO, SO GIVEN THAT 75 MEGAWATT THRESHOLD, THE, I ASSUME THE VAST
[01:00:01]
PREPONDERANCE OF THE DATA CENTERS ARE MAKING IT SO THAT THEY'RE UNDERNEATH THAT THRESHOLD TO SAVE MONEY TIME.GREAT SEGUE, UH, TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO IS IT LIKE ONE OR TWO THAT ARE ABOVE IT AND EVERYONE ELSE IS BELOW, OR WHAT? YEAH, SO LET'S GO TO THE, LET'S GO TO, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO, WHEN SENATE BILL SIX, UH, UH, UH, PASSED, IT REALLY BECAME A GAME CHANGER.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE LARGE LOADS THAT WERE TALKING TO US ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO CONNECT TWO, 300 MEGAWATTS, YOU KNOW, AT A SET LOCATION.
ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ONE OF 'EM CAME BACK AFTER SENATE BILL SIX WAS PASSED AND SAID, WE WANT 74 AND A HALF OR 74.9.
AND THE REASON IS, IS BECAUSE, UM, WITH THE, THE CURRENT PROCESS, UM, THEY HAVEN'T GONE IN THE BATCH PROCESS YET.
I MEAN, THAT'S JUST BEING DISCUSSED.
UH, IT REQUIRES YOU TO GO TO THE FULL INTER INTERCONNECT PROCESS THROUGH ERCOT AND BE, UH, BECAUSE OF THAT IS ANYTHING THAT IS IDENTIFIED IN THAT STUDY, AND IT'S A VERY THOROUGH STUDY, HAS TO BE, UM, UH, UH, EITHER UPGRADED OR, OR, OR FIXED OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE IN ORDER TO, BEFORE THAT LOAD CAN COME ONLINE, AND JUST THE SHEER NUMBER OF, OF, UM, UPGRADES NEEDED THAT COME OUTTA THAT STUDY COULD TAKE WHAT YOU WERE HOPING WAS A TWO YEAR PROJECT.
AND IT MAY BE AN EIGHT YEAR PROJECT OR A 10 YEAR PROJECT JUST BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS TO BE UPGRADED BY DROPPING IT DOWN, YOU KNOW, BELOW THAT, UM, AT LEAST WITH SENATE BILL SIX, YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T FALL INTO THAT CAMP.
AND IT'S MORE THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH, WHICH IS BASICALLY ERCOT WOULD RELY ON THE UTILITIES TO SCREEN, UM, LOADS, LARGE LOADS, OR IN THIS CASE, I'M GONNA CALL 'EM MEDIUM LOADS.
THERE'S ACTUALLY NOT EVEN A OFFICIAL TERM YET FOR WHAT'S BELOW A 70, 75, BUT WE'RE KIND OF CALLING 'EM, YOU KNOW, MEDIUM OR MEDIUM LARGE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND SO WE'LL SEE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THAT, WHERE THAT PLAYS OUT.
BUT, UM, UH, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT IS ALL OF THOSE, UH, UH, FALL FELL IN THAT CATEGORY.
AND EVEN FOR, FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, IT'S REALLY ANYTHING FROM ABOUT, UM, 10, 10 MEGAWATTS ALL THE WAY UP TO THAT 74.9.
UM, AND SOME OF THEM ARE A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, CLOSER ON THE HIGHER END AND SOME OF 'EM ON THE LOWER END.
UM, AND, AND, BUT THEY'RE KIND OF ACROSS THE, THE BOARD.
BUT YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT THAT THAT MOVED THE LINE.
AND THE REASON FOR IT IS BECAUSE, UH, CURRENTLY SUBJECT TO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE BATCH PROCESS OR STUDIES, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, ERCOT CHANGES AND OTHER, I DO EXPECT MORE CHANGES COMING OUT THIS YEAR, BUT ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS DOING A MORE TRADITIONAL LOCAL STUDY.
AND THAT'S BASICALLY ALL ENERGY STUDYING IT, UM, AND, AND SHARING, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY LOOKING AT IT AND, AND SEEING WHAT, WHAT WOULD BE NEEDED TO UPGRADES AND DETERMINING WHAT UPGRADES HAVE TO HAPPEN IN ORDER TO BRING THAT ON WITHOUT AFFECTING, YOU KNOW, THE GRID AND OUR CUSTOMERS AND SO FORTH.
AND THAT'S, SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE LOCAL STUDIES, UM, THOSE AREN'T, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF THOUSAND DOLLARS STUDIES THAT TAKES, YOU KNOW, SIX MONTHS.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE MUCH QUICKER.
UM, AND WE, WE REFER TO THOSE AS SCREENING STUDIES, BUT, UM, CURRENTLY THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESS.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IS WE STILL THOROUGHLY SCREEN TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE A NEGATIVE, UH, IMPACT ON THE GRID.
AND EVEN, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED IN DECEMBER THAT THEY CAME BACK AND SAID, YOU NOW NEED TO SHARE EVERYTHING.
THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT THEY FOUND WITH THESE, I CALL THESE MEDIUM LARGE, UM, LOADS, IS THAT A, YOU MAY BE DOING A STUDY AND THEN EITHER A DIFFERENT LOAD OR MAYBE SAME LOAD, YOU KNOW, COULD TURN AROUND AND B UM, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST NEARBY.
AND SO THEY, THEY, THEY CAME OUT, UM, IT WAS DECEMBER 15TH SAYING THAT YOU NEED TO SHARE THAT IN ADVANCE SO THAT THOSE STUDIES CAN BE DONE.
SO YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT OTHER THINGS THAT ARE COMING ON IN YOUR AREA.
UM, I, I DIDN'T MENTION IT, BUT BILS ALSO BASICALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, REQUIRES THEM TO TELL US IF YOU'RE SHOPPING AROUND, I USE THAT TERM JUST, HEY, ARE YOU TALKING ENCORE? AND I'M TALKING TO LCRA AND I'M TALKING TO, OR ONE OF EL SERIES'S CUSTOMERS, OR YOU TALKING TO AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, AND SO THAT WE CAN START FIGURING OUT, YOU KNOW, WHO'S, YOU KNOW, REAL, IS IT FOUR PROJECT? IS IT ONE PROJECT, SO FORTH.
SO AGAIN, IT JUST, IT, IT'S EVOLVING.
UM, BUT PART OF IT IS TRY TO GET A HANDLE ON WHAT'S REAL AND WHAT'S NOT.
AND YOU KNOW, ERCOT IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THAT.
BUT SO IS, UM, UH, THE STATE LEGISLATORS, UH, STATE LEGISLATORS AND, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION.
SO CYRUS, COMMISSIONER REED HAS HIS HAND UP.
OH, I JUST WANTED TO, UH, RESPOND TO CHAIR TUTTLE THAT IF YOU READ SIERRA CLUB'S COMMENTS, WE VOCIFEROUSLY ARGUED THAT THEY SHOULD SET THE THRESHOLD LOWER AT 25 MEGAWATTS FOR PRECISELY THAT REASON.
BUT I WOULD SAY, I MEAN, I THINK IN TERMS OF VOLUME, THE LARGE LOADS ARE OVER 75 MEGAWATTS.
'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF THEM THAT ARE REALLY, REALLY BIG.
BUT THERE'S A LOT THAT ARE IN THAT 25 TO 75 MEGAWATTS.
AND I, WHEN THEY FI WHEN THEY FINALIZE THESE RULES, I BET YOU THERE'LL BE MORE.
UM, AND SO ERCOT IS, YOU KNOW, SORT OF GUESSTIMATED, THERE'S 15 TO 20,000, UM, MEGAWATTS OF THAT MEDIUM LOAD THAT'S, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE IN THE PROCESS.
SO IT IS ACTUALLY A LOT, IT'S, IT'S NOT AS LARGE A VOLUME AS THE REALLY LARGE LOADS, BUT IT'S STILL IMPORTANT.
SO I'M GLAD THAT AT LEAST AUSTIN ENERGY, YOU KNOW, HAS THESE OBLIGATIONS.
'CAUSE THAT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT, BUT THEY CAN, THE LEGISLATION SAID 75 MEGAWATTS OR GREATER
[01:05:01]
OR THE PUC CAN SET A LOWER THRESHOLD IF THEY WANT.THEY JUST HAVEN'T CHOSEN TO SO FAR, BUT THEY COULD STILL DO IT IN THE FUTURE.
AND I, AND I THINK 2026 IS, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF STUFF I THINK THAT COMES OUT.
UM, AND THERE'S A LOT THAT IS, I THINK, BEEN, UH, UH, TABLED OR, OR KIND OF, UH, TEED UP FOR 2026.
SO YEAH, I'M, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, UH, LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY AND, AND, AND FOLLOWING IT CLOSELY.
UM, SO YES, SO ERCOT DOES THIS CONNECT AND MANAGE STRATEGY, RIGHT, THAT HAS SOME ADVANTAGES AS FAR AS SPEED.
DO THEY HAVE A CLOCK THAT THEY HAVE TO MEET A TIME MAXIMUM FOR GETTING THE STUDY DONE ONCE IT'S SUBMITTED? AND IF THEY DON'T MEET, I DON'T KNOW, I'M JUST MAKING THIS UP.
IS IT SIX MONTHS OR A YEAR? AND IF THEY DON'T MEET THAT DATE, THEN THERE'S A DEFACTO AUTHORIZATION TO CONNECT BY THAT ENTITY.
I DON'T, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT IN REFERRING TO THE BATCH STUDIES? WELL, I THOUGHT THE BATCH STUDIES WERE THE INTERCONNECTION QUEUE, THE WAY THEY'RE MANAGING IT, RIGHT? WELL, NOT, THEY'RE NOT CURRENTLY IN PLACE YET.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY EACH IS INDIVIDUALLY, UM, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IF A CUSTOMER COMES TO US AND THERE'S 75 MEGS OR MORE, UH, WE, WE THEN SEND THEM OVER TO ERCOT.
THERE'S, YOU KNOW, MEANING TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS.
WE DO THE STUDY, THERE'S NOT NECESSARILY A TIMEFRAME.
'CAUSE DIFFERENT STUDIES MAY INVOLVE MORE STUFF OR LESS STUFF.
UM, AND IT JUST, IT JUST REALLY DEPENDS.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, OR YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I, I'LL JUST SAY SOMETHING.
IF SOMEONE WAS GONNA CONNECT A HUNDRED MEGAWATTS, IT'S VERY DIFFERENT.
IF THEY WANTED TO CONNECT TWO GIGAWATTS, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT MORE TO, TO BE STUDIED.
SO, UM, AND, AND SO, BUT THAT, WHENEVER THAT STUDY IS DONE, THEN IT IS SENT UP, YOU KNOW, TO ERCOT THEY REVIEW IT, UM, JUST AS YOU KNOW, THE UTILITIES DO AND SAY, YEP, THAT ALL LOOKS, YOU KNOW, CORRECT.
AND THEN FROM THAT STANDPOINT, ALL THOSE UPGRADES, THAT'S HOW IT IS TODAY, HAVE TO BE, UM, UH, COMPLETED BEFORE THAT CUSTOMER CAN BE BROUGHT ONLINE.
ARE YOU UNDER ANY REGULATORY OBLIGATION TO MEET ANY SCHEDULE FOR COMPLETING THAT STUDY? I'M NOT A, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY.
GENERALLY THEY TAKE ABOUT, UH, SIX MONTHS, BUT AGAIN, AS IT DEPENDS ON THE SCOPE OF THE WORK.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS TOO, IS YOU, I'M SURE YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT THERE'S, THERE'S QUITE A FEW REQUESTS OUT THERE, AND THERE'S ONLY SO MANY, YOU KNOW, ENGINEERS, PLANNERS, YOU KNOW, CAN, YOU KNOW, CAN DO THAT, UH, THAT TYPE OF WORK OR SO FORTH.
BUT IT, IT JUST REALLY DEPENDS.
AND, AND EVEN THE WAY THAT THERE'S SO CALLED THE, UM, THERE'S AN AGREEMENT, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY AN AGREEMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH WITH, YOU KNOW, FOR ERCOT, EVERYTHING HAS TO BE REASONABLE AND SO FORTH.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE INTERCONNECTING PARTY CAN ALWAYS PUSH BACK AND SAY, THAT DOESN'T SEEM REASONABLE.
YOU HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND, AND THEY, YOU KNOW, TRY TO WORK IT OUT.
OF COURSE, IF THEY HAVE COMPLAINT, THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, TAKE THAT TO ERCOT OR SO FORTH.
BUT THAT'S NEVER REALLY COME UP.
I MEAN, YOU JUST EXPLAIN WHAT'S, WHAT'S INVOLVED.
AND LIKE I SAID, SOME ARE MUCH MORE INVOLVED THAN OTHERS.
UM, BUT GENERALLY WE'VE BEEN SEEING WITH THE 75 MEGS OR MORE THAT IT TAKES ABOUT SIX MONTHS, UM, TO DO
UM, SO THE LAST TWO THINGS I HAD ON THE SLIDE, THIS ONE, THE STUDIES THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING, THEY'RE, THEY'RE REIMBURSED BY THE, BY THE LOAD, RIGHT? THEY'RE 100% PAYING FOR, FOR THOSE STUDIES.
AND SO PART OF THAT IS, AGAIN, IS, YOU KNOW, PROTECTING OUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS, YOU KNOW, TALKED ABOUT THAT IS, YOU KNOW, ONLY CONNECTING, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST ONE WHEN, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, ANY NEEDED UPGRADES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED.
AND IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A, YOU KNOW, SCREENING STUDY OR IT'S ERCOT.
THE ANSWER IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S OUR, OUR, UH, PRIORITY.
THE NEXT ONE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, PER OUR LINE EXTENSION POLICY, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF COSTS, YOU KNOW, ARE COVERED, UM, BY THE LARGE LOAD.
SO THAT INCLUDES EVEN THOSE STUDIES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, CAN BE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS THEY'RE PAYING FOR THAT, YOU KNOW, UPFRONT FOR THAT.
UM, AS WELL AS ANY TYPE OF UPGRADES THAT ARE NEEDED TO BRING THEM SERVICE.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE, UM, UH, SURETY OR PROTECTION, UM, FOR ANYTHING THAT IS POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE FOR TCOS TO MAKE SURE THAT, AGAIN, IS THAT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, PROTECTING OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, IF WE INTEND TO FILE AND WE BELIEVE WE'RE GONNA GET IT, BUT, UH, HOLD ONTO THAT UNTIL, UH, WE, WE GET, UH, UH, CONFIRMATION THAT WE ARE GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, PAID BACK VIA T COST.
AND THEN THE LAST ONE HERE, YOU KNOW, JUST TALKING ABOUT LO LOCAL OBLIGATION, YOU KNOW, SO LARGE LOAD CUSTOMERS MUST DO THEIR SHARE FOR, UH, CURTAILMENT.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH ANY, UM, POTENTIAL CUSTOMER BOTH ON THE LOAD SHED, BUT ALSO, UH, LOAD CURTAILMENT.
SO AGAIN, AS THAT CAN BE PART OF YOU, THE, THE SOLUTION, BUT A BARE MINIMUM KIND OF CARRY THEIR, THEIR WEIGHT AND SO THAT WE'RE NOT HAVING TO, UM, WHEN THE GRID GETS STRESSED, UM, THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING THEIR PART.
AND WITH THAT, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND TURN IT OVER TO STEPHANIE, WHO'S GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LINE EXTENSION POLICY AND SOME, UH, CODE CLEANUP.
STEPHANIE KUDELKA, INTERIM CFO.
I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF SLIDES TO WRAP UP OUR PRESENTATION THIS EVENING.
I'LL START WITH A VERY HIGH LEVEL OUTLINE OF OUR CONTRIBUTION AND AID OF CONSTRUCTION POLICY OR KAYAK AS WE SOMETIMES REFER TO IT.
UM, OUR CURRENT POLICY WAS ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL IN 2014, AND THAT HAS BEEN CURRENT PRACTICE FOR
[01:10:01]
THE UTILITY SINCE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE POLICY.UH, DAVID MENTIONED STRANDED COSTS THIS POLICY THAT THE UTILITY ABIDES BY PREVENTS COST OF ASSETS BEING PASSED ON TO EXISTING CUSTOMERS.
SO WHAT DOES THE POLICY ASK FOR? IT REQUIRES THAT AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, COLLECTS A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE COST FOR LINE EXTENSIONS AND INFRASTRUCTURE ASSOCIATED WITH LARGE CUSTOMERS, OR ANY LINE EXTENSION REQUEST, UM, TO EXTEND SERVICE, UH, TO THE CUSTOMER'S POINT OF SERVICE.
AND FINALLY, THE POLICY THAT WE, UM, ABIDE BY FROM 2014 INCLUDES EXEMPTIONS FOR CERTIFIED AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND LAST, JUST TO WRAP UP, REGARDING THE CITY CODE CLEANUP, UM, ITEM THAT YOU HAVE, UM, TAKEN A LOOK AT AND WHY IT'S NEEDED.
OUR CURRENT CODE, UM, THAT WE HAVE WAS ADOPTED IN, UH, 2003, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO, UM, REPEAL, UM, OR WE ARE LOOKING TO REPEAL, AND I'M LETTING YOU KNOW WHY IT'S NEEDED.
SO THAT 2003 CODE REQUIRED A 50% DEPOSIT OR BOND, UM, FOR INFRASTRUCTURE COST AND 50% COST RECOVERY.
AND IT WAS VERY SPECIFIC TO, UH, LOADS FOUR MEGAWATTS OR GREATER.
THIS IS OUTDATED LANGUAGE TO CURRENT POLICY.
AGAIN, I JUST REITERATED THAT IN 2014, COUNCIL, UM, ADOPTED CURRENT POLICY WHETHER UTILITY RECOVERS 100% OF THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS THROUGH A CONTRIBUTION AND AID OF CONSTRUCTION.
AND FINALLY, AT THE BOTTOM, I JUST HAVE, UH, FOR CLARITY, UM, REPEALING THIS CODE ENSURES NO MISUNDERSTANDING.
UM, AUSTIN ENERGY REQUIRES THAT THOSE REQUESTING CUSTOMERS PAY FOR THEIR ASSETS, UM, AND THAT CONTINUES TO PROTECT OUR CURRENT CUSTOMERS THROUGH THAT 100% FULL COST RECOVERY.
SO BASICALLY THAT'S WHAT ITEM SEVEN IS, IS THIS PAGE CORRECT.
QUESTIONS ARE THAT, COULD CYRUS, YOU HAD HAD SOMETHING THAT ZIPPED ACROSS THE SCREEN? I CAN'T SEE IT.
DO YOU WANT TO OH, I WAS, YOU, YOU HAD ASKED, IT WAS IN REFERENCE TO, TO THE, UH, PREVIOUS SPEAKER, YOU HAD ASKED HIM ABOUT TIMELINES FOR THE, THE, YOU KNOW, DO, DO UTILITIES HAVE TO FINISH THE STUDIES IN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME.
AND, UM, ALL I WAS SAYING IS THEY HAVEN'T, THERE'S KIND OF AN INTERIM PROCESS IN PLACE THAT WAS ADOPTED BY ERCOT, BUT NOW THEY'RE FINALIZING A RULE AT THE PUC BUT IS NOT FINALIZED YET.
THE COMMISSIONERS HAVEN'T TAKEN ACTION, THEY'RE STILL GETTING COMMENTS, ET CETERA.
UM, BUT IF YOU LOOK ALL, ALL I DID IS PUT A LINK TO THE PROPOSED RULE THAT HAS SOME, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT IT SAYS, BUT IT SAYS THINGS LIKE, WITHIN 10 DAYS YOU HAVE TO DO THIS, AND WITHIN 14 DAYS YOU HAVE TO DO THAT.
WITHIN 180 DAYS YOU HAVE TO DO THAT.
SO THERE ARE SOME TIMELINES IN THE PROPOSED RULE, UM, THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT.
AND I, I JUST PUT A LINK TO THAT.
AND THEN MY QUE, AS LONG AS WE'RE ON THIS, UH, UM, STEPHANIE, IT SAYS 2003 CITY CODE, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE ARE LOTS OF CODES.
WHAT, WHAT CODE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? SO THERE'S SPECIFIC LANGUAGE IN CITY CODE THAT WAS ADOPTED IN 2003, AND IT'S AROUND, UM, THE ELECTRIC UTILITY CHARGING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
IT ASKS FOR A 50% DEPOSIT AND 50% COST RECOVERY FOR LOADS FOUR MEGAWATTS OR GREATER.
SO WE AVOID ANY CONFUSION AROUND OUR ABILITY TO, UM, CONTINUE WITH OUR POLICY, WHICH IS 100% COST RECOVERY UPFRONT.
I DON'T NEED TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS, WHY DID THEY DO THE 2014 ACTION AS A RESOLUTION AND NOT JUST AMEND THE CODE? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
SO, UM, WE'VE LOOKED AT THAT AND FOR THE UTILITY, THE TARIFFS, UM, WE FEEL IS THE RIGHT PLACE TO SPEAK TO HOW WE CHARGE FOR, UM, RETAIL SERVICE AND OTHER CHARGES THAT THE, THE UTILITY, UM, INCURS OR, OR PASSES ON TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND THAT'S THROUGH A BUDGET ORDINANCE AND OUR FEE SCHEDULE AND TARIFF.
SO THAT'S THE MORE APPROPRIATE PLACE FOR THIS TO LIVE, UM, VERSUS CODE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION? OKAY.
WE CYRUS, SORRY, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION.
SO WE'D BE REPEALING THAT CODE AND THEN YOU WOULD, GOING FORWARD, YOU, YOU WOULD JUST HANDLE IT THROUGH THE BUDGET AND THROUGH THE TARIFFS THAT ARE IN THE RATES.
IS THAT CORRECT? YES, YES, THAT'S CORRECT.
AND IT CURRENTLY, IT CURRENTLY EXISTS IN TARIFF TODAY, OUR CONTRIBUTION, UM, CHARGE.
AND DO WE QUESTION ANOTHER QUESTION? SO DO WE HAVE A, DO WE BASICALLY HAVE A SEPARATE TARIFF FOR, FOR ALL LARGE LOADS, OR,
[01:15:01]
OR IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE TYPE OF LOAD OR, WELL, IT, IT KIND OF DEPENDS ON HOW THE LOAD WOULD MATERIALIZE, WHETHER IT WOULD BE A TRANSMISSION LEVEL.UM, BUT THIS IS KIND OF A SUBSET OF PROTECTING IT ON THE CUST EXISTING CUSTOMERS ON THE FRONT END TO KEEP THEM FROM PAYING FOR STRANDED COSTS OR ASSETS.
WE'RE STILL ANALYZING KIND OF AS THESE LOADS ARE, ARE, UM, IN THE QUEUE AND COMING ONLINE IF, IF ANY OTHER STRUCTURE NEEDS TO BE UPDATED.
BUT TODAY, WE'RE COVERED THROUGH THIS CONTRIBUTION POLICY IN OUR CURRENT TARIFF.
SO THIS COVERS THAT INFRASTRUCTURE PART.
THERE STILL MIGHT BE FURTHER ANALYSIS NEEDED TO HAVE A SEPARATE TARIFF FOR LARGE LOADS ON OTHER ISSUES POTENTIALLY.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION? I, I'M HAPPY TO MAKE THE MOTION.
WE'VE GOT ONE WITH COMMISSIONER BELLAMY.
DO YOU WANT A SECOND THEN CYRUS? YEAH, I'LL SECOND.
UM, SO THAT TAKES CARE OF NUMBER SEVEN
[11. Staff briefing on Battery Demand Response Pilot by Hammad Chaudhry, Director, Energy Efficiency Services, and Lindsey McDougall, Manager, Demand Response and Technical Services.]
EFFECTIVELY.SO THEN I THINK NEXT WE GO ONTO STAFF BRIEFING ON BATTERY DR.
GOOD EVENING CHAIR, TURTLE AND COMMISSIONERS.
I'M DIRECTOR OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES HERE AT AUSTIN ENERGY, AND I'M JOINED WITH THE, I'M JOINED WITH LINDSEY MCDOUGALL.
SHE'S OUR MANAGER OF DEMAND RESPONSE AND TECHNICAL SERVICES.
WE ARE PRESENTING ON OUR DEMAND RESPONSE BATTERY STORAGE PILOT PROGRAM, WHICH WE ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT.
HOWEVER, BEFORE THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS SOME OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS IN SOME OF THE EXCELLENT SUCCESSES WE HAD IN OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM OR DEMAND RESPONSE PORTFOLIO IN 2025.
AS WELL AS, UM, HOW ARE WE CONNECTING OR, UH, OR ADDRESSING RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN GOALS AROUND DEMAND RESPONSE AND SOME OF OTHER ITEMS. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO, UH, FIRST, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT IS DEMAND RESPONSE? DEMAND RESPONSE IS A WAY FOR US TO MANAGE THE LOAD WHEN THE, WHEN THE, WHEN, WHEN THE DEMAND IS HIGHEST AND WE CAN CURTAIL IT BEHIND THE METER.
WE HAVE DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS THAT ARE IN THE MARKETPLACE FOR A VERY LONG TIME, SOME OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS IN THE COUNTRY.
IN 2025, WE DID SEE SOME EXCELLENT RESULTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, RIGHT NOW WE ARE STILL FINALIZING OUR CALCULATIONS, BUT OUR LAST SEASON WE CURTAILED CLOSE TO 57 MEGAWATT OF DEMAND, UH, LOAD MANAGEMENT.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THAT'S ENOUGH TO POWER ALMOST 14,000 HOMES AT THE TIME OF THE GREATEST NEED.
SO THIS IS ONE OF OUR LARGEST EVER PRODUCTION HERE, UH, IN OUR DEMAND RESPONSE HISTORY.
UH, FURTHER, UH, WE ENROLLED ALL 195 CITY BUILDINGS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DEMAND RESPONSE, UM, UH, EVENTS AS A RESULT OF THE ORDINANCE IN THE CITY.
THIS IS, UH, SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO USING CITY FACILITIES AT THE TIME OF THE NEED.
UH, THEN, UM, ON JANUARY 16TH, JUST A WEEK BEFORE THE, UH, THE, THE, THE WINTER EVENT, WE CONDUCTED A TEST EVENT, DEMAND RESPONSE TEST.
THIS TEST WAS IN, WASN'T FORCED FOR US TO SEE HOW CAN WE PERFORM WITHIN THAT WINTER DEMAND RESPONSE.
ARE WE READY FOR IT? WHAT KIND OF THINGS WE NEED TO LEARN ABOUT IT? AND WITHIN RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN, WE ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE WINTER DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS. SO THE TEST WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL.
WE CALLED ABOUT 7,000 DIFFERENT DEVICES, WATER HEATERS AND, UH, HEAT PUMP, UH, AIR CONDIT, HEAT PUMPS.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE JUST, JUST TO BUILD UP ON THE SUCCESS OF OUR 2025, WE ARE IN INCREASING OUR INCENTIVES IN THE DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM IN THE POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT PROGRAM.
THIS IS WHERE WE INCENTIVIZE OUR CUSTOMERS TO PURCHASE SMART THERMOSTATS LIKE NEST ECO BEES.
BUT FURTHER WE ARE INCENTIVIZING THEM TO ENROLL INTO OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS. AND FURTHER WE INCENTIVIZE THEM TO STAY WITH US THROUGHOUT THEIR LIFE CYCLE OF THE, UH, OF THE THERMOSTAT WITHIN YEAR OVER YEAR.
SO WE CAN CURTAIL THE EVENTS, WE CAN CALL THESE, THESE DEVICES.
UH, SO OVERALL AN EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT YEAR.
COULD I ASK YOU ABOUT THE, THE, UH, PROGRAM TO KEEP PEOPLE STAYING WITH THE THERMOSTAT? IT USED TO BE $25, WHICH SEEMS PRETTY NOMINAL.
HAVE YOU INCREASED THAT? IS IS THERE MORE OF AN ATTRACTIVE REASON TO STAY WITH IT NOW? YES.
SO WE DEFINITELY HAVE INCREASED IT.
RIGHT NOW OUR CUSTOMER CAN GET UP $255 IN INCENTIVE.
UH, THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT, UM, PORTIONS OF THIS INCENTIVES IF YOU ARE GETTING INCENTIVE THROUGH OUR BUY NOW PORTAL, WHICH IS ALSO A NEW, A NEW CHANNEL THAT WE LAUNCHED FEW, A FEW MONTHS AGO, A FEW WEEKS AGO, WHERE OUR CUSTOMERS CAN GO ONLINE AND PURCHASE, UM, UH, THERMOSTAT.
SO WE PROVIDE A $50 INCENTIVE RIGHT THERE TO PURCHASE THAT, THE SMART THERMOSTAT.
THEN FURTHER, WE GIVE $70 INCENTIVE,
[01:20:01]
WHICH IS AN INCREASE FROM $50 THAT USED TO BE IN THE PAST TO ENROLL INTO OUR POWER PARTNER PROGRAM.AND NOW FURTHER WE, AND ON, ON TOP OF THAT, NOW WE HAVE A $30 INCENTIVE FOR YEAR OVER YEAR RETENTION INTO THE PROGRAM FOR CUSTOMERS TO STAY.
SO WE INCREASED 30 INSTEAD OF 25.
THEN IS THAT FROM 25 TO $30? YES.
IT'S STILL SMALL, BUT UH, IT'S INCREMENTAL.
WE HAVE CLOSE TO 35,000 DEVICES.
SO IF YOU JUST PUT ALL OF THAT TOGETHER, IT'S A STILL SIZABLE AMOUNT.
BUT YEAH, THIS IS ALL INCREMENTAL IN INCREASE AND AS WE ARE SEEING MORE SUCCESSES, WE WILL, WE WANT TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE RIGHT PRICE PROMPT POINT IS FOR THE MARKET.
UH, SO YEAH, WE, WE DID INCREASE.
CAN YOU GO OVER THAT AGAIN? SO YOU HAVE A $50 REBATE FOR THE HARDWARE UPFRONT, AND THEN YOU SAID YOU HAD $70 FOR WHAT KIND OF INCENTIVE? $70 TO ENROLL INTO POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT PROGRAM.
$75 FOR ENROLLMENT AND THEN $30 A YEAR, $30, UH, A YEAR ADDITIONAL INCENTIVE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS TO STAY IN THE PROGRAM RETENTION.
I THINK PROBABLY A LOT OF CUSTOMERS JUST FORGET ABOUT IT AND KEEP ROLLING ON, 'CAUSE IT'S NO LONGER IN THEIR
WE DON'T LET THEM FORGET IT BECAUSE WE DO SEND MESSAGING BEFORE THE EVENT.
WE REMIND THEM THAT WE ARE GOING TO CALL AN EVENT.
THEY, THEY, THAT'S WHY THE RETENTION INCENTIVE IS BECAUSE WHEN WE ARE TELLING THEM THAT TOMORROW IS THE DAY AND WE ARE GOING TO DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR DEVICE, THAT'S THE TIME WHEN THEY CAN OVERRIDE.
AND THIS INCENTIVE IS TO SPECIFICALLY TELL THEM TO NOT OVERRIDE.
WELL, ACTUALLY, IF YOU COULD GO BACK TO THAT, THE ONE WHERE ON THE UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER IT TALKED ABOUT GENERAL MOTORS.
IS THIS WHERE GM IS DOING IT LIKE TESLA, WHERE THROUGH THE VEHICLE TELEMATICS? YES.
AND THIS WAS, THIS IS AN EXCELLENT POINT, I FORGOT.
THANK YOU AL FOR REMINDING ME.
UH, SO AMONG OTHER SUCCESSES, LAST YEAR WE, UH, ADDED GM TO OUR, UM, UH, TO, TO OUR PA OUR, UH, DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM GM, IN ADDITION TO TEST TESLA TWO OEMS TO MANUFACTURERS WHO THROUGH OUR ENERGY HUB PLATFORM ARE WORKING WITH US.
SO WE CAN DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, CONNECT TO THEIR CAR, THE VEHICLES AND TELEMATICS AND USE THE TELEMATICS TO CONTROL THE CHARGING.
SO, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN ONSTAR SUBSCRIPTION, OTHERWISE THE VEHICLE TELEMATICS.
AND SO THAT CAN COST HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR.
WHAT KIND OF REBATE DO YOU GIVE WHEN YOU HAVE IT THROUGH THE TELEMATICS? THERE'S NO REBATE.
WE DON'T HAVE A REBATE FOR ONSTAR.
I HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK IT IF ONSTAR IS REQUIRED FOR THIS, UH, SERVICE.
UH, THE OTHER VEHICLE MANUFACTURER WE HAVE IS TESLA, AND I DON'T BELIEVE THAT TESLA USERS ARE REQUIRED TO PAY ANY SUBSCRIPTION FEE ON TOP OF THAT, BUT WE CAN GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
YEAH, I MEAN, IS IS THIS JUST DEMAND RESPONSE IN TERMS OF NOT YEAH.
THIS IS NOT, IT'S BASICALLY TURNING UP.
NO, THIS IS JUST TURNING IT OFF SO IT'S NOT CHARGING DURING A PEAK TIME.
THIS, THIS IS TO MANAGE THEIR CHARGING.
YOU CAN CONTROL THE CURRENT FLOW, YOU CAN REDUCE IT, OR WE, WE CAN EITHER REDUCE IT, WE CAN STOP IT.
THE IDEA IS TO DE, THE REASON I'M ASKING IS BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT LESS PRIVACY CONCERN WHEN YOU GET YOUR GET ENROLLED TO YOUR PROGRAM.
WHEN YOU DO IT THROUGH THE LEVEL TWO CHARGER THAT'S ON YOUR WALL, RIGHT? IT'S JUST THERE, IT JUST KNOWS WHEN YOU'RE CHARGING OR NOT WHEN YOU GO THROUGH THE VEHICLE.
TELEMATICS, THERE CAN BE OTHER, YOU KNOW, DATA THAT'S ABOUT WHERE YOU'RE DRIVING WHEN YOU'RE DRIVING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND IT'S JUST UNCLEAR THE LAST TIME I LOOKED AT, UH, SUBSCRIBING ONE OF MY VEHICLES IN THAT PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE BOUNDARIES ARE OF WHERE THE DATA GOES.
SO THOSE ARE GOOD, UH, GOOD POINTS.
WE WILL TAKE IT BACK AND CHECK, CHECK WITH THE TEAM.
UH, THE IDEA OF YOUR OVERALL IDEA HERE IS THAT WITH THE GM, THE GM OWNERS AND TESLA OWNERS, NOW THEY CAN USE ANY CHARGER IF, UH, FOR THE OTHER VEHICLES LIKE FORD OR BMWS, THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH A SET OF CHARGERS THAT ARE ENROLLED INTO OUR PROGRAM.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S JUST THE MORE FLEXIBILITY FOR THE GM OWNERS, UH, AND TESLA OWNERS TO USE ANY, ANY CHARGER AND, AND BE PART OF THE PROGRAM.
SO, UH, BUT ABOUT PRIVACY CONCERNS, WE WILL CHECK WITH OUR, UM, PARTNER ENERGY HUB AND DEFINITELY GET BACK.
SO IN ADDITION TO, UM, SO YEAH, SO, UH, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE, UH, DEMAND RESPONSE, UH, BATTERY PILOT PROGRAM, I JUST WANTED TO GET THE GROUP BACK TO LIKE WHY WE ARE DOING WHAT WE ARE DOING.
SO, UH, RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN WAS APPROVED AND OUT OF FOUR KEY KEY PILLARS, THE TWO KEY PILLARS ARE PRIORITIZED CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS AND FURTHER OUR CULTURE OF INNO INNOVATION WITHIN THE PRIORITIZED CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.
THERE ARE SOME VERY OPTIMISTIC, SOME LARGE, UH, DEMAND RESPONSE GOALS,
[01:25:01]
UH, AS WELL AS CUSTOMER CITED BATTERY GOALS.SO WE ARE ADDRESSING THESE GOALS.
WE ARE ADDRESSING OUR COMMITMENT TO THE GENERATION PLANS THROUGH OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS. AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, FROM THE PREVIOUS LIFE, FOR EXAMPLE, IN DEMAND RESPONSE, OUR, OUR, OUR, ONE OF OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE 78 MEGAWATT OF SUMMER LOAD REDUCTION BY 2027.
HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE HIGHER ONCE ALL THE CALCULATIONS ARE DONE.
UH, SIMILARLY WE ARE, WE WERE REQUIRED TO LAUNCH A PROGRAM.
WITHIN THE, UH, WITHIN THE FURTHER OUR CULTURE OF INNOVATION.
VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS IS AN AREA WHERE WE WERE ASKED TO LOOK INTO IT.
VIRTUAL POWER PLANT BEHIND THE METER.
VPP HAS QUITE A FEW COMPONENTS.
WE HAVE BEEN RUNNING SEVERAL OF THOSE COMPONENTS LIKE DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS FOR A WHILE.
AND THE NEW NEWEST IN OUR, UH, QUA NOW IS BETTY DEMAND RESPONSE, WHICH WHAT I WILL DO, I WILL HAND IT OVER TO LINDSAY SO SHE CAN KIND OF GO OVER VPP AND THEN WHATEVER PROGRAM IS.
SO I'M EXCITED TO TELL YOU ABOUT AUSTIN ENERGY'S VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.
SO VIRTUAL POWER PLANT IS A TERM THAT'S CURRENTLY USED IN OUR INDUSTRY, ALMOST INTERCHANGEABLY WITH DEMAND RESPONSE.
BUT AS WE ADVANCE OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS AND ADD DEVICES, ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH TELEMETRY THAT GIVE US THAT, THOSE DATA POINTS FROM THE DEVICE ITSELF, WE MATURE MORE TO THE, THE VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.
SO AUSTIN ENERGY CURRENTLY HAS SMART THERMOSTATS, WATER HEATERS, BUILDING SYSTEMS, AND ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND CHARGING STATIONS AS A PART OF OUR VPP.
AND WHAT'S NEXT IS THE VATER, THE RESIDENTIAL BATTERY INTEGRATION.
SO CUSTOMERS WILL BE INCENTIVIZED TO INSTALL NEW BATTERY SYSTEMS AT THEIR HOMES AND THEY WILL RECEIVE PERFORMANCE, PERFORMANCE-BASED INCENTIVES FOR DEMAND RESPONSE EVENTS THAT THEY PARTICIPATE IN.
HOW THIS WORKS IS AUSTIN ENERGY WILL HAVE REMOTE CONTROL OF THE BATTERY DISCHARGE AT THOSE PEOPLE'S HOMES.
WE WILL ALSO GET THE TELEMETRY FROM THOSE BATTERY DEVICES.
WE WILL SEE THE BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE AND THE BATTERY PERFORMANCE.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE DISCHARGE LEVELS.
THIS BENEFITS THE CUSTOMERS BY SUPPORTING GRID RELIABILITY AND WITH CLEAN ENERGY.
AND THESE CUSTOMERS CAN EARN INCENTIVES WHILE ALSO USING THAT BATTERY AS BACKUP POWER.
LET'S STAY ON THIS FOR, IS THIS YOUR OWN SYSTEM THAT, UH, IS THIS AN AUSTIN ENERGY DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED SYSTEM? YOU'RE NOT GOING THROUGH ANOTHER AGGREGATOR, BUT YOU ARE THE AGGREGATOR? WE ARE USING AN AGGREGATOR.
BUT YOU'RE CONTROLLING IT ALL OR YOU'RE, YOU'RE CALLING THE SHOTS AS TO WHAT, WHEN IT'S USED? THAT'S RIGHT.
WE WORK CLOSELY WITH THE ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS AND THEY DECIDE WHEN TO DISCHARGE.
SO LET'S ZERO IN ON REMOTE CONTROL OF THE BATTERY DISCHARGE.
SO SAY CUSTOMER X SAY AL HAS A TESLA POWER WALL BEHIND HIS HOUSE AND HE WANTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, WHAT IS THEY CALL IT STORM AWARE MM-HMM
WHEN THEY SEE A STORM, THEY WANNA CHARGE UP TO A HUNDRED PERCENT.
SO YOU HAVE MAXIMUM AND YOU WANT TO USE IT FOR, IF THE GRID GOES DOWN AND YOU WANT TO CARRY THROUGH YOUR HOUSE THROUGH, HOW DO YOU JOINTLY SORT OF MANAGE THAT? I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE PAYING A REBATE MM-HMM
AND SO YOU DESERVE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME DEGREE OF CONTROL, PARTICULARLY FOR FOUR CP AND PEAK LOAD REDUCTION AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT HOW DO YOU COORDINATE WITH WHAT A USER WOULD PROGRAM IN TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR HOUSE IS BACKED UP, THAT THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO, UM, HAVE THESE OTHER FEATURES THAT THEY, THEY PAID THE MAIN BODY OF THE, THE COST.
THEY GET A NICE FIVE, $500 REBATE.
SO THAT'S NICE AND THAT HELPS, BUT THEY'RE STILL PAYING THE VAST BULK OF IT.
HOW DO THEY COORDINATE? YEAH, GREAT QUESTION.
SO STORM WATCH WILL TAKE PRIORITY OVER THE UTILITIES DISPATCH SO THAT, THAT THAT CUSTOMER'S SETTING FOR STORM WATCH WILL, WILL TAKE THE PRIORITY.
UM, THE CUSTOMER CAN ALSO INPUT A RESERVE MARGIN FOR THEIR BATTERY, WHICH WILL ALWAYS MAINTAIN A PERCENTAGE OF THAT BATTERY FOR THAT CUSTOMER TO KEEP.
AND AUSTIN ENERGY WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE THAT.
AND THAT'S TYPICALLY ABOUT 20% IS WHAT THE MANUFACTURER INSTALLERS ADVISE THE CUSTOMERS TO SET IT AT.
UM, AND IN PRACTICE WE'VE, WE'RE EXPECTING TO NOT CALL EVENTS WITH A BIG STORM APPROACHING.
TYPICALLY THAT'S JUST NOT A TIME THAT WE WOULD NEED TO DISPATCH IT AND JUST, WE WILL BE WORKING THAT OUT IN OPERATION IN OUR PILOT YEAR.
BUT WE'RE GOING FORWARD INTO THIS PILOT YEAR EXPECTING TO NOT DO THAT BECAUSE OF
[01:30:01]
THE LIMITED DISPATCH CAPABILITIES WE'LL GET FROM THAT STORM WATCH SETTING.WILL YOU BE ARTICULATING THESE PRIORITIES AND OVERRIDES WITH THAT COORDINATION IN THE DOCUMENTATION FOR THE PROGRAM? I WILL CHECK ON THE, THAT, THAT STORM WATCH SPECIFIC FOR THE WEBSITE.
BUT I THINK IT WOULD HELP MAKE PEOPLE MORE COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE PAYING MOSTLY IN THIS SITUATION RIGHT.
AND, AND ALSO WHEN YOU, IS THE ALGORITHM UM, SORT OF SET OR DO YOU ALREADY KNOW THE ECONOMICS BEHIND WHAT YOUR STRATEGY IS AS FAR AS THE CONTROL? WILL YOU BE WHEN YOU DO PEAK REDUCTION? WILL YOU JUST BE TRYING TO SELF-SERVE THE LOAD MORE OR WILL YOU ACTUALLY START TAKING OUT OF THE BATTERY AND PUSHING TO THE GRID? SO THAT ALL DEPENDS ON THE, THE CUSTOMER'S SYSTEM BECAUSE IT CAN BE A VARIETY OF SIZES.
SUB CUSTOMERS WILL GET MULTIPLE BATTERY PACKS AND IT DEPENDS ON THE SIZE OF THE HOME, BUT THE BATTERY WILL ALWAYS SERVE THE NEAREST LOAD.
SO IT'S GONNA BE ABSORBED BY THE HOME FIRST AND FOREMOST.
AND THEN WHAT'S LEFT OVER WILL GO ONTO THE GRID RED.
I THINK WHAT, WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY GETS IS THE BENEFIT OF THIS DAY IN AND DAY OUT ON ALL THESE HOT SUMMER DAYS WHERE IT'S NOT A CRISIS OR A WEATHER EVENT, YOU'RE ABLE TO USE THESE BATTERIES ALL THE TIME.
WELL THAT'S AN INTERESTING, A LIMIT ON THE CYCLING FOR THE, THEY JUST GIVE IT UP DURING THE, WHEN AN OFFICIAL WEATHER EVENT IS CALLED.
WELL I THINK THAT THERE'S ALSO, IS THERE A LIMIT ON THE NUMBER OF CYCLES YOU CAN DO? 'CAUSE THAT IN OUR, COULD ACCELERATE BATTERY WEAR, RIGHT? IN OUR PILOT YEAR, WE'RE LIMITING IT TO 40 EVENTS IN THE YEAR, BUT NO SEASONAL RESTRICTIONS.
SO LIKE TYPICALLY WITH OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS, WE OPERATE DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, BUT THIS RESOURCE WILL BE YEAR, WILL BE USED YEAR ROUND, BUT NO MORE THAN 40 THAT FIRST YEAR.
THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE CYCLING IT EVERY DAY AL.
AND THEY DON'T NEED TO 'CAUSE IT'S REALLY THE, THE BIG PEAKS IN THE SUMMER, RIGHT? YEAH, MOSTLY.
BUT THERE CAN BE A LOT OF THOSE
WELL, YEAH, BUT THERE'S FOUR IN PARTICULAR THE, THE MOST, BUT RIGHT.
OKAY, SO THE CUSTOMER OFFERING INCLUDES A FIFTH, $500 UPFRONT INCENTIVE PER CUSTOMER'S BATTERY SYSTEM.
AND THIS SUPPLIES TO NEWLY INSTALLED BATTERIES.
AND WE WILL CAP THAT INCENTIVE TO 1500 BATTERY SYSTEMS. AND WE'RE CAPPING THAT BECAUSE WE WANT TO REALLY CLOSELY ANALYZE THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF THAT INITIAL INCENTIVE.
WE WILL ALSO BE ISSUING TO ALL BATTERY SYSTEMS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS PROGRAM.
A $75 PER KW ANNUAL DEMAND RESPONSE INCENTIVE.
THAT'S CALCULATED PER CUSTOMER'S BATTERY SYSTEM BASED ON THE AVERAGE KW REDUCTION OVER THE SY OVER THE SEASON.
AND THE SEASON LASTS THE FULL YEAR PER, SO IS THIS $500 PER SAY, POWERWALL? SO IF THEY HAVE TWO POWERWALLS, IT'S A THOUSAND OR $500 FOR THE WHOLE SYSTEM? THE WHOLE SYSTEM.
IT'S BASED ON THE INVERTER, WHICH THERE'LL BE JUST ONE.
WE, IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO AUSTIN ENERGY TO MAKE THIS PROGRAM INCLUSIVE TO SEVERAL BATTERY MANUFACTURERS.
SO WE'RE EXCITED THAT IN THIS PILOT YEAR WE'LL BE ABLE TO OFFER THIS PROGRAM TO TESLA BATTERIES, FRANKLIN W AND SOLAR EDGE AND WE WILL GROW THAT MANUFACTURER LIST AS THE PROGRAM EXPANDS.
ANY QUESTIONS ONLINE? CYRUS? I I THINK THIS IS OBVIOUS, BUT THIS IS, THIS IS ALL VOLUNTARY.
THIS, IF, IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO ENTER THE PROGRAM, THEN THEY CAN GET THIS INCENTIVE, BUT IF THEY DON'T, THEY DON'T.
AND THE PARTICIPANTS CAN OVERRIDE A SPECIFIC EVENT, BUT IT WILL IMPACT THEIR PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE.
AND THERE'S VERY LITTLE, UM, OF THIS ACTIVITY GOING ON THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE INFORMED OF BASED ON OTHER UTILITIES EXPERIENCE.
CUSTOMERS GENERALLY ARE VERY HAPPY WITH GETTING AS HIGH OF A PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE AS POSSIBLE.
TO ANSWER CYRUS'S POINT, THIS, THIS REALLY HELPS PAY FOR THE BATTERY TO SOME DEGREE BECAUSE OTHERWISE YOU'RE JUST SITTING THERE WAITING FOR AN OUTAGE, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S, IT'S NOT MAKING YOU ANY MONEY AT ALL.
SO THIS IS WAY BETTER THAN THAT.
SO HAVE YOU GOTTEN DATA FOR THIS PILOT, THIS TYPE OF PILOT IN CENTER POINT OR ENCORE? NOT, NO, NOT THOSE TWO.
WE'VE LOOKED AT DUKE SPECIFICALLY.
OTHER QUESTIONS? WELL, THIS IS VERY INTERESTING
[01:35:01]
TO A LOT OF US.ME TIME DOES THIS TAKE OFF BY THE WAY IT SAYS LAUNCHING IN 2026.
THIS, THIS SPRING? THIS SPRING.
WE, WE ARE TARGETING, UM, BY THE END OF THIS MONTH, FEBRUARY, UM, FINISH COST, BUT EVERYTHING IS IN, UM, IS GETTING IN LINE.
SO IDEA IS TO LAUNCH IT BY BY END OF FEBRUARY.
WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY GETTING ABOUT INFORMATION ONLINE, HAVE TO HAVE INFORMATION FOR CUSTOMERS AVAILABLE, UH, AND COMPLETE, UM, UH, AGREEMENTS WITH THE, WITH THE OEMS HERE AND WHEN YOU PUT IT IN THE NEWSLETTER THAT COMES WITH YOUR BILL EVERY MONTH AND GET SOME MORE VISIBILITY FOR IT.
WELL WHAT WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT THIS PROGRAM IS THE CUSTOMERS WILL MOSTLY BE INFORMED THROUGH THE BATTERY MANUFACTURER.
SO WE'RE ABLE TO TARGET MARKET TO THE CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE THESE BATTERIES.
BUT YES, WE'LL ALSO BE MARKETING BROADLY.
WELL, BUT IF, OKAY, SO THEY COULD VOLUNTEER AND NOT GET THE REBATE.
BUT IF YOU'RE TRYING TO CATCH PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T YET, BECAUSE THE 500 IS FOR ONLY NEWLY, SO YOU MAY WANT TO CAST A WIDER NET THAN JUST THAT GROUP.
SO I'M ALSO EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE OUR WORK WITH AN EVALUATION MEASUREMENT AND VERIFICATION CONSULTANT THAT BEGAN IN THE FALL OF 2025.
AND THIS, THIS GROUP IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT'LL PROVIDE INDEPENDENT EXPERTISE TO, UM, PROVIDE THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS OF THIS PILOT'S PERFORMANCE.
SO WE REALLY WANT TO LOOK AT THAT COST EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS.
UM, AND THIS CONSULTANT WILL HELP US ARRIVE AT ACTUAL ENERGY SAVINGS AND PILOT IMPACTS, ENABLING PRECISE, BE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS.
AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO SUPPLY OUR OWN PROGRAM DATA WHILE DOING THIS IN PARALLEL WITH THE PROGRAM LAUNCH.
SO WE CAN ARRIVE AT, UM, UM, BETTER GUIDE RESOURCE ALLOCATION, BETTER PROGRAM DESIGN AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF THIS PROGRAM.
SO HAS ANYTHING CHANGED SINCE SHINES? I MEAN, I REMEMBER READING THAT AND I THOUGHT THAT THE BIGGEST VALUE DRIVER WAS, UH, PEAK LOAD REDUCTION.
WHAT ELSE WAS THERE BESIDES PEAK LOAD SHIFTING MAYBE, BUT HAS ANYTHING CHANGED IN THE LOAD PROFILES OR ERCOT DYNAMICS OR ANYTHING ELSE TO WHERE THERE ARE OTHER MAJOR VALUE DRIVERS BESIDES PEAK LOAD REDUCTION? I MEAN, WE DO EXPECT A LOT OF BULK SYSTEM, UM, ADVANTAGES OF THIS, UM, FOR ALL PARTS OF THE UTILITY FROM, YOU KNOW, TO THE HOME TO THE WHOLE LOAD NET LOAD, UM, TO THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
SO WE ARE, WE ARE HOPING TO QUANTIFY THOSE SPECIFICALLY WITH THIS EVALUATION.
'CAUSE RIGHT NOW OUR COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS IN HOUSE IS LIMITED, BUT THIS WILL BRING ON ACTUAL SAVINGS.
WE WANNA CALCULATE HEALTH BENEFITS TO, FOR CHILDREN AVOIDING ASTHMA.
WE WANT, WE WANT ALL THE BENEFITS THAT COME FROM THIS KIND OF SOCIETAL IMPROVEMENT.
AL DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION AL? NO, I GUESS I'M OKAY.
FOR ALL THE PRESENTATIONS TONIGHT.
SO THAT CONCLUDES ALL THE STAFF BRIEFINGS.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
WE'RE DOWN TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. AL DO YOU HAVE ONE? I I HAVE SEVERAL ACTUALLY.UH, ONE IS LAST MONTH WE MENTIONED THE WORD TRANSMISSION, BUT WE DIDN'T SAY A LOT ABOUT IT.
BUT I WANT TO KEEP ELEVATING THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSMISSION.
AND I'D LIKE TO SEE IF WE COULD GET A, NOT A FOLLOW UP OF THE STUDY WE DID IN 2023, BUT A FOLLOW UP OF THE PROGRESS WE'RE MAKING TO THE GOALS THAT WE SET IN 2023.
BECAUSE THAT WAS REALLY TO DEAL WITH IMPORT CAPACITY.
AND SINCE THEN THERE'S BEEN THE 7 65 KV AND THEN WELL THAT'S A WHOLE, YEAH.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO, WE'RE TRYING TO INCREASE OUR IMPORT CAPACITY.
WE'RE KIND OF IN A BOTTLENECK, BUT WE NEED TO DO THAT.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY OF THE 7 65.
SO I'D, I'D ALSO LIKE TO ASK FOR A, A LOOK AT HOW OUR TRANSMISSION PLANNING COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT 7 65 GRID.
AND UH, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PHRASE THAT EXACTLY, BUT, BUT CAN WE HAVE A TRANSMISSION UPDATE SOMETIME IN THE NEXT THREE OR FOUR MONTHS? JUST WHAT'S GOING ON SINCE WE LOVE THIS STUFF SO MUCH.
WELL, I MEAN DAVID'S, YOU KNOW, PRESENTATION TONIGHT WAS GREAT, BUT IT DIDN'T DEAL WITH, WITH OUR IMPORT CAPACITY AND OUR OPPORTUNITY.
SO I'D LIKE TO SEE MORE OF THAT.
[01:40:01]
ONE OF MY MISSIONS IS TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO STREAMLINE ROOFTOP SOLAR.AND, UH, WE'VE GOTTA SQUEEZE SOME MORE MONEY OUT OF THIS BECAUSE WITH THE LOSS OF THE TAX CREDITS, WE NEED TO SAVE ABOUT 30% JUST TO STAY WHERE WE WERE.
SO I, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO HAVE A COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION WITH THE STAFF ABOUT THIS.
I MEAN, I HAVE IDEAS, BUT I DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT IDEAS.
I WANT TO JUST FIND WAYS THAT WE CAN WORK WITH THE PROCESS TO SHAVE AS SOMEONE WHO LIVES THROUGH RACISM AS PROCESS.
SO I HAVE A, I HAVE A, UH, I HAVE A VERY DETAILED STUDY OF ONE PERSON, BUT I, I WANT TO EXPAND THAT TO THE BIGGER UNIVERSE AND, AND DO IT COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE STAFF.
SO I'M NOT SURE HOW TO WELL, WHAT KIND OF FORUM WE HAVE.
WELL, I WOULD SUGGEST YOU, YOU'D START OFF WITH RICHARD.
I'LL GET IN TOUCH AND THEN YOU ALL CAN DETERMINE WHEN IT YEAH, PERSONALLY I'D LIKE A FOLLOW UP ON THE VPP AND THE BATTERY DR PLAN.
I MEAN, ONCE IT'S LAUNCHED AND IT GETS GOING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SIX MONTHS FOR AN NOW OR SO.
CYRUS, YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP AGAIN.
I DIDN'T KNOW IF AL WAS DONE OR I STILL HAVE SOME MORE WORRIES.
WELL, MINE, I DIDN'T, COULD, COULD SOMEONE REMIND ME ABOUT, I, I FEEL LIKE I SAW AN EMAIL SOMEWHERE.
I GET A LOT OF EMAILS AND, UM, ABOUT SOME DEADLINES ON RECOMMENDATIONS ON BUDGET.
AND I FEEL LIKE IT WAS COMING UP SOON, BUT WAS IT, UM, WAS IT BEFORE OUR NEXT MEETING OR AFTER THAT? THAT'S WHAT IT'S BECAUSE I THINK WE NEED TO AGAIN, ADDRESS THE BUDGET AND UM, UH, WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF I'LL BE SUCCESSFUL, BUT I WANTED TO BRING UP THIS ISSUE OF, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, RAISING BASE RATES BEFORE WE GO THROUGH A WHOLE, UM, RATE PROCESS AND JUST UNDERSTANDING THAT.
AND IF WE HAVE A RECOMMENDATION, WE HAVE A RECOMMENDATION.
SO I ASSUME WE'LL BE HAVING A BUDGET DISCUSSION, BUT I, I CAN'T REMEMBER IF DO, DO WE HAVE TO GIVE RECOMMENDATIONS EVEN BEFORE WE'VE SEEN, WE ALWAYS HAVE THIS CART BEFORE THE HORSE ISSUE.
UM, I GUESS WHAT I'D LIKE TO SAY, SORRY, I'M TALKING TOO LONG.
UH, I'D LIKE TO PUT ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT MONTH IF OTHER PEOPLE AGREE SOME SORT OF BUDGET DISCUSSION, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF AUSTIN ENERGY WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ACTUALLY MAKE A PRESENTATION OR WE CAN JUST HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT IT.
I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE AT THE TIMING.
SO MAYBE SOMEBODY FROM AUSTIN ENERGY CAN HELP ME.
THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS ARE DUE AT THE END OF MARCH.
SO IF EUC WANTS TO MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS, YOU'LL NEED TO DO IT AT YOUR NEXT MEETING.
SO IF YOU COULD JUST SEND ME WHO YOUR CO-SPONSOR IS AND THE POSTING LANGUAGE FOR, UH, THE DISCUSSION ITEM.
AND I'M NOT SURE, I THINK WE'RE GONNA BE IN THE SAME SITUATION WE WERE LAST YEAR THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA BE GIVING A BUDGET PRESENTATION YET.
WELL I'LL, I'LL, I'LL FIND A CO-SPONSOR AND SEND SOMETHING IN, IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO.
AND I WILL, I WILL CLARIFY WHETHER OR NOT WE WILL HAVE ONE AND, AND FOLLOW UP AS WELL.
UH, THE OTHER THING IS, ANOTHER THING IS COMMERCIAL.
THE COMMERCIAL STANDARD OFFER, UH, WE'RE SEEING THE RATE GO DOWN BECAUSE OF BLESSED LOW REC
SO I'M, I'M TRYING TO FIND SOME CONSTITUENTS TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE COULD PUT A FLOOR UNDER THAT RATE, AND I THINK STAFF DOESN'T WANT TO CALL IT A CHANGE IN RATE, BUT TO PUT A FLOOR INCENTIVE OR SOMETHING, UH, THAT WE CAN AT LEAST KEEP THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER AT COMMERCIAL LEVEL GOING.
UH, SO MAYBE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT OR, OR TALK TO RICHARD ABOUT THAT.
AND ONE OTHER THING I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT TODAY, UH, I WAS LOOKING AT, UH, THE CONTRACTOR DISCOUNT PROGRAM, WHICH ALLOWS, UH, QUALIFIED CONTRACTORS AND SOLAR INSTALLERS TO MAKE A DISCONNECT ON THE METER WITHOUT WAITING MONTHS AND MONTHS FOR AN OFFICIAL DISCONNECT.
AND IT SAID THAT THAT PROGRAM WAS CEASING IN 2026 AND LIKE, I'M HOPING IT'S REPLACED BY SOMETHING BIGGER AND BETTER.
BUT ARE YOU THE RIGHT GUY FOR THAT TOO? I'VE RECEIVED YOUR EMAIL AND I'VE FORWARDED IT TO STAFF.
I'VE RECEIVED YOUR EMAIL AND I FORWARDED IT TO STAFF THIS AFTERNOON.
SO WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU TO YOUR EMAIL.
[01:45:02]
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? OKAY, WITH THAT, LET'S CLOSE THE MEETING.