Mar 24, 2026 Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee

THANK YOU MR. BRAD.

IF WE CAN HAVE CODY CARR.

CODY IS NOT HERE.

PERSON IN THE AUDIENCE.

CAN WE HAVE SCOTT TURNER? MR. TURNER, WELCOME.

UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

UM, I AM, UH, A MEMBER OF THE AUSTIN INFO COALITION AND ALSO THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION.

AND, UH, WE APPRECIATE THE REORGANIZATION EFFORTS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS PRESENTING HERE TODAY.

UH, WE FEEL LIKE IT'S AN IMPORTANT FIRST STEP TO REALLY IMPROVE, UH, THE DESIGN PROCESS.

AND THAT, AND THAT DESIGN PROCESS IS THE PROCESS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY USES TO DESIGN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR NEW PROJECTS.

UM, ALMOST ALL HOME PROJECTS THAT HAVE TWO OR THREE UNITS ARE NOW BEING REQUIRED TO GO THROUGH THIS DESIGN PROCESS.

AND, UH, AND THERE'S STILL A LOT OF WORK LEFT TO DO ON IT.

UM, IT, IT NEEDS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT OVERHAUL.

AND, AND THE REASON IS THAT IT'S, IT'S WASN'T BUILT FOR THESE BUILDING PERMITS.

IT WASN'T BUILT TO BE QUICK.

SO, UM, WE'D LIKE TO SEE, UM, SOME ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS.

THERE HAVE BEEN SOME, BUT IT STILL TAKES LONGER TO GET A TRANSFORMER DESIGN TODAY THAN IT DOES TO GET A BUILDING PERMIT.

AND, AND

[00:05:01]

I THINK THAT SAYS A LOT.

SO, UM, IT SHOULDN'T TAKE WEEKS.

WHAT, WHAT, UH, WHAT SHOULD JUST TAKE A FEW DAYS? UM, WE'D LIKE TO SEE TIMELINES AND RESPONSE TIMES THAT, THAT REALLY CORRESPOND TO DSDS BUILDING PERMIT PROCESS.

UH, WE'D LIKE TO SEE A CUSTOMER SERVICE, UH, POLICY THAT ALSO CORRESPONDS TO DSDS, UH, PROCESS THAT HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN ENSURING CUSTOMERS KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AND WHO TO TALK TO AS THEIR PERMITS ARE BEING ROUTED THROUGH DESIGN.

UM, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE INCORPORATION OF SOME THIRD PARTY ENGINEERING REVIEW, WHICH I KNOW THE CITY MANAGER IS ENCOURAGING RIGHT NOW, UH, TO REALLY HELP REDUCE THESE REVIEW TIMES.

UM, BECAUSE, UM, WE REALLY DO NEED TO CONTINUE DOWN THIS PATH OF, OF REALLY COMING UP WITH SOLUTIONS FOR WHAT IS BECOMING A, A, A, A RELATIVELY LARGE BARRIER FOR THESE SMALL PROJECTS THAT I KNOW, UH, Y'ALL HAVE BEEN WORKING QUITE HARD TO TRY AND, AND KIND OF GET OUTTA THE GROUND, SO TO SPEAK.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

APPRECIATE YOUR TESTIMONY.

UP NEXT, IF WE CAN HAVE RUAN JABBER FOLLOWED BY JAMES DAVIS, THEY AHEAD TO LEAVE.

SOUNDS LIKE THEY'RE NOT HERE.

AND LASTLY, KABA WHITE AND SHE HAS NOT JOINED REMOTELY.

GREAT.

AND SO THAT, UH, THAT'S ALL THE SPEAKERS.

THAT'S EVERYBODY.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WE'LL

[Approval of Minutes]

GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 20TH, 2026 MEETING.

UH, I HAVE, UH, A MOTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN, THE SECOND FROM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES.

UH, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE INDICATE, UH, UNANIMOUSLY APPROVE THE MINUTES, AND THEN WE WILL

[2. General Manager’s Report - Winter Storm Fern, Mutual Aid to Nashville, TN, and Kramer Substation [Stuart Reilly, General Manager - Austin Energy].]

CALL OUR GENERAL MANAGER, UH, STUART RILEY FOR HIS, UH, REPORT.

MR. RILEY FLOOR IS YOURS.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, MAKING THE TRIP UP TO NASHVILLE, WORKING FOR A WEEK AND MAKING THE TRIP BACK DOWN AND DOING IT ALL SAFELY AND COMING HOME, UM, WITHOUT ANY SAFETY INCIDENT.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

UH, AGAIN, STUART RILEY, AUSTIN ENERGY GENERAL MANAGER.

I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT ON THE AGENDA AND, UH, I WILL JUST TRY TO GET THROUGH THIS RELATIVELY SHORT GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT TODAY AS QUICKLY AS I CAN.

LET'S SEE.

ALL RIGHT, SO, UM, LOOKING BACK JUST A LITTLE BIT, WE JUST GOT THROUGH OUR SECOND WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD FOR THE AUSTIN AREA, BUT WITH GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE AND OVERALL WARMER WINTERS ALSO COMES A HIGHER RISK OF EXTREME WINTER EVENTS.

UM, THE WINTER EVENT THAT SWEPT THROUGH AUSTIN FROM JANUARY 24TH TO JANUARY 27TH WAS CALLED WINTER STORM FERN.

AND IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO WINTER STORM FERN, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY WAS INSPECTING AND WEATHERIZING EQUIPMENT.

WE WERE PRE-POSITIONING, UM, CREWS, UH, AND RESOURCES.

WE WERE READYING OUR MUTUAL AID CONTRACTS AND WE EVEN, UM, BROUGHT IN SOME EXTERNAL, A SMALL AMOUNT OF EXTERNAL CREWS JUST TO BE READY IN CASE THE CONDITIONS CALLED FOR IT.

UH, WE'VE GOTTEN MUCH BETTER AT PREPARING FOR EMERGENCIES, RESPONDING TO OUTAGES, BUT IN THIS CASE, WE'RE ALSO VERY FORTUNATE THAT MOST OF THE OVER HALF INCH OF PRECIPITATION FELL AS SLEET RATHER THAN AS FREEZING RAIN.

UM, THERE WERE STILL VERY ICY ROADWAYS THAT IMPACTED OUR ABILITY TO RESPOND TO THE, UM, ISOLATED OUTAGES.

WE DID HAVE A FEW OUTAGES ACROSS OUR SERVICE TERRITORY.

UM, I WANNA RECOGNIZE SOME OF OUR CREWS WHO IN, IN RESPONDING TO THOSE OUTAGES AT TIMES, COULDN'T GET THEIR VEHICLE TO THE, THE EQUIPMENT THAT NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED AND WERE WALKING, UH, HALF A MILE BACK AND FORTH FROM THEIR VEHICLE TO THE EQUIPMENT TO GET CUSTOMER LIGHTS BACK ON.

UM, JUST THE LEVEL OF DEDICATION, UH, IT WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE.

I ALSO WANT TO, UM, RECOGNIZE OUR POWER PLANT EMPLOYEES WHO KEPT OUR ASSETS RUNNING.

THAT WAS A TIGHT PERIOD FOR THE ERCOT MARKET.

IT WAS AN EXPENSIVE PERIOD FOR THE ERCOT MARKET AND OUR POWER PLANT EMPLOYEES, UM, WERE ESSENTIAL.

UH, INDEED ALL OF OUR, UH, CITY DEPARTMENTS, THERE WAS GREAT COLLABORATION ACROSS THE CITY.

THERE WAS GREAT SUPPORT, UM, ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, AND THE LEVEL OF COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION AND COMMUNICATION WAS, UM, WAS UNMATCHED.

UM, YOU KNOW, THAT DEDICATION ALSO SOMETIMES EXTENDS OUTSIDE OF OUR COMMUNITY AND INTO OTHER COMMUNITIES.

WHEN WINTER STORM FERN THAT SAME WINTER STORM GOT TO NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, IT ACTUALLY, THE PRECIPITATION ACTUALLY FELL IN THE FORM OF FREEZING RAIN.

AND, AND WE KNOW THE IMPACTS OF OVER HALF AN INCH OF ICE ON TREES, ON EQUIPMENT.

UM, AND THE, UH, SITUATION THAT THEY HAD IN NASHVILLE WAS A CARBON COPY OF WHAT WE WENT THROUGH IN WINTER STORM MAR OF 2023, HALF OF THEIR CUSTOMERS WITHOUT POWER, A TWO WEEK LONG RESTORATION.

WE SENT CREWS, UM, AND CRITICAL MATERIALS.

THERE WERE SUPPLIES THAT THEY NEEDED, POLES, CONDUCTOR, OTHER CRITICAL MATERIALS.

UH, WE SENT 21 LINE WORKERS, ONE VEHICLE COORDINATOR, ONE SAFETY COORDINATOR, UM, UP THERE FOR A WEEK.

AND, UM, THEY DID VERY IMPRESSIVE WORK, UM, IN TERMS OF RESTORING PRIMARY WIRE, SECONDARY WIRE, GETTING A LOT OF CUSTOMERS, UM, POWER BACK ON, AND

[00:10:01]

AND MY LEADERSHIP TEAM AND I WERE ALSO IN TOUCH WITH THE NES NASHVILLE ELECTRIC SERVICE LEADERSHIP TEAM DURING THAT EVENT.

UM, BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, IT WAS SO SIMILAR TO WHAT WE WENT THROUGH IN 2023.

THEY WERE ACTUALLY USING OUR WINTER STORM MARA AFTER ACTION REPORT DURING THAT EVENT TO KIND OF GET THEM A HEAD START ON WHAT THEY NEEDED TO DO, LOOKING AT WHAT, UH, IMPROVEMENTS WE HAD MADE, AND WE PLAN ON GETTING TOGETHER WITH THEM, UH, HERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE TO, UM, GO OVER ANY ADDITIONAL LESSONS LEARNED.

UH, THEY BROUGHT IN A LOT OF EXTERNAL CREWS, UM, A A LOT OF, OF CHALLENGES AND, AND WE KNOW THAT VERY WELL.

BUT, UM, HATS OFF TO OUR TEAMS THAT WENT UP THERE TO ASSIST, UM, OUR PUBLIC POWER COLLEAGUES UP IN NASHVILLE.

LASTLY, UM, IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR ELECTRIC GRID, UH, ENHANCEMENT EFFORTS OUTLINED IN OUR ELECTRIC SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN, AUSTIN ENERGY RECENTLY ENERGIZED OUR NEW KRAMER SUBSTATION TO SERVE PARTS OF NORTH AUSTIN.

SUBSTATIONS ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM.

THEY CONNECT THE HIGH VOLTAGE TRANSMISSION GRID TO THE LOCAL POWER LINES THAT SERVE OUR LOCAL, UH, AREAS AND NEIGHBORHOODS.

UM, THIS SUBSTATION, THIS KRAMER SUBSTATION WILL, UH, PROVIDE BETTER REDUNDANCY AND RESILIENCY FOR NORTH AUSTIN.

IT WILL ALSO, UH, SERVE NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THE DOMAIN AREA.

WE'VE BEEN PLANNING FOR THE SUBSTATION SINCE 2019.

UH, THE END COST OF THE SUBSTATION WAS $25 MILLION, AND IT HIGHLIGHTS OUR COMMITMENT TO ENHANCING OUR GRID, GROWING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, AND PROVIDING RELIABLE, PROVIDING RELIABLE AND RESILIENT SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS.

AND JUST TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND LOOK AT KIND OF THE MACRO PICTURE HERE IN TERMS OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS, UM, LOOKING BACK HISTORICALLY, WE, WE'VE BEEN ADDING ONE SUBSTATION EVERY TWO TO THREE YEARS.

LOOKING AT OUR PLAN GOING FORWARD, WE NEED TO BUILD TWO SUBSTATION, TWO SUBSTATIONS EVERY YEAR FOR THE NEXT SEVEN YEARS.

SO WE'RE LOOKING AT NEEDING TO BUILD THREE AND A HALF TO FOUR TIMES AS MANY SUBSTATIONS AS WE BUILT IN THE PAST.

THIS ISN'T UNIQUE TO US.

THIS IS WHAT OTHER ELECTRIC UTILITIES THAT WE TALK TO ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE SEEING.

THIS IS PART OF THE ENERGY TRANSITION.

UH, THIS IS PART OF INVESTING IN RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY FOR OUR COMMUNITY, AND ALSO REALLY JUST SUPPORTING, UH, A A SHIFT TO ELECTRICITY AND, AND A SHIFT, UH, TO SUPPORTING A TRANSPORTATION SECTOR AND A MORE ELECTRIC, UM, AND, AND DECARBONIZED INDUSTRIAL SECTOR AS WELL.

UM, AND CHAIR, THAT'S WHAT I HAVE FOR YOU TODAY, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

LIVING UP TO OUR VISION OF BEING, YOU KNOW, LOW COST AND RELIABLE, BUT ALSO ENVIRONMENTALLY FORWARD.

ANY, UH, QUESTIONS FROM THE DAS? COUNCILOR SIEGEL, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU JIM RILEY FOR YOUR REPORT AND ALSO FOR ALL YOUR WORK, YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM, ALL THE A FOLKS WHO ARE KEEPING OUR UTILITY RELIABLE AND INNOVATIVE, AND BOTH ALSO ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE, MOVING UP TO OUR VALUES.

AND, UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT OUR NEXT MEETING, WE'RE GONNA HEAR SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FROM AUSTIN ENERGY ABOUT, UH, POTENTIALLY BUILDING NEW POWER GENERATION FACILITIES IN RELATION TO ALL OUR, ALL RESOURCES RFP, UH, INCLUDING POTENTIALLY GAS POWERED PEAKER PLANTS.

AND SO I WANTED TO ASK YOU TO TAKE A MOMENT TO COMMENT ON OUR GEN PLAN AND HOW WE CAN LIVE UP TO THE AMBITIOUS GOALS, DESPITE SOME HEADWINDS, AND JUST WANTED TO LAY THEM OUT A LITTLE BIT.

UH, AS WE DISCUSSED YESTERDAY, UM, A LOT OF, A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE WE ADOPTED THE GEN PLAN, RIGHT? OUR GOAL IS TO, FOR EXAMPLE, TO CLOSE THE FAYETTE COAL PLANT, BUT THE NEW FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION IS MAKING THAT HARDER BY CHANGING SOME OF THE, THE COAL EMISSION RULES.

UH, WE'VE LOST OUR GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY SOLAR BECAUSE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS, UH, ATTACKING CLIMATE MITIGATION PROGRAMS. UM, ENERGY PRICES ARE IN FLUX BECAUSE OF THE WAR, UH, IN IRAN, AND THAT'S IMPACTING OIL AND GAS PRICES.

UH, DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY IS RISING BECAUSE OF AI AND DATA CENTERS.

UM, AND ALSO AS YOU'VE LAID OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO ACCESS SOME OF OUR RENEWABLE GENERATION ASSETS BECAUSE OF CONGESTION IN THE TRANSMISSION, UH, AREAS.

SO SOME OF OUR GOALS SEEM A LOT HARDER TO REACH THAN THEY MAYBE DID, UH, A COUPLE YEARS AGO.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, SOME ASPECTS OF THE ENERGY ECONOMY ARE EVOLVING AND THERE'S SOME BIG OPPORTUNITIES, RIGHT? UM, THE, YOU KNOW, THE GROWTH OF THE BATTERY STORAGE MARKET IS ONE EXAMPLE, BOTH AT UTILITY SCALE AND DISTRIBUTED DEMAND.

UH, GEOTHERMAL IS A GROWING OPPORTUNITY.

UH, THE STATE OF TEXAS, AS MR. BRADEN SHARED, IS MAKING A MASSIVE INVESTMENT IN HIGH VOLTAGE TRANSMISSION.

UH, RENEWABLE ENERGY CONTINUES TO SET RECORD HIGHS.

AND IN GENERAL, I WOULD SAY THAT RENEWABLES FEEL LIKE A SAFER OPTION THAT ALLOWS FOR MORE LOCAL CONTROL AND SELF-DETERMINATION IN THIS INTERNATIONAL MARKET.

AND SO I WANNA ASK IF YOU COULD KIND OF MAYBE TAKE A MINUTE OR TWO TO, TO KIND OF SHARE YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON HOW WE'RE RESPONDING TO SOME OF THESE HEADWINDS AND ALSO TAKING ADVANTAGE OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES AND HOW DO WE ASSURE OUR RESIDENTS THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW,

[00:15:01]

ABSOLUTELY.

AND, UM, LISA MARTIN'S GOING TO OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, LISA MARTIN.

UH, MAY GET INTO SOME OF THIS IN A PRESENTATION HERE IN A MOMENT, BUT, UM, LET ME JUST KIND OF REINFORCE AND ECHO SOME OF WHAT YOU JUST SAID, WHICH IS THAT, UM, WE ARE A LEADER IN RENEWABLE.

YOU KNOW, OUR OUR PERCENTAGE, AS YOU POINTED OUT, HAS GONE DOWN A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE OF CURTAILMENTS OF SOME OF OUR RENEWABLE ASSETS BECAUSE OF THAT TRANSMISSION CONGESTION INCREASING OUR TRANSMISSION IMPORT CAPACITY IS A KEY PART OF OUR RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN IS A KEY PART OF GETTING MORE RENEWABLES INTO OUR LOAD ZONE.

UM, WE HOPE TO BE ADDING MORE BATTERIES.

WE HOPE TO BE ADDING MORE WIND AND MORE SOLAR.

UH, WE HAVEN'T BROUGHT, UM, A NEW RENEWABLE ENERGY LARGE SCALE PROJECT, UH, TO COUNCIL IN SOME TIME.

AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON SOME OF THOSE THINGS.

AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT GROWING OUR RENEWABLE PERCENTAGE.

WE'RE LOOKING AT GROWING, UH, OF COURSE ADDING STORAGE DOESN'T GROW OUR RENEWABLE PERCENTAGE, BUT IT, IT'S STILL A KEY ASPECT THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO GROW, UM, AND DOING THAT BOTH AT THE UTILITY SCALE AND AT THE CUSTOMER DISTRIBUTED SIDE AS WELL.

AND SO WE'LL BE TALKING, UM, RICHARD GENESEE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT ONE ASPECT OF THAT DISTRIBUTED, UH, BATTERY, UM, UH, STRATEGY THAT WE HAVE AHEAD OF US.

AND SO, UM, I DO WANT TO GIVE FOLKS SOME REASSURANCE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN ENERGY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MUCH OF WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN TEXAS, THIS, THIS SORT OF, UH, RENEWABLE ENERGY MIRACLE OF TEXAS.

YOU KNOW, WITH WIND, WE WERE THE FIRST, YOU KNOW, OFFTAKER FOR, FOR A WIND PROJECT IN THIS STATE.

WE WERE THE FIRST OFFTAKER FOR UTILITY SCALE SOLAR PROJECT IN THE STATE.

WE, WE HAVE THE ONLY BIOMASS PLANT.

WE ARE NOW WORKING ON A PILOT GEOTHERMAL PROJECT.

UM, WE HAVE NOT, UH, HAD AS MANY, UM, BATTERIES AS, AS OTHERS HAVE HAD, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO ADD ADD BATTERIES AS WELL.

SO, UH, WE ARE WORKING ON THAT.

WE'VE BEEN SETTING NEW RECORDS IN TERMS OF LOCAL STORAGE.

WE'VE BEEN SETTING RECORDS IN TERMS OF LOCAL DEMAND RESPONSE.

AND SO WE WILL KEEP ITERATING ON THAT.

UM, YOU KNOW, RELIABILITY IS A BIG PIECE OF THAT EQUATION, UH, AS IS AFFORDABILITY.

AND SO IT'S FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN THOSE THINGS WHILE CONTINUING TO GO ON THIS JOURNEY OF GETTING MORE AND MORE SUSTAINABLE AND MORE AND MORE RENEWABLE, UM, REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE'RE HAVING TO DO TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THE RELIABILITY BACKSTOP IN PLACE.

AND WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THAT MORE.

LISA WILL COVER THAT A LITTLE BIT, AND WE'LL CONTINUE THAT DISCUSSION HERE IN THE COMING MONTHS.

OF, UH, FIRST DOING FOR CITY GOVERNMENT, WHAT WE WOULD THEN TURN TO THE CITIZENS, UH, THAT WE WANT AND TO, YOU KNOW, EMULATE THE BEHAVIORS WE WANT THEM TO EMULATE.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WELL, I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU AND THE STAFF.

Y'ALL DID GREAT WORK DURING THE WINTER STORM.

NOT JUST AUSTIN ENERGY, BUT CITYWIDE.

I THOUGHT THE RESPONSE WAS EXCELLENT.

I THOUGHT THE COMMUNICATION WAS EXCELLENT, AND A LOT OF MY CONSTITUENTS HAVE BEEN, UH, UH, SAYING THAT BACK TO ME.

UH, THEY, UH, UH, THEY'RE JUST PLEASANTLY, UH, I DON'T WANNA SAY SURPRISED, BUT YOU CAN SAY SO YOU CAN NO POWER ISSUES, VIRTUALLY NO POWER ISSUES DURING WHAT EVERYBODY THOUGHT WAS A PRETTY SERIOUS STORM.

AND THAT, UH, WAS A REAL, UH, BOOST FOR THE CITY FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.

AND I THINK THAT THAT HELPS, UH, UH, RAISE PEOPLE'S CONFIDENCE IN, IN RELIABILITY IN PARTICULAR.

SO, THANK YOU.

I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO YOU AND TO ALL THE, THE STAFF, THE LINE WORKERS.

I, I KNOW THAT'S THE TOUGHEST CONDITIONS TO GET OUT IN.

AND, AND WE, UH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL.

SO THANK YOU.

ALRIGHT.

AND WITH THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND

[6. Briefing on Battery Demand Response Pilot [Richard Génecé, Vice President of Customer Energy Solutions - Austin Energy].]

MOVE ON TO ITEM THREE.

ACTUALLY, WE'RE GONNA JUMP TO ITEM SIX, UM, THE BATTERY DEMAND RESPONSE PILOT BY, UH, MR. RICHARD GENESEE.

AND, UM, MEMBERS, IT'S THE LAST, IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'VE GOT THE PHYSICAL PACKET, IT'S THE LAST ITEM IN THE PACKET.

GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR VELA, AND VICE CHAIR OF SIEGEL.

UH, I'M RICHARD GENESEE, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS.

IT IS INDEED MY PLEASURE TO GIVE YOU A BRIEFING, UH, THIS AFTERNOON ON OUR BATTERY DEMAND RESPONSE PILOT.

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME IN THE MAKING AND DEVELOPMENT.

UM, I THINK I CAN GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE HERE.

BEFORE WE ACTUALLY GET INTO THE DETAILS OF THE PILOT.

IT'S APPROPRIATE TO RECAP SOME OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM OUR DEMAND RESPONSE, UH, PROGRAM IN 2025, AS WELL AS LAY OUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IN 2026.

SO, UH, YOU HEARD STUART ALLUDE TO, UH, RECORDS, AND WE HAD RECORDS IN 2025.

WE HAD THE HIGHEST, UH, UH, UH, CUMULATIVE CURTAILMENT IN DEMAND RESPONSE ON RECORD IN THE PROGRAM AT 57 MEGAWATTS, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY ENOUGH POWER, UH, TO POWER 14,000 HOMES.

WE ALSO EXPANDED OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM IN COMMERCIAL DEMAND RESPONSE BY ENROLLING ALL ELIGIBLE 195 CITY FACILITIES IN THE DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM.

AND I THINK THAT'S INDICATIVE OF, OF LEADERSHIP THAT'S INDICATIVE

[00:20:01]

WE ALSO, UH, GENERAL MOTORS ALSO PARTNERED WITH US IN, UH, JOINING OUR EV, UH, POWER PARTNER PROGRAM.

AND SO THIS ENABLES CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE EVS, UH, UNDER THE GM BRAND TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM.

AND THE EV, UH, POWER PARTNER PROGRAM.

WE, WE ARE ENABLING CUSTOMERS TO ENROLL IN THAT, EITHER THROUGH THEIR VEHICLES, IF THEIR GM VEHICLES OR THEIR HOME CHARGERS.

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2026.

UM, WE COMPLETED IN JANUARY A SUCCESSFUL TEST OF OUR WINTER DEMAND RESPONSIVENESS.

NOW, UH, JUST TO SET THE STAGE HERE, WE HAVE BEEN A SUMMER, UH, DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM, BUT THE GOAL IS TO ACTUALLY EXPAND AND HAVE YEAR DEMAND RESPONSE YEAR ROUND.

UM, SO THIS TEST THAT WE DID IN JANUARY WAS A IMPORTANT FIRST STEP IN ENABLING THAT TO HAPPEN AND ENSURING THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO CALL EVENTS YEAR ROUND.

UH, WE, WE CALLED, UH, WE CONTACTED APPROXIMATELY 7,300 DEVICES OUT THERE, AND WE WOULD DEEM THAT TEST SUCCESSFUL.

WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE DROP WAS YET, WE'RE STILL CALCULATING THAT, BUT, UM, WE DID SUCCESSFULLY REACH 7,300 DEVICES.

UM, AND LASTLY, WE ARE CONTINUING TO, UH, EXPAND OUR INCENTIVES AND, UH, AND OUR, UH, POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT UPDATES.

WE'VE, UH, WE'VE INCREASED THE INCENTIVE AMOUNT, NOT JUST FOR THE EQUIPMENT, BUT ALSO TO REMAIN IN THE PROGRAM, UM, SO THAT A FIRST YEAR PARTICIPANT IN DEMAND IN OUR DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM CAN NOW EARN $155 IN THEIR FIRST YEAR IF THEY REMAIN IN THE PROGRAM AND THEY PERFORM.

SO, UH, ON THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN, THIS, THIS, UH, THIS PILOT IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF, UH, FULFILLMENT IN, IN OUR RESOURCE AND GENERATION PLAN TO 2035 ON TWO OF THE PILLARS WITHIN THE PLAN.

ONE ON THE PRIORITIZING CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS, UH, WITH RESPECT TO CUSTOMER CITED BATTERIES.

AND TWO, ON THE FURTHERING OUR CULTURE OF INNOVATION WITH RESPECT TO VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS.

UH, AS A REMINDER, OUR, UM, GOALS, OUR VERY AGGRESSIVE GOALS IN DEMAND RESPONSE ARE TO HAVE 270 MEGAWATTS OF DEMAND RESPONSE BY 2035 AND 78 MEGAWATTS BY 2027.

AND, UH, AS AGGRESSIVE A GOAL AS THAT IS, AND IT IS A VERY AGGRESSIVE GOAL.

I, I THINK WE'RE WELL ON OUR WAY TO ACHIEVING THAT.

SO THE TERM VPP, UM, IS A UMBRELLA TERM, AND IT'S ONE THAT YOU'LL HEAR, UH, A A LOT OF THE VIRTUAL POWER PLANT, UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD.

SO THERE'S A RANGE OF THINGS THAT APPLY UNDER A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.

UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT IN PLACE SINCE 2016.

BUT ON ONE END OF THE, THE SPECTRUM ARE THE DEVICES WE'VE HAD IN OUR VIRTUAL POWER PLANT, MEANING THE SMART THERMOSTATS AND THE WATER HEATERS ADDING BATTERIES AS WE'RE DOING AT THIS POINT.

CUSTOMER SIGHTED BATTERIES IS AT THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM WITH MORE SOPHISTICATION OF, WITH RESPECT TO A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT.

SO THIS IS, UH, ENABLING US TO ADD BATTERIES.

AND THEN WE INCENTIVIZE CUSTOMERS, UH, WHO ADD BATTERIES.

AND THEN WE INCENTIVIZE CUSTOMERS, UH, ON A PERFORMANCE BASIS BASED ON HOW THOSE BATTERIES PERFORM, WHEN WE NEED THEM TO PERFORM, AND THE ABILITY TO ALLEVIATE, UM, UH, UH, THE STRAIN ON OTHER CUSTOMERS ACROSS THE NETWORK.

HOW DOES THIS WORK? IT WORKS BECAUSE WE HAVE REMOTE CONTROL OF THOSE BATTERIES.

WE ACTUALLY COLLECT THEIR STATE OF CHARGE AND THEIR BATTERY PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF WHEN THEY CHARGE AND DISCHARGE.

UM, AND THIS HAS ENORMOUS CUSTOMER BENEFITS ACROSS THE GRID.

CUSTOMERS ARE ABLE TO HELP US WITH, UH, SUPPORTING GRID RELIABILITY, AND OF COURSE, THEY EARN INCENTIVES WHILE, UM, THEY REMAIN IN THE PROGRAM.

SO IN TERMS OF THE ACTUAL, UM, THE ACTUAL, UH, PILOT, UH, THE CUSTOMER OFFERING FOR THE PILOT IS THAT WE WILL PAY $500 AS AN UPFRONT INCENTIVE FOR THE CUSTOMER PURCHASING A NEW BATTERY.

UM, AND THEN WE PAY UP TO $75 A KW FOR, UH, PERFORMANCE AS IT RELATES TO THE CUSTOMER, UH, REMAINING IN THE PROGRAM AND PERFORMING AS WE CALL EVENTS.

UH, WE CALL A MAXIMUM OF 40 EVENTS A YEAR, AND WE ARE LAUNCHING WITH

[00:25:01]

FOUR, UH, OEMS, FOUR BATTERY OEMS. WE DID SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCH EARLIER THIS, UH, MONTH, AND WE ALREADY HAVE TWO CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE, UH, ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM.

SO WE'RE OFF TO A, A GOOD START.

WE'RE ANTICIPATING, UH, MORE OF THE OEMS TO, UH, ADD, BE ADDED TO THE PROGRAM AS IT EXPANDS.

BUT WE ARE IN PILOT PHASE AND WE HOPE TO, UH, EXPAND TO ACTUAL PROGRAM PHASE SOON.

A A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THIS IS I'LL, I'LL REMIND COUNSEL THAT WE ADDED AN M AND V CONSULTANT AND VALUATION MEASUREMENT AND VERIFICATION CONSULTANT LAST FALL.

UH, THIS IS A FIRST FOR THE PORTFOLIO.

THIS IS A, UH, A THIRD PARTY THAT WHICH WE BROUGHT ON BOARD, WHICH IS GOING TO HELP US WITH, UH, ALL MANNER OF, UM, UH, TASKS RELATED TO EVALUATING THE PORTFOLIO, INCLUDING THE SUCCESS OF THIS PILOT AND OTHER PILOTS AS WE EMBARK ON PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE, UH, PORTFOLIO.

SO THEY HAVE INDEPENDENT EXPERTISE.

THEY HAVE DONE THIS WORK ACROSS UTILITIES, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE.

UH, THEY HELP US WITH COST EFFECTIVENESS BECAUSE OF COST EFFECTIVENESS IS ONE OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT, UH, MEASUREMENTS BY WHICH WE DEEM, UH, UH, THINGS SUCCESSFUL OR NOT SUCCESSFUL.

ARE THEY BRINGING IN, ARE THEY GENERATING MORE BENEFIT THAN THEY COST US IN, IN TERMS OF, UH, THE PROGRAM, UH, SUPPORTING DATA AND STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING RELATED TO THESE PILOTS? AND HOW DO WE EVENTUALLY SCALE FROM PILOT TO ACTUAL PROGRAM AND, AND, AND, UH, ROLLOUT.

SO IT IS, IT IS EXCITING WORK.

IT IS PAINSTAKING WORK.

IT HAS TAKEN TIME TO GET TO THIS POINT, BUT WE ARE VERY, VERY PLEASED THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY EMBARKED ON THIS.

AND I'LL JUST END BY SAYING, UH, AS A REMINDER, THIS IS PART OF A, A WHOLE PORTFOLIO FOCUS OF BATTERIES FROM, UH, UTILITY SCALE BATTERIES ALL THE WAY DOWN TO, UH, CUSTOMER SIGHTED BATTERIES FOR RESIDENTIAL, WHICH IS WHAT THIS PILOT IS.

AND THAT'S WHAT THE, THAT'S THE END OF MY PRESENTATION.

AND WITH THAT, I'LL, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, MR. JANNI, UH, QUESTIONS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AL ALTER.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

UH, AND I'M GLAD WE, WE STARTED HERE 'CAUSE THIS IS ONE OF THE PRESENTATIONS I WAS MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO AND KIND OF BUILDING ON WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL IS TALKING ABOUT.

I RECENTLY, UH, CAME ACROSS A, AN AGREEMENT THAT BASE POWER HAS MADE WITH COSER.

ARE YOU AT ALL FAMILIAR WITH THAT? I I'M FAMILIAR WITH BASE AS A ORGANIZATION FROM WHAT I'VE READ AS WELL.

SURE.

SO FOR, FOR EVERYBODY'S IDENTIFICATION BASE POWER, OBVIOUSLY, UH, A LOCAL BATTERY MANUFACTURER HERE.

UM, BUT WHAT THEY HAVE DONE IS ENTERED INTO AGREEMENT WITH COSERV, WHICH IS A, UH, ELECTRIC CO-OP UP IN NORTH TEXAS.

THEY HAVE ABOUT 330,000 CUSTOMERS.

SO WE'RE NOT TALKING A LITTLE TINY OPERATOR.

THIS IS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE WHAT, 500 SOMETHING THOUSAND RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.

SO IT'S, IT'S BIG.

UM, AND THEY WERE HAVING ISSUES LIKE EVERYBODY OF GETTING DISPATCHABLE POWER.

AND INSTEAD OF WAITING, YOU KNOW, THE FIVE YEARS TO GET A, A POTENTIAL PEAKER, THEY PARTNERED WITH BASE TO GET A HUNDRED MEGAWATTS OF FULLY DISPATCHABLE BATTERY POWER IN TWO YEARS OR LESS, WHERE THEY GO IN AND, AND INSTALL THESE AT PEOPLE'S HOMES.

AND THEN THEY GET TO TAP INTO IT EXACTLY LIKE WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.

UH, AND SO THE REASON I BRING THAT UP IS OBVIOUSLY WE'RE DOING OUR PILOT AND I THINK IT'S VERY IMPRESSIVE AT WHAT WE'RE DOING.

HAVE WE THOUGHT ABOUT ALSO EITHER IN PARALLEL OR COMPARING TO, YOU KNOW, A A, A THIRD PARTY BEING ABLE TO DO ALL THE ADMINISTRATIVE WORK RATHER THAN US DOING IT INTERNALLY? YEAH, I, I WOULD SAY, UM, WE ARE CONSIDERING ALL OPTIONS AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING WE'RE NOT CONSIDERING AT THIS POINT.

UM, AND THERE'S NO REASON THAT YOU CAN'T PUR UH, PURSUE MULTIPLE PATHS SIMULTANEOUSLY.

SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE IN FACT, UH, PURSUING UTILITY SCALE BATTERIES, UH, LANDFILL BATTERIES, BATTERIES ON CUSTOMER SIGHTED BATTERIES, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING WOULD BE ANOTHER, UH, WAY IN WHICH WE, WE PURSUE BATTERIES.

I BELIEVE THE CHALLENGE IN FRONT OF US IS SO ENORMOUS THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED ALL OF THE ABOVE.

I REALLY DON'T THINK WE WOULD JUST BE CENTERING ON ONE PARTICULAR SOLUTION.

I COULDN'T AGREE MORE.

I THINK IT IS EVERYTHING, ALL THE TOOLS WE CAN UTILIZE.

'CAUSE THE NEED IS SO GREAT.

UH, WELL, I'D LOVE TO TO CHAT MORE, UH, OFFLINE, BUT REALLY TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHERE THIS WOULD FIT IN.

'CAUSE IT'S NOT UTILITY SCALE, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT IS MORE ON THE VPP SIDE OF THINGS.

UH, AND WHAT IS I THINK ADDITIONALLY ATTRACTIVE TO ME IN THIS PROGRAM

[00:30:01]

IS IT'S NOT JUST, UH, A RELIABILITY PLAY, WHICH IT'S CERTAINLY, YOU TOUCHED ON A HUGE ELEMENT, BUT THE WAY THAT THEY CHARGE AND DISCHARGE THE BATTERIES 'CAUSE BASE COMPLETELY CONTROLS THEM, IS IT LOWERS UTILITY RATES BECAUSE THEY CHARGE IT WHEN IT'S CHEAP AND THEY DISCHARGE IT WHEN IT'S EXPENSIVE.

AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT EITHER WE COULD LEARN FROM OR SOMEHOW INTEGRATE TO HELP, UH, LOWER RATES FOR CUSTOMERS BY UTILIZING THAT TECHNOLOGY.

SO, UM, LOVE WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND CAN'T WAIT TO CHAT MORE.

COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU VP GENESEE, REALLY APPRECIATE THE REPORT.

UH, I WANNA ASK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SLIDE FIVE, UH, AND THE, THE PILOT LAUNCHING IN, IN FISCAL YEAR 26.

AND WANNA SEE IF YOU COULD JUST KIND OF WALK US THROUGH A LITTLE BIT MORE HOW IT WORKS.

UM, I GUESS SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE HAD WERE HOW WILL CUSTOMERS BE ENROLLED? UM, AND THEN FOR CURRENT BATTERY OWNERS WHO DON'T GET THE UPFRONT INCENTIVE, DO THEY STILL GET THE $75, UH, PER KILOWATT RATE? AND ALSO THE, THE THIRD QUESTION, I COULD WAIT FOR A SECOND IF YOU WANT, BUT, UH, THE THIRD QUESTION IS THE CAP OF 1500 SYSTEMS, IS THAT JUST ON THE INCENTIVE OR IS THAT ON THE KILOWATT RATE IN ROLL LEASE AS WELL? YEP.

SO THE WAY, UH, CUSTOMERS ENROLL IS, UM, THEY CAN ENROLL DIRECTLY WITH THE MANUFACTURERS, THE, UH, OEMS, AND THEY CAN ENROLL THROUGH US, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY, AND THEN WE WOULD DIRECT TO THE MANUFACTURER'S OEM.

BUT IT'S A COMMON ENROLLMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, FORM, IF YOU WILL.

AND THEN, UM, LIKE I SAID, WE'VE ALREADY ENROLLED TWO.

UM, THE IDEA IS ALSO TO HAVE IT BE A VERY GOOD CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.

SO WE'RE FOCUSED ON THAT IN PARTNERING WITH EACH OF THE OEMS IN THE PROGRAM.

SO THAT'S ONE.

YOU, YOU ASKED TWO OTHER QUESTIONS.

YEAH, SORRY.

UH, SO FOR FOLKS WHO ALREADY HAVE A BATTERY, UM, I GUESS THEY CAN'T GET THE UPFRONT INCENTIVE, BUT CAN THEY GET THE 75 AN HOUR? ABSOLUTELY.

AND I'M, I'M SO GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP BECAUSE THAT WOULD ALSO BE AN OBJECTIVE.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE ANYONE WHO ALREADY HAS A BATTERY DOES RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY STILL FOR THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM AND EARN THE $75 PER KW FOR PERFORMANCE.

BUT WE DON'T WANNA INCENTIVIZE SOMEONE WHO ALREADY HAS THE BATTERY.

THIS WOULD BE ONLY FOR THE 500 IS ONLY FOR SOMEONE BRINGING A NEW BATTERY TO BEAR.

SO THE 500 IS WHAT'S CAPPED TO 1500, BUT IT'S VIRTUALLY UNLIMITED FOR VIRTUALLY UNLIMITED FOR, FOR THE OTHERS.

YEAH, 1500 IS IS THE NEW BATTERY CAP.

BUT YOU KNOW, I'D BE DELIGHTED IF EVERY CUSTOMER THAT HAS AN EXISTING BATTERY SIGNED UP FOR THAT $75 PER KW.

'CAUSE REALLY THAT'S WHERE THE DIFFERENCE THAT WE'RE GONNA MAKE PER WHAT WAS SAID EARLIER, WE WANT ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM.

GREAT, THANK YOU.

AND THEN JUST LAST, UH, COUPLE QUESTIONS.

UM, DO YOU HAVE A GOAL OR, YOU KNOW, PROJECTION FOR HOW MANY KILOWATTS YOU ANTICIPATE ADDING IN FY 26 AND, YOU KNOW, IF WE DID A MORE ROBUST PROMOTION, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE MAX DO YOU THINK WE COULD ACHIEVE? I, I DON'T HAVE A A MAX FOR YOU RIGHT NOW.

I CAN FOLLOW UP BASED ON THE CAP THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND WHAT WE PROJECT.

UM, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC GOAL NOW.

AND, AND, AND I ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND, OUR GOAL IS TO SCALE THIS EVENTUALLY.

SO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT, UH, PEOPLE TO THINK THEY HERE AT CAP AND LIKE, WE'RE JUST GONNA PILOT IT AND, AND, AND LET IT DIE.

WE WANNA GROW IT, BUT WE WANT TO DO SO SMARTLY AND CAREFULLY, BUT I CAN COME BACK WITH A SPECIFIC PROJECTION AND NUMBER.

SITUATION, THE BATTERY IS GOING TO BE THERE FOR THAT, UH, HOMEOWNER TO, TO DRAW FROM IN THAT SITUATION.

MUCH APPRECIATED.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UH, CUSTOMER SIEGEL.

UM, ANY, I KNOW THAT YOU JUST LAUNCHED THE, THE POWER PARTNER THERMOSTAT INCENTIVE, UH, FEBRUARY 1ST, I BELIEVE.

RIGHT? UH, ANY SENSE OF, UH, THE CUSTOMER RESPONSE SO FAR? UM, WE HAVE YET TO REALLY, UH, ACTIVELY PROMOTE IT.

WE'RE ACTUALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF, UH, A MARKETING, UH, PUSH TO PROMOTE THAT NEW INCENTIVE RIGHT NOW.

SO I, I WOULDN'T, I, I, I WOULDN'T WANT TO NEGATIVELY, UH, JUDGE THAT IT'S NOT SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T REALLY PAID IT JUSTICE IN PROMOTING IT YET.

SURE.

AND THEN AGAIN, I KNOW WE'RE A MONTH OR, OR SO INTO IT, BUT THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT, UH, PROGRAM AND, UH, IT, IT, UH, WILL HELP BOTH THE CUSTOMER AND, AND THE UTILITY, UM, WITH, UH, REGARD TO THE, THE, THE BATTERY DEMAND RESPONSE, UH, PILOT.

UM, IF YOU ARE A PERSON, UH, THAT HAS A BATTERY SYSTEM AT HOME, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE TIME, AND AGAIN, PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, THAT BATTERY IS JUST SITTING THERE WITH THE ENERGY, YOU'RE NOT ACTIVELY USING THE BATTERY.

IS THAT, IS THAT CORRECT? IS THAT HOW IT WORKS? YEAH, I, THEY, THEY CAN BE CONFIGURED DIFFERENTLY, BUT YEAH, THE FACT THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE THINKING THERE'S A LOT OF PENT UP DEMAND FOR THE PROGRAM, A PILOT OF THIS TYPE BECAUSE THE BATTERIES HAVE JUST LARGELY BEEN SITTING THERE.

THEY'RE REALLY NOT.

UH, OF COURSE BATTERIES CAN BE CONFIGURED DIFFERENTLY, BUT THEY'RE LARGELY NOT ACTIVELY USED.

AND, AND SO THE IDEA WOULD BE THAT, AGAIN, IN AN EMERGENCY

[00:35:01]

BUT WHEN THERE'S NOT AN EMERGENCY SITUATION, WHICH IS AGAIN, 99.5% OF THE TIME, UH, THAT, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY COULD DRAW FROM THAT POWER TO, TO HELP THE, THE STABILITY RELIABILITY, YES, THAT, THAT'S CORRECT.

AND ALSO, UM, THE WAY THAT THE PROGRAM IS OR THE PILOT IS CONFIGURED, WE WOULD ALWAYS HAVE 20% OF THE BATTERY CAPACITY AVAILABLE FOR THE CUSTOMER JUST IN CASE THEY NEED IT.

SO WE WANT TO ASSURE CUSTOMERS THAT THIS, THIS PROGRAM IS, IS SAFE FOR THEM.

THEY SHOULDN'T FEEL LIKE, WELL, IF I SIGN UP, AM I GONNA LOSE MY BATTERY'S CAPACITY? 'CAUSE I WANT IT IN THE CASE OF AN EMERGENCY, IT'S ALWAYS GONNA HAVE A MINIMUM OF 20%.

WE'RE NEVER GONNA DRAIN THAT BATTERY COMPLETELY.

THAT WILL ALWAYS BE, UH, 20% OF THAT BATTERY'S CAPACITY FOR THE, THE, THE OWNER OF THE BATTERY.

YES.

OH, GREAT.

WELL, UH, THANK YOU.

ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? COUNCIL MEMBER CORY? GREAT.

UM, ON THE SLIDE THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT, WHEN COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL WAS ASKING US QUESTIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE SAW THE PILOT FOCUSES ON CUSTOMER CITED BATTERIES WITH A CAP OF 1500 SYSTEMS. HOW DOES THE EXPECTED CAPACITY FROM THIS PROGRAM COMPARED TO THE UTILITY SCALE TARGETS, OUTLINED THE AMENDMENTS AND IS AE ON TRACK TO MEET THESE MEGAWATT GOALS WITHIN THE LOAD ZONE? UM, I, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THIS IS ALL PART OF, I MEAN, I THINK PEOPLE HAVE HEARD ME SAY BEFORE THAT I THINK THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF OUR RESOURCE AND GENERATION PLAN IS THE DEMAND RESPONSE COMPONENT.

AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S DEPENDENT ON BEHAVIOR.

IT'S NOT JUST SOMEONE INSTALLING EQUIPMENT, BUT THEY ACTUALLY HAVE TO PERFORM AND BEHAVE.

UM, THAT SAID, THIS HAS ENORMOUS PROMISE TO HELP US MEET THOSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.

IF WE CAN RUN A SUCCESSFUL PILOT FIRST AND THEN SCALE ACCORDINGLY.

AND IF WE CAN ADD OTHER COMPONENTS, LIKE I SAID, THIS IS JUST ONE SLICE OF THE DEMAND RESPONSE PUZZLE.

SO, UM, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, I DO THINK THAT WE WILL BE ON, UH, WE WILL BE ON TRACK TO MEET THOSE VERY AGGRESSIVE GOALS IF WE CONTINUE DOWN THIS TRAJECTORY OF MAKING THIS PILOT SUCCESSFUL, SCALING IT AND ADDING THE OTHER COMPONENTS THAT WE WANT TO ADD.

GREAT.

ON TO ITEM THREE, THE STAFF BRIEFING ON THE FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS.

UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND, UH, MR. GENTE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, GREATLY APPRECIATED.

AND LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE

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

UH, FROM INTERIM CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, MR. JOHN DAVIS.

MR. DAVIS, WELCOME.

GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

I'M JOHN DAVIS, ACTING CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, HERE TO PRESENT TO YOU THE FIRST QUARTER FOR FUTURE RESULTS.

AND AS A REMINDER, THIS IS WHERE THE QUARTER ENDED DECEMBER 31ST, 2025.

I'M GONNA COVER THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AS WELL AS THE FINANCIAL HEALTH AND THE REST OF THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION IS IN YOUR FISCAL PACKET.

IF YOU WANNA, UH, RESEARCH THINGS FURTHER, UH, YOU SHOULD ADD THE INFORMATION IN YOUR PACKETS.

WE LIKE TO FOCUS ON FOUR AREAS OF IMPORTANCE.

UM, FIRST IS THE OPERATING RESULTS.

YOU'LL NOTICE THAT OUR OPERATING INCOME IS APPROXIMATELY 6 MILLION UNDER BUDGET.

THAT'S PRIMARILY ATTRIBUTED TO TRANSMISSION REVENUES BEING BELOW BUDGET.

WE EXPECT THAT VARIANCE TO PERSIST, UH, FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR.

I'LL COVER FINANCIAL POLICIES IN THE NEXT SLIDE.

UM, THE BOND RATING WE'RE STILL AT AA MINUS FOR THE BOND RATING.

IT WAS MOST RECENTLY AFFIRMED IN OCTOBER, 2025 BY STANDARD POORS.

WE DID SELL BONDS IN OCTOBER, 2025, AND AT THAT POINT IN TIME, WE WERE AT AA MINUS.

WE STILL, ALTHOUGH WE'RE STILL BELOW OUR TARGET, WHICH IS AA, WE STILL EXPECT WITH OUR PLAN TO CONTINUE WITH OUR GRADUAL RATE INCREASES, ALONG WITH OUR FOCUS ON TRYING TO MAKE OPERATIONS MORE EFFICIENT, UH, THAT WE WILL BE IN GOOD FINANCIAL HEALTH AND MOVING TOWARDS OUR LONG-TERM FIVE-YEAR FORECAST THAT WE HAVE PLANNED.

THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2025 WAS APPROXIMATELY $119 MILLION OVER COLLECTED.

AS YOU KNOW, THE OVER COLLECTION WILL VARY DEPENDING ON THE SEASONALITY AND THE LOAD, UM, OF OUR CUSTOMER BASE.

SO THAT WILL VARY OVER TIME.

UH, THAT ALSO HELPS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DAY'S CASH ON HAND.

UM, HAVING THAT OVER COLLECTION, UM, UH, ACCOUNTED FOR THIS SLIDE PRESENTS THE FINANCIAL HEALTH, UM, OF AUSTIN ENERGY.

AS A REMINDER, THESE TARGETS ARE WHERE WE ARE STRIVING TOWARDS.

THESE ARE THE TARGETS THAT WE BELIEVE WILL HELP US ACHIEVE THE S AND P BOND RATING OF EVENTUALLY AA.

UM, BUT AGAIN, THESE ARE THE TARGETS FOR THE BOND RATINGS.

UH, THEY MAY BE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT THE FINANCIAL MILESTONES

[00:40:01]

ARE THAT WE HAVE FOR THE CITY.

UH, THESE ARE ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT MORE STRINGENT THAN WHAT THE POLICIES ARE FOR THE CITY.

SO IF WE COULD ACHIEVE THESE, WE'LL BE COVERING BOTH THE FINANCIAL POLICIES AS WELL AS WHERE WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAD FOR OUR TARGETS.

FOR THE BOND RATINGS DAYS, CASH ON HAND IS, UH, APPROXIMATELY 194 DAYS AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2025.

THIS INCLUDES THE $119 MILLION OVER COLLECTION IN POWER SUPPLY, WHICH REPRESENTS APPROXIMATELY 32 OF THOSE 194 DAYS.

UH, ON DATE, CASH ON HAND DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE RATIO, OR WE'RE SLIGHTLY MISSING THE TARGET.

THE TARGET IS AT 2.5 TIMES DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE RATIO.

AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2025, WE WERE AT 2.4.

THIS IS UNDERSTOOD AND EXPECTED, GIVEN THAT WE ARE FINANCING MORE OF THE GROWTH THAT YOU'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT WITH DEBT AS OPPOSED TO CASH OPERATING MARGIN, UH, WAS MUCH HIGHER THAN WHAT THE TARGET WAS.

IT WAS AT 22% AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2025.

THIS IS PRIMARILY ATTRIBUTABLE TO A ONE-TIME ADJUSTMENT THAT WAS MADE AS PART OF A 2025 TRUE UP, UH, TO THE POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFIT COST.

UH, THAT ELEVATED THAT A LITTLE HIGHER.

EVEN WITH THAT REMOVED, WE'RE STILL ABOVE TARGET FOR OPERATING MARGIN, WHICH IS A GOOD THING.

OUR DEBT TO CAPITALIZATION RATIO, OUR TARGET IS AT LESS THAN 50%.

WE WERE WORSE THAN THE TARGET AT 57%.

AGAIN, THIS IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD AS WE CONTINUE TO FINANCE MORE OF OUR CAPITAL GROWTH WITH DEBT.

SO THAT IS TO BE EXPECTED.

ALL IN ALL, UM, FOR THE QUARTER ENDED DECEMBER 30, UM, WE HAVE, UH, GOOD RESULTS AND WE FULLY EXPECT TO END THE YEAR AT THE DEFICIT THAT WE HAD IN THE APPROVED BUDGET, WHICH WAS 43.5 MILLION, AND WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS THAT, UM, THAT END RESULT.

SO IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.

ANY MEMBERS, ANY QUESTIONS? WELL, UH, MR. DAVIS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE REPORT.

ON TO, UH, THE FIRST QUARTER OPERATIONS HIGHLIGHTS FROM DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, UH, LISA MARTIN.

AND THEN WE WILL MOVE

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

MS. MARTIN, WELCOME.

THANK YOU, CHAIR VELA, AND, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR SIEGEL, UH, VICE CHAIR SIEGEL AND, UM, COMMISSION MEMBERS COMMITTEE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

WE WILL SWITCH TO MY DECK PLEASE.

UM, SIMILAR TO HOW, UH, JOHN PRESENTED.

I WILL STICK TO THE, UM, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND THEN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR STRATEGIC WORK AND TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ON ANY OF THE REMAINING INFORMATION THAT'S IN YOUR PACKETS.

GREAT, THANK YOU.

ALRIGHT, OUR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SHOWS A 38% AGGREGATE PERCENTAGE OF RENEWABLE PRODUCTION AS A PERCENTAGE OF OUR LOAD FOR THIS QUARTER.

ALSO, I AM REPORTING FOR THE QUARTER THAT IS OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, AND DECEMBER OF 2025.

THAT SAME QUARTER WE HAD 60% CARBON FREE GENERATION AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD, UM, WHICH IS PRETTY TYPICAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR.

UH, OUR GENERATOR AVAILABILITY.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY, YOU'LL SEE THAT IT IS, UM, LOWER THAN IT, IT OFTEN IS, BUT THAT'S EXPECTED BECAUSE THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN WE TAKE THESE UNITS OUT FOR PLANNED MAINTENANCE TO PREPARE THEM FOR THE WINTER SEASON AND MAKE SURE THAT THESE UNITS ARE READY TO GO.

WE DID ALSO HAVE SOME UNPLANNED OUTAGES AT SOME OF OUR UNITS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY NUMBERS YOU SEE IN THIS REPORT.

AND FINALLY, IN TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION RELIABILITY, OUR PERFORMANCE METRICS SHOW SIMILAR OUTAGE DURATION AND FREQUENCY COMPARED TO THE LAST QUARTER.

AND WE ARE SHOWING A, A STABILIZED TREND WHILE WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON OUR ELECTRIC SYSTEM RESILIENCY PLAN.

AS I MENTIONED, I'M GONNA SKIP AHEAD AND JUMP TO THE STRATEGIC WORK TO FOCUS ON SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT YOU WERE DISCUSSING A LITTLE EARLIER TODAY.

UM, AND GIVE YOU A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE ALL RESOURCE RFP.

SO AS JUST A REMINDER, UM, THIS, WE LAUNCHED THE ALL RESOURCE RFP IN, UM, LATE LAST YEAR.

AND, UM, ITS INTENTION IS TO DETERMINE WHETHER CARBON-FREE RESOURCES CAN BE USED TO EFFECTIVELY MEET OUR ENERGY AND RISK MITIGATION NEEDS OF OUR AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS.

IT WAS OPEN TO ALL, UH, RESOURCE TYPES, UH, LOCAL RESOURCES HERE IN THE AUSTIN SERVICE AREA, INCLUDING SOLAR, WIND, SHORT AND LONG DURATION STORAGE, NATURAL GAS, FUEL CELLS, GEOTHERMAL AND MORE.

AND AGAIN, PROPOSALS WERE RECEIVED IN LATE JANUARY, AND OUR TEAM IS WORKING HARD TO REVIEW THOSE PROPOSALS AND SEE IF ANY OF THEM, UM, UH, SHOULD COME FORWARD.

AS A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL, HERE'S A SUMMARY OF WHAT WE RECEIVED.

THERE WERE 12 PROJECT PROPOSALS LOCATED INSIDE OUR LOAD ZONE.

SEVEN OF THEM WERE BATTERY STORAGE PROJECTS AND FIVE OF THEM WERE FOR VARIOUS NATURAL GAS TECHNOLOGIES.

I WILL NOTE THAT WE HAD NO PROPOSALS FOR LOCAL SOLAR OR ANY OTHER CARBON FREE TECHNOLOGIES.

AND

[00:45:01]

AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, OUR EVALUATION IS UNDERWAY.

I DO JUST WANNA MAKE A NOTE THAT THESE TYPES OF BATTERY STORAGE PROJECTS ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN THE ONE THAT, UM, UH, RICHARD GENESEE WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT.

UM, IN THAT CASE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WORKING DIRECTLY WITH CUSTOMERS TO, UH, YOU KNOW, DISPATCH AND, AND PROVIDE INCENTIVES TO USE THEIR BATTERY.

IN THIS CASE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, EITHER A UTILITY SCALE BATTERY OR AN AGGREGATE OF RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL SCALE BATTERIES THAT ARE OFFERED IN, UM, ALMOST AS A, AGAIN, AS A POWER PLANT, IF YOU WILL.

UM, THAT PROVIDES THE ABILITY SO THAT US PAYS AN UPFRONT PAYMENT FOR THE RIGHT TO OPERATE THAT.

AND THEN WE CHARGE AND DISCHARGE, UM, THOSE UNITS AS IF THEY'RE, UH, ESSENTIALLY UTILITY SCALE RESOURCES.

ALL RIGHT, FROM A TIMELINE PERSPECTIVE, UM, YOU'VE SEEN THIS SLIDE BEFORE.

I'M GONNA ORIENT YOU, UH, THROUGH WHERE WE ARE.

IF YOU FOCUS ON THE CENTER OF THE SLIDE IN MARCH.

UM, AND ALONG THE GREEN DOTS AND BARS, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF, UH, REVIEWING THE PROPOSALS THAT WERE RECEIVED FOR THE ALL RESOURCE RFP.

UM, AND THEN WE ARE GONNA MOVE INTO CONTRACT PREPOSITIONING FOR ANY OF THOSE, UH, PROJECTS THAT LOOK LIKE THEY'RE VIABLE AND SHOULD COME FORWARD FOR COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION.

IN CONJUNCTION AND IN PARALLEL TO THE ALL RESOURCE EFFORT, WE ARE WORKING ON A NUMBER OF PROJECTS FROM PREVIOUS RFPS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT OVER THE LAST YEAR.

UM, AND THOSE ARE SHOWN BY THE BLUE DOTS AND THE BLUE BARS.

UH, AND AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE WORKING ON A BATTERY AGREEMENT.

UM, THERE'S ALSO A POTENTIAL FOR A SOLAR LANDFILL PROJECT AND ALSO SOME WIN PROJECTS, UM, WHERE IF THOSE CONTRACTS, UH, NEGOTIATION OR PRE-POSITIONING, UH, IS SUCCESSFUL, THEN WE'LL BRING THOSE FORWARD FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL.

UM, AND WE ANTICIPATE IN THE APRIL AND MAY TIMEFRAME.

AND FINALLY, WE ARE PLANNING, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN APRIL RELATED TO POTENTIAL CITING FOR ALL OF THE, UH, LOCAL UTILITY SCALE RESOURCES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.

AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO DISCUSSIONS WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, UM, AS OUTLINED IN THE 2035 PLAN.

AND WE'LL BRING THAT INFORMATION TO YOU AS WELL.

SO ALL STEPS OF THE PROCESS ARE UNDERWAY AND WE EXPECT TO HAVE SEVERAL ITEMS TO BRING FORWARD TO YOU, UH, FOR YOUR APPROVAL IN THE COMING MONTHS.

AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR YOU TODAY, CHAIR.

MS. MARTIN, ANY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER? I KNOW WE ARE LOOKING A LOT AT, UM, OUR LOCAL LOAD ZONE, WHICH GIVEN TRANSMISSION CONSTRAINTS, LIKE THERE'S A REASON OBVIOUSLY.

UM, ARE WE ALSO LOOKING TO PPAS, WHETHER THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WEST TEXAS, SOLAR, WIND OR COASTAL WIND? UM, WHERE DOES THAT FIT INTO THIS? YEAH, SO YOU MAY RECALL THAT, UM, LATE LAST YEAR WE DID A WIND RFP, UM, UH, THINKING THAT AS, UH, SOME OF THE PROJECTS, UM, THAT MIGHT BE SHOVEL READY OR ALREADY BUILT MIGHT BE VALUABLE, UM, BEFORE THE TAX INCENTIVES, UM, MOVE OUT.

AND SO WE ARE, THAT'S PART OF THE BLUE DOTS THAT WERE UP THERE, UM, THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO TRY TO BRING FORWARD.

UM, AND THEN WE WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT JUST RENEWABLE GENERATION AS A WHOLE TO, UH, BRING IN, BECAUSE WHEN WE DO THAT IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE TRANSMISSION WORK THAT'S UNDERWAY, UM, WE'LL BE ABLE TO BRING MORE, UH, CLEAN ENERGY INTO OUR LOAD ZONE.

SO YES, ABSOLUTELY PART OF THE PROCESS.

AND, UM, NOTABLY NO PROPOSALS FOR LOCAL SOLAR.

ANY THOUGHTS AS TO, UH, WHY, OR, OR I, I THINK IT HAS TO DO WITH, UM, A, A COUPLE OF THINGS.

ONE IS, UH, UTILITY SCALE.

SOLAR TAKES A LOT OF LAND.

AND LAND IS A PREMIUM, UH, IN OUR SERVICE AREA, UH, SPECIFICALLY IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

AND SO I THINK THAT, UM, IT'S, IT'S HARD TO MAKE THOSE, UM, ECONOMICS WORK OUT.

I ALSO THINK THAT, UM, AS, AS YOU KNOW FROM RICHARD AND OTHERS, WE HAVE, UH, WORLD CLASS, UH, SOLAR PROGRAMS FOR DISTRIBUTED, UM, SOLAR.

AND SO THINGS LIKE THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER KIND OF PROVIDE AN UPFRONT, YOU KNOW, REALIZATION OF WHAT'S AVAILABLE THERE.

SO WE'RE ALREADY TRYING TO BRING THAT IN AS MUCH AS WE CAN, BUT WE WERE, UM, DISAPPOINTED TO NOT SEE ANY, UH, SOLAR OFFERS HERE.

UM, BUT IT IS, IT IS TELLING.

AND, AND I, I UNDERSTAND OBVIOUSLY SOLAR YOU NEED A LOT OF LAND MM-HMM .

TO SPREAD IT OUT ON, UH, THERE'S SOME, UH, EXAMPLES, UH, DOWN IN SOUTH TEXAS THAT I'VE SEEN JUST PERSONALLY THAT ARE HUGE.

UH, BUT, UH, I MEAN 40 50 LARGER, UH, ACREAGE, UH, WITH LOTS OF SOLAR, THAT'S HARD TO FIND THAT MUCH LAND, UH, HERE IN AUSTIN.

SO YEAH, I KNOW THE DISTRIBUTED, UH, SEEMS LIKE THE WAY TO GO THAT.

JUST A QUICK QUESTION ON THE GENERATOR AVAIL AVAILABILITY SLIDE.

I KNOW LAST TIME WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE AVAILABILITY, PARTICULARLY OF THE OLDER, UH, UH, PEAKERS, UH, ANY, UH, HOW, HOW IS THAT GOING? HOW ARE THE, THE OLDER PEAKERS, UH, PERFORMING? SO, UM, THOSE ARE THE DECKER PEAKERS AND, UM, IF WE GO TO SLIDE UH, NINE, UM, IF WE CAN PULL THAT UP.

UM, LOWER AVAILABILITY AND THEY WERE SOME OF THE UNITS THAT EXPERIENCED, UM, UNPLANNED OUTAGES IN ADDITION TO THE PLANNED MAINTENANCE OUTAGES.

UM, YOU WILL SEE THAT THOSE NUMBERS, THEY DO HAVE,

[00:50:01]

AND SO, UM, WE HAVE, UH, FOUR PEAKERS AT DECKER AND TWO OF THEM WERE OUT OF COMMISSION FOR ALMOST THIS ENTIRE, UH, QUARTER.

UM, AND SO THEY ARE CONTINUING TO SHOW WEAR AND TEAR.

THOSE ARE OUT FOR REPAIR AND WE HOPE TO BRING THEM, UM, BACK BEFORE THE SUMMER THIS TIME.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UH, MS. MARTIN AND UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU, UH, DEPUTY GM.

UM, JUST A QUICK QUESTION.

I MEAN, IT DOES LOOK LIKE MAY IS WHEN THERE'S LIKELY TO BE A REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION, UH, ON, UH, THE ALL RESOURCE RFP AND PEAKER PRE-DEVELOPMENT.

AND I GUESS IN THE GEN PLAN THERE'S ALSO A REQUIREMENT ABOUT DEVELOPING, UH, EMISSIONS LIMITATIONS.

AND SO COULD YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, WHEN THAT WOULD BE PRESENTED AND WHEN WE WOULD DECIDE ON THAT? YEAH, SO THE PLAN SPEAKS, UM, SPECIFICALLY TO GUARDRAILS THAT ALREADY EXISTED, JUST KIND OF NATURALLY BY THE WAY THAT YOU RUN UNITS THAT ARE THE MOST EFFICIENT FIRST.

UM, BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE'S, UH, CARBON INTENSITY GUARDRAILS, UM, THAT ARE SET IN THE PLAN.

UM, AND SO IF AS WE BRING PROPOSALS FORWARD, WE WILL TALK ABOUT HOW WE ANTICIPATE THOSE WILL WORK WITH OR AGAINST THOSE, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY WILL IMPACT THOSE EXISTING, UM, GUARDRAILS.

AND THEN, UM, UH, THERE IS A COMMITMENT TO BRING FORWARD ADDITIONAL GUARDRAILS, UM, SPECIFICALLY IF WE BRING A, A PROPOSAL FORWARD THAT INCLUDES, UH, NATURAL GAS SPEAKERS.

THANK YOU ALL IN THE SAME TIMELINE.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, I CURIOUS ON SLIDE NINE, IF I WAS JUST WONDERING IN THE FUTURE WHEN YOU PRESENT, IS IT POSSIBLE GET A SECOND COLUMN THERE, I GUESS, WHERE THE THIRD COLUMN, UH, NEXT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF THE USAGE? SO, YOU KNOW, I, I ANTICIPATE STP FOR EXAMPLE, PRETTY MUCH THAT NUMBER WILL BE MATCHED ACROSS THE BOARD.

BUT, YOU KNOW, I'D BE CURIOUS TO KNOW WHETHER IT'S THE BIOMASS PLANT OR THE PEAKERS, LIKE HOW OFTEN ARE WE ACTUALLY RUNNING THEM, NOT JUST AVAILABLE.

ON TO OUR FINAL ITEM OF, UH, STAFF BRIEFING ON IMPROVEMENTS.

UM, YES, YES, WE CAN APPRECIATE IT.

PUT THAT IN.

WELL, THANK YOU, UH, VERY MUCH.

UH, UH, MS. MARTIN, AND LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE

[5. Briefing on Improvements to Austin Energy’s Development Design and Construction Process. [Brock Carter, Vice President, Electric System Field Operations - Austin Energy].]

AUSTIN ENERGY'S DEVELOPMENT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PROCESS, UH, PRESENTED BY, UH, BROCK CARTER, VICE PRESIDENT OF ELECTRIC SYSTEMS FIELD OPERATIONS.

MR. CARTER.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

WELCOME.

MY NAME IS BROCK CARTER.

I AM THE VICE PRESIDENT OF ELECTRIC SYSTEM FIELD OPERATIONS AT AUSTIN ENERGY.

I'M HERE TODAY TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR OUR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PROCESS.

BEFORE I REALLY GET STARTED HERE, I, I WANNA POINT OUT THAT MY TEAM IS REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION PORTION OF THIS.

UM, THERE'S, THERE'S REALLY TWO MAIN COMPONENTS, RIGHT? WE HAVE THE DESIGN AND THE CONSTRUCTION.

UH, WHEN, WHEN YOU THINK OF MY TEAM, THINK OF LINE WORKERS, THE GUYS OUT IN THE FIELD THAT ARE ACTUALLY SETTING THE POLES, HANGING THE TRANSFORMERS AND THAT TYPE OF THING.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT, WE HAVE THE DESIGN COMPONENT THAT TEAM REPORTS UP THROUGH DAVID TOM CHISHOLM, WHO IS THE VICE PRESIDENT OF ELECTRIC SYSTEM ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES, WHO IS ALSO HERE TODAY AND WILL BE ABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS IF ANYTHING COMES UP SPECIFIC TO THOSE THINGS.

UH, I THINK IT'S ALSO GOOD TO POINT OUT THAT, UH, DAVID AND I ARE FAIRLY NEW TO THE POSITIONS HERE AT AUSTIN ENERGY.

UH, BOTH, WE HAVE BOTH BEEN IN THESE POSITIONS FOR ABOUT A YEAR.

HOWEVER, WE'VE BOTH BEEN AT THE UTILITY FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, MYSELF, ABOUT 20 YEARS.

DAVID'S BEEN HERE ABOUT THE SAME.

UM, AND WE'VE HELD POSITIONS ON, IN, IN THESE PROCESSES THROUGHOUT OUR CAREER.

UM, MYSELF MOSTLY IN THE CONSTRUCTION SIDE AND DAVID IN THE DESIGN SIDE, WHICH IS REALLY HELPFUL WHEN IT COMES TO WORKING ON TRYING TO PEEL BACK THESE PROCESSES AND REALLY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE MEANINGFUL TO OUR CUSTOMERS.

ALRIGHT, SO LET'S TALK ABOUT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.

UM, REALLY WHEN, WHEN WE TOOK A LOOK AT THIS, WE WANTED TO REALLY UNDERSTAND IT.

SO WE, WE PEELED BACK THE PROCESSES, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, AND WE, WE TOOK A HARD LOOK AT IT AND WE DECIDED THAT WE REALLY NEEDED SOME OUTSIDE INPUT.

SO WE HOSTED DEVELOPER FEEDBACK SESSIONS DURING THOSE SESSIONS.

UM, WE REALLY OPENED UP THE FLOOR AND, AND LET THEM TELL US SPECIFIC PROBLEMS THAT, THAT THEY WERE SEEING SO THAT WE COULD REALLY LOOK INTO OUR PROCESSES AND WHAT WE WERE DOING TO HELP ENHANCE THOSE AND MAKE IT BETTER.

FROM THAT, WE LEARNED THAT THERE WAS A COMMON THEME.

WE HAD A CLEAR LACK OF INFORMATION THAT WAS GOING OUT TO THE CUSTOMERS.

WE HAD CONFLICTING INFORMATION THAT WAS COMING OUT FROM DIFFERENT AUSTIN ENERGY TEAMS AND WE HAD INCONSISTENT PROCESSES THAT WERE NOT SPECIFIC TO THE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT OUR CUSTOMERS WERE, WERE WORKING ON.

SO WE MOVED ON TO OUR RESPONSE.

AND WHAT WE ARE DOING IS WE ARE REALLY DIVING INTO HOW WE'RE ORGANIZED AS A, A DESIGN TEAM, HOW WE'RE ORGANIZED AS A CONSTRUCTION TEAM, AND THE, THE GOAL THERE IS TO IMPROVE OUR PROCESSES, IMPROVE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN US AND OUR CUSTOMERS, AND IMPROVE

[00:55:01]

COMMUNICATION INTERNALLY AS WELL AS ENHANCE VISIBILITY.

VISIBILITY.

SO BEFORE I DIVE INTO REALLY WHAT WE'RE DOING TO IMPROVE THINGS, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND LOOK AT WHAT THIS PROCESS IN GENERAL IS TO START WITH.

WE ARE ACTUALLY INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS AT THE SITE PLAN REVIEW.

UM, THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS REALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NOT ANY SURPRISES LATER ON IN THE PROJECT THAT ARE IMPACTED BY OUR UTILITIES.

FROM THERE, WE REALLY GET INTO THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.

I'M GONNA BREAK THIS INTO TWO PARTS AND THEN WE'LL KIND OF PUT IT ALL BACK TOGETHER.

SO FROM THE DESIGN STANDPOINT, WE HAVE AN INTAKE, A DESIGN, AND A CUSTOMER PAYMENT EASEMENT PHASE OF THAT PROJECT.

SO THERE'S THREE PHASES.

FIRST PHASE IS REALLY THE INTAKE.

THAT IS WHEN THE CUSTOMER BRINGS US THEIR REQUIREMENTS FOR THEIR PROJECTS, WE TAKE THAT AND IT GOES INTO THE DESIGN PHASE AND WE DEVELOP WHAT IS NEEDED TO SERVE THAT LOAD.

THERE'S A VERY CRITICAL PART OF THIS PROCESS WHERE WE LOOK AT EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE, EXISTING LINES, EXISTING CUSTOMERS TO ENSURE WHATEVER IS HAPPENING WITH THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT DOES NOT NEGATIVELY IMPACT OUR CUSTOMERS.

AND THEN IT GOES INTO THE THIRD AND FINAL PART OF THE DESIGN PORTION, WHICH IS REALLY THE PAYMENT EASEMENT.

THE PAYMENT HAS TO BE MADE PRIOR TO US STARTING CONSTRUCTION AND THIS IS REALLY ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE OR THE CUSTOMER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS.

FROM THERE, WE HAND IT OFF TO THE CONSTRUCTION TEAMS. SO THIS IS WHERE IT GOES FROM DAVIS' TEAM TO MY TEAM AND ALSO IN THREE PARTS.

SO WE HAVE THE WORK MANAGEMENT, CONSTRUCTION AND ENERGIZATION PARTS OR PHASES AND THE WORK MANAGEMENT REALLY THINK OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT.

WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL THE MATERIALS PRESENT, WE HAVE ALL THE RESOURCES PRESENT TO DO THE WORK, AND THAT THE WORK IS SCHEDULED APPROPRIATELY BETWEEN TEAMS. FROM THERE, IT GOES TO THE CONSTRUCTION TEAMS FOR THE ACTUAL BUILDING OF THE LINE.

UM, THIS COULD BE REBUILDING EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE, IT COULD BE BUILDING NEW INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, THINK OF SETTING POLES AND HANGING TRANSFORMERS, HANGING NEW WIRE AND SO ON.

AND THEN IT GOES TO THE FINAL PHASE, WHICH IS ENERGIZATION.

THIS IS WHEN THE CUSTOMER ULTIMATELY APPLIES FOR SERVICE AND WE SET A METER TO SERVE THE NEW LOAD.

SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE REALIZED AS WE TOOK A LOOK AT THE PROCESS IN GENERAL IS IT WAS REALLY COMPLICATED.

I THINK YOU'VE SEEN SLIDES IN THE PAST THAT THAT HAD, WERE REALLY COMPLEX AND HAD ALL OF THESE STAGES.

AND WHAT WE, WHAT WE DETERMINED WAS WE NEED TO BREAK IT DOWN TO WHERE IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE.

YES, IT IS A COMPLICATED PROCESS, BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN PARTS TO IT THAT ARE IMPORTANT AND THERE ARE OTHER PARTS THAT, THAT JUST MUDDY THE WATER.

SO WE CAME UP WITH THESE SIX PHASES, THE THREE DESIGN, THREE CONSTRUCTION PHASES, AND WE ARE TRYING TO GET THIS OUT TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND THE THE DEVELOPERS AS WELL TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE FULLY UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS AND THEY CAN BETTER NAVIGATE IT.

THIS ALSO HELPS INTERNAL AE EMPLOYEES AS WELL.

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING TO IMPROVE IT.

SO WE REALIZED THAT THE INTAKE PART WAS REALLY ONE OF THE MOST CRUCIAL PARTS OF THE PRO OR PARTS OF THE PROCESS.

AND THAT IS BECAUSE THAT IS WHEN WE'RE COLLECTING INFORMATION AND IT SETS THE TONE FOR THE ENTIRE PROJECT.

DAVID HAS SIMPLIFIED HIS INTAKE TEAMS TO A SINGLE TEAM.

UM, THE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS REALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S A CONSISTENT PROCESS AS PEOPLE ARE COMING IN OR CUSTOMERS ARE COMING IN AND PROVIDING US THE INFORMATION THAT WE NEED TO BUILD A PROJECT.

WE CONSOLIDATED OUR CONSTRUCTION, OUR CONSTRUCTION TEAMS, REALLY ACROSS THE BOARD.

AND WE, WE DID A REALIGNMENT.

AND REALLY WHAT WE DID WAS WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE TEAMS THAT WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONSTRUCTION WERE ALL REPORTING UP THROUGH THE SAME CHAIN.

AND THE, THE TEAMS THAT WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENERGIZATION PORTION OR THE WORK MANAGEMENT PORTION, WERE ALSO REPORTING UP THROUGH THE SAME CHAIN.

AND THE PURPOSE OF THAT IS TO MAKE SURE OUR PROCESSES WERE CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

YOU SHOULD GET THE SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE, WHETHER YOU'RE NORTH AUSTIN OR SOUTH AUSTIN, UH, REGARDLESS.

SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TEAMS WERE ALIGNED TO BETTER SERVE THAT PURPOSE.

UH, WE CREATED A FEEDBACK LOOP.

THERE'S A HANDOFF THERE FROM DESIGN TO CONSTRUCTION.

IT'S EXTREMELY CRITICAL THAT THE RIGHT INFORMATION GETS RELAYED TO THE CONSTRUCTION TEAM SO THEY CAN BUILD A PROJECT.

THIS WAS CAUSING DELAYS.

SO WE CREATED A THREE DAY FEEDBACK LOOP.

NOT INTENDED TO MAKE THE PROCESS LONGER, BUT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN PLACE AND WE DIDN'T HAVE UNNECESSARY DELAYS.

LATER, WE ALSO REALIZED THAT WE NEEDED BETTER COMMUNICATION.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEARD OVER AND OVER AGAIN FROM OUR DEVELOPERS CUSTOMERS WERE THAT THEY, WE WERE HARD TO GET AHOLD OF.

WE HAVE EXPANDED OUR SERVICE DISPATCH HOURS SO THAT WE HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER THE PHONE INTERNALLY FROM 6:00 AM TO 5:00 PM EVERY DAY, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.

WE'VE INCREASED THE ACCURACY OF ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATES.

WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE GIVEN DATES ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROJECT.

[01:00:01]

IT'S INFURIATING TO ME THAT WE WERE GIVING A 16 WEEK TIMELINE FOR EVERY PROJECT.

THAT'S NOT REAL.

WE NEEDED REAL DATES.

SO WE BROKE THE PROJECTS DOWN INTO REALLY TYPES OF PROJECTS.

AND BASED ON THOSE TYPES OF PROJECTS, WE'RE ABLE TO GIVE BETTER ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATES.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO REFINE, BUT IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING TODAY.

WE'VE IMPROVED OUR COORDINATION WITH AUSTIN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.

THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT THE ENERGIZATION PART OF THE PROJECT THAT HAVE TO BE BETWEEN AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.

WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT COORDINATION IS GOOD AND THAT ANY TYPE OF HANDOFFS ARE GOING APPROPRIATELY.

AND THEN OF COURSE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TEAMS INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY ARE COMMUNICATING.

SO WE'VE IMPROVED COMMUNICATION BETWEEN OUR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION TEAMS. IN ADDITION, WE REALIZE THAT WE NEED BETTER VISIBILITY.

DAVID'S TEAM HAS CREATED AN ONLINE PORTAL, THE TRACK, THE DESIGN PROCESS.

WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING OUR CONSTRUCTION PROCESS IN THERE AS WELL.

THAT ONLINE PORTAL MIMICS THE, THOSE THREE PHASES OF THE DESIGN.

IT WILL DO THE SAME THING WITH THE CONSTRUCTION.

THE CUSTOMER WILL READILY BE ABLE TO LOOK AT IT AND SEE, THIS IS WHERE I'M AT.

THIS IS WHAT I NEED TO DO TO MOVE FORWARD.

THE FEEDBACK SESSIONS, WERE NOT A ONE AND DONE.

WE CONTINUE TO HAVE REOCCURRING CUSTOMER MEETINGS, OPEN HOUSES.

REALLY, THIS IS FOR, FOR TWO THINGS.

WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE EDUCATING OUR, OUR CUSTOMERS ON, ON THIS PROCESS IN GENERAL.

AND WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THEM UNSTUCK IF THEY EVER DO GET STUCK.

WE ALSO NEED FEEDBACK TO CONTINUE ITERATING THESE PROCESSES TO GET TO WHERE WE WOULD LIKE TO BE ULTIMATELY.

SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF IMPROVEMENTS WE'RE SEEING.

AND WE ARE SEEING IMPROVEMENTS, AND I'M EXCITED TO SAY THAT WE'RE SEEING, UM, SEEING THEM IN, IN THE AMOUNT OF ESCALATIONS THAT WE'RE SEEING AND, AND, AND SEVERAL PLACES.

BUT ONE PLACE THAT YOU CAN REALLY SEE THIS IS, IS ON THE SLIDE HERE.

AND REALLY I WANT YOU TO FOCUS IN ON THE, THE COLUMNS ONE AND TWO UNDER INTAKE AND DESIGN.

AND WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS A 35% DECREASE IN INTAKE TIMES A 30, A 60% DECREASE IN DESIGN TIMES.

ULTIMATELY AVERAGE ACROSS ALL JOBS IS 12 WEEKS.

AND THAT IS SOMETHING WE CONTINUE TO REFINE AND IMPROVE.

AND, AND REALLY THE FOCUS HERE IS WE ARE CONTINUING TO MONITOR THIS.

AND THIS IS NOT THE ONE AND DONE THIS IS, THIS IS WHERE WE ARE TODAY AS WE CONTINUE TO REFINE OUR PROCESS AND MAKE IMPROVEMENTS.

SO LET ME SUMMARIZE REALLY QUICKLY.

WE'VE SIMPLIFIED, SIMPLIFIED THE PROCESS INTO SIX STAGES.

UH, WE CONTINUE TO REFINE THOSE.

WE'VE IMPROVED OUR COMMUNICATION, WE'VE IMPROVED OUR VISIBILITY TO THE CUSTOMERS.

WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT AS WELL.

UH, WE HAVE LOWERED ACTIVE JOBS AND DESIGN QUEUE BY ABOUT 32%.

THIS IS DOWN FROM A, A HIGH.

WE'VE SHORTENED OVERALL DESIGN TIMES, UH, STAGES BY 50% FOR CONSTRUCTION.

WE HAVE DEVELOPED THESE PROJECT SPECIFIC COMPLETION TIMES TO HELP CUSTOMERS GET THROUGH PROCESSES OR GET THROUGH THE PROJECT AND HAVE A BETTER EXPECTATION OF, OF WHEN TO KNOW THEY'LL BE ENERGIZED.

AND THEN WE'VE ALSO, UH, VERY RECENTLY CUT WAIT TIME FOR A, A SCHEDULED OUTAGE, WHICH IS WHEN A CUSTOMER DOES A SMALL PROJECT THAT REQUIRES THE ELECTRICITY TO BE TURNED OFF TO DO THE PROJECT.

AT ONE POINT IN TIME, WE WERE TELLING CUSTOMERS IT WAS TWO MONTHS FOR US TO GET OUT THERE AND DISCONNECT THAT RIGHT NOW THEY CAN CALL AND IT'S WITHIN A WEEK THAT WE CAN GIVE 'EM THAT.

SO I, I WANNA RESTATE THAT.

THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING.

THIS IS WHERE WE ARE TODAY.

I, I DON'T BELIEVE THIS IS WHERE WE WANT TO BE, BUT, BUT WE'RE GETTING THERE AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO REFINE THINGS.

UH, DAVID'S TEAM IS GOING THROUGH A, A REALIGNMENT FOR HIS DESIGN TEAM.

THIS IS GOING TO HELP US REFINE THOSE PROCESSES.

MY TEAM JUST FINISHED A REALIGNMENT THO THAT IS GOING TO HELP US FURTHER DEFINE OUR PROCESSES.

UH, WE ARE WORKING ON GETTING OUR CONSTRUCTION, UH, CONSTRUCTION TIMELINES WITHIN THE CUSTOMER PORTAL THAT'LL HELP WITH VISIBILITY.

SO ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE BUILDING BLOCKS TO GET US TO WHERE WE ULTIMATELY WANT TO BE, WHICH IS TO BE ABLE TO BETTER PROVIDE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION FOR OUR CUSTOMERS TO MOVE THEIR PROJECTS ALONG.

AND WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, UH, VERY MUCH.

UH, ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL MEMBER? UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

IN TERMS OF GETTING THE DESIGN PERMIT, DOES SOMEONE HAVE TO HAVE THAT BEFORE THEY CAN EITHER GET THEIR BUILDING PERMIT OR START CONSTRUCTION, OR CAN YOU DO THAT SOMEWHAT PARALLEL? SO THERE'S DIFFERENT PARTS OF THAT.

I'M GONNA LET DAVID TAKE THAT QUESTION 'CAUSE HE'LL BE BETTER SUITED TO ANSWER IT.

EXCUSE ME.

UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, DAVID.

[01:05:01]

TOM CHESTERTON, VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING.

SO IT, IT, IT DEPENDS ON WHAT IT IS, BUT IN MOST CASES IT RUNS PARALLEL.

SO FROM A, UH, FROM A STANDPOINT, IF YOU SAY, UM, SITE PLAN, WE, WE START THE SITE PLAN PROCESS.

WE DO THE DESIGN IN PARALLEL.

WE JUST CANNOT RELEASE THE DESIGN TO CONSTRUCTION UNTIL THE SITE PLAN HAS BEEN APPROVED TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NO CONFLICTS WITH, UH, FIRE, WITH, YOU KNOW, WATER, YOU KNOW, AND SO FORTH.

AS FAR AS STARTING CONSTRUCTION, YOU OF COURSE DO NEED, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE NECESSARY PERMITS, WHETHER IT'S ELECTRIC PERMIT OR, OR OTHERS.

UH, THAT, UH, BUT THAT IS A, A RELATIVELY QUICK, UH, STEP TO, TO, UM, GETTING THAT.

UH, AND REALLY WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, FROM A STANDPOINT OF LIKE ELECTRIC PERMIT IS JUST, ARE YOU TALKING TO AUSTIN ENERGY? YES, YOU ARE.

GREAT.

CONTINUING THE DESIGN PROCESS.

AND THEN EVERYTHING'S KIND OF DOUBLE CHECKED AT THE END BEFORE EVERYTHING'S ENERGIZED.

SQUARE FOOT HOMES AND THERE'S THREE OF 'EM, IT ABSOLUTELY IS GONNA NEED ADDITIONAL TRANSFORMATION OUT THERE.

AND I'M, I'M REALLY THINKING MORE, LESS ON LIKE OUR MULTIFAMILY COMMERCIAL SIDE, MORE ON LIKE YOUR RESIDENTIAL, YOU KNOW, SMALL SCALE.

UM, WE HAVE A SPEAKER TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW YOU'RE BUILDING ONE OR TWO HOMES, RIGHT? YOU GO, YOU GET YOUR BUILDING PERMIT AND YOU GO ON YOUR MERRY WAY.

IS IS THIS DESIGN, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT WORD IS, NOT A PERMIT, BUT THIS GETTING YOUR DESIGN APPROVED, IS THAT HOLDING UP AND YOU, YOU KNOW, SHOWED A 12 WEEK TIME PERIOD THERE? IS THAT HOLDING UP THEIR ABILITY TO BREAK GROUND? SURE.

AND, UH, AND SO WE'VE, I KNOW THAT EVEN, UH, THIS YEAR, EVEN AFTER THE HOLIDAYS, I KNOW WE'VE MET, UH, MULTIPLE TIMES WITH MR. TURNER AND, AND WORKING TO, UH, IMPLEMENT, UM, SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND AS, AS BROCK STATED, WE'RE NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, WE HAVE A LOT MORE TO, TO DO.

UM, AS FAR AS THE, WHEN YOU, UH, YOU KNOW, WE QUOTE FOUR TO 12 WEEKS FOR THE DESIGN PHASE.

IT DEPENDS ON TYPES OF JOBS, OBVIOUSLY, IF YOU'RE GONNA DO A VERY LARGE, UH, DEVELOPMENT, UH, MULTI-USE, SO FORCE, IT'S VERY DIFFERENT THAN A RESIDENTIAL HOME, OF COURSE.

AND SO WE'VE BROKEN UP OUR, OUR TEAM, AND WE'RE FINISHING, YOU KNOW, THAT REORGANIZATION NOW.

BUT BASICALLY WE HAVE A SMALL SCALE, WHICH PROBABLY FALLS MORE INTO THE SINGLE HOME, TWO TO THREE HOME, YOU KNOW, UH, THAN WE HAVE, UH, KIND OF WHAT WE CALL MEDIUM SCALE.

AND OF COURSE THE LARGER SCALE STUFF FOR THE LARGER DEVELOPMENTS.

UM, ALL, ALL RESIDENTIAL LIKE WE HAD UP THERE, UM, FALLS, WHETHER IT'S A, A SUBDIVISION OR NOT.

WHAT, WHAT WE'RE SHOWING UP THERE IS SINGLE, UH, SINGLE PHASE RESIDENTIAL, WHICH IS ONE OR TWO HOMES OR AN ENTIRE SUBDIVISION.

BUT THAT BEING SAID IS WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY COME INTO THE, THE INTAKE TEAM, THEY ARE PARSING THEM OUT DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF THE PROJECTS.

AND SO, UM, WE COULD PROBABLY DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER, UH, UH, THERE, BUT MANY OF THOSE ARE GOING TO THE SMALL SKILL GROUP, AND IN SOME CASES THEY'RE COMPLETED, UH, THE SAME WEEK WITHIN TWO WEEKS, NOT, NOT THE 12 WEEKS THAT YOU'RE HEARING.

THOSE ARE MORE, THAT'S, AGAIN, IT'S ACROSS EVERY JOB WE HAVE IN THE QUEUE.

AND WHEN I SAY THAT, THAT'S AVERAGE, SO SOME OF THEM, YOU KNOW, ARE SHORTER, SOME CAN BE A LITTLE LONGER.

UH, SO, BUT I DO THINK WE COULD PROBABLY, UM, YOU KNOW, SPEND A LITTLE TIME THERE TO SEE IF WE CAN BETTER ROUTE THOSE TO THE TEAMS. SO, UM, I I WILL SAY, UH, LAST THING ON THAT IS ON THE, UH, RESIDENTIAL HOMES, IF IT'S, IF IT'S MERELY REPLACING, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, REPLACING A, AN EXISTING HOME WITH AN, YOU KNOW, WITH A, YOU KNOW, A SIMILAR TYPE HOME, THERE MAY BE VERY LITTLE TO DO THERE.

UM, IF YOU'RE TURNED AROUND AND TAKING THAT SAME HOME AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA BUILD THREE HOMES ON THE PROPERTY, UM, IT DEPENDS ON, ON WHAT'S AROUND IT.

UM, UH, AND SO IT, IT COULD BE MORE INVOLVED OR LESS INVOLVED DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU FIND.

BUT THE, THE LAST THING I'D PROBABLY SHARE IS THAT UNLIKE, UM, MANY OF OUR OTHER PEER DEPARTMENTS, THEY'RE REVIEWING, UM, YOU KNOW, A DESIGN THAT COMES IN OR PER, AND THEY'RE JUST APPROVING, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY PERMITS.

WE WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING THE, THE, THE PHYSICAL DESIGN.

AND A LOT OF THAT'S BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE INFRASTRUCTURE, THE STANDARDS, YOU KNOW, THAT OUR, OUR CREWS RELY ON.

UH, SO THEY MAKE SURE THEY CAN RESTORE IT, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF, THERE'S A LOT OF EQUIPMENT IN, IN THE INDUSTRY.

IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, AND, AND WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN OUR INVENTORY.

CAN YOU, UH, FOLLOW UP WITH US, IF YOU CAN, WITH THE DATA YOU HAVE, I'D LOVE TO SEE, UH, AND WE CAN SAY, YOU KNOW, AT THREE UNITS THAT, THAT SMALL SCALE, TAKING THAT CHART THAT YOU SHOWED US JUST FOR THE RESIDENTIAL, HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR SMALL PROJECT TIMES VERSUS, YOU KNOW, A SUBDIVISION, UH, WOULD LOVE TO JUST BETTER GET SOME OF THOSE DATA.

WHAT IS THE, THE, IF THERE IS A CLEAR BREAKING POINT, WHETHER IT'S WITHIN, UM, CODE OR YOUR CRITERIA MANUAL, LIKE DOES TWO, TWO UNITS, I DON'T NEED A DESIGN, BUT THREE UNITS I DO.

OR WHERE, WHERE ARE YOU TRIGGERED? IT'S, IT'S, UM, IT'S TOUGH.

AND THE REASON, HERE'S THE REASON WHY.

IF YOU'RE PUTTING LIKE A, LIKE, FOR LIKE HOME IN IT, THEN IN MOST CASES THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS THERE.

IF I TURN AROUND AND GO AND TAKE ONE HOME, AND NOW IT'S A THOUSAND SQUARE FOOT HOME, AND NOW I'M GONNA CHANGE IT OUT TO A 3000 SQUARE FOOT HOME, THAT IS ADDITIONAL, UH, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, CAPACITY, WE HAVE TO CHECK THE TRANSFORMER, ALL THE WIRE, YOU KNOW, WIRES IN THE AREA TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE CAPACITY.

UH, IF YOU'RE STARTING TO ADD MULTIPLE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IS, IF, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF IT COMES DOWN TO SQUARE FOOTAGE.

IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE A 3000 SQUARE FOOT HOME THAT HYPOTHETICALLY YOU'RE TAKING DOWN AND PUTTING THREE 1000 SQUARE FOOT HOME, IT MAY BE A WASH.

BUT IF ALL OF A SUDDEN AS YOU'RE, YOU'RE TAKING DOWN THAT SAME 1000 SQUARE FOOT HOME, WHICH IS WHAT WE ROUTINELY HAVE BEEN SEEING, AND YOU'RE SEEING 2,500, 3000

[01:10:01]

AND WE DON'T KNOW THAT UNTIL THE REQUEST COMES IN.

WE PHYSICALLY GO TO THE SITE, LOOK AROUND, SEE WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING WITH.

THAT'S WHEN WE REALLY UNDERSTAND IF IT'S, YOU KNOW, NOPE, THERE'S NOT GONNA BE MUCH HERE, OR THIS GIVES BE A MUCH MORE INVOLVED DESIGN.

GOT IT.

SO THERE IS NO HARD AND FAST RULE.

IT'S JUST, IF I'M GONNA BUILD 1, 2, 3, WHATEVER, I'VE GOTTA APPLY TO YOU AND ASK BASICALLY, DO I NEED YOUR, YOU KNOW, YOU TO STEP IN AND DESIGN.

AND, AND, AND EVEN EVEN THE, YOU KNOW, NOWADAYS, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, UM, ESPECIALLY WITH THE, THE NEW BUILDING CODE AND SO FORTH, IS EV READY? YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

I KNOW THERE'S TIMES WHERE, UM, ALL OF A SUDDEN AS THEY'RE PUTTING IN, UM, YOU KNOW, POOLS AND, AND, AND SO FORTH, THE PART DESIGN, I MEAN, ALL THAT COMES INTO PLAY ABOUT HOW MUCH ELECTRICAL DEMAND, UH, DO WE, UH, NEED TO BE READY FOR.

AND, AND AGAIN, THAT ALL COMES IN.

AND SO IT'S, THERE'S NOT A HARD AND FAST, UH, RULE.

IT, IT'S, IT'S SITE SPECIFIC AND THEN WHAT THE CUSTOMER'S ASKING FOR.

OKAY, WELL, ONCE, ONCE WE ARE ABLE TO, TO GET THE DATA, I DO THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US AND FOR THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY TO KNOW WHERE ARE YOU TRYING TO GO? LIKE, WHAT IS, IF, IF, IF YOU WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE A PROCESS THAT YOU THINK IS REALLY WORKING, IS THAT A TWO WEEK PROCESS, A FOUR WEEK PROCESS? 'CAUSE WHAT I HAVE COME TO APPRECIATE WHEN, WHEN SPEAKING WITH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING THIS, THEY MAY NOT LIKE THE ANSWER, BUT IF I KNOW IT'S FOUR WEEKS, THEN I CAN PLAN FOR FOUR WEEKS.

BUT WHEN I THINK IT'S GONNA BE FOUR WEEKS AND IT'S 10 WEEKS, THAT'S WHEN I HAVE REAL PROBLEMS. RIGHT? SO IF WE COULD GET A VERY CLEAR GOAL AND A PATH TOWARDS THAT GOAL, I THINK THAT WOULD HELP IMMENSELY WITH, UM, BEING ABLE TO GET THIS DONE.

SO I APPRECIATE THE WORK YOU'RE DOING AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING WHERE IT GOES.

ABSOLUTELY.

UH, YOU KNOW, 75, A SIX AND A HUNDRED, YOU KNOW, WOULD BE EIGHT.

UH, THANK YOU, UH, VERY MUCH.

COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, AND, UH, I MEAN, I THINK THOSE WERE VERY GOOD, UH, UH, QUESTIONS.

AND ESPECIALLY FROM A COUNCIL PERSPECTIVE, WE'VE REALLY BEEN PUSHING FOR THAT, YOU KNOW, THREE TO ONE HOUSE SWAP SITUATION, AND WE WANT TO FACILITATE THAT, UH, AS MUCH AS WE, UH, POSSIBLY CAN.

UH, AND FROM THE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE LARGER, UH, PROJECTS, UH, THOSE ARE DEEPER POCKETS, MORE RESOURCES.

UH, AGAIN, WE WANNA EXPEDITE THOSE AS WELL.

BUT THE SMALLER PROJECTS IS WHERE YOU HAVE YOUR, YOUR SMALLER INVESTOR THAT MAY HAVE, YOU KNOW, THEIR ENTIRE SAVINGS IN, YOU KNOW, THIS, UH, AND, AND THOSE ARE THE ONES TO ME THAT ARE LIKE LEAST ABLE TO BEAR, UH, THAT THOSE DELAYS AND THOSE KIND OF ADDITIONAL COSTS.

UM, WHAT IS THE TIMELINE AGAIN, FOR THE EXAMPLE THAT YOU SAID, IF YOU'RE TAKING A A THOUSAND SQUARE FOOT HOME AND, AND SWAPPING IT OUT FOR THREE 1000, UH, WHAT IS THE KIND OF TIMELINE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT FOR THAT KIND OF PROJECT TYPICALLY? SO, UM, IT, YOU KNOW, IT CAN DEPEND WHAT WE, WHAT WE FIND OUT THERE, UM, AND, AND ARE WE WHERE WE NEED TO BE? NO.

AND I THINK PART OF IT IS, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE, UM, UH, THE RE YOU KNOW, REQUEST WAS SPLITTING THAT UP TO REALLY SEE WHERE THAT FALLS.

WE DON'T, UH, IN THE SYSTEM RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T CLASSIFY 'EM SEPARATELY, IT'S JUST RESIDENTIAL MM-HMM .

AND SO, YOU KNOW, TIM'S GONNA HAVE TO GO BACK AND SEE IF WE COULD START BREAKING THAT UP AND, AND DETERMINE WHAT'S LARGE AND SMALL.

THAT BEING SAID IS IDEALLY IS WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, ONCE ALL THE INFORMATION IS SUBMITTED.

AND THAT'S ANOTHER THING TOO, IS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE INTAKE PHASE, THAT IS KIND OF A BACK AND FORTH WITH THE CUSTOMER.

I DON'T, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THAT EVERYTHING'S JUST SUBMITTED AND IT'S GOOD.

THE REALITY IS, UM, SOMETIMES WHAT CUSTOMERS SUBMIT IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO EVEN START A DESIGN, AND SO WE HAVE TO GO BACK WITH THEM, AND THERE'S SOME BACK AND FORTH, AND THAT'S INCLUDED IN THE TIME THAT, THAT YOU HAVE.

BUT, UH, UH, GETTING TO, TO YOUR QUESTION, UM, IT, IT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, IDEALLY A WEEK OR TWO MAX, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE GET ALL THE INFORMATION TO, TO GET OUT THERE, GO TAKE A LOOK, UM, YOU KNOW, WOULD BE SOMETHING I THINK WE COULD BE A STARTING POINT, YOU KNOW, TO, TO PROBABLY SHOOT FOR.

I'D LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, GIVE IT WITH THE TEAM AND COME BACK WITH YOU WITH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WE THINK CAN BE DOABLE, UM, BUT THEN FOR THAT STANDPOINT IS IT WILL DEPEND ON WHAT THE DESIGN IS, UH, WHAT IT, WHAT IS NEEDED.

UM, AND AGAIN, IS THAT'S THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING, YOU KNOW, IS, YOU KNOW, HEY, YOU'RE PUTTING IN THAT POOL, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DON'T PUT THAT POOL IN, WE DON'T HAVE TO UPGRADE THAT TRANSFORMER, YOU PUT THAT POOL IN OR, UM, THAT EV CHARGER SO FORTH LIKE THAT, IT, IT KIND OF MOVES IT TO ANOTHER BRACKET THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO AN UPGRADE.

AND ON THAT SAME POINT, UH, AND, AND AGAIN, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THIS WAS A POLICY SET BY A COUNCIL AGAIN YEARS AGO IN TERMS OF THE COST OF THE TRANSFORMER UPGRADE.

AGAIN, LET'S STICK WITH THAT KIND OF THREE UNIT MM-HMM .

YOU KNOW, TO ONE UNIT.

I COME IN THERE, I'M BUILDING THREE UNITS IN THE PLACE OF ONE, UH, ALL OF A SUDDEN I NEED, UH, UH, Y'ALL ARE TELLING ME THAT I NEED A NEW TRANSFORMER.

ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES THAT TRANSFORMER SERVE? SO IT, IT, OF COURSE, WE HAVE DIFFERENT SIZE TRANSFORMERS.

IF YOU SAY LIKE A 25 KVA FOR, UM, NEW BUILDS OR SO FORTH.

I WOULD GENERALLY SAY ABOUT TWO HOMES, BUT IT COULD BE MORE.

AND, AND IT JUST DEPENDS ON, UH, THE SIZE OF THE HOMES.

ARE THEY, UM, UH, ALL ELECTRIC? ARE THEY, NA, YOU KNOW, A MIX OF NATURAL GAS, ALL ELECTRIC? THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT COME INTO IT.

BUT GENERALLY, YOU KNOW, LIKE A 25 KV, I'D SAY TWO, IT'S A 54, 4 HOMES, IF IT'S,

[01:15:01]

UH, BUT WHEN YOU DO, AGAIN, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT'S A LARGER, SMALLER, UH, TRANSFORMER, WHEN YOU COME IN, UH, AND, AND YOUR ADDITIONAL LOAD REQUIRES AN UPGRADE TO THE TRANSFORMER, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THAT COST IS BORN BY THE PERSON THAT'S MAKING, UH, THAT, UH, CHANGE.

AND IT'S NOT DISTRIBUTED KIND OF IN SYSTEM WIDE.

IS THAT THE APPROACH? YES, SIR.

YES, SIR.

THAT'S CORRECT.

SINCE, UH, 2014, THAT'S BEEN THE CASE WHERE BASICALLY, UH, ANY, UH, ANY REQUESTS COMING, WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MEET THEIR REQUEST, UM, THEY, THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR GROWTH, PACE FOR GROWTH AND, AND HOW MUCH IS A NEW TRANSFORMER? YEAH, AGAIN, IT DEPENDS ON SIZE.

UM, IF YOU'RE GONNA, UH, SET A, UH, AND, AND AGAIN, I WOULD SAY THAT IF YOU'RE GONNA SWAP IT OUT, MIGHT AS WELL GET A BIGGER ONE, RIGHT? I MEAN, THE SENSE WOULD BE THAT WE, WE SIZE IT BASED ON, ON WHAT THE EXPECTED LOAD IS, UM, CONSIDERING ANY EXISTING LOADS ARE ON THERE, PLUS WHAT IS COMING ONLINE, WE DON'T, WE DON'T OVERSIZE IT ACTUALLY, IT, IT, UH, THERE'S MORE LOSSES AND SO IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT GOOD FOR THE SYSTEM MM-HMM .

UH, AS WELL.

AND SO WE TRY TO SIZE IT ACCORDINGLY.

UM, IF YOU WERE TO SET IT LIKE A NEW POLE AND A NEW TRANSFORMER FOR, YOU KNOW, A NORMAL RESIDENTIAL, IT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, FIVE TO $10,000 DEPENDING WHAT'S INVOLVED POLE'S ALREADY THERE.

IT MAY BE, YOU KNOW, LESS THAN THAT.

BUT, UH, IT REALLY JUST DEPENDS, UH, AND, AND IN DIFFERENT SYSTEMS, AGAIN, UH, BEFORE THAT, UH, 2014 CHANGE, THE COST OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE WERE, UH, WERE KIND OF SOCIALIZED AMONG ALL THE USERS.

IS THAT, THAT'S THE, THE PRIOR, WAS THAT THE PRIOR Y YES, SIR.

THAT'S CORRECT.

PRIOR TO 2014, WE'LL SPEAK, WE WILL STICK TO RESIDENTIAL, UM, BASICALLY BE 300 FEET OF SINGLE PHASE, UM, POLES, WIRES, UM, TRANSFORMER AND, AND METERS WOULD, UH, BE INCLUDED.

IF YOU WANT ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT, UM, FROM THE EXTENSION FROM THE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE, THEN, THEN YOU'D PAY FOR THE DIFFERENCE.

THAT'S WHAT IT WAS PRE 20, UH, 2014.

MM-HMM .

THAT, THAT'S AN AREA THAT I, I THINK THAT I WOULD LIKE TO, TO, I'LL JUST SPEAK FOR MYSELF, THAT I WOULD LIKE TO, TO TAKE A LOOK AT.

UH, AGAIN, JUST TO TRY AND, AND, AND FACILITATE NOT ON THE LARGE SCALE.

AGAIN, THE LARGE SCALE ARE PERFECTLY ABLE AND CAPABLE OF PAYING THEIR, UH, THEIR, THEIR WAY.

BUT, UH, TO TRY AND, UH, AGAIN, AS A POLICY, WE'RE TRYING TO FACILITATE THIS.

MAYBE WE SHOULD CHANGE OUR OTHER POLICIES TO, TO LINE UP WITH OUR GOAL OF, UH, THE KIND OF THE GENTLE DENSITY, THE ADDITIONAL HOUSING IN, UH, ALREADY, UH, UH, BUILT UP, UH, AREAS.

UM, UH, ANOTHER COUPLE, HOW DOES THE RENEWABLE POWER, AGAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO ADD THE, THE BATTERY BACKUPS AND THE SOLAR, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT THOSE SMALL SCALE, UH, SYSTEMS? UH, UH, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT, UH, THE AUSTIN ENERGY? SO, SO WHEN A, UH, SOLAR OR BATTERY WANTS TO CONNECT, PART OF IT IS WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, HOW MUCH IT'S, IT'S NOT SO MUCH LOAD DOES COME INTO PLAY IN IT, BUT IT'S BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE, THE CAPACITY OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE AREA.

UM, AND SO FROM A STANDPOINT IS IF YOU WANNA PUT LIKE A, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A MORE, UM, TRADITIONAL SAY 10 KILOWATT SYSTEM IN YOUR HOUSE, YOU'RE THE FIRST ONE, YOU KNOW, AND SO FORTH, OR EVEN THE SECOND ONE OR SO FORTH, THERE'S USUALLY NOT A, A, UM, AN ISSUE WITH THAT.

IF YOU WANTED TO PUT A VERY LARGE SYSTEM AND YOU HAVE A SMART TRANSFORMER THERE, IT COULD POSSIBLY REQUIRE AN UPGRADE TRANSFORMER.

IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE WITH THAT, I KNOW, UH, UH, RICHARD'S TEAM DOES A GREAT JOB OF MEETING WITH THE CUSTOMERS AND LETTING 'EM KNOW, HEY, THE, THE, IF YOU, IF YOU BUILD THAT BIG, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO PROBABLY PAY FOR THIS UPGRADE, BUT IF YOU JUST DIAL BACK A LITTLE BIT, YOU CAN GET A LOT OF THE SAME BENEFITS AND NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR ANY UPGRADES.

SO THEY DO A GREAT JOB OF TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CUSTOMER CHOICE HOWEVER THEY WANT TO GO.

BUT THE WHOLE POINT IS, UH, INFOR, UM, UH, MAKE, MAKE THEM INFORMED.

BUT THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER AREA THOUGH, WHERE, UH, IF, AGAIN, LET'S SAY I WANNA PUT A, YOU KNOW, 10 KILOWATT, UH, SOLAR SYSTEM ON MY HOME, I MAY BE, UH, ON THE HOOK FOR UPGRADING THE TRANSFORMER TOO.

IF, IF EVERYBODY IN THAT ARE ON THAT TRANSFORMER ALREADY HAVE THAT, THAT WOULD BE THE CASE.

IF YOU'RE THE FIRST, YOU KNOW, ONE, TWO, OR THREE, I MOST LIKELY NOT.

BUT, UM, IT, IT, IT IS AGAIN, IS SPECIFIC TO WHAT, UH, WHAT'S IN THAT AREA SYSTEM WISE.

AGAIN, THAT'S JUST ANOTHER, FROM A POLICY PERSPECTIVE, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO SOCIALIZE THOSE COSTS, UH, AND, AND FACILITATE THE, UH, FOLKS PUTTING LARGER, UH, YOU KNOW, SOLAR ARRAYS ON THEIR HOUSE, UH, AND, AND, AND US, UH, UH, BEARING, UH, THE COST AND DISTRIBUTING THEM AMONGST, UH, A COUPLE MORE QUICK QUESTIONS.

UM, THIRD PARTY REVIEWS.

MM-HMM .

UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT.

DSD HAS TALKED ABOUT IT, THERE WAS A, A MEMO DISCUSSING IT.

UH, WHAT'S THE POSSIBILITY OF, AGAIN, OUTSOURCING, UH, UH, IN SPECIFICALLY TO AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, UH, WHERE, WHAT DO Y'ALL THINK ABOUT IT? SO F FROM A REVIEW STANDPOINT? UM, IT, IT, YOU KNOW, WELL, THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS THERE.

ONE IS WE ARE, TO MY KNOWLEDGE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS A CUSTOMER DESIGN PROGRAM.

UH, IT'S ONE THAT, UH, WE STARTED A COUPLE YEARS BACK.

IT'S REALLY, UH, UH, SHRUNK QUITE A BIT.

NOT, UH, AS MANY DEVELOPERS ARE USING IT ANYMORE.

IT'S AN ADDITIONAL, YOU KNOW, COST.

BUT, UH, WE DO ALLOW, WE HAVE A CUSTOMER, UM, A DESIGN PROGRAM WHERE YOU COME IN AND WE, WE DO SOME TRAINING FOR YOU AND ALLOW YOU TO DO YOUR OWN DESIGN, AND WE MERELY JUST REVIEW IT.

AND THAT'S CLOSER AKIN TO LIKE PERMITS AND SO FORTH.

IT'S UNLIKE ANYTHING I'VE EVER SEEN IN THE INDUSTRY.

[01:20:01]

UM, BUT AGAIN, AS WE'RE STARTING TO SEE FEWER AND FEWER PEOPLE USE IT, BECAUSE IT'S JUST AN ADDITIONAL COST, ESPECIALLY AS OUR QUEUE TIMES HAVE GONE WAY DOWN FROM EVEN JUST A FEW YEARS AGO.

UH, AS FAR AS A THIRD PARTY REVIEW, AGAIN, IS, UM, THE RE REVIEWS NEED TO BE, UM, EVERY UTILITY IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

THEY USE, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT MATERIALS.

THEY HAVE DIFFERENT VOLTAGES, THEY HAVE DIFFERENT STANDARDS, UM, AND SO FORTH.

AND SO WHEN YOU'RE DOING A REVIEW, YOU HAVE TO, TO KNOW THOSE, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT IT INCORPORATES, YOU KNOW, TO MAKING SURE THAT OUR FUSES COORDINATE WITH EACH OTHER AND, AND SO FORTH.

SO TO JUST BRING IN A THIRD PARTY TO, TO REVIEW, THEY, THERE WOULD BE EXTENSIVE TRAINING THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO, TO DO SUCH THINGS.

THAT BEING SAID, WE DO RELY ON CONTRACTORS AND SO FORTH THAT WE DO BRING IN, AND THEY ARE EMBEDDED IN OUR STAFF IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IS GETTING DESIGNS OUT FASTER, BUT ALSO A REVIEW.

UM, I KNOW EVEN THE CUSTOMER DESIGN PROGRAM IS HEAVILY STAFFED WITH, UH, UH, CONTRACTORS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE TURNING THOSE AROUND QUICKLY.

ALL RIGHT.

AND, AND FINALLY, THE, UH, WE'VE HEARD ANECDOTES ABOUT A METER INSTALLATION TIMES, AND AGAIN, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT, WHAT THAT WOULD, UH, NOT BEING A BUILDER, NOT, YOU KNOW, WORKING FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, UH, THAT THOSE HAVE, HAVE, UH, LENGTHENED OR WHAT, WHAT'S THE SITUATION WITH METER INSTALLATION TIMES? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? HOW ARE WE DOING ON METER INSTALLATION TIMES? SO I CHECKED YESTERDAY AND FOR RESIDENTIAL METER INSTALLATION, WE'RE RUNNING ABOUT THREE DAYS RIGHT NOW.

FOR ABOUT 90% OF THOSE INSTALLATIONS.

THERE ARE DELAYS IN CERTAIN CASES, BUT WE ARE WORKING TO, TO DECREASE THOSE AS WELL.

WHAT, WHAT'S OUR, OUR GOAL OR WHAT WOULD BE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, THE AVERAGE, I GUESS, UH, UH, I WOULD SAY ON THE METER INSTALLATION TIME.

AND THEN AGAIN, THAT WOULD BE LIKE, BASICALLY SOMEONE IS READY TO GO, THEY'VE ALREADY GOT THEIR SYSTEM UP AND THEY JUST NEED YOU TO GO IN AND, AND, AND PUT IN THE METER SO THAT THEY CAN SWITCH ON THE POWER AND, AND MOVE FORWARD.

SO ONCE THAT SERVICE OR ONCE THAT CUSTOMER APPLIES FOR SERVICE, AND THAT, THAT ORDER IS ISSUED BETWEEN ONE AND THREE DAYS RIGHT NOW IS WHAT WE'RE AVERAGING.

UM, IT, THERE AGAIN, THERE ARE CERTAIN CASES WHERE IT'S LONGER, BUT WE, WE HAVE REDUCED THAT BY QUITE A BIT.

ALL RIGHT.

UH, ALRIGHT.

COUNCIL MEMBER, WALTER, JUST ON THAT LAST POINT, AND NOT TO, UH, YOU DON'T HAVE EYES IN THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD, BUT I'M SEEING THE REACTIONS FROM THE PEOPLE BEHIND YOU, UH, INCREDULITY OVER THE ONE TO THREE DAYS.

CAN YOU JUST CLARIFY, IS YOU, YOU USED VERB, YOU SAID ONCE IT'S ASSIGNED THEN IT'S ONE TO THREE DAYS.

IS THERE A TIME BETWEEN ASKING AN ASSIGNMENT THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL LIKE, HEY, I'M WAITING MORE THAN ONE TO THREE DAYS.

SO, SO THERE IS, THERE IS A, A SHORT DELAY THERE WHERE IT HAS TO GET LOADED INTO OUR WORK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

UH, I WOULD HAVE TO GET SPECIFICS ON WHAT THAT DELAY IS.

UH, BUT THE, THE NUMBERS THAT I HAVE THAT I GOT YESTERDAY WERE THREE DAYS, 90%.

AND, AND I CAN, I CAN GET MORE DATA IF, IF YOU'D LIKE IT.

I JUST BE CURIOUS IF THERE'S A STEP BEFORE THAT ONE TO THREE DAYS THAT IS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A WEEK OR WHATEVER IT IS THAT THERE, THERE ARE SOME OTHER STEPS, UH, YOU KNOW, IN REGARDS TO GETTING A GREEN TAG FROM THE CITY TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING ON THE CUSTOMER SIDE MEETS, UH, NEC, UM, UH, THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL, ESPECIALLY FOR MODULAR METER, WE HAVE A BUNCH OF METERS TOGETHER, RIGHT? UH, THERE'S A, THERE GONNA BE A CHECK FOR THAT.

UM, BUT ALSO SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT SO WE KNOW WHERE TO SEND THE BILL.

THOSE THINGS HAVE TO HAPPEN BEFORE WE CAN EVEN GIVE IT TO A TRUCK TO DO IT.

I'M SURE THAT THAT PLAYS INTO THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WELL IT'S TAKEN LONGER, BUT THOSE STEPS HAVE TO HAPPEN AND MANY OF THOSE ARE, UM, ON THE CUSTOMER TO SCHEDULE WITH, WITH THOSE INSPECTION GROUPS.

OH YEAH, WELL WHENEVER YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT AND, AND THE OTHER INFORMATION, IF YOU CAN KIND OF LOOK AT FROM WHEN I SAY, HEY, I WANT THIS TO THEN ACTUALLY GETTING IT IN, YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE MULTIPLE STEPS AND THOSE ADD UP.

ALRIGHT, WELL I REALLY, UH, APPRECIATE THAT.

I THINK THIS WAS VERY HELPFUL.

UH, BRIEFING, UH, CUSTOMER SAFETY.

DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? YEAH.

UH, AND VERY HELPFUL BRIEFING.

UM, THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT I'M SURE, UH, MOST PEOPLE ON THE DAIS HAVE, HAVE HEARD, UH, CONCERNS ABOUT, UH, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, PERMITTING AND CONSTRUCTION DELAYS PERPETUALLY, BUT, UH, UH, AGAIN, NOTHING, NO OFFENSE TO AUSTIN ENERGY, BUT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS BEEN ONE OF HIGHER TIER, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, CONCERNS.

AND, UH, SO I APPRECIATE Y'ALL COMING OUT HERE TALKING ABOUT IT.

UH, AND, AND LOOK FORWARD TO, TO WORKING WITH Y'ALL TO, TO GET TO A, TO A BETTER PLACE.

GLAD TO SEE SOME IMPROVEMENTS, BUT LIKE YOU SAID, THE, THE, THE BETTER AND QUICKER WE CAN MAKE THIS PROCESS, I THINK, UH, THE BETTER FOR ALL INVOLVED.

SO AGREED.