* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [CALL TO ORDER ] [00:00:04] 10 AND WE HAVE ALL OUR CHRISES. UH, JUST KIDDING. WE, WE HAVE A QUORUM PLUS, INCLUDING ALL OF OUR CHRISES. UH, THANK, THANKS EVERYBODY, UH, FOR, FOR AGREEING TO THE, UH, MOVING UP OUR, OUR MEETING DATES SO THAT WE COULD TAKE SOME TIMELY ACTION TODAY. SO WE HAVE A RELATIVELY LIGHT AGENDA AND WE CAN GET STARTED WITH IT. IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE WE HAVE ANYBODY HERE TO, TO SPEAK AT PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS. SO WE CAN START WITH THE [1. Approve the minutes of the Joint Sustainability Committee Regular Meeting on February 25th, 2026. ] MINUTES. MOVE TO ADOPT THE FEBRUARY MINUTES. SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION OF THE MINUTES? WERE THERE ANYTHING, DID EVERYBODY GET TO SEE THE MINUTES? ANYBODY NEED A MINUTE WITH IT? OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND. OKAY. MINUTES ARE ADOPTED. UM, I'M ACTUALLY REALIZING I DID NOT PULL UP THE AGENDA. DO YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE A PRINTED COPY OR, OKAY, THANKS. NEXT ONE IS ALSO THE AGENDA. OH, WE HAVE, WE HAVE, RIGHT. SO THAT WAS THE FEBRUARY MINUTES. I FORGOT WE HAD TWO, TWO MINUTES [2. Approve the minutes of the Joint Sustainability Committee Regular Meeting on March 25th, 2026. ] TO ADOPT UP WITH THAT, BUT SORRY, SAY THAT AGAIN. A MOTION TO ADOPT THE MARCH MINUTES. OKAY. WE GOT A MOTION. I MEAN, THE APRIL, APRIL MINUTES. UH, NO, YOU'RE, OH, WAS IT MARCH? THIS SAYS MARCH. YEAH, IT'S MARCH. YEAH, WE SKIPPED, SKIPPED APRIL IN MAY. APRIL, MARCH. YEAH. OKAY. WE JUST DID FEBRUARY. IS THAT WHAT WE JUST DID? YEAH, WE DID FEBRUARY. OKAY. NOW WE'RE DOING MARCH. SECONDING THE MOTION. AND WE GOT A SECOND. ANY, UH, ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO THE MARCH MINUTES? I THINK THERE WAS A TYPO. I DON'T HAVE IT PULLED UP, BUT I THINK THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT SAID MONEY. MONEY WAS MISSPELLED. IF ANYONE HAS THAT PULLED UP. OKAY. UH, GIMME JUST A SECOND. DOES ANYBODY HAVE THE MINUTES UP THAT CAN CONFIRM THAT THE WORD MONEY IS MISSPELLED? IF NOT, WE CAN JUST KIND, I THINK SAY THAT, MAKE THAT CORRECTION WITH THE, THE SPELLING AND ADOPT IT WITH THAT CORRECTION. OKAY. I'M NOT HEARING OBJECTION TO THAT AS A PATH FORWARD. SO, ALL IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE MARCH MINUTES WITH THE SPELLING ERROR CORRECTED. RAISE YOUR HAND. YEAH, AND I CAN CONFIRM THAT, THAT THERE WAS THE SPELLING ERROR . I SEE IT HERE. AWESOME. THANK YOU. I DID NOT CATCH THAT. SO GOOD DETAILED READING, NEIL. OKAY. THOSE MINUTES ARE ADAPT, ADOPTED. SO WE [3. Conduct officer elections for the Chair and Vice Chair of the Joint Sustainability Committee. ] NOW HAVE, UH, BASICALLY JUST THREE ITEMS. UH, WE'LL START WITH THE OFFICER ELECTIONS. I HOPE, I HOPE Y'ALL HAVE, HAVE TAKEN ME SERIOUSLY. UH, IF ANYBODY WANTS TO BE CHAIR, I'M NOT GONNA BE OFFENDED. SO I DID NOT HEAR DIRECTLY FROM ANYBODY, BUT AT THIS POINT, ANYBODY CAN NOMINATE THEMSELVES OR SOMEBODY ELSE. WE'LL START WITH CHAIR AND THEN DO VICE CHAIR. I'M NOMINATING EVA SECOND THAT. OKAY. IS ANYBODY ELSE INTERESTED? IS ALL RIGHT. WELL, WHOEVER, WHOEVER ENDS UP IN VICE CHAIR. UM, UH, ALL RIGHT. SO I GUESS WE'LL START BY VOTING ON THAT ONE, THEN WE'LL DO VICE CHAIR. SO ANY OR ANY DISCUSSION ANYBODY WANNA DISCUSS? I'M SURE THERE'S MANY BAD THINGS SOMEBODY COULD SAY ABOUT ME. ? YEAH, GO AHEAD. AARON. I HAVE A QUESTION. YEAH. CAN YOU KIND OF SHARE, UM, JUST WHAT YOU ENVISION OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, KIND OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE FROM THIS, UH, FROM THIS COMMISSION FOR US TO WORK ON? YEAH. UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. I WOULDN'T SAY THAT I HAVE MAPPED OUT A VISION FOR THE NEXT YEAR. UH, WE HAVE SOMETIMES, UH, DEDICATED SOME MEETING TIME TO DOING THAT TOGETHER. AND, UH, IT, IT MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME. WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT IN A LITTLE WHILE NOW. UM, SO IT MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME TO, TO GET THAT ON THE AGENDA, YOU KNOW, MAYBE FOR OUR NEXT MEETING. UM, I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN A LITTLE MORE, UH, REACTIVE, UH, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT OVER THE PAST YEAR, WHICH, YOU KNOW, HASN'T BEEN BAD. BUT, UH, I GUESS WE'LL SEE KIND OF WHAT COMES UP. I THINK WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO REACT, BUT WE SHOULD ALSO HAVE KIND OF A VISION OF WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON. WE FOR SURE HAVE. UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE KINDA ONE WORKING GROUP THAT WE HAVE, I THINK MAINTAINED, UH, [00:05:01] CONSISTENT ACTIVITY IN IS AROUND PURCHASING AND, UH, THE LOW CARBON CONCRETE AS A SUBSET OF THAT PURCHASING. SO I THINK FOR SURE, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE THERE. UM, JUST SIMPLY 'CAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER, THERE'S JUST A LOT THAT, THAT, THAT STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE. SO THAT WOULD BE ONE THING. UM, YOU KNOW, THE BOND, UH, ELECTION IS GONNA BE COMING UP. UH, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T WEIGH IN NECESSARILY ONCE SOMETHING'S ON THE BALLOT. THAT'S, YOU KNOW, I THINK OUT OF OUR HANDS. BUT IN TERMS OF ADVISING COUNCIL, I KNOW WE'VE, WE'VE MADE SOME RECOMMENDATION ON THAT. THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT THIS SUMMER. UM, I THINK THERE'S ALSO GONNA BE, UM, ONGOING, UH, CONVERSATION OVER THE NEXT YEAR WHEN IT PERTAINS TO, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN ENERGY RATES. AND I THINK THERE'S A CONNECTION TO SUSTAINABILITY THERE. AND ERIN, I KNOW YOU HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, RAISED SOME, UH, ISSUES AT YOUR COMMISSION AROUND DATA CENTERS AND, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THAT IS ALSO A TOPIC THAT, UM, PROBABLY IS GOING TO BE RELEVANT FOR US. BUT YEAH, I THINK WE SHOULD TALK AS A GROUP ABOUT WHAT WE WANNA DO. AWESOME. YEAH. UM, IF THERE'S ROOM ON NEXT, UH, MEETING'S AGENDA TO DO THAT, THAT'D BE GREAT. YEAH, I, I THINK WE CAN DEFINITELY DO THAT. I, AND I SEE AMANDA MAKING A NOTE. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS? OKAY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND. ALL RIGHT. LOOKS LIKE I'M CHEERING AGAIN, UM, WHICH I'M HAPPY TO DO. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE. UH, WE DEFINITELY DO NATIVE VICE CHAIR AND, UM, YOU KNOW, APPRECIATE THAT CHARLOTTE HAS BEEN WILLING OR YOU STILL FEELING LIKE YOU WOULD LIKE TO, I KNOW YOU'RE CHEERING THE RMC NOW. ARE YOU LOOKING TO MOVE ON? YEAH, IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL TWO YEARS, BUT I'M READY TO PASS THE TORCH. UM, AND I, AND I WILL ECHO AGAIN. IT, IT REALLY, IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO GET SOME, YOU KNOW, MORE EXPERIENCE OR A LITTLE BULLET POINT ON YOUR RESUME OR, UM, A LITTLE MORE EXPOSURE, I GUESS COULD BE, BUT THERE'S REALLY NOT A WHOLE LOT OF ADDITIONAL, UM, TIME COMMITMENT. UM, CHAIR WHITE RUNS A, A VERY TIGHT SHIP AND, YOU KNOW, IS ALL OVER THE THINGS. AND SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, I I WOULD SAY I'VE MAYBE HAD TO COME AND AND CHAIR A MEETING LIKE TWICE OVER TWO YEARS. UM, SO I, I REALLY ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO IS, YOU KNOW, INTERESTED OR MAY WANNA TAKE A LEADERSHIP ROLE SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THEIR LIFE OR AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE TO, TO REALLY CONSIDER IT. YEAH. ANYBODY WHO'S THINKING THAT THEY MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN MAYBE CHAIRING NEXT YEAR, THIS WOULD BE A GOOD, UH, STEPPING STONE FOR THAT. UM, AND IT'S ONLY THE CHAIR THAT NEEDS TO ATTEND IN PERSON, UM, TO, TO RUN THE MEETINGS. THAT'S RIGHT. SO, SO FOLKS WHO MAY BE CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HAVING TO, YOU KNOW, BE ON SITE THAT'S NOT, SHOULDN'T BE LIKE A HUGE CONCERN, BUT IT WOULD BE GOOD IF WHOEVER IT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, IS READY TO OCCASIONALLY ATTEND IN PERSON, BECAUSE I DO SOMETIMES GO ON VACATION OR HAVE WORK TRAVEL THAT OR OTHER, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S INFREQUENT. I TRY TO PRIORITIZE THESE MEETINGS, BUT ONCE IN A WHILE, UM, YOU DO NEED SOMEBODY TO DO IT. SHOULD I CLOSE MY EYES AND, AND POINT ANNA TOOK A RECENT TURN AND CHARLOTTE HAS, HAS HELPED OUT THIS PAST YEAR. ANYBODY? AARON, WHAT DO YOU THINK? YEAH, I MEAN, WHERE I'D BE ABLE TO ADD HELP IS FROM LIKE THE ORGANIZATIONAL STANDPOINT, RIGHT? I, I THINK THAT THERE, I NEED TO CALL OUT MY WEAKNESSES ON THIS COMMISSION IS THAT A LOT OF THE TIMES I'M HAVING TO KIND OF LOOK UP IN PLAIN LANGUAGE, LIKE WHAT THE HECK WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. EVEN TODAY, I'M LIKE, WHAT'S GAS, PEAKERS, , LIKE? SO THAT'S, THERE'S SOME REALLY BIG BLIND SPOTS. UM, I THINK THAT IN TERMS OF ADVANCING POLICIES, THAT [00:10:01] WOULD BE, I PERSONALLY, AT THIS MOMENT, I DON'T FORESEE MYSELF HAVING INTEREST IN BEING CHAIR, UM, AT ANY POINT IN TIME. UM, BUT I DO THINK THAT FROM AN ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE OF LIKE, HEY, HOW CAN WE ALL WORK TOGETHER? HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT LIKE, I'M CHECKING IN WITH PEOPLE, MAKING SURE THAT OUR VOICES ARE BEING HEARD AND THEY'RE ACTIVELY CONTRIBUTING TOWARDS LIKE THE POLICIES THAT WE'RE, UH, PUTTING BEFORE THE ENTIRE COMMISSION. UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE TALKING IN BETWEEN MEETINGS AND NOT JUST PRIMARILY AT THE MEETING. UM, THAT'S WHERE I COULD PROBABLY ADD THE MOST VALUE. UM, SO IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN, THEN, YOU KNOW, YEAH, I'D LIKE TO DO THAT, BUT ALSO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING WITH ME AND, AND KNOW WHAT YOU'RE NOT. SO, YEAH. CAN I, CAN I COMMENT? I, I REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, THAT COMMENT, UM, AARON, THAT THAT'S REALLY, UM, GREAT TO HEAR. AND, AND I'LL ALSO JUST OFFER THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, DEEP DOMAIN EXPERTISE, UH, IS NOT A, A REQUISITE FOR THE OFFICE OF, OF VICE CHAIR, REALLY. UM, I, I PERSONALLY HAVE, YOU KNOW, BEEN DRINKING FROM THE FIRE HOSE. I'VE LEARNED A TON, UM, SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THIS COMMITTEE. UM, BUT I DEFINITELY THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING CHAIR STEPPING INTO, UH, YOU KNOW, OCCASIONALLY RUN A MEETING, YOU KNOW, CALL A VOTE, YOU KNOW, IT'S MORE KIND OF ORGANIZATIONAL LIKE YOU, LIKE YOU ALLUDE TO, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S PLENTY. I MEAN, I WOULDN'T, I, I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T TURN AWAY ANYONE WHO, UM, YOU KNOW, WAS INTERESTED IN, IN SERVING, UH, THE COMMUNITY IN THIS MATTER BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T NECESSARILY, YOU KNOW, KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, ALL THE ISSUES THAT WE, THAT COME UP. YEAH. I STILL DON'T KNOW A LOT ABOUT A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT COME UP, YOU KNOW, I'M THE FIRST TO SAY THAT. NO. YEAH, I, I'M HAPPY TO, TO DO EVERYTHING YOU TALKED ABOUT, AND I MEAN, ON OUR COMMISSION, I, I WAS REELECTED CHAIR, SO CONGRATULATIONS. UM, I'M ALSO COGNIZANT. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. UM, I'M COGNIZANT OF THE TIME DEMANDS, UM, BUT YEAH, I, I'M WITH YOU AND IT SOUNDS LIKE KIVA, WE, WE CAN ALIGN A LITTLE BIT MORE IF, UH, OTHER MEMBERS, UM, ARE IN SUPPORT. UM, AND YEAH, I'LL JUST CONTINUE TO ASK HOW I CAN BE IN SUPPORT OF YOU AND SHOULDERS SOME OF THE, THE WORK TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR EFFORTS ARE ON THE HIGHEST AND MOST VALUABLE. UM, AND I'M KIND OF DOING THE MORE ADMINISTRATIVE TYPE STUFF. SOUNDS LIKE WE'VE MAYBE GOT A, A POTENTIAL NOMINEE THEN. CAN I, CAN I NOMINATE AARON GONZALEZ FOR VICE CHAIR? YEAH. SECOND. OKAY. THANK, THANK YOU, ERIN, FOR BEING WILLING TO STEP UP. UM, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HAVE TO BE THE, LIKE, DEEPEST ISSUE AREA EXPERT TO TAKE ON, I THINK EITHER THE CHAIR OR VICE CHAIR ROLE. UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS FACILITATING, UM, OBVIOUSLY LIKE I'M DEEP IN THIS WORK, AND SO I'M ACTIVELY PUTTING THINGS ON THE AGENDA, BUT REALLY THAT'S, THAT'S UP TO THE WHOLE COMMITTEE TO BE DOING THAT. SO, UM, THANK YOU. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION, UH, BEFORE WE VOTE? WELCOME. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR OF AARON FOR VICE CHAIR. RAISE YOUR HAND, PLEASE. ALL RIGHT. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU, AARON. REALLY APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. OKAY, SO WE DO HAVE [5. Update regarding the status of updates to the City’s Urban Design Guidelines from the Design Commission – Jon Salinas, Design Commission. ] ONE COMMISSION UPDATE. THAT WAS YOU, RIGHT, JOHN? CORRECT? YEAH, YEAH. JUST A QUICK, DO YOU WANT ME, YEAH, SO LET'S, LET'S DO THAT BEFORE WE DIG INTO THE AUSTIN ENERGY [4. Recommendation regarding implementation of and options for generation in Austin Energy’s Resource Generation Plan. ] RESOLUTION, JUST SO WE, WE AREN'T LEAVING YOU TO THE VERY END. SURE. UM, IT'S JUST A QUICK UPDATE. UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE UPDATES TO DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR THE DESIGN COMMISSION FOR ABOUT TWO AND A HALF TO THREE YEARS. UM, IT'S ALL RECENTLY BEEN SCRAPPED AS THEY'RE HARD WIRING, THE, UM, THE GUIDELINES INTO CODE, UH, FOR THE SITE DEVELOPMENT PORTION. UH, SO BEEN WORKING WITH STAFF TO TRY TO INCORPORATE SOME OF THESE, UH, GUIDELINES INTO THEIR VERSION OF THE CODE. UH, THEY'VE WHITTLE WHITTLED IT DOWN TO LIKE 14, UH, GUIDELINES, WHICH WERE VERY VAGUE. SO THE WORKING GROUP HAS UPDATED, UPDATED THEIR GUIDE THEIR GUIDELINES INTO THESE 14 POINTS, UM, AND WORK. THEY'RE WORKING WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION RIGHT NOW TO GET THOSE ADOPTED OR TO GET THOSE, TO GET THE PLANNING COMMISSION SUPPORT. AND THEN, UM, THAT'S GONNA GO TO A VOTE HERE AT THE, UM, THINK ON THE 19TH. UM, SO [00:15:01] WE HAVE ONE MORE COMMISSION MEETING BEFORE THAT. AND SO WE'LL COME UP WITH OUR RECOMMENDATION THAT'S OFFICIAL THAT MATCHES THE, UH, PLANNING COMMISSIONS. AND THEN WE'LL SEE WHAT, WHERE IT LANDS. I THINK IT'S PRETTY OFFICIAL. WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES AS IT AS IT IS NOW. THAT'S ALL GOING TO BE BUILT INTO THE CODE. SO OUR, OUR OBJECTIVES ARE GONNA CHANGE AS A COMMISSION. WE'RE ONLY PROBABLY GONNA BE LOOKING AT CITY BUILDINGS, BOTH, UM, OCCUPIED AND UNOCCUPIED BUILDINGS. UM, WE'RE NO LONGER GONNA BE LOOKING AT, UH, THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROJECTS AND THE URBAN DESIGN ELEMENT OF THE, OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA OF THE CBD. SO IT'S A VERY UNFORTUNATE, BUT THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT WITH IT. UM, SO WE'LL, WE'LL SEE. I HAVEN'T, I HAVEN'T SEEN WHAT THE PLANNING COMMISSION CAME UP WITH, UH, YESTERDAY, UH, WHAT THEY'VE DECIDED ON, BUT, UH, KINDA LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHERE IT ALL LANDED. SO YEAH, THOSE ARE JUST A QUICK UPDATE. THANKS, JOHN. UM, YOU KNOW, AS, AS ALWAYS, IF YOU THINK THERE'S ANYTHING THAT THIS COMMISSION SHOULD, YOU KNOW, TAKE UP FOR CONSIDERATION, RELEVANT TO THAT, UM, YEAH, IT'S ALL BEEN MOVING REALLY QUICKLY. I APPRECIATE THAT. UM, IN OUR LAST, WE HAD A SPECIAL CALL MEETING EARLIER THIS MONTH, WHICH THEY SPELLED OUT OUR VERSION OF THE 14 POINTS. UM, BUT SINCE THEY HAD PLANNING COMMISSION, COMMISSION LAST NIGHT, IT WASN'T SETTLED YET. SO IT SHOULD BE SETTLED NOW. I JUST HAVE NOT SEEN, UH, WHAT'S COME OUTTA THAT YET. SO, UM, HOPEFULLY, HOPEFULLY WE'VE GOT SOME GOOD STUFF IN THERE TO SAVE SOME OF THE URBAN DESIGN, UM, APPROACH TO BUILDING DEVELOPMENT DOWNTOWN. BUT THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION? OKAY. SO WE'LL MOVE ON, UH, TO, WHAT ARE WE ON ITEM NUMBER FOUR? MY INTERNET WON'T WORK. YOU HAVE TO LOCK SIGN IN. YEAH, IT WON'T LET ME SIGN IN. IT WON'T POP UP THE THING. YES. ITEM FOUR. SO ITEM FOUR IS THE RESOLUTION, UH, THAT I SENT AROUND, AND I'M, I'M SORRY THAT I DIDN'T GET IT SENT AROUND SOONER, SO I WILL HAVE TO READ THE THING INTO THE RECORD IN, IN ITS ENTIRETY. UM, BUT I, I CAN READ FAST. HOPEFULLY Y'ALL DID HAVE A CHANCE TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT, BUT I THINK, UH, IF WE CAN BRING IT UP ON THE SCREEN, UH, WE CAN GET STARTED, UM, WITH DISCUSSION AND ANY THOUGHTS THAT FOLKS HAVE. UM, CERTAINLY HAPPY TO CHANGE THIS UP, INCORPORATE EDITS, WANNA MAKE IT, MAKE IT WORK FOR US. UM, WE'VE OBVIOUSLY, I THINK TAKEN MAYBE TWO, TWO OTHER ACTIONS RELATED TO I THINK, GUEST SPEAKERS OR GUESTS GENERATION IN THE PAST, UH, MORE DURING THE PLANNING PROCESS. BUT, UM, NOW THIS IS ACTUALLY GOING TO COUNCIL, AND I GUESS JUST FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST THE, THE BACKGROUND OF, YOU KNOW, WHY WE'RE COMING NOW IS, THIS IS ON THE MAY 21ST COUNCIL AGENDA. AND WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA IS VERY STRANGE. I'VE NEVER SEEN A REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION QUITE LIKE THIS ONE IN THAT IT, UM, THEY'RE REQUESTING AUTHORIZATION TO SPEND MONEY, BUT THERE IS NO AMOUNT LISTED AND THERE IS NO, UH, THERE'S NO COMPANIES LISTED BECAUSE IT, THEY HAVE NOT ACTUALLY GONE THROUGH THE COMPETITIVE PURCHASING PROCESS. THEY DO NOT HAVE AN ACTUAL CONTRACT THAT THEY'RE BRINGING FORWARD TO FINALIZE AND EXECUTE. THAT'S WHAT WE NORMALLY SEE FOR, FOR PURCHASES. UH, INSTEAD THEY'RE ASKING TO BE AUTHORIZED TO GO SPEND A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT THEY'RE NOT SAYING, UH, WHAT IT IS, BUT I THINK IT COULD BE AROUND A BILLION DOLLARS BASED ON THE 400 MEGAWATTS AND THE COST OF PEAKERS AT THIS TIME. UM, AND THEY WOULD GO AND FIGURE OUT WHAT CONTRACT THEY WANTED THROUGH SOME, UM, JUST KIND OF PRIVATE MEETINGS, AND THEN WOULD ACTUALLY FINALIZE THOSE CONTRACTS WITHOUT BRINGING THEM BACK TO THE CITY COUNCIL. SO THAT'S WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED. UM, SO THIS IS INTENDED AS A REACTION, UM, AND RECOMMENDATION ON THAT ITEM, WHICH IS ITEM SEVEN ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA. I HAVE A QUESTION. UM, I THINK YOU MENTIONED THAT IT'S ILLEGAL , THAT LIKE TEXAS STATE LAW REQUIRES, UH, MUNICIPALITIES TO USE COMPETITIVE PUR UH, PURCHASING FOR PURCHASES OVER $50,000. SO I, I GUESS THAT [00:20:01] I, I'M SAYING IS, OKAY, THIS RECOMMENDATION IS NEEDED, UH, BOTH TO MAKE A, A PUBLIC STATEMENT ON KIND OF HOW WE FEEL ABOUT THIS, BUT AS WELL, IT'S NEEDED BECAUSE THEY DID NOT SPECIFY A DOLLAR AMOUNT. THAT'S WHY SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS WARRANTED. SO I THINK YES, IT'S SPECIFYING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT, BUT IT'S ALSO, UM, YEAH, THE, THE PROCESS BY WHICH THEY'RE GOING TO EVEN, UM, I GUESS DETERMINE WHO, WHAT COMPANY, UH, IS GETTING THE CITY'S BUSINESS AND FOR WHAT PRODUCT. UM, ALL OF THAT IS UNDISCLOSED. SO, AND, AND THE, THE PROCESS IS, AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, UM, LESS OF A PROCESS AND MORE AUSTIN ENERGY GO IN AND HAVING PRIVATE MEETINGS, WHICH THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN HAVING WITH THESE COMPANIES, WHICH FOR ME, UH, IS A CONCERN IN AND OF ITSELF THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS ONE ENERGY SECTOR, IT SEEMS TO, UM, HAVE THIS SPECIAL ACCESS AND POTENTIALLY SOMEBODY'S GONNA GET A WHOLE LOT OF BUSINESS OUT OF IT. UM, WHEREAS AUSTIN ENERGY IS NOT PURSUING SOMETHING SIMILAR FOR, YOU KNOW, LONG DURATION BATTERY STORAGE, FOR EXAMPLE. UM, NOT THAT I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT SORT OF, UM, CLOSED DOOR PROCESS IS WHAT THEY SHOULD BE DOING FOR NECESSARILY FOR ANY RESOURCE. I THINK WE NEED TRANSPARENCY REGARDLESS OF WHAT'S BEING PURCHASED. I THINK RATE PAIRS DESERVE THAT TO KNOW WHAT OUR MONEY IS GOING TOWARDS. UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA ALL PAY THE BILL, ANYBODY WHO'S AN AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMER. BUT, UH, YEAH. CLAR CLARIFYING QUESTION. UM, I HEARD THAT THE PLAN WAS TO ALLOCATE CAPITAL FOR A DOWN PAYMENT ON A PEAKER PLANT ON A, A PEAKER, JUST THE, THE WHATEVER THEY, I MEAN, THEY'RE LIKE ENGINES BASICALLY. YEP. UM, THE TURBINES IS THAT, WHERE DID THAT INFORMATION, LIKE, I, I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER WHERE I'M HEARING THIS AT THIS POINT. SO I, I GUESS THIS IS LIKE, IS THIS TRUE? UM, IS, IS THAT THE INTENTION HERE? UM, IS THAT JUST LIKE THE RUMOR MILL GOING? IS THAT UNCONFIRMED? IS THAT SPECULATION? WELL, THERE WAS A POINT, UH, LATE LAST YEAR WHERE THAT WAS, THE CONVERSATION WAS, YOU KNOW, LET'S GET THE DOWN PAYMENT IN AND, UM, GET IN LINE. AND I ASSUME THAT WOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF, PART OF WHAT THEY WOULD DO. UM, AND, AND BY THE WAY, YOU KNOW, IF THEY WANNA GET, THEY'RE NOW, THEY HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT A FIVE YEAR WAIT TIME NOW THEY'VE STARTED TALKING ABOUT A THREE YEAR WAIT TIME. AND I'M PRETTY SURE THAT THAT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE YOU CAN PAY TO MOVE UP THE LINE, YOU KNOW, UM, TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS POTENTIALLY TO MOVE UP THE LINE. SO THERE'S A COST TO THAT. BUT YEAH, I DON'T KNOW, BECAUSE THERE'S, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, THE RCA THAT REQUESTS FOR COUNCIL ACTION, IT DOES NOT SPECIFY THERE'S A, A SHOCKING LACK OF INFORMATION. UM, SO YES. ARE THEY JUST, ARE THEY ASKING FOR, UM, AUTHORIZATION TO DO THE DOWN PAYMENT? ARE THEY ASKING FOR AUTHORIZATION FOR THE WHOLE AMOUNT? OF COURSE, IF YOU DO THE DOWN PAYMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S LIKE 10 TO 15%. UH, YOU START TO, YOU KNOW, I THINK BE, BE A LITTLE BIT LOCKED IN, YOU COULD BACK OUT, BUT THEN, THEN YOU'VE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY AND GOT NOTHING. SO, YEAH. HARD TO SAY. IF SO, FOLLOW UP QUESTION. IF IT, IF IT TURNS OUT THAT'S A, I MEAN, TO ME THAT SEEMS SOMEWHAT PREDICTABLE GIVEN JUST LIKE THE STATE OF THE ENERGY MARKET. IT'S LIKE, THIS IS A THING A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT. IF THIS IS TO GO TO COUNCIL AND SOMEONE FROM AUSTIN ENERGY COMES BACK AND SAYS LIKE, HEY, YES. LIKE, SORRY, WE WERE VAGUE. LIKE, WE DO INTEND THIS TO BE A DOWN PAYMENT ON SOMETHING THAT WE THINK THAT'S LIKE GO LONG LEAD TIME PURCHASING. CAN THEY DO THAT? LIKE, RIGHT. I DON'T KNOW IF THE QUESTION IS CLEAR, BUT YOU KNOW, IF THEY COME BACK AND THEY'RE LIKE, OOPS, SORRY, WE DIDN'T SPECIFY, LIKE THIS IS ACTUALLY OUR INTENT AND THAT HAPPENS LIVE, AND IT WASN'T SPECIFIED LIKE WHAT PROCEDURALLY HAPPENS. LIKE CAN THEY, CAN THEY JUST SORT OF ANNOUNCE THEIR INTENTION IN COUNCIL AND THEN PEOPLE WOULD BE LIKE, OH, OKAY. LIKE IN THAT CASE, LIKE, GOOD, GOOD, WE'RE GOOD TO GO. LIKE, I DIDN'T REALIZE YOU MEANT THAT NOW I'M CHANGING MY MIND AND I'M IN SUPPORT OF THIS. I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW. AND I, I, WHAT I DO KNOW IS THE AUSTIN ENERGY INTENDS TO HAVE, UM, AT LEAST THE VAST MAJORITY OF MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION AND EXECUTIVE SESSION, THEY DO NOT WANT THE PUBLIC TO HAVE ACCESS [00:25:01] TO THE INFORMATION. UM, THEY ARE CLAIMING THAT IT'S A COMPETITIVE MATTER. I THINK SOME OF US ARE HAVING TROUBLE ACCEPTING THAT, GIVEN THAT THERE ARE OTHER CONTRACTS THAT THEY BRING FORWARD ROUTINELY FOR WIND, SOLAR, AND MORE RECENTLY BATTERIES. THEY ALL LIST THE COMPANY AND THE PRICE AND DELIVERY DATES. WHAT, WHY ARE THOSE NOT COMPETITIVE AND GAS GENERATION IS, UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THEY'VE SAID IS THAT THEY WANNA DO AT ALL IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. SO I WOULD NOT EXPECT A LOT OF DETAIL TO BE REVEALED PUBLICLY. MAYBE THEY WOULD SAY SOMETHING ABOUT, WE'RE DOING A DOWN PAYMENT. NOW, THEY HAVE NOT SAID THAT SPECIFICALLY. UM, IT HAS SHIFTED A BIT, LIKE BACK IN THE PLANNING PROCESS, THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT TWO TO 300 MEGAWATTS OF PEAKERS. NOW THEY'RE SAYING THEY NEED FOUR TO 500, AND THEY'RE ASKING FOR, THEY WANNA DO 400 NOW, OR THEY WANNA GET AUTHORIZED TO GET IN LINE FOR 400. NOW, CHARLOTTE, THANK YOU, UH, FOR THE COMMENT ABOUT GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS SPECIFICS. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION COULD GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE, OR IS IT SOMETHING THEY'LL DISCUSS ONLY WITH COUNCIL IN EXECUTIVE SESSION? SO THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION COULD GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, BUT AUSTIN ENERGY, SO THEY ARE NOT GOING TO DO THAT WITH THE UC. SO, AND IT'S MAY 21ST THAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR THIS. YEAH. BLANK CHECK. SO YEAH, NEXT WEEK I A, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS. YEAH, PLEASE. UM, JUST TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THIS, AND I WAS ABLE TO ATTEND THE SESSION ON MONDAY WITH THE ELECTRIC UTILITY. ALL OF THIS JUST SOUNDS LIKE THERE ARE TOO MANY RED FLAGS FLYING AROUND. AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT THAT I'M NOT QUITE FOLLOWING, UM, HERE. WHAT, WHAT IS, WHAT POWER OR INFLUENCE DO WE HAVE AS A, AS A JSC, UM, FOR THE COUNCIL MEETING NEXT WEEK ON THE 21ST AND WE BRING THIS UP? IS THIS STILL A DONE DEAL OR IS THIS JUST US SAYING, HEY, WE THINK THIS IS WRONG, PLEASE SLOW DOWN, UM, AND GO BACK AND TAKE A LOOK. I THOUGHT YOU BROUGHT UP SOME REALLY RELEVANT QUESTIONS ON MONDAY TOO, AND I, I AGREE WITH THEM. I'M JUST WONDERING WHAT DO WE DO TO GET THEM TO PUMP THE BRAKES ON THIS BASICALLY? YEAH, GOOD QUESTIONS. UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ANOTHER ADVISORY BODY TO COUNCIL, OBVIOUSLY WITH A FOCUS ON CLIMATE. UM, SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S WHY DEFINITELY, UM, HIGHLIGHTED THE, THE RELEVANCE OF THE CLIMATE IMPACT HERE. AND SOME OF THIS Y'ALL MAY , UH, RECOGNIZE FROM SOME OF OUR PAST RESOLUTIONS RELATING TO AUSTIN ENERGY GENERATION. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE ARE SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO, YOU KNOW, ARE PROBABLY GONNA VOTE TO SUPPORT THIS NO MATTER WHAT, BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN PUSHING FOR, FOR THE GAS GENERATION. UM, BUT I THINK THERE ARE OTHERS WHO ARE NOT SURE AND ARE TAKING IN A VARIETY OF INPUT FROM THE PUBLIC. AND IT IS A VERY, YOU KNOW, ABNORMAL TYPE OF REQUEST. UM, NOT JUST BECAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, ADDING FOSSIL FUELS, WHICH ISN'T USUALLY WHAT THE, THE CITY IS DOING, BUT MORE SO JUST BECAUSE IT IS THIS KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, BIT OF A BLANK CHECK SORT OF REQUEST. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK WE'RE, YOU KNOW, ONE, ONE MORE VOICE. UM, WE'RE, WE'RE CERTAINLY NOT ALONE. THERE ARE A BUNCH OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE, UM, SPEAKING UP ON THIS AND I KNOW THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION IS GONNA TAKE IT UP AS WELL. I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT IT, I, I ALWAYS ENCOURAGE IF, IF WE DO PASS THIS AND FOLKS ARE IN SUPPORT OF WHAT WE PASS TO, YOU KNOW, IT, IT TAKES, IT THEN TAKES SOME KIND OF ELEVATING OF IT WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS. SO WE CAN ALL DO THAT AS WELL TO I GUESS BOOST THE IMPACT. THANK YOU. THAT'S, THAT'S CLARIFYING. THANKS ANNA. OH YEAH, THERE IS, I'M SORRY I CAN'T SEE THE WHOLE THING, BUT I WAS WONDERING IF, I KNOW THAT OUR FOLKS, FOLKS, DO YOU WANNA SCROLL DOWN? YEAH, SCROLL DOWN. CAN WE, YOU , [00:30:01] OH, CAN YOU SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE? CAN YOU LIKE DOUBLE CLICK BETWEEN THERE? SO IT, UH, CAN CONDENSES IF YOU DOUBLE CLICK RIGHT BETWEEN THE PAGES, BUT THIS WORKS TOO. WAS IT IN THE NUMBERS THAT YOU WANTED TO MAKE? A COMMENT I WAS LOOKING FOR IS FINANCIAL IMPACT, UM, AND I KNOW THAT WE'RE FOCUSED IN THE FACT THAT WE'RE JUST NOT MEETING OUR GOALS COMPENSATION. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUT TO FROM THAT LACK OF, UM, IS YOUR MIC YOUR MIC? YEAH, WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T HEAR FROM, OH, SORRY, , I WANT YOU TO START OVER. UM, FINANCIAL IMPACT AND I WANTED TO SEE IF MAYBE IT WASN'T THEREFORE, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S KIND OF A BIG ASPECT AS WELL. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, THAT SURPRISED ME ABOUT MONDAY, I DIDN'T STAY FOR THE WHOLE THING. I COULDN'T STAY FOR THE WHOLE THING, BUT THEY'RE JUST NOT MENTIONING THAT. AND THE FACT THAT THESE ARE ASSETS THAT WILL BE IN DECLINE ARE IN DECLINE AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE, AND THERE'S NO RISK ASSESSMENT FOR THAT. INVESTORS IN ENERGY ARE LOOKING AT THAT VERY CLOSELY BECAUSE IT'S A RISK AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON THAT. AND I WAS JUST WONDERING IF FOR OUR COMMISSION IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO, TO ADD, ADD A SECTION ABOUT FISCAL IMPACT AND RISK ASSESSMENT. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. UM, AND DEFINITELY THAT IS THE INTENTION. I THINK. CAN WE SCROLL DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE SO WE CAN SEE ALL THE NUMBER THERE UNDER THERE FOR, YEAH, THANK YOU. SO THE NUMBER FIVE IS DEFINITELY INTENDED TO GET AT THAT, BUT I THINK WE COULD, WE CAN ADJUST THE WORDING THERE. UM, BUT WE ALSO COULD ADD A, YOU KNOW, WHEREAS STATEMENT, UM, IF YOU WOULD LIKE AND IF YOU, IF YOU WANNA SUGGEST SOME WORDS I CAN, I CAN ADD THEM IN. UM, YEAH, I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE BIG PROBLEMS WITH THIS IS THE AUSTIN ENERGY HAS NOT BEEN ALL TRANSPARENT WITH THEIR PROJECTED FISCAL IMPACT FOR THIS. UM, AND YOU KNOW, IT IS OBVIOUSLY HUGE CAPITAL EXPENSE. AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, RELIANT ON A FUEL THAT EXPERIENCES QUITE A BIT OF PRICE VOLATILITY AS WE ARE, YOU KNOW, ACTIVELY SEEING. AND THAT IS GOING TO CONTINUE BECAUSE THE US IS NOW THE LEADING EXPORTER OF LNG LIQUIFIED NATURAL GAS. SO WHEN PRICES GO WAY UP, OTHER PARTS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD, WE'RE NO LONGER INSULATED FROM THAT. SO YEAH, IT COULD HAVE A, A NEGATIVE PRICE IMPACT. AND THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, SOME, UM, ENTITIES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF CALLING INTO QUESTION THE WISDOM OF SO MUCH BUILD OUT OF NATURAL GAS, UH, CAPACITY FOR THAT REASON THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. YEAH, THIS MIGHT NOT BE A GREAT FINANCIAL DECISION IN THE LONG TERM. JUST TO CLARIFY WHAT WE'RE PUTTING IN LANGUAGE GAS PRICES ARE ACTUALLY, NATURAL GAS PRICES HAVE ACTUALLY NOT SPIKED IN THE WAY THAT OIL PRICES HAVE, PARTICULARLY LOCALLY. BUT THE THING THAT'S SO WEIRD ABOUT THIS TO ME IS THAT WE ARE INTENDING THIS IS A LARGE CAPITAL INVESTMENT NOT TO SOLVE A GENERATION PROBLEM, BUT TO SOLVE A STATEWIDE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. AND I, I DON'T HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE WE THINK THESE VARIOUS TIMELINES ARE SUPPOSED TO, LIKE ADD UP, YOU KNOW, TO ME THAT'S THE THING THAT'S LIKE THE MOST STRANGE ABOUT THIS. CAN YOU ELABORATE WHAT YOU MEAN THE TIMELINES FOR? YEAH, SO LIKE HERE IN TEXAS WE HAVE A LOT OF CONGES AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND. LIKE WE HAVE A LOT OF CON WE HAVE GENERATION IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE STATE AND WE NEED WIRES TO GET THOSE ELECTRONS FROM POINT A TO POINT B. WE TEND TO HAVE A LOT OF ELECTRONS COMING OUT OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, DOWN BY CORPUS CHRISTI WHERE THERE'S A TON OF WIND. UM, AND THEN THERE'S LIKE SOLAR. BUT, BUT WE ALWAYS END UP WITH THESE LIKE TRAFFIC JAMS OF ELECTRONS AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND IT. UM, AND SO AUSTIN ENERGY, WHAT I GOT FROM TALKING WITH LISA MARTIN HERE, LIKE A YEAR PLUS AGO IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CHALLENGE IS AUSTIN IS A SMALL AREA AND SO LIKE HOW DO WE SOLVE THIS ISSUE THAT WE CAN'T TRANSPORT THE ELECTRONS FROM POINT A TO HERE TO B IN AUSTIN? UH, AND YOU KNOW, THE ANSWER IS, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD BUILD MORE TRANSMISSION LINES, UH, FROM THOSE PLACES THAT ARE GENERATING, BUT THAT OF COURSE FALLS IN THE HANDS OF, OF ERCOT THE, THE UTILITY FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, LIKE TEXAS HAS ITS OWN GRID. UM, AND SO THAT GETS SOLVED AT THE STATE LEVEL. AND SO WE CAN'T SOLVE THAT. AND SO THE SOLUTIONS THAT WE THEN NEED TO HAVE MORE GENERATION CAPACITY HERE FOR PEAK HOURS, WHICH IS KIND OF WHAT I UNDERSTAND, UM, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT OF LIKE A VERY LOCALLY SPECIFIC PROBLEM. AND SO I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IN, IN, IN FIGHTING THIS IS THAT WHEN YOU GO LIKE, TRY AND DO RESEARCH ON THIS, LIKE MOST [00:35:01] OTHER AREAS ARE NOT FACING THIS VERY, VERY SPECIFIC PROBLEM. HOWEVER, THIS PROBLEM IS ALSO NOT UNKNOWN. LIKE WE KNOW EVERYONE AT KNOWS EVERYONE WHO KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT LIKE TEXAS POWER, WHICH IS ADMITTEDLY A NICHE AUDIENCE, LIKE IS AWARE THAT THEY NEED TO BE BUILDING THESE WIRES AND I THINK THEY ALSO ARE BUILDING THE WIRES. YES. AND SO THAT'S THE MISMATCH TO ME IS THAT A TIME WHEN GAS PEAKERS ARE LIKE TOTALLY BACKLOGGED, NOBODY CAN GET THEM. IT'S NOT TOTALLY SURPRISING THAT THEY LIKE ARE TRYING TO RUSH IN LINE TO GET ONE TO ME, BUT LIKE IN A MOMENT IN WHICH NOBODY CAN GET THESE, I KIND OF FEEL LIKE I WOULD BET ON BUILDING OUT THOSE WIRES MORE SO THAN LIKE GETTING TO THE FRONT OF THE GAS PEAKER LINE. SORRY, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WAS A QUESTION, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S TO ME THE, THE THING THAT'S LIKE THE, THE SPECIFIC, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THAT'S A FISCAL IMPACT. SO, WHICH IS LIKE A FISCAL RISK. WELL, I THINK IT, IT IS, IT IS. BUT CERTAINLY GAS PRICES COULD ALSO SWING. RIGHT. AND YEAH, AND I MEAN I THINK THE, THE TRANSMISSION, UM, BUILD OUT HAS DEFINITELY BEEN A CONVERSATION THAT SOME OF US HAVE BEEN HAVING AT THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION. THERE IS, UH, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANT BUILD OUT HAPPENING IN ERCO AND THE AUSTIN ENERGY IS WORKING ON UPGRADING. ITS, UM, ITS TRANSMISSION TO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY LOCAL AND IMPORTANT FOR BEING ABLE TO BRING MORE ENERGY JUST INTO THE LOAD ZONE. SO THAT I THINK THE, THE LIKE MORE STATEWIDE INVESTMENTS WILL HELP BRING MORE OF THAT ENERGY, UM, FROM, FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE TO US AND ALSO RELIEVE SOME OF THE, UM, REGIONAL CONGESTION. AND THEN AUSTIN ENERGY'S, YOU KNOW, UPGRADES CAN HELP WITH THE, YOU KNOW, REALLY LOCALIZED, UM, CONSTRAINTS THAT, THAT KEEP THEM FROM EXPORTING FROM JUST OUTSIDE OF THE LOAD ZONE. UM, AND I KNOW THEY'VE, YOU KNOW, HAD RAN INTO SOME CHALLENGES WITH THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THEY ARE, THEY ARE CONTINUING TO MOVE FORWARD AND, AND NEED MORE OF THAT. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE FOR SURE. YOU KNOW, I THINK THEY HAVE POINTED TO THE NEED FOR ALSO ADDITIONAL LOCAL RESOURCES AND YEAH, I HAVE NO DISAGREEMENT WITH THAT. I THINK WHERE I DISAGREE IS, YOU KNOW, THE FIXATION AND KIND OF LIKE HAND SELECTING THE ONE OPTION FOR LOCAL RESOURCES THAT, YOU KNOW, TAKES US IN THE WRONG DIRECTION IN TERMS OF CLIMATE AND LOCAL AIR POLLUTION WHEN THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS AVAILABLE. YOU KNOW, LET'S, UM, THE, THE, THE STIPULATIONS IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN WERE INTENDED TO BE ABLE TO PUT ALL OF THE RESOURCES KIND OF UNEQUAL FOOTING AND EVALUATE THEM ALL FAIRLY. AND AUSTIN ENERGY DID DO AN ALL SOURCE RFP, UM, AND THEY DID GET RESPONSES, UH, FOR GAS PEAKERS, BUT WHAT THEY TOLD US IS THAT ALL OF THOSE PROPOSALS THAT THEY GOT IN RESPONSE TO THE RFP WERE NOT FAVORABLE. UM, BUT, AND I GUESS THAT WAS MOSTLY BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT FOR LIKE OWNERSHIP MODEL, THEY WERE MORE LIKE TOLLING AGREEMENTS. IT WAS KIND OF LIKE A RENTAL. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT REALLY JUST KIND OF CALLS INTO QUESTION LIKE IF THEY WEREN'T FAVORABLE THAN, THAN WHY, WHY IS THAT THE ONE RESOURCE THAT NOW, NOW THEY'RE GOING AFTER? UM, AS OPPOSED TO MAYBE THEY NEED TO REWRITE THAT RFP OR HAVE SOME OTHER PROCESS, BUT THAT STILL ALLOWS, YOU KNOW, A BROADER, I THINK, ARRAY OF RESOURCES AND SOLUTIONS TO, TO BE PROPOSED. IRIS, UM, YEAH, I SOME AARON YOU MIND INITIAL FEEDBACK? GO AHEAD. OKAY. HOW ABOUT AARON SINCE YOU HAVEN'T SPOKE AND THEN IRIS? YEAH, MY INITIAL FEEDBACK ON THAT TOO IS YOU'RE SAYING, HEY, WE'RE GONNA GET OURSELVES INVOLVED IN A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THAT SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT EXPIRES? DO WE THINK THAT THEY'RE JUST GOING TO, UH, GIVE, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT YOU SAID, OH, WELL WE DID NOT DO ENOUGH, UH, WORK WHEN WE SENT OUT RFP TO SEND IT TO ENOUGH VENDORS THAT WOULD PROVIDE A FAVORABLE RESPONSE. SO WE'RE LOCKED INTO ESSENTIALLY THIS CONTRACT WITH A SOLE SOURCE PROVIDER, AND THEN AT THE END OF THAT, WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO RE-UP WITH THAT SOLE SOURCE PROVIDER AND THEN THEY'LL HAVE A LOT OF NEGOTIATION LEVERAGE, UH, ON US BECAUSE WE DIDN'T DO THE GROUNDWORK. SO I THINK THAT PROCUREMENT WAS MY FIRST JOB OUTTA SCHOOL. AND SO THAT'S, UH, A REALLY BIG RED FLAG IF WE'RE GETTING INTO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. AND, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHO BROUGHT IT UP, BUT, UH, THEY BROUGHT UP A REALLY GOOD POINT TO WHERE YOU'RE SAYING, HEY, OKAY, IF THE GAS PEAKERS ARE TO RESPOND TO, UH, EMERGENCY EVENTS, UM, [00:40:01] LIKE EXTREME HEAT THAT USUALLY DOESN'T JUST AFFECT AUSTIN, THAT AFFECTS OUR A A REGION AND THAT WOULD DRIVE UP THE, THE COST OF A PARTICULAR RESOURCE, UM, ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION. AND SO, YEAH, I DO THINK THAT SOME SCENARIO MODELING THOSE COSTS, NOT, NOT JUST FOR THE CONTRACT THAT WE'RE ENTERING, BUT THE VARIABLE COST, THERE'S A LOT OF UNKNOWNS AT, AT A TIME WHEN WE'RE ALREADY IN A SENSITIVE FINANCIAL POSITION AS A CITY FOR US TO NOT HAVE THAT TRANSPARENCY WITH RESIDENTS. THAT'S A, A REALLY BIG PROBLEM THAT I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE SPEAKING UP ABOUT. I WANNA PASS IT TO YOU, IRIS, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE ONE CLARIFICATION. UM, AND THAT IS JUST THAT BECAUSE THIS IS WOULD BE A CONTRACT TO PURCHASE EQUIPMENT, I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK THERE WOULD BE LIKE A RE-UPPING OF THE CONTRACT. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THEY WOULD, ONCE THEY DELIVER THE EQUIPMENT, THEN IT WOULD, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S MORE LIKE PURCHASING A THING AS OPPOSED TO A SERVICE. UM, BUT UH, YOU KNOW, GOOD, GOOD POINTS. JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT THAT IS CLEAR. RIS, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT I THINK THAT THE WORD WE WERE LOOKING FOR WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT DISTRI DISTRIBUTION IS STRANDED ASSET RISK ASSESSMENT. UM, THERE ARE MULTIPLE FACTORS THAT, UM, THAT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT, INCLUDING THERE'S LESS, LESS DEMAND FOR IT. SO THESE THINGS, THIS INFRASTRUCTURE FOR IT IS LESS MAINTAINED. IT WILL INCREASE OUR COST IF WE ARE HOLDING THE LATEST AND GREATEST OF THE OLDEST TECHNOLOGY TYPE OF SITUATION. WOULD YOU LIKE THAT TO BE ADDED INTO NUMBER FIVE? ALRIGHT, CHARLOTTE, DID YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING? YEAH, I, I THINK IRIS MAKES A GREAT POINT. I WAS ACTUALLY LOOKING AT OFFERING A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO NUMBER FOUR THAT INCLUDES THAT LANGUAGE. SO, UM, BE FULLY TRANSPARENT WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE COST OF ANY AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCES AND THE FINANCIAL RISK ASSOCIATED WITH POTENTIAL STRANDED ASSETS. OKAY. THAT, DOES THAT SOUND GOOD? OKAY. AND THE APPROACH AND THE FINANCIAL RISK ASSOCIATED WITH ANY, WITH POTENTIAL STRANDED ASSETS. GREAT. SO I KNOW I I MADE, OH, SORRY. DO WE, OH NO, GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD ANNA. I'LL GO AFTER YOU. NO, NO. WELL, I JUST WANT TO LIKE, MOVE TO MAKE A MOTION TO ADOPT THAT AMENDMENT THAT I JUST READ. OKAY. WE'VE GOT A MOTION TO AMEND NUMBER FOUR TO ADD ACTUALLY. YEAH, WE'VE GOT A MOTION TO, TO AMEND NUMBER FOUR TO ADD AND THE POTENTIAL RISK ASSOCIATED WITH POTENTIAL STRANDED ASSETS AND THE FINANCIAL RISK ASSOCIATED OH YEAH. WITH POTENTIAL STRANDED ASSETS. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . AND THE FINANCIAL RISK ASSOCIATED WITH POTENTIAL STRANDED ASSETS. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I A SECOND. OKAY. WE'VE GOT A SECOND. UM, I GUESS WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL JUST DO A FORMAL VOTE. I DON'T KNOW IF WE REALLY NEED TO. YEAH. IS THERE ANY, IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO THAT? I CAN'T SEE EVERYBODY, SO THAT WILL BE EASIER WAY TO GO THROUGH THIS. I OKAY. I'M NOT HEARING OR SEEING AN OBJECTION. SO THAT IS ADOPTED, ALTHOUGH I, IT DO, IT DOES OCCUR TO ME THAT I DON'T THINK WE ACTUALLY HAVE A, A FORMAL MOTION TO ADOPT THIS ON THE TABLE. SO WHY DON'T WE DO THAT AND THEN WE CAN MOVE TO ADOPT THE RECOMMENDATION, THE MAIN RECOMMENDATION. OKAY. WE'VE GOT A MOTION SECOND AND A SECOND NOW. MOTION TO, UH, AMEND, UH, NUMBER FIVE AND THE THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, NUMBER FOUR. NUMBER FOUR, AND THE THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED TO ADD, UH, AND THE FINANCIAL RISK ASSOCIATED WITH POTENTIAL STRANDED ASSETS. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND ERIS, ARE YOU STILL SECONDING THAT? YES. OKAY, GREAT. AND ANY OBJECTIONS? I DON'T SEE ANY, SO WE'VE ADOPTED THAT AMENDMENT. OKAY. WHO IS GOING NEXT? ME DOULA. MEA. YES. THANK YOU. UM, THE OTHER THING I WAS THINKING OF IS, IS THERE A RISK THAT, I KNOW THERE'RE ASKING THIS TO BE A PEAKER TO BE USED ONLY IN, IN PEAK DEMAND TIMES, BUT DOES IT START OFF AS THAT AND THEN BECOMES, UH, EVENTUALLY BECOMES A MAIN ENERGY SOURCE FOR THEM IN THE FUTURE AND THEN COMPLETELY DERAILING [00:45:01] THE, UM, RENEWABLE ENERGY PLAN FOR 2035? OR DOES THE DEMAND FOR MORE PEAK OR PLANTS THAT BECOME MORE FOSSIL FUEL HAVE DEPENDENT, BECOME A THING WHEN THEY JUST START DIPPING INTO THIS OCCASIONALLY AND THEN IT BECOMES A, A PRIMARY SOURCE FOR ENERGY? YEAH, I MEAN, JUST, JUST TO BE CLEAR, UM, THE INTENTION IS NOT TO USE THIS ONLY IN QUOTE EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. OKAY. THEY WILL USE IT WHEN PRICES ARE HIGH MM-HMM . WHICH MEANS MM-HMM . MOST SUMMER AFTERNOONS AND YOU KNOW, ALSO COLD WINTER DAYS POTENTIALLY. UM, BUT YOU KNOW FOR SURE WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PRICING SUMMER AFTERNOONS, YOU KNOW, AIR CONDITIONING IS, IS PUMPING PRICES GO UP, THE PEAKERS WILL BE ON. SO IT WILL NOT BE A, LIKE ONCE IN A WHILE KIND OF THING. IT WILL BE MM-HMM . YOU KNOW, FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST, I WOULD EXPECT A DAILY THING FOR MULTIPLE HOURS. UM, UH, AND TO YOUR QUESTION OF, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH, WELL, UH, THERE ARE GUARDRAILS OF SORT, UM, IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE PLAN THAT BASICALLY CAP THE AMOUNT OF LOCAL, UH, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. UM, I ASK AT THE EUC MEETING ABOUT WHAT KIND OF HOURS OF OPERATION THEY MIGHT, UM, HAVE MODELED TO KEEP WITHIN THOSE LIMITS. AND THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO THAT. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT MEANS THEY HAVEN'T MODELED IT, DON'T PLAN TO, YOU KNOW, ABIDE BY THOSE GUIDELINES OR WHAT I, YOU KNOW, I, I, I JUST DON'T KNOW. BUT I DID NOT GET A CLEAR RESPONSE LIKE, OH YEAH, WE'LL BE ABLE TO RUN THIS, YOU KNOW, X HOURS A YEAR WITHOUT GOING OVER THE LIMIT. AND I THINK PART OF THAT IS THAT THERE ARE MULTIPLE PEAK GAS POWERED PEAKING TECHNOLOGIES THAT THEY ARE CONSIDERING. SO THEY DON'T ACTUALLY, UH, THIS IS, THIS IS THE OTHER PROBLEM WITH LIKE, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO DO AT LEAST TWO STEPS OF THE PROCESS AT ONCE, IS THEY DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW PRECISELY WHAT THEY'RE BUYING YET MM-HMM . AND, UH, SO THE EMISSIONS FACTORS WILL BE SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT FOR THE DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES AND THAT ANSWER WOULD CHANGE. UM, I DO HAVE A STRONG SUSPICION THOUGH THAT LIKE WHEN YOU'VE SPENT A BILLION DOLLARS ON SOMETHING, YOU'RE GONNA WANNA GET AS MUCH MONEY OUT OF IT AS POSSIBLE. MM-HMM . SO I DO HAVE CONCERN PERSONALLY THERE, ESPECIALLY KIND OF GIVEN THE LACK OF INFORMATION. THAT'S FAIR. THANK YOU. OKAY. ARIS, AND THEN ANNA, DOESN'T ERCOT HAVE FINAL SAY? DIDN'T THAT JUST HAPPEN IN SAN ANTONIO WHERE THEY CAN DEMAND THAT AUSTIN ENERGY KEEP RUNNING IT? UM, SO WHILE WE MIGHT HAVE SOME SAFEGUARDS WITHIN US LOCALLY, WE CAN'T HAVE THAT GUARANTEE WITH ERCOT, RIGHT? THAT CAN HAPPEN BOTH IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, IF A UTILITY WANTS TO RETIRE A UNIT, FOR SURE, ERCOT HAS TO APPROVE THAT AND THEY CAN, THEY CAN FORCE A POSTPONEMENT AT LEAST OF THAT WHILE OTHER RESOURCES ARE PUT IN IN PLACE. UM, AND YEAH, ALSO IF THINGS ARE REALLY TIGHT THEN, THEN THERE ARE DEFINITELY, UM, THERE ARE WAYS THAT THEY ALSO CAN MAKE SURE THAT ALL, ALL UNITS ARE OPERATING REGARDLESS OF ANY KIND OF LOCAL POLICY GUARDRAILS THAT MIGHT BE IN PLACE. SO, UM, AND, AND WE, YOU KNOW, HAVE SEEN THAT. SO YEAH, ONCE, ONCE THEY'RE, UM, ONCE THEY'RE OPERATIONAL AND INTERCONNECTED, THERE, THERE IS SOME CONTROL THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS AND THEN THERE'S, BUT IT IS CERTAINLY NOT COMPLETE. ANNA. YEAH, THANKS. I WAS JUST GONNA MAKE THE COMMENT, 'CAUSE I KNOW I ADDED SOME TEXT TO THIS LAST NIGHT THAT, UM, I THINK THIS IS GONNA KEEP REARING ITS HEAD ABSENT. LIKE I SAID, I THINK THE, THE STRATEGY HERE SHOULD BE, YOU KNOW, SPEAK UP LOUDLY AND, AND CHALLENGE AND ALSO MAYBE BE SPEAKING TO SOME OF THE LONG-TERM CHALLENGES THAT, THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS, IS PERCEIVING. UM, AND SO CERTAINLY MY CRITICISM OF THIS ANYTIME I ENGAGE IS I DON'T THINK THERE'S BEEN SOME TYPE OF DETAILED SCENARIO PLANNING WORK TO ASSESS LIKE, HEY, WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO GET AUSTIN ENERGY TO NET ZERO? LIKE, I, I JUST DON'T THINK THAT WORK'S BEEN DONE IN A REALLY SERIOUS WAY. IF IT HAS BEEN DONE, I DON'T KNOW, I HAVEN'T SEEN IT, UM, BOTTLENECKED SOMEWHERE ON SOMEBODY'S DESK OR SOMETHING. UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, IF IF INDEED THE BLOCKER IS TRANSMISSION IN TEXAS OR THE LACK OF A GUESS, YOU KNOW, LIKE THERE [00:50:01] SHOULD BE SOME SCENARIO MODELING THAT SHOULD LAY THAT OUT, UM, AND SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, WE WILL NEED LONG-TERM BATTERY STORAGE TO, TO TO, TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, LEVELIZED COST OF ENERGY THAT EX THAT THAT FALLS BELOW THIS AMOUNT IN ORDER FOR US TO RELY ON THAT. OR WE WILL NEED, YOU KNOW, TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVELS FOR, YOU KNOW, THIS TYPE OF BATTERIES TO EXCEED THIS, SUCH THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE FEEL COMFORTABLE PURCHASING IT. UM, AND, AND IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN, I, I THINK I MIGHT RERE REACT TO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE ALL THAT WORK AND THEN WE NEED A GAS PEAKER PLANT. I WOULD REACT TO THAT A LITTLE BIT, LIKE DIFFERENTLY. UH, I'M NOT SAYING IT WOULD NECESSARILY WIN ME OVER, BUT IT'S LIKE THE ABSENCE OF THAT WORK THAT MAKES ME THINK THAT THERE HASN'T BEEN THAT GOOD FAITH EFFORT. UM, AND THAT'S A, I'LL BE GENEROUS ABOUT GOOD FAITH BECAUSE I KNOW I'VE, I HAVE COLLEAGUES WHO KNOW MUCH MORE ABOUT ENERGY THAN I DO AND, AND THEY DON'T, YOU KNOW, I WOULDN'T, I WON'T REPEAT SOME OF THAT LANGUAGE, BUT MAYBE THE INSINUATION IS THAT PEOPLE HAVEN'T DONE A GOOD JOB. UM, AND SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN GET AHEAD ABOUT THIS IN THE FUTURE. SO WHAT I SUSPECT IF I WERE TO GUESS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN AT THIS CLOSED DOOR MEETING IS THEY'RE GONNA SAY, HEY, WE JUST WANNA PUT A DOWN PAYMENT ON THIS PEAKER PLANT, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY NEED IT. IT'S REALLY A SAFEGUARD. IT'S LIKE INSURANCE. LIKE THAT'S KIND OF THE LANGUAGE I, I THINK WILL HAPPEN. AND WHAT I WOULD COUNTER WITH IS LIKE, OKAY, GREAT, BUT LIKE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE OUR OTHER INSURANCE POLICY IS THAT BATTERY TECHNOLOGY GETS AS CHEAP AS WE THINK IT'S CHEAP, IT'S FALLING, YOU KNOW, AND SO LIKE IF YOU WANNA SPEND HALF A MILLION DOLLAR WHATEVER, THEY'RE GONNA TRY AND SPEND, LIKE IF YOU WANNA SPEND HALF A MILLION DOLLARS ON, ON BATTERY ON, SORRY, ON, ON GAS PEAKER DOWN PAYMENTS, LIKE CAN WE PLEASE ALSO FUND LIKE THE COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OF THE WHATEVER STUDY, LIKE TO DO THAT SCENARIO MODELING? UM, AND SO THAT'S, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE'S GONNA MAKE INTO THOSE SESSIONS, BUT IF SOMEONE COULD LIKE INSERT THAT AND BE READY, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S WHERE THIS DISCUSSION IS GOING TO GO IS THEY'RE GONNA SAY, WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT COMMITTED TO THESE BAD IMPACTS AND THIS GIVES US OPTIONALITY, BUT THE OPTIONALITY ONLY GOES IN ONE DIRECTION. SO THAT'S WHY I ADDED THAT LANGUAGE. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE IN SUPPORT OR NOT, BUT YEAH, I THINK I, I INCLUDED IT. YOU YOU DID INCLUDE IT. I JUST WANTED TO EMPHASIZE THE BULLY FUND DEVELOPMENT. THAT'S I DEVELOPMENT. YEAH. FOR ME THAT'S LIKE MORE IMPORTANT THAN HONESTLY ANYTHING ELSE. 'CAUSE I HAVE A FEELING WE'RE JUST GONNA BE BACK HERE IN A COUPLE MONTHS TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING OVER AGAIN. IF THERE'S NO REAL EFFORT THAT'S, THAT'S MADE AND I'LL THANK YOU FOR THAT. I TRIED TO FIND SOME EXAMPLES OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY DOING THIS IN OTHER UTILITIES. 'CAUSE I'M, I'M LIKE, I'M AWARE THAT THESE EFFORTS EXIST AND I'LL ADMIT THAT GENERALLY EVERY TIME I FOUND SOMEBODY WHO WAS DOING SOMETHING REALLY WELL, IT WAS PRECEDED BY A STATE LEVEL EFFORT, TO LIKE HAVE A LAW THAT WAS LIKE, YOU HAVE TO DO THIS. AND THEN LO AND BEHOLD PEOPLE ARE LIKE, OH, NOW WE HAVE TO DO THIS, LIKE, GUESS WE'LL GO DO OUR JOBS. YEAH. THAT HELPS TO HAVE SUPPORT AT THE STATE LEVEL. BUT, UM, THE INTERESTING THING IS THE, LIKE CERTAINLY IN SOME RESPECTS, LIKE THE ERCOT MARKET JUST FROM MARKET FORCES FOR EXAMPLE, HAS BEEN DELIVERING A LOT MORE BATTERY STORAGE THAN, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS. UM, SO, UM, IT, IT IS, IT IS NOT HOPELESS IN, IN ALL REGARDS, BUT YEAH, WE DON'T HAVE, WE DON'T HAVE MANDATES, THAT'S FOR SURE. UM, I AM LOOKING AT NUMBER SIX AND I SEE IT SAYS FULLY FROM THE DEVELOPMENT OF A, OF A ROBUST AND CARBON FREE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN THAT CAN ACHIEVE RELIABLE AND CARBON FREE ENERGY DELIVERY BY 2035. WOULD YOU BE OKAY WITH AMENDING THAT TO REMOVE THE AND CARBON THE FIRST AND CARBON FREE SINCE WE SAY THAT TWICE IN THE SENTENCE? SURE, YEAH. FREE. OKAY. SO I'M, I'M I GUESS MAKING THAT MOTION TO REMOVE AFTER ROBUST THE WORDS AND CARBON FREE. I THINK I PUT CARBON FREE IN THERE TWICE BECAUSE, UM, I DIDN'T WANNA SEND A, LIKE I DON'T WANT ANOTHER HYDROGEN GO ROUND. OH YEAH, NO, I MEAN I I THINK WE, I THINK WE NEED IT IN THERE. OKAY. SO ANY OBJECTION TO THAT CHANGE? OKAY, I'VE MADE THAT AMENDMENT AND UH, I DID ALSO ADD A, A HYPHEN BETWEEN CARBON AND FREE DOWN BELOW, UNLESS THERE'S OBJECTION. I MEAN, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT'S COME UP AT THAT EUC? WHAT, LIKE HAVING A PLAN FOR LIKE, HOW COULD WE DO THIS? YEAH. OH, IT'S COME UP, IT'S BEEN REQUESTED A LOT HAS NOT BEEN DELIVERED LIKE THERE IS YET TO BE LIKE FROM AUSTIN ENERGY OF JUST A STRAW MAN. LIKE HERE'S ONE WAY WE COULD ACHIEVE THIS. THAT IN ALL OF THIS HAS NEVER BEEN PRESENTED. IS THAT LIKE A FUNDING NEED OR LIKE I WILL SAY THOUGH, THERE WAS THE, ONE OF THE CONSULTANTS THAT THEY HAD DURING THE RESOURCE PLAN DID MODEL, I BELIEVE A CARBON FREE SCENARIO. I DON'T THINK, I DON'T KNOW IF AUSTIN ENERGY DETAILED [00:55:01] WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE IN THAT SCENARIO. UM, YEAH, I I SAW THAT WORK. SO WAS THE PROBLEM THERE WAS LIKE, THERE WERE TWO DIFFERENT, THERE WAS TWO DIFFERENT MODELS AND ONE MODEL DID SOME THINGS WELL AND THE OTHER DID OTHER THINGS WELL. AND THEN IT WAS, YEAH, IT, THERE THERE WAS SOME KIND OF INCONCLUSIVE RESULTS I GUESS THERE IN A WAY BECAUSE IT WASN'T, YOU KNOW, SO YES, MAYBE IT'S A BLENDING NEED, MAYBE SOMEBODY HAS A MODEL THAT CAN LIKE TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE DIFFERENT FACTORS. UM, CERTAINLY THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HOPING FOR, THAT THERE CAN BE SOME SORT OF MORE ROBUST ECONOMIC, UH, ANALYSIS. UM, AND ACTUALLY I'M LOOKING AT NUMBER FIVE AND I, I WANNA MAKE AN ADDITION TO THAT, BUT I'LL COME BACK TO THAT AFTER YOU'RE DONE WITH YOUR POINT. NO, I, I GENUINELY, I'M ASKING THE QUESTION OF LIKE, WHAT, WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO ACTUALLY GET THAT DONE? AND IF THE ANSWER IS LIKE, OKAY, WELL THERE'S NO POLITICAL WILL TO DO THAT COMING OUT, YOU KNOW, FROM YOUR CONVERSATIONS THEN, WELL, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S NO POLITICAL WILL. I THINK THERE'S COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO ABSOLUTELY WANNA SEE LIKE WHAT IS THE PATH? LIKE WHAT DO WE, YEAH. WHAT IS AUSTIN ENERGY'S BEST PROPOSAL FOR HOW TO, TO DO THIS? UM, I THINK PART OF THE CHALLENGE HAS BEEN SOME LIKE NEGATIVE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE CLEAN ENERGY RESOURCES THAT WE RAN INTO IN THE RESOURCE PLANNING PROCESS. WE DON'T HAVE ANY VISIBILITY AS TO WHAT THEIR ASSUMPTIONS ARE NOW. SO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE USING THE SAME ASSUMPTIONS OR NOT, BUT I KNOW THAT SOME OF US DEFINITELY HAD CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, PRETTY GLOOMY PROJECTIONS WHEN IT CAME TO LIKE BATTERY PRICES, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THAT DON'T SEEM TO BE PLAYING OUT IN REALITY. PRICES BEEN DROPPING A LOT AND THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, NOT ASSUMING THAT THAT SAME SORT OF DROP, UM, I DON'T, I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING INTO THE MODEL NOW BECAUSE NOW THEY'RE SAYING THEY, THEY WON'T SHARE THAT. OKAY. SO THERE'S A NEED FOR SOME TYPE OF ENERGY SYSTEMS MODELING THAT LIKE REALLY DOES TAKE A LOOK AT THIS. BUT LIKE, IT'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA COME FROM AE I THINK AE DEFINITELY HAS THE ABILITY TO DO A LOT OF MODELING. I I THINK THAT THIS THIRD PARTY POINT, HAVING A FRESH SET OF EYES THAT MIGHT, YOU KNOW, HAVE A DIFFERENT VIEW OF SOME OF THE ASSUMPTIONS AND DIFFERENT APPROACH WOULD BE VALUABLE. MAYBE WE DO ALL THAT AND THEY CONCUR THAT YEP, PEAKERS ARE THE ONLY WAY TO DO THIS. UM, BUT I I I, I DON'T THINK, I DON'T THINK THAT'S A FACT. I THINK THAT CLEARLY THE OTHER TECHNOLOGIES EXIST. I MEAN, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS, HAS ACTIVELY BEEN PROCURING SOME OF THEM . SO IT'S NOT THAT THEY DON'T EXIST, IT'S THAT THEY NEED TO BE SCALED UP. UM, BUT THAT'S OBVIOUSLY THE SAME WITH PEAKERS AND THE PEAKERS AREN'T GONNA BE HERE TOMORROW OR NEXT YEAR OR THE YEAR AFTER EITHER. SO ALL OF IT'S GONNA TAKE TIME AND INVESTMENT. UM, I CAN'T SEE EVERYBODY ONLINE, SO I THINK IF YOU PUT UP YOUR, LIKE YOUR RAISE THE HAND FUNCTION, IT WILL BOOST YOU UP IN THE LINE. SO IF, IF YOU'RE NOT ON, AND I KNOW YOU DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE ON THE SCREEN PROBABLY THAT WE CAN SEE, BUT, UM, JUST ENCOURAGING FOLKS TO DO THAT. IF YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING ON NUMBER FIVE, I DID INTEND TO INCLUDE AND WOULD, UM, LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO AMEND NUMBER FIVE TO ADD AFTER GAS PEAKERS, INCLUDING THE FINANCIAL IMPACTS OF THE ADDED GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND LOCAL AIR POLLUTION. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, I HEARD SEVERAL PEOPLE ASKING FOR IN THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS, UM, AND I THINK MAKES A LOT OF SENSE TO TAKE A MORE HOLISTIC APPROACH TO EVALUATING THE COST TO THE COMMUNITY. YOU KNOW, ELECTRIC BILLS ARE A PIECE OF THAT, BUT IF YOU DECREASE AN ELECTRIC BILL AND INCREASE YOUR HEALTHCARE COST, BE 'CAUSE YOUR KID HAS ASTHMA OR YOU'RE MISSING WORK OR WHATEVER, UM, NOT SURE WE HAVE A NET BENEFIT THERE. SO IS THERE, THANK YOU. I GOT A SECOND. ANY OBJECTION TO ADDING THOSE WORDS TO NUMBER FIVE? OKAY, SO AMENDED OTHER DISCUSSION. I KNOW THERE'S A LOT HERE. I HAVE A, I HAVE A NOTE. UM, I KNOW THAT WE MENTIONED LIKE AIR QUALITY IN THE FIRST PAGE, I THINK ON THE FIRST PAGE. UM, IF WE WANTED TO MAKE THAT STRONGER, WE CAN POINT TO THE FACT THAT, UM, THE RECENT, [01:00:01] UM, STATE OF THE ERROR REPORT BY THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION GAVE TRAVIS COUNTY AN F FOR OZONE POLLUTION, A D FOR SHORT TERM PARTICLE POLLUTION AND A FAILING GRADE FOR ANNUAL PARTICLE POLLUTION. HMM. I LOVE IT. I MEAN, I DON'T LOVE IT, BUT GOOD SUGGESTION. UM, I'M GONNA SUGGEST THAT MAYBE THAT, UM, GOES RIGHT AFTER THE WHERE AS THE, ABOUT METHANE. OKAY. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT? UH, I CAN'T SEE THAT PORTION, BUT LET ME PULL IT UP IN MY EMAIL. OKAY. YEAH, THAT, THAT'S INTERESTING, UH, THAT YOU SAID, UH, THAT RODEO, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT MORE, UH, JUST BECAUSE I KNOW TRAVIS HAS BEEN IN ATTAINMENT FOR, FOR ALL THE POLLUTANTS. SO, UH, YEAH. GIVEN THAT THEY RANKED THEM AS F NOW, I WONDER IF THAT MEANS THAT THEY'RE NOW IN NON-ATTAINMENT OR LIKE WHAT IS THE BASIS FOR FOR THAT? YEAH, I CAN SEND YOU THE LINK TO THE, TO THAT REPORT. IT JUST CAME OUT I THINK, UM, YEAH, CHRIS A FEW WEEKS AGO. AUSTIN HAS, I DON'T THINK, HAS NOT BEEN DESIGNATED NON-ATTAINMENT. HOWEVER, I THINK FOR BOTH OZONE AND PARTICULATE MATTER, UH, DEFINITELY I KNOW FOR OZONE AND I THINK ALSO FOR PARTICULATE MATTER, UM, THE REGION IS NO LONGER MEETING THE STANDARD, BUT IT TAKES AN ACTION BY THE EPA TO ACTUALLY DESIGNATE A REGION AS NON-ATTAINMENT. SO OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF POLITICS GOING ON THERE WITH THE WHAT'S LEFT OF THE EPA AND I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT DESIGNATION COMING SOON, BUT THE REALITY OF THE, UH, QUALITY OF THE AIR REMAINS TRUE. SO I'M GUESSING THE, THE STATE OF THE AIR REPORT IS, IS FOCUSING ON THE, ON THE NUMBERS AS OPPOSED TO THE DESIGNATION. MM-HMM . YEAH. OKAY. YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD POINT. . SO WHERE DID YOU SAY THAT, UM, THAT YOU'D SUGGEST ADDING THAT AS A WHEREAS? UM, SO ACTUALLY I GUESS THERE IS, THERE'S A, THERE'S A, WHEREAS THAT SAYS REDUCING AND ELIMINATING LOCAL AIR POLLUTION. SO WHY DON'T WE PUT IT RIGHT AFTER THAT AND, AND, AND WE COULD SAY, UM, WHEREAS THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION'S 2026 STATE OF THE AIR REPORT ASSIGNED TRAVIS COUNTY AN F GRADE FOR OZONE POLLUTION. HOLD, HOLD ON A SECOND. I'M NOT THAT FAST. SORRY. I CAN GO SLOW. THAT'S OKAY. I THE, WHERE IS THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION'S 2026 STATE OF THE AIR REPORT GIVES TRAVIS COUNTY OR ASSIGNS TRAVIS COUNTY AN F GRADE FOR OZONE POLLUTION. OKAY, HOLD ON. A D GRADE FOR SHORT TERM PARTICLE POLLUTION. SORRY, F WAS FOR WHAT? FOR OZONE POLLUTION. OKAY. A D GRADE FOR SHORT TERM PARTICLE POLLUTION FOR SHORT TERM MM-HMM . OKAY. AND A FAILING GRADE FOR ANNUAL PARTICLE POLLUTION. THAT'S A GREAT ADDITION. OKAY. SO I HAVE, WHEREAS THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION'S 2026 STATE OF THE AIR REPORT ASSIGNS TRAVIS COUNTY AND F GRADE FOR OZONE POLLUTION AD GRADE FOR SHORT TERM PARTICLE POLLUTION AND A FAILING GRADE FOR ANNUAL PARTICLE POLLUTION SEMI. AND DOES THAT SOUND GOOD? YEAH, THANK YOU. OKAY. DO YOU WANT A MOTION TO MAKE THAT AMENDMENT? I'LL, I'LL MAKE A MOTION. OKAY. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. I'LL SECOND. OKAY. ANY OBJECTION TO ADDING THAT WHEREAS STATEMENT? [01:05:01] OKAY. SO AMENDED. I HAVE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS. EVA, GO AHEAD. UH, SO I DO AGREE THAT I THINK LOOKING AT OTHER UTILITIES, UM, IF THERE'S ANY LITERATURE OUT THERE, GIVEN THAT WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE OF SOME OF THESE KIND MODELING INPUTS, UH, SITUATION THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS BEEN USING, BUT I WONDER IF THERE'S LIKE ANY SORT OF LIKE UTILITY, UH, STUDY OR LIKE LITERATURE, YOU KNOW, SHOWING THE SUCCESS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, BATTERY STORAGE WITH RENEWABLE BEING ABLE TO FULFILL YOU KNOW WHAT THESE PEAKER PLANTS ARE INTENDED TO DO. I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD TO KNOW. I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT TO DO WITH THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY, UH, SHOWING THAT TO A AUSTIN ENERGY, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S POSSIBLE OR SHOWING THAT TO A COUNCIL. UM, BUT I THINK THAT WILL BE, UH, USEFUL. UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING, IT'S A LITTLE BIT UNRELATED, BUT I HAVE, UH, SOME COMMENTS IN REGARDS TO THE ONE OF THE, WHEREAS STATEMENTS. UH, SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE WANNA GO A LITTLE BIT TO THE FIRST PAGE. THERE'S SOME, UM, YEAH. CAN WE, SOME COMMENTS STUFF? CAN WE SCROLL UP TO THE FIRST PAGE PLEASE? THANK YOU. YES. YEAH. SO, UH, A LI YEAH, A LITTLE BIT LOWER. YOU GO A LITTLE BIT LOWER. UH, YEAH, THERE, SO THAT'S KIND OF THE MIDDLE WHERE, WHERE IT SAYS METHANE. SO EVEN THOUGH I'M COMPLETELY SUPPORTIVE OF ALL, ALL THIS, I, I JUST WANT, SOME OF THIS CAN POTENTIALLY SOUND A LITTLE BIT MISLEADING. I JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT WHAT, WHAT YOU MEANT HERE. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT METHANE BEING THE PRIMARY COMPONENT OF NATURAL GAS, AND IT'S 86 TIMES MORE POTENT THAN, THAN A CARBON DIOXIDE. I THINK WHAT'S A LITTLE BIT MISLEADING THERE IS THAT MOST OF THE CARBON DIOXIDE WILL BE COMBUSTED AND THEREFORE, YOU KNOW, YOU WON'T GET THAT POTENCY. SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, ARE WE, ARE WE THINKING, ARE WE TOOK, ARE WE MAKING THIS CLAIM BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL NATURAL GAS LEAKS? OR WHAT WAS THE LOGIC BEHIND IT? YEAH, AND I THINK WE COULD DEFINITELY BE, WE COULD ADD CLARITY THERE, I THINK BEFORE OR, OR RIGHT AFTER, UM, RIGHT. MAYBE RIGHT AFTER THE, THE WORD WITCH THERE. UM, MAYBE, WHICH IS A, WHICH IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE OF, UM, HIGH LEAKAGE RATES, PARTICULARLY IN TEXAS NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION ARE LEAKAGE RATES AND LEAKAGE AND FLARING RATES ARE PARTICULARLY HIGH. AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING THERE. CHARLOTTE? DO, UH, I, NO, I THINK YOU'VE GOT IT. I, I JUST HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE MULTIPLIER. I, I HAD NOT SEEN, I, THE LAST MULTIPLIER I SAW WAS LIKE 30. SO, YEAH, AND I THINK WE COULD CLARIFY HERE TOO, THAT THAT'S, UH, THIS IS ON A 20 YEAR BASIS AND YEAH, IF YOU GO BACK MAYBE 10, 10 YEARS FOR SURE, YOU WILL SEE A LOT MORE REFERENCE TO THE A HUNDRED YEAR NUMBER BECAUSE THERE WAS, UH, I GUESS KIND OF MORE HOPE THAT WE WOULD GET OUR OVERALL EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS, UH, UNDER CONTROL. UM, YOU KNOW, GLOBALLY THERE'S BEEN MUCH MORE SHIFT TOWARDS LOOKING AT THE 20 YEAR IMPACT BECAUSE OF THE ACTIVE CLIMATE IMPACTS THAT WE'RE ALREADY FEELING, TIPPING POINTS THAT ARE SOME OF WHICH PROBABLY ALREADY REACHED. SO THE 20 YEAR HORIZON HAS BECOME MORE IMPORTANT. I MEAN, RELATIVELY MORE IMPORTANT THAN IT WAS 10, 15, 20 YEARS AGO BECAUSE WE COLLECTIVELY DID NOT DO THE THINGS WE NEEDED TO DO TO AVOID THIS MOMENT. UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY THAT NUMBER IS IN THERE. AND I THINK I COULD ADD SOME WORDS TO SAY, YOU KNOW, ON A 20 YEAR, UH, TIMELINE THERE, AND THEN ALSO THE, WHICH IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE OF HIGH LEAKAGE RATES IN TEXAS NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION. WOULD THAT YEAH. ADDRESS BOTH OF THOSE COMMENTS? YEAH, I, I ACTUALLY HAD THAT, UH, I WAS GONNA SUGGEST ADDING THAT ABOUT THE 20 YEAR TIME HORIZON TO, TO BE SPECIFIC. UM, THERE, SO, AND, AND THEN I THINK I WOULD WORD IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. UH, SO I WOULD SAY, UH, LEMME SEE. SO I WOULD SAY, 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW IT HAS 86 TIMES THE GLOW WARMING [01:10:01] POTENTIAL, SO I THINK I WOULD WORD IT, UH, HAS 86 TIMES MORE GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL THAN CARBON DIOXIDE. OKAY. UH, SO YEAH, JUST ADDING THE, THE MORE BETWEEN TIMES THAN GLOBAL AND THEN, UH, YEAH, AFTER CARBON DIOXIDE OVER A SAYING OVER A 20 YEAR PERIOD. OKAY. GIMME JUST ONE SECOND. UH, TO ADD THE OTHER PIECE ABOUT THE LEAKAGE. YEP. I, I ACTUALLY KIND OF THINK THAT THIS, WHEREAS WOULD BE STRONGER IF WE REMOVED THE NATURAL GAS ALSO RELEASES CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS WHEN COMBUSTED LIKE THAT IS TRUE. BUT I THINK KIND OF MUDDIES THE STATEMENT MM-HMM . YEAH. UM, YEAH, YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT. SO HERE'S WHAT I, I'M JUST GONNA READ THE WHOLE, WHEREAS 'CAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW CHANGES. SO IT NOW SAYS, WHEREAS METHANE, THE PRIMARY COMPONENT OF NATURAL GAS HAS 86 TIMES MORE GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL THAN CARBON DIOXIDE OVER A 20 YEAR TIME HORIZON WHEN EMITTED DIRECTLY INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, WHICH IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF HIGH LEAKAGE RATES IN THE TEXAS NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION SYSTEM. GOOD FOR ME. OKAY. I'M GONNA MOTION THAT WE, UH, I GUESS ADOPT THAT LANGUAGE IN LIEU OF THE LANGUAGE THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY THERE FOR THAT, WHEREAS ANY OBJECTION. OKAY. WE'VE MADE THAT CHANGE. ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS? THESE HAVE BEEN REALLY HELPFUL EDITS. THANK YOU. THE, THE FINAL SUGGESTION I WOULD MAKE, IT'S ALL THE WAY ON THE, UH, AT THE END. SO IT'S A NUMBER SEVEN OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS. IF WE CAN SCROLL DOWN TO THE SECOND, THE END OF THE SECOND PAGE. YEAH. NUMBER NUMBER SEVEN. YEAH. AND THIS ONE, I DON'T KNOW, I'M KIND OF LIKE OPEN TO PEOPLE'S THOUGHTS, BUT SOUNDED A LITTLE BIT, UH, SOMEWHAT KIND OF VAGUE. THE, THE, THE START OF THE SENTENCE MAY MAKE EVERY POSSIBLE EFFORT TO IMPLEMENT ZERO EMISSION TECHNOLOGIES. UH, SO I WONDER IF WE SHOULD CHANGE THAT TO PRIORITIZE, JUST SO TO MAKE IT SOUND CLEANER, BUT THAT'S MORE, MORE OF A KIND OF OPEN DISCUSSION MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. SO INSTEAD OF MAKE EVERY POSSIBLE EFFORT TO IMPLEMENT, JUST PRIORITIZE IMPLEMENTING. YEAH, EXACTLY. I'M, I'M FINE WITH THAT. ANY OBJECTION TO THAT CHANGE? OKAY. SO ADOPTED. ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS? I HAVE A QUESTION. I HAVE A QUESTION ON THE, UM, WHEREAS CLAUSE THAT STARTS, WHEREAS THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN STATES, UM, THIS, THE, THE REST OF THIS THAT'S IN QUOTES IS, IS THAT, UH, LITERALLY LIFTED FROM THE APPROVED [01:15:01] GEN PLAN THAT WAS A ADOPTED IN DECEMBER, 2024? YES. OKAY. UM, THE REASON I'M ASKING IS BECAUSE I, I KEEP HEARING, UM, THE COO OF AUSTIN ENERGY TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE CARBON FREE BY 2035, MEANING A HUNDRED PERCENT CARBON FREE AS A PERCENT OF LOAD AND NOT ACTUALLY REALLY EVER INTENDING TO BE A HUNDRED PERCENT CARBON FREE. AND SO, YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS, THIS HERE IS, YES, I WOULD WANT TO BE A HUNDRED PERCENT CARBON FREE. UM, AND I'M JUST LIKE ANTICIPATING WHAT THE UTILITY IS GOING TO TO COUNTER WITH THAT. UM, YEAH. AND, AND HOW THAT IMPACTS WHAT WE WANT TO, TO URGE COUNSEL TO, TO DO ABOUT THAT PLAN THAT THEY DID APPROVE. YEAH. SO THIS, THIS HAS, THIS HAS, UM, BEEN ONE OF THOSE CONTENTIOUS LITTLE, UM, WORDING ISSUES SINCE THE PLAN WAS UP FOR CONSIDERATION. THE PREVIOUS PLAN WAS PRETTY UNEQUIVOCAL THAT THERE WERE TO BE NO MORE ADDITION OF FOSSIL FUELS AND THAT IT WAS ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS BY 2035. AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, CHANGED THE LANGUAGE TO HAVE THIS PERCENTAGE AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD. UM, A NUMBER OF US WERE CURRENT CONCERNED ABOUT THE CHANGE IN LANGUAGE AT THAT TIME, RAISED IT WITH CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER ACTUALLY ASKED ABOUT IT AT THE WORK SESSION PRECEDING ADOPTION OF THE PLAN. UM, AND, AND, UH, LISA MARTIN MADE THE RESPONSE, AND I'VE WENT BACK AND, AND VISITED THIS JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT I WASN'T, YOU KNOW, MISREMEMBERING. AND THERE'S, THERE'S A TWO TWO MINUTE CLIP THAT I CAN SEND AROUND. I SHOULD HAVE, SHOULD HAVE SENT IT IN ADVANCE, BUT SHE DOES A BIT OF HEMMING AND HAY AND, UM, THEN IN THE END SAYS THAT THEIR INTENTION WITH CHANGING THE LANGUAGE WAS NOT TO BACK OFF OF THE COMMITMENT, BUT RATHER TO ENSURE THAT AUSTIN ENERGY WAS COVERING ALL OF LOAD WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY AND NOT UNDER-PRODUCING, WHICH THEY HAVE TRADITIONALLY UNDER PRODUCED TO A CERTAIN EXTENT. AND THAT, AND SHE SPECIFICALLY STATES THAT THE GOAL APPLIES TO BOTH SUPPLY AND DEMAND BECAUSE OF THAT RESPONSE COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER DID NOT OFFER AN AMENDMENT TO THE LANGUAGE IN THE PLAN BECAUSE SHE WAS SATISFIED THAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO COVER BOTH. NOW, OBVIOUSLY, THERE IS A REVERSAL BY THE SAME AUSTIN ENERGY EXECUTIVE ON WHAT THOSE WORDS MEAN, WHAT, WHAT DO THEY MEAN NOW? SO AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD, UM, IF YOU, YOU KNOW, WANT TO HAVE FLEXIBILITY AND ARE LOOKING FOR A WAY TO USE THE WORDS TO ACHIEVE THAT, UH, COULD MEAN THAT AUSTIN ENERGY PROCURES OR OWNS, CONTROLS ENOUGH RENEWABLE ENERGY TO MEET THE DEMAND OF ALL OF ITS CUSTOMERS, AND THEN OVERPRODUCES USING FOSSIL FUELS AS A MONEY MAKING STRATEGY MM-HMM . UM, AND IN THAT SCENARIO, THEY WOULD BE, THEY WOULD HAVE THEIR LOAD COVERED, BUT THEIR GENERATION WOULD NOT NECESSARILY BE CARBON FREE. AND IN FACT, THERE COULD BE A SCENARIO WHERE THEY COULD VASTLY OVERPRODUCE USING FOSSIL FUELS. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, STILL STILL CLAIM THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S SOME SORT OF CARBON FREE, I PERSONALLY DO NOT THINK THAT IS A CARBON FREE GOAL , UM MM-HMM . BUT THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S THE CRUX OF IT, IS CAN THEY STILL HAVE CARBON, CARBON EMITTING RESOURCES AND CLAIM TO BE CARBON FREE BECAUSE OF THIS PERCENTAGE AS A PERCENTAGE OF LOAD LANGUAGE? UM, WHICH I AGREE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN CERTAINLY READ IT THAT WAY, BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALSO SOMETHING CALLED LEGISLATIVE INTENT FOR ANYBODY WHO, YOU KNOW, DOES WORK AT THE CAPITAL THAT'S, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT COMES UP A LOT AND ASKING QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, DIRECTLY PROCEEDING ADOPTION OF ANY POLICY AND GETTING A RESPONSE, UM, IS INTENDED TO GET EVERYBODY ON THE SAME PAGE FOR WHAT THE WORDS MEAN, BECAUSE WORDS CAN OFTEN BE INTERPRETED IN DIFFERENT WAYS YEARS LATER. UM, [01:20:01] SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, FOR ME IT'S IMPORTANT TO GO BACK TO WHAT WAS THE INTENTION, WHAT WAS THE, UM, YOU KNOW, STATED COMMITMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE POLICYMAKER'S DIRECT QUESTION ON THIS ISSUE. AND THE DIRECT ANSWER WAS THAT IT APPLIED TO BOTH SUPPLY AND DEMAND. IT'S ALSO SO STRANGE TO ME THAT SOMEONE GENUINELY THINKS THAT IN 30 YEARS, A GAS PEAKER'S GONNA BE ECONOMICALLY COMPETITIVE AMONGST BATTERY STORAGE AT LIKE 6:00 PM IN AUGUST. MM-HMM . I, THE THING IS, IS THEY HAVE A CAPTIVE RATE BASE, SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ECONOMIC BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA PAY FOR IT EITHER WAY, PAYERS, RIGHT, RIGHT. IF THEY WERE COMPETITIVE UTILITY, THEN UM, THEY WOULD, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THEY, THEY WOULDN'T MAKE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, I AM NOT SAYING THAT THAT'S, THAT'S THE ONLY REASON THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO THIS, BUT THAT IS WE ARE THE ONES ACTUALLY TAKING THE RISK. YEAH. I MEAN, ON THAT NOTE, I'M WONDERING IF THAT ARGUMENT DOESN'T DESERVE SOME PROMINENT CONSIDERATION AT THE TOP OF THIS RECOMMENDATION IN THE, WHEREAS, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT SAYS KIND OF WHAT YOU JUST SAID, RATE PAYERS ARE, WILL BE, YOU KNOW, FOOTING THE BILL FOR THIS. THERE'S POTENTIAL FOR STRANDED ASSETS, THIS, UM, AN ASTRONOMICAL EXPENSE. WE DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH IT IS, BUT WE'RE GONNA PAY FOR IT. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY PUTTING THE, UM, BE IT RESOLVED RECOMMENDATIONS, MAYBE ELEVATING THE FINANCIAL RISK ITEMS UP TO THE TOP. BECAUSE I DO KNOW THAT THERE IS A LOT OF CONCERN, UM, WITH OUR, OUR COUNCIL AROUND AFFORDABILITY. AND THIS ABSOLUTELY AFFECTS, WILL AFFECT AFFORDABILITY BECAUSE IT'S GONNA AFFECT ENERGY BILLS. UM, SO THAT WOULD BE, I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GREAT POINT IS THAT I, I FEAR WHEN THIS GOES TO COUNCIL THIS GO, AND I'VE MADE THIS POINT BEFORE, LIKE THIS SEEMS TO GO DOWN WHERE LIKE IF YOU'RE SITTING ON THE DAES, YOU'RE LOOKING OUT AND YOU'RE LIKE, OKAY, I'VE GOT AUSTIN ENERGY WEARING SUITS, I'VE GOT THE ADVOCATES AND LIKE T-SHIRTS AND LIKE EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT CARBON. AND I FEEL LIKE IT'S MISSING THIS KEY THING, WHICH IS LIKE, THIS IS ACTUALLY A LOT ABOUT INNOVATION AND NUMBERS. AND, AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT'S LIKE THE ONLY, BUT LIKE IN THIS CASE, IT, IT IS LIKE THE NUMBERS I THINK ARE ON OUR SIDE. UM, AND SO IT'S, YEAH, I THINK MAKING THAT POINT AND CLARIFYING LIKE, NO, NO, IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE BACKING AWAY FROM CARBON BEING IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, OF THE TIMES IN THIS CASE, THIS ACTUALLY IS A SHORT TERM DECISION THAT I THINK SOMEBODY'S MAKING TO COVER THEIR BUTT IN THE EVENT THAT THERE IS A BROWNOUT DURING A HEAT WAVE. AND THAT LIKE, THEY'RE GONNA GET THE BLAME FOR IT BECAUSE OF A STATEWIDE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. AND LIKE THEY'RE GONNA GET THE FALL, BUT THEN THE BACKEND 25 YEARS OF THAT FALL ON EVERYONE ELSE. YEAH. OKAY. SO I'M, I'M, I'M DONE. SORRY, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS A CONSTRUCTIVE ONE. I'LL DO JUST SAY I AGREE WITH CHARLOTTE. YEAH. SO WHICH ITEMS WOULD YOU LIKE TO MOVE TO THE TOP? WELL, I, I THINK, OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL STATEMENT AT THE TOP? UM, WELL, I WOULD SAY WHERE HAS THE LEVELIZED COST OF ENERGY FOR BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE , LIKE, IS LOW IN DROPPING. AND I CAN, I DUNNO, SOMEONE CAN FIND A, I DON'T KNOW, ONE OF THE, CHRIS RODRIGO CAN MAYBE WORDSMITH THAT LIVE. THERE'S, THERE'S OTHER BRAVE PEOPLE ON THIS CALL WHO CAN ALSO WORDSMITH. I JUST, I FEEL LIKE THOSE, THOSE TWO WOULD DO THIS JUSTICE SHOULD I FEEL LIKE THE, THE FIRST WHEREAS, UM, KIND OF ESTABLISHES OUR, OUR PURVIEW OVER THIS. SO I'D SORT OF LIKE TO, UM, KEEP THAT ONE FIRST, BUT THEN MAYBE MAKE THIS NEW STATEMENT NUMBER TWO. DOES THAT WORK? IT'S FINE. YEAH, IT'S FINE. OKAY. THAT'S FINE WITH ME. AND UM, DIDI, YOU, YOU HAD SOME WORDS, IT SOUNDED LIKE I HAD SOME WORDS, BUT I DON'T , GIMME SOME WORDS. WE'LL MAKE IT INTO A SENTENCE. OKAY. UM, SOMETHING TO DO. WHEREAS THE, YOU KNOW, THE RATE PAYERS OF, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS ARE, UM, AND WHAT DID YOU HAVE CAPTIVE RATE PAYERS WHO WILL BEAR THE FINANCIAL COST OF THE CAPITAL INVESTMENTS MADE THE LONG-TERM CAPITAL INVESTMENTS MADE? UH, LIKE FOR GENERATION, [01:25:04] I, I WOULD SAY MAYBE EVEN THROW A BRUNT IN THERE. 'CAUSE COST IS LIKE, OH, WELL YOU GOTTA PAY COST. BUT IT'S LIKE, NO, THIS IS, THIS IS A NEGATIVE COST. UH, CAN YOU SAY, SAY THAT AGAIN? CAN YOU SAY THAT AGAIN? UH, USING THE WORD LIKE FINANCIAL BRUNT THE FINANCIAL RISK OR YEAH, JUST SOMETHING. 'CAUSE 'CAUSE COST, YOU CAN SAY, OH, WELL, YOU KNOW, PROGRESS HAS A COST, RIGHT? SO IT'S LIKE, YEAH, THEY WILL, BUT IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, YOU'D HAVE TO HIT 'EM. I FEEL LIKE WITH THE, TO ANNE'S POINT ABOUT LIKE HITTING HIM WITH THE BOONDOGGLE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S WORRIED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LACK OF FEDERAL FUNDING, MEANING THAT THE CITY BUDGET'S GOING DOWN ALONG WITH, YOU KNOW, REDUCED SALES TAX INCOME OR REVENUE. SO I FEEL LIKE FROM A CITY COUNCIL PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, FINANCES ARE WHAT PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT. I MEAN, JUST LOOK AT ALL THE TALK ABOUT THE I 35 CAPS, RIGHT? SO IT'S A HOT TOPIC. SO HOW ABOUT WHEREAS IT IS AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS WHO WILL BEAR THE FINANCIAL RISK OF ANY CAPITAL INVESTMENTS THAT BECOME STRANDED ASSETS. DOES THAT GET WHERE YOU'RE TRYING TO GO? YES. AND I THINK THERE'S MORE TO IT, RIGHT? I THINK YOU SAID IT. UM, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU MAKE IT INTO A, UM, IN A WHEREAS CLAUSE, BUT LIKE THE LIKELIHOOD THAT THIS IS GONNA BE A GOOD IN INVESTMENT IN 20 YEARS, 25 YEARS, MAYBE JUST SAY, OR ARE OR BECOME UNECONOMIC, UM, OF INVESTMENTS THAT BECOME STRANDED ASSETS OR OF INVESTMENTS THAT BECOME STRANDED AT ASME AS BECOME STRANDED ASSETS OR BECOME LIKE ECONOMICALLY ECONOMIC LIABILITIES, LILIA LIABILITIES, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I FEEL LIKE IRIS HAS SOME GOOD WORDS. YEAH. UH, THERE CURRENTLY IN ECONOMIC FINANCIAL DECLINE, THEY'RE A HIGH RISK INVESTMENT. UM, IT'S NOT BECOMING, IT IS . MM-HMM . I WOULD JUST BE A LITTLE BIT CAREFUL WITH THAT ARGUMENT BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA COUNTER THAT THIS IS SPECIFICALLY FOR THOSE SHOULDER PERIODS WHEN THE ENERGY PRICES ARE ARE PRETTY HIGH. SO I WOULD, BUT IT'S AN ENTIRE ASSET BEING PURCHASED FOR THAT SMALL INCIDENTS WHERE THE POWER PRICES IN AN UNREGULATED MARKET ARE GOING. RIGHT? SO, SO THAT SMALL INCIDENTS FOR THIS PRICE AND RISK, I THINK WE COULD TAKE A LOOK AT LIKE WISCONSIN FOR EXAMPLE, AND OTHER UTILITIES THAT ARE, HAVE, HAVE NOW HAD TO MAKE UP FOR PAST MISTAKES IN THEIR INVESTMENT. BUT I DON'T THINK THAT INVESTMENTS, UM, INVESTORS WOULD BE ASSESSING RISK IF IT ISN'T IN DECLINE. IT IS. I WOULD JUST BE A LITTLE BIT, I I AGREE DIRECTIONALLY, TOTALLY WITH WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND I'M, I THINK I'M NITPICKING WITH LIKE APPLES AND ORANGES IN TERMS OF LIKE THAT'S ABSOLUTELY TRUE FOR BASE LOAD. THE ONLY REASON I THINK THIS ACTUALLY MATTERS IS BECAUSE I THINK WHEN WE START TO ENGAGE IN THIS DISCUSSION, MAKING SURE WE MATCH THEM ON LIKE THE SPECIFICS OF THE TECHNOLOGY IN THE MARKET ARE REALLY IMPORTANT. AND SO WHEN WE START COMPARING LIKE TEXAS AS A MARKET TO SOME OF THESE OTHER STATES, WHICH HAVE DIFFERENT ENERGY NEEDS, HAVE DIFFERENT PRICING STRUCTURES, WE'RE COMPARING, LIKE I'M SAYING, WE'RE COMPARING APPLES AND ORANGES. AND SO I THINK, I'M NOT SAYING MENTION WISCONSIN, BUT I AM SAYING SAY THAT IT IS IN DECLINE. THE, THE NEED WE ARE, THE GLOBAL ECONOMY IS MOVING TOWARDS ZERO CARBON. IT'S HOW WE ARE MOVING IT IS. SO BECAUSE THAT IS THE DIRECTION THEN FOSSIL FUELS WILL, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME, EVEN IF WE DIDN'T, BECAUSE THEY WILL CEASE TO EXIST THEIR NEED, THE, THE DEMAND FOR IT WILL DECLINE. I DUNNO. NO, NO, NO. , I TOTALLY LIKE, DIRECTIONALLY, I'M, I'M TOTALLY THERE WITH YOU. AND I WOULD SAY, LIKE IF, YEAH, I THINK SOMETIMES IN THESE DISCUSSIONS WE JUST KEEP TO LIKE DIRECTIONALLY WHERE WE WANNA GO. AND DO YOU HAVE A, DO YOU HAVE LIKE MAYBE A SUGGESTION ON HOW TO WORD IT? I MEAN, FOR ME IT COMES DOWN TO THIS METRIC OF LIKE, WHAT'S THE LEVELIZED COST OF ENERGY OR LIKE, WHAT'S THE PRICE OF, OF GENERATING? AND IT GETS A LITTLE BIT TRICKY 'CAUSE LIKE WE'RE IN ERCOT WHERE LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THESE PRICE SWINGS IN THE SHOULDER PERIODS. BUT [01:30:01] YEAH. ALTHOUGH I WILL SAY THAT LIKE COMPARED TO LIKE 20, 21, 22 THINGS HAVE EVENED OUT IN THE ERCOT MARKET, IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT AS DIRE OF A SITUATION, WHICH IS NOT TO SAY THAT WE DON'T STILL NEED YEAH. TO MAKE INVESTMENTS, BUT, UM, THINGS DIDN'T CONTINUE, YOU KNOW, CHANGE, SOME CHANGES WERE MADE. YEAH, I MEAN TO ME IT'S ABOUT THE DROPPING, THE STORY IS ABOUT THE DROPPING COST OF, OF LIKE RENEWABLES AND, AND BATTERIES. BATTERIES SPECIFICALLY. THEY LOOKED UP, I WAS TRYING TO SEE HOW MUCH BATTERY COSTS ARE PROJECTED TO DECREASE IN COST, UM, BY 2035. UH, BLOOMBERG FORECAST THAT THE LEVELIZED COST OF ELECTRICITY, UH, THIS IS IN THEIR 2026 REPORT ON THAT, UH, THAT BATTERY COSTS ARE PROJECTED TO REDUCE BY 25% BY 2035. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A DATA POINT THAT YOU CAN INCLUDE, UM, THAT WOULD HELP BOLSTER THE ARGUMENT, BUT YEAH, YEAH, WE COULD ADD THAT AS A WHEREAS STATEMENT, UM, I THINK THAT WHEREAS WOULD BE LIKE, WHEREAS INNOVATION AND COMPETITION ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO LEAD TO DECLINING CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY COSTS AND, UM, FOR FORECASTS FROM SOURCES SUCH AS BLOOMBERG AND THEIR 2026 LEVELIZED COST OF ELECTRICITY REPORT PROJECT, A 25% REDUCTION IN BATTERY STORAGE BY 2035. AND THAT'S FOR BATTERY STORAGE FOR SOLAR IT'S 30%. OKAY. SO I HAVE, AND PARDON ME IF I'VE MISSED SOME WORDS, UM, YEAH, HAPPY TO EDIT INNOVATION, WHEREAS INNOVATION AND COMPETITION ARE PROJECTED TO RESULT IN CONTINUED DECLINING RENEWABLE ENERGY, UH, AND ENERGY STORAGE COSTS. AND, AND THEN THE, WHAT IS THE BLOOMBERG REPORT THAT, SO YES. SOURCES SUCH AS BLOOMBERG'S LEVELIZED, COST OF ELECTRICITY 2026 REPORT. OKAY, HOLD ON THERE. PROJECT, YEAH, LEVELIZED COST OF ELECTRICITY 2026 REPORT. OKAY. PROJECT THE COST OF BATTERY STORAGE TO DECREASE BY 25% BY 2035. IS THERE ANY OR GAS FOR SORRY, I'M SORRY. GO AHEAD CHRIS. NO, I WAS JUST GONNA ASK, IS THERE ANY FORECAST FOR THE, THE NATURAL GAS BY THAT SAME TIME FRAME? THERE IS NOT. I CAN TRY AND AARON USUALLY NRE L'S LEVELIZED COST OF ENERGY REPORTS COMPARED TO A BASE CASE AGAINST LIKE GAS TURBINES. UH, AND WHAT DID YOU SAY, THE DECLINE FOR SOLAR? I THINK WE COULD INCLUDE THAT AS WELL. 40%. OKAY. 30. YEAH. UH, THE COST OF BATTERY STORAGE. OKAY. SO RIGHT NOW IT SAYS, WHEREAS INNOVATION AND COMPETITION ARE PROJECTED TO RESULT IN CONTINUED DECLINING RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY STORAGE COST AND COST IN SOURCES SUCH AS BLOOMBERG'S LEVELIZED, COST OF ELECTRICITY 2026 REPORT PROJECT, THE COST OF BATTERY STORAGE TO DECREASE BY 25% BY 2035, UH, AND THE COST OF SOLAR TO DECLINE BY 30%. UM, AND THIS, LET ME SEE IF I CAN MOVE THE BY 30 COST OF BATTERY STORAGE TO DECREASE BY 25% AND THE COST OF SOLAR TO DECLINE BY 30% BY 2035. IS THAT CORRECT? YEP, THAT SOUNDS CORRECT. OKAY. OKAY. UH, ARE YOU MAKING A MOTION TO ADOPT THAT, AARON? I AM. OKAY. ANY OBJECTION? OKAY. SO ADOPTED. CHRIS, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE YOU WERE TRYING TO ADD IN? NO, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY IF THERE WAS ANY RELIABLE SOURCE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, TALKED ABOUT EXPECTED INCREASE IN NATURAL GAS, I THINK THAT'LL BE, YOU KNOW, [01:35:01] REALLY GOOD TO, TO PUT IN THAT SAME KIND OF, THAT SAME SPOT THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SAYING THAT BATTERY STORAGE IS EXPECTED TO, TO DECLINE QUITE A BIT WHILE AT THE SAME TIME NATURAL GAS IS EXPECTED TO, TO INCREASE, UH, BUT ONLY IF THERE'S A RELIABLE SOURCE OUT THERE. AND I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE ONE WITH ME AT THE MOMENT. YEAH. SO THERE IS A REPORT THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT FROM THE INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS. UM, IT'S CALLED THE MISGUIDED STAMPEDE TO BUILD GAS POWER PLANTS. UM, IT IS THE DETAILED KIND OF CALCULATIONS THAT THEY HAVE ARE ABOUT COMBINED CYCLE GAS PLANTS, WHICH ARE DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGY, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE A BUNCH OF INFORMATION IN THERE ABOUT, UM, ABOUT PRICES. I DID, I GUESS I COULD HAVE, I COULD HAVE PULLED A STATEMENT OUT OF HERE, BUT I, I DIDN'T, UM, LET ME JUST SEE IF THERE'S SOMETHING LIKE KIND OF EASY TO PULL. I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE IF SOMEBODY ELSE HAS SOMETHING THEY WANNA PUT FORWARD ON THAT. FEEL FREE TO SPEAK UP. I MEAN, FOR ME IT'S ABOUT STACKING THE RIGHT TIME HORIZONS FOR ALL OF THIS. LIKE A, YOU KNOW, FRACKED WELL GOES DRYING ABOUT SEVEN YEARS GAS PEAKERS ABOUT 30 YEARS. LIKE THERE'S THE FINANCING CYCLES TO LIKE LAYER ON TOP OF THIS. OUR POLITICAL CYCLES ARE FOUR YEARS. SO THAT'S WHERE OUR TARIFFS VARY. I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING THAT PULLS THIS ALL TOGETHER THOUGH. I, OKAY. YEAH, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK I'M GONNA BE ABLE TO LIKE PULL A, A CONCISE STATEMENT OUT OF HERE, UH, ON THE FLY. UM, I MEAN, CAN WE SAY SOMETHING ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, CAN I END THAT SENTENCE SAYING SOMETHING LIKE ALONG THE LINES, WELL, UH, NATURAL GAS PRICES BRACES REMAIN UNCERTAIN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. UM, SO HERE'S, HERE'S ONE, UM, THAT THEY, UH, FROM, FROM THAT REPORT I JUST MENTIONED, UH, EIA EXPECTS 2027 HENRY HUB PRICES TO CLIMB TO $4 AND 40 CENTS PER, UH, M-M-B-T-U. AND THAT IS, UH, FROM THE CURRENT, FROM 2019 TO 2024, PRICES AVERAGED 3 28. UM, AND THAT AN INCREASE WOULD LEAD TO SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER COST FOR, AND THIS, THIS AGAIN WAS LIKE A, A SPECIFIC LOOK AT A COMBINED CYCLE PLANT FOR DOMINION, SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER COST FOR DOMINION CUSTOMERS. I THINK THAT'S WHY I'M A LITTLE, LITTLE BIT, UM, RIGHT. THERE'S RELEVANT INFORMATION HERE. WE COULD JUST QUOTE THAT PROJECTED INCREASE. UM, THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER, UH, MENTIONED HERE, THOSE NUMBERS WOULD CLIMB EVEN HIGHER FROM 2030 TO 2035 UNDER WOOD MCKENZIE'S OUTLOOK FOR HENRY HUBB PRICES OF $4 AND 90 CENTS PER M-M-B-T-U. YEAH. LIKE LOOKING UP, PROBABLY REFERENCE SOMETHING LIKE THAT BECAUSE I WONDER IF, EVEN IF THE TECHNOLOGY'S DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, I WOULD, I WOULD ASSUME THAT, YOU KNOW, PART OF IT IS, IS STILL DRIVEN BY, YOU KNOW, JUST BY THE NATURAL GAS ITSELF. UM, I THINK IT'S ALSO MAYBE FAIR TO MAKE THE POINT THAT WE'VE ALL LEARNED THE EXPERIENCE THAT ENERGY MARKETS ARE WILDLY VARIABLE. YEAH. ALL THESE PROJECTIONS WILL BE WRONG. THAT WAS THE ONE THING THAT EVERYBODY COULD AGREE ON DURING THE PLANNING PROCESS WAS THAT THE MODELS WERE ALL GONNA BE WRONG AND THE PROJECTIONS WERE ALL GONNA BE WRONG. . SO DO WE HAVE A, DO WE WANNA ADD SOMETHING ON THIS? DO WE WANT IT TO BE SPECIFIC IN TERMS OF QUOTING SOME OF THESE PROJECTED [01:40:01] NUMBERS OR, UM, YEAH, I'M JUST, IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO, I'LL PUT WORDS ON THE PAGE. YEAH, I MEAN, I, I THINK WE CAN, WE CAN, I MEAN, COULD WE INCLUDE SOMETHING OF, UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL JUST FIGURE IT OUT AND THEN WE CAN SEE HOW WE PUT IT. BUT SAYING SOMETHING WHILE NATURAL, WHILE NATURAL GAS PRICES ARE UNCERTAIN AND BASED ON RESOURCE RESOURCES SUCH AS X, Y, AND Z ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE BY THIS STATE. OKAY. UH, I MAY HAVE FOUND A POINT FOR YOU. UM, GIMME ONE SECOND AND I'LL HAVE THAT. SO THERE WAS A REPORT THAT TA SAID THAT OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, THE COST TO BUILD A NATURAL GAS POWER PLANT INCREASED BY OVER BY 66% IN THE LAST TWO YEARS ACCORDING TO THE REPORT BY THE SAME SOURCE, BLOOMBERG, NEF. SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD APPLY, BUT, UM, I THINK THAT'S A ANOTHER GOOD POINT THAT WE CAN MAKE MAYBE IN A, A DIFFERENT, WHEREAS, 'CAUSE THAT'S ABOUT THE CAPITAL COST AND MAYBE POINTING TO WHY THIS IS KIND OF A CRAZY TIME TO TRY TO BUY. UM, SO LET'S COME BACK TO THAT ONE. LET'S FIRST ROUND OUT THIS PIECE ABOUT THE, THE FUEL. SO WE HAVE TWO PIECES HERE, BOTH OF WHICH ARE GOOD POINTS. ONE IS ON THE FUEL PRICE, THE OTHER IS ON THE CAPITAL COST. SO, SO I'LL COME BACK TO YOU, AARON. OKAY. UM, I MEAN THE COST HAS GONE UP BECAUSE NOBODY CAN GET A GAS TURBINE, RIGHT? UH, YEAH, BECAUSE THERE, THERE IS VERY HIGH DEMAND DATA CENTERS WANT THEM ALL NOW, IF NOT SOONER. RIGHT? WELL, DATA CENTERS WANT THEM ALL, BUT LIKE SIEMENS AND WHOEVER ELSE IS MAKING THEM HAS DECIDED THAT THERE ISN'T A LONG TERM GROWTH OUTLOOK. OH, THAT'S INTERESTING. WELL, I MEAN, YOU COULD JUST MAKE MORE, RIGHT? IF YOU REALLY THOUGHT YOU'RE GONNA SELL A TON MORE THROUGH THIS, LIKE YOU COULD MAKE MORE, RIGHT? LIKE IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE BUILDING A NEW BIG TURBINE FACTORY. ARE THEY, ARE THEY THINKING OF OF THAT, UH, BATTERY STORAGE WILL BE THE FUTURE FOR THE DATA CENTER? I MEAN, BASED ON PEOPLE I KNOW WHO'VE WORKED AT SOME OF THESE COMPANIES, PROBABLY NOT. BUT, UM, I, YOU KNOW, BUT I MEAN, I THINK CERTAINLY LONG TERM MOST, YOU KNOW, I'M GOING THROUGH LIZARD'S, LEVELIZED COST OF ENERGY REPORTS 'CAUSE I LIKE THEIRS. YEAH. A LOT. UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY EVERYONE EXPECTS THAT THE BATTERY AND, AND AND UH, SOLAR TECHNOLOGY IS GONNA CONTINUE TO REDUCE IN PRICE. WHEREAS, YOU KNOW, JUST FROM A TECHNOLOGY PERSPECTIVE, WE THINK WE'VE GOTTEN ALL WE CAN OUT, YOU KNOW, FRACKING WAS THE, THE THING, THE THE, THE CHANGE IN COST BASIS AND YOU KNOW, WHEN THAT THERE'S NO EXPECTED INNOVATION TO GET EVEN MORE OUT. MM-HMM . YEAH. I CAN'T FIND THE, THE, THAT ACTUAL REPORT. 'CAUSE I THINK YOU PROBABLY HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. THAT BLOOMBERG, UM, REPORT, YEAH, I'M LOOKING AGAINST PAYWALL SITE, BUT, BUT LIKE A, UM, A SNIPPET, A PRESS RELEASE THAT THEY HAVE, UM, ABOUT THE REPORT SAYS THAT THEY EXPECT, UM, THE COST OF, UM, SORRY, LET ME FIND IT AGAIN. BUT IT BASICALLY SAYS LIKE, UM, ELECTRICITY FROM UM, GAS POWERED PLANTS WILL REMAIN HIGH WHILE THEY EXPECT, UM, THE, THIS 25% REDUCTION IN THE LEVEL A COST OF ELECTRICITY FROM BATTERY STORAGE. SO OVER THE SAME TIMEFRAME, THEY DON'T EXPECT A SIMILAR DECREASE IN IN GAS. UM, YOU'RE, SORRY, YOU'RE SAYING THIS WAS THE BLOOMBERG LEVELIZED COST THAT SAME, YEAH, THAT SAME BLOOMBERG REPORT. OKAY. AND SORRY, CAN YOU SAY AGAIN? THEY THEY PROJECTED A LEVEL, [01:45:01] A CONSTANT PRICE OR WHAT WAS IT? YEAH, LET ME FIND IT RIGHT HERE. IT SAYS THEY EXPECT GAS PLANT COST TO REMAIN EXPENSIVE FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE DUE TO AN INCREASE IN DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT. OKAY. SO THAT MAYBE IS MORE ABOUT THE CAPITAL COST IT SOUNDS LIKE. RIGHT? UH, WELL THEY SAY NEW BUILD, THEY SAY NEW BUILD GAS AND COAL PLANTS SAW RISING EQUIPMENT PRICES, WHICH PUSHED THE GLOBAL LEVELIZED COST OF ELECTRICITY FOR COMBINED CYCLE GAS TURBINES UP 16% THE HIGHEST LEVEL ON RECORD. OKAY. SO, SO I'M GONNA ADD TO OUR OTHER, WHEREAS IT SOUNDS LIKE IS A PLACE FOR THIS, THE ONE THAT WE JUST ADOPTED BEFORE. SO AFTER AND THE COST OF SOLAR TO CLIMB DECLINE BY 30 CENT PERCENT BY 2035. AND THEN I'M GONNA SAY WHILE GAS GENERATION PRICES WOULD REMAIN AT CURRENT HIGH RATES, IS THAT YEAH, UNLESS WE CAN FIND THE ACTUAL DOCUMENT. THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'M GLEANING FROM THIS ARTICLE. UM, IT ALSO HAS A, A FIGURE FROM THE ACTUAL REPORT THAT SHOWS THAT, UM, THE LEVEL ICE COST OF ELECTRICITY FROM BATTERY STORAGE IS ALREADY LOWER THAN FROM COMBINED CYCLE GAS TURBINE PLANTS. AGAIN, JUST TO BE NEGATIVE, NANCY NITPICKING HERE WE ARE SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT GAS PEAKING AS OPPOSED TO THE COMBINED CYCLE. WAS THIS COMMENT ABOUT COMBINED CYCLE OR WAS THAT NOTE THERE ABOUT COMBINED CYCLE? YEAH, IT WAS A COMBINED CYCLE. YEAH. YEAH. THAT IS DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGY. SO LET'S, I LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOUR GUYS' PATIENCE WITH THESE COMMENTS. NO, NO. IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT. UM, IT IS, IT IS DIFFERENT. OKAY. SO LET'S GO BACK TO WHAT WE, WE WERE WORKING ON WITH THE NATURAL GAS PRICES. 'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S A LITTLE MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD. UM, WHAT I HAVE RIGHT NOW IS, WHEREAS NATURAL GAS PRICES CAN BE VOLATILE AND EIA EXPECTS 2027 HENRY HUB PRICES TO CLIMB TO $4 AND 40 CENTS PER MMB TO U BY 2027. AND, AND, UH, WOOD MCKENZIE'S OUTLOOK FOR HENRY HUB PRICES FOR 2030 TO 2035 IS $4 AND 90 CENTS PER M-M-B-T-U UP FROM AN AVERAGE OF $3 AND 28 CENTS PER MMBU FOR 2019 TO 2024. AND IF YOUR EYES HAVEN'T GLAZED OVER BY THE END OF THAT SENTENCE, IT IS NOT, UH, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW IT, I JUST NUMBERS THIS JUST A RECOMMENDATION THAT COUNSEL IS SUPPOSED TO READ AND YEAH. AND LIKE TAKE, TAKE SOMETHING AWAY FROM IT. I JUST FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD KEEP IT VERY SIMPLE AND LIKE NOT A WHOLE LOT OF JARGON AND SPECIFIC PRICES WHERE I HAVE TO DO MATH. IT JUST, WE WANT THEM TO LOOK AT IT AND SAY, OKAY, THIS MAKES SENSE. IT'S, UH, IT'S NOT GONNA BE A GOOD INVESTMENT. THE RATE PAYERS ARE GONNA BE STUCK WITH IT. IT'S GONNA POLLUTE OUR AIR AND, AND MAKE US NOT HIT OUR CARBON FREE TARGETS. MAYBE WE SHOULDN'T DO IT. LIKE, THAT'S IT. I I TEND TO AGREE. I THINK MAYBE, UH, WHILE THE SPECIFIC NUMBERS ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE MATH, I THINK THAT MAYBE THE POINT WE CAN MAKE HERE IS JUST THAT NATURAL GAS PRICES CAN BE VOLATILE IN EIA AND WOOD MCKENZIE'S PROJECTIONS ARE THAT PRICES WILL INCREASE YEAH. BETWEEN NOW AND 2035 THAT YEAH. THAT INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY. OKAY. YEAH. YEAH. AND FEEL FREE TO DISAGREE. THAT'S JUST MY, MY THOUGHT. I WILL GET ON BOARD WITH WHATEVER THE COMMITTEE WANTS TO DO, BUT I, YEAH, I THINK EXECUTIVE, I THINK AS LONG AS WE CAN CITE A FEW, UM, A FEW REPUTABLE SOURCES AND, BUT KEEP IT GENERAL, I THINK THAT, I THINK THAT'S A HAPPY MEDIUM. I DO THINK MAYBE IT'S A LITTLE BIT FUNNY WHEN THE SUSTAINABILITY PEOPLE START SENDING THEM NATURAL GAS PRICING PROJECTIONS. LIKE MAYBE, MAYBE THAT'S THE, THE THING IN AND OF ITSELF. I THINK THE FACT THAT WE'RE SPENDING THIS TIME RESEARCHING OTHER OPTIONS AND OUR UTILITY DIDN'T SAYS A LOT ABOUT WHAT WE ARE MISSING. I WAS GONNA SAY IF, WHILE PEOPLE ARE GOOGLING THIS, UM, I DID CHRIS CAMP I BELIEVE ASKED ABOUT, UM, ARE THERE ANY LIKE SPECIFIC, UH, RESEARCH STUDIES THAT LOOKED AT LIKE THIS VERY SPECIFIC ISSUE? AND OF COURSE TRAGICALLY THERE'S NOT A TON OF WORK ON LIKE THE AUSTIN SPECIFIC AREA. UM, [01:50:01] BUT THERE IS A REALLY NICE, UM, PHD THESIS ON, UM, CALLED A FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL TRADE OFFS OF INTERNALIZED EMISSION COSTS IN ERCOT GRID PLANNING. THAT I RECOMMEND ANYONE HAVE A LITTLE QUICK SCAN OF, UM, THAT ADDRESSES THE SPECIFIC ISSUE OF WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF, UH, A MOSTLY CARBON FREE ERCOT GRID BY 2035. COOL. SHOULD SIGN IT AROUND. HAPPY TO. OKAY. SO NOW I HAVE, WHEREAS NATURAL GAS PRICES CAN BE VOLATILE AND EIA AND WOOD MACKENZIE PROJECT SIGNIFICANT HENRY HUB NET NET SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN HENRY HUB NATURAL GAS PRICES OVER THE NEXT YEAR AND THROUGH 2035. YEP. SOUNDS GOOD TONIGHT. OKAY. IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO ADDING THE WHEREAS STATEMENT? ALL RIGHT. DO WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE AT A, AT A GOOD ENOUGH PLACE ON THIS OR ANYTHING ELSE? UH, I MEAN I KNOW WE DID, I GUESS WE SAID WE PUT A PIN IN THE, THE POINT ABOUT THE CAPITAL COST IS THERE, IS THERE SOMETHING WE WANNA WANNA ADD ON THAT AS IT PERTAINS TO PEAKERS? 'CAUSE IT DOES NEED TO, I THINK, BE RELEVANT TO THE PEAKING TECHNOLOGIES. OKAY. UH, I'M HEARING SILENCE CALL THE QUESTION. SO YEAH, AND I, I DO, I DO HAVE TO, I HAVE TO DO THIS, Y'ALL, I HAVE TO READ THE WHOLE THING INTO THE RECORD. SO I'M GONNA DO THAT. READ THE, UH, AMENDED RESOLUTION, UH, INTO THE RECORD. SO RESOLUTION BY THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE RESOLUTION ON AUSTIN ENERGY GAS PEAKERS AND ALTERNATIVES, WHEREAS IT IS THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE'S RESPONSIBILITY TO ADVISE ON MATTERS RELATED TO CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY AND REVIEW CITY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES RELEVANT TO THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY CLIMATE PLAN AND THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, INCLUDING PLANNING, IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENTATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, GOAL SETTING AND PROGRESS MONITORING. AND WHEREAS IT IS, IT IS AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS WHO WILL BEAR THE FINANCIAL RISK OF ANY CAPITAL INVESTMENTS THAT BECOME STRANDED ASSETS OR BECOME ECONOMIC LIABILITIES. AND WHEREAS INNOVATION AND COMPETITION ARE PROJECTED TO RESULT IN CONTINUED DECLINING RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY STORAGE CAUSED IN SOURCES SUCH AS BLOOMBERG'S, BLOOMBERG'S LEVELIZED, COST OF ELECTRICITY 2026 REPORT PROJECT, THE COST OF BATTERY STORAGE TO DECREASE BY 25% AND THE COST OF SOLAR TO DECLINE BY 30% BY 2035. AND WHEREAS NATURAL GAS PRICES CAN BE VOLATILE AND EIA AND WOOD MCKENZIE PROJECTS SIGNIFICANT INCREASES TO HENRY HUB NATURAL GAS PRICES OVER THE NEXT YEAR AND THROUGH 2035. AND WHEREAS THE NATURAL, UH, WHEREAS THE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS GOAL ESTABLISHED BY THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AND THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN IS TO ACHIEVE NET ZERO GREEN, NET ZERO COMMUNITY-WIDE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BY 2040, UTILIZING A STEEP DECLINE PATH FOLLOWED BY NEGATIVE EMISSIONS THAT TRANSLATES TO APPROXIMATELY 75% REDUCTION IN EMISSIONS BY 2030. AND WHEREAS MEETING THE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION GOALS ADOPTED BY THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AND THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN ISN'T POSSIBLE WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS BY AUSTIN ENERGY IN THE NEAR TERM, MEDIUM AND LONG TERM. AND WHEREAS ANY INCREASE IN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS DOES NOT ALIGN WITH THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN OR THE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION GOALS THAT ADOPTED BY THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL. AND WHEREAS REDUCING AND ELIMINATING LOCAL AIR POLLUTION PEC, ESPECIALLY IN A NEAR, HISTORICALLY AND CURRENTLY MARGINALIZED AND LOWER IN LOWER INCOME PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY, IS AN IMPORTANT EQUITY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH PRIORITY REFLECTED IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN. AND WHEREAS THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION'S 2026 DATE OF THE YEAR REPORT ASSIGNS TRAVIS COUNTY AND AN F GRADE FOR OZONE POLLUTION, A D GRADE FOR SHORT TERM PARTICLE POLLUTION AND A FAILING GRADE FOR ANNUAL PARTICLE POLLUTION. AND WHEREAS METHANE, THE PRIMARY COMPONENT OF NATURAL GAS HAS 86 TIMES MORE GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL THAN CARBON DIOXIDE OVER A 20 YEAR TIME HORIZON WHEN EMITTED DIRECTLY INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, WHICH IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF HIGH LEAKAGE RATES IN THE TEXAS NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION SYSTEM. AND WHEREAS THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN 2 20 35 INCLUDES A COMMITMENT TO INCORPORATING COMMUNITY INPUT PRIOR TO BRINGING A NATURAL GAS PEAKER PROJECT FORWARD FOR APPROVAL. AND WHEREAS THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN TO 2035 STATES, SHOULD AUSTIN ENERGY SEEK COUNCIL APPROVAL FOR ANY PEAKER UNITS, WE WILL SHOW [01:55:01] ANY ANALYSIS PERFORMED DEMONSTRATING WHY A CARBON FREE ALTERNATIVE WAS NOT AVAILABLE AND HOW THE REQUESTED ACTION WILL IMPACT THE UTILITY'S ABILITY TO REACH THE GOAL OF 100% CARBON FREE BY 2035. WHEREAS THE AUSTIN CITY CHARTER STATES THAT ALL PURCHASES GREATER THAN $5,000 MUST BE LET THROUGH A COMPETITIVE BIDDING PRO PROCESS. AND WHEREAS TEXAS STATE LAW REQUIRES MUNICIPALITIES TO USE COMPETITIVE PURCHASING FOR PURCHASES OVER $50,000. AND WHEREAS AUSTIN ENERGY IS REQUESTING AUTHORIZATION TO DEVELOP AND EXECUTE A CONTRACT TO PURCHASE 400 MEGAWATTS OF GAS BURNING PEAKER POWER GENERATION WITHOUT IS ISSUING A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS OR BIDS. AND WITHOUT REVEALING TO THE PUBLIC THE COST, WHO THE CONTRACT WOULD BE WITH, WHERE THE PEAKERS WOULD BE LOCATED, HOW THE FINANCIAL IMPACTS OF PEAKERS COMPARES TO BATTERIES AND OTHER CLEAN ENERGY OPTIONS OR RESULTING EMISSIONS. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE THAT THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL ONE DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO CONDUCT A THOROUGH AND WELL-PROMOTED ECONO, UH, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS TO ON THE, SORRY, ON THE CHOICE BETWEEN GAS SPEAKERS AND A COMBINATION OF ZERO EMISSIONS ALTERNATIVES AND ENSURE THAT INPUT AND FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC ARE INCORPORATED INTO SUBSEQUENT PLANS FOR PROCURING ENERGY RESOURCES. AND THREE, DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO USE THE ESTABLISHED TRANSPARENT COMPETITIVE PURCHASING PROCESS FOR ALL PROCUREMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AUSTIN CITY CHARTER. AND FOUR, BE FULLY TRANSPARENT WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE COST OF ANY AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCES AND THE FINANCIAL RISK ASSOCIATED WITH POTENTIAL STRANDED ASSETS. AND FIVE, DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT ECONOMIC ANALYSIS TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING ZERO EMISSIONS TECHNOLOGIES AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT COMPARED TO GAS PEAKERS, INCLUDING THE FINANCIAL IMPACTS OF THE ADDED GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND LOCAL AIR POLLUTION. AND SIX, FULLY FUND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A ROBUST RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN THAT CAN ACHIEVE RELIABLE AND CARBON FREE ENERGY DELIVERY BY 2035 AND SEVEN. PRIORITIZE IMPLEMENTING ZERO EMISSIONS TECHNOLOGIES TO ACHIEVE ZERO EMISSIONS, UH, FROM AUSTIN ENERGY'S GENERATION SOURCES BY 2035 VO BRAVO FOR GETTING THROUGH THAT. OKAY. OH, WELL TECHNICALLY WE ACTUALLY ALREADY HAD A, A MOTION AND A SECOND, SO I THINK YOU ALREADY DID THAT. SO I THINK WE, WE'VE HAD OUR DISCUSSION, IF WE CAN TAKE THIS OFF THE SCREEN. STOP, DO THAT. STOP. OKAY. OKAY. NOW, UH, REMEMBER WE GET A, UM, YEP. ALL ALL IN FAVOR. YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO HAVE YOUR Y VIDEOS ON. AND ALL IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND PLEASE. OKAY. LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED THE RESOLUTION. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THAT WAS A LOT OF WORK HERE TOGETHER. I, I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY COMING TOGETHER AND, AND ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING IN THIS. LIKE, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I KNOW WE HAD, [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ] UH, ONE REQUEST FOR AN AGENDA ITEM FROM ERIN ABOUT, UH, PLANNING. ARE THERE ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT ANYBODY WANTS TO MENTION NOW FOR OUR JUNE AGENDA? WELL, WE DID HAVE A VERBAL PROMISE FROM OUR DEAR FRIENDS IN TRANSPORTATION, UM, TO COME BACK AND GIVE US AN UPDATE IN MY NOTES. ACCORDING TO MY NOTES, JUNE, AND AS SOME PEOPLE MAY BE AWARE, I SENT OVER, UM, A 20 PAGE PRESENTATION I DID FOR FUN ON OUR CARBON DATA, UH, FROM THE CONCRETE PROGRAM. SO, UM, MAYBE IT'S WORTH CIRCLING BACK TO THEM. I JUST GOT AN EMAIL BACK FROM, UH, AMIKA, UH, EARLIER LIKE LAST WEEK SAYING LIKE, THANKS, WE'LL LOOK INTO THIS. UM, BUT I SAW THAT, YEAH. UH, MAYBE IT'S WORTH AND I'M, I, I CAN DO IT TOO SINCE I'VE BEEN EMAILING, BUT LIKE, LET ME KNOW A BIT, UH, PERHAPS IF YOU GO BACK TO THEM AND SAY, HEY, IT'S JUNE, WE'RE SCHEDULING FOR JUNE. YEAH. AND THAT MIGHT PRO A MORE PROMPT RESPONSE TO THE EXCELLENT WORK THAT YOU DID. SO. WELL, WE DON'T KNOW IF IT'S EXCELLENT. ALSO, ACCORDING TO ME, PARDON ME, IT'S AMIKA. UM, BUT I WELL, YOU DID THE WORK, WHEREAS JUNE, SHE, NOBODY ELSE SAID JUNE HAS, SO I I AM GONNA GIVE YOU SOME, SOME CREDIT RIGHT THERE. IT LOOKED, IT LOOKED USEFUL TO, TO ME. . OKAY. SO WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE THAT REQUEST AND I GUESS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU CAN JUST REACH OUT TO THEM SOONER THAN LATER JUST SO THEY HAVE DUE NOTICE. SO WE WOULD LIKE SORRY, WHO REACHES OUT? I, I MEAN LIKE YOU'D REPLY ALL RIGHT. 'CAUSE YOU CC'D ME. WELL, WHEN IT COMES TO REQUESTING THEM AT THE, TO COME [02:00:01] HERE, RIGHT. CAN YOU MAKE THAT REQUEST? REQUEST THE SAME REQUEST, REQUEST AN UPDATE? YEAH. WELL IT CAN BE HER, WHOEVER THEY WANNA SEND. RIGHT. THEY'LL PROBABLY SEND MULTIPLE PEOPLE. YEAH. SEND YOUR FINE SEND THEIR FINES. ALL REQUESTS . BUT SPECIFICALLY JUST LIKE THE CONTEXT I THINK FOR THE REQUEST IS THAT WE SAID, I SAID, WHEN CAN YOU COME BACK TO GIVE AN UPDATE? AND SHE DID SAY JUNE. SO UNRELATED TO WHATEVER EMAIL CHAINS ARE SPREADING AROUND, LIKE SPECIFICALLY THEY DID, THEY OFFERED TO COME AND GIVE AN UPDATE IN JUNE. SO THAT'S WHAT WE WANT. OKAY. COOL. SO WE HAVE THOSE TWO ITEMS. ANYTHING ELSE, ANYBODY YET AT RISK? I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT TRAVIS COUNTY ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERRED PURCHASING TEAM YES. AND THEIR PRESENTATION IN JUNE AND HAVE THEY CONFIRMED AVAILABILITY. YES. GREAT. SO WILL YOU MAKE SURE THAT, UH, AMANDA HAS WHOEVER'S CONTACT INFORMATION 'CAUSE SHE'LL NEED TO GET THEM THE LINK AND ANY SORT OF PREP? ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. OKAY, GREAT. UM, YEAH. YEAH. WELL I WAS GONNA SAY, UH, MAYBE NEXT TIME I CAN ALSO DO AN UPDATE FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BARTON SPRINGS BRIDGE, MOPAC SOUTH EXPANSION. YES. STUFF LIKE THAT. YEAH. MOPAC VERY RELEVANT TO OUR COMMISSION. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ANYTHING ELSE? I KNOW IN THE PAST WE HAD TALKED ABOUT HAVING A SPEAKER FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, DISCUSS THEIR POLICY REGARDING, UM, THE 100% COST RECOVERY POLICY FOR DATA CENTERS. AND I THINK THAT WAS THE TRANSITION, UM, UH, WITH OUR, OUR STAFF LIAISON. SO, UM, I'M NOT SURE IF WE COULD REACH OUT TO AUSTIN ENERGY AND TRY AND GET THEM SOMEONE TO COME SPEAK, UH, ABOUT THAT. I CAN TRY AGAIN. YEAH. WELL, I KNOW THERE WAS A REQUEST TO GET THEM TO SPEAK ON THE GAS PEAKERS DID. I DON'T KNOW. SO I CAN DO A SEPARATE REQUEST, BUT IT'S, I'LL BE WITH THE SAME PERSON, SO I'LL JUST YEAH. BUT THIS'LL BE IN A DIFFERENT, RIGHT. A DIFFERENT TOPIC THAT MAYBE, MAYBE THEY'LL WANNA TALK ABOUT. HAVE Y'ALL GOT SOMEBODY FROM AUSTIN ENERGY TO SPEAK ON THAT TOPIC AT ECONOMIC PROSPERITY? NO, WE HAVEN'T. UH, SO YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I WAS HOPING IS JUST A LOT OF THE PUSHBACK THAT WE GET IS, HEY, THE POLICY IS THE POLICY AND ALSO WE DON'T HAVE ANYBODY THAT'S QUALIFIED ON OUR COMMISSION TO BE ABLE TO PUSH BACK OR DIG DEEPER IF THERE'S KIND OF VAGUE STATEMENTS THAT ARE BEING MADE. UM, SO THAT'S WHY I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY A MORE APPROPRIATE FORUM. OKAY. FOR, SO IT'S THE, I'M ASKING ABOUT THE POLICY ON A HUNDRED PERCENT COST RECOVERY FOR DATA CENTERS YEAH. FOR A CORRECT, FOR PRESENTATION ON THAT, RIGHT. PRESENTATION ON, ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO KNOW, UM, THE, KIND OF THE CALCULATIONS THAT ARE GOING INTO, LIKE THE FORMULAS THAT ARE BEING USED TO CALCULATE THAT AND, UM, JUST FOR US TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION SO THAT WE CAN ASK MORE QUESTIONS WITH THE APPROPRIATE PERSON. OKAY. GREAT. WELL, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE IF, IF THEY WANNA DO THAT IN JUNE OR, OR WHAT, BUT THAT COULD ALWAYS BE, MAYBE IT WOULD BE BETTER. DO, DO YOU WANNA DO THAT IN JUNE OR DO YOU HAVE A DATE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE THAT? YEAH, I LEAVE THAT UP TO, TO YOU AS CHAIR GIVEN ALL, ALL THE OTHER ITEMS THAT WE'RE BALANCING. WELL, YOU'RE, YOU'RE GONNA, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THE, THE, THE, THE PLEASURE OF BEING IN OUR, UM, AGENDA PLANNING MEETINGS GOING FORWARD, WHICH, WHICH ACTUALLY ARE, ARE NOT HONOR AT ALL. SO, UM, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE, THE TIMING THERE AFTER WE HEAR BACK FROM AUSTIN ENERGY IF THEY'RE WILLING TO SEND SOMEBODY TO PRESENT. OKAY. YEAH, I THINK, YEAH, LET'S, LET'S PROBABLY PUSH IT TO THE JULY MEETING FOR NOW. OKAY, GREAT. UM, IF THERE'S NOT ANYTHING ELSE, THEN I'M GONNA MOVE TO ADJOURN IF THERE'S NOT OBJECTION. ALL RIGHT. THANKS AGAIN EVERYBODY. HAVE A GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANKS. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.