[00:00:04]
OF HOUSEKEEPING MATTERS, UH, HERE UP AT THE TOP, A FRIENDLY REMINDER TO PLEASE KEEP YOUR LINE MUTED, UNLESS YOU'RE SPEAKING, JEFF ALREADY MENTIONED THAT, BUT, UM, GOOD REMINDER.UH, AND I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND DO A ROLL CALL, UM, JUST SO THAT WE CAN HAVE RECORD OF OUR QUORUM.
AND WHAT I'LL DO IS I'LL CALL YOUR NAME AND ASK THAT YOU VERBALLY ANSWER HERE SO WE CAN RECORD THAT.
DID WE LOSE YOU CARRIE? SORRY.
UM, KAREN HADN'T I AM HERE AND SYRAH THREE.
AND THEN OF COURSE MARTY HOPKINS I'M HERE.
UH, SO THAT'S, UH, THAT'S A QUORUM AND, UM, I THINK, UH, WE DON'T HAVE VERY MANY AGENDA ITEMS TODAY, SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN, UH, FIGURE OUT HOW BEST TO, UM, COUNT OUR VOTES.
UH, I WAS THINKING IT MIGHT BE EASIER TO RAISE YOUR HAND AND THEN I'LL MAKE VOTE.
I'LL, I'LL MAKE A NOTE, UM, AND THEN REPEAT THEM VERBALLY, BUT I KNOW WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF BOOKS WITHOUT VIDEO, SO THAT MAY NOT WORK.
SO WITH A QUORUM PRESENT, I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING
[Call to Order]
OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION TO ORDER IT'S JUNE 8TH AT 10:03 AM.AND WE'RE HOLDING THIS MEETING VIRTUALLY DUE TO SOCIAL DISTANCING MODIFICATIONS.
UH, COMMISSIONER'S HOPKINS PUDDLE, BOYLE VIRTUAL HADN'T READ AND TRUTHFUL ARE PRESENT.
UH, FIRST I DID JUST WANT TO MAKE, UH, TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO RECOGNIZE THE DEMONSTRATIONS OVER THE PAST TWO WEEKS IN ALL 50 STATES AND HERE IN AUSTIN, UM, SYSTEMIC RACISM AGAINST BLACK AMERICANS IS A DISEASE THAT HAS INFECTED EVERY AMERICAN INSTITUTION AND OUR LOCALLY APPOINTED BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND MUNICIPALLY-OWNED UTILITY ARE NOT EXEMPT.
UM, AS I CONTINUE TO EDUCATE AND REEDUCATE MYSELF ON THESE ISSUES, MY HOPE IS THAT WE A GROUP DO NOT STOP PAYING ATTENTION AFTER THE PROTEST STOP BECAUSE THE WORK WON'T BE CLOSE TO DONE, I'D ALSO LIKE TO WELCOME A NEW COMMISSIONER
UM, I AM A, UH, UH, AN ATTORNEY WHO RETIRED TWO YEARS AGO.
I HAD A, UM, AN ACTIVE, UH, PUBLIC UTILITY PRACTICE.
UM, I HAD SERVED, UM, IN VARIOUS ROLES, INCLUDING, UM, AS AN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE AT THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS AND HAD HAD A PRIVATE PRACTICE, UM, FOCUSED ON ALL AREAS THAT WERE COVERED BY THE PUBLIC FACILITIES COMMISSION.
SO ELECTRIC, UH, TELECOMS, UM, ET CETERA.
AND, UM, THAT I, UH, I, UM, AM NO CARRIE KELLY GREER BROWNWELL AND WHEN SHE TOLD ME SHE WAS STEPPING DOWN AND SHE WANTED TO KNOW IF I WAS INTERESTED IN STEPPING INTO FIRST SEAT WITH HER PAGE ELLIS, I AGREED.
AND SO IT'S BEEN SORT OF A LITTLE BOREUS PROCESS BECAUSE I WAS CONFIRMED AT THE MARCH 12TH, UM, COUNCIL MEETINGS, AND THEN EVERYTHING SHUT DOWN.
SO, UH, SORRY, I'VE NOT BEEN ABLE TO JOIN YOU BEFORE NOW AND HOPEFULLY THEY, FOR YOUR NEXT MEETING, I WILL FIGURE OUT THIS WEBEX THING.
WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU ON BOARD.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE A SHORT AGENDA TODAY.
UH, WE DID NOT HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM
[Item 1]
ONE, WHICH IS APPROVAL OF THE MAY 11TH, UH, 20, 20 MINUTES.[00:05:01]
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.I THINK MAYBE I WILL, I'LL JUST CALL THE ROLE, UM, AND ASK FOR BOTH THAT WAY.
HOW ABOUT THAT? UM, ALL THE, UH, LET'S SAY, UH, NO TOTAL, YOU DON'T NEED SOMEBODY TO MAKE A MOTION.
I WOULD LIKE, UM, UH, AGENDA ITEM, NUMBER ONE.
UH, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER VIRTUAL.
UM, I WILL NOW CALL THE ROLL AND ASK FOR YOUR VOTE, UH, COMMISSIONER.
AND MARTY HAWKINS, UH, AS WELL.
SO THE MOTION UNANIMOUSLY PASSES AGENDA ITEM NUMBER ONE IS APPROVED.
UM, MOVING ON TO NEW BUSINESS.
[Consent Agenda]
UH, THERE ARE TWO ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.UH, IS THERE ANY COMMISSIONER THAT WOULD LIKE TO TAKE UP ITEMS NUMBER TWO OR THREE? ITEM TWO.
ANYBODY ELSE? DISCUSSING ITEM NUMBER THREE.
WE WILL, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER THREE.
AND IS THERE A SECOND, SECOND? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CUDDLE.
UH, I WILL NOW CALL THE ROLL OF ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING ITEM NUMBER THREE, COMMISSIONER TOTAL.
UH, AND THEN, UH, COMMISSIONER HOPKINS ALSO BOTH SIDES.
SO AGAIN, UH, ITEM NUMBER THREE, YOU KNOW, MISLEAD PASSES.
[Item 2]
TWO, COMMISSIONER BOYLE.YOU ASK THAT WE HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE.
SO I FIRST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY'S PAYMENT OF THIS? YOU KNOW, WHAT PERCENTAGE, UH, UH, IS IT AND, UH, WHY ARE JUST THE WASTEWATER COMMISSION, A WATER WASTEWATER AND A E THE ONLY ONES APPROVING THE CONTRACT.
IT APPLIES TO ALL THE DEPARTMENTS.
WE HAVE OUR SPORTS STAFF ON FOR THIS FROM PURCHASING, BUT IF THEY ARE, I'LL HOPE THEY'LL CHIME UP.
I KNOW THAT ALL SYNERGIES PORTION IS ONLY 1.6 MILLION THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOTED IN YOUR AGENDA OUT OF THE, WHAT IS IT? 13 MILLION OR SO? YUP.
UH, SANDY BRANDT FROM THE PURCHASING OFFICE.
SO, UM, IN RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION ABOUT THE TWO COMMISSIONS THAT ARE REVIEWING THE ITEMS, UM, DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT COMMISSIONS HAVE DIFFERENT, UM, TYPES OF, OF, UM, PURCHASES THAT THEY REVIEW AND DID, THESE ARE THE TWO THAT, UM, THAT FURTHER POLICIES REVIEW THIS TYPE OF, UM, THIS TYPE OF ITEM, FOR EXAMPLE, JIM, WITH YOU GUYS, WHAT WE TRY AND DO IS EVEN ON A MULTI-DEPARTMENTAL RCA, IF IT'S ABOVE THE CITY, MANAGER'S LIMIT, WE, WE ATTEMPT TO BRING IT TO BEFORE THE ELECTRIC UTILITY.
AND THERE ARE OTHER COMMISSIONS THAT DO NOT REVIEW, UM, COMMODITY PURCHASES.
[00:10:04]
YEAH.WHAT IS, WHAT IS AES PORTION OF THE CONTRACT?
SO IT'S THE, AS I RECALL, THE SPEND AMOUNT IS 2.7 MILLION ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
SO WE'RE, IS THAT RIGHT? AND SO WE'RE SOMEHOW, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THAT PERCENTAGE IS, SILVER, 50%, OBVIOUSLY 66, JIM, THIS IS JEFF AGAIN, THAT IS NOT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
THAT'S FOR THE TOTAL, ALL THAT YOUR CONTRACT.
UM, I THINK THE OTHER ISSUE I HAD, I MEAN, WHAT, I WORRY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THESE CO-OP CONTRACTS.
I MEAN, WE DON'T, UH, YOU KNOW, SEE WHAT KIND OF DISCOUNTS WE'RE GETTING.
WE, NOW WE HAVE LEARNED A LOT MORE ABOUT, THERE ARE A LOT OF COOPERATIVE OPERATIONS, AND LAST WEEK WE HAD TWO DIFFERENT CO-OPS.
WE HAD A, UM, A CO-OP A U S COMMUNITIES.
AND WE HAD ANOTHER CO-OP, WHICH I THINK WAS THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PURCHASING COOPERATIVE.
WHY WAS THIS COOPERATIVE SELECTED OVER THE OTHER CO-OPS IS THIS YOUR STUFF? SO YOU CAN JUST PAINT YOURSELF THERE.
SO DIFFERENT COOPERATIVES ARE REVIEWED FOR THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT OR MORE FAVORABLE PRICING.
UM, AND THE ONE THAT PROVIDES THE OVERALL BEST VALUE TO THE CITY IS THE ONE THAT SELECTED.
UM, AND THEN ADAM I'LL LET YOU KNOW, WELL, HOW DO YOU SCORE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE VARIOUS COUGHS? WELL, THERE ISN'T A SCORING WHEN IT'S REVIEWED, BUT, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE LOOKED AT FOR THEIR OVERALL PACKAGE OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS, THE PRODUCTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, UM, BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
WELL, I NOTICED YOU HAD SOME CRITERIA HERE.
I MEAN, PRICE, OBVIOUSLY, UM, AND, UH, SUSTAINABILITY DELIVERY, REPORTING, UM, MINORITY BUSINESS, UH, PARTICIPATION, ONLINE, ORDERING, ARE YOU TELLING YOU THAT YOU HAVE NO WAITING ON ANY OF THESE ITEMS? ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE REVIEWED OVERALL.
IT'S IN A FORMAL GROUP OF PATIENTS AND WE DO HAVE WAITING, UM, AND THEN A COLLABORATIVE, WE DON'T HAVE WAITING.
IT'S JUST LOOKED AT THE OVERALL PACKAGE, UM, OF THE OFFERING IS LOOKED AT, UH, HOW MANY OTHER COOPERATIVE GROUPS DID YOU LOOK AT OTHER THAN SOURCE? WELL, I CAN, I CAN FIND OUT THOSE DETAILS IF YOU'D LIKE, I D I DON'T KNOW, UM, HOW MANY MOMENTS THAT, I GUESS FOR ME, I'M JUST SPEAKING FOR MYSELF AND I DON'T KNOW.
I DO YOU, DID YOU ALL SEEK, UM, INFORMATION FROM THE BUYBOARD THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ONE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN REVIEWED YET? UM, SO THERE, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT COLLABORATIVES THAT, THAT WE, AS A CITY ARE PERMITTED TO USE, AND THEY'RE ALL LOOKED AT TO SEE IF, UM, WHAT VENDORS ARE AVAILABLE, AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES AND GOODS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
UM, SO THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ONE THAT, THAT WAS REVIEWED NOW IN THIS PARTICULAR CONTRACT.
IS IT PRIMARILY, ARE YOU LOOKING AT OFFICE SUPPLIES? IS THAT THE PRIMARY ITEM YOU'RE LOOKING FOR ON THIS CONTRACT? YES, LAST WEEK, UH, WE APPROVED ONE WITH HOME DEPOT FOR 13 MILLION.
THIS ONE'S, UH, I MEAN, WE, OBVIOUSLY, THAT'S NOT A SHARE, BUT THE TOTAL CONTRACT WAS 13 MILLION.
THIS ONE'S A LITTLE OVER 13 MILLION, UH, AND YET, YOU KNOW, GOING, UH, LAST WEEK IT WAS HOME DEPOT.
AND I JUST DID A LITTLE GOOGLING THIS MORNING.
I MEAN, AN OFFICE SUPPLIES, YOU CAN GET OFFICE SUPPLIES THROUGH HOME PEOPLE.
WHY DO, WHY WAS THIS DIVIDED INTO TWO CONTRACTS AND NOT DONE AS WELL? THERE MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, VARIETY IS ALWAYS HELPFUL.
UM, THERE MIGHT BE SOME ITEMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FROM ONE AND NOT THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, IF THE, IF WE HAVE TWO CONTRACTS DEPARTMENT MAY BE ABLE TO ORDER, THEY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO GET SOMETHING AS QUICKLY AS NEED.
UM, THERE MIGHT BE SOME PRICING.
UM, SO JUST, IT OFFERS FLEXIBILITY TO DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE CONTRACT AVAILABLE.
[00:15:01]
THIS IS JACK PLACE AGAIN, AND I APOLOGIZE, BUT I'M NOT ABLE IN MY CURRENT CONFIGURATION PULL UP WITH LAST MONTH'S AGENDA.ARE YOU SURE THAT THAT WASN'T THE HOME PEOPLE ITEM WASN'T FOR INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES? UH, IT SAID, UH, IT SAID, UH, IT HAD INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES, BUT IT ALSO HAD OFFICE SUPPLIES IN THERE WERE OPERATING SUPPLIES.
I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT TERM, BUT IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THEY HAVE LOTS OF OFFICE SUPPLIES AS WELL.
UM, UH, THE, WHAT BOTHERS ME ABOUT THESE ARE TWO VERY SIZEABLE CONTRACTS EACH FOR OVER $13 MILLION.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE THERE COULD BE, YOU KNOW, I JUST, IT JUST BOTHERED ME A LITTLE BIT.
WE DON'T GET A LOT OF INFORMATION FOR US TO BE ABLE TO EVALUATE THE CONTRACT.
THAT'S PROBABLY THE BASIC ITEM HERE.
UM, AND YEAH, JUST GETTING A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT CO-OPS WERE CONSIDERED, WHY THE BID WAS AWARDED TO ONE VERSUS ANOTHER.
I MEAN, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO US IN TERMS OF EVALUATING IT.
WE HAD TWO DIFFERENT PURCHASING CO-OPS LAST WEEK AND WE'VE GOT ANOTHER ONE THIS WEEK.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY CO-OPS THERE ARE OUT THERE, BUT IT JUST SEEMS TO ME THAT IT'S HARD TO EVALUATE WITHOUT A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT COMMISSIONER.
HI, UM, UH, THIS IS KAREN HEDDEN WITH A QUESTION ON, UM, THE PURCHASING THAT COMES WITH THIS, UM, UH, RCA.
AND IT DOES SAY IT INCLUDES A HUNDRED PERCENT RECYCLED PAPER.
I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT IN SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY.
THAT'S UM, THAT'S GOOD TO SEE.
UM, JUST TO QUESTION, IS THAT, UM, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE PAPER, UM, OR IS IT JUST A PORTION OF IT AS MUCH AS CAN BE, UM, DONE? UM, CAN YOU, DO YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION REGARDING THAT ASPECT? I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.
I, EXCUSE ME, I HAVE ONE FINAL QUESTION AND THAT IS, THIS IS, UH, BASICALLY A WAR MAKING AN AWARD TO SOMEBODY ALREADY.
WHO'S PROVIDING THESE PRODUCTS TO THE CITY.
HOW MUCH OF AN INCREASE IS THIS OVER THE EXISTING CONTRACT? I DON'T KNOW, BUT I CAN LOOK THAT INFORMATION UP AND PROVIDE THAT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.
I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
YOU NEED DON, CAN YOU HEAR ME? THERE YOU GO.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS? HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.
I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER TWO.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER TUTTLE.
UH, WITH THAT, I'LL CALL THE ROLE, UH, COMMISSIONER TUTTLE.
MAY I SHARE? SORRY, I DIDN'T HEAR YOU, CARRIE.
UH, SO THE ITEM PASSES WAKING BIG, UH, YAY.
[00:20:01]
OPPOSED.THAT TAKES US THROUGH OUR NEW BUSINESS AGENDA.
UM, SECTION MOVING ON TO STAFF BRIEFINGS AND REPORTS, UH, ITEM NUMBER
[Item 4]
FOUR.THIS IS AN UPDATE ON THE AUSTIN ENERGY NEW HEADQUARTERS THAT WAS REQUESTED BY COMMISSIONER REED.
UM, AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE SOMEONE FROM OFFICE ENERGY HERE ON THE LINE.
THAT'S READY TO GIVE US A PRESENTATION ACTUALLY, UH, MADAM CHAIR THAT YOU HAVE, UH, ANDY MOORE AND HE SHOULD BE HERE ON THE WEBEX.
AND UM, I WOULD ASK OURS WITH ASSISTANT AT CTM IF THEY COULD PULL UP ITEM FOUR AND WE'LL GO ABOUT THAT ROUTE.
IF THEY'RE ABLE TO SHOW THE PRESENTATION ON THE HEADQUARTERS, WHICH PDF DID WE WANT TO BRING UP? YES, SIR.
AND I APOLOGIZE, I DID EMAIL THAT TO YOU AGAIN.
I WASN'T SURE IF YOU WERE ABLE TO CHECK YOUR EMAIL, BUT IF NOT THAT VERY TOP ONE MEETING MATERIALS, THERE'S A PDF VERSION THAT SHOULD HAVE IT IN THERE.
I FEEL YOU CHECK THE BOOKMARKS.
IF YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT, YOU CAN SCROLL DOWN TO ITEM FOUR OR WE CAN ASK ANDY TO SHARE HIS SCREEN.
IS THIS THIS CORRECT PDF, SIR? YEAH, YOU'RE DOING GOOD.
WHAT'S THAT? IS THIS THE PDF WE WANT TO LOOK AT? YES, SIR.
KEEP GOING DOWN AS TO, OH, I SEE THE ACTUAL PAGE.
COMMISSIONERS SHOULD BE AFTER THIS ITEM, DRIVING THREE ON ME THAT YOU ARE.
AND IF YOU WOULD, SIR, IF YOU COULD CHECK YOUR EMAIL AND SEE IF YOU HAVE THE ACTUAL PRESENTATIONS THAT MIGHT, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THAT'S EASIER TO VIEW.
AND YOU CAN TAKE A, SORRY, SIR.
I'M SORRY ABOUT THE WINDOWS PASS FOR THAT.
SINCE WE'RE ON THE BROADCAST NOW I CAN'T GET IN THE EMAIL.
I'LL I'LL JUST ASK YOU TO SCROLL DOWN WHEN, WHEN I'M READY.
UH, GOOD MORNING COMMISSIONERS.
I'M UM, I'M THE PSP PROGRAM MANAGER FOR, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN FINANCIAL SERVICES.
AND I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE AUSTIN ENERGY CLUBS AT, AT, UH, AND MUELLER AND, UM, WHERE WE ARE IN THAT PROCESS AND GIVE YOU SOME BACKGROUND AS WELL ON, ON THE PROCESS ITSELF AND THEN, UM, UH, WHERE WE ARE ON THE BUILDING PROJECT.
SO, UM, YOU SCROLL DOWN TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
WELL, ACTUALLY, UM, YEAH, JUST LEAVE IT OUT.
SO I'LL, I'LL GO THROUGH AND JUST GIVE YOU A QUICK, UM, SORRY, I'M SORRY.
YOU'RE SCROLLING THROUGH THE WHOLE PRESENTATION.
THE SLIDE NUMBERS ARE THAT BAR ON THE LEFT.
IT SAYS LIKE FOUR, THREE, TWO AS GOOD AS TWO.
IT SAYS ITEM FOUR ON THE TOP LEFT AND TO THE LEFT.
YOU SEE HOW IT HAS A ONE THAT LOOKS KINDA LIKE A, UH, A POINTER THAT'S EFFECTIVELY THE PAGE NUMBER FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
YOU SEE, THE SECOND ONE SAYS SECOND THAT SAYS TWO POINTS TO HQ UPDATE.
SO, UM, THE CITY IS USING A, A NEW PROCESS OR SO THE ACQUISITION, UH, AND THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO COUNCIL DIRECTION TO GET OUT OF A LEASED OFFICE SPACE.
AND, AND THE PROCESS ITSELF IS INTENDED TO, IT'S INTENDED TO HARNESS COMMERCIAL, UH, THE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPER EXPERIENCE EXPERTISE AND ALSO THEIR FINANCING.
UM, AND SO THIS IS A WAY FOR US TO SHIFT THE RISK FROM THE CITY TO THE, UH, THE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPERS WHO HAVE THE EXPERTISE FOR, UM, FOR BUILDING
[00:25:01]
OFFICE SPACE.THE WAY THAT THE PROCESS WORKS IS THE DEVELOPER OWNS THE PROPERTY ITSELF AND THEY RUN THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS.
UH, AND SO IT'S NOT A TRADITIONAL, UH, CITY OR AUSTIN ENERGY PROJECT.
UM, IT'S, IT BECOMES A, UH, REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION.
SO WE SIGNED AN AGREEMENT, UM, WITH THEM TO PURCHASE THE BUILDING UPON COMPLETION.
IN THIS CASE, UH, WE WENT TO COUNCIL AND DECEMBER OF 2018 FOR AUTHORIZATION, AND THEN WE SIGNED THE, UH, THE ACTUAL PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT A LITTLE BIT LATER.
UM, WELL, IN, IN, UM, ALMOST A YEAR AGO, A LITTLE LESS, EXCUSE ME, A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO.
AND W WITH THAT PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT, WE, WE AGREED TO A FIXED PRICE AND A FIXED DELIVERY DATE.
ANY OVERAGES ON COSTS ARE, UM, ARE COVERED BY THE DEVELOPER AND THEN ANY, UM, DELAYS BEYOND THE DELIVERY DATE.
THERE ARE, UM, THERE ARE, THERE ARE PENALTIES, UH, ON THE DEVELOPER.
SO IT'S A WAY FOR US TO, UH, SHIFT THAT RISK.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, UH, OFF OF THE CITY AND ONTO, UM, ONTO THE, THE PRIVATE SECTOR WHO HAS A LOT MORE EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE, UH, BUILDING OFFICE SPACE.
SO, UH, CURRENTLY WE WERE ON SCHEDULE FOR, UM, A COMPLETION DATE OF, UH, APRIL, 2021, AT WHICH TIME THE, UM, THE CITY AND AUSTIN SYNERGY WILL PURCHASE THEM, UH, COMPLETE THE SALE OF THE BUILDING.
AND SO IF YOU THINK OF, UH, YOU KNOW, A TYPICAL CITY PROJECT AND, UH, UH, LAST LET'S START TO FINISH, UM, SIX TO EIGHT YEARS, UH, IN THIS CASE WHEN WE'VE GONE OR, UH, FOR THE RFP TO THE ACTUAL CLOSE AND PURCHASE OF THE BUILDING, UM, IS MORE LIKE A THREE AND A HALF YEAR.
WE HAVE AGAIN, REDUCTION AND, UH, IN TIME AND, AND, UM, AND FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT, WE HAVE A, UM, UH, KNOWN, UH, PURCHASE PRICE SO THAT WE CAN, UM, WE CAN BANK ON, UH, NEXT SLIDE.
YOU A QUICK BACKGROUND ON THE BUILDING ITSELF, IT'S 277,000 SQUARE FEET OF CLASS, A OFFICE SPACE, UH, LOCATED IN THE, UH, ALONG, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE BOULEVARD BETWEEN, UH, GARCIA AND FILIPINOS STRICTLY ACROSS FROM THE, UM, DELL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL.
IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA ACCOMMODATE, UH, 1100 EMPLOYEES, UM, DESIGNED THE, UH, PARKING GARAGE TO, UM, BE ABLE TO EXPAND INTO THE TOP TWO LEVELS OF THE PARKING GARAGE.
ONCE WE ARE LESS RELIANT ON SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLE TRAFFIC.
SO WE CAN ADD ANOTHER A HUNDRED THOUSAND SQUARE FEET IF NEEDED.
WE'LL ALSO BE ABLE TO CENTRALIZE ALL OF THE, THE CORPORATE, UM, I'LL SAY ENERGY HEADQUARTER FUNCTIONS.
THE FIRST FLOOR WE'LL HAVE A, UH, UH, PUBLIC INTERPRETIVE EDUCATION SPACE WHERE WE CAN, UM, FILL THEIR LOSS ENERGY STORY AND BRING, UM, BRING SCHOOL GROUPS IN TO LEARN ABOUT THE DIFFERENT CONSERVATION, UH, PRODUCTS AND APPROACHES THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS PROMOTING.
IT WILL ALSO HAVE A, UM, A MEETING SPACE ABOUT 5,000 SQUARE FEET OF, UH, COMMUNITY EVENTS SPACE, WHERE WE CAN HAVE, UH, PUBLIC MEETINGS LIKE THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION MEETINGS, AND THEN ALSO, UH, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS CAN ALSO, UH, BOOK AT NEXT SLIDE FROM, UM, THE GREEN BUILDING STANDPOINT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, WE, WE BUILT INTO THE CONTRACTS ARE OUR, OUR, UM, OUR POLICY OBJECTIVES THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY, IN TERMS OF GREEN BUILDING A MINORITY WITH A KNOWN BUSINESS PARTICIPATION, LIVING WAGE, UH, PREVAILING WAGES, UM, UH, THOSE, THOSE POLICY OBJECTIVES.
AND IN THIS, UH, FOR AUSTIN ENERGY HEADQUARTERS IN THE CONTRACT, WE HAVE A MINIMUM OF, UM, I'LL SAY AS A GREEN BUILDING, FOUR STAR AND LEAD GOLD RATING.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GETTING THE BUILDING WELL CERTIFIED.
AND IN THE CONTRACT, WE, UH, WE HAVE A SILVER RATING IN BOTH CASES, WE HAVE, UM, UPPED THE, UM, THE, UM, THE REQUEST TO GO TO A FIVE-STAR, UH, SANDRA GREEN BUILDING AND THEN LEAD PLATINUM AND ON WELL BUILDING, UM, WE ARE GOING TO BE, WE'RE LIKELY GOING TO BE GETTING A, A GOLD RATING THERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GREEN BUILDING ELEMENTS IS AS MUELLER'S ALREADY A LEAD, UH, CERTIFIED NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE SYNERGY WITH THE PECAN STREET PROJECTS, WE'LL HAVE A ROOFTOP 400 KILOWATTS OF ROOFTOP SOLAR.
UH, WE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, REDUCE BY 10% EMBODIED CARBON IN THE PROJECT BY REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF CEMENT.
UM, THE CONCRETE WILL BE ON THE RECLAIMED
[00:30:01]
WATER SYSTEM.SO WE WILL USE THAT FOR IRRIGATION AND, AND, UM, THE FLUSHING TOILETS WILL ALSO BE ON US AND ENERGY'S CHILLED WATER SYSTEM, UM, BE HAVING A CHILLED BEAM SYSTEM FOR COOLING INSIDE OF THE BUILDING.
UH, WE'LL HAVE ABOUT 60, UH, STORAGE CAPACITY FOR ABOUT 60 BIKES.
WE'LL HAVE, UH, ALSO SHOWERS, UH, IN THE FACILITY FOR A BIKE COMMUTERS, BUT ALSO THEN FOR EMPLOYEES TO, UM, USE THE 140 ACRES OF, UH, PARKS AND TRAILS, UH, IN THE OTHER DEVELOPMENT, UH, THE PROJECT ALSO PARTICIPATED IN THE ENERGY MODEL MODELING PROGRAM.
UM, WE HAVE 20 ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING SPACES THAT HAVE COME THAT WILL BE ON DAY ONE.
AND THEN, UH, WE'LL BE ABLE TO EXPAND THAT UP TO 85, UM, CHARGING SPACES WITHOUT, UM, WITHOUT HAVING TO INSTALL A NEW AND FORMER, UM, MAILER, AS YOU'RE AWARE, HAS GOOD.
YOU WOULD ACCESS, THERE'LL BE A, UH, A BUS STOP IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF THE HEADQUARTERS BUILDING NEXT SLIDE.
AND I, I HAD TWO QUESTIONS AS THIS IS A CYRUS READ, UH, WITH THE COMMISSION.
UM, ONE IS, ARE YOU, IS THERE AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE THIS BUILDING ALL ELECTRIC AND OTHER WORDS USE HEAT PUMPS FOR HEATING, OR WILL YOU BE USING W WILL NATURAL GAS BE NEEDED TO, UM, FOR HEATING PURPOSES? SO THAT'S QUESTION NUMBER ONE.
IS, DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF, UM, ONCE BILL, UM, HOW CLOSE SHE'LL BE TO BEING A, UH, A NET NET ZERO ENERGY? SO YOU'RE SAYING YOU'RE ONLY GETTING 10% OR 12 DIFFERENT GREEN PERCENT FROM SOLAR.
DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF WHERE YOU'LL BE KIND OF IN THE, I'M NOT SURE HOW YOU RATE IT, WHETHER YOU USE LIKE AN ERI RATING? I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE HOW YOU WRITE IT, BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE KIND OF IN THAT SCALE OR FOR WOULD BE, OR IS THAT WELL, THE ANSWER TO YOUR FIRST QUESTION, UM, MR. REED IS, UM, WE WILL HAVE NATURAL GAS HEATING, UH, IN THE BUILDING ON DAY ONE, AND HE CHANGES ON DOWN THE ROAD WOULD, WOULD, WOULD HAVE TO BE DONE, UM, OUTSIDE OF THE PROJECT, ESSENTIALLY WE'RE AS A PART OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS APPROACH.
THERE ARE, THERE ARE SOME TRADE-OFFS WE, UM, WE ESSENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE AGREEING TO, UM, PARAMETERS FOR AN OFFICE BUILDING WITH, UH, THE DEVELOPER, THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR.
SO, UM, ANOTHER ELEMENT WITHIN HERE IS THAT, UM, IF THE CITY DECIDES TO, OR, OR SYNERGIES DECIDES TO, UH, PULL OUT THE PROJECT, THE DEVELOPER NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO, UH, HAVE A BUILDING THAT IT CAN, UM, AFFORDABLY MARKET, UM, PUT OUT ONTO THE MARKET AND THEN EITHER LEASE OR, OR RESELL.
SO THERE ARE SOME, UM, THAT THEN LIMITED THE AMOUNT OF, I GUESS, CUSTOMIZATION THAT, UM, ALSO THE ENERGY OR THE CITY IS, UH, IS ABLE TO REQUIRE.
I MEAN, THEY CAN REQUIRE A WHOLE LOT OF CUSTOMIZATION, BUT THEN THE PRICE WILL BE USED TO INCREASE AS WELL TO COVER THAT RISK ON THE DEVELOPER SIDE.
SO, UM, AS A PART OF THAT, YOU KNOW, WE GO THROUGH AN INITIAL DESIGN PROCESS.
UH, THE DEVELOPER COMES FORWARD WITH WHAT THEY ARE PROPOSING TO BE THE HEATING, COOLING SYSTEMS, UH, ET CETERA.
AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ABLE TO, UH, MAKE SOME CHANGES, BUT NOT, UM, NOT BROAD SWEEPING CHANGES.
UH, SO AS A PART OF, I GUESS, THAT'S THE WAY TO SAY THAT WE ENDED UP WITH A NATURAL GAS, HEATED, UM, SYSTEM, BUT THAT, UM, IF WE WANTED TO CHANGE THAT IN THE FUTURE, THAT WOULD BE, UM, THAT WOULD BE ON US AND ENERGY TO THE RETROFIT IN TERMS OF THE, UM, UH, HOW NET NEUTRAL WE WOULD BE.
YOU KNOW, I HONESTLY, I'M, I'M NOT SURE I CAN CERTAINLY FIND OUT.
UM, I THINK SARAH TALKING TO HIM ON THE, UM, ON THE CALL AS WELL, SHE MIGHT BE ABLE TO, UH, ALSO REBUILDING PROGRAM EXPLAIN, I KNOW THAT SOME, SOME BUILDINGS, UH, USE, UM, SOME SORT OF A RATING SYSTEM TO KIND OF SEE WHERE THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY ARE, UM, LOWER THE NUMBER, ESSENTIALLY THE BETTER.
AND I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WERE REQUIRING ANY KIND OF, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO GET TO 50 OR 45.
I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WAS ANYTHING LIKE THAT THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO GET TO IN TERMS OF YOUR OVERALL KIND OF WRITING INDEX ENERGY RATING INDEX.
WE HADN'T PUT THAT TYPE OF A REQUIREMENT THAN THE, UM, IN THE RFP OR IN THE, UH, PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT.
WE JUST HAD THE, THE OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR GREEN BUILDING AND, UM, AND WELL STANDARDS.
I WILL SAY THAT THE, UM, OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY HAS JUST COME OUT WITH A, UM, A GREEN BUILDING
[00:35:01]
PROTOCOL OR GUIDELINES THAT THEY ARE RECOMMENDING FOR, UM, OR CITY PROJECTS AND FOR P THREE PROJECTS.AND, UH, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT YOU MAY WANT TO SEE AS A PART OF THAT POLICY.
THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING YOU COULD MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON.
UM, I MIGHT JUST FOLLOW UP WITH SOME QUESTIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, THAT WE, YOU CAN ANSWER JUST THROUGH WRITTEN, YOU KNOW, WRITTEN MEANS, OKAY.
YOU THAT HAPPY TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS TOO.
SO WHEN I THINK ABOUT JUST THE LAST 20 YEARS OF ALL THOSE STRANGE THINGS THAT WE'VE HAD GO ON THAT WERE SURPRISES NINE 11, THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS.
NOW THIS COVID-19, WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE COULD SOMEWHAT FATHOM NOW, BUT IT'LL HIT US AGAIN.
WHAT I THINK ABOUT AS BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND THE ROBUSTNESS AND THINGS LIKE NERC CIP, CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION, BECAUSE THIS IS THE HEADQUARTERS.
AND SO CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT'S BEING DONE BEYOND THE GOOD THINGS, AS FAR AS MAKING THE BUILDING GREEN TO MAKE IT ROBUST AS AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE SO THAT IF SOME OTHER THINGS HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, I CAN THINK OF NOW WHERE YOU HAVE, UH, ESSENTIAL, UH, BUSINESSES HAVE A TEMPERATURE READING.
SO WHEN THEY HAVE AI MACHINES THAT WILL READ YOUR FOREHEAD TEMPERATURE FROM AFAR, AS EMPLOYEES ARE COMING IN TO SCREEN THEM.
SO THE QUESTION IS, AND IT CAN BE IN MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS.
I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO INTO HOW MANY CONTROL CENTERS THERE ARE THAT ARE, AND THE REDUNDANCY OF THAT LEVEL, BUT WHAT KIND OF METRICS DO YOU HAVE FOR BUSINESS CONTINUITY TO MAKE SURE THAT AUSTIN ENERGY IS ONE OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT, UM, ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, CAN HANDLE SOME THINGS THAT MAY BE OUT OF THE BLUE, OR AT LEAST LOOKING BACKWARDS, UM, ARE SET UP TO HANDLE, UM, THE STRANGE THINGS THAT WE'VE SEEN.
WELL, WE, UH, MOST RECENTLY IN, IN LOOKING AT, UM, YOU KNOW, COVID AND THE PANDEMIC, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, CREATING, UM, SOCIAL DISTANCING WITHIN, WITHIN THE BUILDING ITSELF VIA THE, UM, KNOW THE WORKSTATION THEY ARE EXPIRED.
SO WE'RE CREATING A SIX FOOT, UM, DISTANCE BETWEEN, UH, INDIVIDUALS, UM, AND THEIR WORKSPACES.
AND IN ADDITION, WE HAVE, UM, UH, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT, UM, ALTERNATING SEATING PATTERNS IN ORDER TO, UM, TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DISTANCING WITHIN THE WORKSPACE, OR, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, THE, UM, UM, RESULTS OF THE PANDEMIC IS THAT WE, UM, NOT ONLY AUSTIN ENERGY, BUT THE CITY IN GENERAL HAS BEEN, UM, WE'VE LEARNED HOW TO TELECOMMUTE AND, UM, AND THAT PROVIDES A LOT, A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY, UM, TO NOT ONLY, UH, YOU KNOW, DEAL WITH, UM, THE PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, COVID, UH, THIS PARTICULAR, UH, PANDEMIC, BUT ALSO ANY FUTURE ISSUES THAT MAY ARISE.
UM, UH, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, UH, PROVIDING ADDITIONAL, UM, SCREENS AND, UM, BARRIERS WITHIN THE BUILDING, UM, TRAFFIC PATTERNS WITHIN THE BUILDING, UM, IN TERMS OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE POWER, UM, POWER TO THE BUILDING ITSELF.
WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE UPS SYSTEM AND THEN ALSO A BACKUP GENERATOR FOR ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS WITHIN THE BUILDING ITSELF.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE THE, THE MOST CRITICAL NEED IS THE, UM, UH, THE CALL CENTER.
AND THEN ALSO THE, UM, EMO THE, UM, A TRADING FLOOR.
UH, AND THOSE WILL BOTH BE ON THE BACKUP SYSTEMS THAT WE'LL HAVE.
UM, MARC NEBRASKA COULD PROBABLY TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE DISCUSSIONS WE'VE BEEN HAVING IN TERMS OF, UH, ENSURING THAT THOSE CRITICAL NEEDS ARE, ARE COVERED WITHIN THE BUILDING.
I THINK WE'VE ALSO, UH, BEEN REALIZING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THINGS GET TO A CERTAIN, A CERTAIN, UH, LEVEL OF, UH, OPERABILITY, THEN, UH, IT'S PROBABLY MORE IMPORTANT THAT WE ARE NOT AT THE OFFICE BUILDING.
SO, UM, AT THE SAME TIME WE HAVE IDENTIFIED WHAT THOSE CRITICAL NEEDS ARE AND ARE PROVIDING, UH, THE BACKUP SYSTEMS AND ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL THINGS ON NERC CIP, CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION SIDES, THE BACKUP GENERATORS.
UM, WE HAD ORIGINALLY PLANNED TO HAVE A, UH, UH, COMMAND CENTER WITHIN THE BUILDING.
HOWEVER, UM, THERE IS ANOTHER FACILITY THAT AUSTIN
[00:40:01]
ENERGY, UH, RECENTLY, UH, CREATED AND THE DECISION WAS MADE TO, UM, IN, IN THAT SITUATION TO SHIFT OVER TO, UM, TO THAT COMMAND CENTER.I THINK, UM, OUR BRAS PROBABLY TALKED A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT IF YOU'D BE WANTING TO GET INTO MORE OF THE DETAILS, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE ALREADY ON IT.
UM, THE NEXT SLIDE HAS, UM, UH, THE SCORING THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, UM, UM, STATUS OF WHAT THE, UM, THE GREEN BUILDING SCORING WOULD BE 75 WOULD BE FOR FIVE-STAR WE'RE AT 77.
UM, WITH THE YESES THAT WE HAVE IN THE MAYBES TO GET TO, UM, A GOOD COMFORT ZONE FOR A FIVE STAR RATING, UH, SIMILAR WITH, UH, UM, THE LEAD SCORING, UH, HAPPY TO PROVIDE THOSE, UH, ACTUAL SCORECARDS FOR YOU, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THE DETAILS.
AND THEN, UM, THE WELL BUILDING, UM, STANDARDS.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THOSE, BUT THEY LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE AT THE, THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE, UH, OF THE BUILDING ITSELF.
UM, UM, HOW MUCH NATURAL LIGHT, UH, VENTILATION, UM, UH, AN ACTIVE, UH, AN ACTIVE FLOOR PLAN THAT PROMOTES, UH, WHAT'S WALKING, UM, THOSE TYPES OF ELEMENTS, UM, UH, NUTRITION, UM, UM, A LITTLE BIT SO THAT THE SLIDE TITLED AGB AND WELL IS VIEW VIEWABLE.
AND THEN, UM, THE LAST SLIDE IS JUST TO REITERATE, REITERATE THE TIMELINE THAT I'VE DESCRIBED BEFORE WE HAD COUNCIL APPROVAL.
UH, THE END OF 2018, THE PROJECT ACTUALLY BROKE GROUND.
UH, SO IF YOU KEEP ON SCROLLING DOWN, PLAY CTM, UM, THE PROJECT, UH, BROKE GROUND LAST AUGUST, AND THEN WE HAVE A 20 MONTH BUILDING SCHEDULE.
AND SO IT'S ON, ON, UM, ON SCHEDULED TO BE COMPLETED, UH, NEXT APRIL AT WHICH TIME, UM, WE'LL MAKE THE PURCHASE.
UM, THE LINK BELOW IS, UH, UH, THERE'S A WEBCAM FOR THE BUILDING, IF YOU WANT TO, UM, ALL THE PROGRESS, UNFORTUNATELY IT IS STUCK ON MAY 13TH RIGHT NOW, UH, BECAUSE OF COVID, THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET UP TO, UH, GET UP IN THE OFFICE, BUILDING THAT IT'S ON TOP OF TO, UH, TO RESET IT.
BUT, UM, I'M ASSURED THAT THAT WILL HAPPEN, UH, HERE SOON.
BUT IF YOU WANT TO BOOKMARK THAT, THAT LINK, YOU CAN, UH, WATCH THE PROGRESS AND WE'LL, WE'LL DEFINITELY, UM, UM, GET SOME, GET YOU GUYS OUT THERE TO, UH, TO TOUR ONCE THE CITY MAKES THE PURCHASE AND WE OWN IT.
WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
I JUST LIKE TO SAY THE ONE WHO LIVES NORTH OF THE RIVER, IT WOULD, IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY GREAT MEETINGS THERE THAT MAY NOT WORK FOR KAREN, BUT FOR ME, IT'LL BE EASIER.
WELL, YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR A LOT FROM OUR EMPLOYEES AS WELL.
THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF A 50, 50 SPLIT ON THEIR EXCITEMENT LEVEL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS HEARING? NONE.
UH, THANK YOU, MR. MOORE, WE APPRECIATE YOU COMING AND TALKING TO US ABOUT THE HEADQUARTERS.
AND, UH, IF IT'S ALL RIGHT, I'LL SHARE MY SCREEN AND SEE IF I CAN'T SHOW
[Item 5]
THE PRESENTATION NUMBER FIVE FOR, UM, THREE OVER TWO.DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT'S GOING TO WORK.
UM, OKAY, WELL, UM, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T CATCH THE CTM PERSON'S NAME THAT WE HAVE ON THE LINE, BUT COULD WE PULL BACK UP WHAT WE WERE, WE WERE JUST LOOKING AT AND, AND SCROLL DOWN TO THE NEXT PRESENTATION.
IT'S LABELED ITEM NUMBER FIVE.
EVIDENTLY WHEN I, UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW, MARTY? YES.
EVIDENTLY WHEN I HAD TO CANCEL MY VPN, I LOST ACCESS TO THAT POWERPOINT, SO,
[00:45:03]
OKAY.HE'S GOT IT UP FOR YOU WERE RIGHT THERE.
AND AGAIN, IT'S ITEM NUMBER FIVE.
AND JUST TO ORIENT EVERYBODY, THIS IS A CUSTOMER CARE UPDATE THAT I BELIEVE MR. OVERTON IS PROVIDING, UM, AND IT WAS REQUESTED BY SEVERAL COMMISSIONERS.
AND IF YOU COULD ZOOM IN AGAIN TO WHERE THE SLIDE LOOKS MO.
ALL RIGHT, CARRIE, YOU'RE GOOD TO GO.
UH, GOOD MORNING TO THE CHAIR AND COMMISSIONERS.
I'M THE CHIEF CUSTOMER AND COMPLIANCE OFFICER AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND, UH, JUST AS WE GO THROUGH THE SLIDES, I'LL TRY TO REFER TO THEM BY THE TITLE OR THE NEXT PAGE.
UM, AS WE FLIP THROUGH THEM, UH, ON THE CALL, I ALSO HAVE WITH ME, JERRY, GALVON, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER CARE SERVICES.
UH, ANNIE ELAINE
UH, WE KNOW YOU MIGHT HAVE SOME, SOME QUESTIONS FOR US OR, UM, ADDITIONAL THINGS TO DISCUSS, AND WE WILL WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO ADDRESS THOSE ITEMS. UH, I WANTED TO PRESENT AN UPDATE TO THE UTILITY BILL, UM, TO OUR EFFORTS ON THE BILL RELIEF EFFORTS, THE FUNDING AND ASSOCIATED, UH, CUSTOMER CARE OPERATIONS, UH, THAT WE HAD TO PUT IN PLACE, UH, TO ASSIST OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, AND ALSO PROVIDE THE FUNDS TO THOSE THAT ARE IN NEED ON APRIL THE NINTH.
AND I'M STILL ON THIS TITLE PAGE FOR NOW, BUT ON APRIL THE NINTH, THE CITY COUNCIL PASSED AN ORDINANCE TO ENSURE CUSTOMERS' EXPERIENCE IN HARDSHIP DUE TO COVID-19, THAT THEY COULD GET IMMEDIATE UTILITY BILL RELIEF.
AND I WANTED TO SHARE WITH OUR TEAM AND UPDATE WITH YOU ON SOME OF THE ASSOCIATED GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE SUCCESS THAT WE'VE HAD IN PROVIDING THOSE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO OUR CUSTOMER SLOT TWO, UH, JUST SAYS THE AGENDA AS HE'S SCROLLING UP, UH, MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THE PRESENTATION, I WILL COVER KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR COVID 19 RESPONSE ACTIONS TAKEN IN OUR COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY.
THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE UTILITY BILL, REALLY FUNDING IN DOLLARS AND NUMBER OF PEOPLE SERVE AND OUR COMMITMENT TO ONGOING CUSTOMER AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
AND AS YOU NOTE, WE CAN PROVIDE IT IN YOUR PACKAGE AND YOU CAN SEE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE, YOU CAN POINT ANYONE TO THE WEBSITE WHERE THEY CAN ACTUALLY GET THIS ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE AND ACTUALLY GO THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
AND THAT'S WWW AUSTIN BILL HELP.COM/CONSISTENT WITH THE, UH, STAY HOME WORK, SAFE ORDERS IN EARLY MARCH, CUSTOMER CARE, MOVED AS COST CENTERS AND BACK OFFICE UTILITY, BUILDING A WORKFORCE TO AN AT-HOME REMOTE OPERATION.
AND FOR LIMITED NUMBER OF OUR INSIGHT EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING FIELD SERVICES, UH, WE DEPLOYED SOCIAL DISTANCING PROTOCOLS AND REINFORCED I R UH, PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT MEASURES, INCLUDING THE, WEARING A MASK, UH, PARTICULARLY IN, UH, SOME OF THE JOB TASKS WHERE OUR EMPLOYEES COULDN'T GET THAT INTO A TIRE DISTANCE, UM, WHERE THEY HAD TO DO MULTIPLE PEOPLE DOING A JOB IN A TIGHT SPACE.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO MAINTAIN OUR BUSINESS CONTINUITY FOR ALL OF OUR CUSTOMER COUNTS, UM, IN TERMS OF THE BUSINESS AND ALSO MAINTAIN, UM, CONNECTIVITY WITH THEM THROUGH OUR CALL CENTERS.
WE DID THIS, UH, WHILE KEEPING OUR EMPLOYEES SAFE, UM, AND ALSO, UH, SERVICING THE CUSTOMERS, UH, TO THE FULLEST, UM, TO ALLEVIATE ANY CONCERNS DURING THIS TIME PERIOD, UM, IN OUR CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT AREA, THE HAND OF ALL OF OUR UTILITY ACCOUNTS, WE IMMEDIATELY STOPPED THE UTILITY COLLECTIONS PROCESS TO INCLUDE THE DISCONNECTION OF LATE, UH, DISCONNECTION PROCESS.
WE ALSO DISCONTINUED LATE FEE CHARGES, UM, IN ANY OF THE THINGS THAT WOULD, UH, CAUSE, UM, ADDITIONAL CHARGES TO THE CUSTOMERS ON DURING THIS TIME PERIOD.
UM, AS I STATED IN THE INTRODUCTION, COUNSELOR, COUNSELOR SCREWED AND COMPREHENSIVE, USUALLY REMIND EVERYONE TO PLEASE PUT THEMSELVES ON MUTE.
IF THEY'RE NOT SPEAKING WELL, COUNCIL APPROVED A COMPREHENSIVE UTILITY BILL RELIEF PACKAGE, WHICH
[00:50:01]
INCLUDED THESE EMERGENCY FUNDS BEING AVAILABLE THROUGH OUR PRESS BUS ONE FINANCIAL SUPPORT PROGRAM.THIS EXPANDED THE RELIEF TO RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AND UNABLE TO PAY THEIR UTILITY BILLS DUE TO UNEXPECTED EMERGENT INFANCIES IMMEDIATELY AFTER COUNCIL PASSED THE ORDINANCE, AUSTIN ENERGY LAUNCHED AN EXTENSIVE OUTREACH CAMPAIGN TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND WE REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
WE EXPANDED OUR REACH TO THE COMMUNITY THROUGH THE COORDINATION OF OUR 56 SOCIAL SERVICE COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
WE EXPANDED OUR SERVICE CAPABILITIES TO RECEIVE AND PROCESS BILL RELIEF APPLICATIONS THROUGH THE HELP OF A THIRD PARTY CONTRACT VENDOR.
AND WE LAUNCHED THE NEW UTILITY BILL RELIEF WEBSITE TO ALLOW CUSTOMERS DIRECT ACCESS AND SEEKING UTILITY BILL ASSISTANCE.
UH, AGAIN, A COMPREHENSIVE MARKETING CAMPAIGN SUPPORTED THESE EFFORTS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
I WON'T COVER EVERY DETAIL OF THIS SLIDE, BUT JUST GIVE YOU AN OVERALL, UM, APPROACH TO IT.
AND THAT IS OUR EFFORTS, EVEN FROM OPERATIONAL PURPOSES, INCLUDED DIRECT CONTACT WITH CUSTOMERS WHO WERE DISCONNECTED SINCE FEBRUARY TO 15, WHO HAD NOT RECONNECTED, UH, THEIR SERVICES AS OF MARCH 15.
AND SO WE, WE HAD ABOUT 236 CUSTOMERS IN THAT STATUS.
118 OF THOSE CUSTOMERS WERE RECONNECTED IN, WHICH IS A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THOSE THAT WE ACTUALLY CONTACTED THROUGH OUR OUTREACH EFFORT.
THEY WERE, UH, THE SERVICES WERE TURNED BACK ON, UM, AND IT JUST WORKED OUT THAT THE NUMBERS WERE JUST IN HALF, UH, ANOTHER 118, UM, EITHER WAR, UM, LOCATIONS THAT HAVE VACANCIES OR THE ACCOUNT RETURNED BACK TO THE LANDLORD'S NAME.
AND SOME OF THEM CUSTOMERS THAT ACTUALLY CONTACTED US TO STOP THE SERVICES, OR THEY HAD REPORTED THAT THEY HAD MOVED TO A DIFFERENT LOCATION OVERALL, AND THE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY, IT INCLUDED OUTREACH EFFORTS THROUGH MULTIPLE, UM, MULTIPLE MEDIA METHODS, SUCH AS ENGLISH AND SPANISH FLYERS, INFORMATIONAL VIDEOS, AND DIGITAL ENGAGEMENTS THROUGH ONLINE TOOLS, SUCH AS FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.
UH, WE EVEN USE, UM, APPS SUCH AS NEXT DOOR.
WE ALSO PROVIDED OPERATIONAL OUTREACH THROUGH MASS COMMUNICATIONS, OUTBOUND CALLS AND DIRECT LETTERS, UH, TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, WE WERE REVIEWED SOME OF THE SPECIFIC TOUCH POINTS A LITTLE BIT LATER.
I'LL GIVE YOU SOME DATA AROUND THAT.
UM, UH, AGAIN, NOT COVER IT TOO MUCH IN DETAIL, BUT GIVE ENOUGH FOR YOU.
IF YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, WE'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER IT, UH, AS IT RELATES TO THE BILL FUNDING.
UH, TODAY, UH, THIS PHYSICAL YEAR, WE HAVE PROVIDED OVER $1.9 MILLION OF ASSISTANCE TO OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, THE MONTHLY DOLLAR AMOUNTS FOR JUST APRIL AND MAY OF 2020, UH, JUST SHOT ABOUT 900,000 OF THAT HAS COME JUST IN THOSE TWO MONTHS.
UM, UH, AND JUST AROUND THE TIME THAT WE STARTED THE NEW FUNDING THAT COUNCIL APPROVED, UM, THAT'S A REAL POSITIVE, UM, UH, YOU AND FEEDBACK FOR US.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE IS JUST SHY OF PROVIDING ADDITIONAL SERVICES TO ABOUT 4,000 CUSTOMERS.
UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THE FUNDING, UH, RELIEF TO ANY OF THOSE CUSTOMERS AND OTHERS WHO EXPRESS NEEDS.
UM, THAT'S GOING TO BE AN ONGOING EFFORT.
ONE OF OUR KEY WAYS TO THINK ABOUT THIS CHART.
UM, YOU CAN LOOK AT, UM, MANY ASPECTS OF IT, BUT I'M GOING TO ZONE INTO ONE PART OF IT.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE CHART, THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS RECEIVING FUNDING, UM, DURING THIS TIME PERIOD, IF YOU LOOK AT MAY OF 2019, WE'RE ABOUT 598, UH, RECIPIENTS, UM, HAD RECEIVED THOSE SERVICES IN THAT PRIOR YEAR.
AND COMPARED THAT TO MAY OF 2020, IT'S, UH, JUST SHY OF 2,500, UM, CUSTOMERS RECEIVING THAT ASSISTANCE.
THAT'S A 414% INCREASE THIS YEAR OVER THE SAME TIME LAST YEAR.
AND AGAIN, THE PROCESS OF USING OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, EXPANDING OUR OUTREACH AND CREATE AN INCREASE IN THE ACCESS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
UH, THIS, WE FOUND THAT THIS IS REALLY HELPING OUR COMMUNITY IN A VERY TANGIBLE WAY.
UM, OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS ARE JUST, YEAH, THERE'S SOME EXAMPLES.
WELL, YOU HAVE, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY WHO PROVIDES A LOT OF SERVICES TO THROUGHOUT THIS AREA.
YOU'LL HAVE, UM, AID SERVICES OF AUSTIN.
YOU'LL HAVE, UH, UH, CARA TOSS, UH, YOU'LL HAVE SO, UM, GOODWILL, THERE, THERE ARE A LOT OF SPECIFIC SERVICES WHERE CUSTOMERS ARE
[00:55:01]
LOOKING FOR A VERY UNIQUE, UM, BUSINESS OF ASSISTANCE BEYOND UTILITY, BUT THE UTILITY IS CONNECTED WITH IT THROUGH THE SOCIAL SERVICE NETWORK.IS THAT OKAY, MR. OVERTON REAL QUICKLY, YOU MENTIONED THAT THIS WAS GOING TO, UH, THAT THIS RELIEF WAS GOING TO CONTINUE.
UM, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND, UH, THE TIMEFRAME OR DO YOU HAVE, UH, THAT INFORMATION YET? IS IT, WHAT IS IT TIED TO, UH, JUST HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TIMEFRAME FOR THIS TYPE OF RELIEF, UH, LOOKS LIKE.
UM, CURRENTLY WHAT COUNCIL HAD APPROVED IS GOING TO TAKE US THROUGH THE END OF SEPTEMBER, THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER.
UM, WHAT WE DO SEE IS THAT, UM, AS THE CUSTOMERS, AS WE GO THROUGH THE SUMMER MONTHS AND THE DOLLARS ARE STILL AVAILABLE, UH, WE'RE GOING TO STILL BE, UH, VERY OPEN AND FLEXIBLE TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE DOLLARS ARE STILL BEING USED THROUGHOUT THAT PROCESS.
UH, AND ALSO TO THE PRIOR QUESTION, UM, THEY'RE, UH, UH, THEY'RE ALSO, WE USE THE FAITH COMMUNITIES AND, UM, OTHERS TO HELP IN THIS ASSISTANCE AS WELL, SITE SIX.
AND AGAIN, HERE, YOU COULD SEE SOME VERY SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF OUR OUTREACH EFFORT.
UH, THIS HIGHLIGHTS, UM, THAT WE PROVIDED DIRECT COMMUNICATIONS TO WELL OVER 300,000 EMAILS THAT WENT DIRECTLY TO OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, REGARDING THE UTILITY BILL PACKAGE.
UM, WE PROVIDED OUTBOUND TELEPHONE CALLS AND DIRECT LETTERS WERE FOCUSED ON CUSTOMERS WHO EXHIBITED DIFFERENT THAN NORMAL BEHAVIOR BASED ON THEIR PAYMENT HISTORY, SUCH AS CUSTOMERS WHO HAD MISSED A PAYMENT.
AND WE HADN'T SEEN THAT, UM, IN THE PAST, AND IT WASN'T SO MUCH THAT WE LOOKED AT INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS.
WE LOOKED AT IT AS A, UM, AS A QUEUE, UM, AS A WHOLE, AND THOSE THAT WERE LATE ON THEIR PAYMENTS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 12 MONTHS, UH, WE REACHED OUT DIRECTLY TO THEM.
LET'S JUST SEE IF THERE WAS SOME CAUSATION THAT THEY WERE IN A HARDSHIP NOW THAT THEY HAD NOT EXPERIENCED IN THE PAST.
AND EXCUSE ME, THIS ALLOWED US TO CONNECT WITH THE GROUP OF CUSTOMERS THAT MAY HAVE NOT NORMALLY BEEN PART OF THE ASKING FOR THE RELIEF EFFORTS.
THEY MAY NOT HAVE NECESSARILY BEEN ASKING FOR, UH, CAPS THE SPECIFICALLY AS WE KNOW IT, THE, THE CAAP, UM, THEY COULD HAVE JUST SIMPLY ONLY HAD EXPERIENCES THROUGH THE HARDSHIP LOSS OF A JOB, UM, ET CETERA, AND THEY WERE ELIGIBLE FOR THOSE FUNDS.
AND SO WE DID A LOT OF DIRECT REACH OUT, UH, FROM THAT STANDPOINT.
UM, IT LOOKS AT, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION CHAIR? OH, I'M SORRY.
IT LOOKED LIKE YOU'RE GOING TO STOP ME, UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, ON OUR NEXT SLIDE, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ARE GOING TO MAINTAIN OUR CUSTOMER OUTREACH SPECIFICALLY TO THE BILL RELIEF EFFORT, BUT WE ALSO HAVE OTHER INITIATIVES THAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE, UM, THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT'S ON OUR TIME SCHEDULE, UH, WHICH IS THE AFFORDABILITY UTILITY UTILITY SUMMIT, THE SUMMER SAVINGS CAMPAIGN, AND IN THE FALL, OUR COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS.
HOWEVER, WE ARE GOING TO TAKE NOTE AND CONTINUE TO PLAN WITH THE COMMUNITY AND OTHERS, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF PROVIDING VIRTUAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO KEEP SAFE DELIVERY OF THESE EVENTS AND DUE TO THE COVID-19.
AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR AS THINGS PROGRESS, WHETHER THERE IS SOME RETURN OF, UM, AN INCLINE OF CASES REPORTED.
SO WE WILL PROVIDE, UH, WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN HAVE CONTACT WITH OUR CUSTOMERS DIRECTLY, BUT ALSO SOME VIRTUAL PROGRAMS TAKING CONSIDERATION THE AUDIENCE IN WHAT TOOLS AND MEDIUMS, UM, THEY, THEY ARE PREPARED TO RECEIVE THE INFORMATION FROM US.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE PROVIDED SOME ADDITIONAL SAMPLES OF THE MARKETING MATERIALS THAT I MENTIONED.
UH, I THINK IT'S IN THE APPENDIX OF THIS.
THOSE ARE PROVIDED, YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE, UH, NEXT SLIDE.
UM, AND AT THIS POINT, LET ME STOP AND SEE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OF ME OR MY TEAM REGARDING, UH, THE SUCCESS THAT WE'VE HAD IN THIS UTILITY BILL RELIEF, UH, PROCESS.
UM, TWO VERY QUICK QUESTIONS FIRST.
UH, TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU HAVE, UM, MATERIALS OR OUTREACH TO THOSE WHO ARE PRIMARILY SPANISH SPEAKERS, UM, ON THE, ON THE CUSTOMER UTILITY RELIEF EFFORT? THAT'S THE FIRST QUESTION.
I'M NOT SURE IF YOU CAN ANSWER IT BECAUSE IT MIGHT BE MORE A DEBBIE KIMBERLY QUESTION, BUT I KNOW BECAUSE OF THE, COVID-19 THE, THE, UM, WHAT I THINK THE WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY LOWER PEOPLE'S BILLS MORE PERMANENTLY ARE KIND OF ON HOLD.
DO YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT, WHAT THE, UM,
[01:00:01]
WHAT THE THINKING IS IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO RESTART THOSE CONTRACTS? UM, AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW, WE CAN JUST, YOU KNOW, WE CAN JUST ASK, UH, DEBBIE OR SOMEBODY ELSE TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION.UH, HERE'S WHAT I CAN SHARE WITH YOU IN TERMS OF THE ENGLISH AND SPANISH COMBINATION ON ALL OF THE MATERIALS THAT WE PRESENTED, THE, UH, PRESENTED THE LETTERS, UH, THE MARKETING MATERIALS, UM, EVEN RADIO AND OTHER MEDIUMS IN WHICH WE USE WERE IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH.
UM, YOU'LL ALSO SEE ON THE WEBSITE, UH, YOU'LL SEE SPANISH, UM, LANGUAGE BEING USED WITHIN THE WEBSITE AND BEYOND ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
WHEN CUSTOMERS CALL US, UM, THERE ARE VERY, UH, VARIOUS LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS THAT ARE SPOKEN, UM, IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
WE HAVE A CALL ASSISTANT SERVICES THAT WE CAN HAVE COMMUNICATIONS WITH OUR CUSTOMERS PRETTY MUCH IN ANY LANGUAGE THAT THEY COULD SPEAK IN.
UM, AS IT RELATES TO THE WEATHERIZATION, YOU WERE CORRECT.
UH, WE MADE THE DECISION AS AN ORGANIZATION, UM, DURING THIS TIME PERIOD THAT WE WERE NOT GOING TO GO INTO HOMES, UH, TO DO THE INSPECTIONS.
AND WE ALSO WANTED TO KEEP THE WORKERS, THE CONTRACTOR SAFE, AS WELL AS OUR CUSTOMERS.
WE DON'T HAVE A DATE ON WHEN WE'RE GOING TO START THAT BACK.
I CAN GET WITH DEBBIE AND PROVIDE SOME MORE INFORMATION TO YOU, BUT, UH, THOSE CONSIDERATIONS OR IN SOME OF THE PLANNING THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW, UM, AS THE ECONOMY HAS OPENED UP, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT HOW ARE WE GOING TO PHASE IN OUR OPERATION TO ADD SOME OF THOSE SERVICES BACK, A DATE JUST HAS NOT BEEN SELECTED AT THIS TIME.
WE, WE CAN, WE CAN COVER THAT ON A FUTURE UC MEETING.
AND, UM, I JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION.
I WAS LOOKING AT THE AUSTIN BILL RENO ON ONLINE AS YOU WERE TALKING AND, UH, WHERE SOMEBODY CAN APPLY AND THEY, YOU KNOW, ARE TOLD WHAT TO DO IN TERMS OF APPLYING FOR HELP AND THE KIND OF DOCUMENTS THAT THEY NEED.
UH, BUT I NOTICED IT WAS IN ENGLISH.
I DIDN'T SEE A REFERENCE TO ANYTHING IN SPANISH.
UM, I DON'T HAVE THAT PULLED UP.
UM, I THINK IT'S ALSO AT THE BEGINNING OF THAT, WHEN YOU GO ONTO THE WEBSITE, UM, IT GIVES YOU AN OPTION THERE THAT JERRY, CAN YOU ADD SOMETHING TO THAT? SORRY.
I WAS TRYING TO GET MYSELF OFF OF MUTE.
ON THE VERY UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER.
THERE'S THE SMALL DROPDOWN WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY COLLECT LANGUAGE.
UH, THE, UH, THERE, I NOTICED IN A EMAIL THAT YOU ALL SENT OUT ABOUT THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU ENVISION THERE THAT THEY CAN APPLY FOR RELIEF AND, UH, HOW MUCH RELIEF DO THEY GET? HOW IS THAT DETERMINED? UH, WELL, UH, NUMBER ONE, THE MEDICAL VULNERABLE, THEY, THEY STILL, UM, ARE ELIGIBLE FOR SOME OF THE EXISTING, UH, FUNDING THAT WE HAVE.
AND WE ALSO, THIS INITIATIVE ALLOWED CUSTOMERS TO GO UP TO WHERE WE HEADED AT $1,500, UM, FOR A YEAR.
UH, WE EXPANDED THAT TO 3000 AND, UH, AND WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS WE HAVE NOT FOUND ANYONE THAT WE HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH HAS HAD, UM, A CASE WHERE THEIR CURRENT BILLS OR EXCEEDING THE AMOUNT OF THE SERVICES THAT THEY'RE RECEIVING.
IN FACT, WE'VE HAD SOME INDIVIDUALS APPLY, UM, WITH JUST SOME CONCERNS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, BUT THEIR ACTUAL ACCOUNT WITH US IS, UM, CURRENT.
UH, CARRIE, HI, I'M, IT'S LIKE, THANK YOU.
AND ELAINE AND JERRY AND YOUR TEAM'S EFFORTS TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, SO I MEAN, WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THE STAY AT HOME? UM, ARE THERE LESSONS THAT ARE GOING TO SPAN ONCE WE GET BACK TO GOING BACK IN THE OFFICE? CAN YOU SHARE SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S WORKED WELL, WHAT HASN'T, AS FAR AS THE TELECOMMUTING AND WHAT ARE THE LESSONS LEARNED? UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL LESSONS LEARNED AND WE'RE STILL, UM, ANALYZING THAT BY GETTING FEEDBACK FROM OUR EMPLOYEES.
A COUPLE OF THOSE THAT, UH, HIT MY MIND, UM, IS THAT, UH, ONE AND I TO THANK YOU FOR, UH, YOUR COMPLIMENT TO US.
AND I WANT TO THANK ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES, OUR IT GROUP AND OTHERS WHO HELPED US MOVE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF PEOPLE IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
IT EVEN WENT BEYOND CUSTOMER CARE.
WHAT WE LEARN AS AN EXECUTIVE TEAM IS THAT NUMBER ONE, UM, THAT WE'RE OPERATING VERY WELL.
[01:05:01]
SOME, UH, VERY ROBUST AND GOOD SYSTEMS TO WHERE IT ALLOWS US TO DO THIS BUSINESS REMOTELY.UH, WE THINK THAT THAT'S GOING TO BE, UM, AN ONGOING PART OF OUR OPERATION.
UM, AND SO, UM, MANY OF THOSE GROUPS, AS LONG AS CAN LOOK AT THEIR PRODUCTIVITY AND HAVE THEM CONNECT IT WITH THE OFFICE IN TERMS OF THE SOCIAL, THE SOCIALIZATION WITH THEIR PEERS, THAT LEARNING AND THE TRAINING, AND ALSO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE INTEGRITY AND THE WAY IN WHICH THE WORK GETS DONE.
UH, WE SEE THAT MOST GROUPS, UM, WILL, UM, BE WORKING REMOTELY ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
THERE MAY BE SOME TIMES WHERE WE HAVE FACE TO FACE INTERACTION WE'VE BEEN USING ALL OF THE TOOLS, HAVE TEAM MEETINGS, ET CETERA, BUT WE SEE IT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE WAY WE DID IN THE PAST.
UM, AND LET ME JUST KINDA NARROW IT DOWN AND, UH, IN A CALL CENTER THAT WE HAVE, AND THEN WE HAVE A LOT OF EMPLOYEES AS PART OF THAT CALL CENTER, UM, THAT ARE ATTENDANCE, UM, ADHERENCE TO SCHEDULE, UM, HAS ACTUALLY INCREASED.
SO THE NUMBER OF REPORTED DAYS OF SICK, OR, UH, FOR WHATEVER REASON, TAKING LEAVE AND NOT LOGGING IN AND BEING AVAILABLE TO TAKE CALLS, WE'VE SEEN THEIR AVAILABILITY TO GO UP.
UH, WE ALSO ACROSS ALL OF THE AREAS AS WE SEEN THAT, UM, THE DATA IS SHOWING THAT MOST OF OUR CUSTOMERS, OUR EMPLOYEES, WE'RE VERY HAPPY WITH THIS.
AND I THINK A LOT OF IT WAS IT CUT DOWN ON TRAFFIC AND THE OTHER THINGS ASSOCIATED WITH WHEN THEY FINISHED THEIR DAY, UM, THEY'RE ALREADY AT HOME.
AND SO IT ALLOWS THEM MORE TIME TO SPEND WITH THEIR FAMILY.
SO IT WAS VERY POSITIVE AND THERE'S SOME TECHNICAL THINGS THAT WE HAVE SEEN THAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR IT GROUP TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, FIX THOSE AND CONTINUE TO POLISH THOSE UP.
BUT FOR THE MOST PART, IT, UH, THE REVIEWS HAVE BEEN, UH, WELL RECEIVED AND THE FEEDBACK, UH, OUR EMPLOYEES ARE HAPPY AND WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY COMPLAINTS FROM OUR CUSTOMERS, UM, BY THE VIRTUE OF THE FACT THAT WE ARE DOING IT DIFFERENTLY.
WE DON'T KNOW IF MOST CUSTOMERS SEE ANY DIFFERENCE IN THEIR, UH, IN THE SERVICE BEING PROVIDED OTHER THAN WE DID CLOSE THE BRANCH OFFICE.
AND THAT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT AND WE'RE GOING TO BE EVALUATING WHEN'S THE BEST TIME TO OPEN THOSE SERVICES BACK UP.
WELL, UM, CHAIR, IF YOU DON'T MIND, IF THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS, UM, ON THIS PART OF THE PRESENTATION, WE ALSO, IN THE NEXT
[Item 6]
PRESENTATION WE WANTED TO SHARE, UH, THROUGH, UM, ELAINE THOUGH SUCCA AND HER TEAM, UM, WAS SOME OF THE INFORMATION ON OUR NEWEST PRODUCT, WHICH HELPED OUR CUSTOMERS MANAGE THEIR UTILITY USAGE.SO IF WE COULD PULL UP THE NEXT SLIDE, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO THE LINE MORNING CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, AND COMMISSIONERS.
MY NAME IS ALAINA SILKA, I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, AND AS CARRIE JUST TOUCHED ON, UM, WE CERTAINLY ARE IN UNPRECEDENTED TIMES WITH NUMEROUS, UM, INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES WORKING AND GOING TO SCHOOL FROM HOME.
UM, THE TOOL THAT THE TEAM IS ABOUT TO PRESENT TO YOU WENT LIVE LAST DECEMBER.
HOPEFULLY SOME OF YOU HAVE SEEN IT AND ARE FAMILIAR WITH IT AND ARE USING IT.
WE FEEL IT'S MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT AND IMPACT FOR THOSE AT-HOME CUSTOMERS OVER THE SPRING AND INTO THESE WARMER SUMMER MONTHS, THIS ENERGY MANAGEMENT PRODUCT, WHICH WE REFER TO AS IOM SITS ON TOP OF OUR EXISTING ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE PORTAL AND PROVIDE CERTAIN ELECTRIC CUSTOMERS WITH THE ABILITY TO MONITOR THEIR INCOME, MONITOR THEIR INCREMENTAL ENERGY USAGE AND RECEIVE PERSONALIZED SAVINGS TIPS AND USAGE, EMAIL ALERTS.
WHAT YOU'LL SEE TODAY IS A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF E M AND A LIVE DEMO TO WALK YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE FUNCTIONALITY.
AND THAT WILL BE PRESENTED BY KARA OR JOHNNY, AND ALSO VICE CHAIR TUTTLE.
UH, YOU HAD PREVIOUSLY ASKED ABOUT SMART METER TEXAS FUNCTIONALITY AND THAT WEBSITE'S FUNCTIONALITY AND HOW IT COMPARES WITH OUR METER DATA PRESENTATION.
SO JOHN HALTER FROM OUR AMI AND METER DATA GROUP WILL GIVE A QUICK COMPARE AND CONTRAST BETWEEN THE TWO PRODUCTS.
SHE'S GONNA SHARE HER SCREEN, GO THROUGH A COUPLE OF SLIDES AND ACTUALLY DO A LIVE DEMO.
HELLO, GOOD MORNING, EVERYBODY.
CAN EVERYBODY SEE MY SCREEN? OKAY.
AS ELAINE MENTIONED, MY NAME IS KYRA R JOHNNY.
I'M AN IT SYSTEMS CONSULTANT, AND I WORK FOR AUSTIN ENERGY SUPPORTING THE BILLING SYSTEM AND THIS NEW PRODUCT CALLED ENERGY MANAGEMENT.
SO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE CUSTOMERS OF SILA FEELY UTILITIES AND AUSTIN ENERGY MAY HAVE SEEN SOME OF THIS INFORMATION ALREADY.
[01:10:01]
SO I'M GOING TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE JUST LAUNCHED.THIS IS OUR FIRST PHASE INTO BRINGING MORE AUTOMATION AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE CUSTOMER'S INDIVIDUAL UTILITY BILL ONLINE.
SO OUR MODULE AND PROGRAM IS CALLED ENERGY MANAGEMENT, AND IT BRINGS TO US A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FEATURES, MONTHLY ENERGY USAGE, BILLING DETAILS, GRAPHIC VISUALIZATIONS THAT ARE COMPARED AGAINST LOCAL WEATHER DATA DAILY AND INTERVAL ELECTRIC METER USAGE DETAILS.
AS THEY'RE AVAILABLE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A CUSTOMER TO COMPLETE A HOME ENERGY AUDIT, PERSONALIZE USAGE SHIFTS, BASED ON THE INFORMATION THEY SUBMIT INSIDE THOSE, UM, ENERGY AUDITS, EDUCATIONAL, WEEKLY ENERGY UPDATES, AS WELL AS PROACTIVE EMAIL ALERTS FOR HIGH USAGE.
THIS BRINGS FEATURES THAT CUSTOMERS HAVE NEVER HAD BEFORE.
AND OPOWER THIS TOOL OPOWER IS ALLOWING US TO LEVERAGE ALL OF THIS INFORMATION.
WE'VE BEEN GATHERING WITH METERS AND PRESENT IT TO A CUSTOMER IN A WAY THAT HELPS THEM UNDERSTAND THEIR UTILITY PATTERNS AND MANAGE THEM OVER TIME.
SO I'LL HOP ON THE TRAIN, JUST A PROJECTION OF THE WEEKLY ENERGY UPDATE.
THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE CUSTOMERS AS CARRIE HAD NOTED, WE HAVE, UM, OVER 300,000 ELECTRIC CUSTOMERS.
SO WE HAVE THIS SORT OF DATA FOR, SO WE'RE SENDING THESE INFORMATIONAL EMAILS OUT WEEKLY, ADVISING THE CUSTOMER ON THEIR ELECTRIC USAGE AND TIPS ON HOW TO MANAGE THAT.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS BEFORE I DIVE INTO THE ACTUAL DEMO? YEAH.
SO IS THIS THE NEXT STEP BEYOND AUSTIN ENERGY APP.COM? AND DO YOU GET TO THIS THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN OR AUSTIN ENERGY? UM, THE WEBSITE THERE, OR HOW DO YOU NAVIGATE TO THIS? CAUSE SOMEHOW I MISSED IT.
OTHERWISE IT WOULD HAVE PLAYED ON, OH, YES.
I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU ALL THAT RIGHT NOW.
BUT WHAT I'M SHOWING YOU ON THE SCREEN RIGHT NOW IS ACTUALLY AN EMAIL.
IF YOU ARE ALREADY, UH, GIVING YOUR EMAIL TO, TO US AND WE HAVEN'T AND YOU IN ELECTRIC CUSTOMER, A RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER, AND WE HAVE ALL OF YOUR DATA, WE ARE ACTUALLY ABLE TO SEND THESE OUT TO YOU.
SO YOU SHOULD BE GETTING THEM IN YOUR EMAIL.
AND IF NOT, WE CAN ABSOLUTELY TALK ABOUT THAT.
HOW YOU CAN GET TO ALL THIS INFORMATION THOUGH.
I'M GOING TO FLIP OVER TO INSIDE OF OUR CUSTOMER CARE PORTAL AND YOU GUYS SEE MY SCREEN, SO, OKAY, GREAT.
SO I LANDED MYSELF IN THE, MY USAGE TOWN.
THIS IS MY OWN CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITY TACOMA CUSTOMER.
RIGHT? AND YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED ON THIS SQUARE OVER HERE, IT SAYS MANAGER, ELECTRIC USAGE, AS ELAINE LANE MENTIONED, THE ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IS AN OFFSHOOT OF OUR EXISTING PORTAL.
SO WHAT WE DID WAS A PLACE THIS WIDGET HERE, IT'S ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE HOMEPAGE HERE TO MANAGE YOUR USAGE.
AND WHEN YOU CLICK ON THIS LINK IS GOING TO OPEN A WHOLE NEW WINDOW AND PRESENT TO YOU A SET OF TOOLS TO HELP YOU MANAGE ELECTRIC USAGE.
SO ALL OF THE ELECTRIC DATA THAT WE HAVE HAS BEEN GIVEN TO OPOWER IS BEING AGGRAVATED AND VISUALIZED AND REPRESENTED TO CUSTOMERS.
SO THEY LAND HERE IN THIS, UH, IN THIS AREA, RIGHT? ANYBODY WHO HAS RESIDENTIAL SERVICE WITH US IS GOING TO SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
IF YOU, UH, DEPENDING ON THE METER DATA THAT WE HAVE FOR YOU, THE PRESENTATION MAY BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT, AND THAT IS THE WHOLE BENEFIT AND PURPOSE OF ENERGY MANAGEMENT IS IT TAKES THE INDIVIDUAL DATA USED BY US AS CUSTOMERS AND AGGREGATES IT AND PRESENT IT AND TRIES TO PERSONALIZE IT SO THAT IT CAN PRESENT INFORMATION TO US IN A WAY THAT'S RELEVANT TO THE ME AS AN INDIVIDUAL.
BUT IT LANDS HERE ON AN, UH, GENERAL GRAPH, RIGHT? AS A LITTLE BIT NICER, MORE MODERN, THE INFORMATION, IF I HOVER OVER IT WILL TELL ME HOW MUCH USAGE THAT I HAVE USED AND THE DOLLAR VALUE THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH THAT AMOUNT OF USAGE.
THIS DOLLAR VALUE DOES NOT INCLUDE TAXES.
IT DOES NOT INCLUDE DISCOUNTS IS JUST A TRUE REPRESENTATION OF THE ACTUAL COST OF ELECTRICITY.
WE CAN EXPLORE THIS IN DETAIL, WHICH WE'RE GOING TO DO SHORTLY.
SOME OF THE, IS THERE A QUESTION? ALL RIGHT, GREAT.
SOME OF THE MORE INTRICATE DETAILS THAT CAN BE PROVIDED IS AN ACTUAL, UM, IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE HIGH POINTS OF A CUSTOMER'S INDIVIDUAL ELECTRIC USAGE.
FOR ME, YOU CAN TELL MY PATTERNS WHERE I REALLY ON THE WEEKENDS WHEN WE'RE LAZING AROUND WITH THE TV ON, AND I GUESS THE DOORS OPEN AND THE AIR CONDITIONING ON, PERHAPS I DON'T KNOW, A LOT OF OUR USAGE IS WHEN WE'RE HOME ON THE WEEKENDS.
AND I CAN DIVE INTO MORE DETAILS TO THE INFORMATION THAT ALSO KNOWS ABOUT MY BILLING CYCLE, WHERE I AM IN THE BILLING WINDOW AND TRIES TO PRESENT TO ME INFORMATION ABOUT HOW MANY DAYS UNTIL IT CAN GIVE ME A PROJECTION, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT DOESN'T PRESENT ANYTHING TO YOU THAT IT'S NOT REALLY SURE ABOUT.
I'M USING ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE GIVEN DAILY AND THE METER INFORMATION.
IT GETS STATELY ALSO OFFERING YOU TIPS ON HOW TO MANAGE THIS USAGE.
RIGHT? I HAVE FILLED OUT MY ENERGY AUDIT.
SO BASED ON THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE ANSWERED IN A WAY THAT IS REPRESENTATIVE OF MY HOME, UH, THE
[01:15:01]
TOOL SORT OF BREAKS OUT THE USAGE OPOWER IS BUILT ON DATA ANALYTICS FROM THE HUGE NUMBER OF UTILITIES.IT REPRESENTS 30% OF THE METER MARKET.
SO USING ALL OF THE USAGE DATA THAT THEY GATHERED FROM CUSTOMERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THEY BUILD ANALYTICS AND THEN THEY USE THOSE ANALYTICS AND APPLY THEM TO OUR DATA.
SPECIFICALLY, WE CAN DIVE DEEP INTO OUR MONTHLY AND YEARLY AND DAILY INFORMATION AS WE HAVE IT.
SO DIVING IN HERE, I COME TO A COST VIEW, RIGHT? THIS IS A LANDING PAGE THAT WE'VE CHOSEN FOR THE CUSTOMER.
SO THEY CAN SEE IN REAL DOLLARS, THE AMOUNT OF THEIR BILL, RIGHT OVER TIME AS COMPARED AGAINST LOCAL WEATHER TRENDS.
UM, THERE'S SOME INFORMATION HERE THAT SORT OF SAID WHAT I SAID ABOUT, UM, HOW IT'S REALLY ONLY DISPLAYING NO TAXES, NO FEES, NOTHING LIKE THAT, JUST A TRUE ENERGY COST, BUT POWERS, BUSINESSES, UM, INFORMING CUSTOMERS SO THEY CAN MANAGE THEIR OWN DEMANDS.
SO IT'S BUILT TO JUST BE AS MUCH ABOUT THE USAGE AS POSSIBLE.
IF WE FLIP OVER, WE CAN SWITCH THIS GRAPH TO LOOKING AT IT BY USAGE INSTEAD OF BY COST THE SAME THING, RIGHT.
TRENDS AGAINST THE SAME WEATHER LINE.
BUT THIS VIEW WILL ALLOW US TO DIG INTO OUR DATA AND VIEW EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE USAGE FOR WHICH WE HAVE INFORMATION.
SO THIS VIEW CAN GUIDE ME AND PEOPLE, RIGHT, GIVING ME DAILY INFORMATION.
AND THEN EVEN IF AUSTIN ENERGY HAS IT, UH, INTERVAL INFORMATION.
SO EVERY 15 MINUTE INTERVAL THAT IT READS IS DISPLAYING FOR YOU.
SO WE'VE COMBINED DATA FROM MANY AUSTRIAN ENERGY SYSTEMS, OUR METER DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, OUR BILLING SYSTEM.
IN ADDITION TO THE ANALYTICS THAT OPOWER IS BRINGING SORT OF BRING THIS ALL TOGETHER TO HELP A CUSTOMER UNDERSTAND THEIR ELECTRIC USAGE AND HOW THEY COMPARE AGAINST SIMILAR HOMES AND TREND THEM TO DRIVE THEM TOWARDS MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT PRACTICES.
UM, SO WHEN YOU INCLUDE THE SOLAR METER DATA, AS WELL AS YOUR, YOUR NORMAL METER, LIKE THE AUSTIN ENERGY, AND ALSO THERE'S THE THREE 60 TOU PLAN THAT HAS YET ANOTHER.
SO WE COULD HAVE RESIDENTIAL WITH THREE METERS, E V P V, AND THE BASE ONE.
SO IS THERE A PLAN TO GET THOSE INCORPORATED IN THE FUTURE? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AND THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME ABOUT THE AUSTIN ENERGY APP.
I DID NOT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION PREVIOUSLY.
UM, SO TO THE QUESTION ABOUT SOLAR POWER DOES INCLUDE A SOLAR VIEW RIGHT NOW, THE WAY AUSTIN, ENERGY METERS, SOLAR CUSTOMERS, SINCE WE HAVE TWO SEPARATE METERS THAN THE USAGE COMPONENTS THAT WE USE TO AGGREGATE THAT SOLAR METER DATA DOESN'T REALLY ALIGN WITH WHAT OPOWER DOES TODAY.
SO AS OPOWER IS ACTUALLY A SUBSCRIPTION, A SAS PRODUCT, RIGHT SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE.
SO OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM IS GOING TO BE LONGTERM.
SO SOLAR ITSELF IS ON THEIR ROADMAP.
SOLAR CUSTOMERS TODAY DO HAVE PRESENT MOMENT HERE.
WHAT THEY DO NOT SEE SPECIFICALLY IS GENERATION.
WE ARE DEFINITELY LACKING AND PRESENTING THEM THE GENERATION, UH, INFORMATION.
AND THAT'S PART OF OUR FUTURE PHASE WITH OPOWER.
THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS ABOUT PRESENTING INFORMATION QUICKLY AND APPLY NEW WIDGETS QUICKLY.
SO BY THE FALL, BY WINTER, WE'RE GOING TO BE LAUNCHING ANOTHER PART OF THE PORTAL, WHICH WILL BRING NEW WIDGETS AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY IMPROVING OUR PRODUCT OVER TIME.
SO THOUGH WE DIDN'T, WE'RE NOT COMPLETELY EXCLUDING SOLAR CUSTOMERS RIGHT NOW.
THEY CAN SEE SOME PRESENT MOMENT, BUT WE DO NOT SHOW THEM THEIR GENERATION ON THIS TOOL.
AT THIS POINT, THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO WORK ON IN THE FUTURE WITH THEM.
AND WE'RE WORKING ON DIRECTLY WITH THEM AS THE PRODUCT, SO THEY COULD TAKE OUR DATA AND HELP US SORT OF REPRESENT IT TO THE CUSTOMER.
THIS IS A DIFFERENT TOOL THAN THE APP.
WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, TAKE ALL OF THE USAGE FOR ALL OF OUR PRODUCTS AND SORT OF MANAGE THEM.
IT'S BUILT ON TOP OF OUR BILLING SYSTEM, AND IT REALLY ALLOWS US UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES TO LEVERAGE THOSE FUNCTIONS, UM, IN A WAY THAT, UH, THE OFFICER NG APP DOES NOT.
SO THE AUSTIN ENERGY APP USES ITS OWN DATA TO DO SOME OTHER THINGS.
WE'RE GOING TO TRY AND REPLICATE THOSE FEATURES IN THIS PRODUCT AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING WE HAVE NOW IS STILL PRESENTED IN SOME WAY, BUT THIS TOOL IS COMING SPECIFICALLY OUT OF THE BILLING SYSTEM AND OUT OF THE METER DATA SYSTEM AND VISUALIZING IT IN A DIFFERENT WAY FOR THE PURPOSE OF HELPING CUSTOMERS MANAGE THEIR USAGE AS WELL, AND SPURRING THEM TO VARIOUS TIPS.
[01:20:10]
UM, WELL WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE AND WE CAN APPROVE IT AS AMENDED, OR WE CAN APPROVE IT, UH, EXCEPT FOR ONE SECTION IF NEEDED.WELL, CAN I JUST MAKE A POINT ABOUT, UH, OLD BUSINESS ITEM OR A, IT SAYS COMMISSIONER CANADY MOTION TO WORKING GROUP LISTS, WHICH DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE.
I THINK WE WERE TALKING ABOUT APPROVING THE MEMBERS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT WORKING GROUP.
ISN'T THAT WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT? YES.
I'M HAPPY TO REMOVE MY MOTION AND JUST, WE CAN TABLE IT TO MAKE SURE I'D RATHER GET IT RIGHT THEN THERE'S THE THREE RIGHT NOW.
I'LL GO BACK AND LISTEN TO THE MEETING BECAUSE I JUST DEEPLY REMEMBER WE TALKED ABOUT IT, KEEP IT WORKING.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO BACK AND REVISIT.
UH, AND THEN WE CAN, UM, WORK TO AMEND AND GET THOSE UPDATED.
IF YOU CAN, IF YOU CAN PLEASE SEND FELICIA ANY, UM, COMMENTS ON THE MINUTES FROM THE FEBRUARY MEETING AND THEN WE CAN GET THOSE UPDATED AND WE'LL TABLE UNTIL OUR NEXT FAIR.
UH, THANK YOU ALL, UH, WITH, UNLESS THERE'S ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION, UH, I'M GOING TO MAKE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE MEETING AND I GET A SECOND, NO SECOND.
WHAT WAS SECOND PIECES WILL BE MARRIED INTO OUR NEW PLATFORM.
AND SO WITH THAT, WE'LL BECOME A LOT MORE MARKETING, A LOT MORE COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION TO THE CUSTOMER AND THE TOOLS THAT WE'RE PRESENTING.
SO WE'LL DEFINITELY TAKE THAT FEEDBACK BACK TO OUR PROJECT TEAM AND MAKE SURE THAT WE COMMUNICATE TO THE CUSTOMER IN SORT OF RELEVANT WAYS AS TO HOW THIS CAN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THEM.
YOU KNOW, TRYING TO EXPLAIN, I, I DOWNLOADED A AUSTIN ENERGY APP, MY LATEST SPREADSHEET THIS MORNING, JUST TO TEST IT OUT.
CAUSE I THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT IT WAS REALLY TALKING ABOUT.
AND I'M NOW TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF YOU'RE NOT AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER KWH PER A 15 MINUTE NOW AND ADDING THEM UP AND I CAN'T BESIDES ENOUGH, HOW, HOW, UM, A YOUTUBE VIDEO OR A SERIES OF THOSE AND WALKING THROUGH IT TODAY REALLY COULD BE HELPFUL.
AND THE OTHER THING THAT GOES THROUGH MY MIND AND THE REASON I BROUGHT THIS, THESE TOPICS UP IN THE PAST IS, YOU KNOW, EVERY, SO OFTEN, EVERY FEW YEARS, THERE'S A, UM, WINTER SNAP AND WE HAVE SOMETHING IN THE NEWS.
ONE OF THE NEWS CHANNELS ABOUT SOME POOR PERSON IN, UH, AN APARTMENT THAT HAS THIS HUGE INCREASE IN THEIR ELECTRICITY BILL.
AND TYPICALLY IT'S PROBABLY SOMEBODY IN A A HUNDRED PERCENT ELECTRIC APARTMENT THAT MAY NOT BE WELL INSULATED AND THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THEY HAVE ELECTRIC HEATING STRIPS.
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU KNOW, A TWO K W AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM TURNS INTO A 10 KW HEATING SYSTEM.
AND, AND THEN THE AUSTIN ENERGY SPOKESMAN GETS THERE AND SAYS, WELL, WE'RE CHECKING THE METER AND YOU KNOW, ALL THAT.
AND SO THOSE KINDS OF PECULIAR SITUATIONS THAT ARE VERY EDUCATIONAL, ESPECIALLY WHERE THEY MALE SOCIAL EQUITY OR LMI CUSTOMERS TO EDUCATE, TO WATCH OUT FOR THAT TRIGGER FOR THE HEAT STRIPS IS SOMETHING THAT I KNOW WHAT I'VE SEEN IN THE PAST IS THAT WE HAVE 50% OF OUR ERCOT LOAD BEING AIR CONDITIONING.
AND SO THE MORE INFORMATION, AND I THINK YOU'RE ALREADY ON THIS PATH THAT I JUST WANT TO GET MY POINTS OFF, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE GIVE PEOPLE THE UNDERSTANDING OF, IF YOU GO TO 76 OR 78 FROM 73, THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS IN TERMS OF DOLLARS.
AND I KNOW THAT THAT'S NOT A TRIVIAL EXERCISE THAT COULD BE A MASTER'S OR PHD DISSERTATION IN THE ALGORITHMS FOR A SPECIFIC HOUSE LOAD.
SO I KNOW I'M NOT SAYING, YOU KNOW, WHY DON'T YOU HAVE THIS HERE? I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVE THIS AND THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, BUT IT WOULD BE REALLY USEFUL TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF PROTECTION PROJECTION WHERE YOU TURN THE KNOB AND YOU SEE, WELL, OKAY, I DO THIS JUST ONE MORE DREAM, MORE.
I MIGHT SAVE 20 BUCKS A MONTH, ET CETERA, TO HELP WITH THAT.
IN ITS TITLE, YOU MUST HAVE YOUR
[01:25:01]
POSTS ON THE FINGER OF TECHNOLOGY.THAT'S ACTUALLY ONE OF THE NEXT PIECES THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE LAUNCHING WITH ENERGY MANAGEMENT.
IT'S VERY FUNNY THAT YOU BRING THAT UP.
OH, POWER IN DOING RESEARCH INTO THE SAME AREA.
THEY FEEL THE SAME WAY YOU DO BOTH THOSE THINGS NEEDING TO BE RELEVANT, NAVIGATED TO ONE OF THE EXISTING TIPS THAT WE HAVE ON THE SITE.
ONE OF THE NEXT PHASE IS ALSO THAT THEY'VE ASKED US IF WE WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN IS TO ADD A CUSTOM COMPONENT THAT REALLY REPRESENTS DOLLARS IN EXACTLY THAT THEN ARE YOU SAYING I ALREADY HAVE, YES, SIR.
I HATE TO INTERRUPT, BUT AS A SERVICE ATX SAN IS INFORMING ME.
AND I JUST ALSO WANT TO LET HIM GET THE CHAIRS A REMINDER NOW THAT WE HAVE ABOUT THREE MINUTES LEFT IN THE MEETING.
IT'S NOT A, YOUR PRESENTATION IS GREAT.
AND NOT, I DON'T MEAN TO CUT ANYTHING SHORT EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT IN THESE DAY AND TIMES WE'RE GIVEN AN HOUR AND A HALF FOR THE COMMISSION MEETING.
SO JUST THAT INTENTION W UH, TELL ME HOW YOU'D LIKE ME TO PROCEED.
DO YOU WANT ME TO WRAP IT UP AND MOVE ON? I THINK KYRA, YES.
YEAH, ACTUALLY THIS IS, THIS IS MARTY.
UM, I THINK GIVEN THE TIME, THANK YOU FOR THAT REMINDER, UH, DEVICE.
UM, GIVEN THE TIME I THINK THAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY TABLE THIS DISCUSSION, IT'S BEEN REALLY INTERESTING AND I KNOW FOLKS HAVE PROBABLY EVEN MORE QUESTIONS.
UM, AND, AND PERHAPS WE CAN CONSIDER ADDING IT AS AN AGENDA ITEM, UM, FOR, UH, ANOTHER FUTURE MEETING JUST TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION.
UH, BUT I THINK AT THIS POINT WE NEED TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO OTHER BUSINESS.
UM, AND, UH, OR ITEMS FROM THE COMMISSIONER,
[Item 7]
SORRY.UH, COMMISSIONER HAD, IS THERE AN UPDATE FROM THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY RESOLUTION WORKING GROUP BY CHANCE? UH, YOU'RE ON MUTE COMMISSIONER HADDEN, SORRY.
THANK YOU THEN MOVING ON TO OTHER BUSINESS,
[Item 8]
UM, I KNOW THAT, UH, WE HAVE, UH, THE REPORT REGARDING CITY COUNCIL ACTION ON PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED, UH, ITEMS BY THE EOC.UH, IF THERE'S NO DISCUSSION ON THAT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS.
[Item 9]
UM, AND ON THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, I KNOW WE HAVE COMMISSIONER TUTTLE'S REQUEST FOR AN UPDATE ON THE SHINE PROGRAM, WHICH IS SCHEDULED FOR THE JULY MEETING.UM, THEN WE HAVE COMMISSIONER HATTON'S UPDATE A REQUEST FOR AN UPDATE ON THE CLIMATE PLAN, UH, WHICH MR. VICE TELLS ME, UH, THAT THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY IS PREPARING A WEBINAR VIDEO THAT THE COMMISSIONERS CAN VIEW AT THEIR LEISURE.
UM, AND THAT HE'S FOLLOWING UP ON WHAT THE STATUS OF THAT VIDEO IS.
AND THEN FINALLY, UH, WE HAD A REQUEST FROM COMMISSIONER WELDON, UH, FOR INFORMATION ON THE FAYETTE POWER PLANT, WHICH, UH, HE PROVIDED IN THE MEETING BACKUP MATERIAL FOR THIS MEETING.
AND I APOLOGIZE FOR MY LATE APPEARANCE AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT DATA.
AND WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE, UM, AT A FUTURE MEETING, THEY PRESENTED THE INFORMATION THAT SOMEONE WHO COULD JUST BE AVAILABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT IT, UM, QUESTIONABLE DATA.
WELL, I WANT TO ADD A FORMAL REQUEST, UH, AS TO SCHEDULE AN UPDATE ON REACH ITSELF SPECIFICALLY.
AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE APPROPRIATE TIMEFRAME FOR THAT WOULD BE AUGUST IF THAT'S FEASIBLE, JUST BECAUSE WHEN WE HIT THE SUMMER MONTHS REACH WE'LL OF COURSE NOT REALLY HAVE ANY PRACTICAL EFFECT BECAUSE PRICES WILL BE HIGH.
AND SO THAT SHOULD OFFER A COUPLE OF MONTHS TO CON TO WRAP UP THIS SPRING DATA WHEN IT MATTERS, AND THEN HAVE US GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONSIDER, UH, HOW WE CAN EXPECT IT TO PERFORM IN THE, IN THE SHOULDER FALL MONTHS.
SO FORGET, FORGET WHAT I JUST SAID.
COMMISSIONERS WILL WORK TO GET IT SCHEDULED, AND IT MAY BE A PART OF THE, UH, OPERATIONS REPORT THAT'S QUARTERLY GIVEN AS WELL.
THAT MIGHT PROBABLY MAKE SENSE TO DO IT THEN.
THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH AND SORRY TO RUSH EVERYTHING AT THE END, BUT WE'RE UP ON 1130 NOW.
SO I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN COMMISSIONER CHURCHILL, CHURCHILL, CHURCHILL, VIRGIL.
THANK YOU FOR THAT MOTION, I GUESS.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CUDDLE.
AND WITH THAT, WE ARE ADJOURNED.
I SAID TO THE RABBIT, ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE IT? I SAID TO THE RABBIT, YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT.
[01:30:14]
SWAT.IT SAID, TRY A LITTLE TENNIS SODA SET.
AND THEN HE SAID, I GOT TO WATCH.