* 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. [00:00:02] WHEN OUR HIV PERSON SAYS, WE'RE READY TO GO. YOU GUYS ARE GOOD TO GO. OKAY, GREAT. THEN I WILL CALL THIS VIRTUAL MEETING [CALL MEETING TO ORDER] OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION TO ORDER IT IS OCTOBER 12TH, 2020 AT 1:00 PM. WE HAVE AN ATTENDANCE FOR THE RECORD COMMISSIONERS HOPKINS, RAID, TUTTLE, BOYLE, TRUSSELL, AND WELDON. UH, BUT I GET EVERYBODY JEFF, I BELIEVE SO. OKAY. UM, ALL RIGHT. UH, AT THE OUTSET HERE, I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, UH, TODAY IS THE CITY CELEBRATES INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY, UH, AND READ A LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. UH, THOUGH WE ARE MEETING VIRTUALLY, UM, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF JIM, I BELIEVE WE ARE ALL IN AND AROUND AUSTIN. UH, SO I'D LIKE TO, TO READ THE FOLLOWING. THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE LAND FROM WHICH WE ARE ALL MEETING VIRTUALLY TODAY BELONGS TO THE TRADITIONAL TERRITORY OF A NUMBER OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, SPECIFICALLY THE ALABAMA COUCHATTA OR COUCHATTA EXCUSE ME, CADDO CHORIZO, COMIC CRUDO COGWHEEL TACAN COMANCHE KICKAPOO LIP IN APACHE TONKAWA IS LET ADELE, SIR WEBLO AND ALL THE AMERICAN, INDIAN AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND COMMUNITIES WHO HAVE BEEN, OR HAVE BECOME A PART OF THESE LANDS AND TERRITORIES IN TEXAS. AND I'M SPEAKING FROM THE DUWAMISH TRIBE. IT'S A MAJOR, UH, IT HAS A BIG LODGE WITHIN ONE MILE OF WHERE I'M SITTING. GREAT. THANK YOU. I AM SECOND. I'M SURE EVERYONE RECEIVES STEPHANIE CALLS, EMAIL, UM, BUT POTENTIALLY YOU DIDN'T. UH, BUT REGARDING THE BOARD AND COMMISSION MEETINGS MOVING FORWARD, UH, THE CITY HAS RESPONDED TO OUR, AND THE CITIZENS CONCERNS, UH, ABOUT THE STRICT ONE AND A HALF HOUR PUBLIC MEETING TIME LIMIT. UM, SO THEY'VE CREATED A NEW APPROACH WHERE THEY'RE MEETING, WHERE THE MEETINGS WILL BE HELD IN THREE DIFFERENT ROOMS SIMULTANEOUSLY. UH, THIS, THE CITY WILL, IS GOING TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO SCHEDULE OUR REMAINING MEETINGS BASED ON OUR PREVIOUSLY APPROVED DATE AND TIME WHENEVER POSSIBLE, WHICH I BELIEVE IS, YOU KNOW, 6:00 PM ON THE SECOND MONDAY OF THE MONTH. UM, HOWEVER, THAT WILL NOT ALWAYS BE THE CASE AS EVIDENCED BY TODAY. SO WE'RE HERE TODAY AT 1:00 PM RATHER THAN 6:00 PM. UM, IS THAT, UH, YOUR UNDERSTANDING, JEFF? DID I GET THAT RIGHT? YES, MA'AM. OKAY, GREAT. UM, SO OBVIOUSLY THE, THE, WELL, THE MEETING TIME HAS ALSO BEEN EXTENDED TO, FROM ONE AND A HALF HOURS TO FOUR HOURS. UM, AND I JUST, I JUST WANT TO NOTE THAT THOUGH, WE'VE BEEN GIVEN UP TO FOUR HOURS. I DON'T THINK THAT WE SHOULD USE THAT FULL FOUR HOURS AND I WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE WITH THE ADDITIONAL TIME THAT WE'VE BEEN GIVEN. I KNOW, AND I WANT TO KEEP OUR MEETINGS EFFICIENT. I THINK WE'VE GOTTEN PRETTY ADEPT AT THAT. WE ALL KNOW THAT WE NEEDED MORE THAN AN HOUR AND A HALF, BUT I DON'T THINK WE NEED FOUR HOURS. AND SO I WANNA, YOU KNOW, BE RESPONSIBLE WITH THAT ADDITIONAL TIME THAT WE'VE BEEN GIVEN. I KNOW MANY OF US HAVE DAY JOBS AND OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES DURING THE DAY AND IN THE EVENING, INCLUDING AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF. SO LET'S, PLEASE TRY TO KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UM, WITH THAT LET'S GET STARTED. UM, MR. VICE, CAN YOU PLEASE CONFIRM THAT WE HAD NO ONE SIGN UP FOR CITIZENS COMMUNICATION? THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY, GREAT. MOVING ON TO [1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – Approve minutes of the September 14, 2020 regular meeting.] APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. THE MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 14TH MEETING WERE INCLUDED IN OUR MEETING MATERIALS. ARE THERE ANY EDITS OR COMMENTS ON THE MEETINGS MINUTES? EXCUSE ME. ALL RIGHT. HEARING NONE. I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE SEPTEMBER 14TH MINUTES. SO MOVE COMMISSIONER REED. THANK YOU. IS THERE A SECOND, SECOND COMMISSIONER TRUSSELL. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? AND WITH THAT, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED. MOVING ON TO NEW BUSINESS. [NEW BUSINESS – CONSENT] THERE ARE 11 ITEMS ON OUR, UH, NEW BUSINESS AGENDA. WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO PULL ANY OF THE 11 ITEMS? SOUNDS LIKE NO, UH, I, THERE WAS ONE QUESTION [00:05:01] I HAD, I'M JUST TRYING TO FIND WHICH ONE IT WAS. IT WAS ON THE, UM, THE ONE UP AT THE DOMAIN. I JUST HAD A QUESTION. UH, LET'S SEE, UH, THE DISTRICT PLAN NUMBER NINE, NUMBER NINE. I PAID HER ASK THE QUESTION NOW, OR I GUESS WE CAN TAKE THE OTHER ONES UP AND THEN ASK HOW YOU WANT TO DO IT. SURE. I'LL UH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENTED ITEMS, WHICH WOULD BE NUMBER TWO THROUGH EIGHT AND THEN, UH, 10 AND 11 COMMISSIONER TRUSSELL. IS THERE A SECOND? I WOULD SAY THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER WELDON. UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. AYE, AYE, AYE. AND ALL THOSE OPPOSED. ALL RIGHT. WITH THAT ONE THROUGH EIGHT, 10 AND 11 ARE APPROVED. UH, MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER [9. (11/12) [Capital Contracting Office] Authorize award and execution of a construction contract with T. Morales Company Electric & Controls, for Domain District Cooling Plant (DCP) switchgear replacement in the amount of $3,659,000 plus a $548,850 contingency, for a total contract amount not to exceed $4,207,850.] NINE. UH, COMMISSIONER REED HAD A QUESTION. UM, IS THERE SOMEONE FROM STAFF THAT CAN SPEAK TO ITEM NUMBER NINE? I'M SORRY, CAN I, COULD I INTERRUPT FOR JUST A SECOND? SORRY. I'VE BEEN DEALING WITH CONNECTION ISSUES. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW. I AM CARRIE FOR A CHILL I'M ON BOARD NOW. HI, CARRIE. GOOD TO HAVE YOU. WE JUST APPROVED ITEMS ONE THROUGH EIGHT, 10 AND 11. UM, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T MOVED ON. UH, IS THERE ANY ONE OF THOSE ITEMS THAT YOU WOULD HAVE LIKED TO PULL? OKAY, GREAT. ALRIGHT. COMMISSIONER REED. YEAH. DO SOMEONE FROM STAFF. THIS IS PAT PAT SWAIN. HE'S ON IT, PAT. THIS IS CYRUS. HOW ARE YOU? GOOD. UH, SORRY. UH, I'M PAT SWINNEY, VICE PRESIDENT FOR POWER PRODUCTION, WHICH ALSO INCLUDES DISTRICT COOLING OPERATIONS. SO I'LL, I'LL TRY AND ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. YEAH, MY QUESTION IS THAT REALLY A COOLING PLANT, TOTALLY NEW. SO THIS SWITCH GEAR YOU'RE, YOU'RE TRYING TO REPLACE, ISN'T CONNECTED TO THE DOMAIN DISTRICT COOLING PLANT ITSELF. THERE WAS NOTHING THAT WAS PREEXISTING. IT JUST SEEMS STRANGE THAT WE'D HAVE A REALLY OLD SWITCH GEAR WHEN THE GENTLEMEN IS, YOU KNOW, A RELATIVELY NEW DEVELOPMENT. SO JUST A HOPE SO FOR BACKGROUND. UH, SO THE DOMAIN DEVELOPMENT ITSELF IS OBVIOUSLY QUITE RELATIVELY NEW. IT'S BEEN BUILT OUT IN THE LAST DECADE OR SO, BUT, UM, FOLKS MAY NOT REALIZE THAT THE DISTRICT COOLING OPERATION WE HAVE THERE, WE ORIGINALLY BOUGHT THAT IN RIGHT AROUND 2000 FROM IBM. AND SO BEFORE THE BIG DEVELOPMENT THAT WAS OUT THERE, THAT'S OUT THERE NOW, UH, THAT WAS AN IBM CAMPUS AND THEY HAD A DISTRICT COOLING, UH, AN ENERGY OPERATION OUT THERE THAT SUPPLIED THEIR CAMPUS. AND WE ACTUALLY BOUGHT THAT FROM THEM. AND SO, AND WHILE WE'VE DONE A LOT TOO, WE'VE REPLACED SOME OF THE CHILLERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT MADE IMPROVEMENTS. THIS SWITCH GEAR IS ACTUALLY QUITE OLD. IT'S 40 ISH PLUS YEARS OLD IN INHALED FROM THAT ORIGINAL PLAN, THAT'S ACTUALLY PART OF THAT ORIGINAL PLAN. AND SO IT'S, IT'S TIME FOR IT TO BE REPLACED. WE'VE HAD ENGINEERING STUDIES AND IT'S JUST AGED AND READY TO GO, BUT IT, SO IT PREDATES OUR OWNERSHIP, BUT PLANT OF THE MAIN, SORT OF THE UNDERPINNINGS OF THE PLAN ACTUALLY I'LL GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO WHEN IT WAS BUILT FOR IBM BACK IN, I GUESS, IN THE SEVENTIES. SO, UH, IT'S BEEN SOME OF IT'S BEEN THERE QUITE AWHILE. OKAY. NOW I UNDERSTAND. I WAS LIKE, WHY ARE WE REPLACING SOMETHING THAT JUST GOT BUILT 10 YEARS AGO? OKAY, GOT IT. UH, THEN I, I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. I WOULD, I WOULD MOVE APPROVAL. GREAT. THANK YOU. IS THERE A SECOND PUSH OUR VIRTUAL SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. AYE. ALL RIGHT. I CANNOT, I'VE LOST MY GALLERY VIEW, SO I COULDN'T SEE YOU. HANG ON JUST A SECOND GUYS. SORRY ABOUT THAT. OKAY, HERE WE GO. I'M BACK. COME BACK AND ACTION. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. OKAY. SEEING ON THE ITEM, NUMBER NINE IS APPROVED. UM, [00:10:01] OKAY. MOVING ON TO STAFF [12. Discussion/follow-up regarding SHINES Project update.] BRIEFINGS AND REPORTS, UH, TODAY'S STAFF BRIEFINGS AND REPORTS AGENDA CONSISTS OF MOSTLY FOLLOW UP ON PRIOR DISCUSSIONS THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO FINISH BECAUSE OF OUR, UH, LIMITED TIME. SO, UM, FIRST UP WE HAVE THE SHINES UPDATE AND I KNOW COMMISSIONER TUTTLE HAS EAGERLY BEEN AWAITING AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK SOME ADDITIONAL, UH, QUESTIONS ON THIS. SO WHO FROM STAFF DO WE HAVE HERE ON THE SHINES BILL KELLY HERE, BILL, WE'RE MOVING YOU OVER. HI BILL. WELCOME. AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND COMMISSIONER TUTTLE, I'LL LET YOU KICK OFF IF YOU'D LIKE. WELL, I THINK THE BEST QUESTION WAS THE ONE THAT CARRIE ARTICULATED WHEN WE WERE FINISHING UP THE DISCUSSION LAST TIME. AND IT'S, WHAT ARE THE TOOLS THAT ARE PUT IN PLACE OR WHAT'S THE PLAN TO GET THE TOOLS TO USE THE KNOWLEDGE LEARNED FROM SHINES TO BE ABLE TO, TO UNDERSTAND THE CAP EX IN ANY NEW STRATEGIES IN THE FUTURE WITH RESPECT TO D DEAR OH STORAGE AND YOU KNOW, ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE IN THAT DIAGRAM FOR, FOR THE SHINES PROJECT AS A TECHNOLOGY EXPLORATION. SO LET'S KICK IT OFF WITH THAT, ABOUT THE PLAN TO GET TOOLS, TO HELP MAKE THE BEST POSSIBLE DECISIONS IN THE FUTURE. UH, AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, TO COME BACK AND DISCUSS THE PROJECT WITH YOU. UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST, CAN EVERYBODY HEAR ME? OKAY, GREAT. UM, APOLOGIES. MY VIDEO DOESN'T SEEM TO BE WORKING OTHERWISE I'D BE ON VIDEO. UM, THE, THE, THE MAIN TOOL THAT WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT AND THEN DECONSTRUCTING IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND VALUE IS THE DRO ITSELF, THE DER OPTIMIZER, THE DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THAT WE'RE USING CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW FOR THE SYSTEM TO MAKE ITS DECISIONS, RIGHT? SO IT HAS A SET OF PRIORITIES IN THERE THAT ARE BASED LARGELY ON ECONOMIC VALUE, NOT ONLY VALUE TO THE UTILITY HARD COSTS AND SOFT COSTS, BUT ALSO DEGRADATION VALUE OF THE ASSETS THEMSELVES. AND SO THERE'S A CONCERTED EFFORT RIGHT NOW TO TAKE EACH ONE OF THE VALUE STREAMS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT AND DECONSTRUCT THEM. AND AS PART OF THE 2030, UM, RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN, UH, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT AREAS WHERE ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS CAN, UM, UH, PARDON ME, ENERGY SOURCE SYSTEMS CAN HIT THE MARK ON THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN ITSELF. SO RIGHT NOW THE MAIN TOOL THAT WE'RE USING IS THE, THE DRL, THE DERMS, UH, TO DECONSTRUCT THOSE INDIVIDUAL VALUE STREAMS AND TRY TO PLACE A VALUE SPECIFICALLY ON SOME OF THOSE SOFT COSTS AREAS AND AREAS WHERE THERE IS NO, UH, IMMEDIATE PRESENT, UM, KNOWN BENEFIT LIKE CONGESTION MANAGEMENT, UM, AND RELIABILITY SUPPORT, UH, ON THE SYSTEM. SO WE NEED TO MODEL THOSE THINGS AND WE'RE GOING TO BE TAKING A LOOK AT THOSE VALUES AND MODELING THEM, UM, SPECIFICALLY AS PART OF THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN. SO THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT EFFORT WITH MULTIPLE DIFFERENT SUB TEAMS THAT THE UTILITY IS PULLING TOGETHER IN ORDER TO DO THAT, GOING THROUGH YOUR CHART, I GUESS IT WAS IN SLIDE 34, WHAT JEFF SENT OUT AS THE PACKAGE, TECHNICAL LESSONS, INTEROPERABILITY, SIZING, CITING SAFETY. UM, WHY DON'T WE HIT THOSE BECAUSE THESE ARE ALL VERY INTERESTING, IRRELEVANT TOPICS, AND I'M GLAD TO SEE YOU AS MUCH PROGRESS AT SOFT TO THE TEAM. UM, HOW DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DRIVE OR DEAL WITH THE INTEROPERABILITY, FOR EXAMPLE, TO START WITH THAT? OKAY. YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. SO WE ARE PART OF, UM, MORE THAN ONE INDUSTRY WORKING GROUP. UM, MESA IS ONE OF THEM, UM, AN INTEROPERABILITY STANDARD FOR DER THAT HAS, UM, UH, STARTED TO TAKE HOLD. UH, WE'VE BEEN A SIGNIFICANT PARTNER IN THAT EFFORT. UM, MUCH LIKE ANY OF OUR OTHER SYSTEMS OR SYSTEMS INTEGRATIONS WHERE YOU HAVE, UM, UH, SIM STANDARDS OR INTEROPERATIVE INTEROPERABILITY STANDARDS BETWEEN OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND BACK OFFICE SYSTEMS WHERE YOU CAN PASS INFORMATION, UH, TO THOSE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS. INTEROPERABILITY FROM ASSISTANCE PERSPECTIVE IS VERY IMPORTANT. UM, RIGHT NOW, AS WE'RE SEEING IT, IT'S SUCH A YOUNG NATION TECHNOLOGY, UM, THAT A LOT OF IT HAS VENDOR LOCKIN, UM, AS OF RIGHT NOW, RIGHT? SO AS THAT MATURES RIGHT NOW, IT'S A VERY, IT'S VERY MUCH A HINDRANCE, UM, TO EXPANSION. UH, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS, IS CONTINUE TO WORK WITH VENDORS, UM, SEE THE, UH, THE MARKETPLACE ITSELF MATURE, BUT ALSO PARTICIPATE IN SOME OF THESE INDUSTRY GROUPS, UH, AND [00:15:01] ALSO WITH OTHER UTILITIES TO KIND OF, UH, FORCE THE HAND OF SOME OF THE VENDORS THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW. UM, WE DO PARTICIPATE WITH OTHER UTILITIES WHO ARE USING APPLICATIONS SIMILAR TO OURSELVES, UH, LIKE OUR ADVANCED DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. UH, WE'RE PARTICIPATING WITH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT UTILITIES, LIKE, UH, LIKE APS, FOR INSTANCE, UH, AS A COLLECTIVE. AND WE FOUND THIS IN OTHER AREAS TOO, OUR ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEM IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THAT, WHERE IF WE CAN COLLECTIVELY GET TOGETHER, WE CAN FORCE THE HAND OF THESE VENDORS TO UNLOCK, UH, THEIR APPLICATIONS, NOT ONLY FROM A SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE, BUT ALSO FROM AN INDIVIDUAL COMPONENT PERSPECTIVE. SO YOU CAN DO PLUG AND PLAY AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO NECESSARILY, OR PLUG AND PLAY AS BEST AS YOU CAN. YOU DON'T HAVE TO NECESSARILY RELY ON THE VENDOR, UM, AS, ESPECIALLY AS A YOUNG TECHNOLOGY, AS THEY MOVE THROUGH THESE VERSIONS AND THEY MOVE THROUGH THEM VERY QUICKLY, UH, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE LEGACY QUOTE, UNQUOTE ASSETS FALL FURTHER AND FURTHER BEHIND WITHOUT THE CAPABILITY OF HAVING THEM BE PLUG AND PLAY. SO FROM AN INTEROPERABILITY PERSPECTIVE, THAT'S REALLY ONE OF THE BIG TECHNICAL LESSONS WE LEARNED FROM AN INTEGRATION PERSPECTIVE. MOVING FORWARD, WE HAVE TO LOOK DOWN THE ROAD ON HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO CONNECT TO THESE ASSETS. UM, SIZING SIZING IS VERY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY FROM A LOCATION PERSPECTIVE AND WHAT VALUE YOU'RE GOING TO PROVIDE TO THE SYSTEM ITSELF BY SYSTEM. I MEAN OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, OUR ENTIRE GRID SYSTEM, UM, TOO LARGE, AND IT BECOMES AN ARCOT GENERATION ASSET TOO SMALL, AND IT DOESN'T PROVIDE THE ECONOMIC VALUE THAT YOU WOULD WANT IN ALL OF YOUR VALUE STREAMS, ESPECIALLY FROM, FROM A, UM, A LOAD PERSPECTIVE OR SUPPORT PERSPECTIVE. SO SIZING AND GRID LOCATION ARE GOING TO BE VERY IMPORTANT. AND AGAIN, WE HAVE, UM, UH, VERY GOOD RELIABILITY IN AUSTIN ENERGY. WE HAVE AS MUCH, UH, DER AS WE HAVE THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF PENETRATION, I THINK RIGHT NOW, SOMEWHERE AROUND 6%. SO UNTIL WE REACH THE 25 TO 40% RANGE, ACCORDING TO, UH, UT AND THE UT STUDIES YOU'VE PARTICIPATED IN, UM, WE'RE NOT GOING TO SEE A SIGNIFICANT RELIABILITY IMPACT OF DER AS IT IS. SO SIZING, UM, IS VERY IMPORTANT, UH, AT THE SPECIFIC LOCATIONS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE PUTTING THE ASSETS. AND SO LET ME JUST ASK A QUESTION. SO I'VE BEEN HEARING OVER THE COUPLE OF YEARS ABOUT, UM, EFFORTS TO TRY TO ENABLE STORAGE IN ERCOT, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE CO-OPS AND MUNIES, YOU'RE FREE TO, TO INSTALL STORAGE ON THE DISTRIBUTION AND ANY WHICH WAY YOU WANT. RIGHT. UM, I WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT BEYOND MYSELF IF I STARTED TALKING ABOUT THE REGULATORY IMPACTS OF WHERE WHEN WE COULD BE, UH, BY AND LARGE, UH, WE DO HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF PUTTING IT ON THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, UM, IN WHICHEVER MANNER IT SUPPORTS, UH, OUR BUSINESS. BUT, UM, I WOULDN'T, I HESITATE TO AGREE WITH YOU TO SAY THAT WE CAN PUT IT WHEREVER WE WOULD LIKE. OKAY. AND AS LONG AS YOU'RE UNDER ONE MEGAWATT, IT'S A AES AT IT AND IT'S NOT DISPATCHED BY AIRCRAFT. YES. OKAY. WELL, IT'S NOT DISPATCHED BY ERCOT, SO IT'S NOT, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO REGISTER ERCOT. DOESN'T DISPATCH IT, RIGHT. OUR ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS, WE WOULD DISPATCH IT, BUT WE CAN'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT AS, UM, IF THEY CALLED FOR LOAD REDUCTION, WE CAN'T USE THE DISPATCHING OF KINGSBURY OR MUELLER AS LOAD REDUCTION TO COUNT TOWARDS, UM, YOU KNOW, ANY OF OUR PEOPLE OR JAMIE THAT WE'D WANT TO DO FOR THE, OR THE ERCOT MARKET. WE CAN'T USE THEM FOR THAT. IF THEY WERE JUST UNDER A MEGAWATT, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO SO. OKAY. AND THERE'S A FOUR CP DIFFERENCE THERE TOO, AS FAR AS THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING UNDER ONE. OKAY. AND THEN ON SIDING, DO WE HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT? AS FAR AS THE LITHIUM BATTERIES? I THOUGHT THAT NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT HAD AN ISSUE WITH LITHIUM BATTERIES, ANYTHING SIMILAR HERE, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT DOESN'T HAVE NECESSARILY HAVE AN ISSUE AND WE'VE PARTNERED WITH THEM SIGNIFICANTLY ON, UH, THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE PROCESS, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT CAME TO, UH, APS, THEY HAD AN ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM, UH, EXPLOSION, NOT NECESSARILY A FIRE, BUT AN EXPLOSION. UH, WE PARTNERED WITH, UH, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF OUR, WE WERE DOING EXACTLY WHAT THE, UM, UH, AFC WANTED US TO DO SPECIFICALLY AND WHAT THE NATIONAL CODES WERE. SO WHEN WE SAY CITING AND BUILDING CODES AND PERMITTING PROCESSES, ONE OF THE CODES, AND ONE OF THE, IT KIND OF BLEEDS INTO SAFETY AS WELL. UM, THE NATIONAL CODES WEREN'T THERE WHEN WE FIRST ESTABLISHED, I THINK IT WAS NFP 55 WASN'T, UH, ENACTED UNTIL AFTER EVEN THE APS FAR. RIGHT? SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING AS SAFELY AS POSSIBLE. AND WHENEVER THERE IS AN EVENT, THEY ARE CONTACTED AND THEY DO COME, UH, IF WE'RE THERE TO BE IN EVENTS, I SHOULD SAY, THEY ARE CONTACTED, WE'LL BE CONTACTED AND, UM, AND COME ONSITE. BUT IT'S A, IT'S A PARTNERSHIP. THEY ARE, UM, VERY WILLING TO PARTNER WITH US. THEY ARE VERY UNDERSTANDING OF, UH, THE NEEDS OF THE UTILITY AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO. HOWEVER, AT THE SAME TIME, [00:20:01] THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING IT AS SAFELY AS POSSIBLE. AND SO AS WE KIND OF WALK THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WE'RE WALKING IT THROUGH THEM TOGETHER, UM, BUILDING CODES, AND THEN WE'RE, THAT'S MORE GRID SCALE, RIGHT? AND SO ON THE, ON THE ASPECT OF, UH, RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL, IT'S THE SAME KIND OF HAND IN HAND PARTNERSHIP, BUT ALSO FROM A BUILDING CODE PERSPECTIVE. AND THERE'S A LOT MORE FROM A BUILDING CODE AND PERMITTING PERSPECTIVE THAT WE DEAL WITH ON THOSE SIDES. UM, THE RESIDENTIAL ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS, UH, OR BATTERIES WERE, WERE A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE OF, UH, FROM A SAFETY PERSPECTIVE, UH, THE, UH, PERMANENT PROCESS, THEY DIDN'T WANT US TO THE INSPECTORS, DID NOT WANT US PUTTING THEM INSIDE THE HOME, THE ENVELOPE OF THE HOME, INCLUDING THE GARAGE. SO WE HAD TO PUT THEM OUTSIDE AT THAT POINT IN TIME, THE ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS FOR HOWEVER, YOU KNOW, WITH THE HEAT. UH, AND I HAD A DIRECT SIGN LINE OR INDIRECT SUNLIGHT. WE COULD ONLY USE THEM OR HAVE THEM OPERATOR THERE. NOW I SHOULD SAY THE HOMEOWNERS CAN ONLY OPERATE THEM IN CERTAIN AMOUNTS OF TIME BECAUSE OF THIS, JUST THE HEAT, THE GENERAL HATE THAT WAS BEING GENERATED AND DEVELOPED BY THOSE ENERGY STORES SYSTEMS. SO THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, FROM A PERMITTING PROCESS AND A LOCATION PROCESS. THAT WAS ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE RAN INTO THERE. OKAY, WELL, SO I THOUGHT AUSTRALIA HAD SOME PROJECTS UNDERWAY AND ALSO VERMONT. AND SO VERMONT WOULD ABSOLUTELY HAVE A DIFFERENT TEMPERATURE PROFILE. AMBIENT TEMPERATURE PROFILE AUSTRALIA MIGHT BE AS HOT AS WE ARE. UM, DO THEY HAVE THOSE SAME RESTRICTIONS AS FAR AS NOT PUTTING POWER WALLS IN YOUR GARAGE? GREAT QUESTION. SO HOW I WILL DEFINITELY LOOK INTO THAT. I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY OF THE RESTRICTIONS THAT AUSTRALIA OR VERMONT HAS. AND SO, I MEAN, IF THERE'S, WHAT IS, WHAT WOULD BE INTERESTING IS WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE OTHER EXAMPLES OF THESE VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS OR VIRTUAL STORAGE, I THINK THE VERMONT EXAMPLES, PARTICULARLY, UH, INTERESTING. UM, WHAT ARE THE LESSONS THERE? WHAT ARE THE POLICY IMPLICATIONS? BECAUSE I THINK AT VERMONT, THEY DEFINITELY HAD SOME STRONG POLICY LEVERS AND IMPLEMENTED TO ENCOURAGE IT. AND SO IF WE COULD, SOMETIME OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS OR A YEAR, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T LIKE SOMETHING ESSENTIAL RIGHT NOW, BUT, UM, AFTER WE ABSORB YOUR PAPERS THAT YOU HAVE LISTED IN THE MATERIALS HERE, OR YOU HIGHLIGHT THOSE AND WE GET MORE EDUCATED, IT WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING TO SEE SOME REALLY FORWARD-LOOKING VIEWS OF WHAT KIND OF POLICY DISCUSSIONS NEED TO START HAPPENING THAT MAYBE LONG LEAD TIME TYPES OF AFFAIRS, OR MAYBE EVEN INFLUENCED THE RATE CASE OR THE RATE STRUCTURE NEXT TIME. ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. WE CAN DEFINITELY TAKE A LITTLE BIT, AND I WILL SAY THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR LESSONS LEARNED AND EXAMPLES WHERE, YOU KNOW, IN, UH, IN INFLUENCING WHAT WE'RE, UH, WE'RE IMPLEMENTING COMMERCIAL GRIDSCALE AND RESIDENTIAL AND OTHERWISE. SO ABSOLUTELY. IS THERE ANYTHING IN THE WAY OF DOING THE VALUE STACKING RIGHT NOW? IS THERE ANY ERCOT RULE THAT SAYS YOU CAN'T DO PEAK LOAD RISK? I'M LOOKING AT SLIDE 32 PEAK LOAD REDUCTION DAY AHEAD, ARBITRAGE, REALTIME PRICE DISPATCH, FOR EXAMPLE, THOSE, THOSE ARE ECONOMIC. AND CAN YOU DO THOSE RIGHT NOW IN ANY WHICH WAY THE DARROW DESIRES THEM? YES, WE CAN. UM, SO LONG AS A MUNI, SO LONG AS WE HAVE KIND OF A CHURCH AND STATE SEPARATION BETWEEN WHAT OUR MARKET OPERATIONS FOLKS DO AND WHAT OUR, UM, CONTROLLERS DO, UH, WE ARE ALLOWED TO, UM, TO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE. IN FACT, ONE OF THE KEY, UM, USE CASES THAT WE'RE UTILIZING RIGHT NOW IS, IS ENERGY ARBITRAGE AND, UM, PRICING DISPATCH. WHAT ABOUT VOLTAGE AND DISTRIBUTION CONGESTION MANAGEMENT? DO WE HAVE A RELATIVELY NEW DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WHERE THIS IS NOT THE LOWEST COST, UM, IMPLEMENTATION TO HELP WITH THOSE ISSUES? YEAH, EXACTLY. SO AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THOSE ISSUES AND REALLY DON'T HAVE THOSE ISSUES ON THE FEEDERS, EVEN THOUGH MUELLER IS REALLY A HIGH PENETRATION AREA, WE STILL DON'T HAVE THE LEVEL OF, UM, CONGESTION ON THERE THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO, TO, YOU KNOW, TO PERFORM ANY OF THOSE OR SEE ANY OF THE VALUE OUT OF THOSE TWO. AND MUELLER IS THE POSTER CHILD FOR MAXIMUM DER IS, IS THEIR APPROXIMATE NUMBER OR PERCENTAGE PEAK THAT MUELLER HAS, UH, SUPPORTED BY ROOFTOP SOLAR? I BELIEVE OUR MAX PENETRATION IS IN THE MUELLER AREA, 6% OF OVERALL, BUT I WILL VERIFY THAT NUMBER. OKAY. DID THEY REALLY BACKFEED BEYOND THE LAST DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER A LOT. DID THEY EVER GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL? NO. OKAY. OKAY. SO EVEN WITH THAT HUGE AMOUNT OF DER, AND THEN I REMEMBERED HEARING FROM PREVIOUS AG MANAGEMENT, THAT THERE WAS SOME ANALYSIS THAT [00:25:01] ONLY ABOUT 25% OF THE ROOFTOPS IN THE SERVICE AREA WERE SUITABLE FOR DISTRIBUTED SOLAR. IS THAT STILL TRUE BECAUSE OF ORIENTATION, TREE COVER, NOT OWNING THE HOME AGE OF THE ROOF, THINGS LIKE THAT, IS THAT THE NUMBER THAT YOU STILL KIND OF SAY IS ACCURATE? SO THAT WAS, I'LL HAVE TO CHECK WITH OUR, UH, CES GROUP, UM, DEBBIE KIMBERLY'S GROUP. THEY HAVE VERY TIGHT NUMBERS ON, ON DER. UM, AT ONE POINT I BELIEVE IT WAS 25% I, AS OF TODAY, I DON'T WANT TO COMMIT TO A NUMBER. UM, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY GET THAT NUMBER. YEAH. I MEAN, THAT JUST GOES INTO SETTING THE CONTEXT FOR HOW MUCH LOCAL SOLAR WE HAVE AND THERE'S A GOAL, BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, I THINK YOU HAVE A PAPER IN THERE THAT TALKS ABOUT, UH, SYSTEM LEVELIZED COST OF ELECTRICITY METHODOLOGY. WAS IT, THERE WAS ONE I THOUGHT ON DISTRIBUTED, THE DISTRIBUTED GOAL, YOU GET THAT, I WILL CERTAINLY GET THAT NUMBER AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE, FOR SURE THAT THAT CAN ROLL INTO THE LOCAL SOLAR GOAL. AND THEN I'M HEARING SOME, SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE IMPORT CAPABILITY. IF WE HAVE A REDUCTION IN THE AMOUNT OF LOCAL GENERATION, YOU KNOW, GAS PLANTS AND SUCH NOT, BUT WE HAVE ENOUGH TRANS, UM, TRANSMISSION TO IMPORT ALL OUR NEEDS. AND I THINK THAT'S SOMEONE AND HE HAS A TRANSMISSION STUDY UNDERWAY OR STARTING SOON THAT'S RIGHT. IT HAS A, IT'S ALREADY KICKED OFF. UM, SO, UH, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SUBGROUPS THAT ARE BEING PULLED TOGETHER TO ADDRESS THE RESEARCH GENERATION PLAN AND THE TRANSMISSION STUDY, WHICH IS UNDER MY VICE PRESIDENT, TOM PEERPOINT HAS COMMISSIONED A TRANSMISSION STUDY TEAM THAT WE'VE PULLED TOGETHER FROM ACROSS THE UTILITY. AND WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT PARTICULAR CHALLENGE, WHICH IS IF WE'RE CYCLING OFF GENERATION, HOW ARE WE GOING TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES? UH, AND IT, IT ALL ROLLS UP AND IS ALIGNED TO OUR, UH, OUR GENERATION PLAN, THAT GOALS THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT OPTIONS AND WAYS TO MEET THOSE. AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT IT'S, UM, IT'S SO SOUP TO NUTS, LOOK, EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE. OKAY. AND THAT MAY PLAY INTO A CONVERSATION THAT YOU MAY HEAR US TALK ABOUT SOON, AND THAT'S SORT OF RESILIENCY, COMMUNITY RESILIENCY. AND SO SOME OF THESE DISTRIBUTED RESOURCES, STORAGE OR LOCAL GENERATION ON ROOFTOP MAY BE IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THAT. SO JUST HEADS UP ON THAT. I'M LOOKING AT SLIDE 38 OF WHAT JEFF SENT OUT AUSTIN SCHEIN'S CURRENT REPORTING, AND YES, THIS IS PRETTY TECHNICAL, BUT THIS IS A REALLY, I REALLY RESPECT OUR EUC HERE, AS FAR AS FOLKS THAT, THAT, UH, LOVE THIS STUFF. CAN YOU WALK THROUGH, NOT IN TAKING TOO MUCH TIME, BUT SORT OF THE HIGH POINTS OF THESE DIFFERENT STUDIES AND WHAT YOU'D WANT TO EDUCATE US ON IN TERMS OF THE HIGH POINTS FROM EACH ONE OF THESE? SURE. SO, UH, I WILL SAY FROM A SUMMARY PERSPECTIVE, THE HIGH POINTS, I WOULD ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, THE D E R UM, WHITE PAPER THAT WAS ISSUED. AND I THINK, I BELIEVE I'M TRYING TO, UM, LOOK INTO THE SLIDE DECK. I BELIEVE IT'S A SLIDE BEFOREHAND. THAT ACTUALLY IS A FANTASTIC SUMMARY THAT POLLS A LOT OF THE INFORMATION FROM THE FINAL DELIVERABLES TOGETHER. UM, IT REALLY IS A GREAT REPRESENTATION OR I'M SORRY, IT'S THE, IS IT THE FOLLOW ON? YEAH, SO, SORRY. IT'S THE NEXT SLIDE? YEAH, I HAVE IT RIGHT NOW. SO, UM, IF I JUST REALLY QUICKLY AND THAT ACTUALLY ENCAPSULATES AND SUMMARIZES A LOT OF THAT INFORMATION, AND IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A REALLY GOOD SUMMARY, UH, IT DOES GO INTO THE DEEP SOME OF THE ASPECTS OF IT, BUT IT'S NOT SO TECHNICAL. UM, THEN, UH, THAT'S REALLY WHERE I WOULD, WHERE I WOULD POINT TOWARDS, BUT AS YOU MENTIONED BEFORE, THE LEVELIZED COST OF ELECTRICITY METHODOLOGY, SO IT, IT TALKS ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE L COE AND BECAUSE IT'S A FINAL DELIVERABLE REPORT, IT GOES OVER ESSENTIALLY SAY, IT'S STATING HOW WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT COSTS VERSUS ENERGY SERVE. AND AS OF RIGHT NOW, IT'S, IT'S A BIG SWING ON THE COST SIDE. YOU'RE, YOU'RE SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE RED RIGHT NOW WITH SOME OF THE COSTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, NOT JUST WITH, YOU KNOW, ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS, BUT VALUE STACKING ENERGY SOURCE SYSTEMS ON TOP OF EACH OTHER. IT'S A VERY, VERY DETAILED LOOK AT, UM, WHERE IS THE VALUE, UH, SOFTWARE, EXCUSE ME, SOFTWARE PLATFORM, PRODUCT DESCRIPTION. SO THAT TALKS ABOUT R D E R A D E R O R DRL, OUR OPTIMIZER, HOW SOFTWARE PLATFORM ACTUALLY WORKS AND HOW IT INTERCONNECTS WITH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT ASSETS THAT WE HAVE OUT THERE, OPTIMAL DESIGN METHODOLOGY. SO THAT HAS TO DO WITH HOW WE CAME ABOUT, UM, TAKING A LOOK AT NOT ONLY THE SOFTWARE, BUT THE ASSETS THEMSELVES AND HOW THEY WERE DEPLOYED AND WHAT IS, UH, WE WOULD CONSIDER QUAD BEST PRACTICES, THEIR, UH, OWNERSHIP AND OPERATION [00:30:01] MODELS FOR DER SYSTEM PERFORMANCE. SO AGAIN, UM, WHO SHOULD OWN EACH ASSET AND WHY, AND THEN HOW TO OPERATE AND, AND OPTIMIZE THOSE, YOU KNOW, SHOULD THE UTILITY HAVE OWNERSHIP OVER COMMERCIAL ASSETS OR SHOULD THE COMMERCIAL ENTITIES OWN THEMSELVES? SO IT GOES OVER, UH, SOME OF THE LESSONS LEARNED THERE, UM, ECONOMIC MODELING AND OPTIMIZATION ONCE, LIKE WE SAID, UM, THE ECONOMIC, THE ECONOMICS BEHIND, UM, THE ASSETS AND THE DER AND STRICTLY A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO, OBVIOUSLY WITH THE ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS AND THEN FEEL THAT ASSETS IS JUST A LISTING DOWN WITH PICTURES OF THE ASSETS THEMSELVES, WHERE THEY RESIDE WITH THEIR TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ARE, UH, AND HOW THE IMPLEMENTATION WAS HANDLED WELL, THANKS. UM, SO THE VISION THAT WE KIND OF, OR AT LEAST I'VE KIND OF ACQUIRED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, BEING ON THE UFC IS THAT UTILITY SCALE, SOLAR AND WIND ARE SOME OF THE MOST ECONOMIC ZERO CARBON SOURCES. AND THEN WE HAVE COMMUNITY LEVEL THAT HAVE SOME SCALE ECONOMIES THERE. AND THEN THE ROOFTOP D E R MOSTLY PV IS PROBABLY THE MOST EXPENSIVE FORM OF ZERO CARBON. IS THAT ACCURATE IN YOUR VIEW? SO FROM A ZERO CARBON PERSPECTIVE, I, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I, I APOLOGIZE, I DON'T HAVE THAT, THAT, THAT DATA AS FAR AS KIND OF GOING ALL THE WAY UP FROM A GRID SCALE, WIND ALL THE WAY DOWN. OKAY. BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE PART OF THE SYSTEM LCO. I'M JUST TRYING TO GET AN IDEA OF WHAT WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT AND HAVING SOME BACKGROUND ON, AS FAR AS THE LONGER TERM AND WATCHING THE RESOURCE PLAN UNFOLD TO MAINTAIN AFFORDABILITY OVER TIME. OH, ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. THE LCO WE SPECIFICALLY, BECAUSE THIS WAS A SHINES, UH, PROJECT SPECIFICALLY DEALT WITH, UH, STRICTLY THE ESS, RIGHT? SO ALL THE SHINES ASSETS THEMSELVES, THAT, THAT ONE ON NUMBER ONE IS NOT GOING TO INCLUDE, UM, UH, ENTIRE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE PLAN LEVEL LCO. UM, THE, THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN WILL PROBABLY TAKE L COE INTO CONSIDERATION SIGNIFICANTLY AND APPLY THOSE ACROSS THE BOARD. BUT, BUT FOR THIS PARTICULAR REPORTING PROCESS, IT WAS JUST SHINED ACID. THANKS OTHER QUESTIONS FROM OTHER FOLKS. NO, THIS IS HILTON RICHARDSON ON THE INTERIM COO. AND FIRST I'D LIKE TO TELL YOU, THANK YOU, THE CHALLENGING QUESTIONS THAT YOU OUT, KEEP US ON OUR TOES. AND PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THAT YOU BROUGHT UP. WE HAVE SOME TEAM WORKING ON AND IN STATE GOAL IS, IS WE LOSE THE BASILS, THE OFFSET ON THE COST, OBVIOUSLY FOR THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN. AND THAT IS OUR GOAL. SO WE'VE GOT MULTIPLE TEAMS THAT ARE ACTUALLY WORKING TO THAT, PUTTING IN TYPE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLAN, SEEING HOW THAT'S GOING TO COME OUT ON THE END STATE OF THE MODEL AND ALL THE STUFF THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT. WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BATTERIES, OBVIOUSLY ARE ONE THAT IF YOU ASKED ME, WHAT'S GOING TO BE THE NEXT DISRUPTIVE POWER SOURCE OR STORAGE IS GOING TO BE THE BATTERY, BUT THERE'S STILL A LONG WAY TO GO FOR THE SAFETY, THE UTILIZATION, AND ALSO THE CAPACITY THEMSELVES. BUT WE ARE CONVINCED FROM MARK AND WITH MULTIPLE TEAMS, HE'S TRYING TO PLAGIARIZE ANYONE THAT ALREADY HAS IT FIGURED OUT. WE WILL DEFINITELY TAKE IT AND DO IT. AND THAT'S OUR GOAL IS ONE GET TO THE ZERO CARBON, BUT ALSO MAINTAIN THE AFFORDABILITY FOR THE CITIZEN. BOSTON. DO YOU SEE BATTERIES FIRST COMING IN AND SORT OF STRATEGIC APPLICATIONS LIKE SOME NON WIRES ALTERNATIVES OR SOME PEAKER REPLACEMENT? I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY HOW THE INITIAL USE IS GOING TO BE. BUT I THINK THE, THE, THE LONG TERM POTENTIAL FORUM IS, IS EVEN UNKNOWN RIGHT NOW. BUT I THINK THAT'S WHAT IS GOING TO BE IS MORE OF A PEAKER, JUST A SMALL CELL CAPACITY JUST TO OFFSET SOME ON THE, ON THE SURGES IS I THINK NOW THERE WILL BE USED INITIALLY, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE WON'T GET INTO IT UNTIL WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE SAFE FOR THE, OUR EMPLOYEES AND ALSO SAFER PUBLIC. AND THEN HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? UM, AND THIS ENC OR YOUR MANAGEMENT, OR JUST DO THE SAME THING YOU DO COMMISSION TOTAL. YOU'VE GOT, I'VE BEEN HERE FOR NINE MONTHS. I ENJOY OUR DISCUSSIONS. SOMETIMES WE GET LIVELY BACK AND FORTH, BUT I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE THERE FOR. WE'RE THE CHALLENGE EACH OTHER. AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN ARE THE ONES THAT ARE GOING TO PAY ARE GOING TO HAVE BENEFITS FROM OUR RELATIONSHIP. SO YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN STRONG SUPPORTERS OF EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE PASSED, BUT WE'VE TAKEN ON SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU GIVE US. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE SHOULD DO. SO JUST KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. THIS IS COMMISSIONER READ. I JUST HAD A COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS. I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE HAS QUESTIONS. MMM. [00:35:02] YEAH. JUST, JUST REALLY TWO, TWO MAIN QUESTIONS, UM, THAT THE LOMA COMMUNITY SOLAR PROJECT, AND THEN THE NEARBY BATTERY ARE THOSE SEPARATE RESOURCES THAT ARE SEPARATELY MANAGED OR ARE THOSE IN SOME WAYS MANAGED TOGETHER. THOSE ARE SEPARATE RESOURCES AND BEING BUNDLED IN FROM A GRID SCALE PERSPECTIVE. IT DOESN'T DIRECTLY TIE INTO THE BATTERY EITHER. SO THEY ARE SEPARATE RESOURCES. AND THAT WAS MY NEXT QUESTION IS, UM, ARE EITHER OF THOSE EITHER THE BATTERIES OR THE LOMA ITSELF, ARE THEY JUST BEING USED TO, UM, GENERATE ELECTRICITY, WHICH, WHICH GOES ON TO THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM SO HELPS US MEET ENERGY NEEDS OR ARE THEY ACTUALLY BEING USED AS A RESOURCE WITHIN ERCOT? YOU KNOW, ARE THEY ACTUALLY BIDDING IN, UM, EITHER, EITHER THE LOMA OR THE BATTERY ITSELF? YEAH. GREAT QUESTION ON THE LOMA. UM, I WOULD NEED, LET ME FOLLOW UP WITH THAT. ONE SPECIFICALLY ON THE LOMA, THE ENERGY STORES SYSTEM ITSELF, UM, IS NOT BID INTO ERCOT. WE DON'T BID THAT INTO ERCOT BECAUSE, BECAUSE IT, IT WOULDN'T MAKE SENSE OR BECAUSE, YEAH, WELL, I'M SORRY. I APOLOGIZE. SORRY. THE ABSOLUTE OPPOSITE OF THAT. SO WE DO, WE USE IT AS PRICE DISPATCH INTO ERCOT. SORRY. MY APOLOGIES. YES. THE ENERGY SOURCES. YES. OKAY. AND, AND MY ONLY OTHER QUESTION I HAVE FOR YOU IS JUST ONE OF OPPORTUNITY. I KNOW THAT, UM, TCQ OPENED UP AGAIN, THEIR, THEIR FUNDING, UH, THROUGH TERP, THROUGH THE NEW TECHNOLOGY, UM, IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS THAT CAN INCLUDE STORAGE. ARE YOU GUYS LOOKING AT OTHER, UH, GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR FURTHER STORAGE? ARE WE KINDA ASSESSING WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR AND WAITING ON ANY ADDITIONAL STORAGE? SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY, UH, MONITORING OPPORTUNITIES, UM, FOR ADDITIONAL STORAGE, BUT I THINK IT'S A WAIT AND SEE RIGHT NOW IT DEPENDS. I MEAN, WE'VE LEARNED A LOT OF LESSONS, UH, ESPECIALLY ON THE THREE DIFFERENT AREAS HERE. UM, GRIDSCALE BEING ONE OF THE BIG ONES, UH, EVERY OPPORTUNITY THAT COMES UP, WE WILL EVALUATE AND ASSESS WHERE RIGHT NOW IT'S KIND OF A WAIT AND SEE, I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS THAT WE HAVE IS WE HAVE MORE INFORMATION TO EVALUATE WHAT OUR PARTICIPATION IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE. UH, AND UNTIL, AND UNLESS THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT TO THE UTILITY AND THE, UH, COMMUNITY WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT NOT BE, UM, UH, JUMPING ON THOSE, BUT WE ARE EVALUATING. YEAH. I WOULD BE ON THE, ON THE USE OF THE ENERGY STORAGE FACILITY FOR PRICE ARBITRAGE. IF THERE'S A WAY THAT YOU CAN SHARE INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, IN A, IN A NON-CONFIDENTIAL WAY WITH THE EUC, UM, ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED FROM THAT, OR IS THAT IN THE REPORT ITSELF, THERE ARE, THERE IS SOME INFORMATION IN THE REPORT. IT'S OKAY. I'LL LOOK AT THE REPORT. THANKS. YEAH. AND IT'S AN IT'S EVER EVOLVING, AND I WILL SAY THAT THESE ASSETS HAVE REALLY NOT BEEN, UM, BEEN BURNED IN FOR ALL THAT LONG, RIGHT. SO WE'VE HAD THEM FOR BARELY FOUR DIFFERENT SEASONS. UH, SO WE'RE GOING TO BE LEARNING A LOT OF INFORMATION, UH, FROM THESE SYSTEMS AS TIME GOES ON, IT'S REALLY EARLY IN THEIR APPLICATION AND WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE WHERE THEY CAN GO FROM. THANKS, COMMISSIONER WELDON. I THINK YOU HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. UH, YEAH. I HAD THE ONE ABOUT THAT ONE MEGAWATT LIMIT THAT WE'D TALK ABOUT OFTEN IN TERMS OF THE ASSETS OBLIGATIONS TO ERCOT. AND I WAS JUST WONDERING, WHAT'S THE HOW'S THAT GRAY LINE DEFINED AND ABSOLUTE SENSE. IT'S VERY EASY, BUT WHEN WE START CHAINING IN PROXIMITY, YOU KNOW, 500 A KILOWATT SYSTEMS THAT WE CAN CONTROL IN A VIRTUAL SENSE THAT SURPASSED THAT, THAT ONE MEGAWATT VALUE, HOW'S THAT GRAY LINE DEFINED. WHAT IS LIMITING US RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF HOW ARE WE IMPOSING LIMITS ON OURSELVES? SO WE'RE NOT, THIS IS ONE OF THE ONLY PROJECTS WHERE WE'RE TAKING IN AGGREGATE ASSETS AND USING THEM AS A FLEET. I THINK THIS WAS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. UM, AND, AND WE CAN GO OVER AND THE REPORTS GO OVER SOME OF THE PROS AND CONS OF THAT. UM, IT ALL DEPENDS ON IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STRICTLY NETSCALER OR WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR FLEET OF ASSETS, INCLUDING RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL RIGHT NOW, IT'S, IT'S TAKEN STRICTLY AS ONE MEGAWATT FOR THE ASSET CLASSIFICATION ITSELF. IF WE START TO BUNDLE THE ASSETS TOGETHER, UH, AND DISPATCH THEM, AND THAT BECOMES A NEW NORM, I'M SURE WE'LL WANT TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. UM, IF WE'RE TRYING TO USE THAT IN A WAY OF, UH, UH, OF GENERATION ITSELF, UM, IF IT'S ALL UTILITY CONTROLLED. OKAY. SO I THINK IT WAS JUST A CALL FOR, YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF YOU FORESEE [00:40:01] A, THIS GOES BACK TO DAVE'S COMMENT ABOUT THINGS THAT WE'RE LEARNING THAT WE MIGHT LIKE TO DO. AND IF WE START TO SEE AN EXISTING POLICY THAT WAS ESTABLISHED FOR OTHER REASONS, THAT CONFLICT WITH NEW CAPABILITIES, WE WANT TO GET AHEAD OF THAT AND MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE THAT ANY POLICY AND BETTERMENT. ABSOLUTELY. I THINK THE REGULATORY IS ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT, UM, WE HAVE, UH, ON THE HORIZON, NOT ONLY ON THE HORIZON, BUT OUR FINGER ON THE PULSE OF RIGHT NOW MONITORING VERY CLOSELY. SO I THINK YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. OKAY. AND THEN I JUST HAD A COMMENT IN TERMS OF WHEN WE DO COME BACK A CIRCLE ROUND ON SOME OF THESE TOPICS AND WE'RE DISCUSSING FOR EXAMPLE, ROOFTOP TO POTENTIAL, AND WE'RE REASSESSING OUR, OUR, OUR CURRENT PENETRATION LEVELS AND GOALS FOR PENETRATION. I JUST WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO, UH, AS A LAY PERSON HAS A TENDENCY TO GO TO THE INTERNET TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU COMPARE WITH SOME OF THE POPULAR TOOLS THAT WE ARE PRONE TO ACCESS LIKE MYSELF, UH, SPECIFIC GLAMOUR AND TALKING ABOUT A GOOGLE PROJECT, SUNROOF AS AN EXAMPLE, JUST MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU'RE GOING TO DISCUSS SOMETHING THAT IS CONTRARY TO ANYTHING THAT'S AVAILABLE IN SOME OF THESE POPULAR TOOLS THAT YOU CAN HELP GUIDE US THROUGH THAT GAP OF, OF DISTINCTION IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY MAKE, WHAT THEY DO IN TERMS OF MODELING ASSUMPTIONS VERSUS WHAT YOU HAVE DONE. ABSOLUTELY. JUST BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY HAVE AN 85% PLUS ROOFTOP AVAILABILITY NUMBER, WHICH IS, THAT'S A BIG NUMBER. THERE WAS A BIG GAP THERE, BUT I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA ARE. I WILL DEFINITELY GET WITH OUR SOLAR TEAM, UM, AND GET SOME ANSWERS FOR YOU ON THAT ONE, FOR SURE. THE INTERNET IS ALWAYS RIGHT. I DO KNOW THAT BECAUSE I KNOW WHICH IS WHY I'M JUST SAYING, YOU KNOW, COME IN PREPARED CAUSE, AND I THINK IT'S A GOOD, I THINK IT'S A GOOD, WE, WE, WE LOSE THE USE THE HALF LOADED GUNS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR HANDS. IT MAKES US DANGEROUS. ABSOLUTELY. THAT WAS ALL I HAD. THE OTHER THING THAT GOES THROUGH MY MIND IS WE HEAR SO REGULARLY ABOUT HOUSTON HAVING ISSUES WITH POTENTIALLY CLIMATE DRIVEN EVENTS AND EXCEPT FOR 2011, THE FIRES OUT IN WEST AUSTIN, BASS TROPIC, ET CETERA, WE'VE KIND OF DODGED THE BULLET. AND IT'S WHAT GOES THROUGH SOME OF OUR MINDS IS HOW LONG ARE WE GOING TO BE LUCKY LIKE THIS IN, UH, DODGING THESE BULLETS? AND WHEN ARE WE GOING TO SEE AN INCREASING NUMBER OF POTENTIALLY CLIMATE DRIVEN EVENTS THAT CAN IMPACT OUR GRID SERVICES OR THE RESILIENCY OF OUR COMMUNITY. AND SO I KNOW THAT SOME OF THE ECONOMICS AREN'T THAT YET THERE TO PUT SOME OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES IN PLACE, JUST FROM A PENCILING OUT THE ECONOMICS OF IT LOWERING THE COST. BUT WE'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THE RESILIENCY PICTURE AND WHERE THERE MIGHT BE SOME KEY INVESTMENTS THAT WOULD BE WARRANTED FOR RESILIENCY. SURE. UM, THAT'S A, THAT'S ACTUALLY A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. AND I THINK IT, IT, UM, IT DOES TOUCH UPON OTHER PROJECTS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ENGAGED WITH AN AUSTIN ENERGY. I CAN SAY YOU'RE YOU'RE RIGHT. WE HAVEN'T SEEN, UM, ANYTHING SINCE THE 2011 TIMEFRAME, HOWEVER, THAT HAS NOT IMPACTED OUR, UM, UH, PLANNING, OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING AROUND ADDRESSING, UH, WILDFIRE AREAS, POTENTIAL WILDFIRE AREAS AND PARTNERING AGAIN WITH AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT TO FIND OUT WHERE OUR MOST VULNERABLE AREAS ARE, UH, AND ATTACKING THOSE FROM A MAINTENANCE PERSPECTIVE, UM, LOOKING AT, UH, THEATER RESILIENCE AND SEEING IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO IN THOSE AREAS, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO GET, AND ALSO IMPLEMENTING OTHER TECHNOLOGIES TO DO MORE OF A PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS. UH, SO WE ARE, UM, LOOKING AT THOSE, UH, THOSE ASPECTS AS WELL. SO JUST BECAUSE IT HASN'T HAPPENED YET DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE PREPARED FOR IT. WELL, AND I'LL, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL MAYBE I'LL BE THE DUNE STAIR DOOMSAYER HERE, JUST TO POINT OUT THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, UH, A LOT OF, OF OUR, UH, EMERGENCY PLANNING IS IN RETROSPECT AND CLIMATE CHANGE IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE IT'S TRENDING. WE KNOW THAT THE PROBABILITY OF RISK IS INCREASING. AND, UH, THE ONLY THING THAT'S HARD TO PREDICT IS HOW, HOW LARGE THAT RISK ADDITIVE IS GROWING. UM, BUT I THINK AUSTIN IS A, IN CENTRAL TEXAS HERE, WE'RE RANKED LIKE ONE OF THE NUMBER, MAYBE THE NUMBER FIVE FIRE RISK AREA, UH, OBVIOUSLY BEHIND CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS REALIZING, UH, ON A REGULAR BASIS, IT'S INCREASING FIRE RISK. UH, BUT IT'S, IT'S MORE OF A QUESTION OF A WHEN AND HOW BAD IT LOOKS WHEN IT OCCURS, UH, AS OPPOSED TO, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE PLANNING ADEQUATELY FOR THE RISK THAT WE'RE, UH, [00:45:01] CURRENTLY ANTICIPATING? ABSOLUTELY. AND, UM, I MIGHT BE GOING OUT ON A LIMB HERE AND WOULD PROBABLY BE, YOU KNOW, I COULD GET A STIRRED MEMO AFTER THIS ONE, BUT I'M SURE WE'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO, TO COME BACK AND TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT LEADERSHIP HAS DIRECTED US, UH, TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE BUDGET FOR A, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN SOME OF THE BUDGET NUMBERS THAT HAVE COME THROUGH RESILIENCY. UM, WE, WE FOUGHT REALLY, REALLY HARD TO SHIFT RESOURCES INTO RESILIENCY AND PUT MONEY TOWARDS THAT FROM A MAINTENANCE PERSPECTIVE AND GET AHEAD OF, UH, OF WILDFIRE RISK AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT MAY IMPACT, I MEAN, BUILDING A RESILIENT GRID, WE WANT TO BE A TOP TIER RELIABILITY, TOP TIER RESILIENCE. YOU KNOW, IT'S, WE'RE NEVER GOING TO BE A HUNDRED PERCENT, BUT WE WANT TO BE CERTAINLY WANT TO BE CLOSER TO WHAT WE CONSIDER TOP DECILE AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT OUR RELIABILITY NUMBERS. AND I THINK OUR, OUR, UH, AND HERE'S MY, HERE'S MY OPPORTUNITY TO GET OUT OF TROUBLE. I THINK OUR EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM REALLY HAS, AND I SAY THAT WITH, WITH, UH, WITH ALL HONESTY, THEY REALLY HAVE PUT, UH, PUT AN EMPHASIS ON THIS AND, AND PUT A LOT OF PRESSURE ON US AS A TEAM. GOOD PRESSURE FOR US TO COME UP WITH CREATIVE SOLUTIONS, UM, BASED UPON, YOU KNOW, THE BUDGET ALLOCATION THAT WE HAVE. UM, BUT THEY PUT A STRONG EMPHASIS ON THEIR, UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN IN ADVANCE OF ANYTHING EVER EVEN HAPPENING. SO I'M SURE WE'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO COME BACK AND PRESENT THAT AS WELL. THANK YOU, BILL. ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. KELLY? OKAY, GREAT. UM, I APPRECIATE YOU COMING BACK IN FINISHING OUT THAT CONVERSATION WITH US. IT WAS A VERY INTERESTING AND WORTHWHILE. UM, I THINK NEXT ON THE AGENDA [13. Discussion/follow-up regarding Online Customer Care Portal update.] IS THE, UH, ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE PORTAL. UM, MR. VICE, WHO DO WE HAVE FROM AUSTIN ENERGY TO SPEAK WITH US ON THAT? WE HAVE ELAINE AND THERE'S A CAIRO JOHNNY, AND KARA'S GOING TO DO A DEMONSTRATION FOR THE COMMISSION TODAY, BUT BOTH OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE PRESENT. OKAY, GREAT. I CA I WAS ACTUALLY GONNA ASK, UM, MR. JOHNNY OR MS. IF WE ACTUALLY FINISHED THE PRESENTATION LAST TIME, I FEEL LIKE WE DIDN'T. SO ARE WE JUST PICKING UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF OR WHAT'S HAPPENING? I THINK WE PRETTY MUCH FINISHED THE PRESENTATION LAST TIME. UM, BUT WE WANTED TO BUILD ON THAT AND GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF A DEMO OF OUR, UM, CITY OF BOSTON UTILITIES, ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE PORTAL THAT WE EXPECT TO GO LIVE, UM, THIS WINTER. SO IT TIES INTO THE PRODUCT THAT YOU SAW A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, UM, THAT CARA IS BACK JUST TO DO A HIGH LEVEL DEMO. UM, SOME OF YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH OUR ONLINE PORTAL THAT WE'VE HAD IN PLACE FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS, MAYBE PROBABLY EVEN LONGER. UM, AND THIS IS A, UH, A GREAT NEW PRODUCT, SO SHE, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO HER AND LET HER START THE DEMO. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, FIRSTLY, CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME OKAY. RIGHT. UH, IF I COULD BE ALLOWED TO SHARE CONTENT, THEN I WILL SHARE MY SCREEN WITH YOU GUYS AND GIVE YOU A SNEAK PEEK OF OUR NEW, ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE EXPERIENCE. TARA, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND SHARE YOUR CONTENT OR SHARE YOUR SCREEN. SHARE BUTTON IS GREAT OUT. SO IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE I HAVE THE ABILITY TO PRESENT. ARE YOU ON THE PHONE OR HAVE YOU, UH, I'M ALSO WEBEX. YEAH. OKAY. THANK YOU. I'LL ASK THE AB TECH. THANK YOU. WELL, THEY ARE SETTING THAT UP AND WAITING FOR THAT SHARE BUTTON TO BE ENABLED. I WANT TO PICK UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF LAST TIME AND BE ABLE TO SET THE GROUNDWORK FOR WHERE WE WILL MOVE FORWARD WHEN A VAN DOES COME BACK ON, I'LL COME BACK ON VIDEO UNTIL THEN. SO LAST TIME WE WERE HERE, WE TALKED ABOUT ENERGY MANAGEMENT. THAT WAS THE NEW PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE ENABLED WITH ORACLE TO SUPPLEMENT USAGE INFORMATION PRESENTED TO OUR ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE PEOPLE. SO FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE THESE KINDS OF METERS, WHERE WE HAVE THIS KIND OF DATA, WE HAVE, UM, PARTNERED WITH ORACLE TO CREATE ANALYTICS, INSIGHTS, AND TIPS AND MARKETING PIECES SO THAT A CUSTOMER CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND THEIR USAGE AND CONSUMPTION. [00:50:01] AND THAT WAS THE DEMO THAT WE DID PREVIOUSLY. THAT WHOLE PORTION WAS PART ONE OF OUR FULL PLAN, WHICH WAS TO INTEGRATE THAT WITH ORACLE'S OTHER COMPONENTS CALLED DIGITAL SELF SERVICE. I THOUGHT TIME, THOSE TWO THINGS UNIFIED ARE GOING TO ENHANCE OUR ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE EXPERIENCE IN A VERY DIFFERENT WAY. AND THAT IS WHAT I WAS HOPING TO PRESENT TO YOU GUYS TODAY. SO AS SOON AS MY SHARES ENABLED, I WILL DO THAT. WE ARE GOING TO FOCUS ON A COUPLE OF THINGS. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. HOPEFULLY NOW YOU CAN SEE MY SCREEN. YES. RIGHT. GREAT. THANK YOU. SO WE ARE IN A TEST ENVIRONMENT TODAY IS ACTUALLY THE FIRST DAY OF USER ACCEPTANCE TESTING FOR THIS NEW PRODUCT WITHIN AUSTIN ENERGY. AS YOU KNOW, WE SUPPORT ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE FOR ALL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITY AND ONE UNIFIED BILL. THIS IS THE EXAMPLE, WELL, NOT EXAMPLE, THIS IS A SNEAK PEEK OF OUR NEW HOMEPAGE. AS YOU CAN SEE, THE LAYOUT HAS BEEN ADJUSTED. WE'VE ALSO ADDED MORE INFORMATION TO THE LANDING PAGE FOR CUSTOMERS WHO ARE NEW TO CITY OF AUSTIN INFORMATION ON OUR POLICIES AND INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED TO GET STARTED WITH SERVICE. WE'VE TAKEN A LOOK AT THE THINGS THAT CUSTOMERS GO TO MOST ON OUR PORTAL AND REVAMPED IT SO THAT THEY ARE AT THE TOP OF CUSTOMERS USING ANALYTICS. OUR WEB TEAM HAS SORT OF PRIORITIZED PROGRAMS AND LINKS THAT CUSTOMERS CLICK ON MORE OFTEN. AND IN THOSE HIGHLIGHTED THEM IN A MORE VISUAL WAY. ADDITIONALLY, WE'LL UNIFY POWER OUTAGE INFORMATION, AS WELL AS INFORMATION ON WATER LEAKS AND OTHER UTILITIES, CURBSIDE PICKUP WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND HELP FOR CUSTOMERS WHO NEED ASSISTANCE. SO THE INFORMATION IS THE SAME, BUT IT HAS BEEN ENHANCED REDESIGNED AND REBUILT WITH A MORE, UH, EXCITING VISUAL EXPERIENCE. IN MY OPINION, IT'S ALSO BEEN ENABLED TO BE MOBILE FRIENDLY. SO IT IS RESPONSIVE WHETHER YOU ARE ON A PHONE, THINK THE SITE IS MOBILE FRIENDLY, OR IF YOU'RE ON THE TABLET, OR IF YOU ARE USING A FULL BROWSER EXPERIENCE. SO WE DON'T HAVE THE APP, BUT WE HAVE A VERY MOBILE FRIENDLY AND HIGHLY ASSESSABLE WEBSITE. CAUSE I EXPECTED THAT WHEN WE GO LIVE IN DECEMBER, CUSTOMERS WILL BE ABLE TO LOG IN WITH THEIR EXISTING ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE CREDENTIALS. WE ARE WORKING WITH AN ORACLE TEAM TO MIGRATE EVERYTHING TO A NEW, UM, THIS NEW REALLY EXCITING EXPERIENCE. THEY'LL LAND IN AN ORACLE PRESENTED TOOL CALLED DIGITAL SELF SERVICE. WE HAVE ENABLED A SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE RELATIONSHIP. WE TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST TIME WE HAD, UM, THIS PRESENTATION IN RE REGARDING SPECIFICALLY THE ENERGY MANAGEMENT FEATURES. THIS IS ANOTHER PIECE OF THAT. AND WE ARE UNIFYING BOTH OF THOSE TOGETHER UNDERNEATH OUR ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE PORTAL TO GIVE SOME UNPRECEDENTED, REAL TIME INFORMATION TO THE CUSTOMER. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, THIS IS ALL DEMONSTRATION ACCOUNT. THIS IS NOT REAL CUSTOMER DATA OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. PUT THIS STUFF TOGETHER IN OUR TEST ENVIRONMENT TO DEMONSTRATE TO YOU A PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCE SO THAT WE CAN WALK THROUGH A COUPLE OF FEATURES THAT ARE REALLY EXCITING FOR US. SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE WHOLE STRUCTURE OF ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE HAS BEEN REDESIGNED RATHER THAN LANDING AND SELECTING AN ACCOUNT. WE WILL HAVE A MAIN ACCOUNT AND YOU WILL LAND IN THERE WITH ALL OF THE RELEVANT INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ONE UTILITY ACCOUNT. THIS IS ABOUT THE UTILITY ACCOUNT SPECIFICALLY. IT DOES NOT MATTER IF THAT ACCOUNT CONTAINS SERVICES FOR AUSTIN ENERGY OR OFTEN WATER ONLY, OR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY OR DRAINAGE SERVICES, ANY ONE OR MANY OF THOSE SERVICES RELATES TO AN ACCOUNT. SO THIS EXPERIENCE IS FOR EVERYONE WHO RECEIVES A CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITY BILL AND HOW THE CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITY ACCOUNT NUMBER, ANY OF THAT INFORMATION CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH DSS THROUGH ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE, THROUGH THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE. AND WE CAN SEE THIS KIND OF INFORMATION. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I CONTINUE? SO HERE, I WANT TO POINT OUT TO YOU SOME FEATURES OF OUR DASHBOARD. WE ARE LAUNCHING A MORE REAL TIME EXPERIENCE. THIS INFORMATION RELATED TO THE AMOUNT DUE IS DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE ORACLE BILLING SYSTEM THAT HOSTS ALL THE INFORMATION FOR CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITIES. SO THAT INFORMATION IS MORE REAL TIME, AND IT HAS MORE INFORMATION DIRECTLY TIED TO THE BILLING SYSTEM ABOUT WHERE IT IS IN THE BILLING [00:55:01] PROCESS. SO THAT THAT INFORMATION CAN BE MORE READILY PRESENTED TO THE CUSTOMER AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO MAKE A PAYMENT AND FACILITATE THAT IN DIFFERENT WAYS, INCLUDING ALLOWING A CUSTOMER TO MAKE MULTIPLE, MAKE A PAYMENT ON MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS AT THE SAME TIME, BUT EVERYTHING WAS DSS UNDERLYING THIS ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE EXPERIENCE IS HOW WELL THE BEST PART OF IT IS HOW WELL IT SPEAKS TO THE BILLING SYSTEM. AND THIS WILL ALLOW US TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT AND MORE PERSONALIZED IN THE INFORMATION THAT WE PRESENT TO THAT CUSTOMER. SO FOR THIS SPECIFIC CUSTOMER AT THIS SPECIFIC ADDRESS, THESE ARE THE PROGRAMS THAT YOU'RE ENROLLED IN. THIS IS THE AMOUNT THAT YOU OWE. THIS IS HOW YOU CAN DO YOUR BILL AND MAKE A PAYMENT TO THE THINGS THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT FOR OUR, UM, OUR SERVICE. SO ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I WANT TO SHOW YOU IS A REAL TREND PAYMENT. THE THINGS THAT TRANSITIONING TO THIS PLATFORM HAS ALLOWED US TO DO IS TAKE ON REAL TIME PAYMENTS, UM, DIRECTLY THROUGH THE BILLING SYSTEM. IN THIS CASE, IF A CUSTOMER LOGS IN SEES THAT THEY OWE MONEY FROM THEIR LAST UTILITY STATEMENT, SO THEY CAN COME TO THE PORTAL AND MAKE A PAYMENT. YOU'LL NOTICE THAT ALL OF OUR PAYMENT MODELS WILL STILL ALLOW THE CUSTOMER TO MAKE A CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION TO ANY ONE OF THE THREE CONTRIBUTION, UM, CHARITIES THAT WE HAVE ESTABLISHED ON THE BILL ALREADY. THIS INCLUDES PUBLIC SCHOOL, ENERGY ASSISTANCE, THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, OR PARKS AND LIBRARIES. SO AT ANY TIME A CUSTOMER CAN INCLUDE A DONATION TO THEIR PAYMENT OR NOT. THEY WILL HAVE A PAYMENT METHOD, RIGHT? CHECKING OR SAVINGS ACCOUNT. THAT'S STILL THE METHOD THAT WE'LL SUPPORT, BUT WE WILL SUPPORT THAT IN A REAL TIME FASHION. SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE PAYMENT DATE IS TODAY. AND IF I MAKE THE PAYMENT, THE IDEA IS THAT THAT PAYMENT IS ACCEPTED IMMEDIATELY APPLIED TO THE BILLING SYSTEM AND THEN REPRESENTED BACK TO THE CUSTOMER FULLY WITH A CONFIRMATION NUMBER. AND AN EMAIL OF THE TRANSACTION WILL HAVE A NUMBER OF EMAILS TO ENSURE THAT THE CUSTOMER IS AWARE OF TRANSACTIONS THAT WILL HAPPEN ON THEIR ACCOUNT. THIS NUMBER IS A RAIL NUMBER. THEY CAN CALL US IF THEY ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR PAYMENT IN ANY WAY. AND THAT IS LIKE A RECEIPT THAT I NEED, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN EMPLOYEE. WELL, ANY BILLING SYSTEM EMPLOYEE WOULD KNOW AND BE, CAN SEE THAT THIS PAYMENT HAS BEEN IMMEDIATELY APPLIED TO THE CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS, AFFECTING THE DASHBOARD, THE AMOUNT DUE THE NOTIFICATIONS AT THE TOP AND CHANGING THE STATUS OF THE BUTTON SO THAT IT CHANGES TO A BLUE ACTION BUTTON, TO A GRAY SORT OF INFORMATIONAL BUTTON, ALLOWING THEM TO MAKE MORE PAYMENTS IF NECESSARY, BUT CHANGING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE MADE A COMPLETE PAYMENT, WE HAVE ACCEPTED IT, AND THERE IS NO FURTHER AMOUNT DUE IN THIS WAY. WE'LL BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH CUSTOMERS REAL TIME IN A WAY THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO BEFORE IN OUR CURRENT PORTAL, DO YOU HAVE CHAT SUPPORT DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS? WE DO NOT HAVE CHAT AT THIS TIME. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF PROJECTS THAT ARE LOOKING TO EVALUATE THAT FOR THE CONTACT CENTER, BUT THIS PARTICULAR LAUNCH IS NOT GOING TO INCLUDE THAT, BUT IT WILL INCLUDE A WAY TO BETTER TRACK COMMUNICATION MESSAGES. AND THAT WAS A GREAT SEGUE INTO AN ITEM THAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT, WHICH IS A REVAMPED HELP SCREEN. SO PREVIOUSLY IN, WELL, CURRENTLY IT'S IN OUR ONLINE CUSTOMER CARE PORTAL TODAY, WE HAVE AN OPEN SORT OF BOX WHERE A CUSTOMER CAN JUST PUT ANY INFORMATION IN, AND IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR OUR CUSTOMER CARE TEAM TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE CUSTOMER'S REAL INTENTION IS, WHAT THEIR ACCOUNT NUMBER IS BECAUSE WE JUST GET INFORMATION WITHOUT ANY CONTEXT. SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE WHAT WE CALL UNAUTHENTICATED SUBMISSIONS. SO YOU HAVE TO LOG IN AND REGISTER WITH US AT LEAST TO GIVE US YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS. AND WE WERE GOING TO REPLACE A GENERAL FREEFORM FIELD FOR THIS SERIES OF QUESTIONS AND TOPICS, HEALTH TOPICS. SO INCLUDING ONE THAT JUST SAYS HELP ME WITH HELPED ME WITH SOMETHING ELSE IN CASE THESE ARE NOT THE ONES THAT THE CUSTOMER IS LOOKING FOR, BUT WE SAT WITH THE EBUSINESS TEAMS IN A NUMBER OF TEAMS, JUST SORT OF TRY AND OUTLINE THE MAJOR REQUESTS THAT COME TO US FROM CUSTOMERS AND PUT A FRAMEWORK AROUND THEM SO THAT WE CAN MORE APPROPRIATELY ANSWER THAT, UM, THAT QUERY FROM THE CUSTOMER. SO THEY'LL PICK A TOPIC. WE WILL, UH, ASK THEM FOR A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION. WE WILL ALREADY KNOW THEIR ACCOUNT INFORMATION BECAUSE THE NEW TOOLS WILL CONNECT THE PORTAL INFORMATION MORE DIRECTLY TO THE BILLING SYSTEM. AND THEN THEY CAN ENTER A COMMENT HERE [01:00:01] IS, IS THERE AN EMAIL MECHANISM SO PEOPLE CAN HAVE A PAPER TRAIL. HERE'S WHAT I HAD THIS CONCERN. I EMAILED IT TO YOU ALL. I GOT A CONFIRMATION OF THAT. A TICKET NUMBER WAS OPENED, AND THEN HERE'S MY RESPONSE. THAT'S ALREADY ONLINE TODAY. AND THIS'LL BE FURTHER ENHANCED WITH THAT. NO, THAT IS NOT ONLINE TODAY. THIS WILL BE AN ENHANCEMENT TO THAT PROCESS. SO ONCE TODAY, ONCE YOU SEND THAT INFORMATION, IT GOES INTO THE BILLING SYSTEM AND THIS WORK TO LIKE A PROCESS. AND WE HAVE A MANUAL PROCESS TO REACH BACK OUT TO THE CUSTOMER, LETTING THEM KNOW, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE WORKING IT. AND YOU KNOW, SO THAT IS A MANUAL PROCESS THAT WE ENGAGE IN TODAY. THIS PROCESS WILL KEEP MORE OF THAT INFORMATION ONLINE. IN THIS SPECIFIC EXAMPLE, A CUSTOMER WILL BE ABLE TO VIEW THEIR QUESTION AND THEIR QUESTION HISTORY AT ALL TIMES, INCLUDING ANY COMMENTS THAT THEY ADDITIONALLY ADD AND ANY FEEDBACK THAT MAY BE PROVIDED BY THE CUSTOMER CARE TEAM. SO ANY INFORMATION THAT THEY SUBMIT ONLINE WILL NOW REMAIN PART OF THEIR TRANSACTION HISTORY, BOTH INSIDE THE PORTAL FOR THE CUSTOMER TO SEE, BUT ALSO INSTEAD OF THE BILLING SYSTEM FOR THE CSR TO SEE IN THAT WAY, IF I HAVE THE CUSTOMER SUBMITTED THIS, AND THEN I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, I NEED TO ACTUALLY TALK TO SOMEBODY ABOUT THIS. THAT'S MORE SERIOUS I CAN CALL IN. I'LL ALSO HAVE GOTTEN AN EMAIL WITH THAT CONFIRMATION NUMBER THAT YOU SAW ON THE PREVIOUS SCREEN. SO I CAN SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, I JUST ADMITTED THIS, BUT I REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS NUMBER. I CAN GIVE THAT TO THE CUSTOMER CARE AGENT AND THEY CAN PULL IT UP AND SEE THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU'VE ALREADY ANSWERED. SO THEY HAVE MORE INFORMATION AND WILL NOT NECESSARILY NEED TO DO A HUNDRED PERCENT REPEAT EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT SCENARIO. YOU KNOW, SO IN THAT WAY, THAT IS NOT, UM, A FEATURE THAT WE CAN PROVIDE TODAY, A UNIFIED VIEW. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE ARE HOPING TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS PRODUCT IS A MORE UNIFIED EXPERIENCE FOR THE CUSTOMER, BUT ALSO FOR THE CSR TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHERE A CUSTOMER IS ENGAGING US FROM. THAT SOUNDS EXCELLENT. AND ONE OF THE CONCERNS IS IF SOMEBODY HAS A BILLING ISSUE AND IT GETS CAUGHT UP IN SOME STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCE, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THEIR POWER GETS CUT OFF. IT'S GOOD TO HAVE THAT PAPER TRAIL OF THE DIFFERENT INTERACTIONS ARE YOU SEE THAT? AND SO HOPEFULLY THIS WILL IMPROVE THAT. AND THEN I THOUGHT ELAINE'S STILL ON, YOU KNOW, SO THE QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE THE TOP FIVE HITTERS THAT REALLY WOULD WELL, EITHER NEGATIVELY IMPACT CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OR BE POSITIVE ONES? I WOULD THINK THIS WOULD BE ONE OF THE ONES THAT WOULD HELP CUSTOMER INTERACTIONS HAVING THAT TRAIL. BUT WHAT ARE THE OTHER THINGS ELAINE OR YOUR, UH, THAT YOU SEE AS THE DETRACTORS FROM CUSTOMER SATISFACTION? WELL, I TH I THINK, UM, THIS, YOU KNOW, IN, IN OUR, UH, STRATEGIC PLAN AND IN CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, WE'VE GOT SEVERAL PROJECTS THAT, UM, HAVE EITHER BEEN COMPLETED OR ARE UNDERWAY. AND THE EXCITING THING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PUTTING THIS SYSTEM OUT THERE, BUILDING IT ON TOP OF, UH, THE ENERGY MANAGEMENT MODULE THAT YOU GUYS SAW, UM, A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO IS NOW WE'RE ACTUALLY IN, IN WHAT CAR IS SPEAKING TO OUR SYSTEMS ARE STARTING TO TALK TO EACH OTHER. WE'VE, WE'VE HAD TO TAKE A WHILE TO GET THE FOUNDATION IN PLACE, BUT WE'RE TO THE POINT NOW WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SYSTEMS WILL TALK TO EACH OTHER. AND, AND I KNOW, UM, RECENTLY WE, UH, UM, SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH A, UM, I'M TRYING TO THINK WHAT IS WHAT IT'S CALLED, IT'S THE CONTACT CENTER, LIKE THE IVR, UM, THAT IT'S A, UM, A DIFFERENT SOLUTION TO REPLACE THE ONE THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE NOW. AND SO THAT'S, YOU, YOU MENTIONED CHAT, THERE'S SOME DISCUSSIONS AROUND THAT, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WOULD, CAN THESE TWO SYSTEMS TALK TO EACH OTHER AND TRULY PROVIDE THAT SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE TO THE CUSTOMER? UM, SO ALL THESE THINGS ARE JUST GOING TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR CUSTOMERS TO DO BUSINESS WITH US, MAKE IT EASIER FOR CUSTOMERS TO, UM, IN, IN THEIR TIME. AND WHEN THEY WANT TO, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THEIR USAGE INFORMATION, UM, AUSTIN WATER GOING AMI OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, SOME OF THAT INFORMATION WILL REPORT INTO THIS AND THEY'VE, THEY'VE GOT A PORTAL THAT WILL HELP CUSTOMERS. SO I THINK TO IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, FINALLY, HAVING THE SYSTEMS IN PLACE THAT ARE TALKING TO EACH OTHER IS GOING TO BE VERY EXCITING OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS. DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YEAH. THAT'S PART OF IT, AND I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP THE AUSTIN WATER THING. I GUESS IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS SINCE WE WENT THROUGH ALL THAT, AND IT'S GOOD TO SEE SOME, SOME MOVEMENT ON THEIR PART TO GET THE AMI INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE WATER METERS GOING. UM, MAYBE YOU CAN COMMENT ON THAT AND HOW THAT'S GOING TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER, WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH THAT. UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT GOES THROUGH MY MIND ALSO IS EVERY SO OFTEN [01:05:01] WE'LL HAVE A COLD SNAP IN THE WINTER, AND WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO WERE IN POORLY INSULATED APARTMENTS, AND THEY HAVE INEFFICIENT HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS, MAYBE WITH THE HEAT STRIPS. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THEIR HEAT HEAT STRIP KICKS IN AND THEIR BILL GOES WAY UP BECAUSE A TWO KW SYSTEM AND AIR CONDITIONING MODE GOES ONTO LIKE A 10 KW SYSTEM WITH THE HEAT STRIP. AND THEN THEY GET A SURPRISE AND THEN THE REPORTERS GET INVOLVED AND NO ARE YOUR METERS ALL MESSED UP, ET CETERA. SO ARE THERE ANY KIND OF PRE, UH, PREDICTIVE MECHANISMS THAT YOU COULD PUT IN PLACE HERE THAT MIGHT GIVE A WARNING TO THOSE TYPES OF CUSTOMERS THAT ARE IN AREAS PRONE TO THAT AND GIVE THEM SOME EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS OR HEADS UP ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LAST, EVEN IF IT'S, THEY DIDN'T HAPPEN TO BE IN THAT APARTMENT, MAYBE SOME PREDECESSORS YOU'RE NOT GIVING AWAY PRIVATE INFORMATION, BUT YOU COULD FLAG JUST AS THAT APARTMENT COMPLEX HAS DATA THAT THEY SUPPOSEDLY HAVE TO POST ON THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF THEIR APARTMENTS. HOW DO WE HELP THOSE FOLKS NOT GET SURPRISED? WELL, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALMOST LIKE I PLANTED YOU TO ASK ME THE MOST PERFECT QUESTION. SO I COULD DEMONSTRATE THIS. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF WAYS THAT ENERGY MANAGEMENT IS DOING THAT. IN FACT, THAT IS REALLY EVERYTHING THAT, UM, OH, POWER, WHICH IS A COMPANY THAT ORACLE BOUGHT TO PRODUCE ALL OF THIS STUFF. UH, THAT'S THE GOAL OF THE ENERGY MANAGEMENT TEAM. SO THERE'S A FEW ANSWERS TO THAT ONE. UH, PART OF THE ANSWER INVOLVES WAYS TO SAY, RIGHT, THIS IS CUSTOMED TIPS FOR ME AS AN INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNT HOLDER. AND IF THE CUSTOMER WANTS MORE RELEVANT TIPS, THE PROGRAM IS PROMPTING THEM TO TAKE THE SURVEY. THIS IS A SURVEY, A HOME ENERGY ANALYSIS, SIMILAR TO, YOU KNOW, HOME ENERGY ANALYSIS, UH, SURVEYS THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE DONE. AND THESE, UH, QUESTIONS SPECIFIC TO THIS PARTICULAR ACCOUNT HELP A CUSTOMER AND HELP THE ANALYTICS SORTA NARROW DOWN REASONS WHY OR WHY NOT. MY HOME MIGHT BE AN ENERGY USE, MIGHT BE A CERTAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, COMING A CERTAIN EFFECT. SO BY ASKING THESE QUESTIONS AND BY THE TOOL CONTINUALLY PROMPTING THE CUSTOMER TO GLEAN MORE INFORMATION FROM THEM, THEY CAN BETTER CREATE A PRESENT TIPS TO THEM TO DO THE ITEMS THAT YOU MENTIONED, UM, INCLUDING SETTING UP NOTIFICATIONS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE GOING TO OFFER IN A WAY THAT WE HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO OFFER BEFORE IS A UNIFIED NOTIFICATION PLATFORM. SO FOR THINGS LIKE WEEKLY ENERGY USE AND HIGH BILL ALERT, THE OPOWER PROGRAM DOES OFFER THIS FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHEN WE DO HAVE THEIR USAGE. SO IF THE METER IS, YOU KNOW, DELIVERING THAT SORT OF LEVEL OF DETAIL, THEN WE ARE DELIVERING THAT TO ORACLE AND THEY ARE THEN SENDING WEEKLY ENERGY EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS TO CUSTOMERS BASED ON THEIR SPECIFIC USAGE AND HAVING SPECIFIC TIPS INCLUDED BASED ON WHETHER THEIR USAGE AND ALL OF THE SORT OF RELEVANT PIECES OF INFORMATION GOING ON. SO THAT HAS BEEN A THING THAT WE HAVE BEEN OFFERING AND WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER AT A RATE OF, UM, ACTUALLY WE'RE SENDING THESE TO OVER 385,000 REGISTERED CUSTOMERS PER WEEK. AND WE HAVE OPEN RATES UPWARDS OF 50 TO 60%. SO THE CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS PARTICULAR FEATURE. AND IN ADDITION, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OFFER A HIGH BILL ALERT, WHICH DOES SORT OF WHAT YOU SAY, WHICH IS TRY TO TELL THEM WHEN THEIR USAGE MIGHT BE MEETING A CERTAIN THRESHOLD. SO AS WE CONTINUE TO GET CLOSER TO MEET THE THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED, WE ARE MEETING THAT BY PROVIDING THEM INFORMATION AT THEIR FINGERTIPS IN THEIR INBOXES, WHICH DRIVES THEM BACK TO THE SITE TO LOOK AT THE DETAILED GRAPHS, BUT ALSO THE ABILITY TO CUSTOMIZE THEIR ALERTS AND TO GET AN EMAIL COMMUNICATION. WHEN'S THEIR USAGE SAY IS 40% HIGHER THAN EXPECTED. THIS IS A MONTHLY COMMUNICATION THAT THEY CAN SUBSCRIBE TO THAT WILL HELP THEM GET A TRIGGER WHEN THEIR USAGE IS MEETING, YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENT STANDARD THAN IS EXPECTED. SO BY PROMPTING CUSTOMERS TO USE THE HOME ENERGY AUDIT, TO POWER, THEIR WAYS TO SAVE, WHICH WILL PROMPT THEM ENERGY SPECIFIC TIPS ABOUT THE PLACE IN WHICH THEY LIVE AND THE WAY IN WHICH THEY HEAT OR COOL THEIR HOME, THEN THAT COMBINED WITH THESE NOTIFICATIONS IS A WAY THAT WE AREN'T WORKING TO SORT OF MEET THE CUSTOMER WHEREVER THEY ARE. IN TERMS OF THE ENERGY INFORMATION. THEY'RE LOOKING TO FIND YOU DO TEXT [01:10:01] AS WELL AS EMAILS. WE ARE SO CLOSE, NOT AT THE GO LIVE OF THIS PRODUCT IN DECEMBER, BUT IT IS ON OUR ROADMAP. YOU HAVE TO OFFER THEM BE A TEXT. WHAT WE WILL CONTINUE. SO OFFER IN TEXT IS POWER OUTAGE NOTIFICATION. THAT PANEL HAS ALSO BEEN INTEGRATED INTO THIS EXPERIENCE SO THAT A CUSTOMER WHO IS DOING A LOGGING IN TO DO BUSINESS WITH US CAN SET UP ENERGY, USE NOTIFICATIONS, POWER OUTAGE TEXTS, NOTIFICATION, AS WELL AS NEW BILLING AND PAYMENT COMMUNICATION THAT I WILL GO OVER AS THE LAST ITEMS TO TALK ABOUT. SO WE'LL HAVE FULL INTEGRATION INTO THE OUTAGE TOOL TO ENCOURAGE CUSTOMERS TO SET UP THEIR TEXTS PREFERENCES SO THAT WE CAN TEXT THEM WHEN WE HAVE AN OUTAGE IN THEIR AREA. MR. JOHNNY, ON THE HIGH BILL ALERTS IS THAT SPECIFIC TO AUSTIN ENERGY'S PIECE OF THE BILL. ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE FULL ROLL UP, INCLUDING WATER AND OTHER SERVICES, IF THAT IS AN EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT CLARIFICATION, THIS PARTICULAR COMMUNICATION IS ABOUT ENERGY ONLY. I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU WHERE WE HAVE OTHER COMMUNICATIONS ON THE BILL. SO WHAT IS ALSO VERY EXCELLENT ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR, UH, PLATFORM THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO OFFER IS THIS IS A FULL RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. WE HAVE A LOT OF USAGE INFORMATION FROM ENERGY MANAGEMENT. WE HAVE A SERIES OF NOTIFICATIONS FROM, UM, THE RESIDENTIAL ELECTRIC USE AS WELL, POWER OUTAGES, BUT WE MIGHT ALSO HAVE A CUSTOMER WHO DOES NOT HAVE ALL OF THOSE FEATURES IN. SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A TAILORED, PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE FOR THEM THAT REMOVES THE COMMUNICATION NOTIFICATION PREFERENCES FOR OUTAGES AND FOR ENERGY MANAGEMENT. SO IF YOU WERE A CUSTOMER WHOSE WATER ONLY, OR, UM, SERVICE ONLY FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU WILL NOT SEE COMMUNICATIONS FOR WHICH YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN. AND THAT WAY, THE EXPERIENCE IS MORE, UM, TAILORED, YOU KNOW, FOR THAT PARTICULAR CUSTOMER'S UTILITY ACCOUNT. SO ALL OF THE CRITICAL PAYMENT BILL PROGRAM, UH, INFORMATION REMAINS CORE, BUT, UH, DIFFERENT PIECES OF THE PLATFORM ARE ENABLED DEPENDING ON WHAT SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE, UM, AT THAT ACCOUNT FOR THE CUSTOMER. OKAY, THANKS. UM, THAT, THAT BRINGS UP ANOTHER QUESTION FOR ME. UM, AND, UM, IF, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY AUSTIN ENERGY MANAGES THE, THE ENTIRETY OF THE BILL. WE GET ONE BILL FROM OUR, YOU KNOW, CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITY SERVICES, BUT THEN WE, WE WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS AT LENGTH TWO YEARS AGO WHEN WE HAD THE WATER BILL, UM, SNAFU, UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN ENERGY DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF INSIGHT INTO WHAT WAS HAPPENING THERE, BUT WHEN FOLKS RECEIVE A BILL THAT'S WAY OUT OF PROPORTION, UM, EVEN IF IT'S FROM WATER, THEY'RE, THEY'RE CALLING YOU ASKING WHAT'S GOING ON. SO, UM, I I'M, I'M CURIOUS IF, UH, IN THAT SORT OF STRUCTURE, DOES, DOES AUSTIN WATER AND THEN AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND, AND THE OTHER, UM, SYSTEMS THAT ARE, OR UTILITIES THAT ARE APPEARING ON THE BILL, DO THEY CONTRIBUTE TO, UM, OUR BUDGET IN ANY WAY, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, MANAGING THAT BILLING PROCESS AND SPECIFICALLY, UM, GETTING TO MY ACTUAL QUESTION, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, HAS THIS, THE CUSTOMER CARE PORTAL UPDATE, HAS THIS COME FULLY OUT OF AUSTIN ENERGY BUDGET OR HAVE OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS CONTRIBUTED IN SOME WAY SINCE WE DO OBVIOUSLY HAVE SOME OF THAT INFORMATION HERE, I'M JUST CURIOUS FOR ALL THE CUSTOMER CARE FUNCTIONS, INCLUDING THE PORTAL, THE BILLING SYSTEM, UM, THE CONTENT CENTER, UM, THERE'S AN ALLOCATION MODEL IN PLACE, YOUR BUDGET. AND SO EVERY YEAR DEPENDENT ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF METRICS AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACTIVITIES, UM, UH, A PORTION, THOSE COSTS ARE ALLOCATED BACK TO THE OTHER UTILITIES. OKAY. THANK YOU. YES. THANK YOU. OKAY. ONE OF THE LAST ITEMS THAT W IS GOING TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED IS THE ABILITY TO ALLOW FOR THE CUSTOMER TO BE ABLE TO SET THEIR OWN BILLING, COMMUNICATION PREFERENCES ACCOUNT BY ACCOUNT. IN ADDITION TO OFFERING AN EDO OR PAPERLESS BILLING, IT'S, WE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD DOING ABSOLUTELY. WE WILL ALSO BE OFFERING A SERIES OF NEW NOTIFICATIONS ABOUT THE WHOLE BILL. SO NOT SPECIFIC TO THE, UM, PORTION, THE ELECTRIC, LIKE WE SPOKE ABOUT ENERGY MANAGEMENT, BUT AS A WHOLE BILLING AND PAYMENT ALERTS ABOUT YOUR SPECIFIC UTILITY ACCOUNT, WE'LL HAVE SOME NEW OFFERINGS, INCLUDING A BILL DUE NOTIFICATION [01:15:01] TO ALLOW THE CUSTOMER TO GET A NOTIFICATION X NUMBER OF DAYS BEFORE THEIR BILL IS DUE. SO AS THEIR BILL DATE IS THE 15TH, IF THEY WANTED A NOTIFICATION FIVE DAYS BEFORE THEN ON THAT, ON THE 10TH, THEY WOULD GET A NOTIFICATION SAYING, HEY, JUST A REMINDER, YOUR BILL IS DUE IN FIVE DAYS, WE'LL ALSO OFFER OVERDO NOTIFICATION. SO IF YOU HAVE MISSED THE BILL DATE, YOU KNOW, UM, TO NOTIFY YOU OF THAT, OF COURSE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEND PAYMENT CONFIRMATIONS. UM, AS WE HAVE BEEN, WE WILL ALSO SEND BILL READY NOTIFICATIONS. THIS WILL ALLOW A CUSTOMER TO BE BOTH ON PAPERLESS OR GET A PAPER BILL, BUT ALSO RECEIVE THE NOTIFICATION VIA EMAIL, SORT OF AS A HYBRID APPROACH, WHICH WE DID NOT PREVIOUSLY, UM, OFFER. SO THERE ARE SOME NEW NOTIFICATION TYPES THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN TO ALSO HELP THE CUSTOMER SPECIFICALLY MANAGE PREFERENCES FOR, FOR THEIR UTILITY ACCOUNTS, THE WAY THE ACCOUNTS HAVE BEEN RESTRUCTURED. IT'LL LET THEM FLIP BETWEEN ACCOUNT TO ACCOUNT, EVEN COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS TO HAVE 70 OR 80 ACCOUNTS TO UPDATE THESE SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE THE MOST INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE THAT THEY WOULD REQUIRE. YOU KNOW, I, I LIKED THIS BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE ELDER CARE THAT YOU'RE CONCERNED WITH, AND THEN MAYBE THE PAPER STILL GOES TO YOUR PARENTS OR YOUR MOTHER, BUT SHE SOMETIMES DOESN'T PAY ATTENTION TO IT. IT'S NICE TO BE ABLE TO PUT AN EMAIL IN THERE FOR FOREVER. YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY DO THAT. ABSOLUTELY. YOU CAN ADD A NEW EMAIL ADDRESS TO THIS RECORD AND THEN TRIGGER AN ALERT TO, UM, TO SOMEONE TO, TO CHECK ON THAT. ABSOLUTELY. WE'LL ALSO BE INTRODUCING SOME GUESTS TO USER FUNCTIONALITY THAT'S REALLY, UM, DIFFERENT AND CUTTING EDGE TO TRY AND INCREASE VISIBILITY AND SECURITY ABOUT WHO'S LOOKING AT EACH UTILITY PROFILE AND WHAT PROFILE THEY'RE RELATED TO, AND SORT OF AN UNPRECEDENTED WAY. SO WE HAVE A LOT OF NEW, EXCITING THINGS THAT ARE COMING. LIKE I SAID, IS AN ITEM THAT HAS BEEN, UH, TESTING JUST STARTED TODAY. SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING OUR MARKETING TEAM BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE OUT ALL OF THE NEW AND EXCITING THINGS THAT MIGHT BE COMING THE WAY TO A CUSTOMER. BUT I'M EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO BRING YOU THIS PRESENTATION, BECAUSE I FEEL REALLY STRONGLY ABOUT HOW MANY NEW THINGS WE'RE OFFERING TO THE CUSTOMER WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO BEFORE. SO IT'S REALLY EXCITING FRONTIER TO BE ON, I THINK, ARE THERE ANY QUESTION I CAN ANSWER? WELL, IT LOOKS GREAT. UM, THANKS. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. UM, IT LOOKS A LOT MORE USER FRIENDLY AND I'M EXCITED TO SEE IT MYSELF IN DECEMBER. SO LOOK FORWARD TO IT. THIS IS GREAT. THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH. IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER FEEDBACK, I'M SURE THAT JEFF, UM, CAN COORDINATE GETTING THAT BACK TO ME. I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. UM, LET'S SEE. MOVING ON TO OTHER STAFF BRIEFINGS AND REPORTS. OUR LAST ONE IS ITEM NUMBER 14, [14. Discussion/follow-up regarding line clearance practices. (Part 1 of 2)] AND, UH, THAT WAS A FURTHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE CLEARANCE PRACTICES AND COMMISSIONER HADN'T HAD SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED THAT. UM, AND SINCE SHE'S NOT ON, UH, THE MEETING TODAY, I WANT TO MAKE SURE SHE HASN'T JOINED. I DON'T SEE HER. UM, SO, UH, I THINK I'D LIKE TO TABLE THIS ONE, UH, AND ADD IT TO THE NEXT MONTH'S MEETING. UM, JUST BECAUSE I DON'T WANT KUSHNER HAD TO MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK THOSE ADDITIONAL FOLLOWUP QUESTIONS. SO, UM, WHAT, WE'LL MOVE THAT ONE TO NEXT MONTH, UM, ON TWO ITEMS FROM COMMISSIONERS, [15. Discussion and possible action regarding the Climate Emergency Resolution Working Group [Resolution No. 20190808-078]. (Wray, Hadden)] AGAIN, THIS, THIS ONE IS, IS ONE THAT WE'VE HAD SORT OF ROLLING ALONG, UH, THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY RESOLUTION WORKING GROUP, UM, THAT'S COMMISSIONER RAY AND HADDEN, UH, AND BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT HERE, LET'S ROLL THIS OVER ONE MORE MONTH, JEFF. AND, AND NEXT MONTH, I'LL PLAN TO ASK COMMISSIONER HADDEN IF, IF WE CAN ACTUALLY REMOVE THIS ITEM, UH, GOING FORWARD, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY NEW, UH, UPDATE OR INFORMATION FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION OR ACTION, UM, AT, AT THIS TIME OR ANY IMMEDIATELY, UH, IN THE FUTURE. SO I I'LL, UM, REMIND ME TO ASK HER, UH, NEXT MONTH, IF WE CAN DROP THIS ONE OFF FOR THE TIME BEING, UM, ON TO OTHER BUSINESS NUMBER, I REMEMBER 16, [16. Discussion and possible action regarding EUC Annual Review 2019-20.] AND THIS IS THE UC ANNUAL REVIEW. AND I HAVE TO ADMIT, EVEN THOUGH I ASKED EVERYONE TO PLEASE LOOK AT THIS, UM, I DIDN'T LOOK AT THIS. AND SO, UM, I'M NOT PREPARED TO, TO VOTE ON THE ECA ANNUAL REVIEW FROM 19. SO I DIDN'T LOOK AT IT EITHER. [01:20:01] RIGHT. GREAT. WELL, UM, I'M GOING TO TRY TO, UH, SET A DEADLINE FOR US. HOW ABOUT, UM, GET OUR COMMENTS TO JEFF AND ME BY, UM, WHAT'S SAY OCTOBER 26TH AND, AND I WILL COMMIT TO GET THOSE, YOU KNOW, TO JEFF AND ME BY THAT. I MEAN, I'LL GET THEM TO JEFF BY THAT TIME. AND SO THAT JEFF CAN SEND OUT WHAT I'M GOING TO CALL A QUOTE FINAL DRAFT, UM, IN THE NEXT MONTH MEETING MATERIALS AND THEN COMMITTING TO VOTING ON IT NEXT MONTH SO THAT WE ACTUALLY VOTE ON THIS BEFORE IT BECOMES 2021. UH, LET'S SEE, LET'S SEE. I NEED TO, I AM [18. Report regarding City Council action on items previously reviewed by the EUC.] OVER 18. UH, YOU ALL SAW THE REPORT REGARDING CITY COUNCIL ACTION ON ITEMS PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED BY US. UM, AND THEN ITEM NUMBER 19, [19. Discuss potential future agenda items.] UH, POTENTIAL FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING THEY'D LIKE TO SEE ON THE AGENDA NEXT MONTH? I THINK WE NEED TO START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT RESILIENCY, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY LEVEL, AND THEN WHAT'S AUSTIN. ENERGY'S PART OF THAT. UM, AGAIN, I JUST THINK WE'VE DODGED SOME BULLETS WHEN I SEE WHAT HOUSTON'S GONE THROUGH REPEATEDLY. UH, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? UH, JUST TO, JUST TO AGREE. YEAH. UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, EVEN LIKE THE MOST RECENT, UH, THE FLOODPLAIN MAPS WERE RECENTLY UPDATED AND THAT SHOCKED A LOT OF PEOPLE IN TERMS OF THEIR INSURANCE VALUES AND WHAT PLANES ARE IN, BUT WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THOSE UPDATES THEMSELVES WERE BASED ON BACKWARD LOOKING DATA, BECAUSE THAT'S STILL THE MORE THE NORM THAN THE EXCEPTION WHEN IT SHOULD BE THE ABSOLUTELY SHOULD BE THE EXCEPTION RATHER THAN THE NORM TO ME, MEANING THAT CAN'T USE BACKWARD DAVY LOOKING AT DATA ANYMORE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN A TRENDING ENVIRONMENT. AND SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE TRENDS MORE THAN THE PAST EXPERIENCE. I APOLOGIZE, COMMISSIONER TUTTLE. WHAT WAS THE, WHAT WAS THE ITEM THAT YOU WERE SAYING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY? WE JUST STARTED DISCUSSION ABOUT RESILIENCY. OKAY. THANK YOU. SORRY. YEAH. AND CAN WE START AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL AND THEN OF COURSE, BREAK IT DOWN TO WHAT WE HAVE PURDUE OVER THE AUSTIN ENERGY'S PART. AND IF WE HAVE THE EXPECTATION OF MORE CLIMATES ARE GOING TO VINCE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT ARE THE POSSIBILITIES? JUST GETTING THE CONVERSATION, GOING AND THINKING I'M JUST THREE NOW, FIRE FLOOD, EXTREME HEAT, YOU KNOW, CAUSE DESPITE OUR, OUR, OUR CONCERNS WITH THE TORNADO, FIRE AND FLOOD, UH, AND JUST EXTREME HEAT EVENTS IS STILL THE NUMBER ONE KILLER IN TEXAS. AND SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, ACCESS, UH, ACCESS TO COOLING, UH, ENVIRONMENTS. IF, IF YOU HAVE REGIONAL DROPS IN, FOR EXAMPLE, COOLING CENTER, UH, IF, YOU KNOW, JUST BY, UH, NETWORK VULNERABILITIES, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE TOP 10 VULNERABILITIES? IF YOU GET IMAGINATIVE WITH RESPECT TO FIRE OR FLOOD EVENT, JEFF, IS THERE A DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN THAT'S ALREADY ON THE BOOKS FOR CITY OF AUSTIN AND OR AUSTIN ENERGY THAT WE COULD DO SOME HOMEWORK ON AND JUST READ BEFOREHAND JUST TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S ALREADY OUT THERE. I'LL TAKE A LOOK. FAIR ENOUGH. OKAY. I JUST GOT A TEXT FROM KAREN SAYING SHE DID JOIN AROUND TWO 10. I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S FROM KAREN HAYDEN. I DON'T KNOW IF SHE CAN HEAR US OR IS ON NOW. SHE'S ON THE LIST. I DO SEE HER IN THE LIST OF PARTICIPANTS. I DON'T KNOW IF SHE CAN'T SPEAK IF SHE CAN'T BE HEARD OR CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? OH, THERE YOU ARE. OKAY. THE RECORD TO BE CLEAR AND I'M FINE WITH ALL THE DECISIONS. THANKS. OKAY. AND I DID GET YOUR TEXT. THANKS KAREN. I JUST PUT AN ACT ON SOMEBODY BEAT ME TO IT. FUNNY. SORRY. I COULDN'T BE HERE FROM THE START TODAY. HAD WORK CONFLICT. ALRIGHTY. MADAM CHAIR. I'M SORRY, BUT I WAS HOPING YOU COULD ALSO ADDRESS ITEM NUMBER 17 BEFORE WE LEAVE THE MEETING. THAT'S YOUR MEETING SCHEDULE? THE CLERK'S OFFICE HAS REQUESTED THAT WE GET THAT APPROVED. [01:25:06] ARE WE STILL ON 18 OR NO, JUST JEFF JUST ASKED US TO TAKE UP ITEM 17, WHICH WAS THE 20, 21 MEETING SCHEDULE. I APOLOGIZE. I DIDN'T KNOW. YOU WERE STILL DOING TRAJENTA ITEMS. I'D MOVED TO ACCEPTING, ACCEPTING THAT MEETING SCHEDULE. OKAY. YES. THANK YOU. AND SORRY THAT I TOOK THOSE UP OUT OF ORDER. I SKIPPED 17. SO THERE'S A MOTION TO APPROVE THE 2021 E UC MEETING SCHEDULE A, IS THERE A SECOND CYRUS AND UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. AYE, AYE. AND, UH, CAN I SEE OR HEAR KUSHNER HAD AN UN COMMISSIONER TROLL SOUL? UH, BECAUSE I, I, I DON'T HAVE VIDEO OF YOU. I PATROL AND I FROM TURN HEAD. THANK YOU BOTH. UH, SO, UH, ITEM NUMBER 17 PASSES. UM, THANKS FOR CATCHING THAT. JEFF, IS THERE ANY OTHER POTENTIAL FUTURE ITEMS I MENTIONED THIS LAST TIME, BUT JUST, UH, AN UPDATE ON THE, UM, ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS RELATED TO MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, UM, AND A HARD SORT OF HARD TO REACH AND MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, UM, JUST WHENEVER IS, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER IT'S APPROPRIATE. UM, AND THEN I'VE MENTIONED A WHILE AGO. UM, AND I THINK THE ANSWER WAS NO, BECAUSE THEY'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE GETTING SERVICE FROM BLUE BOND AND LCRA, BUT WHETHER WE NEEDED TO LOOK AT ANYTHING RELATED TO THE TESLA GIGAFACTORY, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S SOME DISTRIBUTION CONNECTION OR I THINK IT WOULD BE INTERESTING FOR US TO KNOW IF ANY OF THE TUFTS LOOK FACTOR IN ANY WAY IS GOING TO IS GOING TO IMPACT AUSTIN ENERGY. AND IF THE ANSWER IS NO, THEN WE DON'T NEED A, A PRESENTATION. BUT IF THE ANSWER IS YES, I THINK WE SHOULD GET ONE. THE TESLA MANUFACTURING SITE IS IN THE BLUE BONNET SERVICE TERRITORY. YEAH. OKAY. AND THERE'S NO, THERE'S NOTHING WE NEED TO DO WITHIN AUSTIN ENERGY TO ENABLE THAT FACTORY. IT DOESN'T IMPACT THEM. I WOULD NOT HAVE AN UPDATE ON THAT. NO, SIR. OKAY. THANKS. EXCUSE ME. BEFORE YOU DO THAT, UH, I WAS JUST GOING TO ASK MADAM CHAIR. NOW THAT COMMISSIONER HAD AND HAS JOINED US AND WE ARE QUEUED UP AND WE HAVE SENT OUT THE MATERIALS. UH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECONSIDER [14. Discussion/follow-up regarding line clearance practices. (Part 2 of 2)] THE, UH, ITEM NUMBER? I THINK IT'S 14 THAT YOU'VE HAD TABLED ONLINE CLEARANCE COMMISSIONER HATTON. I'LL, I'LL LEAVE THAT UP TO YOU. IF YOU'RE PREPARED TO ASK QUESTIONS ON THE LINE CLEARANCE PRACTICES, UM, WE HAVE AUSTIN ENERGY HERE, UH, READY, READY TO RESPOND. WHATEVER IS BEST. I CAN WAIT IF IT'S WE'LL HAVE THE GROUP WE'RE READY TO HANDLE. I THINK SINCE WE'RE HERE, LET'S GO. LET'S GO AHEAD BECAUSE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS, UH, THE SAME PERSON WON'T NEED TO BE AVAILABLE NEXT MONTH FOR US. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SO WHO DO WE HAVE FROM AUSTIN ENERGY AVAILABLE TO SPEAK TO CHRISTOPHER HATTON ONLINE CLEARANCING CLEARANCES. YEAH, HILTON RICHARD HERE, WHO IS THE MANAGER OF THE FORESTRY SERVICES, BUT WE NEED CLARIFICATION ON EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE WANTING TO KNOW. I THOUGHT WE HAD DISCUSSED THAT AHEAD OF TIME. I THINK IN THIS CASE, WE REALLY NEED TO WAIT TILL NEXT TIME WE WERE, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT A NUMBER OF ISSUES INVOLVING HOW MUCH PESTICIDE USE IS BEING DONE OR HOW MUCH IS BEING USED TO, YOU KNOW, DISSOLVE ROOT BALLS, ET CETERA, CHEMICAL TREATMENT VERSUS, UM, JUST PHYSICALLY MANUALLY REMOVING MATERIALS. WELL, MAYBE I'LL JUST GET DEAD. SO THE INFORMATION THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE PACKET, DIDN'T HIT YOUR QUESTIONS, THE LINE CLEARANCE PACKET INFORMATION. WHAT DOES THAT SLIDE? I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR IT PRESENTED PLACE. OKAY. THAT'D BE FINE IF, UH, TURN IT OVER TO SHARING JEFF, DO YOU HAVE THE PRESENTATION? YOU COULD PROBABLY SHARE IT FROM YOURS. YES, SIR. WE'LL HAVE THE TECH PULL UP THE PRESENTATION ONLINE CLEARANCE, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT. AND JUST AS A COMMENT, THERE WAS AN ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT THAT WAS IN YOUR PACKET MATERIAL. THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM A PRIOR PRESENTATION THAT DEALT WITH VEGETATION MANAGEMENT THAT HAD BEEN GIVEN TO THE COMMISSION, BUT ALSO IN THE PACKET. [01:30:01] WHEREAS SOME MATERIAL THAT HAD BEEN PROVIDED DIRECTLY ORIGINALLY TO COMMISSIONER HADDEN, ADDRESSING SOME SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT A SPECIFIC INSTANCE IN SOME POLICIES. AND THAT'S NOT REALLY A PRESENTATION, IT'S SIMPLY A BACKUP DOCUMENT. SO, UH, ELTON COULD WALK YOU THROUGH THIS SLIDE DECK. THEN SOMEONE HAVE A QUESTION BEFORE WE GET STARTED OR JOSEPH, THE MORE DETAILED BACKUP INFORMATION IS MORE WHAT WE'RE INTERESTED IN. ALRIGHT, I'LL SEE IF I CAN'T PULL THAT UP WHILE YOU DO THAT. MY, MY ONE QUESTION WAS, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE GOING FORWARD, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY IS BASICALLY TAKING A MORE, A MORE CONSERVATIVE APPROACH TO LINE CLEARANCE. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE ARE COMING, UM, THE NEW POLICY WILL BE CREATE MORPHING OF SPACE BETWEEN LINES, VEGETATION MAP. DID I GET THAT GENERALLY RIGHT? YOU DID, BUT I'D BE CAREFUL WITH THE SEMATIC. WE'RE NOT BEING MORE CONSERVATIVE. WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING TO THE INDUSTRY STANDARDS. WE HAD LESS THAN THOSE STANDARDS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND IT CAUSED MAJOR ISSUES. SO NOW WE'RE ACTUALLY TOUCHING UP TO GET BACK TO THAT STANDARD TO GET BACK ON THE CYCLE, IF THAT CLARIFIES IT. AND, AND IS THAT THE TIMELINE ON GETTING BACK TO THAT, UM, CYCLE BACK TO INDUSTRY STANDARDS, IS THAT, UM, IT'S FOR NEXT YEAR OR IT'S BY THE END OF THIS YEAR OR WHAT'S THE, THIS WOULD BE A MULTIPLE YEAR JOSEPH, YOU CAN JUMP IN IF YOU, IF YOU WANT, BUT ON THE PRESENTATIONS THAT I'VE SEEN, WE'RE LOOKING AT PROBABLY A THREE YEAR PLAN TO GET BACK ON TO CYCLE. THANKS. THANK YOU, ALLISON. SO COMMISSIONERS, THIS IS JOE OSBORNE. I'M NOT LYING CLEARANCE SUPERINTENDENT FOR AUSTIN ENERGY. SO, UH, SO YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES WE HAVE HERE IN AUSTIN IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS. SO THAT, THAT WILL BE ONE SIGNIFICANT DRIVER. UH, THE BIRD HABITAT AND OAK WILT TIMEFRAME TO WORK IN THOSE AREAS, UH, WILL CONTRIBUTE TO, TO THAT, UH, TIMEFRAME TO GET BACK ON CYCLE COMMISSIONER, ED, AND, AND STAFF. AND THIS IS THE MATERIAL THAT WE SENT TO YOU. I'M SORRY. WE'LL HAVE TO SCROLL THROUGH THAT COMMISSIONER, PERHAPS YOU WOULD JUST LIKE TO REFERENCE WHERE YOUR QUESTIONS ARE. UM, SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT, UM, EARLIER THE NAME OF A CHEMICAL WAS PROVIDED, AND I DON'T HAVE THAT AT MY FINGERTIPS RIGHT NOW. AND I'M LOOKING FOR, UM, THE PERCENTAGE OF USE THE VOLUME OF USE, HOW MUCH, UM, HERBICIDE IS PROBABLY THE, AS OPPOSED TO PESTICIDE, HOW MUCH IS BEING USED VERSUS HOW MUCH MANUAL CLEARANCE ARE WE DOING, JOSEPH, YOU KNOW, THE PERCENTAGES. SO IF YOU'LL FILL IT OUT. OKAY, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. HEY, SO I, I WOULD, I WOULD FIRST SAY THAT, UH, WE WERE USING AN EPA APPROVED HERBICIDE AND THESE ARE SELECTED TREATMENT. SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE WERE TREATING A VINE GROWING UP A POLE, WE, WE WOULD CLIP, CLIP THAT VINE AT THE BASE OF THE POLE AND TREAT JUST THAT SELECTED AREA, UH, ON REMOVING TREES. IF WE'RE GOING TO SELECTIVELY TREAT THAT TREE, IT'S GOING TO BE ON THE STUMP OF THAT TREE. SO, SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, SO THE HERBICIDE USE, YES, WE ARE USING HERBICIDES OR EPA APPROVED HERBICIDES. THEY'RE A VERY CRITICAL TOOL TO OUR PROGRAM TO, TO MINIMIZE RE SPROUTING. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU CUT A TREE DOWN, IT CAN REACH SPROUT UP TO 60% WITH, WITH JUST GROWTH COMING OUT OF THE SYSTEMATICS, UH, ROOF SYSTEM. SO IF IT'S A TOOL THAT'S, THAT'S NECESSARY FOR, FOR OUR PROGRAM TO, TO MAKE IT HOME, THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION NOW. NO, UM, IT'S A START. THANK YOU. UM, HOW OFTEN ARE THEY USED? IS THIS EVERY TIME WHEN THERE'S A VINE GOING UP A POLE, IS IT ON OCCASION? IS IT EVERY TREE THAT GETS CUT? HOW IS THIS BEING DONE? YES, MA'AM SO, SO ANYTIME WE REMOVE A BIND AT, AT A BASE OF A POLE OR, YOU KNOW, OR GROWING ALONG A FENCE, IF WE'RE HAPPY TO USE THEM, YOU KNOW, REMOVE THAT VINE, WE ARE TREATING THAT STUMP OR, OR THAT, YOU KNOW, BRUSH COMING FROM THE GROUND. UM, ALSO ON TREE REMOVALS, WE DO TREAT THE STUMPS WHEN WE REMOVE THE TREES [01:35:01] TO, TO, YOU KNOW, TO MINIMIZE THE REGROW TO THAT TREE. IS THERE ANY KIND OF NOTICE GIVEN TO THE PROPERTY OWNER WHEN THIS IS OCCURRING SO THAT THEY CAN KEEP CHILDREN AND PETS OUT OF THE WAY? YEAH, SO, SO OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR NOTIFICATION PROCESS, OUR PLANNERS TALK TO THE CUSTOMERS, PROPERTY OWNERS, UH, WE HAVE A VWP, THAT'S GONE OVER THOROUGHLY ABOUT REMOVING THE TREE AND DISCUSSING, YOU KNOW, THE TREATMENT. AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, ON OUR, ON OUR WEBSITE, YOU CAN GO THROUGH OUR FAQ. UH, YOU HAD ASKED A QUESTION BEFORE ABOUT TREATING FINES AND WE HAVE QUESTIONS ON THERE BETTER ABOUT TREATING VINES TO OUR FAQ ON, ON OUR AUSTIN ENERGY WEBSITE. HOW, HOW IS THAT NOTICE GIVEN, IS THAT IN WRITING OR IS THAT JUST IF YOU CATCH THE PROPERTY OWNER THERE OR, OR THE TENANT, I MEAN, HOW WAS THAT NOTICE GIVEN? SO OUR BWP IS, IT'S A VEGETATION TO WORK PLAN. THEY ARE ACTUALLY DRAWN UP FOR EVERY LOCATION. WE DO ANY TYPE OF VEGETATION WORK AND THERE IS A COPY SHARED WITH THE PROPERTY OWNER. SO THEY GET A COPY OF THAT. VWP AND, AND LIKE I SAID, IF THERE'S ANY CHANGES, WE'RE OPEN TO DISCUSS ANYTHING THAT NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE AT THAT PROPERTY. AND THAT'S KIND OF, THE PROCESS HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR QUITE SOME NUMBER OF YEARS, UH, WITH SOME OF THE COMMISSION'S CHANGES BACK IN 2006, SEVEN AND EIGHT. OKAY. UM, ALSO THEN, IS THERE, IS THERE ANY ESTIMATE OR, OR ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THE AMOUNT, UM, THANK YOU FOR THIS INFORMATION. IS THERE ANY AMOUNT, UM, LIKE VOLUME OF THIS CHEMICAL BEING USED THROUGHOUT AUSTIN? UH, YOU MEAN LIKE, NO, I DON'T, I WOULDN'T KNOW THAT FOR STAGE, LIKE I SAID, I I'M SURE WE'RE NOT THE ONLY DEPARTMENT USING HERBICIDE, BUT I, FOR, FOR US, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE HAVE AREAS OUTSIDE, YOU KNOW, IN THE, IN THE RURAL AREAS AND SUCH. SO IT'S, LIKE I SAID, IT'S ONLY WHEN WE'RE DOING REMOVALS OF BRUSHES OR TREES OR BINDS. THERE'S JOSEPH STATED, THIS IS THE ONLY TIME WE USE IS ON THE RESILIENCE OF THE TREES OR THE VINES COMING BACK. IT'S NOT OUR FIRST GO TO METHOD. AND I CAN TELL YOU, WE DO NOT TRACK THE VOLUME THAT THE CONTRACTORS ARE USING. THAT IT'S NOT BEEN SOMETHING WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST, BUT THEY USE IT JUDICIOUSLY. IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THEY JUST PUT OUT AND THERE IS CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION THAT OCCURS. SO WE WOULD NOT KNOW WHAT THE VOLUME BE THAT THE CONTRACTORS UTILIZE. WELL, IS THERE A WAY TO GET THAT BASED ON HOW MUCH IS PURCHASED FOR THE CITY ANNUALLY? I WOULD LIKE WOULD LIKE A FOLLOW UP ON THAT PLEASE. YEAH. THAT'D BE ONE I'D HAVE TO, I'D HAVE TO CHASE DOWN A RABBIT HOLE. YEAH. WELL, WE JUST INCREASED THE BUDGET FOR LINE CLEARANCE SIGNIFICANTLY. I'M WONDERING HOW MUCH MONEY IS GOING FOR CHEMICALS. I MEAN, HOW MUCH VOLUME, WHAT ARE WE DOING ONCE YOU CANNOT BE A PROBLEM, NOT A THING TO OBTAIN. WE WILL SEE IF WE CAN GATHER THAT INFORMATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT THAT, AND WE APPRECIATE THE INCREASE ON THE CLEARANCE BECAUSE THAT'S, WHAT'S GOING TO GET US BACK ON TO CYCLE AND ACTUALLY GET THE RELIABILITY TO GRID RESILIENCE AND THE WILDFIRE, WHICH IS ALSO A MAJOR CONCERN, ESPECIALLY IN THE WESTERN SIDE OF AUSTIN, CLEARED UP AND TAKEN CARE OF. SO WE CAN BE AT THE LOWEST RISK POSSIBLE WITH THE HIGHEST RELIABILITY POSSIBLE. YES. THANK YOU. AND I, I APPRECIATE THE IMPORTANCE OF LINE CLEARANCE. I'M JUST, MY CONCERN IS HOW WE'RE GETTING THERE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO ON THE VEGETATION WORK PLAN, IS THAT A LITTLE PLACARD THAT THEY PUT ON THE DOOR KNOB AT THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE? HI, YES, SIR. YEAH. SO EVERY, EVERY CIRCUIT WEEK PLAN, THE PLANNER OR PLANNERS WILL, WILL COMPLETE A VW, A BWP VEGETATION WORK PLAN, AND THEY WILL, THEY WILL LEAVE EITHER MEET WITH THE PROPERTY OWNER AND HAND IT TO THEM, OR LEAVE A COPY ON, ON YOUR DOOR WITH SOME OTHER INFORMATION FROM AUSTIN TO CONTACT. IT ALSO HAS A CONTACT NUMBER TO CALL BACK. YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS CONCERNING WHAT WAS RECOMMENDED, UH, FOR, FOR PRUNING ON YOUR PROPERTY? MR. OSBORNE DOES, IS ALL CENTERS YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR CLEARING, UH, ALLEY, UH, EASEMENTS AS WELL? OR IS IT JUST AROUND POLES AND LINES OR IS IT ALSO LIKE THE, UH, RIGHT OF WAY THOROUGHFARE? SO THE, SO THE RIGHT OF WAY THERAPY FOR THAT? YEAH. I'M SORRY. Y'ALL GO AHEAD. THAT YOU ELTON, OKAY. SORRY ABOUT THAT. UH, SO, SO PUBLIC WORKS [01:40:01] IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ROADWAYS SIDEWALKS, UH, 14 FEET ABOVE THE ROADWAYS. AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, A PERCENTAGE OFF THE SOCK OFF THE CURB SIDE. SO ALL OF THAT IS, IS PUBLIC WORKS CITY OF AUSTIN. SO ONE OF THE THINGS TO CLARIFY, AS WELL AS WE GET A LOT OF FREE REPORTS ABOUT PRELIMS ON TIMELINES AND, AND AUSTIN ENERGY DOES NOT, WE WILL REMOVE, WE WILL DO A MAKE READY, PRUNING ON SOMETHING, LAYING ON A COMMON LINE FOR THE COMM COMPANY TO HIRE SOMEONE OR A PRIVATE CONTRACTOR TO COME IN AND DO THE WORK. SO, SO THERE'S A LOT OF ISSUES THERE THAT WE, WE GET CALLS ALL THE TIME ABOUT THREE LAMBS ON OUR COMM LINES, WHICH ARE THE LOWER LINES AND LARGER CABLES YOU SEE ABOUT INTERMEDIATE UP ON THE DISTRIBUTION POLES. OKAY, THANK YOU. COULD YOU EMAIL THOSE EMAIL AND OR TEXT THOSE VEGETATION WORK PLANS? UH, OUR EXPERIENCE WAS THAT THE WIND BLEW OR SOMETHING HAPPENED AND, AND BASICALLY THAT PLACARD, UH, WAS KIND OF FOUND IN THE YARD AND MORE HAPPENSTANCE. UM, IS IT, DO YOU HAVE YOUR IT SYSTEMS WHERE YOU COULD JUST SHOOT A COPY TO THE EMAIL OR THE TEXT TO THE ACCOUNT HOLDER AND SEND THE SAME INFORMATION AND REDUNDANT FASHION? THE TECHNOLOGY IS PROBABLY THERE, BUT THE ISSUE IS A LOT OF TIMES THE INDIVIDUAL THAT'S IN THE HOME IS NOT ACTUALLY AN OWNER, SO THEY MIGHT NOT EVER GET THE INFORMATION SO THAT COULD THEORETICALLY CREATE MORE CHAOS THAN NOT. BUT LET US TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE USING FOR OUR CURRENT DOOR CARDS AND SEE IF WE CAN GET SOMETHING MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE DURABLE. OKAY. THANKS. ALRIGHT. DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. RICHARDS OR MR. HEARING? NONE WITHOUT OBJECTION. I WANT TO RUN THIS MEETING. THANK YOU EVERYONE. FOR YOUR TIME. WE ONLY WENT 15 MINUTES OVER OUR HOUR AND A HALF. THANKS EVERYBODY. BYE. BYE . * 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.