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WELCOME TO OUR CITY COUNCIL B SESSION.
UH, WE HAVE ONE ITEM ON THE AGENDA TODAY.
IT'S 2:08 PM ON THIS FIRST DAY OF DECEMBER, 2021.
UH, MADAM CLERK, CAN WE START WITH A ROLE? COUNCIL MEMBER BRAVO HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE PRESENT.
[ ITEMS ]
UH, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LEMME TURN IT OVER TO CITY MANAGER ERIC WALSH TO GET US STARTED.UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UH, TODAY'S B SESSION, UH, WILL BEGIN THE COUNCIL'S FORMAL REVIEW PROCESS, UH, OF, UH, REVIEWING THE C P SS, UH, RATE REQUEST.
AND LEMME GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND HERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE'VE SHARED WITH THE COUNCIL IN THE PAST, UM, THROUGH THE CITY'S OWNERSHIP OF C P S, THERE ARE THREE DISTINCT, UM, UH, AUTHORITIES THAT THE CITY COUNCIL HAVE.
UH, ONE IS THE APPROVAL OF CUSTOMER RATES.
SECOND, THE APPROVAL OF THE ISSUANCE OF DEBT, AND THIRD, THE APPOINTMENT OF BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, ALSO UNDER THE CITY CHARTER, UH, THE CITY HAS A POSITION CALLED THE SUPERVISOR OF PUBLIC UTILITIES, WHO HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY TO REVIEW REQUESTS FOR CHANGES IN RATES AND THE ISSUANCE OF DEATH, UH, DEBT FOR BOTH C P S AND, AND, UH, AND SAS.
AND THAT POSITION FOR US WITHIN THE CITY ORGANIZATION RIGHT NOW IS, UH, WITHIN, UH, IS, IS, UM, IN BEN GOEL, OUR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.
SO HE HOLDS THOSE TWO POSITIONS.
SO AS WE SEE A REQUEST FOR A CHANGE IN RATES OR THE ISSUANCE OF DEBT, UM, AND THAT REQUEST IS MADE TO THE CITY, UM, PURSUANT TO THE CHARTER, WE GO THROUGH A PROCESS, UM, THROUGH THE PUBLIC UTILITIES SUPERVISOR TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO BOTH ME AND THE MAYOR AND THE COUNCIL.
AND SO STAFF THAT'S, UH, THE PUBLIC UTILITY STAFF UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE, OF THE, OF, UH, OF BEN, HAVE DONE, UM, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK, UM, IN COORDINATION WITH C P SS ON THE REQUEST, AND HAVE CONDUCTED THEIR OWN COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW, WHICH WILL BE PART OF NEXT WEEK'S B SESSION.
AND, UH, THEIR REPORT WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE AGENDA PACKET THAT'LL BE ISSUED LATER ON THIS, THIS WEEK.
UM, TODAY'S B SESSION, AS I MENTIONED, IS THE FIRST STEP, AND, AND WE'VE, WE'VE WORKED WITH C P SS VERY CLOSELY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, UM, AND HAVE SHARED WITH THE COUNCIL THE SCHEDULE THAT WE ANTICIPATED TODAY'S B SESSION, BEN WILL KICK IT OFF WITH A SORT, A SHORT, UH, DISCUSSION ON THE, THE CHANGE IN, IN THE RATE STRATEGY THAT WE PROPOSED THAT LED US TO A, UH, THE RATE THAT YOU'RE, YOU'LL BE SEEING TODAY, UH, FROM C P S.
UM, THAT'LL BE FOLLOWED BY, UM, UH, RUDY AND COREY GOING INTO SPECIFICALLY THE C P S REQUEST AND THE NEED FOR THE RATE INCREASE FROM, UH, THEIR PERSPECTIVE.
UM, AND FROM THE BOARD'S PERSPECTIVE, AS I MENTIONED NEXT WEEK AT B SESSION ON DECEMBER 8TH, BEN WILL BRIEF THE COUNCIL IN MORE DETAIL ON, ON, UM, THE CITY REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL B SESSION THAT'S SCHEDULED ON DECEMBER 15TH, UH, WHICH IS SORT OF, SORT OF A CATCHALL DEPENDING ON QUESTIONS THAT COME UP OUT OF TODAY'S B SESSION OR NEXT WEEK'S.
THEN, UH, THE CITY STAFF AND C P S HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL ON DECEMBER 15TH.
UM, AND RIGHT NOW WE TENTATIVELY HAVE SCHEDULED, UH, THE CONSIDERATION OF THE APPROVAL OF THE RATE REQUEST ON THE JANUARY 13TH A SESSION.
AND SO WITH THAT, LEMME TURN IT OVER TO BEN TO GET US KICKED OFF.
HE'LL GO THROUGH A COUPLE OF SLIDES AND THEN, UH, WE'LL HAND IT OVER TO, UH, RUDY AND COREY.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU THIS AFTERNOON.
I'M GONNA GO OVER JUST A COUPLE OF SLIDES AND I'LL START WITH JUST VERY QUICKLY THE TWO ACTIONS THAT YOU'LL BE CONSIDERING IN JANUARY WHEN THIS, UH, RATE REQUEST COMES FORWARD.
ONE WILL BE A BASE RATE INCREASE OF 3.85%.
THAT IS MEANT TO ADDRESS, UH, CPSS IMMEDIATE, UH, FINANCIAL PRESSURES AND TO SUPPORT THEIR OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE EXPENSES, CAPITAL PLAN AND ASSOCIATED FINANCING PLAN.
THE SECOND ACTION WILL BE TO CREATE A REGULATORY ASSET THAT WILL, UH, CAPTURE THE WINTER STORM URI, FUEL COSTS AND OTHER RELATED COSTS.
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ISSUE DEBT TO PAY FOR THOSE COSTS, AND THEN TO RECOVER THAT FROM CUSTOMERS OVER TIME.I DON'T THINK THAT'S WORKING, SO I WAS TRYING TO, IS THAT BETTER? KEEP GOING.
SO AGAIN, THAT WILL ALLOW C P SS TO RECOVER THAT FROM CUSTOMERS OVER TIME.
SO IN SIMPLE TERMS, IS THIS A MECHANISM THAT WILL ALLOW THEM TO CAPTURE THOSE COSTS, PAY FOR THEM BY USING DEBT FINANCING, AND THEN RECOVER THOSE COSTS FROM CUSTOMERS OVER TIME? AND WHAT THEY'RE PROPOSING IS A 25 YEAR PERIOD.
I'M GONNA GO OVER THESE JUST VERY QUICKLY 'CAUSE ERIC TOUCHED ON THESE ALREADY.
UH, YOU RETAIN OVERSIGHT OVER THE APPROVAL OF ADJUSTMENTS TO RATES, UH, THE APPROVAL OF ANY DEBT ISSUANCES AND THE APPOINTMENT OF BOARD MEMBERS.
UH, THE C P SS ENERGY BOARD OF TRUSTEES RETAINS AUTHORITY OVER THE OPERATIONS OF THE SYSTEM ITSELF.
UH, THE POSITION SUPERVISOR, PUBLIC UTILITIES, IT IS ESTABLISHED UNDER CHARTER.
UM, PART OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY IS THAT WE REVIEW RATE REQUESTS AND, UM, DEBT ISSUANCES, AND WE DO A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW AND THEN MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON THAT ANALYSIS AND REVIEW TO THE CITY MANAGER AND TO YOU ALL.
SO IN TERMS OF THE REVIEW, UM, WE COVER A LOT OF DIFFERENT AREAS.
IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR RATE REQUESTS, YOU SEE ALL OF THOSE LISTED HERE.
WE WILL GO INTO MORE DETAIL, UH, NEXT WEEK.
UH, WE'LL PROVIDE A, A MORE DETAILED WRITTEN REPORT OF OUR ANALYSIS, UH, TO YOU THIS WEEK AS PART OF THE AGENDA ITEM FOR NEXT WEEK.
AND THEN WE'LL GO THROUGH MORE OF THIS INFORMATION IN DETAIL WITH YOU, UH, AT NEXT WEDNESDAY'S B SESSION.
SO LET ME JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE RATE PLAN, UM, HERE.
AND SO THE TOP PART OF THIS SLIDE IS THE DRAFT RATE REQUEST THAT WE GOT FROM C P S ENERGY BACK IN SEPTEMBER.
AND YOU CAN SEE THERE THAT IT HAD A BASE RATE INCREASE OF 13.4% IN 2023, AND THEN, UH, ADDITIONAL INCREASES PROJECTED IN 2025 AND 2027 OF F 7%.
SO THAT WAS WHAT THE RATE PLAN LOOKED LIKE OVER THAT FIVE YEAR PERIOD OF TIME.
IT DID INCLUDE FOR 2023, UM, AN ADJUSTMENT FOR WINTER STORM URI AND FOR SOME PANDEMIC BAD DEBT.
UM, IT HAS AN AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL IMPACT OF ABOUT 11.1% ON THE TOTAL BILL.
UH, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN A NUMBER REPORTED OF ABOUT 8.2% THAT ASSUMED THAT THE AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER WOULD, WOULD HAVE ABOUT A 3% REDUCTION IN THEIR USAGE.
SO IF YOU TAKE THAT OUT, THE BILL IMPACTS ABOUT 11.1%.
THAT WOULD'VE GENERATED ABOUT $243.6 MILLION IN BASE REVENUES FOR C P S.
AND THEN THE WINTER STORM URI COMPONENT WAS ABOUT $37 MILLION.
SO UNDER THE REVISED RATE CASE, WHICH IS WHAT WE'LL BE TALKING TO YOU ABOUT TODAY, AND OVER THE COMING WEEKS, THAT HAS BEEN, UH, CHANGED AND REVISED, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT FOR 2023 WE'RE WE'RE PROPOSING A 3.85% BASE RATE INCREASE, FOLLOWED BY PROJECTED INCREASES OF 5.5% IN 2025.
AND IN 2027, THE WINTER STORM URI PIECE, THERE'S NO PANDEMIC BAD DEBT BUILT IN.
THIS IS ONLY FOR THAT WINTER STORM URI PIECE THAT I MENTIONED ON THE, ON THE FIRST SLIDE, THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT EIGHT TENTHS OF A PERCENT ON A TOTAL BILL.
SO ON A AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL BILL, AGAIN, THIS IS AVERAGE, THE BILL IMPACT WOULD BE ABOUT 3.3%.
THAT WOULD GENERATE ABOUT $72.3 MILLION IN INCREMENTAL REVENUE.
UM, AND THEN ABOUT $24.2 MILLION IN, UH, REVENUE TO SUPPORT THE THE WINTER STORM URI COSTS.
SO ONE OF THE QUESTIONS, HOW DID WE GET FROM THE ORIGINAL RATE CASE THAT WE STARTED WITH IN SEPTEMBER TO THIS VERY DIFFERENT RATE CASE IN, UM, WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY LOOKING AT? SO ONCE WE GOT THE RATE CASE FROM, I'LL TURN THAT OFF, UM, AS WE GOT THE RATE CASE FROM UH, C P S ENERGY IN SEPTEMBER, AND WE TOOK A COUPLE OF WEEKS TO, TO LOOK AT THAT ORIGINAL CASE, WE PROVIDED OUR FEEDBACK TO C P S ENERGY.
AND PART OF THAT FEEDBACK WAS WE RECOMMENDED AN APPROACH WHERE, UH, WE FOCUS ON TWO THINGS AND THAT WE FOCUS ON ADDRESSING CPSS IMMEDIATE FINANCIAL PRESSURE, AND THAT WE FOCUS ON A MECHANISM THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM TO RECOVER THE COSTS THAT THEY HAVE PAID TO DATE RELATED TO WINTER STORM BURIES, FUEL COSTS, AND OTHER RELATED COSTS.
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THAT HAS BEEN OUR FOCUS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS.SO THE CITY TEAM WORKING WITH THE C P S TEAM HAVE BEEN WORKING COLLABORATIVELY ON THIS REVISED APPROACH.
AND THAT HAS WHAT, THAT IS WHAT HAS GOTTEN US TO THIS REVISED BASE RATE CASE INCREASE OF 3.85%, AND THEN THE ROUGHLY EIGHT TENTHS OF A PERCENT, UM, ON WINTER STORM URI.
THAT CASE IS A DIFFERENT APPROACH.
THIS APPROACH IS STILL A BUSINESS CASE, BUT IT IS FOCUSED ON THOSE THINGS.
IT'S FOCUSED ON FINANCIAL STABILITY FOR C P S ENERGY, IT'S FOCUSED ON WHAT DO WE KNOW TODAY? IT ISN'T TRYING TO SOLVE EVERYTHING, AND IT ISN'T TRYING TO SOLVE AREAS WHERE THERE'S STILL A GREAT AMOUNT OF UNCERTAINTY RELATED TO CERTAIN THINGS LIKE PANDEMIC BAD DEBT OR THE DISPUTED CHARGES THAT STILL REMAIN RELATED TO WINTER STORM URI.
IT IS FOCUSING ON MORE OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW TODAY.
UM, WE ALSO SPEND A LOT OF TIME WORKING ON THE RATE MODEL ITSELF, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IT'S LARGE, IT'S COMPLEX, IT HAS A LOT OF ASSUMPTIONS BUILT INTO IT.
REALLY WORKING WITH THE C P S TEAM TO TRY TO TIGHTEN THOSE AS MUCH AS WE COULD ALIGN THOSE AS MUCH AS WE COULD.
ALL OF THOSE HAD POSITIVE IMPACTS.
YOU STILL SEE A MULTI-YEAR APPROACH.
WE HAVE PRESERVED THAT WITH THE REVISED CASE, ASSUMING THAT THEY MAY COME BACK IN A COUPLE OF YEARS FOR ADDITIONAL RATE SUPPORT.
UM, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT AND, AND WHY THAT PROVIDES SOME ADDITIONAL FLEXIBILITY.
AND THEN LAST HERE, IT FOCUSED ON THOSE PAID COSTS FOR WINTER STORM URI AND THE ABILITY TO RECOVER THOSE THROUGH THE FUEL ADJUSTMENT.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THIS REVISED APPROACH AND SOME OF THE BENEFITS, YOU KNOW, IT OBVIOUSLY ADDRESSES C P S ENERGY'S IMMEDIATE FINANCIAL PRESSURES.
AND JUST AS IMPORTANTLY, IT ALLOWS TIME FOR, UH, ADDITIONAL ROBUST ANALYSIS AND DIALOGUE ON IMPORTANT POLICY ISSUES.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF POLICY ISSUES RELATED TO GENERATION PLANNING.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT RATE DESIGN IN TERMS OF HOW, UH, COSTS ARE RECOVERED FROM CUSTOMERS.
THIS PROVIDES THAT RUNWAY OR THAT TIME FOR THAT WORK TO OCCUR WITH THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, WITH THE RATES ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND WITH OTHERS.
SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THIS.
THE OTHER THING IT DOES IS ON THOSE AREAS WHERE WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY, TIME WILL GIVE US MORE CLARITY.
AND AS WE GET MORE CLARITY ON THOSE ISSUES, THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW OR IF WE NEED TO RECOVER COST FROM C P S ENERGY CUSTOMERS.
SO THOSE ARE TWO IMMEDIATE BENEFITS TO THIS REVISED APPROACH.
LET'S ADDRESS WHAT WE NEED TO DO TODAY.
LET'S GET SOME TIME TO LET SOME OF THESE AREAS OF UNCERTAINTY EVOLVE AND GAIN MORE CLARITY.
AND LET'S PROVIDE OUR ONE WAY TO HAVE ADDITIONAL CONVERSATION ON THESE POLICY ISSUES.
NOW, YOU SAW ON THE RATE PLAN THAT THERE ARE, UH, FORECASTED, UM, RATE INCREASES IN 2025 AND 2027.
THOSE WILL CHANGE AS THESE MODELS GET UPDATED.
AS YOU GET MORE INFORMATION, THOSE ARE GONNA CHANGE.
AND I LISTED ON THIS SLIDE JUST A FEW FACTORS ON THE RIGHT SIDE THAT ARE GONNA HAVE AN IMPACT.
SOME WILL PUT PRESSURE ON RATES, SOME WILL TAKE PRESSURE OFF OF RATES.
UM, SO THEY'RE JUST MEANT TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT ARE THERE THAT WILL, WILL IMPACT, UM, THAT FUTURE CASE.
EVERYTHING FROM, WE'RE STILL IN RECOVERY MODE.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE POST PANDEMIC? UM, HOW DOES USAGE CHANGE POST PANDEMIC WITH PEOPLE WORKING MORE FROM HOME? HOW MUCH DOES THAT, DOES THAT, DOES THAT STAY IN PLACE? HOW DOES THAT AFFECT HOW PEOPLE USE ENERGY? UM, WE CAME OFF OF A VERY MILD SUMMER AS WE GO INTO THIS RATE MODEL.
YOU'RE TRYING TO PROJECT WHAT NORMAL WEATHER LOOKS LIKE.
THAT'S OBVIOUSLY VERY DIFFICULT TO DO, BUT AS YOU GET TIME TO RECOVER, THOSE THINGS WILL HELP.
UM, WHAT HAPPENS WITH PANDEMIC BAD DEBT? UM, YOU ALL APPROVE THE $20 MILLION IN ARPA FUNDING FOR, UH, C P S ENERGY.
WE HAVE THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT IN PLACE.
THEY'RE WORKING ON DEPLOYING THOSE RESOURCES TO HELP C P S ENERGY RATE PAYERS ALONG WITH A LOT OF OTHER TOOLS THAT THEY HAVE.
SO THAT'LL BE AN AREA WE'LL CLOSELY MONITOR TO SEE HOW THAT EVOLVES AND, AND, AND, AND HOW THAT CHANGES OVER TIME.
THE WINTER STORM URI DISPUTED FUEL COSTS ARE STILL THERE.
UM, THOSE WILL BE RESOLVED OVER TIME.
GENERATION PLANNING DECISIONS THAT WILL BE UPCOMING IN THE NEAR TERM.
UH, IT GIVES TIME FOR THOSE TO BE WORKED THROUGH, UH, TECHNOLOGY, PROJECT COSTS AND IMPLEMENTATION.
WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT MORE NEXT WEEK.
UH, AND I THINK, THINK RUDY'S GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT, SOME OF THAT TODAY, UH, RATE DESIGN AND EVEN FUTURE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT'S A PLAN, IT'S A BASE MODEL.
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CONTINUE TO UPDATE AND EVOLVE, BUT REALLY FEEL LIKE THIS IS A VERY SOUND APPROACH IN TERMS OF HOW TO ADDRESS CP S'S IMMEDIATE NEEDS.UM, I DO WANNA SUMMARIZE HERE, AND I WANNA THANK A COUPLE OF PEOPLE.
I WANNA THANK RUSSELL HUFF, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FOR PUBLIC UTILITIES.
JEFF POLAND, THE ADMINISTRATOR SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO HIM OVER IN PUBLIC UTILITIES.
UH, THESE FOLKS LEAD THE CITY TEAM.
I WANNA THANK THE ENTIRE CITY TEAM.
THEY HAVE PUT 'EM IN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK IN A VERY COMPRESSED PERIOD OF TIME ON THIS, UM, TO GET THIS TO THIS POINT.
AND THEN I ALSO WANT TO THANK, UH, RUDY GARZA, INTERIM C E O FOR C P SS ENERGY.
COREY KAZINSKI, THE C F O FOR, UH, C P S ENERGY.
I THOUGHT I SAW CHAD HOOP AND GARNER IN THE BACK THERE, WHO I THINK WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO DRAW, DRAW THE SHORT STRAW ON BEING THE LEAD ON THE RATE CASE
UM, BUT I REALLY WANT TO THANK THEM BECAUSE OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS, WE HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TOGETHER.
THEY HAVE MADE THEMSELVES AVAILABLE, THEY'VE BEEN VERY RESPONSIVE, AND THAT HAS HELPED US GET TO THE POINT THAT WE ARE AT TODAY.
SO WITH THAT MARION COUNCIL, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO RUDY GARZA.
UM, INTERIM C E O FOR C P S ENERGY.
WHILE THEY'RE BRINGING MY PRESENTATION UP, UM, MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS, IT'S REALLY GOOD TO BE WITH YOU HERE, UH, TODAY, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU HAVING, UH, ME AND, UH, THE C P S ENERGY LEADERSHIP TEAM.
A FEW THINGS I WANNA SAY, UM, TO START OFF MY PRESENTATION TODAY, UH, I'M HONORED TO HAVE RECENTLY BEEN ASKED BY OUR BOARD TO STEP IN TO LEAD OUR APPROXIMATELY 3000 EMPLOYEES THROUGHOUT, HAVE BEEN SOME REALLY TRYING TIMES FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR ORGANIZATION.
I WANNA RECOGNIZE MY BOARD CHAIR, DR.
MACKEY, THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THIS OPPORTUNITY AND, UH, FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP OF OUR BOARD TODAY.
I STAND BEFORE YOU REPRESENTING 3000 PEOPLE WHO ARE COMMITTED TO SERVING THIS COMMUNITY.
AND THAT COMMITMENT REMAINS DAY IN, DAY OUT, NIGHTS, WEEKENDS, WEATHER.
AND, UH, AND I, AND I'M HERE TODAY REPRESENTING THEM.
IT'S BEEN EIGHT YEARS, EIGHT YEARS, FOUR COUNCIL TERMS, ONE FULL, UH, YOU KNOW, TERM LIMIT.
SINCE ANY LEADER FROM C P S ENERGY HAS STOOD AT THIS COUNCIL PODIUM ASKING OUR OWNER AND REGULATOR TO CONSIDER A RATE REQUEST, IT'S NOT AN ASK OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM TAKES LIGHTLY.
THESE ARE NEVER EASY CONVERSATIONS, AND THE TIMING IS NEVER IDEAL.
WE'VE SPENT THE LAST EIGHT YEARS DOING EVERYTHING IN OUR CONTROL TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF OUR COMMUNITY'S UTILITY DOLLARS.
WE FOUND OVER $900 MILLION OVER THAT TIME PERIOD IN SAVINGS TO DO OUR PART, TO BE GOOD STEWARDS, UH, OF THIS COMMUNITY ASSET.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE ARE, WE'RE A COMMUNITY ASSET.
WE'RE AN ASSET THAT YOU OWN, THAT OUR CUSTOMERS OWN.
IT'S NO DIFFERENT THAN OWNING A CAR.
YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA CHANGE THE CAR, YOU KNOW, THE, THE OIL EVERY, YOU KNOW, 10,000 MILES OR WHATEVER IT IS.
AND, UH, AND, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY.
OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WE'VE SEEN SOME CHALLENGES AS A COMMUNITY.
UH, AND OF COURSE, ACROSS THE GLOBE, OUR COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO RECOVER FROM THE PANDEMIC.
AND WE'VE FOCUSED OVER THAT TIME TO DO OUR PART, TO SUPPORT OUR CUSTOMERS, TO THE TUNE OF ROUGHLY $45 MILLION IN DIRECT BILL PAYMENT ASSISTANCE AND OTHER ASSISTANCE THAT WE'VE, WE WE'VE MANAGED, WE, WE'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON THAT, AND WE'VE GOT A GREAT TEAM, UH, THAT DOES THAT DAY IN AND DAY OUT.
AND THEN NINE MONTHS AGO, THE IMPACTS OF WINTER STORM URI WERE CATASTROPHIC ACROSS THE CENTRAL US.
AND OF COURSE, RIGHT HERE AT HOME, IT'S OUR JOB AS LEADERS OF A PUBLICLY OWNED UTILITY TO COME FORWARD DURING TIMES LIKE THESE, WHEN OUR UTILITIES FEELING THE COMPOUNDED FINANCIAL IMPACT SYSTEM, SOME VERY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES TO ENSURE WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE, UH, TO CONTINUE TO DO THE JOB OUR COMMUNITY EXPECTS OF US IN PROVIDING ELECTRIC AND GAS UTILITY SERVICE TO SAN ANTONIO.
AS, UH, ERIC AND, AND AND BEN BOTH MENTIONED, I REALLY WANT TO THANK THE CITY MANAGER AND THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND, AND, AND BEN'S STAFF FOR THE ENTIRE COSA TEAM FOR THEIR DILIGENCE IN REVIEWING OUR REQUEST.
UM, THIS TRULY HAS BEEN A PARTNERSHIP.
YOU KNOW, WE RECAST THE PROCESS TO GET IT RIGHT, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE BEFORE YOU.
IF, IF, IF WE WEREN'T WORKING THE WAY WE NEEDED TO WORK TOGETHER, WE WOULDN'T BE HERE AT THIS PODIUM TODAY.
SO WITH THAT, UH, I WILL, UH, PROMISE THAT WE ARE GONNA TRY TO BE BRIEF IN OUR PRESENTATION SO THAT WE CAN GET, UH, TO, UH, THE QUESTIONS AND THE CONVERSATION THAT YOU HAVE WITH YOU.
UH, I WILL, UH, I WILL, UH, UH, BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T, UH, UH, ASK FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO PHONE A FRIEND TO MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE TODAY, UH, WE GET THE RIGHT LEADER UP HERE.
UH, SO YOU CAN, NUMBER ONE, MEET MY LEADERSHIP TEAM.
BUT NUMBER TWO, WE CAN, WE CAN ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY TODAY.
SO MY ENTIRE LEADERSHIP TEAM, UH, IS HERE, UH,
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FROM C P S ENERGY, UH, TO ENGAGE WITH YOU TODAY.UH, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT, UH, THE PROCESS AND KIND OF WHERE WE ARE, AS BEN MENTIONED.
UM, SO I, I WANNA FOCUS ON A, ON A FEW TERMS. THIS REALLY HAS BEEN A COLLABORATION.
UH, IT REALLY HAS BEEN A CHANGE IN OUR APPROACH TO ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UH, AND I HOPE, UH, THAT I CAN SLOWLY BUT SURELY, UH, REBUILD, YOU KNOW, THE TRUST WITH THE COMMUNITY, AND CERTAINLY WITH YOU AND YOUR TEAMS, UH, ON WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT C P S ENERGY AND THE JOB, UH, THAT WE'RE ASKED TO DO ON A DAILY BASIS.
UH, THIS, UH, RATE REQUEST HAS BEEN MENTIONED, IS FOCUSED ON NEAR TERM, UH, INVESTMENTS.
THEY ARE ALL INVESTMENTS THAT DIRECTLY IMPACT OUR CUSTOMERS AND, AND OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S IN HERE IS, IS IN MY MIND EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW OURSELVES UP AND MOVE FORWARD, UH, IN A POSITIVE MANNER.
UH, AND AS BEN MENTIONED, WE'VE BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT THE POLICY ISSUES THAT OUR COMMUNITY REALLY HAS BEEN INTERESTED IN, UH, HAVING, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT DOES OUR GENERATION STRATEGY LOOK LIKE IN THE COMING YEARS? HOW ARE WE GONNA DEAL WITH, WITH ISSUES SUCH AS UTILITY BURDEN? UH, AND SO THIS GIVES US TIME, UH, TO GET TO, TO, TO SHORE UP OUR FINANCIAL SITUATION RIGHT NOW AND, AND MOVE FORWARD IN A, IN A CONSTRUCTIVE AND, AND, AND BRISK MANNER.
YOU KNOW, THESE ARE CONVERSATIONS THAT DON'T HAVE TO TAKE YEARS TO GET RESOLUTION.
UH, I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE, UH, IN MY TIME AS INTERIM C E O TO PUT THE BOARD, UH, AND OUR COMMUNITY ON A PATH TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SOME OF THESE DECISIONS.
UH, AND SO WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME, UH, WITH, WITH CITY STAFF TALKING ABOUT WHAT THE PATH FORWARD LOOKS LIKE WITH RESPECT TO A LOT OF THESE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE KNOW THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO HAVE WITH C P S ENERGY FROM AN ENGAGEMENT STANDPOINT.
WE'VE CONTINUED TO ENGAGE OUR CUSTOMERS, THE MUNICIPAL UTILITY COMMITTEE, UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE, APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP AND THE MEMBERS OF THE MUNICIPAL UTILITY COMMITTEE, UH, FOR ENGAGING WITH US AT THE WAY THEY'RE ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS.
UH, AND WE TALK ABOUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO CONNECT WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS.
WE'VE HAD OVER, ALMOST BY THE END OF THE YEAR, WE WOULD'VE HAD A THOUSAND ENGAGEMENT EVENTS, UH, AND ENGAGED WITH OVER 72,000 INDIVIDUALS ABOUT THE, THE NEEDS THEY HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, TO, TO DEAL WITH ALL KINDS OF ISSUES.
IT'S NOT, AND AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST UTILITY, UH, ASSISTANCE AND CATCHING UP ON THEIR BILLS, IT'S, IT'S RENTAL ASSISTANCE, IT'S FOOD, YOU KNOW, IT'S, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION, YOU KNOW, CHALLENGES.
WE REALLY ARE LOOKING AT THE WHOLE OF OUR, OF THE, OF THE PERSON, UH, AND TAKING THE TIME TO HELP 'EM.
SO, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO THIS, AND AS PART OF THE RATE CASE, AS PART OF THE RATE CASE CONVERSATION, UM, WE'RE GONNA GO TO WHATEVER COMMUNITY EVENTS, UH, YOU'D LIKE TO SEE US AT.
WE'RE GONNA HOST OUR OWN PUBLIC, UH, EVENTS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS TO COME AND ASK US QUESTIONS.
UH, AND SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO, TO, TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC IN THE WAY WE KNOW THAT YOU EXPECT US TO.
UH, A BIG PORTION OF THAT, UH, ENGAGEMENT IS GONNA BE THE WORK OF OUR RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND OUR CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
WE GOT TWO GREAT LEADERS, REED WILLIAMS, CHAIR OF OUR RE OUR RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, LUISA CASO, YOU KNOW, WHO'S SO INVOLVED IN THE PUBLIC FROM TOYOTA, WHO CHAIRS OUR CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
THESE ARE CITIZENS WHO DON'T HAVE TO ENGAGE US THE WAY THEY'RE ENGAGING US, BUT THEY'RE SHOWING UP EVERY MONTH.
AND THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE RACKS CASE, THEY'RE SHOWING UP EVERY WEEK FOR THREE HOURS, UH, TO, TO LISTEN TO WHAT WE HAVE TO TALK TO 'EM ABOUT.
UM, AND THEY'RE READY, YOU KNOW, TO DIG IN.
THEY, THEY'VE BEEN FRUSTRATED, QUITE FRANKLY, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TOOK A STEP BACK, WE HAD TO PAUSE THE WORK OF THE RACK TO, TO REALLY MAKE SURE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO REASON TO TALK ABOUT AN 8.2%, YOU KNOW, RATE CASE IF THE NUMBER'S GONNA CHANGE.
AND SO, UM, SO WE'RE GONNA, WE, WE'VE SENT THEM ALL THE MATERIALS, UH, THAT, THAT, UH, THAT BEN HAS, AND THAT, THAT HAS, AND THAT THAT COUNCIL WILL, WILL SEE OVER THIS PROCESS.
UH, THE RAID ADVISORY COMMITTEE GOT LAST WEEK.
WE POSTED THAT PUBLICLY ON OUR WEBSITE, UH, ON MONDAY.
AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY GONNA DIG IN AS A FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, YOU KNOW, CHAIRMAN WILL, CHAIRMAN WILLIAMS, UH, UNDERSTANDS THIS PROCESS PRETTY WELL.
AND, UH, AND I THINK THE PROCESS RAC IS USING IS VERY, VERY COMPLIMENTARY TO WHAT, UH, THE CITY IS DOING.
SO THE BOARD WILL GET A, A VERY THOROUGH, I BELIEVE, UH, YOU KNOW, SET OF INPUTS FROM, FROM THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
SO, AS BEN MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY ARE AT A PLACE WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT APPLES AND ORANGES, WHERE WE STARTED AND WHERE WE ARE TODAY ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT PLACES.
AND, AND I DON'T WANNA LEAVE YOU WITH THE IMPRESSION THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT THE PROCESS WE USED TO GET AT THE 10%, AND THEN THE 8.2% THAT WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT, WE REALLY PAUSED AND WE'VE REBUILT THIS CASE FROM THE GROUND UP.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS, AS COREY AND I ARE, AND, AND OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM ARE LOOKING AT THE FINANCIALS, LOOKING AT OUR BUDGET, YOU KNOW, CHALLENGES, LOOKING AT THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN OUR COMMUNITY WITH RESPECT TO THE BAD DEBT AND THE FUEL COSTS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT, UH, DOES THIS TAKE CARE OF THE LIQUIDITY ISSUES THAT ARE CREATED, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN
[00:25:01]
YOU'RE, WHEN YOUR START OF CASH, AND DOES IT MOVE OUR METRICS, UM, THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO, UH, THOSE WHO INVEST IN OUR BONDS IMPORTANT TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND YOUR OWN FINANCIAL, UH, CONDITION.UM, YOU KNOW, DOES IT TAKE CARE OF THAT NEED? AND, AND I STAND HERE.
MACKEY AND OUR, MY BOARD MEMBERS THIS, I WILL TELL YOU, I BELIEVE THE 3.85%, UH, DOES TAKE CARE OF THE NEED, UH, AND ALLOWS US TO HAVE THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE, UH, UH, MOVING FORWARD.
SO, WHAT'S INCLUDED, REALLY, THIS IS A, A, A PAIRED DOWN VERSION OF WHERE WE STARTED.
IT REALLY INCLUDES THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE, UH, IN OUR WEATHERIZATION, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCY.
WE'RE INVESTING A LOT OF MONEY IN OUR POWER GENERATION UNITS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE CAPABLE AND, AND READY TO RUN DURING THE COLDEST TIMES OF THE YEAR IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.
SO WE'VE SPENT, UH, A LOT OF MONEY NOW, NOW, AND I'VE GOT A SLIDE ON THAT.
UH, AND WE WILL CONTINUE, UH, TO INVEST.
THERE ARE A LOT OF REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS THAT THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION, UH, IS, UH, IS BRINGING UPON US IN THE FUTURE YEARS THAT WE'VE GOT TO PLAN FOR.
THO THOSE AREN'T DISCRETIONARY, UH, INVESTMENTS.
THOSE ARE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE, THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE AS THE FOURTH LARGEST GENERATOR IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND SO, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCY IS REALLY AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THIS REQUEST TECHNOLOGY.
UH, OUR, OUR, UH, SS A P SYSTEM, THE, THE BRAINS OF OUR COMPUTERS THAT ALLOW US TO BUILD CUSTOMERS, THAT ALLOW CUSTOMERS TO, TO ENGAGE WITH US ONLINE, THROUGH OUR MANAGEMENT ACCOUNT SYSTEM THAT ALLOW US TO TAKE PHONE CALLS THAT ALL THE, THAT ALLOW US TO SEND BILLS OUT, THAT ALLOW US TO, TO, TO, TO PAY OUR VENDORS.
UH, IT'S 22 YEARS OLD, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S BEYOND ITS LIFE, YOU KNOW, AT THIS POINT.
AND WE GOTTA PLAN FOR THAT, UH, FOR THAT REPLACEMENT.
90% OF THAT INVESTMENT IS RIPPING OUT THE OLD SYSTEM, UH, BEFORE WE EVER GET INTO, UH, YOU KNOW, REINSTITUTING THE NEW SYSTEM, UH, THAT'S COMING.
SO, UH, THERE'S A COUPLE YEARS OF PLANNING WORK THAT WE GOTTA DO, UH, TO GET THAT PROJECT ON THE RIGHT PATH.
AND HAS BEEN SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'LL KNOW ONCE WE ACTUALLY DO THE GO THROUGH THE R F P PROCESS, WHAT THE ACTUAL, YOU KNOW, INVESTMENT IS, UH, IS GONNA BE, AND THEN WE CAN COME BACK TO THE CITY, AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT AS A KNOWN, AS A KNOWN DOLLAR AMOUNT, NOT, NOT WHAT WE ESTIMATE, UH, GROWTH.
OUR COMMUNITY IS GROWING IN EVERY DIRECTION, EVERY DIRECTION.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN A CUSTOMER CONNECTS TO OUR SYSTEM, THEY PAY A CONTRIBUTION TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, UH, RIGHT UP FRONT TO BE ABLE TO CONNECT TO OUR SYSTEM.
BUT THERE ARE OTHER INVESTMENTS THAT YOU HAVE TO MAKE AS YOUR COMMUNITY'S GROWING.
INVESTMENTS IN SUBSTATIONS, CONNECTIONS ON TRANSMISSION LINES, AND THINGS THAT ALLOW US TO, TO KIND OF RECONSTITUTE OUR SYSTEM AS IT'S GROWING ORGANICALLY, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
UH, SO THERE'S SOME MONEY TO, TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE, UH, THAT GROWTH.
AND THEN OUR PEOPLE, I, I CAN'T RUN A UTILITY COMPANY WITHOUT EMPLOYEES, AND WE ARE DANGEROUSLY LOW IN TERMS OF OVERALL EMPLOYEE NUMBERS.
WE'RE DOWN ABOUT 2,900 EMPLOYEES FOR, YOU KNOW, 900,000 CUSTOMERS, GIVE OR TAKE.
THAT IS, UH, NOT WHERE WE WANT TO BE.
UH, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF, OF OUR EMPLOYEES THAT, UH, ARE, ARE GETTING CLOSE TO RETIREMENT.
MY CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, LISA LEWIS, UH, YOU KNOW, IS HERE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT OUR WORKFORCE.
BUT I GOTTA BE ABLE TO HIRE ENGINEERS AND, AND THE JOB MARKET, AS ERIC CAN TELL YOU, HIRING PEOPLE TODAY IN TODAY'S JOB MARKET IS NOT EASY.
WE'RE LOSING PEOPLE THAT WE DON'T WANNA LOSE RIGHT NOW.
AND SO WE GOTTA COME UP WITH A, WITH THE COMPENSATION SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, FOR, I MEAN, FOR OUR BREAD AND BUTTER EMPLOYEES, FOR THE FRONTLINE PEOPLE THAT ALLOW US TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE.
UH, AND SO, AND THAT'S IT TO INFRASTRUCTURE, TECHNOLOGY, SYSTEM GROWTH, AND OUR PEOPLE THAT AMOUNTS TO ROUGHLY $73 MILLION THAT WE BELIEVE WILL MOVE US, UH, IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, UH, GOING FORWARD.
WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED, AND, AND AGAIN, BEN ALLUDED TO SOME OF THESE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE REALLY PUT OFF, UH, THE DISCONNECT, UH, PROGRAM, UM, FOR, UM, THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS.
WE HAVEN'T JUST STARTED DISCONNECTING ANY RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS BECAUSE WE WANTED, UH, TO, TO HAVE A, A THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATION WITH COUNCIL ABOUT OUR APPROACH.
UH, WE, WE'VE REVISED OUR APPROACH IN A LOT OF WAYS THAT THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE HAS GIVEN US FEEDBACK ON, WHICH I THINK HAS BEEN A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT IT'S $130 MILLION PROBLEM, OR, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE START DISCONNECTING FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS WHO CAN PAY, YOU KNOW, THAT NUMBER PROBABLY IS 40 SOMETHING MILLION DOLLARS IN THE FUTURE.
AND A LOT OF THAT'S GONNA BE PEOPLE THAT WE CAN FIND ASSISTANCE FOR, YOU KNOW, TO HELP.
UH, SO, SO WE'RE NOT GONNA PUT ANY PANDEMIC BAD DEBT UNTIL WE GET, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE FURTHER ALONG.
BY MID EARLY TO MID NEXT YEAR, WE'LL HAVE A REAL GOOD HANDLE ON WHERE WE ARE, AND THEN WE CAN COME BACK TO THE CITY AND TALK ABOUT THAT.
UH, IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO, HOW TO FUND ON OUR OWN, UH, DISPUTED FUEL COSTS.
WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH COUNCIL.
UH, WE, WE, WE'VE PAID $418 MILLION IN, UH, FUEL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH, WITH WINTER STORM URI, BUT THERE'S A ALMOST $600 MILLION OF FUEL.
[00:30:01]
WE'RE STILL DISPUTING, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S, I, I BELIEVE AND I'LL, WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT THE FIGHT TO PROTECT OUR CUSTOMERS.AND, UH, SO WE'RE NOT INCLUDING FUEL COSTS THAT THAT IS STILL, UH, UNDER DISPUTE.
WE'RE ONLY INCLUDING THE PORTION UP TO NOW THAT WE'VE PAID THAT WE BELIEVE, UH, HAS BEEN THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE RIGHT SETTLEMENTS, THE RIGHT APPROACH WITH, UH, OUR COUNTERPARTIES.
AND SO, UH, THAT IS PART OF THE REGULATORY ASSET, UH, THAT BEN TALKED ABOUT FUTURE GENERATION DECISIONS.
I'VE SPENT TIME WITH OUR BOARD TALKING ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE GOTTA GET A COMMUNITY PROCESS, RIGHT, UH, PROCESS THAT INVOLVES RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO TALK ABOUT THE FU FUTURE OF OUR GENERATION ASSETS.
SO THERE'S NOTHING IN HERE THAT PRESUPPOSES WHAT THOSE SOLUTIONS ARE GONNA BE.
WE'VE STRIPPED OUT ANY PLANNING WORK ON, YOU KNOW, ON ASSUMING THAT, UH, WE'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, CONVERT SOME OF OUR UNITS, SAY, YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, TO NATURAL GAS, W WHEN WE MAKE THAT DECISION, WE'LL PUT 'EM IN THE PLAN.
UH, AND SO WE PULLED OUT SOME OF THE, THE, THE, THE PLANNING WORK THAT WAS IN THERE, UH, OVER THE LONG TERM.
UH, AND THEN, UH, UH, RATE DESIGN CHANGES.
YOU KNOW, THE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE UTILITY BURDEN, WHICH, UH, SPOKE TO, YOU KNOW, THE MEDIA ABOUT THIS A LITTLE WHILE AGO, ONE THING THAT I'VE LEARNED FROM THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALWAYS LOOKED AT, UM, THE UTILITY BURDEN, YOU KNOW, CONCEPT FROM AN AFFORDABILITY STANDPOINT.
U UTILITY BURDEN IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT, THAT REALLY HAS ONLY COME INTO AS A TERM, RIGHT? AS A, AS A CONCEPT, UM, HAS REALLY COME INTO EXISTENCE OVER THE LAST DECADE.
WE'VE BEEN HERE, YOU KNOW, BEFORE, UH, CITY COUNCIL FOR A RATE INCREASE ONCE IN THE LAST 12 YEARS.
WE'VE REALLY NOT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECAST OUR AFFORDABILITY PROGRAM FROM A TRUE UTILITY BURDEN STANDPOINT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAVING A REALLY GOOD CONVERSATION WITH THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RIGHT NOW.
THAT'S GONNA TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, BUT WHEN WE COME BACK TO CITY COUNCIL AFTER THIS PROCESS, WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW CAN WE RESTRUCTURE RATES IN A MANNER THAT WORKS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THOSE REALLY, THAT'S REALLY THE PRESUMPTIVE POLICY TYPE OF STUFF THAT, THAT WE REALLY PULLED OUT, UH, OF THIS CONVERSATION TO REALLY JUST FOCUS IN ON WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE KNOW WE NEED.
UM, INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCY.
I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT IN TURN, IN, IN REALLY IN TWO PHASES HERE.
PHASE ONE IS WHAT WE'VE DONE THIS YEAR, THAT'S COSTS THAT WE'VE ALREADY PAID, UH, THAT, THAT PREPARES FOR THIS WINTER SEASON.
BUT AS I SAID, PHASE TWO REALLY IS THOSE REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE STILL UNDER REVIEW AT THE STATE AND, AND, AND AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, UH, THAT ARE CERTAINLY GONNA BRING COSTS DOWN UPON US AS AN OPERATOR THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO PLAN FOR.
AND SO, WHAT, WHAT ASKING FOR SUPPORT IS TO GIVE US THOSE DOLLARS THAT WE BELIEVE ARE GONNA BE NECESSARY TO BE COMPLIANT, UH, GOING FORWARD IN THE FUTURE.
WINTER STORM URI, FUEL COSTS, WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING AS PART OF, OF THE REGULATORY ASSET, WHICH IS A, BASICALLY A FANCY TERM FOR PAYING THAT FUEL COST, UH, OVER TIME IS 24 MILLION A YEAR.
IT'S, IT'S ROUGHLY A DOLLAR 26 PER ON, ON A, ON AN AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL, UH, CUSTOMER BILL, UH, PER MONTH.
BUT THAT REALLY ALLOWS US TO THOUGHTFULLY AND, AND AFFORDABLY COLLECT THOSE FUEL COSTS THAT WE, THAT WE HAVE PAID, UM, OVER TIME FROM OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND THE NEXT SLIDE, I I, I WANT TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A, A, A A, A BENCHMARK OF WHAT OTHER SYSTEMS HAVE DONE.
THAT MAP ON THE RIGHT REALLY IS THE ENTIRE CENTRAL US WAS IN THE EXACT SAME POSITION THAT WE WERE IN EVERY, UH, GAS GENERATOR OR, OR GAS UTILITY PROVIDER, UH, HAD A FUEL EXPENSE FROM WINTER STORM YURI THAT THEY HAD TO DO SOMETHING WITH.
UH, AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE OTHER APPROACHES THAT THE OTHER COMMUNITIES AND THE OTHER UTILITIES HAVE TAKEN, YOU KNOW, IT, THEY'VE GONE FROM ONE MONTH, YOU KNOW, CHARGING SOMEBODY A THOUSAND DOLLARS ONE TIME AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, LETTING 'EM PAY IT OFF.
HOWEVER THEY PAY IT OFF, OR SPREADING THAT OUT OVER 28 YEARS.
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS 25 YEARS, OBVIOUSLY, WE'RE ON THE LOWER END OF THAT ONE TO $58, UH, IMPACT, WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A DOLLAR 26 ON THE AVERAGE, UH, MONTHLY, YOU KNOW, BURDEN ON THIS HAS BEEN, UH, $11.
SO, AGAIN, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN AN EXTRAORDINARY EVENT LIKE THIS POPS UP, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T WANNA SHOCK YOUR CUSTOMERS.
AND IN TEXAS, THERE WAS A LOT OF RATE SHOCK.
A LOT OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE GOING ON AT THE, AT THE STATE LEVEL RIGHT NOW IS JUST THE UNCONSCIONABILITY OF, YOU KNOW, TRANSFERRING YOU OUT OF THE ELECTRIC AND GAS UTILITY INDUSTRY INTO THE NATURAL GAS SUPPLIER INDUSTRY, BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, YOU KNOW, WITH NO CONSUMER PROTECTIONS WHATSOEVER.
WE'RE GONNA KEEP FIGHTING THIS FIGHT.
BUT, BUT, BUT WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR HERE IS WHAT WE'VE PAID THAT WE BELIEVE IS, IS, IS JUSTIFIABLE.
SO AS PART OF THE FUEL ADJUSTMENT, THIS COMES UP AND, AND CERTAINLY IT'S A CONVERSATION WE'RE HAVING WITH R-RATED ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, ALMOST EVERY MEETING, WHAT'S IN THE FUEL COST? YOU KNOW, FUEL COST IS NOT, YOU KNOW, REVENUE THAT, THAT WE EARN.
IT'S, IT DOESN'T COME INTO OUR POCKETS, YOU
[00:35:01]
KNOW, TO, TO PROVIDE SERVICE.IT LITERALLY GOES TO, IT'S A PASS THROUGH.
WE PAY IT, WE PASS IT ON TO CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND SO THAT INCLUDES JUST WHAT IT COSTS US TO GENERATE POWER, UH, THE FUEL ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
IT, IT OUR PPAS WITH OUR RENEWABLE, UH, PURCHASES THAT WE MAKE THAT, THAT ARE PART OF OUR FLEET.
WE DON'T OPERATE SOLAR FARMS. WE DON'T OPERATE WIND FARMS. OTHER OPERATORS OPERATE THOSE.
AND, AND WE BUY THOSE THROUGH P P A, THOSE COSTS ARE IN THERE WHEN WE HAVE TO BUY POWER IN THE OPEN MARKET.
WE BUY AND SELL POWER EVERY DAY, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERY DAY, BUT, BUT FREQUENTLY, UH, ON THE OPEN MARKET.
SO, YOU KNOW, THOSE TRANSACTIONS END UP IN OUR FUEL COST, UH, AS IS OUR ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM, THE SAFER TOMORROW ENERGY PLAN, WHICH WE'VE STILL GOT SOME WORK TO DO THERE WITH OUR, WITH OUR, WITH OUR BOARD.
UH, BUT THOSE COSTS ARE PASSED ON, UH, AS PART OF, UH, OF OUR CUSTOMER, YOU KNOW, BEHAVIOR INITIATIVE ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
AND SO THE STORM FUEL COSTS WILL BE, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, REALLY THAT, THAT FIFTH COMPONENT NOW, UH, THAT WE'LL RECOVER, AS I STATED, UH, IN A REGULATORY ASSET OVER OVER 25 YEARS.
I WILL NOW TURN IT OVER TO COREY.
AND COREY, OUR C F O WILL WALK YOU THROUGH, UH, A NUMBER OF THE FINANCIAL, UH, COMPONENTS OF THE, OF THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I WANNA BEGIN SIMILAR TO RUDY.
UM, I DO WANNA EXTEND MY APPRECIATION TO, UH, THE CITY LEADERSHIP TEAM, ERIC AND BEN, UH, AND RUSSELL AND JEFF AS WELL.
UM, AS HAS BEEN ALLUDED TO, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF HARD WORK OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS, UM, AND, UM, REALLY PROUD OF, UH, THE WORK WE'VE DONE.
ALSO, WANNA THANK YOU TO THE FINANCIAL SERVICES TEAM AND ALL THOSE OVER AT C P S WHO HAVE ALSO CONTRIBUTED, UH, TO THIS EFFORT.
UM, THE ONE THING I'LL MENTION BEFORE WE GET STARTED AS WELL, RUDY ALLUDED TO, UM, SOME ADDITIONAL DETAILED FINANCIAL DATA.
UM, WE WILL SEND OVER, YOU KNOW, A SUPPLEMENTAL PACKET WITH, UH, DETAILED FINANCIALS, PROFORMAS, UH, BILL AND PACK, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, UH, THAT SUPPORT THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
I HAVE A HANDFUL OF, UH, HIGH LEVEL SLIDES IN THIS PRESENTATION.
UH, BUT OVER THE COMING WEEKS, YOU'LL HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO REVIEW IT WITH YOUR TEAMS, YOUR STAFF, AND ASK US QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, AT, AT YOUR LEISURE, UH, FOR ANY OF THOSE ITEMS. SO, WITH THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, RUDY DID A REALLY GOOD JOB KIND OF TEEING UP THE APPROACH HERE, UH, AND TALKING ABOUT, UH, THE SIZE OF THE RATE REQUEST.
I WANTED TO BEGIN ON THIS SLIDE, TAKING A STEP BACK, REALLY LOOKING AT OUR BUDGETING PROCESS AND THE SIZE OF OUR BUDGET AND, AND HOW THE RATE REQUEST FITS INTO THAT CONTEXT.
UM, OFTENTIMES YOU'LL HEAR US TALK ABOUT THE SOURCES AND USES OF REVENUE.
UM, AND THIS IS REALLY WHAT THIS, THIS, UH, THIS CHART SHOWS.
UH, ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, WE ILLUSTRATE, YOU KNOW, HOW WE, UH, RECEIVE OUR REVENUE, THE SOURCES OF THEM.
AND THAT HAS TO EQUAL, UH, THE AMOUNT ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, WHICH IS OUR USES OF REVENUE.
UH, AND SO THE WAY YOU LOOK AT THESE, I'LL KINDA LOOK AT IT KIND OF BOTTOM TO, TO THE TOP ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE.
UM, THE LINE SHARE OF OUR REVENUE, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE BLUE BAR, COMES FROM OUR ELECTRIC REVENUE.
UH, AND THEN ABOVE THAT IS REVENUE FROM OUR GAS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
AND THEN IN GREEN, YOU SEE WHOLESALE REVENUE, WHICH RUDY TALKED ABOUT.
THAT'S WHEN WE HAVE EXCESS POWER, WE CAN SELL IT ONTO THE MARKET.
AND THEN A VERY SMALL SLIVER, WHICH YOU PROBABLY CAN'T SEE, UH, FOR NON-OPERATING REVENUE, THAT'S LIKE INTEREST INCOME.
AND AT THE VERY TOP, IF THERE'S EVER A GAP BETWEEN, UH, OUR USES OF REVENUE AND OUR SOURCES, WE HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF, OF REVENUE COMING IN.
THAT'S SLIVER AT THE VERY TOP, SAYS 66.8 MILLION.
UM, THAT IS ACTUALLY, THAT'S THE RATE REQUEST FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR, FISCAL 23, WHICH IS CALENDAR 22.
THAT'S A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN THE 73 MILLION THAT, UH, BEN AND RUDY TALKED ABOUT.
THAT'S BECAUSE FROM AN IMPLEMENTATION STANDPOINT, WE'RE LOOKING AT BEGINNING MARCH ONE FOR US.
SO IT'S ONLY REFLECTING 11 MONTHS OF OUR FISCAL YEAR BASED ON THE PROPOSAL THAT WE'RE PUTTING FORWARD.
AND SO THAT HELPS KIND OF PUT IN, IN PERSPECTIVE THE SIZE OF THE RATE REQUEST TO, YOU KNOW, OUR PROJECTED BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR.
JUST FOR IN INFORMATIONAL USE, I WOULD SUPPOSE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WAY WE USE OUR REVENUE IS IN ALIGNMENT WITH WHAT WE'VE OFTEN SAY IS OUR FLOW OF FUNDS, WHICH IS DICTATED IN OUR BOND ORDINANCE.
AGAIN, I'D READ THAT FROM THE BOTTOM TO TOP, UM, AGAIN, WITH THE LARGEST, UH, PORTION OF OUR USES ON OPERATING EXPENSES.
AND THEN SECOND IS, UH, OUR DEBT SERVICE OBLIGATIONS.
UH, AND THEN THIRD, YOU CAN SEE, UH, 6% OF R AND R, WHICH IS OUR REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT ACCOUNT, ALSO KNOWN AS, YOU KNOW, COMMONLY FOR, AS A SAVINGS ACCOUNT THAT WE'LL USE FOR OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM.
AND THEN IN THE GREEN THERE, UH, YOU CAN SEE CITY PAYMENT OF COURSE.
AND THEN LASTLY, ANY REMAINING FUNDS GO TO, UH, OUR R R ACCOUNT AS WELL.
SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT.
SO A, A PART OF HOW WE USE, UH, OUR, OUR MONEY, UM, IS OUTLINED IN OUR CAPITAL PLAN AND OUR OPERATING EXPENSES.
SO I'VE GOT TWO SLIDES, ONE ON EACH TO TALK ABOUT IT VERY BRIEFLY, BUT IN THE PACKET THAT YOU'LL RECEIVE IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL DATA, YOU'LL HAVE A DETAILED CAPITAL PLAN, UH, THAT IS OUTLINED LINE BY LINE, UH, THAT OUTLINES THE PROJECTS.
[00:40:01]
MATERIALS THAT WE REVIEWED WITH BEN AND HIS TEAM, UH, AT LENGTH, UH, GOING THROUGH THOSE PROJECTS.UH, AND TO REITERATE WHAT'S BEEN SAID TODAY, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE EVALUATED OUR CAPITAL PLAN, AGAIN WITH A FOCUS ON THE NEAR TERM INVESTMENTS.
UH, AS WE'VE MENTIONED A COUPLE TIMES AS WELL, WE'RE NOT INCLUDING DOLLARS FOR ESTIMATES ON FUTURE, UH, GENERATION PROJECTS AT THIS TIME.
THAT'S ABSOLUTELY A CONVERSATION FOR OUR BOARD TO HAVE THE RATE ADVISORY COUNCIL, ET CETERA.
SO THOSE ITEMS, UM, ARE NOT REFLECTED IN ANY OF THOSE DETAILED, UH, MATERIALS THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE.
UM, AND WHAT YOU CAN SEE, UM, AS NOTED IN THE, THE FAR RIGHT TWO BARS, UM, YOU SEE WHAT THE, THE PROJECTED CAPITAL SPEND LOOKS LIKE.
UH, NOW IT IS, YOU KNOW, NOTABLY BIGGER THAN THIS YEAR.
UH, BUT THE KEY DRIVERS, UM, THAT RUDY TALKED ABOUT WAS, YOU KNOW, CUSTOMER GROWTH AND SYSTEM GROWTH, AND THE INVESTMENTS IN RESILIENCY, UH, BROADLY SPEAKING, THAT HELPED MAKE BOTH OUR POWER GENERATION AND OUR DISTRIBUTION NETWORK MORE RESILIENT TO EXTREME WEATHER.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF WHAT'S IN IT FOR THE CUSTOMER, OF COURSE, THIS WILL HELP SHORE UP RELIABILITY AND PROVIDE, UM, THE RESILIENCY THAT, THAT WE ALL EXPECT IN OUR COMMUNITY.
OKAY, SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE HERE, THIS IS WHAT WE CALL OUR OPERATING EXPENSES.
UM, AGAIN, WE'VE KIND OF OUTLINED THREE YEARS HISTORICAL AND TWO YEARS, UH, PROJECTED UP ON THE SLIDE WE'VE GOT HIGHLIGHTED, UM, THE 23 AND FISCAL $24.
BUT AGAIN, SIMILAR THEME HERE.
UM, WHILE THE FISCAL 23 AND 24, UH, PROJECTED BUDGET FOR OPERATING EXPENSES IS HIGHER THAN PREVIOUS YEARS, THAT, UH, THAT INCREASE IS DRIVEN BY INVESTMENTS, YOU KNOW, ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE, UH, INVESTMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY AND THE ASSESSMENTS RELATED TO THAT, RUDY TALKED ABOUT OUR CORE CUSTOMER SYSTEMS ARE OVER 20 YEARS OLD.
UH, AND INHIBITS, UM, SOME OF THE FLEXIBILITY THAT WE'D LIKE TO PROVIDE IN TERMS OF HOW WE CAN ENGAGE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO AGAIN, SOME OF THE CUSTOMER VALUE IS BETTER, UH, YOU KNOW, INTERACTION WITH C P S ENERGY THROUGH THE UPDATE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY, AGAIN, WHICH WE BEGIN FUNDING IN THE, THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS.
AND AS RUDY MENTIONED, AS WELL, FROM A STAFFING LEVEL, STABILIZING STAFFING, UM, IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US.
UH, IT'LL HELP, UM, YOU KNOW, RELIEVE AREAS WHERE WE HAVE BACKLOG IN, UH, IN AND GETTING MEETING CUSTOMER REQUESTS, UH, AND ENSURE THAT FROM A CUSTOMER CALL CENTER PERSPECTIVE, WE HAVE THE RIGHT FOLKS THERE, UH, AND ABLE TO ANSWER THE PHONES.
AND SO THAT'S A QUICK SUMMARY ON THE, UH, THE CAPITAL AND THE OPERATING EXPENSES.
THE NEXT SLIDE HERE, UH, TAKES THE CONVERSATION FROM, UH, THE SIZE OF THE RATE REQUEST AND, AND BREAKS IT DOWN TO WHAT ARE YOUR CONS CONSTITUENTS GONNA FEEL ON THEIR BILL? WHAT IS THAT BILL IMPACT? AND BEN ALLUDED TO THIS AGAIN IN HIS COMMENTARY A BIT.
I'VE BROKEN OUT THE TWO COMPONENTS, UM, MUCH LIKE BENDED IN HIS EARLIER SLIDE, AND I'LL JUST REITERATE IT, UM, ON THE TOP ROW IS THAT BASE RATE INCREASE.
THIS, THIS WAS THE 3.85% NUMBER WE SAID EARLIER.
UH, THAT'S THE APPROXIMATE $73 MILLION, UH, OVER A 12 MONTH PERIOD.
UM, WHAT THAT MEANS FOR AN AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER IS ABOUT $3 84, UH, CENTS, UM, IMPACT PER MONTH ON THEIR BILL.
UH, AND AS WE TALKED ABOUT THE, THE BILL IMPACT FROM THAT IS, IS 2.5% ALSO STATED BY, BY RUDY EARLIER, UH, IS THE IMPACT FROM, FROM THE URI FUEL COST, I'LL REITERATE THAT REPRESENTS THE $418 MILLION THAT WE'VE PAID AND NOT YET RECOVERED FROM OUR CUSTOMERS.
YOU BREAK THAT DOWN, IT'S THE SAME NUMBER AS RUDY SHOWED EARLIER.
SO WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO YOUR COMMUNITY, YOU'RE TALKING TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS, WHAT'S THE TOTAL BILL IMPACT? WELL, IT'S A LITTLE OVER $5 PER MONTH WHEN YOU COMBINE THESE ITEMS TOGETHER.
UM, YOU KNOW, MODEST COMPARED TO, UH, THE PREVIOUS APPROACH WE HAD.
BUT AGAIN, WE THINK THIS IS THE RIGHT, UH, THE RIGHT WAY TO APPROACH IT FOR OUR COMMUNITY, UH, WITH A, A MORE MODEST BILL IMPACT.
UM, SO RUDY TALKED ABOUT UTILITY BURDEN.
HE TALKED ABOUT OUR AFFORDABILITY PROGRAM.
UM, SO I HAVE A SLIDE HERE THAT'S GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT.
UH, AS RUDY ALLUDED TO THAT, WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT UTILITY BURDEN, AND IT'S BEEN VERY EYEOPENING, AND I THINK THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION, UH, IS VERY RESPONSIVE TO THAT.
UM, BECAUSE OUR NEEDS ARE IMMEDIATE, UH, AND THAT TOPIC IS QUITE COMPLEX.
THE LONGER TERM STRUCTURAL ISSUES, UH, THAT ARE NEEDED TO ADDRESS THAT, UM, WILL TAKE MORE TIME.
SO WE, WE'VE, UH, PROPOSED AS PART OF THIS, UH, THIS, UH, RATE REQUEST ARE TWO THINGS FOR OUR AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
UM, NUMBER ONE IS THAT WE ARE PROPOSING TO OFFSET THE FULL BASE RATE INCREASE, UH, TO ALL CUSTOMERS WHO QUALIFY FOR THE AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
AND THE SECOND THING THAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO DO IS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF, UH, PARTICIPANTS, UH, THAT CAN BE ON THAT PROGRAM BY ABOUT 14,000 CUSTOMERS, WHICH WILL BRING, UH, TOTAL ENROLLMENT TO ABOUT 65,000 CUSTOMERS.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THIS REQUEST, THE COMBINED, UH, KIND OF FUNDING LEVEL FOR THAT IS, IS CLOSE TO $5 MILLION.
UM, BUT AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THE BENEFITS TO THE CUSTOMERS WHO QUALIFY AT THE BOTTOM THERE, UM, FROM THE CURRENT DISCOUNT THAT WE HAVE TODAY, PLUS THE ADDITIONAL PROPOSED, UH, DISCOUNT THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
AND SO FOR A CUSTOMER WHO'S A COMBINED ELECTRIC AND GAS CUSTOMER, YOU CAN SEE A LITTLE OVER $16 A MONTH WOULD BE
[00:45:01]
THE BENEFIT ON YOUR BILL.UH, AND THEN OF COURSE, NEARLY $200 A YEAR.
SO AGAIN, MORE CONVERSATIONS TO COME ON THIS.
YOU ACTUALLY, YESTERDAY, DEANNA HARDWICK DID A REALLY GOOD JOB TALKING ABOUT THE OTHER OUTREACH PROGRAMS WE HAVE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
SHE TALKED ABOUT A PLAN TO BEGIN, UM, SOME AUTO ENROLLMENT, UH, TO, FOR INSTALLMENT INSTALLMENT PLANS.
UM, SO THERE'S, AGAIN, THERE'S EXTENDED DIALOGUE YESTERDAY IN THAT.
UM, WE'VE ALSO GOTTEN SOME QUESTIONS, UH, AROUND, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES BILL IMPACT LOOK LIKE IF I'M NOT AN AVERAGE CUSTOMER? UM, WE THINK AVERAGE, YOU KNOW, BILL IMPACT IS PROBABLY THE EASIEST WAY TO COMPARE, UH, ON THIS SLIDE.
UM, WE HAVE DIFFERENT USAGE LEVELS.
SO AS YOUR CONSTITUENTS COME TO YOUR OFFICE AND SAY, WELL, I'M NOT AN AVERAGE USER, BUT THEY BRING THEIR BILL IN, THIS IS KIND OF A BENCHMARK SLIDE THAT YOU COULD USE TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT USAGE LEVELS.
AND SO I WON'T STEP THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT LEVELS, BUT I WILL TELL YOU, JUST TO ORIENT YOU ON THE PAGE, THE LEFT HAND SIDE, UM, SHOWS THE FOUR DIFFERENT USAGE LEVELS FROM A, UM, A POWER AND GAS PERSPECTIVE.
AND THEN IN THE MIDDLE YOU SEE THE BILL IMPACTS OF, UH, THE ENTIRE RESIDENTIAL, UH, CUSTOMER GROUP.
AND THEN FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE ON THE AFFORDABLE AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PLAN, YOU CAN SEE THAT THEIR BILL IMPACTS IN THE FAR RIGHT HAND SIDE.
AND CONCEPTUALLY, UH, IT'S WHAT YOU'D EXPECT IF YOU USE LESS, IF YOU'RE A LOWER, UH, IF A CUSTOMER WHO USES LESS, YOUR BILL IMPACT IS LESS THAN THE AVERAGE USER.
AND IF YOU USE MORE THAN THE AVERAGE USER, YOUR BILL PACK IS GONNA BE HIGHER.
AND SO I DON'T THINK WE'VE SHOWN THESE BEFORE, BUT THIS KIND OF GIVES A LITTLE BIT OF SCALE FOR CUSTOMERS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU.
AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTIONS WE'VE GOTTEN BEFORE AS WELL IS, OKAY, WELL, WHAT ABOUT, UH, BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL, UH, CUSTOMERS? WHAT DO THOSE BILL IMPACTS LOOK LIKE? SO ON THIS SLIDE HERE, WE'VE, UH, PUT OUT BOTH THE ELECTRIC AND THE GAS COMMERCIAL, UH, COMMERCIAL, UH, GROUPS.
UM, HERE YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, FROM A BILL IMPACT PERSPECTIVE, UH, NOW THIS IS INCLUDING THE WINTER STORM RECOVERY.
UM, AGAIN, A RANGE OF ABOUT 3.6 TO 3.8, UH, BILL IMPACT ON THE ELECTRIC SIDE, A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE GAS SIDE.
UM, THE GAS CUSTOMERS DON'T HAVE THE BENEFIT OF A BLENDED FUEL MIX LIKE OUR ELECTRICAL CUSTOMERS.
SO YOU SEE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER FROM A BILL IMPACT PERSPECTIVE, BUT AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE FAIRLY MODEST, UH, BILL IMPACT CHANGES FOR THE COMMERCIAL, UH, CUSTOMERS AS WELL.
AND SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, AND GETTING CLOSE TO CLOSING OUT HERE, UM, THIS IS A PICTURE OF OUR FINANCIAL HEALTH.
UH, THIS IS REALLY WHAT WE COME DOWN TO.
AND THESE ARE THE, THE KEY FINANCIAL METRICS THAT WE OFTEN TALK TO, UH, TO OUR RATING AGENCIES AND, AND INVESTORS.
UM, I REALLY LOOK AT THIS, YOU KNOW, FROM A KIND OF RELATABLE PERSPECTIVE.
WE GO TO A DOCTOR FOR OUR ANNUAL PHYSICAL, AND YOU GET YOUR, YOUR VITALS BACK AND IT TELLS YOU IF YOU'RE IN GOOD HEALTH OR NOT.
THIS IS EQUIVALENT TO, TO THAT FOR C P S ENERGY.
UM, AND WHAT WE LOOK FOR ON THESE THREE METRICS IS TO SEE IF WE ARE IN GOOD HEALTH OR NOT.
'CAUSE THE VALUE IN BEING GOOD, THE VALUE OF HAVING GOOD FINANCIAL HEALTH IS A, IS A PRETTY, UH, IS A GOOD CREDIT RATING, WHICH LEADS TO AFFORDABLE INTEREST RATES.
AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT A LOT, AND WE'VE GIVEN OTHER KIND OF RELATABLE EXAMPLES.
UH, SO FOR US, OFTEN, YOU KNOW, THINK OF, YOU KNOW, TWO INDIVIDUALS GOING OUT TO BUY A CAR, SAME PRICE CAR.
ONE INDIVIDUAL HAS A BETTER CREDIT RATING THAN THE OTHER.
UM, ONE PERSON MAY BE PAYING MORE FOR THE SAME PRODUCT, UH, THAN THE OTHER INDIVIDUAL WHO'S PAYING LESS FOR THE SAME PRODUCT.
THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO.
WE WANNA BE ABLE TO BORROW AFFORDABLY, UH, SO THAT OUR COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY CAN GET MORE VALUE FOR THE DOLLARS THAT WE SPEND.
UH, AND IT GETS REINVESTED HERE, AND IT'S NOT GOING OFF TO PAY INTEREST ANYWHERE ELSE.
AND SO WITH THE PROPOSAL THAT WE'VE PUT FORWARD, UM, THE, THE FIRST METRIC THERE IS OUR DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE RATIO.
THIS IS REALLY JUST A FUNCTION, UH, THAT RATING AGENCIES AND INVESTORS LOOK AT.
YOU KNOW, HOW LIQUID ARE YOU TO, TO, UM, PAY YOUR DEBT? HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU DO THAT? ONE AND A HALF TIMES, UH, IS 1.5 IS OUR THRESHOLD FOR THE CREDIT RATING THAT WE'RE AT.
YOU CAN SEE WITH THIS PROPOSAL, WE COME IN ABOVE THAT 1.5 THRESHOLD.
WE'D LIKE TO STAY AROUND THE 1.6, 1.8 OR BETTER IF WE CAN, AND WE STAY WITHIN THOSE RANGES BASED ON THIS PROPOSAL.
THE OTHER ITEM IS THE DEBT CAPITALIZATION RATIO.
UM, THIS IS REALLY JUST A MEASURE OF HOW LEVERAGED AN ORGANIZATION IS, HOW MUCH DEBT YOU TAKE ON.
RUDY MENTIONED THIS EARLIER, ACTUALLY, FOR US, OUR TARGET IS ABOUT 60%.
UM, WE'RE COMING IN, I HAVE A HIGHLIGHTED YELLOW, WE'RE COMING IN A LITTLE BIT HIGHER, PEAKING IN FISCAL 2024 AT, UH, THE LOW 62%.
UM, BUT WE INDICATED TO THE RIGHT THAT BASED ON THE, THE MULTI-YEAR PLAN THAT, THAT BEN MENTIONED EARLY ON, UH, A PLAN TO WORK THAT NUMBER DOWN BACK INTO THE SIXTIES IN ABOUT FIVE OR SIX YEARS, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE THAT WE'VE GIVEN TO THE RATING AGENCIES, UM, UH, TO COMMUNICATE THE PLAN TO, TO MANAGE THAT PARTICULAR METRIC.
AND THE LAST METRIC IS DAYS' CASH ON HAND.
THIS IS REALLY A REFLECTION OF LIQUIDITY, WHICH RUDY ALLUDED TO EARLIER.
FOR AN ENTITY LIKE US AT OUR CREDIT RATING, UH, AND THE SIZE, UH, OF OUR ORGANIZATION, WE TRY TO TARGET NO LESS THAN 150 DAYS.
UM, 170 PUTS US AT A, A COMFORTABLE LEVEL OF LIQUIDITY, AND YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THIS PROPOSAL FOR THE NEXT TWO FISCAL YEARS THAT ACHIEVES THAT.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, COLLECTIVELY, THESE ARE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HAVE WITH RATING
[00:50:01]
AGENCIES.UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S A LITTLE DRY TOPIC, BUT WE CONTINUE TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH THEM ALL SUMMER LONG.
WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE REVISED APPROACH THAT WE'RE TAKING, UH, THAT BEN ALLUDED TO, UH, YOU KNOW, AND THEY'VE SEEMED RECEPTIVE.
I'LL CONTINUE TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH THEM DURING THIS PROCESS, AND LIKELY THEY'LL BE WATCHING THESE SESSIONS AS WELL, UH, AND SEEING THE TYPES OF QUESTIONS THAT WE GET ASKED.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS ADDITIONAL REVENUE THAT WE'RE PROPOSING FOR THE RATE REQUEST WILL ENSURE THAT OUR FINANCIAL HEALTH CONTINUES, AND I THINK THAT COLLECTIVELY IS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY AND, AND THE CITY.
SO AS I'M WRAPPING UP HERE, JUST LOOKING FORWARD, UM, THIS REALLY KIND OF SUMMARIZES EVERYTHING BEN MENTIONED.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR PROPOSED PLAN HERE IS LOOKING AT, UH, A RATE EVALUATION APPROXIMATELY EVERY TWO YEARS.
BUT WHETHER WE COME EVERY TWO YEARS, WE DON'T WANT TO WAIT IN TERMS OF HOW FREQUENTLY WE COME TO COUNCIL AND JUST UPDATE YOU ON HOW THINGS ARE GOING, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN LISTED THAT RUDY LISTED, UH, THAT ARE STILL UNKNOWNS THAT'LL COME IN, COME INTO MORE CLARITY OVER THE COMING MONTHS AND, AND MAYBE YEAR.
AND SO, WHILE THESE ARE PLACEHOLDERS, UH, IN FISCAL 25 AND 27, THAT'S APPROXIMATELY THE TIMEFRAME.
I WON'T READ THAT LIST TO YOU AGAIN.
UM, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE ITEMS THAT WERE ON, ON THE OTHER LIST THAT, UH, BEN HAD.
I, I DO WANNA SAY THOUGH, THAT, YOU KNOW, IT IS APPRECIATED, UM, THAT THE, THE RECOMMENDATION FROM, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL TO APPROVE THE 20 MILLION OF ARPA FUNDS, THAT WAS A NEW STORY.
WE GOT TO TELL THE RATING AGENCIES, THAT'S A NICE KIND OF SHOT IN THE ARM INJECTION OF DOLLARS.
AND IT, IT HELPS THE, UH, THE CUSTOMERS WHO NEED IT MOST.
UM, THAT'S BEEN, BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
UM, AND, AND LIKE RUDY ALLUDED TO, THE, UH, RATE DESIGN IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL, WE HAVE NOT TAKEN ON IN THIS RATE REQUEST.
THAT IS A VERY COMPLEX, UH, CONVERSATION.
UH, WE'VE HAD LONG DIALOGUE WITH THE RAY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
THIS ALLOWS US TO BUY SOME TIME TO HAVE THOSE THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATIONS WITH THE RAY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, OUR BOARD, AND ULTIMATELY CITY COUNCIL.
SO THE LAST THING HERE, AND YOU HAVE THIS, AND THIS IS REALLY JUST, UH, AN ILLUSTRATION OF OUR ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UH, MULTIPLE WORK STREAMS, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE COMMUNITY, WITH THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AND CITY COUNCIL.
UM, I WON'T REHASH ANY OF THESE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THESE ITEMS, I THINK THEY'RE ALL MENTIONED BY EVERYONE ELSE.
SO IN THE SPIRIT OF TIME, UM, I WILL WRAP UP MY COMMENTS.
UM, AND AS RUDY ALLUDED TO, WE ARE ALL HERE FOR, FOR QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UM, YOU ALL, AND I THINK I'M A LITTLE LOUD.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, UH, TO YOU, RUDY, COREY, UH, AND BEN, LET ME JUST START WITH WHERE YOU LEFT OFF, COREY.
UM, AND, AND WHAT I APPRECIATE ABOUT WHERE WE ARE NOW VERSUS WHERE WE WERE MAYBE TWO MONTHS AGO, IS THAT, ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO THE FUTURE OF THE UTILITY AND GENERATION PLANNING AND RATE DESIGN, THIS IS NOT ASSUMING ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR WHICH THERE WAS A IMPORTANT, WELL-QUALIFIED GROUP OF CITIZENS ASSEMBLED TO GIVE US AND THE BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, ON OUR APPROACH.
AND I'M TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, YEARS IN THE MAKING, FINALLY ASSEMBLED, UH, HAVING GREAT DIALOGUE WITH, UH, THE PEOPLE ASSEMBLED AT THAT TABLE ON THINGS LIKE WHAT IS OUR FUTURE GENERATION MIX? UH, WHAT, HOW DO WE ENSURE EQUITABLE RATE DESIGN GOING FORWARD? UH, HOW DOES THE, THE CHANGES WITHIN THE UTILITY INDUSTRY AFFECT ALL OF THAT? UH, THERE ARE GONNA BE SOME IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS AND ULTIMATELY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THAT GROUP MADE THAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER AS A BOARD, THE C P S BOARD, AND THEN OF COURSE, COME TO THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, AND HOW THAT DETERMINES WHERE THE RATES GO IN THE FUTURE.
THOSE THINGS ARE STILL, UM, IN THE BALANCE AND ARE NOT CURRENTLY, UH, IMMEDIATE NEEDS.
WE'RE NOW LOOKING AT A RATE ADJUSTMENT THAT'S FOCUSED ON IMMEDIATE FINANCIAL NEEDS.
UH, AND, AND LET ME ALSO SAY THAT, UH, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, UH, THIS COMMUNITY, UH, SHOULD HAVE CONFIDENCE, UM, WHEN THE REGULATOR, UH, AND I'M SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT BEN GOEL AND HIS TEAM WORK TOGETHER WITH THE C F O AND THE LEADERSHIP OF C P S AND COME TOGETHER WITH A MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT C P S IS HEALTHY.
UM, THERE ARE SOME FOLKS IN THE ROOM, OR I'M SORRY, THERE'S SOME FOLKS THAT ARE NOT HERE THAT DESERVE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, AND THAT'S THE ALMOST 3000 C P S EMPLOYEES.
MANY OF THEM FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING UNDER EXTREMELY DIFFICULT CONDITIONS THROUGH WINTER STORMS, THROUGH HEAT WAVES, UH, THROUGH REALLY DANGEROUS CONDITIONS IN MANY CASES, TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON AND KEEP ELECTRICITY FLOWING HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
UH, BUT THEY DESERVE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
AND, AND I WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THEM, UH, FOR HELPING OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH SOME VERY DIFFICULT TIMES.
UH, I ALSO WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUE ON THE BOARD, UH, DR.
UH, THIS HAS NOT BEEN AN EASY TIME FOR ANYBODY AND THE ENERGY UTILITY INDUSTRY, EVEN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC,
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UH, AND THEN OF COURSE HERE IN TEXAS, EVEN BEFORE THE WINTER STORM, BUT CERTAINLY DURING THIS LAST 6, 8, 12 MONTHS.UM, THESE ARE NOT TIMES FOR THE FAINT OF HEART IF YOU'RE IN THE UTILITY INDUSTRY.
UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I DID WANNA POINT OUT, UM, THIS FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH ABOUT THE LARGEST ELECTRICAL AND GAS UTILITY IN THE NATION.
MU MUNICIPALLY OWNED ENERGY AND, UH, GAS UTILITY IN THE COUNTRY THAT IS OWNED BY THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND BY VIRTUE OF THAT, THE STAKEHOLDERS, THE, THE, THE, THE COMMUNITY, UM, THE PUBLIC IS OUR OWNER.
AND SO, UH, BECAUSE OF THAT, UH, UNLIKE A PRIVATE UTILITY WHERE, UH, PROFITS ARE BEING MADE AND DIVIDENDS ARE GOING STRAIGHT INTO THE STOCKHOLDERS' POCKETS, THOSE DIVIDENDS GO TO THE CITY, INTO STREETS, INTO PARKS, INTO POLICE AND FIRE.
AND IT, IT IS ONE THIRD OF THE CITY'S OPERATING REVENUE.
UM, WHILE THAT HAS HAPPENED OVER THE LAST 75 YEARS, THIS HAS ALSO BEEN A, A COMPANY THAT HAS BEEN LAUDED AS ONE OF THE STRONGEST, UH, WELL RUN UTILITIES IN THE COUNTRY THAT HAS SOME OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE RATES.
THE GOAL THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIND HERE IS TO HOW TO MAINTAIN THAT, HOW GET, HOW TO GET BACK TO THAT, HAVE AFFORDABLE RATES, RELIABLE ELECTRICITY, A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR EMPLOYEES, AND ONE THAT'S ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE.
UM, THAT'S A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE WITH THOSE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE RACK, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE CAN'T DO ANY OF THAT UNLESS WE'RE FINANCIALLY STABLE.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TODAY.
UM, AND AGAIN, UM, MY APPRECIATION TO, UH, MY COLLEAGUES HERE ON THE, ON THE CITY COUNCIL AS WELL AS THE CITY STAFF WHO'S BEEN WORKING, UH, IN CONJUNCTION WITH YOU, UH, RUDY AND YOUR TEAM.
UM, YOU KNOW, FRANCINE, WHO WE JUST APPOINTED TO THE BOARD, HAD IT RIGHT WHEN SHE SAID, OUR JOB NUMBER ONE IS TO RESTORE TRUST, UH, IN C P S ENERGY, UH, ON BEHALF OF THE PUBLIC OWNER.
I THINK YOU'RE ON THE ROAD TO DOING THAT.
I THINK THIS IS A, A, A GOOD, UH, IMPORTANT STEP THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF PROCESS THAT WE NEED TO GO THROUGH, UH, UNTIL WE ACTUALLY GET TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR OUR VOTE.
UH, BUT THIS IS A GOOD STEP AND, AND, UH, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DIALOGUE.
AND THANK YOU AGAIN, EVERYBODY FOR LEANING INTO, UH, THE DISCUSSION TODAY.
SO LET ME START, UH, AND WE'LL GO INTO QUESTIONS NOW.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
YOU, UM, MENTIONED THE C P S EMPLOYEES.
THERE ARE A FEW WHO, UH, THE CREW MEMBERS WHO ARE CONSTANTLY REACHING OUT AND ARE AT OUR FIELD OFFICE, AND THEY'RE WORKING WITH OUR CONSTITUENTS.
AND I REALLY FEEL THAT, YOU KNOW, THE EMPLOYEES DO WANT TO HELP, AND THEY'RE DOING THE BEST THAT THEY CAN WITH THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM.
UM, FAMILIES FROM DISTRICT TWO ARE AMONG THE MOST MARGINALIZED IN THE CITY.
AND MY FAMILIES WERE DEVASTATED BY THE PANDEMIC AND BY THE WINTER STORM.
AND ACCORDING TO THE DATA PROVIDED BY C P S ENERGY AS OF AUGUST, UM, WE SUFFER FROM THE SECOND HIGHEST NUMBER OF RESIDENTS AT RISK OF DISCONNECTION.
SO I'M FREQUENT FREQUENTLY HEARING FROM RESIDENTS THAT STRUGGLE TO PAY THEIR BILLS AT THE CURRENT RATE.
AND IT'S VERY, VERY, VERY DIFFICULT, UM, FOR ME TO CONSIDER RAISING RATES ANY FURTHER, ESPECIALLY WHEN RESIDENTS IN MY DISTRICT CAN BARELY AFFORD THEIR ELECTRICITY BILLS AT THE CURRENT RATE, MUCH LESS AT THE PROJECTED HIGHER RATE.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE VERY FIRST TIMES THAT YOU'RE ADDRESSING US PUBLICLY.
AND I KNOW THAT AS YOU'RE WORKING TO BUILD TRUST, THIS IS A VERY CHALLENGING FIRST ASK AND FIRST PRESENTATION.
SO I APPRECIATE THE, THE NUANCES OF THIS.
UM, AND I ALSO, I HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WHILE WE'RE SAYING IT'S ONLY AN EXTRA 3 84 A MONTH, THAT IS A, THAT'S A PRIVILEGED, UH, STATEMENT TO MAKE, UM, RESIDENTS WHO ARE STRUGGLING FINANCIALLY, IT'S A BLOW TO THEIR HOPE OF CLIMBING OUT OF DEBT.
AND WE AS CITY LEADERS, CAN'T EXPECT TO COLLECT AN ADDITIONAL THREE 50 A MONTH FROM FAMILIES WHO ARE BARELY ABLE TO PAY THE BILLS AT A CURRENT LEVEL.
UM, I'M GONNA START WITH A FEW QUESTIONS.
UM, SO ACCORDING TO THE PRESENTATION, THE C P SS ENERGY AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM CURRENTLY PROVIDED A DISCOUNT OF ABOUT 1230 A MONTH AND THE PROPOSALS TO INCREASE IT TO 1612, UM, TO ENCOMPASS THE BASE RATE INCREASE.
I THINK THAT'S AN EXCELLENT MOVE.
BUT MY QUESTION IS THIS, UM, IS THE CURRENT AFFORDABILITY PROGRAM EFFECTIVE AT THE 1230 AMOUNT? AND DOES IT BRIDGE THE AFFORDABILITY GAP FOR THE FAMILIES WHO ARE ENROLLED SO THEY'RE ABLE TO NOW AFFORD THEIR BILL? COUNCILMAN? I THINK THAT'S A, A REALLY GREAT QUESTION.
YOU, AS, AS THE MAYOR REALLY ALLUDED TO, OUR JOB AT C P S ENERGY IS TRY TO TRY TO BALANCE, UH, FOR EVERY DOLLAR THAT THOSE WHO CAN'T PAY, YOU KNOW, UH, WE REDUCE THEIR BILL, THE REST OF, YOU KNOW, OUR CUSTOMERS PICK UP THAT, THAT TAB.
AND SO WE'VE TRIED TO MAXIMIZE, QUITE FRANKLY, UH,
[01:00:01]
THAT THIS STILL ALLOWS US TO KEEP OUR BILLS AFFORDABLE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE ENTIRETY OF, OF, OF OUR CUSTOMERS.UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THAT, THAT 14,000 WILL ALLOW US TO CONTINUE REALLY AT THE PACE WE'VE BEEN ON SIGNING AFFORDABILITY CUSTOMERS UP.
SO IT, IT, IT CREATES SOME ADDITIONAL CAPACITY, IF YOU WILL, TO, TO REACH IT, YOU KNOW, UP INTO, UH, YOU KNOW, TO, TO MORE LEVELS OF, OF, UH, LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS.
SO, UM, SO IT CERTAINLY IS MATERIAL, LET ME SAY THAT, TO HELPING, UM, CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE TROUBLE PAYING THEIR BILLS, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH, WITH AN AFFORDABLE DISCOUNT THAT, THAT OUR COMMUNITY CAN, CAN SUPPORT.
UH, BUT, AND THERE ARE OTHER WAYS, AGAIN, AS I STATED, WE DON'T JUST HELP OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, WITH AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT.
WE HELP 'EM WITH BILL PAYMENT ASSISTANCE FROM, YOU KNOW, SOCIAL AGENCIES ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.
YOU KNOW, WE PARTNER WITH 300 SOCIAL AGENCIES ACROSS THE COMMUNITY EVERY DAY.
WE'RE HELPING THEM, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH RENTAL ASSISTANCE, WE'RE HELPING 'EM WITH FOOD.
SO WE'RE, WE REALLY ARE LOOKING AT THE, AT THE WHOLE OF THE PERSON AND THE WHOLE OF THE FAMILY, AND HOW MANY FOLKS DO YOU HAVE LIVING IN YOUR HOUSE? AND WE TRY TO RIGHT SIZE THE ASSISTANCE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ARRANGE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS BASED ON WHAT THE SPECIFICS OF THAT SITUATION ARE.
SO, UM, SO, SO THE, THE, THE BEST ANSWER I CAN GIVE YOU IS WE ARE TRYING TO MAXIMIZE EVERY AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE THAT'S AVAILABLE ON A CUSTOMER BY CUSTOMER BASIS THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS TO OFFER.
I GUESS, UM, TO PUT IT A LITTLE BIT MORE SIMPLY IS THAT IF THIS, IF THIS PROGRAM IS WORKING AND IF IT'S SERVING NEEDS, THEN WE SHOULD EXPECT TO SEE THE NUMBER OF OVERDUE ACCOUNTS DECREASE.
IS THAT HAPPENING FOR THE LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS? IT IS, IT IS HAPPENING.
OUR, OUR LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS, AS, AS I'VE SAID TO THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE, THEY'RE SOME OF OUR MOST ENGAGED CUSTOMERS.
THE LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS AREN'T THE ONES WHO AREN'T CALLING US.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S CUSTOMERS WHO JUST DON'T HAVE TO PAY THE BILL YET UNTIL THEY'RE FACED WITH, YOU KNOW, THE, THAT DISCONNECT NOTICE, AND THEN THEY'LL PAY.
UM, AND SO I, SO I FEEL LIKE THE, THE ISSUE ISN'T NECESSARILY GETTING TO OUR LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS 'CAUSE THEY'RE GONNA REACH OUT LOOKING FOR ASSISTANCE.
AND, AND WHAT WE'RE TAKING IT A STEP FURTHER, WHAT I DIDN'T MENTION IS THAT WE ARE BEGINNING WHAT I THINK IS A VERY, YOU KNOW, THE CORE, THE CORE CAMPAIGN TO CALL CUSTOMERS.
WE'VE WON AWARDS FOR THAT OVER THE LAST YEAR DURING A REALLY DIFFICULT TIME BECAUSE NO UTILITY DOES THAT.
AND WE'RE TAKING THAT A STEP FURTHER OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS BECAUSE OF THE ARPA FUNDING THAT COUNCIL, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, SO GRACIOUSLY PROVIDED US, WE'RE GONNA START KNOCKING ON DOORS.
SO EVERY CUSTOMER THAT IS, IS, IS CAPABLE AND, AND, AND, UH, UH, ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE THEY'RE GONNA GET, IF WE HADN'T CONTACTED 'EM YET, THEY'RE GONNA GET A KNOCK ON THEIR DOOR FROM US.
AND YOU'RE, AND A LOT OF COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE SAID, HEY, I WANNA BE IN, YOU KNOW, ON THAT, IN, ON THAT PROGRAM.
SO I THINK, UH, WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN POSSIBLY DO TO, TO REACH THOSE CUSTOMERS.
UM, GOODNESS, THAT DISTRACTED ME,
UM, SO, UH, HOW DO YOU PLAN TO IDENTIFY THE 14,000 MORE RESIDENTS, UH, TO QUALIFY FOR THE A D P PROGRAM? UM, CURRENTLY, I UNDERSTAND THE QUALIFICATIONS ARE SET AT THE THRESHOLD OF 125% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL.
UM, WOULD YOU CONSIDER A CHANGE OF 200% F P F P O? IS THAT A PART OF THE CONVERSATION? HOW HAS THAT BEEN? IT DEPENDS ON WHERE THE, WHERE THE RESOURCES ARE COMING FROM.
UH, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CERTAIN FEDERAL GUIDELINES THAT WILL ONLY PROVIDE ASSISTANCE UP TO 125%.
AND I MAY NOT NEED A PHONE OR FRIEND HERE IN A LITTLE BIT, UH, INDIANA, WHO RUNS THESE PROGRAMS FOR US.
UH, BUT WE HAVE CONTEMPLATED, ESPECIALLY WITH RESPECT TO, UH, THE REAP PROGRAM, WE'VE GOT A REAP PROGRAM THAT OFFERS UP TO $400 A YEAR, UH, IN UTILITY ASSISTANCE.
WE'VE CONTEMPLATED ACTUALLY MOVING THAT NUMBER UP TO 200%.
SO I, I DO BELIEVE THERE ARE SOME OPTIONS FOR US TO DO THAT.
UM, AND I, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS WAS GONNA BE WHEN DO YOU PLAN TO REDESIGN THE RATE STRUCTURE? UM, AND I, I UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S GONNA BE AFTER CONVERSATION WITH THE RAC, WITH CITY COUNCIL, AND WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UM, ONE OF MY CONCERNS IS THAT AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF MY TERM, UM, I WAS MAKING APPOINTMENTS TO A NUMBER OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, RIGHT? AND ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IS THAT MY PREDECESSOR HAD APPOINTED, UM, AN EXECUTIVE FROM VALERO TO THE RAID ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND THEY TOLD ME THEY DON'T LIVE IN MY DISTRICT.
AND I TRIED TO MAKE A, YOU KNOW, CHANGE THAT APPOINTMENT AND THEY REFUSE TO RESIGN.
DISTRICT TWO IS NOT REPRESENTED, AND THE WORKING CLASS OF DISTRICT TWO ARE NOT REPRESENTED.
AND SO I'M GONNA FIND IT REALLY CHALLENGING TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE IF THEY DON'T SEEM LIKE THEY'RE MEETING THE NEEDS OF MY DISTRICT.
UM, I GUESS ONE OF MY NEXT QUESTIONS IS, BECAUSE I'M GLAD YOU'RE HERE, I'VE ASKED THIS QUESTION A FEW TIMES AND THERE'S NEVER ANYBODY HERE WHO'S ABLE TO GIMME AN ANSWER.
WHEN DOES C P S ENERGY PLAN TO CREATE A THOROUGH PUBLIC DISCUSSION TO CLOSE THE SPRUCE COAL POWER PLANT? COUNCILMAN, UH, I, I ALLUDED TO THAT AS PART OF THE GENERATION PLANNING CONVERSATION.
[01:05:01]
I BELIEVE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH, WE GOTTA DO THAT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BOARD.OUR BOARD HAS TO HAVE A THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATION ABOUT OUR, AND REALLY, IT'S NOT JUST SPRUCE.
WE GOTTA LOOK AT OUR ENTIRE, THE ENTIRETY OF OUR GENERATION FLEET AND LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT EXPOSURE DO WE HAVE TO MARKET PRICES, YOU KNOW, IF WE GO ALL RENEWABLE, I MEAN, THERE ARE A LOT OF ELEMENTS OF THE OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO US THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE A THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATION ABOUT.
I, I DO BELIEVE THAT WE CAN GET THAT CONVERSATION ON THE RIGHT TRACK OVER THE NEXT YEAR, UH, AND 'CAUSE WE DO HAVE SOME DECISIONS TO MAKE.
SO, WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR? YES, SIR.
UM, MY LAST BIT IS THAT THE PRESENTATION STATES THAT RESUMING THE DISCONNECTION PROCESS WILL LIKELY DRIVE ADDITIONAL REVENUE.
AND SO I WANTED TO KNOW THAT BEFORE WE LOOK TO DRIVE REVENUE OFF OF DISCONNECTIONS, WHERE ELSE DID C P S ENERGY LOOK FOR EFFICIENCIES TO DRIVE DOWN COSTS, UM, BEFORE LOOKING TO DO THAT? SO EVERY TIME WE'RE EXPENDING A DOLLAR, WE'RE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES.
WHETHER IT'S THE CONTRACTS FOR, YOU KNOW, FUEL, NATURAL GAS, COAL THAT, THAT WE HAVE TO USE TO, TO, TO, UH, RUN OUR POWER PLANTS.
UM, THE, THE, EVERY TIME WE PUT ON AN R F P FOR VENDORS THAT, THAT PROVIDE US SERVICES, WE'RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING TO DRIVE DOWN COSTS IN A LOT OF WAYS.
WE RECENTLY, UH, RE REMARKETED SOME BONDS IN, IN THE, IN THE, IN THE, IN THE MARKET.
AND WE WERE LIKE FIVE TIMES OVERSUBSCRIBED, WHICH MEANS THAT THE C P S ENERGY BRAND, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO BRAND HAS A GOOD BRAND, UH, IN THE INVESTMENT MARKETS.
WE WERE ACTUALLY TO SAVE, YOU KNOW, CLOSE TO $25 MILLION AND ACTUALLY LOWER THE AMOUNT OF DEBT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THAT ISSUANCE BECAUSE WE GOT SUCH GOOD INTEREST RATES.
SO EVERY ONE OF THOSE, YOU KNOW, ACTS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SAVE MONEY.
AND, AND EVERY TIME WE'RE SPENDING DOLLARS, WE'RE TRYING TO GET IT FOR THE, FOR THE MOST EFFICIENT PRICE.
AND THE REASON I ASK THAT QUESTION IS BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THE DESIRE AND THE NEED FOR A RATE INCREASE.
I UNDERSTAND THE CONDITIONS THAT BROUGHT US TO THIS POINT, UM, TO THIS, YOU KNOW, PROPOSAL.
AND THERE ARE A LOT OF NECESSITIES FUNDED THROUGH EVERY DOLLAR IN THE BUDGET.
BUT I ALSO KNOW, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT MY CONSTITUENTS AND MANY OF OUR CONSTITUENTS ACROSS THE CITY HAVE HAD TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT WHICH ONE OF THEIR NECESSITIES COULD THEY PUT ON THE BACK BURNER.
UM, WHICH THINGS CAN THEY POSSIBLY CUT FROM THEIR LIFE? WHICH BILLS DO THEY HAVE TO PRIORITIZE, WHICH CHILD STAYS HOME FROM SCHOOL SO THAT THEY CAN GO TO WORK SINCE THEY CAN'T AFFORD CHILDCARE? UH, WHICH CAR PROBLEM CAN THEY IGNORE? AND FOR HOW LONG CAN THEY DO THAT? AND SO I JUST NEED TO SEE, UM, WHAT CUTS, WHAT CUTS ARE BEING MADE.
I NEED THIS TO BE COMMUNICATED TO THE PUBLIC.
I NEED TO SEE REAL IMPACT AND RELIEF FOR THOSE MOST IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC AND BY THE STORM.
AND I NEED TO SEE A THOROUGH PUBLIC DISCUSSION ON, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR GENERATION SOURCES.
AND UNTIL THEN, I DON'T KNOW IF I WILL BE ABLE TO CONFIDENTLY VOTE FOR A RATE INCREASE.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE RODRIGUEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA.
AND, AND COREY AND THE ENTIRE TEAM AT C P S.
UM, I'LL START OFF WITH THE EASY QUESTION, AND IT'S FOR THE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
AND YOU HEARD ME TALK ABOUT THIS YESTERDAY.
UM, I STILL THINK THAT THAT'S A SHORT TIMEFRAME TO TAKE IT OUT TO, UM, TO THE PUBLIC.
UH, I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL POPUPS RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW WE ONLY HAVE ONE POPUP THAT, THAT LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEEN SCHEDULED.
UM, MAYBE WE CAN, UH, BE A LITTLE BIT MORE CREATIVE, MAYBE GET OUT TO SOME OF THE ARPA MEETINGS, THE BOND MEETINGS THAT WE'RE HAVING, AND GET SOME INFORMATION OUT THERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
BUT I DO THINK THAT, THAT WE NEED TO GREAT, UH, JUST CREATE SOME ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THERE.
AND THEN I ALSO WANNA, UM, THANK PETER FRA, WHO IS MY DISTRICT FOUR APPOINTEE.
UM, SO MR. FRA, FOR THE BENEFIT OF MY COLLEAGUES BRIEFS ME REGULARLY EVERY TIME THERE'S A RAC MEETING.
SO ALL OF THESE EXTRA PRESENTATIONS THAT I HAVE TODAY IS BECAUSE PETER FRA SENT THEM TO ME.
AND I THINK THAT THERE'S SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT I WANNA SHARE WITH YOU ALL, UM, THAT I THINK IS, IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU ALL TO CONSIDER.
AND MY FIRST QUESTION, AND IT'S IN REGARD TO THE BRATTLE STUDY THAT WAS PRESENTED TO THE RACK.
DO WE HAVE ENERGY AFFORDABILITY POLICIES YET, OR HAVE WE CONSIDERED AN ENERGY AFFORDABILITY POLICY, UM, THAT MAYBE SETS THE ENERGY BURDEN AT A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF A HOUSEHOLD INCOME FOR LOW INCOME RESIDENTS? SO, COUNCILWOMAN, THAT BRATTLE STUDY REALLY DID, UM, IT WAS EDUCATIONAL FOR US, YOU KNOW, START LOOKING.
WE, WE KIND OF LOOKED AT INFORMATION IN THE PAST AND, YOU KNOW, FOR BY ZIP CODES, BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, BY QUAD, BY TRUSTEE QUADRANT, AND REALLY DIGGING INTO THE CENSUS TRACKS HAS GIVEN US ANOTHER DIMENSION OF DATA THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY TAKE AND GO DO SOMETHING WITH.
SO, AGAIN, I, I SAID IT, YOU KNOW, I, I I I, THE EDUCATION THAT I RECEIVED PERSONALLY, AND I, I WAS, YOU KNOW, I LISTEN IN TO EVERY ONE OF THOSE SESSIONS, REALLY GOT MY MIND AND, AND MY, AND OUR TEAM'S MIND THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW CAN WE TAKE THAT INFORMATION AND ACTUALLY PUT IT INTO PLAY.
I WILL TELL YOU, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW A LOT OF FOLKS THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT WE ARE CONSTANTLY LOCKING HORNS WITH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL STAKEHOLDERS.
[01:10:01]
DECELERATION NEWS PUT OUT A REALLY INSIGHTFUL ARTICLE ABOUT THE CENSUS TRACKS WITH THE HIGHEST UTILITY BURDEN.YOU KNOW, I SENT THAT TO, TO DEANNA, MY CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER, AND I SAID, WHEN WE START KNOCKING ON DOORS, WE'RE GONNA START KNOCKING HERE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE 20% UTILITY BURDEN IS SHOWING UP, BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE THOSE CUSTOMERS GAIN ACCESS TO THE, THE, THE, THE FUNDING THAT'S AVAILABLE TO 'EM.
SO ALL I CAN DO,
AND WHERE I'M STARTING IS WITH THE INFORMATION THAT OUR OWN COMMUNITY'S PUTTING OUT THERE.
I MEAN, WE, WE DON'T HAVE TO ARGUE ABOUT THESE ISSUES.
THOSE, THESE ARE, WE ALL OF US WANNA HELP OUR CUSTOMERS AT THE END OF THE DAY.
AND SO, SO, SO I, I DO THINK THAT THE UTILITY BURDEN CONVERSATION AT THE RACK AND, AND IN THE COMMUNITY WITH FOLKS LIKE GREG HAVE BEEN REALLY, REALLY, UH, PRODUCTIVE.
UM, RUDY, I'D LIKE TO MAYBE REQUEST THAT YOU COULD SHARE THAT STUDY WITH MY COLLEAGUES IF THEY HAVEN'T TAKEN A LOOK AT IT.
IT'S, IT'S A, A REALLY INSIGHTFUL POWERPOINT PRESENTATION, AND THEY DID A GOOD JOB OF ALSO, UM, BUILDING IN OUR INFORMATION COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES.
UM, SO WE KNOW THAT C P S BILLS ARE ABOUT 20 PER 24% LOWER THAN TEXAS AVERAGE 10% NATIONAL AVERAGE.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE, UM, SOME POORER HOUSEHOLDS, RIGHT? AND SO SOMETHING TO TAKE TO, INTO CONSIDERATION, OF COURSE, IS, IS THAT WE HAVE THE FI FIFTH HIGHEST, UH, AMOUNT OF INTER ELECTRICITY THAT'S CONSUMED, BUT WE HAVE THE LOWEST ELECTRICITY RATES WITH, UM, REGARD TO GAS, LOWEST GAS CONSUMPTION, LOWEST HIGH, UH, GAS PRICES.
SO THE, THE CORRELATIONS THERE, I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND THE CORRELATION IN THE PRICING, BUT THAT'S GONNA BE AN OFFLINE CONVERSATION.
IT MIGHT TAKE A LITTLE LONGER THAN THE SIX MINUTES I HAVE LEFT.
UM, WHAT I DID NOTICE IS THAT ON AVERAGE, THERE'S GONNA BE ABOUT $110 A MONTH, OR 1326 ANNUAL CHANGE, AND MORE THAN 20 OF THE TRACKS WITHIN THE FIRST INCOME QUINTILE ARE EXPERIENCING ENERGY BURDENS OF MORE THAN 25%.
THEY'RE ALL CLUSTERED IN THE CENTER AND SOUTHERN REGIONS OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND SO THE BURDENS ARE FOUR TIMES HIGHER THAN THOSE IN THE LEAST BURDENED.
AND THAT'S JUST BY LOOKING AT THE STATS THAT, UM, THE REPORT PROVIDED.
AND SO, I'M, I'M, I THINK THAT IT'S NICE, LIKE COUNCILMAN MAKI RODRIGUEZ SAID THAT, UH, WE HAVE THAT WE ARE ALREADY THINKING OF THEM, BUT I THINK THAT IT'S GONNA TAKE A POLICY CHANGE.
AND SO THAT'S WHY I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN THIS, UH, ENERGY AFFORDABILITY POLICY BEING SET, RIGHT? SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO KIND OF, UM, SET THE THRESHOLD? UM, WITH THAT SAID, THE ENERGY BOARD, SO, UM, ONE OF MY, ONE OF THE RAC COMMITTEE MEMBERS, MY REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT ENERGY BURDEN, LOW-INCOME IMPACT STUDY TO ADDRESS THE INCREASE OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
SO WE KNOW OVER THE NEXT FOUR TO FIVE YEARS, WE'RE GONNA, UM, SEE AN INCREASE.
AND YOU ALL SHOWED IT TO US TODAY, BUT I'D LOVE TO SEE HOW WE CAN GET, UM, ALL OF US A LITTLE BIT MORE ENGAGED THAN THAT AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN I WANTED TO ASK YOU, UH, IN THE RAC PRESENTATION FOR TOMORROW, IT SAYS THAT WE'VE REDUCED O AND M EXPENSES AND THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON PROJECTS THAT ARE KNOWN, REASONABLE, AND JUSTIFIABLE.
I WAS GONNA ASK, AS A PART OF IT, WHAT ARE THOSE COST SAVINGS? AND I NOTICED THAT THERE'S A DEFERRAL OF $60.6 MILLION IN CAPITAL FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023.
WHAT DOES THAT DO TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS? DOES THAT PUT US BEHIND BECAUSE OF THE CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT WE'RE DEFERRING? AND THEN ALSO, HOW IS, UM, INNOVATION HELPING? SO FOR INSTANCE, R AND D OF STORAGE, ARE WE CONSIDERING THAT? HOW ARE WE PROJECTING COSTS OUT FOR THAT? WELL, COUNCILMAN, THE REASON WE'RE HERE IS BECAUSE WHEN YOU GET, YOU KNOW, IN A CASH CRUNCH, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT IS EXACTLY WHAT'S GET WHAT GETS DEFERRED.
AND WE GOT A LOT OF OLD INFRASTRUCTURE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO THAT IF WE'RE NOT DEALING WITH IT, THE, THE OUTAGES GET LONGER, THEY GET MORE DIFFICULT TO FIX.
YOU KNOW, EVERY WEATHER EVENT WE HAVE IS MORE CATASTROPHIC THAN, THAN THE ONE BEFORE.
SO, YOU KNOW, OUR GOAL AS PART OF THIS IS TO FOCUS ON THE PRIORITY, YOU KNOW, INFRASTRUCTURE THAT NEEDS TO BE DEALT WITH.
AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT'S IN, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT, MAYBE WE CAN, WE CAN PUSH OFF.
WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON THE THINGS WE HAVE TO DO, UH, UM, ON BOTH THE O AND M, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THE CAPITAL SIDE, YOU KNOW, GENERATION INVESTMENT.
WE GOTTA KEEP OUR POWER PLANTS RUNNING DURING EXTREME, YOU KNOW, TEMPERATURES.
WE JUST, WE JUST HAVE TO, I MEAN, WE, WE'VE LEARNED FROM, YOU KNOW, YURI, THAT, THAT THOSE INVESTMENTS HAVE TO BE MADE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE TEAM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A FULL KIND OF PRIORITIZATION LIST OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, WE'RE FOCUSED ON AND THE, AND THE THINGS THAT WE THINK WE CAN DEFER, YOU KNOW, RESPONSIBLY.
UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN, IF YOU WANNA HAVE KIND OF SOME DETAILED CONVERSATIONS ABOUT OUR BUDGET, WE CAN COME BACK.
WE CAN COME BY AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT THAT.
UH, BUT, BUT AGAIN, WHAT I'LL SAY THIS, YOU KNOW, UH, THE WORK THAT COREY AND CHAD HAVE DONE WITH RUSSELL AND BEN, THEY'VE GONE LINE ITEM BY LINE ITEM, UH, THROUGH OUR BUDGET TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WE BELIEVE OUR PRIORITIES SPEND AND, AND WHAT WE THINK CAN BE DEFERRED.
AND SO THE, THE LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT THERE HAS BEEN PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL.
AND THANK YOU, RUDY, BECAUSE I DID SEE THAT YOU ALL WENT, UM, I, I DON'T HAVE THE LINE ITEM BY LIGHT ITEM, BUT YOU ALL HIGHLIGHTED THAT FOR TOMORROW'S RAC PRESENTATION.
I APPRECIATE THAT YOU ALL WENT INTO THAT LEVEL, RIGHT? SO STAFFING AND HIRING OF OUTSIDE AGENCIES, ET CETERA.
HOW WILL WE INVEST IN MICROGRIDS
[01:15:01]
FOR DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES TO COME BACK ONLINE A LITTLE BIT QUICKER AFTER SOME OF THE EVENTS, LIKE THE ONES WE'VE BEEN HAVING? WELL, RICHARD MEDINA, HE'S OUR E V P OVER, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR GRID OPTIMIZATION AREA NOW.UH, RICHARD HAS, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR MICROGRID WORK HAS REALLY BEEN, UH, FOCUSED ON MILITARY INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE MILITARY'S GOT TONS OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO INVEST WITH US IN MICROGRIDS.
WE'RE STARTING TO TALK TO SAWS AND SOME OF OUR, YOU KNOW, EMERGENCY, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE HERE LOCALLY ABOUT MICRO GRIDDING.
YOU KNOW, ANYTIME YOU PUT SOLAR WITH A BATTERY OR YOU, YOU JUST HAVE A BATTERY THAT YOU KEEP CHARGED UP, YOU'VE CREATED A MICROGRID.
YOU KNOW, IN AND OF ITSELF, I THINK HOW WE'RE INVE, HOW WE'VE BEEN INVESTING IN SOLAR, YOU KNOW, YOU PUT A NEIGHBORHOOD BATTERY IN THERE, YOU KNOW, DOWN THE ROAD, THAT CREATES AN OPPORTUNITY, YOU KNOW, TO KEEP SOME, SOME ADDITIONAL LOAD ON DURING THE REALLY CHALLENGING TIMES.
SO I THINK WE'RE PROBABLY FURTHER ALONG THAN A LOT OF COMMUNITIES ARE.
WE'RE NOT AS FAR ALONG AS WE WANT TO BE.
UH, AND THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY, UH, AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL THROUGH THE INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE THAT JUST CAME OUT.
WE'RE SETTING UP AN ENTIRE GRANT TEAM TO GO AFTER IT SO WE CAN START PARTNERING WITH OUR COMMUNITY TO DO SOME OF THOSE TYPE OF PROJECTS.
AND I'D LOVE TO SEE IF WE COULD BE A PART OF LIKE, A PILOT FOR THAT.
AND SO I'M REALLY INTERESTED, I, I SHARED A REPORT WITH MY COLLEAGUES ON THE UTILITIES COMMUNITY COMMITTEE, UH, FROM THE TEXAS I C M, UH, TEXAS TECH SCHOLAR THAT DID SOME RESEARCH.
AND SO I'LL BE HAPPY TO SHARE IT WITH YOU ALL, BUT I'M VERY, UM, CONCERNED ABOUT OUR COMMUNITIES, UM, THAT, THAT NEED A LOT MORE RESILIENCE.
AND THEN ON SLIDE 20, HAVE YOU, UH, UM, HAVE YOU ALL TALKED TO THE SUPER LARGE COMMERCIAL CUST CUSTOMERS JUST YET? I NOTICED THAT WITH WINTER STORM RECOVERY, THEIR BILL IMPACT'S GONNA BE 16,581 MONTHLY, UM, WITHOUT, IT'S ABOUT AN $11,531 MONTHLY INCOME.
HAVE YOU ALL TALKED TO SUPER LARGE COMMERCIALS ALREADY? YEAH, I, I DID A, I DID A ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF PRESENTATION TO OUR LARGEST CUSTOMERS IN SAN ANTONIO ABOUT A MONTH AGO WHEN THE, THE PERCENTAGE WAS STILL IN FLUXX, UH, TO ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS.
AND, AND WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE TO, TO KIND OF REFINE WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, AND, AND IT'S ON THE INNOVATION AGAIN.
I KNOW I ASKED IF YOU ALL HAD AN R AND D TEAM OR AN INNOVATION DEPARTMENT, AND SO IF MAYBE WE COULD LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
AS FAR AS SOME INNOVATIVE PRACTICES.
SO I, I DON'T KNOW IF, FOR THOSE OF YOU YOU MIGHT KNOW, UH, A GENTLEMAN THAT WORKS FOR US BY THE NAME OF JONATHAN DINA, HE IS A FORWARD THINKER.
HE IS A BIG PICTURE GUY, AND JONATHAN IS, IS A LEADER OVER OUR INNOVATION, YOU KNOW, KIND OF CAPABILITIES.
AND, AND I GOT HIGH HOPES FOR THE WORK THAT JONATHAN'S GONNA BE DOING IN THE FUTURE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA, COUNCIL MEMBER ELAS.
UM, AND I WOULDN'T WISH YOUR JOB ON MY WORST ENEMY AT THIS POINT,
UH, I, I KNOW, AND I RECOGNIZE THAT YOU AND, UH, THE C P S TEAM HAVE BEEN DEALT SOME REALLY UNFAIR CARDS.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, THE TRUTH, THE TRUE TEST OF LEADERSHIP IS NOT HOW FAST YOU CAN FOLD, BUT YOU KNOW HOW FAST YOU CAN ACTUALLY WORK THROUGH THAT.
AND, UM, AND I SEE YOU DOING THAT, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT I, I SEE YOUR TEAM AND I SEE THE WORK THEY'RE POURING INTO THIS.
AND, UM, THAT SHOULD NOT BE DISCOUNTED.
THE, I ALSO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THE THOUSANDS OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO WORK UNDER YOU, RIGHT? ARE OUT THERE WHEN IT RAINS, WHEN IT'S COLD, THEY'RE OUT THERE AT NIGHT, THEY STAND IN TRAFFIC TRYING TO FIX THIS STUFF, AND THEY RISK THEIR LIVES IN MANY INSTANCES TO GET, YOU KNOW, TO GET SERVICE TURNED BACK ON IN NEIGHBORHOODS WHEN THERE'S AN OUTAGE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THESE FOLKS WORK DANGEROUS JOBS, AND I KNOW THAT SAFETY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO YOU, BUT THE JOBS ARE STILL DANGEROUS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY CERTAINLY DON'T GO WORK FOR C P S TO GET RICH, RIGHT? UM, I ALSO RECOGNIZE, AND I REPEAT IT OFTEN AT MY H O A MEETINGS, THAT THESE ARE MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE THEIR NEIGHBORS, RIGHT? UM, WHO SEND THEIR KIDS TO THE SAME SCHOOLS AS, UM, YOU KNOW, MY NEIGHBOR'S KIDS GO TO, AND THEY WORSHIP AT THE SAME CHURCHES, AND THEY PLAY IN THE SAME PARKS, AND THEY'RE, THEY ALL WANT TO GET HOME SAFELY.
AND SO, UM, THAT'S NOT LOST ON ME EITHER.
AND I TRIED TO DRIVE THAT POEM HOME.
SO, BUT, UM, YOU'RE IN THE GRIPS OF A TRUST CRISIS RIGHT NOW, RIGHT? THE PUBLIC RIGHT NOW, UM, WHETHER YOU AGREE WITH 'EM OR NOT, HAS, UH, A DELICATE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU GUYS, RIGHT? IT'S A LITTLE BRITTLE.
UM, AND SOME OF IT YOU DESERVE, AND SOME OF IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST THE BAD CARDS THAT THE UNIVERSE HAS DEALT YOU.
AND I, I GET THAT, RIGHT? AND I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT ERCOT, AND, YOU KNOW, THE STATE, UH, GOVERNMENT HAS DEALT YOU SOME REALLY TERRIBLE CARDS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND THEY EXHIBIT IT.
THEY HAVE EXHIBITED ZERO LEADERSHIP, UM, IN HELPING OUT THEIR CONSTITUENTS.
UM, THEY TALK A LOT, BUT THEY DO NOTHING.
AND WHAT THEIR STRATEGY IS, IS THEY JUST, THEY JUST HOPE IT DOESN'T GET COLD LIKE THAT AGAIN.
UM, HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY, NOR IS IT LEADERSHIP.
AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS THEY'RE PASSING OFF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF FIXING THIS TO YOU GUYS.
UM, WHICH IS ALSO NOT LEADERSHIP.
IT'S SOMETHING ELSE, BUT IT'S NOT LEADERSHIP.
[01:20:01]
UM, AGAIN, I, I DON'T ENVY YOU.UM, SO WHAT, WHAT I DO, HOWEVER I AM CONCERNED, IS A SLIDE THAT YOU SHOWED US WITH MULTIPLE STATES, RIGHT? THE OKLAHOMA WAS IN THERE, AND TEXAS WAS IN THERE, AND ALL THAT.
AND SOMETHING, THE TAKEAWAY FROM THAT SLIDE, I THINK IS, LOOK, OTHER STATES ARE HAVING TO DO THIS, OTHER UTILITIES AND OTHER STATES ARE HAVING TO DO THIS TOO, RIGHT? AND PASS ALL THESE COSTS TO CUSTOMERS, RIGHT? WELL, I MEAN, THE POINT WAS THAT, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T A LOCALIZED EVENT, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, THE, THE COLD WEATHER IMPACTED THE ENTIRE CENTRAL US YEAH.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE OTHER UTILITIES ARE HAVING TO DO WHAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE HAVING TO DO.
AND I UNDERSTAND, I UNDERSTAND THE POSITION WE'RE IN.
THE, THE DIFFERENCE, HOWEVER, FOR, FOR SAN ANTONIO AS COMPARED TO ALL THOSE OTHER CITIES WHERE THIS IS HAPPENING, IS THAT WE'VE GOT THE POOREST CENSUS TRACKS IN THE NATION, IN OUR
UM, AND I, I THINK COUNCILMAN, UH, COUNCILMAN CASTILLO, I THINK THEY'RE IN YOUR DISTRICT, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
THOSE AREN'T ENDOW, THEY'RE HERE, RIGHT? UM, AND FOR THOSE PEOPLE, EXTRA THREE BUCKS, FOUR BUCKS, FIVE BUCKS IS A MEAL, RIGHT? IT'S A COPAY FOR NEEDED MEDICINE FOR A DOCTOR'S VISIT, RIGHT? IT'S A QUARTER OF A TANK OF GASOLINE, UH, TO BE ABLE TO GET TO THEIR JOB.
IT'S A VIA BUS PASS, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, THAT IS, FOR ME AND YOU, IT'S NOT MUCH MONEY, BUT FOR A LOT OF THE FOLKS, YOU KNOW, UM, AND MANY IN MY DISTRICT TOO, WHO LIVE ON VERY LIMITED FUNDS, THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY.
AND IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A BIG ASK.
AND SO YOU'RE ASKING US TO CONSIDER A RATE INCREASE DURING A TRUST CRISIS, RIGHT? IN A CITY WHERE WE'VE GOT THE POOREST CENSUS DISTRICTS WHO ARE NOW EVEN FURTHER INTO THE GRIPS OF, UM, OF CRISIS AND ANXIETY AND, UM, AND HOPELESSNESS.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AND, AND YOU CAN'T BLAME THESE FOLKS.
IF ANY OF US COUNCIL MEMBERS WERE TO GET, LET'S RAISE YOUR BILL.
UM, AND THEY SAY, WELL, WHY? WELL, BECAUSE WE GOTTA ADDRESS THE IMMEDIATE C P SS FINANCIAL PRESSURES BEING FACED, RIGHT? THAT'S NOT GONNA FLY.
AND I MEAN, THERE'S NO, I'M, I'M GOOD EXPLAINING STUFF, BUT I'M NOT THAT GOOD.
UH, SO I GOTTA FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET MY CONSTITUENTS RIGHT.
AND ALL OF US HAVE TO DO THAT, YOU KNOW, TO KIND OF EMBRACE THIS.
UM, AND MY CONSTITUENTS ARE SMART.
I MEAN, THEY'VE, THEY'VE VOTED IN THE PAST TO MAKE DIFFICULT DECISIONS THAT COST THEM MORE MONEY, BUT THEY REALIZE THAT IT'S GOOD FOR THEIR COMMUNITY.
AND EVERYBODY IN THE WESTERN SOCIETY UNDERSTANDS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE COVER CHARGE TO THIS PARTY IS THAT SOMETIMES YOU PAY, UH, TO GET IN, RIGHT? AND TO ENJOY THE BENEFITS, BUT THIS ONE IS REALLY VERY DANGEROUS IF WE ARE NOT CAREFUL WITH THE OUTREACH.
AND SO I SAW THE OUTREACH SLIDES THAT YOU GUYS PUT UP THERE, AND THEN THERE'S ALL THE OUTREACH.
YOU'VE DONE THOUSANDS OF MEETINGS AND TALKED TO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AND ALL THAT.
BUT I MEAN, TELL ME HOW, HOW MANY OF THESE MEETINGS THAT YOU'VE HAD PRIOR TO TODAY HAVE BEEN MEETINGS WITH HOAS OR THESE COMMUNITY GROUPS OR UTILITY ASSISTANCE FAIRS WHERE YOU MENTIONED THE WORD RATING, MENTIONED THE WORD RATE INCREASE, OR PASSING ON THE COST OF YURI TO THEM.
SO, PERSONALLY, I'VE BEEN HAVING THIS CONVERSATION WITH THE CUSTOMERS THAT I'VE BEEN ENGAGING WITH SINCE AUGUST, PROBABLY.
UM, WHERE WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THERE BEING A, A, A, A, YOU KNOW, I WOULDN'T SAY RECKONING, BUT THERE'S A REALITY.
YOU KNOW, WE ONLY HAVE ONE PLACE TO GO FOR REVENUE THAT WE NEED TO RUN OUR SYSTEM, COUNCILMAN.
I KNOW WE GOT NOWHERE ELSE TO GO FOR FUNDING.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS, IT'S UP TO ME JOINING YOU AT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS AND TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO TO, TO HOPEFULLY TRY TO REBUILD THE TRUST WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.
ONE, YOU KNOW, POSITIVE NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU KNOW, MEETING AT A TIME, YOU KNOW, WOULD THE, IF WE PUT THIS TO A VOTE, WOULD THE PUBLIC VOTE FOR A RATE INCREASE? I DON'T KNOW ANYBODY, I WOULDN'T VOTE FOR A RATE INCREASE, RIGHT? BUT WHAT I DO, WHAT I WOULD, BUT, BUT IF YOU, BUT IF YOU ASK ME, RUDY, DO YOU WANT, YOU KNOW, RELIABLE, YOU KNOW, UTILITY SERVICE, I'D SAY, HECK YEAH, I WANT RELIABLE UTILITY SERVICE.
AND THAT'S OUR JOB TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THAT IN A MANNER THAT THAT IS AFFORDABLE.
AND, AND THE POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE BY ASKING THAT QUESTION, LIKE, HAVE WE HAD THAT CONVERSATION WITH HOAS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE OTHER GROUPS, UM, I DON'T THINK WE'VE HAD THIS, HEY, WE, LET ME GIVE YOU THE BUSINESS CASE FOR A RATE INCREASE, AND THIS IS HOW MUCH WE THINK WE NEED AND THIS IS HOW FAR IT'LL GET US BEFORE WE HAVE TO COME AND ASK FOR THAT.
WE HAVEN'T HAD THAT CONVERSATION ANYWHERE EXCEPT FOR RACK AND C A C AND OTHER AND HERE.
BUT I MEAN, WITH A VERY DELIBERATE, AUTHENTIC CONVERSATION WITH THESE FOLKS, NOT JUST A, HEY, AND BY THE WAY, WE'RE GOING THROUGH TOUGH TIMES AND, YOU KNOW, EXPECT SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE, RIGHT? AND I ACCEPT YOUR INVITATION TO COME, YOU KNOW, UH, OR I ACCEPT YOUR OFFER TO COME WITH ME.
AND SO HERE'S, HERE'S WHO I THINK NEEDS TO BE SPOKEN TO BEFORE THIS COUNCIL EVEN CONSIDERS, UH, VOTING IN FAVOR.
I, I THINK YOU NEED TO GO TALK TO BEXAR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WAS IT WHAT PERCENTAGE OF OF THEIR, YOU KNOW, OF BEXAR COUNTY, NONS, SANTON ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS, COUNCILMAN? WE GOT A, WE
[01:25:01]
GOT A SESSION WITH BEXAR COUNTY, I BELIEVE IT'S NOT NEXT WEEK, IT'S THE WEEK AFTER, BUT I'M, WE'RE GOING TO TALK TO BEXAR COUNTY.UM, YEAH, I WANT YOU, I WANT YOU TO TALK TO BROOKS AND, YOU KNOW, AND FIND OUT FROM THEM HOW IS THIS GONNA IMPACT THEIR CONSTITUENTS AS WELL, RIGHT? THEY'VE, I MEAN, BROOKS, BROOKS, THE MEDICAL CENTER.
I'M ON THE BROOKS BOARD, SIR, SO
SO, YOU KNOW, UH, THE MEDICAL CENTER, RIGHT? I WANT YOU TO TALK TO HOSPITALS.
I WANT YOU TO TALK TO SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES, HOTELS, THEY'RE SUCKING WIND RIGHT NOW.
UM, LANDLORDS, HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS, OUR BIG DATA CENTER OPERATORS LIKE MICROSOFT, UM, RESTAURANTS, U T S A A AND M I THINK THESE ARE, IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE, AT THE VERY LEAST THEY SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, BEFORE YOU GUYS VOTE ON THIS, IT'D BE NICE FOR SOMEONE TO COME AND TALK TO US, RIGHT? AND MAKE THE BUSINESS CASE AND AT LEAST GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO WEIGH IN.
COUNCILMAN, LOOK, YOU, YOU, THE ENTIRE COUNCIL'S GOT MY COMMITMENT, OKAY? WE'VE GOT A PARTNER ENGAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, PROGRAM THAT WILL GO OUT AND TALK TO ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO TALK TO US ABOUT THIS.
OKAY? WE WILL DO THE WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO BEFORE THE VOTE COMES SO THAT WE GET TO THE, TO THE PLACES WE NEED TO GET TO.
ALRIGHT? LASTLY, I MEANT, YOU KNOW, UM, IT'S AN ANECDOTE, BUT I THINK IT'S AN ANECDOTE THAT REPEATS ITSELF THROUGHOUT THE CITY FROM TIME TO TIME TODAY, I HAD A, A LITTLE EVENT WITH SOME HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION REPRESENTATIVES, AND THERE WAS A WOMAN THERE NAMED, UM, COURTNEY ROSEN.
SHE ASKED ME TO MENTION HER TO YOU.
AND SO, COURTNEY ROSEN LIVES IN ARREST, REST OF A NEIGHBORHOOD CALLED OAK MEADOW IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS.
OAK MEADOW HAS HAD FOUR OR FIVE BLACKOUTS, UM, DURING THANKSGIVING DAY WHEN PEOPLE HAD ALL THEIR FAMILIES THERE, RIGHT? UM, THEY HAD 'EM, UH, UM, ONE IN THE MORNING ON THANKSGIVING, AND I THINK ONE IN THE AFTERNOON ON THANKSGIVING.
THEY'RE FURIOUS WITH YOU GUYS.
UM, 58% OF THE HOMES IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD ALONE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCED BLACKOUTS MULTIPLE TIMES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, EVERY YEAR.
UM, AND YOU GUYS KEEP SERVICING THE NEIGHBORHOOD TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT.
AND YOU GUYS CAME OUT AND HAD A REALLY GREAT MEETING WITH US AT A SCHOOL DISTRICT, A SCHOOL, UM, UH, ONE OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, AND THEN OTHER NEIGHBORS LIKE HUNTER'S CREEK AND HUNTER'S CREEK NORTH AND HEART RANCH ALSO SHOWED UP.
THEY'RE FURIOUS AT YOU GUYS, RIGHT? AND I, NO REASSURANCE FROM ME ABOUT LIKE, NO, NO, NO, THEY'RE REALLY TRYING THIS, DON'T WORRY.
THEY'RE TAKING GOOD CARE OF YOU, RIGHT? THIS IS OUR MOST IMPORTANT ASSET.
AND THIS IS NOT A SHADOWY CABAL OF PEOPLE TO TRY TO RUIN YOUR THANKSGIVING.
UM, WE GOT A LOT OF TRUST REBUILDING.
AND YOU KNOW, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS THOSE FOUR HOAS THAT I JUST MENTIONED.
THOSE ARE THE FIRST ONES THAT YOU AND I ARE GONNA HAVE TO GO HIT TO TALK, MAKE THIS BUSINESS CASE.
AND I'M WARNING YOU AHEAD OF TIME.
YOU KNOW, THEY GOT THEIR KNIFE SHARPENED FOR YOU.
UM, AND YOU AND I ARE GONNA HAVE TO GO ON THE, ON THE ROAD AND HAVE VERY DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS WHO ARE ANGRY WITH US.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW YOU'RE READY TO DO IT.
BUT THAT'S ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY BEFORE YOU EVEN GET, YOU KNOW, THE NOD FROM ME THAT YOU'RE GONNA GET MY VOTE ON A RATING INCREASE.
SO THANKS RUDY, I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.
UM, THANK YOU RUDY AND STAFF FOR THE PRESENTATION AS A MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITY.
UM, THAT AND I, THAT I'VE LIVED AROUND MY ENTIRE LIFE, THIS IS, THIS IS SOMETHING WE NECESSARILY WE NEED TO DO BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT AND IT'S NOT RATE INCREASES ISN'T WHAT ANYBODY WANTS TO DO, BUT IT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO DO BECAUSE WE'RE A MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITY.
IF WE WERE, UH, IN SOMEPLACE ELSE WHERE IT WAS PRIVATE AND THERE WAS COMPETITIVE, WE WOULD SEE COMMERCIALS LIKE YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE STREAMING ABOUT SWITCH OVER HERE AND YOU GET THIS FOR FREE, OR, OR YOU HAVE THE DIFFERENT RATE DESIGNS, WHICH WE DON'T HAVE YET.
SO I'M, I'M FULLY, UM, I FULLY COMPREHEND THAT, AND I DO WANNA COMMEND THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE FORMER CITY COUNCIL FOR TRYING TO ADDRESS THE INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES.
AND AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, WHEN WE TALK INFRASTRUCTURE AND WHAT'S GOING ON IN OUR NORTHERN SIDES, D D NINE, D 10, D EIGHT, IT'S VERY DIFFERENT.
WHEN MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE, UH, TALKS ABOUT D FOUR AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES WE HAVE HERE AND WHY WE PAY SO MUCH TO HEAT OUR HOUSES AND TO COOL OUR HOUSES AND TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, EVERYTHING'S LIT WHEN WE'RE USING WINDOW UNITS STILL.
SO I, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THIS RATE INCREASE, AND I WANT TO COMMEND, UH, BEN AND THE CITY STAFF FOR GOING BACK AND SAYING, WE CAN DO BETTER.
AND THEN COMING BACK WITH, I FEEL SOMETHING THAT IS BETTER.
SO THE REALITY IN THE SOBERING CONVERSATION FOR ME IS THAT I HAVE, AND IT, IT MAY HAVE GONE DOWN, BUT IN DISTRICT THREE, I HAVE OVER 10,000 RESIDENTS PENDING DISCONNECTIONS.
UH, WITH THAT, I HAVE WORKED WITH MY, UM, CREW TEAM, MY CUSTOMER RESPONSE UNIT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET OUT THERE AND I'M ONE OF THOSE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT'S READY TO GET PEOPLE TO KNOCK ON DOORS
[01:30:01]
TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO NOT GET THESE RESIDENTS DISCONNECTED.UH, BUT I THINK THE REALITY IS WE NEED TO BE IN COMPLIANCE.
WE NEED TO FIND THAT SOMEWHERE.
WE NEED TO MAINTAIN THE LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT SAN ANTONIANS ARE EXPECTED, ARE EXPECTING, AND THEN WE NEED TO IMPROVE IT SO THAT, UH, WE DON'T HAVE THOSE BLACKOUTS IN, UM, IN NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND WE DO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT C P SS KEEPS UP WITH EMPLOYEE RETENTION BECAUSE I HAVE SOME GREAT CREW MEMBERS, PEOPLE WORKING ON C P S STAFF, AND IF, IF WE AT THE L G C INCREASE MY BUDGET, I'D PROBABLY HIRE THEM AWAY FROM YOU,
SO THIS IS ONE OF THESE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT, BECAUSE WHILE IT IS A MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITY, AND WHILE WE GET, AND WHILE WE GET THE BENEFITS, UH, FROM THEIR, THEIR PROFITS AS A CITY, IT IS STILL A BUSINESS AND THEY NEED TO STILL RUN AS A BUSINESS.
SO THIS CONVERSATION IS DIFFICULT THOUGH.
$3, $5, IT CAN MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DO I PAY MY ELECTRICAL BILL OR DO I, DO I GO TO THE GROCERY STORE? SO I THINK WE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE PROGRAMS THAT WE LOOK AT EXPANDING THE, THE MIDDLE CLASS, AND I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THOSE RATE DESIGNS.
AND I HAVE AN INCREDIBLE PERSON ON THE RAC COMMITTEE THAT IS, UM, THAT IS LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING CONVERSATIONS.
SO I WANNA THANK BRENDA PACHECO FOR HER SERVICE.
BUT, UH, MY QUESTIONS ARE BETWEEN, UM, DECEMBER 15TH AND JANUARY 13TH, DO WE PLAN TO HAVE A MEETING, ONE TOWN HALL TYPE MEETING TO TALK ABOUT THE RATE, UH, INCREASE? OR WILL IT BE DEPENDENT ON JUST HAVING THEM GO TO OUR, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS? NO, MA'AM.
WE WILL, UH, WE, WE ARE PLANNING A, A BOARD SESSION WITH THE PUBLIC.
IT'LL BE IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL, WE'LL, WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE A VIRTUAL OPTION AS WELL.
I WANNA SAY WE'RE LOOKING AT SOMEWHERE AROUND DECEMBER 13TH, UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH, WITH DR.
MACKEY AND, AND, AND THE BOARD ON, ON THEIR AVAILABILITY.
BUT YES, WE WILL HAVE A SESSION, IF NOT MORE.
WE'LL, WE'VE, THE TELE TOWN HALL, UH, THAT, THAT WE DO, THAT Y'ALL DO FOR YOUR BUDGETS ACTUALLY REACH ABOUT 3000 PEOPLE EVERY TIME WE DO IT.
THOSE HAVE BEEN PRETTY SUCCESSFUL.
I KNOW WE CAN'T JUST DO IT THAT WAY, BUT WE WILL, WE WILL PROBABLY HAVE A COUPLE OF THOSE SESSIONS AS WELL.
'CAUSE I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, I KNOW YOU'VE GONE OUT TO, UH, C P SS HAS GONE OUT TO HIGHLAND PARK.
I HAVE QUITE A FEW NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS IN DISTRICT THREE, AND YOU HAVE TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE RATE INCREASE WITH THEM.
BUT I, I'M, FOR ME PERSONALLY, I HAVE A LOT OF THINGS TO DISCUSS WITH MY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, UH, BECAUSE OF ARPA AND U D C AND EVERYTHING ELSE THE CITY HAS GOING ON THAT I WAS LIKE, JOINT JUMPING IN ANOTHER C P SS.
BUT IF THEY WANT YOU THERE, I'LL MAKE SURE THEY GET YOU THERE.
UM, SO I I, I, THAT WAS MY FIRST QUESTION.
THIS, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE DOLLARS COMING DOWN, UM, I THINK THERE'S THE, UH, AND I THINK, UH, CONGRESSMAN QUARE SENT THIS OUT.
THE NATIONAL GAS DISTRIBUTION INFRASTRUCTURE SAFETY AND MODI MODERNIZATION GRANT PROGRAM AND THE ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE, FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IS THERE, IS THERE A POSSIBILITY THAT C P S COULD APPLY AND GET THAT FUNDS AND WE COULD POSSIBLY LOOK AT LOWER, UH, A LOWER RATE INCREASE, UH, IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS? I, I DOUBT THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, FIGURE THAT OUT BETWEEN NOW AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE COMING TO COUNCIL FOR, YOU KNOW, A VOTE.
UH, BUT CERTAINLY WE'RE GONNA TURN OVER EVERY STONE WITH RESPECT TO FEDERAL FUNDING, YOU KNOW, FOR THE, THE, THE FUNDS THAT MAKE SENSE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
BECAUSE, BECAUSE THE, THE INCREASE OF THE 5.5 AND THE 5.5, UH, FIVE IN, IN THE, IN THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, IT DOES CAUSE SOME CONCERN FOR ME BECAUSE THAT IS, THAT IS QUITE A JUMP.
SO I'D LIKE TO SEE IF, IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT GETS A LITTLE LOWER COUNCILWOMAN.
I JUST, LET ME JUST ADD THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK BOTH BEN AND COREY SAID IT, THOSE ARE PLACEHOLDERS, YOU KNOW, THE, THOSE, THE CLOSER WE GET TO THOSE CONVERSATIONS, THE MORE THOSE NUMBERS WILL BE REFINED.
AND THE OTHER THING I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AND I'M, AND I'M SURE THAT OUR CITY STAFF DID, IS THAT FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST.
UM, BECAUSE, AND, AND I DO WANT TO HELP WITH UTILITY ASSISTANCE, BUT SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAVE AND SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ARPA, IT IS MY MIDDLE CLASS THAT'S GETTING HIT THE HARDEST.
SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO IN TERMS OF PROGRAMMING TO MAKE SURE WE'RE HELPING THE MIDDLE CLASS, AND RIGHT NOW, THE ONLY WAY I THINK OF HELPING THE MIDDLE CLASS THAT, THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT ABOVE THAT RATE THAT
[01:35:01]
APPLIES THEM FOR UTILITY ASSISTANCE IS TO KEEP, IS TO KEEP THE GENERAL RATE LOWER.SO IF THERE'S ANY PROGRAMS WE CAN, WE CAN, UM, LOOK AT TO HELP OUR MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES, BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING TO BE THE HIT THE HARDEST, THEY'RE, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE GOING TO TAKE THE, THE, THE BIGGEST BURDEN.
AND ALSO MY SENIORS ON RETIREMENT, UM, THEY'RE GETTING A SALARY AND A LOT OF THEM ARE NOT MAKING THAT, THEY'RE MAKING TOO MUCH TO GET THAT ASSISTANCE.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT TOO.
AND THEY'RE LIVING IN HOMES THAT ARE JUST, UM, THEY'RE HARD TO HEAT, LIKE I SAID.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION.
UH, I THINK YOU GUYS DID A GOOD JOB.
UH, I, I LIKE WHAT'S INCLUDED IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY.
I'M JUST GONNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, THAT ALL OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY OUR SENIORS NOW, KNOW HOW TO USE THE TECHNOLOGY.
AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE PEOPLE, IF YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE MONEY TO THE CUSTOMER RESPONSE UNIT AND BUILD THAT TEAM, I'M ALL FOR THAT
UM, THE FUTURE GENERATION DECISIONS AND THE RATE DESIGN CHANGES, I, YOU KNOW, I PLAN TO BE HERE FOR AS LONG AS MY RESIDENTS WANT ME TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS GETS DONE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ILLA, GRAND COUNCIL MEMBER CAB HDA.
UM, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY SOMETHING I, I, I WROTE DOWN, I THINK IT WAS SLIDE SIX, UM, IT'S 3.3% BILL IMPACT YEAH.
YOU KNOW, YOU KIND OF BUILD IN THE AMOUNT OF USAGE IN ADDITION TO THE INCREASE, AND IT, IT DOESN'T, IT DOESN'T MATCH UP, YOU KNOW, KIND OF DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR PEOPLE USING LESS, YOU KNOW, BUT THE RATE INCREASES, YOU KNOW, 3.85, YOU GET TO A LOWER NUMBER.
IS THAT, SO WHAT I'M HEARING LIKE DOLLAR AMOUNTS HERE TODAY.
SO, UM, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A THREE OR FOUR OR $5 INCREASE, IT'S BASED ON HOW MUCH YOU YES, MA'AM.
IT'S 3.3%, RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT.
AND CORY SHOWED THE SLIDE WHERE IF YOU USE 2000 KILOWATT HOURS A MONTH, IT'S GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, A BIT MORE.
I JUST WANNA CLARIFY THAT IT'S NOT A SET DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PER NO, IT'S TOTALLY BASED ON USAGE.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THERE'S A COUPLE OF DISPARATE, UH, ISSUES THAT HAVE TO RECONCILE.
ONE IS THAT WE HAVE, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING LIKE 16,000 DISTRICT SIX RESIDENTS WHO ARE, UM, CURRENTLY BEHIND IN PAYMENTS TO C P S.
AND OF COURSE, AS MENTIONED HERE TODAY, WE'RE ASKING POTENTIALLY FOR A RATE INCREASE.
SO THERE IS, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S TOUGH.
WHAT I NEED IN ORDER TO RECONCILE THESE TWO ISSUES ARE, UM, A, A, A COUPLE OF REALLY POINTS FOR ME TO GO AND TALK TO MY COMMUNITY ABOUT.
UM, ONE IS WHAT IS THE PLAN TO MOVE, UM, TO, TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE BEHIND ON THEIR PAYMENTS, UM, BECOME CURRENT, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEIR TIMELINE, THAT TIMELINE'S GONNA AFFECT OUR RATE, OUR RATE PAYERS, RIGHT? SO THE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO THAT WORK EVERY MONTH AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY DOUBLE DOWN NOW THAT WE KNOW WHAT THE ARPA FUNDING, YOU KNOW, LOOKS LIKE.
WE'LL EXTEND THAT ASSISTANCE AS FAR AS IT, IT'LL GO.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITYWIDE THAT'LL PROBABLY HELP US WITH 20,000, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, HELP THE BALANCE, UH, WIPE THE BALANCES OUT FOR ABOUT 20,000 CUSTOMERS, WHICH IS REALLY GOOD.
UH, AND THEN THERE ARE OTHER, YOU KNOW, FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
I MEAN, I MEAN, COUNCILMAN GERRAN HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WE, WE'RE GONNA REACH OUT TO EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, I'VE SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL KEEP SAYING IT.
NO CUSTOMER NEEDS TO GET CUT OFF.
THEY JUST GOTTA CONNECT WITH US AND WE'LL FIND THEM, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER ASSISTANCE THAT, THAT THEY QUALIFY FOR, UH, THE MIDDLE CLASS, WE GOT, YOU KNOW, SOME WORK TO DO FOR THEM.
IT'S GONNA BE PAYMENT PLANS AND, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, FIND, YOU KNOW, SOME, A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBLE, YOU KNOW, PROGRAMS THAT, THAT, UH, THAT THEY HA WE HAVE TO OFFER THE SENIORS.
WE HAVE A SENIOR DI YOU KNOW, SENIOR PROGRAM.
THEY DON'T WANT TO ASK FOR ASSISTANCE A LOT OF TIMES.
AND SO Y'ALL HELPING US, YOU KNOW, CONNECT WITH YOUR SENIORS THAT MIGHT NEED THE HELP.
YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T HAVE TO CALL US.
YOU JUST GOTTA TELL US, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY ARE AND YOU KNOW, AND, AND HELP US MAKE THAT CONNECTION.
SO WE'RE GONNA DO EVERYTHING WE CAN DO AGAIN, WE'LL, WE'LL GET THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE DISCONNECTING, YOU KNOW, UNTIL PROBABLY MID-JANUARY SOMETIME.
AND THAT GIVES US A LOT OF TIME TO DO, TO CONTINUE THE OUTREACH AND THEN DOUBLE DOWN AGAIN.
WE'LL KNOCK ON EVERY DOOR, YOU KNOW, THAT WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO CONNECT WITH, UH, FOR ARPA FUNDING.
AND THEN WE WILL FIGURE OUT HOW TO, YOU KNOW, TAKE THAT TO THE NEXT LEVEL FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE STILL OUTSTANDING.
I MEAN, I'M HOPING, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT OUR EFFORTS TO DO THAT WILL REALLY MAKE AN IMPACT FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS THAT WE, A LOT OF CUSTOMERS WE JUST HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO REACH.
IF WE KNOCK ON YOUR DOOR AND YOU, YOU DON'T ANSWER.
AND EVEN IF WE GIVE YOU AN EXTRA MONTH OR TWO, YOU KNOW, AUTOMATICALLY TO PAY YOUR BILL, UM, YOU KNOW, IT MAY BE UNTIL YOU GET CUT OFF THAT YOU CONNECT WITH US, AND THEN WE'LL GET YOU BACK ON AND WE'LL GET YOU ON THE RIGHT PROGRAM.
SO I HOPE FOLKS WILL, WILL TAKE IT UPON THEMSELVES TO HEAR THAT MESSAGE AND REACH OUT TO US.
[01:40:01]
WE'LL CONNECT WITH YOU ANY WAY WE CAN.YEAH, AND I THINK YOU BRING UP AN IMPORTANT POINT.
I'VE LEARNED VERY QUICKLY IN THIS ROLE THAT, UM, THEY, THAT I HAVE TO GO TO THEM.
THEY, THEY WON'T, I CAN'T, THEY WON'T TAKE IT UPON THEMSELVES.
THEY'VE GOT BUSY LIVES AND JOBS AND KIDS AND ALL OF THAT.
SO EVEN WITH, YOU KNOW, A BIG BILL LOOMING OVER THEIR HEAD, THEY'VE GOTTA, UM, KEEP TRUCKING AND SO WE HAVE TO GO TO THEM.
UM, I PLANNED ON ASKING YOU ABOUT YOUR COMMUNICATION PLAN, UH, FOR, TO GET THIS INFORMATION TO RESIDENTS, BUT I, I HEAR YOU AND I'M GLAD TO SAY YOU HERE, YOU'RE KNOCKING ON DOORS.
I LOVE KNOCKING ON DOORS IN DISTRICT SIX.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE, IT, AND I'LL TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, I'LL GO TO MY SENIOR CENTER AT ELISA
WE, WE HAND OUT THE FROZEN LUNCHES, UM, AND WE CAN SET UP, WE UP THERE FOR A COUPLE UP TABLE IF YOU WANT US TO.
UM, SO ALSO, YOU KNOW, SINCE WINTER STORM YEAR, I'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT, UM, CLEAR COMMUNICATION PLANS AND, UM, NOT JUST FOR COUNCIL, BUT TO DIRECTLY TO OUR, OUR RESIDENTS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH OUR UTILITIES.
I WANNA MAKE IT VERY CLEAR, THIS IS, UH, OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE.
WE NEED TO MAKE IT CLEAR TO OUR RESIDENTS, UH, WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, THAT THE FACT THAT THESE ARE CRITICAL, IMMEDIATE NEEDS.
UH, I THINK IT'S A, A TOUGH CLIMB, YOU KNOW, BUT I THINK IT AS THIS IS A CHANGE FROM WHAT I THINK WAS EXPECTED.
YOU KNOW, WE WEREN'T LOOKING AT JUST THE, THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS OF THE UTILITY OF, OF OUR UTILITY, OF THEIR UTILITY.
WHEN, UM, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING WITH THAT ABOUT, ABOUT OUR COMMUNITIES, AND YOU TELL THEM THAT, UH, THE PRICE WILL, THE, THE, THE PAYOFF HERE, LITERAL PAYOFF.
WHEN YOU INCREASE THE RATE AND WE PAY THIS INCREASED RATE IS A RELIABLE PUBLIC UTILITY, HOW DO WE HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE FOR THAT? WHAT'S THE, UM, WHAT GUARANTEE CAN WE GIVE THE COMMUNITY THAT THEIR, THEIR LIGHTS AREN'T GONNA GO OUT? SURE.
AND, AND IN WHAT TIMEFRAME? WELL, YOU KNOW, AS COUNCILMAN BLAS MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE GOT POCKETS OF ISSUES OUT THERE EVERY YEAR.
I MEAN, I'VE, I'VE BEEN IN THE, I'VE BEEN HERE IN SAN ANTONIO IN THIS BUSINESS FOR 10 YEARS, AND EVERY YEAR WE'VE BEEN IN SOME NEIGHBORHOOD WHO'S HAVING A PROBLEM, YOU KNOW, UH, TRYING TO ADDRESS THEIR, THEIR ISSUES, YOU KNOW, WHEN THOSE ISSUES POP UP.
I THINK WE'RE GETTING A LOT BETTER WITH TECHNOLOGY TO, YOU KNOW, LET US KNOW THAT A NEIGHBORHOOD'S GONNA HAVE, YOU KNOW, IT'S GONNA START HAVING PROBLEMS, UM, SO THAT WE CAN PROACTIVELY GET AHEAD OF IT.
UH, YOU KNOW, ALL, ALL I CAN DO TO, TO, TO ASSURE PEOPLE THAT, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE RESPONSIVE IS TO GO AND TALK TO 'EM ABOUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, AND THEN DO WHAT I SAY, WHAT I TOLD THEM I WAS GONNA DO.
AND, AND SO FOR ME, THAT'S HOW YOU, YOU GAIN TRUST IS, YOU KNOW, EVEN IN TIMES, AND I'VE SAID IT TO THE, TO THE, THE MUNICIPAL UTILITY COMMITTEE CUSTOMERS WEREN'T SO UPSET THAT THEY WERE OFF, THEY WERE UPSET THAT THEY, THAT IT WASN'T ROTATING THE WAY IT SHOULD, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE UPSET BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T GIVE 'EM A COUPLE, TWO, THREE DAYS NOTICE SO THAT IF THEY WANTED TO GO TO A FAMILY MEMBER'S HOUSE OR MAKE ARRANGEMENTS, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'VE FOCUSED ON OVER THE LAST NINE MONTHS.
AND, YOU KNOW, NEXT TIME THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, IF THERE IS A NEXT TIME YOU'LL SEE ERIC AND I, AND YOU KNOW, ROBERT PUENTE AND, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER OTHER EMERGENCY OFFICIALS STANDING THERE, SHOULDER, SHOULDER TALKING TO OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO, YOU KNOW, ALL I GOT IS MY WORD COUNCILWOMAN IN THIS BUSINESS.
AND, UM, AND, AND THAT MEANS DEALING WITH ISSUES AS THEY ARISE, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE NEIGHBORHOOD AT A TIME.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I, I REALLY THINK WE NEED TO COME UP, WE NEED TO TALK MORE ABOUT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE GONNA ASK ME.
YOU'RE PROMISING ME A RELIABLE, UM, FUTILITY AND WHAT IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN? WHAT, AND I'VE ALREADY OKAYED THIS RATE INCREASE, OR I'VE TOLD YOU AS MY, MY REPRESENTATIVE THAT I'M OKAY WITH IT.
I COME HERE AND SAY IT'S OKAY.
AND THEN WHAT RECOURSE DO THEY HAVE? IF IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S NOT ENOUGH, IF, YOU KNOW.
THE RECOURSE ULTIMATELY IS THAT MY BOARD CHAIR HOLDS ME AND MY TEAM ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE JOB WE'RE DOING FOR THE COMMUNITY.
THAT, THAT JUST COMES WITH THE JOB.
I THINK WE, WE NEED TO GIVE 'EM A LITTLE MORE THAN, THAN THAT
UM, SO ON SLIDE SIX, WE TALKED, YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, I THINK THIS MAY BE FOR BEN, BUT WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, INCREASED CITY REVENUES FROM THE, UM, POTENTIAL RATE INCREASE.
AND, AND, AND THERE'S A COUPLE OF ASTERISKS THAT SAID THAT THIS WAS NOT SUBJECT TO CITY PAYMENTS.
UM, SO MY QUESTION IS REGARDING THE, THE, THE, THE REVENUE THAT THE CITY RECEIVES FROM C P S, HAS THAT BEEN, UM, CALCULATED OR FORECASTED AND ARE, ACCORDING TO SLIDE SIX, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WILL BE ACCEPTED FROM, UM, OUR REVENUE AS A CITY.
SO THE PORTION THAT IS RELATED TO WINTER STORM YURI'S RECOVERY, THAT $418 MILLION THAT'LL BE RECOVERED OVER TIME WITH FINANCING COSTS, WE HAVE WAIVED, OR WE'RE RECOMMENDING WAIVER OF CITY PAYMENT ON THAT.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CITY MANAGER TALKED ABOUT, I THINK BACK IN PROBABLY MARCH OR APRIL, AND PROBABLY SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THEN.
SO, UH, WE ARE WAIVING CITY PAYMENT ON THAT PORTION.
UH, WE WOULD, UH, GET CITY PAYMENT ON THE BASE RATE INCREASE THE 3.85%.
UH, ON SLIDE EIGHT, THERE WERE, WOULD YOU MIND PULLING IT UP? THERE WERE, UM,
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NOTES DISPUTED, UH, ABOUT DISPUTED FUEL COSTS FROM THE WINTER STORM.WE, UM, THAT THERE WERE, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ASKING THE COMMUNITY TO COVER THE COSTS OF YURI, UM, THAT ARE DISPUTED, YOU KNOW, THE LAWSUIT, RIGHT? WHAT COSTS OCCURRED THAT ARE NOT PART OF THE LAWSUIT, AND WHAT DOLLAR AMOUNT WILL BE COVERED BY THE RATE INCREASE DIRECTLY RELATED TO RECOVERING FROM YURI.
SO THE PORTION THAT IS IN THIS RATE CASE IS THE $418 MILLION THAT THEY HAVE PAID TO DATE.
THAT INCLUDES FUEL COSTS, UH, ASSOCIATED WITH THE WINTER STORM.
UM, IT'LL INCLUDE PROJECTED FINANCING COSTS, UH, LEGAL FEES, OTHER RELATED COSTS.
UH, THAT'S WHAT'S INCLUDED IN, UH, THE RATE CASE THAT YOU'RE, THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE CONSIDERING.
UH, THEY AGAIN, WILL FINANCE THAT OVER A 25 YEAR PERIOD.
THAT'S WHAT RESULTS IN THAT ROUGHLY EIGHT TENTHS OF A PERCENT, UM, UH, BILL IMPACT WITH THAT RECOVERY, THE $587 MILLION THAT CONTINUES TO BE DISPUTED, THAT'LL CONTINUE TO BE WORKED ON.
THERE IS NOTHING BUILT INTO THIS RATE CASE ABOUT RECOVERING THAT OR ISSUING DEBT FOR THAT, THAT IS OUTSIDE OF THIS RATE CASE.
SO I, I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY FOUR 18 IS, UM, THE, THE, THE AMOUNT THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ASKING, BUT WE'RE GONNA BE COVERING FOR A MAR RATE INCREASE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT DISPUTED COSTS FROM ERIE.
THOSE ARE COSTS THAT C P S HAS ALREADY PAID.
KEO, HDA, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY.
OH MAN, THEY PUT THESE LEGS IN THE WRONG PLACE ON THESE DAYS.
UH, ALL RIGHT, LET ME CLEAR MY EYES THERE, RUDY.
GOOD JOB ON, UH, PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
UH, HATS OFF TO Y'ALL, BUT I, I GOTTA TELL YOU, I I JUST GOT SOME GENERAL COMMENTS HERE AT THE BEGINNING, AND I'VE GOT A TON OF QUESTIONS.
IT WOULD TAKE ME AN ENTIRE HOUR TO GO THROUGH ALL MY QUESTIONS ON THIS PRESENTATION.
AND SO I'LL GET IT TO YOU SOME KIND OF WAY.
TO GET SOME ANSWERS TO QUESTION SET.
WE'LL SET UP AN INDIVIDUAL BRIEFING.
NUMBER ONE, UM, RATE INCREASES ARE TOUGH.
ANYTIME THAT THAT IS DISCUSSED.
I MEAN, ANYTIME RATE INCREASES AND PEOPLE START HEARING, UH, TALKS ABOUT THAT, PEOPLE'S ANTENNAS GO UP AND SAY, WHY.
BUT NOW IS THE WORST TIME EVER TO COME IN SAYING WE NEED A RATE INCREASE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, AND I AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN PLY.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ENOUGH TIME BUILT INTO THE SCHEDULE TO, TO PUT A FRAMEWORK AROUND THIS, WHY WE NEED A RATE INCREASE.
AND AT THIS RATE, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR PROPERTY TAXES CONTINUE TO GO UP EVERY YEAR.
UM, WE GOT INFLATION HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
WHAT HAS THAT, WHAT HAS THAT DONE? DOUBLE THE PRICE, GROCERIES, CONSUMABLES, EVERYTHING IS GOING UP, AND THEN WE'RE PILING ON THE TOP OF IT.
ORIGINALLY, WE WERE SAYING 10%.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM TO STOP ON HOW WE'RE HAMMERING OUR CUSTOMERS OUT ACROSS SAN ANTONIO AND BEYOND.
IT'S NOT JUST SAN ANTONIO, IT'S ALL THE OTHER SERVICE AREAS THAT YOU PROVIDE SERVICE TO.
UM, IT'S JUST THE WORST TIME FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
UM, I, I GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE GOT THE RACK, WE GOT THE CAC, WE GOT THE, THE BOARD, WE GOT THE CITY COUNCIL, WE GOT THE CITY STAFF ALL INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, EXACTLY WHAT THOSE ROLES ARE ON EACH ONE OF THOSE, BECAUSE WE GOT THIS, YOU, YOU DO HAVE A TIMELINE ON WHERE IT'S GOING AND WHEN, BUT ALL OF THIS SEEMS TO BE WORKING LIKE THIS.
AND WHO'S THE CITY COUNCIL MAKES A FINAL DECISION.
BUT WHOSE AUTHORITY IS EACH ONE OF THOSE STEPS, AND WHAT DO THEY APPROVE? I, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE EXPLAINED A LITTLE BIT FURTHER.
LET ME, LET ME JUST GET A COUPLE OF THESE THINGS OUT HERE.
UM, AND WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD WE GO OUT? I'M TALKING FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, A DISTRICT 10 MEETING WHERE THERE'S A PRESENTATION GIVEN BY C P S SAYING, WE NEED A 10% INCREASE, AND THERE, HERE'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING TO GET THAT RATE INCREASE.
AND EVERYBODY'S SITTING THERE GASPING, SAYING A 10% RATE INCREASE.
WHERE IS THIS COMING FROM? VERY LITTLE DETAIL ABOUT WHY, AND NOW WE'RE TALKING, WELL, IT'S NOT A 10%, IT'S A 3.85 OR WHATEVER IT IS.
IF I'M A CONSUM AND I'M A CONSUMER, I'M GONNA BE SAYING, WELL, WHY DO YOU NEED A RATE INCREASE AT ALL? IF YOU START AT 10%, YOU'RE DOWN TO 3.85.
[01:50:01]
NEED ONE AT ALL? IF YOU, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED THERE? WHY THE DELTA, YOU KNOW, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT AT ALL.UH, THAT NEEDS TO BE THOROUGHLY EXPLAINED BECAUSE THERE WAS A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE THAT SAID, YEAH, 10% RATE INCREASE, THAT'S WHAT Y'ALL ARE LOOKING FOR.
AND NOW WE GOT, THAT'S TO COUNCILMAN PLYS COMMENT WHILE AGO ABOUT THE PUBLIC TRUST IN THIS ORGANIZATION, AND HOW ARE WE GONNA RECOVER FROM THAT? WELL, IT'S GONNA TAKE A HECK OF A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO MY DISTRICT.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE OTHER DISTRICTS, BUT TO GET THIS DONE IN A MONTH'S TIME, A LITTLE OVER A MONTH, NO, NO WAY.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA ACCEPT THAT.
AND MY CUSTOMERS IN DISTRICT 10 WILL NOT ACCEPT THAT.
WE NEED MORE TIME TO EXPLAIN THIS THOROUGHLY AS TO WHY WE NEED ANY IN INCREASE AND CERTAINLY WHY IT WENT DOWN FROM 10 TO THREE, 3.8, OR WHATEVER THAT NUMBER IS.
I DON'T, YOU MADE A COMMENT A WHILE AGO.
OUR CUSTOMERS ARE THE ONLY RESOURCE THAT YOU HAVE TO GET REVENUE FROM.
WELL, WE JUST GAVE YOU $20 MILLION FROM ARPA FUNDS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S OUTSIDE THE BOX.
WHAT OTHER BOXES OUT THERE ARE AVAILABLE FOR US AS A CITY COUNCIL OR YOU AS C P S TO GET REVENUE FROM, TO HELP CUSTOMERS OUT THERE? I THINK THERE'S SOME OTHER AREAS OUT THERE, AND WE'RE GONNA BE DISCUSSING MORE ABOUT ARPA FUNDS HERE SOON.
UM, I, I THINK THAT WAS A, TO ME, THAT WAS A LITTLE MISLEADING, SAYING THAT THAT'S THE ONLY REVENUE SOURCE, BECAUSE YEAH, ARPA FUNDS IS THERE, AND YOU ALREADY GOT SOME OF THOSE.
SO, UM, I, I THINK WE NEED TO THINK OUTTA THE BOX A LITTLE BIT MORE.
I THINK I MENTIONED ONE TIME WE GOT ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST GAS SUPPLIES AT OUR BACK DOOR, NATURAL GAS, EAGLEFORD SHALE.
WHY DON'T, WHY DON'T WE HAVE OUR OWN PIPELINE? WHY DON'T WE HAVE OUR OWN GAS COMPANY TO SUPPLY C P S? I THINK WE CAN GET A HECK OF A LOT CHEAPER THAN PAYING ALL THESE GAS COMPANIES OUT THERE TO SUPPLY THAT GAS TO US.
JUST A THOUGHT, JUST, THAT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE, HEY, WHAT IF, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WOULD THAT DO? SO THAT'S JUST MY OPENING COMMENTS.
UM, LET ME GO THROUGH SOME OF MY QUESTIONS HERE.
UM, THE ENGAGEMENT UPDATE, UH, SLIDE FOUR, WHAT, TALK ABOUT ALL OF THESE ENGAGEMENT EVENTS, BUT I THINK THAT WAS, UM, UTILITY ASSISTANCE, AS YOU HAVE MENTIONED HERE, PRIMARILY.
BUT I KNOW IN DISTRICT 10 YOU TALKED ABOUT A RATE INCREASE, AND AGAIN, TO COUNCILMAN PAL'S THING, WHAT KIND OF INPUT WERE YOU GETTING BACK FROM PEOPLE AT THESE, ALL THESE ENGAGEMENTS HERE? SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE COVER A NUMBER OF ISSUES.
WE COVER PUBLIC SAFETY, WE COVER, YOU KNOW, ASSISTANCE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE NEED, YOU KNOW, FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR GENERALLY FOR RATE INCREASE.
COUNCILMAN, I, I'LL TELL YOU, YOU KNOW, WE TOOK, WE HAD TO STOP AND TAKE AND SOMEWHAT TAKE A STEP BACK.
I MEAN, UH, IT, THE, THE DISMOUNT COMING OUTTA THE GATE WAS NOT GRACEFUL.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT TOOK ERIC AND I, YOU KNOW, HAVING SOME REALLY, THE MAYOR, OUR BOARD CHAIR, HAVING SOME REALLY, YOU KNOW, TOUGH CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, HEY, WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO PAUSE, WE NEED TO GET ALIGNED, UH, ON, UH, THE APPROACH TO, TO BUILDING THE, THE CASE ITSELF.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE REENGAGED.
SO, UH, WE STOPPED TALKING ABOUT THE PERCENTAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY FOR A WHILE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE RECOGNIZED THERE WAS THE, THAT THAT WOULDN'T HELP IN THE TRUST ISSUE THAT I WAS SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, CHARGED WITH, WITH, WITH TRYING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT.
SO THIS REENGAGEMENT WILL INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, A LOT MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE FINANCIALS.
UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I WILL COME TALK TO YOU ABOUT ALL THOSE QUESTIONS, UH, THAT YOU LAID OUT FOR US.
BUT THERE ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, I THINK REASONABLE EXPLANATIONS FOR HOW WE GOT TO THIS PLACE.
UM, AND WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO IN THE COMMUNITY OVER THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, SIX TO SEVEN WEEKS.
WELL, AGAIN, I DON'T THINK SIX TO SEVEN WEEKS IS ENOUGH TIME, UH, FAIR ENOUGH.
BECAUSE I'M GONNA REACH OUT TO MY DISTRICT SAYING, WHO ALL WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS? AND THERE'S NOT A SINGLE CONVENIENT TIME FOR EVERYBODY TO GET THAT.
SO I, I JUST THINK THAT WE'RE RUSHING THIS THROUGH THE SYSTEM.
I KNOW YOU, YOU NEED TO GET THIS DONE VERY QUICKLY.
BUT AGAIN, I JUST DON'T THINK THAT'S ENOUGH TIME.
UM, ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS STRESSED AT THAT MEETING IN DISTRICT 10 THAT, UM, WE NEEDED A 10 PERC, AGAIN, I'M GOING BACK ON THE 10% THING.
UH, AND IT WAS NEEDED FOR INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCY.
AND HERE ON SLIDE SEVEN, WE, WE ADDED TECHNOLOGY GROWTH PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, ADDING UP TO $73 MILLION.
[01:55:01]
NONE OF THAT WAS TALKED ABOUT AT YOUR BRIEFING.IT WAS ONLY FOR THE RESILIENCY PART.
SO EVERYBODY'S GONNA SAY, WHAT'S, WHAT'S ALL THIS OTHER STUFF FROM? AND HAVE SOME TOUGH QUESTIONS ABOUT, I GOT TOUGH QUESTIONS ABOUT IT.
LIKE, UH, UH, THIS MANPOWER OR THE PEOPLE PART, UH, WOW, $13 MILLION FOR THE PEOPLE IN C P S I, I DON'T GET THAT DELTA ON WHAT YOU'RE PAYING TODAY AND HOW MANY YOU HAVE ON HAND VERSUS HOW MANY, HOW MANY VACANCIES DO YOU HAVE AND AT WHAT PAY STRUCTURE.
YOU KNOW, THAT, MAN, THAT OPENS UP A WHOLE BUNCH OF QUESTIONS RIGHT THERE.
FAR COUNCIL, WE SHOULD BE AT 3,300 EMPLOYEES TO REASONABLY MANAGE OUR SYSTEM.
WE'RE DOWN AROUND 2,900 AND WE'RE LOSING FOLKS, OKAY? YOU KNOW, TODAY, OKAY? BECAUSE WE'RE NOT OUR, WE'RE NOT COMPETITIVE IN THE MARKET.
THE MARKET HAS PASSED US BY, AND WE CAN SHOW YOU ALL THE DATA, YOU KNOW, THAT BACKS THAT UP.
WE'RE NOT TALKING TAKE THE EXECUTIVE TEAM OUT OF IT.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT EXECUTIVE, YOU KNOW, PAY HERE.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, THE FOLKS WHO OPERATE OUR SYSTEM.
WE GOTTA HAVE OPERATORS IN A CONTROL ROOM OPENING UP AND CLOSING SWITCHES AND OPERATING POWER PLANTS IF WE DON'T STAY COMPETITIVE, YOU KNOW, THEN THAT, THAT PRESENTS ITS OWN RELIABILITY CHALLENGES IN AND OF ITSELF.
WELL, WE GOT TH SUCH THINGS AS A WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAM AND ALL OF THAT STUFF THAT, YES, SIR, I THINK ALL THE OTHER AREAS NEED TO BE LOOKED AT BEFORE WE SAY, OH, WE NEED ANOTHER $13 MILLION FOR, FOR PEOPLE HERE.
BUT ANYWAY, AGAIN, NONE OF THOSE AREAS WERE ADDRESSED WHEN IT CAME OUT TO DISTRICT 10.
LIKE I SAID, RUDY, I GOT A, I GOT A LOT OF QUESTIONS HERE.
I'LL CHIME BACK IN HERE IN A FEW MINUTES TO GET A FEW MORE.
BUT, UH, UH, I'LL WORK WITH YOU TO YES, SIR, GET THESE OUT.
AND, UH, THESE ARE NOT JUST QUESTIONS FROM DISTRICT 10.
THESE ARE CITYWIDE QUESTIONS ON THIS PRESENTATION AND WHY WE REALLY NEED THIS RATE INCREASE.
UH, YOU KNOW, I WANNA WORK WITH YOU, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT THERE.
ERIC, YOU WANNA RESPOND TO SOME? YEAH, JUST REAL QUICK, UM, UH, COUNCILMAN SOME OF THE, UM, ISSUES YOU ASKED ABOUT, THEY'LL BE INCLUDED IN BEN'S REPORT THAT WE'LL ISSUE IN THE AGENDA THIS WEEK.
AND WE'LL ALSO WORK WITH C P S BECAUSE RIGHTFULLY, UH, THE ANSWERS TO SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS SHOULD COME FROM C P S.
UM, AND, AND I THINK, UM, I THINK WE'LL WORK TO, TO BUILD THAT IN.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, HOW DO WE GET FROM 10.5 TO 3.85%? I MEAN, THERE'S A SERIES OF THINGS AND ASSUMPTIONS THAT WERE CHANGED IN THE MODEL.
UM, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE OUTLINE THAT, UH, FOR NEXT WEEK'S PRESENTATION.
AND, AND WE HAVE BEEN IN LOCKSTEP WITH RUDY AND COREY AND THE C P S TEAM, UH, OVER THE LAST THREE OR FOUR WEEKS TO KINDA RE-REVIEW WHAT THAT, WHAT THAT INITIAL, UM, UH, NUMBER WAS THAT CAME OUT OF THE, THE GATE AS, AS RUDY SAID.
THANK YOU, MAYOR COREY, RUDY AND BEN FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND I ALSO WANNA THANK OUR, UH, RAC APPOINTEE, ANDY CASTILLO FOR THE WORK THAT HE'S PUT IN THERE, AS WELL AS THE FOLKS WHO ARE DOING THE INTAKE WORK, CONNECTING FOLKS TO SERVICES THROUGH C P SS.
UM, THAT'S A LOT OF HEAVY WORK.
AND WHEN YOU SIT ALONGSIDE THOSE C P S EMPLOYEES WHO ARE DOING THE APPLICATIONS, YOU HEAR AND LEARN THAT THE ENERGY BURDEN IS AN QU THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS.
UM, WHAT THIS PAY RATE INCREASE CAN MEAN IS MORE RESIDENTS PUTTING, YOU KNOW, GROCERIES ON CREDIT CARDS, PICKING OUT, TAKING OUT PAYDAY LOANS TO PAY THEIR UTILITIES.
YOU KNOW, $5 IS TWO SCHOOL LUNCHES.
AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DATA, WE SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, DISTRICT FIVE IS DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY DISCONNECTIONS AND SO MANY OTHER INEQUITIES.
MY CONCERN IS THAT WITH A PAY RATE INCREASE, THAT IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE OUR MOM AND POP LANDLORDS, RESIDENTIAL USERS, AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WHO ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO FILL THE BURDEN OF THIS INEQUITABLE INEQUITABLE PAY RATE STRUCTURE.
SO I APPRECIATE THAT Y'ALL ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE DO NEED TO ADDRESS THE PAY RATE STRUCTURE, BUT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR IS A TIMELINE AND A, AND A COMMITMENT OF WHEN THAT'S GOING TO BE AGENDIZED.
CAN WE GET A COMMITMENT? YEAH.
SO WE HAD ALWAYS, UM, YOU KNOW, SET UP THE, THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO LOOK AT RATE STRUCTURE AND GENERATION PLANNING, YOU KNOW, OVER A DEFINED, YOU KNOW, KIND OF TIME HORIZON.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, I, I BELIEVE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY SOMETIME AROUND NEXT YEAR, WE CAN PROBABLY START HAVING POLICY CONVERSATIONS WITH COUNCIL ABOUT OPTIONS AND, YOU KNOW, SHARE THE WORK, UH, THAT OUR RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS DOING.
YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS SET UP TO BE KIND OF A POLICY ADVISOR TO OUR BOARD, SO THERE'S A PROCESS TO TO, TO DO THAT.
BUT, BUT I DO BELIEVE THEY'LL MOVE INTO THAT IMMEDIATELY.
AND, AND AGAIN, RIGHT, MY CONCERN IS THAT C P S WILL BE COMING BACK FOR ANOTHER PAY RATE
[02:00:01]
INCREASE, AND WE'VE KNOWN THAT PRIOR TO COVID, THAT FOLKS WERE DISPROPORTIONATELY SPENDING THEIR INCOME ON THEIR UTILITIES C P S IN PARTICULAR.SO I, I, I WANNA HEAR, UH, A MORE CONCRETE TIMELINE THAT ISN'T WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR, UM, BECAUSE AGAIN, IT'S IN 2022 THAT WE'LL BE HEARING FROM YOU AGAIN FOR ANOTHER PAY RATE INCREASE, OR, YEAH.
WE'LL, WE'LL, I, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, ERIC AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THAT WE'LL, THEY, THEY'RE GONNA BE ASKING US TO PUT A MORE CONCRETE TIMELINE TOGETHER.
AND, AND I BELIEVE YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU MET WITH, UH, SOME OF THE LARGEST COMMERCIAL USERS.
UM, WHICH RESIDENTIAL STAKEHOLDERS HAVE YOU MET WITH TO TALK ABOUT HOW THIS WILL IMPACT THEM? WE CAN GET YOU A LIST.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A WHOLE LIST OF, YOU KNOW, RESIDENTIAL STAKEHOLDERS THAT WE'VE MET WITH.
UM, BUT, BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE MEET WITH THEM PRETTY REGULARLY.
SO WE, I MEAN, AS I'VE SAID, WE'VE GOT SOME WORK TO DO TO GET BACK OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND START TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOME MORE SPECIFICS.
AND I, I KNOW THERE'S CONCERN WITH CAPACITY, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO CREATE A DASHBOARD, UH, WHERE RESIDENTS, COMMERCIAL USERS COULD ENTER THEIR CURRENT UTILITY BILL AND SEE HOW THE PAY RATE INCREASE WILL IMPACT THEM.
WE'VE GOT A RATE CASE PAGE SET UP ON OUR, ON OUR WEBSITE, AND THEY CAN GO IN AND PLAY WITH THEIR USAGE WITH WHAT'S BEING PRESENTED TODAY.
MY NEXT QUESTION IS, UH, WHAT WOULD THE IMPACT BE TO PAY RATE PAYERS IF C P S, UM, CONTINUES TO BE ON THE HOOK FOR THE URI? UH, FUEL COST? WHAT, WHAT'S THE IMPACT TOTAL? UH, I, I THINK IT'D BE SOMEWHERE AROUND THREE BUCKS, A LITTLE OVER $3 FOR THE FULL BILLION.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, ASSUMING YOU KNOW, WHICH WE'RE NOT, UH, CONCEDING BY ANY MEANS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE FULL BILLION DOLLAR PRICE TAG, IT'D BE A LITTLE OVER $3.
AND AGAIN, RIGHT, $3 IS A LOT FOR UNDERSTAND, NOT JUST DISTRICT FIVE RESIDENTS, BUT FOR FOLKS THROUGHOUT SAN ANTONIO.
AND WHILE I APPRECIATE THAT Y'ALL HAVE, UH, CREATED THE DASHBOARD, I THINK THAT'S VERY HELPFUL.
I THINK IT WOULD ALSO BE HELPFUL TO INCLUDE WITHIN PEOPLE'S BILLS WHAT THE POTENTIAL IMPACT WILL LOOK LIKE ON THEIR UTILITIES, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE, WE DO THAT EVERY TIME.
Y'ALL HAVE DONE IT, THIS PAPER BILLING.
WE'LL, WE'LL DO BILL AND SEARCH FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, UM, TALKING ABOUT THIS, THIS INFORMATION, YES.
BUT, UH, SPECIFICALLY SHOWING HOW IT WILL IMPACT THEIR EXISTING BILL.
THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS FOR NOW.
COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, COUNCIL MEMBER COURAGE.
UH, I REALLY BELIEVE THIS WAS A GREAT REPORT.
I THINK YOU WENT INTO A LOT OF GOOD DETAIL, AND OBVIOUSLY THERE'S MORE THAT WE'D LIKE TO KNOW, AND I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO HEAR AND TO, UH, CHIME IN ON, AND I KNOW THAT'S GONNA BE OUR GOAL OVER THE NEXT MONTH, SIX WEEKS, UH, SO THAT THE COUNCIL HAS MORE THAN JUST YOUR INPUT, BUT THE INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY,
UH, I'M NOT TRYING TO BE A CHEERLEADER FOR C P SS ENERGY, BUT MORE THAN WHAT YOU'VE JUST TALKED ABOUT TODAY, THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER FACTORS THAT THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO CONSIDER, AND I HOPE MAYBE BY REMINDING US A LITTLE BIT OF THESE, THEY'LL GET CONSIDERATION WHEN THE TIME COMES.
FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT NOW, C P S SERVES OVER 2 MILLION RESIDENTS IN THIS AREA.
WE HAVE A PUBLICLY OWNED UTILITY OWNED BY US, WITH VERY LOW RATES COMPARED TO MOST OTHER PLACES IN THE STATE.
IF THIS WAS A PRIVATE UTILITY, NUMBER ONE, THE RATES WOULD BE HIGHER.
NUMBER TWO, THEY'D BE PAYING 15, 16, 17% OR MORE PER YEAR TO THEIR STAKEHOLDERS WHO ARE OUT FOR PROFITS AND TO FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND TAXES.
BUT THE CITY RECEIVES 14% OF C P S REVENUE ANNUALLY.
THAT MEANS THAT C P SS CONTRIBUTES $30 MILLION OR ABOUT THAT MUCH EVERY MONTH TO THE GENERAL FUND FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO C P S IS HELPING TO PAY FOR POLICE, FIRE, PUBLIC HEALTH, PARKS, LIBRARIES, TRASH PICKUP, PUBLIC ART, AND SO MUCH MORE.
BUT OVER THE PAST 20 MONTHS, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVEN'T PAID THEIR UTILITY BILL.
BUT C P S S STILL SUPPLIES ENERGY STORM URI, AND I HAVE TO SAY, THE STATE REGULATORS CRIPPLED CP S'S ABILITY TO SUPPLY ENERGY FOR ALMOST HALF THE PEOPLE IN THIS CITY BACK IN FEBRUARY.
BUT YOU'RE STILL SUPPLYING ENERGY TODAY, AND THE ENERGY COBBLE IN THIS STATE IS TRYING TO BLEED A BILLION DOLLARS FROM OUR CITIZENS' POCKETS.
[02:05:01]
BUT C P S IS FIGHTING FOR THAT FOR ALL OF US.YOU KNOW, C P S HAS OVER $150 MILLION IN LOST REVENUE TO FILL.
IT'S IN LITIGATION TO SAVE US A HALF OF THAT BILLION DOLLARS.
IT'S LOOKING TO RESTRUCTURE A FAIR RATE STRUCTURE WITH THE ONGOING RACK THAT'S EXISTING AND LOOKING TO LIVE UP TO OUR CITIZEN'S GOAL, OUR CITY'S GOAL OF OUR CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT WHAT COULD BE A NEW MIX OF ENERGY, AND HOW CAN WE MOVE AWAY FROM COAL.
ALL OF THAT IS ONGOING THROUGH THIS RACK STRUCTURE, AND WILL CONTINUE BEYOND THIS, THIS PARTICULAR RATE INCREASE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THEY HAVE A HUGE NUMBER OF THEIR WORKERS, AS YOU'VE, AS YOU'VE JUST HEARD, THAT ARE EITHER AT OR CLOSING IN ON RETIREMENT AGE.
AND THEY'RE STRUGGLING JUST LIKE WE ARE IN A CITY.
AND LIKE EVERY BUSINESS IN THIS CITY IS JUST TO FIND GOOD QUALIFIED PEOPLE TO COME WORK FOR THEM AT A COST THAT THEY CAN AFFORD, OR THAT WE AS THE OWNERS OF THIS, THIS, UH, UTILITY CAN AFFORD.
AND THEY'RE FACING INCREASING EQUIPMENT AND MATERIAL COSTS LIKE EVERY OTHER BUSINESS IS FACING IN THE CITY.
C P S AND US AS OWNERS OF C P S, ARE FACING THESE HUGE CHALLENGES.
AND I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT INGREDIENT THAT NEEDS TO GO IN TO THE DISCUSSION WITH THE PUBLIC AND WITH US AS A COUNCIL.
THESE ARE THE INGREDIENTS THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO CONSIDER AS THIS GOES OUT FOR MORE PUBLIC CONSIDERATION OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO BRING THESE TO EVERYBODY'S ATTENTION AS WE CONTINUE FORWARD.
AS I SAID, I THINK YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB IN LAYING OUT THE COURSE THAT C P S IS RECOMMENDING.
CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING NAMED INTERIM C E O.
UH, I WANT YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT THIS JOB.
I WANT C P S ENERGY TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
C P S ENERGY IS ALL OF OUR UTILITY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, THE, THE BUSINESS MODEL FOR UTILITIES IS EVOLVING AT A FASTER RATE THAN I THINK MOST PEOPLE REALIZE.
AND I WANT C P SS ENERGY TO STAY AT THE FOREFRONT.
RE RECENTLY, C P S ENERGY HAS EXPERIENCED A LOT OF CHALLENGES.
AND SO I, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, TRANSPARENCY.
I'VE ALWAYS BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY.
I'VE ALWAYS BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, US DOING MORE TO, UH, BECOME A MORE SUSTAINABLE, A MORE SUSTAINABLE, UH, ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE UTILITY.
BUT NOW I'M, IN ADDITION TO THAT, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT RETAINING TALENT, RIGHT? BECAUSE HOW DO WE STAY AT THE FOREFRONT OF THAT MODEL? HOW DO WE LEAD, UH, AMONG PUBLIC UTILITIES IN ALL UTILITIES IN THE NATION? WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE REALLY TALENTED, A REALLY TALENTED STAFF.
SO WE NEED TO RE RETAIN THE GOOD PEOPLE WE HAVE, BEING ABLE TO ATTRACT MORE PEOPLE.
UM, AND SO PEOPLE HAVE BROUGHT THIS UP ALREADY THAT THERE'S, THERE ARE ISSUES WITH TRUST AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
AND SO THIS IS A HARD TIME TO BE COMING TO US, ASKING FOR A RATE INCREASE, UM, MAKING PROMISES OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE GONNA DO IN THE FUTURE, RIGHT? I THINK WHAT WE'RE READY TO SEE IS WE NEED TO SHOW TO OUR CONSTITUENTS THAT THERE ARE CHANGES IN BEHAVIOR.
AND SO THAT WE CAN SAY, OKAY, WE'VE ALREADY GOT, THESE ARE, HERE ARE SOME COMMITMENTS THAT WE'VE GOTTEN OUT OF C P S ENERGY, UM, TO DO, YOU KNOW, SO THAT THEY CAN DO BETTER GOING FORWARD.
AND, UM, WHAT WOULD BE HARD TO DO IS GO TO OUR CONSTITUENTS AND SAY, HEY, WE, WE AUTHORIZED THIS RATE INCREASE, AND, UH, THEY SAID THEY'RE GONNA GET US NEXT TIME.
THEY'RE GONNA COME BACK LATER, WE'RE GONNA WORK OUT ALL THE OTHER STUFF, RIGHT? SO WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA HAVE TO SEE, I BELIEVE, UM, SOME, SOME COMMITMENTS BEFORE WE GO THROUGH WITH THIS.
UM, ONE THING THAT I'VE BEEN CALLING FOR IS AN OUTSIDE EXPERT STUDY.
UH, I THINK THAT AN OUTSIDE STUDY OF C P S ENERGY, LOOKING AT THE CORPORATE CULTURE, LOOKING AT THE MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE, LOOKING AT HOW DO YOU RETAIN TALENT, HOW DO YOU ATTRACT NEW TALENT? I BELIEVE THAT THAT COULD SERVE AS A ROADMAP FOR YOUR SUCCESS AS A C E O OF C P S ENERGY.
AND THEN YOU COULD COME BACK TO US, TO OUR MUNICIPAL UTILITY COMMITTEE, JUST LIKE YOU'RE COMING NOW AND SHOWING US HERE WERE THE DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATIONS ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, AND HERE'S THE PROGRESS WE'VE MADE ON EACH ONE.
YOU COULD DO THAT IN THE FUTURE.
COME TO OUR MUNICIPAL UTILITY COMMITTEE AND SAY, HERE WERE THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY THAT, THIS OUTSIDE EXPERT
[02:10:01]
STUDY, AND HERE'S THE PROGRESS THAT WE'RE MAKING.UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A COMMITMENT TO.
UM, I WANT TO THANK, UH, COUNCILWOMAN ADRIANA ROCHA GARCIA FOR SHARING THIS BRATTLE REPORT ON ASSESSING CCPS ENERGY'S AFFORDABILITY.
UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UH, THERE'S A LOT TO DIGEST IN HERE.
UM, BUT I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO MAYBE FORM A WORKING GROUP OR MAYBE THROUGH THE MUNICIPAL UTILITY COMMITTEE, LOOK AT HOW CAN WE TAKE SOME OF THESE IDEAS.
GREG HARMON HAS BEEN PUTTING A LOT OF THOUGHT INTO THIS, AND WHAT ARE HIS IDEAS? I'VE GOT SOME IDEAS TOO.
I WANNA LOOK AT HOW CAN WE LOOK AT DATA AND LOOK AT WHAT ARE, IF WE LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE CENSUS BLOCKS WHERE, WHERE LOW INCOME PEOPLE LIVE AND LOOK AT, UH, WHAT IS THEIR ENERGY CONSUMPTION PER SQUARE FOOT OF THEIR HOUSE, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY'RE DIFFERENT SIZE HOUSES, THEN WHO'S GOT, WHO'S EXPERIENCING THE HIGHEST ENERGY COST BURDEN? I MET, UH, EARLIER THIS WEEK WITH COPS METRO, AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT HOMES THAT, THAT USE EXCESSIVE ENERGY.
AND, UH, ONE OF THE PRIESTS WHO WAS IN THE, THE COPS METRO MEETING, HE SAID, COUNCILMAN, WE CALL THOSE HOLY HOUSES BECAUSE THEY HAVE SO MANY HOLES, THEY'RE SO DRAFTY THAT THEY'RE WASTING A LOT OF ENERGY.
AND SO WHEN I LOOK AT THIS AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, IF SOMEBODY QUALIFIES FOR IT, THEY GET ABOUT $12 A MONTH OFF OF THEIR UTILITY BILL, AND YOU'RE PROPOSING TO RAISE THAT TO $16 A MONTH, WHICH IS GREAT.
BUT I, I THINK IF WE WERE TO TARGET THE RIGHT HOUSEHOLDS WHO ARE OUTLIERS IN THEIR ENERGY BURDEN, THEN MAYBE WE COULD HELP THEM.
INSTEAD OF GIVING THEM $16 OFF THEIR BILL, MAYBE WE COULD GO WEATHERIZE THEIR HOMES, DO SOME, SOME, UH, ENERGY RETROFITS THERE.
MAYBE WE COULD SAVE THEM 30, 40, $50 OR MORE PER MONTH.
UM, AND SO THAT WOULD ALSO HELP WITH SUSTAINABILITY, BECAUSE IN, INSTEAD OF US GIVING THEM THEM A DISCOUNT, BECAUSE THEIR HOMES ARE WASTING SO MUCH ENERGY, WE'RE GONNA HELP THEM CONSERVE ENERGY AND HAVE A LOWER BILL.
AND I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO GET MOVING ON THAT.
UM, YOU C P S ENERGY HAS NOT COME TO US FOR A RATE INCREASE IN EIGHT YEARS, BUT THERE'S ALSO INFLATION.
AND I'M WONDERING HOW OUR RATES, WHERE THEY'RE AT NOW AND WHERE YOU'RE, YOU'RE PROPOSING FOR THEM TO BE, WOULD TRACK WITH INFLATION.
AND I KNOW THAT INFLATION WOULD PLAY, PAY A, PAY A PLAY A ROLE IN, UH, THE FUEL COSTS.
BUT I'M, I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN SEEING THAT.
WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL PROVIDE THAT LOOK TO ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
AND YOU KNOW, PART OF THE REASON WE'RE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION IS BECAUSE OF WINTER STORM URI AND HOW MUCH MONEY WE LOST ON THE WHOLESALE MARKET, HAVING TO PURCHASE ENERGY WHEN WE WERE SHORT IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
I THINK PART OF THE REASON MAYBE YOU DIDN'T COME TO US AND ASK FOR A RATE INCREASE IS BECAUSE YOU WERE MAKING MONEY ON THAT, ON THE WHOLESALE MARKET, RIGHT? AND SO WHEN, WHEN OTHER, UH, UTILITIES ACROSS THE STATE WERE SHORT, AND, UH, THEY WERE, WE WERE ABLE TO PRODUCE EXTRA ELECTRICITY AND PUT IT OUT ON THE WHOLESALE MARKET, THEY WERE ABLE TO BUY FROM US.
I REMEMBER A FEW YEARS AGO, IT WAS LIKE CHRISTMAS DURING THE, UH, DURING THE CITY BUDGET, UM, SESSION WHEN AT FIRST THE, THE CITY'S BUDGET WAS GONNA, THERE WAS GONNA BE A SHORTFALL, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE WAS A HUGE SURPLUS FROM A HEAT WAVE THAT YEAH.
WE, WE, UH, IT WAS 2017, RIGHT, FRANK? IT WAS, UH, IT WAS, UH, UH, 2019, YEAH.
GOING INTO THE FISCAL YEAR 20, WELL, THERE WAS ONE YEAR WE THAT, THAT OUR WHOLESALE REVENUES WERE SOMEWHERE AROUND 40, $145 MILLION.
AND THAT, THAT'S BEEN THE HIGH WATERMARK.
THE PRICES IN THE MARKET HAVE BEEN PRETTY SOFT SINCE THEN.
AND SO WOULD YOU SAY THAT THAT HELPED PREVENT RATE INCREASES IN THE PAST? CERTAINLY.
SO I, I'D REALLY BE INTERESTED IN SEEING WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE WE NOW VERSUS EIGHT YEARS AGO, AND HOW DOES THAT TRACK WITH INFLATION? WE CAN SHOW YOU THAT, UM, YOU HAVE HERE THAT IT'S $418 MILLION IN REASONABLE VALIDATED FUEL COSTS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING TO PAY DOWN.
AND I'M WONDERING, WHAT, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHAT IS REASONABLE VAL AND VALIDATED ARE, WERE SOME OF THOSE $9,000 A MEGAWATT HOUR ELECTRICITY COSTS? UM, BUT YOU FELT LIKE IT WAS FAIR TO BE CHARGING THAT RATE AT THAT TIME? SO THE MARKET, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, THERE'S A MARKET CAP, YOU KNOW, FOR A REASON.
AND THAT'S TO INCENT GENERATORS TO COME ON IN TIMES WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DE THE DEMAND IS HIGH.
AND, YOU KNOW, SUPPLY IS, IS IS SHORT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN ERCOT ADMITTED, YOU KNOW, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN FRANK, COME UP HERE REAL QUICK.
YOU KNOW, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW,
[02:15:01]
31 HOURS THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT THEY, THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN AT THAT PRICE CAP, AND THEY WERE AT IT FOR DAYS.SO, FRANK, WHY DON'T YOU GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
SO, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
UH, FRANK ALMARAZ, UH, CHIEF POWER SUSTAINABILITY AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER WITH C P S ENERGY.
UH, SO, UH, THE WAY IT WORKED DURING THE WINTER STORM WAS, UH, THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION ON ERCOT ADMINISTRATIVELY SET PRICES AT THAT CAP FOR, YOU KNOW, MUCH TOO LONG AND OVER, OVER 30 HOURS.
AND, UH, IT, IT WAS AT A MOMENT WHEN, UH, THE MAN WAS HIGHEST, UH, IT WAS AS COLD AS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS AT THE DEPTHS OF THE, OF THE COLD.
AND A LOT OF, UH, CUSTOMERS WERE BEING INVOLUNTARY INVOLUNTARILY TURNED OFF WHAT THEY CALL FIRM LOAD SHED.
AND SO, UH, WE BELIEVE THAT THAT WAS NOT A, A GOOD DECISION.
WE THINK IT COST THE STATE A LOT OF MONEY.
IT COST US A LOT OF MONEY, OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED.
IT WAS ADMINISTRATIVELY PRICED, UH, SET TO THE VERY HIGH PRICE.
SO, I MEAN, YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THIS ALREADY, BUT I JUST WANNA STATE IN PUBLIC, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE THINGS I'M INTERESTED IN SEEING IS C P S ENERGY ENDING THEIR, THEIR SUBSIDIES FOR THE NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY IN TERMS OF NO LONGER OFFERING REBATES FOR PEOPLE TO CONVERT THEIR, UH, ELECTRIC STOVES AND NATURAL GAS STOVES, ELECTRIC, UH, WATER HEATERS TO NATURAL GAS WATER HEATERS.
OR IF SOMEBODY'S BUILDING A NEW DEVELOPMENT, A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD, PAYING THE DEVELOPER TO INSTALL ALL NATURAL GAS APPLIANCES.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND I'M CONCERNED ALSO ABOUT HOW WHEN WE ADD TO C P S ENERGY'S NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION NETWORK, WE'RE SPREADING OUT, WE'RE SPRAWLING AS A CITY OR EVEN WITHIN CPS ENERGY'S SERVICE TERRITORY, WHICH IS BEYOND THE CITY, WHICH IS BEYOND THE COUNTY.
AND WHAT IS IT GONNA TAKE TO MAINTAIN THAT INFRASTRUCTURE? WHAT ARE THOSE COSTS GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, DECADES INTO THE FUTURE? AND, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF COSTS ARE GONNA BE PASSED ON? I WOULD TELL YOU THAT, UH, ON THE NATURAL GAS SIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT AN OBLIGATION TO SERVE ON BOTH THE ELECTRIC AND GAS SIDE.
YOU KNOW, ON THE GAS SIDE, WE'VE GOT A LOT MORE, UM, COMPETITION AROUND US.
SO IF C P S ENERGY SIDE, WE'RE NOT GONNA EXTEND SERVICE, THEY COULD GO TO GRAY FOREST, SO THEY COULD GO TO CENTERPOINT OR, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OTHER CENTRIC, THERE'S A, THERE'S A FEW OTHER GAS PROVIDERS OUT THERE.
SO, UM, WHERE YOU HAVE COMPETITION, YOU KNOW, C P S ENERGY, NOT SERVING THEM DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE NOT GONNA GET SERVICE.
BUT WE DO HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SERVE WHEN SOMEBODY ASKS US FOR NATURAL GAS, AND IT'S AVAILABLE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE GOTTA SERVE 'EM.
UH, RUDY, YOU, YOU AND I HAVE BEEN IN PUBLIC SERVICE LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT WHEN WE, WHEN WE SAY SOMETHING AND IT'S NOT CRYSTAL CLEAR, THEN PEOPLE WILL RUN WITH IT AND INTERPRET, SIR, WHATEVER, SIR.
AND YOU SAID SOMETHING, AND I HAVE A FEELING THAT, UM, IT MIGHT NOT BE CRYSTAL CLEAR WHAT, WHAT YOU SAID, AND SO I NEED, I NEED TO NAIL YOU DOWN.
AND SO, UM, WHEN I ASKED YOU, YOU KNOW, WILL YOU COME WITH ME AND WILL WE GO TALK AND ALL THAT? YOU SAID, YOU HAVE MY COMMITMENT THAT WE WILL TALK TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO TALK TO US.
UH, BUT I THINK SOME PEOPLE WILL THINK THAT MEANS, OH, RUDY WILL WAIT FOR OUR CALL.
AND SO WE ARE AFFIRMATIVELY GOING TO GO OUT AND YES, SIR.
THE, THE, I MEAN, Y'ALL HAVE DONE A, A GREAT JOB, UM, YOU KNOW, IN EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER I'VE EVER WORKED WITH IN SAN ANTONIO HAS ALWAYS INVITED US TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
YOU KNOW, PRESIDENT'S MEETINGS WE'RE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE CONGREGATING, UH, TO, TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS.
SO WHETHER IT'S THAT TYPE OF OPPORTUNITY OR AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WE SET UP ON OUR OWN, OKAY.
'CAUSE THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS CONTACT US TOO.
SECOND THREE, THREE VERY SPECIFIC ASKS.
UM, I, AND I WANNA BE IN THE ROOM AND HELP BROKER THE, THE MEETING, UH, IF NECESSARY, UM, WITH, UH, THREE GROUPS.
ONE IS THE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION.
OKAY? UM, I THINK THEY'VE GOT A VERY IMPORTANT VOICE, UM, THAT WE NEED TO BE LISTENING TO MORE OFTEN ON, ON THIS COUNCIL.
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE HURTING A LOT.
UM, TWO IS THE NONPROFIT COUNCIL.
UM, I'D LIKE TO SEE US TALK TO THE NGOS OUT THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE ALSO PAYING THESE BILLS.
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVEN'T SEEN THEIR BUDGETS INCREASE.
IN FACT, THEY'VE, THEY'VE GOTTEN A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT KICK TO THE GUT, UH, OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS.
AND WE NEED TO LISTEN TO THEM TOO.
AND THEN THE THIRD ONE IS, YOU KNOW, FOLKS DON'T TALK ABOUT DATA CENTERS AS MUCH AS THEY SHOULD.
I DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALLY UNDERSTAND EXACTLY HOW IMPORTANT A CUSTOMER THAT IS TO, TO US.
BUT, UM, I'VE BEEN GETTING VISITS FROM MICROSOFT.
AND SO IF YOU, IF YOU CAN HELP ME, HELP A BROTHER OUT AND MEET ME WITH MICROSOFT, SO WE CAN TALK TO HIM ABOUT THIS BILL, BILL AND I HAVE ALREADY CONTACTED AND, AND WE WE'RE SETTING UP SOME TIME, BUT I WILL, I WON'T INCLUDE YOU IN THAT.
ALRIGHT? UH, THE, THAT'S, THAT'S NUMBER TWO, NUMBER THREE, SIX TO SEVEN WEEKS.
[02:20:01]
WARN YOU RIGHT NOW.I DON'T THINK ANY COUNCIL MEMBER HERE WILL QUARREL WITH THE FACT THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A REALLY DIFFICULT TIME TALKING TO PEOPLE BETWEEN THE 20TH OF DECEMBER AND JANUARY 3RD.
EVERYBODY'S OFF, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE TRY TO GET PEOPLE OUT TO OUR EVENTS REALLY HARD, UNLESS YOU'RE GIVING 'EM FREE FOOD AND FREE BACKPACKS AND, YOU KNOW, AND OFFERING A PARTY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I'M NOT SURE THAT THOSE, THOSE DATES, WHICH ARE 15 DAYS IN A ROW ARE GONNA BE WORKING DAYS FOR YOU GUYS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU'RE GONNA GET PEOPLE OUT THERE.
AND I, I, I, I WANNA, I I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S EXPECTATIONS ARE MANAGED HERE.
THAT'S A LOT OF DAYS IN A 44 DAY LIFE, YOU KNOW, UH, SPAN.
UM, WHERE YOU, YOU MAY NOT GET THE KIND OF EYEBALLS THAT YOU NEED ON, ON YOUR MESSAGE TO THE EXTENT THAT, UM, OUR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WILL, WILL, WILL MAKE THEM, YOU KNOW, TIME AVAILABLE TO US.
EVERY ONE OF MY EXECUTIVE TEAM IS, YOU KNOW, READY TO GET OUT THERE AND START HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS.
SO I'VE GOT A HUNDRED, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE STRONG THAT WILL BE READY TO, YOU KNOW, TO PRESENT.
SO, SO WE'VE GOT THE MANPOWER TO, TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
YOU KNOW, IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE AVAILABILITY OF THE ORGANIZATION.
AND, AND I UNDERSTAND THE PRESSURE, AND I KNOW YOU'RE NOT JUST MAKING THESE DAYS UP.
AND SIR, I MEAN, IF YOU DON'T GET THIS, YOU GOT A BIGGER EMERGENCY ON YOUR HANDS.
UM, AND THEN JUST REMEMBER I MENTIONED THAT LADY IN HER, HER NEIGHBORHOOD, OAK MEADOWS.
HER POWER WAS RESTORED AT 3:00 PM WHILE YOU AND I WERE TALKING UP HERE TODAY.
UM, HER NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, OKAY.
HAS BEEN OUT FOR SEVEN HOURS TODAY.
UM, AND SO, I MEAN, JUST WARNING YOU, THEIR KNIVES ARE SHARPEN FOR YOU,
UH, BUT TO BE FAIR, I, I DON'T WANT YOU AND YOUR AND YOUR TEAM WALKING AWAY FROM THIS MEETING LATER SAYING, GOSH, PLYS REALLY DOESN'T GET HOW IMPORTANT WE ARE.
AND HE'S REALLY NITPICKY ON THIS ONE.
YOU GUYS ARE THE GOLDEN GOOSE.
WE NEED YOU TO BE HEALTHY, AND WE NEED, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT A MILLION DOLLARS A DAY YOU SEND OUR WAY? MY, MY WIRES TEAM HAS BEEN TAKING NOTES AND WE'RE READY TO GET OUT THERE.
AND WHAT'S THE DOLLAR AMOUNT? ABOUT A MILLION, A MILLION DOLLARS A DAY.
UM, THAT MILLION DOLLARS, IF IT, IF C P S BELONGED TO SOMEBODY ELSE, IT WOULD OTHERWISE JUST GO TO NEW YORK.
AND THE POCKETS OF INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS, THAT MILLION DOLLARS A DAY PAYS FOR SIDEWALKS AND POLICE AND FIRE AND STREETS AND SENIOR CENTERS AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THE AMAZING THINGS THAT WE DO, BATTERED WOMEN, SHELTER FUNDING, YOU KNOW, HATE, YOU KNOW, HOMELESSNESS FUNDING.
AND SO, UH, WITHOUT YOU GUYS, UH, BEING HEALTHY, WE'VE GOT A BIGGER EMERGENCY ON OUR HANDS.
AND SO, UM, I DON'T WANT YOU TO THINK, I, I, I, I'VE LOST SIGHT OF THAT.
AND, AND I HOPE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND, HAVING HEARD EVERYBODY'S COMMENTS, THAT WE ALL GET THAT RIGHT, ALL GET THAT RIGHT.
THAT YOU KNOW, THAT YOU GUYS ARE TOO IMPORTANT TO FAIL.
COUNCIL MEMBER ELA, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO.
YEAH, I WOULD LIKE TO EMPHASIZE COUNCIL MEMBER MANNY ELA SENTIMENTS THAT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES AND OUR RESTAURANT INDUSTRY IS REALLY HURTING.
UM, EARLIER THIS WEEK, I WAS, UH, IN THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE MEETING WHERE, UM, DURING THE PUBLIC COMMENT, MANY SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND MICRO BUSINESSES WERE EXPRESSING THE NEED FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE, RIGHT? THEY'RE FEELING THE ECONOMIC IMPACT FROM, FROM EVERY ANGLE.
UM, SO I, I WOULD LIKE, UH, TO WORK WITH MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES TO ENSURE THAT WE ESTABLISH A PROGRAM SIMILAR TO EAP FOR OUR COMMERCIAL, UH, COMMERCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ENSURE THAT OUR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS ARE ABLE TO STAY IN BUSINESS.
UM, BUT I WAS CHIMING BACK IN BECAUSE I PULLED UP THE DASHBOARD, AND IF I COULD GET SOME ASSISTANCE AT THE END OF THE MEETING TO SEE, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T HAVE THE PROPOSED PAY RATE, UH, UH, INCREASE.
UM, BUT, UH, NOW THAT I CAN MAKE OUT MY OWN WRITING, I WANTED TO ASK, UM, YOU ALL HAVE PROVIDED THE ZIP CODES AND THE POTENTIAL DISCONNECTIONS PER DIS, UH, ZIP CODE RATHER.
UM, SO I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF WE CAN GET A BREAKDOWN OF THE LOWEST, HIGHEST, AND MEDIAN, UH, RESIDENTIAL ACCOUNTS AND WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE.
SO WE HAVE AN IDEA PER ZIP CODE.
WHY DON'T YOU COME TALK ABOUT WHAT'S GONNA BE AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE AND THAT, ON THAT YES.
I'M THE INTERIM E V P FOR CUSTOMER STRATEGY FOR THE WEBSITE.
WE ARE WORKING, UH, TO GET THAT UP AND RUNNING.
IT'S NOT LIVE JUST YET, BUT AS SOON AS IT IS, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL SEND THAT TO YOU.
WE HAD SOME CHANGES WITH, UH, THE, SOME OF THE RECENT CHANGES THAT WE'VE MADE ON THE RATE, AND WE WANT IT TO BE REFLECTIVE OF THE CHANGES THAT WE'VE MADE.
SO AS SOON AS WE HAVE THAT, WE'LL GET THE LINK AND THEN WE CAN COORDINATE WITH YOUR OFFICE AS WELL TO GET EVERYBODY COMFORTABLE AS WELL.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE ZIP CODE PIECE, THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN ABSOLUTELY DO.
WE HAVE A, A CUSTOMER TEAM THAT'S DEDICATED TO GET THAT INFORMATION SO WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION BY, BY ZIP CODE WITH THAT RANGE.
AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE HOW COMMERCIAL, UM, ACCOUNTS WOULD ALSO BE IMPACTED BY THE PAY RATE INCREASE, THE PROPOSED PAY RATE INCREASE.
CAN WE GET THAT AS WELL? UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE HOW ACCOUNTS THAT ARE ALREADY PASSED DUE WOULD BE IMPACTED BY, UH, THE PAY RATE INCREASE AND HOW THAT WOULD IMPACT, YOU KNOW, THE NEED FOR MORE ARPA DOLLARS GOING TOWARDS UTILITY ASSISTANCE.
I, I WOULD JUST ADD ON THAT, THAT, THAT, AGAIN, FOR THOSE
[02:25:01]
WHO QUALIFY FOR OUR AFFORDABILITY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE BINDING DOWN THAT, THAT, UH, IMPACT.SO THO THOSE BILLS WOULD STAY THE SAME.
UM, RUDY, JUST REAL QUICK, UM, BENCHMARKING, UH, BENCHMARKING WITH OTHER CITIES ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR RATES ARE COMPARED TO THEIRS.
HAVE WE BENCHMARKED WITH THESE PROPOSED RATE INCREASES WITH THOSE OTHER CITIES TO SEE IF WE'RE STILL A GOOD, GOOD DEAL HERE IN C P S? YES, SIR.
THAT WASN'T IN THIS, UH, PARTICULAR, UH, RATE, UH, PRESENTATION, BUT LET ME LET CORY TALK TO YOU ABOUT THAT.
YEAH, IT WASN'T, WE WILL HAVE THAT.
WE STILL REMAIN COMPETITIVE, GENERALLY SPEAKING.
WITH THESE RATE INCREASES, WHERE DOES THAT PUT US IN IN REGARDS TO THAT? YEAH, WE'LL GET TO THAT, SIR.
OTHER CITIES HERE IN TEXAS, UM, I TOTALLY DON'T GET SLIDE NUMBER 12, AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT LATER.
UM, SLIDE NINE UH, SHOWED THE TWO PHASES, BUT WE DIDN'T SAY HOW MUCH EACH PHASE IS GONNA COST US.
SO, UH, PHASE ONE, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW, IS IT'S ABOUT $2 MILLION.
YOU KNOW, AGAIN, EVERY YEAR, DEPENDING UPON WHAT'S GOING ON WITH OUR PLANTS, IT MAY BE 500,001 YEAR, MAYBE A MILLION DOLLARS THAT WE DO WEATHERIZATION.
AND SO WEATHERIZATION IS SOMETHING WE DO EVERY YEAR.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO WE'VE, WE'VE SPENT ROUGHLY $21 MILLION OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS.
IF YOU ADD ALL THE YEARS UP TOGETHER, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SPENDING $31 MILLION GOING FORWARD.
OKAY, OVER WHAT PERIOD OF TIME? 31 MILLION.
SO OVER THE TWO YEAR WINDOW BETWEEN FISCAL 23 AND 24, THE CAPITAL ALLOCATION FOR RELATED INFRAS, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THAT IS JUST OVER A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS BETWEEN THE TWO FISCAL YEARS.
I, I NEED THAT EXPLAINED A LITTLE BIT MORE TO ME AS WELL.
YEAH, WE WILL, WE'LL PROVIDE THEM THE SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION, UH, ON SLIDE 14.
IT SHOWS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CHARTS AND ALL THAT STUFF.
AND THAT, THAT'S GREAT, COREY.
BUT I, I WANNA KNOW WHAT WE, WHAT WE HAVE BEEN OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, WHAT, YOU KNOW, SHOW US A TRACK RECORD ON WHAT THOSE, UM, BOTH ON THE, UM, UM, SOURCES OF REVENUE AND THE USES OF THE REVENUE.
LET'S, LET'S SEE A TRACK RECORD THERE.
I DON'T WANNA SEE WHAT WE'VE PLANT, WHAT WE'RE PLANNING ON, WHAT HAVE WE DONE IN THE PAST, SO I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT.
THAT'LL ALSO BE IN YOUR SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION.
WE'LL HAVE FIVE YEARS OF HISTORY FOR YOU, SIR.
UM, ON, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, 15, AND I'VE BEEN ASKING THIS FOR YEARS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT SHOWS A CAPITAL PLAN AND I, I, I, I, I'M HAVING A HARD TIME BELIEVING THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THE LINES ARE GONNA CROSS.
IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT'S YOUR CAPACITY RIGHT NOW AND WHAT'S THE REQUIREMENT OVER TIME, OVER YEARS? AND AT SOME POINT IN TIME, THOSE LINES ARE GONNA CROSS, AND THAT'S WHEN YOU NEED TO HAVE ADDITIONAL CAPACITY TO SERVE YOUR CUSTOMERS HERE.
THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN ASKING FOR.
AND I THINK THOSE COSTS, WHATEVER THOSE COSTS ARE FOR AN ADDITIONAL PLANT AT SOME POINT IN TIME, NEEDS TO BE FIGURED IN HERE AND SHOWN, YOU KNOW, THIS DATE IS, IS IT WITHIN FIVE YEARS? IS IT 10 YEARS? 15? AND WE CAN'T CONSERVE OUR WAY OUT OF THIS SITUATION.
WE HAVE TO PLAN FOR ADDITIONAL CAPACITY TO MEET THE DEMAND OVER TIME.
AND I'VE BEEN ASKING THAT FOR YEARS, AND I JUST HAVE NOT GOTTEN THAT YET FROM C P S COUNCILMAN.
WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS REALLY IS PART OF THE GENERATION PLANNING DISCUSSION.
WE'VE GOT OLD GAS UNITS THAT ARE GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, NEED TO COME OFFLINE OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS WHILE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THE FUTURE OF THE SPRUCE UNITS LOOKS LIKE.
SO THIS IS PART OF A GENERATION CONVERSATION THAT REALLY HAS TO DO WITH GROWTH, YOU KNOW, VERSUS CAPACITY.
BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY, UH, FRANK, YOU WANNA COME UP HERE AND LOOK LIKE HERE? WELL, LET'S, LET'S TALK, I GOT A COUPLE MORE HERE.
WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE WILL HAVE THAT CONVERSATION, SIR.
UH, ON SLIDE NUMBER 17, WE WE'RE SHOWING 3.3%, BUT ON SLIDE NUMBER SIX, WE'RE SHOWING 3.85%.
WHAT, WHAT'S THE RIGHT NUMBER THERE? SO THAT'S THE QUESTION THAT COUNCILWOMAN, UH, HDA ALSO ASKED.
YOU KNOW, IT JUST HAS TO DO WITH THE AMOUNT OF USAGE VERSUS, YOU KNOW, THE RATE.
IF YOU'RE USING LESS YEAR OVER YEAR, THEN THE IMPACT IS LOWER.
THE 3.85 IS THE RATE INCREASE, THE 3.3% IS THE, UH, AVERAGE IMPACT.
SO, YOU KNOW, YOUR BILL HAS YOUR BASE COMPONENT AND THEN FUEL AND REGULATORY COSTS.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BASE RATE, AS BEN WILL TALK ABOUT IN THE ORDINANCE, OKAY.
AND THEN SLIDE 22 TO WRITE, WRAP THIS THING UP.
AND LIKE I SAID, I'VE GOT A LOT OF OTHER QUESTIONS IN HERE, BUT SLIDE 22, WE'RE NOT REALLY JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS.
3.85 IN 2023, AS I UNDERSTAND THIS SLIDE,
[02:30:01]
IT'S SHOWING ANOTHER 5.5% IN 2025, AND THEN ANOTHER 5.5% TWO YEARS LATER AT 2027.THAT'S OVERALL 14.85% INCREASE.
SO COUNSEL, IS THAT CORRECT? WE, YEAH, WE, WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO COME BACK MORE FREQUENTLY TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS.
WE CANNOT GO EIGHT YEARS WITHOUT COMING TO COUNSEL AND TALKING ABOUT WHERE WE ARE.
SO WHAT YOU'RE TELLING EVERYBODY OUT THERE IS BY 2027 WE'RE, YOU'RE GONNA BE COMING BACK FOR A TOTAL OF 14.85% INCREASE.
I ALLUDED TO THIS EARLIER, THAT'S WHAT'S IN OUR FINANCIAL PLAN, BUT EVERY TIME WE COME IN, THOSE NUMBERS WILL, WILL CHANGE.
SO NO, I'M NOT SAYING IT'S GONNA BE 14%, YOU KNOW, I'M SAYING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET ON A PATHWAY WHERE WE COME IN MORE FREQUENTLY TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT OUR RATE NEEDS.
WELL, I HOPE THAT WE CAN SHIFT THOSE DOWN LIKE WE DID THIS TIME WHEN THE CITY GOT INVOLVED.
SO ANYWAY, THAT, THAT'S IT, SIR.
COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY.
UH, WAS THERE ANYBODY ELSE IN THE QUEUE? I HAVE HAD SOME TECH ISSUES OVER HERE.
I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR BEN GOEL.
BEN, AT, AT WHAT POINT DID YOU START ENGAGING WITH C P SS ENERGY IN THESE CONVERSATIONS? UH, ABOUT A RATE INCREASE.
AND WHAT WAS THE, WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL RATE THAT WAS PROPOSED TO YOU? UH, I GUESS WE STARTED ENGAGING IN SEPTEMBER.
I MENTIONED THE DRAFT, UH, RATE REQUEST THAT WE GOT FROM C P S WAS THE ONE I SHOWED ON THE SLIDE, UH, WHICH WAS A 13 POINT, UH, 4% BASE RATE INCREASE, UH, AND INCLUDED SOME, UH, RECOVERIES FOR BAD DEBT AND FOR WINTER STORM URI WITH THE BILL IMPACT OF ABOUT 11.1%.
I THINK WE GOT THAT IN ABOUT, WAS IT MID-SEPTEMBER, EARLY SEPTEMBER, SOMEWHERE IN THERE.
SO, AND THEN THERE WERE SEVERAL ITERATIONS AFTER THAT BEFORE YOU GOT TO THIS 3.85%? WELL, I'LL BE QUITE HONEST, COUNSEL, I, I THINK, UM, I'M GONNA USE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT, HOW RUDY DESCRIBED IT.
BECAUSE WHEN WE GOT A CHANCE TO REVIEW THAT DETAIL, WE SPENT A COUPLE WEEKS LOOKING AT IT.
WE PROVIDED C P S OUR FEEDBACK, UM, AND THEN WE SUGGESTED A DIFFERENT APPROACH.
AND THAT WAS THE APPROACH TO REALLY FOCUS ON IMMEDIATE FINANCIAL NEEDS AND DEALING WITH THE WINTER STORM YURI COSTS, GETTING THE POLICY ISSUES, SOME OF THESE AREAS THAT HAVE A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY AROUND THEM THAT WE KNOW ARE GONNA EVOLVE OVER TIME, GETTING ALL OF THAT OUT OF THE MODEL.
SO WE KIND OF, IN ESSENCE, HAVE REBUILT THE RATE CASE OVER THE PAST MONTH OR SO.
UM, ALRIGHT THEN I HAVE QUESTIONS FOR RUDY.
RUDY, UH, WHEN DID C P S ENERGY LAST PASS A BUDGET? UH, WE PASSED OUR BUDGET IN JULY, SIR, THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
SO, SO YOU INCURRED A BUNCH OF DEBT IN FEBRUARY OF LAST YEAR FOR THE WINTER STORM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GOT A HANDLE OR SENSE OF WHAT THAT WAS LIKE.
HOW DID YOU PASS A BUDGET IN JULY OF THIS YEAR WITHOUT THAT 3.85%, UH, BAKED INTO IT OR APPROVED? YEAH, SO, UH, THE BUDGET INCLUDED KIND OF A, YOU KNOW, A NET LOSS AT THE END OF THE DAY.
I MEAN, IT WAS, THERE WAS A GAP, YOU KNOW, AND IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE IT'S HAPPENED WHEN THE LAST TIME THAT'S HAPPENED, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE MANAGED OUR BUDGET, UH, YOU KNOW, BELOW WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE SET THE BUDGET BASED ON EXPECTED REVENUE AND THEN EVERY MONTH, JUST LIKE CITI DOES, WE'VE GOT OUR 12, YOU KNOW, 11 PLUS ONE AND, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, UNTIL TODAY AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING THERE, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF, OF TRYING TO BALANCE OUR BUDGET AS BEST WE CAN.
BUT THIS YEAR WE DID PASS A BUDGET WITH DEFICIT.
UM, WELL, MOVING ON TO OTHER THINGS THAT I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN SEEING ARE, I KNOW THAT, UM, C P S ENERGY IS LOCKED INTO USING NATURAL GAS IN A LOT OF WAYS USING NATURAL GAS TO PRODUCE ELECTRICITY.
HOW, HOW MANY NATURAL GAS, HOW MANY, UH, POWER PLANTS DO YOU HAVE NATURAL GAS FIRED POWER PLANTS? FRANK? YEAH.
AND SO SEVERAL OF THOSE ARE, ARE DUE TO BE RETIRED IN MAYBE THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? YES, SIR.
BUT YOU'RE STILL GONNA HAVE A MAJORITY OF THOSE, UH, OVER A DECADE OUT, UH, WE'LL HAVE SOME NATURAL GAS CER.
UH, CERTAINLY RIO IS THE, ONE OF THE MOST EFFICIENT GAS UNITS IN THE STATE.
SO, YOU KNOW, NATURAL GAS WILL CONTINUE TO BE PART OF OUR SUPPLY GOING FORWARD.
SO IT'S, IT'S PART OF YOUR PORTFOLIO FOR PRO FOR PRODUCING ELECTRICITY.
IT'S, IT'S ALSO, YOU ALSO DISTRIBUTE NATURAL GAS TO PEOPLE'S HOMES TO COOK WITH, TO HEAT, HEAT THEIR HOMES WITH.
AND SO KNOWING THAT YET WE'D LIKE TO MOVE OFF OF FOSSIL FUELS, WE'VE PASSED A CLIMATE PLAN.
UH, YOUR BOARD ACTUALLY, UH, VOTED UNANIMOUSLY
[02:35:01]
IN SUPPORT OF THE CITY'S GOALS, UH, FOR THE CLIMATE PLAN.AND SO KNOWING ALL THAT, UH, I'D LIKE TO SEE C P S ENERGY BE ABLE TO, UM, OFFER A PREMIUM FOR MORE RESPONSIBLY PRODUCED NATURAL GAS SO THAT WHEN YOU GO OUT AND YOU PURCHASE NATURAL GAS, SEND A PRICE SIGNAL OUT THERE TO THE MARKET TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT NA THERE ARE NATURAL GAS LEAKS.
AND THOSE NATURAL GAS LEAKS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, FOR A LARGE PORTION OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING IN THE SHORT TERM.
AND SO KNOWING THAT, THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO PURCHASE NATURAL GAS THAT CAN BE, UH, THIRD PARTY CERTIFIED, THAT IT'S, UM, THAT THEY'RE MEETING MORE RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTION STANDARDS, THAT THEY'RE FIXING THEIR, THEY'RE, THEY'RE MONITORING THEIR LEAKS IN REAL TIME AND FIXING THEM QUICKLY.
COUNCILMAN YOU AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS, YOU KNOW, UH, ONE-ON-ONE, YOU KNOW, I, I, ONE OF THE, AGAIN, I'M NOT SURE THERE ARE MANY POSITIVES COME OUT OF OUR, OUR NATURAL GAS, YOU KNOW, ISSUES FROM URI, BUT ONE OF THE ONES THAT IS, UH, A POSITIVE IS IT'S REALLY FORCED US TO THINK ABOUT WHO WE'RE DOING BUSINESS WITH ON THE NATURAL GAS SIDE.
SO I DO THINK THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO REALLY LOOK AT WHERE WE'RE GETTING OUR SUPPLY FROM TO IMPROVE OUR CAPABILITIES, YOU KNOW, TO FIND NEW PARTNERS, YOU KNOW, TO BUY GAS FROM.
AND CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ARE E S G ISSUES THAT, YOU KNOW, BO CORPORATE BOARDS ARE PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO.
SO I, I DO THINK THAT WE CAN WORK TO WORK TOGETHER ON THIS.
AND YOU KNOW, IT'S, SINCE YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO, UH, COME TO COUNCIL IN TO ASK FOR A RATE INCREASE IN THE LAST, UH, EIGHT YEARS, YOU HAVEN'T, I GUESS, HAD TO REALLY LOOK AT HOW, HOW DO YOU TIGHTEN YOUR BELT A LOT IN THE LAST EIGHT YEARS? AND SO THAT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING I WOULD LIKE TO ASK, ADD TO AN ASK COUNCIL.
WELL, BUT I'D ALSO TO ADD THAT TO MY MY NO.
OF, UH, AN OUTSIDE INDEPENDENT STUDY LOOKING AT, THAT'S ONE THING THAT THEY COULD LOOK AT AS WELL.
UM, ANYONE ELSE? OKAY, WELL, LET ME WRAP UP JUST KIND OF FRAMING WHERE WE, WHERE WE STARTED AND CLOSE THAT WAY, WHICH IS THAT THE, THE RATE REQUEST THAT WE'VE ASKED FOR THROUGH A PROCESS THAT IS COORDINATED WITH THE CITY IS WHAT ARE THE REVENUE REQUIREMENTS FOR C P S RIGHT NOW.
AND WE KNOW THAT IN THE FUTURE THERE ARE GONNA NEED TO BE RATE ADJUSTMENTS BASED ON EXACTLY WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY DESCRIBED AND WHERE THOSE CAPACITY, WHERE OUR CAPACITY THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE CROSSES WITH THE GROWTH THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CITY.
WE KNOW THAT THAT'S GOING TO BE A REQUIREMENT IN THE FUTURE.
THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE ACTIONS TAKEN FROM THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE GONNA BE DEPENDENT ON THE WORK THAT THE RACK IS DOING AND OUR POLICY DECISIONS WITH REGARD TO GENERATION PLANNING, RATE EQUITY, ET CETERA.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TODAY IS WHAT IT COSTS TO RUN THE UTILITY FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, WHICH IS OWNED BY US, THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO IF WE KEEP THAT IN MIND AND FOCUS ON AGAIN, THE NEEDS, UM, AND THE GROWTH LATER, UH, I THINK WE'LL GET TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
BUT, UH, AGAIN, UH, RUDY, THE TEAM, BEN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I THINK YOU HEARD ALL ACROSS THIS DIOCESE A COMMITMENT TO WORK WITH YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING IN, IN FRONT OF AS MANY FOLKS IN THIS COMMUNITY AS POSSIBLE, UM, SO THAT EVERYBODY'S GOT THE, THE INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED, UM, AND THAT FRANKLY, THAT THEY'RE JUSTIFIED AND, AND, UM, AND WANTING TO GET.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, I THINK THAT'S, UH, IT FOR OUR DISCUSSION TODAY.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU GUYS AGAIN NEXT WEEK.
UM, THERE WILL BE NO EXECUTIVE SESSION TODAY.
UH, EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEMS THAT WERE POSTED FOR TODAY WILL BE CARRIED OVER TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TOMORROW, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2ND, 2021, AND MAY BE CONSIDERED AT ANY TIME DURING TOMORROW'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
THE TIME IS NOW 4:47 PM AND TODAY'S MEETING IS NOW IN RECESS.