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APPRECIATE EVERYBODY BEING HERE TODAY.
UH, WE ARE WAITING FOR ONE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER, BUT WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND BEGIN.
AND, UH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND BEGIN WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
COULD YOU, UH, SEE WHO'S HERE? THANK YOU.
COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL CHAIR, COURAGE PRESENT CHAIR.
UH, FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS ON OUR AGENDA IS APPROVAL OF
[Approval of Minutes ]
THE MINUTES FROM NOVEMBER 30TH.AND DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS OR CHANGES TO THE MINUTES? I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR NOVEMBER 30TH CHAIR.
IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 30TH.
HEARING NONE, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.
WE HAVE SEVERAL ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA TODAY.
[Briefing and Possible Action on the following items ]
BRIEFINGS AND POSSIBLE ACTIONS ON SOME OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. FOR EXAMPLE, ITEM NUMBER TWO BE A BRIEFING ON THE IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO BY THE COMMITTEE OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.NOW, IF YOU RECALL, WHEN THAT, UH, COMMITTEE MET, IT LOOKED AT SAS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, C P S, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, AND THE CITIES, BECAUSE REALLY ALL THREE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER IN AN EMERGENCY SEARCH SITUATION.
SO, WE'LL BE HEARING FROM, UH, THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, MARIA VILLA GOMEZ, ABOUT THE, THE CITY'S ACTIONS ON THIS AREA.
UH, CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE AND MEMBERS OF OUR COMMITTEE.
I'M MARIA ES, THE PD CITY MANAGER.
AND BEFORE I START MY PRESENTATION, I WANNA TELL THE COMMITTEE THAT THIS HAS BEEN A COLLABORATION INTERNALLY WITH OUR CITY DEPARTMENTS.
THERE ARE SEVERAL REPRESENTATIVES HERE WITH ME TODAY.
UH, WE HAVE MEMBERS OF OUR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER, UH, WITH, WHICH IS WITHIN OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT.
WE ALSO HAVE OUR CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, CRAIG HOPKINS, AS WELL AS ONE OF OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS, JEFF COYLE, WHO HAS BEEN WORKING IN THIS, IN THIS WORK.
AND WHAT I'M GONNA PRESENT TO YOU WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE COLLABORATION OF OUR TWO UTILITIES, UH, C P S AND SAUCE, WHO HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLE IN WORKING IN TRYING TO IMPROVE OUR COMMUNICATION TO OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR INTERNAL COORDINATION.
SO, WITH THAT, LET ME JUST GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE, UH, PROVIDED TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO BY THE COMMUNITY ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
SO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO RECEIVED 24 RECOMMENDATIONS IN TOTAL.
WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN IS A BREAKDOWN OF THE CATEGORY OF THOSE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE STATUS.
SO FOUR CATEGORIES THAT THE CITY WAS ASKED TO FOCUS ON, THAT INCLUDED PLANNING, COMMUNICATIONS, COORDINATION WITH OUR UTILITIES, AND TRAINING EXERCISES.
IN TERMS OF THE STATUS OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, THERE ARE 16 THAT ARE COMPLETE AND EIGHT THAT ARE IN PROGRESS.
SO LET ME START WITH THE PLANNING RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO ONE OF THE FIRST RE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS FOR THE CITY TO UPDATE OUR HAZARD MITIGATION ACTION PLAN.
THIS PLAN THAT THE, UH, EMERGENCY OPERATION USES TO IDENTIFY THE RISKS WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AND HAVE MITIGATION ACTIONS THAT ARE TAKEN OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
UH, IT HAS BEEN ALREADY BROUGHT TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
SO THE LAST TIME THAT WE UPDATED IT WAS IN LATE 2020, EARLY 2021 BEFORE THE WINTER STORM URI.
SO WHAT THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED WAS FOR THE CITY TO GO BACK AND UPDATE THAT PLAN.
UH, AND WE HAVE RETAINED A CONSULTANT.
THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THAT CONTRACT IN DECEMBER OF 2021.
WE HAVE BEGUN THE PROCESS OF LOOKING AT THE PLAN AND UPDATING IT FOR A, UH, EVENT, SIMILAR TO STORM, UH, URI.
WE'LL ALSO, UH, BY RECOMMENDED BY THE COUNCIL, WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING SOME UPGRADES TO OUR COMMUNICATION WITH THE PUBLIC, UM, AS WELL AS REVIEWING ALL THE, THE WINTER HAZARDS AND REDOING THE RANKING FOR THOSE HAZARDS AS WELL.
SO, UH, THE WORK IS IN PROGRESS, AND WE ANTICIPATE THAT THIS WILL BE COMPLETED IN JUNE OF 2022.
WE ARE GONNA BRING THIS THROUGH OUR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE AND THEN TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL FOR, FOR APPROVAL.
NOW, THE NEXT, UH, RECOMMENDATION WAS FOR ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAD DURING THE STORM WAS THE RELIABILITY ON CELL PHONE SERVICE, ESPECIALLY AS
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WE COMMUNICATED INTERNALLY WITHIN THE CITY'S EXECUTIVE TEAM AND COMMUNICATION TO OUR, TO OUR COUNCIL.OUR, UM, CELL PHONE DEVICES WERE NOT AS RELIABLE BECAUSE OF THE CHALLENGES WITH THE STORM.
SO A COUPLE OF AREAS THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED IN THIS, UH, PARTICULAR RECOMMENDATION IS COMPLETE INTERNALLY FOR THE CITY AS AN ORGANIZATION.
WE HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE CAN USE.
UH, WE CAN CREATE A CHANNEL SPECIFICALLY FOR A DESIGN GROUP AND COMMUNICATE THAT WAY IN THE EVENT THAT THERE'S NO, UM, CELL PHONE SERVICE AVAILABLE, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND THAT'S THE WAY THAT HOW THE EXECUTIVE TEAM CAN MAINTAIN AND COMMUNICATION.
WE ALSO, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH, THEY ARE, UH, SATELLITE, UH, PHONES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO OUR POLICE AND, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, SO THAT WAY THEY CAN COMMUNICATE THE COMMAND STAFF BETWEEN THOSE, UH, PUBLIC UTIL THOSE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS CAN COMMUNICATE IN THE EVENT THAT, UM, UH, CELL PHONES ARE NOT RELIABLE, BUT ALSO THOSE SATELLITE PHONES COULD BE USED BY THE EXECUTIVE TEAM.
OUR RADIO SYSTEM WAS NOT IMPACTED DURING URI.
UM, SO THAT WAS ONE OF THOSE COMMUNICATIONS THAT WAS, UH, UH, CONTINUED TO WORK.
OUR 9 1 9 9 1 1 SYSTEM WAS NOT IMPACTED.
SO FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, OUR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS AND WITH THE PUBLIC FOR EMERGENCIES, UH, WAS NOT IMPACTED.
BUT THIS IS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE CITY.
THE NEXT TWO RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, TALK ABOUT HAVING OUR FACILITIES, UH, PREPARE FOR AN EVENT LIKE URI, UM, AND ALSO EVALUATE THE NEED TO PROCURE CERTAIN TOOLS SPECIFICALLY FOR, UH, KEY RESPONDERS, UH, FOR AN EVENT SIMILAR TO YURI.
SO WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN TERMS OF, UM, GENERATORS FOR KEY FACILITIES, WE DID AN ASSESSMENT OF OUR, ALL OF OUR FACILITIES, UH, WITHIN THE CITY.
UH, TODAY THE CITY HAS ROUGHLY ABOUT 180 EMERGENCY GENERATORS ACROSS ALL OF OUR CITY FACILITIES.
THE ASSESSMENT THAT WE, UH, COMPLETED WAS FOCUSED ON PUBLIC FACILITIES AND ANIMAL CARE SERVICES, UH, FACILITIES AS PRIORITY ONE, AS WELL AS AS THE AIRPORT.
SO WHAT WE, UH, LEARNED DURING THAT PROCESS, AND WE RETAIN OUR, OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, RETAIN A, UM, UH, A FIRM TO ALLOW US TO, TO, TO PERFORM THAT ASSESSMENT, IS THAT THE KEY AREAS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE AVAILABLE FOR SPECIFICALLY PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES, IS TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR, UH, PSAP, THAT WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE EMERGENCY LIGHTING, THAT OUR EMPLOYEES ARE ABLE, SPECIFICALLY ON OUR FIRE STATIONS, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE, UH, SOME OF THE BASIC KITCHEN APPLIANCES LIKE A REFRIGERATOR, THE STOVE, AND THE, UM, MICROWAVE AVAILABLE TO BE USED IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.
AND VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE ABLE TO OPEN THE BAY DOOR SO THE EQUIPMENT CAN, UM, UM, LEAVE THE BUILDING AND BE ABLE TO ADDRESS, UH, CALLS THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM THE PUBLIC.
SO BASED ON THIS ANALYSIS, UH, THE BUDGET INCLUDED $3 MILLION SPECIFICALLY FOR GENERATORS.
UH, WE GONNA BE BRINGING TO THE CITY COUNCIL AN ITEM FOR APPROVAL TO PURCHASE A TOTAL OF 18 GENERATORS FOR FIRE STATIONS.
UH, ONE GENERATOR FOR OUR SERVICES, UH, UM, FACILITY, UH, WITHIN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS A PURCHASE OF 10 MOBILE GENERATORS FOR WHAT WE CALL PRIORITY TWO FACILITIES.
PRIORITY TWO FACILITIES ARE LIBRARIES, COMMUNITY CENTERS, UH, AND SENIOR CENTERS, AS THOSE FACILITIES COULD BE UTILIZED AS A POTENTIAL WARMING CENTER IN CASE OF A, UM, UH, EVENT SIMILAR TO URI.
SO THAT PROCESS IS UNDERWAY, AND WE HOPE TO BRING THAT TO COUNCIL IN THE, IN, IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, FEBRUARY FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE CITY HAS A CONTRACT, UH, FOR THE RENTAL OF GENERATORS.
SO WE WERE TO HAVE AN EVENT, UH, THIS WINTER SEASON.
WE ARE PREPARED TO BE ABLE TO RENT THOSE, UH, GENERATORS TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE AT, UH, KEY FACILITIES IN TERMS OF EVALUATING THE NEED TO PROCURE, UH, TIRES, CHAINS, AND OTHER ACCESSORIES.
BOTH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAVE DONE THAT ASSESSMENT, AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF PROCURING THOSE.
WE ALSO EVALUATED OUR PUBLIC WORKS, UH, TRUCKS AS THEY HAVE TO, UH, GO INTO THE STREET AND PROVIDE THE ICING MATERIAL TO SOME OF OUR STREETS, AS WELL AS ANIMAL CARE SERVICES AS THEY CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SERVICES DURING, DURING AN EVENT.
SO THOSE, UH, PROCUREMENTS ARE UNDERWAY.
WE ANTICIPATE TO HAVE, UH, THIS COMPLETED BY SEPTEMBER, 2022 WITH AN ESTIMATED COST OF 3.3 MILLION,
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AND THIS IS INCLUDED IN THE 2022 BUDGET.UH, UH, THE NEXT, UH, SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, 5, 6, 7, AND EIGHT ARE COMBINED ON THIS SLIDE.
AND THIS PARTICULAR RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOCUS ON APPROPRIATE INVENTORY OF FOOD AND WATER AND KEY FACILITIES FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE TO CONTINUE TO RESPONSE.
ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES ALSO, A PLAN FOR EMERGENCY HOUSING AND LODGING FOR THOSE ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES.
A CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR CATASTROPHIC, UH, INCIDENTS WITH A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE NOT ABLE TO, UM, WORK REMOTELY DUE TO POWER OUTAGES.
AND FINALLY, ESTABLISHING A HEADLINE FOR FAMILIES OF THOSE ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES WHO ARE WORKING.
AND THOSE, UM, FAMILIES MAY BE IN NEED OF SOME ASSISTANCE.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE CITY HAS FOR MANY YEARS IS WHAT WE CALL OUR CONTINUITY OF OPERATION PLANS.
THE LAST TIME THAT WE UPDATED THEM WAS FOR, UM, OUR RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC.
SO WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF UPDATING THOSE, UH, AGAIN, TO BE ABLE TO REFLECT THOSE FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS, AND WE ANTICIPATE TO HAVE THAT COMPLETED ON MARCH, UH, 2020 SECOND.
ONCE WE DETERMINE WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE, THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE AN ESTIMATED COST OF BUYING THE FOOD AND AS WELL AS HAVING A PLAN FOR, UM, UH, SPECIFIC HOUSING AND LODGING ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THOSE ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES.
UH, THE NEXT, UH, UM, RECOMMENDATION UNDER PLANNING IS TO REVIEW THE USE OF A, UH, OF OUR WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT OR WEA.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION IS THAT, FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS A SERVICE THAT IS, UM, PROVIDED THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THROUGH FEMA AND, UH, AND IT'S REALLY, UH, UTILIZED TO COVER CRITICAL EMERGENCY SITUATIONS, SITUATIONS THAT MAY INVOLVE IMMINENT THREAT TO, TO, UH, SAFETY OR LIFE.
SO, UM, WHAT WE HAVE USED AS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE USED THAT A FEW TIMES FOR C OVID 19 TO LET INDIVIDUALS KNOW, UM, THAT, UH, WE HAD A SEARCH OF CASES, UH, IN 2020.
UH, WE ALSO USED IT DURING, UM, YURI, WE USED IT ONCE TO NOTIFY, UM, OUR COMMUNITY OF WHAT WAS GOING ON.
SO OUR RECOMMENDATION IS CONTINUED TO, TO BE DILIGENT AND THE USE OF, OF THAT, UH, TYPE OF SYSTEM.
AND THAT IS REALLY USED IN THOSE CASES WHERE, AGAIN, THERE'S AN IMMINENT THREAT TO, UH, SAFETY OR LIFE.
THERE ARE OTHER CAPABILITIES THAT ARE, UM, AVAILABLE WHEN THERE'S A POWER OUTAGE, SUCH AS A NATIONAL WEATHER RADIO, UH, EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS OR E N S THAT FOCUSES ON PROVIDING INFORMATION TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE A PHONE LINE.
WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE TRANSITIONED TO CELL PHONE SERVICE, BUT THEY'RE STILL INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE LANDLINES.
UM, ALSO THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM, WHICH IS A, A FEDERAL, UM, ALERT SYSTEM THAT, FOR INSTANCE, WHEN YOU SEE THOSE, IF YOU'RE WATCHING TV AND YOU SEE THE ANNOUNCEMENT AND IT COMES AS A FOODER WITH A STRONG NOISE, UH, THAT TYPE OF ALERT THAT IS AVAILABLE BOTH ON TV AND RADIO.
ALSO WITH, UH, WORKING WITH TEXT DYNAMIC MESSAGE SIGNS, UH, COULD BE USED.
OF COURSE, WE ALSO HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA AND PRINT MEDIA.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S OUR, OUR RECOMMENDATION FOR ADDRESSING, UM, THAT RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMITTEE.
NOW, THE NEXT SECTION, AFTER PLANNING A TRAINING EXERCISES AND TABLETOPS, AND THIS, UH, PARTICULAR CATEGORY HAD A TOTAL OF THREE RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE FIRST ONE WAS TO DEVELOP SPECIFIC TRAINING THAT WOULD INCLUDE, UH, A LONG-TERM POWER AND WATER LOSS DUE TO UNFORESEEN EVENT AND SCENARIOS.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID IN SEPTEMBER OF 2021, THE CITY, UH, C P S AND SAUCE, WE CONDUCTED A TABLETOP, UH, EXERCISE WITH KEY LEADERSHIP OF EACH OF THE THREE ENTITIES.
WE ALSO HAD BURKE COUNTY, J B S A AND STRAC, UH, WHO WERE ALSO PRESENT.
AND REALLY THE GOAL OF THIS PARTICULAR EXERCISE WAS TO WORK WITH THE UTILITIES, UM, IN, UH, SCENARIOS THAT INCLUDED A WINTER EVENTS SIMILAR TO URI EXTREME, UH, HEAT EXERCISE THAT, UH, WOULDN'T BE UNCOMMON FOR SAN ANTONIO, AND THEN ALSO A CYBER ATTACK.
AND, UM, ONE OF THE KEY LESSONS THAT WE LEARNED IS A DEPENDENCY OF THE THREE ENTITIES AND THE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO COMMUNICATE TOGETHER.
UM, THE EXERCISE WAS FOR A LITTLE BIT OVER HALF A DAY, AND WE, UH, WENT THROUGH EACH OF THESE EXERCISES, AS I MENTIONED, AND WE REPORTED OUT TO THE TEAM ON, ON WHAT WE FOUND THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE IDENTIFIED.
UM, AND ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO US IS HOW WE WOULD COMMUNICATE THAT TO THE PUBLIC.
SO WE DID A COUPLE OF, UH, EXERCISES ON PRESS CONFERENCES AND
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HOW WE WOULD COORDINATE THAT MESSAGE TO OUR COMMUNITY.UH, THE THE NEXT TWO RECOMMENDATIONS ARE IN PROGRESS, AND THAT IS TO ENHANCE CITYWIDE CROSS DETRIMENTAL, UH, UH, UH, TRAINING FOR THE CITY, UH, AND ALSO HAVE AN ANNUAL TABLETOP EXERCISE THAT WOULD INCLUDE ELECTED OFFICIALS, UH, EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP FROM THE CITY, COUNTY AND UTILITIES.
SO WE ARE THE, THE, UH, OFFICE OF EMER EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
AS A MATTER OF PRACTICE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, THEY CONDUCT TABLETOP EXERCISES WITH OUR UTILITIES AND OTHER PARTNERS, AS WELL AS A MONTHLY MEETING, UH, THAT INCLUDES, UH, NOT ONLY OUR UTILITIES AND THE COUNTY, BUT ALSO REGION 20, UH, H E B J B S ARAC.
AND THIS MONTHLY MEETING IS REALLY TO STAY ON TOP OF, UH, WHATEVER IS HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND ALSO TO SERVE AS A SINGLE SOURCE OF CRITICAL, UM, INFORMATION BEFORE, DURING, AND, AND AFTER A DISASTER.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE HAD THE WIN THE WINTER EVENT LAST WEEK, UH, THAT'S ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE DID THAT, THAT CALL WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS.
SO THERE WAS SITUATIONAL AWARENESS OF WHAT THE CITY KNEW ABOUT THE WEATHER, AND ALSO THAT WE KNEW WHAT THEY WERE PLANNING ON DOING.
SO THOSE, THOSE HAPPEN AT, UM, UH, AS I MENTIONED, ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
SO BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE, WE ARE, UM, FINALIZING A SCHEDULE OF TOP, UH, TABLETOP EXERCISES FOR 2022.
UH, WE ANTICIPATE THAT THAT'S GONNA BE COMPLETED IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, UH, FOR US TO BEGIN THAT WORK.
UH, WE WILL, UM, SPEND ABOUT A HUNDRED TO $200,000, UH, TO DO, TO DO THAT.
AND THE CITY HAS, UH, CATASTROPHIC PLANNING GRANTS AVAILABLE.
SO WE HAVE THE FUNDING TO DO SO.
AND THIS IS JUST AN ESTIMATE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF EXERCISES THAT WE ARE PLANNING, AS WELL AS THE FACILITATORS THAT FACILITATORS THAT WE WILL RETAIN TO ASSIST US WITH, WITH THIS, UM, EXERCISES.
NOW THE NEXT SECTION IS COORDINATION WITH UTILITIES.
AND THERE'S A TOTAL OF FOUR, UH, RECOMMENDATION AND, AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS AREA.
I'M LISTING THREE ON THE SCREEN.
AND, UH, AND THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS WERE TO ADJUST A RELATIONSHIP WITH C P S AND SAUCE, UH, THAT PROVIDES, UH, DURING CERTAIN CONTINGENCIES AUTHORITY TO EXERCISE EFFECTIVE COMMAND AND CONTROL.
ADDITIONALLY, THAT C P S ENERGY'S, UH, LOW SHADING DECISION SHOULD BE MADE IN CONCERT WITH THE CITY, UH, AS WELL AS ANY SAUCE, WATER SUR, UH, SHORTAGE, UH, MITIGATION DECISION SHOULD BE MADE AND, AND COUNSEL WITH THE CITY, AND TO HAVE A STAFF, UH, PERSON AT THE E O C DURING WATER RELATED EMERGENCIES.
WE'VE HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS, UM, WITH THE UTILITIES AND OUR TEAMS HAVE, HAVE, HAVE ALSO HAD THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND I THINK THAT THE BEST EXAMPLE I CAN GIVE YOU IS WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK.
UH, WE CONTACTED OUR DIFFERENT, UM, PEERS WITHIN THE UTILITIES TO BE ABLE TO COORDINATE A RESPONSE AND TO HAVE A UNIFIED, UM, MESSAGE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE HAPPENING SPECIFICALLY WITH, UH, C P S, UH, LOAD SHEDDING DECISIONS.
I PERSONALLY AND MY TEAM HAVE SPENT TIME WITH RUDY AND HIS TEAM UNDERSTANDING THE IMPROVEMENTS THEY HAVE MADE TO THE ELECTRICAL GRID AND HOW THEY ARE, UM, SCHEDULING THOSE, UH, PARTICULAR, UM, ROLLOUTS THAT THEY NEED TO DO.
SO IF IN THE EVENT THAT THEY HAVE TO DO THAT, THE CITY HAS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THAT WORKS AND HOW, MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW IT WOULD IMPACT OUR FACILITIES AND THE SERVICES THAT WE, THAT WE PROVIDE.
UM, AND FINALLY, WITH, WITH SAUCE, UM, THEY HAVE INDICATED THAT THEY WILL MOVE THEIR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS TO THE E O C IN THE CASE OF AN EMERGENCY, UH, BUT THEY ALSO WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE DECISIONS AT SAUCE.
UM, THE SAUCE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER WILL BE THE INCIDENT COMMANDER FOR SAUCE AND WORK WITH, UM, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO INCIDENT COMMANDER TO COORDINATE, UH, DECISION MAKING.
AND, UH, C P S HAS MADE THE SAME COMMITMENT.
AND AS I SAID, AS AN EXAMPLE, THE WORK WE DID LAST WEEK, IT WORKED IN TERMS OF OUR COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION, AND COORDINATION.
NOW, THE NEXT, UM, AREA THAT I'M, I'M GONNA MOVE TO IS, UM, COMMUNICATION.
AND I DIVIDED THIS PARTICULAR, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS AND COMMUNICATION TO THE PUBLIC.
SO THERE WERE THREE RECOMMENDATIONS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE A JOINT INFORMATION CENTER TO ENSURE CONSISTENCY IN MESSAGING THAT WE ENSURE C P S AND SAUCE COMMUNICATIONS ARE COORDINATED, UH, THROUGH THE JIC OR THIS, UH, JOINT INFORMATION CENTER.
AND ALSO THAT WE HAVE DAILY MEDIA BRIEFINGS, UH, BETWEEN THE, THE CITY, THE
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COUNTY C P S AND SAUCE.UM, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, JEFF COYLE LED THAT EFFORT IN TERMS OF, UH, MEETING WITH THE, THE DIFFERENT, UH, ENTITIES TO HAVE THAT COORDINATED AND WHAT WE HAD TO IMPLEMENT THAT LAST WEEK.
UH, IT, IT WORKED VERY WELL, VERY SMOOTHLY IN TERMS OF OUR KEY MESSAGES TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE HAD ONE, UH, PRESS RELEASE WITH THE KEY MESSAGES FROM ALL THE ENTITIES, UM, AS WELL AS WE DID A, UM, VIRTUAL, UH, UH, CONFERENCE, UH, OR INTERVIEW WITH THE MEDIA TO LET 'EM KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON AND WHAT WE WERE PLANNING ON DOING.
THE NEXT, UM, RECOMMENDATION ON COMMUNICATION IS TO, UH, IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DURING AN EMERGENCY WHEN OUR RESIDENTS NEED ASSISTANCE FROM THE CITY C P S OR SAUCE.
SO FROM A CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE, IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER IF IT'S SAUCE HAS A NUMBER, AND C P S A DIFFERENT NUMBER IN THE CITY.
SO A LOT OF OUR WORK HAS BEEN DONE, UH, BEHIND THE SCENES.
UM, THE CITY HAS IMPLEMENTED A PROTOCOL THAT WHEN THERE IS AN EMERGENCY, WE'LL EXTEND THE HOURS OF 3 1 1, SO THEY'RE AVAILABLE THROUGH MIDNIGHT OR LATER IF NECESSARY.
SO WE HAVE, UH, THAT COVERAGE.
AND IF A RESIDENT, UH, CALLS 3 1 1 SEEKING ASSISTANCE FROM SAUCER C P S, WE HAVE THE CAP CAPABILITY TO TRANSFER THAT TO THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE.
BOTH, UH, UTILITIES HAVE, UM, 24 7 OPERATIONS FOR EMERGENCIES.
SO THAT'LL BE A SEAMLESS, UH, EXPERIENCE FOR THE CUSTOMER THAT IF THEY CODE 3 1 1, THEY CAN BE ROUTED TO, UM, UH, THOSE, THOSE TWO, UM, PLACES, UH, C P S OR SA DEPENDING ON, ON THEIR EMERGENCY.
AND LIKEWISE, IF THE UTILITIES GET A CALL THAT IS RELATED TO THE CITY, THEY CAN TRANSFER THAT TO OUR 3 1 1 SYSTEM.
THE THE NEXT TWO, UM, ITEMS, UH, AND UH, COMMUNICATION IS COMMUNICATION TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
AND THIS IS FROM THE, THE CITY, UH, STAFF, UH, TO YOU ALL.
AND, UH, WE ESTABLISH A PROTOCOL AND THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE WHERE WE TAKE THE, THE SITUATION OR REPORT THE SIT REP THAT WE GET FROM THE E O C.
AND INSTEAD OF SENDING YOU THIS VERY LENGTHY EMAIL WITH A LOT OF, UM, INFORMATION, UH, WE DO A SUMMARY AND GIVE YOU THE KEY POINTS, UM, THAT YOU CAN QUICKLY, UH, REVIEW.
AND ALSO, IF YOU GET A PHONE CALL FROM YOUR CONSTITUENT, YOU CAN RELAY THAT INFORMATION.
SO INFORMATION THAT IS USEFUL FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, EACH OF THE, UM, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS AND MYSELF, WE ARE LIAISONS TO OUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
SO ONCE WE SEND THAT NOTIFICATION, WE WILL, UM, MAKE CONTACT WITH YOU AND ENSURE, AND ENSURE THAT, THAT YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO READ THAT EMAIL.
AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT WERE THERE, UH, RIGHT THERE AND THERE, UH, BEFORE WE PROVIDE THAT SAME INFORMATION TO THE MEDIA.
SO WE GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO ASK US, ASK QUESTIONS.
THAT INFORMATION IS THEN, UM, PUT INTO A PRESS RELEASE, AND THAT SAME INFORMATION IS COMMUNICATED TO THE PUBLIC.
SO THAT IS ALSO, UH, COMPLETED NOW ALSO IN COMMUNICATION, AND THIS GOES BACK TO, TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, DURING PLANNING AND COORDINATION WITH THE IMPACT OF THE C P SS, UH, ROTATING OUTAGES THAT SHOULD BE CLEARLY COMMUNICATED AND COORDINATED WITH COAST, UH, CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND SA TO DETERMINE OPERATIONAL IMPACTS.
AND AS I MENTIONED, UM, UM, MY TEAM AND MYSELF INCLUDED, WE HAVE INCLUDED, WE HAVE MET WITH RUDY AND HIS TEAM TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING HOW THIS WORKS AND THE IMPACT TO OUR FACILITIES.
UM, SO WE, UH, DEFINITELY ARE BETTER PREPARED, UH, TODAY THAN WHAT WE WERE, UH, A YEAR AGO WHEN WE HAD YURI.
AND THEN THE LAST, UH, RECOMMENDATION IS IDENTIFY A SITUATIONAL AWARENESS PLATFORM THAT CAN DISPLAY EVOLVING INFORMATION TO, UM, UH, TO THE TEAMS WITHIN CITY LEADERSHIP.
SO THE E O C UH, ALREADY USES, UM, AN AWARENESS PLATFORM, UH, IN COORDINATION WITH STRAC THAT ALLOWS US TO IDENTIFY WHAT IS GOING ON ACROSS THE CITY ORGANIZATION AND ACROSS THOSE PARTNERS THAT ARE INCORPORATED INTO THAT, UH, PARTICULAR PLATFORM.
UM, SO, SO THAT ALLOWS TO SEE, FOR INSTANCE, REALTIME MONITORING ON ACTIVE CALLS FOR SERVICE.
UH, TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, UM, AS WELL AS ANY, UH, WEATHER, UM, EVENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING THAT THE E O C USES THIS TODAY, AND THAT'S HOW THEY MAINTAIN A PULSE, IF YOU WILL, ON WHAT'S GOING ON ACROSS THE CITY.
THAT'S INFORMATION THAT THEY USE TO DEVELOP THAT SATIONAL REPORT THAT THEN WE USE TO GIVE YOU, UM, THE, THE INFORMATION
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ON, ON THAT EMAIL AND ANY FOLLOW UP, UM, INFORMATION THAT, THAT, THAT MAY BE NECESSARY TO MANAGE THE EMERGENCY.SO, UM, CHAIRMAN, THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I THINK THAT'S VERY USEFUL SINCE WE HADN'T HEARD, UH, PREVIOUSLY.
UH, I HAVE TWO ASKS RELATED TO THE REPORT.
ONE IS, DO WE HAVE, UH, A CITYWIDE AUDIBLE EMERGENCY ALARM SYSTEM SIMILAR TO LIKE TORNADO ALERTS IN SOME STATES? YOU KNOW, WHERE THE BIG HORN GOES OFF THAT EVERYBODY CAN HEAR.
I'M LOOKING AT THE E O C AND THEY TELL ME, NO, WE, WE DO NOT
I SEE ERIC SAYS, NO
YEAH, SO WE HAVE THE, UH, WIRELESS EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE PHONE, BUT NOT SOMETHING LIKE WHAT YOU DISCUSSED.
WELL, I THINK WE ALL RECOGNIZE THAT IF WE HEARD SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE'D THINK THERE'S AN EMERGENCY GOING ON.
UH, WE'VE ALL GROWN UP HEARING ABOUT IT, WATCHING IT ON MOVIES, SEEING IT ON NEWS REPORTS.
SO I'M WONDERING IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE OUGHT TO CONSIDER ADDING TO OUR TOOLS, OUR, OUR, OUR TOOL BELT.
BECAUSE IF I HEARD THAT, I'D IMMEDIATELY LOOK TO THE NEWS MEDIA OR MY PHONE OR SOMETHING TO FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO JUST A, A POINT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERATION.
UH, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS, OR I GUESS IT'S A COMMENT YOU TALKED ABOUT THE NOTIFICATION TO COUNCIL MEMBERS ON WHAT'S GOING ON.
I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK IT SHOULD GO TO OUR STAFF ALSO.
AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF MY STAFF MEMBERS HAVE A LOT OF CONTACT WITH PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND IF THEY WANT SOMETHING, THEY END UP CALLING THAT STAFF MEMBER.
AND IF THEY DON'T KNOW, THEN THE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW.
OTHER THAN THAT, I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO ADD.
I WILL ASK ALL OF OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS IF YOU COULD TRY AND, AND LIMIT YOUR DISCUSSION TO FIVE MINUTES, AND THEN IF YOU NEED MORE TIME, BE GLAD TO GIVE YOU A, A SECOND TIME AROUND.
BUT THAT WAY WE'VE GOT SEVERAL OTHERS TO HEAR.
AND I'LL RECOGNIZE COUNCILWOMAN ROHER GARCIA, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU MARIA, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I'M, UM, REALLY HAPPY ABOUT SOME OF THE CHANGES, AND I DO WANNA THANK YOU BECAUSE YESTER OR LAST WEEK DURING THE, UM, POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER, UH, YOU REACHED OUT AND I KNOW JOHN PATEK REACHED OUT TO MAKE SURE THAT I HAD SINCE SEEN THE EMAIL WITHIN FIVE MINUTES.
UM, I DO HAVE TO SAY THAT I LIKE GETTING THE SITUATION REPORTS.
I KNOW YOU SAID THAT YOU'LL PUT DOWN LIKE A SUMMARY VERSION.
I, I LOOK THROUGH EVERY SIT REPORT.
SO, UM, I, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU STILL WANNA SEND THEM OUT, BUT I, I, I LOVE THOSE.
UM, AND THEN ALSO KIND OF, UH, TO COUNCILMAN COURAGES POINT THE INFORMATION OR I, I ALWAYS HEAR LACKLAND WHEN THERE IS, UH, AN EMERGENCY, I LIVE CLOSELY ENOUGH TO ACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE THAT I HEAR THEIR SIREN SIRENS GO OFF, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, I HADN'T THOUGHT OF IT UNTIL RIGHT NOW.
THE COUNCILMAN COURAGE MENTIONED IT, BUT I THINK THAT THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING RIGHT TO CONSIDER.
SO THANK YOU COUNCILMAN FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT WOULD BE OUT OF, WOULD IT BE OUT OF THE POLICE STATIONS OR THE FIRE STATIONS OR, OR WHAT, RIGHT.
UM, BUT ANYWAY, BUT I, I WOULD LIKE TO AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUE, UM, ON THE RENTAL OF GENERATION, UH, GENERATORS.
HOW MANY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN PARTICULAR? CAN YOU REMIND ME? AND THEN, UM, ALSO, WHEN IS THE R F P DEADLINE OR THAT YOU ALL ARE PUTTING OUT? SO FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF THE GENERATORS, WHAT WE ARE PLANNING ON DOING, COUNCILMAN IS DOING A, UM, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY PURCHASE WHERE WE, UM, DON'T DO A, A A, A FULL R F P, BUT WE HAVE VENDORS THAT WE CONTACT AND THEN BRING THAT TO COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION TO SAVE US SOME TIME.
WE HAVE THAT ABILITY TO DO THAT.
UH, IN TERMS OF THE RENTAL OF THE GENERATORS, WE'RE LOOKING UP TO, UH, PROBABLY FOUR.
SO, UM, AS YOU ME, AS YOU MAY RECALL, DURING LAST WEEK'S EVENT, WE HAD IDENTIFIED, UH, FOUR WARMING CENTERS.
SO IF THERE WAS ANOTHER WINTER EVENT, THEN WE HAVE THOSE IDENTIFIED AND THEN THOSE GENERATORS AVAILABLE IN CASE THERE WAS A POWER OUTAGE THAT IMPACTED THOSE LOCATIONS.
HOWEVER, WE COORDINATED WITH, UH, C P S BEFORE WE SELECTED THEM.
AND, UH, WE, THOSE LOCATIONS SHOULD BE, SHOULD BE OKAY.
MARIA, CAN YOU REMIND ME, YOU MIGHT HAVE EXPLAINED IT, MAYBE I MISSED IT.
YOU HAVE ON POWERPOINT SELECT VEHICLES FOR PROCUREMENT, IS THAT YOU ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT LIKE AN ACTUAL VEHICLE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A MECHANISM? CORRECT.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PUTTING CHAINS ON THE TIRES OF, UH, FIRE TRUCKS.
E M S TRUCKS, POLICE VEHICLES, SOME OF OUR PUBLIC WORK TRUCKS AND ANIMAL CARE SERVICES VEHICLES THAT, UM, GO OUT TO THE STREET IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.
AND I THINK I HAD ASKED YOU ABOUT CHAINS, SO THAT MAKES ME HAPPY.
[00:30:01]
THE 3 1 1, THANK YOU FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE HOUR OF THE HOURS OF OPERATION DURING, UM, EMERGENCIES.I THINK THAT 3 1 1 IS AN EASY NUMBER TO REMEMBER.
SO HOWEVER IT IS THAT G P A CAN PUSH THAT OUT, I KNOW THAT A LOT OF FOLKS WOULD BENEFIT FROM THAT MESSAGING.
SO THANK YOU TO C P SS AND SAUCE FOR ALLOWING US TO WORK CLOSER ON THAT.
I THINK THAT WE COULD ALSO TRACK THE NUMBER OF CALLS THAT ARE COMING IN, RIGHT, BASED ON THAT.
AND SO THEN THAT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHO'S, WHO'S USING 3 1 1 WHO MIGHT NEED TO COMMUNICATE.
WE MIGHT NEED TO COMMUNICATE WITH A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
UM, I APPRECIATE THE SOCIAL MEDIA, I APPRECIATE THE MEDIA PUSH IN PARTICULAR, THERE'S A LOT OF RESIDENTS THAT I REPRESENT THAT WATCH THE SPANISH, UH, CHANNELS, AND THAT'S THE ONLY WAY THAT THEY GET THEIR INFORMATION.
SO JUST THAT CONTINUED, UM, PRESENCE WILL BE IMPORTANT.
UH, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, THANK YOU, MARIA.
I JUST, UH, REALLY APPRECIATE THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE IMPLEMENTATION.
THANK YOU, MARIA, FOR YOUR VERY THOROUGH PRESENTATION.
UH, THE GRANTS THAT YOU SAID WE HAVE AVAILABLE, COULD YOU REMIND ME HOW MUCH THEY'LL COVER FROM THE BUDGET? SURE.
SO WE ACTUALLY, BRINGING THAT TO YOUR CONSIDERATION, AND I'M LOOKING AT THE TEAM I THINK IN A COUPLE OF THURSDAYS, BUT IT'S, UM, ABOUT $900,000 THAT THE COUNCIL WILL BE, UH, CONSIDERING FOR US TO HAVE WHAT I WOULD CALL ON-CALL, UM, PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONAL CONTRACTORS TO ALLOW US TO HELP US WITH THE PLANNING AND THE TRAINING EXERCISES.
SO THAT IS A DOLLAR AMOUNT, UH, FOR CONSIDERATION.
THOSE, THOSE, UH, GRANTS ARE FEDERAL GRANTS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN AWARDED.
AND THEN THE, UM, I THINK YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT 10 WARMING STATIONS OR, SO ONE, I GUESS THE IDEA IS ONE IN EACH DISTRICT, OR WHAT'S THE DISTRIBUTION PLAN FOR THAT? SURE.
SO WHAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS WAS TO IDENTIFY RESILIENCY HUBS THAT COULD EVENTUALLY, UM, WORK AS A WARMING CENTER.
AND WE HAD INTRODUCED A CONCEPT OF FOUR.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WILL BEGIN IN MARCH, UM, IS TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC TO DETERMINE THE BEST LOCATIONS OF THOSE, UM, UM, FOUR WARMING CENTERS.
UM, WHAT WE IDENTIFIED IN THE MEANTIME ARE FOUR LOCATIONS.
UM, THEY'RE NOT IN EVERY SINGLE COUNCIL DISTRICT.
WE, WE HAVE THEM, UM, GEOGRAPHICALLY LOCATED, UM, AS TO WHERE IT WILL BE EASY ACCESS FOR THE COMMUNITY TO GO TO.
WE ALSO PARTNER WITH VIA TO PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION.
I GUESS THE SHORT ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS WE'RE NOT PLANNING ONE IN EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT.
WAS THAT THE 10 GENERATORS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO? YES.
SO THE 10 GENERATORS IS ALSO TO HELP US WITH, UM, OTHER CITY FACILITIES THAT MAY BE EXPERIENCE OUTAGES LIKE OUR LIBRARY, SENIOR CENTERS, UH, AND, UH, COMMUNITY CENTERS AND PARKS FACILITIES.
UH, BUT IF THERE'S A BROAD OUTAGE, THE 10 MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO COVER ALL THE BUILDINGS THAT ARE EXPERIENCING AN OUTAGE.
RIGHT? SO IF, IF THERE WAS TO BE, UM, AN EVENT LIKE YURI, HYPOTHETICALLY, AND I KNOW WE SAW, I MEAN, C P S HAS MADE A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS, SO AS TO WHERE THAT WOULDN'T BE THE SAME CASE, UH, WE FELT THAT WITH THIS 10 GENERATORS, IF WE NEEDED TO EXPAND THE NUMBER OF WARMING CENTERS, THEN THAT'LL GIVE US THE CAPACITY TO, TO DO SO.
UM, SO I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS AND I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE RELATED.
SO ONE THING THAT I DON'T THINK WAS IN YOUR LIST, BUT WE DEFINITELY PUT IN THE BUDGET WAS THE RESILIENCY STUDY.
UM, SO I, I WANTED TO GET AN UPDATE ON THAT.
AND THEN MY, MY OTHER QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH THE PREPARATION FOR THE TABLETOP EXERCISES.
I'M WONDERING HOW OR WHO WILL COME UP WITH THE SCENARIOS FOR THAT? UH, BECAUSE I THINK THE RESILIENCY STUDY, IF, IF IT'S WHAT I THINK IT IS, WOULD IDENTIFY VULNERABILITIES IN OUR, IN THE CONNECTIVITY OF OUR SYSTEMS AND HOW THEY'RE RELATED, AND THAT, THAT COULD BE USEFUL IN DESIGNING TABLETOP EXERCISES.
SO, UM, I GUESS COULD YOU TELL ME HOW THOSE EXERCISES WILL BE DESIGNED AND THEN THE STATUS OF THE RESILIENCY STUDY? THANK YOU.
SO IN TERMS OF THE RESILIENCY PLANNING, WE, WE WILL BE BRINGING THAT TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.
UM, BUT I'LL BRIEFLY MENTION, UH, THE PLAN IS TO START THAT PROCESS, UH, IN PROBABLY MARCH.
UM, EACH CITY THAT HAS DONE A RESILIENCY PLAN LOOKS DIFFERENT.
UH, WE ANTICIPATE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THE COUNCIL TO SET THOSE PRIORITY AREAS WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE US TO FOCUS ON.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, SOME CITIES HAVE INCLUDED EDUCATION AS AN AREA FOR RESILIENCY, POVERTY, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, FOR INSTANCE.
SO WE WILL HAVE THAT CONVERSATION, UH, FOR YOU TO SET THAT POLICY BEFORE WE BEGIN THE WORK AND RETAIN A, UM, CONSULTANT TO HELP US WITH THAT PROCESS.
[00:35:01]
SO THE, UM, THE, UM, AND I'M SORRY, I FORGOT YOUR SECOND QUESTION.IT'S THE, THE DESIGN OF THE TABLETOP EXERCISE.
THE TABLETOP EXERCISE THAT IS SEPARATE FROM THE RESILIENCY PLAN.
UH, TO YOUR POINT, THERE COULD BE GAPS THAT WE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THAT PROCESS THAT WE CAN DO A TABLETOP EXERCISE.
UM, WHAT WE DID FOR THE TABLETOP WITH, UM, C P S AND SAUCE IS THAT WE RETAIN TEXAS A AND M TICKS THEIR, THEIR ARM THAT FOCUSES ON, ON EMERGENCY PLANNING, AND THEY'RE THE ONES THAT HELP US DEVELOP THOSE SCENARIOS.
SO WE ANTICIPATE HAVING PROFESSIONAL, UH, HELP US TO, TO PUT THOSE TOGETHER.
I CAN'T HELP BUT SAY, ARE THEY LIKE PROFESSIONAL CATASTROPHE DESIGNERS? BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO, THEY ARE, I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE FOCUSED ON.
I'M MOSTLY INTERESTED THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT DO EXACTLY THAT, THAT DESIGN FOR EMERGENCY DISASTERS.
IT SEEMS LIKE AN INTERESTING JOB.
UM, BUT, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IN OUR EMERGENCY PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS, ARE WE INCLUDING NON-PROFITS LIKE THE FOOD BANK AND OTHERS EVEN, UM, TXDOT AND VIA, UH, WHEN FOR EMERGENCY COMMITTEE? YES.
SO WHEN WE HAVE THOSE MONTHLY MEETINGS THAT I DESCRIBED, THEY ARE INCLUDED.
UH, THERE'S PROBABLY, WHEN I SEE THE EMAILS, THERE'S LIKE 400 NAMES REPRESENTING MANY ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE CITY.
SO I WOULD SAY ROUGHLY OVER A HUNDRED FOR SURE, DIFFERENT ENTITIES THAT PARTICIPATE ON THOSE, UH, MONTHLY CALLS.
H E B, UM, THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UH, TO NAME A FEW OUR UTILITIES VIA, I'M CURIOUS, DO YOU MIND PROVIDING US WITH THE OF COURSE.
UM, AND YOU TALKED ABOUT A DEDICATED CALL GROUPS.
CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT HOW THOSE GROUPS ARE IDENTIFIED? I'M SORRY, COUNCIL, MY DEDICATED, DEDICATED CALL GROUPS? I THINK IT WAS SLIDE FOUR.
I'M, I'M THINKING ON, UM, YES.
SO WE CAN HAVE, FOR INSTANCE, OUR RADIO SYSTEM TO HAVE A, A, A COMMUNICATION GROUP JUST WITH THE E L T.
SO ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE HAD DURING STORM URI IS FOR SOME OF US, OUR CELL PHONES WERE NOT WORKING, OR THAT WAS A DELAY ON GETTING A TEXT MESSAGE, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO OUR RADIO SYSTEM, UM, WORKED VERY, UH, VERY WELL AND WILL PERFORM VERY WELL IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT.
SO WE COULD USE THE TWO-WAY RADIO TO, TO COMMUNICATE WITHIN THAT GROUP, AND WE CAN CREATE A CHANNEL THAT IS SPECIFIC FOR THAT TEAM.
SO WE'RE NOT INTERFERING WITH POLICE OR FIRE OR A C S OR PARKS.
I THOUGHT THEY WERE LIKE EXTERNAL, OUTGOING, THE COMMUNITY CALL GROUPS.
UM, AND ARE THE GENERATORS, ARE THEY, IS IT POSSIBLE FOR EACH GENERATOR THAT WE PUT THAT TO PUT OUT TO SOMEHOW ATTACH SOME KIND OF REFRIGERATION UNIT? I'M THINKING ABOUT FOR THOSE THAT HAVE, UM, REFRIGERATED MEDICATION, WE GOT A LOT OF CALLS DURING THIS STORM LAST YEAR ABOUT PEOPLE WORRIED ABOUT THINGS LIKE INSULIN.
IS THERE A WAY TO COUPLE THAT? SO THE GENERATORS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ARE SPECIFICALLY FOR CITY FACILITIES.
SO, AND, AND ONE OF THE GOALS, UM, FOR INSTANCE, THE ONES THAT WE FOCUSING ON FOR PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES, FOR THE FIRE STATIONS THAT WILL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO POWER THE REFRIGERATOR, UH, THE MICROWAVE AND THE STOVE.
UM, THOSE SPECIFIC APPLIANCES, BUT WE ARE, WE WERE NOT THINKING ON GENERATORS FOR THE COMMUNITY WITH, WITH THIS PROPOSAL.
SO GIVEN THAT INFORMATION, UM, IS THERE A POSSIBILITY TO INSTALL A REFRIGERATION UNIT AT THE WARMING CENTERS? YES.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID INCLUDE IN THE BUDGET IS FOR THOSE RESILIENCY HUBS, WE HAVE $1 MILLION, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY, THEY ARE EQUIPPED WITH A GENERATOR THAT WILL ALLOW US TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S POWER EVEN IF, IF, UH, IF, IF THE ELECTRICITY IS OUT.
AND I KNOW WE WENT OVER THIS SOMEWHAT AT PUBLIC SAFETY, BUT I, I THINK IT BEARS REPEATING HERE, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A PLAN TO COMMUNICATE WITH THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.
AND OUR SENIORS, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, COUNCILMAN
SO ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO CONTINUE THAT, UM, BUT ALSO, UH, WE, I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT A TRANSPORTATION PLAN FOR OUR SENIORS AND SPECIAL NEEDS TO GET THEM TO WARMING CENTERS.
UH, I REMEMBER THAT WAS PART OF OUR ISSUE THEN, WAS WE, I HAD, UM, SENIOR CITIZENS WHO WANTED TO GO TO THE WARMING CENTERS AND WE HAD TO ARRANGE PICKUPS FOR THEM.
UM, BUT SOMETHING MORE COORDINATED, OF COURSE, WITH VIA OR VIA TRANS MIGHT BE HELPFUL.
AND, AND WE HAVE DONE THAT WITH, UH, VIA COUNCILWOMAN.
[00:40:01]
PLANNING OF THE WEATHER EVENT LAST WEEK, UM, THERE WERE OUR PARTNERS TO TRANSPORT INDIVIDUALS, UH, THAT NEEDED ASSISTANCE.AND, UM, THE INDIVIDUAL WOULD HAVE TO CALL 3 1 1, AND THEN FROM THERE WOULD MAKE AN ARRANGEMENT TO TRANSPORT THEM TO THE WARMING CENTER.
SO THAT'S ALREADY IS, UH, IN PLACE IN TERMS OF, UH, ENSURING THAT OUR PLANS FOR EMERGENCY, UM, TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, UH, UH, VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
THERE'S ANOTHER CONTRACT THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE WITH B C F S IN DECEMBER.
THAT IS GONNA HELP US REVIEW ALL OF OUR PLANS AND PROCEDURES AND IDENTIFY GAPS.
AND THE GOAL OF THAT PARTICULAR, UM, WORK IS THAT WE ARE ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS THAT REPRESENT INDIVIDUALS WITH, UH, DISABILITIES AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
SO WE'RE PLANNING WITH THEM AND NOT FOR THEM.
SO THE TRANSPORTATION PLAN WOULD INCLUDE VIA TRANS THOUGH, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO, UH, REMEMBER THOSE THAT ARE, UM, NOT ABLE TO AMBULATE OR IN A WHEELCHAIR, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO VIA DOES HAVE VANS SPECIFICALLY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES IN ADDITION TO THE BUSES.
YOU KNOW, UM, ONE THING THAT I'VE BEEN UNCOMFORTABLE DOING, UH, AS A COUNCIL MEMBER IS APPROVING MEETING MINUTES, BECAUSE I DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TIME TO READ THE MEETING MINUTES.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I KIND OF HAVE PAUSE EVERY TIME THAT WE HAVE TO DO THAT.
WHEN I DO FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE APPROVING MEETING MINUTES IS WHEN I'M UP HERE ON THE DIOCESE WITH COUNCILMAN ADRIANA ROCHA GARCIA.
'CAUSE I KNOW SHE'S SO THOROUGH AND READS 'EM EVERY TIME THAT I CAN JUST PUSH.
YES, I APPROVE THOSE MINUTES EVERY TIME.
IN THAT SAME VEIN, MARIA, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WITH YOU PRESENTING ON THIS EMERGENCY, UH, EMERGENCY OPERATIONS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, THAT MAKES ME FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE.
UH, I'M REALLY GLAD THAT YOU'RE IN THIS ROLE, AND I'M ABLE TO SLEEP BETTER AT NIGHT KNOWING THAT, UM, I DO, UM, WANT TO ADDRESS EVERYBODY WHO'S INVOLVED, WHO'S PLAYING A ROLE IN, UH, TERMS OF ASKING YOU ALL TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ROLE CAN THE COUNCIL OFFICES PLAY DURING AN EMERGENCY? AND, UH, I KNOW WE HAVE A MEETING ON FEBRUARY 4TH AT THE, A SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING, UM, AT THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER, WHERE WE CAN LEARN SOME MORE THERE.
BUT THE WAY I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT IT IS THIS, IN THAT SOMETIMES COUN, SOMETIMES OUR CONSTITUENTS DON'T DIAL 3 1 1.
THAT'S THE FIRST THING THEY DO.
SOMETIMES THEY JUST POST SOMETHING ON SOCIAL MEDIA ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ABOUT A CRISIS, AND THEY TAG US AND THEY EXPECT US TO SEE THAT, AND THEY EXPECT US TO RESPOND.
SO THERE'S AN EXPECTATION FOR US TO DO SOMETHING.
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ARE, WE CAN BE A RESOURCE, RIGHT? WE, WE HAVE OUR STAFF WHO CAN JUMP IN TO PLAY SOME KIND OF ROLE.
AND I WANT YOU ALL TO BE THINKING ABOUT WHAT KIND OF ROLE THAT WE CAN PLAY.
I DON'T, I DON'T WANT TO BE OUT DURING AN EMERGENCY, UM, HAVING MY STAFF TAKE PICTURES OF ME HANDING OUT WATER BOTTLES AND POSTING THEM ON INSTAGRAM.
I WANT TO, I DON'T WANT TO GET IN THE WAY, BUT I WANT TO KNOW HOW CAN WE BE HELPFUL, UM, AND, AND HOW CAN WE BE USEFUL AT DISSEMINATING INFORMATION? HOW CAN WE BE USEFUL AT COLLECTING INFORMATION AND PASSING IT ON TO THE PROPER CHANNELS? UM, AND SO THAT, THAT'S MY ASK.
UM, THEN I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT, UM, AND I KNOW MAYBE, WE'LL, THIS'LL BE A LITTLE BIT, MAYBE WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE, WHEN C P SS ENERGY COMES UP, WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, YESTERDAY, UH, OH, MAN, AM I ON THE WRONG ONE? BECAUSE I DID SEE, AND MAYBE I'M ON THE WRONG ONE BECAUSE THERE'S, UH, I MAY HAVE BEEN READING A PREVIOUS ONE.
I THOUGHT I WAS ON THE CORRECT ONE.
UM, THE RATINGS RATIONALE FOR MOODY'S FOR DOWNGRADING A C P N, AND I'M GONNA TIE THIS, BEN, I'M GONNA TIE THIS INTO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, DON'T WORRY.
UM, UH, WINTER STORM, YURI, SO THIS IS FROM YESTERDAY, WINTER STORM YURI'S, EXTREME NATURE AND ENDURING COSTS IMPACT TO C P S ENERGY, AND THE FACT THAT MEANINGFUL RELIABILITY IMPROVEMENTS HAVE YET TO BE IMPLEMENTED AT SCALE IN THE ERCOT MARKET AND THE STATE'S ENERGY SUPPLY CHAIN ARE CONSIDERED IN OUR ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK.
SO I READ THAT TO SAY, MOODY'S IS SAYING THAT THE STATE HAS NOT DONE ITS JOB TO BE PREPARED FOR ANOTHER STORM.
AND SO WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT WHAT CAN WE DO AT THE LOCAL LEVEL? AND THIS IS THE CON, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE CONVERSATION WE'RE HAVING TODAY, AND I'M GLAD WE'RE HAVING THAT BECAUSE OF THAT.
BUT I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYONE THAT ACCORDING TO MOODY'S, WE CAN'T RELY ON THEM, YOU KNOW, AND WE HAVE TO FIGURE THIS OUT FOR OURSELVES.
IT WAS A VERY THOROUGH REPORT.
[00:45:01]
UNDERSTAND MORE OF HOW WE'RE INTEGRATING THE ACT, THE ACTIONS OF THE CITY, AND SAWS AND C P SS.WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER REPORT AS, AS YOU CONTINUE TO ADD, UH, TO THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE COMMITTEE'S WORK.
WE'RE NOW GONNA MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE.
THIS IS A BRIEFING BY THE CENT ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM.
IT'S GOING TO BE REGARDING, UH, THE STATUS OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
ALSO AN UPDATE ON SAS PLANS FOR ADDRESSING PAST DUE CUSTOMER RECEIVABLES AND SERVICE CUTOFFS.
IT'S ALSO GOING TO ASK ABOUT THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE UPDATE, INCLUDING RECENT CHANGES TO THE BYLAWS.
AND I WANNA ALSO BEGIN BY RECOGNIZING WE HAVE, UH, THE C E O ROBERT PUENTE HERE, BUT ALSO THE, UH, BOARD CHAIR, UH, JALEN LEBLANC, UH, JAMISON.
AND I WANT TO, UH, SAY THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING TODAY.
BEN, WERE YOU GOING TO GO AHEAD AND START OFF WITH ANY INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON THIS? NO.
THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND ASK REPRESENTATIVE IF IT'S GONNA BE, UH, ROBERT OR SOMEBODY ELSE COME UP AND MAKE A PRESENTATION.
UM, A LOT OF MY COMMENTS ARE GONNA BE, HAVE ALREADY BEEN TOUCHED ON BY MARIA, SO I'LL, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, I'M GONNA GO OVER THOSE FAIRLY QUICKLY.
JUST STOP ME IF YOU HAVE, OF COURSE, ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
WE START OUT WITH OUR SUMMARY SLIDE, LIKE WE DO EVERY TIME.
AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, WE HAD 66 TOTAL RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WERE WORKING ON, AND THESE AREN'T JUST FROM THE, THE CITY'S COMMUNITY EMERGENCY COMMITTEE.
IT'S ALSO FROM OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND THE INTERNAL REVIEWS THAT WE HAD DONE.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT HALF OF THOSE NOW HAVE BEEN FULLY COMPLETED.
I'M NOT GONNA FOCUS ON THE COMPLETED ITEMS TODAY.
COUNCILMAN, WHAT YOU ASKED US TO DO AT THE LAST MEETING WAS REALLY GET INTO THE DETAILS OF THE IN PROGRESS MEETINGS, HOW F HOW ITEMS, HOW FAR ALONG ARE WE IN THOSE ITEMS OVERALL? SO I'LL BE REPORTING OUT ON THAT.
WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS EXACTLY WHAT OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES SAW AT OUR LAST MEETING ON JANUARY 11TH.
SO THESE ARE A LITTLE BIT DATED.
SOME OF THEM HAVE MOVED FORWARD FROM WHAT I'LL BE REPORTING OUT TODAY.
OVERALL, THERE ARE ALSO THREE ITEMS THAT I WANNA POINT OUT IN THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'VE CHOSEN NOT TO IMPLEMENT.
UM, ONE IS THE COMMAND AND CONTROL ITEM, WHICH MARIA HAS ALREADY COVERED.
THERE'S ANOTHER ONE ON RECOMMENDING THERE SWITCH FROM PRESSURE TRANSDUCERS TO ANOTHER TYPE OF INSTRUMENTATION.
UH, AND THEN ALSO THERE WAS A, AN ITEM ON WELL POWER, WHETHER WE NEEDED TO PROVIDE POWER TO SOME OF OUR WELLS AT STATIONS THAT WE REALLY DON'T THINK WE WILL NEED DURING EMERGENCY EVENT.
SO WE'VE ELIMINATED THAT FROM THE LIST AS WELL.
THESE REALLY START OUT WITH MOSTLY HOW WE COMMUNICATE WITH THE COMMUNITY OVERALL.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THESE ARE ESSENTIALLY 90% DONE, OR AT LEAST THEY WERE ON OUR, UH, JANUARY 11TH MEETING.
GINO DID QUITE A BIT OF DISCUSSION WITH THESE WITH YOU ON OUR LAST MEETING AS WELL.
SO, UH, JUMPING THROUGH THESE FAIRLY QUICKLY, WE REALLY NEEDED, UH, COMMUNICATION TOOLS TO PROVIDE REAL TIME MESSAGES WITH THE CITY.
WE HAVE A TOOL CALLED EVERBRIDGE.
EVERBRIDGE IS A, A VERY FUNCTIONAL MASS NOTIFICATION TOOL THAT WE PLAN ON USING IN THAT, UH, OPERATION.
SHOULD WE BE IN THERE AGAIN? UM, THE NEXT ITEM IS INCLUDING VULNERABLE POPULATIONS IN THE COMMUNICATION PLAN.
AS WE WORK THROUGH THAT, UM, WE WILL BE, UH, DYNAMIC IN THAT PLAN.
DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF THE EVENT.
UH, WE DO INTEND ON REACHING OUT TO, UH, THE PARTICULAR INTEREST GROUP, UH, DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF EMERGENCY THAT WE'RE IN OVERALL.
UH, ANOTHER ONE IS COORDINATED MESSAGING CHANNELS BETWEEN THE E O C SAWS AND C P SS.
MARIA HAS TALKED ABOUT THAT QUITE A BIT, BUT WE THINK WE'RE IN REALLY PRETTY GOOD SHAPE WITH THAT AT THIS POINT.
AND THEN, UM, JUST CONSERVATION OF OUR WATER SUPPLIES.
HOW DO WE GET THE MESSAGE OUT? IF WE'RE IN A, A WATER, A PERIOD WHERE WE CAN'T PUMP WATER, HOW ARE WE GONNA GET THAT MESSAGE OUT TO CONSERVE THOSE SUPPLIES? YOU'VE PROBABLY ALREADY SEEN WITH THE LAST FREEZE WE WENT THROUGH THE SAWS BE READY CAMPAIGN, UM, BILLBOARDS EVERYWHERE.
I KNOW THERE WAS A LOT OF MEDIA, UH, EXPOSURE TO THAT AS WELL.
UM, ALL OF THOSE TOOLS, I BELIEVE ARE ARE READY TO WORK AND HAVE BEEN, UH, TESTED IF NOTHING ELSE DURING OUR LAST FREEZE EVENT.
NOW WE MOVE INTO THE ITEMS THAT WE THINK ARE, ARE ROUGHLY 75% COMPLETE OVERALL.
UH, THE FIRST OF THOSE BEING, UM, EVALUATING A DEDICATED RADIO SYSTEM.
UH, THE CITY IS SET TO LAUNCH THAT NEW RADIO
[00:50:01]
SYSTEM AS EARLY AS MARCH SAWS AS A USER OF THAT SYSTEM.WE'RE READY TO TAKE THAT ON, UH, WHEN IT DOES COME ABOUT.
NEXT ITEM WAS A DASHBOARD THAT REALLY GIVES THE COMMUNITY THE REAL TIME OUTAGES.
AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, BEING ABLE TO FILTER THOSE OUTAGES BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, UM, AND OUR CUSTOMER OUTAGE WEB PORTAL.
UM, IT'S AN INTERNALLY DEVELOPED PROGRAM THAT WE PUT TOGETHER.
IT'S VERSION ONE OF GENERATION ONE, BUT WE BELIEVE THAT WILL BE READY TO LAUNCH.
UM, WE'VE GOT OUR FINAL MEETING ON THAT AS A MATTER OF FACT, UH, ON THE 27TH OF THIS MONTH.
SO WE'RE ESSENTIALLY READY TO LAUNCH ON THAT AND CAN GIVE YOU ADDITIONAL DETAILS IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THAT.
UM, FINALLY, ON THIS ITEM, ON THIS, UH, PARTICULAR PAGE, WE WANTED TO, UM, UPDATE OUR DESIGN TEMPERATURES AND PUT POTENTIAL CODE MODIFICATIONS IN WITH THE CITY FOR HOW WE BUILD OUR SYSTEM MOVING FORWARD.
AND, UM, WE HAVE SUBMITTED LANGUAGE, UH, TO THE CITY FOR UPDATING THE NEXT, UH, U D C UH, DEVELOPMENT.
OVERALL, THIS PAGE REALLY DEALS WITH HOW WE HARDEN OUR FACILITIES.
UM, WHAT WE'VE WE'RE ASKED TO DO WAS DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE RISK MITIGATION IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH MAY INCLUDE ADDITIONAL RELIABILITY, REDUNDANCY, ASSET HARDENING, ET CETERA.
UM, I BELIEVE WE'RE MORE THAN 90, MORE THAN 90% COMPLETE WITH THIS.
NOW, WE DID AN EXTRA PUSH OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS TO COMPLETE IT, BUT WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO FROM INSULATION TO DRAINING PORTS TO WHAT HA ADDITIONAL HEATERS TO HAVE OUR SYSTEM READY TO GO.
THE NEXT ITEM IS LIMITING OR EXPOSED SAMPLE AND INSTRUMENTATION PIPING.
UM, WE HAVE COMPLETED THAT, I BELIEVE, WHERE, UM, INSTRUMENTATION PIPING HAS BEEN INSULATED AND WE ARE READY FOR ANY TYPE OF FREEZE THAT I THINK WE CAN REASONABLY EXPECT.
MOVING DOWN INTO THE 50% CATEGORY OVERALL, UH, IS UPDATING OUR INCIDENT ACTION PLANS.
YOU MAY RECALL THAT WE HAD UPDATED OUR ENTIRE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE STORM, BUT WE LEARNED SO MUCH AS A RESULT OF THAT STORM.
WE HAVE BEEN WORKING NOW OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, AND WE SHOULD BE COMPLETING THAT PLAN, UH, IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.
OVERALL, AN ALL NEW VERSION OF THE PLAN, THE NEXT TWO ITEMS ARE SORT OF COMBINED AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE THE, THE BIG ITEM FOR SAWS, AND THAT'S REALLY BACKUP POWER GENERATION FOR OUR MOST CRITICAL FACILITIES.
FIRST WE HAD TO DECIDE WHAT IS CRITICAL.
UH, WE HAVE ABOUT 70 OF OUR LARGE PUMPING STATIONS THAT WE BELIEVE WILL NEED BACKUP GENERATION CAPABILITY.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, UM, WE'VE IDENTIFIED THE SIZING AND THE LOCATION NEEDS FOR THAT.
WE'RE COORDINATING QUITE A BIT WITH C P SS.
UH, ON TOP OF THAT, WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE T C E Q.
THIS IS A MANDATE THROUGH SENATE BILL THREE THAT WE HAVE TO PUT GENERATORS AT OUR BIG PUMPING STATION.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING, UH, INTIMATELY WITH THE T C Q TO UNDERSTAND THE, THEIR NEEDS, WHAT THEY NEED TO SEE IN THOSE GENERATORS, AND THEN IMPLEMENTING THAT INTO OUR PLAN OVERALL.
AND THEN AS PART OF THAT, WE HAVE TO SUBMIT IN MARCH, UH, AN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN TO THE T C Q.
THAT, UH, GETS INTO A, A, A LOT OF DETAIL OF SPECIFICALLY WHAT ARE WE GONNA BUILD, AND THEN WE HAVE TO START THAT BUILDING PROCESS AS OF JUNE OF THIS YEAR.
SO I BELIEVE WE'RE WELL ON OUR WAY WITH BOTH OF THOSE.
I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION HERE.
AND THEN FINALLY ON THIS PAGE.
AND WE NEEDED TO, TO TRACK THE PROGRESS OF OUR CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN.
SET UP A TEAM TO DO THAT, AND THAT'S REALLY AN ONGOING PROCESS.
UH, WE WILL KEEP THAT TEAM IN PLACE UNTIL THE GENERATORS ARE IN AND COMPLETE.
NOW WE'RE DOWN INTO THE, THE ITEMS THAT WE THINK WE'RE ABOUT 25% OF THE WAY THROUGH.
AND THAT'S, UH, STARTS OUT WITH BACKFLOW, PREVENTERS, BACKFLOW, PREVENTERS ARE DEVICES THAT ARE, UM, ON ALL OVER THE CITY.
WHENEVER SOMEONE IS PRESSURIZING OUR SYS SYSTEM TO AVOID AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CONTAMINANTS TO GET PUSHED BACK INTO OUR SYSTEM THAT'S ON THE LIST BECAUSE THOSE ARE NOT WELL INSULATED TYPICALLY.
AND WE SAW A LOT OF THOSE BACKFLOW PREVENTERS FAILING DURING THE WINTER STORM WHERE, UM, PEOPLE TO GET BACK INTO BUSINESS OVERALL, JUST REMOVE THEIR BACKFLOW PREVENTER AND PUT A STRAIGHT PIPE IN.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE CITY ON ON FREEZE PROTECTIONS FOR THOSE BACK FULL PREVENTERS.
WHAT WOULD WE NEED TO HAVE PEOPLE PUT IN PLACE? AND WE'LL BE INCLUDING THAT ALSO IN THE U D C REVISIONS GOING FORWARD.
UM, THE NEXT TWO ITEMS ARE RELATED.
IT'S WATER DISTRIBUTION SITES AND WORKING WITH THE CITY TO INVEST IN A, A STOCKPILE OF WATER SHOULD
[00:55:01]
WE FIND OURSELVES WITHOUT POWER AT OUR PUMPING STATIONS.AGAIN, UM, WE ARE DOING AN SS O P FOR THE WATER DISTRIBUTION SITES, MUCH TO BE DONE ON THAT STILL, I MIGHT ADD.
BUT WE'RE ALSO, UM, MEETING WITH THE WATER BOTTLERS TO FIND OUT IS IT POSSIBLE INSTEAD OF STOCKPILING REALLY AN INCREDIBLY HUGE VOLUME OF BOTTLED WATER, CAN WE MEET WITH, UH, A MANUFACTURER OF SOME SORT WHERE IF WE HAVE A PROBLEM, WE COULD PUT A GENERATOR OUTSIDE THEIR STATION AND HAVE THEM BOTTLING WATER FOR US REAL TIME SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE AN INCREDIBLE STOCKPILE THAT IS PERISHING OVERALL.
OF COURSE, WHEN WE'VE MET WITH THESE FOLKS, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE GETTING BOTTLED WATER INTO SAN ANTONIO IF IT'S A REGIONAL EMERGENCY IS NOT A PROBLEM.
WE'LL COVER THE BASE, BUT IF WE FIND OURSELVES IN A STATEWIDE EMERGENCY, IT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PICTURE.
AND ALL OF THOSE WATER BOTTLERS HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT, UM, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE SO MANY DEMANDS FOR WATER OVERALL THAT, UH, DEDICATING ALL OF THAT ACTIVITY FOR SAWS.
THEY DON'T SEE THAT AS A, A, A GOOD STEP FOR US TO TAKE.
REALLY, THIS GETS BACK TO THE GENERATOR ISSUE BECAUSE IF WE HAVE GENERATORS IN PLACE AT OUR CRITICAL PUMPING STATIONS, WE WON'T NEED THAT BOTTLED WATER.
THAT POTABLE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WILL STILL BE UP AND OPERATIONAL.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE THOSE TWO NEEDS.
THE MANDATE FOR GENERATORS VERSUS THE REQUIREMENT TO STORE BOTTLED WATER, WHICH IS THE BEST WAY THAT WE SHOULD GO OVERALL.
I'LL POINT OUT TO YOU, WHILE WE HAVE A 10 YEAR REQUIREMENT LISTED IN THIS RECOMMENDATION, THERE IS ALSO BOTTLED WATER OUT THERE NOW THAT HAS A 50 YEAR SHELF LIFE.
IT'S IN 10 CANS, BUT THAT COMES AT A COST.
WE SPENT ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MILLION ON BOTTLED WATER DURING, I'M SORRY, 2.25 MILLION ON BOTTLED WATER DURING THE WINTER STORM.
AS A RESPONSE TO THAT, IF WE WENT WITH THE 10 YEAR BOTTLED WATER, THAT OF COURSE HAS A FINITE SHELF LIFE.
YOU'VE GOT CLIMATE CONTROL IT AND STORE IT AND DISTRIBUTE IT.
AND IT'S ABOUT THREE AND A HALF TIMES WHAT WE WOULD, WHAT WE DID SPEND DURING THE WINTER STORM.
IF WE GO TO THE 50 YEAR SHELF LIFE, MUCH MORE INTERESTING, UH, FOR, FOR THE TIME VALUE OF THAT MONEY, THAT'S ABOUT SEVEN TIMES MORE THAN WE SPENT FOR THE BOTTLED WATER THAT WE SAW DURING THIS LAST EVENT.
SO THAT'S A, THAT'S A COMMUNITY DECISION WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE IF WE PUT THE GENERATORS IN.
DO WE STILL WANT TO GO THROUGH THE STORAGE OF THE BOTTLED WATER AND THE LOGISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT? OVERALL, THIS PAGE IS ALSO ABOUT 25% COMPLETE, AND THESE FIRST THREE ITEMS ARE REALLY VERY CLOSELY RELATED.
A THIRD PARTY LIVE CHAT SERVICE, SO THAT AS PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO REACH INTO US TO SAY, HEY, I'M OUTTA WATER TOO.
WHAT'S GOING ON IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD? I'M CONSIDERING USING 3 1 1 OPERATORS, UH, TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN, UM, SOME OTHER THIRD PARTY SERVICE, UH, BASED OUTSIDE OF SAN ANTONIO FOR COMMUNICATION BENEFITS.
AND WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF, UH, AVENUES THERE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
FIRST, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE, WE WE'RE LOOKING AT A COMBINED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENT PLATFORM.
WHETHER YOU TEXT US, WHETHER YOU EMAIL US, WHETHER YOU CALL US, THAT INFORMATION WOULD ALL GO INTO AN AI SYSTEM THAT, AS THE COMPUTER FOLKS TELL ME, WILL BUILD THE, UH, WITHIN THE COMPUTER.
IT'LL BUILD THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM AND ALL THE DETAILS OF WHAT WE KNOW AND HOW TO RESPOND TO THE COMMUNITY AND THEN RESPOND TO YOU THROUGH THE FORMAT THAT YOU CONTACTED US IN THE FIRST PLACE.
SO PROMISING AND REALLY LOOKING FORWARD INTO THE FUTURE OF WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE THIS OVERALL.
ADDITIONALLY, WE'VE ESSENTIALLY COMPLETED, AND WE'RE IN TESTING OF IT NOW, A CUSTOMER PORTAL WHERE IF YOU CAN'T REACH OUT TO US AND GET US BY PHONE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO GO ONLINE AND GIVE US THE INFORMATION WE NEED, PLUG IT IN AUTOMATICALLY THROUGH THE COMPUTER.
YOU WON'T HAVE TO SIT ON HOLD AND HOPE THAT ONE OF US CAN REACH YOU, UH, THROUGH THE PHONE PROCESS OVERALL.
AND THEN FINALLY, JUST A, AN A MINOR ITEM THAT WASN'T OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY AND WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN FAR ALONG ON IT, IS AN EMERGENCY PROTOCOL FOR ACCESSING BURIED UTILITIES DURING A STORM EVENT LIKE THIS.
IT'S MORE COMPLICATED THAN WE HAD FIRST THOUGHT, BUT IT WILL TAKE CONSIDERABLE WORK FOR US TO ACTUALLY PUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN PLACE.
FINALLY, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS THAT WE MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR A M I INFRASTRUCTURE AND A M I IS WHERE WE WILL GET INFORMATION BASICALLY BACK FROM ALMOST EVERY HOMEOWNER ON THE STATUS OF THEIR SERVICE.
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AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT'S A MULTI-YEAR PROGRAM.WE'LL RUN ABOUT FIVE YEARS OVERALL.
IT'S CALLED THE CONNECT H TWO O PROGRAM.
AND, UH, WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT.
BUT THAT ONE IS GONNA TAKE, AS I SAID, SEVERAL YEARS FOR US TO ULTIMATELY BUILD OUT UP.
AS FAR AS THE ONGOING RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I THOUGHT WERE IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT TO YOU, THE FIRST THREE ARE REALLY JUST LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES, AND WE ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT.
UH, WE HAVE MET WITH SOME OF THE LEGISLATORS INVOLVED WITH THIS, UH, THIS SORT OF THING.
AND AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, WE'LL BE WORKING HEAVILY ON THAT OVERALL.
AND THEN FINALLY, AS A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE ENCLOSE OUR PUMP STATIONS, THAT ONE IS GOING TO TAKE US, UH, MANY YEARS TO COMPLETE.
WE HAVE STARTED, UH, HAVE OUR FIRST STATION UNDER DESIGN NOW, WHICH WILL INCLUDE ENCLOSING ALL OF THE PUMPS AND PIPING SO THAT THEY'RE NOT SUSCEPTIBLE TO A FREEZE.
SHOULD WE BE INTO THAT OVERALL? SO GOING BACK TO THE GENERATOR ISSUE, AS I SAID, THAT'S A MANDATE FROM SENATE BILL THREE.
WE HAVE TO BUILD THOSE GENERATORS OVERALL.
UM, IT'S OUR BIGGEST EFFORT, AND IT IS OUR LARGEST EXPENSE, AS I MENTIONED, 70 STATIONS.
UM, WE BELIEVE THAT WOULD COST APPROXIMATELY $200 MILLION FOR US TO BUILD THAT GENERATOR SYSTEM IN.
SO TO LEARN WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS, WE DID ISSUE AN R F I AND WE HEARD BACK FROM THAT, THAT INDUSTRY ON DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE COULD ACHIEVE THIS.
UH, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH C P SS ENERGY IN THE EVALUATION OF THOSE RFIS.
YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, SPECIFICALLY MR. MELNICK INVOLVED AS WELL.
UH, MR. GARZA AND MR. PUENTE ARE HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THESE MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS WITH US.
AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT.
WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO, IF WE'RE GOING TO SPEND $200 MILLION FOR THIS INFRASTRUCTURE, FOR WHAT, QUITE FRANKLY IS AN EXTREMELY RARE OCCURRENCE, IS CAN WE BUILD THOSE GENERATORS IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE ACTUALLY IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL, UH, ELECTRICAL GRID FOR SAN ANTONIO.
WE WOULD LIKE FOR THOSE GENERATORS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE POWER WHEN ANY DAY THAT WE'RE IN A, A, A TIGHT GRID SITUATION, NOT JUST WHENEVER WE'VE LOST POWER, POTENTIALLY AT OUR PUMPING STATIONS.
AS PART OF THAT, WE, AS I MENTIONED, IT'S A MANDATE FROM SENATE BILL THREE.
WE HAVE A REPORT THAT'S DUE TO THE T C E Q IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR, AND THEN WE HAVE TO START IMPLEMENTING THAT PROGRAM IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR.
UM, IN OUR DISCUSSIONS WITH THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF T C Q, HE UNDERSTANDS THE COMPLICATIONS OF A CITY LIKE SAN ANTONIO.
UH, SAN ANTONIO DOES NOT HAVE A, A LAKE OR A RIVER THAT WE TAKE ALL OUR WATER FROM AND WE DISTRIBUTE.
WE HAVE NINE DIFFERENT WATER SUPPLIES THAT WE OPERATE, AS I SAID, 70 DIFFERENT STATIONS THAT WE HAVE TO OPERATE.
OUR SYSTEM IS MORE COMPLICATED THAN WHAT MOST OTHER SYSTEMS WILL HAVE TO BE.
UM, WHILE THEY HAVEN'T GIVEN US ADDITIONAL TIME, I HAVE NO DOUBT THEY'VE RECOMMENDED TO DO US SEVERAL TIMES TO TAKE THE TIME WE NEED TO DEVELOP THE PLAN AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A PLAN THAT WE'RE READY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH OVERALL.
BUT I, I'M CONFIDENT WE WILL, UM, GET THIS IN PLACE AND THAT WE WILL LAUNCH THIS EFFORT TO SOME EXTENT WITH THE JUNE DEADLINE OVERALL.
SO, THAT ENDS MY PRESENTATION, AND I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, I THINK MARY WAS GONNA TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH, UH, REVENUE AND, UH, POSSIBLE DISCONNECTS.
AND, UH, SO WE'LL HOLD OUR QUESTIONS FOR YOU TILL AFTER WE HEAR FROM MARY.
I'M GONNA VERY QUICKLY GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON OUR CUSTOMER DELINQUENCIES.
UM, SO, UH, YOU MIGHT RECALL WHEN WE START, FIRST STARTED TALKING ABOUT THIS, BACK IN SEPTEMBER, WE HAD ABOUT 65,000 CUSTOMERS THAT WERE MORE THAN 60 DAYS PAST DUE.
IT WAS CUSTOMERS OWED ABOUT $54 MILLION AT THAT TIME.
FAST FORWARD TO, UH, THIS TIME LAST WEEK, AND, UH, WE'VE SEEN ABOUT A 3% REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS THAT ARE 60 DAYS OR MORE PAST DUE, BUT WE'VE SEEN THE BALANCES OWED BY THOSE CUSTOMERS DROP 13%.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE MAKING THEIR WAY THROUGH.
AND AS I POINTED OUT TO OUR BOARD LAST WEEK, TOOK US ALMOST TWO YEARS TO GET TO THIS POINT.
IT'S GONNA TAKE A WHILE TO GET, UM, BACK TO NORMAL.
AND, UH, WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR CUSTOMERS TO TRY TO DO THAT AS, AS, UH, EASILY AS POSSIBLE.
WE HAVE ABOUT 40% OF THOSE 60 DAY PAST DUE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE ACTUALLY IN PAYMENT PLANS THAT DOES PROTECT THEM FROM BEING DISCONNECTED AS LONG AS THEY COMPLY WITH THE TERMS OF THAT.
WE DID RESUME DISCONNECTIONS, UM, EXCUSE ME, IN, UM, OCTOBER OF, UH, UH, LAST YEAR.
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NOT PERFORM ANY DURING THANKSGIVING, CHRISTMAS, NEW YEAR, WEEK.AND, UH, WE HAVE, UH, COMPLETED ABOUT 6,000 OF THOSE DISCONNECTIONS.
AND, UM, ABOUT 65% OF THOSE HAVE RESTORED EITHER BY MAKING PAYMENTS OR PERHAPS ENTERING INTO A PAYMENT ARRANGEMENT.
A COUPLE OF HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR, UH, COVID RELIEF PLAN THAT OUR BOARD APPROVED, WE HAVE PROCESSED, UH, UH, SE 764 COVID LEAK ADJUSTMENTS, UH, TOTALING A $1.2 MILLION.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE WILL GIVE THEM A HUNDRED PERCENT RELIEF FROM ANY LEAK THAT OCCURRED DURING THE PANDEMIC PERIOD.
UM, AS LONG AS THAT LEAK HAS BEEN REPAIRED, AND THAT AVERAGES ABOUT $1,500 IN ACCOUNT.
SO IT'S A SIGNIFICANT, UM, AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE AND, AND SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN WHAT OUR NORMAL LEAK POLICY WOULD'VE BEEN ABOUT.
UH, 4,300 CUSTOMERS HAVE SATISFIED THAT INCENTIVE PAYMENT PLAN THAT, UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WHERE, UH, IF THEY PAY FOR, UM, 18 MONTHS OUT OF 48, UH, WE WILL WRITE OFF THE BALANCE.
WE SAID IF YOU HIT THAT THRESHOLD OF 37.5% EARLY, WE WILL STILL GO AHEAD AND WRITE OFF THAT, THAT DIFFERENCE.
AND SO, ABOUT 43 CUSTOMERS HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THAT, AND WE HAVE WRITTEN OFF, UH, CLOSE TO A MILLION DOLLARS.
UM, ABOUT THAT WRITE OFF FOR SAWS IS ABOUT 56% OF THOSE BALANCES.
CUSTOMERS ARE MAKING A LITTLE BIT MORE PAYMENT THAN, THAN THEY ABSOLUTELY HAD TO ARPA ASSISTANCE, AS YOU KNOW, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED $10 MILLION FOR, UH, SAWS TO PROVIDE TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
WE STARTED TAKING THOSE APPLICATIONS IN, UM, EARLY DECEMBER AND, UH, THROUGH THE END OF, UH, I THINK IT WAS THROUGH THE 18TH, UM, OF LAST WEEK, WE HAD RECEIVED ABOUT 1500 APPLICATIONS.
I ASKED TODAY THE NUMBERS UP TO 2200.
UM, AND OF THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN PROCESSED, ABOUT 70% OF THOSE ARE ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE.
AND THE REASON THAT THEY WOULDN'T BE ELIGIBLE, GENERALLY SPEAKING, IS THAT THEY ARE OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS OF SAN ANTONIO.
UM, THE, UH, UH, WE, WE DID SEND POSTCARDS OUT TO, UH, THE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE IN OUR A D P PROGRAM THAT LIVE INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS, IF THEY'RE PAST DUE, UM, ENCOURAGING THEM TO APPLY.
IF A CUSTOMER CALLS IN, UM, THAT'S PAST DUE, WE ENCOURAGE THEM TO APPLY.
UM, AND, UM, WE JUST SENT OUT LAST WEEK AN EMAIL TO OVER 12,000 CUSTOMERS THAT WOULD FIT THE CRITERIA, AGAIN, URGING THEM TO APPLY.
SO HOPEFULLY WE WILL GET THOSE NUMBERS UP.
WE ARE PROCESSING THEM AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN, BUT IT IS A FAIRLY MANUAL PROCESS TO GO THROUGH THOSE APPLICATIONS.
UM, WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL NEED SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 15 AND 20,000 OF OUR CUSTOMERS TO APPLY IN ORDER TO, UH, FULLY UTILIZE THE $10 MILLION.
SO WE STILL HAVE GOT A BIT TO GO ON THAT WE HAVE UNTIL, UH, THE AGREEMENT THAT, UH, WE'VE REACHED WITH, UH, THE CITY.
UH, OUR BOARD WILL CONSIDER IT, UH, AT THE BOARD MEETING NEXT, UH, NEXT WEEK, AND THEN WE'LL START APPLYING THE, UH, ASSISTANCE.
THAT AGREEMENT TAKES US THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH OF THIS YEAR.
AND SO, UH, HOPEFULLY WE WILL BE ABLE TO, UH, FULLY UTILIZE ALL OF THAT $10 MILLION BY THEN.
THAT'S IT FOR CUSTOMER DELINQUENCIES.
YOU WANT ME TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO THE, THE RATE STUDY? OKAY.
SO, UM, AGAIN, UH, AS WE, UH, BEGIN THE NEW YEAR, UH, SAS IS EXCITED ABOUT, UH, STARTING UP THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND TO HELP US WITH OUR RATE STUDY.
UH, THE LAST RATE STUDY WAS, THAT WAS FULLY COMPLETED, AND I'M SORRY, THE PRESENTATION ISN'T UP YET.
THE LAST RATE STUDY THAT WAS COMPLETED, UH, WAS IN 2015, AND A NEW RATE STUDY, UH, BEGAN IN 2019.
WE TRY TO DO THEM EVERY FIVE YEARS.
OUR ANNUAL BUDGET PROCESS CERTAINLY LOOKS AT THE OVERALL LEVEL OF RATES SUPPORT THAT WE NEED, BUT THEN EVERY FIVE YEARS WE PERFORM A A RATE STUDY.
UH, WE, UM, WE STARTED A NEW ONE IN 2019.
WE HAD A RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT MET EIGHT TIMES BETWEEN SEPTEMBER OF 2019 AND FEBRUARY OF 2020.
AND, UH, WHEN THE PANDEMIC OCCURRED, UH, WE INDEFINITELY SUSPENDED THE, UH, THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE DUE TO, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY MEETING IN PERSON AND SOCIAL DISTANCING.
WE, WE DIDN'T FEEL AT THE TIME THAT OUR, OUR, OUR ABILITY TO HOLD VIRTUAL MEETINGS WAS CONDUCIVE FOR GOOD COLLABORATION FOR THE RAC.
AND SO, UH, IN JANUARY OF 2021, THE BOARD, UH, RECOMMENDED THAT WE, UH, CONSIDER RESTARTING, NOT NECESSARILY RESTARTING, STARTING A NEW, UM, RATE STUDY USING UPDATED INFORMATION.
SO THE 2019 RAC, THE, THE REVENUE REQUIREMENTS WERE BASED ON 2020 INFORMATION.
SIGNIFICANTLY, THINGS HAVE CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE 2020.
AND SO WE, UM, BEGAN A NEW RATE STUDY IN LATE, UH, 2021.
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A, UM, A RATE CONSULTANT, UH, COROLLA ENGINEERS, UH, TO PERFORM THE RATE STUDY.AND, UM, WE, UH, EXPECT TO BEGIN, UH, THE, THE RAC PROCESS OF HELPING US WITH THAT NOW, UH, NEXT MONTH.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT A RATE STUDY AND THE PURPOSE AND THE PROCESS OF IT, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PURPOSE IS TO EQUITABLY ALLOCATE REVENUE REQUIREMENTS, UH, TO THE VARIOUS CUSTOMER CLASSES TO DETERMINE AND THEN TO DETERMINE HOW TO STRUCTURE THE RATES.
SO IT'S REALLY A, A COUPLE OF PHASES.
UH, WE SHOW THREE PHASES HERE.
THE FIRST PHASE IS ONE, WHAT ARE YOUR REVENUE REQUIREMENTS? FIRST ALL IS, THAT'S GOING TO BE THE, UM, BUDGET FOR 2022.
UH, THE SECOND PHASE IS THEN HOW DO YOU ALLOCATE THOSE COSTS TO THE DIFFERENT CUSTOMER CLASSES? AND THAT'S WHAT THE CONSULTANT HAS BEEN WORKING ON SINCE THEY WERE, UM, ENGAGED BACK IN OCTOBER.
AND, UH, WE WILL, WE HAVE BEEN PRESENTING PRELIMINARY RESULTS TO OUR BOARD AT THE, AT THE MEETING LAST, UH, LAST WEEK.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT, UM, UH, IN, IN NEXT WEEK'S, UH, MEETING.
AND THEN ULTIMATELY LOOK FOR APPROVAL OF THOSE COST OF SERVICE RESULTS.
AND THEN PHASE THREE THEN TAKES THOSE COST OF SERVICE RESULTS AND SAYS, NOW, HOW SHOULD I CHARGE THOSE CUSTOMERS WITHIN THOSE CLASSES? SHOULD THERE BE CHANGES? AND, AND, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THOSE, HOW WE CHARGE REFLECTS THE COMMUNITY, UM, INPUT, UH, THEIR VALUES, UH, AND, UM, OBJECTIVES.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE REALLY LOOK FOR THE RACK TO PROVIDE THE INPUT, IS DURING THAT RATE DESIGN PROCESS.
I THINK THAT'S WHERE THEY COULD HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON HOW RATES AFFECT EACH, NOT JUST CUSTOMER CLASSES, BUT PEOPLE WITHIN THOSE CLASSES.
SO, UH, AS I MENTIONED, WE'VE UTILIZED THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO PROVIDE THAT INPUT DURING THE RATE STUDY PROCESS.
UM, AND THAT RACK IS A SPECIAL PURPOSE ADVISORY GROUP THAT THE SAS BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPOINTS.
IT REFLECTS REPRESENTATION OF THE SAS SERVICE AREA, APPROXIMATELY 20 MEMBERS.
THAT'S HOW MANY WE HAD IN THE 2019 RACK.
AND, UM, AND THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THOSE, UH, MEMBERS ARE RECEIVED FROM CITY COUNCIL, BUSINESS CIVIC, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, AS WELL AS SAW STAFF MAY MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE DO ANTICIPATE BRINGING THE, UH, MEMBERSHIP TO THE BOARD NEXT WEEK FOR APPROVAL.
THE, UM, UH, SO THE BOARD ALSO CONSIDERED THE BYLAWS FOR THE RACK AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING TO PREPARE FOR THAT PROCESS OF STARTING UP THE RACK.
UM, AND AGAIN, IT OUTLINES THE PURPOSE OF THE RACK, WHICH IS TO PROVIDE RATE DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGARDING RATE STRUCTURES FOR OUR WATER, WASTEWATER, RE, AND RECYCLED WATER SERVICES.
IT DOES NOT INCLUDE OUR CHILLED WATER SERVICES, WHICH, UH, HAS A VERY SMALL, UM, CUSTOMER CLASS, AND WE ARE LOOKING AT SEPARATELY WITH A DIFFERENT CONSULTANT.
THE PURPOSE OF THE RACK, UM, AGAIN, UH, IS TO PROVIDE THOSE RATE DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, REGARDING RATE STRUCTURES.
THESE RECOMMENDATIONS NEED TO FULLY RECOVER THE REVENUE REQUIREMENTS IDENTIFIED BY THE SAS RATE CONS, UH, CONSULTANT, THEY NEED TO BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH INDUSTRY STANDARDS, AND THEY NEED TO BE BASED ON THE COST OF SERVICE ALLOCATIONS THAT THE, THE, THAT ARE DEVELOPED BY THE CONSULTANT AND APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
AND WE DID NOTE THAT, UH, WE WOULD GIVE, UH, CONSIDERATION IN DEVELOPING THOSE COST OF SERVICE, UH, RESULTS.
UH, WE WOULD GIVE CONSIDERATION TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE 2019 RAC CAME UP WITH.
THEY SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON COST OF SERVICE.
UH, WE DON'T WANT TO IGNORE THAT, AND WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO NOW LET THE, THE 2022 RAC FOCUS ON RATE DESIGN.
THE BYLAWS ALSO INDICATE, UH, HOW THE, THE CHAIRPERSON, UH, WILL, WILL, WHAT THEIR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY IS.
THE CHAIRPERSON IS APPOINTED BY THE BOARD.
UH, THEIR ROLE IS TO PRESIDE OVER THE MEETINGS, SELECT THE VICE CHAIRMAN, APPROVE THE MEETING AGENDAS AND MEETING SCHEDULES, ESTABLISH RULES FOR MEETING CONDUCT, AND CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, UM, AND ENCOURAGE MEMBER PARTICIPATION IN THE DISCUSSIONS.
AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THE DECISIONS ARE MADE, MADE ON A CONSENSUS BASIS.
THE, UH, MEETINGS, WE EXPECT TO BEGIN THEM IN FEBRUARY.
AND, UH, WE EXPECT TO HAVE SEVEN MEETINGS BETWEEN FEBRUARY AND JULY.
THE FINAL REPORT IS, UH, NEEDS TO BE SUBMITTED TO OUR BOARD BY JULY 31ST.
AND, UH, THAT REPORT WILL SUMMARIZE THE CONSENSUS THAT THE RAC HAS ON RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO RATE DESIGN.
AND IF THEY ARE UNABLE TO REACH CONSENSUS, THEN THE REPORT WILL SUMMARIZE ALL OF THE ALTERNATIVES THAT THE RAC COULD CONSIDERED AND SUMMARIZE THEIR, UM, INPUT, WHAT THEY, WHAT THEIR COMMENTS, ET CETERA.
BUT STAFF WILL THEN MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO OUR BOARD.
SO THE BOARD WILL HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION.
HOPEFULLY WE WILL BE ABLE TO GET A CONSENSUS OPINION ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
[01:15:01]
THAT WOULD BE THE ULTIMATE GOAL.WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TIMELINE, UM, THE, UH, AGAIN, MENTIONED THAT THE, THE CONSULTANT HAS BEEN UNDERGOING THE COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS IN, UH, JANUARY.
WE DID PRESENT THE RAC BYLAWS, UH, TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL, AND WE BRIEFED THE PRELIMINARY COST OF SERVICE.
IN FEBRUARY, WE WILL BE, UH, AGAIN, UH, UH, PRESENTING THE RAC MEMBERSHIP FOR FINAL APPROVAL.
AND THEN THE BOARD, UH, WILL ALSO HAVE AN, WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER BRIEFING ON COST OF SERVICE FINDINGS.
WE DO NOT EXPECT TO ASK THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL OF THOSE UNTIL MARCH.
UM, THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGS, AS I SAID, WILL BEGIN IN, IN FEBRUARY AND GO THROUGH JULY.
AND THEN WE WILL BE PRESENTING THAT INFORMATION TO OUR BOARD IN THE JULY AUGUST TIMEFRAME.
UH, WHEN YOU, UH, THEN AT THAT POINT, THE, THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE'S WORK IS FINISHED, UH, BUT IT'S NOT FINISHED FOR SAS STAFF.
THAT'S WHEN WE START DOING OUR PUBLIC OUTREACH.
AND WE WILL BE CONDUCTING PUBLIC OUTREACH REALLY FROM JULY THROUGH NOVEMBER.
UH, WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF, YOU KNOW, WE EXPECT TO HAVE ALL KINDS OF PUBLIC MEETINGS.
UM, THERE, SOME WILL BE VIRTUAL, SOME WILL BE IN, IN PERSON.
WE'LL UPDATE ALL THE SAS, UH, COMMITTEE, UH, CITIZENS COMMITTEES SUCH AS THE, UH, CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE AND THE C C C C.
UH, WE'LL HOLD, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA TYPE EVENTS.
UH, CITY COUNCIL OBVIOUSLY WILL BE A BRIEFING, INDIVIDUAL BRIEFINGS WITH CITY COUNCIL, AS WELL AS, UH, UH, B SESSION BRIEFINGS, ET CETERA.
AND, UM, AND THEN ALSO ANY KIND OF COUNTY OR SUBURBAN CITY TYPE, UH, BRIEFINGS, WE CAN HOLD THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS, ET CETERA.
SO WE WILL BE VERY BUSY THROUGHOUT THAT, UM, EXPLAINING ANY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN IN NOVEMBER, WE WILL SEEK THE BOARD APPROVAL, UH, FOR THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND THEN, UH, CITY COUNCILS AS WELL.
UM, WE MAY HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR BOTH YOU AND STEVE.
UH, I WANT TO GO AHEAD AND, AND START OFF BY ASKING YOU, UM, YOU, YOU SAID WHAT THE RACK IS GOING TO LOOK AT AS FAR AS RATE STRUCTURE, WHAT, WHAT ARE THOSE RATES THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT? SO THEY WILL BE LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR, OUR WATER, UH, AND WASTEWATER RATES.
SO THAT'S THE WATER SUPPLY FEE, THE, THE WATER DELIVERY RATES, THE WASTEWATER RATES, AS WELL AS OUR RECYCLED WATER RATES.
SO WE HAVE A RESIDENTIAL CLASS, MULTI, YOU KNOW, UH, COMMERCIAL OR GENERAL CLASS THAT WE CALL IT, WHICH IS COMMERCIAL, MULTIFAMILY, AND INDUSTRIAL, UM, IRRIGATION CLASS, ET CETERA.
AND SO WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE RATE STRUCTURE, THAT'S HOW MUCH IS, HOW MUCH SHOULD THE FIXED FEE BE? WHAT SHOULD THE VARIABLE CHARGES LOOK LIKE? HOW, WHAT SHOULD THE BLOCK SIZES BE? HOW MUCH USAGE CAN YOU HAVE IN THOSE BLOCKS, SHOULD YOU HAVE IN THOSE BLOCKS, ET CETERA.
RIGHT? SO THEY'LL BE LOOKING AT ALL OF THAT.
ALL WE ASK IS THAT THEN THEY COME BACK AND GENERATE THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT WAS, UM, DETERMINED, ONE BY THE REVENUE REQUIREMENTS, AND TWO BY THE COST OF SERVICE ALLOCATION.
I, I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE HAD A SEPARATE COMMITTEE WORK ON DEVELOPMENT COSTS, UH, DETERMINING WHAT THE RATES ARE, UH, IF THERE'S GONNA BE DEVELOPMENT HOOKUPS, EXTENSIONS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
DOES ANY OF THAT GO THROUGH THIS RACK, OR IS THERE GONNA HAVE THAT SEPARATE COMMITTEE DECIDE, UH, WHAT ARE THE COSTS THAT SHOULD BE PASSED ON TO, UH, YOUR DEVELOPERS FOR DEVELOPMENT? SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR IMPACT FEE STUDY.
WE DO ONE OF THOSE, OUR IMPACT IMPACT FEES, YEAH.
AND WE DO USE, UTILIZE THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS ACTUALLY A COMMITTEE THAT IS APPOINTED BY CITY COUNCIL TO GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
AND I BELIEVE THE LAST ONE WAS DONE IN 20 17, 20 17, 18.
SO THAT WILL BE GETTING STARTED UP, I THINK, IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS WHERE WE'LL LOOK AT THAT AGAIN.
IT, IT IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO DO THAT EVERY FIVE YEARS.
BUT I ALSO BELIEVE IN THE BYLAWS FOR THAT COMMITTEE.
THEY CAN REVIEW IT ANY TIME IF THEY THINK THERE'S SOME CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.
AND, UH, SO THAT IS A STANDING COMMITTEE, UM, THAT IS APPOINTED BY, AGAIN, CITY COUNCIL.
THE RAC IS A, UM, A SPECIAL PURPOSE COMMITTEE THAT IS APPOINTED BY THE BOARD AND, AND, AND DIRECTED BY THE VOICE.
IT'S NOT, THERE'S NO LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR THE, THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UM, AND SO THE BOARD SETS KIND OF THE PARAMETERS FOR, FOR HOW THEY OPERATE.
AND IT JUST, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, SAW, SPENT $2.2 MILLION ON PROVIDING WATER.
AND I KNOW THE CITY MANAGER HAD REACHED OUT TO OTHER AVENUES.
WHAT DID THE CITY SPEND ON BOTTLED WATER ITSELF? DO YOU KNOW, MARIA? 'CAUSE I REMEMBER ERIC CALLING ME SAYING, COUNCILMAN, WE'VE MADE ARRANGEMENTS FOR BOTTLED WATER FOR THE CITY, AND YEAH.
DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT THAT WAS? IT WAS, IT'S ACTUALLY THE SAME WATER.
[01:20:01]
UH, COUNCILMAN.SO WHEN WE LEARN ABOUT THE, UH, BOILING WATER NOTICE, WE, UH, PUT IN A REQUEST TO PURCHASE THE WATER IN SAUCE, UH, PAY FOR THAT.
UH, WE ALSO ASKED FEMA FOR REIMBURSEMENT, UH, OF THAT AT A RATE OF ABOUT 75%, BUT IT'S THE SAME WATER.
DID WE GET THAT REIMBURSEMENT FROM FEMA? JUST CURIOUS.
I, I THINK WE HAVE, I'LL JUST CONFIRM.
UH, I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I BELIEVE COUNCILMAN VEDA.
I, I'M WANNA MAKE SURE I HEARD YOU CORRECTLY, BUT I, I'M CONCERNED THAT THERE'S NOT AN S O P FOR WATER DISTRIBUTION SITES, UH, YET IN PLACE.
DID I HEAR THAT CORRECTLY? UH, COULD YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION I DIDN'T HEAR? IS THERE A, IS THERE AN S O P FOR WATER DIS DISTRIBUTION SITES IN PLACE, YET? THERE'S ONE IN DEVELOPMENT THAT IS NOT COMPLETE AT THIS POINT.
I HAVE A CONCERN ABOUT THAT, AND I'LL REQUEST THAT.
THAT'S, UM, MORE HIGHLY PRIORITIZED, I GUESS.
UM, Y'ALL KNOW THE PROBLEMS THAT PEOPLE WERE FACING, UM, DURING THE STORM WITHOUT WATER, AND, UH, ALL THE TROUBLE THAT THAT CAUSED.
SO, I, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEE MY QUESTION, AND ORIGINALLY WAS GOING TO BE, WHERE ARE THE LOCATIONS? UM, MM-HMM.
THAT'S GONNA REQUIRE QUITE A BIT OF COORDINATION WITH THE CITY ON WHAT, WHAT IS THE BEST LOCATION AND, AND HOW DO WE STORE THAT IS THE NEXT QUESTION THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
SO, SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT, THAT, THAT WE HAD, UM, THERE WERE APARTMENT COMPLEXES MOSTLY, BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OLDER HOMES IN SAN ANTONIO, UH, WITH ELDERLY, UM, INDIVIDUALS, OR EVEN JUST OTHER RESIDENTS THAT CAN'T AFFORD THE COST OF FIXING THEIR PIPES.
UM, DOES, DOES, IS THERE A COORDINATED EFFORT BETWEEN SAWS, CITY, NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, SERVICES AND, UM, MAYBE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO, TO HELP THOSE THAT, THAT, UM, MAYBE SOME AFFORDABILITY PROGRAMS? SO WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A PROGRAM CALLED PLUMBERS TO PEOPLE, AND IF OUR CUSTOMER IS QUALIFIED UNDER OUR AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM, THEY CAN BE ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE IN PLUMBING REPAIRS.
UM, THE, THEY DO NEED TO BE THE HOMEOWNER.
SO TENANTS, UM, IT'S NOT THAT WE WON'T HELP THE LANDLORD, BUT IT DOES REQUIRE THE LANDLORD'S APPROVAL.
SO WHEN WE WENT THROUGH THE, UM, COMMUNITY PIPE REPAIR, UH, PROGRAM AFTER YURI, UM, WHERE THERE WERE TENANTS, WE DID HAVE TO COORDINATE WITH THEIR, THEIR LANDLORDS TO HELP WITH THAT.
BUT, BUT IF THEY ARE IN AFFORDABILITY PROGRAM, WE, THEY CAN BE ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE.
UH, IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET A BRIEFING ON, ON THAT SPECIFIC PROGRAM? JUST I'D LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT SO I CAN, UM, RELATE IT TO MY CONSTITUENTS.
UH, FOR THE PRESENTATIONS, JUST SOME CLARIFICATION ON THE ROLES OF THE RAC VERSUS THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ADVISORY.
UH, YEAH, IT WAS JUST A, I GUESS SHORTLY BEFORE COVID THAT THEY WORKED ON THAT, UM, THAT'S CORRECT ON THAT MM-HMM.
SO, A QUESTION ABOUT THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND SO THE CAC FOCUSES ON IMPACT FEES FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO, UM, BUT IT'S CALLED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT.
SO I, I'M WONDERING WHAT, WHICH COMMITTEE FOCUSES ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS TO EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE? WELL, SO AGAIN, THE C A C AND THE IMPACT FEE STUDY LOOKS AT, UM, IT'S CALLED THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
BUT WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT IS HOW TO PASS ON THE COST OF THE, UM, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, INVESTED IN BY THIS, THE UTILITY OR THAT WILL NEED TO BE INVESTED IN TO SUPPORT GROWTH.
RIGHT? SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE FOCUS, IS HOW DO YOU ALLOCATE THOSE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT COSTS TO THE DEVELOPMENT, NEW DEVELOPMENT AS THEY SIGN ON.
RIGHT? AND THAT'S THOSE IMPACT FEES.
SO IT IS RECOVERING OUR CAPITAL, UM, A PORTION OF OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT COSTS.
THE, UH, THE RATE STUDY AS PART OF OUR REVENUE REQUIREMENTS EACH YEAR, THERE IN OUR BUDGET, THERE IS A, UH, CAPITAL BUDGET THAT IS APPROVED.
THERE IS FUNDING TO, FOR THAT CAPITAL BUDGET IN THAT YEAR.
AND THAT'S ALL PART OF OUR RATE REQUIREMENTS FOR THAT YEAR.
AND SO, IF YOU WILL, THE RATE STUDY CERTAINLY INCORPORATES ALL OF THAT IN THE COST ANALYSIS.
BUT THEN, AND, BUT ONCE YOU HAVE THAT, WHAT IS THAT COST THAT THEN HAS TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE DIFFERENT CLASSES? THEN WHAT WE HAVE THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE DOING IS SAYING, NOW
[01:25:01]
THAT WE HAVE THOSE COSTS, WE KNOW WHAT REVENUE NEEDS TO BE GENERATED BY EACH CLASS, HOW SHOULD WE GENERATE THAT REVENUE? HOW SHOULD THAT THOSE CUSTOMERS BE CHARGED? AND I MENTIONED FIXED CHARGES VERSUS VARIABLE CHARGES.WHAT IS THAT BILL GONNA LOOK LIKE FOR THAT AVERAGE USER OR THAT HIGH USER? UM, AND SO THAT'S THE REAL FOCUS OF THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE DURING THE RATE STUDY IS ON RATE, WHAT WE CALL RATE DESIGN.
I JUST WANTED TO ENSURE IT INCLUDED, UM, CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE.
IT'S, THAT'S IN OUR, OUR ANNUAL BUDGET.
AND I SEE THAT, UH, THE MODEL'S DESIGNED, UM, ASSUMPTIONS ARE MADE, UH, I GUESS THE MODEL IS RUN, AND THEN IN FEBRUARY TO JULY, IT GOES TO THE COMMITTEE, THE, THE RAC COMMITTEE.
SO DOES THAT, UH, FEBRUARY THROUGH JULY TIMEFRAME ALLOW FOR SOME ITERATION YES.
OF, OF THE MODEL? IS THAT WHAT HAPPENED? ABSOLUTELY.
AND THEN LASTLY, UM, THERE'S A SECTION FOR, FOR PUBLIC OUTREACH, OUTREACH, BUT AT THAT POINT, IT'S REALLY MORE LIKE PUB, PROVIDING PUBLIC INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT'S COMING.
RIGHT? IT'S ABOUT THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE REC HAS MADE, UM, ASSUMING THAT THEY'VE, THEY WERE ABLE TO REACH CONSENSUS, OR IF IN THE EVENT THEY CAN'T STAFF'S RECOMMENDATIONS.
BUT, BUT ULTIMATELY, WE'RE, WE ARE GONNA BE LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK AS WELL TO PROVIDE TO OUR BOARD, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO ULTIMATELY HAVE TO MAKE THE DECISION ABOUT THOSE CHANGES, UH, BY NOVEMBER.
MARY, IF YOU CAN HELP US, UH, MAYBE WITH A BREAKDOWN BY A DISTRICT.
I KNOW THERE'S APPROXIMATELY 6,000 DISCONNECTIONS, I'D LIKE TO SEE A BREAKDOWN, AND THEN ALSO A, A BREAKDOWN SPECIFICALLY BY COUNCIL DISTRICT ON APPLICATIONS RECEIVED.
I KNOW THERE'S STILL SOME ADDITIONAL WORK TO DO, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
YESTERDAY AT P C D C, WE GOT SOME INFORMATION ON EAP ASSISTANCE.
AND, UM, I KNOW THAT SOME OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS THAT DIDN'T EXPERIENCE DIGITAL DIVIDE HAD MORE APPLICATIONS IN.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UM, FULLY, UH, LOOKING OUT FOR THEM AND THAT WE'RE HELPING OUR RESIDENTS WITH MOST NEED.
AND THEN, UM, ALSO, COUNCILMAN RAVO HAD ASKED LAST GO AROUND, UH, IN NOVEMBER, IF WE, UM, WERE ADDRESSING LOW INCOME SUPPLIES AND, OR, SORRY, LOW, LOW INCOME FOLKS, UH, IN PARTICULAR FOR SUPPLIES TO PREPARE FOR WINTER.
GINO MENTIONED AT THE TIME THAT WE WERE, SO HOW DID THAT WORK OUT LAST WEEK? I'M WONDERING, IT MIGHT BE KAVIN GINO THAT, THAT WANTS TO ANSWER THAT, BUT WHILE HE COMES UP, UH, BEN, I DON'T SEE THE DASHBOARD.
COUNCILMAN COURAGE HAD MENTIONED THAT THERE WOULD BE A DASHBOARD LAST TIME THAT WE MET.
I DON'T, I CAN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE ONLINE.
I KNOW IT SAYS IT'LL BE UP BY JANUARY 22ND, MAY MAYBE, OR MAYBE 22 IS, IS PROBABLY, SO YOU PROBABLY STILL HAVE A WEEK.
UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, WE ARE STILL DEVELOPING THAT DASHBOARD, BUT WE WILL GET THAT UP SHORTLY.
NO, THE, THE PROGRAM WENT WELL.
AND AS, UH, THE DIRECTION OF COUNCILMAN ROB, WHAT WE DID WAS WORKING WITH OUR AFFORDABILITY FAMILIES AND, UH, SENIORS.
SO WE LOWERED OR EXEMPTED THE PRICES FOR THEM, SO THEY WERE ABLE TO GET IT FOR FREE.
AND I WANNA SAY WE HAD A REALLY GOOD TURNOUT, BUT I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBER.
WHAT I COULD DO IS GET THAT FOR YOU AND SHARE IT WITH YOU.
AND WHAT WE DID WAS WENT BACK TO A LOT OF THE FAMILIES THAT PARTICIPATED THROUGH THE COMMUNITY PIPE REPAIR PROGRAM.
'CAUSE IF YOU REMEMBER, THE GOAL FOR THEM WAS JUST TO GET THE WATER BACK.
SO THE PLUMBERS WENT IN, GOT WATER GOING, AND THEN MOVED ON, MOVED ON.
HAD WE THOUGHT ABOUT IT, THEN WE MIGHT'VE BEEN ABLE TO INSULATE AS WELL.
SO WHAT WE THEN DID WAS, AS WE STARTED THIS NEW PROGRAM, THEY WENT OUT AND STARTED INSULATING AS WELL.
AND SO I'LL GET THOSE NUMBERS AND UPDATED, BUT WE DID GO BACK, START WITH THE FAMILIES THAT WERE MOST AFFECTED BY THE COMMUNITY PIPER REPAIR PROGRAM.
AND THEN, UH, PRIORITIZE WITH OUR AFFORDABILITY FAMILIES.
I ALSO WANNA TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS PLAN THAT YOU SENT OVER.
I THINK THAT IT WAS WELL DONE.
THANKS FOR INCLUDING ROBOCALLS ON THERE.
I'M EXCITED ALSO TO SEE THAT THE WEB PORTAL IS GONNA BE UP IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UM, SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT ONE.
I FIGURED MR. KLAUS WON'T HAVE TO PRESENT HIS LENGTHY, UH, YOU KNOW, REPORT AFTER, AFTER THAT GETS DONE.
I DO HAVE A, ANOTHER QUESTION ACTUALLY, THAT THIS ONE IS FOR MR. KLAUS.
TWO THINGS THAT YOU PRESENTED.
ONE, UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT USING AI, UM, ON PAGE EIGHT.
AND SO WHILE I APPRECIATE AND LOVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, A LOT OF FOLKS KIND OF JUST HANG UP AFTER THEY HEAR, UH, A ROBOCALL.
SO I WOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.
PEOPLE WANNA HEAR REAL PEOPLE ANSWER THE PHONE.
THAT'S WHY I'M AN ADVOCATE FOR 3 1 1.
UM, BUT JUST WANTED YOU TO, TO KNOW WHERE I STAND ON THAT AGAIN, THAT WE CAN REROUTE.
BUT THERE, THERE'S SOME PEOPLE THAT REALLY WANT TO GET TO A PERSON.
SO I'M SURE THERE WOULD BE AN OPTION TO HIT ZERO FOR OPERATOR OR SOMETHING.
UM, I'M ASSUMING THAT WE WILL, YES.
AND THEN I WAS CONCERNED ALSO THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE WASN'T AN S O P, UM, LIKE COUNCILMAN
[01:30:01]
CAVE HAVEA MENTIONED, BECAUSE WHEN I READ THE PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE LAST YEAR, IT SAID THAT EVERY UTILITY IS REQUIRED, WATER UTILITY IS REQUIRED TO HAVE A WATER DISTRIBUTION PLAN JUST IN CASE THERE WAS AN EMERGENCY FOR WATER SITUATIONS.AND SO I DON'T KNOW WHEN THE LAST TIME THEN THAT SAWS UPDATED THAT WAS, OR IF, IF WE, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE'RE NOT AWARE OF THAT AND HOW WE DON'T HAVE A STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE.
DID I MISINTERPRET WHAT I READ IN THE PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE? I'M TRYING TO FIND IT.
I KNOW I HAVE IT AT MY DESK SOMEWHERE, BUT I CAN'T FIND IT ONLINE.
UH, LET ME CHECK ON THE CONTEXT, CONTEXT OF THAT AND WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU ON IT.
BECAUSE I FELT COMFORTABLE KNOWING THAT I FIGURED, OKAY, SOMEBODY AT THE STATE HAS A DISTRIBUTION PLAN FOR WATER, BUT IF, IF WE'RE LEARNING THAT WE DON'T, I'M EXTRA WORRIED NOW.
BUT I'M, I'M HAPPY THAT YOU ALL ARE INVESTING AND LOOKING AT 10 YEAR, UM, UM, UH, WATER THAT, THAT CAN HAVE A SHELF LIFE OF 10 YEAR.
AND, AND THEN ALSO, UM, YOU MENTIONED A TEAM THAT'S GOING TO KEEP TRACK OF THIS.
THAT WAS ONE OF MY CONCERNS, THAT THIS IS JUST STUFFED IN A SHELF SOMEWHERE, OR I GUESS UPLOADED TO A CLOUD SOMEWHERE NOW.
AND SO, UM, UH, WHO, HOW, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE INVOLVED ON THAT TEAM? AND SO IS IT PEOPLE THAT ARE FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES AS WELL? OH, IT'S, UM, MOSTLY OUR EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT GROUP.
OF COURSE, MYSELF, OUR EMERGENCY MANAGER, WE HAVE, UH, SENIOR DIRECTORS FROM OUR OPERATIONS GROUP.
IT'S NOT JUST, UH, ONE, UH, CLASS OF FOLKS.
IT'S SEVERAL OF THOSE THAT ARE HELPING US PUT TOGETHER THAT, THAT CONSTANT REVIEW OF HOW WE'RE DOING HERE.
AND THEN JUST FINALLY, JUST TO ECHO WHAT SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES SAID, AND I KNOW COUNCILMAN HDA MENTIONED IT, UM, A COUPLE OF MEETINGS AGO, AND COUNCILMAN COURAGE AND COUNCILMAN BRAVO MENTIONED IT LAST TIME.
UM, BUT, UH, THE, THE COMMUNICATION WITH OUR STAFF CONTINUES TO TO BE CRITICAL, RIGHT? AND SO I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU, UM, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT I GET A CALL FROM, UH, GAMINO AND TEAM RIGHT AWAY.
UM, BUT ALSO, I DON'T KNOW IF, IF OUR STAFFS ARE INCLUDED OR WILL BE INCLUDED, KINDA LIKE C P S SENDS THE OUTAGE ALERTS WHEN YOU ALL DO THE OUTAGE ALERTS.
WILL THAT BE RECEIVED ALSO BY TEXT MESSAGE BY OUR STAFFS, RIGHT? YOU HAD RAISED THAT AT A PRIOR MEETING.
THE NEXT TIME WE GO THROUGH A TABLETOP THAT YOU WANTED TO HAVE STAFF MEETING INVOLVED, OR YOUR STAFF INVOLVED, AND WE'LL BE SURE THAT THAT IS REACHED OUT AND THEY KNOW OF IT.
YOU KNOW, I WAS REFLECTING ON, UH, WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT DISCONNECTIONS AND, UM, OF ACCOUNTS, I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT HOW DISCONNECTIONS REALLY SUCK.
UH, AND I KNOW, UH, I USED TO, THE WORST JOB I EVER HAD IN MY LIFE WAS PERFORMING DISCONNECTIONS FOR TIME WARNER CABLE.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE.
SOME OF THE THINGS I SAW DURING THAT JOB.
I REMEMBER ONE TIME, UH, MEETING WITH A CLIENT AND HIS TEENAGE DAUGHTER CAME DOWNSTAIRS.
THEIR, THEIR CABLE BILL WAS $800, AND THEIR CABLE HAD BEEN CUT OFF.
AND I WAS THERE TO COLLECT THEIR CABLE BOXES OR GET THEM ON A PAYMENT PROGRAM.
AND I, YOU KNOW, AND I KNEW THAT THE BUSINESS PRACTICES WERE PREDATORY.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SAYING YOURS ARE WITHOUT A DOUBT, YOU KNOW, OR THAT C P S ENERGIES ARE, BUT IN THIS CASE, THEY WERE.
AND OFTEN I FOUND MYSELF ENCOURAGING THE, THE CUSTOMERS TO NOT PAY THE BILL AND SAY, JUST CUT IT OFF.
YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T NEED CABLE.
AND THESE PEOPLE ARE RIPPING YOU OFF, AND THEY'RE MISLEADING YOU.
AND IT WAS AMAZING TO, FOR ME TO SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE WHO WERE LIVING IN POVERTY WHO HAD OUTRAGEOUS CABLE BILLS.
YOU KNOW, THIS WAS EIGHT YEARS AGO, AND THESE WERE CABLE BILLS THAT WERE REGULARLY $200 A MONTH OR MORE.
AND THIS YOUNG WOMAN, SHE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND SHE CAME DOWN AND SHE WANTED THAT CABLE REINSTATED SO BADLY.
AND SO SHE PULLED OUT HER, PAY HER VISA CARD OR WHATEVER IT WAS, SHE WAS WORKING AT PAYLESS, MAKING MINIMUM WAGE, PAYLESS SHOES, MAKING MINIMUM WAGE.
AND I THINK SHE PAID LIKE $500 EVERYTHING THAT SHE COULD TO GET HER CABLE TURNED BACK ON FOR ABOUT A WEEK OR TWO, AND THEN IT WAS GONNA BE SHUT OFF AGAIN.
'CAUSE THEY DIDN'T MAKE THE FULL PAYMENT BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO WATCH HER TV SERIES SO BADLY.
AND I TRIED TO CONVINCE HER NOT TO DO IT.
AND I TRIED TO EXPLAIN TIME AND TIME AGAIN, THEY'RE GONNA CUT IT OFF AGAIN.
'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT PAYING IN FULL.
AND, AND EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE, DON'T DO THIS.
AND THINKING BACK ON THAT, AND WHERE WE ARE TODAY WITH SO MANY POTENTIAL DISCONNECTIONS THAT WE'RE FACING AND THINKING ABOUT THE LEVEL OF POVERTY THAT WE HAVE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, I'M WONDERING, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY HERE TO CONNECT SOME OF THESE CLIENTS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DISCONNECTIONS WHO ARE TRYING, RIGHT?
[01:35:01]
I THINK MAYBE WE'RE THINKING SHORT TERM, ARE WE THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE GET 'EM ON A PAYMENT PROGRAM? BUT CAN WE BE THINKING BIGGER AND THINKING ABOUT CAN WE CONNECT THEM TO RESOURCES, UH, THAT TO HELP TEACH THEM ABOUT FINANCIAL LITERACY AND, YOU KNOW, SOME SKILLS THAT CAN, CAN HELP PEOPLE LIFT PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY.AND I'M JUST, I JUST WANT TO START THAT CONVERSATION WITH SAWS WITH C P S ENERGY AND, UM, AND, AND THE CITY AND SEE IS, IS THERE SOME KIND OF OPPORTUNITY HERE WHERE WE CAN USE THE DATA WE HAVE, USE OUR CONNECTIONS TO THESE CUSTOMERS TO BE ABLE TO THINK LONG TERM AND, AND TRY TO HELP PEOPLE WITH FINANCIAL LITERACY AND HELP LIFT SOME PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY.
THERE'S ONE LAST, UH, QUESTION I'D LIKE TO BRING UP.
UH, AND IT'S, UH, SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT, MAYBE AT OUR NEXT MEETING.
I KNOW SAWS IS, UH, CONSIDERING THEY'RE UPDATING THEIR PROCESS WITH C N N, UH, AND, OR EXCUSE ME, C C N LINES AND EJS AND AREAS OUTSIDE OF THE SERVICE AREA BEING SERVED AND KIND OF LIKE THE GROWTH OF THE SYSTEM.
SO I WOULD HOPE AT OUR NEXT MEETING, UH, WE COULD GET AN UPDATE ON WHERE THE BOARD IS GOING IN THAT DIRECTION, WHAT THEY'RE CONSIDERING, BECAUSE IT, IT DOES IMPACT THE CITY WHEN WE SEE GROWTH OUTSIDE THE CITY AND A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT.
BUT EVERYBODY DRIVES INTO THE CITY TO GO AHEAD AND USE ALL OF THE CITY SERVICES.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW IT'S A, A POINTED DISCUSSION.
I'VE HEARD AT SOME OF YOUR, YOUR MEETINGS.
THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN CHAIRMAN.
WE, THE BOARD DID ASK THE STAFF FOR A BRIEFING ON THOSE ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS REGARDING OUR C C N AND HOW WE GROW WITH WATER AND THE WASTEWATER, C C N AND, AND THE OVERALL SERVICE TERRITORY.
UM, THE STAFF ALSO BRIEFED US THAT, UH, THE CITY STAFF HAD BEGUN ITS WORK AND, UH, THE SCHEDULE THAT STAFF, CITY STAFF PRESENTED WAS SOMETIME IN THE SPRING COUNCIL WOULD BEGIN TO SEE THE RECOMMENDATIONS COMING FROM THE WORK THAT THE STAFF IS DOING REGARDING GROWTH IN THIS COMMUNITY.
SO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ENCOURAGED THE SA STAFF TO STAY IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE WORK THAT THE CITY STAFF WAS DOING, UM, SO THAT IT WOULD INFORM THE WORK AND THE CONSIDERATIONS BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AS IT RELATES TO THE WATER, C C N, THE WASTEWATER C C N, AND HOW WE NEED TO SERVICE, UH, HOW WE NEED TO MANAGE GROWTH FROM THE SAW STANDPOINT.
SO, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO COME BACK.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'LL BE READY NEXT MONTH.
GIVEN THE TIMEFRAME THAT THE, UH, SAW STAFF UPDATED THE BOARD AND THE WORK THAT CITY STAFF HAS AHEAD OF THEM.
BUT CERTAINLY WHEN IT'S TIMELY, WE'D BE HAPPY TO COME BACK AND UPDATE THE COMMITTEE.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S ALL WE NEED TO KNOW IS THAT, THAT THAT WORKS BEING UNDERTAKEN.
AND BEN IS OUR LIAISON WITH YOUR AGENCY AND WITH, UH, THIS COMMITTEE CAN PROBABLY GIVE US A FEW UPDATES UNTIL WE GET CLOSER TO WHERE THE BOARD'S LOOKING FOR DECISION.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION FROM THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM.
NOW WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND HEAR FROM, UH, C P S ENERGY, UH, A SIMILAR BRIEFING.
WE'RE GONNA BE ASKING ABOUT THEIR STATUS OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMM, THE COMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, AN UPDATE ON PLANS FOR ADDRESSING PASS DUE CUSTOMER RECEIVABLES AND SERVICE TERMINATIONS, AND THEIR RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE UPDATES AS WELL.
UH, I'M GONNA, UM, I'M PAUL BARHAM, CHIEF GRID OPTIMIZATION RESILIENCY OFFICER FOR C P SS.
I'M GONNA GIVE Y'ALL A, A BRIEF, UH, UPDATE ON, UH, OUR ACTIVITIES AROUND THE WINTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSES TO THE, UH, COMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
UH, SKIP AND DIVE RIGHT INTO IT.
I KNOW WE HAVE, UH, UM, LIMITED, UH, TIME.
UM, SO GOING INTO, UH, I, I GUESS, UH, THROUGH THE EVENT, UH, LAST YEAR, UM, OUR GOAL, UH, MAY BE BETTER DESCRIBED AS OUR DIRECTIVE TO OURSELVES AND OUR STAFF WAS, UH, ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FROM THE C E P, ALL THE INTERNAL LESSONS LEARNED, ALL NEED TO BE ADDRESSED IN PREPARATION FOR THIS WINTER BY YEAR END.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE BELIEVE WE ACCOMPLISHED.
UM, NOW, UH, EACH OF THOSE ITEMS, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE C E P, UH, WERE ALL ADDRESSED.
UM, AT SOME LEVEL, UH, THOSE MAY HAVE BEEN, UH, MITIGATIONS AND ACTIONS PUT IN PLACE, UH, TO MAKE SURE WE WERE READY FOR THIS WINTER, UH, AS WELL AS SOME OF THOSE GOT, UH, LONGER TERM ACTION PLANS.
AND SO, UH, WE HAVE, UH, EFFECTIVELY, UH, UH, FEEL WE'VE ADDRESSED ALL
[01:40:01]
THOSE ITEMS, AND WE HAVE SUBMITTED THOSE, UH, ACTIONS AND ACTION PLANS ALL TO, UH, THE COMMITTEE FOR YOUR REVIEW.UM, AND, YOU KNOW, ANY QUESTIONS, UH, TODAY OR IN THE FUTURE THAT Y'ALL MAY WANT TO, UH, UH, SUBMIT TO US FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, FURTHER CLARIFICATIONS TODAY? I'M GONNA JUST, UH, GIVE A HIGH LEVEL, UM, UH, SUMMARY OF OUR ACTIVITIES.
'CAUSE WE'VE, UH, REALLY COVERED, I THINK, IN DETAIL SOME OF THE MORE CRITICAL ASPECTS OF THAT, UH, PLAN.
UM, SIMILARLY WITH OUR INTERNAL, UH, LESSONS LEARNED ALSO, UM, UH, WENT THROUGH, UM, PROCESS FOR MAKING SURE ALL THOSE WERE ADDRESSED AND MITIGATED.
UM, I DO WANT TO ALSO, UH, JUST A QUICK CALL OUT TO, UH, MARIA.
UH, SHE REPORTED ON THE WORK WITH THE E O C.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE, AND, UH, AND THE COLLABORATION WE'VE HAD WITH, UH, HER AND HER STAFF HAS BEEN, UH, HAS JUST REALLY BEEN GREAT.
I THINK WE'VE REPORTED ON, ON, UH, HOW WE'VE, UH, REALLY BUILT ON THOSE RELATIONSHIPS OVER THIS PAST YEAR.
AND I THINK THAT ALONE, UH, YOU KNOW, ITSELF PUTS US IN A MUCH BETTER PLACE.
THIS IS A PRETTY BUSY CHART, BUT I THINK THE, THE POINT HERE IS, UH, THESE WERE KIND OF THE, THE MAJOR AREAS OF, UH, IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE WERE ATTACKING.
AND, UH, A LOT OF, UH, A LOT OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN HERE, UH, REALLY WANT TO, UH, CALL OUT TO STAFF THE, UM, UH, THE GOOD JOB THEY DID ON REALLY DIGGING IN AND MAKING A LOT OF, UH, UH, REALLY SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD IN ALL THE AREAS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED.
THE ITEMS AT THE BOTTOM OF THESE LISTS IN BLUE INDICATE SOME OF THE ONGOING ACTIONS THAT, UH, UH, WE WILL HAVE, UH, THE P U C SHOWS UP IN A COUPLE OF THOSE.
UM, AS, UH, WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, THERE'S STILL WORK TO DO AT THE ERCOT LEVEL, UH, NO QUESTION.
UH, MARKET REDESIGN IS A BIG PART OF THAT.
THE P U C IS PICKING UP PHASE TWO OF THE MARKET REDESIGN.
WE ARE FULLY ENGAGED IN MONITORING AND, AND GIVING INPUT INTO THAT EFFORT.
SIMILARLY, THE PHASE TWO OF THE P U C WEATHERIZATION REQUIREMENTS ARE, ARE KICKING OFF AS WELL, WHICH WILL HAVE TO DO WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, NEW DESIGN REQUIREMENTS AND, UH, WEATHERIZATION REQUIREMENTS FOR GENERATION PLANTS, AS WELL AS OUR TRANSMISSION SYSTEM.
AND WE WILL, UH, AGAIN, UH, YOU KNOW, FULLY RESPOND TO AND, AND STAY ON TOP OF THOSE REQUIREMENTS AS, AS THEY COME OUT.
IN ADDITION, UH, UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, AS WE HAVE GONE THROUGH, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, THE GAPS AND AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT, WE FOUND THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF, IN, UH, A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO APPLY, UH, TECHNOLOGIES, UM, TO, UM, UH, BETTER CONTROL THE LOAD SHED, UH, TO PROVIDE, UH, MORE INFORMATION TO US AND OUR CUSTOMERS TO, UM, UH, PROVIDE MORE FLEXIBILITY IN OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM TO BETTER BE ABLE TO SERVE CRITICAL LOADS IN THE FUTURE.
BUT THESE ARE ONGOING INVESTMENTS, ONGOING ENGINEERING AND DESIGN THAT, UH, UH, THAT WE, UH, HAVE PROJECTS IDENTIFIED FOR AND WILL BE MOVING FORWARD ON.
UM, AGAIN, UH, ON, UH, UH, SPEAKING OF, UH, MARIA AND, AND WORKING WITH THE CITY, UH, WORKING TO ASSESS, UM, YOU KNOW, FACILITIES FOR HARDENING, UH, AND ALSO WITH SAWS AND, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR MICROGRIDS.
UH, I KNOW, UH, UH, COUNCILMAN BRAVO HAS BROUGHT THIS UP AS WELL AS, AS OTHERS WE ARE, UH, THAT IS, UH, ON OUR, UM, UH, IN OUR SITES FOR PURSUING THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND LOOKING AT, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE MAY, MAY DO THERE.
AND I KNOW THE, UH, CITY HAS IDENTIFIED, UH, RESILIENCY HUBS, WHICH WE ARE, UH, UM, EXCITED TO BE INVOLVED IN AND SUPPORT THAT EFFORT.
UH, AND THEN, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN DISCUSSED BEFORE, UH, THE, UH, TABLETOPS, UH, EXERCISES, TRAINING, ALL THESE THINGS ARE REQUIRED REALLY INDEFINITELY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE CONTINUALLY LOOKING AT OUR PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES.
WE'RE CONTINUALLY EXERCISING THOSE AND KEEPING THOSE, UH, ON TOP OF MIND AND FRESH, UH, FOR LEADERSHIP AS WELL AS, UH, AS OUR WORKFORCE.
SO, UH, WITH THIS PRESENTATION, UM, WE ARE, I GUESS, PUTTING FORWARD THAT WE ARE CLOSING OUT KIND OF THE REGULAR UPDATES, BE GLAD TO PROVIDE IN THE FUTURE, ANY FURTHER INFORMATION Y'ALL MAY WANT ON PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT
[01:45:01]
IN PLACE.BUT I THINK WE'VE GIVEN Y'ALL ALL THE INFORMATION ON HOW WE'VE ADDRESSED THESE ITEMS AND OUR, UH, OUR, OUR PLANS GOING FORWARD.
UM, I WILL, UH, ALSO POINT OUT, UH, SOME OF Y'ALL MAY KNOW, UH, I'M RETIRING, UH, HERE, UH, SOON.
AND, UH, I AM, UH, UH, INTRODUCE, UH, RICHARD, UH, MEDINA, WHO'S TAKEN MY PLACE, AND HE WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO PROVIDE Y'ALL WITH, UH, ANSWERS, UH, TO QUESTIONS AND UPDATES ON, UH, THE MANY PROJECTS, UH, THAT, THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH.
UH, RICHARD IS, UH, UH, VERY QUALIFIED IN THE AREA OF THE TECHNOLOGY AND MICROGRIDS, AND HAS, UM, REALLY SPENT, UH, A FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME IN THOSE AREAS.
AND I THINK, UH, HE WILL BE A GREAT RESOURCE, UH, MOVING FORWARD, UH, FOR C P S.
UM, ALSO MENTIONED THAT, UH, WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO PROVIDE UPDATES, UH, ON OUR WEBSITE OF OUR ACTIVITIES, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, UH, INFORMATION.
I BELIEVE, UH, UH, SOME UPDATED INFORMATION WAS, UM, ACTUALLY PLACED THERE, UH, RECENTLY, BOTH IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
UM, AND, UH, UH, WE, WE, UH, HOPE WE DON'T FACE ANOTHER, UH, YURI TYPE EVENT, BUT, UH, HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY, AND WE BELIEVE WE HAVE PUT A LOT OF THINGS IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT IF IT DOES HAPPEN, UH, IT DOES NOT HAVE THE IMPACTS ON OUR COMMUNITY, UH, THAT THIS PAST EVENT, UH, DID.
UM, AND I THINK, UH, THAT IS, UM, ALL OF MY, UH, UPDATES THAT I HAVE.
UM, BUT, UH, WE'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, UH, THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
PAUL, JUST 'CAUSE YOU'RE RETIRING, WE'RE NOT GONNA LET YOU OFF THE HOOK.
SO, UH, COULD WE GO BACK TO THAT CHART THAT YOU HAD, UH, MULTICOLORED DIFFERENT COLUMNS, AND, UH, OBVIOUSLY AS WE LOOK AT THAT, IT, IT HIGHLIGHTS, UH, DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF ACTIVITIES AND, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT Y'ALL HAVE MET.
NOW, DOES THE CHECK MARK MEAN THAT YOU'RE COMPLETELY DONE WITH EACH OF THESE, OR ARE SOME OF THESE STILL UNDERGOING ADDITIONAL WORK? AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND.
SO I WOULD SAY THE CHECK MARK INDICATES THAT, UM, IT IS COMPLETED NOW, RESILIENCY, UH, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ARE, ARE PART OF, UH, OUR WAY OF DOING BUSINESS.
YOU KNOW, SO I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA ASK AN OPERATIONAL GUY, UH, NONE OF THIS IS EVER DONE, RIGHT? RIGHT.
SO, I THINK PROBABLY IN, IN MANY OF THESE, THERE, THERE MAY BE OTHER IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED BY STAFF, BUT I THINK THE, THE CHECKED ITEMS INDICATE, UH, ITEMS THAT WE, WE BELIEVE ARE IN A SOLID STATE OF COMPLETION.
UM, NOW I THINK TWO OF THE BIGGEST CONCERNS THAT PEOPLE IN MY DISTRICT, I KNOW HAVE, ARE NUMBER ONE, DO WE REALLY HAVE A NEW LOAD MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT'S GONNA REGULATE OUTAGES IN A MORE FAIR AND EQUITABLE WAY IN THE FUTURE? YES.
SO THE, THE, THE LOAD MANAGEMENT PLAN, WE HAVE LOAD SHED, UM, THE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS WE MADE TO MAKE SURE THAT IF WE GET INTO, UH, A SIMILAR SIZED EVENT WITH ERCOT, THAT WE CAN MEET, UH, THAT, UM, THAT LOAD REDUCTION REQUEST AND NOT END UP IN A SITUATION WHERE WE HAVE, UH, LARGE PARTS OF THE CITY THAT WERE, ARE OUT WITHOUT POWER FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME.
NOW, TO DO THAT, UH, THERE ARE, IN THE CURRENT PLAN, THERE ARE MORE CUSTOMERS THAT WOULD BE IMPACTED BY THE LOAD SHED, BUT THAT LOAD SHED, UH, SHOULD SHOW UP AS A 15 MINUTE OUTAGE FOLLOWED BY SOME PERIOD OF TIME BEING BACK, UH, IN POWER.
UH, THAT IS THE, THAT IS THE GOAL IN OUR SYSTEM TESTING.
IT IS, UH, SHOWN THAT THAT'S, UH, UH, WHAT SHOULD BE THE RESULT.
OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, UNTIL YOU HAVE THE EVENT, YOU REALLY CAN'T, YOU KNOW, FULLY TEST IT.
BUT WE HAVE, UH, TESTED IT ON OUR, UH, IN, IN OUR SYSTEMS AND HAVE PUT PROGRAMMING PLACE THAT WE BELIEVE ACCOMPLISHES THAT IN WINTER STORM, YURI, HOW MANY HOMES WERE ACTUALLY, UH, LOSE LOST POWER CONSISTENTLY.
I USED TO HAVE THESE NUMBERS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
UM, I CAN GET YOU THAT NUMBER.
YOU REMEMBER RUDY COUNCILMAN AT, AT THE PEAK WE HAD ABOUT 400,000 CUSTOMERS OF OUR, YOU KNOW, CLOSE TO 900,000 CUSTOMERS WHO WERE IMPACTED.
SO LESS THAN HALF OF THE CITY WAS
[01:50:01]
REALLY BLACKED OUT.OR THE CUSTOMERS, 'CAUSE I KNOW SOME ARE ACTUALLY OUTSIDE THE CITY AND THE COUNTY.
AND, AND YOU SAID THAT, UH, PEOPLE WILL PROBABLY LOSE MAYBE THEIR POWER FOR 15 MINUTES, BUT THEN THEY'LL GET IT BACK ON, BUT YOU DID INDICATE THAT'S UNSPECIFIED.
AND I REMEMBER ONE OF THE CONCERNS WAS THAT EVERYBODY HAD ALL THEIR POWER ON, SO WHEN YOU WENT TO TURN IT BACK ON, IT WENT RIGHT OFF BECAUSE THERE WAS JUST TOO MUCH OF A LOAD TO IMMEDIATELY GO ON.
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO COMPENSATE FOR THAT CONTINUING? ARE YOU GONNA EDUCATE THE PUBLIC THAT, HEY, IF YOUR POWER GOES OFF, TURN OFF EVERYTHING EXCEPT ONE LIGHT OR SOMETHING, OR, OR LOOK IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR TO SEE IF THE POWERS COME ON? WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO TO KEEP IT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN WITH EVERYBODY WITH LIGHTS ON, ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU TRY AND TURN THE POWER ON AND IT GOES RIGHT OFF? YES, SIR.
THE EDUCATIONAL ASPECT, ABSOLUTELY, UH, ONE OF THOSE, UM, THAT, UH, WE HAVE, UH, PUT INTO OUR PLANS, UH, IN OUR EMERGENCY COM, UH, COMMUNICATION PLANS.
THE OTHER ASPECT IS THE, THE 15 MINUTE, UM, NOT ONLY IS THAT OUR TARGET JUST BECAUSE IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, EASIER ON THE CUSTOMER THAN, YOU KNOW, UH, EXTENDED OUTAGE.
IT ALSO BENEFITS, UH, THE SYSTEM IN TERMS OF IF A, IF A HOME IS, IS ONLY OUT OF POWER 15 MINUTES, UM, THAT'S A MUCH D DIFFERENT SITUATION.
UH, AS FAR AS THE, THE LOAD THAT WE SEE THEN IF THE HOUSE WAS OUT FOR AN HOUR OR TWO HOURS, THAT INITIAL LOAD IS, IS MUCH HIGHER FOR THAT HOME THAT HAS BEEN OUT FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.
SO, UH, SO REALLY THE, THE SHORT OUTAGE PERIOD IS NOT ONLY FOR CUSTOMER BENEFIT, BUT IS ALSO, UH, BENEFIT AND BEING ABLE TO MANAGE THE, THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM.
THE OTHER THING IS, I THINK, I KNOW A LOT OF US ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HOW MUCH THIS HAS COST US.
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ENSURE A BETTER, UH, AFFORDABLE FLOW OF ENERGY RESOURCES TO THE CITY? IF WE GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN, IN OTHER WORDS, ARE WE GONNA BE PAYING SKY HIGH GAS PRICES LIKE WE DID, UH, SINCE THE STATE'S NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT, WHAT ARE WE DOING? YEAH.
SO, UH, AS FAR AS GAS PRICES, WE HAVE, UM, UH, PUT IN, UM, UH, A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS IN TERMS OF, UH, ADDITIONAL PIPELINE CAPACITY, ADDITIONAL STORAGE CAPACITY, UH, ADDITIONAL HEDGING, UH, FOR PRICING.
UM, AND SO, UH, THAT'S A, I'M GONNA SAY A, A A BROADER PROGRAM AROUND MANAGING THE NATURAL GAS SUPPLY.
UM, BUT, UH, ABSOLUTELY, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE RIGHT, THERE HAVE BEEN, UH, REALLY NO CHANGES TO THAT MARKET THAT WOULD PREVENT, UH, ANOTHER, UM, UH, BLOOD OFF PRICES IN THE NATURAL GAS MARKET LIKE WE SAW BEFORE.
SO WE HAVE, UH, REALLY PUT, UM, UH, BEEFED UP OUR GAS SUPPLY PROGRAM, UH, TO MITIGATE THAT RISK.
SO WOULD WE FACE SOME POSSIBLE INCREASES IN PRICES DURING A SITUATION LIKE THAT? IS IT GONNA AFFECT 50% OF OUR ENERGY RESOURCE NEEDS? OR 25% DO WE KNOW? UM, I THINK, UH, SO THE QUESTION REALLY GOES TO WHAT THE SCENARIO MIGHT BE, RIGHT? UM, WELL, LET'S LOOK AT THE WORST THAT WE WENT THROUGH.
YEAH, I, I PROBABLY CAN'T GIVE YOU A SPECIFIC ANSWER.
I THINK IN THOSE EVENTS, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE OBVIOUSLY WOULD BE IN PRICE INCREASES IN THE MARKET PRICE, UH, BUT OUR, UM, UH, HEDGING AND MITIGATION PLANS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHILE THEY MAY SEE, UH, SOME PRICE INCREASE, UH, WILL CAP THAT.
UM, BEFORE WE GET INTO THESE, UH, EXORBITANT PRICES, UH, COUNCILMAN, THE, THE SHORT ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS ABSOLUTELY.
I, I'VE BEEN PREACHING, YOU KNOW, FOR THE LAST YEAR THAT THAT PRICE EVENT COULD HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THIS WINTER.
AND SO WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, IN, IN OUR MINDS REASONABLY INCREASED OUR, OUR, OUR RISK MITIGATION POSITION, UH, TO, TO BE AS AFFORDABLE AS WE THINK WE CAN BE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS AND COVER, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ADDITIONAL RISK OF, OF A, OF ANOTHER PRICE EVENT.
THE OTHER THING THAT WE'VE DONE IS, YOU KNOW, NUMBER ONE, WE'RE NOT DOING BUSINESS WITH THE BAD ACTORS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN LITIGATION WITH THIS, THIS, UH, THIS, THIS TIME AROUND.
WE'RE BUYING GAS FROM OTHER, FROM OTHER SUPPLIERS, UH, AND WE'VE BROADENED THE DIVERSITY OF THE SUPPLY SO THAT WE HAVE OPTIONS IN THOSE CASES.
NOT ALL GAS SUPPLIERS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, DROVE TO THE, TO THE MAXIMUM PRICE THEY COULD HAVE CHARGED US.
SOME OF THEM SHOWED SOME RESTRAINT, AND, YOU KNOW, AND THOSE ARE THE KIND OF, THOSE ARE THE KIND OF SUPPLIERS WE WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH.
[01:55:01]
I THINK THAT WILL ALSO HELP TO ENSURE THAT WE'VE GOT GOOD ACTORS ON THE OTHER END OF THE TRANSACTION.UH, AT LEAST I FEEL BETTER THAT WE HAVE MORE DIVERSITY THERE THAN WE, THAN WE HAD LAST TIME.
AND HOLD ON, I NEED TO APOLOGIZE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PREVIOUSLY WITH SAS WE HEARD ALL THE PRESENTATIONS AND I STARTED ASKING QUESTIONS JUST AT THIS ONE.
SO I'LL ALLOW ANY OF THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS AT THIS TIME IF THEY'D LIKE TO ASK QUESTIONS OF PAUL, UH, REGARDING, UH, THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
AND, UH, I'LL ENTERTAIN ANY THAT ANY OF YOU MIGHT HAVE RIGHT NOW, AND THEN WE'LL HEAR THE, THE REST OF THE PRESENTATIONS.
AND JUST A, A QUICK FOLLOW UP ON YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THE 15 MINUTE INTERVALS AND HOW, UH, ON THE WHILE THAT MAY HAVE BEEN HAPPENING ON THE, ON YOUR END IN THE HOME, THAT'S NOT WHAT WAS HAPPENING FOR, FOR WHATEVER REASON.
AND THEN SOMETIMES WE EVEN HAD EXTENDED OUTAGES BECAUSE LINES WERE DOWN, UH, AS, AS WELL.
SO I, I DON'T THINK I QUITE UNDERSTOOD THE ANSWER ABOUT HOW THAT'S GOING TO BE AVOIDED.
SO DURING THE EVENT WE HAD, UH, IN YURI, THE, THE BOTTOM LINE WAS WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH, ENOUGH CIRCUITS, ENOUGH CAPACITY TO CALL ON.
UH, SO ONE OF THE KIND OF CORE IMPROVEMENTS WE'VE MADE IS WE BROADEN THE CIRCUITS THAT ARE, UH, WOULD BE UTILIZED IN LOAD SHED.
THAT'S, SO YOU'RE SPREADING IT OUT OVER A LARGER NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS.
THAT IS NOT THE EXPERIENCE THAT CUSTOMERS HAD, UM, WHICH WAS BECAUSE THE, THE SYSTEM AS IT WAS TRYING TO MEET THE, THE TARGET GIVEN TO US BY ERCOT, UM, IT HAD, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S A COMPUTER SYSTEM, SO IT'S LOOKING AT HOW DO I SOLVE THIS PROBLEM? AND EFFECTIVELY IT WAS HAVING TO TAKE OUT ALL THE CIRCUITS IT HAD AVAILABLE TO IT TO MEET THAT TARGET.
SO WE'VE INCREASED THAT NUMBER OF CIRCUITS, UH, THAT THE, THAT THE SYSTEM CAN CALL ON, UH, TO MEET THOSE TARGETS.
SO THAT MEANS MORE USERS WOULD BE EXPERIENCING AN OUTAGE? YES.
BUT IT WOULD BE A MORE PREDICTABLE OUTAGE? YES.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE UH, SAYING? YES.
ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER HAVE A QUESTION? OKAY.
CHIEF PAUL, YOU GOT, THANK YOU.
OKAY, NOW WE WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH, UH, REVENUE LOSS AND ANY, UH, DISCONNECTS THAT ARE GOING ON AT C P S.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND GET RIGHT INTO IT.
FIRST WE WANNA TALK ABOUT THE ENGAGEMENTS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING SO FAR BECAUSE REALLY WE'VE CONTINUED TO TELL CUSTOMERS THAT THEIR ACCOUNT DOES NOT NEED TO BE DISCONNECTED, AND WE'VE GOTTA GET THAT MESSAGE OUT TO THEM AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
SO YOU CAN SEE HERE A LIST OF THE ENGAGEMENTS THAT WE'VE DONE OVER THE LAST FISCAL YEAR.
AND COUNCILMAN BRAVO, I HEAR YOUR, YOUR COMMENTS AROUND HOW WE CAN INCUR, INCUR, CONTINUE TO GROW THAT PROGRAM.
ESPECIALLY WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FINANCIAL LITERACY.
WE DO HAVE A, A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, HOUSING SERVICES THAT WE DO REFERRALS, BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY REACH OUT TO THEM AND SEE IF WE CAN INCLUDE THEM IN UTILITY FAIRS AND OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN GET CLASSES OUT THERE.
AND WE CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO ENHANCE HOW WE COMMUNICATE, HOW WE HOLISTICALLY SUPPORT OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND SO WE'VE GONE THROUGH, AND YOU'VE SEEN THESE SLIDES BEFORE, BUT WE'RE CONTINUING TO CALL CUSTOMERS, GO TO THEIR DOOR, DO DOOR HANGERS, MAILERS.
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CALL OVER 90,000 CUSTOMERS AND HELP CONNECT THEM WITH OVER $45 MILLION SO FAR IN, IN ASSISTANCE AND WE KNOW THAT THAT GOES A FAR AWAY, BUT THERE'S STILL A LOT MORE THAT OUR, OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS.
SO THIS KIND OF GIVES YOU A BREAKDOWN HERE OF WHERE WE'RE AT FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, WE HAVE, THIS IS REALLY KIND OF DOLLARS WISE, BUT WHENEVER YOU LOOK AT THE, AT THE ACCOUNT, UH, THE CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS, WE ACTUALLY HAVE 80% OF OUR CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS THAT ARE CURRENT.
SO IT'S ABOUT ONE IN FIVE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE PAST DUE OR ELIGIBLE FOR DISCONNECT.
AND THOSE ARE THE CUSTOMERS THAT WE WANNA CONTINUE TO SEE HOW WE CAN HELP.
AND THIS IS HOW IT BREAKS OUT.
WHEN WE LOOK AT FROM A RESIDENTIAL AND A COMMERCIAL STANDPOINT, ONE OF THE, THE BIGGEST THINGS IS, UH, ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE 6,000 LESS CUSTOMERS ELIGIBLE FOR DISCONNECT AT THE END OF DECEMBER THAN WE HAD IN UM, NOVEMBER.
AND IT'S REALLY BECAUSE THOSE CUSTOMERS ARE CONNECTING WITH US, WE'RE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO THEM AND HELP FIND SOLUTIONS.
THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO COVER THEIR FULL PAST DUE BALANCE, BUT THEY ARE ABLE TO START MAKING, MAKING ARRANGEMENTS.
WE HAVE SEEN A LITTLE BIT OF AN INCREASE ON THE, THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, UH, AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO FIND SOLUTIONS AND SEE HOW WE CAN CONNECT ON THE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR THE AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL
[02:00:01]
CUSTOMER.YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'VE CONTINUED TO, TO CLIMB IN OUR, UM, PAST DUE AMOUNT, BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY AT A POINT WHERE WE'RE ALMOST PLATEAUING.
SO THE AVERAGE PAST DUE AMOUNT IS A LITTLE OVER $700, AND IT'S STAYING OVER 200 DAYS.
SO WE'RE HOPING THAT THIS IS THE, THE SIGN THAT WE'RE GONNA START BEING ABLE TO COME ON THE, UH, ON THE DOWNSIDE OF SEE THESE NUMBERS START DROPPING AND, AND HELPING MORE AND MORE OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND THIS IS, UH, THE TRAJECTORY THAT YOU'VE SEEN IN, UH, WE'VE SHOWN, I THINK IN THE PAST TO SHOW THAT, UM, IT'S, IT REALLY IS SLOWING DOWN FOR, NOT JUST FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMER, BUT OUR TOTAL PAST DUE BALANCES.
LAST YEAR, WE SAW AN 11% INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR.
FROM NOVEMBER TO DECEMBER, WE ONLY SAW A 3% INCREASE IN RISE IN BALANCES.
SO I KNOW MARY MENTIONED THAT IT WAS, TOOK TWO YEARS TO GET INTO THE PO POSITION THAT WE WERE IN.
AND, UH, IT'S GONNA TAKE US A WHILE TO GET OUT, BUT THIS IS, UH, I THINK A SIGN THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO, TO PLATEAU AND THEN HOPEFULLY COME DOWN ON PAST DUE BALANCES.
SO HERE WE HAVE WHAT, UH, THE, UH, ORIGINAL SEQUENCING THAT WE HAD, UH, UH, RECOMMENDED LAST YEAR FOR HOW WE WERE GOING TO RESUME DISCONNECTS FOR OUR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
AND ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, WE DID DISCONNECT A LITTLE OVER 300,000 ACCOUNTS.
AND OUT OF THAT, IT WAS ABOUT 84% DID RECONNECT.
UM, BUT THEN AGAIN, COUNCILMAN BRAVO TO YOUR POINT ABOUT WHENEVER YOU WERE WITH TIME WARNER, SAME THING FOR OUR, UM, OUR FOLKS THAT GO OUT TO TALK TO CUSTOMERS, AND THEY HAVE TO DISCONNECT.
BUT THE ONE THING THAT WE HAVE DONE IS EMPOWER OUR EMPLOYEES TO SAY, WORK WITH THEM.
IF YOU GO TO A RESTAURANT AND IT'S FULL OF PEOPLE, AND THE PERSONS THERE SAYING, OWNERS THERE SAYING, I CAN JUST GIMME A DAY AND I WILL FIND A SOLUTION, WE WON'T DISCONNECT.
WE'LL COME BACK TOMORROW, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE DO IT.
SO OUR GOAL IS WHEN WE'RE THERE, IS TO ACTUALLY HELP THEM IN PERSON OVER THE PHONE, WHATEVER SOLUTION WE CAN GET, WE WANNA EMPOWER OUR, OUR FOLKS TO HELP GET OUR COMMUNITY BACK ON ON ITS FEET.
SO ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, THIS IS WHERE WE, UM, WHAT WE HAD PROPOSED, BUT WE ACTUALLY NEVER, UH, STARTED DOING RESIDENTIAL, UH, ACCOUNT DISCONNECTIONS.
UH, BUT WE DID, UH, SO WE HAVEN'T DONE ANY DISCONNECTIONS SINCE MARCH, 2020.
AND, UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, IN, FOR, ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, WE WILL BEGIN, UH, THE RESIDENT, I MEAN, COMMERCIAL DISCONNECTS IN FEBRUARY AS WELL AS RESIDENTIAL DISCONNECTS.
BUT THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE STRICTLY FOR CUSTOMERS WHO ON THEIR ACCOUNTS, THEY'RE NOT ENROLLED IN ANY TYPE OF ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. THEY'RE NOT IN ANY QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACKS.
UH, AND THEY HAVE, WE HAVE CALLED THEM.
THEY HAVEN'T MADE A PAYMENT IN 12 MONTHS.
WE'VE DONE EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO REACH OUT TO THEM.
WE JUST HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO ENGAGE THEM.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, WE'RE AT THAT POINT WHERE WE DO HAVE TO DISCONNECT FOR THOSE, UH, ACCOUNTS.
AND SO THIS IS WHERE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ENGAGING AND DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAXIMIZE THE ARPA FUNDS THAT YOU HAVE ALLOCATED FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF INFORMATION AND, AND, AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND WHO'S OUT THERE THAT CAN REALLY MAXIMIZE THE BENEFITS.
AND WE'VE IDENTIFIED OVER 40,000 CUSTOMERS THAT WE THINK COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR ARPA FUNDS.
AND SO THESE CUSTOMERS, WE'RE CONTINUING TO TARGET MESSAGING.
THIS IS THE GROUPS THAT WE GO OUT TO.
WE HAVE, UM, AND, UH, WE'VE DONE DOOR HANGERS AND, UH, WE GO AND KNOCK ON THEIR DOORS.
WE DO THE AR ARPA POP-UP EVENTS.
I KNOW WE'VE GOTTEN FEEDBACK, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND WE'VE CHANGED THE, OUR DOOR HANGERS, MAKE SURE WE INCLUDE OUR PHONE NUMBER.
UH, WE HAVE FLYERS WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO MESSAGE TO THESE CUSTOMERS.
AND SO FAR TO DATE, WE'VE RECEIVED OVER 7,000, UH, APPLICATIONS FROM AN ARPA PERSPECTIVE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT REPRESENTS A LITTLE BIT OVER, OR IT'S CLOSE TO $6 MILLION OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE SO FAR.
SO WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH, UH, PROCESSING THOSE.
BUT WE ARE PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.
LOOKS LIKE ABOUT 25% OF THOSE ACCOUNTS WILL BE ABLE TO RECEIVE OVER A THOUSAND DOLLARS IN, IN BENEFITS.
SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO WIPE OUT THE, THEIR PAST DUE AMOUNT.
BUT FOR THESE CUSTOMERS, LIKE I MENTIONED, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO DO REACH OUT TO THEM EVERY WAY THAT WE POSSIBLY CAN.
SO WE'VE DONE A BILL, A MESSAGE ON YOUR BILLS.
WE HAVE, UH, FLYERS IN OUR WALK-IN CENTERS.
WE SHARE THAT WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
WE ALSO SHARE THAT ON NEXT DOOR OR ANY OTHER COMMUNITY POSTS WE HAVE.
UM, WHENEVER WE HAVE OUR LITTLE, UH, ARPA EVENTS OUT IN THE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES, WE SEND, UH, SEND WORD NOW OR WE SEND A MESSAGE, AN AUTOMATED MESSAGE SAYING, HEY, WE'RE GONNA BE IN YOUR COMMUNITY ON TOP OF HANGING THE, THE DOOR HANGERS.
AND THEN WE, UH, TARGET, UH, SPECIFIC, UM, BLOCKS TO GO KNOCK ON.
WE HAVE SLOWED THAT DOWN A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE OF THE, UH, THE CURRENT COVID NUMBERS.
SO WE ARE DOING OTHER WAYS TO REACH OUT TO OUR, OUR, OUR CUSTOMERS, BUT AS SOON AS WE START SEEING THE NUMBERS COME DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO REACH OUT.
BUT FOR ANYBODY THAT WE'VE RECEIVED AN ARPA APPLICATION FOR, WE HAVE A 90 DAY HOLD ON THEIR ACCOUNT
[02:05:01]
TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN PROCESS IT, MAXIMIZE THE FUNDS, AND THAT WE, WE REASSURE THEM THAT THEY DO NOT HAVE TO, TO WORRY ABOUT IT.AND THEN, UH, ON TOP OF THAT, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S JUST GONNA BE SOME CUSTOMERS THAT, UH, WE JUST CAN'T GET AHOLD OF.
SO WE WANNA GIVE THEM, UH, WHATEVER SUPPORT WE CAN.
AND AT THE REQUEST, UH, OF, I THINK HERE AT M U C, WE HEARD YOUR FEEDBACK ABOUT DOING SOME TYPE OF AUTO ENROLLMENT PROGRAM.
SO FOR, WE'VE IDENTIFIED A LITTLE UNDER 50,000 ACCOUNTS SO FAR THAT WE WILL BE SETTING UP FOR AN AUTO ENROLLMENT INSTALLMENT PLAN TO, FOR CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE AN ACCOUNT THAT EITHER LIVE IN A QUALIFIED HUD SINCE THIS TRACK, THEY'RE ENROLLED IN OUR ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. EVEN IF THEY'VE REACHED OUT TO US BEFORE AND SIGNED UP FOR AN INSTALLMENT PLAN BUT COULDN'T STAY ON IT, WE WILL SIGN THEM BACK UP ON IT.
SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK THROUGH EVERY WHICH WAY THAT WE POSSIBLY CAN.
ULTIMATELY, AGAIN, WE WANT CUSTOMERS TO KNOW THAT THEIR ACCOUNTS DON'T HAVE TO BE DISCONNECTED.
WE WILL FIND A WAY TO WORK WITH THEM.
LET ME START BY JUST ASKING, CAN YOU GIVE, UH, YOU HAVEN'T HAD ANY DISCONNECTIONS, CAN YOU GIVE A DOLLAR AMOUNT OF WHAT AMOUNT HAS BEEN RECUPERATED, UH, YOU KNOW, TO, UH, C P S OVER THE LAST, UH, COUPLE OF MONTHS SINCE THEY REALLY STARTED REACHING OUT? UH, LET'S SEE.
SO WE DID DISCONNECT ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, RIGHT? BUT ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE THOSE NUMBERS HERE, BUT I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH THAT WITH YOU FOR THAT.
YEAH, I'M WONDERING, HAVE WE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE HEARING 120 MILLION, MAYBE IT WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT HAVE WE GOTTEN 5 MILLION MORE BACK OR 10 MILLION? ARE WE ON TRACK TO RECEIVE MAYBE 30% OF THAT BACK THE WAY THINGS ARE LOOKING? I THINK THAT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR US, BECAUSE WE KNOW THE FINANCIAL SITUATION YOU'RE IN.
SO, YEAH, THAT'D BE, THAT'D BE USEFUL TO HEAR.
ANY COMMITTEE MEMBER HAVE A QUESTION? YES, COUNCILWOMAN, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I, I WANTED TO, IN PARTICULAR, DEANNA, UH, THANK YOU BECAUSE YOU HAVE THIS REALLY COOL MAP OF THE ARPA ELIGIBILITY AND THE ARPA APPLICATIONS.
AND ACTUALLY YESTERDAY, COUNCILMAN BRAVO AT OUR PLANNING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, UH, COMMITTEE MEETING ASKED FOR A MAP LIKE THIS FROM CITY STAFF FOR EAB.
SO I'M WONDERING, HOW DID YOU DETERMINE ARPA ELIGIBILITY? WHAT DID YOU DO TO GIVE ME THIS NICE MAP? ABSOLUTELY.
SO WHAT WE DID IS WE TOOK THE CUSTOMER DATA THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO US, WE LOOKED AT WHO, UH, IS, UH, WHAT, WHO HAS THE RIGHT HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND PAST DUE BALANCE.
SO WE, I CAN SEND YOU ALL THOSE SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS BASED ON OUR, IN A LOCAL AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE WITH, WITH THE CITY TO HELP US GET TO, UH, THE CUSTOMER DATA THAT WE OVERLAID WITH IT.
AND SO, UM, AGAIN, I JUST, I WAS VERY, UM, HAPPY BECAUSE, AND WE HAD JUST ASKED FOR THIS YESTERDAY FOR EAP, AND SO IF YOU ALL HAVE SOME MECHANISM ALREADY, THEN IT MIGHT BE NICE TO, TO SHARE IT WITH CITY STAFF.
AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO, UM, SAY CONGRATULATIONS ON, ON YOUR RETIREMENT.
I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE, UM, TO SAY AND, UM, AND WELCOME, UH, TO YOU AS WELL.
SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU, UM, SPECIFICALLY ON THOSE MICROGRID STUFF.
ANYONE ELSE HAVE A QUESTION AT THIS TIME? OKAY.
HEARING NONE AT THIS TIME, THANK YOU.
WE'RE GONNA HEAR A REPORT ON THE, UH, RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
I THINK REED WILLIAMS IS GONNA GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE.
THANK YOU, REID, FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
I'LL MAKE THIS QUICK BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE ALL HUNGRY.
UH, WE FINISHED, AS YOU KNOW, WE FINISHED OUR WORK ON THE RATE, AND WE'VE ALREADY HAD ONE, UH, MEETING, UH, IN, UH, JANUARY, UH, TO PIVOT, UH, TO DOING TWO THINGS, UH, LOOKING AT, UM, GENERATION, POWER GENERATION AND LOOKING AT THE, UH, UH, DESIGN OF THE RATES.
UH, SO WHILE WE DIDN'T TAKE THAT UP ON THE DESIGN OF THE RATES, UH, DURING THE RATE INCREASE, UH, WE ARE DOING IT NOW.
UH, THAT'S GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF TIME.
UH, IT'S, UH, VERY COMPLICATED.
UH, AND WE'VE ALREADY STARTED, UH, WE GOT A REPORT AT OUR LAST MEETING.
THEY'VE STARTED ANOTHER RATE STUDY, WHICH IS THE, AS YOU KNOW, THE SECOND STEP OR YOU'RE, HOW YOU'RE ALLOCATING IT, UH, SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE HAVE, UH, EXPRESSED A GREAT DEAL OF INTEREST IN NOT JUST LOOKING AT HOW, UH, THE DOLLARS ARE ALLOCATED, BUT THE, THE CUSTOMER CLASSES THAT THEY'RE BEING ALLOCATED TO.
SO THERE WILL BE SOME WORK, UH, WE'LL HAVE TO USE THE CONSULTANTS TO HELP US WITH THAT AND THE, AND THE C P S STAFF.
BUT WE ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING NOT, NOT ONLY AT HOW THE DOLLARS ARE ALLOCATED, BUT THE BUCKETS THEY'RE BEING ALLOCATED INTO.
I THINK THAT WILL BE SOMETHING SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE, HAVE EXPRESSED SOME INTEREST IN UNDERSTANDING.
[02:10:01]
THESE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HOMOGENEOUS GROUPS THAT GENERALLY HAVE THE SAME CALL ON THE COST OF C P S.SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS STILL THE CASE.
AND IF THERE'S SOME THAT NEED TO BE REDESIGNED, WE OUGHT TO LOOK AT THAT.
AS FAR AS MOVING TO THE, THE, UM, UH, GENERATION, UH, THE POWER GENERATION, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING AND UNDER OUR CHARGE, AS WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS WITH SEVERAL FOLKS, IS WE DON'T DO THE PLANNING.
OKAY? THE PLAN, WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THE PLAN.
WE'RE SUPPOSED TO ADVISE AND CONSULT ON PLANNING, PLANNING THE ACTIVITY, AS OPPOSED TO PLANNING THE RESULT.
THE RESULT WILL BE DONE BY C P S.
BUT AS A CITIZENS COMMITTEE, WE DO NEED TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT'S HAPPENING, UH, ON THE PLANNING.
AND LET ME JUST BACK UP REAL QUICK AND GO THROUGH A COUPLE OF THINGS.
THE REASON WE'RE HERE TODAY, THINKING ABOUT GENERATION PLANNING, IS BECAUSE WE'VE GOT OLD UNITS, THE OLD UNITS, THE OLD NATURAL GAS STEAM UNITS NEED TO BE SHUT DOWN.
WE ALSO HAVE A REQUIREMENT AS ESTABLISHED BY YOURSELVES, UH, THROUGH THE, UH, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN THAT WE'VE GOTTA REDUCE EMISSIONS.
SO WE'VE GOTTA CHANGE, UH, OLD PLANTS.
WHEN WE DO THAT, THE WAY WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT IS WE'VE BEEN CONTRACTING FOR RENEWABLES.
WHEN WE CONTRACT FOR RENEWABLES, WE'RE LOWERING EMISSIONS.
BUT WE ALSO PUT VARIABILITY INTO THE SYSTEM BECAUSE THE RENEWABLES ARE NOT ALWAYS AVAILABLE, AND WE DON'T HAVE BATTERY, UH, SYSTEMS TODAY THAT ARE ABLE TO, UH, STORE THAT ENERGY OR OTHER STORAGE SYSTEMS. SO WE'VE GOTTA LOOK AT THE MIX OF, OF UTILITIES, OF, OF PLANTS.
AND IT'S A PORTFOLIO, AND IT'S A PORTFOLIO THAT AS WE LOWER ADMISSIONS, UH, CONTRACT IN FOR MORE RENEWABLES, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SOME WAY DEVELOP A QUICK START DISPATCHABLE POWER THAT CAN THEREFORE BE USED IMMEDIATELY TO COME IN TO OFFSET FOR THE, FOR THE TIMES THAT THE RENEWABLES ARE NOT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT IT ON A PORTFOLIO BASIS.
UH, C P S HAS BEEN VERY GRACIOUS TO AGREE TO ALLOW US TO HAVE A, A SMALL MODEL.
UH, LET ME JUST, UH, SAY IT'S, IT'S NOT, UH, A COMPLICATED MODEL, AND IT'S NOT WHAT THEY'LL ACTUALLY DO IN THE END WHEN THEY DEVELOP THE PLANT, BUT IT'S, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO PLAY WITH YOU.
YOU CAN'T PLAY SOCCER WITHOUT A BALL.
WELL, WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT PLANNING UNLESS WE HAVE A SMALL PLANNING MODEL, AND THEY'RE GOING TO ALLOW US TO DO THAT.
AND WE'RE GONNA START ON THAT.
THE NEXT MEETING IS, UM, AND, UH, I THINK IT'S THE 17TH OF, OF FEBRUARY.
WE'RE GONNA TAKE SOME TIME ON THAT MEETING AND BACK OFF, UH, KIND OF DO A RESET.
LET LET A LOT OF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT WHERE THEY THINK WE ARE TODAY, HOW WE'RE DOING, AND HOW WE'RE NOT DOING.
WE'VE GOT A NEW, UH, RELATIONSHIP WITH THE, WITH THE COUNCIL THROUGH COUNCIL WON SANDOVAL.
WE WANNA LET HER COME IN AND, AND, AND HELP THAT RESET.
UM, IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME TIME.
UH, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA GET, UH, ANY IMMEDIATE ANSWERS, UH, BUT WE WILL STAY ON IT.
AND WE HAVE ALSO, JUST SO YOU'LL KNOW, UH, WE'VE MADE A COMMITMENT TO NOT HAVE THE, UM, MEETINGS MORE THAN ONCE A MONTH.
WE WERE
UH, WE, THEY'VE DONE A GREAT JOB.
WE'VE GOT A WONDERFUL COMMITTEE AND, AND THEY'RE JUST, UH, VERY DEDICATED TO DOING THIS WORK, UH, FOR ALL OF US.
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, REED.
APPRECIATE YOU GIVING US THE UPDATE.
BUT I, I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT, UH, THE MAYOR HAS ASKED, UH, COUNCILMAN AN SANDOVAL TO BE THE LIAISON BETWEEN THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE RAC COMMITTEE FOR C P S ENERGY.
AND SO I WANTED TO ASK IF SHE HAS ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS RIGHT NOW.
I THOUGHT, UH, I COULD PROBABLY SHARE WITH YOU WHAT I HAVE IN MIND AS THE, AS THE LIAISON.
SO, UH, FORTUNATELY, UH, COUNCILMAN WILLIAMS AND I HAVE BEEN IN FREQUENT CONTACT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF, OF THE RACK.
UH, WE KNOW THAT ALTHOUGH THE RAC WAS DESIGNED TO ADDRESS, UH, THE RATE REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS OF RATE, REVIEW RATE STRUCTURE, AND GENERATION PLANNING, IT WAS NOT ABLE TO DO ALL OF THOSE TASKS IN TIME FOR THE FIRST, UH, THE, THE RATE INCREASE, UH, THAT WE JUST HAD.
UM, AND IT'S A PRIORITY ABSOLUTELY TO DO THE GENERATION PLANNING EXERCISE AS WELL AS THE RATE STRUCTURE REVIEW, UH, GOING FORWARD.
SO I, AND THAT'S A PRIORITY TO THE COUNCIL.
AND, UH, I BELIEVE IN, IN HOW THE RAC WAS FORMED IN THE CHARGE OF THE RAC.
[02:15:01]
SO IT'S MY JOB TO, UM, WELL, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT GETS DONEI KNOW I'M SUPPOSED TO REPORT BACK TO M U C, UM, AND I'M, I'M GLAD TO DO THAT IN WHATEVER WAY YOU, YOU PREFER COUNCILMAN.
UH, BUT I THINK THIS WILL ALSO TAKE A LOT OF DIALOGUE WITH EACH OF OUR INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBERS ABOUT HOW WE'RE MOVING FORWARD, BECAUSE I, UH, AND I KNOW RUDY AGREES THAT THE RATE STRUCTURE AND REVIEW AND CHANGES ARE, ARE GOING TO BE A GARGANTUAN, UH, TASK.
UM, I THINK WE CAN GET THROUGH THE OTHER ONE, AND IT IS NOT GOING TO BE EASY EITHER.
UM, SO THAT'S PART OF MY PLAN.
I ALSO, UH, HOPE TO, AND I HOPE REID WILL TAKE MY ADVICE ON, AGAIN, HE'S THE CHAIR ON SOME, UH, POTENTIAL.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT THE FIRST ORGANIZATION TO DO THIS.
THERE ARE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE DONE THAT, AND I THINK THERE'S SOME LESSONS LEARNED WE CAN TAKE FROM THEM.
SO WE DON'T HAVE TO START FROM SCRATCH IN TERMS OF, OF THIS PROCESS.
SO, UH, I'D LIKE TO, UH, BRING SOME OF THOSE RESOURCES IN EITHER TO THE WHOLE RACK OR JUST WITH, UH, REID, THE VICE CHAIR AND MYSELF, AS WELL AS THE LIAISON FROM FROM THE C P S BOARD.
UM, SO IN A, SORT OF, IN BROAD TERMS, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'M HOPING TO DO.
WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER ON, ON THIS RESET, WE HAVE A NEW BOARD MEMBER AT A NEW TRUSTEE AT C P S.
UH, WE HAVE TWO NEW FOCUSES FOR THE RAC, AND I THINK THAT PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO RESET AND ESTABLISH EXPECTATIONS FOR AND FROM THE, THE RAC MEMBERS.
AND, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS SOMETHING I SHOULD ADDRESS TO READ OR MAYBE TO RUDY, BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT DISTRICT TWO DOES NOT HAVE ANY REPRESENTATION ON THAT RAC COMMITTEE.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF ANYTHING'S BEING DONE TO ADDRESS THAT, BUT IT WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION BY, UH, COUNCILMAN FOR DISTRICT TWO.
WELL, THERE'S AN APPOINTEE THAT WAS APPOINTED BY THE PREVIOUS DISTRICT TWO COUNCIL PERSON, SEYMOUR BATTLE.
UH, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT THE RAC BYLAWS ON HOW, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBERS AS THEY'RE MOVING IN, UH, CAN, CAN MAKE THEIR OWN APPOINTMENTS SO THAT THAT'S ON THE, THE BOARD MEMBERS' AGENDA.
THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE COUNCILMAN REED? YES, GO AHEAD, COUNCILMAN.
AND THANK YOU, UH, COUNCILMAN.
UM, AND, AND YOU KNOW, MR. OLFER BRIEFED ME, SO I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
I KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE BEGINNING TO EVALUATE THE TRANSITIONAL GENERATIONAL, UH, GENERATION PROPOSAL.
UM, HE REFERENCED A B SESSION, UM, UH, INFORMATION THAT WAS GIVEN IN DECEMBER TO, I, I GUESS IT WAS TO THEIR BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
I DON'T HAVE THAT PRESENTATION.
CAN SOMEBODY SEND THAT TO ME? IT WAS A DECEMBER B SESSION, HE SAID, BUT IT, I DON'T KNOW IF HE WAS TALKING ABOUT OURS OR IF IT WAS SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL ALSO, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL, UH, HAVE, UM, WHO WAS SAYING THAT? COUNCIL, IT WAS, UH, OH, NORA, MR. FER, MY APPOINTING OH, PETER.
SO IT WAS A BIT, A BIT CONFUSED, PETER.
UH, I THINK PETER WAS TALKING ABOUT THE B SESSION WE HAD HERE JUST IN GENERAL.
YEAH, BECAUSE I HAVE A QUESTION.
SO, ON THERE, IT WAS TALKING ABOUT WE'RE EVALUATING, UM, AGAINST FOUR PREVIOUS YEARS, AND I'M ASSUMING THAT WE'RE ALSO PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE IN THERE.
LET, LET ME, LET ME GO INTO THAT.
I DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE TOO MUCH TIME WITH THE GROUP, BUT, UH, WHAT, WHAT THE, THE, UH, LITTLE SIMPLE MODEL WILL BE, WELL, IT'LL BE A BACKCAST MODEL AS OPPOSED TO A FORECASTED MODEL.
SO WE'LL BE ACTUALLY USING, UM, FOUR YEARS OF HISTORY, UH, AND THEY'LL BE ON CALENDAR YEARS.
SO WE CAN ALL KIND OF THINK ABOUT IT IN OUR OWN MINDS.
SO WE'RE TAKING 18 THROUGH 21, AND, AND WE'LL TAKE THOSE FOUR YEARS.
AND THE WAY WE'LL LOOK AT IT, WE'LL TAKE A SCENARIO.
LET'S JUST SAY HYPOTHETICALLY, WE TAKE A SCENARIO OF, OF CONVERTING SPRUCE TWO, UH, TO NATURAL GAS.
WE BUY 200 MEGAWATTS OF, OF SOLAR, AND WE CLOSE DOWN THE BRAWN PLANTS.
WE'LL, WE'LL TAKE THE BEGINNING OF THOSE FOUR YEARS OF THAT HISTORY, WE'LL SAY, IF WE MAGICALLY HAD THAT DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME, WE'LL RUN THAT THROUGH THE MODEL AND SEE WHAT THAT DOES FOR US ON OUR ENERGY BALANCES FIRST.
AND THEN WE'LL LOOK AT IT TO SEE WHAT IT DOES ON OUR COST.
AND IN THE OLD DAYS, WE COULDN'T MODEL EVERYTHING.
'CAUSE WE JUST NOW THE COMPUTING POWER.
SO WE'RE GONNA USE, UH, FUEL COST AS A SURROGATE FOR COST, AND WE'RE GONNA USE C O TWO EMISSIONS AS A SURROGATE FOR POLLUTION.
AND WE'LL LOOK AT THOSE THINGS ON A VERY SIMPLE BASIS.
AND AS WE KEEP RUNNING THROUGH THAT ON A BACKCAST BASIS, WE'LL CHANGE THE SCENARIOS.
AND IN THAT PROCESS, WE'LL START GETTING INDIVIDUALS TO THINK ABOUT AND UNDERSTAND WHAT A MIX DOES, HOW IT, HOW IT DOES.
[02:20:01]
DO IT ON A SCENARIO BASIS.PEOPLE SIMPLY CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT UNLESS YOU CAN TELL THE STORY ABOUT IT AND THEY CAN PERSONALIZE IT.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA TRY TO DO.
THAT EXPLAINS, OR THAT HELPS ME UNDERSTAND WHY THAT REASONING.
AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION IS, UM, ALSO YOU ALL TALKED ABOUT SUBGROUPS WITHIN RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER BASE, UM, IN PARTICULAR, I THINK THIS WAS REGARDING TO THE STEP ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM.
DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY SUBGROUPS YOU'RE LOOKING AT? WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE A LOT OF HELP ON THAT COUNCILWOMAN, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE, WE'VE GOTTA GO BACK AND MAKE SURE WE'RE ON FIRM GROUNDS WITH THE STATE MUNICIPAL CODE OKAY.
FOR MUNICIPAL UTILITIES AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT STEPPING OUT ON SOMETHING THAT, THAT REALLY IS OUTSIDE OF THE, WHAT WE'RE ALLOWED UNDER THE CODE.
SO WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO ON THAT.
I, I'M, I'M VERY HOPEFUL THAT, UH, OBVIOUSLY BRATTLE AND, AND THE, AND THE C P S STAFF CAN HELP US ON THAT.
AND, AND THERE'S IDEAS JUST LIKE, THERE'S IDEAS ON SCENARIOS, THERE'S DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, IDEAS ON HOW YOU CAN DEAL WITH THE RATE GROUPS.
SO WE, WE, WE DO HAVE TO A LOT OF WORK ON THAT, AND WE WILL LOOK AT IT, BUT IT'S GONNA TAKE TIME, FRANKLY.
AND THEN, UM, MY OTHER QUESTION IS IN REGARD, YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING ON THE NOVEMBER 30TH MEETING, AND IT WAS SOMETHING THAT COUNCILMAN BRAVO HAD ASKED, AND YOU TALKED ABOUT DIVIDING, I THINK IT WAS A RACK UP INTO THREE SUBCOMMITTEES.
CAN YOU REMIND ME? IT DIDN'T WORK.
WE'RE LOOK, JUST LIKE COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL'S GOING, IF WE, WE FIND SOMETHING THAT'S NOT WORKING, WE CHANGE IT.
SO WE'RE A VERY FLUID ORGANIZATION.
WE'RE NOT LOCKED INTO ANYTHING.
WE JUST WANNA MAKE SOMETHING WORK.
SO YEAH, WE THOUGHT WE COULD GET PEOPLE TO DRIVE DOWN INTO, YOU KNOW, WHAT I WOULD CALL MORE DETAIL IN, IN, IN THE END.
WE WOUND UP NOT BEING VERY EFFICIENT ON THAT.
'CAUSE THEN WE HAD TO GO BACK AND CATCH EVERYBODY UP.
SO WE'RE JUST DECIDED TO PULL EVERYBODY BACK TOGETHER, LET EVERYBODY SIT THERE AND WORK TOGETHER.
WELL, SO THAT ANSWERED MY NEXT QUESTION.
'CAUSE I WAS GONNA SAY WHO'S WORKING ON THAT RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER BASE, WHICH ONE OF THOSE, BUT NEVERMIND.
I, WELL, I, I TRUST YOUR LEADERSHIP.
ANY OTHER, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBER ON THE RACK? OKAY.
UH, YOU KNOW, I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS, THIS NEW STAGE FOR THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO START LOOKING AT ASSET GENERATION PLANNING.
AND, UM, I'M INTERESTED IN JUST, UM, PLEASE SHARE WITH ME, UH, AND COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL, PLEASE SHARE WITH ME ANY PROPOSED MODELS, UM, SURE.
THAT ARE, OR SCENARIOS THAT ARE GONNA BE MODELED.
I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE INPUT ON THEM.
WELL, THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT POINT.
ONCE WE GET THE, THE HISTORICAL DATA SET UP AND POPULATED, UM, THE, THE MODEL DOESN'T HAVE A LOT OF CALCULATIONS TO IT.
IT DOES HAVE TO RUN THROUGH THERE.
AND ON SOME DISPATCH BASIS, IF I PULLED OUT, UH, LET'S JUST SAY I PULLED OUT BRAWN, UH, AND I PUT IN, UH, CHANGING THE, THE, THE COAL PLANT, IT HAS TO RUN THROUGH THERE AND KIND OF DISPATCH THE UNITS AND, AND BALANCE IT OFF.
SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET IT TO WHERE IT'S SIMPLE ENOUGH THAT WE CAN LOOK AT A LOT OF DIFFERENT SCENARIOS.
AND AS PEOPLE LOOK AT SCENARIOS, I'M HOPEFUL THAT THEY'LL START DISCUSSING THE PROS AND CONS OF THOSE SCENARIOS, DISCUSSION PROCESS THAT WE BRING THE COMMUNITY'S FOCUS IN FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, COUNCILMAN.
AND I'M HOPEFUL THAT THAT'S WHAT WE'LL GET GOING.
AND I'M WONDERING HOW THE, UM, THE MODEL'S GONNA HANDLE THE WINTER STORM URI AND HOW THAT BE BECAUSE YEP.
A LOT OF, I MEAN, ALL THE ASSETS FAILED ACROSS THE STATE, AND SO, BUT WITH WEATHERIZATION, THEY SHOULD FAIL LESS.
AND SO I'M, I'M JUST WONDERING HOW THAT WOULD BE.
I MEAN, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT HISTORY, THERE'S THINGS WE'VE MADE, UH, CHANGES WE'VE MADE FROM THE HISTORY, AND WE HAVE TO BE AWARE OF THOSE THAT, THAT, THAT'S NOT GOING TO NECESSARILY GIVE US EXACTLY THE RIGHT ANSWER FOR THAT FEBRUARY PERIOD OF LAST YEAR.
AND I HAVE HEARD, UM, A LOT OF SPECULATION ABOUT POSSIBLY CONVERTING SPRUCE TWO TO NATURAL GAS.
AND I'M STILL CURIOUS AS TO WHETHER, IF THAT WERE TO, TO TAKE PLACE, WOULD THAT BE A COMBINED CYCLE PLANT? WOULD THAT BE A SIMPLE CYCLE PLANT? WOULD THAT BE, WOULD, WOULD, WOULD THE GOAL BE TO USE THAT AS BASE LOAD POWER BASE LOAD, OR WOULD IT BE A PEAKER PLANT? AND YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF EXPERTS HERE BEHIND ME, BUT WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD IS THAT IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE A, IT'LL CONTINUE TO BE A STEAM, JUST A STEAM PLANT, NOT EVEN HAVING TO REPLACE THE STEAM TUBES.
OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME PEOPLE HERE THAT KNOW A WHOLE LOT MORE THAN I DO, BUT IT WILL BE ABLE, I GUESS, TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE THAN A COAL PLANT.
BUT IT WILL NOT BE A COMBINED CYCLE PLANT UNLESS SOMEBODY TELLS ME SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
[02:25:01]
OKAY, THANK YOU.UH, REID, I THINK, UH, WE'RE COMPLETED WITH YOU IN YOUR REPORT.
AND ONE LAST TIME, DOES ANY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, COMMITTEE MEMBER HAVE A QUESTION FOR ANYONE WHO'S, UH, TALKED ON CPSS BEHALF AT THIS TIME? OKAY, IF NOT, THANK YOU.
WE'RE GONNA GO TO OUR FINAL ITEM.
UH, AND I WANTED TO GIVE EVERY, AND I WANTED TO GIVE EVERYBODY AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON THIS, AND THAT'S A DISCUSSION BY THE COMMITTEE ON WHAT WE THINK THE SCOPE AND PARAMETERS OF A PROPOSED INDEPENDENT STUDY OF C P S ENERGY'S OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT AND FINANCES, UH, SHOULD CONTAIN.
NOW, WE UNDERSTAND THAT C P S AND THEIR BOARD HAVE TALKED ABOUT DOING, UH, AN INDEPENDENT STUDY, UH, BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE VALUABLE FOR THEM TO HEAR FROM THIS COMMITTEE ON WHAT WE FELT WERE SOME OF WHAT WE WOULD HOPE TO SEE OUT OF A STUDY LIKE THIS.
AND SO I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR ANY DISCUSSION AT THIS TIME BY ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
AND IF, IF I CAN, I KNOW, UH, COUNCILMAN BRAVO HAD SOME RECOMMENDATIONS, DO YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD AND START OFF? SURE.
AND I WANT TO BEGIN BY STATING THAT I UNDERSTAND, UM, AND I'M NOT MISTAKING THE ROLE THAT WE HAVE AS A MUNICIPAL UTILITY COMMITTEE, THE ROLE THAT CITY COUNCIL HAS, UH, VERSUS THE ROLE THAT CPS ENERGY'S BOARD OF TRUSTEES HAVE FOR DIRECT OVERSIGHT.
AND SO MY INTENTION IS NOT FOR US TO GIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, TO, TO, UH, GIVE, GIVE, YOU KNOW, OUR REGULAR DIRECTION TO C P S ENERGY, BUT TO, UH, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO YOU, TO THE BOARD AND FEEDBACK AND INPUT THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM OUR COMMUNITY, AND TRY TO BRING THE VOICE OF OUR, OF THE COMMUNITY, UM, THROUGH THE DAIS TO YOU.
AND, UM, I, I WAS VERY DELIBERATE ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT I MET WITH ALL OF THE BOARD MEMBERS AND JUST GOT SOME OF THEIR INPUT.
UM, BUT I'M, I HAVEN'T CIRCLED BACK WITH THEM.
AND SO THIS IS A, A, AN ATTEMPT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO WEIGH IN ON WHAT SOME RECOMMENDATIONS COULD BE FOR POTENTIAL STUDIES, UH, FROM, BY OUTSIDE EXPERTS, AND THEN BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, HASH THIS OUT AND THEN BE ABLE TO SEND SOMETHING TO, TO THE BOARD AND C P SS ENERGY STAFF AS OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, WHAT I HAVE LISTED TO BEGIN WITH IS, UM, THAT, AND SO THIS WOULD BE A, THIS IS A STARTING POINT FOR, FOR OUR DISCUSSION.
UM, AND I'M OPEN TO THE IDEA THAT IT, THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE STUDY.
IT MAY BE THAT THERE ARE OUTSIDE EXPERTS THAT HAVE DIFFERENT AREAS OF EXPERTISE, AND SO THEY COULD ADDRESS DIFFERENT TOPICS.
UM, BUT IT'S MY HOPE THAT THIS, THESE STUDIES COULD LEAD TO THE CREATION OF A TWO YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH I KNOW TRUSTEE GONZALEZ IS VERY INTERESTED IN.
AND, AND IT'S MY VISION THAT THIS WOULD SERVE AS A ROADMAP TO SUCCESS FOR C P S ENERGY TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT YOU'RE ON TRACK SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE BEST PUBLIC UTILITY IN THE NATION.
SO, UH, ISSUE TOPICS THAT I THINK, UH, THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND BE ADDRESSED, OUR CORPORATE CULTURE, UH, REVIEWING THE CURRENT CULTURE, AND, UM, LOOK, LOOKING AT, UH, WHAT ARE THE STEPS THAT COULD BE IMPLEMENTED TO ENSURE A SAFE AND POSITIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT IN ORDER TO RETAIN EXISTING STAFF AND ATTRACT NEW TALENT.
UH, BUT ALSO, WHAT ARE STEPS TO IMPLEMENT TO ENSURE THAT C P S ENERGY PROMOTES A WORK ENVIRONMENT THAT VALUES AND SUPPORTS QUICKLY TESTING AND ADOPTING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.
HOW DO YOU PIVOT TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH A RAPIDLY EVOLVING ELECTRIC UTILITY BUSINESS MODEL? UM, SECOND, SECONDLY, UM, I THINK, UH, IT'D BE IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT WORKFORCE PLANNING, UH, TO REPLACE STAFF ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT.
UM, THEN ALSO A COMPARISON OF C P S ENERGY EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TO MARKET COMPENSATION, BUT ALSO WITH AN UNDERSTANDING THAT C P S ENERGY IS A PUBLIC UTILITY, AND THAT THE, THE PUBLIC HAS, THERE ARE CERTAIN EXPECTATIONS THAT COME FROM THE PUBLIC IN TERMS OF WHAT COMPENSATION SHOULD LOOK LIKE IN A PUBLIC UTILITY.
SO THAT NEEDS TO BE BALANCED OUT.
UM, IN ADDITION, THERE SHOULD BE A, A FINANCIAL AUDIT, AND I KNOW YOU DO FINANCIAL AUDITS, BUT I, I THINK THE PUBLIC REALLY IN ORDER TO INSTILL MORE TRUST, UM, OR RESTORE TRUST, I THINK THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT MAYBE WOULD, MIGHT, UM, WARRANT FOR, UH, FURTHER EXAMINATION SUCH AS POSSIBLE AND PROPER USE OF EXPENSE ACCOUNTS, RIGHT? AND SO IT'S NOT JUST REPORTERS THAT MIGHT BE CATCHING THIS KIND OF STUFF, UH, AND THAT COULD BE EXPANDED UPON, BUT WHAT, WHAT ELSE CAN WE BE LOOKING AT,
[02:30:01]
HAVE A THIRD PARTY LOOK AT IN ORDER TO, TO RESTORE TRUST WITH THE PUBLIC? UM, BECAUSE THAT'S AN ISSUE THAT'S BEEN REPORTED IN THE PRESS QUITE A BIT RECENTLY, AND THAT, UH, A LOT OF OUR CONSTITUENTS ARE TALKING ABOUT.AND THEN FINALLY, I KNOW C P SS ENERGY HAS LOOKED AT YOUR ORGANIZATION AND, AND LOOKED FOR COST CUTTING MEASURES, BUT I THINK HAVING A THIRD PARTY LOOK, DO AN ORGANIZATION WIDE STUDY AND LOOKING AT OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND, AND COST SAVING MEASURES COULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL.
AND THEN FINALLY, AS I I TOLD YOU, UM, RUDY, WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE RATE WHEN WE VOTED ON THE RATE INCREASE, I'M, I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN THIS R F P WHEN IT GOES OUT, UH, ASKING THE APPLICANT TO DESCRIBE HOW THEY WILL ENSURE INDEPENDENCE FROM ANY INFLUENCE BY C P S ENERGY STAFF IN DETERMINING AND PRESENTING THE RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF ANY STUDY.
AND I, AND I ACTUALLY, UM, THAT IDEA WAS ACTUALLY THAT THE SEEDS WERE PLANTED FOR THAT IDEA FROM ONE, FROM MY DISCUSSIONS WITH ONE OF THE BOARD MEMBERS.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.
ONE OF THE BOARD MEMBERS TOLD ME, I DON'T CARE WHAT THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY ARE, I JUST WANT TO KNOW THAT IT'S THE UNVARNISHED TRUTH.
AND SO WHETHER IT SAYS THAT THE BOARD MEMBERS ARE DOING A BAD JOB OR WHATEVER IT IS, THEY JUST, THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS THEY, THEY WANT TO HAVE AN HONEST ASSESSMENT.
AND SO, SO THAT'S WHERE THAT CAME FROM.
UM, I THINK I, I WROTE A LETTER TO RUDY NOT TOO LONG AGO, UM, JUST A COUPLE WEEKS AGO OUTLINING WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE IN INDEPENDENT STUDY.
I JUST WANNA REITERATE HERE, IT'S, UH, INCLUDE TO INCLUDE BUDGET DECISIONS AND PROCESSES, INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION PRACTICES, AND THEN MANAGERIAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES THAT BACK UP, UM, THE BUDGET ITEMS. UM, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I WROTE THE, I WROTE A, UM, A LETTER A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO THAT'S BEEN MADE PUBLIC AND I CAN, UM, PROVIDE IT TO ENTER IT INTO THIS RECORD.
BUT, UM, THAT'S, THOSE ARE THE MAIN THINGS THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE.
UH, COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA.
THANK YOU, UM, CHAIR, AND THANK YOU TO, UH, FOR LISTENING.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE LETTER THAT YOU WROTE, UM, LAST WEEK.
RUDY, I APPRECIATE YOUR, UM, RESPONSES AND, AND COMMITTING TO SOME OF THIS.
I WAS TRYING TO FIND, UM, AND, AND BY THE WAY, THIS IS A SECOND TIME THAT I'M TRYING TO LOOK FOR SOMETHING IN THE CITY, UH, CHARTER AND THE, UH, INDEX IS WRONG.
UM, SO I KEEP FORGETTING TO TELL ANDY, SO IF SOMEBODY JUST MAKES A MENTAL NOTE TO LET HIM KNOW, I HAVE DOCUMENTED EVERYWHERE WHERE IT'S WRONG.
UM, BUT I WAS TRYING TO, TO PULL THIS UP BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW IF MY QUESTION WAS IN LINE.
SO I, I, I KNOW YOU HAVE THE, WE HAVE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE PRESENCE HERE, BUT, UM, ON, THERE'S AN ITEM THAT, UH, COUNCILMAN BRAVO REFERENCED.
UM, AND I WAS WONDERING IF, IF THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION FROM OUR MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE, ARE WE ABLE TO ADD ALL, UM, MAYBE HAVE NOT, NOT ANY ROLE OBVIOUSLY IN THE R F P PROCESS, BUT IN THE ACTUAL LANGUAGE OF WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR, HOW WILL WE MAKE SURE, AND WILL THAT BE THROUGH THIS COMMITTEE, OR WOULD THAT BE THROUGH THE COUNCIL? UH, COUNCILWOMAN, COUNCILWOMAN? I CAN CHECK ON THAT AND GET BACK TO YOU.
UM, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT, UH, FOR, FOR INSTANCE, FOR THE ESSAY READY TO WORK, THERE'S AN ADVISORY BOARD AND THEY MADE RECOMMENDATIONS, RIGHT.
BUT, UM, AND I KNOW AS COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE CAN'T INFLUENCE, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WAS GONNA BE THE ABILITY FOR THIS COMMITTEE TO, UM, TO FORMALLY, UH, DOCUMENT WHAT WE'VE REQUESTED AND, AND SEE IF THERE WAS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE C P S ENERGY BOARD TO WEIGH IN.
AND I THINK THAT RUDY HAS ALREADY COMMITTED TO THAT.
BUT AGAIN, THAT'S WHY I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE, THE, THE CHARTER LANGUAGE TO SEE IF THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD EVEN DO.
COUNCILWOMAN, UH, THE LETTER I THAT I SENT TO COUNCIL YESTERDAY, UH, MEMORIALIZING THE CONVERSATION, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR HAD INPUT INTO THAT.
AND, AND WHAT I WOULD TELL YOU IS THE BOARD INTENDS TO TAKE THIS, THIS ISSUE ON DIRECTLY.
THEY'LL ASSIGN, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT TOPICS TO DIFFERENT BOARD MEMBERS BASED ON WHAT, WHAT I THINK'S GONNA HAPPEN.
AND, UH, AND THEY'LL CONTROL THE R F P PROCESS.
UH, I DO BELIEVE THAT THEY, UH, UH, WOULD, YOU KNOW, WELCOME YOUR INPUT, BUT THE BOARD HAS TO RUN THIS PROCESS, OF COURSE.
SO IT WILL BE THEIR R F P, IT'LL BE THEIR DOCUMENT, IT WILL BE THEIR PROCESS.
UH, AND THEN ONCE WE'RE DONE WITH THAT, WE'LL COME BACK TO THE MUNICIPAL UTILITY COMMITTEE AND WE WILL, UH, YOU KNOW, AND WE'LL, WE WILL REPORT, YOU KNOW, ON THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED THAT, THAT, UH, ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO KIND OF MOVE, TO MOVE FORWARD IN A, IN A STRATEGIC MANNER.
UH, BUT, UH, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WILL CLIP THIS VIDEO FROM, YOU KNOW, TODAY'S MEETING AND I'LL SEND IT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL SEND IT TO THE BOARD TO MAKE SURE THEY SEE IT.
THEY'LL GET WHATEVER WRITTEN, YOU KNOW, DOCUMENTATION THAT, THAT COMES THROUGH THE COMMITTEE, UH, DIRECTLY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND THEY'RE GONNA RUN THE PROCESS.
SO, YOU KNOW, COUNCILMAN, I, LEMME JUST REITERATE WHATEVER IS, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, THE, THE REVIEW SAYS, IT SAYS, AND WE'LL TAKE THAT AND, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT HOW TO, HOW TO MAKE US BETTER, YOU KNOW, WITH IT.
[02:35:01]
IN TERMS OF INDEPENDENCE, THIS IS GONNA BE A BOARD LED PROCESS.AND THEN I JUST, UM, WANNA THANK YOU.
I KNOW THAT ONE OF COUNCILMAN BRAVO'S RECOMMENDATIONS IS ON ADOPTING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND STAYING UP TO DATE.
UM, AND THIS WEEKEND YOU HAD YOUR TEAM MEMBERS AT THE HON RACE FOR OUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
AND I BELIEVE THAT YOU ALL HAVE SOME SORT OF AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM WITH SOME OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO, UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
I DIDN'T REALIZE THERE WAS AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM UNTIL I WAS AT THE HON SATURDAY, SO THANK YOU.
I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF STRATEGIC ITEMS THAT WE CAN BRING TO THE COMMITTEE AND FUTURE MEETINGS.
WE GOTTA COME TALK TO YOU ALL ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION, YOU KNOW, PROGRAMS THAT THE BOARD IS LOOKING RIGHT NOW TO, TO RECONSTITUTE AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, OUR INNOVATION COUNCIL.
THERE'S ALL KINDS OF COOL THINGS, COUNCILMAN, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HADN'T GOT INTO YET BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THE C E P, BUT, BUT I, I, I CERTAINLY WOULD LIKE TO GET Y'ALL A LIST OF ITEMS THAT I THINK YOU'D BE INTERESTED IN FOR FUTURE COUNCIL MEETINGS.
AND I JUST WANNA SAY THAT SAS WAS ALSO AT THE HON, SO, SO THANK YOU SA AS WELL.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE INPUT, UH, UNDERSTOOD.
THIS IS THE, UH, THE BOARD'S, UH, STUDY.
UM, ONE THING I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN SEEING IF THE BOARD SO CHOOSES IS A REVIEW OF, UM, C P SS RELATIONSHIP WITH, UH, NON-CORPORATE STAKEHOLDERS.
SO, FOR INSTANCE, THE C A C, THE CITIZENS ADVISORY, UH, COMMITTEE, I WAS TALKING TO MY APPOINTEE, UH, RECENTLY.
SHE DID HAVE SOME, SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR HOW THINGS COULD BE, UH, SOMEWHAT BETTER.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THOSE PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY'RE MAKING GOOD USE OF THEIR TIME.
UH, THERE WAS A WHILE WHEN YOU ALSO WERE MEETING WITH AN ENVIRONMENTAL STAKEHOLDER GROUP, UH, HOW, HOW COULD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS BE, UH, PRODUCTIVE OR MORE PRODUCTIVE FOR, FOR ALL PARTIES INVOLVED? THANK YOU.
I'M GONNA JUST SUMMARIZE TOO, THAT THE CONCERNS THAT I HEAR THAT I THINK ARE IMPORTANT IN ANY UPCOMING STUDY.
AND, AND, AND BEFORE I EVEN SAY THAT, LET ME SAY, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL WILL ALWAYS RETAIN ITS AUTHORITY TO DO OUR OWN STUDY, EITHER THROUGH OUR AUDIT COMMITTEE WHEN WE LOOK AT FINANCIAL OPERATIONS THINGS, OR, OR JUST IF WE FIND THAT THE ONE THAT, THAT THE BOARD DOES, SEEMS TO BE LACKING IN SOME OF THE KEY AREAS THAT WE THINK WE NEED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT.
BUT I THINK THAT, UH, ALL OF US AGREE THAT THERE'S BEEN, UH, A REAL DRAMATIC CHANGE IN PERSONNEL AND LEADERSHIP AT C P S ENERGY, AND I THINK THAT REALLY HAS A LOT OF PEOPLE VERY CONCERNED.
UH, ALSO, YOU KNOW, YOU TALK ABOUT, UH, EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.
THIS IS WHAT WE HEAR AS COUNCIL MEMBERS.
OH, THEY GIVE THESE BIG BONUSES TO EVERYBODY.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED AND IT NEEDS TO BE EXPLAINED, AND IT NEEDS TO BE CLARIFIED.
UH, THE IMPROPER USE OF, OF MONEY, WHETHER IT WAS ONE PERSON OR TWO PEOPLE, OR FIVE PEOPLE.
I THINK IT'S, AGAIN, ANOTHER THING THAT THE PUBLIC HEARS AND IT GROWS IN THEIR MIND.
IT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, IT NEEDS TO BE IDENTIFIED, IT NEEDS TO BE CLARIFIED AND CLEANED UP.
UH, YOU KNOW, AND PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE COST OF THEIR UTILITY BILLS.
AND SO THAT MEANS WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE EFFICIENCIES AND THE FINANCIAL CONDITIONS AND THE BEST OPERATIONS THAT WE HAVE AT C P S ENERGY TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM THE MOST AFFORDABLE COSTS WE CAN PROVIDE.
AND STILL KEEP IN MIND THAT WE AREN'T PROVIDING AFFORDABLE ENERGY COMPARED TO OTHER PLACES, BUT PEOPLE DON'T COMPARE THEIR BILLS TO OTHER PLACES.
THEY COMPARE THEIR BILLS TO THEIR OWN PERSONAL ECONOMY RIGHT HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I HEAR THAT WE HEAR THAT WE HOPE WILL BE ADDRESSED IN ANY INTERNAL, UH, STUDY THAT'S DONE BY C P S ENERGY SO THAT WE CAN HELP THE PUBLIC GAIN OR REGAIN THAT CONFIDENCE AND TRUST THEY HAD IN THIS UTILITY.
I CAN TELL YOU IN 20 18, 20 19 YEARS BEFORE THAT C P S ENERGY WAS IN VERY HIGH REGARD, I HELD IT THAT, AND I STILL HELD YOU HOLD YOU PERSONALLY IN HIGH REGARD, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN OR UNDERSTAND ALL OF WHAT'S IN THE BACKGROUND.
AND MORE OF THAT NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT FORWARD INDEPENDENTLY AND CLEARLY, UH, TO, AGAIN, REGAIN THAT TRUST THAT THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO HAVE IN OUR UTILITIES.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY FINAL COMMENT.
UH, AND I THINK THAT CONCLUDES ALL OF OUR BUSINESS.
SO I, OH, ONE OTHER, UH, QUESTION.
COUNCILMAN, WAS THERE ONE OTHER THING? OH, YES, I DID HAVE ONE OTHER COMMENT.
[02:40:01]
YOU KNOW, AFTER WE APPROVED THE RATE INCREASE AS A BODY, UM, YOU KNOW, I DID RECEIVE SOME CRITICISM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T TRUST C P S ENERGY.WHY DID YOU APPROVE IT WITHOUT GETTING THESE COMMITMENTS PERFORMED FIRST? RIGHT.
AND RUDY, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE LETTER THAT YOU SENT YESTERDAY, AND ONE OF THE COMMITMENTS YOU MADE WAS THAT YOU WERE GONNA TRY AND GET THAT R F P OUT WITHIN 30 DAYS.
AND IN THAT LETTER YOU WERE REAFFIRMED, YOU SAID, OUR, YOUR GOAL IS STILL TO GET THAT R F P OUT FEBRUARY 11TH.
AND HERE WE WERE, YOU KNOW, IN SOME WAYS THINKING WE HAD A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO WEIGH IN ON WHAT, WHAT MIGHT GO INTO A STUDY.
AND THEN I SAW THAT AND I SAID, OH MAN, YOU KNOW, RU RUDY'S REALLY MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS.
I NEED THE, I NEED THE HUSTLE ON MY END TO MAKE SURE I GET MY INPUT IN.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR STICKING TO THAT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, KEEPING US, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKING ME TRY TO KEEP PACE WITH YOU TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT INPUT IN.
ANYTHING ELSE? ANY OTHER COMMENTS? NO.