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OKAY, BUDDY, PLEASE HAVE A SEAT.
WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER, ROBERT MELVIN.
YOU KNOW, IT'S BAD FORM WHEN THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE'S THE LAST ONE TO SHOW UP.
ANYWAY, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
I WELCOME THE MEETING OF THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE ON TUESDAY, APRIL 26TH.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND BEGIN WITH, UH, ROLL CALL PLEASE.
COUNCIL MEMBER SAND HERE, CHAIR.
WE HAVE FOUR ITEMS WE'RE GOING TO BE DISCUSSING TODAY.
OUR, OUR PRESENTER'S GOING TO BE C P SS ENERGY.
I WELCOME THEM TO THE COMMITTEE MEETING.
UH, WE'LL BE HAVING A BRIEFING ON C P S ENERGY ON CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE EFFORTS AND THE AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
UH, WE'LL BE HAVING A BRIEFING ON ENERGY ON THE FROM, UH, C P S ON AN UPDATE ON THEIR FLEX POWER BUNDLE.
WE'RE GONNA ASK THEM ALSO TO TALK ABOUT THE SAVE FOR TOMORROW STEP PLAN.
AND THEN FINALLY, UH, AN UPDATE ON THEIR RATE AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, MEETING AND, UH, POSSIBLY COUNCILWOMAN ON AS SANDOVAL WILL BE GIVING US A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON THAT.
LET'S START OFF WITH ITEM NUMBER TWO.
THAT'S A BRIEFING BY C P S ENERGY ON CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE EFFORTS TO INCLUDE THE AFFORDABILITY, DISCOUNT PROGRAM, AND AN UPDATE ON THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO THE MINUTES? PARDON ME? THE MINUTES.
[Approval of Minutes ]
LET'S GO AHEAD AND, AND REVIEW THE MINUTES, UH, OF OUR LAST MEETING, WHICH WAS, UH, APRIL 4TH.DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THOSE MINUTES? HOPEFULLY YOU'VE ALL HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK 'EM OVER AS I HAVE.
UH, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
MOTION'S BEEN MADE AND SECONDED FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
HEARING NONE, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.
THANK YOU, AURORA, FOR KEEPING ME ON.
AND, UH, NOW WE'LL GO TO NUMBER TWO,
[Items for Consideration ]
UH, BRIEFING ON THE AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM.I'M THE INTERIM E V P FOR CUSTOMER STRATEGY AT C P S ENERGY.
AND WE'LL BE PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN TERMS OF CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE, UH, HOW WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE, WHERE WE'RE AT FOR THE ARPA FUNDING, AS WELL AS, UH, TALK ABOUT THE PROGRESS WE'RE MAKING IN SIGNING CUSTOMERS UP FOR OUR AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
SO, FIRST OFF, WE JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT OUR, UH, EFFORTS HAVE BEEN ONGOING THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC, AND WE STARTED IN JUNE OF 2020.
AND THROUGH THAT EFFORT SO FAR, COMBINED WITH THE PARTNERSHIPS ACROSS THE OVER 100 AGENCIES THAT WE WORK WITH, AS WELL AS, UH, THE ARPA FUNDING, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CONNECT CUSTOMERS WITH ABOUT $54 MILLION SO FAR.
AND WE KNOW THAT WE STILL HAVE MORE TO GO WHENEVER IT COMES TO, UH, THE ARPA PIECE.
SO I'LL DIVE DOWN A LITTLE BIT DEEPER HERE AND JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE OUTREACH HAS LOOKED LIKE.
WE REALLY ARE TAKING THE APPROACH OF DOING EVERYTHING FROM MAKING PHONE CALLS TO CUSTOMERS AND GOING AND KNOCKING ON THEIR DOORS, TRYING TO REACH CUSTOMERS WHERE THEY'RE AT.
AND, UH, THROUGH THAT WE HAVE HAD A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS.
AND, UH, BUT WE KNOW THAT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH AND WE STILL NEED TO CONTINUE.
SO WE'LL KEEP REACHING OUT AND ANY SUGGESTIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU HAVE, WE WOULD, UH, WE'RE COMPLETELY OPEN TO.
BUT I THINK WE HAVE SEEN SO FAR FROM AN ARPA PERSPECTIVE, WE RECEIVED OVER 13,000 APPLICATIONS.
AND, UH, IN THAT WE'VE SEEN ABOUT 12, UH, THOUSAND THAT ARE, UM, INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS.
'CAUSE WE HAD SOME DDU DUPLICATES.
SO WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
AND AS WE DO, WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH PARTNERS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.
AND TWO KEY PARTNERS I'LL TALK THROUGH IS D H S, UH, HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS ASSISTANCE AND, AND HELP FOR US AS WELL AS SAHA.
SO AT SAHA, WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM TO HAVE AS MANY, UM, EVENTS AT THE DIFFERENT PROPERTIES THAT WE POSSIBLY CAN.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT DOING PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS TO LET THEM KNOW ALL OF THE SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM, NOT JUST FROM AN ARPA PERSPECTIVE, BUT THERE'S OTHER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. SO WE HAVE, UH, A MONTHLY MEETING, UH, OUR C E O RUDY, AS WELL AS, UM, THE SAHA C E O WE'VE BEEN MEETING ON A MONTHLY BASIS, AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THAT UNTIL WE CAN DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO PREVENT ANYONE FROM BEING DISCONNECTED IN THE SAHA PROPERTY AT THE SAME TIME, UH, D H SS HAS BEEN A BIG PARTNER FOR US,
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AND WE STARTED WITH LOOKING AT CUSTOMERS THAT, UH, D H SS HAD AUTO QUALIFY OR HAD ALREADY GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS TO QUALIFY THROUGH THE, UH, EAP PROGRAM.AND THROUGH THAT WORK, UH, WE HAVE, UH, RECEIVED, UH, AN ADDITIONAL LIST.
WE JUST GOT IT FRIDAY, UH, EVENING.
SO I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY CUSTOMERS WE BELIEVE THAT WILL HELP.
UH, BUT THROUGH THE TREMENDOUS EFFORT, THE ONGOING CONVERSATION AND PARTNERSHIP WITH, WITH RUSSELL AS WELL AS, UH, D H S, WE DO BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE ALL $20 MILLION ACCOUNTED FOR.
IT'S JUST GONNA BE A SLOW PROCESS TO GET IT, UH, UH, GET EVERYTHING PROCESSED THROUGH THE SYSTEM.
SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE OUR PARTNERSHIP, CONTINUE TO FIND WAYS TO AUTO QUALIFY CUSTOMERS, UH, AND AS WE DO, ANOTHER BIG COMPONENT OF THAT IS MEETING THE, UH, THE COMMITMENT THAT WE MADE DURING THE RATE INCREASE CONVERSATION.
AND THAT WAS TO ENROLL CUSTOMERS, MORE CUSTOMERS INTO OUR AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF ARPA IS, UH, IF THEY RECEIVE ARPA ASSISTANCE, IS ALSO THAT THEY NEED TO BE EITHER ON A PAYMENT PLAN FOR ANY OUTSTANDING BALANCES THAT'S NOT COVERED THROUGH ARPA OR THAT THEY GET ENROLLED IN OUR A D P PROGRAM.
UH, SO WITH THE HELP OF, UH, SOME AUTO-ENROLLED OPTIONS, THE PARTNERSHIP WITH SAHA AND THROUGH THE ARPA ENROLLMENT SO FAR, WE'VE ALREADY BEEN ABLE TO ENROLL IN AN ADDITIONAL 6,000 CUSTOMERS.
SO WE'RE WELL ON OUR WAY TO HAVE ALL 65,000 CUSTOMERS ACCOUNTS SIGNED UP, UH, THROUGH THE END OF THIS SUMMER.
AND, UH, I KNOW THROUGH, UM, SOME OF THE EMAILS THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO SHARE BACK AND FORTH, UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE, YOU ASKED ONE QUESTION ABOUT HOW, HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT, WHAT, WHAT DO WE NEED FROM YOU? THE BIGGEST THING I WOULD ASK IS THAT YOU SHARE, UH, ANY, UH, EVENTS THAT WE HAVE.
WE, UH, I SENT OUT, UH, ON FRIDAY A LIST OF ALL THE EVENTS THAT ARE IN YOUR INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS.
SO ASK THAT YOU SHARE THAT IF YOU CAN ATTEND IT.
UM, AND OR IF YOU RECEIVE A CALL FROM A CUSTOMER THAT SAYS THEY NEED HELP, YOU CAN GIVE THEM THE SPECIFIC NUMBER THAT WE HAVE FOR ARPA FUNDS.
IT'S 2 1 0 3 5 3 6 1 1 0, OR YOU COULD REFER IT TO YOUR, UM, DEDICATED CREW MEMBER.
AND THROUGH THAT, WE CAN CONNECT THEM, GO KNOCK ON THEIR DOOR, SEE HOW WE CAN CONNECT THEM WITH THE SOLUTION THAT FITS THEIR NEEDS.
THE WAY THAT WE ARE, UH, PROGRESSING IS WE ARE, WE HAVE RESUMED DISCONNECTIONS ON BOTH COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS, BUT, UH, FOR CUSTOMERS THAT ARE, UH, IN SOME TYPE OF A ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, WE HAVE NOT PUT THEM BACK THROUGH THE, UM, THE WHOLE DIS THE WHOLE COLLECTIONS PROCESS.
BUT OUR GOAL IS TO BE BACK ON TRACK WITH ALL CUSTOMERS THROUGH THE STANDARD COLLECTIONS PROCESS BY THE END OF JUNE.
SO THAT SHOULD GIVE US ENOUGH TIME THROUGH, GET EVERYTHING THROUGH THE AUTO ENROLLMENT PROCESS, MAKE SURE THAT WE SET EVERYBODY UP ON, UH, A PAYMENT PLAN THAT, UH, HAS ANYTHING OUTSTANDING AND THEN START GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE, THERE ARE CUSTOMERS WHO, UH, MIGHT NEED TO HAVE THE, THE LIGHTS GO OUT FOR THEM TO, UH, TO CON CONTACT US AND IDENTIFY WHAT ASSISTANCE WE CAN PROVIDE THEM, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO AS MANY CUSTOMERS AS WE CAN BEFORE, BEFORE THAT HAS TO HAPPEN.
DEANNA, I WANT TO, UH, CONGRATULATE C P S FOR REACHING OUT INTO THE DISTRICTS.
UH, I HAD, UH, C P S HAVE THEIR BUS OUT THERE WITH PEOPLE TALKING WITH RESIDENTS WHO MAY NEED ASSISTANCE, UH, IN MY DISTRICT LAST WEEK, UH, THERE'S ANOTHER ONE SCHEDULED, I BELIEVE, ON THE 29TH IN MY DISTRICT, AND WE'VE DECIDED TO SET UP A SATELLITE OFFICE NEXT TO IT, UH, TO JUST LET PEOPLE KNOW WE'LL BE THERE AS WELL IF THEY NEED HELP.
SO, UH, THAT'S THE KIND OF OUTREACH WE NEED IN THOSE TARGETED AREAS AROUND THE CITY.
SO I'M REALLY, YOU KNOW, GLAD TO SEE THAT WE'RE DOING THAT.
I, I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST HAVE A LOT OF WHAT YOU'VE MENTIONED, NARROW DOWN TO NUMBERS.
I THINK A LOT OF US, UH, ARE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN UNDERSTAND CONCEPTUALLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT IT'S REALLY, UM, IT'S REALLY UNDERSTANDING HOW MANY FAMILIES ARE BEING AFFECTED AND HOW THEY'RE BEING AFFECTED.
YOU MENTIONED A COUPLE OF NUMBERS, LIKE 6,000 ADDITIONAL SIGNED UP FOR, UH, THE PROGRAM THAT HELPS THEM ONGOING, UH, IF THEY'RE QUALIFIED.
I THINK YOU SAID 18,000 PEOPLE HAD REACHED OUT AND SAID THEY'D LIKE HELP.
UH, WE HAVE, WE'VE RECEIVED 13,000 APPLICATIONS, 13,000, AND THERE WERE A LOT OF DUPLICATES IN THERE THROUGH WEEDING THAT OUT THAT WE, WE, WE THINK WE HAVE ABOUT 12,000 APPLICATIONS THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO HELP.
ON TOP OF THE ADDITIONAL, UM, ACCOUNTS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM D H SS, WE BELIEVE RIGHT NOW, I THINK THAT'S ABOUT 15,000 MORE, UH, CUSTOMERS.
WE STILL HAVE TO WEED THROUGH IT.
LITERALLY, IT WAS FRIDAY EVENING THAT WE GOT THE LIST AND WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THAT, SEEING WHAT D DUPLICATES ARE.
BUT THROUGH THAT, UM, WE BELIEVE THAT SO FAR BETWEEN THE, THE 12,000 AND THE 15,000, WE'VE IDENTIFIED 27,000 ACCOUNTS.
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SO YOU'RE PRETTY SURE THAT ALL 20 MILLION WILL BE, UH, ALLOCATED PRETTY QUICKLY.OH, I THINK IT'LL TAKE A, IT'LL BE ACCOUNTED FOR.
IT'S JUST GONNA TAKE A WHILE TO ACTUALLY APPLY IT TO THE ACCOUNTS.
SO, UH, THAT'S GONNA BE THE, THE LONGEST, UM, POLLING, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL GET THROUGH IT SO WE CAN GET THIS ASSISTANCE FOR CUSTOMERS.
I'LL OPEN THAT, OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS BY ANY OF THOSE.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND I DO APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR OUTREACH EFFORTS.
I MENTIONED A WHILE BACK, Y'ALL HAD A, A REALLY BIG EVENT IN, UH, DISTRICT SIX AT THE NORTHSIDE ACTIVITY CENTER, AND IT WAS VERY WELL ATTENDED.
I WAS REALLY KIND OF SURPRISED AND I WENT TOWARDS THE END OF IT.
UM, THERE'S PACKED WITH PEOPLE, THERE WERE OTHER SAWS AND SAHA, OTHER ENTITIES THERE.
SO I DO REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT TO BE SAID FOR, UM, WHAT YOU MENTIONED REACHING CUSTOMERS WHERE THEY ARE NOT EXPECTING THEM TO COME TO YOU.
SO HAVING SAID THAT, UM, HOW, CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS? HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY, UM, THOSE THAT ARE IN NEED? DO, I'M, I'M SURE YOU TAKE THE CALLS WHEN PEOPLE DO COME TO YOU, UM, BUT IS THERE A PRIORITIZATION OR, UM, HOW, HOW DO YOU DO THAT? YEAH, SO, AND ALSO, I'M SORRY, PART OF IT, CAN YOU KIND OF WALK ME THROUGH THE STEPS ONCE SOMEBODY, ONCE SOMEBODY IS, UH, QUALIFIED TO ACCEPT THE, THE ASSISTANCE? SURE, ABSOLUTELY.
SO, UH, FIRST OFF, FOR, UM, TO IDENTIFY THE CUSTOMERS, WE START WITH QUAL, THE HUDSON CENSUS TRACKS, AND THEN TO, AND IDENTIFYING THE ZIP CODES TO THAT.
WE CAN GO, WE REACH OUT, SEE IF WE CAN SECURE A LOCATION, AND AS SOON AS WE CAN, WE START, UM, PLANNING AN EVENT.
UH, THROUGH THAT PROCESS, WHAT WE WILL DO IS WE WILL CALL ANY PHONE NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE IN THAT AREA AND IN THAT ZIP CODE TO LET THEM KNOW, UH, THAT WE, THAT WE'RE GONNA BE IN THE AREA.
ON TOP OF THAT, WE HAVE A, UH, A, A CONTRACTOR THAT WE USE THAT HANGS, UH, DOOR HANGERS TO LET PEOPLE KNOW WHEN WE'RE GONNA BE IN THEIR, UH, THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND THEN THE DOOR, THE DOORS THAT WE ARE KNOCKING ON ARE THE CUSTOMERS THAT WE EITHER HAVE SOME TYPE OF, UH, INCOME DATA ON, OR WE, I CAN IDENTIFY THAT THEY HAVE THE OLDEST AND HIGHEST BALANCE DUE, SO THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO CAPITALIZE ON, UH, THE, THE ARPA, UM, DOLLARS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE APPROACH WE USE FOR BOTH KNOCKING ON THE DOORS AS WELL AS ON ALL OF THE PHONE CALLS THAT WE DO FROM AN OUTREACH PERSPECTIVE, AS SOON AS WE GET THE APPLICATION, YOU CAN GO ONLINE, GO TO ONE OF OUR WALK-IN CENTERS, WAIT FOR US TO KNOCK ON YOUR DOOR, UH, AND, UH, WHENEVER YOU FILL OUT THAT APPLICATION, IT, IT COMES INTO US AS AN EMAIL.
WE GET THE EMAIL OUR FOLKS GO THROUGH AND, UH, CLEAN IT UP, TRY.
UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S ALL MANUAL, SO WE GOTTA MATCH IT UP AND SEE IF WE CAN FIND THE ACCOUNT NUMBER WITH THAT.
THEN WE LOOK AT THE BALANCE THAT IS, UH, BASED ON, UH, RIGHT NOW WE ARE QUALIFYING BALANCES THROUGH THE END OF SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR, BUT WE'RE WORKING, UH, WITH THE CITY TO GET AN AMENDMENT TO EXTEND THAT, UH, TIMEFRAME.
UH, BUT FOR NOW, WE, WE LOOK AT THAT BALANCE AND THEN WE, UH, SEND IT OVER TO OUR, OUR, OUR BILLING TEAM.
THEY GO THROUGH, THERE'S A COUPLE OF STEPS FROM AN AUDIT PERSPECTIVE CONTROLS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL THE PAPERWORK.
UH, THERE ARE, UH, A LIST OF REQUIREMENTS.
I'LL BE HAPPY TO SHARE THOSE WITH YOU.
WE HAVE TO VALIDATE THAT, UH, SOMEONE'S INCOME LEVEL AS WELL AS THAT THEY WERE IMPACTED FINANCIALLY THROUGH C O V I.
AND SO IT'S SOMETIMES IT'S, IF WE DON'T HAVE THOSE THINGS, WE WILL SEND A LETTER OUT TO THOSE CUSTOMERS.
WE WILL ALSO, IF WE HAVE THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION THROUGH, UH, THE NOTIFICATIONS, EMAIL, TEXT OR PHONE CALL, WE WILL SEND THEM A MESSAGE TO SAY WE'RE, WE'RE NEEDING SOMETHING ADDITIONAL.
SO A LOT OF THE THINGS, A LOT OF THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE HAVE ARE PENDING SOME OF THAT PROOF.
SO HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU ATTEMPT TO GET AHOLD OF SOMEBODY WHO MAYBE HASN'T FOLLOWED UP? WE, WE, WE MAKE THREE PHONE CALLS ON TOP OF, UH, ALL THE OTHER COMPONENTS.
UH, AND IT STILL LEAVES PENDING.
IT JUST DOES, IT JUST MEANS THAT, UH, SOMEONE ELSE MIGHT GET TO THOSE, THE FUNDS BEFORE THEY DO, UNFORTUNATELY.
AND, UM, YOU, UH, I THINK IT WAS THE FIRST OR SECOND SLIDE, YOU, YOU MENTIONED 54 MILLION, OH, WHAT WAS THAT NUMBER? 54 MILLION? YES.
SO IS THAT FOR, UH, UM, ACCOUNTS THAT HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN OR THAT HAVE BEEN PAID THROUGH ARPA, OR IS IT A COMBINATION OF THAT'S THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DOLLARS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET THROUGH, UH, ASSISTANCE? SO SOME OF IT IS, IS FEDERAL DOLLARS.
SOME OF IT IS, UH, ARE THE AGENCIES, LIKE I MENTIONED, WE WORK WITH OVER A HUNDRED AGENCIES, SO THEY SET ASIDE FUNDS.
SO IT'S ANYWHERE THAT WE CAN FIND THAT THERE'S AVAILABLE FUNDING.
SO THAT, AND CONNECTING OUR CUSTOMERS WITH THAT.
SO THAT'S 54 MILLION THAT DID GO INTO C P S REVENUE STREAM? YES.
AND, UM, FINALLY, WHAT WAS MY LAST QUESTION? UM, OH, WELL, IS IT, IS THERE STILL ROOM TO DO ANOTHER EVENT? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
THAT WAS REALLY SUCCESSFUL, JESSE SITTING OVER HERE AND I WILL MAKE SURE THAT, UH, YES, AND WE SAW EACH OTHER THAT NIGHT.
UM, IT WAS, I REMEMBER, UM, IT WAS, I THOUGHT IT WAS EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL AND, AND, AND THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT WERE NOT, UM, JUST FROM THAT AREA OF TOWN, EVEN NOT JUST FROM THE DISTRICT, BUT EVEN FROM THE WEST SIDE.
I KNOW WE HAD SOME FAMILIES COME
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IN FROM THE SOUTH SIDE TOO.SO THAT WAS REALLY, UH, UH, AN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL EVENT.
IF WE CAN DUPLICATE THAT, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
WE, WE'D BE HAPPY TO, AND I KNOW I OWE YOU SOME ANSWERS FROM THE EMAIL I SENT OUT, SO I'LL BE SURE TO GET THOSE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BY THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS? A QUESTION? THANK YOU, CHAIR.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
ON THE SLIDE THAT YOU HAVE UP, IT'S $52 MILLION FROM PARTNERS AND $2 MILLION FROM MAR.
CAN YOU REMIND ME WHO THE PARTNERS ARE OR IS THERE A LIST OF ALL OF THE PARTNERS THAT I THINK YOU, YOU MIGHT HAVE FLASHED IT UP AND I MISSED IT.
I DON'T HAVE IT HERE, BUT I CAN EMAIL THAT TO YOU.
AND THEN WE ALLOCATED $20 MILLION AS A CITY COUNCIL FOR C P S ASSISTANCE, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE ONLY 2 MILLION HAS BEEN CREDITED TO ACCOUNTS.
HOW, CAN YOU MAYBE WALK ME THROUGH HOW YOU'RE IDENTIFYING THE PROCE THE CUSTOMERS AND WHY IT'S SO DIFFICULT TO FIND THEM? ABSOLUTELY.
SO WE HAVE BEEN ABLE, WE THINK, UM, AS A FRIDAY, WE DO THINK THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED, UH, A PRETTY, AN EX WE'VE IDENTIFIED ENOUGH CUSTOMERS TO COVER THE $20 MILLION, THE PIECE THAT YOU'RE SEEING THERE FROM A TWO FOR THE $2 MILLION.
A LOT OF THAT REALLY IS THROUGH THE MANUAL WORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO, AS WELL AS WAITING FOR CUSTOMERS TO GET BACK WITH US TO SHOW PROOF OF INCOME OR PROOF OF BEING, UH, IMPACTED BY, UH, COVID.
SO THAT'S WHERE THE PARTNERSHIP WITH D H S HAS BEEN SO IMPORTANT FOR CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE EITHER ALREADY BEEN QUALIFIED OR OTHER, UH, QUALITIES THAT WE CAN USE TO AUTO-ENROLL CUSTOMERS.
WE BELIEVE THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH, UH, AND, AND DO AUTO, AUTO QUALIFICATIONS.
SO WE NO LONGER HAVE TO WAIT ON CUSTOMERS TO PROVIDE US DATA.
SO IT REALLY IS A COMBINATION OF THE MANUAL PROCESS AS WELL AS, UH, WAITING ON CUSTOMER DATA.
AND THEN FINALLY, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A QUESTION MAYBE FOR THE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, BUT THE REQUIREMENTS, UH, SPECIFICALLY TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR ARPA ASSISTANCE.
HOW MUCH OF IT IS FEDERALLY REQUIRED VERSUS HOW MUCH OF IT IS CITY RED TAPE?
I'LL, I'LL TAKE THAT QUESTION.
UM, SO THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENT IS WE HAVE TO SHOW THAT THEY HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY COVID.
UM, IN OUR AGREEMENT WITH BOTH C P S AND SAWS, WE HAVE ASKED THEM TO FOCUS ON LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS, KNOWING THAT, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THE MOST, UH, UH, CUSTOMERS THAT ARE IN MOST NEED OF ASSISTANCE.
SO WE REALLY WANTED TO PRIORITIZE THAT GROUP AND MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE DOING THAT.
THAT DOES COME WITH SOME ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS IN TERMS OF DOCUMENTATION.
UM, I'LL ALSO SHARE WITH YOU THAT, UM, I'M GLAD DEANNA USED THE WORD PARTNERSHIP BECAUSE I THINK IT HAS BEEN A PARTNERSHIP AS WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT CUSTOMERS AND TRY TO, TRY TO SEE HOW WE CAN BEST HELP THEM.
I KNOW THAT OUR D H SS STAFF, UM, IS ACTUALLY WORKING ON SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, THAT WE WILL LOOK AT TO TRY TO IMPROVE THE PROCESS.
SO ALL C P S, I THINK HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF IDENTIFYING CUSTOMERS AND WHERE THOSE BALANCES COULD BE APPLIED.
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT IS HOW CAN WE EXPEDITE THE PROCESS? HOW CAN WE USE OTHER TOOLS THAT ARE AVAILABLE UNDER ARPA TO, UM, UH, UH, SPEED UP THE ELIGIBILITY PROCESS? HOW CAN WE SHARE INFORMATION? SO WE HAVE, UM, I GUESS DIFFERENT DATABASES OF INFORMATION THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY LOOK AT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SHARING, SO THAT IF WE KNOW A CUSTOMER HAS BEEN ELIGIBLE FOR ARPA FUNDING THROUGH A DIFFERENT PROGRAM, THEY'RE ALREADY QUALIFIED, WE SHARE THAT INFORMATION, WE'RE ABLE TO GET THEM SIGNED UP MUCH QUICKER.
SO THAT, THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE WORKING OUR WAY THROUGH.
AND, AND MY RESIDENTS AND A LOT OF THE RESIDENTS IN SAN ANTONIO ARE ONE MINUTE AWAY FROM LOSING HOPE.
AND SO EVERY EXTRA STEP THAT THEY HAVE TO TAKE, UH, I THINK DEFINITELY DAMPENS THEIR SPIRITS FOR THE HELP THAT WE SET, THAT WE WOULD GIVE THEM.
AND I KNOW A LOT OF IT ISN'T NECESSARILY US, IT'S GUIDELINES THAT WE HAVE TO DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.
THERE'S PROPER, UM, OBVIOUSLY PROCEDURES THAT WE HAVE TO FILE BECAUSE OF FEDERAL, UH, GUIDELINES, ET CETERA.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STILL KEEP THAT TOP OF MIND THAT SOME FOLKS MIGHT, LIKE I SAID, JUST, JUST BE ON THE VERGE OF LOSING THAT HOPE.
WE, WE, WE, I KNOW OUR D H SS FOLKS ARE WORKING ON THAT.
AND AGAIN, I THINK THERE'S THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS THAT TALK ABOUT IMPACT TO COVID, BUT, UM, IN OUR AGREEMENT WE DID LOOK TO TRY TO PRIORITIZE CUSTOMERS THAT MAY BE MOST IN NEED, BUT I DO THINK THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES THERE FOR US TO IMPROVE THOSE PROCESSES SO THAT, UM, WE CAN HOPEFULLY SPEED UP THE DELIVERY OF THOSE FUNDS AND THOSE CREDITS AS WE WORK WITH BOTH UTILITIES, NOT ONLY C P S, BUT SAWS AS WELL.
UM, WITH, WITH THAT, BEN, I WAS JUST, UM, THINKING ABOUT THIS, THE OUTSTANDING BILLS ARE BETWEEN MARCH 1ST, 2020 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2021.
IS THERE ANY TYPE OF FLEXIBILITY FOR THOSE THAT ARE EXPERIENCING ADDITIONAL, UM, TROUBLE? UH, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT BILLS PAST SEPTEMBER OF 21 MM-HMM.
[00:20:01]
DO WE HAVE ANYBODY FROM D H S HERE? SO WE ARE, UH, ACTUALLY, WE ARE IN CONVERSATIONS RIGHT NOW TO GET AN AMENDMENT TO SEE, AND I THINK RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT THAT RIGHT DATE IS.UH, BECAUSE WE'VE SEEN ONGOING IMPACTS, UH, FROM C O V I D, BUT PATRICK AND RICHARD OVER AT D H S HAVE BEEN AMAZING PARTNERS.
AND RUSSELL TOO, WE'RE HAVING REGULAR CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW, HOW CAN WE MAKE THIS, HOW DO WE MAXIMIZE ALL $20 MILLION AND GET ASSISTANCE TO THE
SO I, I, I DON'T SEE HOW THEY WOULDN'T EXTEND THAT.
I, UM, AND I'M NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH THAT PIECE OF IT, BUT I DO KNOW THERE ARE CONVERSATIONS GOING ON ABOUT EXTENDING IT.
AND I, I DON'T THINK THAT'S GONNA BE AN ISSUE GIVEN THE IMPACT THAT COVID HAD PAST SEPTEMBER 21 WITH THE SURGE THAT WE SAW, AGAIN, OVER THE, THE, THE WINTER.
UM, BUT I, I THINK WE JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE DOCUMENT THAT AND FORMALIZE THAT AMENDMENT.
I IMAGINE ONE OF THE PROBLEMS, AND, AND TELL ME IF I'M WRONG THOUGH, IS THAT ONCE YOU IDENTIFY THE PEOPLE AND YOU, BASED ON D H SS RECORDS, THEY'RE QUALIFIED, THEY STILL NEED TO COME IN AND DO SOMETHING.
THEY HAVE TO PERSONALLY SIGN OFF OR, OR SOMETHING.
SO IT'S GETTING THEM TO PERSONALLY SHOW UP, UH, THAT'S PART OF THE PROCESS THAT YOU HAVE TO EXECUTE, RIGHT? YES.
WE DO NEED, THEY DON'T HAVE TO PERSONALLY SHOW UP, BUT WE DO NEED THEM TO PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION.
SO, UH, WE DO, UH, THAT'S WHERE GOING OUT TO MEET CUSTOMERS WHERE THEY'RE AT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US.
'CAUSE IF THEY HAVE THOSE DOCUMENTS WITH THEM, UH, WE CAN UPLOAD 'EM, WE CAN TAKE A PICTURE, UPLOAD 'EM INTO OUR SYSTEM SO THAT WE HAVE THOSE RECORDS FOR, UH, AUDIT PURPOSES.
UH, AND SO THAT IS ONE OF THE, THE MOST CHALLENGING PARTS WITH THE, UH, D H S, UH, QUALIFIED PEOPLE.
CAN THEY JUST SEND YOU THEIR COPIES OF THE DOCUMENTS, SO YOU DON'T NEED TO GET AN UPDATED COPY OR A NEW COPY FROM THE SAME PEOPLE? UH, ACTUALLY ALL THEY HAVE TO DO AS PART OF OUR, UH, INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT IS PROVIDE US WITH THE LIST.
AND, UH, WE'VE JUST GOTTA MATCH THEM UP WITH THEIR ACCOUNT AND SEE IF THEY HAVE A PAST DUE BALANCE AND WE DON'T NEED TO GET DOCUMENTS THERE.
IT ALLOWS US TO AUTO-ENROLL THEM.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL HAS A QUESTION.
UM, IT, JUST, FOLLOWING UP ON WHAT THE COUNCILWOMAN SAID, I'M REALLY GLAD TO HEAR THAT YOU'RE GONNA REVIEW THE PROCESS.
UH, I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR OPTIMIZATION AND IT'S, IT'S ESPECIALLY NEEDED WHEN IT'S, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE MIGHT LOSE ELECTRICITY IN THEIR, IN THEIR HOME.
UH, I JUST WANTED TO SUGGEST, AND, AND YOU MAY BE DOING THIS ALREADY, THAT WE MAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM, UH, PEOPLE WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS, IF THEY HAVE TIME TO GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK ON, UM, WHERE WE CAN, UH, IMPROVE.
AND THOSE WHO DIRECTLY TAKE THE APPLICATIONS.
I KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO, WHO DO THE, THE INTAKE WHO, UH, HAVE A LOT OF INSIGHT, JUST SOMETIMES WE, UM, WE DON'T HEAR FROM THEM.
UM, SO, 'CAUSE WE DON'T TAKE APPLICATIONS OURSELVES, SO WE MIGHT NOT, WE MIGHT NOT KNOW WHAT THOSE HURDLES ARE.
WE CAN GET TRAINED, WE CAN GET TRAINED.
AND THEN, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY NUMBERS OR OBSERVATIONS ABOUT, UH, CLIENTS OR CUSTOMERS WHO LIVE IN SINGLE FAMILY HOMES VERSUS MULTI-FAMILY HOMES.
UH, WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS, UH, ENERGY BENCHMARKING PROCESS RIGHT NOW AS, UM, OUT OF THE CLIMATE ACTION ADAPTATION PLAN.
SO WE THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
WE, THE ROYAL, WE THINKS IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR, UH, CUSTOMERS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT BE HAVING ENERGY LEAKS, RIGHT? JUST LIKE YOU DON'T WANT A WATER LEAK, UH, IN MULTIFAMILY HOUSING.
AND SOMETIMES THAT'S NOT ALWAYS UNDER THEIR CONTROL.
I'M JUST, JUST WONDERING IF YOU'RE OBSERVING, UH, ANYTHING.
SO FIRST OFF, WE WILL ALSO TAKE IT AS A, UH, AN ACTION ITEM TO GET SOME FEEDBACK FOR YOU FROM, WE HAVE SOME VIDEOS FROM CUSTOMERS THAT WE'VE INTERVIEWED THAT WE CAN SHARE.
UH, WE'LL ALSO, UH, GET SOME FEEDBACK ABOUT, UH, WHAT THE CUSTOMER'S PERSPECTIVE IS, AS WELL AS WHAT WE'RE SEEING ON THE INTAKE SIDE.
UH, AND THEN IN TERMS OF MULTIFAMILY, WE ACTUALLY ARE WORKING WITH SAHA AS PART OF SA HA'S.
UM, WHEN SOMEONE MOVES INTO A SAHA PROPERTY, THEY HAVE TO SIGN A RELEASE THAT WILL ALLOW US TO SHARE DATA DIRECTLY WITH SAHA ON THEIR ENERGY USAGE.
AND, UH, THROUGH THAT WE HAVE LIMITATIONS ON WHAT DATA WE CAN SHARE ON CUSTOMER'S ENERGY USAGE.
BUT THROUGH THAT RELEASE, THEN WE ARE ABLE TO WORK WITH SAHA.
WE'RE STILL IN THE INFANT STAGES OF THAT, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE'RE STARTING THAT CONVERSATION TO HELP WITH THE BENCHMARKING AND ALSO HELP PEOPLE IDENTIFY WHERE THEY CAN POTENTIALLY BE MORE, UH, EFFICIENT AND SAVE ON THEIR BILLS.
ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BY ANY OF THE OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS? OKAY.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE A CITIZEN TO BE HEARD ON THIS ITEM.
[00:25:01]
MELVIN PRESENT.THEN THAT CONCLUDES ITEM NUMBER TWO.
WE'LL MOVE ON NOW TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON C P S ENERGY'S UPDATE ON THE FLEX POWER BUNDLE PROGRAM.
UH, MY NAME IS KEVIN PAULO, VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENERGY SUPPLY AND MARKET OPERATIONS.
SO VERY HAPPY TO BE IN, IN FRONT OF THE COMMITTEE TODAY TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON OUR FLEX POWER BUNDLE.
UH, YEAH, JUST KINDA STARTING HERE AS WE LOOK AT THE AGENDA.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THE FLEX POWER BUNDLE HAS BEEN OUR PROCESS TO THOUGHTFULLY REPLACE A PORTION OF OUR AGING GENERATION UNITS, UM, WHILE MAINTAINING, YOU KNOW, OUR VISION OF RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE ENERGY SUPPLY FOR THE COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT, UH, FLEX POWER BUNDLE, THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF THAT BUNDLE.
GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE IN SOME CASES AND TALK ABOUT KIND OF WHAT WE SEE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR.
I DID WANNA START WITH THIS SLIDE.
IT SHOWS, UH, OUR CURRENT, UH, ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION FLEET.
UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT, AT BUILDING OUR PORTFOLIO, WE REALLY LOOK AT, AT DIFFERENT TYPES OF TOOLS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO MEET OUR COMMUNITY'S ENERGY NEEDS.
SO THAT'S INCLUDES, UH, PRODUCTS AND, AND THINGS THAT WE CAN DO ON, ON THE DEMAND SIDE.
SO YOU'LL HEAR LATER, UH, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS OUR ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS AND SUCH.
BUT THAT IS A TOOL THAT WE LIKE TO HAVE TO HELP US MANAGE ENERGY USAGE.
WE TALK ABOUT, UH, THINGS LIKE DEMAND RESPONSE.
THAT BECOMES A VERY IMPORTANT PRODUCT FOR US TO USE, UH, NOT ONLY AS WE PLAN FOR LOAD GROWTH WITHIN THE CITY, BUT HOW WE MEET OUR, OUR NEEDS ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS AND HELP TO, UH, YOU KNOW, MEET THAT PEAK LOAD THAT OCCURS DURING, YOU KNOW, DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE SUMMER.
UH, THIS SLIDE AND, AND MY FOCUS FOR TODAY WILL REALLY BE ON, ON THE GENERATION SIDE.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT BUILDING OUR PORTFOLIO, AGAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD A, A COLLECTION OF ELECTRICAL GENERATION UNITS THAT GIVE US THE CAPACITY TO MEET THAT PEAK ENERGY NEED.
SO AS YOU LOOK AT THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, CIRCULAR GRAPHIC, I THINK YOU'LL SEE A COUPLE THINGS.
ONE HAS BEEN, ONE IS DIVERSITY OF FUEL SUPPLY.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NUCLEAR UNITS, COAL UNITS, GAS UNITS, RENEWABLES IN TERMS OF WIND AND SOLAR.
BUT THAT DIVERSITY OF FUEL MIX HAS HELPED US TO, UH, MAINTAIN OUR, OUR BILLS VERY AFFORDABLE, AND WE'RE CONTINUE TO HAVE BILLS THAT ARE AMONG THE LOWEST IN, IN TEXAS AND AND LARGE CITIES ACROSS THE NATION.
BUT THAT DIVERSITY OF FUEL SUPPLY HAS BEEN VERY IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO, UM, NOT BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO FUEL SUPPLY DISRUPTIONS OR, OR SUSCEPTIBLE TO COST INCREASES, FOR EXAMPLE, ON ANY PARTICULAR, UH, FUEL COMMODITY.
UM, YOU'LL ALSO SEE DIVERSITY IN THE TYPES OF GENERATION UNITS THAT WE HAVE.
AGAIN, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, THE NUCLEAR AND THE COAL UNITS, WE, WE REFER TO THOSE AS BASE LOAD UNITS, BUT UNITS THAT ARE ABLE TO RUN, ESSENTIALLY ARE INTENDED TO RUN, UM, YOU KNOW, AT OR NEAR THE, THE TOP OF THEIR CAPACITY 24 HOURS A DAY, 365 DAYS A YEAR.
UH, AND IT RANGES UP TO, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR, OUR PEAKING UNITS.
SO THE, THE MILTON B LEE, UH, COMBUSTION TURBINES.
THOSE ARE DESIGNED OR INTENDED TO BE OPERATED VERY DIFFERENTLY.
UM, BUT THAT DIVERSITY, BOTH THE FUEL MIX AND IN TERMS OF THE TYPES OF GENERATION THAT WE HAVE, IS ALL PART OF HOW WE WE BUILD OUR PORTFOLIO TO MEET OUR COMMUNITY'S NEEDS, YOU KNOW, ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND CERTAINLY AS WE PLAN FOR THE LONG TERM, I DO WANNA DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION, UH, I GUESS TO THE, UH, TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF, OF THE GRAPHIC.
YOU SEE THE THREE ITEMS ARE THE THREE PLANTS CIRCLED IN, IN YELLOW, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THE, THE, UH, BRO EGG AND SUMMERS GAS STEAM UNITS, AND THEN THE SPRUCE COAL UNITS.
AS WE TALK ABOUT, UH, OUR GENERATION PLANNING ACTIVITIES FOR THIS YEAR, WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON THOSE THREE PLANTS.
SO ABOUT 3000 MEGAWATTS OF GENERATION THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO TRANSITION.
AS YOU LOOK AT THAT TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES, UH, HEADING THERE, YOU SEE A LOT OF THE DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE SAW AS PART OF FLEX POWER BUNDLE THAT WERE OFFERED TO US, AS WELL AS OTHER EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE DO THINK, UH, ARE, UH, PROVIDE EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR US IN THE FUTURE, AND ARE THINGS THAT WE BELIEVE WE SHOULD BE, UH, LOOKING AT YOU RANGING FROM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT AGAIN IS, IS YOU SEE WIND AND SOLAR UP THERE AND NATURAL GAS, UH, POTENTIAL TO CONVERT TO COAL AND NATURAL GAS.
UH, SO KIND OF SOME OF THE MORE, THE MORE TRADITIONAL OR SOLUTIONS THAT ARE OUT THERE TODAY.
UH, BATTERY STORAGE IS OBVIOUSLY PART OF A FLEX POWER BUNDLE.
BUT THERE'S OTHER TYPES OF BATTERIES THAT WE THINK MAY BECOME AVAILABLE IN THE FUTURE.
UH, YOU LOOK AT GEOTHERMAL PUMP STORAGE.
AGAIN, DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE BELIEVE, UH, MAY BE SOLUTIONS FOR US, UH, IN THE FUTURE AS WE TALK THROUGH, UH, OUR TRANSITION PLAN ON THAT ENTIRETY OF THOSE 3000 MEGAWATTS.
UH, THIS SLIDE I THINK IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE AS, AS, AS I TALK ABOUT THAT 3000 MEGAWATTS OF GENERATION THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO TRANSITION, WE REALLY HAVE TWO DIFFERENT, UH, PARALLEL PROCESSES ONGOING.
SO THE FIRST, AS YOU SEE, UH, WITH THE BRO GAS PLANTS, UH, THE INTENT TO REPLACE THE, THE BRO NIC GAS PLANTS IS WITH OUR FLEX POWER BUNDLES.
SO THAT PROJECT HAS BEEN IN FLIGHT.
[00:30:01]
WE'VE WORKED THROUGH, UH, OVER THE LAST YEAR OR SO, UH, OUR REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, OUR R F P PROCESS, UH, WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING THROUGH THAT.AND THAT, AGAIN, THAT PROJECT IS INTENDED TO DELIVER GENERATION, UH, THAT WILL COME ONLINE ROUGHLY THE NEXT TWO TO THREE YEARS.
SO IT'S KIND OF THE, THE HERE AND NOW, IF YOU WILL.
AS WE TALK ABOUT THE SUMMERS AND THE SPRUCE GAS PLANTS, THAT'S REALLY THE FOCUS OF OUR GENERATION PLANNING EFFORTS, UH, THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH, UH, WITH OUR BOARD, UH, AND WITH OUR RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS.
IT'S INTENDED TO DELIVER A RECOMMENDATION TO OUR BOARD BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
UH, AND AGAIN, THAT THE GENERATION WE ANTICIPATE, UH, COMING ONLINE THROUGH THAT PROJECT IS A LITTLE BIT FARTHER OUT, PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, MIDDLE TO END OF THE END OF THE DECADE OR SO.
UH, BUT TWO VERY IMPORTANT PARALLEL PATHS TO ULTIMATELY ALLOW US TO TRANSITION OUR, OUR GENERATION FLEET.
KIND OF TURNING BACK TO FLEX POWER BUNDLE, AGAIN, IT WAS INTENDED TO REPLACE THE THREE, UH, BRO AND GAS UNITS.
YOU CAN SEE FROM THE GRAPHIC, UH, THEY WERE ESSENTIALLY BUILT IN THE LATE 1960S.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE 50 YEARS OLD, SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, UH, USEFUL TIME OR THEIR DESIGN TIME IS IS ABOUT UP.
UM, UH, AND, AND WE LOOKED AT REPLACING THOSE THREE UNITS WITH THE COMBINATION OR THE BUNDLE, IF YOU WILL, OF, OF DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES, LOOKING AT 900 MEGAWATTS OF SOLAR, 50 MEGAWATTS OF, OF STORAGE, UH, FOCUSING ON BATTERIES AND UP TO 500 MEGAWATTS OF FIRMING CAPACITY.
BUT OUR VIEW IN LOOKING AT HOW TO REPLACE THOSE, THOSE BROING UNITS WAS THAT, UH, BUNDLING COMPLIMENTARY TECHNOLOGIES, TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE CAN FIT TOGETHER, UH, IN TERMS OF A LITTLE PUZZLE THERE HELPS TO MAXIMIZE THE USE OF THE, THE RENEWABLE GENERATION BY INCREASING AND ADDING THAT 900 MEGAWATTS OF SOLAR, UH, BUT ALSO ALLOWING US THAT FIRMING CAPACITY OR DELIVERING THAT FIRMING CAPACITY THAT CAN BE USED, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN THAT SOLAR'S NOT PRODUCING AT ITS FULL OUTPUT.
YOU, THIS SLIDE SHOWS KIND OF, AGAIN, A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON THE THREE, THE THREE CATEGORIES.
SO KIND OF WORKING, UH, LEFT TO RIGHT ON THE SLIDE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING FOR THAT 900 MEGAWATTS OF SOLAR.
WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING, UH, SEVERAL DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
UH, WE ARE TALKING WITH COUNTERPARTIES AND WORKING THROUGH NEGOTIATIONS.
UH, BUT WE SEE THOSE PROJECTS, UH, COMING ONLINE AND PROVIDING, I CALL IT GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY, BUT THEY'RE LOCATED ACROSS THE STATE.
SO THAT'S IMPORTANT, I THINK, AS WE LOOK TO SPREAD THOSE, UH, PROJECTS OUT.
SO, AGAIN, WE DON'T GET, UH, I'D ASK SUSCEPTIBLE TO ANY PARTICULAR WEATHER EVENT OR TRANSMISSION EVENT, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT MAY HAPPEN, UH, IN ANY ONE PART OF THE STATE.
SO THAT, THAT DIVERSITY IS IMPORTANT.
UH, THOSE PROJECTS ARE, ARE CONTRACTS ARE ENVISIONED TO BE ANYWHERE FROM 12 TO TO 25 YEARS.
AGAIN, DEPENDING ON THE PROJECT.
UH, THE SIZE IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT A HUNDRED IN, IN SOME CASES UP TO ABOUT 300 MEGAWATTS OF CAPACITY.
AGAIN, PUTTING ALL THOSE DIFFERENT PROJECTS TOGETHER TO, TO DELIVER THE 900 MEGAWATTS OF SOLAR, UH, THAT WE'RE PURSUING FROM A STORAGE PERSPECTIVE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, PROJECTS THAT ARE ESSENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, NEAR, UH, IN OR AROUND SAN ANTONIO, UH, UP TO ABOUT A 20 YEAR TERM FOR THOSE PROJECTS.
UM, AND AGAIN, UP TO ANYWHERE FROM ABOUT 10 TO 50 MEGAWATTS, UH, YOU KNOW, SO WE COULD LOOK AT MULTIPLE PROJECTS UP TO POSSIBLY A SINGLE PROJECT OF A LARGER SIZE, UH, BUT THAT WILL DELIVER THE 50 MEGAWATTS OF STORAGE CAPACITIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
AND THEN FROM A FIRMING PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY AS, AS THIS SLIDE IS SHOWING, WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UH, CAPACITY THAT, YOU KNOW, FIRST OF ALL IS RELIABLE.
UH, IT'S, UH, FLEXIBLE, UH, IMPORTANTLY THAT, UH, IT'S CONTROLLABLE, RIGHT? WE CALL, I LIKE TO CALL IT ON DEMAND, BUT WE CAN, UH, DIRECTLY CONTROL, I MEAN, WHEN AND HOW IT RAMPS UP AGAIN.
SO WHEN WE HAVE, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE SOLAR MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE, WE CAN ACTIVELY RAMP UP OUR FIRMING CAPACITY TO FILL IN, UH, THAT GAP.
UH, BUT ULTIMATELY, AS WE LOOK TO BRING THESE PROJECTS AND THESE CONTRACTS TOGETHER, UH, AGAIN, WE'RE LOOKING TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE ON DEMAND ENERGY TO MEET, UH, THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, I WANTED TO TRANSITION AND, AND TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, MORE SPECIFICALLY ON THE FIRMING SIDE, UH, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT NATURAL GAS.
UH, WE DID SEE, UH, DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES THAT WERE, UH, PROPOSED TO US AS PART OF FLEX POWER BUNDLE.
UH, BUT NATURAL GAS, YOU KNOW, REALLY LOOKS TO US TO BE THE SOLUTION.
AS FAR AS THIS NEAR TERM FIRMING CAPACITY.
UH, YOU KNOW, IT IS A PROVEN TECHNOLOGY.
UH, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY IT'S, WE HAVE READILY AVAILABLE ABUNDANCE SUPPLIES OF NATURAL GAS HERE IN, IN OUR STATE IN TEXAS.
UM, I DO THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WHEN WE LOOK AT, AT A NATURAL GAS SOLUTION VERSUS, UH, SOME KIND AN EXTENDED, YOU KNOW, STORAGE OPTION, FOR EXAMPLE, WE DO THINK THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WINTER STORM MU CERTAINLY UNDERSCORED, UH, THE IMPORTANCE OF RESILIENCY AND THAT, UH, EXTENDED DURATION OR ABILITY TO GENERATE OVER A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.
UH, GOING BACK TO THE ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE SAW AND COMPARING THOSE TO THE NATURAL GAS SOLUTIONS THAT WERE PRESENTED,
[00:35:01]
UH, THE ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES WERE ALL MORE COSTLY THAN THE GAS SOLUTIONS.UH, THEY DID NOT OFFER, OBVIOUSLY, THE SAME TYPE OF DURATION IN TERMS OF, OF ABILITY TO GENERATE OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.
AND, AND REAL, THERE WERE NEWER TYPE OF SOLUTIONS.
SO THEY INTRODUCED, UH, TECHNOLOGY OR NEW CONSTRUCTION RISKS.
SO I DID MENTION 'EM AT THE BEGINNING.
'CAUSE I DO THINK THOSE TYPES OF SOLUTIONS, AS WE LOOK AT, AGAIN, THAT SECOND PROCESS LOOKING AT AT THE SUMMERS UNITS AND THE SPRUCE UNITS, UH, THESE TYPES OF ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES, EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, I THINK ARE VERY, UH, HAVE VERY GOOD POTENTIAL FOR US.
I THINK IT'S MORE AS WE LOOK AT REPLACING SUMMERS AND SPRUCE AND LESS ABOUT HOW THEY FIT INTO FLEX POWER BUNDLE, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THEY'RE QUITE, UH, AS COMMERCIALLY READY AS, AS A NATURAL GAS SOLUTION.
UH, YOU KNOW, I DO WANNA SAY, AS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE DIFFERENT PROJECTS, EVALUATIONS AND NEGOTIATIONS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, UH, CHALLENGES THAT WE ARE SEEING AT THE LOCAL STATE, NATIONAL AND, AND GLOBAL LEVEL.
UH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RETIRING GENERATION.
THAT'S, THAT'S, WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES.
AS YOU LOOK ACROSS ERCOT AND STATE, UH, THERE'S CERTAINLY DIFFERENT, UH, EMERGING REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS, YOU KNOW, STARTING WITH WEATHERIZATION AND, AND SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF SENATE BILL THREE, FOR EXAMPLE.
UH, LOOKING AT CHANGES TO HOW THE PRICES ARE FORMED AND, AND PRICING RULES IN ERCOT.
BUT REALLY, AS FAR AS THINGS THAT WILL MOST DIRECTLY AND MOST IMMEDIATELY IMPACT FLEX POWER BUNDLES, SOME OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN HURDLES THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY SEEING, I THINK, UH, IT'S NO SECRET THAT, YOU KNOW, THE WORLD IS KIND OF EXPERIENCING A LOT OF TURMOIL IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN, STARTING WITH, YOU KNOW, THE EARLY DAYS OF THE PANDEMIC AND KIND OF CONTINUING.
BUT WE'RE SEEING THAT, UH, TRANSLATE INTO SOME OF THE SOLAR AND AND STORAGE PROJECTS IN TERMS OF PRIMARILY, I WOULD SAY, LOOKING AT, UH, THE SOLAR PANELS THEMSELVES AND, AND THE BATTERY MODULES.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, KINDA THE OTHER SIDE OF THE, OF THE CHART HERE AND LOOK AT POTENTIAL IMPACTS, WE ARE SEEING THAT, UH, IT HAS AFFECTED OUR NEGOTIATION TIMELINES A BIT.
UH, MORE IMPORTANTLY, AS FAR AS ACTUALLY DELIVERING A POWER TO THE COMMUNITY, WE ARE SEEING A LONGER LEAD TIMES, IN SOME CASES, FOR THE CRITICAL COMPONENTS, WHICH IS AFFECTING SOME CASES.
THE, THE SCHEDULES FOR WHEN THAT GENERATION MAY COME ONLINE.
UH, IN SOME CASES, WE'RE SEEING, UH, SOME PRICING PRESSURES.
I WOULD SAY IT HASN'T AFFECTED ALL PROJECTS.
IT'S KIND OF VARIED, BUT IT IS THINGS, THOSE ARE ELEMENTS THAT WE ARE DEFINITELY HAVING TO WORK THROUGH, UH, AND MANAGE AS WE WORK THROUGH IT TO, TO FINALIZE THESE CONTRACTS.
UH, AND SO I THINK THAT THE KEY FOR US IS TO CONTINUE TO EVALUATE THE, THE IMPACTS OR POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF THESE CHANGING, UH, MARKET CONDITIONS ON PROJECT TIMING.
UH, I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE'RE SEEING, UH, THE MOST IMPACTS.
I WANTED TO FINISH REALLY AND TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE KEY ACTIVITIES THAT WE SEE HERE, YOU KNOW, OVER THE COMING MONTHS AS WE WORK THROUGH FINISHING FLEX POWER BUNDLE AND, AND ALSO WORKING THROUGH THE GENERATION PLANNING PROCESS ON OUR OTHER UNITS.
BUT WE CERTAINLY HAVE A, AN ONGOING DIALOGUE WITH OUR BOARD, UH, AND, AND WELCOME THEIR FEEDBACK AND, AND, AND NEED THEIR FEEDBACK AND GUIDANCE ON HOW WE MOVE FORWARD.
UH, WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING THROUGH OUR PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS, SO WORKING WITH OUR RATES ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND TALKING NOT ONLY ABOUT FLEX POWER BUNDLE, BUT AGAIN ABOUT THE, THE GENERATION PLANNING PROCESS AROUND SUMMERS AND SPRUCE.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE OUR STAKEHOLDERS, WHETHER IT BE, UH, MEETINGS LIKE THIS, DIFFERENT THINGS WITH OUR CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, OTHER COMMUNITY GROUPS.
THAT'S ALL PART OF, UH, I THINK AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROCESS GOING FORWARD.
UH, AND CERTAINLY I WANT, THE OTHER ONE I REALLY WANT TO TOUCH ON IS EXECUTION.
OBVIOUSLY, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CLOSING FLEX POWER BUNDLE, UH, WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING TO CLOSE THOSE CONTRACTS AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
AND I THINK THAT WILL BE AN IMPORTANT STEP FOR US, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF MOVING FORWARD, UH, GETTING THOSE CONTRACTS IN PLACE, MOVING FORWARD INTO CONSTRUCTION, AND, AND VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO DELIVERY OF POWER FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE BOTTOM THERE, CERTAINLY I THINK WE'LL MEASURE SUCCESS BY BEING ABLE TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE POWER, UH, TO OUR COMMUNITY, WHILE ALSO ACHIEVING, UH, THE GOALS THAT HAVE BEEN SET UNDER THE CLIMATE ACTION AND ADAPTATION PLAN.
SO THOSE ARE KIND OF THE, THE DRIVING, UM, YOU KNOW, BENCHMARKS THAT WE'RE STEERING TOWARDS AS FAR AS HOW WE MEASURE SUCCESS, NOT ONLY THE FLEX POWER BUNDLE, BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF OUR LONGER TERM, UH, GENERATION TRANSITION PLAN.
UH, SO WITH THAT, I'D, I'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
LET ME, UH, JUST START OFF WITH, WHEN WAS THE FLEX POWER BUNDLE, R F P OR R F I, WHATEVER IT WAS CALLED, UH, PUT OUT OR, UH, YOU KNOW, REQUESTS FOR RESPONSES? SO WE DID, UH, WE STARTED WITH AN R F I REQUEST FOR INFORMATION.
THAT WAS, I BELIEVE, IN ROUGHLY JULY, 2020.
UH, THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL WAS ISSUED IN NOVEMBER OF 2020, AND OUR RESPONSES WERE DUE, UH, FEBRUARY 1ST OF, OF 2021 LAST YEAR.
AND SO WHAT YOU'VE DETERMINED IS OUT
[00:40:01]
OF THOSE RESPONSES, NONE OF THEM WOULD REALLY WORK RIGHT NOW 'CAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT WORKING OR THEIR COSTS TOO MUCH, OR THEY HAVEN'T PROVEN THEMSELVES, THINGS LIKE THAT.FROM A FIRMING CAPACITY STANDPOINT, YES, SIR.
UH, THERE WERE ALTERNATIVE, ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES PRESENTED.
BUT, UH, AS YOU SAID, I THINK THAT WHEN WE LOOKED AT THOSE, UH, TECHNOLOGIES COMPARED TO THE NATURAL GAS SOLUTIONS THAT WERE PRESENTED, UH, I THINK YOU HIT ON THE KEY POINTS.
THEY WERE EITHER MORE EXPENSIVE, UM, NOT AS COMMERCIALLY READY, MEANING MANY OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES ARE IN EITHER THE DEVELOPMENT STAGES OR EARLY PILOT STAGES.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANTED TO DO, KNOWING THAT WE'RE REPLACING ACTIVE, UH, GENERATION IN OUR BROING UNITS, IS MAKE SURE THAT THIS NEAR TERM THAT WE HAD, UH, CAPACITY, GENERATION CAPACITY THAT WAS RELIABLE THAT WE COULD COUNT ON.
WELL, I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS WHAT YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT AS, UH, LOOKING AT THESE AS OPPOSED TO NATURAL GAS.
UH, YOU KNOW, TODAY I READ IN THE PAPER THAT PEOPLE'S BILLS WERE GOING UP 22% BECAUSE OF RISE IN NATIONAL AND, UH, NATURAL GAS PRICES.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT THAT C P S REACHED OUT TO GET SOME FIRM CONTRACTS AT GUARANTEED PRICING TO KIND OF PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING.
AND SO I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE A 22% INCREASE IN PEOPLE'S BILLS BECAUSE OF GAS PRICES.
CAN SOMEBODY EXPLAIN THAT TO US? DO YOU WANNA TOUCH THE MARKET
YOU KNOW, GAS IS A, IS AN INTERNATIONAL COMMODITY.
UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT, WE SAW SOME PRESSURES STARTING IN EUROPE LAST FALL, UM, WHERE THEY WERE EXPERIENCING SOME SHORTAGES IN GAS SUPPLY AND, AND THE, UH, EXPORT FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO EUROPE, YOU KNOW, INCREASE THAT STARTED TO DRIVE SOME GAS PRICES UP EARLY LAST YEAR.
AND YOU LOOK AT THE SITUATION NOW WITH, UH, RUSSIA AND UKRAINE, UH, THAT HAS LED TO SOME SHARP INCREASES RECENTLY IN GAS PRICES BECAUSE, AGAIN, UH, POTENTIAL SHORTAGES IN EUROPE AS, AS THEY WORK TO LESSEN THEIR, UH, RELIANCE ON, ON RUSSIAN, UH, NATURAL GAS SUPPLY.
UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT, SO, SO THE WHOLE KIND OF MARKET HAS RISEN.
I THINK WE HAVE, WE HAVE BEEN AFFECTED AS OF MANY OTHER UTILITIES.
WHEN WE LOOK AT, UH, HOW WE MANAGE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DO LOOK AT, UM, WE HAVE A HEDGING PROGRAM IN PLACE THAT WE HAVE USED, UH, OVER THE YEARS IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO FINANCIALLY HEDGE A PORTION OF OUR GAS SUPPLY.
IT'S BEEN, UH, WE CONTINUE TO USE THAT.
AND I THINK THAT HAS, UH, SHIELDED US IN SOME CASES FROM A PORTION OF THE GAS, YOU KNOW, THE SUPPLY COST INCREASES.
UH, WE DON'T HEDGE OR HAVE NOT HEDGED HISTORICALLY A HUNDRED PERCENT OF OUR GAS SUPPLIES.
SO WE HAVE A PORTION THAT HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO THESE RECENT INCREASES.
AND THAT'S, I THINK, WHERE YOU'RE SEEING SOME OF THE BILL INCREASE.
UH, I'LL LET CORY TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE BILL.
YEAH, I WOULD JUST BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHAT PERCENTAGE OF OUR GAS NEEDS HAVE WE, UH, GOT A FIRM CONTRACT ON, OR, OR HEDGE, SO TO SPEAK, 50%.
YEAH, SO I MEAN, WE'VE, WE'VE HEDGED UP TO 50% OF, OF THE DISTRIBUTION AND GENERATION SUPPLY.
BUT THE BIG THING IS, SORRY, THE, THE BIG THING FOR US THAT KEVIN HIT ON RIGHT ON THE HEAD WAS, UM, WE DON'T HEDGE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF NO ENTITY DOES.
WHAT PERCENTAGE DO WE HEDGE ON? 50%, 15%? 5 0, 0 50.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, THE INCREASE IN NATURAL GAS, I MEAN, THAT'S GONE UP MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
SO THE FACT THAT YOU'RE, IT'S GOING UP 22%, IT'S LESS THAN, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT OTHERWISE COULD BE.
UM, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF, UM, YOU KNOW, TOOLS THAT WE'VE PUT IN PLACE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE P F C UH, INSTRUMENT THAT ALLOWS US TO PREPAY NATURAL GAS HAS SAVED US ITS INCEPTION, INCEPTION, $85 MILLION TO DATE.
AND BY THE TIME THAT'S UP, IT'LL BE ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION TO DATE.
UH, AND THE, AS KEVIN MENTIONED, THE HEDGING PROGRAM THAT WE LAY IN HEDGES 36 MONTHS IN ADVANCE, THOSE ARE COMING DUE.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK TO MAKE, YOU KNOW, CLOSER TO 70, $75 MILLION OFF OF THOSE HEDGES SHOULD PRICES STAY WHERE THEY ARE FOR THE BALANCE OF THE YEAR.
SO THE TAKEAWAY IS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DAMPENED THE IMPACT, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AND COMPARE CPS ENERGY'S BILLS TO THE REST OF THE MARKET, AND YOU PUT US UP AGAINST THE REST OF THE STATE, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IS WE'RE STILL NEAR THE BOTTOM.
SO THE RELATIVE COMPARISON OF HOW WE BENCHMARK IS ONE OF THE KEY TAKEAWAYS, UH, AGAIN, FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, RECOGNIZING THAT WE'RE GONNA TRY AND DAMPEN THE IMPACTS OF THE MARKET AS BEST WE CAN AND STILL MAINTAIN A RELATIVE COMPETITIVENESS ACROSS THE STATE, WHICH IS WHAT WE'VE EFFECTIVELY DONE.
UM, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO TRY DOING WELL, I THINK C P S ENERGY NEEDS TO DO A BETTER JOB OF INFORMING, UH, THEIR CUSTOMERS ABOUT THE CURRENT SITUATION, UH, BECAUSE THAT IS A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN YOUR ENERGY BILL FROM ONE MONTH TO ANOTHER.
WELL, IT'S A YEAR OVER YEAR DIFFERENCE.
IT'S NOT ONE MONTH TO ANOTHER.
IT'S MARCH OF LAST YEAR TO MARCH OF THIS YEAR WAS THE COMPARISON.
AND THAT MEMO THAT WAS MENTIONED AT OUR BOARD MEETING YESTERDAY, WE POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE TODAY, UH, AT SOME POINT, UM, FOR ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS TO, TO BOTH READ, IN ADDITION TO THE COMMENTARY THAT WAS GIVEN YESTERDAY, AND I'LL REPORT OUT ON IT AT OUR NEXT BOARD
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MEETING AS WELL.WILL IT BE OUT IN YOUR NEXT BILL EXPLAINING THAT SO THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHEN THEY SEE THEIR NEXT BILL? UH, I IMAGINE WE COULD, IF WE WANT TO.
YEAH, I THINK IT, IT SHOULD BE SO THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND.
IT'S ONE THING TO SAY IT'S ON, ON YOUR WEBSITE, BUT SURE.
UM, ANOTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS WHAT'S GOING ON WITH, UH, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH, SO WITH SOUTHWEST RESEARCH ON BATTERY STORAGE, UH, THAT'S BEEN ONGOING FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, AND I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT IF WE'RE GETTING ANY KIND OF NEW BREAKTHROUGH DEVELOPMENT OR FINDING OUT HOW WE CAN BENEFIT FROM THAT PARTNERSHIP.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE COST TO C P SS HAS BEEN IN THAT INVESTMENT.
CAN YOU SHARE THAT? SO I, I THINK WHAT, WHAT WE'VE BEEN USING THAT, UH, PARTNERSHIP FOR PRIMARILY IS THAT WAS OUR INITIAL FOOTHOLD, IF YOU WILL, INTO BATTERY STORAGE.
UH, SO WE HAVE USED THAT, UH, OPERATIONALLY, WHAT WE'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON IS A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS, AND HOW, WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS TO OPTIMIZE AND TO USE THAT BATTERY IN THE MARKET.
SO WE HAVE LOOKED AT, UM, UH, USING THAT, UH, RESOURCE TO WHAT WE CALL SOLAR SHIFT.
SO WE CHARGE, YOU KNOW, DURING THE MORNING, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN SOLAR'S PRODUCING, BUT NOT AT THE SAME TIME AS OUR, OUR HIGHEST PEAK LOAD, WHICH IN A SUMMER DAY, TYPICAL SUMMER DAY OCCURS, YOU KNOW, 6:00 PM TO 7:00 PM AT NIGHT.
SO WE'VE BEEN USING THAT BATTERY TO CHARGE IN THE MORNING.
WE HAVE, UH, MORE SOLAR, SO TO SPEAK, THAN WE, THAN WE USE FOR LOAD AND THEN DISCHARGE THAT BATTERY IN THE EVENING ACROSS OUR PEAK LOAD TIME.
IT'S HOW WE SHIFT THE SOLAR PRODUCTION FROM MORNING TO AFTERNOON.
UH, WE'VE ALSO BEEN USING IT, UH, TO UNDERSTAND, UH, HOW THAT TYPE OF RESOURCE, UH, FUNCTIONS IN THE ERCOT MARKET FOR WHAT WE CALL ANCILLARY SERVICES.
IT'S, UH, ANCILLARY SERVICE IS A, ESSENTIALLY IT'S CAPACITY THAT ERCOT, UH, USES TO HELP, UM, ENSURE THE RELIABILITY OF THE GRID ON A DAY-TO-DAY, HOUR TO HOUR BASIS.
UH, SO AS, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE DEMAND, BECAUSE WE HAVE LOAD, WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE OR TO PAY FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ANCILLARY SERVICES EVERY HOUR OF THE YEAR.
UH, SO THAT BATTERY RESOURCE HELPS TO MEET SOME OF THOSE ANCILLARY SERVICES.
AND SO WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, KIND OF WHERE AND HOW TO BEST UTILIZE THAT BATTERY BETWEEN THOSE TWO USE CASES.
I'D JUST LIKE TO SEE A REPORT ON THAT, SIR, IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL.
AND, AND HOW MUCH IS IT COSTING C P S TO PARTNER WITH THEM ON THIS? YEAH, MR. CHAIRMAN, WE'LL GET YOU A, A, WE'LL GET YOU A SUMMARY.
YOU KNOW, UH, TALKING ABOUT OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH SOUTHWEST RESEARCH, INITIALLY, THE INITIAL COST OF THAT FACILITY WAS ABOUT $10 MILLION, AND WE GOT A $3 MILLION GRANT TO HELP OFFSET THE COST OF THAT.
UH, YOU KNOW, SO THE VALUE FOR US, AS KEVIN MENTIONED, IS UNDERSTANDING HOW WE CAN OPTIMIZE BATTERY STORAGE ON OUR SYSTEM.
YOU KNOW, WHERE SHOULD WE PUT, YOU KNOW, THE BATTERIES, YOU KNOW, SHOULD WE OPERATE 'EM FOR ONE HOURS, FOR TWO HOURS, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING UPON, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER'S HAPPENING IN THE MARKET.
SO THAT WAS REALLY AN, AN, AN EXPER EXPERIENTIAL, YOU KNOW, UH, PARTNERSHIP WITH SOUTHWEST RESEARCH, WITH SOUTHWEST RESEARCH, WHICH HAS ALLOWED US TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT THE 50 MEGAWATT, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, OF BATTERIES THAT, THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET THROUGH THE FLEX POWER BUNDLE.
UM, JUST TO, YOU KNOW, KEVIN DIDN'T SAY IT, UH, BUT I'LL JUST REITERATE, I'M READY TO SIGN CONTRACTS TODAY.
I MEAN, IF WE CAN GET THE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES HANDLED, WE GET THE PRICES NEGOTIATED WHERE WE WANT 'EM, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE 900 MEGAWATTS.
UM, THE 50 MEGAWATTS WORTH OF BATTERIES I THINK IS GONNA TAKE US A LITTLE BIT LONGER DUE TO SOME OF THE, UH, THE, THE, THE CHALLENGES ON THE PRICE POINT THAT WERE, WERE ORIGINALLY, UH, UH, BROUGHT TO US.
UH, AND THEN AGAIN, THE FIRMING CAPACITY IS A TRANSITIONAL, UH, UH, STRATEGY FOR US.
ALL OF THE, THE, THE TECHNOLOGIES THAT, THAT, UH, KEVIN, ME, UH, SHOWED UP THERE, WE'RE WORKING ON ALL OF THOSE.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T WANNA LEAVE THE COMMITTEE WITH THE IDEA THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT BULLISH ON, YOU KNOW, THE TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE THINK ARE GONNA MOVE US AWAY, YOU KNOW, FROM, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, ADDITIONAL DEPENDENCE ON FOSSIL FUELS.
SO GEOTHERMAL, YOU KNOW, WE THINK WE HAVE A TON OF POTENTIAL WITH GEOTHERMAL.
WE JUST GOTTA GET IT INTO THE PRICE POINT THAT OUR CUSTOMERS CAN AFFORD.
SO, UM, PLEASE LOOK AT THIS AS KIND OF A FIRST STEP THAT ALLOWS US TO STAY RELIABLE AT A PRICE POINT THAT, THAT WE THINK IS REASONABLE WHILE WE ARE, UH, CONTINUING TO, TO MAKE THOSE INVESTMENTS, WE REALLY NEED TO DO A PILOT PROJECT ON THE GEOTHERMAL, UM, PROJECTS ONSITE AT OUR LOCATION WHERE WE THINK, UH, IT MAKES SENSE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GO UTILITY SCALE, UH, ON THAT GEOTHERMAL DOWN THE ROAD.
IT IS JUST THE WAY WE DO THINGS WE'RE, WE TRY TO BE THOUGHTFUL AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE OPERATIONAL IMPLICATIONS ARE.
BUT, BUT I, BUT THE TAKEAWAY HERE IS THIS IS A GREAT FIRST STEP, YOU KNOW, BUT WE ARE A UTILITY IN TRANSITION IN A, IN A, IN, IN A COMMUNITY THAT'S GROWING.
IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT REPLACING THE 3000 MEGAWATTS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TAKING OFFLINE.
WE'VE ALSO GOT TO INCREASE OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR CAPACITY TO SERVE A, A WHAT'S THE THIRD
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LARGEST, YOU KNOW, QUICKEST GROWING COMMUNITY IN THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW.UM, SO I JUST ASK, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WANNA MAKE SURE YOU'RE BALANCING BOTH WHAT WE'RE REPLACING AND WHAT WE NEED INTO THE FUTURE.
SO, UH, ANYWAY, IF I COULD ADD THE VALUE PROPOSITION OF ALSO TEAMING WITH I'M, YEAH.
UH, I'LL RECOGNIZE A COMMITTEE, UH, MEMBER FROM C P S BOARD.
AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, THAT THE ADDITIONAL VALUE PROPOSITION OF WORKING WITH SOUTHWEST IS THAT THEY'RE LOCAL.
AND AGAIN, WE ARE SUPPORTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BY PARTNERING UP WITH SOUTHWEST RESEARCH CENTER.
SO I WANNA KEEP THAT TOP OF MIND.
AND AS A TECHNOLOGIST, ALWAYS KNOW THAT OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO HAVE A DIVERSE PRODUCT SET SO THAT WE COULD THEN HAVE THE ABILITY TO TEST TECHNOLOGY BEFORE IT IS DEPLOYED.
'CAUSE OUR NUMBER ONE RESPONSIBILITY IS SAFETY AND RELIABILITY.
SO I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT WE DO CAREFULLY VET WHO WE PARTNER WITH, AND IT'S ALWAYS A PREFERENCE FOR LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS VERSUS AN ORGANIZATION OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY OR A REGIONAL ORGANIZATION.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT.
AND SO YOU'RE ALWAYS WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE IN THE, UH, TECHNOLOGY AND RESILIENCE COMMITTEE THAT I CHAIR.
AND SO LOTS OF THESE PROJECTS ARE VETTED THROUGH OUR PROCESS.
AND SO JUST KNOW, I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT SIDE NOTE AS WELL.
I JUST BROUGHT THIS UP BECAUSE I KNOW WE ENDED INTO THAT AGREEMENT MAYBE THREE YEARS AGO, AND WE HADN'T HEARD MUCH IF ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
SO I WOULD APPRECIATE, UH, AN UPDATED REPORT ON HOW THAT PART IS PROGRESSING.
AND ALSO I RECOGNIZE, I THINK ALL OF US DO THAT THIS IS GOING THROUGH NOT JUST YOUR BOARD, BUT YOUR RAC COMMITTEE AND YOUR CAC COMMITTEE, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF CITIZEN INPUT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE DIRECTION THAT C P SS ENERGY GOES ON THIS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST TRYING TO KEEP UP, UH, WITH WHAT THOSE OTHER COMMITTEES ARE, ARE HEARING AND, AND THE DIRECTION THIS IS GOING IN.
UH, THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA HAS SOME QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION ON SLIDE THREE, WHERE YOU HAVE ALL OF THE, UH, GENERATION TRANSFORMATION, THE PORTFOLIO.
HOW MANY OF THOSE DO, DOES C P S ENERGY OUTRIGHT OWN ALL OF THOSE ON THIS SLIDE? WE OWN, UH, WE DO NOT OWN THE WIND AND SOLAR.
UH, THOSE ARE CONTRACTED, YOU KNOW, WE OWN THE, UH, AS MR. CURD SAID, THE THE COMMERCE BATTERY STORAGE SYSTEM, WHICH IS OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH SOUTHWEST RESEARCH.
UH, WE CO-OWN, UH, THE, THE SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT.
SO WE'RE A 40%, UH, CO-OWNER OF THAT.
UH, WITH THOSE EXCEPTIONS, UH, THE REST OF THE, WHAT'S SHOWN ON THE SLIDE, WE DO OWN YES.
AND THEN THE SPRUCE PLANT, UM, ON, ON IT GENERATES, UM, 1,345 MEGAWATTS.
THAT'S ABOUT 18% OF THE PORTFOLIO.
IS THAT BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF THE PLANT, OR IS THAT IN PARTICULAR BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH COAL IT PRODUCES? SO, WHAT'S SHOWN, UH, THE PERCENTAGES, AS YOU POINTED OUT ON THE INSIDE OF THAT, UH, CIRCLE, AND I APOLOGIZE, I DIDN'T HIT ON THAT WHEN I PRESENTED THE SLIDE, BUT THAT IS PERCENTAGE OF, OF ITS, UH, FULL LOAD CAPACITY, NOT HOW MUCH ENERGY IT MAY GENERATE ON A GIVEN YEAR, BUT JUST 1,345 MEGAWATTS OUT OF THE, OUT OF THE TOTAL, UH, ON AN ENERGY BASIS.
YOU KNOW, THE NUMBERS WILL BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT AS FAR AS, UH, HOW MUCH ENERGY IS PRODUCED OUT OF THE INDIVIDUAL RESOURCES IN A GIVEN YEAR.
UH, BUT THIS SLIDE IS SHOWING PERCENT OF CAPACITY, SO I MIGHT NEED AN OFFLINE CONVERSATION TO HELP ME EXPLAIN THAT.
I WON'T TAKE EVERYBODY'S TIME.
UM, BUT, SO PUT ON THE, ON THE LITTLE NOTE, UH, RUDY, I'D LOVE TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT, BUT THANK YOU.
THAT WAS A REALLY HELPFUL PRESENTATION.
UM, I THINK ONE THING THAT COULD MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT BETTER FOR US IS IF YOU SHOWED ANY PLANNED RETIREMENTS OF THESE.
'CAUSE YOU, I THINK WHAT I SAW HERE IS, UH, THE AGE OF THE, SOME OF THE PLANTS.
AND SO YOU'RE SHOWING US THAT SOME OF 'EM ARE, ARE AGING AND NEARING THE END OF THEIR LIFE.
BUT IF WE COULD SEE A TIMELINE FOR, FOR PLANNED RETIREMENTS, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, WE, WE DO HAVE THAT, AND WE CAN CERTAINLY PROVIDE THAT.
YEAH, I THINK I'VE SEEN IT BEFORE, BUT YES, SIR.
I THINK IT'D BE HELPFUL IN THIS PRESENTATION, UM, YOU I SEE IN THERE, UH, WHEN YOU, FOR ON YOUR SOLAR CATEGORY, ONE TO 300 MEGAWATTS OF SOLAR.
RUDY, YOU SAID THAT, UM, YOU'RE READY TO SIGN CONTRACTS TODAY, BUT IF, IF A FLEX POWER BUNDLE IS FOR 900 MEGAWATTS OF SOLAR, WHAT'S THE PLAN ON THE OTHER SIX TO 800 MEGAWATTS AND HOW, YOU KNOW, WHEN CAN WE GET SOME RFPS OUT FOR THOSE? SO ALL OF THE, THE 900, EXCUSE ME, THE 900 MEGAWATTS WOULD BE PROCURED UNDER THIS EXISTING R F P.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, REALLY MULTIPLE PROJECTS TO GET TO THE 900, ROUGHLY, PROBABLY HALF A DOZEN PROJECTS OR SO.
I WOULD SAY WE ARE ACTIVELY TALKING AND, AND HAVE CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS IN PLACE REALLY WITH THE, THAT FULL
[00:55:01]
AMOUNT OF 900 MEGAWATTS OF CAPACITY.SO WE ANTICIPATE THAT ALL OF THOSE CONTRACTS, UH, HOPEFULLY WILL BE READY TO BE SIGNED AND, AND I'LL BE ABLE TO DELIVER 'EM TO RUDY'S DESK, YOU KNOW, AS VERY SOON AS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH ALL OF THOSE PROJECTS.
UH, EACH OF THEM, YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS, THE HURDLES, IF YOU WILL, THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THOSE FINAL NEGOTIATIONS.
BUT AS SOON AS, UH, AS SOON AS I CAN GET THE CON COMMERCIAL TERMS, UH, TO WHERE WE WANT THEM, THEY'LL BE DELIVERED TO RUDY AND, AND SIGNED, AND WE'LL MOVE FORWARD.
AND SO, C P S ENERGY HAS HAD A STRONG COMMITMENT TO NATURAL GAS HISTORICALLY.
I MEAN, I THINK, UM, I MIGHT EVEN DESCRIBE IT AS A, A LOVE AFFAIR WITH NATURAL GAS.
UH, I REMEMBER WATCHING IN 2018 WHEN, UH, PAULA GOLD WILLIAMS CAME BEFORE CITY COUNCIL AND DESCRIBED NATURAL GAS AS A, UM, OPPORTUNITY FOR BUSINESS GROWTH FOR C P S ENERGY.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REALISTIC WHEN WE LOOK AT NATURAL GAS, UM, I SAW AS ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF NATURAL GAS HERE, THE POTENTIAL TO INCORPORATE HYDROGEN.
I'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT THAT SINCE 2000 WHEN GEORGE W. BUSH BECAME OUR PRESIDENT.
UH, SO THAT'S 22 YEARS AND WE'RE STILL NOT THERE.
AND SO AT THE TOP OF YOUR NATURAL GAS CATEGORY, ONE OF THE BENEFITS IS MATURE TECHNOLOGY, BUT WE'RE FAR FROM MATURE, MATURE TECHNOLOGY WITH HYDROGEN.
I'M, I'M STILL WAITING FOR THAT TO BE REAL.
UM, AND, AND SOMETHING THAT COULD BE SCALED.
AND I THINK, I BELIEVE WHEN IT COMES TO AUTOMOBILES, I THINK THERE'S ONLY ONE HYDROGEN FUELING STATION IN THE ENTIRE STATE OF TEXAS RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO I, I DON'T WANT US TO JUST BET ON THAT TECHNOLOGY.
UM, AND THEN, UM, ON NATURAL GAS, WHAT WAS MY OTHER POINT THERE? UM, WELL, I'M, I'LL MOVE ON.
SO NATURAL GAS PRICES, RIGHT? SO, I MEAN, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN NATURAL GAS PRICES GO UP AND LIKE, WHAT IS OUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL THERE, RIGHT? BECAUSE IF WE INVEST HEAVILY IN SOME LONG-TERM AS, I MEAN, THAT'S, WE'RE STUCK WITH A LONG-TERM ASSET OF THE COAL PLANT, RIGHT? WE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE, THAT'S A CHALLENGE AT LEAST, RIGHT? THAT WE INVESTED HEAVILY IN A LONG-TERM ASSET.
AND I THINK WE ALL SEE THAT, UM, RIGHT NOW WHEN THE MARKET IS, IS MOVING SO QUICKLY, DEVELOPING SO QUICKLY, IT, IT'S RISKY TO INVEST IN A LONG-TERM ASSET.
AND SO I HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT DO THAT BASED ON NATURAL GAS PRICES TODAY.
AND, AND, UM, WHERE'S OUR CONFIDENCE OF WHAT THEY'LL BE LIKE IN THE FUTURE.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RETIRING 3000 BETTS POTENTIALLY OF NATURAL GAS.
UH, AND IN COAL CAPACITY, IF, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD MOVES IN THAT DIRECTION, UH, IF WE WERE, AS YOU KNOW, EXCITED ABOUT NATURAL GAS TECHNOLOGY AS, AS, AS YOU'RE SUGGESTING, THEN I'D, WE'D BE REPLACING MEGAWATT FOR MEGAWATT NATURAL GAS.
AND THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DOING HERE.
NATURAL GAS IS PURELY A RELIABILITY PLAY FOR US.
WE'VE GOT TO HAVE SOME BACKUP CAPACITY THAT WE CONTROL, UM, BECAUSE WHEN, WHEN WIND AND SOLAR AREN'T THERE, WE'RE GONNA GET NATURAL GAS IN THE MARKET WHEN WE HAVE HAVE TO GO TO THE MARKET TO BUY IT ANYWAY.
SO I WANT TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL THAT COST TO THE EXTENT I CAN BY, BY, BY HAVING ACCESS TO SOME, WHETHER IT'S CONTRACT OR WHETHER, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THE, THE LIKELIHOOD IS, AND, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS SOME MORE, UM, THAT WHATEVER DECISION WE MAKE ON SPRUCE TWO, YOU KNOW, IN ORDER FOR OUR CUSTOMERS TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD THAT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO RUN THOSE ASSETS AS A NATURAL GAS PLANT LONGER WHEN WE NEED IT.
UM, AND WE'RE NOT GONNA ALWAYS RUN IT.
THE, THE GOOD THING, THE, THE ONE GOOD THING ABOUT NATURAL GAS, UH, CAPACITY IS YOU CAN RAMP IT UP AND DOWN.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'LL TAKE MAXIMUM, YOU KNOW, RENEWABLES, WE CAN GET IT, AND WHEN IT'S NOT THERE, WE RAMP IT UP, YOU KNOW, TO ENSURE OUR CUSTOMER'S LIGHTS STAY ON.
UH, SO WE'RE NOT HAVING TO GO AND BUY THAT IN THE MARKET.
BUT, BUT AGAIN, IT'S, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT 3000 MEGAWATTS OF NEW NATURAL GAS.
WE'RE TALKING MAYBE A THOUSAND MEGAWATTS OF, OF NEW NATURAL GAS IN ADDITION TO THE SOLAR AND THE BATTERIES AND, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER TECHNOLOGIES, WHILE, YOU KNOW, WE TRY TO GET SOME OF THESE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, UM, AS, AS, AS, UH, OUR VICE CHAIR SAID, YOU KNOW, SCALABLE SO THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, INVEST HEAVIER IN THEM.
SO, SO IT'S PURELY A RELIABILITY PLAY.
I WANNA MAKE SURE YOU RECOGNIZE THAT.
IT'S, IT'S NOTHING MORE THAN THAT.
WE NEED RELIABILITY, WE NEED FIRMING CAPACITY, AND THAT BATTERIES AREN'T GONNA TAKE, YOU KNOW, GET US THERE ON THEIR OWN.
UM, SO THAT BRINGS ME TO BATTERIES.
AND, UM, MY QUESTION IS, UM, TO WHAT EXTENT IS C P S ENERGY LOOKING AT THE ABILITY OF BATTERIES TO CONDITION YOUR ELECTRICITY SUPPLY? I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE SOME CHALLENGES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA THAT MIGHT PREVENT US FROM USING SOLAR.
AND SO IF WE DID HAVE BATTERY STORAGE FOR THE DOWNTOWN AREA,
[01:00:01]
WOULD THAT ALLOW US TO BE ABLE TO START INSTALLING SOLAR IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA? SO, UM, WE'VE GOT A, THERE'S A LOT OF BATTERY CAPACITY THAT'S PLANNED IN AND AROUND SAN ANTONIO, SOME OF WHICH WE'RE TRYING TO GET UNDER CONTRACT, A LOT OF WHICH IS JUST MERCHANT, YOU KNOW, BATTERIES WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY PUT 'EM OUT ON OUR SYSTEM AND TAKE ADVANTAGE, YOU KNOW, THE ARBITRAGE, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITIES IN THE MARKET, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE MARKET PRICES GO UP, UM, SOME OF THOSE BATTERIES THEY WANNA PUT NEAR OUR SUBSTATIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, AND PUT ONTO THE, THE DISTRIBUTION, YOU KNOW, SIDE OF THE HOUSE.AND SO, UM, OUR ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND HOW THAT'S GONNA IMPACT OUR OPERATIONS, TO YOUR POINT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE CAN FIND LAND ENOUGH, YOU KNOW, IF THEY, IF THEY CAN FIND LAND THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, ENOUGH FOR THEM TO PUT A BIG BATTERY, UH, NEXT TO A SUBSTATION IN DOWNTOWN, THEN I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE OPPORTUNITY IS THERE.
BUT, BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, RICHARD'S, ONE OF RICHARD'S, UH, CHARGES IS, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU PUT A BATTERY ON OUR, YOU KNOW, ON THE DISTRIBUTION SIDE AT A SUBSTATION, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT OUR SYSTEM? AND, AND, AND IT'S NOT JUST BATTERIES.
I MEAN, IN GOING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE MOVING, THAT'S WHY I KEEP REFERRING TO US IN TRA BEING IN A TRANSITIONAL STATE.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE MOVING FROM A PUSH SYSTEM TO A DISAGGREGATED, YOU KNOW, TRANSACTIONAL SYSTEM.
AND SO WE WILL BE ABLE TO VALUE SOLAR, YOU KNOW, ROOFTOP SOLAR, FOR INSTANCE, IN A DIFFERENT WAY GOING FORWARD.
THAT'S WHY OUR, OUR, THE, THE EFFORT TO UPGRADE OUR POWER, I MEAN, OUR, OUR, OUR COMPUTER SYSTEM IS SO IMPORTANT.
YOU KNOW, WE'LL COME BACK AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THAT AS PART OF A NEXT ANOTHER RATE CONVERSATION, YOU KNOW, BUT THAT'S GONNA BE, THAT REALLY ALLOWS US TO MOVE INTO THE FUTURE OF HOW WE MANAGE DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES, UH, AS PART OF OUR GENERATION PLAN, YOU KNOW? SO I MEAN, THAT IS THE FUTURE, YOU KNOW, UH, COUNCILMAN, I, I MEAN, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GOING.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S OUR JOB TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THAT IN A WAY THAT ENSURES RELIABILITY.
BUT WE WILL BE ABLE, YOU KNOW, TO SEE THOSE BATTERIES, TO KNOW WHEN THE OPTIMAL TIME TO DEPLOY 'EM IS TO WORK THROUGH CONTRACTS SO THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO 'EM AS PART OF, YOU KNOW, OUR GENERATION, YOU KNOW, RESOURCES IN THE FUTURE.
THAT, THAT IS, THAT'S THE WORK WE'RE DOING TODAY TO PREPARE US FOR THAT, FOR THAT, YOU KNOW, SCENARIO.
THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS, CHAIR.
ANY OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, SO HEARING NONE.
OH, BY THE WAY, UH, WE DID HAVE, UM, SOMETHING SUBMITTED FROM, UH, A CONSTITUENT.
I THINK EVERYBODY HAS A COPY OF THAT.
SO RATHER THAN READ IT OUT LOUD, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY, UH, TAKES A LOOK AT THAT.
IT'S REGARDING A LONE STAR CHAPTER OF THE SIERRA CLUB, UH, AND THEIR WRITTEN TESTIMONY ON THIS SUBJECT.
NEXT, WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS, UH, C P S ENERGY ON THE SAVE FOR TOMORROW, OR STEP PLAN.
I'M A DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCT INNOVATION FOR C P SS ENERGY, AND I'M HERE TO, UH, GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON OUR, UM, AH, OKAY.
UH, TALK TO YOU, UH, AND, AND, AND GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON OUR EFFORTS TO, UH, HAVE A COMMUNITY DISCUSSION ABOUT THE FUTURE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION.
UH, THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING DIALOGUE FOR THE LAST, UH, SEVERAL MONTHS.
AND, UH, WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO, TO TALK TO YOU ON THAT.
UH, BEFORE, BEFORE I, I DO THAT, I, I DO WANT TO, UH, REFRESH ON, UH, THE STEP PROGRAM, THE SAVE FOR TOMORROW ENERGY PLAN, UH, WHICH HAS BEEN IN PLACE SINCE, UH, 2009, AND WAS APPROVED BY THE, BY THE BOARD AND THE, AND THE CITY COUNCIL, OUR BOARD AND THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, TO CREATE A LARGE SCALE ENERGY EFFICIENCY CONSERVATION PROGRAM, UH, WITH THE INTENT OF AVOIDING THE NEED TO BUILD A POWER PLANT.
UH, SO WE DID SET A COMMUNITY GOAL OF 771 MEGAWATTS OF, OF DEMAND REDUCTION, UH, WHICH WE DID ACHIEVE, UH, A YEAR EARLY AND ON TIME.
UM, AND WE'VE CONSEQUENTLY HAD, UH, EXTENSIONS OF THAT PROGRAM, WHICH WE'VE CALLED STEP BRIDGE, UH, AND THAT THAT'S BEEN SUCCESSFUL AS WELL, SO THAT WE'RE NOW UP TO ABOUT 926 MEGAWATTS OF REDUCTION, UH, THROUGH STEP, UH, OVER THE YEARS.
UH, WE SHARE THIS SLIDE JUST TO TELL THE STORY THAT IT, IT'S BEEN A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM, IN PART BECAUSE LOTS OF FLEXIBILITY WAS BUILT IN, UH, THE ORDINANCE ESTABLISHED GOALS, UH, AND IT, AND IT AUTHORIZED A BUDGET, BUT THEN IT REALLY LED US, UH, OVER THE 12 YEAR SPAN, UH, ADJUST AND, AND BE FLEXIBLE AS THE MARKET CHANGED, AS TECHNOLOGIES CAME, CAME ALONG.
UH, AND, UH, AND THE POINT OF THIS SLIDE AGAIN, IS JUST, YOU KNOW, EARLY DAYS WE WERE RAMPING UP THE PROGRAMS. WE WERE ADAPTING TO NEW TECHNOLOGIES, AND, UH, EVENTUALLY BUILDING A PORTFOLIO, UH, THAT WAS COMPREHENSIVE AND ALLOWED US TO, TO MEET, UH, THE NEEDS OF, UH, MANY DIFFERENT
[01:05:01]
CUSTOMER SEGMENTS.UH, WE'VE ALWAYS SAID THAT WE TRY TO OFFER A PROGRAM FOR EVERY CUSTOMER, UH, AND THIS IS, THIS IS THE OUTCOME OF THAT ATTEMPT, UH, THAT EFFORT.
UH, SO WE OFFER A NUMBER OF THINGS, INCLUDING WEATHERIZATION, UH, SOLAR PROGRAMS, UH, UH, ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, DEMAND RESPONSE, ALL OF THESE CONTRIBUTING, UH, IN, IN THEIR, IN THEIR WAY AND THEIR PART TO, TO HELPING US, UH, UH, PROVIDE THESE PROGRAMS, UM, TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
UH, NOW, THE, UH, THE AUTHORITY, UH, TO, TO RUN THESE UNDER THE STEP BRIDGE EXPIRES, UH, JULY 31ST OF THIS YEAR.
UH, AND WE'VE KNOWN THAT WAS COMING.
AND SO WE STARTED THE DIALOGUE, UH, WITH OUR BOARD, UH, LATE LAST YEAR.
UH, THEY ASKED US TO DO AN EVALUATION, UH, WITH A THIRD PARTY OF THE PROGRAM.
AND, UH, WHETHER IT WAS SUCCESSFUL AND WHETHER WE SHOULD CONTINUE, UH, WE DELIVERED THAT TO THE BOARD.
UH, IT WAS DONE BY THE BRATTLE GROUP.
UH, WE DELIVERED THAT TO THE BOARD IN FEBRUARY TO REALLY START THAT CONVERSATION.
SUBSEQUENTLY, WE'VE BEEN TO IRAQ, UH, WE'VE BEEN TO THE C A C, UH, AND WE'VE BEEN IN FRONT OF OUR BOARD MULTIPLE TIMES, INCLUDING YESTERDAY, UH, TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT, UH, DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND, AND DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES.
UH, SO THAT DIALOGUE IS CONTINUING, AND, AND WE'RE, WE'RE PUSHING TO HAVE A DECISION HERE, UH, IN THE NEAR TERM, UH, UH, ABOUT, ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE PROGRAM.
OF COURSE, OUR BOARD WOULD NEED TO APPROVE, AND THEN, AND THEN CONSEQUENTLY, WE WOULD BRING IT TO THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR APPROVAL, UH, BEFORE IT COULD TAKE EFFECT.
SO, UH, IN THAT DIALOGUE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DIDN'T WANNA TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED.
AND, AND SO, UH, WE, WE PUT TOGETHER A SERIES OF QUESTIONS THAT, UH, WE ASKED OUR BOARD, AND WE ASKED, AGAIN, THE RAC AND THE C A C, UH, FOR THEIR, FOR THEIR INPUT, THEIR GUIDANCE ON, YOU KNOW, WHETHER WE SHOULD CONTINUE THESE PROGRAMS. UH, YOU KNOW, THIS FELT LIKE THE RIGHT TIME TO, TO ASK THE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION.
UH, AND, AND IF SO, AND IF, IF THE DECISION WAS, OR THE RECOMMENDATION WAS TO CONTINUE, WHAT SHOULD THE GOALS AND PRIORITIES OF THE PROGRAM BE? WHAT IS THE RIGHT PROGRAM LENGTH? WHAT, WHAT SHOULD BE THE, THE PROGRAM BUDGET AND SCALE, UH, AND, UH, AND, AND TAKING ALL THE FEEDBACK SO FAR, UH, YOU KNOW, WE BELIEVE THERE IS, UH, UH, SUPPORT FOR A PROGRAM.
AND SO WE PUT TOGETHER, MOST RECENTLY FOR YESTERDAY'S BOARD MEETING, UH, SOME OPTIONS FOR THE BOARD'S, UM, FOR OUR BOARD'S CONSIDERATION.
AND SO I'LL STEP THROUGH THOSE QUICKLY.
UM, STARTING WITH GOALS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE SET THESE OUT AS, UH, THINGS THAT COULD BE ACHIEVED, UH, THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS. FOR EXAMPLE, ASSISTING OUR LIMITED INCOME CUSTOMERS, UH, HELPING CUSTOMERS SAVE ENERGY AND SAVE MONEY ON THEIR BILLS, REDUCING EMISSIONS, AND ALIGNING WITH THE CLIMATE ACTION ADAPTATION PLAN, UH, FOCUSING ON NEW STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS THROUGH INNOVATION, NEW PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, TECHNOLOGY HAS COME ALONG IN THE LAST 12 YEARS, AND THERE'S THINGS TODAY THAT ARE VIABLE THAT MAYBE WERE NOT INITIALLY VIABLE.
UH, AND THEN, AND THEN CONTINUING TO REDUCE THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL GENERATION, UH, THROUGH THE, UH, ABILITY TO EFFECTIVELY USE CUSTOMERS, UH, UH, TECHNOLOGY, UH, TO, UH, TO, TO, TO ACT AS CAPACITY THAT COULD BE AVAILABLE TO US, UH, ON, ON PEAK DAYS.
AND WE CALL THAT DEMAND MANAGEMENT.
UM, SO BASED ON THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED, UH, REALLY THE BOARD WAS LOOKING FOR US TO PUT TOGETHER A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM THAT CONTINUED TO MEET, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, WE PUT TOGETHER TWO SCENARIOS, UH, FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION.
WE PRESENTED THESE YESTERDAY, UH, AND, AND YOU CAN SEE THERE ONE WAS A, ONE WAS A SMALLER IN SCALE, STILL COMPREHENSIVE, BUT SMALLER SCALE, REALLY LOOKING TO MINIMIZE, UH, THE, UH, THE BILL IMPACT TO CUSTOMERS ON THE FRONT, ON THE FRONT END.
YOU KNOW, THESE PROGRAMS REPRESENT AN INVESTMENT, UH, CUSTOMERS DO PAY FOR, FOR THESE THROUGH THE, THROUGH THEIR BILL.
UH, NOW WE DO, WE DO BELIEVE LONG TERM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BENEFICIAL, BUT, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE STICKER SHOCK AND THAT WE CAN MANAGE THAT.
UH, AND SO THAT FIRST OPTION WOULD, WOULD ENTAIL A LITTLE BIT OF SAVINGS FROM OUR CURRENT PROGRAM, UH, WHERE THEY PAY ABOUT $3 AND 50 CENTS.
SO THAT WOULD REPRESENT ABOUT A DOLLAR A MONTH SAVINGS FOR THE TYPICAL RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER.
THE SECOND OPTION IS, IS A A A A A LARGER PROGRAM, UH, ALLOW, ALLOWS US TO HAVE MORE COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMS SIMILAR IN SCALE TO WHAT WE DO TODAY, UH, WOULD NOT, UH, ENTAIL ANY ADDITIONAL IMPACT.
IT WOULD STAY AT THE $3 AND 50 CENTS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, RIGHT, RIGHT AT, SO WE PRESENTED THESE TWO OPTIONS, UH, AND THEN TALKED TO THE BOARD ABOUT PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE DETAILS AROUND WHAT COULD BE INCLUDED IN TERMS OF BEING COMPREHENSIVE, AS WELL AS BRINGING IN NEW PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES, THINGS LIKE MULTIFAMILY, WEATHERIZATION, UH, ADDITIONAL LOW INCOME PROGRAMS, UH, THINGS AROUND EDUCATION AND BEHAVIOR PROGRAMS TO HELP CUSTOMERS MAKE DECISIONS, TIMELY DECISIONS ABOUT WHEN THEY USE ENERGY, AND HOW CAN THEY MANAGE THEIR BILL BETTER.
UH, EV CHARGING, WE KNOW THERE'S ELECTRIC VEHICLES ARE COMING, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE MANAGE THAT SO THAT WE MINIMIZE THE IMPACT TO THE GRID AND, AND PREFERABLY, YOU KNOW, MOVE THE CHARGING TO, TO NIGHT TIMES OR, OR LOWER COST TIMES, UH, THROUGH TECHNOLOGY TO, TO, TO EITHER SEND PRICE SIGNALS OR, OR DIRECTLY MANAGE THEM
[01:10:01]
JUST LIKE WE DO WITH THERMOSTATS TODAY.UH, NON-TRADITIONAL SOLAR OPTIONS.
UH, SO THINGS WHERE WE CAN, UH, HELP REDUCE THE BARRIERS TO, UH, ADOPTION OF SOLAR FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
THAT'S BEEN AN ONGOING CHALLENGE.
UH, SO WE THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT THROUGH SOME INNOVATION, UH, NEW, NEW, NEW, BASICALLY NEW PROGRAM MODELS THAT WOULD HELP REDUCE THE COST OR MANAGE THE COST TO, TO OPEN UP, UH, SOLAR ADOPTION TO MORE CUSTOMERS.
AND THEN FINALLY, BATTERY STORAGE.
HERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, CUSTOMER, UH, BATTERY STORAGE.
UH, KEVIN WAS SPEAKING OF THE UTILITY SCALE, UH, THE CUSTOMERS, UH, THAT WE'RE SEEING MORE INTEREST FROM CUSTOMERS THERE, I WOULD TELL YOU, JUST FROM A COST PERSPECTIVE, IT'S NOT QUITE THERE.
UH, BUT THAT'S NOT UNLIKE SOLAR 10 YEARS AGO, RIGHT? IT, IT TOOK SOME TIME FOR, FOR THAT TO EVOLVE.
WE THINK BATTERY, UH, STORAGE, THERE ARE GONNA BE OPPORTUNITIES, AND WE CERTAINLY WANNA BE IN, IN THAT SPACE.
SO, SO THAT WAS THE APPROACH, UH, THAT WE TOOK.
UM, AND MOVING TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WE THEN BUILT, UH, BUDGETS.
THESE ARE, THESE ARE ESTIMATES, UH, BASED ON, YOU KNOW, OUR EXPERIENCE, OUR JUDGMENT.
UH, YOU WILL SEE THERE, THERE IS, UH, SOLAR IS ONE THAT'S GOTTEN SOME ATTENTION.
SOLAR REBATES, UH, YOU KNOW, WE SHARED THE, THE, THE PERSPECTIVE WITH THE BOARD YESTERDAY THAT, YOU KNOW, KNOW THIS MAY BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR US.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S SO MUCH MOMENTUM BEHIND SOLAR.
UH, WE'VE SEEN GROWTH 15% YEAR OVER YEAR FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS, EVEN AS WE'VE BEEN REDUCING OUR REBATE, UH, PRETTY DRASTICALLY.
AND SO WE THINK THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO REDIRECT ABOUT $13 MILLION A YEAR TO OTHER PROGRAMS, ALLOW US TO DO SOME NEW THINGS, AGAIN, MORE LOW INCOME, MORE, UH, NEW INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES.
AND, AND, AND AGAIN, THAT THIS IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, A DISCUSSION, WE WANTED TO PUT THAT ON THE TABLE, UH, AGAIN, BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING, UH, TO, TO THE FUTURE AND WHAT WHAT COULD BE NEXT.
UH, SO FINALLY, WE, WE PUT TOGETHER A, UH, A SUMMARY.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE MODELED, UH, THE THREE PORTFOLIO, THE TWO PORTFOLIOS, I'M SORRY.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, THE KEY QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE GET FOR THAT, RIGHT? WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? UH, AND SO WE'VE PUT TOGETHER THIS SLIDE TO SUMMARIZE THAT, UH, DEMAND REDUCTION IS, IS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE DID WITH THE STEP PROGRAM.
YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE RE REDUCE OUR NEED FOR ADDITIONAL GENERATION CAPACITY? AND SO WE'VE QUANTIFIED THIS IN TERMS OF MEGAWATTS, UH, AND, AND YOU CAN SEE THE NUMBERS THERE FOR THE, FOR THE TWO OPTIONS.
UH, ENERGY SAVINGS, YOU KNOW, KILOWATT HOUR REDUCTIONS.
THIS IS, YOU KNOW, DIRECTLY TRANSLATES TO SAVINGS FOR, FOR CUSTOMERS ON THEIR BILLS.
SO WE'VE, WE'VE ATTEMPTED TO, TO, TO QUANTIFY THAT THERE FOR YOU.
UH, AND THIS IS IN TERMS OF REDUCTIONS IN OUR SALES FROM THE SAVINGS CREATED BY THESE PROGRAMS. UH, FINALLY, TRANSLATING THEN TO EMISSIONS.
YOU KNOW, THE CARBON REDUCTIONS THAT WOULD COME FROM THESE PROGRAMS. IF, IF WE DON'T HAVE TO GENERATE THE ENERGY, OF COURSE, THERE'S A DIRECT, UH, A REDUCTION IN THE EMISSIONS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE BEEN GENERATED.
AND SO WE'VE, WE'VE CALCULATED THAT THERE, UH, ON THE EQUITY LINE ITEM, WE'RE IDENTIFYING IN TERMS OF WEATHERIZATION.
UH, THAT'S BEEN A HIGH PROFILE PROGRAM.
UH, WE'VE, WE'VE PROVIDED AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MANY HOMES WE BELIEVE WE CAN WEATHERIZE BOTH SINGLE FAMILY AND MULTIFAMILY, UH, GIVEN THE BUDGETS, UH, THAT, THAT WE, THAT WE, UH, SCOPED OUT IN THE TWO OPTIONS.
AND THEN FINALLY, REALLY TO GET TO THE SYSTEM BENEFITS.
THIS IS THE, THIS IS THE PAYBACK, RIGHT ON THE INVESTMENT THAT I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
FOR EVERY DOLLAR THAT WE INVEST, WE THINK THAT WE CAN GET 1.9, UH, DOLLARS IN, UH, BENEFITS THROUGH AVOIDED COSTS, UH, TRANSMISSION SAVINGS, FUEL SAVINGS.
UH, THIS IS VERY, UH, MUCH SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TRACKED OVER THE YEARS THROUGH OUR STEP PROGRAM.
WE BELIEVE WE CAN CONTINUE TO, TO RUN COST EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS, EVEN WITH THE TRANSITION TO SOME NEW TECHNOLOGIES.
AND SO WE WANNA QUANTIFY THAT.
UH, LAST THING I'LL MENTION ON THIS SLIDE IS THAT THESE ARE ALL MEASURABLE, UH, AND WE ENVISION CONTINUING TO REPORT, UH, JUST LIKE WE DO TODAY, UH, THROUGH ANNUAL REPORTS, THROUGH QUARTERLY REPORTS, UH, THAT, THAT HAVE THE FULL BREAKDOWN OF, OF CUSTOMER UPTAKE, YOU KNOW, BY COUNCIL DISTRICT AND SO FORTH.
SO WE WOULD, UH, WE VERY MUCH THINK THAT'S A GREAT PRO, YOU KNOW, A VERY GOOD PROCESS.
AND, UH, AND WE WOULD CONTINUE TO DO THAT AND, AND REPORT ON METRICS JUST LIKE THESE.
UH, SO JUST SOME FINAL THOUGHTS.
UH, THIS IS MY LAST SLIDE, UH, IS JUST, AGAIN, OUR APPROACH HERE HAS BEEN TO START FRESH, REALLY FOCUS ON THE FUTURE, NOT CONTINUE TO DO THE SAME THINGS JUST BECAUSE THE SAME THINGS, JUST BECAUSE WE'VE DONE THEM FOR MANY YEARS, RIGHT? THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO PIVOT, UH, AND, AND, AND, AND, AND REALLY WE WANNA MAXIMIZE THAT OPPORTUNITY.
UH, THAT SAID, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE HEARD THE MESSAGE, UH, FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT TRANSPARENCY AND, AND REALLY AROUND THE COST OF THE PROGRAM, AS WELL AS THE BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM, UH, AND ENHANCING THAT COMMUNICATION WITH OUR CUSTOMERS SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THE INVESTMENT THAT THEY'RE MAKING, THE COST, YOU KNOW, ON THEIR BILL.
UH, AND THEN FINALLY, I'LL, I'LL JUST FINISH WITH, YOU KNOW, PROGRAM FLEXIBILITY IS KEY.
I, I STARTED BY TALKING ABOUT HOW WE, WE HAD THAT FLEXIBILITY WITH THE ORIGINAL PROGRAM.
I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE KEY REASONS.
AND SO WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO ADAPT AND BE NIMBLE AS TECHNOLOGY CHANGES, UH, AS THE TECHNOLOGY CURVES, YOU KNOW, EVOLVE.
UH, AND SO WE, WE PROPOSE, YOU KNOW, A FIVE YEAR PLAN, UH, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THE
[01:15:01]
PACE OF CHANGE, IT, IT FEELS LIKE THAT'S, THAT'S A BETTER, YOU KNOW, APPROACH THAN A 12 YEAR PLAN THAT, THAT WE DID THE FIRST TIME.AND WE ALSO PROPOSED COMING BACK, YOU KNOW, BOTH, YOU KNOW, ANNUAL CHECK-INS, BUT, UH, BUT A CHECK-IN AT YEAR THREE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PLAN, THE PLAN IS STILL ON COURSE AND, AND IS, IS THE RIGHT, THE RIGHT APPROACH.
AND IT ALLOWS US TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS, YOU KNOW, AS, AS WE, AS WE, AS WE LEARN, UH, THROUGH THIS NEXT PHASE.
SO THAT WAS MY LAST, UH, MY LAST SLIDE.
I APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR TIME AND WELCOME.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GO TO COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA FOR QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND I'LL, I'LL APOLOGIZE TO, TO MY COLLEAGUES, I HAVE TO STEP OUT FOR A BIG OPENING IN, IN DISTRICT FOUR, ABOUT SLIDE NINE.
IT APPEARS THAT, UM, C P S ENERGY WOULD SEIZE TRADITIONAL SOLAR RE RE REBATES.
SO THIS WAS, UM, SO AGAIN, THIS IS, UH, OPTIONS THAT WE PUT IN FRONT OF THE BOARD.
OKAY? SO, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE NOT FINAL DECISIONS.
WE CERTAINLY ARE, ARE, ARE TRYING TO HAVE THE, THE DIALOGUE.
UH, I WOULD SHARE THAT THE PERSPECTIVE IS, UM, AS, AS WE LOOK AT THE TRAJECTORY OF THE SOLAR, THE, THE, THE SOLAR INDUSTRY, IT HAS REALLY GROWN.
AND, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, EVEN AS WE'VE BEEN REDUCING OUR REBATE, SO IN THE EARLY DAYS, OUR REBATE REPRESENTED ABOUT 50, 45% OF THE COST OF A SOLAR SYSTEM.
UH, PRICES HAVE COME DOWN, AND WITH THAT, OUR REBATE HAS COME DOWN.
AND SO TODAY, OUR REBATE IS ONLY ABOUT 8% OF THE COST OF A SYSTEM.
SO WE, OUR REBATE IS A VERY SMALL PART O OF, OF THE EQUATION.
WHAT'S HAPPENED IS COSTS HAVE COME DOWN, AND SO IT'S MORE AFFORDABLE FOR CUSTOMERS.
AND, AND AS WE'VE REDUCED THE REBATE, TAKE UPTAKE HAS JUST TAKEN OFF.
EVERY YEAR HAS BEEN A RECORD YEAR.
UH, AND, UH, AND SO WE FEEL LIKE THERE'S MOMENTUM THERE AND, UH, IT CAN BE SELF-SUSTAINING.
SO THAT, THAT'S A PERSPECTIVE, BUT RUDY WANTS TO ADD TO THAT.
WELL, LET ME JUST ADD TO THAT.
IS I, I DON'T WANNA LEAVE THE, THE COMMITTEE WITH THE, THE IDEA THAT SOMEHOW WE'RE MOVING AWAY FROM DISTRIBUTED SOLAR.
UM, MOST OF THESE PROGRAMS BENEFIT FOLKS WHO CAN AFFORD THE 20, $30,000, UH, REBATE.
UM, WHAT, WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS TRY TO REACH SOME OF THOSE CUSTOMERS WHO, WHO, WHO FINANCIALLY, YOU KNOW, ARE CHALLENGED TO ACCESS SOLAR.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD STILL, UH, CREATE PROGRAMS FOR COMMUNITY SOLAR WHERE YOU COULD BUY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO PUT IT ON YOUR HOUSE, BUT YOU COULD BUY, YOU KNOW, HOWEVER MANY PANELS YOU WANT AS PART OF A COMMUNITY SOLAR FARM.
WE'D GET GOOD PRICING THERE, YOU KNOW, IT'S MORE EFFICIENT.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE CAN DO AS MANY OF THOSE TYPE OF PROJECTS, UH, AS WE CAN.
AND THEN RICK SAID, TO TRY TO GET AT, YOU KNOW, CREATE NEW PROGRAMS, UM, FOCUSED ON, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, REMOVING BARRIERS, SOLAR, YOU KNOW, ROOFTOP SOLAR ALL ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS IS UN REBATED, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AND SO, SO WE JUST WANT TO DO IT DIFFERENTLY.
BUT I'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM THE SOLAR INSTALLERS.
WE'VE HAD ONE POWER FAN IN PARTICULAR WHO SAID, DO AWAY WITH THE SOLAR, UH, REBATE BECAUSE IT CREATES INEQUITIES, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE MARKET.
SO, UM, SO THE FEEDBACK HAS KIND OF BEEN, YOU KNOW, UH, UM, THAT, THAT MAYBE WE OUGHT TO DO IT DIFFERENTLY, BUT THE REAL BENEFIT, I GUESS, TO THE INSTALLERS IS MORE, UH, ALONG THE LINES OF OUR NET METERING POLICY.
THEY GET DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR RETAIL VALUE OUT OF THE OUTPUT OF SOLAR.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT CHANGING THAT, UH, AND IN THE FUTURE, I MEAN, I DO THINK AS, AS, AS I WAS MENTIONING TO COUNCILMAN BRAVO EARLIER, I DO THINK WE NEED A PRICE SOLAR, WHEREVER IT COMES FROM, AS A RESOURCE LIKE WE WOULD GENERATION SO THAT WE CAN UTILIZE THAT TO HELP, YOU KNOW, BALANCE OUR SYSTEM OUT AND, AND DO THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE NEED TO DO TO MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.
SO, UH, SO THIS IS KIND OF JUST A MOVE IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
IT IS NOT BY ANY MEANS, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE MOVING AWAY FROM SUPPORTING, YOU KNOW, SOLAR AND SAN ANTONIO.
IT'S BEEN AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR PORTFOLIO.
THANK YOU, RUDY, FOR THAT CLARIFICATION, THAT, THAT HELPS ME FEEL BETTER.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS THERE'S A $20 MILLION DIFFERENCE THERE.
UM, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S JUST BASED ON NON-TRADITIONAL SOLAR AND BATTERY STORAGE, BUT WHAT ABOUT ELECTRIFICATION? THAT'S ON SLIDE ON PAGE NINE FOR OPTION TWO.
THE NEXT SLIDE, I THINK THE NEXT SLIDE, IT'S THE NEXT SLIDE, OR SLIDE NINE.
SO, SO ELECTRIFICATION, UM, SO AS, AS WE WERE ALLOCATING DOLLARS, UH, THIS WAS ONE THAT DIDN'T GET A LOT OF TRACTION AS, AS WE WERE TALKING THROUGH IT, THIS, UH, BECAUSE OF COURSE, ELECTRIFICATION MEANS CONVERSION TO ELECTRICITY, AND IT, IT GENERALLY ADDS LOAD.
AND, AND SO IT JUST DIDN'T GET A LOT OF AT, UH, TRACTION.
SO AS WE WERE BUILDING THE SCENARIOS, UH, WE DID NOT INCLUDE, WE DID, AND YOU'LL SEE ON THE NEXT ONE, WE DID NOT INCLUDE THAT IN THE, UH, IN, IN, IN THE PROPOSAL.
THAT'S JUST A CLARIFYING QUESTION, SO THANK YOU.
UM, I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
[01:20:01]
UM, AND I THINK YOU'VE, YOU'VE, YOU'VE SHOWN THAT WE WOULD SAVE AN OPTION ONE, UM, 265 MEGAWATTS AND AN OPTION TWO, 400 MEGA 410.THAT'S OVER THE FIVE YEAR PERIOD? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND THEN YOU'RE SAYING THAT THE DOLLAR VALUE TO C P S ENERGY WOULD BE SAVING 475 MILLION, CORRECT, SIR.
AND THEN 665 MILLION? CORRECT.
UM, WHAT DOES THAT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IN THE LOAD THAT WE HAVE NOW OR REPLACING LOAD IN THE FUTURE? DOES THAT MEAN WE'D, WE'D SAVE SO THAT IF WE'RE GONNA CLOSE DOWN A COUPLE OF GAS PLANTS, WE DON'T HAVE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, REPLACE THEM IN THE FUTURE? THAT, THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
AND SO, UH, WE EMBED THESE FORECASTS IN OUR, IN OUR SUPPLY, UH, FORECAST.
AND SO IF WE'RE ABLE TO SAVE, YOU KNOW, UH, THESE MEGAWATTS, THEN OUR NEED TO HAVE GENERATION CAPACITY TO SERVE THAT LOAD IS, IS THEREBY REDUCED.
SO IT DIRECTLY IS AN INPUT TO OUR FORECASTING PROCESS, EVEN WITH THE GROWTH IN POPULATION.
WELL, YOU KNOW, THIS ALONE MAY NOT OFFSET THE GROWTH.
UH, I THINK, UH, MAYBE, UH, YEAH, OUR FORECAST COUNCILMEN, UH, INCLUDE, WE'RE GROWING AT ABOUT 2% CLIP, WHICH IS GREAT.
YOU KNOW, ANY UTILITY WOULD LOVE TO BE GROWING THE, THE WAY SAN ANTONIO'S GROWING.
UH, BUT IN TERMS OF LOAD, IT'S A LITTLE UNDER 1%.
SO THAT'S A DIRECT RESULT OF NOT, NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, NORMAL EFFICIENCY GAINS BY NEW, YOU KNOW, NEW HOUSES BEING MORE EFFICIENT THAN OUR OLD OLDER HOUSING STOCK.
BUT ALSO STEP STEP FACTORS INTO THAT, YOU KNOW, AND I MEAN, I'VE BEEN A PROPONENT, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR BOARD OF CONTINUING THIS BECAUSE I THINK FORWARD THINKING UTILITIES, YOU KNOW, HAVE ENERGY, YOU KNOW, MEANINGFUL ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS. SO, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S, IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT ALL CAKE BUILT BAKED INTO THAT NUMBER, BUT SOME OF IT CERTAINLY IS THE IMPACTS OF STEP.
UM, WHAT I DON'T SEE HERE, UH, I KNOW THERE'S A COMMERCIAL BENEFIT, UH, I SEE THAT NOTED HERE, UH, AS 44.8 MILLION IN STEP ONE, OR 75.7 MILLION IN, IN OPTION TWO, BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IS THE COST.
I MEAN, YOU SHOW THE COST TO A RESIDENCE, WHAT'S THE COST TO OUR COMMERCIAL COMPANIES? HOW MUCH IS THEIR MONTHLY CHARGE GOING TO BE, AND HOW MUCH IS THAT AN ON AN ANNUAL BASIS? SO, SO I THINK WE'LL GET THE NUMBERS HERE, UH, IN, IN A MINUTE.
UH, COREY CAN, CAN PULL THAT UP.
SO CUSTOMERS PAY BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF KILOWATT HOURS THAT THEY USE.
AND SO THE BIGGER, THE BIGGER THE USAGE, THE, THE LARGER THE IMPACT.
AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN SHOWING IS THE RESIDENTIAL AVERAGE CUSTOMER, UH, COREY, I THINK HAS THE, UH, I CAN DO THAT.
SO, UH, THESE ARE OUR COMMERCIAL RATES, STARTING WITH OUR SMALLEST, WHICH IS THE, THE BASE COMMERCIAL RATE PL, UH, IS $17 A MONTH FOR THE AVERAGE CUSTOMER IN THAT CATEGORY, $17 A MONTH.
UH, NEXT UP IS OUR L L P CUSTOMER, UH, WHICH IS, UH, A SLIGHTLY LARGER $394, UH, A MONTH.
UH, E L P, WHICH IS NOW GETTING INTO SOME OF OUR, OUR LARGEST CUSTOMERS, UH, IS $3,258 A MONTH FOR THE AVERAGE CUSTOMER IN THAT CATEGORY.
AND THEN THE VERY LARGEST IS OUR SS L P SUPER LARGE POWER CUSTOMERS, UH, WHERE IT'S, UH, 18 OR, UH, $18,900 PER MONTH.
SO WHAT WE'RE ESTIMATING IS, AS FAR AS THE COST, UH, OF, LET'S SEE, UM, $250 MILLION, WE'RE SAYING THAT OUR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS WILL BE PAYING $44.8 MILLION, UH, OF THAT COST BASED ON WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
YOU'RE REFERRING TO THIS SLIDE HERE? YEAH, I'M SORRY.
THIS IS THE ALLOCATION OF THE PROGRAM SPENDING.
UH, NOT, NOT THE DOLLARS THAT ARE ASSESSED TO CUSTOMERS TO PAY FOR THIS I'D, I'D JUST BE INTERESTED IN SEEING WHAT THE, HOW THAT RELATES WHERE THE REVENUE, SO WHERE THE REVENUE COMES IN, YES.
WHERE THE REVENUE WILL BE COMPARED TO WHAT WE'RE GONNA INVEST IN THOSE AREAS.
THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE.
UH, ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER HAVE A QUESTION ON STEP? OKAY.
COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL, RUDY, THANK YOU AND THE TEAM FOR PUTTING THESE OPTIONS TOGETHER.
I KNOW YOU GOT SOME INPUT FROM, FROM THE RACK.
UM, I HAVE A, A FEW QUESTIONS.
UM, FIRST OF ALL IS THE LAST TIME STEP WAS APPROVED, AND THEN WE ALSO EXTENDED IT DURING THE, THE PANDEMIC.
UH, SOME THINGS WERE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT IN THE LANDSCAPE.
SO, UH, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO HAD NOT ADOPTED THE PACE PROGRAM.
UM, THE B I L UM, LEGISLATION WASN'T
[01:25:01]
AVAILABLE YET, THAT'S GOT, UH, SOME MONEY SET ASIDE FOR, FOR WEATHERIZATION.SO I GUESS I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW THESE OPTIONS, UH, TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
WELL, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY THE, THE, THE LANDSCAPE CONTINUES TO CHANGE.
UH, YOU KNOW, I, I, I CAN'T SAY THAT WE DIRECTLY, UH, TIED, UH, THE, THE, THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED TO, TO OUR SCENARIOS HERE.
UH, WE DID PRESENT THESE, UH, YESTERDAY AND, AND, AND THE BOARD GAVE US SOME FEEDBACK.
UH, AND I THINK WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, BE REFINING SOME OF THESE, UH, BUT CERTAINLY WELCOME, YOU KNOW, YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THAT.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA ADD TO THAT, RUDY? WELL, THE ONLY OTHER THING I, I WOULD ADD IS THAT THE GREAT THING ABOUT THESE PROGRAMS IS NO MATTER WHAT THE FUNDING SOURCE, WE HAVE A PROCESS TO RUN 'EM THROUGH AND GET THE ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO, ASSUMING, WHICH I THINK IS A PRETTY GOOD ASSUMPTION THAT WE ARE GONNA HAVE A PROGRAM GOING FORWARD, THE, THE BOARD'S KIND OF COALESCING AROUND WHAT THAT NUMBER IS.
YOU KNOW, WE, UH, AND I'LL GIVE YOU, FOR INSTANCE, WE'VE ASKED FOR A, UH, AN EARMARK THROUGH, UH, THE FEDERAL BUDGET FOR A COUPLE MILLION DOLLARS MORE WEATHERIZATION, YOU KNOW, TO MAXIMIZE WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, UH, OUR INVESTMENT IS, YOU KNOW, PLUS ON, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, GET, HOPEFULLY GET SOME ADDITIONAL DOLLARS ON TOP OF THAT COUNCILWOMAN.
SO OUR PROGRAMS WILL ALLOW US TO, UH, TO, TO PROGRAM WHATEVER AMOUNT OF DOLLARS IS AVAILABLE WHEREVER IT'S COMING FROM.
THIS COMES FROM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH OUR BILLS FROM OUR CUSTOMERS TO FUND PROGRAMS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN MAXIMIZE WHATEVER FUNDING IS AVAILABLE FROM THE CITY, UH, OR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO, YOU KNOW, TO DO MORE OF WHAT WE'RE SUGGESTING WE DO HERE.
UM, SO A FEW DAYS AGO, OR MAYBE IT WAS A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, I ASKED FOR BY EMAIL AND, AND YOU GUYS PROMPTLY SENT IT TO ME, A LIST OF ALL THE CURRENT REBATE PROGRAMS THAT YOU OPERATE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY INCENTIVES THAT, THAT YOU OPERATE.
SO I'VE, I'VE GOT A LIST OF THESE, SOME OF THEM WILL BE INTEGRATED, I IMAGINE, INTO THIS PROPOSAL IN THE FUTURE.
AND AT THE RISK OF, OF HAVING PEOPLE BE SHOCKED WHEN I SAY THIS IS WHICH OF THESE, WELL, LET ME SAY A FEW THINGS.
FIRST, I THINK WE CAN ACHIEVE SOME OF THE GOALS THAT YOU'RE IDENTIFYING IN ADDITIONAL WAYS THAT DON'T PUT A FEE ON THE, UM, ON THE BILL.
UM, AND I THINK WE CAN STILL ASSIST, UH, LOW INCOME, UH, CUSTOMERS OR MIDDLE INCOME CUSTOMERS IN WAYS THAT DON'T PUT FEES ON THE BILL.
AND THAT, AND IT, AND IT'S GONNA BE A WAY THAT'S NOT POPULAR
I LOVE PEOPLE SITTING DOWN AND TALKING ABOUT IT, UH, TO DISCUSS WITH OUR D S D, OUR DEPARTMENT, OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
AND OF COURSE, OF COURSE, MR. ZIMMER WILL BE INVOLVED.
THE, UH, THE CITY ATTORNEYS WILL BE INVOLVED ABOUT WHICH, WHICH OF THESE ARE WE READY TO, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST REAP THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY BENEFITS FROM THOSE WHO CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM, BUT IT JUST BECOMES STANDARD FAIR, AND IT DOES STILL GIVE YOU THE SAVINGS IN, UM, TRANSMISSION IN GENERATION.
UH, AND IT GIVES, IT'S STILL GIVES THE CUSTOMER THE LONG-TERM SAVINGS, AND MAYBE WE JUST THINK ABOUT USING THE MONEY FOR, UM, HELPING THEM, UH, INSTALL IN THE SHORT TERM FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT.
SO I, I GUESS I'D JUST LIKE TO POSE THAT TO, UM, MY FELLOW COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND TO, UH, AND TO C P SS WHAT YOU WOULD THINK ABOUT EXPLORING THAT.
SO, SO THAT'S A VERY TECHNICAL, UH, UH, QUESTION THAT REQUIRES SOME ANALYSIS ON OUR PART ABOUT WHICH, WHICH OF THESE COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH CODE.
THEY HAVE FORMAL CODE PROGRAMS AS PART OF THEIR EFFICIENCY PROGRAM.
UH, SO WE, WE CAN TAKE THAT FOR, FOR FURTHER STUDY.
UH, THE ONLY THING I WOULD ADD TO THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THE CODE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO, TO THESE PROGRAMS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE INCENTIVIZE THINGS THAT ARE ABOVE CODE.
AND SO TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CHANGED THE CODE TO BE MORE EFFICIENT, THEN, THEN WE WOULD ONLY INCENTIVIZE THE THINGS THAT ARE ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT.
AND, AND SO WE WOULD COORDINATE, WE'VE DONE THAT IN THE PAST WITH OUR NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM WHERE THE CITY RAISED THE STANDARDS, AND THEN WE CAME IN TO HELP MAKE IT, UH, UH, SO THAT FOLKS WOULD TRY TO ACHIEVE THAT STANDARD, AND WE PROVIDED AN INCENTIVE TO DO THAT.
SO IT'S A VERY COLLABORATIVE PROCESS, UH, BUT IT WOULD REQUIRE SOME, SOME PRETTY DEEP ANALYSIS TO EXACTLY TIE IT TOGETHER AND, AND SEE HOW, HOW WE WOULD MAKE IT WORK.
BUT, UM, WELL, I, I WOULD JUST ADD, YOU KNOW, UH, ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO BE HELPFUL AS THE CITY LOOKS AT CODE CHANGES, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, I MEAN, LIKE WE'RE DOING WITH THE CAP COMMITTEES, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE THERE AND PROVIDE WHATEVER TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WE CAN.
[01:30:01]
THAT'S ULTIMATELY A QUESTION FOR, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL FOR THE CITY, YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP TEAM TO DECIDE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT'S APPROPRIATE FROM A CODE STANDPOINT.BUT I MEAN, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE EITHER GONNA CHANGE THE CODE TO, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I'LL USE THE EVS FOR EXAMPLE.
YOU'RE GONNA CHANGE THE CODE TO REQUIRE NEW CONSTRUCTION FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, TO BE EV READY SHOULD, YOU KNOW, CUSTOMERS, YOU KNOW, WANT AN EV THAT'S A, THAT'S A CITY PROCESS.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY, UM, THE, THE WAY TO INCENTIVIZE EVS FROM OUR STANDPOINT, YOU KNOW, IS EITHER ON THE CHARGING SIDE OR ON THE VEHICLE SIDE, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY CHARGING SIDE IS, IS, IS IS THE WAY WE WOULD GO.
SO THERE'S A ROLE FOR US TO PLAY.
UH, BUT, YOU KNOW, CHANGING IT INTO A REQUIREMENT THAT, THAT, THAT IS CERTAINLY CITY BUSINESS
SO, UM, I GUESS I AM REQUESTING
UM, THEY ALL, THEY CAN ALL BE MET IN, IN ANOTHER WAY.
SO, UM, I GUESS HOW WOULD I, WOULD I ASK THE COMMITTEE TO, TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, TO EXPLORE IT? WELL, I WAS, I WAS GOING TO SUGGEST A, AFTER YOU SPOKE THAT POSSIBLY C P S COULD LOOK AT ALL OF THESE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS AND, UH, SAY WHICH ONES COULD BE PUT INTO, UH, NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION THAT WOULD MEET, UH, WHAT THEY'D LIKE TO SEE ACHIEVED, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE, JUST MAKE THAT KNOWN TO US WHAT THOSE MIGHT BE.
AND, BUT I THINK WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS IF THERE WERE A HALF A DOZEN THINGS, LET'S SAY, MAKING HOMES SOLAR READY OR EV READY OR REQUIRING, UH, CERTAIN, UH, ENERGY EFFICIENCY OR SAYING PUTTING IN A SMART, UH, UH, METER FOR, UM, THERMOSTAT, YOU KNOW, THOSE PROBABLY COULD BE PUT INTO A NEW HOME THAT WOULD, UH, SAVE ENERGY AND REDUCE COST TO THE HOMEOWNER, BUT THEY ALSO BECOME A COST TO THE BUILDER.
SO, BUT THOSE, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD MEAN THINGS THAT WOULD BE, UH, THAT COULD BE PUT INTO THE BUILDING CODE, UH, PROVIDED THE COUNCIL CHOSE TO DO SO, AND THE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED THAT, UH, A LIST OF THOSE THINGS, AND THEN WE COULD, YOU KNOW, TALK ABOUT THOSE.
JUST ONE MORE COMMENT CHAIR IF I, IF I COULD.
UM, REGARDING, I, I SEE THAT YOUR PROPOSED, UH, INVESTMENT STACK INCLUDES COMMERCIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY AT 44.8 IN, UH, IN SLIDE 10 IN THE LOWER COST PROPOSAL.
AND IT GROWS, UH, I THINK LIKE BY MORE THAN 50% FOR, FOR OPTION TWO.
UH, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE EVENTUALLY WHEN THIS COMES TO COUNCIL FOR, FOR APPROVAL IS THAT ANYBODY, ANY ORGANIZATION REAPING, UH, BENEFITS FROM THE STEP PROGRAM, FIRST ATTEMPTS TO USE THE PACE PROGRAM.
AND, UH, IF FOR SOME REASON THEY CAN'T GET THEIR FULL, UM, AMOUNT THAT THEY NEED THROUGH THE PACE PROGRAM, 'CAUSE PACE IS BASICALLY, THEY, THEY PAY THROUGH, THEY PAY FOR THE UPGRADE THROUGH THE SAVINGS, RIGHT? THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF LOAN.
AND IF FOR SOME REASON THEY CAN'T, UH, THEY'RE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR PACE, UH, THAT THE SHORTFALL OR THEY'RE ONLY ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT THAT THE SHORTFALL IS MADE UP THROUGH STEP.
SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, PAYING THROUGH IT, PAYING FOR IT THROUGH A FINANCED, UM, METHOD WHERE, WHERE IT PAYS FOR ITSELF, THAT IS CHEAPER FOR OUR CUSTOMERS THAN USING, UH, THE MONEY THAT WE COLLECT ON THEIR BILL.
UH, SO ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR PACE, I WOULD, UH, ASK THAT THE PROGRAM BE DESIGNED WITH, WITH THAT IN MIND.
ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE QUESTIONS? COUNCILMAN? BRAVO.
UM, ON SLIDE NINE FOR PROGRAM CATEGORIES, I'D BE INTERESTED IN SOME MORE DETAIL THERE.
UM, LOOKING AT ALL OF THESE AS FAR AS, UH, TO WHAT EXTENT WOULD INVESTMENTS IN EACH OF THOSE CATEGORIES HELP SHAVE PEAK DEMAND? SO WE CAN COM KIND OF COMPARE INVESTMENTS IN THOSE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, AND THEN MAYBE TO WHAT EXTENT COULD EACH OF THOSE PROGRAMS REDUCE EMISSIONS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS? AND, AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IS THERE AN EQUITY SCORE ON THOSE, RIGHT? BECAUSE WHEN I LOOK AT, UH, WHEN I LOOK AT, AT TARGETED LOW INCOME PROGRAMS, I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOU MEAN BY THAT, BUT I, I'M THINKING THAT
[01:35:01]
THIS, THESE ARE GONNA BE A LOT OF WEATHERIZATION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, RIGHT? AND SO THOSE ULTIMATELY COULD BE COST NEUTRAL OR ACHIEVE COST SAVINGS, RIGHT? 'CAUSE WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT, OKAY, DO WE WANT TO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL $2 ON THE BILL FOR A $50 MILLION OPTION OR THREE 50 ON THE BILL? YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE DO SOME TARGETED LOW INCOME PROGRAMS OF WEATHERIZATION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY, WE MIGHT BE, THEY MIGHT BE SAVING $20 A MONTH ON THEIR ENERGY BILL, RIGHT? AND SO THEY, MAYBE THEY HAVE AN EXTRA $3 AND 50 CENTS TACKED ON FOR THE STEP PROGRAM, BUT THEY'RE SAVING $20 A MONTH.AND SO THERE'S A, THERE'S A NET SAVINGS THERE.
AND SO IT, IT'D BE GREAT TO BE ABLE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF A BREAKDOWN AND, UM, THAT, THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M ON, ON, UM, I SAW YOU MENTIONED COOL ROOFS ON ONE OF YOUR SLIDES THERE.
AND I, I WANT TO THINK ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES TO INVEST IN COOL ROOFS STRATEGICALLY.
SO, UH, I REMEMBER THAT THERE WAS A HAILSTORM THAT CAME THROUGH SAN ANTONIO A FEW YEARS BACK, AND I THINK 5,000 ROOFS WERE DESTROYED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED MM-HMM.
AND SO IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY THERE? THE INSURANCE COMPANY'S ALREADY GONNA PAY THE HOMEOWNER FOR A NEW ROOF, RIGHT? SO IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY THERE FOR A LITTLE FINANCIAL INCENTIVE OF A REBATE OR SOMETHING FOR THOSE HOMEOWNERS? AND CAN YOU HAVE A PROGRAM READY TO GO FOR THE NEXT TIME A HAILSTORM COMES THROUGH TOWN? UH, SO THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE THAT THEY, SO YOU CAN QUICKLY DEPLOY THAT PROGRAM AND PEOPLE, AND MAKE PEOPLE AWARE IN THOSE AREAS WHERE, WHERE EVERYBODY'S GETTING A NEW ROOF WHERE THEY COULD JUST SPEND A LITTLE BIT MORE TO GET A MUCH COOLER ROOF AND, AND ACHIEVE A LARGE AMOUNT OF ENERGY SAVINGS.
BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY IN, IN OUR CLIMATE.
THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THE ENERGY, UH, IS BEING USED IS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF IT IS LOST THROUGH THE ROOF IN THE ATTIC.
UM, AND THEN ON, WE HAVE ELECTRIFICATION HERE, UH, WHICH IS NOT BEING CONSIDERED.
IT LOOKS LIKE ON YOUR SLIDE, WHAT IN OPTION ONE OR OPTION TWO, AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE OPPOSITE OF ELECTRIFICATION, I MEAN, I ASSUME THAT'S AN INCENTIVE TO, TO GO TO ELECTRIC APPLIANCES.
THE OPPOSITE OF THAT IS PAYING HOMEOWNERS AND PAYING BUILDERS TO INSTALL FOSSIL FUEL APPLIANCES, NATURAL GAS APPLIANCES.
SO WE'RE BACK TO THE, THE LINGERING LINGERING EFFECTS OF WHAT I'M GONNA CALL, UH, C P S ENERGY'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY.
UM, AND I WOULD REALLY LIKE, I KNOW THIS ISN'T PART OF THIS, BUT I WOULD REALLY LIKE FOR US TO GET AWAY FROM PAYING HOMEOWNERS, PAYING BUILDERS TO INSTALL NATURAL GAS APPLIANCES IN THEIR HOMES.
AND, UM, THAT'S THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF, OF, UH, WHAT ELECTRIFICATION IS RIGHT THERE.
AND THAT COULD ACHIEVE SOME COST SAVINGS AS WELL.
OUR FINAL ITEM IS, UH, BRIEFING ON C P S RATE ENERGY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, FROM COUNCILWOMAN ON AS SANDOVAL, OUR, OUR COUNCIL COMMITTEE LIAISON.
THANK YOU CHAIR FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT AN UPDATE TO THE M U C AND FOR LETTING ME DO IT FROM MY SEAT.
UM, I DO WANNA THANK RUDY AND TEAM, UH, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR ALL THEIR SUPPORT ON THE RAC PROCESS AS WELL.
UM, THEY'VE DONE A, A GREAT JOB AND EVER SINCE, UH, TRUSTEE ROMERO, UH, GOT INVOLVED, UH, I THINK SHE CHANGED THINGS UP A BIT.
SO, UM, I'M GLAD TO SEE YOU, UM, YOU KNOW, ADAPTING TO THAT.
AND OF COURSE, WE ALWAYS WANNA THANK TRUSTEE JANIE GONZALEZ FOR GETTING THIS OFF THE GROUND.
UH, WITHOUT HER WE WOULD NOT, UH, HAVE A RACK.
UH, I WILL BE PROVIDING SOME BRIEF UPDATES.
UM, ON THE MEMBERSHIP AND THEN SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM RECENT MEETINGS.
AND, UH, I ANTICIPATE THAT, UH, RUDY AND TEAM WILL BE ABLE TO, TO SUPPLEMENT AND, AND ADD ON.
HE HAS BEEN AT EVERY SINGLE MEETING FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE MEETING, AND I THINK THAT'S BEEN TREMENDOUSLY HELPFUL, AND IT SENDS THE RIGHT MESSAGE TO, TO THE RAC ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT THEIR WORK IS.
UH, SO JUST SOME QUICK UPDATES SINCE WE MET LAST.
UM, TRUSTEE ROMERO WAS NAMED AS THE LIAISON TO THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AT THE FEBRUARY 28TH, C P SS BOARD OF TRUSTEE MEETING.
UH, ADDITIONALLY, UH, COUNCILWOMAN PHYLLIS VRAN WAS APPOINTED TO REPRESENT DISTRICT THREE.
ALITA CANTU WAS APPOINTED TO REPRESENT DISTRICT SEVEN.
AND, UH, ANAQUA GARCIA WAS APPOINTED TO
[01:40:01]
REPRESENT, UH, DISTRICT TWO.JUST YESTERDAY, UH, YESTERDAY'S MEETING, UM, MR. SEYMOUR BATTLE, THE PREVIOUS APPOINTEE FOR DISTRICT TWO RESIGNED.
AND, UM, AND COUNCILMAN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ APPOINTED AN AQUA OR NOMINATED AN AQUA WHO WAS, UH, APPOINTED BY THE BOARD.
UM, ALSO YESTERDAY, THE C P S BOARD APPOINTED DR.
I DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT, UM, DR.
RO AT A PREVIOUS RAC MEETING, UH, OPENED UP THE NOMINATIONS FOR ANYBODY WHO WAS INTERESTED.
SHE ASKED ANYBODY TO COME TALK TO HER.
CANTU, UM, ACTUALLY WENT UP TO HER AND, AND EXPRESSED INTEREST.
SO, UM, WHICH I, I, I'M GLAD, I THINK SHE'S GONNA MAKE A GREAT VICE CHAIR.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, UH, THERE WAS, UH, A RESIGNATION JUST THE OTHER DAY, UH, BY, UH, AN APPOINTEE THAT WAS MADE BY FORMER TRUSTEE KELLY.
AND I BELIEVE THAT MEANS THAT TRUSTEE ROMERO WILL BE ABLE TO BRING A NAME FORWARD.
ALRIGHT, THIS IS, I KNOW A FASCINATING SLIDE, BLACK TEXT, WHITE BACKGROUND.
UH, LET ME GIVE YOU SOME, SOME HIGHLIGHTS.
SO THE RAC HAS MET THREE TIMES SINCE MY LAST UPDATE TO THIS COMMITTEE.
UH, THEY MEET ON THE THIRD THURSDAY OF THE MONTH.
SO THERE YOU HAVE FEBRUARY, MARCH AND APRIL MEETINGS.
AT THE FEBRUARY MEETING, THE CHAIR COLLECTED INPUT FROM THE MEMBERSHIP REGARDING WHAT THEY WANTED TO SEE IN THE GENERATION PLANNING AND THE RATE REVIEW PROCESSES.
UH, IN THE MARCH MEETING, THERE WAS A DISCUSSION OF A PRELIMINARY GENERATION PLANNING MODEL, A HISTORICAL MODEL.
AND AT THAT POINT, SOME MEMBERS OF THE RAC VOLUNTEERED TO FORM A MODELING WORK GROUP.
BASICALLY, THEY, THEY MET WITH C P SS STAFF AND THEY WALKED THROUGH THE MODEL, UNDERSTOOD THE ASSUMPTIONS, AND THERE WAS ALSO A DISCUSSION OF THE FUTURE OF THE STEP PROGRAM.
UH, AND JUST, UH, LAST WEEK, THE MEETING THAT WAS HELD, THERE WAS A CONTINUED DISCUSSION OF THE STEP PROGRAM AND THE RAC DID PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO C P S STAFF.
UH, THE MODELING WORK GROUP PROVIDED AN UPDATE, AND THERE WAS A REVIEW, WHICH I THINK WAS REALLY EXCITING OF THE TIMELINE FOR THE GENERATION PLANNING PROCESS.
YOU DID MENTION HERE ONE OF, UM, OUR PRESENTERS EARLIER TODAY SAY THAT THE TARGET DATE IS THE END OF THIS YEAR.
UH, YOU HAVE SOME HANDOUTS THAT I BELIEVE MY TEAM HAS PROVIDED.
THEY CONTAIN, UH, A SUMMARY OF THE CURRENT MEMBERSHIP OF THE RACK.
SHOULD YOU BE INTERESTED A COPY OF THE AGENDAS OF THOSE THREE MEETINGS, AS WELL AS THE TIMELINE FOR THE GENERATION PLANNING PROCESS PROVIDED BY C P SS.
AND THE NEXT STEPS, UH, THE NEXT MEETING OF THE RACK WILL BE ON MAY 26TH.
IT IS THE FOURTH THURSDAY BECAUSE C P S WILL BE USING THAT TIME, UH, TO PREPARE, UH, THE PROPOSED GENERATION PLANNING SCENARIO OPTIONS THAT THEY WILL BRING TO THE RACK.
UH, AND THIS IS GONNA BE REALLY EXCITING BECAUSE IT IS NOT JUST WHAT C P S WILL DO ON ITS OWN, BUT IN THE CONTEXT OF HOW THE GRID OPERATES STATEWIDE, UH, WHAT WILL, WHAT, WHAT OPTIONS WILL C P S HAVE? UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE MODELING, UH, WORK GROUP WILL ALSO BE INVOLVED.
UM, THEY MAY NOT TINKER, BUT THEY'LL BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS AND UNDERSTAND HOW THE MODEL WORKS.
UH, REGARDING STEP, UH, I THINK YOU HEARD MR. LUNA SAY THAT C P S WILL, UH, COME TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL IN THE FUTURE.
UH, THAT IS THE UPDATE I HAVE.
UH, RUDY TEAM, WOULD YOU LIKE TO, UH, CHIME IN, COUNCILWOMAN FOR NOT BEING AT THE LAST RACK MEETING? YOU WERE ON TOP OF IT, SO, UH, I THINK YOU DID A GOOD JOB.
YOU KNOW, I, I HAD ONE THOUGHT COME TO MIND, UH, AND THAT WAS, UM, WHEN WE HEARD, UH, THE EARLIER DISCUSSION ABOUT THE STEP, I, I REMEMBER, UM, A DISCUSSION SAYING THAT SEVERAL PROPOSALS WERE ALREADY DRAWN UP AND, AND MIGHT BE GIVEN TO RUDY OR THE BOARD FOR A DECISION.
AND I WAS THINKING, BUT HAS THIS GONE THROUGH THE RACK YET? YET THEY'RE ALREADY READY TO GO AHEAD AND START SIGNING SOME CONTRACTS.
SO COULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT? WELL, UH, THE URGENCY IS THAT WE'VE GOT SOME PROCUREMENT WORK TO DO BEHIND, UH, THE BOARD AND COUNCIL, UH, APPROVING, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL CERTAINLY APPROVING THE ORDINANCE, AUTHORIZING US TO CONTINUE THESE PROGRAMS. SO, UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET THIS THROUGH THE PROCESS SO THAT OUR BOARD CAN VOTE.
YOU KNOW, WE MAY NEED TO, TO CHANGE THE, I JUST, JUST TELLING SHANNA, UM, OUR, OUR LEGAL COUNSEL THAT, UH, WE MAY NEED TO MOVE THE BOARD MEETING UNTIL AFTER THE NEXT RAC MEETING SO THAT THE RAC CAN TAKE, UH, THEIR
[01:45:01]
VOTE ON, YOU KNOW, THEIR PREFERRED OPTIONS.WE, YOU KNOW, ALONG WITH THE C A C AND THEN WE, WE PRESENT THEIR, UH, INPUT TO THE BOARD AS PART OF THE BOARD'S PROCESS.
SO, UM, I DO ANTICIPATE WHENEVER THE NEXT BOARD MEETING IS THAT WE WILL PRESENT THE BOARD WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE WHATEVER OPTION THE MAYOR'S ASKED US TO ADD, UH, AN OPTION, A $5 A MONTH OPTION, UH, TO OUR LIST OF OPTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION, WHICH THE TEAM, UH, IS WORKING ON.
SO THERE WILL BE A 50 70 MILLION, AND THEN WHATEVER THAT, UH, $5 OPTION, YOU KNOW, UH, EQUATES TO PROBABLY GONNA BE SOMEWHERE AROUND $90 MILLION, UH, A YEAR.
UH, AND WE WILL PRESENT THOSE OPTIONS, YOU KNOW, UH, IN, IN SAME FORM AS PART OF OUR PROCESS.
UH, AND WHATEVER THE BOARD VOTES ON, THAT'S WHAT WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE CITY FOR CONSIDERATION.
AND I HEARD SOME SIMILAR COMMENTS EARLIER ABOUT THE FLEX POWER BUNDLE AND HOW THERE WERE ALREADY SOME CONTRACTS THAT WERE FLEX YEAH.
DEVELOPED ON, ON REPLACING ENERGY.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS, AGAIN, PART OF THE RACK'S LONG-TERM GOAL TO LOOK AT WHAT THE MIX SHOULD BE.
FLEX POWER BUNDLE HAS BEEN IN FLIGHT, SIR, SINCE WAY BEFORE THE RACK.
UH, I HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO SIGN, UH, THOSE CONTRACTS AS PART OF OUR DELIBERATIONS ON THE FLEX POWER BUNDLE.
WE'VE BEEN BRIEFING THE BOARD, UH, ON WHERE WE ARE.
AND SO, UM, SO, SO WE ARE READY TO MOVE FORWARD ON, ON THE FLEX POWER BUNDLE, JUST BECAUSE IF WE DON'T EXECUTE THOSE CONTRACTS ON A TWO YEAR PROCESS THAT YOU KNOW, VENDORS, IT'S AT SOME POINT IN TIME, THE PRICING IS GONNA, YOU KNOW, BE SO OLD THAT WE GOTTA GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD, WHICH MEANS THAT WE'RE KICKING THIS CAN DOWN THE ROAD FOR AN ADDITIONAL TWO YEARS.
AND I DON'T, I DON'T WANT TO, I, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF BEING INTERIM C E O I'M TRYING MY BEST TO EXECUTE THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR A WHILE NOW.
AND SO THE FLEX POWER BUNDLE, I WOULD KIND OF SEPARATE THAT, UH, UH, THAT ONE OUT FROM WHAT THE RACK IS CONSIDERING.
'CAUSE REALLY THE CHARGE OF THE RACK IS TO CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO WITH SPRUCE AS PART OF A BROAD GENERATION, YOU KNOW, PORTFOLIO.
WE NEED THESE RESOURCES TO PLAN FOR THE, THE, THE GENERATION THAT'S GOTTA COME OFFLINE BECAUSE THOSE PLANTS ARE OLD AND INEFFICIENT AND WE NEED TO GET 'EM, YOU KNOW, OUT OF OUR SYSTEM.
AND SO, UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE READY TO MOVE FORWARD ON ALL THE ASPECTS OF THE FLEX POWER BUNDLE.
THE BOARD DOESN'T NEED TO TAKE ANY ACTION ON THAT.
UH, BUT, UH, BUT, BUT CERTAINLY, UM, IT IS PART OF THE DIALOGUE, UH, WITH THE RACK ABOUT WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE.
WELL, I GUESS I THOUGHT I RECALL THE DISCUSSION ABOUT THOSE OLDER PLANTS SAYING YES, WE COULD RUN 'EM THREE OR FOUR MORE YEARS.
BUT SO NOW YOU'RE SAYING, WELL, NO, WE'RE GONNA CUT IT OFF NOW.
WELL, I MEAN, LOOK, THE, THE, THE TIME HORIZON THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, REALLY IS BETWEEN NOW AND 2030.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, COULD WE RUN THOSE PLANTS LONGER? OF COURSE WE COULD, IF WE DECIDE TO TAKE SPRUCE OFFLINE TO CONVERT IT TO NATURAL GAS, IF THAT'S ULTIMATELY WHAT THE BOARDS DECIDES, THEN WE'RE GONNA NEED THAT CAPACITY WHILE SPRUCE IS BEING CONVERTED.
SO WE GOTTA LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR NEED IS, LOOK AT WHAT OPTION, RESOURCE OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE, AND THEN MAKE A DECISION ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA FILL, YOU KNOW, FILL THAT GAP.
BUT, UM, BUT I'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, TALKING TO THE COMMUNITY, TALKING TO THE RACK, I MEAN, THERE IS AN OPTION IF WE DECIDE TO MOVE AWAY FROM, FROM COAL, YOU KNOW, TO GET STARTED ON THAT SPRUCE TWO CONVERSION IMMEDIATELY.
AND, AND THAT THAT'LL GET US OFF OF COAL, YOU KNOW, QUICKER WHILE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, AND THEN SPRUCE ONE WILL HAVE TO COME OFFLINE IN 20 27, 20 28 ANYWAY, SO, SO THAT'S WHY LOOKING AT THE WHOLE PICTURE, UH, UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE IS SO IMPORTANT.
WE, WE GOTTA MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS WHILE STILL ENSURING THAT WE'VE GOT THE RESOURCES WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, TO, TO, TO, TO SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS.
WELL, CERTAINLY WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THE SERVICE THAT EVERYBODY IS REQUIRING AND EXPECTS.
I JUST THOUGHT THE, THAT THAT WAS KIND OF GOING BEYOND THE RACK'S INPUT ON THOSE CURRENT CONTRACTS, YOU'RE ALREADY NEGOTIATING.
SO THAT'S WHY I BROUGHT IT UP.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS FROM ANY OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBER? OKAY, HEARING NONE.
I THINK WE'VE CONCLUDED EVERYTHING ON OUR AGENDA, SO, UH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND ADJOURN THE MEETING AT THIS TIME.