[00:00:02]
OKAY, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND BEGIN, UH, WITH THE SECRETARY.
TAKE ROLE, PLEASE, OF THE CLERK.
COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL EXCUSED CHAIR.
OKAY, WE'LL BEGIN THE MEETING TODAY.
AND THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE FOR THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE MEETING ON JUNE 28TH.
[Approval of Minutes ]
WE ARE GOING TO START BY, UH, ASKING THE COUNCIL TO REVIEW AND APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM MAY 24TH AND JUNE 3RD FROM THOSE TWO M U C COMMITTEE MEETINGS.UH, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THE MINUTES OF EITHER OF THOSE MEETINGS OR WOULD SOMEONE LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO MOVE THEM FORWARD FOR APPROVAL? SECOND.
MOTIONS MADE IN, UH, SECONDED FOR APPROVAL FOR THE MINUTES OF MAY 24TH AND JUNE 3RD.
HEARING NONE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.
WE HAVE TWO ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA TODAY,
[Briefing and Possible Action on the following items ]
UH, FOR BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION.UH, ONE ITEM IS A BRIEFING FROM C P S ENERGY ON EQUITY AND ENERGY BURDEN AND CUSTOMER AFFORDABILITY PROGRAMS. UH, THE SECOND IS AN UPDATE, UH, FROM THE CHAIR OF THE C P SS ENERGY RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON, UH, GETTING AN UPDATE ON COMMITTEE PROGRESS.
REED WILLIAMS, UH, HE IS NOT ABLE TO BE HERE.
SO I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD, UH, WITH EVERYBODY'S APPROVAL AND GO TO ITEM THREE FIRST.
AND I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND READ THAT REPORT INTO THE RECORD.
SO, RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE UPDATE BY REED WILLIAMS, CHAIR AS REQUESTED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE.
AN UPDATE ON THE RECENT ACTIVITIES AND FUTURE PLANS OF THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAS PROVIDED SINCE MY LAST REPORT TO THE M U C.
MEMBERS OF THE RACK HAVE PROVIDED THEIR INPUT TO THE TRUSTEES OF C P S ENERGY ON THE NEW ENERGY CONSERVATION AND DEMAND MANAGEMENT PLAN, AND INITIATED A STUDY OF TRANSITIONAL TRANSITIONING THE POWER GENERATION MIX OF C P S ENERGY TO MEET THE 2030 GOAL AND THE CLIMATE ACTION AND ADAPTATION PLAN AS APPROVED BY THE CITY OF, BY THE SAN ANTONIO CITY COUNCIL.
18 MEMBERS OF THE RACK EXPRESSED THEIR POSITION ON THE ENERGY CONSERVATION AND DEMAND MANAGEMENT PLAN PROPOSED BY C P S ENERGY MANAGEMENT.
ALL 18 MEMBERS AGREED TO THE NEED FOR AND EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO SUPPORT A NEW ENERGY CONSERVATION AND DEMAND MANAGEMENT PLAN.
EIGHT OF THE MEMBERS SUPPORTED EITHER THE 75 MILLION OR 100 MILLION PROPOSAL, BUT 10 OF THE MEMBERS WERE UNWILLING TO SUPPORT THE NEW PLAN AS PRESENTED AT ANY INVESTMENT LEVEL.
I ENCOURAGE EACH OF YOU TO READ ANY MEMBER'S COMMENTS ON THEIR RECORD PROVIDED, UH, TO THE TRUSTEES, A READING OF THE DESCENDING MEMBERS' COMMENTS CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES THAT THE MEMBERS WERE NOT SQUISHY IN THEIR POSITIONS, AS WAS REPRESENTED BY MR. RUDY GARZA TO THIS COMMITTEE.
TO THE CONTRARY, THESE MEMBERS HELD VERY SINCERE DOUBTS ABOUT THE PROPOSED PLAN.
THE DISSENTING MEMBERS WERE CONCERNED THAT THE INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS IN THE PROPOSED PLAN WERE NOT COMPLETELY DEVELOPED.
MANAGEMENT FAILED TO NUMBER ONE, CLEARLY IDENTIFY THE TARGETED CUSTOMERS FOR EACH PROGRAM.
TWO, DELINEATED THE DETAILS OF VARIOUS PROGRAMS, AND THREE, IDENTIFY METHODS OF COLLECTING TIMELY RESULTS TO FACILITATE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS ASSURING EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS. HOPEFULLY THE M U C WILL MONITOR AND ADVISE MANAGEMENT AS THEY COMPLETE THE WORK OF DEVELOPING EACH PROGRAM, WHICH WAS NOT DONE PRIOR TO THE APPROVAL BY THE TRUSTEES OR THE MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
CURRENTLY, THE RACK IS EVALUATING A SEVEN YEAR TRANSITION PLAN BEING DEVELOPED BY MANAGEMENT TO FIRST ACHIEVE THE 2030 CAP GOAL.
SECOND POSITION, C P S ENERGY TO BE A QUICK ADAPTER OF COMMERCIALIZED TECHNOLOGIES, WHICH HAVE THE ABILITY TO ACHIEVE, ACHIEVE THE 2050 CLIMATE ACTION AND ADAPTATION GOAL.
IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THIS TASK, MANAGEMENT IS UTILIZING CHARLES RIVER ASSOCIATES TO ASSIST IN DEVELOPING A GENERATION PLANNING MODEL, WHICH IS TYPICALLY REFERRED TO AS A RESOURCE PLAN.
MANAGEMENT WILL UTILIZE THE MODEL TO EVALUATE NUMEROUS SCENARIOS OF VARIOUS COMBINATIONS AND TIMING OF POWER GENERATION.
[00:05:01]
MANAGEMENT IS UNWILLING TO DISCLOSE THE VALUE OF CRITICAL ASSUMPTIONS IN THE MODEL, CLAIMING THE INFORMATION TO BE CONFIDENTIAL AND DISCLOSURE WOULD DAMAGE THEIR COMPETITIVE POSITION IN THE MARKET.UNWILLINGNESS TO DISCLOSE THE INFORMATION THAT IS CRITICAL TO THE RESULTS OF THE MODEL DAMAGES THE TRUST THAT THE RAC MEMBERS WILL HAVE IN THE RESULTS.
IN ORDER TO AVOID THIS PROBLEM, THE RACK IS IN THE PROCESS OF EVALUATING AND RECOMMENDING A CONSULTING FIRM, WHICH WILL, NUMBER ONE, ADVISE THE RACK ON THE ASSUMPTIONS AND ARREST RESOURCE PLAN.
NUMBER TWO, CONFIRM THAT CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION IS CORRECT AND ACCURATELY REPRESENTED TO THE RACK.
AND THREE, VALIDATE THAT THE RESOURCE PLAN IS PROPERLY DEVELOPED USING BEST PRACTICES IN THE POWER INDUSTRY.
MANAGEMENT HAS ISSUED A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION TOWARD WIDE RANGE OF POWER INDUSTRY CONSULTANTS.
BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THE R F Q, THE COMMITTEE WILL NARROW THE CANDIDATES TO THREE IN THE JULY RACK MEETING.
THE THREE FINALISTS WILL BE INTERVIEWED BY THE MEMBERS DURING THE AUGUST RAC MEETING AND RECOMMEND ONE TO BE HIRED.
MANAGEMENT WILL REQUEST APPROVAL FROM THE TRUSTEES IN THEIR AUGUST MEETING TO HIRE THE RECOMMENDED FIRM.
MANAGEMENT HAS EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO HAVE THE MODEL ONE DEVELOPED, TWO PRESENTED TO THE RAC MEMBERS, THREE VALIDATED BY THE CONSULTANTS AND FOUR, RECEIVE COMMENTS FROM THE RAC MEMBERS NO LATER THAN THE NOVEMBER RAC MEETING.
THE AGGRESSIVE SCHEDULE IS DRIVEN BY A NEED TO RECEIVE APPROVAL FROM THE TRUSTEES BEFORE THE END OF 2022 TO ACCOMPLISH THE 2030 CAP GOALS AND AVOID ADDITIONAL CAPITAL EXPENDITURES ON ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS.
GIVEN OUR COMMITTEE BY REED WILLIAMS CHAIR, THE RATED ADVISORY COMMITTEE UPDATE, I WOULD OFFER AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANY COMMENTS THAT THE, UH, C P SS STAFF WOULD CARE TO MAKE TO THIS REPORT, TO THIS COMMITTEE.
OKAY, MR. CHAIRMAN? UH, FIRST OFF, RE'S NOT HERE.
SO I, I THINK I'M GONNA BE KIND OF JUDICIOUS IN MY, UH, REBUTTAL.
I, YOU KNOW, I THINK HIS LETTER IS PROBABLY AN AC ACCURATE REFLECTION OF SOME OF THE KIND OF GIVE AND TAKE IT TAKES TO WORK THROUGH, UH, THE, THE RAC PROCESS.
YOU KNOW, I, I USED THE TERM SQUISHY.
THAT WAS PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE A LOT OF TERMS YOU COULD USE, BUT, BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, IS THIS, WHEN THE, THE BOARD WAS CONSIDERING THE, THE STEP ITEM IN A, IN, IN A WAY, IN A CERTAIN WAY, THAT INCLUDED FOUR OPTIONS.
AND WHEN THE RACK KIND OF EXPANDED THOSE OPTIONS AND KIND OF WENT, YOU KNOW, THEIR OWN WAY, IT MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR THE BOARD TO CONSIDER THE, THE FEEDBACK FROM THE RACK AND THE WAY THE RAC WAS OFFERING IT, BECAUSE THE BOARD KIND OF ALREADY HAD AN IDEA OF WHERE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE OPTIONS THEY WANTED TO CONSIDER WAS.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, SO, SO PROCESS MATTERS, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT DR.
ROMEO, UH, OUR TRUSTEE LIAISON IS GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT WITH REED.
I MEAN, OUR, OUR GOAL, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM A, AT LEAST A MANAGEMENT STANDPOINT, MY PERSPECTIVE, UH, IS WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO FACILITATE THE INFORMATION THAT THE RAC NEEDS TO, TO MAKE SOUND, YOU KNOW, TO PROVIDE SOUND INPUT TO THE BOARD.
THEIR ONLY PURPOSE, YOU KNOW, FOR EXISTENCE IS TO PROVIDE THE BOARD FEEDBACK.
AND THEN THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, WILL TAKE THAT FEEDBACK AND MAKE THE DECISIONS THAT, THAT THEY NEED TO MAKE ULTIMATELY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S EASIER WHEN THE RAC CONSIDERS THE OPTIONS THAT THE BOARD IS CONSIDERING.
'CAUSE IT'S EASIER FOR THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, TO, TO DO SOMETHING WITH THAT FEEDBACK.
AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, REID AND I HAVE TALKED THROUGH THAT, YOU KNOW, SO I'M NOT SAYING ANYTHING HERE THAT REID AND I HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT, UM, ON THE PROCESS FOR THE MODELING WORK THAT, THAT BENNY AND, AND OUR TEAM WILL BE DOING.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MADE IT CLEAR THAT, THAT WE WANT TO CONSIDER WHATEVER SCENARIOS THAT THE RAC THINKS ARE, ARE VALID AND, AND, AND, AND NECESSARY TO GET TO AN UPDATED, UH, RESOURCE PLAN.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, THE CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE WITH COUNTERPARTIES, YOU KNOW, WE GET THE BEST PRICING THERE IS IN THE MARKET BECAUSE C P S ENERGY'S A UTILITY THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THIRD PARTIES WANNA DO BUSINESS WITH, THAT SOLAR PROVIDERS WANNA DO BUSINESS WITH.
SO IN ORDER TO, TO MAINTAIN COMPLIANCE WITH THE CONTRACTS THAT WE SIGNED WITH COUNTERPARTIES WHO ARE GIVING US THE BEST, YOU KNOW, DEAL, WE CAN GET, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S TWO WAYS YOU CAN HANDLE IT.
WE COULD EITHER ASK THE RACK TO SIGN NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY CAN SEE THE INFORMATION, BUT THEY CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT IN AN OPEN MEETING.
OR WE GO WITH A VALIDATION PROCESS AND HIRE A THIRD PARTY THAT CAN GIVE THEM AN, AN INDEPENDENT, YOU KNOW, VIEW THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ASSUMPTIONS
[00:10:01]
THAT WE'RE MAKING ARE JUST AND REASONABLE.SO WE'RE TRYING TO FACILITATE, YOU KNOW, THE INFORMATION IN A WAY THAT THAT WORKS FOR A PUBLIC PROCESS.
BUT IT'S NOT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE UNWILLING, UH, TO SHOW THEM THE INFORMATION.
THERE'S JUST A WAY THAT INFORMATION HAS TO FLOW THAT ALLOWS US TO, YOU KNOW, TO, TO, TO, TO STAY IN COMPLIANCE WITH, WITH THE CONTRACTS THAT WE SIGN WITH THESE COUNTERPARTIES.
SO WE'RE GONNA DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE THE RAC HAS THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO, TO, TO ENGAGE IN A, IN A GOOD PROCESS.
YOU KNOW, AGAIN, MY, MY, OUR GOAL IS NOT TO STAND IN THE WAY OF THEM, YOU KNOW, GETTING INFORMATION.
WE JUST HAVE TO FACILITATE THAT INFORMATION IN A WAY THAT THAT WORKS FOR US AND WORKS FOR THE RACK SO THEY CAN DO THEIR JOBS.
SO THOSE ARE THE 2, 2, 2 ASPECTS OF IT, UH, THAT I'LL COVER.
AND I'LL, I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT THAT.
LET ME ASK IF ANY OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE REPORT.
I THOUGHT EVERYBODY WAS SENT A COPY OF THIS REPORT.
WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU GET ANOTHER ONE.
UM, RUDY, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE PROCESS IS EXACTLY FOR GOING FORWARD FOR, UM, LOOKING AT THE GENERATION PLANNING? SURE.
SO FOR, FOR, FOR THE RACK? YEAH.
SO WE'VE GOT, UM, CHARLES RIVER ASSOCIATES, WHO'S DONE, YOU KNOW, DOES MODELING WORK FOR THE INDUSTRY AND HAS DONE IT FOR US FOR A LONG TIME NOW.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PREPARED TO ASK THEM.
THEY HAVE A BASELINE MODEL THAT HAS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S KIND OF A REGRESSION MODEL THAT SAYS THESE FOUR OR FIVE VARIABLES ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT DRIVERS OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GONNA IMPACT YOUR COST AND WHAT'S GONNA IMPACT YOUR RELIABILITY.
AND SO WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOTTA BE RELIABLE AND AFFORDABLE FIRST, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL MAXIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF RENEWABLES, FOR INSTANCE, AND SAY, OKAY, AT WHAT POINT DOES THE RENEWABLES, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, PASS A PRICE POINT THAT'S GONNA IMPACT AFFORDABILITY OR, UH, HOW MUCH GAS IS THE RIGHT AMOUNT, OR HOW MUCH DISPATCHABLE, YOU KNOW, IN COMBINATION WITH RENEWABLES MAKES SENSE, UH, TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES, UH, IN THE ERCOT MARKETS.
SO THERE ARE PROBABLY THREE TO FIVE SCENARIOS WITHIN THAT MODEL THAT MAKE SENSE, THAT, THAT WE BELIEVE ARE, YOU ARE A GOOD STARTING POINT, BUT THE RACK MAY WANT US TO RUN THREE OR FOUR OTHERS THAT TAKE DIFFERENT OTHER VARIABLES INTO CONSIDERATION, AND WE'RE WILLING TO RUN 'EM ALL.
SO WE, SO WE'RE STARTING WITH, YOU KNOW, THE MODELING PROCESS.
ONCE WE RUN THOSE MODELS, UH, WE'LL HAVE THAT KIND OF VALIDATION, YOU KNOW, UH, THIRD PARTY THAT WILL COME IN, LOOK AT THE MODEL AND SAY, YEAH, IT'S REASONABLE, OR, HEY, YOU MISSED, YOU KNOW, YOU DIDN'T FACTOR IN THE FULL COST OF RETIRING COAL.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WOULD EXPECT US TO TALK, SPEND SOME TIME TALKING ABOUT.
OR YOU DIDN'T, YOU KNOW, YOU DIDN'T FACTOR IN THE PRICE OF RENEWABLES AGAINST THE RISING PRICE OF NATURAL GAS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT ALL OF THAT, UH, AND, AND TRY TO GET IT RIGHT SO THAT THE SET OF, OF OF THE, THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THAT WE PROVIDE TO THE RACK, UH, WE ALSO PROVIDE TO THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE AGAIN, THE RACK'S GONNA MAKE A RECOMMENDATION OF SOME KIND THAT SAYS, WE THINK THIS AMOUNT OF RENEWABLES IS RIGHT.
WE THINK THIS MUCH DISPATCHABLE GENERATION IS RIGHT, AND HERE'S WHAT DEMAND RESPONSE CAN DO.
I MEAN, THAT, THAT, THAT'S AT LEAST IN MY MIND HOW THE, THE, UH, THE PROCESS SHOULD GO IN TERMS OF THE RECOMMENDATION.
AND, AND WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, WE'LL WORK THROUGH, UH, DR.
ROMEO TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE ALIGN WITH THE RAC ON, ON, ON HOW THEY CAN BEST INFORM THE BOARD OF THEIR OPINION.
AND THEN THE BOARD WILL MAKE A DECISION STARTING IN DECEMBER.
THEY'LL CONSIDER INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, THAT WE GIVE 'EM, THAT THE RAC PROVIDES AND THAT OTHER THIRD PARTIES MIGHT PROVIDE, AND THEN THEY'LL START TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS ABOUT, UH, OUR FUTURE GENERATION PLAN.
BUT, BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, LIKE YESTERDAY, THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE REPORT CAME UP, UM, THAT THEY PROVIDED TO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL SEND THAT REPORT TO OUR MODELER AND SAY, HEY, LOOK, HERE'S SOME FEEDBACK WE GOT THAT WE WANT YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T MISS SOMETHING.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, COUNCILMAN, WE WANNA GET IT RIGHT.
WE WANT IT TO BE A ROBUST MODEL THAT EVERYBODY HAS CONFIDENCE IN.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO, TO GET TO THAT PLACE.
I WANT TO, WHAT, I GUESS WHAT I WAS HOPING HERE IS THAT YOU WOULD BE RUNNING MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE MODELS AND THAT YOU WILL, UH, RUN MODELS THAT ARE PROPOSED BY THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
SO, AND SO THEN ONCE THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAS A RECOMMENDATION, WHAT IS THEIR PROCESS TO MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD? WELL, AGAIN, I, I WISH I COULD TELL YOU WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE.
I, I THINK I, I KNOW I, WHAT I HOPE THAT LOOKS LIKE, BUT YOU KNOW, THE RAC HAS A WAY OF DOING THINGS THAT IS THEIR OWN.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA JUST WORK WITH REID TO TRY TO GET TO THE RIGHT PLACE.
AGAIN, MY HOPE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT WE WILL GET US SOME ALIGNMENT BETWEEN HOW THE BOARD WANTS TO SEE THIS INFORMATION AND HOW THE RAC WANTS TO SEE THE INFORMATION SO THAT WHAT'S PRESENTED FROM THE RAC TO THE BOARD ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE WHAT
[00:15:01]
THE BOARD IS ALREADY CONSIDERING.BECAUSE LOOK, AND IT HAPPENED WITH STEP COUNCILMAN, THE BOARD ALREADY KNEW KIND OF WHAT OPTIONS THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERING.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE RAC PRESENTED LOOKED A LITTLE DIFFERENT, WHICH MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, TO DO SOMETHING WITH, AND, AND THAT'S WHEN I USED THAT SQUISHY TERM, THAT'S WHAT I MEANT.
YOU KNOW, THE, WHEN YOU CONSIDER WHEN THEY'RE CONSIDERING FOUR OPTIONS AND YOU PRESENT, YOU KNOW, YOUR RECOM OR SOME COALESCENCE OF A, OF AN OPINION AROUND ONE OF THOSE FOUR OPTIONS THAT THE BOARD IS ALREADY CONSIDERING, THEN THAT'S THEN THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, CAN, CAN UTILIZE THAT TO, TO MOVE FORWARD.
SO, UM, SO, SO WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND HOPE WE CAN GET SOME ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE RAC AND THE BOARD ON, ON HOW THEY'RE GONNA, THEY'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD.
AND THEN WHEN, WHEN THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE COMES UP, THEY SAID THEY'RE GONNA NARROW DOWN TO, TO THREE POTENTIAL, UH, CONTRACTORS TO CONSIDER IF THEY CHOOSE ONE OF THOSE THAT THEY WANT TO, TO LOOK AT MODELING, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO DO WITH THAT? WELL, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS THEY WILL SIGN A NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT AS WELL, WHICH ALLOWS THEM TO SEE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT CHARLES RIVER ASSOCIATES WILL SEE.
THE, THE CONTRACTOR OR THE YEAH, THE CONTRACTOR.
I, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF THINGS IN THIS THAT THAT WORRIED ME.
ONE WAS, UH, ABOUT KEEPING INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL BECAUSE DISCLOSURE WOULD DAMAGE THE COMPETITIVE POSITION OF C P S AND HOW, FIRST OF ALL, I RESPECT CONFIDENTIALITY, BUT I'M WONDERING HOW WE HAVE SOME KIND OF COMPETITIVE POSITION THAT WE MIGHT ENDANGER.
WE'RE NOT COMPETING AGAINST ANY OF THE UTILITY.
WELL, WE'RE, WE'RE ALL COMPETING FOR THE SAME CAPACITY IN THE MARKET.
YOU KNOW, COUNCILMEN, I MEAN, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THERE'S A FINITE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES, AND WE PUT SOME OF OURS UNDER CONTRACT, BUT OTHER UTILITIES ARE GOING AFTER THAT SAME SOLAR CAPACITY, YOU KNOW, GAS CAPACITY THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
AND SO AS WE SIGN CONTRACTS, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE GETTING THE BEST PRICE.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PRICE THAT AN ENTITY MIGHT GIVE US IS, YOU KNOW, MAY BE DIFFERENT THAN THE PRICE THEY'LL GIVE ANOTHER UTILITY.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE, WHEN WE'RE IN NEGOTIATIONS, WE'RE, WE'RE IN NEGOTIATIONS KIND OF UNDER CONFIDENTIALITY FOR THAT PURPOSE BECAUSE THEY'VE GOT THEIR OWN KIND OF COMPETITIVE POSITION IN THE MARKET THAT THEY HAVE TO PROTECT.
UM, SO GENERALLY, YOU KNOW, WE SHOW THE, WE'VE SHOWN THE RACK INFORMATION IN OUR RESOURCE PLAN THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, HERE OUR, OUR KIND OF GENERAL COST FOR SOLAR CAPACITY IN THE ERCOT MARKET, THEY WANNA SEE THE ACTUAL CONTRACTS, WE CAN SHOW 'EM THE ACTUAL CONTRACTS.
BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE ARE CONFIDENTIALITY PROVISIONS THAT WE SIGN AS PART OF THOSE DEALS, WE HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN THAT, UH, THAT CONFIDENTIALITY.
WELL, I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU HAVE ALL OF THE MEMBERS SIGN A CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT AND THEN YOU REVIEW THOSE IN AN EXECUTIVE SESSION.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT WE DO IN COUNCIL.
AND, UH, I THINK THAT WE CAN HELP THE, ANY COMMITTEE THAT WORKS AS AN ADVISORY TO UNDERSTAND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CONFIDENTIALITY.
AND I DON'T THINK YOU'RE GONNA SEE SOMEBODY RUNNING AROUND TRYING TO TELL OTHER COMPANIES WHAT'S GOING ON.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LACK OF TRUST, UH, AND READ WILLIAMS AS THE CHAIR WAS TELLING US, YOU KNOW, AND IT, IT WAS CREATED PARTLY THROUGH MAYBE A MISUNDERSTANDING MISINTERPRETATION OR, OR A LACK OF, OF GOOD EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION BETWEEN MANAGEMENT AND THE COMMITTEE IN THE STEP PROGRAM.
AND NOW IT SEEMS LIKE IT MAY BE CONTINUING TO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO OUT AND GET THEIR OWN CONSULTANT TO DOUBLE CHECK.
BECAUSE THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY'RE GONNA GET THE INFORMATION DIRECTLY FROM C P S.
SO THAT'S WORRISOME TO US AS, AS A COUNCIL, BECAUSE FOR EXAMPLE, IF THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT REPORTS AND THE BOARD DECIDES, WELL, WE'RE JUST GONNA GO WITH THE C P SS REPORT, BUT WE AS COUNCIL START GETTING INFORMATION ON ANOTHER REPORT THAT HAS MAYBE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE, THAT PUTS US IN AN AWKWARD SITUATION BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT WE'VE APPOINTED TO SIT ON THAT ADVISORY BOARD TELLING US ONE THING, BUT THE TRUSTEES ARE TELLING US SOMETHING ELSE.
SO WHEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE TWO DIFFERENT REPORTS, AND PART OF IT IS BECAUSE ONE SIDE MAY NOT TRUST THE OTHER.
I THINK IT PUTS US IN A DIFFICULT POSITION.
NOW, MAY NOT HAPPEN THAT WAY, BUT I WORRY THAT IT COULD.
WELL, COUNCILMAN WHAT I TELL YOU IS OUR GOAL IS, YOU KNOW, TO DO THIS IN AN OPEN MANNER, WE'RE GONNA SHOW THE BOARD EVERY, YOU KNOW, JUST WE DID THAT WITH STEP, WE EVERY OPINION THAT WAS, THAT WAS COMMUNICATED TO US.
THE BOARD SAW THAT, YOU KNOW, AND TOOK THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THEY HAD THE OPINIONS OF THEIR OWN.
AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, MY JOB AS C E O OF C P S ENERGY IS TO BRING IN AS
[00:20:01]
MUCH PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AS I CAN, BUT I GOTTA PUT MY BOARD IN A POSITION TO VOTE SURE.MY TEAM TRYING TO MOVE THESE INITIATIVES FORWARD, AND THERE'S A BIG, PRETTY BIG DIVERGENCE OF OPINIONS ON THAT RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH I THINK IS GREAT.
UM, BUT, BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WHAT MY HOPE IS ON THE RACK IS THAT YOU'LL FIND SOME WAY TO BUILD A CONSENSUS THAT SAYS SOME, YOU KNOW, PERCENTAGE OF, OF THE RACK, YOU KNOW, BELIEVES THAT THIS IS THE RIGHT PATH FORWARD.
AND, AND WHEN THEY GET THERE, WHICH WE'RE TRYING REALLY HARD TO TRY TO HELP FACILITATE, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IF THERE'S A LACK OF TRUSTED MANAGEMENT FROM THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN THE PAST, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I CAN DO ABOUT THAT, BUT TRY TO DO IT RIGHT, YOU KNOW, GOING FORWARD AND WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
UH, AND PART OF THAT IS SETTING UP A PROCESS WHERE THEY HAVE THE INFORMATION THEY NEED, YOU KNOW, TO KNOW THAT THE, THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE'RE USING ARE, ARE REASONABLE.
HEY, FOR THE PUBLIC RECORD I'D, I'D RECOMMEND THAT YOU HAVE 'EM ALL SIGN A NON CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT.
AND WHEN YOU NEED TO GET INTO DETAILS LIKE COST FOR FUEL OR, OR CONTRACTS THAT YOU JUST DO IT IN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND TRUST THE SYSTEM AND TO WORK, THAT'S WHAT WE DO IN CITY COUNCIL.
UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANY OTHER MEMBER ABOUT THE REPORT? COUNCILWOMAN? THANK YOU CHAIR.
I, I WAS, THERE'S, YOU'RE DEALING WITH A LOT.
UM, THERE'S TWO SEPARATE CONSULTING FIRMS THAT ARE WORKING ON THE SAME PLAN.
IT, IT WOULD SOUND LIKE, IS THAT CORRECT? WELL, THERE'S ONE FIRM THAT WILL RUN THE MODELING AND RUN THE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE RUNNING, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THE RACK ON THE, THE THE THIRD PARTY, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF A VALIDATOR.
THEY'RE NOT GONNA RUN THEIR OWN MODELS.
THEY'RE GONNA LOOK AT THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE USE TO RUN THE SCENARIOS AND SAY, YEAH, WE AGREE WITH THOSE.
OR, HEY, MAYBE YOU COULD HAVE DONE, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU COULD'VE INCLUDED THESE PERSPECTIVES AS PART OF YOUR PROCESS.
SO ALL THEY'RE GONNA DO IS LOOK AT OUR MODELING AND GIVE THE RAC AN, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, AN OPINION THAT IT WAS REASONABLE.
UM, AND SO I KNOW IT'S CHARLES RIVER ASSOCIATES, AND THEN A SEPARATE FIRM THAT THE RACK IS GOING TO HIRE? WELL, WE'RE HIRING IT.
I MEAN, ALL THE PROCESSES ARE CPS ENERGY'S PROCESSES.
UH, BUT, BUT IT, IT'S A, IT'S A, THEY WILL, YOU KNOW, WE'VE CREATED A SET OF, YOU KNOW, KIND OF QUALIFICATIONS.
UM, WE WILL, YOU KNOW, GIVE THEM A LIST OF, OF FOLKS THAT WE THINK ARE, ARE QUALIFIED, AND THEN THEY'LL PICK TWO OR THREE TO INTERVIEW AND, AND DECIDE WHO THEY WANT TO USE.
SO, SO IT'S, IT'S C P SS THAT'S GONNA PAY FOR THAT SECOND ONE? YES, MA'AM.
I MEAN, LITERALLY IT COMES OUTTA MY BUDGET.
MY, MY PER MY PERSONAL BUDGET, SO.
UM, THOSE ARE MY ONLY QUESTIONS, SIR.
THAT CONCLUDES, I THINK, THE DISCUSSION ON RACK.
UH, AND NOW WE'LL GO TO ITEM NUMBER TWO.
I KIND OF PUT 'EM IN DIFFERENT ORDER.
AND, OH, YES, I'M SORRY, CHAIR.
UH, IF I COULD MAKE A QUICK CLARIFICATION ON ITEM NUMBER ONE.
THE COMMITTEE WAS APPROVING THE JUNE 3RD MINUTES ONLY, UH, THE MAY MINUTES WERE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED AT THE EARLIER MEETING, SO TODAY'S ACTION WAS JUST THE JUNE 3RD MINUTES.
THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM ANY COMMITTEE MEMBER? THANK YOU.
WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM TWO, WHICH IS BRIEFING BY C P SS, ENERGY ON EQUITY AND ENERGY BURDEN, AND CUSTOMER AFFORDABILITY PROGRAMS. HOPEFULLY MANY OF YOU HAD, ALL OF YOU HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THIS.
AND, UH, DEANNA HARDWICK, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
SO TODAY WHAT I'LL BE DOING IS REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE BUILD AS WE ARE GOING THROUGH AND WHAT OUR, HOW WE'RE APPROACHING OUR EQUITY, UH, LENS AND, AND OUR STRATEGY AS, UH, C P S ENERGY, WHAT RESEARCH THAT WE HAVE TO HELP INFORM OUR APPROACH FOR OUR APPROACH FOR OUR COMMUNITY, AND ALSO WHAT OUR, UH, APPROACH WILL BE MOVING FORWARD AND SOME OF THOSE KEY PARTNERS.
AND ONE OF THE OTHER KEY COMPONENTS OF OUR APPROACH IS WHAT WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF THE ARPA FUNDS THAT COUNCIL HAS, UH, SET ASIDE FOR THE, THE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE REALLY STRUGGLING ON THEIR BILLS, AS WELL AS HOW WE'RE MOVING ALONG ON OUR AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
AND IT REALLY ALL FITS INTO, UH, AN EQUITY LENS.
SO, TO START OFF, YOU'LL SEE, HOPEFULLY YOU, YOU RECOGNIZE THIS, THIS SLIDE.
THIS IS, UM, FROM THE CITY AND ONE OF THE KEY COMPONENTS THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND UNDERSTANDING IS HOW THE, THE CITY'S OFFICE OF EQUITY IS APPROACHING THE WORK.
UM, AND THE, THE STRATEGY FROM AN EQUITY PERSPECTIVE, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR POSITION IS IN TERMS OF, UH, OF EQUITY FOR THE CITY AS A WHOLE, NOT JUST AS A DIVISION, BUT AS A BIG, AS A COMMUNITY MEMBER.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE GOING THROUGH AND SEEING WHAT OTHER RESOURCES ARE OUT THERE.
HERE YOU'LL SEE A, UH, COMPANY CALLED ESOURCE THAT HELPS UTILITIES CREATE FRAMEWORKS AND A PATH FORWARD.
BUT ULTIMATELY, WE KNOW THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS UNIQUE NEEDS, AND WE'VE GOTTA UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE CHALLENGES ARE AND ENSURE THAT WE ARE REMOVING BARRIERS
[00:25:01]
AND IMPROVING ACCESS TO THE RIGHT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.SO FOR US, ONE OF THE BIG, BIG COMPONENTS THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK ACROSS THE UTILITY INDUSTRY ACROSS THE NATION IS REALLY AROUND ENERGY BURDEN.
AND YOU SEE THAT, UH, A C E E E, I WON'T SPELL IT OUT, BUT WHAT THOSE THREE COMPONENTS OF ENERGY BURDEN REALLY ARE MADE UP OF.
AND IT'S HOW MUCH SOMEONE SPENDS ON ENERGY.
SO PART OF THAT IS THE, THE COST PER KILOWATT HOUR, AS WELL AS HOW MUCH SOMEONE USES THEIR CONSUMPTION.
UH, AND YOU DIVIDE THAT BY THEIR, THEIR INCOME, AND THAT SHOWS YOU WHAT THEIR TOTAL ENERGY BURDEN IS.
SO WE WORKED WITH BRATTLE AND WE HAD THIS FOR THE RACK, AND, UH, WE HAD TWO FULL STUDIES.
ONE WAS, WHAT DOES ENERGY BURDEN LOOK LIKE FOR SAN ANTONIO, SPECIFICALLY WITH C P S ENERGY, AS WELL AS WHAT DID, WHAT WOULD THE RATE INCREASE, UH, DUE TO, UH, THOSE WHO ARE FACING, UH, A HEAVIER ENERGY BURDEN? BUT TO START WITH, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT BRATTLE REALLY HIGHLIGHTS IS THAT SOCIOECONOMICS IS ONE OF THE BIG COMPONENTS OF IT, BUT THERE'S MORE TO IT, UH, FOR WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT FROM AN EQUITY LENS.
AND A LOT OF THAT ALSO COMES INTO BEHAVIORAL FACTORS, RIGHT? SO HOW EITHER ACCESS TO INFORMATION, KNOWING HOW, WHAT THE RIGHT THINGS ARE TO HELP KEEP CONSUMPTION DOWN.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A WHOLE SLEW OF THINGS, UM, THAT FEED INTO WHAT SOMEONE'S TOTAL ENERGY BURDEN IS.
AND ULTIMATELY, ENERGY BURDEN IS KIND OF THE EASIEST WAY FOR US TO COMPARE OURSELVES ACROSS THE INDUSTRY TO KNOW WHERE WE HAVE A CHALLENGE OR WHERE WE CAN DO BETTER OR KIND OF HOW IT LOOKS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S WHAT YOU'LL SEE HERE ON THE NEXT SLIDE IS BRATTLE TOOK, UH, A, A SUBSET OF, UH, CITIES HERE, AND IT'S DATA FROM 2010 TO 2019, AND IT'S, UH, JUST TO SHOW WHAT THE AVERAGE VIEW IS BY CITY, UH, BY YEAR.
AND A LOT OF WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS SOME INCOME'S GONE UP AND ALSO ENERGY CONSUMPTIONS CON COME DOWN ON AN AVERAGE.
SO AS A WHOLE FOR THE UNITED STATES, YOU DO SEE A REDUCTION IN ENERGY BURDEN.
UH, BUT AS I MENTIONED, THERE ARE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO ENERGY BURDEN.
AND, UH, ONE OF THOSE BIG COMPONENTS IS INCOME.
SO YOU'LL SEE HERE ON THIS SLIDE THAT AUSTIN AND CALIFORNIA HAVE THE LOWEST ENERGY BURDEN, AND THAT'S BECAUSE THE INCOME LEVELS TEND TO BE HIGHER.
UH, BUT ADDITIONALLY YOU CAN SEE THAT SAN ANTONIO CUSTOMER'S ENERGY BURDEN IS REALLY LOWER THAN THE AVERAGE CUSTOMER ACROSS BOTH TEXAS AND THE UNITED STATES.
AND THAT REALLY IS LARGELY IN PART DUE TO OUR LOWER RATES HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, UH, WHEN YOU COMPARE IT TO THE NATIONAL AS WELL AS TO THE, THE TEXAS AVERAGE.
BUT WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO GO A LITTLE BIT DEEPER THAT WE CAN'T JUST LOOK AT THE AVERAGE.
SO WHAT, UH, BRATTLE REALLY, UH, RECOMMENDS TO DO, AND THIS IS ANOTHER INDUSTRY PRACTICE THAT WE CAN COMPARE, IS LOOKING AT QUINTILE.
SO BASICALLY YOU HAVE 20% OF YOUR, UH, COMMUNITY IN, IN FIVE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, AND IT'S BASED ON INCOME, LOWEST TO HIGHEST.
SO, UH, HERE BRATTLE HAS TO FIND THE FIVE INCOME QUINTILES FOR OUR COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS SOME LARGE, UH, METROPOLITAN AREAS FOR US.
AND THE, THE INCOME INTERVAL MEAN IS REALLY THE AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME WITHIN THAT GIVEN QUINTILE.
AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE, THE ROW, THE RIGHT LOWER, UM, RIGHT HAND, LOWER SIDE, THAT CHART THERE, UH, IT SHOWS THE RANGES, UH, SPECIFICALLY ON THE INTERVAL MEANS IT SHOWS YOU WHAT THAT THIRD INCOME LEVEL IS, UH, FOR THAT QUINTILE.
SO FOR SAN ANTONIO, THE THIRD QUINTILE IS CLOSE TO ABOUT $59,000 FROM AN INCOME STANDPOINT.
AND SO JUST KIND OF WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR BEING AT THE POVERTY LIMIT, THAT SORT OF THING, FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT ABOVE 200% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LIMIT.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT HOW INCOME IS DISTRIBUTED ACROSS DIFFERENT TEXAS CITIES, UH, YOU SEE THAT SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS, UM, EARN LESS THAN AUSTIN, DALLAS, AND HOUSTON RESIDENTS.
AND SO, AS I MENTIONED, KIND OF HOW THAT IMPACTS THE AUSTIN AND, UH, CALIFORNIA ENERGY BURDEN, IT ALSO IMPACTS OUR CUSTOMERS, RIGHT? SO WHILE OUR RATES ARE LOWER, OUR CUSTOMERS ALSO EXPERIENCE LOWER INCOME LEVELS.
SO THAT'S WHAT ONE OF THE BIG COMPONENTS OF WHAT, UH, CONTRIBUTES TO THE, UM, THE ENERGY BURN THAT OUR COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES.
BUT DESPITE THE FACT THAT SAN ANTONIO DOES, UH, SEE THAT IT'S THE, THE HIGHER ENERGY BURDEN WHEN YOU COMPARE US TO DALLAS OR HOUSTON, UM, IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO OUR RATES BEING LOWER.
WE KNOW THAT CONSUMPTION ALSO PLAYS A BIG PART OF THAT.
SO WHAT WE CAN DO, UH, AS WE'RE BUILDING THE NEWER STEP VERSION IS GONNA BE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
[00:30:01]
THAT WE KEEP AN EYE ON, ON CONSUMPTION, HOW WE CAN HELP INFLUENCE CUSTOMERS TO USE LESS, AS WELL AS MAINTAINING AFFORDABILITY IS, UH, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ACROSS ALL OF THE QUINTILES, BUT ESPECIALLY THE TWO LOWEST ONES.NOW, WHAT YOU'LL SEE HERE ON THE TWO LOWEST QUINTILES, SO THE FIRST AND SECOND, THIS WAS THE INITIAL STUDY, BUT WITH THE, THE MOST RECENT RATE INCREASE THAT WAS APPROVED AND EFFECTIVE IN MARCH FOR THE, THE, UH, FIRST QUARTILE, OUR FIRST QUINTILE THAT HAS THE LOWEST INCOME, BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT WE STRUCTURED THE AFFORDABILITY, AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM, YOU ACTUALLY, THOSE CUSTOMERS DIDN'T SEE A CHANGE.
IT DIDN'T HELP OR HURT THEIR, UH, THEIR ENERGY BURDEN.
AND THEN ON THE SECOND QUINTILE, THOSE CUSTOMERS ACTUALLY WITH THE CHANGES WE MADE FOR THE AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM, WENT FROM A 4.3% ENERGY BURDEN TO A 3.9% ENERGY BURDEN.
AND, AND ACCORDING TO BRATTLE AND MANY OF THE STU STUDIES, YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE SOMETHING THAT IS, UH, LESS THAN, UH, 5%, SIX TO 10% IS EXTREMELY, IS WITH, WITH ON THE EXTREME SIDE.
SO WHERE WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TARGETING THE RIGHT MESSAGING AND OUTREACH TO OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY FOR THE CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE, UH, THAT ARE FOLLOWING THESE LOWER QUINTILES, IS WHAT WE CAN, UH, BEST IMPACT AND HOW WE SHOULD MOVE FORWARD.
SO YOU'LL HOPEFULLY RECOGNIZE THIS NEXT SLIDE, ALSO A CITY SLIDE, BUT IT APPLIES FOR US TOO, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'VE BEEN, WHAT OUR HISTORY IS AND WHAT IMPACTS OUR COMMUNITY, AND THEN MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT DATA TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE TARGETING THE RIGHT MESSAGE TO THE RIGHT CUSTOMER AT THE RIGHT TIME.
AND THAT'S GONNA TAKE A WHILE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, WE GATHER THAT INFORMATION AND THEN TAKE A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO HELPING OUR COMMUNITY AND TO THOSE THAT HAVE THE HIGHEST ENERGY BURDEN.
SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE MANY OPTIONS TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY, UH, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT HAVE, UH, A HIGHER, UH, ENERGY BURDEN, BUT ALSO THOSE WHO ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVE CRITICAL CARE.
SO THAT'S PEOPLE WHO ARE DISABLED SENIOR CITIZENS PROGRAMS. BUT TAKING A HOLISTIC APPROACH IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE A DEDICATED TEAM AND OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM TO ENSURE THAT WE DO.
SO DOING THAT OUTREACH, MAKING SURE WE'RE TARGETING AND GETTING THE CUSTOMER SIGNED UP ON AS MANY PROGRAMS AS THEY QUALIFY FOR, IS ONE OF THE KEY COMPONENTS TO HELPING MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THE ENERGY BURDEN THAT CUSTOMERS ARE EXPERIENCING NOW.
UM, BUT WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO DO MORE.
AND, YOU KNOW, THIS CAME UP DURING THE STEP CONVERSATIONS AND WE'VE CON WE'VE ALREADY STARTED CHANGING OUR APPROACH, AND IT'S NOT JUST WAITING FOR CUSTOMERS TO COME TO US, IT'S GOING OUT TO CUSTOMERS.
SO MAKING SURE THAT WE LEVERAGE CENSUS TRACK.
SO ONE THING THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, AND YOU KNOW, IT WAS POINTED OUT I THINK, IN DECELERATION WHERE, UH, THESE ARE THE CENSUS TRACKS THAT YOU SHOULD USE.
SO WE LEVERAGE THAT INFORMATION, AND THIS IS WHERE WE'VE BEEN GOING, DOING DOOR HANGERS, KNOCKING ON CUSTOMERS' DOORS, ESPECIALLY FOR ARPA.
BUT AGAIN, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ANY EVENT THAT WE DO, IT'S, IT'S A HOLISTIC APPROACH.
WHEN WE TALK TO SOMEONE, IT'S WHAT ELSE ARE YOU STRUGGLING WITH? WHAT SERVICES DO WE HAVE THAT WE CAN SUPPORT? AND THEN HOW CAN WE GET YOU OTHER SUPPORT FOR WHATEVER OTHER NEEDS THAT YOU HAVE? SO WHAT WE'VE SEEN AND THE IMPACT THAT'S ALREADY HAD FROM AN ARPA PERSPECTIVE IS, UH, WE'VE, UH, THIS IS AS OF THE END OF MAY.
WE HAD ALREADY RECEIVED ALMOST 18,000 APPLICATIONS FOR ARPA.
WE ARE NOW OVER 18,000 APPLICATIONS.
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UH, PROCESS ABOUT A LITTLE OVER $5 MILLION IN CREDITS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, AND WE'RE STILL GOING THROUGH PROCESSING THEM.
UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S A PRETTY LONG PROCESS TO, TO MANUALLY APPLY THE, THE CREDITS.
WE HAVE THE BENEFIT OF THE, UH, AUTO ENROLLMENT THAT WE WERE ABLE TO WORK OUT WITH CITY STAFF.
UH, BUT IT'S STILL A VERY, IT'S A 22 YEAR OLD SYSTEM, SO IT JUST TAKES MANUAL RESOURCES TO CALCULATE AND PROCESS THOSE CREDITS.
SO WE'RE WORKING THROUGH IT, BUT WE THINK THAT WE HAVE THE $20 MILLION ALREADY SPENT.
IT'S JUST WORKING THROUGH THE PROCESS TO GET THOSE APPLIED.
AND I, I SHARED SOME OF THAT INFORMATION IN THE EMAILS THAT I SENT OUT YESTERDAY, AS WELL AS I KNOW THAT THE CITY STAFF HAS ASKED FOR SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CURRENT INFORMATION.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION BY DISTRICT.
AND THEN THE AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM, WE TALKED, I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT THIS IS HAVING ON OUR QUINTILES, UH, SPECIFICALLY THE, UH, SECOND QUINTILE, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAD DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE COULD TO REDUCE THE, UM, THE ENERGY BURDEN FOR THESE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE, THAT QUALIFY.
AND, UH, ONE OF THE COMMITMENTS THAT WE HAD DURING THE RATE INCREASE WAS TO INCREASE OUR ENROLLMENT TO 65,000 CUSTOMERS.
AND SO WE'RE CURRENTLY, UH, AROUND
[00:35:01]
62,000 CUSTOMERS.SO WE HAVE ABOUT THREE, 300, 3000 CUSTOMERS LEFT TO GO.
AND WE DO THINK THAT BY END OF END OF THE SUMMER, WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE THE, THE FULL 65,000 ENROLLED.
AND AS I MENTIONED, IT'S, IT'S GOTTA BE A HOLISTIC APPROACH, AND WE'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT PARTNERS.
AND I KNOW IN THE PAST WE'VE BEEN ASKED FOR WHAT PARTNERS THAT WE WORK WITH ON A REGULAR BASIS.
HERE'S A LIST OF ABOUT A HUNDRED, UH, PARTNERS THAT WE HAVE TODAY.
AND WE CONTINUE TO BE OPEN TO FINDING THE RIGHT RESOURCES, THE RIGHT PARTNERS, SO THAT WHEN WE'RE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, WE CAN HELP BE THAT, THAT ANCHOR TO SAY IT'S NOT, WE KNOW THAT ENERGY IS JUST A COMPONENT OF, OR, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE'S UTILITY BILL IS JUST A COMPONENT OF THE BILLS THAT THEY HAVE TO PAY.
IF THEY HAVE AN ENER HIGH ENERGY BURDEN, THEY POSSIBLY HAVE OTHER BURDENS OUT THERE.
SO HOW DO WE BRING THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO THE RIGHT PLACE TO PROVIDE A SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR THOSE THAT NEED IT THE MOST? SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO, UH, BUILD ON WHAT OUR APPROACH IS.
AND, UH, ONE THING, I HAD A MEETING LAST WEEK, AND WE'RE GONNA DO LOOK AT DOING SOME TRAINING INTERNALLY AT C P S WITH THE CITY TRAINERS ON, UH, THE EQUITY APPROACH.
ALSO, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT WAYS THAT WE CAN LEVERAGE THE EQUITY ATLAS THAT THE CITY HAS, AND THEN HOW WE CAN OVERLAY OUR DATA ONTO THAT.
SO YOU'RE USED TO SEEING THE SAME INFORMATION IN THE SAME, IN THE SAME WAY.
AND IT ALSO HELPS US SHOW THAT WE ARE TARGETING THE RIGHT, UH, PARTS OF OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO TARGET OUR OUTREACH AND OUR SUPPORT, UH, SO THAT WE'RE USING THAT EQUITY LENS AND REMOVING BARRIERS FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS THAT NEED IT, NEED ACCESS TO OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THE MOST.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH OUR RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, CONTINUING TO UPDATE THE INFORMATION, PROVIDE THEM WITH THE MOST CURRENT INFORMATION.
SO AS WE GO THROUGH OUR RATE DESIGN, THAT THEY HAVE THE INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION USING, UH, AN EQUITY LENS.
AND, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY AS WE MOVE THROUGH EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING, IT'S ABOUT PARTNERSHIP, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE, REMOVING BARRIERS, IDENTIFYING HOW WE CAN IMPROVE ACCESS, JUST AND HAVE THE RIGHT PRODUCT SERVICES AND SUPPORT FOR THE CUSTOMERS THAT NEED IT THE MOST.
AND, AND REALLY TARGETING AND STARTING WITH THE ENERGY BURDEN.
THAT'S ALL THAT I HAVE LOTS OF INFORMATION, SO ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
I HAVE A WHOLE SLEW OF FRIENDS HERE WITH ME.
UM, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS THAT CAME THROUGH ALONG THIS.
THERE WAS, UH, A REPORT ABOUT EQUITY, ENERGY BURDEN, AND CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE.
AND, UH, YOU NOT GOING TO COMMENT ON THAT.
UH, I THINK IT WAS PAGE 20 IN THE, UH, HANDOUT OR THE REPORT THAT WAS SENT TO ME AND IT GOT INTO GREATER DETAIL, AFFORDABILITY, DISCOUNT PROGRAM, UH, RESIDENTIAL ASSISTANCE, PARTNERSHIP, REAP, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE WERE MENTIONED CASA VERDICT.
SO YOU'RE NOT, YOU WEREN'T PREPARED TO GO OVER THOSE.
WE CAN, THAT WAS ACTUALLY JUST WHAT WE MEANT TO BE PART OF THE APPENDIX TO GO INTO A DEEP DIVE OF EACH OF THOSE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE AND WHAT, WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE TODAY, UH, JUST TO GIVE CONTEXT ON WHAT THOSE ARE.
WE'LL SEE IF ANY OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS WANT TO ASK ABOUT THAT.
UM, SO I'LL OPEN THIS UP NOW FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT ANY OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE.
WE'LL START WITH COUNCILWOMAN CAB HAVADA.
UM, YOU SAID SOMETHING TODAY, I AM GRATEFUL THAT, UH, C P S UNDERSTANDS YOU MENTIONED THAT, UM, YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE CUSTOMER.
WE JUST, YOU HAVE TO FIND THEM.
YOU CAN'T, WE CAN'T ALWAYS RELY ON THEM TO COME TO US BECAUSE THEY'RE BUSY WORKING AND, UM, OF COURSE, TAKING CARE OF THEIR FAMILIES.
AND, UH, THEY DON'T ALWAYS MAYBE KNOW ABOUT THE PROGRAMS. AND WHILE I KNOW THAT THE EVENTS THAT YOU'VE HAD, AT LEAST IN MY DISTRICT, HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL, THE, UM, EVENTS TO, TO CALL PEOPLE IN, TO GET ON PAYMENT PLANS OR UNDERSTAND ABOUT PROGRAMS, UM, THEY DON'T ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT THEM.
AND SO I THINK, UH, FOR, FOR ALL OF THE EFFORTS THAT THE CITY THAT C P SS HAS MADE, UM, I THINK SHORT OF LIKE CONSTANT COMMERCIALS ON TV, PEOPLE AREN'T GONNA, YOU KNOW, ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT IT.
SO I, I DO APPRECIATE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT AND YOU'RE GOING TO WHERE THE CUSTOMER IS.
LAST WEEK WE SPOKE WITH MEMBERS FROM THE COMMUNITY WORKERS COUNCIL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION IN MY DISTRICT, AND ONE OF THEIR MAIN CONCERNS WAS THE NUMBER OF SENIORS THAT, UM, ARE NOT RECEIVING ASSISTANCE AND, UM, AND OF COURSE, CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY THEIR ELECTRICITY BILL.
DO YOU KNOW, UH, BY, BY CHANCE HOW MANY SENIORS ARE ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM? AND, UM, IF YOU COULD BREAK THAT DOWN BY DISTRICT, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TOO.
I THINK WE CAN, CAN GET THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU.
AND ARE WE SPECIFICALLY TARGETING SENIORS? UM, OR WHAT ARE WE DOING TO, TO, SO YES, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM DOES GO OUT TO, UH, DIFFERENT, IT'S A COMBINATION.
[00:40:01]
SOMETIMES IT'S GOING TO NURSING HOMES AND, UH, CONNECTING WITH THEM THERE, OR IT'S ALSO GOING TO, UH, COMMUNITY EVENTS.SO CHURCHES, PLACES THAT THERE POTENTIALLY ARE SENIOR CITIZENS, BUT WE'LL BE HAPPY TO TALK TO MORE CUSTOMERS AND, AND HELP IDENTIFY THOSE WHO ARE, UH, ELIGIBLE FOR OUR PROGRAMS AND GET THEM SIGNED UP.
SO AGAIN, ANY RESOURCES THAT YOU HAVE, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO WORK WITH.
HAVE Y'ALL BEEN TO THE, THE CITY SENIOR CENTERS? TO THE ACTUAL SENIOR CENTERS? OKAY.
THAT'S, I THINK, THE BEST PLACE TO GATHER THERE, UM, DAILY FOR THE MOST PART.
AND I KNOW THAT, UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, WE HAVE A PRESIDENT'S MEETING, UH, IN, UM, IN MY DISTRICT, BUT EVEN JUST H O A MEETINGS THAT, LIKE, I'D LOVE FOR YOU GUYS TO COME TALK TO COMMUNITY WORKERS NEXT MONTH WHEN, AND A LOT OF HOAS ARE NOT MEETINGS STILL, BUT, UM, EVEN BY ZOOM THERE, SOME OF 'EM ARE.
AND COMMUNITY WORKERS JUST STARTED UP AGAIN.
SO I'D LOVE FOR YOU GUYS TO ATTEND THOSE KINDS OF MEETINGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEY MAYBE HAVE 10 PEOPLE OR SO, BUT THEY HAVE A FAR REACH.
THEY'RE, UH, WHAT I CALL CONNECTORS IN THE COMMUNITY, RIGHT? AND THEY'LL GO OUT AND THEY'LL TELL, UM, THE OTHER RESIDENTS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS WHAT, WHAT THERE IS TO OFFER.
SO EVEN IF YOU CAN GIVE ME SOME FLYERS TO TAKE TO THEM BECAUSE THEY COULD PASS THOSE OUT THEMSELVES MM-HMM.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF IT IS TRUST.
THEY HAVE TO TRUST THAT THESE, THESE, UM, UH, PROGRAMS ARE THERE FOR THEM AND, AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY THINGS BACK AND, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THAT.
BUT, UH, IF WE HAVE THESE CONNECTORS IN THE COMMUNITY HANDING OUT THE FLYERS OR TALKING TO THEM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
AND WE CAN, WE CAN GET FLYERS THROUGH YOUR CREW MEMBER TO YOU AS WELL AS WE CAN.
WE'LL BE HAPPY TO SET UP, I KNOW WE HAVE SOME AT OUR, UH, AT OUR FIELD OFFICE, BUT, UM, AS WE GO OUT TO H O A MEETINGS, JUST, UM, BE ABLE TO HAND THOSE OUT AND TALK ABOUT IT.
UM, I JUST ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE, UM, HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LET YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE CURRENTLY OVER 57,000 SENIORS ENROLLED IN OUR SENIOR CITIZENS BILLING DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
BUT WE DO MARKET SPECIFICALLY TO SENIORS IN EVERY OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAVE.
ALSO CURRENTLY WORKING WITH MEALS ON WHEELS, UM, TO MARKET EVEN MORE TO SENIORS, UM, AND HOPEFULLY BUILD OUT THAT PARTNERSHIP THROUGH ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS. SO THAT'S GREAT.
THAT'S, I KNOW WE'VE, UM, SEVERAL OF US HAVE DELIVERED MEALS ON WHEELS AND, UM, THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE THAT ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION OTHERWISE, SO WE COULD HAND THEM THE FLYER AS WELL.
WHAT ABOUT FOR VETERANS? DO WE HAVE, DO WE TARGET SPECIFICALLY VETERANS? WE CURRENTLY HAVE A BURNED VETERANS DISCOUNT PROGRAM.
UM, BUT THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY ABSOLUTELY.
AND A WHOLE NOTHER MARKET THAT WE CAN, UM, LOOK INTO.
SO WE'D BE HAPPY TO EXPAND THERE AS WELL.
YEAH, THERE, UH, THE VFWS THERE'S A LOT OF SENIORS THERE TOO THAT, THAT GO AND GATHER.
UM, THERE'S A REAL ACTIVE ONE, MY DISTRICT, UH, PIN ROAD.
I'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE, UH, INFORMATION THERE AS WELL.
BUT EVEN AS, AS WE GO TO PLACES, YOU KNOW, WE'LL CONTINUE TO INVITE YOU AND YOU HAVE BEEN VERY PRESENT IN, IN THE CITY, SO I'M GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
UH, BUT JUST KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WE GOTTA EVERY FILL EVERY GAP THAT WE CAN.
DID YOU HAVE MEMBERS ON OUR OUTREACH TEAM THAT ACTUALLY PATROL THEIR PARTS OF TOWN AND GO LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO, TO BE PARTICIPATING IN EVENTS AND MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS? SO WE WILL SPECIFICALLY ADD OUTREACH TO VETERANS ORGANIZATIONS TO THEIR LIST.
UM, I, I HAVE A QUESTION ON THE, UM, AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT.
UM, WELL, HOW MUCH OF, WHAT IS THAT DISCOUNT OFF YOUR BILL? IT IS ABOUT $15.
UH, SO IT'S, I, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT IT IS A YEAR, BUT IT IS ABOUT $15.
AND DO WE IN ANY WAY TARGET PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM? FOR WHAT? DO WE REVIEW THAT FOR WEATHERIZATION? WE DO.
WE, WHENEVER WE SIGN SOMEONE UP FOR ANY PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE, WE LOOK ACROSS THE BOARD OF ALL OF THE PROGRAMS THAT BOTH WE HAVE SAWS HAS AND SAYS, HEY, YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS, YOU WANNA SIGN UP FOR THAT? SO WEATHERIZATION, ARPA AS WELL.
IT, THE ARPA APPLICATIONS THAT WE RECEIVED WAS VERY HELPFUL IN GETTING SOME MORE, UH, ENROLLMENTS IN TERMS OF, UH, CUSTOMERS FOR, FOR BOTH PROGRAMS. GOT IT.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I'M REALLY, AGAIN, YOU GUYS HAVE HEARD THIS FROM ME.
I'M INTERESTED IN HOW CAN WE USE TECHNOLOGY AND DATA TO, TO BE ABLE TO TARGET THE PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP THE MOST WHEN IT COMES TO WEATHERIZATION OR ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
YOU KNOW, ONE THING I WAS THINKING ABOUT, UH, AS YOU WERE GIVING THIS PRESENTATION IS GASTON YOUR GAS SNIFFER VEHICLE.
AND I WAS THINKING ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN TAKE, UH, LIKE A, A THERMAL IMAGE OF A, A HOUSE AND SEE HOW, YOU KNOW, IF IT NEEDS, UH, SOME WEATHERIZATION IF IT'S, YOU CAN SEE IF THERE'S A LOT OF, OR AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADE BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF ENERGY THAT'S BEING LEAKED OUTTA THAT HOUSE.
AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S, IF IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO SET UP ANY KIND OF A PROGRAM WHERE A CAR WOULD JUST DRIVE BY AND TAKE THERMAL IMAGES OF THE FRONT OF HOUSES.
IT LOOKS LIKE MAYBE YOU GUYS ARE ALREADY DOING THAT.
I'M SEEING NO
[00:45:01]
UH, OF TESTING THE AIRFLOW COMING IN AND OUT AS PART OF THE INSTALLATION, RIGHT.SO RICK, YOU WANNA, I THINK WE DO THAT ALREADY, BUT WE ARE DRIVING GUST STONE, UH, PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND, AND IF YOU WANT MORE ON THAT, WE CAN HAVE RICHARD COME UP AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT IT.
UH, SO, SO WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY DOING LIKE STREET SIDE, UH, THERMAL IMAGING OF, UH, OF CUSTOMER HOMES.
UH, OF COURSE, IF A CUSTOMER DOES SIGN UP FOR THE PROGRAM FOR WEATHERIZATION AND SO FORTH, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WILL DO THAT.
BUT, UH, BUT I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA WE CAN LOOK INTO IS, UH, WHETHER THERE'S A WAY TO DO THAT SORT OF IN A STREAMLINED WAY AND, UH, BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY, UH, UM, THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
SO I THINK WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL PURSUE THAT SUGGESTION.
IT'S JUST A, AN IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT MAKES SENSE, MAYBE IT DOESN'T, BUT THAT, THAT, TO FIND OUT WHO, WHO WOULD BENEFIT THE MOST FROM WEATHERIZATION OR ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS WHEN YOU SEE OUTLIERS, UM, RIGHT.
IF YOU'RE JUST TAKING THERMAL IMAGES OF THE FRONT OF THE, OF YOUR CUSTOMER'S HOUSES.
AND IT MAY NOT BE DEFINITIVE, BUT AT LEAST IT MIGHT POINT YOU IN A INNER DIRECTION ON, ON SOME CUSTOMERS.
COUNCILMAN COUNCILWOMAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YES.
UM, AND I APPRECIATE THE, THE FOCUS THAT YOU HAD ON EQUITY.
I I DO THINK THAT WE SHOULD BE APPROACHING THIS FROM AN ENERGY EQUITY LENS.
SO, SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR CLARIFYING THOSE.
AS WE DEVELOP OUR EQUITY STRATEGY, THE NEXT STEP IS TO ENGAGE SOME OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS, RIGHT? AND SO, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE THAT A LOT OF THE RESIDENTS THAT, UM, I REPRESENT ARE NOT ABLE TO, UH, AFFORD THE UPFRONT COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH SOME OF THE APPLIANCES, UH, OR, OR SOME OF THE, THE PROGRAMS THAT, UM, ARE, ARE AVAILABLE.
AND, UM, I, I READ AN INTERESTING LITERATURE REVIEW, AND SO THEY, THEY SAID EXACTLY THE SAME THING, THAT A MAJORITY OF UTILITY ENERGY EFFICIENT PROGRAMS REQUIRE THAT UP UPFRONT CUSTOMER INVESTMENT TO LEVERAGE REBATES AND ASSOCIATE SAVINGS.
SO IT'S UNFAVORABLE TO LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS.
SO I, I APPRECIATE THE CONTINUED FOCUS ON THIS.
UM, I, I ALSO KNOW WITHIN THAT ARTICLE, UM, THE, THE REFERENCE TO SUBURBAN POVERTY INCREASING, UM, MY RESIDENTS DON'T HAVE ACCESS SOMETIMES DIGITAL ACCESS, RIGHT? SO THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE PROGRAMS. SO I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN HOW THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT WILL BE DONE FOR THOSE FAMILIES SPECIFICALLY, AND, AND MAYBE WHAT KIND OF INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS YOU ALL ARE LOOKING FOR, OR WHAT OTHER ENTITIES YOU'RE WORKING WITH TO, TO TRY TO REACH THE CUSTOMERS THAT I REPRESENT.
WE'LL BE SURE TO PULL TOGETHER WHAT THAT FULL, UH, ENGAGEMENT, UH, PROCESS LOOKS LIKE AS WE BUILD IT OUT, AND THEN EN ENGAGE YOU FOR ANY RECOMMENDATIONS AND ENSURE THAT WE'RE TALKING TO ALL MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT, UH, NEED IT MOST.
RIGHT? SO REMOVING BARRIERS AND IMPROVING ACCESS IS THE FIRST TWO STEPS TO WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
AND I KNOW, AND, AND YOU ALL HAVE HEARD THIS BEFORE, RIGHT? BUT THE, THE WEALTH DISPARITY AND SO THE INTERSECTION OF RACE AND ETHNICITY AND, UM, THESE, THESE PROBLEMS THAT HAVE BEEN COMING ALONG FOR YEARS, UH, THE HOUSING STOCK, THE QUALITY SPECIFICALLY, RIGHT? THE, THE WAY THAT A HOUSE IS BUILT, UM, I THINK WE DEFINITELY NEED TO TAKE THIS INTO CONSIDERATION, THE AGES OF, OF THE HOMES.
SOME FAMILIES THAT MIGHT WANT TO BE, WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO, RIGHT? AND SO I DO THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION, UM, PROBABLY SOONER THAN LATER, RIGHT? UM, AND, AND, AND SEE IF WE CAN GET KIND OF A, UM, I GUESS A HEAT MAP, RIGHT, OF SOME OF THESE AREAS THAT MIGHT NEED SOME ADDITIONAL SUPPORT JUST BECAUSE OF THE HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS THEMSELVES.
UM, AND THEN ALSO AS WE TALK ABOUT AT THE CITY OF, UM, CITY, UH, OR, OR REHAB, UM, AND OWNER OCCUPIED AS, AS WE THINK OF, UH, HOME REPAIR PROGRAMS. UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW, MAYBE YOU ALL ARE ALREADY WORKING WITH OUR, UH, DEPARTMENTS HERE AT THE CITY THAT, THAT FOCUS ON THAT, BUT, UM, DEFINITELY PARTNERSHIPS WITH THEM.
OUR CRITICAL, I THINK YOU REFERENCED SOMETHING, I'M SO SORRY I HAD TO STEP OUTSIDE.
I MIGHT HAVE MISSED THAT PART OF IT.
UM, BUT, UH, I DEFINITELY THINK THAT WE NEED TO ALIGN WITH THIS, AND THEN OF COURSE, WITH, UM, MULTIFAMILY AND RENTAL MARKETS AND, AND WE KNOW THAT THERE IS A NEED.
UM, AND SO UPFRONT TO UPFRONT THAT UP OR TO WORK ON THAT UPFRONT WOULD PROBABLY BE BENEFICIAL TO ALL.
BUT THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS, AND I WOULD BE HAPPY TO, UM, GET WITH YOU ALL OFFLINE AND, AND MAYBE HAVE A, UM, A LARGER DISCUSSION ON SOME OF THE IDEAS ON HOW TO ENGAGE, UH, STAKEHOLDERS.
AND, UH, ANOTHER PIECE I KNOW, SO KJ FEDDER MENTIONED THE, UH, COLLABORATION THAT WE HAVE ON MILLS ON WHEELS.
ONE THING THAT THEY'VE ALSO TALKED ABOUT IS HELPING US WHEN WE WANNA HAVE, WHEN WE IDENTIFY SOMEONE THAT WE CAN, UH, WEATHERIZE THEIR HOME, POTENTIALLY THEY HAVE SOME FUNDS THAT THEY CAN HELP WITH THE STRUCTURE OF THE HOUSE SO THAT, UH, WE CAN DO MORE TO GET, UH, THE MONEY WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE THE MOST.
[00:50:01]
YOU HAVE ABOUT 14 OPTIONS TO SUPPORT, UH, PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, REGARDING THEIR ENERGY, UH, BURDEN.ONE OF COURSE, WAS THE ARPA FUNDS THAT THE CITY'S PROVIDED.
AND SO I WOULD SAY EXCLUDING THAT, WHAT ARE THE DOLLAR COSTS ANNUALLY TO C P S TO RUN ALL OF THESE SUPPORT OPTIONS, WE CAN DEFINITELY GET YOU THAT.
I DON'T THINK WE'VE DONE THAT ANALYSIS.
I DON'T HAVE IT, BUT WE'LL FOLLOW THAT UP.
YEAH, I'D LIKE TO SEE THE DOLLAR COST, BUT ALSO WHAT ARE THE DOLLAR SAVINGS THAT COME OUT OF SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS? SO IF IT COSTS X AMOUNT OF MILLIONS TO, TO PROVIDE ALL OF THESE, DO WE SEE ALSO, ON THE OTHER HAND, A, A COST SAVINGS BECAUSE WE'RE HELPING PEOPLE LOWER THEIR ENERGY BILL, WHATEVER.
SO, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO SEE US LOOK AT.
UM, AND ARE WE LOOKING AT ANY FEDERAL OR STATE GRANTS OTHER THAN WHAT THE CITY MAY HAVE JUST PUT FORWARD, UH, TO SUPPORT PEOPLE WHO ARE ENERGY CHALLENGED? COUNCILMAN? YOU KNOW, I'M ON ERIC'S BIWEEKLY CALLS WHERE WE'RE IDENTIFYING GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, AND I ACTUALLY JUST, I GET EMAILS, ALL THE CEOS OF PUBLIC POWER UTILITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ACTUALLY GET A GRANT EMAIL FROM OUR LARGE PUBLIC POWER COUNCIL AND AMERICAN PUBLIC POWER ASSOCIATION.
AND I'VE DIRECTED DEANNA AND JONATHAN AND OTHERS IN THE ROOM, UH, WHO ARE, UH, WE'VE NEVER REALLY BEEN, UM, UH, REAL AGGRESSIVE ABOUT, ABOUT GOING AFTER GRANTS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, THE CITY MANAGERS, YOU KNOW, ROUND TABLE HAS, HAS HIGHLIGHTED IS THAT WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO BUILD THAT CAPACITY.
I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THE CONVERSATION, UH, Y'ALL HAD THE CONVERSATION LAST WEEK ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT.
I THINK THAT'S AN AREA OF OPPORTUNITY THAT WE'RE REALLY GONNA FOCUS ON.
UH, AS WELL AS OTHER, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'VE GONE, WE'VE ASKED FOR EARMARKS FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHERIZATION DOLLARS, UH, AND WE DO, WE, UM, SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO, TO CHASE, UH, GRANT DOLLARS.
UH, BUT, BUT AGAIN, UH, WE'RE JUST KIND OF BUILDING THAT CAPACITY UP RIGHT NOW.
WELL, THE REASON WHY I ASKED THIS IS, I KNOW YESTERDAY YOUR COUNCIL MEETING, UH, COUNCILMAN STEEN WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE 150 TO $160 MILLION AND STILL UNCOLLECTED REVENUE FROM CUSTOMERS.
AND I'M JUST WONDERING, CAN THESE PROGRAMS CONTINUE TO BE OFFERED WHEN, WHEN YOU'RE IN SUCH A HOLE, UH, ON, ON THESE ISSUES? SO, UH, DEANNA AND, AND KJ AND THE TEAM HAVE, YOU KNOW, THROUGH VARIOUS PARTNERSHIPS, BEEN ABLE TO, UH, HELP CUSTOMERS OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS WITH CLOSE TO $60 MILLION IN DIRECT BILL PAYMENT ASSISTANCE, WHICH IMPACTS, UH, OUR BOTTOM LINE.
A LOT OF THE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE OFF TODAY AREN'T THE SAME CUSTOMERS WHO WERE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHO WERE BEHIND DURING THE PANDEMIC.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THOSE FOLKS HAVE GOTTEN CAUGHT UP FROM ASSISTANCE THAT WE'VE, UH, GOTTEN AND OTHERS HAVE, HAVE NOW GONE ON THAT LIST, UH, BEHIND DUE TO, YOU KNOW, JUST WHATEVER THE, THE, THE SCENARIO.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT IN A LOT DIFFERENT POSITION, YOU KNOW, MR. SCENE, YOU KNOW, TALKED ABOUT 160 MILLION.
WE'VE BEEN BETWEEN 130 AND 150, 160 FOR A GOOD WHILE NOW.
UM, AND BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I'LL, I'LL TAKE CRITICISM FOR BEING COMPASSIONATE FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE JOBS, YOU KNOW, AND, AND US TRYING TO MANAGE, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR BAD DEBT, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR UNCOLLECTIBLE TO THE, TO TO, UH, AND WE'VE DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF ACTUALLY MANAGING IT.
WE'RE NOW MOVING BACK TOWARDS THE DISCONNECTION PROCESS, YOU KNOW, WHICH REALLY INCENSE PEOPLE TO CALL US TO WORK OUT, UH, BILL PAYMENT PLANS.
AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE DOING THAT, UH, THE, WE'VE HAD 21, UH, DAYS OVER A HUNDRED DEGREES SO FAR SINCE, SINCE MAY.
AND EVERY TIME WE HAVE A HEATING DEGREE DAY LIKE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE SUSPEND DISCONNECTS, WHICH AGAIN, IS THE RIGHT THING, UH, TO DO.
SO IT'S UP TO ME AND MY LEADERSHIP TEAM TO MANAGE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THIS.
BUT ONCE WE GET BACK TOWARDS SEPTEMBER AND WE START, YOU KNOW, UH, WHERE FOLKS HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, ARE GONNA GET, START WORRYING ABOUT BEING DISCONNECTED AGAIN, I THINK YOU'LL SEE FOLKS WHO CAN PAY PAY.
AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK AND, YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN, UH, A SUBJECT OF CONVERSATION BETWEEN US AND, UH, AND BEN AND, AND THE, THE CITY FINANCE TEAM ABOUT WHAT OPTIONS WE HAVE, UH, TO DEAL WITH, YOU KNOW, THE LONGER TERM IMPLICATIONS OF, OF, UH, CUSTOMERS WHO CAN'T PAY THEIR BILLS.
IF YOU, IF YOU PULL SOME OF THOSE LEVERS TOO SOON, COUNCILMAN, THEN WHAT YOU DO IS, YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, IF TODAY WE DECIDED WE'RE GONNA BUY DOWN THE WHOLE $160 MILLION AND LET PEOPLE START OVER, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
I MEAN, THERE ARE WAYS WE CAN DO THAT.
UM, THEN AT THE END OF THE SUMMER, YOU'RE GONNA SEE 'EM RIGHT BACK WHERE THEY ARE.
RIGHT? AND SO WE WANNA AVOID THAT SCENARIO WHERE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A TEMPORARY BANDAID AND YOU
[00:55:01]
KNOW, IT'S NOT A PERMANENT SOLUTION COME SEPTEMBER, YOU KNOW, WE WILL HAVE, YOU KNOW, A GOOD SENSE, I THINK OC SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER A GOOD SENSE OF WHERE WE STAND AND THEN WE CAN EMPLOY, YOU KNOW, SOLUTIONS THAT HELP US, YOU KNOW, CREATE A SUSTAINABLE PATH FORWARD.BUT, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT AGAIN, OUR FINANCIALS ARE FINE.
WE'RE HAVING A GOOD YEAR THIS YEAR.
YOU KNOW, THE LIQUIDITY IS NOT AN ISSUE.
UM, WE'RE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR SUMMER PEAK SEASON, WHICH UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, I MEAN WITH THE HEAT, CUSTOMERS ARE GONNA FEEL IT.
UH, AND SO WE GOTTA WORK WITH THEM ON THAT AND TRY TO DO THE BEST WE CAN.
BUT, BUT WE'RE DOING WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO MANAGE THIS.
UH, AND, AND AGAIN, I THINK, UH, WE GET TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR, I THINK WE'LL HAVE A LOT BETTER PICTURE OF WHERE WE, WHERE WE ARE.
IT'S, IT'S JUST BEEN A CONFLUENCE OF, OF, OF, OF CONDITIONS THAT HAVE DRIVEN THE, THE SOLUTION OUT FURTHER.
AND, AND REALLY WE'D BE IN A BETTER SHAPE RIGHT NOW IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT EARLY SEASON, YOU KNOW, HEAT AND THAT, THAT JUST KIND OF IS WHAT IT IS.
UM, THERE USED TO BE AN A, ANOTHER PROGRAM, I THINK REAP TOOK IT OVER.
WHAT WAS THAT OTHER PROGRAM THAT WAS SUPPORT? YEAH, IT WAS THE WARM FUNDS.
AND SO HOW WAS THAT BLENDED INTO THIS? UH, WE, SO WE PROJECT WARM, RIGHT? PROJECT WARM.
SO WHAT WE DID IS WE FOLDED THE DOLLARS THAT WERE IN PROJECT WARM INTO, UH, REAP.
SO NOW IT'S JUST ONE PROGRAM ALL UNDER REAP BASED ON, UH, IT'S ALL INCOME QUALIFICATION AND A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN US, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY.
HOW DID THE MONEY COME INTO PROJECT WARM? IF YOU'VE STOPPED THAT, DOES THAT MONEY NOT COME FROM ANY PLACE ANYMORE? THAT'S
UM, SO THE MONEY THAT CAME FROM PROJECT WARM WENT INTO THE CORPUS FOR REAP.
SO THOSE FUNDS ARE SITTING IN BASICALLY GAINING INTEREST.
AND THEN WE USED THE INTEREST FROM THOSE FUNDS TO, UM, HELP SUPPORT CUSTOMERS THROUGH THE REAP PROGRAM.
SO CUSTOMERS BEFORE PROJECT WARM WAS ONLY AVAILABLE DURING THE COLD MONTHS.
SO YOU COULD APPLY FOR EXTRA HELP DURING THE COLD MONTHS, BUT NOW THROUGH REAP YOU CAN APPLY IT ANYTIME AND THAT'S UP TO $400 A YEAR IN ASSISTANCE.
WHAT WAS THAT CORPUS THAT YOU PUT INTO REAP? THAT WAS THE MONEY THAT CAME FROM PROJECT WARM.
I THINK IT WAS MORE THAT 6 MILLION.
WE CAN DOUBLE CHECK AND GET BACK TO YOU.
IT WAS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT 'CAUSE IT WAS JUST SITTING IN THE PROJECT FORUM NOT BEING USED.
SO JUST THE INTEREST OFF OF THAT IS BEING USED RIGHT NOW TO YES.
AND THEN, UM, C P S ENERGY DONATES A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR TO, TO IT AS WELL.
AND THEN THROUGH OUR UNITED WAY FUNDRAISING PROGRAM, OUR GIRLS GIVING IN OUR GOLF TOURNAMENT.
UM, AND THEN EMPLOYEE DONATIONS, WE ALSO DONATE DIRECTLY TO REAP.
AND THEN WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY, UH, FOR THE CITIZENS TO DONATE VIA TEXT AND FACEBOOK.
YEAH, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF WE ROB PETER TO PAY PAUL ON THAT, BUT I, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
OKAY, ON PAGE 13, YOU HAD TALKED ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMER OUTREACH.
UH, I'D LIKE TO KNOW IS, ARE THE AUTOMATED CALLS AND HOUSEHOLDS VISITED THROUGH BLOCK WALKING STILL ONGOING, OR WERE THOSE THE FINAL RESULTS? IT'S STILL ONGOING AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO, UH, FIGURE OUT HOW TO GROW THIS.
SO WE STOOD THIS UP AS A RESULT FOR, FOR ARPA, BUT IT'S BEEN SUCCESSFUL AND WE'VE HAD SUCH A, A GREAT RESPONSE FROM THE COMMUNITY ON SEEING US OUT IN, IN THERE.
SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UH, AS PART OF STEP, EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO LEVERAGE THE RIGHT DATA TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE KNOCKING ON THE RIGHT HO HOUSES.
SO IT'D BE FAIR TO SAY IN THREE MONTHS OR SIX MONTHS, IF WE REVIEWED THIS AGAIN, THERE MIGHT BE 20,000 CALLS MADE IN 5,000 HOUSES VISITED OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
IT'S A, IT'S AN ONGOING PROCESS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY FACE-TO-FACE PERSON TO PERSON THAT HAS THE BEST INFLUENCE ON TRYING TO CONVINCE PEOPLE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING YOU CAN VALUE, YOU CAN GET VALUE OUT OF.
SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS CONTINUING.
UM, ON PAGE 16, NO, PAGE 15, UH, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT YOUR ENROLLMENT, UH, IN, UH, THE AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT PROGRAM,
NOW, HOW MIGHT, UH, A NEW RATE STRUCTURE HELP THESE 65,000 HOUSEHOLDS FROM FALLING INTO A GREATER DEBT BURDEN? UH, SO ARE WE GOING TO BE STRUCTURING SOMETHING IN A WAY OF NEW RATES THAT, THAT CAN HELP LOWER THESE NUMBERS? BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 65,000 HOUSEHOLDS BY THE END OF THE SUMMER, BUT THAT REPRESENTS PROBABLY 300,000 PEOPLE.
UH, AND THE, THE RACK, I PRESUME IS GOING TO BE CONTINUING AND YOU KNOW, WE HEARD, I GUESS EARLY ESTIMATES THAT MAY BE TWO YEARS.
THE RACK MIGHT RECOMMEND ANOTHER RATE INCREASE.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW HOW ALL OF THAT'S GONNA TURN OUT, BUT, YOU KNOW, HOW MIGHT A NEW RATE STRUCTURE HELP US LOWER
[01:00:01]
THESE 65,000 HOUSEHOLDS, UH, FROM GETTING INTO GRADED DEBT BURDEN? HEY, COUNCILMAN GGE? YEAH, SO TO THAT POINT, IF YOU RECALL DURING UH, DISCUSSIONS DURING THE RATE CASE WE TALKED ABOUT, ONE OF THE COMMITMENTS WE MADE WAS TO HAVE THAT RATE DESIGN CONVERSATION INCLUSIVE IN THAT WOULD BE ADDRESSING AND LOOKING AT THIS TYPE OF, YOU KNOW, ISSUE.WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IS WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR COST OF SERVICE STUDIES.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE FOUNDATIONAL EXERCISE THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TO HELP IDENTIFY WHERE THE COSTS TO OUR, YOU KNOW, SYSTEM ARE.
AND THEN WE HAVE THAT DIALOGUE WITH RAY ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON, OKAY, NOW HOW DO WE WANNA RECOVER THIS DIFFERENT CUSTOMER GROUPS, YOU KNOW, SHARING THE BURDEN IN, IN, IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
AND THAT DISCUSSION IS, IS TO COME.
SO THAT'LL PROBABLY, AND WE HAVEN'T COMMITTED YET WITH RAC OR WORKED OUT WITH REID, BUT FALL WINTER TIME, UM, WE'RE GONNA TRY NOT TO INTERFERE TOO MUCH WITH THE GENERATION PLAYING DISCUSSIONS 'CAUSE IT'S THE SAME GROUP OF FOLKS.
SO WE HAVE TO WORK THROUGH THAT.
BUT THAT CONVERSATION IS COMING AND THE INTENT IS THAT WE TRY AND GET THAT DONE, UM, IN A MANNER, UM, YOU KNOW, FAST ENOUGH THAT IT'S BEFORE ANY RATE NEXT RATE INCREASE.
'CAUSE IT'D BE A LOT EASIER TO DO RATE STRUCTURE CHANGES THAT ARE KIND OF REVENUE NEUTRAL.
UM, AND NOT LAYER ON TOP OF AN INCREASE ON TOP OF THAT.
SO EARLY CONVERSATIONS RIGHT NOW, BUT THAT'S KINDA WHERE THE CURRENT THINKING IS IN OUR PROGRESS.
UH, ON PAGE 16, THERE'S A LIST OF ALL THE DIFFERENT AGENCY PARTNERS.
AND COULD YOU TELL ME HOW DO YOU REFER SOMEONE TO ANOTHER AGENCY IF THEY COME AND, YOU KNOW, THEY SAY, YEAH, I'M, I'M THREE MONTHS BEHIND, BUT I CAN'T AFFORD TO MAKE THE PAYMENT 'CAUSE I HAVE THIS AND I HAVE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THE PERSON THEY TALK TO WHO WORKED FOR C P SS DO NEXT? DO THEY EVALUATE THE PERSON AND SAY, WE RECOMMEND YOU CONTACT THIS AGENCY OR THAT AGENCY, OR WHAT IT, IT DEPENDS.
SO SOMETIMES THESE ARE THE, THE PARTNERS THAT ARE IN THE, OUR UTILITY OR COMMUNITY FAIRS THAT WE HAVE.
SO WE INVITE OUR PARTNERS TO PARTICIPATE THERE.
SO IN THE EVENT THAT WE'RE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION AND SOMEONE SAYS, I NEED HELP WITH X, THEN WE SAY, YOU KNOW, I NEED HELP WITH DIAPERS.
LEMME GIVE YOU A REFERENCE TO ANY BABY CAN.
FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF OUR KEY COMPONENTS, BOTH OF OUR COMMUNITY, UH, OUR, OUR CREW TEAM AS WELL AS OUR CORE OUTREACH WAS TO CALL CUSTOMERS AND TO GO SEE CUSTOMERS AND LISTEN TO WHAT ALL OF THEIR ISSUES WERE AND THEN DO THE REFERRALS BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT THE CUSTOMER PROVIDED TO US.
SO SOMETIMES IT REALLY IS JUST LISTENING TO THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES AND SAYING, HEY, WE BELIEVE THAT BEAR COUNTY MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR YOU OR THE CITY, UH, ACOG, WHOEVER IT IS.
WE WILL ALSO, IF WE'RE THERE IN PERSON, OUR CREW TEAM MEMBERS WILL HELP FILL OUT FORMS IF THEY'RE STRUGGLING, UH, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE REALLY TAKING THAT HOLISTIC APPROACH.
SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE 14,000 PHONE CALLS OR THE 2,500 DOORS KNOCKED ON, I WOULD PRESUME YOU'RE SAYING THEY WOULD DO THE SAME THING.
IF SOMEBODY SAYS, I I CAN'T PAY MY BILL BECAUSE OF THIS AND THAT AND THIS AND THAT, WHETHER IT'S A HEALTH PROBLEM OR OUT OF WORK OR WHATEVER, THAT PERSON WHO KNOCKS ON THAT DOOR ANSWERS THAT PHONE CALL, TAKES THE INFORMATION AND LOOKS FOR A GOOD REFERRAL AND GETS BACK TO THAT PERSON AND SAYS, WE WANT TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR ELECTRIC BILL, BUT YOU SAID THIS WAS A PROBLEM, CONTACT THIS OR THAT.
SO, UM, I'LL GIVE YOU THE BEST STORY THAT, UM, THAT I THINK WE HAVE IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
WE HAD, AS PART OF OUR, UH, CUSTOMER OUTREACH RESOURCE EFFORT, WE CALLED A CUSTOMER WHO WAS VISUAL, UH, VISUALLY IMPAIRED.
AND, UM, WHEN WE CALLED THEM, IT WAS THROUGH OUR CORE OUTREACH, WHICH THE CONVERSATION WAS, HEY, HOW ARE YOU DOING? AND UH, THE VERY FIRST THING THAT THIS, UM, GENTLEMAN SAID WAS NOT GOOD.
I HAVE NOT SEEN MY CARETAKER IN DAYS AND I HAVEN'T EATEN.
AND, UM, THE VERY FIRST THING THAT OUR EMPLOYEE DID WAS REACH OUT TO THEIR, THEIR MANAGER AND SAID, CAN I, CAN I JUST SEND THIS PERSON A PIZZA? HE, HE HASN'T EATEN.
CAN I GIVE HIM SOMETHING? SO SENT HIM A PIZZA AND THEN WE DIDN'T TALK TO HIM ABOUT HIS UTILITY BILL AT THAT POINT.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE COULD DO FOR HIM IS TO GET HIM A CARETAKER.
SO OUR EMPLOYEE, THROUGH THE RIGHT CHANNELS REACHED OUT TO UM, UH, ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES.
AND SO WHEN AN ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES HEARS THAT C P S IS CALLING, THEY THINK WE'RE THE OTHER C P S.
AND THEN THEY SAID, WAIT, WHO ARE YOU WITH? AND WE SAID, C P S ENERGY AND WHY ARE YOU CALLING THEM JUST TO CHECK IN? WE, WE KNOW THAT THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WHO'S, UM, POTENTIALLY A VULNERABLE PART OF THE VULNERABLE POPULATION, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THAT THEIR CARETAKER HAD AN ISSUE COME UP, GOT THEM ANOTHER CARETAKER, AND THEN, OH, BY THE WAY, THEY'RE ELIGIBLE TO HAVE THEIR FULL BALANCE WITH THEIR UTILITY CLEARED OUT.
BUT IT WASN'T, WE REACHED OUT TO THAT CUSTOMER BECAUSE OF THE DATA THAT WE HAD AND KNEW THAT THIS IS SOMEONE THAT POTENTIALLY NEEDED ASSISTANCE, BUT IT WASN'T
[01:05:01]
LEADING WITH, WE NEED TO COLLECT YOUR BILL.IT WAS LEADING WITH HOW ARE YOU DOING? AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE GOT HIM SOMETHING TO EAT THE RIGHT CARETAKER AND HIS UTILITY BILL TAKEN CARE OF.
UH, AND I'M VERY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT.
UH, I KNOW THAT C P S IS A, IT'S, IT IS A BUSINESS, BUT IT'S A CITY BUSINESS.
AND I'M REALLY PLEASED TO HEAR ABOUT THE COMPASSION THAT, YOU KNOW, C P S SHOWS IN DEALING WITH ITS CUSTOMERS.
UM, THAT REALLY CONCLUDES THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAD.
IS THERE A POSSIBILITY OF MAYBE CREATING A SUBCOMMITTEE FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH? I KNOW WITH THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM, WHICH IS VERY HIGH PROFILE, WE HAVE A COMMUNITY, UM, A SUBCOMMITTEE CREATED, UM, COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
AND SO I'M JUST WONDERING IF, IF THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER OR EVEN FROM WITHIN THE REC WE, WELL, SO WE'VE GOT SUCH A ROBUST, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE TRYING OUR, EVERYTHING WE CAN TO, TO DO, UH, COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
YOU KNOW, I, I MEAN WE'D BE WILLING TO, TO KIND OF WORK WITH WHOEVER WANTS TO, YOU KNOW, ENGAGE.
I MEAN, IF THEY'RE MEMBERS OF THE RAC WHO ARE INTERESTED IN ENGAGING WITH US ON COMMUNITY OUTREACH, I THINK THAT'D BE FINE.
UM, YOU KNOW, QUITE FRANKLY, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S SOMETHING WE'RE NOT DOING THAT YOU KNOW IS WORKING FOR SOMEBODY ELSE, YOU KNOW, I'M INTERESTED IN HEARING ABOUT IT.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'LL WE CAN TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAYS WE CAN DO THAT.
I THINK THAT CONCLUDES THE QUESTIONS WE HAD AND WE'VE GONE THROUGH, UH, BOTH OF THE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.
UH, AND SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE CONCLUSION FOR OUR MEETING TODAY.
SO I HOLD THE MEETING ADJOURNED.