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BRIEFING ONLY
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          [00:02:59]
          FINANCIAL SITUATION GETS A LITTLE MORE CHALLENGING I WANT ALL OF US TO BE CONVERSE ANT ABOUT OUR COMMITMENT TO THE POWER GENERATION PLAN, WHY IT'S IMPORTANT AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK TO BE AS ECONOMICALLY COMPETITIVE AS POSSIBLE. 
          SO IT'S GREAT TO SEE CHAIR ROMERO HERE AS WELL AS RUDY GARZA THAT WILL WALK US THROUGH SOME OF THE MAJOR MUSCLE MOVEMENTS AND THEN ULTIMATELY WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE REFRESH THAT THEY ARE ANTICIPATING AND HOW WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS VERY CRITICAL RESOURCE AS WE ALSO THINK ABOUT THIS IN THE CONTEXT OF WHAT WE WILL HEAR SOON AS WELL, WHICH IS THE SAWS BRIEFING. OKAY. 
          ERIK, OVER TO YOU? >> GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. 
          I'LL TURN IT OVER TO RUDY TO TALK ABOUT THE 2027 OPERATION PLAN AND THE 
          OVERVIEW OF THEIR BUDGET PROCESS. >> MAYOR AND COUNCIL, ALWAYS GREAT TO BE OVER HERE WITH Y'ALL TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE. 
          AND WHERE WE'RE AT AND WHERE WE'RE GOING. AND GET ALIGNED ON THE WHY'S AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH TOGETHER. SO TODAY YOU'RE GOING TO GET A BRIEFING FROM ELENA BOLM, MY CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, WHO WILL LAY OUT WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THE VISION 2027 STRATEGY WHICH WE'RE UPDATING. 
          RIGHT NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO UPDATE IT. WE'VE GOT NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS, ABOUT TO HAVE A NEW BOARD MEMBER. AND I THINK RIGHT NOW IS A PERFECT TIME TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION. SO WE'LL TELL YOU WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE'RE GOING AND THEN CORY WILL WRAP THAT UP INTO FINANCIALLY OUR OVERALL HEALTH AND HOW WE GET THERE, HOW WE PAY FOR IT ALL. 
          SO I THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TODAY AND FOR THE OPPORTUNITY, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MY TEAM TO GET US GOING. AND REALLY, WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO KEEP IT BRIEF AND GET TO YOUR QUESTIONS SO WE CAN GET INTO THE MEAT OF OUR 
          CONVERSATION TODAY. SO THANK YOU. >> GOOD AFTERNOON MAYOR AND 
          [00:05:01]
COUNCIL. I'M ELENA BOLM, THE CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER FOR CPS ENERGY. TODAY CORY AND I WILL SPEAK TO YOU ON FOUR AREAS. 
          AS RUDY MENTIONED WE'LL GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE VISION 2027 PROGRESS. 
          WE DO WANT TO BRIEF YOU ON A RECENT ASSET ACQUISITION AND THE KEY FACT AROUND THAT ACQUISITION. WE ARE EMBARKING ON A GENERATION PLAN REFRESH SO WE'LL PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO THAT PROCESS. AND THEN CORY WILL WRAP OUR PRESENTATION WITH FINANCIAL UPDATES. CPS ENERGY ADOPTED VISION 2027 ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO AND WE HAVE FIVE KEY ELEMENTS OF VISION 2027, INVOLVING THE OPERATIONS OF OUR UTILITY, FOCUSING ON OUR FINANCIAL STABILITY CENTERING ALL THE WORK AROUND OUR CUSTOMERS, BUILDING A STRONG TEAM CULTURE AND ENCOURAGING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP AND GROWTH THROUGHOUT THE REGIONS THAT WE SERVE. THIS IS A BIT OF AN EYE CHART SO I WOULD JUST ASK THAT AS YOU HAVE TIME AND YOUR STAFF HAS TIME, FEEL FREE TO LOOK AT THE DETAIL AND WE WELCOME QUESTIONS AND UPDATES RELATIVE TO THIS. OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS IN THESE FIVE AREAS WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL ITEMS THAT WE'VE COMPLETED. 
          AS I MENTIONED, WE DID ESTABLISH A NEW POWER GENERATION PLAN IN JANUARY OF OF 2023, WHICH WAS COMMUNITY LED AND APPROVED BY OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES. 
          UNDER THAT GENERATION PLAN WE'VE ACQUIRED OVER 3900 MEGAWATTS OF GENERATION AND WE'VE ADDED 520 MEGAWATTS OF BATTERY STORAGE, AN ADDITIONAL 113 MEGAWATTS OF WIND, AND OVER 700 MEGAWATTS OF SOLAR CAPACITY. 
          WE'LL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DETAILS IN A MOMENT ABOUT THE REMAINING CAPACITY WE'RE ADDING UNDER THAT PLAN. WE ALSO HAVE FOCUSED ON SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE A VERY ROBUST AND RELIABLE SYSTEM, AND HAVE SUCCESSFULLY BEEN WORKING ON A TRANSITION DATA SYSTEMS UPDATE THAT WILL GO LIVE LATER THIS MONTH. FROM THE FINANCIAL STABILITY PERSPECTIVE, THESE ARE ALL REALLY THREADED TOGETHER. OVER THE LAST TWO FISCAL YEARS WE'VE ACHIEVED STRONG NON-FUEL WHOLESALE GROWTH. THOSE ADDITIONAL WHOLESALE SALES HELP DEFRAY COSTS FROM OUR CUSTOMERS' BILLS AND HELP WITH ADDITIONAL REVENUE OPPORTUNITY FOR NOT ONLY CPS ENERGY, BUT ALSO OUR CITY OWNER. AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE EXECUTED SEVERAL ACQUISITIONS. THROUGH ALL OF THIS EFFORT WE HAVE ACHIEVED -- THROUGH ALL THREE OF OUR RATING AGENCIES AN UPGRADED RATING OUTLOOK. AS YOU ALL MAY RECALL, POST URI WE DID GO INTO A NEGATIVE OUTLOOK STATUTE AND WITH ALL OF THESE KEY MOVES AND AS RECENTLY AS THIS PAST MONTH WE HAVE GOTTEN STABLE OUTLOOKS FROM ALL OF OUR RATING AGENCIES. 
          NET-NET WITH ALL OF THE KEY MOVES THAT WE'VE MADE, WE HAVE SECURED ONE AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS OF NET PRESENT VALUE IMPROVEMENTS OVER OUR BASE PLAN FOR OVER A 25-YEAR PERIOD. RELATIVE TO OUR CUSTOMERS' EXPERIENCE, WE CONTINUE TO HAVE A VERY STRONG COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PRESENCE. WE ARE ON AVERAGE AT 10 COMMUNITY EVENTS EVERYDAY OR SIX DAYS OF THE WEEK. WE HAVE REALLY BEEN FOCUSED ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND WE WERE PLEASED THIS YEAR TO ACHIEVE AN EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SATISFACTION RATING FOR MANAGED ACCOUNTS. AND WE CONTINUE TO EXPAND PAYMENT OPTIONS AND WORK TO PROVIDE OUR CUSTOMERS BETTER WAYS TO ENGAGE WITH US. 
          I'LL ALSO TOUCH ON COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP AND GROWTH. WE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN PARTNERSHIP AND OUR BOARD AS WELL AS MAYOR AND COUNCIL TO RAISE OUR ENERGY ASSISTANCE BENEFIT FOR BEXAR COUNTY OUTSIDE OF SAN ANTONIO FROM $400 TO $1,200, AND THOSE BENEFITS ARE HELPING OUR FAMILIES IN NEED DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME. 
          SO JUST A REMINDER ABOUT OUR GENERATION PLAN. I MENTIONED THAT WE ESTABLISHED THIS IN JANUARY OF 2023. IT WAS A VERY COMMUNITY LED APPROACH. WE HAD A RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT HELPED ESTABLISH THE BLENDED PORTFOLIO THAT WE ARE EXECUTING TO. 
          NET-NET, THE GENERATION PLAN COMPONENTS CALLED FOR ADDITIONAL SOLAR, WIND, STORAGE AND NATURAL GAS. 90, AFFORDABILITY AS WELL AS ACHIEVING AND MOVING TOWARD OUR GOALS UNDER THE CPA PROGRAM CAP PROGRAM AS A COMMUNITY. 
          WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TOTAL MEGAWATTS, THE PLAN ULTIMATELY IDENTIFIED THAT WE NEED TO SOLVE FOR OVER 7200 MEGAWATTS GIVEN THE FACT THAT WE'RE RETIRING OVER 3300 MEGAWATTS OF COAL AND LEGACY OLDER NATURAL GAS. 
          SO THE NET TOTAL UNDER THE 2023 PLAN IS AN ADDITION OF OVER 5700 MEGAWATTS OF ENERGY SUPPLIED BY 2030. THIS SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS WHERE WE ARE TODAY. 
          TO DATE WE ARE WELL AHEAD OF THAT PLAN IN LARGE PART DUE TO THE ACQUISITIONS THAT 
          [00:10:06]
WE'VE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS. SO WE ARE AT 4500 AGAINST THAT 7503 GOAL. AS MENTIONED WE'VE ADDED OVER 700 MEGAWATTS OF SOLAR, WIND, NATURAL GAS. ONE ITEM THAT I DIDN'T TOUCH ON, BUT IS IMPORTANT, WE ALSO HAVE PICKED UP ADDITIONAL NUCLEAR OWNERSHIP SHARE. 
          WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF CLOSING THAT TRANSACTION HERE IN THE FALL, BUT THAT WILL BRING IN ADDITIONAL CLEAN NUCLEAR POWER FROM OUR EXISTING OWNERSHIP OF THE TWO NUCLEAR FACILITIES DOWN ON THE COAST. WITH THE NATURAL GAS ADDITIONS THAT WE COMPLETED AWIRING THE TALON ERCOT ASSETS AS WELL AS THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT OF 1632 MEGAWATTS OF GAS FACILITY IN AND AROUND HOUSTON FROM PRO ENERGY, WE'VE ACTUALLY REDUCED THE BUILD COST THAT WE HAD ANTICIPATED IN OUR PLAN BY $3 BILLION. I'LL TOUCH ON THIS RECENT STRATEGIC ACQUISITION. WE CLOSED ON THIS ACQUISITION ON SEPTEMBER 23RD. IT WAS A FIVE-MONTH LONG PROCESS. 
          WE CONDUCTED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ANALYSIS AROUND THIS ACQUISITION. 
          JUST FOR REFERENCE, WE HAD ABOUT 1700 MEGAWATTS OF THIS SIMILAR TECHNOLOGY IN OUR GENERATION PLAN. SO WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY CLOSED ON THOSE ASSETS. 
          THEY'RE NOW PART OF OUR FLEET. WE DO HAVE SOME POST-CLOSING ACTIVITIES THAT ARE OCCURRING. AGAIN, WHEN YOU LOOK AT TODAY'S DOLLARS WHEN LOOKING AT CONSTRUCTING THE GENERATION AGAINST THE PURCHASE PRICE WE SAVED, WE SAVED OVER $2 MILLION ON THIS ONE ACQUISITION AND CONSTRUCTION COST SAVINGS. SO THE BENEFITS FOR DIFFERENT GROUPS -- I'M NOT GOING TO READ THE ENTIRE SLIDE, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE BENEFITS IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THE ACQUISITIONS WE'VE ACQUIRED WHAT IT DOES IS ARE BRINGS DOWN THE COST OF OUR OVERALL PLAN.  FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS IT HAS RELIABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY. AND IN RELYING ON THE VERY SOMETIMES VOLATILE MARKET PRODUCES BILL STABILITY AND COST PREDICTABILITY. 
          FOR OUR LARGE CNI CUSTOMERS THAT PREDICTABILITY IS REALLY CRITICAL. 
          IT HELPS THEM MANAGE THEIR FINANCIAL RISKS AND HELPS THEM WITH LONG-TERM PLANNING FOR CONTINUED OPERATION IN OUR SERVICE TERRITORY AND IN OUR REGION AS WELL AS FOR POTENTIAL EXPANSIONS. FOR SPACES, THIS ULTIMATELY IS -- FOR SMALL BUSINESSES THIS IS HELPING THEM PROTECT THEIR BOTTOM LINE IN THEIR BUSINESSES THAT ARE SO CRITICAL TO OUR COMMUNITY AND REQUIRE THAT LONG-TERM LOW COST POWER. 
          ADDITIONALLY HAVING THIS CAPACITY AND CONTINUING TO LOOK TO GROWTH SUPPORTS BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR REGION. WE'RE STRIVING TO CONTROL THE COST OF ENERGY, WHICH ULTIMATELY TURNS INTO THE COST OF OF LIVING AND SUPPORTS GROWTH AND RETENTION OF BUSINESSES AND THE WORKFORCE THAT COMES ALONG WITH THEM. SO THAT'S REALLY THE PAST. THAT'S WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED. AS I MENTIONED, THE GENERATION PLAN THAT WE'RE OPERATING UNDER AND ARE CONTINUING TO EXECUTE TO WAS PASSED IN JANUARY OF 2023. 
          THERE IS A LOT -- A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE 2023. SO WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF CONDUCTING A REFRESH. OUR BASE PLAN IS IN GOOD SHAPE. 
          IT'S -- AGAIN, IT'S BEEN COMMUNITY LED AND BOARD APPROVED, HOWEVER, WE HAVE HAD A NUMBER OF CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURRED. MOST NOTABLY IS JUST ELECTRIC GROWTH WITHIN THE STATE, WITHIN THE NATION, WITHIN THE WORLD, AND WE HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS ARE NO DIFFERENT. WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL GROWTH THAT WE DID NOT SEE WHEN WE CONDUCTED THE GEN PLAN IN 2022 AND 2023. WE ALSO UPDATED MACROECONOMICS, COSTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESOURCES AND TECHNOLOGIES, AND WE ALSO HAVE EMBEDDED UPDATED INFORMATION ON SUPPLY CHAIN AND INFRASTRUCTURE CHALLENGES, SPECIFICALLY INFLATED COSTS AND ADDITIONAL LEAD TIME FOR MATERIALS. 
          SO THIS HIGH LEVEL CHART DESCRIBES OUR REFRESH PROCESS. 
          WE HAVE BEEN OVER THE SUMMER REVIEWING AND UPDATING ALL OF OUR DRIVERS AND TIMELINES. AGAIN, WE'RE CONTINUING TO BE GUIDED BY THE BASE PLAN THAT WE HAVE IN MOTION, WHICH IS FOCUSED ON HIGHLY RELIABLE POWER, MEETING AND MOVING TOWARD OUR CAP OBJECTIVES OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS AND ULTIMATELY ENSURING THAT WE'VE GOT A VERY COST CONSCIOUS AND LOW COST PORTFOLIO. 
          WE'RE NOW IN THE PROCESS OF RUNNING ANALYSIS OF THESE UPDATED FUNCTIONS AND IT'S OUR EXPECTATION THAT THROUGH THE WINTER AND SPRING WE WILL HAVE RESULTING RECOMMENDATIONS TO OUR BOARD, TO THE COMMUNITY AND TO THE CITY COUNCIL. 
          ENGAGEMENT IS REALLY CRITICAL IN THIS PROCESS, SO WE HAVE BEGUN ALREADY MESSAGING, BRIEFING DIFFERENT BODIES, INCLUDING OUR CIC, AND WE HAVE DEVELOPED A COMPLETE AND CONTINUING TO DEVELOP THOROUGH SET OF POP-UP 
          [00:15:02]
COMMUNITY EVENTS AS WELL AS OUTREACH EVENTS WITH EACH OF YOUR OFFICES IN YOUR DISTRICTS AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF STAKEHOLDER GROUPS GROUPS. 
          SO WITH THAT I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO CORY FOR THE FINANCIAL UPDATE. 
          >> ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR, GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS. I'M CORY, CFO OF CPS ENERGY. SO I'LL TAKE US THROUGH THE NEXT PART. I ONLY HAVE THREE SLIDES AND THEN WE CAN OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION. THE FIRST ONE HERE BEING A REFERENCE TO AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL OUR FINANCIAL PLANNING PROCESS THAT WE GO THROUGH. ON THIS SLIDE ARE MANY THINGS THAT I THINK SIMILARLY THAT THE CITY GOES THROUGH WHEN THEY BEGIN THEIR PLANNING PROCESS, BUT IT BEGINS WITH A REVIEW, AN ASSESSMENT OF ALL THE FORECASTING INPUTS AND ASSUMPTIONS THAT GO INTO OUR MODEL. 
          ONE OF THE BIGGEST ELEMENTS OF THAT IS WHAT ELENA JUST DISCUSSED, THE GENERATION PLAN. AS ONE OF OUR MANY LINES OF BUSINESS, BUT NOT THE ONLY LINE OF BUSINESS THAT WE HAVE THAT GOES INTO THOSE ASSUMPTIONS. 
          A LOT OF THINGS ON THE LIST THERE THAT PROBABLY SEEM FAMILIAR, A LOT OF MACRO ECONOMIC DATA, FUEL COST, COST OF SERVICE, AND OUR CUSTOMER GROUPS THAT IDENTIFIES HOW MUCH OF OUR SYSTEM THEY USE. THE END OF ALL THAT IS THE FINANCIAL RESULTS AND MODELS THAT WE USE WHEN WE COME FORWARD TO OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO ASK FOR BUDGET APPROVAL AND ULTIMATELY WHEN WE COME TO COUNCIL FOR ANY RATE REQUEST PROCESS, BUT WE PUT OUT A 25-YEAR PLAN THAT IS CONSTANTLY REFORECAST AND HE ITERATED TO BE AS FRESH AS POSSIBLE. THERE'S A HIGHER LEVEL OF SCRUTINY ON THE 1 THROUGH 5 YEAR WINDOW OF TIME, WHICH MAKES SENSE. 
          THAT'S MORE NEAR TERM AND HAS MORE CERTAINTY OBVIOUSLY TO IT, BUT WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE RIGHT NOW, AS ELENA SAID, ON REFRESHING OUR ASSUMPTIONS. 
          FROM A PROCESS PROSPECTIVE WE GO TO OUR BOARD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, JANUARY OR FEBRUARY TYPICALLY, WE'RE DOING THE HARD WORK NOW WITH THE TEAMS AND THEN OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES WILL BE LOOKING AT WHAT THAT REFRESHED VIEW LOOKS LIKE. SO THAT'S A SUPER HIGH LEVEL ON THE PROCESS AND HOW THE WORK THAT ELENA MENTIONED KIND OF INJECTS INTO THAT. I'LL PIVOT ON THE NEXT TWO SLIDES WHICH ARE JUST A SUMMARY OF OUR QUARTER 2 FINANCIAL RESULTS. 
          THESE ARE SLIDES THAT WERE PRESENTED TO OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES. 
          QUARTER 2 FOR US IS AT THE END OF JULY, FYI, SO THAT MEANS THE RECENT ACQUISITION OF THE ASSETS IS NOT INCLUDED IN THESE NUMBERS. THE ONE I ALWAYS LIKE TO LOOK AT THE BEST IS ON THE FAR LEFT, NON-FUEL REVENUE. THIS TELLS YOU I THINK THE REALLY HEALTH OF OUR ORGANIZATION AND KIND OF WHERE WE ARE RELATIVE TO EXPECTATIONS. AND YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'RE A LITTLE BIT -- THE BLUE BAR IS ACTUAL RESULTS. WE'RE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER HALFWAY THROUGH THE YEAR THAN WE ANTICIPATED. THE STORY FOR THIS YEAR IS DIFFERENT THAN IN YEARS PAST. THE PERFORMANCE IS REALLY DRIVEN BY THE WEATHER BEING A LITTLE BIT WARMER EARLIER IN THE YEAR, AND THOSE ADDITIONAL REVENUES ARE COMING FROM THE LOCAL RATE BASE AS OPPOSED TO PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT WHOLESALE REVENUE BEING ABOVE PLAN. THAT IS NOT THE CASE FOR THIS YEAR. ON THE O&M SIDE, O&M AND CAPITAL, WE'RE A LITTLE BIT OVER ON SPEND AS I REPORTED TO OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES BY ABOUT 10 MILLION. 
          I THINK THAT TREND WILL CONTINUE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN THAT. 
          THE MAIN DRIVERS ARE ITEMS THAT REALLY RELATE TO RELIABILITY AND SAFETY. 
          WE HAD ADDITIONAL UNEXPECTED GAS LEAKS THAT YOU HAVE TO REPAIR RIGHT AWAY. 
          WE HAD MORE STORMS THAN WE ANTICIPATED SO YOU HAVE OVERTIME WORK. 
          THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF DRIVERS THAT ARE IN THAT BUCKET FROM A PLANNING AND ACTUAL PERSPECTIVE. YOU MAY OR MAY NOT RECALL, BUT I'VE TALKED ABOUT OUR CAPITAL PLAN AS TRANSMISSION CAPITAL AND NON-TRANSMISSION. 
          ONE OF OUR LINES OF BUSINESS, OF COURSE, IS THE TRANS BUSINESS THAT HAS DIFFERENT REGULATOR, THE PUC, AND I BUCKETED THAT SEPARATELY BECAUSE IT'S DONE SEPARATELY. WE'RE A LITTLE BIT OVER PLAN AND AIMED EXPECT THAT TREND TO CONTINUE. ON THE NON-TRANSMISSION CAPITAL YOU WILL NOTE THAT WE'RE SIGNIFICANTLY NUMBER AND THAT CONNECTS THE DOTS TO WHERE ELENA MENTIONED WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF REQUIRING OUR STP LOCATION. WE HAVEN'T FULLY CLOSED ON THAT DEAL. THAT'S ABOUT $80 MILLION. YOU WILL SEE THAT NUMBER POP UP NOTABLY AFTER THAT. ALL SAID, THERE'S A NET INCOME NUMBER ON HERE. 
          I'M NEVER THE BIGGEST FAN OF NON-INCOME BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF NON-CASH COMPONENTS IN THAT NUMBER DRIVING THAT PERFORMANCE, BUT NONETHELESS STILL ABOVE PLAN. 
          I THINK MORE INTERESTINGLY IS MY VERY LAST SLIDE HERE, WHICH IS JUST TO LOOK AT THE KEY FINANCIAL METRICS. THIS IS WHERE IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE SOURCE OF TRUTH AND WHAT GUIDES US, IT REALLY IS THESE METRICS. AND SPECIFICALLY IT'S THE RANGE THAT YOU SEE IN THE MIDDLE COLUMN THERE THAT WE TRY TO STAY BETWEEN AS AN ENTITY. JUST TO AGETORY WHERE THOSE RANGES COME FROM, THEY ARE CONSISTENT WITH OUR CREDIT RATING, AA MINUS, WHICH ELENA MENTIONED EARLIER. 
          SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MANAGING OUR FINANCIALS, STAYING WITHIN THAT REALM, 
          [00:20:02]
THESE ARE THE RESCUES THAT WE TRY TO STAY BETWEEN. AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE FIRST ONE, COVERAGE RATIO, IS REALLY A FUNCTION OF OUR REVENUE COMING IN THE DOOR RELATIVE TO OUR ABILITY TO PAY OUR DEBT SERVICE, IN OTHER WORDS, MORTGAGE PAYMENT ON ALL OUR ASSETS. DEBT CAPITALIZATION RATIO THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DEBT YOU ARE CARRYING ON YOUR BOOKS AND THAT IS A NUMBER THAT IS PROBABLY THE ONE FOCUS ON THE MOST BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONE THAT WE ARE STRESSING THE MOST WITH OUR KIND OF HIGH INVESTMENT PERIOD THAT WE'RE IN. I'LL NOTE THAT THE RANGE SHARE SHOWS 64.99, BUT I MENTIONED THIS TO COUNCIL AND OUR BOARD AS WELL, OUR FUTURE PLANS OVER THE NEXT FIVE TO EIGHT YEARS HAVE US PEEKING AT 70% FOR THAT DEBT CAPITALIZATION RATIO WHICH WE THINK STILL MAINTAINS OUR AA MINUS STATUS, BUT NO MORE THAN THAT. SO THAT IS AN EXAMPLE AS RUDY HAS SAID BEFORE, OF US LEVERAGING OUR BALANCE SHEET TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACTS OUR CUSTOMERS FROM AN INDIVIDUAL RATE REQUEST PERSPECTIVE. AND THEN DAYS CASH ON HAND AND DAYS LIQUIDITY ON HAND, THESE ARE THE TWO METRICS THAT WHEN I THINK OF RESILIENCY IN THE FINANCIAL SENSE IT'S THIS. SO THAT 150 DAYS CASH ON HAND IS A THRESHOLD, IS THE FLOOR THROUGH WHICH THE RATING AGENCIES LOOK AT US FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF RISK AND BEING ABLE TO BOUNCE BACK OR HANDLE UNEXPECTED EVENTS. 
          THE DAYS LIQUIDITY ON HAND IS A FUNCTION OF CASH AND IT'S A FUNCTION OF CREDIT TOOLS THAT WE HAVE AT OUR DISPOSAL IN THE EVENT WE NEED TO PULL ON THESE CREDIT FACILITIES. HIDDEN IN THERE IS THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF STRENGTH IN OUR BALANCE SHEET. WE HAVE A AA RATING, WHICH MEANS RIGHT NOW AS IT STANDS TODAY WE HAVE JUST UNDER $2 BILLION OF ACCESS TO CREDIT. OFTEN TIMES WE DON'T USE MUCH OF IT, BUT IT'S THERE JUST IN CASE. SO WE LOOK AT ALL THOSE TOGETHER. 
          SO IN TOTALITY YOU CAN SEE THE RESULTS THERE. THOSE ARE THE END OF MY SLIDES SO I'LL END MY REMARKS THERE AND THEN ELENA AND I ARE AVAILABLE FOR 
          QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, MAYOR. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU, CORY. I WANT TO START ON A COUPLE OF THINGS FROM OUR PRESENTATION JUST BECAUSE I THINK IT'S REALLY HELPFUL. AND LET ME ALSO LEVEL SET WHY US UNDERSTANDING THE POWER GENERATION PLAN, WHY THE ANALYSIS THAT YOU WILL DO, WHICH WILL THEN UNDERPIN YOUR RATE REQUEST TO THIS BODY IS SO IMPORTANT. 
          BECAUSE AROUND EARLY NEXT YEAR WE'LL HEAR FROM SAWS, THEIR REQUEST FOR A RATE INCREASE, AND LATER IN THE FALL WE WILL HEAR FROM CPS. OH, BY THE WAY, WE ALL KNOW AT THAT TIME WE WILL BE EXPERIENCING POTENTIALLY ALREADY, IF NOT BEGIN TO SEE, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL, RIGHT, WHERE THE MOST VULNERABLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, THOSE RELYING ON SOME OF THE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED WILL BE ALREADY FEELING IT IF THEY'RE NOT CURRENTLY. 
          ON TOP OF THE BUDGET GAP THAT WE HAVE THAT THE CITY MANAGER HAS A PLAN TO CLOSE, BUT IF THE BUDGET AIN'T FINAL IT AIN'T CLOSED, ON TOP OF THE POTENTIAL CHANGES TO THE CITY BUDGET, SOME OF THOSE FEDERAL FUNDS NOT COMING IN. 
          I KNOW ERIK DOESN'T LIKE WHEN I SAY IT, BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS. 
          SO WE ALL NEED TO BE ABLE TO CONFIDENTLY SAY THAT IF WE DO IN FACT APPROVE A RATE INCREASE THAT WE HAVE DONE OUR DUE DILIGENCE. AND HAVE LOOKED AT THIS AS MANY WAYS AS POSSIBLE TO ENSURE THAT ONE, IT'S IN FACT NEEDED AND THIS IS THE MINIMUM AMOUNT NECESSARY. SO THIS VERY HELPFUL BRIEFING HELPS US DO THAT. 
          SO ON SLIDE 6, ONE THING THAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT FOR THIS BODY TO UNDERSTAND, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT 5700 MEGAWATTS, THAT 23 SUPPLY GOAL, THAT IS BASED ON WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW WE WILL NEED BY 2030, RIGHT? IT'S NOT OUR -- IT'S NOT THAT WE HOPE TO GET THERE. NO, NO, THIS IS WHAT WE KNOW WE NEED BY THAT TIME. 
          SO THE REAL UNCERTAINTY FOR US IS IN MORE THE 2040 TIME FRAME. 
          ELENA, CORRECT ME OR CLARIFY THAT HOWEVER YOU'D LIKE TO, BUT I SAY ALL THAT, 5700, THAT JUST HELPS US MEET THE CONTRACTS THAT WE'VE SIGNED TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT 
          POWER TO THOSE CUSTOMERS. >> THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION AND OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE CONTEXT. THE 5700 WAS BASED ON AN ANALYSIS THAT WAS CONDUCTED IN 2022. JUST GROWTH, NOT TALKING ABOUT LARGE LOADS, JUST SPEAKING ABOUT GROWTH IN OUR COMMUNITY, AT THAT TIME WAS AT ABOUT 100 MEGAWATTS A YEAR. WE ARE NOW MORE THAN DOUBLE THAT AMOUNT FROM A GROWTH PERSPECTIVE HAND THAT IS JUST ORGANIC PEOPLE MOVING TO THIS COMMUNITY GROWTH. 
          SO THIS NUMBER IS ACTUALLY UNDERSTATED WHAT WE BELIEVE IS GOING TO COME OUT OF OUR GEN PLAN REFRESH JUST BASED ON GROWTH. ADDITIONALLY WE DO HAVE QUITE A BIT OF C AND I GROWTH IN OUR COMMUNITIES. COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL, 
          [00:25:05]
BUSINESSES THAT ARE EXPANDING IN OUR COMMUNITY. MANY OF THEM ARE THE BUSINESSES WE'VE KNOWN AND HAVE WORKED WITH FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. 
          THEY'RE ADDING TO THEIR FACILITIES, THEY'RE PUTTING IN NEW FACILITIES. 
          WE ALSO HAVE A NUMBER OF INDUSTRIES THAT HAVE DECIDED THAT TEXAS AND CENTRAL TEXAS IN PARTICULAR ARE WHERE THEY WANT TO SITE THEIR BUSINESSES, SO IN ADDITION TO THAT JUST BASELINE GROWTH THAT HAS DOUBLED SINCE 2022, WE HAVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF NEW GROWTH, NEW BUSINESSES COMING TO OUR AREA. 
          SO YOU ARE CORRECT UNDER THE 2022 ASSUMPTIONS, 5703 WAS WHAT WE PROJECTED WE WOULD NEED BY 2030. WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS NOW, BUT BASED ON OUR UPDATED ASSUMPTIONS AND WHAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING AGAIN AS AN INDUSTRY, AS A STATE, AND AS A -- HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, WE EXPECT THAT NUMBER TO INCREASE WITH 
          THIS GEN PLAN REFRESH. >> MAYOR JONES: AND THAT'S WHY THE RECENT ACQUISITION IS SO IMPORTANT. THIS WAS DONE OBVIOUSLY TO MEET THE DEMAND, BUT I ALSO WANT TO FOOT STOMP -- WE DIDN'T JUST GET MORE POWER. WE GOT MORE POWER AT A CHEAPER RATE, SOONER THAN WE WOULD HAVE -- SOONER THAN WE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN IT HAD WE BUILT IT. WE NEED IT NOW, BUT THE COST TO BUILD IT AS YOU POINT OUT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH HIGHER THAN WHAT WE ANTICIPATED WHEN WE FIRST PUT TOGETHER THIS PLAN. SO IT'S MORE POWER, IT'S CHEAPER AND FRANKLY, IT'S ONLY GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE. AND JUST AGAIN FOR CONTEXT, TO GIVE MY FOLKS THE -- LIKE MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES AN UNDERSTANDING, IF WE WERE TO BUILD, WHAT WOULD THE COST 
          BE FOR MEGAWATT VERSUS WHAT WE ACQUIRED IT AT? >> PER KILOWATT, AND I WAS GOING TO GO TO THE SLIDE WHERE WE HAVE THE ACTUAL NUMBERS. 
          FOR CONTEXT, THE RECENT ACQUISITION, THE TALON ACQUISITION THAT WE CONDUCTED ABOUT A YEAR AGO, WE ACQUIRED THOSE ASSETS AT ABOUT $7.13 PER KW.  THE RECENT ACQUISITION THAT WE JUST CLOSED IN SEPTEMBER WAS $8.50 PER KW. 
          TO BUILD NOW IS IN EXCESS OF 2,000 AND WE'RE SEEING NUMBERS IN EXCESS OF 2500 EVERYDAY AS PROJECTS ARE ANNOUNCED. AND SO -- AND OUR ACQUISITION COSTS AND WHAT OUR PROJECTED CONSTRUCTION COSTS WERE, THE ACQUISITIONS HAVE SAVED US OVER $3 BILLION. AND SUPPLY CHAINS, TO GET EQUIPMENT OF ALL TYPES, SOLAR, WIND, STORAGE, NATURAL GAS, TIMELINES HAVE DOUBLED AND IN SOME CASES TRIPLED FOR EQUIPMENT AND SO THOSE ACQUISITIONS ALSO HAVE PROVIDED US SOME STABILITY AND PROTECTION FROM SUPPLY CHAIN SHOCKS. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND THEN LASTLY, THE POINT -- THE ACQUISITION, THEY CAME WITH CONTRACTS, SO THEY'RE ALREADY CONTRIBUTING NOT ONLY TO CPS, WHICH THEN CONTRIBUTES TO OUR 14%, RIGHT, TO THE CITY. 
          SO THAT I THINK CAN ALSO NOT BE UNDERSTATED. THIS IS ALSO A PRETTY TIMELY TOPIC. WE HAD A CCR BEFORE AND MY COLLEAGUE, COUNCILMAN GALVAN, AND THE POWER NETHERLANDS WATER NEEDS OF THAT WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE LARGE LOAD REQUIREMENTS WE HAVE NOW AND THAT WE ANTICIPATE. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION. AND LET ME OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP. YOU JUST ANSWERED ALL THE QUESTIONS, ELENA. LET ME SAY ONE MORE THING ACTUALLY ON THE FINANCIAL PIECE. SLIDE 13. SO WHEN CORY MENTIONED THAT THIS IS REALLY -- THESE ARE KIND OF THE METRICS THAT KEEP US IN WHERE WE WANT TO BE FOR A BOND RATING STANDPOINT, YOU CAN SEE WE ARE IN SOME PLACES A LITTLE BIT ON THE HIGHER END OF THAT RANGE, WHICH MAY MEAN WE MAY HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF GIVE. SO WHEN I SAY WE ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE WE CAN CONFIDENTLY SAY TO OUR FOLKS WE'VE DONE OUR DUE DILIGENCE TO MAKE SURE WHATEVER RATE INCREASE IS ACTUALLY THE MINIMUM, THAT WILL ENTAIL MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ADEQUATELY WITHIN THE RANGES OF THESE THAT WE'RE COMFORTABLE WITH. 
          SO EVERYBODY IS CLEAR ABOUT THAT. OKAY. 
          ANY OTHER -- OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN SPEARS. 
          >> SPEARS: OH, I WAS FIRST. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT ENERGY. WE COULD PROBABLY SIT AND TALK ABOUT IT FOR WEEKS TOGETHER, BUT THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE EFFORT YOU PUT INTO IT. I WANTED TO KNOW ARE WE LOOKING AT ADDITIONAL STRATEGIC UTILITY PARTNERSHIPS? I KNOW I HAVE ONE COMING THROUGH MY DISTRICT WITH HOWARD ENERGY. THEY'RE GOING TO DO THE OUTER LOOP PIPELINE, WHICH I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT. I KNOW IT'S GOING TO INCREASE TRANSMISSION AND CPS WILL BE ABLE TO TAP IN EVEN THOUGH HOWARD IS GOING 
          [00:30:01]
TO OPERATE AND MANAGE THAT. I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR OUR REGION AND IT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT MORE BECAUSE IT IMPROVES OUR RELIABILITY AND HELPS KEEP THE RATES LOW. ARE WE LOOKING AT DOING MORE OF THOSE STRATEGIC 
          PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER UTILITY PROVIDERS? >> YES, MA'AM, WE ARE. 
          AND IT CUTS ACROSS A NUMBER OF PARTS OF OUR BUSINESS FROM GAS -- AS YOU MENTIONED, GAS CONSTRUCTION. WE DIDN'T TOUCH ON TRANSMISSION, BUT WE HAVE SEVERAL BILLION DOLLARS OF TRANSMISSION EXPANSION IN OUR SERVICE TERRITORY AND IN THE STATE. THAT WILL BE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR PARTNERSHIP, AS WELL AS IN THE POWER GENERATION SIDE. WE HAVE SOME STRONG PARTNERS FROM OUR NUCLEAR FACILITY THAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH AND SEEK 
          ADDITIONAL WAYS FOR VALUE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. >> SPEARS: YOU SAID TWO OF MY FAVORITE WORDS, TRANSMISSION AND NUCLEAR. THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          I UNDERSTAND WE ARE LOOKING AT HEDGING NOW AND ENLISTING NOW. 
          IT'S JUST GOING TO BE HARD FOR ME TO EXPLAIN TO OUR TAXPAYERS, OUR RATEPAYERS, LIKE HEY, WE NEED TO RAISE YOUR RATES TODAY, BUT IN THE LONG RUN IT'S GOING TO BE GOOD FOR YOU, BECAUSE THEY'RE STRUGGLING TODAY. SO I'M GOING TO HAVE A HARD TIME EXPLAINING HOW I CAN GET BEHIND THAT. THAT'S JUST -- I'VE JUST GOT TO SAY IT LIKE THAT. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN THAT, HEY, WE NEED YOU TO SACRIFICE TODAY. IN THE LONG RUN IT'S GOING TO SAVE YOU MONEY, BUT THEY'RE REALLY STRUGGLING TODAY. I UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, IT'S JUST REALLY HARD TO EXPLAIN THAT TO SOMEONE. 
          >> UNDERSTOOD. COULD I PROVIDE AN ERCOT PERSPECTIVE? I UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THE COMMENT. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE ENTIRE ERCOT SYSTEM, THE ERCOT SYSTEM IS PEAKING NOW AT ABOUT 85 GIGAWATTS. 
          IN THEIR MOST RECENT BOARD MEETING ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, THE UPDATED FORECAST FOR INTERCONNECTION QUEUES IN ERCOT ARE NOW AT 205,000 MEGAWATTS, SO MORE THAN TWO TIMES THE CURRENT PEAK. AND SO I SHARE THAT BECAUSE ERCOT IN THIS COMMUNITY AND OUR STATE KNOWS HOW ELASTIC ERCOT CAN BECOME ESPECIALLY DURING TIMES OF SHORT SUPPLY WHERE ENERGY PRICES WITH INCREASE BY 300 FOLD. 
          SO PART OF OUR THOUGHT PROCESS AROUND THESE ACQUISITIONS AROUND AROUND POSITIONING OUR SYSTEM AND OUR CUSTOMERS WITH THESE PHYSICAL PROTECTIONS ARE NOT ONLY TO LOWER COSTS COMPARED TO BUILD, BUT THEY'RE ALSO TO ENSURE AS ERCOT RESERVE MARGINS GET VERY THIN AND THEIR OTHER PROJECTIONS GO NEGATIVE, THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS ADEQUATE RESOURCES TO PROTECT OUR CUSTOMERS FROM PRICE VOLATILITY IN THE NOW. 
          >> SPEARS: SO I GUESS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO SAY THEN, OUR OFF-MARKET SALES WILL 
          KIND OF HELP AND ASSIST OUR RATEPAYERS IN THE NOW. >> ABSOLUTELY. 
          I MEAN, THAT IS -- IN THE CONTEXT OF YOUR QUESTION, I THINK YOU SAID IT PERFECTLY RIGHT. WHATEVER NUMBER COMES FORWARD IS LOWER THAN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN. AND OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS WITH THE ASSETS WE'VE RECEIVED OR THAT WE'VE PURCHASED, NEARLY $400 MILLION NET OF FUEL HAS COME IN THE DOOR THROUGH THOSE ASSETS, THAT'S $400 MILLION WE'RE NOT ASKING OUR CUSTOMERS FOR. SO THERE IS REAL VALUE. AND WE'LL MAKE THE CASE WHEN WE COME FORWARD, WE'LL HELP WITH ALL THE DETAIL AND DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM THAT I THINK YOUR QUESTION REALLY BRINGS FORWARD TO HELP WITH THAT. 
          >> SPEARS: OKAY. WE'RE ENTERING LA NINA AND IT'S BEEN A MILD SUMMER SO WE'RE PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT -- IN OUR ASSESSMENT FOR ERCOT? 
          >> BASED ON -- YEAH. WE HAVE METEOROLOGISTS ON BOARD, WE HAVE A TON OF FORECASTING TOOLS. AS PART OF THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE FORECASTED WITH OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES WE HAVE OVER $300 MILLION NET OF FUEL JUST IN THE WHOLESALE BOOK, WHICH IS SUCH A BENEFIT TO OUR CUSTOMERS. AND IN THE CONTEXT OF BENCHMARKING, WHICH I THINK ELENA MENTIONED EARLIER, EVERYTHING WE'VE DONE IN SAN ANTONIO IS MATERIALLY LOWER THAN THE REST OF THE STATE AND COUNTRY. 
          SO IF WE'RE COMING WITH THREE OR FOUR PERCENT, WHATEVER, LIKE WE DID THE LAST TWO TIMES, YOU LOOK ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THAT IS LOWER. 
          AND AS YOU LOOK AT OUR BILL COMPARISONS TODAY, WE STILL ARE OVER $20 LESS ON COMBINED ELECTRIC AND GAS BILL THAN ANY OTHER UTILITY IN THE STATE. 
          AND THAT COMPETITIVENESS IS BORNE IN THAT PARTICULAR BENCHMARK. 
          >> SPEARS: DO YOU HAVE ANY COMPARISONS YOU COULD PROVIDE? THAT WOULD HELP ME WHEN I'M EXPLAINING TO MY CONSTITUENTS. 
          >> ABSOLUTELY. WE HAVE SOME SHARES WE SHARED WITH OUR BOARD. 
          WE'LL SHARE THE SAME ONES. THEY'RE VERY HELPFUL. >> SPEARS: SIMILAR ACROSS IN TEXAS AND THEN ACROSS THE NATION WOULD BE HELPFUL OR MARKETS OUR SIZE. 
          >> YES, MA'AM. >> SPEARS: THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: COUNCILWOMAN, IF IT'S HELPFUL, THE OTHER PIECE THAT THEY DIDN'T SPEND A TON OF TIME TALKING ABOUT, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, IS 
          [00:35:04]
WHEN WE MAKE THESE ACQUISITIONS IT ALLOWS US TO RETIRE OLDER ASSETS THAT ARE LESS EFFICIENT AND MORE EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN. SO OUR DOLLAR GOES FURTHER BASED ON THE POWER THAT WE JUST PURCHASED. IF I MISS CHARACTERIZE THAT, 
          GO AHEAD. >> THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT. >> MAYOR JONES: 
          COUNCILWOMAN ALDERETE GAVITO. >> GAVITO: THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION. IT'S GREAT. I WANT TO THANK RUDY. 
          I'M ALWAYS IMPRESSED WITH RUDY AND THE LEADERSHIP TEAM. 
          I KNOW THAT Y'ALL ARE A REALLY SOLID TEAM. AND DEALING WITH VERY, VERY COMPLEX INDUSTRY AND SO I THANK Y'ALL FOR ALL THAT Y'ALL DO. 
          MY QUESTION WAS ACTUALLY KIND OF PIGGYBACKING OFF OF COUNCILWOMAN SPEARS, AND THAT IS HOW WE CAN BREAK DOWN EXACTLY HOW THE INVESTMENTS WILL SAVE FOLKS MONEY. IT SOUNDS LIKE AS SHE WAS PROBING, WE'LL NEED SOME TALKING POINTS AROUND THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE THE ONES THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE TO FACE THE FIRE, SO TO SPEAK ON THIS. SO WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CLEAR WITH THEM, THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE WHY'S. 
          I DEFINITELY THINK THE INVESTMENT MAKES SENSE, BUT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SELL 
          IT. >> I THINK A HELPFUL TALKING POINT, FOR YOU, COUNCILWOMAN, IF WE DON'T BUILD, OUR OBLIGATION TO SERVE IS 100%, RIGHT? SO WE WOULD HAVE TO BUY OFF THE MARKET. THAT'S WHAT ELENA MENTIONED EARLIER. AND THAT REALLY IS WHERE YOU SEE SAVINGS, NOT JUST SAVINGS, BUT PROTECTION FROM RISK AND VOLATILITY. THE SAVINGS IS ON THE OTHER SLIDE THAT SHOWS THE DELTA BETWEEN THE BILLIONS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, BUT AGAIN, WE WILL HELP YOU AND KIND OF GO THROUGH THAT DUE DILIGENCE AND ANALYSIS. 
          >> GAVITO: YES. I RECALL OUR CONVERSATIONS AROUND THAT. 
          THAT'S WHY THE INVESTMENT MAKES SENSE, BUT BREAKING IT DOWN TO A RESIDENT, WHO QUITE FRANKLY WILL BE STRUGGLING WITH [INDISCERNIBLE] INCREASE, ALL THAT STUFF, THERE'S A WAY THAT WE NEED IT TO MAKE SENSE IN TIMES WHERE PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING. OTHER THAN THAT THANK YOU FOR -- I KNOW THAT YOU ALL HAVE ALSO WORKED WITH US BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF RESIDENTS IN THE NORTHERN PART OF DISTRICT 7 WHO EXPERIENCE A BLACKOUT ANY TIME STORMS COME.  I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS I MENTIONED TO MY COLLEAGUES IS THAT, YES, WHETHER IT'S TREE TRIMMING OR THE POWER COMING BACK ON QUICKLY, YOU KNOW, THE -- FOR OUR RESIDENT THE LINES GET BLURRY WHETHER IT'S A CITY FUNCTION OR CPS FUNCTION. 
          SO A LOT OF OUR FUNCTIONS BECOME CITY FUNCTIONS AND VICE VERSA. 
          SO THAT'S WHY I THINK THE INVESTMENT IS NEEDED FOR CPS SO THAT WAY YOU ALL CAN DOING WHAT YOU ALL DO, BECAUSE IT DOES IMPACT RESIDENTS' DAILY LIVES AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT. THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS. 
          THANK YOU. >> MAYOR JONES: COUNCILWOMAN MEZA GONZÁLEZ. 
          >> GONZÁLEZ: THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE MENTION. JUST A FEW QUESTIONS. 
          ON SLIDE FOUR UNDER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, DO YOU HAVE A ACHIEVEMENTS THAT RESIDENTS NOTICE? YOU SAID YOU HAD A 95% CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. 
          DO YOU HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF THOSE THAT YOU CAN PROVIDE? >> WE DO. 
          WE EXTERNALLY -- WE USE THIRD-PARTIES EXTERNALLY TO SURVEY OUR CUSTOMERS SO IT'S COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT, BUT AS A RESULT OF THAT SURVEY AND THE SERVICES WE HAVE THROUGH THEM, THEY PROVIDE US DETAILED REPORTS THAT SHOW THE BREAKDOWN AND TRENDS ON WHAT THINGS ARE IMPROVING AND WHAT THINGS ARE STABLE AND WHAT THINGS DO WE NEED TO WORK ON. SO WE'LL TAKE THAT AS ONACTION. 
          >> GONZÁLEZ: PERFECT, THANK YOU. AND ON SLIDE 5, I'M CURIOUS WHERE YOUR CIC COMMITTEE, WHERE DO THEY FIT IN ON THIS ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PLAN? ARE THEY PICKING UP WHERE THE REC LEFT OFF? CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT A 
          LITTLE BIT MORE? >> YES, MA'AM. THE RAC WAS ESTABLISHED AND PART OF THEIR MISSION AND THEIR CHARTER WAS TO ESTABLISH OUR GENERATION PLAN. WE DO HAVE A NEWLY FORMED CIC AND THIS -- THIS COUNCIL ACTUALLY HELPED PROVIDE NAMES AND HELPED SELECT THE MEMBERS OF THAT CIC. 
          SO THAT IS EXACTLY THEIR ROLE. I WILL -- I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT, HOWEVER, WE'RE NOT LIMITING INPUT TO JUST THE CIC AND OUR BOARD AND THE COUNCIL. AS I MENTIONED, AND IT'S IN OUR APPENDIX SLIDES. 
          I'LL GET THE NUMBER IN A MOMENT. BUT WE ARE ESTABLISHING A NUMBER OF COMMUNITY EVENTS AND WE ALSO -- WE'RE GOING TO USE EVERY VENUE WE CAN TO GET GENERAL CUSTOMER FEEDBACK AND THE CITY FEEDBACK AS WE CONDUCT THIS REFRESH. SO THIS WILL BE IN ADDITION TO THE CIC. 
          AND>> AND WHAT ELENA JUST SAID THERE AT THE END IS THE KEY. WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 
          [00:40:05]
PLAN AND EXECUTION RIGHT NOW. ENOUGH ASSUMPTIONS HAVE CHANGED WE'LL UPDATE THOSE ASSUMPTIONS, RERUN THE CALCULATION AND SEE IF OUR MIX NEEDS TO CHANGE IN SOME WAY. IF THE GOAL IS -- WE EXPECT THE AMOUNT OF GENERATION WE'RE AFTER TO GO UP AS A RESULT OF A LOT OF THE GROWTH THAT WE'RE SEEING BUT IT'S A REFRESH. THEY'RE NOT STARTING FROM GROUND ZERO THE WAY WE DID LAST TIME. THEY'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THE ASSUMPTIONS, THE CHANGES THAT WE'RE MAKING AND TELL US WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT THAT, AND THAT INPUT WILL GO TO COUNCIL IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY THE RAC DID, BUT THEY'RE NOT STARTING FROM FORMULATING THE PLAN, WE'RE JUST UPDATING IT. 
          >> GONZÁLEZ: I GET THAT. >> AND ALSO REMEMBER THAT A KEY DRIVER OF THE ORIGINAL GENERATION PLAN WAS NOT JUST THE AGING OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE THAT NEEDED REPLACING, IT WAS ALSO, YOU KNOW, OUR DESIRE TO MEET OUR CAP GOALS, WHICH IS A POLICY OF THIS COUNCIL. SO THAT IS A BIG DRIVER OF HOW WE LOOK AT THE FUTURE IS CAN WE MEET OUR LOAD REQUIREMENTS, THE NEED TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY IN A MANNER THAT MAINTAINS AFFORDABILITY AND MEETS OUR CAPITALS. 
          SO IT'S GOT TO ACCOMPLISH BOTH. YES, MA'AM. 
          >> GONZÁLEZ: THANK YOU FOR THAT. LET'S SEE. 
          AND JUST TO CLARIFY ON SLIDE --E 7, THE NEW GENERATION CAPACITY, THAT'S AVAILABLE 
          FOR-- IS ALL OF THAT AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE USE? >> IT IS. 
          THE MAYOR MENTIONED THAT IN ADDITION TO HAVING THESE ASSETS IN OUR PORTFOLIO THEY CAME WITH CONTRACTS, SO RIGHT NOW ABOUT THREE-QUARTERS OF THIS CAPACITY HAVE CONTRACTS. THEY DO ROLL OFF OVER THE NEXT ONE TO FOUR YEARS, BUT THEY ARE REVENUE CERTAINTY, SO WE PICKED UP NOT ONLY THE GENERATION FOR THE LONG-TERM, BUT WE DO HAVE REVENUE CONTRACTS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE ASSETS, WHICH WE WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT OVER TIME TO SEE WOULD WE WANT TO EXTEND THEM OR ARE WE JUST GOING TO ASSUME THAT CAPACITY INTO OUR PORTFOLIO OR FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. 
          WE'LL LOOK AT WHAT'S BEST THROUGH THE LENS OF OUR CUSTOMERS AND THEIR BILLS. 
          >> GONZÁLEZ: GOT IT. AND JUST A LAST QUESTION ON SLIDE 8, HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE ALL OF THIS TO RESIDENTS SO THEY CAN SEE THAT BENEFIT, RIGHT? IT'S HERE ON THE SLIDE AND WE CAN ALL GET TOO TECHNICAL SOMETIMES, ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM PROBABLY, BUT HOW DO WE BEST ARTICULATE THAT TO RESIDENTS? I KNOW WE DO A LOT OF COMMUNITY EVENTS, BUT SOMETIMES IT'S QUALITY OVER QUANTITY, I THINK, AND MAKING SURE WE HAVE QUALITY EVENTS THAT FOLKS ARE REALLY LEAVING WITH A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT CPS IS TO NOT ONLY THEIR HOMES AND THEIR BUSINESSES, BUT TO THIS COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE AND REALLY TO THE STATE. 
          SO JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE ARE REALLY JUST TRANSLATING THIS INTO SOME 
          BASIC INFORMATION. >> WELL, I'M AN ENGINEER SO THEY KEEP ME OUT OF THE ROOM WITH THAT. [LAUGHTER]. THEY FEED ME THROUGH THE SLOT AND SAY TELL US WHAT THIS MEANS. I'M JOKING A LITTLE, BUT OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH TEAM ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING AN ENTIRE DIGITAL TOOLKIT, BUT ALSO A TOOK THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE UTILIZING FOR CUSTOMER EDUCATION NOT ONLY AT THESE EVENTS THAT WE'VE LISTED IN THE APPENDIX ON SLIDE 27, BUT JUST THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF HOW WE'RE CONDUCTING BUSINESS. 
          WHAT WE ARE SEEING AS AN INDUSTRY JUST A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF CHANGE, SO JUST HAVING THAT CONTINUAL CADENCE OF SIMPLE, EASY TO UNDERSTAND COMMUNICATIONS ON WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO DO AND HOW ARE WE MAKING DECISIONS ULTIMATELY TO BENEFIT OUR CUSTOMERS AND THE COMMUNITY. SO THE TEAMS ARE WORKING ON THAT. 
          AND ALL OF THOSE MATERIALS AND THE TEAMS TO BE ABLE TO HELP WITH DELIVERY OF 
          MESSAGES ARE GOING TO BE AT Y'ALL'S DISPOSAL. >> GONZÁLEZ: OKAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU, THAT'S ALL. >> MAYOR JONES: COUNCILMAN 
          WHYTE. >> WHYTE: THANKS, MAYOR. WE TALK ABOUT BALANCING RELIABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY WITH THE CAP GOALS. 
          SO HOW DO WE WEIGHT THESE THINGS? >> COUNCILMAN, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, VARIABLES, YOU KNOW, CHANGING IN EVERY DIRECTION IN OUR BUSINESS RIGHT NOW, AND OUR GOAL AS AN ASSET THAT YOU ALL OWN IS TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THIS BODY WHEN YOU CREATE POLICY THAT REQUIRES US TO DO SOMETHING. 
          >> WHYTE: IF WE WEREN'T TRYING TO MEET THESE CAP GOALS THAT WERE SET, COULD 
          WE PROVIDE ENERGY CHEAPER TO THE RESIDENTS? >> I THINK WE'LL ALWAYS WANT TO BE BALANCED. IT IS A GOOD THING JUST LIKE IT IS FOR YOUR FINANCIAL PORTFOLIO TO OWN ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT BRING YOU RETURNS. 
          [00:45:01]
SO FOR US PUTTING ALL OUR EGGS IN JUST THE NATURAL GAS BASKET OR ALL OUR EGGS IN THE NUCLEAR BASKET OR SOLAR BASKET HAS CONSEQUENCES AND RAMIFICATIONS THAT WE HAVE TO TALK THROUGH. I THINK WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GIVEN DIRECTION FROM THIS BODY THAT PAYING ATTENTION TO OUR CARBON INTENSITY AND THE MANNER IN WHICH WE'RE BEING GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDS IS AN IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTE. 
          SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY, IF ALL WE DID WAS CONSIDER NATURAL GAS PORTFOLIO, FOR INSTANCE, THEN IN THE SHORT-TERM THAT MIGHT GIVE US AN ABILITY TO CREATE SOME PRICE, SOME LOWER PRICING, BUT IT ALSO PRODUCES A LOT OF RISK THAT WE'VE GOTTEN INTO IN THE PAST IN SAN ANTONIO THAT WE'RE TRYING TO AVOID. 
          ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU SEE A SPIKE, ALL OF A SUDDEN YOUR FUEL COST GOES UP MONTH TO MONTH BECAUSE YOU'RE BEHOLDEN TO ONE ASPECT OF THE MARKET. 
          SO A BALANCED PORTFOLIO WILL ALWAYS BE MY RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL AS A GOOD THING 
          TO DO. >> WHYTE: BUT WE'RE RETIRING SOME OF THESE 
          ASSETS WELL BEFORE THEIR LIFE-SPAN, AREN'T WE? >> COUNCILMAN, I'LL TELL YOU, THE SPRUCE ASSETS, WHETHER THEY'RE RETIRING EARLY OR NOT, WE HAVE SOME CHALLENGES WITH THEM, THAT CONVERTING THEM ONE OR BOTH OR WHATEVER WE END UP DOING ULTIMATELY TO NATURAL GAS, WILL HELP MAKE THEM MORE RELIABLE. 
          SO THERE'S NOT JUST AN ENVIRONMENTAL DRIVER TO MOVE AWAY FROM COAL, WHICH HAS 
          BEEN DIRECTED BY THIS BODY IN THE PAST. >> WHYTE: SO WOULD WE HAVE RETIRED THEM EARLY WITHOUT THE COUNCIL DIRECT POLICY DIRECTION THAT YOU'VE SPOKEN 
          OF? >> YEAH, THE FEDERAL GUIDELINES WERE MAKING IT 
          MORE DIFFICULT TO RUN, THAT'S RIGHT. >> WHYTE: SO EITHER WAY 
          THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN GONE. >> I THINK EITHER WAY WHEN CONSIDERING A GENERATION PLAN YOU'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT YOUR EXISTING ASSETTING TO SEE HOW WE CAN DO IT 
          BETTER. >> THE ANALYSIS WE DID ON SPRUCE WAS A COUPLE MILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, WHICH WAS INCREDIBLY SUBSTANTIAL AND VERY OLD NUMBERS IN 2022. SO IT WAS COST PROHIBITIVE AS WELL. 
          >> WHYTE: ON SLIDE 6 WE TALK ABOUT THESE COST REDUCTIONS. 
          HOW ARE THESE SAVINGS ACHIEVED AND HOW ARE THEY GOING TO BE SUSTAINED? 
          >> SO THESE SAVINGS WERE ACHIEVED BASED ON US ACQUIRING EXISTING ASSETS VERSUS BUILDING THE SIMILAR TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY IN TODAY'S ENVIRONMENT AND TODAY'S SUPPLY CHAIN CONSTRAINT AND HIGH COST ENVIRONMENT. 
          SO OUR BASE PLAN IN 2022 TO HAVE ADDITIONAL NATURAL GAS COMBINED CYCLE, TECHNOLOGY AS WELL AS OUR SIMPLE CYCLE PEAKING TECHNOLOGY EQUATED TO ABOUT $5.2 BILLION. 
          WE THROUGH SUCCESSFUL ACQUISITIONS FROM INVESTOR -- AN INVESTOR OWNED UTILITY AS WELL AS A PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED MERCHANT GENERATOR RESULTED IN ACQUIRING THE EQUIVALENT CAPACITY OF SIMILAR TECHNOLOGY THAT ARE ALREADY OPERATING TODAY AT A REDUCED COST OF 2.2 -- $3 BILLION FOR AN EQUIVALENT COST OF $2.2 BILLION. SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WILL BE ACHIEVED, IT HAS 
          BEEN ACHIEVED. >> WHYTE: AND HOW IS IT GOING TO AFFECT THESE ACQUISITIONS, LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY COSTS, WE THINK IT'S GOING 
          TO STAY LOW OR CONTINUE TO GET LOWER? >> WE HAVE GOOD EXPERIENCE WITH THESE TECHNOLOGIES, SO WE UTILIZED THIRD-PARTY WHO PROVIDES A ROBUST SET OF INFORMATION AROUND THE EXPECTED COSTS OF MAINTENANCE FOR TECHNOLOGIES THAT THEY STUDY ALL ACROSS THE WORLD COUPLED WITH OUR OWN OPERATING EXPERIENCE OF THESE TYPES OF MACHINES THAT ARE IN OUR PORTFOLIO AND INCLUDED THOSE IN OUR MODEL. 
          AND AGAIN, THE MOST RECENT ANNOUNCED ACQUISITION THAT HAPPENED ON SEPTEMBER 23RD THAT, ACQUISITION HAD A NET PRESENT VALUE OF SAVINGS OVER US BUILDING THAT TECHNOLOGY, EQUIVALENT TO $890 MILLION OVER 25 YEARS. WHEN YOU FACTOR IN THE TALON ACQUISITION, WHICH REPLACED, AGAIN, COMBINED CYCLE AND SIMPLE CYCLE TECHNOLOGIES, THE TWO ACTIONS COMBINED HAVE RESULTED IN A ONE AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS IN NET PRESENT VALUE SAVINGS TO OUR CUSTOMERS OVER THE LONG-TERM WHEN COMPARED TO THE BUILD SCENARIO THAT WE HAD CONTEMPLATED. THAT'S ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT MUTED BECAUSE THOSE WERE 2022 NUMBERS AND THE COSTS OF GENERATION BUILD HAS GONE UP CONSIDERABLY FROM 2022. WE ESTIMATED $1,500 TO KW TO $1,700 TO KW. 
          [00:50:08]
AND AS I MENTIONED, PROJECTS BEING ANNOUNCED NOW ARE TIPPING $2,500 A KW. 
          SO THAT EXPECTED COST NUMBER, YOU KNOW, KNOWING WHAT WE KNOW NOW, WOULD BE 
          HIGHER. >> WHYTE: LOOK, I -- RUDY, I THINK YOU AND YOUR TEAM DO A GREAT JOB. EVERY TIME Y'ALL PRESENT I'M IMPRESSED. 
          AND TO SEE REALLY WHERE CPS HAS COME IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS I THINK UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP IS REALLY COMMENDABLE. YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, I GUESS, CORY, YOU DID, ABOUT THE -- ABOUT OUR RATES BEING LOW AND LOWER THAN OTHER CITIES. YOU KNOW, WE HAD A NICE BACK AND FORTH ON THIS A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO DURING THE RATE HIKE, AND I THINK WHAT WE SAW WAS WHILE STANDALONE THE RATES ARE LOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT PERCENTAGE OF OUR CITIZENS' INCOME ARE GOING TOWARDS THEIR ENERGY COSTS, WE'RE STILL SORT OF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK. 
          OUR FOLKS ARE PAYING MORE FOR ENERGY OUT OF THEIR AVERAGE PAYCHECK THAN IN SOME OF THE OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS. WHEN IT COMES TO LOOKING AT A RATE HIKE IN THIS ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT AND BASED ON WHAT I KNOW NOW, AND I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVEN'T MADE THE RATE CASE YET, BUT I SHARE MY COLLEAGUES' SENTIMENTS THAT I DON'T KNOW HOW IN THE WORLD I WOULD BE IN A POSITION TO VOTE FOR A RATE HIKE KNOWING WHAT WE KNOW NOW. TO ME THERE'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE A LOT OF WORK DONE, AGAIN, TO SHOW THE EFFORTS BEING MADE BY CPS TO BE MORE EFFICIENT BECAUSE TRYING TO RATIONALIZE RIGHT NOW TO OUR CITIZENS WHY THEY SHOULD PAY MORE FROM THEIR PAYCHECK TOWARDS ENERGY COSTS, I DON'T KNOW HOW I WOULD RATIONALIZE IT. SO THAT'S WHERE I'M AT ON THAT. 
          I KNOW IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE QUESTION WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT TODAY, AND I DO LOOK FORWARD TO THE PRESENTATION ON THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD. 
          I DO THINK Y'ALL DO GREAT WORK AND SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE DONE TO SET US UP IN THE FUTURE I THINK ARE GOING TO BE EXTREMELY VALUABLE, BUT THAT'S WHERE I AM. 
          THANKS. >> COUNCILMAN, FIRST, THANK YOU FOR THE EXAM COMPLIMENT. 
          I THINK OUR -- THANK YOU FOR THE COMPLIMENT. I THINK OUR TEAM IS WORKING HARD TO DELIVER VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY AND THAT'S OUR GOAL IS TO DO OUR JOBS. 
          WE DON'T LIVE IN A BUBBLE IN SAN ANTONIO. THE COST OF THINGS THAT IT TAKES TO RUN OUR BUSINESS AREN'T ANY CHEAPER BECAUSE WE'RE IN SAN ANTONIO THAN ANY OTHER, YOU KNOW, PLACE IN THE COUNTRY. A POLE IS A POLE, WIRES ARE WIRES. A LABOR IS LABOR. AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THE BEST LABOR IN THE MARKET TO DO THE WORK THAT WE DO. 
          SO AGAIN, OUR JOB IS TO SHOW Y'ALL THE VARIABLES OF WHAT IT TAKES TO RUN AN EFFECTIVE UTILITY, TRY TO MAINTAIN OUR BOND RATING TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE SO THAT THE CITY CAN MAINTAIN THEIRS BECAUSE WE'RE A VERY BIG DRIVER OF -- WE HAVE A LOT OF IMPACT ON THAT. AND TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH COUNCIL WHEN IT'S NECESSARY. WE'RE NOT HERE TODAY TO DO THAT. 
          WE'VE GOT A BUDGET TO PRESENT TO OUR BOARD THAT WILL HAPPEN IN FEBRUARY WHERE WE'LL LAY IT ALL OUT AND THE MAYOR WILL BE PART OF THAT CONVERSATION. 
          AND YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE TRY TO NOT ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE THAN WE THINK IS JUSTIFIED. 
          AND TO SOME OF THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS' POINTS, IT'S OUR JOB TO TAKE IT TO OUR CONSTITUENTS, OUR CUSTOMERS, AND MAKE THAT CASE. 
          AND THEN YOU ALL HAVE TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT WE'VE EFFECTIVELY DONE THAT. 
          AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO DO THE BEST WE CAN TO LIVE WITHIN OUR MEANS, BUT THE COSTS ARE THE COSTS TO RUN THIS BUSINESS, AND WE DO THE BEST WE CAN TO MANAGE THAT, BUT IT'S TIME. IT'S TIME FOR A CONVERSATION. 
          AGAIN, WHETHER WE GET AN INCREASE OR WE DON'T GET AN INCREASE ISN'T THE POINT. 
          WE AGREED POST-WINTER STORM URI THAT IT'S UNSUSTAINABLE TO WAIT EIGHT YEARS TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS, SO WE'RE GOING TO COME IN EVERY OTHER YEAR AND HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT THE NEED IS AND WHETHER OR NOT IT'S TIME OR NOT TIME, WE CAN TIGHTEN OUR BUILTS AND GO ON. SO I JUST WANT TO KIND OF LEVEL SET WITH YOU. WE'RE NOT HERE TO TALK ABOUT A RATE INCREASE. 
          WE WILL COME AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME WITH OUR BOARD'S CONSENT IF AND WHEN WE GET TO THAT POINT, BUT THERE ARE DRIVERS THAT WE CANNOT AVOID, YOU KNOW. 
          [00:55:05]
AGAIN, I DON'T HAVE THE DISCRETION TO RESPOND TO 10 STORMS IN A YEAR. 
          IF THEY COME, THEY COME AND WE HAVE TO GET BACK ON TRACK. 
          BUT OUR GOAL IS YOU ALWAYS ASK FOR LESS THAN WHAT THE DRIVERS OF OUR BUSINESS REQUIRE OF US. WE LIVE WITHIN OUR MEANS BY TRYING TO MAXIMIZE OUR WHOLESALE REVENUES AND LOWER THE IMPACT ON OUR RATEPAYERS. 
          >> WHYTE: AND I COMMEND YOU FOR THAT BECAUSE YOU WERE VERY UP FRONT ABOUT YOU WOULD BE BACK FOR -- TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION AGAIN, BUT THE COST OF THIS CANNOT 
          CONTINUALLY FALL ON THE CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO. >> COUNCILMAN, I WILL JUST SAY JUST BECAUSE OUR COMMUNITY MYOS MAY BE A LOWER INCOME -- MAY BE A LOWER INCOME COMMUNITY DOESN'T MEAN THEY NEED LESS RELIABILITY. 
          WHATEVER IT COST ME TO DELIVER SERVICE IN A RELIABLE MANNER IS WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS DESERVE. SO WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION WHEN IT'S 
          APPROPRIATE. >> WHYTE: YEAH. I DON'T HAVE ANY ISSUE HAVING THE CONVERSATION, BUT AGAIN, I THINK THAT EVERY OTHER YEAR ASKING OUR PEOPLE TO CONTINUALLY PAY MORE AGAIN AND AGAIN IS JUST NOT RIGHT TO DO TO THE CITIZENS. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: COUNCILWOMAN KAUR. >> KAUR: THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          I ALSO WISH WE LIVED IN A SOCIETY WITHOUT INFLATION, BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT'S JUST NOT THE CASE, SO WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARDS -- I AGREE A RELIABLE, SUSTAINABLE ORGANIZATION. I ACTUALLY REALLY LIKE THE GENERATION PLAN, AND THE UPDATES, THE TWO ACQUISITIONS YOU HAVE DONE IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS -- TWO YEARS, WOW, TIME FLIES. REALLY COMMEND YOU. YOUR LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN GREAT WITH CPS. AND I THINK MAKING INNOVATIVE DEALS LIKE THAT IS REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY IT IS HELPING OUR CONSTITUENTS. 
          I ACTUALLY WAS TALKING TO A BUSINESS THE OTHER DAY AND THEY ARE AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEET CHARGING BUSINESS THAT'S LOOKING FOR SPACE IN THE CITY. 
          AND THEY'VE BEEN WORKING WITH YOU ALL AND THEY COULD ONLY IDENTIFY TWO PLOTS OF LAND THAT HAD ENOUGH GENERATION, ENOUGH POWER TO BE ABLE TO GENERATE WHAT THEY NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO DO FLEET CHARGING. AND SO THAT TO ME WAS LIKE A WOW IN THE FACE OF LIKE WE'RE HITTING A WORLD OF INNOVATION. 
          WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO BE ABLE TO EMBRACE SOME OF THAT THAT I THINK COULD BE REALLY GOOD FOR OUR COMMUNITY BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT CAN HELP WITH OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT AT THE END OF THE DAY. BUT ALL THAT TO SAY SOME OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE HERE -- AND I APPRECIATE THE FINANCIAL LAYOUT, CORY, BUT RUDY JUST MENTIONED YOUR JOB IS TO HELP ADDRESS THE COSTS AND SHOW US WHAT THOSE COSTS ARE. THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE NEXT TIME Y'ALL COME BACK IN THE NEXT CONVERSATION. I KNOW THIS WAS KIND OF A LEVEL SET BECAUSE WE'RE STARTING THIS, BUT FOR EXAMPLE, THE LAST TIME WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE AND TRYING TO BETTER GET OUR HEADS AROUND WHAT ARE THOSE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COSTS ACTUALLY LOOKING LIKE. SO THAT BASE SLIDE, I THINK IT WAS SLIDE 10 WHERE YOU KIND OF LAY OUT ALL OF THE COSTS ARE HELPFUL, BUT IT'S ALSO A LITTLE BIT -- I WOULD LIKE A LITTLE BIT MORE DEPTH ON THAT, EVEN IF IT'S THE APPENDICES, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. THE APPENDIX SLIDE ABOUT THE RESIDENTIAL COST OF SERVICE VERSUS BUSINESS I THOUGHT WAS ALSO VERY INTERESTING TO KNOW THAT OUR BUSINESSES ARE HELPING US COVER THE COST FOR RESIDENTIAL. SO ARE WE GOING TO BE 
          UPDATING THAT? I KNOW IT SAID 2022 ON IT. >> YES, COUNCILWOMAN, WE'LL BE UPDATING THAT. WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS RIGHT NOW AND BRINGING IN A THIRD-PARTY AND THAT WILL BE PART OF THE OVERALL ANALYSIS NEXT YEAR THAT WE GO THROUGH. WE'LL BE HAPPY TO STEP THROUGH IT AT THAT TIME. 
          >> KAUR: GREAT, THANK YOU. THE OTHER THING I'M INTERESTED IN IS UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE PLAN IS FOR GROWING UTILITIES AND WHICH AREAS IT'S POSSIBLE. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS INCLUDED IN THAT O&M COMPONENT. 
          >> THAT'S PART OF THE PLAN AND I THINK THAT CONVERSATION AGAIN CAN BE HAD IN SLIGHT OF NEXT YEAR. THAT'S -- IN LIGHT OF NEXT YEAR. 
          THAT IS PART OF THE CAPITAL BUDGET AND NOT THE [INDISCERNIBLE]. 
          >> KAUR: I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR ME TO KNOW AT LEAST WHERE YOU'RE CONSIDERING IT IN OUR DISTRICTS BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD ALSO HELP OUR RESIDENTS. LIKE THE RESIDENTS WANT TO BE ABLE TO WALK DOWN THEIR SIDEWALK WITHOUT HAVING TO HIT A POLE. SO I THINK IF YOU CAN SHOW THAT SIDE BY SIDE WITH WHAT YOU'RE WORKING ON THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TO BE ABLE 
          TO NOTICE IT. >> WE'LL NOTE IT. >> KAUR: THANK YOU. 
          AND THEN FOR SLIDE 9, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN, DO YOU HAVE A QUICK OVERVIEW 
          OF WHAT THAT IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE? >> YES, MA'AM. 
          THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. I'M GOING TO GO TO THE APPENDIX AND I'M NOT SURE IF 
          YOU ALL HAVE -- HOPEFULLY YOU WILL HAVE THESE SLIDES. >> KAUR: I HAD THOSE, 
          [01:00:04]
          BUT -- I MIGHT HAVE MISSED IT. >> I BELIEVE IT IS ON 26. 
          MAYBE IT'S NOT ON THIS -- THERE IT IS, 27. >> KAUR: I MISSED THAT. 
          >> THIS IS IN DEVELOPMENT AND I KNOW OUR TEAMS HAVE REACHED OUT TO EACH OF YOUR OFFICES AND WE'VE REACHED OUT TO ALL OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE, RIGHT? WE SERVE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, BUT WE SERVE THREE DOZEN PLUS OUTSIDE OF THE CITY TO BEGIN TO ESTABLISH THESE MEETINGS, AND THE INTENT HERE IS IT'S REALLY TWO-WAY. WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO SHARE INFORMATION THAT IS SIMILAR, BUT SIMPLIFIED WITH OUR COMMUNITY RIVAL IT TO WHAT WE SHARED TODAY, AS WELL AS TO OUR COMMUNITY RELATIVE TO THE BASE PLAN AND AUDIO] THAT WE'RE UPDATING. SO THIS IS IN DEVELOPMENT AND CERTAINLY IF YOUR OFFICES HAVE SPECIFIC PLACES, TIMES AND ACTIVITIES FOR OUTREACH, WE VERY MUCH 
          WELCOME IT. >> KAUR: SO THIS IS NOT DIRECTLY RELATED TO RATE, 
          IT'S MORE SO JUST GATHERING INPUT AND FEEDBACK? >> WE'RE SPECIFICALLY PROVIDING GETTING FEEDBACK ON THE GENERATION PLAN REFRESH, BUT ANY TIME WE GO OUT INTO OUR COMMUNITY WE'RE OUT THERE SEVERAL TIMES EVERYDAY, WE GET INPUT ON A 
          VARIETY OF TOPICS. SO WE WELCOME ALL OF IT. >> KAUR: OKAY. 
          OUR OFFICE WILL FOLLOW UP AND GET YOU SOME OF THE STUFF THAT WE'RE DOING IN THE FALL AND WINTER TO BE ABLE TO HELP. I GUESS IT'S NOT FALL ANYMORE. AND ONE OTHER QUESTION ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. 
          AND THAT IS ON THE AFFORDABILITY COMPONENT. SO WE TALKED ABOUT THIS THE LAST TIME WITH LIKE THE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS Y'ALL HAVE TO ACTUALLY HELP. 
          AND THEY'RE GREAT. BUT IT'S HARD FOR US TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING IF I AM A LOW INCOME RESIDENT HOW MUCH AM I ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO SAVE? WE KNOW THERE'S THE BASE PROGRAM OF SOMETHING LIKE 20 SOMETHING DOLLARS, BUT I'D LIKE TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING FOR RESIDENTS WHAT IS THE AMOUNT THEY COULD ACTUALLY SAVE UP TO. AND THAT'S THE THING I THINK WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON TOO. TO COUNCIL MEMBER WHYTE'S POINT, THE AMOUNT OF INCOME -- I KNOW LAST TIME THROUGH COUNCILMAN GAVITO'S EFFORTS WE INCREASED IT FROM 100 TO 125%, BUT IT'S STILL THE SAME VALUE. COULD WE FOR OUR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES INCREASE THOSE AMOUNTS OR PERCENTAGES? I DON'T KNOW IF WE SHOULD RECOMMEND THAT AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH BECAUSE EACH CASE IS SO INDIVIDUAL. 
          SO SOME KIND OF SUMMARY DATA AROUND THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. 
          >> WE CAN. AND IF I CAN DO A SHAMELESS PLUG FOR OUR STEP PROGRAM, IN ADDITION TO THOSE DIRECT COMPENSATORY ACTIONS THAT WE'VE GOT IN OUR AFFORDABILITY PROGRAMS, WE ARE ON A YEAR THREE OF A FIVE-YEAR JOURNEY TO DRIVE 542 MEGAWATTS OF DEMAND OUT OF OUR USAGE. AND THAT HAS A TWO-FOLD BENEFIT. ONE, IT REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF ASSET THAT WE HAVE TO PURCHASE FOR BUILD TO SUPPLY OUR CUSTOMERS. AND ADDITIONALLY IT DRIVES ENERGY USE AND HELPS CUSTOMERS SAVE ON THEIR BILLS. 
          SO WE WILL HAVE SEVERAL REPRESENTATIVES THERE TO -- AND OUR CUSTOMER OUTREACH FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT WHOLE SUITE OF HOW WE WANT TO HELP CUSTOMERS. 
          >> KAUR: AND YOU GUYS DO A GREAT JOB OF THAT. I WANTED TO SEE SOME OF THE 
          DATA CONSOLIDATED. >> THAT'S GREAT FEEDBACK, COUNCILWOMAN. 
          WE'LL DO THAT. I THINK TWO DATA POINTS TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS HERE. 
          THE LAST RATE REQUEST THAT WE DID INCREASE THE AMOUNT SO NOT JUST EXPAND IT, WE DID INCREASE THE AMOUNT TO OFFSET ABOUT HALF OF THE BILL IMPACT. 
          THE SECOND BIG THING THAT WAS DONE WAS PART OF THE REAP PROGRAM WAS LIFT THE PERCENTAGE FROM POVERTY LEVEL, BUT THE ANNUAL AMOUNT USED TO BE $400 A YEAR AND IT'S NOW $1,200 A YEAR SO THOSE TWO ARE BIG HITTERS. IT EXPANDED REACH AND LIFTED 
          THEM UP. >> KAUR: JUST BY OUR DISTRICT WOULD BE HELPFUL. 
          AND ON SLIDE 23, I LOVE THIS SLIDE. COULD YOU DO THIS, AND 10 YEARS FROM NOW THIS IS WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE, LIKE WHAT OUR PORTFOLIO CAPACITY 
          WOULD BE? DO YOU HAVE THAT ALREADY? >> YES. 
          WE HAVE THE INFORMATION AND WE CAN PROVIDE THAT. AND AGAIN AS WE GO THROUGH THE REFRESH, WE EXPECT THIS TO EVOLVE, BUT ABSOLUTELY HAPPY TO DO THAT. 
          >> KAUR: OKAY. THAT WOULD BE AWESOME. LAST THING, BECAUSE I HAVE TWO MINUTES. I KNOW THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT ABOUT CONSTRUCTION, BUT WE NEED TO WORK -- WE WERE IN TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MEETING YESTERDAY AND I MENTIONED IT THEN, BUT WE JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT AS WE CONTINUE TO GO THROUGH FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS HOW TO WORK A LITTLE BIT BETTER TOGETHER. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER ACTUALLY HAD A GOOD IDEA -- SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO SAY IT LIKE THAT. [LAUGHTER]. HE HAD A GOOD IDEA TO -- STOP. [LAUGHTER]. HAD A GOOD IDEA TO START COLOR CODING OUR PROJECTS SO WE KNOW. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE ONE ON SAN PEDRO AND WOODLAWN THAT CAUSED A LOT OF CONFUSION IN THE DISTRICT AND IT WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW TO DETOUR UNTIL YOU 
          [01:05:04]
LITERALLY GOT TO THE LIGHT. SO OUR OFFICE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE PROJECT. 
          SO LIKE REQUESTS TO -- I GUESS THIS IS MORE FOR THE TEAM AT LARGE TO NOTIFY OUR OFFICES WHEN THERE IS A PROJECT THAT'S HAPPENING, EVEN IF IT'S A SMALL ONE-DAY PROJECT, SO WE CAN MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE INFORMATION. AND THEN TWO, MAYBE, ERIK, WE CAN START COLOR CODING PROJECTS. THIS HAS HAPPENED SO MANY TIMES THERE'S A PROJECT ON THE STREET AND SOMEBODY IS CALLING ME ABOUT AND WE DON'T KNOW WHICH ENTITY TO CALL BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING SO I START LOOKING TEHRAN DOM TRUCK ON THE SIDE TO SEE WHO IS WORKING. 
          THAT'S MY RANDOM PLUG. ALWAYS CONSISTENT PLUG TO BETTER WORK TOGETHER ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS SO IT'S BETTER FOR OUR RESIDENTS. 
          THANKS, MAYOR. >> MAYOR JONES: COUNCILWOMAN VIAGRAN. 
          >> VIAGRAN: THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, CORY AND ELENA. MY QUESTION IS REGARDING THE --E LOOKED AT THE PLAN WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE MORE INFORMATION AND A BETTER SYSTEM FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR RATEPAYERS, THE CUSTOMERS IN TERMS OF THE BILL, ARE. 
          I'D LIKE AN UPDATE ON THAT AND HOW IT'S GOING. THE SECOND THING IS RUDY, I APPRECIATE YOU SAYING WE NEED EVERYTHING IN THE TOOLKIT IN TERMS OF ENERGY POSSIBILITIES FOR US TO USE BUT I THINK IT GOES BACK TO MAKING SURE THE CONSUMER IS AWARE OF HOW THEY CAN SAVE. SO DO WE HAVE THAT UPGRADE IN THE BILLING SYSTEM TO LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY ARE -- THAT THEIR AIR CONDITIONER IS SET TOO HIGH OR TOO LOW OR THAT THEY HAVE JUST A DRAFTY HOUSE AND NEED SOME WEATHERIZATION? 
          BECAUSE ON AVERAGE THEIR BILL SHOULD BE LOWER? >> SO THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, COUNCILWOMAN. IN REGARDS TO THE LAST POINT THAT YOU MADE, CURRENTLY TODAY IF YOU GO INTO OUR PORTAL, AND WE CAN MEET WITH OUR OFFICE OFFLINE OW CUSTOMERS CAN SEE THEIR HUGE AND HOW THEY COMPARE SO WE CAN MEET ON THAT. 
          THE SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION ABOUT -- WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO IS OUR ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEM THAT WE ARE INVESTING OVER THE NEXT HANDFUL OF YEARS OVER $300 MILLION. WE ARE IN THE DESIGNING PHASE CURRENTLY. 
          RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TEAMS KIND OF SEGREGATED WORKING ON THAT. 
          OUR GOAL IS TO START IMPLEMENTATION NEXT YEAR, THE MIDDLE, EARLY MIDDLE. 
          THAT ROLLOUT WILL BE CLOSE TO TWO TO THREE YEARS. WE AREN'T QUITE THERE YET, BUT THE DESIGN PHASE IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW. AND SQUARELY IN THAT DISCUSSION IS I THINK THE ITEMS THAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO THAT WERE DISCUSSED AT THE RAC A FEW YEARS AGO TO ENSURE THERE ARE AT LEAST CAPABILITIES FOR THOSE. 
          I WANT YOU TO KNOW THOSE ARE BEING CONSIDERED FOR THAT EFFORT, BUT NOT BEING ROLLED 
          OUT, COUNCILWOMAN. >> VIAGRAN: IF YOU CAN MEET WITH US ON THAT. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO MEET WITH THE TEAM BECAUSE I DO HAVE A LOT OF SENIORS THAT AREN'T ONLINE OR ARE INTERESTED ON WHAT THEY CAN DO AND WEATHERIZE. 
          AND ON THE OTHER CHANCE CPS IS GIVING THEM IDEAS IF THEY LIVE IN OLDER HOMES AND HISTORIC HOMES AND THE PERMITTING PROCESS FOR PUTTING IN WINDOWS IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE COORDINATION THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE HELPING OUR RESIDENTS SAVE MONEY WHERE THEY CAN. 
          SO THANK YOU, CORY. >> YOU BET. WE'LL BE IN TOUCH. 
          THANK YOU. >> MAYOR JONES: COUNCILMAN MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ. 
          >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU, MAYOR. AND REGARDING THAT JOKE AND THE PEOPLE WERE LAUGHING AT IT -- [LAUGHTER]. IN HONOR OF PROPOSITION B PASSING YESTERDAY, I WILL DO THAT LATER THIS YEAR. I'LL START OFF WHAT I DO WANT TO ASK, MAYOR, IF I MAY, COUNCILWOMAN SPEARS, OUR TRANSMISSION AND NUCLEAR 
          ARE ACTUALLY YOUR TWO FAVORITE WORDS? SPEARS>> SPEARS: [INAUDIBLE]. 
          >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: I WAS WONDERING. ASIDE FROM RATES AND AFFORDABILITY AND ALL THAT, THERE ARE A FEW KEY PRIORITIES THAT I THINK GUIDE DECISION MAKING OR SHOULD GUIDE DECISION MAKING AND WE'LL CERTAINLY AS WE THINK ABOUT RATE INCREASES AND WE THINK ABOUT Y'ALL COMING TO US FOR ANY APPROVALS AND WHATNOT, ONE IS THAT WE HAVE THE POWER THAT WE NEED TO KEEP LIGHTS, ACC AND EAT, ALL OF THAT ON, FOR RESIDENTS EVEN IN THE MOST EXTREME OF WEATHER EVENTS AND THAT WE DO IT IN THE HEALTHIEST, CLEANEST WAY THAT ACHIEVES OUR CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABILITY GOALS. AND I KNOW ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES WAS GETTING SOMEONE WITH THE QUESTION AND IT WAS THOSE GOD DARN LIBERALS AND THOSE NEED TO SHUT DOWN THOSE DIRTY COAL PLANTS, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO MAKE THOSE KINDS OF CHANGES AND INVESTMENTS AND THAT WE CONTINUE TO THINK ABOUT THE 
          FUTURE OF OUR EARTH AND -- IT'S MY TIME. >> POINT OF ORDER. 
          WHO WAS HE TALKING ABOUT? [LAUGHTER]. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: I'LL 
          [01:10:04]
LET MEGAN ASK ME LATER. AND THE THIRD IS THAT WE'RE SAFEGUARDING RESIDENTS' SAFETY IN THE FUTURE. THAT MEANS THEY'RE SAFETY IS PROTECTED DURING WEATHER EVENTS AND ANY TIME THAT THEY NEED WE DO HAVE A PLANET DECADES AND DECADES AND DECADES AND CENTURIES FROM NOW. AND THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING NOW, YOU KNOW, IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE ASK OUR RESIDENTS TO SACRIFICE FOR LONG-TERM NEED, WE ALSO HAVE TO MAKE THAT SAME EXPECTATION OF LARGE BUSINESSES. AND SO I'M GOING TO GET TO A POINT IN A SECOND. 
          ONE IS I DON'T FEEL LIKE WE'RE ACCUMULATED THERE YET IN TERMS OF BALANCE. 
          I KNOW YOU MENTIONED WE HAVE TO BALANCE BOTH OF THOSE TWO THINGS. 
          THE SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS AND OUR GENERATION AND CAPACITY NEEDS. 
          I UNDERSTAND THAT THE RAC -- YOU HAD IT ON THAT SLIDE THAT WAS OVERLAPPED IN A STRANGE WAY. THAT THE RAC SUPPORTED SOLAR, WIND, STORAGE, AND GAS. IT SEEMS LIKE WE ARE EXHAUSTING OUR RESOURCES ON GAS AND I'M NOT QUITE SEEING --M SEEING THE SAME EFFORT TOWARDS ANY OF THOSE OTHER -- TOWARDS SOLAR, WIND, ALL OF THAT. WALK ME THROUGH THAT. 
          DO YOU FEEL LIKE WE'RE NOT? >> THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. 
          THERE ARE TWO ITEMS I WANTED TO SHARE. ONE, I DO WANT TO SHARE OUR PROJECTIONS BECAUSE THAT IS ONE OF THE FOUR PILLARS. AFFORDABILITY, RELIABILITY, AND THAT CARBON INTENSITY GUIDE, OUR OVERALL PLAN AS WE ARE DOING REGENERATION REFRESH. BUT THEN SPECIFICALLY TO THE RESOURCE ADDITIONS THAT WE HAVE BEEN MAKING. WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN EXECUTING EXACTLY TO THE NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR PLAN. SO SOME OF THE ACQUISITIONS THAT WE HAVE RECENTLY MADE HAVE BEEN NATURAL GAS. HOWEVER, WE HAVE ADDED OVER 700 MEGAWATTS OF WIND TO OUR SYSTEM. WE  ALSO HAVE ADDED 500 MEGAWATTS OF STORAGE. WE HAVE ANOTHER 500 MEGAWATTS WE'RE SEEKING. 
          ADDITIONALLY WE'RE RELEASING AN ADDITIONAL SOLAR RFP. WE HAVE A 400 MEGAWATT WIND RFP THAT WE'RE IN THE PROS OF EVALUATING. I WOULD JUST WRAP ALL OF IT TO SAY THE COMMUNITY-LED, BOARD-APPROVED GENERATION PLAN ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE RESOURCES WE HAVE BEEN ADDING. THE THINGS WE HAVE BEEN DOING ARE SEEKING WAYS FOR US TO BRING DOWN THAT TOTAL COST OF THE PORTFOLIO. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHERE SOME OF THESE DECISIONS, RELATIVE TO ACQUIRING ASSETS VERSUS 
          BUILDING THEM HAVE COME FROM. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND I APPRECIATE YOU SHARING THAT HERE. 
          I THINK SOME OF THAT CONTEXT IS HELPFUL IN PRESENTATIONS LIKE THIS. 
          THAT INFORMATION, WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE SEEN THAT IN ADVANCE. 
          MAYOR, IF I MAY, I KNOW THIS ITEM IS NOT ABOUT A RATE INCREASE BUT WE CAN'T LOOK AT THIS WITHOUT THAT CONTEXT AND SO WHAT I'LL BE LOOKING FOR IN THE CONVERSATION THAT I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'RE DOING AT COUNCIL. 
          I THINK WE ARE VERY RESISTANT TO INCREASE OUR PROPERTY TAX RATE, TO INCREASING ANY AMOUNT OF FEES FOR OUR OWN OPERATIONS, AND I THINK WE HAVE THOSE SAME NEEDS IN MIND. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO SUPPLY OUR SERVICES TO ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS AND THAT WE'RE ALSO BALANCING OUR BUDGET AND MAKING SURE WE HAVE THE REVENUE NEEDED TO DO THAT. I FEEL AS THOUGH -- AND I WON'T NECESSARILY SAY IT'S EASY TO COME TO THE CITY AND ASK FOR A RATE INCREASE. 
          BUT I WILL ALSO SAY THAT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN DENIED ONE YET. 
          AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE SEEN QUITE THE AMOUNT OF DILIGENCE THAT OUR STAFF HAVE HAD TO SHOW. THE CUTS, EVERY POSSIBLE AVENUE THEY COULD TAKE TO REDUCE OUR SPENDING, I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE SEEN THAT AND I DON'T KNOW THAT I SEE THAT WITH CPS. IT COULD BE WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING BUT WE'RE NOT RECEIVING -- I DON'T THINK I'VE RECEIVED THAT INFORMATION OR THAT REPORT OR THAT ANALYSIS. AND SO THAT'S IMPORTANT TO ME AS WE MOVE FORWARD. 
          AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A RATE INCREASE. BECAUSE WE ALSO WANT TO ENSURE THAT OUR RESIDENTS ARE NOT PAYING ANY MORE THAN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY FOR ANY OF OUR SERVICES, INCLUDING ENERGY. AND SO WHILE THEY WILL HAVE TO PAY SOMETHING, WE HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING IN ALL OF OUR POWER TO MAKE SURE IT IS AS MINIMAL AS POSSIBLE, WHICH IS CHALLENGING RIGHT NOW, BUT WE HAVE TO BE ABLE -- WHEN WE'RE GOING TO OUR RESIDENTS AND YOU GO TO THE TOWN HALLS AND YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE THE CASE FOR A RATE INCREASE, BECAUSE I'M NOT GOING TO BE MAKING THAT CASE FOR YOU. WHEN YOU GO AND YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE THE CASE, YOU'RE GOING TO BE MET WITH COMPLETE RESISTANCE. NO, IT'S WAY TOO EXPENSIVE TO BUY GROCERIES. IT'S WAY TOO EXPENSIVE TO PAY MY MORTGAGE, MY PROPERTY 
          [01:15:04]
TAX BILL. AND NOW YOU WANT TO RAISE MY ELECTRICITY BILL, WHICH IS ALREADY WAY HIGHER THAN IT'S EVER BEEN. AND SO YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN TO THEM THAT YOU WENT THROUGH AS MUCH AS OF A WORKSHOP AS POSSIBLE TO GET YOUR OVERALL BUDGET HANDLED AND THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THOSE THINGS. 
          SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO CONVEY TO YOU ALL FOR ALL OF THOSE ITEMS. I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: COUNCILMAN GALVAN. >> GALVAN: THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU TO CPS AND ALL THE FOLKS WHO ARE WORKING REALLY HARD ON THIS PRESENTATION AND PRESENTED TODAY. I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS BUT I'M GOING TO TRY TO FOCUS ON JUST A FEW. BECAUSE I THINK ALL OF THE OTHER ONES MAY COME OUT. BUT I'LL TRY TO KEEP IT MORE GENERAL. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO GENERALLY ASK ABOUT WAS PARTICULARLY AROUND THE APPROACH TO MEETING THE DEMAND. WHETHER IT'S POPULATION GROWTH OR WHETHER IT'S FROM LARGE CUSTOMERS. I KNOW SOME OF THE SLIDES I SAW SOME THINGS ABOUT ONLY DISPATCHABLE ENERGY OR FOCUSING PRIMARILY ON ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS. I GUESS WHAT I'M WORRIED ABOUT IS FOCUSING TOO MUCH ON NATURAL GAS, DESPITE OF COURSE OBVIOUSLY THAT IT IS CHEAPER OR IT'S RELATIVELY CHEAP. IS THE ADDITIONAL EMISSIONS THAT IT CREATES. 
          IT CREATES A POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP THAT WE COULD SEE. 
          I THINK, TO COUNCILMEMBER MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ'S POINT, THE EMPHASIS ON HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE'RE MAKING A SCALED INVESTMENT IN RENEWABLE ENERGY IS IMPORTANT TO ME AND I WORRY ABOUT THE LARGE-LOAD CUSTOMERS COMING ONLINE THAT WILL REQUIRE HEAVIER INVESTMENT IN NATURAL GAS THAT'S BEYOND OUR RENEWABLE RESOURCES. 
          I DON'T THINK I HAVE TOO MUCH OF A QUESTION THERE. I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE THE WORK WE DO TOGETHER BUT I THINK THAT'S STILL WHAT IS TOP OF MIND FOR ME, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE BALANCING THE GROWTH AS WELL AS THE PARTICULAR FOCUSES THAT WE HAVE ON GENERATION. MY FOCUS IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE RENEWABLE, OF COURSE UNDERSTANDING THE NEED FOR THE PLANTS HERE AND THERE BUT I'M WORRIED ABOUT A TREND OF SEEING THAT THAT'S THE MAIN FOCUS VERSUS ANY OTHER PIECES THERE. 
          I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT AT THE MOMENT. ARE THERE SPECIFIC PROJECTIONS ON WHERE THE INCREASE IN DEMAND IS COMING FROM? WHETHER IT'S BETWEEN RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL OR LARGE LOAD? 
          WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? >> WE DO HAVE THE BREAKDOWN AND CAN PROVIDE THAT TO YOU ALL. I DON'T HAVE IT TODAY BUT JUST FOR ROUND NUMBERS, OUR SYSTEM PEAKS JUST BELOW 6,000 MEGAWATTS OR 6 GIGAWATTS. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE OVER 160 YEARS OLD SO IT'S TAKEN A LONG TIME FOR US TO GET TO THAT 6,000. WITH REGARD TO LOAD GROWTH IN GENERAL, I MENTIONED THAT JUST ORGANIC, NOT THINKING ABOUT BIG ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR OTHER TYPES ,WE'RE SEEING GROWTH OF GROWTH THAT IS OCCURRING ACROSS MULTIPLE INDUSTRIES THAT ARE BRINGING ADDITIONAL LOAD, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, UNDER CONTRACT, OVER 2,000 MEGAWATTS OF GROWTH THAT IS PLANNED FOR OUR COMMUNITY. THESE ARE FOLKS THAT HAVE PUT DOWN CREDIT MECHANISMS. THEY'VE BOUGHT LAND. THEY HAVE BONA FIDE PROJECTS. THEY HAVE, AGAIN, THEY'RE SOME OF OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS WHO HAVE BEEN LONG-TERM BUSINESSES AND PARTNERS IN THIS COMMUNITY WHO HAVE SIGNIFICANT EXPANSION EFFORTS UNDERWAY. BEHIND THAT 2,000 MEGAWATTS, THERE ARE MANY MORE THOUSANDS OF MEGAWATTS IN INTEREST. 
          WE ENJOY -- WE HAVE A VERY BUSINESS-FRIENDLY STATE. WE HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS ENJOY VERY LOW COST OF POWER. AND WE HAVE SOME OF THE HIGHEST RELIABILITY NUMBERS OF ANY METROPOLITAN AREA IN THE STATE. 
          AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE FACTORS. I THINK ALSO WE HAVE THE BEST MEXICAN FOOD AND THAT ALSO BRINGS A LOT OF INTEREST. 
          BUT IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, WE HAVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF GROWTH COMING. 
          AND WE CAN GET WITH YOU -- GET THE INFORMATION RELATIVE TO KIND OF WHAT OUR PROJECTED BREAKOUTS ARE FOR LOAD GROWTH. I DO WANT TO JUST KIND OF RESTATE THIS ISN'T UNIQUE TO SAN ANTONIO OR CENTRAL TEXAS. 
          THE STATE IS EXPERIENCING METEORIC, UNPRECEDENTED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH AS IS OUR ENTIRE ELECTRIC INDUSTRY. SO WE'RE SEEING GROWTH THAT 
          NONE OF US HAVE EVER SEEN IN OUR CAREER. >> GALVAN: GO AHEAD. 
          [01:20:03]
          >> COUNCILMAN, YOU SAID SOMETHING I JUST WANT TO REPEAT BACK TO YOU. 
          A LOT OF WORK TO DO AHEAD OF US. I UNDERSTAND YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, A REQUEST BEFORE COUNCIL RIGHT NOW. WE'RE GOING TO GET TO THE RIGHT PLACE TOGETHER. WE'VE GOT A JOB TO DO IF THEY SHOW UP AND ARE REAL CUSTOMERS, WE'VE GOT TO SERVE THEM. BUT HOW THAT GROWTH HAPPENS AND WHATEVER POLICY COUNCIL DECIDES TO TALK THROUGH, WE'RE GOING TO BE PARTNERS IN THAT CONVERSATION. MY BOARD CHAIR IS AN EXPERT IN COMMUNITY PLANNING ALONG THESE LINES AND IS ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS OF US ALONG THESE LINES. 
          JUST KNOW THAT WE WILL BE PART OF THAT CONVERSATION WITH YOU. 
          >> GALVAN: THANK YOU, ALL. YEAH, I THINK I'LL WAIT FOR THOSE QUESTIONS WHEN THAT COMES AROUND. THAT'S FRONT AND CENTER FOR ME. 
          I THINK ABOUT THE POINT YOU MADE ABOUT OUR RATES ARE TYPICALLY LOWER, NOT ONLY FOR RESIDENTS BUT GENERALLY AND LOWER NATIONALLY AS WELL. 
          IF WE CAN KEEP AS CLOSE TO THAT AS POSSIBLE, THERE'S A NEED FOR MAINTENANCE, BUT IT COMES BACK TO TWO THINGS IN MY HEAD. ONE, HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE THE RATES ARE DESIGNED SO WE CONTINUE TO ENSURE OUR MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS AND LOWEST-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS ARE NOT AS IMPACTED AS SEVERELY WHEN WE HAVE A LARGER ENERGY DEMAND. THAT THE FOLKS GENERATING THE MOST ARE THE ONES PAYING THE MOST POSSIBLE. I THINK WE'RE ALREADY THERE. THERE ARE SOME PIECES WHERE THERE'S STILL SCRUTINY ON. THE OTHER PART IS -- I REALLY THINK IT'S ON US THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO MAKE SURE WE'RE REDUCING THE INCOME BURDENS THAT OUR FOLKS ARE FACING. ADDRESSING HOUSING COSTS, FOOD COSTS, ALL OF THESE PIECES OF EVERYDAY LIFE. THAT IS INCUMBENT UPON US AND IT WILL BE HARDER TO DO BUT THEY GO HAND IN HAND. I THINK IT WAS COUNCILMEMBER KAUR WAS TALKING ABOUT THE INTERNAL REVIEW -- I GUESS THE THIRD-PARTY REVIEW OF CPS ENERGY'S OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE. WOULD THAT REVIEW COME AROUND BEFORE THE RATE 
          REQUEST? >> IT'S NOT A THIRD. PARTY REVIEW, IT'S A DETAILED REPORT ON OUR O&M BUDGET. THAT'S A PROCESS WE LAY OUT AND WORK THROUGH, THROUGH BEN GORZELL'S OFFICE. AND THAT'S ALL PART OF THE PROCESS. IT WILL BE REVEALED THERE AND WE CAN GO THROUGH IT 
          THEN. >> GALVAN: THANK YOU. TO COUNCILWOMAN VIAGRAN'S POINT ABOUT CONSERVATION. OF COURSE THE FOCUS ON MAKING SURE -- I ALWAYS SAY THIS. HOW CAN WE MAKE IT CLEAR TO RESIDENTS THAT THIS WOULD BE YOUR ENERGY RATE FOR YOUR HOUSEHOLD IF YOU ADOPT THIS MORE. 
          I THINK THAT'S NECESSARY AS WE GO FORWARD WITH ANY CONVERSATION IS THAT CONSERVATION IS KEY TO THIS AND MAKING SURE OUR RESIDENTS ARE ABLE TO ADJUST. IF A STEP IS MORE IN PLACE SO FOLKS HAVE BETTER ACCESS TO IT, HOPEFULLY OUR RESIDENTS ARE NOT IMPACTED AS SEVERELY. 
          THAT'S MY GOAL. SEEING THAT COME TO FRUITION IS THE MORE DIFFICULT PART OF HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT IS AS DOABLE AND POSSIBLE AS IT CAN BE. 
          I THINK THAT'S IT FOR NOW. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: IN CASE IT HELPS PROVIDES CONTEXT, ELENA, CAN YOU GIVE US ON 
          THE MEGAWATTS, HOW MANY MEGAWATTS DOES TOYOTA USE? >> WE DON'T -- MY LAWYER'S GOING TO PULL ME ASIDE. SO, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE -- I'LL JUST SPEAK GENERALLY. 
          WE HAVE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS IN OUR SERVICE TERRITORY THAT MAY BE AS SMALL AS A FEW MEGAWATTS TO DOZENS OF MEGAWATTS. AND WE HAVE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE HUNDREDS OF MEGAWATTS. AND SO THE RANGE IS PRETTY WIDE. 
          CERTAINLY LARGE INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS LIKE, SAY, AN AUTO MANUFACTURER OR A LARGE, YOU KNOW, FOOD WAREHOUSING OR REFRIGERATION SYSTEM ARE GOING TO HAVE HIGHER LOADS. 
          THEY'RE ALSO GOING TO HAVE MUCH MORE HIGH CAPACITY FACTORS AND THEIR USE IS PRETTY 
          ENERGY AND THEY DO HAVE A LOT OF LOAD. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU FOR THAT. SO WHEN YOU GO TO SLIDE 6 AND YOU LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE NOW, 4500 TO GET TO 5700, THAT'S A 1200 DELTA. YOU SAY A LARGE NEW AUTO MANUFACTURER, THAT'S MAYBE -- I'M JUST GUESSING, LIKE A THIRD, A FOURTH OF WHERE WE NEED TO BE IN JUST THAT SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE BUSINESSES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ATTRACT AND ON TOP OF THE DATA CENTERS THAT ARE 
          [01:25:04]
COMING, THAT 1200 GOES VERY, VERY QUICKLY. COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO. 
          >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, RUDY AND TEAM FOR THE PRESENTATION. DURING OUR BIWEEKLY STAFF MEETING, A TREND THAT OUR CONSTITUENT SERVICES TEAM BROUGHT UP WAS THE INCREASE OF CONSTITUENTS WHO ARE IN NEED OF UTILITY ASSISTANCE. I'M GRATEFUL FOR ANDREW VEGA, WHO HELPS FACILITATE SOME OF THOSE APPLICATIONS. YOU KNOW, THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES WHO OVERSEES THE REAP PROGRAM. I HEARD YOU MENTION THE CAP ANNUALLY IS 1200. 
          I'M ASSUMING THAT'S BEEN COMMUNICATED. MY UNDERSTANDING WITH MY TEAM IS IT'S STILL AT 400. OFFLINE IF THERE COULD BE A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE CAN HELP THOSE CONSTITUENTS REACH THAT LIMIT, IF THE NEED IS THERE. 
          BECAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IT WAS COUNTY RESIDENTS WHO ARE ABLE TO REACH THAT MAXIMUM. THAT WAS GOING TO BE ONE OF MY QUESTIONS. 
          HOW CAN WE HAVE THE CITY MATCH THAT? I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S JUST A CONVERSATION THAT NEEDS TO BE HAD BUT THAT'S OUR CONSTITUENT SERVICES TEAM'S UNDERSTANDING WORKING WITH DHS AND CONNECTING CONSTITUENTS. 
          GRATEFUL FOR THE TEAM PROVIDING THE RESOURCES. CYNTHIA, WHO HELPS WITH THOSE WALK-INS FOR UTILITY SERVICES IS GRATEFUL FOR THE WORK OF CPS AND HAS EXPRESSED THERE'S OTHER UTILITIES THAT SHOULD REPLICATE WHAT THAT ASSISTANCE LOOKS LIKE. THANK Y'ALL FOR THAT. IT'S MY POSITION THAT GROWTH SHOULD PAY FOR GROWTH. I UNDERSTAND THE NEED WITHIN THIS PLAN TO PREPARE. 
          BUT I THINK AS THE COUNCILMAN REQUESTED, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE THE PROJECTION OF THE -- WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. IS IT PRIMARILY COMMERCIAL? IS IT PRIMARILY RESIDENTIAL? AND WHERE DO WE INTEND TO SEE THIS GROWTH? I SEE VALUE IN THE CCR THAT THE COUNCILMAN HAS PUT FORTH IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT DATA CENTERS. BECAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING IS WHEN WE LOOK AT SOME OF THESE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIES, THE POTENTIAL INCREASE IS GOING TO HELP SUBSIDIZE ACQUIRING MORE FACILITIES. BUT ULTIMATELY THESE NEW COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS HAVE VERY FEW EMPLOYEES. SO WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT IF WE ARE ACQUIRING MORE PLANTS AND THEN POTENTIALLY GOING TO HAVE AN INCREASE, THAT WE'RE CREATING HIGH-QUALITY JOBS. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT FIVE JOBS. 
          I THINK WE HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO LOOKING FOR WORK. 
          SO I THINK IN TERMS OF COUNCIL HAVING THAT CONVERSATION, WHAT IS OUR EXPECTATION WHEN WE ARE PROVIDING TAX INCENTIVES, ABATEMENTS, SO ON AND SO FORTH THAT WE'RE HAVING THE GREATEST IMPACT FOR SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS. 
          AS COUNCILWOMAN VIAGRAN TOUCHED ON, PART OF OUR PRIORITY IS ALSO ENSURING THAT WE CONTINUE TO REMAIN IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLAN. 
          I APPRECIATE YOU TOUCHING ON THE DIVERSE PORTFOLIO, BRINGING MORE WIND AND SOLAR ONLINE . FOR FUTURE PRESENTATIONS, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS STEPS CPS HAS TAKEN TO REDUCE EMISSIONS AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. 
          I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE TAKEN THEM BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT IN THE PRESENTATION TO HELP ADDRESS ANY OF THOSE QUESTIONS THAT MY CONSTITUENTS MAY HAVE. 
          BUT IF Y'ALL CAN PROVIDE SOME EXAMPLES IN WHICH STEPS CPS HAS TAKEN TO REDUCE 
          EMISSIONS, I'D LIKE TO HEAR THOSE. >> ABSOLUTELY. 
          >> I'M GOING TO GO TO A SLIDE THAT I'VE ATTEMPTED TO TALK ABOUT. 
          BUT THIS REALLY IS OUR FORWARD PROJECTION OF CARBON. 
          I THINK WE'RE FIGHTING EACH OTHER ON THE SIDES. SORRY. 
          UNDER OUR EXISTING GENERATION PLAN, THIS IS A PLAN WE'RE EXECUTING NOW. 
          THIS IS A PROJECTION, STARTING IN 2026 THROUGH 2050 OF IF WE'RE EXECUTING THE PLAN WE HAVE TODAY, HOW DO OUR CARBON EMISSIONS CHANGE OVER TIME. 
          RIGHT NOW OUR EMISSIONS ARE 850 POUNDS OF CARBON DIOXIDE PER MEGAWATT HOUR. 
          WE'RE GOING TO SEE A MARKED CHANGE IN THOSE EMISSIONS LARGELY DUE TO US MOVING AWAY FROM OUR COAL UNITS. THAT IS THE SINGLE LARGEST STEP THAT WHEN WE TAKE THAT STEP WILL HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON THE CARBON INTENSITY OF OUR OPERATIONS. 
          YOU'LL SEE THE CHANGE OVER TIME. OBVIOUSLY, WE ARE ADDING MORE, UNDER THE EXISTING PLAN, WE'RE ADDING MORE RENEWABLES, LESS CARBON-EMITTING RESOURCES. OUR OWNERSHIP IN STP IS GOING TO ALSO HELP. 
          YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T MENTION THIS ON THE ASSETS WE RECENTLY PURCHASED BUT THEY'RE SETTING IN ONE OF THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION ZONES FOR OPERATING IN TEXAS. IN NEW YORK THEY HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATING CO-FIRING CAPABILITY WITH HYDROGEN . OVER TIME WE'RE GOING TO EXPLORE THAT HYDROGEN NETWORK. TWO OF THE FOUR SITES ARE LESS THAN HALF A MILE OF OPERATING HYDROGEN LINES. THERE ARE OTHER THINGS WE'RE CONTEMPLATING 
          [01:30:03]
AUDIO] WHAT ARE THE ASSETS THAT ARE OPERATING? WHAT POSITIONS DO WE STEP OUT OF? WHAT DO WE STEP INTO? AND THIS PRESENTATION IN NO WAY TALKED ABOUT EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT OFFER CLEAN POWER OPTIONS AS THEIR COST CURVES COME DOWN. I WANTED TO OFFER THOSE 
          THOUGHTS. >> CASTILLO: CAN YOU SHARE IN TERMS OF THE RECENTLY-REQUIRED FACILITIES IN TERMS OF EMISSIONS COMPARED TO SPRUCE. 
          DO THEY PRODUCE LESS EMISSIONS, JUST AS MUCH? >> SIGNIFICANTLY LESS. 
          SO, I MEAN, I DON'T WANT TO GET TOO TECHNICAL HERE BUT ALL OF THIS COMES DOWN TO A COMBUSTION REACTION AND COAL HAS MANY CARBON ATOMS IN ITS MOLECULAR MAKEUP. 
          AND NATURAL GAS HAS ONE. WE CAN GIVE YOU THE COMPARISONS. 
          THESE ASSETS ARE QUICK START. THEY COME ON WHEN THEY'RE NEEDED. THEY CAN COME ON AND BE IN USE IN LESS THAN 15 MINUTES AND COME OFF WHEN THEY'RE NOT NEEDED. FROM A COST PERSPECTIVE, THEY'RE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER COST AND THEY ARE LESS WATER CONSUMPTIVE THAN THE NATURAL GAS AND COAL TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE IN OPERATIONS FROM THE '60S THROUGH THE '80S. 
          >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU FOR THAT CONTEXT. IN TERMS OF SPRUCE, IS CPS STILL SET TO RETIRE THAT IN 2028? IS THAT ON TRACK? 
          >> WE HAVE TWO SPRUCE UNITS. SPRUCE ONE IS SLATED TO RETIRE. 
          IT IS CLOSE TO ITS 40-YEAR LIFE, WHICH IS A FULLY-DEPRECIATED POWER PLANT. SPRUCE TWO, WE ARE PLANNING TO CONVERT FROM TO A NATURAL GAS FACILITY. SO THE FUEL THAT WOULD POWER THE PLANT IS SIGNIFICANTLY 
          LESS CARBON INTENSIVE. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU. LASTLY -- GO AHEAD. 
          >> ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU WILL SEE IN OUR GEN PLAN REFRESH IS THE REGULATORY VARIABLES THAT HAVE CHANGED ON US. OBVIOUSLY, WE'VE GOT A NEW ADMINISTRATION IN WASHINGTON. THERE HAS BEEN ACTION BY THE ADMINISTRATION TO PREVENT COAL PLANTS FROM BEING, YOU KNOW, PREMATURELY RETIRED. 
          SO WE'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT ACTION IN OTHER UTILITIES. 
          AND WILL HAVE TO CONSIDER THAT AS PART OF OUR GEN PLAN REFRESH. 
          DO WE EXPECT THERE TO BE ACTION TO PREVENT US FROM SHUTTING SPRUCE ONE DOWN AND MIGHT THAT REQUIRE US TO CONSIDER CONVERTING BOTH UNITS TO NATURAL GAS, EVEN IF WE'RE NOT PLANNING TO RUN THEM AS MUCH TO PREVENT SOMEBODY ELSE FROM TELLING US WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T DO. WE'RE GOING TO CONSIDER ALL OF THAT AS PART OF OUR COMMUNITY DIALOGUE ON WHAT OPTIONS WE HAVE GOING FORWARD. 
          WE HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION TO THAT BECAUSE IT'S A REAL THING. 
          >> CASTILLO: BLOOMBERG AND SEVERAL SOURCES HAVE CITED THAT THE COSTS OF RENEWABLES HAVE DECREASED. HAVE THOSE DECREASES BEEN FACTORED INTO THIS PLAN? 
          >> RENEWABLES VERSUS WHAT WE CONTRACTED SO FAR. SO THAT 470 PER MEGAWATT HOUR IS 10% LESS THAN OUR GEN PLAN. WE'LL KEEP YOU UPDATED. 
          THAT'S POSITIVE FOR US BECAUSE THAT'S A BENEFIT TO OUR CUSTOMERS, WE ARE 
          ACQUIRING IT LESS THAN ANTICIPATED. >> CASTILLO: SIMILAR TO THE COUNCILMAN'S POINT, I KNOW AGAIN THIS IS ABOUT THE GENERATION PLAN AND THE BUDGET. BUT I THINK AS WE'RE GETTING THE UPDATES ABOUT THE ACQUISITION AND JUST DIVERSIFYING THE PORTFOLIO WHEN YOU ALL COME TO COUNCIL FOR A RATE INCREASE, I'D LIKE TO SEE A MORE DETAILED PLAN IN TERMS OF THE SCENARIOS IN WHICH CPS HAS TAKEN BEFORE COMING TO US FOR A RATE INCREASE. 
          I THINK BEN AND HIS TEAM DOES A VERY GREAT JOB IN ENSURING COUNCIL IS WELL EQUIPPED WITH ALL THE OPTION SCENARIOS. THAT'S GOING TO BE MY 
          EXPECTATION FOR CPS AS WELL. >> YES, COUNCILWOMAN. WE WILL BE PREPARED. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: COUNCILMAN MUNGIA. >> MUNGIA: THANK YOU. 
          CAN YOU GO TO SLIDE 23, PLEASE? I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN TOUCHING ON THIS A LITTLE BIT. JUST REAL QUICK. 
          THE 11,000 MEGAWATTS -- FORGIVE MY IGNORANCE. IS THAT A YEAR, IS THAT A 
          MONTH? WHAT IS THAT PRODUCTION? >> THIS WOULD BE THE CAPACITY. SO YOU CAN THINK ABOUT THIS AS, YOU KNOW, THE SIZE OF THESE FACILITIES. THEIR ENERGY OUTPUT VARIES BASED ON THE MARKET AND THEIR ABILITY TO PRODUCE. BUT WE HAVE ALMOST 12,000 MEGAWATTS OF CAPACITY. 
          >> MUNGIA: OKAY. OF CAPACITY. AND TELL ME AGAIN WHAT THE 
          CURRENT, YOU KNOW, MONTHLY OR ANNUAL DEMAND IS. >> IT VARIES BASED ON SEASON. WE ARE A SUMMER-PEAKING UTILITY AND SO OUR PEAK ELECTRICAL DEMAND HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN ABOUT 5900 MEGAWATTS DURING THE HOTTEST 
          [01:35:01]
          HOURS OF THE SUMMER. >> MUNGIA: SO WE HAVE ALMOST DOUBLE THE CURRENT 
          DEMAND? >> SO A COUPLE OF THINGS. NOT ALL OF THESE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE TO PRODUCE INSTANTANEOUSLY AT THE SAME TIME. 
          ADDITIONALLY, WHILE YOU'RE LOOKING AT OUR DEMAND, OUR DEMAND IS GROWING RAPIDLY AND WE ARE PULLING OFF LARGE UNITS FOR RETIREMENT AS WELL. 
          AND SO WE'RE SEEING GROWTH ON THE DEMAND SIDE AND WE WILL SEE OUR PORTFOLIO CAPACITY REDUCED BASED ON THOSE PLANNED RETIREMENTS OF PLANTS THAT ARE FULLY 
          DEPRECIATED PLANTS FROM THE '60S AND '70S. >> MUNGIA: ABSOLUTELY. 
          WITH YOUR REFRESH PLAN, WHAT DO YOU SEE CHANGING IN THIS CURRENT PORTFOLIO THAT YOU 
          HAVE? >> WELL, WE'RE GOING TO COME BACK. 
          WE'RE GOING TO GO TO ALL OF THE DIFFERENT OUTREACH EVENTS AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BRIEF THE CITY COUNCIL, OUR BOARD, AND OUR CUSTOMERS ABOUT WHAT THE RESULTS LOOK LIKE FROM THAT REFRESH. BUT THAT IS IN PROCESS NOW. 
          THINGS THAT WE DO KNOW. WE DO KNOW THAT DEMAND HAS INCREASED. 
          AND SO I EXPECT THAT THAT NUMBER THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, THE TOTAL PORTFOLIO SIZE THAT WE'RE WORKING UNDER THE 2023 PLAN, THAT THAT WILL GO UP. 
          >> MUNGIA: I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO LET FOLKS KNOW TOO. 
          THEY'RE GOING TO SEE DOUBLE CAPACITY AND DOUBLE WHAT WE NEED AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO ASK THEM TO GIVE US MORE, WHICH AS SEVERAL OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID, A TOUGH CONVERSATION TO HAVE. VERY IMPORTANT. YEAH, I ECHO THE COMMENTS ABOUT LOOKING INTO RENEWABLES AND WHAT THAT'S GOING TO BE FOR THE FUTURE. 
          AND I THINK PART OF -- HOPEFULLY THE NEXT TIME OR A FUTURE PRESENTATION YOU'LL 
          TALK TO US ABOUT STEP AND WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT. >> YOU DO HAVE AN UPCOMING YEAR THREE FULL BRIEFING ON STEP AND SO WE PRESENTED THAT INFORMATION TO OUR 
          BOARD AND THAT IS COMING TO THE CITY COUNCIL. >> MUNGIA: YEAH. 
          APPRECIATE THAT. I THINK THERE'S SOME MAPS OUT THERE THAT Y'ALL HAVE SEEN TOO. MOST OF IT IS IN DISTRICT 5 BUT IN D4 AND A COUPLE OF NEIGHBORHOODS WE SHARE WITH D5, SOME OF THE MOST COST-BURDENED HOMES IN SAN ANTONIO. AND WHEN WE LOOK AT ASKING RATEPAYERS TO DO MORE TO HELP EXPAND CAPACITY THAT WE WERE TO HAVE DOUBLE OF IS MUCH MORE DIFFICULT THAN IN OTHER PLACES. AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, STEP IS A GOOD TOOL. 
          IT'S A GOOD PROGRAM AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS THAT THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN THOSE PARTICULAR AREAS. AND HOPEFULLY WE SEE THAT COST BURDEN GO DOWN, ULTIMATELY IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR. 
          SO WE NEED TO PARTNER WITH Y'ALL AND SEE HOW MUCH THAT CAN BE DONE. 
          BECAUSE IF THAT CONTINUES TO BE THE CASE AND IN THOSE VERY PARTICULAR AREAS, YOU WOULD FIND LESS SUPPORT IN TRYING TO GROW THE MEGAWATT CAPACITY WHEN THAT STILL EXISTS. THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS. THANK YOU. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: HAS EVERYONE SPOKEN WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS TOPIC? GREAT. THANK YOU, AGAIN, ELENA, CORY, RUDY. 
          THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK. THE NEXT TOPIC IS THE DEPARTDEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE'S CULTURAL GRANT PROGRAM. 
          >> WALSH: THE NEXT ITEM KRYSTAL WILL WALK THROUGH. JUST A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT TO REMIND THE COUNCIL. IN SEPTEMBER WE SUNSETTED OUR PREVIOUS PROGRAM, SPECIFIC PROGRAM DUE TO FEDERAL GRANT ASSURANCE AND NEW REQUIREMENTS AS PART OF THE ADOPTION OF THE FISCAL YEAR '26 BUDGET PROCESS. THAT FUNDING THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY ALLOCATED WAS HELD IN THE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET AND THE DEPARTMENT WAS ASKED TO GO BACK AND DEVELOP AN ALTERNATIVE DISTRIBUTION AND PROGRAM. 
          OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS, KRYSTAL AND HER TEAM HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP A PROPOSED CULTURAL ARTS PROGRAM . 
          KRYSTAL IS GOING TO WALK THROUGH THE PROGRAM TODAY. SHE HAS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THIS WITH ORGANIZATIONS AND GET FEEDBACK. 
          BUT AS WELL AS THE SAN ANTONIO ARTS COMMISSION AND LAY OUT A TIMELINE FOR NEXT STEPS. WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOME FEEDBACK FROM YOU ALL SO WE CAN MOVE EFFICIENTLY TO THE NEXT STEPS. KRYSTAL. 
          >> THANK YOU, ERIK. GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. 
          MY NAME IS KRYSTAL JONES, DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE. 
          AS ERIK MENTIONED, ALMOST TWO MONTHS AGO I STOOD BEFORE YOU AS A PART OF THE 
          [01:40:01]
BUDGET PROCESS SEPTEMBER 2 INFORMING YOU OF WHAT ERIK MENTIONED. 
          AND YOU ALL PASSED AS PART OF THE BUDGET TO HOLD $874,000 IN OUR BUDGET TO COME BACK TODAY TO PRESENT A NEW PROGRAM AND DISTRIBUTION METHOD FOR THESE FUNDS. 
          I'M GOING TO GO OVER FIVE SLIDES TODAY THAT REALLY TALK ABOUT WHERE WE'VE BEEN, HOW WE GOT HERE. AND I FIRST WANT TO JUST THANK MY TEAM. 
          THIS WAS A VERY FAST TWO MONTHS OF PACE. IT USUALLY TAKES US ABOUT NINE MONTHS WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ALL OF COUNCIL MEETINGS, ART COMMISSION, TO CREATE A GRANT PROGRAM . TWO MONTHS, NEVER SOON ENOUGH FOR OUR COMMUNITY THAT NEEDS FUNDING. BUT I THINK WE DID PRETTY WELL FOR TWO MONTHS SO I WANT TO THANK THE TEAM FOR THEIR WORK ON THIS. 
          I ALSO WANT TO THANK OUR NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, AS ERIK MENTIONED, WITH THE SEPTEMBER 2 UPDATE THAT WE PROVIDED IN RESPONSE TO THE FEDERAL GRANT REQUIREMENTS. WE DID HAVE 11 NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATIONS IMPACTED BY THE ELIMINATION OF THE CULTURALLY-SPECIFIC GRANT PROGRAM. 
          NOT ONLY DID OUR DEPARTMENT WORK ON THIS GRANT PROGRAM BUT WE MET WITH THE 11 IMPACTED ORGANIZATIONS. WE HAVE TWO IN THE ROOM RIGHT NOW AND THEY SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH US, NOT ONLY IN PERSON BUT ALSO ON THE PHONE TALKING ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THEIR ORGANIZATIONS, THE ELIMINATION OF THE PROGRAM, AND ALSO ALL OF OUR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE SENT THESE GUIDELINES OUT TO, 41 OF THEM FOR FEEDBACK AND PARTICIPATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THOSE GRANT PROGRAMS. I WANT TO THANK OUR COMMUNITY BECAUSE AS THEY WERE WORKING TO MAKE ENDS MEET FOR THEIR ARTISTS AND STAKEHOLDERS THAT THEY SERVE, THEY WERE ALSO SPENDING TIME WITH US TO HELP DEVELOP THIS GRANT PROGRAM. AS I MENTIONED, ABOUT $874,000 HAS BEEN RESERVED IN OUR FISCAL YEAR '26 BUDGET FOR STAKEHOLDERS HERE LOCALLY BUT WE CONSULTED WITH MANY STAKEHOLDERS AND PARTNERS ON A NATIONAL, REGIONAL, AND LOCAL LEVEL. WE HAD MANY CONVERSATIONS WITH AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS MEMBERS, WHICH INCLUDE MUNICIPALITIES AND PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS THAT ARE FUNDERS AND WE ALSO PARTNERED WITH THE ARTS ALLIANCE TO SPEAK WITH THEM, TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE ARTS. WE SOUGHT OUT NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS' GUIDANCE. MANY STAKEHOLDERS AGAIN THAT NOT ONLY HAVE FUNDING PROGRAMS BUT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY THESE NEW GRANT REQUIREMENTS, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT GRANTS THAT ARE ALREADY OUT THERE TO SAY WHAT IS THE GOAL? WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO WITH THIS $874,000 TO IMPACT OUR COMMUNITY IN A WAY THAT, AGAIN, THINKING ABOUT THIS AS BEING HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX DOLLARS HELPS OUR RESIDENTS BUT ALSO ATTRACTS TOURISM TO OUR ECONOMY AND OUR CITY THROUGH THE ARTS. ONE IN FOUR TRAVELERS TO TEXAS -- I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THIS -- ARE CULTURAL TOURISTS AND THOSE CULTURAL TOURISTS SPEND MUCH MORE MONEY, ON AVERAGE, THAN THE OTHER T TOURISTS. CULTURAL TOURISM IS BIG BUSINESS. THE NEXT STEP IS LOOKING AT GUIDANCE TODAY FROM YOU ALL ABOUT YOUR FEEDBACK ON THE GRANT PROGRAM. AND PARTICULARLY A TIMELINE TO REALLY IDENTIFY TO, AGAIN, LAUNCH THIS GRANT PROGRAM AND GET FUNDS OUT TO OUR COMMUNITY. SO THE BASIS FOR A CULTURAL HERITAGE GRANT PROGRAM, THERE'S A NUMBER OF CITIES AND ALSO ENTITIES THAT HAVE PROGRAMS SIMILAR TO THIS BECAUSE THEY KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURAL TOURISM AND CULTURAL HERITAGE. BUT THIS BASIS WOULD BE TO SUPPORT THE CONTINUITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S CULTURAL IDENTITY. LOOKING AT OPERATIONAL SUPPORT, VERY IMPORTANT FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE SMALL AND MID-SIDES COMMUNITY-BASED, COMMUNITY-ROOTED, THAT HAVE BEEN ESSENTIAL TO OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE WHO WORK TO PRESERVE, PROMOTE, AND REVITALIZE A DISTINCT CULTURAL HERITAGE. WHAT I WANT TO MENTION IS THIS IS NOT EXCLUSIVE TO ANY SPECIFIC RACE, ETHNICITY, CULTURE. 
          IT'S FOR THE ORGANIZATION TO APPLY TO AND IDENTIFY WHICH CULTURAL HERITAGE THAT THEY ARE WORKING TO PRESERVE, PROMOTE, AND PROTECT. THE FIRST ELIGIBILITY IS THIS WOULD BE OPEN TO 41 ARTS ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE ARE FUNDING THROUGH THE FISCAL YEAR '26 BUDGET THAT YOU ALL APPROVED AS A PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS. 
          AND SO THEY ALREADY HAVE TO BE A CURRENT OPERATIONAL GRANTEE. 
          WHAT THAT MEANS IS THEY HAVE SUSTAINED ARTS PROGRAMMING AND ALSO SUSTAINED FUNDING THROUGHOUT A THREE-YEAR TIME PERIOD. THEY ARE NONPROFIT, AGAIN BASED IN SAN ANTONIO, AND THEY HAVE YEAR-LONG ARTS PROGRAMMING THAT IS ACCESSIBLE TO RESIDENTS AND VISITORS. COMMUNITY-BASED ARTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS WITH OPERATING EXPENSES OF $3 MILLION. 
          WHY $3 MILLION? THROUGH OUR OPERATIONAL GRANT PROGRAM, THOSE ARE IDENTIFIED AS SMALL AND MID-SIZED ORGANIZATIONS. LOOKING AT ORGANIZATIONS 
          [01:45:01]
AGAIN THAT ARE COMMUNITY-ROOTED AND ALSO LOOKING AT THAT FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN CONTINUOUSLY PROVIDING CULTURAL HERITAGE TO OUR CITY. AND THEN ALSO ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS' PROGRAMMING EXEMPLIFIES THE VITALITY AND VISIBILITY OF A DISTINCT CULTURAL HERITAGE. 
          WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT IS LOOKING AT RESIDENTS AND VISITORS LOOKING TO EXPERIENCE ARTS PROGRAMMING AND KNOWING THAT WHETHER IT'S JANUARY, JULY, SEPTEMBER, THEY KNOW THAT THEY CAN COME TO SAN ANTONIO AND -- OR JUST GO INTO THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD AND EXPERIENCE THIS CULTURAL HERITAGE AT ANY GIVEN TIME OF YEAR. 
          THAT'S WHY IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE THAT CONTINUITY OF THIS CULTURAL HERITAGE TO PRESERVE IT AS OUR CITY GROWS, PRESERVE WHO WE ARE AS A CITY. 
          WE'RE LOOKING AT ONE APPLICATION PER AGENCY AND THE GRANT AMOUNT IS REALLY LOOKING AT THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE AND IT'S REALLY IN LINE WITH A LOT OF OUR OTHER GRANTS, LIKE OUR EVENTS GRANTS. LOOKING AT 20% OF AN AGENCY'S THREE-YEAR OPERATING BUDGET. THIS IS USING THEIR 990S, SO A THREE-YEAR AVERAGE, NOT TO EXCEED $150,000. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS CONTRACT TERM, WHILE WE'RE LOOKING AT OCTOBER 1ST, 2025 THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR, THIS IS REALLY LOOKING AT THE ENTIRE FISCAL YEAR. WE ARE LAUNCHING A GRANT PROGRAM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FISCAL YEAR, SO MAKING SURE THAT WE WORK ON A REIMBURSEMENT BASIS WITH ALL OF OUR GRANTS. SO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE REIMBURSING ORGANIZATIONS THAT CONTINUE THEIR OPERATIONS, CONTINUE THEIR CULTURAL HERITAGE PROGRAMMING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR SO THAT THEY CAN REIMBURSE FOR EXPENSES THAT HAVE BEEN PROVIDED THROUGHOUT THE FALL. 
          AND THEN ALSO BECAUSE WE ARE, AGAIN, LAUNCHING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FISCAL YEAR A FEW MONTHS LATER AND WE'RE LOOKING AT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE REALLY FACING FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF FEDERAL GRANTING AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL DONATIONS. LOOKING AT 80% UPON CONTRACT EXECUTION. 
          OUR TEAM WOULD VALIDATE ALL EXPENSES, AGAIN, LOOKING AT EVERY RECEIPT AND UPON APPROVAL OF A FINAL REPORT, THAT WOULD INCLUDE THOSE RECEIPTS GETTING THE REST OF THE 20%. MAKING SURE THE MONEY IS GETTING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. SO THIS IS OUR FIRST PROPOSED TIMELINE. 
          WHAT I WANT TO IDENTIFY ABOUT THIS TIMELINE IS WE BUILT THIS BASED ON A PREVIOUS GRANT PROGRAM AND HOW WE RUN WITH OUR SAN ANTONIO ARTS COMMISSION THAT IS CITY COUNCIL AND MAYOR APPOINTED. 
          RECOMMENDATIONS. MAKING SURE THAT ARTS EXPERTS YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED IN THE COMMUNITY ARE LOOKING AT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS BEFORE THEY COME TO COUNCIL. 
          SO WE WOULD LIKE TO, AFTER THIS SESSION, OPEN THE APPLICATION NEXT WEEK. 
          AND THIS PROPOSED TIMELINE WOULD HAVE AN APPLICATION PERIOD OF TWO WEEKS. 
          THEN WE WOULD HAVE A PANEL REVIEW. WE USE INDEPENDENT PANELISTS AS A PART OF OUR GRANT PROGRAMS. AND THEN THE STAFF FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS. I WANT TO IDENTIFY WE HAVE A LOT OF HOLIDAYS HAPPENING, SO THAT'S WHY YOU'RE SEEING SOME GAPS IN THE TIMELINES. WE'VE GOT THANKSGIVING. 
          WE'VE GOT HOLIDAYS SO THAT WE'RE WORKING AROUND. THEN WE WOULD GO TO THE ARTS FUNDING COMMITTEE IN JANUARY. SAN ANTONIO ARTS COMMISSION IN JANUARY AND THEN EARLY FEBRUARY FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL. 
          AND THEN WE WOULD EXECUTE AND DISTRIBUTE FUNDING. NOW THE SECOND TIMELINE REALLY LOOKS AT EXPEDITING AND, AGAIN, THIS IS A NEW GRANT PROGRAM SO WE REALLY WANT YOUR GUIDANCE ON HOW YOU THINK WE SHOULD RUN THIS. 
          THE EXPEDITED TIMELINE WOULD BE LOOKING AT DISTRIBUTING THIS FUNDING BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. SO IN DECEMBER BEFORE JANUAY STARTS. 
          SO WHAT WE WOULD LOOK AT IS A ONE-WEEK APPLICATION PERIOD OPENING NEXT WEEK. 
          WE WOULD HAVE A STAFF REVIEW FOR A WEEK, CREATE FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          SEND THE RECOMMENDATION LETTERS TO ORGANIZATIONS TO SEE WHETHER THEY ARE BEING RECOMMENDED, AND CITY COUNCIL FUNDING APPROVAL ON DECEMBER 11 WITH A CONTRACT EXECUTION AND FUNDING DISTRIBUTION HAPPENING BY THE END OF DECEMBER. 
          SO THAT'S AN EXPEDITED TIMELINE THAT WE WORK WITH OUR TEAM TO IDENTIFY THAT WE CAN MAKE THIS HAPPEN AND WORKING IN TANDEM WITH OUR FISCAL STAFF TO MAKE SURE WE'RE EXPEDITING EVERYTHING ALONG THE WAY. WITH THAT, THAT'S THE GIST OF THE PRESENTATION. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND LOOKING FOR GUIDANCE ON THE TIMELINE THAT REALLY IDENTIFIES BEST WITH YOUR RESIDENTS. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU, KRYSTAL. VERY HELPFUL AND APPRECIATE THE FLEXIBILITY IN LIGHT OF THE CHANGING FEDERAL GUIDANCE. 
          I WOULD BE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THE SECOND OPTION. AGAIN, THIS ALLOWS FOR THOSE ENTITIES THAT QUALIFY UNDER THIS NEW PROGRAM TO BE FUNDED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. SOME OF THEM THAT MAY HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY THAT 
          [01:50:02]
DECISION. AND GIVEN THE TIMELINE THAT YOU LAY OUT THAT SHOWS IT IS IN FACT POSSIBLE. APPRECIATE -- AND I'M CERTAIN THE ORGANIZATIONS WOULD APPRECIATE THAT FUNDING SOONER RATHER THAN LATER AND WOULD ACCOMMODATE THAT SHORTENED TIMELINE. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF FOLKS 
          HERE. COUNCILMAN MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. I'M REALLY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT COUNCIL HAD FORETHOUGHT DURING THE BUDGET TO SET ASIDE SOME FUNDING FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. 
          I THINK IT'S NECESSARY AND IMPORTANT. YOU SAID SOMETHING THAT STOOD OUT TO ME IS THAT A QUARTER OF TOURISTS ARE CULTURAL TOURISTS? 
          >> ONE OUT OF FOUR. THAT'S A TEXAS CULTURAL TRUST DATA THAT THEY HAVE GATHERED. THEY DO A REPORT EVERY TWO YEARS ABOUT CULTURAL TOURISM AND THE ARTS IN GENERAL. AND ONE OUT OF FOUR TEXAS TRAVELERS ARE CULTURAL TOURISTS. I DO WANT TO POINT OUT FROM THE TOURISM PERSPECTIVE, I DID ATTEND THE VISIT SAN ANTONIO ANNUAL MEETING. I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO JOIN THE BOARD THIS YEAR. YOU KNOW, REALLY LOOKING AT A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE. 
          THAT'S THE BREAD AND BUTTER OF OUR BUSINESS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. 
          SO, AGAIN, HAVING THOSE CULTURAL TOURISTS THAT ARE COMING FROM THE REGION IN TEXAS, OKLAHOMA, AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY KNOW THAT SAN ANTONIO IS A MAINSTAY, A SECOND HOME FOR THEM. THAT'S ANOTHER REASON WHY IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. 
          AND A REALLY SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP, OF COURSE, THAT WE HAVE WITH OUR TOURISM BUREAU. NOT ONLY BECAUSE WE ARE FUNDED BY HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX BUT BECAUSE IT REALLY DRIVES OUR ARTS ECONOMY AS WELL. 
          >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU. I WON'T GET TOO DEEP INTO THIS NEXT POINT BUT BECAUSE YOU SAID THAT, I WANT TO POSE IT TO MY COLLEAGUES AND TO ERIK. YOU SAYING THAT SHAPES THE WAY I VIEW OUR DOWNTOWN PLANNING. WITH THE PASSAGE OF PROP B AND WITH US NOW HAVING TO THINK ABOUT THE CONTEXT OF PROJECT MARVEL, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT NOT AND U.S. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT BUT WRAP IN CULTURAL ARTS IMPACT INTO THAT . I THINK ABOUT ONE ENTITY, THE SAAACAM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE RENOVATING THE CREST BUILDING AND WHAT ROLE COULD THAT PLAY IN A REENVISIONING OF DOWNTOWN AND HOW COULD WE LOOK AT ALL OF OUR ARTS AND CULTURAL DESTINATIONS IN THAT CONTEXT FOR A NEW AND IMPROVED ITERATION OF PROJECT MARVEL. I'LL END IT THERE AND WE WILL HOPEFULLY HAVE THAT CONVERSATION IN THE FUTURE. REGARDING -- DO YOU HAVE A LIST OF THE 11 ORGANIZATIONS? I WAS TRYING TO LOOK AT THE BACKGROUND. 
          >> I ACTUALLY DO NOT HAVE IT IN THE SLIDE BUT I COULD VERY QUICKLY GO OVER THAT. 
          SO WE HAVE AMERICAN THE ROOM. WE ALSO HAVE CONJUNTO, ESPERANZA, GUADALUPE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER, MEXICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE, NETWORK FOR YOUNG ARTIST, ALSO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN THE ROOM. 
          SAN ANTONIO CULTURAL ARTS, SSAAACAM, AND URBAN 15. I'M HAPPY TO PROVIDE THAT 
          LIST. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: DO YOU KNOW IF ANY OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS ALSO RECEIVE DELEGATE AGENCY FUNDING? NONE OF THEM DO? OKAY. SO THE POINT I WAS GOING TO POSE OR THE QUESTION WAS DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO -- I UNDERSTAND THE URGENCY AND I'M NEITHER HERE NOR THERE WITH THIS BUT I WANTED TO POSE THE IDEA DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO HAVE THIS RFP OVERLAP WITH THE DELEGATE AGENCY RFP? AND DO WE ENSURE THAT -- DO WE SET SOME SORT OF STANDARD THAT -- I'LL TELL YOU THE PROBLEM I WANT TO ADDRESS OR PREVENT IS ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE SEEKING BOTH DELEGATE AGENCY DOLLARS OR SEEKING GRANT DOLLARS. THEY'RE SEEKING BOND DOLLARS, TIRZ DOLLARS, XYZ DOLLARS, EVERY AMOUNT. AND WE LOOK AT THEM IN ISOLATION IN A LIST LIKE THIS BUT WE DON'T LOOK AT IT IN TOTAL. AND I THINK MAYBE THAT ADDRESSES THE CONCERN THAT GRANT ELIGIBILITY. MAYBE WE MAKE IT MORE ABOUT THE TOTAL AMOUNT THAT YOU'RE GETTING IN ONE PERIOD FROM ANY NUMBER OF SOURCES. AND SO IN THIS INSTANCE, IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE WE HAVE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE -- UNLESS THEY'RE RECEIVING TIRZ DOLLARS IN SOME OTHER WAY, IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE WE HAVE ORGANIZATIONS OF THE 11 THAT ARE GETTING A WHOLE LOT OF SUPPORT FROM CITY COUNCIL. 
          BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD WANT TO PREVENT ORGANIZATIONS OUTSIDE OF THAT 11 THAT MAY ALSO BE APPLYING FOR DELEGATE AGENCIES. 
          DOES THAT ALL MAKE SENSE? >> WALSH: YEAH, IT DOES. REMEMBER -- AND IT'S IMPORTANT CONTEXT I THINK. THESE ARE 11 AGENCIES OUT OF --U FUND? 
          [01:55:07]
          >> 41. >> WALSH: THE 11 WERE A SUBSET AND THE SUBSET IS WHAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD. WE JUST HAD THE CONVERSATION --L HAD THE CONVERSATION ABOUT DELEGATE AGENCIES. MAINLY THOSE ARE FOCUSED ON SENIORS, HOMELESSNESS, YOUTH AND A DIFFERENT PROGRAMMATIC. 
          WHAT YOU MAY ALSO BE REFERRING TO IS -- I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE SCHEDULED TO DO IT IN THE FALL, BUT MUCH LIKE YOU ALL DID WITH THE DELEGATE AGENCIES, AS KRYSTAL GOES THROUGH THE RFP PROCESS, THERE'S A CONVERSATION FOR ARTS' AGENCIES, NOT JUST THESE TYPES OF ARTS' AGENCIES OR THIS NEW PROGRAM. 
          THERE'S A HIGHER-LEVEL CONVERSATION IN ORDER TO DECONFLICT THOSE TYPES OF 
          THINGS AND SET PRIORITIES. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: OKAY. SO I'LL GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT I DON'T THINK RECEIVES ANY FUNDING RIGHT NOW. 
          HOPEFULLY THEY DON'T MIND ME SAYING THEIR NAME. BUT I WANT TO GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN. PRIDE SAN ANTONIO COULD ASK FOR -- BECAUSE WE HAVE PRIDE HERITAGE DISTRICT -- COULD ASK FOR FUNDING FROM DELEGATE AGENCY FUNDING IF THEY WERE TO PROGRAM FOR SENIORS OR YOUTH WHO ARE HOMELESS. THEY CAN ALSO, THROUGH ARTS AND CULTURAL, THIS GRANT PROGRAM, THEY COULD ALSO HAVE A PROGRAM RELATED TO ART -- EXPRESSION OF CULTURAL ART. THAT'S NOT THE ONLY ORGANIZATION THAT COULD DO THAT. BUT THE QUESTION I POSE IS DO WE AS A COUNCIL OR BODY HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THIS DOUBLE-DIPPING IN FUNDS, OF SORTS? EVEN THOUGH IT'S DIFFERENT BUCKETS, IN THIS CASE IT'S COMING FROM HOT, BUT IT'S CITY DOLLARS. I'LL DROP THAT QUESTION THERE. 
          DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO HAVE THE PROCESSES HAPPEN AT THE SAME TIME? IF IT DOESN'T, I HONESTLY, YOU KNOW, AM EXCITED TO MOVE FORWARD EITHER WAY. 
          I JUST WANTED TO SEE IF THAT WAS A CONVERSATION WORTH HAVING. 
          >> THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION, COUNCILMAN, IN TERMS OF US HAVING A HOLISTIC LOOK ABOUT HOW MUCH AN ENTITY IS RECEIVING. THOUGH IT MAY BE FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES, AS YOU HIGHLIGHT. AND WE OBVIOUSLY -- WE FOUND BENEFIT IN EACH OF THOSE. OTHERWISE WE WOULDN'T HAVE FUNDED THEM. 
          BUT I THINK IT IS WORTHWHILE, AS WE ARE TRYING TO MAYBE SPREAD SOME OF THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE AND TRY TO HELP AS MANY THAT MAY BE IMPACTED DIFFERENTLY BASED ON THE FEDERAL CHANGES. ERIK, I'LL LEAVE THAT TO YOU TO HELP US UNDERSTAND IF WE DO HAVE INSTANCES OF THAT AND WE AT LEAST NEED TO HAVE FEDERAL AWARENESS. 
          >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU. WITH MY ONE LAST POINT -- OKAY. SO THE 11 ORGANIZATIONS, IT'S NOT ANY GUARANTEE THAT ANY OF THOSE 11 ORGANIZATIONS GET FUNDING. THE POOL -- DO WE KNOW WHAT 
          THE POOL IS? >> THE POOL IS 41. THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE A PART OF THE OUR OPERATIONAL GRANTEE PROGRAM. THE APPLICATION WOULD BE SENT DIRECTLY TO ALL 41 ORGANIZATIONS TO APPLY. I ALSO WANT TO JUST CORRECT MYSELF. I FORGOT ONE ORGANIZATION, FORGIVE ME. 
          A NEW ORGANIZATION THAT WAS IN THE PROGRAM AND THEIR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IS HERE AS WELL. I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT UP. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, KRYSTAL FOR THE PRESENTATION AS WELL AS TO ALEX AND ERIK FOR WORKING WITH URGENCY ON THIS ITEM. I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THE EXPEDITED TIMELINE. THESE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE IMPACTED AND ARE GOING TO HAVE TO REAPPLY SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED FUNDING WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE RECENT BUDGET. AND THESE ARE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE CONTINUED PROGRAMMING DESPITE NOT RECEIVING THEIR SUPPORT. I THINK SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LIKE FOR COUNCIL TO CONSIDER IS IN TERMS OF THE EVALUATION PROCESS, IF WE CAN WEIGH THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE SUSTAINED PROGRAMMING, DESPITE NOT RECEIVING FUNDING, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD CONSIDER. 
          WHEN WE LOOK AT THE IMPACT OF THE ARTS OVERALL, IT IS A BILLION-DOLLAR IMPACT TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND AS KRYSTAL HIGHLIGHTED, RIGHT, ONE OUT OF FOUR FOLKS THAT ARE COMING HERE ARE SPENDING MORE THAN THE AVERAGE TOURIST. 
          AND THIS IS FUNDING THAT SUPPORTS OUR SMALL BUSINESSES, SUPPORTS THE GENERAL FUND. SO ON AND SO FORTH. I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO INVEST IN AND WHY PEOPLE COME TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IS BECAUSE OF OUR DIVERSE CULTURE. AND THESE 11 ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED AND HAVE HAD TO -- ARE GOING TO HAVE TO REAPPLY ARE PART OF THE FABRIC IN SAN ANTONIO'S ECONOMY. I'M SUPPORTIVE OF MOVING WITH URGENCY WITH THE EXPEDITED TIMELINE. AND THEN FOR COUNCIL AND STAFF TO CONSIDER WEIGHING IN THOSE NONPROFITS THAT WERE IMPACTED. 
          AND SUSTAINING THE PROGRAMMING, DESPITE NOT RECEIVING THE FUNDING THROUGH THIS PROCESS. THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS. THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          [02:00:01]
          >> MAYOR JONES: COUNCILMAN MUNGIA. >> MUNGIA: THANK YOU, MAYOR. FIRST OFF, I DO SUPPORT THE ALTERNATIVE EXPEDITED TIMELINE. I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT SOME OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE STAFF ASSOCIATED WITH THE FUNDING AND IT'S THE HOLIDAYS AND THAT'S AN EXTREMELY TOUGH TIME FOR THEM. I KNOW THEY'RE STRUGGLING. ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO GET IT TO THEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IS HELPFUL. WITH REGARDS TO THE CRITERIA, ARE YOU ABLE TO PUT, AS PART OF THE CRITERIA, POSSIBLY ORGANIZATIONS THAT LOST FUNDING AS A RESULT OF THE LAST BUDGET THAT WE PASSED? THESE 11 ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU MENTIONED EARLIER LOST MONEY. 
          >> I THINK THIS WOULD BE A NEW GRANT PROGRAM. BECAUSE, THE PREVIOUS ELIMINATED PROGRAM, WITH THE NEW FEDERAL GUIDANCE AND FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS, IT'S 
          PUT -- >> MUNGIA: I GET THAT. >> THAT WOULD, IN ESSENCE, BE INCLUDING THAT PREVIOUS PROGRAM IN THIS NEW PROGRAM. SO WE WANT TO START FRESH 
          WITH A COMPLIANT PROGRAM MOVING FORWARD. >> MUNGIA: YEAH. 
          I JUST THROW THAT OUT THERE BECAUSE I WORRY ABOUT THOSE FOLKS THAT, YOU KNOW, LOST THAT AND THE POTENTIAL FOR OTHER FOLKS TO ALSO JUMP IN. BECAUSE IT'S A GREAT GRANT PROGRAM. BUT, NO, THANK YOU FOR REACHING OUT TO A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS. I ACTUALLY MET WITH ONE THIS MORNING SO I KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN TALKING TO A LOT THEM AND HELPING THEM. IT'S AN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TIME AND I THINK THEY REALIZE IT'S A PRODUCT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CHANGES AND THAT WE ARE STILL UPHOLDING OUR VALUE OF THEM AND COMMITMENT TO THEM. 
          WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO MAKE IT AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE WOULD BE HELPFUL. 
          THANK YOU. >> MAYOR JONES: I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THE PIECE YOU MADE AT THE END. ANDY, MAKE SURE WE HEARD YOUR CONSENT WITH THAT, WHICH IS THE REQUEST -- IF I HAVE IT CORRECTLY -- THE REQUEST TO PRIORITIZE THOSE 11 THAT WERE IMPACTED BY THE PREVIOUS FEDERAL DECISION IN THE COURSE OF THIS NEW 
          PROGRAM. THAT'S YOUR REQUEST? >> 
          >> MAYOR JONES: AND TO WEIGH THE CONTINUATION OF THE PROGRAM. 
          ANDY, THAT'S OKAY? >> SEGOVIA: IT SOUNDED VERY SIMILAR, MAYOR, TO WHAT COUNCILMAN MUNGIA WAS SAYING. WE HAVE TO HAVE A CLEAN BREAK IN TERMS OF THE CRITERIA AND PROGRAM WE WERE PREVIOUSLY CONTEMPLATING, WE ARE NOT DOING OR CARRYING OVER ANYTHING. THIS IS AN ENTIRELY NEW 
          PROGRAM. >> MAYOR JONES: UNDERSTOOD. 
          BUT THE REASON THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT 11 IS BECAUSE IT'S BASED ON THE PREVIOUS PROGRAM. I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MANAGING EXPECTATIONS ABOUT WHY 11 WOULD HAVE ANY LEG UP OVER OTHERS. AND SO THAT IS THE ASK. 
          I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CLEAR THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE 
          CONSIDERED. >> WALSH: PEOPLE HAVE TO CONSIDER THAT AS IT RELATES TO ALL THE ELIGIBLE ENTITIES. IF OTHER ENTITIES, FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER, HAVE PROGRAMS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE IN THE SAME TYPE OF SCENARIO, THEN IT MAY MAKE SENSE. BUT I THINK WE'LL NEED TO SIT DOWN AND GO THROUGH THAT DETAIL WITH THE ARTS FOLKS AND KRYSTAL. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: OKAY. JUST BECAUSE, AGAIN, WE'RE HEARING THAT SAME LEVEL OF INTEREST BY THOSE THAT WERE IMPACTED. I WANT TO MANAGE THEIR EXPECTATIONS THAT THEY MAY NOT HAVE A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF CONSIDERATION BASED -- MAY OR MAY NOT. THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING FOR THE CLARIFICATION, AS WE 
          COMMUNICATE WITH THEM. >> SEGOVIA: RIGHT. LIKELY NOT, MAYOR. 
          AGAIN, IT HAS TO BE ENTIRELY NEW CRITERIA AND IT CAN'T BE VIEWED AS A CARRYOVER. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: LIKELY NOT? >> SEGOVIA: CORRECT. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: UNDERSTOOD. >> WALSH: MAYOR, WE'LL SIT DOWN AND DISCUSS IT AND FEED BACK TO THE COUNCIL ON WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T DO AND WHAT 
          WE'RE RECOMMENDING. WE'LL DO IT IN WRITING. >> MAYOR JONES: I APPRECIATE THAT. THAT'S COMING IN WRITING. THANK YOU. 
          COUNCILMAN, GO AHEAD. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: JUST CLARIFYING QUESTION FOR THAT. I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO WORKAROUNDS AND WHATNOT. 
          BUT SAY AN ORGANIZATION APPLIES FOR A PROGRAMMING. APPLIES FOR A GRANT FOR PROGRAMMING. AND THE GOAL IS, WHAT I'M HEARING THE GOAL IS WE WANT TO PRIORITIZE ORGANIZATIONS THAT DID NOT STOP PROVIDING THAT SERVICE, DESPITE NOT BEING FUNDED. CAN WE GIVE ADDITIONAL POINTS FOR THE CONTINUOUS LONGEVITY OF THAT PROGRAM ON ITS OWN? SO SOMEONE -- YEAH. 
          >> SEGOVIA: COUNCILMAN, RATHER THAN GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OFF THE CUFF, I AGREE WITH ERIK'S APPROACH. LET'S GET SOME RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          WE'LL DO THE ANALYSIS AND COME BACK TO COUNCIL WHETHER WE CAN OR CAN'T. 
          >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: I KNOW WE HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND I HAVE A COUPLE OF LEGAL 
          QUESTIONS. >> MAYOR JONES: THAT WORKS. 
          THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN GALVAN. >> GALVAN: THANK YOU, MAYOR AND THANK YOU, KRYSTAL AND TEAM. I KNOW IT'S BEEN FAST WORK, 
          [02:05:04]
FAST TURNAROUND BUT IMPORTANT. I GENERALLY FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS LISTED. OPEN TO THE EXPEDITED PROS AS WELL TO MAKE SURE THESE DOLLARS GET BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE . ALSO INTERESTED IN THE IDEA OF REVIEWING THE HOLISTIC VIEW ON HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE GIVING OUT IN VARIOUS FORMS. THAT'S DIFFERENT BUT HAPPY TO ALSO EXPLORE THAT. I DON'T THINK I HAVE TOO MUCH, ANYTHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I'VE HEARD. MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS ARE DOING GOOD WORK, ARE DOING GOOD WORK, ARE STILL ELIGIBLE FOR THIS WORK. THAT THE CRITERIA ISN'T TOO DRASTICALLY -- DOESN'T NEGATIVELY IMPACT THEIR APPLICATION PROCESS. 
          BUT I FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE POINT ABOUT SENDING IT BACK OUT TO ALL 41, JUST TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS INCLUDED AND ABLE TO APPLY. AND I'LL LEAVE IT THERE. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH, KRYSTAL. THANK YOU, MAYOR. >> MAYOR JONES: 
          COUNCILWOMAN KAUR. >> KAUR: THANK YOU, MAYOR. I WANT TO AGREE WITH THE COMMENTS THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE MADE, JUST BECAUSE THOSE HAVE BEEN REACHING OUT TO US. JUST A COUPLE OF CLARIFYING QUESTIONS, KRYSTAL. 
          CAN YOU GO TO THE SLIDE WITH THE ACTUAL PERCENTAGE BREAKDOWN? I THINK IT'S 5. YEAH, THIS ONE. SO COMPLETELY NEW GRANT PROGRAM. IS THIS THE PREVIOUS PROGRAM, ARE WE NIXING THAT 
          MOVING FORWARD OR WE'RE JUST NIXING IT? >> YEP. 
          IT'S ELIMINATED, THE PREVIOUS PROGRAM. THIS IS USING THE FUNDS OF 
          THE PREVIOUSLY-ELIMINATED PROGRAM. >> KAUR: OKAY. 
          SO THEN THE UP TO 20% AMOUNT, LIKE POTENTIALLY AN ORGANIZATION COULD GET MORE THAN WHAT THEY INITIALLY HAD THOUGHT THEY WERE GETTING FOR THIS CYCLE. 
          OR THAT'S GOING TO BE RARELY THE CASE BECAUSE -- DO WE EXPECT ALL 41 ORGANIZATIONS 
          TO APPLY AGAIN? >> YOU KNOW, HONESTLY, LOOKING AT THIS, BECAUSE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CULTURAL HERITAGE AND THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE 100% OF PROGRAM, ALL 41 I DON'T ANTICIPATE WILL APPLY. THEY'RE VERY PARTICULAR GUIDELINES. IT'S JANUARY/SEPTEMBER AND IT'S LOOKING AT A PARTICULAR CULTURAL HERITAGE THAT THEY PRESERVE, PROMOTE, AND PROTECT. 
          SO ALL 41 WE DO NOT ANTICIPATE THAT. SO THIS IS REALLY LOOKING AT THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE AND ALSO JUST LOOKING AT 20% OF AN ORGANIZATION'S THREE-YEAR AVERAGE WITH $150,000. WE FEEL LIKE THAT'S A GOOD AMOUNT TO START WITH, OF COURSE. WHEN WE GET THE APPLICATIONS IN AND WE GET FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS, WE COME BACK TO COUNCIL. WE GIVE A BRIEFING ON HOW MANY APPLICATIONS WE HAVE, HOW MANY WE'RE RECOMMENDING FOR FUNDING AND WHY SO WE CAN LOOK AT HOW MUCH MONEY EACH ORGANIZATION WOULD RECEIVE. 
          >> KAUR: OKAY. I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT -- BECAUSE IF -- WE'RE SAYING THIS IS A BRAND-NEW PROGRAM WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE AS-IS OR WE'RE GOING TO 
          MODIFY FOR NEXT YEAR? >> THE RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL WITH THE FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS, SEE IF THE PROGRAM DOES WORK SO THAT WE CAN EVALUATE IF WE CONTINUE THIS PROGRAM FOR THE THREE-YEAR CYCLE. 
          THE FINAL THREE-YEAR CYCLE OF OUR OPERATIONAL GRANTEES IS FISCAL YEAR '27. 
          SO FEASIBLY IF WE COME BACK AND WE HAVE AN EVALUATION OF THE PROGRAM AND COUNCIL DECIDES THAT THIS REALLY DID WORK, WE COULD CONTINUE THIS PROGRAM INTO THE THIRD-YEAR CYCLE TO GET IT IN LINE WITH THE OPERATIONAL GRANT CYCLE. AND THEN COME BACK IN FISCAL YEAR '28 WITH A THREE-YEAR PACKAGE AGAIN WITH YOU OF AN OPERATIONAL GRANT, AN EVENTS GRANT, AND THEN POTENTIALLY A CULTURAL HERITAGE GRANT, IF YOU ALL FEEL THAT'S WHAT 
          YOU WOULD RECOMMEND. >> KAUR: RATHER THAN TRYING TO CHANGE THIS MID-CYCLE -- BECAUSE THE PROBLEM TRYING TO CHANGE IT MID-CYCLE IS THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED FUNDING, THEY'RE BASICALLY MID-BUDGET. IT DOESN'T GIVE US A REAL CLEAR EVALUATION OF FOLKS SUBMITTING FOR OPERATION GRANTS AND WHETHER IT IS AN EFFECTIVE PROGRAM. 
          JUST BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY HAD MOST OF THE FUNDING DISTRIBUTED. 
          I GUESS MY QUESTION IS WHY CAN'T WE CREATE A BRIDGE GRANT, THAT'S A NEW GRANT ONLY FOR BRIDGE FOR UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES THAT HAS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT OF THE CRITERIA THAT WE'VE ANNOUNCED? NOT ANNOUNCED BUT SHARED AS THINGS THAT WE CARE ABOUT. DEVELOPED THIS GRANT -- SO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT ORGANIZATIONS, YOU KNOW, THE PREVIOUS GRANT PROGRAM 
          [02:10:06]
ELIMINATED, WE HOLD THIS FUNDING. WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT DEVELOPING A GRANT PROGRAM WITH ALL THE RESEARCH WE DID, ALL THE ORGANIZATIONS WE TALKED TO, NOT JUST THE 11 IMPACTED WITH THE PREVIOUS GRANT CYCLE BUT ALSO ALL ORGANIZATIONS. AND, YOU KNOW, THIS REALLY -- AND ALSO TALKING TO COUNCIL. THIS REALLY SEEMS LIKE A PRIORITY POINT FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR COUNCIL TO SAY WE NEED TO PROTECT OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE IN SAN ANTONIO. THAT'S WHY WE'RE RECOMMENDING THIS GRANT PROGRAM. IN ESSENCE, IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A BRIDGE GRANT PROGRAM, THIS IS BEING PRESENTED AS A FISCAL YEAR '26 GRANT PROGRAM AS IT IS. 
          IT WOULD APPLY FOR ALL PROGRAMMING THAT'S HAPPENED IN FISCAL YEAR '26. 
          I KNOW YOU SAY THE EVALUATION OF AN ENTIRE FISCAL YEAR, ALL THE ORGANIZATION'S EXPENSES WOULD BE ELIGIBLE, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE MID-WAY. 
          >> KAUR: SORRY. IT'S NOT GIVING US A REAL EVALUATION OF THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE IT'S A MUCH SMALLER CHUNK OF MONEY AND ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS ARE OPEN FOR IT AGAIN. SO WE'RE NOT ABLE TO ACTUALLY SEE WHAT THE IMPACT WOULD BE TO ALL 41 ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE GRANT PROGRAM. 
          I GUESS I'M SAYING IS THERE A WAY TO SHORTEN -- LIKE, USE THIS AS THE FRAMEWORK MOVING FORWARD FOR NEXT YEAR WHEN WE HAVE OUR FULL FUNDING. 
          BUT FOR THIS YEAR FIGURE OUT A SMALLER VERSION OF IT WITH WHATEVER YOU ALL DECIDE THAT IS LEGAL. WHETHER THAT'S CONTINUED, WHAT COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO SAID ABOUT CONTINUED SERVICES, OR YOU COULD SAY -- I MEAN, AGAIN, YOU GUYS ARE THE ATTORNEYS. BUT PERCENTAGE OF PUBLIC FUNDING THAT THEY SAW A DECREASE IN FOR THIS BUDGET CYCLE. SOMETHING LIKE THAT THAT'S A BRIDGE PROGRAM THAT GETS TO WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH FOR THIS YEAR AND THEN CREATE A MODIFIED PROGRAM FOR NEXT YEAR'S CYCLE IS WHERE I WILL STAY AT. AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION IS -- I THINK YOU MENTIONED, 
          BUT WHO'S ON THE PLANNING -- THE REVIEW COMMITTEE? >> WITH THE EXPEDITED TIMELINE, IT WOULD BE STAFF REVIEW AND STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          IF WE DID THE LONGER TIME-FRAME, WE USUALLY HAVE A TWO-WEEK INDEPENDENT PANEL. WE HAVE PANELISTS APPLY TO BE PANELISTS ACROSS ALL OF OUR PROGRAMMING, INCLUDING PUBLIC ART. SO WE WOULD PULL FROM THAT LIST OF, YOU KNOW, ABOUT 70 ARTS EXPERTS WITH DEDICATED EXPERIENCE TO PULL. 
          BUT IT WOULD BE STAFF REVIEW. >> KAUR: I SUPPORT THE EXPEDITED TIMELINE AND IF YOU GUYS CAN TAKE THAT ON FOR THIS CYCLE. 
          BUT I DO THINK WE SHOULD CONSIDER A SMALLER BRIDGE GRANT VERSUS TRYING TO TEST 
          OUT THE FULL GOING FORWARD. THANKS, MAYOR. >> MAYOR JONES: 
          COUNCILWOMAN ALDERETE GAVITO. >> GAVITO: THANK YOU. 
          THANKS FOR THIS PRESENTATION, KRYSTAL. I JUST ALSO WANT TO COMMEND YOU FOR PIVOTING REALLY QUICKLY. I KNOW WE WERE ALL KIND OF -- I WOULDN'T SAY SURPRISED, BUT NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS CHANGE. 
          AND SO THANK YOU FOR PIVOTING ACCORDINGLY AND TRYING TO HELP OUT THESE INSTITUTIONS, TO COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO'S POINT, DO A LOT FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. I DID HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION. 
          ON ONE OF THE ELIGIBILITY IT SAYS ORGANIZATION EXISTS TO PRESERVE, PROMOTE, AND REVITALIZE A DISTRICT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE. WE'RE NOT SETTING OURSELVES UP TO KIND OF GET IN THE SAME PICKLE AS EARLIER, RIGHT? 
          >> NO. IT IS OPEN TO ANY CULTURAL HERITAGE. 
          THE PREVIOUS PROGRAM THAT WE DID RUN BEFORE THE GUIDANCE CAME OUT, WE IDENTIFIED WHAT THE CULTURAL HERITAGE IS. THIS PROGRAM DOES NOT. IT IS OPEN TO ALL. 
          >> SEGOVIA: I CAN CONFIRM THAT, COUNCILWOMAN. THAT'S THE KEY IS THAT IT'S 
          OPEN TO ALL. >> GAVITO: GOT IT. THAT'S HELPFUL CONTEXT. 
          THANK YOU. BUT OTHER THAN THAT, THANKS AGAIN. 
          THANKS FOR MOVING QUICKLY AND PIVOTING AND TRYING TO HELP THESE NONPROFITS WHO DO A LOT OF GREAT WORK, SUSTAIN THEIR FUNDING. THANKS. 
          >> MAYOR JONES: KRYSTAL, FOR CONTEXT, WHILE THERE ARE 41 THAT COULD TECHNICALLY APPLY, HOW MANY OF THOSE 41 WOULD ACTUALLY QUALIFY FOR THIS PROGRAM, BASED ON THE 
          CRITERIA OF THIS PROGRAM? >> I CANNOT SAY THAT YET BECAUSE WE WOULD HAVE TO DO THE EVALUATION, THAT'S THE ESSENCE OF IT. CERTAINLY NOT ALL 41 BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO, AGAIN, PRESERVE, PROMOTE, PROTECT A DISTINCT CULTURAL HERITAGE 100% OF THE TIME AND BE COMMUNITY ROOTED. ALSO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT SMALL TO MID SIZE. IF YOU'RE A LARGE ORGANIZATION, YOU WOULD 
          AUTOMATICALLY, WITH ELIGIBILITY, NOT QUALIFY. >> MAYOR JONES: THANK YOU 
          FOR THAT. COUNCILWOMAN MEZA GONZALEZ. >> GONZALEZ: I WANTED TO 
          [02:15:06]
SUPPORT THE EXPEDITED TIMELINE. I HAD THE SAME QUESTION ABOUT PANEL REVIEW. THAT WAS ANSWERED. THAT'S ALL. 
          THANKS. >> MAYOR JONES: WOULD ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO SPEAK IN THE FIRST ROUND THAT HASN'T SIGNED UP? OKAY. 
          COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO. >> CASTILLO: ARE WE GOING TO HAVE A FOLLOW-UP CONVERSATION IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY? 
          >> YES. >> MAYOR JONES: WE CAN, IF WE NEED TO. 
          >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU. >> MAYOR JONES: BASED ON THAT, THEN, WE WILL GO INTO -- KAUR JUST SIGNED UP? OKAY. BEFORE WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, IS THERE ANYONE ELSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK IN THE SECOND ROUND? OKAY. THANK YOU, KRYSTAL. PLEASE DON'T GO ANYWHERE BECAUSE WE MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK FOR YOU. I WOULD ASK MY COLLEAGUES TO 
          [EXECUTIVE SESSION
At any time during the meeting, the City Council may recess into executive session in the Presidio Conference Room to consult with the City Attorney's Office (Texas Government Code Section 551.071) and deliberate or discuss any of the following:
 ]
REMAIN SEATED. THE TIME IS NOW 4:18 ON NOVEMBER 5, 2025. 
          THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WILL NOW MEET IN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CONSULT WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 551.071 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE AND TO DELIBERATE OR DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING ITEMS: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 551.087. PURCHASE, EXCHANGE, LEASE OR VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY PURSUANT TO SECTION 551.072. AND LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO LITIGATION INVOLVING THE CITY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ALL PURSUANT
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.