WEBVTT 00:00:08.069 --> 00:00:10.380 (item:0:Chairman Gleeson calls meeting to order) This meeting of the Public Utility Commission of Texas 00:00:10.390 --> 00:00:12.269 will come to order. To consider matters that have been 00:00:12.278 --> 00:00:16.420 duly posted with the Secretary of State for May 23, 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:21.629 2024. Good morning Shelah, Connie, Barksdale. I appreciate 00:00:21.638 --> 00:00:26.670 the no tie. Thank you for following through. Um, so 00:00:27.638 --> 00:00:29.728 we're going to do things a little out of order this 00:00:29.739 --> 00:00:33.429 morning. First, Commissioner Glotfelty will not be 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:36.840 here. (item:0:Chairman Gleeson asks for motion to excuse Commissioner Glotfelty from today's proceeding and gives acknowledgement tomorrow's birthdays) So I would entertain a motion to excuse Commissioner 00:00:37.310 --> 00:00:40.798 Glotfelty from today's proceeding. So moved. Second. Motion and second. 00:00:40.810 --> 00:00:45.139 All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion prevails. And then 00:00:45.149 --> 00:00:48.779 tomorrow is a very special day at the Commission. Commissioner 00:00:49.259 --> 00:00:52.649 Cobos, David Smeltzer and Ramya all have birthdays tomorrow 00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:53.029 so. 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:02.408 Smeltzer, I assume you think yours is the most important 00:01:02.509 --> 00:01:02.798 but I'll. 00:01:05.849 --> 00:01:07.659 Not in this group. It's ok, it is the most important. 00:01:09.469 --> 00:01:11.579 So we're gonna take things a little out of order, like 00:01:11.588 --> 00:01:15.040 I said. First, we're gonna get an update from CenterPoint 00:01:15.049 --> 00:01:18.918 on restoration issue, uh restoration efforts. And then 00:01:18.930 --> 00:01:21.400 we're gonna go to Closed Session to handle a few housekeeping 00:01:21.409 --> 00:01:24.379 matters. So, if that's all right with everybody? Okay. 00:01:24.510 --> 00:01:27.959 So now Jason, if you want to come up and um give 00:01:27.969 --> 00:01:30.439 us an update on restoration efforts. I wanted to 00:01:30.448 --> 00:01:33.189 tell you, I know I told you this privately. Everyone 00:01:33.198 --> 00:01:35.739 I've talked to has said you all have done an amazing 00:01:35.750 --> 00:01:38.808 job responding to an event that you couldn't really 00:01:38.819 --> 00:01:41.549 prepare for. And the restoration effort by you, by the 00:01:41.558 --> 00:01:44.760 locals that have aided you, and the mutual assistance 00:01:44.769 --> 00:01:47.120 partners has just been tremendous. I've heard nothing 00:01:47.129 --> 00:01:49.269 but good things. So, uh thank you for everything that 00:01:49.278 --> 00:01:51.750 CenterPoint and your partners are doing. (item:0:CenterPoint's Jason Ryan on Houston area restoration efforts) Thank you 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:55.150 Chairman. Good morning Commissioners. Jason Ryan, Executive 00:01:55.159 --> 00:01:57.569 Vice President at CenterPoint Energy. I appreciate 00:01:57.579 --> 00:02:01.870 those remarks. We are still in emergency operations 00:02:01.900 --> 00:02:05.370 going into Day 7 of this event. But it's important 00:02:05.379 --> 00:02:08.169 to be here today. To share with you all what happened, 00:02:08.419 --> 00:02:12.129 what we've done, what there is still yet to do, and 00:02:12.139 --> 00:02:14.099 to share that with the public as well. So I appreciate 00:02:14.110 --> 00:02:17.729 you allowing us to come here today. With your permission, 00:02:17.740 --> 00:02:19.379 I am going to exit as soon as I'm over and go 00:02:19.389 --> 00:02:21.899 back to our Emergency Operations Center. Absolutely. And also 00:02:21.909 --> 00:02:24.308 uh I know it's Summer casual time. This is probably 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:27.219 not what that means, uh so pardon my appearance today. 00:02:27.229 --> 00:02:30.889 I'm usually in this room in a suit. So uh first, 00:02:30.899 --> 00:02:33.050 before I go into the prepared material that you have. 00:02:33.058 --> 00:02:36.409 I want to say to the uh little over 27,000 customers 00:02:36.419 --> 00:02:39.460 that are still out of power. We understand that 00:02:39.469 --> 00:02:43.580 it's been a long 7 days. That it's been in excess 00:02:43.588 --> 00:02:46.069 of 100 degrees in terms of a feels-like temperature, 00:02:46.219 --> 00:02:48.199 and that we still have a lot of work to do. We 00:02:48.210 --> 00:02:50.479 will work day and night until we finish the mission. 00:02:51.179 --> 00:02:54.610 Secondly, I want to say for all the customers that 00:02:54.618 --> 00:02:57.929 were privileged to serve in the Houston area. Many 00:02:57.939 --> 00:03:01.308 had extensive damage to their homes, to their vehicles. 00:03:01.588 --> 00:03:05.229 They were disrupted when they were getting ready for 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:08.750 graduation ceremonies this past weekend. They missed 00:03:08.758 --> 00:03:11.939 other important things. Some of them lost their loved 00:03:11.949 --> 00:03:16.330 ones. But they met our crews with smiles, with food, 00:03:16.338 --> 00:03:19.860 with water, with ice cream at one location I was at, 00:03:20.118 --> 00:03:25.229 and with smiles and with patience. And for that, 00:03:25.240 --> 00:03:29.319 we appreciate all of our customers, uh and sticking 00:03:29.330 --> 00:03:32.349 with us through this unprecedented event. Let me 00:03:32.449 --> 00:03:37.169 uh talk about the um, uh events you can go through the 00:03:37.179 --> 00:03:41.909 prepared material. So Thursday just before close of 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:47.399 business, the storm began impacting our area. The 00:03:47.409 --> 00:03:50.409 uh sustained winds in the Northern part of the Houston 00:03:50.419 --> 00:03:54.758 area were at about 110 miles an hour. That 00:03:54.770 --> 00:03:59.038 is equivalent to a strong Category 2 hurricane. For 00:03:59.050 --> 00:04:01.909 comparison purposes, Hurricane Ike made landfall in 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:06.449 2008 with exactly 110 miles an hour winds. We 00:04:06.460 --> 00:04:09.179 had 12 days notice of Hurricane Ike to start preparing. 00:04:09.528 --> 00:04:13.319 We had 15 minutes notice of this event. As you 00:04:13.330 --> 00:04:16.019 know, it was not supposed to be dark yet, but the 00:04:16.028 --> 00:04:18.879 skies quickly got dark and it was pretty terrifying 00:04:18.889 --> 00:04:22.189 event. If you uh watch the, uh media coverage and 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:24.338 heard personal stories of people that were at uh 00:04:24.350 --> 00:04:27.970 baseball games uh seeking shelter uh or on their 00:04:27.980 --> 00:04:31.129 commute home. In the downtown area, there were straight 00:04:31.139 --> 00:04:34.338 line winds in excess of 100 miles an hour as people 00:04:34.350 --> 00:04:38.338 were waiting for buses to go home. The early reports 00:04:38.350 --> 00:04:41.569 are that as many as 5,000 windows are out of downtown 00:04:41.579 --> 00:04:44.738 buildings. Our own uh building downtown has more than 00:04:44.750 --> 00:04:47.519 500 windows out, but just know that we are not conducting 00:04:47.528 --> 00:04:50.209 emergency operations from there. So while we don't 00:04:50.220 --> 00:04:52.608 know when we'll have access to our building again. 00:04:52.619 --> 00:04:55.428 It doesn't uh it, it hasn't impaired our restoration 00:04:55.439 --> 00:05:03.269 efforts. So uh going up to maybe Page 3 of the 00:05:03.278 --> 00:05:07.209 slide deck, you see some representative photos of damage. 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:11.629 It doesn't show the true magnitude of the damage though. 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:16.778 Even though a picture uh speaks 1000 words, um video 00:05:16.790 --> 00:05:19.420 would probably be better. Because if you can imagine 00:05:19.428 --> 00:05:23.819 around each of those uh snapshots, uh homes completely 00:05:24.278 --> 00:05:28.750 devastated by completely fallen trees. Trees on their 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:32.910 cars, every direction that you look at uh is just severe 00:05:32.928 --> 00:05:35.488 damage. But I thought I'd give you some representative 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:39.178 photos there, so you can see the magnitude of the event. 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:42.910 As soon as the event happened we sent, sent out about 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:45.738 700 damage assessors and flew transmission routes with 00:05:45.750 --> 00:05:48.939 a helicopter. So that we could understand the true magnitude 00:05:48.949 --> 00:05:53.149 of this disaster, by that time it was dark. We 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:55.809 stood up our Emergency Operations Center at about uh 00:05:55.819 --> 00:05:59.100 7pm that night, so shortly after the event. 00:05:59.338 --> 00:06:02.959 The next uh photos on uh Slide 4. Show some of the 00:06:02.970 --> 00:06:07.559 representative work that has been done. We called in 00:06:07.790 --> 00:06:12.959 5,000 mutual assistance crews, uh 4000 line skills work, 00:06:12.970 --> 00:06:16.980 workers and about 1,000 vegetation management workers. 00:06:16.988 --> 00:06:19.959 To augment our 2,000 Houston area electric employees 00:06:19.970 --> 00:06:24.059 to get this work done. We've restored about 140 miles 00:06:24.069 --> 00:06:27.278 of impacted transmission lines. And we are in the process 00:06:27.290 --> 00:06:33.988 of or have already restored about two, replaced 2,000 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:37.528 distribution poles. That were severely damaged during 00:06:37.540 --> 00:06:37.988 the event. 00:06:39.838 --> 00:06:42.639 On Slide 5, you see some pictures of uh staging 00:06:42.649 --> 00:06:46.309 sites that we set up. You know, the benefit of a hurricane 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:50.358 uh advanced notice is that you can uh book hotels, 00:06:50.369 --> 00:06:54.369 you can book food. You can get areas ready to receive 00:06:54.379 --> 00:06:57.439 the thousands of people coming from uh more than 1000 00:06:57.449 --> 00:07:00.259 miles away to help our communities. We stood those 00:07:00.269 --> 00:07:05.519 up on Friday. And uh, uh wanna thank all of the 00:07:05.528 --> 00:07:09.559 employees that uh got that work done. So that as soon 00:07:09.569 --> 00:07:12.759 as the mutual assistance crews, they could safely um 00:07:12.769 --> 00:07:16.750 be on boarded, rest and then get ready to do their 00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:19.600 work. So the staging sites was incredibly important 00:07:19.608 --> 00:07:22.670 part of our initial work. 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:27.588 On Page 6, there's some pictures of emergency generation 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:30.750 that was used uh also on Friday to start powering some 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:33.459 of the most critical facilities in the Houston area. 00:07:33.470 --> 00:07:37.858 We use them to power Communications Center for police 00:07:37.869 --> 00:07:40.600 departments, evidence lockers at police departments, 00:07:40.778 --> 00:07:44.238 cooling centers for our communities. Ultimately, they 00:07:44.250 --> 00:07:48.588 were used at a number of schools as well. I'm happy 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:51.738 to report that all but two schools in the Houston area 00:07:51.750 --> 00:07:55.798 now have power, if they're able to take power. So schools 00:07:55.809 --> 00:07:59.040 can open just in time to finish their year up this 00:07:59.048 --> 00:07:59.420 week. 00:08:01.588 --> 00:08:06.028 Page 7 shows a chart of uh restoration pace to 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:11.540 date. As you can see, we did lose power to 922,000 00:08:11.548 --> 00:08:15.778 of our customers. That's about a third of the city 00:08:15.790 --> 00:08:20.088 of Houston's, the region's customers. And we were able 00:08:20.100 --> 00:08:23.988 to uh bring those numbers down through the work of 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:27.588 the mutual assistance crews on our own. To this 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:30.588 date with no serious injuries or fatalities. That's 00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:33.590 probably the, the proudest accomplishment uh that I 00:08:33.599 --> 00:08:37.359 can trust with you here today. And while these 5,000 00:08:37.369 --> 00:08:41.940 men and women came to help us and our 2,000 crews also. 00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:47.788 You know, are doing work under very difficult conditions in many 00:08:47.798 --> 00:08:51.320 compact areas. As our community has gotten back to 00:08:51.330 --> 00:08:54.500 uh daily life in most of those areas with heavy traffic 00:08:54.509 --> 00:08:58.250 uh in in some parts. To do that safely every day, every 00:08:58.259 --> 00:09:01.469 person, every day uh is incredibly important. And I 00:09:01.479 --> 00:09:03.538 look forward to sending these crews home just as safe 00:09:03.548 --> 00:09:05.259 as they arrived to help our communities. 00:09:07.609 --> 00:09:10.769 Page 8 shows what our customers uh saw during this 00:09:10.779 --> 00:09:14.359 event uh on our website. That gave them approximate 00:09:14.668 --> 00:09:21.469 restoration times uh by area of town. We also uh 00:09:21.479 --> 00:09:24.690 were able to communicate with customers where we have 00:09:24.700 --> 00:09:27.090 uh their information through our power alert service, 00:09:27.099 --> 00:09:30.090 and continue to uh urge customers to sign up for that 00:09:30.099 --> 00:09:32.229 service. So that they can understand when their power 00:09:32.239 --> 00:09:34.658 might come on uh during an outage. 00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:40.808 Uh I, I want to thank the companies listed on Page 00:09:40.820 --> 00:09:45.099 9. That is where many of the 5,000 mutual assistance 00:09:45.109 --> 00:09:48.019 crews came from. I had the privilege to meet a number 00:09:48.029 --> 00:09:50.168 of them. As they were taking breaks in the field from 00:09:50.178 --> 00:09:53.599 the, uh the severe weather we've been having. Many of 00:09:53.609 --> 00:09:57.668 them, just like many of our customers uh missed graduations 00:09:57.678 --> 00:10:01.019 when we called them to come to Houston on Friday. 00:10:01.029 --> 00:10:05.418 Missed other important family events, but that's what 00:10:05.428 --> 00:10:08.599 we do in this industry, right? We put the community 00:10:08.609 --> 00:10:11.109 first and I'm incredibly proud of all of those individuals 00:10:11.119 --> 00:10:16.580 that came to help us. I wanna thank our employees. 00:10:16.590 --> 00:10:18.690 I thanked our customers for their patience. I wanna thank 00:10:18.700 --> 00:10:22.769 our employees. The men and women in the field have 00:10:22.779 --> 00:10:25.038 done an incredible job with restoration. We have a 00:10:25.048 --> 00:10:27.048 lot of work to do, but they've done an incredible job 00:10:27.058 --> 00:10:30.750 so far. Most of our other employees that don't work 00:10:30.759 --> 00:10:33.099 in the field every day are either in the field as crew 00:10:33.109 --> 00:10:36.058 spokespersons. Answering customer questions so that 00:10:36.070 --> 00:10:38.690 our crews can do their work. But make sure the customers 00:10:38.700 --> 00:10:41.288 have their questions or they're manning the staging 00:10:41.298 --> 00:10:44.928 sites. Providing security for those staging sites, 00:10:44.940 --> 00:10:47.239 providing logistics support for those staging sites. 00:10:47.570 --> 00:10:50.808 So know that all of our employees are in emergency 00:10:50.820 --> 00:10:54.719 operations mode right now. Helping to help our crews 00:10:54.729 --> 00:10:59.500 if we're not, the crews themselves do their job. 00:10:59.879 --> 00:11:02.178 I'm also incredibly impressed that our employees have 00:11:02.190 --> 00:11:04.798 the same urgency and focus on Day 7 as they did 00:11:04.808 --> 00:11:09.320 on Day 1. It's incredibly important uh to continue 00:11:09.330 --> 00:11:11.460 that focus as we finish our work. Because like I 00:11:11.469 --> 00:11:15.379 said, there's still work left to do. Let me just kind 00:11:15.389 --> 00:11:19.239 of summarize the work that we've done and, and 00:11:19.250 --> 00:11:22.649 the work that's left to do. I'll start with the work 00:11:22.658 --> 00:11:25.109 that's left to do, since that's what most people want 00:11:25.119 --> 00:11:28.239 to understand. We have about 6,000 outages as of this 00:11:28.250 --> 00:11:30.969 morning that are related to circuit level outages. 00:11:30.979 --> 00:11:35.619 So think of circuits as the main traffic thoroughfares 00:11:35.629 --> 00:11:40.048 in the city. That is the circuit. We have 6,000 outages 00:11:40.058 --> 00:11:43.440 that are related to doing work on circuits. We have 00:11:43.450 --> 00:11:47.099 about uh just under 20,000 outages that are fuse level 00:11:47.109 --> 00:11:51.928 outages. Think of fuse level outages as arteries of 00:11:51.940 --> 00:11:54.330 of roads that come off of those main roads that go 00:11:54.340 --> 00:11:58.928 into your neighborhood. And so we have to restore 00:11:58.969 --> 00:12:02.029 uh certain, uh those fuse level outages to restore about 00:12:02.038 --> 00:12:06.210 20,000 more customers. And then we have about 5,000 00:12:06.219 --> 00:12:10.308 outages that are related to uh transformer level work 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:13.440 that needs to be done. This is the work that's done 00:12:13.450 --> 00:12:17.849 nearest to the home. So we are um working right 00:12:17.859 --> 00:12:22.009 now around the clock to do that remaining work. 00:12:23.619 --> 00:12:27.288 We also will have work to do after all the power is 00:12:27.298 --> 00:12:31.320 back on, so I do want to stress that as well. There 00:12:31.330 --> 00:12:33.960 are probably weeks or months of additional work to 00:12:33.969 --> 00:12:38.750 be done once our outage number is approaching zero. 00:12:39.580 --> 00:12:43.109 You know, there could be poles leaning that need 00:12:43.119 --> 00:12:45.139 to be replaced even though the power is on. So we'll 00:12:45.149 --> 00:12:47.859 be doing that uh for a period of time as well. So 00:12:47.869 --> 00:12:49.599 there's more information about some of the work that's 00:12:49.609 --> 00:12:54.460 been done. I won't belabor that uh here. And let me 00:12:54.469 --> 00:12:58.139 close out by saying, that uh we know that it's incredibly 00:12:58.149 --> 00:13:01.590 important for us to restore, restore our system. The 00:13:01.599 --> 00:13:05.190 poles, the wires, the substation. That's only part 00:13:05.288 --> 00:13:10.678 of restoring our community. So uh we have uh been 00:13:10.690 --> 00:13:14.288 taking excess supplies that we've got uh for our staging 00:13:14.298 --> 00:13:17.750 sites and delivering those to our communities. We've 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:20.928 so far delivered more than 20 tons of ice to our communities. 00:13:20.940 --> 00:13:25.000 More than 20,000 bottles of water. More food than 00:13:25.219 --> 00:13:28.210 I can count and we will continue doing that. We're 00:13:28.219 --> 00:13:30.418 also supporting the organizations that support our 00:13:30.428 --> 00:13:34.408 community. With founding grants uh announced yesterday 00:13:34.418 --> 00:13:37.619 for a fund set up to hit, uh to help those hardest 00:13:37.629 --> 00:13:41.710 hit. We know that uh restoring our community is more 00:13:41.719 --> 00:13:43.918 than just our infrastructure and we're in it for the 00:13:43.928 --> 00:13:47.558 long haul on both. So in closing for customers still 00:13:47.570 --> 00:13:49.479 out, we know we have work to do and we will not 00:13:49.489 --> 00:13:50.830 stop until we get the mission done. 00:13:52.629 --> 00:13:56.129 (item:0:Chairman Gleeson's thoughts on CenterPoint's Houston area restoration efforts) Thank you, Jason. Again, I think commendable effort 00:13:56.139 --> 00:14:00.538 um by all involved. I think it is important to also 00:14:00.548 --> 00:14:04.469 note that the role that mobile gen played. In ensuring 00:14:04.479 --> 00:14:06.779 that you know critical infrastructure, infrastructure 00:14:06.788 --> 00:14:09.859 that's critical. For, you know, life um really played 00:14:09.869 --> 00:14:13.269 a big role in this. And so, um and again great job. 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:16.570 Commissioners? (item:0:Commissioner Jackson's thoughts on CenterPoint's Houston area restoration efforts) Yeah, I'd just like to commend you. 00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:19.500 I think for um, you know, what's kind of visible and 00:14:19.509 --> 00:14:22.200 everybody sees. And the, and the way that you kind of 00:14:22.210 --> 00:14:25.239 describe it, you know, the response. Is to me kind of 00:14:25.250 --> 00:14:28.908 like classic in the world of what you should do in 00:14:28.918 --> 00:14:31.279 terms of emergency response. So, you know, you came 00:14:31.288 --> 00:14:34.450 together as a team. You committed the full resources 00:14:34.460 --> 00:14:37.279 of the organization. You took thoughtful and deliberate 00:14:37.288 --> 00:14:39.820 action, and the very last sentence you said is that 00:14:39.830 --> 00:14:42.469 we're not gonna stop until the job is done. And I mean 00:14:42.479 --> 00:14:45.619 that doesn't happen without planning ahead of time. 00:14:45.849 --> 00:14:48.298 And that doesn't happen without a culture. You talked 00:14:48.308 --> 00:14:52.389 about your safety and the safety of the workers. And 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:55.460 you know, that's something that is evolved over time 00:14:55.469 --> 00:14:59.389 and is embedded in the organization. And the planning, 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:02.599 and the drills and the things that you do working with 00:15:02.609 --> 00:15:06.359 emergency response in the various communities, you 00:15:06.369 --> 00:15:09.509 know, during events like this. It, it all pays off. 00:15:09.859 --> 00:15:13.239 And uh I think, you know, to me the, you know, the 00:15:13.250 --> 00:15:17.359 thing that is, is kind of the, the highlight and to 00:15:17.369 --> 00:15:22.599 me the most responsive. Is um what I kind of sense in 00:15:22.908 --> 00:15:27.129 your presentation. Is that, you know, for us to be successful 00:15:27.139 --> 00:15:30.239 as an organization, the community in which we operate 00:15:30.250 --> 00:15:33.808 has to be successful. And so I think we're very fortunate 00:15:33.820 --> 00:15:37.629 in Texas that we have um you know the, the men and 00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:40.710 women and the leadership of CenterPoint. I know that 00:15:40.719 --> 00:15:42.869 many others across the state. You know, we were on 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:46.190 the state operations call and Congressman Babin called 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:48.879 in and mentioned that. So I think it's recognized y'all 00:15:48.889 --> 00:15:51.119 I think it's a tribute, you know, to the state 00:15:51.129 --> 00:15:53.379 and how we come together. We care about one another. 00:15:53.609 --> 00:15:55.979 You know, we think about these type of events. We can't 00:15:55.989 --> 00:15:58.389 prevent them, but we can be prepared and we can respond. 00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:00.830 So thank you for coming and making the presentation, 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:03.239 and just thanks for everything you do for the communities 00:16:03.250 --> 00:16:06.649 across our state. Thank you Commissioner. (item:0:Commissioner Cobos' thoughts on CenterPoint's Houston area restoration efforts) Thank you Jason. And 00:16:06.658 --> 00:16:09.678 I'd like to echo um Chairman Gleeson and Commissioner 00:16:09.690 --> 00:16:13.379 Jackson's statements. I think this, your response to 00:16:13.389 --> 00:16:15.500 an event that you really didn't have a warning for. 00:16:15.509 --> 00:16:17.899 Just brought together all of your efforts that you 00:16:17.908 --> 00:16:21.710 plan for and you um coordinate for. And the investments 00:16:21.719 --> 00:16:25.529 you've made in infrastructure, but also in these mobile 00:16:25.538 --> 00:16:28.070 gen units. And all of this is critically important 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:30.940 to have a cohesive, rapid response to these types of 00:16:30.950 --> 00:16:34.918 events. And you know, your work um in restoring all 00:16:34.928 --> 00:16:38.119 of these um customers has been tremendous. I really 00:16:38.129 --> 00:16:41.500 appreciate all the communication. We've received 00:16:41.509 --> 00:16:44.340 daily communication, but not just daily it seems like 00:16:44.349 --> 00:16:46.859 hourly communication. So Patrick, thank you for all 00:16:46.869 --> 00:16:50.379 of your emails and information. That's, it's been 00:16:50.389 --> 00:16:53.308 extremely helpful to see where everything stands. And 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:56.619 so I commend you and your company, your team for all 00:16:56.629 --> 00:17:00.320 of your hard work and in uh responding to this devastating 00:17:00.330 --> 00:17:04.078 event. Yeah, you know, on small scale events you can 00:17:04.358 --> 00:17:07.160 have a value hierarchy of what you're trying to restore. 00:17:07.170 --> 00:17:08.880 You know, kind of the squeaky wheel gets the grease 00:17:08.890 --> 00:17:11.769 here. The magnitude of this was such that, you know 00:17:11.779 --> 00:17:15.430 everything was of high value. And so again, great job. 00:17:15.729 --> 00:17:17.779 Thank you for the support. We'll report back when we're 00:17:17.789 --> 00:17:20.000 done. Thanks Jason. Thank you. 00:17:22.930 --> 00:17:27.269 Okay. So again before we go down the agenda, we're going 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:30.108 to break and go into Closed Session real quickly. (item:46:Chairman Gleeson pauses Open Meeting, to hold Closed Session) So 00:17:30.118 --> 00:17:32.519 having convened in a duly noticed open meeting. The 00:17:32.529 --> 00:17:37.390 Commission will now at 9:50am on May 23, 2024 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:39.949 hold a Closed Session, pursuant to Chapter 551 of the 00:17:39.959 --> 00:17:42.670 Texas Government Code. It will consult with its attorney 00:17:42.680 --> 00:17:48.469 pursuant to Section 551.071 of the code. Deliberate 00:17:48.479 --> 00:17:51.519 personnel matters pursuant to Section 551.074 of the 00:17:51.529 --> 00:17:54.828 code and deliberate security matters pursuant to Section 00:17:54.838 --> 00:17:58.160 551.076 of the code. We'll be right back. 00:18:00.019 --> 00:18:00.039 (silence) 00:18:05.250 --> 00:18:08.969 (item:46:Chairman Gleeson concludes Closed Session, Public Meeting resumed) The Closed Session is hereby concluded at 10:28am 00:18:08.979 --> 00:18:13.150 on May 23, 2024 and the Commission will resume its 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:17.140 Public Meeting. So the only action coming out of this 00:18:17.150 --> 00:18:21.729 this is probably one of the easier things we'll ever 00:18:21.739 --> 00:18:24.640 have to do. It may be the easiest honestly. And I don't 00:18:24.650 --> 00:18:28.608 know if it's because she has good karma or bad. (item:46:Motion to promote Connie Corona to Executive Director) But, 00:18:29.189 --> 00:18:33.880 but I, I move that we promote Connie Corona to Executive 00:18:33.890 --> 00:18:37.519 Director. Remove the interim tag and set the E.D salary 00:18:37.529 --> 00:18:42.459 of $245,579 for the remainder of this fiscal year. 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:45.640 And I second that motion. A motion and a second. All 00:18:45.650 --> 00:18:49.549 those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Congratulations 00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:00.059 Connie. As you have all heard me say before and is typical 00:19:00.068 --> 00:19:03.439 of jobs I leave. The people that replace me are always 00:19:03.449 --> 00:19:06.318 a lot better at them than I am. And um, I have 00:19:06.328 --> 00:19:08.630 no doubt that we may, we may have, we have one other 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:12.479 former Executive Director in the room. Um but uh 00:19:12.868 --> 00:19:17.219 I'm extreme, I'm very excited. And um I, I don't think 00:19:17.229 --> 00:19:19.479 there could be any question that you're the right person 00:19:19.489 --> 00:19:22.630 for this job. And I'm excited to see all the great 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:23.338 things you do in it. 00:19:26.229 --> 00:19:30.318 (item:46:PUC's Executive Director Connie Corona's thoughts on her promotion) Thank you Commissioners. I'm, I'm honored and 00:19:30.328 --> 00:19:33.199 I appreciate your confidence and the support of the 00:19:33.209 --> 00:19:38.368 team here. It's the best group of uh staff that 00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:41.769 we have in an, in an agency for working for Texans. 00:19:41.779 --> 00:19:48.269 So I appreciate that. If uh if I may, I'd like 00:19:48.279 --> 00:19:53.170 to go ahead and make my E.D. update um under Item No. 00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:56.368 39. 39? Let me check. 00:19:58.368 --> 00:20:01.640 43. 43. (item:43:Chairman Gleeson opens up item for update from Executive Director) We'll call up Item 43. 00:20:03.180 --> 00:20:07.969 As you know, the position of Deputy Executive Director 00:20:07.979 --> 00:20:13.750 has recently been vacated. (item:43:Connie Corona names Barksdale English new Deputy Executive Director)So I would like to name 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:17.140 and I am naming Barksdale English as the Deputy Executive 00:20:17.150 --> 00:20:22.299 Director of this agency effective immediately. Congratulations 00:20:26.868 --> 00:20:29.568 Barksdale. See and, and I thought you just sat up there because 00:20:29.578 --> 00:20:31.328 you got into the meeting before David did. 00:20:34.130 --> 00:20:34.189 (inaudible) 00:20:39.449 --> 00:20:43.049 (item:43:Connie Corona gives announcement on TX Energy Fund) Also, I would like to make an announcement regarding 00:20:43.059 --> 00:20:47.029 the Texas Energy Fund. A simple reminder that next 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:52.279 week on May 31st, which is a week from tomorrow. The 00:20:52.289 --> 00:20:55.789 window closes to submit a notice of intent to apply 00:20:56.049 --> 00:21:00.380 for a Texas Energy Fund Loan. Currently, I believe 00:21:00.390 --> 00:21:04.539 we have 10 applications that have completed the process. 00:21:04.549 --> 00:21:09.529 Numerous others are in progress. And um we look forward 00:21:09.539 --> 00:21:14.239 to getting those applications, full applications in 00:21:14.250 --> 00:21:20.588 beginning June 1st. So please get those NOIs complete 00:21:21.469 --> 00:21:24.449 and let me know if y'all have any questions. Thank 00:21:24.459 --> 00:21:29.328 you, Connie and Congratulations Barksdale. Okay. All right 00:21:29.338 --> 00:21:31.890 Shelah, so now we'll start the regular order of business. 00:21:31.900 --> 00:21:34.380 Would you walk us through the consent agenda, please? 00:21:34.449 --> 00:21:37.338 Yes, Commissioners and Chairman. Let's see. The Chairman 00:21:37.348 --> 00:21:41.640 filed a memo in Project No. 52761. Stating that 00:21:41.650 --> 00:21:46.769 he is recused from items 10, 16, 17 and 18. (item:0.1:Shelah Cisneros with Commission Counsel lays out Consent Agenda) By individual 00:21:46.779 --> 00:21:49.400 ballot, the following items are placed on your consent 00:21:49.410 --> 00:21:55.670 agenda: Items 1, 3 through 9, 11 through 13, and 15 through 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:59.338 19. And also by individual ballot, the Commissioners 00:21:59.348 --> 00:22:04.930 voted to place items 21, 23 and 39 on the consent agenda 00:22:04.939 --> 00:22:08.598 and no one signed up to speak on these items. Thank 00:22:08.618 --> 00:22:10.719 you, Shelah. (item:0.1:Chairman Gleeson asks for motion to approve items on Consent Agenda) I would entertain a motion to approve 00:22:10.729 --> 00:22:12.469 the consent items laid out by Shelah. 00:22:14.939 --> 00:22:17.598 So moved. So moved. Second. I have a motion and a second. All those in favor, say aye. 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:21.858 Aye. Motion prevails. All right, so Item 1 was consented. 00:22:21.868 --> 00:22:24.489 So that brings us to Item No. 2. Shelah, will 00:22:24.500 --> 00:22:27.660 you lay out Item No. 2 please? Yes, sir. (item:2:Application of Gideon Water LLC for a CCN in Montgomery County) Item 00:22:27.670 --> 00:22:31.598 2 is Docket No. 53485. This is the application 00:22:31.608 --> 00:22:35.459 of Gideon Water LLC for a certificate of convenience 00:22:35.469 --> 00:22:38.299 and necessity in Montgomery County. The Commission 00:22:38.309 --> 00:22:41.368 issued a notice of approval in this proceeding on July 00:22:41.380 --> 00:22:47.160 31, 2023. Subsequently between October of 2023 and 00:22:47.170 --> 00:22:50.180 April of this year, there were numerous filings from 00:22:50.189 --> 00:22:52.719 Commission Staff and orders from the Administrative 00:22:52.729 --> 00:22:56.400 Law Judge. Before you is a joint appeal of Order No. 00:22:56.410 --> 00:23:00.430 21 filed by Commission Staff and Gideon Water. Order 00:23:00.439 --> 00:23:03.140 No. 21 denied the party's motion for reconsideration 00:23:03.150 --> 00:23:06.150 Order No. 20. Order No. 20 denied the party's 00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:09.920 motion for an order nunc pro tunc and motion to reopen the record. 00:23:10.130 --> 00:23:12.838 And Chairman Gleeson filed a memo in this docket. 00:23:14.439 --> 00:23:16.838 (item:2:Chairman Gleeson lays out his memo) So like Shelah said, filed a memo in this. I'll be honest 00:23:16.848 --> 00:23:20.838 I had never heard the phrase nunc pro tunc before this 00:23:20.848 --> 00:23:25.709 meeting. But again I, I would you know deny the appeal 00:23:25.719 --> 00:23:29.789 of Order 21. I don't think that the nunc pro tunc applies 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:33.568 here unfortunately. This is not the outcome that I 00:23:33.578 --> 00:23:35.818 want. I think it's the outcome that we're required 00:23:35.828 --> 00:23:39.608 to land at. I'm in agreement as well. I would deny 00:23:39.618 --> 00:23:43.229 the appeal. I'm in agreement as well. And so I think 00:23:43.239 --> 00:23:46.479 before we vote, this is a cautionary tale to everyone. 00:23:46.489 --> 00:23:51.289 Please review the tariffs, you know all parties, but 00:23:51.299 --> 00:23:55.219 especially the, the applicant. Please review this, you 00:23:55.229 --> 00:23:57.289 know, you have 25 days for a motion for rehearing where 00:23:57.299 --> 00:24:00.660 we could have addressed this. And it's unfortunate 00:24:00.670 --> 00:24:02.529 but I don't think we have any other remedy at this 00:24:02.539 --> 00:24:06.410 point so. Chairman, may I also add to a request, a 00:24:06.420 --> 00:24:08.559 special request for the parties to review the tariff 00:24:08.568 --> 00:24:11.009 before it goes for approval in front of the Commission 00:24:11.019 --> 00:24:14.818 or the A LJ. Thank you, Shelah. (item:2:Motion to deny the appeal of Order No. 21) With that, I would 00:24:14.828 --> 00:24:17.318 entertain a motion to deny the appeal of Order No. 00:24:17.328 --> 00:24:18.309 21. 00:24:19.969 --> 00:24:23.380 So moved. I second. Motion and second. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:26.229 Motion prevails. All right. 00:24:29.989 --> 00:24:33.920 So next up is so I'm recused from Item 10. So we'll 00:24:33.930 --> 00:24:37.029 come back to that. So we'll take up Item No. 14. 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:40.868 Shelah, will you lay that out please? Yes. (item:14:Application of the City of San Antonio/(CPS Energy), to amend CCN in Bexar County) Item 14 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:44.529 is Docket No. 55728. This is the application of 00:24:44.539 --> 00:24:48.568 the City of San Antonio acting by and through CPS Energy. 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:52.259 To amend its certificate of convenience and necessity 00:24:52.358 --> 00:24:55.799 for a proposed 138 KV transmission line project in 00:24:55.809 --> 00:24:58.789 Bexar County. Before you is the proposed order that 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:01.348 addresses the unanimous agreement between the parties 00:25:01.670 --> 00:25:04.930 to route the transmission line along Route S. The Commission 00:25:04.939 --> 00:25:07.650 considered the proposed order at the April 11th meeting 00:25:07.989 --> 00:25:10.670 and remanded the proceeding to docket management. To 00:25:10.680 --> 00:25:13.348 allow the parties to file additional testimony in support 00:25:13.358 --> 00:25:17.328 of Route S. Let's see. CPS Energy and Commission 00:25:17.338 --> 00:25:19.689 Staff filed supplemental evidence that was admitted 00:25:19.699 --> 00:25:21.939 into the record. And Chairman Gleeson filed a memo in 00:25:21.949 --> 00:25:25.358 this docket. (item:14:Chairman Gleeson lays out his memo) So I don't know if you all may have been 00:25:25.368 --> 00:25:28.729 given, given my, my previous comments you know around 00:25:28.739 --> 00:25:32.529 unanimous agreements. You know, I'm still very supportive 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:34.640 of them. This one, I just wanted to kind of tease out 00:25:34.650 --> 00:25:36.959 some of the issues. Because this one kind of seemed 00:25:36.969 --> 00:25:39.680 a little different from ones that we've discussed before. 00:25:39.689 --> 00:25:41.920 You know, most of the parties were in favor of Route 00:25:41.930 --> 00:25:45.250 H and then settled on Route S. 00:25:47.068 --> 00:25:49.989 You know, Route H is just a little more expensive but 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.500 has fewer habitable structures on it. So I really 00:25:54.509 --> 00:25:56.650 just kind of want to tease this out and, and get y'all's 00:25:56.660 --> 00:26:00.328 thoughts on this. Because I think, you know, absent 00:26:00.338 --> 00:26:04.949 the, the settlement. I would probably go with H and 00:26:04.959 --> 00:26:08.430 so I wanted to kind of hear your thoughts on, on this 00:26:08.439 --> 00:26:14.989 route. (item:14:Commissioner Cobos' thoughts on memo) So um from my perspective like you I'm, I'm 00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:18.180 really a supporter of, you know, encouraging parties 00:26:18.189 --> 00:26:23.229 to enter into settlement agreements. And um favoring 00:26:23.239 --> 00:26:26.368 um settlement agreements where, where they holistically 00:26:26.380 --> 00:26:29.670 make sense. Because I think that creates efficiencies 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:33.390 not only for, for us but for the parties and, and um 00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:37.989 achieving um resolution in a, in an efficient manner. 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:40.108 So we can move through these cases. Especially now 00:26:40.118 --> 00:26:42.949 with the, you know, shorter CCN approval timeline. 00:26:43.400 --> 00:26:46.180 But with that said I think as a Commission, you know, 00:26:46.189 --> 00:26:51.059 as we try to encourage settlement and, and, and approve 00:26:51.068 --> 00:26:54.029 settlement routes. You know, my perspective has been 00:26:54.039 --> 00:26:58.299 also that unless there's something that we can identify. 00:26:58.618 --> 00:27:01.650 That makes sense to move away from the settlement route 00:27:01.660 --> 00:27:03.779 then I would approve a settlement agreement in this 00:27:03.789 --> 00:27:07.680 case. I think what we're doing here and based on your 00:27:07.689 --> 00:27:11.680 uh memo. Is that, you know, Route H has had a lot 00:27:11.689 --> 00:27:14.449 of support. But it wasn't until his later stage 00:27:14.459 --> 00:27:18.959 and settlement that um, the settlement Route S became 00:27:18.969 --> 00:27:22.239 favorable and, and it leans towards future development. 00:27:22.739 --> 00:27:26.699 And, and so my understanding is that predominantly 00:27:26.709 --> 00:27:29.259 in the past, the Commission has leaned towards not 00:27:29.269 --> 00:27:33.750 approving routes based on future settlement. And so 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:37.920 I, I, I see where you're coming from and would be in 00:27:37.930 --> 00:27:42.979 favor of approving Route H. With that said, so that's 00:27:42.989 --> 00:27:44.618 that's kind of where I'm at. I think these are, those 00:27:44.630 --> 00:27:46.479 are extenuating circumstances. We're trying to set 00:27:46.489 --> 00:27:49.019 precedent here as well. Not only are we trying to encourage 00:27:49.029 --> 00:27:51.828 parties to settle, but we're also trying to set precedent 00:27:51.838 --> 00:27:54.239 in terms of how we want to handle the CCN cases going 00:27:54.250 --> 00:27:57.368 forward. Yeah, and I think we, we have precedent for 00:27:57.380 --> 00:27:59.759 not making decisions based on future development. I 00:27:59.769 --> 00:28:02.608 will say typically, we don't consider settlements 00:28:02.618 --> 00:28:06.279 to be setting precedent. And so like I said, for me 00:28:06.289 --> 00:28:08.598 this is a tough, this is a tough call. Which is why 00:28:08.608 --> 00:28:12.039 I wanted to talk about it out here. Well, I'd be in 00:28:12.049 --> 00:28:14.539 agreement with Route H as well. I mean, one of the things 00:28:14.549 --> 00:28:16.689 that wasn't mentioned previously. Is apparently there 00:28:16.699 --> 00:28:21.000 is um a, a college dormitory that's kind of at play 00:28:21.009 --> 00:28:25.578 here. I think it's incumbent on us as a Commission 00:28:25.588 --> 00:28:29.539 to kind of look out for, um for the, for the habitable 00:28:29.549 --> 00:28:32.509 structures. And that was one of the criteria that I 00:28:32.519 --> 00:28:36.519 guess, uh Route H has fewer habitable structures. 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:41.170 It also, uh you know, it's the shortest length across 00:28:41.180 --> 00:28:45.739 the upland, um bridge land. And then, which is again 00:28:45.750 --> 00:28:49.818 another criteria as well. As I guess what has been the 00:28:49.828 --> 00:28:52.979 Commission precedent that um, you know, we don't, 00:28:53.338 --> 00:28:55.719 you know, consider future development of undeveloped 00:28:55.729 --> 00:29:00.719 property uh above existing constraints. And so with 00:29:00.729 --> 00:29:03.818 that I would, I would favor, you know, what has you 00:29:03.828 --> 00:29:07.709 noted in your memo. That um Route H which was, you know 00:29:07.719 --> 00:29:11.618 the original route. That I think um was, was suggested 00:29:11.848 --> 00:29:15.640 by CPS Energy as the one that we should land on. 00:29:17.630 --> 00:29:20.420 So I think the, the right course of action given the 00:29:20.430 --> 00:29:22.630 discussion here is probably to remand this back to 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:27.088 SOAH for additional processing, is that? That's correct. It 00:29:27.098 --> 00:29:30.289 sounds like there's agreement. The Commission does 00:29:30.299 --> 00:29:33.160 not approve the agreement in the proposed order. The 00:29:33.170 --> 00:29:35.759 course of action will be to remand it to SOAH for further 00:29:35.769 --> 00:29:39.549 processing and possibly a hearing on the merits. Okay. (item:14:Motion to remand docket to SOAH for further processing) Then 00:29:39.559 --> 00:29:43.019 I would entertain a motion to remand this docket to 00:29:43.029 --> 00:29:47.130 SOAH for further processing and if necessary a hearing 00:29:47.140 --> 00:29:50.608 on the merits. So move. I second. Motion and second. All those 00:29:50.618 --> 00:29:53.939 in favor, say aye. Aye. The motion prevails. 00:29:56.140 --> 00:30:00.219 All right, I think that brings us through my part of 00:30:00.229 --> 00:30:04.000 the contested case portion of this. So with that, I 00:30:04.009 --> 00:30:08.259 will turn over to Commissioner Cobos to bring up Item 00:30:08.269 --> 00:30:11.309 No. 10. All right. Thank you, Chair Gleeson. Shelah, 00:30:11.318 --> 00:30:13.680 can you please lay out agenda Item No. 10 for us? 00:30:13.689 --> 00:30:18.459 Yes, ma'am. (item:10:Application of the City of College Station to change rates for wholesale transmission service) Item 10 is Docket No. 52728. This is the 00:30:18.469 --> 00:30:21.358 application of the City of College Station to change 00:30:21.368 --> 00:30:24.559 rates for wholesale transmission service. The Commission 00:30:24.568 --> 00:30:27.509 filed an order in this proceeding on April 11th. The 00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:30.618 City of College Station then filed a request for clarification 00:30:30.630 --> 00:30:34.180 and expedited ruling, and they filed a motion for rehearing. 00:30:34.618 --> 00:30:36.858 The Commission voted to add the docket to this meeting 00:30:36.868 --> 00:30:38.858 to consider the merits of the motion for rehearing. 00:30:38.868 --> 00:30:41.529 And Commissioner Cobos filed a memo in this docket. All 00:30:41.539 --> 00:30:45.209 right. Thank you, Shelah. (item:10:Commissioner Cobos lays out her memo) So basically my memo, uh 00:30:45.219 --> 00:30:48.328 would grant rehearing for a limited purpose. Only of 00:30:48.338 --> 00:30:53.209 making uh, some changes to the order that we approved. 00:30:53.219 --> 00:30:56.618 And those changes are mostly clarifications for accuracy 00:30:56.630 --> 00:30:59.818 and completeness. I, as I noted in my memo. I'm 00:30:59.828 --> 00:31:01.890 aware that the City of College Station filed a request for 00:31:01.900 --> 00:31:05.559 clarification expedited ruling on April 23rd. That, 00:31:05.568 --> 00:31:08.769 that filing um was outside of the motion for rehearing. 00:31:08.779 --> 00:31:12.088 And so in order to allow parties to respond to what's 00:31:12.098 --> 00:31:14.170 included in motions for rehearing, I would not act 00:31:14.180 --> 00:31:18.289 on that um separate filing at this time. And so, 00:31:18.309 --> 00:31:22.430 um, I would move forward in making those changes to 00:31:22.439 --> 00:31:26.368 our order at this time. And have the Commission issue 00:31:26.380 --> 00:31:27.568 out, I guess an order on rehearing. 00:31:29.269 --> 00:31:34.848 I agree as well. All right. (item:10:Motion to grant rehearing) With that said, um I would 00:31:34.858 --> 00:31:36.828 make, I would move to grant rehearing. For the limited 00:31:36.838 --> 00:31:39.318 purposes of making the proposed changes set forth in 00:31:39.328 --> 00:31:41.568 my memo to the Commission's order in this docket. 00:31:43.400 --> 00:31:46.279 So you're making the motion? Yes. And I'll second. All right. All 00:31:46.289 --> 00:31:49.900 in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion passes. Thank you. I will hand 00:31:49.910 --> 00:31:54.400 the baton back over to Chair Gleeson. Thank you, Commissioner 00:31:54.670 --> 00:31:58.098 Cobos. So that takes us through the contested case 00:31:58.108 --> 00:32:01.838 portion of the agenda. So that brings us to Item No. 00:32:01.848 --> 00:32:05.400 20, Public Comment. Shelah, did anyone sign up for general 00:32:05.410 --> 00:32:08.309 public comment? Yes. (item:19:Shelah Cisneros confirms who has signed up for Public Comments) Commissioners, we have two people 00:32:08.318 --> 00:32:12.650 that send up for comment. The first person may have 00:32:12.660 --> 00:32:15.130 left the room I'm told, but I will call his name just 00:32:15.140 --> 00:32:19.809 in case. Timothy Gore. Is Mr. Gore still here? All 00:32:19.818 --> 00:32:22.529 right, I am told that he did leave. The second person 00:32:22.539 --> 00:32:24.420 that signed up is Cyrus Reed. 00:32:30.719 --> 00:32:33.588 Good morning, Cyrus. Good morning. First of all, 00:32:33.598 --> 00:32:36.170 I'd like to say congratulations to the folks who have 00:32:36.180 --> 00:32:38.930 new positions and also happy birthday to people who 00:32:38.939 --> 00:32:41.799 are having birthdays tomorrow. (item:19:Sierra Club's Cyrus Reed on Project 56517 and timing of comments on rulemakings) And then I would like 00:32:41.809 --> 00:32:44.618 to make oh, Cyrus Reed with the Sierra Club. Then 00:32:44.630 --> 00:32:48.250 I'd like to make a public announcement that um, is 00:32:48.259 --> 00:32:52.559 it 10:43. Folks have one hour and 17 minutes to make 00:32:52.568 --> 00:32:54.838 comments in what I think is one of the most important 00:32:54.848 --> 00:32:58.598 projects, 56517. Which has to do with energy efficiency 00:32:58.608 --> 00:33:01.239 and residential demand response and implementation 00:33:01.250 --> 00:33:05.630 of SB1699. I think there are about 14 comments uh 00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:10.799 filed so far. So I, I hope that you'll uh I 00:33:10.809 --> 00:33:12.699 hope your staff will read them, but I hope you'll also 00:33:12.709 --> 00:33:18.199 read them. And then um I wanted to talk in, in 00:33:18.209 --> 00:33:21.799 less than probably a minute um about the importance 00:33:21.809 --> 00:33:25.559 of timing uh on these comments and on any subsequent 00:33:25.568 --> 00:33:30.539 rulemaking. So the utilities have already filed 00:33:30.549 --> 00:33:35.309 their energy efficiency plans for '24 and '25. And you 00:33:35.318 --> 00:33:38.559 guys will be getting their plans on how to pay for 00:33:38.568 --> 00:33:43.219 those, the EECRFs by June 1. Which means you'll 00:33:43.229 --> 00:33:46.078 be making decisions later this year on the amount of 00:33:46.088 --> 00:33:48.858 funding that goes into those plans after, you know 00:33:48.868 --> 00:33:53.430 contested cases, etcetera uh pretty soon. So in terms 00:33:53.439 --> 00:33:57.098 of timing, if you want to influence what happens in 00:33:57.108 --> 00:34:00.078 those plans, we almost have to get started pretty darn 00:34:00.088 --> 00:34:03.338 soon. On any rulemaking that you wish to do to improve 00:34:03.348 --> 00:34:06.640 those energy efficiency programs. That is separate from 00:34:06.650 --> 00:34:11.318 1699, 1699. And I think our view and in many others 00:34:11.329 --> 00:34:13.887 view is not only what the utilities do. It's how do 00:34:13.898 --> 00:34:17.009 we enable demand, residential demand response in the 00:34:17.018 --> 00:34:19.789 whole market. So it's not, it's not only on these folks 00:34:19.798 --> 00:34:22.588 to do those programs. It's on the REPs and the munis and 00:34:22.599 --> 00:34:25.059 the co-ops and everybody else. That will also require 00:34:25.068 --> 00:34:29.907 some rulemaking. But my point is there's no time like 00:34:29.918 --> 00:34:35.570 the present to pretty soon uh start some uh proposed 00:34:35.579 --> 00:34:39.309 rule making on both 1699 and improving the energy efficiency 00:34:39.320 --> 00:34:42.500 programs. So that we can influence what happens next 00:34:42.510 --> 00:34:45.789 year. And if that's not possible, at least be in place 00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:49.070 to, to influence what happens in 2026. So that, that's 00:34:49.079 --> 00:34:53.760 my public service announcement and I'll give my 45 00:34:53.769 --> 00:34:56.668 seconds back, and a happy answering questions. Thank 00:34:56.679 --> 00:34:59.340 you. Thank you, Cyrus. Questions? Thank you. 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:05.708 Okay. (item:28:Chairman Gleeson lays out Project No. 55000) So I think that will bring us to Item 28. That 00:35:05.719 --> 00:35:10.340 is Project 55000- Performance credit mechanism. Staff 00:35:10.349 --> 00:35:15.110 filed a memo, so Werner who isn't here. Harika, Chris good 00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:15.579 morning. 00:35:19.010 --> 00:35:20.958 Doing other very important regulatory work. 00:35:25.139 --> 00:35:30.260 This is Harika Basaran with Staff. Chris Brown, Staff. (item:28:Commission Staff's Harika Basaran announces Chris Brown's promotion) I 00:35:30.269 --> 00:35:32.500 just have announcement as well since we had a good 00:35:32.510 --> 00:35:35.500 news announcement today. We just recently promoted 00:35:35.510 --> 00:35:38.639 Chris Brown as the Manager of our new Data Analysis 00:35:38.648 --> 00:35:41.708 team. So we are very happy and excited about that. 00:35:47.188 --> 00:35:47.469 (inaudible) 00:35:49.168 --> 00:35:53.099 (item:28:Commission Staff's Chris Brown lays out Staff's filed memo) Good morning Commissioners. So staff filed a memo 00:35:53.188 --> 00:35:56.780 a little backwards here and talk about the attachment 00:35:56.789 --> 00:35:59.978 to that memo. That describes staff's current opinion 00:35:59.989 --> 00:36:03.550 on each of the design parameters for the PUCM. And 00:36:03.559 --> 00:36:07.188 broadly what we try to do here is provide staff's current 00:36:07.340 --> 00:36:10.869 thoughts, opinions on each and divide the parameters 00:36:10.878 --> 00:36:14.438 into three categories. Those locked by Legislative 00:36:14.449 --> 00:36:17.340 mandate. Those locked by previous Commission decision 00:36:17.918 --> 00:36:20.800 and then open items. And then among the open items 00:36:20.809 --> 00:36:23.668 there's two subcategories. So there are some parameters 00:36:23.679 --> 00:36:25.619 for staff believes that we can lock in a particular 00:36:25.628 --> 00:36:28.958 value. And for others, we believe further consideration 00:36:28.969 --> 00:36:32.789 and input is merited. And the memo provides a list 00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:35.389 of questions for comment that are focused on these 00:36:35.398 --> 00:36:39.260 parameters in particular. And so for this open meeting 00:36:39.269 --> 00:36:41.679 we're looking for the Commission to support the recommended 00:36:41.688 --> 00:36:45.260 questions. And if this list is approved today, interested 00:36:45.269 --> 00:36:48.019 parties will have until June 20th to provide feedback 00:36:48.030 --> 00:36:51.978 to these questions. And also support staff recommendations 00:36:51.989 --> 00:36:55.019 for items that can be locked in addition to Legislative 00:36:55.030 --> 00:36:58.398 mandate or prior Commission decisions. And then just 00:36:58.679 --> 00:37:01.099 as an add on. This attachment that I've referred to 00:37:01.110 --> 00:37:03.840 will be included with the questions for reference, 00:37:03.849 --> 00:37:08.378 for stakeholder comments. And with that, any questions 00:37:08.389 --> 00:37:13.039 you may have. Thank you, Chris. And again thanks Harika, 00:37:13.050 --> 00:37:15.449 Chris, all the staff for the work on this. 00:37:17.458 --> 00:37:19.429 (item:28:Chairman Gleeson's thoughts on Commission Staff's memo) I was good with the the different buckets. You put 00:37:19.438 --> 00:37:22.010 everything in the parameters that have been decided 00:37:22.019 --> 00:37:24.918 either by statute or Commission decision I think is 00:37:24.929 --> 00:37:28.659 appropriate. Thank you for taking feedback on the questions 00:37:28.668 --> 00:37:32.090 as well before you filed this. And I thought it was 00:37:32.099 --> 00:37:35.809 a comprehensive list. I would ask that uh commenters 00:37:35.820 --> 00:37:38.708 adhere to the page limit. I think we set it at 15 00:37:38.719 --> 00:37:43.079 pages plus an executive summary page. But yeah, 00:37:43.090 --> 00:37:45.769 I was, I was good with with what staff laid out in 00:37:45.780 --> 00:37:47.500 their memo. Happy to hear y'all's thoughts. 00:37:50.168 --> 00:37:52.989 (item:28:Commissioner Cobos' thoughts on Staff's memo) I mean generally speaking, I'm fine with the um buckets 00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:56.239 as well. And um the questions I think these are important 00:37:56.250 --> 00:38:01.059 questions we have to ask. I think ultimately um, you 00:38:01.070 --> 00:38:04.090 know, we had some discussions on various parts of the 00:38:04.099 --> 00:38:06.969 questions and seasons, hours, all that. It's gonna 00:38:06.978 --> 00:38:10.458 be very important that we get substantive feedback 00:38:10.469 --> 00:38:14.639 um from the stakeholders. So we can um determine the 00:38:14.648 --> 00:38:17.260 appropriate parameters to run the updated cost assessment 00:38:17.269 --> 00:38:21.898 on. So, um eager to see what we get back. And um 00:38:22.070 --> 00:38:26.369 thank you. (item:28:Commissioner Jackson's thoughts on Staff's memo) I felt like the questions were very comprehensive 00:38:26.378 --> 00:38:31.590 as well. I particularly like the kind of the lineup 00:38:31.599 --> 00:38:34.478 and the organization. Because I think, you know, anytime 00:38:34.489 --> 00:38:38.878 you get to the end of a project, the question is naturally 00:38:38.889 --> 00:38:42.320 well how did we get here? And so you get confidence 00:38:42.329 --> 00:38:46.070 in the final report based on how well you feel like 00:38:46.079 --> 00:38:49.320 that you've executed the process, right? And so I think 00:38:49.329 --> 00:38:52.869 you know, coming up with um the process that you did 00:38:52.878 --> 00:38:56.159 the three buckets. You asked specifically, you know 00:38:56.168 --> 00:38:59.639 if we had uh how, how we felt about those things that 00:38:59.648 --> 00:39:02.958 staff recommended the lock on. And I'm good with all 00:39:02.969 --> 00:39:06.889 of those that you outlined in the um in the the, the 00:39:06.898 --> 00:39:10.860 attachment. Um look forward to hearing, you know, the 00:39:10.869 --> 00:39:14.478 stakeholder feedback. And, you know, very glad that 00:39:14.489 --> 00:39:17.639 we have a data analytics team that's slating this effort. 00:39:17.780 --> 00:39:20.619 Again, you know, to me it's about the data and the 00:39:20.628 --> 00:39:23.159 science and also, you know, how can we make something 00:39:23.409 --> 00:39:27.438 um that is, you know, a potential, you know, part of 00:39:27.449 --> 00:39:30.320 the solution moving forward. Be something that's 00:39:30.329 --> 00:39:33.500 adaptable and that we can have a very, you know, clear 00:39:33.510 --> 00:39:35.929 way of defining what the benefits are and the cost 00:39:35.938 --> 00:39:38.699 moving forward. So I appreciate it. Perfect. 00:39:42.280 --> 00:39:44.219 I think that's right. Yeah, I think you've got your 00:39:44.228 --> 00:39:46.619 support. Thanks y'all, appreciate it. Thank you, Chris. 00:39:48.369 --> 00:39:52.438 So I think that concludes everything on this open meeting. 00:39:52.458 --> 00:39:57.780 I will say, you know, just in closing that this 00:39:57.789 --> 00:40:00.159 was, this will be a memorable open meeting for me. 00:40:00.168 --> 00:40:03.989 I'm very excited for Connie again to see this. I think 00:40:04.010 --> 00:40:07.260 you know, palms down or hands down. Probably the um 00:40:07.989 --> 00:40:11.489 you know, one that I'll always remember and you get 00:40:11.500 --> 00:40:14.309 to come back in a few weeks. Unlike our, our kids who 00:40:14.469 --> 00:40:16.909 you know, school is out for summer as of today. We 00:40:16.918 --> 00:40:18.929 get to come back in three weeks and, and do this all 00:40:18.938 --> 00:40:23.530 over again. So again Connie, Barksdale congratulations. 00:40:24.219 --> 00:40:27.019 I'm extremely excited as we head through the rest of 00:40:27.030 --> 00:40:30.010 this interim and into the, the next Legislative Session. 00:40:30.019 --> 00:40:32.010 To see all the great work that you all are going to 00:40:32.019 --> 00:40:35.369 do leading staff. So thanks for stepping up and taking 00:40:35.378 --> 00:40:38.739 those positions. Thank you. Okay. (item:46:Chairman Gleeson adjourns meeting) With there being 00:40:38.750 --> 00:40:41.199 no further business before us today, this meeting of 00:40:41.208 --> 00:40:43.530 the Public Utility Commission is hereby adjourned.