1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,800 Okay, it is 901 and we do have a quorum so we're called to order the public utilities 2 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:16,040 board meeting for October 25th for the city of Denton. 3 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:18,800 The first item is public comment. 4 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:24,560 Is there anybody present that would like to speak to the board? 5 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:25,920 Is there anybody on the phone? 6 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:26,920 No, ma'am. 7 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:27,920 There are no callers. 8 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:28,920 All right. 9 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:31,920 Then we'll go into our regular meeting. 10 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:35,640 The first items are the consent agenda, items A through I. 11 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:39,120 Does a board member wish to pull any of the items? 12 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:46,800 Oh, yes, go ahead, Ben. 13 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:52,200 Item H. Any other items? 14 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:54,120 All right. 15 00:00:54,120 --> 00:01:04,320 Before we go on to item H, do we have a motion to approve items A through, sorry, A, B, C, 16 00:01:04,320 --> 00:01:09,120 D, E, F, G, and I? 17 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,160 Move approval of those items. 18 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:13,160 Second. 19 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:14,560 All in favor say I. 20 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:15,560 I. 21 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:16,560 I. 22 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:17,560 Carries. 23 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:21,160 Item H, then. 24 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:26,440 Okay, so talking about odor control for the landfill. 25 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:31,320 As I recall, we had a similar topic recently, so I was wondering, what's the difference? 26 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:32,960 Is this, in fact, the same thing? 27 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:34,960 No, this is a different stuff. 28 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:35,960 Okay. 29 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:36,960 So how is it different, then? 30 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:37,960 How is it different? 31 00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:38,960 Okay. 32 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:42,920 The item we talked about, the Aeropure, a couple of months ago, it is direct application. 33 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:44,320 It's loaded into our water truck. 34 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:45,320 We spray it onto the roads. 35 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:47,080 We spray it into the working face. 36 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,280 This is actually a volatilization system. 37 00:01:50,280 --> 00:02:00,080 So it comes in a 250-gallon carboy, big plastic cube, hooked up to a very high, getting very 38 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:04,760 technical here, but a very high-pressure air pump, and it's atomized into the air and basically 39 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:09,720 makes a curtain along the southern wall, just like Febreze or a material like that, captures 40 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:11,840 the odors, destroys it. 41 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:18,680 So it's just another, basically, block in the wall to try to eliminate or mitigate any 42 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,760 odors that could potentially result from our operations at the landfill. 43 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:28,080 So what, I guess, give me an idea of how necessary that is. 44 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:33,240 For the direct application, how many of the odors does that kill and how many escape, 45 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:38,000 and then what will this help prevent? 46 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,260 It's hard to say this percentage, this percentage, this percentage, but again, it's belts and 47 00:02:42,260 --> 00:02:44,800 suspenders is what it is. 48 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:49,740 So ultimately, we've got a very, very close neighborhood right next door, and we want 49 00:02:49,740 --> 00:02:54,840 to try to make sure that we're as amenable to those neighbors as we possibly can. 50 00:02:54,840 --> 00:03:00,560 And additionally, we're required under our permit to enact whatever mitigation techniques 51 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,560 are required to control odors, and this is one of the things that we've committed to 52 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:04,560 do. 53 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:05,560 Okay. 54 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:06,560 All right. 55 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:08,760 Do we have a motion to approve Item H? 56 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:09,760 Oh, I'm sorry. 57 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:10,760 Oh, go ahead. 58 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:11,760 Mr. Taylor. 59 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:19,220 Forgive me, I'm not very familiar with the recent items on odor control. 60 00:03:19,220 --> 00:03:20,220 Yes. 61 00:03:20,220 --> 00:03:25,280 Will this have any benefit for odors from the wastewater treatment plant, which is right 62 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:26,280 next door? 63 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:30,240 You know, that's a very good question, and something we consider always, you know, it's 64 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:36,600 a few thousand feet further to the east, or excuse me, further to the north, but any odors 65 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:40,160 that are within this pocket, you know, it has the potential of controlling. 66 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:45,000 I'm not going to say it's fully 100%, but I would imagine that it would control any 67 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:49,520 odors or capture or destroy any odors that would be coming from it, from this area. 68 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,080 And this is, you said it's only along, basically the south? 69 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,800 Yeah, southern and southeast portion, correct. 70 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,400 And that's basically right next to the existing neighborhood, just to the south? 71 00:03:58,400 --> 00:03:59,400 The existing? 72 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:00,400 The neighborhood. 73 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:01,400 Correct. 74 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:02,400 Correct. 75 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:08,640 And so, are there any odor control facilities, either wastewater or landfill, on the north 76 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:09,640 side? 77 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:14,500 No, there's not, because we really have, we're our own neighbor at that point, we own basically 78 00:04:14,500 --> 00:04:22,480 all the property north for quite a bit, so as we move north, then we would anticipate 79 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:27,800 potentially putting those type of systems in place, but right now it's not required. 80 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:28,800 Thank you. 81 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:29,800 Other questions? 82 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:30,800 All right. 83 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:36,680 Do we have a motion to approve Item H? 84 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:38,680 Mr. Beck moved. 85 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:39,680 Carver seconded. 86 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:41,360 All in favor, say aye. 87 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:42,360 Aye. 88 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:43,360 Carries. 89 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:44,360 Thank you. 90 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:45,360 Thank you. 91 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,760 The next item is consider approval of the October 11th minutes. 92 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,800 Do we have any changes or corrections? 93 00:04:53,800 --> 00:05:04,360 Yes, Mr. Beck. 94 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:07,720 On the minute, so when the information, when Kim sent out the information, I didn't see 95 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:09,040 a link to look at those. 96 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:14,560 I was just curious, not that I have anything, I just, was there a place where you could 97 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:15,560 click on? 98 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:16,560 Yes, there is. 99 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:17,560 There... 100 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:18,560 What did I miss? 101 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:19,560 Yeah. 102 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:20,560 This new technology is... 103 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:21,560 Looking for a minute? 104 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:22,560 Yeah. 105 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:23,560 You should be able to click on the... 106 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:24,560 Never mind, never mind. 107 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:25,560 This is the first time I've operated. 108 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:26,560 Okay. 109 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:27,560 All right. 110 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:37,440 At the risk of appearing completely naive with this stuff. 111 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:38,440 Thank you. 112 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:39,440 All right. 113 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,320 Do we have a motion then to approve the minutes? 114 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:43,320 So moved. 115 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:44,320 Mr. Denton. 116 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:45,320 And Barbara seconded. 117 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:46,320 All in favor, say aye. 118 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:47,320 Aye. 119 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:48,320 Opposed? 120 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:49,320 Carries. 121 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:50,320 Okay. 122 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:55,200 Consider the adoption of an ordinance for the City of Denton authorizing the expenditure 123 00:05:55,200 --> 00:06:05,840 of funds for the payment of wholesale transmission charges in the total amount of $6,654,159.68. 124 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:06,840 Good morning. 125 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:09,600 I'm Nancy Ogden, Director of Finance. 126 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:10,600 Here to present... 127 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:11,600 Oops. 128 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:16,920 It looks like I'm on the wrong side. 129 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:20,160 Transmission cost of service expenses. 130 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:25,600 So this is a routine expense every year for our electric fund. 131 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,160 We bring these to you for really transparency. 132 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:34,880 They are approved as part of a budget expense item, but we're seeking your expenditure approval 133 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:37,480 today. 134 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:42,880 So just really quickly, these charges reimburse other transmission service providers within 135 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:44,080 ERCOT. 136 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:48,040 So it's basically our share of their transmission assets. 137 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:59,040 And you can see on the chart all of the transmission providers were paying this year a little over 138 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,680 $6.6 million. 139 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:08,920 And then just for informational purposes, these are all the payments from last fiscal 140 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:09,920 year. 141 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:13,360 So $6.2 million altogether. 142 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:18,560 And again, we did bring these to PEB and council last year as well. 143 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:28,800 So with that, I'll stand for any questions. 144 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:30,940 We are paying them. 145 00:07:30,940 --> 00:07:37,440 So we also receive money from our transmission assets, but this is actually payments to other 146 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:41,080 transmission providers. 147 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:45,960 I'm sorry. 148 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:52,220 So obviously what we're producing here isn't enough to generate what we need for the City 149 00:07:52,220 --> 00:07:53,220 of Denton? 150 00:07:53,220 --> 00:07:54,680 Is that why we're... 151 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,720 I'm going to hand that over to Terry. 152 00:07:57,720 --> 00:07:58,720 Okay. 153 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:03,440 Well, no, sir, I'll try to answer it. 154 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:09,120 So these are assets that are owned and investments that are made by other operators in the ERCOT 155 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:10,120 grid, right? 156 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:13,180 It's a joint uniform grid that everybody uses. 157 00:08:13,180 --> 00:08:18,520 And so this is our share or our piece that we have to pay for the use of everybody's 158 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:23,200 assets, just like they pay for our share of the assets as well. 159 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:31,280 And so just for your information, currently, our share that we get back is about $54 million. 160 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:37,820 So it's a pretty good trade-off from our standpoint, but yeah, that's what that is, and it's based 161 00:08:37,820 --> 00:08:41,240 on an annual, what's called a 4CP. 162 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:47,920 So it's four particular days in the year where that's calculated, and then it's pro-ratted 163 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:50,320 out based on everybody's approved rates. 164 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:59,240 And as you may know, we're going through that process now to set our annual rate going forward 165 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:00,240 with the PUCT. 166 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:01,240 So... 167 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:02,240 Okay. 168 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:03,240 Thanks, Tony. 169 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:04,240 Eventually, I'll catch up with all this. 170 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:05,240 So thank you. 171 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:06,240 Oh, thank you. 172 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:13,800 My question is, you mentioned fiscal year, and I hate to be unknowledgeable, but what 173 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:15,280 is the city's fiscal year? 174 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,440 So our fiscal year runs from October 1st to September 30th. 175 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:21,760 We just started a new fiscal year. 176 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:23,000 Thank you. 177 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:27,800 And Madam Chairman, I apologize for being late today. 178 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:32,000 Thank you. 179 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:38,180 So these are based on 4CP for basically the past four months, and this is a one-time annual 180 00:09:38,180 --> 00:09:44,960 payment based on previous year, or current calendar year, previous fiscal year. 181 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:51,560 And I'm curious, the shares seem pretty much the same as last year, like kind of the ratios. 182 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:56,880 Are these all of the transmission providers in ERCOT, or are these just the transmission 183 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:00,920 providers from which we get a transmission benefit? 184 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:07,240 It's the ones that we have transmission benefit, and again, those rates, the rates that they 185 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,640 charge are set whenever they do a full rate filing. 186 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:14,320 And just for your information, for Denton, the last rate filing that we had a full rate 187 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:16,200 filing was in 2005. 188 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,840 We're going through that process now. 189 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:23,320 And that's pretty standard, I think, for municipally owned utilities and co-ops. 190 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:27,080 Private IOUs actually do those a little bit more frequent than we do, just because of 191 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:33,600 how their calculations are completed through the PHCT process. 192 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:42,280 And then, is the rate per megawatt fixed based on that, and then the 4CP makes what the megawatts 193 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:43,720 are vary, or is it? 194 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:49,160 So the 4CP sets the volume at which that rate is calculated, correct? 195 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:50,160 Okay. 196 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:51,160 Thank you. 197 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:52,160 Second. 198 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:53,160 All in favor say aye. 199 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:54,160 Aye. 200 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:55,160 And opposed. 201 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:56,160 Thank you. 202 00:10:56,160 --> 00:11:18,120 All right, so Madam Chair and members of the PUB, so we have a couple of reports set to 203 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:19,120 you here. 204 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:27,160 The first one is the DME or the Dent Energy Center dashboard for the month of August. 205 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,920 That represents 11 months out of the year, and certainly if you have questions, we can 206 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:31,920 go through those. 207 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:37,720 And then, I think, you know, Member Ryabek had asked for this winter preparedness plan, 208 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:43,720 and so Terry Nolte's here, and we've prepared that for you, and certainly if you have questions, 209 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,360 we certainly can respond to this. 210 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:51,240 I'll just mention, you know, that PHCT and ERCOT are going through some market redesign 211 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:53,880 changes and some requirements that they have to be met. 212 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:58,680 Obviously, you may have heard of some of those in the news here recently, and so we're working 213 00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:05,280 through that process as well, and I hope that here by, I think by December 1st, they'll 214 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:11,120 kind of set what those requirements may be for us, and we'll have a better feel for where 215 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:12,120 we need to be going. 216 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:16,920 We certainly have some plans that we've already made preemptively to try to be prepared for 217 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:17,920 this coming winter. 218 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:19,120 So, I'll stop there. 219 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:23,640 So, if you have any questions, if there's any questions on the dashboard or the memorandum 220 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:28,040 that you received from Mr. Nolte. 221 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:33,960 Thank you, Chair. 222 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:42,520 I have a couple of questions, one on the DEC Energy dashboard. 223 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:51,640 So, the dashboard has monthly revenue, but then all the costs are just year-to-date. 224 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:56,080 It's very challenging because of February, because there's this overwhelming number at 225 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:58,240 the beginning of the year. 226 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:02,280 It's hard to tell kind of the monthly costs and so forth. 227 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:07,280 I know that natural gas has basically doubled in cost in the last year. 228 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:14,320 Is that, and we're still in August where our net selling or average selling sales price 229 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:17,320 was $81 a megawatt. 230 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:23,480 Has the gas price impacted the floor at which the DEC can operate? 231 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:25,480 Good morning. 232 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:29,600 Terry Nolte, Assistant General Manager in DME. 233 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:35,440 So, the gas price does determine when the units are dispatched. 234 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:45,420 We convert natural gas to electricity at a set rate, it's called the heat rate. 235 00:13:45,420 --> 00:13:49,160 So when the natural gas price goes up, that heat rate remains the same. 236 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:51,920 The cost to produce then goes up as well. 237 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:57,480 But the market reacts to that because all generators in the market are using natural 238 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:01,740 gas and so the whole market price has gone up. 239 00:14:01,740 --> 00:14:08,240 So from a gross margin perspective for the DEC, which gross margin meaning revenues less 240 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:13,920 variable operating costs, the gross margin is about the same. 241 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:23,120 So the ERCOT market has in fact been doing a number of things after Yuri to try to make 242 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,680 sure we don't have price excursions. 243 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:32,060 And that's dampened it a little bit, but as you can see from that report, we're well ahead 244 00:14:32,060 --> 00:14:38,160 of budget on gross margin and net income for the DEC, primarily because of what happened 245 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:40,280 in February. 246 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:45,360 And then my next question is about the winterization report. 247 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:53,240 Not directly to the winterization report but to new legislative requirements where instead 248 00:14:53,240 --> 00:15:02,520 of what DME needs to do to prepare the DEC, what customers of DME need to notify DME about 249 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:04,040 critical loads. 250 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:11,640 And I know that there's been talk that there might be so many critical loads identified 251 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:16,600 that there won't be enough circuits that can be shed. 252 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,800 And I know you don't have like that those filings are required by November 1st, so you 253 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:21,600 don't quite have them all yet. 254 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:28,300 Do you anticipate any effect on the distribution side or the city side, not the generation 255 00:15:28,300 --> 00:15:31,320 side of DME from the legislation? 256 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:32,320 Sure. 257 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:40,080 So the legislation is focused on natural gas critical infrastructure. 258 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:46,680 And so that was to identify those compressor stations, those natural gas processing units 259 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:52,240 that lost power during the winter storm and therefore could not pressurize the gas or 260 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:57,840 process the gas, leading to the shortage of gas. 261 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:03,660 So we have in fact, I've reached out to those facilities on our system that we know are 262 00:16:03,660 --> 00:16:05,900 part of that infrastructure. 263 00:16:05,900 --> 00:16:15,080 And they have in fact filed with us for that status as a critical load. 264 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:20,560 To your question, though, when we look at our loads that we serve that are critical, 265 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:26,720 that might be, you know, medical loads, hospitals, police stations, fire departments, things 266 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:28,640 that are critical. 267 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:35,040 As of last week, we have only had an increase of about 10 facilities from where we were 268 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,100 at the time of the storm. 269 00:16:37,100 --> 00:16:45,200 So we are proactively reaching out to some facilities that we knew experienced problems 270 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,520 during the storm. 271 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:53,760 So the only thing that I will add to that, and we certainly saw this during winter storm 272 00:16:53,760 --> 00:17:02,720 URI, is that even though we had critical load facilities, the grid was in such a position 273 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:07,960 that we actually had to start rolling even some of those kind of, what I would say, kind 274 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:11,520 of tier three or tier four critical load facilities. 275 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:17,400 And so we had places, you know, like a nursing home, a couple of terms, that we had to include 276 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:20,960 in that rolling just because of where the grid stood at that time. 277 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:26,000 And so yes, there's a designation as critical load, but when things get critical, right, 278 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:28,840 then you have to look at potentially rolling those. 279 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:35,240 And certainly if the grid had collapsed as there was fear, then all of that would have 280 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:40,280 been out the window and even the critical load facilities would have been out of power. 281 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:41,280 But it's a plan. 282 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:49,200 It's a plan that we look at every year, and we have to file with the PUCT and to ERCOT. 283 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:59,240 And so it's something that our staff has diligently worked on ever since winter storm URI. 284 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:01,640 Morning. 285 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:09,480 So I know you love reeducation questions, but where are we with our ECA right now? 286 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:12,520 I mean, energy cost adjustment. 287 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:18,400 I don't recall seeing one come through here recently unless I missed the meeting or something. 288 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:24,080 So you still, does the ECA, energy cost adjustment still come through the PUB before it goes 289 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:25,840 to city council? 290 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:31,020 So we have not, Mr. Cheek, we have not adjusted the ECA in quite some time. 291 00:18:31,020 --> 00:18:36,440 It's been a matter of a couple of years, actually two and a half, three years. 292 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:40,600 But yes, to the extent that we would make a recommendation on a change to the ECA, it 293 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:44,640 would come to PUB first and then ultimately be approved by council. 294 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:54,640 So we are doing a cost of service study now, and we anticipate bringing back the results 295 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:59,140 of that cost of service study sometime after the first of the year, probably in the first 296 00:18:59,140 --> 00:19:00,480 quarter. 297 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:06,320 And part of that finance is indicated we'll be looking at the ECA and base rate. 298 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:13,320 Yeah, I do remember the last time we approved it, we were over collecting for a while, but 299 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:16,840 it probably ended up being a good thing, it stayed at a steady rate, and then we had the 300 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:20,520 whole winter storm thing hit, and of course that's a whole different adjustment with the 301 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:21,520 winter storm. 302 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:36,320 Okay, I wanted to make sure, because I know I hadn't seen it come through here in a while. 303 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:37,320 That's it. 304 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:46,560 There were two line items in the weatherization report, the extreme cold weather prep and 305 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:49,640 procedures and cooling water system and frequent operations. 306 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:53,920 Now, they're not included with this document, and I don't know if it's appropriate in this 307 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:57,680 current session, but I would like at least a thumbnail sketch of what those are. 308 00:19:57,680 --> 00:19:58,680 Sure. 309 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,400 If it's not appropriate at this time, another time will be fine. 310 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:12,800 So Mr. Rybak, so those documents are restricted from public dissemination under NERC requirements. 311 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:19,280 But basically, during the storm, what happened was when we lost natural gas, we lost the 312 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:24,680 heat source that was heating the cooling water, and the cooling water then circulates out 313 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,720 through the radiators and back into the engines. 314 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:33,960 What we could not do at that point in time was we were not able to drain the liquid, 315 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:41,400 the cooling fluid, from all the generating units rapidly enough to avoid freezing it 316 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:42,400 in the pipe. 317 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:48,640 And just like a pipe burst in your home, you know, when the water froze up, glycol and 318 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:55,160 water froze up, it expanded, and we had some tube ends that blew out. 319 00:20:55,160 --> 00:21:02,320 So what we've done is we've effectively plumbed in a drain system that the operators can now 320 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:11,240 go out, and if they lose natural gas pressure and natural gas supply during weather conditions 321 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:18,720 that are below design, and the deck is designed to operate below freezing for some period, 322 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:25,640 for extended periods of time, they can go out and through a series of valve positions 323 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:34,700 drain all those engines very, very rapidly, and we can avoid that damage that occurred, 324 00:21:34,700 --> 00:21:37,040 that freeze-up that occurred. 325 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:39,440 So that's effectively what we do. 326 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:45,200 The two procedures are very detailed, and, you know, they deal with the specific valve 327 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:52,480 positions, timing, there's logs that have to be entered in that type of thing. 328 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:53,480 Gotcha. 329 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:57,960 If the generators had been running at full capacity rather than the gas pressure problem, 330 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,400 even at sub-freezing temperatures, there would have been enough heat in the radiator to 331 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:02,400 keep going. 332 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:07,400 As far as our engineering analysis, we do the heat transfer analysis, yes, we'd have 333 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:08,400 been in fine shape. 334 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:09,400 Okay. 335 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:10,400 Yeah. 336 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:11,400 Thank you. 337 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:15,800 I have a question, Tony mentioned the tier three, tier four loads, critical loads, hospitals, 338 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:16,800 that sort of thing. 339 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:22,000 Now my presumption is they have their own emergency power, stand-alone emergency power 340 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:23,200 for their critical operations. 341 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:28,040 Is that generally correct, or are there some glaring deficiencies out there? 342 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:31,880 Somewhat generally, what I would say is that, you know, what we found during winter storm 343 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:36,040 yuri is that a lot of these generators that some of these facilities have, you know, the 344 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:40,840 fuel type that they have, whether it was gasoline or even diesel, had problems, either it was 345 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:45,120 freezing and gelling of those, and they just weren't operable. 346 00:22:45,120 --> 00:22:49,520 We had the same challenges in our own water utility as well, and so those are things that 347 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:50,840 people are working on. 348 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,860 The hospitals were actually in pretty good shape, I think they do pretty good testing 349 00:22:54,860 --> 00:23:00,960 of other generators, and we were in very close communication with both of the major hospitals 350 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:03,160 here in the city. 351 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:09,520 So the answer is yes and no, but, you know, I think certainly winter storm yuri has brought 352 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:13,040 a whole different level of attention to some of those facilities, and they've made some 353 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:18,560 improvements on their own, not required, just to be prepared in the event that something 354 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:19,960 like that would happen again. 355 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:27,160 Yeah, we do have, we have identified a few facilities that are long-term care facilities 356 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:32,440 that really should have their own self-generation, did not during the storm, we're working with 357 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:41,000 them to try to help them figure out how to meet that requirement. 358 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:47,400 All right, guess not, new business action item. 359 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:52,040 So Madam Chair, sorry, just, so the last item that we have on here was just a new business 360 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:56,840 action item, and so again, obviously we had this request on the emergency preparedness, 361 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:02,000 we've fulfilled that, we are currently working on getting an update to you on this 362 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:05,960 legislative update, I think we've narrowed that down, I hope to get that out to you here 363 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:09,640 in the next week or so, but then the other items are items that we're still kind of working 364 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:13,860 on and have forgotten, but they're still on the list, and certainly if you have any questions 365 00:24:13,860 --> 00:24:17,800 on these or if there's anything else that we need to add to the list, certainly happy 366 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,440 to address that now if you'd like. 367 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:27,720 Doesn't look like there's any questions, all right, thank you Tony. 368 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:32,680 Moving items, does any board member wish to have something added to a future agenda or 369 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,920 have some comments to be made to the public? 370 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:41,560 I see none, all right, your favorite time Mr. Cheek. 371 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:43,000 Do we have a motion to adjourn? 372 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,000 That's me. 373 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:45,000 925. 374 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:46,520 Okay, we're adjourned.