Austin Energy Rate Case schedule update

[Leslie Pool]

Colleagues,

I am re-posting the schedule for upcoming council work sessions, public hearings, and vote on the Austin Energy Base Rate, as well as links to the City Clerk and Austin Energy webpages with Base Rate Review documents.

AE Base Rate Review Schedule:

• Nov. 9, 2022, 10:00 a.m. Special Called AEUOC Meeting with invited testimony from AE, IHE, ICA, and base rate participants
• Nov. 15, 2022, 1:00 p.m. City Council Public Hearing – public testimony allowed
• Nov. 29, 2022: 9:00 a.m. City Council Work Session and AEUOC meeting
• Dec. 1, 2022, 4:00 p.m. City Council Regular Meeting, Public Hearing, and Vote on Base Rates – public testimony allowed
(NOTE: the Dec 1 regular council meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m., with the public hearing on the rate case scheduled to begin after 4:00 p.m. to ensure an afternoon/evening opportunity for public comment)

Please note that the November 15 council meeting will be called to order at 1:00 p.m., with the rate case public hearing posted as item 50:
https://www.austintexas.gov/department/ ... ec.htm#050

City Clerk’s Base Rate Review information webpage:
https://www.austintexas.gov/cityclerk/p ... s_desc.htm
Austin Energy Base Rate Review information webpage:
https://austinenergy.com/ae/rates/2022-base-rate-review
November 9 Agenda:
https://www.austintexas.gov/department/ ... -aeuoc.htm

The special called Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee meeting on Wednesday, Nov 9, will start at 10:00 a.m. and will focus on the official participants in the Base Rate Review process. Council questions and discussion will follow the presentations after an hour break for lunch.

Here is the planned agenda for this special called meeting:

1. AEUOC Chair & Austin Energy – opening remarks (5 min)
2. Independent Hearing Examiner – report presentation (10 min)
3. Independent Consumer Advocate – report and update presentation (10 min)
4. Formal Participants (14 total invited – 5 min each):
• Independent Consumer Advocate (ICA)
• Sierra Club and Public Citizen
• Solar and Storage Coalition
• Solar United Neighbors
• 2WR
• Homeowners United for Rate Fairness
• Paul Robbins
• Victor Martinez, Austin Energy Customer
• Coalition for Clean Affordable and Reliable Energy (CCARE)
• Data Foundry, LLC
• Austin Regional Manufacturers Association (ARMA)
• National Instruments
• Texas Industrial Energy Consumers (TIEC)
• NXP Semiconductor
5. Austin Energy – presentation and closing comments (10 min)
6. Council questions for presenters
7. Council discussion (no action)

To ensure efficient use of the time provided, I suggest that we hear the formal presentations, which is the first two hours of the meeting or so, then break an hour for lunch, and return around 1 p.m. for council questions and discussion.

For council questions, I suggest a series of rounds with 1-2 questions per round to give each council member fair time. To move efficiently, each council member will have five minutes total for their question round.

It might be helpful for council members to post their questions here on the message board.

Please plan for at least three hours of meeting time, not including the lunch break.

I understand that certain participants asked that more time be given to the ICA for their presentation, but in the interest of a fair process, this schedule provides equal time to the applicant (Austin Energy), the Impartial Hearing Examiner, and the Independent Consumer Advocate. There then follows time for each of the 14 official participants in the process to lay out their positions.

Ample time is allocated as well on Wednesday for any questions council members want to ask of the ICA, IHE, AE, or any participant once these formal presentations are complete. About an hour and a half of the morning is dedicated to voices other than Austin Energy and the Impartial Hearing Examiner.

I look forward to a fair and informative session.

Leslie

[Steve Adler]

CM Pool, thank you for your leadership of the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee during this important rate review. I support your proposed timeline for formal presentations on 11/9, which was also communicated to the participants in advance. I also believe that the interest in hearing more from Austin Energy, the Impartial Hearing Examiner, the Independent Consumer Advocate, or any of the participants can be accommodated during the Council Q&A time.

I would also note that there is a special called meeting/executive session planned for Wednesday. If possible, I would propose that we take this briefing up during our lunch break at noon, and plan to return to the AEUC meeting at 2pm instead of 1pm for the Council Q&A.

-S

[Mackenzie Kelly]

Colleagues,

I would like to offer support for the outline given by Council Member Pool.

This is a very important and complex issue that impacts our community on a very personal level. Therefore, it’s vitally important to take our time to work this in a way that is transparent, thorough, and focused.

I look forward to the robust discussion on Wednesday.

Warm Regards,

mk

[Atha Phillips]

All,
On behalf of Council Member Pool, I am posting the link to a new proposal submitted to the City Clerk by the ICA and other participants in the rate case.

Here is a link to the main page:
https://www.austintexas.gov/cityclerk/p ... review.htm

Here is a link to the new proposal:
https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/ ... ?id=396742

Thanks,
Atha Phillips

[Louisa Brinsmade]

On behalf of CM Pool, I am posting the comparison document provided by Austin Energy related to the revenue requirement.

Here is the link: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 154253.pdf

Thanks,
L.