Item 19: Staff Briefing and Process Update on the Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan — original pdf

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Austin Energy's Resource Generation Plan 2035 Workshops Presented by Lynda Rife Diverse Mix of Workshop Participants AARP ADAPT AISD ARMA Citizens Climate Lobby Hispanic Chamber Solar and Storage Coalition City of Lakeway Housing Works State of Texas City of Austin HURF Residential Customers IBEW Local 520 Ascension Downtown Commercial LGBT Chamber Texas Climate Jobs Asian Chamber Environment Texas Pecan Street Austin Chamber Foundation Communities PODER Tri-City Region Austin Critical Home Repair Coalition CCARE Central Health Habitat for Humanity Public Citizen Urban League HACA HEB RECA UT Energy Institute Sierra Club UT Students Sunrise Movement Texas Assisted Living Association Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute Overview: Workshop #3 • Austin Energy hosted their third workshop on Thursday, Aug. 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. • The goals of Workshop #3 were to have participants explore trade-offs between affordability, reliability and environmental sustainability, and to discuss equity as it relates to the affects of those three on those most vulnerable • The workshop had three parts: • Stakeholder Stories • Prioritizing Values • Exploring Equity Stakeholder Stories What is the impact if you lost power for the following time-periods? Time Period Impact to “You” Impact to “Your Organization” 1 hour minimal, inconvenient, annoying 8 hours somewhat substantial, financial impacts, can’t work, painful, pharmaceuticals at risk loss of revenue, damage to equipment, inconvenient, could endanger our residence due to dependency on equipment loss of revenue, possible loss of customers, damage to equipment, disruption to care 48 hours financial impacts, devastating, relocate, no work devastating, loss of revenue, damage, life- threatening What is the impact to you if your monthly electric bill increased by the following amounts? Electric Bill Increase Impact to “You” Impact to “Your Organization” $1 to $5 per month minimal, inconsequential, depends, if it gets compounded very little, modest, impactful when you look at scale, low-income already burdened $5 to $10 per month minimal, inconvenient, I would need to re-evaluate consumption impactful, significant, change spending habits When there is a day with high smog, what is the impact? Smog Impact Impact to “You” Impact to “Your Organization” Impact Level slightly affected, not affected, moderately affected, extremely affected slightly affected, moderately affected, extremely affected Impact Description limit outdoor activities, asthma can flare, allergies get worse which impacts my ability to work and exercise, can lead to getting a sinus infection, I worry about long-term health impacts limit outdoor activities, the medically vulnerable with asthma, COPD, allergies, and long-term health problems, may mean higher medical costs Prioritizing Values: A Game of Beans Resource Planning Tradeoffs Exercise • Exercise Goal- the goal of the exercise was for participants to create valuable feedback on how Austin Energy should prioritize tradeoffs among community values of Affordability, Reliability, Environmental Sustainability. • Resource Allocation- using finite resources, participants created allocations to the planning values identified as an individual, and as a group. Resource Planning Tradeoffs Exercise (Individual) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Affordability Reliability 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Environmental Sustainability My Initial Allocation My Final Allocation a score from 5-10 a score from 5-10 a score from 5-10 a score from 5-10 a score from 5-10 a score from 5-10 A Game of Beans - Individual Allocation Value Allocation Score Range Affordability Reliability Environmental Sustainability 7.91 9.08 7.95 7 to 10 8 to 10 6 to 10 A Game of Beans – Group Discussion Group 1 – Red Group 3 – Yellow Reallocation Group Allocation Group Allocation Affordability Reliability Environmental Sustainability Affordability Reliability Environmental Sustainability 8.6 9 7.2 7.7 9.1 8.1 7.8 9 8.2 Affordability Reliability Environmental Sustainability Affordability Reliability Environmental Sustainability 7.6 9 8.3 7.8 9.4 7.8 Group 2 – Blue Group 4 – Green Group Allocation Group Allocation A Game of Beans – Individual Reallocation Value Reallocation Change, if any Original Allocation Affordability 7.91 Reliability Environmental Sustainability 9.08 7.95 7.91 9.21 7.82 Score Range 7 to 10 Stayed the same Increased 8 to 10 Lowered 6 to 10 Small Group Report Out Comments • • • “Perhaps Austin Energy is not spreading the word about the great job that’s being done already. We are already a national leader with regard to the work that’s being done with Austin Energy.” “With reliability, it is a life and death situation. AM or PM. There are lot of people who rely on oxygen, electric wheelchairs and other means that have become more and more manufactured/automated. The dangers can be higher the more automated we become for the disability requirements.” “We all want the power to be on, but there’s a limit to that. You don’t necessarily want to say reliability at any cost because that could become unaffordable. A lack of reliability can also contribute to a lack of sustainability if people turn to polluting back-up sources like diesel generators.” Small Group Report Out Comments Cont. • • “There are technologies and policies we can prioritize that address all three things all at once and aren’t pitting affordability against reliability or environmental sustainability benefits. We want to focus on what is simultaneously affordable, reliable and environmentally sustainable.” “Over half of the city of Austin is now renters. Renters often don’t have agency over how HVAC replacements are made or how efficient their appliances are, so arguably that’s an affordability impact because they often have to use more energy.” Exploring Equity Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute (TEPRI) Top Themes & Takeaways​ - Ronnie Mendoza , Manager of Customer Assistance Programs • TEPRI’s report on energy equity and energy insecurity highlighted values which echo those already being discussed in the workshops- Energy Affordability, Energy Reliability & Resilience, Clean Energy Access (Sustainability). The following results show the percentage of respondents (LMI households) who ranked each value as their top priority. • o Affordability- 50% o Resiliency- 27% o Sustainability- 17% o Reliability- 8% • TEPRI offered policy recommendations o Enhance access to energy assistance programs- through education and outreach, programs, financial incentives o Address reliability/resilience- through infrastructure investments, supporting community resilience hubs, public awareness o Promote clean energy adoption- through education, outreach and programs When you think of equity, what demographics do you think of specifically? • Elderly, those with disabilities, those dependent on electric medical equipment • Low income, $30,000/year or less or $50,000 or less for a family, residents in the Eastern Crescent, Black and brown communities generally • Small businesses • Tenants without a say in energy efficiency If you were looking at equity, which one of the Austin Energy’s mission pillars should be prioritized? Reliability and resiliency – 10 selections Affordability – 5 selections Environmental sustainability – 3 selections Other: • We should prioritize all things that help with equity. • We can have it all, we shouldn’t prioritize. Key Takeaways: • Reliability is the community’s top priority across the board. In the survey responses, resource allocation tradeoff exercises, and small group discussions, participants indicated that Reliability is the top community value to consider for the Resource Generation Plan. • Equity continues to be a major theme and discussion point throughout the workshops. Participants have expressed the importance of keeping equity top of mind when considering the other community values. • The impacts of outages can be detrimental to vulnerable communities. Low-income families, the elderly and medically compromised rely on power and automation for their homes and life- sustaining devices. • Austin Energy’s environmental sustainability leadership should be applauded. Stakeholders acknowledged Austin Energy’s investments in clean energy, energy efficiency, demand response and more, and additional efforts should prioritize reliability and resilience. Stakeholder Engagement: What's Next Future Workshop Dates • Workshop #4: Thursday, Oct. 3 Electric Utility Commission • Will continue to give ongoing updates to EUC throughout the engagement process