* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [Resilience Committee on September 12, 2024.] [00:00:18] AND FOLKS ARRIVING. BUT WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. UM, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOU ALL THIS AFTERNOON TO THE RESILIENCE COMMITTEE MEETING TODAY. UM, I AM TWILA CARTER, AND I SERVE AS CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE. UM, I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE SOME OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WE AND STAFF WE HAVE IN THE ROOM. COUNCIL MEMBER MARIO CASTILLO, COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN, COUNCIL MEMBER MARY, MARY ANNE HUFFMAN. AND WE HAVE STAFF FROM, UH, DR. LETITIA PLUMMER'S OFFICE. AND SO TODAY, WHERE'S ABBY? SO TODAY, UH, WE, UM, HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM CENTER POINT, UH, ENERGY. THEY WILL PRESENT THE GREATER HOUSTON RESILIENCY INITIATIVE. I KNOW WE'RE ANXIOUS TO, TO, UH, HEAR FROM CENTER POINT AND, UM, WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME, UH, BRAD TO TN, UH, VICE PRESIDENT OF REGULATORY POLICY. AND, UH, WE HAVE STAFF MEMBER JUST ENTERING THE ROOM FOR COUNCIL MEMBER FRED FLICKINGER OFFICE. SO, BRAD, COME ON UP. WE ARE, UH, ANXIOUS TO HEAR FROM YOU. WE'VE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH YOU ABOUT HOW WE LET OUR CUSTOMERS DOWN AND THE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO HELP IMPROVE OUR RESILIENCY AND OUR COMMUNICATION. AND I'D LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT, UH, WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN THE FUTURE. AND I HOPE THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO PERSONALLY SEE SOME OF THOSE BENEFITS WITH THE PREPARATION EFFORTS THAT WE HAVE WITH FRANCINE. FORTUNATELY, THAT DID NOT TURN INTO A STORM, BUT, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE IMPLEMENTED FROM THE LESSONS LEARNED WITH BARRELL THAT, UH, ALREADY IN PLACE THAT I'M HAPPY TO SHARE WITH YOU. SO FOR THE FIRST SLIDE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR EVERYBODY TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT WE DIDN'T TAKE, UM, THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT FROM HURRICANE BARREL LIGHTLY. WE TOOK ACTION IMMEDIATELY. WE DEFINITELY UNDERSTOOD HOW IMPORTANT OUR ROLE IS IN THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO GO BACK AND EARN THAT TRUST. AND THAT'S WHERE WE STARTED WITH THE GREATER HOUSTON RESILIENCY INITIATIVE. AND THAT'S WHERE WE HAD BASICALLY THREE PILLARS THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT WITH OUR STRENGTHENING RESILIENCY, IMPROVING OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE HAVE. SO HERE ON SLIDE THREE, UM, WE KIND OF LOOKED AT A FEW PHASES OF THAT INITIATIVE. UH, THE FIRST BEING THE THREE PILLARS THAT I TALKED ABOUT. AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE HAD THOSE COMPLETED BY AUGUST 31ST, KNOWING THAT WE'RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF HURRICANE SEASON. AND THE OTHER THING THAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT WITH THAT MESSAGE IS, EVEN THOUGH WE DID A LOT SPECIFICALLY TO HELP, UH, OUR POST HURRICANE BARREL BENEFITS, THAT WAS JUST THE BEGINNING. THIS IS AN ONGOING THING. AND EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS, UH, ONE PHASE THAT WAS COMPLETE, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING ON OUR SECOND PHASE TO DEMONSTRATE THE RESILIENCY INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE MOVING FORWARD, UH, THAT WE'LL HAVE TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY JUNE 1ST OF NEXT YEAR. AND THEN A LONG-TERM STRATEGY FOR THE ITEMS SUCH AS OUR RESILIENCY PLAN, WHERE WE CAN MAKE OUR SYSTEM MORE RESILIENT AND ROBUST IN RESPONSE TO OUR HURRICANE RESTORATION EFFORT. SO THOSE FIRST ACTIONS ON THE NEXT SLIDE, SLIDE FOUR, ARE THE CORE RESILIENCY ACTIONS THAT I TALKED ABOUT, UH, TO BE COMPLETED BY AUGUST 31ST. SO TO MAKE SURE, KNOWING AGAIN THAT WE'RE IN PEAK HURRICANE SEASON, WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU FELT COMFORTABLE THAT WE WERE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE COULD, SHOULD WE, HEAVEN FORBID, SEE ANOTHER STORM THAT WE WERE ABLE TO RESPOND BOND. SO OUR COMMITMENT WAS TO TRIM 2000 MILES OF POWER LINES. SO IF YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IT, THAT'S THE DISTANCE ALL THE WAY ACROSS TEXAS AND BACK. WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, INSTALLED A THOUSAND PLUS FIBERGLASS POLES. THESE ARE THE POLLS THAT ARE MORE RESILIENT. UH, THEY'RE, UH, ABLE TO WITHSTAND HIGHER WIN GRADE. UH, UH, EXCUSE ME, BRAD. YES. COULD YOU PAUSE FOR JUST A MINUTE? IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE HAVING IT ISSUES HERE. JUST GIVE US ONE SECOND. [00:05:08] THERE YOU GO. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. SO, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE, WE HAVE THE, UH, DISCUSSED THE, THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT THAT WE DID, UH, THE POLES THAT WE INSTALLED OVER A THOUSAND PLUS AND WHAT WE CALL THE TRIP SAVERS. THESE ARE THE DEVICES THAT HELP AUTOMATE THE SYSTEM. AND THAT IS HELPFUL BECAUSE, UH, IF YOU RECALL IN ONE OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER OR, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS THAT I PARTICIPATED, I KIND OF WENT THROUGH THE RESTORATION PROCESS WHERE IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE GO AND RES WE RESTORE OUR CIRCUIT BACKBONES. THE CIRCUIT IS THE MAIN ARTERIES THAT SERVE OUR, OUR HOSPITALS, OUR, OUR SPIDER WEB, I GUESS YOU WOULD THINK OF OUR CIRCUITS THAT SERVE THE COMMUNITY. AND OFF OF THOSE CIRCUITS ARE BRANCHES THAT WE REFER TO AS LATERALS. THOSE LATERALS ARE PROTECTED BY FUSE DEVICES. AND IF A FUSE HAPPENS TO GO OUT WHILE WE'RE WORKING ON THAT CIRCUIT RESTORATION EFFORT, THOSE ARE GONNA BE ADDRESSED AFTER ALL THE CIRCUITS HAVE BEEN RESTORED. AND THE TRIP SAVER IS DEVICE THAT IT CAN ACTUALLY REENERGIZE THAT LINE AUTOMATICALLY WITHOUT US HAVING TO SEND A, UH, A TECHNICIAN TO GO OUT THERE, WALK THE LINE, REPLACE A FUSE MAN MANUALLY. SO THAT WILL HELP IN OUR REGULAR EVERYDAY RESTORATION EFFORTS. BUT IT ALSO DOES PLAY A ROLE ON THE STORM RESTORATION BECAUSE ONCE THOSE CIRCUITS ARE BACK ON, THEN THE SECOND PART OF THAT PROCESS IS TO ADDRESS THOSE LATERALS. AND SOME OF THOSE WILL ALREADY BE BACK ON BECAUSE OF THE AUTOMATED TRIP SAVERS THAT ARE IN PLACE. NEXT SLIDE. SO OUR NEAR TERM ACTIONS, UM, WHAT WE KIND OF DEF DEFINED AS THREE PILLARS THAT WE REALLY NEEDED TO ADDRESS. THERE WERE SEVERAL THINGS THAT WE HAD, AND THERE WAS A LETTER THAT WE SENT TO THE GOVERNOR TALKING ABOUT 41 POINTS OF, UH, LESSONS LEARNED AND ACTIONS WE COULD TAKE IMMEDIATELY. I WOULD SUMMARIZE THAT THEY REALLY GO INTO THREE BUCKETS. ONE IS THE RESILIENCY PIECE, AND THAT'S ABOUT THE THINGS THAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT. THERE'S A LOT MORE TO IT THAN JUST THAT. AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT RESILIENCY, EVEN THOUGH WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE IN A HURRICANE PRONE AREA, THERE ARE FLOODING ISSUES THAT WE HAVE TO ADDRESS. WE HAVE TO MITIGATE POTENTIAL WILDFIRES. 'CAUSE WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT MORE AND MORE. UH, WE EVEN OBSERVED A LITTLE BIT OF ONE IN OUR REGION LAST, OR I GUESS THIS SUMMER. UM, SO THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MITIGATE AS WELL WHEN IT COMES TO THE RESILIENCY AND THE OVERALL PIECE OF IT, COMMUNICATIONS. COMMUNICATIONS IS PARAMOUNT. AND OBVIOUSLY THE GREATEST THING THAT WE DID TO LET OUR CUSTOMERS DOWN WAS A COMMUNICATION PROCESS THAT WE HAD. AND WHEN THAT OUTAGE TRACKER WAS NOT PERFORMING, WE REALIZED HOW DEPENDENT WE WERE TO USE THAT TOOL AS A DEVICE TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS AND TO NOT HAVE IT AVAILABLE DURING BARREL WAS DISASTROUS. AND SO WE WERE COMMITTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF, BECAUSE THAT, THAT PLATFORM HAD CRASHED, UH, DURING THE DIRE SHOW. WE, THAT THAT OUTAGE TRACKER HAD PERFORMED DURING OTHER STORM EVENTS, INCLUDING HURRICANE NICHOLAS AND HAD BEEN FINE. BUT ONCE WE REACHED, UH, LARGE HURRICANE STATUS AND WE HAD DATA MINING, DATA SCRAPING, AND WE HAD BOTS THAT OVERWHELMED THE CAPACITY DURING THAT DIRE SHOW, THAT'S WHEN THAT SYSTEM FAILED. SO WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING A NEW ONE. THE HOPE WAS THAT IT WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED BY AUGUST 1ST. IT WOULD BE A CLOUD BASED, WHICH WE'RE ABLE TO DO. IT'S JUST REALLY, REALLY UNFORTUNATE THAT OUR TIMING WAS A STORM THAT CAME IN JULY OR WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING THAT, UH, INSTALLED OR IMPLEMENTED. FORTUNATELY, WE DO HAVE THAT NOW. IT WAS AVAILABLE FOR FRANCINE. WE'VE DONE A LOT OF, UH, SHARING THAT WITH OUR CUSTOMERS. WE'VE HAD OUR OPEN HOUSE MEETINGS WHERE WE'RE DOING DEMONSTRATIONS OF IT, UH, GETTING A LOT OF GREAT FEEDBACK OF IT. WE ARE EXCITED TO HAVE THIS NEW PLATFORM THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN. THE OTHER PART IS, UH, STRENGTHENING OUR PARTNERSHIPS. AND THAT'S WHERE WE RECOGNIZED HOW WE ALL WORK TOGETHER. UH, WE'RE REEVALUATING OUR ROLE ON HOW WE WORK WITH YOUR OFFICES OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, BETTER WAYS THAT WE CAN PARTNER. AND THROUGH SOME OF THESE LEADERSHIP MEETINGS, I ALSO RECOGNIZED AND HAVE A GREATER APPRECIATION FOR THE ROLE THAT SOME OF YOUR COMMUNITY LEADERS HAVE WHEN THE RESIDENTS AND PEOPLE COME TO THEM REGARDING JUST INFORMATION. AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REACHING OUT TO THEM, THEY'RE WELL INFORMED BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA HELP US. AND PART OF THEIR STRUGGLE WAS WHEN PEOPLE CAME [00:10:01] TO THEM ASKING FOR HELP, THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO GO. AND SO IF WE CAN PROVIDE YOU WITH THAT INFORMATION, THE COMMUNITY LEADERS, HOAS, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, THE BEST WAY THAT WE CAN TO GET ALL THAT INFORMATION OUT, THAT WILL HELP US AS WELL. NEXT SLIDE. AND ANOTHER THING, UH, WE WANT TO BE CONSCIENTIOUS OF TOO, IS WITH THESE RESILIENCY INVESTMENTS, THEY ARE SIGNIFICANT. AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE PLAN FOR OUR RESILIENCY INVESTMENT AND THE YEARS THAT IT'S GONNA TAKE PLACE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE INVESTING. AND THEN THE QUESTION IS, ESPECIALLY FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S PERSPECTIVE, IS IT REALLY WORTH IT? ARE THESE THE THINGS THAT MAKE SENSE? AND WHAT I CAN ASSURE YOU IS THAT THEY ARE, WHEN WE LOOK AT AN AREA THAT, UM, WE ARE GONNA HAVE HURRICANES, WE ARE SEEING MORE CLIMATE ACTION THAN WHAT WE'VE EVER SEEN IN THE PAST. UH, WITH OUR ORIGINAL RESILIENCY FILING, WE DEMONSTRATED HOW MUCH IT'S, UH, IT'S, WE'RE SEEING MORE FREQUENCY AND MORE SEVERITY OF THE STORMS. AND SO THAT'S WHY WE THINK THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE THAT INVESTMENT, BUT ALSO HOW IT PAYS FOR ITSELF. BECAUSE THEN YOU DON'T HAVE THE BACKSIDE WHEN YOU'RE MAKING THE NECESSARY REPAIRS. IN ADDITION TO THAT, I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WE HAVE BEEN MAKING RESILIENCY INVESTMENTS IN CENTER POINT ENERGY FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS. AND WHILE WE WERE DOING THAT, THERE ARE TWO COMPONENTS TO A CUSTOMER'S BILL. THERE'S THE CENTER POINT PIECE, WHICH IS THE POLES AND THE WIRES. I REFER TO US AS THE POST OFFICE. OUR FOLKS GO ONLINE. THEY PURCHASE SOMETHING JUST LIKE YOU WOULD AT A DEPARTMENT STORE WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR, THEIR ENERGY. AND IT'S UP TO CENTER POINT ENERGY TO DELIVER IT. SO THERE'S TWO COMPONENTS TO THEIR BILL. THERE'S THE RETAIL ENERGY PIECE FOR THE GENERATORS THAT THEY'RE PURCHASING THEIR ELECTRICITY, WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH US. AND THEN THERE'S THE SHIPPING AND HANDLING, WHICH GOES TO CENTER POINT ENERGY. IT'S JUST THAT SHIPPING AND HANDLING PIECE I'M TALKING ABOUT ARE THE RATES FOR CENTER POINT ENERGY. AND WHAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT IS, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE MAKING THOSE RESILIENCE INVESTMENTS AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE SURE OUR RATES HAVE STAYED FLAT SINCE APPROXIMATELY 10 YEARS. NEXT SLIDE HERE. I WANT TO JUST KIND OF HIGHLIGHT THE OUTAGE TRACKER. UM, UM, SOME OF THE GOALS THAT WE HAD WHEN WE WANTED TO IMPLEMENT THIS IS MAKE SURE WE HAD TIMELY, CONSISTENT INFORMATION FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. AND IT'S REAL TIME. WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE IT WAS A CLOUD BASE BECAUSE AGAIN, IT WAS THE CAPACITY OVERWHELMING OUR SERVERS THAT CAUSED IT TO CRASH. SO NOW WE HAVE SCALING, UH, VOLATILITY THAT CAN GO UP AND DOWN AND MEET DEMAND BECAUSE I THINK WE SAW DEMAND ON OUR SERVER 10 PLUS PERCENT OR 10 TIMES MORE THAN WHAT WE WOULD NORMALLY EXPECT AND, AND OBSERVED IN OTHER STORMS. AND THEN WE ALSO REALIZED THAT IF FOLKS AREN'T HOME AND THEY'RE TRAVELING, IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT'S MOBILE, UH, THAT YOU CAN ACCESS EASILY ON YOUR MOBILE PHONE. 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WAYS TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS NOW. AND THAT'S KIND OF A HIGHLIGHT OF OUR, UH, RESILIENCY THAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR. AND I'M ACTUALLY PERFECTLY WILLING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. THANK YOU, BRAD. UM, ALSO LIKE TO RECOGNIZE, UH, VICE CHAIR, UH, ABBY CAYMAN AND COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. AND WE HAVE STAFF JOINING US FROM COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON AND COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S OFFICE. UM, I'M SURE THERE ARE MANY QUESTIONS, BUT, UH, I WILL, UM, START OFF BY SAYING, YOU KNOW, ON ON SLIDE, UH, FOUR, YOU, UM, YOU STATE THE TARGET AND THE COMPLETE, I THINK, I THINK THE OBVIOUS QUESTION IS YOUR TARGETED 2000 POWER, 2000 POWER LINE MILES AND YOU'VE COMPLETED 20 2026. WHAT ARE THE OVERALL NUMBERS, UM, THAT REALLY NEED, UH, ASSESSING AND, AND WORK DONE, UM, TO REDUCE EVEN FURTHER OUTAGES, NOT ONLY ON THE, UH, MILES, THE POLES, BUT THE DEVICES? WHAT, WHAT ARE THE ACTUAL HARD NUMBERS ON THAT? SO, I I THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. UM, I DON'T RECALL. I THINK IT'S TRADITIONALLY WHAT WE TRIM IS ANYWHERE UP TO, UH, 5,000 MILES. AND WHAT I WOULD STRESS IS THAT, UM, HISTORICALLY WE LOOK AT OUR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AS A RELIABILITY PROGRAM, NOT A RESILIENCY PROGRAM. AND I THINK THAT IS ONE OF THE PARADIGMS THAT WE HAVE TO SHIFT. AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO INCLUDE IN OUR RESILIENCY FILING. BECAUSE [00:15:02] WHEN WE LOOK AND YOU SAY, WHAT IS IT THAT WE WOULD TYPICALLY TRIM THAT IS BASED ON WHAT WE HAVE ALLOWABLE TO RECOVER ON OUR RATES, ANYTHING THAT WE TRIM ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT IS SHAREHOLDER MONEY. WE DON'T RECOVER THOSE COSTS. AND SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IN 2022, WE SPENT ABOUT $29 MILLION ON VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, WHICH IS ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE, UH, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO RECOVER IN OUR BASE RATES. LAST YEAR WE SPENT $39 MILLION. IT'S $10 MILLION ABOVE AND BEYOND. WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE THAT. AND WE FEEL THAT IF WE DO VEGETATION MANAGEMENT FROM A RESILIENCY PERSPECTIVE, IT'S GONNA BE MORE TRIMMING MORE OFTEN, UH, IT'S GONNA COST MORE. AND SO THAT'S WHY WE WANT TO HAVE THESE DISCUSSIONS AND SUPPORT ON THE RESILIENCY PIECE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE. THANK YOU. UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK CERTAINLY, UH, FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC'S KNOWLEDGE, WE'VE ALL HAD CONVERSATION WITH CONSTITUENTS AS YOU HAVE BY NOW. MANY, I'M SURE. UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, SHORING THINGS UP AND, AND RESILIENCY ACTIONS AND A PLAN. BUT WE REALLY WON'T KNOW UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS WHAT NEXT? THAT'S ALWAYS THAT WHAT NEXT? AND, UH, I THINK THAT CERTAINLY FROM, FROM A, UM, A PERSPECTIVE OF HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, ON THE, ON THE TRACKER AND, UH, THE RESPONSE ON THAT, UM, UNTIL SOMETHING ELSE COMES ALONG. BUT I'M SURE THAT YOU ALL HAVE A SORT OF PLAN B BACKUP IN PLACE, UM, FOR FUTURE INCIDENTS THAT WHEN THAT TRACKER FAILS, IF, IF IT DOES NOT WHEN, BUT IF IT DOES, THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN OTHER PRECAUTIONS AND MEASURES TO PUT IN PLACE. YEAH. AND I CAN GO AND FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE. UH, THE SPECIFIC ISSUE HAS BEEN MITIGATED AND ADDRESSED. UM, THIS IS AN INDUSTRY STANDARD TYPE OF PLATFORM. THIS IS SIMILAR ONE YOU'LL SEE WITH UTILITY COMPANIES THAT ARE IN FLORIDA. WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GRABBED A PLATFORM THAT WAS TRIED, TESTED, AND PROVEN. SO WE HAVE A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN IT. AND AGAIN, THE MAIN DRIVER BEING THE, THE SCALABILITY ON REFERENCING THE INFORMATION AND GETTING IT ALL REAL TIME WAS THE THING THAT WE HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS ADDRESSED. AND IT WAS. THANK YOU. UH, WE, I THINK WE HAVE EVERYBODY'S IN THE QUEUE WAITING, SO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO. THANK YOU. CHAIRWOMAN. UH, BRAD, THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION. A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. UM, SO INVEST INVESTING APPROXIMATELY 5 BILLION, UH, BETWEEN 2026 TO 2028. MM-HMM . THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY IN GREATER HOUSTON. HOW ARE Y'ALL, UH, DEFINING THE GREATER HOUSTON REGION? SO THE GREATER HOUSTON REGION WILL BE THE 12 COUNTIES THAT WE SERVE. SO IT'S NOT JUST HARRIS COUNTY THAT'S GOING TO BE, UM, MONTGOMERY, BRAZORIA, GALVESTON, AUSTIN, COLORADO CHAMBERS, LIBERTY COUNTIES AS WELL. BUT KEEP IN MIND, THE MAJORITY OF OUR CIRCUITS, THE 2.2 MILLION CUSTOMERS THAT WE SERVE ARE IN HARRIS COUNTY. GOT IT. AND I MEAN, THAT'S GEOGRAPHICALLY, THAT IS A LARGE AREA MM-HMM . UM, IS THERE A WAY TO DRILL DOWN WITH THE INFORMATION YOU'RE SHARING TODAY SPECIFICALLY FOR HARRIS COUNTY BY ITSELF? NOT AT THIS MOMENT, BECAUSE WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FINE TUNE ALL THE LESSONS THAT WE LEARNED TO INCORPORATE IN OUR RESILIENCY PLAN. UH, I, I FEEL VERY CONFIDENT WITH THE INFORMATION THAT WE HAD PRIV, UH, PREVIOUSLY WITH OUR RESILIENCY PLAN, BUT SINCE THAT TIME, WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD A LOT MORE INFORMATION NOW THAT WE'RE REINCORPORATING INTO IT SPECIFICALLY. UH, WE WERE IN THE PROCESS WHILE WE FILE THAT RESILIENCY PLAN TO HAVE AI ANALYTICS TO START DOING THE ANALYSIS OF OUR SYSTEM SO WE CAN BEST UNDERSTAND THE, THE MAKEUP AND THE EFFECTS AND GET BASICALLY THE BEST BANG FOR OUR BUCK AND HOW TO DO OUR STRATEGY ON OUR INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE RESILIENCY PROGRAMS. AND THAT'S IN ITS INFANCY. SO WE HAVE IT, WE'RE WORKING ON IT NOW. WE'RE WORKING WITH THIRD PARTIES TO HELP INCORPORATE THAT INFORMATION SO WE CAN PUT THAT RESILIENCY PLAN TOGETHER. SO IT'LL BE COMING, UH, IN, HOPEFULLY BY THE FIRST QUARTER OF NEXT YEAR, MORE HOUSTON OR HARRIS COUNTY SPECIFIC INFORMATION. YES. AND ONCE WE HAVE THAT PLAN, THEN WE WILL HAVE THAT INFORMATION FOR ALL THE COUNTIES THAT WE SERVE, AND WE CAN GET SPECIFIC FOR EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THAT AREA TO A, UH, TO A CERTAIN GRANULAR LEVEL. YEAH. OKAY. AND SO THEN ON THE, ON THE STRONGER MORE RESILIENT STORM [00:20:01] POLES, UM, THOSE ARE 1,133 ACROSS YOUR 12 COUNTY REGION, UM, WHAT IS THE STRATEGY AROUND THE INSTALLATION IN TERMS OF WHICH ONES ARE GETTING REPLACED RIGHT NOW? UM, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT PROCESS? SURE, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. THE PROCESS IS THAT WE HAVE A POLE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM. UH, WE GO OUT AND WE INVESTIGATE THE INTEGRITY OF THOSE POLES, AND WE DETERMINE IF THEY ARE STILL ADEQUATE TO THE NATIONAL SAFETY ELECTRIC CODE. AND WHEN THEY'RE NOT, THEN THAT'S WHEN WE HAVE TO ADDRESS EITHER REPLACING THEM OR ADDING A TRUSS, WHICH IS BASICALLY, UH, REINFORCING THEM TO GET THEM, UH, ACTUALLY TO A HIGHER GRADE, UH, WIND STANDARD THAN WHAT THEY WERE BEFORE. SO THE POLLS THAT WE REPLACED, WE ACTUALLY POST-STORM, DID AN ASSESSMENT AND RECOGNIZED THAT THESE ARE ONES THAT DID NOT MEET THE N-E-S-N-S-E-C STANDARD, AND WE ADDRESSED THOSE. UM, OUR CONSIDERATION FOR THE FIBERGLASS POLES, OBVIOUSLY, WHEN IT COMES TO NEW, UH, CONSTRUCTION, WILL, UM, NOT ONLY WILL WE INSTALL THOSE IN, IN TARGET AREAS, BUT EVEN OUR WOOD POLES, WE'VE UPGRADED TO A HIGHER WIND STANDARD. SO, UM, AND, AND IF YOU'RE ASKING WHY, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET AHEAD OF YOU HERE. UM, IT'S VERY TRADITIONAL IN THE INDUSTRY TO DESIGN YOUR FACILITIES UP TO A STANDARD WIND SPEED. UH, I BELIEVE IT'S UP TO 130 SOME ODD MILES PLUS DEPENDING ON, UH, CERTAIN RAM OR, UH, UH, UM, SPECIFICATIONS. HOWEVER, FOR POLES THAT ARE BELOW 60 FEET, THERE'S AN EXEMPTION WHERE YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT. AND, UH, THAT IS TYPICALLY WHAT YOU SEE WITH THESE 55, 50 55 FOOT POLES ON THE DISTRIBUTION SIDE. WE HAVE USED THAT EXEMPTION FOR THE HUNDRED PLUS YEARS THAT WE'VE SERVED THIS COMMUNITY. BUT BACK IN 2021, WE RECOGNIZED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE THAT WE ARE SEEING MORE STORMS WITH GREATER FREQUENCY AND GREATER SEVERITY THAT WE QUIT USING THAT EXEMPTION. SO EVEN THOUGH WE ARE CONTINUING THE USE OF WOODEN POLES, WE'RE USING POLES THAT ARE THICKER, MORE RIGID AND ACTUALLY COMPLY WITH THAT HIGHER WIND STANDARD. SO THEN IT'S A MATTER OF HOW DO WE USE BOTH OF THOSE? UH, HOW DO WE ALSO CONSIDER CONCRETE AND DUCTILE IRON? THOSE ARE ALSO OTHER MANUFACTURING POLES THAT WE'RE USING MORE OF. AND SO THEN IT COMES TO, UM, DESIGN FACTORS, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WHEN EQUIPMENT IS ON THE POLE, WHEN YOU HAVE SOME OF THESE LARGE TRANSFORMERS, OBVIOUSLY YOU WANT THAT MORE RESILIENT POLE IN THE FIELD BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA HAVE, UH, I GUESS AFFECT THE MOMENT THE MOVEMENT OF THAT POLE WHEN IT'S KIND OF OFFSET WITH ITS WEIGHT OF, UH, KIND OF HIGH CENTER OF GRAVITY. AND SO THOSE ARE KEY ITEMS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE, UH, FIBERGLASS POLES IN, UM, WHERE THERE'S STRESS POINTS ON THE DESIGN, BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE BENDS WITH THE WIRE, WHEN YOU'RE CHANGING DIRECTIONS AS THE STREET GOES, OR TURNING CORNERS, THERE'S EXTRA STRESS ON THAT POLE FROM THE WIRES. THAT MAKES SENSE SOMETIMES TO PUT THE FIBERGLASS POLES IN THERE. THE OTHER THING WE IDENTIFIED THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AT A RESILIENCY, BECAUSE WHAT I MENTIONED BEFORE IS NEW CONSTRUCTION. WE'RE ALSO LOOKING TO GO BACK AND IDENTIFY THESE CRITICAL, UH, UH, CIRCUITS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. THESE ARE THE LINES THAT HAVE HOSPITALS, SOMETIMES MULTIPLE HOSPITALS ON THERE, UH, PROVIDING, UM, NECESSARY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR OUR COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE GOING BACK AND ACTUALLY REPLACING POLES WITH THE FIBERGLASS TO MAKE SURE THAT WHILE WE'RE DOING THE RESTORATION EFFORT, THOSE HAVE THE BEST OPPORTUNITY TO SURVIVE THE STORM, UH, MOVING FORWARD. SO WE SHOULDN'T EXPECT EVERY WOODEN POLE AT SOME POINT TO BE REPLACED WITH FIBERGLASS, UH, POLE. WE SHOULD NOT, NO, NOT EVERY POLE WILL BE FIBERGLASS. IT'S GONNA BE STRATEGIC IN AREAS THAT MAKE SENSE, FOR EXAMPLE. UM, AND, AND BECAUSE WE COULD USE DUCTILE IRON, WE CAN USE CONCRETE, UM, AND IT'S JUST KIND OF A MATTER OF IS IT A TRANSMISSION LINE SOMETIMES WITH A NECESSARY CROSSING. UH, IF IT'S ON A COASTAL AREA, THE CONCRETE MIGHT ACTUALLY MAKE SENSE. UM, THERE ARE SOME AREAS THAT WE FEEL THE DUCTILE IRON ACTUALLY IS PREFERABLE, AND WE WANT, WE, WE'RE NOT GONNA LIMIT TO OURSELVES TO JUST ONE SPECIFIC POLE. IT'LL BE CASE BY CASE TO HOW IT'S DESIGNED. WE STILL WILL CONTINUE USING THE WOODEN POLES. BUT I WANT TO ASSURE YOU THE WOODEN POLES WE'RE USING TODAY ARE NOT THE SAME WOODEN POLES WE WERE USING 10 YEARS AGO. THESE ARE HIGHER GRADE [00:25:01] CLASS WOODEN POLES THAT ARE RATED FOR HIGHER WIND STRUCTURE. CAN YOU SHARE WHERE THE 1,133 HAVE BEEN REPLACED? UM, IT'S, IT'S ALL OVER THE GREATER HOUSTON REGION AREA. I DON'T HAVE THOSE SPECIFICS, BUT I CAN TRY AND SEE WHAT I CAN GET TO HELP SPECIFICALLY HARRIS COUNTY. SURE. OKAY. THANK YOU. YEAH, I MAYBE GET A NUMBER FOR YOU ON HOW MANY OF THEM WERE REPLACED IN HARRIS COUNTY. THAT'D BE HELPFUL. THANK THE, THE LOCATION. MM-HMM. OR YEAH, IF YOU HAVE A MAP OR SOMETHING, BUT THAT, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO JUST TO VISUALIZE WHERE THIS HAS HAPPENED. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN. THANK YOU CHAIR. AND THANKS, BRAD. UH, I WAS GONNA ASK A BUNCH OF, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO'S QUESTIONS ABOUT POLLS. UH, OBVIOUSLY THESE WERE THE, THE 1100 WORST ONES THAT YOU WENT TO FIRST. OKAY. UM, AND, AND KIND OF HOW MANY ARE THERE IN, IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON POLLS? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA? WELL, WHAT WE DO IS, UH, WE HAVE A VERY SPECIFIED, NOT, NOT THE ONES YOU FIXED, BUT LIKE, HOW MANY OVERALL POLLS ARE THERE? UM, I MEAN, IS THERE LIKE A MILLION ? IT'S THOUSAND. IT'S, IT'S OVER THAT. OKAY. UM, YOU KNOW, OFF THE TOP OF MY TONGUE, I COULDN'T TELL YOU, BUT I YEAH, IT IS. OKAY. THAT'S FINE. YEAH. YOU TALKED ABOUT, UM, MAKING THE VEGETATION REMOVAL A, A RESILIENCE ITEM MM-HMM . UM, SO YOU CAN SPEND MORE MONEY ON IT. RIGHT? I MEAN, HOW DOES, WHAT ARE THE MECHANICS OF THAT? WHAT DO YOU DO TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN? IS THAT A STATE LEGISLATIVE THING? OR WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS WITH THIS? SO IT'S TWO THINGS. ONE, WE PUT THAT IN THE RESILIENCY FILING. UM, THE LEGISLATION ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER A OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DO A RESILIENCY PROGRAM. OUR LEGISLATORS, UH, POST WINTER STORM URI RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE ALSO HAVING EFFECTS FROM, UH, CLIMATE EVENTS. AND THEY PUT TOGETHER, UH, A PROGRAM FOR US TO ADDRESS THE WINTER STORMS, UH, HURRICANES, WILDFIRE. AND THAT'S WHERE THE RESILIENCY PIECE COMES IN. SO THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION HAS, UH, RECEIVED THAT LEGISLATION. IT ALLOWS THEM TO CREATE A RULE ON HOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS RESILIENCY. WHAT WE WOULD DO THEN IS PROVIDE A RESILIENCY PLAN. OUR INTENT IS TO DO THAT FOR A THREE YEAR PERIOD, TO GET APPROVAL BY THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION. AND IT'LL DEFINE ALL OF THOSE ITEMS THAT WE WANT TO DO PRIOR TO US ACTUALLY DOING IT. SO THAT ALLOWS THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO ACTUALLY REVIEW THE PLAN, WEIGH IN, OBVIOUSLY THEY TAKE A ROLE IN AND, AND WORKING WITH US IN THAT PROGRAM, ONCE WE FILE AND, UH, YOU HAVE ALL THE INPUT, YOU HAVE NEED NECESSARY TO HELP, UH, CONSTRUCT AND WORK WITH THAT PLAN AS WE TRY TO GET IT APPROVED BY THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION. OKAY. ARE YOU ACTIVELY GROWING YOUR, YOUR RESTORATION WORKFORCE, LIKE IN THE, IN THE DOWN, IN THE TIMES WHEN THEY'RE NOT? SO THERE'S NOT A STORM, I MEAN, YOU HAD LOTS OF PEOPLE DOWN HERE, BUT MM-HMM . I MEAN, YOU'RE, ARE, ARE YOU ACTIVELY TRYING TO GROW THAT OR, YES. AND OUR CEO HAS COMMITTED TO GROW OUR WORKFORCE. WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE GROW, UM, SOMEWHERE IN THE TUNE OF 200,000 CUSTOMERS A YEAR. I MEAN, THAT'S BASICALLY LIKE ADDING A CITY MM-HMM . UM, WITH THAT MUCH EXPANSION AND THE CAPITAL WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AT SUCH A RATE, UM, IT'S HARD TO HIRE EMPLOYEES TO KEEP UP WITH THAT. SO THE CONTRACT PIECE PLAYED A CRITICAL ROLE IN MAKING SURE THAT WE COULD DO THAT AND, AND KEEP UP WITH IT. BUT WE ARE COMMITTED. WE ARE WORKING TO HIRE AND INCREASE OUR WORK STAFF. UH, WE REACHED OUT TO OUR IBEW 66 AND WE'VE SHARED THAT, UH, COMMITMENT WITH THEM. AND, UH, YEAH, IT'S, I THINK IT'S IMPERATIVE. GREAT. I, OKAY. PUT ME BACK IN. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER KAMAN. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. BRAD, IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU. THANK YOU. UM, THANK YOU. AND I, I ALWAYS DISCLAIM THIS, MY QUESTIONS ARE DIRECTED TOWARDS YOU. SOME OF THEM ARE TOUGH QUESTIONS, BUT IT'S TO CENTER POINT. I KNOW YOU ARE JUST HERE REPRESENT, REPRESENTING, UM, CENTER POINT RIGHT NOW. I'M A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED THAT, UM, IT, TO COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO'S POINT, WE'RE SEEING GREATER HOUSTON RESILIENCY INITIATIVE, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY FOR ALL 12 COUNTIES. SO THANK YOU FOR OFFERING TO HONE IN BECAUSE AGAIN, 1100 POLLS FOR 12 COUNTIES. I KNOW Y'ALL ARE DOING WHAT YOU CAN, BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR HOUSTON? SURE. UH, MY FIRST, UH, QUESTION IS, I ACTUALLY ON BEHALF OF THE CITY, UM, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL INQUIRIES RELATED TO WHAT IMPROVEMENTS HAD BEEN DONE SINCE HURRICANE IKE. MM-HMM . UM, YOU REFERENCED, WELL, BACK IN 2021, WE STARTED REPLACING CERTAIN POLES, BUT IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL IF CENTERPOINT WOULD SHED LIGHT ONTO WHAT WORK HAS BEEN DONE SINCE IKE. AND I KNOW WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD, BUT WE CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW WE GOT HERE IF WE DON'T HAVE THAT. SO, [00:30:01] IS CENTERPOINT WILLING TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION? SURE. AND WE'VE PROVIDED THAT INFORMATION IN ALL THE RATE CASES THAT WE'VE HAD SINCE THEN. AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE THE INCREASE IN OUR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, THE MODERNIZING OF OUR GRID, THE, UH, INCREASE IN OUR POLL INSPECTION PROGRAMS. UH, YEAH, ALL OF THOSE ARE ON RECORD AND WE CAN PULL THAT INFORMATION TO YOU. OKAY. THAT'D BE VERY HELPFUL. THANK YOU. UM, REGARDING RATES, UM, HOW MUCH OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING IN THE PLANS THAT YOU, YOU'RE PRESENTING RIGHT NOW IN THE WORK THAT YOU'RE CURRENTLY DOING? HAS ALREADY BILLED, BEEN BILLED TO CUSTOMERS, UM, IN RATES? SO ANYTHING THAT WE'VE DONE THIS YEAR HAS TO BE, UH, FILED WITH WHAT'S OUR DISTRIBUTION COST RECOVERY FACTOR, AND THEN APPROVED BY THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION. SO THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE THIS YEAR HAS NOT BEEN RECOVERED. OKAY. AND YOU SAY THAT RATES HAVE REMAINED RELATIVELY FLAT? CORRECT. UM, THE, THERE HAVE THOUGH BEEN, I BELIEVE Y'ALL HAVE ASKED FOR SEVERAL RATE INCREASES THROUGH DCRF RATE FILINGS. MM-HMM . UH, FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, AGAIN, Y'ALL ARE SAYING SPENDING MONEY ON THE MODERNIZATION HASN'T CHANGED THAT RATE. SO WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE DCRF MONEY IF IT'S NOT GOING TOWARDS SYSTEM MODERNIZATION? SO THE DCRF IS ALL OF OUR INVESTMENTS THAT WE HAVE. SO THE RESILIENCY THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST ARE RECOVERED. UM, THE GROWTH IS, UH, RECOVERED. UM, IT'S THE O AND M, THE MAINTENANCE EXPENSES. SO THINGS LIKE THE TREE TRIMMING ARE NOT RECOVERED. RIGHT. BUT, SO AGAIN, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE RATES REMAINING FLAT, THAT'S JUST FOR ONE PARTICULAR CATEGORY. NO, THAT IS NOT CORRECT. SO WHAT I'M NOT CLEAR, WHAT Y'ALL ARE DOING, UH, WITH THE DCRF MONEY. IS THAT JUST GOING TO THE PROFITS Y'ALL ARE MAKING? NO. SO WHEN WE, WHEN WE LOOK AT AND ON OUR RATES INCREASE, THAT'S THE AMOUNT THAT WE'RE ABLE TO RETURN ON OUR RETURN OF EQUITY. BUT WHEN IT'S SPREAD OUT PER CUSTOMER, AND WHEN YOU'RE ADDING 200,000 CUSTOMERS PER YEAR, THAT'S HOW IT EVENS OUT. SO THESE ARE OUR BASE RATES. THIS IS NOT PROFIT, THIS IS NOT WHAT WE'RE ALLOWED TO EARN BEYOND WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED ON OUR RETURN ON EQUITY. BUT AS THOSE RATES DO INCREASE, THEY'RE SPREAD OUT ACROSS OUR CUSTOMERS. RIGHT. AND I THINK THERE WERE QUESTIONS PREVIOUSLY THOUGH, BECAUSE YOU REPRESENTED 12 COUNTY REGION. CORRECT. AND THERE HAVE BEEN QUESTIONS IN TERMS OF RATE INCREASES OF WHO'S BEARING THE BURDEN OF THOSE RATE INCREASES, ALL, ALL OF THEM EQUALLY, EQUALLY. SO THAT RATE IS OKAY. A A AGAIN, I THINK WE MAY HAVE GOTTEN INFORMATION ON THAT, BUT IF THAT HAS CHANGED, UH, THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL TO KNOW. UH, I BELIEVE Y'ALL SAID, WHICH WE APPRECIATE. SO I WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR, UH, THE WILLINGNESS OF CENTERPOINT TO FOREGO THE 110 MILLION IN PROFITS FOR MOBILE GEN. UM, I DON'T, HAS THE, HAS CENTERPOINT FILED ANYTHING TO GIVE THAT BACK TO THE RATE PAYERS? SO I'M NOT IN DISCUSSION WITH THE, THE, THE MOBILE GEN PIECE. UM, I'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON THE STORM RESTORATION, THE RESILIENCY PIECE THAT WE'VE HAD. BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UM, WHAT WE SPENT IS NOT WHAT WE'VE RECOVERED. SO, UH, I THINK THERE'S SOME MISINFORMATION ABOUT HOW MUCH WE RECOVERED ON THE MOBILE GEN, AND WE CAN GET YOU THE ACTUAL, UH, DIRECT INFORMATION ON WHAT THAT IS. OKAY. AGAIN, IT'S JUST, Y'ALL HAD SAID YOU WOULD FOREGO THE 110 MILLION. SO MY QUESTION IS, WHAT IS THE MECHANISM BEING USED TO FOREGO THE 110? LASTLY, I KNOW I'M, PLEASE PUT ME BACK IN QUEUE, BUT I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION ON RATES. SPECIFICALLY. WHAT IS THE NEW PROPOSED AS IT'S IN THE WORKS, BUT WHAT IS YOUR ESTIMATE THAT THE RESILIENCE PLAN IS GOING TO COST RATE PAYERS ABOVE, UM, OR OVER WHAT'S ALREADY IN RATES? WELL, SINCE THE RESILIENCY FILING HAS BEEN, UH, PULLED BACK FROM THE COMMISSION, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF, OF DEFINING A NEW ONE. AND UNTIL THAT IS COMPLETE, I COULDN'T SAY, UM, I COULD TELL YOU THE ONE THAT WE HAD WAS APPROXIMATELY $2 A MONTH. UM, SO AT LEAST $2 A MONTH YEAH. PER CUSTOMER. AND THEN AGAIN, AS FAR AS THE MOBILE GEN, I'M NOT IN THE ROOM WITH THOSE CONVERSATIONS. UM, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THAT MECHANISM WOULD BE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, WOULD ALSO, I LIKE TO WELCOME VICE MAYOR PROTO AMY PECK AND COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. YOU'RE UP. THANK YOU. CHAIRWOMAN. UH, BRAD, THANKS FOR COMING. THANK YOU. AND PRESENTING TO EVERYONE AS WELL. UM, I WANTED FOCUS ON THE, ON THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT. UM, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS SPEAKING TO FROM THE GET GO, UH, POSTED AT. THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE SAW A LOT OF THE CHALLENGES. ESSENTIALLY A LOT OF TREES THAT, UH, WEREN'T MAINTAINED. UM, Y'ALL HAVE AN EASEMENT THAT I WOULD ASSUME Y ARE ALSO [00:35:01] RESPONSIBLE. I KNOW IT'S A, IT'S A TOUCHY SUBJECT 'CAUSE IT'S SOMETIMES, SOMETIMES THE TREES ARE ON SOME PRIVATE PROPERTY, BUT IT MOVES OVER AND ENCROACHES ON YOUR END. UM, JUST, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HEARD CORRECTLY. YOU'RE SAYING CURRENTLY OR WHAT Y'ALL WERE DOING WAS ABOUT $29 MILLION AND Y'ALL CONSIDER THAT CHARITABLE, IS THAT CHARITABLE? YEAH. NO, THAT'S THE, I THOUGHT I, THAT'S THE, THAT'S HOW MUCH WE'RE SPENDING TO DO THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT. OKAY. JUST WANTED TO GET SOME CLARITY. 'CAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHY I HEARD CHARITABLE WHENEVER YOU'RE SAYING THAT. UH, I JUST WANNA, I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, SO I MAYBE YOU HEARD SHAREHOLDER. SHAREHOLDER. OKAY. OKAY. SO THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE. THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS. SHAREHOLDERS ARE, THAT MEANS THE SHAREHOLDERS ARE COVERING THE COST SHAREHOLDER. GOT IT. GOT IT. I, SO I MEAN, YOU COULD ALREADY DO A CHARITABLE I'M BEFORE THAT. I'M NOT TRYING A PROBLEM. MAYBE I'M, I DON'T WANNA FIND A PROBLEM. RIGHT. BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS Y'ALL CONTINUE TO SEE, UH, SPECIFICALLY VEGETATION MANAGEMENT BECOMES BECOMING MORE OF A, UH, OF A NECESSITY. UM, REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT RESIDENTS ARE BEING INFORMED AND EDUCATED THAT THEY HAVE TO CALL YOU ALL AS WELL. MM-HMM . UM, CURRENTLY SOME FOLKS STILL THINK THAT THEY CALL 3 1 1 AND YOU KNOW IT, IT'LL BE ADDRESSED. UH, BUT ONCE IT STARTS CROSSING INTO YOUR POWER LINES AND IT BECOMES YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. CORRECT. UM, WELL, NOT NECESSARILY. WE, WE WILL GO ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT. AND I APPRECIATE THE, THE QUESTION COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ, BECAUSE, UM, THIS STORM WAS A CATEGORY TREE HURRICANE. AND WHAT WAS UNIQUE FOR THIS PARTICULAR EVENT WAS WHEN YOU HAVE A HISTORY OF THESE SEVERE COLD WINTERS, THEN YOU HAVE DROUGHTS, AND THEN ALL THE RAIN, THESE TREES, UH, WERE BASICALLY UPROOTED AT THE GROUND AT A LEVEL THAT WITH THE HISTORICAL HURRICANES WE'VE SEEN, WE HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING TO THAT MAGNITUDE. NOW, IT IS TRUE IF IT'S OUTSIDE OF OUR EASEMENT THAT WE CAN'T WORK WITH IT. BUT IF WE RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S A TREE THAT COULD BE SICK, IT COULD BE INFESTED WITH BEETLES, OR IT'S A POTENTIAL, EVEN THOUGH IT'S OUTSIDE OF OUR RIGHT OF WAY, WE DO ASK OUR CUSTOMERS TO CALL US. WE'LL WORK WITH THEM TO REMOVE IT. OF COURSE, IF IT'S IN THEIR FRONT YARD AND IT'S NOT ANYWHERE NEAR OUR POWER LINES, THAT'S NOT ONE WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO HELP THEM IN. BUT IF IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE THINK THAT COULD PUT OUR LINES IN JEOPARDY, WE WOULD ABSOLUTELY WORK WITH THOSE CUSTOMERS TO ADDRESS IT. I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU ALL, AND I, I MENTIONED THIS AFTER THE, THE , AND I THINK TO YOUR POINT, IT'S, YOU KNOW, DROUGHTS AND THEN WE HAD MAY, UH, TORNADOES ESSENTIALLY MM-HMM . LOOSEN UP THE INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THEN WE HAD HURRICANE. UM, SO I, THAT'S, THAT'S WHY I FEEL A LOT OF 'EM GOT UPROOTED. RIGHT. UM, BUT I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO MAYBE EVEN HAVE SOME KIND OF, UM, UH, AWARENESS CAMPAIGN, YOU KNOW, UH, WHERE WE CAN DO SOME TREE TRIMMING IN, IN SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE CITY. UM, LOVE TO WORK WITH YOU ALL TO DO THAT. UH, THE OTHER ONE AND JUST MORE SO I GUESS MORE OF AN EDUCATION, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR ME. UH, CENTER POINT, AND IT'S NOT NECESSARILY WITH ELECTRICITY, BUT Y'ALL ARE BURYING, UH, LINES FOR GAS. CORRECT? ARE WE BURYING LINES FOR GAS? YEAH. ARE Y'ALL DOING THAT CURRENTLY IN THE CITY? OUR, OUR, ALL OF OUR GAS LINES ARE BURIED. OKAY. BUT Y'ALL ARE REDOING SOME UPGRADING, I BELIEVE. UM, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT WE'RE DOING ACROSS THE CITY, SO I'D HAVE TO BE SPECIFIC. SO I ASK THAT BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT IN THE EAST END THAT IT'S, THAT'S HAPPENING ESSENTIALLY. UM, AND, AND IT REALLY MOVES ME INTO THE NEXT PART. RIGHT, OKAY. AS WE START LOOKING AT, UM, PREVENTING, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING ABOVE THE GROUND, YOU KNOW, I HEAR ALL THE TIME THAT IT'S TOO EXPENSIVE, BUT MM-HMM . Y'ALL DO HAVE SOME KIND OF PROGRAMS WHERE Y'ALL ARE, Y'ALL ARE DIGGING AND BARRELING, UH, GAS LINES AND UP UPDATING THESE THROUGHOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD. I, I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THAT COST IS THAT IS TOO EXPENSIVE BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE COULD START SHIFTING IN THAT DIRECTION, UM, SPECIFICALLY IN OLDER NEIGHBORHOODS. IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO, TO ENSURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT RESILIENCY IS BEING, UM, BEING THAT THAT TYPE OF INVESTMENT, YOU KNOW, IF THERE IS ANOTHER, IF THERE IS A RATE INCREASE, THAT TYPE OF INVESTMENT IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK FOLKS WILL BE INTERESTED IN HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT. SURE. YEAH. AND GAS LINES ARE TYPICALLY RELOCATED, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, WHEN IT'S A CITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT OR WE CALL PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT, THEY'RE REDOING THE ROAD, THEY'RE WIDENING THE ROAD OR THEY'RE ADDING DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE. UH, WE'RE ALWAYS WILLING TO WORK AND LOOK AT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES. BUT I WOULD, WHAT I WOULD TELL YOU THOUGH IS THE CHALLENGE HISTORICALLY IN DOING THAT FROM THE ELECTRIC PERSPECTIVE IS WHEN THEY, UH, DO THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS IS BECAUSE THEY WANT TO INCREASE THE DRAINAGE. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THESE BIG HUGE CONCRETE JARS THEY'RE PUTTING IN, AND A LOT OF TIMES WE STRUGGLE TO HAVE ROOM TO PUT IN OUR GAS LINES TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. UM, THERE ARE TIMES THAT WE HAVE TO PUT IT 30 FEET IN THE GROUND OR DO SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES JUST TO TRY TO WORK AROUND THAT CONSTRUCTION. AND SO IF THERE IN THEORY IS ENOUGH RIGHT AWAY AND ROOM FOR US TO BE ABLE TO PUT ON OUR CONDUIT AND OUR VAULTS FOR OUR UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC, UM, YEAH, WE WOULD CONSIDER IT. BUT I WOULD TELL YOU THAT THAT'S VERY, VERY, VERY UNCOMMON. UM, THAT'S REALLY THE CHALLENGE IS WE HAVE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, OUR, YOU KNOW, IS A CITY WILLING [00:40:01] TO GO OUT AND GET MORE PROPERTY TO ALLOW THE SPACE FOR THAT INFRASTRUCTURE TO GO IN UNDERGROUND. IF I CAN JUST MAKE A QUICK COMMENT. UM, CURRENTLY WITH THE EXPANSION THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN BEHIND THE GEORGE R. BROWN MM-HMM . THEY'RE PLACING THOSE DUCK BOXES WHERE UTILITY CAN GO INTO, WE'VE BROUGHT IT UP TO SITTER POINT. MM-HMM . CAN THEY BURY THE LINES OUT, UH, IN THE EAST DOWNTOWN AREA? WE STILL HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING, BUT THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE, THEY ARE DOING THAT TYPE OF WORK. AND WE'D LOVE TO SEE THOSE LINES BURIED, UH, ALONG EMANCIPATION. YEAH. WE'D, WE, WE'LL LOOK AT IT. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN. THANK YOU CHAIR. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. UM, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT A LOT ABOUT THE VEGETATION TRIMMING, BUT IS THERE A SPECIFIC PLACE FOR RESIDENTS TO GO TO SUBMIT, YOU KNOW, VEGETATION THAT THEY MAY SEE THAT ARE OVERPOWER LINES? I MEAN, I KNOW Y'ALL CAN'T BE EVERYWHERE. YES, THEY CAN. UM, AND I APOLOGIZE, I DON'T HAVE IT WITH ME DIRECTLY. I KNOW THEY CAN CALL 7 1 3 2 0 7 2 2 2 2 AND THEY CAN PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION AND WE'LL GET THAT TO THEM. WE DO HAVE, UM, A PLACE ON OUR WEBSITE. UM, I DON'T KNOW, AND MAYBE IF JOHN, YOU HAVE THE LOCATE, YOU KNOW, THE WEBSITE LOCATION OR IF A, IF A CUSTOMER WANTS TO GET A TREE REMOVED FROM THEIR YARD, IT WOULD BE THE NUMBER YOU PROVIDED. OKAY. OKAY. AND, UM, I WAS AT A SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING LAST NIGHT AND AS SOMEBODY MENTIONED THAT I GUESS CENTERPOINT HAD COME OUT AND DONE SOME TREE TRIMMING OVER POWER LINES, BUT THERE WERE OTHER LINES ON THE SAME POLES MM-HMM . THAT WERE NOT NECESSARILY POWER LINES. MAYBE THEY WERE AT AND T LINES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. AND THEY MENTIONED THAT IT LOOKED LIKE CENTERPOINT HAD DID A GOOD JOB TRIMMING AROUND THE POWER LINES, BUT THERE WERE STILL A LOT OF VEGETATION MM-HMM . UM, ALONG SOME OF THESE OTHER LINES. SO IS IT THE RESPONSIBILITY THEN, YOU KNOW, IF AT AND T TAKES CARE OF THE POWER LINE TRIMMING THEN FOR WHOEVER HAS LINES ALSO ON YOUR POLES? THAT IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. WE'RE ONLY RESPONSIBLE AND DO THE TRIMMING AROUND OUR FACILITIES. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF TIMES WHEN CUSTOMERS, IT, IT, IT'S VERY CONFUSING TO UNDERSTAND WHO, WHAT VEGETATION BELONGS TO WHO. AND UH, SOMETIMES WE'LL GET MULTIPLE CALLS 'CAUSE WE'LL ADDRESS OUR VEGETATION, BUT THE, THE, THE TELECOM LINES STILL HAVE VEGETATION ON THERE, BUT WE DO NOT TRIM THOSE AS A RESPONSIBILITY OF THE, UH, TELECOM COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY THAT OWNS THOSE LINES. AND, UM, FROM THAT SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING, THE CONSTITUENT ASKED, SO DO THE TELECOM LINES, DO THEY PAY A FEE TO CENTER POINT TO USE YOUR POLES? THEY DO, YES. OKAY. AND, UM, BESIDES BEING COST PROHIBITED FOR BEARING LINES, IS THAT REALLY THE ONLY REASON WHY, YOU KNOW, I GUESS LAND SPACE AND THE COST OF IT, BUT ARE THERE OTHER REASONS WHY ELECTRICAL LINES WOULD NOT BE BURIED? YEAH, THERE'S, THERE'S A LITANY OF THEM. UM, AND I WANT TO REITERATE, WE ARE OPENING OR WE ARE OPEN TO BEARING OUR LINES. WE ARE GONNA CONSIDER THAT. AND OUR RESILIENCY PLAN, UH, I I REFER TO THAT AS STRATEGIC UNDERGROUND. UM, AND, AND KEEP IN MIND, SINCE 1966, WE'VE BEEN UNDERGROUNDING OUR FACILITIES. IT'S BEEN OUR STANDARD CONSTRUCTION FROM THE EIGHTIES. SO EVERYTHING THAT WE DO IS NEW CONSTRUCTION. SO THE CHALLENGE IS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WE WENT INTO IN PROVIDE POWER AND 1905, YOU KNOW, THOSE EASEMENTS AREN'T THE KIND OF EASEMENTS THAT WE'RE GETTING TODAY WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION. AND THEN THEIR BACKYARD EASEMENTS WHERE POOLS HAVE BEEN BUILT, TREES, BACKYARDS, ALL THE LANDSCAPING'S BEEN ESTABLISHED. AND THEN WE WANT TO GO BACK AND TRY TO LOOK AT UNDERGROUNDING THOSE, AND THAT'S WHERE THOSE EXPENSES COME IN. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT REALLY MAKES A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE. AND THEN AGAIN, ARE THOSE CUSTOMERS WILLING TO GIVE US EXTRA 10 FEET THAT WE NEED TO PROBABLY PUT THOSE FACILITIES IN THERE? UM, WHEN WE DO, UH, LIKE A LOT OF WHAT WE SEE IN, IN HOUSTON WHEN WE HAVE THESE, UM, HOMES THAT COULD BE DEMOED AND A CUSTOMER DOESN'T WANNA SEE THOSE LINES, THEY'LL PAY TO HAVE THEIR LINE UNDERGROUND. BUT REALLY WHAT THAT IS, IS A TERMINAL POLE FROM THEIR NEIGHBOR RUNS UNDERGROUND AND RUNS UP THE NEXT TERMINAL POLE IN THEIR OTHER NEIGHBOR. AND THAT REALLY DOESN'T HELP THE RESILIENCY PIECE. 'CAUSE I'VE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE ASK, CAN WE JUST GO AHEAD AND, AND JUST UNDERGROUND MINE AND EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY? NO, IT'S NOT. UM, SO THEN WHERE DOES IT MAKE SENSE? UH, WE FEEL THINGS LIKE HIGHWAY CROSSINGS. UH, WHEN WE HAD THAT TORNADO IN JANUARY, THERE WAS A LINE ACROSS I 45 THAT SHUT DOWN TRAFFIC FOR SEVERAL HOURS. THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY. UM, SOME OF THESE CRITICAL CIRCUITS OR AREAS WHERE WE HAVE THE WIDER [00:45:01] EASEMENTS, THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE. UM, WHEN YOU'RE MITIGATING AREAS THAT ARE WILDFIRE PRONE, THAT COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT. UM, SO YEAH, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES. UM, EVEN LOOKING AT HOW FAR WE GO FROM THE SUBSTATION AND, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, GETTING THAT FEEDER CIRCUIT IS PROBABLY WOULD BE THE PRIORITY TO LOOK AT TO GET UNDERGROUND. THANK YOU. UH, PUT ME BACK IN THE QUEUE PLEASE. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ELKHORN. THANK YOU CHAIR. SOMEONE SENT ME AN ARTICLE AFTER THIS STORM. UM, IT WAS ABOUT FLORIDA LIGHTING AND POWER. UM, AFTER HURRICANE MATTHEW OR, OR DURING HURRICANE MATTHEW, THERE WAS LIKE, THEY, THEY PROACTIVELY SHUT DOWN, UH, SHUT OFF THE, THE, THE POWER IN LIKE THE ST. AUGUSTINE AREA. IT ENDED UP BEING A GOOD CALL. 'CAUSE EVERYBODY WAS RESTORED FASTER, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT'S HARD 'CAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE IT'S GOING, BUT DOES THAT EVER HAPPEN OR WOULD THAT EVER BE CONSIDERED AND I, I DON'T, I GUESS IT 'CAUSE IT SAVES TIME ON THE BACK END IF YOU CUT IT OFF BEFORE, BEFORE THE DAMAGE IS DONE. UM, NO, IT'S, I MEAN, IF IT REALLY DOESN'T HAVE ANY EFFECT ON THE RESTORATION EFFORT, BECAUSE IF THE LINES ARE UP, THE LINES ARE UP. THE RESTORATION EFFORT IS REALLY BASED ON ARE WE GONNA REPLACE OR REPAIR. YEAH. UM, AND SO MY UNDERSTANDING, AND I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH FLORIDA POWER AND LIFE PRACTICE OR HURRICANE MATTHEW, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE WOULD TYPICALLY CONSIDER IF THERE'S FLOODING. YEAH. AND I THINK THAT WAS MORE OF A FLOOD EVENT. AND SO THAT WOULD BE THE RECENT BEING. AND BECAUSE FOR REASONS WHEN WE HAVE POWER LINES THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY UNDERGROUND, BUT CROSSING A BRIDGE OR BELOW A BRIDGE, AND WHEN YOU SEE HIGH WATERS AND THEY'RE ON A BOAT, THEY COULD GET IN CONTACT WITH POWER LINES. SO THOSE ARE THE CONCERNS. OKAY. UM, TALK TO ME ABOUT STANDARDS THAT YOU GIVE THE CONTRACTORS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, CLEARING THE VEGETATION, RESTORING THE THINGS. IS EVERYBODY OPERATING KIND OF WITH THE SAME SET OF STANDARDS? I MEAN, EVERYBODY'S A PROFESSIONAL AND THAT'S WHAT THEY DO. BUT YES. HOW DOES CENTERPOINT KIND OF GUIDE THAT PROCESS? WE, WE HAVE A VERY SPECIFIC SET OF STANDARDS. UH, OUR EASEMENTS ARE CLEARLY DEFINED. UM, WE'RE WITHIN A 10 FOOT EASEMENT FOR OUR, WHICH IS THE GROUND EASEMENT WHERE OUR POLES GO IN. AND THEN APPROXIMATELY 15 FEET ABOVE THAT IS WHAT WE REFER TO AS OUR AERIAL EASEMENT. MM-HMM . AND THAT GOES UP, UH, THAT'S 30 FEET WIDE. SO WE TRIM WITHIN THERE. UM, THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO TROUBLE, UH, TO, TO TREE TRIM. BUT SOMETIMES THE ISSUES THAT WE HAVE CUSTOMERS ARE, UM, THEY, THEY DON'T PREFER THAT 30 FEET OF TREE TRIMMING AND, UH, FOR US TO GET ACCESS INTO THE BACKYARD AND WORK WITH THEM. WE TRY TO DO, UH, WHAT WE CAN. UM, BUT YEAH, THAT'S, IT'S, IT IS CLEARLY DEFINED WHAT OUR EASEMENT RIGHTS ARE. OKAY. AND FINALLY ON THE AI PIECE MM-HMM . UM, I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA HAVE MORE INFORMATION ON THAT LATER, BUT TELL ME THE TYPES OF, I MEAN, ARE YOU GONNA BE ABLE TO LIKE, SEE DEAD TREES OR, I MEAN, LIKE WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IS AI LOOKING FOR? UH, EXACTLY. UM, SO THE THINGS THAT WE JUST IMPLEMENTED IS WHAT WE CALL LIDAR AND AERIAL IMAGERY. SO WE HAVE PLANES THAT CAN ACTUALLY GET THREE DIMENSIONAL VIEWS ALL THE WAY AROUND OUR LINES. SOMETIMES THAT'S INCORPORATED WITH SATELLITE IMAGERY. AND, UH, THAT COULD HELP US BE MORE EFFICIENT AND STRATEGIC WHEN IT COMES TO THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT. 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW WE GO BY THE CIRCUIT AND WE START FROM THE SUBSTATION AND WE TRIM ALL THE WAY DOWN. AND AS YOU KNOW, SOME AREAS HAVE TREES, SOME AREAS DON'T. SOME OF THAT ARE BAD, SOME ARE NOT AS BAD. WE CAN ACTUALLY IDENTIFY THROUGH THAT PROCESS THE MOST HIGH RISK AREAS. AND, AND EXCUSE ME WHEN I SAY THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA, 'CAUSE FOR US, WE, THAT'S WHAT WE REFER TO AS THE METRO, THE WHOLE AREA. AND SO I APOLOGIZE FOR, YOU KNOW, USING THAT TERM. THAT'S OKAY. BUT FOR THE 2.8 MILLION CUSTOMERS THAT WE SERVE, THAT ALLOWS US TO DO IT THAT QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY SO WE CAN, UH, IDENTIFY WHERE WE NEED TO TRIM SPECIFICALLY. GREAT. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO. THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, I WANT TO GO BACK TO THE SUBJECT OF POLES. MM-HMM . UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT, UH, BARREL AND THE DERECHO, DID ANY OF THE NON-WOOD POLES FAIL? NO, I DID NOT. OKAY. SO DID ANY OF THE WOOD POLES THAT ARE NEWER AND AT A HIGHER STANDARD FAIL? NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF, NO. OKAY. SO THOSE ALL HELD UP FROM THE TWO PREVIOUS STORMS MM-HMM . UM, SO THAT'S VERY ENCOURAGING TO HEAR SINCE THOSE ARE PART OF THE MIX OF, OF WHAT IS GOING INTO THE REPLACEMENT POLES. UM, IN TERMS OF [00:50:01] THE MOBILE GENERATORS, I DIDN'T SEE THEM AS PART OF THE RESILIENCY INITIATIVE HERE. IS THERE A PLAN TO, UH, INCORPORATE MOBILE GENERATORS, UH, INTO ANY FUTURE, YOU KNOW, RESILIENCY EFFORTS IN HOUSTON? SO THEY ARE A PART OF OUR RESILIENCY EFFORT NOW. UM, WE DON'T SEE ANYTHING, UH, FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE ON HOW THAT WOULD CHANGE. SO THE RESILIENCY PLAN IS ABOUT THE INVESTMENT AND THE OPPORTUNITY OF THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO. UM, THE MOBILE GEN, WE ALREADY HAVE THOSE GENERATORS AND WE WORKED DURING BARREL AS WELL AS THE DIRE SHOW TO UH, IMPLEMENT THOSE. UM, AND KEEP IN MIND, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BASICALLY WHAT I, WE, WE HAVE MULTIPLE SIZES OF GENERATORS, BUT I KIND OF CLASSIFY 'EM AS TWO TYPES. WE HAVE THE VERY, VERY SUPER LARGE, UH, 130 MEGAWATT, UH, GENERATORS THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE BASICALLY A SUBSTATION LEVEL. THOSE ARE SPECIFICALLY USED FOR LOAD SHEDDING VENTS LIKE WINTER STORM URI. THOSE WILL NOT WORK DURING A RESTORATION EFFORT UNLESS FOR SOME REASON WE LOSE LIKE A TRANSMISSION LINE, FOR EXAMPLE. AND WE HAVE TO POWER UP A SUBSTATION. BUT THESE AREN'T THE TYPE OF GENERATORS THAT ARE RUN HOMES. THERE'S NOT ENOUGH LOAD, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH PEAK CAPACITY THAT WOULD EVEN BE ABLE TO GET THAT GENERATOR RUNNING AND WORKING. BUT WE HAVE A FLEET OF SMALLER GENERATORS OF VARIOUS SIZES THAT WE DO HAVE FOR THE RESTORATION EFFORT. AND THAT WAS BECAUSE OF THE LEGISLATION LAST YEAR THAT ALLOWED US TO INCORPORATE THAT IN THE MOBILE GEN. BECAUSE ORIGINALLY THE LEGISLATION WAS VERY SPECIFIC THAT IT WAS FOR PEAK LOAD EVENTS SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, A, A LOAD SHEDDING EVENT THAT WOULD BE IN THE SUMMER OR THE WINTER. UM, NOW THAT THE LEGISLATION ALLOWED US TO HAVE THE SMALLER UNITS, THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WERE DEPLOYED, UH, IN THE AREAS TO HELP, UH, RECOVER, UH, TEMPORARY POWER WHILE WE'RE DOING THE RESTORATION. SO THEY ARE A PART OF YOUR RESILIENCY EFFORTS MM-HMM . THEY'RE JUST NOT NECESSARILY SPECIFICALLY IN THIS INITIATIVE HERE. CORRECT. THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE ARE DOING, YOU KNOW, ON THE RESILIENCY PERSPECTIVE. UM, COMMUNICATIONS, WORKING WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, INVESTING IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT THE RESILIENCY FILING PIECE IS SPECIFIC TO WHAT WILL BE ON THAT RESILIENCY RECOVERY, UH, AND APPROVAL OF THE CAPITAL INVESTMENTS THAT WE WANT TO DO TO MAKE OUR SYSTEM MORE STRONG AND ROBUST. OKAY. I HAVE JUST ONE QUICK QUESTION, UM, AND THEN I'M DONE WITH QUESTIONS. , . UM, ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH, UH, PRIVATE COMPANIES THAT WILL COME IN, PROVIDE BACKUP, YOU KNOW, GENERATOR POWER TO, UH, FACILITIES IN THE EVENT OF A, OF A DISASTER OR AN EMERGENCY? WELL, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE USING. SO THESE UNITS THAT WE'RE USING, WE DON'T OWN THEM. THE LEGISLATION IS VERY SPECIFIC. AND SO WE WENT OUT AND, AND TOOK BIDS ON THESE COMPANIES THAT DO THAT BECAUSE IT'S CLEAR THAT WE HAVE TO LEASE FROM THESE. UM, THAT WAS ONE OF THE, THE QUESTIONS DURING POST BARREL WITH THAT DISCUSSION IS THAT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE. MM-HMM . UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WILLING TO CONSIDER THAT, BUT IT IS THE THIRD PARTIES THAT DO IT AND WE ALSO COORDINATE WITH OUR NEIGHBORING UTILITIES TO HELP SUBSIDIZE THOSE COSTS. SO EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE A, UH, BASICALLY A LEASE AGREEMENT THAT THEY'RE THERE FOR OUR USE, WE CAN RELEASE THEM. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN AUSTIN POWER HAD THEIR WINTER STORM EVENT THAT WE SHIPPED THEM UP THERE AND ALLOW THEM TO USE THEM. AND IT'S ALSO A SHARING PROGRAM. SO DURING BARREL ENCORE ACTUALLY HAD SENT SOME OF THEIR UNITS THAT THEY HAD DOWN TO HELP US AS WELL. GREAT. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . THANK YOU. UH, UH, RELATIVE TO THAT, I JUST WOULD'VE WENT OUT THAT ON SOME OF THE INFORMATION I HAD, UH, LOOKED AT, UH, BY AUGUST 31ST OR FIVE DAYS, FIVE DAYS AFTER. YOU WERE LOOKING AT AS RELATES TO TEMPER TEMPORARY GENERATORS, THE EXPANSION OF THAT, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. THESE ARE SMALLER UNITS, CORRECT. FOR THE RESTORATION EVENT. TEMPORARY GENERATORS INFORMED BY THE NEEDS OF CRITICAL, SPECIFIC TO CRITICAL CARE FACILITIES. LIKE, UH, UM, YES. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING, UM, AND THIS WAS AN EFFORT FOR, UM, UH, AGAIN REACHING OUT TO OUR COMMUNITIES AND REALIZING THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR BACKUP GENERATION. UM, THERE ARE MULTI-SERVICE CENTERS THAT PROVIDE A LOT OF THINGS FOR THE COMMUNITIES. AND WHAT WE HEARD WAS, YOU KNOW, WE DO UNDERSTAND YOU'RE HIT WITH A HURRICANE. IF I'M OUT FIVE TO SIX DAYS, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I ALSO [00:55:01] NEED THE SERVICE CENTER UP. DIDN'T HAVE BACKUP GENERATION. WE DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GO. WE DON'T KNOW. AND BECAUSE OF THE COMMUNICATION, WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT'S GONNA BE. WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE OUR PLANS. AND SO WE WERE, UH, WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE HAVE LOOKED AT A LOT OF THESE COMMUNITY CENTERS. UH, WE REACHED OUT CITY OF HOUSTON, UH, THE OTHER COUNTIES THAT WE SERVE TO GENERATE, UH, TO DONATE GENERATORS SPECIFIC FOR THESE AREAS, UH, IN AN EFFORT TO JUST, UH, HELP THE COMMUNITY FOR A FUTURE, UH, EVENT. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN. THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, I'M GONNA GO BACK TO DCRF IN JUST A MINUTE. OKAY. BUT FIRST, UH, YOU SAID THE TARGET, I BELIEVE FOR JULY, AUGUST TO TREE TRIM WAS 2000 POWER LINE MILES. HOW MANY POWER LINE MILES ARE REMAINING? SO YOU'VE SAID WHAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE FOR 12 COUNTIES, BUT WHAT'S REMAINING? SO WE HAVE OUR STANDARD VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM THAT WE DO ANNUALLY. AND THAT GOES PLUS AND MINUS DEPENDING ON THE WEATHER AND EVENTS THAT WE HAD, THE 2000 MILES WAS IN ADDITION TO. AND SO THAT WAS ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT WE NORMALLY TRIM AND THAT WAS OUR EFFORT TO DEMONSTRATE ONE WAY TO HELP MAKE OUR SYSTEM MORE RESILIENT. SHOULD WE HAVE A STORM COME THIS AUGUST OF SEPTEMBER. RIGHT. SO, SO IS THERE ANY REMAINING, ARE YOU DECLARING MISSION COMPLETE? NO, WE ARE STILL TRIMMING. OKAY. SO HOW MANY? YEAH, WE ARE NO . YEAH, I APPRECIATE IT. BUT NO, WE ARE NOT DUN TREE TRIMMING. THAT'S RIGHT. SO HOW MANY MILES ARE LEFT? UM, WE DON'T GO BY WHAT'S LEFT. WE GO BY, UM, TRADITIONALLY WHAT WE HAVE WITH THIS, WHAT'S IN OUR BUDGET SPEND, UM, THEN PLUS OR MINUS WHAT WE FEEL LIKE IS NECESSARY. UM, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, LAST YEAR, UM, PROBABLY RIGHT AROUND THIS TIME WE HAD SPENT THE $29 MILLION, BUT WE COMMITTED RIGHT. TO MAKE, AND I DON'T WANNA CUT YOU OFF, I JUST, I HAVE A SHORT TIME. AGAIN, ALL I'M ASKING IS YOU'RE SAYING YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MANY MILES, BUT YOU'RE DOING ASSESSMENTS. I'M ASKING WHAT THE REMAINDER OF THAT WORK TO BE DONE IS TO BE DEFINED, BUT WE, WE WILL BE TRIMMING THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE YEAR. OKAY. SO I THINK AS COUNSEL WE WOULD LIKE AN ANSWER ON HOW MUCH IS REMAINING, UH, ON AS IT RELATES TO RE SAME QUESTION WITH INSTALLING STORM RESILIENT POLLS. MM-HMM . UM, Y'ALL ARE SAYING HOW MANY YOU'VE DONE, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW FOR THE HOUSTON REGION, I'M NOT ASKING ABOUT OTHER COUNTIES, BUT FOR HARRIS COUNTY, HOW MANY POLLS REMAIN TO BE REPLACED. OKAY. SO YOU CAN GET THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU. OKAY. AND THEN, UM, Y'ALL SAID YOU WERE DOING ASSESSMENTS, WHICH I THINK IS, WE AP AGAIN, APPRECIATE. WE, WE HAVE A LOT OF TILTING PULLS. SO WHEN Y'ALL ARE DOING YOUR ASSESSMENTS, ARE YOU DOING, YOU KNOW, BLOCK BY BLOCK AT THIS POINT? OR HOW ARE YOU DOING THOSE ASSESSMENTS? YEAH, SO, UH, WHEN WE DO OUR POLE INSPECTION PROGRAM, AND KEEP IN MIND, UM, THE AMOUNT OF POLES THAT WE IDENTIFIED THAT NEED TO LIKE THESE 2000, THAT'S THROUGH ASSESSING TENS AND TENS OF THOUSANDS OF POLES. PART OF THAT PROCESS IS TO LOOK AT LEANING POLES. UM, THERE IS A CERTAIN DEGREE THAT WE LOOK AT WHEN, UM, UH, THEY EXCEED THAT, THAT WE WILL REPLACE THEM. UH, AT TIMES IF, IF YOU SEE ONE OR OUR CUSTOMERS SEE ONE, WE ASK US TO CALL US IN AND LET US KNOW. WE'LL GO AND LOOK AT 'EM. BUT YEAH, THAT IS A CONSIDERATION FOR OUR, OUR PROGRAM. SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO TELL RESIDENTS. 'CAUSE WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF THE LEANING POLES. SOME MAY HAVE BEEN ASSESSED, SOME MAY HAVE NOT THEY, BUT TO PLEASE REPORT TO CENTER POINT, PLEASE REPORT IT. THAT'S THE BEST THING TO DO. GREAT. ABSOLUTELY. ALONG THE SAME LINE, VEGETATION RESTORING POLES, STRENGTHENING THOSE POLES COMES FIRST. BUT WITH ALL OF THE TELECOMS THAT RIDE ON Y'ALL'S LINES MM-HMM . AROUND THE ENTIRE CITY, THERE ARE LINES DANGLING AND THEY MAY NOT BE POSING A SAFETY RISK RIGHT NOW MM-HMM . BECAUSE AGAIN, THEY'RE A TELECOM LINE, BUT IT'S EMBARRASSING. MM-HMM . UH, THIS DOES NOT REFLECT THE CALIBER CITY THAT HOUSTON IS. IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR A RESIDENT TO IDENTIFY WHO THAT LINE IS. SO I KNOW THAT THERE'S LITTLE CODING AND STUFF, BUT IF YOU'RE JUST DRIVING BY, THERE'S NO WAY. BUT IT, AROUND DISTRICT C I'M SURE IN OTHER DISTRICTS YOU CAN GO BLOCK BY BLOCK AND SEE LINES DANGLING EVERYWHERE MONTHS LATER. SO WHAT IS, AGAIN, CENTERPOINT OWNS THAT, I UNDERSTAND IT'S ALSO THE OTHER TELECOM AND UTILITIES ROLES TO DO THOSE REPAIRS, BUT ARE YOU BRINGING THEM TO THE TABLE? ARE YOU DOING THOSE ASSESSMENTS? BECAUSE WE ARE NOT SEEING ANYTHING BEING DONE ABOUT THESE LINES HANGING IN EVERY SINGLE NEIGHBORHOOD RIGHT NOW. UH, UNDERSTOOD. AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO THOSE TELECOMS, WE MADE THEM AWARE. UH, WE HAVE DONE ASSESSMENTS. UH, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK WITH THEM TO GET THOSE FACILITIES REMOVED. UNDERSTAND THAT IS NOT [01:00:01] SOMETHING THAT WE CAN WORK ON. JUST LIKE THEY CAN'T WORK ON OUR FACILITIES. SO WE ARE AT THEIR MERCY ON WHEN THEY WANT TO SCHEDULE AND PLAN AND DO THAT WORK. SO, UM, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN. YEAH, BUT HOW DO WE EVEN KNOW IF IT, IF IT IS, I MEAN, AGAIN, I, I HAVE NOWHERE TO REPORT. IT'S, IT CAN'T BE REPORTED THROUGH 3 1 1, AND IT'S NOT A CITY RESPONSIBILITY. I UNDERSTAND THEY'RE PAYING Y'ALL. MM-HMM . BUT SOMETHING'S GOTTA GOTTA GIVE. SO IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, BUT AGAIN, RESIDENTS DESERVE TO NOT HAVE LINES DANGLING IN THEIR YARDS AT THIS POINT. UM, I, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T WANT TO, I KNOW YOU'RE SAYING THAT YOUR CENTER POINT'S AT THEIR MERCY, BUT THERE'S GOTTA, SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE WITH THAT. YEAH. AND MAYBE WE COULD FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET THAT INFORMATION TO CUSTOMERS. THEY KNOW WHO TO CONTACT DIRECTLY. THAT MIGHT, MAYBE THAT'LL BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO WHATEVER Y'ALL, Y'ALL NEED TO DO. BUT THE LINE'S GOTTA, THEY, THEY HAVE TO GET CLEANED UP. UH, AND I KNOW I NEED TO GO BACK IN QUEUE ONE. JUST GENERAL QUESTION THOUGH. ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE MORE REPAIRS HAD TO BE RE UH, HAD TO BE MADE? WHETHER THAT'S VEGETATION, WHETHER THAT'S POLES, CAN YOU IDENTIFY IN THE HOUSTON REGION WHERE THERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF DAMAGE? WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT FOR A BARREL? YES. UM, REALLY WHAT WE SAW WAS WIDESPREAD THROUGHOUT OUR WHOLE REGION. UM, AND I WOULD SAY IF YOU LOOK AT SPECIFICALLY WHERE THE GREATER AREAS WHERE THE DAMAGE WAS, IT WOULD BE THE TREES. AND THE AREAS THAT TOOK THE LONGEST TO RESTORE WAS BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE TO REPAIR THE, THE FALLEN POLE LINES, BUT WE HAVE TO CLEAR ALL THAT VEGETATION MANAGEMENT. AND SO THOSE WERE THE AREAS WHERE IT'S TREES. THAT'S WHERE IT TAKES THE LONGEST WHEN YOU GO TO AREAS LIKE OAK FOREST, GARDEN OAKS, DISTRICT C, SPRING BRANCH, UH, KINGWOOD, UM, IT'S THE TREES. THANK YOU. AND BACKING QUEUE. MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S OFFICE. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. GOOD AFTERNOON, BRAD. UM, BACK TO THE ISSUE OF BEARING THE POWER LINES. MM-HMM . WE, WE, WE CONTINUALLY HEAR THE REFRAIN THAT IT'S TOO EXPENSIVE, IT'S TOO EXPENSIVE. HAS THERE BEEN ANY DISCUSSION WITH THE CITY ABOUT WHEN THERE'S LARGE STREET RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS TO MAYBE BURY THE LINES AT THAT POINT WHEN EVERYTHING'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION? WOULD IT, ARE THERE ANY COST SAVINGS THERE? OR IT'S STILL OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE? THAT, THAT'S A FAIR QUESTION. UM, A FEW THINGS. ONE, AGAIN, WE'RE ALWAYS WILLING TO CONSIDER IT. UM, AND TWO, WHEN WE DO THESE RELOCATION PROJECTS, BECAUSE YOU'RE EITHER DOING ROAD WIDENING OR DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS, THIS IS JUST A SMALL SECTION. AND SO DOES IT ALWAYS MAKE SENSE, AGAIN, WHEN I USE LIKE THE HOME VERSION OF JUST ONE INDIVIDUAL, IS THAT STREET, IS THAT REALLY WHERE THE UNDERGROUNDING NEEDS TO BE WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT BENEFIT TO THE CUSTOMER OF HAVING A RESILIENCY PIECE OF IT? THAT IS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION THAT HAS TO BE ANSWERED. IT MAY OR MAY NOT. AND THEN IS IT A LONG ENOUGH, A BIG ENOUGH PROJECT WHERE THAT WOULD BE THE CASE? UM, THEN AS, UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT A LOT OF THESE INFRASTRUCTURE, THERE'S OTHER UTILITIES THAT ARE IN THERE. UH, THERE'S, UH, THE GAS LINES, THERE'S TELECOM, AND THEN WHEN YOU HAVE THESE BIG JARS THAT YOU HAVE, UH, IS THERE ROOM FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT? UM, AND I, I CAN SHARE WITH YOU AS AN ENGINEER, A LOT OF TIMES WHEN THESE PROJECTS ARE BEING DESIGNED, THEY DON'T DESIGN FOR UTILITIES. UM, THEY DESIGN THE ROADS AND THEN THEY GIVE US THE PLANS AND THEY SAID, HERE'S WHERE WE'RE MOVING. WHERE CAN YOU PUT YOUR LINES? AND OUR QUESTION IS, I DON'T KNOW. SO, UM, IF MAYBE THERE WAS SOME PREEMPTIVE CONSIDERATIONS, MAYBE WE COULD WORK WITH YOUR DESIGNERS AHEAD OF TIME AND MAYBE LOOK AT THIS FROM A, AN AREA WE COULD IDENTIFY, UM, KEY PLACES OR LOCATIONS THAT WOULD BE GOOD TO UNDERGROUND. AND THEN, UH, YOU COULD SAY, WELL, THAT'S GREAT 'CAUSE THREE YEARS FROM NOW WE'RE GONNA REDO THAT ROAD. THAT'S WHERE WE CAN GET IN. WE COULD WORK WITH YOUR ENGINEERS TO, TO CONSIDER THE, HOW WE COULD INCORPORATE THAT DESIGN IN THERE. THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. OKAY, GREAT. UM, ALSO, IS THERE ANY ISSUE, OBVIOUSLY WE FLOOD AND WE'RE, WHAT, 20 FEET ABOVE THE WATER TABLE FLOOD, WHAT IT'S ABOVE SEA LEVEL. WOULD THAT AFFECT BEARING LINES OR NO? ABSOLUTELY. UM, AND I WILL TELL YOU UNDERGROUNDING, THE LINES IS NOT ALWAYS THE ANSWER. UM, SEVERAL OF OUR CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE UNDERGROUND FACILITIES OR WITHOUT POWER DURING BARREL, UM, SOME OF THESE CIRCUIT LINES THAT FEED THESE UNDERGROUND NEIGHBORHOODS ARE ABOVE GROUND. AND SO, UH, IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE ANSWER. AND THEN THE CHALLENGE IS WHEN YOU HAVE THESE UNDERGROUND LINES THAT GO OUT, DOES IT TAKE LONGER TO REPAIR? IT DOES THERE BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE [01:05:01] ACCESS TO IT. AND WE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT WATER RESIDES BEFORE WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO GO IN THERE AND MAKE THAT REPAIR. AND SO THAT IS ANOTHER, THEY MIGHT NOT SEE THE EFFECTS OF THE WIND DAMAGE, BUT THEY CAN AND WILL AT TIMES SEE DAM OR ISSUES FROM THE FLOODING. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN? NO, YOU'RE NOT IN. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN. THANK YOU. UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT BEARING LINES IS NOT A ONE SIZE FIX ALL APPROACH. OKAY. UH, AND I THINK WE ALL RECOGNIZE THAT, BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT AREAS THAT DO BURY LINES, GENERALLY SPEAKING, HAVE HAD THEIR POWER SUSTAINED, UH, MORE EFFECTIVELY. YES, IT TAKES LONGER TO REPAIR IF THERE'S A PROBLEM, AND THAT'S A FACTOR. BUT IF WE WE'RE HOUSTON, IF WE PUT A MAN ON THE MOON, WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIT OUR UTILITIES INTO OUR CONSTRUCTION. AND WHEN WE HEAR NEW DEVELOPMENT, THAT'S GREAT. BUT HOUSTON, WE ARE SEEING SOME NEW DEVELOPMENT, BUT HOUSTON'S NOT HOUSTON'S BUILT. UM, WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO BE INVESTING IN BURYING LINES AS PART OF THE RESILIENCY PLAN WHERE WE CAN. SO I HOPE THAT WE SEE THAT COMING FORWARD. UM, GOING BACK TO DCRF, I JUST WANNA READ SOME NUMBERS OUT 'CAUSE I, I AGAIN WOULD LIKE SOME CLARIFICATION 'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE WE'RE CONFLATING BASE RATES WITH DCRF WITH MY QUESTION. IN 2014, UH, THERE WAS A $13 MILLION APPROVAL IN DCRF 20 16, 30 $2 MILLION, 2017, $13 MILLION, 20 18, 5 $0.6 MILLION, UH, 20 22, 77 $0.9 MILLION. 2023, THERE WERE TWO ROUNDS, 69.5 MILLION AND 72.9 MILLION. SO AGAIN, UM, WHEN I'M ASKING WHAT WERE THE ANNUAL RATES FOR MODERNIZATION, AND YOU'RE SAYING THAT THERE'S A FLAT RATE MM-HMM . THAT IT'S HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THROUGH DCRF THAT I'M ASSUMING WAS CHARGED TO THE CUSTOMERS? CORRECT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. UH, I, I WILL SAY, JUST ON THE RECORD, I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE, I DO BELIEVE THAT GIVEN EVERYTHING HOUSTON HAS GONE THROUGH, THAT HOUSTONIANS DESERVE A REFUND ON SOME OF THIS. SO, UM, JUST TO FOLLOW UP, UM, WHEN IT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT UNDERGROUNDING AND MENTION ABOUT THE RESTORATION EFFORTS, UH, I'LL USE KINGWOOD AS AN EXAMPLE. THE MAJORITY OF THAT IS UNDERGROUND. THEY WERE THE LAST ONES TO BE RESTORED. SO I KNOW THAT'S KIND OF THE PERCEPTION, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT'S NOT THE REALITY. AND WHEN WE GO TO THESE RATE CASES AND WHEN WE LOOK FOR COST OF THE RECOVERY, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S ALSO UP TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO SUPPORT THESE INVESTMENTS THAT WE WANT TO MAKE. AND A LOT OF THAT IS A PRODUCT OF THOSE AGREEMENTS THAT WE HAVE. NOW, WHEN IT COMES TO THE DCRF, WELL, HANG ON, BECAUSE THE, AS IT RELATES TO THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, UH, WE HAVE CHALLENGED THE RESILIENCY PLANS IN THE, IN THE PAST WE HAVE GONE AND SAID IT DOESN'T DO ENOUGH. WITH DCRF, WE HAVE ASKED MANY A QUESTION ON THEM, AND THE RESILIENCY SUBMISSIONS HAVE WAY LESS SCRUTINY AT THE PUC AND THE STATE LEVEL THAN DCRF DOES. SO THE RESPONSIBILITY OF HOUSTON AS A CITY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT AS A, AS RATE PAYERS, OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR CONSTITUENTS ARE GETTING WHAT THEY PAID FOR AND THAT IT'S REASONABLE. WELL, I WOULD DISAGREE WHEN WE'RE TALKING TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON ON, ON SETTLING THESE RAPE CASES THAT WE'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH, MY EXPERIENCE IS, UH, QUITE THE OPPOSITE. UM, AND, AND AGAIN, WHEN WE GO TO THE COST OF THE DCRF, UH, THOSE ARE TO RECOVER THE COST FOR THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE HAD. AND ONCE THOSE ARE APPROVED, THOSE ARE ADDED TO OUR RATE BASE. SO IF OUR CUSTOMERS REMAIN FLAT AND WE CONTINUALLY ADD TO THE RATE BASE, THEN YES, OUR RATES WOULD BE GOING UP. BUT WHEN WE'RE GROWING AT THE RATE THAT WE ARE, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE ADDING TO OUR RATE BASE, THAT IS BEING SPREAD OUT ACROSS MORE AND MORE CUSTOMERS. AND THAT'S THE REASON WHY WHEN WE ADD TO THAT RATE BASE, THAT THE ACTUAL RATES THE CUSTOMER RECEIVES REMAINS FLAT. THANK YOU. ANY MORE QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS? WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE IN THE QUEUE. UM, AT THIS TIME, WE'LL TAKE A MINUTE TO REMIND ANYONE WHO'S IN THE AUDIENCE, IF YOU DID NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIGN UP, THERE IS A SIGNUP SHEET TO SPEAK, UM, AT THE FRONT ON THE PRESS TABLE. UM, SO MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE FRONT IF YOU'D LIKE. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF SPEAKERS SIGNED UP. THANK YOU, BRAD, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. I'M SURE WE'LL HAVE MORE QUESTIONS, UM, UH, GOOD INFORMATION AS, AS YOU KNOW, AND, AND WE ALL KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE. IT'S NOT A, A QUICK FIX, BUT WE NEED TO, UH, [01:10:01] BE SURE THAT WE'RE LISTENING TO THE CONSTITUENTS AND THAT CENTER POINTS LISTENING TO US AND, AND THE COMMUNITY AS WELL. APPRECIATE, SO APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND, AND PRESENTATIONS, AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU. COUNSEL AND COMMITTEE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, FIRST UP WE'VE GOT DANNY ASPER. IS DANNY SAW HIM WALK OUT. HEY, DANNY. UH, HOW ARE YOU TODAY? I'M FINE. STEP OVER TO THIS MIC. IT'S ON. WELL, THEY'RE BOTH ON THIS ONE. YEAH, THAT'LL DO IT. OH, THERE WE GO. THANK YOU. OKAY. GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TWILA CARTER AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND RESILIENCE, UH, BOARD. I'M DANNY ASBERRY, L PRESIDENT OF SOEL INTERNATIONAL. OUR MISSION IS TO REVIVE COMMUNITIES THROUGH ARTS, CULTURE, EDUCATION, AND PRESERVATION. AND WE CURRENTLY WORK AS CREATIVE SOLUTIONS SPECIALIST FOR NORTHWOOD MANOR CIVIC CLUB, EAST HOUSTON CIVIC CLUB, AND SUNNYSIDE. WE ARE ALSO THE CREATORS OF THE 12 STEP RESILIENCY PLAN. FIRST I WANT TO EXPRESS, OH, SORRY ABOUT THAT. TODAY I'D LIKE TO SHARE, UH, SOME EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS REGARDING OUR PLAN AND ITS POTENTIAL POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE CITY'S RESILIENCE. FIRST, I WANT TO EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE FOR THE PRODUCTIVE DISCUSSIONS WE'VE HAD WITH CENTERPOINT ENERGY. UH, SINCE THEN, SINCE OUR LAST CONVERSATIONS, THEY SPOKE, UH, WELL, THEY'VE SHOWN A COMMENDABLE COMMITMENT TO UNDERSTANDING THEIR, INVOLVING THEIR EVOLVING ROLE IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THAT. AND ALSO, OUR 12 STEP PLAN IS DESIGNED TO ENHANCE HOUSTON'S PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE TO DISASTERS, IMPROVE ENERGY, RELIABILITY, AND CREATE A MORE SUSTAINABLE URBAN ENVIRONMENT. WE BELIEVE THAT BY WORKING ALONGSIDE CENTER POINT, WE CAN ADDRESS CRITICAL VULNERABILITIES IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITY READINESS. I'VE REACHED OUT TO ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS TO DISCUSS THEIR RESILIENCY INITIATIVE. I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE RESPONSES AND SUPPORT FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS. TWILA CARTER, COUNCIL MEMBER PULLARD, COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ACORN AND WILLIE DAVIS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSES AND, UH, SETTING UP TIMES FOR ME TO MEET YOU ALL. I'VE ALSO HAD PROMISING CONVERSATIONS WITH SERGEANT JACKSON'S OFFICE AS WELL, AND, UH, I HAVEN'T HEARD, AND THE ONES I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM YET. I LOOK FORWARD TO CONNECTING WITH THEM SOON TO SHARE OUR VISION MOVING FORWARD. WE'RE EAGER TO EXPAND OUR COLLABORATION AND WE SEEK TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE HOUSTON REAL ESTATE DIVISION AND THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. UH, THEIR EXPERTISE WILL BE CRUCIAL IN IMPLEMENTING OUR PLAN EFFECTIVELY ONCE WE GET TO THAT POINT. ADDITIONALLY, I LIKE TO REQUEST A MEETING WITH MAYOR WHITMEYER AND, UH, ALONGSIDE OF COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, CARTER, IF POSSIBLE TO DISCUSS IN DEPTH HOW THE CITY OF HOUSTON CAN CONTINUE TO BE A CONNECTOR TO A BRIGHTER, MORE RESILIENT FUTURE. YOUR LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT WILL BE INSTRUMENTAL IN BRINGING THIS PLAN TO FRUITION. IN CLOSING, I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A PLAN. IT'S A PATHWAY TO A STRONGER, MORE PREPARED HOUSTON. BY COMBINING THE EFFORTS OF SOLE, THE RESILIENCY COMMITTEE AND THE CITY WITH THE EFFORTS OF CENTER POINT, WE HAVE AN UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY TO SET A NEW STANDARD OF URBAN RESILIENCE. I'M ALSO LOOKING FORWARD TO GIVING OUR PRESENTATION AROUND OCTOBER 3RD, 2024. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU, DANNY. UH, I'M GLAD YOU CONNECTED WITH CENTERPOINT. UM, YOU KNOW, AND JUST KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ALSO, TOO, JUST YESTERDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AGAIN. THANK YOU. ALWAYS. THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS? COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. THANK YOU, CHAIRWOMAN. UH, JUST A QUICK QUESTION. WHAT SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD IS IT THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE SPEAKING TO? WHAT SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ARE YOU WITH? YEAH, SO WE ARE WITH, UH, SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD 47. OKAY. UH, N 48. UH, BUT WE ALSO EXPAND OUT OF THAT, UM, I FORGET THE NUMBER FOR SUNNYSIDE'S COMMUNITY, BUT WE DO WORK WITH THE SUNNYSIDE, UH, CIVIC CLUB AS WELL. OKAY. BECAUSE I DID RECEIVE AN EMAIL FROM 76 AND 77. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SUNNYSIDE. UM, BUT I, I HAVEN'T SEEN AN EMAIL YET. NORTHEAST. NORTHEAST, OKAY. YOU COULD 46, 47 IF YOU CAN. IT'S ALRIGHT. SEND THAT TO ME AND I'LL GIVE YOU A CARD. UM, SEND IT TO ME DIRECTLY. ALRIGHT, WILL DO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU DANNY, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. GOOD TO SEE YOU. ALRIGHT, GOOD TO SEE YOU. UH, NEXT UP WE HAVE MS. HALL. SHARON HALL. NO, SHARON HALL. CHANGE FOR BETTER. GOOD. NO, SHARON HALL. WELL, LOOKS LIKE WE'RE DONE. UM, WE HAVE NO FURTHER SPEAKERS, NO FURTHER QUESTIONS. IT'S UH, WHAT, 3 21 AND TIME TO SAY GOODNIGHT FOLKS. SO THANK YOU FOR [01:15:01] JOINING TODAY. AND BEFORE WE ADJOURN, LET'S MAKE NOTE OF THE NEXT MEETING, WHICH IS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3RD AT 10:00 AM BARRING NO ISSUES OR LITTLE UH, PROBLEMS THERE. WE'LL SEE YOU THEN. THANK YOU. Y'ALL HAVE A GOOD AFTERNOON. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.