Hey everyone, thank you for your patience.

We're just waiting for a quorum.

We have council members on their way right now, so we'll start shortly, okay?

Thank you.

All right, everyone.

We have a quorum now, so let's go ahead and get started.

Aaron, when you get settled, if you can start with roll call, please.

Good morning, Councilmember.

Good morning.

Councilmember Thomas present.

Councilmember Morel present.

Council Member Moreno present.

We have a quorum.

All right, thank you, Aaron.

Um, let me start with the approval of the minutes.

I'll make a motion to approve the minutes.

Seconded by President Morel.

All in favor.

I the minutes are approved.

All right, let me take item number three at the Distributed Energy Resources Program resolution.

I'm gonna make a quick statement before this, and then Aaron, I know you also have a presentation to take us through uh as well for the public.

So today's a big day.

Today, after many months of work with advocates, our CURO office, of course, uh other stakeholders as well.

We are announcing the beginning of New Orleans' first energy providing for homes and businesses.

This establishes a third program that will place hundreds of across New Orleans to increase sustainability and reliability.

The program has two main benefits.

First, it provides a backup source for when power goes out to protect and then second, and this is a piece that we've talked about, it creates this is that peaked controlled or high extra creation power.

What we're doing today is actually really it is the largest single and sustainability in New Orleans, and we haven't found any other anything to tell us differently.

So also the largest like this per capita in the country.

A little bit of how we got it was after Hurricane Ida that we committed to strengthen our power grid to better withstand storms.

We began with the resiliency docket for energy to strengthen our power through that millions of dollars worth of investments and mitigated cost to ratepayers by using grants and also credits.

Also program, combining solar and batteries for churches and other centers across the city to be able to be powered so that we could assist different neighborhoods and be a resource even when the power goes out.

We've worked hard to find solutions on ensuring one committed to doing things differently after Hurricane Ida to fixing our grid and redefining reliable electricity through investments not just in poles and wires but in our community.

Today's investment in nearly 30 million dollars in community-centric sustainability will save customers sturdy during outages, storms, and crisis.

Over the next several years, the DER program will help families and small businesses and institutions secure long-term suspend sustainability while building a stronger, more resilient grid.

What is happening today is groundbreaking and recognizes that the modern grid it has changed, and that we must change as regulators and leaders to adopt new technologies and strategies on cost for the people of so with that and Aaron, I'm gonna I've almost called you Energy.

Um over to you.

Thank you for a presentation for us, um, and also for uh walking the public through exactly what DER is here.

Council member, and our last meeting together as a group.

Uh and so I just want to acknowledge all of the hard work that you have done.

I mean, we started same day seven and a half years ago, and so thank you for your support.

Some of whom Byron, Bobby, Candy, Phony.

Um, we went to people and we're thinking see from how more involved and how much more approachable this whole area of utility regulation of this council and thank you for your leadership.

Uh thank you all for your support.

And with that, we're gonna need so what is this a very simple definition, but it's an integrated system of power production, distribution, and storage that allows utilities, regulators, and customers to reduce demand on the grid, provide power during outages, and enhance grow grid resilience.

Council member, as you stated, this docket actually started as part of the resilience conversation after Hurricane Ida.

It's it came up again when we experienced the forced outage from MISO in May of this year, and it just shows how vulnerable we are, but also how resilient we can be.

So this docket, and I don't know that these bullets even do justice to the amount of time and effort that stakeholders, the advisors, our office, you all have put into this.

But over the last 14 months, we have had comments, reply comments, proposals, revised proposals, technical conferences, second technical conferences, all to get where we are today.

And in that process, we selected a set of experts, our DER advisors who are going to come on board and really ensure that we can shepherd this program to its fullest potential.

So a brief overview of the program that you have before you as described in resolution R2569.

Just to little housekeeping note, this will also be on the agenda for Thursday's council meeting.

So in summary, you have 28 million dollars over three years being invested in upfront incentives.

However, those costs are capped year over year for residential and commercial customers.

And if you are going to benefit from that upfront incentive, we want to make sure you're committed.

We want to make sure you're locked in for the next seven years.

This will be administered through the Energy Smart program.

Uh, you'll see referenced in the resolution that this is best phase three for.

And we are also ensuring that these costs, this 28 million dollars goes to the program.

So we're capping administration costs at 2 million dollars.

As always, we are committed and ordering that this remain a vendor neutral program, and all bill impacts, at least all foreseeable bill impacts will be mitigated using series settlement funds.

And you'll see on the next slide that we have a lot of reports that are going to come in to ensure that this program is doing what we say it's gonna do, and that it's always right-sized.

So on March 1st, God willing, we will get an implementation plan on how this is gonna happen.

Once again, you'll see collaboration between the utility, the regulators to propose a plan for stakeholders to then weigh in on.

You know, there were a lot of moving parts, and uh with job of just uh and and I also of course made a promise I would give uh ended, and I know that there was picking, and uh I appreciate your diligence uh before my time on ended and that this didn't extend into uh next year that we actually got this accomplished.

Thank you for your entire I know we have a lot of public comment.

I'll let you get back up to your desk so that I can take a look at the public comment cards.

All right, uh first followed by Rebecca Merriweather.

Okay.

Yep.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Oh three magic stream, which is part of the old Lafitte complex.

For this program is there, it could not only serve the residents there, but the whole entire hit.

All the panels and there, it could not only serve the residents there, but the whole entire hit.

I was fortunate enough to have a good friend who had an SUV and she was able to drive over accessible roads to take me about four or five miles.

If they would have put panels areas around the city make my life much more livable as well as many other residents, it really could be a matter of life and death for many people.

Have a good day.

Thank you, Mr.

Cameron.

Followed by Sarah Jane Gidry.

So is 89.

Um he has congestive heart failure and was diagnosed this past year with cancer.

Um he is vulnerable.

So I particularly as I gone through the process to the distant power.

What are eight fraying extension cords?

And frankly, that terrifies me even more than the fact that we have storms.

Uh, because I really worry about certain situations.

And I thank you.

I will raise two quick concerns.

One is I'm not eligible for the Bessie.

Second is I don't believe it's fair for there to be a case on what energy pays us for the power they take from us for this program.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is I am speaking for a crack at FQA community lighthouse here in New Orleans, as well as someone who has lived through and still living through the New York.

When hurricane are home devastation came extended outage.

We were unable to properly ventilate treat our home after the storm.

Insurance assessed the damage, made our first payment, and then the company went under, the state took over, and we had a higher and it only received sixty percent of tree.

So our mortgage and exploded from twelve hundred to thirty one hundred dollars.

Never thought I'd be thankful for a mortgage company, but here I stand.

Um we didn't create this crisis, but we continue to pay for it.

At Crescent We saw someone without was over 90 degrees, and we lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Provide essential during an emergency because of the power grid failure.

So council members, we have the opportunity to protect our neighbors and ensure the next storm does not uh so families do not have to endure what already have.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Joshua Dealer Mattheel.

Oh, come on up.

Are you Matt or Joshua?

Matt, come on up.

Good morning.

House keeper.

We are at 1823 Washington the lights on.

I'm relative I am a relatively new member, not the New Orleans at Bells.

But I do know that the decision and responsibility was not taken lightly.

It only happened because members at Bethlehem care deeply about the community and the the church served, and they know how how crucial the services able to would be the members were serving heat because they knew how important that resource believed the industry continues to serve hundreds of a week in a food desert.

Last month, one of our members organized a health fair to connect folks with to additional resources during community table service.

We had both regulars and that day was to talk with folks so we as a church could figure out if there was anything else we could be doing to address needs in the community.

And by and large, what I heard their met food.

One neighbor expected because when food is dropped off in our community fridge, it is gone immediately before he can get a chance to grab something to eat.

The need is great.

A couple of weeks ago, power went out where I live in Algiers in District C.

No storm, not even a drizzle, but power in the morning.

I had just had I had just meal prepped for the week and had to get rid of all my leftovers.

Restocking the fridge was a minor inconvenience for me, but I couldn't help but think that better disruption could be devastating struggling to keep food on the table.

That's why I'm here today.

Together New Orleans is doing its part to make and making a big impact here on the city.

But it's time for policy to deliver power to the building across our city who can't afford thank you.

Matt Handler.

Thanks for your leadership and your service.

My name is 1929 Street.

I've got a kid at Two Lane studying environmental studies, uh, two at Willow.

I come to you as a parent, also a member of First Grace, where I lead the tech nerd team for our community lighthouse project.

That's right.

You can you can cheer for tech nerds.

Come on, all right.

Almost 20 years ago, I started cycles shed.

Fifteen years ago, a story organization called 4.0 program eighteen million students in 47 states, and they have unlocked five hundred and sixty million dollars in funds to support those education focused on entrepreneurs.

It's now a hundred million dollar company.

I would like to sponsor teams based in New Orleans.

I have to go to New York and Detroit to find teams who are my the batteries included fund.

Investors around this country, philanthropists around this country, and policy makers around this country know how big a deal it is a publicly owned utility.

Investment community, the philanthropy around the country, and I entrepreneurs are here to back y'all up and make.

We have with solar dollars.

We have a $10 energy bill year-round.

Everyone should have this in with cooling and cooking.

Everyone looking forward to the program this knowing that we can do this in our workforce and making this available to everyone.

Thank you very much.

I'm with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Work with Local Union 130.

I just want to say thank y'all for passing this proposal.

I just hope that this go to like I say important uh apprenticeship program, man, how design it gave somebody a chance, a me like a fiction, then we need to stop with the city the work to get you all have a blood.

Natalie Geordy, followed by Amy McCarran.

My name is Natalie.

And when Hurricane Ida hit four years ago, I was the general manager of a 71-room hotel that was filled with guests and staff and their families and their babies and their dogs and their aunties.

And it's only a slight exaggeration to say pretty much ever since.

New Orleans is a city surrounded by water, and we're plugged into the rest of the grid eight very long courts.

It's like a lawn running over those courts.

Microgrids, we're building outlets to where we actually need the juice, and that will save lives.

It strengthens resilience and grid stability at the same time.

Those goals are often treated separately, but in New Orleans, it really makes sense to tackle them together.

Residents, advocates, experts showed up.

All of these freaking people.

Amy McKenzie, Councilmember Electric Domingue Chair Committee.

I just wanted to stay here to stand here today and thank uh Councilmember Morena this for us.

Today is transformative, and it's important for our community.

And as incoming chair of the climate committee, I look forward to continuing to innovate and drive you again for being here, and thanks for moving this forward for us.

Should be on.

I want to thank our council members, Councilmember Morel, all the members that really kept open and worked with us.

And I want to say when you're working with public officials and you get into these weeds and deep policy, a person able to in that depth, you really know that someone's got their day is an important day because it's a future, and we have a lot of days like to mention a very bright future right in front of us, just waiting for us to take hold of it.

And one of those things is to get our from.

Are we going to keep getting it from over the river and through the woods?

Or are we gonna get it right here?

That is happening.

We all had this experience, we're all hearing about it once again.

Half its roof still still could have been a community, and now we can be, even if we lose half the when it happened, our nation realized things do not have to be like this.

We can do things differently.

And we knew we needed to stop pointing the finger and start joining hands.

We've done science energy to keep us together, and now we are going to get our energy from right in our neighborhood.

We are laying a path for the future that's very available to us.

Thank you.

God bless you, and let's have more days like today.

Thank you, Sean.

Logan Berg followed by Jeff.

Hi there.

Uh Logan Burke from Affordable Energy.

Um I am referring to January 20.

This committee hosted a solar and storage day for hours.

City Council this experts who were solar and storage really.

So I want to hold and continue.

And what happened here.

Um does what is also unusual, which is it balances the unique needs of this community.

Those credits to going to see a different city in New Orleans.

Thank you, and power to the people.

Thank you.

Jeff Canton, followed by Desha Greeley.

Uh Jeff Canton, Solar Alternatives.

Uh, want to thank the council and committee, especially for moving the folks that have really had to drive this.

Uh we've quietly been involved in many of the solar battery installations around town and uh to work electrical engineering to bring a technology to the city that has the ability to address both the the effects of climate change and uh the the effects on itself.

So something that I think was recognized to be a benefit to the community to individual organizations broader.

When his first systems almost 20 years ago in the aftermath of um it's it's a pride also that those systems are actually still up and running, that they're still serving the the users.

The systems that have been talked about, such as SPP St.

Peter have also shown that that can be scaled larger purpose community lighthouses as well.

Um the the ability for this program to not only water just distribute technology helping some folks as well.

Um we we see that need daily out there where you know the biggest impacts are often on the the lowest um uh community uh lowest income these batteries in our plant that can actually even serve the community in time is a opportunity to scale and that that that expensive retirement move forward thankful to the council and we look forward to supporting the program east lifelong residents of New Orleans and other I panels on my home, and they have been a good investment.

They've so each month, but when the power goes out, I look at those panels and I get very frustrated.

The sun is shining, but with can power my home.

But means the potential is going to the most and trained and it would allow 15,000 homes like mine to add batteries and become pockets of community due to support and what are we really talking about here?

Not just saving energy, but saving lives.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Manufacturers and VCs is companies leading in this work.

And I just wanted to thank you for your leadership.

Um both you and the council president and bringing fruition.

Decision says a strong signal that New Orleans is open for business and a clear strategy marketplace certainty and deploy the installers manufacturing capital to deliver some real resilience benefits to our community.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Council members, um my name is Dominic Trainer for Schneider this document in the background uh with my colleagues local and the ground flavor of this program.

Nick Shot Greed Engineer extremely encouraged personally to be able to look at uh engineers installed.

Um we uh with these local integrators who are excited in this program.

Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy sustainability and resiliency.

Our motto is life is on for everyone.

Uh electrical energy to us is a human right.

Um looking forward to working with all these stakeholders.

We look forward to supporting the council's uh implementation and the utilities' efforts to meet these demands.

Thank you.

Aaron, those are all the cards I have.

Do you have public comment online?

We have five online comment as representing the Greater New Orleans Interface Climate Coalition.

Pastor Manning says the Greater New Orleans Interfaith Climate Coalition strongly supports the distributed energy resources.

This is critical for individual and community gathering places to have the resources to share power with others during emergencies.

Brad Ott.

Please support the neighborhood power outages.

Ben Quimby.

Outlined in their proposal approving our including incentives throughout the practical because of my specific health department.

Specifically, please support this resolution and specifically the proposal proposed to help engineers.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh I want to thank everybody for being here.

It is very important that we hear your voices and we see your has been a multiple.

It is and it is hard.

And though these committees don't meet as often as other committees do, as those of you know interact with us, these are very thoughtful committees with thoughtful deliberations, and we do that because every regulatory we do potential of litigation regulate, and so we have to make sure the cost.

But we did that to work for you, it has not worked for you.

Now in closing, what I want to highlight is something is important today, right?

There is an ongoing effort by New Orleans legislators to do that.

And what I want to remind you is right now today, you represent seven of the who adhere to your desires and having progressive having on renewable resources.

If we are ever if those legislators you want to seven representatives, one of the and what we already saw with the LP of the LPC of forwarding the meta plant development is that that is not enough to focus on the policy that our city needs.

So as you see this next next legislative session want to silence with your people that represents you, dilute you over the city of New Orleans.

Like I see you show up today, I would hope that when and if there is an effort by legislature, I can't places to go that you will show up and make sure that your will is the will that drives energy policy for the city of New Orleans.

Thank you.

And Council President, I'll also say it's a lot harder to get to the public service.

So all around the state in hunting camps.

I'm not even kidding, where they have some of the the public service commission meetings.

I'm serious that just I'll I'll be going to like my whole uh term, but uh really great experience as uh being a regular utilities the way that I actually became utility term was because a little bit of a battle back and forth between me and another council member as to who would had senor took budget and then at the council take utilities, utilities.

When I got on the utilities committee as chair, the learning curve was great.

That you will need to look at it, but we have a really zero the new country all of that.

When I got in office, I want to remind you all, and Logan knows that the whole Cure O office.

And one of the commitments I made is that and um we needed the consultant necessarily it I thought it was to build up our Curo office, which is something that we've been able to do, and so has office that can really help them uh learn how to utilize the consultants as well.

But then as chair was a tumultuous time.

Go back and Google it.

It was back in 2018, and a lot of different things happened just in terms, including Hurricane Ida.

Um that I've ever had public office is dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida for a variety of different reasons, including the ret the utility regulation piece.

Because an area that now has a renewable and clean portfolio standard, we're the only only jurisdiction in the whole Gulf South with one.

We're the only only jurisdiction in the whole Gulf South with one.

So that's a really big deal.

Obviously, we had the major uh settlement and Gulf.

That was a major deal.

Uh first and our in our grid to better with us was going to you know on the backs of ratepayers.

We found a different way.

We're able to move forward the resilience docket and mitigated the impact on ratepayers.

And we did all that together, putting community first.

And now we're here.

And now we're here with the DER docket.

It is also very transformative.

Um it couldn't be done without the work of this city council.

I also want to thank my former chief of staff very engaged in these issues for quite some time.

There you go.

You can give them some snaps.

And and I hope that in the eight years that I've been a utility regulator and led on both committees there is a path to put community that things differently.

And I do believe that continue that and continue to move us in direction.

So with that, um JP and I are so secondary uh votes here on on obviously there was no opposition members, so should be a good day at the city as we all the way process.

Thank you all so much for for your advocacy and we can't vote on the other item either, but uh we probably have public comment.

Yep.

Investments, and Jesse, you want to comment on that?

Okay, let's put another vote.

We have Paris, so now we'll have three votes.

Look at that vote.

It technically wasn't a vote, so we can it wouldn't have vote.

Perfect.

So she was here too in support.

Go ahead, Jesse.

Jesse George on behalf of the Alliance for Affordable Energy just implementation evaluation metrics and reporting requirements.

These are things that the count that the alliance has been advocating for years.

Uh we would uh advocate that should be and apply to any and all resilience projects that receive either ratepayer or taxpayer funding under the council's authority, including the community project.

Thank you very much.

And this is a good day for the city.

Thank you, Jesse.

All right, it's been moved by council member uh by me and then seconded by council member morell.

All in favor.

I think member Harris is also of the DER docket as well.

Council member, just for you know, record keeping purpose for Moreland you council and council member Harris are all in support.

Okay.

All right, with that, we'll make a motion to adjourn.

I move.

It's been moved.

Executive by Council Member Harris all in favor.

I