Cost: free

June                                                       by J. Robert Howard

Ed Garcia opened the meeting at Austin Energy.  He said consideration World WorkPlace was in New Orleans, and that you should give serious to attending it. Go early and attend the certification program and testing.   It's a good place to learn the latest and have a good time. He suggested we are missing an opportunity with the newsletter.  It's sent to over 200 people and they do read it.  This is a good way to share information.  Please give it some thought and submit something to inform, educate, or entertain.

Bob Payne spoke about his success at the golf tournament.  IFMA-Austin and The Blood and Tissue Center made money, and everyone had a good time.

Claud E. Kissmann, from San Antonio, spoke about Texas A&M's education program.  It's off and running with several students signed up.  Education is always a prime factor in our business.  A&M wants to advance facility management  by offering an interdisciplinary education program.  Their long term goal is a masters program in facilities.  They will make an impact.  Presently there is an intern program which would allow a participating company to benefit from a case study or two.

JoAnn Reames offered membership to those interested in joining IFMA.

Diana Covert of Austin Energy welcomed us all. She was proud of her new carpet.  For IFMA, she is on the Utility Conference committee.  This year she is the golf chairman at World WorkPlace.  The event on September 16th cost $145 and includes breakfast, drinks, and a luncheon.  The profits will go toward FM scholarships. Here's an opportunity to sponsor a hole or play. She then introduced the first speaker.

Cliff Braddock, Energy Products Manager, said  that Austin is experiencing high electric usage due to growth and warmer temperatures.  They are meeting the challenge with demand side management, conservation and new generation.  He also said that  deregulation is coming, and AE (Austin Energy) is planning for it. AE has introduced account executives for the top commercial accounts and sales teams.  They have many value added services like rate analysis, cost forecasts, reliability statistics, power audits and GreenChoice.  Competition should begin in January of 2002, but municipalities and coops may or may not participate.  All though we expect lower prices and better services, it may not happen.  He said they are proud of their power reliability.

Fred Yebra, Energy Services Manager, said  that AE has reduced peak demand by 400 megawatts. They have energy engineers to evaluate your facilities. One good example of their load co-operative program was Capital Aggragate's 2 megawatt load.  For a lower rate,  Capital will cease operations when asked to help lower peak usage.  Rebates can be profitable for most of us. The rebates might reduce the payback of a good energy conservation program and make it a great one.
Another interesting program is GreenChoice where you purchase power produced by wind turbine, solar panels and landfill biogas.  Fisher Rosemont buys only GreenChoice power.  It's an additional .4 cents a kw which would cost the homeowner about 4 dollars more a month.  They also have residential loans, whole house rebates and soon: they will have rebates for program thermostats, attic insulation, and infiltration efforts.

Chuck Manning, their general manager, said AE provides excellent value.  It is the 9th largest public utility out of 2300. Financially, they are in great shape.  They have a capital budget of 200 million and 100 million is available from their operating budget.  They contribute about 65 million a year to the city's general fund.  He said that deregulation is coming, AE will be competitive, but  expectations may not be met.    In New Jersey, most customers who changed to a cheaper supplier under deregulation have returned to their original supplier.  In California, after three years of deregulation, the billing is still not correct.  One of the biggest problems with wholesaling electricity will be the lack of infra-structure to transport it.  Of the 60,000 megawatts of energy consumed in Texas, only 800 are imported across state lines. There is a lot of uncertainty and with gas prices up 50%, no one can predict where this thing will go.

Next time you see Diane, thank her for the lunch.