* 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. PROGRESS. [00:00:01] UM, TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26TH. [ TOWN OF GREENBURGH OFFICE OF THE TOWN BOARD 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh, NY 10607 Tel: 914-989-1500 Fax: 914-993-1541 Email: townboard@greenburghny.com ] IT'S, UH, 6 45. AND, UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A TOWN BOARD MEETING RIGHT AFTER, UH, THE SPECIAL WORK SESSION AT SEVEN 30. UM, SO OUR FIRST, UH, MEET, UH, PRESENTATION IS FROM NOLAN BRANSON, WHO WILL DISCUSS WESTCHESTER POWER. UH, WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PAUL, AND IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK WITH THE ENTIRE, UH, TOWN COUNCIL. THANK YOU FOR, UH, FOR THE TIME. UH, AND I REALIZE THIS HAS CONSUMED A FAIR AMOUNT OF YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION. I DON'T, I DON'T TAKE THAT FOR GRANTED. UH, AND I'M ALSO VERY GRATEFUL THAT YOU'VE ENGAGED WITH SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER AS YOUR PARTNERS. IN THINKING THROUGH, UH, THE ISSUES THAT, THAT ARE INVOLVED HERE. UM, WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER A, AN UPDATED PRESENTATION, UH, WITH, WITH A FEW GOALS IN MIND. WE WANNA SET ASIDE STUFF YOU DON'T NEED TO HEAR. AGAIN, I'M NOT GONNA REINTRODUCE YOU TO SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER. I'M NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS. I THINK THOSE ARE THINGS WE, WE ALL GRASP. I DO WANNA REEMPHASIZE SOME OF THE KEY POINTS THAT WERE MADE, UH, PREVIOUSLY, WHICH I THINK ARE STILL RELEVANT. REALLY TRYING TO FOCUS ON WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF STICKING WITH THE PROGRAM? WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF LEAVING THE PROGRAM. UH, I WANT TO TRY TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS THAT HAVE COME UP, UH, SINCE THE LAST TIME I WAS WITH YOU, EITHER FROM GREENBERG OR IN THE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH. AND, AND FINALLY, I, I WANNA DO WHAT I CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THE OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO YOU ARE AS CLEARLY STATED AS POSSIBLE, SO THAT THERE'S NO CONFUSION OR UNCERTAINTY ABOUT, UH, ABOUT THE CHOICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU AS, UH, AS TOWN LEADERS. AND CERTAINLY AS I GO THROUGH THIS, IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ALREADY GOT THIS, JUST TELL ME TO MOVE ALONG. I DON'T WANNA, I DON'T WANNA WASTE YOUR TIME, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THIS IS CONSTRUCTIVE FOR YOU. SURE. YEP. UH, SO, UM, JUST TO REMIND EVERYONE ABOUT THE GOALS OF THIS PROGRAM AND THE EFFECTS OF THIS PROGRAM, UH, IT IS THREEFOLD PROVIDING CLEAN ENERGY, EXPANDING CONSUMER CHOICE AND CAPPING ELECTRICITY COSTS. UH, AS I MENTIONED LAST TIME FROM THE CLEAN ENERGY PERSPECTIVE, THIS IS A VERY IMPACTFUL PROGRAM. VERY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS. UM, EQUIVALENT TO TAKING 74,000 CARS OFF THE ROAD, EQUIVALENT TO PLANTING MORE THAN 5 MILLION TREES. THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON, I DON'T KNOW IF WE TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST TIME, I CAN'T QUITE RECALL. THIS IS AN EFFORT TO ESTIMATE THE FUTURE IMPACTS OF CARBON EMISSIONS. WE KNOW THERE ARE GONNA BE BIG PRICE TAGS ASSOCIATED WITH INFRASTRUCTURE ASSOCIATED WITH PUBLIC HEALTH, ASSOCIATED WITH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE. AND SO, TO BE GOOD STEWARDS, WE WANT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE FUTURE EFFECTS OF OUR ACTIONS TODAY. AND WE WANT TO BUILD THOSE PRICES INTO WHAT WE DO TODAY. AND SO, DEC, THE STATE HAS PROMULGATED A FORMULA WHICH ATTEMPTS TO SORT OF GET AT THAT COST. AND SO THIS PROGRAM IS ELIMINATING MORE THAN $40 MILLION IN SOCIAL COSTS, UH, EACH YEAR, UH, THROUGH CARBON MITIGATION. THAT'S ACCORDING TO KIND OF THE MIDDLE, MIDDLE DEC ESTIMATE. AND, UH, FINALLY, AS I DID MENTION LAST TIME, EVEN CONSIDERING ALL THE GOOD WORK YOU'RE DOING HERE IN GREENBURG AND OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE DOING, KEEP IN MIND THIS SINGLE PROGRAM IS DOING MORE TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS THAN ALL THOSE OTHER ACTIONS COMBINED. MM-HMM. . AND SO THE REVERSE IS TRUE AS WELL. IF YOU WERE TO LEAVE THE PROGRAM OVERNIGHT, THE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ATTRIBUTABLE TO GREENBERG WOULD SKYROCKET. AND THIS WOULD HAPPEN AT PRECISELY THE MOMENT WHEN SO MANY OF US BELIEVE THAT WE'VE GOTTA BE DOING MORE, NOT LESS, GIVEN THE SCALE OF THE CRISIS. UH, SECOND POINT IS EXPANDING CONSUMER CHOICE. AND AGAIN, JUST TO REMIND YOU, LOOKING AT WHAT THE ENERGY MARKETS APPEARED, UH, LIKE FROM A CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE. SO WITHOUT A PROGRAM LIKE THIS, THE TRADITIONAL MODEL IS THAT CONSUMERS HAVE TWO CHOICES. THEY CAN GET THEIR ENERGY FROM CONED FROM THE UTILITY FOSSIL FUEL VARIABLE RATE MONTH TO MONTH. OR THEY CAN ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH A PRIVATE ENERGY SERVICE COMPANY IN ESCO THAT CAN BE FOSSIL FUEL OR RENEWABLE, DEPENDING ON THE SPECIFIC NATURE OF THE CONTRACT. THAT WORKS FOR SOME PEOPLE, AND THAT'S FINE. OTHER PEOPLE FIND THAT A VERY DIFFICULT PROCESS TO NAVIGATE. YOU'RE KIND OF ON YOUR OWN. AND THEY'RE OFTEN PREDATORY PRACTICES INVOLVING FEES OR PENALTIES FOR, FOR EXITING A CONTRACT. WITH COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION, YOU STILL HAVE THOSE SAME TWO CHOICES. ANYONE WHO WANTS THE UTILITY CAN HAVE IT. ANYONE WHO WANTS A PRIVATE ESCO CAN HAVE IT. BUT NOW YOU HAVE THE THIRD CHOICE. IT'S WESTCHESTER POWER. IT'S RENEWABLE ENERGY, A FIXED MONTHLY RATE. UH, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IN BOTH OF THESE SCENARIOS, THERE IS A DEFAULT ENERGY SUPPLIER THAT YOU HAVE TO OPT OUT OF IF YOU DON'T WANT IT. THERE'S NO WORLD IN WHICH YOUR ENERGY SUPPLY IS A BLANK SLATE. SO KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WELL. 'CAUSE I KNOW THIS SORT OF OPT OUT PROVISION IS SOMETIMES A, A, A STICKING POINT FOR FOLKS. AND SO, IN TOTALITY, THIS IS A MODEL THAT OFFERS YOUR RESIDENTS MORE CHOICES AND MORE COMPETITION THAN WOULD OTHERWISE BE THE CASE. AND HERE AGAIN, I WANNA SORT OF TURN IT AROUND AND THINK ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS O OF LEAVING. YOU HAVE ABOUT 9,000 HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN, IN WESTCHESTER POWER. I DON'T DOUBT THAT SOME OF THEM MAY NOT EVEN BE AWARE THAT THEY'RE ENROLLED. AND IF THEY HAD FULL AWARENESS, THEY MIGHT CHOOSE TO, TO OPT OUT OF IT. AND WE SHOULD TALK LATER ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO TO ENHANCE COMMUNICATION. BUT IT'S ALSO A CERTAINTY [00:05:01] THAT MANY OF THOSE RESIDENTS ARE GLAD TO BE PART OF WESTCHESTER POWER. THEY'RE GLAD TO BE DOING SOMETHING THAT IS IMPACTFUL FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE. THEY RECOGNIZE THAT OUR RENEWABLE ENERGY IS CHEAPER THAN WHAT THEY'RE LIKELY TO GET FROM AN ESCO. IF YOU PULL OUT OF THE PROGRAM, ALL OF THOSE HOUSEHOLDS, WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT, GET SENT BACK TO CON EDISON. AND UNLIKE WHEN WESTCHESTER POWER IS INTRODUCED, THEY DON'T RECEIVE ANY NOTIFICATION. THEY DON'T LEARN ABOUT THEIR OPTIONS BECAUSE THERE AREN'T ANY OPTIONS. YOU CAN'T GO BACK INTO THE PROGRAM YOU'RE STUCK WITH WITH WEST, WELL, YOU'RE STUCK WITH CON ED OR AGAIN, A PRIVATE ESCO. SO IF WE WANT TO THINK ABOUT EXPANDING CHOICE, EMPOWERING RESIDENTS, THE MORE CHOICES YOU HAVE, THE MORE COMPETITION THAT EXISTS, THE MORE YOU CAN MAKE CHOICES THAT ARE RIGHT FOR YOUR OWN HOUSEHOLD. UH, FINALLY, CAPPING ELECTRICITY COSTS. AS I MENTIONED LAST TIME, IT'S REALLY JUST ANOTHER WAY TO THINK ABOUT A FIXED RATE. WE KNOW THAT THE, UH, UTILITY RATE IS VARIED VERY SUBSTANTIALLY OVER THE LIFETIME OF THE PROGRAM. WHEN IT'S A FIXED RATE, IT CAN NEVER GO ABOVE THAT. IT DOES SHIELD CONSUMERS FROM PRICE SPIKES. AND TO THE EXTENT SOME PEOPLE REALLY VALUE PREDICTABILITY IN THEIR BUDGETING, THIS CAN PROVIDE THAT. UH, WE ALSO TALKED BRIEFLY LAST TIME ABOUT NYSERDA CEC PROGRAM. JUST TO DRILL DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE, THIS IS, UH, A MEASURE OF THE ACTIONS GREENBERG HAS TAKEN, UH, UH, TO SORT OF IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH THAT PROGRAM. CCA IS THE BIGGEST SINGLE SCORING ITEM IN YOUR, IN YOUR PAST RECORD. AND IF YOU WERE TO RENEW IN THE PROGRAM AND ESTABLISH A HUNDRED PERCENT RENEWABLE AS YOUR DEFAULT, THAT WOULD EARN YOU AN ADDITIONAL 2000 POINTS, WHICH WOULD ENTITLE YOU TO $200,000 FROM NYSERDA. UH, GUARANTEED IT'S NOT COMPETITIVE. UM, I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT IS THE PRIMARY REASON WHY YOU SHOULD BE ENGAGED IN THE PROGRAM, BUT IT IS SOMETHING TO KEEP IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND AS, UH, A KIND OF A BONUS THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH THIS AND YOU COULD USE FOR A VARIETY OF PURPOSES. UH, AND LAST, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PURPOSES? YOU SAY, UH, IT DOES HAVE TO BE CONFINED TO ACTIONS THAT ARE RELATED TO THE ENVIRONMENT. MM-HMM. , UM, UH, AND WE CAN CERTAINLY GET YOU THOSE CRITERIA MORE FULLY. SO LET'S SAY IF WE'RE PUTTING SOLAR CANOPIES IN THE PARKING LOTS, WOULD THAT BE SOMETHING? I THINK PROBABLY YES. PAUL, I, I WOULD WANT TO DOUBLE CHECK THAT. UM, AND YOU'VE DONE THIS BEFORE, TO BE CLEAR, YOU'VE REACHED PRIOR MILESTONES AND SO YOU'VE ALREADY SORT OF PROCESSED THE RESTRICTIONS ON THE FUNDING AND DECIDED HOW TO USE IT. UH, BUT THIS WOULD BE, UH, A HIGHER LEVEL OF FUNDING THAN YOU'VE RECEIVED BEFORE. UM, UH, WHAT ABOUT UPGRADING A FOSSIL FUEL BUS TO A HYBRID? I THINK YES. I THINK YES. BUT AGAIN, I, I DON'T, I'M JUST HEDGING A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE THE RESTRICTIONS IN FRONT OF ME, AND I DON'T WANNA INADVERTENTLY LEAD YOU THE WRONG WAY. BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS EFFORTS LIKE THAT ARE CERTAINLY CONSISTENT WITH THE PROGRAM SKULLS. THAT WOULD BE VERY VALUABLE. DID I HEAR YOU SAY BEFORE THAT IF WE OPT OUT, NONE OF THE RESIDENTS CAN GO BACK TO, CAN GO INTO SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER WESTCHESTER POWER? THAT'S CORRECT. THE, THE STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAM IS SUCH THAT FOR IT TO BE AVAILABLE TO ANY RESIDENT, THE MUNICIPALITY NEEDS TO BE PART OF THE PROGRAM. YOU ARE SORT OF FUNCTIONING AS PROXIES FOR YOUR RESIDENTS TO OFFER CONSENT. THEN AS YOU KNOW, THE RESIDENTS CAN OPT OUT, BUT THE REVERSE IS NOT TRUE. THEY CANNOT OPT THE, CAN OPT OUT AND IN AT ANY TIME, BUT THE, THE MUNICIPALITY CANNOT. YEAH. SO IF THE MISS, I'M SORRY. I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, THEY CAN'T OPT IN UNLESS THE MUNICIPALITY IS ALREADY IN THE PROGRAM. CORRECT? CORRECT. CORRECT, CORRECT. SO IF THE MUNICIPALITY'S IN AND I DECIDE TO OPT OUT AND THEN I REALIZE THE RATES ARE GOING WELL, CAN I, DO I HAVE THE OPTION TO OPT BACK IN? YES. YOU DO. YEAH. AND, AND THAT'S A, A GREAT POINT BECAUSE IT, THAT THOSE CHOICES ENABLE PEOPLE TO OPTIMIZE THEIR COST. IF YOU ARE PRICE SENSITIVE AND THAT'S YOUR PRIMARY GOAL, YOU KNOW, YOU LITERALLY CAN LOOK MONTH TO MONTH AND SAY, I CAN GET A BETTER DEAL HERE. I CAN GET A BETTER DEAL THERE. WHEREAS IF THE PROGRAM DOESN'T EXIST, IT'S THE UTILITY. AND THAT'S THAT. AND IT SHOULD ALSO BE POINTED OUT, WHEN WE STARTED WITH THE ESCOS A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, THE CONED RATES WERE LOWER. UH, IT'S ONLY THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF OR SO THAT THEY'VE BEEN HIRED THE OTHER WAY AROUND. THE OTHER WAY AROUND. YEAH, EXACTLY RIGHT, PAUL. EXACTLY RIGHT. UM, SO, UM, UH, JUST WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT OPTING OUT, JUST TO BE CLEAR, IT'S A VERY SIMPLE PROCESS. IT COULD BE DONE BY MAIL, IT COULD BE DONE ONLINE EMAIL. YOU CAN CALL US. I, I KNEW THERE WAS ANOTHER QUESTION. SO IF YOU OPT OUT, SO I OPT OUT FOR MY JANUARY BILL, OPT OUT, THEN FOR MY MARCH BILL, AND THEN MY MAY BILL COMES AROUND, I WANNA OPT BACK IN. HOW LONG DOES THAT PERIOD TAKE? SO IS THERE, IS THERE A WAITING PERIOD TO SEE THE RESULTS OR SEE, ZII, I SHOULD KNOW THIS AND FORGIVE ME FOR NOT. I THINK IT'S EITHER THE NEXT BILLING, BILLING CYCLE OR THE SUBSEQUENT ONE. OKAY. IT'S, IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAVE TO WAIT SIX MONTHS, YOU KNOW, BUT THERE IS A CERTAIN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING THAT'S REQUIRED. AND SHOULD, I THINK YOU SHOULD EXPECT, UH, THREE MONTHS, BUT IT MAY BE TWO MONTHS. YEAH, I THINK, I THINK IT WOULD BE UNLIKELY TO LAST AS LONG AS THREE. BUT I, I WOULD WANNA DOUBLE CHECK THAT WITH MY TEAM. OKAY. THAT WAS OUR LAST GO ROUND. IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT WE WERE TOLD. OKAY. UM, TO BE CLEAR, NEVER ANY FEES AND [00:10:01] PENALTIES, AS WE SAID, COME AND GO AS OFTEN AS YOU LIKE. I ALSO WANNA MAKE THE POINT, 'CAUSE SOMETIMES PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THIS, THAT IF YOU OPTED OUT IN THIS CONTRACT, WE RESPECT THAT CHOICE INTO THE NEXT CONTRACT. SO NOBODY WHO'S PREVIOUSLY OPTED OUT GETS AUTOMATICALLY RE-ENROLLED IF, IF YOU UP AGAIN. SO DO, DO YOU KNOW HOW, UH, HOW MANY PEOPLE IN UNINCORPORATED GREENBURG HAVE OPTED OUT OF THE PROGRAM? I ACTUALLY, IT'S A, IT'S AN ON A SUBSEQUENT SLIDE, AND I'LL, I'LL, UH, I DON'T REMEMBER THE NUMBER OFFHAND, BUT I'LL, WHEN WE GET TO IT, I'LL, I'LL, UH, I'LL SHOW THAT TO YOU. UM, SO, UM, UH, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT WHY THE OPT-OUT MODEL IS NECESSARY. IT'S THE ONLY WAY FOR US TO GO INTO THE ENERGY MARKETS AND REPRESENT A CERTAIN QUANTITY OF DEMAND. IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO GET THAT IMPACT. AND TO BEAT THE DEAD HORSE, THERE'S ALWAYS A DEFAULT. SO FOR YOU, THE QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, NOT WEATHER, BUT WHAT SHOULD THAT DEFAULT BE? UH, AND IN MY ESTIMATION, IN OUR ESTIMATION, UH, THIS IS A MODEL THAT EMPOWERS RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES TO MAKE THE BEST CHOICES FOR THEMSELVES. LETS YOU MAKE INTENTIONAL CHOICES ABOUT WHAT KIND OF COMMUNITY-WIDE VALUES YOU WANT TO PROMOTE. UH, AND IF THAT INCLUDES CLEAN ENERGY AND CONSUMER CHOICE, THIS IS AN ATTRACTIVE WAY TO DO THAT. UM, PAUL, YOU MENTIONED THIS JUST A SECOND AGO. WE ACKNOWLEDGED FORTHRIGHTLY AS I DID LAST TIME. THE CURRENT CONTRACT HAS BEEN VERY DISAPPOINTING FROM A PRICE PERSPECTIVE, A BIG DELTA BETWEEN THE RENEWABLE RATE AND WHAT'S BEEN AVAILABLE, UH, FROM CONED DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME. BUT WE ALSO NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES, WHICH LED TO THIS, THIS KIND OF UNIQUELY BAD MOMENT IN 2022, THE WAR IN UKRAINE IMPACTING ENERGY MARKETS. EVERY FORECAST WAS THAT ENERGY PRICES WOULD GO HIGHER. INSTEAD THEY WENT LOWER. UH, AND SO I I, I DO NOT THINK THIS CAN BE EXTRAPOLATED INTO A CRITIQUE OF THE PROGRAM AS A WHOLE. AND JUST AS YOU SAID, PAUL, IF YOU LOOK AT THE LIFETIME OF THE PROGRAM, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE CURRENT CONTRACT IS REALLY AN OUTLIER. AND I THINK IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE ENERGY IS A COMMODITY SO THAT IT IS TRADED ON THE WORLD MARKETS. AND, UM, WE, THERE'S, THERE ARE NO CONTROLS. IT'S, IT'S UNFORTUNATE. BUT THAT CHANGE DID HAPPEN A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO. UH, CERTAINLY TRUE. AND THAT ALSO REMINDS ME TO MAKE THE POINT THAT IT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE. WESTCHESTER, THAT SETS THE PRICE. YOU KNOW, WE ARE, UH, WE ARE ENTERTAINED BIDS FROM ENERGY SUPPLIERS AND, UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT AS THOUGH WE'RE KIND OF, UM, DECIDING THE PRICE WILL BE THUS AND SUCH. UM, I ALSO WANNA EMPHASIZE THE POINT THAT EVEN IN THIS CONTRACT, UH, WHICH WE ALL RECOGNIZE IS DISAPPOINTING, IF YOU COMPARE OUR RENEWABLE POWER TO WHAT'S BEEN AVAILABLE THROUGH ESCOS, WE'VE COME CONSISTENTLY COME IN AT THE LOW END. AND THIS IS WHERE THAT POWER OF AGGREGATION REALLY SHOWS UP. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE REPRESENTING 145,000 ACCOUNTS, ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL, YOU'RE GONNA GET A BETTER DEAL THAN AN INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER. AND IT'S THROUGH THIS SORT OF APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON THAT YOU SEE THAT EFFECT, UH, THE NEXT CONTRACT IS LOOKING MUCH BETTER FROM EVERYTHING WE CAN TELL. UH, I WANNA SET STRESS. IT'S NOT A GUARANTEE UNTIL WE GET A BID, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN'T BE SURE, AND I DON'T WANNA OVER PROMISE, BUT I ALSO WANNA BE TRANSPARENT, SHARE WITH YOU WHAT WE KNOW. UH, WE'RE HEARING GOOD THINGS FROM THE SUPPLIERS. WE THINK ABOUT A 20% REDUCTION IN, IN THE RATES RELATIVE TO TO LAST TIME. UM, AND WE ALSO THINK THAT BASED ON WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM ENERGY EXPERTS, THAT THERE'S GONNA BE UPWARD PRESSURE ON UTILITY RATES NEXT YEAR. UH, HEAVILY POLLUTING PEAKER PLANTS ARE COMING OFFLINE. RENEWABLE ENERGY IS GONNA TAKE A LITTLE LONGER TO COME ONLINE. THAT DISEQUILIBRIUM IS LIKELY TO PUSH UP CON ED RATES. SO A FIXED RATE SET IN 2024, IN CONTRAST TO WHAT WE EXPERIENCED LAST TIME, IS PROBABLY GONNA HOLD UP PRETTY WELL AS WE HEAD INTO 2025. AGAIN, NOT A GUARANTEE, BUT THIS IS THE, UH, THIS IS THE FORECAST THAT YOU HEAR FROM MOST OF THE FOLKS WHO STUDY ENERGY MARKETS FOR A LIVING, UM, PROTECTING CONSUMERS. THIS IS SOMETHING I WANNA STRESS A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN LAST TIME, 'CAUSE IT'S BEEN A CONCERN HERE AND, AND ELSEWHERE. FIRST, JUST TO BE VERY CLEAR, UH, THE LOWEST INCOME RESIDENTS, THOSE WHO ARE ENTITLED TO UTILITY ASSISTANCE, THOSE WHO ARE ENROLLED IN THE HEAT PROGRAM ARE NOT PART OF CCA. THIS IS UNDER STATE REGULATIONS. THEY CANNOT BE ENROLLED IN ENERGY SUPPLY UNLESS YOU'RE ABLE TO GUARANTEE SAVINGS, WHICH THIS MODEL, AS WE ALL KNOW, CANNOT. AND SO TO THE EXTENT THAT WE ARE RIGHTLY CONCERNED ABOUT FINANCIAL IMPACTS ON THE MOST VULNERABLE, UH, OF OUR RESIDENTS AND NEIGHBORS, YOU CAN PUT THAT ASIDE BECAUSE, UH, UH, PEOPLE WHO FALL INTO THAT CATEGORY ARE SIMPLY NOT PART OF THE PROGRAM IN THE FIRST PLACE. I ALSO WANNA NOTE THAT THERE ARE A BUNCH OF OTHER PROGRAMS WE RUN AT SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER THAT DO OFFER GUARANTEED SAVINGS ON, ON UTILITY BILLS. AND WE PARTICULARLY FOCUS ON LOW AND MODERATE INCOME HOUSEHOLDS. AND IF AND WHEN THE TOWN WANTS TO PARTNER WITH US TO KIND OF ADVERTISE THOSE PROGRAMS AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE, THAT'S SOMETHING WE WE'VE DONE WITH MANY COMMUNITIES AND WE WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO, TO DOING THAT WITH YOU. IF, IF THERE WAS AN INTEREST, CAN YOU SEND US THAT INFORMATION SO THAT WE CAN AB ABSOLUTELY. I THOUGHT THE ENERGY WAS THE . YOU THOUGHT WHICH ONE? NO, JUST TO THE ENERGY PROGRAM. I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT WE WERE PURCHASING [00:15:01] BECAUSE IT'S GOVERNMENTAL ENERGY THAT IT WAS THE NEW YORK POWER AUTHORITY. THE TOWN IS, YES. IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, THE PUBLIC SUPPLY FOR THE TOWN GOVERNMENT AS AN INSTITUTION, YES. THAT'S NYPA. OKAY. OKAY. WHICH YOU, YOU KNOW, WELL, THAT'S WHY NOT, NOT THAT THERE'S AN NAME WITH NYPA OR ANYTHING. RIGHT. GO UP A LITTLE BIT. THAT'S WHY. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THE, UM, WHAT YOU JUST MENTIONED AS A BENEFIT FOR LOW, MODERATE AND LOW INCOME FAILING? UH, SO, UM, I, I'LL MENTION THREE PROGRAMS IN PARTICULAR. SO, UH, GRID REWARDS IS A RESIDENTIAL DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM. IT ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO REDUCE THEIR ENERGY CONSUMPTION DURING PERIODS OF PEAK DEMAND. IT'S USUALLY HEAT WAVES, LIKE WE JUST HAD, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS PAST WEEK. UH, IT, IT'S COMPLETELY VOLUNTARY, SO NO ONE HAS TO DO ANYTHING. BUT IF YOU SIGN UP, YOU GET A NOTIFICATION PRIOR TO ONE OF THOSE EVENTS. IF YOU TURN UP YOUR THERMOSTAT A FEW DEGREES, YOU GET PAID TO DO THAT. UM, SO GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. IT REDUCES PRESSURE ON THE GRID. GOOD FOR YOUR WALLET. IT'S NOT GONNA BE A, A LIFE-ALTERING AMOUNT. YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY PEOPLE EARN ABOUT A HUNDRED DOLLARS IN A SEASON, BUT IT'S FREE MONEY AND, YOU KNOW, NO REASON NOT TO DO IT. AND FOR SOME PEOPLE, THAT MONEY REALLY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. ABSOLUTELY. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SUMMERTIME. YES. USUALLY IT'S SUMMERTIME PAID TO PUT UP YOUR THERMOSTAT. THE WINTERTIME . NO, YOU DON'T. IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. NO, YOU DON'T. YEAH. UM, UH, COMMUNITY SOLAR, UM, THIS IS A MEANS BY WHICH PEOPLE WHO CANNOT PUT SOLAR ON THEIR OWN PROPERTY. MAYBE YOU'RE IN AN APARTMENT, MAYBE IT'S TOO SHADY, MAYBE YOU JUST CAN'T AFFORD THE, YOU KNOW, THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT. YOU CAN ENROLL IN SOLAR GENERATION ELSEWHERE. UM, AND THAT PROVIDES YOU WITH GUARANTEED CREDITS ON YOUR UTILITY BILL. SO IT'S ANOTHER GREAT PROGRAM. AND HERE WHAT WE'RE DISCOVERING IS THAT REAL BARRIERS TO SIGNING UP LOW AND MODERATE INCOME HOUSEHOLDS. BARRIERS RELATED TO TRUST, SOMETIMES LANGUAGE. MM-HMM. SOMETIMES TECHNOLOGY. AND SO WE HAVE A WAITING LIST FOR A MIDDLE INCOME AND UPPER INCOME RESIDENTS AND WE CAN'T SIGN UP ENOUGH, UH, LMI RESIDENTS, UM, EVEN THOUGH THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD BENEFIT MOST. AND SO IT'S REALLY LIKE A FOCUS OF OUR EFFORTS TO SEE HOW WE CAN SCALE THAT UP. AND AGAIN, MUNICIPAL PARTNERSHIPS, UH, CAN, CAN HELP US IN THAT REGARD. FINALLY, EMPOWER. THIS IS NOT OUR PROGRAM. THIS IS A STATE PROGRAM, WHICH, UM, HELPS PEOPLE WITH HOME WEATHERIZATION AND ELECTRIFICATION. BUT WHAT WE DO AT SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER IS SERVICE KIND OF NAVIGATORS, OMBUDS PERSONS. IT CAN BE A LITTLE COMPLEX AND CONFUSING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO STACK THOSE INCENTIVES, HOW TO FIND VETTED CONTRACTORS. AND SO WE HOLD PEOPLE'S HANDS THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT EASIER FOR THEM TO ACCESS THE BENEFITS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM. SO AGAIN, ILLUSTRATIONS OF, YOU KNOW, HOW WE CAN REALLY HELP WITH PEOPLE'S BOTTOM LINE EVEN AS WE SUPPORT THE ENVIRONMENT AND, AND JUST VERY CHARGED FOR THAT. HANDHOLD. NO, NOT FOR, NOT FOR, UH, UH, ABSOLUTELY NOT. THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE DO AS A SERVICE. I, AND, AND THAT FUNCTION IS FUNDED BY THE STATE THROUGH THE CLEAN ENERGY HUB. WE ARE KIND OF CONTRACTED BY THE STATE TO, TO OFFER THIS SERVICE. AND, AND I WAS JUST GOING TO DO A LITTLE SEGUE THAT, UM, THE MUNICIPALITY CAN ALSO ENROLL IN A DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM, UH, THE COUNTY HAS, BUT SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER DOES OFFER THAT AS WELL, WHICH, UM, ACTUALLY FOR THE COUNTY OVER THE LAST NUMBER OF YEARS, I'M NOT REMEMBERING EXACTLY HOW MANY WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO EARN BACK OVER A MILLION DOLLARS. YEAH, IT'S GREAT. IT'S GREAT. THE VILLAGE OF HASTINGS, YOUR VILLAGE, UM, UH, PARTICIPATED. UH, ANOTHER EXAMPLE, UH, NEW ROCHELLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WHICH I HAVE, YOU KNOW, MY TOWN, UH, THEY SAVED ABOUT $25,000, YOU KNOW, SO, SO WHAT HAVEN'T YOU KNOW, WHAT ABOUT US? YOU KNOW, WELL, I HAD, I ACTUALLY HAD SOMEONE COME HERE AND PRESENT IN 2019. YEAH, I REMEMBER THAT. AND THEN, THEN I, YOU KNOW, BUT I WAS INTERIM AND THEN I WAS OFF THE BOARD, SO IT'S NEVER TOO LATE. YEAH. OKAY. SO NEVER TOO LATE. NO. MAYBE YOU COULD GO THROUGH THE SLIDES. 'CAUSE NO ONE'S SEEING ANYBODY ON CAMERA. WHILE YOUR SLIDES ARE OKAY. CONTINUE TO PRESENT. OH, I'M SORRY. YEAH. YEAH. FORGIVE ME. ALRIGHT, SO, UH, THIS IS ACTUALLY WHAT GINA, WHAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT A MOMENT AGO. THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HAVE THESE CHOICES, YOU CAN OPTIMIZE YOUR COSTS AND SWITCH BACK AND FORTH. I DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT, UM, EVERYTHING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CONCERNS ONLY THE SUPPLY PORTION OF YOUR BILL. MM-HMM. , UH, WHICH IS USUALLY THE SMALLER PORTION OF YOUR BILL. TYPICALLY, DELIVERY IS A MUCH BIGGER SHARE. DELIVERY IS ALWAYS THE UTILITY RESPONSIBILITY. THEY OWN THE INFRASTRUCTURE. WE'RE ONLY DEALING WITH SUPPLY. AND FINALLY, THIS IS A NEW THING. WE SOMETIMES GET THE QUESTION LIKE, PEOPLE EXPERIENCE A SUDDEN JUMP IN THEIR UTILITY, UH, EXPENSES. AND IF, IF THIS PROGRAM IS IN THE NEWS, THEY MAY THINK IT'S ATTRIBUTABLE TO WESTERN POWER. SO THERE'S SEVERAL REASONS WHY YOUR UTILITY BILL MIGHT INCREASE A LOT MONTH TO MONTH. IT COULD BE A CHANGE IN DELIVERY CHARGES, IT CAN BE USE PATTERNS. MAYBE YOU'RE USING MORE THIS MONTH THAN LAST MONTH. SOMETIMES THERE ARE BILLING DELAYS AND ERRORS, AND THEN THERE'S CATCH UP. IT'S DEFINITELY NOT OUR PROGRAM THOUGH, BECAUSE A FIXED RATE IS A FIXED RATE. MM-HMM. . AND BY DEFINITION IT'S NOT CHANGING DURING THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT. SO THOSE SUDDEN SPIKES WOULD NOT BE ATTRIBUTABLE TO WESTCHESTER POWER. JUST TO KIND OF CLEAR THAT UP, COMMUNICATION, THIS [00:20:01] IS SOMETHING I KNOW HAS BEEN, UH, RIGHTLY A PRIORITY FOR YOU, PAUL, AND FOR OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD TOO. AS I'VE SAID IN EMAILS THAT I'VE SHARED WITH YOU, WE REALLY TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY AND WE THINK THAT THE COMMENTS WE'VE RECEIVED IN THE PAST ABOUT INADEQUACY OF, OF, OF INFORMATION FLOW ARE LEGITIMATE. AND WE THINK THERE ARE A VARIETY OF MEASURES, INCLUDING THOSE I'VE LISTED HERE, THAT, THAT WOULD IMPROVE PEOPLE'S KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROGRAM, KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR OPTIONS, AND WE'D BE EAGER TO WORK WITH YOU TO COME UP WITH A CUSTOMIZED PACKAGE THAT YOU THINK MAKES THE MOST SENSE. FOR GREENBERG ALSO HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU TO ADVOCATE FOR THE PSC TO, UH, TO CHANGE THE, UH, THE WAY BILLS ARE DISPLAYED. I JUST DON'T WANT US TO RELY ON THAT BECAUSE WE KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE THAT WE CAN'T, IT COULD BE LENGTHY, THAT CAN'T BE GUARANTEED. BUT THERE IS A LIST OF OPTIONS THAT ARE VERY VIABLE FOR INFORMING THE PRODUCT. WHAT I, WHAT I HAVE THOUGHT IS, UM, AND I WAS THINKING OF IT TODAY, IS, YOU KNOW, IF PEOPLE ARE ENROLLED IN, UM, THE GREEN ENERGY OPTION, UH, PEOPLE ARE EXPECTING THAT THE RATES ARE GONNA BE HIGHER THAN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE, THE BASIC, YOU KNOW, PLAN. SO I'M THINKING THAT IF WE BASICALLY SAID, YOU KNOW, IF WE FIGURED, OH, WE KNOW THAT THE GREEN ENERGY'S GONNA BE MORE EXPENSIVE, AND WE TELL PEOPLE IT'S DEFINITELY GONNA BE MORE EXPENSIVE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A MORE EXPENSIVE OPTION. BUT IF, YOU KNOW, FOR, IF WE COULD HAVE LIKE A, A BASELINE, AND IF IT TURNS OUT THAT AFTER LIKE THREE MONTHS, UH, THERE'S THREE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS WHERE IT'S, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE CONED RATES ARE LOWER, THEN I THINK THE TOWN SHOULD SEND A POSTCARD TO EVERYBODY JUST SAYING, YEAH, WE JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THE ABILITY OF LAST YEAR'S CONTRACT WASN'T THAT SUPPOSED NO, LAST YEAR DONE. LAST YEAR. LAST YEAR WE GOT THEM TO DO A ONE LETTER, BUT IT, IT WAS LIKE A BULK, YOU KNOW, THEY SENT A LOT OF STUFF. YEAH. BUT I THOUGHT PART OF, PART OF, AND I, AND I APOLOGIZE, I DIDN'T MEAN CONTROL, BUT THE PART OF THE CONTRACT LAST YEAR THAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO NOTIFY CUSTOMERS WHEN THERE WAS A CHANGE IN RATES. NO, IT WAS ONLY ONCE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO. I DON'T REMEMBER JUST BEING ONE. I'M POSITIVE. THAT WAS A CHALLENGE THAT I HAD. OKAY. CURRENT LANGUAGE ONLY SAYS, I BELIEVE ONCE IS WELL, ONCE, WELL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. OH, OKAY. I THOUGHT IT WAS MORE SO WE CAN MAKE IT MORE IF WE WANT TO. I MEAN, WE NEED TO BE MORE COMMUNICATED WITH, WITH THE RESIDENTS. SO I MEAN, THERE IS, THERE IS A COST FACTOR WHEN YOU DO A MASS MAILING, WHICH WE JUST HAVE TO CONSIDER. AND AGAIN, MY MY SUGGESTION IS, UH, LET'S HAVE A WORKING GROUP THAT CAN GO THROUGH ALL THESE OPTIONS AND JOINTLY DETERMINE WHAT IS MOST SENSIBLE IN TERMS OF THIS COMMUNITY. YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS THAT ARE EFFECTIVE IN GREENBURG. RIGHT. BETTER THAN I DO. SEE, MY FEELING IS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY THE ROBOCALL, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T HAVE LANDLINES ANYMORE. SO THE ROBOCALL AREN'T, YOU KNOW, THAT GREAT IF YOU'RE DEALING WITH LIKE EMAILS OR EVEN TEXTING, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S SO HARD TO REACH PEOPLE. BUT IF YOU KNOW WHO'S ALREADY OPTED OUT OF THE PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY IT'S 10% OF GREENBERG HAS ALREADY OPTED OUT, SO THE MAILING COSTS ARE ALREADY, YOU KNOW, LOWER. AND I FEEL THAT IF WE COULD COME UP WITH SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, COULD BE A SMALL POSTCARD, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE, AND YOU KNOW, WE COULD HAVE VERY CLEAR, WELL, YOU KNOW, A POSSIBILITY TOO IS, UM, SENDING A POSTCARD SAYING IF YOU OPT IN OR NOT OPT IN, LET'S NOT USE THAT, THAT TERMINOLOGY. BUT HERE IS A SPECIFIC AREA ON OUR WEBSITE THAT YOU CAN GO TO FOR UPDATES. AND THAT WAY YOU'RE LETTING EVERYBODY KNOW ONE TIME WHERE THEY CAN GO FOR THAT, THOSE UPDATES. AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A, BUT THIS IS WHAT THE KIND OF THING THAT A WORKING GROUP CAN RIGHT. HAMMER OUT. AND, AND, AND IF THEY MAKE DECISIONS, IF THEY GO TO THAT, THEN THERE'S A LIVE LINK THAT THEY CAN GO TO RATHER THAN IF IT'S A POSTCARD, IT'S ON A LIVE LINK THAT THEY CAN THEN ACTUALLY TAKE ACTION IF THEY NEED TO. RIGHT. YEAH. I I THINK YOUR IDEA IS LIKE A VERY GOOD ONE, BUT I SORT OF FEEL THAT PEOPLE THROW OUT A LOT OF THE MAILINGS AND POSTCARDS, AND I FEEL THAT IF WE WOULD, I WANT TO SHOW PEOPLE THAT WE SORT OF LEARN FROM THIS EXPERIENCE BECAUSE THERE'S STILL A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE SORT OF ANGRY ABOUT THE OP, YOU KNOW. BUT I ALSO THINK THAT, UM, IF THE WAY I LOOK AT SUSTAINABLE, YOU KNOW, WESTCHESTER, IF WE DON'T PARTICIPATE, THEN WE'RE BASIC AND ALL THE OTHER COMMUNITIES, DON WESTCHESTER POWER NOT, IT REALLY IS GONNA HURT YOUR ABILITY OF DOING ALL THE POSITIVE THINGS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING. SO I REALLY WANT TO FIGURE OUT A WAY THAT WE COULD WORK WITH YOU AND MAKE IT HAPPEN, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, LISTEN TO SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE THE MOST ANGRY AND SAY WE'RE DOING IT A LITTLE DIFFERENT THIS YEAR. THAT'S, THAT'S MY, WELL, YEAH, AND I THINK THAT, THAT, UH, THAT NO'S SUGGESTION THAT WE HAVE SOME SORT OF WORKING GROUP, WHICH IS DEFINITELY IN YOUR WHEELHOUSE, SHORT TERM WORKING GROUP WITH A, A TIME LIMIT ON, YOU KNOW, OF A, OF A MONTH OR A WEEK, A FEW MONTHS, WHATEVER IT IS. THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE IS YOU NEED THE TOWN TO MAKE SORT OF A COMMITMENT NOW. SO IF WE HAVE LIKE THE WORKING GROUP, YOU KNOW, FORMED, UM, BUT WE, WE MADE THE COMMITMENT BEFORE THE WORKING GROUP, UH, THEN AREN'T WE BASICALLY SAYING, [00:25:01] OH, WE ALREADY AGREED TO IT. SO THEN IT BECOMES, UH, LIKE ANY OTHER CONTRACT. I MEAN, WE EITHER, BUT THEN THEY CANNOT DOUBT PAUL. SO THAT THAT ALLOWS THEM THE OPPORTUNITY SAYING, I, I DO. AND I APPRECIATE YOUR POINT. AND I, I THINK THAT THE COUNTER ARGUMENT IS FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, THIS IS NOT A SHORT TERM RELATIONSHIP. YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE YOU ARE OUR MEMBERS. MM-HMM. , WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE CONTINUE TO SERVE YOU FOR THE LONG TERM. AND SO IT IS BOTH OUR MORAL OBLIGATION AND OUR SELF-INTERESTED OBLIGATION TO WORK WITH YOU IN GOOD FAITH. MM-HMM. . AND IF, IF WE COMMIT TO DOING THIS IN A SERIOUS WAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA RENEGE ON THAT BECAUSE YOU, YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT NEXT TIME, RIGHT? MM-HMM. . AND, YOU KNOW, SO I, I, WE WANT, I'M NOT VOTING FOR THIS UNLESS WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT IN ADVANCE THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET REAL COMMUNICATION TO THOSE WHO WANT TO OPT OUT, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED. AND IT IS A LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP, BUT IT'S BEEN ONE OF TREMENDOUS PAIN FOR MANY PEOPLE. MM-HMM. , RIGHT? WHETHER OR NOT IT'S SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER OR, OR POWER'S RESPONSIBILITY BECAUSE OF THE CRISIS IN UKRAINE AND ALL THAT OTHER KIND OF STUFF. IT, IT DOESN'T MATTER TO THEM, QUITE FRANKLY, BECAUSE IT'S THEIR POCKETBOOK. MM-HMM. . AND SO FOR ME TO AGREE TO A CONTRACT THAT'S BASICALLY THE SAME AS THE LAST ONE WITHOUT HAVING SOME REAL COMMUNICATION BUILT INTO IT, YOU KNOW, AND, AND WHEN THE PUBLIC HEARS, LET'S HAVE A COMMITTEE, RIGHT? THAT'S READ AS YOU KNOW THIS, RIGHT. POLITICIANS JUST PUSHING IT DOWN. RIGHT? LET'S SIGN ON THE BOTTOM LINE AND THEN LET'S FORM A COMMITTEE. AND THEN WHAT'S GONNA COME BACK IS THERE'S A COST TO THAT. AND IF WE DO IT FOR GREENBERG, WE'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE IN THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT. YEAH. WE DO IT FOR GREENBERG, WE HAVE TO DO IT FOR EVERYBODY ELSE. NOW WE HAVE TO MULTIPLY THAT BY 25 OR WHATEVER IT IS. MUNICIPALITIES. YEAH. AND SO GREENBERG, WE CAN'T DO THAT. BUT OF COURSE WE'VE ALREADY COMMITTED. SO I I, I'M JUST PUTTING IT OUT THERE. I APPRECIATE YOUR POINT, FRANCIS AND I, AND I KNOW THERE ARE PLENTY OF EXAMPLES OF LIKE BLUE RIBBON COMMISSIONS THAT GO NOWHERE AND IT'S A MECHANISM FOR, FOR AVOIDING A PROBLEM RATHER THAN CONFRONTING IT. I DO THINK THERE'S A LITTLE DIFFERENCE IN WHAT I'M SUGGESTING. I I, THIS IS NOT A, A KIND OF AN EMPTY PLEDGE. I MEAN, I'VE ACTUALLY LISTED A WHOLE BUNCH OF SPECIFIC MEASURES THAT I THINK ARE PRACTICAL IN REALISTIC, SOME OF WHICH WE'VE ALREADY DONE. WE, WE HOUSED A NEW VIDEO ON OUR WEBSITE THAT HELPS PEOPLE, UH, GET THEIR ONLINE CONED ACCOUNT THAT PROVIDES REAL TIME RATE COMPARISONS, UH, AT THE SUGGESTION OF ANOTHER MUNICIPALITY. WE PUT ON OUR HOMEPAGE AN IMMEDIATE LINK FOR HOW YOU CAN OPT IN OR OPT OUT. SO IT IS MORE TRANSPARENT AND EASIER TO NAVIGATE. SO I'M, I'M SAYING TO YOU, WE, WE TAKE THIS VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY AND, UM, UH, AND I DON'T THINK A A WORKING GROUP, UH, IS INTENDED TO KICK THE PROBLEM DOWN THE ROAD, BUT RATHER HAVE A FORUM IN WHICH YOU CAN WRESTLE WITH THESE SPECIFIC POSSIBILITIES AND DECIDE WHICH ONES YOU WANT TO EMBRACE AND NOT EMBRACE HOW WE ABOUT YOU PUT ALL THOSE OPTIONS ON THE TABLE. WE WORK THROUGH IT NEXT WEEK AND WE SEE WHERE THE END RESULT, WELL, RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, LET'S TAKE TWO OR THREE MONTHS TO STUDY THESE THINGS. SO AS, UM, AS I MENTIONED, I THINK LAST TIME, WE'RE HAPPY TO GET TO WORK WHENEVER YOU'RE, WHENEVER YOU'RE READY. UM, SO I MEAN, IF, IF LIKE LITERALLY IF YOU WANT THIS WEEK FOR US TO CONVENE WITH WHATEVER CAST OF CHARACTERS YOU THINK WOULD BE MOST CONSTRUCTIVE, I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT. WELL, LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION. I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, IF THE RATES, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD HAVE LIKE A BASELINE AND SAY, IF THE RATES ARE OVER THIS AMOUNT FOR SAY, THREE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS, THERE'D BE A SIMPLE POSTCARD, YOU KNOW, NOT A, A GIGANTIC, YOU KNOW, AN INEXPENSIVE POSTCARD, UH, TO THE PEOPLE JUST SAYING HOW THEY COULD OPT OUT. WHAT IF WE WORKED OUT SOMETHING AND YOU BASICALLY SAID, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE DOING THE BIDDING, YOU WOULD SAY, OKAY, WITH GREENBERG, THEY SHOULD INCLUDE, UH, EVEN THOUGH WE MAY NOT NEED, HOPEFULLY WE'RE NOT GONNA NEED IT. BUT LET'S SAY YOU JUST BUDGETED TWO OR THREE POSTCARDS THAT, UH, THAT WOULD BE PUT IN ESCROW AND WE COULD, THE TOWN COULD USE IT. UM, IF WE FEEL IT'S NECESSARY. AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND MAYBE, MAYBE IF THERE'S A LITTLE, MAYBE THAT WOULD SOLVE EVERYBODY'S, UH, IT COULD, YOU KNOW, CONCERNS. IT COULD NORM, HOW LONG IS THIS CONTRACT FOR? WELL, WE DON'T KNOW YET. UH, AND THE REASON IS WE ENTERTAIN BIDS OF MULTIPLE DURATIONS AND THEN CHOOSE THE BEST, THE BEST RATE. SO WHAT'S THE MAX? WHAT'S THE MAX DURATION? I THINK HIGHLY UNLIKELY. IT WOULD BE MORE THAN TWO YEARS. AND I THINK MOST PROBABLE WILL BE ONE YEAR FROM WHAT WE'RE HEARING RIGHT NOW, THAT'S LIKELY TO BE THE BEST RATE. BUT IF IT TURNS OUT 18 MONTHS IS A BETTER RATE, THEN YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA TRY TO DELIVER THE BEST VALUE WE CAN. SO IF IT'S ONLY LIKE ONE YEAR, MAYBE WHAT WE COULD DO IS, IS WE COULD SAY WE WOULD, THERE'D BE TWO POST A MAXIMUM OF TWO POSTCARDS THAT THE TOWN COULD USE AT OUR DISCRETION, UH, DURING THE YEAR THAT WOULD BE PAID FOR BY SUSTAINABLE, UH, YOU KNOW, WESTCHESTER, UH, THAT WOULD BASICALLY EXPLAIN THE OPT OUT PROVISIONS AND, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY WE WON'T USE IT, BUT RIGHT. 'CAUSE HOPEFULLY THE RATES WILL [00:30:01] BE LOWER THAN THEY'VE BEEN. YEAH, EXACTLY. WHICH WE DO EXPECT. I MEAN, JUST TO REACT TO SOMETHING FRANCIS SAID, I DON'T THINK THIS CONTRACT IS THE SAME AS THE LAST CONTRACT. MM-HMM. , I THINK IT'LL ACTUALLY BE QUITE DIFFERENT. I HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET. DO WE HAVE A FINAL VERSION? UH, IT IT, IT'S NOT A FINAL VERSION. IT'S PROPOSED VERSION THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO FILL IN SOME INFORMATION. YEAH. SPECIFIC, YOU SAID IT'LL THE SAME ONE POSTCARD IN THERE. IT DOES SAY ONE POSTCARD. THAT'S I'M TALKING ABOUT FROM A PRICE PERSPECTIVE. FRANCIS, FORGIVE ME. I, I I, I, I DIDN'T ARTICULATE MYSELF CLEARLY, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN, I THINK IS SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT. AND WE CAN CHANGE THE LANGUAGE TO SAY, TWO POSTCARDS THAT HAVE, SO IF WE MAKE IT TWO POSTCARDS IN THIS, I DON'T THINK THAT'S ENOUGH ASSOCIATIONS, THREE POSTCARDS. IT'S NOT THAT. I MEAN, I GUESS WE, WE SAT, WE SAT THROUGH A LOT OF COMMUNICATION FROM OUR RESIDENTS ABOUT, UM, THE DISPLEASURE OF THIS PROGRAM. AND, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK AND THIS AND, AND YOUR PRESENTATION. AND IT DOES SOUND LIKE IT COULD BE A DIFFERENT PROGRAM. I'M JUST VERY CONCERNED. AND I JUST THINK THAT IF WE GET TO A POINT, MAYBE, MAYBE QUARTERLY, MAYBE WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT, SO WE ARE COMMUNICATING WITH RESIDENTS TO SAY, THIS IS WHERE YOU'RE AT. MM-HMM. , YOU KNOW, WHAT CONED IS HERE. SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER HERE. SUSTAINABLE, UH, SUSTAINABLE. WESTCHESTER. THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD FOR YOU IS THE, IS THE RATES THE BILL THAT THEY RECEIVE, IS IT A CONED BILL? YES. CONED IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BILLING. OKAY. SO ON THAT CONED BILL, IF I'M A SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER PERSON, AM I GOING TO SEE MY RATE AND EVERYTHING ON THERE? YES. HAVE, IS THERE ANY TYPE OF A, PROBABLY CONED WOULDN'T WANT TO DO THIS. WAS THERE ANY TYPE OF AGREEMENT WITH YOU AND CONED SAY WE NEED TO BOWL THAT SO YOU CAN SEE WHETHER YOUR SAVINGS OR NOT? WELL, THAT'S WHAT I SUGGESTED, UH, AT THE LAST MEETING. IS THAT THERE YES. THAT WE ASKED THE PSC OR THE STATE LEGISLATURE TO, UM, UH, TO ALLOW, UH, JUST FOR THE ESCO BECAUSE THIS, THIS WAS AUTHORIZED BY THE STATE, UH, ALLOW, UM, A MONTHLY COMPARISON WITH OPT OUT, UH, YOU KNOW, PROVISIONS. BECAUSE IF IT'S ON EVERY BILL, THEN PEOPLE COULD, IT, IT'S, IT WOULD MAKE IT SO EASY ON EVERY, I JUST WANNA BE ON EVERY KINDED BILL. ON EVERY CONED BILL. THEN IT WOULD, THEN WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO SEND OUT POSTCARDS BECAUSE THEN IT'S EASY. WE WOULD CERTAINLY KEY, WE WOULD SUPPORT THAT THINK KEY IS TO FIND HOW DO WE ACTUALLY REACH THE GENERAL PUBLIC WHO ARE INUNDATED WITH INFORMATION. RIGHT. BUT MEAN THEY'RE INTERESTED IN THIS. IF THEY'RE INTERESTED IN THEIR POWER COSTS, THEN THEY KNOW GUESS THAT WAS DONE. SORRY. THAT'S ALRIGHT. OKAY. WELL THE PROBLEM IS IF THEY'RE INTERESTED, PEOPLE ARE NOT INTERESTED. I, THEY DON'T, BUT PEOPLE ALSO HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY TOO. NOW WE COMMUNICATE, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT EDUCATE EVERYONE AND EVERYONE AT THIS TABLE, I'M SURE IS OVERWHELMED. ESPECIALLY, AND I DON'T WANNA BRING UP, BUT EVEN THE ELECTIONS, WHEN WE WERE SENDING A TON OF MAIL, WE RECEIVED A TON OF MAIL LIKE THAT IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT TON OF MAIL IS A POSTCARD TELLING ME ABOUT MY RATE. I'M GONNA MISS THAT. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU. YOU, YOU'RE GONNA MISS IT. YOU'RE GONNA MISS IT. YOU'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA MISS THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A CONCERN WHEN WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT THIS POSTCARD, LIKE IT'S GOING TO BE THE END OF ALL, LIKE, IT'S GONNA BE THIS GREAT THING THAT'S GOING TO MAKE THINGS CHANGE AND BE BETTER. THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WAY TO SYSTEM. YEAH. IT HAS TO BE A BETTER SYSTEM. AGAIN, THAT'S, I I'D LIKE TO REITERATE MY SUGGESTION AND, AND JUST REMIND EVERYBODY THAT AFTER THE CGR REPORT, WE SENT OUT A POSTCARD AND WE HAD A QR CODE ON IT AND WE HAD AN EMAIL ADDRESS. AND THAT'S THE, AND, AND IF WE DO SET UP AND HAVE, HAVE OUR PROGRAM SET UP SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GET ON TIME INFORMATION THAT WHETHER IT'S ONE OR TWO POSTCARDS INFORMING EVERYBODY AND PUTTING IT EVERYWHERE ELSE THAT WE CAN IN SOCIAL MEDIA OR WHATEVER, THEN THAT IS, UM, A WAY OF LETTING PEOPLE KNOW. 'CAUSE I AGREE WITH YOU, UH, COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON, THAT CERTAINLY, UM, PEOPLE CAN MISS THE POSTCARDS. YEAH. WHATEVER THE POSTCARD SAYS. BUT, SO WE MIGHT BE SERVED BY DOING THAT TWICE, YOU KNOW, BUT AT LEAST HAVE THAT LOCATION TO PEOPLE. BUT WE ALSO, WE ALSO HAVE TO RECOGNIZE OUR SENIORS AS WELL. YOU KNOW, I LIVE WITH ONE. UNDERSTOOD. YEAH. YOU, WE ALL DO. RIGHT. UNDERSTOOD. SO WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE, I MEAN, WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO ARE NOT LIVING WITH SOMEONE TO HELP THEM TO SEE THAT AND THEY'RE PAYING ALL THIS MONEY. WE HEAR ALL THE TIME THAT WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP OUR SENIORS IN PLACE IF THEY CAN'T AFFORD AN ELECTRICAL BILL. AND I'M, I'VE SEEN CONNED BILLS, I'VE SEEN, I'VE SEEN THE, THE $200 BILL TO THE NEXT MONTH. IT'S $500 FOR WHATEVER REASON. BUT THAT'S CONED EXACTLY WHAT I, I UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT A FIXED RATE JOY, BUT MY POINT IS NOT, MY POINT IS THE RATE IS NOT THE RATE. MY POINT IS MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE IS AWARE AND THEY SEE THAT AND THEY, AND THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEY CAN HAVE THE OPTION TO CHANGE. AND THEY'RE RECOGNIZING THAT THIS CAN BE, THEY CAN HAVE THAT OPTION NOW. YES, THIS COULD BE A GREAT PROGRAM. I'M NOT SAYING IT WASN'T, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY. I I'M STILL HERE. MM-HMM. BECAUSE I STILL HEAR EVERYTHING THAT THE RESIDENTS KEEP SAYING TO US AND ALL THE EMAILS AND NORM, YOU'VE SAT IN THE SEAT. YOU SAT IN THAT SEAT. ABSOLUTELY. [00:35:01] BUT, BUT I, BUT I ALSO KNOW FROM HAVING SAT IN THAT SEAT MM-HMM. THAT WE TYPICALLY DON'T HEAR FROM THE FOLKS WHO ARE SATISFIED. UM, AND WE CAN, WE, WE HAVE A VERY VOCAL, WE HAVE A VERY VOCAL COMMUNITY YEAH. SHOWS, I KNOW NURSE SHOW'S VOCAL AS WELL. SO I MEAN, THAT'S WHY I ASKED YOU THE LENGTH OF THIS CONTRACT. YEAH. BECAUSE ME PERSONALLY, I NEED TO SEE SOME CHANGES. I NEED TO SEE SOME EVIDENCE THAT THERE ARE SOME CHANGES OF STUFF THAT YOU ARE TALKING, THAT YOU ARE BRINGING TO US TONIGHT. I CAN'T, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I HAVE TO GO BACK AND TO WHAT I HEAR, WHAT I READ, WHAT PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, SPEAKING WITH ME. I, I, AND I RESPECT THAT VERY MUCH. I KNOW YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE WORKING FOR AND FIGHTING FOR THE PEOPLE YOU REPRESENT AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE WAY YOU OUGHT, YOU OUGHT TO APPROACH THIS JOB. SO I I MAYBE WE SHOULD THROW IN THE ROBO CALLS AREN'T THAT EXPENSIVE. SO MAYBE IF WE SAY, YOU KNOW, THERE'D BE TWO POSTCARDS AND YOU KNOW, A MAXIMUM SAY TWO ROBO CALLS AT DIFFERENT TIMES. LET'S HAVE THOSE DISCUSSIONS THIS WEEK BECAUSE I, I DON'T KNOW, IT'S, IT'S TIME IS SHORT. NOW WE HAVE TO START OUR MEETING. I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA SOLVE THIS AT THIS TIME. RIGHT, EXACTLY. THAT'S WHY I SUGGESTED HAVE A WORKING GROUP LOOKING AT THIS SPECIFICALLY. I THINK THAT'LL BE MOST CONSTRUCTIVE. AND I, AND I I DO WANNA JUST SAY LIKE, AS I, I SO RESPECT THAT THE ARGUMENT, BUT I, I DON'T THINK WE PROTECT PEOPLE BY TAKING THEIR CHOICES AWAY. I AGREE. UM, AND, AND YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE IF YOU ARE CONCERNED WHETHER IT'S PRICE OR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, IT'S LIKE EMPOWER PEOPLE TO MAKE DECISIONS. THAT'S THE BEST WAY. IF I ASK THE QUESTION TO YOU, IS THERE AN OPTION IF WE, IF OTHERS SAY, HEY, IF OTHERS VOTE AND SAY, HEY, WE'RE GOING TO OPT IN AND, AND, AND BE PART OF THIS PROGRAM. IF I CHOOSE TO SAY, I DON'T WANNA BE A PART OF THIS, I'M GONNA OPT OUT IMMEDIATELY. YES. MM-HMM. ON JANUARY ONE, RIGHT? YOU COULD DO THAT. I CAN ALWAYS GO BACK IN. THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING THAT QUESTION. ABSOLUTELY. SO AGAIN, I I I, I DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO THINK THAT WE ARE TAKING AWAY OPTIONS. I DON'T WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE. BUT I DO GET CONCERNED, YOU KNOW, IF WE PUT PLACE THEM LIKE WE HAVE PUT RESIDENTS, I MEAN WE ALL AGREE. I VOTED FOR IT AS WELL. 'CAUSE I THOUGHT THIS WAS VERY GOOD. I'M VERY MUCH INTO MAKING SURE ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY AND, AND RENEWABLES AND ALL THAT STUFF. I, I WORK FOR AN ORGANIZATION THAT DOES DOES SUCH, BUT I JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE RIGHT FOR OUR RESIDENTS. YEP. YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE NOT EVERYTHING IS RIGHT FOR EVERYONE. IT MAY RIGHT OVER HERE, IT MAY NOT BE RIGHT OFF OVER HERE. SO THAT'S WHY I WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE CLEAR ON THAT. AND, AND ALSO WHY YOU WANT, YOU WANT TO SHOW THAT WE'RE LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, CONCERNS BECAUSE PEOPLE, WELL, WE ALWAYS, PAUL, YOU PUT THAT OUT THERE, BUT WE ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE NO, BUT I'M SAYING YOU WANNA SHOW, THAT'S WHY WE'RE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW. I WANNA REITERATE ALL THAT. BUT SHOULD I, SHOULD I CONTINUE? 'CAUSE I, I KNOW THERE COUPLE POINTS AND I KNOW YOU'VE GOT A MEETING COMING UP. SO SEVEN MINUTES. SHARE YOUR SCREEN AGAIN. OH, I HAVE TO. OKAY. FORGIVE ME. LET ME DO THAT. UH, HERE WE GO. ALRIGHT. LOOK AT THAT BEAUTIFUL GRAPHIC. UM, . UH, SO JUST TAKING A DEEP DIVE INTO STATS FOR GREENBURG. UM, THIS IS, UH, A LITTLE BIT NEW. SO WE LOOKED AT THE LIFETIME OF THE PROGRAM AND TRIED TO COME UP WITH AVERAGES. KEEP IN MIND YOUR INDIVIDUAL MILEAGE WILL VARY 'CAUSE EVERYONE'S HOUSEHOLD IS DIFFERENT. BUT AGAIN, THROUGH THE LIFE OF THE PROGRAM, UH, FOR ELECTRICITY SUPPLY, FOR THE AVERAGE GREENBERG CONSUMER, IT'S BEEN $53 A MONTH. FOR CONED IT'S BEEN $57 A MONTH FOR WESTCHESTER POWER. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A DELTA OF $4 A MONTH, ROUGHLY 10 CENTS A DAY. 400% RENEWABLE POWER. NOT SUCH A BAD DEAL. UM, AND IF YOU CONSIDER THE COST OF CARBON, THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON, WHICH IT'S NOT AN OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSE, BUT IT'S WHAT ECONOMISTS TELL US WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT. MM-HMM. . AND BY THAT STANDARD, THE RATE IS A HECK OF A LOT HIGHER. MM-HMM. . UM, AND IT'S ACTUALLY SAVINGS WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT BOTH THE PRESENT DAY AND THE FUTURE DAY. SO, UM, JUST TO PUT THE NUMBERS IN PERSPECTIVE AND, AND THINK ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM AND PAUL, YOU ASKED THIS ABOUT OPT OUTS AND SO ON. SO THERE ARE PRESENTLY, ACCORDING TO OUR LATEST COUNT, ABOUT 9,500 HOUSEHOLDS IN THE UNINCORPORATED PORTION OF GREENBURG THAT ARE IN THIS PROGRAM, THAT'S A TOTAL HOUSEHOLD COUNT OF ABOUT 18,000. YOU KNOW, BETTER THAN ME. UH, AND YOU COULD SEE THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE AFFIRMATIVELY CHOSEN TO OPT OUT, WHO HAVE SWITCHED TO AN ESCO WHO'VE MOVED OUTTA GREENBURG, WHO HAVE MOVED INTO GREENBURG. YOU COULD SEE THE KIND OF CHURN IN THE PROGRAM, UH, OVER TIME. SO WHEN YOU, IN 2023, YOU SAID IT WAS 6 66 AND IN 2024, IS THAT 2 74 MORE OR, UH, WELL, UH, YES. AND OF COURSE IT'S ONLY PARTIAL DATA FOR, FOR 2024. UH, 'CAUSE THE AIR ISN'T OVER YET. CAN YOU CAN GIVE US THAT SLIDE TO LIKE PERMANENT, CAN WE HAVE THAT SLIDE THAT THE WHOLE, THAT PART SLIDE? YOU CAN HAVE DATA. NO, I KNOW, BUT THAT PART, THAT'S WHY IN PARTICULAR IS VERY IMPORTANT. I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR ON THESE NUMBERS. MM-HMM, , SO YOU'RE SAYING THE OPT OUT, SO IN 20 23, 666 PEOPLE OPT OUT. YEP. OKAY. AND THIS YEAR TO DATE, 274 OPT OUT. YEAH, IT'S NOT EXACTLY THE DATE BECAUSE THE DATA'S A FEW MONTHS OLD, BUT IT, THE MOST RECENT DATA WE HAVE, BUT THAT'S ON TOP THE PREVIOUS ONE BECAUSE WHEN SOMEBODY EXPENSIVE, SO YOU WOULD HAVE TO ADD ALL THE OPT OUT. 77 PLUS 85 PLUS 5 54. NO, THE NUMBERS. SO IT'S A FEW THOUSAND PEOPLE. CORRECT. A FEW THOUSAND PEOPLE HAVE OPTED OUT. CORRECT. [00:40:01] AND I THINK WHAT'S RELEVANT ABOUT THAT IS YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT A SUBSTANTIAL PERCENTAGE OF THE PEOPLE WHO REALLY WANT OUT OF THIS PROGRAM ARE OUT OF THE PROGRAM. YOU KNOW? AND THEY'RE PAYING ATTENTION. NOTHING YOU'RE GONNA DO, NOTHING YOU'RE GONNA DO IS GONNA PUT THEM BACK IN. THEY ONLY COME BACK IN IF THEY AFFIRMATIVELY DECIDE THEY WANT TO GO BACK IN. AND I'VE BEEN ON FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS, UH, EVERY MONTH ON THE WEBSITE AND ON SOCIAL MEDIA, OR I DO THE COMPARISONS AND I TELL PEOPLE HOW TO OPT OUT. SO PROBABLY MOST OF THE OPT-OUTS ARE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SO THEY ARE PAYING ATTENTION BECAUSE I'VE BEEN PEOPLE WHO ARE READING. NO, I'M NOT PANDERING TO MY, I'M NOT, NO, BUT IT'S TRUE. BUT I, I'M TELLING EVERYBODY'S YOU CAN TAKE CREDIT FOR THAT CAN TAKE CREDIT. NO, I, BUT PAUL, AND I'LL TELL YOU THAT AS I GO TO OTHER COMMUNITIES, MANY OF THEM CITE GREENBERG IS A GOOD MODEL OF INFORMATION FLOW. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN, YOU CAN TAKE A BOW FOR THAT. UM, THEY ASKED FOR US, THEY ASKED FOR US TO SEND, FOR US TO SEND THE SAME EMAIL THAT WE SENT TO YOU TO OTHERS STUFF. I DON'T PRAISE MYSELF. NOBODY ELSE WILL WRITE. SO AGAIN, I JUST, I THINK THIS IS USEFUL TO UNDERSTAND THE, YOU KNOW, THE DYNAMIC THAT'S BEEN OCCURRING. WHAT, WHAT DOES THE HEADING MEAN? ACCOUNTS MOVING OUT OF GREENBERG. UH, SO THAT'S PEOPLE LITERALLY MOVING OUT OF TOWN, YOU KNOW, SO, BUT SOMEBODY ELSE IS MOVING IN. WELL THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE LAST COLUMN. SO THAT'S ACCOUNTS OPTED IN, NEWLY ELIGIBLE. UM, SO IF SOMEBODY MOVES OUT, THAT ACCOUNT AUTOMATICALLY GOES BACK TO CON ED. SOMEBODY ELSE HAS TO COME IN AND SAY, WELL, WE WANT IT, IT IT, IT'S THE DEFAULT SUPPLY FOR THE TOWN. RIGHT? SO IF, IF YOU WERE TO MOVE TO PUTNAM COUNTY, YOU'RE NO LONGER IN THE PROGRAM 'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT A GREAT RESIDENT. WHAT ABOUT THE PERSON WHO BUYS THE HOUSE? SOMEONE WHO COMES IN IT IS THEIR DEFAULT SUPPLY AND THEY WOULD GET A MAILING VERY SIMILAR TO THE MAILING THAT GOES OUT TO EVERYBODY AT THE INCEPTION OF THE CONTRACT SAYS, YOU KNOW, YOU MOVED IN, HERE'S THIS PROGRAM, HERE'S THE RATE, HERE ARE YOUR OPTIONS. SO, AND IN FACT, IT'S PEOPLE MOVING OUT AND MOVING IN THAT ACCOUNT FOR MORE FLUCTUATION IN PROGRAM ENROLLMENT THAN FOLKS OPTING IN OR OPTING OUT. AND MAYBE WHAT WE COULD DO IS WHEN THEY GET THAT THE NEW RESIDENTS, MAYBE WE COULD SAY, DO YOU WANT A COMPARISON OF THE, THE RATES EACH MONTH? LOOK AT THE CON ED OR CHECK THE GREENBERG WEBSITE. SURE. YEAH. I THINK THAT THAT WOULD WORK. MM-HMM. . YEP. UM, SO LET ME, UM, UH, LET ME JUST, UH, ROUND THIS OUT 'CAUSE I KNOW WE'VE GOT FOLKS WHO ARE WAITING VERY PATIENTLY. UM, I DID I THINK LAST TIME TALK ABOUT THIS DISTINCTION BETWEEN TIER ONE AND TIER TWO RECS. YES. UH, AND THIS IS WHERE I WANT TO ASSURE MY FRIEND, UH, HAL, UH, AS OF OUR CONVERSATION EARLIER, UH, THE STANDARD SUPPLY, WHICH WAS OFFERED AS A DEFAULT OPTION IN PRIOR CONTRACTS, WE'RE NOT OFFERING IT AGAIN THIS YEAR. IT WAS ONLY RELEVANT ACTUALLY TO, TO TWO OF THE COMMUNITIES. TWO OF THE 29 ALMOST ALL CHOSE RENEWABLE AS THE DEFAULT SUPPLY. BUT STANDARD IS NO LONGER THERE. WE'RE NOT SURE WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO OFFER THE SAME 100% TIER TWO REC, UH, UH, SUPPLY OPTION THAT WE HAD PREVIOUSLY. WHAT WE'RE OFFERING INSTEAD AS OPTIONS FOR YOU IS 50% RENEWABLE. UM, WHICH WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, LESS THAN WHAT YOU HAVE NOW, MORE THAN THE UTILITY, BUT ALSO LESS EXPENSIVE. MM-HMM. COULD BE THE RIGHT BALANCE POINT FOR YOU. MM-HMM. . MM-HMM. . THIS IS, UH, PRE-MEET. MM-HMM. , UH, OR, UH, SORT OF DARK GREEN. DARK GREEN, WHICH WOULD BE TIER ONE AND TIER TWO BLENDED UP TO A HUNDRED PERCENT. SO I WANT, I WANNA JUST MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S, UM, ABSOLUTE, OH LET ME, THIS, I SHOULD STILL TALK ABOUT THIS. THESE ARE THE CURRENT PRICE INDICATIVES THAT WE HAVE. SO FOR 2022, THE CURRENT CONTRACT, 15.40 CENTS FOR THAT MEDIUM GREEN, IF YOU LOOK APPLES TO APPLES, WE THINK IT'S LIKELY TO BE 12.4 FOR MEDIUM GREEN, A LITTLE BIT MORE FOR DARK GREEN, LESS FOR LIGHT GREEN. MM-HMM. , THE ACTUAL NUMBER WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY BE SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT FROM THIS WHEN WE GET THE BIDS. BUT THIS IS PROBABLY GONNA BE THE BALLPARK. MM-HMM. . AND SO YOU CAN SEE IN EACH CASE IT'S CONSIDERABLY LESS THAN WHAT IT IS TODAY. HOW MUCH LESS WILL BE DEPENDENT ON WHICH DEFAULT OPTION. , THAT'S, I KNOW WHAT I SAID WAS SHOCKING. SO THAT'S . UM, UH, HOW MUCH LESS WILL DEPEND ON, ON WHICH DEFAULT CHOOSE, BUT YOU MIGHT WANNA MOVE YOUR SEAT OVER JUST A LITTLE BIT. YEAH. RIGHT. UM, SO, UH, JUST TO ROUND OUT, AND I WANNA BE SORT OF SUPER CLEAR ABOUT THIS. SO YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT YOUR CHOICES ARE. SO CHOICE NUMBER ONE, EXIT THE PROGRAM. YOU'RE DONE WITH WESTCHESTER POWER. ANYONE IS ENROLLED IN WESTCHESTER POWER RETURNS TO CON EDISON. UH, NO FURTHER OPTIONS FOR THOSE CONSUMERS BECAUSE YOU CAN'T OPT INTO THE PROGRAM IF THE MUNICIPALITIES OUT. SO THAT'S CHOICE ONE, CHOICE TWO, YOU WANNA STAY WITH THE PROGRAM. UH, AND YOU WANNA ESTABLISH 50% LIKE GREEN AS THE DEFAULT OPTION FOR GREENBERG. MM-HMM. , IF THAT'S YOUR CHOICE, YOU'RE DONE. NO FURTHER CHOICE. CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT YOU MEAN BY 50%? SO, UM, UH, THIS PRODUCT WOULD BE, UH, 50% OF IT WOULD BE PURCHASED THROUGH RENEWABLE POWER TIER TWO REX, WHICH IS MAINLY HYDRO POWER. THE OTHER 50% WOULD BE THE, THE STANDARD UTILITY MIX. SO FOSSIL IN TERMS OF FUEL, FOSSIL FUELS IN TERMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, BETTER THAN THE UTILITY, BUT NOT AS GOOD AS IT COULD BE. UM, BUT AGAIN, AS I HAD INDICATED EARLIER, ALSO LESS EXPENSIVE THAN A FULLY RENEWABLE PRODUCT. 'CAUSE THERE IS A PREMIUM FOR GREEN ENERGY. [00:45:01] MM-HMM. . AND SO MIGHT BE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR AN INDIVIDUAL MIGHT BE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR A COMMUNITY. THAT'S A DECISION YOU WOULD HAVE TO MAKE. OH, SO, SO ESSENTIALLY IF WE COULD OPT IN FOR A HUNDRED PERCENT, BUT AN INDIVIDUAL COULD OPT IN FOR 50%. THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT. AND THAT'S YOU ANTICIPATING, OH, THAT'S A GREAT OPTION. SO, SO TO BE CLEAR, IT IT WORKS BOTH WAYS. YEAH. IF YOU ESTABLISH 50% AS YOUR DEFAULT, INDIVIDUALS CAN OPT UP TO A HUNDRED PERCENT OR THEY CAN OPT DOWN ENTIRELY. YOU KNOW, THEY CAN GO BACK TO, TO FOSSIL FUEL. SO THE THIRD CHOICE OBVIOUSLY IS YOU CAN SAY WE WANNA STICK WITH THE PROGRAM AND WE WANNA SET A HUNDRED PERCENT AS OUR RENEWABLE DEFAULT. IN THIS INSTANCE, INDIVIDUALS CAN OPT DOWN TO 50% IF THEY WANT TO, OR ONCE AGAIN, AND AS ALWAYS, THEY CAN GET OUTTA THE PROGRAM AT TILE. SO THAT'S MORE CHOICES THAN THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT. UH, YES, IT IS, IT IS. AND ONE FINAL WRINKLE ON THIS, IF YOU CHOOSE THIS OPTION, THEN WE WILL KNOW THE AVAILABILITY OF THE, UH, TIER ONE AND TIER TWO RECS, AND WE WILL KNOW THE PRICING. AND AT THAT POINT YOU CAN SAY, OKAY, WE'RE SATISFIED WITH THE 100% WE WANT TO GO THAT WAY. OR THE PRICE DELTA IS TOO BIG, WE WANT TO GO BACK TO 50%. MM-HMM. . SO, UM, IF YOU WANNA PRESERVE THAT OPTIONALITY FOR YOURSELF, THEN THAT'S THE ROUTE THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE. IF YOU ARE SURE THAT 50% IS THE RIGHT THING FOR GREENBERG, THEN IT'S THE OTHER MOU THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE. MM-HMM. IN EITHER CASE, EITHER MOU DOES COMMIT YOU TO THE PROGRAM. MM-HMM. AND DOES COMMIT YOU AT A MINIMUM TO OFFERING THE 50%, 50% RENEWABLE. BUT AGAIN, YOU CAN HAVE THAT OPTIONALITY OF A HUNDRED OR 50 ONCE ALL THE PRICING IS LAID OUT AND YOU HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED. I JUST HAD ONE OTHER THOUGHT. UM, YOU KNOW, SUSTAINABLE, WESTCHESTER DOES AN AWFUL LOT OF REALLY POSITIVE THINGS FOR THE COMMUNITY AND, YOU KNOW, FOR THE WORLD, UM, YOU KNOW, TODAY WAS ONLY 95 DEGREES. IT WOULD'VE BEEN 120 DEGREES, UH, WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT I, YOU KNOW, I'M, WHAT I'M WONDERING IS, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO DO LIKE SOMETHING THAT'S VERY SIMPLE AND SAY, YOU KNOW, IF IF ALL THE COMMUNITIES, UM, SAID WE'RE NOT PARTICIPATING SUSTAINABLE, WESTCHESTER GOES OUT OF BUSINESS, THIS IS WHAT, NOT SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER, WESTCHESTER POWER. NO, BUT I'M SAYING DIFFERENT. RIGHT. BUT I'M SAYING IF WE'RE NOT, IF WE'RE NOT HAVING THESE PROGRAMS, THIS IS WHAT RESIDENTS, THESE ARE THE SERVICES, UH, WESTCHESTER RESIDENTS ARE GONNA LOSE. BECAUSE I THINK THAT IF WE SAY, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE WE'RE ENROLLED IN THE, WE'RE ENROLLED IN THESE PROGRAMS, WE'RE GETTING ALL THESE OTHER BENEFITS AND RESIDENTS ARE GETTING ALL THESE OTHER PROGRAMS, I THINK THEN PEOPLE ARE SAYING IT'S NOT ONLY THE THE RATES, BUT IT'S ALL THESE EXTRA THINGS THAT WE'RE GETTING AT THIS ON TOP OF THE RATES. WELL, I I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE SPIRIT OF, OF THE POINT, PAUL, BUT I, I DO WANNA SAY, I, I DON'T THINK SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER WOULD GO OUTTA BUSINESS IF, IF THIS PROGRAM DID NOT CONTINUE, WOULD CERTAINLY BE A BLOW TO OUR ORGANIZATION. MAINLY BECAUSE THIS IS OUR MOST IMPACTFUL PROGRAM. RIGHT. THIS IS THE ONE THAT IS DOING THE MOST ENVIRONMENTAL GOOD FOR US AND, AND FOR YOU. BUT I DON'T, I DON'T WANNA, UH, YOU KNOW, STATE WRONGLY THAT WE WOULD DISCONTINUE OTHER SERVICES. I, I I I, IN MY OPINION, THE PROGRAM'S MERITS ON THEIR OWN ARE, ARE, ARE SUFFICIENT. SO, UM, YEAH. I GOTTA WRAP IT UP. SORRY. OKAY. YEAH. THANK, THANK, THANK, THANK YOU GINA. I APPRECIATE PROBLEM. THANK YOU ALL. VERY, VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. I WILL FOLLOW UP IN TERMS OF A, A, A WORKING GROUP IN COMMUNICATION. MM-HMM. . GRATEFUL FOR YOUR PATIENTS AND PLEASED TO SPEAK TO ANYONE. ONE-ON-ONE, IF THAT'S HELPFUL TO, TO ANYBODY. DO WE WANNA PUT THIS ON THE WORK SESSION AGENDA FOR NEXT TUESDAY? I THINK WE SHOULD PROBABLY HAVE A FURTHER DISCUSSION AMONGST OURSELVES BEFORE WE COMMIT TO ANYTHING. THE WORK, OH, NOT IN THE WORK SESSION. WE GOTTA FIGURE OUT WHICH WORK SESSION THAT'S GONNA BE. BUT I THINK WE HAVE THAT. WE DEFINITELY, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. NO. BECAUSE THIS HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL AND ENLIGHTENING. YES. REALLY APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MUCH. REALLY MY PLEASURE. REALLY MY PLEASURE. THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU. * 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.