CPS ENERGY BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVES 3.85% RATE REQUEST AND RECOVERY OF $418 MILLION IN WINTER STORM FUEL COSTS
Rate request will be presented to City Council on Jan. 13
January 10, 2022 (SAN ANTONIO) – Today, CPS Energy’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the utility’s request for a 3.85% rate increase along with a regulatory asset to recover $418 million in Winter Storm Uri fuel costs. The rate increase approval is the first in eight years and is intended to address CPS Energy’s immediate financial pressures and critical infrastructure investments. CPS Energy leadership will now present its rate request to the San Antonio City Council on Thursday, January 13. If approved, the increase would go into effect on March 1, 2022.
“We’re appreciative of the approval we gained today from our Board of Trustees to move this process forward to City Council and we’re thankful to the leaders of both the Rate Advisory Committee and the Citizens Advisory Committee for attending today’s Board meeting and sharing the perspectives of their respective committees,” said Rudy D. Garza, Interim President & CEO of CPS Energy. “Our team has been working diligently, alongside City of San Antonio staff, to present this rate request – the first we have asked for in 8 years. We are looking forward to our ongoing conversations with our elected officials and customers this Thursday on why this investment is needed to maintain critical community infrastructure to serve them.”
CPS Energy has worked collaboratively with City Council members to host town halls in each council district to provide details about the request to residents as well as answer questions and receive feedback. A full list of events can be found here.
The four key drivers included in the proposed 3.85% rate request include:
Infrastructure Resiliency – power generation and distribution projects to support operations during extreme weather
Technology – design future technology platform to replace current end-of-life platform
Growth – keep up with the community’s continued strong growth
People – retain and hire qualified employees needed to serve customers
For the average residential customer, the rate request could add $3.84 to the monthly bill. Recovery of paid legitimate fuel costs incurred during Winter Storm Uri would add $1.26 per month in the fuel adjustment portion of a customer’s bill. The regulatory asset would spread the $418 million to be recovered over 25 years. Combined, the total rate request costs would be $5.10 for the average electric & natural gas residential customer.
For customers who meet the qualifications of the CPS Energy Affordability Discount Program (ADP), the base rate increase would be offset by a $3.84 discount being added to the program, bringing the total ADP monthly discount to $16.14 from its current $12.30. Additionally, eligibility for the program would be increased by about 14,000 customers.
For more information about the rate request, visit the CPS Energy website, which also offers a new bill estimator for residential and small commercial customers to see the potential impact to their bill based on their normal energy usage.
To view the resolutions from today’s Board of Trustees meeting, click here.
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About CPS Energy
Established in 1860, CPS Energy is the nation’s largest public power, natural gas, and electric company, providing safe, reliable, and competitively-priced service to more than 884,811 electric and 366,709 natural gas customers in San Antonio and portions of seven adjoining counties. Our customers’ combined energy bills rank among the lowest of the nation’s 20 largest cities – while generating $8 billion in revenue for the City of San Antonio for more than seven decades. As a trusted and strong community partner, we continuously focus on job creation, economic development, and educational investment. True to our People First philosophy, we are powered by our skilled workforce, whose commitment to the community is demonstrated through our employees’ volunteerism in giving back to our city and programs aimed at bringing value to our customers. CPS Energy is among the top public power wind energy buyers in the nation and number one in Texas for solar generation.
