You see them on billboards, on the internet and on the TV on KSAT-12: advertisements paid for by the San Antonio Water System and CPS Energy.

And San Antonio residents frequently ask why public utilities are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on commercials when customers have no choice on what company to use.

The ads from the utilities spread the following messages and more: scrape, don't rinse grease in the sink, turn the water off and log on to find out about rebates and incentives.

In a 10-month period last year, CPS Energy spent nearly half a million dollars on TV spots ($491,724), $393,938 on print, $365,395 on radio and $371,639 on billboards.

The total was $1,819,713 for all media, with $752,675 being contributed by the federal government for advertising.

SAWS spent $162,110 on TV ads, $100,680 on print advertising, $119,756 on radio, $52,140 on billboards and $27,121 on the internet to total $461,807 for the ten month period Feb. 1, 2011 to November 30, 2011.

CPS Energy’s Director of Corporate Communication, Lisa Lewis, said the utility is well aware of its status.

"Everyone in San Antonio is our customer and we're certainly mindful of that," Lewis said.

Lewis said some advertising is government-mandated and that government pays for some.

She said the rest helps people save money.

"We do a lot of conservation messaging, a lot of rebate messaging,” Lewis said. “You would be surprised how difficult it is to give away free money."

And she compared CPS Energy’s advertising budget to the cost of a utility pole, saying it is a small percentage of the budget.

"For four and a half poles, we're telling you how to save money," Lewis said.

SAWS said the money it spends on advertising actually saves the utility money in the long run.

Greg Flores, SAWS Vice President of Public Affairs, said telling customers to conserve water means SAWS does not have to look for new, expensive water sources.

"We're not out trying to get people to buy our product," Flores said.

Flores said SAWS has to make sure people understand drought rules so the utility complies with state laws on conservation.

"I think advertising is a misnomer,” Flores said. “We're educating our community on how to use water wisely."

He said it worked last summer to keep water consumption to a minimum during a severe drought.

"We actually saved enough water to save the equivalent of a $100 million water project," Flores said.

And he said telling customers to avoid the grease monster means fewer expensive pipe breaks.

Flores said San Antonio also leads the nation in water conservation, the use of recycled water and water storage, helping assure businesses considering a move here that water will not be an issue.

SAWS spent $49,700 on advertising on KSAT in the calendar year 2011.