They tower over freeways saying, "Scrape, Don't Rinse," reminding customers to "Turn it Off" and letting customers know about rebates and incentives. Then there's the Internet.

In a 10-month period last year, CPS Energy spent nearly $500,000 on TV spots and close to $400,000 each on print, radio and billboard ads—all totaling about $1.8 million.

SAWS spent more than $120,000 on TV, print and radio ads; lesser amounts on billboard and on the Internet, totaling nearly half a million dollars.

"Everyone in San Antonio is our customer and we're certainly mindful of that," said Lisa Lewis, CPS Energy Director of Corporate Communications.

Lewis said some advertising is paid for and mandated by the government. 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."

SAWS said the money they spend on advertising actually saves them money in the long run.

For instance, telling people to conserve water means they don't have to look for new, expensive water sources.

"We’re not out trying to get people to buy our product," said Greg Flores, Vice President for Public Affairs at SAWS. "I think advertising is a misnomer. We're educating our community on how to use water wisely."

Flores said this really worked last summer. "We actually saved enough water to save the equivalent of a $100 million water project," he said.