SAN ANTONIO – CPS Energy could soon have a permanent leader as its board of trustees voted to begin negotiations with interim President and CEO Frank Almaraz to take on the role full-time.
Almaraz has served as the utility’s interim president and CEO since June, after former President and CEO Rudy Garza announced his retirement. The board’s vote is the next step toward removing the interim title and making him the permanent leader of the utility.
Almaraz rejoined CPS Energy in February as chief operating officer. He previously worked for the utility from 2011 to 2022 and has held several senior leadership roles during his time with the utility.
The board’s vote does not immediately finalize the appointment. CPS Energy will first enter negotiations with Almaraz before any permanent leadership agreement is completed.
During a one-on-one with KSAT’s Ernie Zuniga following August’s storms that knocked out power to thousands of customers, Almaraz said the utility was evaluating its response for restoration.
At the peak of the event, Almaraz said automation technology helped restore service to more than 200,000 customers relatively quickly. CPS Energy has invested about $70 million in that technology over the past five years. The utility also received around 1,000 reports of downed power lines.
Almaraz said those dangerous situations are given top priority, followed by outages affecting the largest groups of customers. Crews also prioritize medical facilities, medically critical customers, police and fire facilities and infrastructure such as water systems.
Watch the full interview with Almaraz below:
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