CPS Energy customers cranking up air conditioning pay nearly $80 more for comfort, utility says
CPS Energy customers are paying higher energy bills than they did last summer, an average of about $80 dollars according to the provider. It's mostly due to fuel cost increases and the relentless Texas heat wave.
CPS Energy spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on housing costs for current and former executives, records show
The often five-figure benefit, described by CPS Energy officials as a “transitional housing payment” for executives hired by the company from outside of San Antonio, has gone to multiple staff members who had relatively short tenures with the utility.
CPS Energy attempting to block information on natural gas purchases from latest winter storm
CPS Energy officials this week declined to release information related to natural gas purchases made ahead of the latest winter storm, claiming in a letter sent to the Texas Attorney General that the information is confidential.
Ex-ERCOT chief testifies that Gov. Abbott’s order led to energy price hike during storm: report
While testifying in a bankruptcy trial for a Texas electric co-op, the state’s former grid manager said Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive led them to keep power price points high during last year’s winter storm, according to a Houston Chronicle report.
Final paycheck for Paula Gold-Williams topped $1 million, CPS Energy records show
A majority of that money, more than $751,000, came in the form of a “restoration payment.” An attorney representing the utility described the payment late Tuesday as a distribution of benefits from a non-qualified retirement plan that is taxable when earned.
Top CPS Energy leadership taking pay cut would show solidarity with customers, says San Antonio professor
As a proposed CPS Energy rate increase heads to the San Antonio City Council for a vote this week, some customers are saying not so fast. Many who left in the dark during last year’s winter storm are asking why utility leaders aren’t taking a pay cut instead.
CPS Energy’s Board of Trustees approves 3.85% rate increase
CPS Energy Board of Trustees unanimously approved a 3.85% rate increase Monday. They also approved a regulatory asset, or a fuel adjustment charge, which the utility says will recover $418 million in fuel costs from last February’s winter storm.
Winter storm issues exposed a cascade of scandals at CPS Energy in 2021
While February’s deadly winter storm not only left hundreds of thousands of San Antonio residents without power in subfreezing temperatures, some for days on end, it also exposed a large number of organizational issues within CPS Energy, the largest public power company in the nation.
City, CPS Energy to collaborate against cyberattacks at new regional center
Through the new Alamo Regional Security Operations Center at Port San Antonio, city officials say they can collaborate closely with CPS Energy -- and possibly soon other local organizations -- to help each other better protect against cyberattacks.
CPS Energy rate hike coming amid ‘trust crisis,’ council warns utility
The utility needs council’s support to institute a two-pronged approach to raising customers’ bills: a 3.85 percent increase to the base rates and a bump in the fuel adjustment charge. Combined, CPS officials say those changes would raise the average residential customer’s bill by about 3.3 percent - or $5.10 per month.
Proposed congressional bill aims to prevent natural gas price gouging
February’s storm caused major shortages to the natural gas supply chain, which caused prices to skyrocket by 10,000%. It’s why U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio introduced a bill Wednesday that would prevent natural gas price gouging during a declared emergency.
City of San Antonio considers giving $30 million to thousands of CPS Energy, SAWS customers behind on their bills
The City of San Antonio is considering using a $30 million chunk of the federal money it received from the American Rescue Plan Act to help pay off or pay down the overdue utility bills of struggling San Antonio residents.
Council members fret about process for SAWS and CPS board appointees, but not enough to derail new trustees
Council members’ concerns over the process for appointing trustees to the city’s water and utilities spurred lengthy discussions Thursday, but ultimately weren’t enough to derail the newest SAWS and CPS Energy board appointments.
CPS Energy CEO says utility is fighting natural gas suppliers in court ‘every day.’ But they’ve dropped multiple lawsuits.
CPS Energy officials have dismissed at least three lawsuits against natural gas suppliers it accused of price gouging and charging exorbitant rates for fuel during February’s winter blast, court records obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders show.
CPS Energy executive’s comment about ‘Mexicans’ drew ethics complaint, records show
The ethnically insensitive comment, made in front of four fellow employees, led to a complaint being filed against Bonewell with the utility’s Ethics and Compliance Hotline a week later, internal CPS records obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders show.
Approval rating of beleaguered CPS Energy continues to sink, Bexar Facts poll shows
Amid continued bad publicity over its handling of February’s deadly winter storm and as it draws closer to formally asking for a double-digit rate increase, the job approval rating of CPS Energy continues to sink, according to a new poll of likely Bexar County voters.
CPS Energy, SAWS shut-offs are restarting after pandemic pause. Here’s what you need to know.
The city’s water and power utilities both put a hold on service disconnections in March 2020 because of the pandemic. Since then, the number of customers behind on their payments has swelled. Now they’re at risk unless they can start making good on their past-due accounts.
CPS Energy trustees provide ambiguous plan for museum-adjacent property
The future of a downtown CPS Energy-owned property is still uncertain, after CPS Energy trustees voted 4-1 Monday to seemingly both pursue a plan to give part of the property away, and also to look into options for selling it if that doesn’t pan out.
CPS Energy lays out case for double-digit rate increase
The utility has not increased its rates for about eight years, but speaking with media members on Monday, CEO Paula Gold-Williams listed off issues like unpaid bills, investment in infrastructure, and $1 billion in bills related to the February Freeze, as helping to drive the likely rate increase.
CPS Energy trustees to consider whether to give away or sell downtown real estate
Back in 2015, CPS Energy’s trustees at the time agreed to split a nearly 7-acre surplus property at the corner of Camden Street and W. Jones Avenue in half, conveying the southern portion to the San Antonio Museum of Art while selling off the northern portion. Now, staring down the barrel of some tough financial straits, including a near-certain rate increase, the utility's current trustees will need to decide if giving away millions of dollars worth of prime, downtown real estate is still the best idea.
CPS Energy CEO’s treatment left senior staff ‘dejected, despondent and downtrodden,’ newly released complaint alleges
Officials with CPS Energy this month were forced to release a copy of a 2020 complaint that alleges its president and CEO, Paula Gold Williams, repeatedly mistreated members of the utility’s senior leadership team.
4 things we’ve learned since February’s deadly winter storm
It’s been six months since the deadly February winter storm left millions across the state without power for days, and many questions about what went wrong remain unanswered. The KSAT Explains team and the Defenders have been closely following the fallout of the storm. We take a look at four things we've learned so far.