PAULA GOLD-WILLIAMS

CPS Energy ended its bonus program for employees in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. The previous CEO earned close to $1M with bonuses.

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.

2022 is shaping up to be a busy year for elected officials — and voters — with four critical dates for city and county government.

Ex-CPS Energy executive Fred Bonewell was a prolific spender of public money, expense reports and receipts obtained by KSAT 12 Defenders show.

CPS Energy will ask City Council on Wednesday to consider a 3.85% increase to the base rate - far below the 10% hike that former CEO Paula Gold-Williams had previously said the utility was considering.

CPS Energy's latest projections show the utility has whittled its upcoming potential rate increase down to 3.85%.

CPS Energy announced Monday that Rudy Garza, its current chief customer engagement officer, has been named interim CEO.

CPS Energy officials assured the utility's board members Monday that the company has made "steady progress" in its winterization efforts.

Opinion: The executive team of CPS Energy, at least what is left of it, is in shambles. Finding the right new leader will be crucial.

She is the latest in an exodus of executive leadership.

CPS Energy President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams plans to leave the public utility in early 2022, according to a news release.

New data from a poll of Bexar County voters shows that the approval rating of San Antonio's electric utility continues to drop.

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.

With CPS Energy days away from resuming disconnections, activists are calling for the utility to delay the cutoffs.

SPONSORED: CPS Energy board members bring their own mix of experience, skills, and expertise to help guide the utility.

Before Fred Bonewell was promoted in June to be CPS Energy’s new chief operating officer, his signature appeared on a March 2017 agreement that laid out the working conditions for the utility’s wage-scale employees.

The Mission Road power plant, on the banks of the San Antonio River, is being prepped for sale by CPS Energy.

Attorneys hired by CPS Energy have attempted to block the release of complaints filed against President & CEO Paula Gold-Williams by members of the utility’s senior legal team, claiming their contents are confidential and should remain out of public view.

“I don't think people trust us to do the good things that I know that we're capable of," one CPS Energy trustee said last week.

CPS Energy is calling on state leaders to strengthen its ties with the rest of the U.S. power grid in order to avert another disaster like the one that shut off powers to millions in February.

The Committee on Emergency Preparedness presented its analysis of what went wrong during the extended freezing temperatures and how the city and its utilities could prepare better next time.

CPS Energy’s senior legal team lodged internal complaints against its President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams in the weeks before the attorneys resigned from the utility, internal records obtained this week by the KSAT 12 Defenders confirm.

Facing a billion-dollar financial hole from February’s deadly winter storm, CPS Energy has now spent over $2.5 million in outside fees to fight those bills, records obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders show.

CPS Energy is looking internally to fill roles left by departed and outgoing top lawyers and its former chief operating officer.

Two weeks before a deadly winter storm hit San Antonio, killing a still untold number of people, CPS Energy had become ‘seriously past due’ on bills for its customized weather platform, records obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders confirm.

CPS Energy convened the first meeting of its 21-member Rate Advisory Committee meeting on Thursday.

CPS Energy accused Enterprise Products Partners of price gouging and announced it was successful in defeating two ERCOT motions.

CPS Energy customers could see a rate increase of up to 9.5% as soon as this fall, CEO Paula Gold-Williams told reporters Monday.

Gary Gold, the chief financial officer of CPS Energy who figured to play a prominent role as the utility attempts to dig itself out from a billion dollar hole, will instead depart the company next month.

CPS Energy, the nation’s largest municipally owned utility company, gets its weather forecasts from a college student who has not been compensated more than $716 in a single week, invoices obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders show.

During the third day of February’s bitter freeze, as hundreds of thousands of CPS Energy customers tried to survive without power, President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams and other senior leaders of the utility drafted a letter of support for her and management, according to internal emails obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders.

Ownership groups for a pair of San Antonio apartment complexes have joined a long list suing CPS Energy over the utility’s preparation and response to February’s winter storm.

As CPS Energy continues to file lawsuits against entities it claims contributed to massive natural gas bills it racked up during February’s winter storm, energy experts and officials from some the companies targeted by the suits say the utility’s poor risk management is to blame.

SAN ANTONIO – CPS Energy on Friday sued the Electric Reliability Council of Texas after an independent monitor for the Public Utility Commission reported the grid managers overcharged power companies during the winter storm. In the lawsuit, CPS Energy accused ERCOT of not paying what it owes to the San Antonio utility. “ERCOT has short paid approximately $2.5 billion to the market participants, and at least $18 million is owed to CPS Energy for the Winter Storm Event,” according to the court filing. “CPS Energy is taking this action to defend its customers. Price charts for the natural gas spot market show natural gas increased nearly two-fold Feb. 11, before spiking Feb. 17.

SAN ANTONIO – CPS Energy customers are not expected to see huge additional fuel or purchased power charges from the winter storm when the February 2021 bills are released beginning Monday, the utility said Friday. “CPS Energy is currently assessing the validity of the additional fuel and purchased power costs from the winter storm and is currently not passing them through to customers,” a news release said. Gold-Williams said CPS would pursue regulatory assistance and help from elected officials to avoid customers shouldering that load. The utility said a team of energy advisors is ready to work with customers to discuss their bills and to help with payment arrangements. “While we must and will pay all justified and legitimate business costs, our CPS Energy team will continue to fight to maintain our commitment to affordability.”AutoPay was reinstated on Feb. 26.

SAN ANTONIO – A lawsuit filed in Bexar County district court this week accuses CPS Energy of causing a San Antonio woman’s death after power to her home went out during a prolonged winter storm last month. A CPS Energy spokesman, John Moreno, issued a brief statement about the lawsuit. “CPS Energy doesn’t comment on active litigation, however, we will handle as appropriate through the legal process,” Moreno said. The wrongful death suit also accuses CPS Energy of negligence and gross negligence. CPS Energy faces $1 billion bill for winter weather power crisisCPS Energy will withhold winter storm charges while seeking funds to alleviate costs

SAN ANTONIO – CPS Energy and its customers could be facing a $1 billion bill for February’s weather-related power crisis, though utility officials say they are doing what they can to protect customers. Gold-Williams said CPS would pursue regulatory assistance and help from elected officials to avoid customers shouldering that load. And then we will use every other tool in our toolbox to work to get this cost down,” Gold-Williams said. AdGold-Williams has previously said CPS would look to spread the cost to customers out over 10 years or more. AdTrustees also voted Monday to order an independent review of CPS’s preparedness, communication, and response regarding the power crisis.

CPS Energy's AutoPay option will kick back on Friday after the utility service disabled the feature in the wake of last week's storm. RELATED: Ellen applauds H-E-B's $1 million donation to Texas food banks in storm aftermathThe San Antonio Express-News reported on Wednesday that CPS customers will not be charged until the costs are fully assessed. CPS CEO Paula Gold-Williams told the San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board that the utility is working to ensure "we shelter our customers from shock." On February 19, as CPS Energy was answering questions on Twitter, one user asked if the company would be providing relief to customers. CPS customers can also explore their usage via the My Energy Portal online.

AdThe San Antonio - Bexar County Office of Emergency Management announced all major San Antonio highways and other roads closed. Wintry precipitation from Sunday night resulted in snow for San Antonio and the surrounding area. AdThe San Antonio area saw the final round of wintry weather that dropped up to 5 inches of snow. According to records dating back to 1947, the longest time San Antonio spent below freezing was 70 years ago. Money donated to Let’s Help SA will be distributed to the San Antonio Food Bank, SAMMinistries and Haven for Hope.

CPS Energy leaders will be meeting with the San Antonio Express-News's editorial board to discuss the power outages during the massive winter storm that affected thousands of San Antonio residents. RELATED: IRS moves tax deadline back to June 15 for Texans and their businesses in wake of winter stormPresident and CEO Paula Gold-Williams will discuss electric bills and the utility’s response to last week’s storm. The CPS Energy CEO, Gold-Williams recently had to respond to some seething Facebook comments amid possible rate increases due to the storm. The discussion will be held at 3:30 p.m.Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-NewsThe video will be available on this page when it begins.

San Antonio – Dozens of irate CPS Energy customers gave the utility’s top brass a piece of their minds during the first CPS Board of Trustees meeting since last week’s controlled outages. At the peak of the utility’s controlled outages strategy, there were about 372,000 customers without power. Among other complaints, they also criticized the utility’s forced outages that left some people without any power for multiple days. The amount CPS pays for fuel is typically rolled into customers’ bills over a 45 to 60-day period. “I do very much understand how customers don’t want to pay anything associated with the storm,” Gold-Williams said during the meeting.

San Antonio residents turned to the Caps Lock button Monday as they expressed their frustration with CPS Energy. READ ALSO: San Antonio mayor says there will be 'hell to pay' if Texans are handed bill for disasterGold-Williams, CPS Energy’s president and CEO, was asked about the Facebook comments — and her bonus pay — by a reporter. "What we believe is that we need to be focused on providing energy and serving and connecting and finding solutions." CPS Energy will pursue relief at the state and federal level before putting any excess charges on bills, she said, and could spread costs over multiple years. CPS Energy, which temporarily halted the practice of disconnecting services for unpaid bills in March, has also suspended its autopay feature.

CPS Energy CEO Paula Gold-Williams is scheduled to give a report on the “New Unprecedented Texas/San Antonio Energy Market Event” at the 1 p.m. Monday meeting. AdThe amount CPS pays for fuel is typically rolled into customers’ bills over a 45 to 60-day period, Gold-Williams told reporters on Friday. CPS officials have said that at the peak of the forced outages, which were meant to preserve the larger Texas power grid, there were about 372,000 CPS customers without power. Greg Abbott also held a phone conference with state leaders Saturday to discuss how the state could help reduce the burden of high energy bills following the power crisis. MEETING INFORMATIONThe CPS Energy Board of Trustees meeting will be held 1 p.m. Monday by telephone and live-streamed online.

SAN ANTONIO – The power is back on for the majority of CPS Energy customers in San Antonio who have had to battle outages, among other challenges, during this week’s devastating winter storm. That number is down from more than 200,000 customers who went without power for days as temperatures plunged this week. The majority of those outages were caused by the Energy Reliability Council of Texas’s mandated rolling power outages. AdAfter ERCOT stopped the mandate, Gold-Williams said the number of customers affected dropped to about 10,000. The customers who remain without power in San Antonio, she said, are dealing with equipment failure or ice storm damage.

KIRBY, Texas – EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated residents in the Kirby area hadn’t had power since Thursday. As snow came down again Thursday morning, most - but not all- CPS customers had their power restored. With the forced outage strategy CPS had been following to keep the Texas grid stable suspended, close to 99% of customers had power again. In an area near Binz-Engleman and Ackerman Roads in Kirby, a CPS outage map showed nearly 1,300 customers without power since Tuesday night - though several residents told KSAT they hadn’t had power since Tuesday morning. “We were yelling and screaming and saying, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’ We offered to go get them some coffee.

We need the electricity, but we need the water too, and there’s no way for us to dialyze,” Allen said. AdThe effects of the winter storm on the electrical grid this week have CPS Energy and other Texas energy providers overwhelmed. CPS Energy President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams said the energy supply during the winter storm couldn’t meet the demand. She said a third of the system would not be taking down as it’s a critical circuit. Concerns about SAWS pumps taken off the critical circuit have dialysis patients like Allen in distress with no access to water.

SAN ANTONIO – CPS Energy has addressed “false messaging” on social media following a series of power outages affecting the San Antonio and Bexar County area. According to the company, “unofficial CPS Energy messaging” is being circulated on social media. “BEWARE: There’s unofficial CPS Energy messaging being circulated across social media,” the company said on Tuesday. “While we provide several daily updates, please know this DID NOT come from CPS Energy.”BEWARE: There’s unofficial CPS Energy messaging being circulated across social media. While we provide several daily updates, please know this DID NOT come from CPS Energy.

SAN ANTONIO – CPS Energy President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams said more freezing rain in Tuesday night’s forecast will prove to be a challenge in their efforts to restore power to hundreds of thousands of San Antonio residents. But the “intensity of freezing temperatures have done some damage” to the utility company’s ability to provide power, Gold-Williams said. Freezing drizzle and freezing rain are expected to kick in again Tuesday evening, icing roads again and threatening restoration efforts. AdEvery source of energy — including wind, solar, coal, natural gas, and nuclear — was affected in some way by the temperatures, Gold-Williams said. Roughly two-thirds of the CPS Energy grids continue to have rotating outages.

click to enlarge Sanford NowlinCPS Energy is warning San Antonio customers that the ongoing freeze and Texas’ floundering power grid mean power outages will continue through Tuesday evening.Customers who haven’t yet experienced rolling blackouts will now start to experience outages, the utility warned in a statement posted late Monday night. Meanwhile, the two-thirds of customers who did experience blackouts Monday will see them extend in duration.The measures are required to stave off a “catastrophic event” for the state’s power grid, according to the statement. As of Monday evening, some 2 million Texas households were without power because the grid couldn’t keep up with demand, the Texas Tribune reports CPS is asking customers to limit power consumption so the grid can stabilize more quickly.”Conservation is important, and we ask our community to continue to do all they can to limit electric and natural gas energy use,” said Paula Gold-Williams, president and CEO of CPS Energy. “We understand that this is a big ask of our customers and sincerely apologize for the problems that this is causing them.”In other words, if you’re lucky enough to still have power, turn off those appliances and put on your coat and hat.

CPS Energy updated media outlets Monday afternoon, hours after Electric Reliability Council of Texas said the rotating outages will continue throughout the state through Tuesday. Paula Gold-Williams, CPS Energy president and CEO, said the goal is to try and rotate outages in 15-minute increments. Typically, CPS Energy sees peak energy demand in the summer when the hottest temperatures set in. With energy reductions driven by outage management, CPS Energy used more than 4,954 MW yesterday, which was a winter record. If the outages had not been proactively managed thus far, winter energy demand would have exceeded summer maximums for the first time in CPS Energy’s history.

The energy provider is continuing its efforts to let customers know about CPS Energy’s assistance programs and other community resources. We’ve been doing it less than three months and customers are happy that we are calling.”CPS Energy offers savings programs and rebates to help customers save energy and money, as well as reduce the overall demand for energy in our community. Click or tap here to learn how to save energy. CPS Energy continues to be flexible when working with customers to ensure they are on one of many assistance programs during this time of need. The energy provider is the nation’s largest municipally-owned energy utility providing both natural gas and electric service serving more than 840,750 electric customers and 352,585 natural gas customers in and around San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO – Editor’s Note: Watch the entire briefing in the video player above. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff updated the community about the local response to COVID-19 in their daily briefing Wednesday night. Here are a few of the highlights:Nirenberg reported 1,972 COVID-19 cases and 58 deaths in Bexar County , as of Wednesday. Three new cases were confirmed at the Bexar County Jail, 18 are from the community and four are from congregate settings. The first case confirmed in the U.S. was in mid-January and the first case confirmed in San Antonio was in mid-February.

CPS Energy is suspending bonuses to roughly 1,800 employees to help it weather the financial storm caused by the global pandemic. That includes executives such as President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams, who could have earned a roughly $530,000 bonus this year for work in the previous fiscal year. Gold-Williams earns a base salary of $485,850, with a bonus last year of $444,820 that took her total compensation to $930,669. It is important to preserve cash and maintain the highest quality of operations and service.The suspension of bonuses will last for two years, said Melissa Sorola, CPS Energys senior director of corporate communications. In February, CPS Energy brought in nearly $180 million in revenue.

The order does not apply to SAWS or CPS Energy, along with most businesses, churches, medical facilities, residential buildings, and other locations. CPS Energy has had an official plan on the books to address a public health crisis since 2015, officials said. CPS Energy employees have continued to travel within the U.S., though many of the events they would ordinarily attend have been canceled, she said. Neither Gold-Williams nor Clouse were aware of any CPS Energy or SAWS employee who has needed testing for coronavirus. I think we have the [soundest] defense system possible against that virus moving through water, Clouse said.

CPS Energys solar programs and energy efficiency initiatives will continue for another year while officials ponder the utilitys next energy-saving moves. CPS Energy leaders call the next generation of its program FlexSTEP, a name derived from what they call the Flexible Path. Thats CPS Energys forecast for its energy mix by roughly mid-century. She called the one-year funding a bridge that offers more time to tighten up CPS Energys list of solar and energy efficiency programs. CPS Energy met the goal in August, ahead of schedule and 15 percent under budget at around $723 million. CPS Energy has not raised its rates since 2013 but is considering whether it needs to do so in 2021.

The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce has named Southwest Research Institute President and CEO Adam Hamilton chairman of its board of directors for the 2020 term. I believe the Chamber is a powerful tool that we can use to help our business community thrive while we also serve our community, Hamilton stated Friday. Andrade is a partner with Go Rio Cruises, the San Antonio River barge operator, and also serves as one of three chairs of ConnectSA, a nonprofit formed to create a comprehensive transportation plan for the San Antonio area. As a lifelong entrepreneur, I understand firsthand the role that the Chamber must play in order for our business community to thrive, said Andrade. Founded in 1894, the San Antonio Chamber is one of the citys largest and most prominent business organizations and is one of the multiple chambers of commerce representing business interests in San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO - Dozens of CPS Energy workers are on their way to the East Coast to help people affected by Hurricane Dorian. Sixty-five crew members left the Eastside service center Wednesday morning in a convoy that included some 30 trucks. RELATED: CPS Energy to send crews to Florida after Hurricane DorianRELATED: Hurricane Dorian skirts Florida, Georgia coastsFrom there, it will be determined where their services are needed. Just before they got on the road, crew members attended a briefing with management, including President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams. The crew members, who volunteered for the assignment, are expected to be gone up to two weeks.

SAN ANTONIO - Paula Gold-Williams is stepping down as this year's chair of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the same organization that supports the lawsuit against the citys paid sick leave ordinance, which is set to go into effect Aug. 1. Gold-Williams serves as the president and CEO of CPS Energy, which is owned by the city. The city's sick paid leave ordinance would give more employees access to the benefit. Business owners behind the lawsuit said they hope to stall the measure, calling the ordinance unconstitutional. This said, I remain hopeful that this formal dispute can be resolved equitably and expeditiously for our communitys benefit.Copyright 2019 by KSAT - All rights reserved.

CPS EnergyPaula Gold-Williams, CEO of city-owned utility CPS Energy, is resigning as chairwoman of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce after business groups sued the City of San Antonio to block its paid sick leave ordinance.Gold-Williams' late Tuesday announcement came just a day after business groups asked a Bexar County district judge to stop the policy from taking effect on August 1. "The recently escalated lawsuit about paid sick leave between the City of San Antonio and a group of business plaintiffs is a very complicated development," Gold-Williams said in a written statement. I have prudently decided that under these circumstances, it is not helpful for me to be in the middle of a serious and formalized legal conflict between CPS Energys parent organization and its customers. "Gold-Williams' duties to her employer and the chamber also came into conflict earlier this year over the city's Climate Action and Adaption Plan. She announced in February that she wouldn't participate in formulating a chamber position on the plan, which has faced criticism from corporate interests.Gold-Williams said she will stay in her position at the chamber for the next few weeks to ensure a smooth transition.