SAN ANTONIO  — With a mild winter, reliability wasn’t a serious issue for CPS Energy. That’s a trend the utility company plans to uphold this summer, despite predictions of a scorcher. 

What You Need To Know

  • Last summer, San Antonio dealt with 75 days of triple-digit heat. Since then, CPS Energy has purchased three more power plants to keep up with demand

  • The acquisitions add about 1,700 megawatts of generation to the CPS Energy portfolio, enough to power around 340,000 homes

  • Presently, about 76,000 San Antonians have past due bills, which totals up to $88 million owed to CPS Energy

“As we get deeper more into summer, we are going to continue to expect temperatures to be above normal,” said CPS Energy meteorologist Brian Alonzo.

The San Antonio electric company has been preparing for the heat for months.

“For the assets we are responsible for, for the systems that we maintain, we’ve done everything we need to do to be ready for the hot summer season,” said Rudy Garza, CPS Energy president and CEO.

Last summer, San Antonio dealt with 75 days of triple-digit heat. Since then, the city’s sole energy provider has purchased more power plants to keep up with demand.

“We’ve strengthened our fleet by acquiring three new plants — two in Corpus Christi, our Barney Davis, Nueces Bay, and one in Laredo, Laredo Energy Center,” said Richard Urrutia, CPS Energy’s chief energy delivery officer.

The acquisitions add about 1,700 megawatts of generation to the CPS Energy portfolio, enough to power around 340,000 homes.

The strategic investment, Garza says, was possible because of a customer rate hike. 

“You haven’t really seen an increase in customers’ bills because of the rate increases because we’ve been able to manage our fuel cost to kind of offset that impact,” said Garza.

More natural gas, solar, wind and energy storage should shore up reliability, but as it gets warmer, affordability remains a concern.

“We know as the summer comes along, so does hot temperatures and high bills for customers,” said Deanna Hardwick, CPS Energy’s chief customer strategy officer.

Presently, about 76,000 San Antonians have past due bills, which totals up to $88 million owed to CPS Energy. After the rate increase, the utility company expanded its affordability discount program to assist an additional 15,000 struggling customers. 

“I don’t stand up here proud of having to ask our community for more dollars,” Garza said. “But we had gotten behind on making investments in our system.”

On top of the heat, it’s expected to be an active hurricane season. Garza says when supply and demand get tight, conservation will be key to keep lights on this summer.

“While I can’t sit here and guarantee that there’s not going to be any type of emergency condition, I can reassure you we’ve done our jobs to get ready,” Garza said. 

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Richard Urrutia's name. (June 17, 2024)