SAN ANTONIO — The power demand in Texas continues to grow. One of CPS Energy’s largest customers is doing its part to aid reliability efforts. 

What You Need To Know

  • San Antonio Water System has been in the energy business since 1967, and spends about $50 million annually on energy

  • San Antonio is in stage 2 drought restrictions, allowing customers to water only once a week

  • SAWS is asking the city council to adopt stricter drought rules

“The water falling down, it’s coming in hot and leaving cool to go back to the chiller,” said Chris Wilcut, SAWS director of district cooling and energy strategy.

San Antonio Water System has been in the energy business since 1967. SAWS spends about $50 million annually on energy. Wilcut says when power demands strain ERCOT’s grid, SAWS can reduce its energy usage in minutes.

“Able to, on average, reduce our energy demand by 3,500 kilowatts,” Wilcut said. “3,500 kilowatts is enough to power almost 900 Texas homes on a hot summer day.”

Summer just started and stage 2 drought restrictions are in place, allowing customers to water only once a week.

“It’s only going to get hotter,” Karen Guz, SAWS vice president for conservation, said. “And this is the third years that we have been in drought water rules.” 

SAWS is asking City Council to adopt stricter drought rules. Guz says adjusting watering hours should help conserve energy during peak power demands.

“If we don’t make any changes, the next tool we have to save more water is imposing limiting watering to twice a month for everybody,” Guz said. “We’ve been trying hard to avoid that.” 

Also, they could implement a water waste noncompliance charge on customers’ bills. 

“For stage 3 it would be a high use surcharge. Only on those who use more water than 95% of other customers,” Guz said.

Guz says plants and grass should survive with limited watering, but with low aquifer levels.

“We’re asking everyone to please do their part,” Guz said.