On Thursday the San Antonio City Council will vote on whether to approve CPS Energy’s request to increase its electricity rates.
CPS Energy is asking for a 4.25 percent rate increase. Residents who have an average monthly bill of $181.10 would see their bills go up roughly $4.45 starting in March.
Officials at CPS Energy say the price hike is needed to hire additional employee and improve and build new infrastructure, including the replacement of its 25-year-old computer system.
The city council could also preapprove a future additional rate increase of up to 5.5 percent which could go into effect in spring 2026.
If the rate increase is given the green light then CPS Energy says it plans to expand their affordability program to more ratepayers. The affordability program offers a discounted rate to the most vulnerable residents in our city.
During a recent tele-town-hall-meeting, CPS Energy President & CEO Rudy Garza said the lessons learned from the grid failure during the 2021 winter storm have not been forgotten. He said increasing infrastructure reliability is one of the reasons CPS Energy is pushing for the proposed rate increase.
The city-owned utility’s last rate hike was in March of 2022.
Cory Kuchinsky is the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at CPS Energy.
"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org.
This interview was recorded on Monday, December 4, 2023.
