SAN ANTONIO — For the second year in a row, KENS 5 is partnering with CPS Energy to bring you a series of stories called Energy Matters — ways in which you can reduce electric bills and save money, which is especially important during the coronavirus pandemic.
Many people are out of work and having a hard time paying their bills. CPS Energy wants you to know that they are there to help, starting with their pro-active Customer Resource Program. Deanna Hardwick, the Vice-President of of Customer Success told us, "We really try to work with each customer to find with the right program is for them and then set them up for that."
They've helped well over 10,000 customers and pro-actively called 14,000 people. They don't want you to worry about having service disconnected. Bills can be averaged each month, and you can get get energy assistance through their REAP program. Hardwick said, "We have suspended our disconnect during this challenging time and we are also waiving late fees for customers who are contacting us signing up for one of our payment plans."
Leroy Valdez, a CPS Energy Advisor who works with the Customer Outreach Program told us, "They are worried about how they were going to make their utility payments, how they're going to make their rent payments, how they are even going to just get food on the table."
That's why CPS Energy is making those pro-active calls. Valdez added, "We want to let our customers know that we are here to help them with that and when they hear that they are very surprised and then they are grateful that we are reaching out to them."
In the meantime, you can save energy at home by raise your thermostat two degrees during peak energy days, avoiding using large appliances between 3 and 7 p.m., change out your air filter frequently to maximize AC usage and invest in fans to circulate air throughout the room.
"We are all in this together and CPS energy really cares about our customers we really do," Valdez said.