SAN ANTONIO — CPS Energy is proposing a "preliminary rate increase" on city utility bills of 4.25 percent. A presentation provided to the CPS Energy Board of Trustees on Wednesday indicated it would increase the average bill by $4.45.
The rate increase would affect both electricity costs and natural gas costs, but CPS Energy was not able to provide a full breakdown of the rate increase on Wednesday.
Fortunately, the utility does provide a bill estimator on this webpage to help residents see exactly how much the rate increase will cost them. The site helps break down what residents would pay based on their general usage. Based on that site:
- San Antonio residents who use 1000 kWh per month would see a $3.80 increase
- Residents who use 1500 kWh per month would see a $5.57 increase
- Residents who use 2000 kWh per month would see a $7.34 increase
- Residents who use 2500 kWh per month would see a $9.01 increase
CPS Energy Staff briefed the CPS Energy Board of Trustees on Wednesday morning, and gave a presentation at the San Antonio City Council later that day.
The presentation said the rate increase would generate an additional $85 million, which would be used to upgrade aging infrastructure, keep up with the cost of inflation for construction materials, increase safety against cyber security threats, and replace CPS Energy's 20-year-old "core operating system" that connects with customer billing, among other improvements.
The San Antonio City Council will continue the rate increase discussion in a special session on November 30, 2023, and hold a final vote on the rate increase on December 7, 2023.
If the rate increase is approved, it would go into effect February 1, 2024.