Commentary: By temporarily keeping more of its revenue, CPS Energy can prepare for extreme weather and avoid increasing rates for customers.
Nick Wagner / San Antonio Report. It’s not lost on the council or on CPS Energy leadership that an increase will be a hard pill for ratepayers to swallow. That’s the problem with a municipally owned utility; there’s no way to paint this other than self-inflicted pain. But it doesn’t have to be.
The business-as-usual model is that CPS Energy shares 14% of its revenue with the city, with the money going directly into the general fund to pay for everything from police and fire to street maintenance and libraries. The city’s proposed $3.8 billion fiscal year 2024 budget is balanced thanks in large part to the utility’s largesse, if you want to call it that. You can also call it the cost of doing business.
This is where business-as-usual falls short. But it’s also an opportunity for San Antonio to flex its unique freedom to be self-sufficient. The obvious question is whether the city will have to decrease existing services over this period. Here’s the thing: CPS Energy posted a revenue surplus last year and anticipates more surpluses with increased usage due to extreme heat and colder winters. Yes, we will have to be very careful in how we increase existing services or add new ones. But given the surplus projections, the effect on the city’s operations will be negligible.
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