RECOMMENDATION:
The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Council adopts the following position statement as policy.
STATEMENT:
The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce supports CPS Energy’s proposed base rate increase of 4.25%, as the additional revenue will ensure the long-term financial stability for the municipally owned utility to serve the vast growing community of the Greater San Antonio Metropolitan area. Furthermore, the Greater Chamber supports the proposed base rate increase in 2027 provided it does not exceed 5.5%. The planned effective date for this increase is February 1, 2024, pending approval of the San Antonio City Council in December 2023.
The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce has a strong advocacy history for supporting policies and initiatives that aim to strengthening San Antonio’s diverse business base, improve quality of life, and promote economic development. The affordable and reliable energy in our community has played a crucial role in our economic success. The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce highly encourages the partnership of CPS Energy and the City of San Antonio to find innovative ways to reduce costs, ensure resiliency, to possibly reduce future increases.
BACKGROUND:
CPS Energy is the largest municipally owned utility in the country. For decades, CPS Energy has demonstrated its commitment to investing in technologies, projects, and workforce aimed to protect our environment. As a community owned utility, CPS Energy’s contribution of $421.0 million constitutes 26 percent of the City of San Antonio’s $1.6 billion FY24 General Fund. CPS Energy’s mission is to serve the community through reliable, competitively priced, and sustainable energy services in an equitable manner. Through this mission, CPS energy generated a strategic plan, Vision 2027, to guide the utility through the rapid growth that the Greater San Antonio Metropolitan area will see in the coming years.
CPS Energy’s rate request proposal of 4.25% CPS Energy will generate increased revenue of $85 million annually. Without this rate increase, service levels will decline, imminent security breaches will occur, and the reliability of the utility will not compete with the growth of the community. On a monthly basis, residential customers will see a 2.7% change and commercial customers will see a 2.9% - 3.1% on the electric and gas components of their bills.
- 30.6% annually ($26 million) for Infrastructure Reliability and Resiliency — adopt generation technologies and increase plant maintenance to mitigate impact of outages
- 29.4% annually ($25 million) for Technology & Security— replace 20 years old legacy system to better protect against threats and enhance customer communications
- 15.3% annually ($13 million) for Growth — maintain stability to growth of the community
- 24.7% annually ($21 million) for People — funding for hiring and purposes for employees to serve the growing customer base
REASONS TO SUPPORT THE PROPOSED RATE INCREASE:
- The increase in rates will be reinvested in the infrastructure of the utility to make it more resilient and reliable.
- The utility will also be using this increase to provide enhancements towards future energy security and efficient technology.
- The additional revenue will assist the resiliency for the growth in community that is expected to reach the utility’s service areas.
- CPS Energy plans to invest in the people, workforce, and customer service to ensure customers receive the best possible service.
IMPLEMENTATION:
The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce will support CPS Energy’s Proposed Rate Increase to further invest and support critical infrastructure needed to continue serving our community.