Couple rate increase with accountability
Next week the San Antonio City Council will decide whether to grant CPS Energy a 3.85 percent rate increase. Immersed in a pandemic and in the wake of a catastrophic winter storm, the timing couldn’t be more challenging. Truth be told, it’s a simple yes or no decision. But the truth is not simple.
This may seem like bad timing for a rate request, but it may also be the best time — with the transition to a new management team — to set a standard for truth and accountability. To this end, I call for a thorough audit of CPS Energy’s finances and management processes, because I have serious questions for our utility. For instance, for several months, as a member of the city’s public utilities committee, I’ve asked for a detailed emergency communications plan and have yet to see a plan put in place.
I represent District 6 on the far West side. But District 6 is a geographic and statistical mirror of the entire city — a microcosm of San Antonio. When making decisions on the dais, I always listen to the people I represent. I’ve heard their concerns regarding a rate increase, and I’ve also heard some argue for a higher rate to shore up our infrastructure. It’s a delicate balance, and any move forward must come with truth, trust and accountability.
The truth is that CPS ratepayers haven’t seen an increase in eight years. Electricity rates in Texas have increased by a reported 1.5 percent every year since the mid-1990s. We’re due for an adjustment.
It’s true as well that Winter Storm Uri pummeled the utility’s finances with exorbitant costs, and we now have the task of recuperating the losses.
It’s also true that CPS Energy’s trust ledger with the community is in the negative, and it’s not in a good position to ask for more from its customers. The pandemic and the winter storm also battered our capacity for trust. Add to that a drumbeat for a decisive move away from fossil fuel generators and you’re left with an almost untenable situation.
The truth is that we can only regain trust in our municipally owned utility with transparency. Here’s what I mean: CPS Energy cannot ask for more from its ratepayers without giving ratepayers more in return. We can’t ask the utility to be better and more accountable without providing the means to do so.
My focus, of course, has been on District 6, but I’m watching out for my entire hometown. The boundaries that divide us by districts don’t exist in real life. San Antonians want, need and deserve reliable information. It boils down to truth, trust and transparency.
How will the additional funds from a rate increase be used? How will CPS Energy be held accountable? Those are simple asks in exchange for a 3.85 percent rate increase. An audit will clear the muddled trust and provide a platform to rebuild it.
I’m told that in 18 months CPS Energy will close its two coal-powered generators; that the rate increase will provide infrastructure upgrades; that it’ll pay for the costs incurred during Uri; that the most vulnerable residents will not endure an unfair cost burden; that San Antonio will be better for it; and that we should trust that all of these things will happen.
There’s an adage that says “Trust in God, but tie your horse.”
I’ve listened to my constituents and to the reasoning for a rate increase. I am considering voting in favor of the request, but I will do so with the transparency of an exhaustive audit and the scrutiny I’ll bring to the public utilities committee.
In the end it’s a delicate balance of trust and accountability.