Winter blast doesn’t ice CPS Energy
This week’s frigid weather was not Winter Storm Uri, but it’s understandable if anyone had flashbacks to that dreadful time two years ago. With freezing rain and ice blanketing the region, San Antonians hunkered down and stayed warm. Schools were canceled and many workplaces went remote — and for most San Antonians, the lights stayed on.
Yes, there were many outages, and we are not diminishing the challenge of being without power. Early Wednesday morning, CPS Energy reported some 41,000 customers were without power. But this was due to ice weighing down tree limbs, not a statewide failure to adequately power the grid or a lack of local preparation. Before the winter storm hit, CPS Energy did an excellent job of communicating with ratepayers about the risks.
Throughout Wednesday, CPS Energy shared social media posts that showed trees weighed down by ice, provided updates for service restoration and even contacted customers with extended outages to see if hotel accommodations were necessary.
It was night and day from the Winter Storm Uri experience.
Now, we can already hear readers saying, “This wasn’t the same as Uri.” And that’s true. It was not as cold and crippling, and the demand for power was much less. But this type of outreach, coordination and planning is how the utility, with new leadership from President and CEO Rudy Garza, can regain the public’s trust.
CPS Energy has a fair amount of momentum — words we could not imagine writing two years ago. The utility is slowly making progress on reducing persistent past-due balances; its trustees have approved a responsible plan to end the coal-fired power era, shuttering the Spruce 1 unit and converting its Spruce 2 unit to natural gas; and it is moving forward with planned rate increases.
Nobody wants to pay more on their electric bills. But the increases are necessary to serve a growing region and maintain the utility’s credit rating. And CPS Energy’s successful storm response will only help the utility garner public support.