CPS Energy billed San Antonio households an average of $234 for electric and gas service in August, up 32% from a year earlier as volatile natural gas prices continue to hit Texas utility customers.
Including the August bill, city-owned utility customers paid nearly $1,000 in the five months beginning in April — a 35% increase that cost them $261 more this year than the last year.
During the record-breaking heat San Antonio experienced in May and June, CPS blamed higher bills this summer on customers who increased their air conditioning. But in recent months, high natural gas prices have been the most important factor.
And Texans should prepare for high utility bills for the foreseeable future, the state electric grid operator’s outgoing CEO said last week.
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“Immediately, prices will likely stay in the same range,” said Brad Jones, who has led the Electric Reliability Council of Texas as acting chief since last spring. He blamed the increases largely on expensive natural gas.
Natural gas is crucial to the state’s electrical system. So far this year, gas-fired power plants have generated 42% of the electricity in the Texas power grid. Wind turbines were second, generating 26% of the state’s electricity this year, according to ERCOT.
The benchmark U.S. natural gas price was $8.81 in August,
more than double
a year earlier, according to the Energy Information Administration. In August, higher than expected gas increased CPS customers’ bills by $31.19, or 55% of the total increase.
Jones, who spoke at the annual Texas Tribune festival in Austin, said that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine upended energy markets in Europe, US natural gas operators are shipping more gas liquefied to Europe, where it sells for a higher price.
“They pay $50 to $60 (in Europe) for what we pay $8 to $9 here,” Jones said. “A year ago, we were paying $3. This international dynamic has increased this cost.
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CPS customers used more electricity, amounting to $17.61 on their August bills, or 31% of the total average increase. Smaller factors, such as the rate increase implemented by CPS in March, increased bills by $5.56 and fees collected by CPS to pay off debt related to Winter Storm Uri added $1.44. $.
These are solar panels from the Alamo 6 Solar Farm in Pecos County, Texas, built by San Antonio-based OCI Solar Power.
John Davenport, STAFF/San Antonio Express-NewsIn the 12 months through August, households in San Antonio paid an average of $188 a month for electric and gas service — still less than ratepayers in other major cities in the state. Households in El Paso, Houston, Dallas and Corpus Christi faced monthly bills ranging from $207 to $227, according to CPS. Among Texas metros, only Austin residents paid lower monthly bills: about $176 on average over the past year.
Despite soaring gas prices, CPS expects to sign an agreement soon to purchase power from a 500 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant for up to 10 years. Earlier this month, CPS also agreed to purchase 180 megawatts of power from a solar farm likely to be built in Pecos County by 2024. The moves are intended to allow CPS to shut down two old power plants. half a century while maintaining a reliable power supply. .
Although utility bills are expected to remain higher for some time, Jones pointed to a bright spot on the horizon for taxpayers: more solar power is expected to come online in the coming years.
“One of the things I’m looking forward to is that in the next couple of years we’ll have a lot of solar generation in the state – very low cost solar generation,” he said. “This will help reduce costs for consumers. In the next few years, I think we’ll start to see a real impact of that.
diego.mendoza-moyers@express-news.net