CPS Energy Urges Customers with High Bills to Seek Payment Assistance

As temperatures continue to hit triple digits, CPS Energy reminds community of resources and aid

June 15, 2022 (SAN ANTONIO) — According to the National Weather Service, the temperatures in San Antonio will continue to climb more than 100 degrees. It is forecasted that our community will be in this heatwave most of June. With the extreme and above-average weather driving high air conditioning use, CPS Energy urges customers with high energy bills to reach out to the utility’s helpful energy advisors for direct assistance and learn about other resources to save energy and money.

“We want to help our customers by providing simple tips to stay comfortable, save energy and prevent bill shock,” said Deanna Hardwick, CPS Energy’s Executive Vice President of Customer Strategy. “For those with high bills, please call us. No one needs to be disconnected. Most customers we’re able to speak with receive help to get them back on track.”

One helpful option for customers is the Budget Payment Plan. Residential and business customers can budget their expenses and avoid the surprise of an unexpected, higher than normal, energy bill when extreme weather happens. Summer is the best time to apply for the program. With the Budget Payment Plan, the customer’s annual energy bill is averaged over the past year, a small percentage is added to cover environmental factors and changing fuel costs, then the bill paid is the resulting amount every month. The customer’s account will be reviewed periodically, and necessary adjustments will be made based on the actual usage.

CPS Energy also provides a texting service for high bill alerts. Customers can receive notifications when their bills are trending up so they can adjust their energy use and manage consumption throughout their remaining billing cycle. Customers can view the energy they’re buying in near real-time via My Energy Portal, a feature in Manage My Account, CPS Energy’s free online service center. 

Customers can also follow the Beat the Heat campaign to help manage energy bills, conserve energy, and support state grid reliability. On Yellow Days between 2 p.m. – 10 p.m., when peak energy demand is expected, customers are asked to avoid using large appliances and encouraged to adjust an AC’s thermostat higher than 78 degrees to minimize its use, if health permits. Electric vehicle charging should be done overnight.  

CPS Energy is committed to helping customers in their time of need.  Eligible customers can be connected with bill payment assistance programs like the Residential Energy Assistance Partnership (REAP), which provides up to $400 in payment assistance per year. Customers with access to the internet can apply online, call (210) 353-2222 or attend one of CPS Energy’s customer events. The utility’s Customer Outreach Resource Effort (CORE) team has reached out to nearly 6,000 customers and worked with agency partners to connect customers with over $11 million in assistance in the first three months of this year alone. Collectively, since shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, CPS Energy has reached out to over 90,000 customers, connecting them to more than $58 million in utility bill assistance. This includes $3.9 million of the $20 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provided by the City of San Antonio. The qualification requirements for ARPA have expanded to those San Antonio residents that were impacted from the pandemic from March 2020 through March 2022.

As a reminder, CPS Energy will not disconnect customers when extreme weather advisories have been issued. Customers can call CPS Energy at (210) 353-2222 for bill assistance or payment arrangements or visit an upcoming event listed here.

###

About CPS Energy

Established in 1860, CPS Energy is the nation’s largest public power, natural gas, and electric company, providing safe, reliable, and competitively priced service to 884,811 electric and 366,709 natural gas customers in San Antonio and portions of seven adjoining counties. Our customers’ combined energy bills rank among the lowest of the nation’s 20 largest cities – _while generating $8 billion in revenue for the City of San Antonio for more than seven decades. As a trusted and strong community partner, we continuously focus on job creation, economic development, and educational investment. We are powered by our skilled workforce, whose commitment to the community is demonstrated through our employees’ volunteerism in giving back to our city and programs aimed at bringing value to our customers. CPS Energy is among the top public power wind energy buyers in the nation and number one in Texas for solar generation.