CPS battles surprise bills from ERCOT in court
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Snow and ice gripped the area in February, sending electric prices soaring and forcing some power companies out of business. State District Judge Aaron Haas granted CPS a temporary restraining order preventing ERCOT from passing on the debts of those out-of-business power companies.William Luther /Staff file photoShow MoreShow Less
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Shift supervisor Darrell Cyphers is seen in the ERCOT control room in this 2018 photo. The state’s grid operator surprised CPS Energy and other Texas utilities this week when it said it will begin collecting on millions of dollars in unpaid charges from February’s winter storm.Kin Man Hui /Staff file photoShow MoreShow Less
CPS Energy is trying to prevent large electricity bills for its customers.
On Friday, the city-owned utility company announced it filed a suit against the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in Bexar County District Court to protect its customers from excessive, illegitimate, and illegal prices.
CPS is suing ERCOT for breach of contract, negligence and violation of the Texas Constitution. The suit comes after ERCOT forced energy companies to conduct 15-mintue rolling outages during the devastating February snowstorm. The action left many Texans without heat and power for days. The injustice of imposing an erroneous, excessive and unlawful cost on San Antonians who suffered during a storm cannot be allowed, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a press conference with CPS on Friday. ERCOT botched the storm response, and the regulators should be held accountable for their own mistakes.
CPS Energy s credit rating takes a hit because of $1B in storm costs
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A Valero Energy Corp. refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S., Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. CPS Energy and other utilities are facing billions in costs from purchasing natural gas during last month’s winter storm at exorbitant prices. Photographer: Eddie Seal/BloombergEddie Seal /Bloomberg
As CPS Energy wrestles with more than $1 billion in debt from last month’s winter storm, credit rating agencies are getting nervous about the utility’s financial health.
Fitch Ratings cut CPS’s bond rating, and both Fitch and Moody’s Investor Services changed their outlook for the city-owned utility from stable to negative.