Fellow auditors in San Antonio and South Texas - CPS Energy just rolled out a new "Grid Reliability Surcharge" on commercial accounts. They're billing it at $0.00234 per kWh starting October. I've got three clients getting hit with this and it's costing them $800-1500 monthly each. CPS claims it's for storm hardening and grid improvements but I can't find any city council authorization for this charge. Has anyone else seen this? The timing seems suspicious right after the summer peak season when their revenues were down.
CPS Energy trying new "reliability surcharge" - San Antonio auditors watch out
Angela, that sounds familiar to what Entergy tried here in New Orleans after Hurricane Ida. They wanted to implement a "storm recovery surcharge" without proper approval. The key with municipal utilities like CPS is that any new charges have to be approved by the city council, not just the utility board. I'd check the city council meeting minutes for any discussion of this charge.
I'm not in Texas but this rings alarm bells. Municipal utilities sometimes think they can just implement charges without proper oversight because they're not regulated by state PUCs. But they still have to follow their own governance procedures. If CPS didn't get city council approval, that charge is likely invalid. Document everything and consider filing a complaint with the city.
Good advice everyone. I dug through six months of city council agendas and there's absolutely no mention of this surcharge. CPS just implemented it unilaterally. I'm preparing a formal complaint to the city manager and demanding they suspend billing until proper approval is obtained. This could affect thousands of commercial customers.
Angela, you might want to reach out to local media too. Municipal utilities hate bad publicity, especially about unauthorized charges. We had success with a similar situation when the local newspaper picked up the story. Suddenly the utility became very cooperative about removing the charges.
This is a great example of why we need to scrutinize municipal utilities just as carefully as investor-owned ones. Sometimes they think they're immune from oversight but they're not. Angela, if you need any help with the complaint process or want to coordinate with other affected customers, let me know. Collective action is often more effective.
Update - CPS Energy has agreed to suspend the reliability surcharge pending city council review! Apparently my complaint got the city manager's attention and they realized they skipped proper approval procedures. They're also reviewing whether to refund charges already collected. Sometimes pushing back really works.
Excellent work Angela! This is exactly why our profession exists. Utilities count on customers not paying attention or understanding the approval process. Your diligence probably saved San Antonio businesses hundreds of thousands in unauthorized charges. Great example of effective advocacy.
Way to go Angela! This should be a case study for all of us. It shows that even municipal utilities can't just implement charges without proper authority. The fact that they suspended it so quickly when challenged proves they knew it was improper from the start. Classic utility overreach.
Angela, did they end up issuing refunds for the period they charged it? I'm dealing with a similar situation with AEP here in Ohio where they implemented an unauthorized infrastructure charge. Your success gives me hope that pushing back will work.
Jim - yes! CPS issued full refunds to all affected customers. Total recovery was over $400,000 citywide. The city council also passed new procedures requiring public hearings before any new charges can be implemented. Sometimes one complaint can lead to systemic improvements that help everyone.
This is inspiring! I'm dealing with Rocky Mountain Power here in Utah trying to sneak in storm recovery charges without proper PSC approval. Angela's success shows that utilities will back down when properly challenged. The key is documentation and persistence.
Great thread everyone. Angela's victory in San Antonio proves that utilities will try to get away with whatever they can until someone calls them out. We need more success stories like this to encourage other auditors to challenge questionable charges. Keep fighting the good fight!
Outstanding work Angela and great discussion everyone. This thread perfectly illustrates why our profession is so important. Utilities - whether investor-owned or municipal - will push boundaries until someone pushes back. Your diligence saved San Antonio businesses real money and improved the process for everyone. This is what effective utility bill auditing looks like.