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c o r p o r a t e S u s t a i n a b i l i t y R e p o r t 2 0 1 0
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Letter from the CEO and Corporate Sustainability Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Why Now? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

What Is ‘Sustainability’? ....................................................................................................7

How Do We Set Priorities? .................................................................................................7

Communication and Benchmarking ............................................................................................8

Providing Suggestions and Learning More ....................................................................................8

What’s Our Motivation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Introduction ..............................................................................................................11

Vision 2020 .............................................................................................................11

Challenges ..............................................................................................................12

Opportunities ............................................................................................................13

Integrated Resource Plan .......................................................................................................13

Sustainability Performance Summary ............................................................................................16

Who Is CPS Energy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Core Values and Purpose .................................................................................................25

CPS Energy Board of Trustees .............................................................................................27

Leadership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Awards .................................................................................................................27

Services We Provide .....................................................................................................27

Customer Accounts .......................................................................................................28

Our Electrical System .....................................................................................................28

 Electric Generation ..............................................................................................28

 Energy Output .................................................................................................. 28

 Coal ...........................................................................................................28

 Nuclear Energy — South Texas Project ............................................................................. 30

 Natural Gas Energy Generation ..................................................................................31

 Commitment to Renewable Energy ................................................................................31

Wind — Purchased Power .................................................................................................31

Landfill Gas — Purchased Power ............................................................................................31

Solar — Purchased Power ..................................................................................................31

 Electricity Transmission System ....................................................................................32

 Electricity Distribution System ......................................................................................32 

Natural Gas Transmission and Distribution ................................................................................. 32

 Supply Pressure System ..........................................................................................32

 Distribution System ...............................................................................................33

Electricity Availability and Reliability ........................................................................................33

 Outage Frequency and Duration ................................................................................. 33

 Disaster Management — The CPS Energy Business Continuity Program ................................................33

External Stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Who Are Our External Stakeholders? ......................................................................................35

Customer Input and Involvement ..........................................................................................35

Contributing to a Healthy Community .......................................................................................36

Community Outreach Programs ........................................................................................... 37

Mission Road Power Plant Redevelopment................................................................................. 39

Customer Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Customer Communication and Information Services .........................................................................41

Customer Service Goals ..................................................................................................41

Save for Tomorrow Energy Plan ............................................................................................42

Customer Energy-Efficiency Programs .......................................................................................43
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Energy-Efficiency Information Distribution ...................................................................................48

Commitment to Customers in Need ........................................................................................49

Efficiency and Renewable Energy Plans ....................................................................................51

Technology and Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Corporate Commitment....................................................................................................53

Plug-In Hybrid.................................................................................................................54

Advanced Metering Infrastructure...........................................................................................54

Smart Grid Pilot ...........................................................................................................54

Carbon Constraints and the Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Air Quality ...............................................................................................................57

 Air Emissions Data ...............................................................................................57

 Air Monitoring Stations and San Antonio Air Quality ................................................................59

 Air Emissions Improvements and Upgrades .........................................................................59

Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions ...........................................................................60

Long-Term CO2 Reduction Plan .............................................................................................62

Total Non-Generation CPS Energy GHG Emissions Breakdown................................................................63

Reducing GHG Emissions from Our Vehicle Fleet ............................................................................65

Reducing Energy Use in Our Buildings ......................................................................................66

Reducing Indirect GHGs Outside Our Walls .................................................................................68

Materials and Recycling ..................................................................................................68

 PCBs .......................................................................................................... 70

Water Resources .........................................................................................................70

Potable Water ............................................................................................................72

 Water Conservation .............................................................................................72

 Recycled and Reused Water ......................................................................................72

Strategic Water Planning..................................................................................................72

Natural Habitats/Habitat Restoration .......................................................................................72

 Habitat Protection on Transmission Lines .......................................................................... 72

Financial Integrity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Supply Chain Management ...............................................................................................78

Supplier Diversity ..........................................................................................................79

Local Economic Impact ...................................................................................................79

Employee Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Introduction ..............................................................................................................81

Health and Safety Programs and Performance ...............................................................................81

A Career with CPS Energy ................................................................................................82

 Putting Vision into Action: Working at CPS Energy ..................................................................82

 Benefit Plans.....................................................................................................82

 Ethics Program ...................................................................................................83

 The Big Audacious Goal .........................................................................................84

 Employee Organizations .........................................................................................85

Moving Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

GRI Indicator Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
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P u tting E nerg y I n t o C h a n g e

As the nation’s largest municipally owned gas and electric utility, with a 150-year history serving the Greater San Antonio area, CPS Energy has 

built a tradition of sound financial decisions supported by a dedicated workforce. This has resulted in our customers’ utility bills ranking among 

the lowest of the nation’s 20 largest cities and also having a robust, reliable electric and gas system that our customers have come to rely upon. 

However, to continue this great tradition of economic viability we must look into the future rather than admiring our past. The challenges of aging 

infrastructure and increasing environmental concerns, like climate change, have the potential to significantly increase the costs of energy from 

fossil fuel generation. Multiple indicators reveal that the current path is not sustainable.

While climate change makes this a challenging time for CPS Energy and others in the energy industry, it also presents us with huge opportunities 

for innovation and growth. Rather than lamenting change, we embrace this opportunity to contribute to an emerging era of new fuel sources, 

new business models, and new jobs.

A few years ago, we began preparing our company not just for change, but for a transformation. In 2008, CPS Energy more precisely defined that 

change as transforming from a company focused on providing low-cost power from conventional, centralized sources to a company capable of 

providing competitively priced power from more sustainable sources. We define sustainable development as growing in ways that meet the needs of 

our customers today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Over the next decade, our plan is to have a diverse and balanced approach to our generation portfolio that includes natural gas, low-sulfur coal, 

nuclear power, and renewable energy, and to be more efficient with the energy we have. Emerging technologies like energy storage, smart grid 

systems, and distributed electrical generation also will factor heavily into our success. We must ensure that our system is reliable and properly 

managing power flow and transmission. To keep energy affordable, we’ll need to address up-front costs and encourage customers to participate 

Mission San Jose, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

p u tting energ y i n t o c h a n g e
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in our rebate programs and other energy-efficiency initiatives. To mitigate risk, we must choose technologies that are competitive, attractive, and 

scalable. The newly announced research alliance partnership with The University of Texas at San Antonio will help us achieve these goals.

Investing in the future can seem like a daunting prospect in these tough economic times. That’s why CPS Energy has developed Vision 2020, 

a comprehensive plan that will guide every action we take over the next decade — from working toward a renewable energy goal of 1500 

MW or ~20% of our total generation capacity, to being the best place to work, to providing opportunities to local students for the education they 

need to tackle tomorrow’s energy challenges. 

This sustainability report outlines this year’s progress toward these goals, such as already having more than 900 MW of renewable energy under 

contract and the $849 million in funding approved by the San Antonio City Council for the Save for Tomorrow Energy Plan (STEP), which will 

enable us to offer rebates and incentives to help customers make energy-efficiency improvements to their homes and businesses. 

We plan to commit more than $5 billion by 2020 toward sustainability initiatives. This reflects our emergence as a national sustainable energy 

player, and our commitment to you to be transparent and accountable. We’ll include your feedback as we plan our collective future. While that 

is an extraordinary commitment, we remain focused on providing our community with reliable, cost-competitive energy in an environmentally 

sensitive manner. It is our greatest hope that we may serve the Greater San Antonio area for another 150 years and beyond.

Sincerely,

Cris Eugster

Executive Vice President & Chief Sustainability Officer

Doyle Beneby

Chief Executive Officer
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w h y n o w ? 

Since 1998, CPS Energy has published biennial 

environmental reports covering a range of topics 

from air quality to water management. However, as 

the issues surrounding our business and community 

have become increasingly diverse and complex, 

we believe that a full-fledged sustainability report is 

essential going forward. 

Climate change, the rising cost of energy, the 

global recession, air and water quality, a healthy 

community — all of these issues are related, and 

we recognize that a whole-systems approach 

is necessary to address them. In addition, CPS 

Energy is working hand in hand with the City of 

San Antonio and its Mission Verde plan, which 

addresses a wide range of issues affecting the 

community. This report covers all of the assets 

that we own and operate in the San Antonio 

community and beyond. Not only do we address 

environmental issues but also social and economic 

ones, and their relationship to one another. 

This first CPS Energy Corporate Sustainability 

Report covers data from primarily 2006 to 2009, 

where data was available. We plan to produce a 

Corporate Sustainability Report every two years.

What Is ‘Sustainability’?

Sustainability is defined as “meeting the needs 

of the present without compromising the ability 

of future generations to meet their own needs.” 

Three traditional areas of focus in sustainability 

are environmental, social, and economic factors, 

and the interactions between them. We have 

addressed each of these areas within this Corporate 

Sustainability Report. 

To address sustainability issues at CPS Energy, we’ve established two 

primary initiatives — the internal Sustainability Council and Vision 

2020. Our Sustainability Council comprises 18 members from across 

the CPS Energy organization, representing each business unit. The 

purpose of this council is to provide a clearinghouse that will identify, 

prioritize, initiate, coordinate, and evaluate programs, policies, and 

procedures that promote and enhance environmental sustainability 

within CPS Energy. 

In addition, we have created Vision 2020, which describes how 

our stakeholders view us and what it will be like to be a part of CPS 

Energy in 2020. 

How Do We Set Priorities?

Stakeholder satisfaction is a key element in our sustainability program, 

so properly identifying the following stakeholders is an essential step: 

•	 Customers 

•	 City of San Antonio government

•	 Bond holders

•	 Employees

•	 Suppliers

•	 San Antonio Water System (SAWS)

•	 Bexar County

•	 Texas Legislature

•	 Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)

•	 Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)

•	 Federal government
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The Sustainability Council ranked the importance of issues to our 

stakeholders and the impact of our operations on those stakeholders. 

Through this process, we identified the issues with the most 

importance to our stakeholders and the greatest potential impact 

on the environment, economy, and social atmosphere of the San 

Antonio area. The issues aligned with our Vision 2020 goals and 

direction for our sustainability program. This process also highlighted 

issues that are not currently receiving major focus, do not have set 

goals, and on which CPS Energy intends to increase focus and action 

in the coming years.

Communication and Benchmarking

The act of communicating this information to you, and the form in 

which we report it, are just as significant as the content itself. In 

addition, CPS Energy is committed to comparing our performance with 

others in the power industry. To accomplish this, we have chosen to 

use the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Framework and Performance 

Indicators, including the Electric Utility Supplement — the international 

gold standard for the transparent, reliable delivery of sustainability 

information to customers and stakeholders. These indicators serve as 

an important reference point and framework for this report. At the end 

of this report, the GRI Indicator Checklist summarizes the indicators on 

which we have chosen to report (fully and partially).

Providing Suggestions and Learning More

You may view and download the complete Corporate Sustainability 

Report at www.cpsenergy.com, where you may also contact us 

to receive additional information. We welcome your feedback, 

comments, and suggestions. Our journey to sustainability is tied to the 

San Antonio community, and we are eager to hear from you and work 

with you as we move forward. You may also get information about our 

various efficiency and renewable energy offerings at the same website. 

Peñascal Wind Farm, Baffin Bay, Texas

W h y n o w ?
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w h a t ’ s o u r m o t i v a t i o n ? 

The current model for energy production and use is not sustainable over 

the long term. Load growth and the American appetite for energy are 

driving the need for additional electricity generation. Yet concerns over 

environmental issues such as climate change should make all carbon 

producers, including “point sources” like electric utility plants, reduce 

their carbon intensity. The production and delivery of energy also has 

other environmental impacts, such as emissions, solid waste by-products, 

heavy water usage, and effects on local lakes and rivers. Sustainability 

includes the consideration of social issues because our business 

affects our communities. Developing and improving the relationships 

with our stakeholders will improve our business and help us plan for 

the future. Additional social impacts include our employee safety 

programs and the development and retention of our employees.

Economic issues are the third focus of sustainability. In this category 

are our financial viability, power access and reliability, power 

affordability, and our impact on the local economy. These issues must 

be balanced with environmental and social impacts in order to create 

a sustainable CPS Energy and Greater San Antonio area. 

In this report, we have established goals for many areas within our 

company. We have summarized our progress toward these goals 

in the Sustainability Performance Summary table at the end of this 

section. Because some of our programs are already in place, they 

are more mature or robust than other initiatives. In other areas, we 

are exploring new ideas and technologies that offer opportunities 

for improvements.

Vision 2020

To prioritize and begin addressing these issues, CPS Energy 

developed a strategy known as Vision 2020. This strategy 

includes a foundation and reference for strategic and long-term 

financial planning; local, state, and federal legislative policy; 

motivation of CPS Energy’s employees; and development of senior 

management accountabilities.

Vision 2020 focuses on and ranks six primary areas that drive success; 

the vision for each of these is described in more detail below. In 2010, 

Vision 2020 was revised to include a seventh area of focus called 

Operational Excellence, and it is listed below. This new area of focus 

is not discussed in depth in the report but will be addressed in the next 

Corporate Sustainability Report. Each of these seven areas represents 

overarching issues that affect all of our key areas of impact.

1. Customers: CPS Energy is committed to the people, 

businesses, and communities we serve. We are focused on 

exceptional service and bringing value-added products to our 

customers in an ever-changing landscape. 

2. Employees: CPS Energy is committed to creating a workplace 

that is productive, purpose-driven, empowering, and rewarding 

for all employees. Clear lines of authority and accountabilities 

will be the core leadership framework. 

3. External Stakeholders: CPS Energy is committed to having 

open communications with our external stakeholders including 

our customers, the City of San Antonio, Bexar County, SAWS, 

Bond holders, ERCOT, PUC, the Texas Legislature, and the 

federal government. 

4. Operational Excellence: CPS Energy is a provider of 

highly reliable, competitively priced energy to our customers. 

This commitment requires efficient management, maintenance, 

and modernization of an expanding grid and generation 

assets to meet environmental requirements and serve a growing 

community. 

5. Carbon Constraints and the Environment: Reducing 

CPS Energy’s carbon footprint and environmental impact will 

require a multilevel focus on energy efficiency, new generation 

technologies, water resource management, and waste reduction 

initiatives. 

6. Technology and Innovation: Technology improvements 

include the use of open standards, smart grid technologies, 

new energy storage systems, and distributed energy systems. 

Technology and innovation also will be used to address impacts 

that affect air quality, waste generation, and water usage.

7. Financial Integrity: CPS Energy expects that the utility 

industry will make significant financial investments between now 

and the 2020s. Continued robust financial planning also will be 

a key contributor to our success. 
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The Sustainability Performance Summary describes these key drivers, 

as aligned with our Vision 2020 focus areas. Each issue is presented 

with metrics, trends, and context. This summary presents a snapshot of 

where we have been in the past few years and where we are going, 

and highlights issues that need additional attention.

Each of these issues and initiatives is at a different stage at CPS 

Energy. Some issues are well under way, have been tracked for years, 

and have an established goal. Other issues have been more recently 

identified, and data may not be available to provide a benchmark 

of current performance. Our challenge will be to continue to track 

progress for each issue and to develop and work toward targets.

The remainder of this report delves into each of these issues in more 

detail and describes current programs and activities, challenges, and 

areas for improvement related to each key issue.

Challenges

An increasingly savvy customer base has high expectations for 

affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy. Yet utility infrastructure is 

aging and requires replacement, while the costs of raw materials and 

fuels rise at unprecedented rates. Rising energy costs are significant 

concerns for customers and policymakers. This is especially true at 

a time when the U.S. economy has slowed and people are faced 

with price increases for goods and services needed to meet their 

most basic needs. The utility industry is challenged to find sites for 

new facilities. And concerns over climate change are increasing the 

obligation of everyone to use less fossil fuel.

Aging infrastructure not only affects the cost of energy but also has an 

impact on reliability. At a time when the focus on customer satisfaction 

is increasingly important, maintaining and improving reliability is 

critical and costly. Balancing replacement costs with the realities of a 

slowly deteriorating infrastructure is a concern that CPS Energy and 

the entire utility industry are facing. Utilities need capital to replace 

worn-out infrastructure, while other needs are competing for the same 

pool of dollars. Balancing all of these critical needs is, and will be, a 

significant challenge for CPS Energy.

Impending legislation that regulates carbon emissions will have a 

dramatic impact on the cost of producing electricity. These potentially 

significant costs will be felt throughout the energy value chain, and 

ultimately at the bottom line of every customer’s utility bill. CPS Energy 

has been a leader in providing low-cost energy supplies from a 

diversified fuels mix, including significant coal, natural gas, nuclear 

generation, and wind resources. While nuclear generation produces 

no carbon emissions, our substantial coal-fired generation component 

poses a challenge as we enter an increasingly carbon-constrained 

future. And natural gas generation has its own challenges — price 

volatility and carbon dioxide emissions. 

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A key challenge in addressing 

these trends is our aging workforce. 

Our ability to manage a more 

sophisticated and adaptable 

infrastructure will require a flexible, 

dedicated, and well-prepared 

workforce. Because most of CPS 

Energy’s employees come from the 

communities that we serve, the issues 

faced by public education systems 

are our problems, too. We must play 

a role in helping to alleviate these 

systemic problems as they relate to our 

business. Recruitment, development, 

and retention of our workforce must 

be balanced with transition planning 

and knowledge transfer between 

employees. Effective succession 

planning also must be a primary focus 

to ensure continuity in our rapidly 

changing environment.

Opportunities

A U.S. Energy Industry CEO study 

published in 2007 stated: “The 

challenges [facing the electricity 

industry] require policy makers and 

industry leaders to move beyond 

rhetoric and easy action and deal 

forthrightly with perceived, real and 

difficult issues.” To address our issues, 

we have identified three opportunities 

that will enable us to overcome these 

risks and challenges: 

Mastering the Basics

To reduce the potentially large and burdensome price impacts on our 

customers, every employee in every position in our company must 

learn to eliminate all unnecessary costs from our system. We must do 

so in a way that considers the entire value stream so that we don’t 

reduce costs in one area in a way that causes unnecessary increases 

in other areas.

Simple on the Inside, Differentiated on the Outside

The entire energy industry is becoming increasingly complex. 

Factors such as climate change and other environmental concerns, 

policymaking pressures, technologies that develop sooner than 

expected or not soon enough, and increased customer expectations 

and sophistication have complicated utility decision-making. The 

remainder of the business is all about customer service. At the same 

time, many stakeholders view the basic delivery of energy as a simple 

commodity. One way to add value and differentiate our product 

from others is to provide customers a variety of service, price, and 

supply options.

Diversified and Skilled Workforce

As a successful company, we must not only identify our needs, but help 

our employees succeed at all levels of the company by keeping them 

informed and having programs in place to transition and train existing 

employees. We must hire for the attributes that lead to success. In turn, 

employees at all levels, from the front line to senior management, must 

embrace a culture of life-long learning and continuous improvement. A 

skilled workforce will require a competitive compensation package.

We will continue to monitor the risks and competitive threats that we 

may face in the coming years and develop responses to ensure our 

continued success. 

Integrated Resource Plan

The Greater San Antonio population grew by 1.9% in 2009, a rate 

that is faster than all but four other U.S. cities. This growth is typical 

and can be expected to continue, with our population reaching 

approximately 2.4 million in 2020, according to The Perryman 

Long-Term Economic Forecast. In meeting the needs of this growing 

population, we will uphold our commitments to environmental 

responsibility by using innovative technological solutions that enhance 
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quality of life, social equity, and economic viability. At the same time, 

we will continue to provide reliable and competitively priced energy 

to San Antonio. 

In 2009, the CPS Energy Board adopted a Sustainable Energy Policy 

Statement that endorsed the transition from a centralized power model 

to a distributed one. We are currently committed to investing more 

than $5 billion over the next decade in this endeavor. CPS Energy’s 

Integrated Resource Plan is a comprehensive road map for meeting 

San Antonio’s future energy needs. It requires making complex 

projections and considering numerous factors well into the future.

To guide this process, we have adopted these four principles:

1. Supply Low-Cost Competitive Electric Power:

Continue to be a low-cost provider by building on historic 

strengths of constructing and operating owned assets using a 

diverse fuel mix.

2. Increase Renewable Energy Supply: Build on position 

as a leading supplier of renewable energy to our customers.

3. Pursue Energy Conservation: Implement programs to 

slow demand growth and reduce customer bills.

4. Maintain Environmental Commitment: Expand 

environmental programs and investment. 

Diversification of our generation mix continues to be one of our 

biggest goals. To delay the need for new plants, CPS Energy 

management is concentrating on community-wide energy efficiency 

and conservation. This effort is referred to as the “fifth fuel.” 

Due to recent regulatory developments, cost recovery for energy 

efficiency and conservation programs is incorporated into our rate 

structure in much the same way that fuel costs for power plants are 

addressed in ratemaking. This allows us to aggressively partner with 

our customers in pursuing investments in energy-efficient technologies 

and robust demand-response programs with a pay-for-performance 

cost-recovery philosophy. 

CPS Energy originally planned to implement measures designed to 

save approximately 425 megawatts (MW) of electrical capacity 

by the year 2020. However, we received approval from our board 

for a more aggressive goal to save 771 MW (the equivalent of 

building a power plant), and the City Council approved a funding 

mechanism for this program. 

In addition, we have explored and continue to develop opportunities 

with the City Council for potential changes in ordinances, codes, 

and administrative regulations that will encourage commercial 

and residential customers, builders, contractors, and other market 

participants to implement conservation measures. Building code 

changes will result in more efficient homes and buildings. These 

activities include gathering additional public input; expanding 

community education about the long-term energy and conservation 

needs of the San Antonio community; continuing our option analyses 

and evaluations, including our own formalized cost estimates; 

gaining additional board approval to move forward; and expanding 

our presentations to the City Council, which governs the related rate 

increases and bond issuances required to support any generation 

construction project. CPS Energy also supports and participates in the 

Mayor’s Task Force on Sustainable Buildings, which provides specific 

energy code and policy recommendations. 

Sustainability Performance Summary

For each goal, we’ve evaluated our current progress compared with 

our peers in the utility industry, ranking ourselves as Leader, Good, or 

Improvement Opportunities. 

•	 Leader – We are well on our way to meeting our goal and 

consider ourselves industry leaders. 

•	 Good – We are on track to meet our goal and consider 

ourselves among the majority of our peers.

•	 Improvement Opportunities – We are either working to 

improve existing programs or the program is too new to rank.

J.K. Spruce Unit 1 at Calaveras Power Station

Left: Arthur von Rosenberg combined cycle unit’s NOx emissions controls
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SUSTAINABILITY performance summary

Vision

2020 G

o

als

Customer Relationships Employee Relationships

Financial Integrity Carbon Contraints 

& the Environment

External Stakeholders

Technology & Innovation

•	 Continue providing 

programs to our customer 

base to help reach our goal 

of 771 MW saved from 

energy efficiency by 2020, 

of which 225 MW is from 

demand response.

•	 Continue growing the 

Demand Response program 

for commercial customers.

Why?

Helps reduce peak demand as 

well as overall energy usage. 

Reductions allow delayed 

requirement for new generation.

Self Rating: 

Leader

Have provided $11 million in rebates to 

residential and commercial customers for 

energy-efficiency projects in 2008

102 MW saved in fiscal year 2009/10. This 

exceeded the goal of 30 MW.

Helped fund EPRI’s Green Circuit 

Initiative aimed at improving energy 

efficiency in the electric distribution 

system

19 commercial customers participated 

in the 2009 DR program with 17 MW of 

curtailable load available on peak days. 

Target for 2010 program is to achieve 32 

MW of curtailable load.

Continue STEP 

beyond 2020 

by exploring 

funding for an 

additional 

500 MW.

Funding constraints; Market 

penetration; Market saturation

Will get more difficult to achieve 

over time as more homes 

are upgraded. It will become 

increasingly costly to market, 

and incentives up to 100% of 

incremental equipment cost will be 

required.

Customer per capita energy 

usage could increase with future 

demands such as additional home 

electronics and plug-in electric 

vehicles.

Goals Achievements to Date Future Plans Challenges

•	 Add renewable energy 

equal to 1500 MW or 

approximately 20% of our 

total generation capacity by 

2020; 100 MW of this will be 

from non-wind.

Why?

ERCOT statewide capacity goal 

of 5880 MW in 2015, and 10,000 

MW in 2025

Federal regulations may require 

up to 15% of generation to be 

renewables by 2021.

Environmentally friendly/carbon 

free/public stakeholder desire

Self Rating: 

Leader

Have 719 MW of renewable capacity in 

commercial operations as of October 2010 

and 194 MW additional under contract, of 

which 44 MW is solar

Largest municipal purchaser of wind 

power in the United States

State leader in solar energy under contract

Diversified locations of wind energy

Seek new 

proposals for 

renewables. 

•	 Affordability

•	 Reliability/Intermittency

•	 Developing infrastructure 

and resources

•	 Storage technology

•	 Governmental policy

•	 Transmission constraints

•	 15% participation from our 

customers in Windtricity 

and 1% to 2% participation 

in Solartricity programs by 

2020

Self Rating: 

Leader

Achieved 118.6 million kWh of 

Windtricity sales in FY 2010, equivalent to 

7.6% of available renewable supply

Target 

marketing and 

education

Market 

segmentation 

•	 Marketing penetration of 

target audience

•	 Pricing

Renewable Energy

Energy Efficiency and Demand Response
17

•	 Increase recycling of 

nonhazardous industrial and 

municipal waste.

Why?

Conserve landfill space and natural 

resources

Decrease disposal costs

Public stakeholder desire

Self Rating: 

Leader

Have recycled an average of nearly 70% of all 

municipal waste in 2006-2009

Have recycled 100% of coal combustion by-products 

for last several years

Recycled 100% of tree trimmings

Keep Mission 

Recyclable going 

(aluminum cans 

and plastic bottles).

Training/

Education

Establish 

additional 

contracts with 

vendors.

Increase 

wood-pallet 

recycling rate.

Accountability

Reclassification of 

ash may limit our 

ability to recycle it.

waste

•	 70% reduction in air 

emissions, including NOx

, 

PM, and primarily SO2

, from 

the power plants from 1997 

baseline levels

Why?

Stiffening air quality standards;

Promotes a healthier community

Self Rating: 

Good

Add Scrubbers 

to JTD to reduce 

SO2

. 

Add SCRs to JTD1 

or JKS1 between 

2015 and 2019 to 

reduce NOx

.

Increasing cost 

of abatement in 

a challenging 

economy

Uncertainty of 

future regulatory 

limits and timeline 

to reach compliance

Other utilities are 

catching up with us. 

(Top 16% in 2007. 

Top 26% in 2008)

Total of $245 million in environmental upgrades since 

1999:

•	 System NOx

 reductions

•	 Enhanced monitoring program

•	 Added coal yard dust controls

•	 Gas startups at Deely Unit 1 & 2

•	 Baghouse retrofits at Deely Unit 1 & 2

•	 Added coal NOx

 combustion controls

•	 JK Spruce Unit 1 scrubber upgrades

•	 Currently adding SCR to JTDeely 2, expected to 

be online in 2011

As part of the new construction of Spruce Unit 2, 

scrubbers and SCR have been installed.

Mercury monitors have been installed on our units.

Air Quality

Goals Achievements to Date Future Plans Challenges

•	 Identify possible projects 

and activities to assure water 

availability through 2050.

•	 Decrease water usage at CPS 

Energy facilities through 

conservation initiatives.

Why?

2008-2009 South Texas drought 

increased pressure on water 

resources. New electric generation 

will require additional water; new 

regulations may reduce water 

availability for cooling.

Self Rating: 

Good

Completed comprehensive lake and fish studies in 

2002 and 2009

Have created Water Strategy Team to develop 

strategic water plan and drought management plan

Completed Power Plant Water Conservation Study

CPS Energy has reduced power plant water usage 

intensity through the use of once-through cooling 

pond technology (instead of cooling towers), power 

plant efficiency improvement projects, new gas 

turbines (replacing steam-electric generation), and 

new water treatment technologies. CPS Energy 

reuse of treated sewage effluent for power plant 

cooling at Calaveras and Braunig lakes, instead 

of using fresh Edwards Aquifer water, has saved 

829,245 acre-feet (or 270 billion gallons) of 

Edwards water since the 1960s.

STEP and renewable energy programs saving 

approximately 2,500 AF/yr of water

Conduct 

additional 

evaluations and 

studies.

Complacency, 

because have 

enough water now

Regulatory (SB3, 

EARIP [Edwards 

Aquifer Recovery 

Implementation 

Program], etc.)

Increased water 

needs to support 

new generation, 

new SO2

 removal, 

and possible CO2

capture

water sustainability
18 w h at ’ s o u r m o t i vat i o n ?

Updated Information 

Communication Services equipment 

such as servers and computers

As part of SB5, we set reductions 

goals for three of our facilities and 

met these goals. 

High Efficiency Lighting Program:

In 2004, we began replacing office 

and customer service center incandescent 

light bulbs with high efficiency compact 

fluorescent lamps (CFLs).

Have replaced incandescent and T12 

bulbs with more efficient CFL and T8 

lighting in our buildings since 2007

Virtual servers to reduce 

electrical consumption

Continue to replace remaining 

T12 lighting. 

Determine projects that would 

promote facility improvements 

and reduce electricity 

consumption. 

Weather can have 

a big impact on 

our electricity 

consumption; out of 

our control

Budget constraints

Have reduced fleet vehicles by 8% 

for fiscal year 2009/10

Added ethanol fuel for our lightduty vehicles in 2003

Add PHEV to our current fleet.

Add electric trouble trucks in 

2012/2013.

Improve utilization of fleet.

Initiate biodiesel trials for another 

positive alternative fuel.

Implement SmartFuel System in 

2010 to improve data quality.

Establish capital transportation 

plan.

Improved utilization 

of fleet

Regulatory 

requirements

Budget constraints

•	 Fleet

Self Rating: 

Improvement Opportunities

In 1998, CPS Energy signed a 

voluntary agreement with EPA, 

joining the SF6

 Emission Reduction 

Partnership. 

Determine SF6

 emissions from 

leaking circuit breakers.

Use fugitive emission monitor to 

identify leaky circuit breakers.

Replace circuit breakers that 

consistently leak.

Man hours needed

Budget constraints

•	 Transmission & Distribution

Self Rating: 

Improvement Opportunities

•	 Facilities

Self Rating: 

Good

•	 Corporate Goal

Determine our greenhouse gas 

(GHG) emissions from internal 

operations from 2005 to establish 

our baseline year and set a 

reduction goal. Determine 

years 2006-2008 and identify 

opportunities for reductions in 

GHG from our internal operations.

Why?

COSA committed to the U.S. 

Mayoral Climate Challenge and 

requested that CPS Energy, SAWS, 

and Bexar County partner to help 

develop a community-wide inventory 

and future operational reductions. 

Self Rating: 

Improvement Opportunities

Gathered data from electricity usage, 

fleet, SF6

 sources, and other small 

miscellaneous sources for 2005-2008

Work with Business Units to set 

goals to help reduce emissions 

from operational activities.

Data availability from 

past years and quality

Budget constraints

Operational GHG Emissions

Goals Achievements to Date Future Plans Challenges
19

•	 Continue to make customer 

relations and perception a 

top priority.

Why?

Improves communication

Help low-income customers in a 

struggling economy.

Self Rating: 

Leader

We had 244 presentations to civic 

groups and organizations in 2009.

Exceeded our employee contribution 

goal to United Way in 2009 (over 

$787,000)

Volunteers in Public Service 

provided over 25,000 hours of 

service in 2008.

Affordability Discount was 

implemented in 2008 to assist lowincome customers.

Continue to support 

speaker team. Plan to 

continue presentations 

in 2010 and 2011.

Continue with REAP 

— funding and 

marketing.

Continue customer 

information and 

community meetings.

Continue supporting 

VIPS and United Way.

Challenging economy

Lack of knowledge of alternative 

energy

•	 Consistently rank in the 

top five nationally in the JD 

Power and Associates surveys 

for gas and electric customer 

satisfaction by 2020.

Why?

Improves customer relationships

Self Rating: 

Leader

Reduced response time for customer 

notifications of outages

In 2009, J.D. Power ranked CPS 

Energy No. 1 in Residential Electric 

and No. 1 in Residential Gas among 

large utilities in the Southern region. 

Nationally, CPS Energy ranked 3rd 

for Electric Utilities and 2nd for Gas. 

Also use MSI and Rockbridge 

Customer Satisfaction Surveys to 

assess customer service. 

Improve reliability.

Keep costs low.

Improve and expand 

services.

System reliability

Weather variability

Technical delays on scheduled 

system upgrades

Timely communication of outage 

information 

customer relations

•	 Support and enhance 

community programs 

Why?

Tree cover helps our community 

save money in energy conservation, 

air quality, and storm water 

management.

Enhance lake fishery.

Self Rating: 

Leader

Conducted an initial Urban Ecosystem 

Analysis in 2002

Developed a tree brochure to provide 

information to customers

Developed and implemented Tree 

Preservation and Mitigation Policy 

and procedures

Distributed over 37,000 trees 

since 2001 (over 4,100 in 2010) 

 

Live Green Fest, Earth Day 

Have stocked 42,000 bass in Calaveras 

Lake since 2004

Have recycled more than 5,600 

pieces of gasoline lawn equipment 

and provided rebates for electric and 

battery models for Mow Down Smog 

Partnering with the 

City of San Antonio to 

plant trees by the end 

of 2011

Educate and distribute 

trees to over 3,500 

customers in 2010 and 

2011 at several events.

Evaluate benefits of fish 

stocking.

Partnering with 

Thousand Trails to 

improve lake parks

Continue Mow Down 

Smog.

Public participation

environmental stewardship/community programs

Goals Achievements to Date Future Plans Challenges
20 w h at ’ s o u r m o t i vat i o n ?

•	 Maintain the company’s 

excellent credit ratings, 

currently among the highest 

of any municipal utility.

Why?

Provides customers consistently 

lower rates, one of the expected 

benefits of competition, without the 

hassles of competition

Self Rating: 

Leader

Excellent credit ratings achieved by: 

•	 Disciplined capital and 

operating expenditure control

•	 Prudent incremental revenue 

opportunities

•	 Attention to liquidity

•	 Conservative, ongoing financial 

planning

•	 Implementation of enterprise 

risk management

•	 Strong management team with 

owner/regulator support

Continue to improve 

upon current 

achievements and seek 

sufficient rate support 

to balance affordability 

for the customer with 

protecting the financial 

and operational 

integrity of the utility 

system.

•	 Legislative/regulatory 

requirements involving 

millions of dollars of 

environmental investments 

and other compliance costs

•	 Providing for continuing 

growth and demand for 

additional services

•	 Re-investment in an aging 

infrastructure to maintain 

reliability and safety

•	 Public desire to increase 

investment in emerging 

“green” technologies

•	 Uncertainty in financial 

markets

•	 The emerging nodal 

marketplace, and (7) fuel 

price uncertainty

•	 Maintain residential retail 

rate per KWH below the 

market average in the 

competitive markets of 

Dallas, Houston, and Corpus 

Christi.

Why?

Keeps financing costs lower by 

providing greater access to capital. 

Lower financing costs benefit 

customers via lower rates.

Self Rating: 

Good

Low rates achieved by strategic 

decision of fuel diversification, 

including initiatives to pursue 

energy efficiency, conservation, and 

renewable energy

Spruce 2, 

implementation of 

Save for Tomorrow 

Energy Plan (STEP), 

and judicious mix of 

additional renewables

Regulations on various 

environmental emissions such as 

carbon, SO2

, NOX, and mercury

Volatility and uncertainty of 

future fuel prices

Financial integrity

•	 Through outreach and 

advocacy, encourage small, 

minority, veteran and 

service-disabled veteranowned, HUBZone, small 

disadvantaged, and 

women-owned businesses to 

compete for contracting and 

subcontracting opportunities. 

Why?

It is CPS Energy policy to ensure that 

these businesses have the maximum 

practicable opportunity to participate 

as contractors and suppliers.

It is our policy to assist these 

businesses to overcome barriers 

which may have kept them from 

the mainstream of the American 

business enterprise system.

Self Rating: 

Good

Mentoring/Protégé Program from 

1998 to 2004 provided workshops, 

seminars, and networking functions 

to address emerging issues facing 

these businesses. 

Outstanding ratings by U.S. Small 

Business Administration

Numerous awards

Provided arena for businesses to 

register their company/products/

services with CPS Energy so we can 

proactively solicit them

Continue ongoing 

outreach activity.

Develop interactive 

web portal for new and 

existing suppliers with 

access to their supplier 

account info. 

Evaluate bringing back 

Mentoring/Protégé 

Program. 

Commitments and the 

understanding of value of 

various programs

supplier diversity

Goals Achievements to Date Future Plans Challenges
21

•	 Improve safety rating. 

•	 Employee’s health, welfare, 

and availability

Why?

Protect our employees and 

resources.

Limit unprogrammed costs 

created by accidents occurring to 

employees, equipment, and the 

general public. 

Self Rating: 

Good

Reduced the number of recordable 

injuries by 35% in FY10

Reduced the number of motor 

vehicle accidents by 30% in FY10

Achieved seven consecutive years 

of reductions of recordable injuries 

(FY04-FY10)

Reduced work-related injury costs 

by 52% in FY10

Continue with an aggressive 

safety recognition program.

Make available to all 

employees general safety 

courses, including CPR and 

first aid, driver’s training, 

fires safety, etc.

Keep safety as a point of 

emphasis for all employees.

Continue improving case 

management efforts.

Funding for training and 

recognition programs 

Time for safety training

Rising health care costs

Changes in legislation

Human Capital

•	 Develop the human capital 

within the organization and 

enhance relationships within 

our community to ensure a 

sustainable workforce.

Why?

Provide an engaging environment 

for employees to maximize their 

fullest human potential and 

leverage the institutional capability 

in our community.

Self Rating: 

Good

Recruiting for the future workforce:

•	 Formalized partnerships with 

local schools and universities

•	 Improved intern/co-op program

Implementing an application tracking 

system to improve both internal and 

external hiring processes

Developing and growing talent 

from within:

•	 Formalized succession planning 

program at executive level

•	 Implementation of learning 

management system

•	 Increased availability of training 

via computer-based training 

(CBT) methodology

Expand formal succession 

planning program to include 

all work levels.

Increase CBT offerings to 

the workforce.

Improve workforce planning 

analysis and usage.

Formalize a knowledge 

transfer program.

Aging workforce

Documentation and 

standardized work 

processes

•	 Improve employee benefits 

and programs.

Why?

Employee retention and 

competitive hiring

Self Rating: 

Good

•	 Education and tuition 

reimbursement

•	 Technical, management 

and leadership training and 

development

•	 Employee clubs

•	 Competitive health benefits

•	 Employee Assistance Program

•	 VIA Metropolitan bus pass 

program

Comprehensive employee 

benefits redesign:

•	 Consolidation of 

contracts

•	 Implementation of new 

wellness offerings

•	 Review of funding and 

trust utilization

•	 Development and 

recommendation 

on an employee 

telecommuting policy/

program

Economic downturn has 

eliminated merit increases 

and EIP in 2009.

•	 Improve organizational 

assessment and employee 

engagement.

Why?

Part of our Big Audacious Goal 

is to be a great place to work, i.e., 

live our core values.

Survey results have been declining 

for the past two years.

Self Rating: 

Improvement Opportunities

FY10:

First year of corporate-wide 

manager-led report-out of results 

with employees. Manager-led 

response teams and action plans 

were developed in each business 

unit.

Request for Proposal and selection 

of new survey vendor to improve 

survey design, reporting, and 

responsiveness was completed.

Administration of a new 

survey and action planning 

process

Establishment of new metric 

and targets for improvement

Expanding the scope 

beyond just core values

Integrating results with 

manager goals and 

performance assessment

Goals Achievements to Date Future Plans Challenges
22 w h at ’ s o u r m o t i vat i o n ?

developing goals

•	 Follow proposed CO2

regulations to help determine 

our future generation mix 

and develop a CO2

 reduction 

goal. Upcoming regulations 

may dictate the goal.

Why?

EPA and Congress on the verge of 

regulating GHG emissions from 

power plants; absolute emissions 

reductions likely required in the 

future. 

City of San Antonio — Mission

Following proposed regulations

Have invested $2.6 million from 

2005-2010 to fund research on new 

technologies to control or mitigate 

CO2

Continue to invest 

in collaborative R&D 

projects to develop 

CO2

 capture and 

storage technologies 

that can be 

commercialized.

Continue to evaluate 

and pursue firm and 

non-firm options 

for reducing CO2

emissions, such as 

additional nuclear 

generation, existing 

plant efficiency 

improvements, 

increased renewable 

generation, and highly 

aggressive energy 

efficiency programs.

There are no commercial 

technologies available today to 

capture CO2

 at the scale needed.

Proposed technologies have 

very high cost and performance 

penalties.

Legal and regulatory framework 

for underground storage of CO2

does not exist.

generation co2 emissions

•	 Establish Distributed Energy 

Program.

Why?

Gain experience in interconnecting 

to our grid.

Learn how to manage distributed 

energy power flow. 

Strategically align with our Board’s 

philosophy of future energy 

suppliers.

Part of the City of San Antonio 

Mission Verde goals

Presented to senior management team 

and the board

Educating stakeholders on benefits 

and costs

Residential solar rebates 

Commercial projects to date:

•	 Covel Gardens

•	 Pearl PV

•	 Blue Wing PV

•	 Age Refining

•	 Tessman Landfill PV

Roll out Solartricity 

Producer Program.

10 MW over 2 years

•	 25 kw – 500 kw

•	 27 cents/kwh

Add 500 MW of 

distributed generation 

beyond 2020.

Cost challenges across 

segmentation on technology

Currently much higher in cost than 

traditional generation

Manage balance in portfolio 

interconnections

Managing intermittency

Unclear if a significant portion 

of the energy supply markets will 

gravitate to the distributed energy 

model or remain with the central 

stations model

distributed energy

Goals Achievements to Date Future Plans Challenges
23

Goals Achievements to Date Future Plans Challenges

Technology and Innovation

•	 Offer Home Area Network 

Capability along with 

Advanced Metering 

Infrastructure (AMI) 

Program.

Why?

Help provide customers with 

real-time information on energy 

consumption, billing, pricing, 

and related information. 

Provide internal business unit 

with information to improve 

operational efficiencies.

Have completed a small test pilot 

of personal energy management 

systems (PEMS) in the CPS Energy 

service area

Offer additional pricing 

programs as AMI meters 

are deployed.

Install over 700,000 new 

electric meters and retrofit 

over 300,000 gas meters 

by 2015 as part of the AMI 

program.

Enterprise transformation

Public participation

Marketing resources

Internal resources

Process improvement

•	 Establish the Texas 

Sustainable Energy Research 

Institute (Texas SERI) 

in partnership with the 

University of Texas at San 

Antonio (UTSA).

Why?

Need support services in the 

development of sustainable 

energy technology, smart grid 

applications, and environmental 

controls

Have created a partnership with 

UTSA for September 2010 through 

September 2020

CPS Energy committed up to $50 

million over 10 years to an alliance 

with the University of Texas at San 

Antonio for sustainable energy 

research.

First year of funding has been set 

at $1 million. The second year 

of funding will be $2.5 million. 

Funding for later years will be 

contingent on board approval and 

budget considerations. It also will 

depend on annual evaluations of the 

program.

Research projects will focus 

around the following topics 

that are specific to CPS 

Energy’s needs:

•	 Carbon management, 

capture and utilization 

for large-scale 

generation

•	 Development of a 

secure electric smart 

grid to support 

distributed generation.

•	 Expansion of largescale renewable energy 

technologies with 

support in energy 

storage solutions

•	 Behavioral research of 

consumers

•	 Electric transportation

Program is subject to annual 

evaluations.

developing goals
24
25

w h o is c p s e n e r g y ? 

CPS Energy is the nation’s largest municipally owned energy 

company providing both natural gas and electric service. We serve 

approximately 700,000 electric customers and more than 320,000 

natural gas customers in and around the seventh-largest city in the 

nation. The City of San Antonio acquired CPS Energy in 1942. Our 

legal name is the City Public Service Board acting by and through 

the City of San Antonio. Up to 14% of our gross revenues support 

more than one-fourth of the general operating budget of San Antonio’s 

municipal government, providing financial resources for the delivery 

of basic services such as streets and infrastructure, public safety, parks 

and youth enrichment programs, and libraries. 

Thanks to our status as a community-owned, not-for-profit company 

and our diversified mix of fuels, we are able to provide our customers 

with reliable and more affordable energy services than many 

companies. We’re not just serving customers, but working for our 

families, friends, and neighbors in Greater San Antonio.

Core Values and Purpose

The CPS Energy purpose is:

“Benefiting our community by improving the quality of life of the 

people we serve.”

We believe that a focus on customer service, the environment, 

learning, stewardship, and leadership will reinforce living our core 

values. These core values connect everything we do at CPS Energy:

•	 Customer commitment 

•	 Performance 

•	 Safety 

•	 Respect 

•	 Teamwork 

•	 Trust

BANDERA

KENDALL

COMAL

WILSON

ATASCOSA

MEDINA

BEXAR

GUADALUPE

Feet 0 12,500 25,000 50,000

CPS Energy serves a 1,514-square-mile area, shown in white.

cps energy service boundary
26 w h o is CP S e n e r g y ?
27

CPS Energy Board of Trustees

The CPS Energy Board of Trustees (Board), in accordance with bond 

ordinances, governs the natural gas and electric utility. The Board 

consists of four citizens representing the four geographic quadrants of 

the City of San Antonio and the mayor of San Antonio, who serves 

as an ex-officio member. Trustees must reside within the CPS Energy 

quadrant that they represent. Board members serve a five-year term 

and are eligible to serve an additional term. Vacancies on the Board 

are filled by a majority vote of the remaining members and new Board 

appointees must be approved by a majority vote of the City Council. 

Current CPS Energy Board of Trustees 

Charles E. Foster, Chair

Derrick Howard, Vice Chair

Stephen S. Hennigan 

Dr. Homer Guevara, Jr. 

Mayor Julián Castro, Ex-Officio Trustee

Leadership

Mr. Doyle Beneby joined CPS Energy as President/

CEO effective August 1, 2010. Beneby was 

previously the president of Exelon Power and senior 

vice president of Exelon Generation. Prior to Exelon, he was 

at Consumer Energy in Michigan and at Florida Power 

and Light for 17 years. 

Ms. Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley served as Acting General Manager 

from November 2009 to late July 2010. Ms. Burley joined CPS 

Energy in 2008 as Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer 

for Organizational Excellence and Shared Services after serving as 

Deputy City Manager for Planning and Development for the City of San 

Antonio. She has served the city for 24 years in various capacities. 

Awards

CPS Energy leads nation 

in wind power for second 

year in a row CPS Energy ranks 

No.1 in the United States for the 

second year in a row in wind energy 

capacity among municipal utilities, 

according to The American Wind 

Energy Association’s (AWEA’s) 

annual rankings of wind power 

leadership. AWEA also honored 

CPS Energy with the Municipal 

Utility of the Year award for its 

continued growth and leadership in 

renewable wind energy. AWEA is 

the largest national trade association 

of America’s wind industry, with more 

than 1,900 members.

April 2008 — Spruce Power Plant Unit 1 awarded 

‘Best Performer Large Coal’ by Electric Utility Cost 

Group’s Fossil Productivity Committee Ranked first out 

of 45 large coal plants (> 250 MW). Selection was based on 

a combination of best reliability and low non-fuel operations and 

maintenance (O&M) cost per MWh for five years of data from 2002 

to 2006. Our J.T. Deely plant tied for third in the same category.

South Texas Project (STP): Numerous Awards

The facility has earned more honors than any other U.S. nuclear 

power plant. It is the only repeat winner of the industry’s top honor, 

the B. Ralph Sylvia Best of The Best Award, which STP has won three 

times. The plant additionally has won seven of the annual Top Industry 

Practice (TIP) awards, two Utility Achievement Awards, and a Project of 

the Year Award for Best Nuclear Project worldwide. 

Services We Provide

Our 1,514-square-mile service area includes Bexar County and 

portions of Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, Guadalupe, Medina, 

Wilson, and Kendall counties. We also provide electric service to 

some federal military installations located within the service area 

that own their own distribution facilities. CPS Energy supplies fullrequirements wholesale electricity to the Floresville Electric Light & 

Power System, the City of Hondo, and the City of Castroville and 

partial requirements to several other neighboring electric utilities. The 

CPS Energy gas system serves the city and its environs, although there 

is no certified CPS Energy gas service area. 

CPS Energy is the top-ranked company in the South Region 

and ranks third nationally among 59 large utilities, according 

to the recently released J.D. Power and Associates’ 2009 

Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.TM

Sweetwater Wind Farm, Sweetwater, Texas

Left: Construction of the Peñascal Wind Farm in Baffin Bay, Texas
28

Customer Accounts 

The number of CPS Energy customers and accounts has been 

steadily increasing over the past few years. Our growing customer 

base means that we have to continually add and improve service 

across the San Antonio area.

Our Electrical System 

CPS Energy generates, transmits, and distributes energy to our 

customers in and around the San Antonio area. The following 

sections describe how and where we generate electricity and 

deliver it to our customers. 

Electric Generation

CPS Energy operates several electric generating units. We use coal 

and nuclear energy for our base-load generation because of the 

lower fuel costs and reliability of these fuels. However, these energy 

sources cannot be instantaneously turned on and are not built to be 

cycled frequently. Natural gas generation can be used for both baseload and peaking load. Natural gas combustion turbines (similar to 

large jet engines) are specifically used as peaking units since they 

can be started up in less than 20 minutes. This is especially helpful 

during hot summer peak days in Texas or to help compensate for 

fluctuations in the output from our sizeable wind generation portfolio. 

CPS Energy has a large renewable energy portfolio and must take the 

power when it is available. 

Energy Output 

Power demand, as well as our generation of electricity, has grown over 

the past few years and is projected to continue growing. On page 

29 is a table highlighting our generation mix and associated power 

generation from all of our assets. 

CPS Energy must have additional power generation available for 

peak demand times, which is known as our power supply minimum

planning reserve margin. We currently maintain a minimum reserve 

margin of 12.5% above the maximum expected peak demand. On 

August 23, 2010, a new peak of 4,738 MW was reached when 

temperatures hit 102° F. This broke the previous record of 4,649 MW 

set on July 8, 2009. As of late 2010, CPS Energy’s current total name 

plate generating capacity is 6,796 MW. With renewable energy 

contributions to summertime system peak demand, our current reserve 

margin is above 30%.

Coal

For several decades, coal has been an important source of fuel for 

CPS Energy as part of our base-load generation. We currently have 

four power plant units that turn low-sulfur coal into electricity. Coal is 

one of the most abundant fuel sources in the country. At the J.T. Deely 

and J.K. Spruce power plants located at Calaveras Power Station in 

south Bexar County, coal is used as a fuel source to produce 2,206 

MW of electricity. Unit 2 of the J.K. Spruce Plant recently came online 

with advanced emission controls including fabric particulate filters 

(baghouse), selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology, and flue gas 

desulfurization (scrubber).

Number of Electric Customers

as of Jan 31 , 2007 -2010

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

2007 2008 2009 2010

Residential Commercial and 

Industrial

All-Night Security 

Lighting

Street Lighting, Public 

Authorities, and Other 

Utilities

Number of Customers

(thousands)

Year

Number of Natural Gas

Customers as of Jan 31, 2007-2010

375

300

225

150

75

0 2007 2008 2009 2010

Residential Industrial 

& Public

Commercial

Number of Customers

(thousands)

Year

w h o is CP S e n e r g y ?
29

STP1

J.K. Spruce

J.T. Deely

A. von Rosenberg 

O.W. Sommers

V.H. Braunig

Leon Creek

Leon Creek

Leon Creek

Braunig Peakers

Covel Gardens

Sweetwater 3

Sweetwater 4

Desert Sky

Papalote Creek3

Peñascal

Blue Wing Solar

Unit 2

Unit 1

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 1&2

Unit 2

Unit 1

Unit 3

Unit 1

Unit 2

CT(4)

Unit 4

Unit 3

CT(4)

Nuclear

Nuclear

Coal

Coal

Coal

Coal

Gas

Gas/Oil

Gas/Oil

Gas/Oil

Gas/Oil

Gas/Oil

Gas

Gas

Gas

Gas/Oil

Capacity:

Landfill Gas

Wind

Wind

Wind

Wind

Wind

Solar

Renewable Capacity:

Total Capacity:

2048

2047

2047

2065

2032

2033

2055

2029

2027

2025

2021

2023

2059

2010

2010

2064

Generation Portfolio CF:

12/31/2020

11/30/2025

5/23/2072

12/31/2021

12/31/2024

4/30/2024

12/31/2040

Renewable Portfolio CF:

Total Generation Portfolio CF:

540

540

560

775

435

436

481

435

445

420

225

240

186

95

60

190

6,063

9.6

100.5

240.8

160.5

130.4

76.8

14

732.6

6795.6

103.4%

91.0%

73.8%

new

66.2%

60.3%

31.1%

17.2%

16.8%

15.6%

11.1%

8.0%

6.7%

1.3%

0.7%

new

45.3%

75.0%

32.5%

31.1%

27.1%

26.8%

23.7%

new

30.2%

43.7%

CPS Energy Generation Capacity for 2010

Plant Fuel Capacity (MW) Planned Retirement Date2 2009 Capacity

Factor

1. In 1988-89, CPS Energy’s 28% share in STP accounted for 700 MW of total capacity. In May 2005 CPS Energy’s additional share of 12% added 325 MW. In 

2007, turbine upgrades increased CPS Energy’s share to 1080 MW. STP 1 & 2 capacity factors are calculated based on the original unit capacity of 1250.6 MW. 

STP 1 & 2 retirement date is based on original 40 yr. operating license plus a 20 yr. extention.

2. Fossil plant retirements based on 55 yr. life. Renewable energy retirement date based on contract end date.

3. Penascal capacity factor based on 9 months of operation and Papalote Creek based on 3 months of operation.

Renewable Peaking 

(531 MW)

Intermediate 

(2246 MW)

Base Load 

(3286 MW)

Year

Gross MWh (millions)

25

20

15

10

5

0

CY 2006 -2009 gross generation mix

2006 2007 2008 2009

Renewables 

(Wind & Landfill Gas)

Coal

Natural Gas/Oil

Nuclear

CY 2009 gross

generation Mix (mwh)

7%

38%

38%

17%

Nuclear

Natural Gas/Oil

Coal

Renewables 

(Wind & Landfill Gas)

Net Generation by 

CPS Energy Plants

to Serve Native Load

FY 2009 -2010

Nuclear

Natural Gas/Oil

Coal

Renewables 

(Wind & Landfill Gas)

9% 13%

43% 35%
30

We developed the CPS Energy Coal Yard 

Improvement Project to support a 60% 

increased coal throughput due to J.K. Spruce 

2. This project will allow our plants to use coal 

more efficiently and in a more environmentally 

friendly manner. It will:

•	 Provide additional coal-handling 

capacity to units

•	 Maintain coal yard reliability and safety

•	 Support expanded rail car fleet and 

150 car trains

•	 Improve efficiency of train and 

car handling

•	 Maintain environment by keeping dust 

emissions low in spite of high coal-handling volume

Nuclear Energy — South Texas Project

CPS Energy owns a 40% share of the electricity generated at the South 

Texas Project (STP) nuclear power plant. The two-unit facility — one 

of the nation’s largest — has produced more energy than any other 

nuclear plant in the country in the past five years. Nuclear generation 

is considered part of our base-load generation. Both STP units have led 

the nation in production, and Unit 1 led all 439 reactors worldwide in 

electric generation in 2007. 

Additionally, the plant is a 

consistent leader in its commitment 

to safety. STP has operated more 

than10 million hours without an 

accident among its 1,200-member 

workforce. It has a Total Safety 

Industrial Accident rate of 0.0, 

which places the company in the 

top 10% of all U.S. nuclear plants in 

terms of personal safety. 

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Shortfall without STEP in 2020 History Forecast

Shortfall with STEP in 2023

PEAK DEMAND Versus CAPAC ITY THROUGH 2035

Calendar Year

Total Capacity

Peak Demand w/o STEP + 12.5% Reserve Margin

Peak Demand + 12.5% Reserve Margin

Actual Historical

*Case assumes 7.625% ownership of STP 3 & 4 and no build after STP 3 & 4.

200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025202620272028202920302031203220332034

MW (thousands)

The J.K. Spruce Unit 1 was recently recognized by the EUCG 

(formerly known as the Electric Utility Cost Group) Fossil Productivity 

Committee as the “Best Performing Large Coal Plant,” based on best 

reliability and lowest non-fuel operations and maintenance cost per 

megawatt hour over a five-year evaluation period (2002-2006). CPS 

Energy’s J.T. Deely Plant was tied for third in the same category. 

w h o is CP S e n e r g y ?
31

CPS Energy also has a 7.625% ownership stake in the planned 

expansion of STP Units 3 & 4 (about 200 MW). Nuclear Innovation 

North America (NINA) retained a 92.375% interest in the project. A 

combined operating license for STP Units 3 & 4 is expected in 2012, 

with the units anticipated to come online between 2016 and 2018. 

Natural Gas Energy Generation

CPS Energy owns and operates several natural gas-fired units at four 

locations in Bexar County: Leon Creek Power Station, Tuttle Power 

Station, Braunig Power Station, and Calaveras Power Station. These 

units are primarily used during the summer months when demand 

for electricity is high. Units 1, 3, and 4 at Tuttle Power Station, Units 

1, 2, and 3 at Braunig Power Station, Sommers Units 1 and 2 at 

Calaveras Power Station, and Units 3 and 4 at the Leon Creek Power 

Station are natural gas boilers.

In June 2004, four natural gas combustion turbine peaking units were 

added to the Leon Creek Power Station. In addition to these assets, four 

new natural gas combustion turbine peaking units are currently coming 

online, 48 MW each, at the Braunig Power Station, providing 190 

megawatts (MW) of quick start capacity. Gas turbine peaking units are 

a highly efficient means for responding to fluctuations in demand, wind 

generation, or the ERCOT market; the peaking units can be available 

quickly and then turned off when the fluctuation drops. The Arthur von 

Rosenberg Unit, located at the Braunig Power Station, is a combined 

cycle natural gas-fired plant that is 33% more efficient than other 

gas boilers or simple cycle gas turbine generation technologies. 

Commitment to Renewable Energy

CPS Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan set an ambitious goal 

of achieving renewable energy capacity, including wind, solar, 

and landfill gas, equal to 1500 MW or approximately 20% of 

our total generation capacity by 2020. Distributed generation 

renewable resources being considered include solar photovoltaic 

(PV) and solar thermal, combined heat and power, geothermal, 

waste-to-energy, hydro, and local wind. Additional information 

on renewable and distributed generation programs is provided 

in the section on Customer Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy Programs.

Wind — Purchased Power

Electricity generated from the West Texas plains and Texas coastal 

wind farms makes CPS Energy the largest publicly owned purchaser 

of wind power in the country. We currently acquire more than 700 

MW of wind-generated electricity — 340 MW from the Sweetwater 

and 160 MW from the Desert Sky wind farms in West Texas, 77 

MW from Peñascal, the first wind farm located near the Texas coast, 

and 130 MW from the Papalote Creek wind farm located east of 

Corpus Christi. The four wind farms combine to generate enough 

electricity for more than 173,000 homes. 

Landfill Gas — Purchased Power

Nelson Gardens and Covel Gardens produce 9.6 MW of power 

using landfill gas as a fuel source.

Solar — Purchased Power

CPS Energy is committed to bringing up to 100 MW of non-wind 

renewable energy to San Antonio as part of the Vision 2020 plan.

SWEETWATER 3 & 4

CORPUS CHRISTI

PAPALOTE CREEK WIND FARM

BAFFIN BAY

PEÑASCAL WIND FARM

DESERT SKY

WIND FARM

SWEETWATER

SAN ANTONIO

IRAAN
32

In August of 2009, we signed a 30-year PPA that will lead to the 

development of the 14-MW Blue Wing Solar Project. This solar 

photovoltaic (PV) project is being built just southeast of San Antonio 

near the intersection of IH-37 and U.S. 181. Recently, Duke 

Energy purchased the project, but juwi solar, Inc. will continue to 

develop and construct the 214,500 PV modules, generating an 

estimated 25,345 MWh of electricity each year. This facility 

will produce enough electricity to power approximately 

1,800 homes a year. In October 2010, a partnership with 

SunEdison was announced that will result in construction of 

three 10-MW installations in our service area.

We also launched the Solartricity® Producer Program in 

2010, which is a market-based initiative (similar to the 

European feed-in-tariff programs) that could support hundreds 

of small-to-medium-scale solar energy projects in the Greater 

San Antonio area. 

Electricity Transmission System

CPS Energy maintains a robust transmission network for 

reliably moving large amounts of electric power from 

generating stations to various parts of the service area and 

to or from neighboring utilities. This network also provides 

for wholesale energy transactions that may be required. The 

network is composed of 138- and 345-kilovolt (kV) lines with 

auto-transformers to reliably provide the necessary flexibility needed to 

move bulk power to meet customers’ needs. 

The electric system is integrated with more than 100 other utilities, 

municipalities, independent power producers, power marketers, and 

cooperatives in Texas to form the Electric Reliability Council of Texas 

(ERCOT). ERCOT is one of 10 Regional 

Reliability Councils in the North American 

Electric Reliability Council, covering 

about 75% of the land area in Texas. 

Electricity Distribution System

Our distribution system is supplied by 

78 substations strategically located 

on a high-voltage 138-kV transmission system. Approximately 7,574 

circuit miles of overhead (OH) distribution lines are included in the 

distribution system. 

These overhead lines also carry secondary circuits and street lighting 

circuits. The underground distribution (UG) system consists of 308 miles 

of three-phase equivalent distribution lines, 84 miles of three-phase 

Downtown Network distribution lines, and 3,866 miles of single-phase 

underground residential distribution (URD) lines. 

Many of the residential subdivisions added in recent years are served 

by URD systems.

Natural Gas Transmission and Distribution

Our natural gas business delivers clean-burning fuel to more than 

320,000 customers in the San Antonio area. This system is very 

reliable and, due to continuous maintenance and care, is prepared to 

operate successfully for many years. Since the majority of our natural 

gas system is buried, our customers and stakeholders rarely see or 

have any idea of how large and complex the system is. Below is more 

detail about the pressure and distribution systems that make natural gas 

available to our customers. 

Supply Pressure System

The supply pressure system consists of a network of approximately 

200 miles of steel main lines. The entire system is coated and 

cathodically protected to reduce and prevent corrosion. The supply 

pressure system supplies gas to 268 pressure regulating stations 

throughout the gas distribution system.

CPS Energy finished as the top-ranked company in the South Region 

and tied for second nationally among 75 of the largest natural gas 

utilities, according to the recently released J.D. Power and Associates 

2009 Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.TM

12/1/2004

12/1/2005

12/1/2006

6/21/2007

1/28/2008

3/1/2009

12/1/2009

OH Primary Miles

7411

7616

7361

7415

7475

7547

7574

UG/URD Primary Miles 

3027

3194

3509

3562

3765

3932

4174

electricity transmission lines

OH – Overhead; UG – Underground; URD – Underground Residential Distribution

w h o is CP S e n e r g y ?
33

SAIFI (# of events)

SAIDI (minutes)

Outage Frequency and Duration CY 2006 -2009

2/1/06 – 1/31/07

1.3

47.8

2/1/07 – 1/31/08

1.0

49.9

2/1/08 – 1/31/09

1.69

128.31

2/1/09 – 1/31/10

2.35

174.2

SAIFI – System Average Interruption Frequency Index; SAIDI – System Average Interruption Duration Index

Distribution System

The gas distribution system consists of approximately 4,841 miles of 

gas mains. The distribution system operates at pressures below 60 

pounds per square inch (psig). The vast majority of the 322,677 gas 

services in the gas system are connected to the distribution system, and 

the gas normally undergoes a final pressure reduction at the gas meter 

to achieve the required customer service pressure. 

Electricity Availability and Reliability 

As the independent system operator for the region, ERCOT oversees 

scheduling of power on an electric grid that connects 40,000 miles 

of transmission lines, more than 550 generation units, and the flow of 

electric power to 22 million Texas customers. ERCOT establishes and 

enforces procedures related to the reliability of the regional electrical 

network and accounts for the production and delivery 

of electricity among generators and all other market 

participants. Individual electric utilities own sections or 

components of the ERCOT transmission grid and are 

responsible for operating and maintaining their own 

transmission lines and equipment.

CPS Energy is a market participant in the ERCOT system. 

As such, we recognize ERCOT’s legal responsibilities 

under Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas oversight. 

We support ERCOT in achieving its vision and mission 

through an open and collaborative process involving 

electric industry members, customers, and regulators. 

From our primary operation and control center, called 

the Energy Management Center (EMC), operators use 

systems to monitor and control the CPS Energy electric 

transmission and distribution systems, and the CPS 

Energy gas supply pressure and distribution systems. 

All substations, power plants, and major gas regulating points are 

continually monitored. Abnormalities register an alarm and the system 

operator can reset certain circuit breakers and valves as required to 

maintain delivery of gas or electric service. 

Outage Frequency and Duration 

Electric reliability is important to CPS Energy and our customers. The 

System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) and System 

Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) are commonly used as 

reliability indicators by electric power utilities. SAIFI is the average 

number of interruptions that a customer would experience, and is 

calculated as the total number of customer interruptions divided by 

the total number of customers served. SAIFI is measured in units of 

interruptions per customer. 

According to Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 

Standard 1366-1998, the median value for North American utilities 

is approximately 1.1 interruptions per customer. SAIDI is the average 

outage duration for each customer served, and is calculated as the 

sum of all customer interruption durations divided by the total number of 

customers served (SAIDI is measured in units of time). According to IEEE 

Standard 1366-1998, the median value for North American utilities 

is approximately 90 minutes. CPS Energy had decreased reliability in 

2008, but we are working to improve our reliability and achieve our 

performance from past years.

Disaster Management — The CPS Energy Business 

Continuity Program

Another way in which CPS Energy is constantly working to ensure 

that customers have the electricity they need is through our Business 

Continuity Program (BCP). The mission of this program is to ensure 

that critical business processes and services, such as those providing 

reliable gas and electric service to the customers of CPS Energy, will 

continue in the event of any significant business disruption. Our policy 

is to respond to disruptions with the following priorities: safeguarding 

employees’ lives; protecting company property and critical cyber 

assets; making a financial and operational assessment; and quickly 

recovering and resuming operations.
34
35

e x tern a l s t a k e h o l d e r s

While many stakeholders view the basic delivery of energy as a simple 

commodity, at CPS Energy we see ourselves as much more than the 

local power company. We believe we are an integral part of the 

Greater San Antonio community. Our revenues support vital municipal 

services. We strive to protect the local habitat, one of the most beautiful 

areas in the country. And our employees go beyond the call of duty to 

support local charities, to weatherize homes for low-income families and 

the elderly, and to show our customers how to get the most out of their 

energy. We are proud to serve the community we love. 

Who Are Our External Stakeholders?

As a municipally owned utility, CPS Energy is accountable to a diverse 

group of stakeholders. These groups include:

•	 Customers

•	 City of San Antonio government

•	 Bondholders

•	 Suppliers

•	 San Antonio Water System (SAWS)

•	 Bexar County

•	 Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)

•	 Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)

•	 Texas Legislature

•	 Federal government

Each of these groups has unique information needs, as well as valuable 

input from which we can learn. Below are a few of the channels we’ve 

developed to ensure regular communication with and service to the 

community. Additionally, we develop specialty, ad hoc groups to gather 

community feedback on large initiatives. For example, several years 

ago CPS Energy created a 30-member Southeast Quadrant Citizens 

Advisory Group to gather residents’ input regarding our plans to build 

another base-load generating unit at the Calaveras Power Station. 

Customer Input and Involvement 

CPS Energy believes the views of our customers should be strongly 

considered when we make decisions related to energy planning and 

infrastructure development. We value their ideas, hear their concerns, 

and incorporate both positive and negative feedback. CPS Energy has 

set up several channels for gathering feedback:

•	 Citizens Advisory Committee

•	 Public forums such as the Energy Summits

•	 Ad hoc community representative groups

•	 Regular contact with federal, state, and local leaders

•	 Regular meetings with interested groups, such as chambers of 

commerce, Economic Development Foundation, Alamo Area 

Council of Governments, San Antonio Manufacturers Association, 

and neighborhood associations 

•	 Customer satisfaction surveys and studies

•	 Ongoing breakfast meetings with community leaders

•	 Periodic meetings with Express-News editorial board

Gathering Input: Transmission Routing and Siting

In 2000, CPS Energy created a General Routing/Siting Process 

to select transmission routes and substation sites that have the least 

possible impact to people and to the environment. This comprehensive 

process involves a broad team of professionals from CPS Energy 

working with the public. 

The Edwards Aquifer is an ecologically 

sensitive area that contains large solution 

cavities, caves, and endangered species. If 

a route is selected over this area, CPS Energy 

uses ground-penetrating radar to try to avoid 

disruption to underground features before pole 

construction. Although this geophysical work 

is not required, CPS Energy believes that it is 

worthwhile to reduce impacts to the natural 

environment and its biological inhabitants. 

CPS Energy has also established a Tree 

Preservation and Mitigation Policy to address 

the maximum preservation of trees in our 

construction projects. In addition, we have 

been able to avoid significant disturbance of 

endangered bird species, such as the blackcapped vireo and the golden-cheeked warbler, 

by conducting field surveys and research. 
36

Contributing to a Healthy Community

As mentioned later in this report, CPS Energy continually monitors water 

and air quality throughout our service area, and around our facilities, to 

ensure that we’re providing a safe environment for people and wildlife. 

In addition to maximizing our operations to be as clean as possible, we 

develop programs to help customers reduce their impact as well.

For example, CPS Energy developed Mow Down Smog, a lawn 

equipment trading campaign to encourage customers to trade their gasguzzling mowers, edgers, blowers, and trimmers for rebates when they 

purchase electric and battery-operated models. Since 2001, we have 

recycled more than 5,600 pieces of gas-powered lawn equipment. 

Health Effects of Air Emissions in Bexar County

Including CPS Energy Power Plants 

As part of its commitment to the citizens of Greater San Antonio, CPS 

Energy sponsored a study by the University of Texas School of Public 

Health in San Antonio and Houston. This study was conducted to 

estimate the health impacts on those living in Bexar County as a result 

of modeled (estimated) air pollution exposure from our current and 

planned operations. 

The study results indicated that exposure to pollutants emitted or affected 

by CPS Energy were estimated to be low, typically less than 1/100th of 

EPA standards. 

The most important pollutant in terms of health effects is fine particulate 

matter, PM2.5. The results of two nationwide studies of this pollutant 

were used to estimate that, of the roughly 9,000 non-accidental deaths 

in Bexar County, between 7.7% and 19.6% might be affected by 

exposure to PM2.5 from all emissions sources, primarily motor vehicles. 

CPS Energy’s PM2.5 emissions may impact 0.09% to 0.23% of the 

9,000 deaths. These numbers are best estimates and are subject 

to considerable error. Cardiovascular and respiratory-related deaths 

are those most likely affected. In 2002, there were 1,200 asthmarelated hospital admissions. Of that total, CPS Energy may have 

been responsible for up to 0.06%, which is less than one hospital 

admission. Mercury was considered as a special case due to its effects 

through diet. The mercury levels in Calaveras and Braunig lake fish 

were measured and calculated to be well within EPA and FDA dietary 

guidelines. CPS Energy is estimated to contribute less than 1/1000th of 

the mercury in these lakes. 

e x tern a l s ta k e h o l d e r s

PROJECT COOL: CPS Energy Volunteers in Public Service (VIPS) ran an internal 

four-week Project Cool Fan Drive, raising employee donations of over $24,000 

with which they were able to deliver 2,030 box fans to the Project Cool campaign. 

Over 13 years, Project Cool has distributed 46,300 fans to local senior citizens. 

CPS Energy also provides all Project Cool participants with bilingual information 

on how to weatherize their homes. ”Hot summer temperatures make it difficult for 

senior citizens to stay cool and could potentially cause health problems,” said Patty 

Gonzales, CPS Energy Community Relations Specialist and VIPS Coordinator. ”We 

hope our fan donations will help our elderly neighbors cope with the heat and keep 

their utility bills more manageable.”
37

Braunig Lake and Calaveras Lake Parks

CPS Energy built Calaveras and Braunig lakes to provide cooling water 

for power plants that operate at Calaveras Power Station and Braunig 

Power Station, respectively. CPS Energy makes these lakes available 

for recreational use to the community with parks that are open to the 

public year round. The parks are operated by Equity Lifestyle Properties, 

Inc. under contract with CPS Energy. Equity Lifestyle Properties and its 

parent company, Thousand Trails Management Services, Inc., own and 

operate approximately 112,000 recreational sites and more than 300 

RV resorts, making them the largest owner and operator of these types of 

facilities in the country.

Community Outreach Programs

Citizens Advisory Committee

In 1997, CPS Energy established a 15-member Citizens Advisory 

Committee (CAC) to enhance its relationship with the community and 

to address the City Council’s goals regarding broader community 

involvement with CPS Energy. The CAC meets monthly to provide 

recommendations from the community on the operations of CPS Energy 

for use by the CPS Energy board and staff. Representing the various 

sectors of CPS Energy’s service area, the CAC encompasses a broad 

range of customer groups in order to identify their concerns and 

understand their issues. 

Connecting the Dots (CTD) Program

To address soaring high school dropout rates, CPS Energy co-sponsors 

the Connecting the Dots (CTD) job shadowing program, now called 

Mentoring Matters, with Communities in Schools (CIS), Bexar County’s 

premier dropout prevention program. The CTD program is our way of 

helping to increase the high school graduation rate, helping students 

focus on college and vocational careers, and empowering them to 

increase their earning potential and contribute to regional economic 

development. 

CTD pairs at-risk high school students with CPS Energy employee 

mentors for nine weeks of on-site mentoring sessions, where students 

witness first-hand utility industry careers and receive guidance in career 

selection. CPS Energy mentors make monthly school visits and commit 

to follow these students through to graduation. According to before-andafter surveys, students in the program felt better prepared for college 

and improved in areas including setting goals, community service, and 

public speaking skills. Of the 38 participants, the majority of students 

who have left the program have transferred to either another school 

district or a charter school. 

Volunteers in Public Service (VIPS)

Since 1989, through Volunteers in Public Service (VIPS), CPS Energy’s 

community service program, hundreds of our employees, retirees, and 

their families have provided thousands of volunteer hours each year to 

local charities, nonprofit organizations, and other community projects. 

Annually, VIPS volunteers contribute more than 25,000 hours to support 

projects that have a significant impact on our community, including:

•	 Holiday toy collection and party for underprivileged children

•	 Delivery of hot meals to seniors and the needy

•	 Special-needs children fishing event at Calaveras Lake Park

•	 School supply collection and distribution

•	 Fan donations to Project Cool, a community-wide campaign to help 

senior citizens cope with the hot summer months

School supply collection program Connecting the Dots students and mentors

At Top: Special-needs children fishing event 

at Calaveras Lake
38
39

Safety Programs (Community, 

Commercial, Employee Safety 

Education)

CPS Energy makes safety programs 

available to businesses and 

organizations within our service area, 

at no cost to our customers. Our safety 

programs inform employees about the 

importance of following proper safety 

procedures around natural gas and 

electric facilities and demonstrate the 

need to develop a healthy respect for 

these useful yet potentially dangerous 

forms of energy.

Speakers’ Bureau

For the past several years, CPS 

Energy has conducted hundreds 

of informative presentations 

for homeowners’ associations, 

community groups, business organizations, and educational 

institutions. Topics include safety, energy-efficiency initiatives including 

rebates, integrated resource plans, and environmental programs.

United Way

Every year, CPS Energy ranks among the top corporate contributors 

to the local United Way campaign. In 2009, employees rallied and 

raised more than $780,000 for United Way programs that help the 

disabled and elderly, reduce family violence, invest in children and 

youth, and improve mental and physical health. 

Industry Associations

CPS Energy is a member of a variety of public and private organizations 

that enhance our ability to provide affordable, reliable, and 

environmentally friendly service to our customers:

•	 Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)

•	 Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC)

•	 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

•	 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

•	 ENERGY STAR® (EPA)

•	 City of San Antonio Office of Environmental Policy

•	 American Public Power Association

•	 Texas Public Power Association 

•	 Large Public Power Council

•	 Electric Power Research Institute

Mission Road Power Plant Redevelopment

CPS Energy’s Mission Road Power Plant (MRPP), in use for about 

100 years and located along the banks of the San Antonio River just 

south of downtown, ceased operating in 2003. 

The MRPP facility is currently being decommissioned, and historical 

structures are being preserved due to their value to the San Antonio 

community. The total remediation and decommissioning work is expected 

to cost approximately $13 million. When the work is completed, the 

MRPP will be ready for redevelopment in a manner that is consistent with 

its historical significance and the surrounding community.

“CPS Energy employee generosity and giving have remained steady in past 

years, even in difficult economic times,” said Sharon Luther-Minor, CPS Energy’s 

United Way coordinator. “CPS Energy employees and retirees always give from 

the heart and demonstrate a willingness to look beyond themselves and help their 

neighbors,” Luther-Minor added. In addition, the CPS Energy Retirees Association 

contributed to the successful campaign. 

With an average employee contribution of $217, we raised $787,879 in 

2009, surpassing our goal by more than $37,000 and making it the ninth-largest 

contribution in the community and the second-largest in employee campaigns, 

according to United Way. 

The CPS Energy International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 500 Charity Golf 

Tournament raised $25,872 for Big Brothers Big Sisters, a United Way agency. 
40
41

CPS Energy is committed to providing 

our customers a number of services 

through an evolving set of options. As we 

transform from providing low-cost power 

to providing competitively priced power 

as well as implementing large-scale 

efficiency programs, we must always 

keep our focus on our customers and their 

needs. We are constantly working to 

improve customer service and help all of 

our customers benefit from reliable electric 

and natural gas service. 

Customer Communication and 

Information Services 

In addition to working hard to ensure 

reliable and continuous electric and gas 

service, CPS Energy is also committed 

to effective and helpful communications 

with all of our customers. We have 

services in place to ensure that language 

barriers and/or disabilities do not prevent 

our customers from receiving important 

information about their energy service.

For example, we offer bilingual 

information to customers who would 

prefer to transact business in Spanish. 

The majority of the customers that contact 

CPS Energy by phone are English-speaking 

(94% to 96%). We have Spanish-speaking 

customer service representatives to serve 

the remaining customers who choose to 

conduct business in Spanish. 

We also offer our publications, such as the 

monthly bill newsletter Energy Connection, 

in Spanish upon request. We provide 

information on energy efficiency in English 

or Spanish to our customers at all four 

CPS Energy walk-in locations or by mail 

upon request.

In addition to our bilingual and efficiency information services, we 

provide Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) services 24/7, 

as well as providing Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) access to 

our website. 

Customer Service Goals

Our customer service goal can be summarized in one word: OPTIONS. 

The first step in making these options available to our retail customers 

will be to identify our customers’ diverse needs. We hope to enable our 

customer service teams to develop and roll out bundles of services and 

to adapt these bundles as needs change. For example, we will expand 

our payment options to meet our customers’ financial abilities and needs, 

including prepaid energy options for our customers on a fixed budget.

Improving our customer communications will be essential to providing 

customers with easy access to these tailored options as we move 

forward. CPS Energy is dedicated to improving customer choice, 

reducing customer down time, and taking advantage of technology 

developments to facilitate smooth and easy customer transactions via 

phone and web, as well as in person. 

C u stomer R e l at i o n s h i p s

“As we’ve made presentations and interacted with customers this 

year throughout the community, we’ve heard concerns about how 

difficult it is for many to pay their energy bills in today’s tough 

economy. Historically, we’ve worked hard to help disadvantaged 

customers in many ways, but we want to do even more in view of 

current circumstances.”

–Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley, CPS Energy’s Chief Adminstrative Officer
42

We also plan to expand our consumer education services and feebased consulting services, such as Energy Solutions Management 

Services for small business customers, to empower our customers as 

energy management and efficiency experts. 

Next Steps

After numerous meetings and briefings by CPS Energy, on February 18, 

2010, the San Antonio City Council approved an electric base rate 

increase of 7.5% and gas base rate increase of 8.5%, which will result 

in an average residential bill increase of 4.2%. 

Additionally, the following proposed improvements to assist our lowincome customers was presented:

•	 Transfer $2 million out of the Residential Energy Assistance 

Partnership (REAP) trust fund — $1 million per year in fiscal years 

2011 and 2012 — for direct aid on energy bills to customers in 

distress in addition to the $1 million CPS Energy earmarks annually 

for REAP. Eligible recipient benefits also were proposed to be 

increased. 

•	 Allocate an additional $3 million to an affordability discount 

program initiated last year. The extra funding would assist 

40,000 customers at or below the poverty level, increasing the 

current $4 discount on CPS Energy bills by a little over $5 to a total 

of over $9 per month.

“We believe these initiatives will go 

a long way toward helping struggling 

families cope with financial issues as 

they relate to energy costs,” LeBlancBurley said. Community leaders 

expect the proposed improvements to 

create jobs as the programs ramp up, 

and the improvements are being praised by groups such as COPS/

Metro Alliance as a sound economic development plan. 

As part of the settlement agreement regarding the planned expansion 

of South Texas Project Units 3 & 4, Nuclear Innovation North America 

(NINA) will contribute a total of $10 million to REAP over the next 

four years.

Save for Tomorrow Energy Plan

In support of CPS Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan that includes energy 

efficiency as well as generation, we have committed to an aggressive, 

long-term energy efficiency and conservation plan, referred to as the 

Save for Tomorrow Energy Plan (STEP). Under STEP, we will maintain, 

develop, and implement programs and activities that will help achieve 

annual electrical demand reduction targets. As illustrated in the graph 

below, our goal is to reduce growth in projected peak electrical 

demand by 771 by 2020.

The funding amounts that were approved for energy-efficiency projects 

for STEP are shown below. The height of the bars shows the megawatts 

(MW) of peak-demand reduction for each year through 2015. When 

continued through 2020, a cumulative demand reduction of 771 MW, 

an amount equivalent to the electric generation capacity of an electric 

power plant, will be achieved. Each bar is labeled with the amount of 

money allocated annually for the megawatt savings. 

STEP Energy Goals and Budget Projections

By 2020 we will achieve a 771 megawatt reduction at a cost 

of $849 million.

MW Reductions Dollars Spent

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

$12.3M $22.7M $38.1M $53.6M $71M $73M $75.3M $77.6M

MW

Millions

Calendar Year

c u stomer r e l at i o n s h i p s

“STEP is our aggressive energy-efficiency and conservation initiative 

that seeks to reduce growth in electrical demand by 771 megawatts 

by 2020. That’s the equivalent of a large power plant.” 

–Bruce Evans, Director of Customer Solutions and Delivery
43

We anticipate that a total program expenditure of $849 million through 

2020 will achieve this 771 MW reduction. The City Council approved 

our mechanism to fund this expenditure in May 2009, allowing us to 

immediately reopen our existing efficiency rebate programs and begin 

implementation of our larger STEP goals. 

As approved by the San Antonio City Council in May 2009, STEP will 

be recovered retroactively, after amounts are spent on energy efficiency 

measures through modest increases in the fuel adjustment charge on 

monthly CPS Energy bills. The average monthly residential bill increase 

in 2009, 2010, and 2011 is projected at 3 cents, 38 cents, and 95 

cents, respectively. We have contracted with a third party to validate 

yearly energy savings, and the cost of achieving those savings will be 

recovered through monthly fuel adjustments, following review of the 

reported savings, by the City Council. 

Customer Energy-Efficiency Programs

A full range of energy-efficiency and demand-reduction programs 

has been developed to cover all customer categories — residential 

(including low-income), commercial, and industrial. These program 

offerings are evaluated annually and modifications and/or additions are 

made to target the most effective current methods for energy reduction. 

Formal measurement and verification of program results are conducted 

and reported annually by a third-party consultant. 

Descriptions of these programs by customer class and category are 

provided below.

Residential Programs 

•	 Weatherization for Low-Income Homeowners:

CPS Energy is committing 20% of STEP funds to low-income 

weatherization. These services are provided at no cost to 

homeowners and include an energy audit, insulation, compact 

fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), weather stripping, and caulking. We 

expect to weatherize approximately 45,500 homes by 2020. 

•	 Peak Performance Homes: We have partnered with 

Woodside Homes of South Texas and the U.S. DOE’s Build 

America Program to measure the effectiveness of residential energyefficient building materials and solar energy panels. Woodside 

built two homes for CPS Energy with energy-efficient materials that 

will reduce total household energy use (both gas and electric) by 

up to half, and it built a third “control” home. We will monitor the 

energy use of the various energy subsystems in the three homes 

over the next year to see how the hourly energy footprint in the 

homes can be better managed to reduce our system costs and help 

reduce customer bills.

Construction on peak performance homes
44

•	 Air Conditioner Rebates:

Rebates for central air conditioning 

systems and central heat pump 

systems based on a Seasonal 

Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER) 

rating of 15.0 and higher. 

•	 Air Flow Performance 

Rebates: Air Flow Performance 

rebates for existing AC systems and 

repair and/or replacement 

of existing duct work. 

•	 CFL Instant Rebates 

(Coupons): We 

partnered with HEB 

stores to provide coupons 

(also available online) 

for ENERGY STAR®-rated 

compact fluorescent light 

(CFL) bulbs. 

•	 Home Efficiency 

Rebates: A range of 

rebates is available to 

residential customers to 

help them seal the thermal 

envelope of their homes. 

These rebates include 

ceiling and wall insulation, 

spray foam insulation, 

ENERGY STAR® windows, 

window films and 

screens, and “cool roof” 

applications.

•	 Peak Saver Thermostats: We offer customers 

a free Honeywell programmable thermostat (valued 

at $300), plus free installation, in exchange for the 

residential customer agreeing to allow CPS Energy 

to briefly cycle his/her central air conditioner when 

demand for electricity is at its highest during the months 

of May through September. Currently approximately 

18,000 customers are participating in the Peak Saver 

Program.

•	 Wash Right: In collaboration with a San Antonio Water 

System (SAWS) program, we offer our customers a rebate on 

high-efficiency washing machines. Information about water and 

energy efficiency is also provided.

•	 Electric Lawn Equipment Rebates: We offer valuable 

rebates on environmentally friendly electric lawn mowers as well 

as rebates on electric edgers, blowers, and trimmers.

•	 Natural Gas Programs: Our Gas Business Unit launched 

the Smart Energy Program in 2000 to encourage the efficient 

use of both natural gas and electricity in homes, which can 

save customers up to 20% annually. We have improved the 

program based on lessons learned through our Peak Performance 

Home Pilot in 2007. The Smart Energy concept is now a key 

component of our STEP initiative, delivering the double benefit of 

sustained gas-load growth and slowed electric demand growth. 

It is being implemented through the following programs:

c u stomer r e l at i o n s h i p s

“CPS Energy is transforming itself from a company focused on 

providing low-cost power to a company providing competitively 

priced power from a variety of sustainable sources,” said Cris 

Eugster, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. 

As of January 2009, CPS Energy already had spent $369 million on 

sustainability-related projects with plans to allocate another $5.3 

billion to be invested in sustainability. 

STEP Results

Calendar Year

2008

2009

Amount Spent

$11,489,514

$20,442,063

Peak Demand MW Reductions

16.030

44.777

2009 (FYE2010) is still undergoing measurement and verification and is subject to change.
45

Smart Energy Program 

We provide a Smart Energy Homes designation to market homes that 

use both natural gas and electricity and a listing of homebuilders who 

build Smart Energy Homes. These efforts have resulted in consistent 

growth in gas market penetration across our service area. 

Natural Gas Appliance Rebates

We provide rebates of $50–$100 for the purchase of new natural 

gas appliances, including:

•	 Clothes dryers 

•	 Water heaters 

•	 Cook tops

•	 Stoves 

We also offer a rebate of up to $1,100 for customers who replace 

an existing electric water heater with a new natural gas water heater 

(federal tax rebate of $1,500 also applies in some cases).

Next Steps and Goals 

Additional gas-load growth and electric demand-reduction 

opportunities are on the horizon as CPS Energy evaluates the next 

generation of gas-fired fuel cell technologies, super boilers, 

and other commercial, industrial, and residential end-use applications.

Commercial Programs (Including 

Industrial and Institutional)

CPS Energy is encouraging a “Staged Approach” to commercial 

efficiency efforts. The important elements of this approach include 

lighting, roofing, and HVAC/chiller measures. While we provide 

rebates for each of these individually, we encourage lighting retrofits 

first, then roofing replacement, and finally resizing HVAC systems with 

high efficiency units. This provides the best opportunity for significant 

power reductions overall for CPS Energy and the customer. Most of 

the commercial programs require before-and-after inspections by CPS 

Energy personnel.

•	 Lighting Retrofit Programs: Rebates are available for 

efficient lighting retrofits. This program has been one of the 

most successful for CPS Energy. On average, interior lighting 

accounts for 28% of a business’ energy consumption, and major 

energy reductions can be realized by installing efficient lighting 

technologies. The program offers up to 75% of the total project 

cost as a rebate and is individually calculated based on the 

energy saved. 

•	 Cool Roof Program: Rebates are available for ENERGY 

STAR®-qualified roofing products. The rebates are based on the 

total area of the roof that covers conditioned spaces at 10 cents 

per square foot. 

•	 HVAC Program: Air conditioning, including heating, 

typically is the largest portion of a business’ energy bill. Rebates 

are available for HVAC units, chillers, package terminal air 

conditioners, and package terminal heat pumps. Rebates are 

based on the size and efficiency rating of the unit. To qualify, the 

units must be greater than five tons total and be three-phase units.

•	 Efficient Motor Program: Rebates are based on the 

difference between the efficiency of the motor removed and the 

new motor — at $150 per kW of reduction.

•	 Lean Clean Energy: CPS Energy is the first utility in the 

nation to implement a program with this unique partnership. 

We partnered with the Texas Manufacturing Assistance 

Center of the Southwest Research Institute with support from 

the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection 

Agency to provide training, resources, and tools to implement 

energy-efficiency changes that increase profitability through 

verified energy-reducing measures. The program helps midsize manufacturers implement an energy-efficiency program 

that makes business and operational practices more cost 

effective and environmentally friendly through customized 

rebates and support. 

•	 Custom Measures: We also provide a comprehensive 

platform for custom incentives for cost-effective energy efficiency 

measures not addressed by our other CPS Energy program 

offerings. Program participants submit an application for a firm 

quantity of kW and/or kWh reduction through the installation of 

energy-efficiency measures.

•	 Commercial Demand Response: Our voluntary 

Commercial Demand Response Program pays incentives to 

commercial customers for curtailing electric load at peak times 

during the summer months. Incentive payments are made subject 

to measurement and verification of customer performance under 

the terms of the program.

Commercial and Residential

•	 Ground Source (Geothermal) Heat Pump Rebates

(New for 2010): Applicable to three-phase units. Unlike singlephase units, three-phase units do not have ENERGY STAR® highefficiency ratings. Rebates for three-phase units will be evaluated 

on a case-by-case basis. 

•	 Ceiling and Wall Insulation: Ceiling insulation requires 

a minimum of R-38 and wall insulation requires a minimum of 

R-13 be obtained after application. For spray foam insulation, 

minimum thickness is based on the type of spray foam used, and 

the rebate is calculated on the conditioned space affected. 

Efficiency Program Results

So far, CPS Energy’s efficiency programs have resulted in significant 

energy efficiency and demand savings, as summarized in the 

tables on the next page.

In 2009, we spent $20.4 million to achieve net energy savings of 

102 MW, versus the planned $22.7 million to save 30 MW with 
46
47

a net peak demand reduction of approximately 35 MW. In 2008, 

a net energy savings of 39.8 MW was achieved at a cost of $11 

million with a net peak demand reduction of 16 MW. On average, 

each kWh saved in 2008 cost $0.023. The total investment led to a 

net reduction in utility costs from the energy-efficiency improvements of 

$7.6 million. 

Renewable Energy and Distributed Energy Resources Program 

Building on research we began to conduct in the early 2000s, CPS 

Energy now has an active distributed energy resources (DER) program. 

These small-scale power generation systems (between 1kW and 10 

MW) are used to provide an alternative to or an enhancement of the 

traditional electric power system. Rising energy prices have made 

these types of systems more cost-effective than in the past. The desire 

to capture and use as much waste energy as possible, while reducing 

our carbon footprint, has made DER increasingly popular. In both the 

residential and commercial 

customer groups, there has 

been a growing desire to 

power some subdivisions 

and commercial business 

parks in a way that allows 

them to disconnect from 

the electric grid. Although 

these microgrids are small 

relative to the traditional 

electric grid, CPS Energy 

has embraced the 

technologies, innovative 

design, and operating 

practices necessary to 

make them a reality. 

CPS Energy now 

collaborates with 

customers, DER providers, 

and other stakeholders to install combined heat and power (CHP) 

systems, reciprocating engines, fuel cells, and photovoltaic systems. 

Customers find it easy to do business with us because of a new 

streamlined, interconnected approval process we developed in 

2009. CPS Energy’s Pearl Brewery and Republic Services solar 

photovoltaic (PV) demonstration pilot projects highlight our promotion 

of distributed solar resources. CPS Energy is using these pilots to 

investigate new metering and energy production tracking systems.

Historical CPS Energy Efficiency Program

Expenditures and Peak Demand Reductions

(Prior to STEP )

Calendar Year

MW 

Reductions

Millions

15

10

5

0

6

4

2

0

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Peak Demand MW Reductions Dollars Spent

Fiscal Year 2009/2010 Net Energy and Demand Savings (2nd Year of STEP )

CFL

Home Efficiency

Residential HVAC

Solar Initiative

Air Flow Performance

Commercial Lighting

Commercial HVAC

Commercial Other

Subtotal

PeakSaver

Demand Response

Program Total

52,234,024

1,815,706

6,814,768

327,694

441,698

18,478,590

4,830,881

418,501

85,361,862

735,677

615,439

48,953,663

61,157

801

2,597

176

274

4,757

2,855

161

72,777

13,048

16,884

102,709

5,186

737

2,078

176

219

4,151

2,163

135

14,845

13,048

16,884

44,777

Program Energy Savings (kWh) Peak Demand Savings (kW) Non-Coinc. Demand Savings (kW)

energy efficiency

demand response/load control

Left: 200-kilowatt photovoltaic array of solar panels at the Pearl Brewery
48

Pearl Brewery Solar PV: CPS Energy 

partnered with Silver Ventures, the company 

renovating the historic Pearl Brewery, on the 

largest solar installation in Texas. The $1.35 

million solar energy joint project includes a 

200-kilowatt photovoltaic array of solar panels 

atop a 67,000 square-foot former warehouse 

facility being adapted for office, retail, and 

residential use. The array will generate about one-quarter of the 

building’s total energy needs and is allowing CPS Energy to test the 

viability of solar energy in a large, real-world commercial application.

Republic Services Landfill Solar Project: CPS Energy 

partnered with Republic Services, Inc., to combine solar generation 

technology with their existing biogas-to-energy system to turn a local 

landfill into a sustainable energy park. This green venture covers 

portions of closed 

areas of the Tessman 

Road Landfill with 

flexible, laminate-type 

photovoltaic solar 

collection strips that 

capture the sun’s 

rays for conversion 

into electricity. The 

system became fully 

operational in March 

2009. With more 

than 300 days of 

sunlight in San Antonio per year, the energy produced by the solar 

and biogas systems is estimated to continually produce about nine 

megawatts of power.

Green Energy Purchasing Options

Windtricity®: We offer our customers the opportunity to support 

the purchase of clean, renewable, electricity from wind through our 

retail Windtricity® program. Windtricity® customers choose to pay 

extra to help offset the additional cost of purchasing wind energy. 

Every kilowatt of wind subscribed for reduces the need to use 

other resources.

Solartricity® Producer Program: CPS Energy launched its 

Solartricity® Producer Program, a market-based initiative that could 

attract hundreds of small-to-medium-scale solar energy-generating 

projects in the Greater San Antonio area, in spring 2010. We 

estimate that our net investment for the two-year, 10-MW pilot 

program will be a net annual cost of $2.3 million, which we plan 

to fund in part through establishment of a Solartricity® program, 

similar to Windtricity®, that will allow us to sell solar energy at a 

retail price to residential and commercial customers. CPS Energy 

would purchase solar energy for 27 cents per kilowatt-hour from 

Solartricity® producers. 

Solar Energy Programs

Photovoltaic (PV) Program: Rebates are available to both 

residential and commercial customers for PV systems at $3 per 

watt with a cap of $30,000 for residential and $100,000 for 

commercial customers.

Solar Hot Water Rebates: Rebates are calculated using the 

Solar Rating Certification Corporation (SRCC)-calculated Annual 

kWh Energy Savings Performance table for San Antonio and are 

capped at $2,000.

Energy Efficiency Information Distribution

CPS Energy provides information on energy efficiency to customers 

in the Greater San Antonio area through a variety of avenues. 

Comprehensive information is available on the CPS Energy website, 

cpsenergy.com, including a residential energy audit tool. We provide 

information on rebate programs and general efficiency tips directly 

to customers at neighborhood and public meetings, printed on bill 

stuffers, and in curriculum supplements provided to schools and senior 

citizen centers, and highlighted through print and television media. 

Examples of public events and other active information distribution 

include the following: 

•	 CPS Energy on Twitter: Tweet energy saving tips.

•	 Neighborhood Nights: In spring 2009, CPS Energy 

conducted 20 Neighborhood Nights events across the city to 

provide energy and water efficiency information to customers.

•	 LiveGreen Fest: The past few years, CPS Energy has 

sponsored the LiveGreen Fest in the fall to share efficiency ideas 

and all types of “green” living information. Attendees learn about 

different ways to reduce their carbon footprint and how to live 

more green. 

c u stomer r e l at i o n s h i p s

“CPS Energy has embraced solar as part of a long-term transition 

to distributed generation,” said Cris Eugster, CPS Energy’s 

Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. 

“Distributed generation refers to the production of renewable 

energy interspersed throughout our distribution system.”
49

Commitment to Customers in Need

CPS Energy has a variety of programs in place to help citizens of San 

Antonio who face financial difficulties due to age, disabilities, and 

other challenging circumstances. No matter what generation option 

we choose, we will always have programs available to ensure power 

access to our customers who need it the most. As John Saenz, CPS 

Energy Senior Vice President of Retail Energy, recently assured the City 

Council, the City of San Antonio has been a great partner in the past 

and, as long as CPS Energy continues to have that support, we will 

always have customer-focused programs to help our citizens in need.

CPS Energy Utility Bill Funding and General 

Assistance Programs

CPS Energy offers a variety of customer assistance programs to 

improve our customers’ access to power and related information. This 

assistance to customers in need comes in two forms: energy efficiency 

and bill assistance. 

We encourage and support customers by providing efficiency tips 

and information. We provide weatherization services to improve 

energy efficiency and reduce gas and electric bills for qualifying lowincome homes. We also provide bill assistance in the form of funding 

and alternative payment plans for both electric and gas bills. In 

addition to these programs provided directly to our customers, we also 

offer a referral list of external organizations, both public and private, 

that provide additional assistance to help customers with their CPS 

Energy bills. These programs are described below.

Low-Income Weatherization: The first incarnation of our 

Weatherization Program operated with CPS Energy employee volunteers 

from 2002 to 2007, during which time they weatherized approximately 

3,000 low-income homes. In late 2009, a new and expanded 

program was launched in partnership with the City of San Antonio 

and SAWS to address weatherization of low-income homes using a 

combination of funds from a federal stimulus package and from STEP.

The federal economic stimulus package via the U.S. Department 

of Energy and the Texas Department of Housing and Community 

Affairs is providing $12.3 million over two years and will weatherize 

approximately 1,400 homes. 

Our STEP-funded weatherization program currently has a budget of 

$156 million and is scheduled to continue through 2020, with the 

goal of weatherizing approximately 45,500 homes. 

The new comprehensive weatherization program will address 

sealing the thermal envelope of homes and provide energy-efficient 

technologies. Efficiency measures for weatherization funded by the 

federal stimulus package will include insulation, caulking, window 

screens, ENERGY STAR® window AC units, ENERGY STAR® 

refrigerators, carbon monoxide and smoke detectors, compact 

fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), and efficient water fixtures, making homes 

both energy and water efficient. Our goal for the program is to save one 

dollar in energy consumption for every dollar we invest in the program. 

To monitor the efficiency and dollar savings, we will measure and 

report energy consumption before the weatherization work begins 

in every home, and then again after completion. To be eligible, 

the residents of these homes must be qualified as low-income (at or 

below 200% of the federal poverty level). Priority will be given to 

the elderly, disabled, and homes with small children, households 

with high energy costs relative to income, and households with high 

energy consumption. We will work with representatives from COSA’s 

Office of Environmental Policy, each city councilperson’s office, and 

members of the Community Organizations for Public Service (COPS)/

Metro Alliance community organization to prioritize where and how 

the weatherization program will proceed.

Residential Energy Assistance Partnership (REAP): REAP 

Inc., a partnership of CPS Energy, the City of San Antonio, and Bexar 

County, helps disadvantaged elderly, disabled, and low-income 

customers with small children pay their natural gas and electric bills. 

Qualifying customers must be residents of the City of San Antonio 

or Bexar County at or below 125% of the federal poverty level, 

experiencing a financial hardship, and either have children three years 

of age or younger, or they must be elderly, handicapped, or require 

critical care equipment. REAP provides each recipient with up to $150 

twice a year — once during the winter and once during the summer. 

CPS Energy is committed to supporting this program through $1 

million in direct customer assistance annually. The partnership 

underwrites all administrative costs so that all funds go directly to help 

customers. Assistance is allocated to the city and Bexar County based 

on the percentage of customers residing within the respective area. 

Due to the ever-growing need for assistance to low-income customers, 

in 2008, CPS Energy launched an ongoing marketing campaign to 

increase REAP awareness and donated an additional $400,000 

to keep up with the need. The campaign includes marketing to CPS 

Energy employees, public advertising, and targeted solicitation of 

area businesses and charitable foundations to contribute to REAP. To 

date, our advertising and solicitation efforts have more than doubled 

funding from outside contributions from previous years. Recent years’ 

distributions are shown in the following graph.
50

Project WARM (Winter Assistance Relief Mobilization):

Project WARM provides utility bill assistance to those with the greatest 

need. While contributions from individual ratepayers, businesses, 

and organizations have been the mainstay of Project WARM over 

the years, a former San Antonian and his business partner insured 

the project’s future by donating substantial royalty interests in West 

Texas natural gas reserves. Under a 1985 agreement with Wagner 

and Brown Partnership of Midland, CPS Energy bought donated 

gas at market prices with the payments going into a Project WARM 

endowment, the interest from which goes into available Project 

WARM funds.

The program is administered by the City of San Antonio. Household 

eligibility is based on age, income, number of family members, 

disabilities, and financial hardship. Priority is given to senior citizens, 

families with very young children, individuals or families dealing 

with extreme medical conditions, and disabled individuals. Utility bill 

assistance has been provided over the past few years as follows: 

(Funds are allocated to the city and Bexar County based on the 

percentage of customers residing within the respective area.)

Pennies for Power — Share Your Spare Change: We also 

invite our more fortunate customers to contribute to the REAP Program 

through the “Pennies for Power — Share Your Spare 

Change” program. In this program, customers are encouraged to 

donate by rounding up their bill payment each month to the nearest 

dollar or higher.

Critical Care: Our Critical Care Program tries to minimize potential 

risks to customers who use electrically operated medical equipment 

in their homes and/or whose physicians have verified that continued 

electric and/or gas service is critical to the occupant’s health. While 

we can’t promise to maintain continuous service at all times due to 

storm damage or accidents, we do try to minimize risks. 

Affordability Discount: The “affordability discount” is part of our 

new rates that became effective September 1, 2008. This discount 

keeps the electric and gas service availability charge at the old 

rate for customers who qualify. Anyone who has received REAP or 

WARM funds is pre-qualified. In addition to low-income requirements, 

there are also requirements of age, disability, and children in the 

household. The discount program is administered by the City of San 

Antonio’s Department of Community Initiatives (DCI). CPS Energy has 

proposed plans to increase our affordability discount program by 

adding $3 million, which will offer $5 more than the current discount 

for 40,000 customers, up from 30,000. 

Disabled and Senior Citizens Billing Program: This 

program grants customers who are disabled and customers who 

are at least 60 years old and have Supplemental Security Income 

(SSI) additional time to pay the net amount of their utility bill. Under 

this program, eligible customers are better able to coordinate the 

timing of their CPS Energy bill payment with receipt of their income 

without a late fee. Those who qualify for this program are allowed 

26 days to pay their bills, to give them time to receive their Social 

Security checks.

Payment Arrangements: CPS Energy makes payment 

arrangements available to customers who need additional time to pay 

their utility bill. Arrangements include either an extension (30 days 

or less) or a deferred payment plan, allowing customers to pay their 

average over a period of months. 

Gift Certificates: While perhaps not an “assistance program” per 

se, individuals can purchase gift certificates for anyone to use toward 

a CPS Energy utility bill. CPS Energy Gift Certificates pay for gas 

and electric bills and are available in amounts of $10, $25, $50, 

and $100. Certificates can be purchased at any of our customer 

service centers and redeemed by mailing them in with a utility bill or 

bringing them to a customer service center. However, they may not be 

redeemed for cash.

Referral Listing: For customers who are not eligible for either for 

REAP or WARM, several other public health agencies and communitybased organizations offer emergency assistance programs to help 

customers pay their bill. The City of San Antonio’s Community 

Action Programs–Weatherization Assistance and the Bexar County 

Department of Community Investments provide this help.

c u stomer r e l at i o n s h i p s

Year Distributions Total

City of San Antonio

2006

2007

2008

2009

5,872

5,279

9,127

12,216

$854,383

$763,251

$1,306,986

$1,759,964

2006

2007

2008

2009

167

527

787

1,451

$31,726

$149,710

$205,836

$291,280

Bexar county

reap distributions

Year Distributions Total

project warm distribution

2006

2007

2008

2009

670

1,885

910

960

$99,690

$282,074

$130,586

$137,503
51

Mi Casa Makeover: CPS Energy partners with KENS-TV to 

renovate and transform the homes of local families as part of the 

Mi Casa Makeover program, a feature of KENS’ Great Day SA

morning show. Many of the families chosen to participate in the 

program have suffered personal hardships that have made home 

renovation and maintenance difficult. As part of the Mi Casa 

effort, local remodeling companies donate their time, skills, and 

materials to help renovate these homes in an effort to improve the 

lives of these families. CPS Energy implements energy efficiency 

and conservation programs as part of the renovation. The families 

receive valuable cost and energy savings, and viewers of the show 

learn about our conservation programs and how they can take 

advantage of the benefits our programs offer. 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy Plans

At CPS Energy, we are currently working on plans to expand our 

Vision 2020 Goals and improve our broad sustainability efforts as 

we move toward 2030. We will continue on this path to dedicate 

additional spending beyond the more than $5 billion in Vision 2020. 

It is our goal to be one of the leading utilities in renewable energy 

and energy efficiency and conservation in the nation. As our goals 

expand, we will continue to meet the goals of existing programs and 

monitor and improve these programs over time. As the budget and 

energy-reduction goals increase over the next few years and beyond, 

we will implement additional programs. Many ideas are already 

being discussed and developed, including appliance rebates, a 

refrigerator recycling program, and retro-commissioning. 

We are preparing immediate 

program-specific plans to tie all of 

our incentives for new construction 

to the new city building codes, 

effective January 1, 2010. All 

individual measure rebates for new 

construction will be eliminated, and 

both residential and commercial 

new building incentives will be 

based on the energy-efficiency 

percentage obtained above the 

minimum code requirements. A 

structure will need to document an 

energy performance at least 15% 

more efficient than code to qualify. 

Another immediate program 

plan is to build upon our recent 

announcement of the Solartricity®

Program. We will continue to 

promote the program to encourage 

more rapid adoption of distributed 

energy facilities and to encourage 

customer subscription of green 

power pricing programs.
52
53

Because we know that the utility industry will need 

to rely on technology to help solve the critical 

energy and environmental problems facing the 

world, we continue to invest our research and 

development and technology-transfer resources 

wisely. Our Energy Research and Technology 

Initiatives department is accountable for 

identifying, evaluating, piloting, demonstrating, 

and facilitating the transfer of emerging 

technologies to create a sustainable future. The 

outcomes will help form the strategic basis for 

the Sustainable Growth business area and, by 

extension, the entire utility. We release marketready technologies for utility improvements and 

enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Corporate Commitment

Between 2005 and 2015, CPS Energy will 

participate in the development of new, energyfocused technologies including utility-scale 

energy storage, plug-in hybrid vehicles and 

charging stations, distributed generation, smart 

grid components and end-use technologies, and 

energy-efficiency technologies. This work will be 

accomplished with the Electric Power Research 

Institute (EPRI), as well as other research and 

industry groups. The EPRI budget is $2.2 million 

for 2010. 

In addition, we continue to pursue partnerships 

with local/regional colleges and universities and 

collaborate with local and national science and 

research organizations to conduct research and 

demonstration activities with our own resources. 

University of Texas at San Antonio 

Research Alliance

In June 2010, CPS Energy committed up to $50 million over 10 

years to an alliance with the University of Texas at San Antonio for 

sustainable energy research. The funding will go to a newly created 

Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute. Funding for the first year is 

set at $1 million and already is included in our budget. The following 

year, that amount will rise to $2.5 million. Funding for later years will 

be contingent on board approval and budget considerations. It also will 

depend on annual evaluations of the program. The institute will focus on 

projects listed below that are specific to CPS Energy needs.

•	 Carbon management, capture, and utilization for 

large-scale generation

•	 Development of a secure electric smart grid to support 

distributed generation

•	 Expansion of large-scale renewable energy technologies with 

support in energy storage solutions

•	 Behavioral research of consumers, in relation to energy efficiency 

and conservation, in real-world environments

•	 Electric transportation

Technical innovation has long been one of CPS Energy’s strengths. As 

members of local, state, and federal industry groups, we have actively 

participated in and funded pilots for a number of alternative solutions to 

fossil fuels. Projects studied by our technical staff have included:

•	 Smart grid pilots

•	 Energy efficiency demonstrations 

•	 Renewables and energy storage 

•	 Electric transportation

tec h nolog y a n d i n n o vat i o n
54
55

Plug-In Hybrid Program

CPS Energy collaborated with EPRI and other utilities to develop 

and field test a unique plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) — a 

medium-duty ‘Trouble’ Truck. The Trouble Truck program is a Ford- and 

EPRI-sponsored initiative to develop an electric drive-train suitable for 

widespread utility adoption in medium-duty service vehicles. The goal 

is to reduce fuel consumption and vehicle 

emissions by more than half when compared to 

a standard truck. The innovation work includes 

electrifying the bucket and air conditioning 

operation to displace engine idling. This 

conversion applies to both medium- and 

heavy-duty trucks. The partners in the project 

are gaining knowledge and experience with 

the technology that will help accelerate the 

development of some of the first market-ready, 

commercial-grade vehicles available. 

Membership in the Energy Research Alliance of San Antonio 

United in a common interest to explore new and innovative energy 

solutions, the University of Texas at San Antonio, Southwest Research 

Institute®, San Antonio Water Systems, and CPS Energy have signed a 

memorandum of understanding to form the Energy Research Alliance of 

San Antonio. Although these four entities have a long-standing tradition 

of collaboration in a variety of areas, the memo is the first formal 

agreement on the topic of energy among the four. Specifically, the 

five-year agreement calls for the partners to:

•	 Prioritize energy-related initiatives for collaboration, including 

energy workshops 

•	 Define a strategic regional roadmap for emerging energy 

technology 

•	 Collaborate on energy grant applications and publications

•	 Organize joint research and academic and scientific activities, 

such as research projects, demonstration projects, courses, 

conferences, seminars, symposia, or lectures 

•	 Promote the exchange of researchers, teaching personnel, 

and students 

•	 Exchange publications and other materials of common interest 

•	 Jointly work to raise public awareness and education on 

energy topics 

Formalized in June 2009, one of the near-term goals of this new 

collaborative venture includes assessing the efficiency and effectiveness 

of geothermal heating and cooling systems for residential and small 

commercial consumers within the CPS Energy electric service area.

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)

With rate support, CPS Energy began a 40,000-meter, two-year 

pilot with service-wide rollout of 700,000 electric and 300,000 

gas advanced meters with supporting infrastructure to follow as part 

of its Advanced Metering Infrastructure Program. These meters will 

have advanced measuring features, remote disconnect and reconnect 

capabilities, and a two-way communications network that will give 

customers near real-time access to their particular energy information. 

By empowering the energy user with this information, adapting to 

dynamic pricing and energy scarcity events will represent real savings 

for customers. This technology also builds a foundation for future energy 

services that can further integrate lifestyle and comfort preferences with 

the needs of the utility. 

Smart Grid Pilot

CPS Energy is working with multiple developers of personal energy 

management systems (PEMS) to test cutting-edge software and hardware 

that will enable customers to manage their electric use, reduce energy 

costs, and participate in voluntary conservation and pricing programs. 

The PEMS system will be an integral part of CPS Energy’s smart grid 

development. PEMS pilots have been under way since 2008 in the 

CPS Energy service area, and we are working with customers to gain a 

thorough understanding about how they want to receive their energy use 

information and how they use that information to change their behaviors. 

“San Antonio has the opportunity to be a leader in clean 

energy technologies and their practical applications, and the 

Energy Research Alliance of San Antonio will be a key catalyst 

in this endeavor.”

–Cris Eugster, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer

Left: Sweetwater wind farm
56
57

Reducing CPS Energy’s carbon footprint and environmental impact 

will require a multilevel focus on energy efficiency, new generation 

technologies, water resource management, and waste reduction 

initiatives. CPS Energy has made significant progress to reduce 

our environmental impact and is committing significant resources to 

continue to improve the environmental quality of the Greater San 

Antonio area. 

Air Quality

CPS Energy is committed to reducing air emissions from our power 

plants. In past years, we have made significant progress, but there 

are still areas in which we can improve. Over the past five years, we 

have invested more than $100 million in retrofits and controls on our 

existing power generation fleet. 

Air Emissions Data

CPS Energy measures and reports to EPA the air emissions from our 

power plants. The tables on page 58 show our emissions of nitrogen 

oxides (NOX

), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and total suspended particles 

(TSP) from our generation fleet from 2006 to 2009. As a result of 

our emissions control upgrades, our NOX

 and TSP emissions have 

been decreasing. SO2 emissions increased in 2008 due to increased 

electricity generation and our fuel mix but was down again in 2009, 

and CPS Energy is working to reduce those emissions in the future 

through the addition of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubbers at our 

J.T. Deely units at Calaveras Power Station. 

Another way to measure emissions and performance is by intensity. 

Emissions intensity is a rate of the total pounds of emissions emitted by 

combustion of coal and gas divided 

by total generation (cumulative sum 

of electricity generated from all 

sources including coal, gas, nuclear, 

and renewables during a given 

time period) reported in pounds per 

MWh. Although CPS Energy’s total 

generation has increased over time, 

our intensity for NOX

 and TSP has 

decreased. SO2 intensity increased in 

2008 but was down in 2009 to the 

lowest value in the last four years.

c a rbon constr a ints a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t

Enhanced Monitoring Program

Coal Yard Dust Controls

Gas Startup at J.T. Deely Plant

Baghouse Retrofit at J.T. Deely Plant

Additional Coal NOX Combustion Controls

J.K. Spruce 1 Scrubber Upgrades

Mercury Monitors at J.K. Spruce 1 & J.T. Deely Plants

J.T. Deely Unit 2 SCR

Recent Air Quality Expenditures

Date

2003 - 2009

2003 - 2004

2005 - 2006

2005 - 2007

2005 - 2007

2008 - 2009

2008

2009 - 2011

Cost

$3 million

$4 million

$5 million

$87 million

$15 million

$9 million

$3 million

$67 million

Item

Calaveras Lake
58

CPS Energy Power Generation Total

suspended particulates (tsp) Emissions

(gross) CY 2006 -2009

2006 2007 2008 2009

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

0

Year

TSP (thousand tons)

2,062

1,284.3

658 544.4

CPS Energy Power Generation SO2 Emissions

(gross) CY 2006 -2009

2006 2007 2008 2009

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Year

SO2 Emissions (thousand tons)

24,192.4 24,007

25,870.2

17,932.9

CPS Energy Power Generation NOx

Emissions (gross) CY 2006 -2009

2006 2007 2008 2009

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Year

NOx Emissions (thousand tons)

10,388.7

9,084.5 9,448.1

8,246.3

CPS Energy Power Generation

NOx Emissions Intensity 

(gross) CY 2006-2009

NOx lb/MWh

2006 2007 2008 2009

1.0

0.5

0

Year

0.88 0.76 0.78 0.73

SO2 lb/MWh

CPS Energy Power Generation

SO2 Emissions Intensity 

(gross) CY 2006-2009

2006 2007 2008 2009

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0

Year

2.06 2.01

2.15

1.58

TSP lb/MWh

CPS Energy Power Generation

Total suspended particulates

(tsp) Emissions Intensity 

(gross) CY 2006-2009

2006 2007 2008 2009

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0

Year

0.18

0.11

0.05 0.05

c a rbon constr a ints a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t
59

The table below is the combined emission rates of sulfur dioxide and 

nitrogen oxide for the 1,032 coal plants in the United States from EPA 

data for 2009. All CPS Energy coal units combined rank in the top 

28% in the nation compared to all of the coal units. 

Air Monitoring Stations and San Antonio Air Quality

The air quality and health in our community are of paramount 

importance to CPS Energy, and we are committed to managing and 

reducing emissions. To meet this commitment, we are continuously 

monitoring the ambient air near our power plants. We own and 

operate two continuous air monitoring stations (CAMS), and data 

from these stations is available to the public on the Texas Commission 

on Environmental Quality website at www.tceq.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/

compliance/monops/select_month.pl. We also operate smaller 

CAMS near Calaveras and Braunig Power Stations. This approach 

ensures that we have accurate, real-time data on our emissions and 

their effect on the environment. 

In the past, San Antonio has maintained average ozone (a major 

component of “smog”) readings below the old EPA standard of 0.08 

parts per million (ppm) and therefore has been in compliance with 

EPA ground-level ozone standards. The EPA revised the Air Quality 

Index (AQI) effective May 27, 2008, to specify that an area’s 

eight-hour ozone standard must not exceed 0.075 ppm. Under this 

new categorization, San Antonio is still below the standard but is 

close and, therefore, considered “near-nonattainment.” The EPA is 

scheduled to reduce the ozone standard even further in August 2010.

The executive committees of the Alamo Area Council of Governments 

(AACOG) submitted an Early Action Compact (EAC) to EPA in 

2002 as part of the Clean Air Plan for the four-county area including 

Bexar County. CPS Energy, as one of the participants in the EAC, 

submitted a list of voluntary control strategies to help the area 

achieve ozone attainment. These voluntary measures include planned 

reductions of NOX

 emissions (because there is a correlation between 

rising ozone and NOX

 emissions) at CPS Energy power plants; the 

purchase of alternatively fueled vehicles; the continuation of CPS 

Energy’s “Mow Down Smog” program, under which CPS Energy 

provides rebates to purchasers of electric lawnmowers; and employee 

notifications of Air Quality Health Alert days. The only pollutant for 

which San Antonio has violated the EPA air quality standards is ozone.

Air Emissions Improvements and Upgrades

We are committed to further reducing our air emissions in the next 

several years. This will not only occur as a result of emissions control 

technology investments but also because of our increasing focus on 

energy efficiency and renewable energy, which will lower the overall 

emission intensity of our generation activities. 

Furthermore, we are committed to reducing total coal generation 

emissions (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter) by 

70 percent relative to actual emissions in 1997. What makes this 

goal even more significant is that, during that same time period, we 

also will be increasing our coal power generation by 52%, as shown 

in the figure on page 60. Additional emission reductions will require 

significant investment and include selective catalytic reduction (SCRs) 

and scrubbers (flue gas desulfurization) for the Deely units. An SCR 

is currently under construction on J.T. Deely Unit 2 at the Calaveras 

Power Station.

Generating unit emission rates — 2009

combined so2 plus nox (lb/mmbtu)

Combined Emission Rate of NOx plus SO2

(lb/MMBTU)

Numerical Ranking of Units — Worst to Best

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

0

306090

120150180210240270300330360390420450480510540570600630660690720750780810840870900930960990

1020

1,032 Coal Units Reporting Emissions in 2009

J.T. Deely 1 ranked #580 (top 44% in nation)

J.T. Deely 2 ranked #583 (top 44% in nation)

J.K. Spruce 1 ranked #994 (top 4% in nation)

J.K. Spruce 2 permit at 0.11 lb/MMBTU

JKS1 = 0.171 lb/MMBTU

U.S. Average Emission Rate = 1.23 lb/MMBTU

All CPS Energy Units Combined

0.598 lb/MMBTU (Top 28% in Nation)

JTD 1 = 0.810 lb/MMBTU

JTD 2 = 0.814 lb/MMBTU
60

Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Climate change is one of the most complex and challenging issues 

of our time. Of greatest concern are the effects of emissions of 

anthropogenic (resulting from human activity) greenhouse gases on 

climate. The main source of anthropogenic gases in the United States 

is the burning of fossil fuels. Electricity generators consumed 37 percent 

of U.S. energy from fossil fuels and emitted 42 percent of the CO2 from 

fossil fuel combustion in 2008. 

There is a need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and 

CPS Energy is committed to being a part of the solution. One of our 

core focus areas from Vision 2020 is “carbon constraints and the 

environment.” Our plan is to transform ourselves from a company 

focused on providing low-cost power based on traditional generation 

sources to a company providing competitively priced power from a 

variety of sustainable sources.

Sustainable energy development strives to meet our current needs 

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. 

We will uphold our commitments to environmental responsibility, social 

equity, and economic viability, while continuing to provide reliable 

and competitively priced energy to the present and future Greater San 

Antonio community.

Greenhouse gas emissions are going to receive increased attention 

in the coming years, and pending U.S. legislation to regulate CO2

emissions will greatly affect our business going forward. As required 

by the new EPA Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule, CPS 

Energy will report its GHG emissions in March 2011 for the 

emissions in 2010.

CPS Energy does factor in financial risks and opportunities associated 

with climate change in our business planning. We have not yet 

completed an evaluation of the physical risks of climate change and its 

direct economic impacts, but we continue to evaluate the indirect risks 

and opportunities associated with CO2 regulation.

One of CPS Energy’s strongest measures of operational and financial 

effectiveness has been the benefit it has derived from its diverse and 

low-cost generation portfolio, which is currently comprised of coal, 

nuclear, gas, and various renewables such as wind, methane, and solar, 

as well as purchased power. One of our primary objectives is continued 

diversification. Accordingly, our management team periodically assesses 

future generation options that would be viable. This extensive assessment 

of various options involves projections of customer growth and demand; 

technological viability; upfront financial investment requirements; annual 

asset operation and maintenance costs; and environmental impacts.

A federal program regulating CO2 is expected within the next five years, 

which would place a cost on CO2 emissions. Although future cost is 

highly uncertain, our forecast has prices beginning at $12 per ton of 

CO2 emission in 2012 and rising to around $50 in 2020. Under 

business-as-usual conditions, that would translate to an annual economic 

impact of more than $1 billion to CPS Energy customers. 

In response to these projections, CPS Energy has begun investing 

and planning for ways to mitigate the impact of CO2 legislation. Our 

new resource plan includes increased use of renewable energy, an 

aggressive energy-efficiency program, additional nuclear generation, 

and applications of carbon capture when that technology becomes 

available. This resource plan requires a higher investment cost, but it 

should save annually around 60% in emissions and emissions cost from 

business as usual by 2020. CPS Energy will continue to evaluate and 

look for additional ways to mitigate CO2 risks.

Since 2006, our CO2 emissions from power generation have 

increased. Because no cost-effective CO2 control technologies currently 

exist for our natural gas- and coal-powered fleet, we create more CO2

as we generate more power. 

To address this issue, since 2005 we have added significant renewable 

energy generation, implemented power plant efficiency upgrades, and 

increased energy efficiency in the community. 

Power Generation CO2 Emissions 2006 -2009

*Reflects net generation, based on all generation types

15

10

5

0

Year

CO2 Emissions 

(short tons) 

(millions)

2006

13,779,453

2007

13,570,135

2008

13,994,666

2009

11,571,790

c a rbon constr a ints a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t

cps energy air emissions from coal

past, present & future

Air Emissions (thousand tons per year)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Past (1997) Present (2009) Future

1997-1450 MW

2009-1450 MW

2200 MW

52% Increase in

Coal power

70% Reduction

in Emissions

Sulfur Dioxide Nitrogen Oxides Particulate Matter

Right: Construction of 14MW Blue Wing Solar Project 

in southeast San Antonio
61
62

Goals Achievement to Date

1500 MW of renewable energy in our generation

100 MW non-wind carve-out

771MW of energy efficiency STEP program

AMI and smart grid roll-out

910 MW of renewables under contract (94% of this 

is TX wind)

44 MW under contract for solar farms; 9.6 MW landfill to 

gas; 5 MW Solartricity Producer Program

142 MW overall reduction; 61 MW peak demand reduction 

(first 2 yrs.)

40,000-meter 2-yr. pilot with citywide rollout following

Vision 2020 Goals

CO2 Intensity

CO2 intensity is the rate of the total pounds of CO2 emitted by 

burning coal and gas divided by total generation (cumulative sum of 

electricity generated from all sources including coal, gas, nuclear, and 

renewables during a given time period), and it is reported in pounds 

per megawatt hour (lb/MWh). With the inclusion of renewables, 

this results in projected reductions of CO2 emissions of more than 

991,000 tons in 2015, and more than 1,645,000 tons in 2020.

Although CPS Energy’s total energy generation has increased over 

time, our CO2 intensity has decreased. This inverse relationship 

indicates that our generation portfolio has become more CO2-efficient 

over time, largely as a result of our additions of nuclear and wind 

generation. The STP Nuclear Plant was first added to our generation 

mix in 1988, and in 1993 STP 1&2 were shut down for one year. 

In 2005, CPS Energy increased ownership in STP 1&2 from 28% 

to 40%. Additional wind power also was acquired in 2005 and 

2007, further reducing our carbon intensity. Replacement of the 

original steam turbines in our three coal units with new, high efficiency 

technology allowed us to produce more electricity while burning the 

same amount of fuel and emitting the same amount of 

CO2, also reducing our carbon intensity.

Long-term CO2 Reduction Plan

CPS Energy is focused on setting long-term GHG 

reduction targets and reducing emissions cost effectively 

in the short term. In 2002, we joined the Department 

of Energy’s Climate Challenge Program and began 

voluntarily reporting GHG reductions. Over 15 years 

we’ve avoided releasing approximately 55 million tons 

of carbon by using nuclear energy, and over a six-year 

period we’ve avoided emitting 1.2 million tons through 

wind-generated electricity. In the coming years, GHG 

reductions may be mandated by federal GHG legislation 

such as HR 2454: The American Clean Energy and 

Security Act, or through some other form. This legislation 

has not passed as of mid 2010, and the future cost of 

carbon or reduction requirements is uncertain. Either way, 

as part of the CPS Energy sustainability program, we are 

pursuing GHG reductions as part of our core strategy 

going forward. 

Our platform to pursue sustainable energy includes these strategies:

•	 Aggressive energy-efficiency program

•	 Large portfolio of renewable-energy generation

•	 Distributed generation with local emphasis

•	 Energy storage development and integration

•	 Smart grid infrastructure deployment

To meet this challenge, we must successfully address various 

issues, including: 

Managing the energy network

Maintaining system reliability as we manage power flow and 

transmission from potentially thousands of generation/storage sources 

to hundreds of thousands with the possibility of plug-in hybrids

Transforming the business model

Moving from purely selling electricity to generating revenue from a 

wider range of other value-added services to our customers

c a rbon constr a ints a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t

CO2 Intensity

Historical CO2 Intensity for CPS Energy (lbs of CO2 emissions per net MWh of 

generation from all sources of power including gas, coal, wind, and nuclear)

Total Generation 

(million MWh)

CO2 Intensity (lbs/mwh)

25

20

15

10

5

0

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

198019811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009

Year

1988–STP 1 & 2 added to generation mix

1993–STP shutdown for year

2005–Increase STP from 28% to 40% ownership

CO2

 Intensity Total Generation
63

Increased emphasis on technology and integration

Building expertise in technologies and how/when to integrate, 

managing technology risk, new sectors electric transportation

Customer education and marketplace transformation

Transforming the marketplace to empower customers or third 

parties to manage their power via efficiency, pricing, budgets, 

generation, etc. 

Enormous funding requirements to invest in future

$5.7 billion estimated

The CPS Energy long-term GHG reduction plan focuses on 

a diverse mix of sustainable sources of electricity generation. 

Therefore, to reduce GHG emissions we must not only pursue 

energy efficiency and renewable energy but also nuclear power 

as well as future investments in carbon capture and storage. 

Total Non-Generation CPS Energy GHG 

Emissions Breakdown

GHG emissions are not only released from our power 

generation, but also from our fleet, buildings, and 

operations. More than 99% of our CO2 emissions are 

emitted from power generation, but we are committed 

to managing and reducing all GHG emissions as an 

example to the community. 

For non-generation CO2 emissions, we separated 

emissions into Scope 1 and Scope 2. Scope 1 

emissions are direct GHG emissions from sources 

within our organizational boundary that we own 

or control. They include vehicle fleet, natural gas 

distribution system, and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas 

circuit breakers. Scope 2 emissions are indirect GHG 

emissions that are a consequence of activities that 

take place within our organizational boundary, but 

that occur at sources owned or controlled by another 

entity. Scope 2 emissions primarily represent building 

electricity usage.

CPS CO2 Prism Based on Supplying Native Load Only

(Fall 2009 Updates)

CO2 Emissions 

(million tons/year)

Year

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

2010201220142016201820202022202420262028203020322034

Energy Efficiency

Renewables

STP 1&2 Increased 

Ownership & Upgrades

STP 3 & 4 7.625% 

of 2700MW

Carbon Capture & Storage

Remaining CO2

 Emissions

Note: Prism is based on load forecasts that were created using the Save for Tomorrow Energy 

Plan’s (STEP) aggressive energy efficiency goals. Emissions are based on power supplied to 

native load only. CPS currently has 40% ownership in STP 1&2; the STP 1&2 turbine 

upgrades add 55 MW of nuclear capacity. A 7.625% ownership participation in STP 3&4 

adds about 200 MW of nuclear capacity. Carbon capture and storage will be installed when 

commercially available.

In 2008, in an effort to initiate, prioritize, evaluate, and support sustainability efforts and activities 

across the organization, Scott Smith, Director of Environmental Planning and Compliance, 

spearheaded the creation of the CPS Energy Sustainability Council. The Sustainability Council 

is comprised of cross-functional business unit members, and they directed the development and 

publication of CPS Energy’s first Corporate Sustainability Report.
64 c a rbon constr a ints a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t
65

SF6 Partnership

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) has been identified by the Intergovernmental 

Panel on Climate Change as an extremely potent GHG. SF6

emissions from electric power systems are the result of releases from 

improperly functioning equipment, from leakage, and from gas 

escaping into the atmosphere when gas is either transferred into 

equipment or extracted from it for disposal, recycling, or storage. 

In 1998, CPS Energy signed a voluntary agreement with EPA, joining 

the SF6 Emissions Reduction Partnership for Electric Power Systems. As 

part of this agreement, we provided the total nameplate capacity of 

SF6 for our SF6-bearing equipment in service, and agreed to inventory 

emissions of SF6 annually. CPS Energy has developed a companywide policy for the proper handling of SF6.

Reducing GHG Emissions from Our Vehicle Fleet

One of the greatest impacts on air quality in our community comes 

from automobile emissions. CPS Energy maintains a fleet of about 

2,900 vehicles, the majority of which are diesel-fueled. However, 

we also have procured vehicles that run on alternative fuels, such as 

ethanol and propane. A summary of the vehicles in the CPS Energy 

fleet is provided in the table above.

As of 2009, emissions from the CPS Energy vehicle fleet were about 

19,128 metric tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year, or about 21,085 

short tons per year. The figure on page 66 shows the trend of GHG 

emissions from the fleet. Since 2003, we have steadily reduced our 

fleet-related GHG emissions. 

The GHG emissions from the vehicle fleet are directly related to 

the types of fuels used in the fleet. Fuel usage at CPS Energy is 

summarized in the figure on page 67.

In recent years, diesel fuel usage has increased, but ethanol usage has 

greatly increased while use of unleaded gasoline has declined. By 

reducing our reliance on gasoline and increasing ethanol usage, CPS 

Energy has reduced its fleet-related GHG emissions. 

Year

GHG Emissions (thousands of metric tons CO2e*)

225

200

175

150

125

100

75

50

25

0

Total CPS Energy Non-Generation

GHG Emissions Breakdown CY 2005-2008 

2005 2006 2007 2008

Scope 1 Scope 2

CPS Energy Fleet Makeup CY 2006-2009

3200

2800

2400

2000

1600

1200

800

400

0

2006 2007 2008 2009

Alternative Fuel 

Vehicles

Diesel (off/on-road) Gasoline

Year

Number of Vehicles

CY 2005 -2009 Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) Emissions

2005

30,354

1.6%

495.3

5,369

Total SF6

 Capacity (lb)

SF6

 Emissions Rate

Total SF6

 Emissions (lb)

CO2

 Emissions (tonnes)

2006

32,409

1.3%

417.5

4,525

2007

40,482

1.8%

731.0

7,923

2008

44,571

1.3%

593

6,428

2009

51,435

2.0%

1007.9

10,925

Left: Solar array at the Institute of Texan Cultures

* Our Natural Gas Distribution System makes up about 85% of our total 

Scope 1 emissions.
66 c a rbon constr a ints a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t

To improve process controls and data accuracy of our fueling process, in 

2010 CPS Energy installed a Smart Fuel System to automatically capture 

actual vehicle mileage when employees fuel vehicles and equipment.

CPS Energy has a number of comprehensive programs to reduce 

the environmental impacts of our internal operations. This section of 

the report discusses these programs, their impacts, challenges, and 

ways we can improve our performance in the future. We focus on 

energy usage in our buildings, GHG emissions from indirect sources 

such as employee commuting and air travel, GHG emissions from

the CPS Energy fleet, water usage in our buildings, and recycling 

and waste reduction.

Reducing Energy Use in Our Buildings

CPS Energy is currently trying to achieve its SB12 goal of 5% overall 

reduction in facility electricity usage from 2006 to 2012. Overall 

energy consumption by CPS Energy’s facilities declined 2.1% in 

2008 over 2007. The figure at left below shows our annual energy 

consumption from 2006 to 2008.

We have replaced older fluorescent lights at some of our service centers 

with newer, more efficient induction lights. Some work areas now have 

occupancy sensors that turn off lights when the areas are unused. Other 

changes have been behavioral, such as encouraging employees to turn 

off lights and computer monitors at the end of the work day.

In some of our facilities, CPS Energy set a goal of reducing energy 

consumption 25% from 2001 to 2006, as part of Senate Bill 5. 

We were one of only a handful of public entities to achieve this goal. 

This equates to a 5% annual reduction, which was achieved in part 

by the high-efficiency light bulb replacement program and improved 

HVAC operations.

We hope to achieve additional reductions over the next few years by 

continuing to use higher efficiency lights, better control systems, and 

similar measures as part of SB12. 

To reduce our energy consumption in our facilities, CPS Energy has 

implemented the following programs:

Information Communication Services (ICS): Since 2003, 

CPS Energy has been improving the efficiency of all ICS processes. 

During this time, we consolidated data centers and upgraded to 

more efficient units. Twenty-one data servers were eliminated and old 

cooling systems were replaced with more efficient systems. Sixteen 

existing servers were converted to virtual machines (VM) and 81 

Total CO2 Emissions from Fuel Use 2002 -2009

Year

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Thousand Short Tons

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

Total Fuel CO2 Emissions

Electricity Usage at CPS Energy 

Buildings 2006 -2008

2006 2007 2008

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

24,363,906

25,062,236

24,537,857

Year (CY)

Total Consumption 

(kWh) (millions)
67

new VMs were created in lieu of purchasing new physical servers. 

Overall, this effort has reduced or avoided the annual electricity use 

of more than 140,000 kWh.

Also, for the past three years CPS Energy has purchased computers 

that use the energy-saving “80 Plus Program” power supplies, saving 

an estimated 116,365 kWh. All monitors ordered over the past three 

years are energy efficient LCDs, and all desktops and laptops are set 

to put monitors in power-save mode after 20 minutes of inactivity. In 

addition, more than 1,000 office support machines (faxes, printers, 

copiers) have been eliminated.

Environmental Lab Building: In 2008, CPS Energy opened its 

new state-of-the-art environmental lab, featuring 20 solar photovoltaic 

modules capable of producing a combined output of 3.4 kilowatts 

(KW), while a 35-foot-high wind turbine can generate at peak 

capacity of 2.6 KW. The lab’s green building features include the 

ability to precisely control lighting as well as heating, ventilation, 

and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The orientation of the building 

minimizes direct sunlight on exterior walls and reduces cooling 

requirements. Overhangs also provide shade over the windows for 

most of the year and reduce heat buildup inside the lab. Besides 

saving energy, the lab also conserves water. Indoors, low-flow water 

Year

Thousand Gallons

CPS Energy Fleet Fuel Use 2002 -2009

1,800

1,600

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Gasoline Ethanol E-85 On-Road Diesel Off-Road Diesel

Environmental lab building at the Calaveras Power Station
68 c a rbon constr a ints a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t

fixtures and infrared motion sensors prevent excess water usage. 

Outside the lab, a rainwater-harvesting system collects runoff from the 

roof and stores it in a 4,800-gallon concrete tank. The rainwater is 

used to irrigate drought-tolerant plant species used in xeriscaping all 

around the facility. Recycled content was used in building materials 

such as ceiling tiles and concrete floor tiles. 

High Efficiency Lighting Program: One new technology, the 

induction light bulb, has a 100,000-hour rated life span that is five 

to 13 times longer than the previous lamps. The longer lamp lives will 

reduce environmental impacts because fewer employee-hours will be 

used in replacing them. Since 2005, 1,337 induction bulb fixtures 

have replaced older fixtures, resulting in an approximate energy 

savings of 874,348 kWh. 

Also, in 2004, CPS Energy began replacing office and customer 

service center incandescent light bulbs with high efficiency CFLs. CFLs 

use 75% less energy and last about 10 times longer than traditional 

incandescent bulbs. 

Reducing Indirect GHGs Outside Our Walls

CPS Energy has calculated GHG emissions from employee 

commuting, business-related air travel, wastewater treatment, 

and solid waste disposal. These are considered other non-direct 

sources, also known as Scope 3. Scope 3 emissions are from 

sources not owned by CSP Energy but are a result of our business 

activities. We can help minimize GHG emissions from these sources 

by controlling our supply chain operations or implementing programs. 

For example, if we minimize the amount of waste that we send to a 

landfill, we help avoid CO2 emissions from that facility because they 

have less waste to process. Although our Scope 3 emissions make 

up a small portion of the overall inventory, CPS Energy has 

implemented the following initiatives and associated goals to 

reduce Scope 3 emissions:

Telework: By 2020, CPS Energy plans to successfully implement 

telework programs, eliminating the need for many employees to 

travel to the office each day. Specific work areas have implemented 

telework on a small scale. For the past several years, staggered work 

times have been in place to reduce traffic congestion. Finally, we plan 

to implement incentive programs that motivate employees to use mass 

transit for commuting. Bus passes are offered to employees.

Call/Videoconferencing: Videoconferencing between various 

CPS Energy facilities is available at four of our locations: Main 

Office, Jones Avenue, Calaveras Power Station, and Emergency 

Management Center (EMC). This form of conferencing is used in 

place of face-to-face meetings to avoid vehicle travel between our 

facilities. It is primarily used among CPS Energy-owned facilities but 

on rare occasions has been used for conferences with outside parties, 

thereby eliminating the need for air travel. In the future, we hope to 

equip more of our facilities with videoconferencing capabilities.

Coal Ash Recycling: CPS Energy recycles nearly all of the byproducts of coal combustion for power generation. For example, fly 

ash is used in the manufacture of cement. As a result, approximately 

2.7 million tons of CO2 emissions have been avoided over the past 

15 years, and valuable landfill space has been conserved. Recent 

federal regulatory proposals could significantly change requirements 

for ash disposal. 

Materials and Recycling

CPS Energy has an extensive recycling program that includes electronics, 

wood, paper, cardboard, metals, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, used 

oil, coal-combustion by-products, concrete, asphalt, and other materials. 

In 2009, we recycled about 300,000 tons of material. Our efforts 

have resulted in the reduction of about 300,000 tons of CO2 over 15 

years. A summary of the types and amounts of materials recycled from 

2005 – 2009 is presented in the first table to the right.

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Percent

Recycling Rates CY 2006 -2009

2006 2007 2008 2009

Year

Hazardous 

Recycled

Hazardous

Not Recycled

Universal

Recycled

Universal

Not Recycled

Non-Hazardous*

Recycled

Non-Hazardous*

Not Recycled

* Excludes coal-combustion by-products
69

Aluminum

Aluminum Cans

Antifreeze

Asphalt, Spoils, Concrete, Masonry

Batteries (lead acid)

Batteries (small rechargeable)

Brass

Cardboard

Coal Combustion By-products

Computer Monitors (junked for recycling)

Hazardous Spent Lamps/Bulbs

Lead-Covered Copper Cable (high-level PCBs)

Office Paper

Oil Filters

Oily Water

Other Electrical Equip. (high-level PCBs)

Other Electrical Equip. (low-level PCBs)

Parts Cleaning Solvent

Plastic Bottles

PVC Conduit

Scrap Electric Meters

Steel (incl. iron & scrap metal)

Tin

Transformer Mineral Oil (containing PCBs)

Transformer Mineral Oil (PCB free)

Transformers (high-level PCBs)

Transformers (low-level PCBs)

Tree Trimmings

Used Oil

Wire & Cable (incl. lead-covered copper cable)

Wood Pallets/Reels

TOTAL 

Types and Amounts of Materials Recycled, CY 2005 -2009

2005

543

NA

3

3,052

40

0

10

62

353,172

1

3

3

839

11

47

20

134

13

NA

0

189

2,070

54

188

595

24

2,003

25,450

139

937

500

390,102

2006

155

NA

11

3,052

18

0.4

1.2

15

321,224

1

4

2

34

13

33

29

146

13

NA

6

64

1,952

49

247

345

48

701

25,800

154

709

850

355,677

2007

133

NA

7

13,412

40

.01

9

17

308,241

2

3

3

40

14

87

29

87

17

NA

3

86

2,730

61

169

507

18

1,454

24,000

105

822

2,079

3524,175

2008

76

0.4

5

9,870

52

0.0

0.0

23

346,669

2

1

5

41

20

1,587

18

246

17

2

28

43

1,666

104

222

642

33

2,014

27,770

81

741

1,138

393,116

2009

23

0.4

5

12,070

15

0

4

16

258,672

0

2

0.4

75

10

1,735

7

76

11

4

0

9

1,729

482

243

110

25

1,093

23,605

220

536

945

301,722

Material

All values provided in short tons

NA - Not Applicable

Summary of Waste Management at CPS Energy, CY 2006 -2009

Incineration

Landfilling

Fuel Blending 

(Energy Recovery)

Recycling

Evaporation Pond

TOTAL

22

17,946

789

354,966

NA

373,722

0.01%

4.8%

0.2%

95.0%

NA

23

18,314

774

353,418

NA

372,529

0.01%

4.9%

0.2%

94.9%

NA

20

19,588

978

392,949

1,745

415,281

54

19,065

544

303,409

2,861

325,933

0.005%

4.7%

0.2%

94.6%

0.42%

0.02%

5.85%

0.17%

93.09%

0.88%

2008 Total 

Tonnage

2009 Total 

Tonnage

2007 Total 

Tonnage

2006 Total 

Tonnage Percentage Percentage Percentage Percentage
70 c a rbon constr a ints a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t

A breakdown of our hazardous, nonhazardous, and universal waste 

is provided. In addition, a summary of waste disposal/recycling 

methods is provided. CPS Energy recycles around 70% of all 

nonhazardous waste. While the total amount of waste generation has 

increased since 2006, the percentage of nonhazardous waste that is 

not recycled has remained steady at about 30%. All hazardous waste 

and universal hazardous waste that can be recycled is recycled.

In addition to the materials listed in the first table above, other 

materials are recycled and include the following:

•	 Vehicles and equipment

•	 Tires and tubes

•	 Furniture

•	 Computers and accessories

•	 Miscellaneous material

Not only is recycling better for our environment, but it is also better for 

our bottom line; the total revenues from all recycling in 2009 were 

about $5.2 million.

CPS Energy also owns and operates a Class 1 nonhazardous 

waste landfill, which is registered with the Texas Commission on 

Environmental Quality, an initiative that reduces disposal costs and 

CPS Energy’s reliance on off-site disposal facilities. 

Also, since 1990, CPS Energy has 

significantly reduced the amount of hazardous 

waste (defined under the Federal Resource 

Conservation and Recovery Act) generated by 

its operations. 

PCBs

By the early 1990s, CPS Energy completed 

a program aimed at removing all electrical 

equipment accessible to the public that was 

known to contain polychlorinated biphenyls 

(PCBs) in concentrations of 500 ppm or 

greater, as required by the Federal Toxic 

Substances Control Act. In addition, all oil-filled 

equipment is tested when serviced as part of 

an ongoing program to voluntarily eliminate 

electrical equipment containing mineral oil 

with any level of PCBs. Since 1996, in connection with capital 

improvements being made to many of its substation sites, CPS Energy 

has identified and remediated areas found to be contaminated by 

pollutants, such as PCBs. 

Water Resources

CPS Energy’s water resources consist of recycled water from treated 

sewage effluent, a small amount of surface water, groundwater, and 

potable water from local utilities.

Braunig and Calaveras lakes are CPS Energy-owned man-made lakes 

that provide cooling for the majority of the CPS Energy’s generating 

units. These lakes utilize treated sewage effluent and runoff waters to 

maintain operating levels. CPS Energy was a pioneer in the use of 

non-potable, recycled water from treated sewage effluent for cooling 

purposes, thereby saving higher quality, potable groundwater for 

other uses. 

Braunig Lake

Braunig Lake is a 1,350-acre reservoir that CPS Energy built in 1962 

as a cooling pond for the Braunig Power Station. The lake impounds 

the Arroyo Seco and receives some runoff from the small drainage 

basin nearby. Most water received by the lake is supplied by river 

diversions; this river water is from the San Antonio Water System 

(SAWS) treatment plants. 

Braunig Power Station

Mission Recyclable

CPS Energy celebrated America Recycles Day and Texas Recycles Day Nov. 15th 2008 by conducting a 60-day pilot program to 

recycle aluminum cans and plastic bottles (labeled Nos. 1-7). The pilot was a huge success and was quickly expanded to several other 

facilities. Employees were reminded to continue recycling office paper and cardboard. 

Five plastic bottles yield enough fiber for one extra large T-shirt, one square foot of carpet, or the filling of one ski jacket. Recycling a 

single aluminum can saves enough energy to power a PC or TV for three hours. Making new cans from used cans requires 95% less.
71

Calaveras Lake

Calaveras Lake is a 3,450-acre impoundment of the Calaveras and 

Chupaderas creeks, which was built in 1969 as a cooling pond 

for Calaveras Power Station. The lake is allowed to impound up to 

27,000 acre-feet per year of runoff from Calaveras Creek. Most of 

the water received by the lake is provided by river diversions and is 

supplied from the SAWS sewage treatment plant discharges. 

Both Braunig Lake and Calaveras Lake have provided valuable 

outdoor recreational opportunities for residents and visitors interested in 

a day of fishing, an afternoon picnic, or setting up camp for the night.

Water Discharge

Under permit, CPS Energy discharges cooling and process water 

into Braunig Lake, Calaveras Lake, and into various tributaries of the 

San Antonio River. Each of these water bodies and the discharges 

of water from CPS Energy operations are described in more detail 

below. There are no known endangered species or protected habitats 

in or surrounding these water bodies. CPS Energy does not have 

discharges of heated water to the San Antonio River; all thermal 

discharges go to the lakes, which were designed and built as cooling 

ponds. Water is not discharged from the lakes, except during storms.

Tributaries of the San Antonio River

Tuttle Power Station discharges water to an unnamed tributary of 

Salado Creek, which flows to the San Antonio River. In addition, the 

Leon Creek Power Station discharges water to a city drainage ditch, 

which flows to Leon Creek, and then to the San Antonio River. Water 

quality in the San Antonio River basin is impaired because of high 

bacteria levels. However, CPS Energy’s discharge does not contribute 

to the bacteria level in the river. 

Monitoring Water Quality

Several years ago, CPS Energy thoroughly studied the impact of 

mercury in Braunig and Calaveras lakes. The highest mercury level 

— 2 parts per billion, or 0.002 parts per million — was found in the 

San Antonio River and was attributed to San Antonio sewage effluent 

released from water treatment plants upstream. This level is more 

than 1,300 times cleaner than the EPA’s safe-drinking-water level for 

mercury. The study was updated and expanded in 2009; preliminary 

results indicate no significant increase in heavy metals in fish tissue 

samples and water samples. We continue to monitor the water 

quality and aquatic environment of Braunig and Calaveras lakes and 

participate in projects that protect and enhance the fisheries.

Over the last several years, CPS Energy has stocked Braunig Lake 

with bass in the numbers below.

•	 2004: 7,000 

•	 2006: 12,000

•	 2007: 12,000

•	 2008: 11,000

Water Use, Recycling, and Conservation

CPS Energy uses water from three main sources: the 

Edwards Aquifer, the San Antonio River (primarily 

consisting of treated sewage effluent), and potable 

water from SAWS and from the East Central Water 

Supply Corporation. The table below summarizes water 

usage from each source, as well as the percentage of 

usage from each source.

Edwards Aquifer

All water used at Mission Road Power Station, Leon 

Creek Power Station, and Tuttle Power Station is 

provided by wells into the Edwards Aquifer. CPS 

Energy holds permits for a total of 3,067 acre-feet (AF) of annual water 

withdrawals from the Edwards Aquifer. 

San Antonio River

All of the surface water used to maintain Calaveras Lake and Braunig 

Lake cooling pond levels is diverted from the San Antonio River. CPS 

Energy is allowed to withdraw a total of 72,000 AF of water from 

the surface water of the state, and is allowed to consumptively use 

37,000 AF at Calaveras Lake and 12,000 AF at Braunig Lake. 

Consumptive use is defined as water consumed by the industrial 

process such as forced evaporation, irrigation, dust suppression, 

and emission control. 

CPS Energy has a contract with SAWS to supply up to 50,000 AF 

of reuse water from its sewage treatment plants via a bed and banks 

permit on the San Antonio River. This reuse water supplements water of 

the state and is the primary supply of water used in the lakes for cooling 

water. As shown in the table above, water usage from the San Antonio 

River varies widely from year to year. Lower diversions occur in years, 

when rainfall is plentiful, and higher diversions occur in drought years 

when reduced rainfall fails to naturally replenish the lakes. The highest 

volume of water ever diverted from the San Antonio River to date was 

41,563 acre-feet (or 51,268,440 cubic meters) in 2006.
72

Potable Water

CPS Energy purchases about 700 acre-feet of potable water annually 

for use at the Calaveras and Braunig plants as process water. This 

water is purchased from SAWS and the East Central Water Supply 

Corp. The water purchased from SAWS comes primarily from the 

Edwards Aquifer, but a portion of the water can be supplied from the 

Carrizo Wilcox Aquifer. The water purchased from East Central can 

come from several sources, but primarily will be from the Guadalupe 

River or the Carrizo Wilcox Aquifer. 

Water Conservation

CPS Energy relies mainly on surface water (primarily consisting of 

treated sewage effluent) instead of groundwater. In 2009, surface 

water provided 96% of the water that we used. The production of 

electricity is one of the top industrial consumptive uses of fresh water in 

the United States. San Antonio is the largest metropolitan area in the 

world that depends almost exclusively on groundwater for fresh water 

supply. The Edwards Aquifer is unique in its ability to supply all the 

freshwater needs of almost 2 million people in the San Antonio region. 

Because we recognized the importance of preserving this freshwater 

resource, we began planning to reduce consumption of Edwards 

Aquifer water for power plant cooling shortly after a drought in the 

1950s. Both Braunig and Calaveras lakes were built to use treated 

sewage effluent and runoff waters rather than water from the Edwards 

Aquifer to maintain operating levels at these man-made cooling lakes. 

Through 2009, CPS Energy has conserved more than 282 billion 

gallons of Edwards Aquifer water. For these water conservation 

efforts, the Association of Environmental Professionals selected CPS 

Energy as one of eight 2001 

recipients of the National 

Environmental Excellence Award. 

As part of our ongoing 

sustainability efforts, on March 

30, 2009, the board approved 

a resolution supporting a 

mutually beneficial cooperative 

relationship between CPS 

Energy and SAWS that 

promotes conservation of both 

energy and water.

Recycled and Reused 

Potable Water

The amount of recycled or 

reused water consumed annually 

depends on the weather and 

other factors and would be 

difficult to calculate. However, 

we are permitted to recirculate 

3.6 billion gallons per day at 

Calaveras and 1.35 billion 

gallons per day at Braunig. 

The potable water used in process water is recycled through the system 

constantly. Very little water is lost after it is introduced into the boiler, and 

most water not used in the boiler is used in the water treatment process. 

Strategic Water Planning 

CPS Energy has a Strategic Water Planning Group that is taking a 

holistic view of CPS Energy water demand and developing a plan 

for meeting future water needs in the 50-year planning horizon. The 

rapidly growing regional population is stressing all water sources 

and forcing competition for increasingly scarce water resources. This 

water planning effort is employing a multidisciplinary approach and 

is providing a greater depth of understanding of all water demands 

as well as the importance of water efficiency/conservation in both 

current operations and the planning of future projects. 

CPS Energy manages significant permitted water resources for the 

citizens of San Antonio. It is incumbent on CPS Energy to work within 

the regional and state water planning effort to assure management of 

these water resources consistent with the State Water Plan while assuring 

continued reliable power generation that will meet consumer demand. 

Natural Habitats/Habitat Restoration 

CPS Energy recognizes that our activities impact the habitat for local 

flora and fauna. When possible, we work to minimize these impacts 

and to restore impacted areas when appropriate.

Habitat Protection on Transmission Lines

One area of active habitat monitoring and protection is the 30-milelong Cagnon to Kendall transmission line. Before the transmission 

c a rbon constr a ints a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t

CPS Energy Water Usage, CY 2000 -2009

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Reuse Water Potable Water Edwards Aquifier

Year

Total Water Usage (thousand acre-feet)
73

line route was selected, an environmental assessment (based on 30+ 

environmental criteria) was conducted on the preliminary routes. 

Areas with potential endangered species habitats were identified on 

the final transmission line route. 

The total amount of clearing for the Cagnon-Kendall transmission line 

project was approximately 10.59 acres of potential golden-cheeked 

warbler habitat. Based on the results of three absence/presence 

bird surveys voluntarily authorized by CPS Energy and conducted 

by a CPS Energy contractor, there have been no adverse effects to 

the golden-cheeked warblers from the construction activities. The 

warblers appear to be readily and successfully using areas adjacent 

to the line and do not appear to be disturbed by its presence. The 

presence/absence surveys started on the first full season following the 

energizing of the line (2007) and will continue for four seasons. 

CPS Energy implements several measures designed to avoid and/or 

minimize impacts to the golden-cheeked warbler, black-capped vireo 

(vireo), and karst invertebrates:

•	 Reducing the amount of vegetation clearing needed by using 

the Texas Department of Transportation right-of-way, roads, and 

access pole locations

•	 To the greatest extent possible, locating poles 

to minimize the amount of clearing required 

for equipment access 

•	 Completing all vegetation clearing outside 

of the vireo and golden-cheeked warbler 

breeding seasons, in areas within 300 feet 

of each species’ habitat 

•	 Conducting ground- disturbing activities as far 

as possible from karst features 

•	 Educating CPS Energy employees and 

contracted employees on how to recognize 

threatened and endangered species 

•	 Using best management practices to minimize 

and avoid erosion and sedimentation into 

receiving surface water features 

•	 Using off-site equipment maintenance, 

and storage and disposal of all petroleum 

products

•	 Avoiding use of herbicide in endangered 

species habitat and within the Edwards 

Aquifer recharge zone, and only allowing 

limited usage on the remainder of the line

Radio Transmission Tower

Another habitat restoration project conducted by CPS Energy involved 

a radio transmission tower on Heuermann Road. The operating permit 

allowing construction of the tower included language from the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service to modify the habitat to reintroduce the vireo, 

an endangered bird species. We created a cooperative research 

program with the City of San Antonio and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service to promote nesting by the vireo. The goal was to convert 

vegetation that was not suitable for vireo nesting into prime habitat for 

the migratory species. This was a first-of-its-kind project to increase the 

number of vireos and has been a successful program. The restoration 

areas are progressing toward a shrub-dominated community preferred 

by the vireo, and the species has been present in all the restoration 

areas during nesting season. Since 2001, vegetation management in 

the area is the responsibility of Friends of Friedrich Park.

Planting Trees

Between 1985 and 2001, the San Antonio metropolitan area lost 

22% of its heavy tree-canopy cover, according to an urban ecosystem 

analysis conducted by American Forests. CPS Energy is committed 

to improving the tree canopy in Greater San Antonio and providing 

customers with an additional source of future energy savings by donating 

trees. Trees planted in the right places around homes can provide the 

proper shade to reduce energy usage while removing air pollutants.

CPS Energy is partnering with the City of San Antonio’s Office of 

Environmental Policy to launch a new tree-planting rebate program to 

provide customers with rebates for purchasing and properly placing 

trees for energy savings. In addition, CPS Energy plans to educate 

and distribute trees to more than 3,500 customers in 2010 and 

2011 at several events.

Since 2001, CPS Energy has given away more than 33,000 trees. In 

2009 alone, 4,707 trees were distributed through our tree donation 

programs. These programs include partnerships with Habitat for 

Humanity, where trees are planted for every new house built; the 

Real Estate Council’s Green Team Challenge, bringing trees to area 

schools; the City of San Antonio’s Neighborhood Sweeps program, 

restoring old neighborhoods with cleanups and fresh landscaping; and 

public events like Earth Day at Woodlawn Park; and LiveGreen Fest.
74
75

Financial integrity always has been and continues to be at the 

forefront of CPS Energy’s focus. Our disciplined use of revenues results 

in a consistent application of income to cover company commitments 

in the following manner:

CPS Energy also focuses on actively managing its debt and liquidity 

levels. While this is challenging because of CPS Energy’s large 

capital program that will drive borrowing levels up through 2016, we 

are working to control and lower debt levels below 60% by the year 

2020 or sooner.

One of our primary goals is to ensure that we have adequate funds 

to cover our capital program, building and sustaining infrastructure. 

This infrastructure is critical to driving long-term value to customers, 

which are also the owners of this municipal utility. These major assets 

are required to maintain assets for current customers and must be in 

place before customer growth can be properly accommodated. Since 

it is too expensive to pay cash for these items upfront, we proceed 

as a typical homeowner would, by carefully using a blend of debt 

and cash to acquire assets. But, instead of one major asset such as a 

home, CPS Energy must acquire a variety of major assets. 

We also protect our liquidity, in part, by maintaining access to 

cash in the form of healthy balances in our General as well as our 

Repair and Replacement accounts. We also maintain access to 

special instruments such as an affordable Note Payable Program that 

functions as a line of credit.

Success in maintaining financial integrity manifests in several ways: 

1. By keeping our residential electric rates below the rates in the 

competitive areas of Houston, Dallas, and Corpus Christi 

2. By allowing us to focus on our varied stakeholder groups

3. By maintaining one of the best credit ratings among municipally 

owned utilities

By understanding what is behind each of these metrics, it becomes clear 

why they are so linked to our financial integrity and sustainability efforts.

Stakeholder Focus

All decisions are made with considerations of the company’s financial 

integrity and the resulting benefits that accrue to our stakeholders, 

which include our customers, owner, the San Antonio metropolitan 

and surrounding county community, and all employees. For our 

owner, financial integrity allows CPS Energy to contribute up to 14% 

of its revenues, with some exclusions, to the general fund of the City 

of San Antonio. This contribution makes up nearly 30% of the city’s 

annual budget and is used to provide police, fire, and other essential 

services to the community. 

In addition, CPS Energy and its employees contribute to the 

community through numerous volunteer programs that provide 

a helping hand directly to many in need. For our employees, 

financial integrity translates into a “Great Place to Work” with 

steady employment and opportunities for a meaningful career and 

advancement. And to our customers, financial integrity translates into 

competitively priced electric and gas services when compared to the 

largest cities in Texas and the United States.

Credit Ratings

CPS Energy has one of the highest credit ratings among municipally 

owned utilities in the nation, with ratings of AA+/AA/Aa1 from Fitch, 

Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s, respectively. These ratings are a 

reflection of a number of important elements closely monitored by the 

ratings agencies as follows:

•	 Financial strength

•	 Excellent management team

•	 Regulatory support

•	 Strong, growing economy

•	 Fuel diversity and fuel cost recovery

In today’s market, investors are looking to invest in companies with 

strong credit ratings, and thus our ratings provide CPS Energy with 

greater access to capital. In addition, our position as a municipally 

owned utility allows us to use both tax-exempt and taxable debt 

instruments to raise necessary capital. All of this translates into lower 

debt service costs and lower electric and gas rates for our customers. 

Financial Strength

Electricity sales account for nearly 90% of CPS Energy’s operating 

revenues, totaling $1.9 billion in fiscal year 2010. Of these electric 

sales, 85% to 90% serve CPS Energy’s retail electric load in its 

certificated service territory, with the remaining electric sales made 

into the wholesale energy market. In our service territory, we serve 

nearly 720,000 electric customers, primarily residential customers but 

also commercial, industrial, and other customers. While residential 

customers make up the majority of our customers, they represent 

slightly less than half of the retail electric load, with commercial and 

industrial customers primarily making up the remainder.

fin a nci a l i n t e g r i t y

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Operating & Maintenance (O&M) 

costs, including fuel

Debt Service, including principal & 

interest, in order of lien level seniority. 

This is the primary support of the 

capital plan.

Repair and Replacement cash 

contributions, which also support the 

capital plan

Payments to the city that represent 

ownership return

The remainder of company 

revenues becomes added Repair and 

Replacement contributions. 

Use of Company 

Revenues Description
76

CPS Energy also sells into the wholesale power market to provide 

additional net revenues for the benefit of our customers. These sales are 

typically made during off-peak periods to optimize generation capacity 

not being used to serve retail load. By capturing additional net revenue 

opportunities when they exist, CPS Energy is able to use this revenue, 

net of incremental costs, as an additional source of funding for its total 

capital needs, again, all of which benefits our customers.

Natural gas sales make up the remaining 10% of our operating 

revenues and are made to approximately 320,000 retail customers. 

Again, the vast majority of these customers are residential, but slightly 

less than half of the load is attributable to them, with commercial and 

industrial customers comprising the remainder of our customers.

As mentioned previously, in the midst of a significant capital program 

to add new generation, update existing infrastructure, and make 

environmental commitments, CPS Energy is keenly focused on its 

debt levels and debt coverage ratios. Initiatives to manage operating 

costs through continuous quality improvement will play a significant 

role in sustaining the strong debt coverage ratios and moderate debt 

levels that have contributed to credit ratings that CPS Energy strives 

to maintain. Rate support will augment the revenue needed to also 

maintain our strong credit ratings. The key will be to find the right 

balance between financial strength and affordability for our customers.

Also, CPS Energy returns up to 14% of its revenues to the city to help 

pay for essential community services. These dollars are an important 

component of the city’s financial integrity that contributes to its strong 

credit ratings. 

Excellent Management Team

An essential element to the success of any organization is its 

employees. From the people in the field — responsible for keeping 

service safe and reliable for our customers — to our Board of 

Trustees responsible for the strategic direction of the company, CPS 

Energy believes it has a committed and talented team to serve our 

customers. The company’s management team is committed to ensuring 

that all stakeholder needs are addressed. Clear and meaningful 

communications with the entire community continue to be areas of 

focus for the management team. The team successfully navigated the 

company through tumultuous times in late 2009 and early 2010. 

While CPS Energy came out of that period financially stable and 

well positioned, management acknowledges that there will be future 

challenges as we look to transform from a traditional utility to a leader 

in sustainability.

In addition to the large capital program, the management team 

continues to explore other opportunities to bring value to our 

stakeholders. Examples include products such as BillPower, which 

allows residential customers to pay bills online, and Home Energy 

Suite, which offers customers tools to manage their energy costs. 

In our Supply Chain division, efforts to lower inventory levels 

and procurement lead times. This division effectively uses lean 

management principles and reverse logistics to lower costs, improve 

safety, and have a positive impact on our environment by reusing and 

recycling. CPS Energy remains committed to supplier diversity to assist 

all small businesses in being part of the American enterprise system. 

Every dollar we save goes toward offsetting our costs and helps us 

move closer to a sustainable future.

Fiscal Year 2010 Fiscal Year 2009

% of Total 

Revenue

% of Total 

Revenue Sales Revenue 

(in Thousands) Sales Revenue (in Thousands)

Electric (MWh):

Residential

Commercial/Industrial

Other

Subtotal Retail

Wholesale

Total Electric

GAS (MMCF):

Residential

Commercial/Industrial

Other

Total Gas

9,104,633

8,392,016

2,886,271

20,382,920

2,619,031

23,001,951

10,498

10,179

2,100

22,777

$790,297

$629,722

$191,557

$1,611,576

$105,501

$1,717,077

$117,179

$80,310

$16,309

$213,798

46.03%

36.67%

11.16%

93.86%

6.14%

100.00%

54.81%

37.56%

7.63%

100.00%

8,608,619

8,479,361

2,914,904

20,002,884

3,115,931

23,118,815

9,416

9,732

2,084

21,232

$780,253

$647,299

$240,876

$1,668,428

$231,029

$1,899,457

$128,137

$105,357

$18,390

$251,884

41.08%

34.08%

12.68%

87.84%

12.16%

100.00%

50.87%

41.83%

7.30%

100.00%

fin a nci a l i n t e g r i t y
77

Regulatory Support

In order to move forward with our sustainability initiatives, CPS 

Energy will need the support of its owner/regulator and the entire 

community. Some of that support will come in the form of rate support. 

From the 3.5% electric and gas base rate approved in 2008, to the 

approval of the Save for Tomorrow Energy Plan in 2009, and then 

the most recent approval of a 7.5% base electric and 8.5% base 

gas rate increase in 2010, CPS Energy cannot proceed toward 

sustainability without the complete support of its regulator. In addition, 

new building codes will need to be enacted to ensure the entire 

community financially shares the vision of sustainability. Enforcement 

of these codes and changes to old codes will be critical to effective 

implementation of energy efficiency and conservation standards. In 

order to be successful, the entire community must embrace the goals 

of Mission Verde and sustainability.

Strong, Growing Economy

Texas and more specifically San Antonio continue to be areas of 

steady growth. New home construction peaked in 2007, and since 

that time, the local housing market has softened with the national 

economy. Even so, San Antonio continues to grow as economic 

development activity has drawn new companies to our area. Large 

data centers have been attracted to San Antonio because of reliable, 

affordable power. In addition, the expansion of a Toyota production 

plant and the planned opening of a Texas A&M campus are 

expected to stimulate growth in and around San Antonio. Supporting 

industries are expected to follow, further driving the demand for a 

skilled workforce. This growth, even with the emphasis on energy 

efficiency and conservation, is projected to increase demand for 

electricity over the next few years. 

Fuel Diversity and Fuel Cost Recovery

Since the late 1970s, a cornerstone of CPS Energy’s ability to deliver 

low-priced, affordable electricity to San Antonio has been its fuel 

diversification strategy, including nuclear, coal, gas, oil, and, most 

recently, renewable energy. CPS Energy has been recognized by 

the ratings agencies for its fuel diversification program. Using nuclear 

and coal internally operated infrastructure to predominantly meet 

base load demand, and natural gas primarily for peak demand, CPS 

Energy has been able to moderate and reduce the volatility in its fuel 

costs and resulting bills for customers. In addition, CPS Energy uses 

innovative approaches such as its energy price risk programs and a 

20-year prepaid natural gas arrangement with San Antonio Energy 

Acquisition Public Facility Corporation as an additional measure to 

lower costs.

More recently, CPS Energy has become recognized as a leader in 

its commitment to renewable energy, becoming the largest municipal 

purchaser of wind energy in the United States. In addition to wind, 

CPS Energy recently completed two agreements for purchases of 

solar energy from two large-scale commercial solar facilities, both in 

the San Antonio area. Our Solartricity program is expected to add to 

our renewable footprint, as we purchase solar energy from mid-size 

rooftop installations. And, we continue to provide rebates to customers 

who wish to install solar panels on their home rooftops.

The other important element in our commitment to sustainability has 

been the growing focus on energy-efficiency and conservation in 

our Save for Tomorrow Energy Plan program. By expanding rebates 

for the purchase and installation of energy-efficient lighting, air 

conditioning, and appliances, and by increasing our weatherization 

efforts for many of San Antonio’s neediest homes, our conservation 

program is expected to save 771 MW at a cost of $849 million 

over the next 10 years and ultimately delay the need for our next 

generation plant to sometime near 2023.
78

In addition to our fuel diversification strategy, another strength for 

CPS Energy is fuel-cost recovery. This regulatory mechanism also 

reinforces financial discipline as it ensures fuel costs are recovered 

on a monthly basis, therefore matching current energy benefits with 

the propriety of paying for power consumption promptly. This type of 

discipline in turn ensures CPS Energy does not need to borrow funds 

on a long-term basis to pay for short-term operational requirements. 

Not adding fuel costs to financing needs then keeps debt levels from 

rising unnecessarily.

This recovery mechanism is also important to the company’s 

renewable strategy. Due to CPS Energy’s tax-exempt status, its 

customers are currently better served by purchasing renewable power 

— from entities that can take advantage of tax credits — than by 

owning these assets. These renewable purchases are then included in 

the fuel-cost recovery calculations and paid for as consumed. 

Competitive Rates

The second measure of our success in financial integrity is our longterm focus toward maintaining retail electric rates that are below those 

in the competitive areas of Houston, Dallas, and Corpus Christi. Over 

the last decade, CPS Energy’s bills have consistently been below 

those of other major cities in the United States. At the same time, CPS 

Energy has been able to maintain one of the highest credit ratings 

of municipally owned utilities. The challenge will be to maintain the 

proper balance of these two success measures while embarking on a 

sustainable future for the utility and community.

From investing and developing new generation sources, including 

an increasing commitment to renewable energy, to promoting energy 

efficiency and conservation through its STEP program, to addressing 

the continually evolving regulation of an uncertain environmental 

future including carbon, SO2, NOX

, mercury, and fly ash, CPS 

Energy will see increasing pressure on its electric rates. Some of this 

pressure can be mitigated by developing a rate structure designed to 

send the necessary price signals. These valuable signals will seek to 

redistribute and lower demand. 

CPS Energy is committed to a sustainable future, while keeping its 

rates low and its credit ratings high. As shown above, CPS Energy 

boasted the lowest electric rates of the 10 largest cities in the United 

States in 2009 and is among the lowest in the state of Texas.

Supply Chain Management

CPS Energy’s Supply Chain department is focused on procuring 

materials and products at the lowest cost, shortest lead time, and 

highest quality for the maintenance and growth of our electric and 

gas customers. To reduce the overall cost of inventory for CPS 

Energy, we have begun using lean management, which focuses 

on eliminating waste through continuous improvements from team 

members. The results of this effort are:

•	 A 10-year low inventory level

•	 70% reduction in stock replenishment lead time

•	 85% reduction in non-stock lead time

•	 Warehouse organization, modernization, and safety through 

deployment of the 5S workplace management system (sort, set 

in order, shine, standardize, sustain)

•	 Employee training and development

•	 Creation of Reverse Logistics Department

fin a nci a l i n t e g r i t y

UT IL ITY RATES IN THE TEN Largest U.S . cities, FY 2010 

0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350 375 400

Natural Gas Texas Cities

Electric — Lowest REP Offer

Electric

Electric — Highest REP Offer

Rate in dollars

Cities

NEW YORK

SAN JOSE

san diego

philadelphia

chicago

houston

phoenix

dallas

los angeles

san antonio

REP - Residential Energy Provider

Monthly average for 12 months ended January 2010 based on 1,000 kWh and 5 thousand cubic feet (MCF).
79

With the reduction in lead time and inventory levels and the creation 

of our Reverse Logistics department, CPS Energy has had a positive 

impact on our environment by reducing over-acquisition of materials 

and developing reuse and recycling strategies for all products.

Supply Chain’s philosophy is to involve all levels of the 

organization, suppliers, and our community in the development, 

decision, and application of improvements in safety, process, 

operations, and environmental impact through an innovative 

approach of lean management. 

Supplier Diversity

CPS Energy’s policy is to ensure that small, minority, small 

disadvantaged, veteran owned and service-disabled veteran owned, 

woman owned, and HUB Zone businesses have the maximum 

practicable opportunity to participate as 

contractors and suppliers. It is our policy 

to help these businesses overcome 

barriers that may have kept them from 

the mainstream of American business. 

Through outreach and advocacy, we 

encourage these businesses to compete 

for contracting and subcontracting 

opportunities with CPS Energy. 

Local Economic Impact

The economic impacts of CPS Energy’s activities on Greater San 

Antonio are concentrated in two areas: the cost of energy to 

consumers in the region and the wages paid by CPS Energy. CPS 

Energy’s strategy of balanced generation has resulted in electric 

rates that are consistently among the lowest in the state, although 

this comparison depends on the 

variance in natural gas prices. 

The current historically low prices 

for natural gas have reduced 

electricity prices in competitive 

areas because of the relatively 

greater impact of natural gas on 

ERCOT market prices. When 

natural gas prices rise in the near 

future, CPS Energy’s electricity 

rates should rise at a slower pace 

than most other Texas cities’ rates.

CPS Energy has 3,716 

(FY2009) employees and pays 

$225 million in wages that 

flow into the local economy. 

The generation, transmission, 

and distribution infrastructure 

on the electric side, and the 

gas distribution system portion, 

require constant maintenance 

and upgrades. Providing service 

to customers requires handling complaints, settling accounts, and 

managing relationships with ERCOT, the PUCT, and other agencies 

that have an effect on CPS Energy operations. 

With such a wide variety of relatively complex projects all in 

operation at the same time, a substantial management force is 

needed to keep the project budget and focus aligned with CPS 

Energy corporate goals. While our employee payroll is a sizeable 

expenditure, it represents less than 11% of CPS Energy’s total costs. 

Generally, CPS Energy’s expenditures have a limited impact on the 

region relative to the company’s overall costs because the majority of 

expenditures are for fuel, specialized equipment that is manufactured 

elsewhere (turbine blades, etc.), and interest on loans used to finance 

capital investments. Most of these expenditures cannot be made in the 

San Antonio area.

While most of the revenue from San Antonio consumers flows out of 

the region, investments in energy efficiency provide a direct benefit. 

Shifting spending from electricity and natural gas to local labor and 

materials used to refurbish and upgrade buildings and equipment is 

a win-win for the community. Recycling revenues back into the San 

Antonio community is a key component of CPS Energy’s strategic vision. 

Cost competitiveness is another pillar that we directly support. 

Every dollar we save through better sourcing, acquisition, and use of 

materials and services goes toward offsetting our costs and helps us 

fund future energy generation needs. All of the work Supply Chain is 

doing to eliminate waste frees up resources to help the company meet 

the future needs of our community in a responsible manner.

Peak performance home construction by Woodside Homes
80
81

Introduction 

While CPS Energy has an annual operating budget of well over a 

billion dollars, our employees are our most valuable resources. More 

than 3,600 dedicated professionals take great pride in making sure 

CPS Energy customers have affordable and reliable natural gas and 

electric service for their homes and businesses.

CPS Energy employees work diligently behind the scenes to keep 

energy service reliable and affordable. This section of the report 

describes our internal operations and the impacts we create through 

our day-to-day activities. 

In addition to engineers and equipment operators, CPS Energy 

employs financial analysts, energy specialists, IT technicians, 

transmission line workers, account managers, customer service 

representatives, and more. Our employees can be found downtown 

at our administrative offices, at one of our customer service centers, or 

at any of our power plants and service centers. 

We are proud to describe our employee safety programs, employee 

benefits, commitment to attracting and retaining a talented workforce, 

ongoing training, and process for providing feedback to employees 

through performance reviews. 

Health and Safety Programs and Performance 

At CPS Energy, keeping our employees safe, and teaching them to 

keep our customers safe, is absolutely imperative. Our vision is to 

create an organizational safety culture that enables and maintains an 

accident-free environment.

The Safety Policy states it is the duty of supervisors and others in 

charge of CPS Energy operations to see that employees under their 

direction are kept informed of general and specific rules at all times, 

regulations, and methods for the safe conduct of any work to which 

they may be assigned and to see that safety rules, practices, and 

recommendations are carried out by employees. It is the duty of 

individual employees to familiarize themselves with all safety rules, 

regulations, and practices applicable to their work and to follow them 

under all circumstances. 

Because we care about people, we emphasize safety in everything 

we do. In action it means:

•	 Safety is a top priority. 

•	 We are all responsible for safety.

•	 We train and equip our employees to work safely.

•	 We contribute to a safe environment through responsible 

construction, operation, and maintenance practices.

In Action: Corporate Safety Committee

The overall objective of the Corporate Safety Committee is to provide 

high-level guidance for the CPS Energy Safety Program, support 

business unit safety initiatives, advise on policies and practices 

pertinent to safety, and update general management on the safety 

program progress. The Corporate Safety Committee assists the 

organization in fulfilling its responsibilities for safe work policies 

and practices through collaborative discussions and by providing 

solutions to safety and health issues. This may take many forms, such 

as collecting and disseminating information on workplace hazards, 

evaluating work environments, assessing risks, and proposing safetyrelated process and policy changes. Through our discussions and 

guidance, the committee promotes a grassroots ownership of safety 

as an organizational value by each employee at CPS Energy. 

emplo y ee r e l at i o n s h i p s

Carpooling

Nancy Waciawczyk (Employee Benefits), Trisha Wiatrek (Contract Services-Supply Chain), and Pam Maris (Corporate Communications 

and Community Relations) have been carpooling for more than 20 years. They save money, help keep the air cleaner, and enjoy each 

other’s company as they travel up to 100 miles each day. The women save wear and tear on their own cars because they alternate 

drivers every day, reduce their own stress, and catch up on some rest when they are passengers. It’s a win-win for CPS Energy 

employees and the environment.
82

In Action: Safety Advisory Form and Exchange (SAFE)

In a continuing effort to strengthen the Safety Program in our 

Corporate Safety areas, CPS Energy is creating a new Safety 

Advisory Forum & Exchange (SAFE). The Safety Advisory Forum 

& Exchange will be responsible for reviewing all employee workrelated injuries, accidents, and safety infractions. The SAFE team 

also will review all employee work-related motor vehicle accidents 

and determine whether they were preventable or non-preventable. 

In addition, this group will monitor results of field safety audits, track 

trends of accidents/injuries/incidents and near-misses to ensure that 

safe working conditions exist, and make recommendations for further 

improvements to the overall safety program.

SAFE MEMBERSHIP: 

ESVP-CAO (approval pending) - Safety Advisory Forum 

 & Exchange sponsor

Director - Enterprise Asset Management - EAM

Corporate Safety Specialist - SME - Chair

Representative - Audit/Ethics 

Representative - Enterprise Asset Management

Representative - Organizational Excellence

Representative - Enterprise Asset Management

Representative - Information Communications Services

Representative - Supply Chain

Representative - Employee Services

Representative - Financial Services

Representative - HR/Business Consultants

Representative - Retail Energy

Representative - Corporate Communications

Representative - Occupational Health & Wellness

A Career with CPS Energy

Putting Vision into Action: Working at CPS Energy

CPS Energy wants to become the best publicly owned energy 

company in the United States, and attracting and retaining top talent 

is critical to achieving that goal. Going further, we also support 

programs to help shape the Greater San Antonio area workforce 

so the next generation can meet the creative career challenges of 

providing more sustainable energy sources.

Benefit Plans

CPS Energy offers competitive salaries along with other valuable 

benefits to ensure the personal and financial health of our employees 

and their families. CPS Energy provides employee benefits as well as 

pension and other post-employment benefits for its staff. The complete 

CPS Energy plan consists of four plans: the Pension Plan, the Group 

Health Plan, the Group Life Insurance Plan, and the Disability Income 

Plan. All plans are reported on a calendar year basis. 

Pension Plan: CPS Energy is proud to offer a pension plan that 

can provide our employees with regular income after their retirement. 

All full-time CPS Energy employees who are at least 21 years old 

begin participating in the plan after one full year of employment. 

Participation is mandatory with a 5% employee contribution.

The benefits provided by the Pension Plan are paid from a Pension 

Trust Fund established by CPS Energy that is kept separate from and 

in addition to the benefits employees are entitled to receive under any 

other CPS Energy program and under the federal Social Security Act. 

The Pension Plan and the Pension Trust Fund were established by the 

Board in accordance with applicable law and are maintained for the 

exclusive benefit of the eligible employees and their beneficiaries. 

emplo y ee r e l at i o n s h i p s
83

Group Health Plan, Group Life Insurance Plan, 

Disability Income Plan: The other three components of the 

CPS Energy employee benefit plan are single-employer contributory 

plans funded by employee contributions and annual contributions 

from CPS Energy, as determined by the Board in accordance with 

applicable law. The Group Health Plan and the Group Life Insurance 

Plan provide benefits for employees, their spouses, and covered 

dependents. Additionally, most CPS Energy employees are also 

eligible for these benefits upon retirement. 

CPS Energy established each plan as a “risk pool” as that term is 

defined in the Texas Political Subdivision Employees Uniform Group 

Benefits Act (“Act”), Chapter 172 Texas Local Government Code. 

These plans are each operated at all times and in all respects as a 

risk pool under the act. CPS Energy’s Disability Income Plan, also 

established as a risk pool, provides income to eligible employees of 

CPS Energy who become disabled.

Training 

CPS Energy provides employees with the training they need to 

perform their jobs safely, to stay on the cutting edge of technology, 

and to advance in their careers. 

CPS Energy provides a tuition reimbursement plan for employees 

wanting to further their education. Additionally, we schedule training 

classes ranging from a leadership skills training for managers to a 

mini-MBA program. We also offer a National Joint Apprenticeship 

and Training Committee program.

To better accommodate training courses, CPS Energy built three 

one-story training facilities on land adjacent to the W.B.Tuttle Power 

Plant. Completed in September 2009, these new facilities encompass 

a 10,000-square-foot training shop, 6,700-square-foot classroom 

building, and a 6,700-square-foot office building. 

Because of their job responsibilities, some CPS Energy personnel 

receive OSHA Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency 

Response Standard (HAZWOPER) training or Department of 

Transportation (DOT) 126-F Hazardous Materials training.

Number of employees covered by structured safety program: 

•	 Gas: 200

•	 Electric delivery services: 1,300

•	 Energy development/fossil generation: 719

•	 Corporate: About 1,300

Ethics Program

CPS Energy is committed to conducting business 

in an ethical manner. Maintaining trustworthy 

relationships with our customers, our community, 

and each other ensures that we provide longlasting superior service. Therefore, every 

employee is expected to make a personal 

commitment to the highest ethical standards. 

Promoting personal accountability ensures that 

we are all concerned about the future integrity of 

number of employees with hazardous material training

2006

2007

2008

2009

182

206

211

275

46

-

15

-

20

23

25

34

Year 40-Hour HAZWOPER 

Training

8-Hour HAZWOPER 

Refresher

DOT 126 Hazardous 

Materials

Linemen training at the Southwest Service District
84

the company. The Ethics Program supports employees in maintaining 

high ethical standards by providing training on ethics-related issues, 

offering advice for ethical dilemmas, and investigating allegations 

of wrongdoing. 

The mission of the Ethics Program is to foster a culture of integrity 

grounded in honesty, trust, loyalty, open communication, good 

judgment, and personal accountability. 

Although employees are encouraged to discuss their concerns with their 

supervisor, the Ethics Program provides additional resources to ensure 

that allegations are addressed in a timely and appropriate manner. 

Employees may bring their concerns directly to the Ethics Department 

or call the CPS Energy Hotline at 1-888-255-8144, which allows for 

anonymous reporting by both employees and the public. 

Performance Reviews

Just as CPS Energy values open communication with our external 

stakeholders, we also make internal feedback a high priority. One 

key tool is performance reviews.

CPS Energy’s Performance Management System establishes a process 

that develops and emphasizes facilitative leadership and engages 

all employees in actively working toward key shared organizational 

and business unit strategies and objectives. The process is designed 

to provide for continual monitoring and a high level of coaching and 

feedback to reach performance expectations, to provide meaningful 

developmental opportunities, to emphasize how results are achieved, 

and to reward and recognize contributions toward business goals. 

In addition, CPS Energy is actively engaged in comprehensive 

Workforce Development and Succession Planning processes to 

promote wider development opportunity for all employees to learn and 

grow. These processes are based on the foundational ideas that all 

employees are expected to develop to their maximum capabilities and 

that succession planning must focus on ensuring that key positions in the 

organization are always staffed by employees who have the capacity 

to keep the company operating at its highest level of productivity.

The Big Audacious Goal

As part of our Vision 2020 goals, we’ve set out to be No. 1 in 

customer satisfaction and a great place to work. This is known as the 

Big Audacious Goal. 

Customer Satisfaction

•	 By 2010 we will be No. 1 in a nationally recognized customer 

satisfaction survey such as the J.D. Power Residential Electric 

Customer Satisfaction Survey and remain in the top five overall 

ranking through 2020 and thereafter.

•	 As a means of ensuring high customer satisfaction ratings in the 

national survey, we will achieve continuous improvement in the 

overall ServQualTM score.

Great Place to Work (Living Our Core Values)

The Great Place to Work Survey is a corporate-wide initiative to 

improve the way CPS Energy employees live our core values. The 

intent of the survey is to identify areas in which CPS Energy can 

improve the culture by adhering to our core values.

History: In 2004 a group of CPS employees called the Jupiter Team 

was charged with coordinating and composing a list of CPS Core 

Values following participation and feedback by 100% of the workforce 

at CPS Energy. The CPS Energy Core Values were defined as:

•	 Customer commitment

•	 Performance

•	 Respect

•	 Safety

•	 Teamwork

•	 Trust

The survey was administered to the entire workforce from 2005 

through 2008. Initially, in year 2, the overall scores improved; 

however, in years three and four, 2007 and 2008, respectively, 

the scores declined.

Interestingly, a new question was added to the 2008 questionnaire: 

“Would you recommend CPS Energy as a great place to work?” 

The question asked for a yes or no reply. Overall 73% of the 

responses were positive and appear to reflect that a majority of 

CPS Energy employees would recommend CPS Energy as a great 

place to work. The high score on this question seemed to depart 

from the declining scores.

Another significant event following the 2008 survey is that, for the first 

time, CPS Energy undertook a corporate-wide initiative to act on the 

survey results. All employees had the opportunity to attend one of the 

66 report-out sessions conducted by leadership to share the results 

from the 2008 Great Place to Work Survey for their area.

This past summer, 22 teams worked to establish a response plan to 

address the issues in each area. Each team focused on implementing 

two improvements based on their specific business area’s core value 

scores. The manager-led survey result report-outs and the response 

teams were major steps in addressing employee issues and making 

their concerns a priority.

Current status: At the direction of the senior management team, CPS 

Energy did not administer the Great Place to Work Survey in 2009. 

This decision was based on both budgetary constraints and allowing 

time for improvements to be made to the survey instrument.

CPS Energy issued an RFP in the fall of 2009 for a new employee 

survey vendor. A cross-functional team reviewed the proposals, 

interviewed a selected group of potential vendors, and made a 

selection. The contract with the new vendor was signed in early 

2010. We will work with the new vendor on redesign of the survey 

and timing for administration in 2010.

emplo y ee r e l at i o n s h i p s
85

Labor Representation / Unions 

CPS Energy currently recognizes the International 

Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and National 

Association of Public Employees (NAPE) unions, and 

38% of our workforce is unionized. We do not have a 

formal working-conditions contract with our unions.

Employee Organizations

HOPE

Hispanic Organization for Public Employees (HOPE), 

the first CPS Energy networking group, was formed 

on November 6, 2003. HOPE is a common interest, 

nonprofit, and nonpartisan organization committed 

to supporting present and future corporate objectives 

and to helping with advancement of Hispanics at CPS 

Energy and in the community it serves. The group is 

open to active and retired CPS Energy employees. 

HOPE meets monthly and sponsors career mobility 

workshops, educational speakers, diversity training 

seminars, a newsletter, scholarships, recommendations 

to management on diversity gaps, career days, and 

sponsorship of educational opportunities, as well 

as joint meetings and events with external Hispanic 

organizations. Since its inception, HOPE has raised 

$28,000 in college scholarships for local San Antonio youth. 

Events:

•	 Cesar Chavez March

•	 “Dancing with the Executives” fundraiser for CPS Energy 

Residential Energy Assistance Partnership (REAP) —

donated $4,200

•	 “Synergy” mixer sponsored by the Hispanic Chamber 

of Commerce and Urban Manager Assistants of South 

Texas (UMAST)

•	 Annual Tribute to Hispanic Heritage Banquet (scholarship 

fundraiser) in conjunction with CPS Energy Hispanic 

Heritage Campaign 

•	 “HOPE Begins with YOU” membership drive

African American Culture Club (AACC)

AACC’s purpose is to establish a common interest, nonprofit, and 

nonpartisan organization committed to supporting present and 

future corporate objectives and assisting in the development and 

advancement of African Americans at CPS Energy, while establishing 

an active and visible presence in the community. In addition, the 

group provides a culturally diverse and supportive environment for 

employees, and it mentors young people so that they are better 

prepared to excel. 

African American Culture Club events:

•	 Walk-a-thon fundraiser

•	 Bar-b-que fundraiser

•	 CPS Amazing Energy Ad Campaign Banquet and Silent Auction

•	 Mix and Mingle membership drive 

•	 $500 donation to the Back to School Uniform Charity

•	 Donating to various scholarships

Other CPS Energy employee clubs include:

•	 Amistad Club

•	 Better Service Club

•	 Eastside Club

•	 Goodfellowship Club

•	 Kilowatt Club

•	 Livewire Club

•	 Mission Road Club

•	 Northside Club

•	 Public Service Golf Association

•	 Retirees Association

•	 Southside Sportsman Club
86
87

This Sustainability Report is not simply a document summarizing our 

commitment to sustainability in the San Antonio area. We at CPS 

Energy see this report as the beginning of much more to come, and 

the first step in our commitment to continued communication and 

action to improve the sustainability of our organization to benefit all of 

our stakeholders. We are not focused on the past, but on the future. 

We intend to use this as our biennial progress report to the public. 

Our sustainability program is a living, breathing program that will 

change the way we do business. 

On page 16, you will find a summary of our focus issues, goals, 

actions, and challenges. Think of this as a road map to where we are 

going over the next two years. 

We are excited that you have taken the time to review this report, and 

we are very interested in your input. The CPS Energy sustainability 

program isn’t about us; it’s about improving our performance and 

modifying our behavior in order to contribute to an economically 

strong, socially just, and environmentally sound San Antonio, for our 

children and their children. 

moving f o r wa r d

Sunset at Calaveras Lake

Sweetwater 4 Wind Farm
88

gri indic ator c h e c k l i s t

gri indic ator c h e c k l i s t

Indicator Description Report Section(s) Page(s)

Strategy and Analysis (2)

organizational profile (10)

Report Parameters (9)

GRI Content Index (1)

GovernancE (5)

1.1

1.2

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.8

2.9

2.10

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

3.7

3.9

3.11

3.12

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.14

4.15

Relevance statement

Key impacts, risks, and opportunities

Organization name

Brands, products, services

Operational structure

Headquarters location

Operational countries

Ownership

Markets served

Size of organization

Significant changes in size, structure, or ownership

Awards received in the reporting period

Reporting period

Date of most recent previous report

Reporting cycle

Contact point for questions regarding the report

Process for defining report content

Boundary of the report

Specific limitations on scope or boundary 

of the report

Data measurement techniques and the basis 

of calculations

Significant scope, boundary, or measurement changes 

from previous period

Table identifying location of standard disclosures

Governance structure of the organization

Indication of whether the chair of the highest 

governance body is also an executive officer

Independence of the Executive Board

Stakeholder groups engaged by the organization

Identification and selection of stakeholders

Letter from the CEO and CSO

What’s Our Motivation?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Why Now?

Why Now?

Why Now?

Why Now?

Why Now?

Why Now?

Why Now?

Why Now?

Why Now?

GRI Indicator Checklist

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Why Now?

Why Now?

4-5

11-13

25

25

27

25

25

25

27-28

25

27

27

7

7

7

8

7-8

7-8

7-8

7-8

7

88-91

27

27

27

7

7
89

Indicator Description Report Section(s) Page(s)

Environmental (16)

Economic (5)

EC1

EC2

EC3

EC6

EC9

EN3

EN4

EN5

EN6

EN7

EN8

EN9

EN10

EN13

EN16

EN17

EN18

EN20

EN22

EN25

EN29

Direct economic value generated and distributed

Financial implications due to climate change

Coverage of benefit plan obligations

Policy, practices, and proportions of spending on 

locally based suppliers

Understanding and describing significant indirect 

economic impacts

Direct energy consumption by primary 

energy source

Indirect energy consumption by primary 

energy source

Energy saved due to conservation and 

efficiency improvements

Initiatives to provide energy efficient or renewable 

products and services

Initiatives to reduce indirect energy consumption, 

and reductions achieved

Total water withdrawal by source

Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal 

of water

Percentage and total volume of water recycled 

and reused

Habitats protected or restored

Total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions 

by weight

Other relevant indirect greenhouse gas emissions 

by weight

Initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and 

reductions achieved

NOx

, SOx, and other significant air emissions

Total weight of waste by type and disposal method

Water bodies and related habitat significantly affected 

by discharges of water and runoff

Environmental impacts of transporting products

Financial Integrity

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Employee Relationships

Financial Integrity

Financial Integrity

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Customer Relationships

Customer Relationships

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

Carbon Constraints and the Environment

75-56

60

82-83

77-79

79

60-67

66

47

42-48

66-68

72

70-72

72

72-73

60-65

68

62-68

57-59

68-70

70-72

65-67
90 gri indic ator c h e c k l i s t

Nature, scope, and effectiveness of any programs 

and practices that assess and manage the impacts 

of operations on communities, including entering, 

operating, and exiting

Installed capacity, broken down by primary energy 

source and by regulatory regime

Net energy output broken down by primary energy 

source and by regulatory regime

Number of residential, industrial, institutional, and 

commercial customer accounts

Length of above- and underground transmission and 

distribution lines by regulatory regime

Management approach to ensure short- and longterm electricity availability and reliability

Demand-side management programs

Research and development activity and expenditure 

aimed at providing reliable electricity and promoting 

sustainable development

Planned capacity against projected electricity demand 

over the long term, broken down by energy source 

and regulatory regime

Programs and processes to ensure the availability of a 

skilled workforce

Stakeholder participation in the decision-making 

process related to energy planning and infrastructure 

development

Contingency planning measures, disaster/emergency 

management plan and training programs, and 

recovery/restoration plans

Programs, including those in partnership with 

government, to improve or maintain access to 

electricity and customer support services

Practices to address language, cultural, low literacy 

and disability related barriers to accessing and safely 

using electricity and customer support services

Power outage frequency

Average power outage duration

Average plant availability factor by energy source 

and by regulatory regime

External Stakeholders

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Customer Relationships

Technology and Innovation

Who is CPS Energy?

Employee Relationships

External Stakeholders

Who is CPS Energy?

Customer Relationships

Customer Relationships

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Who is CPS Energy?

Indicator Description Report Section(s) Page(s)

Electric Utility (16)

Society (1)

35-39

29

29

28

32

33

42-47

53-55

30

81-84

35

33

41, 49-51

41

33

33

29

SO1

EU1

EU2

EU3

EU4

EU6

EU7

EU8

EU10

EU14

EU19

EU21

EU23

EU24

EU28

EU29

EU30
91

PR5

HR5

LA6

LA10

LA12

Practices related to customer satisfaction, 

including results of surveys measuring 

customer satisfaction

Operations identified in which the right to exercise 

freedom of association and collective bargaining 

may be at significant risk, and actions taken to 

support these rights

Percentage of total workforce represented in 

formal joint management–worker health and 

safety committees that help monitor and advise on 

occupational health and safety programs

Average hours of training per year per employee by 

employee category

Percentage of employees receiving regular 

performance and career development reviews

Customer Relationships, Employee 

Relationships

Employee Relationships

Employee Relationships

Employee Relationships

Employee Relationships

Indicator Description Report Section(s) Page(s)

Product Responsibility (1)

Human Rights (1)

Labor (3)

41, 84

85

81-82

83

84
92 Printed on 100% recycled-content paper.