Approved Rate Request

 
 
Approved Rate Request

Rate Request: Proposal

 

We received approval for a rate increase from our Board of Trustees and the San Antonio City Council to meet our immediate financial needs and maintain financial stability. The rate increase goes into effect March 1, 2022.

  • 3.85% increase in the electric and gas base rate components of energy bills
  • The average residential electric and gas bill impact of the base rate increase will be approximately $3.84 per month.

$418 million in validated fuel costs, which has already been paid but not recovered, will be spread over time to keep customer bills affordable.

  • These costs will be included in fuel adjustment charges on customer bills beginning March 1, 2022, and spread over 25 years.
  • The residential bill impact of these charges will be approximately $1.26 per month.

Adjustments to the Affordability Discount Program (ADP) are intended to offset the rate increase for many low income electric and gas customers.

  • The combined electric and gas discount will be raised from $12.30 monthly to $16.14 monthly for customers enrolled in ADP.
  • We target expanding ADP enrollment to help an additional ~14,000 low income customers, for a total of 65,000 enrolled in ADP.

The total average monthly residential bill impact for the approved base rate increase and the undisputed fuel costs is an increase of $5.10. Additional discounts will mitigate the impact to low income customers enrolled in ADP.

We will work with our Rate Advisory Committee to evaluate improvements to our overall rate design and will continue to discuss future investment needs with the community to address preferences for power generation resources, infrastructure upgrades, and customer programs. We are committed to having more dialogue with our community and our owner, the City of San Antonio.

What Investments Does the Rate Increase Cover?

Approved Rate Request

What Is Not Included in the Rate Increase?

 
  • Early Collection of Pandemic Bad Debt: The City of San Antonio’s contribution of $20 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding will be used to help qualified applicants pay their past-due energy bills. Resuming normal collection activities is likely to result in additional debt reduction.
  • Disputed Fuel Costs from Winter Storm Uri: $587 million in fuel costs from the storm remain in dispute. Once resolution occurs, we will address any customer impact.
  • Future Power Generation Decisions: Input from our Board of Trustees, Rate Advisory Committee (RAC), Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), and broader community will guide future power generation decisions.
  • Other Significant Costs: Projected large expenditures will be included in future budgets once cost specifics are known.
  • Rate Design Changes: No changes to the way rates are structured are included at this time. We will work with the RAC to evaluate optimal future rate designs.

What About Future Rate Increases?

 
  • The need for future rate increases will be evaluated regularly.
  • We will continue to discuss future investment needs with the community to address preferences for power generation resources, infrastructure upgrades, and customer programs.

In Summary:

 

We are committed to having more dialogue with our community and our regulator owner, the City of San Antonio.

The total average monthly residential bill impact for the approved rate increase and the undisputed fuel costs is an increase of around $5.10.

For more information, please use our calculators below to help estimate the monthly bill for your home or small business: