San Antonio's CPS Energy drops 3 supplier lawsuits as it seeks to charge customers for winter storm

CPS Energy, which plans to pass on nearly half the cost of February's catastrophic freeze to customers, has dropped three lawsuits accusing its natural gas suppliers of price gouging during the disaster, KSAT reports.

Citing court records, the TV station reports that while the majority of CPS's suits against natural gas firms and other energy suppliers remains on the docket, the utility has dismissed at least three.

CPS officials declined to tell KSAT whether those dismissals came after the companies it sued agreed to settlements.

News of the abandoned legal proceedings comes after the municipally owned power company revealed plans to pass on $450 million of its $1.035 billion tab from the winter storm to ratepayers. Customers would be charged roughly $1.50 monthly for 25 years under that proposal.

CPS wants to recoup the remaining $585 million through legal actions it's pursuing against suppliers who jacked up rates during February's disaster, which left millions across the state without power.

The customer charge would come as part of a rate hike CPS is expected to seek from city council later this year. The request comes as the utility faces calls for increased transparency amid high-profile executive departures, including the recent resignation of its second in command.

A recent Bexar Facts poll shows that CPS's approval rating among county voters stands at just 44%, a 25-point decline since the fourth quarter of 2020.

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