Soaring electricity prices raise concerns about next CPS energy bill

Saint Anthony – Electricity may have been scarce this week for CPS customers, but it will likely end up being expensive.

Now that the electricity reliability crisis is over, CPS Energy CEO Paula Gold-Williams says accessibility issues are looming due to high fuel costs in cold weather. The utility is still trying to calculate the cost of the event, Gold-Williams said, but “it’s going to be huge,” and they’re trying to minimize the impact on customer bills.

“I will say we understand that it would be unacceptable for customers to just bear the cost of their monthly bill and anyone could pay for it,” Gold-Williams said. “So we’re working diligently – the financial services team is working diligently, trying to find ways to really spread that cost, potentially maybe, you know 15 – I mean, 10 years or more to try to make it. affordable. We haven’t fully evaluated it. “

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Gold-Williams told reporters in a Monday briefing that supply and demand were at work during the cold weather that took many production units in the state offline and froze gas wellheads natural.

“We were able to see from the start of this event – even before Monday’s issues – that the price of electricity and the supply of electricity drove prices up,” Gold-Williams said. “Again, I’m going to quote natural gas that I’ve seen grow by 7,000%, by 10,000%. I stopped counting at 16,000 percent. “

Part of your CPS bill is based on a “fuel adjustment charge,” which covers the fuel costs associated with producing CPS electricity, purchasing renewable energy, and purchasing on the open market of the United States. ‘energy. So how much CPS has to pay to bring you energy will affect how much you eventually pay.

Typically, these fuel costs push the bill over 45-60 days, but CPS is trying to find a way to spread the cost for longer.

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While the final effect on your bill is not yet clear, CPS officials have stressed that it has not been disconnecting customers since March.

The utility is going to have to use “a good chunk” of its cash to meet immediate demands to pay for the fuel it had available, and also use some of its credit, Gold-Williams said. Ultimately, a deposit might be needed to help spread the costs.

The plans will require discussions with the CPS board, city council and answers to questions from the community, the CPS CEO said, but estimated they had around 60 to 120 days to resolve it, or it could affect the utility’s ability to buy fuel in the market now.