Community Utility Debt - Rapid Response Update

Starting in February after looking at the outcomes of our heater giveaway and previous fan giveaways, we here at SWU realized that the January Freeze had impacted more than just the health and comfort of our community; There was a need for us to help alleviate the large amount of debt that historic price-increases in 2022 and 2024 have caused. Years of price-hikes and lack of equitable rates have meant that San Antonio residents have been shouldering the majority (54%) of the Local Customer Electric Revenue generated by CPS. That’s more than the Commercial and Industrial customers combined (35%). Massive Data Centers get their energy on the cheap, meanwhile Residential Ratepayers pay the highest cost/kWh compared to any other rate-class ($0.07/kWh Vs. $0.02/kWh)

With this in mind, we specifically targeted community members with large bills and debt, and began distributing CPS Vouchers to over 20 households to help reduce overall community electricity debt; Our organization obtained $5,000 in funds for this work and have, since February, reduced Community Debt by over 66.2%!

More now than ever due to our worsening extreme weather, it is crucial that disabled elders, working mothers, the immunocompromised, and children have the electricity they need to power their medical devices, home appliances, and to maintain crucial connectivity that sustains our lives. Until we develop a system that can manage and distribute our public utilities in equitable, just ways, we will continue working to keep the lights!