CEO: CPS Energy focused on planning for the future, prepared for summer season (June 2023)

This is a pivotal moment for our energy future. Energy needs are soaring due to our population growth, climate change, and the shift to electric vehicles. Supply chain delays persist. Technology impacting the energy industry is rapidly transforming. Legislative and policy changes are coming, and the wholesale energy market in Texas is on the verge of a major redesign.

There’s also the impact of the anticipated rapid expansion of distributed energy resources or DERs – which could fundamentally change how our grid works. DERs produce electricity on a small scale and are spread out over a wide area. Rooftop solar panels, battery storage, and emergency diesel generators are all examples of DERs. We’ve been working with DERs for more than 10 years.?We currently have roughly 300 megawatts (MW) of DERs in our service territory, which is a manageable amount for our current distribution grid.

However, DERs are quickly expanding, so we must work with our technology partners to determine how we’ll transfer thousands of?MW of power to our grid. This is the thinking around Virtual Power Plants - basically using a system to aggregate all these separate energy resources so they can be used or stored efficiently and effectively when and where needed. It’s a great idea that’s now trending across the country. There is no question that the potential for DERs is significant. However, DERs present their own challenges with supply chain delays, changes to the energy market, and the need to continue to?utilize the power of renewables.

As I am sure you’ve read in the news lately, another everchanging component of our industry is renewable power generation resources. Renewables provide more than 20% of our current power generation portfolio. In January, our Board of Trustees approved a blended generation planning portfolio with a mix of gas, solar, wind, and energy storage. Since then, we’ve released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to obtain up to 700 MW of additional solar energy, enough to power about 140,000 homes. This RFP is the first of a two-part effort to increase solar generation and diversify community solar options for our customers. A separate RFP for community solar, which allows customers to share ownership of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system without installing panels on their own homes, is under development and will be released in the coming months.

While we remain focused on planning for the future, we are also focused on the summer season. Our team members are prepared to work safely in hot weather. Maintenance of our power plants and equipment is complete. Our processes for daily operations and emergency procedures are ready. We expect the demand for electricity to be high when the weather heats up, as people run air conditioning to try to stay cool. We believe ERCOT will manage energy supply to keep up with statewide demand. We’ll communicate about energy conservation with our community throughout the summer months to help customers take steps to use less energy and save money, especially when electricity demand is at its peak.

Weather directly impacts electricity demand and reliability. Last year, we experienced record-breaking heat beginning in May. Temperatures are cooler this year because we’ve had significantly more rainfall.?However, it's been a lively storm season with 34 thunderstorms producing 34,634 lightning strikes - compared to 15 thunderstorms with 5,472 lightning strikes during the same period of January 1 to June 6 of last year. We’ve texted, emailed, and posted weather information on social media to keep our community informed about incoming weather and have provided updates on our restoration efforts until power is restored to every customer impacted by these storms.

We’ll continue to keep you engaged and updated through these dynamic times. As always, we want to hear from you and welcome your feedback.

-Rudy D. Garza, President & CEO

Click here to continue reading CPS Energy's full June 2023 ENGAGE Newsletter.