CPS Energy to pay around $400M for Winter Storm Uri gas
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- Judge Laura Salinas of the Texas 166th District Court issued a final judgment against CPS Energy on Thursday, ordering the San Antonio public power utility to pay close to $400 million to midstream energy company Energy Transfer for natural gas purchased during Winter Storm Uri.
- The judgment breaks down to more than $263 million in principal, $119 million in interest, and $9.3 million in attorney's fees, plus costs.
- CPS Energy had sued two Energy Transfer subsidiaries in March 2021, alleging the company used the storm as pretext to price gouge and displayed "predatory behavior" — an argument the judge rejected.
- Salinas ruled that CPS Energy breached its contracts, that the contracts were "not unconscionable," and that they must be enforced, according to Texas Public Radio.
- CPS Energy had argued it faced a "Hobson's choice" of paying "exorbitant" gas prices or losing supply for critical infrastructure, and that the gas was needed "to save lives" during the statewide disaster.
- Yetter Coleman, the law firm representing Energy Transfer, said it proved in court that CPS Energy "failed to adequately prepare for that winter storm season and relied on risky natural gas buying strategies" and had "ongoing plant failures in the storm."
- Energy Transfer's evidence also showed CPS Energy had enough gas to serve customers and "even sell excess power into the state's wholesale market," undercutting the claim that it was forced to pay any price for survival.
Why it matters: CPS Energy, a public utility serving San Antonio, just lost its attempt to escape roughly $400 million in storm-era gas costs it had publicly branded as unconscionable price gouging. Energy Transfer's counter-evidence — that CPS had plant failures yet still held enough gas to sell excess power into the grid — reframes the story from a David-vs-gouger narrative into one of utility preparation failure, with the full contractual bill plus interest and fees now due.
