San Antonio and Austin residents may soon get something their power bills have never offered: a choice. Gov. Greg Abbott is set Tuesday to unveil a plan that would push city-owned utilities including CPS Energy and Austin Energy to open their retail electricity territories to competition, promising lower bills but also a major fight over local control. The proposal could turn a long-settled feature of Central Texas utility life into a statewide campaign-year showdown.
The governor’s office gave KSAT an advance look before Tuesday’s 2 p.m. news conference. The plan would let customers choose a retail electricity provider, while Abbott’s office says more than 5 million Texans currently live in areas with only one municipal power provider and that Austin and San Antonio account for more than 60% of that group.
What Abbott Is Promising San Antonio Ratepayers
According to the proposal outlined by KSAT, residential customers in San Antonio could save an average of 13% on electric bills, while Austin customers could see 10% average savings. Commercial customers, including small businesses, are projected to save 20%, with the plan saying some annual savings could reach $3,000; those are projections from Abbott’s team, not guaranteed reductions.
Abbott’s plan would also bar city utilities from adding charges unrelated to electric delivery and prohibit utility profits from being used as a city slush fund. That language aims squarely at the municipal-finance side of the debate, where utility revenue can support city operations as well as the power system itself…