CPS Energy’s legal battles over bills for high-priced natural gas it bought during Winter Storm Uri are still being fought three years later, with the city-owned utility now seeking a jury trial to hear its arguments about suppliers it says were price gouging and engaging in other improper practices. The February 2021 winter storm led to power outages of more than two days in some San Antonio neighborhoods, the near collapse of the Texas electric grid and the deaths of at least 246 Texans.
Energy’s tab for legal war after 2021 winter storm is nearly $17M. What have customers gained? But new filings in state district court in Bexar County, as well as arguments in a recent hearing on those filings, suggest the city-owned utility is not backing down as it seeks a trial in its battle to recoup costs or avoid paying its bills from a pair of Texas pipeline companies. They provide fresh insight into a legal battle that’s so far been waged mainly behind closed doors.
Consumers lose a round in lawsuit against power generators over their failings in Winter Storm Uri It countersued, accusing CPS of violating its purchase agreement. As a result, the parties have spent the past few years fighting in court. The most recent filing focuses on a $100 million balance Enterprise says it’s owed. CPS attorney Lauren A.
argues its case that ERCOT can be sued for overcharging during deadly 2021 winter storm About a year ago, CPS executives said the utility’s legal team had reached settlements with some gas suppliers, but declined to disclose which suppliers or how much it had recouped. At the time, it had spent nearly $17 million on legal expenses in the litigation, and the utility would say only that the deals it struck with gas suppliers had paid its legal expenses several times over.