OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

San Antonio City Council B Session – March 4, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, March 4, 2026
BodySan Antonio, Texas
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, March 4, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:11:42

Transcript — Verbatim
0:50

Good afternoon.

0:51

The time is now 2 05 p.m.

0:53

on Wednesday, March 4th, 2026, in the City of San Antonio B session is called to order.

0:58

Madam Clerk, please call roll.

1:01

Councilmember Corps.

1:03

Councilmember Mickey Rodriguez.

1:05

President.

1:05

Councilmember Viegeran.

1:07

Here.

1:07

Councilmember Mungia.

1:09

Present.

1:09

Councilmember Castillo.

1:11

Councilmember Galvan.

1:12

Here.

1:13

Councilmember Alderete Gabito.

1:15

Here.

1:15

Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez.

1:17

Present.

1:18

Councilmember Spears.

1:19

Councilmember White.

1:21

Mayor Jones.

1:22

Here.

1:22

Mayor We Have Core.

1:23

Great.

1:23

Thank you.

1:24

Okay.

1:25

So at today's meeting, we have two items.

1:27

We'll begin with a briefing from CPS Energy on their FY27 budget.

1:32

And I asked that they come in.

1:34

As we, as the board was just updated, this is the largest CPS budget ever, both in terms of capital as well as an OM.

1:42

And so I think it was important that this body get a sense of where that's headed.

1:47

This budget also assumes a rate increase.

1:49

And so as presented, it creates it assumes a rate increase.

1:52

So it's important that we again we never want to get caught flat footed when our constituents ask about these things.

2:00

So I appreciate the CPS folks coming in and giving just some top levels at this point so we can I see the chair is here as well, so thanks uh Chair Romero for joining.

2:13

Um and then the second topic um related uh as well will be um just an update actually um from both of our utilities on um the state of data centers.

2:23

Um we know that obviously this is a national topic.

2:26

This is something that is also driving um and shaping the uh the need for additional support from our utilities, and so a common um frame of reference on this kind of where we are and where we're going, especially as we are talking about two uh major budgets, both for CPS and SAWs, is only prudent.

2:44

Yeah.

2:45

So um we'll teach we'll take the first topic and then we'll do a round of of comments and questions, and then we'll take the second topic and do it that way as well.

2:51

Okay, over to you, Maria.

2:53

Thank you, Mayor, and good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

2:56

Um, as the mayor mentioned, the first item is a briefing by CPS on their fiscal year 27 proposed budget.

3:03

Just a little bit of context.

3:05

CPS uh energy fiscal year is from from February 1 to January 31st.

3:10

So the briefing will provide an overview on the development of their budget as well as a summary of their proposed budget.

3:18

So with that, I'm gonna turn it over to CPS Energy to introduce the presentation.

3:31

Um good tee up uh from from Mayor Jones in terms of um giving this budget briefing.

3:36

Um as she mentioned, this is informational, um, I think really good information for the for the council.

3:42

Um as many of you know, uh, we've had many discussions with the council, um, our board of trustees, and uh the you know the community over the last uh four to five years.

3:50

Um and we've consistently gotten feedback from from all audiences that you know the focus continues to be on uh reliability, affordability, and uh you know, to the extent the pursuit of greener or cleaner energy.

4:03

Um and with that steady feedback from our customers over the last five years, um, including conversations we've had uh with the Ray Advisory Council back in 22.

4:13

Um, it's been the really the policy direction and the policy strategy of our board to really make the long-term investments that you've seen us do uh for the community, um, not just in the past, but on a going forward basis.

4:23

So all that said, the investments here that we we're gonna discuss um uh are really reflecting a few things in our budget, right?

4:30

The the information we'll share here addresses you know the continued local growth that we continue to experience, um you know, even in excluding the uh you know large load or data centers, which we'll talk about later.

4:41

Um this budget focuses on using our capital effectively uh to upgrade our equipment in all of our service territory to be as efficient as possible.

4:49

Um this budget also achieves to try and keep rates um you know balanced so that all customers pay their fair share, and we've heard that feedback um and we can talk more about that in the next presentation as well.

5:00

And it's also worth noting that our teams continue to actively engage in various financing options uh to help pay for the things and the investments to help mitigate um impact on customer bills the best we can.

5:09

So I share that just as a quick tee up and we'll go ahead and uh move on here with the presentation.

5:14

So four things really are the objective for today.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Energy Management█████████████████████████████29%
Technology and Innovation██████████████████████████26%
Water And Wastewater Management███████████████15%
Budget█████████9%
Public Engagement██████6%
Zoning and Land Use█████5%
Economic Development███3%
Public Safety██2%
Affordable Housing██2%
Summary of Proceedings

San Antonio City Council B Session – March 4, 2026

The San Antonio City Council held a B session on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, from 2:05 PM to 6:27 PM. The meeting featured two major agenda items: a briefing from CPS Energy on its fiscal year 2027 proposed budget (the largest in the utility's history, both in capital and O&M, and assuming a rate increase) and a joint update from CPS Energy, SAWS, and the City's Development Services Department on the state of data centers and large-load growth. Councilmembers extensively discussed the impacts on reliability, affordability, water resources, and future rate structures.

CPS Energy FY27 Budget Briefing

  • CPS Energy presented a proposed $1.7 billion capital budget and $1.1 billion operations and maintenance budget for FY27. The budget includes a $50 million revenue gap, which CPS leadership stated would be a placeholder for a potential rate increase, pending a cost-of-service study and summer revenue outcomes. Mayor Jones noted this is the largest CPS budget ever.
  • Key capital categories: $700 million for reliability (60% for transmission work), $290 million for customer growth (28,000 new electric and 5,000 new gas customers), and technology/security investments. O&M includes $1.1 billion with 45% for labor.
  • CPS highlighted financial guardrails: debt-to-capitalization ratio under 70%, debt service coverage ratio of 1.5x, and 150 days cash on hand (or 200 days liquidity).
  • Councilmembers raised questions about efficiency savings (e.g., 40% reduction in non-emergency overtime, fleet savings of $8.75M), the timeline for a tiered rate structure (tied to multi-year ERP project), and the impact of the budget on the city's climate action and adaptation plan (CAP) goals. Elena Ball confirmed the budget aligns with the approved generation plan and that CPS is proceeding with RFPs for wind, solar, and storage despite federal uncertainty.
  • Several councilmembers, including Councilmembers Mungia, Castillo, and McKee Rodriguez, requested more detailed information on cost reductions, technology upgrades, and the potential for a professional consumer advocate. Councilmember Kaur asked for a graph of historical rate increases and revenue.

Data Centers & Large Load Growth

  • CPS Energy Presentation (Elena Ball): CPS identified 59 large load projects (≥40 MW) in various stages, including 335 MW under contract, 1,400 MW in contracting, and feasibility studies. The projected demand is significant but not all projects will materialize. For every 100 MW of large load, CPS estimates $29 million in non-fuel revenue annually and $8 million in city payments. Commercial customers (11% of meters) pay over 50% of revenue. CPS is developing a pilot tariff for behind-the-meter generation, limited to 15 customers over two years.
  • SAWS Presentation (Donovan): SAWS reported 23 existing data centers using about 0.1% of potable water and 1.25% of recycled water. Prospective projects could increase potable usage to 0.3% and recycled water usage to 12% of available capacity. SAWS has about 20,000 acre-feet of recycled water demand currently, with 10,000 acre-feet additional capacity in the existing system. Policy considerations include maximizing recycled water use, improving system redundancy, and modifying rate structures. SAWS does not have an expansion of the recycled water system in its current budget.
  • Development Services (Tomas): The Unified Development Code lacks a specific definition for data centers; current zoning uses

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. The time is now 2 05 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4th, 2026, in the City of San Antonio B session is called to order. Madam Clerk, please call roll. Councilmember Corps. Councilmember Mickey Rodriguez. President. Councilmember Viegeran. Here. Councilmember Mungia. Present. Councilmember Castillo. Councilmember Galvan. Here. Councilmember Alderete Gabito. Here. Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez. Present. Councilmember Spears. Councilmember White. Mayor Jones. Here. Mayor We Have Core. Great. Thank you. Okay. So at today's meeting, we have two items. We'll begin with a briefing from CPS Energy on their FY27 budget. And I asked that they come in. As we, as the board was just updated, this is the largest CPS budget ever, both in terms of capital as well as an OM. And so I think it was important that this body get a sense of where that's headed. This budget also assumes a rate increase. And so as presented, it creates it assumes a rate increase. So it's important that we again we never want to get caught flat footed when our constituents ask about these things. So I appreciate the CPS folks coming in and giving just some top levels at this point so we can I see the chair is here as well, so thanks uh Chair Romero for joining. Um and then the second topic um related uh as well will be um just an update actually um from both of our utilities on um the state of data centers. Um we know that obviously this is a national topic. This is something that is also driving um and shaping the uh the need for additional support from our utilities, and so a common um frame of reference on this kind of where we are and where we're going, especially as we are talking about two uh major budgets, both for CPS and SAWs, is only prudent. Yeah. So um we'll teach we'll take the first topic and then we'll do a round of of comments and questions, and then we'll take the second topic and do it that way as well. Okay, over to you, Maria. Thank you, Mayor, and good afternoon, Mayor and Council. Um, as the mayor mentioned, the first item is a briefing by CPS on their fiscal year 27 proposed budget. Just a little bit of context. CPS uh energy fiscal year is from from February 1 to January 31st. So the briefing will provide an overview on the development of their budget as well as a summary of their proposed budget. So with that, I'm gonna turn it over to CPS Energy to introduce the presentation. Um good tee up uh from from Mayor Jones in terms of um giving this budget briefing. Um as she mentioned, this is informational, um, I think really good information for the for the council. Um as many of you know, uh, we've had many discussions with the council, um, our board of trustees, and uh the you know the community over the last uh four to five years.

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