Frank Almaraz, Interim President & CEO, CPS Energy

In an interview with Invest:, Frank Almaraz, interim president and CEO of CPS Energy, discussed regional growth, large energy loads, generation and transmission investments, affordability, and workforce preparation. “We approach workforce preparation as a whole-community effort,” Almaraz said.

What are your priorities for CPS Energy, and where do you see opportunity?

Much has changed in recent years. More people are coming to Texas, and large energy loads such as data centers are growing. We need to review our strategy periodically, consider everything we are doing, and focus our efforts on what matters most.

When I started as chief operating officer, I wanted our operations to be as integrated and efficient as possible. I spent significant time with operations leaders, and we are making organizational changes to support that goal. The same principle applies across CPS Energy.

We promise the community reliable and affordable service and cleaner energy over time. I am working with our leaders to determine how best to meet those priorities efficiently.

We are also addressing major policy questions, including how to accommodate large loads and data centers coming to Texas without disadvantaging existing customers. CPS Energy has an obligation to serve, and we want to serve both current and future customers well. We are refining our tactical plan for the next two or three years around those goals. Our long-term plan, Horizon 2050, is a roadmap for the next 25 years to guide CPS Energy through the rapidly evolving utility industry. This forward-looking strategy includes dynamic five-year short-range plans, currently Vision 2030, designed to capitalize on technology advancements and innovation to achieve equitable power distribution while delivering reliable and sustainable energy for the seventh largest city in the country.

How are you balancing natural gas, renewables, storage, and other technologies?

As a municipally owned utility, our community’s priorities are critical. We listen carefully and focus on reliability, affordability, and cleaner energy as our three objectives.

We remain technology-agnostic and believe in a balanced, all-of-the-above approach. CPS Energy is No. 1 in solar purchasing in Texas and No. 2 in wind. We also recently purchased a significant amount of natural gas generation capacity through two rounds of transactions.

We are not pursuing reliability at the expense of our environmental commitments, nor are we pursuing greenhouse gas reductions at the expense of reliability. We intend to meet our objectives through honest and transparent communication with the community about the balanced portfolio required to achieve them.

How are you balancing investment needs with competitive rates?

We’re here for the long run, serving customers in good weather and bad, and the most affordable long-term solution requires balance, which is why a diverse portfolio matters. . 

We are in a period of extraordinary investment. We need power supply to meet demand that could become several times our current forecast once large loads in the queue are considered. We also need transmission investment to move power from where it is produced to where it will be consumed.

Whatever solution is selected, the state will require infrastructure to move power and keep the grid reliable. It will take time and substantial investment.

CPS Energy’s strong credit rating and lower cost of capital as a municipally owned utility benefit the state. Investments in generation support local customers and the statewide supply portfolio. Transmission investments also benefit both.

There are more worthwhile projects than any organization has the capacity to execute. We must choose the work that advances reliability, affordability, and cleaner energy, focus on the most important projects, and do them well.

How does CPS Energy support regional economic development?

The first contribution is keeping rates affordable. CPS Energy has some of the lowest rates in the United States and the lowest combined electric and gas bill in Texas. Lower rates leave customers with more money to spend in other parts of the economy.

When customers pay their electric and gas bills, they receive utility service and invest in community infrastructure, including police, fire, parks, roads, and libraries. Those services are used by people across the metropolitan area who come to or travel through San Antonio.

As a community-owned utility, we make a concerted effort to spend with small and local businesses. That represents hundreds of millions of dollars, or as much as $1 billion annually, supporting jobs, growth, and development.

We are also at the table when the region works to attract new businesses or expand existing ones. Toyota’s expansion in San Antonio is one example. That work requires partnership among companies, infrastructure providers, the city, economic development organizations, and the state. Reliable, affordable service helps attract and retain investment.

How are you preparing the workforce for the next generation of energy?

We have a successful internship program for technical trades as well as professional and office roles, with opportunities for high school and college students. CPS Energy team members also serve on boards and support organizations focused on upskilling the community, creating opportunities for students and young people, reskilling people later in their careers, and preparing people for work at CPS Energy.

Alamo Colleges has been a partner in that work. We approach workforce preparation as a whole-community effort, which has been a focus at CPS Energy for many years.

Technology is changing how we work. Team members recently received phones that will support time entry, inspections, and access to enterprise resource planning software. Employees must be ready to use large language models, artificial intelligence and other advanced tools and processes. That need is especially important as many experienced workers approach retirement age.

What investments will position CPS Energy for its next phase of growth?

A robust and thoughtful transmission strategy is essential. As customers make choices and CPS Energy expands its work with distributed energy resources, we also need a clearly articulated strategy that aligns those resources with the community’s objectives.

We are undertaking a substantial enterprise resource planning implementation that involves many people and will change how we work. We view it as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create value, improve operations, and prepare the next generation of workers who will support the community.

Executing the generation plan is another priority. The board recently approved the current update, and we have concrete steps we will take to ensure sufficient supply as CPS Energy transitions away from coal.