CPS Energy earns Environmental Champion recognition for third consecutive year

SAN ANTONIO, April 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CPS Energy has been designated a 2019 Environmental Champion utility for the 3rd year in a row by Market Strategies-Morpace. The study shows that demand for programs to help consumers manage their energy use and reduce their own environmental footprint has seen a steady increase over the past five years. In fact, over 40% of consumers now prefer renewable utility generation as a first or second choice compared with just 25% last year. The second-most preferred fuel for generation is cleaner-burning natural gas at 30%.The findings can be reviewed in the 2019 Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential, a study by Market Strategies-Morpace.

The study surveyed 61,023 utility customers of 140 electric, natural gas and combination utilities over the last 12 months and scored the utilities on an Environmental Dedication index. Today, in honor of Earth Day, 29 utilities score high enough on this index to be named Environmental Champions.

"Consumers have become more environmentally conscious and now expect the companies they use to share that same concern. The good news is that our research shows that utilities have responded to these expectations and are being viewed through a more positive environmental lens by their customers," said Chris Oberle, senior vice president at Market Strategies International-Morpace. "With Earth Day being celebrated today across the globe, this is a great time to name the utilities doing the best job responding to customers' environmental expectations as Environmental Champions." 

San Antonio is #1 in Texas and #7 in the U.S. in solar capacity, and CPS Energy is one of the largest wind buyers in the nation. In spring 2018, CPS Energy announced the addition of 34 electric hybrid trucks to "green-up" its fleet—reducing 7.75 tons in NOx emissions and 58.7 tons of CO2 emissions. Additionally, the utility introduced the world to "Gaston," the smart-sniffing vehicle that utilizes technology to detect gas leaks throughout our growing city. Most recently, CPS Energy closed the J.T. Deely coal unit in December 2018, 15 years ahead of schedule. They continue to provide rebates to customers who take action to participate in a robust selection of energy saving programs.

"Protecting our environment is simply in CPS Energy's DNA, which makes announcing this achievement on Earth Day incredibly special," said Paula Gold-Williams, President & CEO of CPS Energy. "We balance the tried and true with the new by taking a thoughtful approach to power generation with our Flexible Path. Partnered with customers throughout our large metropolitan community, we look forward to continuing San Antonio's expansion into newer and cleaner technologies. The CPS Energy team will remain vigilant in sharing knowledge about how our customers can simultaneously reduce their personal energy usage through participating in one of our many energy saving programs."

"Year after year, CPS Energy demonstrates that they are an Environmental Champion for our community, and I applaud the leadership of President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams and her team," said Ron Nirenberg, Mayor of the City of San Antonio. "As a CPS Energy board member, I am confident that our city will continue to be a leader in the new energy economy, a major producer of renewable sources, and will always put people first—all while maintaining a secure, resilient and affordable energy supply."  

To become an Environmental Champion, a utility needs to show customers its dedication to supporting the environment by promoting clean energy, enabling consumption management, facilitating environmental causes, encouraging environmentally friendly fleets and buildings, and consistently seeking ways to protect the environment. The utility industry's Environmental Dedication score now stands at 704 (on a 1,000-point scale). CPS Energy ranked in the top 20 nationally among the utilities in the Environmental Dedication Index scoring and in the top 10 in the area MSI designates as the South region (including electric and natural gas-only utilities in the region alongside combination utilities).                    

About CPS Energy
Established in 1860, CPS Energy is the nation's largest public power, natural gas and electric company, providing safe, reliable, and competitively-priced service to 840,750 electric and 352,585 natural gas customers in San Antonio and portions of seven adjoining counties. Our customers' combined energy bills rank among the lowest of the nation's 20 largest cities – while generating $7 billion in revenue for the City of San Antonio for more than seven decades. As a trusted and strong community partner, we continuously focus on job creation, economic development and educational investment. True to our People First philosophy, we are powered by our skilled workforce, whose commitment to the community is demonstrated through our employees' volunteerism in giving back to our city and programs aimed at bringing value to our customers. CPS Energy is among the top public power wind energy buyers in the nation and number one in Texas for solar generation.

About Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Residential
Market Strategies-Morpace surveyed 61,023 residential electric, natural gas and combination utility customers of the 140 largest US utility companies (based on residential customer counts). The Environmental Dedication index is a twelve-month-trailing average score derived from utility consumer ratings on five factors. The sample design uses a combination of quotas and weighting based on US census data to ensure a demographically balanced sample of each evaluated utility's customers based on age, gender, income, race and ethnicity. Utilities within the same region and of the same type (e.g., electric-only providers) are given equal weight in order to balance the influence of each utility's customers on survey results. Market Strategies-Morpace will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.

About Market Strategies International-Morpace
Leading market research firms Market Strategies International and Morpace bring clients closer to their customers through exceptional insights. The firms specialize in brand, customer experience, product development and segmentation research, and are known for blending primary research with data from syndicated, benchmarking and self-funded studies to help clients succeed. They have earned the trust of many of the world's top brands across the automotive, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, health, technology and telecommunications industries. Market Strategies and Morpace are combining into one firm, as part of an acquisition of both firms by STG, and will be rebranded under a new name to be announced in 2019. With more than 450 research professionals, the collective firm is now the 15th largest market research firm in the US and top 25 globally.

SOURCE CPS Energy