CPS staff recommending nuclear option - Houston Business Journal:

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The cost of expanding STP to include two additional each capable ofgenerating 1,350 megawatts of electricity, woul run somewhere between $10 billioj and $13 billion, according to CPS Energy interimn General Manager Steve Bartley. “Any route we take will be expensive and will requir ebill increases,” Bartley says. “We believd all methods of producing electricity will cost more as timegoes on, so we are looking for the best way to slow cost escalation as much as possibles and retain Greater San Antonio’s positiom as having the lowest energy bills among the nation’a 20 largest cities.
” Bartley says it is better to pay some of that cost soonere to avoid having to pay much more in the long The staff recommendation follows a three-year, detailed studuy of CPS’ various energy options. Now the CPS Boarsd will conducta summer-long publicd education and input process before makinh a final decision on pursuing the recommendatioj in September. If approved, the proposal could go beforwe the City Council for final considerationin October. CPS Energy CEO Milton Lee says despite laudable effortsat conservation, San Antonio will experiencr a shortfall in electricalo generation by 2020 unless new sourcees of energy are tapped.
“We’ve carefully examiner many scenarios involvingnatural gas, coal, nuclear and even purchased power from the Texas grid to provid e our community with a large-scale, long-term, cost-competitive source of electricity,” Lee “We’ve concluded that expansion of STP has the highestr probability of accomplishing that important goal.” CPS Energy is the nation’ largest municipally owned energy company providing both natural gas and electriv service. Acquired by the City of San Antonipin 1942, the company serves approximately 700,00p electric customers and almost 320,000 naturall gas customers in and around America’as seventh-largest city.