CPS Energy bills top $234 in August, up 32 percent from a year ago. In past 5 months, up 35 percent.

CPS Energy charged San Antonio households an average $234 for electric and gas service in August, up 32 percent from a year earlier as volatile natural gas prices continue hitting Texas utility customers. Including the August bill, the city-owned utility’s customers have paid nearly $1,000 in the five months beginning in April — a 35 percent increase that’s cost them $261 more this year than last. During the record-setting heat San Antonio experienced in May and June, CPS blamed this summer’s uptick in bills on customers cranking up their air conditioning. But in recent months, elevated prices for natural gas have been the largest factor. And Texans should brace for elevated utility bills for the foreseeable future, the outgoing CEO of the state’s power grid operator said last week.

“Looking forward to the very near term, prices will probably stay in the same range,” said Brad Jones, who has led the Electric Reliability Council of Texas as interim chief since last spring. He blamed the increases largely on expensive natural gas. Natural gas is crucial to the state’s electric system. So far this year, gas-fueled power plants have generated 42 percent of the electricity on the Texas power grid. Wind turbines were second, generating 26 percent of the state’s power this year, according to ERCOT. The benchmark U.S. price for natural gas was $8.81 in August, more than double a year earlier, according to the Energy Information Administration. In August, higher-than-expected gas raised CPS customers’ bill by $31.19 — 55 percent of the total increase. Jones, who spoke during the annual Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, said that since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine roiled energy markets in Europe, U.S. natural gas operators have been shipping more liquefied gas to Europe, where it fetches a higher price. “They’re paying $50 to $60 (in Europe) for what we pay about $8 to $9 for here,” Jones said. “A year ago, we were paying $3. That international dynamic has driven up that cost.”