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As the new general counsel and secretary to the CPS Energy Board of Trustees, I have a front row seat to the strategic oversight of the nation’s largest municipally owned electric and gas utility by thoughtful and passionate civic leaders. Each board member brings their own unique mix of experience, skills, and expertise to help guide our utility, as the management team evaluates opportunities that will revolutionize the way we produce and deliver energy to your homes and businesses — and as we continue to fight to keep your bills affordable.
Our board of trustees, along with President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams and her senior leadership team, are committed to operating one of the best-managed and most financially responsible utilities in the nation. The board’s careful guidance helps ensure our business decisions are based on our guiding pillars of reliability, customer affordability, security, safety, environmental responsibility, and resiliency.
Our diligent five-member board serves all CPS Energy customers. Four of the members are Bexar County residents, each selected from different geographic quadrants of our service area. Our fifth member is the San Antonio mayor, who serves in an ex-officio capacity with full voting rights. This independent board provides governance oversight of your natural gas and electric utility that has served this community for over 161 years.
With more than $11.5 billion in assets and over $2.5 billion in revenues in fiscal year 2021, being a board trustee is indeed a huge responsibility, and it is an honorable one.
Bexar County residents living in the northwest quadrant of CPS Energy’s service area who aspire to be of service to our community now have the opportunity to apply for appointment to our board. Our trustees currently believe a meaningful combination of the following experience, knowledge, and skills will be beneficial for a new board member to have:
• Strategic planning and management experience, with an ability to understand and provide oversight and input on complex issues;
• A minimum of 10 to 15 years of business experience in one or more fields, including accounting, economics, energy, government, information technology, cybersecurity, legal, marketing, or real estate;
• Financial expertise;
• Corporate governance;
• Public policy; and
• A bachelor’s degree in business, finance, accounting, or political science; or a master’s degree in business administration, finance, or public administration.
As one can imagine, governing a complex business such as CPS Energy also requires a significant time commitment. Board members may serve up to two five-year terms. Each board member spends approximately 20 hours per month preparing for and attending various gatherings that include regular monthly board meetings, special board meetings, quarterly committee meetings, group and individual work sessions as needed, and other special events. In addition, the board officer positions of chair and vice chair rotate every two to four years.
With board service requiring a deep personal commitment and a strong desire to serve this community, it is no wonder the application process is thoughtful and thorough. The current board will evaluate the applicants’ eligibility, experience, and skills criteria to select one or more prospects to interview in the fall. Once interviews are complete, the board will select a nominee. The mayor will then present that person to the San Antonio City Council for final confirmation.
The past 1.5 years have been challenging for all of us, but we remain committed to our
Flexible PathSM strategy to a cleaner energy future. We are currently No. 1 in solar capacity in Texas. Therefore, it is an exciting time to power this community as we introduce key elements of the FlexPOWER Bundle, an incremental initiative through which we are working to add more renewable energy and further diversify and strengthen our portfolio of generation sources. Our dedicated energy professionals are also in the process of implementing FlexSTEP programs, the next iteration of our nationally recognized energy efficiency and conservation offerings. Our board of trustees will play a significant role in these initiatives and much more.
The current board vacancy must be filled by a U.S. citizen who is a Bexar County resident living in the northwest quadrant of our service area and who maintains a CPS Energy account that is current. If you meet the Quadrant 1 residency requirement and are ready to serve the greater San Antonio region by overseeing the transformation of our energy future, please apply to join the CPS Energy Board of Trustees. Applications must be received by 5 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2021. Learn more at: cpsenergy.com/trustees.
