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San Antonio man paid $225 for July electric bill and leaves his thermostat at 84 degrees

A spokesperson for CPS Energy said summer is a common time for bill spikes.

SAN ANTONIO — Efforts to keep his CPS Energy bill low is leaving one southside man to wonder why his payments are on the rise.

Jess Torres showed KENS 5 his last three bills and said he is paying more than he uses to power his one bedroom home of seven years.

Torres said he is very conservative of his energy use inside his home by unplugging appliances and leaving his thermostat at a warm temperature of 84 degrees.

Torres said he usually spends about $70 a month on his CPS Energy bill. His July bill is $225.93, which is up $74.36 from June's bill and up $131.97 from May's bill.

"I'm just worried for next month's bill," he said.

A spokesperson for CPS Energy said summer is a common time for bill spikes. Especially this year as we have seen numerous days of record breaking heat in Texas. High temperatures affect how AC systems operate often making units work harder to cool living spaces. This drives bills up.

The war in Europe is also having an impact on natural gas prices.

Torres said his sister has paid some of his recent bills to help him get by. However, CPS Energy can provide financial assistance. They have several links on their website.

To date, CPS Energy said they have connected customers with over $60 million dollars in assistance since June 2020.

Torres said he would consider looking into their resources if the bill's don't improve.

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