"Your Couch Doesn't Watch TV"

At a community forum last night, CPS Energy demonstrated once again that they just don't get it and seem to be even more clueless about who their customers are. Receiving a mayoral mandate to increase energy efficiency, CPS unveiled its bold step: advertising. Its new campaign includes turning off the TV and lights. The company repeatedly emphasized the wastefulness of plasma TV, a item you don't see much or the need to turn down your thermostats, which the majority of houses do not have.

CPS in recent years has invested in energy efficiency in their own buildings and cut electricity use by an impressive 25%, however there is no commitment to truly fund these programs in the community.

Also, we were inundated by talk of the 'wave of the future.' Which in case you were thinking solar power, weatherization or great public transit systems, you are wrong. The wave of the future, which is going to merit massive funding is real-time meters with color changing globes that tell you when you are using too much energy. Yes, CPS customers, into our leaking houses without insulation or proper windows, we will get to enjoy watching a color changing ball that interprets our energy use within the bigger market. In case you have more questions about where your payments are going, CPS will be releasing a video to highlight this new gadget.

By the time CPS and the City finish their numerous, seemingly endless, amount of studies, San Antonio will be once again behind the curve. Instead, we are ready to be on the forefront of developing a green economy, green jobs and a renewable decentralized energy system. Models are out there. We need the City Council to propose real solutions, real policies that will go beyond its term to legislate San Antonio onto the right course.