CPS Energy and City set thermostats cooler than 78 recommended for your home

With most of the sizzling summer ahead, there's concern about whether our power grid can hold up to the demand. We've all been urged to limit the air conditioning in our homes to conserve energy.

ERCOT and CPS Energy recommend you do your part by setting your thermostat at 78 or higher, which is uncomfortably warm for some people.

However, we found temperature readings in CPS Energy’s new headquarters building of 72 degrees. At the newly renovated San Antonio City Hall a thermostat was set at a downright chilly 67.

Carolyn Adkins is homebound but tries to keep the thermostat in her apartment above 78.

"I am a person who conserves energy," Adkins told News 4.

Even with a ceiling fan the heat and humidity can be miserable, and Adkins thinks CPS Energy and city leaders should be making the same sacrifice.

“It takes all of us doing our part, and I don't think that they are," Adkins said.

On the 23rd of June, a hot, muggy 95-degree day in San Antonio, we found temperature monitors inside CPS Energy's new headquarters building reading 72 degrees.

Coincidentally, that same day the mayor of Helotes posted on Facebook what he claimed was a 65-degree reading he took while attending a meeting in the building.

CPS Energy touts "setting your thermostat to 78 or higher" as it's number one energy saving tip. The city owned power company sends that message out on twitter and automated phone calls.

So, we sat down with CPS Energy's Chief Administrative Officer Lisa Lewis.

News 4 Trouble Shooter Jaie Avila asked Lewis, “Why do you urge people to set their thermostat at 78 or higher when you don't?”

Lewis responded, “There's a difference between a residential building and a commercial building. We set our thermostats at 76, and it achieves a temperature anywhere between about 72 and 78 or 79 during the afternoon hours of two to seven."

When asked how it is possible to have a reading of 72 when if the thermostat is set to 76 she added, “It depends what zone you're in. Those aren't thermostats that you can see, those are temperature monitors, we're setting it at 76 and indifferent zones what you are seeing is temperature readings."

CPS Energy would not allow us to see the actual thermostat but says its 76-degree setting is comparable to 78 degrees in a house, even though its system may keep some zones cooler than others at times.

At city hall though, we saw actual thermostats in three different rooms showing temperatures from 68 to 71 degrees. Including the lobby, where the thermostat was set for 67.

The next day, City Councilmember Ana Sandoval tweeted she needed a shawl and blanket at a meeting across the street in the city's municipal plaza building.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg and the city manager's office would not do an on-camera interview but told us they're finalizing an energy policy for their buildings which will include rules on where to set the thermostat.

While the rules aren't in place yet, the city says it has been advising staff to adjust thermostats when we have peak conservation days.